I mean, don't you have to stop and wind the clock?

You'd think so.

I was watching three games at once.

I missed this sequence, to be honest with you.

So I can't sit here and say one way or the other.

I think replay assist, in my opinion, should be used far more... widely than it's being used right now.

There's a couple of reasons why it's not.

Like, what is it that you've seen over the years in running backs that, you know, different ones that make them great?

I mean, have you ever seen a team go from being – having this much trouble to get to the quarterback, suddenly figuring it out over the course of a season?

It can happen, and obviously you've got the right defensive coordinator for it as well.

Listen, it's just a perfect storm, and it happens in the NFL.

It really does, where tackles are out, receivers are out, and the running back who has had a remarkable start to the season I think the stats going into week seven for them is he had the most rushing yards Kenneth Walker did of any player in the history of the NFL through his first five games with a new team, breaking Eric Dickerson's record as a rookie in 83.

And he was the first player with multiple touchdowns in four of his first five games of a season since Calvin Johnson.

15 years ago.

So if I had told you, hey, the new running back you got is going to be a combination of Eric Dickerson and Calvin Johnson, you'd be like, great, sign me up.

That's how fans think.

I likened it to – I said, listen, you come down into my basement during a Chiefs game and you ask how many timeouts the Chiefs have – Five people in my basement will turn to you and will tell you, and we will be right.

I know.

You also have the benefit of seeing it on TV and the haze of, listen, I'm not making any excuses.

I've never seen anything like it.

At the very least, you know, there's a coach-to-quarterback communication that gets shut off at a certain part of the play clock.

There was at least 20 seconds where somebody could get into his helmet and say, you're spiking it.

or you're throwing it away as soon as you get this thing done.

Are you as surprised by how much the Texans paid to get Marvin Harrison Jr. as I am?

Is this him just trying to jumpstart the negotiation with the Chiefs? Or do you really think teams are lining up to sign a guy who's still a month away?

Your question is valid, and your guess is as good as mine.

This is a guy who once upon a time sat next to Willis McGahee to a phone that was not connected to anybody else to make it look like he was on the phone striking deals, taking phone calls from teams, willing to draft somebody in the first round who had just blown out his knee, and sure enough, lo and behold, it worked out for him.

I don't know what he's saying, but if Tyreek Hill is healthy and actually looking for teams...

The Chiefs should be all over him if that bridge is not blown up.

And, you know, in the same way that if I was Debo Samuel, I would never leave, you know, the warm embrace of Kyle Shanahan the rest of my career.

If I'm Tyree Killen, I have an opportunity to return to Andy Reid and – And the rest of this organization, you know, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Can you remember anybody, guys that disappointed like this, an example of somebody that went to a new team and then they found the ability that people thought they had when they drafted them so high?

Correct,

sir.

And he was with NFL Network at the time and NFL Films as well.

And the NFL Films crew that was broadcasting the game to the international audience was sticking around in their truck to produce our postgame show live.

because NFL Network was so small at the time that everybody else who would have done that was already on a flight to Hawaii for our Pro Bowl coverage.

Because if you remember, the Pro Bowl was in Hawaii.

It was right after the Super Bowl at that time.

The countdown already on to Super Bowl 61, the first ever on ESPN.

How big a concern should that be?

Well, I guess just like any team that's having trouble getting pressure, of course it's a concern.

I'm sure it's something that Reed and Spagnuolo are talking about when they have their moments together.

But they do have the horses for it.

They do have some kids that they drafted, and they do have Carl Loftus.

It's not like the cupboards bear.

Again, everybody, we could sit here about any 3-0 team and talk about their issues, and we may have another one tonight in Philadelphia should they beat Case Keenum and the Bears as expected.

Do you get a sense that that is the problem with the Chargers, that they're not meshing?

Rich, how are you, man?

I'm fine.

How are you? Greetings from the 40510 interchange going north.

One of the right ones.

I was listening to your conversation and figured I could call in and provide potentially more insight, if necessary, on the challenges.

Please do.

From last night's game.

funny,

Did you ever think that you would see Travis Kelsey looking like this at this point in his career?

Yeah, I mean, again, like...

The thing about Kelsey and his life and his, you know, and how he is now sort of like the first man of pop culture in many ways and what he does with his pod and all of that makes you think like, you know, he's taken his eye off the ball.

And basically he understands what it takes to be his level of greatness and And so I'm not surprised that he looks the way that he looks and he is physically fit enough to do what he's doing already.

And, you know, I cut weight for my wedding.

I remember that.

You know what I mean? Like, I definitely got ready because I wanted to look good in the pictures, knowing I'd take a look back at it years from now.

