JR SportBrief - Hour 2

This is your operating system talking, not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you. Now inhale for four counts, exhale for six. Keep repeating.

Much better. Longer term, there's BetterHelp online therapy. They'll match us with a licensed therapist we can connect with via video, phone or chat. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on our first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp online therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. Fortunately, if you're a fan of the New York Yankees, it's nothing positive to hang out about because the Yankees, they just lost game two of the American League Championship Series down in Houston. The final score, three to two. Matt Carpenter called out swinging at the at the plate. Check swing. No, they say he swung and the game is over.

Houston heads into the Bronx Saturday afternoon, two victories away from going back to the World Series. For Amber Valdez, for the Houston Astros, seven strong innings, nine strikeouts, four hits. Zero, excuse me, zero runs given up. The New York Yankees could only muster four hits. That's it. Nothing else. Luis Severino gives the Yankees five and a third innings and strikes out six.

It's not enough. The Yankees are here in the hole. Their their their pitching is doing the job.

The bats not alive. Aaron Judge, one for four. Giancarlo Stanton, 0 for four. Anthony Rizzo, 0 for four. Benintendi. Not here, not playing.

D.J. LeMayhew, not here, not playing. I mean, Jose Altuve is in his own personal slump and the Astros are still winning. Congratulations to the Houston Astros, two victories away from the World Series. It's not over yet.

But they're getting there. If you listen to the first hour of the show, we talked about Tuatanga Valoa. Looks like he'll be back and ready to take on the Steelers. Unfortunately, he let everybody know how severe his injury was when he says he lost consciousness.

Good luck to Tua in his return. We talked about Mac Jones. Looks like Mac Jones will be back and ready to play football on Monday night. As the New England Patriots take on the Bears.

And before we even get to Monday night football or a full slate of football on Sunday, we got Thursday night football going on this very minute, this very second out in Glendale, Arizona. It's just a whole lot of offense. Arizona leads New Orleans 35 to 24, about seven minutes left in the game. And if you want to know the big stat of the game so far, let me give you the name. It's Andy Dalton. The stat category interceptions. How many does Andy Dalton have for tonight? Three of them.

They took place all in the first half. And I guess he's doing his best Jamis Winston impersonation because not only does he have three interceptions. He also has three touchdowns. Kyler Murray. One touching or excuse me, one touching pass.

What am I saying? One passing touchdown. And this is just an offensive explosion. As the Cardinals just go ahead and extend the score now. Benjamin runs into the end zone, scores now 42 to 24 after a review and an extra point. And so we've seen a lot of crap football on Thursday nights. Thank you, Russell Wilson. No matter if it's Wednesday or Thursday.

Thank you. And on the other hand, tonight we get an offensive explosion between two, two and four teams trying to stay alive in their respective divisions. The New Orleans Saints play in the NFC south. You got the Arizona Cardinals playing in the west. And even though they're both two and four, they are not that all that behind. Arizona is pretty wishy washy in every single way. And I mean, New Orleans is still waiting for Drew Brees to come out of a time machine.

But I digress. The phone lines open if you want to give me a holler. That's eight five five two one two four CBS.

That's eight five five two one two four CBS. You know, we opened up last hour. And if you missed it, you can hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. We took a look at the returns. I told you about it to pick it.

And Jones. Well, we know the NBA is back and their returns on that end of the spectrum as well. Earlier tonight, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the 76ers 90 to 88.

It's fine. The game that's currently on right now, this moment, this second. The Clippers and the Lakers, they are tied 56 all at the half. The return for tonight. Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi Leonard off of the bench at halftime. Well, obviously started the game on the bench.

This was something that was discussed over the past several days. And Kawhi hasn't played basketball in about 14 to 16 months. Kawhi Leonard admitted not to playing five on five basketball. He says all he's done is participate and be in the gym. And so here to start off the Clippers first game of the season. Yeah, they are taking the slow and steady wins the race.

And what's the rush? If you're the Los Angeles Clippers, why do you want to throw an injury prone Kawhi Leonard out there to the wolves? In his six minutes in this game so far, he has four points, two rebounds. He's 0-2 from downtown. And I mean, dammit, he's on pace to play 12 minutes and drop eight points.

