Hour 1: 32 Storylines for all 32 NFL Teams, plus Super Bowl Predictions

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1:16TJ Jefferson:This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. What are these? Woo-hoo! Football! They're nothing prettier than a fat guy touchdown! This is the Rich Eisen Show. Touchdown! Seahawks! Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Today's guests.

2:02TJ Jefferson:Pro Football Hall of Famer, Kurt Warner. Ravens running back, Derrick Henry. Delaware State head coach, Deshaun Jackson. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

2:16Rich Eisen:All right, everybody. Welcome to this edition of the Rich Eisen Show live on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, Sirius XM, Channel 80. It's going to be a Warner Wednesday, as always is in our neighborhood during a football season. And Kurt Warner is first up in hour number two, as he will be in every single Wednesday show from here on out. hung out with him on NFL Network last night. Good times on our season preview show. Derek Henry entering year 11 in the National Football League, 10th on the all-time list of National Football League rushers. He's going to be joining us in hour number two.

2:53Rich Eisen:Deshaun Jackson stops by in studio. He's the head coach of Delaware State football. There's a new documentary on his life on Prime Video. And then there's you at 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Hopefully you're awake if you watched all of Ben Shelton versus Carlos Alcaraz last night at the United States Open. It's unbelievable that that match ended nine hours ago from this point in time. I'm struggling. So all good in our neighborhood today. I've got my first power rankings of the season. Christopher Brockman, how are you over there? Welcome to the National Football League campaign. Excited to be here.

3:28Excited for tonight. I did stay up and watch all four and a half hours last night, so I'm a little struggling. But football tonight, can't wait.

3:35Rich Eisen:DJ Mikey D is a D's nuts. Good morning, Rich. TJ Jefferson, the candle is lit. What trophy do you have there? On the road to riches and diamond rings. Real players do real things, Rich. And this is my fantasy football league trophy. The fourth one that I've got. And yeah, I feel good. I'm ready for football. I'm ready to dominate again. Look at you. Let's go. For those of you who may not be familiar around these parts, this is our 13th season covering the National Football League. It'll be my 24th season covering the NFL for NFL Network. kind of kicked off last night. So we're a football show through and through.

4:12Rich Eisen:Obviously, we talk about everything. But what I do every single year on the day the NFL starts, for real, is I run down every single storyline and narrative possible for all 32 football teams right off the top of my head. Yeah, you do. And it's time for me to do that again. We love that. I need the music, Mike Del Tufo. We start with the American Football Conference, which is represented tonight in terms of a championship by the New England Patriots, who have year two of Mike Vrabel. It is year three of Drake May, but year two of him being a full-time starter for the New England Patriots, and year one of being a starter of a team that has high expectations, as well as high expectations for a guy who was almost the MVP of last year.

5:00Rich Eisen:And what do the Patriots do? They go ahead and get him A.J. Brown in the offseason as a new toy and weapon. How good is this team on defense still? They signed Christian Gonzalez. They pesayed him. It was a top five defense last year. Will they be able to do that? Will they be able to protect Drake May? Will Will Campbell be a turnstile or somebody who can turn the page on last year's campaign in year two for him? And then, of course, there's everything off the field with Mike Vrabel during the offseason. Will that somehow come home to roost if things don't go well for New England? It is a season of high expectations there for the Patriots.

5:40Rich Eisen:We'll see what happens with them as the Buffalo Bills once again have high expectations again because it's Josh Allen's world and we're all paying rent within it. They have James Cook coming back off of winning the rushing title last year. It is Sean McDermott out and Joe Brady in. The guy who was in Josh Allen's headset for the last couple of years, coordinating the offense as well. It's now his turn there, front and center, for a Bills team that on defense does appear to be pretty good. How good can they be in their new stadium, the new Highmark Stadium? Will the rest of the American Football Conference have an obstructed view of Josh Allen running away from them and scoring touchdowns against them?

6:26Rich Eisen:So is this the year that the Mafia can finally die happy? It's been time and time again for Buffalo. Could this be the year the Jets have year two for Aaron Glenn? It is Geno Smith back at the controls at quarterback. back. This was not the plan that Jets fans had when they drafted Zach Wilson and then turned to Aaron Rodgers and then thought Justin Fields could be the guy. They didn't think it would be Geno Smith with Frank Reich coming out of the mist to coordinate an offense for Aaron Glenn, who's basically been told, hey, you're the defensive coordinator we hired to be the HC. You're back being the defensive coordinator and the HC.

