Hour 1: Indiana’s National Title Reactions, plus 2-Time Super Bowl Champ Chris Long

21:21Rich Eisen:Brother, you nailed it. You nailed it. Same thing with Josh McDaniels, a cheat code as the OC. Steve Spagnuolo has been that cheat code for Kansas City for a long time. That's the, I mean, that's the, it's not great for the coordinators in question if they want to be head coaches again. But if you want to get something going, then you have a cheat code is a perfect way for you to put it at coordinator. And Dennis Allen, obviously, along with Ben Johnson together and Caleb Williams, you're just checking boxes for a franchise that had no boxes checked for quite some time. You know, Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen show.

22:02Rich Eisen:Where to go from here with you?

22:05Chris Long:Got you by the Rams. I want to give my old team credit. They won the game. We just talked about Chicago for a while. The front won that game in gotta-have-it situations, and you knew they had to win that game. You had to stop the run with the front, and on third and one, and some of these gotta-have-it situations, the goal line stand, they were great. That's all I wanted to say.

22:25Rich Eisen:No, no, that's cool, for sure. And obviously, Stafford, that Stafford throw from the opposite hash to Devontae Adams on the boundary, and where Adams grabbed it and dragged a foot. I watched that, and, you know, listen, it's not as impressive as fading back 26 yards and throwing a 40-yard, 14-yard touchdown pass, you know, but my God. Maybe more functional. My God, that was unbelievable. And the Rams going to Seattle. You know, best defense remaining in the playoffs belongs to Seattle. It's Seattle.

23:01Chris Long:Right? It's Seattle. It is Seattle. Denver's great like they're great I thought Houston was like it's a shame that Houston's not in this thing anymore but Seattle especially at home they just jump you you know they do this to teams and I was on the other I was on the ass end of these things for a long time in the NFC West and you know I think it was like seven years running we lost in Seattle and it always felt like you know when the top comes off that place, it's hard to put it back on, man. And when it happens that early in a football game, and I thought the Shahid move, for all these teams that sat on their hands, right, at the trade deadline, looking at you, Buffalo, Shahid makes such a big difference for this team offensively, but also on special teams.

23:54Chris Long:When you go into Seattle and you're not the better team, which San Francisco is not the better team, they had to do what they did in Philly. which was win the toss, take the football, find a way to go down and score, take the air out of the building. And the exact opposite happens. And when that happens, try being in that D-line huddle when you jump that team. And you're thinking the rest of the game with this home field advantage in an NFC divisional matchup, that's like a dream for a defensive lineman. And I thought the moment of truth for San Francisco came so early. you think about like when teams like you know that moment in the game where you're like this is it it came at the 50 yard line when they're going for it on fourth down in like the first quarter you know and that's what they knew they were up against and it was either going to be a close game or an absolute bloodbath and um you know that was the moment where it was pretty clear

24:51Rich Eisen:it was going to be a bloodbath yeah i love that shaheed photo if you don't mind hoskins putting it out one more time because you still see the smoke from the pregame fireworks in the air. It's 13 seconds in and the smoke is yet to clear from the pregame action. And this is all the points that they needed on the night because San Francisco only scored six. And this is also a way, you know, I had my fun saying, great job, Mike McDonald, to execute your game plan of not even needing your quarterback to throw with his bad oblique to win the game when you have this. I mean, to put it all together and your sensibility that you talk about the D-line saying we're going to get off now.

25:33Rich Eisen:Just what a moment.

25:35Chris Long:What a moment. You know, I was always so jealous of the guys that played in that stadium that rushed the passer in that stadium. I'm still jealous of my friends Cliff Averill and Michael Bennett and those guys. because they have legitimately the best home field advantage in football. And I think Kansas City is a lot of lore there. But when you go to Kansas City, you have to play Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo. The team has something to do with that too. And I know it's loud there. Seattle is like you can't hear from me to that wall right there. Like me and my teammates would try to have a conversation.