But do you care? This is still the Clippers' team that surprisingly, all things considered, they had success without Kawhi Leonard last year. This season you have John Wall, who, by the way, is also coming off of the bench. He has 10 points leading the second unit. You have Kawhi, you have Reggie Jackson starting out there with Paul George. You want these guys healthy at the end of the year.

The Clippers serve absolutely no purpose if any of their main guys are hurt. And Kawhi, as weird as he is, Kawhi was asked about his offseason a couple of weeks ago. He was asked about his preparation, being ready for basketball. He's basically like, listen, I don't play basketball in the offseason. I come into training camp. He says, all I've done is work on my game and then get stronger.

And it looks like he did if you've seen him. This is what Kawhi Leonard had to say about his fitness. I feel stronger for sure. It's been, what, 14, 15 months of no basketball, you know, playing in the NBA season for me, no basketball. So that whole 13, 14-month process is just lifting, lifting weights and getting stronger.

So I definitely got a lot stronger. Yeah, there are viral videos going around. Well, there have been viral videos over the last several weeks of Kawhi Leonard and his legs, his thighs, his upper body.

And I guess he needs it. I remember his time with the San Antonio Spurs. The reason why he's not there is he wasn't happy with the treatment that he was getting on his quad. And then he blew out his ACL. And then Kawhi Leonard, man, how the hell or when does he actually play? 57 games, 52 games.

Last year, zero games. It was supposed to be the Kawhi Paul George show. The Clippers were supposed to be relevant. Clippers were supposed to be competitors in the Western Conference.

Well, they can never legitimately do it because they can never legitimately stay healthy. And so I'm supposed to look at the Clippers and be excited. I'd be excited if they can all actually play. They being John Wall. Paul George.

And Kawhi Leonard. Like if we had to take bets on what team in Los Angeles is more injury prone. I guess I guess it would have. Hey, Jack, it'd have to be the Clippers, right? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. That whole that whole team might as well just camp out next to a hospital.

Damn. Now, I mean, you look up and down the roster, who can be dependent on at this stage of their career? Marcus Morris is old. Norm Powell is young. Reggie Jackson is whatever. Paul George is perennially broken.

Nicholas Batum is old. So is Covington. Kawhi Leonard can't stay healthy. John Wall almost had his foot amputated.

Man is here nor there. And so is Luke Kennard. And so.

Yeah, sure. You got to roll the dice, but you got to hold out hope. If you're a Clippers fan, you've been holding out hope forever. But I think I think they'll be OK this year. Jack, I think they will be.

I don't know. The Western Conference is crowded once again. The Lakers are obviously going to underachieve. That's a foregone conclusion, but I just can't depend on this Clippers roster. I don't think that team really has any chemistry. They haven't been able to put it together in the postseason. They've wasted some of their best years already.

Yeah, I don't know. I just named off all the reasons why they're going to fail. I think there is a potential that they could succeed this season, but everything's going to need to go right for that to happen, in my opinion. I just don't see a path to the Clippers being a real contender in their conference. Yeah, no.

And it's it's legitimately all about health. So at halftime, if I didn't tell you, John Wall has 10. Paul George has seven. Kawhi Leonard only having played six minutes. He has four points.

Now, the moment that you've been waiting for, the game is tied at 56 all. What are the Lakers doing? Anthony Davis has 15 points. LeBron James is 12.

Oh, this isn't good at all. Russell Westbrook has two points. He's 0 for six from the field.

He's 0 for three from downtown. I can imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers lose this game tonight. They're just going to stick cameras in Russell Westbrook's face and they're going to ask, hey, why did you suck? And at this point, it's not fair.

It really isn't. Kevin Durant was on his own boardroom podcast and and Durant was saying how it's one thing to be critical of the basketball player. It seems like the criticism that that Russell Westbrook is receiving is is more that it's worse.

I hope he could turn this around. I mean, I'm looking. The Lakers roster, they have no bench, none. They got no tough guy.

