September 1, 2022 • 39 mins
On the first episode of The Richard Sherman Podcast, Richard & his co-host Mitch Eisenstein give their predictions for the NFL season. Richard gives his preview on the San Francisco 49ers and if it will be awkward between Jimmy Garoppolo & Trey Lance. They discuss who will win the breakup between Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll & Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson. Richard & Mitch predict every division winner, every NFL award including MVP and give their best guess on who will win Super Bowl LVII. #Herd
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back year three of the
Richard Sherman Podcast with my guy Mitch Eisenstein. Back at
it again, metroll. How you've been Richard? It is an
(00:23):
absolute pleasure, my friend, new year, new you same Mitchie
Ritchie connection. Tell me how you've been rich This is
a bigger question out there. Tell me how you've been.
I've been employed. You know, that's employment. It's hard to find,
you know. Game game for employment is very difficult to
find these days. And I found it again with Amazon.
(00:43):
Uh you know on Prime Video. People still talking about
they can't find it, Like it's right next to next Netflix.
You know, the apps on your phone you can you
can even watch on the plane these days. You know,
people complain and then they get on the plane and
now Eon wants the game. Like, don't complain about it.
Just get on the game. You'll still be able to
catch the game. It's technology evolving, like go with us, Richard.
You impressed on Thursday Night. It was the first time
(01:06):
you guys were alive. For those that don't know, Thursday
Night Football is on Amazon Prime. Now you gotta go
through the app. You gotta click on Thursday Night Football
and there's your boy Richard Sherman next to Ryan Fitzpatrick
and his beautiful chest hair, and our boy Tony Gonzalez.
In the middle of that is Caissa Thompson. Richard. Talk
about the transition. A lot of guys hang up the cleets,
(01:28):
call the day and set stay all to the Caribbean.
You are entering in a whole new field of sports media.
Talk about what it's been like, how they've been preparing
you for this moment, and how excited you are for it. Well,
first off, first off, I went to write off into
the sun, sent and be but then my wife said,
get out of the house and fights something to do.
So Dan, I went and found something to do. Um,
(01:49):
it's been great, man, I'm excited for it. Uh. You know,
it was a It was an incredible opportunity with the
incredible cast, you know, as you just mentioned, Carissa fits,
Magic t g It so many great people. Uh Kaylee's
on there a one Andrew Witworth can't can't forget with.
It's outstanding staff, outstanding group to work with. You know,
(02:09):
all the people in the background, they're freaking so fantastic.
It's really an all star team and I'm blessed to
be a part of Richard And on top of that,
we've signed with the volume. We're gonna take this podcast
and new heights. If you're new to the Richard Sherman Podcast,
we're gonna be good double dipping this year. We're gonna
be going Sunday nights and they we're gonna have a
weekly guest on Tuesday. So we're we're really really excited
to bring you content twice a week here, Richard. But
(02:33):
let's let's get into the season a little bit. You know,
we've made it almost all the way through training camp.
Jimmy G feeling Oh wait, sorry, sorry, I'm gonna start
right there. Let's start in the NFC West. Let's start
with your two former teams, the Seattle Seahawks and and
most notably the San Francisco forty Niners. Let's start right there.
(02:53):
Let's start with Jimmy G and the quarterback situation with
the forty Niners. Well, I think it is the best
case scenario for everybody involved. I think it's one of
those situations where somebody for the first time ever had
their cake and got to eat it too, Like, what
are we dealing with? And then there are people complaining saying, hey,
(03:14):
it's so terrible for Tray Lance, But they were the
same people that were sitting there like, well, what what
happens if Trey Lance isn't ready? What happens if if
he gets hurt? Then you got nobody. You're out there
with somebody who's pretty good. Um No, you got Jimmy
g who would have been the number one backup to
any other quarterback in this league, except he's a starter.
(03:34):
He's a guy who just went to then NFC Championship
last year. There's no other backup quarterback in the National
Football League right now who could say that. I mean,
you've got a situation in Carolina, or you're paying two
guys over fifteen million dollars and there's questions whether either
of them can get the job done. Like, there's definitely
questions on whether either of those guys can get them
(03:55):
to a super Bowl. But then you've got people complaining
about a situation where they have two guys they believe
you can get him there. Richard, you said it like
he is the consummate pro. He's one of the best
teammates you've ever played with. We've talked about this on
and off air. This speaks to who Jimmy G is
as a professional. I mean, he's done this throughout his
(04:16):
entire career. When you signed with the forty Niners, I
thought you were batshi crazy. I thought you were absolutely nuts.
You told me, Mitch, Jimmy G is gonna win the
forty Niners a title, And I said, Richard, are you insane?
And then what do you know? I mean, granted, you
guys didn't win, you were seven minutes, but you were
(04:36):
in the position to win it. And now the forty
Niners are in a what you call championship window at
this moment. I think everyone and their mother is aware
of that. Why not keep the guy around to head
your bet in the event trade fails exactly? Why not
head your Why not have two engines? Hey, I got
a Ferrari and I just got this freaking brand new
(04:58):
engines seven horsepower. Now I got another engine that's about
five hundred horsepower. I know it's I've had it for years.
I know exactly what I get. But this one can
really take me there. Now. I don't know if it's
gonna blow out on the road. I don't know if
it's gonna if it's gonna slow down. I don't know
if a Pistons gonna go out. I don't know what's
gonna happen, but I know it's faster. So they put
that engine in, So why not keep the other one.
(05:19):
You don't have to throw the other one away. If
it's if you can afford to keep both, then you
keep both. Jimmy's happy with it, Trays happy with the
only people that aren't happy with it are the people
on outside. They're like, oh, what if they what if
they don't do well? Well? What if they do well?
What if they go undefeated in the first five games?
And he's not looking over his shoulder and they're just
supporting each other like great teammates. The thing about this
(05:41):
for Niners team that note that that nobody's mentioning it's
a team for the great people. That's the part you're
not mentioning, Like these aren't selfish people. You don't hear
a lot of me me, me, me me guys in
that locker room, and Jimmy's the last one who would
be that way. So they about team teammate then self
(06:03):
So people are like, why isn't Jimmy saying something? Why
isn't he getting upset. Why isn't he saying trade me
and do all this Because the philosophy is team teammate, self,
self is third. When you teach that philosophy and you
have that culture, then guys aren't thinking me first. Hey,
if this is what's best for the team, this is
what I'm gonna do, and I'm gonna wait for my opportunity.
(06:25):
If my opportunity comes, I'm gonna step up and do
what I need to do to help my guys get
to another Super Bowl. And Richard, you were a part
of that. And again when you went to San France
leaving Seattle, which was another family focused organization, obviously treated
everyone amazingly there, but when you went to San Francisco,
it was that same same type of organization and honestly
(06:46):
blew me away. I know that you loved Kyle Shannan's
coaching philosophy, similar to Pete Carroll's the Best Man Place.
It doesn't matter whether you paid d forward twenty million
dollars a year as your defensive en. The best Man
Place and that competition that is bread throughout training, camp
and practice. I know ignites your competitive fire. Doesn't matter
(07:06):
if you're fourth under the depth charter. First, you're always
playing for your job, and Richard, I mean, here we
go again. Tray Lance and Jimmy g are now going
to be competing on a day and day out basis,
and we're gonna see who provides him to the best
opportunity to win. It could be worse, but see that.
That's why I disagree, because they're not gonna be competing.
(07:26):
It's trade's job. It's trade's job, and that's what makes
the dynamic easier for everybody. It's trade's job. Cal established
that at the beginning of training camp. He established that
in the middle of training camp. He re established it
last week, like it's trade's job. Jimmy's the backup. When
you established that, then there isn't the uncertainty, There isn't
the drama, There isn't the whispers. Now sure, there's human nature.
(07:50):
There's human nature with everybody. You can you can speculate
human nature till the end of time. Like, hey, if
he missed his kittle on on this route, our debo
gets upset our end and I you kidn't getting the
ball as much? What if that happens in Jimmy's playing,
Like if if if if if was a fifth, we'd
all be drunk, blackout, drunk. We'd be on the sidewalk
(08:12):
like ain't no if great teammates, they're gonna support the
guy as they have been. Things aren't gonna go perfect.
There will be adversity, there will be ups, there would
be down. They will support each other. Jimmy will support Tray.
Tray will support Jimmy. The offense, the weapons they have,
You got Trim Williams, you got leadership. You got a
foundation on that team that can weather the storm. That
(08:33):
will be the media more than it will be the team,
the human highlight, real Trent Williams himself, Richard, Let's stay
within the division. Things could be worse right your former team,
Seattle Seahawks. To me, you're talking about having a somewhat
embarrassment of riches with Trey Lance and Jimmy g and
then you fold over to Seattle. What are they dealing with?
(08:53):
Who do you honestly like in that QB competition? I
know Gino Smith was just named the starter over Drew Lock.
I don't think Drew Lock took that very happily. Do
you think that situation was handled h appropriately? And what
do you think of the Seattle situation, Seattle Seahawks team
right now, I think they went with safe and predictable,
(09:16):
and the guy knew the playbook. Gino did well in
the last the three games he had to play last year.
