Arch Manning's NFL Future Debate

26:39Rich Eisen:I'll ask Jim next time he comes on, but can you add any context to what caused Jim to just say, you know what, heck, I'm just going to call everybody up, invite them over. You could feel the tension. You could feel the tension in the locker room. And Jim was one of five sons. So he knew what it was to be in a group and have strife when you fight with your brothers, that kind of thing. And he just dropped his guard and said, listen, there's no reason for us to be a team like this. And those other guys were all about it. Bruce, Cornelius, Ken Hall, Daryl Talley, they were all about it. And they kind of put their arms around.

27:23Jim came over. They downed a couple bottles of wine. And then it started to happen every week. They got together at Jim's every week. And then it turned into this post-game thing that really took on this mythic status. Jim, he was single back then. And he had this huge house over in Orchard Park. And after every home game, he said he invited the entire team to his house. Wow. And he'd feed them. You know, he had a bar. And he had, like, this bar in the bottom of his house. I mean, a real bar, like, with a dance floor and a pool table and a real thing. So everybody showed up at his house. And he was, you know, then you'd have, like, my mom and dad would come in.

28:08or my brothers would come in or all my family members or college buddies would come in. I said, Jim, I can't get to your house tonight. I got these people in. And Jim would say, hey, bring them over with you. It was more, he said, bring them with you. So we had this, Jim had this get together in his basement after home games that was, everybody, my mom and dad were there. They're like, my dad was a pastor. So he had those guys in. And, you know, so my mom and dad came over. I mean, everybody was over there, and it became this mythical kind of gathering, and our team became much closer because of it, and we started playing for each other and even each other's families that we knew.

28:50We started playing for something bigger than ourselves. It carried us through four pretty good years.

28:56Rich Eisen:Love it. And, you know, one of our favorite Jim Kelly stories was at the Hall of Fame years and years and years ago, and the bartending staff in the hotel where all the Hall of Famers were staying, they needed help. Like there were many more patrons than folks behind the bar. And Jim decided, you know, I'm just going to start helping this staff. And he hopped behind the bar and started serving everyone. and so this tracks is basically what I'm saying Steve I'll say this Jim cut a wide swath and this is a true story when Jim went in the Hall of Fame he was a first ballot guy and the Hall of Fame said how many people do we need to accommodate for your group you know how many friends are you bringing with you and he said 37 busloads and they said 37 people he goes no no no 37 busloads of people.

30:01And if you remember, that's the first year where they had to move the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies from the steps of the Hall of Fame into the stadium. That was the first time they did it. And Boomer started, you know, Chris Berman started hosting it. It became this big event. And they had to open it up because the entire region of Western New York showed up at Jim's induction. And they just couldn't accommodate all those people. And now it's a big deal. And they do it every year like that. But Jim was the guy who forced them to do that.

30:34Rich Eisen:Yes. The story that I was told by the Hall of Fame about this, Steve, this is the first time I've heard 37 busloads. That's a first for me. But the story that people say is you could draw a line from western New York through his hometown of Pittsburgh all the way down to Ohio. And it just would, it was just a massive migration of Jim Kelly lovers that needed to be accommodated within a larger space than the front steps of the Hall of Fame and I-77. That was, you just couldn't fit everybody. And that's why it's, that's why Jim Kelly is the reason why there is a ceremony every year in the stadium.

31:17Rich Eisen:And also that there is a personal bar for the Hall of Famers. Jim created that one too. Like he is, he's got the legend left, right, up and down. I've met a couple hundred people who bartended at his house at our party. Steve Tasker here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk about the here and now with the Buffalo Bills. And starting with the most recent preseason game, very simple question. What was that, Steve? Yeah, that was a stinker. That was a stinker in Chicago. What do you think? Yeah, certainly I've seen that before. I mean, I was a part of it. It was all too familiar to me. We used to go 0-4 under Marv Levy before we'd go to the Super Bowl in the preseason.

32:00But that was a stinker. And I think it shocked a couple of – it's not that they were bummed about losing the game, but they just didn't feel like they were competitive. I think there's a lot of things in it. You know, the road trip, the couple of days flopping in a hotel with nothing to do. They showed up flat. They didn't game plan. And I think – I don't know anything about, you know, the Bears and what they – but I get the feeling the Bears wanted to look good in that game, so they game plan, played their ones. I think they gave Caleb Williams a few extra things to work with offensively. They let Amer out a little bit.

