Rich's NFL Power Rankings Heading Into Week 11

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Learn more at AmericanExpress.com slash Amex Business. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Quick release down for Klay Thompson and a timeout by Steve Kerr. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

That stadium was built to feel like it's outdoors when you're indoors. The Rich Eisen Show. Today's guests. Senior Writer for The Athletic, Kevin Fishbane. Fox Sports College Football Insider, Bruce Feldman. Basketball Hall of Famer, Shaquille O'Neal. Actor, Ronny Chang. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Can confirm I'm here. You're there. It's the Rich Eisen Show right here on the Roku Sports Channel. And in honor of that, I'm wearing purple.

Hey, 844204 Rich is the number to dial here on this program. We're four wide on guests. We are also chock full of our usual staples. It's a Wednesday, so I've got my power rankings. But because I wasn't here on Monday, we did the overreaction Monday podcast on Tuesday.

So today it's overreaction Monday, Tuesday on a Wednesday. Hey now. That's how we're working it. Let's do it. And as I mentioned, four guests and you, 844204 Rich number to dial. Good to see you, Chris Brockman. How are you, sir? Hey Rich, I'm great. What's up, man?

DJ Mikey Diaz and Deez Nuts. Good to see you. Good morning, Rich. And in honor of NBA Cup, we've redone our floor. Oh, I'm sorry. That's just the set position of TJ Jefferson that's completely filled with balloons and flowers from Carl Anthony Towns. We've got to zoom back out so we can see all the balloons. No, no. He removed the other flowers. Oh, come on. And your balloons.

Look, that was that was that was a call from the back to to take the shot back. Oh, no, no, no, no. Nothing to do with me. I don't know. I don't know what to do with me.

You know, I don't got no control or nothing over here. That's not true. That's not true.

That's not true at all. Good to see you over there, though, TJ. I can't. Good to see you. Good to see you. Hold on a minute.

I can't see. Oh, yeah. Hey. Hey. Hey. There you is.

Hey, everyone. I'm still jet lag. Really? I feel you. I was like that last night.

Please. Still jet lagged. But but fresh back from Munich, having seen the Carolina Panthers win their second game in a row. And guess who's two and one since since his benching?

Bryce Young. Yeah, buddy. And so he he he looks more confident.

Obviously, winning helps, but he's definitely getting getting his personality out there. You know, feeling it. Germany's hottest team.

Germany's hottest team. The Carolina Panthers. And so, you know, let's see what happens now that Anthony Richardson back because after we heard yesterday it was going to be Joe Flacco for a third straight time. And again, that was the foreseeable future. How long he was supposed to be the the starter in Indianapolis, having benched Anthony Richardson a couple of weeks ago.

Well, the foreseeable future is now ended. And it is Anthony Richardson back under center for the Indianapolis Colts. Shane Steichen making that announcement moments ago in his press conference. You will be our starter. He's going to start this week. He's going to start the rest of the season. All right. And we're going to go from there. I informed Joe of the decision yesterday. He's the ultimate pro. He respects the decision, understands it. I talked to the team this morning about it as well.

I informed them of the decision. And look, everyone has a different term, right? Everyone has a different way, development and how you go about the process. And everyone wants anything gratification right now. Sometimes it doesn't work like that. You fight through these times. And I love Anthony.

He's a great person. Got great faith in him and his abilities to be our franchise. So Joe Flacco 0-2, 451 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, 451 yards in two games. I believe Joe Flacco had that much in the first half against the Jets last year on a Thursday night when he was on a roll. And guess who the Colts are playing this week? Those Jets. And it's time for Anthony Richardson again. All right.

Let's see what he's got. I totally understand it because the Indianapolis Colts right now weren't getting anything. They weren't getting wins and they weren't getting Anthony Richardson any better, which is the absolute worst case scenario having benched him. Teams not getting the benefit of starting the veteran. They're falling further behind in a race.

Just because of the marking of time. If you take a look at the standings, you would see how if the Colts had gotten out of Joe Flacco, what they were hoping to get out of Joe Flacco, they would be right now tied for first place in the AFC South. They would be six and four instead of four and six because the Texans haven't won a thing in the last pretty much month plus.

They have regressed to the mean. And the Colts are two games back still from a Texans team that's already swept them. And the Texans were ripe for the plucking over the last two weeks. And instead they didn't get what they needed out of Joe Flacco. And Anthony Richardson standing around isn't doing anybody any good.

Got to get them those reps. And I can't believe I'm saying this. The Jets defense isn't a bad team to try it against. I wouldn't have said that a month plus ago, even when they were starting their losing streak. They were still balling out on that defensive side and they just don't look the same.

They just don't look the same at all. So why not give Anthony Richardson some run right here and then you take a look at the Colts. After they take on the Jets, they're home for Detroit.

Who, by the way, going to get Mac Jones this week, it appears. Then they're at New England for a bye and then they finish up. They're not out of it. As we all know, five and five is the team that's sitting there in the seventh spot.

