January 27, 2023 • 50 mins
Rachel Bonnetta is back for a brand new episode of Benched with Bonnetta! To start, Rachel is joined by Rich Eisen. They talk about his time at NFL Network, why he can't vote for MVP, and Rachel asks him the famous question (0:33).
After the break, Rachel and Rich preview the Conference Championship games including (33:59). Finally, Rachel tells you the best and worst thing she saw this week (47:09).
Note: timecodes approximate.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
And when I woke up this morning, I was feeling
pretty dangerous tonight. It's mc cornick. They are what we
thought they were and were not about. Hello, you play
to win the gate. They want you to cook the dinner.
At least they ought to let your shop for some
of the grocers. And on the way up, we're gonna
buy the kneecap off playoffs. You're kidding me. I'm just
(00:25):
here so I won't get fine. How could he not
be romantic about football? Welcome to bench? Can okay, nobody
freak out. Nobody freak out. We've got a huge get today.
He's looking, he's find a mirror, rich eyes and rich
eyes and is on bench switch but not a folks.
I feel like everyone's like a high tension right now.
It's like show has got to be good because pro rich.
(00:48):
So we gotta prepared professionally. I'm not prepared for anyone
else but you. Well, I'm glad that I don't feel special.
Um okay, first things first, it's just dropped. We gotta
get your opinion in on it. Nathaniel Hackett is now
your offensive coordinator for the Jets. I listened to the show.
You seem positive is this a kind of thing like
(01:10):
I'm gonna be positive about it and I'm gonna feel good,
like kind of like you're putting that out into the universe. Um,
I don't know. I I you know, hope that he's
gotten his um problems communicating and coordinating for a guy
named Wilson out of the way. He's now doubled his
number of Wilson's. Um, he's got Zack and Garrett. Oh yes, Um,
(01:35):
so he can't quit Wilson. Um. Maybe he'll get the
you know, the volleyball, the volleyball from from uh Castaway
that's shipwrecked movie. At any rate. I don't know. I mean, look,
I'll I'll just say I want. I want the guy
who almost took Blake Bordles to the Super Bowl. So
(01:57):
that's the guy I want. I'm gonna say that he
still in there, still that guy inside of him, deep
inside somewhere. And the issues that he had this year, Um,
you know in some parts are our issues that won't
be on his plate, you know, like kicking ninety yard
field goals as opposed to letting his quarterback cook m
(02:19):
or um. You know, whatever the defense thought of his offense.
That's a Robert Salad problem now. So I'm going to
hope that the guy that almost took Blake Bortles to
the Super Bowl can turn Zach around. I've heard some
whispers about what the quarterback situation. Could you imagine if
it's Aaron Rodgers. I've seen some photoshops of Rogers in
(02:42):
a Jersey. How do all of those things? I thought
it was on ayahuasca when I saw that. That's like,
I'm like, what's in my chees? Give me some more?
Need some more of that? I need championships from him? Yeah,
so you would be into that, I guess. You know
if that comes baggage a little bit, don't you think?
I think so? But also comes the thirty nine year
old who can be dynamite quarterback. And you know Brady's
(03:06):
years thirty nine to forty one were championship years, and
he is a better athlete than Brady entering his thirty
ninth year on the planet. So there's no way he's
done though, right like that, That's the whole thing with him.
I have no idea and and um, I don't know
why he'd want to do it. I would think he
should stay in the place where he is beloved. Um
(03:29):
where he he You know, his car already knows its
way to work, unless he is sitting there saying I've
done this one way for almost twenty years. Before I'm
done playing, maybe I should try someplace else. Um, I
just it would be stunning, stunning to me if he
chooses the same post Green Bay team, same one as Farves.
(03:52):
I mean, it would be weird. That would be wild,
and that was a terrible mix. But um, you know
Robert sala Is and Eric Mangini and the team that
the Jets have currently on defense, he knows very well
because half of them were sitting in his lap when
they visited him in Green Bay. I think it was
Week four this year. So, I mean, I would just
(04:14):
be stunned if he's like, I'm done with Green Bay. Yes,
I want the Jets. Do you think that there's a
part of him though, that is like, you know, he's
a little bit younger, but he's looking at Tom Brady,
Tom left he won a Super Bowl immediately Do you
think that part of him is just like I could,
I could do that. I'm in the same conversation as Tom.
Obviously I am officially out. I'm gonna choose benched with
(04:36):
Bonetta to announcement, I am officially out of the guessing
what's in Aaron Rodgers head business? WIT's official? Should I
jump on that train as well? Well? Actually, what that
means is it's it's there for you to fill the
void if you care to. I am out of the
what's Aaron Rodgers thinking? What's in his head? Business? All right? Verified?
(05:00):
I shan't go in that direction. Is there has there
ever been a time because I love your attitude on
Sunday mornings, You're you're very much like love hate the Jets.
You always have, always will. Has there ever been a
moment where you're like, I'm actually done, Like I'm like
a fireman where I'm out. Yeah, Like I'm not going
to return to if I was never out? When Sanchez
(05:22):
ran into the ass of his teammate, When am I
ever going to be out? You know? Like that's what
we would call the floor. Um, there's nothing worse than
that Adam Gaze, googly eyed Adam Gaze press conference. I
wasn't out then. I can't imagine when I'd ever be out.
So you've never been close, then, I can't. I mean
it's almost like you love to be like full of hatred.
(05:44):
At some point it's going to change. I mean it
was when I was an embryo they won. Um, so
it's it's it's going to happen at some point in
the history of planet Earth. I would like to be
above ground for it. And I'd like to still be
on board, you know. I mean, who what what what
terrible luck that would be if I was out you know. Um, well,
(06:08):
here's the deal. Um, my wife is from New England. Um,
and so we first had a kid in two thousand eight,
so right after the undefeated regular season. Um. And Tom
Brady is also a Michigan guy, me too. For me
(06:28):
to have basically said to my wife, you know, hey, um,
we need to raise our children a jet fan in
the midst of a magical run um involving Brady and Belichick.
Uh well, I I think child Services would have come
to remove custody rights on the spot. I put my
(06:52):
marker on the Yankees. That was one that I kind
of got my one preremptory. Um, that's where I did it.
But no, I couldn't, you know, let me let me
place all of this emotional baggage upon my children. I
can't do that. Um, Richie, We're just looking around this
studio and you were like, this is insane, which Chriss
wrestling studio at NFL Network. It's absolutely amazing. Talk to
(07:14):
me about you were mentioning that you were like the
first NFL podcast way back when this place was in
Culver City and not looking as glamorous as that is.
That how the rich Eyes in the show got started.
It started a podcast, it did. Um. I was thinking
about what else could I do, you know, with the
platform that NFL Network had grown into, and you got
(07:35):
to NFL Network, When when did that start? The first
three I was employee on air, employee one. Yeah, I
was maybe employee three or four. Period. Okay, hold on
pause there for a second. Because you came from ESPN,
that must have been like scary. Um, it was quite
a time, you know. I mean it was I'd been
on Sports Center for seven years and I wanted to
(07:55):
do something other than just Sports Center alone. Yeah, um,
and UM was essentially told no. I held my breath
for a while, and then they finally came around and
offered me a show called Cold Pizza, and um, they
wanted me to be the first host of cold pizza,
(08:17):
and it spoke to me because it was being done
out of New York, where I'm from originally, and I
kind of wanted to get out of living in central Connecticut. Um,
but it just the fit, quite honestly didn't feel right
that I thought like that show could get canceled within
a year, and then I stuck around to do something else,
and now I'm just still doing two hundred sports centers
(08:37):
a year, a hundred whatever I was doing, which was great.
I mean, I loved it, but you know, not to
get too deep in the weeds at the time, you know,
I first went to Sports Center. It was a show
where everybody tuned in to see either what happened because
they didn't see the game or they only saw it once,
and there were no phones to see everything in the
palm of your hand. I legitimately wanted to relive a
(08:58):
game and see it in the highlight form. And towards
the end of my tenure there, people were already seeing
it on the internet. I mean, phones weren't, you know,
weren't terribly prolific, but people were already They were Sports
Center executives and assumed everyone was watching the show fully
knowledgeable what happened, so it can't turn into an argument
(09:18):
show where two analysts came on to argue about why
something happened. So I wasn't really into that anymore. I
think that's not popular anymore. But that's that's where it
was all headed. And so um I had an opportunity
to come out here and start NFL Network, and um
I kind of dug it, but ESPN broke up with
me first, and coming out here was unbelievable. But it
(09:43):
really was jarring, you know, I mean, we're we NFL
Network was in twelve million homes when we started, was
on direct TV and just a handful of small cable outlets.
This is a dumb question. Is twelve million homes very few? Yeah?
I mean ESPN Sports Center back the day when I
was on it was in like a hundred and ten.
So I basically cut my my my exposure coming here
(10:09):
and uh and it was mind blowing. But it was
just a small group of us, about twenty of us
that started. And it was one of those things when
we would go home before leaving because there was no
news desk, there was no anything that we're in this
palace right now, which is amazing. We would um use
(10:30):
this new fangled um portal called Google News. I'm not
kidding you, Like I was like, wow that Google It's
started a news page. So so we would look at
it to see did any stories break before we closed
up Total Access before the end of the night. And
I remember driving home every night I would listen to
(10:50):
local sports talk radio here like kind of white knuckling
every time they did an update involving the NFL, thinking
that I'd have to turn around and the back. What
was the setup of it? Was it like a twenty
four hours Was it just broadcasting like old games? We
were We were showing a lot of NFL films, Yes, Steve.
Without Steve Sable, this place would never existed whatever. So
(11:14):
it was a lot of NFL films. And then it
was just a couple of shows. It was us on
Total Access as show called Coach Speak, where it was
Marv Levy and U Mike Ditka talking about news, uh,
you know, items of the day. And it was like,
you know, like the two muppets in the in the
you know, in the balcony just talking football. Um and anyway,
(11:37):
I just called to Hall of Fame coaches Muppets. But
that's the way we that's the way we started. So
this along winded answer for what you're saying. I just remember, um,
my wife, Susie was working here in Los Angeles and
was covering the Lakers and and so we went to
the NBA All Star Game in February of oh four
(11:59):
and nflm that came on the air in the middle
of November of oh three. So we were about three
four months old, and I went to the NBA All
Star Party that she got us uh tickets too. So
we're in there or she got the passes, and we're
in there and somebody comes up to me and says, man,
I love watching you every morning. And I'm like, I
found somebody who's got NFL network. This is great. I'm like,
(12:21):
what do you like about NFL Network? And he says
to me, what are you talking about? And I'm like,
I'm on NFL Network. He said, quote unquote, what's that. Um.
