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That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash listen and use code listen at checkout. Happy Halloween. This is the Rich Eisen Show. The stars are going to be the stars.
And here's the big one. Freddie Freeman coming through again. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Bueller got him swinging. World champs how's that sound Dave?
Oh my, world champion. Today's guests. Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Quarterback consultant Jordan Palmer.
Plus latest news and more. And now it's Rich Eisen. That's right hour number two. The Rich Eisen Show is on the air. It is a Halloween Thursday again.
All my guys are dressed up. Chris Brockman is a guy. Ed Harris from Westworld.
Jay Felley wants more cowbell. T.J. Jefferson again. Who are you again? I'm Jackson Heitzel, Mr. Randy Watson.
Very good. And I am dressed as an overtired father of three. That's who I am. Don't let that define you.
I don't mind being defined by that. As my right eye twitches. Sad Yankee fan? Very good. By the way, before we end the show today, I need some fantasy advice from you guys.
Sounds good. 844-204 Rich is the number to dial. We'll take your phone calls in this hour. Jordan Palmer, quarterback, consultant and expert will be joining us in hour number three on everything going on in the National Football League at that position. But joining us right now, we have not spoken to this gentleman since the combine after he smashed the record for fastest 40 yard dash and everybody thought, now that's a Kansas City chief.
And he actually became one. And he joins us now here as a member of the 7 0 chiefs getting set to take on the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. Xavier Worthy back on the program. How you doing, Xavier? Good.
How you doing? I'm sure you heard that, too, right at the combine. That's the Kansas City chief right there. Did they show their hand at all to you during the draft process?
Not at all. That was probably the team I heard less from. I heard more from other teams. I never really heard from the teams like that.
Okay. And then so on draft night, you're doing what, where and what happened on draft night? So on draft night, I'm in Austin, Texas, and he was in Westlake.
I did my draft party there. Really, if draft day was crazy, I had got a call that like 15, 16, I think it was the Colts hung up the phone in my face. It was a little crazy. But what happened?
The Colts called my phone on draft day and hung up the phone. You said hello. And then that was a click. There was a click. They said hello.
This is so and so was the Colts. And then from the call, they stopped talking and hung up. Wow. Are you sure there wasn't like a disconnection? Okay.
All right. And so then what happened, Xavier? In the night, night going on, end up getting a call from the Chiefs when they traded with Buffalo. I really originally didn't know they traded with Buffalo. So when it was on the clock, I'm seeing the call. I'm like, oh, this Buffalo.
And then I look at the thing. It said KC. I'm like, okay, this is the Chiefs.
All right. Exactly where I want to be. I imagine so, right? Two-time defending Super Bowl champ with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and Andy Reid as the head coach. Who was on the phone? Was it Brett Veach, the GM? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It was Veach.
Okay. And then you spoke to Andy? He passed the phone? Yeah, I spoke to Andy and then talked to Coach Nags for a little bit.
And then I seen the rest of the coaches when I got here. And then when did Mahomes reach out? He reached out and just said, let's go. That's all he told me. And then we spoke a little bit after that. So what was that like to get Patrick Mahomes saying, let's go, Xavier? Man, it's crazy.
Being a kid, you know what I'm saying? You see Pat doing all this stuff, doing all these crazy passes and then having the opportunity to play with him is just a different type of feeling. Just the guy he is outside of football, down to earth guy, willing to do a lot for you.
And on the field, he's just a different leader. He just gives you that boost just to do you on the field. Can you give me an example of how he, how does he handle the, if you will, rookie moments that you might be having, Xavier? How do those moments go down where he's talking to you about route running or where he's expecting you to be and things of that nature?
Right. I feel like the Dangler Pat is the key thing for me. He doesn't really treat me like a rookie. I feel like he just lets me know, like, you got to do this and this is what's expected. And I feel like that's why they had a lot of success here.
Just knowing what's expected and knowing the standard here is what everybody's instilled in them. Can you give me an example of what he does say to you then about the connection that he wants to have with you, Xavier? Man, he just tells me he needs me here and that's where I'm going to be. You mean like spatially on the field?
Is that what you're saying? He tells me he needs me in a certain area at this amount of yardage and that's where, that's basically how he talks to me, how he could talk to a vet, so. Okay. And so how does that land with you when he's saying this stuff?
I'm a rookie, so I'm just doing a hundred percent full speed. Okay. And so who else is in your ear, Xavier? Yeah, I got guys like D-Hop in the room now, leaders like that, Juju. So, and Juju has been a kind of a big one for me. He came and just told me a lot, taught me a lot in the game and I had Rasheed in Hollywood as well. Guys just told me about stuff in the league, what to expect.
