Albert Breer: Perception Was That Davante Adams & Aaron Rodgers Were Trying to Engineer This Outcome

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Learn more at AmericanExpress.com slash Amex Business. This is the Rich Eisen Show. It's a judge-ian blast. The Rich Eisen Show.

This is not your job. This is now coming home to roost. From the Rich Eisen Show Studio in Los Angeles. And I understand why Jerry doesn't want to be asked it because there is no answer for it and that's what we were wondering during the entire non-playing season is what's this going to look like. Well now we're seeing it. Today's guests, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer, Fox Sports college football analyst Bruce Feldman, MLB Network analyst Al Leiter and now it's Rich Eisen. All right everybody this edition of the Rich Eisen Show is going to be a great one. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. You know I'm very excited about it. We've got surprises in store.

It's going to be great. Albert Breer's first up. He's literally, unless he gets Logan Airported which can happen.

It's a real thing. He's on his way back from the owner's meeting in the ATL. Yesterday was off the charts drunk in the National Football League and so there's lots to talk about with Albert Breer from the Mari Cooper acquisition by the Bills and the Browns sending away one of their best offensive players as they get back Nick Chubb it appears and then Devonta Adams being traded to the Jets and Russell Wilson having a chance to start for the Steelers despite a 4-2 record by Justin Fields. So Albert's going to be first up on this program. Also on this show we've got our friend Bruce Feldman stopping by. College football was off the hook as well over the last couple of weeks so we'll chat with Bruce Feldman in studio in his usual Wednesday spot.

Al Leiter will join us as the Yankees are halfway to the World Series and their first pennant in umpteen years while the Mets and Dodgers play game three tonight in Queens. So there's lots to talk about with Al and then with you at 844-204-RICH being the number to dial here on this program on the Roku channel, the Roku sports channel, the Rich Isenshow terrestrial radio affiliate network stitched from coast to coast. Also we've got our friends who are listening on Sirius XM, Odyssey and TuneIn and our podcasts. We appreciate everybody who takes in all of our podcasts whether it's all three hours of this show every single day through the Cumulus podcast network or if you're also taking in overreaction Monday which came out on Monday what the football with Susie Schuster and Amy Trask. Rod Woodson was a compelling guest if you missed any of that don't worry we're going to replay a little bit of that for you in short order. Good to see you over there Chris Brockman.

How are you Rich? I'm great. What's up man?

TJ Mikey Diaz and Deez Nuts. Good to see you. Good morning Rich.

TJ Jefferson. Is that candle lit over there? The candle's lit. Oh this show's gonna be lit. This show is lit. I'm very excited about today's show. Have I mentioned that? You seem excited.

Yeah it's gonna be great. You have gotta be smoking something over there. That is not true. And it's not too Jerry. Jerry had a day yesterday. Another thing that happened yesterday.

Another thing that happened yesterday. But nothing compares to the trading away at age 31 of a future potentially first ballot hall of fame wide receiver. And nothing compares when that receiver gets sent to the spot to have a reunion with the quarterback who in many ways is the the partner in helping him become the first battle hall of fame receiver that he is. And Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are back together again. And it really is something that is remarkable because name any quarterback receiver combination as potent as these guys or in the realm that they're in the realm of even chasing down who had a chance to to get back together again in the NFL.

You really can't. It's not comparable. It's not comparable. 119 games these guys played together including the playoffs in Green Bay accounting for 8,439 yards 76 touchdowns. This includes 11 playoff games that they played together. And all the these two need to do is connect for three touchdowns this year and if they do so and that's the idea then Rodgers and Davante Adams would pass Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for the fourth most prolific quarterback receiver combination in terms of touchdowns in the history of the NFL. And then if they throw for seven touchdowns many um Rodgers and Adams would pass Marino and Mark Clayton on that list. And if they are so fortunate to continue to keep playing with each other 15 touchdowns would put them second place all time behind Steve Young and Jerry Rice. And speaking of Jerry Rice his name was invoked by the interim head coach of the New York Jets Jeff Albrecht was on the 49ers back in the day and he started throwing around some uh some boldface names. I mean these are manhole covers you're throwing around when you're mentioning these receivers and how watching Adams hook up with Rodgers again and having Garrett Wilson in the house already what this brings to mind for Jeff Albrecht.

