Hour 1: Should Mendoza Start Week 1 for the Raiders? Plus 49ers Insider Matt Maiocco

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0:30Rich Eisen:This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message, and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern.

1:13Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Mendoza. Back over the middle and he's picked off.

1:31Rich Eisen:This is the Rich Eisen Show. Mike Garofalo, is there a shot? He's the week one starter. The communication has been that Kirk Cousins is going to be the week one starter. However, I've been lied to before. Today's gasps. NBC Sports Bay Area 49ers reporter Matt Maioco. Five-time NFL Pro Bowler Teron Armstead. Three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth. And now, it's Rich Eisen. This is an edition of the Rich Eisen Show. It's a Friday. Getting late in August. We're nearing a football season. It's right around the corner. Labor Day weekend. You can see it in the distance. Week zero in college. You can see week one in the National Football League.

2:16Rich Eisen:You can also see us on Disney Plus, the ESPN app. You can listen to us on ESPN Radio if you're doing so. Hello. Sirius XM Channel 80. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial on the program. We just saw two preseason games last night. The 49ers were just down the street at SoFi Stadium to take on the Chargers, the Raiders and Texans last night. Matt Maioco, who knows everything about the San Francisco 49ers, is going to join us to tell us everything he knows about the San Francisco 49ers. Got Teron Armstead fresh off of the Good Morning football set just down the road at NFL Network across the street from SoFi Stadium.

2:53Rich Eisen:He's going to park it right here to talk about his thoughts on the National Football League And Mark Schlereth, who always tells the stinking truth, is on the show in hour number three. It's a What's More Likely Friday. I've got a Houston Texans season preview for Downs. Hello, Chris Brockman. What's going on? Rich Eisen, it's Friday. I'm excellent. Table set. How are you, Mike Del Tufo? Good to see you. Good morning, Rich. TJ Jefferson. Candle is lit. How are you? Rich, 28 years ago today, August the 21st, 1998. I was fired from Foot Locker on Friday on my day off. and uh is you still have you still is that really what you wore is that still the still modifications i've cut to sleeves but this is one of my 28 years ago today they fired me on friday on my day off like craig i didn't steal no boxes wow but uh now what 28 years 28 years 28 years later you've now got a fresh pair of shoes from the head coach of oregon football right behind and the penn state nittany lines you were rooting for on the day you got fired who the hell are they anymore.

3:53Rich Eisen:That is going to be so awesome to keep on all season long. Penn State's going to go like 10-2 this year. I don't think I can get that. It's too bad. Phone lines are lit. Love seeing that. That means we're relevant. Let's get it. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. It means we're also accessible, which is the most important thing in this business. Hey, listen. Fernando Mendoza started a National Football League preseason game last night on ESPN. No bigger platform than that. and Joe in the booth, Troy in the booth, Monday Night Football in the house on a Thursday night, and Mendoza gets the start, Kirk Cousins gets the sit down and let's watch what the kid can do.

4:34Rich Eisen:Let's get him as many reps. And I'll just say this. I have been a Kirk Cousins is going to start guy for months. Months. I'm wavering on whether Kirk Cousins should start week one of this National Football League season for Las Vegas. I feel like the Dave Chappelle meme of just like, come, come to me. I'm just sitting here. All right, let me break it down for you. Mendoza throws a pick six last night. And it's one of those things where you're like, threw it late over the middle. You could see that one coming. It's telegraphed. It's the total rookie mistake of, you know, fading to your left way too long, holding onto the ball, throwing it back right over the middle, pick six, see you later.

5:22Rich Eisen:And he did his best to run down. He did. He did. Which is just another rookie mistake. Yeah, don't do that. Just another rookie mistake. You fall and hurt your shoulder? Well, dude, come on. Because the bottom line is, last thing we need in Las Vegas is this guy having a four to six hamstring issue because he tried to track somebody down on a pick six in the preseason. Or even worse, separating a shoulder reach. That's what I thought was going to happen. He also, right, okay, all cases in point. And, you know, and then, of course, he hangs in there and he's still winging it around. Nothing to write home about.