Denver is a team that the Colts face in Denver after the bye. So they've got to be looking at this and saying, we got to put the kid out there. Because we're not getting out of Joe what we needed to get out of him. And even if he starts putting it together, it may save our season. But let's see if the kid can do that, too.

Sitting around and waiting for him to mature next year is just not. I guess it was, would you say it was worth a shot to see if Joe could do it? I think so. Yeah, absolutely. Well, Richardson was playing so poorly.

Not seeing the field, making bad decisions. And they were right in the mix there in the south with Houston struggling. So, yeah, it was worth a shot. Plus, maybe Anthony just needed to be kind of get a reset. Yeah, take a step back.

We shall see. I don't know how that works. Certainly how it works with Bryce Young, because Dave Canales, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, steadfastly refused in our broadcast meeting to even say, guys, this is off the record and tell us exactly why they benched Bryce Young. He wouldn't do it, because if he said that what what he did bench him for, then the kid would have to own it now. And he wants to have turned the page.

And right now, turning the pages worked two and one since he's back. So there's that situation. In.

Carolina and Indianapolis. What about the one in Chicago? There is a five alarm fire. I know I should probably use a different phrase when it comes to Chicago. Is it still hashtag too soon with Mrs. O'Leary's cow? That's right over my head. Oh, my God.

The Chicago Fire. Really? OK. Look it up. I mean, I guess it's not too soon. Are you making a hundred year reference?

More than that. TJ got it. Well, you guys are the oldest ones here. Five alarm fire.

In Chicago. What did I tell you last week when I said if there's any team that needs a win in week 10, it's a team that's four and four in Chicago. What did I tell you? And guess what? I'm I take no pleasure. Bears fans or Ryan Polls, who's a guest, been a guest on this show.

And Matty reflews. Who once upon a time watched, I believe, a visually impaired man at a table in Indianapolis when we were having dinner at the common mistake me for. Yes, I think that's true. You know, I take I take no pleasure in any of this. You know, I take no pleasure in any. You're a fan. Well, there is a five alarm fire. And the guy who's got to put it out is the new offensive coordinator, Thomas Brown, who, by the way, was part of such a fire of the dumpster in Carolina last year that. It led to the Bears being able to draft Caleb Williams. And now, if I told you it would be up to the guy who is the offensive coordinator in Carolina last year, what if I told you to be the guy to put out a fire in Chicago?

Middle of the season. Get Caleb Williams off the regression train. Quiet, whatever is going on in that locker room. That it would really be up to him.

Thomas Brown to do it. You told me I was out of my mind. But this is the National Football League when a team can be foreign to going into a by coming out of a by getting set to beat one of the better, better young teams in the National Football League on their home field, only to have a Hail Mary beat them. Because the guy who tipped the ball to the game winning pass catcher was spending the first three seconds of the 12 seconds of the Hail Mary barking at the fans and taunting them. Right. Can't make any of this stuff up. And then the Bears go on a three game losing streak, including that moment. And here we are. Here we are. And it's got to work for Matt Eberfluss.

I don't have any. Doubt in my mind that if this button that he just pushed doesn't work. Then he will be finding work somewhere else. That's unfortunate for him. That is life in the National Football League.

And it's that simple. Sylvia, the famed radio show Waddle and Sylvia Waddle being the longtime bear, Tom Waddle, Mark Silverman in Chicago. When it was first announced yesterday that Shane Waldron was out, he retweeted the tweet of Adam Schefter announcing it, saying after talking to a few people with knowledge of the situation. Players went to Matt Eberfluss and Ryan Poles asking them to make a change at offensive coordinator.

There have also been a few veteran players requesting. Bajant starts. That's in reference to Tyson Bajant, the backup quarterback, who, as we all know, got some run last year when Justin Fields got hurt. That they wanted Tyson Bajant to come in and for the moment, put Caleb Williams in the same. Bucket as Bryce Young, as Anthony Richardson, young, freshly drafted players who needed a break or the team needed a break from them, and clearly Caleb Williams was not benched. You put two and two together.

Here's the two and two you put together. Number one, when we were in London, Stacey Dales was recovering the Bears for years, and she was doing the sideline for the Bears. She reported that the players requested from Matt Eberfluss that Shane Waldron start scripting the first 15 plays of a game as opposed to just creating a list of favorites and then deciding in the moment which one to call.

Players thought it would be better to actually script it and practice it as they scripted it, and it would be helpful in the game. Sure enough, they did it prior to the London game. They still didn't score in the first quarter.

They had a terrific final three quarters, but it's just illustrative of a weird situation. Certainly when Matt Eberfluss was told this, he said, you go to Shane Waldron and mention it to him. They did it. The coach didn't stamp it to say, I'll handle it. He let the players advocate.

That's his style, I guess. And now, smash cut to less than a month later, and when they were going through a, we're evaluating everything period, it does appear the players, unnamed, told Eberfluss and Ryan Pauls, we need a new offensive coordinator, and they obliged. As for saying Caleb should get benched, is it really that bad? Because if it's that bad, I don't know how a switch at offensive coordinator is going to work unless you need a new set of eyes.

You need a new voice. Maybe Thomas Brown will communicate in a more strident manner with Caleb, hard coaching. I don't know.

