00:00Back out to the River Islands guest line.
00:02Guess what, everybody?
00:03It's Juice, Kyle Juszczyk of the Niners,
00:06joining us here on Willard & Dibs 95.7 The Game.
00:08Hello, sir. Thank you for doing this. How are you?
00:12Hey, I'm doing good. Thanks for having me on, guys.
00:14Yeah, yeah. Really appreciate you taking the time to do it.
00:16Can you take the fans through what happens on a bye week?
00:19What'd you do? What'd you get up to?
00:22Yeah, bye week, it's a time to rest the body, rest the mind a little bit.
00:29I always take it as a chance to just get away for a few days.
00:32So once your game finishes, we usually have like two workouts.
00:38And then my wife and I, we went out up to Montana.
00:42We stayed in a cabin out on a ranch.
00:45I did some fly fishing, played some board games by the fire.
00:49And then you're back in town by Saturday and you start getting back to work.
00:54Do you get any real recharge?
00:57I know that this bye probably hits at the perfect spot early enough in the year,
01:01but is it already to the point where you've played so many games
01:04that it's hard to get a full recharge off the bye?
01:08Yeah. You know what?
01:10We always joke.
01:12Like, coaches will expect, like, you know, your first day back from the bye.
01:16It's like, all right, everybody's healed.
01:23Unfortunately, you know, not all injuries or body or wear and tear heals itself in just one week.
01:30But you definitely, you do feel better, but you're not back to 100%.
01:35Well, how are you doing with your injury?
01:38I know you've already been back on the field, but how's that all going?
01:42I'm doing good, man.
01:43I'm so thankful that it wasn't anything worse than what it ended up being.
01:48And I was so happy that I was able to get back out there with my guys after one week.
01:53But, you know, I'm still managing it a little bit, but I feel good enough and I'm happy to be
02:00out there.
02:00Yeah. By the way, did I hear you say that your first thought when you got hit was that your
02:06career might be over?
02:07Like, what went through your mind?
02:09And then what did Kristen tell you after the game went through her mind as she's helplessly watching from the
02:15suite?
02:16Yeah. You know, my mind was all over the place.
02:20It was up. It was down.
02:22When the hit initially happened and I was laying there on the ground, I thought I was okay.
02:27I was laying there. I'm like, I didn't hear anything pop.
02:32It wasn't hurting that bad, but I knew something was up.
02:36And I told the guys that ran over, I said, I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be okay.
02:41Told the doctors that and they told me to stand up and take my first step.
02:45And my first step, it just buckled and it gave on me.
02:50And immediately, like, that was just like a shot to the heart and I got scared.
02:54And so we went into the tent and they're like, okay, we're going to be okay.
03:00And any athlete that hears, you know, that acronym, ACL, it's, you know, immediate fear.
03:07And so, you know, I'm sweating.
03:10They do the manual test and the doctor says, he's like, there's an end to the ACL here.
03:16So it feels good.
03:18I don't, he's like, I don't think you didn't fully tear it.
03:22We won't know for sure until we get the MRI.
03:25But, you know, your mind just goes in a million places that night until you have, like, complete confidence of
03:31that MRI.
03:32And the doctor, he's like, I think you're going to be okay, but we can't check it off until we
03:36go look.
03:37And so, you know, not being able to walk that first night, I was freaking out a little bit.
03:43But it's funny how the brain works because, you know, less than 24 hours later, I go get the MRI
03:49and they tell me that my ACL is intact.
03:53And immediately I could start walking again just because my brain knew that it was okay.
04:00And my emotions just start changing very rapidly that, you know, after two days, I'm like, man, I think I'm
04:06going to be okay.
04:07After three days, I'm like, shoot, can I play this week?
04:11And, you know, and then immediately I was like, you know, this two to three week time period, I just
04:19know how my body works.
04:20I'm going to be able to beat this.
04:22But, yeah, I mean, my wife was scared, too.
04:24She's the ultimate supporter.
04:26She always says, like, you know, anytime I go down on the field, her reaction is just kind of silent.
04:33You know, she doesn't panic too much.
04:35She doesn't say too much.
04:38But she's always there for me and just, you know, comforting and the fact that, you know, whatever it is,
04:43we'll get through it together.
04:44So you miss a game and then you come back against Washington and have a season high in snaps.
04:49So, man, you're a fast healer.
04:52And I wonder, Juice, if you, like, in film study, I guess at times you have to see plays in
04:57which you were hurt.
04:58But are you somebody who on a play like that where we all were watching at home and we were
05:02gasping because that was a violent hit down low?
05:05Do you try to avoid the footage of stuff like that?
05:10Yeah, it is tough to watch at times.
05:12But I want as much information as I can have as possible.
05:17So I watched it.
05:19I slowed it down frame by frame just to see, you know, how much my knee did hyperextend.
05:24That way I can just have all the information possible that I can put together the best plan of how
05:31I'm going to make this thing better.
05:32So what's it like having DeForest Buckner back on the team?
05:36Oh, my gosh.
05:37It's like Christmas, man.
05:38Christmas came early.
05:40I've been wanting to get DeForest back here for years.
05:43You know, it broke my heart when we traded him, you know, six years ago.
05:49And it just all the stars aligned.
05:51And for weeks I've been in Kyle's ear about how, man, how great would it be to have DeForest back
05:56here.
05:59And I've been texting him, too, saying, come home, man.
06:02Time to come home.
06:03And things finally happened.
06:05And I just think that he is going to have such a ripple effect for this defense.
