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Warde Manuel: Strength of Schedule is Always Something We Look At Throughout Our Rankings

The Rich Eisen Show / Rich Eisen
The Truth Network Radio
December 9, 2024 3:50 pm

Warde Manuel: Strength of Schedule is Always Something We Look At Throughout Our Rankings

The Rich Eisen Show / Rich Eisen

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December 9, 2024 3:50 pm

12/9/24 - Hour 3

College Football Committee Selection Committee Chair Warde Manuel explains to Rich how he and his colleagues landed on the final 12-team field including choosing SMU over Alabama, ranking Ohio State lower than Penn State even though the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions head-to-head, the possibility of adding more teams to the CFP field next year, and more.  

 

Rich weighs in on the Vikings improving to 11-2 on the season behind Sam Darnold’s 5-touchdown day that spoiled Kirk Cousins’ return to Minnesota, and reacts to Eagles WR AJ Brown’s unhappiness with Philadelphia’s passing game despite Philadelphia running away with the NFC East with an 11-2 record.

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Does it have the accuracy? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Dozens hit by Harrison Smith as he throws it. Earlier on the show from Paramount Plus's Lin, actor Jon Hamm. Still to come.

College football playoff committee chair Ward Manual. Plus latest news and more. And now it's Rich Eisen. Our number three of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air live here on the Roku channel.

We just said goodbye to Jon Hamm who is here in studio and you could watch Landman again right here on the Roku portal through Paramount Plus. Lots of fun talking with him about the National Football League. Juan Soto signing with TJ's Metropolitans for one billion dollars. Close enough. Just about.

Close enough. And so we're about to chat with Ward Manual, the athletic director at the University of Michigan and the chair of the college football playoff committee. We just broke down their work, the final 12 brackets that came out during the final hour of NFL game day morning yesterday. We talked about it with Pat McAfee when he was live on our program.

So that was fascinating to say the least when Pat was on the air and Indiana wound up at Notre Dame. Perfect guy to talk to about all that. So cool.

I know. 844-204 Rich is the number to dial while we're waiting for Ward. Let's take a phone call to Mitch and Dallas. You're here on the Rich Eisen Show. What's up Mitch? Hey Rich, how you doing? I'm good. What's on your mind? Well, you know, I was telling saying earlier this whole I don't totally understand where everybody's coming from when they talk strength of schedule.

So I'm in Dallas. SMU got in, which I'm happy for SMU over Alabama, because I don't understand why late in the season Alabama and the SEC are playing teams like Mercer and getting rewarded for that. Well, I mean, sorry, go ahead.

No, I just don't understand when we, so when I hear strength of schedule, I'm saying that should should be penalized, not penalized and totally ignored, thrown out. Well, I got to tell you, Mitch, we've got a guy who can actually help enlighten us on some of the metrics that were put into play for the college football playoff committee that he chairs. He is also the athletic director for the University of Michigan. And joining us right now is a man who is going to receive the, the, from the college football hall of fame and the national football foundation, the John L. Toner award, none other than Ward Manuel here on the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you, Ward. How are you? I'm doing great, Rich. How you doing?

I'm good, man. A lot of people are this afternoon. Exactly. A lot of people are reviewing the work of, of the college football playoff committee.

Let me just jump right into it and ask you about the, the question that a caller was just talking about and, and scheduling. And I'm wondering if that is what did come into play for SMU getting in after losing to Clemson in the ACC championship game in Alabama, part of the final 12 in the second to last iteration of the bracket being knocked out? Yeah, well, first of all, it's always, strength of schedule is always something that we look at throughout our rankings. For every week we are together and we, we get together and comparing teams, we're constantly looking at where their strength of schedule is compared to other teams.

It's important, very important metric that we use, but it's not the only thing we use. I mean, if, if strength of schedule was the only thing we use, just line up the top 12 strength of schedule teams and let them play in the playoffs. The commissioners have asked that all the committee, the 13 of us that have a vote on the committee, look at games, look at data, see the outcome of games, where they played, how would they play in those kinds of things to come up with a decision of the group to rank the top 25.

It's not easy. Strength of schedule is not the only thing. Some teams have weaker strength of schedules because they schedule weak teams in the non-conference. And some, by the luck of the draw, play a conference schedule, whether it's in the SEC, the Big Ten or any conference, that doesn't have strong teams in that particular year. The teams that they're playing are not doing that, they're not doing that in that particular year. The teams that they're playing are not doing as well.

