It is! The JR Sport Pre-Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Much love and many thanks to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America.
I don't know where you are, I don't know what you're doing, but I hope you're safe, I hope you're well, I hope you are amazing. This is where we're going to be for the next four hours. This is when the show gets started every weekday, 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I might be in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thank you to our producer Ryan Bottcher, holding it down for us on a Friday in New York City. You can always listen to this show on the free Audacy app, A-U-D-A-C-Y. You can tune in on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. If you've got Sirius XM, it's channel 375.
If you've got a smart speaker, ask the speaker. Talk to the machine, tell it to play the Infinity Sports Network. Of course it's a big Friday. We're heading into the divisional round of the NFL playoffs and we've got some big matchups. Are we going to have an upset? One team is definitely going to be feeling upset. We've got Baltimore and Buffalo to end the weekend. We've got Houston and Kansas City starting us off tomorrow afternoon. We've got Washington.
As a matter of fact, I'm real interested to see what this young Washington team can do. We've got Ben Standing joining us via the athletic. He covers all things commanders. He's going to be here next hour. We're going to go through all the games. We're going to talk about the big college championship game here in Atlanta on Monday night between Notre Dame and then also I think the team that ultimately win the Ohio State University. So we've got a lot to do. There's going to be a lot of football. We do have some basketball news.
Well, some surprising, some not. Joel Embiid apparently is going to be out with swelling in his knee. I guess this is just a new story of his life. Jimmy Butler expected to play today. There's so many conflicting rumors and reports that Jimmy even there's a team want Jimmy back.
It's wild stuff. Dick Vitale. There's some good news there. Looks like Dick Vitale is going to be back after knocking down cancer. And we'll hear Dickie V sooner than later.
That's going to be a lot of fun. And so we have a lot to get into on this Friday, January 17th. The year is twenty twenty five.
And of course, at the end of the show, we're going to go through quite a few things that took place this day in sports history. If you want to give me a holler, you can. Phone number here is eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven.
That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. You could also find me online. I'm on the Internet. I exist everywhere. Real simple.
Not that difficult. I am at J.R. Sport Brief at J.R.
Sport Brief all over the place. Ryan, how are you on this Friday afternoon? You're doing good. Doing great, actually. Solid. You're doing great. What?
You hit the lottery. You still just had a good night's good night's sleep and I have energy today. Oh, that's good. You had energy yesterday. You didn't sound no worse for wear. But I was up from like seven a.m. and it was not good.
Oh, OK. All right. Well, I'm glad that you're you're well rested. That's a that's a beautiful thing to be able to get some some rest. We are not going to rest. We have a lot to get into as we talk about all the football games that we have this weekend.
And we've we broached the topic earlier in the week. I think the most intriguing game that we have this entire weekend is the one that we have to wait the longest for. And that is Baltimore at Buffalo. The fact that you have two MVPs, one of Lamar Jackson, two MVP candidates, Josh Allen.
You remind everybody he doesn't have one. He might win one. And that's what makes this game so damn interesting because he's two great teams. Somebody has to lose in the division around. Only one of these teams is going to go on to presumably take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Yeah, what a shock. I'm picking the Kansas City Chiefs over the Houston Texans. Sorry, all my wonderful listeners in Texas. But here's the deal. There's only going to be one team hoisting the Vince Lombardi in less than a month from now.
And so, yeah, everybody eventually is going to be the loser except for one squad. Lamar Jackson has proven people wrong since he was drafted. Oh, you should be a wide receiver.
Oh, you should be a running back. And now he potentially is staring in the face of a third MVP award. And then you have Josh Allen. Man, when he was drafted, people looked at him and said, well, he's too wild. He has to learn how to tone it down. Well, he has.
He's been ridiculously efficient this season. And so after we saw what the Buffalo Bills did to the Broncos, when we saw what the Ravens did to Pittsburgh, sent a lot of Steeler fans, you know, knocking on the door of Mike Tomlin, trying to get him the hell out of there. On Sunday, we have the wildest, coldest outdoor game that you're going to see. You know, it may not be an ice ball, but the temperature on Sunday is expected to be in the teens.
