Space City Houston w Dan Mathews 11-2-24

Dan talks Texans talk and what are the changes they need to make in order to team win more games. Dan along with may callers express their concerns about the Texans offense and defense.Talk of CJ, a recap of the Texans/Jets game. Who is at fault for the weak Texans offensive line? Dan provides comments from Strud, Demeco,Kike Hernandez, Shane Steichen, and Mike Elko.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcomeboard, Welcome to another Space City Saturday on Sports Talk
seven ninety Dad Matthews Live and local h town breakdown
of the world that matters to you, the Houston sports world.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
All these great Houston fans here.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
We love you all, So finish up on that to
do list.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Slute up the cooler, because you can't drink in talk
sports all day if you don't start. Now bear me
in the eight This is Space City Saturday's insane.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Here's seven nineties Dan Matthews.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
You know, way do we go here on Space City Saturday.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Dan Matthews here with you.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Got to sleep in a little bit today, so that's
not a bad deal. As we get going here on
a after a Texans game Saturday, it's a college football Saturday.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Astro's offseason in full.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
Swing and we've got the Rockets coming your way a
little bit later on tonight. So a full plate of
sports action here in the Houston area. As we get
going today. You know how to do things if you
want to get involved. Seven one three two one two
five seven ninety Once again, that's SEB one three two
one two five seven nine zero. You can also find

(01:29):
me on Twitter as well if you prefer to get
involved in the show that way, please fair game. And
I'm at Dan Matthews HOU right there. Of course, one
T in Matthews, although I haven't searched if there's anybody
with two t's in HOU at the end, I don't know.
Maybe one day, if I ever meet parody account status,
if I'm worthy of being made fun of and mocked

(01:52):
and everything else, which, honestly, given my track record my
thirty nine years of life on this planet, that probably
could happen. I'm sure I'll probably annoy somebody out there
and they'll be like, oh, you know what, I'm gonna
make a parody account. And if they do that, I
guess that's a certain status that I've reached. So have
at it if that's what you want to do. But anyway,

(02:13):
I do know that I believe there's like somebody running
for Congress there in the Fort Benn County area that
spells his name the exact same way that I do,
and I think his Twitter account handle is at Dan
Matthews t X. So no, I am not running for Congress,
just a coincidence in terms of our spellings. But anyway, hey,

(02:33):
I probably assume he's probably a pretty swell guy. So anyway,
that is a little PSA on the Twitter accounts. So
if you see one guy with the hou at the
end and the LSU shack jersey with O'Neill, you know,
seeing somebody pointing to the back of their jersey, then

(02:54):
you know you found me.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
So that's me. But anyway, a.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
Lot to get into here on the show today. As
I mentioned the Texans plane on Thursday night, not a
good night there in the Meadowlands. There's plenty to chew
on there. I know a lot of you were able
to get in on the phone lines, both with me
and Sean yesterday on the Sean Salisbury Show. I know
that it carried over to next up as Stan Norfleet man,

(03:20):
he was rip roaring ready to go and he delivered
on those two hours along with Chris Gordy yesterday from
ten to noon. And then of course you had the
Matt Thomas Show and we got into it a little
bit in terms of you joining us on the A
team as well. But anyway, if there's still a little
bit more that you want to be able to throw

(03:41):
out there about the Texans as they kind of get
into this many bye week, if you will a little
bit of a refresher for them, and they are off
from team activities in terms of being open to the
media until Monday. So I've got to believe right now
a lot of self scouting is happening over there.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
The film it's.

Speaker 4 (04:04):
Been dissected, cut up, everything like that and gone through
at nauseum. Of course, yesterday we get the news Kenyan
Green likely done for the season with a separated shoulder,
So we'll see what happens with Jared Patterson if these
few days off, and then of course you're not playing
until next Sunday nights against the Detroit Lions here at

(04:26):
NRG Stadium, so that's an opportunity. And usually during the
bye week, that's what you see teams doing. You see
teams going through self scout. How can we improve or
we may be using this guy the wrong way, is
somebody else better suited in this role? Any of those
type of things. And then also as well, before Tuesday
the NFL trade deadline, So Nick Casario and his group

(04:48):
are very busy right now. So I would have to
believe if you drove by NRG Stadium right now, you
would probably see where the players, coaches, and staff lot
is there outside the stadium. There's a lot of cars
outside right now because there's a lot of the people
that fit into those categories that are huddled around the

(05:10):
conference room tables. And also too, I mean going through
everything that is in regards to this team in terms
of trying to maybe bolster personnel either through the trade
deadline or also too, I mean even kind of doing.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Some self scouting.

Speaker 4 (05:26):
And like I said, I mean I looking at guys
and saying, hey, are we using this guy the wrong way?
And again is somebody else better in this role? So
all of those things are being talked about right now
over there. But to get back to the game itself,
I mean most of us watched it on Thursday night.
I know the rocket scheme was happening. At the same
time you probably had trick or treaters coming by. That

(05:48):
was fun as it was my first time ever being
able to hand out Halloween candy up here in the
spring Woodlands area.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
That was fun.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
And as I'm doing it, I didn't really have a
costume this year, as I had a feeble attempt at
being magnum Pi, and nobody around our office really dressed
up for Halloween, which was kind of interesting. But at
the same time though, too, I couldn't find the Hawaiian
shirt that I wanted, so I found the next best

(06:16):
one that I could find. And also too, I had
a Detroit Tiger's hat. And at first when I showed
up in it, of course, with us being the home
of the Astros, people were like, what are you a
Tigers fan? Now? I said, no, notice the Hawaiian shirt.
They're like, oh, magnum pi. I said, there you go.
So I'm just a guy that collects a lot of hats.
I mean, it's nothing really much to it. But once

(06:38):
I got home, I was like, yeah, you know, this
was a feeble attempt at best. So I just threw
my CJ. Stroud jersey on and a Texans hat and
was handing out candy after we got done with the
show on Thursday. And the funniest part of it all was,
of course, had it up on the TV that we
have in the living room, and as you had parents
with their kids coming up, you have of course, you know,

(07:00):
mom and dad standing off kind of in the distance
a little bit, as you know, trigg or treat. All right, hey,
here's some of your candy. We were handing out the
good stuff too as well. So if you stop by
our house and you got home and dumped out all
the loot, you probably noticed, Hey, you know what, that
house did a pretty good job. So we appreciate those
those guys. So now we had a lot of fun.

(07:21):
But no, the funniest was, of course, you know, the
dads would see the game, Hey what's the score, And
I remember one time it was the Texans are up
seven to nothing, but now they're looking kind of sloppy.
And it was a fun night other than the Texans game.
So two out of three ain't bad, I guess on
that one, and that's what we got on the Houston

(07:41):
sports scene and with the Halloween on Thursday night. But
I mean, you know, just the game itself. As I said,
two out of three ain't bad, and the one was
not good. Texans lose twenty one to thirteen to the
Jets up in Jersey. I mean, I think it was
kind of a little bit of a sum of all
fears this one. I mean, it had it all really

(08:02):
when you think about it, of kind of mimicking what
happened last year when he went up there to New York,
New Jersey, and it did not go well in terms
of protecting CJ.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Stroud.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
That's an understatement. As I mentioned about Kenyon Green going down,
we got to see ken Rick Green go into the
game and he did some good things. I mean, I
think that was kind of a little encouraging to see
what he was able to do. He finally got his
chance and he was able to deliver for the most
part there at the left guard spot. But that Jet's
defensive front was just too much on CJ all night long.

(08:37):
And I mean you saw, you know, I know that
we talked about a little bit yesterday on the A team.
At least one designed rollout for CJ. Stroud, But I
mean it was also by necessity that he was on
the run for much of that game. So the defensive
game plan that Jeff Oulbrick and the Jets defensive staff
put together against CJ. Stroud was pretty fawless and they

(08:58):
were able to execute it. And coming into this game,
as we had Dan Leberfeld of Jet's Confidential on with
us on the A team, he had talked about they
don't do a ton of twist and stunts. Well, whatever
they were able to do in this game, it was working.
And it was working incredibly well. And you saw that
Texans offensive line on roller skates for much of the.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Game, and that's not a good thing.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
Joe Mixon able to put together some good things on
the ground, I mean, most of his action came in
the first half, and then in the fourth quarter you
found yourself down and trying to be able to find
a way to cut into that lead and give yourself
an opportunity at the end of the game. But the
Texans just unable to do it. That was not good
special teams not great for you either. Johnny Townsend, I

(09:43):
mean I think he's kind of left a little bit
to be desired this season as the punter for the Texans.
I don't necessarily believe that he's been the guy that
they hoped that they were getting. I mean, you hope
that you were getting a guy that win. Indeed, you
do have to go ahead and push that U option
of yep, let's send the punt team out there and
kick it away that you want a guy that can

(10:04):
flip the field. And I mean, unless I'm just missing
some things, I have not necessarily seen a ton of
balls leave the foot of Johnny Townsend that have been
able to necessarily flip the field or even pin the
opposition back deep in their own territory a ton this season.
So that's one that maybe hopefully he can go through,

(10:25):
kind of go through the drawing board and everything like
that during this brief time off and be the guy
that you hope he could be after this many bye
week that the Texans are on. And then Kyamie Fairbairn,
I mean, somebody who all season long has been mister
reliable for this team, he was anything but in this game.
The fifty six yarder that he missed, I don't necessarily,

(10:47):
you know, put.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
That on him.

Speaker 4 (10:48):
I mean, that's an incredibly low percentage kick. And I
know that early on in this season we were looking
at place kickers making those left and right and thinking like,
oh man, you know, do we need maybe even need
to like the uprights a little bit or something like
that to kind of, you know, stop these from being
so prevalent in the NFL. But you know, a little

(11:08):
windy night there at MetLife Stadium, misses it wide right.
But I mean, you know, on top of it all,
two you have the doink and just it was a
rough night for Kayami Fairbearns. So not necessarily the game
that he wanted to have, and of course too talked
about c J Stroud. I mean, I gave you the
protection issues. But at the same time as well, Yet

(11:32):
c J. Stroud, probably because of the pressure that he
was facing not having a clean pocket back there, and
I you know, and that's the thing too as well.
It's the NFL. You're not gonna have a ton of
clean pockets. But two, at the same time, with as
much as he is facing pressure, it's starting to get
to him and you're starting to see it. And he
hasn't had a ton of eleven for thirty nights, but

(11:52):
he did, and he missed some throws, he missed some reads.

Speaker 2 (11:55):
That's going to happen.

Speaker 4 (11:56):
But two at the same time, I think that you're
seeing a less confident c J.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
Stroud out there right now.

Speaker 4 (12:02):
And I talked about a little bit yesterday with Sean
on the Sean Salisbury Show. I think it's pretty evident
that these last four games he has incredibly missed Nico Collins,
because I mean, Nico Collins for every bit of the
purpose of the word has been his safety blanket. And
I guess two words right there, But I mean he
absolutely has been. And I mean we saw it early

(12:25):
on in the season against the Colts, against the Bears,
of course before he heard his hamstring against the Bills.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
That I mean c J. Stroud.

