In short
The Rich Eisen Show Hour 3 features Paul Rudd joining for a fantasy football “team name” bracket, then Broncos head coach Sean Payton discussing the team’s expectations, Bo Nix, and a historical Saints playoff/special-teams story. It also includes live phone calls about parenting advice and Broncos hype/overreaction.
Guest backgrounds
- Paul Rudd: actor; known for playing in major films and appearing on the show to discuss fantasy football and entertainment.
- Sean Payton: NFL head coach, formerly Saints head coach; now Broncos HC.
Key claims
- Payton says Broncos expectations are to win the division, secure a good seed, then win a Super Bowl; he argues they’re checking key boxes (QB, connected coach, defense, offensive line/run game).
- Payton praises Bo Nix’s NFL readiness, emphasizing athleticism, arm strength, accuracy, leadership, and ability to throw from varied body angles.
Notable examples
Payton recounts a 2006 Saints Monday Night Football game vs. Atlanta: special-teams punt rush blocked by Steve Gleason, Curtis Deloach scoop in the end zone, and Drew Brees getting stuck in traffic/parking garage with a car roof rack.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOFantasy Football with Paul Rudd
0:33 to 0:57
Paul Rudd discusses his fantasy football leagues and team names.
“And a throwback flick at the local drive-in.”
Fantasy Football with Paul Rudd
1:55 to 5:10
Paul Rudd discusses his fantasy football leagues and team names.
“Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show on our first day in the wonderful world of Disney is on the air.”
Elite Eight Fantasy Team Names
5:10 to 10:00
Rich and Paul Rudd go through fantasy team names in a bracket format.
“Dench is, I think like, I don't think I ever hear from Dench.”
Final Four Showdown
10:00 to 14:00
The final four fantasy football team names are discussed and voted on.
“I don't want to eliminate this because it might prove to be too wordy.”
Fantasy Football Team Name Debate
14:00 to 17:01
The segment discusses a fantasy football team name contest involving Paul Rudd.
“Big Dom wins, does that make him the Billy Preston of this?”
Excited for Football Season
17:01 to 17:22
Paul Rudd expresses his excitement for the upcoming football season.
“But again, Paul Rudd is not just going to choose it out of personal belief or whatever.”
Transition to Sean Payton Discussion
18:53 to 20:03
Hosts discuss upcoming guest Sean Payton and NFL updates.
“Sean Payton about to join us on this program.”
Caller AJ's Parenting Question
20:03 to 22:30
Caller AJ asks Rich for advice on parenting and sports team allegiance for his son.
“Like, if you put Jameis there, it's just like, hey, everybody, stop screaming for the kid.”
Choosing a Sports Team for Kids
22:30 to 26:04
Discussion on how to choose sports teams for children based on family ties.
“So my question to you is, let me preface it this way first.”
Levi's Concerns About the Broncos
26:04 to 28:00
Caller Levi expresses concern about the hype surrounding the Broncos this season.
“And the last time the bandwagon was this full, I feel, was the Russell Wilson trade.”
Show all 16 chapters
Addressing Concerns in a Tough Division
28:00 to 29:52
Discussion on managing expectations and concerns about team performance in a challenging division.
“But when you go in, when you check these boxes, you are worthy of being talked about as a threat.”
Call-in Segment with Alan Dallas
29:52 to 31:52
Alan Dallas discusses ESPN's changes and shares thoughts on Jerry Jones.
“Because, Al, you're one of those guys that I could basically say, sorry, I've got to go because Sean Payton's on the phone line.”
Sean Payton Reflects on Game Day Challenges
33:06 to 36:08
Sean Payton recalls memorable moments from a significant game day experience.
“I think our two home preseason games were played in Shreveport and Jackson.”
Expectations for the Broncos' Season
36:08 to 42:01
Sean Payton discusses the expectations and potential for the Broncos this season.
“And, I mean, it was a tough, tough team.”
Setting Expectations for the Team
42:01 to 44:27
Learn about the challenges and expectations facing the team this season.
“And look, last year, there's a lot of unknowns.”
Analyzing Bo Nix's Potential
44:27 to 46:13
Explore Bo Nix's skills and what makes him a noteworthy quarterback prospect.
“A couple of minutes left before ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance.”
Transcript
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1:27This is The Rich Eisen Show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Yeah, it's kind of my thing. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Now you're making your debut as a college football coach. I hope it goes a lot better in the game against Dallas. They crushed us. Earlier on the show, ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Troy Aikman, Commander's linebacker Von Miller. Coming up, actor Paul Rudd, Broncos head coach Sean Payton. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Yeah.
