Hour 2: Bills’ Super Bowl Chances, Ben Johnson’s Matt LaFleur Beef, Indiana vs Miami Anticipation

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24:13Rich Eisen:Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial here on the program. Let's go. Where are we going to go on this one? Let's take a phone call here. Let's go to Masab in Chicago, Illinois. Okay, bud, I see you. What's going on? What's up, Rich? What's on? You're good? You come down yet? What do you think? I'm amazing. I'm fantastic. I'm just elated. All right? Yes. But I want to just remind you that I didn't forget a few weeks ago when you said, it's a realistic chance that the Bears missed the playoffs altogether. It was. All right? It was a realistic chance, but if you believed in us and you thought we were legit.

25:01Rich Eisen:But it's not my job to believe in you. You know what I mean? It's not my job. As a fan, it's your fandom to believe in your team. And I understand that. But I have a set of eyes and decades of experience to basically sit here and say, it's a tough way to keep winning football games. And there are some times when I saw a team that struggles quite a bit and could be beaten that kept on coming back and showing a true grit. And they're now three wins away from giving you the parade of your life. so I think I had every right to question them at the time. The main thing, though, the main thing I want to talk about is that Ben Johnson saying, ask the Packers and ask them and stuff like that, I love that.

25:49I feel like everyone is overreacting because if he came out and he showed respect and everything like that, as a Bears fan, I don't want that. I want you to hate the Packers just as much as me. I want to feel it from you that you have a hate and a disdained hate for this team just as much as I do just as much as your fans do and for him to be saying that posting on social media and stuff like that from the Bears account I feel like it just jolted up the fan base even more than we are and people are just looking at this in a way where if he had said F Matt LaFleur or something like that put a name to it, then it would be, okay, you're doing too much.

26:34But the organization, the Packers, as a base, you know, yeah, the Bears should feel like, yeah, ask the Packers every time we see them.

26:46Rich Eisen:And, Masav, I totally hear you, and I appreciate your fandom and callback. Go for it. Certainly after next week when you could be potentially hosting an NFC Championship game or heading off to Seattle for a big-time contest, either one. But taking on a Rams team that is pretty terrific in its own right with Matthew Stafford having experience in that building, it's kind of crazy. Let's hit this subject matter here since Masab just brought it up. The conversation about the rivalry and the Packers and the Packers, and he did say, like, if he said F Matt LaFleur, then he'd have a problem he said he's f the packers is what he said in his post game um um locker room that the bears moment posted that the bears all five minutes he says f the packer whatever listen he did use matt lafleur's name the first time he took the podium and the first time he took the podium he said it's it was great to beat matt lafleur twice a year and and and again And when you get the job in Chicago, Lovie Smith did it as well.

27:58Rich Eisen:You throw out the red meat to the fans to basically say, I know Favre and Rogers have kicked your ass for a very long time. Okay. And I'm coming here to reverse that course. I'm coming here to say what you want to hear. And I'm coming here to affect what you want to have happen, which is to beat the Packers. Now you could say, why are you obsessed with the Packers? Because at the time, for sure, you weren't going through the Lions and the Vikings until Favre went there to get to the NFC North Championship and to get to the NFC Championship and get to the Super Bowl. You pretty much had to go through the Packers.

28:43Rich Eisen:Made total and complete sense in that regard. And so Ben Johnson wanted to come into Chicago and start laying down the markers about the way he's going to go about his business. and sent that out there, and then they go 0-2 to start, and then 0-2 to finish. The good news there is that they went 11-2 in between. All of that. And did beat the Packers in that 11-2 stretch, to the point where you had an opportunity to win the division, and you did. And that felt great for Bears fans, and I totally understand him doing all of that. I don't know what his personal animus is towards Matt LaFleur, unless LaFleur is the avatar for him to have, you know, he's the avatar for the Packers, so therefore he just doesn't like him to begin with.

29:39Rich Eisen:Be that as it may, whatever you got to do to get that parade, you do it. Just know that this stuff is like a boomerang sometimes, and it can come back on you. It's just not going to come back on him this year, and it's going to set things up for the future of a rivalry that I think he kind of digs that he's personally stoking. He talked today about what he said, F the Packers to the team after figuratively doing that. Like I said before, there's a rivalry that exists between these two teams, something that I fully recognize and I'm a part of. And, yeah, I mean, I just don't like that team. So George and I have talked and we're on the same page.