The best thing you know I was I was fortunate enough in San Francisco to be around Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice and um to see firsthand all that Jerry taught to you know Jerry at the time was in his 18th year whatever it was but so established and understood the game at the highest level. I think Devontae is going to provide that same thing for Garrett and for all of our receivers you know he's done this at an elite level for a long time and uh and on top of all of it you just you're going to see exactly you know that that the reflection of a relationship with Aaron how the synergy that they've had for so long so it's a it's an exciting time to be a jet in that way. As I mentioned yesterday this acquisition of Devontae Adams isn't just for Rodgers and the Jets now it just isn't it's also for as I mentioned Garrett Wilson I'll tell the story again I've mentioned it when I was zooming in from London a couple weeks ago and I mentioned it yesterday when we came on the air moments after this trade took place and the news broke and so you can understand what Ulbricht is mentioning is echoing what Aaron Rodgers said to the NFL network crew in our broadcast meeting and when I mentioned how the receiver room was and Rodgers was talking about getting this offense on the same page and how they're working together and how they're trying to figure out how to get yards and scores and how they are figuring out that process and how it is a long process and I asked if 17 would help in that matter and Rodgers had his fun with me tongue firmly planted and she goes you mean Malachi Corley who is the rookie wide receiver that the Jets drafted in the third round who has hardly played a lick and I'm like no I meant Devontae Adams and he went on a very long explanation of what Rodgers can bring to the equation about how in this offense you need to have receivers not get open too fast you need to be patient you need to be open at the right time you also need to if the route calls for five yards and then break it off at five or seven or ten you'd have to do it there and the person who can actually deliver that message instead of the quarterback or coach is Devontae Adams and how important that is and how crucial that is and how he walks into this room with the single season receiving yards record for not just one franchise but two he set it for the Packers in 2021 and he set it for the Raiders the year after the Packers sent him to Vegas in 2022. I mean his bona fides are you could just go off the charts here he's a Hall of Famer at age 31 walking in and Rodgers knows what he can bring to this equation which is very exciting which is very exciting for for the New York Jets and their fans and I understand that but I gotta say Adams is not blocking anybody Adams is not playing defense and what I saw before Devontae Adams showed up over the first six weeks is a team that cannot play a clean football game except for that one time against New England New England in week three on a short week when the Patriots didn't have their left side of their line and is easily the worst team that the Jets have faced yet and the Jets had 400 yards of total offense against them and then they had 393 against the Bills on Monday night but they missed two kicks they couldn't defend without putting their hands on people they couldn't stop a pass rush that missed the top two pass rushers for the for the Bills which leads me to believe that if I had to choose I swear to you if I had to choose which receiver acquired by an AFC East team yesterday will actually make a difference to win the division let alone potentially make the playoffs I'd go with Amari Cooper I know that's red hot because he's not viewed as some sort of a savior coming in he could just come in and just be part of a team that is a sum of its parts right now that's a new part and you know who can add it in there is Josh Allen yep who's an MVP quarterback right now and who is a better quarterback than most everybody in this league listen I'm all optimistic about the Jets chances and why not I just laid it out for you Rogers and Adams can connect in their sleep and the red zone problems that led to Greg Zuerlein coming out and blowing two kicks I don't believe I think can be fixed by Rogers and and Adams sure when you say Greg Zuerlein who is that G-reg Zuerlein I'm sorry I'm sorry my bad I had to hit Google Chris I didn't know what he was doing Aaron and Devante can can can perform in their sleep but I I know I'm I'm speaking something something heretical but in the same way that everybody's gonna have to learn to play together in Buffalo in the same way in New York the Bills are a better team right now they're a better football team they're better equipped to win a football game than the Jets are and they they had their kicker missed two kicks a field goal and an extra point but they overcame it they made the plays they had a third string running back making plays they had a guy in Taylor Rapp who stopped Bresol Bresol was one-on-one with him on the three yard line went out of bounds and guess what happened Jets got zero points on that now that could be fixed with Devante Adams I get it but another concern is is whatever is happening in the locker room we have no idea neither does in all honesty Rod Woodson he's not there but he's a hall of famer with a with a spidey sense yep and I mean what he said to Susie and Amy on what the football on Tuesday it certainly jumped out off the page at me this was his response to what Devante Adams can actually affect for the Jets currently at two and four playing the the unfortunately uncomplimentary football as much as they do and and it's interesting at whose feet he kind of lays it what are your thoughts on how he changes the dynamic of that team I don't know he does I know he's a great route runner I know he's a special player collectively it just seems like something's missing with the Jets I don't know what it is because I'm not there but it just seems like when you're watching it from outside in to lose that many close games year after year after year it's just something's not there and normally when I say it's not there I'm going to talk I'm the first thing I'm gonna go to is leadership well who's the leaders who are the leaders on the offense for the New York Jets do you believe Aaron Rodgers at this point in his career or otherwise is a leader I do not think he is I think he has the power and he has a voice but is he that guy that uplifts the rest of the team because a