Hour 3: Jaxson Dart Possibly Out for the Season, 49ers TE George Kittle, plus Steelers DT Cam Heyward

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1:17Rich 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. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Levante brings it in. Earlier on the show, Bengals head coach Zach Taylor. ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate. Coming up, Steelers defensive tackle Kim Hayward.

2:09Rich Eisen:49ers tight end George Kittle. And now, it's Rich Isaac.

2:20Rich Eisen:Hour number three of this Tuesday's show with week two of the NFL season in the books. this show is on the air here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, Sirius XM Channel 80. Already the first two hours, a lot of fun, overreaction Monday on a Tuesday. Also having a bunch of fans calling in to see, you know, who think that their teams are in trouble or their season is over.

2:48Rich Eisen:And R.E.S. Consulting, we're here for you and we'll take some more of those calls. And I'm wondering if I should do this. David in Ohio is a diehard Steeler fan. And Cameron Hayward is just joining us here right now on the program. I'm going to do this. First of all, how are you, Cameron? Good to see you. Hey, Cam. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing fine. Would you mind taking a phone call from a Steeler fan right now? Of course. Of course. David in Ohio, this is what RES Consulting can do when you're concerned about a team. You there, David? Hey. Hey, how's it going, Sam Hayward? I'm a huge Steeler fan, by the way.

3:23I love watching you play every Sunday. Thanks, sir. Great to talk to you, actually.

3:27Rich Eisen:Pleasure to talk to you, too. So, David, I know you're – go for it. You have an actual Pittsburgh Steeler, a future Hall of Famer sitting right here. What do you got? Yes. Yes. Yeah, so I – Go ahead. First, I wanted to tell Brockman I am 1-0 in higher register standings when I told him that my Pittsburgh Steelers would beat the Patriots last week. So, 1-0 there. Appreciate that. Yep. Yeah, I'm just looking for some good vibes. I really think we can beat the Bengals on Sunday. I know it's going to be at home. David, say what you were going to say if it wasn't Cam Hayward listening. David. Say it, David.

4:11Let it happen, David. It's okay. I'm a big boy. Okay. All right. I really like that Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, they've reunited. I just want to see some winning football I know we got a Super Bowl a while back And I do appreciate all the work you do Cam Hayward

4:31Rich Eisen:Every week on the field David in Ohio David in Ohio Told our call screener Cam Quote Needs reassurance season is not over That's what he said to our call screener After week two David I know it wasn't pretty But you gotta believe in us Give us a chance baby Let me earn it back for you. I will. I will. I will. And I will be cheering for you. I will be cheering for you against the Bengals. Please sack Joe Burrow for me. Please. I need to, brother. I got to get him on the ground. Their offense is on fire right now. So we got to be some firemen and put this thing out. All right, David. There you go.

5:10Rich Eisen:See, I try to get it. It's so funny. He's like a call screener. I think the season's over. I need Rich's reassurance. And then here comes Cam Harris. Cam, I think you are great in the community. I'm so excited for Rodgers and McCarthy together. I mean, thank you for the call, David. Thanks, David. Appreciate you, brother. Is that fandom right there or what? Huh? Right there. I just put a spy on my face. It was a pretty somber day, but hearing David just say he felt good about me, but didn't really know what the team was doing, I feel a little bit better now. There you go. I mean, so, but I think David might be giving voice to concern throughout Western PA, Cam.

5:52Rich Eisen:What do you say? What do you say to that? I say, you know, we got to go through some growing pains. You know, we got a new offense and on defense, we have a lot of like the same pieces, but the offense is growing. And I'd rather have this problem now than, you know, late in December. So hopefully we can learn from our mistakes. Hopefully we can get everyone on the same page. and offenses on the field a lot more and scores a lot of points. And, you know, I think this is part of the conversation we're having league-wide right now is like the role of preseason football and what do you get out of that with practices against teams and the first two weeks are still sort of a feeling out process.

