Hour 1: Jayden Daniels Out, NBA Tips Off, plus NFL Network Analyst Kurt Warner

24:03You know, they had the first drive and then they had the long touchdown run. And outside of that, it was really a struggle for them. But they had a couple big plays along the way that changes the complexion of things. And so that will be, to me, the challenge for this Bucs team. You know, if they've got to throw it every snap like they've been doing, you know, the pieces in and out, but really about their defense And does their defense create havoc during a playoff run? Or do they give up the big plays and does it end up costing them?

24:32Rich Eisen:Kurt Warner here on the Rich Eisen show. I want to linger on the AFC East a little bit here. Bill's coming back from a bye week. And Drake May and the Patriots have been terrific. They just won three in a row on the road, including it started with that win in Buffalo. and I understand there were lesser opponents between that game and right now at New Orleans and at Tennessee. And this week they've got Cleveland before a home date with Atlanta and then visiting the aforementioned Bucs. I want to give you the floor on Drake May because two years ago you were talking about, hey, C.J. Stroud is not just an offensive rookie of the year.

25:12Rich Eisen:He looks like an MVP and a unicorn. And then Jaden Daniels was essentially hold my beer. Are we seeing it again right now with Drake May? right now? I mean, we're seeing something pretty special here early on in year two. And I really liked what I saw from him last year, but he's made that jump. You know, I said on something yesterday that I think he's playing the best of all the second year quarterbacks. And, you know, Jaden Daniels was awesome last year, but not playing nearly as well. Bo Nix not playing nearly as well. And this guy just continues to elevate. You know, I actually did a piece on QB Confidential about Drake May.

25:48And the thing to me that's crazy is, you know, he went 21 for 23 in that game and setting records in their winning. But he left a whole bunch of stuff out there. I mean, there was a lot of easy first throws that he didn't take. And he took off running and did some of those creative things. And that, to me, is the next step for Drake May is to take the layups. you know more like his predecessor and Tom Brady was so good at hey if they're going to give me five yards I'm going to take it take it every time and I'm not just going to excuse me I'm not just going to try to get big plays or go out and create because we saw it put him in harm's way in that game he took that big hit and had to come out of the game and there's a lot of those that he doesn't have to take because the offense is working for him it's right in front of him and you know, making the big throws down the field, probably the best deep ball thrower in the league right now.

26:43But some of those layups and some of those on schedule plays, he's got to make them and he can't just keep relying on putting his body in harm's way over and over again. We know he can do it and we know he's going to make a few plays a game that way. But to me, it's too much taken off too quickly instead of, you know, allowing some of those things and the guys around him to make plays for him.

27:06Rich Eisen:You're saying he went 21 to 23 and turned down layups? Is that what you're saying? Turned down a bunch of layups. Wow. Like a bunch of them. And you think he's the best deep thrower in the league right now? Yes. I mean, you know, it's like a handoff when he's throwing it down the field. It's got great touch to it, great pace on it. You know, there's even a couple throws in the game where you're just kind of like, there's nothing that really says throw that deep hole shot you know all by itself down the right sideline but he's like yeah I'm in his own I'm gonna take it anyways and drop a dime over a corner and beat a safety and it's you know it's like ho-hum just another throw so uh yeah he's doing some really special things down the field with the ball um but like I said I just think there's there's room to grow and there's more out there for him that will make the game easier on him and you know that's what you want to try to do is make it easy on your quarterback make it easy on yourself as much as you can because you know you're going to need a couple of those special plays uh through the course of a game but you just don't want to have to live in that world and right now he's just playing a little bit too fast on some of those things um but he's doing a lot right outside of that kurt warner here on the rich eisen show uh in the pre-broadcast zoom that we were having with justin fields prior to the jets and the broncos um justin fields called himself his own worst critic.

28:27Rich Eisen:Until the owner of the Jets stepped to a microphone yesterday. You know what I mean? There does appear to be another worst critic. This is what Woody Johnson had to say about Aaron Glenn's job status. What's your confidence level in Aaron to turn it around? It looks like he's turning around parts of it. It's hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we've got you know I mean he has the ability but something just is not jiving but if you look at any any head coach of the quarterback like that you're going to see similar results if you go across the league I mean it's like uh Woody Johnson turned into a long-time listener first-time caller on WFAN you know or ESPN in New York uh Kurt so um what should Justin Fields think when he hears this Kurt?