26:15Chris Long:You could not hear it. You know, everybody talks about piping noise, and I don't know if they are or not, but whatever they're doing, it's working. That's the best home field advantage in football, and they have the best defensive football. And I do like them this weekend. I do. I think, you know, like Belichick used to say, it's not who you play, it's when you play them. I think most people would have loved the Rams in this spot the first half of the season. They have not played their best down the stretch. So forgive me, but I kind of feel like Seattle's a hotter team right now. It all comes down to Sam Darnold taking care of the football.

26:51Chris Long:And by the way, he's the only guy in the divisional round that did take care of the football.

26:57Rich Eisen:Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. The narrative that the Patriots just won the AFC Championship game last week as Jared Stidham is starting. Where do you sit with that one, Chris?

27:10Chris Long:Oh, that it's a foregone conclusion they win? I mean, listen I don't like that talk I mean, they're not going to talk like that You know, Vrabel's not going to talk like that They're going to Denver and they're playing a team that you know, Sean Payton is one of the best offensive coaches in history, in my opinion, and he's done a lot with a little before at quarterback I mean, he didn't always have Drew Brees He's, you know, he can make you know, chicken soup, if you will is that in relation to chicken salad Chris? Yeah, chicken salad I'm not calling Jared Stidham chicken salad but like we haven't it's not a big sample size he hasn't started in two years Chris.

27:53Chris Long:Sean Payton and I will say one time I saw him start maybe it was with the Raiders I don't remember but I was like this guy's not bad and Sean Payton doesn't think he's bad because he finds the backup quarterback to be a really important spot and that's a team that you know they played their hearts out last week and they deserve to win and they're one game away and you can sell hope to a team that's one game away and especially a team that's got the guys outside that can that can strap you up right you talk about like how does how does new england's offense match up right i think one of the biggest question marks i have is can the front hold up?

28:37Chris Long:Because we saw a little preview at home, and I think Will Campbell's going to be a very good player in the league. But Will Anderson and those guys, they got after that group. And in that football game, CJ Stroud puts the ball on the ground what felt like 35 times, right? And so Denver's going to take care of the football if they can. They're going to have a creative game plan. Sean's going to be pulling out the stops. It's the nothing to lose thing. And it's a front that's hungry and a cover group that can take guys away on the outside. Like, they can muddy this game up. So I'm not going to count them out.

29:14Chris Long:But to the people that say New England's just had it easy, so they're not a good football team, I think you're crazy. I watch this team and I see, like, an adult football team. And it's the Vrabel effect. It's the Josh McDaniels effect.

29:30Rich Eisen:It's the Drake May effect, too, Chris. That throw he made to Booty over Derek Stingley Jr. probably had a 1 % chance of working. He put it in the only spot Booty could get it with one hand. That's no piker he threw over or threw towards. I mean, that's real deal, big boy pants stuff, Chris.

29:49Chris Long:It wouldn't make me upset if he won the MVP. It wouldn't. And when you look at what he's had around him, like a team with an eight-game win total or whatever it is, some people thought they might be a wild card team, But they're just, listen, from a game plan standpoint, early in that game to know if we jump Houston, it's going to be hard for them to come back. They're not built for that. Let's let's get aggressive. Let's I mean, look at the in cuts they hit and being able to handle a wet ball that Drake may dropped a couple of times because of the rush. And he does need to be a little less comfortable in the pocket.

30:24Chris Long:If that if I'm if that makes sense, like the last two weeks, there's been a couple of times where he kind of just sat in his lazy boy. at the end of the L.A. game and then last week where, you know, you're close to giving the ball up a couple times. And if Houston falls on that football in the red zone, who knows what happens in that game. But to come out, beat man coverage, be aggressive, the short to intermediate passing game is such a weapon in the NFL. They've got it. And they also have a guy who can take the top off the defense. So, and look at the way the teams become more trustworthy as years gone on.