Speaker 4 (12:32):
I think if he looks over and sees number twelve
is on the field, he knows he's got a chance.
And I think that he's probably masked a lot of
issues that you've had up front when he's been on
the field at times this year because of his ability
to be able to create separation and also get behind
the sticks, to be able to move the chains for
you and pick up a first down. And I think
that Tank Dell has done every bit of as good

(12:53):
of a job as he could do. I just think
that probably at best, Tank Dell is a second option
for your team, and he had a good game on
Thursday night. But it's also too if you're looking at
this this Texans roster in wondering how do they stack
up against the best teams you know, of course, the Chiefs,
the Ravens, the Bills. You probably even have to throw

(13:15):
the Steelers in there as well. For the season that
they're put together to this point that I mean, this
is a team that is deficient in terms of being
able to put together huge explosive plays without Nico Collins
on the field. So he comes back from the hamstring.
Hopefully this month off has been enough time for him
to be able to heal up, and you're hoping that

(13:37):
this week on the practice field, you see number twelve
is out there and he's on the field next Sunday
night against the Detroit Lions. And if that's the case,
that is a huge boost for this offense because of
what he means for this team. So you know, we'll
see what he's able to bring. But two at the
same time as well, I mean, you bring back Dalton
Schultz this year, And I mean he's a guy too

(13:57):
as well that I've talked about I need more out
of it guy like I need him to factor a
lot more than he has to this point.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
And who knows with him, I mean, maybe the.

Speaker 4 (14:06):
Absence of Brevin Jordan has been a huge, notable one
for him. Maybe that takes a little bit of pressure
off of him and Jordan too as well. As we
saw last year in the postseason, he's a guy that
absolutely has the home run capability out of a tight end.
So you know, hopefully at sometime this year you get
him back and that can kind of free up Dalton
Schultz a little bit. But I mean again too as well.

(14:29):
I mean this is gonna sound like I'm badgering him,
but you know, Dalton, Man, I mean you showed it
a couple of years ago when you were with the
Cowboys against the forty nine ers, and then also too
on Thursday Night as well. Know where the sideline is, man,
I mean, I get it. I understand there's a lot
to think about right there, catch make sure the feed
are down, all those different types of things.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
I get it. But you're a pro for a reason.

Speaker 4 (14:51):
I mean, that's a play that needs to be made
right there, and that would have been a huge completion
and a huge chunk of yards that you could have
been able to pick up right there. But I mean
his cleat size just an inch or two too long
right there and hit the white of the sidelines and
ruled in complete. And of course that was pretty much
the Texans nights. So, like I said, a lot of

(15:13):
self scouting happening right now over there on Kirby, and
I know that that's something that you usually see whenever
you've kind of hit the snag that this team has.
I mean, let's also too, I know that I've gone
through a lot of the bad, but let's talk about
the good of this Texans team to this point. The
good is number one and first and foremost. You're six

(15:34):
and three. I mean, you know this is a team
too as well that while they have not played their
best football, and while they're you know, not the best efforts,
could have probably had them at I don't know, five
and four, maybe even four and five. I mean, maybe
there's a couple of those games that you were lucky
to win. And believe the Texans were five and one

(15:55):
in one score games coming into this one, and it was,
you know, just a game that just didn't go your
direction because of a lot of the things you didn't do.
But also too, I mean, the Jets gave you plenty
of opportunities with special teams miscues of their own as
well to be able to get you in position to win,
you know, I mean, you have the second drive of

(16:15):
the game, after you get good field position, you get
into Jets territory and you funnel the football and just
a lot of things that I know that Demiko Ryans
and his staff are trying to clean up, and I
you know, it's gonna be interesting to see what happens
before Tuesday, because I mean, it seemingly is a prevailing
thought with the you know, the media that covers the team,

(16:37):
us who talking to live microphones, whoever, it is, that
there does need to be some changes made as you
go forward. And is that making changes to some of
your coaching staff. I think that would be ultra reactive
to do that at this point, and I'll explain why
as the show goes along, but maybe even some personnel
as well. So, like I said, I'm sure that Nick

(16:58):
Cassio and his staff are very busy. We'll get to
more Texans on the other side. I see Adrian and Tim.
You guys want to weigh in, We'll do that as
we continue along here on Space City Saturday. We'll get
into some Rockets talk too as well. Rockets on the
floor tonight, the Golden State Warriors in town, Rockets three
and two on this season, and Thursday night while I'm

(17:21):
talking about the bad that happened on Thursday night that
was absolutely really good. So do you want to get
into a little bit of Rockets as we go along here?
And the Astros off season is in full force right now,
and we are now on day three of the exclusive
window of the Astros being able to negotiate with Alex Bregman,

(17:41):
and hopefully we can see something in terms of a
tangible offer thrown out or anything like that. But as is,
I'm way over for a timeout, so we will take
it and we'll get to you guys on the phone lines,
and also to continue with the Texans conversation on the
other side.

Speaker 2 (17:56):
Because there is something that CJ.

Speaker 4 (17:58):
Stroud said after Thursday night team that really stuck with
me and I want to break that down a little
bit on the other side as well. So we'll do
all that as we continue to roll along here on
Space City Saturday. I'm Dan Matthews here in your home
of the Astros and the Rockets, Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
We now return to Space City Saturday, Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
Space City Saturday, Dan Matthews here with you on this
college football Saturday. Not a ton of college football conversation
here on the show today, but I mean, hey, look,
you know, Aggie's feeling pretty good about themselves. They want
to throw it out there. I'm game as well. Someone
three two one, two five, seven ninety. Before I get
to something that CJ said, let's head out to you

(18:42):
on the phone lines. Adrian wants to weigh in here
on Sports Talk seven ninety Adrian, what's going on, man?

Speaker 3 (18:49):
How you doing? It's two days in a row for
me and you, buddy.

Speaker 4 (18:51):
I talked to you yesterday too, yesterday not we're making
this a regular thing.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
I like these meetings.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
Hey, that's pretty cool.

Speaker 5 (18:57):
That's pretty cool.

Speaker 6 (18:58):
I like you, man, I'm always this. It's not on Saturdays,
but normally I'm working, so I got headphones on and
can't call.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
No worries. I appreciate you joining.

Speaker 6 (19:07):
But anyway, I'm glad you bought that up this morning.
First of all, jigamags, I'll be watching the day. Let's
go make that money. I need it double thanks to
this offensive line. Now, let's get onto these clowns. It
may be a blessing in disguise that Green got hurt, because,
like you said, we all know Nick's over there making
phone calls now and Dimiko says that they're gonna fix it,

(19:31):
and everything's got to be looked at. It's gonna be
a long twelve days for that offensive line because if
he's making one phone call, praying to the god in
the sky that he's making three or four. That way,
when they walk in next weekend, they look around be like, yeah,
we told you it's gonna get fixed. So guess what,

(19:54):
drop your glove and leave it on the mound. We've
got somebody here to help pick up the pace because
we need it.

Speaker 7 (20:01):
Because a kid with a million dollar arm needs either
be putting shotgun or put in shotgun right now, because
this offensive line is just not having it in our
franchise is just not gonna make it.

Speaker 6 (20:16):
You know, you said it yourself. Kid's already got happy feet.
We don't want him seeing ghosts. We know what happens
after seeing ghosts. You've seen that story already. Have a
good weekend, Dan, Like I said, I'm going to lay
my money down for the rest of y'all.

Speaker 4 (20:33):
Appreciate Adrian, Appreciate the kind words. And also too, I mean, yeah,
you know talking about this offensive line, and this is
something too that I talked about before the season that
you have to realize the window the Texans are in
right now. This is kind of the same window that
the Kansas City Chiefs were in when they finally realized, oh,
number fifteen, he's the guy. I mean, we don't feel

(20:56):
as bad now moving on to him as franchise guy.
And once you were able to notice that you had
a franchise player as the you know quarterback, you know,
Alex Smith was a you know, distant memory at that point.
So once you know, Andy Reid and company up there
in Kansas City realized that Mahomes was a guy they

(21:17):
could build around. During that time, they were able to
build around him, and they were able to make sure
that they had the highest powered offense in the NFL.
And you know, this is the year and the Texans,
I think skill position player wise, definitely tried to do that.
And coming off of last season, I think there was
a little bit of fools goal because I think that
you felt like the offensive line. I truly believe right

(21:40):
now that they over evaluated what they had with that group,
and I was kind of surprised that there was not
more made in terms of you know, bolstering that group
either through the draft or even as well, you know,
some needed you know, maybe lesser tier free agents or
even a trade or something like that as a possibility.
I mean, we've had somebody last year that I think

(22:01):
came in and rejuvenated their career in George Fant. George
Fans missed right now. You would love to have a
George Fant around. And I understand he didn't have Titus Howard,
so you know that was, you know, a role for
him to fill. And now you've had Titus Howard back,
but two as well. I mean, I was thinking about this.
You know before the show today, You've been able to

(22:22):
get good things out of Jewe Scruggs up front.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
But here's the problem. Jew Scruggs first.

Speaker 4 (22:27):
Year center for you, and center means everything for you upfront.
People look at the left tackle and think that that's
the spot that matters the most for you. But I've
said it numerous times. The center is the extension of
the quarterback. And there's a reason why for the longest time,
Peyton Manning relied so heavily on Jeff Saturday because Jeff

(22:48):
Saturday was him on the offensive line.

Speaker 2 (22:50):
He lined up their protections.

Speaker 4 (22:52):
He if he saw something in terms of what the
Mike linebacker was doing, anything like that, he was able
to communicate that to Peyton Manning and say, hey, this
is happening, and even to the point too as well.
I mean the famous NFL films role, you know a
clip that we saw of him and Peyton Mannon getting
into it. Because there are two very high profiled guys,
and you know, in very proud guys that want this

(23:15):
offense to be as prolific as it can possibly be,
and that's something that's incredibly needed.

Speaker 2 (23:20):
You need a bulldog up there up front. And I'm
not saying that.

Speaker 4 (23:23):
That's not Jews Scruggs, but I'm also saying that that
continuity takes time to be able to build. There's a
reason why teams keep their center around for I don't know, five, ten,
fifteen years however long that you can keep that guy
in that spot.

Speaker 2 (23:38):
They mean everything.

Speaker 4 (23:39):
I mean, you know, I haven't necessarily seen how the
Eagles have done without you know, Jason Kelcey up there.
But I mean remember how revered he was with that
offensive line.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
He was the captain of that group.

Speaker 4 (23:53):
So I think that that's something too as well that
you're seeing there's a little bit of an adjustment for him,
and there's an adjustment for the rest of the line
at points.

Speaker 2 (24:00):
So I think that that's.