leader brings everybody with them right from the front or the back either but a leader galvanizes the group making everybody feel important making everybody feel like they belong that's what a leader is is it is it Aaron I'm not sure I would think not at this stage of his career how about that what do you think of that how about that what do you think of that I don't know how you can argue with them except you know he he does accept responsibility when he's made mistakes he hasn't been like laying it at the feet of everybody else but because again something just is off and if he's right that Rodgers has a voice and has power but is not leading from one to 53 then the Jets have a problem obviously and I'm sure Rodgers' response would be well he's not in the locker room what does he know I mean you hear it from a Hall of Famer a Hall of Famer knows it when they see it and they can sense it when they see it and Rod's not completely he's not detached he's a voice of the Ravens and is locked in in Vegas he also by the way was very eloquent on what the Raiders are up to and the turmoil on the sideline that we saw last week he spoke about that on on what the football as as well as the acquisition of Amari Cooper and what is happening in Baltimore right now and clearly his old team in Pittsburgh good stuff from Rod Woodson but something just feels off about the Jets and I don't know if Adams is going to be the guy to fix it unless they start winning games 30 you know 31 to 20 yeah be Pittsburgh Sunday night national TV audience right Monday will come back this could be look great that was the move correct you know but you can't say that this is a the wrong move for the Jets you can't do that I mean it's just you you you can flip a two or three basically for Devante Adams and and and say we did everything that we could while Aaron Rodgers was healthy we did everything that we could and um but like I said the bills just appear to be a better sum of its parts and then on top of it they're you know they're two and a half games up on the Jets and the Dolphins they've already beaten them too on the road they're two closest division competitors they've already beaten on the road and their last three games are the Jets at home wrapped in between their two games against the Patriots that's the way they finish so the Bills are in a much better spot and position and Amari Cooper going in there is just going to be hey man just you do your thing I I don't know does he does he also he's now a veteran presence in that receiver room I I don't I don't believe so but I don't think he's going to receive a room I I don't I don't believe so but it's a winning move for the Jets the question is will it actually lead to wins and I think the Bills are are better positioned and I think Cooper is is a is a brilliant move for them too and if I had to choose obviously I'm I'm going with the Bills right here to win the division and go further and and and and I know their roster isn't as deep as the Jets but these games aren't played on paper as Kenny Mayne once said they're played inside television sets yeah I just threw up a Twitter poll uh maybe call us if you have a thought which wide receiver acquired this week will have the biggest impact the rest of the year Cooper Adams I just think you know we're gonna end up getting Devante Adams is having a bigger impact because of Devante Adams being the being the Hall of Fame receiver and and also a guy who is connected with Rogers his entire life and the fact that they're going to be back together again he's going to be terrific and he should definitely open things up offensively it's just that can they actually put a game together where they do that on offense and the defense actually holds doesn't doesn't give up an opening touchdown drive uh in the first drive with their new interim head coach or let let third downs like uh the game winner for Josh Allen be easily executed and then the kicker doesn't blow two kicks can they actually put it all together and it's Albrecht the right guy for it lots more questions they haven't played together in three years no I know that it's not like it was just no I know that no no I I mean and and just one last stat here for you jet fans to to chew on here uh next gen stats from 2018 through 2021 targets receptions receiving yards receiving touchdowns the top quarterback wide receiver ranked combination was Rogers and Adams Rogers won back-to-back MVPs in the last two years of that but those that's three years and one achilles ago lots more questions what do you think 8 4 4 2 0 4 Rich number to dial when we come back Albert Breer will join us you make sure he actually navigated what the mass pike well enough that's dicey that is dicey dicey teas and peas for Albert for business owners like you the American Express business platinum card works just as hard as you do to help you pursue your passions with its world-class business and travel benefits you can get more for your business wherever it takes you the Amex business platinum card offers a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business enabling you to flex and adapt as your business evolves and you'll earn five times membership rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com so that going that extra mile for your business is even more rewarding see how the Amex business platinum card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love not all purchases will be approved terms applied learn more at americanexpress.com amex business let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts people you love their jingle you're going to love their friendly helpful service even better because they're in the business of keeping your car on the road and the parts knowledge they have it's all you need for your maintenance and repairs they've got thousands of parts 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predicted when I mentioned 17 could help to Aaron Rodgers in our broadcast meeting in London and he had fun with me and said you mean Malachi Corley because that rookie is wearing 17 um I'm like no I meant Devante Adams uh sure enough guess who's wearing number 17 now I wonder what type of check was scratched I I don't know if a check would be scratched because if there's a guy that has a jersey yeah yeah yeah I know he's been scratched multiple times as a healthy scratch well I mean it's just like hey still his young man I know I mean I don't know you're paying me maybe they paid him I don't know I mean you want my number