29:21I mean, obviously it's never a fun place to be. You know, the only thing I would say is there is some truth, you know, in there. You know, not that Justin has just played awful, because I don't think he's played awful. But there's also, you know, we talk about leaving stuff out there. I mean, you know, we could talk about our game, you know, over in London. You know, there wasn't a lot there, but there was enough there and enough easy things there that if he makes those plays, they possibly win that football game. And that to me is kind of what Woody Johnson is talking about is like we got to have those things like you have to make those plays as a quarterback.

30:05And you've got to be more consistent than Justin Fields has been because this isn't a good team. Like this team has not put it together. They're still trying to build in all these areas. you've got to have better play from your quarterback. And so I understand where it's coming from. Obviously it sounds extremely harsh because it sounds like everything is being put on Justin Fields and that's definitely not the case. But you went out and you signed him to 20 million a year. You brought him in here to be your starting quarterback and you've got to get more from that position. You just, you just have to, if you're going to be competitive and you're going to win on a week to week basis, you've got to get more from that position.

30:45And, you know, and I talk about it all the time because going into our game a couple of weeks ago, I mean, you know, we can throw out the stats, you know, it was four touchdowns and zero interceptions and he had a hundred quarterback rating. And so those things sound really, really good. But the bottom line is just like we saw again in our game is holding the football and not taking some throws. And that might mean throwing the football away and dropping your rating. You know, that might mean putting the ball in harm's way a little bit and throwing an interception, but it's taking chances and it's pushing the ball down the field because the team needs some big plays.

31:20They need some things down the field to be able to, you know, kind of subsidize where they're at as a football team right now. And so, you know, again, it's a tough place to be, but it's part of what comes with the territory is you've got to play good football at that position. If you were going to win football games in this league and if you're not a very good team that's rebuilding and trying to figure it out you've got to get better play uh at that position and and i don't think justin you know he's mentioned he talked about it uh the last couple weeks that he's got to be better he's got to play better but um never a fun spot when uh the owner of the team comes out and makes a statement like that no question about it what's happened to just simply put kurt um i just think he's lost his confidence you know all the things that he's done well over the years he's not doing now it looks like he's second guessing everything he's questioning every decision and every throw I mean I mentioned it a couple weeks ago I think it was two weeks ago at an interception early where he came back and dropped back and there was like a skinny post or a quick in to Jalen Waddle and that is a throw that he hits his back foot and he throws that thing every single time I mean that's what he's made his money doing and he comes back and he hesitates um and then you know he double pumps it and then he throws it late and Jalen Waddell is over there going well like okay he didn't throw it on time so I don't think the ball's coming and the ball hits him in the numbers and it pops up and it's intercepted and it's just that to me is kind of what's going on in Miami right now is just everybody is second guessing everything and Tua is second guessing every decision and every throw and a guy that used to be great in terms of anticipation, great in terms of accuracy, those things have gone out the window.

33:11And in a timing-oriented offense, and when you're a timing-oriented quarterback and those things have gotten away from you, it looks like it's looked the past few weeks. And, I mean, you do. You just sit back and, you know, there's some things structurally, I've always talked about that offense that makes it hard on a quarterback. But, too, it was the perfect player within that system because of certain things and superpowers that he had. And right now, everything is a mess there. And, you know, it's Tua, you know, playing without any confidence. And when you have to go back and play this position with no confidence and you're asked to make play after play and you're asked to anticipate and throw into tight windows and you've lost your confidence, it is a tough place to be.

33:57And we're seeing that right now. The hesitation from Tua is killing him and killing this offense. Um, and you know, and again, the hard part about it is, okay, you've lost it. And we're so used to thinking, okay, these guys are pros. These guys have been through it before. Just go find it again. Like you've had it and you've played great in it. Uh, how did you lose your confidence? We don't really care at this point. Just go get it back. And it's just not that easy because you feel like every mistake you make goes the other direction. And, uh, and when that happens, now you get afraid to make, you know, decisions and afraid to make throws because you're like, is this one?