I don't know. Nobody knows, but it does appear that there's an iceberg, and we're just seeing the tip in Chicago right now, and if it doesn't turn around, then we will see a new head coach there. And I proffer to say it'll be somebody who's got a plan for Caleb Williams and will be attached at his hip, and forever they shall always be connected for the Bears, hopefully in a very positive manner. But Eberfluss dialing up the defense. Let him handle that side of the ball. He definitely needs to put out some fires, it appears, in his locker room. Let's see if he's done that with Thomas Brown.

We've seen offensive coordinator switches work, even just last year in Buffalo it did, but that's Josh Allen we're talking about. You look at the Bears' schedule. Oh my goodness, it starts with their home game with Green Bay coming off a bye.

Look out. Home for the Vikings. They don't hold serve right there. They go into Detroit on Thanksgiving, coming off of an extended losing streak.

Or let's be positive. They start turning it around, and they can actually make hay in their own division. Hold serve against their division opponents at home. Shock the world in Detroit. San Francisco they go visit a three-game roadie, starting on Thanksgiving, the following Sunday in San Francisco, and then a Monday night in Minnesota.

Skull chants lead them into their visit to Detroit. This is when they're starting to switch up their offense. Toughest part of their schedule. All of their division opponents from week 11 on. It's a blood sport rival who would love to come in and just remind everyone ownership of the Bears still rests in the state of Wisconsin. And what if Jordan Love is still gimpy and Malik Willis beats Caleb? Look out. Or being positive, Thomas Brown comes in, gives the veterans what they're looking for offensively on a scheme, gives them what they need communication-wise, and is exactly what Caleb needs.

And he's now the offensive coordinator that they trust, and Ibra Flus takes care of the defense, and the Bears go merrily along like they won their four of first six, which is more likely. That's Friday. Today's Wednesday. We've got overreaction Monday on this Wednesday.

We also have my power rankings. Shaquille O'Neal talking NBA Cup. He had quite a bit to say about your Philadelphia 76ers returning center last night, TJ Jefferson. I don't know if you caught that from Shaq.

Is that a yes or a no? I did not catch that. Yes, he said that if he doesn't change his mind or his attitude, that he'll never win a championship. He said that at halftime after I think Embiid had only three points in the first half against the Knicks, who beat him in NBA Cup action. Also, on the doubleheader, a lot of captain's hats in the stands in San Francisco in Warriors country as Klay came back in. That was a great game.

What a fun game that was, all the way down to the bitter end. NBA Cup action is starting. The actor Ronnie Chang, you definitely know him from either The Daily Show or Crazy Rich Asians. He's in a new show called Interior Chinatown. Very funny guy here in studio on our number three. Bruce Feldman in studio in his usual Wednesday spot talking college football. But coming up next, more on the Chicago Bears. Kevin Fishbane.

With everything going on, I said, bring me Fishbane. And they shall next. Give it a try after this episode at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates not available in all states or situations.

Prices vary based on how you buy. 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.

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That's OReillyAuto.com slash E-I-S-E-N. O-O-O-Reilly Auto Parts. A lot of big games this week, by the way. I'm already because, you know, I'm a professional. I'm preparing for Friday's usual segment of other games that I'm looking forward to seeing this week. But, you know, commanders, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, Bears, Packers. You know, Chiefs, Bills, Seahawks, 49ers. That's another division. I think the league is just, you know, was just say, you know, put a lot of these division games in their back pockets for right now. Bengals, Chargers, Sneaky Falcons, Broncos. Yes. Yeah. Big week.

Cowboys Texans. On Monday night. Mike Tyson fights on Friday.

That's right. What is happening? Tyson fights Friday. John Jones and Stipe Miocic on Saturday. On a huge UFC fight. Yeah. For the heavyweight goat crown. NBA Cup Friday night.

Do you like the courts the way they do? Oh, hold off on that. OK.

Hold off on that. Remember, we kind of we discussed this last year. We're going to discuss it every year. There's an NBA Cup.

As we should. What do I think is to the end of time? I don't think they're getting rid of the cup. By the way, it's the Emirates Cup. Emirates. Oh, it's not called the NBA Cup? Emirates Cup. Oh, they got a sponsor.

Get familiar. So UAE spent, you know, spent some dollars, spent some money. And they did. Yeah. Just a little bit. Just a smidge.

A smidge. They outbid Del Tufo. Nice. I wasn't in on that one. The Del Tufo Cup.

We should just call it the Del Tufo Cup. Mike, I heard you were only a few bucks off. I need that one. Close. Well, Mike's working paycheck to paycheck.

What are we going to get? No, I know people that are working. I saw that on Instagram. I know people that are.

That's what I said. We used to work paychecks. You used to. I used to. Not anymore. I did.

I thought you said you were OK. No idea. Man's got a boat now. He's got a boat. That's that, man. 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 Granger dot com or just stop by. I need answers. I need Kevin Fishbane. Bring in Fishbane. Bring. Bring me Fishbane, the senior NFL rider for the athletic. That's a good fantasy name. Join us. What? Bring me Fishbane?