Hollywood was like the big guy for me before he got hurt and just told me a lot of stuff and what to expect. He's a guy like me, speed factor to his game, so he helped me a lot as well. Okay, so Juju in particular, let's stop there. What has he been telling you, Xavier? Juju's been like the guy in the room to just let you know about defenses and the key things to really look at. That's why I call him Oak in the room. He's kind of like the old head. Yeah, so he just kind of gives me the key factor. He's been playing the game for a long time, so he understands and has a feel for the game.
Okay. And now, you mentioned D-Hop. DeAndre Hopkins is now in the wide receiver room. How did you receive him, Xavier Worthy? Man, just being able to play with one of the greats.
I feel like D-Hop's going to go down as one of the greats to play the game. So just having a feel for how he learns the game and how he sees the game is just going to be big for him going on in my career. Do you have any glimpse so far as to how he sees the game and how he's communicated that to you even though he's been there for a couple weeks? No, I'm still trying to figure it out.
Still trying to figure it out. Well, I got to tell you, just from my perspective, and I've told this to him, so I'll tell you, I never doubt, ever, when he catches a ball near a sideline or the back of the end zone, never doubt he gets both feet down. He's the absolute king of that. I don't know how he does that, but never, never, ever, ever, when I'm watching a game and an announcer will say, hey, let's check the replay, and I always sit there on the couch and I'm like, go ahead, check the replay, because I know he's got both feet down, you know?
Yeah. You know, I think that all the time when I see him, and have you, has he mentioned that to you? Have you asked him that? No, I said no. Now I'm going to really go ask him that.
Like, it goes to your head when you catch the ball and you're on the sideline. Oh, there you go. I'm pretty sure his key thing would say just throw your feet down, let your feet die. Let your feet down?
Why not? You're excellent at that. Xavier Worthy here on the Rich Eisen Show. So, what is a chief mentality to you? What is this culture that you've now been exposed to since your arrival there in April and gone through a training camp, and now seven victories out of your first seven games, Xavier?
Right. Just being selfless. Being willing to do the things that a lot of teams won't do. Making that block downfield. Just playing and winning football. And I feel like just being a family at that. I feel like just us being a family, that carries a long way with the chemistry as well, so just being willing to do the things that other teams want. How has Kelsey also imbued that in you, Xavier? Man, Kelsey, that's my dog, man. He made sure I was straight since day one.
Made me feel more comfortable coming into this building, so man, I can tell the family-hood was really good here. No kidding. By the way, it doesn't surprise me, but he made you feel like there was no rookie conversation or anything like that at all?
Nope. That's pretty amazing. What was the first night like for you? We haven't spoken since then. Two touchdowns, opening night, your first experience in Arrowhead with the whole place going crazy, whole country watching, Ravens in town. What was that like for you, Xavier Worthy?
Man, it was crazy. I feel like I came in with a chip on my shoulder just wanting to shock the world and show them the type of player I am, and I feel like I still have that kind of chip on my shoulder just to show everybody that a small receiver could come in and just do things that I could do as well. I feel like I just want to leave my stamp on the league. So you do wear that chip on your shoulder based on your stature, your actual physical stature, Xavier? Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. Why is that? Because I feel like I was doubted my whole life. Everybody told me I'm so small, you're not going to make it to college. Made it to college. Everybody says you're so small, you're not going to make it in the league.
He's going to get crushed in the league. And now I'm here and I'm doing what I'm doing. I feel like I just want to stay on the pedal and keep doing it. So you've been hearing that your whole life, and now here you are as a Kansas City chief at 7-0 getting ready for Monday Night Football, another Monday nighter for you. Obviously, you guys have already played one against the New Orleans Saints, this one again at home. So what are your goals for the rest of the year, Xavier?
Oh, man. I feel like all our goals here is just make it back to where we want to be. At the end of the day, I feel like the individual success will come with the team success.
So as long as the team does good, we're all going to do good. Okay. And are you trick-or-treating tonight? Is that anything happening for you on that front? No, I'm in the house, man. So what do you do when you're in the house? What do you do? I put on a movie.
Maybe. I ain't going to lie. It's not Christmas time, but I love Home Alone. That's my favorite movie. Home Alone.
Okay. Did you see the actor Macaulay Culkin? Did you see what his, you know, he's all grown up now.
The actor who plays Kevin, did you see his Instagram post as to who he is for Halloween? Xavier, did you see that? Can we pop that up? There he is.
Oh! Not bad, right? Come on, man. We got to get him over. We got to switch him over.
He does look like Burrow though, don't you think? A little bit. You got to give that up. So you watch Home Alone. How many times have you seen Home Alone? Oh, I can't even tell you. Really?
