Rod Woodson: 49ers Are The Best Team In The NFC

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Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes. See details. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Snap back to Mahomes, rolls to his right. Jackson will keep it running to the right.

Let's go. Live from Kansas City. I mean, what would you think of the Chiefs having a chance to be the first to ever win three of them in a row? Nobody would have enjoyed the last five years more than my dad. Earlier on the show, CBS Sports Broadcaster Kevin Harlan. Coming up, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan. Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson.

Plus, your phone calls, latest news, and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show kickoff special, live from Kansas City at the Total Wireless Studio, hour number two of day number two of our three-day residency here in Kansas City. Home of the two-time defending champions, Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Getting to take on the Ravens tonight on the season opener on NBC, which you can catch here through the Roku portal. We're live on the Roku Sports Channel. We're live on this Rich Eisen Show terrestrial radio affiliate Sirius XM Odyssey and more. Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, who's one of the radio voices of the Baltimore Ravens. An interesting scenario that a long-time great stealer is that.

But Rod did actually win a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens back in the day. He's making his way to our studio here in Kansas City. But kicking off hour number two for us, one of the lead baseball voices in all the land from ESPN. Senior baseball writer and reporter and Kansas Citian. Extraordinaire, Jeff Passan.

Good to see you. Jenison of Section 103 at Chiefs games as well. So do you have season tickets? I do have season tickets. I got season tickets three years ago now when I realized that my eldest child was going to be gone from like our lives in 200 weeks.

He had four years until he was gone off to college. And he loves nothing more than watching Patrick Mahomes in person. Like I have not been a sports fan for a really long time in terms of like actually rooting for teams. Because of what you do for a living? No, because I grew up in Cleveland. No, but it broke my heart. I had my heart broken so many times. Like in the 80s with the Browns when I was just a kid, you know, six, seven, eight years old.

Seeing the drive, seeing the fumble. And then with the Indian teams in the 1990s that were so good and never won. And, you know, it's just like why do we do this? Why do we put ourselves as sports fans through torture every single year when the inevitability is going to be that it turns out poorly?

Because it does for 31 of 32 teams in the NFL and for 29 of 30 baseball teams and on and on. And sometimes the journey is not worth the pain in the end. And then I moved to Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes came along and the journey doesn't end in pain. It just ends in glory and championships and it's been a beautiful thing to be the bandwagonist fan of all time. And I make no apologies for it at all. And you know why?

Because winning's awesome. That's right. It is.

It's the best. And you see what your, so how old is your kid? Sixteen. He's sixteen.

Yes. And he's going to these games and this is, he's got to be living his best life seeing this. Because what a show that you have in town. I mean, tonight it's going to be myself, my son, his best friend and his girlfriend going to a Chiefs game for the first time. How about that?

And so. Taylor Swift? She wants to see Taylor Swift.

No, I thought, I thought that's the girlfriend. No, no. Breaking news. He's got more game than I expected, but he's not got that much. It's not like Kelsey-style game now.

He's got more game now. I just want to see if we're breaking news or anything like that. So Section 103, check out Jeff Passan if you happen to be in 103 tonight.

That's pretty cool, dude. And we're also in the town of an absolute 100 percent, unless there's a major collapse in the next three weeks, playoff team of the Kansas City Royals, correct? Yes. And they have not been playing particularly well lately. Of late. But they, they built up a cushion and the rest of the American League stinks. The Red Sox have not taken advantage like they needed to. The Seattle Mariners have collapsed entirely. The Detroit Tigers are the team that's making the biggest run at the Royals and the Twins toward the bottom of the Wild Card. They're too far away right now.

Yeah, it's interesting. I actually picked them to win the Central this year. I thought they, I thought they had a, a better shot at playing like they are now, but they scuffled early on and Spencer Torkelson was sent down and Riley Green was hurt for a little while. They're going to be really good in the next few years. And the American League Central, which has been the Comedy Central forever, is primed to be a nasty division for the next half decade. The White Sox accept it, of course.

Right, so that, I mean, you take a look at the, the Wild Card teams. It's going to be whoever loses the AFC, the, I got to get out of the base. You are in football.

I don't blame you, buddy. Like, you came to Kansas City. I know. Like, you came to Kansas City for something. It wasn't baseball.

I know. Whoever's, whoever's going to lose the American League East, whoever finishes second, and then the other two teams from the Central. So that's going to be basically your, your Wild Card situation.

We got Bobby Wood Jr. coming in here tomorrow and we are genuinely excited to meet him. I mean, he, where do you think he finishes in MVP voting this year? I think it's second.

To Judge? Yeah, because Aaron Judge is having just an absolutely extraordinary season. But the, the way, and I'm writing something on this for, for next week because Kansas City goes to New York.

Yes. And Judge and Witt are going to be in the same stadium. We can talk about the two and comparing them and saying head to head who's better, who should be MVP, who's not. The way I look at it with them is those two are so much better than everyone else right now. And that includes Juan Soto and that includes Gunnar Henderson and that includes Jaron Duran and all the other guys up there. They are charting a course in terms of wins above replacement that we have not seen, Rich, in upward of 100 years.

Two guys from the same league, position players, having 10 plus wins above replacement. So the fact that Bobby Wood is doing this at 24 years old, he's got a ceiling unlike anybody in baseball right now. And he is so good at hitting and so good at fielding and so good at running, he is the complete player in the game. Judge's bat takes him above and beyond everyone. He's that much better a hitter than everyone else.

