12.7.22- JR SportBrief Hour 1

You're listening to the JR Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio.

That's right, this is CBS Sports Radio and you are locked in to the JR Sportbrief show. I'm coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

For home loan solutions that fit your life, it's all so simple. I'm going to be hanging out here with you for the next four hours. It's what I do. Every single weeknight, starting at 10pm Eastern Time, 7pm Pacific. Thank you so much to Anthony Pierno for holding it down here with me and you tonight. More importantly, thank you to everybody listening all over North America.

Whether you're locked in on your local affiliate, whether you're tuned in on the free Odyssey app, you could be listening on Sirius XM channel 158. I'm happy that you're here and we got a lot to get into here over the next four hours. Obviously, it's Wednesday night. Every single Wednesday night I bring you a new top six list. Two hours from now we're going to get into things as per usual as I will go ahead and share with you some of the top teams.

As a matter of fact, not some of them. These are the top teams left in the NFL right now into the stretch run. We've had so many injuries go down in the NFL.

I want to tell you who I think now has the best chance to move forward and ultimately hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy. So we'll get into that. Speaking of the injuries, in a few minutes we have to talk about Von Miller going down and find out that he has a torn ACL. Something that they feared a few weeks ago.

Well, it's actually a reality. So we'll talk about Von Miller. Patrick Mahomes has his own issues with a bruised foot. They're downplaying, whatever his major issue is, if there is one. Kyle Shanahan gave another update on Jimmy Garoppolo.

It seems like every single day it changes. And then also, I think a lot of people woke up this morning to find out that Aaron Judge, he's going to stick around with the New York Yankees. It was only last night during the show where we talked about the potential and the reality that Aaron Judge might step out of the situation with the New York Yankees and maybe embrace being a San Francisco giant. There was that report that for about seven minutes that he was on his way to San Francisco and then it was retracted. And so Aaron Judge getting ready to make the big bucks with the Yankees, Chicago Cubs, they lose their catcher Wilson Contreras. No big surprise there, but he does go to a rival. He goes to St. Louis to replace someone who is a legend, Yadier Molina.

Larry Bird turned 66 years old today. We're going to give you that top six list so we have a busy, busy show. I got a simple question for our guy holding it down here with us tonight. Hey, Anthony, how are you, man? You're doing good. You hanging in there? I'm good. Thank you, JR, for having me. Appreciate it. Glad to be with you tonight.

Well, thank you, man. So what are we doing here? You're going to take over for the next four hours, right? I can just shut up. Yeah, that's what you want me to do. I could do it, man.

No problem. You want to kick back, take a night off? Well, yeah. Well, I took a night off last week. You were off last week? Are you doing anything fun, exciting? Did I do anything fun or exciting last week? I went to a Hawks game that Trae Young did not play in.

That's a bummer. You want to see Trae Young, although I'm not a Hawks fan. As a big Knicks fan, I'm not a big Trae Young and Hawks fan, but he is a great talent. It would have been nice to have seen him up close.

I've seen him a million times. I'm not missing anything. And speaking of the Hawks and Knicks, the Knicks are actually beating down the Hawks right now. They're coming to a close in Madison Square Garden. How about that? The Knicks might actually win a game at home.

Yeah, I know a rarity. Last time I looked, it was 111-83 with about a minute left in the game. Maybe the next game, it's a doubleheader. Boston and Phoenix, maybe that will be a little bit better. I see that Chris Paul is set to return. So the New York Knicks, as Anthony just said, actually winning a game.

And De'Jounte Murray goes down early in the game and Atlanta Hawks just crapped out from there. So congratulations to the New York Knicks. Let's go to Western New York. Yeah, not New York City. Most people say New York. They automatically think about Manhattan. They think about skyscrapers.

They think about the Statue of Liberty. New York is a big-ass state. And hello to all my friends in Rochester. I was just there two weeks ago.

Hello. Western New York, Rochester, going out past Syracuse, and then you go even further west and boom. You're in Buffalo, where the only team that technically plays in New York State exists. And they are the best team representing New York State. It's the Buffalo Bills. And hello to all my friends in Canada and Toronto who love the Buffalo Bills. This is a team that entered into this season with hopes and ideas that they would go to a Super Bowl.

