Hour 2:  ESPN’s Marcus Spears Talks NFC West, Bengals, Chargers, Eagles, Caleb, LSU & More

21 Sep 2026 · 47 min · 12 chapters

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In short

NFL and college football analysis ahead of Monday Night Football, focusing on NFC West contenders, AFC early-season teams, and key game/coach storylines; includes discussion of the Browns, Eagles, NFC North, and LSU football.

Guest backgrounds

Marcus Spears is an ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL defensive player (noted for defensive insight and player/strategy evaluation).

Key claims

A fully healthy San Francisco 49ers are the best NFC bet to reach the Super Bowl; Seattle’s Mike Macdonald is driving a championship-caliber defensive mentality; Cincinnati’s defense makes the Bengals the AFC team to bet on long-term; the Chargers look “discombobulated” offensively and have blown-coverage issues; Philadelphia should be cautiously optimistic despite offensive-line concerns; Detroit’s defensive communication/assignment problems are hurting them; Houston’s one-dimensional offense (too many CJ Stroud passes) is the biggest concern.

Notable examples

Stingley’s LSU-on-LSU style coverage on a Jamar Chase catch; Seahawks holding Arizona to 151 yards; Chargers’ blown coverages and “too many men” timeout mistake; LSU needing better pocket quarterback play (Leavitt) vs Ole Miss.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Analyzing NFC West Teams

2:17 to 10:00

Marcus Spears discusses the performance of NFC West teams and their potential.

“We're all getting set for Monday Night Football tonight, just up the road in SoFi Stadium.”

Examining AFC Teams and Playoff Potential

10:00 to 14:00

Discussion on the performance of AFC teams including the Bengals, Bills, and Chargers.

“Yeah, that's when you'll be back here in Los Angeles.”

Week Two NFL Insights

14:00 to 19:06

Discussion on NFL teams' performances, focusing on the Bengals and Chargers.

“But the Bills looked like a wagon, and the Chiefs looked like the Chiefs.”

Authenticity and Coaching Perspectives

21:53 to 28:00

Discussion about authentic coaching messages and the Browns' performance.

“You got some people that the camera come on, you know, the world loves them, and then they ask the camera.”

Philadelphia Eagles' Season Outlook

28:00 to 28:30

Discussion on the Eagles' performance and expectations for the season.

“Last year they played a lot without their five guys, especially Lane.”

Analysis of the NFC North

28:30 to 30:20

Insights on the NFC North division and key players like Caleb Williams.

“And it ain't like it's world beaters in the NFC East right now.”

Detroit Lions' Defensive Struggles

30:20 to 32:30

Examination of the Lions' defensive issues and their impact on the team.

“because we know his movement is a big part of what makes that offense devastating.”

Concerns for the Houston Texans

32:30 to 34:10

Discussion about the Texans' struggles and lack of a running game.

“and I just don't see it happening for them.”

Preview of LSU vs. Ole Miss

34:10 to 38:00

Insight into the upcoming college football game and player performances.

“That defense actually played a really good game in Houston.”

Aaron Donald's Return Impact

38:00 to 41:50

Analysis of how Aaron Donald's return will affect the Rams' defense.

“I just thought I'd probably be more in, like, the competitive mode, you know, and just kind of embrace it.”
Show all 12 chapters

Casual Banter Before Calls

42:00 to 42:30

Hosts engage in light conversation about ice cream and Twitter issues.

“But in the meantime, enjoy the double fisted green room, man.”

Listener Call: Chargers' Struggles

43:33 to 47:18

A caller expresses frustration about the Chargers' performance and seeks advice.

“Running a small business means every hire matters.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Rich Eisen:Hey, let's chat about choosing the best tool for the job. When the pressure's on, you find out what's really built for the moment. That's true late in the fourth quarter of a big game. And it's true when there's work to get done on a deadline. On the job site, conditions change. The clock keeps moving. And the tools you reach for have to be ready to handle it again and again. That's why DeWalt tests its tools under real world conditions that push even the best tools to their limit. Only then does a tool earn the DeWalt. So when the pressure is high and the work needs to get done, DeWalt tools are built to perform, built to last, and built to finish strong.

0:39Rich Eisen:DeWalt, guaranteed tough. Available at the Home Depot. How doers get more done. This Friday, return to theaters for Avengers Endgame Encore. I know I said no more surprises, but I was really hoping to pull off one last one. Reassemble the team. Six stones. Three teams. One shot. Relive the experience. You mess with time. Time tends to mess back. The story continues. Tony, this is a second chance. Don't miss Marvel Studios, Avengers Endgame Encore,

1:12Marcus Spears:early theaters Friday. Get tickets now. Rated PG-13. Maybe inappropriate for children at 13.

1:16Rich Eisen: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. Miss 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 Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show.

1:46Marcus Spears:The Browns go to one and one.

1:49Rich Eisen:Browns are going to Browns.

1:51Marcus Spears:This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, I'm glad that I can still motivate, although I'm not coaching anymore.

1:58Rich Eisen:Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

2:02Marcus Spears:Today's guests, ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears.

2:08Rich Eisen:Plus, your phone calls, latest news, and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app. We're all getting set for Monday Night Football tonight, just up the road in SoFi Stadium. It feels like three years since the Rams last played a football game, but they're going to finally play one tonight against the Giants team that looked terrific in week number one. We'll see what happens on ESPN, ABC, and the family of networks. And joining us here in advance of Monday Night Countdown is he's going to be joining us every single Monday on the program, but this time he is here in person.