Speaker 4 (24:01):
Something that is a little bit of an issue, and
left guard too as well. As we've talked about. That's
kind of been the group and second day in a
row that we're gonna mention Greg Cook here on the
airwaves here. But Greg Cook used to have a line
and I'm sure he probably dropped it on you guys
when he and indeed did in the trenches of you
have to have five pennies that become a nickel five

(24:23):
cents right there. Five offensive linemen up there, they all
have to be working in unison at this point. And
like we said, I mean, you've had less than stellar
play at your left guard spot. You've got a guy
who is still learning on the job at the center spot.
So probably about I would say, I'm going to give
Jews Scruggs a half at this point. So you have

(24:45):
three and a half parts of your offensive line that
are working the way that you hope that it would,
and that's an issue. So Scruggs isn't going anywhere. He's
going to play that spot. It'll be interesting to see
if they feel comfortable with Jared Patterson at the spot
or maybe even if they can, you know, part ways
with a sixth seventh round pick something like that and
be able to get somebody that possibly can come in

(25:06):
and competes and if nothing else, be a good viable
option for you as a backup offensive lineman to be
able to try to find some answers up there up front.
But I mean, it's just an issue at this point
where you've seen inconsistent play at a Laramie Tunzel at
the left tackle spot. I mean, I agree with what
Ross has said before that pre snap you have to

(25:27):
worry post snap. I mean while the play is going on.
He's great and he has been and I mean, you know,
he's had his issues here and there, but for the
most part, he's been the guy that you know that
you have over there at the left tackle spot. Titus Howard,
he's been somebody that I mean, I think has been
relatively reliable for you. Has he had his moments, sure

(25:48):
he has, but also to Shaq Mason, he's also had
his struggles this season. So it's a group that across
the board not necessarily performing the way that you would hope.
Lamont I see you right there, trust me going to
get to you quickly. On the other side, also to
I do want you to hear that CJ clip because
something in there really stood out to me after I
heard it yesterday. So we'll do that on the other

(26:10):
side quick time out here. Get to you all as
we continue to roll along here on Space City Saturday.
Dan Matthews here, Sports Talk seven ninety, Space.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
City Saturday continues.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
Fine Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (26:29):
Gotta wonder if this is on inside the Texans locker
room at this moment. An easy feeling for some guys
over there in that building as I'm Dan Matthews here,
Space City Saturday home all of the Texans in the
Rockets Rockets a little bit later on tonight, continue the
Texans conversation here and also to get you that CJ

(26:50):
Stroud sound. That something in there really stood out to
me that I thought was pretty interested at this part
of his career to have it mentioned. But let's continue
on the phone lines up one three, two, one two
five seven ninety Most City Monts wants to weigh in
here on.

Speaker 3 (27:05):
Hey Dan, how's it going, man, good man?

Speaker 2 (27:07):
How are you all right?

Speaker 8 (27:09):
Long time no here almost down there decade man, I know.

Speaker 4 (27:14):
I know, it's good, good to be back, good to
be talking Texans, and uh, you know a few mentions
of other places, but not so much today.

Speaker 2 (27:21):
What can I say, Lemon, I'm a creature of habit
right right?

Speaker 8 (27:25):
Uh uh you know, Uh, the offensive line is bad,
Let's get that out the way. But something that I've
been ringing all along on and I'm thinking that this
is this, this this new era, this podcast era with
a lot of people, a lot of fans are forgetting,
is this summer. Is this summer when that quarterback went
out there on multiple podcasts trash and trash and defenses.

(27:51):
We never heard anything like that from quarterbacks. You never
heard Warren Moon and Dan Marino go out there talking about, uh,
Green was a trash or whatever. And what I'm trying
to say, and I mean, I'm not making excuses for him,
and and I don't think he should apologize, but what

(28:11):
I am telling you is, once he went out there
and started doing all of that stuff to the defensive players,
specifically those the coach players, these defenses are playing him
with a little more pump. And it's even worse. It
was so ill informed that he's doing it with a
trash offensive line. So you're gonna get the most out

(28:32):
of these defenses. Now you're talking all this crap about
how you a dog and how your team is a dog.

Speaker 5 (28:39):
We're gonna play y'all like that.

Speaker 8 (28:40):
They're playing him way much more aggressive than I seen
him play last year.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
I know people are.

Speaker 8 (28:46):
Probably saying I'm reading or anything, but one thing I know,
We've never seen quarterbacks do that. We've never seen quarterbacks
and you know people.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
Oh grudge.

Speaker 8 (28:56):
It's almost like when the Raiders was making fun of
making fun of the Chiefs squatterback. You know, yeah, he said,
we don't see about that. I mean, pretty much, we
don't see about that. I think it's two things going on.
A lot of these defenses have to take some circle

(29:17):
on their schedule, and the offensive line is trashed, which
makes it almost a trek and field event for c J.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Stroud. That's all I have.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
Then, I appreciate the call, Lamont.

Speaker 4 (29:29):
I mean, in terms of the off season podcast everything.
The only thing that I can kind of necessarily point
to was the perceived slight of Aaron Rodgers where he
was talking about, you know how he didn't feel like
that Matt Stafford got enough credit for what he did
up in Detroit. But I mean, to your point, though, Lamont,
I think that regardless of what he had said or

(29:51):
what would say. I think that probably that was gonna
becoming his direction no matter what, because you have to remember,
this is a proud league. We talk about it all
the time with the there's a grown men over there.
They're professionals, they're getting paid just like you are. It's
also too as well, there's a point of pride with
that that, oh this guy feels like he can run
through the league as a rookie. All right, we'll show him.

(30:13):
And I think that that was going to be coming c. J.
Stroud's way regardless. I don't think that you know, him
on the couch with Micah Parsons or anything like that
was going to necessarily lead to, you know, an added
motivation of oh, that's number seven over there. He feels
pretty good about himself, Okay, let's show him. I think
that was coming his way regardless. But I think you
bring up an interesting point. I remember listening a few

(30:35):
years ago in Lamon You're gonna love this example. I
remember listening a few years ago on the Lebotard Show
and Matt Ryan was on with them. And I can
tell you from experiences talking with Matt Ryan, for the
most part his quotes inside the locker room during scrums
were as milk toast as milk toast could be. And

(30:56):
I mean it was basically almost a tape recorder every
single week. Hey Matt, you're playing against I don't know
the Colts. What do you see from this Colts defensive front?
Oh they're stout? I mean it seriously was copy and
paste quotes for everything. And where I'm going with this
is he was asked about kind of relatively being boring,
and he explained his rationale. He said, I don't want

(31:17):
to be a distraction to the team. I feel like
anything possibly I could say that it could be used as, oh,
the quarterback's putting himself out there, Oh the quarterback is
making himself the story, all of those different types of things,
which I think most of his guys would probably agree
that's not what he's doing. But he just said, I
don't even want it to get to that point. So
I just choose to intentionally be boring. And I think

(31:40):
at the same time, too, we like our we like
our quarterbacks, We like our players to be able to
have good thoughts and you know, just you know, well
thought out words said in terms of you know, just
their thoughts on the game, thoughts on their play, thoughts
on their team, the opponent, anything like that that we
like have that. But two, at the same time, I

(32:02):
get what you're saying, you know, I think that probably
to some it could have been perceived as Number seven
really feels himself and Number seven's out there. But I
also too, I think that I'm going to give c. J.
Stroud the benefit of the doubt on some of these podcasts.
I think he was just giving his honest opinion, and
I don't begrudge the guy for doing that, and I
don't think necessarily it's a you know, DeForest Buckner on

(32:24):
the other side saying, oh man, you know he said
this about us. You know, I'm going to really show him.
I mean, I think there's the added motivation just because
it's the Colts and the Texans. The Colts are trying
to avenge what happened to them last year. They were
drop football away from possibly being able to win the
AFC South. So I think that that was more of
the motivation than anything. But too, at the same time,

(32:45):
I mean, yeah, I mean, I think that it's the
unsaid as well that has led for us some of
the ways that Stroud is being approached this season by
different teams, but also too as well. Let's be honest here, Lamont,
like you talked about the offense of line has been
awful this season.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
And then that's a little bit of chum in the
water for sharks.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
And you've got a lot of sharks swimming around in
the NFL, especially on the defensive side.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
Of the ball.

Speaker 4 (33:11):
And if they smell that with a guy that, like
I said, felt really good about the way he played
last season, and you want to be able to have
a point of pride right there of saying, yeah, number seven,
he's not all that great, and we're going to show
you that he's not all that great.

Speaker 2 (33:26):
That's coming your way regardless.

Speaker 4 (33:28):
But two at the same time, I think that's kind
of all baked into the same cake that has been
the twenty twenty four textan season.

Speaker 2 (33:33):
So good stuff there, Lamont.

Speaker 4 (33:35):
Appreciate it. If you want to join him on the
phone lines, you can do so. Someeon one three two,
one two five at seven ninety. Once again that's someone
three two one two five at seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (33:46):
I do want to get you that CJ.

Speaker 4 (33:48):
Stroud audio here, because there's something that he said, and
we can play it for you and then also react
to it a little bit more on the other side,
because there was something in there said that really stood
out to me. Then this was CJ after Thursday Nights
game talking about the wake up calls or if this
one was even a wake up call for this team

(34:10):
in terms of but things they have to improve going forward.

Speaker 9 (34:13):
They always say that, you know, we've got a couple
of wake up calls this year. I would say, you know,
we just gotta honestly just play football, better, execute, better,
stop point and stop point of fear and realize, you know,
at the end of the day, like this is not
winning football and we can't keep squeezing our way by
every game. You know, we gotta we are a really

(34:34):
good football team, have a lot of really good football
players once we buy into the systems and what is
being you know, coach. And also we got to be
able to have leadership to take over. So you know,
I believe, you know, this isn't the end, but this
is definitely a great wake up call for us to
you know, tighten up the ship. And you know, this
is now playoff football is no memory of December. So

(34:55):
we gotta be able to This is gonna be the
chuck of our schedule. A lot of great teams were
playing on Fine time, and you know, we got to
be able to find.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
Ways and win.

Speaker 4 (35:04):
So one thing that he said in there, he mentioned
buy in, and that's something that I want to be
able to take to the other side here and discuss.

Speaker 2 (35:11):
Brad, I see you right there.

Speaker 4 (35:13):
We'll get to YouTube as well if you want to
join in, because that really stood out to me, and
I'll explain why on the other side. Here on Space
City Saturday, Dan Matthews here with you until noon.

Speaker 2 (35:25):
Again.

Speaker 4 (35:25):
If you want to join in, all the phone lines
do so seven one three, two, one two five, seven ninety.
We'll continue the conversation next right here. Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (35:36):
Welcome back to Space City Saturday.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
Fine Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (35:43):
Sports Talk seven ninety, Space City Saturday. Dan Matthews here
with you as we are ought to do here whatever
the hot season that is happening in the Houston area
is ongoing. I mean, of course, you know during Astros season,
you know, the first hour is primarily Astros, but of
course this one the line's share of not only the
first hour, but a little bit too. Of the second

(36:03):
hour going to be all Texans, so the buy in
portion of it. I will get to here in just
a couple of minutes, but Brad wants to be able
to wait in here on Sports Talk seven ninety Brad,
what's going on?

Speaker 10 (36:16):
I know this sounds kind of crazy, but there's been
enough penalties, some costly, but for the most part, it
just seems like this team doesn't have a clue about
penalty things that go on. And I was wondering, can't
they create a coach that specializes in penalties and has

(36:42):
like on Tuesday and Wednesday the offense in the classroom,
and Wednesday the defense in the classroom, and then Thursday
and Friday on the field for offense and defense, and
go over all the different penalties you should prevent so
you are well aware when game day comes what to

(37:03):
do and what not to do.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
Because you can say they tell.

