REShow: Albert Breer - Hour 2

We got some things planned that are going to absolutely blow your mind. This is the Rich Eisen Show.

They're not only coming for your souls, they are coming to mess you up. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Week four of your visit back to Philadelphia. What do you think your reception is going to be, Doug Peterson? I'd hope I get booed.

That makes me feel welcome. Today's guest, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer. Yes, network Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay.

Plus your phone calls, latest news and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated is going to be calling us here on the show on the Roku Channel. Channel 210, we say hello to everybody who is watching us live there. You could also watch us. If you're watching on a replay, I'm still saying hello to you right now.

That's the crazy thing. We're live right now, but the show re-airs and it keeps wheeling until we come back on again tomorrow. When we have Daniel Jones as a slated guest on tomorrow's program. Getting you ready for week number three that begins tonight between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. And I cannot wait to see how Al Michaels is going to handle Brownie the Elf.

That's going to be great. And, you know, Herb Street might be able to give us a little bit more background on that from his four years in Columbus. Is Herb Street going to start sliding?

Remember, because Collinsworth had to slide with Al. I don't know. He needs to do a thing, I think. This is going to be the first nationally televised appearance or nationally streamed appearance of an elf in the history of elves and streaming. That is tonight, a prime video. There you go. By the way, that was a very nice dissolve. Did you just do that one more time, Hoskins?

Because you put the elf up and then you dissolve to me and the elf is the same size as me on the screen. Here you go. Huge! And then there, here we go, hold on a second. And there I am. Nice. Pretty close. You look good. Thank you.

I am a human, I'm a human size individual sitting in this chair. Chris Brockman and Mike Del Tufo in their spots. TJ Jefferson in his spot. Good to see you over there, TJ Jefferson. Good to be seen. You bet.

Albert Perrigan is going to be joining us in about 20 minutes time. You have counseled me, Chris, to do this and I'm going to do it. You've been pushing me and pushing me to list. We all have. We all have.

TJ has, I have. You got lists. You're a list guy. I don't have lists anymore. What do you mean you don't have lists anymore? I'm off the list now. What are you talking about? He does the power rankings himself. You just made the list!

What are you talking about? Power rankings, grab bag. Everyone loves lists. Everyone. I did my power rankings yesterday. You just made the list! Thank you.

Thank you, Chris Jericho. So here we go. Mike Del Tufo, I need NFL films music.

That always gets me in the mood. Top five things I know about the 2022 NFL season through two weeks. Yeah, this league, you don't know. You never know. Never know. Week to week.

Week to week. Like the Jets thought they were out, they're in. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals are out and he runs around for 15 seconds, scores a two-point conversion.

He winds up coming back from a 20-nothing deficit at halftime. The ball and the jersey are now in the Hall of Fame. Is that right?

I just saw that this morning. How about that? Because it's the longest two-point conversion ever?

Because of all the craziness that happened in that game. Oh really? Yeah. How about that?

Yeah. And then the Dolphins are probably like, does anyone from our football come back? So here are the top five things I know about the 2022 NFL season after two weeks.

And it dovetails into what I just kind of talked about. For the first time in a quarter century, if not more than a quarter century, the Miami Dolphins are must-see TV. They are must-see television. Used to be back in the day, never knew when Dan Marino would find Clayton or Duper or fake Spike his way to a win. Never knew what that passing attack could do and the defense could do and the Dolphins would Shula on the sidelines, you know, that Miami Dolphin team. Jimmy Johnson even came in, you know, and Jimmy Johnson was on the sideline there and there's Marino. I mean, they were just must-see.

Even, hey, even Jay Fiedler sometimes turned into a performance or two. You remember that Monday nighter where Jumbo Elliott and the Jets came back? That was during the Subway series. That was 2000 on that Monday nighter in the Meadowlands and the off day between the Mets and Yankees battling out for the World Series.

That's how long ago it was. There must-see television. Man, this offense is awesome. And Tua is a hell of a story. Certainly, since he's going to be facing Joe Burrow later on one week from tonight, it's Tua and Burrow again, and I can't wait to see what happens with the Dolphins and their press conferences with Mike McDaniel saying stuff that you don't hear other coaches say. He doesn't do the coach speak.

And he also doesn't coach the team in a conventional manner. Just again, check out what Andrew Hawkins said on this program and what he's bringing to the equation. They are must-see. Certainly this week, taking on the Buffalo Bills. They're must-see. That's for sure.

Number four is a mea culpa. One of the things that I know about this league now after just two weeks of the 2022 season is the Kansas City Chiefs should not be doubted. They should not be doubted. Their street ball playing quarterback does a lot. Their offense, even though they were kept down in the first half of that Thursday night or a week ago tonight, they still came up with the points necessary with a seventh round rookie with a pick-six.

Two guys named Watson that you probably had never heard of before, Justin and Jalen. One went up top, just like Tyreek Hill would, and another guy went 99 yards for a pick-six, and they beat up Justin Herbert with their pass rush, and they will beat you up with a relentless offensive attack. I doubted them, and it doesn't help that the team that I doubted them with is currently 0-2 going into this week, but that's number four.