What's your reaction to the Chargers starting 0-2 and now facing the hard part of their schedule?

Yeah.

And, and so I'm gonna go out and say he'll heal up, and there's a problem with him not being there, 'cause yes, 'cause Jared Verse isn't there either.

Um, we don't know the version of Aaron Donald we're going to get, you know, we're assuming week two against the Giants team that showed last night that they are definitely not the Giants team from last year.

That's a fact.

No matter what you could say about week one being a liar or not, which it is in many ways, I get.

But yeah, at the end of the day, let's just say the Rams do what the Buccaneers did in Brady's first year.

Yep

... and not lose control of the ball, that's not a catch.

In reality, it's not really much of a conversation.

Well, I mean, the reason why I think it's not much of a conversation, it's kind of twofold.

One is two simple words in the national conversation is chiefs fatigue.

That's what happens when you're dominant.

That's what happens when you are dynastic.

Just ask anybody with the Patriots, anybody with the Warriors in the NBA over the last decade, dynasty there if you're dynastic people are just sick and tired certainly when they turn on and they see you you know in a state farm commercial when you're not playing you know so there's chief fatigue in that regard and the fact that the rams acquired miles garrett which lit the pilot light under aaron donald and the dallas cowboys uh seemingly got their defense right with some interesting moves and then you uh you know in the afc have uh aaron rogers coming back and I could go down the narrative machine here as to why people are just not going to take a minute to talk about the Chiefs nationally.

That's one.

I

Mm.

They took the ball away, um, and th- that's tough to repeat two years in a row.

Um, so we, we shall see.

You know, like last year, that's, that's the whole thing.

You know, I know Ben Johnson had a, a f- funny line, 'cause he is a laugh a minute, um, with, um, with, uh, uh, Liam Cohen's comment about seeing Caleb Williams on NFL Network's website 40 times, and he's just like, "Yeah.

Well, we're, we're, you know, we're the lead candidate for regression," and, and he's not wrong.

He's not wrong.

[laughs]

Give us a Super Bowl championship going to another.

Right.

But at the end of the day, though, at the end of the day, Russ left, and then Russ diminished.

You know what I mean? And Mahomes is on a Brady path, and I want to be on the path of Mahomes.

He certainly looks like him.

certainly throws like him he certainly has a certain style that that um you know is particularly uh mahomesian if i can create a word yeah you know um i'm sorry we we rescued a puppy i don't know if you hear a wailing dog okay thank you um so by the way the dog's in a crate uh a uh white golden Beautiful.

Thank you.

How interesting should those coaching meetings be in the offensive meeting room with Harbaugh, McDaniel, and Adam Gase in there? I don't even know how to

So what about some of you national talking heads? What do you think about the Titans?

Well, I mean, we had Robert Sala on the show a couple of weeks ago, and I think Sala 2.0 is going to be a better head coach than, or at least have a better success than he did as a 1.0 with the Jets in New York.

And obviously this coaching staff that he has put together is very experienced in terms of the offensive and defensive coordinators being former head coaches and And it's going to be, you know, a new fresh set of eyes with the first overall draft quarterback in Cam Ward, who's now been put in the hands of a guy in Brian Gable, who's got a track record in bringing along quarterbacks from Jalen Hurts in college to Josh Allen in Western New York to obviously Jackson Dart last year and The one year that Brian Dable was coach of the year was his first year with the Giants when Daniel Jones won a playoff game for the Giants.

So, I mean, there is some success and some tough skin with both the OC and the HC coming from the New York metropolitan area as former HCs.

So, I mean, there's some signs there that the plan that's been put into place is one that the fan base can hang their hat on and say that, it's a good plan.

Obviously, it's always, what's that phrase? Plans are always great until you get hit in the face, and we'll see what happens.

We will see what happens, but I think it's a process that has an upside.

Well,

So what about some of you national talking heads? What do you think about the Titans?

Well, I mean, we had Robert Sala on the show a couple of weeks ago, and I think Sala 2.0 is going to be a better head coach or at least have better success than he did as a 1.0 with the Jets in New York.

And obviously this coaching staff that he has put together is very experienced in terms of the offensive and defensive coordinators being former head coaches and And it's going to be, you know, a new fresh set of eyes with the first overall drafted quarterback in Cam Ward, who's now been put in the hands of a guy in Brian Dable, who's got a track record in bringing along quarterbacks from Jalen Hurts in college to Josh Allen in Western New York to obviously Jackson Dart last year and The one year that Brian Dable was coach of the year was his first year with the Giants when Daniel Jones won a playoff game for the Giants.

So, I mean, there is some success and some tough skin with both the OC and the HC coming from the New York metropolitan area as former HCs.