And so that also diminishes strength of schedule. And some of that is, is self-inflicted and some of it is just the way the conference schedule worked out that particular year. So why did SMU make it? Well, the committee felt that SMU had, you know, in their conference games, they went undefeated. The playoffs at the time was by three to BYU. And then they played Clemson down to literally the last second in that field goal by Clemson's kicker to put them into the playoffs as a conference champion. And so with that resume, losing two games by a total of six points compared to Alabama's also has a great resume. They played great teams. They won some of those games.

I think they only lost one, but they also lost to some unranked opponents in their schedule. And so as we debated and discussed it, believe me, it wasn't as easy as I'm explaining it in a minute or two. There was a lot of discussion in the room about it, a lot of talk about different things that people thought about as it related to the strengths of the teams, the weaknesses of the teams. And in this particular case, when the discussion and debate was finally over and we voted, SMU came out ahead of Alabama. Do you think SMU's second half comeback, making that a tight game, was like the last piece of a resume that put them over the top?

Do you think? Well, yeah, I mean, listen, it's really the total game, Rich. I mean, ultimately, you know, some teams start off strong, some teams, you know, come back strong. Sometimes the games are back and forth throughout the game. What we were impressed with was in the end, SMU played a very tight game in the end. They found a way after being down to come back, their defense stood up in the second half. Their offense was more productive. And so, yeah, I mean, it did have an effect in the totality of the game and ultimately the results were that Clemson won. But it was a very, very tight game in the end.

And what about a conversation, if you wouldn't mind taking me into the room, about Arizona State and Clemson vying for potentially that final bi-week spot, Ward? Yeah, well, you know, both of them, you know, had great games, but Arizona State really dominated their game. Their last game that they played against Iowa State, they won in a dominant fashion.

And so we were really impressed. They went on an unbelievable run from in the second half of the season. And they were playing, you know, they were maybe the hottest team right now in college football. The way they've played their running back, Scatterboot, and their quarterback are both, Scatterboot is just an unbelievable runner. And their quarterback showed that he could run. And so they moved the ball very well. Their defense was strong throughout the last half of the season. One of their games that they lost, their quarterback was out, I believe it was Cincinnati.

But that doesn't matter. They still had two losses. But the way that they came into the game and the way they performed was just exceptional. Ward Manuel here, fresh off of the college football playoff selection committee that he chairs, coming up with the list of 12 and the rankings, as well as the brackets right here on the Rich Eisen Show. So let's talk about the first round matchups and how you came about this and talking about one thing that a lot of big tenors are discussing, certainly in the city of Columbus, Ohio, Ward, is that Ohio State beat Penn State. And yet they are ranked lower than Penn State.

Why is that? Well, they did beat Penn State by seven. Penn State lost like Ohio State lost to in a one score game.

They would have had to go on to two. But it was, in essence, a one score game to the number one team in the country. Ohio State lost to them by one point. But Ohio State had an unranked loss in their last game. And with the performance of Penn State season, as well as how they performed in the last game that they played, the committee, in terms of how we voted it, felt that Penn State was was a slightly higher rate than Ohio State. And so I know Ohio State was not in the championship game, so they couldn't move really ahead of Notre Dame. And we just didn't feel that Penn State should move behind in a vote. The committee voted that they should move behind Ohio State. And in terms of the matchups in the first round, did you just go and vote for the seedings and that's the way everything wound up? Or did you did you look at some of these matchups like, OK, let's get something compelling for people to watch?

How much how much did that wasn't at all? You just you just came up with the rankings and the chips fell this way. We ranked the top twenty five in at the end and there was no discussion about, well, if we do, if we rank this team here, they're going to have to play here or, you know, we we couldn't do that, Rich. We were asked by the commissioners to rank the top twenty five. And then we saw it, how it came together once I certified and said, OK, we have our top twenty final top twenty five. Then the staff, you know, Rich Clark and the staff from the CFP took it from there and they placed the top five highest rated champions into the playoffs.

And then they did the at large teams based on where they fell in terms of order after those were put in. And then voila, we saw we saw it for the first time there. There was no speculation at all. I not that it came up, but I wouldn't have allowed it.

And I made sure at the beginning of the meeting, everybody understood that's not what we're going to talk about. That's not our our role. Our role is to rank them one through twenty five in what we see are the rank order in the and the best teams in the in the top twenty five. And the chips just fall in a certain way. And if somebody thinks that there's an easier path here than somebody else there, it's just the way that everything landed.

