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Northbrook, Illinois. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Earlier on the show, actor Anthony Anderson. Coming up, NFL Network analyst, Daniel Jeremiah.
Buccaneers linebacker, Lavonte David. Academy Award winning director, Barry Levinson. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Oh, man. Total blast so far with Anthony Anderson, hour one. And we're going to go down a wormhole in the natural and Rain Man and Good Morning Vietnam and Robert De Niro with the director of the Alto Knights, Robert De Niro playing not one but two characters. And if Barry Levinson is joining us in hour number three and a great celebrity, true or false, if I may say so myself, all teed up and Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joining us in the middle of this hour. There's you at 844204. Rich number to dial right here on the Roku Sports Channel.
Love being here every day between the hours of 12 and 3 Eastern Time. The Infinity Sports Network as well. Sirius XM Channel 375 Odyssey app. Stream us live every single day. And there's our podcast as a nice backstop. Same thing with our YouTube channel, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. Be one of the soon to be 915,000 subscribers of that channel. Joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show. 29 days from now, I will be spending an absurd amount of time with this man over a three day stretch in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
My buddy Daniel Jeremiah moved the sticks podcast as well. Back here on the program. Good to see you, DJ.
How are you, sir? Well, I knew you wanted me to come on because you want to talk about the order and how things could stash or how they could shake out. So I took a shot at it. So this is what I've got right here. I just got one spot there in the name.
No, that's the Padres opening lineup. Yeah, I'm working on that. Trying to put that little piece together that I didn't know fantasy draft last night. Got to tease. You're welcome. That a baby. You're welcome. Why is he thanking you for you getting him? What does that mean? You should be thanking him.
He's got some good luck. Yeah, I don't know. I think that's what he's insinuating. Oh, OK. All right. Yeah. Does does Russell Wilson signing for the Giants mean anything for the Padres lineup, Daniel?
That's an odd first question for you, but I don't know. I think he was a Rocky, wasn't he? Was he?
No. As a matter of fact, when he signed with the with the Giants, Major League Baseball just went ahead and started surfing off of that NFL news and just popped up. A bunch of photographs of him out there as a Yankee.
There he is. MLB just popped out of their Instagram, you know. So let's just jump into it, Daniel. The last two signings for the Giants with Jamis going first two years, eight million, and then the one year 20 some odd million dollar deal that could be guaranteed 10 and a half means what? How do you how do you view this as the the big splash in the draft pond?
How does it ripple, Daniel? I think there's a couple of ways to look at it. I think, first of all, if you love Chidoor Sanders and you have big grades on him, I don't think this would stop you from doing that. But the fact that they did make this decision to do this now, I almost I look at it more in timelines, rich and with a team like the Giants and where they are from a leadership standpoint, it feels so necessary that they win this year. And that's why they've kind of covered themselves here with a couple of veteran quarterbacks, at least my opinion on it. Looking at it, it leads me to believe more so that they are going to take another player that can help them win this year. And they feel like these two quarterbacks, the combination, whoever wins that job, whoever that shakes out could buy them enough time, enough wins to get to their quarterback later. And maybe that's a situation where they come back in with their next pick and then try and have their cake and eat it too, where they get somebody that can help them right now with the third pick to complement the two veterans they signed at a different position. And then maybe they swoop back into the first round and come back for one of these other quarterbacks like a Jackson Dart.
And that's kind of their cake and eat it too scenario. So to me, here's what I take from the Giants moves that Aaron Rodgers is going to Pittsburgh, that the Giants know that he's not coming there. So they made these moves the minute that Rodgers, they found out, I guess, that he was at the Steelers facility, or they might have gotten a different indication prior to that, that he wasn't coming there. And the Titans rebuffed.
Any thoughts for the number one overall pick if they liked Cam Ward, right? Like, is that another assumption that you can make from these Giants moves, Daniel? Well, I mean, I've seen people make these types of moves and then still, you know, hey, we're going to try one last ditch effort. Maybe you sweeten the pie a little bit with or sweeten the pot a little bit to go up with Tennessee and just try one last ditch effort. I don't think that signing these two guys would stop you from at least pursuing that.
But I think you're right in that they've kind of read the landscape here. Aaron Rodgers feels like it's Pittsburgh or retirement. So once you know that he's kind of out of the equation, like let's give ourselves another shot at it here with another veteran and and off you go. I know some people have looked into it and said, well, maybe they were ensured that Cleveland was going to take Chidoor at two, therefore knowing they would miss out on him. And that's why they went out and got Russell Wilson. I don't know that that information would be would be shared between those teams at this point. OK, so let's let's put a pin in the Cleveland conversation for a second and just linger on the Giants for one more. How does how does this work?
You know what I mean? Like, so based on what you saw from Ross at the end of the season last year, now he's going to the NFC East. And how do you see this working for the Giants with Brian Deball in a potential last chance saloon situation?
DJ? Well, it's it's pretty tough because no matter which one of those guys you start, and obviously would appear like Russell is the is the favorite there based financially, you're you're fourth. You know, you're you're the fourth best quarterback in that division. So you already start from a weakness from that standpoint.
Now, you know, where does that go from him versus what they had in Daniel Jones? I you know, I would say it's you could argue maybe it's an upgrade. You know, we were you were texting me about it last night about, you know, how much of an upgrade is it? What's the difference there? And I said, well, I think you just went from vanilla to French vanilla.
