Josh Alper: Great To See The Commanders Be Buyers

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That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash listen and use code listen at checkout. And now, sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. It is another hour of the program and it's great to have you with us coast to coast however you may be consuming today's audio only experience 844-204-7424. Conversation heating up on social media across many different spectrum of thoughts. You can give me your sports ideas only at B.W. Weber.

Weber with two B's. If you enjoyed the first hour, much of the similar dynamic here at hour number two. And if you like my approach in general, I realize it is subjective in our industry. Some folks like strawberry ice cream. Some like vanilla. I like both.

If you've seen me occasionally on television, always gluten free of course. I'm looking forward to being back in for Rich and the guys on Thanksgiving. But we have a lot more to get to in our upcoming two hours together with Rich and the gang making their way to Munich, Germany. Be sure to, of course, you listen to the program and watch the Emmy nominated simulcast everyday on the Roku channel.

But got to catch tomorrow's show as well as Friday. Rich live from Germany. They've got international once more as he did when he was in Great Britain calling the London games. I'm a domestic only broadcaster. Can't get into Canada. There was some issues when I was a youngster.

Can't outrun the Mounties when it comes to your criminal past. But straight ahead, I'm getting back to the college football because so much was laid out last night. Not only the actual data, take that for data, of the 12 teams that would be in the playoff if it began today.

Of course, we know it's not going to start today. That'd be odd on a Wednesday with four games left in the regular season. Plus the conference championship games. Oh, did you happen to think ahead now that we had even more realignment with the death of my beloved Pac-12 conference?

And Washington State is an amazing story. Jake Dickert holding that program together. They were ranked last night in the college football playoff.

They've only lost one game that was on the road at Boise State. If 15 different things happened and they went out, the Cougars could wind up in the playoff, which is the only upside that I see for the new bracket. And we're going to talk about the details coming up. But if you want more NFL conversation, do not worry. Forty minutes from now, in addition to going through the moves that stood out from a big picture standpoint yesterday with the passing of the NFL trade deadline.

Namely, the commanders proving the organization believes in this team. Expending real draft capital to pick up Marshawn Lattimore from the Saints. Z'Darius Smith not going to fill the void created by Aiden Hutchinson going down with that Grizzly leg injury.

Nobody can. But a good step to bolster the front seven because Detroit just cannot get to the quarterback. Talked about, and we saw it in high def on Monday night, the value of the Chiefs picking up DeAndre Hopkins. Mike Williams to the Steelers second tier impact, but certainly another reminder that Pittsburgh, as they tried, unless you think it was all leverage play. And it worked out that way for Brandon Iuco, though he's done for the rest of the year in San Francisco.

Going to talk about the Niners coming up to start the final hour of the program in just over 55 minutes with Christian McCaffrey at last returning to the practice field. But remember, Steelers were in on Iuke. At that point, it came down to Brandon trying to work out the deal in advance with whatever team he might be traded to. Remember, he didn't want to go to New England, understandably, but it's another sign that the Steelers continue to be well run. Williams doesn't change the overall profile, but that team just needs weapons in addition to Pickens.

And they're passing with a little bit more sink now that Russ has taken over the offense. So, coming up, 40 past the hour, 35 minutes from now, we'll go through the analysis of the trades and look ahead to Week 10. That starts tomorrow with Baltimore and Cincinnati when we're joined by Josh Alper, pro football talk in 15 minutes. Talking Cowboys, because there's things of consequence.

This is not just gratuitous. Hey, America's team, they're terrible. Let's discuss, namely, what possible explanation can be provided for giving up a fourth round pick to get Jonathan Mingo, of all people. And who's going to be the coach next year?

I think Mike McCarthy last until the end of this loss season. Now, the Dak's on the IR with the hamstring injury, mostly because of finances. Remember, if you ever have a question that has ambiguity, as most questions do, but if something seems to be not black and white, the answer to all your questions is money.

