Under the Radar NFL X-Factors

24:39Rich Eisen:I did not know this. Rich, you're leaving for a week. Please don't do what I think you're going to do. No, there's one other thing. Okay. The other X factor is what will it look like with Jalen Hurts having one in the case? Okay. Jalen Hurts defending Super Bowl champion. What is it going to be like? He's got one in the case. That's it. Now, obviously, it's Philadelphia. They start two and three, and it's because he's missing receivers and whatever. He stinks again. I understand that. But what's it going to look like if they come out and they are just, and they're starting to beat the crap out of the competition, and they are now a dynastic team.

25:14Rich Eisen:They look like a Dynastic team themselves. And this kid, he turned 27 yesterday. 27. Super Bowl champion. He has been there and done that self-made. I've told about this story. I get goosebumps telling it. Now he's got one in the case. A Super Bowl MVP. He is paid. He's got his life completely in order. What does that look like? That's an X factor. Kind of dig that top five. I was cultivating that caper for a while. And finally, I'm going to stop talking about it. Ezra Freck is in our green room. Let's bring him up. Here he is, the gold medal Paralympian. We'll talk with Ezra when we come back.

26:04Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports. Teams battling through adversity. Athletes fighting for every yard. The toughest warriors I've ever seen, though, aren't on the field. Their kids fighting cancer. Their families standing beside them. Doctors, nurses, caregivers. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 28 years, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research, raising more than$303 million and supporting over 40 ,000 children. Learn more and donate at HyundaiUSA.com backslash Hope on Wheels. O 'Reilly Auto Parts can help take the guesswork out of your vehicle's check engine, ABS, or maintenance light with O 'Reilly Veriscan.

26:41Rich Eisen:The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. Ask for an O 'Reilly Veriscan today. Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire.

27:14Rich Eisen:Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. Season one of Adaptive, which is available streaming on Peacock right now, which means you can see it right here on Roku, follows the journeys of four Paralympians as they train to qualify for and compete in the Paris Paralympic Games, including our next guest here, who we met on the phone back in the COVID days, but now here in person, Ezra Freck is here on the program. Yeah, a little bit of a spoiler, but these are the gold medals right here. Boom. Okay. There's one. Here's number two. Beautiful.

27:47Nice name here. Here you go. And so that's a piece from the original Eiffel Tower that's on the front of those. And yeah, that's the 100 meter. That's the high jump gold medals from Paris at the Paralympics. Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. Everybody back off. They're broken, guys. Well, at least we know where those little scratches are coming from. Oh, it's challenging. 2025. Oh, no. Excuse me. Those things are heavy. They're no joke. No, they are. They're super heavy. They're super heavy. I think they're some of the heavier medals that they've ever made. Because after I finished competing in Paris, did seven hours of media interviews with both of those things on, and might have felt like it broke my neck.

28:31I literally was in so much pain. Look at that. They're heavy.

28:34Rich Eisen:How beautiful is that? Those are dope. And these are, this is original, you said these are original pieces of metal in the middle from the Eiffel Tower? From the Eiffel Tower. So when they first built the Eiffel Tower, however many years ago, and they would make remodelings to it, they would keep parts of the original building in a scrapyard for something. They didn't know what they were going to use it for, and they infused it into the metals, which I think is super unique. Ezra Freck is here. His gold medals from the 2024 Paralympic Games are on the desk right here. adaptive which it chronicles your journey along with three of your other fellow paralympians is available on peacock right now called adaptive available on roku it's great to see you um last time i saw you was at usc correct yeah it was right it was were you in that pete carroll class did you take that class i did i did i was you were you the class that i've been talking about and i know i saw you here you you were in the pete carroll class at usc right i was in the pete carroll class at usc i'm a freshman i was one of literally two underclassmen i think that were in that class it was me and juju they let you and juju yeah we were some of the i think we were the only two underclassmen that were allowed in that class they wanted just you know they let us in because we were obviously athletes and they wanted us there yes um but i just got chills thinking about it because that was the most epic class of my entire life probably the most epic class i will ever take at any school would you mind just diving into this a little bit here and And then obviously we'll get into you and the documentary here and what you learned, what you gleaned, because I tried my best to explain it.

