Cam Ward Expectations

24:31Rich Eisen:I was saying, like, when I was thinking to myself, when you were like that social media, when Peyton and Eli and Kupfer were of that age, you know, Snapchat was basically like about cadence for them. You know what I mean? So that said, just let him be a kid and try and provide the cover for it because the NFL is going to be there. and one would think like if he does have a monster season and they do survey the scene and go you know what a really good organization with a really good coach and a really good ownership group and a really good front office has the first overall pick or would move up to take arch gotta consider that like that that may be something that is down the road but why not just provide him some cover right now and say don't ask him about it don't make this season about what's next in the nfl just make it about let him just live in an austin bubble and go about his business be a bmoc and live his collegiate life because that day will soon be over and i think part of it isn't even the it's like the opposite of the bmoc part i think even though that's going to be there right i think everything i've heard from their family but also the people at ut who i talked to is he gets to be as much of a regular guy as he can be there yes right you go to the nfl um and all that that changes, right?

25:53And so I just think time is on his side. Now, the one thing of all, and I get it, where it's like there's different situations. The situation that Caleb went to is very different than the one Jaden Daniels ended up in last year. And that's kind of a fickle process, how it can kind of play out. There's an injury component that obviously people can worry about. It's a physical sport. But I just think in terms of like maximizing who he is as a quarterback with reps, with time on task, with all the experience and exposure that benefits him in the long run. But it certainly benefits him in the short run, especially.

26:33And then the other side of it is if he's, you know, done everything he wants to do to to be at Texas. This is why it's really important. Now, listen, it's his team. Why would you want to rush that? I mean, if you're him. Now, I get it why all of us in the media world, it gives us something to talk about because he is such a recognizable brand, even if they don't want to be a brand. That's what he is to outsiders.

27:00Rich Eisen:Bruce Feldman here from Fox Sports and The Athletic. It's too bad Arch's first game as the starter this year. No one's going to see. Wait a minute. What a monster game. I mean, you must be, and everybody at Big Noon and Fox, and everybody must be out of their minds. in anticipation one versus two now saturday of of um of labor day weekend have we ever had a one versus two on week zero if you know well that's not it's week one week zero is the week before my bad but you can you can you can watch the kansas fresno state game thank you sir i will do that well done there'll be something extra um but yeah i mean this is this is insane what a what a what a first big game like what's your first blush thoughts obviously you've got the defending national champs, moving in a new direction to quarterback themselves.

27:47Rich Eisen:What do you got for me? Can't wait. I mean, I would argue that the best player in the country is at Ohio State. That's Jeremiah Smith. I mean, he was number one on my freaks list this year. He is a guy, if he was in the draft, I think he would be the first pick in the draft. He is that special. Right now. Yeah. I mean, I saw what he did last year. I understand. but okay keep going I didn't mean to interrupt I mean the the interesting part here with Ohio State obviously defending national champs as you said Will Howard the quarterback who played really well down the stretch he's now off in the NFL they have to replace him whether it's you know Julian Sane was a was the big recruit who's very accurate and I think he'll be the guy but Lincoln Keenholz is a guy who's been around you know more athletic bigger gives them more of a running presence at the quarterback.

28:39I don't want to say similar, similar to Will Howard, but has, has some, some of that in him. The part that is the wild card for me for Ohio State is both coordinators are gone, right? Chip Kelly, who did a really good job, especially with the run game last year. He's now in Las Vegas with Pete Carroll and Jim Knowles, who did an amazing job with the defense. He's at Penn State. So now you get Matt Patricia, who's never been a college coach running the defense um and brian hartline who's an amazing been an amazing receivers coach now he steps up into that role they don't have those two great running backs and those guys were were dynamite for ohio state i think that's the biggest area where there's going to be a drop off it's not a quarterback i think that's the part where you're like man they had travion henderson and quinshawn judkins were a lethal one-two punch and they really exploited it last year in that offense I'm not saying they're not going to be a playoff team I still think they're loaded you know I mean Caleb Downs is probably the best defensive player in the country he's the safety and obviously Jeremiah Smith's the best offensive player so you start with that they got great linebackers who who can who can run and are big and impressive but there's there are some there's probably going to be some growing pains a little bit just because new coordinators and again I I think they're going to miss the run game element just because the talent in that running back room isn't the same as it used to be.

