NFL Preseason Week 2

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0:19Rich Eisen:Oh, baby, we're even closer to the National Football League regular season. Week zero, if you're one of those college football nuts, and we are as well. Football is on the brain, and for good reason. Rich Eisen and Chris Brockman, Overreaction Monday. Good to see you, sir. See you. All right. Breaking news. I know. Lots of action over the weekend. Yes, yes. Preseason week number two is virtually right there in the books. It's time to hit it. Overreaction Monday, go. That was terrible. That was crap. That was garbage. This play sucks. Overreaction. Mondays. Monday. All right, Christopher, what do you have over there?

1:01Rich Eisen:I figured, well, we're going to start with. Yeah, of course. And you're right. We got to start with the breaking news out of Cleveland. Head coach Todd Monken has announced it's going to be Deshaun Watson starting week one for the Browns. Now, I had one all teed up and ready to go. I know you did. You want me to tell you what I would have said? Let's button it with that. Here's what we're going with. Shador Sanders will ultimately start more games in 2026 than Deshaun Watson. Oh, man. Good one. Good one. I'll say that's not an overreaction. Okay. Because Watson's availability has been questionable.

1:42Rich Eisen:Well, yeah, 19 games in the last five years. It's been questionable. So odds are that's what's up. that could put Sador Sanders in the mix at the end of the day. You're also intimating there could be an issue with Watson's viability as a quarterback, in Cleveland in particular. So those are basically my bullet points to agree that this is not an overreaction, that you're on to something here. would I love for Browns fans to have Watson show up and show that I still have the 2019 version of me in me? You know, like the guy that you spent all that money on and all that draft capital on, that guy is still me.

2:34Rich Eisen:I'm still him. That's a large question. Hey, 2019 is getting longer in the rear view. The only thing that is not in question about Deshaun Watson's 2026 season is one, he's going to start week one. Two, he is going to start at least the first two games for Cleveland because they're both on the road. Yeah. That's kind of helpful that both games are on the road and the path to him being a successful Cleveland Browns quarterback in 2026 is that the Browns come home 2-0 or they come home 1-1 and he has shown that he's got that Deshaun Watson specialness to him still. And then he's got a game against Carolina at home week three that, man, does he really have to perform well in because the booze will rain from the fans.

3:31Rich Eisen:And that's the last thing that is of certainty about Deshaun Watson's 2026 season is that he is still not over hearing boos when he blew out his Achilles and was prone on the ground in Cleveland a couple years ago. I don't blame him for that. No, I understand that you don't blame him for that. But you cannot be a tenable quarterback in a city where you have so overwhelmingly underperformed and think that any boos that come your way are because they're against you. Yeah. All right. And so whatever he said, he's turned pages. This is one page he hasn't turned. And unfortunately for him, it also comes with the undercurrent of he still doesn't get accountability.

4:40Rich Eisen:Yeah, I buy that. And so that's another sort of flashing red light that could ignite or trigger somebody that is hoping the Browns turn it around in 2026. All that said is I said it, virtually every single news information, man and woman that came on the Rich Eisen show between the Super Bowl and now have said it. The Browns simply want to see what Deshaun Watson has left in the tank because they have put so much fuel in that tank in terms of money, draft capital, blood, sweat, tears, whatever you want to put it, however you want to say it. They are hell-bent in seeing what he's got in him. I think we know.

5:30Rich Eisen:I don't know. I don't know. I really don't get this move. We don't know what we don't know. And the last thing that we're going to do was cut him because he said what he said at the podium and let him walk to another team and suddenly show up and show out like the Watson in 2019. They're going to try and see it. I don't know if the environment is conducive to seeing it in Cleveland anymore. Todd Munkin is new there. God bless him. hopefully he does have like a full true vote of confidence from management they are lockstep and one way to do it is also say if he doesn't work out weeks one through four then Shador comes in and he can be the savior and and and that's one way to do it as opposed to we went with the kid over you because you complained about the fan base and now you've got to go in there and we didn't believe in you to begin with but let's see what you got now Deshaun Weeks 5 through 10.