Can't even tell you. So what's your favorite part of the movie? When they're trying to break into the house, he's on the zip line and he cuts the zip line off, they fly into the house. Or when he poured oil on the stairs and they fell down the stairs. That's a pretty good one. You know, I like it when he makes the old time movie guy make it sound like he's actually physically there, you know? Yeah.
Right? That's a good one too. Xavier, thanks for the time. Appreciate it. Appreciated it back when you did it right after the combine.
And now, and if you don't mind, we're just going to keep checking in on you to see how you're doing. Yes, sir. Thank you.
You got it. That's Xavier Worthy of the Kansas City Chiefs getting set for a Monday Night Football right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Here we go.
Just remember being at the opener in Kansas City, you know, we were all there at the game. And the first time he touches the ball, your jaw drops because you're like, whoa. There he goes.
Wow, he's fast. And again, our favorite sports moments we talk about all the time is when you are looking for it and then it happens. Exactly. Or you're expecting it and then it occurs.
And then they do it a second time, right? He's got five touchdowns on the year, three in the year, two on the ground. That's why when you saw him at the combine, you're like, that's a Kansas City Chiefs. Literally, everybody's like, oh, the Chiefs are going to get him. Oh, and you're like, oh, he's going to be, you know, near the end of the first round and that's going to perfect slot for him. And that's where the Chiefs pick.
Oh, great. They get the fastest guy in the combine now. So do you think the Colts were on the clock and they were deciding between Latu and Worthy and somebody said get worthy on the phone?
Somebody does. And then the choice is made for Latu and they just hung up the phone on Xavier Worthy? I asked him like, are you sure there's no drop?
And he goes, no, absolutely. There was no phone drop. Here's what I think happened. I think the Colts wanted Latu, didn't expect him to drop, but they wanted Worthy on the phone in case Latu went a pick ahead of them or two picks ahead. But Chris, I've heard those and you've heard, we've all heard stories like that, that you want somebody and you're not expecting somebody and then you get that somebody. But I've never heard that you then get the other guy on the phone. They have them both on the phone. And then it's like, oh, he just went, oh, oh, he dropped us by Worthy? No, the reason why you get somebody on the phone again, I have had this explained to me multiple times.
Multiple times. Is if you get somebody on the phone before you draft them, it is to make sure they are alive. I'm serious. I'm not kidding you.
That they are a sentient, breathing human being on the planet, not hurt, not like you've just fell down the steps. Right. That's why you get the kid on the phone. But that's so insane. That's the truth, because I always ask those questions back in the day when we used to show players on the phone prior to being drafted in our draft coverage. And it would tip the pick.
Right. And that used to piss me as the host off because it's my job to set the drama, you know? And so you're now ruining the drama by just showing somebody on the phone. And then the NFL eventually picked up on that.
And now you're not allowed to show anybody in the green room or on the phone. We're not tipping picks with that visual anymore. So I would always ask prior to in the era when we would tip the pick that way, I'm like, why do they even ask that of Mooch and Mayock? I'm like, why are you even calling the guy? Why call the guy?
Just let him be drafted and then you talk to him. And it's just like, are you base? It's basically are you all right?
It's a wellness check. It is in the same way that, you know, I tweet out every Sunday. Tell them about that. Every every Sunday I tweet out, hey, it's week. So this Sunday morning I'll tweet out it's week nine people in bulk because this is when the bulk of the schedule is on a Sunday. I tweet that out every Sunday. That is that started years ago as a way for me to tell the producers of Game Day morning I'm awake because it's the crack of ass dawn out here.
Right. It's basically like a flair that I'm setting up. I'm here. So that's the way that you call these players to say I'm here. So it makes no sense that the Colts would have the kid on the phone with the other kid on the phone and then hang up on the one you're not drafting. That makes no sense unless whoever called him thought we're about to draft and I'm going to get him on the phone. And then somebody just screams across the way like, oh, right.
No, we're not taking it because a lot to end up dropping. And they didn't just go, you know, right. Oh, sorry. New phone. Who did?
What number? I don't know. But you could clearly see that Xavier Worthy is not in any way, shape or form forgetting that. Do they play the Colts this year? I mean, I want to say no, they do not. But it kind of the way that he responded to that, the way that he mentioned that it looks like he's got with the Colts his own personal. It'll get handled when it gets handled. Right. Right. They play the Colts next year. So keep that in your mind when they do play at Arrowhead next year. Oh, my goodness, could be the playoffs when Joe Flacco comes to town.
Yeah, it could be that. All right, we'll take a break. Speaking of Joe Flacco, he has spoken. The Colts have made this maneuver to Anthony Richardson and Salty Tua is back.