Just follow the money. At this point, Jerry Jones is going to save the remaining dollars and not pay Mike to go away because contracting ends at the end of the year. And Mike, at the podium 15 minutes ago in Dallas, acting contrite, you might have seen Mike with the frustration slamming the tablet in Atlanta. That loss produced so many memes, lip readers, and you didn't have to break it down like there's a brooder film. Dak Prescott, using words I can't use on the radio, started with an F to describe the situation that Dallas finds themselves in.

Mike addressing the media with a mea culpa today, quote, I'm embarrassed by it, his eruption, tossing that tablet. It's something that at my age, clearly, there's no excuse for. Okay, so if he wasn't over 60, it'd be fine. If you're 59, you can destroy stuff.

That's cool. But once you qualify for the early bird special, you have to have more composure. I'm Brian Weber in for rich eyes and talking college football in a moment and think about. And again, not a huge issue, although apparently we've seen it with Jerry only spending money when he has to. Namely, butchering the Dak Prescott contract negotiations time and time again. And you can take shots at Dak all you want.

Not his fault. He tweaked the hamstring and you could see it in real time after he hurt his hand earlier in the game and the loss of the Falcons. But I do love now the piling on that, oh, the highest paid player in all of football can't go. That is the nature of football. And the reason he has that status is because Jerry Jones doesn't know handle how to handle negotiations anymore.

Going all the way back to the tagging summer that we spent. Will dad get the tag or not? Will he now move forward with the long term contract? I don't have to go through all of the twists and turns, but Mike McCarthy cost Jerry what? A few hundred bucks?

What's a tablet go for these days? I want to give you the opportunity to be careful with your money. And we're going to talk some NBA coming up in the next hour because we have a glamour matchup. Although gentlemen, Brown won't play tonight. Steph Curry back for the Warriors as of the other day in our nation's capital. Warriors taking on the Celtics.

So with NBA talk on the agenda and a week filled with college basketball, it's no doubt that hoops is back officially in full swing. And speaking of saving you money and value. 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 and thousands of tickets.

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Again, create an account and redeem the code RICH for $20 off. Download Game Time today. What time is it? Game Time. As we approach 10 past the hour, let's talk college football. So, if you didn't watch the reveal, the unveiling of the official playoff rankings for the first time, that were up to 12 teams. And I'm not going to be more repetitive than normally, hopefully.

I have been with you on a variety of occasions. I'll go back to Labor Day. My stance hasn't changed heading into this college football season. And I'm more passionate about college sports than I am the NFL. I would have taken the 16th playoff as a compromise. 8 teams made sense. 12 teams was a radical jump. Too fast.

Too much too soon. But we know why it happened. Just to print more money. And the colleges, as an aside, are going to need it. If you've not been paying attention, revenue sharing is coming to big time college sports as soon as next year. With the settlement of the house case, teams are going to have roughly 20 to 25 million dollars to allocate. About 98% is going to go to football and men's basketball. So I can understand why these universities that have been overpaying mid-level employees like the associate athletic director for decades. Because of all the money that started flowing in due to the peak days of cable TV, everything's about to change. So I get it. These schools need the money. Think about all of the travel costs going on. I'll be regionally biased.

I'm here in Southern California. UCLA, not even the football team. Think about a team like the softball team that is a dynasty. They've won multiple national championships. Now they have to get on a plane and fly to Purdue for a regular season, three-game series.

None of this makes sense, but nothing's going to change. That train has left the station. So here we are with 12 teams as of now that have 8 of them coming out of the Big Ten in the SEC with undefeated Oregon leading the way. If you still care about the Heisman, Dylan Gabriel, now in his third school, going from Central Florida, Oklahoma, and now getting it done in Eugene, should be a finalist for the Heisman.

I'm going to continue to hammer this point just because I love the story. Ashton Gente of Boise State deserves the award this year. Cam Ward right there.

