In short
Tom Pelissero fills in on Rich Eisen Show, previewing Week 7 matchups and discussing coaching/roster storylines, then unveiling a “non-quarterback MVP index” (non-QB MVP frontrunners).
Guest backgrounds
No guests appear in this hour; the “guests” are the show’s hosts/crew: Tom Pelissero (NFL Network/insider), Chris Brockman, and TJ Jefferson.
Key claims
- Titans vs Patriots storyline: Mike Vrabel’s return to Nashville after being fired; Titans’ coaching/GM churn and A.J. Brown trade fallout are central.
- Cam Ward vs Drake May: Ward’s drive despite offensive struggles; May’s development under Josh McDaniels; Drake May is framed as a possible MVP path.
- Patriots trade chatter: Pelissero doubts wide receiver is the main need; running back/edge more pressing.
- Non-QB MVP index: Devin Lloyd, Nick Benito, Ameka Ebu (Buccaneers rookie WR), Jackson Smith-Njigba, Jonathan Taylor.
Notable examples
- Lloyd’s pick-six vs Patrick Mahomes; Benito’s sack lead; Ebu’s deep-threat impact despite Tampa injuries; JSN’s ~700-yard pace with Sam Darnold; Taylor leading rushing and rushing TDs for 5-1 Colts.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOGuest Host Tom Pelissero Joins
0:34 to 0:51
Tom Pelissero discusses his role as guest host and upcoming events.
“It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks.”
Guest Host Tom Pelissero Joins
1:26 to 3:18
Tom Pelissero discusses his role as guest host and upcoming events.
“I feel like I try to do my best at blocking out the noise.”
NFL Game Preview: Rams vs. Jaguars
3:20 to 4:40
Discussion of the upcoming Rams-Jaguars game and its significance.
“I had like a 710, 730, somewhere in there.”
Mike Vrabel's Coaching Dynamics
4:51 to 6:41
Analysis of Mike Vrabel's coaching situation and team dynamics.
“Mike Vrabel back for the first time since he was fired after the 2023 season in a move that was shocking to, I think, a lot of people.”
Coaching Changes and Team Performance
7:02 to 9:10
Exploration of the impact of coaching changes on team performance.
“I think that that's important because nobody texts when you lose.”
Quarterback Performance and Expectations
9:12 to 12:39
Discussion on quarterback performances, focusing on Drake May and Cam Ward.
“Vrabel, by the way, was also asked something along the lines of, you know, will the guys be fired up for you going back into Tennessee?”
Trade Rumors: New England Patriots
12:40 to 14:01
Insights into the potential trade moves for the New England Patriots.
“finalist and you thought you were getting that type of player.”
Patriots Trade Rumors
14:01 to 15:10
Discussion about the potential trade targets for the Patriots.
“A lot of internet chatter about trade possibilities, deadline in a few weeks.”
Mac Jones and the 49ers
15:10 to 17:24
Analysis of Mac Jones's performance and potential future trade implications.
“but all things equal, I'd say there's a better chance you see them trade for a running back than a wide receiver.”
Injury Impact on Players
17:24 to 18:36
Exploration of players' injuries and their effects on career longevity.
“but the way that Mac is playing, it certainly eases some of the pressure in terms of getting Brock back onto to the field as much as I'm sure he's chomping at the bid here.”
Show all 21 chapters
Bears' Recent Performance
18:36 to 21:06
Discussion on the Bears' chances of improving after recent wins.
“Now, my higher register last week was I went higher register about the Bears, and I said that in something we spoke about earlier, about how the season was going well for them.”
Quarterbacks Playing into Their 40s
21:06 to 23:35
Debate on whether more quarterbacks will play into their 40s in the future.
“And this topic may be not really in our realm of what we do.”
MVP Index Discussion
26:18 to 28:00
Introduction to Brockman's NFL MVP Index and player performances.
“In for Rich, and I understand that before, most of the cast here departs for London to reunite with Rich for a couple of London shows ahead of the Rams and Jaguars duel Sunday morning on NFL Network.”
Devin Lloyd's Impact and Injuries
28:00 to 28:48
Discussing Devin Lloyd's impressive start to the season and his injury status.
“Like Devin Lloyd met him the morning that he was drafted.”
Non-QB MVP Frontrunners: Nick Benito
28:48 to 30:19
Analyzing Nick Benito's performance and his contributions to the Broncos' defense.
“I imagine you were about to say this person's name coming in at number four.”
Ameka Ebu's Rookie Season
30:19 to 31:51
Exploring Ameka Ebu's surprising impact on the Bucs' offense and expectations for him.
“He was the one that everyone was like, all right, he's in the mix.”
Jackson Smith and Jigba's Rise
31:51 to 33:38
Discussing Jackson Smith and Jigba's exceptional performance with the Seahawks.
“He's on pace for an absolute monster season.”
Jonathan Taylor's Dominance
33:38 to 35:49
Highlighting Jonathan Taylor's impressive stats and his potential MVP candidacy.
“Looks like the offensive player of the year right now.”
The Cam Scadaboo Award Concept
35:49 to 39:50
Proposing a new award for rookies who change the team's vibe, inspired by Cam Scadaboo.
“Again, it's like how much credit do you give to the singular player if it's not a quarterback?”
Pediatric Cancer Awareness
41:37 to 42:06
Discussing Hyundai's support for pediatric cancer research and community impact.
“That's why we're all proud to talk about Hyundai Hope on Wheels.”
Vinny’s Giants Concerns and Daniel Jones' Resurgence
42:15 to 46:30
Discussion on Vinny's concerns about Daniel Jones and the Colts' performance.
