Hey, Rich Eisen here. I hear from a lot of business owners like you about the work it takes to pursue your passions, so I know how important it is to have the tools that can help keep you moving forward. And with access to world-class business and travel benefits, the American Express Business Platinum Card helps you take your business to the next level. It offers a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business.
Plus, you'll have complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including the Centurion Lounge, so you can keep running your business while you're on the go. See how the Amex Business Platinum Card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love. Not all purchases will be approved.
Terms apply. Learn more at americanexpress.com slash Amex Business. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first.
The same way you know you've got to make sure your lucky jersey is clean on game day, or your team might lose. Checking first is smart, so check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate.
Savings vary, subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Let's kick it off. This is the Rich Eisen Show. He scores! He did it!
He did it! Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, senior writer for the MMQB. Albert Breer, coming up, former NFL general manager Mike Mayock. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
That's right, I remember three of the Rich Eisen Show on the air. We just had a spirited baseball discussion. I think we lead our industry in spirited baseball discussions. Without question.
You know? And it'll be that way all year because all three of our teams, I'm not counting you Mike, will be in it. We'll be in the mix. We'll have a really fun summer watching our teams. We're gonna be good. Mike just make sure you get us one of those Otani bobbleheads, okay buddy? I'm doing their first game.
I'm doing the games in Japan. Oh you are? For Fox? I had no idea.
Nope. From here. I'll be up at like 9 at night at 3am. Games are 6am.
It's not gonna be fun. I need a definitive explanation as to why they're playing these games that count a full 10 days before the actual season starts. I don't know. Maybe we can have the Commissioner of Baseball on. We just had the Commissioner of Hockey on. Because we did that hockey in the first hour in this program.
Gary Bettman. We had Albert Breer. I think he's wheels up to Indianapolis in eight minutes. So we had him before he boarded. He's got the warm nuts in hand? He does.
Hot towel. I'm assuming. I'm assuming Sports Illustrated flies him that well. Come on that's Breer baby. That's Breer baby. That's what Breer fly. He's not sitting in 34C.
I don't know man. We'll see. When I see him I'll see him in Indianapolis. Mike Mayock's gonna join us in about 18 minutes time and can't wait to chat with him on what he thinks of what the Rams are doing with Matthew Stafford.
Breer said that the Rams gave him permission to talk to other teams during Super Bowl week. Wow. So there's that. Jimmy Sexton at parties like hey. Hey man. What's going on? Jimmy Sexton at parties. Sounds good.
844-204 Rich number to dial. Let's talk association. What's going on with your center in Philadelphia? Joel Embiid benched for a fourth quarter loss because what. His knee. Well I mean Nick Nurse said Yabaselli was playing well.
They didn't want to take out Embiid and put Embiid back in. I mean. Listen. They're seeking other options medically what's going on with him. His knee is just it's not gonna get better. Just shut him down. Fix it.
Get ready for next year. I guess. When with who?
Goodnight Nurse? Well you know. I mean. Cooper Flag. He can come be a sixer. Sure.
I guess we'll take him. Everybody thinks they're in the Cooper Flag hunt right now. But the way that things are weighted now in the lottery. It's not so much.
Being a top four team doesn't even guarantee you all the same percentage. It's not like it used to be. His efforts to play in current treatments including injections have not provided any improvement. So the Sixers and Joel Embiid are consulting doctors and considering alternative options on his injured knee. That's Shams.
He used to go down to Columbia with my boy Joey and get some stem cells shot in that knee. So this is like the polar opposite of the Philadelphia Eagles right now in Philadelphia. You know.
So there's that. There's speaking of Eastern Conference basketball. The Knicks dipped their toe into the waters this weekend to see how they rank against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
And the word rank definitely comes into play. Blown out by the Cavs and the Celtics. As our buddy Kat said that the Knicks are still a work in progress and Brunson says I need to step up more.
I'll tell you what. You're the three seed. You're going to wind up playing the Celtics in short order if things don't, if the things go chalk, right?
Yeah. And based on how they played over the weekend, that'll be a quick series. It was awful.
They look terrible. Had it down to what, eight, seven at one point. And then it quickly got back to 16, 18. It was damn near a 20 point deficit after the first quarter. So the Knicks, that was one of my top five questions is who's going to come to the four and crash this Cavs and Celtics party. Doesn't seem like anyone in the East right now.
And then a West, I mean, Lakers are surging. What is it, 13 of 15 right now? Let me tell you what, we have Jeanie Buss on this program tomorrow.
She's coming in studio and that team looks really, really good. Like I, the question is like, who's going to defend down low. They don't play a lot of defense.
So that's kind of the thing. Well, I mean, Jackson Hayes seems to get better each game. Right. And Rui, who hopefully is healthy for this stretch here. Um, they, they look terrific against the nuggets on Saturday night. And they're only, they're only a loss back of the nuggets in the gris, in the top of the food chain here.