I explained to him what it was. He says, you're
not on Sports Center anymore. I'm like, no, I haven't
been on since last May. And he paused and he
looks at me, goes, are you all right? And I'm like,
(12:41):
you know, I can fog up a mirror in front
of you if you'd like. I mean, I'm talking to you.
I mean, I'm I'm I'm taking in oxygen and putting
out carbon dioxide like we can. We're talking. But that
was the general sense of what the hell did you
just do with your life? But what I did was
I bet on the NFL, and I bet on myself,
(13:02):
and I bet on living in California, and I bet
on all of that, and and I just again remember
the first Super Bowl we did, which was Brady versus
Jake Dilome, uh Patriots Panthers in Houston, and um, we
were on in every hotel room. I mean, Steve Bornstein
in the league and did an incredible job of getting
(13:23):
us out there. We were on every hotel room. Every
media bus had a TV on it, Like I don't
know how they did it, but the TVs were on
NFL network and media buses in every hotel room. When
you went in the convention center, every five feet was
a television with NFL Network on it, and um, I
just remember that's what it felt like being fully distributed
(13:45):
for the first time. And it was by the end
of the weekend. We crushed it. Like our guest list
was amazing. We had we had a whole bunch of
people because it was Houston, and um, uh, Bob McNair,
the owner of the Texans, brought uh Bush forty forty
one and so I interviewed an actual president camera president,
(14:09):
and uh, the CBS crew came by, and that was
the first time Dion Sanders ever appeared on NFL network
because he was on CBS at the time. We interviewed
the co m v p s of the NFL, which
is Peyton Manning and Steve McNair. Um, we had everybody.
Belichick stopped by on a Tuesday night he was coaching
in the game happening. It felt I felt validated walking
(14:31):
out of the Convention Center, like Okay, this is what
it can be like, and we're gonna be good. And
then the off season hit and we're like, what the
what are we doing now? You know, it's so crazy
because like Canada has ts N, which is like ESPN sister,
but we also had like Sports Center every single night,
and and and Jy on right and Danio told they
(14:51):
were gods, they're they were gods among us. Mirror mortals,
Like I remember seeing Jay. I was in a cab
and I saw Jay cross the street and I was like,
that's Jay On right, Like, oh my god. First off,
he's like seven ft five. You can easily pick him out.
But like what I mean to say is like being
on Sports Center is such a huge, massive role, and
(15:12):
I can imagine how scary that was to give that
up and then to come here. I remember my first
day coming here. It was the grand opening of this building,
and you came and did a speech downstairs, and you
got a little bit emotional, and I had no idea
like the history of this place. I kind of was just,
you know, I just popped into sports in a weird way.
But um, now that I'm now hearing you tell that
(15:33):
story and then thinking about how far this place has come,
like from the from our morning show, Good Morning Football,
all the way to like I don't you know, I'm biased,
but I think our Sunday show is the best Sunday
morning show on air. We are biased, but everyone says
that everyone, but but but yeah, Like you know, I
did a total access from the inception of the network
(15:56):
to two thousand eleven to the lockout when the lockout
was over. That's when Thursday Night Football became more I
think this is the order of events. It was on UM.
Your Thursday Night football when it started was just from
Thanksgiving on UM, and then they wanted it every Thursday.
So doing my show and my podcast UM and Total
(16:20):
Access and then Thursday Night and then Sundays was just
an impossibility. So I was off of the Total Access
UH Daily Grind, but UM from oh three to two
thousand eleven, I did Total Access in the same seat.
And by the same seat, I mean the actual freaking chair.
And like around two thousand eight, I'm like, I'm going
(16:42):
to go on the air and it's gonna freaking break,
Like can we get a new chair please? And and
like that was the way we started. And so when
I walk into this building every time, I'm like I
cannot well, I'm assuming, but you know, it is incredible
across the way from from a stadium that when we
(17:04):
first started NFL Network, like why are you putting in
Los Angeles, Like there's no teams there, and like the
answer was because Steve Bornstein has a house there quite frankly,
so that's why we were here. And I like being
here and I love that it was out here and
it was in the lure for me to come here
as well. But now the fact that, yeah, like everyone's like,
what's this about? What's this channel about? What are you
(17:24):
going to talk about when you're not you know, um,
when you're not playing games? What's what? What is it
going to be? Like? Why are you in Los Angeles?
And now we're in this spot and there's that stadium
across the street. I do I do shake my head
every time I walk in. Yeah, it's I mean, I'm
emotional even just like hearing about it. It's so amazing
that you took that plunge and then also with your
(17:47):
own show, so it started as a podcast. Now you're
on Roku every single day Pacific, right. Um, Like I said,
you're a big get on this show and we've had
justin Jefferson Okay, like thrown that out. I mean, I
think I'm grabbing your questions one handed. I think you
know what. I mean? What else? Who is your you know,
(18:08):
since you've you know, the rich eyes and shows blown
up just as much as this place has from from
the bottom up. Who was your who's been your biggest get? Who?
What is like the biggest accomplishment of that show, oh man.
Just the biggest accompliments show is that it still exists.
I'm not kidding you, you know, Like, um, I got
(18:28):
you know the all right, So I did the podcast
here and and um around, I got a call from
Direct tv, UM an executive and Chris Long, who's got
his roots from Fox Sports as well. UM and he says, um,
Dan Patrick's show, we want to have another show after it.
(18:48):
How about your podcast coming over and doing that? Because
Dan and I go back to when I first started.
He I mean, he was hazing me the first minute
I walked in the door. That yeah, I mean, I'll
never forget. Just you know. I would do the two
am Sports Center. He would do the eleven o'clock with
Keith Olberman, and the tapes of the highlights would come
up in this plastic bin. And as soon as they
(19:11):
came up, I was twenty six years old, and um,
I voraciously took them and watched the highlights first. Otherwise
I would be doing it blind for the first time
on the air. So like I remember the first time,
I'm doing this and I'm staring at the screen, I'm
taking notes and I'm making sure it's all set, and
I feel this presence to my left. It's Dan Patrick.
I look up and he looks down at me, goes
(19:31):
so you're nervous like Dan. So it's like where where
we go? Way back? And so the answer to that
was absolutely. Of course, I had to give up my
firstborn child in order to get a chance to do that.
But thankfully the NFL and everybody played along nicely, and
eventually I got to do it in two thousand fourteen.
And then in late nineteen I got a call from
(19:55):
the powers that be a Direct TV that they were
shuttering the network, that that the show was on, and uh,
this show was legitimately over. And it was two days
before Christmas in and then I went to that Super
Bowl which was the the Chiefs and the the Niners
in Miami. This was just a couple of years ago there,
(20:17):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, Chiefs and not it was the
Chiefs not in Miami what it was, So it's interesting
it could be like a potential repeat of it. But
any rate, so I'm there trying to find a new
partner potentially and kicking tires there, and then the pandemic hits,
so I've lost my television partner, my radio partner, and
then there's something called, you know, a pandemic. So I
(20:39):
ended up coming back from that combine in and going
only on YouTube. UM took the show to NBC Sports
Net for nothing, just to get some exposure. So I
was doing the show every day, um self funding it
at some point no way, yeah, just to keep it
alive and see what would happen. And then Peacock came
along in late saying we'll take you, and so that
(21:02):
helped keep the show alive, and now we're on Roku
and um it's I own the show. So when I'm
not working on it, I'm making phone call. I've never
I mean, it's huge, thank you for saying that, but
I I you know, I don't. I mean, I've never
thought I was management as well as on the ear too,
like alright, I'm learning on the fly. So the fact
(21:24):
that it exists is its biggest to come. Do you
like that that you've gone from you know, having somebody
help you make it to be like now this is mine.
I mean, I know there's a lot of responsibility that
goes with that, but there must be a lot of like, wow,
I own this, do you like when people tell you
what to do, No, okay, there you go. I don't
know if they're in there in there in their office,
(21:47):
but yeah, I mean like so, of course though I
have partners and I have people that are are keen
to hear certain things, see certain things that I need
to um, you know, a cater to. But it's it's
been great and I do love having the guests on
and chopping it up. And and that's the other thing too,
is doing you know, what we do UM is great.
(22:10):
And every single executive that I've ever met wants to
make a connection between the shows and those at home watching,
and we try to do that all the time with
you know, our schedule release show, like how do we
get fans interested in the schedule coming out? Like literally
the schedule release is essentially a show about the the
(22:31):
release of paperwork, the document that you could easily exactly
like hey, let's go Like so one year, you know,
we wound up sending reporters to sports bars and instead
we you know, just to hear what the fans have
to say. Poor Albert Brier sitting there in a Washington
sports pub and there's the caps on behind him. Nobody's
thinking about the new Washington football team's schedule or whatever.
(22:53):
So the answer is to have a show like the
one that I am. Let's have fans, like having fans
actually call in and give their thoughts and chop it
up with them. I love doing that. I had. I
did stand up in college. You did stand up for
how long? Uh? Four years? WHOA? Yeah, really try to go.
(23:15):
I'm not surprised because you are very funny at that.
Just stand ups terrifying. It's nothing I've ever done approaches it.
It's made everything else I've ever done in my career easier.
That's why I love doing improv, because going on television
it's like I don't well. I mean, you definitely have
the chops. I mean the videos that you put out
are laugh out loud hilarious, and I don't know how
you come up with these things, and you know how
(23:37):
you spend time and you're what appears to be your
apartment playing dress up and all that crazy, which comes
out to me every single Sunday without fail, after we've
played something and he puts his hand on my shoulder
and goes, what is wrong with you? I love it.
That's great. And by the way, I've told him he's
got full of stories. You did one segment on our
show this year about right about you retelling the mooches
(24:00):
stories and having him tell him and you kind of
reenact him. He is one of the greatest storytellers ever,
and there are so many more that he should put
into your He was so uneasy about us doing that.
