JR SportBrief Hour 1

Fall is just around the corner and home is the center of it all. At Ashley, seasonal decorating's a breeze with their range of designs and materials. Snuggle up on a family-friendly sectional or an ultra-modern sofa. Or gather outside and enjoy the crisp, cool air with a new fire pit or conversation set. From minor refreshes to total overhauls, Ashley has the essentials to make your home fall functional and fabulous.

Shop in store or visit Ashley.com today. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. It is the J.R. Sportbrief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Happy Wednesday night to you.

Hope you made it through the middle of the week. I'm going to be hanging out with you for the next four hours. This is the beginning of the show. Every single weeknight, 10 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. Pacific.

I'm happy. I'm thrilled to be coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America.

On the free Odyssey app, on your local CBS Sports Radio affiliate, Sirius XM Channel 158, and everybody listening on a smart speaker. A couple of things. Thank you.

Thank you to super producer and host Dave Shepherd holding it down in New York City. Thank you to you. Yeah, you, the person listening to me. Driving that car, sitting at work, sitting at home, working at the bar, working at the restaurant, hanging out in the backyard, doing whatever you need to do at the factory, driving a truck, delivering people or things.

Hopefully you're not delivering illegal things. Either way, I'll keep you company here for the next four hours, as I do every single Wednesday night. Tonight, I'm going to bring you a new top six list. We're going to do that two hours from now. And unfortunately, it's inspired by injuries or the injury specifically to Aaron Rodgers.

We're going to look at some of the best sports comebacks that we've ever seen in particular guys or women, guys or gals, whatever you want to call them, people who have come back from injury. And so I'll share that list with you in another two hours from now. It's a new top six list.

It's what I do every single Wednesday night. Amongst that, we got plenty of other things that are going on in the world of sports. Adam Silver and the NBA owners met today and the NBA owners, governors, whatever they want to call them. They have agreed to some new rules regarding rest in the NBA, the dreaded load management.

Guys are sitting down. They're not playing. People are paying their hard-earned money, their hard-earned cash to sit down and watch stars who don't show up, but then still go out there and bank and make tons and tons of money, basically screwing the fans in the process. We're going to hear from Adam Silver and his comments about this earlier on in the show or later in the show, I should say. He made these comments earlier in the day.

Adam Silver, man, there are going to be some punishments for some teams that don't put healthy players or guys who are able to play out there on the court. Chris Jones, back for the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke for the first time. We'll hear from him. Unfortunately, he's back. Max Scherzer, this old man, is out. Good news for the Atlanta Braves not too long ago.

They've clinched the National League East title for the sixth straight season, beating the Phillies. The Braves are just whooping everybody's ass, so we got a lot to talk about. And then maybe some good news. I guess the guys returning, the top six injury returns is good news. NBA players is good news. And unfortunately for Raj Goodell here, it's a lot of bad news over the past 24 to 48 hours.

Aaron Rodgers goes down. Jim Trotter has this lawsuit against the NFL, racial discrimination. He's been very defensive here. And so, in what was an already scheduled interview, Raj Goodell was on ESPN First Take today. And of course, during his interview with Stephen A. Smith, Raj Goodell was asked a few things. He was asked about Jim Trotter, and then he was more specifically asked about the turf situation in the NFL. The fact that the Players Association is demanding that every stadium convert over to grass because they can afford it, that they don't care about the players, that they care more about soccer and the World Cup than they do their own player safety. And so one of the first questions posed to Raj Goodell on First Take was this notion that players are injured more often than they are on turf as opposed to grass. And Raj Goodell had a retort to that. He basically said, listen, man, yeah, yeah, we feel bad for Aaron Rodgers.

It's terrible. But we had two guys have torn ACLs, and one was on grass, and one was on turf. Listen to Raj Goodell explain, you know, what's going on with the field and the playing surfaces around the league. Unfortunately, we had two ACL injuries, and one was on grass, and one was on the turf. By the way, a new turf that was just put in because there were some concerns about the slit turf that's been changed out at the Meadowlands. So from our standpoint, that's something we'll look at. We'll look deeply at it.

You always want to try to get the best surfaces. FIFA will be in here. I'm meeting with the head of FIFA next week.

They'll be playing World Cup. They will not be putting grass in. They'll be putting in a mixed grass, mixed grass with artificial surface, something that we're working to try to see. Is that a better surface for us?