I mean, it's a race for the two seed right now in the, in the West. And Luca looked spry on Saturday night. Like he looked finally like he had turned the page over. Dallas is now, it felt watching him on Saturday night, like he's finally put all of this stuff in the rear view mirror. The shock has worn off or whatever seemed to have him in a bit of a fog. It seemed like that fog had completely lifted on Saturday night. And he looked spry and engaged and at the top of his game and distributing and shooting. And even his bitching and moaning at the refs were just brief and done and LeBron at the top of his game and Reeves.
And they are, I watched that game on Saturday against the nuggets. I thought to myself, this could actually happen this year. What is this? Winning the West, winning the West. And I just, I texted the group watching Luca do what he did on Saturday night.
And this is gonna, this is gonna happen over and over and over again. I texted the group, nobody responded, but that's okay. I felt good just hitting send on it. Cause you know, I'm off of Twitter. Point was taken though. I mean, you're right.
What were the Mavericks thinking? I just thought that was a rhetorical question. Yeah. Yeah. That's what it felt like. What? I don't know. Were they thinking it? I don't get it. I get it that it doesn't help that Anthony Davis played to his criticism right away by getting hurt for a month.
It doesn't help. And we're seeing the Mavericks here in the downtown hoops dojo tomorrow night, that's going to be on Turner. That's going to be a big game. And you know, I imagine LeBron will just set up Luca. It's going to be a Luca night. It is just set up to be a Luca night in, in crypto tomorrow night.
But it, it did appear to me watching him play pages turned and watching the action this weekend, he seems to be more and more comfortable. And he and LeBron, I mean, are they, are they gonna, are they gonna like combine for what? 70 a night, 70 a night or 60 a night between 60 and 70 a night. Right.
And, and combine for what? 20 assists, maybe 20 boards. I mean, I'm serious. Like I know I'm talking triple doubles every night here.
60 might be a lot high end, but you know, 50, 55 for sure. That's 30 plus from Luca. I mean, he averaged 35 a game last year, you know, 25 a night from LeBron.
He's still playing at a super high level. It just comes down to defensive effort for this team. Are they really going to crank it up every night once April hits to win the West? Well, they, they ended the nine game nuggets win streak in emphatic fashion, emphatic. And then there's appears to be a new surging team out West. And that is the golden state warriors five and one since acquiring Jimmy Butler yesterday. That wasn't even, how good is this team right now?
How good is this team right now? I'm, you know, you got to sit here as they are currently two back in the loss of the Clippers at six. Is that, is that their goal? And if that's their goal, they could play out of the plane tournament. They could play straight out of it. Certainly, you know, if the Clippers are like, eh, we don't need, we don't need a Kawhi or Norm Powell tonight. Cause we got back to backs and we'll just, we'll just, we'll just go on the road and sit our best, which again, at some point, I mean, is the rubber going to meet the road here and you're going to have to see, you just, I guess it doesn't matter, but the warriors look revitalized moody, not Mooney moody.
They've got a moody and a Mooney. Butler's been great. I was skeptical and he's been awesome.
What a great fit so far. It's fun. It's fun.
It's fun. I mean, obviously you want to have them in the mix. Oh, they'll be in the mix. They'll be in the mix. West is going to be that West playoffs is going to be fun.
Gauntlet. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Whereas the East is just kind of like, all right, Cleveland and Boston is, you don't think there's anybody that's going to pop through. You don't think the Pacers can just put it together. Just like last year, the bucks, you don't think the bucks will huh?
Why? They haven't shown much. They don't have to. They don't have to.
They're like, they don't have to. I mean, we just talked to them, you know, about how some teams just try to coast until, but yeah, they just flip that switch and it's Giannis. They're not good enough to coast. I don't think they have the shooting to keep up with the way Boston and Cleveland play and shoot the three. Yeah.
I don't think so. I think my, my greatest fear is that something that Brockman said last year is probably in effect. And that is the Celtics right now.
The Celtics are the best. And I think maybe we might be in that position where now you got the cabs right in that familiar pistons position, that Bulls position where you couldn't quite get over the hurdle for last two years. I say, so it's probably repeat and then maybe the cabs and step up next year. And like, wow, you're already, you're already bouncing the cabs here, huh?
It just like, sometimes you can kind of see things happen and kind of know where I'm going. Listen, if poor Zingis stays healthy, if Jeru Holliday gets healthier and if Derek White still pushes the ceiling higher, every single time you think Derek White, this is he's hit his ceiling. Unbelievable yesterday. Guys, he's an Olympic gold medal winner. I know. And that created problems in the locker room that you're wondering could ever crop up again, right? By the way, the best gold medalist on his team.
That's right. Derek Hablicek. I mean, he played better than anyone in the Olympics who was on, is also on the Celtics. Name me another player in the NBA who has become self-made and keeps getting better every single year.
When you think that he has reached his ceiling, that he can't get any higher. I'm not joking. What's Zu's been doing? Zu's been doing. Zu should be most improved player this year.
That's my thing. But I mean, I know you're on the Derek White thing, but I'm being dead serious. Five, six from three yesterday. He's unbelievable. Nine boards, seven assists. If he plays like that, you can't beat him.