I don't know why, because I think he was just like,
I don't know what you guys are getting up to,
but I'll tell the story, but like, I don't know
what you're doing. He told one story and I'll tell
(24:21):
it here because I've made him tell it on my show.
He told a story based on I don't know if
there's I can't keep track of all the conference rooms here.
It's the other place. They were only a handful of them.
So there was a conference room in the in the
previous spot we were in called the Montana Room, named
after the great Joe Montana, And in the room there's
a photograph of Montana. It's an iconic photograph of Montana
(24:46):
and Bill Walsh taking a knee on the turf and
Candlestick Park, apparently drawing up a play on the on
the turf it's it's an iconic photograph and it's on
the wall. Do you know the story? But right, so
he tells the story. We're just sitting there and just
out of many great things in our business, it's born
(25:07):
out of sheer boredom. Mooch tells the story of how
he loved this photograph and he always wanted a moment
like this with Steve Young, And unbeknownst to Steve Young,
he went into a game where he thought like this
is possible. Like he went into games thinking if there's
a blowout, I'm gonna do this. And so one time,
third quarter or late second quarter, the games out of hand,
(25:29):
he fires off a time out because he notices the
team photographer to his left, and um, he calls a
photographer over, fires off a time out and has Steve
Young come over, and Young is like what. First of all,
it's like, why do you call time out? I'm not
coming Like while am I coming over? He's just get
over here, you know how Mooch tells stories, And so
he wound up attempting to get take a knee and
(25:51):
Young it's like, what the hell are you doing? And uh,
just as he was taking a knee with Steve Young.
The gatorade guy came on to give Young, you know,
the usual time out hydration and in the way of
the shot, he never got his shot. And Young never
knew that story, and I told I had much tell
(26:12):
it on the show, and I played it for Steve
Young is young It never what was his reaction? Couldn't
you know? He he couldn't believe it, but he totally
believed it of course something. I don't know why I
ended up telling you this story, but we you know,
we do love Wow. So doing stand up I did
that for four years. It's made everything else that much easier.
(26:35):
And um, and that's why I like mixing it up
with with fans, you know, I like chopping it up.
What because you've been so dedicated your entire life to sports,
is what was the backup plan? Like? What would you
be doing in this life if sports for some reason
didn't exist? I don't know, because I couldn't play it.
You had no other backup plan. I couldn't play it,
(26:56):
you know, Um, would you go in the news in
a first My first job was as the you know, uh,
the beat reporter for my hometown newspaper. Used to have
to you used to have to like work the teleprompter
with your foot while you were as That was after
(27:16):
my first job was actually working from my hometown newspaper writing,
and I just I wasn't cut out for it. I
wasn't cut out for you wrote a book, I know,
but I wasn't cut out for news like I mean,
I just hated going to hard news stories. I'm I'm
I'm more of a you know, fun and games guy.
So I really wasn't cut out for doing it. And
(27:37):
I have nothing but the greatest respect for those who
are cut out for it. But I went back to
school for TV, and then I did get to read
in California where I did work the teleprompter with a
foot pedal, which is like tapping your head and rubbing
your belly. And found me there but on live television,
and here I am benched with you, benched with me maybe, Okay,
(28:00):
let's talk about actual football. I've loved going down memory
Lane with you. That was really awesome. The m v
P finalists were announced. We've got Josh Allen, Joe Burrow,
Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson we love to see it, and
Patrick mahomes Um you have the media votes on this?
Do you vote on it? No? I actually you've you've
hit on a very source of object because the AP
(28:21):
runs it. I'm an NFL employee, why would you not
be able to vote on it. I have spoken to
the Associated Press and personally told them they suck. I'm like,
who sees more football than me and and who has
proven over twenty years that I am not beholden to
this so called party or company line. But because I'm
(28:43):
an NFL employee, they will not give me a vote.
I haven't had a vote in twenty years. Wow. And
I'm like, come on, what was the reaction to you
telling them but this is the policy, it's not my
what's the policy? Immediate vote on it? No? But I
m an NFL That seems ridiculous. So I do not
(29:05):
have a vote. If I had a vote, I'd give
it to Jalen Hurts. Oh how come? Um? I just
think what he has turned himself into is remarkable. I think, um,
we saw what the offense also looked like with Gardner Minshew.
With all due respect to him, I think, um he
is he is? Um. I love him, But I mean
(29:26):
I just had Dallas Goddard today on the show, we
speak to any Eagle and they will talk about Hurts,
his value, how incredible he is. Well Nick Sirianni just
referred to him as Michael Jordan. I know, so he
has that he has this um mentality that's all business,
um and also very um philly like you know, I
(29:48):
think that he's he's a coach of a son, which
means he's a son of a gun as well. And
he is he is um everything that this team needs
him to be. And when they have big wins, he says,
we're not done. Yeah, I mean they follow his lead
in every single way. And um, I think he is
the most valuable player. You normally give it to somebody
(30:08):
on the team that has the most wins, and you
give it to a team that is um showing it's
worth And um, I know he missed two games and
that's why people discounted, but I just think, you know,
also it's it's a total, as you know, um subjective award.
You could easily, you know, give Coach of the Year
(30:30):
to Belichick and read every year you know, and you don't,
so I means already has when I'd give one a
hurt because it's voted on by the media members. It's
almost like every every single time I've ever like spoken
about this on TV and broken it down, it's like,
what is the best storyline? I think Joe Burrow is
very interesting. You know, there's the Super Bowl hangover that
everyone always talks about that people get stuck in, and
(30:52):
they kind of did have it for a couple of weeks.
They went oh in too, and now they found themselves
back in almost the big Dance. Yeah. I mean what he's,
what he's become is and it doesn't seem like he cares.
It's because he's he's he's just um, he's a machine.
It's what it looks like, which is why I knew
(31:13):
something significant was up with the mar Hamlin the night
that happened when you saw Burrow looking like frightened and
worried on my child, him and Josh Allen, right, Josh,
and but seeing Joe Burrow's face looking anything like the
face we always see on him was jarring to me
because he always when he walks in the building and
(31:35):
he taps Chris Collinsworth on the back at security but
keeps walking, or he walks into a press conference room,
or he walks in with hottily goes back on a sideline.
He's the same guy and um, you know, um, he
what he's becoming is unbelievable and um Brady like, there's
(31:57):
no other way to describe it. The way that he operates,
the way that he um wins, the way that he
cuts your heart out, the way that he uh pre
snapped neck up diagnoses plays, the way that he does everything. Um.
And it may not only include another Super Bowl appearance
(32:18):
or win, but potentially this uh spring one of the
old Brady hometown discounts. When the Bengals you know, talk
contract with him, We'll see what he does on that front. Um.
But he is a revelation and you know, um, sometimes
we all get caught up, as you point out narrative storylines.
We were all coming in the season, Can Alan and
(32:39):
Mahomes do it again? Like what what? What? You know?
The concept when we were all choosing the Bills back
in September, Um, it was like, not will Mahomes and
Alan fight it out for the a f C? In
which round of the playoffs will they meet? With the
question will it be divisional again or will it be
the a f C championship again, and the answer was
(33:00):
not at all, because Burrow has raised his hand and said,
hold on a second, get you know, like better, get better,
sending those refunds, you know like that. That is his
so far mantra. I think it's been a perfect words
for him to come out of his mouth this past week.
So I think he's incredible too. But like I said,
it wasn't a full season for him like it was
for Hurts. So that's why I'd go with you, hurt Well,
(33:22):
associated Press, you're missing out. Look at that beautiful analysis.
And by the way, it wasn't like hold I mean,
let me check my notes. Roger Goodell says, give it
to Hurts. You know there it is. Email just came in.
So I'm so glad I'm making him happy. All Right,
We're gonna take a quick break more benched with Banetta
after this. Don't go anywhere. We'll get some I were saying,
(34:03):
all right, welcome back. We're hanging out with Rich Eysen.
Let's get into the playoff preview presented by DraftKings Sports Book. Okay,
forty niners, they're heading to Philly, where they are underdogs
at plus two and a half. The Niners have covered
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NFC opponents, so good. Expect some scoring between the Eagles
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(34:25):
and a half. Defense take the day off. Christian McCaffrey
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at Draft King Sports Book for plus three. Al Right, Rich,
who are you going with? I feel like I'm going
to change my mind several times before we get to Sunday.
(34:47):
I don't know, Um God, I do love what's going
on with the Niners so much, and I saw it coming,
and you know, I mean, we're seeing Kittle here and
he is I mean, Purty has totally turned the light
on back on for Kittle in a way that even
Jimmy g hadn't this year. Pretensive the questions in the
(35:10):
same way that the Eagles weren't the Vikings, you know, um,
and we saw what happened with the Giants. You know,
the Niners aren't the Giants either, So I'm wondering if
the Niners can somehow stop the run and stop A J. Brown.
I just don't know if they can. The way that
(35:32):
the Eagles are playing right now, I think they shouldn't
say can if if they will, just I don't know. So, UM,
if IM pressed now on this show, I'm I'm kind
of leaning on flipping both scripts because mahomes ankle, even
though I I've been giving a team coverage on my
show every day, best ankle coverage in the business, apparently
(35:53):
didn't even walk out with the boot no boot. And
the difference is, you know, because again I'm all over
this story. Um, yesterday, Um, he walked off the podium,
which is not too high up. It's too little mini
steps all right, No, I mean we didn't measure the steps,
but I mean, um, you look at the video and
(36:16):
he took the mini steps down and he and he
and he went down with no problem, like he kind
of hopped down them and yeah, yeah, like it was
it was. It was. It was not like slow and
steady wins the race. He just negotiated the too mini
steps very easily, you know. And by the way, it's
significant when Romo you know, normally calls his shots pretty
(36:38):
damn well finished the Bills Bengals game and said if
the ankle is really bad, he'll be on crutches Wednesday.
So not only was he not on crutches, he wasn't
in a boot. And he he walked down these two steps.
There's too many steps today, same podium, same riser. He
didn't even go down the mini steps. He just went
down off the riser in one step, landed on the ankle,
(37:02):
and kept walking without a hitch. This was the Olympics.