something I think for the effort what do you Malachi Corley who's been a healthy scratch because for whatever reason I mean and everyone's talking about him and then in the in the draft like he's the next thing since sliced bread right yeah he can't get on the field yeah he's still at all and Devante Adams is there so he's further down the death chart now guess what happens no that matters young man it's his number yeah it's his number okay all right don't get it literally he's got to come up off a little scratch yeah come on maybe you know what maybe you're right speak a little bit you know you know what I think it is I I think it was like a duke's brother exchange oh far more one dollar here you go at least one backpack full of honey buns right I'm sure the vets handled their business appropriately you can't just bully the kid yeah he's two months away from having being demanded to have his fight song song rich what are the unsold Malachi Corley jerseys my bad what are we doing here no disrespect I should have I should have well a little bit a little bit right back on the Rich Eisen show radio network sitting at the Rich Eisen show desk furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry Granger has the right product for you call click ranger.com or just stop by only friends will just come right off the plane at Logan airport navigate the mass pike and sit right down and start zooming and dispensing information and Albert Breer is such a friend good to see it wasn't the mass pike actually I take uh 93 south to get home and by the way you know we should give up some kudos to right here Jeff Bezos you know why have you improved your situation has amazon helped you step up your game a little bit here look at you man look at this up here I like I honestly like I can't really tell the difference but if you guys say it looks better oh man are you kidding me crystal 4k yeah first of all we could see the tan is faded that's for sure the tans are tired for the uh for 2024 no but seriously like this shot is straight on your guy I mean like amazon just straighten you out pal work you look really good in the background did they do is this the new setup this is actually this boy this was that yeah so this is part of the Thursday night setup s I actually give them credit they put a nicer camera in too so I have actually looking at two cameras right now and one is off this gigantic light tower I can make this look fancy I can flip the lights on if you guys wanted to too wow maybe later on maybe later on that'll be like you know at the end that'll be like at the end of a big game or whatever like there's a fireworks night or something like that but we did oh you could do it sitting from there you don't have to get up you got it you can just say oh geez look at this technology my god I hit the remote just do it come on I know I don't have no I don't have a remote for you okay I have to I have to walk over I have to hit the power strip okay let's not do that no let's get information instead right at any rate great to see you sir um so you're walking around the owner's meeting and then all of a sudden you know davante gets all hell breaks loose is that really what happened yesterday albert yeah you know what was interesting was um a little earlier in the morning I got when the davante was in the building um because I had somebody had said to me um the beginning of the day it's you know like it could go down today be ready for it and then so I I hit up a couple people that worked there and um somebody texted me back yeah he's actually supposedly in the building so um that's obvious when obviously when you're on high alert and uh yeah I mean I I don't think this was a reaction to the monday night game um but there's certainly a high level of urgency um in that organization right now especially after what happened on monday night and you know I think as I've said to you before there was perception among other teams that were involved in this the bills the Steelers that um davante and Aaron were trying to engineer this outcome and I think some of the communication issues that Aaron has had with some of the other receivers there um you know it's been documented the statistical stuff with Garrett Wilson um and then you look at what you know what he said about mike williams after the game um you know it's clear how important that rapport with his receivers is um a huge reason obviously why Allen Lazard is there and now um they've got his number one from green bay too I don't know if mvs is going to be making the trip over with davante but uh interesting available also right so so so so obviously you know this is as significant in acquisition as I can recall with the the seat of power of the nfl all convened together so this was basically ordained you would think that that that that Rogers was the one pulling all these strings behind the scenes and I know that that's always rife with um you know um with uh or fraught accusations about tampering but no no not not but just that Rogers is running the show and that so many people are thinking that he had something to do with solace firing also because of all that yeah I don't know I don't think that's true um I you know like I again like I talked to everybody involved last week and I I know one thing um that was an important detail that I you know that I delivered um on Thursday I thought at least it was important was that um Aaron and Robert had a 30-minute conversation on Wednesday um so you know that wasn't like a clearing of the air that was just talking and seeing how you're doing and you know I I think the two will remain friends like I don't think that Aaron pushed Robert Sol out I think it was that was a woody johnson operation and I think it wasn't a result you know in in in large part of the fact that you know Robert wasn't what he's higher and woody never really warmed up to Robert Sol because it was his brother's higher while while he was the uk impression the ambassador of the uk is yeah so yeah so I think that that was a big piece of it and you know like as I said and I think I mentioned I may have mentioned this to you on text too like the um you know like the the the Kyle Shanahan pursuit of Jeff Ulbrich you know I think was a factor in in in the decision to go to Ulbrich here which that happened almost two years ago now um and at least changing woody's perception of Ulbrich as a potential future head coach um and I and I think you know it's going to be interesting to see where the team goes from here because you know