KD is still that dude, Texans-Steelers, national media showing Houston love

Tuesday on The A-Team, Adam Wexler and Adam Clanton share their early thoughts on Texans-Steelers, react to Kevin Durant's big night, and Chandler Rome joins the show to discuss the latest Astros signing.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
By point one seconds remaining.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Japari took Duran at near.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
Mid court, right's h angle three for the wind.

Speaker 4 (00:13):
Yeah, hey, now that quick.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Three ten to the second remaining. They'll check the clock,
but it's a kady three, just his second one of
the day from twenty eight feet with sun defenders in
front of him. They'll reset the clock in one point
one time out of the suns.

Speaker 5 (00:38):
It wasn't officially over at that point because free safety
Joshua Kogi had to intercept a potential catch and shoot
and fumble.

Speaker 6 (00:48):
That's true, but he had to intercept it first.

Speaker 7 (00:50):
I mean, Booker is the one that got two feet
down with possession of the ball.

Speaker 5 (00:53):
But once the fingertips touched the ball, the clock starts
and that's all you needed.

Speaker 6 (00:58):
And uh, you know how the kids said. I don't
think you kids say this anymore.

Speaker 5 (01:01):
Sorry, not sorry, I'm sorry, not sorry for stepping on
Matt Thomas's call there because I was everyone in the
building last night like he hadn't made but one before
that out of eleven attempts.

Speaker 6 (01:14):
Yeah, why'd they give him the ball? Because he's kd
you know who he is.

Speaker 5 (01:18):
That was a lot of fun last night, as we
start a Tuesday edition of the eight Team Sports Talk
seven to ninety. He's Adam Wexler, I'm Adam Clanton. Josh
Jordan is our fearless producer. And yes, as you heard
last night, I would be honest about it, that was
not a good game. That was not a game that
I don't even think the Rockets.

Speaker 7 (01:34):
Respect for a team that has the set had the
same number of wins as Houston.

Speaker 5 (01:37):
They would have had the same number of wins as
Houston if they had won that game.

Speaker 6 (01:41):
I believe they were twenty one win teams.

Speaker 5 (01:43):
Oh that's right. I couldn't. I know they had four
more losses coming in. But I'll be honest with you,
I don't think the Rockets necessarily deserve to win that game.

Speaker 7 (01:53):
Sweep them. They had got a chance to sweep them.
That's three games against them, they've won them all I know.

Speaker 5 (01:58):
And again, I was somewhat i'll say mildly surprised, I
won't say shocked that KD was so openly throwing that
organization under the bus in his postgame presser.

Speaker 7 (02:11):
Now we'll do the right thing and we'll play the
entire clip that he gave in his postgame press conference.
I'm sure lots of other entities that probably have Arizona
as their home destination. Yeah, we'll spend time playing only
the parts that make it sound as awful as possible.
And there are parts of it that if you clip
it certain ways, it absolutely will But he was being truthful.

(02:32):
You're an athlete and you're on the podium. You could
do it however you'd like. My personal preference is honesty.

Speaker 6 (02:39):
It's this way.

Speaker 7 (02:41):
Just tell us, Yeah, if you feel that way, tell
us it's awesome. It's way better. Why do we want
you to give us the vanilla cliche?

Speaker 8 (02:50):
Oh?

Speaker 7 (02:50):
Yeah, when you play your former team, there's always something there.
And he could have left it at that, And that's
what a lot of people do say. And then as
soon as they leave the podium we go back to
the locker room, they say, I wanted to be though
these that other guy's over there. He likes the players.
You don't have anything against the players that he was
teammates with, and.

Speaker 6 (03:08):
Dylan still likes his whole teammates.

Speaker 7 (03:09):
From what we saw, clearly it's and I do think
it's a little different though, I mean, Dylan being traded
is not like I can't believe the organization the escapegoating
me for our postseason loss, and even Jalen isn't even
even though people are trying to spin it that way,
that's not even the same. Phoenix was supposed to be
great the second he arrived, and they weren't, and then
they were worse the next time as time went on.

(03:32):
Clearly it was not on Durant. Durant playing at the
level he was at both ends of the floor, blocked,
just like he's doing here in Houston, just like he's
done his entire career. Uh, he was not the reason
that they couldn't win games. And quite honestly, you know,
Devin Booker was was no more the reason they were
losing last year. I don't think he's no more win,

(03:54):
no bigger reason why they're winning this year. It's it's
they changed everything because what they were doing as an
organization was wrong.

