Hour 1: Preseason Week 1 Preview, plus the MMQB’s Albert Breer Talks Vikings, Rams and More

21:34Albert Breer:Oh, Kevin, you mean? Kevin, I believe, would be. Yeah, my guess would be you don't want to pin yourself in. And look, I think part of this, too, because I think J.J.'s made strides, too, Rich. I think part of this is, and they'll never say it, right? But it's sort of similar to the way I've talked to you about the Cleveland situation. I think if you go with J.J. McCarthy now, it would be tough to go back to Kyler Murray. Whereas if you go with Kyler Murray now, I think it's easier to go to J.J. McCarthy if it doesn't work. Now, that said, you're going to want to project confidence. And you're going to want to project to your team that we're behind the quarterback and we believe in the quarterback.

22:19Albert Breer:And so, you know, of course, like Kevin O 'Connell is going to get up there and say, like, yes, we're we're we're we're going forward with Kyler Murray as the quarterback of this team. And, you know, and then if people ask, is that for the whole season? I'm sure he would probably answer, well, a million things can happen. And that's true, too. So my guess would be you get something along those lines.

22:44Rich Eisen:So is this going to be something similar, you think, playing out in Atlanta, where the veteran who's on the inexpensive side at$1.3 million in Tua is going to have a thumb on a scale placed by the head coach to see what he's got, as opposed to the rookie with an injury-marred season the year before, who has chosen just a few choices before J.J. McCarthy and Penix? Is it a similar thing?

23:10Albert Breer:You think I think that things that one's a little different just in that. Like, I think for the new regime for Matt Ryan and Ian Cunningham and the head coach, Kevin Stefanski there, I think you look at the two of them and you sort of know what Tua is. You're not sure yet what Penix is because of everything that he's been through. And he's had some real flashes of brilliance. Right. Right. But this isn't the first time he's gotten hurt either. It's not his first ACL. I think it's his third ACL. Right. Or maybe fourth. You know, he's he's been he's been hurt a lot. So, you know, I think part of it is assessing where he's at coming back off of injury.

23:55Albert Breer:It's assessing what he can do for the team. I think it's different, Rich, in that like the Vikings, again, their roster is so leveraged for right now. And the guys in that team, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Christian Derisaw, Brian O 'Neal, go down the list, TJ Hawkinson, Byron Murphy, Aaron Jones. There are so many veteran players in that team that were part of a team that won 14 games two years ago. And then last year was kind of sabotaged by the quarterback situation. You know, I think for the Vikings, it's like we have to give those players the best answer for right now, period, end of story.

24:33Albert Breer:whereas with the Falcons I think there's a little bit more of if you're in year one and you're Kevin Stefanski again something they probably wouldn't say publicly but you want to come out of this year knowing where you're at at the quarterback position and I think part of that's going to be gathering more information on Michael Penix over the course of the year whether he's the

24:51Rich Eisen:starter week one or not and then what's happening in Cleveland best you can tell from there in the up north well Todd Munkin's pretty been pretty colorful talking about this I don't know if you've Oh, it's been great. Listen, Munkin has been a delight in terms of a soundbite. You know, like if you just put the things that he said out of Bill Parcells' mouth, it would be surprising. You know what I mean? Like that, if it was the part, if you AI'd what he said coming out of a Parcells, a 60-year-old Parcells, it would sound like it.

25:22Albert Breer:He's got a little Clint Eastwood and El Camino vibe there, you know?

25:27Rich Eisen:Is he coaching from the front porch? That's all you're saying? Okay. Just calling on a heater, coaching the team. Sure. All right. So, well done. What's going on there?

25:41Albert Breer:Yeah, again, like, I think in this situation, it's another one of those where it's like, if you go one way, then you probably can't go the other, you know? And so, look, Deshaun Watson, the team has invested three first-round picks in him. They've invested$230 million in him. And I think what would be worse than just chalking that up as a sunk cost would be chalking it up as a sunk cost and then watching him go somewhere else and ball out for another team in 2027 and be like, oh, my God, maybe we should have played him in 26. So, you know, I do think there's an element there of wanting to see if there is any shot, any shot, any glimmer of hope that the player that we all watched for the first four years of Watson's career is still there.

