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Visit Imes.com slash difference to learn more. Oh my God, you guys are my favorites. This is the Rich Eizen Show. Rich Eizen. I know what I'm talking about.
That's the headline. The Rich Eizen Show with guest host Brian Weber. OMG. Live from the Rich Eizen Show studio in Los Angeles.
Oh my gosh. And now sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. Welcome to the program. And more important, Happy Thanksgiving. Always a pleasure to sit in for Rich.
The board is outstanding brand. Hope you enjoyed him on NFL game day this morning. And now I'll take the virtual baton with wall to wall football on this program.
Let me bend over without throwing out my back and hit the button. Yes, the countdown to kickoff is underway. Now I don't want to be Captain Nostalgia, but as a veteran of working just about every holiday possible for Rich, other than Arbor Day, strikes me in the past. The game in Detroit would kick roughly 10 past the hour, maybe 13 past the hour. Well, if you're looking for the simulcast experience without the Emmy nominated simulcast on the Roku channel, if you want to watch the game and enjoy the stylings I'm going to give you through your radio or however you're consuming this audio experience, the game in Detroit does not kick off until the bottom of the hour. And if you're feeling down during the holidays, and I'm not trying to make light of that, I'm by myself, by choice, but that's a longer and more therapeutic story. If you're having a tough time, and this is a common malady this time of the year, at least you're not a member of the Chicago Bears who have lost five in a row, three of those five losses coming on. The final play, it feels not only metaphorically, quite literally, this franchise was broken on that Hail Mary in her nation's capital.
It will not slow us down. We're gonna get you fully lined up for all the key components of what I think will be a far more intriguing game than a lot of casual fans might be anticipating. Although, to give you full context, if you have not hit your button on your board and moved along going, no, Rich is not there, where's the team? I'm a Delft 2-4 guy.
If you've lasted this long, I'm going to assume a degree of sophistication, so we're gonna hit you hard with what you need to know, not about individual matchups, but big picture thoughts on the team that undeniably, this is not an opinion, it's a fact, is the most complete squad in all of football, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, it is the Detroit Lions, and I have to drag myself out of the 1980s, and you kids, and I'm Brian Weber, and I'm 140 years old, and for Rich Isom, 844-204-7424 is the number. Again, I do my best to be fully transparent. I'm in a different studio. If you follow me on the X platform, you can see the lavish interior. I just took a photo about 15 minutes ago.
That's BW Weber, Weber with two Bs. Occasionally, there are gremlins in the phone lines that make it challenging to take a phone call, and if you've put up with this act in the past, you know I give out the phone number like a carnival barker, because I'm a radio veteran, and don't take a ton of phone calls, but if technology's working, and I'm in a great mood, I am open to having a conversation with you, especially if you're younger than 25 years old, so I can lecture you and let you know. Back in my day, we only had two games on Thanksgiving.
Now, I'm not 400 years old. My father would remind me that he sat through lousy Detroit football for his entire life, but as recently as 20 years ago, we had the traditional game in Detroit, and the Lions have been absolutely putrid going back to 1957, other than the renaissance in the last few years, and the aberration of the Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson run in Motown, and then Dallas would always come out and squash a team, because they used to be America's team. So, if you're looking at these matchups, and you're understandably detached, because I can't sell you Dallas versus the New York Football Giants as being anything more than abysmal, still we'll use that matchup coming up as we start our number two of the program as a jumping off point to talk about the futures of Mike McCarthy, who, irrespective of what Jerry Jones was spewing once more on the radio in Dallas this week, his dead man walking, I think Brian Dabol is going to join him as well, and Miami at Green Bay, the pushback would be the nightcap, as we do have the triple header now, and it's another way to avoid your family. If you're a casual quote-unquote, you think this is mid, as I'm doing my best to play the young demographic, I understand your reservations about Miami on the road in frigid conditions. We saw last year on the road in Kansas City, but I have some question marks about Green Bay. Yes, you are what your record says you are, to a degree, in the pack of one, seven of eight, as you know, but if you drill down further, Jordan Love has turned out to be a turnover machine.