2:00Rich Eisen:Hour number three of the Rich Eisen Show on our first day in the wonderful world of Disney is on the air. Fun first two hours. Troy Aikman and Von Miller. Sean Payton's about to join us. If you missed any of the first two hours, as soon as this show is over, you can watch it back at your convenience. Stream it on Disney Plus and the ESPN app everywhere. There's our YouTube page as well. YouTube.com slash Rich Eisen Show. We got a lot of comments are saying you're going to still put your videos on YouTube. The answer is yes. There's our podcast as well. All three hours available. through our new relationship with ESPN Pods and the Pod Center there.
2:33Rich Eisen:844-204-RICH is the number to dial on the program. This show came on the air 11 years ago, and one of our first guests also served as our first guest when we were on Peacock for the first time and on the Roku channel for the first time. And we say hello to anybody out there that might be watching on Roku, on Disney+. and so it's only fitting that he joins on this day as well and on this day as well while we've been on year after year it's kind of like the masters a tradition unlike any other because every single day and you'll hear if you're new to this program we'll say silly stuff we'll write it down or a guest will say something and we'll write it down I'll turn to you Chris Brockman and say sounds like a fantasy team name I write it down I have a document and so it's now time to have our fantasy team that we conduct collectively on this program named yes and the person who chooses our name is a diehard fantasy footballer and football fan himself, our friend Paul Rudd's back on the program.
3:32Hi, Rich. Hi, guys. Hey, Paul.
3:35Rich Eisen:That's a warm round of applause for you, Paul. Oh, I feel it. I feel the warmth. How many? So just again, the standard first question, how many fantasy leagues are you in, Paul? Too many. Too many. So many leagues now. That's the answer. even like my uh family's like we've lost you to the month of august and i i also have a few of those drafts this is a new one where i've done like in like a best ball one where you're kind of it's the long yes you know that's the one that we're in together paul where i'm where i took some serious heat for telling people to move it along and apparently i was the major violator of taking the longest time so i stepped in that one you really did yeah yeah you called out and then You realize that there's a whole thing you can track, and you were taking the longest.
4:23But it's – that will go two weeks, you know, and you're – it's a terrible thing. You wake up at 3 in the morning, and it's like I just go to my phone. I'm like, oh, God, I bet I'm up. Yeah, exactly. I know.
4:36Rich Eisen:I need to make sure I get Will Shipley, you know, in round 17, you know, and then you feel good. Like, yeah, I got that. You know, it's nice. I think I might have gotten Will Shipley on that one. It's not a well-rounded existence. Let's be honest. All right, so too many. And what are your team names? Have you changed them? Are they the same? What do you have here? I haven't changed them yet this year. I mean, I think I'm still dealing with tears of elegance maybe in one. Is Dench still one? That's still my favorite. No, Dench. Dench is, I think like, I don't think I ever hear from Dench. Dench is, especially because I know, Rich, you have said in the past, always ask me that Dench.
5:27I always do. Because it's Dench with an exclamation point.
5:30Rich Eisen:Yes, correct. And yeah. And if there was a fantasy league for actresses, would she be a flex? Paul, would Judi Dench be a flex? What would she be? I mean like you know she's a you pick first of all you pick Dame Judy Dench she's a first rounder she's a first round pick or at least a second you could probably get Dame Judy Dench on the wraparound if you're picking late you know alright let's get to the task at hand And we have, out of the stupidity over the last 365 days of this show, called down phrases that have been uttered. We don't have some of them we have the context for. Down to a final eight, an elite eight, if you will.
6:24Rich Eisen:And we have seeded them. And what we're going to do is we're going to walk through a pair of them. Each time you will advance one, eliminate the other, and then we'll eventually come up with a team name if that works for you. Do you have a pen? I'm going to write this down in a bracket. Okay, you should. Okay. So first up is the one, are we going with the one seed first? One seed, yeah. The one seed. And I think you'll like this one. I do remember this was, I said this in reference to the Chiefs fatigue, the football nation, except for you, because you're part of the kingdom, was feeling last year when the Chiefs had made the Super Bowl again and that they were dealing with, here we go, a bundle ruski of hate.