But in terms of all-around players, there's no one like Bobby Witt right now. I got Jeff Passan here on the Rich Eisen Show. Turn the microphone, tilt it up a little bit. No, the one right there in front of you, the radio mic. Just, there we go. Right here on the Rich Eisen Show. So, there we go. We're working on the, it's all falling apart.

Now we're back again. Jeff Passan here on the Rich Eisen Show. So, if baseball did it like the NFL, which is, we're not splitting MVPs in conferences, okay? That if it was one all-encompassing, you know where I'm going with this.

Cool, I like this question. This is a good sports talk radio conversation. It would be Judge and Otani, clearly, which is what we'd be talking about for MVP of the league. Would we though? Otani's going for his first 50-50 season.

Ever, right? I mean, Judge has him by two and a half or right now. He does. And here's the thing. So, you would take Judge, it would be a clear Judge over Otani? Not even a question. No kidding. I would take Witt over Otani. Why? Because Otani's a DH.

And here's the thing. Bobby Witt has a higher batting average than him. Bobby Witt's on-base percentage is right there with him. Bobby Witt's slugging percentage is right there with him.

They're both around 400 and 600 on those. So, offensive numbers-wise, he is coming close to matching him. I understand the home runs are a big deal, as they should be, but Witt's got him in doubles, Witt's got him in triples as well. And beyond that, he plays shortstop at an extraordinary level. He sure does. And so, when you're comparing in the National League right now, for example, like Shohei Otani with Francisco Lindor, there's an argument there. Thank you. Because Lindor is so good at shortstop and because Lindor- This microphone's going to be the death of me.

No, keep going. Because Lindor is so good all around, but he doesn't have the offensive numbers Bobby Witt does. Lindor's hitting 270 on-base, 330 slugging, 470, 480, somewhere in that range. It's like he's a good offensive player. He's a great all-around player. Bobby Witt is a great offensive player and a spectacular all-around player. And the fact that Otani doesn't play a position right now, it's like when we look at him, Rich, in a normal year when he's pitching and hitting, even if he's just above average in both, I think he should be MVP, because the value that you bring being above average in both of those things is absolutely enormous. In that same vein, we have to ding Otani some for not playing a position when he's not out there pitching.

And we can marvel at the 50-50 that he looks like he's going to put up at this point, but we also can't ignore the things that he doesn't do. Jeff Passan here in studio in Kansas City, his home and home of the Chiefs, home of the Royals. Again, Bobby Witt Jr.'s going to be here tomorrow. A few minutes left with Jeff. So judge clear, far and away, the MVP of the American League, if not the entire league, and yet the Yankees are a half game out of first, and yet they could be so far in first if it weren't for their closer, who goes from all-star to just one of the worst at the position in Klay Holmes.

Where do you stand on that subject matter? Klay Holmes didn't give up a run for the first two months of the season. I know that, and then he had some actual clean outings for a couple weeks, but 11 blown saves on the whole is something that is unsustainable, would you not agree? The Yankees are in a pickle right now, and let's remember what happened at the trade deadline. Carlos Estevez went to the Philadelphia Phillies.

A.J. Puck went to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Michael Kopec went to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lucas Ursig went to the Kansas City Royals. We can talk about reliever after impact reliever after impact reliever, and the Yankees knew that their bullpen was not strong enough, and they didn't go out and supplement it.

They got Mark Leiter Jr. at the end, and he has not been the solution. And at this point with the Yankees, and Aaron Boone alluded to this yesterday, I think it may come down to either Luis Hill or Clark Schmidt, who are going to start off coming back from injuries in the rotation, turning into that leverage guy in the postseason, which is a dubious proposition. And yet we need to also recognize that in playoff baseball, it's not necessarily about having a starter and setup guy and people who have assigned innings. It's just getting 27 outs, and you do it however you can. And if it's with guys who are in roles, okay, that's great. But we've seen the Houston Astros in years past rely on starters and relief roles, and we've seen other teams like Cleveland back in 2016 get to the seventh game of the World Series with Cody Allen and Andrew Miller and no bullpen aside from that.

So it's not like you need a lot of guys. You just need reliable ones, and that's what the Yankees are still hunting for with less than a month before the postseason begins. So you could make a case, though, if you had to put your chip on the Yankees or the Mets to go further in the playoffs, which one would you choose right now? Yankees, because I think that the Yankees are going to make it, and I'm not sure that the Mets are going to make it at this point.

They got to get past Atlanta, man, and Atlanta, despite all of its injuries, is still a formidable team. But once you get into the postseason, if the Mets are in there, yeah, I could see a really solid argument that the Mets have a better chance in the playoffs than the Yankees do. Yeah, they're playing better baseball right now.

Unquestionably. They're playing really good baseball right now. You want to bolster Lindor's MVP case. The Mets are not where they are without him doing what he's done. And even beyond the wins above replacement argument, which I think can be kind of reductive and facile sometimes, it goes down to what he does for that team and in that clubhouse. And I know it's really difficult to measure leadership, but I appreciate leadership so much, and it's what makes Aaron Judge, I think, such a special player. Beyond what he is capable of doing on the field, he is a really good and well-respected leader in that clubhouse. Jeff Passan, a couple minutes left with the lead baseball scribe and reporter of ESPN.