They were favorites, just talent on both sides of the football, offense and defense. And one of the big signings that they had this offseason was bringing in someone who will go into the Hall of Fame the minute that he is eligible. And that's Von Miller, 33 years old. The Buffalo Bills decided to give this man a six year deal.

One hundred and twenty million dollars. And so far this year he's lived up to the billing eight sacks in 11 games. He's an eight time Pro Bowler. He has more sacks than anybody currently active in the NFL. He has more sacks than anyone in Broncos history. He was the Super Bowl MVP for the Broncos when they beat the Carolina Panthers. And then we saw Von Miller be traded to the Rams from the Broncos last season and he helped them win a Super Bowl. And so Von Miller is just he he is or was trying to make history. Picking up a third championship for three separate teams and just whooping everybody's ass or more specifically whooping on every quarterback along the way.

Well, on Thanksgiving Day, of course, Thanksgiving. We saw the biggest hit, and unfortunately it was a hit to Von Miller. As Von Miller had to exit the Thanksgiving game with a knee injury. And we thought that he would return, that he would only miss a couple of weeks and that Von Miller would be back and all would be well with the world in the world for the Buffalo Bills. And then we found out yesterday that that's that's not the case at all. We found out today, a matter of fact, that that's not the case at all because Von Miller was cut open.

Exploratory surgery yesterday and then this afternoon. The Buffalo Bills a nine and three. Today is a practice day and Von Miller decided to go on his own social media channels and he decided to post this video. I want you to listen to this right here. This mafia was good and good, man.

I'll be right back, man. Mentally, I couldn't be in a better spot, man. And I think that is the majority of it, man. Don't feel sorry for me. I don't say I hate it for you.

None of that stuff. Because I am good. I'm excited for the opportunity to show my teammates how tough I am, how hard I work and how important that this means to me. So I love you guys and I appreciate you guys, man.

All love and respect. Don't blink, baby. Well, don't don't blink, man. You you ain't gonna be back that soon. Everybody's thinking about this season.

Nobody's trying to fast forward to next year to see you back. People want to know what the Buffalo Bills can do this year. And so, yeah, they cut open Von Miller and they realize that this is not just another ligament injury. This is not an MCL injury. This ACL is cooked.

They needed to go in there and actually replace it. This man joined the Buffalo Bills squad that for the past several seasons that Sean McDermott has taken over and has gone to the playoffs four out of the last five years. What they needed on the defensive side of the ball was it was a game changer. You can have the Russos and the Eponesas of the world, but Von Miller is in a different league, even at 33 years old.

The beautiful thing for the Buffalo Bills is that they've been able to have a rotation with all of those edge rushers, all of those defensive ends, those outside linebackers who can go get the QB. But the closer for the situation, the Mariano Rivera for the Buffalo Bills is the man they just signed, Von Miller. And he says he's not worried. Don't feel bad. Don't feel sorry for Von Miller because he's going to be OK.

I'll be OK, too, if I knew one hundred and twenty million dollars was coming. So the Buffalo Bills are going to have to figure things out. They're going to have to continue on with this rotation and they're going to have to hope that someone like Greg Russo can step up. He can't be Von Miller, but maybe he could take his game to another level. And by the way, he himself, it's not an ACL, but he's been dealing with a bum ankle. So Von Miller puts up that video and then the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott, he spoke to the media. He was asked about Von Miller's situation, and this is what he had to say. Von underwent surgery yesterday.

It was exploratory type of surgery. And it turned out that he got a ACL repair in there. So he'll be out for the year as an update for you guys. Very unfortunate situation for Von, obviously, in our team. We care for him, obviously, like we would any player. We know how much this means to him in terms of playing and being with the team. So we look forward to getting him back obviously off the field for the rest of the season and his leadership. And we're certainly thinking about him as he recovers here. They got no choice but to think about him. They have to think about how they're at minimum going to try and come through and get a portion of his production. And it's not just what he does on the field.

It's it's the leadership. There's a reason that the Buffalo Bills this year that their defense is ranked fourth when it comes down to points allowed. They get the other team the hell up off the field. They allow their offense to get back up there because the Buffalo Bills are actually stopping the opposing quarterback.

It's going to be an adjustment now. I told you Von Miller was leading the teams with sacks. Greg Rousseau, he's next up with five. He's been dealing with that ankle. Boogie Basham, A.J.

