Tag: The Rich Eisen Show

Robert Griffin applauds the Commanders’ GM Adam Peters

Robert Griffin III with some good analysis on the Commanders this time, concerning Adam Peters and the No. 2 pick.

Robert Griffin III believes his being the second overall pick by Washington in 2012 is impacting the decisions the Commanders will make in Thursday night’s draft.

Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner at Baylor, was chosen second overall by Washington in the 2012 draft, in which Washington traded three first-round selections (2012, 2013, 2014) and a second-round pick (2012).

A guest on the “Rich Eisen Show” Tuesday, Griffin saw his choice as analogous to Jayden Daniels for Washington Thursday night.

“Where did Adam Peters come from?” asked Griffin. He came from San Francisco. What did San Francisco just deal with two years ago? They had a highly drafted quarterback in the first round, and they had the last pick in the draft, which they used to pick Brock Purdy.”

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Now, Trey Lance, in all fairness to him, didn’t get a chance to play because he was hurt and didn’t get a chance to show that he could be that guy. But Brock Purdy was the last choice in the draft, was a guy’s guy. The whole team gravitated towards him. And I feel like Adam Peters was just trying to get a sense, which one of these quarterbacks do the guys gravitate towards?”

Griffin said that outside of Caleb Williams, the other quarterbacks are all athletic and very similar in ability. Griffin expressed that because there previously was such criticism of Washington, people still automatically wondered what they were doing last week, having all four quarterbacks in at once for a group activity.

“I would say, Rich, the highlights are on the film, but the character isn’t. The organization in Washington is just trying to find the right character guys to build a team around, and I actually applaud them for that. Because character is not really something the team has been associated with for the past twenty years.”

“So, I want fans to understand. If you create a negative environment for a guy like Jayden Daniels coming in, it’s only going to breed more negativity once he’s drafted.”

“I hope they just give these guys a clean slate, whoever Washington decides to take. It’s their decision; it’s who they believe in. I want that for them. The situation with me and Kirk Cousins in Washington in 2012 was a situation where the owner and the head coach were fighting against each other.”

“You don’t want that to be repeated. So, whoever they believe in, go draft that guy…I just believe, Rich, that Jayden is the best guy for them.”

Aside from Griffin presenting that he was a victim in 2012, this was actually his best interview regarding Washington in some time.

Commanders Sam Howell praised by Rich Eisen

Eisen also discusses the expectations of Washington fans.

Who were the top five performers of the NFL Week 2 in this 2023 preseason?

NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen presented his top five Tuesday. Although in typical Eisen fashion, he was having fun.

Eisen felt the best performances for this past weekends preseason games were Giants receiver Jalin Hyatt, Packers quarterback Jordan Love, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell, and Commanders quarterback Sam Howell.

“Holy Cow, Sam Howell, we see you!” began Eisen. “I will say, this is how crazy he has Washington Commander football fans (pause). I’m gonna out him.”

Eisen proceeded to declare he had been texted during Monday’s game by Ryan Hayden, a die-hard Washington football fan. Eisen then read the text, “Everyone will laugh, but this is a franchise-turning game for us. As sad as that is.”

Eisen then commented to his television audience, “I don’t know what is sadder, that you believe it, or that you know it’s sad and you still text it. But this is how it is for Washington football fans.”

Eisen began to wax confidently and humorously as he has often over the years, “Is Sam Howell it? Can he be it?”

Eisen then wondered aloud if previous owner Dan Snyder had played a role in the 2022 NFL draft when the Commanders selected Howell with the first selection of the fifth round.

“We see you, Sam Howell, and we will see you Week 1 against Arizona, a winnable game; everyone thinks the Commanders are going to win. And you came out like that wingin’ it.”

It’s preseason, yes, but it is also good to see the Commanders getting some positive press about something they have actually done on the field.

We can only hope the same will be said for the Commanders and Howell during the regular season.

Henry Winkler would rather talk about Patrick Mahomes than the ‘Barry’ season finale

Given how brutal that episode was, I don’t blame him.

Henry Winkler’s resurgence has been wonderful to watch.

The actor who rose to prominence playing Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on Happy Days has re-entered the public consciousness over the past two decades thanks to his Hank Zipser books, as well as roles in Adam Sandler-adjacent films (The Waterboy, Here Comes the Boom) and as the iconic “worst [expletive] attorney” Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development.

As good as he’s been, the defining piece of his renaissance is his role as acting coach Gene Cousineau in HBO’s Barry, a dark comedy that has aggressively favored the former word in that descriptor over the latter as it has gone on. Winkler has been Emmy-worthy throughout the show’s third season, but there was no better display of his talent and range than in the season finale, which was broadcast Sunday night.

But when he went on Rich Eisen’s show as part of a promotional tour to discuss his work, Winkler was more interested in the NFL than talking about himself.