And when I say teens, I mean from 18 down to 12 overnight. OK, it's expected to snow. And if it's doing that, you know what I expect? I expect a lot on the ground from these Baltimore Ravens, which they've done all season long. And so everybody's talking about the weather right now. What effect is it going to have on this big game? This is the game of the weekend, if you ask me.
This could have been your AFC championship game. Lamar Jackson. We know this man is from Miami. He is from Florida.
The weather in Florida is nowhere near the weather in Buffalo. Lamar Jackson has been playing in Baltimore and ain't no, you know, walk in a park with sunshine and daisies in the wintertime. Lamar Jackson, he was asked about playing in the cold and the effect, the potential effects.
This is what Lamar had to say. Yeah, man, I'm trying to win, so it really don't matter. I can't go into a game and be like, man, it's too cold.
I can't make things happen. You know, Coach will probably send me home. Eric will probably be trying to come, you know, have me go upstairs and talk to him and stuff. So I got to lock in in the cold.
Yeah, no too a tongue of a lower stuff here, right? No excuses. I don't think we're going to see Lamar Jackson, you know, bust into the game wearing, I don't know, a down jacket and three hats and 20 stars. I think we're going to get what we saw from to it last year when he had to go up to Kansas City.
Head Coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens. He talked about how the weather could affect the game, especially the cold. Love to be outside, but we just can't. The fields are too hard and too frozen. But we'll get to work. And we've had a lot of work in the cold. A lot of work in the wind.
And the elements are part of it. You know, the other thing is going to be the footing on their field. We're thinking about that, too. We want to make sure we've got good footing on that field.
It's a turf field and it'll be hard and kind of frozen. So we're trying to think about all that. But really what we're thinking about is just executing our plays at the highest level we possibly can.
Well, that's all you can do, right? We can't manufacture cold. We can turn the heat off in a lot of places in certain aspects. But we know the weather is going to have an impact. No football player will ever walk around and tell you, oh, it's cold.
My body hurts. I mean, we can just watch the players all gather around heaters during the course of a game. But this is Buffalo. This is what they're used to.
Baltimore. It gets cold in Baltimore. This is what they're used to. They will be freezing their asses off. But they're going to play. They're going to try to advance to the AFC Championship game. Now, if you're the Buffalo Bills, you've got more to worry about than just the weather. Because earlier this season in Week 4, these are two teams that got together. And the Baltimore Ravens, they beat the Bills.
Final score was 35 to 10. Yeah, that's a whooping. That's a beat down. And so Sean McDermott, not necessarily worried or concerned about the weather.
He wanted to make it very clear. That was Week 4. And we're not thinking about anything that took place in the past. I mean, we don't live in the past. We learn from the past. But we certainly don't live in the past. I do think it's important to learn from it, though. And then overall, the journey for most teams, or most even individuals who are trying to get to the top of the mountain, very rarely is it just a straight, clean line. Yeah, you can't do that. There's nothing. That's a straight, clean line.
Nothing exists that way. And so if you actually listen to the quarterback, you know Sean McDermott talked about everybody learning. Well, Josh Allen, what the hell happened in that first matchup? Why did you guys get smashed? Going back and watching it obviously wasn't our best effort. It felt like we didn't play our best football. But again, they got a really good team, too. They're playing this week for a reason.
Oh, yeah. Well, we know that. They are a very good football team. And this is going to be a tough game. And one thing that people are going to have to kind of separate is that it is a football game.
It's not a boxing match. It's real easy to take a look at Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen and compare them, given the seasons that they've had and the likelihood that one of them is going to end up being MVP. If you look at the betting odds, it's leaning towards Lamar Jackson right now after he was named first team All-Pro.