Like, I think it's very similar. You know, I don't know that you're going to get that much more impact there. But the hope being maybe with with the resources you have with the high pick and other draft resources, you can you know, you can build up the group around him so he has a better supporting group than what Daniel Jones had. So, again, just to recap, doesn't take them out of the short door Sanders game, although why? Why go for two veterans? Right. Why?
Why pop to why go to X for veterans? Yeah. If you're going to draft somebody that you at the top of the drafted quarterback, Daniel, I think it's been such an issue for them at that position that it was we're going to throw all these resources.
We're going to have backups to the backup plans here. And then I think it was wasn't it the Jets with the Darnold year when they had signed, I think was McCown and Gino. Right. And then they drafted Sam.
And then I think they ended up trading Gino. Was that I think that's what went to the Giants, I believe. Yes. You know, yeah.
Yeah. So there is we've seen something similar to this of, hey, we've got to we can't go into a season and not have a quarterback. We can't do what we've done the last few years in terms of what we had to fill in.
So let's get a bunch of options. Let's get two veterans we feel comfortable with. And again, if they still love Chidor and they feel like Chidor is going to be a franchise level player to compete in that division with those quarterbacks, then, yeah, I think you would still take him.
Now, would all three of those guys be on the roster at the start of the season? I don't know about that. Now, let's pull the pin out of the conversation with the Browns.
What do you think's going on there, Daniel? Well, I think they worked out Cam today, right? So I just don't see I don't see any way that they can they can pull that off. Tennessee just seems like they're pretty much sticking and picking. So Cam Ward's off the table.
I know it's split when you talk to people in the league. I've talked to some folks in the league who are connected to one side of that organization that say there's there's no way. They're not taking Chidor.
It's not happening. They're going to take Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, and then they're going to they're going to get one of these second group of quarterbacks. They've you know, that that's there's people that firmly believe that. And there's other people that have just drawn the connection between Shermer and Stefanski and said, oh, he's kind of got you know, that's someone he trusts and he knows and how he's wired and how he works and how he thinks.
And and I know he'd get a very, very high endorsement there, so they don't rule it out. So long story short, Rich, nobody has a clue what Cleveland's going to do. There's a lot of opinions all over the map and there is no nobody with real strong conviction that's led me to have strong conviction to say they're absolutely doing this and not that. Do you think in the next twenty nine days we'll know? You think when you do your mock draft the night before the draft, you'll have a better idea? I mean, Crystal Ball it for me.
Like, what do you think? Well, I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful by the time we get to the end of the process that that'll kind of clear itself out a little bit.
But it's going to, you know, it's going to come after they spend more time with Chidoor, after Cleveland, you know, goes through that whole process. They'll be at his showcase, which, you know, it is the Colorado showcase is what it is now, Rich. It's not the Colorado pro day.
It's the showcase. There will be no showdown at the end of the night. I like a great Price is Right conversation. I like it. Well, you know, I guess any team that doesn't get a Colorado Buffalo gets gets a nice parting gift, you know, an iron. You get a nice iron. Yeah, you get the press on nails. You get the Zbrick. You know, I remember all that stuff from when I was a kid. All right.
So there's the showcase. But if if the Browns don't take Chidoor and the Giants decide to take the other player on defense or slash offense that the Browns don't take, where do you think Chidoor goes? Do you think that this move by the Giants and the Browns decision on Chidoor Sanders means what for Chidoor?
Daniel, I feel like Chidoor is going to be there's two options here. He's going to be at the second or third pick, right? He's going to go in the top three of the draft.
If he doesn't go on the top three, I think there's a very real scenario where he gets outside the top 10. I just I don't think the Jets will do it. I think the Jets are going to give Justin Fields a little bit of runaway here, you know, with where they are as an organization and his age and the upside that you can dream on a little bit there.
I don't I don't see them doing it in New Orleans is another option, you know, potentially that could be a landing spot there. I just don't know if if that's the you know, if that's the right fit. Kellen Moore, first year head coach, you know, if that's going to be that's going to be the ride that he wants to go on right now.
I don't know if that's the case. So I think it's the second or third pick, very possible he could go in the top three outside of that. I think now you start getting some other teams that become into the mix. You know, you start hearing teams like the Rams looking for their eventual successor to Matthew Stafford. Do they get do they get in the midst Pittsburgh's hanging out there even with Aaron Rodgers? That's a short term deal.
So maybe they are in the mix there. So I think if we get through the third pick and Chidoor hasn't gone, then I think that's the that's what we're talking about from that point until he gets picked is is who's picking him, who's coming up for him? How's that how's that going to shake out? Twenty nine days from now, I'll be sitting in the NFL Network set with Daniel Jeremiah and the rest of the crew on NFL Network for the 2025 draft.
Daniel Jeremiah, a few minutes left with him here. Your takeaway from Cam Ward's pro day is what? He's fine. I mean, he did everything he needed to do.
I mean, it's just the pro days are literally just don't fall flat on your face like that's that's the goal here. And he more than you know, he more than did what he needed to do. He's got a real live arm. He's got quick hands. The ball jumps, you know, it was a long workout, a lot of throws. And towards the last quarter of the workout, he had some balls take off on him in the red zone. It wasn't just a perfect throwing session, but you could see he can do everything you need to do with the football. There's a there's a lot of upside. And I think when you're picking a quarterback at the very top of the draft, I think you do focus a little bit more on the ceiling than the floor. And there is a little risk there with him. He can be a little bit reckless at times.