30:03Rich Eisen:I mean, though, they seem to just keep on churning. They do. They do. It's not like, but I understand you still need to see it and you need to see it to the level of what we saw in national championship quality. I understand that. Have we gotten through the, if Ryan Day drops one game, he should be fired stuff. Do you get a sense that from the Buckeye faithful that last year's magical run was enough? What do you think? Yeah, I think it's, now look, lose to Michigan again. And I don't know how they react to that. But that's three months away. But I understand. And listen, you know I have my fun with this.

30:40Rich Eisen:And I love it, by the way. I love talking. This is one of my favorite subject matters, you know. I know. But wouldn't last year just go ahead and prove that that regular season game, as much as we love it, as much as, you know, Big Noon Fox loves to have it, that it's really all now about the games after such a thing, and that truly the next big, massive, all stakes on the table, Michigan-Ohio State game will be the first time we ever see it in the college football playoffs. Like, wouldn't you say that? Logically, I would agree with everything you're saying, but logic doesn't work in that. I get it.

31:16I think he's a terrific coach. I think he's done an amazing job there. but it's just like i know that there is that that element of the ohio state fan base i'm not going to guess what the quant you know what the percentage of how big that is but i think it just kind of lurks around especially because last year michigan was a was really down that is correct

31:38Rich Eisen:so that was correct that was one of the most stunning michigan wins period doesn't matter against who um and moving on i guess for michigan do we see the kid is it going to be i think it's Bryce Underwood. You do. You know, very talented. He does not have, like, elite pieces around him, right? Like, they have – I don't think it's the caliber of the O-line that J.J. had when they were winning the national title. The run game, you know, they've added some transfers, and I just don't think they have a lot of firepower around them, receiver-wise. And before, obviously, when they won a national title, I honestly thought it fit well because JJ could make plays when he had to, was a good runner, could throw on the run.

32:26They had Corum. They had Loveland when he was healthy, but it wasn't like they had this really explosive offense. They do not have a lot of pieces around Bryce Underwood where I think he's going to put up big numbers. I do think last year they were so bad on offense. You have a new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey. You know, I imagine they will be better, but Cole Mullings was actually terrific for them last year.

32:57Rich Eisen:No, there's no doubt. He put the program on his back at times. Well, against USC, for sure. Against, yeah, no doubt. And then against Michigan, Ohio State. He put USC on his back. That's right. USC was on his back. That's right. So Penn State is two in the conference? Yeah. Or they can overtake Ohio State, that game at the horseshoe is that big. Yeah, they're talented enough. Obviously, Drew Aller's a guy with a lot of physical talent. He's probably raising his hand saying, why are you talking about Arch? I don't think he wants that talk right now. Nobody wants that talk at this point. Let me just go out and do it.

33:29They've upgraded a lot at receiver, which they had to do in the portal. Trevor Pena, who I think somebody here knows, has seen a lot of. Really good receiver at Syracuse. I know talking to James Franklin, he's talked about how he's kind of hit the ground running athletically there. They have three guys that have come in. They're loaded. Both running backs came back. That's a wow thing because usually you may get one to come back, but not both. The offensive line is elite. They have a bunch of freaky athletes on the defensive side. I think the biggest question mark for them is just not a question mark.