30:08Rich Eisen:It was something so remarkable. My wife and I were sitting there just blown away. We've known Pete forever. But just the stories that your fellow classmates were telling about how transformative it was for them as a person, as a student. And I'm wondering, you know, obviously you have been there and done that in terms of so much in your life to overcome and also succeed. I give you the floor on this right now. There's moments in time where as you're experiencing it, you know, this is going to impact you for the rest of your life. And that's what every Thursday at four o 'clock felt like in that Pete Carroll class.

30:45This is a man who has so much wisdom and guidance and life experience. And for him to take us under his wing to share that wisdom, to share that insight, to basically become a little USC family in that room. Every single week was so special. You had people completely opening up, sharing vulnerable parts about themselves. It was a class essentially on how to optimize your life, how to live life to the fullest. It was called The Game is Life because we were learning from the greatest, one of the greatest football coaches of all time in the way he approaches football and the way that applies to life.

31:23And so it was this beautiful, beautiful class where, I mean, and Pete Carroll is one of the most amazing human beings I've ever met in my entire life. This man had so much going on, would come to class every single week and go, Jessica, how was that dance recital? Oh, Steve, you were talking about that meeting. How did that go? But he would remember every detail about every single student and just had so much love to share. He brought in some of the most amazing speakers. We had Jason Sudeikis. We had Tom Brady. We had literally the most elite high performers across every single field that were coming in, sharing their wisdom.

31:58and then um pete was this this probably it was the most amazing class i will ever take in my

32:04Rich Eisen:entire life and to hear this from you azra because obviously you know um a lot's going on with you yeah since birth pretty much right i mean and and so how did you learn more about yourself and about optimizing yourself when you clearly have succeeded at that on your own it's it appears so far i i I appreciate that. And it's a truth. And I do, I would like to believe that I'm pretty far along as far as the way I view myself and my confidence and life optimization. But even still, as an athlete, as an entertainer, as a human being, I feel like we're always pulling from inspiration, right? I feel like I'm always trying to be two, three, four percent more inspired, motivated, and to then have people who have accomplished the highest of successes, to have someone like Pete Carroll to impart his wisdom, take nuggets from it, learn from it.

32:56I mean, every now and then I just open up that journal. I look at some of the things he says, some of the things we talked about, and it might help me with some sort of issue challenge that I'm going through in my life.

33:06Rich Eisen:And you were born with congenital limb differences. Is that the proper way to put it? I was basically born, I had one finger on my left hand and I had a lower left leg that was curved up towards my waist. And then about three years old, I had a 15 hour surgery where they actually amputated the leg right at the knee. And then they took the big toe from my left foot and put it onto my left hand. And so I had a toe to hand transplant. I could pick things up. I could hold things. And then I got a stump that could fit into a prosthetic. And, and so when did you, or who was the one who inspired you to say, I, I want to be a Paralympian.

33:42Rich Eisen:Like where, when did that moment arrive for you in your life, Ezra? That's a good question. Okay. Growing up, I loved every sport, basketball, soccer, football. Growing up, my actual idol was Pau Gasol, and he and I became friends, and he was a mentor to me when I was growing up. But then when I was 11 years old, I was watching the Rio 2016 Paralympics in my living room, and I had this out-of-body epiphany universe telling me, this is your calling type moment, and I decided right there, and then I was going to be a Paralympian. Who did you tell this to? I told this to everyone, family, friends, parents.

34:16I publicized it as much as I could. I was 11. I said, in four years, I'm going to make the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team. So the odds that the average 11-year-old can just go from completely unranked to making the Paralympic team is super, super slim. But we built a great team around myself. I trained obsessively, sacrificed pretty much all of my middle school, high school years to make it happen, and then competed in Tokyo. And then you did it. I did it. Yes. That was the start. I competed in Tokyo. I placed fifth in the high jump in Tokyo. I was devastated to come so close to the podium, but not walk away with a medal.

