Hour 2: Sam Darnold’s Redemption Story, Rooting For or Against the Patriots Debate

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1:13Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. It's battle time! We are going to the Super Bowl! Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. He's being chased, tries to get outside. He does! He's got the first down! Coming up on today's show, complete championship Sunday recap. Way too early Super Bowl preview. Your phone calls, latest news, and more. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.

2:03We've been chopping up the championship games over the first hour. And a lot of you have been patient and hanging on and appreciate that. 844-204-RICH. Number two dollars. Just one phone line available. Just one. That's it. One. That'll be changing shortly because we're going to take your phone calls in a moment. It's just us for the next couple of hours right here. The Overreaction Monday pod. Chris Brockman and I already adjudicated that piece of business. I don't know what that word means, but yes. We did it. It's out there. It's out there. It's out there.

2:41Rich Eisen:It's in there. It's out there. We're here. You're there. I'm in the comments. Come at me, people. Okay. React. Don't be in the comments. I know. It's fun. I only do it for like an hour. 844-204-RICH. Number two. All right. Let's go to Gabriel in Washington, who's been on this program many times. Gabriel, how are you, sir? He's up. Gabriel in Washington. 844-204. What's up, bro? Still celebrating. Come on, man. What's going on? What up, man? If that happened, Sam Donald would have been sacked last night. Come on. What's that? Nothing. What's on your mind? Oh, I just wanted to talk about the Seahawks.

3:22You guys know me. No, honestly, I was sweating the Rams more than anyone else. You guys know I called and asked for the Eagles. I thought the Eagles could possibly turn it on in the playoffs, but that obviously did not happen. But, no, to go through the Niners and the Rams, both division rivals, to get to the Super Bowl is quite satisfying. The Rams definitely are a tough matchup for us for whatever reason. Sean McVay and Mike McDonald go back and forth. And, yeah, it was one heck of a championship game. And Matt Stafford, I'm hoping that he says, man, what else do I got to do? You know, I play at the MVP, throw almost 50 touchdowns, and still can't make the Super Bowl.

4:10Hopefully he decides to hang it up. But, no, if he doesn't, more great football next year. But, yeah, I just wanted to shout out John Snyder again. The amazing job that he's done with this, I call it a pruning of the Seahawks. We didn't have to suck for a year or two and get a couple top draft picks or whatever. It's like take away a coach, add a new coach, get rid of quarterback, bring in a new quarterback. Thank you to the Minnesota Vikings for not giving Sam Darnold a multi-year deal. That's pretty sweet. But Sam Darnold, I think he answered all the questions and 100 % is a franchise quarterback.

4:51Thank you for the call, Gabriel in Washington, and for the setup. There goes Gabriel in Washington off on his Monday in the city of the NFC champion, Seattle Seahawks. in Seattle. Listen, folks, Sam Darnold doing what he's done is truly one of the best stories we've seen entering a Super Bowl week in quite some time because he has been on a journey. Michael Irvin talks all the time about distance traveled. He always talks about that. And Sam Darnold's distance traveled started here in Los Angeles in a way. Right. And as a USC quarterback being taken by the Jets third overall in the 2018 draft after Baker Mayfield is drafted, before Josh Allen is drafted.

5:57Those are the two quarterbacks taken around him. And he's now beaten both of those guys to the Super Bowl. Lamar Jackson was taken later. Remember Josh Rosen here in town, a UCLA guy, said that he's going to make everyone lament passing up on him. And Josh was very highly touted going into that draft. Lamar Jackson, another MVP. he's beaten to the Super Bowl. And listen, his Jets time was a disaster. There's just no other way to put it. You know, it started, by the way, the pick six on a Monday night in Detroit, but he showed how resilient he was, and they actually won that game. Yeah. And that was with his head coach, Todd Bowles, who gets bounced, and the Jets hook him up with Adam Gase.