And then you just took the rankings and just slotted them right in the bracket. And that's just the way it went. That's what you're saying.

Yes, that's exactly the way it went. I mean, there's no, you know, nobody, no discussion of the path. I mean, people can look at it now and say, well, this team on paper has a better path. But what this year taught us more than any other year in the last three years, there were a lot of upsets where on paper people felt like this team was going to win. And so when people ask us if asked me if we projected in the room, the answer is no.

That's why you play the game. And so in this particular case, Oregon was the only undefeated team and there were many, many upsets in in the top twenty five of teams losing to either unranked teams or teams that were substantially below them in the ranking when they played the game. And again, there's no consideration for conferences where, you know, obviously certain conferences, if you will, have more lucrative television contracts.

And those conferences need to potentially be more represented in the final twelve. This is the conversations that I think a lot of fans and some people outside looking in are wondering about Ward. None at all.

None at all. It's not discussed. I mean, we understand that every team every team in the FBS is playing and they're playing hard. We have many coaches. We have four coaches in a room.

We have four or five former football players in the room. We have eight athletic directors in the room representing the power for as well as other conferences in the FBS. And so for us, we're here to to really showcase the top twenty five in from the start when we start after week eight all the way through to yesterday. Our goal was to rank the top twenty five as we saw them as a committee. And then, you know, if it happens that conferences are, you know, dominating the top twelve or the top twenty five, that's just a factor of how we see those teams and how they play throughout the year. It has nothing to do with selecting wanting certain numbers of conference teams in the playoffs. It's just it's not even the conversation that we have.

Well, I mean, and I don't know a few minutes left with Ward manual here in the Richison Show. I know asking this question the day after all of this might sound silly, but I'm also not just talking to the selection committee chair of the college football playoff, but also the athletic director of the University of Michigan here this entire endeavor. Do you think it could be larger? Do you think that this could be more than 12 teams, 16 teams, 32?

What do you think? I think the commissioners should talk about it after after we see the outcome of this season and make the decision that they think is best as we move forward in college football. The one thing that I could tell you, Rich, is that I've enjoyed hearing the excitement about the playoff and people having the potential to make the playoff more than just the top four. And so for me, having been on the committee for the last two years prior to this, to see the excitement of a 12 team playoff, to see the how the season end in everybody's eyes on the ACC outcome and the Big Ten outcome, what happened in the Big 12, those games were way more intriguing to people because of the college playoff than just another championship game for those teams potentially. And so I think it really is an exciting time. And I think where we are with 12, if that's what the commissioners want to stay with, I think it'll be exciting. If they want to expand, I'll leave it up to them to have that discussion right now, both as the AD at Michigan. I just believe that this is exciting for college football.

And I look forward to watching these matchups. Well, because it's and again, you know, you're you in this position, both of them that you hold Ward, you know, you are out there and talking to so many other of your colleagues and you are as aware that there are certain institutions that have questions about rules of NIL and portal and scheduling things of that nature and trying to make it more uniform for a bunch of institutions that have similar questions and budgets about it. And how this, where this is going, right? I mean, obviously you mentioned the commissioners, Tony Petitti of the Big Ten, Greg Sankey of the SEC, I have a working group of the two of them. I'm just wondering where you think this is all headed when it comes to maybe the college football playoff being the portal through which more like-minded institutions could come up with rules outside of just the playing field, NIL, portal, scheduling and make it more uniform where you think that's headed, Ward? I don't know exactly where it's headed, but here's what I could tell you, Rich. I hope no matter what direction we go that we understand that college football, it's important throughout this country and we need to make sure that we protect this game.

And however it comes out and how everything's moved into the future, that would be something that I think should also be on the table for consideration, whatever things are moved. I mean, all the realignment that has occurred, you know, that needs to settle in a way, if you will. You know, there's been a lot of disruption in college football because of that, because of NIL, because of the portal, because of revenue share. All these different things are coming at us very, very quickly in a game that has been played for over a hundred years in this country. We need to make sure that we don't allow so much disruption to hurt the game.

And we really need to really think about how, what's best for college football, as well as what's best for individual institutions and conferences and the like, but we need to consider it all. Ward Manuel here on the Rich Eisen Show. Before I let you go, if you don't mind a moment for me, and I guess in a way, us here. We went to school at the same time, Ward, 86, class of 90, right? Were you class of 90, pretty much? We were there, we were together in Chrysler Arena, graduating together, you and I, watching Lawrence Kasdan, the director of the Big Chill, give a very big chill speech to all of us.

