JR SportBrief Hour 2

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That's BetterHelp H-E-L-P dot com slash positive. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. It is the J.R. Sportbrief show here on CBS Sports Radio. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Happy Monday to you. I hope you had an amazing day. I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

I'm going to be hanging out with you for the next three hours. If you're listening on the free Odyssey app, or you're tuned in on your local affiliate, or you're on Sirius XM Channel 158, or you're listening on a smart speaker, thanks. That's it.

I ain't got nothing else to say but thank you. Let's have some fun. Shout out to super producer and host Dave Sheppard.

He's coming to us live from New York City. He's holding it down on the boards. I'm holding it down here with you. If you want to hold it down on the phone lines, if you want to holler at us, it's simple. The phone number is 855-212-4CBS. If you didn't hear that the first time, I will say it again.

855-212-4CBS. Me? I'm on social media. I'm on that thing called the internet where people do ridiculous things.

At JR Sport Brief. Me? I don't do ridiculous things on the internet. I just talk about sports. It's how the hell I got here.

It really is. Anyway, look. We talked about the running backs in the first hour of the show. I've been here for an hour already.

Every weeknight 10 Eastern, 7 Pacific. We talked about James Harden also unhappy about his contract situation. One of our callers brought up a very, very good point. Thinking about the payment of running backs in comparison to wide receivers is an interesting exercise if you should choose to look it up.

But you don't have to because I've done it and I'm going to talk to you about it in a minute. You know, Saquon Barkley, no long term deal today. Josh Jacobs, no long term deal. Tony Pollard in a little bit of a different situation with that broken leg, no long term deal. But he's likely to show up for work.

He's coming off of a broken leg. You might as well take the money. And then we know over the weekend, and it's been some time coming, but DeAndre Hopkins goes to the Tennessee Titans. He had his options. He had his choices as to where he was going to go play. Was Hopkins going to go up to New England? Was DeAndre Hopkins going to try to squeeze in with the Chiefs, with the Bills? Was he going to try to compete for a Super Bowl?

The answer is no. He's taking the money and I can't knock him. DeAndre Hopkins comes to terms on a two year $26 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. He can make up to $32 million a year with incentives. He can make money for receptions and receiving yards and touchdowns. He has incentives. He's going to get his cash.

He is going to get his money in Tennessee. Ryan Tannehill coming off of his own ankle surgery, expected to throw him the football. We know the Tennessee Titans. Man, the offense stunk last year.

I can't put it in any different terms or ways. They started seven and three and then they just collapsed the offensive line. Terrible. Ryan Tannehill. I've never liked the guy. I expect him to throw an interception to open the game after halftime and to end the game like he did in the playoffs.

But now things are different. Ryan Tannehill on the final year of his deal. They drafted Will Levis. You expect Traylon Burks to be healthy.

You also have a Kong wall at tight end. You think that the Tennessee Titans might turn things around and they got Derrick Henry, who I feel has just been, I don't want to say wasted. Tennessee Titans did go to an AFC title game a few years ago, but I feel that's where they maxed out at. And so Derrick Henry is being ran into the ground on a team that I don't think is going to know Super Bowl. And DeAndre Hopkins is basically showing up just to get a damn check. And I'm going to tell you about the number comparison between some of the top wide receivers and the top running backs. But if you weren't clear on DeAndre Hopkins and and why he decided to join the Titans, it was only a while ago. He was on the I Am Athlete podcast and he was asked in a roundabout way. Hey, DeAndre, what do you think about potentially joining the Tennessee Titans?

And it sounded like it was about money. What a shock. How do you feel about blue and silver? Just out of curiosity, he likes it. You like that? Do you like that color way? Do you feel like that's something you'd be comfortable wearing on Sundays, Mondays and sometimes Thursday?

No state no state tax is my favorite. That was his answer. That's his answer. You think it was a joke?

You don't you don't think there was a seriousness in his answer? Come on now. This man wants his money and he's going to get it. And so absolutely money was a factor here. And Hopkins going to the Tennessee Titans here. Here's some other factors.

Maybe they factored in, but not necessarily about money. Hopkins worked with Mike Vrabel. You might remember this. Mike Vrabel at a point was was in Houston. OK, Tim Kelly, he's the new offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.