6:53that word that you just said as a guttural noise mic sums it up and then it's time for Robert Sala to come in and the Jets have the second overall pick and it's a new coach and it's just like we're we're moving on Sam we're trading you to Carolina we're trading you to Carolina where Baker Mayfield is and that's another distance traveled for another day where baker i hope does make a super bowl in his career hope he earns that ability to be able to say what sam donald is saying today which is how do you like me now and i know that bake that's more baker's brand than sam donald's right sure um and sam had three great weeks in carolina right we were

7:47Rich Eisen:Joking about him being an MVP, right? But that's where he started to show you he has some ability here with the right mix, right coaching, right whatever, and that obviously he got hurt. McCaffrey gets traded. Baker gets a shot for a split second after working scout team defense. Both he and Baker wind up in the state of California. Sam Darnold winds up on the bench in San Francisco. Makes his way to Minnesota. He gets the start. Even though they drafted a kid in J.J. McCarthy, because J.J. McCarthy blows his knee out and Sam gets his opportunity and he wins 14 games. He wins 14 games and he wins the hearts and minds of his teammates.

8:43Rich Eisen:that moment where he beat the Packers and he's welcome back in this locker room. Thank you for having this photograph, Freddie. It's awesome. I love this picture. He is just on the shoulders of his teammates. It's all good in the Minnesota hood. They've got 14 wins. All they got to do is beat the Lions the next week. And the Lions spank Sam Darnold and the Vikings and they wind up here in Los Angeles for a wild card game. that winds up with Sam being sacked nine times.

9:21Nine times criticized by the play-by-play man for the Vikings

9:25Rich Eisen:who is apparently on ice right now from his gig. Just leave it there. Sam Darnold now is

9:45what?

9:47Rich Eisen:Wanted in Minnesota? We still don't have the full story. Apparently they were offering him something that he wasn't interested in or wasn't enough for him to be interested in or he didn't really believe he'd have a shot to stay the quarterback. word is the Steelers were kicking tires on him too but the Seahawks decide to go for Sam after they flipped Geno to their former coach and Pete Carroll in Vegas and look at him now yeah and his deal three-year hundred million dollars was basically a one-year deal if it didn't work out they could have easily got out from that deal 19 million dollar cap hit uh just to let him walk and now he has him in the super bowl and he's probably got a big payday coming now listen uh i just want to revisit the minnesota thing again because you know how i feel about jj mccarthy that we'll see how it plays out kevin o 'connell has said over and over and over again that and certainly on this program is the first time i heard it since he said it in other places that organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations and the avatar for that may just be sam darnold at the end of the day you know the patience that you have for a kid may run out the kid may also burn a bridge here and there within the building to get him out i mean every situation is different that wasn't sam's in new york it was like this wasn't working out he did wind up having Adam Gase that didn't work out at all wound up being sent away because the new coach wanted a new situation wound up in the right spot, made the most of it and now he's going to the Super Bowl as wait for it wait for it the first ex-Jet starting quarterback in the history of the Super Bowl no starting quarterback in the history of the super bowl has ever had i once played for the jets on their resume say for the one who you know what who joe nameth yeah well i mean i used to play for the jets on their resume obviously i'm taught joe nameth was the jet quarterback in the super bowl and and still is to this day the only person to do that.

12:26There's been no other story. I used to play for the Jets. That's never happened. You know what's also never happened? I used to be a USC quarterback. No starting quarterback in the history of the Super Bowl has had USC. That's crazy. Wow. He's the first Trojan. he's beaten everybody from the 2018 draft class to the Super Bowl at that first round spot

12:56Rich Eisen:he's beaten everybody how do you like me now and again the results weren't there in week 18 and 19 last year for the Vikings so they decided we're going to go with the kid we drafted him and the kid may turn out to be all right and obviously i'm rooting for him and i'm rooting for vikings fans rooting for all of everybody in minneapolis right now and so i am not sitting here saying big mistake certainly because i don't know if sam donald is this is what he had to say about making the super bowl after his distance traveled I actually made it in 23 as well when I was in San Francisco. No, I'm just messing with you.