We're here in his town of Kansas City getting ready for kickoff. So in the month we have left, I guess crystal ball it for me. How do you see everything playing out in the baseball season from here on out, Jeff? I wish I knew what this season was going to look like because we have to remember, Rich, we've gotten used to multiple hundred-win teams every year going into the postseason looking like juggernauts. And in some cases, like the Red Sox a few years ago, they go 108-54 and blitz through the postseason and win a championship. And then you have these Dodgers teams that have done it year in, year out, and the only time they won was in 2020 during the COVID shortened season. This year, though, there is no hundred-win team. There may not be a 95-win team. It's a bunch of good teams, and I'm not sure that we're going to see who's great until like the first or second round of the postseason and who's catching a heater at that point because that's who's going to win.

It's going to be the team that happens to get hot at that particular moment. Now, I look at the Dodgers, and I really like them. I know that their pitching has been banged up all year long, but that lineup can hit quality pitching, and to me, that's what it's going to come down to this October. It's going to be lineup depth because you're going to have the best pitchers in the world out there.

Can you face them in leverage situations and take advantage of it? And I like the Dodgers lineup, and I like the depth of the Phillies lineup, and if I'm picking someone in the American League right now, Rich, it's not New York. It's not Baltimore. It's not Cleveland.

It's not Minnesota. It's not Kansas City. The Astros? Houston Astros. Look at the way that they've been pitching lately.

Spencer Arreghetti has been awesome. Hunter Brown has been the best pitcher in Major League Baseball for the last three months. And Jordon Alvarez just hit us in the back of the head with a baseball. And then Kyle Tucker is going to be coming back, and Al Tuve is there, and Bregman is there, and they've been to seven straight American League championship series. Like, the pedigree is there, and after that horrendous start that they had, they look like the Astros again. Can you imagine? I mean, just to bring it all full circle, because that's the way, you know, I view the NFL season is good luck to when the chips are down and it's a win or go home moment, good luck beating Mahomes and Kelsey and Reed, and that may be the way that things turn out in the American League after all with the Astros, despite everything that went in the regular season, similar maybe to last year's Kansas City regular season. I think that's a really good comparison, because at the end of the day, you've got to beat the champions, right? You have to go and take it from them.

And nobody has been able to take it from Mahomes, and nobody has been able to take it from the Astros consistently. Jeff, you're the man. Enjoy tonight's game.

Sure will. You're with your plus three in section 103, and it's great to have you here in person, and I always appreciate you taking our calls and being part of the show, man. You're awesome. It is a joy and a pleasure.

It's been fantastic being here, so thanks, Rich. You got it, and his hair is already in postseason form. It's amazing.

Unbelievable. It doesn't move. I'm talking as if he's not sitting here with his hair. You know, it doesn't move. It moves, slightly. And then, hold on, let's see, let's see. He's shaking it.

You're like Jimmy Johnson. And it goes right back. You train it. Dude.

You just got to train it to go the right way. This guy, you bastard. Coming on my show and working your hair like that in front of me. Who the hell do you think you are? Jeff, you said it wasn't coming back, but Coach Prime had a way for it to come back for Rich, but he didn't want to take it. Look at this guy.

All right. Jeff Passon is here. Look who's joining me. When I worked with him on NFL Network, I did have hair.

One of the radio voices of the Baltimore Ravens Pro Football Hall of Famer, great friend Rod Woodson next here in the Rich Eisen Show in Kansas City. Let's talk DoorDash, people. If your family's like mine, it probably is. You want something to eat, your kids want something else to eat. How do you handle it all? How do you make sure everybody's happy? DoorDash, that's how you make sure everybody's happy. The food delivery app is the most awesome on-demand delivery platform that you can go get to make sure that food comes to the places you like right to your table. It's awesome, especially now that football's finally back, which means it's time to order your favorite game day food, snacks, and drinks on DoorDash without missing a single play.

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That's OReillyAuto.com slash E-I-S-E-N. O-O-O-Reilly Auto Parts. Hey, everybody. You know we're living in a new age of football with the expanded college football playoff, NIL, conference realignment, and increasing popularity of the draft. The landscape is changing, and it's changing quickly, and it can be confusing, but you know you're still into it. That's where the new podcast, The Triple Option, comes in. Each week, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, host Rob Stone, and three-time national champion coach Urban Meyer team up to bring on the biggest guests in college football, pro football, and anything related to the culture of the game. They cover it all, from top stories to recent changes and shifts in the game, the culture surrounding it, and everything in between. So get in the game today. Follow and subscribe to The Triple Option on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch The Triple Option on YouTube as well. New episodes drop Wednesday mornings. Hey guys, hey listen, Rod has got a game plan for today. This is not his first rodeo.

Okay, of course not. So what's your game plan for today? After this, leaving, going to get some Gates, put it back in the room, and I'll eat it after the game. Post-game. Post-game.

Post-game meals. Gates is so delicious. We had that last time we were here. Gates is the old school company, so when I play, we used to go to Gates, and then last time I came here, we went to Q39, and I was like, ah, I think I still like Gates. So when you played here with the Ravens or the Steelers, you were talking about like way back in the day. Way back, when the Steelers. So way back in the day. When you were buying Gates for Mel Blunt. Is that what it was?

When they say, hey, Rook, go get me some Gates. Well, I'm not that old because I didn't play with Mel. Oh, I thought you did. No, no, that would make me.