Pete is very turnover a verse. Uh, turnover a verse
is what I'll call it, because he does not want
to turn the football over, and Gino does not turn
the football over very often. You know, he doesn't take
the same risk as somebody like Drew Lock, but high risk,
(09:37):
high reward. Drew Lock threw some touchdown passes in the preseason,
was impressive at times. If you put a highlight reel
of his positive place versus a highlight real Geno's positive place,
there would be a disparity. But then on the flip side,
you take a highlight reel of the negative place of both,
there will be a disparity. And so I think Pete
didn't want to risk that kind of volatility, and Drew
(09:59):
Lock didn't have a of time to learn to playbook.
They were traded right before training camp. It was an
unfair situation because he didn't have a truly true fair
shot at winning the starting job. There was enough time
he didn't get enough reps with the ones. He didn't
the one game he was gonna start in the preseason,
good Night caught Covid. Like it almost seemed like everything
(10:24):
was working against them. So it's just unfortunate set of circumstances.
But I don't think they're married to Gino in a
way that they will not pull him if they are
not doing well early on the season. Richard, I, I
want to know what's your forecast for Seattle. Where do
you see this season going for them? My forecast, it's
(10:44):
the great unknown, you know. At something part of me
tells me that he's gonna find a way to be
competitive and surprising people and and put off five Hunter.
Something else tells me it could be a rough year.
It could be a rough year, you know. I just
don't see Pete going idly into the night. They got
a good running game, they got three really good running
back stake down two tackles in the draft, rookies that
(11:07):
performed at outstanding in the preseason. Like it's gonna be
a big problem for him later if there are as
good as they've been in the preseason during the regular season,
because in the next couple of years, and you having
to pay two tackles is just oh my goodness, it's
a good problem to have them. Um. But if they
found gold there, then they'll have a chance because you
gotta be able to protective quarterback. They have the weapons
(11:28):
on the outside and k and and lock it. They
have some weapons that tidy end. They have running. They
have a running game. I mean Penny was in the
last five games, I mean the last six games, I
think he ran for one fifty five times. Like that's
something you can lean on. Now. Defensively, they're gonna have
to pull it together. You got got Quandre Diggs, you
(11:49):
got likely a rookie corner, ricky sixth round corner starting,
which I know a little something about. I'm gonna go
see the kid later on today and have a conversation
with them and try to, you know, give in part
my little two sense of wisdom. But I think they
could have a chance. They have rushers, they have out rusher.
It's just too many question marks though, you know, in
(12:10):
question marks aren't always a bad thing. But in this league,
they're gonna have a rough start to the season. They're
gonna have some tough ballgames. I think they got Denver first.
If they can somehow pull off that game, I mean
there will be a lot of optimists we wanted to
the future if they don't, depending on how they do.
You know, if it's a close game, still will be optimism.
If it's a blowout, people gonna be ready. To Melody
(12:31):
Richard in the Season of bold predictions, I got a
bold prediction for you. Kenneth Walker the third will be
an absolute staple in this league for years to come.
As soon as he gets over this little hernia injuries deal.
What I think that they're going to have a one
to combo and Rashad Penny and Kenneth Walk with the third.
(12:52):
I know a thing or two about Kenneth Walker the third.
We've been talked about this rich He's in a perfect
position to go be mode and that offense. If they
can find some level of consistency at the quarterback position,
like you said, they got all the weapons in the
world he can have, they can have a field day.
And if they're running the ball fifty percent of the
time like Pete Carroll loves to do, who knows what happened,
(13:12):
Maybe they do, maybe they do hit five and I
think that would be an outstanding season. They're not gonna
be running fifty percent of the time and they're gonna
be running the six. They're gonna they're gonna try to
run it as much as they can because the best
defense you could have, it's a great run game. Shorten
the game for your defense. Hey, there's two different defenses.
When a defense is playing thirty minutes versus the defense
(13:34):
playing forty minutes, a defense playing twenty five minutes is
much better than a defense playing thirty five minutes because
they're on the field for less time. They have less
opportunities to give up big place, less opportunities to give
up yards. That's what Pete Carroll has always known, and
that's why they will run the ball this year as
much as they possibly can, put Geno Smith in a
position where he does not have to be superman, and
(13:56):
give their defense a chance to make stops. They may
leak on defense, they'll get in the red zone and
they'll stand up. It's all about stand on top, limit
the big plays and stand up in the red zone.
If they can do those things, which are staples and
peak Carroll's philosophy, they'll have a chance to win most
of the games. That they're in now. He does come
down to talent. Sometimes there will be games where they
(14:18):
will just be out talented, you know. I mean, there's
no coaching, there's no there's nothing you can do when
the other team just has more better players than you have.
But in situations where the talent is equal, they'll have shot. Richard.
Let's just kind of get into some some predictions leading
into the season. We're gonna stay in the NFC West.
Who do you think comes out of that division arguably
(14:40):
the best division of football San Francisco for nuners. San
Francisco for a nuners come out of that division In
my humble opinion, why why not the Rams? I think
it's the glaring question there. Well, because the Rams are
one in six against San Francisco forty niners and dropped
interception away from being only seven and the last seven meetings,
(15:01):
and that's gonna be tough to overcome. I mean, they
won the one that they needed. They wont a NFC
championship to go to the Super Bowl. If you could
have anyone, I'm sure both teams would just pick that one.
I just don't see them beating them consistently this year. Uh,
because San Francisco has arguably gotten better. Let's to move
down south, NFC South. You've got an old team there too,
(15:24):
in the Tampa Bay Box. Talk about that division. I'm
gonna go out of the limb here and say that
you're gonna pick the box to win the division. So
let's just get that out of the way. Um, talk
about that team. What do you see their record being?
I think is what they're gonna consistently be at for
most people. I mean twelve the five maybe, you know,
(15:45):
with the old line situation being kind of influx, they're
losing the center of a week, it seems like that's
gonna matter. They've had some continuity on the offensive line
for the last at least Tom's time there. Um, and
losing Ryan Jensen early on in training camp and his
backups being a little beat up already, it's gonna leave
(16:05):
some question marks. So if they can find a way
to solidify that the inside of that offensive line, then
I think they're thirteen and four, no no questions about it.
You know they have enough talent on defense. Shack Barrett
is a is a monster. You got Devin White, you
got you got guys all over on all three levels
of the defense. Lavonte David, Carlton Davis, who just signed
(16:27):
a big deal. You got Winfield Jr. You've got so
many guys who who can make plays and make a
difference on that defense. And offensively, I mean Quintaurus Julio Jones.
You know you're not gonna want for for a receiver
from that group. You got three thousand yard receivers. You
(16:47):
got Rudolph Who's who's you know, not Gronk, nobody's drown,
but he's a big body that that Tom Brady can
use in the situations in the same ways that he
was trying able to use ground Um if he can
teach him, you know. And in the running game, you know,
Lenny for Net, he's gonna do what he's done for
them for the last couple of years, is to be
incredibly consistent in both aspects of the game. Anytime you
(17:08):
have purists Julio Jones on your team as your wide
receiver four or whatever he is on the depth chart,
I mean, God bless good luck to those opposing defenses.
Imagine being a rookie corner and you come in and
dime and you're like, all right, who I gotta guard?
And it's Julio Jones, Like who wants to deal with that?
You're like nobody's fourth corner and they're like Julio's lost step.
(17:31):
I don't care. He had five steps to lose before
he got a regular, like he was an alien. He
is an alien, like you talked about it. He could
lose three steps and still be top ten. He's the
thoroughest of thoroughbred horses, dude, Like straight up, I mean,
I remember your guys battles in Seattle, like it was
(17:51):
just watching you knew right then. And there you're watching
in front of you two Hall of famers, Like it's
just you see him on tape. In person, he's just
it out different. Good luck to that rookie sixth round
right right right, he's gonna have fun. Oh my goodness, Rich,
I gotta be biased here. We gotta move up North.
(18:12):
We gotta move up to the NFC North. I got
one ass, cheek and three toes, Rich, I'll beat your ass.
The Detroit Lions and Dan Campbell, Man Campbell, Dan Campbell MotorCity,
Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions have any shot in hell at
the NFC North. What do they call it? A puncher's chance,
(18:32):
are a fighter ship a puncher's chance, Yeah, I think
of something like that. I think they got that because
they got the offensive weapons. Jared Golf, you know, the
very much maligned Jared Golf and and the stuff he gets.
But he's really really solid. You know, he's not he's
not a world beater, but he can get the job
done at a high level. He's above average quarterback in
national football. They can he has above average weapons um
(18:55):
right now, and that's quietly as his cap. They've slowly
but surely solived five that offensive line, and I think
they have enough playmakers on defense, um Aidan Hutchinson. They
started to develop a bit of a pass rush there.