They're unbeatable. Yeah. He shoots threes like that and he defends like that. He plays both ends of the floor like that. And you've got Tatum and you've got Brown and you've got Holliday and you've got Porzingis and you've got the rest of those bench players. And you've got Al Horford, who's, you know, Benjamin Button of the NBA coming off the bench. Hauser, Pritchard making down threes, Luke Cornette gives you some good minutes.
Yeah. And which one of those guys always travels before hoisting one from that court? That's Richard Pritchard. Peyton Pritchard.
Then he always hits 50 foot threes, six man and most improved. I got you. Yeah. Got it. All right. We just did that NBA. Excited for the parade in June. This guy.
That'd be fun. All right. At least he's not inseparable. Wait a minute. I've just been told.
DJ brought up the repeat already. I didn't. Look, I'm just, you know, I'm just commenting on what I see. Hold on a minute. Let me do this. Let me test it.
You're ready to test it. Okay. How many, uh, how many losses in the playoffs this year? So it was 16 and three last year. Yeah. I think that's reasonable again.
I'll say 16 and four. Oh, just you're being magnanimous. I might lose two in the finals. Probably not. To who? Thunder? No, it'll probably be the Lakers. Oh my God. If it's Boston, LA.
I mean, they're not even close to being in our league. So there are executives in Disney right now that are putting, they are putting their what? Silver pass. Is that, or is that what they still call magic? Magic. Magic. What is it? A magic key.
It's been a while since I was a cast member. So we, we have them at our house. You have a magic key. We have the magic keys. Okay. Yeah. So the magic keys, what are those?
That means you're just, you have the season pass at Disneyland. Okay. They are all the magic keys and all the cast members and all the Kings men and all the Humpty Dumptys and all of that small world. They are putting it all together for a Boston, LA Celtics Lakers final.
LeBron and Luca and the Celtics going for a repeat. Oh yeah. Yeah. That would be great.
They'd put, cause I would have to, I will be unrelenting in my abuse. They would give up their left Abbott elementary for that. Which by the way, you could see Abbott elementary right here on Roku. By the way, that's a funny show, man. It wins the Emmy every year now. I just recently started watching it. You just discovered it, huh? No, I've always knew it was on.
I just never really had time to watch it. Very good. About the last year, I'm like, all right, TJ Jefferson catching up. Funny show. Catching up.
All right. Mike Mack's going to join us. I believe he's coming off the golf course.
Attaboy. Oh yeah. I think he's coming off the golf course. Is he playing Marion? Isn't he? He's a member of one of those real fancy.
I think it's still a little too chilly for Marion. I imagine out there. So there he is. Mike Mayock's going to join us when we come back.
Can't wait to talk with this man when combine week that's coming up. We all take supplements or at least we know we should, but why are so many supplement companies charging ridiculous prices for products that really aren't that special? It's frustrating.
And frankly, for all of us, it's unacceptable. That's why I want to introduce you to LiveGood, a brand that's turning the supplement industry on its head because LiveGood believes that everyone deserves access to high quality supplements without the insane markups. They offer premium products formulated by their industry leading team of natural health experts, and they cut out the middleman to sell them at some of the lowest prices anywhere.
That's why I love when a box of LiveGood comes to my house. They sent me organic super greens, multivitamins, collagen, weight loss products, protein powder, and more. Skincare products to all highest quality products at prices people can actually afford. No wonder they're one of the fastest growing supplement brands on the planet with over 1.5 million customers and counting. Ready to make the switch and start saving?
Oh, make it even easier for you. Use our link and save an additional 10% off your first order on top of the already lowest prices. Just go to livegood.com slash rich to save 10% on your first order.
That's livegood.com slash rich. Don't miss out on this opportunity to invest in your health without overspending. These statements and products have not been evaluated by the FDA.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Let's talk sleep number, people. In the NFL, there is no margin for error. One mistake can change the outcome of a game, or as you can tell right around these times, an entire season.
So you got to be on your game. Science proves quality sleep can help you boost your reaction time, recovery time, and overall athletic performance. As the official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL, sleep numbers mission is to provide players with data and insights to optimize their sleep for the ultimate competitive edge. So why not do it for yourself?
I do it. My sleep number setting is 60. My wife's is 70. It is just 10 numbers apart, but being able to adjust your bed's firmness after working out or for recovery, it's a game changer. So why choose a sleep number smart bed? So you can choose your ideal comfort on either side, and now save 50% on the new sleep number limited edition smart bed, exclusively at a sleep number store near you, limited time.
See store or sleep number.com for details. Hey, Rich Eisen here. I hear from a lot of business owners like you about the work it takes to pursue your passions. So I know how important it is to have the tools that can help keep you moving forward. And with access to world-class business and travel benefits, the American Express Business Platinum Card helps you take your business to the next level. It offers a flexible spending limit that adapts with your business.
Plus, you'll have complimentary access to more than 1400 airport lounges worldwide, including the Centurion Lounge. So you can keep running your business while you're on the go. See how the Amex Business Platinum Card gives business owners like you the tools and rewards to do more of what you love. Not all purchases will be approved. Terms apply.