Epenessa. These are going to have to be the dudes who go down the stretch run and do some damage. Buffalo Bills after a two game losing streak, losing to the Jets and Vikings. They got the New York Jets again.

They've been on a three game winning streak since losing those two games. They beat the Browns. They they beat the Lions on Thanksgiving. They beat the New England Patriots. Now they take on the AFC East Division rival New York Jets. Then they have Miami. They have Chicago, Cincinnati, not a pushover right now. New England, even with their issues and struggles offensively, they're not a pushover. You can never count out New England in any game.

And so it's going to be difficult for this team to move forward. We know who the star is on offense. His name is Josh Allen on the defensive side of the ball.

They signed a star. His name is Von Miller. Even in the Super Bowl. Von Miller's is lighten it up. He had two sacks in the Super Bowl. Von Miller had four sacks this past playoffs. There's a reason that Joe Burrow was out there running for his life.

It was Von Miller. And so Josh Allen, he also addressed the media today. And Josh Allen basically said, yeah, he's he's our guy. And we have to hope the best for him.

But we all have to step our game up. Listen to Josh Allen. Yeah, I talked to him yesterday, last night after surgery. Obviously sucks losing him.

Guy of his caliber. You know what he came here to do and helped his team out. You know, I don't know when he's coming back, but he's coming back and just to have his presence in the locker room and teaching guys still. I think that's going to be a big help for us. Actually, we wish he's out there with us and we're praying for him. We're keeping him in our hearts.

But the only way is forward. And guys got to step up and collectively we got to come together and try to come together and diminish his absence as much as possible. Yeah, every everybody. That's that's the concept of a team, right?

One guy goes down, everybody else steps up. That's what the team is for, right? The Buffalo Bills had plenty of success before Von Miller even got there. They didn't taste the ultimate success. They haven't gone to a Super Bowl yet. We've seen them get to and advance to every level of the playoffs, but they haven't had that closer on defense. And so are we in store for the same old Buffalo Bills?

Possibly unless someone, somebody else can step up. The Bills get to the playoffs every single year and they run up against the wall, even if sometimes it takes a million points and one of the most ridiculous games in NFL history to stop them. So the Buffalo Bills. Yeah, I think with Von Miller, I looked at them as a as a favorite right there with the Chiefs in the AFC.

Not so much right now. They're missing that closer. And I think even at this point, Josh Allen is probably tasked with doing too much with the offense. And it's nice we we've seen the development of some of their offensive weapons. It's nice to see Cooks out there and or James Cook. Shout out to the Bulldogs.

He's out there getting some work in. But on the defense, somebody has to stop him. So don't be shocked if we see a I don't know, just a step backwards on the defense. And the Buffalo Bills just trying to outscore everybody with Josh Allen is trying to do it all by himself. I wouldn't be shocked if they went back to the Super Bowl. But obviously, I don't I don't favor them the same way that I did, knowing that Von Miller is gone.

And Josh Allen said it very nicely. Yeah, he's going to come back and he's going to teach our guys. He's going to talk to our dudes. They ain't going to be good enough in the long run if he's not on the field. All things considered, the Buffalo Bills, they'll be fine. They'll be OK. But in the big games and the big moments, not having Von Miller out there. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt big time.

And I think the playing field is a little bit more even. The Kansas City right now, you have a surging Cincinnati squad. You know, Miami is still there even coming up on their loss or off of their loss against the 49ers. This is going to be tough doing for the Buffalo Bills.

They will be OK. But in a big moment in the fourth quarter of a game and you're trying to close things out, not having Von will hurt them. Not having Von Miller sack Patrick Mahomes will hurt them. Not going out there and torturing Joe Burrow, that will hurt them. And the playing field is much more even right now. I don't have Buffalo as a favorite in the AFC.

I think that time is over. Let's see if they can get to the Super Bowl. Finally, 855-212 for CBS. That's 855-212 for CBS.

It's a very simple question. How do you feel about the Buffalo Bills with Novon Miller? Have the Buffalo Bills been knocked down a peg?

And then speaking of Patrick Mahomes, he's dealing with his own issues right now. I'm going to take your phone calls on the other side of the break. We are just getting started. It's the J.R. Sport Brief show right here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. I'm here working on security, man, and I listen to your show every night. Hey, man, I am new to your show, but I absolutely love it.