In a pass rush helps your secondary. Jeff Accuda looked, look,
you know, let me you know what I mean, very
cautiously optimistic. Looked like he could do the job that
(19:20):
he's been asked to do, that he has not been
able to do in previous years. Looked you worried, sir,
and now if they can just be solid and aspects
of the game that that seemed to be the things
that Dan Campbell is harping on the foundational fundamentals of
the game. When you can be great at those things,
(19:42):
you will always have a chance to win. And I
think at the end, during the end of the season
last year, they started to to mature, they start to jail,
they started to come together, they started to have fun,
and it seemed to translate into the preseason now. Doing
updowns and bearcross and stuff at practice. Not my style,
but the players still seem to love the guy. You're
(20:02):
looking on hard knocks. They're laughing, they they you know,
everybody's positive. There's energy in the building. We'll see how
it translates. Well, Richard, you heard it here first, guys.
Richard Sherman predicts a sixteen in one season the Detroit Lions. Mr.
Got a gun to my head. I couldn't do it.
(20:22):
All right, We're gonna stay in the division. I know
you've got a tremendous amount of respect for Aaron Rodgers,
the Detroit Lions arch nemesis. What does Aaron Rodgers game
look like without Davonte Adams There is the main question
heading into this season. It looks like it's a question. Um,
he's still He's still the Hall of Fame quarterback in
the most talented arm I've ever seen in the national
(20:43):
food ever seen period in national football. I ain't seen
it on any field, but it looks different. You know,
the chemistry report that they had is just different than
anything we've seen from any other team in any other combination.
And you've seen the inconsistency from the wide receiver group
and the frustration that he's had so far in Green Bay.
(21:05):
And that's what's concerning so rich. I mean, obviously Aaron
Rodgers having to overcome the lack of offensive levels he
said in the past. You see them still coming away
with this division. Yeah, I still think that. You know,
I'm not saying I'm not saying that division is a
cake walk. I mean, you know, Detroit is gonna gonna
be a lot better this year. There you go, You're welcome.
(21:29):
Um Minnesota, you know, always has a chance. You know,
they have a ton of talent on offense, obviously Kevin
O'Connell being there, and and you know the West Coast
offense and them scheming people up as McVeigh and Kyle
shanahan have with those with that offensive system in Chicago.
Justin fields, the last game look like a look like
a national look like a problem. Really, I mean, looks
(21:52):
like an issue. Can they protect him long enough to
be an issue? It's probably going to be an issue,
But you know I'm here all week. I still I
still got Green Bay walking away with it um comfortably. Richard.
I respect your analysis, but there are flaws to it,
and I I just sent from your opinion. I think
this is the one year and this is spoken like
(22:14):
a true Homer who's been watching all the hard knocks
and drinking all the Honolula blue kool aid. I think
the Detroit Lions are gonna win the division and host
the host a playoff game for the first time. I
think I gotta fact check this for the first time
in my lifetime. So that is my bold prediction from
that conference. Richard. Let's keep it moving on. We got
(22:37):
the NFC East next. I just want I want to
make sure I don't see any drugs in the background.
Open You're more than welcome to invite anyone over and
search the house. Thinking about it, Richard, We're gonna move on.
We've covered the We've covered an NFC WEY South and
UH and North. Let's move to the NFC East. Just
give me a quick who's gonna win and why? And
(22:59):
we'll keep the stray movement. I don't know who's gonna
win the NFC East. I don't think it will matter. Uh,
I do then matter? Since the Philadelphia Eagles won the
Super Bowl that year, UM, the East hasn't been very
relevant in terms of the playoffs unfortunately in the offense hashtag.
You know, the Dallas Cowboys has to have one of
the best seasons they've had in a long time and
(23:20):
then get to the playoffs and get Kyle shanahand or
they will be mcbaide, you know, whichever, whichever one they
run into first. And the Philadelphia Eagles, I think we'll
deal with the same thing. You know, I just don't
see them having enough to get into playoffs and beat
one of those teams. And those of the teams you'll
have to beat our Green Bay, you know, or they
will have to go to Lambeau and beat Green Bay
and I you know, I just think those are difficult
(23:41):
things to do. And if they do that at the
surprise Moving on, irrelevant. NFCS irrelevant in the grand discussion
of things. Let's move to the FC. We have a
juggernaut of a conference in the a f C West. Yes,
Russell Wilson goes to the dever Broncos Broncos Country, Let's
ride maybe. What do you see the Broncos doing this
(24:02):
year with Russell at the helm. You know, they'll be solid,
you know, I it'd be surprising. Again, it'd be surprising
to see them win that division, to be really surprising
with the amount of talent that is in l A
with the Chargers and the amount of great coaching and
consistency that's in Kansas City. You know, no matter what,
(24:23):
Kansas City is going to have a great scheme. They're
gonna scheme guys open. They'll still have Travis Kelsey to
still have Mahomes, who is one of the most talented
quarterbacks in the National Football League. So no matter what
they do, it'll be tough sledding in there within their
own division. And you're not even going to talk about
the schedule that they have when they have to deal
with San Francisco forty niners in the Rams, you know,
(24:43):
in the NFC West, it's gonna be it's gonna be
a tough road for them, you know, if they can
come out. That's why it's so crazy. You know that
Russell chose that conference. I mean, that division is only
in that conference for that matter, you know, because to
get out of that conference, to get out of that
conference with a championship, you likely have to go through
two or three of the top five quarterbacks in National
(25:03):
Football League at any given time. And you really honestly
might have two of me in your division. And so
for him to challenge himself like that is admirable, you know.
So if they go out there in the Denver Broncos
pull off a division championship and win a Super Bowl
out of that division and maybe one of the greatest
compliments anybody has done in a very long time, and
(25:26):
and it would be one of the most respected championships
and super Bowls in a very long time. But the
likely scenario is Patty Mahomes are justin Herbert walking away
with the division championship and team Yeah, you're gonna see
Josh Allen, Pat Mahomes or Herbert in the in the
ANFC championship. So who you got one team a f
(25:48):
C wes, who is it going to be? The Chiefs
of the Chargers. The Chargers just haven't done it, and
I want to pick them. I'm going Chargers, you know what,
I'm on board the Retch They've got the town justin
herbert Is year three, it's time baby South. Who wins?
Why an FC South? Um, it's it's seems like the
(26:09):
Colts division to lose. The Titans lost a J Brown. Um,
they still have Derrick Henry in a great running game.
The defense could be something. But I think the Cults
are gonna be really consistent. Matt Ryan is picture perfect
for that offense and what they do. The Forrest Buckner
and that defense is gonna still be very tough to
deal with. I got the Colts. The Texans look awesome too,
(26:29):
by the way. Um, the a f C North, I
mean that's gonna be a very competitive division. I mean,
you got it's always gritty and grimy. You can't just
right off Lamar Jackson in Baltimore ever. But Cincinnati just
you know, it's very confident. Now. You know, when you
get to a super Bowl, it just changes your team.
(26:49):
It changes the way you look at things, changes your
confidence level, changes your base confidence level. Like they're gonna
be walking into games expecting to win in a way
that they weren't last year. And so with that in mind,
Cleveland having the quarterback controversy, I don't see them being
competitive and now if they had Deshaun Watson, I would
you know, I'd be a lot a lot higher on
(27:11):
them right now, but they don't. So I'm going with
Baltimore because of a consistency and that's what they do. Richard,
You've been in the position of the Cincinnati Bengals, right,
I mean their ceiling is now their floor, right. I mean,
what they thought they were gonna achieve last year is
now the expectation of what they at minimal will achieve.
But how hard is it to come back the season
(27:33):
after just missing out on the Super Bowl. I mean,
you've been there before, you've won it, you've lost it
in heartbreaks. How hard is it to It depends because
when we felt like we should have won the Super Bowl,
and it was two thousand and twelve, we didn't make
the Super Bowl, we didn't we spelt like we should
have won it that year. We came back and won
the next year because the energy in the focus was there.
(27:53):
It was totally different. It was totally you're piste off
and you're not taking no for an ANSWER's no. There's
no allowing yourself to be distractions. You make from kind
of sacrifices because you know, you tasted it, you know,
and you you can't get the taste out of your mouth,
and you're gonna do whatever is necessary to get there again.
And I think that's what the mentality that they're coming with.
And if they can keep Joe Burrow upright and block
(28:13):
for him and protected. I mean, what Jamaar Chase did
last year's repeatable. You know, he wasn't getting lucky and
having some kind of tip catches, you know, miraculous. He
was taking slant seven yards, he was taking curl routes
eight yards. He was getting the yards the hard way
like an Quin and Larry Fitzgerald used to. And so
it's repeatable. And I think they're gonna have a great
(28:34):
chance to to to be very competitive for the a
f C Championship again. I just feel like Baltimore, they
got really injured last year, they got beat up, They
lost a lot of people to a c l S
and they won't this year. They won't have that kind
of tragedy and they'll be right in the mix. Finally,
the East, is this the year of the Miami Dolphins?