7:06Rich Eisen:A bundle ruski of hate. And there's Smich, Sean Mitchell. And the avatar has to be considered as well. That's an outstanding avatar right there. Bundle Rooski of Hate is our top seed. And it goes against, I don't know why this is, but number eight seed. Do we have the context for this one? We don't have it? I have no idea. John Lennon's hot tub. I have no idea what that was, but there it is. There's Lennon in a hot tub in a very cold environment. We had a guest who said they were friends with John Lennon and went in his hot tub. Okay, there we go. Yeah. So who advances, Bundle Ruski of Hate or John Lennon's Hot Tub, Paul?
7:41Rich Eisen:Which one do you eliminate? Which one do you advance? Oh, boy. It's one versus eight. Talk it out. I'm going to go with John Lennon's Hot Tub. It's a surprising pick. You would say Bundle Ruski of Hate, certainly. But there's something just, I like these things to exist in and of themselves. Okay, I understand. It's kind of cryptic about John Lennon's hot tub. Okay, very good. What an up. That's like, is that like UMBC knocking off Virginia right there? Something like that? That's huge. That's a major upset. All right, John Lennon's hot tub advances. Yeah. Well, by the way, the Beatles are the greatest band of all time.
8:23Rich Eisen:Understood. Got it. That's true. Understood. Next up, you'll like this one. Finger gunned by Costner. There it is. Finger gunned by Costner. There he is giving you the finger guns right there, maybe on the set of Horizon. And then number seven is nitpicking Gosling. I don't recall why we were saying it, but nitpicking Gosling. That might have been when you were mistaken for him at the combine. Oh, that's right. I was actually mistaken for him at the combine by somebody who was drunk. You were mistaken for Ryan Gosling? Yes, in front of Matt Eberflus, who can attest to this. These are facts. Sounds weird, like a big crazy football Hollywood Mad Lib, but it's true.
9:08Rich Eisen:Which one advances, finger gunned by Costner or nitpicking Gosling, Paul? Costner. Costner advances. We thought that would be the case. All right, so we have a new top seed. There's something, because, and I feel like, you know, the double ing, nitpicking Gosling doesn't work. Oh, interesting. Okay. Next up, this was said by Nate Bergetze when he came here because he watched, he played golf with Mark Wahlberg. And at one point, Wahlberg had somebody, a friend was at his caddy, popped out a Theragun and was using it on him during the round. So Wahlberg's Theragun pit crew. There it is. It looks very squid-dish.
9:55Rich Eisen:Not going to lie. So it's actually, it's Mark Wahlberg's Theragun pit crew. We could lose the mark. I don't want to eliminate this because it might prove to be too wordy. We can work it. This one was said by the actor Paul Walter Hauser. He came on the program. He said he's in the new Springsteen movie. And he said he got to tell Springsteen that they both, once upon a time, lived in the same house. Not together, but he lived in the house that Springsteen had previously owned. He said he told Springsteen that he conceived one of his children in the bedroom, and Springsteen responded by saying, me too, which led to locational Eskimo brothers.
10:43Rich Eisen:That's what Paul Walter Hauser said. So this one's tough. What do you have from here, Paul? Locational Eskimo. I love the avatars. Fantastic. It's so great. So this is really good. That is really good. And by the way, great story. Better story than team name. I'm going Mark Wahlberg's there again. Sorry. But at least Paul's got a kid out of it. Paul Walter Hauser's got a kid out of it. A great actor. Hilarious. Good guy. And Springsteen, I'm going to say it right now. One of the best. Way to go out on a limb. All right, last two. This happened to me at the American Century Championship golf tournament.
11:31Rich Eisen:I noticed Mike Vrabel at a table across the way. He was drinking red wine, and he waved at me. Vrabel table? The Vrabel table. Very good. He waved at me with his pinky. So Vrabel's pinky wave is a team name right there. And then this one, I don't know where this came from. I don't either. In reference to the man who patrols the Eagles sideline. Big Dom's Lockbox. Big Dom's Lockbox are your last competitors. Paul Rudd, Big Dom's Lockbox or Vrabel Pinky Wave? I know what I'm rooting for here. What do you got, Paul? I'm going to go and I'll tell you something. Even though they crushed us in the Super Bowl, I'm going Big Dom's Lockbox.
12:20You don't let personal feelings creep in here, man.
12:24Rich Eisen:that's why we have you paul you don't let personal feelings creep in here you go with what's best for us and what's best for for the bit uh you're committed i appreciate it i also you have to take it into account the sound of something does it just sound how does it work how does it work sound wise yes poetry wise you know i know there's always that's why you go with like a Lenin Tata versus like, we all want to incorporate player names in our things. I've never been into that. Okay. So now we've got the final four. Except Cuckoo for Coco Crisp, which was, was a team name one. Cuckoo for Coco Crisp.