“Great being in the past few days here for Rich.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with Power Boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.
0:31This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. 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.
1:05Watch 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. Let's do this. This is the Rich Eisen Show. I feel like I try to do my best at blocking out the noise. With guest host Tom Pelissero. Then you get 100 text messages, keep blocking out the noise. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show. Good morning football co-host Jamie Erdahl. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.
1:49Coming up, latest news and more. And now, it's Tom Pelissero.
1:57Tom Pelissero:Welcome back to the Rich Eisen Show. Tom Pellicero in for Rich for one more hour before, well, not me, but two of the other members of our crew here in studio, Chris Brockman, TJ Jefferson. Join Rich tomorrow in London. Yeah, buddy. Which will be afternoon tomorrow, 5 p.m. local time. Kickoff of the show, I believe. 5 p.m. local time. Yeah, 5 to 8. Very solid. and then you'll be getting dragged out of some type of a breakfast buffet around 6.30 a.m. Friday when Thursday Night Football ends. Yeah, Thursday Night Football, I think, what, kicks at 1.15 local in the morning? 3.15. 3.15. According to Google and my math, 3.15 a.m.
2:37No, because it's a five-hour time difference from the East Coast, and it's an 8.15 East Coast game. Can you guys do math? Yeah, eight hours after 8.15. No, eight hours from 5.15. Come on, guys. All right. Well, anyway, it's late. It's 1.15 in the morning. Not going to be too bad. I thought it was. Hold on.
2:59Tom Pelissero:That was my issue, which I was calculating it. You were calculating it from LA. From LA. I have no hope. Five hours on the East Coast. I have no chance. I'm here for you, man. To figure this out. 660 math SAT score. You know what I'm saying? We can go home now. Oh, 660. Come on now. That's nothing. 660. It's not that great. I definitely beat that. I think that was my title. On math? Oh yeah, 100%. I had like a 710, 730, somewhere in there. Look at you. That was my total. You can't tell time. Went as a finance major to college until I got there and was like, oh, it's a lot harder here. And then I transferred to communications, which is a phony major.
3:34Tom Pelissero:Took a bunch of classes about editing SVHS tape and making macro media flash websites. And here I am. And here we are. Posting this show and not having any idea of what time it is in London. We got a lot of good games. Coming up this weekend, including the one that Rich is going to call bright and early Rams-Jaguars. Sneaky, really good game. Sunday morning, Jaguars trying to bounce back. The Rams could easily be 6-0. They let a couple of games get away from them early in the season. I'll be entertained by that one. Vikings-Eagles, perhaps a Carson Wentz revenge game on Sunday. Colts-Chargers, a game that nobody was circling preseason.
4:15Tom Pelissero:That has, I mean, heavy playoff implications. The winner of that game could be in the number one seed as we come up on the halfway point of the schedule. Of course, we've got Bucks-Lions on Monday night, part of a doubleheader with Texans-Seahawks. And then we've got the Patriots-Texans game. This was always going to be a sneaky one throughout the season. Mike Vrabel's first trip back. Titans, Tom. To Nashville. What did I say? He said the Texans. Patriots-Titans on Sunday. It was always going to be. Buckle up. it was always going to be an interesting dynamic from a storyline perspective. Mike Vrabel back for the first time since he was fired after the 2023 season in a move that was shocking to, I think, a lot of people.
5:00Tom Pelissero:But when you unwound the dynamics and even being familiar with what was going on for months there, it did make more sense as much from the Titans perspective as Mike Vrabel's perspective. There was not a lot that Mike Vrabel was doing over that final season that made you think he's all in on wanting to be the Titans head coach as long as he can. Most memorably, of course, during the Titans bye week, going to New England to be inducted into their ring of honor, sitting in his Patriots Hall of Fame red jacket next to Robert Kraft in his booth, going on the field at halftime and announcing to the crowd, enjoy this place because not everywhere is like it.
5:43Tom Pelissero:And I am only mildly paraphrasing that. And then coming back to the Titans building, and remember the thing I was told, never addressing it. Never being like, hey, yeah, maybe that was a little much. Just never brought it up. He was mad about a lot of different things. Well, A.J. Brown getting traded without his consent probably was high on the list. The A.J. Brown trade was part of it. And then John Robinson, who had had a good relationship with Vrabes. They knew each other from New England. He gets fired. Vrabel wanted Ryan Cowden to be his general manager. They instead hired Rand Carthon. Again, two guys who got along fine personally, but were not on the same page about building the team.
6:19Tom Pelissero:Then they fire Vrabel. They promote Rand. Soon after that, they fire Rand. They hire Mike Borgonzi. They hire Brian Callahan to replace Mike Vrabel. Now Callahan is gone. And this morning, Mike Vrabel at the podium in New England and answering questions about the fact that his successor in Tennessee has already been let go. Of course it did. I mean, I don't want to see anybody that shares a job with you get let go. That's a tough feeling with family and school and whether it's in college or pro. We're in the media every single day. And there's a human element to this that I don't want to forget.
7:01I just remember all those coaches or people that reached out after I was let go. I think that that's important because nobody texts when you lose. They all text when you win.
7:14Tom Pelissero:Mike Vrabel reached out to Brian Callahan after being fired from the same job less than two years after Vrabel was fired from it. I will be interested to see. There are a lot of occasions through the years where a team will get a very temporary bump from a coaching change. Sometimes it lasts longer. The Raiders on multiple occasions have had it last longer. Rich Passaccia took over. That was a very unique situation. Went to the playoffs. Antonio Pierce took over from the guy who had replaced Passaccia and John Gruen, which was Josh McDaniels. They played well enough that Pierce got the full-time job before he was let go after one full-time season in the head coaching profession.