That's typically an indicator as to what happens with the MVP. And Josh Allen and Lamar, they're just like, man, yeah, he's good and he's good. But we're going and competing against each other. We're not fighting.
This is what Josh Allen had to say about opposing Lamar Jackson as the quarterback. Absolutely. I think that's why you play this game is to be in moments like these. And, you know, our our team, you know, we're we're extremely happy and blessed to be playing and continue playing this game. Again, we're just trying to find a way to to go 1-0.
That's it. You got one game at a time. We got to wait until six thirty p.m. Eastern time before we see and get this matchup between the Ravens and the Bills. And it's it's going to be cinema. It's going to be like a movie. It's going to be cold.
It's going to be snowing. We're going to see the players breath. This is classic playoff football. And Lamar Jackson. Well, we heard some positive words from Josh Allen. Does Lamar have something positive to say about Josh? I think he does. His uniqueness of just making things happen when plays break down.
On the field. Definitely. Well, not necessarily, you know, bigging him up for the job. But we all know what makes Josh Allen special. He's like a walking one man football team.
Yes. And I love the way that this year, every year for the most part, he's kind of relaxed on the turnovers. And he's amazing. You could give the MVP to either one of these guys. And we got plenty of time to talk about that.
A matter of fact, in an ideal world. And I know it's a regular season award. We'd be able to just give the damn MVP to whoever plays their ass off in this game.
Because these are the games that matter. And I've said this for a very long time, especially shout outs to everybody who calls up and listens in western New York. I've been taking these calls for years. Hey, J.R., Josh Allen is the best. And hey, J.R., Josh Allen needs to be MVP. And hey, J.R., Josh Allen is amazing.
And I always say, yeah, great. He is. He didn't win an MVP. Get over it. If I was a fan of the Buffalo Bills, the first thing that I would be looking for is a championship. Like I don't need outside validation from other fan bases. I don't need validation from people who sit in my seat. I don't need validation from talking. I don't need that. I just want to see the Buffalo Bills win a title.
That's it. And there are a lot of people, some people, who remember when the Buffalo Bills went quite a few times, and they lost every single time. I want a title. And so, dammit, let Lamar Jackson go out there and ultimately win the MVP. If I'm a Buffalo Bills fan, let him have the MVP if I can end up with a title.
And yeah, of course, this is nice. At the end of their careers, they can sit around and go, I got two and you have one and I have this many and you have this. We can save that for another day for two quarterbacks who were selected in the same draft class. But I will tell you this. This is a pick them game.
All right. I'm not expecting anybody to run away with this game. Of course, you can never predict until what a beat down is going to be or a team is going to win 30 to 10. I don't think that's going to be the case in the snow. This game is going to come down to a few select big plays and probably a field goal. I think this is going to be a throwback game. I don't know if either one of these guys, given the temperatures, and we don't know how much precipitation and moisture and water is going to be in the air. We don't know how much is going to snow. We have no idea.
But what I know is that these teams, they don't go out there and punch each other in the mouth. And so is it going to be a cook's run that separates the game? Is it a cook run?
Excuse me. Is it going to be Derrick Henry going out there and busting out an 80 yarder? It's going to take a big play. And so I'm going to say this. And this is my prediction right now. And it's not an easy one to make because I've gone back and forth on this. I want to tell you that I believe the Buffalo Bills will win.
And they certainly can. Do not get it confused. I'm just going to pick the Ravens because I think they have a better run game.
That's it. Lamar Jackson has been absolutely amazing as a quarterback, as a passer this year. I remember a few years ago, he wasn't quarterback enough for a lot of folks. The man can now throw and move the ball down the field and we all know what he can do with his legs. And I believe the combination of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry is different. And I don't think James Cook gets the credit that he deserves as the starting running back here for the Buffalo Bills. I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves. And you know what?