Oh, is that a better surface for us? Hey, that's the first time I heard that. Everything I've heard is, oh, the teams and the stadiums that don't currently already have grass or that have turf, they're going to switch over to grass for a short amount of time for the World Cup and then flip back over. Roger Goodell is saying, oh, well, damn, it's going to be a combination. And if you think about the stats and the numbers, the players association goes back and forth with the rate of injuries when it comes to the players on turf. The NFL, you just heard it from Roger Goodell, the first statement out of his mouth was, hey, we had two ACL injuries and one was on turf and one was on grass. And so the numbers here are obviously manipulated, depending on who's speaking at the time. Is the information coming from the players association or is the information coming from the NFL?

Here's the deal. The players association will tell you that players have a 30% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when they play on artificial turf. He said 32% of these injuries are non-contact knee injuries on turf and 70%, it happens at a 70% higher rate. And Roger Goodell, he didn't just stop there. He had more to say. He actually said when asked, you know, well, what do you say to the fact that almost all of the players say they want to play on grass? What's your response to that, Roger Goodell? Well, they have said that in many cases, but you also have other players who like playing on a turf field because it's faster.

That's true. So you've got, you know, you've got mixed opinions. What we want to go is on science. We want to go on what's the best from an injury standpoint to prevent the injuries, to give our players the best possible surface to play on. And that can't be done by my feeling of looking at a particular injury.

It's got to be done with a real process and to look at it with medical experts, look at it with engineers, look at it with people on the cleats, look at it on every aspect of what can go into that injury, including the training and where a particular player is at any given time. Here's the deal. The players are screwed. They have nothing to bargain with to get grass out onto the field. They're going to have to keep playing on turf, on grass, on a mixed surface. They're going to have to play on that until the players association decides that, you know what, we're not going to play on anything. And to even go a step further, is that going to be the hill that the players decide that they're willing to die on?

And the answer is no, because they haven't been willing to die on it up until now. I mean, we can go through the NFL. I can look at at MetLife a few years ago. And we mentioned this last night. You had Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas, who now plays full time in New York for the Jets. Man, they blew out their ACLs on MetLife Stadium's old surface. OK, and they got their money and Nick Bosa showed up and now he's defensive player of the year. He bounced back. Solomon Thomas, he didn't have no qualms about playing full time on the turf.

He took a job to play for the New York Jets, the same field that he tore his ACL. And so it's the same thing. Are you going to take the money and go play, whether it's turf or grass, or are you going to decide not to play at all? The players have decided to show up and play. And so for the NFL Players Association to pop up whenever there is an injury. And this time it's to Aaron Rodgers, one of the most high profile dudes in the entire NFL right now. Of course, it's going to garner more attention. Of course, it's going to give the union an excuse to scream and yell.

Well, you know what? Get to the screaming and get to the yelling. The next time you guys start negotiating the next CBA, because yelling about the turf, whether it's David Bakhtiari, whether it's the president's players association, it doesn't matter who it is, they're not changing a damn thing because they have no reason to. The stadiums, their job is to make money.

For the most part, the fans are going to show up. And I know people don't care about the running backs. The NFL certainly doesn't care about the running backs.

They find them to be replaceable. For the most part, when you look at the league as a whole, just an entire entity moving towards 20 billion dollars a year in revenue. When you look at a league that is probably the most popular thing on television consistently in North America, when you look at a league where fans show up, rain, sleet, hail, snow, anything in the middle, why wouldn't they say, well, fans are going to show up anyway. The players are going to play anyway.

We're going to make money anyway. It's not like a guy's getting hurt every single game. We got guys getting hurt on grass.

We got guys getting hurt on the turf. And then you mean to tell me we can have a concert here the night before? We can play a college football game on this field the day before. In New York, when it's going to get cold, we don't have to resize the field and I can book back to back concerts and a football game and another football game and two more concerts. It's simple economics.

The players have no leverage. It's admirable for them to want to play on grass. Who doesn't? All this turf ain't nothing but glorified concrete with a little bit of green fur on the top. That's the reality. OK, it's fine for me to run on a little bit, but when you running on it and falling on it and digging into it and got another 300 pound man trying to push you over on it. Man, this stuff hurts. I wouldn't want to be out there on turf. It's a glorified carpet, OK? It's not grass. It doesn't have give. It doesn't go anywhere.