And Cam Ward is an incredible story as well. If you don't know his back story, he started his college career before winding up in Miami at incarnate word in Texas, then went to Washington State, and now he's balling out for a Miami team that, while they aren't defeated, if you've been paying attention, has had way too many close calls. I mean, just go back to that Virginia Tech game. I still don't understand how the ACC command center saw enough to overrule the call in the field that that was a miraculous touchdown. The Cal game had a crazy finish with a targeting penalty that wasn't called.

Seems like each week there's a near miss for Miami. Go back to the Duke game last week. That was tight around halftime and the Hurricanes pulled away, but Miami, undefeated, currently the projected ACC champ, and if you don't know the particulars of the new format, remember the five highest ranked conference champions get automatic bids. The top four of those conference champions, based on their ranking, get buys. They'll be the top four seeds. So as we start thinking about different combinations and they reveal that bracket, that's going to change many different times before we get to the final one that matters. I can understand a lot of casual fans being very intrigued by potential games like Ohio State ranked number two last night in the college football playoff rankings, number three in the AP poll, currently the five seed.

Now I feel like Jim Nance back in the day, hitting the field of 64. It's the five seed Mercer. The five seed Ohio State would host the game at the horseshoe late December.

Great atmospherics. I'd love to see a game in the snow. And it could be Ohio State against Boise State as currently set up. And we'd find out much more about Ashton Gente against a Buckeye defense filled with guys about to go to the NFL.

Nothing wrong with that. 6 versus 11 right now would be Texas against Bama. OK, now the question is, do you believe Bama is going to get there? I don't because I see Alabama losing on the road at LSU coming up on Saturday. Three losses even in the SEC should be disqualifying, although the SEC gets whatever they want. Because another reason why this playoff makes so little sense right now is the SEC, despite the expansion and adding Texas and Oklahoma, did not expand their regular season schedule. They're still playing eight conference games, meaning not only do they get the patsy that everybody plays early on, before heading into conference play, they get another one in November. Why? Through the SEC.

They can do whatever they want to. But I do find it very intriguing. And again, this is me being a bit of a college football wonky nerd. With the divisions going away, think about all of the different paths we could have to the respective conference championship games. The SEC in August put out a memo over 25 pages long going through all of the different tie-breaking scenarios. So, if you like chaos, which I have enjoyed, yeah, I'm the joker of college football, and it was a lot more entertaining when we had a 14 bracket because I did care, not on a visceral level, but for the sake of conversation, not fake debate.

And I'm Brian Weber. On my soapbox, InfraRich, 844204, 7424, NFL coming up in less than 10 minutes talking the future of the Dallas Cowboys, and we'll back that up coming up at 40 past the hour. When we have more reaction to the fallout from the trade deadline passing yesterday, we will take you round the league with Josh Alpert, Pro Football Talk. But it's going to be fascinating to see all of the different elements at play for these conference tie-breakers just to get into the conference championship game. And look, I know divisions were flawed because you didn't have enough crossover opportunities, but at least there was some clarity heading into that championship weekend. Now, it's going to be absolutely wild. So, if you want to say that the whole point of this exercise is to generate more buzz, I can buy that to a degree, but I can also push back saying the 12-team format has diluted the meaning of the regular season.

What do I mean by that? Okay, Oregon-Ohio State, absolutely terrific game. Arguably the game of the year, just in terms of drama, Ohio State certainly not helping itself with lousy clock management in the final minute of the game. But remember, that's a one-point loss at one of the most difficult venues to play in all of college football at Hudson Stadium. I know I've done games there.

It is a cauldron. So, let's just say that things play out based on the rankings. So, Ohio State handles their business. The Michigan game might not even be something to consider this year, given the woes of the Wolverines coming off their national championship run last year. Ryan Day certainly needs to win that game, as he needed to win Penn State. Although, why not have confidence if you're a Buckeye fan of what happened on Saturday, because you were facing big game James Franklin. For all the talk about the revamped Penn State offense, how'd that look?