13:48No, it's unbelievable. Obviously, those are great players, but it's more so the team, just the hard work that we've put in throughout this season. OTA's training camp, I talk about it a lot, and I know every team works really hard in that offseason when we're just working together. But to be able to go against that defense every single day, that got us better as an offense. And I know they could say the same thing about us. So, yeah, we take it day by day. And that's the beauty about this team and these guys in that locker room, this coaching staff, is we're going to celebrate tonight. We're going to celebrate tomorrow in the meeting.

14:27And then we're going to move on. And everyone's going to look to see how they can get better for this game coming up in a couple weeks. Jets, Panthers, Niners, Vikings now, Seahawks. He will become the third quarterback to start a Super Bowl after playing for five or more teams in his NFL career. The last one to do it was Chris Chandler for Atlanta in Super Bowl 33. And before that was Earl Morrill, who lost to the aforementioned Joe Namath in Super Bowl three. Sam Darnold is that. You know what other first he could achieve in this? if he wins, he would be the first redhead starting quarterback to win.

15:12Is that right? Yeah, I checked before. Did you really check on that? What's the website that looks at follicles and NFL Super Bowl statistics?

15:22Rich Eisen:You know, you just put it in there. I didn't know that. Carson Wentz won one, but he didn't start. Hey, and let's do this, too. Let's do this, too, because it's a team effort. It's a team effort. But if we're going to talk about how Stafford had two triple crown receivers in his career, including one of his Super Bowl year with a guy who Donald is throwing to right now, including that dart on third down that essentially daggered the Rams' ability to come back in this game or give enough time to Stafford to do it, you know, with Cooper Cupp. but Jackson Smith and Jigba has a chance in the Super Bowl to add to his total and come up with a 2 ,000 yard season he's got 1 ,965 receiving yards now including the playoffs in 2025 and that is now Now, ahead on a list of doing it at age 23 or younger, ahead of Justin Jefferson, another guy that Darnold's thrown to, although Justin did it in 2022.

16:42Rich Eisen:Ahead of Jamar Chase, ahead of Isaac Bruce, ahead of Randy Moss for the most receiving yards in a season of being 23 or younger, including playoffs. who is his quarterback Sam Darnold and if he comes up with 36 yards in the Super Bowl he'll be the only guy in NFL history age 23 or younger to have 2 ,000 receiving yards in a season including playoffs who's the trigger man Sam Darnold it's unbelievable it can't be um said enough and we got 13 more days to do it congrats to him yeah remember we had him on when he was a usc prospect and we told him wearing a hat in the rain for his pro day was a red flag he had a lot of fun with that yeah we told him it was a red flag that we're we're with hair like that hair yeah like you have elite hair what should you care what are you doing let it get who cares we were questioning his toughness absolutely yeah absolutely and on a rare rain day yeah you know Yeah, wore a hat in the springtime.

17:48Rich Eisen:I thought that was a red flag, but what do we know? We don't have hair. Congrats. We'll take a break. More phone calls, 844-204-RICH. Number to dial here on the program. Don't you dare go anywhere.

18:05Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.

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20:14Back here on our radio show talking

20:16Rich Eisen:about the Empire State Building lit up in Patriots colors. They're going to be lit soon. Get out of here with this. Nah, I'm with you, man. Right? Leaf ball that. Come on. Seriously, would they light up the Prue? No problem. In Jets colors? Never. So what are we doing? Well, the Jets would have to win something first. They're not going to suggest what happened. Touche, sir. It was good, Chris. I don't know. It's the truth. We'll never be in that predicament. It's not an option. They think it would be Celtics colors in your town. It's the same color scheme. That's true. Exact same. Do they light anything up in Boston?

20:53The Prue does. Yeah, it does light up during playoffs and stuff. What is happening?

21:00Rich Eisen:I thought it looked great last night. If Mom Donnie wasn't too busy shoveling snow, No, I'd call City Hall to complain. Well, he's got more important things. He does indeed. Oh, do you? Thank you. Yeah, Bill Burr. I'm with you on this one, Richie Rich. Don't you think even Bill Burr would have a problem with this? Are you guys going to root for me in the Super Bowl? Absolutely not. What? No. I thought you of all people would have my back. Definitely not. Here's why. Brockman, I'm with you. Here's why. You got a 10-point? You got a PowerPoint? Oh, man. You got a PowerPoint to help support this?