13:05Great. I've only ever used two players in my fantasy names, fantasy team names. Cuckoo for Coco Crisp.
13:14Rich Eisen:And the other? Carry on my Wayward Johnson. Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen. That sounds like Berman. That sounds like a Berman nickname. Carry on my wayward Johnson. I like it. All right, so final four. Who advances to the final round? John Lennon's hot tub or finger gunned by Costner? Paul? That avatar is amazing. I'm going to go with John Lennon's hot tub. Okay. The Beatles advance. Wow. And then they face who in the final? Wahlberg's Theragun pit crew or Big Dom's lockbox? Big Dom's lockbox. Okay, so here we go. Championship. Hey, listen, if anybody could take out a beetle, Big Dom wins, does that make him the Billy Preston of this?
14:07Rich Eisen:The fifth be the... George Martin. George Martin, okay, sure. Brian Epstein. If you will, the winner of this competition on the Rich Eisen Show fantasy football team name is either John Lennon's hot tub or Big Dom's lockbox. Paul Rudd, the floor is yours. Well, I certainly like the Beatles more than everybody mentioned, but you know what? I think Big Dom's lockbox. Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored by you, and I can't wait. We're going to go on a roll here with Big Dom's lockbox. Do we have any Eagles on the team, Chris? You know, I pulled it up because I wanted to make the change immediately.
14:51Okay. We do not have any Eagles.
14:55Rich Eisen:It's all good, though. Big Dom's lockbox, the five seed with the win, man. That's impressive, Paul. I like it. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. And you can kind of, I don't know, like, exactly what context you referred to Big Dom's lockbox in earlier, year, but it's cryptic enough that you can kind of just have fun with it. I love it. Just have some fun with it. Do you want to offer your thoughts on the Chiefs season that starts Friday night in Brazil, Paul? Well, I mean, I'm very excited. I'm very excited that football season is starting again. I can't wait to watch the game. Yes, sir. It's on Friday night from Brazil, right that's correct in the voice you will recognize the voice calling the game paul so um yes i will okay the owner of big dom's lockbox i don't know if i'll mention that on friday night but you'll be out there you're gonna mention you're gonna talk about big dom's lockbox during the game or no look at me like what the hell are you talking about um that's right you know it's what the kids say if that's the case you just take out a theragont you just give him a little little walberg so all right well all right you're excited for the season obviously I'm very excited for the season.
16:11Rich Eisen:Yeah, I always am. It's always great when you're starting off and it's all ahead of you. You know? It's the whole season ahead of you. There it is. Okay. And so, yeah. Enjoy it, buddy. Good to see you. I want everyone to stay healthy. On every team, every game. Paul Rudd. Paul Rudd. Thank you, sir. Paul Rudd, for the Chiefs and humanity. Love it. Look at that. Good to see you, bud. You be well. We'll chat soon. It's great seeing you, Chris. Guys, have a great year. You too, Paul. Hey, congratulations on this new, it's first Disney. I feel like Bill Murray on The Letterman Show. I'm your first guy on all of these endeavors.
16:51You are.
16:51Rich Eisen:You are. Great to share an app with you. You are. Take care of yourself, Paul. Thanks again, buddy. See you. Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Rudd. I got to say, stunned. Big Dom's lockbox came out of that. Wow. But again, Paul Rudd is not just going to choose it out of personal belief or whatever. He's just going to get... He wants what's best for the show. That's true. And for fantasy football. And comedy. And humanity. All great. ESPN Radio, again, presented by Progressive Insurance, returns when we come back right here on the Rich Eisen Show with none other than Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos.
17:25Rich Eisen:We will also predict the NFC North and take more of your phone calls. 844-204-RICH, number to dial.
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18:52Rich Eisen:Terms and conditions apply.
18:56Rich Eisen:Back on the Rich Eisen Show, everybody. Sean Payton about to join us on this program. Before he does, interesting news. The yellow line that you see on the screen for first down, it's unofficial, as you know. Unofficial. You've made that clear. Be careful. If anybody thinks that line is official, shame on you. So depth charts at present, apparently they're unofficial. Oh. I don't know what that means. I don't know where a depth chart becomes official. Teams are reporting depth chart info right now. I understand that, but it's being called unofficial. The Giants have named Jackson Dart unofficially as the backup to Russell Wilson.
