It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia.
Thank you to everybody tuned in, locked in all over North America. I hope you're well. I hope you're safe. I hope you're amazing. I hope you have had a tremendous Tuesday.
And if you haven't, I'm sorry. I will try my best, just a little bit, to help things out. The show gets started every weekday. 6pm Eastern, 3 Pacific.
I'm in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to our producer helping to hold things down in New York City, Ryan Botcher. What a day, what a day, what a day. New York Knicks just eliminated a few days ago from their most successful season in about a quarter century. And how do they replay, repay their head coach? They fire him. Tom Thibodeau out as head coach of the New York Knicks.
So we're going to get into it. Somebody who doesn't want to go anywhere is John Ooh Smith. Man just had a career year with the Miami Dolphins.
Apparently, he wants to stay. Micah Parsons. This man showed up to work, kinda sorta.
We'll get into it. CJ Stroud of the Houston, Texas. This man got beat to a pulp last year.
And now he has a shoulder soreness. Not what anybody in Houston wants to hear. We got Russell Baxter joining us from the NFL.
Covers all things NFL for Sports Illustrated. Hey, we do have the NBA Finals starting in now about two days. We'll have a chat with Ryan Stiles who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for Sports Illustrated. We got a lot to get into. Of course, at the end of the show, we'll talk about a few things that took place this day in sports history. Mercedes Lewis says, hey, Aaron Rodgers says that he would like to retire together.
I didn't know that they'd go together like that, but hey, the more you know, I guess the better. Anyway, if you want to be a part of the show in any capacity, in any which way, if you have a cell phone, if you stole a phone, if you have access to a phone and you want to call me up, you can do that. Here's the number 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. You can find me on the Internet. I exist there as well. I'm like a lot of other people, except for I use the Internet to try to make money. I am at JRSportBrief on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all of the things. Before I move on and do or say another thing, Ryan Batcher, how are you?
I'm great. I'm happy. The next downfall is upon us. Oh my goodness. The Knicks downfall is upon us? Yes.
They're going to bound to make a dump trade now and ruin their future. Oh my goodness. Nets fan, right? Brooklyn Nets fan? Yep.
Brooklyn. Yep. Okay.
All right. Well, as I had mentioned, and as Ryan just said as well, I'm going to give you my thoughts on what the New York Knicks did. This is the news that came down the pipe courtesy of CBS Sports HQ. Major breaking news from the NBA. The Knicks firing head coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons, according to ESPN, led the Knicks to back-to-back Eastern Conference runs this season, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years before losing to the Pacers in six games.
Under Tibbs, New York won 50 games in each of the past two seasons for the first time since the 90s. Despite that regular season success, the Knicks will now enter the offseason in search of a new coach. Here we go again.
Here we go again. The New York Knicks are just going to New York Nick. Terribly.
Awfully. Like this team, this organization has the most success that they've had in a quarter century and they just fire the head coach because he, I don't know, he didn't play the bench. Apparently, the owner of the New York Knicks, James Dolan, who over the years has said that he is hands-off when it comes to basketball operations, he just, you know, lets the boss, Leon Rose, who's done an excellent job, I'd say, running and putting together a team, at least advancing them into being a winning organization and not a trash one that the New York Knicks have historically been. It's been said that he runs the team. He runs basketball and that James Dolan is laissez-faire, that he's hands-off. Well, if you know anything about James Dolan, Mr. Rabbit Ears, the man who tossed Charles Oakley out of Madison Square Garden, a New York Knicks legend, he is anything but hands-off. And apparently, he met with some of the Knicks' top players.
We don't know what that means. Does that mean he sat down with Brunson or Karl Anthony Towns? Did he sit down with Bridges? Bridges is one guy who publicly threw him under the bus.
They basically said that after that, James Dolan, uncharacteristically, sat in on some of these meetings and then the decision was made to get rid of Tom Thibodeau. This is what makes the New York Knicks backwards. And it's not just the New York Knicks, OK? We've had plenty of teams and franchises.