26:33Albert Breer:And if it's not, it's not. But I think it's much easier to try that and go to Shadur Sanders than it would be to start with Shadur Sanders and then that doesn't work and then go to Deshaun Watson. so like I've felt all along like there's a little bit of a like let's see what we have with Watson because this is the last year of his contract and we've already invested so much in him and I mean I look like Dylan Gabriel was the third round pick Shadour Sanders was a fifth round pick this guy Deshaun Watson was the 12th pick in the draft and was one of the best quarterbacks in football for an extended period of time so i don't know why so many people think there's so much more upside with the younger guys than there is with the with the veteran um when we've seen the veteran do it in the past okay so i'm with you i've been saying all along that i think

27:30Rich Eisen:um exactly what you said the amount of capital and you know actual capital and blood sweat and that they put into Watson, and this is the last chance saloon. They've got to see what they have. But if Shador's outperforming him, how does Munkin not say he's the guy? What are you hearing about Shador's camp?

27:51Albert Breer:Well, then it's simple, right? Then it's simple. If Shador's the guy, and I haven't heard that, if I had to put my finger on it right now, I'd say Deshaun's a little ahead. But if Shador proves to clearly be the guy, then it's black and white. I think what we're talking about here, Rich, what we're talking about, like, the order of things and everything else, right, is if it's close, right? If it's close, and if you go into the meeting room and you have three coaches saying this and four coaches saying that, and there's a disagreement, and then it's like, okay, like, now we take a look at the big picture.

28:27Albert Breer:But if one guy clearly beats out the other, then we're talking about something else, you know? And so, you know, I don't think that's the case right now, but I think if Shadour like clearly beat out Deshaun Watson, I don't think, I mean, the way Todd Munkin's projected his short time as the head coach there, it doesn't seem like he's afraid of much. So I don't think he'd be afraid to pull the trigger on that.

28:49Rich Eisen:Albert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show, joining us from the Minnesota Vikings camp, where again, word is that Kyler Murray's been told he is the starter. And that announcement is coming from the Vikings prior to their first preseason game as well right here on the Rich Eisen show. So, you know, our segment, we played it with you the last time that you were here. It is now time for Is He Back Yet? Without a run. Is he back yet? Where is a run right now? All right. Is he back yet, Albert?

29:22Albert Breer:He's not, but I think we're getting closer to that. I think it's in play at the end of the week. I think I said to you guys the last time I was on that it was my belief that once they broke camp at Loyola Marymount went back I think they're in Woodland Hills is that right that is the name of the town yep the practice facility is so once they get back to Woodland Hills I think this is in play um you know I know um you know he's he's done some work and that was why they report the workout with Giff Smith one of Sean McVay's assistants and again like I think so much of this just rides on like I told you before uh whether or not Aaron Donald feels like he can go out there and be himself in 2026.

30:01Albert Breer:And the tricky thing about that is the bar for Aaron Donald to be himself is like higher than the bar for almost any interior defensive lineman in NFL history. So can he go out there and feel like he can be himself? But I do think he's got he's in the mindset to play. I think he will wind up playing, you know, and I think, you know, we get to the end of the week. I don't know when their preseason game is this week, but, you know, maybe after that, then we're squarely in play. Again, they're back in Woodland Hills now. And I personally think he's gotten himself to the point where he thinks he can do it.

