Hour 1: NFL Playoff Predictions, Cowboys’ Outlook, plus Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees

22:34Rich Eisen:And I'm like, man, I did not know that story. And I really appreciate you sharing that because it was that really a moment, like an epiphany, a turning point hinge moment for you in your career, Drew? A thousand percent. You know, that 2003 year was a really tough year. You know, I was benched three times and, you know, was really trying to find myself as a player and figure out, you know, what it was going to take, you know. And I never had to go through something like that as an athlete. You know, I'd always been the starter, always been the guy, always been, you know, the one with the ball in his hands, you know, that everybody relied on in crunch time.

23:16And now all of a sudden I'm being told, you know, hey, you're not good enough right now. You got to go sit on the bench, you know. And so, man, huge shot to the ego. But again, you go one of two ways. You either go in the tank and you let it affect what's going to happen next or you say, no, you know what? Darn right. Like I need to get better. I need to improve. And so I'm going to take a look at every aspect of my game, my preparation, my training habits, my sleep habits, my diet, my recovery, everything. I need mentors. I realized that I didn't have exactly all the people that I needed to help guide me or advise.

23:48And so I developed a lot of mentors, Tom House, Todd Durkin, during that offseason in order to get to a point where, man, I just not only physically, mentally, emotionally, but my leadership, my assertiveness. You know, just the way that I thought about myself, the way that I was going to conduct every aspect of, you know, myself as a quarterback of that team. And, you know, I think truly getting to a point where, hey, I'm just not going to make any excuses. Right. Like I'm going to find a way. And even if it's a way that, you know, other people don't don't have to deal with that because they've got different, you know, physical abilities or traits.

24:29It's like I have to find a way to play this game, to play it well, to play it effectively with, you know, the gifts that God's given me. And so being a shorter quarterback, what do you do? You throw through lanes. You anticipate. I got to know coverage stone cold. I got to know where people are, even if I can't see them. You know, I got to know. I got to create my own timing and rhythm. Right. You know, that's the job of the defense is to throw me off the timing rhythm. It's my job to keep myself on rhythm. You know, I try it. I tried to address a lot of these things in the speech because I felt like it was probably things that people had never heard.

24:59or never heard in that way. I feel like it would be really enlightening for people to know and understand what it's like playing the quarterback position, but certainly, you know, from my perspective.

25:09Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, I made a note of it mentally, knowing that I would at some point talk to you, whether it was on camera or off, and I'd wanted to hit you on that, as well as the fact that Brian Schottenheimer has got a heck of a team in front of him here. And a lot of people thought when the Cowboys hired him, it's like, okay, we're going to get somebody who Jerry Jones can sort of have his way with, in all honesty, you know, and he's really grown into a role. Like, and when you, you told that story, I'm like, man, he's son of Marty who's been kind of marinating for this moment for like a quarter century.

25:40Rich Eisen:And I think like, this could be his moment, Drew. And I'd love to get your two cents on that. Yeah. So first off, I, I've got such a great relationship with Brian Schottenheimer. You know, he was my quarterback coach for four years with the San Diego charters from 02 to 05. You know, we're, we're, we're close in age, you know, He's about four years older than me, but he was a great mentor for me. And look, I feel like we grew up in a lot of ways in this league together. I was a young starter in this league trying to establish myself. He was a young coach trying to establish himself. And then he went on to become a play caller in a lot of places, with the New York Jets, with the St.

26:16Louis Rams, and a few other places. Had opportunities to become a head coach at times, turn it down because it wasn't quite the right opportunity. Maybe he felt like that opportunity had passed him by. And all of a sudden, he is the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. And I think in so many cases, that decision was made because of his relationship with Dak Prescott and because of his ability to lead that team. Look, let's be honest. I think Dallas, the Cowboys, has had this reputation as being a little bit dysfunctional, you know, and having a lot of talent and yet just distractions. and then how do we get past all this stuff and, you know, keep the main thing, the main thing.

26:55And I think what Brian has been able to do is come in. And first off, I think there's a great connection he has with Dak. I think the players, you know, really a lot of his messaging and a lot of his experience, they resonate with him. Like they appeal to those players and he has created an incredible atmosphere. I visited them this off season. I'm going to go to the Saints Cowboys practice here in a couple hours to watch them. so I just I get the sense that man there's an energy and there's an excitement there but there's a focus there's a focus around what needs to be done in order to be successful and to go win and to kind of take this thing to the next level to get over the hump I think he's the perfect guy to

27:36Rich Eisen:do it I got one more football question for you and then I'd love to know what you're doing with DirecTV for business before I send you on your day you're the perfect guy to ask Sean Payton surprised a lot of people by saying he's given up play calling and he's handed it off how do you think he's going to handle that during the season true how do you think that's going to go i think it's going to be tough man he's he's he's wired to call plays at the same time i think it's a pivotal time in his career because i think what he realizes man look a huge part of being a head coach is developing your other coaches and it seems like you know i don't know davis webb that well, but everything I've heard about Davis Webb is that he is, he's like the next generation and he's an incredible coach, somebody that Bo Nix gets along with really, really well.