6:29Rich Eisen:Like, this is a more viable way in that respect of doing it. That said, I don't believe what you've put out there is an overreaction. What was going to be your... I was going to say, if he's not QB1, they got to cut him. Who, Deshaun? Yeah. Well, and that may be another reason why they have named him. Because they're not cutting him. They're not just going to... But why? I know that because they will not cut him when Shador can get dinged up and Dylan Gabriel's not the answer. And they're also not going to cut him and let him wind up on somebody else's team. And then all of a sudden, he looks like the Deshaun Watson of old.

7:07Nobody believes that that would ever happen.

7:09Rich Eisen:Okay. Do you think this was ownership or Todd? I think it's all of them together. I think it's all of them together. What else you got? All right, let's move on. Another quarterback battle that's going on. I want to go to Atlanta. Michael Penix is now cleared for 11 on 11. We did not see Tua in week two, much to the chagrin of your two first down take from last week. I think, look, this is Michael Penix's gig. If he shows anything in the final preseason game, the Falcons should start him week one. I don't know about that either.

7:44Rich Eisen:What's anything? Anything. You can take a snap and move the ball down the field forward. I don't think this is an overreaction either. I don't think so. um you know we brought you in to compete to a we we we we like you we we think you could still be a guy you can be our guy here at some point you're going to get in we'll figure out a way to get you your reps i don't know i'm trying to come up with a way that could be sold here but you know you drafted the kid for a reason you know spend draft capital i know but on it but but the team president the team's general manager and the team's coach that was there for it are all gone true and you have now starting from scratch and it truly now is apples to apples i mean arthur blank could say hey your predecessors were telling me he's the guy and i love him kid's great love everything that he stands for um you know i i would want to see what i have in penix now um because again if If it's the same thing with Cleveland, everyone's in the trade.

8:54Rich Eisen:Everyone's in the market of a quarterback in next year's draft. If they don't have the one currently on their roster and you could make the case that Browns don't have their one currently on the roster right now for 2027. I would agree. Atlanta. You couldn't state that. So, so authoritatively, I don't think. So if you could see what you have in Penix and you're Stefanski and it's your first year there or it's just like you've been cleared to to wing it around but you still don't have you know your conditioning this that the other thing starting to it to start the year and see how it goes and then bring pennixen that's a more tenable scenario i think than starting shador over deshaun watson in cleveland but this is a winnable division so to just start to uh and maybe give away three or four games in the beginning of the year that's such a giveaway way man cost you down the line especially when eight nine wins wins this thing but i mean are you really gonna just clear him for 11 out on 11 on august 24th and then by september whatever the heck the date is for week one of the nflc nearly three weeks you're gonna throw him out against tj watt really so what you're gonna do you throw him against tj watt and cameron hayward is that what you're gonna do gotta play at some point i understand but i don't i don't think this is an overreaction to begin with either.

10:13Rich Eisen:You're two for two to start this edition of Overreaction Monday. That's an upset. Alright, let's go here. I'm thinking about teams that really need to have good, maybe great 2026s for maybe how we feel about the quarterback situation, head coaches, front office hot seat, and I'm looking at these teams. Commanders and Colts are the teams in each conference that need to have good, if not great, seasons. Because Dan Quinn could get bounced or Shane Steichen could get bounced. Yeah, we've been talking about Chris Ballard forever. And I'm wondering, and this is hot, Rich Eisen, so just be ready. I'm wondering if Jaden Daniels doesn't have a good year this year.

10:55We're wondering, man, his rookie season, kind of fluky.

11:00Rich Eisen:No, his skill set is still off the charts. So I won't go there. I don't know the appetite of ownership to run it back with coaches that they feel like they don't have confidence in. I don't know what Miss Ursae Gordon's going to do up there in Indianapolis. I don't know, but I think that this is certainly in the realm. I don't think you're – I'm trying to think which other ones in the conferences could suffice, you know, for that category. It certainly isn't anybody in the AFC East, you know, unless you think Aaron Glenn needs to have a good year to keep his job. Also relative to expectations.