6:36Rich Eisen:What is it like to actually do this for a living after as long as you have where you are in a week two environment like New England's against a team like theirs, trying to find your way through. Do you think you need to play more in the preseason professionally now, Cam? I don't know if play more in the preseason. I just think you've got to build up some continuity. I don't think every team's going through this, and so our problems are not their problems. And what we're trying to apply, you have to look at where your offense is and say, hey, look where we were, look where we can be. We have a lot of moving parts, a lot of young guys in new positions.

7:19You just got to feel more comfortable. Coach McCarthy's trying to implement a system that everybody's got to thrive in. But it's not, you know, Rome wasn't built in the day. So don't expect it to just be perfect on day one. But we got to get back on the horse and get back on our business.

7:34Rich Eisen:So what is the challenges that the defense has gone through for the first eight quarters that you feel needs to be fixed, if you will, prior to this game against Cincinnati, which is pretty damn big for both. I think stopping the run. You know, you look at our first two opponents, they've had some success running the ball, and I know we've mitigated that with turnovers, but if we want to be a really good defense and have a lot of success going forward, and it's sneaky in Cincinnati. You hear so much about what those wide receivers can do, what Joe Burrow can do. Not everybody talks about what Chase Brown can do.

8:08And I remember just last year we went up there. It was a Thursday night game. Everybody made a big deal about Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers, the icy hot bowl of the century. But when you talk about that game, Chase Brown went off on us. And he had success getting downhill and had a lot of big runs. And it just opened up everything for their offense. So you can't lose sight of that.

8:30Rich Eisen:And I think that's something we've got to improve on in the future. Cam Hayward here on the Rich Eisen Show. And what is the challenge going against somebody like Joe Burrow? from your experience. He can make every throw. He's a competitor. You know, not many teams have T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. And so throwing it up to those two dudes, you know, you can't just double them. You got to make some plays. You got to get sacks. You got to get turnovers. But Joe doesn't make it easy. He's light on his feet, can move, and, you know, he provides, you know, everything for their offense. And I'm sorry to put you in this position, but you knew these things happen and you've been through it, it sure would be a game to get Joey Porter Jr.

9:16Rich Eisen:back in the mix, Cam. I know that you're talking about somebody else's. More the merrier, baby. Say it again? The more the merrier. And I know. This is not your lane, I guess. But, I mean, what do you sit there in your locker room thinking about going into this game like that? Man, I want everybody to be out there with us to give us the best chance to win. You know, I know there's been a contract dispute, and, you know, we've been dealing with some injuries on that side. But, you know, hopefully we can get them back sooner or later because we know we're a better team with them. Mark Cam Hayward here on the Rich Eisen Show.

9:55Rich Eisen:Did you see the Monday Nighter? Did you spend any time watching that or no, not really? I spent a lot of time watching it. I was too much in my feelings to watch. Is that right? Seriously. Is it tough for you after a loss to watch other people play football? Yes. Yes. Because they got a chance to win and I don't. I love that. After all this time, you still feel that way, huh? Yeah. After all this time? I'm not a sore loser, but I take losses pretty hard. And, you know, I think part of my decompressing is, you know, not watching everything that's going on around the league when we do lose. Okay, so then if you don't mind helping interpret these stats and numbers from your position, according to NextGenStat, Aaron Donald, 32 snaps, and of them the 18 pass rush snaps had a get-off time of.75 seconds.

10:50Rich Eisen:That's the third fastest by a defensive tackle this season. What do these numbers tell you without even seeing him play? Well, Aaron Donald is ready to play. 32 snaps off of having played anything in two years is crazy. You know, getting any tackles, you know, or even a tackle for loss is just icing on the cake. You know, I saw a couple highlights. It just looked like he was active, you know, getting off the ball. I want to know how he feels today, though. That's the real question because two years off and playing, that's probably going to make the knees and back a little bit shaky this morning.