I don't know, maybe at the back end. I would be, I would be. The only hall of famer that I played with back then was Mike Webby. Mike Webster.

Mike Webster. Donny Shell and John Stallworth. So there's a few of them.

So there's three. When you walked into the Steelers locker room for the first time, those guys from the Steelers were there. Those guys were in there. Mean Joe Green was the defensive line coach. And he was mean. He was a mean. What do you mean he was mean? He was mean. He was, he was a teddy bear outside of football, but inside of the game itself. I mean, because back then, you know, we didn't have, you know, we didn't have digital, it was projectors. And when his defensive line was not doing well, and our defensive back room was right here next with, you know, so Tony Dungy was our coach. You know, Tony's not going to raise his voice.

But you could hear projectors and items being thrown in the other room and crashing against the wall. And it was Mean Joe Green. I love that story, man.

Rod Watson here on the Rich Eisen Show live in Kansas City. Just great Mean Joe Green story right there that he was a coach when you first got to Pittsburgh. Did you ever hear Marshall's story about Mean Joe Green?

No, uh-uh. He said Mean Joe Green, when Mean Joe Green was on the Cardinal staff, the Arizona Cardinal staff, as an assistant. Oh, that's great.

This is a great story. And somebody on the Cardinals was running all over. It might have been when he was on the Colts or the Rams. I don't remember where he was in Marshall's career. But Marshall was Marshall at this point in time.

Right. And somebody was wearing out his team on the Cardinals and talking, just yapping. And he had no business yapping, Marshall thought. So Marshall came up with this huge play right in front of the Cardinals sideline. And as soon as he was done with it, he just went, just smoke in the entire row that went right down the Cardinals row, right in front of that bench. And he realized as he was just yapping at everybody, one of them was Mean Joe Green.

And he went down the road and he went back. And he says, not you, Mr. Green. But your positive. I didn't mean it. No disrespect. No disrespect to you. Mr. Green is what he referred to. Absolutely.

And I call him Mr. Green. What is it like in the bus room, I mean in the Hall of Fame room, at the luncheon when everybody's back, and all you Hall of Famers are hanging out, welcoming in a new group? I mean, for me, when I first went in, it was really cool to see the older guys and meet them and talk to them. Because if you ever talk to one of the old school players, they have great stories. They probably have their best stories when you're talking about football, just to the fact that most of them way back in the day had to work in the offseason, which a lot of people don't know. To make ends meet.

To make ends meet. Sometimes, depending on the team that you played for, you better be the first 50th guy to go cast your check on Friday or the check might bounce. I mean, it was a story that they would talk about. It's like, it was so amazing. And, you know, that, for me, being around those guys and listening to those stories and seeing where the league is at today, I mean, it's just grown so much over the years. But to see where these guys have kind of laid the foundation and, you know.

Who were those guys when you first walked in there? Gosh. Because you've been in the hall now for... Since 09. Since 09. Okay.

So you're in your, like, your 15th year of being enshrined. Yeah. So Niski, you know, Mean Joe, talking to Mel, you know, talking to Franco. Deacon? Deacon. Yeah, Deacon. Deacon was, he was a joy to be around. I mean, he was like, hey, like, I led the team, I led the league in sacks.

I don't care what they say. And I gave the head slap. I mean, the reason they can't slap heads anymore is because he was slapping us not out of offensive linemen's heads. So... Yeah, he told me the story that he kept on head slapping. So offensive linemen would reverse the screw in their helmet to go out.

Go out. So when he head slapped them, the screw would hit him in... I can see that. In his palm. He said that would happen. Like, he would start head slapping and then, you know, have to, you know, pull back because the screws were out. So seeing, meeting all those type of guys, those old school guys, it was really fun to be around them.

It really was. So now, are you that guy now? Are you the OG walking around?

I haven't been back in four years. Why? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Okay. I don't know. You know.

We've got to get you back. We'll talk about that outside. Okay.

I just stepped on a third rail change. Uh oh. Okay. But before you, were you that guy? Like, you got the... No, I wasn't. No.

I mean, I have gray hair, but I wasn't the oldest guy in the room. Right. But I was getting close. I was getting up there. Okay. I was getting up there calling.

I was getting close to calling me grandpa in the room. Best defensive back in the league right now. Rod Woods.

Ooh. Best defensive back in the league. Who is that guy? Right now. That is a great question.

I only ask those. You know that, Rod. That is a really good question because I think there's so many young, good talent. You know, I think, I think Sauce is going to be a really good player. I think the kid today that the Ravens drafted, Higgins, man, I tell you what, if this kid just keeps progressing the way he showed in the preseason, he is going to be a perennial hall, all pro.

No kidding. Perennial pro bowler. Because he has all the tools. He's quick. He's fast. He's tall. He's long. Um, he, you know, he believes in his speed. So he sets on a lot of those routes. Um, you know, now he's just got to get to the point where he can do it week in and week out year after year after year.

But he has all the tools. I mean, that was one of the best picks I've seen in a long time. And this kid is going to be a real player. So you go from Sauce to him when I'm asking this question.

That's not a bad. Well, I can't say that he's there because he's still got to grow. But the possibility of him being in another year, two years, him being the best defensive back in the league, I would not be surprised.