He's regressing this year, and I have more faith in two within a lot of folks. So, as we move along in the program, we'll take it one game at a time. Once the game in Detroit kicks off, I'll keep you constantly updated without getting into too much granular detail as to what's going on in that game, just two guests along the way, because I feel like I'm so fascinating that I can monopolize the airtime, and I do want to carve out time for us to interact on social media, and I'm Brian Weber, aimed for Rich Eisen. I appreciate you spending part of the holiday with us.
We are live at 844-204-7424. Conversation never stops on X. That's BW Weber. Weber with two Bs, just me and you in the first hour.
In fact, we will not bring in our first guest until 1.40 Eastern Time. I'm going to talk college football in 35 minutes. We'll go in depth when we're joined by Chris Vanini of The Athletic. I believe I'm the only member of the college football sports media industrial complex who does not believe the 12-team playoff is an improvement in any way. I'll give you my details coming up in a half hour, and then in the final program, in the final hour of the program, this could be my final program, you never know, you got to take it one sentence at a time.
Final segment of the program, he said smoothly, 2.40 Eastern Time. We'll take you across the NFL with an old friend, Nick Ferguson, former NFL safety. He spent a decade in the league.
He's now a radio host in Denver. Bo Nix, as we connected to Caleb Williams with the bird of expectations as the number one overall pick coming out of USC and all the hype that he was a generational talent. Bo Nix is having a better year statistically.
Bo Nix has moved, I think, to the front of the line in terms of the offensive rookie of the year conversation, if you care about that kind of award. So we'll get the view from Denver, and we will connect Nick's thoughts to another former team he played for, the mess that is the JETS. But for decades, in fact, you got to go back to the 1930s when I was just starting out, the Lions have not been this successful since that era. I'm doing a fireside chat with FDR in the White House.
That's how historic what is going on at Ford Field has become. And I do my best to take a step back and try to view things analytically without ever bluffing my way through the conversation. I am not an NFL insider.
I don't watch the all 22 film. I don't get on the phone and talk to people around the league. However, I do have an abundance of free time. That's why I'm available on holidays.
I will pass away alone. But I'm all in on the sports media career, because after all, this job will love you back, especially in our robust economy these days. But I consume a lot of content out there. And last year, I felt like the hype surrounding the Lions was premature because no one was paying attention as they were caught up in the euphoria of an absolutely amazing transformation, a resurgence that was almost unprecedented given the decades of suffering in Detroit. And I don't want to get too deep here. And I'm never going to get political, not because I should shut up and talk sports.
But I'm the fill-in host. And this is Rich's brand, after all. But there was a metaphoric connection between the challenges Detroit was going through in the 70s and 80s with the less dominant status of the car industry and jobs going from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt. The Lions were abysmal for the better part of 50 years because of lousy management, because the Ford family wouldn't get out of the way. And they consistently hired the wrong person. Yes, I'm looking at you, Matt Millen. Remarkable broadcasters should never have been throwing the keys to run an organization.
And what do you know? You bring in Brad Holmes, who does not get enough credit as a highly insightful and creative GM, I think in large part because of the cult of personality that Dan Campbell has created, understandably so. And I, like many cynical folks, laughed at that introductory press conference when he was talking about chewing off people's kneecaps. But that stuff matters in football. It is a brutal and violent sport. And the differential between the teams that make the playoffs and teams that we look at and say, oh, Chicago, for example, losers of five in a row with four and seven. If you're not paying attention, if you're not riding the red zone all day long, you might say, yeah, same old bears.
Far from it. I mentioned three of the five losses coming on the final play. This team has been in all these games. Now, it speaks to me that this is a reflection of coaching, inability to close games and all of the shenanigans in the blown coverage on that hail Mary in D.C. But if you are someone like Dan Campbell and you're walking into a situation in which, you know, nobody else really wants this job.