11:32You think so? for sure of course of course but Aaron's prepared for it Aaron takes really good care of his body runs a lot and I remember you know during COVID me and him we'd be on the same field doing our own workouts but he'd do some pretty impressive stuff with his guys yeah I

11:54Rich Eisen:mean and again but I just why I would you know obviously want to pick your brain here since this is an area of your expertise to say the least this is your lane um is playing this position and playing you know uh right there i mean right in the middle right in the crash zone for so many different ways and you said it's insane that he played 32 snaps on monday night i think it's very tough to do that um with not as much of a callus on your body in the last two years uh i think the thing that helps you got brayden fist you got a lot of good d lineman that you can create a rotation and have that flood of just you know it's not all aaron dot on every single play but uh he can be a major factor to this defense and you know if you're not sliding to him that guard is going to be in a world of hurt because he's going to be asked for some type of help yeah and so uh from what you have been able to see outside of your own film and your own world um do you have a through the first two weeks best team in football that you've seen cam oh best team in football um i would say seattle is probably the best team right now um you know there's just there's there's a lot they got going on on defense is just pretty special.

13:15How so? I just love the cohesiveness from the back end to the front end. And they, they deliver pressure on all, all fronts. Leonard Williams leads that group. And I just, I like the way they play. They play with a lot of energy. Julian Love makes critical plays when you need them to. And so those are two guys that really stick out to me. I also think Cincinnati's defense has been balling as of late. A lot of respect for what Dexter Lawrence is doing over there. And, you know, he knows how to plug up the middle. If you're not double teaming that guy, that is crazy because he's already a behemoth of a man.

13:56So it's putting a lot on the center or guard to just block them one to one.

14:00Rich Eisen:Yeah, we had Zach Taylor on earlier in our one cam, and he talked about how he's done more than just show up in the in the huddle since he's been there. and how, you know, it's remarkable. Again, you know, obviously your position that you play sometimes gets overlooked because there's the sack guys on the outside, but you get somebody that can anchor that middle. I mean, how does one build around that, right? How can you explain that, how somebody like you in a position like that can change things? Well, I think it gets overlooked, but I think you go into your team and say, You know, that's the type of guy who is the straw that stirs the drink.

14:43It's the guy who sets the tempo, the guy who everybody feeds off of. You know, he's very fortunate. And I think both guys play off of each other very well. But it's him in it's him in Jonathan Allen that do a great job of just their veterans. They know how to get the job done. They play with great energy, great pad level, and they have violent hands. and when you do that up front, guys are going to be talking about you and you're going to make a whole lot of mess for a lot of people. So I don't envy our offense because we've got to get it right, but that's the target we've got to go after because that dude is a bull in a china shop.

15:25Rich Eisen:Well, I wish you the best of luck in this week three game against Cincinnati. It's pretty damn big and then right behind it is at Cleveland on a Thursday night. So you got your college state beckoning for you. They love me there, don't they? For sure, man. It's just you and Hayden on Not Just Football with Cam Hayward this week? Yeah. Figure we switch it up. We got some things to address. We got to address our loss and move forward. Okay. So that's coming up on Not Just Football. Again, if you need a guest, I'll always play the home and home for you. you know that camp and i appreciate that i will be getting at you you know that that certain week so which certain week might that be is that in november so you're saying are you saving me up for november certain week yes because it just it's great banter last year we had you and jack sawyer on right that was awesome maybe we get will howard in there a little bit more and okay have some more fun with so you're gonna

16:26Rich Eisen:You're just talking about double teaming Sexy Dexy. You're going to double team me, triple team? I'm just going to find as many Buckeyes as I can. I'm going to get Marcus Freeman on, James Laurinaitis. Just go in the back for it. As long as you bring Roman Wilson for me. Let's do that. Roman's not available at that time. That's the veteran's preemptory right there. not just football podcast with cam hayward every single tuesday uh and of course right here on the rich eyes and show every single tuesday great to see you cam as always great to see you as well thanks for the time appreciate there you go it's a cam hayward right here on the rich eyes show how about david ohio like i'm i don't know what's going on here with my team i need i need some help tell me the season's not over again i mean again adam when he takes your call you tell him what you want to talk about.