11:50Rich Eisen:I'm looking at the AFC North. I don't see that. I don't see anybody – I mean, I don't see anybody – not going to get balanced no because because the because the Bengals don't fire anybody with money left on their contract right um I don't see anybody I don't see Houston I don't see Tennessee and I don't see obviously Jacksonville I don't see anybody in the AFC West I don't see anybody in the NFC East other than the commanders I don't see anybody in the NFC North um at all I don't see anybody in the NFC South. Lions maybe need to have a great. Give me Todd Bowles maybe. I don't see Campbell or Brad Holmes in danger.

12:35Rich Eisen:You know, I don't think the wheels are going to fall off and go like four wins. They're very talented. And I don't see anybody in the NFC. All right, I'll buy this one. I mean, I just walked through it. We talked it out. We talked it out. What else, Chris? Okay, Rich Eisen. Oh, baby. This is giving the red meat lovers what they want. We should be more talking about the Cowboys as legit favorites to win the NFC. Who are you talking to? It's what I've been saying for weeks and months. Low energy, unfocused, foggy. You might be dehydrated. Gatorade Zero powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body.

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13:32Rich Eisen:In ESPN's wild world of college football, every Saturday begins with a ritual. And then the migration turns to mayhem. Predators hunt. Territories are defended. Rivals clash. In this wild world, legends are unleashed on Saturdays. No one brings you closer to the wild than ESPN. College football and ESPN kicks off August 28th. Witness the Wild on ABC, ESPN, and the ESPN app. I put them in my top five of my way, way, way too soon power ranking. You have been kind of the only one. You've been kind of the only one. I call that in the spring. I call that the minute we were done talking to Brian Schottenheimer at the combine.

14:15Rich Eisen:I feel like... And I'm like, wait a minute, this guy knows what the hell he's doing. He's not like some sort of Jerry Jones toady that he put in there. you know, that he didn't have to pay top of the coaching money market to. Like, this guy's got a voice. He's got a style. You know, you saw what they played like over the weekend. Yeah, that kind of spawned out. I'm like, man, they are flying around. Did you see their post-game locker room camaraderie? Yeah. I mean, and Schottenheimer talked about how he liked their play style. He's liked their play style. Again, the starters aren't in there. Right.

14:52Rich Eisen:But the second and third stringers are playing like they want, and they're talking about a star on their chest and a star on the side of their helmet. This kid, Jay Sean Barham, Baldy threw him in an XO over the weekend based on how fast off the ball he was and in the backfield of Arizona, and TJ sent that one to me on a text. And I'm like, yeah, I told you when they drafted him in the third round. Yeah, man. They are a favorite to win. they're legit favorites to win the nfc if they stay healthy they have a terrific roster that does appear to be deep we don't know how good the kids they've just drafted are and they could be really special with caleb downs leading the way absolutely but i'm proud to like this is a i feel like you're in the zone i know but i i feel like you were first on this block but no one nationally has really been talking about yeah you know this team can compete with the seahawks rams of the nfc world they can i feel like the roster is deep like it is dead they have playmakers everywhere how many cowboys are going to go in your fantasy league a lot and this is a team that you're going to you're going to have to put up a lot of points to beat them and i think the defense is going to be middle of the pack i think is such a great improvement we need to be talking about them more i know we don't need to talk about the cowboys more but like legit super bowl talked about it on our show last week jerry jones's comments from from oxnard from training camp um have usually been him either at best trying to speak it into existence or at worst trying to tell you it's raining when it's a different liquid coming down from the sky hey now um this year though i he is legit in signing von miller hell yeah and let's see what happens at the trade deadline yeah because he has said and intimated that why not he's ready to make a move he says he's ready to put out futures i mean the man's ready three he wants one more for the case man he does so have i haven't disagreed with you yet i know it's crazy no i think it's that's a you that's a yp not an mp oh man we're halfway home let's do this uh did you see that christian mccaffrey was back at practice i did on on sunday i did did you see the reason why he had been mysteriously out for nine, ten days.

17:13Tell the people. Rich, my man was load managing. And that's dangerous. That is a slippery slope. Okay. If the NFL allows load management, they run the risk of the regular season becoming a sham like the NBA's.

17:31Rich Eisen:So load management in August is not like load management during the season. That's the first step. No, it's not. That's the first step. No, it's not. Okay, that's the first step. You know what you do? You know when you're a big company and you want to see if the people are into something, you kind of leak it really super slow. And you see if they're understanding, they're accepting, and they buy it. We just all bought this. Ah, tightness. Oh, man, the guy's got a history of, you know, bilateral Achilles, whatever. So what? And other stuff. So we're going to load manage him. All right. Okay, but what if suddenly now you're load managing in weeks five through eight?