2:45Rich Eisen:Ladies and gentlemen, Marcus Spears is here. Look at us. Look at us together. My hat says happy.

2:51Marcus Spears:It does stay happy. I was so happy to get here.

2:53Rich Eisen:And you look happy. For a radio audience, you look happy. Thank you, man. Thank you for having me.

2:57Marcus Spears:How's it going here? It's amazing. I mean, I walked in. First of all, I got dropped off at the wrong entrance, which is cool. We'll work on that. Which is cool. We'll work on that for week five. Don't kill the driver. He's fine. Okay. But then when I got into the green room, Rich, you got a lot of snacks in that green room. And by the looks of me, you know I like the snacks. Yes, sir. The other thing is you have great drinks in the refrigerator. Okay. Right? So staying hydrated is very important. and I got a long day today. Okay. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than starting off.

3:25Rich Eisen:Well, by the way, roadies are fine if you want to take them. Okay. Oh, please. And the mug. Don't tell me those type of things. Yeah, the mug too. I mean, anything not nailed down. All right, yeah. We got it. Marcus Spears is here on the program. Woo! Okay, so the best team you've seen through two weeks. Oh, you know what's crazy?

3:46Marcus Spears:Through two weeks. They don't have to be 2-0, by the way. I know it. I know it. Through two weeks, a healthy San Francisco 49ers. Listen, man, the game in Australia against the Rams showed me, well, it kind of reminded me. We've been so accustomed to San Francisco losing players throughout the season. That team fully healthy is a problem now. In the NFC, and I think they got a shot to actually go to a Super Bowl if they can keep all their guys. They've been super impressive, man. And it seems like the Stinger is back on defense. Obviously, Fred Werner being back makes a ton of difference for that unit.

4:24Marcus Spears:And then offensively, they just have so many guys now. Well, they're going to need it because they aren't healthy at the receiver position. I know. I know. But, Rich, I'm telling you, man, with what they are when they have their guys, they're going to be tough out.

4:40Rich Eisen:Yeah. And in terms of their defense, Raheem Morris being the defensive coordinator, Atlanta may have done them a favor. Yeah. and cutting him loose. I've got the stat right here. 20 points allowed through their first two games, second fewest allowed in the first two games of a season in the Super Bowl era.

4:58Marcus Spears:I'm telling you, man. I'm telling you. They got to stay healthy, though. I mean, I think everybody knows it. It's not a secret. They are as talented as anybody. I think about, too, like the receiver position, right? Bringing Debo Samuel back gives you a different element to that offense, especially with Kyle Shanahan. Kyle Shanahan and Deebo Samuel is like Steve Kerr and Draymond. Draymond probably couldn't play that well for anybody else in the league. But with Steve Kerr and that system, he is going to the Hall of Fame. And then you look at Mike Edmonds, if he can stay healthy throughout this season, the red area for the San Francisco 49ers will be devastating with him, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey.

5:41Marcus Spears:the elements of this team offensively is very hard to stop with them available and then use check caught one as well it's just look and we know Kyle is going to put them in situations to take advantage of any mismatch that they have in the game that's what his calling card has been his

6:01Rich Eisen:whole career now that said um Seattle's 2-0 now yeah um with Drew Locke and Jackson Smith and Jigba is absolutely crushing it on our overreaction Monday podcast that Chris and I recorded. We were, you know, the, the subject matter was, uh, JSN through two weeks needs to be talked about, uh, as he keeps moving forward, uh, as an MVP candidate, not, not, he's already done the O P O Y, but you got to talk about certainly, um, if, if Darnold misses a couple more games too, right? Mike McDonald, to me, he's a Super Bowl champion winning head coach.

6:43Marcus Spears:But I think at this moment, we got to start talking about Mike McDonald as arguably the best coach in ball. When you think about what he was able to do last year, going in with a backup this past week, and I know it was Arizona, but Arizona just had a big win week one. And you see what they have at their disposal defensively for a long time. There is going to be a reckoning in the NFC West. I don't think the Rams are going to go quietly into the night, right? We'll see them tonight against New York to see if they fixed anything. Probably a lot has been fixed since you didn't decide to fly to Australia the same day of your game.

7:19Rich Eisen:By the way, they're arriving at SoFi the same day as the game. Yeah. You're aware of that. But they've been in the city, hopefully. Throw that in your rundown tonight.

7:28Marcus Spears:Yeah, we'll make sure they were there early. So, again, it's going to be a gauntlet. I mean, when you look at that division and you think about not only the coaches in that division, Sam Dornow obviously got to get back healthy, but Drew Locke looked fine to operate that offense. It's going to be amazing, man.

7:52Rich Eisen:And the defense, too, again, because Arizona showed in SoFi that they have weapons against the Chargers. They can. Trey McBride is as good as they come. and we're still waiting for Marv Jr. to break out. You got Michael Wilson and the kid at running back in love. The Seahawks held the Cardinals to just 151 yards of offense. They're fewest in three years. That's what they do, though. That's what they do, man.

8:17Marcus Spears:They get after it up front. The secondary is always tied together. Great communication. Think about Mike McDonald when he was with the Ravens. Right. And the year after he left, how much that defense changed. Now, I know Namdi Matabike was hurt the following year, But Namdi Matabike got a$100 million contract after playing with Mike McDonald. So I look at it like this, Rich. You have a head coach in Seattle that's a defensive guy leading a defensive unit that was already super talented, right? So the mentality of that team permeates on both sides of the football, which a little bit shocked me why they let Kenneth Walker walk out of their door because I thought he was that linchpin on offense that kind of simulated the way they like to play on defense.