32:38And that's – it's a testament to how thin the margins are. You've got a team that won five games. I think Chicago won five games last year, and the Bills are in the conference championship. And if you don't show up with your guys, you're going to get your head handed to you by anybody. Even in the preseason, the Bills didn't play their top 25 or 30 guys. So there's a little bit of that in there. But you could tell in Sean McDermott's postgame press conference, in talking to some of the players, that was a little embarrassing for him. And I don't know how much different it will be this week in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

33:19but yeah that that was a little too much even for a preseason game and i think they felt it

33:24Rich Eisen:yeah because again it really you know i with all due respect to the saturday game in tampa that that that might be more to see who's going to be guys 40 to 53 on the roster right um and more than a a prism or an indication of what things are going to look like when it really starts in a big huge way you know on the first sunday night of the season with the ravens coming into Orchard Park. So that said, I mean, just nationally, Steve, the conversation I think last year was disrespectful and the Bills responded by basically saying, yeah, we're just going to win the division again. And as a matter of fact, we're going to wrap it up with five weeks to go.

34:05Rich Eisen:And then we're going to have Josh Allen as a MVP and a true Hall of Fame candidate down the line here. Now, I guess the respect is, sure, you can win this division. But outside of that, let's see it again. Roster-wise, who else is there? Is that a fair assessment of the Buffalo Bills? Or are we disrespectful again here? Well, everybody has doubts. I mean, every team in the league has some doubts about what they're going to do. I think the Bills, some of the doubts kind of reflect where they were last year. You know, nobody's really sure about their wide receiver room. And they did it last year with Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdez-Scantling on the roster and Khalil Shakir, who nobody knew about.

34:46and they started and they picked up Amari Cooper mid-season who now is still looking for a team so the expectations were justifiably different last year but in this year they feel even better about that group that overachieved last year well different guys overachieved last year but they feel confident in their ability to do it even better this year they said they scored more points in the NFL than anybody through the regular season and postseason last year and it looks like they're going to be that good again. Josh seems at the height of his abilities. He just seems like there's nothing that gets around him pre-snap, post-snap, and, of course, he's the most difficult quarterback in the league to sack, so teams really have to take that into account when they're putting together a game plan.

35:32You can't even count on sacking the guy or getting pressure on him because if you do, he's even better. He's a real problem. And with the guys they've got now and the philosophy they put in their wide receiver room and their skill set, particularly since they signed James Cook back, the Bills' offense is a real problem. A real problem because they are not afraid to hand it off half the time. And their offensive line, they're good. I mean, they may not be an elite offensive line, but they're big, they're athletic, and they run the ball really well. So you couple that all together. And that offense is, I mean, they're going to be right there again.

36:08The question mark around this team has to center around the defense. They did nothing of note last year except one thing. They consistently churned out turnovers. They couldn't get teams off the field in third down. They couldn't stop the run. They couldn't rush the passer. The best they could do is middle-of-the-roads type numbers defensively. But they did get turnovers. That got them to the AFC Championship game. But defensively, if they can get any better, any significantly better in any part of their game, I think it'll achieve exponential results for the rest of the team. Because all the offense needs is just make the other team miss on a couple of drives, and you're going to win by a couple of possessions.

36:55Because this offense is really difficult to stop. But defensively, you look at their draft, five of the first six picks were on that side of the ball. Three of them were on the defensive front, and they got a really good corner in Max Hairston, who when he gets back, he'll be plugged in pretty quickly, I would think. But if the defense is where the question marks are, and if that does get better, this team is going to be an even tougher out than they were a year ago when they got the conference championship.

37:28Rich Eisen:And then with Allen, Steve Tasker, I mean, I think the only question left for him to answer is how long can he stay this great, right? I mean, he's reached the zenith of human being, right? Like, he is the real deal. And you can't say enough about him as a person. And you can't say enough about him as a talented quarterback who leads a city and a fan base that is so starving for him to bring a parade to town. That's the only question I have about is Allen, because he can't get any better, right? He's good to see that, would think as well. Yeah, you go to the analytics even point to it. I mean, even in crunch time and in playoff time, and when all that he plays, he's as good or better than anybody.