It's awesome. This is the best sports talk radio show on the air for sure, for none. Call in now at 855-212 for CBS. Von Miller is done for the season. Are the Buffalo Bills done as well? Hell no.

Of course not. The Buffalo Bills are going to be perfectly fine. They were fine without Von Miller. They were going to conference championship games without Von Miller. They were having success in the playoffs without Von Miller. But they brought the man in to finish things off.

They brought him in to be a closer, to be a Mariano Rivera. I think there's a television show named The Closer as well. I'm not. I think so. I'm not sure. Hey, Anthony, is there a television show called The Closer? It does sound familiar.

I'm a big TV guy. I would have to look that one up, but it does sound familiar. Maybe like a CBS type of show, maybe. Yeah, it's just some guy, or maybe it's a, you know, was Queen Latifah The Closer?

I don't know. It sounds like somebody running around with a gun trying to beat up bad guys. Well anyway, Von Miller's job was to beat up quarterbacks until Von Miller just got hurt. Until they found out that the injury that he suffered on Thanksgiving wasn't just an ankle, or excuse me, a knee injury that would keep him out for a few weeks. It's actually going to end his entire season.

Damn it, he's probably going to miss a good portion, maybe possibly the beginning of next year. They figured out that, and cutting them open, that they needed to repair his ACL. And so this is a, it's a knot for the Buffalo Bills, not having a future Hall of Famer still playing at a ridiculous level.

Led the team with eight sacks, was the head or the lead of their defensive pass rush, the rotation that they had set up. They'll be fine. They'll be okay. They're losing a major, major impact player.

And you always think about those big plays and big moments, big games. Von has been there. They were hoping to have that, and that's just the nature of the NFL. I do think they take a little bit of a step back.

What say you? 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. That's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS.

No Von Miller. How big of a deal is this for the Buffalo Bills? Let's go to Upstate New York and let's talk to Mark. Hey Mark, you're on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, what's up, JR? How are you?

I wanted to say it was a big deal. Josh Allen, I've been his biggest fan for a very long time. I think he'll carry his team. The only thing, he's very good, but when he comes to the main points, to the clutch, when they need him there, you cannot rely on him. He's throwing pick sixes. He's throwing fumble. Everything, he's relying on his legs too much.

Well, I mean, that's certainly been an issue for the past several years, and thank you, Mark, for calling from Upstate New York. Look, Josh Allen has steadily improved throughout the course of his career, almost every year. His completion percentage and his accuracy. Let's keep in mind that Josh Allen was basically drafted. He's the best guy taken in the 2018 draft, if you ask me. Him and Lamar, we see where the other two quarterbacks are at.

I mean, Sam Donald and Baker Mayfield. But he was supposed to be the project. He was supposed to be the dude who was a little wild, a little raw, but he's improved. They've gotten him some weapons.

They picked up a major weapon in Stephon Diggs. We've seen the emergence of guys like Gabe Davis, but there are still other elements and other points in times where, you know, sometimes he does a little too much. You know, you watch Josh Allen play, and it's an admirable thing. He goes balls to the wall.

He does not slow down. And so I'm not as much concerned about him. We've seen him make some big plays, and in other parts of the game, yeah, he's turned the ball over. But I'm confident in Josh Allen. I think that concern of him doing too much isn't going anywhere, quote, unquote, for this season.

But the defense is definitely going to feel it. 855-212-4CBS. Let's go from upstate New York. Let's go west. Let's go to San Diego and talk to Brett. You're on the JR Sport Reshow. What's up, Brett? JR, great to hear you on the radio tonight. Hey, I couldn't agree with you more with Von Miller. Where it's really going to matter is in those big moments. Guys like him come up with the plays, and that just means other guys are going to have to step up. And then just to sign off here, what do you think Cleveland would do for the rest of the year? Thanks.

Oh, no doubt about it. Thank you, Brett. Brett's calling me from San Diego, and he's asking me about the Browns? The Cleveland Browns? What do I think they'll do for the rest of the year?

I got a one-word answer, and then I'll give an explanation. Nothing. The Cleveland Browns season is a wash, and even watching Deshaun Watson, I'm not going to sit down and watch him, and it's not because I have so much of an aversion to him and his past actions. I can never watch him play. I will never support what he did.

I don't need to know the full details of what he did to not support what happened in his situation, his judgment. I'm not against watching him. I'll watch him play.