Tim Kelly called plays for the Texans a couple of years ago, a couple of seasons ago. We know the Tennessee Titans have a new general manager and Rand Carthon, former player. We know that the Tennessee Titans absolutely needed a top wide receiver with the departure of A.J. Brown. But DeAndre Hopkins has to hope that his career doesn't go the way of some past Tennessee Titans that they they picked up in.

Yeah, sure. DeAndre Hopkins, only 31 years old, not cooked like a I don't know, a Julio Jones or Randy Moss. I know that sounds like a long time ago, but yeah, he was a member of the Titans. But the Titans aren't going anywhere. They'll have a chance and an opportunity to compete in the AFC South with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And that's where it stops.

It doesn't go past that. And so DeAndre Hopkins, he's coming in for the money. He's coming in for the check. But I look at the Tennessee Titans and I go.

Ticking time bomb. I'd love to see Derrick Henry on a on a damn good team competing for a title. Derrick Henry is the Titans, OK? I don't trust Tannehill. I don't know how much, you know, Derrick Henry is going to have.

We talk about running backs and not being paid and being devalued. I want to see him run through a wall forever, but we know there's going to come a point in time where he just he just gets old and he gets old quick. Eventually, the torch they hope is going to be passed down to Will Levis. So I know there's a lot of people excited about Hopkins going to the Titans. And I look at them and go, OK, yeah, maybe they'll compete to win the division. That's it. What a big deal.

And if they should be as lucky to go to the postseason, Ryan Tannehill interception, interception and interception again. And so now you think about this, this two year deal for Hopkins, if we look at it just on the baseline. It's 13 million dollars a year. It's simple math.

That's not that's not a difficult thing to look through. I just told you, Saquon Barkley tagged at a little more than 10 million dollars a year. The same thing for Josh Jacobs.

Wouldn't you say that they're deserving of that same amount of money, if not a little bit more? And we know the position is dangerous. Running backs can age quickly and just fall apart. We can look at Ezekiel Elliott.

Let's think about this. Christian McCaffrey, highest paid running back in the NFL. 16 million dollars a year. You know, any given season, if Christian McCaffrey is healthy, he can rush for a thousand yards. He can haul in a thousand yards in the air via pass catching, OK? 16 million a year. Tyreek Hill is making 30 million a year. If we got to think about total yards from scrimmage. Christian McCaffrey is likely to have him beat. Davante Adams is at 28 million. Cooper Cupp 26 million. I told you about A.J. Brown, who's no longer on the Titans.

Last year, lit it up for the Eagles. 25. Stefan Diggs, 24. D.K. Metcalf, 24. Debo Samuel, another Swiss Army knife. 24.

Termic Lauren, 23. D.J. Moore of the Bears, the Bears. 20 million. Keenan Allen, 20 million. Mike Williams, 20. Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, 20. Deontay Johnson of the Steelers is getting 18. These are the wide receivers. Christian McCaffrey is making less than all of them. And then if we want to go down to the franchise tag number. Ten and change.

Think about this. Tyler Boyd is making ten seven, ten million, seven hundred thousand dollars. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, 10 million dollars. Brandon Cooks, 10 million. Michael Thomas, 10 million. Tim Patrick of the Broncos, 10 million.

Saquon Barkley, 10 million dollars. Nice to be a wide receiver, right? Nice to be a wide receiver. Maybe you ain't even the number one wide receiver and a running back who is getting a more touches. More yards from scrimmage. He's taking the most abuse. He's getting paid third string wide receiver money.

I'd be upset, too. So DeAndre Hopkins, he ain't joking, man. And if I'm a kid right now, if I'm in high school, if I'm a prospect, oh, yeah, maybe running back is the only way that I can see the field.

Maybe my hands suck. But nowadays, the running backs are asked to do both. Can you run the ball? Can you catch the ball? And if you can't, there's a good chance that they don't even want you running a rock. If I'm a kid trying to play wide out.

Why do I want to take the abuse and the punishment? For less money. Why don't I try to be a track star and run some routes and have a longer career and make more money?