34:51And I was reinvigorated. I set the lock screen on my phone as a photo of the medalist that beat me with the words never again on there. And I vowed that I was never going to let that happen again. And I was going to win every single major championships or Paralympic game for the rest of my career.

35:06Rich Eisen:So then you must have, I assume you heard how Jalen Hurts made his lock screen, you know, losing the Super Bowl. Yeah, the photo of him walking off with the Chiefs confetti on the field. Exactly. So you can relate to something like that. 100 % I can relate to that. The reality is it's like this weird balance between wanting to sort of let go of the past, but also recognizing that is the most motivating thing in the world. Losing on the world stage. Every time I open up my phone, I see a photo of the guys that beat me. Jalen Hurts has the same thing. Those days you don't want to get up. Those mornings you want to sleep in a little bit longer.

35:42those times where you're not feeling like going to the weight room, you open up your phone, you see that. There's nothing more motivating than that.

35:48Rich Eisen:I guess the difference between you and Jalen Hurts is he's got one trophy, you've got two medals. Just as a, for instance, what do these medals mean to you? Those medals mean a lot to me because of how many people invested so much time and energy into my career. and and for me it's really about impact over medals it's always been my dream my purpose is to normalize disability on a global scale and winning medals are just a part of getting to that larger purpose but i would trade every medal in the world if it meant i could accomplish you know my larger my larger goals but the reality is i put my heart my soul my blood my sweat my tears every ounce of my being into putting myself in the position to succeed at the Paralympic Games and for it to work out the way it did I mean this documentary we've been talking about adaptive we've been filming this for five years we were actually up against the budget we were you know almost running out of funding and the whole team decided we're going to spend the entire budget to film in Paris just banking on the fact that if I were to win we could then get funding to finish it afterwards and so i'm wow i'm sitting there in the paralympic village thinking to myself we've been filming this doc for five years if i don't deliver we don't finish this if i don't deliver in paris we don't find funding to finish the doc and so thinking about how many people were involved in my journey these medals are an ode to them and that's what makes them special dude man so cool you're pretty special yourself thank you thank you you are but i mean i'm you know i told you that beforehand when we were when we were chit-chatting at the at the p class and it's it's remarkable it's remarkable so what's next for you what's uh i mean you you've accomplished a lot how old are you what's your how old 20 okay dude wow still a baby okay so now what's what's uh what's on the docket on the docket is um we have world championships in about eight weeks so in between Paralympic games, you have the quad, which is basically world championships, national championships.

38:01Um, last week I just went pro. I signed with Adidas. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah. I went, I went pro.

38:12Rich Eisen:I see it. Signed with Adidas. Um, so I won't be competing on the USC track team anymore, but I'll, I'll compete, you know, as, as a pro track athlete. And then we have world championships in eight weeks. And then where is that in New Delhi, India, which is very exciting. And then we're already filming the next season of Adaptive. That'll come out before LA-28. And the LA-28 Paralympics, and you can quote me, that will be the most transformational moment in American sports history. The LA-28 Olympics and Paralympics. And so - Why is that? Because we have the opportunity to fundamentally change the way society sees people with disabilities through the Paralympics.

38:49The Paralympics in and of itself. People don't fully understand this. This is the highest level sporting competition on the planet for people with physical disabilities. When you expose that to all of America, it rewires the way you see people with disabilities. And we have the opportunity with the games on American soil to do that, to make sure that 50 million Americans, 15 % of the U S population that has a physical disability feels properly included in society. And it's through sport and it's through the Paralympics in 2028. You can count us in on that effort if,

39:20Rich Eisen:If you wish, we're here. You know where we live. I know where you live. Did you take place in a swim? You said you went to SC. Swim with Mike, was that something that you were part of? Swim with Mike is an amazing organization. And, you know, I was good enough to make the track team at USC, but I wasn't good enough to warrant a full scholarship. And so USC is an expensive college to pay out of pocket. And Swim with Mike is an amazing organization. and they help people with physical disabilities basically get into school, get into colleges and help them afford to be able to be at a high level institution.

39:54And so they helped me be able to go to USC in the first place and allow me to compete on the track team and, you know, help me afford that. So they're very special. Awesome. Amazing.