But man, Rich, he's got he's got the tools to compete with the high end, high caliber quarterbacks you're going to have to go through in that conference in the AFC. So, yeah, he did everything he needed to do. I've I've used the line on some of these pro days. It's literally like a proof of life pro day. You know, he just just hold up the newspaper show that it's it's the current date and you're good to go. Someday you're saying someone's going to bring out a mirror and just say, fog it up. Like that's what you're saying.
That's that's going to be a pro day one day. Like, is that really what you're saying? We used to joke that was the admissions policy at App State back in the day, but now we've really stepped up. Yeah, no longer the case.
You've got standards now. So opening day starter for the Titans, like that's the sort of thing Cam Ward gets. I think so.
OK. So the the AFC South opening day starters, CJ Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Cam Ward and who call your shot for the Colts right now. Oh, gosh, I'll say it's going to I'll say Daniel Jones. You know, I think I I think they brought him in there. I think everybody thought it was kind of bringing in a veteran to just try and maybe to gas up Richardson a little bit and get him going. I I think he's got a legitimate chance to to win that job. I think there was some disappointment in that building with how things have gone with Anthony Richardson. So I'll say I'll say Daniel Jones gets that nod. OK, anything coming out of the Texas pro day that you want to hit on here when you were sitting out there? Anybody else?
There's tons of kids at Texas. I'm wondering what you think. Yeah, I mean, look, Matthew Golden, I think he's got a real shot to be the first receiver off the board. You do have him as my top wide receiver. I mean, he ran four to nine, but it's not even you know, I don't know that. Like the top end speed is really like the best selling point on him. It's it's his he's got excellent hands. He's he's tough. He'll work in the middle of the field. He I think he's a he's a good route runner.
And then on top of that, you get the four to nine that he ripped off. So I think he's got a legit shot to be the first wide receiver off the board. And then I think Jadi Baron's got a great chance to be the first corner off the board. Will Johnson's got a pro day scheduled for late in the process.
I think it's middle of April, but we haven't got a chance to see him him do much. So, you know, I know I know Baron can really, really run. He's got really good tape. He's got a ton of production. He's going to play. You know, he can move around. I think he's ideally as a nickel. And, you know, I think I'm I'm thinking we'll see. I'm thinking the league has learned their lesson on, you know, Brian Branch and Cooper Eugene falling further than they should because of, you know, the positions they play, the role they played.
I think if you watch the Super Bowl, you probably would realize that maybe he should have come off the board a little bit earlier. OK. And then lastly, Daniel, answer answer this question. Riddle me this, DJ. How does one have an arm grow three eighths of an inch between the combine and pro day, as Will Campbell's apparently has between the combine and the LSU pro day today? Well, what do you think?
His wingspans gotten smaller, but his arm length is has gotten larger like Leon from airplane. What do you what do you think, Dean? There's information right there. What do you think, Daniel?
What do you think? Yeah. Well, look, this is this was anticipated because we went from the Senior Bowl where arms were measured. And then we went to the combine.
And I know Marcus Bowe, the tackle from Purdue, I want to say. His arm shrunk an inch from the Senior Bowl to the combine. And most of the combine measurements were shorter than the All-Star game measurements. And then now we get to the pro day.
And now those more aligned with what we saw at the at the All-Star Games. Long story short, let me tell you how this works, Rich. Thank you. When you're in when you're in the draft room and you've got three different measurements from the spring, from from the fall and then, you know, from the combine and now from the pro day. If I have a good grade on Will Campbell, he has got thirty three inch arms. Take that to the bank. If I'm a little bit worried about Will Campbell, guys, we can't. I mean, this is obvious.
He's got thirty two and five eighths inch arms. I mean, this is no question about this. Like, what do we do? And that's that's how that works. It's the same way as when I call around to teams for McMillan's pro day at Arizona State, the receiver.
And I just I I'd call a bunch of scouting friends that are at the at the event. And I got you know, I got a four, six, three time. I got a four, five, six. I got a four, five, five. And then all of a sudden I got like a four, five, two. And so I write back to the four, five, two. Man, you guys really love McMillan. I see how this I see how this works.
I know who likes him and who's not not liking him at this point in time based on the times. I love it. It reminds me of my dad. Rest in peace, Daniel. When I would say like fourteen and a half years old and he'd want me to go to sleep and I don't want to go to sleep. He goes, you're fourteen.
You need your rest, you know. And then whenever I was not acting, you know, mature enough, he'd go, you're fifteen. You know, you're practically fifteen.
He would round up or round down based to what he wanted out of me. I remember that. You almost got your driver's license. Exactly. Like, come on. You act your age. You're fifteen. And I'm like, wait a minute. I thought it was fourteen last night when you wanted me to go to sleep.
Like literally, he would do that all the time. I also love the parent. If you notice the mom and dad role here, because mom is going to tell you at fourteen, you need to go outside and get your wiggles out. And dad's going to tell you, you're fourteen, you're grown, you need to go to bed. You need to sleep. You're a grown boy. It's a lot of conflicting messages as a kid.