28:20And this is Sean Payton's opportunity to now develop, you know, Davis Webb is as the next play caller, you know, a great offensive coordinator, maybe potentially a head coach in this league elsewhere. I mean, I think that's what the realization you have as a coach is that, man, I want to develop this tree of guys. Like if I'm doing a great job that other teams are going to come and start to pluck my guys. Well, I don't want to lose Davis Webb, man. I'm going to now empower him to become a great, great play caller. In a lot of ways, though, I think it does free Sean Payton up. And I think that's the way he should look at it and will look at it is, you know, look, Sean, Sean is a bit of a micromanager, right?

28:56Like he, he wants to have his hands and, and, and attention on everything, like every aspect of the building. And so I think that will allow him to maybe just be a little bit more relaxed on game day and and and be able to to truly manage and like ceo you know um he's got incredible assistant coaches around him that he's assembled um to uh to coach that team but man i i think it's a good thing yeah he's still the same guy

29:26Rich Eisen:i don't know if you saw he laid the broncos laid it on the falcons in a preseason game and he's talking about fans showing up dressed as empty seats like he's still got the florida lee on his shirt man like you know he just only knows one speed yeah yeah i i don't know i don't think that's ever gonna leave him that's certainly not uh what are you doing with direct tv for business before i let you go true yeah so i'm an owner and partner in walk-on sports bistro which is one of the fastest growing franchise sports bar concepts in the country um i've been a partner for 10 years um we're growing throughout the country and uh everybody comes to walk-ons for our louisiana inspire cuisine, very family friendly, bring the little league teams out for the game, date night, family.

30:07But it's because also in the sports that we have on TV, the energy, the environment, the excitement. And we have a huge partnership with DirecTV for Business where we can play every game that's happening around the country, as well as, you know, not just for football season, but basketball season, hockey, baseball, you know, huge events like the Masters, you know Kentucky Derby you name it so they've been an unbelievable partner and they help they help us create that atmosphere and excitement that we wanted walk-ons

30:38Rich Eisen:directtv.com backslash for business for anybody who's curious for more amen part of my my gig that is a that I cherish you mentioned that story in 2003 for you NFL Network started that year so I've known you for a long long time and the fact that I get to be there and announce your name while you get a jacket and be there front row seat and see your wife, who I met at your charity tournament two decades ago, and then your kids, that little boy with those big headsets on his head is now a grown man watching you go in with the rest of your kids. Congrats, brother. Really. It's awesome. Thank you.

31:17Rich Eisen:You bet, man. I hope to see you again soon. Real soon. Yes, definitely. There goes Drew Brees, everybody. Pro football Hall of Famer. First ballot guy right here on the Rich Eisen show. So we have that soundbite because I made sure we cut it for our show after he went in, in case you missed it. This is the story that he told. And I love the speeches in the Hall of Fame about journeys, right? Irv always talks about distance traveled. And here's a guy out of Purdue, second round choice, with all of those records at Purdue. You know, and and he's having some success, but also struggling. And this is the year before the charges said, you know what?

32:04Rich Eisen:We're going to take Eli anyway. We're going to piss him off and then we'll flip him to the Giants for Phillip Rivers. And this is what was building into that. and Brees had this moment from which he clearly never looked back. Thank you to Coach Cam Cameron and Brian Schottenheimer, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Chargers. I'll never forget a film session in 2003. I was coming off a tough game, and as we watched the tape together, they asked me the question, Hey, why didn't you throw to this receiver? He was wide open. To which my response was, I couldn't see him. The tape paused.

32:44There was a moment of silence. They glared at me and said, it's your job to see. You reach a point in your career when you stop making excuses. It's usually a moment or an event where you flip a switch or make a very conscious decision, and it becomes part of your being. They were right. And never again would those words or thoughts come out of my mouth. I would need to find a way to play the game a little bit different, even if it was in a way that had not been done before. It would shape me for what came next, New Orleans.

33:26Rich Eisen:Yeah, and obviously he didn't look back from there and yada, yada, yada. He's now joining Bob Greasy, Len Dawson, as fellow quarterbacks from Purdue in the Hall of Fame. Rod Woodson. That's right. Right? So, and I just love that story. And Cam Cameron coached at Indiana as a head coach. Dolphins fans know him for an unfortunate couple years at the helm there. He's a Bo Schembechler acolyte. so he coached at Michigan. He's an excellent coach. He just didn't have success in the league as a head coach. Your guy, man. Your guy. There's a video that was going around social media. I think it was actually on Facebook.

