Hour 3: Live from Canton, OH Willie Roaf & Luke Kuechly, plus a Lions ‘4-Downs’ Preview

21:27Rich Eisen:I will do my best to not extend the evening any longer than it might have to be. But it is, just to give you a heads up, because I've done this a long time, I've done it a few times, it is the first tangible item you're getting. I mean, I know you're wearing your golf shirts. By the way, I've never seen this very nice collared button down that they've got going on. They're switching up their gear here a little bit. but they're modernizing their gear a little bit. But this is it. I mean, this is one where you're going to look inside your coat. You know, the number. Yes. You know about that. Yes.

22:00Rich Eisen:Do you know what your number is? 386. Okay, you're 386. And so that's going to be in this jacket forevermore. You're going to look down. You're going to feel it. It's going to hit. It's going to be cool. It's starting to feel more real because you hear a lot about the gold jacket dinner from the guys. And then you get here, and then there's more of them, and more of them talk to you about it. We had a toast in the in the bus gallery yesterday and you look around and it's just Hall of Famers and it's it's pretty cool. You don't you walk in and you're like, I don't know if these guys know who I am.

22:34I'm kind of just trying to find my way a little bit. And then Edron James comes up and Calvin Johnson came up and, you know, you walk around and you look across the room at Steve Atwater and Zach Thomas. And I mean, there's a million, a million guys. But when you're around all of those guys in a room like that, you just look and see these are guys that I watched growing up. I came to the Hall of Fame when I was a little kid. And you look at names when you're that age of of Hall of Famers. And now I get to see them all, which I think is it. It kind of all comes together this weekend.

23:08Rich Eisen:Yeah. So you I was going to you just kind of front loaded my question that was going to be next is who you've met. I mean, you did name some guys. There are some old school guys. Obviously, Atwater would be one of them. Yeah. You did name two guys, Calvin Johnson and Edron James, who looks just like you. Like, you could give me. Edron James still has it, yeah. Like, you could give me some snaps right now, you know. But any OGs, like old school guys? Okay. I mean, that's kind of cool. Yeah. Right? That part was cool. Andre Reid, Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, that group. And then you start to think about guys that played a long time together.

23:47You sit at lunch, and it's Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley and Roger Craig, one of our class members, and those guys all played together, which I think is really daggone cool.

23:59Rich Eisen:That is pretty cool for sure. Luke Kuechly here on the Rich Eisen Show. So what was that luncheon like that you just came from? Because, again, for anybody who's just joining us, The Ray Nitschke luncheon's been going on forever, and it's Hall of Famers only, and the only non-Hall of Famers in the room are the waitstaff and the guys who are going in the next day. You're technically not yet truly 1 ,000%. No, not yet. They let you know on that. They do let you know that, huh? No, it was a ton of fun, and like you said, it's an opportunity to sit and have lunch with guys that you, quite frankly, grew up watching and you never know, hey, am I ever going to be around those guys all in the same place?

24:43And, you know, you walk in there and we have we have white shirts on and they have their gray shirts on and they get some of those guys get up and speak and you sit at a table and speak with guys. And it feels it feels like you're you're in a locker room again. And it's so funny. There's there's wide ranges of guys from, you know, I'm 35 all the way up into their 80s. And And regardless of how old anybody is, it feels like you're sitting in the lunchroom at your facility. It's all the same jokes. It's all the same personalities. All the guys are still, you know, talking junk and having a great time.

25:20And it just reminds you that the older you get, you're part of they always the guys have said for the longest time, this is a team you can you can never get cut from. So it does it does feel like you're part of, you know, a team of these guys, 387 guys. And no matter how old or young we all are, it still feels just like a locker room.