I'll name some. I mean, come on now. Mike Malone, Michael Malone just got fired. Mike Brown just got fired. I mean, we've had championship coaches get fired.
Boudinhos are vocal. We can go on down the list. Tom Thibodeau was just the latest. The Knicks were a disaster before he showed up with Leon Rose. And you talk about players who sat down with him and sat down with the owner and decided that this is the move to make.
The owner thought that this was time to get rid of Tom and that they maxed out. Come on now. Jalen Brunson, after the New York Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, Jalen Brunson was asked whether or not he believes in Tom Thibodeau.
Listen to this. Do you kind of feel that going forward, he's the same guy to lift you guys the rest of the way at next level? Is that a real question right now?
You just asked me if I believe that if he's the right guy. Yes. Thanks, guys. Come on. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I assume that Jalen Brunson wasn't the guys, one of the guys, one of the top players who said, oh, he has to go.
I mean, I don't know. The other top player behind him is Karl Anthony Towns. Did he like playing for for Tom Thibodeau? I don't know. He used to coach him in Minnesota.
Mikel Bridges publicly complained about the lack of bench usage. He said that before they even got to the postseason. You got O.G. Ananobis, probably the next top player.
I mean, O.G. Ananobi doesn't like he says anything. And I don't think Josh Hart cares. Apparently, he wanted to come off of the bench.
I don't know. Leon Rose runs the New York Knicks. He says our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.
This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom that we've decided to move in another direction. We can't thank him enough. He's our heart and soul class and professionalism.
A bunch of buzzwords. The New York Knicks have they've joined the clown show. And look, I got no beef with any criticisms of Tom Thibodeau. I would not have gotten rid of the guy. I would have kept Tom Thibodeau on. But it's tough because the New York Knicks, they're hamstrung when it comes to adjusting the roster.
What do you do? You traded multiple first round picks to bring in Mikel Bridges. You brought in Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson. You can't count on this guy to stay healthy.
I think he may walk to the bathroom and get hurt. OK. They traded away Dante DiVincenzo in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. In addition to Julius Randal, they lost depth. And so everybody can talk about, hey, you can develop this guy to develop that guy. Some people just are what they are.
And if they can't help, they can't help. I do believe Tom Thibodeau could have played some of the younger guys here or there more. He also had to deal with some injuries to keep place throughout the course of the season.
I like Mitchell Robinson or Landry Shammet. It's not like the whole team was healthy. I mean, damn it. Jalen Brunson got hurt at the end of the year. Tom Thibodeau helped turn this thing around. New York Knicks fans may not want to hear this. There was a point in time where they didn't make the postseason. Like before Tom Thibodeau.
It's like no playoffs worth a damn since 2014. Tom Thibodeau has taken them to the playoffs in four out of their last five seasons. We're talking about guys like Derek Fisher. Remember him? Yeah, this guy. We skip a practice to go hang out with somebody else's wife.
What a guy. Kurt Rambis. Matt Barnes, by the way, was Matt Barnes. Kurt Rambis took over when Derek Fisher got fired.
These are these are terrible horror stories. If you're a Knicks fan, you might remember this. This is when Phil Jackson was around. Jeff Hornacek looking miserable as possible. It's still it's still mind boggling that Jeff Hornacek at one point in time was the head coach of the New York Knicks.
Fisdale. He lasts long. Supposed to be the hot shot. And Mike Miller took over. Not that Mike Miller. This is all we got before Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach of the New York Knicks.
It's always easier to fry the head coach. Tom Thibodeau just signed a contract extension. The New York Knicks just gave him 30 million dollars. Tom Thibodeau, enjoy vacation. Give me some of that money.
I need some. He doesn't have to work. He's getting 30 million dollars.