34:14It was an old game where Drew threw a pass, a touchdown pass. The Saints were playing the Cowboys, and the camera just stops on Schottenheimer, and everyone in the comments was like, wait a second. Is that shoddy? Just looking young. And yeah, so he's definitely come a long way.

34:30Rich Eisen:And again, I just loved seeing him at the Combine. You know, one year into being a head coach of the Cowboys, he's got an infectiousness of his, you know, excitement. Yeah. And if he tells Dak the same truths, i mean that's he's got to be you have to assume you have to assume and it's also about how you receive it like you are ready and the fact that you receive that information the way drew breeze did no question right no question where he's just basically like okay i've got some work cut out for me here and he he went about it and he did it to ultimate success man and i just heard that story and I thought to myself when I speak to him again I gotta ask him about Brian Schottener because he's your guy right now and they are sitting on a terrific roster and you could see already if George Pickens is walking around saying let's run sprints everybody without being asked and then tell the Rams go you know laugh all you want nothing to see you don't look at us I mean if Pickens is turning around like that yeah okay again I mean I don't want to hype you up anymore you know I'm trying to keep my expectations.

35:52Rich Eisen:It's exciting. You should be excited. My expectations. You should be really excited. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Let's take a break. We'll come back in phone calls. Phone lines are lit. And you made him cry too, TJ. You made him cry. That is true.

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36:59The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

37:02Rich Eisen:The first time with LinkedIn hiring pro. Get started by posting a free job at LinkedIn.com slash Eisen. Everybody. All right, phone lines are lit. We started the show with teams that are going to be out of the playoffs after being in last year, and then we chose a replacement for them. Let's go to Mr. Jones in Atlanta. Is this the Counting Crows, Mr. Jones, or is that a different one? No, no, this is the Black Jerry Jones. All right. I'm like the Black Jerry Jones. All right, Mr. Jones in Atlanta. You've got one in and then one out. They call me Mr. Jones. So speaking of Jerry Jones, I definitely got the Cowboys in.

37:47This is their best window to get in if they're going to ever get in since 1996. This is their best window they were ever going to have again to get in. So who's out? Now, unfortunately, I don't even want to say the Eagles, but I'm such a Jalen Hurts fan and he's always been there. But I am going to say who's out this year will be the Detroit – I mean, not the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears. The Bears are out. I think Caleb's going to regress. One year, they got the book on him. Last year, he had – you know what I'm saying? He had an exceptional season. Right. But people seem to discredit how powerful DJ Moore was on that team.

38:31You know what I'm saying? So I really think the loss of DJ Moore is going to be big over there. Okay. You know what I mean? I really believe that. And I'm going to lie, I'm with the who that boy is on the low because I don't know how Baker's going to play this season. Baker's going to be like, man, y 'all don't want to pay me the hell with you. Or, you know what I'm saying? He's going to be vindictive and pull a Baker and be like, you know what? I'm going to throw for 40 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, take this team back to the playoffs, and now I want$60 million. So y 'all better pay me now.

39:01or you're going to really have to pay me later. Look at that.

39:04Rich Eisen:Thank you, sir. There you go. There goes Mr. Jones in Atlanta. Here's one thing for the Bears that they need to replicate. Well, two things. Not to give away my four downs coming up on them, which I believe is tomorrow. They pulled a lot out of the hat in the fourth quarter last year. Right? But part of the reason why they could pull a lot out of the hat in the fourth quarter is they led the league in plus minus 22. They were plus 22. Can they come close to that? Right. Can they replicate that? They might not have to if they are now ahead in the second quarter. If they have blowouts. Blowouts and shutouts, baby.

39:50Rich Eisen:Lots of shutouts. But, I mean, that's one thing about the Bears. But I'd be surprised if they're not making it again. That would definitely be a shocker. Willingham and Virginia. That's line six, Mikey. What's up, Willingham? Hi, thanks for taking my call. I think the Charms are going to be out and Kansas City are going to be in because Kansas City don't no longer have a target on their back. They got a chip on their shoulder. I said the Dallas Cowboys, they're going to be in. Philadelphia's going to be out. See, this is the year for the Cowboys. Cowboys are the sun, get the wagon. They're leaving everybody alone, and they're headed to California.

40:33If y 'all see the defense that the Cowboys are going to produce this year, the defense is going to be better than the offense, and they're going to run the table. I am guaranteed the Cowboys will win 17 straight games. You know my name, and team team, and keep the receipt. Willie Hammond, that's it.

40:50Rich Eisen:Let's go. I was going to say, do you want to play the win-loss game? Oh, that's even better. That's a phone drop. That's a phone drop. That's not my fault. No, no, that's a phone drop. That's old school. That's taking a phone and going, that's like, yep, click. We hear dial tone. Old school. Willingham. Willingham sounded like he was on a landline, too. That was like an old school phone call right there. Said it with his chest. He was like, see ya. Damn. No one. Hey. Hello. I like it. Good one. I mean, Willingham said run the table. Run the 17-0, man. 17-0, man. I mean, they should. That team.