A couple of years ago. Hey, another divisional game in 2020 and that terrible ass year that a lot of us don't want to remember. The Bills beat the Ravens in that playoff game. And this time I think the Ravens, I think they're going to be able to run the ball and I think they're going to have a couple of big plays. But this may go down to a field goal. This may go down or come down to a missed field goal. This is going to be an awesome game. I think that this is the game of the weekend.
And realistically, yeah, I didn't want to sit on no damn fence. I wanted to tell you what I think will happen. The Buffalo Bills can win this game and this is nothing but a coin flip. But if I had to absolutely make a choice, given the weather and the conditions, I'm going to go with the Baltimore Ravens to beat the Bills. What do I want? I really don't care. I just want a good damn football game.
And that is exactly what I think it is going to be. We got to wait the entire weekend. We got Houston and Kansas City tomorrow. We got Washington and Detroit in the late game on Sunday early in the afternoon. We have the Rams in Philadelphia and then we have Baltimore and Buffalo closing us out on Sunday afternoon. It's a great time of the year. The worst part about it is these are the best teams, but we're running out of games.
That's the part that sucks. By the time we get here on Monday, we're going to know who's competing in the conference championship games. Final four.
And then from there we go to the Super Bowl. So we have a lot to discuss. If you want to holler at me, it's simple. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. You could also find me on the Internet. I am everywhere at JR Sport Brief. We're going to talk about every game and every matchup. I told you next hour we're going to have a conversation with Ben Standing, who covers the commanders and figure out whether or not they stand a snowball's chance in hell against Detroit, especially given their youth. We're going to talk about Houston, Kansas City. We're going to talk about it all. The college championship coming out. Roger Goodell, he has a plan to ultimately extend the season. I will explain. We have so much to do. The phone lines are open.
How about this? 855-212-4227. Do you believe Baltimore is going to win on Sunday? Or do you believe that the Buffalo Bills are going to handle business at home? 855-212-4227.
The phone lines are open. Who do you think is going to win between Baltimore and Buffalo? And then also I'm going to get the opinion of our producer, Ryan Botcher. We're just getting warmed up. We're just getting started.
You are locked in. It's the JR Sport Brief Show coast to coast. Where? On the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
Man, I know we're talking football, OK? And the phone lines are open. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. But we have some baseball news that just broke. And it involves the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Because the latest prize edition from Japan, the next biggest and greatest thing out of Japan. Roki Sasaki. You may have heard his name bandied about over the past several months. He just announced via Instagram that he is joining the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers that have already brought on last offseason Shohei Ohtani. The same Dodgers that have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. If you think about it. Oh yeah, by the way, they got Yamamoto last offseason as well.
Oh yeah, that's right. They just signed Blake Snell at the beginning of free agency. Let me remind you, this is what their rotation looks like right now. Tyler Glass now, who will go ahead and ask people in Tampa, he's great when he's actually healthy. But damn it, he's good. Roki Sasaki, if he lives up to half the billing of what he's expected to be, and now he's not going to have a whole lot of pressure.
I mean, well damn, he's amazing. We know about Shohei Ohtani. I don't know how many games he's going to pitch.
I assume somewhere between 10 and 15. Blake Snell, Yamamoto. This is crazy. The Dodgers are nuts. Like the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken things to just a ridiculous new level.
And I know people are online. I just tweeted this out. I said don't blame the Dodgers. Blame the other owners. Think about some of these contracts that they have doled out over the past few years and that they were in the middle of. Mookie Betts is in the midst of a 12-year contract, $365 billion. They gave Yamamoto $325 million before he even threw a pitch in Major League Baseball. We know about Shohei Ohtani and all of his deferred money, all $700 million of it. Freddie Freeman coming over from Atlanta, 162 mil.
Blake Snell got 140. These are ridiculous numbers. Like some of these players are making almost, you know, their payroll. For an individual players is some teams, half of their entire payroll for the entire roster, 25. This is crazy.
But I'll say it again. Don't blame the Dodgers. Blame baseball because they don't care.