No, I know that. So if I left the combine, as we left the combine booth and I told you what's more likely in a month from now, Will Campbell's arm will grow three eighths of an inch or the entire Steelers quarterback room will be the new starting quarterbacks at MetLife Stadium in 2025. You would have said what would have been more likely at that point in time, Daniel?
Yeah, I would have taken C. I would have taken C. I don't know that I believe any of it, but I would say the Giants quarterback situation, that's going to be, I mean, it's going to be something we're going to talk an awful lot about, I know from from now till we get to the first. When you don't find the words, I know Daniel Jeremiah comes from the if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all school. So I appreciate you doing that, DJ, that says some volumes right there. Appreciate the time, DJ. Thanks. Good, good luck. Good luck to the Yankees and the Red Sox. I'm the only person that will ever say that. But thank you, friend.
Sounds good. And the Mets can go, you know, forget it. We don't need to talk about the Mets. They're not winning anything.
Oh, I'm sorry, brother. They have no pitching. Your opening day starter was a reliever last season. DJ, tell me, tell him what to expect out of Juan Soto, please. Please do that, because he thinks I'm biased and I'm a scoring lover and you are scoring like I can.
I can just tell you from personal experience. And then you're going to see some unbelievable, you know, shots, you know, when you're up six, nothing. Anyways, you're going to you're going to be in a situation where you're down by a run and you're going to be counting batters. There's two outs. And you're like, we just got to get two guys on base and then I can get one up the bat. We're going to have first and second.
We only need a run like he just needs to get a single. And then you're going to see let me give you the side profile here. This is what you're going to see. You're going to see the bat and you're going to see the bat stay right here. And you're just going to go like this.
Oh, boy, it's riveting. It's great when you bring your kids into the room and go, hey, we got it. You guys up. We got a chance to win it. And it's like, well, he's he's looking for a walk. That's exciting.
Have fun with that. I didn't know you scored. And then what happens when he's in the field? Daniel, what happens when he's in the field? Daniel, what happens when he's in the field?
What happens in right field? This is great. Daniel, what are you doing? Well, you can you can focus on the terrible reads.
You could focus on the lack of foot speed. You could look forward to him overthrowing the cutoff man a few times a game. That's exciting. But no, he's Ted Williams, you know, he's generational. It's the first time knowing you for, you know, seven, eight years. I never thought of you as a hater. But no, think about think about this, though, buddy.
Think about this. Think about what we know about baseball players. In twenty twenty three, the Padres had Blake Snell hater. They had they had Tatis or they had Machado. They had Soto. We had Waka and Lugo. Lugo was one of the top Cy Young Award guys last year.
We didn't make the playoffs like that's why I'm upset. That's it. He does not make any sense. He had thirty five in one hundred and nine RBIs. I know he was great. No.
And I watched every single game and none of them meant anything. Don't worry about it, DJ. DJ, I've got I've got Juan Soto's glove is what he's going to wear on opening day right here. I got it right here on my right.
I got it right here on camera. There it is. Here it is. Guys who would do anything to have Juan Soto on his hands. There it is.
It's Juan Soto's opening day glove right here. All right, thanks for the time. Thanks for the time. We got to get we got to beat it. Lavonte David.
Lavonte David is in the Zoom waiting room. We'll take a break. That was awesome. DJ, there's so much to break down from what he just said. We will do that.
But let's talk to Lavonte David when we come back right here on the Rich Eisen Show. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive dot com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary.
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Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates Northbrook, Illinois. Larry David, you are now the new commissioner of the National Field. Yes, congratulations. Are you kidding? There you go. Congratulations. This is a dream.
OK, I quick curve your enthusiasm in a second if this is true. OK, OK. What do you do first as the commissioner of the National Football League? Larry David, number one. And I really don't care if people like it or not. I'm losing the goalpost. Why?
Why are there goalposts? OK, why? Why are kickers OK? Who have they don't have football skills? They're not football players. I'm sure they're wonderful people, but they're not football players. Why?
Why? Why are they kicking a ball through goalposts to decide games? It doesn't make any sense at all. It's first of all, goalposts are a relic from the old English rugby, I think. OK. You know, when they used to actually run and kick a ball through goalposts, but they don't do that in the NFL. There's no need for goalposts. What wouldn't the game be better without them?
Think about it. Why not just have leaping frogs to decide games? See if a frog can leap through a little goalpost that you set up, OK, on the floor. And if the frog can leap through the goalpost, then do that. Why kick it through a goalpost? Well, it's not called leaping frog ball.
It's called football. So you're saying take the feet out of football? Is that what you're saying, Larry? Is that what you're saying? Yes.
Why? Feet are deciding games and they shouldn't. Why should one player, one player with this skill, like the guy on the Ravens, Justin Tucker? Yeah. Why should this one player who does nothing but kick a ball be deciding games when you have 52 other players who are actually playing and this one person, this 53rd person is deciding games?
It makes no sense whatsoever. The great Larry David back in the day and later on in the show, we've got some new playing rule proposals, or at least the the official playing rule proposals that are going to be forwarded to the owners later on this month to be voted on. And yes, the Tush push ban is in that mix back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry. Grainger has the right product for you.
Call clickgranger.com or just stop by. It's kind of become a tradition on this program where right around this time of year, we have Levante David on the program. He is now entering year 14 in the NFL. And each time he comes on, he stays with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, keeps playing football, keeps bawling out, wins the division or the Super Bowl or both. That's what happens.