Learn more at americanexpress.com slash Amex Business. Back here on the show, you know, it's combine week. A lot of people are like, so you're getting ready to run? And I'm like, no, I run now later in the spring because of COVID. We couldn't do it one year and I wanted to keep running.
So we did it out of SoFi. Now we're doing it at the Rose Bowl again. And, but you know, I tell the story all the time about the run, how I was born out of being bored one time and I did it and I ran, I had no idea NFL Network put the cameras on me and then they showed it and they surprised me with it. And then the next year, Mike Holman's like, you're going to run again. I'm like, why? And he goes, you got to beat your time.
And I'm like, okay, he's not wrong. So I had to do it over and over again. There was one time where I almost didn't do it. I don't talk about that that much is that one time I, cause I, I ran it and it was terrible.
And I just keep thinking to myself, Dion's going to be disappointed and Susie's going to be disappointed. Let me run it again. I did. Let me run it a third time.
And I ran a third time in my hamstring popped. It was bad. And I'm like, well, we, I guess we're not going to air this. And a certain individual said, you got to run it because you got to put it on the air because this makes you seem like you're, you're just like everybody else. That man's name is Mike Mayock.
Put them up on the screen right here. Remember that? Mike, you told me how to run, how to put on television. Remember that? Mike, you told me that. Remember that.
You know what, Rich? There's a certain amount of humanity, a certain amount of humility. And ultimately I think that came through and it, it just continued to push what became started as a fun thing. And now because of you and what you can, how you can push that out there and how the network's been great with it.
It's also become one of the biggest fundraisers that I've ever seen from a grassroots beginning. It's really, really cool. Yeah, man.
I appreciate it. And you were always part of it. I remember the timer and you'd hit the time and I'd come to you and I'll be just like, Oh God, whatever. And then you'd give you, you'd have this poker face. And then sometimes you just would, other times you just held it up.
Like Jesus, let the numbers speak for himself. I'll take the funniest one though, was the one you just described because you were like, this is over. I'm like, dude, this is you at your most humble. This has to get pushed out there.
I know you said that. And Mike Mayock here already already just rejoined and talking about the time where I pulled a hamstring recording the 40 and you're like, you gotta run that. You gotta, you gotta put it on the air.
It just shows you you're human that you're trying like everybody's fine. And you, you spoke so eloquently on it. I'm like, okay, put it on the air. Then we run it. We put it on the air.
You know what Mike says? Oh, must've been a sniper in the dome. And then you trolled me when it finally got on the air. I said it was Bill Polian, who was the GM of the Colts at that point up there with a sniper rifle.
Must've been a sniper in the dome. And I'm like, I was thinking to myself, you SOB told me to run it. We're going to have some fun with it. We're going to have some fun with it. Oh my gosh.
Awesome. Mike Mayock back here on the program, a combine week, top of combine week. Um, what was the first combine you ever attended? Mike, was it your own? Did you ever, did you ever go to the combine as a player back in the day? They didn't have a combine when I played.
Um, that's how old I am. Um, the first one I went to was just me and Paul Burmeister in the old RCA dome. And they only sent the two of us. Right.
Um, and, and worm, I think worm was the worm. And you were like, you were liking just, uh, like folding chairs, right on the 50 yard line, just calling it, you know, on the new one. The thing I remember was the first day's old line day and we were standing right down there by the 50 and kind of leaning over and there was an offensive line drill going on with coaches. Yeah.
And Paul had me go through my top five guys and I got to the fifth guy and I said, you know, there's not enough sand in the pants and you know, I think he's probably more of a third or fourth round guy. And you hear very clearly on air, Hey, Mayock F you heard me and didn't like it. That was the first combine. Oh my God.
The evaluator getting evaluated in a very blue way on the spot. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And then you and Paul kicked things off and then I would show up eventually for, for NFL total access. And then you and I would spend all those hours together in the booth of the old RCA dome and then, uh, and then, uh, Lucas oil as well. And so I guess the most important part of the week, right. Is the medical still, even to this day, would you say Mike or the interviews at night or what would you say is still critical? Um, I mean, you can look at the, I mean the medical really, everybody has a feel for what guys got hurt. Like there are two or three high level corners this year. The kid from Notre Dame, Ben Morrison, um, the rebel kid Carolina, who's really intriguing.
He tours ACL and practice in September, will Johnson from Michigan. All three of those guys are potential first round picks with major medical concerns from injuries this past year. So, um, even though they might not be working out for GMs and coaches, those are big deals.
And, you know, we can talk about the interviews at night. They're important also, but they kind of set the table for how you want to do your, your 30 interviews later. And I think the clear one misconception up rich is a lot of people in the media called a top 30 interview. Like you're only, it's your top 30. You only get what, what, what the 30 interview is, is every team in the league gets 32 interviews in their facility between the end of the combine and the beginning of the draft.
And it can last all day. You don't, you can't work them out, but they can spend the whole day in your building and the way a lot of teams do it, which I think is fascinating is you might get four or five, six year top level guys in there. You still have questions about, you may get another group of guys filtered throughout the draft, but you're a little worried about the mental and you want to put them with your offensive line coach and have that guy crammed two hours of information down his throat, give him some lunch and bring them back in and see if he can regurgitate it, not the lunch, but the information there there's. And then there's the on-field, you know, the underwear Olympics, which is what captures everybody's attention, but there's so much more going on than just that. And it really is about information gathering. Well, Chador Sanders, isn't going to work out apparently and neither will Cam Ward.