It seems like a simple equation. And look, everybody who plays in the NFL. Everybody. You know, you're going in there for abuse. You know, you're going into the league and there's a good chance that you're getting the boot out of the league.

But they're going to tell you to go and they're going to cut you before you have a chance to leave on your own accord. But running backs. This has been taken to a whole nother level. So congratulations, DeAndre Hopkins, DeAndre Hopkins. Thirteen million dollars a season. He can make more than that over the next two years. Good for him. He's getting paid. He's getting his money. Well, everybody else, the running backs at least.

They got to settle for the scraps. Phone lines are open. That's 855-212-4CBS.

It's 855-212-4CBS. I want you to hear this answer from DeAndre Hopkins again about joining the Titans. He was asked about it before he even signed. This was all speculation at this point.

And all Hopkins could think about was his tax break on the I Am Athlete podcast. Listen. How do you feel about blue and silver? Just out of curiosity? He likes it. You like that? Do you like that colorway? Do you feel like that's something you'd be comfortable wearing on Sundays? Mondays and sometimes Thursday? I love no state.

No state tax is my favorite. Yeah, a whole lot to be excited about with the Tennessee Titans. The phone lines are open. That's 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS. I'll get to your calls. He goes to the Tennessee Titans.

Doesn't have to worry about that state income tax. And I'll also tell you about a team that missed out on DeAndre Hopkins. And this may send this team further down the tubes. We'll talk about it all. The JR Sport Reef Show. CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio.

Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. So, running backs don't get their money, but DeAndre Hopkins, he gets his. Over the weekend, we find out that he's going to be joining the Tennessee Titans, a two-year deal, about 13 years old.

Has an opportunity to tack on a few more million dollars when it comes down to incentives. And he has an opportunity to start over. We know that his time in Arizona didn't end well. You know, he tore that MCL a couple seasons ago.

Comes back. Is suspended because of PEDs. And he's still serviceable.

So, at 31 years old, he's not cooked. He's not done. Still has some of the best hands in the game. And for a Tennessee Titans team that didn't have A.J. Brown last year with him going up to Philadelphia, he's going to become de facto number one wide receiver. We know about Derrick Henry.

Ryan Tannehill, to me, is never anything to be excited about. And Hopkins gets what he wants. He gets his money.

He gets his cash. And as a result, the other team that he was reportedly negotiating with, the New England Patriots, they miss out. And Bill Belichick, I know there have been so many conversations about the money not spent. And Robert Kraft saying, well, I spend what I'm asked.

If I don't have money, then I don't need to own the team. And the Patriots just, they're not looking good right now. And I mean, even a Sante Samuel is, oh, it's all Tom Brady. And you got a lot of people now who go, oh, 25 and 25 with no Brady. It was all Brady.

And I just always find that to be rather ridiculous. You know, Bill Belichick had to clean this comment up earlier this year when asked about his track record. But Bill Belichick, he may have to play this on a loop every single day. This is what he said when he was asked about, you know, why fans should believe in him and be any type of optimistic. Listen to this. Yeah, last 25 years.

And then he had to clean that up. Maybe he can play it again for everybody asking why the Pats didn't get Hopkins. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS.

It's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. Let's go to Houston, Texas, and talk to Austin. Hey, what's up, Austin? You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. How are you? Hey, JR. How you doing, man? It's been a little while. I know.

Are you writing any tickets? No, man. It's been pretty slow, thankfully. So I've just been really just doing the least, man. It's been nice. Good. Good stuff, man. What's up? Hey, man. I just wanted to say it was kind of disappointing. So I was really hoping DeAndre was going to go to a contender.

Clearly, that didn't happen. I think Tennessee is on the verge of a rebuild. But he just kind of did the JJ thing, how he said what he was looking for, and then signed with some bumps. So with that said, I think the one thing, and I don't want to say it's paid a part in it because I don't know, but I remember when he was on the Texans, him and JJ were huge proponents of trying to get the Texans to wear the Oilers uniforms. And we all know that the Titans are going to be wearing the Oilers uniforms this year. So it's going to be fantastic to see him in that Oilers uniform, even if he's not on the Texans anymore. It's going to be great. So I wish he would have gone somewhere to be a contender, but it's still a small win. We could see him in the Oilers uniform.