Well, you know what? It's easy to get rid of him when some of your players. Yeah, well, I mean, Jalen Brunson is on a discount for now.
Twenty five. Got guys in the league making 40, 50, 60 going on 70. These coaches are ridiculously expendable. Tom Thibodeau after losing on Saturday. Yeah, the head coach, he was still the head coach of the team at that point in time. He was asked what we what the New York Knicks needed to do for next season.
Listen to the man, I think decompress. You do a deep dive on the team and then you analyze what you think you need to improve upon. And then, you know, you have we have the draft and then we have free agency and there's trades and then there's the internal development. And then it's the study in preparation for next season.
And so it's a big off season for us. Yeah. Not for him. I don't know if Tom Thibodeau was going to go sit in his basement dungeon looking at film. I don't know if Tom Thibodeau was going on vacation. Could you imagine this guy sitting on a beach? I can't. His idea of vacation might be just to sit in a gym. Watch the basketballs bounce on by.
I don't know. The New York Knicks are known to make some wild decisions like hire Phil Jackson to run all basketball operations when he was old and never did so. They basically had to beg him to do it.
This guy was falling asleep on subways, buses and trains in New York City. Come on. I like Isaiah Thomas when I've met the guy and been around him.
I like him. The Knicks were awful under his watch. They were collecting lawsuits, allegations of sexual assault inside the organization.
Come on. James Dolan is kicking guys out. He's having Charles Oakley dragged out. The owner of the New York Knicks is kicking people out of the garden. The Knicks have been a disaster. It's like, hey, we can't change the roster.
What can we do? Move Tom Thibodeau. And what is the move?
A lateral one? Bringing in Mike Malone? Why? Because he's from New York? What is he going to do?
Just be just as angry? I don't know who the New York Knicks are going to bring along unless he is just a young or head coach. Tom Thibodeau is in his 70s.
Excuse me, 60s. He's just going to bring on a young hot shot head coach. I don't know. Maybe another guy who just got fired. Maybe you call up Mr. Jenkins used to coach down in Memphis. This screams New York Knicks.
This screams meddling for as much as people want to talk about Tom Thibodeau. In his rotations. In his bench usage.
And what you expected. The guy won. And he didn't lose this year because anything he did. The man lost because they were not built to beat the Indiana Pacers. They were built to beat the Celtics.
And he did that. It's roster construction. The biggest thing that I ever saw out of Karl-Anthony Towns just going back to last year's playoffs was whether or not he was going to consistently show up.
Nothing changed this year. OK. Karl-Anthony Towns. Hey, we know what he can do on offense.
Can he do anything defensively? That did not change this year on the playoffs. That doesn't have a damn thing to do with Tom Thibodeau.
You want to know something? Leon Rose, who's done an excellent job alongside Tom Thibodeau in changing and turning the Knicks around. Leon Rose is not going to fire himself. This sucks for Tom Thibodeau. And I got to tell you, the New York Knicks, I do not care who they bring on as their new head coach.
I do not care. I am more interested in what they do with the roster. What players join the New York Knicks? Is it possible for them to bring anybody on to the New York Knicks?
Because apparently, if I just have to go by today, which I'm not. They really feel saddled with this roster. And they just said, we got to do something. A couple of the guys don't like the coach. Let's get rid of Tibbs. It's the most New York Knicks thing ever. I can't wait to see who they hire. I'll tell you this much.
I don't think it's going to make a difference. Fix the roster. That's it. They added a dynamic score in towns. They added great wing players. And in exchange, they lost depth. Isaiah Hartenstein going last year playing defense. Great backup for Mitchell Robinson. In exchange, you get Karl-Anthony Towns, who doesn't facilitate, does not play defense.
You lose your bench. Campaign and Landry Shannon. Nobody's going to lose their minds over those guys with Deuce McBride.
Good luck to the New York Knicks. Tom Thibodeau was not the biggest issue. It wasn't the fact that he didn't play the bench. Was that he did not have good enough talent coming off of it.