Yes. And this very this smiling man can be our avatar. What's up, man? How are you, Kevin? From Chicago. Where are you? Are you in Chicago now? Are you at the Bears facility? Where are you? Literally right now.

Yes. I'm inside. Hall is coming from inside the building.

I'm inside Hallis Hall. We're minutes away from Matt Eberfluss, Caleb Williams and new offensive coordinator and play caller Thomas Brown addressing the media. So I feel like you guys, this this is the lead in to hopefully get some more answers. I'm not that optimistic, but we'll be hearing from the three people on everyone's minds this week in Chicago. So I know the question will be, what can you bring to bear? Thomas Brown, what are you going to do that's different? And I can't imagine it's going to be anything concrete that, you know, the Packers could pick up on.

So they're not going to give you anything. But what's your general sense of what what the Bears are hoping Thomas Brown brings to this equation? Kevin? Yeah, I think Thomas Brown needs to create advantageous spots for Caleb Williams and the wide receivers. You know, one of the things that Matt Eberfluss talked about all the time in the spring was the emphasis to Caleb Williams is get the ball to your skill. They don't say skill players because they don't have time.

So it's to get the ball to your skill. And you have D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen and Cole Komette and Roma Dunze and DeAndre Swift. But those guys aren't getting the football enough and they're covered and the route concepts just weren't working. And Caleb Williams was holding out on the ball too long. The protection wasn't there.

Everything was a mess. So I feel like for Thomas Brown, it's simplify things and go back to that point of emphasis of Caleb Williams. You have these guys.

Get them the ball. I'm going to scheme them open. I'm going to find ways to get these guys, whether it's using motion, obviously, Thomas Brown work with Sean McVeigh.

So maybe we'll see some some of that flavor in there. And you know, D.J. Moore just hasn't been as effective. Do they need to move him around a little bit? They're going to have to find ways to just give Caleb Williams some layups, just let him get some easy buckets and that should build his confidence back from where I got to believe it's as low as it may be been in his football career as it is right now. Like, that's the goal for Thomas Brown is get these little victories within games and hopefully for them it could lead to actual wins on the field. But Shane Waldron is no dummy.

I mean, you know what I mean? So obviously he's he would have been smart enough to know I got to get the layups for Caleb and that we have the guys who who can who can make the layups if if Caleb can actually get them the ball. So what really wasn't working that you think Thomas Brown can actually change? Is it coaching style?

Is it communication style that might actually vibe with the players better? Kevin? Yeah. Schematically, Rich, it is puzzling because I mentioned Thomas Brown work with Sean McVeigh. So did Shane Waldron. Like, that was one of the big appeals of bringing Waldron in is they were looking for guys from that coaching tree. And I don't know really what happened in terms like when you go back and you watch these games. Again, guys aren't getting open.

The plays don't really make sense. I think some of it was Caleb Williams is very smart and he's doing a lot of things at the line that other rookie quarterbacks don't do and can't do. And I feel like they gave him all that liberty to do it and it was just too much. So you have that going on on the Shane Waldron side. I do think you bring up a good point about Thomas Brown, because this is somebody who's got that kind of galvanizing personality, if you will.

Like he's you hear this. I was reading an article the other day from his time in L.A., Matthew Stafford, who played with Thomas Brown in Georgia, said when he comes in the room, he commands the room. And this team needs that right now. Like you already heard in week three, they were telling Shane Waldron to coach them harder. So Waldron just wasn't maybe the right personality fit for this building. And the hope is that obviously you've got to win games in the field. But this whole offense in the locker room needs somebody that they believe in, that they trust.

And I think Thomas Brown at least is going to come in there with a different personality that I feel like they're going to gravitate to. Kevin Fishbane of the athletic year covering the Bears on the Rich Eisen show. Sylvie known as Mark Silverman, known as Sylvie of Sylvie of Lottle and Sylvie there in Chicago, a very popular radio show, appeared on it a couple of times myself, says that he was hearing some veterans were asking for Caleb to be benched in favor of Tyson Bagent. What's your reporting on that, Kevin? Yeah.

So I haven't heard that, Rich, but here's the thing. Like there are some frustrated veterans in that locker room and they're not really masking it. And these are guys, if you look at, again, I'm not saying that these are the people who went to management with this. I'm not going to dispute Sylvie's report, but like Key and Allen's here on one year, Mercedes Lewis came back for one year. DJ Moore just signed a long-term extension to be here, to be part of this.

So you could understand that some of those guys are probably frustrated. You could understand that they see Caleb Williams struggling and one of the things that Tyson Bagent does well is he's accurate. He gets the ball out quick and he's very accurate.

We saw that in his brief time last year. All that aside, Rich, it is a stupid idea to bench Caleb Williams and put in Tyson Bagent. That would be, I mean, I know you guys, I'm sure you guys have talked about what's going on in Indianapolis, different situations, but like Caleb Williams needs confidence. Like he needs to get better and he's not going to get better by sitting on the bench and watching Tyson Bagent who, look, the Bears made a phenomenal find in Bagent.