9:08Marcus Spears:Now, obviously, it hadn't hurt them the first two weeks of the season. Yeah. But I think the way Mike McDonald runs his organization, his team from a mentality standpoint goes into every single week feeling like we the best team on the field. And you go back to last year. Like the Rams put up numbers against them in the playoffs. Didn't flinch. That's when the offense showed up. So they have this ability that you need as a championship football team, which is why I talked about the 49ers. All right, this unit may not be having a day. We can match it on the other side. And you got to look for teams like that early.

9:46Marcus Spears:So a lot of it is still being sorted out. But there's a couple teams where we can look at and say, yeah, they're going to have either unit come to the party every week.

9:55Rich Eisen:San Francisco at Seattle week five, by the way. That'll be great. And if I'm not mistaken, let me be sure I got that right. Yeah, that's when you'll be back here in Los Angeles. Week five finishes up with Buffalo here against the Rams. Marcus Spears on the Rich Eisen show here in person. Let's talk about the Bills and the AFC. You got the Bills 2-0, you got the Bengals 2-0, and you've got the Chiefs 2-0 and the Raiders. 2-0. You put your marker on which one to go the longest? Which one you put your marker on, Marcus Spears, right now? Cincy.

10:31Marcus Spears:Why is that? Defensively, man. Look, that offense is going to be able to score. Look, I don't want people to get this misconstrued. I got to give a public apology because I said that this was going to be the worst week to play the Houston Texans defense after coming off of what Josh Allen did to them. And if you look at the game like we do when we deep dive. Houston, Texas defense played their ass off. Like they had they had they had a majority of a great game. It's just Jamar Chase and Joe is going to get you at some point with enough opportunities. T Higgins showed up. But when you look at the other side of the ball and what Dexter Lawrence is doing in the trenches and creating everything for everybody else, that's going to be a problem for everybody to handle.

11:19Marcus Spears:Since he went out and they made a concerted effort, they said, look, we couldn't stop the run last year. We couldn't get people off the field on third down. We couldn't get our offense enough possessions with what we know about Joe Burrow and what those weapons are over there. And they went out and did it, man. I mean, you look at the amount of possessions that since he had against the Houston Texans and for as long as it took them to finally get in the end zone. And one of the touchdowns is going to be arguably one of the top five catches we've seen ever.

11:49Rich Eisen:I say this catch right here is the clubhouse leader for catch of the year and may win that such award at NFL Honors before the Super Bowl here in SoFi later on this year. What's it like to play defense and see something like that? I mean, the corner that's on him is all pro too.

12:08Marcus Spears:Right. I mean, it's LSU on LSU. Yeah, but this is what it takes at times to be a championship football team. We know the Houston Texans defense wasn't going to come out and give up 30-plus points.

12:22Rich Eisen:Right.

12:22Marcus Spears:Since he made those opportunistic plays, and then you have that other element that I talk about all the time, Rich. Sometimes it ain't X's and O's. It ain't the coach on the sideline. It's guys. And with Jamar Chase, you know it's coming. It's like sitting under a water faucet, and it ain't start running yet. But when it starts running, it's going to tap you to death and you're just going to lose your mind because at some point it's going to raise up and get you. If you look at that play, that particular catch, you cannot play better defense as a cornerback. There is no better defense other than Derrick Stingley being able to intercept the ball.

13:00Marcus Spears:In phase, in great position, and we end up with this. The man towed two inches off the out-of-bounds line. He hanging outside or out of bounds, and he holds on to that football. Because Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase has done this so many times. First of all, there's a lot of quarterbacks in the NFL that wouldn't throw that over there by Derrick Stingley. But Joe Burrow will because Jamar Chase out there.

13:26Rich Eisen:And not pictured was the stumble. Yeah. Before he located the football. Yeah. And stayed on his feet to get to that point.

13:34Marcus Spears:Listen. That was stupid. That was stupid. Yeah. That's what it was. But again, you look at that, and since he comes away with what they ended up with, 20 points in that game, kicked a 60-yard field goal at some point. But that play right there accounted for seven of it. And Houston and Seattle and the steel curtain couldn't have did a damn thing about it.

13:56Rich Eisen:Not that play. It broke a scoreless tie with three minutes to go in that first half. But the Bills looked like a wagon, and the Chiefs looked like the Chiefs. You're still taking the Bengals, right? You're putting your marker on them.

14:06Marcus Spears:Well, I can't dismiss the fact that the Chiefs gave up 30 last night. So right now, just week two. It's just week two. And the Bills gave up 30 points in each of their first two wins.

Read the full transcript

14:19Rich Eisen:So you're taking the Bengals because of their defense. Absolutely. Look at us. Look at this.

14:22Marcus Spears:We're just in week two, though.

14:23Rich Eisen:We got to, you know, things to sort out. I know that, but this is the National Football League. But I think the Bengals can score with either one of those guys. So right now you do take the defense. You're taking them. And then the team that got shocked yesterday that you're concerned about the most, the Chargers, you've got the Bucs now at 0-2, the Ravens.