30:40Albert Breer:And I can tell you this too, he and Sean McVay are very, very close and they already have a detailed plan for how this is all going to work if he does decide to come back. So some of it's based on how they ramped him up in 17 and 18 when he missed training camp because he was holding out. you know notably he was defensive player of the year both of those years um you know and and and there's going to be a plan for the season too you know they've got kobe turner and and and brayden fisk and puna ford and tyler davis so they don't need to overwork him you know my guess would be he'd be part of a rotation playing 30 40 snaps a game um and that would allow them to to to keep

31:21Rich Eisen:position to be at his very best when it really counts so when he shows up uh in a helmet with gift smith and that's why he winds up on the nfl wire and everybody notices that he's getting a step closer or the video comes out with him going through things with brayden fisk and josiah stewart it's not just him saying you know i'm gonna try this today it's something that he and mcveigh days ago weeks ago came up with and and there's an even plan for what it would look like between the time he does, in fact, come back in the beginning of the season, what it looks like week one, week two. That's already mapped out, best you can tell right now?

31:58Albert Breer:By putting some of the puzzle pieces together and what he is doing now, I think it's testing to see if he can get back to that level. It's pushing. It's like, okay, what do I feel like the next day? It's, you know, can I explode off the ball fast? Can I move with bodies around me the same way? It's all the stuff that, you know, and you can't simulate. It can't be perfect, you know, but it's do I think I can go out in an NFL game and be myself? And so that's what he's testing, you know, and that's what he's working through. But, yeah, like if he decides at the end of this week to flip the switch and go, there is a plan in place.

32:38Albert Breer:And it's a detailed plan. And I think they feel good about the idea that he would come back. And again, like, I think another thing that's important to point out here, too, I Sean McVay, Les Snead, Chris Shula, you know, those guys aren't like texting him and, you know, calling him like, hey, will you come back? They want this to be his decision, right? Like they want they want to allow for him to make this decision on his own. They've let him know he's he's he's welcome. They would love to have him back. but I think the last thing they want Rich is for him to be sitting there and he doesn't feel good in November and be like I wish they hadn't talked me into it you know they don't want it to be that they'd they want this to be solely his decision and you know I think he's getting closer to making that decision.

33:23Rich Eisen:Albert Breer here a few minutes left with Albert who's in the Minnesota Vikings camp right here on the Rich Eisen show the Breer Report right there on Sports Illustrated's YouTube channel as well um so let's um let's hit on the some of the names of guys that we're wondering will they be back in week one we're now getting set for pre-season action here and it's rubber meets road time the first depth chart was released by the kansas city chiefs and mahomes is sitting right there at the top um is patrick we're gonna see him week one monday night football against

33:54Albert Breer:i think there's zero chance he's not back okay um i i asked andy reed directly andy reed gave me the answer you'd think we'll see like he doesn't want to put that on his um on his player but i i i think if you've talked to people there over the last like two months too i think this is going back to like may and june um there is no question i was i was told he's taken a regular like during the off season right like so in april and may like he didn't go away he was taking a regular season approach to the rehab so the intensity with which he was rehabbing was as if i'm i need to push this so i can get ready to play a game this week he badly wants to be back out there he's got a pt and in kansas city who was a huge part of getting him ready to play in the um in the in the super bowl a few years ago you remember when he had the high ankle sprain um julie freymeyer is her name um they've been diligent about it he was cleared um to participate fully in training camp and this is the interesting thing i i was talking to people there they were all well yeah we we think he's going to be clear for the start of training camp but we're going to be smart about smart about it right he's taken every first team rep in training camp so i think that tells you where he's at.

35:17Albert Breer:Here's the other thing. He has heard everything that everyone has said about him. He has heard everything that everyone has said about the Chiefs. He has heard everything that everyone has said about his rehab. And there are a lot of people in that organization that are really interested to see what this super motivated, and he's always motivated, right? But But to see what this version of Patrick Mahomes looks like.

35:47Rich Eisen:Noted. The man who said this.

35:52Albert Breer:He'll get handled when he gets handled.

35:53Rich Eisen:When the Raiders rookie came out with a Muppet. Remember that a couple years ago? He made fun of Mahomes.

36:01Albert Breer:He's got edge to him. Because he's such a nice guy. But he's got edge to him that I don't think people really recognize.