And look who's back here on the Rich Eisen Show getting set for season 14. Levante David. Am I wrong? Did I tell any lies here? This happens every year, it feels like.
Levante. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the past three, maybe four years, it's been like that.
It's always been the one year things. And then, you know, you guys welcome me back to talk about that process. I appreciate it. And here we are. Right.
Yeah. Why do you why do you keep playing Levante? You're great at it. But I you know, some guys just either lose their taste for it or, you know, what it takes to play at the level that you play. It's just not what you're into anymore.
Why do you keep doing it? I believe, you know, this past year was one of the most serious I've been about, you know, making the decision on whether to, you know, play again or or not or to retire. And just a lot of a lot of different factors added up to me coming back. Obviously, the Bucks really wanted me back and they were able to, you know, give me my time to be able to, you know, think about what I want to do, whether I want to come back or retire. And, you know, all the pieces lined up for me to come back, man.
So I was like, you know, why not? You know, I still feel great. You know, I still love the game of football.
You know, that's the thing about me, man. I'm a fan of football. You know, I love watching the game even when I'm not playing it. You know, and I think that love for it is still there. And, you know, the main thing is, you know, the Tampa Bay ball organization, they welcomed me back and they wanted me back.
So that made me feel even better about my decision. Yeah, and they keep the band together. I mean, Jason Light has done this now multiple off-seasons in a row, multiple new league years in a row, keeping the band together. You know, and it's now this time around. Last year it was Evans.
This time around, it's Godwin saying yes, you know, like he's sticking around. So what do you think works there in Tampa? I just think the transparency between the organization and the players is really good. You know, I haven't, I've been blessed enough to be at this organization my whole career, so I don't know what happened to that other organization.
But from what I hear, you know, it's not like that. So for, you know, the organizations to still want their core guys to still be around, you know, enough for us, you know, as players to kind of like see that they want us around, you know, we do whatever it takes to, you know, try to keep everybody together. You know, that's just the relationships we build with the locker room and with the players. I mean, with the organization, we want to keep that intact. You know what I'm saying? It's a culture thing, you know, we're shifting it and you want to keep those core guys there, you know, kind of like, you know, let it lead off to the younger guys.
And then when the younger guys see that, you know, they'll want to be in that same position one day too. So that just gives them more fire and more momentum to continue to play for this organization. Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, you go so far back with this organization that on your draft, you got a call from Greg Ciano welcoming you to the Tampa Buccaneers. Was that the coach at the time? Yes, it was Greg Ciano, the head coach at the time. And Mark Dominic was the GM.
He was the GM and now looking. Yeah. Now it's years later and you got a ring, you got all, you know, and the cannons are still firing and all of that. How much does somebody like Baker doing what he's doing and having that stability and success of the quarterback position factor in your thinking about wanting to do it again because you think he got a chance to win Lavonte? Yeah, that's real big too.
That's real big too. You know, Baker reached out to me as well, you know, over the off season, you know, he knew I was contemplating retirement or coming back and he reached out and said, you know, he'd love to do it again with me one time, one another time. And you know, the way the season ended last year, we weren't happy about it. We felt like we'd go further than when we went.
So, you know, why not do it again? You know, Baker is the guy, the true leader, man. You know, the way he plays the game, the way he carried himself, you know, off the field and everybody in the locker room love him, everyone in the locker room love him. We wanted him to be a part of our team and he's taken over. He's doing great, made the football tweezers in a row and he's just going to keep doing this, keep on excelling.
And you know, he won the guys around him, like me, Chris, Mike, Deedra Bay, a lot of the guys that he's comfortable with. He wants us to continue to be around him and hopefully get it to him forward. So he called you during your process? Yeah, text message, text message.
Text message. Okay. Yeah. So your process, was it one of your famous darkness retreats, Lavonte, to make this for now?
Is that what you did? Nah, nah, nah. I ain't ghost nobody or nothing like that.
Everybody can get a hold of me, everybody know how to use you. Okay. Okay.
So they just know that I, you know, I just need a little time to, you know, to myself. So what is that in all seriousness, what does that entail? I mean, for somebody who's now, I mean, again, year 14, that is, that is no joke. That is significant.
And obviously you're in your mid thirties now. So what does this entail? You're being left alone to think about it. What does that mean?
Yeah. You know, obviously, obviously, you know, when you get a little older, you know, those hits feel a lot different going to the off season, you know, your body feels a lot different going to the off season. So I just want to see where my body was, you know, how I felt, you know, at a certain point in the off season, and then just giving myself time and give myself space, getting my mind off football to see if I'd be okay without it. And just being around my family, just being with my daughter, hanging out with my daughter, having fun with her and just, you know, chilling and talking to my siblings and friends and stuff like that. And just, you know, kind of like, you know, picking their brain and stuff like that along, you know, what I should do, what not, you know, just having those people around me who, you know, gives me the support, whether I continue to play or not, you know, it's kind of like a key thing for me.
And for me, man, like, I don't like to be standing on like, just sit around and do nothing, you know. So it was it was a point where, like, I just needed to make a decision so I could start, you know, moving on and, you know, plan another year was what the ultimate decision and decided to, you know, call Jason, let him know and know we've got it done. There you go. Lavonte David here, a few minutes left with the man who's going to still be patrolling that defensive front seven for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in year 14 on the Rich Eisen Show. So you said you're a fan of the game, fan of football.