And I also have a top five list of the top five storylines halfway through the NFL season. That's still to come in your phone calls next 844-204-RICH. 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 apply.
Learn more at American Express dot com slash Amex Business. The Rich Eisen Show is sponsored by Grainger. Does this sound familiar? You're a maintenance specialist and you've been squaring off with a leaky radiator at your facility for hours.
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So whenever you want to talk shop, just reach out. Call, click Grainger dot com or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. He is here dressed head to toe, full on with the beard and the robe and everything, and the sandals. Will Ferrell dressed as, go ahead, tell the radio audience who you're dressed as today. Jesus. Courtesy of Spirit Costumes.
Made in China, and it's adult, and if you can focus in on the bottom here. One size fits most. One size fits most. One size fits most. So they're not really committing, are they? No.
They're not really committing. One size fits most. How does it fit you?
It looks like it fits. Pretty good. Pretty good. Yeah. Pretty good. And you've got a Dodger cap on as well.
So I want to support my Dodgers. I looked at the calendar, it didn't dawn on me until yesterday. Yeah.
That today is the 30th. It is that. I thought, God, the beard, a beard really puts me out of breath. I don't know why. You've got an intake, because it is up against the nose a little bit here.
There's only this much coverage. Yeah, I just see the eyes, right. But, boy, Jesus does love his Omega 3s. Look how shiny the beard. Anyway, my point is, my kids, we have a rule in the Ferrell household, the boys get to pick out my Halloween costume every year and have to wear it no matter what. Okay. So they had picked out Jesus.
I thought, day before Halloween, I've got to wear it for Rich on his show. Thank you. Yeah. Well, thank you, children. Thank you, children, for me.
So this is courtesy of Axel, Magnus, and Matthias. Okay. They thought it'd be fun.
Why did they? I don't know. Last year, I was a poop emoji. So you were on the gamut. One year, I was just a heavyset guy. Okay. I think I was Where's Waldo another year. Yeah.
So there's no rhyme or reason. Okay. Fun stuff. Whenever Will Ferrell has appeared on our program, check out all of his appearances on our YouTube channel. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger.
With supplies and solutions for every industry, Grainger has the right product for you. Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. All right. Let's go to John.
And speaking of Will Ferrell, San Diego, California. What's up, John? Happy Halloween, Rich. Thank you.
Chris, Mike, and JT. Yeah. And once again, I'm flying high with Dodger Blue. I can't believe. Can you believe the job that Walker Bueller did, Rich?
Hey, man. He just he was great. He was great. And, you know, he has been struggling to get back to his form. And he will go down as a Dodger World Series hero.
There's no question about it. Winning game three, saving game five. He looked terrific in the other series. He was great. John.
Yeah. He suffered all year. It was great.
I was just great to see him come through in the biggest. You know, they were talking and begin this. This kills me. They were talking at the beginning of the year. I mean, the pitching staff is devastated and they're talking about Davey getting fired. I mean, come on, guys. I mean, really? I also wish Vinnie could have been here. I really wish he could have been there.
One other thing I'd like to say, Rich, if I could. Yeah. I know you're a Yankee fan.
I know you're hurting. I know that the first game was so important. Sandy Koufax pitched three hundred and forty seven innings one year. He pitched the sixty five World Series against Minnesota. He missed the first game because of young Kimber. I mean, I love the guy. And then he pitches the seventh game of the World Series on two days rest.
OK, Boonie. He's OK, but he takes out Cole. He pitched any pitches, please. He gave up a single. Oh, man. I when he gave when he took when he took Cole out of that game in the first inning, I was just I mean, told Cole out of that first game when he did. And thanks for the call, John, I appreciate it. I just that was an easy second guess.
But the Dodgers, the Dodgers is better team. I mean, so I've got to tip your cap. And that's what we did to start this program. He wished everybody a happy Halloween, you know. And, you know, can I cape for something?
Sure, but it's the Rich Eisen show, bro. Cape for candy corn. What is wrong with you?
What do you what's wrong with me? It's literally the combination of all the grossest thing. No, it's not. I kind of dig it. I like it. What do you like about it? All of it.
I do like it. That's a nice combination of what? Simple sugars. It has no flavor. That's not true. It's not like a jelly bean.
It's not true. Which is all sugar, but has a flavor. Jelly bean is my all time favorite candy, but that's not really something you can give out for Halloween unless you put it in individual bags. And I'm not a and I'm not a Jelly Belly guy either. I'm a pectin jelly bean guy.
Those are the ones that we have in the back. Very, very particular about my jelly beans. But candy corn?