Plain and simple. The New York Knicks are going to be the New York Knicks. Let me know what you do over the next couple of months, OK? That's what I'm judging them on. And Tom Thibodeau, don't feel too bad for that man. He got 30 mil to take a break.
30 mil. Nice, nice vacation for Tom Thibodeau. Hey, he was asked also at the end. The next season concluded. Tom Thibodeau was asked what he told his team. That's what he said. You know, we finished in the top three, but it's we're falling short of the ultimate goal.
And so for us is to use that for motivation and determination to work all summer to prepare ourselves to make the final step and keep improving so we can achieve our goal. Well, Tom Thibodeau was going to have to watch on television just like everybody else, or maybe he'll be on the sidelines. Say Tom.
Take a year off. Just count the money. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. Do you believe the Knicks should have fired Tom Thibodeau? Johnoo Smith, apparently he doesn't want to leave from Miami. We're going to have some guests who are going to join us as well. Ryan Stiles will come through to talk about a team that did make it to the final two, the Oklahoma City Thunder. We'll have a great chat with Russell Baxter, who covers all things NFL.
Man, we got a lot to get into. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. You are locked in to the J.R. Sportbree show coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. You are listening to the J.R. Sportbree.
It is the J.R. Sportbree show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Man, right before we went to break, we talked about Tom Thibodeau. Out. Gone. Given the boot by the New York Knicks. Tom Thibodeau is a New York Knicks coach. No more.
He's gone. Not a shock. This is the Knicks.
I mean, nothing they do surprises me. I think the Knicks need to do a better job at acquiring talent. Well, continue doing a better job if they want to advance to a championship contender. I don't see Phil Jackson in his prime. You know, walking on to the New York Knicks right now and coaching them to a championship. I don't see Pat Riley.
I don't see Red Auerbach. I don't see any of these dudes jumping in a time machine and coaching this Knicks roster to a title. But what the hell do I know? I guess a whole lot of nothing. Well, I guess I do the New York Knicks.
The owner is a he's a meddler. And so the New York Knicks, I don't care who their coaches, they got to do a better job. Continue to do a good job, I should say. And roster adjustments. And everybody knew. That when they put the roster together last year for the New York Knicks, bringing in McHale Bridges and trading for Carl Anthony Towns, that this is what the team was going to be unless there's some massive home run grand slam trade out here.
This is what you got. The Knicks were going to have to run and roll with it. And they did. And they got close.
But they lost. 888-710-4ISN and the coach got fired. 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. You know, there is a guy who was, I don't want to say was going to get the boot, but it looked like he was going to move on from his team last year. And that's Janu Smith, the tight end for the Miami Dolphins. I mean, typically you think about Janu Smith. I remember him coming in with the Tennessee Titans and he was primarily a blocking and a power tight end.
Not anymore. I mean, last year in Miami, all of a sudden to a Tonga below, I had a serviceable tight end to just go out there and get the ball to consistently Janu Smith got his first Pro Bowl appearance last year. And so apparently there were talks, especially with Janu Smith and his career season. And especially being the fact that he wanted a new contract after a career year, breaking records for Miami Dolphins tight end, most yards ever, 884 touchdowns by a tight end, most ever. He wants to get paid like he just broke the records, as he should. And apparently the Pittsburgh Steelers said, oh, y'all don't want to pay him?
We'll bring him on. The Pittsburgh Steelers wanted the trade for Janu Smith and then his agent, everybody's favorite Miami agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who also represents Tyreek Hill, basically sat on television in Miami and said, on behalf of my client, Janu would definitely like to stay in Miami. That's his first choice. This is where he lives in the off season, had all these records broken. He went to college at FIU. His dream team is the Dolphins. Hopefully everything works out where he can stay in Miami. Today, head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel, was asked about Janu Smith and he said, yeah, we like the guy. We want him. Arronius, my feelings, my, my hope. And, you know, I guess, you know, I haven't really considered anything other than, you know, I want Janu on the team. I think he wants to be here. And so my experience with business is you let that play out.