38:16Even Mahomes, his numbers are even better than Pat's when the chips are down. I mean, the guy just doesn't miss. He's impossible to get off the field. It takes a supreme effort by, you know, Steve Spagnuolo seems to be able to do it at the right moment late in games, which is where it all comes down to. You know you're going to get into a spot with this team where you're going to be in a tussle. Even if you're playing your best, you're not going off and leaving them. Last year, in the last 65 games, they've lost one game by more than a possession. and that was week three last year to the Ravens when and they almost climbed back into that one after a couple of plays so just after halftime this is a team that is really difficult to beat you know even if you do manage to beat them it's going to be a one possession game and you're going to have Josh with the ball at some point late it's they're tough they're going to be right there again this year they really will be and it'll be a question and you know you always hear this stuff about this team is cursed and that team is cursed.

39:23If this team is cursed, it's not a curse of always losing the Super Bowl or whatever. It's a curse of losing your last game. That's the curse. They are good enough to beat anybody on any given day, but you've got to play well on that last day of that last game. And they have just not played well enough on those days. They're good enough to go to and win the Super Bowl and have been for five years. but you got to play well on the final day and they haven't been able to do that just yet well

39:53Rich Eisen:i guess before i let you go steve maybe another intangible is this is the last year in this stadium and that that could lead to the good tidings the good karma the football gods i don't know i mean it's just going to come down to is it going to be in high mark is it not going to be in high mark is it going to be against the chiefs will it be against the ravens could there be another team that pops into the mix here that the Bills need to get past on that day? I mean, maybe it'll be the old rich stadium that brings it through. I don't know, Steve. Yeah, well, the perfect case scenario is, because I'll say this, like I said, if their defense plays well and raises the level, the one seed would be on the table for this team.

40:38They're going to be that good. I think really their biggest challenge of this entire schedule is going to be opening night, Sunday night, against Baltimore. I've been on Baltimore's side of the schedule where you get put out of the playoffs by a team. When you've got a really good squad and you go in and you get put out on the road and you get put out of the playoffs and you really feel like you had a chance to go the distance, Baltimore is going to come into Buffalo on Sunday night football opening weekend and they're going to punch them in the mouth. If the Bills find a way to scrape out a victory in those circumstances, the sky's the limit for this crew.

41:18Now, I'm not saying I'm not – the Bills will probably be favored, but I'm telling you what, I know John Harbaugh and I know those Ravens and what a good organization they are. That's going to be a tough team to beat on opening day. But that's the challenge, I think. That's the game on this schedule. The Bills really have a favorable road after that. I still think the one seed's going to be on the table for them, assuming their health. So, yeah, best case scenario, Rich, AFC Championship game for the final game in Highmark Stadium here in Buffalo before they move over to the new venue and off to a Super Bowl in Santa Clara, right?

41:58So we'll see.

41:59Rich Eisen:And a parade. Don't forget that. And a parade. And a victory cigar that's this big. Yeah. Yeah, and Jim Kelly's personal bar in his basement. That is right. Steve, thanks for the time. Let's do this throughout the season. Would love to chat as much as you're willing. Call me anytime, Rich. Good seeing you. Right back at you. That's Steve Tasker right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Awesome. I mean. That was great. You saw the Bills schedule. He's just like the Ravens of the toughest test. I mean, they have both teams that were in last year's Super Bowl in their house. And also Cincinnati. Right. I mean, last year in the old Rich, current Highmark, there were some pretty big teams coming in for some massive contests that most of the country is going to see, if not the entirety of them, like Sunday night and week one.

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43:57Rich Eisen:taking a 747 and driving it into a building did you really do that that actually happened we we really did it uh we looked at doing it with uh you know miniatures and cg and set builds and everything and when you added up all those numbers it occurred to us that it might actually be cheaper to buy a real plane. Originally, we had our eye on like a 737, something like that. Yes. And we went out to the airplane graveyard where we could buy an old 737. And while we were looking at the 737s, I started looking across the field. You could see these MD-11s, 747s. And I sort of thought, you know, and I said to the library, well, hang on a second.

44:44Why can't we get one of those big ones? So let's see if we're going to do it. So I actually had the unique experience of impulse buying a 747 and then getting to crash it.