I mean, why the hell are they agreeing to this? And the players, they're the ones who are making out like bandits because there is no salary cap in baseball. And if you have somebody who wants to throw around the money and invest it into the team and the payroll, you can certainly do it. But it really sucks for the fans, I think. And overall, when you don't have parity in the league, that's just me. It's good for the players to make money. It's good for the owners to pocket the money. But to actually have belief that my team can go and be absolutely amazing and competitive, that stinks.
And I get it. Nobody is out here just winning every year. But the fact is, when you have the most talent, you have a better chance of winning.
That's just flat what it is. You know, if you're a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, you got to go, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. OK, better luck in a few more years. If you're a fan of the White Sox, you already know you're going to stink for the next forever. You know, the NFL is great when it comes down to parity, unless your team is run by an idiot. And we know a lot of teams are.
But for the most part, you can stink and you can turn things around. If you get a quarterback, you can go on a little bit of a stretch run. You can have some hope in Major League Baseball because of the salary cap rules.
And it's pretty much the wild, wild west. And the Dodgers have clearly taken advantage of it. Don't be mad for somebody playing inside and playing within the rules.
Be mad at the other owners who are just, I don't know, lying to you like Bob Nutting, who said, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. When my pirates have success, you know, when the fans start showing up, I'll invest this money into the team. Well, the fans did show up after the team got better and the fans kept showing up.
And they still do for the most part. And then he stopped investing into the team. Ah, man. Yeah. If you're just tuning in, the Dodgers, they got themselves another pitching gem from Japan.
Roki Sasaki on his way to the Dodgers and the rich get richer. This is just like that guy down the street who just, how many cars do you need, bro? Can you drive all these cars at one time? Why are you buying up all the bread in the, you know, why are you buying all the bread in the, you know, the snowstorm? Like, let's let's relax and slow down a little bit. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven.
That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Let's go ahead and and get to the phones. We got Jeff calling from Hawaii. Jeff, you're on the J.R. sport show.
What's up? Yeah, I think, you know, when you talked about Buffalo and I think Buffalo is going to win. I think this year's Super Bowl will be the Rams versus the Bills. OK, you got the Rams just going the whole way. You want to give me a reason why you got Buffalo winning? Well, Buffalo is a good team.
They got a good quarterback and they got a good team. And I think it's in here. OK, well, that's I guess that's a good enough reason. Hey, Jeff, thank you so much for calling from Hawaii. Jeff didn't give too many reasons specifically related to the game, but I can certainly understand and dig on that.
It's possible. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. Let's go to South Carolina and talk to Jerry. Hey, Jerry, you're on the J.R. sport show. What's up? Hey, J.R. Good evening.
To you as well. Yes, sir. Talk about the two AFC playoff games, divisional round games. First, the Texans.
She's the chief. You know, the starters haven't played in, well, twenty four days, but they'll be ready to start off slow. But I think they'll get it going tomorrow. They should be able to handle the Texans. And as far as with Sunday's game, the best division game of the weekend between the Ravens and the Bills, I think the Ravens will win. They more balanced. I mean, they have nine Pro Bowlers, so they have the talent on both sides of the ball.
And having Derek Henry, who's a monster, will be the difference. Yes. OK. That's that's my thought process as well. The run game. Thank you so much, Jerry, for calling from South Carolina. Eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven.
That's eight five five two one two forty two twenty seven. We're going to take a break when we come back. I'm going to get the opinions of Ryan Botcher. And then how about this? We got an NFL player, an active one who has an opinion on a Detroit game.
And a lot of people are saying, does he now want to go to Detroit? We're going to talk about it. But right now, it's time for a newsflash. Here he is. It's Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the J.R. sport brief. It's the J.R. sport show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network.
Yeah, we got football going on. We got the news of Rocky Sasaki choosing to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though he's not just an all out free agent, he was posted.
The Dodgers, they got the whole world. Blake Snell and Glass now. Yamamoto. You think about the fact that Otani is going to get back to pitching probably, I don't know what, half the season.