What creative play calling did you see inside the five, four cracks right around the goal line, then you throw to the back of the end zone makes absolutely no sense. But let's say Oregon-Ohio State win out, Oregon a four-touchdown favorite at home against Maryland on Saturday. Ohio State's most interesting game in the interim prior to the Big Ten title game will be against undefeated. Let's hope they're still undefeated just for the allure of the matchup.

Indiana coming up in a couple weeks. Ohio State-Oregon could play the rematch of that thrilling game we saw in Eugene in the Big Ten championship game, and then we could see them again in the playoff. I don't want to see the same two teams play three times in a year.

Why? That's called professional football. That's what happens in the NFL. I want college football not to be a carbon copy. I'll give you another contemporary reference.

Not a mimeograph. I don't want to take a picture and put it on the gram and have it line up directly with the NFL. And I realize I'm in the tiny majority here. But this committee and those involved with the propaganda getting the word out have to do a better job of explaining the playoff. I'm trying my best to put it in plain spoken English because just gauging by social media last night, a lot of people still don't understand the difference between the rankings I've been going through and the seating. So, for example, undefeated BYU, one of the best stories in the nation. Kalani Satake's team was picked to finish 13th in the preseason Big 12 poll. The pushback could be, yeah, they had a miracle win over Oklahoma State.

Who have they played? Well, they do have the quality win over SMU, handing the Mustangs their only loss. BYU only ranked number nine in the nation. If you're a Cougar fan, you should feel disrespected. But I understand why that's the case.

Who would you take out in front of them? Because I can't move Indiana past them. Hoosiers at number eight in the country in the official rankings that came out last night. They play in a much more demanding conference. And I understand the Hoosiers haven't played anybody. Their biggest area of concern is the lousy strength of schedule that will be addressed starting this week against Michigan and more to the point next week against Ohio State. And I saw people freaking out, looking at BYU as a four seed, getting a bye, not understanding why, because they don't even have a firm grasp on this new format. So, I will dial down my normal soliloquies on a big word Wednesday.

The customer is never wrong. More football is typically a better thing. Although, I think the NFL would be better without Thursday Night Football.

That's pretty candid. Games typically are lousy. Understandably so, beyond the quality of the matchup, because these guys are beat up. They've been in a car wreck all day Sunday. By the time you get to Thursday, their body is barely recovered. Still, that's never going away. The NFL is going to do their best to fill in every weeknight that they can in a rational fashion, because they're printing money with the TV revenue.

But sometimes, and this is going to be counterintuitive, more is not more. I don't think this 12 team playoff is a positive development, and it just speaks to the greed that has fundamentally changed college football, destroying the regional rivals that had existed for decades. Now, indirectly, we do get BYU-Utah again coming up later this week.

The Holy War, one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. Still, where we're at now is not a better spot than we were even a year ago, and I realize I am largely yelling into clouds, talking to myself. Not because of the strength of this platform, and I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen. You could consume this show in a variety of ways, and I take the responsibility seriously, hopefully, as that's coming through.

Pick up the phone, 844-204-7424. X me, B.W. Weber, Weber with two B's. Less than 20 minutes from now, we take you across the NFL with our first guest of the program. That's Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com.

Straight ahead, and I will make this a brief segment, because again, I was opining heavily. Plus, the Cowboys don't deserve much more airtime than what I'm going to do in our immediate future. Let's get into Dallas' curious decision-making. Why did they trade for Jonathan Mingo yesterday?

Who's going to be the coach in Big D next season? All that and more coming up on a very active Wednesday. Always a blast to keep the chair warm for Mr. Eisen. I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich, here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk LinkedIn, people, and small business owning. I'm a small business owner, yeah.

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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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Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show Radio Network. I'm Brian Weber and I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you. Call, click Grainger dot com, or just stop by.