Speaker 10 (37:07):
Them about it, but I don't think they're aware of
what they're doing half the time. They just, you know,
if it happens, it happens, and some of them can
be costly, you know Tunsel with his off sides, and
then there's plenty of others that Stingley had that.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
I don't know if he You.

Speaker 10 (37:29):
Know, that could have been a controversial play.

Speaker 2 (37:32):
It could have gone either way.

Speaker 10 (37:33):
But still they need to be taught a little better.
They're grown ups, they're football players. They should know what
to do and not to do on game day and
there's no need for that extra curricular which.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Can cost them a game.

Speaker 10 (37:52):
I just thought, what do you think about that hiring
a coach that specializes in penalties, has them in the
classroom one time, and then has them on the field
just an hour out of the whole day, just so
they're well aware on Sunday that hey, this is what
you do and this is what you don't do, because

(38:15):
I don't think they're aware of what they do and
what they don't do.

Speaker 4 (38:20):
Yeah, Brad, appreciate the call. I will go ahead and
say that most teams already have that coach that you're
talking about, and it's mostly for the head coach. He
will have somebody and some teams will even hire a
coach as an analyst or anything of the sort that
can be there on game days as somebody that can
kind of help them out with some of the you know,

(38:42):
the clock management even too, when the challenge when to
not already have that also too as well. I mean
I would be speaking completely off just what little I
know from being over there. Just with our show schedule, Brad,
I'm not able to get over to NRG Stadium as
much as I probably would like. But you do have
teams that will, even in weak practices, have officials out

(39:05):
there and officiating it like they would on an NFL Sunday.
And I mean, if you see a defensive back that is,
you know, doing illegal contact downfield, they'll flag it and
of course it's marked and it's gone over after practice
of Hey, you know, if you're doing that here, you're
gonna do it in the game.

Speaker 2 (39:23):
So I think those things do happen.

Speaker 4 (39:24):
And you've heard Demiko Ryans talk about it numerous times
in terms of, you know, trying to get that part
of the game cleaned up. And for the most part,
I mean, since the Texans were penalized almost at nauseum
early on in the season, I do think they have
improved in that area.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
I mean, you know, you were.

Speaker 4 (39:41):
Facing a team on Thursday night that's more penalized than
you are in the Jets, so and you saw it
play out for them too as well.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
There's a reason why that team is two and six.

Speaker 4 (39:50):
I mean, you know, you had the face mask on
the punt return. You know, you had the penalty where
you had the the front of the Jets right there
bowling over John Weeks, which you can't do, and fifteen
yards or at least half the distance at a goal,
and a fresh set of downs for the Texans, which
unfortunately they were unable to capitalize with their play on

(40:13):
the field. So to answer your question, I think most
of that is just already happening. I just think that
you have some players right now that honestly are reacting
much more than they're playing. And I think that the
reaction kind of you know, it's like the old Crash
Davis line. Don't think it only hurts the ball club.
There is a lot of overthinking happening, and I think
that probably you know, when you reach a certain point

(40:35):
of a season where I mean, this is a team that,
to a man one through fifty three in that locker room,
the guys that are active on game days, they realize
this is not the standard that they had set after
last season.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
This is not the way that they've wanted to look.

Speaker 4 (40:49):
I think that probably last year it was a team
playing on a really good amount of house money that
this year now that they're kind of found out, not
only that they're found out, but also to playing against
much better ball clubs, that you're finding out that some
of the things you got away with last year you're
not going to get away with this year. And I
want to point people back to something that Nick Cassario

(41:10):
had talked about when he was at the Combine this year,
where he kind of did a little bit of a
buyer beware where he said, hey, look, just because we
did what we did last year, doesn't mean it's going
to translate to this season. We won a lot of
close games and we're facing a lot better teams this
season as well. Of course, I'm paraphrasing what he said,
but boy, I'll tell you what, if those words weren't
pretty prophetic, it's playing out right now because the bad

(41:33):
news is for this team as you get into the
heavier part of your season, I mean, look at a
who's ahead for you. You've got the team that a lot
of people think is going to be the odds on
favorite to win the NFC this year. In the Detroit Lions,
they're coming to your house next Sunday night. You got
a Cowboys team who, honestly, if you play the football
that you're capable of playing the Texans. Being that is,

(41:54):
against the Cowboys on the road, you should be able
to go in the AT and T Stadium and be
able to win. And if I'm not mistaken, I think
the Cowboys are over this season at AT and T Stadium,
a place that relatively in recent history had been a
great place for them to play. But that's a bad
roster up there in Dallas. And I'm not just saying
that to grift and pander to you all here. I'm
just telling you like it is in terms of that roster,

(42:15):
and there's even people in DFW that would say that
right now. So much for going all in, Jerry, but
that is a team that is not as talented as
you are. And if you win that game, a huge
reason of that is going to be you have better players,
you have a better team, you're better coached, all of
those different types of things. So that's something that down
the road should go the Texans favor. But later on

(42:38):
in the season, you've got both a road game against
Kansas City and then the following week Christmas Day against
the Ravens. That's going to be when you find out
just how good you are as a team. And again,
I think a huge part of what this time can
be for the Texans is kind of a little bit
of a mental reset. I think it is good in

(42:59):
terms of if they're giving the players off until Monday,
you send them away. I mean, I think if nothing else,
I think my message the last time I talked with
him from Damiko Ryans is hey, get away from the
game for a few days, like kind of mentally reset
on your own end, you know, just be able to,
you know, go. I mean, some of the guys probably
wouldn't be shocked if you know, I'm about to turn

(43:20):
on the Penn State Ohio State game here, wouldn't be
shocked if they panned down to the sidelines and you
see on the Ohio State side CJ.

Speaker 2 (43:26):
Stroud.

Speaker 4 (43:27):
Good if he's there, you know, get away from it
a little bit and kind of reset and then come
back tomorrow and then Monday, be able to start your
game week preparation for the for the Lions, and be
able to go through all right, what hasn't worked? What
is working? All of those different types of things and
go from there. But to get to the CJ. Stroud
line that we heard in that cut that we played

(43:49):
in the last segment, he mentioned buy in, And that's
something that I really hope is asked this week because normally,
you know, just to kind of take you behind the curtain,
hear CJ speaks when either we are about to go
on for the A team or are on for the
A team. So if I were in the building, I
would want to ask them, you know, hey, you mentioned

(44:10):
buy in. Do you feel like it's an issue of
buy in right now? And why is that the case?
Because you look at it, I mean, this is a team.
We talked about the continuity of this roster coming back
this year, you talked about even adding some guys that
you felt like were really good fit for the culture
inside that building over there, and you have an offensive
coordinator at least, just speaking from cjside, in Bobby Slowick,

(44:33):
that a lot of people were incredibly worried We're going
to lose to a head coaching job, and now all
of a sudden, Bobby Slowick is kind of public enemy
number one for many here in the Texans fan base
at this point, but I mean that's something that kind
of stood out to me, like, is it kind of
a little bit of a little I don't know if

(44:54):
distrust is the right word, but maybe a little bit
of doubt in what is being coached at this moment,
or even too as well, you know the old saying.
I mean, look, as much as I hate cliches, I
use them a lot, but there's a saying in football
you're either coaching it or allowing it to happen. Is
there a little bit of too much allowing it to
happen over there right now? I mean because with Demiko Ryans,

(45:16):
I understand that when things are not going well, people
want to point to easy narratives that could possibly be
out there, and one of them is I've heard it
a few times that Demiko is too much of a
friend to the players. I don't think he's a friend
of the players. I think that he treats them the
way that he knows that players want to be treated,
and to some you can think that that's a little

(45:37):
bit of being too friendly. But he's not a yeller,
he's not a screamer. But I think his coaching style,
from what I understand, is if somebody kind of pushes
back on what he's coaching him to do, or you know,
kind of the advice that he's giving them is well,
I played a lot of years in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
How many years have you played in the NFL?

Speaker 4 (45:55):
How many how many times have you been able to
have these experiences and know how to hate these situations.

Speaker 2 (46:01):
I mean heard an.

Speaker 4 (46:02):
Interview a few years ago Fred Warner talking about you know,
how did he become a pro? He said, Demiko Ryans
taught me how to become a pro. So I think
that's kind of the style that he uses. And again
it gets down to the fit as well. You might
have some guys on this team that going forward you
kind of realize, hey, they're not a fit for what
we want to do, and maybe that'll play out this

(46:22):
offseason in terms of moves made, trades, maybe even outright releases,
whatever it might be that you might kind of come
to find out, all right, hey, these are not necessarily
the guys that are going to put us in position
to be able to win a championship. So we move
on and we bring in guys that we feel like
can fit that mold. I mean, you saw it in
some of the moves in terms of improving your culture

(46:44):
this offseason, Aziz al Shaier, I mean, while the defense
has been outstanding for you, as ez Al Shaier was
brought here for an express purpose to coach exactly what
Demiko Ryans wants to do on the defensive end and
be an extension of him on the field.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
That was a huge reason why he was brought in.

Speaker 4 (47:01):
Same deal on the offensive side for what you could
get production wise out of Stefan Diggs. But what had
everybody talked about with Stefan Diggs, what a pro he
is and how he is able to be able to
kind of galvanize the guys around him and help them
be able to know what is winning football in this league.
So that's why those guys were added to this team.
So I think there's a lot of different factors at

(47:22):
this point, and that's kind of the cause and effect
and just you know, kind of case study that you
go through that is an NFL season, and that's what
I think the Texans are kind of doing at this point.

Speaker 2 (47:31):
So I think all of that is at play.

Speaker 4 (47:34):
But you know, Brad, kind of to get back to
what we were talking about on the penalty side, I
think a lot of that's already being done. I think
now it just kind of comes to again using this
many bye week to your advantage in terms of a
mental reset, but also too a chance to kind of
take inventory of you know, I almost feel like Robert
Loja in unnecessary roughness. Let's talk about what's working, not

(47:55):
a you know what thing. A lot of things are working.
That's the good news with this teamocused on some of
the positives, but also too, when you have a performance
like they had on Thursday night, I know the negatives
are going to be brought to the forefront as well,
So we can continue that on the other side. If
you want to weigh in on the phone lines, you
can do so seven one three two one two five
seven ninety. Once again, that's seven one three two one

(48:17):
two five seven ninety. Some of the things on the
offensive side we'll talk about on the other side, Tmiko.
Ryan's a couple of interesting things said after Thursday night
scheme that I do want to pick up on, So
we'll do that as we continue the Texans conversation here
on your home of the Astros and the Rockets Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (48:43):
Welcomebore, Welcome to another Space City Saturday on Sports Talk
seven ninety Dan Matthews Live and local h Town breakdown
of the world that matters to you, the Houston's sports world.

Speaker 3 (48:56):
All these great Houston fans here.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
We love you all, So.

Speaker 3 (49:01):
Finish up on that.

Speaker 2 (49:02):
To do list.

Speaker 1 (49:03):
Flute up the cooler because you can't drink in talk
sports all day if you don't start.

Speaker 3 (49:09):
Now bear me, this is Space City Saturday. That's insane.
Here's seven nineties Dan Matthews.

Speaker 4 (49:23):
Indeed it is.

Speaker 2 (49:24):
As we continue to roll along here Space City Saturday.