It was awesome. A couple of things. If you had strolled into Bo Schembechler's office and asked for NIL money, what would you have said, Ward? You're laughing. I know it, right?

What would you say? Hey, hey, Bo, there's a portal, right? Right? No?

That wouldn't have flown? I can't say what I think he was saying on this show. Right? GTFO. Totally. Pretty much something along those lines, definitely. Yeah.

He wouldn't say go blue, but there'd be a different word after go, right? Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Yeah. Listen, everybody asks me that question about, you know, Bo, you know, like all these coaches, they will survive. I mean, he would have survived in this, you know, he, he may not have liked it initially, but you know, you have to adjust. I mean, that's what great leaders do. And he was a great leader. He would adjust it, but the initial conversations wouldn't have been, wouldn't have been too clean, put it that way.

Wouldn't have been pretty. And in the basketball world, shortly before you hopped on here, Dusty May's team is ranked 14th overall right now. First time that the Michigan's basketball team has been ranked in over two years. What's your two cents of the first couple of months of the Dusty May administration? Ward?

Love it. He's an unbelievable, unbelievable coach, obviously. But even a better person, great family, you know, his wife, Anna, and his boys, they're just tremendous.

They've embraced being in Ann Arbor in coming to Michigan. He hasn't missed a beat. He's engaged with everyone in the community, our donors, President Ono and the board. He's just really a great person on top of being a very, very, very good coach. And I've just been blown away by Dusty and how he goes about building the team, the character that he looks for on and off the court, the way they work together has been showcased. And I think that's why he's progressed so quickly that people have really seen what he's already accomplished in a very short period of time. And I look forward to working with him, supporting him, helping him to continue to drive the success of Michigan men's men's basketball.

And how do you assess everything with Sharone Moore right now before I let you go, Ward Manuel? I think he's doing, yeah, I think he's doing a tremendous job. I mean, I think, you know, he's like all new coaches, particularly coming from a coordinator to a head coach, he's learning what it's like. I mean, when you move, you know, he was this close to Jim, but when you move into that chair it's different and you have a lot more responsibilities other than just football.

And so for me, I've been impressed. We had the, he motivated this team to stay together throughout the season. The way he approached the losses as well as the wins was balanced, was passionate. Each time he told them and expressed his love for him, told them what they needed to do, wanted the best for them in football and as people. And that last game that we played, when nobody gave that team a shot, the only people who believed were those of us who understood what it's like to put on that uniform and play your rival in Ohio State. And those kids went out and they played one of the best games of the season.

The game plan was absolutely wonderful on both sides of the ball. And so for me, I think Sharone is doing a great job, not a good job, a great job. Look at what he's done in recruiting, all the things that he's accomplished us for. I've been really impressed with him and how he's grown in that program.

Any insights on the offensive coordinator search that you can allow here? No. Okay, good to know. That's a no right there. Hey man, that's why you're getting the Toner Award tonight. That's right there. You demonstrated superior administrative abilities right there and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics, particularly college football.

I can't let people know the direction we're thinking, he's thinking about going in, you know, on national TV. Okay. Well, look for my text then, Ward.

Look for my text. As you know, that win that you referred to a couple times here, one is the athletic director of the University of Michigan, and then one is the college football playoff committee chair as an unranked loss, loss to an unranked team. That both, that's the one in the same loss for Ohio State has allowed me to talk a lot lately and I greatly appreciate that, Ward, and I appreciate your time here on this program where I've been doing a lot of talking. So thank you.

Yes, sir. Thank you for having me, Rich. Always good to be with you and go blue. Right back at you, go blue, and congrats again on that, on the John L. Toner Award tonight in Las Vegas. Thank you, sir. You bet. That's the National Football Foundation that Ward Manual right back at you is in Las Vegas for.

Thanks again. That's Ward Manual right here on the Rich Eisen Show, fellow Michigan alum, class of 90. Hey, now. We were there. Did you know each other at the time? I just, I covered the Michigan football team, and I'll never forget that season. I covered his final season there where Bo Michigan beat Ohio State and Bo then announced he was retiring. And I told you, leading up to that game, the weekly press conference that Bo had in a place called Weber's Inn, locally in Ann Arbor, there would be a lunchroom. Well, I mean, it was this long rectangular table that everyone, the press would sit around and we would have lunch. And I remember the first one I ever attended, Bo was sitting in his, at the head of the, he was going to sit at the head. Remember I told you the story?