06:10The talent alone of his own is going to make a difference.
06:14But I think that's going to take pressure off of the guys around him.
06:19And I really feel like it can really open things up for our defense.
06:23You guys are sitting 6-1 six days until the trade deadline.
06:27Is this something that the players talk about in the locker room?
06:30Or is it just kind of taboo because if you bring in, let's say, a receiver, well, then somebody, one
06:35of your teammates might lose their job.
06:38Right.
06:39And it's always a sensitive subject.
06:41But I think we're, you know, we're all human.
06:44We're always speculating, you know, what could happen, you know, and are looking for where we could get better.
06:53But I think it's one of those things that, yeah, we're interested.
06:56But at the end of the day, we know the roster that we have right now can win a Super
07:01Bowl.
07:02And anything that's added to it really is just gravy.
07:06Kyle Juszczyk is with us here on Willard & Dibs 95.7 The Game.
07:10Kyle, obviously news of the day.
07:13And we're in the full understanding that this is upstairs.
07:17This is not any of your guys' concern with regard to next steps with Brandon Ayuk.
07:23But I do wonder if you could share with the audience what is the current team player perspective on the
07:30situation as a whole?
07:32In other words, would he in some world be welcomed back into that locker room in a way?
07:41I mean, that's a great question.
07:44I think at the end of the day, you know, we trust whatever decision Kyle and John make.
07:51And, you know, we'll go from there.
07:53But to be quite honest with you, like, today's news was not news for us.
07:59Like, it really hasn't changed anything.
08:01Nothing changed for us.
08:03He hasn't been here for a long, long time.
08:05And it's not really on the front of our minds.
08:09The news, which isn't quite newsy yet, is Mike Evans in the Achilles.
08:14If Mike is not out there, how does that change your role in the offense?
08:19I don't know if Mike not being out there changes my particular role.
08:25But, you know, it definitely changes other guys.
08:29We always, you know, you want to get as many weapons involved as possible.
08:35So, you know, I think you see the pass game maybe be funneled through George and Christian and other receivers
08:43more.
08:45But not having him out there definitely hurts.
08:48You know, he is a true game changer, man.
08:50And he demands so much attention from a defense.
08:53Like, he is a true ex-receiver that can win against anybody.
08:57And we are a much better team when we have Mike out there.
09:01Kyle, you guys are not just 6-1.
09:03You're the only team in the NFC West with a winning record.
09:06And you have wins in hand over the Seahawks and Rams already.
09:09So, how do you stop yourselves?
09:12We get it.
09:13We get your pros.
09:13But how do you prevent getting ahead of yourselves and sort of assuming some things about the division already?
09:19Yeah, that's been the beauty of this season.
09:23Every season takes on a life of its own.
09:26But this year, I just love what a veteran group we have.
09:30And each and every week, like, I've never worried about the quote-unquote trap games
09:36or us not showing up to play or, you know, taking someone for granted.
09:42Like, I feel that the team puts in the same work every single week
09:47and just truly has a great understanding of what a week-to-week league this is
09:52and knowing that there is so much season ahead of us and so much is going to change.
09:58And so, for us, it's just all about the Raiders right now.
10:03And we know if we can just continue to do that, stack those wins,
10:07it'll take care of itself at the end of the year.
10:09You guys used to just be a QB sneak team, and now you are Tush pushing it,
10:14and you are the pusher of the Tush.
10:16Does Brock in the huddle say,
10:18All right, Kyle, make sure you give me a good shove.
10:20Is there a conversation about this?
10:23Well, I'm happy you brought this up because we've been doing this for three or four years now,
10:28and no one has seemed to notice.
10:30And we have a 100% conversion rate, which I would love to put that up against.
10:37You know, everyone talks about Philly's put Tush push.
10:40I promise they don't have 100% conversion rate.
10:43So, I don't know.
10:44People are just noticing it.
10:46But we definitely get some chuckles when we walk through it
10:52and, you know, me being behind and pushing Brock where I am.
10:55Has it led to you two becoming closer on and off the field?
11:02Brock has always been a good friend of mine,
11:04and I am happy to assist him to get that first down any time he needs it.
11:09See, Kyle, this is why we know you're a player and not a broadcaster
11:12because you mentioning that you have a 100% conversion rate,
11:17like if you were a broadcaster,
11:19that would have been a complete jinx and hex that you just put on the whole situation.
11:25I've been saying it around the locker room for years now.
11:28Good.
11:29And I don't know if anyone wants to listen to me.
11:31So, I'm willing to stand on that.
11:34Hey, before you go, Kyle,
11:37obviously your wife and George's wife have become stars in their own world.
11:43And you're in your mid-30s now.
11:46Where does this all go when you're done playing?
11:48Are you guys just like social media stars and podcasters after that?
11:54That's a phenomenal question,
11:55and one that I don't think my wife and I even have figured out yet.
11:59Okay.
12:00You know, I'm like at the halfway point in my career,
12:04so we've still got a long ways to go, so we have to worry about that.
12:07That's nice.
12:07I like it.
12:08You're going to play when you're 50, huh?
12:12I guess let's focus on getting to 40 first,
12:15and then we'll worry about 50.
12:17You fullbacks are crazy.
12:18Yeah, well, you football players are all nuts.
12:22Kyle, thank you so much for giving us a little bit of your time this afternoon
12:26on your way home.
12:27Go get them this weekend.
12:29Yeah, fun talking with you guys.
12:31Okay, there it is.
12:32Kyle Juszczyk right here on Willard & Deb.