So, I mean, there's some signs there that the plan that's been put into place is one that the fan base can hang their hat on and say that, It's a good plan.

Obviously, what's that phrase? Plans are always great until you get hit in the face.

We'll see what happens.

So I started a podcast

So what about some of you national talking heads? What do you think about the Titans?

Well, I mean, we had Robert Sala on the show a couple of weeks ago, and I think Sala 2.0 is going to be a better head coach or at least have better success than he did as a 1.0 with the Jets in New York.

And obviously this coaching staff that he has put together is very experienced in terms of the offensive and defensive coordinators being former head coaches and And it's going to be, you know, a new fresh set of eyes with the first overall draft quarterback in Cam Ward, who's now been put in the hands of a guy in Brian Dable, who's got a track record in bringing along quarterbacks from Jalen Hurts in college to Josh Allen in Western New York to obviously Jackson Dart last year and The one year that Brian Dable was coach of the year was his first year with the Giants when Daniel Jones won a playoff game for the Giants.

So, I mean, there is some success and some tough skin with both the OC and the HC coming from the New York metropolitan area as former HCs.

So, I mean, there's some signs there that the plan that's been put into place is one that the fan base can hang their hat on and say that, It's a good plan.

Obviously, what's that phrase? Plans are always great until you get hit in the face.

We'll see what happens.

Well,

I think a lot of us uh expected that were prepared for that there were a lot of breadcrumbs that that was going to happen but how difficult do you think it's going to be for clint kubiak to keep fernando mendoza on the bench

well i guess that's up to kirk right i mean like if he shows uh um you know flashes to bursts to consistency um of the kirk cousins that um you know, has lit up scoreboards from you like that to Minnesota, you know, then you got yourself or those 400, 500-yard games that he reserved for the Buccaneers when he was with Atlanta.

I mean, then you got yourself some breathing room.

Then you got yourself some time for Mendoza to marinate, learn, whatever you want to call it.

But if Cousins... you know, if, if the eye in the sky does not lie and cousins just doesn't have it anymore or just, just does not perform well enough for the rest of the locker room to keep believing in him, then, then it's a no brainer.

Then you put the kid in and, you know, on average over the last 10 years, the first overall selection of a draft that's a quarterback is on the field by week three.

So that's, that's, that's basically what the, all you need to know and, Part of it is also how does the offensive line play, because you don't want to put your prize piece of Tiffany, China, right behind an offensive line that can't protect either.

and

How difficult do you think it's going to be for Clint Kubiak to keep Fernando Mendoza on the bench?

Well, I guess that's up to Kirk, right? I mean, like if he shows flashes to bursts to consistency of the Kirk Cousins that – you know, has lit up scoreboards from you like that to Minnesota, you know, then you got yourself or those 400, 500-yard games that he reserved for the Buccaneers when he was with Atlanta.

I mean, then you got yourself some breathing room.

Then you got yourself some time for Mendoza to marinate, learn, whatever you want to call it.

But if Cousins... you know, if, if the eye in the sky does not lie and cousins just doesn't have it anymore or just, just does not perform well enough for the rest of the locker room to keep believing in him, then, then it's a no brainer.

Then you put the kid in and, you know, on average over the last 10 years, the first overall selection of a draft that's a quarterback is on the field by week three.

So that's, that's, that's basically what the, all you need to know and, Part of it is also how does the offensive line play, because you don't want to put your prize piece of Tiffany, China, right behind an offensive line that can't protect either.

and

How difficult do you think it's going to be for Clint Kubiak to keep Fernando Mendoza on the bench?

Well, I guess that's up to Kirk, right? I mean, like if he shows flashes to bursts to consistency of the Kirk Cousins that...

you know, has lit up scoreboards from you like that to Minnesota, you know, then you got yourself or those 400, 500-yard games that he reserved for the Buccaneers when he was with Atlanta.

I mean, then you got yourself some breathing room.

Then you got yourself some time for Mendoza to marinate, learn, whatever you want to call it.

But if Cousins... you know, if, if the eye in the sky does not lie and cousins just doesn't have it anymore or just, just does not perform well enough for the rest of the locker room to keep believing in him, then, then it's a no brainer.

Then you put the kid in and, you know, on average over the last 10 years, the first overall selection of a draft that's a quarterback is on the field by week three.

and

Um, surprised?

No. No.

I, I always thought that with Deshaun Watson having one last year in his deal, and him working hard to get back and be healthy for that last year, that they would just have to come, you know, heck or high water, see what they have in him, regardless of how much the fan base clearly, um, isn't into him and how much the fan base is clearly more into Shedeur.