19:45Rich Eisen:Okay, that's not surprising. Dude, it's not Russ and then Jameis and then Jackson Dart. it's russ then jackson dart then jamis which means our second hour guest von miller let's say somehow some way he gets to russ and russ winds up in a on a sideline for for a split moment blue tent oh we don't want blue tent blue tent serious sorry i just saw the sideline okay so we need somebody we got to get who's taking the snap it's jackson dart is that what's happening Because also, that will start the conversation of how short of a patience meter Brian Dayball and the Giants have on Russ. You know what I mean?
20:41Rich Eisen:Like, if you put Jameis there, it's just like, hey, everybody, stop screaming for the kid. Not ready. We're not going to put him in. but dart being second unofficially
20:54Rich Eisen:so I understand you're saying yeah makes sense because of what a preseason he had this is gonna this is something one would say uh bears monitoring Ryan Daybell's future is not tied to Russell Wilson it's tied to Jackson Dart no I understand that but Russ we've talked talked about it at Washington, at Dallas, home for Kansas City. That is not easy, sir. Home for the Chargers at New Orleans, home for Philadelphia, at our next guest's home in Denver. And Cam Ward's going to learn what that's like on Sunday. And then at Philadelphia, home for San Francisco, at Chicago, home for Green Bay at Detroit.
21:48Rich Eisen:That's the first dozen weeks. And so you're saying Dart is one potential snap away from having to run that gauntlet? I found that interesting. Yeah, he's got to play at some point, though, this season. Okay. Sean Payton joining us here on the program. 844-204-RICH-NUMBER-TO-DIAL in a matter of moments. Let's take AJ in San Antonio's phone call. What's up, AJ? Hey, what's going on, Rich? How y 'all doing? What's going on, sir? Hey, so I had a question for you. Today's my son's birthday. Congratulations. A second birthday. Okay. What's your son's name? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. His name is Angelo. Okay.
22:27Rich Eisen:Happy birthday, Angelo. Happy birthday to Angelo. What can we do? So my question to you is, let me preface it this way first. I've been watching you on the NFL Network and beyond since, I mean, y 'all aired, and I was like in grade school, man. And so like for you, the small way, you're a father figure to me through the air. You know, I've just gone up watching you and I've noticed the best dad ever plaque on your desk. So for me, being kind of new to the dad world, my question to you is what's the most important element of representing the best dad ever plaque and what advice would you give to newer dads or first time fathers?
23:05Rich Eisen:Being present, AJ, be present. You have no idea what your presence means to a child. so for Angelo be as present as you possibly can that's number one um and then obviously instill your your uh instill empathy uh into Angelo as best you can um what what what teams do you want Angelo to root for equally as important oh man well that's that's a second question I have for you so as someone representing to kind of keep it more in the sports world as someone representing the state of Texas takes a lot of pride in their soil and their state. Which team should I pick to represent our household? Should I present the Cowboys as our main team, or should I present the Texans as our main team?
Read the full transcript
23:51Rich Eisen:Well, let me just start with this one, AJ. Does your wife have a rooting interest? Yeah. Good question. So her family is from Houston. AJ, you have an out. You have an out. You have an out. You have an out. Because when my sons were born, and that predates my daughter by several years. So by the time Taylor arrived, this thing was already, you know, a fully baked program. But I could not tell my children you had to root for the Jets when my wife was a Patriot fan and Tom Brady was winning all these championships. The child services would have come and removed the kid from the house. So you have an out.
24:42Rich Eisen:Because one way, you've got C.J. Stroud and a team that's made the second round of the playoffs two years in a row by winning a playoff game. And the other hasn't made the final round of the conference playoffs in 30-something years. So you've got an out, A.J., you're welcome. and happy birthday to Angelo is what I'm saying to you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Ladies and gentlemen, AJ in San Antonio utilizing the phone line to tap into RES Consulting. We're here for parenting. We're here for anything that you might need. I'm glad you didn't involve me in this because I don't know what I would have said.
25:25What would you have said? I don't know.
25:26Rich Eisen:And I was hoping, like, don't come to me. Don't come to me. You know what the answer is? There's no choice. If you have a choice and your wife is from Houston and you can sit there and say, The Texans don't anyone. Nothing either. What's the matter with the Texans? They've got a terrific coach. They've got a terrific quarterback. They've got a terrific roster. A front office that's pushing all the right buttons. I was once a cheerleader. Come on. Mike Deltine. HTC Mike. HTC Mike. Houston Texans cheerleader Mike. What's wrong with that? I know they didn't make a documentary about that. I don't know, Ant.