36:09Rich Eisen:Well, we saw it in the quarterback series on Netflix. We saw that. You know, what was it? Was it Crosby? He's barking at, you know, what happened there, too, before I continue on with Crosby and Cousins and Kirk. Yeah.

36:25Albert Breer:This is sort of I love Max. Like this is sort of been an issue with him, you know, like where he he practices pretty intensely and you sometimes have to put a governor on him. so I think if you put together a list of five players on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL that might be involved in a situation like this, Max would be on the list and I don't think he'd be fifth. So it's just sort of like how he gets himself ready to play, part of his routine and how he gets himself to the level that he thinks he needs to be at to be at his very best and sometimes it spills over. So totally understand why Clint Kubiak did what he did.

37:11Albert Breer:Makes sense. You know, you don't want guys fighting in practice. You don't want fights to break out in practice, you know, and you can really send a message when two of the most prominent players of the team are being sat down. And look, there's a benefit to this too, right? Like they got a free look at Fernando Mendoza with the first team for a day,

37:31Rich Eisen:so that's not bad either. No, it isn't. All right, now returning to the injuries. the two Achilles Daniel Jones George Kittle do we see both of them week one or no what do you think

37:43Albert Breer:um I think so I'm sure on Jones like I I I don't think I mean Jones is another one where it just when you watch him um so here's here's an interesting anecdote like they had a scrimmage the other night um and he and this is one of those things where like okay he looks good but It's not really game speed yet. And he pulled the ball down and scored a 40-yard touchdown and hit 19 and a half miles an hour on his GPS. And some of his teammates, he told me some of his teammates were giving him crap that he didn't hit 20 or 21. But, like, he feels really good about where he's at. And I think the Achilles for a quarterback, like, it's going to be explosion.

38:29Albert Breer:It's going to be, like, can you, like, especially because it's his plant foot. We saw it with Cousins a couple years ago. like can you get as much on the ball um so it's worth watching all that but but but my expectation is he'll be out there week one you know and then Kittle I think you know that's a little trickier because you know it's an older player it's a tight end um but it sounds like he's in a good place too

38:51Rich Eisen:what about Micah we're not many people talking about him what when do we expect he's 100 % going

38:57Albert Breer:to be on on the pop list um and so that means he'll start the season uh missing the first four games. Like, it sounds to me like part of the reason they made that decision as early and as as and with as much resolve as they did was because they knew like under the new rules that changed a few years ago, they're going to be able to get him back on the practice field after two weeks. So like the ability to get him back on the practice field after two weeks will give them a chance to ramp him up. He'd be eligible to return week five. I think it's going to be somewhere in that window you know in october somewhere and i mean we wouldn't be doing the the audience of service if we didn't mention rich that they play dallas in week six so i would think that he'd

39:45Rich Eisen:probably want to be out there for that one albert thanks for the time uh go forth and you know obviously there's some breaking news in your spot right there uh about the vikings and and kyler murray as the quarterback uh for uh for at least week one one would think thanks for the time brother. We'll chat again soon. For sure. Thanks for having me. Albert Breer must follow everybody right here on the Rich Eisen show. All right, let's beat it and get our ducks in a row. Lots of happening. Trent McDuffie, hour number two from the Rams.

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40:56Rich Eisen:buy one get one free plus receive four times oh rewards points stop by your local o'reilly auto parts store or shop online at o'reillyauto.com the rich eisen show podcast here on the rich eisen show is one big happy simulcast family our friends at linkedin would like to let you know that you should hire right the first time and the best way to do it hire right the first time with linkedin hiring pro get started by posting a free job at linkedin.com slash eisen all right we're just gonna let things settle for a second here and then at the top of the next hour we'll revisit uh i hit uh shefty during the commercial break here to say you know hey anything you you can add uh to you know your breaking report that the vikings have named kyler murray their starting quarterback i'm like did they just tell kyler they're gonna announce it later and he said uh he told the team it's official so that's what shefty just hit me up on right there so keep an eye on his uh twitter feed at adam shefter as things go along today but again we'll hit that at the top of the next hour um you know one thing i didn't hit here is the um over the last couple of days because, you know, there's been so much football stuff.