How does that sit? Like what, what's the reaction to that? Or is it now so old hat that the top quarterbacks, Ashton Gente also saying according to everybody that he's not going to work out on the field, see at the pro days, how does that all set and the evaluation Mike? Well, years ago, the reason they let me and you in the front door was because they wanted more, a higher percentage of competitors, and they felt like if the kids saw it was on television, that more kids would compete. And we got a big bump for a lot of years, more and more kids were competing. And what I used to tell kids all the time, and this is from my football heart and brain, not from my TV heart and brain, they would ask me, should I run?
And I'd say, why wouldn't you want two bites at the apple? If you run poorly at the combine, you get another shot at your pro day and they're going to take the best time. And so that's kind of the way I look at it, but I think the last couple of years, more and more like a lot of the top level quarterbacks say, I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to throw to my own wide outs.
And that's fine. Most of the top guys last year did. It doesn't really affect their grades. You're going to get a good look at the quarterbacks at their pro days. As long as they throw rich, I don't think it matters much anymore. Throw just at some point, not just at the combine, just at some point you eyeball them, right?
Yeah. And I think it's important at the pro day. They're going to put their best foot forward because Chidor will have his own personal coach there, his own receivers. They'll work on a script. It might be 50 to 70 pass plays. Same with Cam Ward. He'll have his own people there.
He'll feel very comfortable. They'll have coaches from different teams coming in to work them out wherever they're working out and living. When I was with the Raiders, we did a couple of clandestine workouts my first year there with Kyler Murray and a couple other guys. And of course, I think after we worked out Kyler Murray, we're trying to keep it quiet. Coach Gruden went into the shop at the airport on the way in and he bought all these Oakland athletic hats because that's who Kyler Murray was owned by in baseball. And he got Kyler to sign all the hats and we're wearing them out of the workout like we're really clandestine on the way to the airport wearing Oakland athletic hats autographed by Kyler Murray. So why would you kick the tires on Murray? Would you have traded up?
Because again, this is all part of a valuation and figuring out whether it's worth spending whatever capital you'd need to spend to get up to go get a guy. I mean, is that why you did that back in the day with Kyler? We had the fourth overall pick that first year. And I thought it was really important because Coach Gruden is such a quarterback guy.
And Kyler was a little bit of a conversation because of the height, the play style. I thought it was really important because who knows? He could have slid the four. Coach could have fallen in love with him when we would have tried to move up.
Who knows? But I thought it was really, really important that Coach and Greg Olson, our offensive coordinator, got an opportunity to watch him throw the football with just us there. I'll tell you what, John was great in those situations. He had him up in the hotel room. We met him in his hotel room and John had him barking out signals in the Marriott in his hotel room and yelling at the kid for not being loud enough because we're in it. And now he's barking and John would have some footballs had laces, other footballs didn't have laces. And he wouldn't tell the kid which one. He'd flip it to him and expect him to get the ball out of his hands quickly with or without the laces.
So there's all these little things that I think are kind of cool that fans never really get a chance to hear about. Mike Mayock here on the Rich Eisen Show. The Titans, walk me through what their decision is going to be walking into the combine this week.
Mike? I think Rich first and foremost, and it's the same thing for Cleveland from an exercise perspective at number two, is you've got to evaluate those two quarterbacks, because by definition you can have one of them if you fall in love with them, right? So if you think Cam Ward or Chidor Sanders is your quarterback, your guy of the future, you got to go get one.
Because at the end of the day, if you don't have a franchise quarterback, you're just another day closer to getting fired. So that's what's going to drive their initial evaluation is those two kids. Now, if they don't believe they're the long-term answer, then the next level is, okay, is it Abdul Carter or is it the Travis Hunter? They're probably the next two, and they're both difference makers for different reasons, and both very capable of going one or two.
And then the third option is you've got to be open for business. I think both teams. You've got to be wide open for business, because if that quarterback evaluation is either bad or has you sitting on the fence, you've got to know prior to draft day whether or not you'll move down. You can move down now, you can move down later, but how far down do you want to go?
Where do you think that next gap is? So there's an awful lot of evaluations, and it's too early, I'm sure, for Borgonzi in Tennessee or Andrew Berry in Cleveland to have made any decisions, but first and foremost, you got to know if you fall in love with one or both of those quarterbacks. Well, and obviously there's a moving part that says, I want to be moved, and Cleveland says, as of right now, no chance. I mean, the Titans don't have a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer raising his hand saying, I want out of here like the Browns have with Myles Garrett. How do you think that all plays into this week for Andrew Berry, Mike? Well, we know what Cleveland is saying right now. They're two years removed from being 11-5 with Joe Flacco at quarterback.