30:59Chris Long:They played Pittsburgh early in the season, lost that game. They turned the ball over six times. You know, Stevenson fumbles, all this stuff. It feels like Vrabel gives the group confidence, and it's like they grow up at like a 2X rate. You know what I mean? Like these young guys just kind of – he's such a great coach. And also think about having a DC that leaves because of a health reason, and you've got a new defensive coordinator, and he's kind of like, he's done such a good job in the playoffs. Hell, when are they going to start talking about him as a guy who gets interviews? Like, Core has done a great job.

31:38Chris Long:I mean, they said openly guys were coming up to him after the wild card game and saying, I didn't know what you were in. Okay? Like, he's done a fantastic job. And Milton Williams being back makes a big difference. So that team can win the whole thing.

31:54Rich Eisen:A few minutes left here with Chris Long. I feel mandated to ask you this because I picked up what you were putting down before when you were talking about Rashid Shahid being added at the trade deadline by Seattle and you pegged the Bills as a team that sat on their hands. And I guess I'm mandated to ask you your thoughts on the Sean McDermott firing and their reshuffling of their front office by keeping Brandon Bean and elevating him. Chris? Listen, I like Brandon Bean.

32:28Chris Long:I do. He's cool. He's been on my show. Yep. Great guy. And I love the Bills. Like, I do. Like, you know, I pull for the Eagles, and then I got my AFC side team, right? Which is, you know, it's fun to have a couple teams. They're all gone, right? I think the roster, and this isn't caping for Josh Allen, because Josh, who's my favorite quarterback in the NFL, did not play up to his standard. And he's a big reason why they lost. And then the irony is you look around the weekend and you're like, well, which quarterback would you really have rather than Josh? It's implied in his performance that this was his worst playoff performance ever.

33:13Chris Long:And they score 30 points against that defense. So you're sitting on a gold mine. and you've drafted, not that I think Pro Bowl really matters, but you've drafted two Pro Bowlers since you drafted Josh Allen. You know who those are? Yes, Dawson Knox and James Cook. I didn't know Dawson Knox was a Pro Bowler. No shade of my dog, Dawson Knox. But, like, that's it? You know, and when you watch the roster, I would challenge you to, of all the divisional teams that were left in that round, rank the rosters and it's two years in a row and i'm not absolving josh because he had his part in that that turnover before the half was unreal and the pick to lock was vintage pressing josh but to get beat because two years in a row your back end depth is that bad like sean payden is like we're going right at dane jackson we're going right at the third string safety last year was kair elam you know they have no pass rush they can't stop the run they got aging linebackers that have had to play above themselves um the wide receiving core is not good and they did sit on their hands at the at the deadline and you know you talk about like a home run swing would have been jalen wattle or something like that and i don't know what it would have took but the bottom line is like i've watched this team win um a bunch of playoff games over the last six seven years i think they're one of four teams to win a playoff game in six straight um postseason appearances that's you're doing something right but every year you look at the roster and say it's not adding up and what and the part of it that I understand is like Sean McDermott, his job is defense.

35:09Chris Long:And in losses, they're giving up like an average of 30 points a game in the playoffs. But I don't know what he's working with. And so I look at the GM and I'm like, he got promoted? He got promoted and Sean got fired? Like, it just, I know I'm not alone in this thing where it just doesn't make a lot of sense. and I'm not saying Sean McDermott should be absolved of all these playoff losses, but the roster to me is the problem. Where would you rank the Bills roster out of all the teams that were left this weekend?

35:47Rich Eisen:Chris Long here on the Rich Eisen Show. I got two more for you to pitch for you to swing at. First one is what do you think the Eagles need to do, Chris?

35:55Chris Long:They need to hire a cheat code offensive coordinator, okay? We talk about this thing a lot. You know, like bring somebody out of retirement or find somebody who's aged out or is not. Find yourself a Dennis Allen because you have one on defense and his name is Vic Fangio. He's not getting a head coaching job. He doesn't want one, I don't think. Find somebody, find a Josh McDaniels. I know it's easier said than done because Jalen Hurts if he's your guy in the future. and i listen i he's got deficiencies for sure but he's had to deal with a different coordinator every year and you know i know other guys that have had to deal with that there's like baker mayfield and that sort of thing but like it the variability has just been too up and down and so you got to find somebody if he's your quarterback of the future to give him some some I don't know what the word would be some familiarity year in and year out and um and and I also think obviously you could pivot and say we're about to enter like the post Jeff Stoutland's all-stars era which is like the offensive line has been the main character on this team for the better part of a decade you need to realize that and you need to plan for not the you know not the group falling off, but this year it wasn't very good.