34:10The thing I'm most interested to see is Jim Knowles, who did such a good job everywhere he's been, Oklahoma State and then certainly at Ohio State. And he knows what it takes to see Ohio State because he was sought up close. You know, this is a team program that often lived and died, you know, in man coverage. And that's great when you but when you play Ohio State, that's not great. That's a that's a tough ask. and I think Jim Knowles is very good at having answers and keeping people off balance. I really want to see, because they did a really good job with Andy Kotelnicki. That was the offensive coordinator they brought in last year.

34:48But I think on the other side of the ball, I think maybe Jim Knowles has the ability to take them one notch up, which is a national title team.

34:58Rich Eisen:Let's talk prime. Obviously, his health issues front and center, and it appears, again, we're getting through his bladder cancer or he's working through it and he's healthy or on the track. And then before that, it was all about Shador and being drafted. Now, if we can place those two things aside, what does Colorado look like in the post-Shador Sanders era for prime, in your estimation, the expectation level in the Big 12? I think the roster probably top to bottom might be a little better than it was a couple years ago when he first started getting it going. The star power is not there because Shador was a high-level college quarterback.

35:41And more than anything, Travis Hunter was a generational player who could take over games. And he did. Whether it was a big play on offense or causing a fumble at the goal line to save them in a game. That is, you can't replace that. that ability to just take over and make huge plays. They were a nine-win team last year who was in the top 25. I do think they'll take a step back, but I think they can still be a bowl team. I don't want to say this is a rebuild year, but you have a new quarterback, whether it's going to be Caden Salter who played a lot, who's played a lot, was a starter at Liberty, or Juju Lewis who's a 17-year-old quarterback who was a big recruit for them.

36:30I mean, I think at some point you're going to see a lot of Juju Lewis. You know, he's not, it's funny, I saw him like a month ago, and he's, I don't know if he's quite the size of Bryce Young, but about that, but it's not like Bryce Young and, you know, Kyler Murray are not the comparison because they're more dynamic athletes than he is, but he is a really good passer, and there's still plenty of weapons around for him. Okay, keep going.

36:58Rich Eisen:That's our sound man who's phoning off. You're a tech guy. What is going on? Don't worry about it, man. It's okay. It's all right. Have you won Emmys? No, you know. I'm sorry. That's why he wasn't invited to turn in. That's right there. I'm sorry. Go on. No, so I think, I don't think they're going to fall apart. I just think some of those moments where Travis took over, I don't know who does that. You know, there's some good NFL talent. Like they have a big time cornerback who, you know, physically is what they look for. But again, I still, I just think that they're, they're kind of somewhere between where they were in year one of Dion when they won four games and last year when they were nine, I think they're probably six or seven.

37:40Rich Eisen:So in the couple of minutes I have left with you, tell me about the freaks list that you put together and just give me some bullet points here and everyone can go to the athletic to read the whole thing. Yeah. So I've been doing it for 20 years. Amazing. and it's gotten bigger and bigger, you know, in part with like, you know, your friend Daniel Jeremiah and the NFL scouting world has really kind of, have kind of leaned into it too. That's great. But it's been, it's amazing to see what, when I started this was like, okay, who are the guys in each program that make their coaches and teammates say, wow.

38:12And by what they do, whether it's the, the number two guy on the list, Caden Proctor is a 6 '7", 366-pound left tackle for Alabama. His strength numbers are insane. The numbers that blew me away would maybe do a triple take were when I saw he vertical jump 32 inches and broad jumps 9 1⁄2 feet. It's insane. It is insane. So you're around the combine every year. And it gets freakier every year. There are five receivers at the NFL combine this year who didn't jump that high. Chad Johnson, all-time great player, he didn't even jump that hot. And this guy weighs like 150 pounds, almost 200 pounds more.

38:57It's insane.

38:58Rich Eisen:It's crazy. It's crazy. Do you have like a – keep going. Do you have another one or two? Oh, yeah. I mean like there's a – Oregon has a defensive tackle, right? You saw like obviously Oregon had a first rounder last year and a guy Jamari Caldwell was going to play in the NFL probably a long time. Yeah. Amari Washington is 6 '3", 340 pounds, runs like 21 miles per hour. It's insane to be that fast. Like at some point, whatever it is going to be, nine months from now, they're going to have a video of him just blowing past you. Probably, you know, like I can see it. They're going to give you a 15-yard head start, and he's going to run you down.