It's not dirt. But I hate to say this. Nobody cares. The NFL certainly doesn't care. This is going to go away.

In a couple of days, it's going to go away in a week. You know what? If we have someone else get hurt over the next part of the season, somebody else is going to get hurt. If it's on grass, what will they say? If it's on turf, we're going to have this same damn conversation again. You want to know what's going to happen? My apologies to the players.

The answer is nothing. If you want something to happen, you make this argument, a hardcore argument, the next time you negotiate for the next CBA, which isn't going to expire for another, I don't know, six or seven years. And so good luck to the NFL. The best you can do. You put on some good cleats because the NFL will switch things up and they'll always try to use the cutting edge technology when it comes to the field conditions. But the overall surface grass everywhere. It ain't happening. There's no reason for them to do so. Oh, you thought the NFL, their ultimate concern was player safety and health?

What rock have you been living under? It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio, 855-212 for CBS. That's 855-212 for CBS.

We are just getting started. Roger Goodell had to answer questions about the turf in the field surface. Roger Goodell also had to answer questions about Jim Trotter and his racial discrimination lawsuit. Adam Silver had to answer questions about the NBA's new rules when it comes down to rest. And speaking of rest, I think we can probably put a story to rest when it comes down to Aaron Rodgers and his potential replacements. A couple of guys have been probably X'd out by the New York Jets to replace him. I'm going to tell you who they are on the other side of the break. Of course, later on in the show, it's a new top six list.

We'll talk about players that have bounced back from major, major injuries. 855-212 for CBS. Your call's on the other side as well. It's the JR Sport Brief Show. Just starting now. Excited on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. JR wants to hear from you. Call him now at 855-212 for CBS.

That's 855-212-4227. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Roger Goodell on ESPN earlier today letting everybody know that, yeah, we're working on the field. All of our fields. We're constantly looking at ways that we can upgrade our fields.

There is not a one-size-fits-all. Some players like the turf. I've never heard that before.

Maybe a couple of them, but what, a couple of wide receivers trying to burn somebody? And most players that you ever heard from, they don't like it, but he's just, he's being diplomatic about it. We're going to work to improve the fields and look at it and it's just what it is.

We look at the data. Players Association has the same information. And same old, same old. Nothing unfortunately will change until the players decide to take a stand. And unfortunately, when it comes down to ratifying and voting on their own collective bargaining agreement, a lot of the players, like a good portion of the population when it comes to voting, they don't participate. And so I wonder how many players complained loud about the turf, but don't even vote when it comes down to the CBA.

But I digress. 8-5-5-2-1-2 for CBS. This 8-5-5-2-1-2 for CBS.

I will also share with you. Yeah, Aaron Rodgers went down. There have been a lot of conversations over the past several days as to, you know, who would replace him or who the Jets are going to pursue. It was bandied about multiple times last night that Colin Kaepernick would be a good candidate for the New York Jets. And even outside of his style of play when he was completely healthy, he hasn't played since he was 29 years old. He's getting ready to turn 36 years old. And so to think that the New York Jets would throw him out there, A, for style reasons, B, you haven't seen him play a professional game since he was 29 years old. His last real season was 2016.

He wasn't even a shell of himself or healthy at that point in time. Would just be terrible. Absolutely terrible. It has nothing to do with his distractions. Just from a reality basis.

It's not a good look. And then there's this Tom Brady who's hanging out with models and is living the life. He's about to be. Well, he is 46 years old right now. Now hasn't played.

Not in condition. It seems like that portion of his brain has turned off. I don't see any reason why he would rejoin the NFL, let alone with the New York Jets in the offensive line. And it's been said that, A, he has no interest in returning to the NFL.

And then, B, the New York Jets have no interest in bringing him in. Now, when it comes down to Aaron Rodgers, he has spoken. Not verbally, but through Instagram. Of course he did. He put up a post on social media basically letting everybody know that he would be back.

Kinda, sorta. Thank you to every person that has reached out, called, texted, DM'd, connected through a friend, etc. It has meant a ton to me and I'll try and get back to you all soon. I'm completely heartbroken and moving through all of the emotions, but deeply touched and humbled by the support and love. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin the healing process today. The night is darkest before the dawn and I shall rise yet again.