And let's also back up. Do you remember the situation that Matt Patricia left behind him when he took his unkempt beard as they threw him out of the organization? Of course, Bill Belichick hired him because Bill has his own mafia and all of his proteges flame out and then he hires them because nobody else will. And if you really want to take one more step back and throw in some history and I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen, we're live on Thanksgiving Day, which is a reflection of how much Rich wants to serve you as the sports radio consumer. A lot of shows play tape. Think of all of the magnificent interviews Rich does on a daily basis. Know best of today because Rich cares about you and wants the ability ability to have a conversation live.
And in case any breaking happens, I can pivot to what is newsworthy. But go back to Jim Caldwell losing his job for no apparent reason because the Lions felt like, well, we'd maxed out. Well, those teams actually made the playoffs and it took somebody as combustible in a good way, as charismatic as the situation we now have on the sideline.
In Detroit, in the manimal Dan Campbell to blow the thing up. And he has these guys buying it. Now, it's not just some psychology play here. The Lions also have the most complete roster in all of football. Thanks to if we're talking about the holiday spirit of giving.
Thank you, Sean McVeigh. And I had no problem with the move at the time because Jared Goff had fallen apart. And in fairness, and I watch a ton of college football, and I'm coming to you from our Regal Studios in Southern California. And I was the voice of a lot of Pac-12 events along the way.
I realize the name lives on, but the conference is dead. I saw a ton of Jared Goff when he played at Cal. No one thought he was going to be a number one overall pick candidate. Wasn't his fault that the Rams misjudged him and poorly evaluated him.
He should never have gone number one. He did play in a Super Bowl. And I know we underachieved, but he got there. McVeigh, I think, deflected the criticism that was coming his way that the organization had gotten stagnant and the fall guy became Jared Goff. And I realized that trade worked out nicely in the short term for the Rams pick up Stafford.
You know, the rest of the story. They win the Super Bowl. But look at Detroit right now. In addition to the renaissance of Goff, who, if you're a critic, you could say is not asked to do that much. But there's nothing wrong with being a high end game manager if you have the one to attack on the ground that they have in Gibbs and Montgomery and a defense that is balling out. And one of the best offensive lines in football, in part because of the generosity of Sean McVeigh and Les Kneade. Because let's not forget, in addition to exiling Goff to Detroit, which at the time was the NFL's version of Siberia, we're talking over the course of 50 years, they gave him a few number one picks as well.
So Detroit has built this thing the right way. My issue with them a year ago was their defense. And we saw that exposed in high leverage situations, specifically second half of the NSC title game when, even if you're the biggest Dan Campbell supporter, you have to admit he got tight. He, I think, drank his own Kool-Aid to a degree because he didn't realize he wasn't playing the Vikings on a Sunday in October, as a rip off my act from Paul Allen, longtime radio voice of the Vikings.
Why do you ponder passing? His decision making was absurd. And I realize being aggressive got Detroit to that point. But when you have a double digit lead in the second half of the NFC Championship game, and you're a franchise that has never even played in the Super Bowl, you have to coach accordingly. But some of that also came down to the Niners ability to come back because of their offensive firepower.
And you see the huge difference between a healthy San Francisco team last year compared to where they are today. Still no confirmation that Brock Purdy is going to be able to play in a marquee matchup on Sunday Night Football against the Bills. If not, it's Brandon Allen time. And I think it'll be as gruesome as the last game for the Niners when they got annihilated on the road in Green Bay. But my question about the Lions this year, if they were going to shake off the emotional hangover, that is understandable when you gag the way they did. And Dan Campbell was fully transparent postgame saying there is no guarantee we're going to make it back to this opportunity.
He realized the gravity of the moment. Well, this lion defense, if you care about metrics, top five in scoring defense, I'll give you another nugget that stood out to me. They have not allowed a point in the second half over three consecutive games.