So that's going to be cool. So is there massive, correct me if I'm wrong, and not that I expect you to speak for the entire area of Houston, which is gigantic. Does he still have a lot of support in Houston?

Is it Bill O'Brien at people? I know everybody hates Bill O'Brien, but I didn't know Hopkins still had, I don't know, I want to say like a fan base of people that cared. No, I think for nostalgia reasons, people wanted him back here, but I don't think everybody still really loves him here.

They don't think it would have been a good fit minus for nostalgia. He wouldn't have been a good fit here because we thought he wanted to win, clearly he doesn't. But I don't think anybody wanted him back here, I think it's done with, but everybody still loves him a lot more than we love Bill O'Brien. Yeah, he doesn't find too much love anywhere shipping off everybody and their mother, including Hopkins when it came down to that contract. Yeah, so I think a lot of people, like I said, I don't think we have any rivals right now, the Texans, because they're not very good, at least not for the few years. I think we'll be a lot better obviously, but I don't think the whole rivalry thing is going to pull too many people away from it.

I think a lot of us wanted to see him go and win, and we're not going to get that, but at least we'll see him in a Oilers uniform, which is kind of bittersweet in its own right, because Tennessee is supposed to be wearing them against the Texans, so we'll see. All right, we'll see. Austin, always a pleasure, man. All the best to you out in Houston, okay? Appreciate it, sir. Stay safe.

No doubt about it, you too. Yeah, it's going to be interesting, man. Let's see, it would have been, and sure, CJ Stroud to go out there and have a reliable pass catching option would have been nice. Everybody wants that, especially a vet like DeAndre Hopkins, still some of the best hands in the league. But there's no juice here. If we actually heard about DeAndre Hopkins joining a legitimate contender, man, it'd be like, oh my God, this team is now going over the top to compete for a championship, whether it's the Chiefs or whether it's the Bills, and it's the Titans.

It almost sucks the air out of everything, and nothing to be excited about there. 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4CBS. Let's go to Jacksonville and talk to Charles. You're on the JR Sport Reshow. What's up, Charles?

Hey, JR. What's up? Well, I just want to say that my earliest NFL heroes were running backs, and I find the situation of them being devalued so much really sad. What position group is inevitably next on the chopping block, in your opinion? Who do you think's next?

I don't think there is a next. I think people look at running backs and how they're used and how they might run out of gas. Running backs are in a special space all by themselves. Who gets devalued next? I don't think there's a clear line of, well, we have to chop down this position group's salaries. I don't think it works that way.

Okay. I mean, look, running backs are the ones that get ran into the ground. Thank you, Charles, for calling from Jacksonville. They're the dudes who get looked upon as we've got to squeeze the life out of him before he's useless.

We need to use him before he uses us. And if we think about contracts and professional sports, and it's not just the NFL, it's not just running backs, how often are players really paid for what they're doing now and into the future? You know, every sport is a little different. In baseball, in so many cases, because of the service time manipulation, Major League Baseball players make it to the show. They get to the big leagues, they're making minimum salaries on minor league deals, and then a lot of these dudes are playing at all-star level for two, three, four years before they get a massive deal.

That takes them into the next, I don't know, eight to ten years. In the NFL, we know that the salaries are slotted right out of the draft. But if you're not a highly drafted prospect or touted prospect, you ain't getting a lot of money up front. You got to show, earn, and prove your worth. And then for a running back, by the time you do that, you might have been used up and almost spat out by then. They're ready for the next dude that they don't have to pay.

It's really that simple. 855-212-4CBS, let's go to Bubba. He's calling from Alabama. What's up, Bubba? Hey, how about you, how about you?

Good, what's up? Listen, the deal with the running backs is they're not relevant anymore, like they were in the earlier days of football. When you say relevant, what would you call Christian McCaffrey, who is capable of a thousand on the ground and a thousand in the air?