I just at this point have no desire to. I can go ahead and take a look at the past results or the results of the game and see some of the highlights and keep it moving. If the Browns should happen to be on the screen or they are the game to pay attention to, I'll certainly tune in.

But the Browns aren't going anywhere, man. The rest of this year is nothing but a warm-up for Deshaun Watson. The rest of the season doesn't exist, but to see what he can do.

Get some more reps under his belt. Didn't play last year. Didn't play most of this season.

Was basically jettisoned off to the side. What else he's supposed to do? I'm not worried about those Browns. I mean, you must have money on the Browns. I wouldn't put money down on no damn Browns, but that's the scenario that he's into, I guess. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. And this is the part about the NFL that just stinks. You know folks are going to get hurt. People are going to get injured.

This is just professional sports. You know, we can always sit around at the beginning of a season and have fun and talk about who's going to go here, but you never know when somebody's going to go down. Think about all of the injuries that have already taken place.

Just this week or over the past weeks. Forty-niners with Garoppolo and Lamar Jackson is week to week and Matthew Stafford, oh my God, it's just been a horror story for the Rams this year with all of the injuries to the offensive line. And then Cooper Cupp goes down with a high ankle sprain and Matthew Stafford is dealing with his back and his spine and his head and his neck. Who wants to deal with that?

Nobody. It alters the course of a season. And here's the deal. With four and five games left for almost every team, we're going to see more injuries. The injuries are not going to get cut down.

Something else ridiculous is going to happen and somebody will get hurt in the postseason. It's just it's just how it is. Bob is calling from New Jersey. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Hi, J.R., I was just listening on the radio and there's some guy from Mark, some guy Mark from upstate New York.

You're talking about Josh Allen throwing fumbles. I wouldn't want to know what you thought about that. That's first of all, that was just a side point.

And my my real question for tonight is how in the world is Von Miller supposed to make it with the Ducks? It makes absolutely no sense that he's someone with a penguin. Well, continue on, Bob.

You see, he's in Australia and he's fighting in Antarctica. Well, continue on. So.

I mean, Von Miller is someone that that was able to close. I'm saying I'm using metaphors. I don't know. I don't understand metaphors. Well, spell, spell, well, spell metaphor for us. Go ahead.

M-U-Q. OK, well, you can you can slow down and try harder. Go ahead. You were you were on a roll. I don't want to slow you down. Keep going. OK, I'm going to think about this.

M-E-T-A-S-O-R, metaphor. Well, thank you, Bob. I appreciate you for calling from New Jersey.

Thank you, man. OK, well, Bob didn't want to. Well, Anthony, I was giving him a prime opportunity to take a bow for the great comedy that he gave us all for free. He didn't want to do it. What's his deal? Yeah, you gave him a lot of leeway there. Yeah, I was wondering why he didn't want to take a bow. I wanted him to share his social.

A couple of times I had my hand on the trigger. I was about to get rid of him. But you kept on you continuing the conversation. So I let you go with him. No, I wanted to I wanted him to I wanted to be acknowledged for his comedy. I mean, if his if his comedy career is going to elevate to certain heights, I want him to be able to say that to be good comedy. Oh, well, I think if I listen, I believe in giving people an opportunity and a chance. And if he wants to come on and he wants to be funny and talk about throwing fumbles and spelling metaphors and then, you know, whatever makes him happy. So I wish him nothing but the best and whatever his endeavors are. I certainly hope that he finds better things to do with his life and then it's time then just call up here and tell terrible jokes. But I commend him. Please. Not for the benefit of me. I'm certainly I don't feel any way about it.

I just hope that you can find a better use of your time. It's the chair. Our sport brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. We've talked about these injuries.

We have learned how to spell metaphor. And when we come back, I actually want to detail to you some of these other injury issues that have taken place in the NFL. We'll hear from Patrick Mahomes.

What the hell is going on with his foot? And then Kyle Shanahan. He has an update on Jimmy Garoppolo.

Yes, there's another update on Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan is not all that enthusiastic about this one. You are listening to the J.R. sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. I appreciate you. I'm grateful for your brand of sports talk.

You are the best and I appreciate you keeping us entertained, informed with your hard hitting and beautiful style of sports. Call in now at eight five five two one two four CBS. You know, the Buffalo Bills aren't the only team dealing with an injury, although Von Miller is out. About the Kansas City Chiefs, this this one is gone.