“Have you met Patrick Mahomes?” Winkler asked a surprised Eisen, who’d launched into a plug for Barry moments before being kindly interrupted. “He’s one of my heroes. That’s true. I root for that team, even though I have never lived there. I think he is just phenomenal to watch.”

“Apropos of?” asked Eisen.

“Nothing!” responded Winkler, who then went on to ask about Aaron Donald’s contract status — and then earnestly congratulate the three-time defensive player of the year — as the host and his production crew laughed in the background. The legendary actor then went on to riff about the durability of football players and Sandler’s inability to dress himself properly before finally getting back to the show he was ostensibly there to talk up.

This is all massively on-brand for Winkler, who remains a cultural icon but constantly comes across as a guy who genuinely wants to swap stories with whomever he’s lucky enough to talk with. He began a pre-finale interview with Vulture by dissecting his experiences with Frank Sinatra. He ended it by talking about all the dogs he hugged on the set of Barry:

“I made friends with all of them. They were all in a pen in the backyard where it took place. There were 32 in total, and I hugged every one of them. I’m a dog lover. I have three dogs. A Labradoodle, a goldendoodle, and a one-legged, idiosyncratic German shepherd.”

This is all to say Patrick Mahomes should absolutely carve out a spot on his schedule to meet Winkler and possibly visit a dog shelter together. If Winkler’s latest round of interviews is any indication, they’ll have plenty to talk about.

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Matt Rhule explains why Panthers passed on Justin Fields

Matt Rhule explains why Panthers passed on Justin Fields

When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came to the podium to announce the Carolina Panthers’ first-round pick this past Thursday, many were expecting the name “Justin Fields” to come out of his mouth. Except it didn’t.

As we know now, the name was Jaycee Horn, the standout cornerback out of the University of South Carolina. But what we didn’t know, at least until today, was why the Panthers passed on the talented Fields with their obvious need for a quarterback.

Well, head coach Matt Rhule jumped on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday to explain why it was Horn, and not Fields (or even Mac Jones), that was worth the eighth overall selection of the 2021 draft.

Rhule’s two-for-one theory is great . . . as long as Sam Darnold doesn’t completely stink up the joint like he did in New York. It’ll also help if Fields doesn’t become an absolute superstar for the Chicago Bears, who traded up to the 11th slot to grab him, and if Horn develops into the freakish, shutdown corner Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer drafted him to be.

Only time will tell. Until then, the pressure on—for Rhule, Fitterer, Horn and, perhaps especially, Darnold.

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Rich Eisen may regret this preposterous 49ers draft bet he made with a listener

Now this is some confidence in the 49ers.

Now this is a bet Rich Eisen may regret if things don’t break his way. On Thursday, Eisen — on his sports radio show “The Rich Eisen Show” on Peacock — made quite the outlandish bet with a listener should the San Francisco 49ers draft contrary to his belief.

The 49ers own the third overall pick (from Miami, via Houston) in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft, a position of great strength for a San Francisco team looking to shore up a few weaknesses. The listener on Eisen’s show proposed the idea that the 49ers might not take a quarterback at No. 3 overall and instead take a gamble on someone like tight end Kyle Pitts out of the University of Florida.

It was then when Eisen struck a preposterous, and quite gross, bet with the listener: If the 49ers take anyone but a quarterback at the No. 3 overall spot, he’d eat the listener’s dirty sweatshirt live on air.

Now that is some confidence in one’s opinion right there. Eisen reasons that San Francisco is likely to be on the look out for some support at quarterback beside Jimmy Garoppolo, who did not have a good 2020 season and was injured off and on throughout the year.

“It is not Kyle Pitts coming. It is not Jamar Chase coming,” Eisen said. “It is somebody who throws a football — for a living — not named Trevor Lawrence and presumedly Zach Wilson. That’s who’s coming.”

Eisen’s logic seems sound, but if somehow he’s wrong and the 49ers go off the draft board at No. 3, he’s in for a world of pain thanks to this bet.

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WATCH: Here is Peyton Manning’s full interview with Rich Eisen

Rich Eisen interviewed two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning this week. Watch the full interview here.

Former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had a 17-minute interview on The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week.

Manning spoke about golf, potentially calling NFL games, social media and more. His full interview with Eisen can be seen below:

Manning retired from the NFL after winning Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos in 2015. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame next year.

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Watch: John Elway talks Drew Lock, Jerry Jeudy and more on the Rich Eisen Show

Broncos general manager John Elway went on The Rich Eisen Show last week to talk about QB Drew Lock, WR Jerry Jeudy and much more.

Denver Broncos general manager John Elway went on The Rich Eisen Show last week to talk about second-year quarterback Drew Lock, first-round draft pick Jerry Jeudy and much more. Elway’s complete interview with Eisen can be seen in the below video.

Elway, 59, is under contract with the Broncos through the 2021 season.

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