What would you call him? Well, there's exceptions here and there, but I'm saying as a whole, back in the day, the running backs were the fastest ones. You know, they could outrun everybody, but the game is progressed. The linemen got faster, the linebackers got faster, the defensive backs, they run them down every day. And so, the only time they use a running back now is if they want to run out the clock, you know? But they got a team that really can't play, can't defend against a run. But for the most part, they got to be blockers, but it's not as important as it used to be. See, they're being devalued, but I'm not going to say that they're not as important. A lot of backs, especially more of the featured backs, and yeah, there are going to be exceptions.

I think there are more exceptions than you might realize. It's not just a Christian McCaffrey. These dudes are touching a ball on both ends.

That's just flat what it is. And so, yeah, the game is more aerial. The ball is being thrown all over the place, and running backs are being tasked with doing more. Hey, man, you're going to run this ball, and you're going to catch it. And so, to say that, man, they're not doing as much, tell that to Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara. You want to talk about Derrick Henry? No, he's not the same type of pass catcher.

He's a battering ram. Tell that to another one in Nick Chubb. I mean, Aaron Jones a couple of years ago. He went out there and had 19 touchdowns. Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barnes. That's a third of the starters in the NFL that I just named you. Austin Eckler from the Chargers. Cordarrel Patterson, man, with the Falcons. He was a Swiss Army knife.

Nobody talked about him across the NFL. He went out there and did a whole hell of a lot of work. And so, these dudes are working. They're not getting paid. And so, do they matter as much? Eh, the position, yeah. The names? Doesn't seem like the league cares.

Not at all. 8-5-5, 2-1-2-4, CBS. Blake is calling from Houston.

You're on the JR Sportbrief. Show us up, Blake. Yeah, I was just going to mention that I don't think it's necessarily about like, you know, I would say, you know, receiver like DeAndre Hopkins is, you know, you have more, you know, I guess, length in the league. But I mean, I'm talking about more of a, as a position standpoint, you got to go with defense. Like, I'm talking absolute game records like Aaron Donald, you know, I would throw J.J. Watt in there. If J.J. Watt went to the Titans as opposed to Hopkins, you know, I'm from Houston. I'm a Houston, Texas fan. I would be a little bit more upset. Like, I'm kind of okay with it. I wouldn't expect the Hopkins to go to the Texans.

However, you know, I didn't want them to go like Kansas City contender like the previous caller often said. So, I mean, that's just my point. I see, you know, just defense, you know, as you got to be a game record to get paid. Well, I mean, the guys who get paid the most money outside of the quarterbacks for the most part and the wide receivers is the guys who go and destroy the quarterbacks. T.J. Watt, I know you mentioned J.J., his brother is making 28 mill a year. Joey Bosa is making 27. Miles Garrett is at 25. Like, they're making slightly more than the wide receivers.

So, yeah, I think to your point, it already exists that that's the way it is. 855-212-4CBS, that's 855-212-4CBS. I'm going to get some more of your calls here and I know the conversation has been about money and DeAndre Hopkins just deciding to take the money. Hopkins not caring about a chance at a Super Bowl, but he wants the cash. There is a guy in Philadelphia. He happens to be 7 foot 1. He's also about the money. He gets paid a lot of it. He also wants a championship. It's Joel Embiid. I think for the first time publicly, Joel Embiid has said, yeah, I want to win.

It doesn't matter where it is. And then he tried to do some damage control. I'll let you hear from him on the other side of the break. I'll get to your calls as well. It's the JR Sport Brief show on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. I've got to tell you, JR, the only highlight of my night is being able to talk to you, one of the best and most underrated in the business.

I've got to tell you, you're amazing. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. So much talk about money or championship. You know, James Harden wants his money. DeAndre Hopkins wants his money. He got it. Running backs, they want their money. Why not?

They're going to be used up and spat out. Everything going on over the NBA and Summer League, et cetera. We've heard from Joel Embiid.

The end of the last week, and this has really grown some legs over the past few days, especially going into the weekend. Joel Embiid, he was out west and he was with Uninterrupted. That's LeBron's company at a sports film festival. He was chatting with Maverick Carter, who runs Uninterrupted.

That's pretty much the media arm of everything that LeBron James does, Spring Hill, et cetera, on and on. And Joel Embiid, they were having an interview, an open public interview. And it was about Joel Embiid and his future and what he's looking for. We know he finally got his hands on an MVP. He now wants that team success. And I know it's not easy when you think about the Joel Embiid versus Jokic conversation.