Proud of my guys, the 1 and 0 New York Jets. That is a message from Aaron Rodgers, his first message since going down. Earlier in the day, prior to him sharing this on Instagram, his head coach Rob Salah met with the media. And Rob Salah was asked about the future of Aaron Rodgers and he pretty much had this to say.

Has there been discussions about the future at all? I haven't gone down that road with him. I'd be shocked if this is the way he's going to go out, but at the same time for him, he's got, he's working through a whole lot of head space, things that he needs to deal with and that will be the last thing I talk to him about.

And not too long after, he put up that Instagram message that I just shared with you. So it looks like Aaron Rodgers is going to look to return next year and let's see what happens. This is a long season. This is only week one. God knows what will take place between now and training camp. We have no idea.

Zach Wilson, question mark, in and of himself. 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS. Dale is calling from Birmingham in Alabama.

You're on CBS Sports Radio. Hey Dale, how you doing? I'm great.

How are you? All right. Just imagine in a perfect world, who runs the engines for these companies? If some of these individuals think about it, they have the power in their hands.

If they stop it, the arrangements are empty. They know concession stands making money. The owners aren't making money.

And the owners of these companies will realize that we have to get these guys a living wage. We have to put turf on the ground. Dale, did you just say give the NFL players a living wage? No, no, no.

I was like the average Joe. I'm just in life on the football field. If those guys, they'll get the turf and they'll get the grass they want if all of them came together and not play. They get their turf.

The average person that has jobs, if they want living wages and more money and better work conditions, they'll, hey, if they were to just all come together and stop that engine from working, building is deserted. Yeah, well that's tough, that's tough doing because you got plenty of players. That is what happens.

Yeah, correct Dale, you're correct. There's plenty of players in the NFL who are on the minimum, which is not too shabby, a little less than a million dollars. And then you got plenty of dudes, well not plenty, there are multiple guys who are running around making tens of millions of dollars. So when you have that disparity, it's tough to get everybody on the same page.

And then unfortunately, regardless of how much money anybody is making, you could be on the scale of making a mill or you could be on the scale of making tens of millions of dollars a year. You got a lot of dudes who are living check to check. They're living on the edge. So it's tough to galvanize the troops when people start to go, man, I got to, I got to pay for my Bentley. I got to pay for my other house or I have to pay for this person's house. And then I got to pay to live here. And oh my God, I can't travel. And what about my jewelry?

And people in the NFL are living check to check now. Don't be fooled. 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS.

Daniel is here from Houston, Texas. You're on the JR Sport. Hey, man, I appreciate the line.

Thanks so much. A shout out to Jets fans. So sorry.

What happened to y'all and what happened to Rogers? I mean, a 39 year old dude destroys his Achilles tendon. I mean, you know, best of luck. No one's rooting against him. But in a more sarcastic note, I'm a Lions fan. And I do want to wish good luck to the sea chicken and those fans coming in. Oh, and one wounded.

He lost by 14 to the Rams. And you're coming into a nuclear field coming off a win like one of the best Lions wins in decades. Y'all are in big trouble. And you just signed a 41 year old tackle to try to hold off 97. I do this coming for. Oh, man.

Yes. Jason Peters is now back in the NFL on on the Seattle Seahawks. Why you got to kick the Seahawks when they down calling them the sea chickens?

Why you got to bother them for? Because, man, this is a revenge game and recognize that the Lions are mad. I knew we had no defense last year.

It's not the case anymore. They made huge strides. Gardner Johnson is an absolute beast. Brad Holmes needs to play that dude is back. I love that guy.

Do you guys hear his interview? He's talking about how everyone's gooned up. We're going to be wearing Honolulu blue ski mask. Oh, my gosh. I saw him on Facebook wearing the ski mask.

Yeah, he's certainly bringing his his personality to the team. I saw that in real real quick. One last thing. All Lions fans. If you happen to see the viral video of Brad Holmes celebrating after the win in Kansas City, it will make you smile. It is a beautiful thing. Go Lions.

OK, thank you, Daniel, for calling from Houston, Texas. He got a revenge. He got beef with the Seattle Seahawks.

I mean, come on. If you're going to have beef with anybody. And being a Lions fan, man, beef with the Ford family, OK? Like you'll finally come out of the doldrums and you're going to take an issue with the Seahawks. I don't care what happened last season, man. Just beef with the Ford family.