37:21Chris Long:Right. And so you're a defensive football team that needs to inform your decision making. And offensively, you need to find a guy. I would like a West Coast, like a true West Coast offense, kind of like true West Coast offense, more play action, more under center, more tight end, you know, more motion, more of the things that people, more of the things that people Eagles fans complain about not seeing. If it is a Jalen Hurts thing, all right, buddy, rubber is meeting the road here. Like, you have to do some things you're uncomfortable with going forward. Like, if that was what it was, and, you know, I'm not absolving the OC.

38:01Chris Long:He lost his job for a reason. But if there are certain things that they had to withhold that, you know, are not quarterback preferences, then they have to press him to do those things this offseason. The guy's won a Super Bowl. He's beaten Patrick Mahomes on the biggest stage. Do I think he's one of the best five quarterbacks in the NFL? No. But that's perfectly fine, dude. You can win with Jalen Hurts. You have in the past. You have to build some continuity, and you have to press him, challenge him to do things he's not comfortable with. And you also have to realize that the process has to speed up because the offensive line is not as good as it's been in the past.

38:43Chris Long:and I think A.J. Brown's, to be honest, like I did see some aging this year. I still think he's a really good player, but like you see it on some of these balls where he's got to go down and get it, like a little bit of like, he's looking like an older player a little bit sometimes. Now, I agree with everything A.J. Brown was saying all year because I said it on this show like week three and y 'all put me on ESPN. Oh, come on. And no, and it's fine because I ended up being frigging right. You can't get away with playing that way. When you're sitting there three and one and everybody's like, everybody's like, we're three and one.

39:28Chris Long:What's everybody upset about? Well, I don't know. What you're projecting is the offense looks over a 17 game season and into In the playoffs, you score 19 points on San Francisco's defense that, hey, pull somebody on the street, name seven players on that defense. Name three players on that defense. I know the players, but, like, there's no household names. Lenore's their best player, right? He's a damn good player. I like some of the young players. I'm not taking anything away from them. But the guys up front, like, you should be able to, if you're Philly, vintage Philly football, you score 40 points on that group.

40:08Chris Long:so something's changed and i think part of it is the personnel but part of it is they lost the plot with the with the um the scheme well listen we can't control the aggregation sir we just we

40:19Rich Eisen:just provide the microphone but you know um before i let you go last thing now uh because i picked up what you're putting down you like seattle this weekend right that's what you said and then for the afc championship game we set it up by saying obviously the patriots are are are playing very very well, but your pal Nick Foles went top rope on his post here. You know, it's firing away that a positive note going into the game against the Patriots is that they struggle against backup quarterbacks in championship type games.

40:50Chris Long:Nick is the nicest dude in the world and like honestly he's a mensch, but he will legitimately sometimes flex his muscle a little bit as being like the guy that beat Brady. He likes doing that. And it's not in an arrogant way. It's like, look at me, regular Joe. I beat Tom Brady. And so I hope Nick makes all the money. If Denver goes to the Super Bowl, I hope Nick makes a million dollars. I just couldn't have a better guy.

41:23Rich Eisen:Right. Right. And obviously, Kurt Warner will be talking about it on Wednesday's show, no doubt about it. So do you like the Patriots at the end of the day? Yeah, I do.

41:33Chris Long:I got to really like, as the week goes on, you know, and I think Pat Seahawks would be a great game. If the week goes on, I kind of like, I'll like somebody on Monday or Tuesday, but then like really, and some people might know what I'm talking about. You don't really know until Saturday. And so check back with me Saturday, but I do think Denver can keep it. Obviously, I think New England's the favorite, but you got to have a plan for the rushers. And I think Denver could go tempo. I think they could make you uncomfortable. I think they're going to pull every trick out in the book. And you've got a hell of a coach leading the way for them and Sean Payton.