The Chiefs should not be doubted. Number three, you know, this division has the defending champs there. This division has the other team that was in the NFC Championship game last year. This division has Kyler Murray, who doesn't need an iPad to beat you. And this team has got a Seattle Seahawks team. This division has got a Seattle Seahawks team that is coached by what did Jim Brockmire once call Pete Carroll? Ah, he's now that Dick Clark is no longer with us, he's our oldest teenager. He's the world's oldest teenager now that Dick Clark's not with us anymore. Geno Smith, I think, had one of the best passing games accuracy-wise and completion-wise in the history of the NFL without a team scoring.

Didn't he score 17 for 17 years on the earth? I mean, he's really damn efficient. And their running attack's going to get better when Kenneth Walker starts running it. Trust me, I know. The NFC West is totally up for grabs.

I think that's, I think I, I think I know this. You know, the NFC West is up for grabs. Will Seattle win it?

I guess that's still not likely, but what about the rest? The Cardinals are already two games in to the six-game suspension of DeAndre Hopkins. They're going to get better.

Normally they start out hot and then they don't finish very well. They're going to get better. That was a huge second half for them. The Niners have Jimmy G now and the whole Niner, Trey Lance, Jimmy G thing that we thought that could tear the team apart or asunder, that's out the window. Jimmy G in time for a Sunday Niner against Denver, former NFC West opponent in Russell Wilson, of course, the Rams of the Rams. Number two on the list, top five things I know about the 2022 NFL season. The NFL's newest emerging rock star is Jalen Hurts.

I know this. And if you don't know it, you best recognize, you best recognize there is a new emerging rock star in the league and it is the quarterback of the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles. I love him. I love watching him. And oh, he just jumps off the screen and he is relentless.

He is going to be tough for you to stop and put on the turf. And the offense is just beginning to click. That passing attack that didn't exist last year for the league's best rushing attack now exists.

And the league's best rushing attack includes the quarterback. I love him. And the thing that I would talk myself into prior to the season that I'm particularly proud of is the Eagles winning the NFC East. That's going to happen. I'm sorry, TJ. I feel it in my bones.

What's that? I could be wrong. I said the Raiders were going to win the Division 2 in the AFC West. And man, he also said don't trade for Giannis. Finally do it.

Huh? You also said don't trade for Giannis. But we won't bring. Well, I mean, that's the worst take I've ever had. But then I used it as the team name for my fantasy team that I beat everybody in this room with and also said the Warriors were winning the championship. Why did you walk him into that? You walked him into bragging.

You think he wouldn't have brought that up at some point? I covered my tracks pretty damn well after admitting that was one of the worst takes I've ever had anywhere on planet Earth. Number one, the number one thing I know about the 2022 NFL season after two weeks. The Buffalo Bills are bona fide soul snatchers. They are coming for your soul. They're not just coming to beat you. They're coming to run you over. They're coming to take your soul from you and leave you in a pile of rubble.

A pile of rubble. Hey, look, the Rams rebounded against the Atlanta Falcons. No question about it. They got that win. They got the dub.

I got it. But when they left the stadium that night, how do you think they felt? They're like, oh, gosh, we just raised the banner and we let another team come in and do that to us. And oh, yeah, we're banged up at center. And oh, yeah, we just got a pure, clear snapshot of what it will look like in order for us to repeat. And do we have that gear?

I think we do. I doubt. Left them doubting.

You know, we'll see what happens moving forward. Ask the Tennessee Titans how they feel right now. Malik Willis showed up in the third quarter of that game after Ryan Tannehill got picked sixth. They left the Titans 0-2 with their quarterback now sitting there saying, I got to do better.

I got to be better. Maybe looking over the shoulder. What's going to be happening? Are we going to go to Malik Willis if they fall to 0-3? Do we see Malik Willis a package?

I mean, again, Vrabel might already be resolute in saying that's not going to happen. But the Buffalo Bills are just soul snatchers and trying to leave you in a total, complete mess. And we will see what happens in week three. Number five on this list that I know about the season through just two games, the Miami Dolphins are must-see television. And number one on this list is the Buffalo Bills are coming for your souls. If they just beat up to him and they hurt him in the same way that they've hurt everybody and they somehow locked down and I know their corners are hurt and lockdown waddle and don't allow the release to Tyreek Hill.

And they just say, hey, Miami, great job. Everybody talked about you this past week, but this is our division. This is our world.

You're going to have to come to us now and try and take this taste out of your mouth. Come back not until week, when we got 15, let me get this one week 16. No, it is actually week 15. I was right. Yep.

I can't wait for this game on Sunday. Those are the five things I already know about this season going in on tomorrow's show. I will do the top five things I have no idea about fair and balanced. I think, I think I'm, I'm pretty resolute in this list.

Any comments, any comments, questions? Do you think we need one more? Oh, all right. We'll get one more. I don't have one.