Finding any reason to be upset. 855-212 for CBS. Tim is here from Alabama on the J.R. sport show. What's up, Tim?

You on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, what's going on, man? Hey, I talked to you about three weeks ago when you were talking about the work you were doing with the Special Olympics. OK, great. I haven't heard anything since then.

And what do you mean you haven't heard anything since? I don't want to tell you, I don't have a dog in the fight, but I appreciate everything you've done because them young men and young women, they deserve everything that they get to do. OK. And I appreciate you taking your time out.

You taking a day off from your work and doing what you did for them. Well, thank you, Tim. Well, I don't know where you've been for for the better part of almost this entire year, since February. Every week we have an agents of inclusion podcast, which you can check out. You listen to podcasts, Tim.

You know what that is? No, man. I live in Alabama, man. I'm a redneck dog. There's no podcast in Alabama.

You right next door to me. Now, man, we ain't got no podcast. I don't know what a podcast is. OK, Tim. All right. Well, I appreciate you for calling me up. What did you call me on? A bat phone? Like what did you a microwave? How did you call me? Man, I got a flip phone, man. A rugby.

Oh, who? A rugby man. A rugby? Is that a cellular device?

Rugby. OK. All right. As long as it works, Tim. Hey, I appreciate you, man. Well, thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate you for calling from Alabama. You be safe with your rugby, OK? Yes, sir. All right. Thank you, Tim. Tim, the redneck caller from Alabama to show me love for Special Olympics.

Hey, listen, man, I appreciate it. I'm gonna have to Google me a rugby phone. I know Motorola flip phone. A rugby?

I'll look into that. It's also the only American that doesn't know what a podcast is. You think he's the only one? Yes. Never mind.

I was going to ask you when's the last time you've been to a particular locale, but I'm not going to do that. Thank you, Chef. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. We're going to come back, get some more your calls on the other side of the break. Unfortunately, Roger Goodell wasn't just asked about the turf. He was asked about the allegations of racial discrimination in the NFL by their former news analyst, NFL media broadcaster Jim Trotter. And you can bet and you can be sure that Roger Goodell is coming out with the mop and a bucket to try to clean things up.

Make it sound nice. We'll hear from him on the other side. I'll get to your calls. We'll talk about Adam Silver at the top of the hour. New NBA rules on rest.

We have so much more to do. You are listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. It's a great JR, man. Your show is so awesome.

We appreciate listening to you on a regular basis, my man. Call in now at eight five five two one two four CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

Eight five five two one two four CBS. Roger Goodell has had to do a lot of explaining today when it comes down to the turf in a few minutes. We'll also hear Roger Goodell explain the current situation with Jim Trotter, former NFL media analyst on TV, NFL Network, who doesn't have a job with the NFL Network anymore.

And he says part of the reason is because he spoke up against their hiring practices and now he doesn't have a job. So we'll hear Roger Goodell explain that away. And then at the top of the hour, we're going to hear from Adam Silver as he is pretty much now explaining the NBA's new stance when it comes down to players and rest or load management or whatever the hell you want to call it. Let's get some of your calls on the line. We got a bunch of people who have been waiting patiently.

Eight five five two one two four CBS. Fred is calling from New Orleans. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Yeah, what up, JR? How are you?

What's on your mind? Man about Rogers, man. That was just the bad luck there, man.

But I think he would have been good if he would have stayed healthy. Yeah, I think so, too. But, you know, they're not they're not going to be terrible. And I think that back up, I think, you know, he's going to step up and do the right thing.

Well, we have no idea. Neither do the Jets. And so I think the Browns are going to be something to really look at. Yeah, I mean, the Browns should be competitive. They're going to have a full year of Deshaun Watson.

They can still hand the ball off to Nick Chubb. They have a great defense, especially up front. Yeah, the Browns are really good, man.

I was really impressed with them. And, you know, Watson can only get better from there. Well, they historically have beat up on the team since they acquired Joe Burrow. I think the record right now is one and five against the Cincinnati Bengals. So, yeah, they beat them up. I think some people even prior to this game, I think they've given Joe Burrow a bad rap against the Browns.

But that game this past Sunday, man, you got all the reason in the world to say, man, we just kicked they ass because you did it again. Yeah. All right, man.