Um No, it's not. Not. What Josh Allen in in Division. No,
(28:58):
it's not. I'm a that, you know something. It ain't
a lot to do in Buffalo, but what there is
to do in Buffalo is coming out of the a
f C and Buffalo with Josh Allen and and Diggs,
and like getting von Miller was like it's hard to describe,
you know, it's kind of like what the Rams did?
You know? They didn't need him. It's embarrassment of riches,
(29:18):
and they got him. They were a championship roster who
likely would have been in the super Bowl had their
overtime rule has been a little different, but there aren't
and they weren't. But I think that they'll come out
of an f C. I got them. I got them
in the super Bowl with San Francisco forty niners. You know,
I know that's where we're going next. San Francisco forty niners,
Buffalo Bills in the super Bowl, and I got San
(29:40):
Francisco winning at cal. Shannah had finally getting his super
Bowl that he's been needing, and uh, send me my ring.
That would be well deserved. Rich. So that leads us
the player predictions man back on M Talk, Rich already
told you I'm going with my boy. Actually not my boy.
I don't even know him. But a guy who I
(30:01):
think from Buffalo, who is going to carry that team finally,
finally to a super Bowl, potentially to a win. You know,
Jim Kelly status. Uh, don't be Jim Kelly status. Don't
beat Jim Kelly status. Don't take him four super Bowl
another further than Jim Kelly's time. Rich. I mean, come on,
like he probably should have won it last year. Let's
(30:22):
be real with ourselves, you know what I mean, like
somebody should have wanted he's fifty and he's still fifty touchdown.
The Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills, by the way,
not your favorite Josh Allen from the Jacksonville Jaguars. I
was wondering if you're going to go there. But Justin
Herbert is the guy. He's setting records every single year
for the youngest to do this, the youngest to throw
(30:44):
there's so many yards, the youngest to throw this many touchdown.
And you gotta remember his first start came because of
tragedy to Tyrod Taylor, an unexpected injury of time. He
wasn't even practicing to be the starter. Now he's the
undisputed guy and He's going to be the undisputed guy
in the National Football League the m v P after
(31:06):
this season. He has all the weapons. Often Eckler, Keenan Allen,
Mike Williams like he's here to do it this year
in l A gun slinger, rich gun slinger. I love
Justin Herbert, I love the call, absolutely love the call.
You've already spoken about it on Thursday at football Nicholas
(31:26):
I forgot his middle name. Bosa is your defensive player
of the Year. Why Why Because he's unstoppable. He is unstoppable,
and what you need to do is doubling in chipping.
What you cannot do is doubling and chipping because there
are too many other people that will destroy your offensive line.
(31:49):
Eric Arnstead being the main co Forridge, an kin Law,
Drake Jackson being the new guy. They have a rotation
that will the rotation of devastation. It's gonna be tough
to deal with. And so you're not gonna be able
to double Bosa, And all you're gonna do is be
able to watch your quarterback get hit by him over
and over and not to say that hey, in the
(32:11):
run game, he'll probably have to three TfL is a
game like I just can't imagine him not getting it
unless well, I mean I can because he didn't get
a vote for Comeback Player of the Year last year
and he had fifteen and a half sacks coming off
a c L and I mean, good night, Richard. Was
you being a former forty nine or and a former
teammate and Nick Pols and picking them there to win
the Super Bowl and him to win the Defensive Player
(32:33):
of the Year. A lot of people would say you're
a little bit biased, but I wouldn't be one of them.
I mean, I think you're spot on. I think it's
the forty year. I think this Nick Bosa, if you
can stay healthy, he's got everything and that pedigree and
that family to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
So let's see what happens. But Joey Bosa could win
it too, So who knows. We got one or the
(32:54):
other one of the boast. It's gonna be one of
the Vosas are one, you know what I mean. This
is gonna be hard to anybody else. I mean, Aaron
Donald could always do it fair. Offensive Player of the Year,
Offensive Player of the Year. Jesus, it's always what tucks
about that is. I wish they take the quarterbacks out
of it, but they don't. They know it's gonna be
a quarterback. It's gonna be a quarterback. Uh. I think
(33:16):
this is Justin Herbert's time to shine. I think he
has a season that finally puts him amongst the elites. Obviously,
his numbers and the stats say that, but I think
him playing down the stretch and winning crucial ball games
is gonna really put it over the top Offensive Player
of the year just her I would go Jared Goff,
but I feel like a lot of people are kicking him,
(33:36):
so I have to go a different direction. I'm gonna
go Josh Allen for obvious reasons. Rock Star probably putting
people through tables. They're gonna be one of a hell
of a lot of games up in Buffalo. Coach of
the Year, lu A year, UM Coach of the Year.
Is it my boy Dan Campbell's time to shine? Is
it Roberts Solo's time to shine? Or is it someone
(33:58):
emerging from the depths? What are we? What are we
looking at here? Let's see? Uh? I mean, you got
the guys that you always expect to get it, you know,
Andy Reid will always be in it. Uh, that's tough.
That's tough. We'll come back to them. He'll come back
to that one, because I need to think about that
one a little deeper, because in Tampa, I don't think
they'll give it to him, even if Tom wins the
(34:18):
Super Bowls year, I don't think they'll I don't think
they'll give the coach a year to top Bowls because
they'll be like, hey, of course, of course they didn't.
You know, we didn't. You only did it seven times before,
you know, and situations like that where it's probably end
up naming Tom Brady the coach of the Year at
that right, Okay, well we'll save that one for a
rainy day. How about come Back Player of the Year.
(34:41):
Mm hmmm. Is this something that Baker Mayfield might have
his eyes on or are we just avoiding him? I know,
I mean he could, he could he That's what they
always give it to quarterbacks. They always give the awards
to quarterbacks because it's like, no matter what the quarterback
to quarterback tourteramack, so I don't care about the order
back that's coming off an achilles hair and then just
(35:02):
comes and that helps to lead a team to a
Super Bowl. I mean they don't give right Horn. I'm
going with Chasty Horn Dangel on the same team. Say Horn, Okay,
should have got to play last year. We'll come back
and have the season he should have had last year,
which will be fantastic. J C. Horne Okay, rich And
(35:25):
you know what, I'm gonna give you a pick for
for Coach of the Year Brandon Staley, because it was
gonna keep the Chargers in the mix. They didn't make
the playoffs last year. They'll make the playoffs like they
make an f C championship. That will earn him a
Coach of the Year. I'm gonna go with Kyle Shanahan
and my dark horses, Dan Campbell. I like your pick
of Brandon Staley, though, rich Richard, Okay, we've we've called
(35:45):
out the the obvious ones. Let's move a little bit
more to the bold predictions category of things. Which dark
horses do you like to you know, rise to the top,
to be potential stars in this league that no one's
really thinking about right now. I'm gonna throw a name
at you and I want you to this is this
is my pick, rich Tony Pollard. Tony, why would you
(36:12):
even bring up Tony Potter. Why would you bring him up?
It's down the bold prediction. That's crazy. The owner of
the team said, we only go as Ezekiel Elliott goes
who is in front of Tony Pollard, So he will
not unless something crazy happens to z Tony poll will
(36:35):
only be a secondary thought in the owner's mind. Rich At,
Tony Pollard is my choice for breakout player of the year.
I don't know, Davonte Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles breakout
player to you? Respect? Respect. Finally, it's fantasy football draft season.
(36:58):
If you walk around town, you're gonna see a bunch
of people having drafts at local bars. You might, you know.
I mean for me, I just have my zoom annual
draft with all my buddies. Rich Let's forget the quarterbacks.
Let's look at the running backs and wide receiver positions.
Who's kind of some of your dark horse guys that
aren't necessarily at the top of the list that you
think are due for breakout seasons. Well, Brandon, are you
(37:21):
He hasn't the top of any bags list. And with
everybody everything you're hearing out of camp, um, he's due
for a breakout season. We'll see if what Michael Thomas has.
You know, I think people with the expectations are very
high for him. I think when towards Julio Jones is
a sleeper that you know guys can get late in
the late in their fantasy drafts. I think Keenan Allen
has always underrated him and Mike Mike Williams down there
(37:42):
in l A are always underwead Alan Robinson, who never
gets credit. It's in a situation where Cooper Couple begining doubled.
Cooper cup had a two forty four targets last year.
I think that will spread a little bit more evenly
this year with Allen Robinson being there. All right, Rich, well,
we you've had a good first show. I think we
can both agree with that. You know what I mean.
(38:04):
I mean, somebody picks in Detroit, I mean the sixteen
and one. I don't know. I mean that that might
make ourselves like the Rings at the end of the day,
it's been real. It's been fun. It's a shame it
hasn't been real fun. But rich we're gonna have an
opportunity to make it real. Fun of the future Twice
a week, The Richard Sherman Podcast. You want to sign
us off, well, thank you very much Mitchell for joining me.
(38:26):
As always, it's been fantastic your Detroit homerism is is
is uh is? That wasn't the word I was looking for.