39:41Like. I love it. I'll take it. I'll take it. But then there's the flip side of it is like the smaller guys who are just incredibly strong that are 180 pounds and bench press more than twice their body weight. Like I said, Jeremiah Smith's my number one guy this year. But then there's another Buckeye, Sonny Stiles, who's a terrific linebacker. Dad played in the NFL. When you see him in person, you're like, oh, my God, he looks just like like kind of the Greek God. He was walking around Vegas at Big Ten Media Days. And when I talked to him for a while about this, he was just talking about how his dad had them doing all these plyometrics and agility stuff from the time they were five and six years old.

40:27Rich Eisen:Do you have a list of, before I let you go, is there a list, like a spreadsheet of over the 20 years, fastest times, fastest, you know? I'm not that organized. Well, I'm just saying, because I would just love to see how the development of the freakiness has gone. That what was freaky 10 years ago right now is just like, oh, okay. It's just another day that ends in one. Yeah, the only thing was Calvin Johnson was 20 years ago. We're not seeing those like. So even there's something freaky from 20 years ago that would equally stand out to you. Oh, yeah. Like, I mean, if you ask me who are the 10 freakiest guys who have come through college football.

41:06Yes. Like Calvin Johnson's in the top three. That was 20 years ago. Magatron, man. You know, like the cool, one of the cool things about, about Jeremiah Smith, the best comparison I could come up with for him is Andre Johnson.

41:18Rich Eisen:Wow. You know, Hall of Famer, Andre Johnson, like, cause they are incredibly strong. They're both Miami kids. And I think Jeremiah Smith is probably more polished at an early age. Jeez. But you're talking about a guy who just ragdolls people, but he runs 23.5 miles per hour and super strong. but like, so when I met Jeremiah Smith's dad last year and we were talking about this and I brought up the Andre Johnson thing, he goes, you know, I got a photo I'm gonna send you. JJ is like seven and it's with him with Andre Johnson and it's a really, you know, it's a cool photo of like guy who at the time was, you know, on the path to be a Hall of Famer, but certainly wasn't at that stage of life.

42:01And a guy who, I don't wanna say Jeremiah Smith's going to be a Hall of Famer. It's too soon to make that, but like the best player in college football and you know, the things that the common trait is the drive, the work ethic and the toughness, not just the physical toughness, but like the mental toughness. And I think people pouring into them and it's really cool to see when it all comes together.

42:26Rich Eisen:Check it out on the athletic. Great to see you, sir. Thanks for coming in here. Look forward to another season. Let's do it. rich eisen here for gusto on my shows we talk a lot about what happens in the spotlight the games the highlights and the moments that get replayed and debated but in any successful operation what happens behind the scenes matters just as much small businesses are no different payroll hiring onboarding benefits and all the details that keep things moving may not be the most visible part of the job but they still have to be handled right that's where gusto comes in gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses.

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44:21Rich Eisen:So I tell Mark Norman and Shane Gillis, my two openers, I say, hey, we're doing the Mullet Arena. We'll do two shows. We do one show Saturday night. Sells out at Friday. Sells out on Wednesday, on Thursday. Doing four shows. Guys, it's a little treat. Super Bowl tickets on me. Good seats. Mm-hmm.

44:45Rich Eisen:$125 ,000. Well, you're going for the primo primo if you're talking about that. I didn't know. My wife called and she goes, they just took$125 ,000 out of our account. Is something going on? Do you need to talk to me about something? Are you going to South Africa for a month? I was like, no, we're going to the Super Bowl. I don't even like either of the teams. I don't even like either of the teams. See, now that this is your rookie experience mistake, you need to check the prices before offering to take people in primo seats. Or wait until the whole line comes over and they go, we've got 15 tickets.

