Tag: rich eisen show

Cris Carter sees a lot of Drew Brees in Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagoviloa received a lofty comparison from Hall of Fame wideout Cris Carter: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

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Cris Carter has seen a lot of football. Inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2013, the all-time great wide receiver knows what to look for at quarterback. And in evaluating Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, recently named the team’s starter, he’s come up with his personal player comparison: New Orleans Saints living legend Drew Brees.

“There are certain people that are born for certain things,” Carter said on The Rich Eisen Show. “And this kid is meant to be — Drew Brees was meant to lead an NFL team, right? You know Drew. This dude, ‘is a dude’s dude.’ And Tua is the same way. He’s funny, he’s charismatic. Guys on the team love him. He’s got special, special arm talent.”

Brees is going to join Carter in the Hall of Fame someday, so it says a lot of Tagovailoa’s prospects that he’s drawing this sort of talk before starting his first NFL game. But both quarterbacks are known for their poise in the pocket and deadly accuracy, as well as their leadership qualities.

They also aren’t working with the greatest physical gifts (Tagovailoa weighed in at just 6-foot-0, 217 pounds at this year’s NFL Combine) and have recovered from career-threatening injuries, like Brees’ infamous rotator cuff tear with the Chargers and Tagovailoa’s dislocated hip at Alabama. They’re each resilient.

Brees was a sophomore at Purdue the year Tagovailoa was born. The biggest difference between the two of them, besides age, might be that Tagovailoa throws left-handed. On paper, anyway. We’ll know for sure once Tagovailoa has put together his own body of work in this league. But with veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick playing so well to start the year, it says a lot about what Tagovailoa has shown in practice to give the Dolphins coaches confidence that he’s ready to take the wheel.

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Cameron Jordan says poor defense, too many penalties explain Saints’ struggles

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan shifted blame from Drew Brees to his defense and team penalties on the Rich Eisen Show.

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What is wrong with the New Orleans Saints? To help hash it out, defensive end Cameron Jordan made an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show to reflect on the disappointing opening weeks of the season and also talk up his new podcast with Mark Ingram (we recapped their first episode with Alvin Kamara here).

When asked if he’s buying into the popular narrative that Drew Brees’ advanced age and receding arm talent is holding the team back, Jordan could only scoff.

“I’d like to say he was his most accurate last year, when the same narrative was around. And the most accurate he’s been in his career,” Jordan said.

When looking for flaws on his team, Jordan is more focused on laying blame at the feet of himself and his teammates on defense: “I mean, we’re talking about three games in, I feel like I’m putting [blame] on the defense more than the offense who just put up 30 points on the board.”

Jordan is right to blame his defense, and himself; he hasn’t had success against increased attention from blockers this year, going sackless in each of the first three games. Other should-be stars of the unit like cornerback Marshon Lattimore haven’t played to their talent level, allowing third-wheel receivers like Allen Lazard to have 100-plus yard games against them. They have to improve and justify all the resources invested into that side of the ball for New Orleans.

“This is something the rest of the team has to get better from,” Jordan continued. “This is something that we’ve sort of self-inflected a lot of our pains, our own wounds from penalties, on ourselves. We’re having 70 to 100 yards on penalties, especially on critical downs, this is something we have to clean up and get better from.”

The Saints currently lead the NFL in penalty yards, both in total but especially on defense. While the offense is tied for the 13th-most penalty yards yielded, the Saints defense ranks dead last, and has given up more free yardage than the next two teams put together.

And when asked what the Saints can do to turn this season around, and what it means to clean up those flaws, Jordan responded with something simple: getting a win against the Detroit Lions this Sunday. Doing the right things and making the right adjustments should get them back in the win column. Here’s hoping Jordan and the Saints are on the right track.

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Thomas Morstead on the state of the Saints locker room

New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead has the pulse on his locker room, and thinks Drew Brees has helped them stay on the right path.