I don't mind it if it's put in the bag or the bucket. You've never had candy corn? But you know it's got a terrible reputation. Terrible reputation.
That's probably why I didn't try it. What's a hotter take? Do I like candy corn or I think Die Hard is not a Christmas movie?
What do you think? Liking candy corn. By the way, what happened to the wig? I mean we just saw Dodger Jesus in the break. I understand that. I thought I'd maybe portray his son. No, no, no. That's not what the costume is. You also took the wig off during the commercial break. Is it too hot for you? I'm not really a fan of hair. You know what I'm talking about. It's itchy. It's itchy then. I don't know.
Bald is beautiful. I understand that. I will return soon.
Okay, very good. We've got Jordan Palmer joining us in hour number three of this program. We summoned him, if you will, because my first blush thought after Anthony Richardson got benched was the long term conversation, not the short term about the Colts. Because the short term about the Colts is this team is going to be better and have a better chance to win games and make the playoffs and maybe make a little bit of hay in the playoffs with Joe Flacco. There's just no question that Flacco is a better quarterback than Anthony Richardson.
Neck up, he's got a decade plus of experience in between those temples. Anthony Richardson, just four games last year, half a season this year, only one full season in Florida, and he needs the reps. And that's the long term issue, the long term issue. The short term again, Flacco is the guy and Flacco had this to say after being named the starter for the foreseeable future. This doesn't have to be a negative thing. There's a lot of positives on his end that can come from this. Like I said, he's very young with a bright future, and there's plenty of guys that come into this league and don't play right away.
Now, I know this is a little bit different because it feels like you're getting something taken away from you. And like I said, if I was as young as he was, there's no chance I would have taken it the right way right off the bat. But I do really believe there's a lot of positives. I mean, look, there's a bunch of guys around the league that haven't played right as they come in the league or have gotten second or third chances as they've kind of matured and grown a little bit.
And I think there's a lot of advantages of being able to remove yourself a little bit and watch from a distance and learn and do those things. And I think that's probably not to talk for the Colts and Shane, but you would think that's part of the thought process, at least a little bit, is to try to help him out. Before I start digging in deeper about this, DeForest Buckner, who is definitely the, if you will, OG or what's the word Xavier Worthy used for Juju Smith's use? You called him an old head? Yeah, old head. Definitely one of the old heads, if you will, of the defensive side of the ball had this to say about the quarterback switch. I let AR know that, you know, despite the situation, you know, the guy's always got his back.
You know what I'm saying? And I was here for him and I just told him that you got to use this moment as a growth experience and continue to develop as a quarterback and a leader. And also, I mean, just don't let this moment define him as a, you know, as a player, as a person, you know, it's only, it's here for him to develop and, you know, and just, you know, it's going to help him shape into the person he's meant to be. Hey, you know, his teammates have his back, you know, which is obviously important. And Albert Breer said yesterday, the admission that he was tired and had to sit out of play because of it had nothing to do with this. It had, might've been the impetus to take a look at the situation a little tighter and closer, but it wasn't the reason why he was benched.
So on and so forth. But you just heard what Flacco had to say. And it's interesting that he's a guy who's been at both ends of this, if you will.
Although as he said, he wouldn't have taken it very well had he had it taken away from him. As a 22 year old, Flacco came into this league, having been drafted by the Baltimore Ravens out of Delaware. I remember seeing him on, on the, on the plane to Indianapolis flying a combine and we were on the same like commuter jet together. He was a first round 18th overall pick. And I think he was one of the first, if not the first, first round pick chosen of the John Harbaugh era.
They came in together cause Brian Billick had just gotten fired. Kyle Bowler was his quarterback there. And Flacco gets drafted and they throw him right in there. He started all 16 games for the Ravens that year. Boom.
Right off the bat. Let's see what his numbers were. 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions. They averaged 3000 yards, right? And the team went 11 and five and they made it to the conference championship game. Flacco won his first two playoff games at the dolphins, at the Titans. And then they lost at Pittsburgh. Then the next year Flacco and the Ravens made it to the divisional game after going nine and seven. And then in 2010, they made it to the divisional round. We all know at some point they made it to the super bowl and he was the MVP.
And because they didn't break through to that, there was a question as to, is he the guy or not? Remember they didn't sign him. And Steve Vachotti said, you want your money, earn it. And he showed up with the bag and he put it on the table and he said, fill it up. And he did. And at one point, Flacco was struggling to get him back there. And they decided to move into the first round and take a kid named Lamar Jackson. And lo and behold, half a season later, Flacco's time in Baltimore was over.