It's uh It's it's sad. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
But thank you guys for joining us. Hopefully you join
us every week twice a week this season. We're trying
to give you more content. Will be Sunday Sunday before
(38:47):
the Sunday Night game. We'll be trying to get this
content out to you. Every week. We'll have a new guest,
starting with George Kittle, of course, but you might have
some Hall of Famers on the docket. We'll let you
know later. Join us next week and wait to see
The volume. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back year three of the
Richard Sherman Podcast with my guy Mitch Eisenstein. Back at
it again, metroll. How you've been Richard? It is an
(00:23):
absolute pleasure, my friend, new year, new you same Mitchie
Ritchie connection. Tell me how you've been rich This is
a bigger question out there. Tell me how you've been.
I've been employed. You know, that's employment. It's hard to find,
you know. Game game for employment is very difficult to
find these days. And I found it again with Amazon.
(00:43):
Uh you know on Prime Video. People still talking about
they can't find it, Like it's right next to next Netflix.
You know, the apps on your phone you can you
can even watch on the plane these days. You know,
people complain and then they get on the plane and
now Eon wants the game. Like, don't complain about it.
Just get on the game. You'll still be able to
catch the game. It's technology evolving, like go with us, Richard.
You impressed on Thursday Night. It was the first time
(01:06):
you guys were alive. For those that don't know, Thursday
Night Football is on Amazon Prime. Now you gotta go
through the app. You gotta click on Thursday Night Football
and there's your boy Richard Sherman next to Ryan Fitzpatrick
and his beautiful chest hair, and our boy Tony Gonzalez.
In the middle of that is Caissa Thompson. Richard. Talk
about the transition. A lot of guys hang up the cleets,
(01:28):
call the day and set stay all to the Caribbean.
You are entering in a whole new field of sports media.
Talk about what it's been like, how they've been preparing
you for this moment, and how excited you are for it. Well,
first off, first off, I went to write off into
the sun, sent and be but then my wife said,
get out of the house and fights something to do.
So Dan, I went and found something to do. Um,
(01:49):
it's been great, man, I'm excited for it. Uh. You know,
it was a It was an incredible opportunity with the
incredible cast, you know, as you just mentioned, Carissa fits,
Magic t g It so many great people. Uh Kaylee's
on there a one Andrew Witworth can't can't forget with.
It's outstanding staff, outstanding group to work with. You know,
(02:09):
all the people in the background, they're freaking so fantastic.
It's really an all star team and I'm blessed to
be a part of Richard And on top of that,
we've signed with the volume. We're gonna take this podcast
and new heights. If you're new to the Richard Sherman Podcast,
we're gonna be good double dipping this year. We're gonna
be going Sunday nights and they we're gonna have a
weekly guest on Tuesday. So we're we're really really excited
to bring you content twice a week here, Richard. But
(02:33):
let's let's get into the season a little bit. You know,
we've made it almost all the way through training camp.
Jimmy G feeling Oh wait, sorry, sorry, I'm gonna start
right there. Let's start in the NFC West. Let's start
with your two former teams, the Seattle Seahawks and and
most notably the San Francisco forty Niners. Let's start right there.
(02:53):
Let's start with Jimmy G and the quarterback situation with
the forty Niners. Well, I think it is the best
case scenario for everybody involved. I think it's one of
those situations where somebody for the first time ever had
their cake and got to eat it too, Like, what
are we dealing with? And then there are people complaining saying, hey,
(03:14):
it's so terrible for Tray Lance, But they were the
same people that were sitting there like, well, what what
happens if Trey Lance isn't ready? What happens if if
he gets hurt? Then you got nobody. You're out there
with somebody who's pretty good. Um No, you got Jimmy
g who would have been the number one backup to
any other quarterback in this league, except he's a starter.
(03:34):
He's a guy who just went to then NFC Championship
last year. There's no other backup quarterback in the National
Football League right now who could say that. I mean,
you've got a situation in Carolina, or you're paying two
guys over fifteen million dollars and there's questions whether either
of them can get the job done. Like, there's definitely
questions on whether either of those guys can get them
(03:55):
to a super Bowl. But then you've got people complaining
about a situation where they have two guys they believe
you can get him there. Richard, you said it like
he is the consummate pro. He's one of the best
teammates you've ever played with. We've talked about this on
and off air. This speaks to who Jimmy G is
as a professional. I mean, he's done this throughout his
(04:16):
entire career. When you signed with the forty Niners, I
thought you were batshi crazy. I thought you were absolutely nuts.
You told me, Mitch, Jimmy G is gonna win the
forty Niners a title, And I said, Richard, are you insane?
And then what do you know? I mean, granted, you
guys didn't win, you were seven minutes, but you were
(04:36):
in the position to win it. And now the forty
Niners are in a what you call championship window at
this moment. I think everyone and their mother is aware
of that. Why not keep the guy around to head
your bet in the event trade fails exactly? Why not
head your Why not have two engines? Hey, I got
a Ferrari and I just got this freaking brand new
(04:58):
engines seven horsepower. Now I got another engine that's about
five hundred horsepower. I know it's I've had it for years.
I know exactly what I get. But this one can
really take me there. Now. I don't know if it's
gonna blow out on the road. I don't know if
it's gonna if it's gonna slow down. I don't know
if a Pistons gonna go out. I don't know what's
gonna happen, but I know it's faster. So they put
that engine in, So why not keep the other one.
(05:19):
You don't have to throw the other one away. If
it's if you can afford to keep both, then you
keep both. Jimmy's happy with it, Trays happy with the
only people that aren't happy with it are the people
on outside. They're like, oh, what if they what if
they don't do well? Well? What if they do well?
What if they go undefeated in the first five games?
And he's not looking over his shoulder and they're just
supporting each other like great teammates. The thing about this
(05:41):
for Niners team that note that that nobody's mentioning it's
a team for the great people. That's the part you're
not mentioning, Like these aren't selfish people. You don't hear
a lot of me me, me, me me guys in
that locker room, and Jimmy's the last one who would
be that way. So they about team teammate then self
(06:03):
So people are like, why isn't Jimmy saying something? Why
isn't he getting upset. Why isn't he saying trade me
and do all this Because the philosophy is team teammate, self,
self is third. When you teach that philosophy and you
have that culture, then guys aren't thinking me first. Hey,
if this is what's best for the team, this is
what I'm gonna do, and I'm gonna wait for my opportunity.
(06:25):
If my opportunity comes, I'm gonna step up and do
what I need to do to help my guys get
to another Super Bowl. And Richard, you were a part
of that. And again when you went to San France
leaving Seattle, which was another family focused organization, obviously treated
everyone amazingly there, but when you went to San Francisco,
it was that same same type of organization and honestly
(06:46):
blew me away. I know that you loved Kyle Shannan's
coaching philosophy, similar to Pete Carroll's the Best Man Place.
It doesn't matter whether you paid d forward twenty million
dollars a year as your defensive en. The best Man
Place and that competition that is bread throughout training, camp
and practice. I know ignites your competitive fire. Doesn't matter
(07:06):
if you're fourth under the depth charter. First, you're always
playing for your job, and Richard, I mean, here we
go again. Tray Lance and Jimmy g are now going
to be competing on a day and day out basis,
and we're gonna see who provides him to the best
opportunity to win. It could be worse, but see that.
That's why I disagree, because they're not gonna be competing.
(07:26):
It's trade's job. It's trade's job, and that's what makes
the dynamic easier for everybody. It's trade's job. Cal established
that at the beginning of training camp. He established that
in the middle of training camp. He re established it
last week, like it's trade's job. Jimmy's the backup. When
you established that, then there isn't the uncertainty, There isn't
the drama, There isn't the whispers. Now sure, there's human nature.
(07:50):
There's human nature with everybody. You can you can speculate
human nature till the end of time. Like, hey, if
he missed his kittle on on this route, our debo
gets upset our end and I you kidn't getting the
ball as much? What if that happens in Jimmy's playing,
Like if if if if if was a fifth, we'd
all be drunk, blackout, drunk. We'd be on the sidewalk
(08:12):
like ain't no if great teammates, they're gonna support the
guy as they have been. Things aren't gonna go perfect.
There will be adversity, there will be ups, there would
be down. They will support each other. Jimmy will support Tray.
Tray will support Jimmy. The offense, the weapons they have,
You got Trim Williams, you got leadership. You got a
foundation on that team that can weather the storm. That
(08:33):
will be the media more than it will be the team,
the human highlight, real Trent Williams himself, Richard, Let's stay
within the division. Things could be worse right your former team,
Seattle Seahawks. To me, you're talking about having a somewhat
embarrassment of riches with Trey Lance and Jimmy g and
then you fold over to Seattle. What are they dealing with?
(08:53):
Who do you honestly like in that QB competition? I
know Gino Smith was just named the starter over Drew Lock.
I don't think Drew Lock took that very happily. Do
you think that situation was handled h appropriately? And what
do you think of the Seattle situation, Seattle Seahawks team
right now, I think they went with safe and predictable,
(09:16):
and the guy knew the playbook. Gino did well in
the last the three games he had to play last year.