That's all I have to say for. Thank you, Fred. I appreciate you for calling from New Orleans. Jesse is calling from Nova Scotia.

You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Jesse? Oh, not too much. How's it going myself tonight?

Sorry. How are you doing tonight, sir? How are you? I have no idea how you doing.

Are you OK? Sir, I was. I was I didn't know I'd get no I didn't know I'd get on. So I was kind of.

Why not? So he was prancing so busy. But here you are. What's up?

I was a little preoccupied time. Jared, it's nice to meet you. Cool. Anyway, do we have a secret club that I'm not privy to? Well, if you know about it, I wish he would help me to get in. Like we're both here.

I only know my own chair or a club. What else you got? What's up?

Anyways, sir. First off, well, only question is like the Blue Jays this year. I mean, Canada's team. Canada's team. We all we all love it from east to west.

I'm on the east coast, but east to west. We we all we all love this team. This is literally our pride and joy. Yeah. And they are poop in the bed these days. Poop in it.

Poop in it. It stinks. They're just giving it up.

The three know right now that Texas, my man. I don't even want to talk anymore because I'm going to like start swearing. But it's so bad. It's so bad, buddy. It's so bad.

It's so bad. My buddy. It's it's well, look, the Blue Jays aren't complete garbage. They're good. No, no, no.

I did not say that. They're a very good baseball team. Just like timing right now. Not good. Not good. Well, I mean, overall, on an overall they don't.

This is this is big. If Manoa was actually pitching like he has in the past. I think I would have more confidence in them.

And maybe they wouldn't be battling it out right now for a wildcard. I agreed. I agree. I agree. But disagree. I don't think pitching their pitching is their problem. Even if I know it was like an ace like last year. I get I get. Yeah, I'll kill you. But.

Pitching is not their problem. They got facets. They got burials. Or burials.

Burial. Listen, listen, listen. I need to save time here, Jesse.

Listen to me very carefully. We can go down their roster. They don't have a killer at the top of the rotation.

And even if I have to go ahead and take a look at another team in the American League East, if I have to, if I have to go ahead and and look at Baltimore, I'd probably say the same thing. Cramer's. What about Cramer? Like he's nothing but.

Where for Baltimore? Yeah, Cramer. He's like winning it like what you're saying. Like when I get a good pitcher, but he's not. No, no, no. There's enough.

Jesse, Jesse, Jesse, thank you for calling from Nova Scotia. There are enough good pitchers, man. We ain't looking for a good pitcher. I'm looking for an ace, someone who has been there and done that and gone through it. Now, that doesn't mean that's a prerequisite to absolutely having success.

It's not. But I'm going to feel more trustworthy and someone who's been through the fire at minimum, at minimum, realistically, once before. That's what makes everything that the Orioles doing exciting because they're on the up and up. And whether that means it's going to turn into a World Series this year or the entire team has to go through the fire this season and come back next year.

It makes it an interesting story. And so when I look at a team, the first thing I look for, and I know every team don't have one because not everybody goes into the Hall of Fame. It's someone like a Verlander, man. Would anybody be shocked if the Astros went on another run?

I think the answer is no. And one of the key reasons is because of that guy, Verlander. There's a reason why Texas wanted to go out there and acquire Scherzer and took a risk on him. Even though unfortunately now he's likely out definitely through the regular season, probably unlikely through the postseason, because once again, he has a strain in his arm and can't throw the damn ball. And so my apologies to your J's.

They may not even make the postseason. Eight five five two one two four CBS. Chris is here from California. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Hey, Chris, you're live on the radio.

He sounds like he was on the radio. Marcus here from Buffalo. What's up, Mark? Hey, buddy. Thanks for taking my call. First time caller. Love your show.

Thank you, man. I just I just want to say a couple of things about the bills. There was a nervousness with Allen keeps on interceptions. Last year, he threw the most red zone interceptions in a league. The last three years, he's thrown the most interceptions in the NFL for homes and all that doesn't do that.

That's why he's got two Super Bowls. McDermott has made horrible coaching decisions at playoff games. No one still has taken responsibility for that 13 second call putting the kick when I kicked it out about no one still is taking responsibility for that.

People here are sick of it. I'm just saying there was a nervousness. There was no way when Aaron Rodgers went down that we should have lost to Wilson with our football team. We have all these offensive weapons. And what did we do?