26:00Rich Eisen:I think you should go with the Cowboys and hope for the best. There you go. that's what he wanted to say okay I did it was marvelous while Sean Payton's making his way to his desk right now Levi in Colorado what's going on Levi hey how's it going guys what do you want me to ask Sean Payton when he sits down well I kind of feel like I know the answer to this but I'm a lifelong Broncos fan I always want them to succeed I'm a diehard fan But I'm a little worried just because I feel like everyone's talking about the Broncos. And the last time the bandwagon was this full, I feel, was the Russell Wilson trade.
26:44And I was certainly there. And, well, obviously, we know how that went. So my question is more so, do you think, to maybe use a phrase from the show, is this an overreaction? Are we being overhyped? Or do you think I have good reason to buy into the hype that everyone else is kind of going into around me?
27:02Rich Eisen:I'm not just saying this because, you know, Sean could be sitting down any minute. But listen, here's what you need to win in the NFL. You need to have a quarterback. We're checking that box, right? I think we're checking that box. Yeah. Okay. You need to have a coach that's connected to the quarterback who knows what he's doing and has history with a quarterback in terms of making that quarterback great or being attached to the hip and winning a championship. We checking that box? Yeah. Okay. You've got to have a defense, too. You've got to pack your defense. Do the Broncos have the reigning defensive player of the year on their roster?
27:37No question.
27:38Rich Eisen:Okay. Do they have a front seven that featured a defensive player of the year finalist and candidate from last year? Do we have one of those as well? Check. Okay. All right. Yeah, I think so. Do we have an offensive line and a run game? Do we have one of those? I think we do now. I think we do. We went to last year, but I think we're upgrading. So, listen, anything can happen in a season. Injuries can happen. Things can happen. We all understand that. But when you go in, when you check these boxes, you are worthy of being talked about as a threat. So, you know, you make your plans, you make your figurative bets, and you hope for the best in a league where crazy stuff happens.
28:21Rich Eisen:So don't worry about it, man. Who cares what other people think? You know? You know, that's true. I think it's just the trauma a little bit from the past couple years. Do you need a hug? Do you want a Rich Eisen show bro hug through the phone? Yeah, I think that would be true. Okay, here we go. So here it is. I'll walk you through it. You just don't worry about it. I am now reaching out. Me as well. I'm circling around, and then we just tap, tap, and then we separate. All right. Thank you. There you go, Levi. Thank you. I mean, like, who cares? I should tell Levi what I tell you. Don't read the comments.
28:54Rich Eisen:Don't read the comments. I mean, are they in a tough division? Yes. Is the division filled with people who have either coached the Super Bowl or won it? Yeah. Does it have a team that's the first ever team to go to five Super Bowls in six years? Yeah. I mean, it's a tough division. I got it. I hear you. But they're checking all these boxes. And he said that, you know, the bandwagon was full the last time when they got Russ. I mean, they dead capped Russ and have only gotten better. I don't think the bandwagon for Russ was like it is now, do you? No, but screw the bandwagon. It feels like the bandwagon now is like we are off and running.
29:34Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, they went from the team nobody was talking about to a bandwagon full, okay? Yeah.
29:41Rich Eisen:So, you know, I'm not concerned is what I'm saying. Okay. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial, I guess. He's close is what I'm being told right now. Alan Dallas. Let's take Alan Dallas here. Because, Al, you're one of those guys that I could basically say, sorry, I've got to go because Sean Payton's on the phone line. You know what I mean? Yeah, no, I don't take offense. One of our favorites, Alan Dallas. Hey, listen, congratulations, guys. Big time. ESPN, I love it. Thanks, Al. Back where you're from. It's great. Do you get the impression that Troy Aikman is not a huge Jerry Jones fan? Well, I mean, I wouldn't say that.
30:21Rich Eisen:I would just say that he's unafraid of speaking his mind. I mean, that's why you got to have somebody like him in the booth of Monday Night Football. He basically told the truth. What did you think of the documentary? Well, it's not as comprehensive as it can be because there was somebody in charge of, you know. Did he basically say Jerry Jones was like Dominic Hoschuk in the goal crease, blocking pucks? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You know what I mean? Standing on his head. Full editorial control is what I really think. Right. Which basically says that it's in there what it is. It was great.