Pete is very turnover a verse. Uh, turnover a verse
is what I'll call it, because he does not want
to turn the football over, and Gino does not turn
the football over very often. You know, he doesn't take
the same risk as somebody like Drew Lock, but high risk,
(09:37):
high reward. Drew Lock threw some touchdown passes in the preseason,
was impressive at times. If you put a highlight reel
of his positive place versus a highlight real Geno's positive place,
there would be a disparity. But then on the flip side,
you take a highlight reel of the negative place of both,
there will be a disparity. And so I think Pete
didn't want to risk that kind of volatility, and Drew
(09:59):
Lock didn't have a of time to learn to playbook.
They were traded right before training camp. It was an
unfair situation because he didn't have a truly true fair
shot at winning the starting job. There was enough time
he didn't get enough reps with the ones. He didn't
the one game he was gonna start in the preseason,
good Night caught Covid. Like it almost seemed like everything
(10:24):
was working against them. So it's just unfortunate set of circumstances.
But I don't think they're married to Gino in a
way that they will not pull him if they are
not doing well early on the season. Richard, I, I
want to know what's your forecast for Seattle. Where do
you see this season going for them? My forecast, it's
(10:44):
the great unknown, you know. At something part of me
tells me that he's gonna find a way to be
competitive and surprising people and and put off five Hunter.
Something else tells me it could be a rough year.
It could be a rough year, you know. I just
don't see Pete going idly into the night. They got
a good running game, they got three really good running
back stake down two tackles in the draft, rookies that
(11:07):
performed at outstanding in the preseason. Like it's gonna be
a big problem for him later if there are as
good as they've been in the preseason during the regular season,
because in the next couple of years, and you having
to pay two tackles is just oh my goodness, it's
a good problem to have them. Um. But if they
found gold there, then they'll have a chance because you
gotta be able to protective quarterback. They have the weapons
(11:28):
on the outside and k and and lock it. They
have some weapons that tidy end. They have running. They
have a running game. I mean Penny was in the
last five games, I mean the last six games, I
think he ran for one fifty five times. Like that's
something you can lean on. Now. Defensively, they're gonna have
to pull it together. You got got Quandre Diggs, you
(11:49):
got likely a rookie corner, ricky sixth round corner starting,
which I know a little something about. I'm gonna go
see the kid later on today and have a conversation
with them and try to, you know, give in part
my little two sense of wisdom. But I think they
could have a chance. They have rushers, they have out rusher.
It's just too many question marks though, you know, in
(12:10):
question marks aren't always a bad thing. But in this league,
they're gonna have a rough start to the season. They're
gonna have some tough ballgames. I think they got Denver first.
If they can somehow pull off that game, I mean
there will be a lot of optimists we wanted to
the future if they don't, depending on how they do.
You know, if it's a close game, still will be optimism.
If it's a blowout, people gonna be ready. To Melody
(12:31):
Richard in the Season of bold predictions, I got a
bold prediction for you. Kenneth Walker the third will be
an absolute staple in this league for years to come.
As soon as he gets over this little hernia injuries deal.
What I think that they're going to have a one
to combo and Rashad Penny and Kenneth Walk with the third.
(12:52):
I know a thing or two about Kenneth Walker the third.
We've been talked about this rich He's in a perfect
position to go be mode and that offense. If they
can find some level of consistency at the quarterback position,
like you said, they got all the weapons in the
world he can have, they can have a field day.
And if they're running the ball fifty percent of the
time like Pete Carroll loves to do, who knows what happened,
(13:12):
Maybe they do, maybe they do hit five and I
think that would be an outstanding season. They're not gonna
be running fifty percent of the time and they're gonna
be running the six. They're gonna they're gonna try to
run it as much as they can because the best
defense you could have, it's a great run game. Shorten
the game for your defense. Hey, there's two different defenses.
When a defense is playing thirty minutes versus the defense
(13:34):
playing forty minutes, a defense playing twenty five minutes is
much better than a defense playing thirty five minutes because
they're on the field for less time. They have less
opportunities to give up big place, less opportunities to give
up yards. That's what Pete Carroll has always known, and
that's why they will run the ball this year as
much as they possibly can, put Geno Smith in a
position where he does not have to be superman, and
(13:56):
give their defense a chance to make stops. They may
leak on defense, they'll get in the red zone and
they'll stand up. It's all about stand on top, limit
the big plays and stand up in the red zone.
If they can do those things, which are staples and
peak Carroll's philosophy, they'll have a chance to win most
of the games. That they're in now. He does come
down to talent. Sometimes there will be games where they
(14:18):
will just be out talented, you know. I mean, there's
no coaching, there's no there's nothing you can do when
the other team just has more better players than you have.
But in situations where the talent is equal, they'll have shot. Richard.
Let's just kind of get into some some predictions leading
into the season. We're gonna stay in the NFC West.
Who do you think comes out of that division arguably
(14:40):
the best division of football San Francisco for nuners. San
Francisco for a nuners come out of that division In
my humble opinion, why why not the Rams? I think
it's the glaring question there. Well, because the Rams are
one in six against San Francisco forty niners and dropped
interception away from being only seven and the last seven meetings,
(15:01):
and that's gonna be tough to overcome. I mean, they
won the one that they needed. They wont a NFC
championship to go to the Super Bowl. If you could
have anyone, I'm sure both teams would just pick that one.
I just don't see them beating them consistently this year. Uh,
because San Francisco has arguably gotten better. Let's to move
down south, NFC South. You've got an old team there too,
(15:24):
in the Tampa Bay Box. Talk about that division. I'm
gonna go out of the limb here and say that
you're gonna pick the box to win the division. So
let's just get that out of the way. Um, talk
about that team. What do you see their record being?
I think is what they're gonna consistently be at for
most people. I mean twelve the five maybe, you know,
(15:45):
with the old line situation being kind of influx, they're
losing the center of a week, it seems like that's
gonna matter. They've had some continuity on the offensive line
for the last at least Tom's time there. Um, and
losing Ryan Jensen early on in training camp and his
backups being a little beat up already, it's gonna leave
(16:05):
some question marks. So if they can find a way
to solidify that the inside of that offensive line, then
I think they're thirteen and four, no no questions about it.
You know they have enough talent on defense. Shack Barrett
is a is a monster. You got Devin White, you
got you got guys all over on all three levels
of the defense. Lavonte David, Carlton Davis, who just signed
(16:27):
a big deal. You got Winfield Jr. You've got so
many guys who who can make plays and make a
difference on that defense. And offensively, I mean Quintaurus Julio Jones.
You know you're not gonna want for for a receiver
from that group. You got three thousand yard receivers. You
(16:47):
got Rudolph Who's who's you know, not Gronk, nobody's drown,
but he's a big body that that Tom Brady can
use in the situations in the same ways that he
was trying able to use ground Um if he can
teach him, you know. And in the running game, you know,
Lenny for Net, he's gonna do what he's done for
them for the last couple of years, is to be
incredibly consistent in both aspects of the game. Anytime you
(17:08):
have purists Julio Jones on your team as your wide
receiver four or whatever he is on the depth chart,
I mean, God bless good luck to those opposing defenses.
Imagine being a rookie corner and you come in and
dime and you're like, all right, who I gotta guard?
And it's Julio Jones, Like who wants to deal with that?
You're like nobody's fourth corner and they're like Julio's lost step.
(17:31):
I don't care. He had five steps to lose before
he got a regular, like he was an alien. He
is an alien, like you talked about it. He could
lose three steps and still be top ten. He's the
thoroughest of thoroughbred horses, dude, Like straight up, I mean,
I remember your guys battles in Seattle, like it was
(17:51):
just watching you knew right then. And there you're watching
in front of you two Hall of famers, Like it's
just you see him on tape. In person, he's just
it out different. Good luck to that rookie sixth round
right right right, he's gonna have fun. Oh my goodness, Rich,
I gotta be biased here. We gotta move up North.
(18:12):
We gotta move up to the NFC North. I got
one ass, cheek and three toes, Rich, I'll beat your ass.
The Detroit Lions and Dan Campbell, Man Campbell, Dan Campbell MotorCity,
Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions have any shot in hell at
the NFC North. What do they call it? A puncher's chance,
(18:32):
are a fighter ship a puncher's chance, Yeah, I think
of something like that. I think they got that because
they got the offensive weapons. Jared Golf, you know, the
very much maligned Jared Golf and and the stuff he gets.
But he's really really solid. You know, he's not he's
not a world beater, but he can get the job
done at a high level. He's above average quarterback in
national football. They can he has above average weapons um
(18:55):
right now, and that's quietly as his cap. They've slowly
but surely solived five that offensive line, and I think
they have enough playmakers on defense, um Aidan Hutchinson. They
started to develop a bit of a pass rush there.