844-204-7424 is the phone number. You can have at it on social media. Hit me up on the X platform. That is B.W. Weber. Weber with two B's. We'll handle football in the state of Texas with some brevity because coming up in less than 15 minutes, we'll check in with our first guest of the day.

Only two over the course of three hours because I am just that fascinating and I want to give you multiple opportunities to get interactive. We will talk NFL with Josh Alper, pro football talk dot com. Mentioned before we stepped aside that I'm going to focus on the Dallas Cowboys, but let's have a bigger view of football in the Lone Star State because when I was going through the fallout from the passage of yesterday's trade deadline, it's not like legislation, but it passed. It came and went, as we always say in sports casting. I was a little bit puzzled that the Texans didn't do anything primarily to address their battered offensive line.

C.J. Stroud had a rookie year for the ages last year. It was going to be difficult to match those record-setting numbers this year, but he just has no chance because that offensive line is a disaster. So, thought that Houston might address that, they didn't. A lot of speculation that the Texans would look for a wide receiver in the wake of Staphon Diggs going down with the torn ACL after all they did to get him and come up with a new contract.

I understand the thought process. It was a big swing by Nick Cassario, but because of the injury reality in the NFL, it came up empty with Staphon done for the rest of the year with the torn ACL. Good news, though, on the injury front as I track Aaron Wilson, who's covered the Texans for a long time. Houston-based football journalist used to work for the Houston Chronicle. Now, wide receiver one, Nico Collins, passing all the tests for mobility, etc., coming back from his hamstring injury could be designated to return as soon as what is a very spicy Sunday night game, Sunday Night Football, the number one show in all of television, not only because of the power of the shield, but the matchups are always highly appealing, especially with the ability to flex now that we've gotten deeper into the season. It is Houston trying to bounce back from a wobbly performance against the Jets last time. We saw them on Thursday night against the red-hot Detroit Lions, winners of six straight. Remember, their only loss came to the Bucks. Bucks, as we saw again on Monday night, a gritty bunch, Baker Mayfield, despite all the injuries.

He's got spunk, but as Lou Grant reminded us, I hate spunk. As for the Cowboys, and this worked out perfectly, because I don't want to be, especially as the guest host, the predictable guy filling in for the established marquee name like Mr. Eisen, or the other programs I'm lucky to fill in on, going back to Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk when we worked together at the late, great NBC Sports Radio. I don't want to just spoon-feed it to you or feel like I'm desperate for phone calls. I give out the number like a carnival barker because I'm a radio guy, and secondly, I'm open to talking to you, but I realize my style is not for everyone.

That's why I'm a filling host, not the full-time guy. I don't want to talk cowboy football just because somehow it's an FCC mandate, but I do find the morass that the Cowboys are in now to be fascinating on a lot of levels. So let's do it quickly. We went through the moves of note yesterday with the deadline passing, and the moves I thought were most impactful, like Laddamore to Washington, like Smith talking Zadarius to Detroit. Go back to Casey picking up DeAndre Hopkins. I have no earthly idea other than Jerry Jones has anointed himself as a decision maker why the Cowboys not only went out and got Jonathan Mingo.

I'm not going to bore you with data-driven analysis. He's mid, as you kids say. Why do you go out and get Mingo? I know C.D. Lambs banged up, but C.D.

is a gamer, and he didn't have to do this. He got paid, but these guys are warriors. He's saying all the right things about being on the field, and they're desperately going to need everything they can get out of their playmaker, taking on the Resurgent Eagles who won four straight on Sunday with Cooper Rush taking over for Dak out with a hamstring injury. But if you're going to target a wideout, why does Mingo seem appealing and why you're giving up a fourth-round pick for him after all you got for Amari Cooper, going back to giving up a first-rounder to get Amari from the Raiders. I got a fifth-round pick. I'm Jerry Jones. I got a fifth-round pick.