25:40Rich Eisen:So and it's pretty neat, man, that you're it's kind of full circle this entire process. You got the knock on the door from Julius Peppers and you have selected him as the guy who's going to put the jacket on you tonight. Yep. Is he also introducing you tomorrow? No, tomorrow will be my dad. Tomorrow's my dad. All right. So let's put a pin in that for the moment. Yes. Why Julius Peppers? with it you know you come when I came to Carolina you know Sam Mills was was the guy that when he walked into our room that was the standard Sam Mills keep pounding he played there he was a coach there his son was on our staff when we got there and then the the legend of Julius Peppers in that building was very apparent there was there was pictures we had a we had a hallway in the stadium that had all of the Pro Bowlers so if you made a Pro Bowl you got a plaque on the wall and it had all your numbers or the years you went into the Pro Bowl.

26:28Sure. And there was a picture of Pep, and I remember it to this day. It was a young Pep with a white jersey. We were in all white. He had his helmet with a clear visor on, and he was holding a football like that. And he was kind of the standard of defenders in Carolina, modern-day Carolina. And you see tape, and I played with guys that played with Pep, and they always talked about the aura and the legend of Pep. So when he came those last two years, I had the ability to play with him and be around him and learn from him and see what kind of great teammate he was and how he treated people. So for him, the knock on the door obviously was unbelievable, but I think a guy that I looked up to a ton when I was playing in Carolina and that was the standard and a guy that I had the fortunate opportunity to play with, it felt like it was very easy.

27:18And now your dad is your presenter. What do you think that moment's going to be like for him? I think he's very excited about it. I think that he's very proud of his boys. I have two brothers. There's three of us. And I think he's as proud of me as he is my other two brothers. And I think for him to have the opportunity to get up there and experience that moment with me, I think is going to be very powerful. And I think that's what this weekend is all about, is sharing the game of football and sharing this moment with the fans and the people at the Hall of Fame and the other guys in our class and the rest of the Hall of Famers and then my family and friends that have taken time to come up here.

28:05I'm going to experience this weekend with them, and then I'm going to get to experience tomorrow on the stage with my dad.

28:12Rich Eisen:I think it's really cool. And then what do you think that moment's going to be like for you? Because, again, you've got a jacket tonight. Yeah. You've got a speech that you know you're going to deliver. Yeah. Okay. But in between it, you're going to step out on that stage, and then you and your dad are going to reveal that bust. Yeah. I mean. I think it'll be very. You ready for it? I hope so. I hope so. I've seen. I've seen. Obviously, went out and did. I was out there when they did the sculpture of the bust, which was really cool. But I think it's going to be. I think we're both probably gonna gonna have to kind of hold it together a little bit which I think is which I think will be really cool uh-huh I mean everybody bets on who's gonna be the first to cry in Hall of Fame class what's what's the current discussion well I mean Larry's Larry's first so he's gonna be up there he's gonna be up there first so I'm third so a couple guys got to get through it before I get up there so hopefully uh could be me might not be me but Larry and Adam and then it'll be me.

29:04Rich Eisen:So Larry goes first, then Adam, then you. Yes. And then Breeze finishes up. Correct. Okay. And, you know, I don't know how many classes in the history of the NFL have featured a first ballot quarterback and a second ballot defender who's intercepted that quarterback before. This might be rare. It's cool, yeah. You got Drew Breeze once in your career, correct? Once, I think. Okay. I think more than that. No, I think it was just once. Okay. He kept it away from me. 2015, I was just told in my ear. 2013. 2013. It was a home game. It was raining quite a bit. 2013. Yes. I don't remember. I think that was it.

29:45I think that was it. The ball was slippery? No, it was a rainy game at home. It was like around Christmas time. They beat us two weeks before in New Orleans, and it was a big game for the division.

29:55Rich Eisen:Well, obviously, you go as far back with Breeze as anybody else that I've compared in this Hall of Fame class for you. What has it been like for you and Breeze going in together here so far? It's been really cool because when you're playing, you always want to ask those guys questions. Hey, why did you do this when we did this? What did this word mean? How did you try to attack our defense? They always talk about the first 15 plays that Sean Payton and Drew Breeze ran, especially in the Dome down in New Orleans. And now you get an opportunity to talk to them about all that. hey what were you guys trying to do what were you looking at what did this word mean you start to get a lot of these those answers or those questions answered which is really cool and you're still looking for answers oh yeah oh yeah i think it's fascinating no tomorrow it's learning i think the ability to learn at this point is is really cool but also um my uh shoot it would be my second game ever played was against drew we played him i think Yeah, we played him at home.