41:27Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, they just added Von Miller. You know what I'm saying? And Jerry, Jerry, after, you know, like taking a little quick victory lap on that and Von Miller says they might not be done. You know, what is this? I said that yesterday. The ducks are quacking? They need to be fed? Shucky-ducky. Quack-quack. Well, I think it's fair to say that if we could improve it, which is almost a cliche, we would because, again, I'm even more excited today than I was when we started camp that our team is going to be one that if we can have some things go right for us, avoid some injury, we could really be something that we all want to be, and that's a team that's competing for the big game.

42:14So bottom line is the answer is yes. if we saw something that would help us anyplace, we'd do it.

42:21Rich Eisen:I got to be honest with you, okay? Please do. Normally, when Jerry's talking this time of year, I'm thinking two words. I'm thinking flim and flam. You know what I mean? There's a little flim flam. I got to admit, sometimes my eyes roll so far in the back of my head, I can see that. Yes, and you're like, really? How do you believe that? All in. Remember all in? Remember that? All in. That whole summer. You drove me crazy with that. His definition of all in, people in Texas would be like, hold, sir. That ain't all in in my estimation. You tortured me. Or, hey, a handshake between player and owner.

43:01Rich Eisen:I mean, that's like, you might as well just call that a blood oath. Right? And I'm going to hold it against a kid in his mid-20s. No matter how talented he is, I'm going to send him out. And you're just sitting here like, really? What are we doing? Because, I mean, you're telling me it's raining. but it's a blue sky out there in Ohio and Oxford, you know? That's where you sit here this time of year and listen to Jerry Jones talk about his team and his roster. Normally, yes. This year, I don't want to even go high register. This year, he's kind of right. He's kind of right. We're hoping. A, two of the best receivers in the business together right there.

43:43Rich Eisen:Pew, pew. One of the best in the business at playing quarterback when he keeps the interceptions down and he's healthy. All right. The tight end. I did my research yesterday for other reasons. You really did. You really did. And our best ball league, some guy who I've never heard of is starting to talk about how I draft. Gave me a grade of failing grade. It was a C plus. What? That's failing to me. I got through college with that. I chose Jake Ferguson in the ninth round. and he good blocker that's what it's locker the guy had the third most catches in the league at the position and the second most uh touchdowns so he's there back there again you got the two running backs Javante Williams and let's hope Jaden Blue is actually a little bit better I don't I don't care which one it is.

44:38Rich Eisen:Okay. We got a few. Defensively, they are light years. Better. Yeah. And they got a guy who could split the uprights in AT &T Stadium from Oxnard. Yeah. Do not discount that. You can get three points on a – let's say the defense plays well. They get good field position. The Cowboys start on their own 35. They get one first down and a couple more yards. You can get three points out of that. You're in field goal range. Seriously. Just by crossing. You can get three points out of that.

45:19Rich Eisen:Normally, I'm sitting here thinking. Normally, that's Barnum right there. That's Barnum talking. That's the greatest showman. From now on. You know I love calling him Geppetto Jones because of the way he, you know, manipulates him. This is different. Now, 17-0 Willingham in Virginia? That's a bold statement. I don't have the patience to jack with you today. I don't think that guy's going to be on the radio this year. Nope. That guy who's like not – I don't have the patience to – I've eaten a lot of raccoons. I don't have the patience to jack with you today is what he says to his – Oh, out of raccoons.

45:55Rich Eisen:To the radio hosts who have him on once a week. His baby needs a new pair of shoes, and you don't play with that shoe much. Another Super Bowl so bad. I got to be honest with you. The reason why he's adding two is, I don't know, he could be looking down at his driver's license and seeing a born on date. And, like, now is the time. Like, this is it. I've got the roster. I've got – how about this? I think he's got the coach. I'm hoping the coach is. I know that because you're talking about the new defensive coordinator. You got to spin that thing up, man. I mean, I hear nothing but good things about this.

46:30I hate to say it, but Dallas is – I'm scared. I mean, it's out there.

46:35Rich Eisen:DJ, I don't want to – He's looking good. I don't want to overreact. He's looking good. They could also go 8-9. By the way, but that's the NFL. You could say that pretty much about most teams. But their schedule is – I know what their schedule is. Difficult. Their schedule is difficult, so is their schedule is difficult for a lot of teams. But what you need is to score points and make sure that that's enough. tough yeah and it looks like they've got that this year that's where they're left if they're healthy comes down to that yeah but how about it man i i'm listening to jerry jones and i'm like nodding my head as opposed to shaking it right which is a new sensation in the summertime to say the least good in excess on that front that's right mike yeah the rich eyes and show podcast Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.

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