I'm very excited for Amari Cooper. Why did Jerry give up a fourth-round pick, and what's the motivation? I know that there's player control with the contract for a few more years, and Mingo's affordable, but just another baffling move. That speaks to the utter dysfunction of the Cowboys.

So it's a foregone conclusion. Mike McCarthy is dead man walking. Already saw Dennis Allen get whacked on Monday. Who is going to be the next head coach of the Cowboys? He's going to be somebody that Jerry can't control, because that's who it's been other than Jimmy Johnson and the role that Bill Parcells played in Dallas. Everybody else, for lack of a better word, has been a stooge, even an Ivy League-educated stooge, like Jason Garrett, who's always grinning at us on Sunday nights inside that NBC studio. He's happy to be there.

He's grinning when he's calling Monday Night Football. Are you buying Deion Sanders to Dallas? Now, Deion, I think, is going to the NFL for the obvious reason that he has turned things around in Colorado.

If you're not paying attention, the Buff's having a very solid year. He's never going to be more attractive as a hire. And then secondly, Chidori's son is going to be a top-five pick, and I think, forget about a package deal. I would be shocked, although Deion has surprised me in the past. This is not LeBron and Bronny.

It's not going to be that engineered and choreographed. But Deion is a shrewd businessman. His brand is as good as it's going to be, even if Colorado implodes down the stretch. Would you buy Deion to Dallas? I think Deion would do it because, let's just talk about the actuarial table. Jerry, in his early 80s, I think Deion figures I get a four- or five-year deal. I could outlast the old man. We'll talk more Cowboy Football as we move along. And we'll do it in the amount of time they deserve, which was just a handful of minutes there.

You can throw me your thoughts on the X platform. It's B.W. Weber, Weber with two Bs, straight ahead. We'll keep the NFL momentum going. And I just mentioned the clear lack of job security that Mike McCarthy has in Dallas. How much trouble is Matt Eberfluse in?

I love saying that name. Eberfluse in or out in Chicago? Moving forward, we'll find out when we check in with Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. That is straight ahead. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich.

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That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash listen and use code listen at checkout. Brian Weber back with you. And for Rich Eisen, Mr. Eisen back with you tomorrow. Do not miss the simulcast live from Munich, Germany in advance of Rich being in the booth on Sunday for the latest international game, Giants and Panthers. I assure you Rich's play-by-play will be superior to what's potentially going to happen on the field. Let's talk more NFL with an old friend, Josh Alper.

Be sure to check out his great work at ProFootballTalk.com. Josh, busy day yesterday with the trade deadline passing. How are you doing? Doing well.

I'm glad to hear it and I'm glad you're available too. Give us your thoughts on what happened yesterday. So we had a handful of moves involving contending teams that seem significant. If I put you on the spot, which ones do you think will have the biggest impact for the stretch run? Well, I think if Marshawn Lattimore is healthy, that fills a huge need for the commanders who, you know, we've seen their offense. They can score points, but I think their defensive backfield is something that sort of seems to set them up to be a team that would make the playoffs and kind of be happy to be there. I think Lattimore can change that. I think that that's something that has the real opportunity to lift that team's floor this year. But, you know, it's been a while since he's been able to stay healthy for an entire season. So it's a big risk and they paid a nice sum to get him. But I think it was worth it and I think it was just great to see Washington as a buyer after so many years in the wilderness.

Well said and obviously it speaks to a leadership change as well after the reign of terror that Dan Snyder had in our nation's capital. How about the Lions picking up Zaria Smith? Now clearly no one can replace Aidan Hutchinson and I do like the reports that Aidan potentially could come back if the Lions reach the Super Bowl, but their ineffective pass rush has been so glaring that felt like an obvious need. When you throw Smith in the mix, Josh, would you buy the argument that Detroit has established itself as having the most complete team in football?

I thought they were already there, to be totally honest with you. I think to this point in the season I don't know what argument you could make for a better team than the Lions. And Smith, absolutely, it was the glaring spot where they were missing something. And when you plug in a veteran pro like that, as you said, he's not Aidan Hutchinson.