Yeah. And I sat in the wrong seat. I sat in the seat of Harry Abrams, the long time associated press reporter who needed to sit to Bo's left because I apparently had a problem with his left ear.

So he had to listen with his right, and he had a special seat. I sat in that seat. They immediately told me to get the F up. So I went to just like to collect myself. So I got a hamburger, sat down and then Bo, it was just me and Bo at this table.

I was all the way at the possible end. I went as far away from Bo as I possibly could be after they told me to get up. And so Bo sat down. It was just me and him at that table. And I didn't know what the hell to say to the legend. What the hell am I going to say?

Right. I clearly didn't know enough to know what seat to sit in. So he basically started the conversation by saying, is that burger good? How is it? I'm like, it's actually great.

It was really good. He said basically that his doctor made him swear off burgers because he had a heart attack. So that was the only conversation I had with him literally for the first like month and a half of the season. But right before Ohio State, that game, we held that press conference conversation, not at the lunch table, but he moved it to the room next door in front of a fire. And we all sat around while he had a fireside chat and everyone's like, what the hell is going on? Like this never happened. And I think Bo knew he was going to retire.

That's pretty cool. Beat Ohio State and then peaced out and then got robbed in the Rose Bowl by a holding penalty after, God bless him, Bo Schembechler, Mr. Three yards and a cloud of dust. I'll talk about this with Ward the next time. Mr. Three yards and a cloud of dust called for a fake punt with mere minutes to go in the Rose Bowl against USC. And it worked, but called back due to holding on a very questionable holding call. But Michigan's used to getting hosed in that game, as you saw with the fumble that never took place.

Saw the touchdown that never took place because the ball was a fumble. Yeah. Yeah.

There was no replay back in the seventies. All right. Game time. Get this app, put it on a mobile device near you and start going to games or concerts or comedy shows or theater events. The all in pricing feature. You see the total upfront with no surprise fees at checkout. I I'm telling you other places where you might've gotten your tickets before when you go, oh, that seats really not that expensive.

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The Minnesota Vikings have 11 wins. We'll talk about what's up with them. When we come back, let's talk O'Reilly auto parts people. You love their jingle. You're going to love their friendly, helpful service even better. Cause 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.

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Game time. How are you, George? I'm happy to be here, Rich.

I'm happy to talk to you again. Are you really, George? We saw your Instagram, George. We saw it.

We saw it. I don't mean to interrupt what's going on. You know, you're on vacation with your wife, right?

They're in Cabo. Is that what's going on right now? Did I see that? Hey, between you and me, and don't tell anybody else, I am actually back in Nashville. That's from last week.

Don't tell anybody. And here I was, you know, said, say, go say hi to McVeigh and go say hi to, you know, Stafford. But there you are. Okay.

So this was last week. You were on the Okie doke. I was saying I was Kyle, Chan, and that's kind of my. That's your speed. Okay. Well, okay. Good.

Now I don't feel as bad. I don't feel like I'll go to Cabo with you too, man. You look like you know how to have a good time. Well, here's my deal, George. George, here's my deal. I'm going to have a good time. Well, here's my deal, George.

George, here's my deal. And this is the, it's not just because I'm a 51 year old man. This is the way I've been in my entire life. Tequila is a night ender for me.

Like literally if it's two in the afternoon, which I would never really do these days. Anyway, it's over my, my nights over finished. I know it's something like a blast, but you know, it's true tequila. And I just don't mix with tequila. Never happened.

You should see the look that my dad just gave the phone after hearing you say that tequila is my date started. What are we doing? All right.

You should just come to Tennessee and we'll get that fixed for you. Okay. So what is your, it's a mindset and you just power through it. Okay. It's a mindset.

I never really thought about that. So what's your, what is your libation of choice when on vacation, George, what do you, what is it? What's your goal? Besides Bud Light. I'm a, I'm a big pina colada guy. And I absolutely, I love tequila just in general.

I'll drink that about anything. Back here on the rich eyes and show everybody. I'm having fun.

I'm dunking on everybody right now on Ohio state. It's great. Welcome back to the rich eyes and show radio network, sitting at the rich eyes and show desk furnished by Grange with supplies and solutions for every industry. Granger has the right product for you.

Call click ranger.com or just stop by. I believe Richard in Maryland has an overreaction Monday subject matter. He wants to talk about what's up, Richard. Hey guys, how goes it?