7:56Tom Pelissero:I mean, that's how much these things move over the course of time. I was sitting in this chair. You guys remember it. When Jeff Saturday took over, or at least that week leading into the game, with Jeff Saturday being the interim head coach. That was crazy. They went into the Raiders building, and what happened? They won. They won. They didn't win another game after that. But the one-week bump from Jeff Saturday coming in and just whatever he was doing of it's different now. They went in and they beat the Raiders on that Sunday. I don't know that Mike McCoy is the same type of guy. We heard his press conference yesterday.
8:36Tom Pelissero:Mike has always seemed like a genuinely good dude. After he got fired with the Chargers, he was out of football. He had a couple coordinator jobs after that, but then he spent like four years where he wasn't in the NFL. Came back a couple of years ago, was coaching with the Jaguars. gets hired as a senior offensive assistant after everyone in Jacksonville got fired on Doug Peterson's staff. And now is the interim head coach of the team. It's a nice little pay bump that comes with that. He had a long-standing relationship with Brian Callahan, so it's weird for him, too. I'll be interested to see, do they get that one-week bump?
9:13Tom Pelissero:Vrabel, by the way, was also asked something along the lines of, you know, will the guys be fired up for you going back into Tennessee? And he said, as only Vrabel can. It's not like we're trying to win one for the Gipper here. In other words, for Vrabel, it's just we're rolling. But every week is its own grind, its own challenge. We got to go in and take care of business. And I would say, to the extent that we're talking about, like we were with Ian Rappaport in the last hour, the desirability of the Titans job. Cam Ward has a lot of fans around the NFL. Cam Ward was the one guy who, when you talk to scouts, you talk to coaches last year going into the draft, it was the one guy that everyone was like, he's pretty good.
9:48Tom Pelissero:Yeah, the things are a little loose sometimes with his play style. well, things off schedule, sure. Was the background completely clean in terms of how he interacted with people when he was at Washington State and things like that? No, there were some things he had to sort through. But as much as maybe some guys are independent contractors or whatever, in terms of him leading by example, in terms of him putting in the time, being the first one in, last one out, all those cliches, that is Cam Ward. He wants it that bad. And I personally have been impressed, and I know I've talked to people in the league who have been impressed with the demeanor.
10:19Tom Pelissero:He could easily be the guy who is coming into the huddle and doom and gloom and shoulders down. You see that all the time from young quarterbacks. He's not that guy. Now he's frustrated because they haven't been able to score a point. And in the three weeks since Brian Callahan was told he needed to give up play calling duties if he wanted to remain the head coach, they've somehow been even worse. They've been terrible for three weeks. You're not going to throw out the entire offense and put in a different scheme. All right. You're working within the same boundaries. Mike McCoy said, you know, it's got to be players, not plays.
10:52Tom Pelissero:When he was asked about his philosophy, I guarantee Brian Callahan wasn't sitting there going, guys, I think it should be plays, not players. I think we shouldn't try to get the ball to Calvin Ridley. I think we should just throw it to whoever's. No, like you're trying to build it around your players. So there's a lot of talk that comes into it. But can they get a bounce? Can they just go and find a way to get a win? They had the ball bounce their way in Arizona. It didn't translate. And they were terrible in the first three quarters on offense in that game. but you saw glimpses of cam ward down the stretch what are they going to do now against one of the hottest teams in the nfl a guy in drake may who i think in a year where there is no dominant team there is nobody who's running over everybody the likes of josh allen and padron mahomes and lamar jackson we talk about every year as being mvp candidates none of them have had a completely clean start i i think there is a path for a drake may to go be the mvp i'm not making a prediction here but if he continues to play at this level and you can't say enough about the job that josh mcdaniels and that staff have done with drake may there's a lot you go through when you have upheaval like they've had even going back to mac jones his first year when josh was there in new england mac jones brockman you watched it closer than anyone oh man where did you think off year one with mac jones where did you think he would be breaking the 32 starting quarterbacks what type of quarterback that you think you had with Mac Jones?
12:16Oh, man. You remember top 100 list that year? He was in the 80s. So even his peers thought he was one of those players who, wow, great rookie season year to look out player on the rise. You're thinking he's going to be in the top 12 probably top 10 upside quarterback. Yeah. Top 10 upside. Maybe get a weapon or two and see what, you know, remember his year at Alabama. He absolutely cooked Heisman Trophy
12:41Tom Pelissero:finalist and you thought you were getting that type of player. Year one looked great. Pro Bowl playoffs. And then it was the opposite of all of that. And that's part of the reason that even before they knew for sure that they were going to get Mike Vrabel as the head coach, I can tell you the Crafts were very interested in Josh McDaniels coming back. He'd obviously been there several times, going back to when he was there with Bill. Despite how it went in Vegas, despite how it ended in Denver, Josh is a really smart football mind. And he has a way of tailoring the offense to a young quarterback.
13:15Tom Pelissero:He's done it at a really high level. And you're seeing that right now with Drake May. So it's Drake May versus Cam Ward. That's one of the matchups you get to look forward to in week seven, coming off of week six that began with us getting a national TV look at a bunch of those quarterbacks that went up high in the 2024 draft. The other ones besides Drake May. I will open this up here real quick. We've got to break in a few, but is there anything you guys want to throw at me? I've been here for four days now. Is there anything, football or otherwise, you really want to know here, Brock? Otherwise, too.