Yes, some of that is a reflection of the level of competition, but you can only play who's on the schedule. And it's all the more impressive because, like a lot of people, when Aiden Hutchinson went down with that horrific leg injury, let's just say it as it was, he broke his leg on live TV in that beat down of Dallas, I thought the realistic chances for the Lions to even get to the Super Bowl were lost when they lost Hutchinson, and I was dead wrong. And if you've been paying attention to the attrition going on on the Lions roster, that's not the only key loss they've endured.
Alex Anzalone, key impactful player, the linebacker spot is gone and none of it's slowing the Lions down. So as much as it is hard for people of my generation to wrap our heads around it, and that's lazy analysis, that's why I'm trying to talk my way out of it and be upfront with my own biases, it's just weird to acknowledge the Lions are the best team, the most complete team in the NFL. I think they win today, although it'll be more interesting. They win today for a variety of reasons, and I understand all of the bugaboos of playing a short week on a holiday as the home team.
You got family and friends coming in, you got to get them tickets, you got the meal going on in the background, quote-unquote distractions, although these are professional athletes after all. But the Lions role at home, they are just such a high-powered offense in addition to the defensive statement they've been making. And Chicago has found a way to lose these games in part because something is amiss on this team. And we've had players going public with cryptic comments about a lack of leadership. We've already seen the offensive coordinator get blown out. It seems obvious that Matt Eberfluss will be the next to go. And then you wonder about the impact of that on a young on a young quarterback like Caleb Williams.
Well, I'm not bashing. He's had a very solid year. Problem for Caleb has been the burden of expectations.
And when you're projected to be the best prospect since what, Andrew Luck? That's how much hype there was surrounding Caleb. And you see what Jayden Daniels did early in the year. And I mentioned how Bo Nix has come on. There's going to be a sentiment at the end of this season, especially given all the losing surrounding the Bears that Caleb Williams underachieved.
Not the case. He's learning on the job. And there's a reason why for the majority of the history of the NFL, rookies didn't see the field because they're not ready even if you're a Tier 1 prospect like Caleb Williams. Lions' question will be this moving forward. And I'll pick this up as we continue together.
And I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen. If you believe what I'm saying is accurate and hopefully there are no alternative facts in there to dissect, how would you slot the Lions and the Eagles now in the NFC? How much separation do you see between Philly and Detroit? With a reminder, we got Philadelphia on the road in Baltimore coming up on Sunday and a game filled with playoff implications. And they're not going to play one-on-one basketball.
They're not going to arm wrestle. But you got Saquon Barkley making his MVP case, although he's not going to win that award. I'll tell you why coming up, going head to head against not only King Derrick Henry, but all the mobility that Lamar Jackson has to offer.
I'm Brian Weber in for Rich. We're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Ford Field. Once the first of three games between the Lions and Bears get underway, I will keep you constantly updated as we push our way forward.
Getting closer to our number two, I'll spend some time on the Giants and the Cowboys. At least it appears we'll be spared the greatness of Tommy Cutlets matching up against Cooper Rush. However you view Drew Locke, at least he's a competent NFL quarterback. Tommy Cutlets, Tommy DeVito, I'll go by his given name, was an aberration last year.
That was a complete anomaly. It was a linsanity for Big Blue when you saw what Tommy really looked like last week getting crushed by the Buccaneers. And I'm going to spend a good chunk of time talking about Miami and Green Bay and why I believe it's time to stop sleeping on the Dolphins as a legitimate wildcard contender beyond where they are in the standings.
Now you could say, hey loud guy whoever you are, doesn't Mike McDaniel have an atrocious record against teams with winning records like the Packers? You're right, I'll tell you why I think it's overdue for that trend to end as soon as tonight. Just getting warmed up on a very busy holiday. 20 minutes from now we're talking college football and the flaws that are obvious in the new 12-team format coming up because I want to feel better about working on a holiday. I'm a volunteer not a hostage and not to be too self-important.
Among the reasons I have no problems and put my hand up and say hey Rich do you need a guy because I love to work. Secondarily all the broadcasters I respect work on Thanksgiving among them Tom Brady who's played on holidays before but today he'll be in the broadcast booth for the first time calling the Cowboys and the Giants yet another Dallas game for Tom to endure. We're going to spin it forward for the face of the NFL.
