Holy Toledo, The Texans Rank WHERE!?!?!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam raised.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
My girl.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Nolan multed by the magnificent roller coaster ride.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
That is sports.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hell, Chill lage down for the only home grown afternoon
team is talking Your teams? Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler
are the A Team.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
A There you go, It's Friday, just like that.

Speaker 4 (00:46):
It's the A Team Sports seven ninety. What's up? Call?
How are you in there?

Speaker 5 (00:51):
You are you good?

Speaker 4 (00:52):
Does your mic work? Is it broken? How about you?
Wex how's everybody doing today? Let's have a good Friday
heading in the weekend, because I gotta tell you right now,
I need it. I need a good Friday. I'm not
gonna tell you guys why I need this show today.
I need to not argue with wex as much, and
I need to just have I need to have a

(01:13):
fun show for four hours. So that's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna have our stone cold locks. I'll eventually make
my picks. My poor co host, who likes to put
in the graphic ahead of the show, is dying for
me to make them yet, and I'm rude and I
haven't done it yet. So I'll do that before Uh,
before too long here we will get ready for the
epic matchup that will be uh Cooper Rush's face and

(01:34):
the Texans defensive pass rush man their secondary because I
think he's gonna throw an interception and they might even
return it for a pick for a pick six, and uh,
we will get into, among other things, the fact that
Thursday Night football last night was not slop as I predicted.
It was actually a highly entertaining game. And oh, by

(01:55):
the way, Mac Jones, which tell me you saw the
meme that was flowing around after the game. I can't
remember the exact.

Speaker 6 (02:02):
Frame two face meme because that's a ridiculous suit.

Speaker 4 (02:05):
No, no, that's a good one too. I'm talking about
after the game was over and he had led the
forty nine ers to the upset. Was he smoking a cigar?
But he was. He might have been.

Speaker 6 (02:17):
Locker room smoking a cigar in October.

Speaker 4 (02:20):
And dad Bod is not Yeah, it's it's dough Bod. Yes,
that he's a quarterback. I mean a lot of them
look like that. The Beliefe guy just upset the La
Rams defense essentially, is what I was saying.

Speaker 6 (02:35):
Yeah, they did a really nice job right out of
the gate. And were able to play from in front.
And this is not the first time that mac Jones
has looked good in Kyle Shanahan's offense. And obviously it's
a fun story to discuss because you go back to
the draft day deal that was made, which most thought
was to go get mac Jones and ultimately they decided
to draft a quarterback who basically has had no NFL
career instead, Trey Lance, and now they're back together again.

(02:58):
Also had the benefit of having Kendrick Worn there because
wide receiver one, two, and three were all out for
the Niners, but they got out to a nice lead.
They took advantage of the ongo as much as the
k ball is dominating the NFL, and a fifty nine
yard field goal was made by a kicker netball, the
kicking ball. No, I know what you meant. Just that's

(03:18):
not what I mean. That's what it's called the caball. Yes,
that's what it's called. Yes, what do you mean that's
what it's called. Is there is a kicking football that
is brought into the games for kickers to use to
kickfield goal.

Speaker 4 (03:30):
I thought you were saying, like the kicking game.

Speaker 6 (03:32):
No, the ca ball has changed the NFL greatly through
four weeks and one game.

Speaker 4 (03:36):
I misunderstood what you were saying.

Speaker 6 (03:38):
But what has also come with special teams is who
wants to block a kick? Come to our NFL game
and you will see one, and you had to kick
going off the upright. But the block kick obviously changed
what the scoreboard looked like. And then you had the
Rams making an interesting decision at the end of the game,
one I completely agree with in terms of should we
or shouldn't we? And then obviously one that I think

(03:59):
everybody agreed with. Okay, here's the play call. So the Rams,
who they were one to oh, if you remember when
the season began, they dropped a second game. The Niners
sit atop their division. They've needed mac Jones on three
different occasions this year, and things have worked out tremendously
well for them. And that's how Week five in the
NFL begins. During the show, probably an hour from now

(04:22):
or so, we'll have definitive word on how each of
the countless Baltimore Ravens will be listed on their injury
status report. Friday's injury report includes their game status and
the same bad practice news came out for the Ravens today.
Zero practices this week for Lamar Jackson. However, I don't

(04:42):
think he's going to be listed as out unfortunately on
the injury report.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
I do not think he's going to play.

Speaker 6 (04:47):
But I think the game of well, we don't have
to tell you yet will be played by the Baltimore
Ravens and say, so dumb, Well, there's no reason, there's
no good, there's no bad, there's no there's nothing.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
There's fooling the Texans, is what I mean. And that
would be the only reason to really do it, is it.
They're not.

Speaker 6 (05:02):
I mean, well, you're just not telling them until the
absolute last possible moment.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
Why not because you can?

Speaker 6 (05:08):
Yeah, but I mean at ten thirty on Sunday he'll
be inactive and then you'll know for sure he's not playing.
Before that, you're prepared for either one of them. You're
the Texans are not dumb. He hasn't practiced. They know
what the Baltimore Ravens schedule is. The next two weeks.
They have one game and then an off week. It
would make a lot of sense for them to do

(05:28):
the right thing with an injury that likely likely a
hamstring injury for Lamar Jackson is going to be aggravated
if he plays a football game. If he's not one
hundred percent, He's nowhere near one hundred percent. The Texans
know who's playing, and they know it's not him, but
they just have not made it official.

Speaker 4 (05:43):
I could be wrong.

Speaker 6 (05:44):
Maybe when the injury report comes out, he and several
other Ravens will be listed as out. They'll have to
make some roster considerations in his case if he is out,
because they don't have a third quarterback on the roster.
But I think Saturday afternoon will find out that Tyler
Huntley has been elevated to the active roster for Sunday's game,
or he will be signed, but most likely be elevated,

(06:05):
And you wouldn't elevate him unless there was a real
concern that he isn't gonna play or he's definitely hurt.
You can't go into the game with only one other
healthy quarterback, so they have to elevate Huntley, and there's
a couple other players that obviously are of concern. Texans
have one unless something happened at the extremely subdued casual

(06:26):
easy listening walk through that the Texans had very very
different playlist out there. It was fun and you got
players singing along with the music. He was just really
cool and casual. Practiced inside the bubble, did some special
teams work outside. Again, we see almost nothing as it
relates to football, so I can't exactly tell you how
this player looked and that player looked other than man

(06:46):
he was wearing a uniform. But we'll get the injury
report for the Texans all so fully Foughtocosi with his
shoulder injury is really the only player in doubt for
this game. And then there's the question of if they
will activate either of the two players whose practice win
opened de Deco Autry on the defensive line in Jalen Reed,
the safety they drafted this past year out of Penn
State possibilities. Neither are activated this week because they simply

(07:10):
don't have to, and if they don't feel like they
need them and they're ready to contribute, then there would
be no reason to do that. So we'll find out
a couple of those things in the next few hours.
Obviously set the table on the rest of the NFL slate,
and obviously matters for the Texans, not only if they
can get a win and get to win number two
all of a sudden, a couple of weeks after being winless,
could the Texans be in a position where they're barely

(07:32):
looking up at the team's atop their division? Inneapolis Colts
are at home, they have a couple of injury issues
they're taking on the Raiders. Raiders have gotten off to
not very successful one and three start to the season,
and I'll have to wait a little bit Monday Night
football to find out if Jacksonville is only one win
ahead of them. They've got the Monday night home date

(07:53):
against the Kansas City Chiefs, so definitely some interest to
see if those other two teams will slightly come back
down to earth rest the NFL slate obviously, and a
big college football weekend as per usual, We've got a
couple games here on our family of networks, Sports Talk
seven ninety nine to fifty tomorrow night, with the six
o'clock kick for the Cougars and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

(08:14):
One to thirty start time for the Longhorns and Florida
with kickoff at two thirty right here on Sports Talk
seven ninety as they dive into conference play. I did
see someone who definitely has a bad vibe about the
quality of play from DJ Lagway of Florida and the
quality of play from Arch Manning of Texas, saying, man,

(08:34):
I didn't realize I was gonna have a chance to
see Iowa versus Iowa, and noted that these two quarterbacks
in their offenses are rated outside the top one twenty
in college football.

Speaker 4 (08:44):
So I don't think.

Speaker 6 (08:45):
It's gonna play out quite as badly as that person suggested.
And obviously we'll be excited to see if they can
do that. Right here on our airwaves, we've got the
matchup set for the latest series in Major League Baseball.
We don't want to pay any attention to those who
all get Star on Saturday. But it also means three
more teams had goodbyes yesterday, one of them being the

(09:07):
Red Sox. That was the last game of the day,
so year one at forty million dollars for Alex Bregman
as a Boston Red Sox player, is over. He said
it was an honor to put on that uniform. Maybe
we'll dissect a couple of other things that he had
to say, and we'll also compare it to the words
of at least one padre who said goodbye to the
twenty twenty five season after they came up short, very short.

(09:29):
I guess the Chicago Cubs yesterday and in their game
the problem that will only slightly be corrected next year
and moving forward was on full display. And the ninth inning,
leading off a deciding game, series deciding moment, when Xander
Bogart was called out on strikes on a pitch that

(09:50):
was not even close and everybody knew it. And so
when the umpires left the field after the game, they
were berated because they had to walk through the padres
dugout to get to their clubhouse. Well, it's one or
the other. I mean, you could go the other way.
You know what's funny about that. I until last night,
I never really even thought about it. And I actually
thought that in most stadiums because like for example, in

(10:15):
the NBA, well take dyke In Park. You have three
other ways to go, and they're right next to each other.
You've got a tunnel on the front side the home
plate side of the visiting dugout, you have a second
tunnel on the third base side of the home plate dugout,
or you can just walk through the dugout in this case,
the in the in the at Wrigley Field, slightly older stadium,

(10:35):
just slightly. The path to the umpire's clubhouse or their
umpire's room is through the visitors dugout.

Speaker 4 (10:42):
Yeah, And I guess in most modern stadiums, and I
by modern, I mean not built in the twenties or
whatever that you know, you can't really unless you're gonna
do some major renovations. I guess. I just always thought
that they kept had security those locker rooms, so separate
from that for that very reason. For example, when the

(11:04):
Rockets and whomever they're playing come out of their tunnels,
it's on the same side of the arena at Toyota Center,
but their opposite ends. Correct. Now, take us back to
Lakewood Church. Don't call it that.

Speaker 6 (11:17):
Take us back to Compact Center. Call it that. Take
us back to where the Arrows played the Summit. Take
us back to the Summit.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
And that was the best part of ejections between two
players who were fighting.

Speaker 6 (11:29):
They're going through the same same small tunnel, very small tunnel,
and it's at half court, correct, So.

Speaker 4 (11:35):
Everybody's gonna see if something goes on.

Speaker 6 (11:36):
But yeah, or if Padd O'Brien wanted to talk to
the ejected Ralph Sampson. That's where he would meet him.

Speaker 4 (11:41):
Or if Padd O'Brien wanted to leave drunk voicemails for
never mind, how did you can you? This is I
don't know if you guys love the show as much
as we love the show, but what just took place
there is one of.

Speaker 6 (11:52):
The reasons why we look at people different. Pat O'Brien
came up today, why because that's awesome. I love it,
and I brought up his indiscretion. I knew what would
happen once he was brought up a sense of alcohol.

Speaker 4 (12:05):
No, but at Toyota Center, the referees will go. I
think it's actually the same tunnel where the entertainers come
out of, too well, the crew of the dancers that
launch all that stuff comes out of that tunnel by
where the writing press is in that corner, which is
opposite from the visitor's tunnel on the other side. Right,

(12:28):
that's where the refs go. I've seen it a million times,
especially for Scott Foster's four options, especially in twenty eighteen
to center. Plus they also leave the court with security.
Why everybody else is using the bathroom over by the
bar in the fourth the teams have already left the positions.

Speaker 6 (12:43):
Sometimes most of the time, most of the usually they
get their words in with the officials before they've gone back,
and their own team security has handled it and said,
you gotta leave Scott alone. It's not going to do
any good for you. You're only going to get to
your fine lengthened. But that's where we sit here, getting into,
like you said, the remainder of what we have for
you today. Well, we will have tickets to give away
to that game I mentioned over at TDECU Stadium, University

(13:06):
of Houston and Texas Tech where their Houston Blue Game.
We got the Stone Cold Locks coming your way as
our signature segment that is at four point thirty, and
of course Best of X comes your way in just
a few moments. Obviously a little bit from how the
Texans are preparing, and a couple of specific matchups that
the Texans can and need to take advantage of in
order to make sure what happened last night does not

(13:28):
happen to the Texans on Sunday. And I'll explain that
when we come back here.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
I'll need the eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (13:43):
Down.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
All right, I'm debating whether or not to bring that
on the air. Let's talk about the key to this
game this week for the Texans.

Speaker 6 (13:58):
I brought something up right at the end of the
segment we talk about that particular thing, and it may
be the Texans offense against the Ravens defense, which clearly,
in addition to Lamar not being there on the other side,
their defense is going to have some holes. But specific
to what we just watched last night, that's what the
Texans have to worry about. Mac Jones and Kyle Shanahan
had a game plan on how to attack the Rams defense,

(14:20):
the very very good, one of the best fronts in
the NFL defense, and it worked brilliantly. And he's not
the starter, they obviously do things a little bit differently
when he is out there. I think it's pretty easy
to see if you've watched the five Niners games this year,
a little more than half with Mac and the others
with Brock, they do things very differently. Even though people say,
why two white, unathletic quarterbacks, they must be identical, Well

(14:41):
they're not. And one of them is the starter and
one of them isn't, and one of them gets rid
of the ball by design extremely quickly, and one of
them doesn't rock. Party is the guy who hangs on
to the ball and is continuing to try to make
something there and look down the field and see what
we can do. And he's obviously played with a little
bit different group of players because of the constant injuries.
What would normally be the four top targets non McCaffrey

(15:04):
were all out last night, and mac jones conversely, get
rid of the ball, man, get rid of the ball,
two step drop fire, three step drop fire. Don't go
through all your progressions. The guy's going to be open
just throwing the football. He did that all night long.
I would be shocked if that's not exactly what Baltimore,
their OC, their passing game coordinator, and everybody involved be

(15:26):
shocked if that's not the exact same thing they're saying
to Cooper Rush as he gets set to make his
sixteenth NFL, fifteenth NFL start and second against the Houston Texans.
Did so last year. Get rid of the ball quickly.
Get the ball in Za Flowers hands, get the ball
in Bateman's hands, get the ball in Andrew's hands, get
the ball in Hill's hands. Out of the backfield, just

(15:46):
like mac Jones did with Christian McCaffrey over and over
and over again. And that's very, very different in the
very same way with two different players, as the mac
Jones to brock Perty comparison. I just may guess who
hold onto the ball forever, Lamar Jackson because he can,
because he creates additional time.

Speaker 4 (16:05):
He makes you cover for forever.

Speaker 6 (16:07):
He can make something out of nothing just with his
feet and gain fifteen twenty yards.

Speaker 4 (16:11):
Without everything the ball as he runs up the field right.