I don't want to say getting swept under the rug. But the Kansas City Chiefs have had to answer questions, especially today, as as Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have their press conferences. They had to answer questions about Patrick Mahomes and his foot. And that loss to the Bengals and pretty much the last play of the game.

He was pretty much no hit. Foot got caught. And his foot is bruised. And today they kind of tried to move it over to the side. And Andy Reid didn't even want to bring up his name, say everybody practice today, Wednesday.

Everybody's fine. And then Patrick Mahomes, he stepped to the podium himself. And one of the questions they asked him about being a nominee.

For NFL Man of the Year, someone who actually does something good in the community. And then they asked him about his foot. It's like they slipped it in there real quick. Hey, Patrick, how's your foot doing? And Patrick Mahomes, he basically brushed it aside.

Take a listen. It's felt good. I mean, you always deal with bruises and and little things in the NFL season. And so luckily for me, it's just a bruise and something I can just kind of bounce back from and be out there at practice and keep getting better.

Like we're trying to do. Yeah, I think Patrick Mahomes is almost like an Iron Man. I remember a couple of seasons ago, basically had his knee ripped to shreds. People thought he was going to be cooked.

And he came back to to whoop ass. And so, yeah, bruised foot. Not not too bad.

Not too shabby. We saw this dude running for his life in the Super Bowl a couple of seasons ago. He knows how to take a licking and quarantine. Keep on ticking. 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS.

It's 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. George is here from Seattle. What's on your mind, George? Go ahead.

Hi, Jay. Regarding Vaughn Miller. One of the second or third stringers are going to have to step up, but Buffalo by far. They're going to be OK.

They can be a surprise. There could be a guy coming out of working at Wal-Mart for the last four months and come out and stand out and play well. But when they meet Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, it's really not going to matter.

I think it's their year. OK, well, I think it I think it will matter because missing a Hall of Fame caliber talent like Vaughn Miller. That's the that's the type of dude who can make a difference. And sure, we've seen some amazing stories and we might have a guy quote unquote pop up out of nowhere from Wal-Mart and help the Buffalo Bills in a keen moment.

I mean, who the hell knew who Malcolm Butler was? We saw what he did in the Super Bowl and then he was able to parlay that on into a decent set of years with the New England Patriots until they so they cut him because that's what the New England Patriots do. So, yeah, the Buffalo Bills will be fine, but they're missing a Hall of Famer like you don't replace that. They're going to be other dudes who step up and have big plays here or there.

But without a shadow of a doubt, not having Vaughn Miller at some point in time is going to have an effect on this team. That's just how it goes. That's just how it is. Lee is calling from San Diego. You're on the JR Sportbree show. What's up, Lee? Hey, JR, how's it going, man? It's going good.

What's on your mind? I got when you're talking about injuries, man, you didn't mention the Chargers. I wonder if there's another team that has more key injuries year to year on a year to year basis than the Chargers.

Well, the reason why I didn't mention the Chargers is because year to year they choke. And unfortunately, this season is. Well, hold on. Slow down, Lee. Lee, can I answer you? Yeah. You had a question.

I'm responding to it before you go on a long soliloquy. The Chargers, I don't want to call them irrelevant, but they do the same thing every year. They have high expectations and they do absolutely nothing. I mean, God bless them.

They just hit even right now. But you looked at their defense and some of the guys that they brought in, they haven't been able to contribute. Derwin James is busted up.

And you think about Khalil Mack busted up. They have the worst defense in the entire NFL. And so if I have to think about the teams that are actually good, like the teams that are actually winning, that have a legitimate chance.

The Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs. You tell me where the Chargers fit in there. Well, if they could have a healthy season, I think they had fit in real well. Is what I'm saying. Joey Bosa is not in there.

What do you think? Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa would be doing if Bosa was in there. Well, well, well, I think they'd be the worst team in the world. Come on, man.

We don't live in a world of ifs like I understand what you're saying, but I'm living in reality. Yeah, me too, man. It's just I wish the Chargers could have one healthy season where they don't lose key players. I mean, Mike Williams is out. Keenan Allen has been out half the season.