30:54And then this weekend, man, all the college football procrastinators and pontificators and everything, wow. How's that crow sandwich? Good God. Every season gets hyped to this extent, and this was great. It was a fun watch. It was an extremely fun watch.
31:13Rich Eisen:Which was? Which fun watch? College football. Oh, just in general. Open weekend. I know. All of them. Look at all these games. Jeez. It was great. are people flipping out in Longhorn country or what? No? Yes? Yeah, they're ready to ship arch out and fire Sark and everything. It's great. As you know, I'm an Arkansas guy now, Richard. That's right, Al. Who picks Sui? By the way, Chris got a little 79 on the West the other day. Oh, on West! Very good. Thanks for the call, Al. Appreciate it. Should we take a break? What do you think? We take a break and run? All right, let's take a break, see if Sean Payton's going to be on the other side.
31:52Rich Eisen:And if not, phone calls, 844-204-RICH, number to dial.
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32:41From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, clickgrainger.com, or just stop by. And then we were going to open the regular season at Cleveland, the next game at Green Bay. So four on the road in the preseason. I think our two home preseason games were played in Shreveport and Jackson.
33:20Wow. We beat Cleveland in a low-scoring game. What I remember about the Green Bay game, we were down 13 and came back. And that was an important win because to start the season, look, Sometimes as coaches, you don't know what you have, especially when you're just getting started or you're a first-year head coach. Like, you know, you don't know where your team stacks up. And we went into that Monday night game versus Atlanta with both teams being unbeaten. It was a divisional opponent. It was a Monday night game. It was like this perfect storm that I don't know. I don't even know that ESPN or the folks that were preparing for that telecast knew what it might become.
34:16Rich Eisen:Right. And so the first thing that mattered were both those teams were good teams. And then it's the first home game for call it half our team. You know, in other words, there's a lot of roster turnover. You know, where do you park? There's traffic. You're coming from here. You got Green Day, U2. And so we had a practice there Friday night. And the idea was to try to get the emotion, try to get all the possible distractions out of the way. And so ESPN gave us the Monday night football lead in on the big screen. And we turned the lights out after practice. We saw the intro. We saw the Katrina pictures and videos.
35:14And it was quiet. I mean, it was, you could have heard a pin drop and lights came back on. Doug Thornton, who was in charge of the Superdome and played a big role in getting that stadium back up to speed for a game, was there. And it was an emotional moment for the team. And I would say in that 06 season, you know, everyone that signed up to play, whether you were coaching or playing, no one really knew quite what we were getting in for or what it was going to become. It became much bigger than football. And I would say we had better teams after the 06 team. You know, the 19 won a Super Bowl, the 11 team, 17.
36:07I can think of a handful of teams, but in a bar fight, in a bar fight, the 0-16 wins hands down. And, I mean, it was a tough, tough team. And so that game begins, obviously, Mike Vick's playing at a high level. And our special teams coaches, you know, each game you go into, You have a rush, maybe a way that you're going to pressure the punter. And John Bonamago had said, hey, we feel like we have a good rush. And he explained it to me. And I said, well, let's see how the tempo of this game goes. And Atlanta gets the ball first. They have a few plays. Vic scrambles. There's actually a fumble.
36:59Rich Eisen:Yeah, I remember. I was sitting next to Marshall Falk, Sean. I've never heard a stadium that loud when that ball hit the ground and then it rolled out of bounds. And Fajita has a chance to change. If he recovers it, he's going to change history. That's right. If he recovers it. And so they're punting, and Bonamago walks down to me and says, do you want to rush the first punt? And I said, let's do it. and and and you have to know steve bleason so steve when i first arrived there i thought was a member of the equipment staff um you know he he was certainly shorter um but then the more you learned about him and the more film you saw whatever whatever role you asked of him he was going to be spot on with it.
37:56You just had to ask the right role. So he was an outstanding special teams player. There's, you know, two pins and a pull. And, you know, he's up the A-gap and the timing's perfect and he blocks the punt. And it's as loud, like, you know, we all have these, oh, this was as loud, but that's as loud as I can recall. call it, you know, a 10-second period in any stadium I've been a part of. And then Curtis Deloach scoops it up in the end zone. And here's the thing that we talked about all week. The night's only going to be special if we win the game. But here's the irony. We had valet parking because we were concerned with players getting into the – You're being on time, getting into the parking garage, and we have this one player, our starting quarterback, Drew Brees.