In a pass rush helps your secondary. Jeff Accuda looked, look,
you know, let me you know what I mean, very
cautiously optimistic. Looked like he could do the job that
(19:20):
he's been asked to do, that he has not been
able to do in previous years. Looked you worried, sir,
and now if they can just be solid and aspects
of the game that that seemed to be the things
that Dan Campbell is harping on the foundational fundamentals of
the game. When you can be great at those things,
(19:42):
you will always have a chance to win. And I
think at the end, during the end of the season
last year, they started to to mature, they start to jail,
they started to come together, they started to have fun,
and it seemed to translate into the preseason now. Doing
updowns and bearcross and stuff at practice. Not my style,
but the players still seem to love the guy. You're
(20:02):
looking on hard knocks. They're laughing, they they you know,
everybody's positive. There's energy in the building. We'll see how
it translates. Well, Richard, you heard it here first, guys.
Richard Sherman predicts a sixteen in one season the Detroit Lions. Mr.
Got a gun to my head. I couldn't do it.
(20:22):
All right, We're gonna stay in the division. I know
you've got a tremendous amount of respect for Aaron Rodgers,
the Detroit Lions arch nemesis. What does Aaron Rodgers game
look like without Davonte Adams There is the main question
heading into this season. It looks like it's a question. Um,
he's still He's still the Hall of Fame quarterback in
the most talented arm I've ever seen in the national
(20:43):
food ever seen period in national football. I ain't seen
it on any field, but it looks different. You know,
the chemistry report that they had is just different than
anything we've seen from any other team in any other combination.
And you've seen the inconsistency from the wide receiver group
and the frustration that he's had so far in Green Bay.
(21:05):
And that's what's concerning so rich. I mean, obviously Aaron
Rodgers having to overcome the lack of offensive levels he
said in the past. You see them still coming away
with this division. Yeah, I still think that. You know,
I'm not saying I'm not saying that division is a
cake walk. I mean, you know, Detroit is gonna gonna
be a lot better this year. There you go, You're welcome.
(21:29):
Um Minnesota, you know, always has a chance. You know,
they have a ton of talent on offense, obviously Kevin
O'Connell being there, and and you know the West Coast
offense and them scheming people up as McVeigh and Kyle
shanahan have with those with that offensive system in Chicago.
Justin fields, the last game look like a look like
a national look like a problem. Really, I mean, looks
(21:52):
like an issue. Can they protect him long enough to
be an issue? It's probably going to be an issue,
But you know I'm here all week. I still I
still got Green Bay walking away with it um comfortably. Richard.
I respect your analysis, but there are flaws to it,
and I I just sent from your opinion. I think
this is the one year and this is spoken like
(22:14):
a true Homer who's been watching all the hard knocks
and drinking all the Honolula blue kool aid. I think
the Detroit Lions are gonna win the division and host
the host a playoff game for the first time. I
think I gotta fact check this for the first time
in my lifetime. So that is my bold prediction from
that conference. Richard. Let's keep it moving on. We got
(22:37):
the NFC East next. I just want I want to
make sure I don't see any drugs in the background.
Open You're more than welcome to invite anyone over and
search the house. Thinking about it, Richard, We're gonna move on.
We've covered the We've covered an NFC WEY South and
UH and North. Let's move to the NFC East. Just
give me a quick who's gonna win and why? And
(22:59):
we'll keep the stray movement. I don't know who's gonna
win the NFC East. I don't think it will matter. Uh,
I do then matter? Since the Philadelphia Eagles won the
Super Bowl that year, UM, the East hasn't been very
relevant in terms of the playoffs unfortunately in the offense hashtag.
You know, the Dallas Cowboys has to have one of
the best seasons they've had in a long time and
(23:20):
then get to the playoffs and get Kyle shanahand or
they will be mcbaide, you know, whichever, whichever one they
run into first. And the Philadelphia Eagles, I think we'll
deal with the same thing. You know, I just don't
see them having enough to get into playoffs and beat
one of those teams. And those of the teams you'll
have to beat our Green Bay, you know, or they
will have to go to Lambeau and beat Green Bay
and I you know, I just think those are difficult
(23:41):
things to do. And if they do that at the
surprise Moving on, irrelevant. NFCS irrelevant in the grand discussion
of things. Let's move to the FC. We have a
juggernaut of a conference in the a f C West. Yes,
Russell Wilson goes to the dever Broncos Broncos Country, Let's
ride maybe. What do you see the Broncos doing this
(24:02):
year with Russell at the helm. You know, they'll be solid,
you know, I it'd be surprising. Again, it'd be surprising
to see them win that division, to be really surprising
with the amount of talent that is in l A
with the Chargers and the amount of great coaching and
consistency that's in Kansas City. You know, no matter what,
(24:23):
Kansas City is going to have a great scheme. They're
gonna scheme guys open. They'll still have Travis Kelsey to
still have Mahomes, who is one of the most talented
quarterbacks in the National Football League. So no matter what
they do, it'll be tough sledding in there within their
own division. And you're not even going to talk about
the schedule that they have when they have to deal
with San Francisco forty niners in the Rams, you know,
(24:43):
in the NFC West, it's gonna be it's gonna be
a tough road for them, you know, if they can
come out. That's why it's so crazy. You know that
Russell chose that conference. I mean, that division is only
in that conference for that matter, you know, because to
get out of that conference, to get out of that
conference with a championship, you likely have to go through
two or three of the top five quarterbacks in National
(25:03):
Football League at any given time. And you really honestly
might have two of me in your division. And so
for him to challenge himself like that is admirable, you know.
So if they go out there in the Denver Broncos
pull off a division championship and win a Super Bowl
out of that division and maybe one of the greatest
compliments anybody has done in a very long time, and
(25:26):
and it would be one of the most respected championships
and super Bowls in a very long time. But the
likely scenario is Patty Mahomes are justin Herbert walking away
with the division championship and team Yeah, you're gonna see
Josh Allen, Pat Mahomes or Herbert in the in the
ANFC championship. So who you got one team a f
(25:48):
C wes, who is it going to be? The Chiefs
of the Chargers. The Chargers just haven't done it, and
I want to pick them. I'm going Chargers, you know what,
I'm on board the Retch They've got the town justin
herbert Is year three, it's time baby South. Who wins?
Why an FC South? Um, it's it's seems like the
(26:09):
Colts division to lose. The Titans lost a J Brown. Um,
they still have Derrick Henry in a great running game.
The defense could be something. But I think the Cults
are gonna be really consistent. Matt Ryan is picture perfect
for that offense and what they do. The Forrest Buckner
and that defense is gonna still be very tough to
deal with. I got the Colts. The Texans look awesome too,
(26:29):
by the way. Um, the a f C North, I
mean that's gonna be a very competitive division. I mean,
you got it's always gritty and grimy. You can't just
right off Lamar Jackson in Baltimore ever. But Cincinnati just
you know, it's very confident. Now. You know, when you
get to a super Bowl, it just changes your team.
(26:49):
It changes the way you look at things, changes your
confidence level, changes your base confidence level. Like they're gonna
be walking into games expecting to win in a way
that they weren't last year. And so with that in mind,
Cleveland having the quarterback controversy, I don't see them being
competitive and now if they had Deshaun Watson, I would
you know, I'd be a lot a lot higher on
(27:11):
them right now, but they don't. So I'm going with
Baltimore because of a consistency and that's what they do. Richard,
You've been in the position of the Cincinnati Bengals, right,
I mean their ceiling is now their floor, right. I mean,
what they thought they were gonna achieve last year is
now the expectation of what they at minimal will achieve.
But how hard is it to come back the season
(27:33):
after just missing out on the Super Bowl. I mean,
you've been there before, you've won it, you've lost it
in heartbreaks. How hard is it to It depends because
when we felt like we should have won the Super Bowl,
and it was two thousand and twelve, we didn't make
the Super Bowl, we didn't we spelt like we should
have won it that year. We came back and won
the next year because the energy in the focus was there.
(27:53):
It was totally different. It was totally you're piste off
and you're not taking no for an ANSWER's no. There's
no allowing yourself to be distractions. You make from kind
of sacrifices because you know, you tasted it, you know,
and you you can't get the taste out of your mouth,
and you're gonna do whatever is necessary to get there again.
And I think that's what the mentality that they're coming with.
And if they can keep Joe Burrow upright and block
(28:13):
for him and protected. I mean, what Jamaar Chase did
last year's repeatable. You know, he wasn't getting lucky and
having some kind of tip catches, you know, miraculous. He
was taking slant seven yards, he was taking curl routes
eight yards. He was getting the yards the hard way
like an Quin and Larry Fitzgerald used to. And so
it's repeatable. And I think they're gonna have a great
(28:34):
chance to to to be very competitive for the a
f C Championship again. I just feel like Baltimore, they
got really injured last year, they got beat up, They
lost a lot of people to a c l S
and they won't this year. They won't have that kind
of tragedy and they'll be right in the mix. Finally,
the East, is this the year of the Miami Dolphins?
Um No, it's not. Not. What Josh Allen in in Division. No,
(28:58):
it's not. I'm a that, you know something. It ain't
a lot to do in Buffalo, but what there is
to do in Buffalo is coming out of the a
f C and Buffalo with Josh Allen and and Diggs,
and like getting von Miller was like it's hard to describe,
you know, it's kind of like what the Rams did?