I know you don't. I meant one more list. Oh, tomorrow. Tomorrow. We need one more.

I don't have one. Actually we're done here. You got the, the new drop?

We're done with this list actually right there. We got the new drop from it. So what's that? Is that it? There you go. That's the new drop on the program.

When Susie and Marshall Falk and the rest of you guys were talking at O'Neill and I wasn't here and you just let them go. So what's that? Is that it? That's it. That's it for the list. Yes.

That's our new drop. I know we're talking to Breer next, right? But just as a tease, John Lovitz just posted something speaking of Ed O'Neill. Are you serious? I am.

And you're not- In response to what we've- Yes. What we- What you guys elicited from him on Tuesday? You're not going to believe this photo that John Lovitz just posted. Is it the cast?

Is it the photograph of the- Just stay tuned. Oh my God. But for those who might not know, he told a story- Ed O'Neill. Ed O'Neill.

Right? Susie booked him. Yes. He was on the program with you guys and Marshall Falk was here and Susie. And she asked him a question about Rance, Coach's Rance, right?

Yeah. Ed just wanted to vent about things that he doesn't like that's going on right now. And then he started talking about Woody Hayes. And then he said that the mention of Woody Hayes, because he's in Ohio and Ed O'Neill, saying that he once told Chris Farley that the man down by the river, Matt Foley, he thought was based on Woody Hayes because it sounded like Woody Hayes. Right. And Chris Farley was like, how'd you know that? Right. And so then he told Farley stories that wound up being at a Super Bowl party at John Lovitz's house where Farley put ketchup and mustard all over a cat and put the cat in a hot dog bun? Yeah, in a sub roll. In a sub roll? Yeah. Yeah. Because there was no meat or something left and Farley was like, I don't care, I'm going to do it.

And he put all the condiments on the bread and then took Lovitz's cat, put it in the roll and pretended to eat it. Okay. So you have that photograph and we're going to show that when we come back. I'm telling you that John Lovitz just posted a picture of this. Oh God. Five minutes ago. It's insane.

Let's take a break. The story's true, Rich. Oh, this is great. Yeah, the story's true. The story is true.

Oh, I mean, Ethan Yedol doesn't tell any lies. It's incredible. Fantastic. All right.

So we're going to reset this stage before Albert Brier. That's coming up next. Come join TV's Ross Mathews every Thursday on his new podcast, Hello Ross. Hi, I'm Ross Mathews. And I am so excited to tell you about my brand new podcast, Hello Ross. You know, I just said that.

Yeah, I know. I was just saying it again to emphasize the name of my new podcast. It's Hello Ross. Look, you only have like 30 seconds to tell them about the new podcast, Hello Ross. You have to tell them about the celebrity guests, the interesting people with cool stories to tell.

And it's new every Thursday. Go ahead. You never know who's going to pop by to say hello, Ross.

It could be an Oscar winner, the star of your favorite show, even my dental hygienist. Really? No, she's fascinating.

Okay. Anyone else? One time I was at a dinner party and the lady across from me turns out she was a dominatrix. Ooh, that's going to hurt.

I've been a naughty boy. Are you going to ask? We're going to go there. For reals?

And there. For real reals? You better stretch.

I better stretch? On our show, nothing's off limits. I'm going to ask that question. No. And that question. No. And I'm going to get away with it. Oh boy. So it's like Mr. Rogers neighborhood, right? Except think of it, Mr. Matthews Gaber hood. Oh, that sounds fun.

You know, that actually does sound fun. And it's on YouTube or wherever you listen. Wait, that's my line. Hello, Ross. Available on YouTube or wherever you listen. Okay.

Now you just repeated me. We are so over our time limit. Oh, that's a bummer. You can listen to the NFL and the NFL app on the Odyssey app on westwoodonesports.com via Westwood One station streams, or by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports sponsored by AutoZone, the free AutoZone fix finder service can help troubleshoot the likely cause of your pesky check engine light for free and get you back on the road. Restrictions apply. Get in the zone, AutoZone. And scene. Got to get that pregnant pause out there, bro. Got to do it.

Fur effect. Joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show, Mercedes-Benz Vans phone line, a dear friend of mine and this program from Sports Illustrated, the man who writes the MMQB so expertly every single week. Albert Breer back here on the program. How you doing, Albert? Hey, Rich. I just got off of two hours of Boston Sports Radio, so you can imagine what that was like. Oh, gosh, Albert.

Oh, boy. Do you have any latest news? What's happening? I mean, I think the Celtics are going to have some sort of announcement later in the day. I mean, there's got to be a lot more to this story. I think there is a lot more to this story than is out there now. I mean, man, you know, it's funny, one of the things we talked about, it's not funny, but one of the things we talked about is how awful this must be for every female member of that organization right now.

Yeah, sure. Just get it out there. I mean, the way that they're all being Googled, they're all having their pictures put up on Twitter, and there's something you have to say something soon, because they put every female member of that organization in just a god-awful spot today. So I would anticipate, like, we'll get something by the end of the day, but yeah, banana, it's really, really crazy. Let's go. Tick-tock, man, and I don't mean the social media.