Speaker 4 (49:28):
As you just heard the voice guy in the production
tell you, I'm Dean Matthews here with you on your
home of the Astros and the Rockets. Sports Talk seven
ninety got Rockets Ball coming your way a little bit
later on tonight at Toyota Center. Three games here at
Toyota Center for the Rockets. Got the Golden State Warriors

(49:48):
in town tonight and then going to have the New
York Knicks coming in this week as well as the Spurs.
So if you haven't got enough of seeing the Rockets
play against Victor Winbinion and the Spurs so far at
this point in the season, well I got good news
for you, you've got another one coming up this week
against them. But Ross Villareale Sports RV who He's going

(50:11):
to have Rockets launch pad coming your way six o'clock
from the arena for you there to be able to
take in the Rockets and the Warriors tonight. Rockets trying
to move to three and two on the season. Golden State,
even without Steph Curry with that ankle injury, has been
playing some good basketball to this point. But at least
looking at the betting line handle, Rockets favored by five

(50:34):
and a half and ESPN given the Rockets a sixty
one point two percent chance to be able to win
this game, So I guess they're feeling good about what
Emo Yadoka's club is going to bring to the floor tonight,
So hopefully they're able to move to four into on
the year.

Speaker 2 (50:49):
You want to weigh in on the phone lines.

Speaker 4 (50:50):
We'll continue the Texans conversation here at seven one three
two one two five seven ninety. Once again, that's Sebon
one three two one two five seven ninety coming up
a little bit later on in the show. So I
did it a few weeks ago and have kind of
backed off it a little bit, but going to bring
back my own signature segment here on Sports Talk seven
ninety and a segment called.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
I Hear Voices.

Speaker 4 (51:12):
So before we get out of here today, we will
have that for you. Some things said from the past week,
one from Major League Baseball, one from the NFL, and
a couple of them from the college ranks that we
will have for you a little bit later on in
the show. Melvin Brown does a great job back in
the studios, so he'll help me orchestrate.

Speaker 2 (51:34):
That a little bit later on.

Speaker 4 (51:36):
But anyway, the eleven AM hour of college football games
getting going. I know a lot of you going to
be settling in either at home in front of the
TV or somewhere else to be able to watch Ohio State,
Penn State play have other good games happening a little bit.

Speaker 2 (51:53):
Later on today.

Speaker 4 (51:54):
And as you heard Adrian calling in a little bit earlier,
I know that the Maroon and White, either if you
are up in Columbia, South Carolina or if you are here,
going to be tuning in for that one.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
And boy, the Aggies, I mean you want to talk about.

Speaker 4 (52:09):
I know that some people throw out rat poison in
terms of the belief in teams. There's been a lot
of that after the performance that A and M had
in the second half against LSU last week.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
But also too as well.

Speaker 4 (52:22):
Look, there is significant motivation for Mike Elko's club because
there's a lot of people who are throwing out, oh,
this is a trap for them at South Carolina.

Speaker 2 (52:31):
This is not going to go well for the Aggies
up there.

Speaker 4 (52:33):
So you better believe that if A and M is
able to come out of Williams Brice Stadium with a
win tonight, and there is going to be a lot
of talk at the podium from not only Mike Elko
but from players of saying, you guys thought we're gonna
lose this game.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
So whatever motivation you can use, it is out there.

Speaker 4 (52:51):
Like I said, we're going to continue the Texans conversation
right here because Bobby Slowick, as I've talked about, has
been kind of a public enemy.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
Number one.

Speaker 4 (53:01):
There's those words again with Bobby slok because last year
this was a guy that coming into the season, I
think it was a little bit kind of like the
defensive front this season for the Texans where we had
kind of low expectations because for him it was his
first time ever calling plays. We knew nothing about him
as an offensive coordinator. We knew that he had been

(53:22):
a been around Kyle Shanahan and been with Demiko when
they were both in San Francisco, and had learned from
a guy that's very good at calling offensive plays and
being able to put together offensive game plans and executing
said game plan on game day. And last year, I mean,
it was almost in a rocking chair for him. It
seemed like he could do no wrong in terms of

(53:43):
helping c J. Stroud in this offense. And that's the
reason why there was a ton of excitement coming into
this season. But I think there's been a little bit
of an adjustment for him. That we focus on CJ. Stroud,
I think that we also can give credit to opposing
defensive coordinators as well. Jeff Affley a lunch when they
played up at Green Bay. I mean, that was not
a good day for him, and you saw it again

(54:05):
play out on Thursday night against the New York Jets.
Because Jeff Ulbrick, both on the college and pro level,
has been a guy that's been pretty good in terms
of being able to scheme up defensive game plans and
also execute said game plans. And we knew that the
Jets had a really good defense coming into that game
on Thursday night, and then.

Speaker 2 (54:25):
They were able to put it to good use.

Speaker 4 (54:27):
But one thing out of Bobby Slowly and Demiko Ryans
talking about it after the game. Let you hear that
here in just a second kind of led me to
believe that he's starting to doubt himself just a little bit.
And that is the use of trick plays. So I
want you to hear from Demiko Ryans. Of course, we
saw in the game the other night. You saw CJ.
Stroud go out on a trick play trying to catch

(54:48):
a touchdown pass. Obviously it didn't work. He was trying
to say that he was either held or interfered with
on the play. The officials on the field did not
see it that way. We saw a wildcat play also
run there, and Damiko Ryans asked about those plays after
the game, and I'll expand more right after we hear
from the Texans head coach.

Speaker 3 (55:07):
Yeah, that play.

Speaker 11 (55:08):
There, you know, you know, we Joe takes the ball
and he's you know, simulating a run there and trying
to get get a throw. The CJ, you know, didn't
get the look that we wanted and execute it the
right way. You know, everybody, trick play is a great one.
You execute them all right, and then everybody's a genius.
When you run trick play it doesn't work, then everybody's
looking like why you call the play? So it's you

(55:30):
take a chance on those plays. If they work, great,
If they don't, hey, not so great.

Speaker 2 (55:37):
All right.

Speaker 4 (55:37):
So the end right there kind of is going to
lead me into my point about Bobby Slowick is I
think you're seeing a guy right now that is unsure
one hundred percent of what he's calling. And here is
something that I noticed with offensive play callers in regards
to trick plays is they'll use them in two circumstances

(55:58):
and they're two polar ops. It ends, and it seems
kind of obvious, But the good end is you're really
feeling yourself. You're feeling good. You're able to, like I said,
kind of have this thing on a string. And it's
one of those things that you feel really good about
the way that your offense is playing and how they're
reacting to your calls. That you say hey to the

(56:18):
defensive side of the field in certain ways, not necessarily
through your headset, but oh, they're never going to see
this coming, and it's gonna be a lot of fun
for us, not so much for them. And that's when
you're able to have those plays run and you're like,
oh man, what a genius play call.

Speaker 2 (56:32):
That was awesome. They never saw that coming.

Speaker 4 (56:35):
Then the other one is when you're pressing and I
think that you have Bobby Slow it kind of looking
at it as almost kind of like a circuit breaker
trip right there of being able to kind of reset
and be able to kind of, you know, put some
juice back into this offense, and it's almost kind of forced.

Speaker 2 (56:52):
And that's what I.

Speaker 4 (56:53):
Think you saw those two instances in that game on
Thursday night, because I think Slow it kind of realized
that he's up against a brick wall in certain cases
in terms of trying to run this play and this
isn't working. Do we feel necessarily good about our run game? Well,
we feel good about Joe Mixon, but not necessarily about
it overall, because we don't feel good about the guys upfront.

(57:15):
And that's all a huge part of it as well.
I mean, really, you know, you all have to realize
that it all comes back to how well are you
protecting upfront, both in the run and in the past game.
And the answer to that, as we've gone through in
the first about hour and ten minutes of the show today,
is you're not doing it well. So I've had a
saying before, I don't know if I've brought it to

(57:37):
you all here in the audience, but you don't have
an offensive line, you're dead on land. You don't even
get to the water, you're dead in the water if
you don't have a quarterback. Well, luckily, the Texans have
a quarterback, and he's shown that he can be a
franchise and absolute game wrecker on the field.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
But it's also too as well.

Speaker 4 (57:54):
He's kind of hamstrung in terms of what they're able
to do at this point, because again, you don't feel
one hundred percent good about being able to consistently run
the football. That should be basic number one for an
offensive line, a good offensive line and even just a
you know, offensive lineman in general.

Speaker 2 (58:12):
They love run blocking.

Speaker 4 (58:14):
That is the thing that you love that A lot
of people look at it as kind of like it's
the eating your vegetables before you can be able to
finish up your stake and get to your dessert. That
you know, it's the part of the game that's not
necessarily the funnest, but two at the same time, it's
a part that's incredibly necessary for winning football, especially on
the offensive end.

Speaker 2 (58:32):
And that's something that at.

Speaker 4 (58:34):
Times this year, especially short yarded situations, Oh man, we
really need a yard right here, We really need to
make a play right here. It has not necessarily been
something that's worked out for this team. So I mean
that's something that I kind of think feeds into what's
not worked for Bobby Slowick. So I think that kind of,
like we've talked about with some of the players in
terms of the overthinking that is happening on the field,

(58:57):
I'm seeing that right now from the offensive coordinator, and
it's an issue for this team that I think is
playing out where I do think that there is a
little bit of an issue of Man, I've been kind
of found out, all right, how do I make this adjustment?
How do I get back ahead of defenses and how
they're trying to play us? And that's again the self
scout this time of kind of taking inventory of everything.

(59:19):
There's nobody in that building I think that's doing that
more right now than Bobby Slowick. I would probably as
I'm talking to you at eleven eleven in the morning,
make a wish. But as I'm talking to you right now,
I can almost guarantee there's no college football on in
that coaches area of the stadium. It's a bunch of
guys either in their office or huddle together that are
watching game film and also to going through personnel everything

(59:43):
of the sort to try and find out, you know,
what's working and what's not that's happening right now, and
that analysis is hopefully something that can kind of start
to lead back to let's do what we do. Let's
execute the way that we're supposed to execute on the field,
in the way we can do that, the way that
we coach it and put our players in position to
be able to make those plays. I just think that

(01:00:04):
there is a little bit of kind of paralysis by
analysis right now happening with Bobby Slowick, and that's what
I think we saw play out with those Trick players
in the game, and I just don't think that it's
necessarily leading it to this offense working the way that
one hundred percent it's supposed to work. Is a lot
of it on him, Yes, is a lot of it
on the players on the field. Yes, and again it

(01:00:25):
comes back full circle to the way that you're playing
up front on the offensive line, and if changes are coming,
they need to come quickly because that's a group that
has to play a lot better because if they don't,
then this is going to be a shorter season than
I think a lot of people anticipated. We came into
this season believing this was a team that was full

(01:00:46):
bore ready to go for an opportunity to not only
make it to the AFC Championship Game, but possibly be
able to win and have this team play in the
final game of the.

Speaker 2 (01:00:54):
Season in New Orleans.

Speaker 4 (01:00:56):
As of right now, that is not a team that
is going to be in position to be able to
do that. So these are things that this Texans coaching
staff and players all collectively as a group have to
try to iron out and try to figure out if
it is going to be able to work and this
team is going to be able to play up to
the potential that we thought they could play up to
this season. So all of that is still to be decided.