We use three people, Cook, Hardy and Diggs. That's it. I know one understands it here. So we have so many weapons.

No one understands it here. Thank you for my call. And I love to listen to your comments. No doubt about it, Mark. Thank you for calling from Buffalo.

I hear you. I don't think so much that the Buffalo Bills lost to Zach Wilson this past Sunday. The Buffalo Bills lost to the New York Jets defense and they lost to, well, they basically beat themselves. And you heard as much from Josh Allen.

I know you don't like them not taking responsibility, et cetera, et cetera. Josh Allen said he played like crap. Josh Allen says that he needs to go out there and do better. He said that this deja vu to last season just throwing the ball away. And so if you want to talk about taking accountability, look at Coach McDermott.

OK. He took accountability this past this past Monday. He wasn't out there yelling and screaming, but he said, yeah, we threw the ball away.

And he basically pointed at Josh Allen and he didn't need to yell and scream and call him out by name to go out there and do so. It's one game. OK. Are they going to be exciting? Are they the favorites? Have they taken a step back? If you want to look at the expectations from last year that Josh Allen was going to be MVP, that they were going to go straight to the Super Bowl. Look, they still had the number two ranked offense and the number two ranked defense when they got to the postseason.

And they work out for them. When Josh Allen got hurt at the end of the year, it didn't work out for them. Let's give it time.

I still think they're going to be competing for a playoff spot. And I think, as we all know, once you get there, raise your hands in the air and just see what can happen. Noah's here from Seattle. What's up, Noah? Hey, Jay. A big, big fan.

First time calling in. I had a pretty creative solution to the NFL kickoff, and I was wondering what you thought about it. What if, instead, basically, if they kick it through the uprights on the kickoff, what if they get one extra point? Now, my idea behind this is, number one, it's good for the league because they want to have more dead ball, more touchbacks. This will cause more touchbacks. But also, if a kicker shanks it out of bounds, it's still kind of exciting to watch as a viewer. It still gives you a reason to watch the kickoff because, hey, my team could be on the 45-yard line with a flag. Or, you know, my team could get one more point and have a ninth point possible.

I was just curious what you thought about that. Do you want to move the kicker closer up now? Nope.

Nope. Just from there, but off to tee. So, it would be relatively difficult, but a lot of kickers, at least, can get it to the end zone, right?

And so, I think they should be able to get a couple. I don't know, man. I mean, you're trying to send Justin Tucker out there with a strange groin. That's what you're trying to do. Sure. I just think it would be fun, and I think it's a creative way to have a win on both sides where it's like, hey, at least the kickoff means something again.

I don't know how feasible or realistic. I'm up against a break, Noah. I don't know about that. When we come back, we're going to get into Mr. Adam Silver, the NBA in rest here on CBS Sports Radio.

Don't move. Facts are facts, like how contributing to employees' financial security makes them want to work harder for their company. In fact, according to a 2023 study by principle, 87% of employers say that better employee financial security means employees are more engaged and productive at work. The fact of the matter is that employees want to feel financially secure in their future, so consider this. Principle helps you invest in your employees by providing customized benefits and retirement plans to help keep your employees more engaged and productive. When you take care of your team, they take care of business.

That's a fact. Learn how Principle can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team at principle.com slash benefits. Products and services offered by member companies of the Principle Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa.

For important information, visit principle.com slash disclosures. I'm here to tell you about Pom Pom at Home, where comfort meets elegance. Pom Pom at Home is offering 20% off site wide for a limited time. See why so many of the top designers use Pom Pom's luxury easy care bedding.

They have created a timeless, beautiful, coastal living look that incorporates subtle tones and natural fibers, offering a unique touch. Create your dream bed now. Get 20% off sheets, duvets, throws and more right now at pompomethome.com. Easy to use.

Easy to love luxury bedding. Just enter code pom pom at checkout. Can I get a refill, please? No one wants to get sidelined by COVID-19, including me. I've got my work, my family.

I want to be able to keep my plans. I'm getting this season's COVID-19 shot. It helps protect against COVID-19, which can cause severe illness and hospitalization. Learn about eligibility and schedule your COVID-19 shot on the CDC site vaccines.gov. Sponsored by Pfizer and BioNTech.