14:40Marcus Spears:I'm more concerned about the Chargers than anybody. Why is that? Offensively, it looks so discombobulated. Outside of Ladd-McConkie, who are they going to count on right now? They got to figure that out. Johnson got to start playing better. Gadsden, the tight end, was playing well. He had some spurts. the guy that looked like a go-to guy in this game yesterday was Kohler, the tight end. So again, you got snap issues when you're trying to run motion across where it hits off a guy's hip. Is that the new offense? I think so. I think so. But with that, you lose to the Raiders. And more importantly, you look at the defensive side of the ball, blown coverages for touchdowns.

15:24Marcus Spears:The one in the middle of the field of Tucker, safety just bit on the underneath route. And then the touchdown at the end of Kobe, it was just a bad, blown coverage. Miscommunication. Kirk Cousins can throw the football. We all know that. Problem is, the Chargers should have known that if we shore up the secondary, we will be able to get pressure on Kirk and maybe put them in a bad way. The defensive line for the Chargers didn't play bad. They were pressuring him. They were getting around him. Secondary gave up huge plays. And then you got the Njoku drop that turns into an interception. So it's just everything that could go bad for the Chargers went bad, but they look super discombobulated on offense.

16:06Marcus Spears:That's the Hampton fumble at the end of the game.

16:08Rich Eisen:Well, this was the moment for me where I'm like, oh, God, the Chargers are really a hot mess, to be honest with you. Because with all due respect to the Raiders organization and what they have done and what they're pulling off, and what they look like in the future. A very Raiders moment where they call a timeout, and it's fourth and inches for the Chargers, and they're going to go for it. Out of a timeout, they have too many men on the field. And they get popped for five yards. Now that's old school Raiders foot shooting right there. And then the next play, I think it was N 'Kobe Dean. He popped the ball loose from Hampton, made a play, totally flipped.

16:54Rich Eisen:forget that old Raiders, Raiders are going to Raiders thing, to use the Monk phrase, which we'll get to with you in a second. And then they scored after that. And that's when I'm like the Chargers are just

17:07Marcus Spears:totally in a daze right now. I mean, you think about N 'Kobe Dean, who you acquire. He's a great player. He played great, man. Played out of his mind. But ultimately, you know, Kubiak comes in and it's like, we got to change the identity of this team. And you know, you love to see a signing turn into what it turned into when the Kobe Dean making that play. Raiders got a long way to go. We all know it. We all know that eventually Kirk Cousins won't be the quarterback for them long term. But I'm, you know, I'm going to give LV a lot of credit for being 2-0 and going and going play against the Chargers.

17:43Marcus Spears:To your point, that's a game that they usually cost themselves. And they came up and made plays when it was when it was a critical moment.

17:50Rich Eisen:Yeah, and the Chargers next month. You've seen that schedule, right? Their next step is a Lulu, and they're 0-2 going into the stretch where they're now heading to Buffalo next. And Buffalo's coming off a mini-buy, and they have been a wagon. And then after that, they visit Seattle, welcome in Denver, and visit Kansas City. Three to the next four.

18:11Marcus Spears:Rich, I'm not – I got to ask you this question. I'm not bereft. What does wagon mean?

18:19Rich Eisen:Wagon means that they're a large vehicle that is difficult to stop.

18:24Marcus Spears:I got you. Okay.

18:25Rich Eisen:I would imagine that's what it is. No? Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I would. So what phrase would you use for the train? Locomotive. Locomotive. Okay. But again, I get it. I get wagon. I get it. They're a mode of transportation. Mode of transportation. That's what I'm going to say. Yeah, a big physical mode. Different pews in the same church is what we're basically saying. All right. I've got Marcus Spears here for one more segment before we send him off to the rest of his Monday, which ends up with a Monday night countdown tonight prior to a big time football game between the Giants and the Rams, which we'll preview in a moment.

18:59Rich Eisen:Also got to talk about your college football program and what that game was like this week. And I'd be remiss if I did not talk about that with you. But before we take a break, I want to tell you about Hyundai Hope on Wheels again, because we're so proud to support it for the past 28 years with support from Hyundai, their dealers in every new Hyundai sold. Hope on Wheels has contributed over$300 million to childhood cancer research because did you know every 36 minutes a child in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer? Which means some of the bravest warriors you'll ever meet aren't professional athletes.

19:30Rich Eisen:They're the kids in this fight. And Hyundai Hope on Wheels, through all of the programs, have helped save more than 40 ,000 kids. So please join our fight at HyundaiWarriors.com. Marcus Spears here when we come back. Spears is going to Spears. Basically. Spears is a wagon. Spears is a wagon.

19:51Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.

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21:46Rich Eisen:That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich.

21:55Marcus Spears:What do you love, Marcus? I love when people are who they are. You got some people that the camera come on, you know, the world loves them, and then they ask the camera. Wit is the guy, man.

22:07Rich Eisen:Wit is wit every single day of the week. A million percent agreed. Yep. While we're on the subject, Marcus Spears here on the Rich Eisen Show, our radio audience, has returned. We're on the subject of being authentic. The Todd Munkin soundbite. We already played an hour one. We're going to play it again an hour two. We have to. We simply have to because we all know what's at stake here. Absolutely. The Browns are going home next week. We all know what the fan base's opinions of Deshaun Watson when he's not winning is. or even if he is winning. Well, they really haven't tasted a win like the one that they saw on Sunday, and Watson was exactly what the Browns needed him to be.