Speaker 6 (04:01):
What they were doing as a team was wrong.

Speaker 7 (04:03):
And just like when the Rockets shifted from the coach
before e May to the coach that is E May,
that changed almost everything in and of itself. I don't
know that Jordan Ott will result in some unbelievable coaching
career but clearly they're a better coach team than the
person was that was coaching their team when who they

(04:23):
had before. They're a much better coach team. They played
basketball the right way and for like you said about
thirty plus minutes, man, well they defend twenty four minutes.
I'll say, Oh, you want to score on the break,
you want to wide open three, have at it.

Speaker 6 (04:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (04:38):
Like I'm not sure how you and Matt were describing
the clockless action oh my god, but it was appropriately
described by many as there's a vibe of we're just
at the gym.

Speaker 6 (04:51):
This is a pickup.

Speaker 7 (04:52):
Being exactly five guys on the side waiting for the winner.
It's winners, got next ball, and we're playing to twenty
one and we're just going up and down the court
and up and down the court. And it was way
too free flowing. And the rockets, the mistakes that they make,
even when they're a low turnover game, sometimes they just
make the worst ones. Oh, I'm gonna commit a turnover

(05:13):
and it's a runout with no it's a one on
zero break.

Speaker 6 (05:16):
I'm gonna commit another turnover.

Speaker 7 (05:18):
It's a two on one break, three on two where
they get a wide open three. They had a billion
fast break points in the first half, they had a
billion wide open threes, and then they didn't get any
of either for the final twenty four minutes. The Rockets,
I mean, I don't think he may made some impassioned
halftime plea, but they were a totally different defensive team

(05:38):
and ball handling team in the second half, and so
once Phoenix didn't get all the easy looks, it changed
the game.

Speaker 5 (05:44):
So funny you should mention that because I know that
the sexy thing is the point to the game winner,
and it was, and it was very sexy.

Speaker 9 (05:55):
Look.

Speaker 5 (05:55):
The Rockets won that game and then almost lost that
game for the same reason. The defensive intensity at any
give him point in the fourth quarter, and specifically this
is That's why I laughed that you bring that up,
because Kdi was obviously the televised post game guest last
night for good reason. But we got a men Thompson,

(06:16):
and a men actually put us on the spot because
I asked him. I said, hey, you know, it looked
like you were willing the Rockets to that win because
you just took over on both ends of the floor.
He was making defensive plays, but he was also just like,
all right, I'm gonna take it to the basket. The
threes aren't falling for KD. They're not going to fall
for me because they never do. And I'm just going

(06:37):
to try and will us to this victory. And you
could see it. And I asked him about that, and
he responded by asking both Matt and I, I don't
even know if they scored again after they took that lead.

Speaker 6 (06:47):
They did.

Speaker 5 (06:48):
I believe we went back and looked, but it felt
like Devin Booker had his own personal run. And the
key to the game for them that even put them
in a position to win was he went to the
foul line in the midst of this stretch where he
was just making everything happen on offense for the Suns.
He made the first free throw, he missed the second one,
and in typical oh my gosh, are you kidding me?

(07:10):
This is the way this game is going fashion, the
ball found its way back to him where he promptly
hit a three and that gave.

Speaker 6 (07:18):
The Suns the lead.

Speaker 5 (07:20):
And it was on from there and the Rockets had
to scratch and claw and do everything else on both
ends to gut out a victory that, like I said,
I just yeah, they deserved it from the standpoint if
they scored more. But it's like if they had lost
that game, we could have pointed to fifty different reasons
why last night they looked like the team that not
only got in late, it was during the day. They

(07:40):
had to canceled their flight did the Phoenix Suns, and
arrived a few hours before tip off. As it was
told to me on the broadcast last night, I don't
know all the inner workings.

Speaker 7 (07:50):
Like Fancy Matt, they had some technical flight issues, and
it's rare in the NBA, and you certainly don't do
it often, if ever by design, flying in the same
day that you were playing a basketball game. But they did,
and it's just the only way they could do it.
Obviously that you gotta deal with what your the cards
that you're dealt. They look fresher, They look totally fine. Again,

(08:11):
that's fresher. If you play well, you look fresh. If
you don't, I mean, what if they missed a bunch
of shots early with how fresh would they have looked?