13:50Tom Pelissero:We can go off the football board. You can hit whatever you want. I want to go football first, and I want to stay with New England, obviously. TJ, you can get to the Cowboys in a second. I'm giving you a lot of Cowboys. A lot of internet chatter about trade possibilities, deadline in a few weeks. Could a wide receiver be on the move headed to Foxborough? Are the Patriots looking at wide receivers right now, Tom? I don't view wide receiver as a spot that they're looking because Stephon Diggs has come on. I know the production wasn't there. You know, he had the big game against Buffalo, then not so much last week.
14:24Tom Pelissero:But Diggs looks like Diggs again. Kayshaun Booty is one of the under-told stories in the NFL right now. He's playing. He has played really well, and he's had some really productive games, and he's got the height, weight, speed you look for. And then Pop Douglas is a really fun weapon. I just, I don't personally, based on what I know, I don't believe that that's a target. Now, could the Patriots potentially upgrade other positions? Remember, they lost Antonio Gibson. I don't know that they can trust Ramondre Stevenson just based upon the ongoing fumble issues. And Travion Henderson, for whatever reason, just hasn't gotten going.
14:58Tom Pelissero:The thinking going into the season was they would use all three of those running backs. Losing Gibson, both in the return phase and in the backfield, was a pretty big loss. I would just say, to me, doesn't mean that they won't trade for a wide receiver, but all things equal, I'd say there's a better chance you see them trade for a running back than a wide receiver. Really? So not going to get the big, you know, A.J. Brown, Chris Alave, that type of splash deal? If something drops into your lap, you don't say no, but they are. I mean, they are paying digs, 20 plus million dollars right now. If you're talking about taking on a bunch of salary for another wide receiver, again, never say never.
15:31Tom Pelissero:Anything's possible. But I would view running back. I'd probably view edge. Those as being more pressing needs if the Patriots are looking for an upgrade than wide receiver. You mentioned Mac Jones. He's played great with San Francisco. I think we can all agree with that. Suffered his first loss over the weekend. But 3-1 as a starter filling in for Brock Purdy. He has a two-year contract. Are teams thinking about possibly calling the 49ers about Mac Jones being a starter next year? Or could he possibly make Purdy's seat a little warm? It's a good question on the trade front because we have seen him play at a high level.
16:04Tom Pelissero:He's hurt. I mean, Mac's playing through a knee injury right now, and you see that with the brace that he's had on. I think he also had an oblique going into the game last week. Like, he is laboring at times, but he's played at a high level. If I'm Kyle Shanahan, and I've got the best bargain backup in the league, not just for the rest of this season, but for 2026, I'm going to want a premium price if I'm even thinking of letting that guy go, especially because the only thing that's held back Brock Purdy in his career is injuries. He has been banged up. He's not the biggest guy. I don't even know if I'd call him injury prone because some of these things are just total freak deals.
16:40Tom Pelissero:The elbow he had in his first year. Now this this toe injury that he aggravated once again. Like history would tell you Brock might miss a little bit of time in the coming years. If there's one position you need a backup plan at, it's quarterback. And that's why they had Brock Purdy when they were going into the season with Trey Lance. That's why you had multiple quarterbacks when it was Jimmy and it was Trey. Like you've always wanted to have multiple options at that position. Cause once you lose somebody, if you don't have a guy you think you can win with, you're essentially punting on the season.
17:10Tom Pelissero:So possible they would get a call, especially if other quarterbacks go down. I just find it hard to believe that Kyle wants to let that guy out of the building. Yeah. But pretty going to play this week. You think? We'll see. They practice later on this afternoon. If he's not practicing today, I don't think that he's going to play, but the way that Mac is playing, it certainly eases some of the pressure in terms of getting Brock back onto to the field as much as I'm sure he's chomping at the bid here. It seems like he's in play. There's at least a chance. But if he doesn't practice today, I would think that that would probably rule him out for Sunday.
17:38Tom Pelissero:And George Kittle? Kittle seems like he's got a better chance. He's at least going to practice this week. Knowing George, the moment that he gets back on the field and huffs the smelling salts, he's going to think that he can go out and play 70 snaps. So I'd say, you know, it seems like a pretty decent chance. It's going to depend on how he looks in practice. But again, knowing Kittle's mentality, he's practicing. He thinks he's going to play. You know, I got a question, Tom, but before, you know, you said something about players being injury prone. And I always find that funny because the whole idea of this game is for big, strong men to put on armor and put punishment on other men's bodies.
18:11And yet we like not people because they get hurt doing this. It's amazing to me. More people don't get hurt playing this game.
18:19Tom Pelissero:But anyway, there's players who have an injury phase to those guys will be injured for three, four years all the time. and then all of a sudden they get out of it and they don't have the bad luck or they change things about their regimen, and all of a sudden they become durable. Like, that's not an impossible thing. Just because you suffer injuries in your first few years doesn't mean you can't get healthy later. It just changes the percentages. Now, my higher register last week was I went higher register about the Bears, and I said that in something we spoke about earlier, about how the season was going well for them.
18:48Then they had that unfortunate for them, Hail Mary, against Washington. and then the season for the Bears went all the way down. And I said, if they can get past the Washington football team this week, which was last week, I said, I think the Bears can go on a nice little run. And now that they've got that W over Washington, I'm looking at the schedule. They've got the Saints, I think a seemingly still Lamar-less Ravens, Cincinnati, and the Giants.
19:16Tom Pelissero:Was I wrong in thinking that the Bears could go on a nice little run here and rack up some dubs? I would say the odds toward Lamar being back are, I know they're hopeful. John Harbaugh referenced that after the game. My understanding is they are hopeful Lamar will be back. It's a hamstring. He will have had basically four weeks to recover. It's Lamar. Things are always a little bit different with Lamar, but it seems like it's pointing toward him being back for that game. You're right, though. I mean, the Saints, we'll see how the Bengals look after Thursday night. If they lose that game tomorrow night, the calculus their whole season maybe changes a little bit here.