you pull that lever and I don't think effort was ever an issue um I don't know you watch them really close Rich you don't think like effort was ever an issue from the players right no I know and certainly when I saw them in London um I did not get any sense of of Salah thinking his job was on the line I didn't get any sense of Rogers and Salah you know not getting along didn't get any sense of that at all but I guess I'll let you finish them where you think that this does put the Jets right now yeah I think what's interesting about it is there were a lot of questions in that locker room last week when this happened what exactly are we trying to accomplish here like what exactly is this going to do for us because generally when you see a coach get fired in mid-season it's one of a couple things either he's lost the locker room or the season is lost and you know you want to signal maybe to a head coaching candidate out there that your job's going to be available I don't think any of the conventional reasons for doing something like this really applied and on top of that you have a defense that was playing really well and not only are you losing the architect of the defense um in in in getting rid of Robert Salah but you're also now taking the play caller in in Jeff Ulbricht and stretching him thin right so you know you have to back fill that also and um they only have one guy on on their staff out other than Ulbricht who's been a defensive coordinator that's Marquand Manuel so um you know I think for the players in the team who loved Salah um I think that that was a big question was like what exactly is this going to accomplish and now you go out and you lose the first game and you're two and four and you're going into Pittsburgh on a Sunday night and I I think the Buffalo game was important this feels like a real like a a real like kind of inflection point for their season coming up doesn't it Rich like going into that Sunday night game like what do they look like how do they play does Todd Downing make a difference difference is the defense still playing well we have so many questions going into and and you know this Pittsburgh's a hornet's nest in a prime time environment you know and so I think it's going to be really interesting to see how they come out of that because of just I think where the player's mindset was over the last over the last uh seven or eight days Albert Breer here from Sports Illustrated and also Thursday Night Football on prime video right here on the Rich Eisen show um and listen uh Amari Cooper being acquired by the Bills I thought was smart I thought it was you know taking a good self-scout and understanding yes we do miss uh a presence on the field like Stefan Diggs and and Amari Cooper could be that um but I want to talk about Cooper from the Browns point of view here yeah because this looks like a white flag um and and right like that that um clearly this quarterback isn't the same Deshaun Watson that's that's as obvious as the plane is day everyone in the league is talking about it every single scout every single person that I talk to is wondering why in the world is Jamis Winston not even getting a sniff of a snap there and then you know the coach a two-time coach of the year in Kevin Stefanski keeps saying we've just got to play better around him we're not making any switch and you trade away your best receiver you know to the Buffalo Bills you send him just you know a few miles north like how is this not a white flag being raised let's just start with Amari because I do think that there are some like moving parts with that situation if you go back um he held out in the spring right and I guess you don't officially call it a hold out because that stuff's not mandatory but he but he stayed away in the spring um looking for an extension they came to a compromise at the be at the beginning of training camp which is one reason why he's so cheap now because they renegotiated turned a bunch of his money into a signing bonus gave him a raise now like his base salary is the minimum which is what made him attractive to Buffalo because they don't have very much cap space and one of the reasons why they were able to get a third round pick so after they do that with Amari in July then all of a sudden the pursuit of Brandon Ayew heats up and all of a sudden now Amari Cooper's name is part of a potential trade package going to San Francisco for Brandon Ayew and oh by the way like the contract part of it like they were willing to give Brandon Ayew a top of the market receiver contract like more than Amari Cooper was making the kind of contract that Amari Cooper was pursuing and you can say that Amari Cooper is older and isn't a long-term answer is number one and that's all true but if you're Amari Cooper and you see that that's gonna make you a little sideways isn't it like all right well wait a minute I just was looking for this the whole offseason you know I came to a compromise with them then I'm being discussed in a potential trade package and the guy coming in is going to get the contract I wanted you know so I think all of that I think all of that played in to the decision to move Amari Cooper when they did now that said I know other teams are going to look at this and say like let's let's make phone calls is Myles Garrett available is Denzel Ward available so that's what's going to be interesting about this you know from here on from here until November 5th is how do the Browns handle those phone calls right like because those phone calls now will come again it doesn't mean they're shopping Myles Garrett doesn't mean they're shopping Denzel Ward or Jedrick Wills or Jack Conklin or any of the other pieces on their team that would be valuable to somebody else but those calls will come and it's an interesting situation that puts them in with their ability to evaluate Deshaun Watson too over the course of the rest of the year. But what's to evaluate anymore Albert to be honest with you? I mean that's the thing it's like I think I think I think if it weren't for the contract he would probably be sitting right now I'm just saying that's just my opinion okay like I'm not no one told me that but I I think that I think if he if it weren't for the contract he would probably be that they would probably be on the verge of making a change right now the problem is they own 46 million dollars in 25 fully guaranteed they own 46 million dollars in 26 fully guaranteed and after this year I'm just talking about like in those two years there is a 172.77 