And in that, in that time, Janu is depending on me to focus on the players that I have the ability to coach and influence. Oh, boy. Well, we got word earlier today that there were no further trade conversations. Right? None. Zero. That they stopped. In Botcher, what, 30, 40 minutes ago?
Right when the show started. Adam Shuffter comes out and he's just like, what, what is he saying now? He's basically saying the talks are back on between the Steelers and Dolphins for Janu Smith. Not a surprise. People talking.
Everybody's negotiating in the public. And if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers, why the hell wouldn't you want Janu Smith? You already have Pat Fryermuth who's there. But we know that you just traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. You got DK Metcalf. You got old Robert Woods.
And that's, that's pretty much it. And then, you know, the biggest thing that the Pittsburgh Steelers have to wait on is, of course, Aaron Rodgers. Mason Rudolph ain't going to be the QB. And even if they get Kirk Cousins, you still want to have a serviceable tight end.
It wouldn't hurt to have two. And you think about a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers who want to run the football down everybody's mouth, play smash mouth, punch you in the face football. Having both Fryermuth and Janu Smith would help solidify the identity of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is smash mouth.
Punch you in the face. At least with Janu Smith, they don't have to worry about a guy like Pickens coming along who's just a complete pain in the ass. He's going to, he's going to be on his best behavior until next season when he gets his big contract, then he's going to really be a pain in the ass. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. And send Janu Smith up to the Steelers. I remember Janu was here in Atlanta, Georgia, working with Arthur Smith, the former head coach. He was in Tennessee with Arthur when he was there as well.
Reunited and it feels so good. Send him up to Pittsburgh. 888-710-4ISN. Let's go to KT calling up from Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. You're on the JR Support Reshow, KT. Hey, yes, sir. How are you doing? I'm amazing.
How are you? Hey, I want to tell you, you are on point. I give you that now. Okay, thank you.
What's wrong with mine? The Cowboys. On paper, we look good again. On paper. Yeah. I think we can make a big run for what we got right now. A big run? And go to Super Bowl. Oh my God.
Yeah, too. KT, you mean to tell me, you are calling me about a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl on June 3rd? We are loaded. We are getting loaded. We are loading up.
We are loading up. Alright, well, you let me know how this looks in February, if they get there. You've seen a division.
I mean, outside of the New York Giants, are you going to tell me, just on June 3rd, you think the Cowboys are better than Washington? Sir, I'm telling you. I got a scenario real fast. Oh, so how many people get hurt in your scenario? Yeah.
Go ahead. What team went to the semi-finals in hockey? What, from just got eliminated now? Like the Dallas? The Stars?
Yeah, you just got eliminated. Yeah, it's the Stars. Okay.
What is the crazy draft, the crazy trade they made this year? Oh, my God. Luca? Yes, Luca. Oh, my God. Okay.
Who got no one pick in women's basketball this year? The Mavericks? Yes. Alright. Yes. Okay.
The Cowboys play in Arlington and practice in Frisco. Okay, try again. Okay. Who got no one pick in women's basketball, NBA, and women's?
I get it. Paige Beckers went to the Wings. Dallas. Okay, there's a scenario. Yes, Dallas. We can be being around.
It just laid out for us. Alright. Well, just because Dallas Cowboys had all those teams you just named, all of them teams playing Dallas, the Cowboys don't. So, hey, there you have it. Okay. Okay.
Alright, KT. Hey, good luck to you, Dallas Cowboys. I think they'll be good. They'll either make the playoffs as a wild card or they won't make it at all, KT. I'm sorry. We'll see.
Thank you, sir. It's too early for me to think about Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Shout-outs to KT for calling from Myrtle Beach. Cowboy fans, I guess they're just as delusional as fans of the New York Knicks. You can't make some of this stuff.