You know? They didn't need him. It's embarrassment of riches,
(29:18):
and they got him. They were a championship roster who
likely would have been in the super Bowl had their
overtime rule has been a little different, but there aren't
and they weren't. But I think that they'll come out
of an f C. I got them. I got them
in the super Bowl with San Francisco forty niners. You know,
I know that's where we're going next. San Francisco forty niners,
Buffalo Bills in the super Bowl, and I got San
(29:40):
Francisco winning at cal. Shannah had finally getting his super
Bowl that he's been needing, and uh, send me my ring.
That would be well deserved. Rich. So that leads us
the player predictions man back on M Talk, Rich already
told you I'm going with my boy. Actually not my boy.
I don't even know him. But a guy who I
(30:01):
think from Buffalo, who is going to carry that team finally,
finally to a super Bowl, potentially to a win. You know,
Jim Kelly status. Uh, don't be Jim Kelly status. Don't
beat Jim Kelly status. Don't take him four super Bowl
another further than Jim Kelly's time. Rich. I mean, come on,
like he probably should have won it last year. Let's
(30:22):
be real with ourselves, you know what I mean, like
somebody should have wanted he's fifty and he's still fifty touchdown.
The Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills, by the way,
not your favorite Josh Allen from the Jacksonville Jaguars. I
was wondering if you're going to go there. But Justin
Herbert is the guy. He's setting records every single year
for the youngest to do this, the youngest to throw
(30:44):
there's so many yards, the youngest to throw this many touchdown.
And you gotta remember his first start came because of
tragedy to Tyrod Taylor, an unexpected injury of time. He
wasn't even practicing to be the starter. Now he's the
undisputed guy and He's going to be the undisputed guy
in the National Football League the m v P after
(31:06):
this season. He has all the weapons. Often Eckler, Keenan Allen,
Mike Williams like he's here to do it this year
in l A gun slinger, rich gun slinger. I love
Justin Herbert, I love the call, absolutely love the call.
You've already spoken about it on Thursday at football Nicholas
(31:26):
I forgot his middle name. Bosa is your defensive player
of the Year. Why Why Because he's unstoppable. He is unstoppable,
and what you need to do is doubling in chipping.
What you cannot do is doubling and chipping because there
are too many other people that will destroy your offensive line.
(31:49):
Eric Arnstead being the main co Forridge, an kin Law,
Drake Jackson being the new guy. They have a rotation
that will the rotation of devastation. It's gonna be tough
to deal with. And so you're not gonna be able
to double Bosa, And all you're gonna do is be
able to watch your quarterback get hit by him over
and over and not to say that hey, in the
(32:11):
run game, he'll probably have to three TfL is a
game like I just can't imagine him not getting it
unless well, I mean I can because he didn't get
a vote for Comeback Player of the Year last year
and he had fifteen and a half sacks coming off
a c L and I mean, good night, Richard. Was
you being a former forty nine or and a former
teammate and Nick Pols and picking them there to win
the Super Bowl and him to win the Defensive Player
(32:33):
of the Year. A lot of people would say you're
a little bit biased, but I wouldn't be one of them.
I mean, I think you're spot on. I think it's
the forty year. I think this Nick Bosa, if you
can stay healthy, he's got everything and that pedigree and
that family to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
So let's see what happens. But Joey Bosa could win
it too, So who knows. We got one or the
(32:54):
other one of the boast. It's gonna be one of
the Vosas are one, you know what I mean. This
is gonna be hard to anybody else. I mean, Aaron
Donald could always do it fair. Offensive Player of the Year,
Offensive Player of the Year. Jesus, it's always what tucks
about that is. I wish they take the quarterbacks out
of it, but they don't. They know it's gonna be
a quarterback. It's gonna be a quarterback. Uh. I think
(33:16):
this is Justin Herbert's time to shine. I think he
has a season that finally puts him amongst the elites. Obviously,
his numbers and the stats say that, but I think
him playing down the stretch and winning crucial ball games
is gonna really put it over the top Offensive Player
of the year just her I would go Jared Goff,
but I feel like a lot of people are kicking him,
(33:36):
so I have to go a different direction. I'm gonna
go Josh Allen for obvious reasons. Rock Star probably putting
people through tables. They're gonna be one of a hell
of a lot of games up in Buffalo. Coach of
the Year, lu A year, UM Coach of the Year.
Is it my boy Dan Campbell's time to shine? Is
it Roberts Solo's time to shine? Or is it someone
(33:58):
emerging from the depths? What are we? What are we
looking at here? Let's see? Uh? I mean, you got
the guys that you always expect to get it, you know,
Andy Reid will always be in it. Uh, that's tough.
That's tough. We'll come back to them. He'll come back
to that one, because I need to think about that
one a little deeper, because in Tampa, I don't think
they'll give it to him, even if Tom wins the
(34:18):
Super Bowls year, I don't think they'll I don't think
they'll give the coach a year to top Bowls because
they'll be like, hey, of course, of course they didn't.
You know, we didn't. You only did it seven times before,
you know, and situations like that where it's probably end
up naming Tom Brady the coach of the Year at
that right, Okay, well we'll save that one for a
rainy day. How about come Back Player of the Year.
(34:41):
Mm hmmm. Is this something that Baker Mayfield might have
his eyes on or are we just avoiding him? I know,
I mean he could, he could he That's what they
always give it to quarterbacks. They always give the awards
to quarterbacks because it's like, no matter what the quarterback
to quarterback tourteramack, so I don't care about the order
back that's coming off an achilles hair and then just
(35:02):
comes and that helps to lead a team to a
Super Bowl. I mean they don't give right Horn. I'm
going with Chasty Horn Dangel on the same team. Say Horn, Okay,
should have got to play last year. We'll come back
and have the season he should have had last year,
which will be fantastic. J C. Horne Okay, rich And
(35:25):
you know what, I'm gonna give you a pick for
for Coach of the Year Brandon Staley, because it was
gonna keep the Chargers in the mix. They didn't make
the playoffs last year. They'll make the playoffs like they
make an f C championship. That will earn him a
Coach of the Year. I'm gonna go with Kyle Shanahan
and my dark horses, Dan Campbell. I like your pick
of Brandon Staley, though, rich Richard, Okay, we've we've called
(35:45):
out the the obvious ones. Let's move a little bit
more to the bold predictions category of things. Which dark
horses do you like to you know, rise to the top,
to be potential stars in this league that no one's
really thinking about right now. I'm gonna throw a name
at you and I want you to this is this
is my pick, rich Tony Pollard. Tony, why would you
(36:12):
even bring up Tony Potter. Why would you bring him up?
It's down the bold prediction. That's crazy. The owner of
the team said, we only go as Ezekiel Elliott goes
who is in front of Tony Pollard, So he will
not unless something crazy happens to z Tony poll will
(36:35):
only be a secondary thought in the owner's mind. Rich At,
Tony Pollard is my choice for breakout player of the year.
I don't know, Davonte Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles breakout
player to you? Respect? Respect. Finally, it's fantasy football draft season.
(36:58):
If you walk around town, you're gonna see a bunch
of people having drafts at local bars. You might, you know.
I mean for me, I just have my zoom annual
draft with all my buddies. Rich Let's forget the quarterbacks.
Let's look at the running backs and wide receiver positions.
Who's kind of some of your dark horse guys that
aren't necessarily at the top of the list that you
think are due for breakout seasons. Well, Brandon, are you
(37:21):
He hasn't the top of any bags list. And with
everybody everything you're hearing out of camp, um, he's due
for a breakout season. We'll see if what Michael Thomas has.
You know, I think people with the expectations are very
high for him. I think when towards Julio Jones is
a sleeper that you know guys can get late in
the late in their fantasy drafts. I think Keenan Allen
has always underrated him and Mike Mike Williams down there
(37:42):
in l A are always underwead Alan Robinson, who never
gets credit. It's in a situation where Cooper Couple begining doubled.
Cooper cup had a two forty four targets last year.
I think that will spread a little bit more evenly
this year with Allen Robinson being there. All right, Rich, well,
we you've had a good first show. I think we
can both agree with that. You know what I mean.
(38:04):
I mean, somebody picks in Detroit, I mean the sixteen
and one. I don't know. I mean that that might
make ourselves like the Rings at the end of the day,
it's been real. It's been fun. It's a shame it
hasn't been real fun. But rich we're gonna have an
opportunity to make it real. Fun of the future Twice
a week, The Richard Sherman Podcast. You want to sign
us off, well, thank you very much Mitchell for joining me.
(38:26):
As always, it's been fantastic your Detroit homerism is is
is uh is? That wasn't the word I was looking for.
It's uh It's it's sad. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
But thank you guys for joining us. Hopefully you join
us every week twice a week this season. We're trying
to give you more content. Will be Sunday Sunday before
(38:47):
the Sunday Night game. We'll be trying to get this
content out to you. Every week. We'll have a new guest,
starting with George Kittle, of course, but you might have
some Hall of Famers on the docket. We'll let you
know later. Join us next week and wait to see
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Colin Cowherd
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