40:04Rich Eisen:Well, listen, you know where we are. I know where you are um if you're still around the usc campus i'm going to be there later this uh month okay for the first class of the next iteration of uh the it's not called the game is life yeah but um susie my wife is the professor along with david belasco who's taking up the mantle no yes and you She's beyond excited, but it's daunting because you're a perfect example here. Guys, here's somebody in you. I don't mean to talk about you like you're not sitting here, Ezra, but where you have accomplished so much that you decided I am going to compete. I'm going to see what this game of life can do for me from my couch, from my position, and look what you have done with it.

40:57Rich Eisen:and you said you learned so much from Pete's class. I'm telling you, it was one of the most special things I've ever seen, and I'm appreciative of you giving voice to it. And, you know, Susie's going to take up that mantle. She's competing in that respect as well. I'm so excited. So if you're there, you can come by on Tuesdays. Is that what it is? I'd love to stop by. No, Pete Carroll's an amazing guy, and I'm so excited to go to some Raider games. I mean, he literally accepted the Raiders' job while he was in class, like with us wait a minute are you serious yeah so you're you're all in class together he right he was in the process of figuring all this out and literally he was like right after class is how when he accepted the job like we all you have no service down there no service right so he wasn't getting any calls or messages and then apparently like right after class is when you know he got the call accepted the job it was unbelievable like this is all happening while we were and he's you He's talking about all, he's explaining the process of what it's like to be an NFL head coach.

41:58And then sure enough, the next class comes back and we're like, Coach, you accepted the Raiders job. And he was like, oh yeah, that happened right after that.

42:07Rich Eisen:I thought you meant like you got something right in the middle of a question telling one of your classmates, hold on a second, before you answer, I get a seat. Tom Brady's on the phone. I accept. Now you were saying. Sends a quick text like, yep, I'm in. I'm in. but yeah with no service down there a little difficult but yeah apparently like it was happening as class was going on there and then eventually he stepped out and took the job well the game is life right no doubt adaptive on peacock available on roku uh check it out ezra you're a delight to have here ezra freck um thank you for bringing your your hardware uh congrats on the gig with adidas and good luck in your professional career and stay in touch and And seriously, your mission is remarkable.

42:50Rich Eisen:And however we can be a small part, we're here for you. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. You got it. That's Ezra Freck right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen here for gusto. After all these years talking to athletes, coaches, entertainers, and people at the top of what they do, one thing is pretty clear. Success usually depends on getting the details right. For small business owners, that includes payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, You know, the work that keeps everything moving, even if it's not the reason you started the business in the first place. That's why there's Gusto.

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45:02Rich Eisen:Oh, my gosh. It's a beautiful brand-new car. You've been wearing a coffee maker. Oh, that's terrible. A bike. An electric bike is like five. Master Key is the game. Master Key is the game. This is going to take a while. Oh, it's what unlocks the car, TJ. TJ, did you ever watch Master Key? This is a rare game. So, to be honest with you guys, I spent three weeks watching episodes of Price Right. I never saw this game before. It's a rare game, dude. Yeah. I've never seen this game, guys. But look what's coming up. My heart's thumping right now. Why is that so nervous? I mean, this is amazing. By the way, when did your carry grow this big-ass beard?

45:45Rich Eisen:Oh, he's had it for years. He looks like, are you serious? He looks like Jeff Bridges. That's actually trimmed to what it used to be. Okay, here we go. Oh, popcorn machine. Oh, I'll take that if you want that, TJ. By the way, you've got to bring in this popcorn machine if you want it. I want this popcorn. $41. $41. $41. It's not$71. $41. It's$41. That's one key. That's one key. Grab the key. Take the middle key. Take the middle key. There's five keys. Yes. He takes the middle key. Oh, he's not looking. He takes the second to the right key. I didn't look. I didn't look. All right. All right, TJ.