So many fans fell in love with the quarterback of the team that did bounce you, Lavonte. Your front and row view of Jayden Daniels, would you consider him the real thing? I mean, it's just one year in, but he's the real thing, right? Yeah.
Yeah. I consider him a real thing. You know, even though, you know, me and Jayden had a couple of conversations, even, you know, outside of football, you know, I kind of got a chance, you know, to know him a little bit, you know, real humble kid, man, a hard worker, you know, a guy who's going to lead them to the to the promised land eventually one day. And you saw it against us, man, against a, you know, I feel like we were the veteran, you know, smart football team and, you know, he kind of, you know, he did his thing.
He said they had a game plan and he stuck with it. You know, he made all the correct throw against us and now he's been doing it. He was doing it all year and all I could see is just him, you know, keep on getting better and better. You know, he got a year on this belt. He got it off the court in the back, you know, they added a couple of weapons, you know, so, you know, I think they're going to be, you know, even more impressive, especially him. I think, I think he got an MVP in the Super Bowl on this belt coming soon.
Yeah, I know. I mean, the, and what do you consider the MVP of the Super Bowl? The Eagles, the team to beat in the NFC, do you, do you look at them and say, that is a team that has a chance to repeat and we need to, we need to get those guys.
Is that your opinion? Yeah, I mean, yeah, of course, you know, when you're a team who, you know, and win it all, you know, especially coming out of the NFC, you know, you're going to be the team to beat, you know, Jalen Hurte, they basically brought their whole core, core, core back, so they're going to be a problem again and, you know, you know, luckily, you know, I'm going to be a little, you know, I'm going to brag a little bit, luckily, you know, we've been having our way with them, so I hope that continues, but, you know, they're a great football team man and Jalen Hurte is leading them, you know, the proper way, the things that he's doing, you know, and he's doing it, doing it his way and then they got Saquon, obviously, who, who is kind of like a cheat code, you know, they added him to the team, so definitely going to be a challenge, you know, every year, as long as they got those guys and, you know, they got a great staff over there, so they always going to be at the top, you know, right now and teams like us and Washington going to be trying to knock them off, so I'm sure they're not expecting nothing less. And you saw, you know, what the Eagles did to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, everybody was saying, well, they followed your blueprint from 2020, you know, like just go hunt Mahomes, make his life a miserable night and they were using, did you watch that game and think, oh, there it is, I, I know that game plan, Lavonte?
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I did watch the game, you know, and obviously, you know, throughout that whole thing, you know, I began testing, was getting test messages, you know, something, some of my teammates from other people who watched the game said, man, this look like it when y'all played them, you know, you know, me, I'm going to say, you know, it ain't nothing like I was misleading, but it is what it is, they did, they did okay against them or whatever it may be, but no, but it was, it was fun to watch, man, for me, you know, obviously the bias, I love defenses to go out there and just dominate, man, and it was a, it was a great performance that they put on, so to go out there and, you know, see the defense did a lot of credit, certainly should have got more credit than what they did get, but it is what it is, you know, we always do direct on defense, but they did put out a great performance. Lavonte David here, last one for you, sir, the owner's meeting is in just next week, it's next week, and next Tuesday and Wednesday, there's going to be a vote at the owner's meeting to ban the tush push from the National Football League, Lavonte David, and let's just say the Glazer family says, you know what, we need Lavonte David's opinion, as a matter of fact, what we're going to do is we're going to leave the room when the vote's up and we're going to have Lavonte David sit at our table and it's his choice, so congratulations, you are now having the vote for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on whether or not to ban the tush push, your vote would be what, Lavonte? Personally, man, you know, I was a part of one of the teams that stopped the tush push, so you know, I'm not against it, I'm not against banning it, you know what I'm saying, I don't mind it. Well, no, no, hold on, hold on a second, I'm looking at the rule proposal from Green Bay and you know, actually, you know, we kind of had a little bit of fun with it, Lavonte, where we, where we said we had the original copy of this rule because the rule, according to what we're told, is for pace of play and it's for player safety, it shouldn't be voted on what we were having fun with, you can put up on the screen right here, because we can't stop it, that's what we said that was the original text of the Green Bay rule, it can't be because you stopped it, you don't have a problem keeping it, you have to vote on the merit of the play here, Lavonte, what do you say, I'm trying to give you one more shot at it, unless you say you don't mind it. I don't mind it, I don't mind it at all, I really don't mind it at all, I just feel like it's a football play, it's a football play and you know, when they call it, you know, me the competitor than me, competitor than me, I want to stop it and when they call it, you already know it's going to happen, you know, either one or two things, you know, they're going to do like a different look at it out of it or they're going to actually run it, so you got to just, you know, put your big boy pants on and stop it, then you know, it's football, you know what I'm saying, I'm not going to cry about it, they get the first down, if they get the first down, whatever, or you know, I feel like it gives me another chance to, you know, stop them and get off the field, you know, and they may not let them get in those situations where they can do it, so it is what it is.