None. It's a bunch of guys playing off a LeBron James name, including Anthony Davis. He's to get his life together and be healthy for once. 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. Yeah. Congratulations to Kawhi for being back.

I think you'll play under 70 games. It's an interesting one to take. Ramon is calling from Indianapolis. You're on the CBS sports radio. J.R. sport re-show. What's up? Hey, how you doing, J.R.? Thanks for my call. Appreciate you. Sure.

That was a great, great breakdown right there. First with the football thing. It's nice to see new teams, Jets and Giants. Oh, I think we, you know, it's good to get new blood like Tennessee beating Alabama last week. UCLA is in the mix. We got TCU in the mix.

It's just great. I love parody and I'm seen in the NBA now. I'm liking the pelicans. I like what Memphis has going for themselves. I like the fact that if Luca would just pass the ball because when I watch that game, when that 22 point lead start dissipating, he started doing that James Harden type basketball again. And that has not been proven to win a championship.

It just hasn't. And I just wish he would pass. Well, go ahead. Who do you want Luca to pass the ball to? Dinwiddie had it going. You know, you got to extract what you can out of Dinwiddie. And I'm just saying it's I know Spencer Dinwiddie at times in his career has performed like an all star, like a borderline all star.

He's he's good in his own in his own way. But come on now. If I'm if I'm Luca Doncic and I'm like, I'm Luca Doncic, that's Spencer Dinwiddie. Who's going to take the shot at the end? But he's got to develop somebody because even Michael got Craig Hodges and BJ Armstrong together back in the day. And then Steve Kerr and cool coach and all them together. It's not his job. He has to develop them.

That's not his job. Well, I agree. If not, if you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by better help online therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit better help dot com slash positive and save 10 percent on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by better help online therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit better help dot com slash positive and save 10 percent on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by better help online therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit better help dot com slash positive and save 10 percent on your first month. But I like to see them, too. But I'm liking the pelicans and new teams. Jason Tatum, though. Jason Tatum had that eye of the tiger the other day.

What I have not seen from too many other players in the last couple of years, I saw it in him. So I'm looking for Jason Tatum to go out there, really, really have a heck of a he may get the MVP and you can book that right here for me. Thanks. Oh, OK.

Thank you, Ramon, for calling from Indianapolis. We talked about the top six players in the NBA right now. I gave you that list last night. Well, somebody said Damar DeRozan, which is weird. And I did have someone ask me about Tatum. And when I have to think about the top six players in the NBA, the best of the best of the best. I think this is the year where he can step into that. He's one of the best forwards.

Am I ready to call him like way at the top? Prove it. That's it. I mean, there's there's tons of guys in the NBA who have talent, tons. Prove it.

There's a lot of people who can talk the talk, but are you actually going to walk the walk? Prove it. Tatum, let's see what he can do. I like him. I knew that dude was going to be crazy from his first year in the playoffs. And he's out there just going one on one versus LeBron, giving LeBron James the business. This man went to the NBA finals. Let's see what the Boston Celtics can keep on doing. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

Speaking of keeping on and doing, Ramon mentioned this team and he did it rather quickly. Yeah, we got basketball back. There was a game last night in Brooklyn, New York. Some guy named Zion was actually on the court.

And he had a monster of a game. Oh, they beat up those nets. We'll talk about that on the other side. We'll update you on Thursday Night Football. Obviously, the Yankees, if you didn't hear me, they lost three to two in Houston. They are down 0-2 in the American League Championship Series.

And I got you covered with it all. It's the JR Sport Reshow on CBS Sports Radio. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Damn, this Thursday Night Football game is just still going on. There's just so much offense.

And defense too. Andy Dalton throwing the football to the wrong damn team. Arizona leads 42-31 over the Saints in Glendale, Arizona right now. About to hit the two minute warning. The Saints have the football looking for a touchdown, a return kickoff. That ain't going to happen.

It will take a miracle. But we'll keep you up to date with this game as it continues on. And I mean, I told you as well, the New York Yankees, they go down three to two to the Houston Astros. And then speaking of going down, someone who got down and returned is Kawhi Leonard. He's actually playing basketball this minute, this second. The Los Angeles Lakers and their home opener, I guess you can call it a home opener, they're taking on the Clippers. The Clippers currently lead 59-58.