I'd be shocked if he gives you more than 20 starts. It's just, it's wild. We got a lot of callers who have thoughts and opinions on the big game between Buffalo and Baltimore on Sunday night. If you want to call me, you can. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. This is going to be a toss up type game and I'm only going with the Baltimore Ravens because of the conditions. And I think that they obviously have a, I think they have a little bit more diversity in their offense and their ability to get the ball down the field. Namely that run game with Derrick Henry.
This is why they brought Derrick Henry in. I want to ask Ryan Botcher first. Rocky Sasaki, you hear the news that he's going with the Dodgers.
What are your first thoughts there, man? It's bad for rookie contracts because my issue is not with the Dodgers actually signing him. We knew that was basically a four given if he was given the choice to sign anywhere. My issue is that he four went like his contract in Japan, had to pay fees just to specifically get to the MLB a year early and get around the traditional signing process in Japan.
Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, they had to pay the posting fees and we don't know the details of what that contract is going to look like. But knowing that if he would have waited, he would have had one of these these massive deals. And if he pitches well in Major League Baseball over the next several seasons, he's going to be in store for a big deal.
He wanted to come over. And you think about being able to join some of your countrymen and you're comfortable out in Los Angeles. I'm sure Yamamoto and Otani being around certainly didn't harm matters. You think about them having a championship that they just won. The Dodgers look like they're going to be rolling for quite some time. There's nothing guaranteed in baseball. We know injuries can have a major impact on how the season goes. But the Dodgers, the talent that they've been able to acquire via free agency is just nuts. I'm talking about everybody.
I don't care what side of the ocean where you come from. 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. Let's talk to Harry. Harry is calling from Rochester in western New York. Harry, you are on the JR Sport Brief Show. What's up?
Thank you very much. I'm actually kind of surprised that you're taking the Ravens with the condition. I was going to say the conditions might not favor the Ravens. It's going to be sub-zero windshield on Sunday night.
And there isn't a really good history for neither Henry or Lamar Jackson playing well in cold weather. Not saying that they're not going to play well. I think the game is going to be a shootout. And it's probably going to come down to whoever, whatever is the last team that makes the big play. But the Ravens have to stop Josh Allen too. And I think the weather is going to be a wild card.
I don't think you've got to think about that. I think the weather is going to be a wild card. I feel like we pretty much said the same thing, but you're picking the bills.
I'll tell you this. If it's going to take the end of the game to decide it, then that's what I mean when I say it's going to be a field goal game. Who's going to make or miss a field goal? Now, do I think it's going to be a shootout? You've got your pickers who are not doing too well in Tucker and Bass.
Well, we know Justin Tucker has been, he's been a case study on what goes on in between your ears. I don't know if it's going to be a shootout. I'm hoping that we get a little bit closer and tighter of a game.
We've got enough of these shootouts in the NFL. Let's see what happens. It's going to be a good one. I certainly hope so.
Same here. Like I said, I'll be at that game. I'm going to be wearing my electric underwear. Oh, okay. All right. Is that all you use the electric underwear for, just to stay warm? Yep, absolutely. It saves your life out there, let me tell you.
I was at the Patriots-Bills playoff game last time it was sub-zero for the playoffs, and let me tell you, it is a life zero. Okay. All right. You've got to take batteries, right?
You don't plug it in batteries? Well, it's rechargeable, yeah. Okay. Harry, you're going to have the warmest ass in western New York. Okay.
Thank you, Harry. Man. Hey, Ryan, you ever wore electric underwear?
I didn't know that existed until 10 seconds ago. I don't know if I want my ass to be that warm. I mean, that's dangerous.
I don't know if I want other things. It's set on fire. Well, man, can you imagine him going through the metal detectors and they go, hey, what's the deal?
I hope he was joking. Electric underwear? I can think about people using electric underwear for a variety of things, but anyway, 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. Now, Ryan, he made a point about, he's like, hey, you know, Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, they stink in cold weather. Is that accurate? I mean, they play in the cold. I was curious during the break because I was like, hey, Lamar, Florida guy.