What's up, man, man. The Atlanta Falcons have no choice. I think they got to go to Michael Peddick's and cousins has, and I'm a lifelong Washington fan. So I've seen firsthand how Kirk cousins can break your heart in the biggest moments, but eight interceptions in four games. I don't think it could get any worse.

I think if they start Pentax, I think you'll start seeing more explosive plays and he's got good touch on the football and they got to do something because their season is flipping away. Well, listen, man, let me ask you this question, Richard, let's just put the shoe on the other foot here. Okay. And, and I imagine, are you a commander's guy or are you a Ravens guy? Where are you located in Maryland? Where are you? Silver Spring. Okay. So I'm right near Washington, DC. So are you a commander's or Ravens? What are you? Commanders.

Okay. So not everyone comes out of the box like Jayden Daniels, right? They're more often like Caleb Williams or even Drake May, who's had a, I think highly successful first foray with the Patriots.

First couple of games, certainly his first time when he came out. Not great. You're really going to tell the Falcons locker room right now with those veterans, we're going to go with the kid and you're going to sit Kirk Cousins and, and that's it. That's what you're going to say right now. Yeah, because I think that, you know, I think there's frustration in that locker room right now because they have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball and they have a pretty decent line and your quarterback's turning the football over. So I think it's about sending a message to the locker room that we're about winning here, not about playing guys that have fully guaranteed contracts.

I just think of the call for Richard greatly appreciate it. I mean, the Kirk Cousins conversation, the honestly, the Kirk Cousins conversation, the minute he leaves Minnesota to go to Atlanta and then Atlanta gets popped for tampering. And, and then that's followed up by the drafting of Michael Pennix Jr.

In the top 10 of the draft, just set this thing. And as you know, on its head, on its head and we knew Cousins was going to Minnesota. We just didn't know when we knew that was going to be part of the schedule. Schedule comes out after the draft. Right. And then we find out it's week 14 and it was so damn late in the season.

It's just like, okay, whatever. And he arrives in Minnesota on a three game losing streak and leaves Minnesota on a four game losing streak. And in that streak, no touchdowns, eight interceptions, only the fourth quarterback since 1950 to have that in a four game span. Last one to do it was named Brett Favre in 2005. And that's how he leaves with his team. Once upon a time, six and three having swept the best next best team in the division in the Buccaneers. And now the bucks are seven and six and the Falcons are out of first place.

And that's how he leaves Minnesota. And still I say, there's no way that this is when they pull the trigger on Cousins. And that is wild because this is exactly the scenario on draft night and after draft night that was painted.

This is exactly how Cousins can get pulled for Pennax is a stretch just like this. But you look at some of the picks. Kurt Warner went on game day morning and showed three of the four picks against the Chargers were not on him.

And I swear to you, the pick six was not on him. I know you can't believe it. I said it in an overreaction Monday the pod.

It is the truth. Take a look at what Kurt had to say. And Kurt knows, obviously, obviously, but to see right now with two winnable games at Vegas against the guy, they excommunicated and brought in Cousins to turn the page from and drafted Pennax because they're like, we need to make sure we're not stuck with Desmond Ridders of the world anymore. It's Desmond Ritter they're going to face next in Vegas against the Raiders team that is done. And then they're home for the Giants. They have winnable games and then they visit Kirk Cousins other place of employment. They're not pulling the plug and going with the rookie now.

They're just not. Next year might be a different story depending on how the next four games go. And then let's talk Minnesota Vikings. We just mentioned how Cousins comes to town having lost three in a row, leaves town having lost four in a row and lost their lead in the division in the process. That's the manner in which Cousins comes in and the Vikings send him back to Atlanta where he said I'm out.

I'm going to back in March. And not only this, I mean you want to talk about an overreaction subject matter that might have been more of a bold prediction on game day morning than anything else back if you had said in September in the middle of the 5-0 start or after the 5-0 start had already been born for the Vikings. Week 14 just out of the blue. You pick week 14 because this is where Kirk Cousins is returning.

Sam Darnold is going to have five touchdown passes to set a career mark for him for the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings. You'd have been like get out of here. Pie in the sky. The glass isn't just half full. The glass is half spilling out for that. Jordan Addison is going to have three. Jefferson is going to have two and you're going to boat race Kirk Cousins. You're going to pick him off.

You're going to send him back to town in Atlanta on a four game losing streak and you're going to be 11-2 and you're going to be right on the heels of the Detroit Lions and that's what's going to happen. You'd have been like how like Skoll drink up. Keep drinking. Right? And yet that is the case.