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There aren’t many players on the New Orleans Saints roster with more respect on their name than Thomas Morstead. The experienced punter is entering his twelfth NFL season, having spent every year of his lengthy career in New Orleans. He’s one of a few who won a Super Bowl ring back in 2009 to still compete in the NFL, along with teammates Drew Brees and Malcolm Jenkins.

So Morstead has a good sense of the Saints locker room, to say the least. He addressed some recent turmoil during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. Teed up by Eisen to reflect on Brees’ conversation with his teammates after a very public disagreement over the quarterback’s stance on peaceful protests during the national anthem, Morstead now thinks the Saints are a tighter-knit group than ever before.

“Well look, I think it’s pretty evident over the past number of years to have had the type of seasons we’ve had, to lose in the playoffs the ways that we have and always bounce back, we have a tremendous amount of leadership in the locker room. And leadership sometimes deals with conflict among teammates,” Morstead said, pointing out that the team has leadership in spades. It’s not for nothing that he wears the same captain patch on his jersey as Brees, as do other teammates like Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis.

He continued, “I think this is going to be a blessing in disguise, not only for Drew, not only for our team, but for our nation. Drew is a man of conviction and he just had a change of perspective. We got together and a lot of guys let him know exactly how they felt, and maybe that hadn’t been said as clearly before to him.”

Brees later issued a public apology and commitment to working with his teammates to address the problems close to them, highlighting a need to work against social injustice. It earned him the praise and respect that he’d jeopardized from his teammates, while drawing criticism from public figures like President Donald Trump.

But Morstead was convinced that Brees’ heart is in the right place, saying, “And I know that Drew’s not going to apologize unless he means it, not because of the pressure or his brand. He’s gonna do the right thing. I just know that he’s gonna handle this the right way. And I’m really excited to see what type of moves our team makes collectively, not just in New Orleans but across the country. Somebody like Drew who moves the needle, if he gets passionate about something, and he’s already told us that his actions will speak louder than his moves.”

Morstead described the conversation on that team-wide conference call as, “vulnerable, difficult, emotional, and necessary,” noting that the air has been cleared and everyone knows where they stand on these issues.

He also reiterated that Brees is committed to working with his teammates in their efforts at addressing racial inequality and policing reform; Brees has taken one big first step by signing a letter to Congress alongside the Players Coalition (headed by Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins, linebacker Demario Davis, and retired tight end Benjamin Watson), calling on lawmakers to end the doctrine of qualified immunity. If Morstead’s comments are any indication, this is just the beginning.

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Brian Kelly gives update on all things Notre Dame football

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly joined Rich Eisen on Wednesday and updated the world on everything going on in regards to Notre Dame football.

Brian Kelly has been coaching football for over 30 years and hasn’t experienced anything quite like what he’s dealing with as a coach right now.  Kelly joined “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday and updated the world on pretty much everything in regards to Notre Dame football in 2020.

Why is he optimistic that Notre Dame will have a football season in 2020?

“Because I think our university wants to have one,” Kelly said.  He wouldn’t speak for university administration but also offered “if there are students on our campus, we’re playing football!”

On playing Navy on August 29th in Dublin, Ireland:

“Navy is gonna be a game, whether it’s played in Ireland or Bethesda.  I think we’re going to play. I don’t have definitive, 100%, but obviously things are trending that way, we’re moving in that direction, we want to play in the fall…at the end of the day those decisions are going to be made by our president and board of trustees, not the football coach at Notre Dame, so let’s get that straight.

So FedEx Field just outside of Washington, DC I assume he means?  That’s fine, although playing in Annapolis would be a lot cooler.

On how Notre Dame plans to handle social distancing with the football team:

“As we’re planning on no salad bars and spacing in the locker room and the weight room and some of these really important issues so you can in fact avoid a hot spot or the potential of what the worst case scenario could be, you start and then you have to shut down“

On what the players most want to know:

“The players just want to know dates and times. They want to be in the position where they can put on the calendar.  The problem is we can’t give them that because everything is staged in terms of the states and universities. They want to wait as long as they can because they want to get better testing, they want to get better tracing, they want to get where are we going to quarantine and and those things take more time.”

