Hour 2: Al Michaels Talks Packers, Commanders & More; Rich on Chargers’ Impressive Week 1

22:17Rich Eisen:I'll talk to you after the game. Smart. Smart. Smart young man. Yeah, he's a smart guy. That's what he's trying to get in my head, making me feel like we're friends now. That's right. Yeah. He's the whole package. He really is. Just like, hey, how you doing? He's like, no, no, no, I don't want to be your friend. It's perfect. He's beyond his years, it seems like, you know? It does, for sure. Yeah. And you can tell, I mean, he's got what it takes. At least when you watch him and you look at him, he looks confident. He looks poised. He looks in control. You can tell he has the respect of the people around him.

22:52So, I mean, he had a tremendous rookie season, off to a great start in year two. And obviously, look, they expect gigantic things from him. Again, you know, I have to go back. And you go back to 15 years ago in Washington. The bell of the ball. The guy who was going to take them to multiple Super Bowls over 15 years. RG3. RG3.

23:18Rich Eisen:Remember that? Well, he blew out his knee in the playoffs, unfortunately. And that changed the entire dynamic of everything there. It did. And it was never the same. Well, let's be honest. If we're telling stories, I mean, I think Dan Quinn wanted the quarterback that got drafted. Word was Mike Shanahan was not. And that's why they drafted Kirk Cousins later on in the same draft. Exactly. Which you rarely see. I'm totally Cleveland Browns kind of did it this year. But you rarely see multiple quarterbacks taken in the same trap. That's a different story, different day. And I think that's why Commanders fans are out of their skulls.

23:53Rich Eisen:Those days are past. Those days are over. New owner, new coach, new GM, new quarterback, new way of going, new name, new everything. After a tough quarter century. Yeah. As brutal as you can possibly be. Under the Snyder regime. Right. Totally different. So that's on Thursday. Let's stroll down later on. You got Miami hosting Buffalo. Then you got Seattle at Arizona. Congratulations for that home date. San Francisco at the Rams. Now that's going to be, that one's kind of jumping out at me right now. I get per diem for that. Is that why it's jumping out at you? Absolutely. Of course. It's one of my favorite games.

24:36Rich Eisen:And then you got Philadelphia at the Giants. You've got to wonder at this point in time, week six, is Jackson Dart going to be the star there? Is that fair or not to talk about? You've got Barkley coming back to New York where he torched them last year and, of course, went on to win the rushing title and the Super Bowl. Interesting. But, yeah, I don't know. We had Jackson Dart in the preseason game that we did a couple of Thursdays ago. Did you get to chat with him pre-broadcast? What did you take from him? Sharp guy. Sharp kid. He gets it. Very smart kid. and he went to USC at first, and then when Lincoln Riley came in and brought Caleb Williams with him, that's why Dart wound up going to Mississippi.

25:20He knew that he wasn't going to be the guy with the change of coach and quarterback. So that's how he winds up going to Oxford, Mississippi. I liked him a lot, very sharp, very clear-headed, very well-spoken. I said to I said to and of course the town just fell in love with him he is their belle of the ball right now and I said to Kirk on the air I said you know when you've made it in New York I said if Anna Wintour calls and tries to get his phone number and invites Starr to the Met Gala he's the guy is that what happened? no not yet

26:01Rich Eisen:not that you're He's well-versed on the Met Gala invite list. Right, or Vogue or anything else like that. What can I tell you? Right. So you got a sense from him that he gets it. He's sharp. Oh, yeah. Any sense from Dayball that you can share about any plans to get inside here? No, all Brian basically said was, you know, Russell Wilson is my opening day starter. We're going with Russell Wilson. No. He doesn't want to put Wilson in a position where he's going, hey, either play well or I'm bringing the new guy. You can't do that as a coach. Now, what he's thinking on the inside is different, but he's not going to say it on the outside.