You would give him close to a ten. It was
he stuck the landing, and he stuck the land It's
just but to me, he's not thinking about it. He's
not thinking about it. Like if if if I had to,
if I had to just use these mini steps versus
riser scenario as an indication of anything. Um it said,
(37:25):
he's playing Sunday, so um but let's just say Trey
Hendrickson takes him down the wrong way or Sam Hubbard,
you know, gives him a shot and there's a little
friendly fire, goes down and he hits the ankle. Then
there's a whole different ball at WAX. I think they're
definitely taking the snow globe play out. I would hope,
(37:46):
so by a million, that would be scary. I just
don't know if you even want to run the if
you're up by a million, even with the bye week,
you don't want to run the risk of making a
lateral pre snap, pre post huddle breaking moment by putting
your main guy on the on the line like a
bold move. So all that said is I'm I'm thinking
(38:08):
of calling my own mulligan and going Bengals and Eagles.
So I have a Kelsey Brother super Bowl. Yeah, yeah,
I think I think the bearded one makes it fearlessly.
That's what I'm sac, I guess, so I shouldn't say that.
Um yeah, that's what I'm leaning towards right now. But
(38:30):
I've got two more days to talk myself out of it.
I know. That's what I love. You know, last weekend's games,
there are some pretty big favorites, like summer favorite a
whole touchdown. These ones are like you were just trying
to find that needle minus two and a half. The
Chiefs are only favored by one, which Cynthia said on
our last week's show that she was thinking that the
Bengals were going to be favored, especially because of that sprain.
(38:52):
You didn't see him come off the riser today, did you.
She didn't take that into I don't know what I said.
She might not have the whole riser step thing in
her in her mathematical equation. I don't know. So that's
what I'm saying. You just need to take this all
into account. And by the way, I could take the
(39:13):
easy way out. What's the easy way. Well, I already
chose Chiefs and Nineties, so I've got a stick with it,
which is I don't that's not servicing the audience right now.
I don't think so. Either I'm afraid of geting a
tweet from cold takes or old takes. I already I
already no, I already at them say I don't care
what you think. I literally said that, ass But seriously, like,
(39:38):
that's not servicing the audience by saying I'm not telling
you what I think now, I just want to remind
you I have the opportunity to have been right. Also,
it's ridiculous that you're going to take picks from like preseason,
mid season I saw that Thanksgiving Chiefs Niners, and then
when I've given a chance at the outside of the playoffs,
(39:58):
I stuck with it, so I'm gonna ride it all
the way out of it. But you know, uh, if
Mahomes is compromised and the Eagles you're playing at their
top level again, which I didn't see in the three
weeks prior to sticking with them to begin the beginning
of the playoffs, then UM, you know, I just gotta
(40:19):
I gotta take it all into account. So this is
the way I'm leaning right now. Okay, I love it. Um,
I am going forty Niners Bengals. What what the hell's
your problem? I don't know, I don't know. I would
love a trip. I would love a Kelsey Brothers Super Bowl.
That'd be fun storylines. That was the playoff preview presented
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(40:40):
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Bonus issued as free beets one boost per eligible game, deposit,
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book dot DraftKings dot com slash football terms. Um, okay, rich,
before we let you go, thank you so much for
giving us so much of your time. I have a question.
It is considered the question of the Bench with Benetta podcast.
Some people have started to put it into their dating
(41:43):
profiles because it's such a good conversation starter. Except four.
Every time I ask it on this podcast, people melt down.
They feel like they need to have some like grand answer.
I don't want you to feel that way. I just
feel like you're you're gonna have a thoughtful answer. I
know that about. So here's what happens. You die, okay not,
(42:04):
it's not a bad death, it's just you've float off whatever.
You get to come back to earth dismember. We don't
you don't actually know how you die. Well let's start there.
You don't know how you die with you're dead. You
get to come back to earth for thirty minutes. You
cannot see anybody that would know you because they know
that you're dead, so if they saw you that they
(42:25):
would be freaked out. Can't see anybody that you love,
can't see anybody that you know. Thirty minutes? Where are
you going? And what are you doing? And take all
the time you need. It's the beauty of editing. What
am I doing? Where are you going? All right? So
is it a meal? Are you sitting on a favorite bench?
Are you looking living? Oh? People are But I'm not
(42:49):
allowed to see anybody. You're not allowed to see anybody
that you love. Because the typical answer would be like, well,
I want to go home, I want to see my family,
I want to hang out with my friends. We're taking
that off the table, all right, Um, and where do
I still look like myself? Do I come back as Brad?
Pitt you click, Am I am? I Joe Black Like,
(43:09):
I mean like it's because no, but these are important.
I would say, you're you're you, but I can't be
around anybody. He's like a football fan or something. You
people can't really like see your face. You're just so
I'm like a thumb, like like a face of a
(43:32):
thumb of human. You're invisible. Okay, alright, thirty minutes. Would
you go maybe to a football field? Sit down? Okay,
where would I go? I don't know, same Michigan, something
I don't know. It's worth noting. Kyle Brandt refused to
answer this question so hard. We all know his answer.
(43:57):
It's wherever Josh Allen is. But he can't see anybody.
He can't go because he loves him and Josh, Kyle,
you wouldn't answer, he deflected. He made a joke. Well,
I mean that's kind of what I've been doing for
the last two three minutes because I haven't thought about it,
(44:17):
you know, like, where would I go? Um? What would
I do? Said? There's this place that I grew up,
this lake. It's always like so warm, and I had
one day where I just escaped, turned my phone off
and I just flow. But half an hour, I would
just go back and have a little float. Go back
and have a float. Um, all right, I would. I
(44:38):
would get a slice of New York pizza from where
a certain place doesn't matter. O Um, I'd get a
slice of New York pizza. And then I would I'd
probably go to like Yankee Stadium. Really yeah, just sit
outside or go inside taking a game. Wow. Yeah, thirty
(45:00):
minutes and hope like a moonlight Graham and they get
back on that diamond. I throw a no hitter? Can
I throw a no hitter? You can do it? I mean,
I'm calling attention to myself, just the thumb. I'm just
a thumb throwing a no hitter for the Yankees. Can
I come back with Can I come back with like powers?
Or I'm myself? Okay, this is getting too simple. It's
(45:24):
not simple laughing because they know how many times I
failed at this. It's not simple. Like if I come
back with like superpowers or something like that. If I
couldn't come back with a ninety our fastball for half
an hour, that what I should ask. Thirty minutes, you
get to come back there. If you have a superpower,
do yes? It's much better than like what am I
(45:46):
gonna do? You can't see anyone you love, they can't
see you. You've had a horrible death or a great death.
It depends on however you imagine your death. I mean,
like that puts your guest on, you know, on the
heels to begin with, like what happens like I don't know? Um,
you know, and I can't see anyone I love. They
people can't know who I am. So you know, Um,
(46:09):
that's what I would do. Yeah, I'd have a I
have a slice of pizza. I'd get a Yankee game,
and I try to like like moon like rain. I
go back on the field and I become you know,
Gerard Cole, Yeah, you know and strike people out. Is
that a problem? No problem? No problem here because I
don't know these rules that you come up. There's no rules,
(46:31):
because this question is never gonna existed. Rich Eyes and
about five minutes ago. Alright, big thanks to Rich eyes
in for his time. I feel like this is a
real show today. We got coming up after the break.
We're gonna get back to our old Shenanigans. We are
(46:53):
talking the best and the worst things that I saw
all week. To go anywhere alright, time to talk about
the best and the worst thing that I saw all week.
(47:15):
You know, we were talking about Joe Burrow earlier in
the show and just how calm and cool and collected
he is. But there's sometimes that will people will hit
a nerve with him, and all he's gotta do is
say like one little line. Uh and and somebody somebody
asked him old question last week. Let's see what he
had to say for everyone talking about a neutral championship game,
(47:39):
not even thinking about you guys, how much did that
motivate you coming into this? You better send those refunds.
You can't even see his eyes, little room sounds just calm,
cool and give the m v P. Just because of
his postgame sounds. Um. Absolutely loved to see that Joe Burrow.
(48:00):
Like I was saying earlier, Super Bowl hangover, where is it?
It's nowhere to be found. They started the season oh
and two and they've found themselves back in the NFC Championship.
Is pretty incredible. Okay, uh, next up, this is fascinating. Okay.
The Bengals have claimed quarterback Chris Lammon's off waivers from
the Chiefs. Move is deferred until day after Super Bowl,
(48:23):
so he cannot play for the Bengals. Bengals are straight
up just trying to get some info. They are just
trying to figure out what the Chiefs are up to.
This kind of like this is kind of somewhere in
between best thing and the worst thing that I saw,
Like it seems a little bit cheeky, like you shouldn't
(48:44):
really have to do this, but at the same time,
like a trip to the Super Bowls on the line,
So like, I don't know, you guys, tell me, does
this feel like a little bit like, yeah, there's something
a little bit about it. So I think I'm gonna
put this like somewhere right in the middle between the
thing and the worst thing that I saw. Bengels, you
don't need it, you don't need to do this, you
don't need to like it seems a little cheeny. I'm
(49:06):
gonna whisper it seems a little cheeny, Like I don't
like it. Okay. Then the worst thing that I saw,
which was actually kind of like the best thing that
I saw, unfold over the week. Mike Hilton Um after
the Wind said we'll see you all in burrow Head,
and then Travis Kelsey went on his podcast new heights
and said, oh, you guys are given us bulletin board material. Um,
(49:30):
I cannot wait for this game. I love bulletin board material.
I am very pro bulletin board material. On both sides
rub it in and then the other side gets mad
at it, so we all have something to talk about
on television. It is absolutely beautiful boys and girls and
everybody else. That is our show that is benched with Banetta.
Huge thanks to rich eyes In for joining. I can't
(49:53):
believe he came and did the thing and answered the
question and shouts to Parker who works on our show.
She had the best answer to the question. Okay, this
is the last time we hear about this. It's not
I'm totally gonna ask this question again. She said that
she would rob a bank, okay, and then leave the
money somewhere her family could find it. And I think
(50:14):
that that's the best answer of the question that we
have gotten so far. All Right, she's not going to
grab the slesa peza. She's not gonna go have a
little float in the lake. She's robbing a bank. Keeps
where you gonna where did you find anything to rob
a bank with your thumb? We'll answer that question next week.