The fact that this conversation reportedly is even coming up speaks to Bagent's abilities, which is great, but Caleb Williams is the number one pick. He's a Heisman Trophy winner, right? Those three games, you were there, Rich, in London, like that happened. It was like you saw it.

I was there in person. Like he made those plays. Like I just think that the goal for this team right now, and it's going to be hard for some guys, coaches and players, coaches who want to make it to next year, players who want to win, it's going to be hard for them to have this perspective, but the ultimate goal for this franchise is to, in January, know that they have the guy, to know that no matter who the coach is next year, no matter who the coordinator is next year, they have their guy in Caleb Williams, and they felt like that when they drafted him.

They felt like that coming out of London. I think that they still feel that, but the results aren't there, and benching him is not going to get you anywhere closer to that result at the end of the season. So then let's talk more about a third rail, since clearly Caleb Williams isn't that third rail. The third rail is DJ Moore saying, when he was asked point blank, has the coach lost the locker room, and he goes, I want to say no, and he does that 48 hours after strolling off in the middle of a play, because either he thought it was over or just was particularly frustrated and just really lost his cool in the moment, and how that's indicative of what's going on between Eberflus and this locker room, certainly in the wake of that Hail Mary. So I ask you, what is the state of that locker room when it comes to the head coach as he's about to make this announcement official shortly? We love when players like DJ Moore are that open, and he wants to just say the truth, and that could run him into some trouble. Look, I'll say this about DJ Moore, like DJ is not going to win any body language Olympics. That's just his style. I'm sure- I saw it during the broadcast meeting when we were sitting with him, Kevin, for sure. That's just his personality. I know.

I saw it. My take on that, Rich, is if you're the highest paid player on the team, you should want that perception to be different. He's a phenomenal player.

You never heard, and you still have never heard an ounce about any work ethic issues, but obviously this thing, through his lens, isn't working. This is somebody who put up phenomenal numbers with Justin Fields, who the Bears deemed tradable. But I do think you bring up a good point about the Hail Mary. That didn't break the team in terms of that's not why Caleb Williams is struggling. That's not why... Look, you do have a lot of injuries going on, but I do think that that created this rift, and whether it's team versus Iberfluce or offenses versus defense, there have been way too many team meetings.

I would love, Rich, to not have to write another article about, well, they had a team meeting and everyone was having some real talk in there. Go win football games is their job, and there's too much chatter. There's too much talk internally, externally, and it all stems from the way that that game ended, but maybe more importantly, the way that Matt Iberfluce, in the moment, just didn't take full responsibility for...

It's a fluke. It's called the Hail Mary for a reason. We all get it, but there are a hundred million different things, maybe not a hundred, a hundred different things the Bears could have done to prevent that from happening, and they did zero of them. I think that that still is obviously felt in this building, so there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get everybody feeling better, because one of the reasons they kept Matt Iberfluce after last year, Ryan Paul said it, because the way he captained the ship, the way that when things got really rocky at the beginning of last year, they had the losing streak, he was the one that studied it. A coordinator resigned, another position coach was let go.

He studied the ship, and in the last two games since the Hail Mary, he has not done that. That Hail Mary, again, with Tyreek Stevenson and all that, and putting, I guess, accountability on the table as a major topic of discussion, then the DJ Moore stroll off in the middle of a play, and then what we saw last week, leading to the offensive coordinator firing, I mean, clearly this team needs a win. But before we get to the here and now, and then I'll let you go, because I know you've got your press conference to get ready for, Kevin, while we're on the subject of hitting the wayback machine, why didn't they hire Cliff Kingsbury? Why did that meeting out here in Los Angeles lead to Shane Waldron, anyway?

Why did that happen, Kevin? Yeah, Rich, it's a good question, and I mean, the list doesn't even need to start with Cliff Kingsbury. They talked to Zach Robinson, and Atlanta, I mean, that's an offense that's looked pretty good this season, too.

I mean, there's so many things that everybody can re-litigate about that search. The process, they blew it, like, simple as that, they blew it. And I do think Kingsbury was, from what I've heard, was maybe more in play than maybe people thought at the time, but there was a key similarity in a lot of these people that he talked to. Matt Iberfuss wanted somebody with the experience of being with the Sean McVays and the Kyle Shanhans.

Like, that was a priority. That's my best kind of guess at why it was Waldron over Kingsbury. Now, obviously, there could be personality questions, there could be just little micro things that happened in the interview that I'm not privy to, but just knowing what they were looking for and the type of offense they were looking for, they really gravitated to these guys who worked with McVay.

And it's that old joke from a couple years ago, like, all you had to do was have a cup of coffee with Sean McVay, and suddenly you could be a play caller one day. And Shane McWaldron did a lot more than that. But there were other guys in that tree that they talked to, other guys who were running offenses who have done a lot better than what Waldron did in Chicago.