26:36Rich Eisen:I think he's going to have to take a temperature of the locker room. You know what I mean? Like, again, we always read in to sideline conversations. Body language. Right, and body language. But as my crack coordinator producer, Mike Hoskins, just got in my ear and said, Dayball, during this conversation, said it's Russ in Dallas. He's getting the start. Oh, yeah. So it's definitely Russ's gig for week two against Dallas Cowboys. I mean, the offensive line was terrible yesterday for the Giants. I mean, Russ had no time. No time to set up, throw, the whole thing. And Malik Nabors. That's where I was going with the sideline conversation.

27:18He didn't play at all during preseason, so they weren't necessarily on the same page. But that's a risky move for a coach to make in week two. It is. I mean, you've gone one way in training camp now. What am I going to do? And then how do you ever bring – do you bring Rush back if Dart doesn't make it? A lot of things get factored into this right now.

27:43Rich Eisen:Well, I'll tell you what. The sledding gets only tougher. You look at the Giants' schedule after this week's game, as we mentioned, against the Dallas Cowboys. Then they're on Monday night football with their home opener against the Chiefs. I don't know if that's where you throw Jackson Dart out there. Probably not. And then you got the Giants after that, home for the Chargers, who looked terrific in Brazil. They looked absolutely terrific. They've got a killer schedule. Killer. Right. So then they're at New Orleans before your game on prime video. I don't know if you're going to make a move. Yep.

28:18Rich Eisen:You're certainly not going to do it without a short week. I wouldn't think so. So for him to get and be somebody you're calling his game, something's going to have to happen over the next three weeks against some very difficult opponents. No question. No question. But again, that offensive line's got to play better. And then, you know, the minus Thomas, the left tackle, he's still out. That hurts. Right. So Al Michaels is here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-RICH. Number to dial with our phone conversations throughout the rest of the program. Then you've got, let me just check out the rest of the schedule.

28:51Rich Eisen:Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. I mean, that's a massive game. That's in week seven. Right. And then another per diem game, Minnesota at the Chargers. That'll be J.J. McCarthy taking on his old coach. Yes. All of us Michigan Wolverines will be definitely tuned into that. And then Baltimore at Miami in week nine. What's, I guess, your philosophy about a bad week one loss, how long it lasts? I mean, when it all comes down to it, there's still 16 more games to go, or does it linger in your estimation? Well, I mean, Miami's loss yesterday was really bad. Right. You go into Indianapolis and just get your head handed to you.

29:29It's not like going into Kansas City or something. We'll see. But the great thing about the NFL is a team can look so terrible one week and so great the next week. So I don't put anything past anybody right now.

29:43Rich Eisen:I once upon a time heard Marv, who is my – Marv Allard? Yeah, I mean, he's the guy. He's part of the reason why I do what I do for a living growing up in New York City. He would always say whenever there was a blowout in an NBA playoff game, it's a series. It just means nothing. Two days later, here you go. It absolutely means nothing. Just throw it out. And I'm just wondering if that's what a week one bad loss can be in the NFL. You hope it is if you're the team that suffered the bad loss. Did you ever do anything specifically with Marv back in the day? We did boxing in like 2015 and 16. That's the first time you did anything with Marv?

30:22Yeah, Marv and I, we've known each other, but he was always at NBC and I was at ABC. And then he went over to Turner and I go to NBC at that point. But no, Marv would come out here quite often for dinner. We'd have dinner, Linda and I, with Heather and Marv. So we shared a lot. We were both Brooklyn kids. Right. We loved hockey, among other things. So Vin Scully was your guy, collectively. No question. That's it. For baseball. So Marv's my guy and Vin was yours? And Kurt Gowdy, the two of them, yes.

30:53Rich Eisen:So you call in with Kurt Gowdy. It must have been unbelievable for you. Incredible. No kidding. And Kurt was really kind of a mentor for me for many years. What would he tell you? What did you learn from Kurt Gowdy? Kurt, when I was a kid at Arizona State, I took a tape machine. The Red Sox. He was doing the Red Sox, and they were training in Scottsdale. Yeah. And I called him up out of the blue. And I said, hey, Mr. Gowdy, can I come over and have you listen to my tape? Sure. And he and I sat there for half an hour, and that's the way it began. Then we're doing the World Series together in 1972 and the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.