I looked it up. He's 3-1 in games under 32 degrees. So his last, his coldest game was 27 degrees in Kansas City in 2018.
Pretty sure that was a loss. Last year at home against the Texans, it was under 32. And then last week was under 32 degrees against the Steelers. Okay.
All right. So, Lamar, we can safely say 32 is cold, right? Below freezing, yes. Yes, that's cold. And Harry is wrong in that regard, right? No, yes? Small sample size, but as of now, yes.
Touche. Yeah, I don't, cold is cold, man. Everybody is cold. Let's just put it that, it's not, he's not, yeah, he's from Miami. The guy played in the Midwest in college. He's played in the NFL now for years.
He's won MVPs. Is he going to be cold? Yes. They're all going to be cold. And I think running the football in the cold weather, I think they have an advantage. And yes, they have to stop Josh Allen. Of course they have to stop Josh Allen. And I already said this. I think that James Cook doesn't get the credit and the respect that he deserves, especially given his size.
I just think, and would people disagree with me? You have ridiculous superstars here on Baltimore. Now, this might be a detriment.
Now, this also might help. Zay Flowers is still doubtful. He didn't play in the last game. They, every week or every day we get these reports about what the top wide receiver for Baltimore may be doing. But if they have to just run the ball, we'll see what happens. We know likely is still out there and Andrews is still out there. I just think there's an opportunity given Lamar Jackson always touches the ball and Derrick Henry is the other second best option to touch the ball. I think they have more, they have a better chance of just huge and explosive plays. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27.
8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. Let's talk to, I believe this is Marianne. Marianne, am I saying it right in Rochester? Marianne must have, must have took on some electric underwear. Is that what happened, Ryan? You think she went to go buy electric underwear?
Is that what that was? Maybe. She said she was going to a dance recital or something, so maybe she got distracted. Oh, okay. Nothing wrong with a, oh it's Friday, right?
I get it. How many mounds of snow do you think she's having to go over to get to this recital? At least six.
Oh yeah, there's tons. What is your thoughts on this game, Ryan? I got Marianne. Marianne is back. Oh, Marianne is, Marianne, what happened to you? You got sidetracked? I must have hit mute, J.R.
I must have hit mute by somehow, I don't know, but I heard you perfectly. Okay. I just want you to know, I'm a Bills fan, I have been for years, I watched them play those three years they went to the finals and they had rotten field goal kicks that didn't make it. So, I think, dammit, we deserve to win.
But oh boy, it's hard. And I am not putting anything past Baltimore. I've been watching that team and they come back, they run, I mean, you know, when we had to play the Kansas City Chiefs, I just kept saying don't let the Chiefs have the ball in the last two minutes of the game. These guys are the same way, but they have so many options and I think you're right, I think it's going to be a very close game and I think it's going to be maybe field goal, maybe even the two points after a touchdown. Yeah, goal for two, yeah. Yeah, two point conversion. Yeah, exactly. Now, I have a question for you.
Yes, go ahead. What does this time of weather do to the football? Handling it, does it get harder? Oh yeah, it's like a rock. It's like a rock. Yeah, when it gets cold outside, that football is like a rock. Marianne, do yourself a favor, never agree to catch a football in the cold weather. Don't agree, don't agree to catch it, okay? No chance of that, JR, no chance. Okay.
Alright, Marianne. But I just wondered, I mean, I think the ball might look against them as well with the temperatures and everything. This is what I also, you live in western New York, you certainly understand what the temperature, it could be snowing one minute and then stop 30 minutes later and then start and stop. The snow is so unpredictable when it's going to fall and we don't know when the snow is going to fall in that 6.30 time window.