44:55Rich Eisen:Before I let you go, what is your remote drop movie, Christopher, wherever you're watching television and you see a film that is a favorite of yours or you just don't mind binging it, even if it's not yours, obviously? Which one is it? Just a fan of film? I haven't heard the remote drop as a phrase. That's a fantastic one. There you go. Yeah, I love it. And there are so many. I mean, I think by Kubrick, you know, it's a remote drop. But some of the great comedies, too. And I mean, Talladega Nights, I'm never going to be able to switch that off. Okay, now then. Really? What? The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a Christopher Nolan mic drop movie.

45:34Rich Eisen:Is that what you're saying? If you ain't first, you laugh.

45:42Rich Eisen:You're not wrong, Christopher. You're not wrong. You're not. I'm just, that's fantastic. Does Will Ferrell know this? Did you just reveal that? He does now. He does now.

45:58Rich Eisen:Just the way he says that with his accent. If you're not first, you're lost. There it is. It's very magic. I mean, he's right. It's true. He's not wrong. Well, you could be second, though. Second place is the first loser. Good point. I'm telling you, watch Interstellar. You've never seen it, huh? I haven't, and I do have a long flight tomorrow, so maybe I'll check that out. Oh, that's right. It's your fantasy. I am. I'm going back to the fantasy draft. Going to Philadelphia this weekend, so if you see us out and about, say what's up. But you don't go out and about. What are you out and about? How do you go out and about?

46:34Rich Eisen:I'm going out and about. If other people want to join me, that's up to them. I can't wait to dig into this, because we're digging into this now. It's your favorite fantasy league. It's my least favorite fantasy league, but I'm appreciative of the old school. How long have you been with this now? Let's see. This is year 23. That's awesome. That's great. Okay. And everyone's an original? No, no. I think 10 or 11 of the 14 are original. Okay, very good. And this goes back to college, right? This goes back to college. Okay. Which makes sense if you're a bunch of guys in college. Let's all get together and have a fantasy draft where there are no time limits on the draft choices, which is insane.

47:19Rich Eisen:Do I have news for you? Hold on a second. How many teams are involved in this? Is it 14? 14. 14 is automatically absurd. Automatically absurd. I also have news for you on that front. And 14 teams because that means the waiver wire is just, there's nothing. And you'll never have a chance to get better because unless you're that, you know, So, like, you've got to be that bad to have a shot at the one person who's available. Right. That's worth it. Back on the Rich Eisen Show with our radio. And so you were saying there's 14 teams in your fantasy league that you're flying off to Philadelphia because every year the draft is held in the city of the Super Bowl champion.

47:55Rich Eisen:Correct. Which is a cool thing. I get it. So there's no time limit on the draft choices, which is absurd. Yes. however okay we did institute a kind of time guideline this year of five minutes what is that that means we're gonna kind of keep people honest now and if you have five minutes and if you haven't picked you're getting skipped oh so there is a time limit now it finally passed it's not a hardened you know like what does that mean i'm just saying like the 90 like you would do online like a 90 second and then on to the next it's like five minutes we're kind of watching the clock hey man It's been five minutes.

48:32Rich Eisen:Can you pick now? I'm not ready. You're getting skipped. So there. Yes, it's a time limit. It's a time limit. But it's not. Why aren't you? I just mean that it's not online draft where it's like. Right. We're in person. Because you're in person. We got a board in their stickers and all that stuff. Right. Right. So, but there is a time limit. Yes. Now there actually is. But why won't you call it that? I don't know. What's the point? I'm curious to see it in action. I guess I'm. Who's the enforcer? Exactly. I don't know. And I'm skeptical that it actually will be enforced. I nominate you. Well, a lot of people don't like me anyway.

49:09Rich Eisen:So I don't. That's perfect. You're perfect for the role. Shocking. You're perfect for the role. But why do you want to hang out? Why do you want to? Yeah. How can you be at League with people that don't like you? Why do you want to leave this show? I don't want to leave this show, but I didn't go last year. I understand. Because we were also traveling for the show to Kansas City. I didn't want to go back twice in two weeks. It's not that also. You also didn't want to go to somebody's house that was in the practically right. Correct. Two years in a row. Right. For the second straight year. So where is this going to be?

49:34Rich Eisen:In a hotel? The Airbnb rooftop situation. Okay. It's going to be fun. All right. So you've actually. Yes. Wow. You're like adults with disposable income. And a sensibility of like, this isn't your life. Like, you're going to just sit here. Come on, man. We don't have eight hours. For three days. Let's keep it moving. Right. Oh, congratulations. Yeah, we stepped it up a little bit. They're all grown stuff. They're all grown stuff. I'm proud of some of these guys for recognizing that. That's great. That means you're evolving. People are evolving in their 50s, which I think is inspiring. We're going to have a great day today.