Speaker 6 (16:13):
But he's he's holding onto the ball while he's looking
to throw. And he's been the best passer in the
NFL this year, number one, And that's what's missing. So
Cooper Rush shouldn't be able to do that because he's
not the athlete that he is. He also shouldn't be
able to do that because they're now facing what mac
Jones was up against last night. The Texans are comparable
to the Rams in terms of quarterback pressures. In terms

(16:37):
of tough to stop guys individually, the Rams probably have
more than two. The Texans probably have to and Hunter
and Anderson. There's even some metrics that say Hunters had
an even better start to his season than Will Anderson
ass with both of them being among the top six
in the NFL. That's to me, beyond everything else, the
Texans offensive woes, their slow starts, taking advantage of everything

(16:59):
else there, that is how they are going to win
this game. Those guys have to make it somehow a
little bit uncomfortable for Cooper, and they did that the
last time, totally different circumstances, but he dropped out to
pass more than sixty times against them through a pick,
was sacked five times and generated ten points. I don't

(17:20):
think it's going to be replicated here because of the
biggest difference. They're not that dumb in Baltimore. They still
know who number twenty two is. I expect even if
the Texans get off to a good start stopping Derrick Henry,
this will be the first time since the opening week
they won't give up on Derrick Henry and the Ravens
will continue to feed him the rock and know third

(17:43):
and one, third and two, second and three. All he
has to do is get going and get to the outside,
and all of a sudden, what should have been a
six or seven yard first down gain is a forty
five yard sixty five yard touchdown.

Speaker 4 (17:54):
Well, my fantasy team is praying for that because he's
been awful since that first week whip. Be cheering for that,
I know a couple of bucks.

Speaker 6 (18:01):
Well, can't you just cheer for the home team as
a as a non biased sports media talk show host.

Speaker 4 (18:06):
Because Lamar is hurt. I'm starting CJ Stroud, who I
didn't know is going to be this awful.

Speaker 6 (18:12):
This league you're talking about, this is not the one
we're in, is it. Yah, So there's not another quarterback
you'd prefer. I look because there's probably ten starters available.

Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yeah, that was the problem the ones that I looked at.
CJ was still a better option given the Ravens defense
this week. Now that might change next week. Well, next week,
I'm gonna have to really do some work because CJ's off,
So I don't know what. I will probably have to
go with one of those you guys you just mentioned.

Speaker 6 (18:38):
Don't think anybody grabbed him for this week in this league.
Mac Jones is probably available.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
Well, he's done well. He's had two.

Speaker 6 (18:46):
Games where he scored very very well in face. Here's
the thing at the rest of one of them.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
At the risk of irritating our producer, who is not
a Shanahan fan. I'm the opposite, and I always have been.
I love Kyle Shannayan.

Speaker 6 (18:56):
You have to temper this every time we talk about it.
To me, at least is the way I would handle it.
I just think it's virtually impossible not to call Shanahan
and a very good head coach, a very good football coach.
You can't just keep winning with all these changes over
the years. And he even I would regard him as
a good coach before he became a head coach. But
that's not totally part of the conversation. At some point,

(19:18):
you get to the end of the line, you get
to the playoffs, you get to the Super Bowl, and
people want to knock these guys back down like somebody
else is taking the team to the super Bowl, like
somebody else is coaching their team to thirteen wins.

Speaker 4 (19:31):
When you blow the lead that he did and you
were the offensive coordinator, that's going to be a stain
on your resume and.

Speaker 6 (19:37):
A stain in the Super Bowl, which other NFC coaches
from the Super Bowl.

Speaker 4 (19:41):
You're preaching to the choir on that I love the guy.
I wanted him to be the Texans head coach. Two
coaches Ago, actually three coaches go unless you want to
not count one of.

Speaker 6 (19:48):
Three coaches go for those that haven't been paying attention
to Biko's one coach Ago. Right, mm hm love these
two coaches Ago and coach Davis, three coaches ago.

Speaker 4 (19:57):
Kyle Shanahan would have been better than all of those
guys except for Demiko.

Speaker 6 (20:01):
Right, So Kyle would slot in at third best coach
in Texans history, below Gary and Bill and above Dom
and the guys I just mentioned.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
No, he would rate ahead of Bill. Yes, he would
rate ahead of his mentor. Dom rates ahead of Bill.

Speaker 6 (20:13):
Seriously, Again, that's the same thing we're talking about with Shanahan.
There's a division of labor, a division of of productivity,
a division of job title as a general manager, the Texans,
even the Brian Gain era, even the Jack Easterby era,
the interim GM better than when Bill was GM.

Speaker 4 (20:31):
Worst GM this team has ever had, None of them
traded DeAndre Hopkins for a ham sandwich. But it's in
his prime, that's like.

Speaker 6 (20:37):
And DeAndre Hopkins he'll be on the field this weekend.

Speaker 4 (20:40):
Oh, he'll be looking for revenge.

Speaker 6 (20:42):
He's I'd set his max catch output to probably if
you might play the under Yeah, he might some yards.
One of them might be a touchdown, because that's who he.

Speaker 4 (20:53):
Is, right.

Speaker 6 (20:54):
He might generate some yards through a savvy veteran play. Uh,
you know, want you run into me because the ball
was underthrown and we just got nineteen yards out of that.
Those are the kind of things he's still been able
to do with the many, many teams that have employed
him over the last handful of years. So that's just
one element of the game. There are many others who
want to hear from CJ. Stroud specifically on a couple
of things about what they should be able to do

(21:16):
against this not very productive defense and a defense that
is missing likely missing a whole host of players that
obviously they make a huge difference, and it's for a
team that already with them, was not playing very good football.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
Best of x more Mac Jones comes your way.

Speaker 1 (21:32):
Next the ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
Did you all see this?

Speaker 7 (21:41):
We should be putting out between five and fifteen.

Speaker 4 (21:44):
Posts a day, four hundred people were arrested for things
that they said on social media.

Speaker 7 (21:48):
History repeats itself type banguells succeed. Never doubt that you're
the one to Puss no one, Bill be League, You're
the best.

Speaker 2 (22:01):
Nothing's gonna ever talk. You know, you're the.

Speaker 7 (22:03):
Best post an ever single day, You're the best, breaking
the entire tony.

Speaker 4 (22:17):
I'm excited about this one today. That's at least two
this week that I've been over the top excited about
Best of X. We scour the world wide Web, in
the mean streets of social media every single day without
end to bring you the best content possible. Sometimes it's
the worst content, like yesterday where Kendrick Perkins said, see

(22:39):
Drake drout, ain't it. I can't do it Kendrick Perkins impression.

Speaker 6 (22:42):
And some days it has almost nothing to do with
the content and everything to do with the replies and comments.

Speaker 4 (22:46):
Those days I like it the best. Yeah, do you remember?
And I know you do. Last January, I believe it
was when the Chargers came to town for their bye
week against the Texans. You remember that?

Speaker 6 (23:03):
Yeah, it was a playoff game, was a bye week.
It's a bye week. According to Rex Ryan, you're on
a talkie talk show like we are. You gotta have bold, but.

Speaker 4 (23:11):
We don't say dumb ish like that. They turned out
he was wrong. Oh did it? It did how wrong
was doctor? Yeah? Wh do you think so? Doctor? This
is a second time this week? Will you be my mom?
Just stay here, my mom and you'll be my mom?
Call please watch Weekend? Are you my friend? Yeah? Just
say you're my friend. We'll be friends. Are you my friend? Jack?

(23:34):
Do you like roller Girl? Yeah? She's really foxy?

Speaker 5 (23:37):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (23:37):
No movie this is from of course you don't. Could
you have any seen it?

Speaker 5 (23:40):
Want to make you upset?

Speaker 4 (23:42):
Gosh? Man, you know I worked with the producer once
who hadn't seen Die Hard.

Speaker 5 (23:46):
Okay, now that's just sacrilegists.

Speaker 4 (23:47):
Okay, now you know how I feel about Boogie Knights.
Isn't that important to you?

Speaker 3 (23:51):
It was?

Speaker 5 (23:51):
Dude?

Speaker 4 (23:52):
Burt Reynolds won an Academy Award for his role in
that film.

Speaker 5 (23:55):
Did he really? Yes?

Speaker 6 (23:58):
It's got everything. It's that comedy. It's raunchy. M it
does have murder, suicide it spoiler alert alert. I already
know who dies in the movie.

Speaker 4 (24:09):
Has name's William H. Mason. His wife wasn't doing what
she was doing. He wouldn't have had to do that
more than once in public. And but she's had a
lot of practice and all the sack was defiled anyway.

Speaker 6 (24:24):
Man, what's wrong with you? My wife is down there.
There's not thinking about the movie right now. There's twin carvettes.

Speaker 4 (24:30):
Oh yeah, that's true. What are these guys talking about?
All right, we're back. Well everybody that's seen Booge Knights
knows and Cole doesn't.

Speaker 5 (24:37):
So anyways, what happens, But that's because of it got
spoiled for me.

Speaker 4 (24:41):
WEX has pulled this audio and it's so good because
Dan Orlovsky earlier today, by the way, we got to
get Dan back on. We've had him on before. He's
so good. I never if you had told me, hey,
which one of these sometimes starter, mostly career backup quarterbacks
would be like the best analyst ever in twenty twenty five.

(25:01):
I mean, it's him to me, and you'll know what
I mean when I say this. He is the Tim
Legler of NFL coverage. There's no frills, there's no sensational talk.
He's like the anti Ryan Clark. He actually brings substance
to the table, doesn't say stupid stuff, isn't a jerk,
and is actually really pretty friendly. If you ever get

(25:22):
him on the air, and he's just good. He's good
at what he does.

Speaker 6 (25:24):
Yeah, it does a lot of They allow him and
ask him to do a lot of film work, so
you get to see all that and usually from a quarterback,
they have a pretty good perspective on what may or
may not be happening there. He's far less involved in
the rest of the game. I'm a somebody important game
and just kind of sticks to the football. And he
has Texans ties. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks in
Texans history. So a couple of seasons ago, before the

(25:48):
Mac Jones Parade out of New England took place, and
he went through a stop before he got to Carolina,
he was hanging out with Trevor Lawrence. Stopped before he
got to San Francisco. Wh's hanging out with Trevor Lawrence
to Jacksonville, and now he's hanging out with Brock Purty
in San Francisco. And that particular portion of it is
of great consequence because a conversation that was had on
the set with Greenee on his program, Rex Ryan and

(26:12):
dan Orlovsky. This is from twenty twenty three, and it's
obviously very pertinent to what we saw last night on
the NFL football field with Mac Jones and the forty
nine ers offense, putting up enough points to beat the Rams.
He played a very, very, very strong game, and it's
not the first time he has done that this season.
So they were discussing things. This is when mac Jones

(26:34):
was the Patriots quarterback. Obviously brock Perty had already arrived
and played well in San Francisco. Their conversation about those
two sounded like.

Speaker 3 (26:42):
This, If mac Jones was in San Francisco, he would
be playing like rock Perty.

Speaker 4 (26:45):
I actually agree. No, yes, dude, No, there's no chance.
I'm actually he'd be better than he is. But if
you think he's gonna play like rock Party, you haven't
paid attention to Rock Party that has a slap in
his face. No, it's not just he's not just a system.
Did we pay playing like Joe Montana not not Joe

(27:06):
like this guy. Did we pay attention to mac Jones's
rookiear so that never happened?

Speaker 5 (27:12):
No?

Speaker 4 (27:12):
I did, and I even call him.

Speaker 3 (27:14):
A piece shooter?

Speaker 4 (27:15):
Then he did? He did, dude. My favorite part is
the very initial Can you play it again from the beginning,
I'll tell you what I'm playing it. Yeah, just one
more time? Because dan Orlowski's initial response is so good.
If Mac Jones was.

Speaker 8 (27:27):
In San Francisco, he would be playing like rock Bertie.

Speaker 9 (27:29):
I actually agree, No, yes, dude, no, yes, no, yes, dude.

Speaker 4 (27:37):
Was that Rex Rex had his head in his face
or his hands, He had his head in his.

Speaker 6 (27:42):
Natural reaction to Dan saying that was you got to
be kidding me.

Speaker 5 (27:45):
I mean he also was thinking back to nineteen ninety
seven with Joe Montagna comments from water Boy.

Speaker 4 (27:49):
I liked it.

Speaker 6 (27:49):
I liked the the the insertion of Joe Montana and
Joe Montaigne there. But there is something to be said
people on the old X platform today people one person
he said, who's the worst quarterback? Kyle Shanahan could get
to a super Bowl? Noting that we're watching Mac Jones
do it. Brock Perties earned a billion dollar extension and

(28:11):
he actually did go to the Super Bowl with Jimmy
freaking Garoppolo as his quarterback. Like, there's something to be
said with what you know, what you have and who
your quarterback is and making it work. Not a one
of those three is among the greater talents in the NFL.
They're not even close, but they're capable quarterbacks who have

(28:31):
good ability to play fast, good ability to be accurate,
and that was one of the main attributes that was
on display last night from mac Jones constantly hitting guys,
not only hitting them, but hitting them in stride. So
this three yard game when you needed five would end
up with six. And so Kendrick Bourne right out of
the gate was able to catch and run with that
very first pass that he caught, and it just continued
all game long. It's still ironic that this presumably was

(28:55):
the player they were trading up for so many years
ago in the draft and ultimately didn't take him because
they continue to have discussions and somebody convinced them that
Trey Lance was the guy they should be taking rather
than mac Jones, and then mac Jones had an okay
start to his Patriots career. The coaching staff there was
an absolute embarrassment. That's the other thing that comes up.
You think Matt Patricia should be all good and clear
from social media negativity now that he's the defensive coordinator

(29:19):
for Ohio State and absolutely killing.

Speaker 4 (29:21):
It there because it's a good defensive coach.

Speaker 6 (29:23):
Yeah, but when a quarterback who played during your run
as offensive coordinator for Bill Belichick in New England is
mac Jones playing well now that he's not with you anymore,
and you never should have been involved in any way
on the offensive side of the football, you're catching stray,
you're catching heat for well. How is Dan's basically saying, Look,

(29:45):
this player is good, but nobody can play under these
conditions with what Bill Belichick's Patriots are now offensively nobody.

Speaker 4 (29:55):
This is like the anti We can't replicate Lamar Jackson.
You can absolutely replicate in this sense and did last night.
It's not like you have to be a world beater
to play like brock Purty, but you know, to a
lesser extent. When he made his comment about the bye
week with the Texans, and specifically and mostly with his
comments here, one or the other of those two parties

(30:17):
that were going back and forth was going to look
awful today, and he's the one that looks awful.

Speaker 6 (30:22):
Yeah, And I'm sure they were reminded of it. They
do a pretty good job of a turn the clock's.

Speaker 4 (30:26):
He would hang with Rex Ryan, Don't get me wrong.

Speaker 6 (30:28):
I like him, and you would have had the opportunity
to hang with Rex Ryan's brother.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
I did right there in Miami. I did hang with
Rex Ryan's brother. I took a picture with him on
a random bench outside of that deli we went to
for every meal while we were in Miami. And yes,
his hair was long.

Speaker 3 (30:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (30:44):
In my opinion why Rex Ryan is good on television
is because he'll say what he believes. He will be
outlandish oftentimes and driving home a point that maybe is
not popular, but he doesn't take himself.