I mean, like, let's go. You know, like, time is wasted, but, I mean, let's turn our attention to, we'll leave that to Manic, your colleague at Sports Illustrated, but let's turn our attention to the NFL world world. What's, you know, I just did a list of the top five things I know about this season after just two weeks, and number one is the Bills are bona fide soul snatchers.

That's number one on my list. What is the general sense when you're talking to everyone around the league about what the Buffalo Bills have put on tape on film in front of the country over the first two nationally televised appearances for them this year? Well, I'll start with my own impression, which was, like, and I may have said this on your show at some point during the summer, but I walked away from their training camp feeling like this team has, it's more than just great players, like how competitive their camp was. This looks like the 07 Patriots looked like in camp.

This looks like the early Pete Carroll Seahawks looked like in camp. Like, when you would show up to those training camps, you could see, like, how the players were driving everything, you know, and how competitive it was in the sense of urgency and just an edge, you know, and I, like, it really stood out to me, Rich, when I was there in Buffalo, and I think you're seeing that manifest now on the field, and I could just tell you, like, I've gotten, I mean, every emoji you would think I would get from, you know, scouts coaching with other teams on Monday night, that's what it was, like, my God, the Buffalo Bills, and the way they look, and look, maybe the Titans aren't what they were last year, but they were the number one seed in the AFC last year, and Mike Brable is a damn competent coach, you know, and the Rams are the reigning world champions, and maybe they're not what they were last year, but, I mean, Sean McVay is pretty good at his job, you know, and, yeah, so I just think there's, like, a little bit of that, you know, like, wow, like, this team, like, looks like, and, like, the crazy thing about it, Rich, is, like, there are still more levels to this, you know, like, you still see things out there where they could have been a little bit better here, they could have been a little bit better there, like, some of the short yardage stuff, like, they're going to get better in those areas, and then you think on Monday night who they were without, like, they still haven't had their best defensive player out on the field yet, so Davis White is, like, an all-pro corner, he still hasn't played it down for them, and on Monday night they didn't have Gabe Davis, they didn't have Ed Oliver, and so, I mean, I just think you look at the levels of this and, like, where it could go, and I think, like, the best thing to me is, like, I think the players are driving all of this, you know, I think Von Miller's made a huge difference, and the story I heard about Von Miller last year with the Rams, that, you know, he was, like, sort of the one who got Aaron Donald to come out of his shell and, like, be more of a leader, and how big a difference that made to the Rams last year as they were going toward their championship, and he's making that sort of difference, and Josh Allen, the way Josh Allen came out of his, like, sort of leadership shell at halftime of the Tampa game last year, and they've seen a different player, not a different player, but a different person, I guess, in Josh Allen, you know, over the course of training camp, and even before that in the off-season program, really, really impressive, and I'm not saying they're going to go 21 or 20-0 or anything like that, like, you know, we'll see where all that goes, injuries can affect everything and all that, but, I mean, man, it's really, really impressive based on what we've seen through two weeks. And through two weeks, you take a look at winless teams, right, because there's some teams with a tie, but of the winless teams in the NFL right now, you've got three playoff teams from last year, Raiders, Bengals, Titans, which one do you think is the most worthy of being concerned about right now, Albert, what do you think? I'm all concerned with the Titans, I mean, I just, like, I think the Bengals are going to be okay, because I think the Bengals, they have the quarterback, and I think the Bengals are going through some of what Kansas City went through at the beginning of last year, there's no position group on the field where cohesion and communication is more important than the offensive line, the Chiefs dealt with that early last year, it became a strength by the end of the year with all the new pieces they had, I think Cincinnati can count on that. The Raiders have a new coach, so the Raiders, I think, I think they're going to be okay, I think it's going to take, it's, you know, there's some bumps that they're dealing with now, blowing a big lead against the Cardinals wasn't great, I think they're going to be okay. I think the Titans, I just, I wonder if, you know, Derrick Henry gets hurt last year, he's at that age where, you know, running backs typically have slowed down, and, like, I, I just, did it, is it me or did he get caught in the backfield more than we're used to seeing the other night? They're tossing it, Albert, I mean, they didn't run them straight forward at the line as much as they normally, I mean, if you want to nitpick, I mean, you got Von Miller crashing off the edge here after LaJuan is out on snap one offensively, and you're tossing it, like, what are you doing, you know, like, that's at least my two, all 22 cents right there, you know? Well, so, so, I mean, here's the thing, Rich, is, like, if they can't be that team, like, whether it's Henry's fault or somebody else's, whatever it is, if they can't be that team anymore, that means now you're putting more on Ryan Tannehill, and you're doing it in the year when he's losing A.J. Brown, and, oh, by the way, the defense doesn't have its best pass rusher in Harold Landry, so I've got great faith that Mike Brabel is going to be able to, you know, continue, like, cobble together a competitive team. We're talking about a team that won 12 games last year, and I just, I mean, maybe they're saving graces that they're in the AFC South, and that's, I think, you know, pretty clearly the least competitive division in the, in a really good conference this year, and maybe that winds up saving them, and they can win the division at 9 or 10 wins. I just, I look at some of their problems as being a little bit less, maybe a little less fixable than Cincinnati and Vegas' problems now, which sounds weird, because the Titans of those three have the most consistent track record of success.