Well, he needs he needs new he needs new hamstrings. I understand your frustration as a Chargers fan. I wish the Chargers were still in San Diego. And if I feel that way, I know you feel a million times a worse about that scenario. That broke my heart. I'm sure it did. Do you do you head up to SoFi at all? No, I haven't been there.

I really can't afford it anymore. Well, listen, I hope for your sake that the Chargers can eventually get a team together. I'm hoping that we don't have to look at Justin Herbert as a quote unquote wasted talent around him as just everybody seemingly always falls apart. Austin Eckler is one of the best backs in the league.

Thank God for him. We wouldn't even be six and six right now. Yeah, it's look, they do the same thing every year. And it doesn't matter if Staley is the head coach. It doesn't matter if Lynn is the head coach.

The Chargers get there and look good on paper and they can never perform. So, Lee, I hope they do better for your sake. OK, I appreciate you calling up. All right, brother. Thanks for taking my call, man. No doubt about it.

Thank you, Lee, for calling from San Diego. He's like, man, the Chargers are hurt, too. What about them? Yeah, what else is new? Yeah, they are. That's normal for them. I mean, there's a couple of things that it don't matter who you root for in the NFL.

It's just normal. Thank God the Lions look like they might have a little bit of a turnaround in them. I mean, turnaround not for this year, but for the future. You expect the Lions to lose. You expect the Jets to be a joke. You don't expect anything from the Jaguars. Like we know and NFL fans know what teams do nothing.

Nothing. The Browns historically have been absolute trash. So bad that they got to give a man coming off of, you know, twenty five accusations plus a two hundred and fifty million dollar contract. Like we know the M.O. for teams across the NFL like it's almost like a game of word association. Like if I say Patriots, if someone wants to be a jerk, they'll say cheaters.

Or if I say Tom Brady, you go championships or rings. This it's word association. Let's try word association with with Anthony. Anthony, you ready?

Yeah. OK, let's I'm going to I'm going to throw out a name or player and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Let's see. Russell Wilson.

Russell Wilson. Done. Oh, well, damn. See, there you go.

Name word association. OK, let's keep it rolling. I say Detroit Lions and you say what? Detroit Lions. Oh, and you got it. Who?

What would you say? Improving. Improving. OK. You would have got hit with if we won a game show, you got hit with the buzzer, Anthony. I took time. I'm sorry I took too much time. Sorry. It's OK.

I'm just trying to think like family feud here. But it's all good. I think about the Chargers and I think I think choke.

So sorry about that. All my friends out in San Diego, we know that they're not worth anything. And unfortunately, there's another team in California. They are the opposite of the Chargers. Like I actually thought they they had a legitimate shot to go to the Super Bowl.

They were actually one of my favorites to really start emerging. And that happens to be the 49ers. And Kyle Shanahan, after learning yesterday that maybe Jimmy Garoppolo could come back in the playoffs. Kyle Shanahan, he spoke to the media today and Kyle Shanahan basically said, yeah, he could, but don't count on it.

Listen, it's not all this Frank. They don't have to do surgery on it. So to be a big recovery, but much less than what we anticipated, which is awesome news for him in the offseason.

He'll be good to go right away. So it won't be like last year. Really. I mean, there's that way outside chance, you know, late in the playoffs or something like that. But it's just an outside chance. We're not really real optimistic about that. But they didn't rule it out. Oh, way out.

It's so way out there. Don't don't count on it. Don't put your eggs in that basket. Don't expect Jimmy Garoppolo to come back walking through that door. And if the 49ers even get that far. That means that they have some type of success, right? They're having some type of success at quarterback. Why? Why throw Jimmy Garoppolo back out there? As if they go that far.

It's a it's a massive disappointment. They wanted to move ahead with Trey Lance and Trey Lance breaks his ankle. And they want to move forward with Jimmy Garoppolo. He's holding down the fourth this season. Jimmy G. 16 touchdowns to four interceptions. Completing almost 70 percent of his passes. He's he's he's maintaining the ship.

He's not the full driver, but he's holding it down. And then Jimmy Garoppolo goes down with a broken foot. Now you got Purdy out there. Starter one. Broken ankle. Starter two. Broken foot. Josh Purdy better just learn to walk on his hands, I guess. It's the J.R. sport show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS. We come back on the other side. We're going to talk about a guy who grew up not too far from San Francisco that is going to stay in New York City. Don't move here on CBS Sports Radio.