Right. The snow falling isn't so bad. It's got to be warm enough to snow. So it's got to be 32 or above, usually, for it to be any kind of detrimental snow. But we've had it down in the teens for the past two weeks almost and let me tell you, when we finally get up to 30, it feels like, oh my God, it's summer. I mean, I finally was able to fill the windshear washer today because it's 32.
Oh my God. Yeah, I know, people outside in shorts and t-shirts today, right? Yeah, that's what you feel like. I mean, compared, I mean, the rest of those days when it's 18 and 12 and you've got a windshear to deal with, it's in the car, in the house, as long as, as quickly as you can go.
I didn't stop for groceries or anything. So I really am worried about, I really am worried about this game. I'm just hoping somehow, some way they can play their absolute, absolute best and just find the two points to win. I hear that. One point to win.
I'm not fussy. Well, I'm, I'm, I'm rooting for you. I don't know if I'm rooting for either one of the teams, but I'm rooting for you, Marianne.
So good luck and you stay warm over the weekend, okay? I will, JR, and I love your show. Thank you so much for all you say and do. You're just the bestest guy to listen to on sports. No screeching, no yelling. You just give it as it is and I love that. Well, thank you. Yeah, yeah.
A lot of sarcasm and, and humor and, you know, I just try to be myself. Yeah, but I mean, a couple of these other stations that, that put you off the air, all they do is yell, even at each other. And that drives me nuts. So I can't listen. I agree. I don't like yelling and screaming either.
That's why I don't do it. Well, Marianne, thank you so much. Okay. You take it easy.
Yeah, we don't need no yelling and fighting and fussing and yelling and screaming. I got better things. I'm just having fun. Just relaxing. I'm just chilling. Yeah. 855-212-4227.
Thank you so much, Marianne. Now, Ryan, now I can get back to you. We've heard the opinions of people in Western New York. I think we had a guy call from Hawaii.
So we're spanning the United States of America right now. What do you think is going to happen in this game? I think the Bills will have a great first half, but I think the Ravens in the second half will just completely wear down the Bills and run away with it. Probably like a one score, two score game.
Probably seven, eight points. Running? Or you wearing them down? You mean running that football?
Yeah. There's too much talent in the running room for Baltimore. Lamar Jackson himself, great legs. Derek Henry, great legs. There's just too many weapons for the Ravens on the ground. Justice Hill has been amazing, too, that they can't be stopped. All it takes is one rush of 70 yards, 60 yards, 50 yards. We've seen Derek Henry as big as this guy is.
He is like a Mack truck that moves with the speed of a Ferrari. It's ridiculous. I had this conversation. I don't even know who the hell it was with at some point this week. As a matter of fact, it was yesterday. Shout out to my main man Matt from New Orleans.
It is very simple. We're in an era of the NFL right now where the bell cow back, the big back that runs you over and destroys you. Who is it? We've got Derek Henry at the top. And then you think about Saquon Barkley. Saquon is a smaller guy. He's built like a truck in a tank. He's hard to bring down.
He ain't no Derek Henry. And you've got Josh Jacobs. And then when you think about the running backs underneath that, it's like where? We don't have the tough knock you over, run you down. We don't have the Jim Browns. I mean, you want to think about someone who's big as hell and nimble.
The bus. Jerome Bettis. Like the game is changing. OK, you got Christian McCaffrey, who unfortunately was hurt almost all of this year with those the legs and calf issues, Achilles. Christian McCaffrey is not running people over like I love watching Derek Henry. I don't mean it hurts me to call it throwback NFL football. You give him the ball and he will hit you.
You have to look and make a decision as to where, how you're going to even try to bring this guy down. I'm expecting a great game. I hope it's a great game. If it's a blowout, I will be disappointed. I'll be sad and I will be miserable.
I will say it again. I'm going with Baltimore. I think they're just going to go out there and run that rock in this game. Toss up. It's going to come down to a field goal. It's going to be a close one. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to talk Detroit and Washington. And there's another NFL player who might want to go to Detroit. Don't move. It's the JR Sport Reshow, the Infinity Sports Network.