19:50Tom Pelissero:But yeah, the schedule seems to be set up fairly well for the Bears. I would also just point to they're winning a lot of close games. They obviously got a bounce that went their way with the fumble late against Washington. But I sat here on Tuesday morning and said, like, I mean, that felt like that's the best we've seen Caleb play. Certainly the most under control that we have seen Caleb play. That portends a lot of good things moving forward because it appears he's buying into what Ben Johnson wants to see his quarterback do. DeAndre Swift had a big game. Rona Dunze has been unbelievable. We'll see what the status of DJ Moore is.
20:25Tom Pelissero:Ended up in the hospital with a groin injury, which you can only imagine what that might involve. I've got a decent idea of what it involves. Not the best, but they seem like they are in position to at least maintain relevancy. It's still year one with Ben Johnson. I just think, and I think Brockman, you posed this on Tuesday in terms of overreaction. I still think that saying, all right, they're a playoff team now. Now, that's probably a little much. Again, you have to see Caleb do it week in and week out. And there are other spots on that team where they don't necessarily have everything exactly the way that Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen want it to look.
21:02Tom Pelissero:But do I think they're going to be playing relevant games in December? I do. And that alone is a step forward for the Bears. All right. And this topic may be not really in our realm of what we do. But, you know, when we look at old sitcoms and old movies from back in like the 80s and 90s, right, guys, we see people and we look at them and you look at them now and you think, man, they look like they're 50s. And then you realize that, no, they were 35. They were 40 at this time. As humans evolve and get older, we're talking about quarterbacks and Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco being 41 years old and being the old guys.
21:38But as human beings evolve, do you think that this is going to become more normal for quarterbacks to play into their 40s and to the point where it won't be such a story? Because I feel like, you know, this is going to become the norm going forward.
21:56Tom Pelissero:It's still abnormal. Tom Brady normalized it to a certain degree, playing until he was 45. It's still not a lot of guys who do it. And we see, you know, the Derek Carrs of the world walk away when they're in their 30s. But for a long time, if you go back, and I remember looking at this when Brett Favre retired the first time after the 2007 season, almost every Hall of Fame quarterback for a generation retired either age 37 or 38. Like, you could go back. They all, Elway, Montana, Steve Young, they all retired at basically the same age. Once Brady pushed the envelope on that, it probably does have some type of a psychological effect, if nothing else, on some of the other quarterbacks.
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22:37Tom Pelissero:It's also, I mean, frankly, it's probably because just dudes know what they're doing with their bodies now. That was my other point. Life expectancy has changed. Life expectancy, training out. There's smoothie bars and clean foods in every facility. And you're paying, you know, Russell Wilson pays a million dollars a year or whatever for, like, his team to travel around with him. And, like, you know, spend time with them. I've been in a hotel gym the day before the game, and Russ is in there at 7 a.m. getting some workout in. And, you know, that's just, that's different than dudes. There used to be a seven-week preseason or whatever it was.
23:11Tom Pelissero:Because guys would be, you know, working on a truck and smoking cigarettes the whole offseason. It took them time to get into shape. Smoking squares during halftime of the games. Of the championship games. I feel like maybe in five, six, ten years, we're going to be looking at, like, you're going to see a lot more quarterbacks. Because it just seems the way that we've been evolving. I do think that the possibilities are out there. Part of it's the want to. And if you saw Aaron Rodgers with the Jets last year and just everything looked like it hurt, you would have said there's no way Aaron Rodgers is coming back for another run.
23:44Tom Pelissero:All of a sudden he's on a good team. This has to be the longest Aaron has gone without being on the injury report in years. In years. If he takes a big hit on Thursday night, and I certainly don't wish that upon him, but if he takes a big hit and he starts to feel it a little bit more, he might be rethinking whether or not it was a good idea to play at 40, much less 41, 42 and beyond. Alright, we gotta take a quick break here. Brockman's MVP index coming up on the other side of this break. Tom Pellicero in for Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen Show Disney Plus, ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance.
24:24The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
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25:35A bandwagon fan. The biggest insult in sports. But this summer, during the FIFA World Cup, it's an invitation, America. Never watched soccer before? Perfect. Think a corner kick is a karate move? Sure, why not? Prefer sports where players can use their hands? Me too. Just here for the snacks? Now we're talking. So grab a bag of Lay's and jump on the bandwagon. We're undefeated.
26:00Tom Pelissero:Lays, the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Welcome back to the Rich Heisen Show on Disney Plus, ESPN app and ESPN radio, presented by Progressive Insurance, Tom Pellicero. In for Rich, and I understand that before, most of the cast here departs for London to reunite with Rich for a couple of London shows ahead of the Rams and Jaguars duel Sunday morning on NFL Network. Brockman's got a little something for us. Y 'all better start the MVP, K-Man. Brockman's NFL MVP Index. Oh, you know it's that time of the year, boys. Is that your head on Bob Knight's body? Is that what that was? Bill Walsh, actually.
26:47Tom Pelissero:Bill Walsh, yeah. I'm the Bill Walsh of MVP Index. I had a little small, I think, for that. Looks probably the same sweater, but probably a little different build. Bill Walsh was all about those big pop collars. Here's the thing. We know, TJ, you've said it. Might as well be the MVQ award, right? We know the MVP is going to quarterback this year, right? It would be really awesome if Baker Mayfield won. That would be pretty sick. He's a cool guy and having a great year. However, through six weeks of this NFL season, and I am busting out the non-quarterback MVP index. All right. It's not just one position, you know, responsible for winning.