I think they feel like they want to compete. They get nine draft picks this year for the first time since 21, a first round draft pick, because that awful Deshaun Watson trade. So look, that defensive end is probably the best player, it might be the best defensive player in the league. He's 29 years old. He's got three or four more big years in him, I believe. So I think they have to be open for business on him also. And I think you're saying the right things. We're not going to move them, but I think you got to listen to people because I think it starts with two first round draft picks plus maybe another draft pick or two, maybe an existing good football player on the other team.
But I think you got to be open for business. And at a certain point, you got to be honest with yourself, how good are we going to be? And what is the answer quarterback? Are we going to have one of those, you know, 37 year old bridge quarterbacks? Are we going to draft a rookie?
Are we going to do both? But can we compete this year? And what can Miles Garrett get us on the open market?
And in terms of that, right? I mean, if you think Abdul Carter is that great, and he's available in this draft for you and, and Miles wants out, and you can not, you just mentioned how many draft choices they already have, um, and, and how significant it is because of, as you referred to it, and I rightfully so awful to Sean Watson trade, you could, you just mentioned a killing that you can get for him and you having drafted the Condor know how difficult it is to find a difference maker of the first variety at this position. What would you give up for Garrett? Would you give up what you just said you think you would, you would ask for if you were the GM selling, would you give that up for Garrett? Well, pick a team that needs a DM like, like Detroit, you got Aidan Hutchinson on one side, you've got one of the better rosters in football. You draft extremely well, but you got this dude sitting out there in Cleveland. Would you give up a couple of first round picks and a player or two and bring in a 29 year old miles Garrett and pair them with Aidan Hutchinson? I'd be really interested in that on both sides of that particular equation. What about Washington?
Right? What about Washington? You know, you, even though they're there, plus you're naming two teams that are really down on that first round. I mean, if you're Cleveland, wouldn't you, wouldn't you want to try and, and, and send Garrett to somebody way higher up on the, on the first round food chain? Wouldn't that be part of your equation too?
You think about it? If I was Cleveland, I'd be thinking a couple of things, you know, one, I would try to backload this deal a little bit because if I need to get a quarterback and I'm not interested in a, one of the two this year, there's, there's potentially a much deeper quarterback class next year. So maybe I'm trying to back in some of those draft picks would give me ammunition to move up next year and get my guy. But yeah, I mean, I'd also like them to go to the NFC to be really honest with you. And there's so many different parts of this conversation. Of course you'd like to move up in the first round, but I think you're looking team by team and you've got a little bit of a different compensation coming in from all of them, depending on what they're, you know, where they're picking, you know, getting the third overall pick versus getting the 28th overall pick is a big deal. So for sure, all that comes into the equation under value and what you'll accept or not accept before I let you go, Mike, I want to spend our final few minutes on Stafford here.
Cause you know, I, I, I, I really want to pick your brain here. Uh, Albert Breer in hour two mentioned that, um, his reporting is that less need. And the Rams told Stafford and his representatives that they have a right go, go ahead and talk to other teams and find out what your value is. He said that they were given that permission during super bowl week. So it's been a couple of weeks now. And you know what the combine's like, everybody runs into each other at the Starbucks, right?
Or Hey, look at you here in this restaurant where I had no idea you were here. You know, like that's, that's the way this stuff works here. So what, what do you make of the Rams giving permission to maybe find a, a partner or to keep Stafford? So he knows what his value is and they come up with a better number.
And why would another team even give a number knowing that the Rams might just take that number and keep Stafford? Well, what's your, what's your opinion of all this, Mike? I think it's a fascinating conversation. Um, and ultimately I don't think a divorce makes any sense for either party.
I think the, uh, the Boston college word that I remember that defines that is symbiotic. Both sides need the other party to continue to live. Um, from the Ram side, they've got a really good young roster. You know, they competed against the Eagles in the playoffs, took them deep. You know, why would you not want to compete with Matthew Stafford for the next two or three years? Because in addition to chasing another super bowl, which I think they can, and you and I both know less need and thinking awful lot about them, less is really drafted well since they traded for Matthew and haven't had any first round picks till last year.
I mean, you less, less has done a great job. They're going to get better and better over the next couple of years. So from a Rams per perspective, not only do you compete for the next two or three years, but you get an opportunity to figure out who's next at quarterback, take a couple swings at that, get somebody into building the groom. And from a Stafford's perspective, why would you want to leave except for money? You've got one of the best play callers in the league and Sean McVay, they draft well, they've got $45 million in cap space available. They can take care of him and a couple of free agents.
Where do you want to go? You want to go to Pittsburgh? I don't think Pittsburgh's roster is better.
I think the Rams have a better roster. Do you want to go to the giants and try and be a savior? I think that's the two, three, four year proposition there. I mean, do you want to end your career on a bad team? And the same thing with Vegas, they've got Pete Carroll, you know, they got a hundred million dollars in cap.
I think they're going to get better in Vegas, but do you want to be part of a rebuild in either situation? So I kind of look at this rich and I go, okay, I put my general manager's cap on and go, what's the fair market deal to make both parties happy for a 37 year old quarterback? And if you kind of look at it, you know, he's not a top seven or eight quarterback anymore. He might be number 10, he might be number 12, whatever, but he's 37 years. Look at last year. Kirk cousins was 37 years old. Dark car was 34 Aaron Rogers, 41 Gino Smith, 35.