50:07Rich Eisen:Mid to 840s. Mid to 840s. This is equally as inspiring. Oh, congratulations. This is great. I'm happy for you. Thank you. Yeah. And I just root for the Rams and Chargers so you don't have to even get on a plane next year. That would be awesome. Right? That would be fantastic. Yeah. Although what? You didn't have to invite people to your house and you don't like these people. Well. If they don't like you, I don't like them. Thank you. You're welcome. I've got your back. Thanks, buddy. It's okay if we don't like you. Other people, though. That's right. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a fun weekend.

50:39Rich Eisen:You don't have to say that when you don't mind. Well, congratulations. That's the way I feel about your fantasy league. Thank you, Mike. You are the enforcer, though, Kyle. I nominate you. I nominate you. Look, I'll take it on. I'm glad to be like, let's go. Yeah. I want to see a situation like in the NFL draft. I want to see people get skipped. Oh, skipping. Who's in charge of the stickers? Who creates the stickers? There's just a site you can just kind of order. No, I know that, but who's the one who's in charge of the order? There's just a – they're just kind of laid out. And when it's your turn, you just go up and get it.

51:13Rich Eisen:Who's in charge of ordering them? Oh, our buddy Scott. Okay, that's it. So why won't Scott be the enforcer of the time? I can ask him. What do you mean you can ask him? I don't like this. Now I'm concerned. I'm not the commissioner, so I'm not in any charge. Our buddy Mark is the commissioner. Is Mark one of the people who likes you? He's coming to dinner tomorrow night, so yeah, I think so, yeah. What does that mean? I organize kind of like a Thursday. Oh, you're in charge of the dinner. I organize a Thursday dinner. Where have you done that in Philadelphia? Ocean Prime in Philadelphia. Oh, nice.

51:43Rich Eisen:Okay, look at us. Disposable income. I mean, my God. Once upon a time, these guys were doing it in their underwear with no time limits. Now there's a time limit. They're in an Airbnb, and now they've got a seafood tower. You've got to love it. You're all groansed up, and you're groansed up, and you're groansed up. Vince Vaughn would be so happy. Let's hit them all now while we've got them up. T-Jam's in 4F tomorrow morning. Oh, thank you. He's a father. Come on. He's a father. We're all moving on. Come on. You know what I'm saying, Rich? All of us are moving on. Come on, Rich. Come on. What does that mean, come on, Rich?

52:14Rich Eisen:I mean, you used to take videos of me going to coach. That's true. Now look at him. You won't do it anymore. Warm nuts. That's all he's worried about. A hot towel. I want a mimosa. I want a hot towel. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. And you're going to be the enforcer. You're going to have to be. I'm going to have to be. You're right about that. I am going to have to be. But somebody's going to have to get skipped. Yeah. Somebody's getting skipped. I guarantee it happens. Then the fight breaks out. Because you've got to adjust. You know what I mean? We can't take 15 minutes to figure out your wide receiver five.

52:45Rich Eisen:It's absurd. What are we doing? It enrages me, and I'm not involved. I know. Could you imagine if Rich wasn't there? And imagine being involved how much it enrages me. Okay. Leaving your spouse, if I may. Yes. Our new dog. Your new dog. Your baby. You're leaving us to go do this thing. Yeah. You are not going to let somebody take five and a half minutes. Not even 510. Not even 505. 501 is an outrage. Getting stepped. Five minutes, you step in. Boom, you're out. You should get a gavel. I got one. Do you have a gavel? Yeah, you want to take it? I'm bringing it. Yes. The judge. Take like a buffalo.

53:23Rich Eisen:Judge Brockman's chambers. Keep it moving. In an Airbnb somewhere like the... Somewhere in downtown Philadelphia. Like Four Seasons Landscaping. Is that your Airbnb? You have the gavel? With a box and everything. No, that's a mallet. Oh, no, that's a gavel, baby. And I got the thing thing, too. You got the thing. Oh, yes. Bringing it. It's coming. Now TSA's going to stop him. What's the gavel for, Judge Judy?

53:53Rich Eisen:Locked in, focused and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment. You bet. What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN all season long.