And he then becomes the journeyman to get these opportunities now for, in this case, because a 22 year old is struggling to figure it out. And the Colts made a decision that, I don't know if you read Jeff Howe wrote an article in the Athletic today, speaking to a lot of the dreaded unnamed team executives look out and nobody put their name to it. But most everybody's like, what are the Colts doing? What are they doing?
They were all like, why are you taking a kid that needs the reps and sitting him? Why are you doing that? Just because, so what? You make the playoffs, then what? Then what? So you're the seventh seed, you're the sixth seed.
Then what? You're going to go on a roll and make the Super Bowl. What are you going to, so you're the Colts, what are you going to do? You're going to go in a Buffalo, win that divisional round game. Then you're going to go on Arrowhead and win that game and go to the Super Bowl and win it all with Joe Flacco. Is that what you're going to do? Now everybody to a man in that locker room is probably like, yeah, that's what we can do.
They believe in it. Outside that locker room, everyone's like, listen, you've got a 22 year old that you drafted fourth overall. Unfortunately he got hurt last year and that year was a total waste. This is the year that you have to look everybody in the face, veteran or not, in the front office that might be saying we got to win now or not.
And basically say, this is Anthony Richardson's year. And if you don't like it, if you have a problem with him being up and down, well in this day and age of the NFL, when you draft somebody that doesn't have a lot of time in college and you put them in the pros, you got to give them the reps here because there's no place else for him to get it. If you want them to learn about not making that throw at the end of the first half that gives the other team a chance to get seven points right before halftime, you got to let them make that throw and learn from it. If you want to make sure he has to understand you cannot tap out because you were tired for one play, you got to let them tap out for one play and say that he's tired.
If you don't want him to keep running when the clock is running, instead of running out of bounds to save your team time at the expense of a few yards, if you don't want them to make that mistake, you got to let them make that mistake because where else is he going to make those mistakes and learn from it? There is no G league. There's no Europe league. There are a couple of spring leagues that we know the NFL is not going to take somebody that is drafted fourth overall. The Colts are not going to want to take that guy and send them to the rock and say, get them better. This is not going to do it.
I don't know what the answer is. That's why we're having Jordan Palmer on. How do you get somebody the experience by not letting him play? What as Joe Flacco said, can he learn? Can he get better from this happening when last year he had 13 games to watch?
Last year was the year that he could get better by watching. I suspect he wasn't around on game day. He wasn't on the field. He was. He was around towards the end of the season. He's rehabbing. I'm really curious to hear what Jordan has to say about this because I don't know what the answer is. I mean, is, is there is maybe, I don't know, cause they did have a league in Europe for a long time.
They did have that league in Europe for a long time. And I, I don't remember hearing somebody's star player get hurt, but you did hear about Kurt Warner showing up in 1999 with the proper amount of experience. You didn't hear about that.
The kid also has to be on board. I don't know how many fourth overall pick first round quarterbacks are going to humble themselves to say, yeah, I'll play in the UFL and get reps that I know I desperately need. I just don't.
I just don't see that happening. And Rich, I, I get what you're saying. And I've been saying this from the beginning of the season and Breier kind of touched on it. I understand he's your quarterback. You spent a high draft pick on him.
It's 52 other guys whose growth is getting stunted. Alec Pierce, Josh down, Michael Pittman Jr, the wide receivers. They could be getting better with Joe Flacco, but better than they would be with Anthony Richardson. I think you got to take the whole team into consideration.
Like you got guys that are playing for contracts, you know, they're trying to be great as well. And maybe they're getting held back by this one position. I understand the importance of the position, but I think you got to think of the other guys too. I'm sure they are.
I'm sure that's part of this reason. I don't know, you know, again what they're thinking was to actually sit him down. But the bottom line is, you know, those on the outside looking in saying, is this team going to go on a run with Joe Flacco or can this team make Anthony Richardson their next superstar quarterback who is a problem in the same way Lamar's a problem by running and throwing, in the same way that Jayden Daniels has shown up out of the box as a problem running and throwing, in the same way that name any quarterback who runs it and throws it as a problem. That guy could be that for them and he's not going to get to that position any faster based on this decision. And that is what is the general consensus, I think, of the league's viewpoint. Of course, the Colts, Chris Ballard might be like, I don't care what your viewpoint is.
We know what we're doing and just watch us try and win this division and then we'll spike the football on you guys. Job security thing too. You see someone like Mike Tomlin can all of a sudden bench Justin Fields when you're four and two because he knows he's not getting fired. I don't know if Steichen is feeling that or Chris Ballard is feeling that, but that also could be a factor in something like this.
Or they're able to make a decision like this because there's no threat of them being balanced. We've seen it now in Carolina, the first overall pick from last year's draft got benched and the fourth overall pick in last year's draft got benched. Are we going to let these guys play and fail and learn from it? And if you go one and 16, just make sure or two and 15, just make sure you haven't already traded your first round draft pick away so you can get better faster.