And Jokic has his MVPs and now has a finals MVP. Joel Embiid wants the same exact thing. But what he said, kind of sort of in passing, was that it doesn't matter or doesn't matter where he wins this championship. That didn't sit well with quite a few folks in Philadelphia. And you don't have to take my word for what came out of Joel Embiid's mouth.

Take a listen to what he told Maverick Carter. I just want to win a championship, whatever it takes. I don't know what that's going to be, whether it's in Philly or anywhere else. I just want to have a chance to accomplish that.

I want to see what it feels like to win that first one and then you can pick about the next one. It's not easy. Okay, so no, no bold proclamation from Joel Embiid. There was no, hey, I need to win a championship. If it's not in Philly, then I'm willing to go anywhere else. He just, he kind of said it in passing. Like, I want to win a title and it's in Philly or anywhere.

I just want to win a championship. No big deal, right? Of course it's a big deal because he opened up a door where Joel Embiid would no longer be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

And there have been, there have been rumors about this. I want to say over the past several months, especially at the conclusion of their season where we know they lost to the Celtics in seven games in the second round. Something that Joel Embiid is very familiar with.

Going to the second round at minimum and not getting any further. It's been reported that the New York Knicks would like to have Joel Embiid. That Joel Embiid, who knows, maybe Joel Embiid makes his way on down to the Miami Heat. But the fact is, I don't think Joel Embiid said anything all that nuts. Like the reality is, there's no guarantees here in sports that he is going to finish his career with the Sixers. Joel Embiid, the way that his body holds up is I think is more of an important question. And man, James Harden already wants to leave. He wants to go to the Clippers. You got Embiid. The fans have had to go through this entire process.

I'm sure they would feel a little bit bothered if they had to go through all of the suffering to get him. He plays at an MVP level and now he cracks the door to potentially moving elsewhere? He was called out on this on social media. And Joel Embiid's answer, which I don't think was, I think he wasn't all the way honest, was that he was just trolling with his comments. It's not like he was doing stand up. It's not like he made a gigantic point about moving on or playing elsewhere. He literally just said, hey, I want to win a championship in Philly or wherever.

Where's the troll? And so my main man, Hugh Douglas, former Philadelphia Eagle, he took even more issue. Hugh Douglas basically said, man, if you're going to say something like that, you'll win a championship here or elsewhere, then stand on it. Don't don't take the position of I'm now a troll. And I got to agree with Hugh.

I just just say you want to win a championship. It's not indicative of you wanting to leave. You don't got to make up an excuse about you being a troll. You weren't trolling in that moment. You were sitting down in an interview just being straightforward. Let's hear that one more time.

And you you think to yourself, does it sound like he's trolling or does it just sound like he's being honest? Swung with a championship, whatever it takes. I don't know what that's going to be, whether it's in Philly or anywhere else. I just want to have a chance to accomplish that.

I want to see what it feels like to win that first one and then you can pick about the next one. It's not easy. Yet in the context of the conversation, the wherever I win it or anywhere, wherever, it doesn't sound like he's trolling, sound like he's being honest. And who knows? In Philadelphia, they may they may remind him of this and beat him over the head with this when things don't work out. I don't think he'll ever reach a Ben Simmons category where he just completely quits and sucks and forgets how to play basketball. But, man, things may not get easy for him if he ever does want to leave eight, five, five, two, one, two, four CBS. That's eight, five, five, two, one, two, four, CBS. Stephen, he's calling from Miami. You're on the JR Sportbree show. What's up, Stephen? Thank you for having me.