45:19Rich Eisen:Do you want some? Are you kidding me? One guy's like, well, you gotta sit with my parents. I was like, I am getting along great with parents. Does this your dad drink? I flack out in front of your family like I do my family. This is the rub. Oh, no. They don't tell you your seats until Friday. Get out of here. You don't know where you're sitting. I don't even know who I gave the money to. Oh, my God. I don't even know. My manager just goes, I need 125 ,000. I can't understand. I feel like Bernie Madoff's client. I'm just sitting there going, so you think Bitcoin's going to really do well? I hope this money turns out.

46:02Rich Eisen:Matt Damon said we're cool. I heard Tom Brady's involved. This should be a win-win, right? I'm sorry I'm laughing so hard and crying. I don't even know when I get my ticket.

46:17Rich Eisen:It's the greatest high-stabber! I'm going to be a fuck! I'm like, guys are so easy, but I still live! Spoiler alert. Oh, if I have bad seats, I'm going to be living! I hate the Super Bowl! I'm going to be rooting against both teams! Oh my god. Oh my god. My wife is so angry at me.

46:50Rich Eisen:She thought you were robbed. I should have helped out so many poor children. And I'm just throwing money away. We have to know. There's people mining coal balls. And I'm sitting here with... I feel like Brewster's million.

47:14Rich Eisen:Oh, God. I'm sweating and laughing. I'm not the one$125 ,000 in the hole. Oh, my God. Good stuff with Burt Kreischer in all the years. That was fantastic. It was just tough to understand him when he starts laughing. Wow, when he gets going like that. You can't stop him. You can only hope to contain him. He can't stop himself. It's all on our YouTube channel, everybody. I think Bill Burr's on the docket to come back here in September. Oh, yes. Nice. About that one. Oh, do you? You want to go to the USS Constitution? One of our favorites. I love it. I love him. Bill Burr, everybody. He's so good.

48:00Rich Eisen:Bill Burr. That's coming up in September. I just love it. I love it when we have the comedians on there. They make my day. There's no question about it. But let's go to Noah in Portland, Oregon. He's been hanging on forever. What's up, Noah? Hey, guys. What's going on? Hey. Hey. Thank you for taking my call. First time, short time. Okay. We'll take it. What's on your mind? I wanted to do a win-loss for my Panthers. The Carolina Panthers in Portland, Oregon. Hey, now. You were the first one to call in and say, I want to do this. So you've got the floor, man. You've got the floor. Carolina Panthers win-loss game.

48:39Rich Eisen:Noah in Portland, Oregon. Can we start with tomorrow's game? Because it could get kind of rough. I'd like to see if you can watch one up. It starts at Jacksonville when it really means something. So what do you got? With Jacksonville, I was hoping about tomorrow's game against Cleveland. Because I think that's going to be our first win. I need an answer here, though. What happens at the Jacksonville Jaguars? That's going to be a win. At the Cardinals. Ooh, a win. 2-0, home for the Falcons. Win. That's a 3-0 start for the Carolina Panthers at the Patriots. Yeah, we're coming up hot. We woke up.

49:20Rich Eisen:At the Patriots. Oh. That's going to be a win. That's 4-0, home for the Dolphins. That's going to be a loss. 4-1, home for the Cowboys. With all due respect, that's going to be a win. Atta, baby. It'll be 5-1 at the Jets. That one, I'm excited for the Jets this year. That's going to be a loss. 5-2, home for the Bills. That's definitely going to be a loss. 5-3 at the Packers.