31:29It was the all-time dream come true for me.

31:32Rich Eisen:And when you were at Arizona State, were you calling Reggie Jackson games? Yes, I was. Yeah, I went to school. Sal Bando was my classmate, and then Rick Munday came along the following year, and then Reggie came the following year. Was Reggie Reggie at Arizona State? It was obvious, or no? A little different. What do you mean? I mean, well, no, Reggie also played football. Reggie was the starting cornerback as a sophomore for Frank Cush. So he played both sports. But of the three, I thought that Monday was the most talented player. Rick Monday. Rick, yeah. And Rick had a great career, too. And then, you know, and Bando.

32:07So Bando and I meet in a registration line as freshmen at 17 years old with two kids in a registration line talking about our dreams. Ten years later, when I'm doing the World Series, who are we playing? The A's. The A's. Who do I run into in the clubhouse when the A's come to town to work out the day before? Sal. We looked at each other going, what? Where are we? Right. And Reggie was on that team, too. Well, Reggie had pulled his hamstring by stealing home in the playoffs against Detroit, and Rick had already been traded to Chicago.

32:41Rich Eisen:Crazy stuff, man. Oh, Michaels. Before I let you go, I would be remiss if I did not ask you about Ken Dryden, who just recently passed away. And Ken was your broadcasting partner for the Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. He was sitting next to you when you started talking about believing in miracles. So I give you the floor on the passing of Ken Dryden. That was a dagger. I had no idea that was coming, and that hit me like a sledgehammer the other day. Ken was so... If anybody wants to read about Ken, on NHL.com, I think the writer's name is Dave Stubbs, wrote a piece the other day that just summed Ken up perfectly.

33:23Ken was so many things. Don't forget, Ken had a tremendous Hall of Fame career, but he only played like eight seasons for the Montreal Canadiens. That's it? Eight. He won five Vezina trophies, best goalie in the league, six Stanley Cups, retired at 32 because he had a million other things he wanted to do among the he was in parliament he wrote books in 1984 when you know this is four years after Lake Placid he'd already retired we'd already we'd already done the the Olympics in 80 I was over in London with my family covering something for wide world of sports we went to visit Ken he was studying at Cambridge He went to McGill University.

34:03The day after the U.S. had beaten West Germany on a Wednesday in Lake Placid with the Soviet game to come 48 hours later, Ken got picked up in a car and driven to Ottawa, a three-hour drive, to take the bar exam the day before the Soviet game. Took the bar exam, clearly passed. I think he was probably number one in the class. got taken. He passed the bar exam in the middle of the Olympics. He was in Parliament. Ken probably could have been the Prime Minister of Canada, but he got disillusioned with the way the government was being run at that time. So, you know, very similar to what we're hearing about a lot of situations in a lot of countries right now.

34:53Ken was as thoughtful as anybody I've ever met and I'll tell you, you know Rich we always throw around the phrase Renaissance man too much I mean if somebody reads three books he's a Renaissance man Ken Dryden was a Renaissance man knew a lot about everything but everything was very he was very mild-mannered and don't forget he was 6 '4 and he wore glasses and I always, when I was with him It was like being with a professor. I'm with a professor who needs a pipe, slippers, and a dog at his feet. And this was probably the greatest goalie in the history of the National Hockey League. You know, you miss people when they're gone.

35:35Rich Eisen:I really, I'm really going to miss him. Well, my condolences on that. And is there a story once you took the headsets off after the U.S. beat the Soviets and it's just the two of you in that booth? I mean, is there like the first person you spoke to right as soon as you drop that line and you take the headsets off? There's Ken Dryden. Well, we didn't quite take the headsets off because I think Jim Lampley went to interview Herb Brooks afterwards. Now, you have to understand, as the crowd is filing out, there's another crowd filing in because Sweden is going to meet Finland in the other what amounts to semifinal games in the medal round.