7:07Rich Eisen:They got some OGs back. Demario Davis as well on defense. Minka Fitzpatrick on the back end. Can they come up with just one interception this year and surprise people with Garrett Wilson and Brees Hall and the rest of those offensive youngers, young guys? Can they go ahead and make a big run of it? The Dolphins have Jeff Halfley in year one. Malik Willis with the opportunity of his lifetime. Will the Dolphins build for the future now or look to the future for another quarterback depending on what Malik Willis does there. Jalen Waddell's gone. Who's there? Who are the Dolphins? Big shrug emoji team.

7:43Rich Eisen:Devin A. Chan is one of the best in the business. We'll see how he does in year one for Halfley. In the Cleveland Browns world, it's Deshaun Watson again. Who thought about that in Cleveland? Not many. Thought maybe it's going to be Shador Sanders again, but Todd Munkin in year one for him. What's going to happen in Cleveland with Todd Munkin? They trade away Miles Garrett. It's Jared Burse on defense. they've got a whole bunch of young kids that can win now if Monken's the right coach and Watson's the right quarterback or Shadour's the right quarterback or if not Cleveland owns half of next year's first round draft just like the Jets to look for a new quarterback.

8:24Rich Eisen:Meanwhile Baltimore's got a new head coach as well after 16 years of John Harbaugh it's Jesse Minter on the on the spot now can he plus this team up on defense? They sure hope he can. And what he did with Derwin James here in Los Angeles, he can do with Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith and get that defense stout again. Lamar Jackson, a new offensive coordinator from the Ben Johnson world, Declan Doyle. How will he look in a new offense? Zay Flowers with a new contract. Derek Henry in our number two of this show in year number 11. Can he still keep it going? He turns 33 in week 18, a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also have a new head coach in Mike McCarthy after Mike Tomlin leaves after 16 years.

9:09Rich Eisen:And once again, it's McCarthy and Rodgers again. And these two guys being hooked up again is mind-blowing. Mind-blowing because not only are they hooked up together again, they're hooked up together again in Pittsburgh. And McCarthy's the one who's replacing Mike Tomlin. And Mike Tomlin's the coach for a franchise that both McCarthy and Rodgers beat when they won the Super Bowl against them in Dallas, which is the spot where Mike McCarthy coached in between the gigs in Green Bay and Pittsburgh. What the hell's going on? Michael Pittman's now new there. Will the offense be different with McCarthy calling it a head coach calling the action?

9:46Rich Eisen:He's a first year head coach. Same thing with Todd Munkin. Same thing with Jesse Minter, which leaves Zach Taylor as the dean of coaches in the American Football Conference Northern Division. He's there in year seven now. Think about it. Year eight, actually. I'm shorting him a year. And is this the time where Zach Taylor finds his footing from the last year that the Super Bowl was here in SoFi Stadium when Joe Burrow surprised everybody with Zach Taylor, former McVay assistant, to take him to the Super Bowl? Well, Burrow still has got Jamar Chase, still has T. Higgins, now has Chase Brown behind him.

10:25Rich Eisen:and on defense they go ahead and say 10th overall selection? Take it, Giants. We'll take Sexy Dexy, Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafé on that defensive line. Did they make sure that this defense is stout enough to make sure that Joe Burrow, if he stays upright and healthy, big if, they can actually win football games by a normal score? What will happen with the Cincinnati Bengals this year? Is it Super Bowl or bust? For everybody there. The AFC South. You've got sitting there the Jacksonville Jaguars after a massive successful first year with Liam Cohen. But they lost Travis Etienne. What's going to happen at the running back position?

11:16Rich Eisen:Is Travis Hunter going to be a two-way player anymore? What happens with Brian Thomas Jr. for this team? Great first year, second year, a little bit of a milk carton. Parker Washington can't lose. We'll see what happens there. Jacoby Myers as well in a full season for this offense for Liam Cohn in a defense that was highly opportunistic last year. They shocked a lot of people in the second half of the season. They punked a ton of teams nobody thought they could beat. Can they take a step forward? Can they get Duval County to the Super Bowl for the first time in the team's existence? Jacksonville is a lot to be excited about but then there's the Houston Texans who won and done to Aaron Rodgers and sent Mike Tomlin to NBC and has a defense that is as scary as any defense that we've seen put together Willie Anderson got a contract of$50 million per but the quarterback hasn't and is that the problem?