38:57Yes, sir. All right, who gets caught in traffic on I-10. And so the rule of thumb is two hours before the game, all players are checked into the locker room. I mean, that's a rule. Cell phone's off. And the security guys tell me Drew's running behind, And it's not that I'm concerned he's running behind. It's that I know how organized and how anal he is with his schedule. And he's usually four hours at the stadium before the game. So I'm thinking to myself, what are the habits and rituals that he's not going to be able to partake in that get him ready to play. And he had this old Toyota Land Rover, but it was an old one with a rack on the top, something like you would see on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
40:01And so it was an older used car he's driving. They finally escort him. The police escort him to the Superdome. And when he makes the turn to go, it's a parking garage. He enters the parking garage and the rack wedges on the roof of the concrete and his car gets stuck. He takes the keys out of the ignition, throws them on the seat, opens the door, grabs his duffel bag, and he tells the parking attendant, figure out a way to fix this. And I'm sitting in the hallway when he comes down the hallway. And he's there two hours and four minutes before kickoff. And I said, hey, everything's good. Everything's good.
40:56No worries. But he's got this unsettled look, which makes me unsettled. And so I find out later they had to take air out of all four tires to get his car past that height requirement. And look, fortunately for us, he played well. And that was a tough spot to be in if you were Atlanta. It's a good thing special teams scored first.
41:30Rich Eisen:Unbelievable. Sean Payton here on the Rich Eisen Show. I got five minutes left until you've got to go to your next meeting, and I've got the end of the show. So what do you say to people that are so jacked up in Broncos country about Bo Nix and the chances of this team being particularly special? It was year four in New Orleans where you won it all, and this is year three for you. Is this a realistic shot this team has to go on a deep run, if not win it all, Sean? Well, I think this, our fans today are smarter than they've ever been. And look, last year, there's a lot of unknowns. Whenever you start a rookie quarterback and you're in year two of a rebuild, you're 90 some million over the cap of dead money.
42:21so you're operating with two-thirds of a budget. I don't know what the expectations were. I don't think they were that of a playoff team. But I can tell you in the building after another draft, another offseason, a free agency, I can tell you the expectations of this team. Our league's never changed. It's always been win the division first, try to get the best possible seed, and then win a Super Bowl championship. And those are the goals of this team. And we recognize how difficult that can be. We recognize, man, how good Kansas City has been, where the Chargers have come with the hiring of Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll just gets hired in Seattle and I thank Pete because when he got hired I became the youngest coach in the division you're the younger and young guy okay and when you look at when you look at those three teams I'm just talking about the division there's there's a lot There's a lot of wins amongst those coaches, and there's great respect for all of them.
43:47So I think the thing we've always tried to do is internalize the focus. And, you know, it's like running the race. And this happens in training camp. And you have horse blinders on. And you know the other 31 teams are running as well. but you don't know exactly where they're stacking up. But you just have to prepare and do your best to make sure you're maximizing your talent. And so I think there are high expectations, and I think our players will embrace those.
44:27Rich Eisen:A couple of minutes left before ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance. A radio audience leaves us in the minute. Plus I have left Bo Nix. How special is he, Sean? Yeah, he's a guy that – let me just start with this. His experience shows right away. You know, he had his time at Auburn and had some adversity also and then transfers and gets to Oregon. I think the thing that maybe was most undervalued or under discussed with him is his athleticism. He's a tremendous foot athlete. So he can throw from a lot of different body angles. He can run and step up and get you a first down. He's got outstanding arm strength.
45:23And I think oftentimes we try to group quarterbacks based on the offenses they're playing in college. And they can't control that. So, you know, we try to eliminate all the quick throws, the bubbles, the smokes, and really try to evaluate where a player can be projected in an NFL offense. And I would say the one thing that really was unexpected, we knew he was extremely accurate. We had seen that, the most accurate passer in the history of college football. We knew how he played on third down. We knew he threw from awkward positions. We knew he had great leadership skills. But, you know, he didn't do the shuttles.
46:11He didn't run the 40.
From the publisher
Actor Paul Rudd renews his annual tradition of choosing Rich and Brockman’s fantasy football team name culled from the dozens of options collected over the past 12 months.
Rich weighs in on the New York Giants unofficially naming Jaxson Dart over Jameis Winston as the backup to Russell Wilson.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton and Rich discuss the mile high expectations for Denver this season and the year-two development of QB Bo Nix, and shares his memories leading up to the Saints’ first home game in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina when Steve Gleason’s blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown rocked the Superdome to its core.
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