It's also true. You cash it in yourself instead of watching the Bears cash it in for a first overall pick who can actually show some improvement significantly and help you win now. It really is just fascinating to me and that's why we're going to have Jordan Palmer and we'll take a break when we come back, my top five storylines of the first half of the national football league season and Salty Tua has returned. Hey everybody, let's talk about game time tickets. If you haven't noticed basketball seasons right around the corner, and I'm really looking forward to seeing all the great action. And now at game times, 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.
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Restrictions apply. All you're going to do to get Jim Harbaugh to sparkle is have him talk about his offensive line and it led to the latest classic edition of the Harbaugh file. Sometimes people that are standing on third base think they hit a triple, but they didn't. It's been tremendous. I think both are playing at the highest level. I see Joe doing that and then some too.
I mean, baby face giant, you know, out there, uh, you know, getting, getting extra work, doing the work, um, and, you know, playing really, really good. So yeah, glad he's on our team, both pull it down, pull it in, or you could pull it down, like grab it and it's a win. It's a win or, or that way, no, just pulling it down. Grab that win and pull it in, you know, pull it that way.
Now they're both equal, kind of grab it, pull it down. I love that, man. They better keep winning.
Why? What do you mean they better keep winning? It's cute and funny when you're winning.
Okay. It's time to keep doing winning. They look different already. You could tell it.
You could tell it. There's they're a tougher team. You know, it's been gone to all the crazy fourth down decisions and all that crazy. We haven't had one of them yet, half a season already. It's gone. Keep winning.
I know he will, he will, he can do no wrong around here. Game time tickets, start buying tickets to anything in your area. Now we're focused more on a hoop season, hockey, and obviously football.
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Terms apply. Visit gametime.co for details. Again, create an account, redeem my code, R-I-C-H, you get $20 off. Download game time today. What time is it?
Game time. Oh, what was that? You're back to, did you drop that? No, that was on... Did you say I hit a boom? That was on beat.
That was on beat. You just gave me more Cabo. What time is it? Game time. I had no idea you were giving me more Cabo. Very good.
He's very interactive, Rich. Yes, indeed. All right, tonight, as we all know, week nine begins in the National Football League. Week nine begins. It used to be, you know, week nine, you're in the second half of the season. It used to be 16 weeks.
It was very easy math. Nope. Right. Now some teams have already played eight. Some teams have played seven. They're on buys. It's confusing.
Math is not usually on this test. So we're just going to call week nine still the midway point of the National Football League season, which I think it is for most 17 games, which means it's now time for my top five list of the first half of the season storylines in the National Football League. High five. One, two, three, four, five.
Richest top five. All right, you know, we always talk about season long storyline arcs. It's a week to week league, as we all know. But there are stories that we want to focus on the entire season.
See how it's playing out now. We're kind of at the midway point. So let's check in on some of them. And there are some that are surprises.
Number five on the list. Danger Russ appears to be back. Sure enough, took him six games to get over a calf injury that he suffered in the summer because he pushed a sled.
And yes, Jetson Giants aren't lighting up many scoreboards. They are a combined four and 12, but he did make sure they weren't six and 10 combined. He beat them both.
He beat them both in front of the whole country. And it wasn't like these were like one o'clock Eastern starts that you had to go find in your Octobox. These were all right there on your television screen, coast to coast, under the lights on NBC and the worldwide leader in sports, as they used to call. I don't know what they call him now. Why would ESPN give up on that phrase? It's the greatest phrase ever. I agree.
At any rate, beat the Jets, beat the Giants, looked really, really good doing it, moving around well, throwing a deep ball well, not turning the ball over except that one time he added peanut Tillman doubt. So Danger Russ appears to be back. Black and gold. Here we go. Number four.
Sure enough. Let's not pay him. Let's not pay these guys. Why are we paying these guys?
Because they're getting close to 30. We can draft one. Why to pay him?
Why pay him? Thanks to Saquon and Derrick Henry, number four in my first half season long storyline list. Running backs are impact free agents to ask the five and two Eagles how Saquon's fitting in and making impactful plays.
Ask the Ravens how Derrick Henry's fitting in for them. Come on now. Oh no, we can't pay them.
It's just going to cost only $2 million less than we're paying one wide receiver for a multiple year contract in the case of Derrick Henry. Come on now. Glad they've made their points very apparent midway through this season. This is something we've been pounding the table. This one right here about for quite some time. That's number four. Number three on this list.