12:15Rich Eisen:C.J. Stroud, can he get this team to an AFC championship game? They keep getting as far as the divisional round and hitting their head. Hold on to the football, hand it off to new running back, David Montgomery, along with Woody Marks behind an offensive line that hopefully can protect people. And then the receiving core with Nico Collins leading the way, maybe Tank Dell coming back. The young guys that are healthy can get things together for Houston and push them past the divisional round into the AFC Championship and to the Super Bowl. Is that possible? It sure is. Will it happen? Don't know.

12:49Rich Eisen:The Tennessee Titans have the baldest staff in the league. That's the one thing we do know. Robert Sala's taking things over, and he's brought in another guy who used to coach in MetLife Stadium in the Giants, former head coach in Brian Dable. The Jets and Giants, former head coaches, uniting like the Wonder Twins. And they're activating, Cam Ward or not. They got Carnell Tate for him in the top five of a draft. That's a nice new weapon. Calvin Ridley's there. Tony Pollard's there. defensively Jeffrey Simmons is there to scare people how much can the Titans put it together this year and move forward great question the Indianapolis Colts have got a coach and Shane Steik and that's starting Daniel Jones again if he comes back looking as healthy as everyone expects him to from an Achilles injury Jonathan Taylor's as good as it gets and Alec Pierce just got Pizade and it's time to see if he's going to really be a wide receiver number one and who else is going to be catching it could the kid Warren have a great second year at the tight end position?

13:50Rich Eisen:Josh Downs? Defensively, can they put it together and get this team into the playoffs? And is that what needs to happen for Shane Steichen to keep his job? Then you've got the AFC West going down. We start with this. Fernando Mendoza, what's not to like? And that is a rhetorical question. I hope nobody's answering something on their radios or televisions right now. Mendoza-mania is here. The question is, when does it hit? Does it hit at all this year? Does Kirk Cousins keep him nailed to the bench? Is he ready? Is Clint Kubiak, the new head coach there, from your defending champion Seattle Seahawks, is he going to show up and go, all right, Cousins, take us as far as you can?

14:31Rich Eisen:Or at some point he can do what Tom Coughlin did to our second-hour guest, Kurt Warner, and say, thanks for being five and four, Vet. We're going to start the kid right now anyway. Is that going to happen at some point during this season? Max Crosby didn't want to be there, and then he wasn't there, then he was back there, and now he wants to stay there, unless things don't go well or the condor is there. Brock Bowers, Ashton Gentry, years three and two, respectively, and Clint Kubiak's system. Let's see how good the Raiders can be. Then you've got our friends across the way, Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers.

15:07Rich Eisen:He's decided to make a move at offense, and he gets Mike McDaniel, the odd couple of the National Football League, the Felix and Oscar of coaching. What is going to happen here? How much will McDaniel change this running game? I think significantly. Justin Herbert will certainly benefit from a healthy Rashawn Slater and Mr. All on either side. The offensive line that was ravaged. Let's see what can happen. They've already lost their center, but they got Omari and Hampton back fully. Let's see what he can do this year in this running game. Ladidi McConkey. You've got also Khalil Mack on defense.

15:40Rich Eisen:Tooley. You've got all sorts of folks. to Derwin James. Can the Los Angeles Chargers get to the Super Bowl? Everybody's looking at the Rams being in so far. Don't forget the Chargers play there too. They have got Justin Herbert in the playoffs last year, last couple years. Can he win a game this time around and get back? Then you've got the Denver Broncos. Sean Payton in year four in New Orleans. Won a Super Bowl. Sean Payton in year four in Denver. What are we going to see? Bo Nix back healthy. Jalen Waddell now on this offense that remarkably, Sean Payton not calling plays for. What will that look like?