6:02Rich Eisen:By the way, Raiders come back and win this game. It's 20-3. They win 22-20. What a cover for the Raiders. Okay, you cover. Hey, if you're betting preseason football, we need to have a chat. There's 800 numbers you can call to get help. Oh, my goodness. You know that. All right. What? But Mendoza's not lying. You look at his line. Certainly, if you're not seeing it, you don't watch his five drives in the first half. And you just say, let me just check on the app what he did. And you see it's eight for 15, 86 yards, pick six. And you're like, all right. There's no way he should start. Why should he start?

6:38Rich Eisen:You know, also you look at the Raiders schedule, right? You look at their schedule and the first game, they're home against Miami. And you could sit here and go, all right, that's a nice start for the Raiders taking on a team that a lot of people think has got first overall pick in next year's draft in Washington, D.C. written all over it. And there's two visits. the Chargers and then the Saints and again you could sit here and say oh the Saints weren't any good last year and there's a lot of people picking to be a sleeper team going to that dome is not easy ever home for Kansas City at New England, home for Buffalo, home for the Rams why would you put your new bright shiny future the franchise quarterback in that harm's way behind an offensive line that might not be able to protect him.

7:37Rich Eisen:And at the end of the day, that may be why Kirk Cousins is there to see if they can navigate that schedule without the season being over win-loss-wise or to be the human shield to their first overall pick. Bambi, but don't call him a deer-in-headlights quarterback. and that may be what you feel and hear at the end of the day but then you watch back all the all 22 guys I mean I was watching some Orlovsky posts before the show what's up Dan and seeing that right and seeing how even like the quick out throws that don't get completed to the all 22 guys and ladies are what the coaches see. And it's Mendoza having to figure out pre-snap what the defense is and two plays that he gets in the huddle, which one is the best one to run.

8:40Rich Eisen:And when you throw it to your receiver, when the coverage goes from cornerback way off to press coverage, what do you do? Do you throw it here? Do you throw it there? Do you throw it when? and all of that happens in the blink of an eye, and you go, oh, he missed the throw. You know, like that's what you see, but it's what the coaches see that's completely different and what the kid has to see in order to get better soonest. And you got to wonder, how is he going to get that, sitting and watching Kirk Cousins go through at least the first two months of the season because they don't want to put him out there.

9:32And that's the question about whether you start him.

9:37Rich Eisen:Certainly if he can protect himself by getting rid of the football, don't take a hit, realize where the pressure's coming from pre-snap, getting rid of it, getting the protection right, all of that stuff. If he can protect himself, now do you get that answer going against the backups of the texans because you know they're not putting their a-list defenders out there on mass against him and that's what clint kubiak has to decide this is what mendoza had to say after last night's five series evening in houston i came away that there's a lot more learning to do and that although that maybe he had a lot of success at another level that this level is a whole step further and that the margins are so small and that one tiny mistake can lead to catastrophe.

10:33So I want to make sure that best serve my teammates and get better from these experiences. Okay.

10:39Rich Eisen:Did he say catastrophe? He did. You say catastrophe, I say catastrophe. Tomato, tomato, potato, potato. Sabotage. Sabotage. You say sabotage. I say sabotage. I say sabotage. Okay. Garage. Garage. Garage. All right, Coach Kubiak, what are you going to do? Because you sat Cousins last night like he's a starter. I mean, that's what you do with your week one starters. You don't play them at all. Yeah. At all. I mean, Stroud played what? Two series? One series? Hit it. You know, with Kirk Cousins not playing along with Max and other guys, it's safe to say Kirk will be your starting quarterback at week one.

11:16Rich Eisen:You know, we got another week. or playing. I don't want anyone to be comfortable in their job. It should always be that way from all positions. Just keep going forward. There you go. That's a non-answer. He's leaving it open I don't think to play games with Jeff Halfley and the Dolphins for week one. They're building. They're looking for who's the 53 men and who's going to have certain roles here. I mean, afterwards also we don't have the soundbite, but also afterwards Kubiak talked about Mike Washington Jr., the rookie running back that they have. That's good. Because, you know, Gentry's not getting a lot of run in the preseason also.