I truly appreciate it. So I want to just touch on a few things from the running back situation. I hate seeing that the top tier guys aren't getting paid. And I kind of want to play devil's advocate because at the same time they do get hurt the easiest compared to other positions, skill positions anyways. And it doesn't help the case that when you see teams that progress in the playoffs, a lot of times they don't have a star, quote unquote, star running back per se. The Chiefs, when they won it, I do have Patrick Mahone, but they won it with Damian Williams, Isaiah Pacheco. The Eagles, who they played last year, it was a running back by committee. They had Miles Sanders with Kenneth Gaskins, I believe his name is. Well, the running backs, yeah, but the running, the quarterbacks and the teams that you just mentioned, two of them just went to the Super Bowl because they had two of the best QBs in the game. And in the case of the Philadelphia Eagles, whether you want to call it running back by committee or running back led by quarterback, they led the world in rushing because of everybody, including the QB. And so I think once you get outside those top QBs, man, you're going to need a star worth. You're going to need somebody, kind of a centerpiece that you can rely on to move that football. And it comes down to the running game. It don't have to be a huge name, as you mentioned.

But in most cases, yeah, it'll help. I can look at the reverse. I know the Tennessee Titans, when they still had A.J. Brown, they were flinging the ball around. But there was no hope or chance of doing that without a star running back in Derrick Henry. I look at the Titans and I call them Derrick Henry's because it's him. Right. No, I agree. I agree.

And just also because you mentioned Joe and B's situation, I want to just touch on it very quickly also. I 100 percent agree with you that if you say something, stand on it. Own it.

You know, own up to what you said. And I am not a Philly fan. I'm from Miami.

But I will say this. From afar, the Philly situation, the Philly situation has not been favorable at all. They had Ben Simmons, the guy where he's at now, Markelle Foltz, he's not there either. James Harden wants out of there. So, you know, Doug Rivers is a good coach. I wouldn't say great coach, but a good coach. They kept Tobias Harris over Jimmy Butler.

So can you blame him for really wanting to win elsewhere? I have to say thank you for taking my call, J.R. You have a great night for you as well, Stephen. Thank you for calling from Miami. Yeah. All Joel and Joel and B didn't have to go for the the easy excuse and go, well, I was just trolling.

No, you weren't. And you don't have to stand there and make it sound. It's not like he sat on the stage and said, oh, I need to be traded. This is a trade request and come out of his mouth at all.

So he doesn't have to do anything but say, yeah, I was being honest. I want to win a championship. Yeah. Obviously, I want to do it here in Philadelphia. I'm a Philadelphia 76er. But I know the reality of the game is people move. I don't want to go anywhere. But yeah, I want to win.

However, it happens. Done. Nothing else. Bruce, he's calling from New Orleans. You're on the J.R. sport brief show. What's up, Bruce? Great show.

Great show. What about Zion Williams? You think he's going to stay with the Pelicans? Oh, well, he's under contract. I think he would have no choice unless he gets moved. And I don't see a circumstance between now and, well, anytime soon where he gets moved. Well, who wants him?

Exactly. You talk about running backs. I'm a little man. I saw Jim Brown play football. Boy, it was a powerful running back. Earl Campbell. Boy, I saw Frank Gifford get hit by that. That's an Eric. Unbelievable. This sport has changed so much over the years.

And it's out. It's just really it carries. So let me ask you this, Bruce.

Do you? Do you find and we're up against the break. But do you find the running back position to be as demanding or less demanding from the prior errors that you just mentioned?

It's really hard to say. I know there's a lot of injuries, you know, it's hard to compare, you know, out on the horse of me and things like that. But, you know, those running backs get hit real, real hard.

I think the players nowadays are stronger and faster. You know, remember Big Gene, Daddy Liscum, the Baltimore Colts. He said he can't stay where you simply talk a lot of times, you know, but you know what they want the cargo. Terry Bradshaw was a great quarterback. You don't get the recognition he really deserves.

What do you think? OK, well, I think the man is in the Hall of Fame. He's a Steelers legend. He gets to sit on television and and count money.

So I don't know if I want to go that far. And I think what happens is when people look at the totality of his career, that's where he doesn't necessarily get the same recognition. People will look at all the talent that was around him. And maybe that's why Terry Bradshaw doesn't get the love or maybe the love that you would expect where people proclaim him. Just he's the top upper echelon of QBs of all time. I'll tell you this much. He was a winner.

Ain't no disputing that. It's the J.R. sport brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS.

We come back. We'll talk more about these running backs to get some more of your calls. There's a former running back speaking of the Hall of Fame who's in the Hall of Fame. Thanks. Running backs. Damn it.

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