42:17Rich Eisen:The ABS system in baseball, I kind of dig it. I dig it a lot. I love it. It goes fast. You get an answer. You get an immediate answer. And, you know, I saw some footage the other day of, I don't know why it came up, on my Twitter feed, like Kilbourne, because I'm getting all sorts of old SportsCenter stuff in my algorithm. You know, obviously from this was SportsCenter, I imagine. And Kilbourne did a highlight of a game where the home plate umpire was way off and the Dodgers were flipping out over the calls. And it was ball night. So fans were throwing baseballs on the field. And Lasorda came out to argue with a bad call.

43:00Rich Eisen:Like Raul Mondesi had a strike two call on something that damn near bounced in the left-handed hitter's batter's box. And he lost his mind. And fans were throwing baseballs. and the umpires called the game. They called the game. It was the first time the Dodgers played a forfeited game since like 1916 or something like that. It was a whole highlight and whatever. And I'm like, see, this is what the ABS is preventing. You know, Mondese could have just tapped his helmet and that would have been the end of it. Oh, but that's way cooler what happened. Listen, I understand that, but it's awesome. I'm really enjoying it.

43:39Rich Eisen:It is good. But the thing that's beginning to piss me off is umpires not giving the ABS challenge to the batter because they think the batter has taken too long to ask for it. It happened to, I believe, Julio Rodriguez in Seattle the other night. Did you see this one? Where he tapped his helmet and the umpire said, you didn't do it in time. Dan Wilson gets ejected when all of his former teammates are there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mariners.

44:14Rich Eisen:And I'm thinking to myself, why? He tapped his helmet, even if it wasn't on the spot. I understand they want it on the spot because they don't want him looking. I'm now looking into the dugout and somebody's like, absolutely, you should challenge that. It's supposed to be left to the player on the field. They don't want somebody to help out. It's not like the price is right where they're screaming at you to say, you know, bid this, bid that, higher, lower. You know what I mean? They don't want that. Right, right, right. But if it's so obvious that it's still just a second afterwards or two seconds afterwards, now what are we going to do?

44:50Rich Eisen:Make this a reviewable thing? Like, I tap my helmet in time. Like, they're not using common sense. And it's infuriating. but you do want to take away that possibility of yeah dugout right yeah cool cool cool but the dugouts got an even worse vantage point well they might have a monitor yeah no they don't those days are over pal monitors oh they don't have they have to call somebody to say do i challenge something oh the astros took care of the monitor you took care of the apple watches and my yankees probably took care of something else too yeah you know so there's no monitors There's not. And the dugout is an even worse vantage point of whether something's outside or not.

45:35Rich Eisen:It's just like common sense. Just if it's been a second or two later. Plus, they might not be looking at the player. And plus, if it's a ball or a strike, what if an umpire takes forever to actually say the word strike three? Some of them. Mary, was it McClellan who just basically like, eh, strike. I'll just eventually raise my arm and tell you it's a strike because I can't be bothered to just do it fast. It's just infuriating. And then, so just give it another beat. Give it two seconds here. And then there are some players, like Jazz Chisholm is terrible at it. Some players are really bad. Aaron Boone should tell Jazz, you are not allowed to challenge anything anymore.

46:20Rich Eisen:Exactly. You know, in the same way that Keith Olbermann told me back in the day, stop making too many jokes. pull back stop challenging you're not or at least you're not allowed to challenge until you're last at bat it's just infuriating but to me some of these challenges from players are so far off so my fix is if you are challenging a ball and it's a strike but it's at least an inch in the strike zone or you're challenging a strike and it's an inch outside the strike zone in the umpire's favor you lose both challenges you have no challenges if your challenge is so far off by an inch by an inch not like some of this stuff where the ball barely cracks the corner if you lose your challenge by an inch you lose every remaining challenge it doesn't matter how many you have left thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast you can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app.

47:26Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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