18:04You're not doing that.

18:05Rich Eisen:Because you care more about the playoff run. NFL and the NBA's regular seasons are completely different animals. There's 17 games in the NFL season. You miss four of them. That's a quarter of the season. Load management in the NBA isn't, you know, a quarter of the season. You know? You didn't raise your eyebrows when you heard the term load management? No, I think it's great. The guy's north of 30. I think it is smart. What are we doing? It's not like the guy doesn't know the playbook. It's not like the guy isn't plug and play. It's not like the guy isn't like on a Hall of Fame path. I think he's kind of already in right now.

18:42Rich Eisen:You know, maybe not a first ballot, but I think he gets in with all the numbers that he is amassing and putting up. What he means to the team, the MVP finishes that he's been having. Offensive player of the year finishes that he's been having. You know, come on now. I don't I don't have a problem with it at all. You know, at all. Oh, I think this is the first step of like we're on a dangerous path. If someone else starts doing this next year, we see way the Niners are going to be like, you know what? He's healthy enough to play, but we're not playing Christian McCaffrey at Seattle week five. We got to load manage him.

19:17Rich Eisen:And then guess what? You know what we're going to do? We're going to we're going to give him the week off at Atlanta in week seven because he's also got to buy the next week. Yeah. And then suddenly that will definitely happen. OK. And then you look Raheem Morris in the face and you're like, you know what, man? You've been so great and inspiring to the defense. we're going to put a lesser team out there because we can't afford a guy who's healthy to get hurt. No chance. Like, that doesn't happen. And it's not like some analytics experts are going to come in and say, you need to give this guy this much time off because it's going to pay off in the playoffs.

19:47Rich Eisen:You may not make the playoffs if you load manage somebody in the NFL. There's an 18th and 19th game you were going to start seeing this. Never. I don't think so. Hopefully we don't see those many games either. Wow, man. you had a chance to go five for five with me right off the bat i did and you couldn't i mean i was hoping to get through this clean sheet but what else you got a clean sheet all right three more rich isen sure uh thinking about this uh right down the street justin herbert uh once again we're seeing all the all the nerds love justin herbert and it's this could finally be the year okay for mvp sure here's the deal yeah i'm gonna i'm gonna humor them if justin When Herbert does win MVP this year, he bumps Burrow to join the big four quarterbacks with Mahomes, Lamar, and Out.

20:36He bumps him. Burrow out, Herbert in if he wins MVP. Joe Burrow hasn't come close to MVP, hasn't even sniffed an all-pro team. Like I said before previous times on the flagship, he's still dining out on the Super Bowl appearance five years ago. And I think this is a huge year, and if Herbert does this, he's now a top-four player.

20:55Rich Eisen:All right, so let me flip the script on you a little bit here. okay because i know you i know you okay justin herbert let's say justin herbert wins mvp of the regular season what a season okay los angeles quarterbacks go back to back unbelievable rams last year chargers this year what a story yeah man and suddenly they're like but i'll i'll i'll give you the i'll give you the whole shebang here oh okay herbert plays so well that you know the somebody who's in the neck and neck race of the MVP. Okay. And the guy who votes for Herbert then throws away his vote again and Herbert still wins. Okay.

21:34Rich Eisen:Oh, interesting. All right. The guy, the one guy is like, I saw it last year. I forget who that was. Sam Monson. Okay. So Sam Monson now throws his vote away again and Herbert wins MVP. Great. Okay. So of all people, he wins MVP and he's also the one seed. I'll give you the shebang. One seed. Yes. He makes a divisional round. Why not? Yeah, let's go. Why not? Yeah. Okay. They're playing the divisional round. Okay. Texans come in and won and done them. Herbert throws three interceptions. He still hasn't won a playoff game in his career. You're going to throw him on. You're kicking Burrow off. No, you're coming on overreaction Monday and saying, it will never matter what this guy does.