Speaker 4 (30:56):
Too seriously, no, very self deprecating.

Speaker 6 (30:58):
Actually, he's okay with being coming back and saying I
was wrong, Like what did he do right after the
Texans beat the snot out of the Chargers The very
next show you owned it? He owned it, And that's
usually what makes you likable and people will want to
watch what you have to say if you can take
it in stride and just understand, Hey man, I'm talking
sports here.

Speaker 4 (31:15):
It's not that serious.

Speaker 6 (31:16):
Like AC was trying to point out yesterday, best jobs
in the world, me, you, and everybody right here at
Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (31:23):
How to handle defeats one oh one.

Speaker 6 (31:26):
We'll start in on that next.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (31:50):
Yeah. See it's Friday edition of the A Team Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (31:56):
No baseball today, No baseball until next year for the Astro,
no baseball for anybody today. All four series with the
remaining eight teams, the pair of DS's in each league
will get going tomorrow. I like the days where they
have a full slate of them, though it's college football Saturday.
I don't know how much we're gonna be locked in
on these game ones, but they will not include. As

(32:16):
you mentioned, Alex Bregman, the Red Sox won Game one
of their Wildcard series, and since these three game Wildcard
series had been in place in Major League Baseball, especially
in the fact that this was the last of the
Wildcard series to finish, nobody had ever failed to advance
after winning Game one. They were the first team to
not advance after winning Game one, losing Game two and

(32:39):
Game three, and barely scoring any runs in the entire series.
The pitching outside of the Dodgers Reds Wildcard series was
phenomenal all the way around. The other six teams pitch
lights out pretty much exclusively throughout that You had one
big inning from the Tigers yesterday that gave them an
easy win, and that was basically it. In all of
the games that were played, they didn't score and they

(33:02):
were put down by one of the greatest performances when
you factor everything into it that you're ever going to
see in the postseason, a rookie that was mocked at
times this year. But man, does it look like the
healthy Yankees team in twenty twenty six is going to
have one crazy good rotation. Not Max Freed, not Carlos

(33:23):
or Don not Garrett Cole Cam Schlittler turned in probably
the best pitched game we will see this postseason, if
not for many others. Eight innings without a walk, with
twelve k's not afraid to see him have that pitch
count continue to rise beginning of the eighth inning with
well over one hundred pitches already thrown, but they Socks
just could not touch him. Bregman and that team now

(33:46):
has to figure out what they want to do differently
next year. And he also has things to figure out
about whether he just wants to opt out, opt in,
renegotiate something with the Red Sox, or play the field
against each other like he did last offseason. He had
extremely good offers from three American League teams that all
finished with eighty seven wins or more this year. The
team he played for the Tigers, who had eighty seven

(34:09):
on the nose, and the Astros, who had eighty seven
on the nose. Presumably his season in either of the
other places he did not play would have worked out
quite well.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
One of those teams is still playing.

Speaker 6 (34:20):
One of those teams did not get to the postseason,
and now his team, the one he's on, is also finished.
An injury to Roman Anthony obviously impacted a touch, and
like many teams, they had no idea what their rotation
would look like once they got there. The Gilito injury
certainly changed things for what they ended up doing last night.
I saw one report and nobody else, so I don't

(34:40):
know if it's true, and visually i'd like to say
it is. But it was said that he was in
tears after the game, and watching his interview about three
and a half minutes worth of it, it looked like, yeah,
this possibility that he was in tears about how it
all ended. Here, I'm sure they had higher hopes. You'll
hear that from him here. I teased it with how
to handle a loss one oh one. Alex Bragg has

(35:00):
been to the postseason a bunch of times. He's won
the World Series twice in those bunch of times. So
every other season he didn't win the World Series, he
played in the postseason in his last game was a
heartbreaking loss. Last year was no different, even though they
didn't win any games. World Series final game losses have
happened to him. ALCS final game losses in a game
seven have happened to him more than once.

Speaker 4 (35:22):
Well, unlike last year. You know, he was part of
the reason that the Astros didn't win any games last
year because everybody that was a hitter was basically the
reason they didn't win any games.

Speaker 6 (35:33):
Yeah, but such a short period of time, it's probably
a little bit different than especially with that team that
was an eighty eight win team.

Speaker 4 (35:39):
Yeah, but he did more of this postseason to help
his team's cause than he did last year.

Speaker 6 (35:44):
But the result, as you've pointed out many times off
the air and now on the air, the same. Yeah,
no series victories for Alex Bregman. So how he handled
last night's defeat with a line of questioning where he's
clearly his future is uncertain because of his contracts situation,
and obviously it's all raw and new that you know
an hour before they're talking to you had a chance

(36:05):
to advance. All you had to do was win that day,
and you never know what happens after that. Alex Bregman,
after last night's loss.

Speaker 8 (36:11):
I know it just ended, But how do you assess
the season like this? I mean, I mean a top
of question is that, dude, my guy? How do I
assess the season? We just lost? How do you think
I assessed? How do you think I assessed?

Speaker 4 (36:25):
It? Really not just totally ruined the whole vibe. Why
don't we just cancel the whole show? Why I was
so dumb? So dumb?

Speaker 10 (36:32):
Definitely tough, Like you said, started back in February and
spring training, set out on the goal. We didn't get
there this year, but proud of the fight in the
room all year long.

Speaker 3 (36:50):
I feel like our.

Speaker 10 (36:51):
Team got better and better every step away, and the
future is bright. Obviously this sucks right now, This is
this is brutal. We envisioned winning tonight and making a
deep gun, but proud of the fight in the room,
proud of the guys. He was an honor to put

(37:14):
on this jersey, is.

Speaker 4 (37:16):
Honor to put it on.

Speaker 6 (37:17):
The John Ryan fight, all that kind of stuff. We'll
get to the analysis of what he had to say,
but now we have to play the other one since
you already heard half of it. This is how Manny
Machado handled the loss. The seventh consecutive time in his
postseason career it's ended with a loss. He has no
championships under his belt. Four times now with the San
Diego Padres, they've come up short. I'm sure he's excited

(37:38):
about his one hundred batting average this year, the fourth
time in his eight postseasons he's hit under two hundred
his career two on nine batting average as ops sucks.

Speaker 4 (37:47):
Also uh.

Speaker 6 (37:50):
The assembled media, after they'd had a few questions with him,
was wondering, how, as you will hear in this question
for the second time, how he assesses the season?

Speaker 4 (37:59):
Definitely again, I.

Speaker 8 (38:03):
Know it just ended, but how do you assess the
season like this? I mean, I mean the type of
question is that?

Speaker 3 (38:10):
Dude?

Speaker 4 (38:10):
My guy, how do I assess the season?

Speaker 2 (38:13):
We just lost?

Speaker 4 (38:14):
How do you think I assessed thee How do you
think I assess it?

Speaker 5 (38:18):
Ask you?

Speaker 4 (38:19):
Can you tell me what is?

Speaker 2 (38:20):
What's a loss? We lost?

Speaker 4 (38:22):
How do you assess it to a lost?

Speaker 2 (38:24):
Your lost?

Speaker 8 (38:26):
Come on, dude, I mean you could ask better questions
than that, let's go come on, thank you, thank you,
get wait till the last second.

Speaker 5 (38:38):
That all we were missing was a bro in there.

Speaker 6 (38:41):
It's just so un I mean, they're trying to be
respectful of it's tough. This is emotional. You put everything
into this and you've come up short. In his particular case,
it's happened many times over just last year, the same
exact thing. They came up short the year a couple
of years before, and saying it's happened four times since
he's come over just to the Padres and most of
the people in there. And I can't say for certain

(39:02):
how many conversations that individual and Manny Machado with that,
but I assumption is many more than just this one.
The way they were interacting with one another, it's there's
a reason why he's widely known, especially on these media streets.
Is just not a particularly nice person to cover. H
just kind of an a hole. Yeah, well, he's kind
of an a hole on the field too. Let's not

(39:24):
act like he hasn't done stuff that's completely unsavory, especially
in a Dodger's uniform. He did two things that come
to mind. One he ran to first base and intentionally
kicked the first baseman's foot and acted like he didn't,
which is extremely dangerous for the first basement. And the
other time, I'm less inclined to be down on him
because what are these guys supposed to do. Eventually, they're

(39:44):
going to snap. He swung at a pitch and intentionally
let his bat go, so he would basically be throwing
his bat at the pitcher because he was so ticked
off that they were throwing at him. Yeah, and I
actually admire that in a weird way. Yeah, it's just
very I mean, Alex bre like I said, I'm sure
he's torn up about this. He clearly, at some point
will be thinking more about his future. And he was

(40:05):
asked about it and he said, I'm not even thinking
about that yet.

Speaker 4 (40:07):
We've just lost.

Speaker 6 (40:08):
I'm thinking about the guys in here, et cetera.

Speaker 4 (40:10):
And Scott Boris is thinking about it. I'll tell you
that much.

Speaker 6 (40:13):
Well, everybody's thinking about it. I mean, he had exactly
the type of season I think we all expected he would.
He made a major impact for that team. He's not
one of the best players in baseball from a number standpoint.
He was injured, but he's one of the best players
in baseball to have on your team, and you're likely
gonna win when he's there, and the degree to which
you win is always up for debate. The Astros had
plenty of non World Series appearances with Alex Bregman on

(40:35):
their team, and now the Red Sox have one.

Speaker 4 (40:37):
Yeah, some of those seasons in which he wasn't winning
the World Series, he was at least playing in it.
This is a little bit more like his last season
in Houston. But we'll leave it at that. We'll get
back into our Texans conversation. We'll hear from CJ. Stroud. Hey, there,
Rangers have a guy who's probably going to be their
new manager. Might even hit on that their new skipper

(40:57):
three o'clock.

Speaker 5 (40:58):
Next to the.

Speaker 1 (41:00):
A teen on Sports Talk seven ninety two, lifelong Houston
sports guys named Adam Talking your Team. Adam Clinton and
Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 4 (41:22):
Welcome into the simulcast now over on Space City Home Network.
So if you're watching us, welcome into that. If you've
been listening over the last hour and you're continuing to
do so here on Sports Talk seven ninety and or
on the free iHeartRadio app appreciate that as well. Lots
of ways to get to us, and we love having
you on a Friday edition of the program. Hey failed

(41:43):
to mention this in the first hour, and it's very
important before we get to anything else. You know what
day it is? Right?

Speaker 6 (41:49):
No, it's October third. It's October third. Come on, now
you know what day? What's what day?

Speaker 3 (41:55):
Is it?

Speaker 4 (41:55):
October third day? You, of all people, put the other day?

Speaker 6 (42:01):
He and characters Direction Wieners posted a picture on Instagram. Basically,
I think it was his post, Oh what where would
I be without this great gal? So many years together
on red carpets and blah blah blah. Just absolutely love her.
Happy birthday. And so I pointed it out to my wife.
I go, was it common knowledge that the two of

(42:22):
them were together?

Speaker 3 (42:23):
Are they?

Speaker 6 (42:24):
She goes, No, he's not with any woman. His partner
is who he's with.

Speaker 4 (42:31):
So he was just saying happy birthday. Just a former
castmate from twenty years. They've stayed close with that. I
read it, well.

Speaker 5 (42:36):
I mean Hallmark Channel together all the time.

Speaker 6 (42:38):
I said that to her, I go, they've been in
Hallmark movies together, right, And She's like, yeah, for sure.

Speaker 4 (42:42):
And isn't it like if you're in a Hallmark movie
and you keep starring in Hallmark movies, at some point
you're either going to run across DJ Tanner or Winnie
Cooper right, Uh, yes, they're on that circuit.

Speaker 5 (42:55):
You also have to bring to the teenage witch now
on there every once in a while.

Speaker 4 (42:58):
Okay, I didn't know she had game for that.

Speaker 5 (43:00):
Yeah, Clarissa explains it all the time.

Speaker 6 (43:03):
Well, you also don't need to watch them if you've
seen one, because they're all the same.

Speaker 4 (43:09):
So somebody doesn't have the Christmas spirit.

Speaker 6 (43:11):
It's a guess who come came back to town who you
used to have a thing for, and they've just moved back. Oh,
what what are you up to? I didn't know you
would be here. Well, how's your life been going? And
then it takes two hours for everybody else to realize
they're gonna fall in love.

Speaker 5 (43:27):
And the bad guy is always like the nicest.

Speaker 6 (43:30):
There's bad guy. This is a Hallmark movie.

Speaker 5 (43:33):
The bad guy in the Hallmark movie is always the
boyfriend with the stable job, then living in the Big Apple.
And then it says, oh, you go back and be
friends with this now horse stable friend. That's who you're
supposed to be with forever. It's all the same, all right, Tree,
what would be a good one? Sat picker like makes
maple syrup in a small Christmas village?

Speaker 4 (43:53):
All the same movie. Let me just I'll just wrap
this up with a nice neat bow. If I'm gonna
sit through, which I haven't before, but if I'm going
to sit through that kind of B to C level
acting slash, plot slash writing slash whatever you want to
call making those movies, and I gotta choose. I'm not

(44:16):
going with Hallmark Channel. I'm going with Lifetime. I want
some drama, I want some No, it's not all the same,
all the same, dude, There is no spending time together
on Hallmark movies like there is on Lifetime movies. And
there's definitely no murders.

Speaker 6 (44:35):
Well, then you're talking about a totally different.

Speaker 4 (44:37):
Movie, right, all the same. Like you're trying to say,
the Hallmark and Lifetime work very different when it comes
to content, and that is how we're going to start
three o'clock hour.

Speaker 6 (44:47):
I can't wait till how we start the four o'clock hour.
I'll be doing all my research on what movies free
form is.

Speaker 4 (44:51):
My duty every single week and most shows to get
him to do that. Maybe it wasn't today, it wasn't
cold it at this time. There you go.

Speaker 6 (45:02):
Everybody that's watching could tell I know where the camera is.
I don't hide it, just can't see me.

Speaker 4 (45:10):
Oh man. All right. So the Texans and the Ravens
are what's left of them, are gonna get together in
Baltimore this weekend. It's by far the best chance the
Texans have ever had to win in that city, in
that they've never done it before.

Speaker 6 (45:24):
I have to imagine, and I'm sure the research can
be done. Why would they have ever been favored there before?
Their favor almost a field goal.

Speaker 4 (45:31):
But you know what's weird is that they have beaten
the crap out of the Ravens here in Houston before.
Like I think they put fifty five on Joe Flacco
one time, And by Joe Flacco, I mean the defense
that he played with that day that actually had some
Hall of famers on it, if I recall, I don't
remember what year it was. I'm sure it was the
Kubiak years. I am almost positive of that. But I

(45:54):
just it's been uncanny that there are certain places around
the NFL and the Texas have a lot of these
places on their schedule this year. By the way, Seattle's
one of them. They've never won there. They've never won.
I don't believe they've won. They did win at Pittsburgh,
but it was like all defensive touchdowns and it was
like their first year.

Speaker 6 (46:13):
Yeah, New York Jets head coach found the end zone,
Kenny Wright found the end zone, and David Carr orchestrated
the victory by not ruining the victory with something dumb.
They also beat I believe Tommy Maddox that day. That's true,
pretty bad. I don't think they've ever won. I think
forty three to thirteen is the beatdown of consequence, and
that was only thirteen years ago when the Texans beat

(46:34):
down the Ravens. Forty three to thirteen have one of
their two wins all time.