Thanks for listening, we'll see you enjoy all the football.
We'll see you back on Tuesday with Kyle Brant, Posyna
(50:44):
Sank
And when I woke up this morning, I was feeling
pretty dangerous tonight. It's mc cornick. They are what we
thought they were and were not about. Hello, you play
to win the gate. They want you to cook the dinner.
At least they ought to let your shop for some
of the grocers. And on the way up, we're gonna
buy the kneecap off playoffs. You're kidding me. I'm just
(00:25):
here so I won't get fine. How could he not
be romantic about football? Welcome to bench? Can okay, nobody
freak out. Nobody freak out. We've got a huge get today.
He's looking, he's find a mirror, rich eyes and rich
eyes and is on bench switch but not a folks.
I feel like everyone's like a high tension right now.
It's like show has got to be good because pro rich.
(00:48):
So we gotta prepared professionally. I'm not prepared for anyone
else but you. Well, I'm glad that I don't feel special.
Um okay, first things first, it's just dropped. We gotta
get your opinion in on it. Nathaniel Hackett is now
your offensive coordinator for the Jets. I listened to the show.
You seem positive is this a kind of thing like
(01:10):
I'm gonna be positive about it and I'm gonna feel good,
like kind of like you're putting that out into the universe. Um,
I don't know. I I you know, hope that he's
gotten his um problems communicating and coordinating for a guy
named Wilson out of the way. He's now doubled his
number of Wilson's. Um, he's got Zack and Garrett. Oh yes, Um,
(01:35):
so he can't quit Wilson. Um. Maybe he'll get the
you know, the volleyball, the volleyball from from uh Castaway
that's shipwrecked movie. At any rate. I don't know. I mean, look,
I'll I'll just say I want. I want the guy
who almost took Blake Bordles to the Super Bowl. So
(01:57):
that's the guy I want. I'm gonna say that he
still in there, still that guy inside of him, deep
inside somewhere. And the issues that he had this year, Um,
you know in some parts are our issues that won't
be on his plate, you know, like kicking ninety yard
field goals as opposed to letting his quarterback cook m
(02:19):
or um. You know, whatever the defense thought of his offense.
That's a Robert Salad problem now. So I'm going to
hope that the guy that almost took Blake Bortles to
the Super Bowl can turn Zach around. I've heard some
whispers about what the quarterback situation. Could you imagine if
it's Aaron Rodgers. I've seen some photoshops of Rogers in
(02:42):
a Jersey. How do all of those things? I thought
it was on ayahuasca when I saw that. That's like,
I'm like, what's in my chees? Give me some more?
Need some more of that? I need championships from him? Yeah,
so you would be into that, I guess. You know
if that comes baggage a little bit, don't you think?
I think so? But also comes the thirty nine year
old who can be dynamite quarterback. And you know Brady's
(03:06):
years thirty nine to forty one were championship years, and
he is a better athlete than Brady entering his thirty
ninth year on the planet. So there's no way he's
done though, right like that, That's the whole thing with him.
I have no idea and and um, I don't know
why he'd want to do it. I would think he
should stay in the place where he is beloved. Um
(03:29):
where he he You know, his car already knows its
way to work, unless he is sitting there saying I've
done this one way for almost twenty years. Before I'm
done playing, maybe I should try someplace else. Um, I
just it would be stunning, stunning to me if he
chooses the same post Green Bay team, same one as Farves.
(03:52):
I mean, it would be weird. That would be wild,
and that was a terrible mix. But um, you know
Robert sala Is and Eric Mangini and the team that
the Jets have currently on defense, he knows very well
because half of them were sitting in his lap when
they visited him in Green Bay. I think it was
Week four this year. So, I mean, I would just
(04:14):
be stunned if he's like, I'm done with Green Bay. Yes,
I want the Jets. Do you think that there's a
part of him though, that is like, you know, he's
a little bit younger, but he's looking at Tom Brady,
Tom left he won a Super Bowl immediately Do you
think that part of him is just like I could,
I could do that. I'm in the same conversation as Tom.
Obviously I am officially out. I'm gonna choose benched with
(04:36):
Bonetta to announcement, I am officially out of the guessing
what's in Aaron Rodgers head business? WIT's official? Should I
jump on that train as well? Well? Actually, what that
means is it's it's there for you to fill the
void if you care to. I am out of the
what's Aaron Rodgers thinking? What's in his head? Business? All right? Verified?
(05:00):
I shan't go in that direction. Is there has there
ever been a time because I love your attitude on
Sunday mornings, You're you're very much like love hate the Jets.
You always have, always will. Has there ever been a
moment where you're like, I'm actually done, Like I'm like
a fireman where I'm out. Yeah, Like I'm not going
to return to if I was never out? When Sanchez
(05:22):
ran into the ass of his teammate, When am I
ever going to be out? You know? Like that's what
we would call the floor. Um, there's nothing worse than
that Adam Gaze, googly eyed Adam Gaze press conference. I
wasn't out then. I can't imagine when I'd ever be out.
So you've never been close, then, I can't. I mean
it's almost like you love to be like full of hatred.
(05:44):
At some point it's going to change. I mean it
was when I was an embryo they won. Um, so
it's it's it's going to happen at some point in
the history of planet Earth. I would like to be
above ground for it. And I'd like to still be
on board, you know. I mean, who what what what
terrible luck that would be if I was out you know. Um, well,
(06:08):
here's the deal. Um, my wife is from New England. Um,
and so we first had a kid in two thousand eight,
so right after the undefeated regular season. Um. And Tom
Brady is also a Michigan guy, me too. For me
(06:28):
to have basically said to my wife, you know, hey, um,
we need to raise our children a jet fan in
the midst of a magical run um involving Brady and Belichick.
Uh well, I I think child Services would have come
to remove custody rights on the spot. I put my
(06:52):
marker on the Yankees. That was one that I kind
of got my one preremptory. Um, that's where I did it.
But no, I couldn't, you know, let me let me
place all of this emotional baggage upon my children. I
can't do that. Um, Richie, We're just looking around this
studio and you were like, this is insane, which Chriss
wrestling studio at NFL Network. It's absolutely amazing. Talk to
(07:14):
me about you were mentioning that you were like the
first NFL podcast way back when this place was in
Culver City and not looking as glamorous as that is.
That how the rich Eyes in the show got started.
It started a podcast, it did. Um. I was thinking
about what else could I do, you know, with the
platform that NFL Network had grown into, and you got
(07:35):
to NFL Network, When when did that start? The first
three I was employee on air, employee one. Yeah, I
was maybe employee three or four. Period. Okay, hold on
pause there for a second. Because you came from ESPN,
that must have been like scary. Um, it was quite
a time, you know. I mean it was I'd been
on Sports Center for seven years and I wanted to
(07:55):
do something other than just Sports Center alone. Yeah, um,
and UM was essentially told no. I held my breath
for a while, and then they finally came around and
offered me a show called Cold Pizza, and um, they
wanted me to be the first host of cold pizza,
(08:17):
and it spoke to me because it was being done
out of New York, where I'm from originally, and I
kind of wanted to get out of living in central Connecticut. Um,
but it just the fit, quite honestly didn't feel right
that I thought like that show could get canceled within
a year, and then I stuck around to do something else,
and now I'm just still doing two hundred sports centers
(08:37):
a year, a hundred whatever I was doing, which was great.
I mean, I loved it, but you know, not to
get too deep in the weeds at the time, you know,
I first went to Sports Center. It was a show
where everybody tuned in to see either what happened because
they didn't see the game or they only saw it once,
and there were no phones to see everything in the
palm of your hand. I legitimately wanted to relive a
(08:58):
game and see it in the highlight form. And towards
the end of my tenure there, people were already seeing
it on the internet. I mean, phones weren't, you know,
weren't terribly prolific, but people were already They were Sports
Center executives and assumed everyone was watching the show fully
knowledgeable what happened, so it can't turn into an argument
(09:18):
show where two analysts came on to argue about why
something happened. So I wasn't really into that anymore. I
think that's not popular anymore. But that's that's where it
was all headed. And so um I had an opportunity
to come out here and start NFL Network, and um
I kind of dug it, but ESPN broke up with
me first, and coming out here was unbelievable. But it
(09:43):
really was jarring, you know, I mean, we're we NFL
Network was in twelve million homes when we started, was
on direct TV and just a handful of small cable outlets.
This is a dumb question. Is twelve million homes very few? Yeah?
I mean ESPN Sports Center back the day when I
was on it was in like a hundred and ten.
So I basically cut my my my exposure coming here
(10:09):
and uh and it was mind blowing. But it was
just a small group of us, about twenty of us
that started. And it was one of those things when
we would go home before leaving because there was no
news desk, there was no anything that we're in this
palace right now, which is amazing. We would um use
(10:30):
this new fangled um portal called Google News. I'm not
kidding you, Like I was like, wow that Google It's
started a news page. So so we would look at
it to see did any stories break before we closed
up Total Access before the end of the night. And
I remember driving home every night I would listen to
(10:50):
local sports talk radio here like kind of white knuckling
every time they did an update involving the NFL, thinking
that I'd have to turn around and the back. What
was the setup of it? Was it like a twenty
four hours Was it just broadcasting like old games? We
were We were showing a lot of NFL films, Yes, Steve.
Without Steve Sable, this place would never existed whatever. So
(11:14):
it was a lot of NFL films. And then it
was just a couple of shows. It was us on
Total Access as show called Coach Speak, where it was
Marv Levy and U Mike Ditka talking about news, uh,
you know, items of the day. And it was like,
you know, like the two muppets in the in the
you know, in the balcony just talking football. Um and anyway,
(11:37):
I just called to Hall of Fame coaches Muppets. But
that's the way we that's the way we started. So
this along winded answer for what you're saying. I just remember, um,
my wife, Susie was working here in Los Angeles and
was covering the Lakers and and so we went to
the NBA All Star Game in February of oh four
(11:59):
and nflm that came on the air in the middle
of November of oh three. So we were about three
four months old, and I went to the NBA All
Star Party that she got us uh tickets too. So
we're in there or she got the passes, and we're
in there and somebody comes up to me and says, man,
I love watching you every morning. And I'm like, I
found somebody who's got NFL network. This is great. I'm like,
(12:21):
what do you like about NFL Network? And he says
to me, what are you talking about? And I'm like,
I'm on NFL Network. He said, quote unquote, what's that. Um.