That is the case. Sam Darnold. I mean he is unbelievable. Get me coach the coaches sound bad if you don't mind because I'm you know I Darnold is is unreal but he's set up for success by this coach because we talked about just moments ago about how Cousins left Minnesota and went to Atlanta and how his Atlanta career was born but let's talk about how Darnold's Minnesota career was born and it started with this guy on the screen talking about his now 11 win quarterback after a five touchdown performance to set a new career mark for him for a surging 11-2 Minnesota Vikings team. And what it was is it in my opinion was an incredible growth moment for him to then just come right back the next week and start stacking some things that are kind of leading into a layered kind of success type approach which is what happens to a lot of quarterbacks in this league especially the ones that their trajectory is is over the course of a season or their careers is is pointing sky high they're able to stack days and and this day will be something that he can build off of I truly do believe that and our offense and you know there's a lot of things that we'll be able to really highlight of who we want to be about as a football team that are going to show up on this tape. So I love this Kevin O'Connell man he is just as great as they come and we all knew when he was at the combine they were looking at quarterbacks we all knew it and then we found out on draft night how much they were looking at quarterbacks they took my guy from Michigan and moved up a spot to make sure that the Raiders couldn't come up and get him when it looked like it was just JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix and who was going to race to it Denver Minnesota Raiders in that race to getting these kids at the draft night right and all I heard from the draft on and even at the combine because after the combine was the free agency period and they go and get Sam Darnold all I heard in this process is that and and the coach confirmed it when we met with him in Minnesota I mean in in London prior to Minnesota taking on the Jets he told Sam Darnold listen you're going to come here you saw Baker Mayfield just did in Tampa do that for us we draft for us we draft somebody it's your gig we need you to do for us what we think you can do for us but go ahead and use us as your opportunity go ahead and use us as your chance to remake your career and then a whole bunch of cash use us to make money use us to for your redemption story or however you want to put it I think he's done that and that is what he has done yeah and what I tell you last week when it comes to Tomlin when a coach says this is the way I see it this is the way you can execute it and then it happens the rest of the team just buys in and believes it Sam Darnold is a second non-rookie quarterback in the last 10 seasons to have a five touchdown pass game in their first season with a team the last guy to do it was Tom Brady in Tampa 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last four games that's what O'Connell's talking about stacking stacking and he's the first Minnesota player to have two or more passing touchdowns and no interceptions in four straight games within a season first viking never do it and the second quarterback since 2022 to have 11 or more touchdown passes and no interceptions and 125 passer rating and a four game span the other guy was Lamar Jackson earlier this year you're reigning MVP hey man I don't know how far the Vikings are gonna go I just don't know but Kevin O'Connell told him do it you have an opportunity to do it and it's happening unbelievable and he does it with Kirk Cousins in the building can't make it up that's why you love the NFL I guess Atlanta Falcons fans are hearing this aside we'll take a break 844-204-rich number to dial right here on the Rich Eisen Show wrap up this Monday show in a sec 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 that business is Shopify nobody does selling better than Shopify with shop pay that boosts 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 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 one dollar per month trial period at Shopify dot com slash Westwood one all lowercase go to Shopify dot com slash Westwood one to upgrade your selling today Shopify dot com slash Westwood one you met Lala Kent on Vanderpump Rules now Lala and her friends share everything on Give Them Lala Bagel everybody says it is ruined by a proposal story how Jason proposed and she was like he brought in a bunch of bagels I was like I have to stop because I will punch you in the throat if you ever tell this story again and call it a bagel but he'll tell you now when I tell the story I go he went and got breakfast there you go bagels yeah watch what Lala is talking about on YouTube or search for Give Them Lala wherever you listen back here on the program everybody hey I believe in May is when the Yankees visit the Mets oh the Mets visit the Yankees pardon me that'll be great subway series I wonder if Soto will be healthy for it wow that's I mean wishing injury I'm not I'm not I'm not he missed Soto missed the three game set against the Dodgers ah it's well nobody plays 162 and yeah May 16th through the 19th was that a four is that a four banger that's a four banger really that's a three game series 16 through the 19th that's weird Friday July 4th through the 6th Yankees at Mets yes hey okay how much of the ticket price is going to go up oh so much I mean not that much they shouldn't I mean certainly Funkle Steve is he said he wants to build something fan friendly and he wants the fans to be happy well that's what money will make you happy I mean look you're going to pay 25 bucks for a beer regardless so you might as well have Soto in the field you're a long way from Bernie Madoff ruining your