Speaker 4 (46:40):
Have the Texts in Baltimore ever won in New Jersey
against either team at either stadium? I believe they have.
Who I don't know. They lost to the Giants when
I was there in twenty fifteen. They lost the Jets
back to back times. They lost to the Jets on
Halloween last year and twenty twenty three yep.

Speaker 6 (46:58):
And in twenty twelve, same year we were just talking
about they beat the Jets twenty three seventeen.

Speaker 4 (47:03):
I don't remember a thing about that game. So, like
I said, well, I also don't remember anything about that game.
I figured it had happened, and Shauber and Foster and
Shane Graham and the crew made sure it did. Shane
Graham got to mention, well, CJ. Stroud's gonna try and
do it in Baltimore all those other teams could not,
and that's get a victory. And he's gonna have to
do it against the defense that frankly not playing well,

(47:29):
and is gonna give his offense, which also has not
been playing well save for like one quarter this year,
probably a pretty good look at putting up some points.
I'm still going to spoil our Stone Cold Locks by
taking the under in this game. I just between Cooper
Rush and this Texans offense, I can't imagine they're gonna
put up a ton of points. But this was CJ.

(47:51):
Stroud earlier this week talking about that very depleted Ravens defense.

Speaker 11 (47:56):
Good play ear League ball for the most part, of course,
they're given them, just some explosives here and there, they're
always really good. You know, rolp Clan is always great.
The D line is always good. I know they're dealing
with injuries, but you know they all they all always
have good players, regardless if it's one two threes. So
they'll be prepared. I know they'll be motivated. You know,
they're in a boat like we are, trying to find wins,

(48:17):
so it'll be it'll be a fight no matter who plays.

Speaker 4 (48:20):
Between what he said there and what John Harbass said
a couple of days ago, like, I know what you're saying.

Speaker 9 (48:27):
It's like if I talk about.

Speaker 6 (48:30):
Lamar, then it's gonna be literally the exact same thing
that CJ said about the Texas offense is doing.

Speaker 4 (48:38):
They're lying out the side of their mouths.

Speaker 6 (48:40):
And they're listening to your questions and they don't care
sometimes and I get it.

Speaker 4 (48:43):
They're in control, right, I mean, it's to me, that's.

Speaker 6 (48:47):
What basically, but they can't they can't say what we
know because it just ends up bolten boarders. You know,
it's great catching the Ravens right now. They obviously aren't
playing the kind of defense they'd like to. They've got
a bunch of guys down and it's pretty common sense
that your twos and threes aren't quite as good as
your starters. That's why they don't start. I can say it,
but he can't say that.

Speaker 4 (49:08):
Is that why Sneed said what he said about Nico Collins?

Speaker 3 (49:10):
Who?

Speaker 6 (49:10):
Uh, that's but that's what do you think about matching
up against Nico Collins? Well, I mean our teams have
played each other a bunch over the last few years.
But he's missed time. I've missed time.

Speaker 4 (49:20):
That's how I think.

Speaker 6 (49:21):
I'm one of the best players in the league at
my position. So I relished the chance to go up
against the best, and I expect to have a great
day instead.

Speaker 4 (49:27):
Who and then he throws over your head for a touchdown? Idiot?
But yeah, just a bunch of people lying about the
state of affairs between these two teams and what not.
Even between these two teams. What's going on with these
two teams? Yeah, their defense is playing really good right now. No,
it's not Statistically that is a lie, CJ. You're not

(49:48):
supposed to lie that. Egregiously. Yeah, so too, as I
was doing last segment firing off the wrong sound bites,
I'll try to get you joining this the right sound bite.
But it's not.

Speaker 6 (49:58):
It's it's a little easier said than done. And I
gave you the reasons why. But here's John Harbaugh telling
nothing but truths about the Texans.

Speaker 9 (50:06):
Getting ready for the Texans which present unique challenges. And
I mean their defense is playing at a super high level,
and their offense round the ball and did a nice
job with the play action stuff and the quick game,
and the obviously a great young quarterback and Nico Collins
doing a great job, and they just they can to
present a challenge for us. But really, more than anything,

(50:29):
we got to focus on us and how we play
and play our best football.

Speaker 4 (50:32):
And that's what we're really working on.

Speaker 6 (50:33):
That is the Texans coach. We don't, Hey, they're good
at this, they're good at that. They're good at this.
They're a challenge for us, but we got to worry
about ourselves. Dimiko said that seventeen plus two plus seventeen
plus two, that's thirty eight. This is week five, forty three,
forty three times.

Speaker 4 (50:50):
You know what I would like to see after Sunday, Like,
let's just say, for the sake of argument, the Texans
do get their first win in Baltimore, and.

Speaker 6 (50:57):
For the sake of argument, well, Stone Cold Locke, whatever
you need to say to make yourself feel better, I'll
believe it when I see it. Uh.

Speaker 4 (51:07):
Oh is this real?

Speaker 5 (51:09):
This is real?

Speaker 4 (51:10):
Okay? Is this good or bad?

Speaker 5 (51:11):
According to Tom Pella Sero, Lamar Jackson officially out for
Sunday's game.

Speaker 4 (51:17):
Oh, come on, we already knew that. Well not, it's official, Yeah,
Ian Rappaport, they're all they're all chiming in.

Speaker 11 (51:25):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (51:26):
That is interesting because they did. They did a little
bit of a pivot of what you thought they would do.
And I agreed with you.

Speaker 6 (51:30):
You know why they're all chiming in because they all
got it from the agent. Because the team announced it. Oh, okay,
team announced. That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (51:38):
They did a pivot of what you predicted, which I
was agreeing with that they just wouldn't and until ten.

Speaker 6 (51:43):
Thirty six players are out. That is noteworthy that they
would note this already. One of them is not Kyle Hamilton.
He's listed as questionable, but I would actually be surprised
if he were able to get out there. Cornerback Moreland
Humphrey to Tobi A Woozy both are out. Lamar jack
is out. Emrie Jones is out. Recard and Rokwan Smith

(52:04):
both out. And that doesn't even include the three other
players that are questionable.

Speaker 4 (52:09):
Yeah, they're graphic. They just released on their end their
on their x account. Far more than six the Ravens.

Speaker 6 (52:18):
Yeah, five guys have no listing because if you're on
the injury report at all during the week, it just
carries on through to the end of the week. But
three other players away who got hurt during practice but
it will probably play questionable. Ronnie Stanley will probably play
listed questionable, and their number four or five receiver Vonteze
Walker probably also will play be available to them, but
listed is questionable.

Speaker 4 (52:39):
The best part about that, well, I'll tell you when
we come back. We were out of time. When we
come back, I'll tell you the best response to the
Ravens tweeting out their injury report graphic. This is actually
one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Legit. We'll
tell you about it next.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
The A teen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (53:03):
So the Ravens release their injury report in case you
missed it last segment. It does include Lamar Jackson like
we all thought it would. He's out hamstring probably gonna
be out for a while. I would say definitely next
week and then maybe he plays after that.

Speaker 6 (53:22):
Well, they have their off week after that, so I
think that's part of the reason why this is one.
I'm sure next week will be one unless he makes
some kind of miraculous recovery. Texans also put their injury
report out. Usually teams on a Friday will do it.
In Unison, one player out as expected. Nothing was surprising
with the Texans, and that's good news. Fully Foughtokasi will
not be playing in this game. The shoulder injury. It

(53:42):
kept him off the practice field this week, so he
will be out, and neither of the two players who've
had their practice window opened will be activated for this game,
Dnico Autry or Jalen Reid. Each of the other players
that the Texans had to list on their injury report
at times during the week, not a one of them
has an injury does nation whatsoever, including Derek Stingley Junior,

(54:03):
so they are all good to go. Includes Harrison Bryant,
includes Nico Collins, and includes all the other players that
were not even on the list.

Speaker 4 (54:10):
And as you mentioned, now these this graphic that the
Ravens came out with it's hardly that they're all out.
In fact, a lot of them showing full participation in
today's practice. So there's a lot of questionable, right, but
they're questionable, not out as it you know, is the
case in some of those, and Lamar is one of them.
But the point of all this is there's fifteen total

(54:32):
names on that list and the first rus response to
that tweet is a guy who just simply attached a
picture of a CVS receipt in which he is way
far away from the register and he has completely stretched
it out.

Speaker 6 (54:47):
Yeah, it's not very often you're going to see a
list this long, and it's a bad situation for them
to be in. They also have another i believe nine
players on injured reserve already, some obviously could be designated
to return by a bouquet just on there this week.
He's not among that group. He will not be returning
this year. So they've definitely been hit hard by injuries.
They will get nearly every player listed here back, probably

(55:10):
fairly quickly, and Lamar Jackson's injury actually might be the
lengthiest of all of them, which also will have the
biggest negative impact on their team. But this as much
as a team would never say it, it's okay for
us to say it. We're not clapping about it. But
it's obviously a better time than most to catch this team.
You can only have so much depth. It's great for

(55:30):
NFL teams to carry sixteen extra players all season long.
When they invented the practice squad, that was a help.
He had eight in the last couple of years, expanding
it to sixteen. Other than their paychecks, which are embarrassingly
low compared to the players under contract, they're on the team.

Speaker 5 (55:49):
They do.

Speaker 6 (55:49):
They are in all the meetings, they're at all the practices.
They do everything every other player on the team will do,
so they're perfectly lined up to participate if needed. Not
to mention the actual reserves also mentioned the Schefter report.
Texans have not made this official, but I'm sure it
will take place.

Speaker 4 (56:05):
We thought it would.

Speaker 6 (56:06):
Trent Brown, who's been on the Texans practice squad all
aw season and was on their pup list throughout the
off season, so he's been out there on the field,
he's been practicing, and he was shooting baskets with the
rest of the offensive lineman today inside the bubble. He
will be signed to the active roster, So two additional
linemen on the active roster for this Sunday's game, with
Jared Kingston the other player from the Panthers practice squad

(56:28):
that they signed. However, one of them most likely will
not be actually active for the game. My guess is
that's Kingston and that he just got here while as
while Trent Brown has been around and done all this,
hopefully he's capable. Blake Fisher would obviously be the other
guy you'd at least consider what situation, but he's part
of their special teams unit on the kicking game, and

(56:52):
he's also the guy they turned to. I would assume
even with Brown potentially available in those tackle eligible packages.
You saw that last week, he had five snaps doing
that last week. When they bring in an extra lineman
and need two yards and get one, and then keep
them out there when they need one and get one
and keep the drive going like they did last.

Speaker 4 (57:13):
Week, let's not act. And I know, in hindsight this
is going to sound like I'm just trying to soften
the blow of what was Christmas Day last year, But
you mentioned catching them at a good time if you're
the Texans. It did not hurt the Ravens that Tank
Dell was already done. Jalen Petree was already done. Like
the Texans were limping into that game, and the guys

(57:34):
that were playing were not in great shape. Oh and oh,
by the way, they had also played three days prior,
just like the Ravens had. So I don't I mean,
it doesn't really do any justice to what the on
field product wound up being, which was the Ravens completely
embarrassing them in their own gym, and all anybody remembers
about that game is the stupid halftime show. But yeah,

(57:57):
I don't think the Texans are going to be apologizing
for this week either.

Speaker 6 (58:00):
No, and this is much more injury related than that was.
I mean, CJ was out there mixing, was out there,
Nico was out there. They just they got their clocks clean.
That's all there is to it. Well, I hope they
clean their clocks this week.

Speaker 4 (58:11):
That would be nice.

Speaker 6 (58:13):
Essentially, they'll have most of the same players available to
them on offense except for the quarterback. He's played the
Texans a handful of times. That game last year was
the most yards he's ever rushed for against the Texans
on four carries.

Speaker 4 (58:31):
He ran the ball four times.

Speaker 6 (58:33):
They didn't tackle, and posted the best rushing total he's
ever had against Houston.

Speaker 4 (58:37):
He went for eighty seven yards.

Speaker 6 (58:39):
It was a video game on four carries, the most
yards he's ever had with just that limited number of opportunities.

Speaker 4 (58:47):
I was on vacation, so I already wasn't going to
be like intricately breaking down each play of that game
like I normally would, necessarily knowing that I had a
show then day to talk about it. But given that
it was Christmas Day and they were getting their clocks cleaned,
I turned that bad boy off probably after the first quarter.

Speaker 6 (59:08):
And one thing to note about all the losses they've
had to the Lamar Jackson led Ravens, They've scored plenty
of points regular season games they might beat anybody on
those days. The Texans scored two, seven, nine, and sixteen.

Speaker 4 (59:25):
That's the difference.

Speaker 6 (59:26):
There have been zero one score games with Lamar Jackson
on the field in the regular season against Houston.

Speaker 4 (59:32):
I just I know I said it earlier in the
week and it sounds like a broken record, but you
have to, I think, I mean.

Speaker 6 (59:38):
Did you have to score some points? You have to
succeed when he's on the sideline now.

Speaker 4 (59:43):
But what I'm saying is, even before he became a
part of things, it gets overshadowed because of what the
Patriots were doing in the same conference with Tom Brady
and all that kind of stuff. But the Ravens defense
for like the past two and a half decades has
always been not just repable, not just good, but oftentimes elite.

(01:00:04):
That's what that tells me right there. Now, it wasn't
like their best defenses in those some of those games.
But yeah, I just this is the first time I
can remember in a long time, if ever, since the
Texans have existed where they're gonna go into a game
against the Ravens and I'm not even like even remotely
concerned about the defense. Now, they might end up making

(01:00:24):
me eat my words on Monday, but I don't really
think so. I think their defense is in bad shape.

Speaker 6 (01:00:29):
Yeah, their defensive forget who is and isn't there. They've
had some of the players that are going to be
missing this game have played this year while they sit
at the bottom of the league. Easiest team to put
points on the board against in the NFL is the Ravens.

Speaker 4 (01:00:41):
The easiest.

Speaker 6 (01:00:42):
That means they're the worst at it. They're the worst
of keeping the other team from scoring. Nobody's worse than
they are. The Cowboys aren't worse than they are. The
own to four teams in the NFL are not worse
than they are. They are the worst. They have allowed
the most points in the NFL as a team. Obviously,
some of those points can be attributed to something, maybe
another unit did not do well, but there's no reason
for them to all of a sudden get well against

(01:01:04):
the Texans unless you truly believe the Texans can't figure
it out offensively. Ever, this is as strong of a
opportunity as they're going to get maybe all season, with
how this defense has not been able to stop other teams,
and how they have not been able to get going
against everybody's defense at least three quarters worth even against
the Titans defense.

Speaker 4 (01:01:23):
So take a little of that momentum.

Speaker 6 (01:01:25):
I know it's been a week since Woody Marks visited
the end zone and a week since you put twenty
six points on the board, which is a nice total.
It'd be awesome if you average that all year, but
it's not some crazy they'll never get to that again.
Total have some early success it's what you've still been missing,
you know, one drive all season to open up a
game where it looked like this could be one of

(01:01:45):
those good days of football. Turned out you didn't even
win that day. But you went out there and you
went straight down the field against Tampa and you scored
a touchdown. You had Nico on the receiving end of it.

