To talk about what we have seen over week one and the start of week two, what we might see over the next coming weeks is someone who played in the NFL, someone who's been an analyst covering the NFL. Joining us right now here on the Infinity Sports Network, the JR Sport Brief Show, is Merrill Hodge. Merrill, thank you for taking the time to join us. Hi, JR. It's my pleasure, brother.
Good to be with you. Absolutely. Now, I know we got a hot start to the season. It seems like we got a lot of guys injured.
I got to ask you out the gate, what are your thoughts on what we saw from two? Obviously, there's some concern given his history. Should he sit out?
Do we need to see him the rest of the year? What are your thoughts? Well, here's my thoughts. First of all, you have to take it in certain steps in progression, okay? So, what is the first thing and the only thing that needs to be done at this point? You get your patient better. You get the athlete better, okay? That's the first goal. That is the only thing that you can do right now because you can't make decisions based on in a 24-hour period after an injury.
That should never be made in any circumstance, in any profession, and in anything. You have to get the patient better to, in this case, you got to go through the proper process to get him recovered, okay? How long will that take? Well, time tells you it's anywhere from 11 to 14 days, could be a month. That time frame is, there's no, there's not an actual time frame.
That's the ballpark, 11 to 14 days, could be a lot longer. But once he is recovered and he will recover and repaired, then is when you can assess things. And then when you, you know, people are looking at, say, in retirement, well then these are really the three things that would draw a person to retirement or from a medical perspective, they would not clear him. One would be there's some kind of permanent tissue damage, okay? And you'd know that through MRIs, exams, and stuff like that, and they would not, they would not allow him to return to play. He's still having cognitive, visual, or stability issues in any one of those three things, would not allow to return to play and would be retired. And the length of recovery based on his history. Now he's had and seen a lot of different neurologists and had different exams and people that have looked at him. So the luxury of that is he can return to those, go through the entire process again, and then they have something to compare it to, so they can give him that proper feedback.
Let's just say all of that goes well, he has no issues, his recovery length is somewhat the same or quicker, and there's no permanent damage and a clearing. Now that doesn't mean he has to, but still doesn't mean he has to play, you know? This doesn't mean that, you know, the athlete can't make a choice, not to, I've heard a lot of people more on the ignorant side who know nothing about this particular aspect of the NFL. A player is not subject to just the team doctor and the neutral doctor. That player can go get any second opinion from anybody else across the country or the world that they want, and they oftentimes do. So they're not going to be subject to just the NFL doctors or the team doctors, because Tua has already done that. He's went outside that scope and already done that. That's why I referred to those other options, and he'd go back and do them. And then at the end of the day, that should give him the information that he has, you know, that he needs as to what he wants to do with his career. But to sit there and make that decision now and people to say that is uneducated information.
You know, you just can't do that, nor would you do that in this state. We know Tua, and Merrill Hodge is joining us here, the JR Sportbreeze show on the Infinity Sports Network. We know Tua is one of the latest quarterbacks to get one of these major 50 plus million dollar deals. I mean, now we have Dak Prescott who's making 60. Even outside of Tua Tonga Velo, when you look at the money that's being bestowed upon QBs, do you think we're going to get to a point where one owner is going to go, wait a minute, we're now paying 60 and 70 million dollars for an average QB?
Do you think these numbers are getting out of hand here given the cap and the performance? Well, you know, what's kind of unfortunate or fortunate, however you want to look at it, you know, there's a salary cap and that has to be paid. Okay, so, you know, what are you going to do with it? I mean, you're not going to, you know, if you don't spend it, then it goes to charity. So, you got to spend it amongst your athletes.
And then when you look at the business and the structure and the values that come, that's where the guy's really placed to that level or not, that's what that position demands. You know, whether that's fair or unfair, that's just the unfortunate structure of how the salary caps sit right now. I mean, could there clearly be an owner that's like, you know, I'm not going to pay him 60 million. He's not worth 60 million. You know, 30 million is a heck of a deal. I think everybody would pay for 30 million dollars. That could be a case, but then you would have to, probably another team doesn't want to come pay more.
You know, you always got to think of who are you going to replace him with when you do those type of things. But unfortunately, that's the way the league is right now with the pricing and the structure and the pay scale where they are. So, I don't see that changing. The only way it changes is if people stop watching the game, people stop streaming it, and their salary cap is not as high.