salary cap structure baby and we're keeping the polar bear don't get it twisted oh really yeah right you can have him I don't want him no you don't want him now last week you didn't want him I don't want him so now you don't want somebody who's very much in the know described how whoever the Yankees are going to get to play first base can't sign for more than three or four years because that's where judge is going to wind up yeah oh okay all right I see that you got to keep first base open for judge sure why about DH for somebody's got to protect him now that Soto's left him high and dry what like Stanton doesn't exist high and dry he did one who told you one one Cohen nice nope back on the rich eyes and show you your family's family biggest supporter so make sure they're protected today with affordable online life insurance through ethos up to two million dollars of same day term life insurance coverage in as little as 10 minutes for as little as two dollars a day it's a hundred percent online and there's no med exams only a few online health questions the mortgage kids education and other costs could all be covered through ethos straightforward protection for the people who matter most get a free quote at triethos.com one last story to hit before we head on out I mean there's a team with 11 wins in the NFL who clinched a playoff spot on Sunday whose free agent acquisition is hitting such a jackpot you're hearing the coins drop all the way up the turnpike at exit 16 w in east druthaford new jersey saquon barkley on sunday set the record for most rush yards in a season for the philadelphia eagles franchise 20 carries 124 rushing yards he now is atop the list with four games to go he beat lachan mccoy's 2013 record and he's got more games to go and even if you want to asterisk it because he didn't have a 17th regular season game lachan mccoy didn't um saquon has done it in 13 games and part of the reason why they have won nine in a row and and they turned aside a very game carolina team that i believe is going to have some run over the next four weeks that could really take out a team that's hopeful as they're playing atlanta tampa arizona and dallas we'll see what dallas does tonight um and barkley's ninth game with 100 or more rushing yards and sticking it to the giants and doing it the eagles haven't lost since week four and yet the phone lines in philadelphia will no doubt be white hot to the touch and melting down because jaylen hurts at a season low 108 pass yards with two passing touchdowns i might add in the game and aj brown seemed to be pitching a bit of a fit on sideline and um as you could see gritting through teeth answering questions on this subject matter afterwards there's some things you think that the offense seems to improve passing hey jay i know everybody wants to get rid you know receiver is just like running back so we get rid of them how hard is it as a receiver to get into a rhythm when you guys are only throwing the ball incredibly so um it seemed like there was a moment on the sideline when you threw your helmet into the bench um what prompted that reaction do you know as a leader on this offense which kind of your approach this week changing the result in terms of everyone not just you a lot of players on offense saying that this is not up to the offensive standard what are the conversations like with jaylen during a game like this where maybe the passing game isn't everything that you want it to be um not too much not too much conversation i don't know oh my word oh come on man let me tell you were you there the night the eagles dominated the uh rams you were there right i was there when sekwan wasn't on the field who was torching the rams i don't know i don't know i was there when sekwan wasn't on the field who is torching the rams almost every snap well that guy yeah yeah that guy was aj brown he was targeted four times he caught four of them for 42 43 yards but you know i mean listen he's one of the best players and there's no doubt about it and this is part and parcel this is what syrian is going to have to you know maintain or hurts is going to have to help maintain and uh i mean my two cents time my two cents for him would be to when these questions are asked of you you smile and go we've won nine in a row next question what happened on the sideline there you know things happen during a game right i thought three and out was that's understandable no please you know he's not happy also the real mvp tj undefeated when aj brown plays this year dude aj brown is a crucial member of this team and they know it and that's the way things go on a sunday i think i i don't know i don't know what's going on behind the scenes but do you hear sekwan sit here and go i lead the nfl with 11 touches when i've been tackled at the one yard line and jaylen hurts keeps getting all those scores and i don't well he should and i'm not going to be the mvp because of it i hear sekwan say that he is costed in the mvp here sekwan say a word about taking it down to the one yard line and him putting this team in a position to win in hurts gets shoved in for the touchdown not because they're winning but exactly which is why if you know you're winning instead you're gonna be now now everyone's gonna be asked questions including him by the way rich chris this is why the chiefs are gonna win the super bowl they don't their coach doesn't do bonehead stuff they don't have internal fighting dude you're spotting dimes soto comes to your team and look at you i feel good value and then understand your value and then you create your own leverage there's no substitute for hard work and getting over my world with jeff charrett wherever you listen
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-12-09 16:11:23 / 2024-12-09 16:32:00 / 21

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