12:01Rich Eisen:He didn't play last. And he said, you know, that everybody's got to figure out how to carve out roles in the Raiders and that Washington is heading his way towards carving one out. So that's the question is how do the Raiders wish to carve this 2026 season?

12:20Rich Eisen:Do the wins and losses matter? Of course, they always do. But in the long run, do they matter? They sure as hell matter to, you know, Tyler Lindebaum, who signed a big fat contract, and Max Crosby, who, you know, hates to lose. You know, you don't sacrifice a season on the altar of anything. In the NFL. Certainly in August. Certainly if the kid can play. And Aikman on SportsCenter with SVP afterwards said, this kid's got greatness in him. I paraphrased. He thinks he can be a great quarterback in this league. What happened with Troy? Did he sit first year? First overall? No, sir. No, they went 1-15.

13:13This kind of weirdly reminds me of the Patriots and Drake May a couple years ago. Remember? It was like, oh, should the kid just start right away? Jacoby Brissett starts. He goes out there kind of as the human shield behind a bad offensive line for five, six weeks. And then, you know, Drake May played well, but they still only won three or four games and had a top five pick.

13:33Rich Eisen:How did year two look? Year two, Super Bowl. Right. And now year three expectations through the roof. Exactly. So I think that's kind of what we're looking at here with Fernando and their cousins. maybe so. But he's got, I mean, can he get these reps where he can figure out pre-snap this and all of that stuff and marinate properly? Can he do it by not starting? We had Jordan Love on the show on Wednesday and I knew this was going to be the question involving Mendoza because it's definitely not the question involving any other quarterback in this draft from last April. It ain't the question for Ty Simpson, and it is not the question for Carson Beck, who we haven't seen since the Hall of Fame game.

14:17Rich Eisen:And we can go down the list of guys. You know, Klubnik, Nussmeier. No, no, there's only one quarterback for whom it's like, should we do it now or not? And Jordan Love said he 100 % got valuable information and marination from watching Rodgers. definitely and that i think is at the end of the day going to be clint kubiak's decision questions how much thumb on the scale do they put from the front office because this kid's a superstar in the making i really feel it i know i just i just um i just overstated it i get it but he's the first overall pick he's been fully introduced to the nation through college football he's a delight in his press conferences um i think he i think he speaks to uh people who like wholesome goodness people who love their parents you know what i mean like he's a great example a great example and he's just he's just having fun he's just being himself and goofy and and potentially awkward and this was a fun exchange, Laura Rutledge interviewing him during the Monday night game.

15:42Rich Eisen:Did you see this end of their live as the game's going on on the sideline interview? Did you hear this? Sure. Go for it. We'll go tell Kirk that you did a great job. Thank you. Please do. Please do. And please tell Mr. Buck I say hello. Oh, we love it. There you go. What about Mr. Aikman? Oh, of course. I mean, he's a legend, you know. I think Mr. Buck needs some more love because, I mean, Mr. Aikman's already, you know. Well said, Fernando. You nailed it. Thank you. God bless. I mean, if I was calling Monday Night Football Games and a Michigan National Championship quarterback said, say hi to Mr.

16:18Rich Eisen:Eisen, you know what I mean? Because Joe's a Hoosier. Joe loves that kid, I'm sure, deep down, deep, deep, deep, deep down. Forever. Just like every Hoosier fan anywhere. Just a delight. and when he hits it there's going to be, wait for it, Mendoza mania. Mendoza mania is coming. To the point where we're laying our marker down. RichEyesandShop.com Go get it!

16:49You guys

16:50Rich Eisen:personally QC'd this thing. Let's do it. Mendoza mania. Get yours now. Get yours now. Jay Feller's going to take five of them. Jay Feller's going to buy it out. You know? Got to get Kirk Morrison on. Hey, man. We're in on it. I see what he can be, what he already is. Nature versus nurture. Do they nurture him by throwing Kirk Cousins out into nature and see what he can do? And if he's 3-3 through 6 or 4-4 through 8 or who knows? that that'll factor into a decision to throw him out there and how cousins looks and how he handles it. But the minute Mendoza makes the first NFL start, it's going to be all eyes.