49:51Rich Eisen:That's going to be a loss. 5-4, home for the Saints. I caught your interview with Tyler Shuck. Amazing. I'm really rooting for him. That's going to be a win. All right, you're back. 6-4 at the Falcons. That's going to be a win. 6-0, 7-4 at the 49ers on a Monday night. That's going to be a loss. 7-5 home for the Rams. That's going to be a loss. 7-6 off a bye at the Saints. That's going to be a win. 8-6 home for the Bucs. That's going to be a win. 9-6 home for the Seahawks on a Saturday. That's going to be a loss. 9-7 at the Bucs. That's going to be a loss. 9-8 would be quite the season for the Carolina Panthers.

50:35Rich Eisen:Thanks for the call, Noah, in Portland. You got it. There he goes. See you, Noah. 4-0 for the Carolina Panthers would be a storyline of September. That would be a top five storyline of September. It would be the 4-0 Carolina Panthers. 7-1⁄2 their win total. He has them winning the first four and then losing four of the next five, than splitting the next four and splitting the final four. So you want to go quarters of the season. That's what he's got. Hey, you always look for a team that finished strong one year and then it bleeds into the next. Carolina is a prime candidate for that. Prime. So, and, you know, they have only one nationally televised game, and that's at San Francisco on the Monday nighter of Thanksgiving.

51:30So, O's the mentalist is coming out of our green room shortly at hour three.

51:36Rich Eisen:Still here on the Roku Sports Channel, everybody. Carolina, I mean, you can't consider Denver a sleeper team anymore. No. Okay, right? For 2025? That's right. No, no, no, definitely not. Give me another sleeper team. Carolina is a prime candidate. Give me another one. Arizona would be another prime candidate for a sleeper team. Yeah, Arizona. We're down. You want to go? Seattle. Seattle. That's kind of a secret team. What about your Patriots? Jacksonville. Are they a sleeper team candidate? Sleeper potential. Meaning what, though? About 500? Yeah, meaning like 10 wins. That'd be a huge season.

52:18Rich Eisen:Do you see Vrabel came out of a scrub bleeding from his cheek or something like that? You don't know what happened? Do you know what happened? So they're joint practicing with Washington, where Drake May reportedly outplayed Jaden Daniels. And Travion Henderson in the backfield picking up a blitz. Pancakes Von Miller. Huge fight breaks out. Massive scrum. Vrabel gets in the pile, pulling guys off. Will Campbell pulling guys off. Comes out of it, cheek bleeding. Take your heart pills and buckle up. I think, sir, you are, and you knew it, you sensed it. even Coop knew it. This was the greatest move they've made in quite some time.

52:56Rich Eisen:Travion Henderson, you are going to love him. I need everyone to stop talking about him. Why? Because you want to draft him? We need that to sneak up on people. Well, it will. It will because, you know, rookies don't usually get the 20-25 carry treatment right off the bat unless they're a top 10 pick at the position. And Ramondre Stevenson is no piker. Still there. Antonio Gibson still there. So he'll be worked in. He'll be worked in to start. He's been showing the big-time ability in the receiving game so far. I think he's going to be – Home run hitter, second half of the year. You're going to really like him.

53:35Rich Eisen:I was very excited when they drafted him, and I'm excited. And Will Campbell up front, too. And he pancaked Von Miller. Travion Henderson picked him up in pass blocking. Pancakes Von Miller. Scrum. Vrabel, bleeding. I just saw the video. The fight kind of stared towards the crowd in the stands. And people were jumping out the way. Yeah, okay. This guy. Give me the reports of Drake May outperforming Jaden Daniels. Yeah, three touchdowns to Jaden Daniels, zero. Almost 70 % completion. Jaden Daniels around 60. So what more metrics do you need? Are you yawning over there? I mean, it's a friendly preseason practice.

54:19Rich Eisen:Basically a scrimmage. What are we doing? Back shouldering, Kayshawn booty for touchdowns. Come on now, people. That's a booty call.

54:33This episode is brought to you by ChatGPT. Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Have you guys heard about ChatGPT work? It's the new way to use ChatGPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, Give ChatGPT work access to your apps and files, and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode available on Plus and Pro plans.