I just wonder if they aren't in a little bit of a transition phase now, where, you know, maybe over the next couple of years, you're going to see some transition on the roster. Maybe that started with A.J. Brown, and maybe that'll wind up ending up with a quarterback transition here over the next year or two. Robert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show from the MMQB Sports Illustrated Senior NFL Reporter. Let's talk about banged-up quarterbacks, sir, starting with the one just up the road from here, and Justin Herbert didn't know that you could, what, fracture cartilage?

But he has, and his ribs. What's the general sense? I mean, we had Doug Peterson on yesterday, it's like, we're expecting to see him.

It's Jaguars at Chargers. But the question is, how, and what, how lingering, how lingering can this injury be in what you're hearing about out of Chargers game? Yeah, I mean, you hate to say pain-tolerant. I hate, like, saying pain-tolerant, because that puts it on the player, you know what I mean?

Yes. You sort of, like, I feel like you make him look bad if he's not, but I think it is part of it, you know what I mean, like that, it's, you know, dealing with that pain, and I think we all saw what happened, and, you know, how painful something like that would be, and so I think pain-tolerant is a part of it, and how that relates to his functionality, you know, and, like, how, how much it's going to affect his ability to twist his body and throw the ball, and I think he's going to be okay. I will be interested to see, like, how that does affect his, affect his ability to be effective as a passer, and how aggressive he is as a runner against the Jaguars, and I would think that, you know, Brandon Staley and that staff, they'll probably do some things to try to work around that, so he's maybe not getting knocked around quite as much, and you know, obviously we have limited his exposure in the running game, but certainly I think, like, the pain part of it is a major piece of it for just themselves. No, and I understand when you say it's about pain-tolerance, it's not our pain to tolerate, right, to say something like that, I totally get what you're saying, but you have to also wonder how he'll be able to perform in the manner in which we're used to seeing him perform with an injury like that. Do you know, like, will he wear one of those flak jackets?

Seems like that's what we're going to see, right? He's got to wear something like that. So, you know, I'll go back to my NFL Network days when I would always try to get a prop for our hits on Sunday mornings, and I can remember that was, like, when a quarterback had an injury like this, that would be, like, the first thing I would do is, like, can I get the actual thing, and I can remember doing it with Michael Vick one year with you where I had, I think it was, like, at the very early stages of them using, like, actual Kevlar to these things, so I would assume there'd be something like that in play where there's going to be some sort of space-age, like, vest that he's wearing or something like that to protect his ribs.

Well, moving on... That's pretty standard in these sorts of situations. Moving on to quarterbacks who are playing with pain, I'm sure they all are, but one that our colleague, our friend Jay Glazer reporting out four broken bones in the back of Jamis Winston, what's going on with him? The Saints and Michael Thomas, your Buckeye, looking pretty good, getting in the end zone a couple times. They're taking on Carolina, pretty big game in the NFC South this weekend. What's going on with Jamis?

Anything? Yeah, and it'll be interesting to see which way this one goes because I think that sort of explains a little bit of the issue he had. He didn't play great down the stretch of that game on Sunday, and so, you know, I think for all the reasons you were optimistic in week one, there's obviously some reason for pessimism in the way that week two played out against Tampa and being held out of the end zone to the very end and all of that. So I think if the players ain't positive to be taken from that, Rich, it could be maybe to explain some of the issues he has, because I can tell you, I mean, having talked to Dennis Allen after their first game, like, they were super optimistic about where Jamis was and kind of the revamped receiver group, you know, because if you think about it, there really, I mean, it really is three brand new receivers, because Michael Thomas wasn't playing with Jamis Winston as the starting quarterback. He was hurt. So you had Thomas on top of Olave, on top of Jarvis Landry. They were optimistic about where Jamis could take all that, and maybe this explains away a little bit of what happened last week.

Okay, moving on then to some quarterbacks who are out. How long for Dak? I mean, Jerry Jones even mentioning we're not putting him on IR, maybe he's back in a month. What's going on there?

What do you think? Yeah, and I think Cooper Rush has given them some, again, like because it's his hand, there's a functionality thing here, and as far as like how quickly you want him to get back out there, part of that sometimes naturally can relate to how desperate you are, and I think like we saw a pretty, now, I don't know how you view this, but I think we saw a pretty representative professional performance out there by Cooper Rush, and so I know the Cowboys felt like after seeing that, maybe this gives them some flexibility in how quick they are to get Dak back. I think them not putting him on IR, obviously, is reflective of their optimism. I think we're looking at early October, like maybe the second week of October to have Dak back on the field if I had to guess right now. And did I read that Trey Lance's doctor said he could come back fully healed in time for this season? Did I see that?