17:41Rich Eisen:All eyes. Well, he ain't giving it up. I think once he finally starts, we'll see, I'm rooting for him as you know, but I'm breaking it down. I'm like thinking, do they put him out there? Cause how else is he going to figure out pre-snap, do this, do that. I mean, do you even throw him out there for preseason week number three to just get him some more i'd consider that i'd consider that certainly if you're going to start cousins yeah that might be an indication that it's kirk's gig 844-204 rich is the number to dial here on the program the 49ers took on the chargers last night so much to talk about on that front the man who speaks to bang bang niner gang quite a been.

18:25Rich Eisen:Certainly when he comes on the Rich Eisen show, Matt Miyoko, when we come back.

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20:52Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show podcast. Rich Eisen Show, our radio audience has returned. All right, Matt, let's just be straight up. It just seems to me that the Niners have been bit by another injury bug preseason again. Am I just overstating it, just reading too many headlines? What's going on? Well, there's no question they're dealing with injuries, but it doesn't appear as if any of those injuries are long-term lasting kind of injuries. That will severely impact the team during the regular season. Now, what Kyle Shanahan said about Christian McCaffrey is that if they were playing a game this last week, he would have been out there practicing.

21:38he'd be able to play in the game. So we'll see when he is back, and we'll see how prophetic those words are. Nick Bosa is dealing with tendinitis from the aftermath of his surgery on the ACL last year. They're expecting him to be ready for week one. So I'm not sure that there's any other than Pearsall. Obviously, Ricky Pearsall out for the season. That hurts. They counteracted that move with bringing back Debo Samuel. and he's looked good. I mean, he's looked kind of like Debo Prime. I think probably the best thing that happened to him as far as getting ready and having a chip on his shoulder for this season was going so many months from the end of last year with the Washington Commanders to the first week at training camp.

22:24He didn't have a team. And so he was working out, he was in good shape and he stepped in. And the 49ers, the way they structured that contract, I mean, it's clear. They expect him to catch the football. They expect him to run the football, and they expect him to return kickoffs as well. So I think right now, when you look at the wide receiver position, yes, Ricky Parasol isn't out there. They do have Mike Evans. They do have Debo Samuel. And then Dajon Stribling, the 33rd overall pick, really looks good. And he had another good game on Thursday night against the Chargers. Now, he led a potential touchdown pass, slipped through his fingers.

23:04But the arrow is definitely pointing up on Stribbling. So we'll see.

23:09Rich Eisen:Yeah, we will see. Let's take a few of these at a time, Matt Miyoko, NBC Sports Bay Area. I know you did a YouTube piece on this, and you've been covering this. And you put the ear to the ground in the NFL. And there's always chatter. Always. You put your ear to the ground. But the tightness for Christian McCaffrey. Tightness. Is that tightness in his body or his view of the tightness of his contract, Matt? You know, because again, listen, the Niners enriched him when he asked for it and it was his time. And this contract extension is kicking in right now. It happens all the time that when you make somebody generationally enriched to the tune of what the Niners did for McCaffrey and pay him the respect of when it was his time to get the money, that gives him the respect of where his standing is in running back rooms across the NFL.

24:11Rich Eisen:But now he's making half of what Gibbs and Bijan are making. Is there any truth to any of this or should we just move on, Matt? Well, I don't think the new contracts for Bijan Robinson and Jameer Gibbs were any surprise. Everybody knew that those were coming, including Christian McCaffrey and his representation. So if he were to have done that as far as a hold in, it seems to me he would have done it from the very first day of training camp and not go nearly two weeks of practicing and then decide, you know what, this is a good time to hold in. Now, I asked Kyle Shanahan flat out, point blank, if there was any contract ploy here with Christian McCaffrey.

24:59And he said no, that that was a false report or the speculation was wrong about that. But, you know, we'll see. I mean, if he does sign a new contract, you know, today, tomorrow down the road, then we'll have to wonder. But what Shanahan has said and what he said on Tuesday was that McCaffrey's doing well. He's experiencing tightness. He didn't identify where that tightness is. But if the 49ers had a game, that McCaffrey would be out there. Okay.