34:34You know, I mean, I hit my receiver in the numbers and it was an interception. Now what? And so that to me is where he's at right now. And it's not as easy as just, you know, pushing a button or going out there and, you know, letting everything else go and just say, okay, this week I'm going to be confident. It just doesn't play out like that. He's got to start making some plays and they got to start playing better for him to kind of build that back up and get back to where he was a couple of years ago.

34:59Rich Eisen:Kurt Warner here on the Rich Eisen Show. Um, it, listen, it's a long season as we all know. And, you know, everything that we just discussed can be turned around, including, you know, what we just mentioned, although it didn't look, doesn't look great in Miami. And case in point is the team that we, we left in, um, in Brazil. The chiefs don't look at all like that team at all right now. Are they back, Curt? Are they back? I think they are back. Okay. Yeah. I mean, you talk about, you know, early in the season, uh, it didn't look like Patrick Mahomes was confident, was comfortable with what they were doing.

35:35And, you know, we've talked a lot about how they wanted to kind of change their scheme and get back to making the big plays. And it just didn't look comfortable. It didn't look like, you know, he had confidence in his guys and his throws weren't coming out anywhere close to his guys. And now they've gotten back to what we've seen from this Chiefs team over the last couple of years. And it's the quick throws. It's the RPOs to supplement the run game. It's, you know, the things that Patrick can do, you know, moving with his legs and making throws on the run. And, you know, now they've got their weapons back and Rasheed Rice coming back into form and their defense is playing.

36:10Like, yeah, I mean, this was a team that spotted everybody a couple games to start the season. And now, you know, they're hitting at full speed right now and they are playing catch up with all these other teams that seem to be sputtering a little bit, you know, like the Chargers and the Broncos and that sort of thing. And so I don't think anybody is going to want to play this team that they do. I mean, when you look at the AFC, you know, when you looked at it early on and Chiefs were struggling, you're like, oh, my gosh, you know, there's lots of teams up there that could, you know, push for this thing.

36:42And now you're looking at the Ravens at one and five. The Buffalo Bills struggling a little bit. And the better teams in their division struggling now down the stretch. I think the Chiefs are sitting there going, man, we're right where we want to be. It doesn't matter that we didn't come out of the blocks fast. We're hitting our stride at the right time. We're confident. We're feeling good. We've got our guys back. And I do think they're the team to beat in the AFC as of right now.

37:06Rich Eisen:Kurt Warner here on the Rich Eisen Show. Before I let you go, the usual question. Quarterback that looked the best on all 22, Mr. QB Confidential. Everybody, by the way, check out Kurt's YouTube channel, QB Confidential. Who is it this week? Yeah. Yeah, you know, I mean, it would be hard to argue with a Drake May that went 21 for 23 in a game. But I already told you that I felt like he missed a lot of things in that game. I thought Patrick Mahomes played really, really well. Sam Darnold is is rolling. But I'm going to go back to somebody that I've already mentioned once and not on necessarily one of the best teams in the league.

37:41But Dak Prescott is continuing to play lights out. Three more touchdowns, no interceptions, big play after big play down the field. I thought he had the best performance again this past week. He is in – we talk about confidence. This guy's got it. And this guy is not hesitating. And he feels like he's going to make every throw that's out there. Even if their defense struggles a little bit, he feels like he can lead them to a win using all of his guys. I mean, it's just – it's fun to watch number four, you know, and Jerry Jones coming out and saying, hey, that guy, that's the guy that's indispensable.

38:17and right now there's no question about it you have a quarterback playing like that he is indispensable for this team but he's got him at least competitive right now because of

38:26Rich Eisen:the way that he's playing if i said the last six minutes would you say bo nicks the last six minutes of a game or dark or dark man that was insane that was nuts that was crazy you know you're watching it play out and i mean even just the way things kind of uh went the Giants way you know they got the tipped ball and the tight end grabs it and goes 40 yards for a touchdown and you're just like man everything is in going in their direction um and then it just you know the interception uh by Jackson and then the Broncos actually had a tipped uh ball that was caught by somebody else in the end zone for a touchdown as well and so it was crazy and it's crazy how this league because of I think the rules and the way they're set up now you know I think back a couple decades ago when I was playing, it was hard to come back from being down two touchdowns, three touchdowns, obviously.