30:56And then my last game ever played was against Drew at home too. So it kind of went full circle. I started early on in my career playing against Drew, and my last game ever was against Drew. What was the most difficult thing to defend against him? Accuracy, anticipation, ball placement, and understanding of – he understood everything. And you would sit across the line of scrimmage from him, and you'd watch his eyes, And you can always tell, I think, when guys are comfortable and when they're uncomfortable and when quarterbacks look comfortable and they're at ease with their eyes. It's bad news.

31:36Rich Eisen:So before I let you go, and I appreciate you taking the time on such a busy week for you, such a whirlwind, just to turn you into a pundit for a hot second here. when we're talking about Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald playing together, as it appears to be, is going to happen,

31:59Rich Eisen:that nobody talks about what that would mean for the second level of the defense for the Rams. What would that unlock, do you think, for the second level? Let's just say you're playing behind them. What would that mean for you? The other thing, too, is they got Byron Young on the other side. I think he had 12 sacks last year. Correct. So basically what that means is these guys play with a lead a lot. You know, with that Sean McVay offense, they play with a lead a lot, which means that teams have to throw the ball. Yes. And when you have a pass rush like those guys do, where they can line them up all over the place, the ball is going to come out faster.

32:31So those linebackers can attach quicker in coverage. They can play more aggressively. They understand that the timing of throws and the timing of routes and the ability for routes to get downfield is not what it used to be. And then let's not forget they just traded for Trent McDuffie too. so he's going to be on the outside playing corner they're going to be pretty stout on the defensive side of the ball and those you know if Aaron Donald does in fact come back they got guys they have three guys in that D line that are all over 10 plus sacks a year all day and I think the winner the biggest winner of all of it would be Byron Young on the other side knowing that they're going to push they're going to push protection to Miles Garrett if Aaron Donald does come back I don't know what they're going to do and land man behind them oh yeah yeah just hoovering up tackles one would yeah there's no one you can't you got to block the guys in front first right and when you're a second level defender and that was one thing that we always had in carolina were big guys in front of you that were disruptive and caused problems and the only way to get a run game going is to block the big guys in front and those dudes are really good and you got to believe land man's going to walk up to lesney and say thank you right yeah uh and the panthers outlook What do you have for me there?

33:42I think the biggest thing with them is they've been on a slow rise the last couple years since Dave Canales took over. Bryce has gotten better every year. I think you look on the offensive side of the ball with the guys we have at skilled positions. I mean, T-Mac had a great year last year. Jalen Coker was an undrafted guy out of Holy Cross that we just re-signed. He's a really good player as well. and then defensively they hit the heck out of the roster in the last few months yeah they've got you know the two corners are both really good big physical mike jackson and jc horn drive on merrig was a guy we brought over in free agency is like that new that new wave of linebacker hybrid safety that can play in the box against the run and really good against the pass with all these teams running these 13 personnel looks like like the rams are doing um and then derrick brown on the inside we've got we've got some dudes that that can really play it's so great to see you

34:42Rich Eisen:in the hall of fame man it's awesome i i again i just it it's a listen i know you won't say this so i'll say it for you it's a testament to your greatness you played eight years and you get into the second time that you're up and you're getting in at age 35 and you'll have a you know nice long run as a returning Hall of Famer. That's right. You are an excellent, excellent avatar for what this place stands for. Well, thank you. And I know you're going to take that seriously, and I cannot be happier for you. Well, thank you, Rich. Appreciate you having me on. Truly, anytime, Luke Keekly. Congratulations to you.