22:12Rich Eisen:It doesn't matter that he would ever be the MVP. He's already done that. Regular season for this guy. He just is the king of that now. He will never win a playoff game. He doesn't have it in him. And you're not kicking anybody off of the current top four of the AFC for him. If he does that, he's just as good as Lamar and Josh Allen. Look at you. Look at you. Lamar and Josh Allen have won playoff games. Come on now. Burrow's made a Super Bowl. What does Burrow do this year in your dream scenario? I think Burrow is the other guy in the mix. Yeah. He's the guy who gets Burrow. Sam Monson will tell you it's Baker.

22:51Rich Eisen:Because Baker had a great year behind a terrible offensive line. I love it. Calling my shot. I love it. Calling my shot. Overreaction. It's too funny. All right, let's finish up strong here, Rich Eisen. Yes. I love using you against you to make my point on this show. It really is one of my favorite pastimes. Here's the deal, people. Don't throw away your MVP votes. Correct. I agree that if it's 1v1. What are we doing? If it's 1v1 in the MVP race and everybody knows it, don't vote for somebody else. I really like Sam, but don't throw away your MVP votes. What else? Propel Fitness Water with Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar, and vitamins.

23:32Rich Eisen:Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade electrolytes. Rich, Geno Smith is going to be the best New Jersey quarterback this season. Oh, baby. He did look good in his one. He sure looked good. Yeah, Geno is right back in Pittsburgh. And here's the deal. I was thinking about this. Is this the most talent on offense the Jets have ever had in their history? Oh, stop it. In their history. Dude. What do you mean? They had Curtis Martin on a team that also had some other wide outs. That you can't name.

24:09Rich Eisen:Oh, Keyshawn was there, right? Maybe the most disappointing number one overall pick. Come on now. Listen, Garrett Wilson's really talented. A.D. Mitchell. Riesol, A.D. Mitchell. Yeah, he can play. Kenyon Sadiq, Mason Taylor. Right. And Omar Cooper. Omar Cooper. They got some kids. Let's protect. They're actually going to be, speaking of fantasy, again, a lot of Jets drafted, which we normally say. You know, Sadiq is still, you know, coming back from an injury. Let's pump the brakes a little bit here. So, Gino being better than Jackson Dart is basically what you're saying. That is what I'm saying.

24:45Rich Eisen:Because there's only one other New Jersey quarterback. I noticed I didn't say New York quarterback. I know that because that brings Josh Allen in the equation. I appreciate I know why you're GPSing the way that you're GPSing. Okay. All right.

25:00Rich Eisen:I liked what I saw. I went higher register. I believe it's possible. That would be bad for the Giants. Would be bad for the Giants. Because you're typically thinking the Jets are just still not going to be as much of a factor. It would be great if they were surprised if they are a sleeper team. I just. It would be. I don't know. That's just maybe the PTSD that you've got as a Jets observer. I get it. Observer. Notice where I'm going on that. Interesting. Jet observer. I've observed. Long time jet observer. I have my eyes on him. I'm looking at you. That's funny. Yeah. I don't think this is out of the realm.

25:39Rich Eisen:I'm eager to see what they're doing with the, I mean, they're running back room now. They had Najee Harris to Cam Scadaboo and Tryron Tracy and Devin Singletary. I mean, that's 40, bro. And let's get Malik neighbors back. I love watching Odell cook people in practice. I hope that does actually get out on the field. I don't know if he's going to make the team. You know, Isaiah Likely and then Theo Johnson at tight end. Can we protect also? You know? I mean, John Harbaugh is going to plus him up because that's what Harbaugh is due professionally. But this is a Geno thing. All right, I'll call it an overreaction.

26:15Rich Eisen:Okay. I've talked it out. Okay. The Giants are still better, I believe, top to bottom. You think the Giants win more games than the Jets this year? Yeah, I do. John Harbaugh is their coach. You know, as Aaron Glenn's call and plays, we'll see how that one works on the defensive side. And then at the end of the day, we're just going off of one preseason possession. Yeah, we are. It looked good, though. It still looked good. He broke more than a sweat. Broke the damn end zone, man. It's not that bad. Okay. It's pretty wild to see him back again in the uniform. I know. Back to the future. Like, we're in the frigging football DeLorean.