None of them had a good year, either through injury or poor play. So why do you want to go out and pay a 37 year old guy top dollar? I like what he did last year. I think there's some gaps in the tank, but there's gotta be a happy place for both parties and maybe what it is rich, maybe what it is, cause he's at a guaranteed money and he's got two years left on his contract. He's below market and he's at a guaranteed money except for 4 million that's coming in the door next month. So maybe you're guaranteeing two years of contract money and bumping him some kind of bonus that then you can diffuse over the next two or three years and it only affects your cap a couple million, $3 million. So to me with the GM cap on, I don't want to let them out the door and I think I want to make them happy and give them a fair market deal.
But his side has to be aware he's a 37 year old quarterback and let's understand what that's looked like except for Tom Brady over the last several years in the NFL. Well then in the minute I have left, keep your GM cap on, not for being less need, but for the one that Stafford's agent reaches out to. I mean, and you do, you would love to have him, but you also know you give him a number, you're just maybe potentially helping out the Rams and him come together, right? Or do you look at it, say you never know. How do you handle the, the visit from a Stafford representative if you're that GM Mike?
Never up, never in. I mean, if there's an opportunity to look at this deal and I'm the giants, I'm looking at it. I've got cap money available. I've got draft, I'm not giving up the third pick. But the Aaron Rodgers trade two years ago was for a 39 year old quarterback. Effectively it was two second round picks, okay? And there was a swap of ones and a swap later on that went the other way in the fifth and sixth round. But effectively it was two second round picks. So if I'm the giants and I'm going, would I give up two second round picks to get a 37 year old Matthew Stafford? I might, especially Rich, and this is a real thing, especially if the GM and the head coach are feeling some pressure to win now.
Which I do believe they are. Not to make light of it, but Mike, you're the man. Great. As always, we'll chat again next week. DJ and I will give you multiple shout outs over the next few days. That is for sure on NFL network. Thanks bro. Say hi to DJ. You bet.
That's the one and only Mike Mayock right here on the Rich Eisen show. Just great stuff as always, by the way, there is a report out there as to who the unnamed team that wants the tush push out is. That's what we call grist for the mill.
That's next. Let's talk O'Reilly Auto Parts people. They're in the business of keeping your car on the road. O O O O'Reilly Auto Parts offers friendly, helpful service in the parts knowledge you need for all 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 also test your battery for free in or out of your car. If it needs to be replaced, they'll help you find just the right battery for your vehicle. Need your windshield wipers replaced or brake light fixed or a quick service? Well, they'll help you find the right part or point you to the nearest local repair shop for help.
I know because it's happened to me. The professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts are your one-stop shop for all things auto. Do it yourself and you can find what you need in store or online. Stop by O'Reilly Auto Parts today or visit us at OReilly auto.com slash Eisen.
That's O'Reilly auto.com slash Eisen. Let's talk turbo tax people. You might be sitting there going, wait a minute, Rich.
I don't get it. It's not April. Why am I thinking about my taxes now?
Why should I? Because with TurboTax, you can have an expert file for you as soon as today. You get a TurboTax experts undivided attention when you use TurboTax and they work on your return in real time. Once upon a time, taxes is all about waiting and wondering and worrying.
That's three things any fellow football fan can relate to, right? But nowadays it's all about a TurboTax expert giving your taxes their undivided attention, just like your fantasy league waiver wire. Experts file with a hundred percent accuracy so you can get your best return guaranteed.
Know how it's all working for you right now, rather than finding out at the last second and wondering if the person who's doing it for you knows what they're doing. With TurboTax, they've got an expert who knows what they're doing all the time. Now this is taxes. Intuit TurboTax.
Get an expert now on TurboTax.com. Let's get into the fact that this is Atlanta. Love it.
Okay. This city is so beautiful, man. This city is so dear to my heart because I chose it. It was different when I came out in the draft because I had gone to a all American function here in Atlanta. And when I got to the city and went to the airport, I was like, dang, we did a little thing at the hospital.
I was like, dang, start going around the city to dine and to do the different things that we had. I was like, oh my God. I had truly never seen African American people in such roles and positions and titles that I had never seen in my life. And it blew my mind.
You know, city officials, doctors, lawyers, political figures. It blew my mind. So I said, that's where I want to go because I knew the dude I was. I was not apologetic.
It was a brash. I was going to be me. And I felt like Atlanta would at least understand me. And I said, I'm not going to you. Don't trap me. I'm going to play baseball. If you do, I'm not going there.
I'm not going there. And sure enough, Atlanta was the number five pick. I was so happy. I didn't know what to do.
And I also love the story that you've told. And if you wouldn't mind telling the audience here as well at the combine, when you would be pulled into rooms and you didn't know which room you were being pulled into by which. Yeah.
Yeah. I was, I was, I was, you know, it'd come back in, back in that day, everybody was reaching for it. Ages was in the hotel. Everybody was everybody. It was scheduled structure. You can't be in a hotel. You can't be on the premises. Then it was everything was wild.