30:23Rich Eisen:So, you know, he's George. I believe that's McCaskey he's referring to, the owner of the Bears, or the principal owner of the Chicago Bears, who's a delightful human. And listen, this is exactly what Bears fans want to hear. It's an audience of one. And it's the fans of the Chicago Bears. No doubt. And he's doing it. They're sick and tired of having their heads beaten in. And, you know, they don't. After Rodgers beating their heads in over and over and over again, and he actually screams at them, I own you. It's going to leave a vicious nastiness within you that you want to have somebody come in and bring out of you in the form of wins.

31:12Rich Eisen:And Ben Johnson's done that. He was asked. Now, it's just, again, the quick handshakes and stuff like that, I look at that and I'm like, can we just at least make an example of, because there are people watching. There are children watching. Like, are we really just going to touch hands and just walk away? I mean, although we could go on and on and on about this handshake business and how the NFL does it. Do they have to do it at all? No, it's just because I kind of dig it. I like it. I like it in the same way, in the same way that I love it in hockey. After there's a seven game series and all the blood and the guts have been spilled and it's nasty and it was nasty and people are losing teeth, literally that they go through a handshake line.

31:59Rich Eisen:And how many people are like tweeting that stuff out saying this is what makes hockey great. There's a handshake line. And that's why I kind of dig it in college basketball. Also in the NBA, they're just like sometimes I'll just wave. Phil Jackson would just be halfway up the tunnel. Yeah, he's got back in the day when the Chicago team was kicking everybody's ass there, too. So he was asked if there's something personal with him in the floor. This is a rivalry, and the city of Chicago, Green Bay, it needs to be a rivalry. I don't know what the answer is there. Just put this away, file it away for the two times, maybe three times they play next year.

32:38Rich Eisen:And this is just the way he's wired, man. He's just wired this way. And after a game when you're locked in and he's, you know, he just stands there. He doesn't make it for a guy. As soon as it's over, he's nuts. But during the game, nothing. Nothing. And you know what Bears fans are thinking? We don't care. Good, better, best. We're getting free wiener circle dogs over and over again. We're hosting a divisional playoff game. we can go to the NFC championship game. We can win the whole damn thing. Yep. And we were wondering if he was the right guy and if he's going to bring anything out of Caleb and what's happening that.

33:24Rich Eisen:And Packers fans probably don't like it at all. 100%. I just, I look at it and I'm just like wondering sometimes like with the handshake, like what's his malfunction? Like what's your deal, bro? Right. Isn't that what Pete once said to Jim? Big What's Your Deal bro vibes. Right. You know what I mean? There's a lot of What's Your Deal bro vibes. But guess who won a lot was Jim. And guess who's winning right now? Ben. Yep. 844-204-RICH. Number dial Terzo in Iowa. What's up, Terzo? How you doing, brother? Talk your smack, Terzo. Having a problem with the phone system. Uh-oh, Mike. Are we having a problem with the phone system, Mike?

34:04Rich Eisen:There we go. Number three. There we go. What's up? What's up, Terzo? Hey, bud. Hey. What up, guys? Hey, man. And before I get to the rubber match with the sea chickens, we've got to talk about that game. That was an impressive win by this Niner team. I knew the longer that they stuck around and the Eagles just kept leaving us be, we were going to be able to pull that out. You know, my heart goes out to George Kittle, man. That was brutal to see. I will chip in and throw in on a bottle of tequila with you, Rich, to send to him because that one broke my heart as well. It just seems like we can't get past it.

34:43But this team, they're resilient, and they come together, and they played as if he was still in the game.

34:51Rich Eisen:Hey, dude, your team just keeps on ticking, and I know you keep calling them the sea chickens. You're having a lot of fun with that, but they are stout. They're rested. They're coached well. They are deep at many positions. I cannot wait to watch this game. The one thing I would be upset about if I'm a Niner fan is, for some reason, the NFL is popping you on a Saturday against them. Yeah. And, you know, I don't have the answer for you other than the fact, you know, and so you're going to have a short week. You're going to have a short week against Seattle, which has just had a long week. And that's happened to us for the past four weeks, it feels like, because we went from the Monday night to a Sunday and then back to a Saturday.