They just came out of halftime. Kawhi Leonard, eight minutes, four points. One of our callers mentioned Zion Williamson. He made his return last night and it was just like, well, damn, did you miss a beat?

It's funny how you can look at different players and say, wow, he missed X amount of times. Zion didn't play last year. Ben Simmons didn't play last year. Kawhi didn't play last year. And for some reason, sure, Kawhi Leonard, they are bringing him off the bench. In Brooklyn, Ben Simmons is playing and he is playing reluctantly for the Brooklyn Nets.

He looks like he's still scared to shoot the basketball. And then ironically, the Pelicans opened up their season against the Brooklyn Nets last night and they smoked them. The final score was 130-108. I believe the Pelicans at one point to open up the game in Brooklyn as the away team. They led 20-4.

Where the hell do you do that at? And Zion Williamson, he only played 30 minutes and no one could stop him. 25 points, nine rebounds, 11 of 22 from the field. Zion is not here for the games. He didn't even take a three. Brandon Ingram had 28. C.J. McCollum had 21.

They are and can be a problem. A variety of ways to score. It's going to be fun knowing that Zion is back, knowing that Zion got that big contract and knowing that Zion looks like a more mature human being, doesn't look so heavy, looks chiseled, looks like a beast. After the game, Zion spoke to the media and he talked about his debut. Just simply playing the game I love and I didn't get to play for a long time. It was a breath of fresh air.

It was like a lot of subtle things. Before the Nets ran out onto the court for warm-ups, hearing the crowd chant like Brooklyn, it was like, oh man, I forgot the allure of just being in an arena, especially an away arena. Yeah, I guess listening to people chant Brooklyn is interesting. But Zion is happy to be playing basketball as he should. He's one of the best players in the league when he's actually out there on the court. Meanwhile, we saw this man on the court for the first time in a Brooklyn Nets jersey. His name is Ben Simmons. What did he do in his first game as a net at home against Zion and the Pelicans? Ben Simmons could not contain Zion.

Who could? Ben Simmons fouled out in 23 minutes. He took three shots. He only had four points in his debut, five rebounds and five assists. He took no threes. He was 0 of 2 from the free throw line. Yes, a typical Ben Simmons game. Ben Simmons, on the other hand, he didn't necessarily get the praise that Zion received because Steve Nash, coach of the Nets for now. He looked at Ben Simmons in his game and he gave him a little bit of an excuse.

Take a listen. I just think he's rusty. A guy who hasn't played for over a year. He's still getting used to referees, defense, offense.

This is a process for Ben. I've said it a lot. You guys have heard me say it, that he's shown glimpses of the player we know he is and can be.

But it's not easy. We're here to support him. We're here to push him, coach him up and try to get him to a place where he can play at the level he's played at in the past. It's all there for him. I think you see those glimpses throughout the preseason, but now putting it together, really getting his legs under him, his rhythm, and then assimilating to a new group, there's a lot on his plate. There's a lot on his plate, but he's not ready to eat it up.

Ben Simmons, the fact is, he doesn't have the confidence. We heard about his mental health issues. We heard about his challenges. And we got a little bit of breaking news. Forget Ben Simmons for a minute here. Hey, Jack, what the hell is going on with Christian McCaffrey?

What's the deal with him? Yeah, I was just a bad producer on some level, JR, because I think I might have distracted you a little bit when a cut was playing. But I just couldn't help myself.

No, there's no such thing as distractions. That's called being a good producer. What the hell is the news? I like it. I like it.

You make me look good. But yeah, Christian McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, so he will be now joining Jimmy Garoppolo and that very good team with Kyle Shanahan and company as well. The 49ers are sending draft picks to Carolina in return, though those have not been disclosed at the moment.

So that is the breaking news from CBS Sports Radio Command Central back here in New York City. Wow, Christian McCaffrey going out to San Francisco, giving him a little bit of a boost. We know that Kyle Shanahan is all about the run game.