But yeah, the Kingsbury thing, and you look at what's going on in Washington. I mean, Rich, these are two franchises, you know this so well, that have just been starving for a quarterback, have been starving for success, and for the Bears to see what's happening in Washington, and the complete opposite is happening here, makes that whole thing sting and it allows them to be up for questions about why Kingsbury wasn't the guy. Man, it's kind of crazy because they had the commanders beat, they had a beat. You know, that fourth quarter, Caleb was a real grown man quarterback getting pounded and hanging in there and making plays. And even with that head-scratching play by, you know, on the goal line, instead of giving it to the red-hot DeAndre Swift who had already scored and flipped the game around, they went and caught a trick play in a way and handed it to a backup center, balls fumbled. They still recovered from that and scored and took the lead. You know, they went in five and two.

And I'm sure that's part of what Eberfluss is sitting around when he gets a moment to himself. Like, hey, we had that one, we had that one. And now everybody's like, why not Kingsbury?

And I'm one of those. You know, it's kind of, it's fair, but not fair, but that's the NFL, I guess, Kevin. So last one for you is, can you recall a more high-staked Bears-Packers rivalry game than this one in recent memory? Rich, I'll take you back to 2014, which was, that was the worst Bears team in terms of drama I've ever covered. This team still cannot hold a candle to some of the things that happened on that team, which says a lot about 2014 Bears.

You want to refresh memories on that? So you had Mark, you had Mark Trestman was the head coach. You had just Jake Cutler got benched late in the season.

Aaron Cromer got in trouble and had to apologize to the team for talking to a reporter, got leaked out. You had, like they had player, was it Martels Bennett body slammed Kyle Fuller in training camp. It was, it was a mess.

It was, it was just beyond. And that team went to Green Bay with all, a lot of stuff going on. But they just got to find a way and they'd won in Lambeau the year before.

The final score I think was like 55-14. I want to say like Rogers had, it was up Packers are up 35-0 at halftime. So when Bears fans, or maybe it was 42-0, the Bears fans have been saying that the theme this week, Rich has been, well, it can't get worse than losing 19-3 to the Patriots. Well, I mean, cause if you lose to the Packers, at least the Packers are a good team, right? But that rivalry means the world to the McCaskey family. And if they go out in Soldier Field in front of their home fans and do what they did in 2014, or in, I can pick any other year that they've had an embarrassing loss to the Packers, there have been several, like that would be rough.

And I don't know how they would respond to that. So yes, there's a lot at stake for this game. And as you've mentioned, Rich, like it's a weird dynamic here because I've covered Bears teams that have not been good. This team is four and five and they have better talent than almost any team here in the last decade, except for 2018, which makes everything so much more confounding. So yeah, it's a big one because after Green Bay, there's no let up.

Minnesota comes to town in Detroit on Thanksgiving, travel to San Francisco, travel to Minnesota on Monday night. I mean, it's an absolute gauntlet. And you know, look, I think everybody on this team would just, they're just like, if they, I mean, if they could beat the Packers on Sunday, that is like the perfect way to just for a moment, silence everything to beat your rivals, to get an upset, to get the win at home. But yeah, I mean, I have seen worse here, Rich, which it just speaks a lot to the building. But at least I think, I think this time they have the quarterback.

I still think they do. And maybe when this is all said and done, at least he can maybe help them get out of this. Kevin, really appreciate the two cents knew it would be exactly what we were looking for. You nailed it. And I greatly appreciate it. We'll be back soon. All right.

Take care of it. It's Kevin Fishbane, fellow Medill School of Journalism graduate from Northwestern by way of the athletic right here on The Rich Eisen Show covering the Chicago Bears. No doubt here, though, right? Like he's right. Caleb's the quarterback.

Yeah, you can't bench him, that's insane. But he's like, I think they have the quarterback. They absolutely do.

They absolutely. Yeah, the system around is failing Caleb right now. Or, but the, and the crazy thing is that the, the narrative, and I thought it was a spot on one was, is that they've created the perfect environment roster wise for him to be, to be surrounded successfully and also for them to be able to evaluate him if they really needed to. And right now the evaluation is just a incomplete mess is really what it is. And as he said, they basically fumbled the bag when it came to hiring the right coordinator for this situation.

It's obvious. It's not like Shane Waldron isn't talented, that he doesn't know what to do. It just wasn't the right fit for what they were putting together for this quarterback. And I'm just fascinated to know, was it Cliff Kingsbury and, and, and not vibing with Caleb on college? Did Caleb like just say, yeah, not him? I mean, is it possible that's what it was? I think that we're going to have to chalk that up to the, add it to the list of things we'll never know. Why was, why didn't Marshawn get the ball on the goal line? Why was Malcolm Butler active when he wasn't playing? Right.

Just add it to the list. You know, all that stuff. We're never going to find out. I don't know.

I think I'm going to hunt and peck for that one because I'm, I'm reading up on, I'm trying to find the right answer. One that I heard was folks think that they, they didn't want to hire Cliff because they thought if he succeeded, he'd walk. He'd go and get a head coaching job again. And I'm like, well, yeah, that's what happens when you hire a defensive minded head coach and the offensive coordinator kills it, or you hire a CEO head coach and the OC kills it. The Lions were lucky to get Ben Johnson back and look at what they're doing with him right now. Yeah. Cause there was all those weird reports that he was asking for too much money and didn't like any of the openings.