35:36and then they're doing it to us again. I saw that and I was just like, come on, man. Give us the extra day, especially when we're going against a team that had that week off. I'm a little upset about that, but like I always say in these rubber matches for in-division teams, man, anything can happen. The reason we call them sea chickens is because they lay eggs, my dude.

35:59Rich Eisen:Thank you, sir. That's Terzo in Iowa, everybody. um yeah the only the only reason why i could think of that the um that the uh nfl did this um is because chicago is market three and los angeles is market two and i mean that's gonna be a fox game fox had the late window on sunday usually they they reverse it so so that would mean CBS needs a late window game um would would Texans Patriots be that late window game leading to the Sunday nighter I guess um you know unless because I don't know if they're going to put the Patriots on NBC again and I don't know again ESPN's got a game I don't know how they're going to split this thing up but if I'm the Niners just like come on but it's just part and parcel of everything.

36:54Rich Eisen:It's been one big one big, to use a Jeff Garland phrase, one big bowl of come on and they're now a Final Four team in the NFC, in the arguably toughest conference in football. 844-204-RICH, number to dial right here. We've hardly even spoken about the Patriots and the Chargers or the Rams and the Panthers. That will change over the final hour and 20 minutes of this Monday edition of the Rich Eyes Show. We'll also hit Indiana football. The same way that Indiana football keeps hitting people.

37:27Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show. The podcast.

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38:37Rich Eisen:As you all know, I care deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness. That's why I'm proud to talk about Hyundai Hope on Wheels. for over 27 years. Every Hyundai sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research together with over 850 dealers nationwide. They've raised more than$277 million, supporting over 25 ,000 kids in their fight against cancer. At Hyundai, hope isn't optional. It comes standard. Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more. 844-204-RICH, number to dial. We'll get your call in a second. I said on that. Listen, I keep on talking about all the stuff that I didn't get right.

39:16Rich Eisen:Let me just get something kind of that I got right. Although I think I whiffed on the what's more likely you said the larger margin of difference. Any of the wild card games this weekend or the Indiana Oregon final. Right. And I chose the wild card, a wild card game to be a blowout. That didn't happen. Just turned out to be the closest weekend in the history of wild card. So maybe I manifested that. I think Indiana just scored again. Yeah. Well, I should have just relied on my opinion of Indiana for the last few weeks, which is they are a wagon and they are the bullies of college football. They are just – now, I understand that bullies are weak at its center, so I guess I need to come up with a different phrase.

40:00Rich Eisen:They are the best in college football, and they have a head coach and a quarterback and a team that is, I guess you could say, as close to a professional football team as you can see, certainly because they have a similar age of a football team. Right? They got a bunch of OGs there. This kid, Fernando Mendoza, his accuracy is something else. Like, he puts the ball where only his guy can get it, whether it's to high point or a back shoulder or something. to lead him to the sideline to make sure that the defender that is draped all over him can't get him. He's locked in. And he's just such a guy to root for, too.

40:50Rich Eisen:Every time he speaks, it's like a throwback to the 50s, right? Where he's just like, gosh, gee, willikers. That's why it's hard when you use the bully phrase. You think about him and he's as far from a bully as it is. So I think we do have to come up with it. Well, he's just the best. He's the Heisman Trophy winner, and he's terrific, and it looks like he's going to be the first overall pick. I love watching his parents celebrate him. Do you notice his dad never stands to celebrate? Do you notice that? Yeah. You know why? Yeah. Because his mom's in a wheelchair. Yeah, she has a nice. Oh. Yep. Wow.

41:21Rich Eisen:And so he sits and celebrates with her. With her, yeah. I'm falling in love with the family. Falling in love with the kid, with the family. and whoever gets him is going to be lucky. Well, I think it's going to be the Raiders. Yeah, it's probably not exactly the Vegas personality type. Well, but excuse me, if you are somebody who runs the Las Vegas Raiders and you operate in a city like Las Vegas, I want somebody who I know is going home. Yeah, you're not going to get a phone call. Yeah, guess who's raving? I'd rather rave about him than going to race. You know what I mean? You call him at four in the morning, it's going right to voicemail.