He's not going to impact games the same way that Aidan Hutchinson did. But if they can play that same improved defense on the back end, all those new corners they brought in, and Brian Branch playing at such a high level, and get that pass rush going at all, it does add another dimension to the team. And I think for the bigger picture, for winning the playoffs, going to the Super Bowl, winning the Super Bowl was a necessary move for them for sure.

I'm Brian Weber, in for Rich Eisen, we're taking you across the NFL with Josh Alper, Pro Football Talk. Josh, if we had a casual fan scanning the dial, and they're listening to us talk about the most complete team in all of football, and we're not talking about the Kansas City Chiefs, I can understand that notion. Now if you're not watching the games you would say, wait a minute, they've gone back to back, they have a chance to be the first team to have a three-peat of Super Bowl champs, they're still undefeated.

Now you and I know they could have several losses right now, when you watch Kansas City play, what do you see? I see a team that is going to be scary in January and February, which is just what they want it to be. And the fact that they can win games while figuring stuff out now, just builds a cushion that if they were to suffer an injury or two, if they need to start thinking about load management for some players down the stretch, they can do that. They've added so much depth. We didn't even mention them on Deadline because obviously they made their trades a little earlier, but to add DeAndre Hopkins and Kareem Hunt and Josh Uche and those players of that caliber to a team that is a back-to-back Super Bowl champion and was already undefeated, they suffer these injuries and someone else always steps up, someone else always plays a big role. You know, Isaiah Pacheco could be back, they could get some of these other players back in the near future. And it just seems like, sometimes it seems like they're a little bit bored and just getting there, you know. And then there are other times where it just seems like, who could you possibly pick against them because everything goes wrong and they still win the game at the end of the day. Yeah, we talked about it last year when they were mediocre in terms of the record, the notion that they were playing with their food.

If there was a switch to be found, they found it. Now you flip it this year, still undefeated. I'm Brian Weber. This is the Rich Eisen Show. We're talking NFL with Josh Alper, Pro Football Talk. Josh, immediately preceding you joining us, I talked about the Cowboys briefly.

I don't want to beat up on them anymore because they're borderline irrelevant now and I think it's only become more dire with Dak on the IR with the hamstring injury. But since we're going through the deals that came together yesterday, what did you make of Dallas picking up Jonathan Mingo and being willing to give up a fourth round pick for him? I was surprised.

I was surprised by it. I assume that that's a player they really like coming out of Ole Miss and saw an opportunity. I mean, you don't want to say by low because they did give up a pretty good pick for him. But a chance to acquire a player who a year ago went in the second round of the draft and is someone who fills a position of need for the Cowboys. If not this year, it gives you someone to start the process with for next year who can be a part of an offense that is part of a team that could contend. This one's not going to. But in a forward thinking way, I kind of appreciate the move.

But it does seem like a lot to give up when you maybe could take a flyer on a fourth round receiver who could do what Jonathan Mingo does. Cowboys continue to work in mysterious ways. So it's a foregone conclusion. Mike McCarthy is going to be pushed out at the end of the year. We saw Dennis Allen get fired on Monday. Josh, what's your view of what's going on in Chicago with Matt Eberfluse?

He had that weird scene with D.J. Moore walking off the field on Sunday and it feels like the vibe is getting more contentious. Yeah, that Hail Mary play felt like the end of the Matt Eberfluse era, even if he coaches out the rest of this season. To have that play unfold like that, to have an offensive lineman fumble on the one yard line rather than just punch it in with the running back. You paid a lot for in three agencies this offseason to give up 15 yards on the play before the Hail Mary when there was absolutely no reason to do that. It felt like this cascade of errors that is going to be too much for him to overcome when the team has already been a little bit less than I think we thought it would be coming out of the gate, at least offensively. And then to follow it up with just a complete dud in Arizona last week and the D.J. Moore walking off the field in the middle of a play and for him to say in the press conference, I don't know what happened. You don't want your head coach saying, I don't know, ever.