Is Tom really committed to being in the broadcast booth for the long term? We'll get there. I appreciate you spending part of your Thanksgiving with us.
844-204-7424. Hit me up on X. BW Weber. Weber with two B's. Always a blast to keep the chair warm for Rich. We are live on this Thanksgiving. I'm Brian Weber.
This is the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk sleep number people. There's a reason why sleep number is the official sleep and wellness partner of the National Football League because in the NFL there's no margin for error. One mistake can change the outcome of a game and science proves quality sleep can help boost reaction time, recovery time and overall athletic performance. Imagine what it can do for you. I know about it. My sleep number setting is 60.
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Not all purchases will be approved terms applied learn more at americanexpress.com amex business. Let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts people you love their jingle you're gonna love their friendly helpful service even better because they're in the business of keeping your car on the road and the parts knowledge they have it's all you need for your maintenance and repairs. They've got thousands of parts and accessories in stock either in store or online so you never have to worry if you're in a jam. The team at O'Reilly Auto Parts can test your battery for free in or out of your car if it needs to be replaced they'll find you just the right battery for your vehicle need your windshield wipers replaced a brake light fixed or quick service they'll help you there and find the right part or point you to the nearest local repair shop for help. 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Weber Weber with two B's I super sized much like the plates we'll all be having hopefully later today my monologue so I'm going to be more concise here because I want to have plenty of time to stretch out and talk college football quick aside there is somebody because I am just this vein who always reminds me I've worked very hard to lose the remnants of the east coast accent I understand it bleeds through from time to time orange was very challenging for me as a child the day between Friday and Sunday Saturday Saturday apparently even though I've worked in college sports for 35 years my soft college comes through so if I hammer that and am even more annoying than I normally am there's a thought process behind it want to talk about what I think are clear problems agendas at play and a 12-team format that is not better than the old format and I'm not just being a contrarian that's coming up in 15 minutes want to spend a couple minutes on Tom Brady and then we'll move to the Saquon Barkley MVP conversation Tom certainly knows what it takes to wrap up the most prestigious individual award in football Tommy DeVito is never going to have MVP consideration scanning through x the latest update from Rich's colleague at NFL network their insider Ian Rappaport Tommy DeVito stayed behind in New York to get a further MRI other tests on his forearm before he did go to Dallas he'll be there at the game not expected to play according to Ian all signs were pointing in that direction drew lock as mentioned will be under center and it felt like that was a move Brian Dabel had to make because the postgame comments and I'm not just talking about Malik neighbors who was justifiably miffed he didn't get nearly the targets he deserved in the first half of that abysmal game against the Buccaneers but you had a variety of veterans coming out and using the s-word soft which is an NFL crime basically saying our team didn't show up so Dabel had to do something to at least signal to the majority of the locker room that I think he has lost let's have a chance to win out there drew lock however you view him I keep using the word serviceable intentionally he at least gives you an opportunity despite all the problems the Giants have to compete Tommy DeVito has no business being on a professional football field although pretty obvious what the Giants are doing thank you very much in this instance losing is winning winning want to keep just that to win total that they have to maximize their shot getting the number one overall pick and taking a quarter back there likely shadora sanders but remember organizations tank players do not because they're competing for either their next contract or their next job moving on next year so it's a ridiculous situation in new york speaking to the dysfunction of an organization that has been way too obvious for way too long I am not bashing Tom Brady for a few reasons I realize where he went to college and I know college and I know who I'm sitting in for they are both Michigan men Tom Brady is doing an adequate job as a broadcaster I could critique some of the things that bother me but I also realize that's inside baseball I would say just objectively I'll check in with I mentioned my sister or a cousin or two the thoughts are Brady's talking too much which is understandable even if you are the goat there are nerves connected to something you don't have a lot of experience in and then secondly I don't love his high-pitched voice but that's me being critical I think the bigger question is does Tom really want to play this role does Tom want to have this job long term