39:20And not that it's easy now, but because of the rules and because of the way the defenses have to play softer and the way that you get so many of these different penalties and things that happen, I think we see a lot more of this in this NFL where teams can fall down a couple scores. And we've seen it a number of times. What was it, two weeks ago? We saw four or five teams come back from two touchdowns down to win football games. I just think it's easier now. It's kind of like the NBA where they say everybody can make a run even when you get up by 20 points. It feels very much like that in the NFL too.

39:53And so no lead is safe, obviously, when a team goes in and scores 33 points in the fourth quarter to get a win.

40:00Rich Eisen:Kurt, you're the man. Great time in London with you. I'll see you when our carriage turns back into a pumpkin on game day morning on Sunday. All right. I can't wait. Can't wait. It was a blast, but I'm ready to get back to work. I'm ready to get back with the fellas. It's going to be fun. And I look forward to getting back with you because, you know, maybe you'll start picking games better when you're back in the studio because you're not in first anymore, pal. No, I know. I was like the two-minute drills we saw in London, man. I just, I don't know what I was doing. I fell apart. I know. There are some behinds and elbows that you're viewing right now.

40:36Rich Eisen:None bigger than Mooch's. But anyway, listen. Wow. Good to see you, Kurt. I'll see you Sunday, bud. All right, buddy. That's Kurt Warner, everybody. You're always trying to diss Kurt. I'm not trying to diss him. No, I try to just. I'm a truth teller. He should just. Every time you just have something smart to say, you just lift that ring up. Actually, I think Kurt just mentioned about his picks. He just. I hate this team. There you go.

41:02Rich Eisen:844-204-8. Kurt, please bring your jacket to work on Sunday, please. So cold. I hate this team.

41:12Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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43:05Rich Eisen:What an absolute nightmare of a first half of a season it has been for Jaden Daniels coming off of his unicorn rookie campaign. where he was an absolute revelation and a non-stop yards and points and hope machine in the mid-atlantic area for the commanders and you know that the daniels mclaurin connection put on the rocks by a um a holdout and again i listen we never hear we never talk about when a holdout turns into something just fine, right? Last year, CeeDee Lamb, right? Didn't he have a good year even though Dak got hurt? Yeah. Pretty much. But McLaurin, usually when you hold out, some sort of soft tissue injury sets in because you're not around or your offseason isn't the same, training camp isn't the same.

44:09Rich Eisen:And, you know, a quad injury that appears to be worse than that has kept him out for a month and jaden daniels coming back after tweaking his knee in a week two loss in green bay after a week one against the giants looked pretty choppy then he misses a couple weeks comes back with a knee brace his best game was against the chargers here in los angeles when when things looked kind of like last year and then um he gets twisted up in in the pocket wearing that brace. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but can't help. And he doesn't finish the game in last week's loss to Dallas. Dak looked terrific.

44:56Rich Eisen:And they look like the second best team in the division. If not, potentially the best. Because they gave the Eagles quite the game in week one. And, you know, CeeDee Lamb, as we just heard from Kurt Warner talking about how terrific Dak looks, C.D. Lamb says this is the best offense he's been on as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens is doing it. Ferguson is doing it. Tight end. Javante Williams is doing it. And Dak is doing it. And the line is doing it. And they're holding up their end of the bargain. Yes, they are. In Dallas this year and in Washington, just a disaster of a first half of a season.

45:35Rich Eisen:Well, I guess I shouldn't call it that way. you want to look at disaster look at a winless jets team or what's going on with the dolphins or any one win team in the nfl right now entering week eight maybe a disaster because more was expected from well it just it it has been um yes that's one way to put it um and it's just been fits and starts and injuries and now just as the chiefs look as good as they've looked in any time over the last several years. The Commanders have to go on a Monday night into Arrowhead with Marcus Mariota. Good luck. No Jaden Daniels and who knows about McLaurin. And the Washington Commanders' bye isn't until week 12.

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