Rod Woodson here on the Rich Eisen Show getting set to call tonight's game for the Ravens Radio Network. And you straddle both ends of the fence here for this question. Patrick Queen going from the Ravens to the Steelers to me seems pretty damn significant for both teams. Yeah. How do you view that?

Yeah. A big loss for the Ravens. Uh, but you know, they have a player that Simpson that he hasn't played a lot, but he's he's that old school player that can run from sideline to sideline and having Roquan Smith out there to kind of guide him is going to be really key for him. But losing a guy like that, then he goes to your rival, which they needed a middle linebacker. And you would know better as to how that system, if you will, or the world of the Steelers revolves around somebody like Patrick Queen.

I mean, how significant is that? How do you think that's going to play out? It's a big pickup for the Steelers. I mean, obviously a devastating loss for the Ravens, but you can't pay everybody. When your quarterbacks are making money, your offensive linemen are making money, defensive linemen are making money.

You can't, you don't have enough cap room to give everybody a big payday, so you got to pick and choose. And I think they knew they couldn't pay both Ro and Patrick, but they knew Simpson was behind Patrick. And I really believe it that they really believe in this kid, Simpson, Simpson, you're going to want, he can run. This kid can run. He has a military dad, his dad was in the Rangers. He's a yes sir, no sir, wants to work, wants to be out there. Because in all the preseason games, he was like, I was like, do you, you know, what do you mean? He said, I need to play.

I need to be out there. And I was like, not too many guys who are going to be starters say I need to be out there. So he, you know, for me, it's like seeing that, I think that growth can come with him, but it's still a big loss for him because growing pains as a starter in the league is you're going to do some good things or you're going to do some bad things out there. Derrick Henry, how is, how is this going to look? Is it just like plug him in and he's going to get the 300 touches like usual? Think about what he did last year. He had 930 yards after contact.

He is a massive human being. Well, many times the contact occurred behind the line of scrimmage with him. Right.

And I keep thinking to myself, that'll happen a heck of a lot less in Baltimore. You yes, you're going to take it. So I think the dilemma is for Todd Monken is Derrick Henry's better going downhill.

Yes. He's not a side to side running back. So is, are we going to see Lamar Moore under center? Because when they had that, the scrimmage with the Green Bay, he was under center a little bit, but it's going to be interesting to see if you're going to be, he's going to be under center or he's going to be in, is he going to be in pistol? Is he going to be behind him if he's in shotgun? He can do, he can run lateral if you do inside zones because you can cut off the backside. You just don't want, I mean, when he's going downhill, he's bigger, he's faster, he's quicker than you think he is, and if he gets his momentum, you're not stopping the guy.

Not, it's not one guy is going to stop him, he's just too big. Right. So what do you think?

Pistol sounds like a nice, a nice midpoint here. I think you'll see a blend of all of them. And then I, the other question is, are they going to be in 12 personnel, which is two tight ends, two receivers and one back, comparable to 11 personnel, which is three receivers, one tight end and one back.

Well, when you got likely, I mean, why wouldn't you do the two? Well, I mean, you always try to figure out, do I put my best talent on the field? Who's my best 11 players? Wouldn't he be one of them?

I would think so. But last year, they only played 11% of time in 12 personnel, which is the fourth least in the league. So it'd be really good to see how Todd Monken in the second year unfolds because Lamar is still growing as a quarterback. I mean, he has, he had the, his highest completion percentage this past year at 65%. So he's still growing and learning the offense and still making it, I mean, last year was his first year and his time being in the National Football League is making audibles, which is, that's kind of surprising.

I was shocked to hear that. He still won MVP. And he won MVP, but he's learning. So he's learning to take control, take leadership.

When he sees the box and he doesn't like the number, if he sees a look, he doesn't like it, he can check out of it. So those things that he's just starting to do and he's right in the middle of his, you know, the heights of his career. I mean, you know, you look at these two quarterbacks even tonight and the last six MVPs, four of them are playing tonight. Two guys. So Patrick has won it twice and Lamar's won it twice. Pretty sweet, man.

So it's going to be interesting to see how these guys play out and see how this offense unfolds for the Ravens. What do you make of the 30 pound weight loss from him? I think it was... Does he look faster to you? This is what he did. I think he built, he bulked up last year. And I remember me doing this when I came and I was heavy when I first came in. I lost a lot of weight. Then I gained my weight back and I said, man, I don't feel fast like I did before.

So I lost like eight pounds and I felt way faster. And that's what he's doing. So he bulked up last year. He didn't feel, he didn't want to get hurt again. So he's been hurt multiple years. He didn't want to get hurt again. So now he's like, you know what? I want to get back to who I am. So he lost that weight, he trimmed back down.

He looks great. So what does that mean getting back to where you just won the MVP? I know. I know. And he did that without, you know, he had some really good running backs, but now you put the dilemma with Lamar and Derrick Kearney being in the same backfield as the defensive back or defensive coordinator is that when he puts the ball in his belly, is that defensive end crashing to take the running back or is he feathering to take Lamar? It's a heck of a choice.

You better make the right one. Yeah. I mean, for me, I think I would, I would hit Lamar. I would, I would always hit Lamar saying, I need that ball to go to Derrick.

At least I know where the ball's at. But when Lamar gets in space, I mean, he's more gifted than Christmas out there in space. He really is.