16:21Rich Eisen:Defensively, 68 sacks last year. They're as good at any position in the NFL as anybody. Denver enters this season as a Super Bowl favorite for sure. Amongst as many there can be in the AFC, and that includes Kansas City because Patrick Mahomes is coming back. He's coming back, and I have no idea what he's going to look like, but that's still Patrick freaking Mahomes. And Travis Kelsey's still around. And Chris Jones is still around. And now they've got Kenneth Walker on offense. So maybe, just maybe, instead of Mahomes having to put everything on his shoulders, he puts it in the gut of this kid, and he runs like he did in the Super Bowl.

17:01Rich Eisen:Super Bowl 60's MVP is there for this team to use. They haven't had a 1 ,000-yard rusher since Kareem Hunt's rookie season. Let's see what they can do there. The rest of it is a big mystery. Can they be a sum of their parts and take the Kansas City Chiefs back to the Super Bowl, back to the AFC Championship game where Mahomes basically, that used to be his floor. That used to be his floor. Making that and losing used to be his floor. Last year, the floor fell out. So did his knee. What happens with the Kansas City Chiefs is Andy Reid enters year 14 there as many years as he was in Philadelphia.

17:42Rich Eisen:It's happened. Andy Reid is now in Kansas City as long as he was in Philadelphia. And we'll see what happens to the Kansas City Chiefs here, and that's my preview for the American Football Conference. Now then, we move to the NFC. We'll start with your Cowboys. Oh, baby. Why not? Should I grab the flag? For years and years and years, we've been getting flim-flam from Jerry. Flim-flam. Flam-flam. Flim-flam. Squirrels. and talk about squirrels and talking about feeding ducks and quacking. I'll be in all in. And, you know, there's no patience for jacking around with people. And you'd be hearing, hey, we're going all in, but we're not really all in.

18:17Rich Eisen:Well, your definition of all in is not my definition of all in. And ACD, we're going to make you, you know, sit out and cool your heels, and then we'll sign you. And Micah Parsons, we'll make you sit out and cool your heels and make it seem like we're going to sign you, and then we'll trade you. Get rid of you. Then we're going to get Brian Schottenheimer in here, and then we're going to take a flyer on George Pickens. and lo and behold, here we are after a lot of that worked out, not to the tune of wins, but they seem to have a better defense now than last year when they traded away Micah Parsons.

18:48Rich Eisen:They got Rashawn Gary now. They got Quinton Williams now. They got Kenny Clark now. They got Odigizua, right? They got Malachi. They got themselves, my guy Jayshon, and they got Caleb Downs on the back end. That's just to name a few. We got the Doogie Howser of coaching, it seems, on 100-D. Roe. Feels good. All Dak's got to do is stay healthy and roll the footballs out and let's see how it goes. Dallas has a good reason to feel great and try and break that 30-year drought of getting to the NFC Championship game. But the Eagles are still pretty freaking good, too. Once again, they change offensive coordinators.

19:28Rich Eisen:Once again, Jalen Hurts got to learn a new system or a same system, different terminology or a different way of doing things. I mean, this guy cannot have the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back years if his career depended on it. And every single time people talk about Jalen Hurts, it seems like his career does depend upon it. Like, let's forget about the two biggest games he's played in his life and he was great in both. But Sean Mannion's coming in. What does it look like? Have no idea. can the offensive line be better protecting Hurts or Hurts be healthy or the run game better for Saquon Barkley?

20:02Rich Eisen:I don't know. What does it mean with A.J. Brown out and now Dontavian Wicks and Makai Lemon in? I don't know. One thing we do know is it's not going to be smooth. We know it. Defensively, they are big. They are stout. They are angry. They are absolutely physical. And the Eagles could be as good as we've ever seen. Or they could be just like the years every other year where you're wondering what the hell's going on with them. And Nick Sirianni's the man in charge. Meanwhile, you got yourselves just up the turnpike. The New York football giants make it a change. John Harbaugh and the Ravens part ways, and the Giants are like, we'll take them.

20:39Rich Eisen:And we'll take them, and we're going to cross T's and dot I's to make sure that this guy runs the system the way he wants, even though we have a way of doing things to the point where, you know, basically our longtime owner is nicknames on the football. Like, that's the way we do things around here. But now it's John Harbaugh's way of doing things. How does that change? Can Jackson dart slide? Can Cam Scadaboo not flip? Can Malik neighbors not just have some sort of weird injury that knocks him out? Can this offense be as great as possible with, yes, Odell Beckham Jr. back in the mix, earning a spot?