27:27It's everybody, Tom, as you know. It's all 53. The quarterback's pretty important, but I get your point. Quarterback's pretty important. I don't want to ruin your premise here. The non-quarterback MVP index number five. Going to Jacksonville. Devin Lloyd. This guy has been an absolute beast. Leads the NFL in interceptions as a linebacker, And we know he had that unbelievable pick six against Patrick Mahomes. This guy's absolutely balling. And one of the main reasons, Jacksonville, four and two in the playoff mix and a surprise team that could win their division.
28:00Tom Pelissero:Like Devin Lloyd met him the morning that he was drafted. I believe that was the Las Vegas draft. He was in the suite that we had in the Cosmopolitan Hotel, like at the breakfast buffet. I was like, oh, yeah. Hey, where do you think you're going? You know, one of those like weird moments. and then obviously his career has gone. I hadn't thought a ton about Devin Lloyd since, quite honestly, until this year when obviously he begins making a ton of plays. Yeah, hugely. For a revamped Jacksonville defense. I mean, Anthony Campanilli deserves so much credit for the way that they've generated as a team a lot of these turnovers.
28:30Tom Pelissero:I mean, he's had a fantastic year. Not going to play, not making the trip to London because of the calf injury that he suffered last week. But Devin Lloyd off to a great start. I mean, defensive player of the year, if you were naming that right now, I think he'd probably be in that mix with, well, I don't want to ruin any of the other names you're going to say, but I would think that he would at least be in that conversation. I imagine you were about to say this person's name coming in at number four. Nick Benito, the best defense in the NFL, the Denver Broncos, Nick Benito leads the NFL in sacks.
28:58I had eight of them. I walked him right into it. I actually let him say it. Teammates. But then he gave me the opening teammates.
29:05Tom Pelissero:Nick Benito has been awesome this year. He's been really good. Him and Brian Burns tied, I believe if Benito got one last week, but they're both up there at the top. Brian Burns, seven and a half sacks. Benito, eight. Benito added a half sack then since we had Brian Burns on the show on Friday. I mean, Benito is certainly, I mean, he's the straw that serves the drink. Broncos got him locked up for years to come between him and Pat Sertan. I mean, those are the two guys that kind of everything goes through there. I mean, he's, yeah, he's been really good on a Denver team that is a top or at least tied atop the AFC West, despite the fact that that offense has been a rollercoaster ride so far.
29:40Tom Pelissero:Number three, also a player not going to play this week. Let's go down to Tampa. This dude has been absolutely unbelievable. Offensive Rookie of the Year is in the sights for this player, and he is number three on the non-quarterback MVP index. Got to be Amir Buka. With all the injuries going on in Tampa, Ameka Buka, did I just pull a Gronk for a second? I thought you were doing a Gronk impression. No, yeah. Ameka Ebu. Ebu. That was really embarrassing. That was what he said. For Gronk. Seemed like he scored a touchdown every game. He's been everywhere for Baker Mayfield on this offense, who has suffered a litany of injuries to Mike Evans and Godwin coming back and Bucky Irving being out.
30:18This dude has been absolutely the real deal and looks like the best wide out in this class.
30:22Tom Pelissero:He's exceeded, I think, anybody's reasonable expectations, including mine, because the one thing you heard about him, because really in talking to people around the league, the only lock first round guy was really Teddero McMillan. He was the one that everyone was like, all right, he's in the mix. It was just, is that the style of receiver you want? was the tape two up and down. Matthew Golden was the next one, especially after he blazed the 40. And then after that, like I was a member going through mock drafts on NFL.com and like nobody had Emeka Ibuka in the first round. The thing I kept hearing, especially when I talked to coaches, was all right, the traits, scouts worry about traits.
30:55Tom Pelissero:Coaches are just like, dude can play football. Like he's such a good football player and a wide receiver. He's going to be good. What I didn't expect to see was that he'd be the deep threat. He'd be making the plays down the field, not just the guy who's, you know, possession type receiver but the big play threat and the degree of difficulty uh absolutely has blown me away this season mvp probably a little strong especially because again that hamstring that could be a few weeks you know hamstrings can can take a little bit here we'll see you know whether or not he's an ir guy by the end of the week a lot of times those moves aren't made until saturday but in terms of most impact rookie receivers in recent nfl history there's not a lot of guys who have come out of the gate the way that this guy has you know justin jefferson week one was down his first year week two he got a whole lot better after that he certainly made an instant impact on the game jamar chase had a good rookie season but i mean this guy's this guy's unbelievable number two i'm going a little off the board here maybe you guys aren't thinking about this player but you really should four and two for the seattle seahawks i'm talking about jackson smith and jigba This guy has been absolutely unreal.
32:03Top five in catches. Leads the NFL with almost 700 yards. He's on pace for an absolute monster season. It seems like he gets every single target from Sam Darnold in that offense. Sam Darnold having a great year. Seattle looks like a playoff team. It's mostly because of that guy right there, 11, number JSN.
32:21Tom Pelissero:I've seen some of those photos of the Ohio State receivers on the bench back when these guys were all in college because they were all together. You mentioned a bunch of them, along with Marvin Harrison Jr. Marvin Harrison Jr. was supposed to be the one who would make the instant impact. And while he's played better the past couple of weeks here, hasn't been, you know, that guy right out of the gate. Instead, we're talking about a bouquet. We're talking about Jackson Smith and Jigba. You're right. I mean, I give John Schneider all the credit for the way that they have totally revamped that team.