He's all about diversity, being able to hand the ball off to a Deebo Samuel, having another dual threat, and Christian McCaffrey is going to absolutely blow things up. Ian Rapp reporting that Christian McCaffrey, oh yeah, he's going out of dodge. We're going to talk about this trade.

I know Marco Belletti will have a few more details of it as well. Let's get a phone call in before we hit the break. 855-212-4CBS, Christian McCaffrey moving on to the Niners.

Let's go to Brandon Koehler from Wisconsin. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Brandon? Hey, J.R., how's it going?

I listen to your guys' show every night on my way home from bowling on Thursdays, and it's just great hearing all this news and stuff. That Christian McCaffrey stuff is pretty crazy. Yeah, the 49ers are going to be tough. I just want to go back to your point about the Clippers. I've been following Kawhi, and I'm a huge Bucs fan. When we lost as the Raptors a few years ago, that was just a huge bummer, and the Bucs finally got over that hump. I feel like all you need now in the NBA is just a big three and a good bench to win a championship, and I just feel like the Clippers got that. I agree with you on help and stuff, and we got all these older guys. Even the Bucs have guys that are kind of aging up there like Middleton and Drew Holiday. But if you have just a couple things here and there and you get a new coach, I think any team with that sort of pedigree can win a championship.

Well, that's a whole lot. Can we really put stock on that? We know it's a possibility that the Clippers can be or stay healthy. Do you think it's going to happen, though? I don't know.

I guess it's hard to say. You've got people like LeBron and Davis, and they're getting past their prime. I don't know about the West. You have all these guys just being hurt every year. Jamal Murray got hurt last year, and I guess they're trying to get healthy again, so I guess the West is pretty tough. I feel like there is a good chance for them to get over that hump as long as people stay healthy, but I do agree with you guys. But unless anybody gets past the Warriors, no one's really going to have a shot at last title.

Wow. The Clippers are certainly an interesting squad, and thank you, Brandon, for calling from Wisconsin. You look at Paul George, you look at Kawhi Leonard, two injury-prone forwards who have known throughout their careers to be a pain in the ass not only on offense but defense. The minute that we found out both of these guys were going to go to the Clippers, it seemed like, wow, they're building something pretty awesome there.

But it don't matter if you're not playing, now does it? This is the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We told you that a big trade just went down in the NFL. It's not just a big trade in the NFL. We got a Thursday night football matchup that is just about done as well. It's a big night in the NFL. That's why the NFL is king. That's why the NFL prints money, because they dominate everything, even on a Thursday night. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We're going to talk more about this trade.

It is the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Tonight, Thursday belongs to the NFC West. And it's not just because of Thursday night football, of which the Cardinals decided to go out there and beat the Saints tonight. Starting off this week, finishing the game up, the Cardinals improved their record to 3-4. They beat the Saints 42-34.

This is the name of the game, folks. Andy Dalton, two consecutive drives, two pick sixes. The Cardinals, they're able to improve their standing in what is already a ridiculously tight NFC West.

Let me give you some of the numbers here. As a matter of fact, before I give you the numbers, this is the other big news tonight in the NFC West that kind of evens things up. Another team that's 3-3 in the NFC West, of which it feels like every team is. The 49ers just traded for Christian McCaffrey.

Yep. They're picking up one of the best, I don't even know if I'm going to call him running backs in the game. Because ironically, he's probably a better receiver than he is a running back.

And damn it, I guess he gets it from his dad. But the fact is, the 49ers get Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers in return get a second, third, and fourth round pick in the 2023 draft.

That's this upcoming one. And they get a fifth round pick in 2024. The Panthers already moving everybody and their mama out of the building after firing Matt Rule last week.

We know Robbie Anderson, he's now a member of the Arizona Cardinals. He made his debut tonight in addition to the returning DeAndre Hopkins. And so both the 49ers, if you want to think about a Thursday night, the 49ers, they're out here winning and they didn't even have to play. Imagine being the Arizona Cardinals and walking off of the field tonight, being thrilled and happy that you, you know, improved their record to three and four, walking into tonight at two and four.