But he makes a lot of these professional players look average in space and that's what the dilemma is going to be. But it's going to be interesting to see how they work it out this year with this new offense and with Derrick Henry being at the, in the running back room with Lamar. Rod Woodson here on the Rich Eisen Show. All right. You know, you know how the Steelers operate clearly, right?

Going outside the building for an offensive coordinator. Yep. Check that box. That's a rarity, right? Yes, it is. Right?

What would you say? Todd Haley was the last one like that? I think Todd is the last one because just because Randy was already there. So right.

And so it's been a while. Here comes Arthur Smith. I mean, if you had told me when Russ was dead cap cut by Denver, that he would be the Steelers' week one quarterback. And without a doubt, there's no question about it. There'll be no, they would push back about there was no competition that I have heard there are some who really liked fields in the building. They go with Russ.

I would have told you, you're out of your mind, but here we are. So what do you think? How do you think it's going to work out for the Steelers, Ron? I like the choice because I believe the Steelers are built very similar to what Russ was playing in Seattle under Pete Carroll. Run first, heavy, play action pass.

Yes. That's what they do. The Steelers are, the Steelers are a hard nosed defense, run first offense, play action pass. That's where he thrived. So I would hope that, that, you know, they remember that and knowing how he plays his best football. He's, I don't think Russ is a pure drop back passer. He needs to play action pass. He needs it. They need to move the pocket.

They need to move his platform for him. If they can do that, I think he'll be fine because they do have, they need to have that running game part of it. Dropping back and being a West Coast offense, that's not what the Steelers are. It's hard to be a physical West Coast offense. So I think if they can get back to who they are, run first, play action pass, I think that plays right into what Russ does well. Rod Woodson here on the Rich Eisen Show. The three-peat chances, they feel real to me though.

They feel really real to me, Rod. This is what I, and I get it because you, I mean, again, and I said that how gifted that Lamar is outside the pocket, I mean, Patrick Mahomes is that gifted in the pocket. He is good, just as gifted as Christmas in the pocket. And you have Kelsey, but what I, you have four rookie offensive linemen, one starting on the left side, three are backups. It's hard, guys are gonna get hurt.

You might have two, you might have three rookies starting at one point in the, sometime this year. And that is really, it's so hard to repeat, but the three-peat, can they do it? Yeah, they can do it because you've still got Mahomes.

Mahomes does so many of those crazy, like, off-platform type of throws and plays out there. I think it's gonna be harder defensively because you don't have Snead. Yes, they still have McDuffie, but haven't, Snead took the number one receiver last year and he shut them down for the most part.

So can you do that again with McDuffie and then who's your number two? You gotta remember, I mean, that to me is gonna be hard to repeat and how good they were. Chris Jones was outstanding last year, he had 75 pressures by himself last year. Yeah, and his last one was the one that kind of saved the day, that got the Niners off the field inside the 10-yard line in overtime and they went for, you know, they had to settle for three and we know the rest is history right there. So do you choose the Ravens as the team to knock them off, to stand in their way? I do like the Ravens. The Ravens last year was the best football team in the National Football League.

So what happened on that day, Rod? I mean, I do get paid by the Ravens, so I'm not going to disparage the Ravens, let's get that straight. But they only ran the ball.

Gates doesn't pay for itself. Yes, it does not. But I will say this, they only ran the ball six times with their running backs. They had a number one rushing team in the league. Okay, don't know.

Don't know. Agreed. So I would just think, do what you do well, game plan that, and I would believe they're going to be the number one or two rushing offense again this year in the league. So when you get to the postseason, do what you do well.

Don't go out of your box. And I think they got out of the box. I mean, they just threw the ball, I think, overly too much. Well, it didn't help that Zay Flowers got hit in the right spot. They were going in for that score, and that would have made things a heck of a lot different. They had chances to win the game, even though they played the way they played. They turned the ball over multiple times, got sacked multiple times. They still had opportunities to do the right thing and play.

And Zay Flowers, and Zay never threw out the whole year, never taunted, never looked over a guy where he did. He made that one big play. He turned the ball over, looked at the kid. They gave him unsportsmanlike conduct. They moved the ball back.

They don't get any points. So it's like all the things that happened in that game, they still had an opportunity to win. I still think they're the best team in the league, even though losing, Patrick, because I think Simpson, I think I'm watching this kid. This kid can run. This kid has.

He's hungry, and it's really hard to find that old school philosophy guy, and he's one of them. But the last thing I'm worried about, to be honest with you, is the way the Ravens have depth. I'm not worried about them finding somebody who is similar or can play close to somebody they've lost. I just think they gave the Steelers exactly what they need.

You know what I mean? And that may come home to roost on them at some point. Simpson has always been good defensively, though. It's the offense that the Steelers struggle with.

That's true. Losing Patrick does hurt, but I think Simpson, he's not what Patrick is as today, but I think he will become that sometime. He's going to keep growing throughout the year. He has a role with them. You've got to remember, even a couple of years ago, even when Mike McDonald was there, their first, until they weren't that good on defense, until they got that trade with Chicago and got a role across Smith, and their defense got better and better and better.

Then the second year, they came back, and man, that defense was lights out. And I would believe that he's still the leader. Simpson's right there. Simpson can run. He's physical. He's young.

He's hungry. So that, to me, I don't think that's going to hurt them as much. But my biggest question for the Ravens is, what is the offense going to look like? Is it going to be the 12 personnels going to be likely? I think you do a combination of all of it, but the biggest thing is, is he going to be under center?