I explained to him what it was. He says, you're
not on Sports Center anymore. I'm like, no, I haven't
been on since last May. And he paused and he
looks at me, goes, are you all right? And I'm like,
(12:41):
you know, I can fog up a mirror in front
of you if you'd like. I mean, I'm talking to you.
I mean, I'm I'm I'm taking in oxygen and putting
out carbon dioxide like we can. We're talking. But that
was the general sense of what the hell did you
just do with your life? But what I did was
I bet on the NFL, and I bet on myself,
(13:02):
and I bet on living in California, and I bet
on all of that, and and I just again remember
the first Super Bowl we did, which was Brady versus
Jake Dilome, uh Patriots Panthers in Houston, and um, we
were on in every hotel room. I mean, Steve Bornstein
in the league and did an incredible job of getting
(13:23):
us out there. We were on every hotel room. Every
media bus had a TV on it, Like I don't
know how they did it, but the TVs were on
NFL network and media buses in every hotel room. When
you went in the convention center, every five feet was
a television with NFL Network on it, and um, I
just remember that's what it felt like being fully distributed
(13:45):
for the first time. And it was by the end
of the weekend. We crushed it. Like our guest list
was amazing. We had we had a whole bunch of
people because it was Houston, and um, uh, Bob McNair,
the owner of the Texans, brought uh Bush forty forty
one and so I interviewed an actual president camera president,
(14:09):
and uh, the CBS crew came by, and that was
the first time Dion Sanders ever appeared on NFL network
because he was on CBS at the time. We interviewed
the co m v p s of the NFL, which
is Peyton Manning and Steve McNair. Um, we had everybody.
Belichick stopped by on a Tuesday night he was coaching
in the game happening. It felt I felt validated walking
(14:31):
out of the Convention Center, like Okay, this is what
it can be like, and we're gonna be good. And
then the off season hit and we're like, what the
what are we doing now? You know, it's so crazy
because like Canada has ts N, which is like ESPN sister,
but we also had like Sports Center every single night,
and and and Jy on right and Danio told they
(14:51):
were gods, they're they were gods among us. Mirror mortals,
Like I remember seeing Jay. I was in a cab
and I saw Jay cross the street and I was like,
that's Jay On right, Like, oh my god. First off,
he's like seven ft five. You can easily pick him out.
But like what I mean to say is like being
on Sports Center is such a huge, massive role, and
(15:12):
I can imagine how scary that was to give that
up and then to come here. I remember my first
day coming here. It was the grand opening of this building,
and you came and did a speech downstairs, and you
got a little bit emotional, and I had no idea
like the history of this place. I kind of was just,
you know, I just popped into sports in a weird way.
But um, now that I'm now hearing you tell that
(15:33):
story and then thinking about how far this place has come,
like from the from our morning show, Good Morning Football,
all the way to like I don't you know, I'm biased,
but I think our Sunday show is the best Sunday
morning show on air. We are biased, but everyone says
that everyone, but but but yeah, Like you know, I
did a total access from the inception of the network
(15:56):
to two thousand eleven to the lockout when the lockout
was over. That's when Thursday Night Football became more I
think this is the order of events. It was on UM.
Your Thursday Night football when it started was just from
Thanksgiving on UM, and then they wanted it every Thursday.
So doing my show and my podcast UM and Total
(16:20):
Access and then Thursday Night and then Sundays was just
an impossibility. So I was off of the Total Access
UH Daily Grind, but UM from oh three to two
thousand eleven, I did Total Access in the same seat.
And by the same seat, I mean the actual freaking chair.
And like around two thousand eight, I'm like, I'm going
(16:42):
to go on the air and it's gonna freaking break,
Like can we get a new chair please? And and
like that was the way we started. And so when
I walk into this building every time, I'm like I
cannot well, I'm assuming, but you know, it is incredible
across the way from from a stadium that when we
(17:04):
first started NFL Network, like why are you putting in
Los Angeles, Like there's no teams there, and like the
answer was because Steve Bornstein has a house there quite frankly,
so that's why we were here. And I like being
here and I love that it was out here and
it was in the lure for me to come here
as well. But now the fact that, yeah, like everyone's like,
what's this about? What's this channel about? What are you
(17:24):
going to talk about when you're not you know, um,
when you're not playing games? What's what? What is it
going to be? Like? Why are you in Los Angeles?
And now we're in this spot and there's that stadium
across the street. I do I do shake my head
every time I walk in. Yeah, it's I mean, I'm
emotional even just like hearing about it. It's so amazing
that you took that plunge and then also with your
(17:47):
own show, so it started as a podcast. Now you're
on Roku every single day Pacific, right. Um, Like I said,
you're a big get on this show and we've had
justin Jefferson Okay, like thrown that out. I mean, I
think I'm grabbing your questions one handed. I think you
know what. I mean? What else? Who is your you know,
(18:08):
since you've you know, the rich eyes and shows blown
up just as much as this place has from from
the bottom up. Who was your who's been your biggest get? Who?
What is like the biggest accomplishment of that show, oh man.
Just the biggest accompliments show is that it still exists.
I'm not kidding you, you know, Like, um, I got
(18:28):
you know the all right, So I did the podcast
here and and um around, I got a call from
Direct tv, UM an executive and Chris Long, who's got
his roots from Fox Sports as well. UM and he says, um,
Dan Patrick's show, we want to have another show after it.
(18:48):
How about your podcast coming over and doing that? Because
Dan and I go back to when I first started.
He I mean, he was hazing me the first minute
I walked in the door. That yeah, I mean, I'll
never forget. Just you know. I would do the two
am Sports Center. He would do the eleven o'clock with
Keith Olberman, and the tapes of the highlights would come
up in this plastic bin. And as soon as they
(19:11):
came up, I was twenty six years old, and um,
I voraciously took them and watched the highlights first. Otherwise
I would be doing it blind for the first time
on the air. So like I remember the first time,
I'm doing this and I'm staring at the screen, I'm
taking notes and I'm making sure it's all set, and
I feel this presence to my left. It's Dan Patrick.
I look up and he looks down at me, goes
(19:31):
so you're nervous like Dan. So it's like where where
we go? Way back? And so the answer to that
was absolutely. Of course, I had to give up my
firstborn child in order to get a chance to do that.
But thankfully the NFL and everybody played along nicely, and
eventually I got to do it in two thousand fourteen.
And then in late nineteen I got a call from
(19:55):
the powers that be a Direct TV that they were
shuttering the network, that that the show was on, and uh,
this show was legitimately over. And it was two days
before Christmas in and then I went to that Super
Bowl which was the the Chiefs and the the Niners
in Miami. This was just a couple of years ago there,
(20:17):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, Chiefs and not it was the
Chiefs not in Miami what it was, So it's interesting
it could be like a potential repeat of it. But
any rate, so I'm there trying to find a new
partner potentially and kicking tires there, and then the pandemic hits,
so I've lost my television partner, my radio partner, and
then there's something called, you know, a pandemic. So I
(20:39):
ended up coming back from that combine in and going
only on YouTube. UM took the show to NBC Sports
Net for nothing, just to get some exposure. So I
was doing the show every day, um self funding it
at some point no way, yeah, just to keep it
alive and see what would happen. And then Peacock came
along in late saying we'll take you, and so that
(21:02):
helped keep the show alive, and now we're on Roku
and um it's I own the show. So when I'm
not working on it, I'm making phone call. I've never
I mean, it's huge, thank you for saying that, but
I I you know, I don't. I mean, I've never
thought I was management as well as on the ear too,
like alright, I'm learning on the fly. So the fact
(21:24):
that it exists is its biggest to come. Do you
like that that you've gone from you know, having somebody
help you make it to be like now this is mine.
I mean, I know there's a lot of responsibility that
goes with that, but there must be a lot of like, wow,
I own this, do you like when people tell you
what to do, No, okay, there you go. I don't
know if they're in there in there in their office,
(21:47):
but yeah, I mean like so, of course though I
have partners and I have people that are are keen
to hear certain things, see certain things that I need
to um, you know, a cater to. But it's it's
been great and I do love having the guests on
and chopping it up. And and that's the other thing too,
is doing you know, what we do UM is great.
(22:10):
And every single executive that I've ever met wants to
make a connection between the shows and those at home watching,
and we try to do that all the time with
you know, our schedule release show, like how do we
get fans interested in the schedule coming out? Like literally
the schedule release is essentially a show about the the
(22:31):
release of paperwork, the document that you could easily exactly
like hey, let's go Like so one year, you know,
we wound up sending reporters to sports bars and instead
we you know, just to hear what the fans have
to say. Poor Albert Brier sitting there in a Washington
sports pub and there's the caps on behind him. Nobody's
thinking about the new Washington football team's schedule or whatever.
(22:53):
So the answer is to have a show like the
one that I am. Let's have fans, like having fans
actually call in and give their thoughts and chop it
up with them. I love doing that. I had. I
did stand up in college. You did stand up for
how long? Uh? Four years? WHOA? Yeah, really try to go.
(23:15):
I'm not surprised because you are very funny at that.
Just stand ups terrifying. It's nothing I've ever done approaches it.
It's made everything else I've ever done in my career easier.
That's why I love doing improv, because going on television
it's like I don't well. I mean, you definitely have
the chops. I mean the videos that you put out
are laugh out loud hilarious, and I don't know how
you come up with these things, and you know how
(23:37):
you spend time and you're what appears to be your
apartment playing dress up and all that crazy, which comes
out to me every single Sunday without fail, after we've
played something and he puts his hand on my shoulder
and goes, what is wrong with you? I love it.
That's great. And by the way, I've told him he's
got full of stories. You did one segment on our
show this year about right about you retelling the mooches
(24:00):
stories and having him tell him and you kind of
reenact him. He is one of the greatest storytellers ever,
and there are so many more that he should put
into your He was so uneasy about us doing that.
I don't know why, because I think he was just like,
I don't know what you guys are getting up to,
but I'll tell the story, but like, I don't know
what you're doing. He told one story and I'll tell
(24:21):
it here because I've made him tell it on my show.