Speaker 4 (01:01:53):
It was a gorgeous drive, a gorgeous play, a gorgeous catch,
gorgeous score, and you took the early lead. You have
the lead for all lot, but you still didn't play
well offensively for the total portion of the game. I
keep telling you, I do think the Texans played well
offensively despite not scoring points against Tennessee. Scoring just six
points and three quarters is awful. But dominating the ball

(01:02:14):
and making sure the other team can't score because you're
extremely good defense is the opposite of gas, but rather
extremely fresh, extremely well rested, and ready to get after
the other team. They did it for four quarters, as
it turned out, and finally the offense started clicking. I mean,
three consecutive touchdown drives. Are we gonna see that again
from the Texans this year? I hope.

Speaker 6 (01:02:34):
So it doesn't seem like I'm asking for too much,
but that's what they did last week to put a
six to nothing game into a twenty six to nothing game,
and their injury situation, like we just mentioned, is it's
in a pretty good spot. You also get the week
off next week, so hopefully that bodes well for them
to continue moving in that direction. But you know, your
passing game and your running game in concert with one another,

(01:02:55):
keeping a defense off balance, taking advantage what probably the
one thing I would point to statistically that they did
well last week that they had not done so much
of the rest of the season. The third and twelves
and the self inflicted wounds, they weren't there. They didn't
have nearly as many third and obvious passing downs or
just second and longs and third and longs, and we
mentioned it earlier this week, but worth mentioning again, they

(01:03:17):
had zero pre snap penalties. You can take that with
you to Baltimore, no matter how loud it is there.
Oh yeah, take the ability to control the controlls with you.

Speaker 4 (01:03:26):
The discipline for a change, that.

Speaker 6 (01:03:28):
Would be nice and that would obviously go a long
way to doing what I think they will do and
will tell you definitively they will do in an hour
when we hit you with stone cold.

Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Locks the ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:03:48):
Shout out to my boy Ryan, who just posted a
picture of Taylor Swift's new album just released. It's only
been out for sixteen hours, was on his Instagram story,
and the caption that he wrote accompanying that was mid You.

Speaker 6 (01:04:07):
Know, I really didn't pay much attention to it. I
didn't do too much thinking about it until last night
when it was released and I saw some of the
photos that she included with the release, which at the time,
once I saw them, seemed so mind numbingly obvious, and
yet my brain doesn't sometimes turn on. It was announced
on the New Heights podcast several weeks ago she has

(01:04:29):
a new album and here's what it's called, Life of
a Showgirl. I didn't even really think about the words
that she just said and what that actually means, and
what would likely come with the album release and all
the photos that would be a part of her book cover,
what's in the CD case?

Speaker 4 (01:04:43):
All that stuff inspired by Elizabeth Berkley. Well, she's a showgirl.

Speaker 6 (01:04:47):
Wow, So all of the photos associated with this album
release are someone who's dressed like a showgirl has just
never even dawned on.

Speaker 4 (01:04:56):
I can't think of anybody I'd like to see in that.

Speaker 6 (01:04:58):
Photos look like they've quite They've either enhanced them or
been super slick with the photographic angles that they've taken.
It really didn't look much different than some of the
things she wears during her fifty changes eras tour shows.
I'm not even saying I'm saying I'm dumb person. I
just never really dawned on me. That's what a showgirl is. Dude, Hello, knock, knock,

(01:05:18):
anybody home that kind of thing?

Speaker 4 (01:05:21):
Who is like the greatest? Because you've seen her in concert? Right, Taylor? Yeah?
I thought you had, not me. Kirsens, Well, of course
she has. Every girl I know has.

Speaker 5 (01:05:32):
My mom hasn't.

Speaker 4 (01:05:34):
Well, I don't know her fair enough. Samantha saw her
in concert here at NRG. There you go, I uh
did Teresa? Yeah, she went. She took Brooklyn like a lot.
This was probably twenty seventeen. It was a minute made
whenever it was. But like, who's the biggest female entertainer
that you've actually seen in person? I was seeing I

(01:05:56):
was thinking about this when we were talking about her,
because she's as big as it gets.

Speaker 6 (01:05:59):
I admit, I mean, I'm I'm trying hard.

Speaker 4 (01:06:02):
My brains. Haven't been to a lot of female acts.

Speaker 6 (01:06:04):
I mean you said many. I'm trying to think of one.

Speaker 4 (01:06:08):
Oh, I have one in mind.

Speaker 6 (01:06:09):
I'm sure you have. You've been to ten times as
many cons. I'm trying to think of a female even
a lead singer of a group, but just a female
artist in general.

Speaker 4 (01:06:18):
I don't. I mean, I'm sure I've seen well, but
I can't think of it.

Speaker 5 (01:06:21):
You've been to You were at NRG Christmas, weren't you?

Speaker 6 (01:06:25):
No, I was in Dallas. I did not see the
performance by cal Hannah and Beyonce. Okay, they were on
the field. I'm not joking.

Speaker 5 (01:06:34):
He's not lying.

Speaker 4 (01:06:35):
Uh Stevie Nicks, that's a bit. I haven't seen her.
I was supposed to go see her. Yeah, I would
love to see plenty of that, but I just don't
think I have. I was supposed to go see her
and Billy in Dallas at at and T ironically, but
we didn't. We ended up going. But No, I saw
Whitney Houston at the Woodlands Pavilion and she swallowed a
bug because it's the Woodlands Pavilion, and it was like June, Yeah,

(01:07:00):
that's right, she played it off. Well, yeah, I did not.
I've not even do a little with fair So I
haven't seen anybody else. You didn't see McLaughlin. I did
see her. Weren't in the arms of any angels. No, No,
the songs it's quite good, great ad for the downtrodden animals.

Speaker 6 (01:07:14):
I mean, I guess the best female concert show I've
seen was when the Falcons blew their lead. I saw
Lady Gaga. I was there that. Okay, it took me
a little milk. That's all I can think of.

Speaker 4 (01:07:27):
That was an underrated halftime performance. Means there was a show,
not just here's her with her music. It's well show.
You kind of have to set that aside. But like
I've I can appreciate the fact that everybody who's told
me if you go to a Taylor Swift show, she
does put on a good show.

Speaker 6 (01:07:44):
And I guess the other female artists that I've seen
and more of than I expected to see, was Janet Jackson.
I was also at that super Bowl. Those are my
two female concerts. You know, my Janet Jack's lame were.

Speaker 5 (01:07:56):
You never drugged? To one of the girl like one
of the up and comers, like Sabrina Carpenter or anything
like that.

Speaker 4 (01:08:02):
No, and now I met Sabrina and Hailey. We just
talked about this this week backstage at the Allen Yeah,
missus Allen whatever. She's still going by Hailey Steinfeld. She's
not going by Hailey Allen. Well, Haley Williams is awesome.
Hailey Williams is an awesome singer. She is I love Paramore.
She is an absolute lunatic. Is an awesome show.

Speaker 5 (01:08:24):
No.

Speaker 4 (01:08:24):
I paid to go see them with Brooklyn, and I'm like,
this is a great show and the last song of
the night. Really we're gonna do this Now you're gonna
do your stupid little political stuff. But she's an amazing performer.
It just I didn't want to regret it, and then
I did and exit interviews yesterday. Hold on, yes, Mariah Carey.

(01:08:44):
I saw her open for Lionel Richie. How young?

Speaker 6 (01:08:48):
It was not good, Like she was not a superstar yet,
was she?

Speaker 5 (01:08:53):
No?

Speaker 4 (01:08:53):
No, no, no, no, open for Lionel Richie Like a
few years ago. Why would she open for line because
she's fallen off? No way, bro, I could not believe
how this is one of the greatest singers of our lifetime.
She's like, awesome. I look, I mariahoy skills, take away
the diva stuff the time in Matola. Nonsense, her marrying

(01:09:14):
the idiot that is Nick Cannon and having all sorts
of just oh my gosh, he's so annoying. He has
zero talent. I don't know how he keeps getting gigs,
but like she's gigs. Yeah. You remember when he hosted
the All Star Game here in Houston at Toyota Center
All Star Saturday Night. He hosted it. I believe it
as painful as you can imagine. I was like, really,

(01:09:34):
we couldn't get anybody. This is Houston. I want us
to represent. We couldn't have anybody else. Kevin Hart would
have been better. He's on everything like it would have
been better. He was awful, But like, I can ignore
all that to respect the fact that she's one of
the greatest vocalists ever. Same with Selene Dion, who I've
never seen in Vegas or otherwise. I have done. Like
I said, I think Celene Deon I don't like her music,

(01:09:58):
so why would I go see here? You don't like
anything about her, even though she's the best singer inside world.

Speaker 6 (01:10:03):
I don't just Jack. I haven't seen her. I haven't
seen any Adele for similar reasons. I don't like their music.
Adele's lost a lot of weight. That's great, she sounds
the same.

Speaker 4 (01:10:16):
You know that can't affect that. It certainly can, but
that's not gonna hashtag ham sandwich.

Speaker 6 (01:10:23):
I don't dislike her voice too soon. I dislike her music,
Mama Cass, I'm aware that she choked.

Speaker 4 (01:10:29):
On a hamsand You think the people at Space City
Home Network are happy about this content right now? I
think so. They're paying for us, that's what they're getting.
Shout out to my guy John Vallik, he knows what's up.
All right, we'll get back on track. I promise the
Rangers are going to hire a new skipper. And I've

(01:10:51):
got a question for you guys next segment about the
remainder of the MLB postseason that continues to not feature
your Houston astros, in that it does continue to feature
several former astros. One of them has been eliminated, but
we need to talk about the others, and there are
many of them, and I'm not just talking about the
Austo Rams. What was the most random YMI Garcia is

(01:11:11):
that the one is that the most random one.

Speaker 6 (01:11:13):
To be on their playoff roster? But he's on their
forty man roster.

Speaker 5 (01:11:16):
His miles going to be on the playoff roster.

Speaker 4 (01:11:18):
I think so. I think they're pretty good, just too
tie for the most random non consequential former Astros still
in the postseason less somebody.

Speaker 6 (01:11:27):
I would call this person non consequential, except he's so
freaking good in the postseason. Keyk Hernandez pay for the Dodgers.

Speaker 4 (01:11:34):
Hey, that guy?

Speaker 6 (01:11:35):
I mean, what about the backup catcher in Detroit, Jake Rogers,
He's pretty inconsequential. Wow, what about somebody who might throw
him pitches? Rafael Montero, also with the Tigers.

Speaker 4 (01:11:47):
I can't wait till the Tigers win another ring or
win a ring and he gets another ring.

Speaker 6 (01:11:51):
But it's all over form Maldy. Hey, but good Newaldy
is done with baseball.

Speaker 4 (01:11:55):
After yesterday's Montero and a Bray, you are now officially
off the books for the Astros.

Speaker 1 (01:12:01):
Great the A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:12:19):
It is the A team Sports Talk seven ninety, Space
City Home Network.

Speaker 5 (01:12:24):
So.

Speaker 4 (01:12:26):
Skip Shoemaker. Huh you're gonna go with that. Rangers. Listen.
I know that Bruce Bochie is not a spring chicken,
but I also know that if it ain't broke, don't
fix it. And much like Joe Espada, I would say,
you would have to say, I think that he was
a big reason why the Rangers continued to even remotely

(01:12:47):
matter after their quarter of a billion infield went on
the show for the rest of the year.

Speaker 6 (01:12:51):
Yeah, I think it's safe to say Skip Schumacher, who's
already in house. They'd hired him as part of their
front office senior advisor to baseball ops at the end
of last season in November of last year, so he's
already on the inside, and most people are reporting there's
no indication that any external candidates will even be talked to,
and Skip Schumacher Shoemaker is going to get the job

(01:13:13):
and he'll be the next manager of the Texas Rangers.
Will be his third year as a manager, but only
a second gig, meaning he only lasted two years with
a terrible franchise, so hard to blame him. He was
the Marlins manager twenty three and twenty four. They made
the playoffs his first season. That's a bad sign. For
the Astros, and then he fell apart and so did
the team, and talent was really the reason why. The

(01:13:35):
following year they won sixty two games in a one
hundred and sixty game season for him, so he was
like go just before it ended. So there really wasn't
anybody for them to hire that I would regard as
better than Bochie.

Speaker 4 (01:13:47):
Wait, how many games? And then they let him go.

Speaker 6 (01:13:49):
I believe they let him go right at the end
of the season. There's like two game slot or something
like that.

Speaker 4 (01:13:53):
Why would you do that? He's made it through one
sixty well, so he finished the schedule.

Speaker 5 (01:13:57):
To be fair, he also said he wanted to lead
the organization, so it was what they reviewed as a
neutral parting of ways.

Speaker 6 (01:14:06):
Okay, but I also actually agree with you. He also
left for some sort of family emerchants.

Speaker 4 (01:14:11):
I was about to say he had can kuon tickets,
is what it was, except doesn't sound like that at all.

Speaker 6 (01:14:15):
But to win with Miami, I mean that's at least something. Yeah,
that's what I'm saying, Like that, this is a perfectly
normal high. We're just looking at it from who did you?
Who is no longer there? And who are you bringing in?
He's not Bruce Bochi. It doesn't mean they can't win
with him. It doesn't mean that other teams in the
league in twenty twenty six would have entertained the idea
of having Skip Shoemaker as their manager. It's a perfectly
reasonable Higher. I think it's a good hire. I mean,
I've thought previous managers they've hired were fine and they

(01:14:37):
didn't work out. That Banishto was a fine hire. I
thought Chris Woodward was a fine hire. The only one
that's really done anything is obviously the guy that's now
walking out the door. It's the only time they've ever
done anything at all, other than obviously the Oatsiers when
they at least reached the World Series. So it's it's
a normal run of the mill Higher. He just happened
already be on the inside, and normally you would look outside.

(01:14:58):
This is extremely like the amount of power that Chris
Young has in this organization now, which I do think
is the reason why they've moved away from everybody else.
Everybody in place. They're all his guys, not just his hires.
That's totally normal for the president.

Speaker 4 (01:15:13):
I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (01:15:14):
He's also rare for former major leaguer to be in
this position. But he's a major league pitcher, and he's
found his way through the Major League Baseball offices to
the Rangers' offices, to the guy who calls all the
shots there. He's the one who was at the forefront
of handing out all that money to the two players
in their middle infield. They did win a World Series
with those two players on their middle infield and getting

(01:15:34):
back there replica that they're basically next year's Marlins to
me our Mariners.

Speaker 4 (01:15:40):
Excuse me.

Speaker 6 (01:15:40):
The Mariners in twenty twenty four had unbelievable health and
unbelievable pitching other than the Evaldi injury later in the year,
I know mainly miss some time like that. They're going
to need incredibly healthy season from their pitchers. Well that
happened day in the race next year. That's all they
did this year is it turned out they stayed in
the race. They weren't eliminated until late in the season.
It feel good or an average baseball team.

Speaker 4 (01:16:01):
The Astros accomplished that this year, even in their worst
season since twenty sixteen. They were better than the Rangers.
What an accomplishment? Better than the Rangers in twenty three
as well. They just didn't play like that.