21:19Rich Eisen:But defensively, they are absolutely front seven terrific. Back end, let's see. Can the Giants' shock come out and not be a sleeper team but actually wake some people up? Possible. The Commanders. It's Dan Quinn in the saddle, in a hot seat. Don't know. Jaden Daniels, year one, unicorn. Year two, sheep. but was it injury was it not is it him is it not is it his number is it someone else's oh i'm sorry that's a different level of the sport um it's his world we're paying rent in it david blouse a new oc there what will that look like you hear they can't block a soul in in practice or joint practices or what you see or they're just going to come out of the box against the eagles and just say, we're the commanders of two years ago because we got Sonny Stiles now, and he's going to be the glue of this defense, and we're going to hit people in the mouth, and Dan Quinn's going to dial these plays up, and we're going to be the Washington commanders of two years ago again.

22:28Rich Eisen:Stephon Diggs is now there with Terry McLaurin. They're long and a tooth. Got it. But they could be pretty toothy themselves. We'll see what happens there. The NFC North, oh my goodness gracious. The Minnesota Vikings have Kyler Murray in the mix. What will that look like? Everybody's thinking, hey, Kyler, the guy from Arizona, that Kevin O 'Connell's never had anybody like him, and he's going to be running it and throwing it, and he's going to look like the kid who won Heisman, and he's going to do this, and he's going to do that. And he's got Justin Jefferson. He's got Jordan Addison, and they made the right move, and he's going to be the guy there forever, and J.J.

23:03Rich Eisen:McCarthy, see ya. Let's see what happens. Defensively, they're top five. Brian Flores is still dialing up. Harrison Smith re-signs. He's there. They're going to turn you over. They're going to make sure that you are hectored on your side of the ball. It's just what happens when Kyler Murray gets this opportunity of a career for him. Of a career. It's time. Does this mean the Vikings can win this division? Shock some people. Go to the Super Bowl. Kyler Murray, take them to heights. Or we'll see what J.J. McCarthy looks like midseason. Who the hell knows? The Packers. I mean, I've never come on in this segment and said, you know, all eyes on a court date.

23:48Rich Eisen:But that's what's up with Josh Jacobs. He's on the commissioner's exempt list. And this is the guy that Matt LaFleur gives the ball to, gives a touch to, eight to ten times on his first 15 scripted. How's that going to affect this team if he's not there? Tucker Craft's coming back from a knee injury. Who's going to catch the ball if Christian Watson can't stay healthy, which he has trouble doing? Reed has trouble doing that. Matthew Golden had a great playoff game, but it's time for him to potentially step up. Defensively, what does this team look like? The Packers are a bit of a mystery, or Jordan Love's just going to wing it around to everybody.

24:23Rich Eisen:They stay healthy, and they got the run game back because Josh Jacobs stays on the right side of the law. He's back in, and the Packers win this division, even though they had a dreadful final six weeks of last season. Then you got yourselves the Detroit Lions. Jameer Gibbs, you are the bell cow now, sir. Montgomery's now in Houston. Okay, Sonic? Knuckles is somewhere else, and Isaiah Pacheco is hurt. So you are the bell cow. You have been, Pizade. It is your show. It's the Jameer Gibbs Show with also Amon Ra and Jamison Williams. And you got yourself Jared Goff at the controls, and Sam Laporte is back healthy, and that offensive line that was stout once upon a time and has been somewhat porous in terms of what we used to see.

25:10Rich Eisen:Can they come back and Dan Campbell gets the roar restored after last year's bit of a mess, to be honest with you? I mean, Ben Johnson's gone. They hire an offensive coordinator who drops 50 on Ben's Bears in week two. And it all falls apart to the point where Dan Campbell's like, I'm calling the plays. That could not have been the plan when the Lions lost Ben Johnson within the division. But we'll see. And can the football gods stop kicking this defense in the Nards and putting everyone on IR? Because if not, if they're healthy, this team can win the division and can make some hay. Or the supposition that their window started closing when they lost to the Niners in the NFC Championship game a couple years ago, despite being a one seed two years ago, and then last year's team, is the window closing in Detroit.