Albert? So the time frame for his specific injury is four to six months. So if you do the math, I mean, if he's pushing it, and everything would have to go right, but you would be talking about January, which, I mean, it's a broken bone, so that's part of it.

You know what I mean? When these things heal, you usually feel pretty good like, okay, he'll be okay and there won't be a ton of risk for reinjury. So I could make for an interesting situation, obviously, depending on how Jimmy Garoppolo is playing at the end of the year, presuming the Niners wind up in the playoffs. And I do think, despite what happened in week one, that's a playoff team, you know what I mean? And I think that's probably one of the four or five best rosters in the league. So yeah, I mean, if everything goes like 100% to plan, that four to six month timetable on the optimistic end of it could put you in a position where Lance could be ready to play before the end of the playoffs at the very least. Isn't it crazy, five quarters into the season, the Niners break the glass and the Jimmy G insurance policy? I know, right? Yeah.

I mean. Well, I will say that I do think like, so what's interesting about this one to me is I do think like the Niners, so you know, part of this was done with a long term view in mind and everything else. But I think like on Labor Day weekend going into week one, the Niners probably felt like at that point in time, Jimmy Garoppolo was a better quarterback than Trey Lance. I think the hope was, and you go on with Trey Lance because of the ceiling, that by playing a 17 game season, by the time you get to the end of the season, Trey Lance is a better quarterback than Jimmy Garoppolo. Now you lose all that time on task that you were going to get with Trey Lance. So where does that leave Trey Lance again, going into the playoffs potentially or going into 2023? It's just fascinating that way because they do think there's a fair amount of confidence, more confidence than people think in Jimmy Garoppolo as a quarterback.

I just think that that relationship got complicated. I think Kyle Shanahan's experience in the Super Bowls, right, like losing to Tom Brady the way that he did in Super Bowl 51 and then obviously losing to Patrick Mahone the way he did in Super Bowl 54 sort of influenced the idea that you needed to raise the ceiling at that position. But there's still a fair amount of confidence in Jimmy Garoppolo to get the job done in that building. And then Zach Wilson, the initial conversation was, you know, two to four weeks potentially. And then right after week one, Robert Salas, or right before it saying, yeah, we're targeting week four against Pittsburgh and that's right around the corner. What do you think?

What's going on there? Yeah, Flacco looked pretty good last week too, didn't he? He certainly looked very sharp. And if I'm Zach Wilson, I'm taking notes. That's for damn sure. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, you know, I, I think one of the benefits for Zach Wilson here is going to be like everything that he's gone through over the last year and the role that Joe Flacco has played for him. Um, you know, I know like there was a point last year where Zach Wilson legitimately had the yips and like that, that was part of the reason why they brought John Beck in, who was his throwing coach, um, to work for the team at the end of the year last year, why they sort of slow play his return from injury. And the coaching staff went back in the off season and said, we need to streamline the offense and we need to get them playing faster.

And so they took a bunch of stuff out of the office and they married up some things and they tried to make it so he could play faster out there. Um, and one of the things that was really influential for, for Zach and going through all that was the message from Joe Flacco to Zach was stop worrying about every single thing out there. Stop worrying about what the backside corner is doing on every play. It's like, you'll get that like, like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady eventually got that point. No one your age is doing that.

Just worry about your job. And um, you know, I think Joe is sort of like, you've influenced Zach that way and now he's been able to put that to like on the field. And so Zach getting to watch that, I think is great.

You know what I mean? So who knows if Zach Wilson is going to be like the 10 or 15 year answer for the Jets. They hoped he'd be when they took him second overall, but I actually think there could be a silver lining here and going through what he went through based on the influence that Flacco has had on his career. So what do you think week four or if he'd be, if Flacco takes care of, okay.

All right. Week four, you still think so? I think it's probably, I think it's probably week four.

Yeah. I mean, I, I, you know, putting him out there in seven on seven this week and then getting him back in full team drills next week, you know, at least feels like they're trying to ramp him up for week four. Now again, I guess you could use the same principle here that you use with the Cowboys that I use with the Cowboys, right? Like where I said, like Cooper rush, like playing as well as he did, like kind of gives you a little flexibility. If you do want to give them an extra week, you can, I think the same principle applies here. Flacco played so well. Like if you want to give them the extra week, but I don't think that this is any sort of like, like, Hey, like, you know, maybe Joe Flacco is a starting quarterback.

It's nothing like that. Like it just, I think does give you a little flexibility where if you want to take the extra week. Yeah. Last one for you, Albert Breer is tonight's Thursday night game. We just talked about the Jets and the Browns still licking their wounds, at least for them. The good news, it's a quick short week turnaround, but they had a team meeting on defense. I imagine the film did not lie in that building either about the 66 yarder Corey Davis that the defense was jogging after him. And then tonight as well, the Steelers with the, the chance for pickets still ringing in the Acra short ears from last week's loss to new England.