42:10Rich Eisen:Who's on green light this week? What do you got?

42:13Chris Long:It's the same thing, dude. It's like one day at a time out here, Richard. I have like an army of bookers. All right. Just let me know if you need me. Hey, you got a guy. I don't have a guy. You got a guy.

42:24Rich Eisen:I'm in the pen. Whenever you need me, just call for the right-hander. I'll come on out. Okay? I'm here for you.

42:29Chris Long:Hey, dude, by the way, last thing. Sure. Kyle Whittingham is one of my favorite college football coaches of all time. And you guys nailed it, and you hired my friend Marcus Higgins to help with the receivers. Shout out to that coaching staff. I can't wait to put some Michigan gear on and go watch games.

42:48Rich Eisen:Chris, welcome. I am happy to have you in our circle and thrilled that we got lucky. We got lucky in a very difficult time to land Kyle Whittingham, so I'm thrilled to hear that. Ram. Oh, I know that with Suge Knight. Do you know that? Do you know that?

43:07Chris Long:Suge Knight was like yeah.

43:09Rich Eisen:Coddingham's a badass when

43:10Chris Long:Suge Knight

43:12Rich Eisen:It's a true story. These are all true stories. Chris, thanks for the time, man. I always appreciate it. You're the best. That's Green Light with Chris Long Podcast. So host Chris Long right here on The Rich Eisen Show. Back with more in a sec. The Rich Eisen Show. The Podcast.

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45:08Rich Eisen:Visit Pella.com slash Eisen today. That's Pella.com slash Eisen. John Harbaugh is being introduced. He's got a very nice suit on there with the giant step and repeat behind him. Doesn't look at all like a man that's like, damn it, I could have coached Josh Allen if I only waited. That's the narrative that's going on. Do you think, again, we've got soundbites coming in. $100 million will do that. Did anybody in the New York, New Jersey media have the temerity to even ask him? You would assume. Oh, man, that sounds like something. I mean, yeah, somebody did. Somebody from the Post. Do you also see that the Giants are also redoing their facilities now, too?

45:45Rich Eisen:Their cafeteria and their, like, Harbaugh's coming in and saying, yeah, no. Yeah, you want me? This is what we're the X, Y, and Z, A, B, and C. And the Giants have been like, sure. Those NFL PA surveys do work. I'm not reporting to Joe Shane, Mr. Mara. I'm reporting to you. Okay. That's what it seems like. Well, we'll hear what John's got to say later on. I like it. And then we'll have Chris Fowler on the program. We also have Overreaction Monday on a Tuesday coming up. What else can I report to you? And Coop did not watch The Godfather on the plane. So we got that going on. That's good stuff.

46:25Rich Eisen:What did he watch? Did he tell you? He watched Over Reaction Monday. He had live TV. Attaboy. He did. He texted me a screen grab, Chris, of you and I on his seat back. That had to be weird for him. Flying somewhere over, I think, Utah at the time, making his way home from New York, New Jersey. Big in Utah. Well, over Utah, not in. He was over. Either way. Yeah. So he watched that. But not The Godfather. Didn't see that. Okay. We're going to watch that over the weekend now. Oh, you are? Oh, excellent. Yeah. Yeah, Saturday. Nothing to watch. Hey, listen, I'm telling you, anybody out there who's got a kid of Cooper's age 14 or Xander's age 17 or Taylor's age 12, anytime Susie and I make a suggestion and the movie's in standard definition, they're like, what are you even suggesting?

47:12Rich Eisen:How dare you even do that? So when he says, I want to watch The Godfather, we're getting right on that. Chris Fowler coming up. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Two teams, one cup. The primetime stage is set for the TGL presented by SoFi Finals, Los Angeles Golf Club versus Tigers Jupiter Lynx. Keep up, it's playoffs. Tune in Monday, March 23rd, 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2, and Tuesday, March 24th, 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN and on the ESPN app.