(01:01:19):
All right, that's enough for the Texans conversation. On the
other side, As I mentioned earlier, when we're into the
Astros offseason. I want to get into that a little
bit here because the Astros and Alex Bregman. Decision time
for both sides is in front of us. Will he
make it to full fledge free agency or will something
get done. There's somebody out there who is pretty bullish

(01:01:41):
on the Astros chances for Alex Bregman. Lets you know
what they had to say, and also to other additions
that could possibly happen for the Astros this offseason will
break those down on the other side. As we continue
to roll along here on Space City Saturday, Dean Matthews
here on your home of the Astros and the Rockets
Sports Talks ninety.

Speaker 1 (01:02:02):
This is Space City Saturday one Scorns Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:02:09):
The problems we worked through right now over at NRG Stadium.
As so, we've been talking a ton about the Texans
so far to this point and can still get some
of you in on the Texans if you want to
at some one three, two, one, two, five, seven ninety
anything Ever here on Space City Saturday we get through

(01:02:29):
if you didn't have a chance to get to it earlier,
it's always still fair game for you. Especially we talked
about it, So that is there for you if you
want to jump in on that. But I mentioned about
the Astros and Alex Bregman, so we're going to get
into that right here at seven one three, two one
two five seven ninety if you want to get.

Speaker 2 (01:02:48):
In on this.

Speaker 4 (01:02:49):
So Jim Bowden, a former Major League Baseball general manager,
does some work with the Athletic, does some work on
Sirius XM as well. He put out his twenty five
predictions for the off season of twenty twenty four twenty
twenty five, which is now in full force, and one
of the things that he threw out was he gets

(01:03:11):
two point number five the Astros and I actually have
to agree when I brought this up yesterday on in
case you missed it on the A team with Wex
on this that the second part that he brings up
should be the first one because that would be the
hugest part of their off season.

Speaker 2 (01:03:27):
But that's what he writes at number five.

Speaker 4 (01:03:29):
The Astros science centerfielder Cody Bellinger after he ops out
of his contract with the Cubs to a four year.

Speaker 2 (01:03:34):
One hundred and twelve million dollar packed.

Speaker 4 (01:03:36):
Houston also resigned third basement Alex Bregman for seven years,
one hundred and eighty five point five million.

Speaker 2 (01:03:43):
Did the math on it yesterday.

Speaker 4 (01:03:44):
I think that would be about twenty six and a
half per season for Bregman if the Astros went that route.
Be interesting to see if they do, but that would
be the number one because we can all agree that again.
Talked about the punch list yesterday on the Sean Salisbury
Show with the Texans. What they're trying to work through
right now, Well, the Astros for Dana Brown and his crew,

(01:04:06):
the punch list is very simple. I mean number one
on the dry erase board right now is find a
way to resign number two and bring back Alex Bregman
and have him in an Astros uniform. That's number one
on the list, and they have the opportunity to be
able to do that right now. In terms of this
exclusive negotiating window, I mean, do we necessarily expect for

(01:04:26):
anything to come from this? If I had to guess
what Scott Boris's advice is to Alex Bregman at this point,
it's probably to, hey, the explorer options here. Try to
find out if there is a better option for you
out there. In terms of do the red Sox, give
you that chance. To the Cubs, give you that chance,
to the Giants, give you that chance. Any of those

(01:04:47):
teams out there as a possibility. I mean, I know
that I've seen that the Toronto Blue Jays would like
to make a run at him. There's going to be
a lot of teams that want to make a run
at Alex Bregman because you know that you get elite
defense there at third base. You know that also too,
you get for the better part of a season, a
plus bat, a middle of the order bat that can
help your team and be able to provide a little

(01:05:09):
bit of production there at that point. But what we've
seen from the Astros and heard from the astros obviously
is what he adds from a leadership perspective. I mean,
you heard a guy that's speaking of Scott Boris last
night news coming down that a guy that credits Alex
Bregman for turning around his season. Hunter Brown is now
a Boris client that came out last night from Chandler Rome.

(01:05:29):
So a guy that had really been struggling with his pitches.
He had the stuff. We knew all of that, we
were seeing it. It just wasn't translating on the field
and Alex Bregman finally got to him and said, hey,
try doing this with your sinker. Try running this two
seam fastball in on right handed hitters and see how
it works out for you. And Hunter Brown became a

(01:05:50):
bona fide front of the rotation guy for this team
and somebody that was able to be a huge part
of this team being able to make it to the
postseason and when the American League West for another year.
So that's what he brought from that perspective, but also too,
I mean, you heard Taylor Scott talking with Rob Friedman
of the Pitching Ninja talking about how much he helped him,

(01:06:11):
and not only that he helped him, talking about that,
you know the pitching staff, you know, on the coaching
staff with Josh Miller and the crew, they'd have their
scouting reports, but also too that Bregman would have his
own scouting reports and be like, Hey, this guy likes this,
this guy doesn't like this. Try to work them with this.
All of these different types of things. You can't replace
that in a clubhouse. And that's the part that I

(01:06:33):
think is going to be the hardest to replace. If
you're the astros. If indeed you do lose Alex Bregman, which,
let's be honest here with all of this, there's a
significant chance that that could happen. With whatever your best
offer could possibly be, there could be a team out
there that has more money to be able to offer.
And I think that it kind of comes down to

(01:06:54):
Bregman at that point is what are you choosing? Are
you choosing the money or are you choosing an opportunity
to be able to win? And I think that probably
during these negotiations, that's probably what Bregman is kind of
trying to go through with the Astros of you know,
how much are we going to be able to put
towards this team being able to get past the wildcard

(01:07:15):
round and get further into the postseason? Again, Like, what
exactly is your plan to be able to make sure
that happens. Those conversations are happening, There's no doubt about it,
And that's something else that I think he's trying to
kind of go through at this moment in terms of
trying to figure out what's the best path for his career.
In terms of Bellinger at this point, I mean, I
understand when people see that the initial reaction is absolutely

(01:07:37):
not no way. You remember what he said about this
team in twenty twenty, and you would have to believe
that that would be something that is going to be
an issue in the clubhouse. Look, the Astros have been
able to add guys from other teams ever since. You know,
the cheating scandal was revealed in twenty twenty, and of
course major League Baseball you had everybody and their mother
almost coming out against the Astros at that point. But

(01:07:59):
I think that's something that very early in spring training
would be nipped in the bud immediately with Cody Bellinger.
I think that if nothing else, it would be a hey, guys,
look I said what I said. I was emotional, whatever
it might be. I'm here now, I'm bought in. And
what have we heard about this Astros clubhouse that has
been passed around throughout Major League Baseball. It's a renowned,

(01:08:22):
very good clubhouse, a group that is incredibly tight knit,
but also to a group that is full of professionals.
And I think that, you know, when it comes to
the revelations of twenty twenty, the fan bases, I think
are the ones that still now are the ones that
hold the largest jones against the Astros. There's a few

(01:08:43):
players out there that'll say things every once in a while,
but honestly, those guys are loud mouths Joe Kelly, which
by the way, he caught the Yankees with astray the
other day. But for the most part, they're noisy gongs.
There are people out there who just you know, want
to hear them so talk, want to be you know,
fake tough guys, because they're not actually tough guys.

Speaker 2 (01:09:03):
If they really.

Speaker 4 (01:09:04):
Felt that way, well then they'd play that out on
the field. And for the most part that's not been
the case. But for the most part too as well.
You've heard players who have come out and said, hey,
look what happened. Happened whatever?

Speaker 2 (01:09:15):
I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:09:15):
I bring up the Chris Sale example all the time
of what he said, and I think most players feel
the same way. I mean, if you don't know what
I'm talking about, he had said years ago on a
Boston radio station, Look, if the Astros were the only
team doing it, then I'd say, absolutely, they're the worst.
Take away all their titles, whatever it is, Yeah, they
deserve that punishment. But his line was the kicker and
all of this I know for a fact they weren't.

(01:09:37):
So I think that all of these things are kind
of you know what, you know, where it comes down
to the priorities for this team at this point that
that's first and foremost in these conversations.

Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
What Alex Bregman wants to know.

Speaker 4 (01:09:50):
He wants to know how committed is this team to
being able to make sure that postseason runs are still
a possibility for this team and a way that you
can do that well. I mean, this is a team that,
in addition to adding Bregman, needs to be able to
find a way to add one more bat in the
middle of that order, because I mean, this was a
team that last year was incredibly top heavy at the

(01:10:11):
top of their lineup. If you didn't have Kyle Tucker
and Jordan Alvarez and Jose al Tuove hitting, then you
put a lot of pressure on the back end of
the order of Jeremy Pania, Jake Myers, Chas McCormick when
he was in there, and guys that honestly were unable
to necessarily fulfill the needs that you had in terms
of being able to make sure that this team could

(01:10:32):
be in position to make a.

Speaker 2 (01:10:34):
Run in the postseason. And we saw it play out
that way.

Speaker 4 (01:10:36):
I mean, you saw a team that was unable to
muster anything offensively in that series against the Tigers other
than a handful of singles in a ninth inning double
that was your only extra base hit of those two games.
You saw a team that ran out of gas at
the end of the season. But also too, you saw
a team that did not have as deep of a
batting order as I think they probably were trying to tell.

Speaker 2 (01:10:57):
People that they did. They didn't.

Speaker 4 (01:10:58):
You had about three or four guys at the top
of the order that could really make things happen. After that,
it was kind of a little bit of You could
look over to Jospota in the dugout, and I think
Joe Aspota's response to you would have been, we'll see,
and we saw what happened when it all played out
against a really good pitching staff in the Detroit Tigers.
Get some of viewing on the phone lines here. If
you want to weigh in on some of the astros talk,

(01:11:20):
you can do so seven one three, two, one two
five seven ninety Martin and Angleton wants to jump.

Speaker 2 (01:11:25):
In here on sports Talks. Ninety Martin, what's.

Speaker 12 (01:11:27):
Up, Hey, Dan, Hey, Hello? Hey, you know, as far
as far as the Astros are concerned, the free agency,
uh I just I just hope that the Astros will not,
and I'm saying will not sign free agents from other
teams that have been extended qualifying contract offers, because these

(01:11:49):
these require compensation as draft picks, and the Astros have
to give up and in some cases they have to
give up uh whatever, hundreds of thousands of dollars from
their international signing pool for international free agency when they
sign international kids. And I just don't the Astros cannot

(01:12:11):
afford to give up any more draft picks than any
of They have to keep all of that, their draft
picks and their international signing bonus pools. And that's all
I have to say.