22:48Rich Eisen:And then Monken stepped up to the podium with the Mike Tomlin talking about Juju Smith-Schuster's quote about the Browns as the Browns.

22:57Marcus Spears:Well, we needed it, right? There's only so much you can talk about things in life, right? Ultimately, we're judged by wins and losses as coaches. And we're judged how we play on the field.

23:08Rich Eisen:Works himself something.

23:09Marcus Spears:Not the name on the back. That's great. Player's name on the back is based on how they play on the field, not their history, not what they've done in the past.

23:18Rich Eisen:It's what you do every week. It's the same as us. At this point now, it's all about winning,

23:24Marcus Spears:and it's them about winning their matchups and the players on the field. That's what it's all about.

23:29Rich Eisen:At that point, it's you out there and it's us collectively together. and I thought our guys did a great job of hanging together. We had a couple scuffles Wednesday, which is good. That's awesome because guys didn't like it, right? They're a little pissed off, right? You ought to be a little pissed off. Played awful. That wasn't the standard. Browns are going to Browns. F*** that, okay?

23:55Marcus Spears:So the guys took that to heart.

23:58Rich Eisen:Thank you. It's a walk-off moment too. Thank you. How's that play in the locker room?

24:02Marcus Spears:it plays for real. That matters. Coach went out there and said what he needed to say. He respects us as men that's trying to compete. That got me fired up. I was actually locked in on top of my head. I've seen the sound. I didn't hear it because I've been knee-deep in studying games. But that's the first time I've heard it, like the buildup to it.

24:25Rich Eisen:Yeah, because we only saw a lot of people just clipped off the end. The end. That's impressive, dude. He worked himself up.

24:31Marcus Spears:Yeah, that's impressive. And coming off a win, you beat Tampa too. That's not, you know, I like that from Todd Munkin. I was leery of this, of hiring him in the beginning because of the Brown situation, not because Todd Munkin can't coach. If you know anything about football, everybody respects Todd Munkin and how he can coach. That message permeates beyond football, though. And I think it can resonate with those guys.

24:58Rich Eisen:I mean, it was a massive W. Certainly when he's just like, you know, hey, I'm seeing some good things on film. And, you know, most of the fans were like, really?

25:10Marcus Spears:Rich, people, look, man, football is one of the reasons why I feel football is the greatest game we have. It's because you never know what opportunity or what mishap is going to cost you from an opportunity to play for a championship. or get in the playoffs. And I know we're talking about the Browns right now, and that may not be in the cards for them in the future. Yes. You have to celebrate these wins, man. I think people just, they are so hard to get. I think people think like, oh, we're just going to roll it out there. I used to always say the margin between 1 and 15 and 15 is one that's not as big as most people think it is.

25:49Marcus Spears:It's a couple plays throughout a game, and in that second half, the plays that Cleveland was able to make, the plays Deshaun was able to make and pushing the ball down the field. By the way, these youngsters, Boston and Concepcion, they're going to be really good football players. It's going to matter whatever they do quarterback-wise going forward that they have those two in the clubhouse. But that's a huge win for the Cleveland Browns. The only issue I have with that win is I love Todd Bowles. This might be the biggest black eye on anything he's done in Tampa. up until this point. So there's always, because like this, this is not a game you can lose in Tampa, especially coming off of Baker signing the contract.

26:36Marcus Spears:The things that it's just, it's just one that they don't think you lose in Tampa, especially when you got guys and you bringing them to the party. It's not like you had any catastrophic injuries. It's not like people were missing. Like you, the defense gave up that much. Todd Bowles is a defensive guy. We ain't seen Deshaun Watson perform like that since 1965. And you get that, giving up with a defensive coach as head coach, that's a tough one for me with Todd. That's going to be a tough one to get over

27:11Rich Eisen:if you're making a decision about his future going forward. Marcus Spears here on the Rich Eisen Show. You just said how tough it is to win in the National Football League and you need to celebrate wins when you get them. So your message to the fan base of the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles is what?

27:25Marcus Spears:Celebrate, but also be cautiously optimistic.

27:30Rich Eisen:Well, cautiously optimistic I don't think are two words that Philadelphia Eagle fans are thinking right now.

27:37Marcus Spears:So, Rich, here's the thing, right? Like, you go to Tennessee, you got to gut it out, you got to win a game late. Jalen got to make a game-winning drive, and he does, right? So hopefully it acquires some of the noise about your quarterback. but they got to make improvements like everybody else. Like, I don't – look, the offensive line in Philly is not the same as the one we used – we got accustomed to from three, four years ago. Obviously, you lose Landon Dickerson. That's a big loss for them. Last year they played a lot without their five guys, especially Lane. So it's a lot of things that you want to see improve in Philly.

28:16Marcus Spears:I just got a lot of confidence in the franchise, understanding how to win those type of games. And history gives you a little bit of leeway. And I think Philly will be fine. And it ain't like it's world beaters in the NFC East right now. We'll find out more about the Giants tonight. But I think this division is going to be highly competitive and Philly going to be right in the midst of it. And you got to get to the tournament, man. Like you got to get to the tournament. And once you get to the tournament, all bets off.

28:49Rich Eisen:What's your opinion of the NFC North now through two weeks? Caleb is week to week. Caleb's week to week. Carson Wentz is now basically, technically, Kyler Murray got the win in week one because that's the way things work in the scorebook of the NFL. But Carson Wentz is basically 2-0. The Packers had to pull one out of their orifice against the Jets. and the Lions we just saw, they could easily be 0-2. What's your opinion of that division?