You call me. First of all, I don't know if Dak Prescott – is Dak Prescott going to make it through a season healthy? Can he even walk right now?
That's the real question. Well, I mean, come on. Last offseason, he's got a boot on his foot. He's like, everything is fine. This year, he's ripping hamstrings from bone like he's a piece of meat. This is not good for Dak.
A seedy lamb will be fine regardless of who's throwing him the football. George Pickens, they hope that he goes through an entire season without picking up his phone and complaining. The offensive line has been reconfigured. We got some old veterans that have now gone off. I don't want to say put out to pasture, but they've retired. The defense, people are thinking about whether or not and when Michael Parsons is going to show up and not just show up, but practice.
When is he going to get paid? They got some question marks here, OK. Things ain't all that swimming for the Dallas Cowboys, but it's June. Maybe it's hot.
I haven't checked the weather in Myrtle Beach. Maybe it's kind of melting KT's brain. I'm just joking, KT. Eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. That's eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. You know what? Let's talk. Let's talk some more Texas football. Why not?
When we come back on the other side. I want to talk about the team that, you know, was good. Well, they weren't as good as people thought. They had to deal with a lot of injuries last year.
I'm talking about the Houston Texans. And apparently today we got alarm bells going off about C.J. Stroud and his shoulder.
Yeah, this ain't what anybody wants to hear in June. The guy can't throw the football because his shoulder is sore? Did he take that much of a beating last year? I know he took a beating that much. I know he's not old like Derek Carr, but Derek Carr just had to tap out because of his shoulder. And C.J.
Stroud has a history. Talk about the Houston Texans on the other side of the break. You can call me up. Eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. That's eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. It's the JR Sport Reshow on the Infinity Sports Network. And right now it's time for a news flash with Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Reshow here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN.
That's eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. Right before we went to break, we talked about John Smith on and off trade talks between the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers to potentially send John Smith from Miami to the Steel City. We talked about head coach, our former head coach of the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks have given him the boot. He's no longer the head coach. He's had the most successful season that a coach has had in the past 25 years for the New York Knicks.
He's had the best stretch that a coach has had for the New York Knicks since Jeff Van Gundy more than 25 years ago, 25 years ago. And now he's been given the boot. What a way to thank people. Right.
I guess this is how you go. We'll get into Tom Thibodeau. And it's just bad being a coach right now. It doesn't matter how much you win. It doesn't matter what you accomplish. So what have you done for me lately, world? And so whether you've been good or you've been bad or you've won a championship, if you just don't give things are not good.
These organizations are just ready to give you your walking papers. Well, we'll talk about that next hour. You know, we also had a caller hit us up. Shout outs to a K.T.
I think it was out of South Carolina. K.T. and called about the Dallas Cowboys. OK, of course, because you got to hear it at least once a year, maybe once a month, once every two months.
And it doesn't matter what time of the year it is. K.T. believes that the Dallas Cowboys are now stacked. The roster is full.
I don't think it is. And he just basically goes, I can see the Dallas Cowboys going on a run. He starts naming some of the positive things, I guess, that have happened to teams in Dallas. And the note with Cooper Flag and Dallas Stars getting close to the Stanley Cup finals. They didn't get there.
Doesn't matter, I guess, to him. Florida and the Oilers are going to go after it. And I'm just like, yo, Katie, let me let me know about what happens in February of the Dallas Cowboys going to be playing football in February. Are they going to be watching on their couches just like me?
So I said, you know what? Let's let's talk about another team in Texas. Let's talk about a good team in Texas. And man, there's some there's some expectations for this team in Texas. After their rookie quarterback had one of the best seasons ever until Jayden Daniels kind of said, hold my beer and had an even better season, almost taking Washington to a Super Bowl. I'm talking about the Texans. I'm specifically referring to C.J.