32:49Tom Pelissero:When you think about it a year ago, and obviously Smith and Jigba was on the team, but it was very much it was Geno Smith throwing the ball to DK Metcalf. That was the primary receiver. Tyler Lockett was still there. All three of those guys are gone. They get Sam Darnold for less than what they would have, what Geno wanted, plus get a third round pick, ship off DK Metcalf, which, and cut Tyler Lockett, which opens up all the floodgates for Jackson Smith and Jigman to become the high volume receiver that he's capable of being. He has been excellent so far through the course of the season. Lastly, number one, probably the most surprising team in the league, 5-1 Indianapolis Colts.
33:30Yeah, TJ, I'm talking about your boy, Jonathan Taylor. Leads the NFL in rushing. Leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns. This guy has been an absolute monster. Looks like the offensive player of the year right now. And I know I said, you know, B. John Robinson is the best, you know, player in the NFL last year. I mean, look, let's be honest. Jonathan Taylor is playing like that dude right now. Gotta love JT. He's number one.
33:51Tom Pelissero:Jonathan Taylor at number one and B. John not making your list? That's bold. that might get aggregated make sure you post that since you run the X account, Brockman I've seen some of the stats I've seen the stats with Jonathan Taylor I thought he was done I thought you were done he has been as effective when he's been healthy as anybody in terms of consistently producing on a week in, week out basis he's a huge part of what they're doing in Indianapolis right now, I think that everybody realistically is wondering, is Daniel Jones going to be able to do this for all 17 games and in the playoffs, or are we going to reach a point where those bumps in the road come?
34:36Tom Pelissero:Well, having Jonathan Taylor there, even when your wide receiver group is a little bit beat up, Alec Pierce didn't play for a couple of weeks there. Having that guy and Jonathan Taylor you can count on definitely helps. Jonathan Taylor should be in the conversation. Hasn't been a running back winning the MVP since Adrian Peterson 2012 yeah Peterson you have one more I did not know I wasn't even done Jonathan Taylor is the highest running back these guys Joe Flacco had better timing after five days on the Bengals than you've got on the sound bar I wonder if Brockman has one more Jonathan Taylor is 100 to 1 for MVP now I can't give gambling advice wouldn't I never ask you never ask but he's on pace for how many yards right now?
35:22Tom Pelissero:He's got... Let's see. I just added up. I think he's got, what, over 700 yards? Yeah, it's in that 2 ,000 neighborhood right now. I don't know if it's slightly under or slightly over. He's got 600 yards in six games. He's averaging on 600 yards. So, yeah, on pace for 1 ,700, 1 ,800 yards. If he's in that category and the Colts go 14-3, maybe I'm wrong. I find it hard to believe Daniel Jones is going to eat up a bunch of MVP votes. He didn't even come close. But, I mean, that was in a little different situation. Again, it's like how much credit do you give to the singular player if it's not a quarterback?
35:55Tom Pelissero:That's always been it, which is it doesn't matter how good the running back is. If the quarterback sucks, then he's not going to be able to have that level of production. He's now minus money for offensive player of the year, so Bijan would have to go nuts to kind of overtake him. I mean, Bijan is Bijan might be, and I know we talked about this before, but he might be the best player going in the NFL right now. He's on a pace for 1 ,150 yards receiving beating B. John Robinson. They've done a great job. I mean, Zach Robinson, since he moved down from the booth, that offense has been as consistent as anybody.
36:25Tom Pelissero:You go back, remember, Arthur Smith was there when they drafted B. John and they drafted Kyle Pitts and they drafted Drake London. And the idea was, let's build a basketball team and no one will be able to compete with our combination of size and speed. They didn't have the quarterback. Right. They never drafted. They never used a high pick on a quarterback. They did on everybody else, offensive line. Everything else. Running back, wide receiver. Desmond Ritter in the third. That didn't work out, but it's a third-round pick. And obviously, Arthur Blank decided to move on. Right now, it looks like the Falcons' offense is headed in the right direction.
37:00Tom Pelissero:It took a long time to get to this point, but if Michael Penix Jr. ends up being that dude that Desmond Ritter and Marcus Mariota and even late career Matt Ryan could not be, job one is win that division. And to do that, you've got to get past the other guy you mentioned, Baker Mayfield, and the Bucs, who one way or another, no matter how many people are hurt, no matter how rough the schedule is, no matter how ugly it might be at times, they find a way year in and year out to hang another day. All right, Mike, play the drop. We need one more. All right, thank you. All right, we'll get one more.
37:31Tom Pelissero:Now we're going to get one more. You're running the surprise. Blind squirrel and Mike Del Tufo on the soundbar. All right, let's do it. One more. One more. Non-QB MVP index, guys. I got to do it. It's Scadaboo. It's Cam Scadaboo. All vibes, all juice. I don't even know what's in that juice. It's probably not legal. This guy is the guy that we want leading this. He's injected a certain swag that was not existing on the New York Giants right now. Two out of three wins, and it's because of this guy. he's shirtless ripping with Fitzpatrick Jackson Dart he has no S in his name come on look at those guys now I want to be I want to be clear on one thing because you said what Cam Scadaboo is putting in his drink might not be legal and you said Cam Scadaboo injected I'm not implying anything those were just weird words all natural and a little bit nuts a lot nuts I think that if Cam Scadaboo and the Giants, and last week was one game, but if they continue going this, I would be all for a new award that is the Cam Scadaboo Award.