29:21Marcus Spears:I'm so disappointed that Caleb has the missed time. Because I think the Bears were ripe in the tape, full advantage of that.

29:30Rich Eisen:They were down 6-3 in the rain, even with Caleb doing,

29:33Marcus Spears:before he got hurt. I get it, and I understand it. But I'm going to give more credence to what Caleb Williams is consistently. what I think. I said before the season, it was going to turn into superstardom for him. I thought we were going to talk about Kayla Williams as a top five guy after this season. I thought he was going to make that significant of a jump. Give B-Flow and that defense a tremendous amount of credit. I mean, because in those elements, you got to stop the run. And they did a phenomenal job at not letting that break the backs of what this team was, keeping that offense in it just enough to go out and make a few plays.

30:11Marcus Spears:I want to get more news on Caleb and see when he can come back. I always get leery of muscle issues like potential tears and all of that because we know his movement is a big part of what makes that offense devastating. But I still believe Chicago is the formidable team in that division with Caleb. Now, I'm not going to sleep on Minnesota. and the reason why I won't is because defensively they are going to perform like that like they did this week more consistently than giving up points and doing all of that. I don't know what you do when Kyler comes back. I'm sure they're going to put him back in the starting lineup.

30:52Marcus Spears:Hopefully he can get it going. But Justin Jefferson still play over there. And Aaron Jones and defensively they're going to continue to make plays. They're not bereft of weapons on offense either. So I think Minnesota and Chicago might square that thing out. So now, Micah coming back, how much is that going to change for Green Bay? It's still up in the air, but I had Chicago going into the season as the team to come out of that north.

31:16Rich Eisen:Yeah, I hear you.

31:17Marcus Spears:I chose the Lions, and then I – Well, defensively, man, and it hurts my heart because Kelvin Shepard is an LSU guy, the defensive coordinator. Well, what's the scoop? How can they tighten the bolts here? I mean, one, look, it's similar to Dallas for me. First week, the communication was awful. Again, week two, it was awful for Detroit as well. Giving up uncovered touchdowns. You got injuries back there. Like all of that stuff kind of rolls into it. There's reasons and there's excuses. I won't make excuses for a team giving up, not knowing assignments, not being in the right spots, and that's a lot of what's going on in Detroit defensively right now.

32:01Marcus Spears:it's just a it's a mess you know what's unfortunate about Detroit I'm gonna say it it looks like that window of excitement is shedding really really fast and it's not because offensively they can't get it done defensively they are far behind and injuries have a part to play in that but in this iteration of the NFL man you got to be able to get off the field and get your offense back to ball, and I just don't see it happening for them.

32:35Rich Eisen:I got three teams for you. One and one Pittsburgh, one and one Baltimore, 0-2 Houston, your biggest level of concern out of all three. Which one are you most concerned about? One and one Pittsburgh, one and one Baltimore, 0-2. Well, I'm not concerned about Pittsburgh.

32:48Marcus Spears:I didn't expect them to do much anyway. Houston is my concern because Houston can't run the football. C.J. Stroud has thrown almost 100 passes in two weeks. I think he had like 96. You can't live like that. Well, Montgomery had three touchdowns the week before. The week one. But again, Rich, like last year, Houston couldn't run the football. And we came into the offseason not knowing if they should pay their quarterback because of dismal performances in the playoffs. You look at every team that has success, they have success on the ground. every single team. I don't think C.J. Stroud is a bad quarterback.

33:31Marcus Spears:This is the first. Last year in the playoffs, when we were in New England for the countdown, I said they should bench C.J. Stroud at halftime. I said they should bench him, let the backup come in who's played some time, and hopefully you can get out of here with a win and kind of reprogram your starter, and hopefully he can come back next week and be better. This past game against Cincinnati, and I'm giving that defense a tremendous amount of credit. In the NFL, when you become one-dimensional, it's damn near impossible to win. And that's what they became first, second quarter. It's terrible, man.

34:09Marcus Spears:I'm concerned about Houston. That defense actually played a really good game in Houston. They got to Joe, sacked him, forced pressures, all of that type of stuff. And offensively, they couldn't move a muscle.

34:23Rich Eisen:All right, before I let you go, we'll talk Monday night. But before we do, we've got to talk Saturday night. Yeah. LSU and Ole Miss. How'd you take that one in? Where were you? Home? I was home. You watch it by yourself?

34:35Marcus Spears:What do you got? I felt like some music was about to start. No, I know.

34:39Rich Eisen:It's all right.

34:40Marcus Spears:You know what? I am actually still okay. the one caveat I have is Leavitt is going to have to play more quarterback than being a scrambler. He missed some throws in that game that concerned me.

34:57Rich Eisen:Well, the one at the end where, you know, the backup tight end is wide open and Herbstreit kind of nailed it saying he didn't reset his feet for an easy throw.

35:05Marcus Spears:But again, Rich, I think that's because his first mind is to take off. Right? Like you have to. You look at Trinidad Chambliss. Quarterback for Ole Miss. How good is he? He played quarterback like Lane Kiffin would prefer you to play quarterback. And, yeah, it's cool when you're playing Clemson. Clemson is bad, by the way. All right? And it's cool when you're playing Louisiana Tech and you're scrambling around and you're doing all of that. Brother, you get the SEC play, you're going to have to make SEC throws. From the pocket, you're going to have to put the ball on people. And I think right now he's so caught up in, let me go make this play, let me run around, be exciting.