And I'm with you on that front too, it's just from my opinion, it is, hey, you, Lavonte, can't push Vida Veia on the snap to try and shove him into where Jalen Hurts is being shoved, you can't do that on defense, so why should they allow Saquon to be able to push with his Quadzillas, Jalen Hurts, towards you, so it's illegal for you to push Vida Veia, so maybe it should be illegal for Saquon to push Jalen, Lavonte. Yeah, I mean, that's a great argument, that's a great argument, because you know, a guy like me pushing Vida Veia, I like my chances big time with that, you know, so, yeah, it's a fair argument, there's going to be a lot of, you know, back and forth with that, but you know, for me personally, for my vote, I don't mind it, I don't care. Okay, and I guess this is a follow-up to my follow-up question, and this is no disrespect to you, can you push Vida Veia, could you actually move him, Lavonte, is it possible? I think I can, I think I can, I try to wrestle him a couple times, just to, you know, test my strength with him, but yeah. You try to wrestle Vida Veia, what? Yeah, I've been trying to like test my sense, see if I still got it against him, but you know, sometimes he humbles me, but you know, I feel like my chances.
So I was going to ask you, did you pass that test of wrestling Vida Veia, that's one way to not see you're 15, Lavonte, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, I try to, I try to sneak up on him though, you know, get him, you know, straight up while he runs, so I try to sneak up on him. Makes sense, thanks for doing this, it's always great to see you, yeah, it's always great to see you. Always, you got no problem, Rich, appreciate you guys. Fellow Big Ten-er, although he wasn't in the Big Ten when he was back in Nebraska, but good to see you, Lavonte, thanks for the time. I got, I got one and one, one Big 12, one Big Ten. Oh, okay, there you go, okay, there you go, that's how long, Nebraska's been in the Big Ten that long? Wow.
Yeah, my very first year was my senior year at Nebraska. Okay, very good, thanks for the time, you be well, we'll chat again as the season gets closer if you don't mind, let me know when you're out here in LA. Yes sir, for sure, for sure, God bless, thank you as always.
Right back at you, that's Lavonte David, last time I saw him in person was the Brady roast, but now he's back here on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody, Lavonte David on the Rich Eisen Show that rolls on with the Rich Ackerman sports update, right here on the Infinity Sports Network. Bombas makes the most comfortable socks, underwear, and t-shirts. Warning, Bombas are so absurdly comfortable, you may throw out all your other clothes.
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Visit McAfee.com, cancel any time, terms apply. Congratulations, Bruce, congratulations. Oh, man. It's still, it's just sank in about halfway up the river holding a Lombardi trophy and shed a tear and said, holy shit, we did this. You know, coach, it really is a remarkable run that your team went on, obviously, from week 12 all the way through to that podium, and it's interesting, so it didn't happen until the boat parade where it actually sunk in to you, huh?
Yeah, it really did. I mean, I was going, okay, we got to Lombardi, won the boat, everybody's there, fans on both sides, and then we hit the certain spot that was like fans hanging out buildings and hotels and rooftops. I'm like, I got to Lombardi, and I'm like, even with my bad shoulder, I got it over my head going, all right, we won the damn Super Bowl. Now, when on Super Sunday did you say, first cross your mind, Bruce, you've been there, done that, obviously, so you know anything can change where you thought, okay, I think this is going to happen tonight. When was that for you?
Not until Devon's interception at the end. I mean, Patrick has come back so many times, he's such a great player, and until we intercepted that box, there's just not enough time for them to get it back and get us, and I put that hat on, and all of a sudden, I got my first Gatorade bath. It actually hit me, because the only other one I ever had was back at Temple, but I had brought a bandeau suit, and I was not going to let them get me, I was quick back there, but they couldn't catch me. But I just sat there, and when the Gatorade hit me, it was like, I've been waiting for this for like 30 years. When you were here, Bruce, on the show, okay, and you were talking to me, I believe it was just after you left Arizona, and you said that you had retired as a family from coaching, because you had mentioned that your wife was kind of through with the ups and downs of coaching and maybe some of the health scares for you, and now I'm just wondering if you wouldn't mind just getting a little bit personal about what this sensation is for you now that you've won it all. You came back, and you got that job. Yeah, I mean, we actually just got off a plane back here at the lake, and to be home, what she's been through for the last 50 years, our 50th wedding anniversary is June 12th. Hopefully COVID is over by then, and we can have a party, but I mean, what she's been through, moving her 19 times and getting back here, she's enjoyed this process this year as much as anybody, and I wouldn't have gotten back in coaching if she wasn't all in, and she's been all in, and Tampa's made it so, so special. Again, I cannot thank the Glazier family enough for everything they've done for my family.
One of my favorites, Bruiserians, multiple times on the History of Art Show, youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. You got the exact count right now. It's one of those things you can get an exact count, right? How many?
914153. That's our number of subscribers. It's such a significant number, my kids are even coming up to me. That's a lot.
That's a lot, Dad. Oh. I'm like, okay, great.
That's points for me. I'm shocked one of your kids doesn't have a youtube channel. I mean, I think Zan would have one if we acquiesced. So he's asked? Yeah, he's not asked, but if we said, hey, do you want a youtube channel? You know what he would say?
When? I can see that, because Zan was giving me skincare tips the other day. Oh, he can do that. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's what he would do. I was like, what?
That's what his channel would be. Back on the Rich Eisen Show, 844204rich number to dial. At the Hyundai getaway sales event, get deals so right it almost feels wrong. Now is the best time to get that Hyundai car or SUV you've always wanted. Plus, every new Hyundai comes with America's best warranty and three years or 36,000 miles of limited complimentary maintenance. If you don't think you can get away with all that, think again.