Stroup. His rookie season, this man threw for forty one hundred yards, had twenty three touchdowns to go along with five interceptions. That was his rookie season. Not too bad. A rookie quarterback who doesn't turn the ball over.
Somebody tell Will Levis that such a thing does exist. Last year, not as good for the Texans. OK, they went ten and seven, which is fine. I feel like every single one of their wide receivers went down to some type of knee issue or injury. Stefan Diggs towards ACL. He gone tank. Dell completely ripped his knee up.
You still got Nico running around there. He had to deal with some injuries last year. And the Texans, while they got to the postseason and C.J. Stroup was was beaten to a pulp. They lost to the Chiefs after beating the Chargers twenty three to fourteen.
C.J. Stroup was sacked eight times. Overall, last year he was sacked fifty two times in the regular season. This man had to deal with shoulder issues dating all the way back to college. And so here we are in OTA time.
Right. Talked about the Steelers. Aaron Rodgers is not at work. He's doing podcasts and I guess cleanses. Kirk Cousins is here in Atlanta. He doesn't want to show up to work. Trey Hendrickson wants a new deal from the Cincinnati Bengals. I mean, we got plenty of guys. Michael Parsons is showing up to work. He ain't doing nothing. And we got C.J.
Stroup. He has not thrown a football during OTAs because he is dealing with general soreness. Now, why is that any type of a concern? Because it's June 3rd. This season ended almost six months ago. And he has yet to throw a football five to six months. He has yet he has not thrown a football at OTAs because he has general soreness.
If this was a game, they just give him a shot and tell him to go out there. You would think after some time off that his his shoulder would be fine. Is this something that's going to eat his career up?
I mean, come on. Now we just saw Derek Carr, a much older guy in his 30s. Derek Carr just had to quit and retire because of his own shoulder issues. And so this caused such a concern that the head coach of the Houston Texans, D'Amico Ryans, he was asked point blank. Well, why is his shoulder sore? Did they cut him open on a surgical table and try to fix something? Listen, you have any work on his shoulder in the off season? That's it for C.J., guys, on the question.
That's it. When I say that's it for him, like his general soreness, we're taking extra precaution with them. We're not going to rush him into anything. He'll be fine when the moment is for him to be ready to go. He'll be ready to go.
Oh, man. They got mandatory minicamp. So right now they're in voluntary OTAs. Next week is when guys have to show up. And even if he shows up, he's not ready to throw the ball.
They will not let that man go out there and throw the rock. There's just something concerning. And we know about football players and their injuries. We had Frank Rag now who plays on the offensive line for the Detroit Lions after multiple toe issues. They basically said, listen, man, we can have all the surgeries we want on your feet for your turf toe.
It's not going to change anything. You will have to manage the pain and the injury for the rest of your career. The man said, I'm done. I'm out.
Finished. C.J. Stroud is not even into year three yet. And there's already concerns about his shoulder. There was concerns about his shoulder when he was throwing the rock at the Ohio State University. If I'm the type I'm a Texas fan, I am not jumping off of a bridge. I'm not turning in my Texans card.
I think enough people did that a few years ago before they got C.J. Stroud. But there is there is concern when a guy has been beaten to a ball, has a history of shoulder issues and can't throw a ball in June. The Texans, based on what we saw last year, they decided to be proactive in adjusting their offensive line. And a matter of fact, on their first day of OTAs, D'Amico Ryans decided to kind of pinpoint the changes that they made so their quarterback, C.J.
Stroud, could be healthy. It's our first day of OTAs. So when it comes to finding our best group, it'll be a lot of mixing and matching guys, putting guys in different spots and seeing which five guys work well together. So one thing about the old line is a lot of smart guys in their room and they can they can move around, they can play multiple spots.