He told a story based on I don't know if
there's I can't keep track of all the conference rooms here.
It's the other place. They were only a handful of them.
So there was a conference room in the in the
previous spot we were in called the Montana Room, named
after the great Joe Montana, And in the room there's
a photograph of Montana. It's an iconic photograph of Montana
(24:46):
and Bill Walsh taking a knee on the turf and
Candlestick Park, apparently drawing up a play on the on
the turf it's it's an iconic photograph and it's on
the wall. Do you know the story? But right, so
he tells the story. We're just sitting there and just
out of many great things in our business, it's born
(25:07):
out of sheer boredom. Mooch tells the story of how
he loved this photograph and he always wanted a moment
like this with Steve Young, And unbeknownst to Steve Young,
he went into a game where he thought like this
is possible. Like he went into games thinking if there's
a blowout, I'm gonna do this. And so one time,
third quarter or late second quarter, the games out of hand,
(25:29):
he fires off a time out because he notices the
team photographer to his left, and um, he calls a
photographer over, fires off a time out and has Steve
Young come over, and Young is like what. First of all,
it's like, why do you call time out? I'm not
coming Like while am I coming over? He's just get
over here, you know how Mooch tells stories, And so
he wound up attempting to get take a knee and
(25:51):
Young it's like, what the hell are you doing? And uh,
just as he was taking a knee with Steve Young.
The gatorade guy came on to give Young, you know,
the usual time out hydration and in the way of
the shot, he never got his shot. And Young never
knew that story, and I told I had much tell
(26:12):
it on the show, and I played it for Steve
Young is young It never what was his reaction? Couldn't
you know? He he couldn't believe it, but he totally
believed it of course something. I don't know why I
ended up telling you this story, but we you know,
we do love Wow. So doing stand up I did
that for four years. It's made everything else that much easier.
(26:35):
And um, and that's why I like mixing it up
with with fans, you know, I like chopping it up.
What because you've been so dedicated your entire life to sports,
is what was the backup plan? Like? What would you
be doing in this life if sports for some reason
didn't exist? I don't know, because I couldn't play it.
You had no other backup plan. I couldn't play it,
(26:56):
you know, Um, would you go in the news in
a first My first job was as the you know, uh,
the beat reporter for my hometown newspaper. Used to have
to you used to have to like work the teleprompter
with your foot while you were as That was after
(27:16):
my first job was actually working from my hometown newspaper writing,
and I just I wasn't cut out for it. I
wasn't cut out for you wrote a book, I know,
but I wasn't cut out for news like I mean,
I just hated going to hard news stories. I'm I'm
I'm more of a you know, fun and games guy.
So I really wasn't cut out for doing it. And
(27:37):
I have nothing but the greatest respect for those who
are cut out for it. But I went back to
school for TV, and then I did get to read
in California where I did work the teleprompter with a
foot pedal, which is like tapping your head and rubbing
your belly. And found me there but on live television,
and here I am benched with you, benched with me maybe, Okay,
(28:00):
let's talk about actual football. I've loved going down memory
Lane with you. That was really awesome. The m v
P finalists were announced. We've got Josh Allen, Joe Burrow,
Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson we love to see it, and
Patrick mahomes Um you have the media votes on this?
Do you vote on it? No? I actually you've you've
hit on a very source of object because the AP
(28:21):
runs it. I'm an NFL employee, why would you not
be able to vote on it. I have spoken to
the Associated Press and personally told them they suck. I'm like,
who sees more football than me and and who has
proven over twenty years that I am not beholden to
this so called party or company line. But because I'm
(28:43):
an NFL employee, they will not give me a vote.
I haven't had a vote in twenty years. Wow. And
I'm like, come on, what was the reaction to you
telling them but this is the policy, it's not my
what's the policy? Immediate vote on it? No? But I
m an NFL That seems ridiculous. So I do not
(29:05):
have a vote. If I had a vote, I'd give
it to Jalen Hurts. Oh how come? Um? I just
think what he has turned himself into is remarkable. I think, um,
we saw what the offense also looked like with Gardner Minshew.
With all due respect to him, I think, um he
is he is? Um. I love him, But I mean
(29:26):
I just had Dallas Goddard today on the show, we
speak to any Eagle and they will talk about Hurts,
his value, how incredible he is. Well Nick Sirianni just
referred to him as Michael Jordan. I know, so he
has that he has this um mentality that's all business,
um and also very um philly like you know, I
(29:48):
think that he's he's a coach of a son, which
means he's a son of a gun as well. And
he is he is um everything that this team needs
him to be. And when they have big wins, he says,
we're not done. Yeah, I mean they follow his lead
in every single way. And um, I think he is
the most valuable player. You normally give it to somebody
(30:08):
on the team that has the most wins, and you
give it to a team that is um showing it's
worth And um, I know he missed two games and
that's why people discounted, but I just think, you know,
also it's it's a total, as you know, um subjective award.
You could easily, you know, give Coach of the Year
(30:30):
to Belichick and read every year you know, and you don't,
so I means already has when I'd give one a
hurt because it's voted on by the media members. It's
almost like every every single time I've ever like spoken
about this on TV and broken it down, it's like,
what is the best storyline? I think Joe Burrow is
very interesting. You know, there's the Super Bowl hangover that
everyone always talks about that people get stuck in, and
(30:52):
they kind of did have it for a couple of weeks.
They went oh in too, and now they found themselves
back in almost the big Dance. Yeah. I mean what he's,
what he's become is and it doesn't seem like he cares.
It's because he's he's he's just um, he's a machine.
It's what it looks like, which is why I knew
(31:13):
something significant was up with the mar Hamlin the night
that happened when you saw Burrow looking like frightened and
worried on my child, him and Josh Allen, right, Josh,
and but seeing Joe Burrow's face looking anything like the
face we always see on him was jarring to me
because he always when he walks in the building and
(31:35):
he taps Chris Collinsworth on the back at security but
keeps walking, or he walks into a press conference room,
or he walks in with hottily goes back on a sideline.
He's the same guy and um, you know, um, he
what he's becoming is unbelievable and um Brady like, there's
(31:57):
no other way to describe it. The way that he operates,
the way that he um wins, the way that he
cuts your heart out, the way that he uh pre
snapped neck up diagnoses plays, the way that he does everything. Um.
And it may not only include another Super Bowl appearance
(32:18):
or win, but potentially this uh spring one of the
old Brady hometown discounts. When the Bengals you know, talk
contract with him, We'll see what he does on that front. Um.
But he is a revelation and you know, um, sometimes
we all get caught up, as you point out narrative storylines.
We were all coming in the season, Can Alan and
(32:39):
Mahomes do it again? Like what what? What? You know?
The concept when we were all choosing the Bills back
in September, Um, it was like, not will Mahomes and
Alan fight it out for the a f C? In
which round of the playoffs will they meet? With the
question will it be divisional again or will it be
the a f C championship again, and the answer was
(33:00):
not at all, because Burrow has raised his hand and said,
hold on a second, get you know, like better, get better,
sending those refunds, you know like that. That is his
so far mantra. I think it's been a perfect words
for him to come out of his mouth this past week.
So I think he's incredible too. But like I said,
it wasn't a full season for him like it was
for Hurts. So that's why I'd go with you, hurt Well,
(33:22):
associated Press, you're missing out. Look at that beautiful analysis.
And by the way, it wasn't like hold I mean,
let me check my notes. Roger Goodell says, give it
to Hurts. You know there it is. Email just came in.
So I'm so glad I'm making him happy. All Right,
We're gonna take a quick break more benched with Banetta
after this. Don't go anywhere. We'll get some I were saying,
(34:03):
all right, welcome back. We're hanging out with Rich Eysen.
Let's get into the playoff preview presented by DraftKings Sports Book. Okay,
forty niners, they're heading to Philly, where they are underdogs
at plus two and a half. The Niners have covered
the spread and each of their last nine games versus
NFC opponents, so good. Expect some scoring between the Eagles
and Niners. The over under is set at forty six
(34:25):
and a half. Defense take the day off. Christian McCaffrey
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at Draft King Sports Book for plus three. Al Right, Rich,
who are you going with? I feel like I'm going
to change my mind several times before we get to Sunday.
(34:47):
I don't know, Um God, I do love what's going
on with the Niners so much, and I saw it coming,
and you know, I mean, we're seeing Kittle here and
he is I mean, Purty has totally turned the light
on back on for Kittle in a way that even
Jimmy g hadn't this year. Pretensive the questions in the
(35:10):
same way that the Eagles weren't the Vikings, you know, um,
and we saw what happened with the Giants. You know,
the Niners aren't the Giants either, So I'm wondering if
the Niners can somehow stop the run and stop A J. Brown.
I just don't know if they can. The way that
(35:32):
the Eagles are playing right now, I think they shouldn't
say can if if they will, just I don't know. So, UM,
if IM pressed now on this show, I'm I'm kind
of leaning on flipping both scripts because mahomes ankle, even
though I I've been giving a team coverage on my
show every day, best ankle coverage in the business, apparently
(35:53):
didn't even walk out with the boot no boot. And
the difference is, you know, because again I'm all over
this story. Um, yesterday, Um, he walked off the podium,
which is not too high up. It's too little mini
steps all right, No, I mean we didn't measure the steps,
but I mean, um, you look at the video and
(36:16):
he took the mini steps down and he and he
and he went down with no problem, like he kind
of hopped down them and yeah, yeah, like it was
it was. It was. It was not like slow and
steady wins the race. He just negotiated the too mini
steps very easily, you know. And by the way, it's
significant when Romo you know, normally calls his shots pretty
(36:38):
damn well finished the Bills Bengals game and said if
the ankle is really bad, he'll be on crutches Wednesday.
So not only was he not on crutches, he wasn't
in a boot. And he he walked down these two steps.
There's too many steps today, same podium, same riser. He
didn't even go down the mini steps. He just went
down off the riser in one step, landed on the ankle,
(37:02):
and kept walking without a hitch. This was the Olympics.