35:17Rich Eisen:That's Luke Keekly, a Hall of Famer officially as of, well, I think tonight. I guess tonight. It's the jacket. Yeah. I'm telling you, man, it is, again, my honor to be the one to say your name tonight, to introduce you to that arena and set the stage for you to have your moment with julius peppers it's gonna hit you like a ton of bricks it's gonna be exciting i'm looking forward to not wait to watch it all play out for you well thank you you're welcome that is luke keekley right here on the rich eyes and show we'll wrap up our show from canton on a conversation about the detroit lions in a moment.

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37:46Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. On the Rich Eisen Show. We're out of guests, guys. It's just us. Oh, baby, let's go. This is just us from Canton, Ohio. So before we get to the four downs for the Lions, which is our back to the usual order of Rich Eisen Show business, um tom in canton ohio oh yeah called up he called in uh one of the many terrific volunteers that work here um on behalf of the hall of fame he as you know said he's a a volunteer for the hall of fame and that he uh want to know donuts right he's his offer to bring donuts i showed up here in the presentation center this very morning and already here was a box of donuts with a note from Tom.

38:38Rich Eisen:Oh, wow. And there they are. There they are. I asked for jelly and custard. That's a jelly donut. That's custard on the top. You could see the top of the box. Oh, yeah, that's right. A little bit of the piece of the donut. That's great. Time to make the donuts. Time to make the donuts. Thank you. The bottom left one was the eclair in the mix. That one was consumed by my personal volunteer that's been working here. Rod, on behalf of the hall, is hanging out here. Rod's here. It's difficult to forget Rod's name because his last name is Stuart. Oh, okay. Yeah. So, yeah, the guy who's hanging out with me, he's hanging here all three hours.

39:28Rich Eisen:A retired school teacher. Correct, Rod? Okay. Is he British? One of the terrific... Huh? Is he British? He's not British. No, he's not. Where is he from? In Ohio? Where are you from in Ohio? Well, you live in Canton now, but you're from... I'm from Canton, but I currently live in... Oh, he lives in a spot where Liz was pissed where he lives. Kettering, Ohio? Anyway, I'm close to giving out your social security number. I'm sorry to do all this on the air. but uh rod gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to tom's custard donut okay amazing so so cool yes it's gone it's gone but not forgotten which one did you add the jelly donut do you have the other photograph because tom like i i took a shot of the top of the box and tom like personalized the top of the box well rich you know what they say every picture tells a story don't it wow that's It's Rod Stewart.

40:21Okay.

40:22Rich Eisen:I was going to say Rod's wife's name was Maggie. Actually, Rod wears it well. He wears it well. That's another one. He's got legs.

40:32I'm not even going. I'm not even doing it. I'm not getting dragged to that level.

40:38Rich Eisen:It's four downs time, guys. Let's do it. The Detroit Lions are today's four downs preview. and Jameer Gibbs got paid. Sure did. He got paid, and he is making a touch more than B. John Robinson, meaning, listen, I love it when I'm proven correct that anybody's like, uh-oh, B. John got his, the Lions aren't going to give Gibbs his his, and I'm like, actually gives him a target. And sure enough, they hit the target where it is just a titch more than what Bijan was making. So he's now, he's now, Jameer Gibbs, the highest paid running back in the National Football League. And he will go onto the field with that smile.

41:25Rich Eisen:And he is 1 ,000 % going to be a crucial portion of today's four downs on the Lions. Hit it. Hut, hut. Four downs with Rich. Here we go. Why did he stop? All right, my four downs on the Detroit Lions right here in our final segment from the Friday of Canton, Ohio, Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend. It's a simple one. First down, there's a new offensive coordinator in town, and it is Drew Petsing time. He's front and center. And listen, last year they went into the year saying Johnny Morton's the guy. He's the guy that's going to take the baton from Ben Johnson and run with it. and they dropped a 50-burger on Ben Johnson in week two, and you're like, here we go.

42:15Rich Eisen:And then all of a sudden, midseason, it's Dan Campbell taking over the play calling right in the middle of the season, which you know was not the plan going into the season after Ben Johnson left to go coach the Chicago Bears. So they went and got Drew Petzing, the offensive coordinator from Arizona. Now that Mike LaFleur went there, his service is no longer needed. And so what is he going to do? Is this offense going to hum again like the Ben Johnson years? Or is it going to be closer to what they saw last year, which was a lot of problems up front offensively. And the run game wasn't as good as good.