And it just sort of felt like this is that and they're going to move on and it'll be someone else with Caleb next year and really hope that that jump starts things. Josh Alper, ProFootballTalk.com is our guest here on the Rich Eisen Show. Well, I was talking about vibes and dynamics and the good ones in Cleveland quickly ended with Jameis Winston looking like himself again, losing to the Chargers. Josh, should we be talking more about what Jim Harbaugh is doing again now the Bolts are five and three? Yeah, I mean, I think we're going to be I think we're going to be especially if Justin Herbert, you know, looks back to the you know, he was unhealthy in the start of the season, had that ankle issue.

He has looked very good the last couple of weeks. And, you know, Quinton Johnson, who everyone wrote off as a bus last year, looks like a real playmaker at receiver. J.K. Dobbins and a defense that's hard nosed and playing in the manner of a Jim Harbaugh team. And, you know, this is a, you know, they for the last two, three years were synonymous with bad coaching. And you see the difference that a good coach can make. And I think they're a real a real threat in the AFC outside of the fact that, you know, I don't think they can catch the Chiefs.

And so, therefore, are going to have to do everything on the road in the playoffs. Josh, always a pleasure. I appreciate the insights and as important your availability, whatever I'm filling in for Rich or the other shows I contribute to. Thanks very much and looking forward to chatting with you again later in the month.

Have a good one, Brian. Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com, part of Mike Florio's media empire. Be sure to check out all of the comings and goings across the NFL Pro Football Talk, I'm sure.

I'm going to presume if you're hanging with me as the fill in hack, more importantly, listen to Rich every day and checking out the dynamic simulcast returning tomorrow with Rich in Germany. Not only is David Hasselhoff huge in Germany, Rich Eisen live from Munich, getting set to call that game between the Giants and the Panthers. Now, if I was a cynic, I would say we should leave the Giants and the Panthers there. But I would not say that because I'll be watching the game like the rest of you. Nothing better than waking up on a Sunday, whatever time zone you're in, and there's a game already going and it's midway through the third quarter. Now, I'm giving you the West Coast perspective because I'm not getting up at 6.30 to check out Big Blue against Bryce Young and company. But it is the latest reflection of the international dominance that's growing across the NFL sphere of influence.

And happy for Rich that he gets to call another high profile game because that's a standalone game. You've got the whole world literally watching in terms of Harbaugh and Josh Laid Out. And I don't care about fantasy football anymore because I don't have to.

I used to get paid to host those unwatchable shows. Even I know, because it's my job after all, the amazing ratio for Quinton Johnston. He has played in six games. He scored four touchdowns. Now, he was wide open for his latest TD on Sunday, in part because the Browns don't know what they're doing defensively, but he slipped behind the secondary. And why not consider the Chargers a real threat to be a wild card team?

Nobody's touching Kansas City, not only in that division, but AFC wide. Although Bill's KC next week, very interesting, and Rich will break that down in detail. But Harbaugh, for all of his quirks, for all of his intensity, and I know who I'm filling in for. And I know the alma mater of Mr. Eisen, so I'm not going to talk about counters, stallions, etc.

What's the old line? All he does is win, win, win, no matter what, what, what. That's Jim Harbaugh going back to the University of San Diego.

If you care, I used to be a bright kid. I went to a school in Palo Alto that Harbaugh changed everything surrounding, built them into a brief football power. You know about what he did winning the national championship last year at his alma mater. And the 49ers were dynamic when he was the head coach. Coming up, we'll talk about the Niners presently.

Will Christian McCaffrey's return be enough to jumpstart their season? As we power our way into the final hour of the program, I'm Brian Weber and for Rich, I'm the Rich Eisen Show. That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash listen and use code listen at checkout.