because it seems obvious especially now reports that the NFL is considering even more restrictions on his dual role as the lead analyst on Fox and now a part owner of the Raiders how can you do both those jobs effectively simultaneously now the part owner role is largely ceremonial although do you think Brady would sign up for that and he got a huge sweetheart deal so there were financial considerations and that's the case let's be totally transparent with the broadcasting job if these reports are true who's turning down 30 million dollars a year even if it's a job you don't totally want that is the godfather offer but I do think it's important for Brady in terms of prestige and self-image that he wants to be the face of the National Football League and here's the way to do it post playing days still he can't go into facilities he had to sit down with Mahomes and apparently the league took issue with because theoretically he could gain a couple nuggets about Kansas City then go back to his people and look we know the Raiders need all the help they can get and say hey Mahomes talked about they have some issues at the ex-receiver as I throw in football terminology for no reason but it strikes me that broadcasting is a grind like any other job and part of this gig is you have to want to be on the air I was delusional enough when I was a 21 year old kid who looked 14 and sounded nine I believe that I had sports opinions the world should know and here I am decades later not because of talent ornate skill because I kept showing up and I tried to get better I'm not convinced that Tom Brady is putting the time in because he has so many other opportunities and because of the restrictions and some people namely Mike Florio frequent guest on this program who runs the profootball.com empire they think that Brady is pleased with the restrictions because he can say no guys you have a good time you go down a couple days early you meet with the coaches have fun at the facility just give me the gist of what they said and I'll give you one more reason to believe while I can understand the financial incentive for Brady to stay in the booth as long as he can I do think the Vegas part ownership is part of his long-term plan to be also involved with the NBA ownership group when the league as predicted is going to expand to Vegas within the next three years LeBron will be the face of that organization I think Brady will play a role and at that point if you're the part owner of two teams how in the world can you justify parachuting into these games to say nothing something worth tracking moving forward but yes I feel much better about myself working on a holiday knowing that I will be making a fraction of what Tom Brady is but we have something in common and that's about it I will not go through all the other areas in which Tom has surpassed yours truly I'm brian weber infranchising 844-204-7424 hit me up on x bw weber weber with two b's an hour from now we talk college football with chris venini of the athletics straight ahead I'll take you on campus not a lot of college action today really highlighted by Memphis and Tulane don't sleep on Tulane coming out of the American and throwing some further unpredictability into the bracket the games start ramping up tomorrow because the NFL now owns Thanksgiving in an even bigger way with a triple header but once we get to the games that matter tomorrow with all the talk of chaos don't we have a firm handle on how 90 of the playoff field is going to look already that's on the agenda straight ahead I'm brian weber we are live on thanksgiving always a delight to sit in for rich and the fellows we continue on the rich eisen show as many of you clearly know I love going to watch football live there's nothing like it whether it's college football or professional football there's nothing quite like the excitement of being in the stadium and game time tickets and game time picks through game time is exactly your way and your gateway to getting the seat that you want and the experience that you'll never forget game time picks is a new curation feature that filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't waste a single second searching through thousands of tickets the all-in pricing feature that's my favorite you get to see your total up front no surprise fees at checkout with game time you'll always get the lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you 110 of the difference take the guesswork right out of buying tickets right now with game time download the game time app create an account use my code of eisen for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms apply visit game time.co for restrictions again create an account redeem my code eis en boom twenty dollars off download game time today what time is it game time this is a psa or public sock announcement experts have declared bombas socks as the best way to warm up chilly feet these pairs are super cushy soft and designed for maximum coziness plus for every pair purchased another pair will be donated so someone in need of essential clothing can stay warm this winter go to bombas.com slash listen and use code listen for 20 off your first purchase that's bombas.com slash listen and use code listen at checkout brian weber back with you in for rich eisen your voice can be heard eight four four two oh four