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It's a great day for a new Hyundai. So the competition committee writes up the rules proposals that they hear from teams. And then the competition committee then votes on all of them on what to forward to the membership, which means they think it's worthy. It's their stamp of approval. And these are the, we found out what's coming.
I have them right here. And the competition committee itself is forwarding this one. They want to make the dynamic kick permanent.
That's coming. And what it includes is the requirement for the receiving team players in the setup zone. It modifies the alignment requiring for them. The dead ball spot is no longer the, it's now the 35 yard line, not the 25. That'll make a difference. That's good. I like that move. And a lot of coaches were saying, do that during training camp last year. And they're like, no, we're going to do it the way we did it. And then we'll revisit. There it is. It changes the alignment requirements for kicking team on an onside kick.
We're hoping that means more of them will be successful. And you remember last year in the Super Bowl, the chiefs couldn't do an onside kick in the third quarter because it's the fourth quarter only. And they were down by a ton, but it was on the wrong side of the fourth quarter. Now the kicking team can do it any time in a game that they're trailing, any time. Makes sense.
Cool. But like, let's get a fourth and 15 play, like, come on. The problem for that is, is what happens was a defensive penalty.
You've never given me a reasonable response to that. I'm not on the competition committee, but figure it out. Philadelphia says let's make the overtime period from the playoffs the same thing in the regular season, where if somebody scores a touchdown, you get a chance to respond. In order for that to happen, though, the 10 minute overtime becomes 15 minutes. I would say yes to that. They want to expand instant replay's ability to advise the infield officials on specific objective aspects of a play and to address game administration issues when clear and obvious video evidence is present. That opens things up to a lot more interpretation. I'd vote yes on that.
No brainer. Detroit says, get rid of the automatic first down penalty on defensive holding and illegal contact. I kind of like that.
I mean, I don't know about committing those penalties more than anyone in the league. And then there's them. Here's the mother load, folks. It is the push push bad.
If you're telling me it's because you can't stop it, you don't get my vote. They won't ever say that in the room. I want to hear that conversation. I want to hear from coaches.
I want to hear from everybody. Why I want to hear from Green Bay. Why are you saying no to this? Because it's definitely not for what they say, pace of play, player safety.
Come on now. I'm not looking at this saying someone can get hurt. And I'm not looking at this saying, you know what? This is ruining pace of play.
What I'm saying is it's just it's unstoppable and it's boring for me as a fantasy. And it's just like, why don't somebody is just going to get just like Philadelphia and do it on third down and then fourth down. If it becomes third and four, why don't they do it twice? Why are they throwing it?
If it's third and three, do it twice. I do buy the aesthetics argument. I buy that too. This is a TV show. You want it to be entertaining. This is not an entertaining play.
Here's my problem though. Again, we just had Lavonte David on. If Lavonte David can't push Vida Veia to stop it, then there shouldn't be Saquon Barkley pushing Jalen Hurts to create it. Right. And Mark Suarez said that. And that's kind of the best argument we've heard.
That was definitely at that moment. I was like, I never, especially, I never thought of it that way. Never thought of it that way. So if you're saying one side of the ball can't do it for player safety, now that I understand.
One dude like Lavonte David pushing Vida Veia at you, that's potentially dangerous. So the opposite should ring true. And so that's why I would kind of vote to get rid of it. And one way, I just think this won't pass. I think it won't pass. There's a bunch of other bylaws that they want to change that, you know, I don't think people are interested in, in terms of roster limit and stuff like that and size up.
But there is something that I think is interesting. Detroit's bylaw amendment to say wild card teams should be seated higher than division champions if they've got a better regular season record, that is making it out of committee. They will put that in front of the membership, unless again, there's a lot of buttonholing that goes on at these meetings. And if they feel like it's dead on arrival, then Detroit will pull it because it's Detroit's proposal. Detroit will pull it because they don't want this thing voted down, which means it'll be tough to get people to say yes to it again, if it's up for a vote.
So they may pull it, but it's out there. And what else is there? There's a K-ball thing, scouting credentials, yeah, I don't think there's anything else.
Those are the ones that rise. There is one missing, man, where's the fumble through the end zone thing? I know you don't like it.
Don't fumble through the end zone. It's just so stupid. I'm not the only one that apparently doesn't care about it.
I think there's other people like me, but it's just not out of the competition committee. And I tell you, I tell you that when it happens in a championship game or Super Bowl, then you're going to hear from those people. I'm telling you it's because it hasn't happened in front of the whole country, 50 million plus, a hundred million plus. In playoff games.
It has. It happened in Kansas City with Cleveland playing Kansas City. I think that was a divisional game.
That was Baker Mayfield's last playoff game as a Cleveland Brown. It's not a big deal as you think it is. I disagree. Let it happen when there's a whole bunch of people watching football games for the first time saying, what is that?
What does that mean? Wait a minute. You're telling me this team that just gave up all those yards has bailed out.
And your answer of like, it's the most hallowed ground. That's why they call it a touchdown. That's why they give you six points for getting the ball in there. There should be a penalty for the team that puts it in there the wrong way. Every rule favors the offense. Don't fumble. No.
That's the rules proposals that'll be in front of the ownership coming up later on this month. The director Barry Levinson on The Natural and so much more coming up.