How much is going to be, how, how, how much is Trubisky's future up in the air? Do you think in Pittsburgh, even with this game, you would think the Browns defense is going to try and put something else on tape than what we just saw over the last 90 seconds of the game. Yeah.

This is a fascinating one. I mean, it, I mean, I like, I think it's early in the season to be having players only meetings, but I mean, what they put on tape is the same thing that we saw. We all saw it.

You know what I mean? Like that was a meltdown at the end of the game. And so I'll be interested to see how the Browns, you know, come out of this and I think it's a good gut check for them early in the year. And I think they've hit the Falcons in week four.

So I mean, you'd be talking about potentially having a chance to get to three and one if you're Cleveland, which I mean, let's call this what it is. It's a test of survival for them through the first, you know, 11 weeks of the 11 games of the season and what, what's your record going to be when Deshaun Watson's ready to come back? So that to me, like, I think you're really going to see sort of the makeup of the team.

I think the foundation is there for them to survive it. They rushed for 400 yards over the first two weeks, which is pretty impressive when you consider teams are probably, I mean, teams are stacking the box and stop Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, which you call the reset and the reworked group of receivers in there. And then Pittsburgh, look, man, like they're saying all the right things, right? Mr. Biscay's a guy, this is his season, we're going to go forward with him.

I just know what history tells me. History tells me that first round quarterbacks don't sit for very long. And this has typically been the sort of spot where teams will make those switches, right? When you're coming out of a Thursday game and you got 10 days to get the young guy ramped up and ready to go. In fact, I think that that's the same spot that Baker Mayfield got in the lineup in, right? So I just like look at this and I think a big part of Mitch, Mitch, Mitch did so well in camp and in practices and Kenny is sort of one of these guys who's a gamer, right? Like who maybe isn't overly impressive in practice, but looks great in the games. And I think a lot of this is about being able to sell the guy, whoever it is, to a veteran locker room.

I think if you have another stinker from Mitch Chubisky here, you really have to think about it despite everything that you've already said, because of how Kenny Pickett played in those preseason games and what he might be able to bring to you from a team standpoint and maybe unlocking a pretty talented receiver group that has Deontay Johnson and Chase Claypool and George Pickens in it. Albert, you're the best. Thanks for the call.

Oh, last bonus one for you. Bigger upside. Bigger upside. CJ Stroud or JJ McCarthy. Who do you take?

What do you got? Bigger upside. Well, what kind of question is that? Bigger upside, bigger upside, bigger future.

Bigger future. What do you think? CJ Stroud? Which one do you take?

JJ McCarthy or CJ Stroud? One's got a lot of evidence. The other has some evidence. Okay. It's friggin' UConn.

Okay. Friggin' UConn. Did they rename? Chris, can you look it up? Did they rename?

Did they rename? Uh, actually, it's the friggin' UConn. Oh, the friggin' UConn. Yes, Chris.

I'm sorry, Albert, normally I'm on your side. I have a good idea about the University of Connecticut's football program. Okay. So, I'll wait.

I'll wait. But, like, hey, look, you guys have a Big Ten team this week. Not a great one, but a Big Ten team this week. Yep.

And I think Iowa plays good defense, so we'll probably know one or two weeks from now. We will. What do you think?

What's your answer to that question? Oh, I texted it to you. You thought I was kidding. I texted you.

I'm like, I'll take J.J. McCarthy over C.J. Stroud right now. Oh, stop it. Right now. Okay. Okay. Okay. CJ might be the first pick in the draft, by the way, but, you know, I appreciate your confidence.

Who is the first pick in the draft? Like I said, like I said, like I said, like I said, you've gotten awfully chesty since last November. That is true. I'm talking with my chest, as a matter of fact, the microphone's right on it. All right, Albert, thanks for the time. Appreciate it. All right, thanks, Rich. Me and the man.

There you go. There's Albert Prairie, everybody. Mock draft I'm looking at has C.J. Stroud number two overall. Yeah, Bryce Young's number one.

Will Anderson, number one. Oh, yeah. Right. That's right. So Stroud over, what, because undersized, Alabama's quarterback's undersized?

Bryce Young. I think it's three. Is that what it is? I think it's taken.

He's undersized? Is that what it is? I think it's taken. So what's, is that it? Yeah.

Right. You got, you know, what, by the way, last week, Matt Jones, Tua, and Jalen Hurts all won. Good week for Bama.

You know what I mean? I'm looking for J.J. McCarthy in this first round. And how many Ohio State quarterbacks won last week? Not even Joe Burrow, right? Herb Street, he had a great game in the booth.

Herb Street had a good game. How about Michigan quarterbacks? How many Michigan quarterbacks? Oh, there's one.

There's one that just leaps off the top of my head. And so I said, all these Ohio State honks, whenever they come at me, like, oh, yeah, dude, how many? Look, I said, for every Bosa you throw at me, every Bosa you throw at me, every receiver you throw at me, every cornerback you throw at me, they're terrific. Ohio State can turn out some terrific players. I just play the Brady card.