It's simple. The all in Cowboys are all out disappointing in the first half. That's the all in going to look like, well, not good. You know, he's been all in Jerry Jones on 105 three, the fan he's been all in on those two guys. Although this past week he took a much sunnier disposition of like, Hey, we've got the right guys.
We're going to have a storybook ending. Maybe they will. And, and you know, they're not the only ones having disappointing first halves, obviously the two and six jets leap to mind going into Thursday night against the Texans, the Browns feeling good about themselves with Jamis Winston, having that very important start and win against the Ravens. They're two and six though. The Jaguars are patently disappointing just to name a few, but Dallas, we all thought they needed to supplement and instead they went all in and ain't working so far. And they're going to Atlanta, which would love to make an example of Dallas and put a pelt on their wall. And that's number three on this list.
Number two, first half season storyline. The Detroit lions are not Motown one hit wonders. If anybody thought, well, that was a nice flash in the pan last year, Dan Campbell and the lions last year, nice run you had there all the way to halftime of the NFC championship game. Nah, they are better. They are better.
They are deeper and that's even with Aidan Hutchinson now out. And I know there's a whole second half of the season to see how that will play out for their pass rush. But the Detroit lions are the clear best team in the NFC at the halfway point.
And they do not show any signs of weakness or slowing down. They have been fan tastic. They lost once to Tampa Bay in week two and they have beaten everybody and frequently beaten up everybody.
That stat that's out there is what? Teams that lose to Detroit have all lost the following week. Just played Detroit, right? The last five. You played Detroit. You played Detroit. It was the following week.
Had to tip Chris Long in the green light podcast. Right. OK. And then number one, the top storyline of the first half of the season.
The Chiefs three peat attempt is real, but not yet spectacular. OK. I know.
Well done. There's no pictures on the standings, though. I know that my home's out of, you know, at a rough October until the final game of October when he got in the end zone or threw it in the end zone. He had no touchdowns until he had a couple him and Travis Kelsey played their best game of the year. And they're getting better. But what they are is a seven and oh team that situationally wins the game.
Snap to snap quarter to quarter. They are going to if they're in a position to come back on you because they have struggled, they'll do it. If they are ahead and you're trying to come back on them and you're going down the field, they will stop you. They will make the plays they have. And anybody that's taken the cheese again, that they are looking beatable and thus will be ultimately beaten. I will push back and say, I don't think so.
And those are my top five first half. So sure. Why not? All right. We'll get one more. OK. Here's the one more. This is very simple.
One more. Yeah. Why not? It's not crazy. Very, very simple. Hey, illegal formation fans.
This one's for you. Are there fans of you clearly because the league is is addressing them through the zebras. They must have gone through some form of, you know, focus group.
And there are some people saying, you know what? Those left tackles are just not lined up properly. Those right tackles, those right guards aren't lined up properly. Those wide receivers are letting that guy be exposed and he needs to be covered up through week eight last season.
The grand total of illegal formation penalties accepted, declined and offsetting. At this point last season, 44, you want to guess how many are this year? At least double 90. I'll go 90.
T.J. Jefferson. What do you want to do? What do you want to go? What do you got? I'm going to go above 101.
What do you trust? The grand total of illegal formation penalties called this year is one hundred and ten. So way to serve that audience of illegal formation freaks out there. NFL officiating. Hey, let that flag fly.
Well done. And those are my top five NFL first half season storylines. Jordan Palmer coming up in our number three.
And your phone calls in a great power rankings coming up still here on Roku. Hundred and ten. That is just outrageous. Come on. I mean, we've made the point. We've made the point. And I think we need to drop it because there are some fun plays that are getting wiped out.
Yep. Fun plays are getting wiped out. And the number of those penalties that are mixed in with the appropriately call.
By the way, they may be breaking the rule of the law with illegal formation. But I think we just got to we just got to ease up a bit, because if you add this to all of the rightfully called holding penalties and illegal contacts and hands to the face and stuff like that, it just adds more. You're just adding more. And we're seeing more of Trey Blake than you're seeing of anybody else. Just I don't mean to call him out. By the way, he might be the official with the least amount of those calls. I don't know.
It's probably Hockley. But dude. And ladies, let's let's let's back off. Can we show I looked it up because it just appears to be a lot of them. Let's de-emphasize, shall we? All right.
A power rankings that Chris Brockman wants to bring to the table. Yes. Halloween. Halloween candy. Halloween candy. Halloween candy. Top 10.
Fantastic. I could just spoiler alert. There will be no candy corn on that list. There will be no candy corn.
You sure about that? It's an outrage. It's an outrage. Hour three coming up. Bingo. All right, Bill, 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? 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. And don't forget to leave BLEAV wherever you listen.