36:15So in those years, it's not like it is right now. we were going to play the U.S.-Soviet game, which we did on delay at 8 o 'clock Eastern. That's right. But Rune Arledge was so afraid that if there was a malfunction with the tape machine, where were we going to go? The only other event that night was Sweden-Finland. So Ken and I were made to stay there and announce the Sweden-Finland game into a tape machine. And that's how we spent the next two and a half hours.

36:45Rich Eisen:Right after that game. Correct. You're not going back to the hotel to just download? Not yet. But that game was seen by nobody? By nobody. Was it ever seen by anybody? Yeah, if you were in Stockholm. Well, Sankey, I'm sure you've got a big audience back there. But I guess before that, did you have a moment with Ken Dryden going, that was the most incredible thing I think I've ever seen or talked about? I think we knew it. Well, yeah, it took later on. I mean, through the years. Of course. Some of the most wonderful conversations I've had. And Kenny and I would talk maybe two or three times a year.

37:18Look at that picture that's up there. Oh, yeah, look at that. How about that wardrobe, huh? Tell me you've got the sweater somewhere still, dude. You know, I think that sweater is somewhere around. Oh, my gosh. But Ken was, when I first met him in Moscow, we went over to scout the teams before the Olympics in late 79. And I'm sitting with him the first night we meet. We're having dinner. and he talked to me about the difference between international hockey, which he had played in addition to the National Hockey League brand, 85 feet wide, NHL versus 100 feet wide, international. And Ken went through about a five or six-minute dissertation, beautifully orated, explained everything about it.

38:01And then Ken looked at me and he said, now do you think this is something that the American audience would be interested in? I said, Ken, yes. But let me introduce you to the world of broadcasting. Can you get that down to eight seconds? And by the way, he had never done analysis or broadcasting before. He was phenomenal during Lake Placid. Renaissance man. Renaissance man. True. True.

38:29Rich Eisen:You're the man, Al. We're so blessed that you give us so much time, and you're always the best. I can't wait to listen to you at the microphone for yet another football season. 40th year, huh? Calling the NFL games? 40th year. 40th year. Unbelievable. I'll hear you from all over the world, right? Coming down the line? Yep, absolutely. And I'll tell you what tree it is or how many seasons it is. I'm always there for you. I'm always there for you. Never buy a nice machine, though. That's all. No, no, no. You remember that one, don't you? Stay away from that elevator. Michael, everybody check him and Kirk Herbstreet.

39:06Rich Eisen:and the rest of the Amazon Prime Video crew for another terrific season of football starting this Thursday on Prime Video with the Commanders and the Green Bay Packers. Safe journey on air, Al, sir. Thank you, sir. We are back with more and your phone calls in a full hour still to come on the show. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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40:13Rich Eisen:The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE-certified master technicians. Ask for an O 'Reilly Veriscan today. We're on ESPN Radio, presented by Progressive Insurance. 844-204-RICH. Number to dial. Where are we going to go here? Where are we going here? Let's go to Christian in Los Angeles. We'll take your phone call. What's up, Christian? How are you right here in Los Angeles, California? What's going on? Rich, my man. Huge fan of the show. Thank you. Glad to be on. Just want to talk about the performance of Justin Herbert on Friday night. Yes, sir. Man, I'm a lifelong Chargers fan, born and raised.

40:55And I can confidently say I think that was Herbert's best performance I think I've seen in the six years he's been in the league now. So what was that like for you to see him come up clutch on a national stage and for you to see that against our rival, the Chiefs, too?

41:15Rich Eisen:Well, I'm going to just say this. It was beyond impressive. He was letter perfect. I don't recall anything that he did that was off. He was from start to finish in full control, and he was without a doubt supported in a way that can make him the MVP of this league. Everything that – honestly, thanks for the call, Christian. You know, I know a lot of people are having their fun. Who is more responsible for Justin Herbert's emergence? Jim Harbaugh or Madison Beer, right? Yeah, it's the latter. Okay, thank you. I know everyone's having fun with that. But. So you're saying this beer, Chris? Dude, I'm just saying, you know, my guy Jim, if I may say, people think he's just crazy.