seven four two four conversation never stops on social media hit me up on the x platform b w weber weber with two b's less than 20 minutes we get back to the nfl i realize i promised you thoughts on why saquon barkley will not win the mvp we'll address that as we ease our way into our number two not going to go in depth on the cowboys and the giants because it does not deserve that kind of analysis but we'll use that game as a platform to talk about coaches who should be looking over their shoulder certainly not the case for dan campbell who has the lions red hot and rolling game between detroit and chicago underway opening possession claimed by detroit and they are matriculating the ball down the field all the way down to chicago 25 five minutes into the game scoreless i will keep you updated as the big moments happen let's make the move on campus and if i'm going to be totally up front and i probably should whisper this in a way that does not destroy the entire system i project so much occasionally i knock us into the emergency broadcasting system that is my fault but at least we know all the technology is good if the missiles fly i love college football as much as the nfl don't tell anybody now some of that has been revised and i am not i promise you i am not trying to troll you i'm too old i learned a long time ago that if you say what you mean and you mean what you say you don't have to spend four hours scripting things or you don't have to wonder what did i say yesterday so i'm intellectually consistent i've been on the record and i know you're wondering who i told this to i used to do a show with my name on the marquee on two networks that got cancelled but even on the x platform bw weber weber with two bs and i i fully realize i am the voice in the wilderness here and the vast majority of you listening disagree and if you care about content creators everybody in my business disagrees because of the financial incentive if you work for espn who's going to go on the air and say the 12 team format is a sham other than somebody who might be trying to get ahead on one of those horrendous talking head shows but i sincerely believe what i'm about to say as it's now a red zone opportunity for the lions they have advanced to the chicago 12 looking for the first score of the game midway through the opening quarter i'm brian weber i'll keep you updated as to what's going on at ford field as we multitask here's the problem with the expanded playoff the guiding principle was sold to us as it's going to be a much more competitive landscape right this is all about opportunity hey we're going to take the five conference champions and give them automatic bids based on whoever that fifth conference champion might be from the group of five looks like it's going to be boise state i mentioned don't sleep on two lane coming out of the american but look we finally gave the little guy a seat at the big table this is all about equity opportunity now remember the reason we have the five automatic bids is because we used to have a power five before greed and incompetence killed the pac-12 and as oregon gets ready to play washington tomorrow that should be oregon oregon state like they did for over a century and i realize they played earlier this year but you get the point i'm making because in this crass attempt to grab every single dollar available we have destroyed tradition and regional rivalries rivalries in the name now of ungodly super conferences like the big 12 the big 12 is going to be saddled with one bid because that's all they deserve because it's a mediocre league and i won't go through all of the different scenarios because half the league could still win a spot into the conference championship game lions strike first 30-yard field goal they're on the board a 3-0 lead over the bears with seven minutes ago in the first i'll keep you updated the whole point of the expanded playoff was to get maximum revenue for the big tent and the sec that is it everything else that was told to us was spin and pollyanna kind of thoughts to make it seem like this is a wonderful chance for the have-nots to finally have a legitimate opportunity that was a ruse college football is run by a cartel and that cartel comes down to the big 10 in the sec now the big 10 is smiling because they're going to get four bids into the 12-team field i understand the candidacy and at this point it's a slam dunk so let's just make it official penn state's going to the playoff tell me who penn state's best win is this year you can hit me up on the x platform from happy valley bw weber weber with two b's and i understand that argument can be made for texas as well and the answer for texas is at least they beat vanderbilt vanderbilt has six wins vanderbilt with a victory over alabama but alabama's got a ton of flaws we'll get there in a moment but don't lose sight of the fact that we were sold a bill of goods that was fraudulent this is an exercise in maximizing revenue for the two conferences that matter and if they don't get their way they'll just split off from the rest of college football they'll poach a handful of teams from the remnants of the big 12 and the acc and we'll have the big 10 as the de facto afc of college football and the sec as the nfc and they'll run the sport in a much more straightforward fashion because if you're not paying