Yeah. Or is he going to be in shotgun? Because he's better in shotgun, because he's so talented in space, because a quarterback under center is more, you're going to hand it off a play-action pass. Well, don't you remember when Peyton joined the Broncos, Gary Kubiak's there, and he just didn't do the boots? That's not Peyton's game. It's put him on the move.

They put him in the pistol and it kind of split the difference well for everybody. Well enough. Yeah. Right.

And I'm, I'm just wondering. That could be a good blame. I kind of feel like that is this similar fix here. That you put Lamar in the pistol and he still has the abilities to do what he does from distance from the center while you're giving Derrick Henry the headstart that he's looking for. Because you want to give Derrick Henry the best possibility to do what he does well. Yes. Run downhill.

Got to do it. And that, I mean, he's, Eddie George is big. This dude.

Oh please. When he walked in front of me when he first got there, I was like, how would I tackle him? I mean, I would have to cut him down.

I would have to be a lumberjack. You got to go low because you hit him high. You're going to bounce off of him. Who was that guy when you were playing? He was one of them, Nigerian nightmare. Tristan Kooye was massive.

You had to hit him low. Who else? Were you, hold on again. Was Errol Campbell still in the league when you were there? No, Rich. Do you think that is, Rich? No, in all seriousness, I'm trying to think of who else would it be?

I don't know. I mean, you had to tackle Buss before he came to the Steelers? Yeah. He was real tall though. I mean, you know, Derek Henry is 6'3 ish. It's just massive. His arms are like, his arms are like my leg.

That's how big he is. So it's like, how do, like I'm looking at him and I remember asking Nate Wiggins, I said, okay, when you first saw Derek Henry, what was your thoughts? He was like, I don't know how to tackle him. It's like just walking in the hallway. He's like, you think as a defensive back, like how would I hit this guy if he comes around the corner?

Business decisions. Well, you would hope that they don't step out of the way, but please close your eyes and take one for the people. Rod Woodson with the technical and also a spiritual analysis of how to tackle a Derek Henry. Can I keep you for one more second and send you out to lunch? Yes, sir.

Okay. That's Rod Woodson right here on The Rich Eisen Show. I'm sitting at The Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you. Call clickranger.com or just stop by hanging with Rod Woodson.

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Say it with me. You deserve better from your phone service. Back here in Kansas City, still hanging out with Rod Woodson radio audience for returning about 90 seconds from now. You know, it's interesting you said, you know what, I'm being paid by the Ravens, so I need to, you know, watch what I say or at least infer that because you didn't ever have that issue when we were on NFL total access, Rod.

No, no, no. Do you remember, do you remember that time when we were still really young and and so teams would would call every now and then to complain about what we were saying? Oh, really? Yeah. Thinking like that was the NFL network. Why would they say that about our team or whatever? So we got some serious pushback because of what you said about Sean Alexander not deserving the MVP votes.

Yes, I do remember that. I apologize. Hold on a second. You apologize.

But I want to set this up properly. They told him during the break, hey, man, you know, the Seahawks called, whatever, if there's anything you could do to to, you know, soften what you just said. And you you were like, not going to do it. And they were like saying, just can you at least just come on the air to say, I'm sorry.

That's right. And so we come back on the air and I'm like, you have something you want to say about the, you know, the Sean Alexander situation and go ahead. Then how you apologized?

Go ahead. You remember? Sorry. Like that. I think it was.

No, no, no. I believe if I was correct, I'm sorry. You said I'm sorry. Like that. I'm sorry. More sarcastic than that.

He goes, I'm sorry. I remember that. For sure. Rod Woodson, everybody, right here on the program, right back here in Kansas City with Rod Woodson. Just want to tell you quickly about game time tickets, because this is the way that you go ahead and get your tickets to say tonight, if you're in the area and you're like, I want to go to the Thursday kickoff, make sure you use game time because you can get great killer last minute deals. There's a lowest price guarantee as well. Game time will give you that lowest price guarantee or credit you a hundred percent of the difference when you buy your tickets through game time.

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Rod Woodson spending the rest of the hour, just a few minutes left with the Pro Football Hall of Famer. We've gone over pretty much everything soup to nuts in the AFC. The best team in the NFC is? The 49ers. You still believe so?

Yes. I mean, getting Trent back was key. So you got your IU, you got Debo there. I mean, I still think they're the best football team. They got the best running back in the National Football League.

I love the way the game was called on the offensive side of it. Defensively, you just got to see what type of defense they have this year. But I just think they're the best overall team in NFC. You don't think the Eagles with their coordinator switch might have fixed the way that they collapsed despite Kelcey and Cox, two guys right in the middle of those trenches being gone, that Saquon can plus them up and that the new coordinators can help out? I love Saquon.

I think he's up there, one of the best backs in the league. I got to see what they do on defense. I got to see how they unfold on offense. You know, I know there's some type of rift, they say, that's between the quarterback and the head coach.

So is it there? I'd like to see, can they rebound? Defensively, they do have some players. That team didn't look like that team last year. I know they did at the beginning of the year, and then it just kind of fell off the cliff.