million dollars in cap charges that they've got to deal with that is I mean we've talked about being in cap jail like this is like cap execution you know what I mean like this is I don't know how you would deal with that so I think the contract compels them to do everything they possibly can to make it work and you know there's part of this just knowing some people that have worked with him in the past how hard are they being on him are they are they telling him the truth you know are they getting after him like are they coaching him hard like I think those are all questions that are necessary now if you're talking about how do you salvage this then you've got to pull every lever and you know I know Bill O'Brien and that staff in Houston were able to get a lot out of Deshaun Watson because they built a level of trust with him to the point where they were able to coach him hard and they had a different person back then because it was pre all the off-field stuff right but if you're talking about finding a way to get the most out of Deshaun Watson I think you know it's sitting down with him and going through some hard truths and the hard truth right now is you know again if this was just based on performance I like I don't know if it's performance I like I don't know why you wouldn't go to Jamis Winston and at least give that a shot well then let's let's really brass tacks it here Albert and again I don't know how much comfortable you're you are and but let's just throw it out there because I'll tell you what I hear too um you know the fact that Flacco is not there the fact that the offense that um that Zefanski was running with Flacco and how it's different this year uh the fact that they don't run the quarterback as much as he used to have that part of his game all of that I've heard is ascribed to acceding to Deshaun Watson's wishes which kind of answers the question you said is he being coached hard and the problem with being coached hard is that lays it at the feet of a two-time defending or the actual defending coach of the year who is excellent at what he does he's excellent at what he does which makes you think there's a code red from somewhere else here yeah and so that's that's what I'm wondering how how is this fixable and then and and and Cooper gets sent away like he gets sent somewhere else that's kind of weird there'll be a coil there right and the coil and I think and I think that that's the hard thing is like how do you how exactly do you fix this and how do you get up like how do you get to how do you how do you sit down with him and have that hard conversation and tell him like this is not this is this is not acceptable like we can't let this keep going the way that it's going and I think the problem that Kevin's going to run into honestly Rich is like how do you keep selling this to your locker room your locker room doesn't care about his contract what was that your locker room doesn't care about the cap implications and 25 and 26 your locker room doesn't care about your three-year plan at the position or anything else your locker room cares about what is happening right now and you have guys that are playing through injuries Mitch Schwartz put this like I had a you know the old you know the old Chiefs and Browns tackle had a great tweet on this earlier in the week like god knows what some of these guys are playing through and doing to their bodies to keep going and like it looks to a lot of people on the outside like you've got one player who's on scholarship you know what I mean like and it's just like how do you keep selling that to your locker room if you're Kevin Stefanski and that's a difficult thing but again like it's on them to make this work now and if they're going to keep them out there they've got to prove to the rest of the team that this is the right thing for the team and not like the team over the next three years this is the right thing for the 2024 Cleveland Browns um otherwise I think you risk losing guys and uh you know I don't know how again I don't know exactly how they get there but I do know that I do know a lot about the formula that worked in Houston and a lot of the formula that worked in Houston was coaching him hard being tough on him and um and you know he really responded back then I mean it remains to be seen whether he'd respond the same way in Cleveland. Well the formula in Cleveland also involves Nick Chubb who thankfully it does appear he's coming back which is a great story and I hope it does lead to better times for for the the Browns uh before I let you go Albert what is going on with Pittsburgh um is is it really a chance that Russell Wilson can they can change quarterbacks midstream at four and two and uh and throw him out there on Sunday night is that is that a possibility? So so this is I mean and this is a decision that has not been made yet and I know I know some people there that feel like they're that Tomlin is going to take this thing you know to the end of the week and really take a hard look at it um I know I know a couple things I know that they feel like they're getting a like Tomlin said it himself like a good not great level of play at quarterback um and I think like I like just every indication every indication I've gotten is the the people in that building love Justin Fields coaches players there are a lot of folks in that facility that that do not want Mike Tomlin to go away from Justin Fields right now that feel like Fields is representative of what they are as a football team helps them in the running game no he's not perfect as a passer but he's doing plenty and he's going to keep getting better and he has improved week over week and that you know and I know like Arthur Smith in Tennessee was you know ran the reclamation project essentially of Ryan Tannehill they feel like they can do more with Fields than they were able to do with with Tannehill in Tennessee um I think the other piece of this is if you do stick with Justin is it over with Russell then you know and can you keep him on the team as the backup or are you better served giving yourself two shots at it and giving yourself a look at Russell Wilson and saying okay like let's see how this goes and if we put them out there maybe there's some sort of revelation that we didn't see coming and maybe we're able to get a little bit of a higher level of play out of the quarterback position and then if we need to if it's what we think it is then we can just go back to Justin but I do know like that there are there's there are a ton