42:03Rich Eisen:It's going right. Because he's sleeping. Or he might be up watching tape. Watching film, right? Or getting ready to come to work. Yeah, true that. Yes. To be the first in the building. But he ain't going to be at the slot machine. I mean, in all honesty, honestly, where's the one city, a game took place this year, where two star athletes didn't participate in the first series for their team, and we were wondering why? I mean, I don't know. Well, you got to bring old stuff up. The city of Las Vegas, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were standing there watching. We're wondering, what's up with that?

42:38Rich Eisen:Oh, they got in the game. For sure. They played, and they won. And one of them wound up on the old pro list, too. But at any rate, yeah, man. That's who you want. Yeah. I mean, he'd be perfect for Vegas. That's exactly who I want if I'm in charge there. But at any rate, Indiana taking on Miami, it's just going to be a total blast. I mean, Miami is a stout team in its own right, okay, with a head coach that is barking out orders also and is a tough team in the trenches. And you could make the case this kid Tony is the most electric player in the national championship game by far, and it's going to be what a 17 year old against the people who are like in their mid-20s some of them yeah seems like you know 23 right so uh it's and and it's a home game for miami and indiana has all of these uh alums to the point you see cuban is is posting like hey can somebody tell me about these secondary tickets why they're through the roof then i saw connor stallions respond and i'm I'm like, come on, man.

43:55Rich Eisen:I know about tickets. It's just like, get out of here. He's probably got a guy, right? He's got a guy. Yeah, he's a guy. You'd think Cuban would have enough. But at any rate, I mean, it's going to be a fun matchup. And all Miami is going to hear between now and next Monday is they're going to get steamrolled. And I'm sure that. Eight and a half point dogs. I'm sure the coach is going to talk it up. It's their home stadium. Yeah. It's their home stadium. can't wait for it but indiana is a wagon they just they just so they took the lead on a pick six to start and then oregon ties the game and honestly nobody in case you're wondering how that suddenly happened for oregon nobody can affect a change of momentum quite like chris Brockman prematurely texting the group that game's over.

44:47Did you really? Was I wrong this weekend about any of those?

44:52Rich Eisen:At the end of the day, the game wasn't close. Thank you. You know, the game wasn't close. You declared the Rams game over after Carolina, you know. Said that was done. Turned it over on downs in their own end. You were wrong about that. No, no, no. You said the game was over. The Rams won the game. The Rams won the game. But no, in case, if you're sitting at home wondering, how did that just happen in a game when momentum just switched? Just know that Brockman has texted saying the game's over. Just know that. Somewhere. I also had Panthers plus 10.5. That's odd that it would be gambling related.

45:25Also, the get-in price for this national championship game, have you seen this? It's through the roof. $3 ,400 is the cheapest ticket. That's like Super Bowl. Getting into a Super Bowl. $35 ,000. Jeez. $3 ,500. You sure you got this number?

45:40Rich Eisen:No, he does not. 3 ,000. I said 335. A 35, I agree. A 35, 35. He's just starting with, it's almost like a numerical eye chart. I was going to say 25, 6 to 4, but I didn't say it. It's a numerical eye chart. He's just throwing out numbers. You guys knew what I meant. 5, 6, 9, 9, 3. We really didn't. He almost gave out Jenny's number. You know how much it is to get in the game? 8, 6, 7, 5, 3, 0, 9. Boom. Okay. You guys, idiots. You're the idiot I am. What are we doing? It's the truth. I am. I accept it. At any rate, it's expensive. It's expensive. That's all I'm saying. It's expensive. You're fighting it, Mikey.

46:21I know, right? I can't. I'm just turning my mic off. Bye. Don't do that. It's all good.

46:27Rich Eisen:I'm here for comic amusement. It's all good. That's a fun college football matchup between the one seed and the ten seed. A lot of people shouldn't have gotten in at all. And they made it. Irv will be there with his belt. Oh, God, Irv. He'll be there with his belt. And Edgerton will be there. And Andre Johnson will be there. And Ray will be there. And Cuban will be there. I wonder if Joe Buck's going to be there. He should. He'll be done. Come on, Joe. You've got to go to this one. National Championship game for the Indiana Hoosiers. And their alumni are going to step up. The best in the sport right now.

47:03Rich Eisen:They are. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. Monster Energy. Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG. It kicked off this whole zero sugar energy drink thing. But Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian, Sunrise, and Vice Guava. And they all bring the monster energy punch. So if you've been living in the white can, branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe. And every single one is zero sugar. Tap the banner to learn more.