38:51Tom Pelissero:It would be the rookie who most changes the vibes of a team. If Deion Dawkins can get a lineman award, why can't we get a vibe award? It's not the rookie of the year. It is not the best player. it's just the one who everyone's like oh man this is fun look at this guy look at this guy this is cool I would be up for the Cam Scadaboo award all natural and the top of the trophy would be him shirtless bumping chest with Ryan Fitzpatrick ripping his ripping the shirt off ripping the shirt off like Hulk Hogan rest in peace DJ Scadaboo I would do. Can we work on this? We can make our own trophy. To do the protector award.
39:41That's what I mean. The Scadaboo award. I think Scadaboo was an angry run. He gets the scepter this week. What would it be though?
39:48Tom Pelissero:What's on the bottom of it? Is it the Scadabowl? The Scadabowl and inside the bowl is Scadaboo ripping off his shirt? Scadabowl. He did go to Arizona State. I don't know. We'll workshop it in the break. Scadaboo. All right. More of your questions, too. If anyone's got anything they want to chime in on, 844-204-RICH. That is the phone number. One more seven. Tom Pellicero in for Rich. More of your NFL questions next.
40:18The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
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41:36Tom Pelissero:As you all know, Rich cares deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness. That's why we're all 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. Great cause there. Great being in the past few days here for Rich. Tom, you're so good. Love you being here.
42:21Tom Pelissero:You'll be seeing in the not-too-distant future tomorrow, London time, in the evening. 844-204-RITS, the phone lines. We got any final questions here. Vinny in Long Island has been waiting to weigh in here. Vinny, it's Tom Pellicero. What's up? Hey, Tom, how you doing? Doing fantastic, man. What's on your mind? So I'm a huge Giants fan. I'm happy the vibes are high. That's all great. but all I keep watching every week is Daniel Jones just play out of his mind in Indianapolis and I'm just wondering just with your contacts around the league what does the league think of his resurgence and just the Colts in general and then also if he continues to play like this plays at a pro ball level and somehow wins the AFC South for the Colts and wins the playoff game and all that great stuff, how bad does that look for Brian Dable and Joe Shane?
43:21Tom Pelissero:Well, the Giants won a playoff game with Daniel Jones and Brian Dable three years ago. They went into Minnesota as a wild card and won a game there. They did see the best of Daniel Jones, and then he went through a couple years where he was banged up and obviously got benched in 2024. I mean, injuries were a factor. He never fully captured the draft position that he was taken in. And I would say, you know, in terms of the league wide reaction to it, number one, it might be the best free agent signing of the offseason. Daniel Jones for one year and it was like around up to 15 million somewhere in there.
43:58Tom Pelissero:The Vikings had a similar type of an offer. But when they realized Daniel Jones really didn't necessarily want to be back in Minnesota, they pulled the offer, said good luck in Indianapolis. It's worked out certainly well for Daniel Jones and the Colts and the Vikings still, even though J.J. McCarthy's not on the field right now. They believe in the long run it's going to work out for them as well. I think that the other part of this in terms of the league reaction is just how long is this going to go? At some point, are we going to see the bad Daniel Jones? Because there has been the good and bad Daniel Jones through the years, which is why he was in this position.
44:32Tom Pelissero:I think that the bigger picture here, Vinny, is if Daniel Jones does the things you said and gets the Colts in the playoffs and wins a playoff game and performs at this level. How much money is somebody paying him in March? Because he's a free agent. The Colts could franchise tag him. That would be another option. That's a big old rock sitting on your cap. If you do that, like 40 million or so. But is Daniel Jones suddenly a 50 plus million dollar a year quarterback? His last year was four for 160, I believe, and people lost their minds about it. Yep. That was as much a leverage thing as anything because it was him and Saquon.
45:08Tom Pelissero:I appreciate the call, Vinny. Him and Saquon, they tried to get the Saquon deal done. Saquon ultimately wanted more money. So they went, well, all right, we got to get the Daniel Jones deal done then because we want to tag Saquon. This is all coming off of that playoff season. And that's the direction that it went. all of which led us right here where they spent the additional resources that they had on the defense getting that all squared away while they knew they probably didn't have the long-term quarterback option i don't think that you know the daniel jones performance necessarily reflects poorly upon the giants it's more so a reflection of two organizations that were at different spots the colts by all accounts had built up a pretty darn good roster they did not get the quarterback right.
45:55Tom Pelissero:They drafted Anthony Richardson, who at this point, and thankfully it's not worse, but just suffered an orbital fracture, went on injured reserve doing band work before a game. He has had the most remarkable run of unfortunate circumstances you could imagine, but everyone's in there going, Anthony Richardson hasn't done anything to justify that. Does that look bad on the Colts? Well, it only looks as bad as what you make of it, which for them is signing Daniel Jones at a bargain rate and allowing them to unlock, hey, the rest of this roster is pretty darn good. Been great to be with you guys all this week.
46:31Tom Pelissero:Thank you to everybody who's been listening on ESPN Radio. Presented by Progressive Insurance. Rich and the boys back tomorrow live from London. 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, the podcast.
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From the publisher
Guest host Tom Pelissero previews the intrigue surrounding Patriots vs Titans in Week 7 with Mike Vrabel facing Tennessee for the first time since his firing, says if New England could target a WR at the trade deadline, discusses the status of 49ers QB Brock Purdy and TE George Kittle, if the Chicago Bears could make a run for the playoffs under 1st-year head coach Ben Johnson, and if quarterbacks playing into their 40’s will become the norm instead of the outlier at some point.
Chris Brockman reveals his top NFL MVP candidates that are NOT quarterbacks, and Tom explains why Daniel Jones will be making a lot more money next season playing for the Indianapolis Colts or elsewhere.
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