of people in that place right now that feel like Russell Wilson would limit them on offense in a way that Justin Fields does not which I think is a big part of the reason why so many people there just wish that Tomlin would stick with with uh with Fields. All right Albert I knew you would give us the two cents right there last one for you what is it like strolling around an owner's meeting on a day where Jerry Jones eviscerates the uh local um uh sports talk radio hosts who speak to him every single week basically threatens to replace them what's it like I hated that like that part of it I just don't I you know like it just kind of felt like punching down to me a little like which I hate to see that um it was funny though how um Jerry who never hesitates to to hold court at these things you've been at them rich um showed up for the noon start of the meeting at 11 59. So he had the plausible uh the plausible deniability of uh being hustled into the meeting like I really need to go so I thought that was an interesting piece of strategy and I'm not even kidding it was 11 59 when he walked through the door yeah and I also like I you know I don't want to do the chestnut checkers thing here but does this keep his team relevant in a certain way you know what I mean like the team was I just never put this I just I mean he's PT Barnum and you know that rich right like you know that he is I don't know man Barnum and like I just like there's part of me that's like I can't I can't rule that out you know what I mean like that this keeps the cowboys who are not playing very well right now it keeps them in the conversation I think I uh I don't know I guess though Albert it's it's it's just basically the questions that we had about the strategy of building this team for months now coming home to roost with a very mediocre um beginning yeah and uh in terms of um and it's only mediocre because of how well they've played on the road and at home at home it is it is the worst in the NFL you can't get any worse than I mean it's the starts like the last four games you go back yeah to and a lot of people are ascribing this to Mike Zimmer but like this actually began with the wildcard loss oh yeah to the Packers the way they came out of the gate for that one and then you know obviously the three games here the Ravens the Saints and the um who am I missing the Ravens the Saints and this and then the Lions the last lines yeah the lines and the lines yeah I mean it's it's a really bad trend and it's not like you're coming out and you're having like a bad you know five minutes to start the game or whatever it's like at halftime they're getting the tar beaten out of them and only in one of those games that they really come back you know is that that the game the game with the Ravens they were able to mount a comeback the rest of them they just kind of rolled over you know so um you know there's a very clear problem and I think the biggest issue now is for them like Demarcus Lawrence is out Micah Parsons is out um you have offensive line issues that I don't think really existed to this level previously the rookie left tackle hasn't played great um it's just it it's hard to see where the help is going to come from right now you know um because generally the Cowboys over the last I'd say since Parcells was there the last 15 to 20 years have been able to lean back on their talent because they've always had pretty good rosters and get themselves through these sorts of situations I don't know if that's the case based on what they're throwing out there and the injuries that they have Albert thanks for the time really appreciate it I always appreciate your insight and certainly now coming off the plane and giving us all that good stuff appreciate it man thanks and I appreciate your maturity and not bringing up anything about 12 men on the field no don't worry we're just ending this interview with a timeout in my pocket don't worry about it all right by the way by the way by the way I won't say I will say this I will say he brought it up don't give me that look I will I will say I will say this yes genius I Dan Lanning I full credit full point full credit genius it was genius but like I texted you and money manager to the stars Don Weir um as I texted you guys doesn't matter in this world now the two of you guys are most likely playing for the big 10 title and it's just going to be for the right to actually not play in the first week of the playoffs you know I asked I asked our mutual friend Kevin Clark about this he went through it with his team Miami when they struggled with getting tech and I just asked him flat out I said does it feel the same way because you know I mean this zero-sum game you went through it last year like the zero-sum game that we've all viewed college football through forever which is like if your team's in the national title hunt one loss could mean like the fall is canceled for you you know what I mean right and I was sort of curious if I would feel that tension and I 100% did during the game against Oregon and I 100% had that like hour of sulking after that I always have when they lose but then but then the next morning I woke up and it wasn't again it wasn't like fall was canceled anymore it was like oh it's like this isn't yeah so I am not the grump that I probably would be during the week after a loss yeah that I have been over the last couple decades he's more well-rounded and thanks to Amazon and Sports Illustrated well shot good to see Albert thanks for the time brother all right thanks right that's Albert Breer all right when we come back a surprise I wouldn't move if I were you I wouldn't it's not a threat it's a promise let's talk LinkedIn people and small business owning I'm a small business owner yeah I might host the Rich Eisen show but I run it too Rich Eisen productions is a small business and when you're hiring for small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role and that's why you've got to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help find the right professionals for your team faster and for free it's not just a job board this LinkedIn LinkedIn helps you hire professionals you can't find anywhere else even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role in a given month over 70 percent of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites so if you're not looking on LinkedIn you're looking in the wrong place LinkedIn knows that small business is wearing so many hats and might not have the time or resources to hire