They were lucky to get him back. That's the way it's going to go. Like those are the first class problems you want. Cause at least you're not dealing with what you're seeing right now. But I don't think there's, if there's anybody out there thinking, you know, Caleb's not that he's a bust. That's crazy talk.

That's just absolute crazy talk. And let's see what Thomas Brown does, but he's got to do it fast. Can you imagine, can you imagine you're the new OC your team's four and five, the coach is red hot on a hot seat. Your first overall pick is regressing and your blood rivals coming off a bi-week into your house where the fans, if it goes wrong in the first two drives, it will just be in full throat.

I mean, I know the new gladiator movies coming out and guess who's around the corner. The lions. We'll take a break. Eight four four two Oh four rich number to dial right here.

Power rankings. When we come back, let's talk LinkedIn people and small business owning. I'm a small business owner.

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That's why you got to use them. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. That's linkedin.com slash eisen to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. But when you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like aloe or skins, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand and brilliant marketing, but an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business making selling and for shoppers buying simple for millions of businesses. Within that business is Shopify. Nobody does selling better than Shopify with shop pay that boost conversions up to 50% meaning way less carts are going abandoned and way more sales happening. So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whatever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web in your store in their feed and everywhere in between businesses that sell more sell on Shopify upgrade your business and get the same checkout skins uses.

Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Westwood one all lowercase go to Shopify.com slash Westwood one to upgrade your selling today Shopify.com slash Westwood one. I don't know if they still have a shot to make the playoffs or not, do they still have a shot? Well, yeah. I mean, all they have to do is just try and win one of the next two without Tony and and then he comes back and no one's running away with this league.

No one's running away with this division right now. All right. You know what? I guarantee we'll win one of the next two without Tony and I'm guaranteed we'll make the playoffs. Okay.

I will write that write that down right now Shaquille O'Neal's don't make the playoffs. I'll come I'll come with a Dallas cowgirl suit on your show with some pom poms for 10 seconds. Oh my gosh. Wow.

I will come I'll walk out for 10 seconds and everybody take pictures make fun then I gotta leave 10 seconds. That's all you get. That's it. Not 11 seconds, not 12.

You get 10 seconds. You have on the skirt pom pom and a blonde ponytail wig if so, that's if again the Dallas Cowboys. They don't make the playoffs at all in this season. Okay. Now, what are you going to do if they make the playoffs? Oh my gosh.

Yeah, so that but I think I think but I think they're making the play right here. I'll do it with you Shaq. How about that deal? How are you Shaq? First of all, it's not my fault. You need to blame it on the Dallas shops.

I've been downtown Dallas looking for some big booty cheerleader shorts that don't have any. So yes, I will matter my word. I guess I will come there one day when you least expect it and fulfill my bet. Well, but the thing is I have to do it with you Shaq.

So I do need probably a little bit of a heads up, you know, but you know what? I don't want you to do it with me because you know, you waited long enough, okay, you know, you're at the point to where you don't think I'm gonna believe it. So just to prove it to you. I want you to be front and center. Okay. And I'm gonna give you 12 seconds. This is the best possible scenario Shaq, you've extended it two seconds and absolved me from having to do it. Exactly. I just want you to sit there and watch.

All on our YouTube channel. Shaq's latest appearance coming up shortly. Hey everybody, we're almost halfway through the NFL regular season. Is it more important now than ever for NFL players to get the best sleep possible? You're damn straight. You're damn straight. Some of them look pretty darn tired.

No offense. Some people in this room know what I'm talking about. Sleep number is exactly the, uh, this place for you to stop by right now. If you're in the market for a new bed, you should definitely stop at a sleep number store. They can access, it can assess your body's pressure points and recommend a bed at every price point. That's just right for you.

And again, if you're in the market for a new bed, you should stop at a sleep number store. So Wednesday, you know what that means? It's time for me to tell you not only how I am ranking teams, but how I'm ranking them powerfully. It's my power rankings.

Hit it, please. Power rankings. Power rankings. Presented by BMW. Here we go. We're sponsored. We're back from Munich and we can't quit BMW nor they quit us.

Why would we want to? I don't think I'm ever going to quit them at this point. No way. You'll find out who I'm not quitting in my power rank.

You know what? I'm keeping them right where they were before they hit the buy. I'm keeping my Packers right at 10. I'm keeping them there.

I still believe in them defensively. I think Jordan Love is about to prove he's that money guy in November and December again, or at least it's set up for him. It is set up. And man, if he really wants to just show everybody like he did last year, right, then you win his first game against the Bears too? In Soldier Field? Might be right.

And he still has ownership? Boy, what a way for him to just try and stick it to the Bears. That said, I still think they're a top third team in the NFL with the running game and defensively. I'm keeping them at 10. For the first time on my list all year, the Arizona Cardinals are cracking it. They're nine.

They're nine on my list right now. They are playing their heads off. Kyler Murray is playing like an MVP. Trey McBride has had a terrific ride over this four game win streak right now with Arizona. Defensively, Buddha Baker is playing a Defensive Player of the Year type candidate.