Then you start seeing reductions across the board. Meryl, let me ask you this. We got the top quarterback. We all know it's a guy in Kansas City. His name is Patrick Mahomes. Right now, unfortunately, they're dealing with an injury.
That's a Hollywood Brown. It doesn't look like we'll see him. We may not see him the entire season. They have a young wide receiver, a speedster, and Xavier Worthy. How do you feel about their odds and chances of completing this three-peat, which would be the first in the Super Bowl era? Yeah, I actually think it's the first time that nobody's ever done it.
That three-peat is exactly what they need to do it. Because I've known Andy Reid. I've known Andy Reid since I was in college. He was at BYU. I'm from the West. I play in the Big Sky.
Not that I think you know where that's at, but the Big Sky in the back west. It's pretty close to Provo and Salt Lake. Idaho State, Boise State. Back in the day, Boise State left. Weber State, blah, blah, blah.
Northern Arizona, blah, blah. I've known him for a long, long time. I know how he operates.
I know how he leads. That is something that stimulates this team. That we got a chance to do something that's never been done. What drove them to repeat is only a few teams had ever done that, and that's a unique status.
They ate it up. I just think when you're trying to grow and evolve, when you're at a high level, and you've been successful, you have to find things that motivate you, that inspire you. That becomes your focus. That you don't get complacent.
He does a good job with that. I think it's the ideal thing to allow that complacency to set in with this team. The way they looked on Thursday, I know it seems like forever we saw them, they are one of the best teams in football. Right now, they're one of the best.
Can they maintain that? That's always the challenge with everything, but they are still an elite team, and they're the team to beat right now. Meryl Hodge is joining us.
The JR Sportbri Show Coast to Coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We know there's one team seemingly been in the mix. Trying to get their hands on Vince Lombardi has been quite a while, and that happens to be the 49ers.
We learned earlier this afternoon that Christian McCaffrey, he might be going on injured reserve. Now, when you think about the team and all the weapons that they have, is this a smaller deal knowing that this is earlier in the season as opposed to later? The 49ers can still kind of go on another run, right?
Well, listen, I think the team in that conference to beat is Detroit. If there was ever a statement, perspective is week one. I've been on teams where we had the worst start in NFL history, and it was doom and gloom, and we almost made it to the Super Bowl. Then I've been on teams where you're 2-0 and you think you're going to the Super Bowl, and you finish 8-8.
So, I understand the perspective of week one. That being said, in that overtime, when they took the ball and got the ball, every team practices this, every team talks about this, okay? We get the ball on the 25, the 30, wherever you decide and practice you're going to. We take it down a score, we win. We are the champions. We are the champions. We win, okay?
Now, the percentages, if you look at that, are very, very low that that happens. You take it down and you score a touchdown. Not three points, a touchdown. And the manner in which they did it and the authority in which they did it told me everything about that team. They're better, they're hungry, and they have unfinished business.
It did not go unnoticed from my eyes. That is a pro team that is ready. And they, to me, are the team. Now, San Francisco, listen, is still a very good football team, but I just wouldn't ignore Detroit. What they did there, to me, was a lot more like a statement than any other team, either conference. Now, San Francisco, with Christian McCaffrey being out, being able to run the ball like they did and having that balance just speaks volumes to the players that they have there.
Now, doing it one week is a lot different than doing it for 18. So, we'll see how the next few weeks go. Well, Meryl, is there another team that you think doesn't get the attention it deserves as being a potential contender? We saw what the Texans did last year.
Now, they're kind of off to the races with all their weapons. Is there a team this year that you think people are not paying as much attention to as they should? Well, I don't know. I can't think of a team week one. I'm not done watching all the tape, either, because that's the best way to really get that assessment.
So, I'm going half educated here, meaning I only lost tape on half of the league. But there is one team, and I wouldn't say this is like, oh, I didn't see that coming, but there was a team that I think was resurrected. They were through two years ago, and then they fell off. They fell right up the planet next year, and that was the Philadelphia Eagles. What they had going into the Super Bowl and a chance to win it had a dominant running game. The next year, they completely rode and lost that running game and got exposed for it. They rebooted that or recommitted themselves to that, and some teams never recognized their mistakes. They ignore them, or they're like, you know, they refuse to admit them, and they're like, now we're okay with it, and they keep moving forward without rectifying what really got them there. I think they've done a good job of rectifying that and seeing that.