Speaker 6 (01:16:12):
Better than the Rangers for such a long period of
time except for one season. But eighty one wins and
eighty one losses and they can't win away from home.
That the same record away from Arlington as the Angels
had away from Los Angeles.

Speaker 4 (01:16:24):
That's awful.

Speaker 6 (01:16:25):
The Angels and the Rangers probably are fighting for last
place next year.

Speaker 4 (01:16:32):
I think the Rangers could win.

Speaker 3 (01:16:33):
So.

Speaker 4 (01:16:35):
Simeon and Seeger will be a part of things. Adullest
Garls finished the year hurt. Yeah, Adulls Garcia is for
the best, to the best of my knowledge, not going
to be cycling yet again because he sold his souls first.
He doesn't want to get caught right. Well, he made
his deal with the devil and that was twenty three so.

Speaker 6 (01:16:53):
But in baseball, he's just one of hundreds of players
who've done that correctly and smartly. Everyone in baseball should
have sold they're sold of the devil a rod. How
much more money to this guy pocket by doing cheating?

Speaker 4 (01:17:04):
Is okay? It's only if you bang on a trash
can that it's bad. Understand those are the rules. Yes,
I didn't make them up. Nobody can.

Speaker 6 (01:17:11):
I mean you say it in a way, but it's
you're being truthful while you want to be.

Speaker 4 (01:17:15):
Sarcastic, litterate. It is I told I said this the
day we found out about the scandal, and you just
rolled your eyes and shook your head, but you knew
I was right deep down. Baseball romanticizes cheating, always has,
always will. This is no different, but this one little
thing that is different apparently, well romanticizes cheating.

Speaker 6 (01:17:34):
Yeah, stealing signs. They don't romanticize stealing signs.

Speaker 4 (01:17:38):
Sure they do.

Speaker 6 (01:17:38):
It's why they do all those stupid little gestures. Okay,
I mean they got their signs, well they're legal. I
mean romanticizing means they're constantting an edge. They love it.
They are so excited that it's a part of baseball.
They want everybody to be able to do They just
nobody is anti.

Speaker 4 (01:17:53):
They don't care.

Speaker 6 (01:17:54):
You can take all the drugs you want and here's
your punishment, and then when you come back, it's like
you never left.

Speaker 4 (01:17:59):
We don't care.

Speaker 6 (01:18:00):
It doesn't bother us, doesn't bother the fans, doesn't bother
the opposing fans. I mean, look at how many players
of extreme success have been handed a season long suspension
in eighty games.

Speaker 4 (01:18:13):
Nobody cares, right, And to further what you're saying, and
to further my romanticism part of this, I mean the
home run chase between not quite bleached Sammy Sosa and
Mark McGuire was totally romanticized and saved baseball and it

(01:18:34):
was completely fueled by Royds. And then Barry Bonds was like,
I gotta have some of that and I'm gonna get
scientific with it. Balco, let's do this, and he started
hitting bombs into the seventies.

Speaker 6 (01:18:46):
It is to me from a current baseball and you
brought up tattoos and he's one of many. Like I say,
nobody cares because when they go out and play, nobody
boos them, the fans, the team that has them doesn't mind.
They oh, they missed all this time, So what come
on back? Look at Atlanta this year with profile. He
missed a bunch of games, So what now he's here.
Nobody cares in that sense. And yet it's these players,

(01:19:06):
these so called like they're black bald. Barry Bonds is
blackballed from the Hall of Fame, so is Roger Clements
should be in What's why? Why should they be in
No why why can you? How do you separate these
two things? They've literally done exactly why things. This is
why I can't stand Rob Manfred. This is why I

(01:19:27):
can't stand all those jerks that are on the East
Coast with their bias. Who I guarantee you that Joel
Sherman's of the world, anybody Yankees or Dodgers related, is
going to make Altuve weight because of the stupid scandal.
And again, it's gonna be as dumb as the fans
booing him everywhere because he.

Speaker 4 (01:19:44):
Didn't even do it. He's the one guy you shouldn't boo.
He's the one guy you shouldn't hold that against. And
yet he'll have that held against him for the same thing.
We're talking about, this double standard that oh this over here,
all of these things over here they're fine, but this
Orange team bad.

Speaker 6 (01:19:59):
Yeah, I'm curious about that because I don't necessarily agree
that that will happen. I know that there are people
that will want it to happen, will vote accordingly, and
there's more games to play for him from a counting
stats perspective that will matter to some of the voters.

Speaker 4 (01:20:14):
You ready for a real hot take. He's better than
Derek Jeter, all right, fire away. These fans hate that
and they know him right too. Two more hours of
this coming your way.

Speaker 1 (01:20:25):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety two lifelong
Houston sports guys named Adham talking your team.

Speaker 2 (01:20:39):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the.

Speaker 4 (01:20:43):
Eighteen halfway Home on a Friday edition of The A Team.
It's Sports Talk seven ninety It's Space City Home Network.
You know, before you know it, one of us is
going to be leaving early and heading down to Toyota
Center to watch Katie spank some hapless Rockets opponent.

Speaker 6 (01:21:05):
One of us will do that next week. We'll both
leave early. I'll do it on Monday. You'll do it
on Wednesday. But it sounds like only one of us
will actually do that, because it sounds like Emay's plans
over basically half the guys to play one game, half
the guys to play the other, and then they'll figure
things out. For the second week of preseason, just four
games for the Rockets. They'll see the Hawks twice, they'll
see the Pelicans in Birmingham, Utah Jazz come to town Wednesday.

(01:21:30):
I love Alabama, and then they open the season up
on the twenty first. Yeah, it's like creeping up on us.
We already talked about the fact that it's October third.
By the way, Gretchen underrated in that movie. Her dad
invented the toaster Struele got her a lot of money
so she could hang with the other richies.

Speaker 4 (01:21:46):
But I still say Rachel mcadam's best look was in
that film. I like her blonde. I'll go along with that.
That's fine.

Speaker 6 (01:21:53):
I mean I thought she was pretty strong in Wedding Crashers.

Speaker 4 (01:21:56):
She was a brunette.

Speaker 6 (01:21:57):
Snake eyes also a brunette reasonce eyes not snake eyed
red eye, red eye snake eyes was you know? I
actually fell for that the other night when I came
across it and it said, oh snake eyes on flipped
it on, like, what's Nicholas Cage doing here?

Speaker 4 (01:22:11):
You thought it was her?

Speaker 6 (01:22:12):
Well, there's one's called red eye and one's called snake eyes. Yes,
shockingly got them confused.

Speaker 4 (01:22:17):
Are you in agreement with me that outside of Fast Times,
if it wasn't a Nick Cage film in the nineties,
it's not good because he had this run where like
everything he did was spectacular.

Speaker 5 (01:22:29):
To find good, well, there's a lot of good comedies
in the nineties.

Speaker 4 (01:22:33):
Like Face Off is so ridiculous in its premise, but
it's such an entertaining movie.

Speaker 5 (01:22:37):
Conn Air is ridiculous sense premise, it's such a good movie.

Speaker 4 (01:22:40):
Yeah, And of course the rock was Sean Connery. Carla
was the prom queen. Actually that was his line, you
want you want me to move on now?

Speaker 6 (01:22:52):
No, this is what we do at the beginning of
every hour. Today, I'm already looking forward to the five
o'clock hour.

Speaker 4 (01:22:57):
All right, So Lamar Jackson has been officially ruled out
versus the Texans. What's the final score going to be?

Speaker 6 (01:23:05):
Well, I do think the Texans have to and they will. Clearly,
this doesn't mean the game's over. Last night's perfect example.
Everyone yourself included, what a slop game we're gonna see tonight?
And the other team said, I don't think so they
said nay. They went out there and not only did
they played from them in front the whole game they
were they were the better team almost the entire night.
They nearly let the Rams come back and take it

(01:23:26):
from them. We didn't really get into McVeigh probably worth
maybe at five o'clock we'll hear from him, and how
a head coach handles defeat. We've heard from Manny Machado
and Alex Bregman. We'll hear from Sean McVay on that.
But that's a team that was beaten up. The Niners
are Thursday Night's version, Sunday afternoons version of the Ravens.

Speaker 4 (01:23:45):
That's what the Ravens are.

Speaker 6 (01:23:46):
The Niners were down six players for prominent offensive players,
including their quarterback, just like Baltimore's quarterback will now not play.
And so what, That's what they said leading into the game.

Speaker 4 (01:23:57):
So what?

Speaker 6 (01:23:59):
According to Mac Jones in his many interviews after the game,
he said, Kyle Shanahan talked to him Saturday night and
he said he was ticked off, ticked off that with
Brock party out, they became underdogs, or they were underdogs
in this game, and I'm sure they should have been.
Whatever fuels you go right ahead. They've now won each
of the three games that Mac has started, and he's

(01:24:20):
played well, really well, and two of them well enough
to win. In the other. Well, now it's Cooper Rush's turn.
Remember two weeks ago when we were talking about the
five teams that had to start backup quarterbacks three of
the five to one. Two of the five were playing
each other, so that obviously knocks one out of that.
And the Tyrod Taylor Jets team that did not win
lost on the last play on a field goal.

Speaker 4 (01:24:41):
They've played well.

Speaker 6 (01:24:42):
Carson Wentz had one really good game and his defense
came to play, and then he had a Carson Wentz game.
Browns are now enlisting their backup quarterback to be the starter.
It's not due to injury. The Texan situation obviously this
week playing Lamar Jackson's backup is due to injury, and
elsewhere in the league what Marcus Mariota has done in
following up from Jane Daniels being sidelined, at some point

(01:25:06):
it should wake everybody up. And maybe it's only an
external thing media and fans, but the teams that are
getting bitten by these backup quarterbacks, I can't tell you
what they've thought going into the games. And we heard
from the defensive coordinator, play calling defensive coordinator Matt Burke
and Demico Ryans this week and they said, we're preparing
for Lamar Jackson to be out there. But I think

(01:25:28):
they know better and I think they were actually preparing
for Cooper Rush to be out there because they know
what's going on, and coaches will Jim Harbaugh's brother. Sorry,
didn't have to say it, but he answered the questions
earlier this week. He wasn't healthy, he's not gonna play,
and now it was official. There's five other Ravens listed
as out for this game, including Marlon Humphrey, including Rokwan Smith.

(01:25:50):
Kyle Hamilton is questionable, but there's a lot of question
about what he can do as he reaggravated his injury
earlier this week in practice, so there's a lot of
pieces missing for them. But strictly offense for the Ravens
against defense for the Texans, the Ravens offense changes a lot.
The Ravens offense should have been still no matter how

(01:26:10):
well Lamar Jackson throws the football, and in twenty twenty
five he's thrown it better than anybody.

Speaker 4 (01:26:15):
Else elite level work.

Speaker 6 (01:26:17):
They're scoring points because he's throwing the ball well at
the expense of grinding out other teams with your running
game of having him keep it eight to ten times
a game, of having Henry and Hill combined for fifteen
to twenty five carries, that's one way to help your defense.
Might not put as many points on the board for you,
but it should keep points off the board for the

(01:26:38):
other team. I expect that to be more of what
they employ against the Texans and Will Anderson and Daniel
Hunter and everybody else they have going at them, and
it's going to be through a short passing game, which
some call an extension of the running game. I do
think that's how the Ravens will play it. Obviously, they
have some big play receivers, most notably Da Flowers. Sometimes
Mark Andrews can be a tough matchup. I don't think

(01:26:59):
it will be a crazy time matchup for Houston. Sure
we'll have a normal day. I don't expect him to
have a huge day. It's more Flowers that I'd be
concerned with. If you're not letting Flowers turn short gains
into long gains, you don't let Flowers get behind the defense.
Texas have been pretty good at that so far this year. Then,
I don't think Cooper Rush is going to pass their
way all the way down the field and beat you.
And Texans at least know how to do it. It's

(01:27:21):
a matter of can they do it again. These guys
a lot of these same guys and certainly the exact
same defense run by Matt Burke and called by Demico Ryans.
Then they had two great games against Derrick Henry and
there actually is a formula to stop him. It's hard
to do, but there's a formula. You just can't let
him get going if he has to look for the hole,

(01:27:43):
if he has to pause and he really hasn't gotten
up to speed, well, it's a lot less like ladies
is running you over, and that's what the Texans did
against the Titans. He was hitting the backfield so often,
he just wasn't ever getting to the edge or getting
his feet underneath him and getting rolling like the massive
best to ever play in the NFL.

Speaker 4 (01:28:00):
Train that he is.

Speaker 6 (01:28:01):
You get run over by that train. It's not just
the stiff arm. You cannot stop him once he gets going,
unless he's helpful enough to run near the sideline and
you can edge him out of bounds. Just runs you
over and runs right past you. Contain him a little
bit and keep that from happening. And they do have
the personnel for it, but executing it is the hard part.

Speaker 4 (01:28:22):
I'm looking at I'm thinking about everything. You're talking about
with CJ and how how it would like. I feel
like if they get this first win in franchise history
in Baltimore, it's still going to have like the qualifier
on it because of everything.

Speaker 6 (01:28:36):
You know, it's you know what else, There's no way
there's not a soul in that building talking about that.

Speaker 4 (01:28:42):
No.

Speaker 6 (01:28:44):
I've played Baltimore since I got here, signed CJ. Stroud, Well,
what's happened? I've lost every time?

Speaker 4 (01:28:48):
Yeah, yes, else, and that very small sample size absolutely
will play into this, regardless of the fact that Lamar
Jackson's going to be in street clothes over on the
bench right sideline.

Speaker 6 (01:28:58):
They've been in Baltimore in tears two years ago when
they lost in the playoffs as rookies Will Anderson and
c J.

Speaker 4 (01:29:03):
Stroud.

Speaker 6 (01:29:04):
I believe it was CJ talking to Will about being
in tears over it. I'm sure that that will be
memorable to them. I'm sure Christmas is more memorable today.
Cry then too, they should have I was that would
have been. The crying in the postseason was about that
it was all over and remember how close the game
was at halftime. The crying on Christmas Day was crying
about half of our Christmas Day doing this. Our performance

(01:29:27):
was worth tears, not the result of the game we played. Honestly,
all the years that we've been here, even though they've
lost to some bad teams, the Jets and the Panthers
and the Falcons, that was still more disappointing. But put
that on display against any NFL team, that was one
of the more embarrassing days of football since Samiko Ryans

(01:29:49):
has been.

Speaker 4 (01:29:49):
Here, if not the most. Yeah, because even though they
did embarrass themselves defensively with their non performance against what
washed up Travis Kelcey, I still felt like they were
at least competitive with thee They.

Speaker 6 (01:30:01):
Could have won that game even with what they allowed.
That overweight, out of shape, over the hill tight end
died with long hair. Yeah, he got a little bit
better this year with the new old haircut. But his
production is that of somebody who knows the end is near.

Speaker 4 (01:30:18):
His production is like that of his fiance's album It's mid,
except not it is.

Speaker 6 (01:30:24):
It's mid it really? If you want to back that
up with some.

Speaker 4 (01:30:27):
Data, yeah, buddy of mine just posted a store on
Instagram and said it was mid Is it most?