So they're kicking butt, taking names. James Conner, they're number nine on this list. They're on a bye this week. Number eight, staying like before.

I'm keeping the Vikings at seven and two right here at eight. Sam Darnold is making me nervous. It was not impressive last week.

I understand that. He was regressing a little bit to the mean, but that's why we've got the coach's picture of. In KOC, you trust Minnesota. I'd like to see a bounce back against Tennessee this week. I'd like to see that bounce back. For Sam, the team won.

That's all that matters. No pictures in the standings. Number seven, down two spots are the Washington commanders.

I'm keeping them top seven, seven and three. Can't wait to see what they do at Philadelphia. Jayden Daniels said that the Steelers were taking away a lot of the lanes and the zone rushing and all of that business. Steelers, did they expose Jayden Daniels? Did they expose this offense? Did they give a blueprint for the rest of the league? Is the rookie hitting a wall?

Lots of questions for the commanders this week. I still think they're a top seven team. Number six, up one spot are the team that's hosting the commanders. Eagles look pretty darn good. Jalen Hurts looks pretty darn good. Still too low.

All right. I'm putting the Steelers above them. The Steelers have cracked the top five for me. I need to see what the Eagles do this weekend. Dare I put the Eagles in the... Who have they beaten in their win streak category right now?

Do I do it? But they're beating the bag out of them. Who cares? But the Steelers are really good. They're just killing it right now. And Tomlin's feeling it. And Mike Williams, let's acquire him and have him catch the game-winning touchdown.

Russ is feeling it. Number four, I knocked them down a spot because the team that they lost to earlier this year keeps winning. The Bills are down one spot.

They're four. The Ravens are three. I understand that the Cardinals beat the loss of the Packers earlier this year, and I put the Packers below them. And I'm not being consistent at the top here by putting the Ravens over the Bills because the Ravens handed the Bills their first loss of the season. I just think the Ravens defensively are just going to tighten the screws like they need to.

Ooh, that's a big hope. I know. Number two on the list are the Lions and number one are the Chiefs. I'm keeping them just like the same. Lions at eight and one, they have taken care of their business for seven straight wins.

I get it. The Chiefs are nine and oh, and man, they needed a lot of luck this past week to do it, but they're still the Chiefs and they're still coming up with everything that they need. And these power rankings, man, Chiefs playing one versus four, three versus five, six versus seven this week. It's going to be fun.

We'll see how they jumble next week. But for the moment, those are my week 11 power rankings presented by BMW. Unleash your electric side with BMW's all electric lineup with a legacy of dynamic performance and engineering that pushes the limits.

There's electric, and then there's the ultimate electric driving machine. Again, Chiefs one, take on my fourth team, the Bills, who could really be three if you want. The Ravens are three taking on the five Steelers, the Eagles are six taking on the seven commanders, the Vikings are in Tennessee, the Cardinals are off, the Packers are taking on the Bears.

Not many complaints. And the Falcons are off the list. It's a good list. The Falcons are off the list. I was thinking of popping the Chargers on there, but I think the Packers right now are still deserving of being there at 10. The Packers offer a little more firepower on offense. Those are my power rankings. There's a new college football playoff list that's out, and Bruce Feldman will discuss it in studio. We're still sitting here on the old Roku.

Any complaints over there? I can't see you through the flowers. It's really flipping me out, dude. No, I really don't. I mean, I'm on board with that list. Oh yeah? Yeah. Okay. Chargers would have been the only team, I think. At 10?

With maybe a gripe. Yeah. Just because the Packers haven't played. Same record. Yeah, the Chargers have won three in a row, Packers. Arizona has one more loss, but they're looking good lately.

They're our division leader. Green Bay coming off of the bye, coming off of a loss to Detroit. That game that Fishbane was talking about earlier, 2014 Bears coming off of a bye, down 42-0 at halftime to Green Bay. Man, Aaron Rodgers absolutely loved beating the Bears.

They lost 55-14 and really the last seven points for the Bears was a kickoff return late in the fourth quarter. Rodgers just loved putting that belt on and just taunting the crowd. Loved it.

Loved it. And Jordan Love already picked up where he left off. The Bears absolutely must win this football game. Oh, they're absolutely not going to. Oh, I don't know about that. What?

Stop, Rich. I don't know. I don't know. You can't just say this. Over under one and a half wins the rest of the year for the Bears. Oh, I'll take the over on that.

Ooh, baby. You're so optimistic. I am. I'm a glass half full guy. You really are. I like that about you.

Thank you, sir. Let's hug it out. Hey, it's Rich Eisen here. Join me and my compadre, Chris Brockman, every Monday on the Overreaction Monday podcast.

Rich, Jamis has taken the browns to the playoffs. Dude, why can't they win seven, eight games to finish the year? Why not? I'm not saying there's no why not, but this is a definitive statement that's clearly an overreaction and it's perfect fodder for a show like this one.

I appreciate you coming out of the gate hot. Come react or overreact with us. Overreaction Monday, wherever you listen. It's game over. It's game over, man.