Game over. But what's troubling with that card is that like- There was a Drew Henson card, I understand. When he was at Michigan, they didn't want to play him. No, they did want to play him. It was just- He just wasn't good enough. No, excuse me.

Excuse me. Drew Henson was Mr. Michigan. And he said, I will go there. And Lloyd Carter, I remember it. Everybody in Michigan's like, we got to see Henson over this kid from Northern California. Get out of here.

Well. And then when it all came down to it, who did Lloyd start in a bowl game? Drew Henson? No. Drew Henson? No. It was Brady.

When it all came down to it, he just said, screw it, I'm going with the guy that I know is going to win. So. 844-204 Rich, number to dial here on the program.

Ah, yes. Jon Lovitz has tweeted out a photograph that we got to show you coming up next. Find the latest and greatest audio entertainment on Audible. It's got everything you want to hear, including the Rich Eisen Show, along with podcasts. You'll also find audio books and exclusive originals, we're talking comedy, sports stories, deep dives of athletes and entertainers, business, and anything else that you're into. With Audible, you get access to thousands of included titles with more added every week. Listen on the road, at the gym, or anywhere you want to fuel up your imagination. Join and get 30 days free at the home of storytelling, audible.com.

We listen to all the Harry Potter books with the kids on Audible. Hey, Susie Schuster was with Marshall Faulk on this program, chatting with Ed O'Neill, who is a wonderful human with tons of Hollywood stories. Susie and you guys let him just tell stories, including this one involving Chris Farley at a Super Bowl party with David Spade at Jon Lovitz's house and what they did to Jon Lovitz's cat with Ed O'Neill there. We were all at Jon Lovitz's house. He had a Mexican buffet, and everybody's piling on because the kickoff is going to happen in the screening room, and at the last minute, Farley comes bursting in the door, so he runs in, gets a plate, he's piling stuff on the plate, and Lovitz says to him, you know, like kidding, I'm like, leave something for the rest of us, you know, and then we all go in to watch the kickoff, and he's not in yet.

So like one or two plays, the door opens, Chris comes walking in the door, stops in the doorway, and he's holding, he got like a loaf of Italian bread and cut it lengthwise, and then he put every condiment that was on the table on the bread, you know, everything, mushrooms, onions, carrots, capers, everything, on top of Jon Lovitz's beloved kitten, and he had it between the bread and said, I'll eat any thing I want to on Super Bowl Sunday. You put a real cat on a bread? A live animal.

A live cat. I mean, come on, man, I was laughing so hard, I almost fell out of the chair. All right, so you tweeted out that video on at Rich Eisen's show, and you added Jon Lovitz, right? I did. Who took a couple days, I guess, to find the photograph, and he tweeted out the photograph. I have not seen this yet. He did.

All right. Oh my God, there is Farley holding the cat into the loaf of bread and biting the bread, holding the kitten. He tweeted this photograph saying, funniest thing ever. Oh my God. No cats were harmed in the making of this, I imagine. I have to assume.

PETA might not be very happy. Chris Farley, man. Oh my God.

American treasure. Just like Ed O'Neill. Unbelievable. Radio audience, you need to see it.

So check out the Roku channel re-air, or we'll pop that on our Twitter handle, too, at Rich Eisen's show. Oh my God. Del Tufo, you can't believe what you've just seen. When he told the story, I'm imagining the bread, and then seeing the picture of the cat.

You put the kitten in here to come in and say, I'll eat anything I want on Super Sunday. That picture is insane. That is so funny. I can't believe it. Look at that shirt. Look at his shirt. It's like, everything about that photo is Chris Farley.

So I guess you had to bathe the cat afterwards, right, if there's every condiment on the table inside the... Ed O'Neill, man. He's got a million of those, I bet. Holy smokes. Also, the roll appears to have football laces on it. Let me see one more time.

It looks like a football field. You got to zoom in on it. Oh, you know, I see it.

Yep, yep, yep. Well, he's holding it by the laces, like he could spin that spiral if there wasn't a cat in it. Also, the cat is just like... The cat does not look distressed, by the way, I'll be honest.

No, the cat's just kind of like, okay, this probably happens a lot in this house. One of the funniest men in America is just taking a bite of bread right behind my head. I just retweeted it on our Twitter so everyone can check that out.

I love Chris Farley, man. That was my dude, man. To this day, I still have the New York Post article back page when he died. I still have that cut out and saved.

Almost 25 years. That'll wrap up this second hour of the franchise. You never know what you're going to hear or see on this program. Michael Kay when we come back talking Aaron Judge and more. For the real story behind some of wrestling's biggest moments, it's something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson, too. All-time Hogan opponents, Macho Man's got to be in the conversation. Where's Andre for you? I've always said Andre was number one. Wow. Because even going back before Hulk Hogan was a babyface, Hulk and Andre were able to go in and headline at the New Orleans Superdome at Shea Stadium in Japan. Wherever they went, that was an attraction. Something to wrestle with Bruce Prichard. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.