But can they come back and play the whole way through? I still think, with that being said, I still think the 49ers are the best overall team in the NFC. What about the Lions, who came off of close? I like the Lions. I do. I like the Lions. I can't believe, you know, even though they kind of came through it and kind of surprised us and how good they were throughout the whole year, not just in spurts, I'm still a fan of what the 49ers put on the field consistently. And I keep seeing that because a lot of people, you know, are they on the Brock Purdy Pan Wagon?

Are they not? I think the kid is a little player. I think he's a player. When he's healthy, when he's playing, they play good football. Like I said, they got the best running back in the league. You got a good tight end.

You got two good receivers. You got a solid offensive line, a little inconsistent, but a solid offensive line, having Trent come back is going to be key defensively. They've been solid for years.

So for me, you know, there's no question marks. There's more question marks with Detroit, Philly, Atlanta, any other of the good teams, Tampa, any other good teams. Dallas went all in though, Ron.

Dallas always plays great in the regular season. What is it, Ron? What is it about the playoffs?

I don't know. You've been in the playoffs, man. You know what it takes.

So what is it? It's just when they get to that point, they just don't play good football. I don't know what it is with that team. They're talented. They play well. They play great in September. I mean, year in and year out.

And then they just kind of start going downhill after that. So it's like, why? That's a culture thing. I don't think that's because it's been from any head coach who's been there. It's been the same look with the team. So you can't blame the coach all the time. It could be a culture thing. I don't really know.

I'm not in that building. You know, they are talented. They do play well. It's just somewhere along the line, they fall down and they fall off the cliff once they get into the playoffs. So you think the 49ers make it back to the Super Bowl? I think they have a great opportunity. Yes.

All right. And so then the AFC, you have? I think it's going to be the teams who I thought was going to be in it last year. Are those going to be the Baltimore Ravens and the 49ers? So you think the Ravens do? I'm going to stick with that.

The 49ers and the Ravens. And then win it all in New Orleans again, huh? That was the last? Yes.

Right. Go back. We're running it back. We're running it back. Instead of Flacco taking his bag and putting it on the desk of the owner and saying, fill up my bank account, it'll be Lamar going to the podium.

And winning it all. It'll be Lamar. And does that start tonight? I don't know if it has to start tonight, because even last year, you remember, Kansas City lost to Detroit. Well, it's just my coy way of asking for a prediction of what happens tonight. Do I believe that they can win tonight?

Yes. They're going to be... The one thing that the Ravens can't do, they can't get caught up in all the hype.

You can't get emotionally hijacked inside of this game, because you do remember. They remember. They haven't talked about it all week. What happened last year to get to the Super Bowl?

They have not talked about it. They never said it was a revenge game. Every player who was on that roster, they remember. They remember what it felt like for those guys to be partying on their field, and they had to walk off that field and go into their locker room. You better remember that. So I would think they're going to come out and try to spoil their party, because remember, they're donning their banner and all that stuff, and they got their rings. Now you're coming into their place, spoil the party for that season opener. So you think that quieting of the crowd happens tonight? I do.

I do. I mean, I really believe Lamar has... When I'm watching him play, how he's grown, and then I learn that he really never has done a lot of audibles until the last year, so he's still growing. As a quarterback, this guy is still growing, and so I think he will have even a better year this year throwing the football and having a better opportunity, have more space to even run it, because you have Derrick Henry, and you have to...

When that guy is sitting in the behind and on the field, as the defense coordinator, they have to know where Derrick Henry might go, and you have to game plan for that, and then that's going to give Lamar more space out there to do his magic. Can't wait for it. I'm all set. I'm all set.

We've got one more hour to go here in day two. Rod, you're the best. Thanks again.

My pleasure. We're sending Rod off to lunch, everybody. Hour three is for us. Coming up next, still here on the Roku channel. You were saying something to Rod during the commercial break.

We got about a minute and a half. Oh, yeah. You know, Rod, just growing up, being late teens, early 20s in Pittsburgh when you were there, it's just... You had such an aura about you in that city. When you'd walk into a spot, it'd be like murmurs through the crowd. Rod Woodson's here. Rod Woodson's here. It's just...

Even now, every time I get to see you, I go back to like 90, 92, 90, just... It's just... You were just such the man back in Pittsburgh, and I will say this, I've been to many sports bars. Told you this before. He had a sports bar in Station Square called Woodson's, which to this day I will tell you is the... Amongst the two or three best sports bars I've ever been in. Well, I appreciate that. Rich, I told you I played Carnell Lake in NBA Jam there a few times, beat him on the game. You know, just you in Pittsburgh and Woodson's Bar was some of the best memories that I have hanging out there, man.

I appreciate that. What happened at Woodson's Bar? We were before our time. We were on the south side. We didn't have a lot of foot traffic over there, so... They were right under the Monongahela Incline that you always see.

Yeah, right there. I mean, game day was packed. Baseball games was packed. Other than that, it wasn't packed. So it's now packed up? It's now packed up and moved on. But it was amazing.

It was great. Carnell Lake? NBA Jam, me and Carnell Lake, beat him. He's your guy, right? Carnell? Carnell's my guy.

He's my guy, yeah. Yeah. He's coaching in the U.S.F.L. Or U.F.L. now.

U.F.L. And that's the other thing. You'd see different players strolling in, coming in the bars. That's the best. Yeah, we let all the... All players from any sport... Including Webster Slaughter? I would let Webster come out. That was Mike Tyson's punch out. The Bigger Pockets portfolio of podcasts are worthy of your investment.

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