Speaker 2 (01:12:22):
All right, I appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (01:12:23):
I mean, you know, you've heard that Jim Crane is
willing to go into the luxury tax category thereof you know, Baseball,
if you don't know, does not have a hard salary cap,
but they do have parameters in terms of threshold one,
threshold two. Where as Martin pointed out, draft capital is
given up, signing bonus pool money, is taking away all

(01:12:44):
of those different types of things that do kind of
hamstring you. And I think that's the other part of
it as well, is the Astros, to your point, Martin,
are wrestling with at this point, is you know, do
you want to necessarily possibly take it in the shorts
down the road because you're unable to, you know, the
replenish this minor league system to the point that you

(01:13:05):
want it to be with the Astros necessarily being able
to bring in talent that can help you down the road,
or are you trying to go for it all up
front and trying to capitalize on this window that you
have with Jose Altuve at least one more year of
Kyle Tucker and also two with Yourn Alvarez as well.
I think all those things are being wrestled with at

(01:13:25):
this point, but two at the same time. I mean,
it's the point that was brought up by a caller
to me and Ross after the Astro season ended, and
I think it's a valid one. I mean, if you're
a guy like Jose Altuve, if you're your on Alvarez,
I mean you're looking at the Astros with how they
handled the Bregmann situation of all right, well, then why

(01:13:45):
are we here like you wanted us to be Astros
for life, at least in the case of Altuve. But
I mean, if this is the way it's gonna look,
I mean, you know, how much do I want to
be around here too? Because more than anything, Altuve wants
to win, jord On Alvarez wants to win. Every single
guy in that clubhouse wants to win. So I think
that's kind of what's being wrestled with right now by

(01:14:06):
Dana Brown and his staff. I mean, you heard him
in the postseason press conference that he had with him
and Joe A. Spotta, where he talked about roster creativity
is going to need to be had by this team,
and I think a way that you can accomplish that
is what do you have in your minor league system?
What do you have that's ready in your minor league system.
But also two, I would probably guess most of the

(01:14:27):
moves that are going to be made this offseason by
the Astros could be via trade. I mean, just judging
off of what I know about Dana Brown, but also
too what we've seen from his past from where he
was with the Atlanta Braves. That was an organization that
for the most part, shied away from free agent deals.
Other than one two year deals here or there, but
for the most part, most of their roster building moves

(01:14:49):
were via the trade. So that's going to be something
that I think is going to be interesting to see
this off season. We can continue this on the other side, James,
I know you want to get in also too. On
the other side, you with a little bit of I
hear voices, as we had done that a couple of
weeks ago. We'll bring it back here because there's a
lot to get into, like I said, from the college

(01:15:10):
football side, from Major League Baseball, but also to the NFL.
So we'll do all of that before we close up
shop here on Space City Saturday. Like I said, James,
stick and stay get to you on the other side,
continued Disastros. Conversation next right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (01:15:28):
Space City Saturday continues. I'm Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:15:33):
Sports Talk seven ninety and Matthews here with you for
about another twenty five minutes or so.

Speaker 2 (01:15:40):
College football underway.

Speaker 4 (01:15:42):
Penn State out to an early ten nothing lead on
Ohio State pick six there to put the Nidney Lions
in front by two scores. So that's going on, and
other games happening as well, Ole Miss Arkansas, a lot
of college football that, like I said, not going to
get into a ton of it here today, but be

(01:16:04):
able to have that for you as a lot of
you going to be paying attention to what's happening there
on the TV screen today. A few things to get
to James before I get to you, as Jeff Passen
either his reporting or retweeting others reporting out there as well,
Jesse Rodgers with ESPN. This is something that's significant for
the astros pursuit of Alex Bregman at this point because

(01:16:27):
a couple of things here.

Speaker 2 (01:16:28):
We've heard about how shallow.

Speaker 4 (01:16:31):
The pool of third base possibilities are in free agency
in this offseason in Major League Baseball, and this kind
of feeds into that. But also too, another place that
a lot of people have wondered if that would be
the ideal landing spot for Alex Bregman is the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Speaker 2 (01:16:48):
Well, the Diamondbacks did something that might hinder them from
doing that.

Speaker 4 (01:16:51):
A Heino Suarez, a guy that a lot of people
wondered if he could be a replacement for Bregman if
indeed he does move on. Doesn't look like that's going
to be happening because the Diamond picked up Heno Suarez
is option for twenty twenty five for fifteen million dollars.

Speaker 2 (01:17:06):
So that's on that front.

Speaker 4 (01:17:08):
A couple of other things too, on the on the
offseason hot stove front as well. The Astros in need
of a first baseman. Could Anthony Rizzo be a possibility.
His seventeen million dollar option was just declined by the
Yankees as well, so he's a free agent.

Speaker 2 (01:17:24):
And here's the one.

Speaker 4 (01:17:24):
Kylie McDaniel throwing this out that Garrett Cole has opted
out of his contract, sources telling McDaniel and Jeff Passing
now the Yankees can avoid the opt out by adding
a one year, thirty six million dollars to the four
years and one hundred and forty four million remaining on
the contract that Cole has. I don't think he's going anywhere.

(01:17:46):
I think that, more than anything, is just kind of
a hey, you know, can I help you guys retool
a little bit, kind of space out some money so
we can bring back Juan Soto and be able to
build on that case. I don't think that this is
a scenario where Garrett Cole says enough of this.

Speaker 2 (01:18:02):
I'm out of here. I mean, I know he was.

Speaker 4 (01:18:05):
Frustrated after the loss in the World Series, but I
just don't see him going anywhere, So just wanted to
pass those things along. James and Klein wants the way
in here on Sports Talk seven ninety James, what's going on?

Speaker 2 (01:18:18):
Yeah, you kind of took away my thunder.

Speaker 11 (01:18:19):
I was wondering if there were any first basement out
there that they could we had any interesting as far
as free agency.

Speaker 2 (01:18:25):
I don't want Rizo here, that's what they're thinking. They
just need to pass on to him.

Speaker 3 (01:18:29):
I just don't think he's gonna help this organization.

Speaker 10 (01:18:31):
They need to find somebody younger, and I just wonder
what your thoughts as first the first baseman.

Speaker 2 (01:18:37):
Yeah, I appreciate the call.

Speaker 4 (01:18:39):
I mean, Christian Walker has been a guy with the
Arizona Diamondbacks that he's a free agent and he's going
to have a lot of interest out there. I mean,
I've talked about the Jim Bowden thing, and you know,
Boden had him going to the Mariners.

Speaker 2 (01:18:53):
Now.

Speaker 4 (01:18:53):
It's also too I want people to understand when pieces
like that are put out that it's not Ironcloud. Obviously,
it's you know necessarily what happens in situations like that.
I mean, having worked in the you know, a digital
media world in terms of covering college football in the past,
you're asked by your editors after a season ends, Hey

(01:19:14):
put out your way too early top twenty five, Hey
put out your you know what coaches are going to
be fired, or any of those types of things. I mean,
it's you know, kind of just as educated as you
can have of guesses at that point and his guests,
I mean, just kind of putting this together through a
deadline that the Astros will resign Bregman and no ad

(01:19:35):
Cody Bellinger. I mean, Bellinger is a guy that's played
first base in the past two as well. So is
that something that could work out for the Astros where
you can have kind of a guy that you need
him to play in the outfield, he can do that.
You need him to put on a first base glove,
he can do that too as well. So I mean
that would be something interesting from that perspective.

Speaker 2 (01:19:54):
Rizzo.

Speaker 4 (01:19:54):
I mean, I get what you said there, James, but
also too as well. This was thrown out by Chandler
Rome when he in studio at the end of the
season where Rizzo is known as a guy that is
a great clubhouse presence and somebody that can be a
veteran leader in the clubhouse as well, while the bat
and the offensive production have kind of slumped over the years.
I mean, he adds what I just told you there

(01:20:16):
at the front end, but also adds really good defense
too as well, notwithstanding the pitchers fielding practice play that
did not come to fruition over at first base with
Garrett Cole the other night, but wasn't necessarily on Rizzo
at that point. But that's something that if you lose
a guy like Alex Bregman would be a huge ad
from that perspective. And I think somebody too that is

(01:20:36):
still a good enough bat that can be a number
five hitter in your lineup, and somebody that still gets
on base as well, So I think that's a possibility.
I know that vlad Guerrero Junior has been thrown out there.
I believe he's still on a multi year deal with
the Blue Jays. I could look that up during the break,
but I think that that would be a little bit

(01:20:57):
of a tough ask for the Astros. So hopefully I
answered your rushing as best as possible there, James, we're
gonna put off I hear voices to the final segment
of the show, so we'll get into that here to
close things out. As I mentioned, I mean, if you
still wanted to hop in on the Texans, you could
do so as well.

Speaker 2 (01:21:13):
John. What's going on?

Speaker 5 (01:21:16):
Hey? Dan? How you doing? I was listening to you
when you're talking about DEFEXI earty all, and you know,
I was mad at detections. You know, I bought into
the idea everybody was talking about. They brought it and
displaying that playing and the old way bobile. But you know,
I had to put things in a perspective, and what
I had to remember is that this is this coaching

(01:21:36):
staff second season. Last season was their first season. They
turned a terrible team around and made it to the playoffs.
It's a work in progress. They drafted Juice, Grubs, h
tevil I, guess offensive Bam and Patterson and them, so
they knew up the problem and they've been trying to
get it fixed. So far it hadn't worked out. But

(01:21:57):
people need to remember I'll say this, Can they jam
me of any NFL team that brought in a rookie
coaching staff the first year and drafted a few players,
and the second year they went to the super Bowl
with a rookie quarterback. It just doesn't happen like that.
Every team has to they have to build, build, It's

(01:22:18):
a work in progress. I really was figure the text
and probably go to the super Bowl next year. Now
they may go this year because I staked them to
play back in the second half. But people need to remember,
it doesn't happen. Teams don't turn around and drink and
do all their three and a rookie coaching staff and
a rookie quarterback and they fixed every problem wrong with

(01:22:39):
the team and they go to the super Bowl the
second year. It doesn't work like that, you know. And
so you know that's the real deal on that right there.
The offensive mine is still a working progress. Tank Dale.
Tankdale broke his league. He had an injury. He got
shot in the leg. Tank Dale ad he Qui can
pass as he was.

Speaker 8 (01:22:57):
Now.

Speaker 5 (01:22:57):
Maybe its speeding everything to come back around. But people,
this is still working progress. Don't be expecting to go. No,
have everything picks and in the second year go to
the super Bowl. We can open pray, but it doesn't
work like that. They make the playoffs and win one
on two playoff games. They're still doing good. But you know,
as far as some folks you know around here trying

(01:23:17):
to trash to manage one and trash the coaching staff
and all that kind of stuff. But they don't quite
deserve that if they ain't been here five, six, seven years,
like some of the other coaches we've had on some
of the other coaches that has them on the other teams.
Look at the part of nine as they've been trying
for years with their players and they still ain't one.
That's just the way it works. So give it a

(01:23:39):
little time. Our coaching staff, they're working on things. They
haven't done it. They haven't proved us wrong yet. We
went to the playoffs last year, relaxed a little bit
and let them work on this offensive line. They're gonna
get it together. People, We gonna we're gonna win. Have
we we win? And now what did we do about
three seasons one one on two games? Hey? Remember, people,

(01:24:00):
that's how it is. We're doing better. We get massive
work in progress. Hey have a good one day.