I think they could be like they were a couple years ago, even without Travis Kelce, etc., just the way they can run the football in that balance. Two most critical aspects, if you're going to win consistently in the NFL, is you've got to control the tempo. One of the best ways and the most powerful way to do that in history of this league, you run the football. That means I control the environment. I dictate to the defense. I help my defense. It permeates through the whole team, and then we win the turnover battle, and we got a shot. We got to have other phases as far as a championship team goes, which they do have those other phases, but if we can do that on consistent basis with those other phases, we got a chance to win a championship.
Yeah, I think any team would love to have a healthy Saquon Barkley. Emeril Hodges is joining us here on the JR Sport Brief Show. You talked about sitting down and watching the film. I also know you sit down and you watch the game and you enjoy it, and I understand you got quite a few different fun ways to enjoy the games on Sunday, huh?
Well, yeah, tailgating and homegating. I didn't know anything about homegating until you start watching games and you're not playing anymore, but we have actually a few products that your listeners might be interested in and some ways to save money, but LG has an OLED 84 TV. It's an 80, up to 83 inches, 8 million self-lit pixel with the picture is staggering. So if you can use the outside, it looks incredible, even though it's not an outside television, crystal clear picture with Dolby sound.
And you go to their website, it's up to $1,400 off selected sizes. So there's some money there to be saved for you if you're looking for a TV. And then you got to power all that. The Jackery is a tailgate, homegate power box that is called the Jackery 1000 D2. And I'm telling you, when I saw it, I was like, well, why do we got a cooler here?
It looked like the size of a cooler. I mean, it's portable, it's powerful. It can power everything, music, your phone, because everybody, their phones always die at the games. Everybody knows that. So you got a place that you can charge it up the grill, everything.
And they actually have a solar panel that comes with it that keeps it charged. So if you go to overtime, no big deal. You got to, your TV is going to work.
Your phone's going to work. And you can actually use the code homegating at jackery.com and get to a $200 off the regular price. And then you got to eat something. Sonic has a new smash. It's called the Smasher Burger. And it's the premium cheese burger, $7. Hand smashed, Angus beef, easy to order. I tell you, it's easier to buy them than it is to make them.
So go buy as many as you want, show up, and you're going to be the king of your party. And then the Cricket Joy Extra. It's a DIY smart cutting machine. And this thing, they built me a shirt. I'll tell you, when I walked in, I was like, wow, it was, had 33 on it, had Steelers on it. And the thing cuts like 50 materials, vinyl, cardstock, iron-ons, which got with my shirt. And I was like, holy cow, what made that? And it was like a little compact box.
I'm like, how the heck? Anyway, it'd be great for you to tell me, because then you give your team logos, players names, decals, and get the whole thing the way you'd like it and save yourself a lot on merchandise. And that's under $200 if that interests you in your party. And those are some things if your listeners are into tailgating and they want to up their tailgate party, they need something.
There's four items for you to consider. And hopefully that you have a great time tailgating and your team wins on Saturday or Sunday. Either that, or we just go to your tailgate already, right? Hey, come on over, brother.
Absolutely. Where can people keep up with you and all the great work that you're doing? And where can we follow you personally? What's going on with you? Well, I appreciate that, that ask. And it's, it's just MerrellHodge.com and it's M-E-R-R-I-L-H-O-G-E because my parents and grandparents, they obviously didn't know how to spell either name. So it's just my entire life.
I'm like, I think if I know my ancestors, they probably had to pay to spell it till I'm like, what's the cheapest way we could do this? Okay. Yeah. Let's short. Yeah.
We don't need D in hodge, but we'll make it sound like hodge and we don't need two L's in Merrell because that's just double billing. So. Well, I got it. Well, you got, Merrell, you got me coming with more questions. When, when is the standup coming? When are we getting the standup routine?
You're going to go see, come on. When's that coming? That's next. When that comes, it's going to last one, one, one episode.
Oh no. I think we got it. Hey Merrell, I appreciate the time. Enjoy the rest of the football season. We'll catch you on down the line. Okay. Have a great weekend. Be good.