35:47Marcus Spears:You got to make throws. Trinidad Chambliss made throws. It looked like it was about to be a blowout. LSU is uberly talented, though.

35:57Rich Eisen:I got to tell you, I thought you were coming back and winning that game. I even texted Chris. I'm just wondering by how many points is LSU winning this game?

36:06Marcus Spears:Yes, and I think if we could have played a little bit more quarterback as opposed to wanting to be a scrambler and run around and make a few more throws, it could have been that way.

36:18Rich Eisen:Are you happy with Lane? Because it looks better than the Brian Kelly.

36:21Marcus Spears:I love him. You're happy with him. I'm happy with him because he's embraced what LSU is. Which is what? Which is culture matters as much as winning games. Brian Kelly was like, nah, to hell with the culture. I'm not about to end. Come on, he showed up almost cooking gumbo

36:37Rich Eisen:in half court of a basketball game. Rich, you see, that's why I'm going to have a lot of fun.

36:42Marcus Spears:Me and you, we like them two kids at school that just sit back talking about people. You're talking about his family. Kelly was never a family. I am. Yeah, the family. I am. Yeah, that's when he lost it. That's when he lost it.

36:53Rich Eisen:He didn't even play a game before his first game.

36:55Marcus Spears:His first day there. That's when he lost it, man. And, you know, LSU is in my heart, and I love my school. Yes. So I'm always trying to, like, be a little bit even keel. But you know when it's a problem. and it was a problem. Lane has brought back what LSU is supposed to be.

37:13Rich Eisen:Which is what? Swagger?

37:14Marcus Spears:Which is Swagger, which is a big brand, understanding the excitement around the game. He walked out against Louisiana Tech with Lil Boosie and Lil Wayne. That's not even a big game. But it was a big festive LSU the way it's supposed to be game. Now we struggled in the first half so I was like don't bring Boosie and Wayne no more. But we finally took off at one.

37:38Rich Eisen:I think we got a Lane soundbite. Here, go ahead and hit it. It was just a lot, you know, coming in. And I'm sure that'll be criticized or whatever. But there's a lot of stuff. Like I said, six years here and a lot of things and a lot of life-changing experiences and a lot of really good people that helped me through some really hard times. I just thought I'd probably be more in, like, the competitive mode, you know, and just kind of embrace it. and it was just a little bit, I don't know, sometimes you can't predict your emotions. You know, I know that sometimes I don't act like it, but I'm a human too.

38:16Marcus Spears:Sometimes I don't act like it.

38:18Rich Eisen:Okay.

38:19Marcus Spears:He's 50, you know, sometimes you kind of start doing a little self-check. A little self-check? Evaluation. I thought Lane was solid in the game.

38:29Rich Eisen:Hey, that was an outstanding football game. Yeah, it was pretty good. That was so much fun to watch. and the atmosphere was off the charts. We got to get better quarterback play from the pocket. That's really what it boils down to. All right, before I let you go, what does Monday night, what does tonight look like to you? I'm excited for the Giants, to be honest with you.

38:47Marcus Spears:I want to see if they can replicate what they did against Dallas. Now, they're going to get a team that the last outing we saw got physically beat at the line of scrimmage, gave up a tremendous amount of plays, uncharacteristic offensively. I know Puka is out, so how would they compensate from that? But I don't think the Giants and the way they played was a fluke. I think physicality travels. I think the mentality travels. But more importantly, the way Jackson Dart played simple football was the most impressive thing to me against Dallas. Now, Dallas had their issues defensively, and maybe L.A.

39:24Marcus Spears:doesn't. But I got to believe that New York is going to come in here with a lot of confidence about the way their quarterback played and the way they were able to dominate the line of scrimmage. What do you expect out of 99 tonight? I expect 99 to be really good. It's going to take some time. Like, look, man, this is still the NFL. But I think AD is going to have his impactful plays that's going to give us signs that once he gets in rhythm and once he gets going, there's going to be a problem, especially when 95 gets back, Myles Garrett. But I expect him to make some plays. I think I got him with a sack tonight.

39:59Marcus Spears:I think fresh legs and his ability. You don't, for him, that's like swimming. Like, you drop back and pass. It ain't like he forgot how to swim, dude. Like, he's strong as an ox. He's still fast. Footwork's still crazy. He's going to make some plays that's going to remind people, like, ah, yes, I'm glad we got him back.

40:17Rich Eisen:It's going to be, again, there's a ton of transplanted New Yorkers here in Los Angeles. There's just in, you know, clearly I'm one of them. And so there's going to be a lot of Giants fans in that building tonight. but Rams fans are going to show up. And if Donald makes one play, sort of like another 99 in Houston when J.J. Watt made plays, when Marshawn Lynch made plays in Seattle, it's like the Matrix. You're connected by a cable with the rest of humanity.

40:43Marcus Spears:But to your point, Rich, what I don't want people to miss with AD coming back is that when you get into that huddle, it's like Aaron Donald on our team now. Yeah. Like that changes the other 10, right? And we're not even talking about Miles being back yet. That's the excitement level. So I think more than his play, which he'll be fine, he'll get going at some point. It's just the guys around him are like, man, Aaron Donald really in this huddle right now. And that's going to – Turner, that's going to affect him. Fisk, that's going to affect him. That's going to affect guys around him to play better.