And then you realize that, oh yeah, we're doing good and you can only control what you can control. But Christian McCaffrey is going to join here as well. DeAndre Hopkins in his return, 10 receptions, 103 yards. He didn't get a score out there. And Robbie Anderson in his debut, moving on from Carolina, being traded to Carolina, being disgruntled in Carolina. Robbie Anderson didn't have a reception or a catch.

He was targeted once. 855-212-4CBS, that's 855-212-4CBS. Rob is calling from Sacramento. You're on the JR Sportbreeze show. What's up, Rob? Hey JR, how you doing?

I'm excellent. Yeah, I'm saying that that Christian McCaffrey trade, that's going to help out San Francisco in the NFC West because with Christian McCaffrey, that means you don't have to use Debo as a wide receiver and a running back and it's going to help them solidify their running game and pull away from the pack in the NFC West. Well, I can't disagree with that.

I want to get real, real deep into this at the top of the hour. The 49ers already have one of the best defenses in the league. Do I think that they're going to lessen the workload on Debo Samuel? I don't think that is necessarily the intent. We know that's one of the reasons that he wanted the big money last season moving into this offseason.

Even points of saying, hey, I don't want to be here. I want to be traded. This rolls into everything that Kyle Shanahan is about.

And thank you, Rob, for calling from Sacramento. This is what Shanahan wants. Let's think about this.

Diverse, freakish weapons, dual threats, guys who can do everything. Debo Samuel can throw the football. He can run the football.

He can catch the football. I don't think it's so much about, you know, lightening his... If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. This is your operating system talking. Not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you. Now inhale for four counts, exhale for six. Keep repeating. Much better. Longer term, there's BetterHelp Online Therapy. They'll match us with a licensed therapist we can connect with via video, phone or chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on our first month. Workload? But allowing him and just everybody out there to have options. What the hell is this team going to look like? And sure, it's not going to be this year. What would they look like if Trey Lance was out there? Maybe they'll be better with Jimmy Garoppolo, a traditional quarterback.

Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, you still have Kittle. The one place where this team has lacked is offense. The defense has been able to hold him down. And now we're moving into a space and a time where they can kind of flip things around. And you are correct about this.

I'll give you credit there. If you think about the NFC West, oh it's already tight. Everybody and their mother is basically 3-3. The Rams are 3-3. The Seahawks are 3-3. The Cards are now 3-4. I don't care what Geno Smith has done early on here in the season. You trust in Geno Smith and the Seahawks to win the NFC West?

I think the answer is N-F-L, no. No, they're not. Would you be shocked if the Rams bounced back or are they on a Super Bowl hangover? Patchwork offensive line.

Trying to figure things out amongst the newer receivers. Odell Beckham Jr. saying, man, they're not even offering me real money. He may not return.

This very well might be the 49ers division to win. I think it is now. Christian McCaffrey is actually playing football. Christian McCaffrey is actually on the football field. This man got a big old contract and he just sat his behind on the bench. Can't stop injuries now. But it seems the minute that he got paid is the minute that he went down.

And he's been MIA since then. Looking at the game tonight and we're going to get back to Christian McCaffrey. Give you this rundown. Andy Dalton, God bless him. Finished the game with four touchdowns. Put another score up on the board late in the game. New Orleans Saints trying to quote-on-quote go for it in an onside kick. Not able to get the ball back. Arizona pretty much gets the ball. Takes a knee.

That's all she wrote. You're not going to win football games when you're out here. Just flat giving up 14 points and you're the quarterback.

World doesn't work that way. And so I know and I guess this is the first time. If you're a Saints fan, you are clamoring, clamoring for the return of Jamis Winston. The New Orleans Saints, man, I had them in my top six list. I looked at the Saints this year and I thought based upon their defense, which also isn't living up to expectations. Bringing in someone like Olave and already have an Alvin Kamara. You have a returning Michael Thomas, who is always, something is always wrong with him. I thought they'd be doing damage.

They're not. They're damaged in and of themselves. I thought that Jamis Winston, coming off of how he started last year, I thought he'd continue to be efficient. But no, he's hurt. If you ask Jamis Winston what hurts, his whole damn body hurts.