Speaker 4 (01:24:07):
Yeah, I appreciate the call, John, I mean, you know,
I brought up the you know words that Nick Cassario
had at the combine, and it kind of fits right
in line with what you said. I mean, I think
at the point right there, he was not only speaking
to his team, but he was also speaking to the
fan base as well. Of success is not a linear path, like,
it's not necessarily something that just because you did it
one year, you're gonna do it the following year. Adjustments

(01:24:28):
have to be made. I mean, look at the Chiefs
last year. Now, am I comparing the Texans to the Chiefs. No,
It's a loose comparison at best, because this was a
Chiefs team that going into the playoffs, people looked at
and said, oh, maybe this run is over cause you
got to go to Buffalo. That ain't gonna work. And
the defense stood up and the defense made plays, and
the defense put them in position to be able to

(01:24:48):
win the Super Bowl in the next three games. A
huge reason why the Chiefs were in a you know,
World champs last year was because their defense showed up
and carried that football team. So sometimes, I mean, what
is perceived as a strength for you, you need somebody
else to kind of either match that or even to
go a step further. And I think in some cases,

(01:25:09):
the Texans have been able to have some of that
this year. This is a defense that I think has,
you know, drastically been able to overperform the expectations we
had for them. I mean, what did we know about
this defense comingto this season? We had questions at all
three levels. You wondered how good is this group going
to be at being able to stop the run. They've
been able to do a good enough job at that,
and they've been able to play pretty strong football up

(01:25:29):
there at the linebacker spot. With the injury to Christian Harris,
we worried about that, as Zau Shaier when he's been
on the field has played incredibly well for this team,
and also too in the secondary outside of really Derek
Stingley Junior and again when healthy Jimmy Ward, it's been
a group that has played I think pretty good football.
I mean, I know that Kamari Laster had some issues

(01:25:52):
the other night against the Jets, but a rookie corner
that's going to happen. But I think there's just you know,
kind of like I said, this many by week could
not come at a better time for this team because
it gives you a chance to do all the things
that you normally do during the bye week, and most
of it as on the front office and on the
coaching side as well.

Speaker 2 (01:26:09):
So good points brought up by you. John.

Speaker 4 (01:26:11):
All Right, we'll close things out here on Space City
Saturday with a chance to here's some voices as will
make sense of that if you're not one hundred percent
sure of what we do in this segment, but we
will do that on the other side. To close out
this edition of Space City Saturday, I'm Dan Matthews here
on your home of the Astros and the Rockets, Sports
Talk seven to ninety.

Speaker 1 (01:26:32):
It's Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven nighty.

Speaker 2 (01:26:38):
You always know.

Speaker 4 (01:26:39):
You're gonna get a pop in the arena whenever you
have Randy York and walk into the ring to this
and whoever the opponent is, I don't be aware. Chance
for us to here's some voices here to close out
as this edition of Space City Saturday. Appreciate all of
you who hopped aboard today too as well as we
were able to get into a lot of Texans talk

(01:26:59):
and also two a little bit of Astros there in
that last segment. But I do want to get into
some audio here from the week that happened again one
on the college front, one on the pro football front,
and also one on the Major League Baseball front. So

(01:27:20):
get into all of that, as we'll start first with yesterday.
In LA there was the victory parade for the Dodgers,
and during the World Series there were a lot of
different storylines as we usually have during World Series.

Speaker 2 (01:27:35):
I mean, you know, the.

Speaker 4 (01:27:35):
Astros, Dodgers, So we saw what we saw during that
series in twenty seventeen, twenty nineteen, twenty twenty two.

Speaker 2 (01:27:43):
We've seen it all.

Speaker 4 (01:27:44):
And also too, what's part of it is pomp and
circumstance with it being the biggest event in the sport,
is that you will even have celebrities, which in this
case right here with both New York and LA, you
had a lot of them there. But in LA in
Game two, so they had ice Cube emerged from center
field there at Dodgers Stadium. Then he put on a

(01:28:04):
little impromptu set in New York, which I mean, let's
be honest here, New York City, when you think of
the hip hop game and performers, I mean, you think
of many others before you think of Fat Joe, right,
And it's nothing against Fat Joe, but two at the
same time. I mean, once you saw that he was
emerging from the Yankees dugout for a performance, you're kind

(01:28:28):
of like, come on, man, like in the City of
nas and everybody else that could possibly come out and perform,
you're bringing out Fat Joe well Key k Hernandez. Yesterday,
as teams are ought to do for victory parade rallies,
the Dodgers had theirs inside Dodgers Stadium.

Speaker 2 (01:28:45):
He decided to hit Fat Joe with a stray. Then
we got to New York in this time he used
to be fat. He's not fat anymore. As Joe, he didn't.

Speaker 3 (01:29:02):
And guess what, we didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:29:05):
Even need to play because after that performance.

Speaker 3 (01:29:07):
We'd already won.

Speaker 4 (01:29:10):
So yeah, look scoreboard in many ways at least four
out of the five for the Dodgers in this series.
But also too, I mean when you throw out one
of the pioneers, one of the go to names in
the hip hop game for you in ice Cube and
the Yankees edition right there, because I think what ended
up happening there is there was a little bit of
scramble mode.

Speaker 2 (01:29:30):
All right, all right, who could we get?

Speaker 4 (01:29:31):
So let's try jay Z Jay Z's busy, Uh you
know who else is out there, you know, just you know,
trying to find anyone. And Fat Joe raised his hand
and said, yeah, hey, I'll do it. And of course
you know they're thinking, oh man, this is gonna fire
up the crowd. I think even Yankee fans were kind
of like, really, that's the guy we bring out in
terms of firing us up to say, hey, this is
New York hip hop against West Coast hip hop.

Speaker 2 (01:29:53):
Like, no way, dude, no Like.

Speaker 4 (01:29:56):
It's almost kind of like the example I go to
of what you want as opposed to what's being offered.
A wrestling example here, remember the storyline that was playing
out in the WCW of Hey, there's Sting, he's dressed
like the Crow.

Speaker 2 (01:30:09):
There's Sting. We want to see Sting back in the ring.

Speaker 4 (01:30:11):
And you would have whoever, Eric Bischaw or whoever trying
to offer him a contract to wrestle. And I remembered
once I can't remember who it was from the WCW,
but the whole in the ring on the mic moment
right there was here's a contract to wrestle, Kurt Henning.
That's the Yankees offering you, Kurt Henning at that point
like nothing against mister Perfect. But everybody knew that we

(01:30:33):
wanted to see the match between Sting and Hollywood Hogan,
like get us to that point, and I think most
of us who follow wrestling storylines, we knew it was
going to eventually get to Sting wrestling against Hollywood Hogan.
But of course you got to keep the storyline going.
You got to build it right there. But that's what
the Yankees did, and as Sting reacted to ripping up

(01:30:54):
the contract, I think Yankee fans and players, especially on
the defensive end, and that fifth inning, they pretty much
ripped up the track after Fat Joe. So you gotta
set the tone in that regard after the walk off there,
I mean, you want to talk about the momentum On
the Dodgers' side, you get the walk off Grand Slam
from Freddie Freeman. Then that Saturday night you get a
performance by one of the best in the hip hop

(01:31:14):
game from ice Cube. You felt like it was all
Dodgers in this series, and for the most part, it was.
So that's from that side we bring it more local
for these final three pieces of audio, because one of
them comes from the same guy twice. But we'll go
from somebody who is somewhat out of our area, but

(01:31:34):
is in regard to something that happened in our area.
Remember last Sunday when the Texans were playing against the Colts,
you had Anthony Richardson tap the top of his helmet
say oh, I need out of the game. And he
was asked after the game, oh, hey, why'd you need out?

Speaker 8 (01:31:49):
Man?

Speaker 2 (01:31:49):
I gotta be honest with you.

Speaker 4 (01:31:50):
I was tired, and of course I did not really
sit well with anyone, and it could not have sat
well with Colts players and even with head coach Shane Stike,
and well, we fast forward a litle little bit to
this week where the Colts announced that Joe Flacco, for
the immediate future and for the future plans, is going
to be the starting quarterback for this team in twenty

(01:32:10):
twenty four, and Steichen was asked whether or not Richardson
tapping at the top of his helmet had anything to
do with playing into this decision, didn't.

Speaker 3 (01:32:20):
I mean, he knows that he can't do that in
that situation.

Speaker 1 (01:32:23):
You know, that's part of the growth and the development
process that we go through. And again, I just you know,
I think Joe gives us the best chance right now
going forward.

Speaker 4 (01:32:33):
What's the line that Ron Burgundy had in Anchorman. I
don't believe you, because if that's the case, Shane, then
you would have started Joe Flacco last week when you
were playing for first place in the division and a
chance to be able to fully get back into the
postseason race. As of for right now, you're very much
in a full scramble because in wildcard, at least out

(01:32:54):
of the AFC South, that does not seem like it's
going to happen. And the Texans now have a two
game lead on you, and while the Texans are getting
into a tougher part of their schedule, it would almost
have to be the Texans completely blowing this thing for
the Colts to be able to win the AFC South.
So again, I mean, you can say all the right
things out there, and in this case, I will give

(01:33:14):
Shane steike In credit for at least somewhat stretching the
truth at this point because for a learning purposes and
a learning experience for Anthony Richardson in the future, if
something like that happens, dude, lie like make something up
at that point. Oh my chin strap came off, I
couldn't get it, you know, strapped back on. So you know,

(01:33:36):
I knew that they would throw me out at least
for a play anyway, or even too. I felt a
little twinge, you know, anything like that, like make something
up at that point, I'm tired. There's two groups of people,
One that's an individual and one that's a group on
a football field that you absolutely if you are somewhat
able to play, because nobody's at one hundred percent at

(01:33:57):
that point in the game. But in this case, right here,
you lie and you cannot come off the field at
that point. And it's quarterbacks and it's offensive lineman, and
I gotta believe it did not fit well with his team.
Before we get out of here, a couple of quick
pieces of audio from a text and m head coach
Mike Elko after they beat LSU last weekend. He had
some pretty strong pointed words, and a lot of people

(01:34:18):
believed it was a shot at Jimbo Fisher.

Speaker 3 (01:34:22):
This is a real program.

Speaker 13 (01:34:24):
It's not fake. It's not a politician running this program
talking fast and BS and everybody. This is a real program,
and for all the recruits out there, this is a
real place and if you want to be really good
at football, this is a really good place to be.

Speaker 4 (01:34:38):
All right, So the thing, and we're not gonna be
able to get to the second part of it because
we got to get you to Fox Sports. But you know,
on Monday, Mike Elko came out and tried to clarify, saying,
there's no way I would take a shot at Jimbo Fisher.
He's the reason why I'm in this position, why I
have this job. But again, kind of like Shane Steichens,
I don't really believe it might because the whole fast

(01:34:59):
talking line, politician, it seems like you were talking about
somebody that used to be the head coach at A
and M at that point. But Elco is emphatic in
saying that, no, that was not the case. But anyway,
I'm all have to leave it there at that, all right,
that's gonna do it for us here on Space City Saturday.
I want to think Melvin Brown back behind the glass
in our Uptown galleria studios, want to think all of

(01:35:21):
you who wait in here on the show today as well.
We do it to noon or tend to noon most Saturdays,
and we will talk to you again here the Saturday
after next, because next week you get Texas and Florida
coming your way at eleven am, so we won't be
with you for that. So that's gonna do it for us. Here,
I'm Dan Matthews here and your home of the Astros

(01:35:42):
and the Rockets Sports Talk seven to ninety