Speaker 6 (01:30:33):
You mean the product for data sales?

Speaker 4 (01:30:35):
Yeah? Oh, I don't even know. I'm sure the sales
are we talking about performance? The performance album is going
to be all of the charge. All of her limmings
are going to go out and buy whatever she puts
out there. Right, That's what fans do. I'm not one
of them. That's what you do. You're not a fan.
I won't be putting any of my money into her pocket.

Speaker 6 (01:30:52):
Just so you know, one hundred and eighty two yards
is what Travis is put up so far this year.

Speaker 4 (01:30:57):
Didn't he have that against the Texans?

Speaker 6 (01:30:59):
He had something close to that against the text He
but again I didn't expect it against them last year
because of who he now is. He's still the greatest
playoff tight end this league has ever.

Speaker 4 (01:31:08):
Seen, but he could get those numbers if you don't
guard them.

Speaker 6 (01:31:11):
He also has done that to everybody else except last year.
He didn't do it to anybody else last year, but
he's been he's if you're talking as we were last
segment on the baseball side, that is first ballot pro
Football Hall of Fame material. Even though it's in pro football,
it is that much more difficult with the limitations on
how many enshrinees they will have and how they do

(01:31:32):
their voting. That's he's the best of the best.

Speaker 4 (01:31:36):
They have as good a one two punch argument for
all time tight ends as anybody in the history of
the NFL. And that's where Gronk exists. Yeah, I don't
really know that anybody's in the same league like Ni
Gonzalez and Travis Kelcey.

Speaker 6 (01:31:49):
I mean, there's five awesome tight ends, maybe the top
five ever, Right, so how can some other team match
that they can't?

Speaker 4 (01:31:54):
Well, if if the Patriots want to say that, should
they had kept if they had kept up to Aaron
Hernandez in line, maybe they would have had two on
the same thing. Yeah, a couple of good years in
the NFL. We'll put him in Tony's category. I think
that sounds about it. I think the fact that he
had scored two touchdowns against the Texans in that Monday
Night Letterman Jacket game, having already killed a dude, I
guess that's pretty tough to do.

Speaker 1 (01:32:15):
Patriots the eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:32:30):
It is the a team Sports Talk seven to ninety,
Space City Home Network, and we've been talking a lot
about pop culture today. I guess I should pass along
the fact that I think did he got four years
and two months just now he was sentenced. I know
you've been following that trial closely, very very very closely. Okay,

(01:32:51):
we are one segment away from our stone cold locks
of the week, So looking forward to having a repeat
performance of what I had last week that got me
right back into contention. Should have had a five and
zero week, but I faded Wex and Cole out of
spite and because Lane Kiffen told me to take the
over and I paid dearly for it and didn't. Only
I only had a four and one week. So we'll

(01:33:13):
see what we can do, and we'll obviously pass that
knowledge along to all of you. Did you see this
story about the Carolina Panthers podcast that's going on in
definite hiatus because of how bad the team is? Apparently, yes,
what's wrong with that? Before? I think that's.

Speaker 6 (01:33:33):
Pretty lame, don't you? Apparently you do? That's what I
just said. I think it's pretty lame.

Speaker 4 (01:33:42):
Yeah. I think about some of the two win seasons
here in Houston. I think about some of the teams
that have had next to no wins, and if you're
gonna do something like that, you should probably do it
in the high and low times, I would assume, but
not not in Carolina, not with something called meal mix.

(01:34:06):
Steven and Jerry have enjoyed bringing everyone our thoughts on
the team since our first episode on July thirty, twenty nineteen.
In that time, we've dedicated several hours a week to
the production of the podcast, be it watching film, outlining
the show, recording, editing, general planning. We've met some incredible people,
YadA YadA, YadA, YadA YadA. Unfortunately, the last three seasons

(01:34:27):
in particular, have been extremely difficult as Panthers fans, and
creating the type of content we enjoy has not been
as exciting or enjoyable. The amount of time on Sundays
that we spend away from our wives and young children
has become difficult to justify. So they go on to
say that, you know, locking themselves away for six to
seven hours day and watching a forty two to thirteen

(01:34:51):
bleep whipping has been more of a chore than anything else,
and so they're just they're putting it on. They're putting
it on. Hiatus, I'm not gonna.

Speaker 9 (01:34:57):
Do seven.

Speaker 6 (01:35:00):
On a Sunday, oh, six to seven hours a week
kind of different.

Speaker 4 (01:35:07):
I just think about the only reason or the.

Speaker 6 (01:35:09):
Weird way, where do they Where did this really important
topic get into the finances of it all?

Speaker 4 (01:35:14):
The finances. Yeah, we don't feel right to keep the
podcast going unless we can continue to put out weekly episodes,
and right now, neither of us wants to spend that
amount of time talking about this organization. We reserve the
right to post an episode here and there, we won't
were they talking to uploading on a regular schedule or
possibly at all for the remainder of the twenty twenty
five seasons. So they're done for this year. That's that's

(01:35:36):
first that's started.

Speaker 6 (01:35:37):
I'm sure all of their sponsors took the news very harshly. Well,
I just it makes me sam doing something for a
team I like to follow. I'm not making any money
doing it. I'm five years in.

Speaker 4 (01:35:47):
Rockets and when they were winning like twenty games a year,
and I know there are a lot of people here
in town that are still doing it that would and
I would even me on the broadcast. You're on the broadcast.
We know it's a bad product, we know they're rebuilding,
we know it's going to be a little bit of
a process, and none of those people ever wavered, and

(01:36:08):
that's eighty two games a year. I'm not gonna say
plus playoffs because they weren't happening, but we're.

Speaker 6 (01:36:14):
Also getting paid. They're most likely not I don't know
quite as much as we are. I'll feel safe saying that.
But those podcasts, do you want to commit six to
seven hours of your week every Sunday to Moneyless Operation?
I really don't know anything about it, so I don't
want to speak out of turn. I would find it

(01:36:35):
hard to believe that they were making enough money that
they would also decide to stop making money.

Speaker 5 (01:36:39):
I mean, I can break it this down because I really.

Speaker 6 (01:36:41):
Don't give a crap. It's the stupidest thing ever. I
don't want to break it down. Our team sucks. We're
guys who do a podcast. We called it Meow Mix,
and now we're done. How did this become a story?
Bleacher Report?

Speaker 4 (01:36:53):
Right?

Speaker 6 (01:36:53):
Why do we care? I mean, totally dead serious, honest,
why do we care?

Speaker 4 (01:36:56):
Well? I can tell that much, all right.

Speaker 6 (01:37:01):
I really don't know why that is of any consequence too,
even to people in Carolina like our fans upset.

Speaker 4 (01:37:06):
Well, what I think of immediately is that the Texans
could have had Bryce Young very easily, and they didn't
because of love Smith getting a win that nobody thought
he was going to this. I'm not saying that this
somebody in Houston would have done this, but like, how
much of Bryce Young being their quarterback has to do

(01:37:28):
with their fan base feeling like this?

Speaker 6 (01:37:29):
Not just these How much does Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater,
Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield have to do with it?
Those are the first five years of the Miao Mix podcast.

Speaker 4 (01:37:38):
How stupid that sounds. That's their fault for passing on
more of Baker at least.

Speaker 6 (01:37:43):
I mean they have risen to They were a fourth
place team with Bryce Young in year one. They were
a third place team last year. So the trajectory, they're
in third.

Speaker 4 (01:37:52):
With room to improve. Yeah, I'm I'm sure better days
are ahead and we can go back to listening to
our cat food product titled podcast verious, Where's the season?
Desist on the name. I'm pretty sure Purina would like
a word or whatever it is that that makes meal mix.

Speaker 6 (01:38:10):
Maybe today they'd like a word because October third, twenty
twenty five is the first time Purina ever realized there
was a Meal Mixed podcast for the last seven years.

Speaker 4 (01:38:19):
Yeah, because we brought it to their attention. Leacher Report
brought it to our attention.

Speaker 5 (01:38:22):
Thanks for br I know you guys don't really care
that much about the subject, but they've.

Speaker 4 (01:38:26):
Gained I care about it. WEX doesn't.

Speaker 5 (01:38:28):
They've gained over three hundred subscribers and over three hundred followers.

Speaker 4 (01:38:31):
They're doing their podcast that they're doing it. Yeah, there,
it is phenomenon. There you go, three hundred subscribers. Of
all the topics we've ever talked about on this show,
that just doesn't even find its way in at the
top hundred of things you hated. Yes, there's way more.
I don't even know what they are.

Speaker 6 (01:38:47):
There's so many. I can't say that about it. I
can't something political. Maybe I can't do that because your
head explodes. Well, we do it anymore, We do it anyway.

Speaker 4 (01:38:59):
I have it. I've laid off Trump lately. I know.

Speaker 6 (01:39:01):
That's what I don't hate. That's what I actually love.

Speaker 4 (01:39:04):
You just can just don't. You don't have to own
it's just phenomenal. It's so good. It's not a good impression.
This is what sports is.

Speaker 6 (01:39:16):
And maybe the mele mixers have to even no matter
how frustrated you are, and they're clearly fans. That's why
they're doing it. Yes, this is what sports is. You're
just on the wrong end of it because your team
is Carolina.

Speaker 4 (01:39:27):
To ask like Grounds.

Speaker 6 (01:39:28):
Fans have been there and like Lions fans were there forever.
At some point, you know you your ability to look
past their badly run organization and non winning performances. You
can throw your hands up, but in reality land on
them because you're a cat.

Speaker 4 (01:39:44):
The real yes, the real reason I bring this up
is because every time I see something Carolina Panthers related,
I just think about how things would have been different,
potentially for both organizations had the right The pick's been foo.

Speaker 6 (01:40:01):
Let's have the conversation we had earlier about mac Jones
brock party. Hey, mac Jones was in San Francisco, he'd
be just as good Dan Orlowskin and Rex Ryan. We're
having that conversation in twenty twenty three, and now we're
seeing it play out, and it was true.

Speaker 4 (01:40:13):
Dan was right.

Speaker 6 (01:40:14):
Put him in a better system with better coaches, better
head coach, better offense.

Speaker 4 (01:40:19):
Everything's fine.

Speaker 6 (01:40:19):
He looks like a perfectly legitimate NFL quarterback, borderline starter material.
We know the Carolina Panthers have won only eight times
since they drafted Bryce Young, as they've lost thirty times
since they drafted Bryce Young. Do how much different would
the Carolina Panthers' fortunes be? How much different would their
record be? How many coaches would they have been through

(01:40:42):
beyond the three that Bryce Young has played for if CJ.
Stroud was their selection with the number one overall pick
in the twenty twenty three draft.

Speaker 4 (01:40:50):
Conversely, would the Texans have gone ten and seven, ten
and seven and to the playoffs with a win in
each year if Bryce Young was under center? Well, it
is line, it is a better time topic for this show.
It is not a better topic for this segment. Are
are Texans? Like we're we're watching these poor fans. We're
just trying to enjoy themselves and maybe make an extra

(01:41:11):
buck as a side hustle about they gave up. It
gave up because they can't football games. Would they have
given up if CJ. Stroud was there? Would they have
ten wins? Would they have six in a season?

Speaker 3 (01:41:25):
They?

Speaker 4 (01:41:26):
What has their line been like over the course of
both players careers so far in comparison to the Texans, it's.

Speaker 6 (01:41:34):
Been better, but only because the Texans just happened to
be worse. Their line's not good, right, but it's it's
not good. It would have been very comparable. This one
just happens to have been worse, and was mccaf The
McCaffrey trade had taken place before then, all.

Speaker 4 (01:41:49):
Right, so he was already with forty nine ers. I
don't know, I just I feel like I thought these
two guys would always be linked because of where they
were taken. And as time goes on. It's just if
you want to criticize c Jane, say he's regressed and
all that. Do you even like watch Bryce Young, Well,
he can't regress, he can't get any worse.

Speaker 6 (01:42:11):
Well, it's you're only blaming him and he's not playing well.

Speaker 4 (01:42:16):
But he's already.

Speaker 6 (01:42:19):
By some that had nothing, really had he actually came
back better. So maybe that's the reason. But they they
can't win with anybody. I really don't think Lamar Jackson
could any better. And well, if Belichick was with him,
he's the reason they won. You guys are not going
to hear that. No, I don't think they could win
with anybody out there right now.

Speaker 4 (01:42:38):
They just don't.

Speaker 6 (01:42:38):
They don't do anything really well that they've They've drafted
a bunch of years now with Bryce here, three years
worth of drafts. They've they've changed their front office so
multiple times. It's just not a good team.

Speaker 4 (01:42:49):
They don't have a good podcast that nobody pays to
listen to our sponsor.

Speaker 6 (01:42:53):
Yep, not here in Houston. We have plenty.

Speaker 4 (01:42:55):
Nobody's going away.

Speaker 6 (01:42:56):
This team is head up ten ten wins, maybe eleven,
maybe another division championship, all because Bryce Young's not here, right, yes,
all because Bryce Young was not the Houston Texans number
one or number two overall draft pick ever.

Speaker 1 (01:43:15):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 12 (01:43:20):
Remember that magic eight ball, A nice little shaken look
at this I'm getting late tonight. You can trust whatever
it said, or you could trust these two guys named Adam.

Speaker 2 (01:43:36):
It's a crap shoot either way. But these are your
stone cold.

Speaker 7 (01:43:43):
Locks.

Speaker 4 (01:43:44):
Stone all right, it's that time of the week.

Speaker 6 (01:43:53):
Well tell you what's going down halfway through this third
hour of the show, four thirty each and every week
to afternoon, So make your segment time five o'clock or
excuse me, four to thirty on Fridays, we hit you
with our stone cold locks like to get you caught
up on where things stand. Five weeks into our season,
twenty five selections have been made by each of us

(01:44:14):
over those five weeks, five picks a week, one college
football game of the week, and one selection on the Texans.
Once the NFL season began, and as has happened on
more than one occasion, you sat in a pretty good
spot up above the others. Here a four and one
week for you. You mentioned it earlier, just fading the

(01:44:34):
college football game of the week, which wasn't even close
way under, but that was your only miss and your
propensities to stay away from the line on every single
pick you've ever made in these stone cold locks.

Speaker 4 (01:44:47):
You've never done.

Speaker 6 (01:44:47):
It went heavy on the overs four out of the five,
other than the Texans, which did hit the under, so
the other three were also correct. It got you your
eleventh win of the twenty five game selections. I'm sitting
at eleven wins. Also did not have a great week.
Florida State pretty much was never in position to cover
that overtime game. I still can't believe Indiana did not

(01:45:09):
cover against freaking Iowa.

Speaker 4 (01:45:10):
Freaking Apefully.

Speaker 6 (01:45:12):
The stupidity of the end of game safety did not
impact my line. Some people might have gotten it at
six and a half and still couldn't believe that with
the clock at zero, they still ran from inside the
ten yard line all the way into the end zone
to give up the two points for absolutely no reason
at all.

Speaker 4 (01:45:33):
Just fall down. It's college football. You're down.

Speaker 6 (01:45:36):
It's okay not to give those points away. But like
I said, it didn't matter. The Oregon game was easy,
and I, of course, as usual, missed on the Texans.
Cole and I both went two and three, But previous
good weeks have Cole leading the way He's gotten at
least half of his games. Right he's thirteen to twelve
and the other of us are sitting at eleven wins
on the season.