He feels the pain absolutely everywhere. And so one of these teams was basically going to walk out just buried for the rest of the season. For all my friends in New Orleans who I was just in New Orleans all last week and into the beginning of this week. I'm sorry, y'all are buried. It's done. It's finished.

It's finito. What exactly are the New Orleans Saints going to bounce back to? The playoffs? No. Wildcard? No.

Why? I get it. It's the NFC South. Panthers aren't winning a damn thing.

We know that. They're trading away guys. Christian McCaffrey. The Falcons are out here surprising. Then you got some team named Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers.

They told us that, well, you know what? Speaking of the Buccaneers. Tom Brady's been in the news quite a bit recently. Not all football related. Yelling at his offensive linemen.

Playing on a team that basically is just struggling to protect him right now. And knowing all about his personal issues. Tom Brady, he spoke to the media. I want you to hear this, what he said. It was about retirement. It was about his future. It was about football.

And Tom Brady was real to the point about it. He says, well, this is what happens. Just listen. I'm here to announce finally you guys pushed me to the brink. And no, I think, you know, I think a lot of it for me is just us going out there to, you know, I love the sport and I love the teammates. And, you know, I want to go do a great job for this team like I always have. So, no retirement in my future.

What is that? Why is he, why is he even volunteering that? Who wants to hear that? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers themselves are a disappointing 3-3. He was upset that they were losing to the Steelers the other day.

He lost to Kenny Pickett who went down to an injury and he lost to Trubisky. And now they're going to take on the Carolina Panthers. Hey, Jack, there's no way they lose to Carolina, right? If they lose to Carolina, then the season's officially over. I mean, Carolina is about to become the punching bag of the NFL, not just after trading McCaffrey away, but sending their head coach patch packing after what, five or six games? And they're giving him a $40 million paycheck. Can you imagine if your employer said, Hey, JR, you know what?

We don't want you anymore, but we're going to pay you $40 million to stay home. That must mean that things are not going well. The Panthers are a dumpster fire right now. They have no identity. I don't really know what they're doing at quarterback with Baker Mayfield.

It's like all impulse, no vibe, because they thought they were going to revitalize him somehow. No, the Panthers would be lucky to win two or three games the rest of the year. They're going to be battling with the Texans for the number one seed.

That's a foregone conclusion at this point. They can go ahead and take Stroud. They can take Bryce.

They can do whatever the hell they want to do. And the implications of this trade, the implications of Matt Ruhle being fired, man, we can talk about the teams that could benefit. Arizona gets Robbie Anderson. Sure, it's his first game.

No big expectations there. We're going to talk about Christian McCaffrey now as a member of the 49ers. The Carolina Panthers, the implications for Baker Mayfield. He's got to be licking his wounds right now, knowing that his future is uncertain, that he's going to have to, quote, unquote, be a journeyman to get another shot, to get another opportunity. And here he was, number one overall draft pick. And he's number one for what right now?

Absolutely nothing. His career is more like number two. It's circling the drain. Is he going to disappear off the face of the earth? No.

I think Baker Mayfield will be in the NFL. Is he going to be a starter? That's the question. Is he going to be a distraction as a backup? That's the question.

And so that's something tough to think about as well. Matt Ruhle fired last week. Robbie Anderson thrown off of the field during a game.

Robbie Anderson then traded to Arizona. And right now on Thursday Night Football, as Arizona beats the Saints 42-34, the 49ers, they steal the thunder. The 49ers have acquired Christian McCaffrey. We're going to talk about this trade more on the other side of the break. We're going to hear and talk about Thursday Night Football. The NFC West is dominating the news.

It's the JR Sport Brief Show, CBS Sports Radio. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month. If you're feeling down and having trouble getting up in the morning, here's a tip. Brush your teeth.

That's it. Often when we wake up, our brains go into planning mode, which leads to overthinking and stress before our head even leaves the pillow. Something simple like brushing your teeth can break that cycle and jumpstart your day. This tip was brought to you by BetterHelp Online Therapy, which connects you with a licensed therapist via video, phone, or online chat. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10% on your first month.