attention and it's not your job after all so let me enlighten you if i can this 12 team format is only contractually obligated to exist for this year next year contract is up so by 2026 there will be obvious expansion they'll go to 16 they'll go to 18 they'll make it as large as they can why to make more money and to create more slots for you guessed it the sec and the big 10 and we've already had tony petite the commissioner of the big 10 go on the record in october talking about the need for automatic bids for the sec in the big 10 now do the math four big 10 teams out of a field of 12 i'm not great with arithmetic even i can come up with a third the sec will get at a minimum three teams i respect dan wessel of yahoo sports he laid out a straightforward scenario that suggests the sec because they are cannibalizing each other could only get two bids not going to happen because this committee has shown in the past when they only had four slots to fill an obvious sec bias you think there's going to be any way in the world that the sec will permit them to have half the teams that the big 10 gets into this 12 team playoff no way no how and i'm not convinced that number's not going to be four now i'm not going to go through all the scenarios and we're going to go back to this coming up in the next hour of the program but if you're just being straightforward georgia although georgia georgia tech is more interesting than you think remember georgia tech has miami's only lost on their resume and miami's a flawed team as well and the sec is poised to have a second bid stolen from the sec but let's just play it out as rationally as we can georgia in as sec champs texas beats texas a&m tennessee great shape so there's your third team and then what do we do would say a three loss alabama who i think has no business sniffing the tournament as we call it in lame college parlance because they couldn't score a freaking touchdown against oklahoma an oklahoma team that had not beaten an fbs school since september oh by the way sec still plays eight conference games why because they can they can do anything they want but you if you listen closely to the conversation on the latest ranking reveal on tuesday talk about a three loss team sneaking in there i think people are overlooking south carolina that south carolina clemson game is monumental already buzzed about the implications if clemson wins let's go the other way south carolina wins on the road their three losses include a blowout against old miss still a quality opponent remember old miss was poised to go to the playoff if they hadn't wet the bed last week against florida and billy napier's suddenly resurging gators the south carolina other two losses were narrow losses to ranked alabama and ranked lsu well there's your third team at a minimum if there's chaos say texas a&m beats texas then loses to georgia and the sec title game although you'll hear the argument all four lost texas a&m deserves to go as the runner-up in the sec because it's the sec and they're always going to fall back on strength of schedule so i could go round and round but let me put a button on this for now and no change as to what's going on at ford field it is the lions on top of the bears three nothing with five minutes to go in the first quarter four big ten teams oregon ohio state penn state indiana i think is in i can understand the pushback saying they shouldn't be there because they got obliterated in the second half against ohio state and exposed to a degree but their strength of schedule went from something outside of 100 to the mid-50s by playing the buck eyes at the horseshoe four big ten teams minimum of three sec teams notre dame is going to hammer usc it's been a brutal year from lincoln riley at least they're bowl eligible so they can play a crappy bowl that nobody cares about notre dame in don't tell me about northern illinois i know it's a bad loss and northern illinois has five losses but that's ancient history because it was september and never forget this is a tv show notre dame draws eyeballs they'll be in this field and they're virtually and now all they have to do is handle their business against usc coming up on saturday after that you got boise state likely i'll pencil them in be great to see what ashtin gentie could do with more national exposure mount west champs big 12 is a mess they're only getting one bid and then the question becomes does the acc get two bids or is it their champion only and that's where the sec in my opinion has a real opportunity to steal that fourth bid because they run the sport and they might get help namely miami could lose syracuse the acc title game could be a blowout so after all of the ups and downs the wrinkles and round and round i think we know where it's going to wind up four from the big ten at least three from the sec and you know the rest of the story i'm brian weber in for rich lions lead the bears three nothing in the first hour number two coming up on the rich eisen show hey it's rich eisen here join me and my compadre chris brockman every monday on the overreaction monday podcast rich jamus has taken the brows to the playoffs dude why can't they win seven eight games to finish the year why not i'm not saying it'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 overreaction monday wherever you listen it's game over over man