On uniqueness of getting players back on campus:

“It gets to the point where I know it’s frustrating for them, but they know that we’re doing all the planning necessary, because here’s where it’s a little different than year’s past.”

“We have to over-communicate with the parents. If it’s my kid I’m not putting him on a plane to South Bend.  I better know exactly what’s in place for my son when he gets there that he’s not going to get sick.”

You can watch the entire interview, complete with a Brian Kelly head-shot from probably 2011, below.

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Could Emmanuel Sanders have spiked the Bills-Stefon Diggs trade?

Emmanuel Sanders chose the New Orleans Saints in free agency, but he could have spoiled the Buffalo Bills’ trade for Vikings WR Stefon Diggs

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This year’s leap into NFL free agency started off with a whirlwind of moves, with one of the largest transactions involving a trade of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs in exchange for a haul of Buffalo Bills draft picks. A few days later, the New Orleans Saints agreed to sign the best wide receiver on the free agent market, Emmanuel Sanders. But things almost went very differently.

Sanders spoke about his minor role in the Bills-Vikings trade during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, detailing how he was nearly the Pro Bowl-caliber weapon paired with Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

Sanders said, “I spoke with the Bills for a little bit. And I told them, ‘Let me think about the idea, give me a night.’ And 30 minutes later the Stefon Diggs deal went through and I was like, ‘Okay.'”

The implication certainly seems to be that if Sanders had accepted the offer Buffalo put on the table then and there, he’d be shopping for parkas and making the rounds as a new number-one receiving option in the Queen City. Instead, his delay meant that the Bills had to move quickly to secure Diggs before another team could beat them to the punch. It’s funny how things work out.

Sanders then turned to the rest of his experience in free agency, in which he weighed competing offers from the Green Bay Packers and a possible reunion with the San Francisco 49ers, who swapped multiple draft picks to acquire him at last season’s trade deadline.

“Then I kind of waited,” Sanders said. “I was talking to Green Bay, I was talking to the Niners. Just trying to figure out what kind of deal, what kind of money we’re talking about. And then the Saints called. And I ecstatic that they called, the opportunity to play with Drew Brees and everything, and the numbers made sense.”

Sanders pointed to other factors that helped make his decision easy — playing most of his games indoors in the NFC South was a big selling point, as was the pairing with Michael Thomas across the formation from him. And Sean Payton’s resume as a play-caller spoke for itself.

“(Payton) had texted me, and he told me to go and look at the film of what they’d been doing for the last 12 years, I think he said,” Sanders continued. “And he was like, ‘You’ll love it here.’ I didn’t even go look at the film, I texted him back within 10 seconds and told him I didn’t have to look at the film, I know what you guys have done and what your system produces.”

Sanders revealed another detail — that Drew Brees was the first person to reach out him and welcome him to the team, reacting even before members of Sanders’ family learned of the news. That meant a lot to him, reinforcing Sanders’ belief that this was the right landing spot for him to choose. The fact that he gets to enjoy the weather in sunny New Orleans rather than frigid Green Bay was just another bonus, as well as proximity to his extended family near the Texas-Louisiana state line. Maybe things worked out best for everyone after all.

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Drew Brees reveals who he’s rooting for in Super Bowl LIV

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees didn’t mull over his options when asked if he’ll pull for the Chiefs or 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees appeared on The Rich Eisen Show along with other guests including “Modern Family” actor Eric Stonestreet, a well-known Kansas City Chiefs fan. Brees talked about his career so far, his family’s experience at the Pro Bowl, and his plans for watching Super Bowl LIV, which will pit the Chiefs against Brees’ NFC-rival San Francisco 49ers. And of course everyone wanted to know who Brees was pulling for.