41:23Marcus Spears:It's kind of like what Dexter Lawrence is doing in Cincinnati. I feel like there are certain guys that not only calm you, but bring something out of you. And I think the reverence that these guys are going to have for Aaron Donald being back in the lineup, seeing him come back, especially if he make a play or two early, it's going to give everybody else on that defense a lot of juice. And you may see a different Rams defense than you saw week one.

41:50Rich Eisen:Monday night countdown later on this afternoon, Pacific Coast time. And then tonight, obviously, Monday night football. While Marcus, this is so much fun. This was amazing. I look forward to next Monday when we're just zooming and then back here in week five. But in the meantime, enjoy the double fisted green room, man. Get in there with both hands.

42:08Marcus Spears:What was the ice cream again?

42:09Rich Eisen:Oh, it's called CVT. I'll walk you over. You'll walk right by. I'll walk you over. Yeah, it's coming up. It's outstanding. Also, Rich. Yes, sir. Swagoo has a lot of problems with Twitter slash X, just like you.

42:20Marcus Spears:Okay. Oh, man. Yeah, I've been off. I know we might not have time, but we'll talk about that. We'll do about that next time.

42:25Rich Eisen:This is just the beginning. Back here on The Rich Eisen Show with your phone calls in just a moment.

42:30Marcus Spears:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

42:36Rich Eisen:The greats don't shy away from change. They attack it head on with confidence, preparation, and a clear strategy. KPMG LLP and their transformation professionals work with organizations across industries using their advanced AI to help them move faster, work smarter, and adapt with purpose. because in today's business environment, winning teams don't react to change. They shape it. Learn more at visit.kpmg.us slash velocity. Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes.

43:14Rich Eisen:That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge is finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent.

43:50Rich Eisen:With hiring pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. So join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eyes and terms and conditions. Apply. All right, everybody. Daniel in Irvine, California wants to chime in. What's up, Daniel? Hey, Rich. How's it going? What's going on? You got me, Rich? I do. Where are you? I'm in Irvine. I called last week about my Chargers. Season C holder. Had to sit through that again. I know you touched on it a bit with Marcus Spears there. When I got home, I don't know if you guys saw that clip.

44:37Rich Eisen:I got home and I saw a clip of Mike McDaniel on the bench talking to Herbert. And Herbert was staring off into space, never looked over at him. Everyone just looks out of sorts. I saw the great Chris Rim had an ex post where in the locker room he asked Khalil Mack, hey, what was Coach Harbaugh's message after the game? And Mack was like, to be honest, I kind of was not listening because I was just thinking about the game. So it just seems like all the veterans are in a shock. And I just feel like I need a hug because I don't know what else to do. Well, a couple things. Here comes the hug, the Rich Eisen Show bro hug, which is I reach around and give you a crap and then we separate, you know?

45:25Rich Eisen:So that's the bro hug. Why did we separate so quick? No, I don't know. Just listen, Daniel and I have just met. We've had the last couple weeks. Last time I spoke with him, I had an appendix. Now I don't. Oh, you're a different person. So, yeah, I've changed. But listen, man, how about this, Daniel? A totally new offense has been installed. and they didn't really play very much in the preseason. And I know the quality of opponents that came in are based on last year, something that would cause a ton of trouble for you because you should at least come out of two home dates against them, one and one rather than 0 and 2.

46:07Rich Eisen:But maybe, just maybe, going on the road here to Western New York to take on a wagon of a Bills team is exactly what you need. go on the road go on a plane flight let's bond let's get in the hotel let's do some bonding stuff let's change up the routine because the current routine stinks on ice man and it's a bad feeling and obviously uh josh allen is the last person you want to face when you're feeling um you know uh subpar in the confidence department it can shake you even more that's that's what i got for you because the rest of it is just terrible you gotta you gotta flush and pull you gotta just flush it and pull yourselves out of the depth and get on that stage with a with a let sequin glove and get get get get things going um daniel that's that's all i'm gonna say and thanks for the call greatly appreciate it hopefully you call back next week and say this attaboy worked.

47:08You know?

47:09Rich Eisen:Because the way it's gone so far is a hardcore 0-2 disappointment. 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. The Rich Eisen Show.

47:29Marcus Spears:The podcast.

47:37Marcus Spears:This Friday, return to theaters for Avengers Endgame Encore. I know I said no more surprises, but I was really hoping to pull off one last one.

47:47Rich Eisen:Reassemble the team. Six stones. Three teams. One shot. Relive the experience. You mess with time. Time tends to mess back. The story continues. Tony, this is a second chance. Don't miss Marvel Studios' Avengers Endgame Encore. Early theaters Friday. Get tickets now. Rating PG-13. Maybe inappropriate for children under 13.

From the publisher

ESPN’s Marcus Spears joins Rich in-studio to break down NFL Week 2 including the 49ers improving to 2-0 on the year, if Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald is the best coach in the league, why he’s buying stock in the Bengals revamped defense, his level of concern for the Chargers’ ‘discombobulated’ offense, what Browns HC Todd Monken is doing (and saying) to win over Cleveland’s locker room, breaks down the 2-0 Eagles’ cautious optimism, Caleb Williams’ injury’s impact on the NFC North, what to expect from Jaxson Dart and Aaron Donald in the Rams vs Giants on Monday Night Football, and his thoughts on his alma mater LSU losing in Lane Kiffin’s first game against his former team Ole Miss.
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