46:23Rich Eisen:What are you going to unlock? Oh, you got to do that later. That's right. Here's another key. Here's a basket. $584. That's a$58 basket. It's not an$84 basket. No way. What's in it? What's in it? Oh, you got to get what's in it, too. Oh, it's an$84 basket. It's an$84. It's an$84 basket. Here's where I messed up. I listened to the people. That's an$84 basket. I listened to the people. Come on, TJ. TJ. 84. No, he went 58. No. Oh, no. TJ. Oh, he only has one key. We need to find a friend. Oh, my gosh. Come on, TJ. It's got an$84 key. Uh-oh. Master G. Does it unlock the... Does it unlock? Okay, it does not...

47:05Rich Eisen:Coffee maker. No coffee maker. Coffee maker. Okay, he's going to unlock the electric bike. No, no, no, no, no. No! Okay, all right, all right. Does it unlock the car? Oh, my God. Does it unlock the car? Let's go! Does it unlock the car? Does it unlock the car? Does it unlock the car? He's turning the key. No! No! Oh!

47:30Oh, that was so riveting. You were so close.

47:35Rich Eisen:Oh, my God. Well, that's a nice parting gifts for you. What did you get to go to get out of contestants roll? What did you bid on to get out of a ping pong table? Oh, can you bring that in here? Well, yeah, probably. May 4th, 2021 was when that aired. It's now August 8th 2025 Four plus years later The ping pong table Still boxed up And graduated from college And it's not unboxed And it's still sitting at the house Still sitting at the house So The parting gift is yet to part From his Apartment You got ripped off, TJ. I did. By the way, I just found that video I was making at the point. Fantastic.

48:28Rich Eisen:I'm sure you watch it back all the time. Hey, come on, dude. Chris, I'm going to let you choose the one of the four that's still remaining. I got time for one win-loss game. Hit it. Which one do you want? I can't see. I have my screen. Sorry about that. Pick number three. I got a good one. Mike, you do it. Mike, what do we got? Jacob. Jacob in San Bernardino, California. What's up, Jacob? It's been almost three hours. What's up, Jacob? Hey, how are we doing, Rick? I only got two minutes. What do you want to do? I want to do a win-loss game. I actually did have a quick question, though. How come, Rich, you guys don't do the higher register segment anymore?

48:59I love that one. Great question. It's coming back.

49:00Rich Eisen:Guaranteed. We'll bring it back. Come back. Jacob, we'll bring it back. Give him. Give him. Give him. Okay, we got to go fast. The Dallas Cowboys. Oh, baby. Here we go. What happens opening night, Philadelphia? That will be a loss, sir. Home for the Giants. That's a win. At the Bears. I'm counting that as a loss. I think Caleb will be good. That's not a high register. One and two, home for the Packers. That's a win. I think we do it against Green Bay. Two and two at the Jets. Come on. That's a win. Sorry. That's a win. Three and two at the Panthers. That's a win. Four and two, home for the Commanders.

49:42We'll take a loss there.

49:44Rich Eisen:Four and three at the Broncos. Another loss. Back to back loss. Four and four home for the Cardinals on a Monday night. That'll be a win. Five and four at the Raiders on a Monday after a bye. That'll be a win. Six and four home for the Eagles. We lose both games against the Eagles. Six and five Chiefs on Thanksgiving. That's another loss on Thanksgiving. Six and six at the Lions the following Thursday. Ten days. I don't feel good about three losses in a row. We're losing to Detroit. 6-7 home for the Vikings. We win that one, though. 7-7 home for the Chargers. I think the Chargers do, unfortunately, run all over our defense.

50:28So I think that's a lot.

50:29Rich Eisen:7-8 at the Commanders on a Thursday. That'll be a win. We split with Washington. 8-8 at the Giants. And we finish 9-8. 9-8. Thank you, Jacobs and San Bernardino. 9-8. They missed the playoffs. That does not make the playoffs. No, it does not. I don't like that. But at least I'm falling to 6-6 on Thanksgiving, and then 6-7 a week later, it won't set off any alarm. No, no, no. No, of course not. If that happens. Back to wrap up on the Roku channel in a moment. You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist. Every stop.

51:12Every logo three. From beyond the logo. Oh! Every did you see that moment? You bet! What records are going to be broken this season? All of it, right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.