17:17Rich Eisen:He doesn't make it up. He writes down what you say you want to talk about. He's back there talking to you guys. He wrote down needs help in how the season's not over. now it's time for Cam Hayward. He could say this to Cam. Cam, tell me everything's going to be all right. Instead, he's just like, I think you're great in the community. Hey, Mr. Donnie Baseball, give that guy a break. Come on, you know. Dotty Baseball. That's the truth. I mean, you get scared. I feel like that all the time. It's also like when you go to the comment section and someone says something bad about you, and then you go, well, hey, man, thanks for watching.

17:58Rich Eisen:You're like, oh, I didn't know you read this. Just joking, big fan. That's kind of what's happening. Just joking, man. I didn't know you'd read this. Yeah. And how about that? Cam's waiting to help him, and he's just like, hey, Brockman, I got higher register, right? Come on, now. I threw David in Ohio, Lord Charles, Dwight Gooden, 85-86, met 12-6 curve. And just like everyone else. He was just like, oh. He swung and missed. He buckled, stared at it like Rob Deere. Oh, Rob Deere. Oh, yeah. Took a stray. Oh, by the way, Daniel Jeremiah mentioned him by name on Game Day morning. He made a Rob Deere reference.

18:38Rich Eisen:Amazing. Rob Bamba Deere. Let's take a break before Mike Del Tufo starts talking about being the founder of the K Corner. I was. You were not. Yes, I was. You took credit for someone who did credit. A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible. That's overcoming high interest credit card debt. Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same day funding. That's right. go ahead and pull off your own debt-defying stunt right now with a SoFi personal loan by visiting SoFi.com slash trick to learn more loans originated by SoFi Bank and a member FDIC terms and conditions apply NMLS 696891 I just realized George Kittle is joining the week I was playing Michigan oh my gosh oh wow

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21:49Rich Eisen:the rich is a show podcast george kennel of 49ers listeners what's up george it's good to see you man it's a tuesday in september the niners are playing well feeling good about ourselves right now so football's fun isn't it dude how about how about how about uh australia how about that one for you because you you went everyone's it's finally now put to bed with the rams having finally played a game about how you went to Australia and how they went to Australia. Is that something you guys in your locker room were using to your effect that everybody thought the Rams didn't really get beaten by you?

22:31Rich Eisen:They just got beaten by jet lag, George. Well. Come on now. What do we have? I think we're a pretty good team. So I think straight up we beat the Rams, but they're also an incredible team with an incredible talent. Nice. Aaron Donald looked pretty good last night. darn it, Aaron. But I mean, that whole thing, I mean, when they told us we're going out a week early and then the Rams announced they're going out two days, I was like, yeah, well, let's see who has the best plan. And then I would just say after being there for two days, I was totally in a brain fog and sleepy and tired. So I think that would have been tough to play a football game on.

23:08But, you know, the Rams went out and did it. They did it their way. And, you know, I just saw a Sean McVay quote from yesterday, I think it was. you know sometimes you just make a bad decision he used other words but I laughed pretty hard at that and I appreciate the accountability from Sean McVay yeah I mean it was it was a funny sound it was a walk-off sound bite

23:28Rich Eisen:you know that that that that definitely happened but I guess let's let's talk about your team the first I mean I know a lot about the Niners I can talk about it now. What do you want to know? So why have you been able to come out of the gate as well as you have, then? Let's put it that way. I think the biggest thing is that this is essentially like the same offense we've had for quite a while now. You know, it's the same starting line as last year. It's the same quarterback, the same fullback, the same running back, the same tight ends. You know, wide receiver room has changed a little bit, but Debo's been a part of it before.

24:03I think Mike Evans would work in any offense because of how good he is. and it's pretty incredible to just, you know, I got really lucky. I got to play with Trent Williams, right? We got him. Hall of Famer plays like a Hall of Famer still. Mike Evans, Hall of Famer plays like a Hall of Famer still. And so just when you add guys like that, it's just so much fun because, I mean, every time we call a play and I know Mike has a chance to get the ball, I'm like, this is so sick. Like Brock Purdy's throwing the ball to Mike Evans and I'm blocking for him. What a dream come true.