42:54Rich Eisen:And Jared Goff wasn't as protected. And leads were tough to come by and then tough to hold. So Drew Petsing, you're on the clock front and center. And obviously that plays into a second down all about the Jameer Gibbs 2.0, which is him with the bell cow around his figurative neck. What does Jameer Gibbs, the bell cow, look like? How many more touches is he going to get? How many more touches can he handle? How many more touches will the Lions be happy to give him? How many does he want? How much of number zero are we going to see in the end zone? because of it? How much of more number zero potentially being unavailable will we see because of it?

43:40Rich Eisen:What will Isaiah Pacheco's role be inside the 20s, inside the 20 itself? It's just a lot of questions. Drew Petsing is going to be there. Jameer Gibbs is going to have the bell cow. What's going to happen there? Third down. Moving on to the defensive side of the football. It's very simple. It's very simple. Will the football gods stop kicking the Lions defense in the Nards? 16 players on injured reserve in 2024. And then last year, they were once again the most injured side of the football in the National Football League on defense. It's just ridiculous how many times the Lions depth chart, certainly in the secondary, certainly up front, gets tested because somehow, someway, somebody's going to get injured.

44:32Rich Eisen:And it is just stupid how it happens every year. I would love to see the Detroit Lions not get decimated by injury or have that injury bug even come close to getting close to decimation. And as we all know, Terry and Arnold's off the field. I know we referred to the words in the NFL as situation. Terry and Arnold's not there anymore. So their depth is already going to get tested. And so the football gods, will they stop kicking the Lions and the Nards is third down. And then fourth down, I know this is a question that you ask all the time, Chris. So it's time to hit it right now. Has the Lions window closed?

45:14Rich Eisen:And everything that I just mentioned plays into it. Has the Super Bowl window for the Detroit Lions closed? I sure hope not for many reasons. First of all, I love the Lions fans. They are diehard. They would make Detroit look like the New York sports scene celebrating the Knicks if the Lions won the Super Bowl. It would be off the charts insane. But here's the reason why I hope not for them as well. Over the last couple of years, Brad Holmes, the general manager, has extended Jared Goff through 2028, Aiden Hutchinson through 2030, Amon Ross St. Brown through 28, Panay Sewell through 29, Aleem McNeil through 28, Kirby Joseph through 29, Jack Campbell through 30, Jamison Williams through 29, Jameer Gibbs now through 30, and Derek Barnes through 27.

46:06Rich Eisen:They certainly have put their marker down on the window being open because they've got these players in mind and they are terrific players. they're like putting their chips on these players and hope to hit the point in the next few years. Because if you think the window's closed, that is a billion plus dollars committed to those players. So they think the window's open because they've got these players all locked up for a long time. And Dan Campbell is the coach there, we assume, for a long time. So this is the window, and this is 2026, and the Lions definitely regressed last year. I sure hope for their sake the window's open because they have got the players locked up thinking that window is open.

46:55Rich Eisen:And that's my four downs on the Detroit Lions. Yeah, Lions are the favorite to win the division. There they go. I mean, they've got tons of really good players that they've committed to in their long term. They've locked them up. So it's not like they're going to get ravaged by free agency or anything like that. We shall see. Fun show here at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Monday, I'll be back to talk about tonight's jacket dinner, Saturday's induction ceremony, and I just really appreciate the Pro Football Hall of Fame giving us the presentation center. The Rich Eisenman. That's the way it's now called.

47:34Rich Eisen:I love that. No champagne here, though. No champagne. Hey, you know what also? That's an easy fix, though. All right. Can't do any champagne. So thanks again to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We'll be back to wrap up this show. Oh, there it is. Tom. Tom. That's the top of the box. Oh, yeah. We'll be back to wrap up this show on Disney Plus in a moment. The Ridge Eisen Show Podcast. You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. You're vision arrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment.

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