42:10Rich Eisen:Well, I mean. Well, I know. There's a lot of evidence. You know what I understand? where he was talking about, you know, sitting here on our set, woke up the other night, I got to get this guy to the hall. And everyone's like, all right, Jim. And he's just like, you know what? I mean, he's kooky. Or he says across the street at his press conference, you know, where the Chargers train, you know what? We just got to all play up to his level. The rest of us, like, I've got to make sure everybody plays up to his level. and you know you think that's just cookie and the entire time you know we spoke to I asked that of Herbert in the pre broadcast zoom that we had with the Chargers and he said when he heard those things he's just like you know what I just want to make him proud is what he said that's what Herbert said about Jim I just want to make him proud which sounds like you know father-son type stuff, right?

43:12Rich Eisen:And sometimes it's just like, what is Harbaugh's secret sauce? If you ask Jim, he'll never give you a straight answer. Ever. Ever. I mean, because he keeps it simple. At one point, we asked him in the pre-broadcast Zoom about what it is about communicating with people. How does it work? He's now 6-0 in his career in week one. He's never been 0-1 as a professional football coach, ever. And he said basically, because when you ask him what's your secret sauce, he says, I love football. And that's what he says. He goes, I love football. And you're like, okay. And he goes, I love football. And I love people who love football.

43:59And, you know, I think, you know, they love me back because we love football.

44:04Rich Eisen:That's what he said. And again, your reaction, just think there, Chris. It's just like, all right, whatever. But he keeps it simple. He keeps it simple. It's direct and simple, and it works. Get good coaches around you. Come up with a good game plan. Good Greg Groman, Jesse Minter. Those are the two coordinators. Well, whatever he's got, he's got it. He's literally won everywhere he's been. San Diego, Stanford. He goes to San Francisco, and they almost win the Super Bowl. He goes to Michigan, and now he's here in Los Angeles. I mean, the guy is just an absolute ball coach of the highest order.

44:42Rich Eisen:And Herbert with 300 pass yards and three touchdowns. And by the way, over 30 attempts, and they were throwing it, man. Maybe you were like, hey, why are they throwing it here? That's right. And I would turn to Kurt during the commercial break. I'm like, they're winging it around, Kurt. They keep throwing it because they got a guy who can do it. And most importantly, this is what's most important for the Chargers. It's not just Ladidi and Quentin Johnston trying to figure out, you know, how to flip the light switch. They got Keenan Allen back now. Those running backs are improved. And they got Joe Alt.

45:21Hey, Rashawn Slater out for the year.

45:24Rich Eisen:Highest paid tackle. Let's just take the kid with 33 starts at left tackle at Notre Dame that we drafted fifth overall as Jim's first draft pick. and let's just move him from right to left and let's see how it all works. And guess what? Looked pretty good. Derwin James is out of his skull. Khalil Mack is, you know, on his way to Canton, arguably. Hey, man, the Chargers with a big, huge dub in Brazil. Flying 11 and a half hours going down there. And by the way, the same stuff kept happening. There's Mahomes to Kelsey, which is nightmare fuel for Charger fans. Happens all the time. Here comes an opportunity for Mahomes to get the ball back with no timeouts in almost two minutes to try and win the game with no time left.

46:11Rich Eisen:Justin Herbert pops out. Iced it. And iced it. Chris Jones took a terrible path, and he took advantage of Chris Jones' overplay in his hand, and he slid down in bounds. Letter. Perfect. Full command. Man, there wasn't a single moment where I'm calling this game. I'm like, Herbert doesn't know what he's doing. They're not in control here. I mean, the one time is when O'Marrion Hampton ran out of bounds when the Chiefs had no timeouts left. Left some time left, and that led to the Butker fire drill. 59-yarder with no time left in the first half. It gave the Chiefs an opportunity for three points.

46:51Rich Eisen:And after the game, Jim took responsibility saying, we put the kid in that position by running him right. closer to the out-of-bounds mark. Great first week for the L.A. Chargers. Just a great first week. I mean, you know, our caller wants to know what I thought. That's what I thought, and that's what I saw with my O2 eyes. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment? You bet! What records are going to be broken this season?

47:34Rich Eisen:All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.