And so that helps them. But it's just a matter of finding that five once we actually can get in training camp, put pads on. Nobody's making a team right now. It's shorts and helmets. Man, you know, I'm a fat ass when he says five guys. And Ryan, you know what I think about when he said that? The hamburger or the fries? Burgers and fries, both of them. He said five guys.
The first thing I thought about was food. Anyway, they got they're going to have to utilize a lot of beef on that offensive line to keep that man upright without a shadow of a doubt. Cam Robinson no longer on the Jags. He's now hanging out in Houston, Texas. They got Lake and Tomlinson.
I remember that guy from the Jets. They went into the draft. They they got a whole bunch of dudes that they're hoping can go out there and protect this man.
Things are different out in Houston, Texas. Even their their new offensive coordinator is hoping to turn things around. Listen to Nick Haley from a few days ago talk about keeping CJ Stroud upright. But the offensive line has to do their job. Yeah, I think it's like anything else.
I don't think anything's going to be solved here in the next two weeks. OK, but it is obviously a progression. There's things in this time of the year with not having pads on. We can't hit gap double teams. We are not going to come off the ball and capture zone combinations as much when you get into training camp. A lot of those things come to life, which obviously carries over into the play action game. Your play passes on early downs and passing off picks and stuff like that.
So it's a little bit more of a controlled environment, but we're certainly going to build off everything we do and continue to build up until the time we report back here. Man, you could tell that that guy doesn't know how to do anything but but give football talk. Slow down, man. You're not talking to the coach, you're talking to the media.
You could tell a football coach from a mile away. Hey, good luck to CJ Stroud, man. He was beaten to a pulp last year. A little bit of the luster has been lost.
The shine is gone. And people want to see what you can do after everybody's had to adjust to you. There was no way in hell that this guy was going to continue on his touchdown and interception ratio for the rest of his career. He'd be like the greatest quarterback of all time.
It's a hard knock life. People are loving D'Amico Ryans. People love CJ Stroud.
People love the turnaround. They enjoyed looking at the pain that everybody was suffering suffering in North Carolina with Bryce Young. But what is he going to do in year three? What is CJ Stroud going to do in year three?
And this is all the reason in the world to take a look at Jayden Daniels. What adjustments is the league going to make to that guy moving into his second year? Knowing of all the pain and success that CJ Stroud had between year one and two. Jayden Daniels, can he have the same year he had last season? Man, he's already going to be one of the best in the league flattened period if he cements it. I don't want to count on it. Good luck to CJ Stroud.
I hope this is not a chronic issue for a guy who hasn't even completed three full seasons in the NFL. This is a hard knock life, man. You get kicked and it's curtains. It's over for you.
8-8-8-7-10-4-I-S-N. That's 8-8-8-7-10-4-I-S-N. So let me get this. Jonu Smith might be moving on to the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving the Miami Dolphins. They may trade him up to the Steel City.
CJ Stroud cannot throw a football because his shoulder is sore. In June, I get it, head coach of the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau, gone. Fired this afternoon. Relieved of his duties as head coach of the New York Knicks. These are some of the biggest stories of the day. Next hour?
How about this? In about 30 minutes or so. We're going to have a chat with Russell Baxter, who covers all things NFL for Sports Illustrated. I want to get his thoughts on what's going on in Houston. What's up with Jonu Smith? How Pickens is doing down in Dallas, Texas. When we can expect Aaron Rodgers to show up, not show up at work.
What's going on with Micah? There are a lot of questions I have for Russell Baxter. But when we come back on the other side of the break, you know, even still thinking about this news of Tom Thibodeau being fired. Who cares about coaches, right?
Coaches just always get the short end of the stick. I don't care if you're a professional. You could be in college. You could be coaching in high school.
You could be at some AAU tournament. Nobody cares about the coaches, especially at the professional level, where they get paid to ultimately get fired. It's been a wild year. Championship coaches getting canned in the NBA. We'll talk more about this on the other side. The J.R. support free show. The Infinity Sports Network.