Speaker 4 (01:45:56):
Our college football game of the week for this week.

Speaker 6 (01:45:58):
As I mentioned earlier in the week, the only matchup
of undefeated teams in college football is right here in town,
right here on nine point fifty tomorrow, five o'clock for
coverage to begin at six o'clock kickoff. Where your blue
if you're headed out to td ECU Stadium for the
Cougars and the Red Raiders, And reminder, in the five
o'clock hour, we will still have one more set of

(01:46:19):
tickets pair of tickets to give away to that game.
I will be out there and encourage you to come
by and say hello, hanging out of the bud like
tailgate patio before the game, and then on inside for
the game. Twelve and a half is the number for
Texas Tech and over under a fifty two and a half,
and of course we'll make our selection on Texans Ravens.

(01:46:39):
Texans are a two and a half point favorite with
an over under. I said it because I meant it
an under of forty and a half. Coal As always,
you get things started.

Speaker 5 (01:46:49):
I'll go, yeah, okay, fine, we'll just steer is knocking
out of the way.

Speaker 4 (01:46:52):
Listen.

Speaker 5 (01:46:53):
I think e Houston has a great defense. I think
that they are miles ahead of expectations from what many
people expected. But Texas Tech has two quarterbacks that can
easily put up points. I think that Baron Morton fully
healthy gives them a slight advantage. They also have wide
receivers that are breaking on open left and right, and
if they're down early, I do not think of the
defense is going to allow Houston get back in this game.

(01:47:13):
So I'm taking the Red Raiders at minus twelve and
a half. Even though this is an undefeated matchup, one
team is ranked into the top ten, the other team
isn't ranked for a reason. Head on over to College
Station Stay in the lone Star State. I understand that
Mississippi State had a heartbreaking loss last week to Tennessee
in overtime, and Texas A and M still put up
over four hundred and seventy yards of offense against Auburn,

(01:47:37):
but fifteen and a half is an egregiously oversimplification of
a line and in my opinion, is the best bet
of the week. I'm taking Mississippi State at plus fifteen
and a half.

Speaker 4 (01:47:48):
This is going to be, I think a four quarter game.

Speaker 5 (01:47:51):
Even if the Aggies do find a way to be
able to win, they're not gonna do it with the
blackout without a couple of bumps and bruises. Stay out
in Texas going over to Waco, Baylor playing host of
Kansas State. Kansasate has been one of the most disappointing
teams in college football this season, and Sawyer Robertson has been,
in my opinion, one of the most slept on quarterbacks

(01:48:12):
at the national level this season. Leeds College football, not
only in passing yards but also in passer raiding and
passing touchdowns. I think he continues to build a Heisman
caliber worthy resume and they're going to win over the Wildcats.
I'm taking the MIAs five and a half and let's
head on out to Gainesville where Texas takes on Florida.
And so many people constantly are saying, oh, well, the

(01:48:34):
line is this slow, because if they think that either
offense is going to be that great, neither offense is
averaging more than fourteen points per game, both ran outs
out of the top one hundred. Well, you know what,
I think both offenses come to life in this game.
Dallas Woolson and Vernell Brown are back for DJ Lagway
and Emmanuel Moseley and Trey Weister are back for Texas.

(01:48:54):
So I'm taking the over forty two and a half
points more we scored out in.

Speaker 4 (01:48:57):
The swamp, longest Dublin hangover of all time.

Speaker 6 (01:49:01):
For Kansas State, they have had an awful season after
going over there and losing to Iowa State. Sit up here, Yep,
it's not been good and some teams have suffered from that.
Whether it's a real thing or not. They definitely look
very bad in doing so two and three one in
one in conference play and again taking on Baylor in Waco.

Speaker 4 (01:49:19):
Let's hear your four games. Well, I know that who
they play comes into play, but like Cole said, both
of these teams, especially Texas Tech, can put up points.
So the fifty two and a half, I'll take the over,
and it's kind of a theme much like last week
overs were good to me, so I'll do it again

(01:49:40):
this week. Broncos at Eagles forty three and a half.
I know there's some defenses there that can get something done,
but I like both teams to be able to put
up enough points to go over on that. Cowboys and Jets,
I mean just the Cowboys alone might score forty seven
in this game. I don't know, we'll see, but between
the two of them, I think they can get over
forty seven and a half. And the same with the

(01:50:03):
Kamis at the Chargers of Jayden Daniels back in the lineup,
and I mean obviously Justin Herbert's the greatest quarterback ever,
so those two combined will be able to put up
nearly fifty points. That number at forty seven and a half.
I'm also taking the over there.

Speaker 6 (01:50:17):
I agree with Cole Mississippi State. It's a great play
at Texas A and M Vanderbilts. I don't know if
they're a great play, but I will play it, and
I'll make sure to get as many points as I can.
I think it's a ten and a half right now.
I always stay at the other team from Dublin. They
haven't lost any games, and their dogs at Cincinnati this week.
Probably I'm falling for it and it's a trap and

(01:50:38):
it's the gambler's nightmare, but I will play it. Iowa
State plus one and a half at Cincinnati leaves us
with our college football game of the week.

Speaker 4 (01:50:46):
I think the defenses will come to play.

Speaker 6 (01:50:48):
I think the Cougars will have a tough time consistently
moving the ball up and down the field. I'll play
the under rather than making a selection, noting that both
of these two teams went under that number in their
most recent games, and the even played overtime and still
stay under that number. I take the Texans on a
regular basis to cover. Took them to cover against the Bucks,

(01:51:08):
took them to cover against the Jaguars. I'll take them
to cover against the Ravens and hope to get it
right for the first time.

Speaker 4 (01:51:15):
I'll take the under because these offenses are just not
going to be the same. Well, the Ravens won't, the
Texans will be about the same cold, and I think
that the exact same thing is gonna happen with both
of you.

Speaker 5 (01:51:27):
Texans are gonna win by minus two and a half,
but I don't think that you're gonna see forty points
scored on either side. So I'm gonna take the smarter
bet and go with the under at forty and a half.

Speaker 6 (01:51:35):
Yeah, I'll take the dumber bet. Texans favored in a
building they've never won, but they're also going up against
the team quarterback by Cooper Rush, against whom they are
undefeated and have covered the two and a half every
single time. Last time they played Cooper Rush, they would
have covered a twenty three and a half number, beating
Cooper's team by twenty four.

Speaker 2 (01:51:58):
The a team on Sports Top seven Windeam.

Speaker 4 (01:52:10):
It's Sports Stock seven ninety. It is Space City Home Network. Uh,
the baseball season or the baseball postseason, as you mentioned earlier,
temporarily on hold tonight and then yeah, it's gotta you
gotta get those travel days in. Now that Alex Bregman
is out, there's still a ton of former Astro's core members,

(01:52:34):
not the Miles Straws and Yimi Garcias of the world
that are in, you know, prominent places in the postseason bracket.
Kyle Tucker's Cubs moving on, George Springer's Blue Jays will
now start playing among others. So that's it.

Speaker 6 (01:52:53):
Well, I was thinking about this, like, I guess that
is if you're talking about core members, unless you want
to count Garrett Cole, who's not participating. Don't want to
count him. I think yesterday you've indicated we should, but
we won't.

Speaker 3 (01:53:06):
Is that it?

Speaker 5 (01:53:06):
Though?

Speaker 4 (01:53:06):
Is there?

Speaker 6 (01:53:06):
There's not anybody else in your core? Is only it's
a baseball team. Some of the core members are still Astros.

Speaker 4 (01:53:13):
I guess they did. I guess they did hang on
to a few. Uh are you talking?

Speaker 6 (01:53:18):
Do you want to consider the Phillies and how Garrett
Stubbs helps them continue their playoff push?

Speaker 4 (01:53:22):
No?

Speaker 6 (01:53:23):
And I know you don't want the Mariners to win,
but if they did, would you, you know, feel good
for Caleb Ferguson.

Speaker 4 (01:53:28):
No, Okay, I want Caleb Ferguson to lose and feel
bad about it. I want him to be sad.

Speaker 6 (01:53:34):
Both of the remaining players of consequence, George with the
Toronto and Kyle with Chicago, I think they have an
excellent chance to advance.

Speaker 4 (01:53:44):
Here's the thing. Every single season I have given the
Blue Jays way more credit than they've ended up showing
me they deserved. And this is the first time where
I really think, Okay, maybe they'll do something.

Speaker 5 (01:54:01):
I have a theory that you're not gonna like, but
I do believe this is true. The Blue Jays are
the Los Angeles Chargers of the MLB.

Speaker 4 (01:54:12):
Would They're just they're winning a bunch of regular season
games and they're gonna nothing in the postseason. I mean
that that's they haven't even gotten that far most of
the last few years, so that certainly could come into play.
And I'm not sitting here thinking that Kyle Tucker's Cubs
are the favorites to win it all.

Speaker 6 (01:54:29):
No, make your pick in the in the case of
the Blue Jays. That's why this is different. I think
it may end up being the exact same disappointing result,
but this does feel a lot different. They were sitting
in front all year they ended in front tied. But
they're the ones that got the one seed. They're the
ones that have home field advantage, They're the ones that

(01:54:49):
got the week off, They're the ones that got to
set their rotation.

Speaker 4 (01:54:52):
And let's just face it, Roger Center is going to
be rocking that plays is a great playoff environment when
it's packed like that.

Speaker 6 (01:54:59):
I mean, they've had several playoff teams. Obviously, in the
last eleven years or so, they've had one other first
place team since they won the World Series in nineteen
ninety three. That's it until this one, which is their
second first place team. It doesn't appear that way because
the Astros have man handled the Blue Jays the last

(01:55:20):
two years, totally dominated them. Should be undefeated against them
except for the last Gusman game.

Speaker 4 (01:55:26):
Yep. But they don't do that. They don't do that
to anybody else.

Speaker 6 (01:55:30):
The Blue Jays have been that good, and they did
all this without one of their big acquisitions, because it
was first terrible and then hurt Santander. They were the
team that said we don't want to move forward without
our star. Most of the other teams are waiting to
see what happened. Wan Sota was allowed to Walk Bregman.
Walk Tucker was traded, they re signed, they re upped
in a huge way. Committed to Vladimir Guerrero Junior probably

(01:55:54):
means they won't do that with Bishet, but that's for
the offseason. They don't strike you as unhittable these pitchers.
They have the most solid pitching staff all the way through,
all the way through the bullpen. Their bullpen's not the
best bullpen in the American League, and they definitely won't
have the best starters in the American League, probably not
even in this series. But you're gonna have to go
out and beat Kevin GaAs Wrom and beat Chris Bassett

(01:56:16):
and or whoever else they end up throwing. For health,
how that shapes up The Yankees coming off of what
they just did, probably feel even better than they would
have if they were the team sitting around and waiting.
But their rotations also not set the way that they
want it, and they have to get to where it
gets to that point. They could be down a game,
down two games by the time they get there. I
don't love the matchup because they think those are the

(01:56:37):
two This is probably the most even matchups. I don't
know that one of them has the advantage. But since
you asked, I told you the other day I thought
the Mariners were going to get to the CS, and
I have them playing the Blue Jays in the ALCS.
I have the Phillies and so as they just said it,
Cubs playing in the NLCS. I think the Phillies are
gonna win the National League and I think the Phillies

(01:56:59):
are gonna win.

Speaker 4 (01:56:59):
The World Series.

Speaker 6 (01:57:02):
Who are they beating, well, I hope it's the Blue
Jays because I don't want the Mariners to do something
they've never done before.

Speaker 4 (01:57:07):
They have never reached the World Series. I'd like to
see that continue. I think the Tigers are beating them
because they're the only team left and this includes a
National League in my opinion, that can at least not
match their pitching because their rotation is like five deep.

Speaker 6 (01:57:25):
They could match their pitching if the Game one starter
was Schooble and the Game two starter.

Speaker 4 (01:57:29):
Was min and then you're in really good shape.

Speaker 6 (01:57:33):
That's the kind of thing that could create meltdown like
behavior in Seattle. Of course, George Kirby's gonna get the
ball for them. Detroit hasn't announced how they're going to
go about their game one, because obviously each of their
three legitimate started. Remember, the Tigers were so in need
of starting pitching they traded for Charlie Morton, who says
since been released and signed with the Braves to close

(01:57:54):
out his career.

Speaker 4 (01:57:54):
He was that awful.

Speaker 6 (01:57:55):
They don't really have anybody else that they can count
on after their top three. They needed all three of
them Tuesday want to say on Thursday.

Speaker 4 (01:58:00):
Here's the other thing to keep an eye on, though,
because we don't really have much of a track record
for him. Every everything has gone his way this year.
Cal raley lights are bright.

Speaker 2 (01:58:13):
Now.

Speaker 4 (01:58:14):
I want to see how he responds. If he's the
same guy, then you like Seattle's chances. But if he turtles,
he could go oh for the series and they could
still win. They have that much offense. I just still
don't look at them that way. I think a Randy
I think Randy rose Arena is a threat. I think
cal Rawley this season has been a threat, and no

(01:58:36):
one else in that lineup even remotely intimidates me.

Speaker 6 (01:58:38):
And I just mean the first six in their lineup
are better than anybody in baseball American or nationally. They
are the best first six batters and anybody's lineup was
awful right down the stretch. You said it accurately, though,
because we've seen him in the playoffs.

Speaker 4 (01:58:52):
Multiple times he does it. Then that's the thing. He
seems to answer that. In fact, I would I would
bet good money that he has a better postseason than
cal Raley just based on their track record. And then
what about Suarez and Naylor and Julio and Julio Rodriguez.
I will give him credit has actually like come up
clutch in situations down the stretch. Basically right around the

(01:59:13):
time Seattle decided all right, no one's taking this division.
Will do it because he hadn't. This was earlier this year,
the Nailer swore, as I don't again. I'm still Suarez
is like whatever he had. He had a little pop
at the end of the year, but was largely disappointing
after the trade.

Speaker 6 (01:59:33):
A five game series that goes all five games, it's
give n nineteen twenty at bats, He's gonna go three
for nineteen, but at least two of them will go
over the fence, and.

Speaker 4 (01:59:43):
If somebody's on base, that could be the game decider.
Josh Naylor's good, He's been good in Cleveland, he's been
good in Arizona, and he's been good in Seattle. So
after a Rosarina and Cal Rawley, that would be the guy.
But again, I just they've gonna they'll put have to
prove me wrong, and they may very well. But I
like the Tiger's chances.

Speaker 6 (02:00:05):
Highest ops in the playoffs with at least one hundred
at bats since twenty fifteen. Randy Rose arena number one
in baseball. He's so good, better than Bryce, better than
Juan Carlos. He's the reason the Astros didn't win that
series in twenty twenty. And I know they were down three,
but it went to a seventh game and they just

(02:00:26):
had no answer for him.

Speaker 4 (02:00:27):
Unfortunately, five o'clock hour beckons Football at five and they
look back at last night's horrific decision by one of
the best head coaches in the NFL, the eighteen

Speaker 2 (02:00:40):
On Sports Talk seven ninety