“No no no, listen,” Brees replied when told it would be alright if he was pulling for the 49ers. “I would love to see Andy Reid get a Super Bowl ring. He deserves it. Absolutely. Plus I can say that the last Super Bowl that the Kansas City Chiefs won was coached by Hank Stram, Purdue grad. Quarterbacked by Len Dawson, quarterback grad. So, blow your mind,” he joked, referencing the Chiefs’ Super Bowl IV win over the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s tough to argue with Brees’ logic. Plenty of Saints fans will probably be following his lead — ugly history with the 49ers aside (including decades of terror from Joe Montana and Steve Young in the old NFC West, and a torturous 2011 playoffs loss), the game is stocked with faces familiar to Louisiana football fans. Former LSU Tigers safety Tyrann Mathieu is leading the Kansas City secondary, while one-time Atlanta Falcons coordinator Kyle Shanahan is coaching the 49ers. If we’re lucky, maybe he’ll get a 28-3 lead again and fail to hold onto it.

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Watch: LaDainian Tomlinson talks about Philip Rivers, Tom Brady

Former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson talks about quarterback Philip Rivers and Tom Brady.

Super Bowl LIV is just days away, but there are still other headlines that are swirling aside from the biggest game of the year.

Among them is quarterback Philip Rivers and Tom Brady’s future since both signal-callers are set to become free agents.

Many have speculated that both players will be on different teams when the 2020 regular season begins.

Former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson came on the Rich Eisen Show to give his thoughts.

“I think there’s a lot of possibilities, Rich. Honestly. I don’t think it’s out of the realm to say that Philip will be coming back. I don’t think it’s far fetched to say that a young quarterback could be drafted this year by the Chargers,” Tomlinson said.

Nothing has been determined, but should the Chargers choose to move on from Rivers, it would only be right to hold a press conference for the 38-year old to say his final farewell to the team that he played for the past 16 seasons.

Tomlinson felt like the only appropriate time for that would be when Rivers retires, but Eisen reminded him that the Bolts did hold a press conference for him before departing to New York, where he played with the Jets for two seasons.

If Rivers isn’t back, Brady has been the most popular name to fill the vacancy. Eisen believes that the 43-year old would be the perfect replacement, but L.T. didn’t say anything that would suggest he’s enticed by the idea.

“Do you ignore Joe Montana’s advice to Brady (to stay put in New England),” Tomlinson said.

“I think it’ll be an interesting for us (Chargers),” Tomlinson said to conclude the interview. Interesting is an understatement to describe what Los Angeles is about to embark on when the new league year begins.

Carson Palmer expects ‘massive year’ from Jameis Winston in 2020 if he returns to Bucs

See why former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer thinks Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston could thrive in Year 2 under Bruce Arians.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston knew better than anyone that this season was a make-or-break year for him. After four lackluster years as the team’s franchise quarterback, the former number one pick was ready to thrive under quarterback guru Bruce Arians and lead Tampa Bay back to the postseason.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. While Winston put up huge passing numbers on his way to becoming the eighth quarterback in league history to surpass 5,000 yards, he also had 30 interceptions, putting the Bucs in difficult situations on almost a weekly basis.

Some believe Winston has hit his ceiling and the Bucs need a change under center. But, according to former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, who played for Arians in Arizona with the Cardinals, the bumps Winston experienced this season are all just part of the process of learning Arians’ system. And, for what it’s worth, Palmer believes Winston can thrive in Year 2 playing for Arians.

Here’s an excerpt of what Palmer said on the Rich Eisen Show, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times:

“I believe [Winston] will have a big jump. If he’s back in Tampa with Bruce, I really believe he’ll come back. Mentally, it’s such a difficult offense. It is not easy. There are tons of formations. Tons of shifts. Every play can change at the line of scrimmage, protection-wise. There’s so many different concepts… If Jameis is back in Tampa, I would expect Year 2 to be a massive year for him.”

The interview above is definitely worth watching and listening to. It provides some great insight into Arians and his system, as well as his relationship with the quarterback.

Palmer struggled in Year 1 under Arians in 2013, throwing a career-high 22 interceptions. But, he found his groove in the following years, and the Cardinals even found themselves one win away from the Super Bowl in 2015.

Suffice it to say, Palmer is a good reason why Winston could be back in Tampa Bay next year.

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