And I just thought, by the end of the day, starting Watson and then going to Shedeur if Watson just can't find his 2019 version of himself would be a more viable thing than, you know, starting the kid and seeing what they have in him, and then go to Watson is sort of, in a way, "All right, now we believe in you.

Let's see what you got." I, I just, I just always thought the amount of blood, sweat, and tears, and capital, both financial and, and, you know, trade-wise, and draft-wise, that they would just have to see what they have in, in, in Watson.

I just didn't see him getting booed again at home.

Well, I saw that, but I, I didn't see him be... step up to the podium and basically say, "This is personal.

You can't have that performance and then go into the press conference and all of a sudden burn down the building.

Um, surprised?

No, no.

I, I always thought that with Deshaun Watson having one last year in his deal- And him working hard to get back and be healthy for that last year, that they would just have to come, you know, heck or high water, see what they have in him, regardless of how much the fan base clearly, um, isn't into him, and how much the fan base is clearly more into Shedeur.

And I just thought by the end of the day, starting Watson and then going to Shedeur if Watson just can't find his 2019 version of himself, would be a more viable thing than, you know, starting the kid and seeing what they have in him, and then go to Watson is sort of in a way, "All right, now we believe in you.

Let's see what you got." I, I just, I just always thought the amount of blood, sweat, and tears, and capital, both financial and, and, you know, trade-wise, and draft-wise, that they would just have to see what they have in, in, in Watson.

I just didn't see him getting booed again at home.

Well, I saw that, but I, I didn't see him be... step up to the podium and basically say, "This is personal, it's not business," uh, and then Monken still give him the gig.

You can't have that performance and then go into the press conference and all of a sudden burn down the building.

We've got the National Championship trophy and the Block M in the house today, but so excited to talk to you about an incredible Michigan alum, an iconic voice, and someone who's done so much for the Block M.

How excited are you to be here? I'm psyched.

It's pretty cool.

I've not been to a Champions Circle golf outing.

Technically, I still won't have been because I'll be indoors talking all day as opposed to playing golf.

But later on tonight for the... for the evening affair throughout the day.

We're having the guests sign this helmet and we'll be auctioning it off for whatever amount of money we could throw towards the champion circle to keep this thing going.

So what was your experience at Michigan like that ultimately led you to where you are now?

Is it okay to overreact just a little bit that you saw Carson Beck play really well?

Of course.

Of course.

I mean, there's lots to be excited about, uh, that Carson Beck is possibly the next quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, that they did get their guy.

That's the, the renewal of hope that, that we get every single year, um, whether it's at the Combine.

People watch the Combine, they're like, "That guy, that's the guy who I need on my team, 'cause he can change the fortunes." And whether it's the draft or, or it's pre-season, um, and then the realities of football for many teams unfortunately arrive.

Uh, one of them could be, you know, Arizona looking around in their neighborhood and seeing the defending Super Bowl champs and the team that that team beat, that could have been to the Super Bowl, that has the MVP in Myles Garrett and possibly Aaron Donald.

What is your role as the host?

Is it okay to overreact just a little bit that you saw Carson Beck play really well?

Of course.

Of course.

I mean, there's lots to be excited about, uh, that Carson Beck is possibly the next quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, that they did get their guy.

That's the, the renewal of hope that, that we get every single year, um, whether it's at the combine.

People watch the combine, they're like, "That guy, that's the guy I need on my team 'cause he can change the fortunes." And whether it's the draft or, or it's preseason.

Um, and then the realities of football for many teams unfortunately arrive.

What is your role as the host?

But from your seat, from a national level, from the optics that you have, who is Mike McDonald to you?

A winner.

Obviously, being a Wolverine, I was first introduced to his ability and his coaching and his personality, if you will, when he was Jim Harbaugh's defensive coordinator at Michigan.

And he's a winner.

He's a winner.

And he's just of singular focus, which is what you kind of need when you're a National Football League head coach.

And, you know, listen, Pete Carroll, I think, has got a Hall of Fame resume, quite frankly.

you take a look at.

Yeah

... and I would tell that to anybody that want ...

I mean, even though in this day and age, you know, newspapers are, are unfortunately going, um, away more than they should, or they're necessary in so many different ways, holding people to account and being, uh, focusing on local, um, issues that, uh, national obviously, um, sh- Um, outfits wouldn't.

But at any rate, uh, I, I wrote for my s- hometown newspaper, the student newspaper at the University of Michigan, Staten Island Advance and Michigan Daily both.

Um, and it really set me up for everything.

E- everything comes from the written word as far as I'm concerned, and I still, for NFL Game Day Morning, the, the Sunday morning, um, studio show I host for NFL Network, uh, I still write my own stuff, just like I do that on SportsCenter.

I love it.

More.