that's why you got to use them post your job for free at linkedin.com that's linkedin.com to post your job for free terms and conditions apply hey everybody let's talk about game time tickets if you haven't noticed basketball season's right around the corner and I'm really looking forward to seeing all the great action and now with game time's new feature game time picks it's even easier to see your favorite teams play live game time picks filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets and here in Los Angeles there's not one but two pro basketball teams with two different arenas so you need to see the view from your seat you also need to all in pricing feature I've been telling you about so you get to see your total up front with no surprise fees at checkout take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time picks download the game time app create an account and use my code eisen for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms apply visit game time.co for details again create an account redeem my code eisen for twenty dollars off download game time today what time is it game time there you are you're clapping oh he's sweating he's going to brown so he made it out of contestants well yes master key is the game this is going to take a while okay here we go oh popcorn machine oh I'll take that if you own that teacher by the way you got to bring in this popcorn machine if you win it yeah I want this popcorn 741 41 dollars it's not a 71 dollars 41 it's 41 that's one key that's one key grab the key get the middle key take the middle key there's five keys yes he takes the middle key oh he's not looking he takes the second to the right key look I didn't look right here's another key okay where's a basket 584 that's that's a 58 basket it's not an 84 basket no way what's in it oh well you gotta get what's in it too oh it's an 84 basket it's an 84 that's where I messed up I listened to it that's an 84 basket and listen to the people come on tj 84 oh he only has one key we need to find me oh my gosh come on tj it's an 84 dollar king master does it unlock the uh okay it does not coffee maker no coffee maker coffee maker okay he's gonna unlock the electric bike no don't no no no okay all right all right does it unlock the car oh my god does it unlock the car let's go does it unlock the car does it unlock the car he's turning the key I love that moment still one of my favorites back on the rich eyes and show back on one big happy simulcast family for those on radio you might not have heard this because we ended our roku show yesterday with me saying I just was hoping to see somebody like liz from our show come around the corner with flowers because carl anthony towns texted me um over the weekend after the cowboys got crushed please send me the studio's address and like I need to send tj some flowers on air lol well guess what that's so disrespectful oh no mike del tufo hit it there they are thank you appreciate that thank you liz thank you okay oh my goodness there are two very large large arrangements wow well one very large and one less so as you can see here you know tj don't worry we we can shoot this for you well this is okay so you can see uh there's a large green and white arrangement and a smaller blue arrangement and i don't know what that would mean if only there's a card that would explain oh wait a minute there is here it reads tj thinking of you fam no sunday was rough so send you some flowers 47 of them to be exact disrespect ps look at the difference between 47 and nine wow so as you know the lions beat the cowboys 47 to nine wow there are 47 eagle rose arranged flowers yes and then uh nine cowboy rose no range difference and notice the difference between 47 and nine carl anthony towns i mean ladies and gentlemen what an absolute legend i'm not i'm not applauding that i love this guy i'm not clapping for that next level troll next level troll from carl anthony he's seven foot tall that's all i know i can't teach that from jador le fleur right so you went french i mean well my question is why do you have my flowers though well i mean they're here in terms of being arranged don't worry for the rest of this show oh they're going over there already oh yeah arranged to set it up next to you for the rest of this program i want i want smile i mean oh don't worry i mean you're getting them yeah 47 47 to nine yeah so in case for the radio audience you might not be seeing the 47 much larger number way bigger than nine hello anthony towns next level trolling cowboys i don't know what you thought you were getting into when you started this beef with cat man my goodness start the beef my goodness that's the way we end hour one of this program whack how about that oh my god so uh i texted him this morning yes um you know omg just saw the arrangements and the note what a virtuoso troll job lam oh then we shake hands shout out tj soul is what he shouted out lol i mean it shall be stolen on live tv in short order why are you so obsessed with me bro so why are you so obsessed with me so good amazing is that your response so i can say uh what what what more can i say i mean no he's got you got one tj zero oh very nice i like this music wow i've seen i can't wait for after the worked up to the top of the building so i can toss them off oh come on those are beautiful beautiful look at this man i want to look at them whatever i choose and i might choose to you know dump them on the 405 47 47 there are actually 47 green and white you can go hand those out and these are not you can see the nine much easier nine nine blue ones you can give everyone a flower watch your studio address i need to send tj some flowers that is pretty that's uh i'm an expert level troller myself i've done i've been known to do some things but that is that is kind of next level it's called a plus plus yeah plus plus yeah i give it up for that carl anthony counts are my favorite you had me at hello carl well i got some work bingo all right phil we're recording now and please put your phone on silent oh where is my phone let's go man get it together over there player go ahead pick on me the way that you want to i would say that to my son just go all right why would people want to listen to the sims complete podcast a father-son dynamic duo talking about the game of football we do a lot of quarterback and coach talks it's fun i love doing this it's been awesome sims complete check us out on the believe network appreciate it just search believe b-l-e-a-v wherever you listen