21:34This is crazy. You got to listen. You're a part of the Darnold Hive now? What do you got? What? Well, I mean, first of all. The floor is yours, TJ Jefferson. He's already had enough success, right? And for years, I told this guy, hey, man, it's a good run when you have one. But once it's over, it's over for good. And he kept going, well, I don't know. I don't know. And then what happened? It happened again, man. So that part I'm not happy about. I respect the fact that it happened. And I'm not happy that you're there. And then sometimes he like, you know, when we ask Chris about movies sometimes and he kind of gets that.

22:07I've never watched that. Why would I watch that? Now, all of a sudden, these patriots. Another reason you should be mad, Rich, you go. Patriots are trying to take over the Warriors, a movie set in Central Park in New York. I saw that. And in Coney Island. Matt Collins, baby. Matt Collins. And I put on Twitter, does Matt know what happened to Luther at the end of the Warriors? Because I don't think he really paid attention. I saw that yesterday. But did you see him walking in with the bottle? That's what I'm talking about. And here's the deal. And now you got Vrabel going, Warriors. And I love the Warriors.

22:35That is one of my favorite movies. Del Tuvo loves it. Can you dig it? Can you dig it? Can you dig it? And you know what? So now Brockman is going to start doing Warrior stuff, even though last week he looked at me and said, I've never watched the Warriors. Why would I watch it? Now, if I hear you say anything about coming out of the play, or tapping some bottles, oh, man. I might tap bottles. The bottle thing is kind of cool. That's why it can't be. And then, Rich, you know, for Chris to always be like, who have they beaten? He's still going. He always is like, well, who have they beaten? And now it's flipped on his team, and now he, that doesn't matter anymore.

23:12Excuse me. They only beat the top three defenses in the NFL, and now we're going to face another one. I'm just saying, man. I don't know. History tells me what's going to happen. All the things he hated kind of came into play for him this year, and now he's back in the Super Bowl, and I don't like it. All I'm saying is there's a whole group of thousands upon thousands of second graders in the greater New England area who have never seen us play in the Super Bowl. Think about the kids. Nice. Are you anti-kid now, teacher? You know me, anything for the kids. Anything for the kids. But I don't like this.

23:43So, yeah, Rich, no, I'm not going to be happy for it. I'm desensitized. I'm over it now. Because you have no sports loyalty. Oh, Chris, did I ever, ever give you anything nice to say about the Patriots. What's happening with that loyalty? You've got a hat with a New York and L.A. Now he's over it. I'm over it. I'm just wondering, you know, because obviously I'm getting a lot of, you know, comments and whatever. Like, what do you think? Sam Donald's going to the Super Bowl against the Patriots. Is that, like, one of the biggest Jet nightmares around? And my answer to every last one of them is, absolutely.

24:16100%. 100%. You're seeing ghosts. The Jets were picking after the Patriots in these drafts. after them. And then when the Jets do choose a quarterback in the top three, that guy is out. It doesn't work out. The Patriots choose the third quarterback in a draft, and he beats everyone to the Super Bowl. I mean, and then, but then there's Bills fans. There's Bills fans who get sent packing this year in the manner in which they get sent packing, only to have the team that moves on not even advance because of their quarterback goes and breaks his ankle towards the end of that game. And then a snowstorm hits in the middle of it.

24:58And then the Bills roost atop the AFC East, do nail their quarterback, who wins the MVP, and it's clearly one of the best. And it's clearly going to, on a Hall of Fame career path, he doesn't make the Super Bowl in all those years in a row in which they win the division. That streak gets ended by a Patriots team who goes from four wins to the Super Bowl with the quarterback they drafted just two years ago. I mean, that's a tough one to swallow, too, if you're a Bills fan with all of that. So there's company for you. Listen, in terms of rooting for the Patriots, you know I only root for good games.