You would give him close to a ten. It was
he stuck the landing, and he stuck the land It's
just but to me, he's not thinking about it. He's
not thinking about it. Like if if if I had to,
if I had to just use these mini steps versus
riser scenario as an indication of anything. Um it said,
(37:25):
he's playing Sunday, so um but let's just say Trey
Hendrickson takes him down the wrong way or Sam Hubbard,
you know, gives him a shot and there's a little
friendly fire, goes down and he hits the ankle. Then
there's a whole different ball at WAX. I think they're
definitely taking the snow globe play out. I would hope,
(37:46):
so by a million, that would be scary. I just
don't know if you even want to run the if
you're up by a million, even with the bye week,
you don't want to run the risk of making a
lateral pre snap, pre post huddle breaking moment by putting
your main guy on the on the line like a
bold move. So all that said is I'm I'm thinking
(38:08):
of calling my own mulligan and going Bengals and Eagles.
So I have a Kelsey Brother super Bowl. Yeah, yeah,
I think I think the bearded one makes it fearlessly.
That's what I'm sac, I guess, so I shouldn't say that.
Um yeah, that's what I'm leaning towards right now. But
(38:30):
I've got two more days to talk myself out of it.
I know. That's what I love. You know, last weekend's games,
there are some pretty big favorites, like summer favorite a
whole touchdown. These ones are like you were just trying
to find that needle minus two and a half. The
Chiefs are only favored by one, which Cynthia said on
our last week's show that she was thinking that the
Bengals were going to be favored, especially because of that sprain.
(38:52):
You didn't see him come off the riser today, did you.
She didn't take that into I don't know what I said.
She might not have the whole riser step thing in
her in her mathematical equation. I don't know. So that's
what I'm saying. You just need to take this all
into account. And by the way, I could take the
(39:13):
easy way out. What's the easy way. Well, I already
chose Chiefs and Nineties, so I've got a stick with it,
which is I don't that's not servicing the audience right now.
I don't think so. Either I'm afraid of geting a
tweet from cold takes or old takes. I already I
already no, I already at them say I don't care
what you think. I literally said that, ass But seriously, like,
(39:38):
that's not servicing the audience by saying I'm not telling
you what I think now, I just want to remind
you I have the opportunity to have been right. Also,
it's ridiculous that you're going to take picks from like preseason,
mid season I saw that Thanksgiving Chiefs Niners, and then
when I've given a chance at the outside of the playoffs,
(39:58):
I stuck with it, so I'm gonna ride it all
the way out of it. But you know, uh, if
Mahomes is compromised and the Eagles you're playing at their
top level again, which I didn't see in the three
weeks prior to sticking with them to begin the beginning
of the playoffs, then UM, you know, I just gotta
(40:19):
I gotta take it all into account. So this is
the way I'm leaning right now. Okay, I love it. Um,
I am going forty Niners Bengals. What what the hell's
your problem? I don't know, I don't know. I would
love a trip. I would love a Kelsey Brothers Super Bowl.
That'd be fun storylines. That was the playoff preview presented
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(40:40):
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Bonus issued as free beets one boost per eligible game, deposit,
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book dot DraftKings dot com slash football terms. Um, okay, rich,
before we let you go, thank you so much for
giving us so much of your time. I have a question.
It is considered the question of the Bench with Benetta podcast.
Some people have started to put it into their dating
(41:43):
profiles because it's such a good conversation starter. Except four.
Every time I ask it on this podcast, people melt down.
They feel like they need to have some like grand answer.
I don't want you to feel that way. I just
feel like you're you're gonna have a thoughtful answer. I
know that about. So here's what happens. You die, okay not,
(42:04):
it's not a bad death, it's just you've float off whatever.
You get to come back to earth dismember. We don't
you don't actually know how you die. Well let's start there.
You don't know how you die with you're dead. You
get to come back to earth for thirty minutes. You
cannot see anybody that would know you because they know
that you're dead, so if they saw you that they
(42:25):
would be freaked out. Can't see anybody that you love,
can't see anybody that you know. Thirty minutes? Where are
you going? And what are you doing? And take all
the time you need. It's the beauty of editing. What
am I doing? Where are you going? All right? So
is it a meal? Are you sitting on a favorite bench?
Are you looking living? Oh? People are But I'm not
(42:49):
allowed to see anybody. You're not allowed to see anybody
that you love. Because the typical answer would be like, well,
I want to go home, I want to see my family,
I want to hang out with my friends. We're taking
that off the table, all right, Um, and where do
I still look like myself? Do I come back as Brad?
Pitt you click, Am I am? I Joe Black Like,
(43:09):
I mean like it's because no, but these are important.
I would say, you're you're you, but I can't be
around anybody. He's like a football fan or something. You
people can't really like see your face. You're just so
I'm like a thumb, like like a face of a
(43:32):
thumb of human. You're invisible. Okay, alright, thirty minutes. Would
you go maybe to a football field? Sit down? Okay,
where would I go? I don't know, same Michigan, something
I don't know. It's worth noting. Kyle Brandt refused to
answer this question so hard. We all know his answer.
(43:57):
It's wherever Josh Allen is. But he can't see anybody.
He can't go because he loves him and Josh, Kyle,
you wouldn't answer, he deflected. He made a joke. Well,
I mean that's kind of what I've been doing for
the last two three minutes because I haven't thought about it,
(44:17):
you know, like, where would I go? Um? What would
I do? Said? There's this place that I grew up,
this lake. It's always like so warm, and I had
one day where I just escaped, turned my phone off
and I just flow. But half an hour, I would
just go back and have a little float. Go back
and have a float. Um, all right, I would. I
(44:38):
would get a slice of New York pizza from where
a certain place doesn't matter. O Um, I'd get a
slice of New York pizza. And then I would I'd
probably go to like Yankee Stadium. Really yeah, just sit
outside or go inside taking a game. Wow. Yeah, thirty
(45:00):
minutes and hope like a moonlight Graham and they get
back on that diamond. I throw a no hitter? Can
I throw a no hitter? You can do it? I mean,
I'm calling attention to myself, just the thumb. I'm just
a thumb throwing a no hitter for the Yankees. Can
I come back with Can I come back with like powers?
Or I'm myself? Okay, this is getting too simple. It's
(45:24):
not simple laughing because they know how many times I
failed at this. It's not simple. Like if I come
back with like superpowers or something like that. If I
couldn't come back with a ninety our fastball for half
an hour, that what I should ask. Thirty minutes, you
get to come back there. If you have a superpower,
do yes? It's much better than like what am I
(45:46):
gonna do? You can't see anyone you love, they can't
see you. You've had a horrible death or a great death.
It depends on however you imagine your death. I mean,
like that puts your guest on, you know, on the
heels to begin with, like what happens like I don't know? Um,
you know, and I can't see anyone I love. They
people can't know who I am. So you know, Um,
(46:09):
that's what I would do. Yeah, I'd have a I
have a slice of pizza. I'd get a Yankee game,
and I try to like like moon like rain. I
go back on the field and I become you know,
Gerard Cole, Yeah, you know and strike people out. Is
that a problem? No problem? No problem here because I
don't know these rules that you come up. There's no rules,
(46:31):
because this question is never gonna existed. Rich Eyes and
about five minutes ago. Alright, big thanks to Rich eyes
in for his time. I feel like this is a
real show today. We got coming up after the break.
We're gonna get back to our old Shenanigans. We are
(46:53):
talking the best and the worst things that I saw
all week. To go anywhere alright, time to talk about
the best and the worst thing that I saw all week.
(47:15):
You know, we were talking about Joe Burrow earlier in
the show and just how calm and cool and collected
he is. But there's sometimes that will people will hit
a nerve with him, and all he's gotta do is
say like one little line. Uh and and somebody somebody
asked him old question last week. Let's see what he
had to say for everyone talking about a neutral championship game,
(47:39):
not even thinking about you guys, how much did that
motivate you coming into this? You better send those refunds.
You can't even see his eyes, little room sounds just calm,
cool and give the m v P. Just because of
his postgame sounds. Um. Absolutely loved to see that Joe Burrow.
(48:00):
Like I was saying earlier, Super Bowl hangover, where is it?
It's nowhere to be found. They started the season oh
and two and they've found themselves back in the NFC Championship.
Is pretty incredible. Okay, uh, next up, this is fascinating. Okay.
The Bengals have claimed quarterback Chris Lammon's off waivers from
the Chiefs. Move is deferred until day after Super Bowl,
(48:23):
so he cannot play for the Bengals. Bengals are straight
up just trying to get some info. They are just
trying to figure out what the Chiefs are up to.
This kind of like this is kind of somewhere in
between best thing and the worst thing that I saw,
Like it seems a little bit cheeky, like you shouldn't
(48:44):
really have to do this, but at the same time,
like a trip to the Super Bowls on the line,
So like, I don't know, you guys, tell me, does
this feel like a little bit like, yeah, there's something
a little bit about it. So I think I'm gonna
put this like somewhere right in the middle between the
thing and the worst thing that I saw. Bengels, you
don't need it, you don't need to do this, you
don't need to like it seems a little cheeny. I'm
(49:06):
gonna whisper it seems a little cheeny, Like I don't
like it. Okay. Then the worst thing that I saw,
which was actually kind of like the best thing that
I saw, unfold over the week. Mike Hilton Um after
the Wind said we'll see you all in burrow Head,
and then Travis Kelsey went on his podcast new heights
and said, oh, you guys are given us bulletin board material. Um,
(49:30):
I cannot wait for this game. I love bulletin board material.
I am very pro bulletin board material. On both sides
rub it in and then the other side gets mad
at it, so we all have something to talk about
on television. It is absolutely beautiful boys and girls and
everybody else. That is our show that is benched with Banetta.
Huge thanks to rich eyes In for joining. I can't
(49:53):
believe he came and did the thing and answered the
question and shouts to Parker who works on our show.
She had the best answer to the question. Okay, this
is the last time we hear about this. It's not
I'm totally gonna ask this question again. She said that
she would rob a bank, okay, and then leave the
money somewhere her family could find it. And I think
(50:14):
that that's the best answer of the question that we
have gotten so far. All Right, she's not going to
grab the slesa peza. She's not gonna go have a
little float in the lake. She's robbing a bank. Keeps
where you gonna where did you find anything to rob
a bank with your thumb? We'll answer that question next week.
Thanks for listening, we'll see you enjoy all the football.
We'll see you back on Tuesday with Kyle Brant, Posyna
(50:44):
Sank
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