So I'm backing away from crowds and people trying to grab me. And I backed into this room and the giants was there and it was the giant's room. And they had people sitting down and taking these tests. What do they call these things? Oh yeah.
Like the psychology tests, right? The thing was that thick, man. And I sat down and they gave me this thing. And what is this? They say, it's this test and you know, we need you to take it. I said, Oh, what picker do you have? It's like the 10th.
I'd be, I'd be going for it. And then let's just get into it here. I mean, Belichick said he watched you run the 40th comma and that you ran it and then ran into the tunnel.
And is it true? That's not true. Okay. You did not run into a waiting car and being taken here. No, because I had more interviews and all of that. No, that, that story just grows and grows.
It's not true. I did everything that I was asked to do. Now. I didn't lift. I ain't do none of that because Jerry Rice to this day had laid across my arms. You know, I don't know where that comes from. You say that when you're watching the defensive backs weight reps of two 20, five, five, one up. When have you ever said, man, well, if that guy would have got one more rep, he'd have been there on that plate. Oh, the three cone drill has nothing to do with nothing.
So I didn't do any of that stuff right here. Well, it all worked out. Yeah. So many of Dion's and amazing appearances on our YouTube channel, including the times that he guest hosted this show.
We got to cut that up at some point, not to put our business of production of Dion with Morgan Freeman. Do we have, I think we have those moments, right? I don't know. Oh, they're on our YouTube channel. Yeah. We'll, we'll unearth it. Dion guest hosting Morgan Freeman in the chair that actually happened in this studio right here. Forget when, but that was that's all on our YouTube channel to say the least back here on the rich eyes and show radio network, I'm sitting at the rich eyes and show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.
Call click Grainger.com or just stop by. So an hour or two, we were talking about how an unnamed team Troy Vincent saying an unnamed team wants the tush push out and it's trying to make a rule proposal on such a front. Chris Brockman trying to identify went to his deep down most petty level and said, it's gotta be the giants. And we thought at least that'd be somebody in the, uh, the NFC East, right? TJ, you, you, you, you wouldn't say it was your Cowboys.
I just across kind of had fun with it. Yeah. I was thinking whoever got the tush push done the most to them might be leading the charge. Well, uh, Diana Rossini of the athletic says it's the Packers. Oh, it's the Packers.
So they don't like it. Not one bit. They did get kind of whacked in the playoffs. They were the first for the Eagles to, uh, to push out, but the Eagles pushed them out. Hold on.
Let me, let me use the Nick Pichai phrase. I don't know how many times you can't, what are you going to look at? Well, how many one yard jail and hurts the jail and hurts score in that game. I'm going to look, it was 22 to 10.
It's not just that. I'm sure it was look up a week one also in Brazil. Don't forget the Packers lost to the Eagles in two hemispheres and there's only two hemispheres on this planet. They lost to them in both hemispheres. The Packers had hemispheres in which to lose to Philadelphia.
Maybe we can go to the Jupiter and play. Maybe, you know, so it's the Packers. Kudos to them for their go pack go. Well, they don't like it. Go tush, push, go get out of here. So there you go. All right. Nothing in the first half.
So what is it? They just don't like, you know what? You beat us twice. You've run out of hemispheres in which to lose to you. Guess what? We won.
We're going to hurt you. We're where it hurts the most question is how many other teams will raise their hand or at some doesn't mean that this is going to be forwarded to the, to the masses. The competition committee has to, if I was on the competition committee, I would say, let's, let's, let's go forward it. You know, I'm going to start acting like I'm on the competition committee and what I would do, I would vote to push this proposal into the membership, just to see how everybody feels about it. All right. There was one in the second half that led to a field goal.
They touched push in the second half of the playoff game. You know, just how, you know, the Senate just had like the, the vote-o-rama over the weekend where, where, where, where they, one side forces the other to take votes that they don't want to take just to show the constituents how they're thinking and voting. Okay. That's how I would handle this in the competition committee. I would be the Chuck Schumer of the competition committee. I would take my glasses. I put it right here and I'd say vote. I'm from New York as well.
Rich, we're not washing the, and also the same persuasion. This just in Hey, Hyundai can be ordered on Amazon everybody. That's right. It's just, just as you're getting everything that you normally get on Amazon, get yourself a Hyundai as well. And the best part about it is you can pick it up at your dealer Hyundai now available on Amazon, limited availability pickup through a participating Hyundai dealer in select markets.
Visit Hyundai.usa.com or call 5, 6, 2, 3, 1, 4, 4, 6, 0, 3. For more details, Wyndham Clark golfers on tomorrow's program studio guests, producer will Packer's got a new book and Jeannie bus will just come from our neighbor across the way with the Lakers. YouTube personality. Benny Johnson has cracked the code on a new era of newsmaking. It's gotta be music to your ears. It's like the angels singing.
Listen, learn and laugh. I had a feeling I had a feeling you'd be in a very good mood. Oh, it's going to be glorious day on Capitol Hill for you, sir. It's a new cultural landscape. So it's an important moment right now. Does this deserve another look? The Benny show sees it in all of its glory. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.