Speaker 6 (08:17):
Probably not very well. Let me let me put an
addendum on that statement.

Speaker 5 (08:21):
They look very fresh in the first half, and then
their legs looked like they had just arrived a few
hours off of back to back I might add in
which Devin Booker, by the way, beat the thunder and oh,
by the way, they lost again since then to the Hornets,
like by a lot, by a lot. I'm like, okay,
forget all this seventy wins talk. We can probably go
ahead and put that to bed.

Speaker 6 (08:40):
Now.

Speaker 7 (08:40):
Well, they if they are on pace, the pace they're
on right now, if I'm not mistaken, is it sixty
eight sixty seven, Well, they'd be their thirty and six. Yes, yeah,
I'm not doing the mast So that's sixty and twelve.
That's underwhelming the compaired to.

Speaker 6 (08:54):
The last day.

Speaker 7 (08:55):
Would have to then finish the season on a ten
game winning streak to get to.

Speaker 5 (08:58):
Seventy's not happening. Well, let's look at their schedule. We'll
do that in a second.

Speaker 7 (09:03):
I think we'll probably we're not completely done, I don't
think with Oklahoma City talk today and other NBA talk today.
But obviously we'll get to a few other items from
the game itself told you. We'll hear from a man
n KD a little bit as we continue here. More
setting the table for what this weekend brings on the
NFL side with games for three days. Honestly, this weekend
is really the last one I think we're really, really

(09:25):
really going to enjoy. It's the second weekend of twenty
twenty six, but it's the last ish weekend of football.

Speaker 6 (09:33):
Like we'd love it to always be.

Speaker 7 (09:35):
College football playoffs Thursday and Friday, NFL Playoffs Saturday, Sunday
and Monday. Five straight days of presumed football excellence. Whether
it's good or not, we're all gonna be locked in
on it. And that's pretty much it. That's glory for
another billion months until we get back to the fall.
There will be another playoff game, an individual game. There

(09:56):
will be no future three days of NFL playoff weekend
football remaining. So the time of games, an amount of
games obviously winding out. We got four teams left in
college football, so I mean there's three games left. We
have fourteen teams left in the NFL with an off week,
so there are six games this weekend. We'll still have
eight teams remaining after that, so another seven games then

(10:19):
on down the line to get everybody eliminated.

Speaker 5 (10:21):
The most wonderful time of the year is Andy Williams
once saying is rapidly approaching its finale. I don't know
how the holidays felt for you. I mean, you were
here a lot more than I was. But the two
weeks that I was off were so ragged, and we
didn't even travel that much. We took a quick trip

(10:41):
up to Dallas for a graduation, but other than that,
it was just there was something every single day, and
there wasn't a lot of I just had a blah
lazy day like I thought there was gonna be. And
so for whatever reason, I felt like that made the
holidays go more quickly. Plus there was events, sporting events,
I should say, in the middle of all that, which
it's fun, but I think that contributes to that part

(11:03):
of the calendar going by too slow.

Speaker 6 (11:05):
At times. I don't know.

Speaker 5 (11:06):
I'm in that mentality because I've got a seven year old.
I'm like, slow everything down, slow everything down, because it's
gonna be over before you know it. So sometimes that factory.

Speaker 7 (11:14):
I don't regret anything you did while the kids were younger.
Definitely won't regret anything that you won't come into work
and think, man, man, that'll never happen, that never never,
never happened.

Speaker 5 (11:24):
Can I share the textage that we had about the
So the very first thing I did on vacation essentially
was go to his recital.

Speaker 6 (11:33):
And it was actually a few days before I was
out the station.

Speaker 5 (11:35):
Well, they all sang, and they sang fine.

Speaker 6 (11:39):
It was a nice uh.

Speaker 5 (11:41):
It was a nice long Christmas Medley if you will,
although it wasn't really medley. They sang all the songs
in their entirety. But the point of all that was
I sent you a picture of it because I had
left early that day so I could make it in time,
and you sent me a picture back of Ryan at
approximately the same age doing that kind of thing. Party
on the calendar it is. The party wasn't the recital.

(12:02):
It was the Christmas party where you had cookies. They
were making cookies, and I just asked the question, I go,
are you sad, because I could tell like I would be,
and you just wrote back.

Speaker 7 (12:12):
Yes, everything you'll be all You'll always think. Man, I
wish there was more of that. Every day that goes by,
every year that goes by, for sure sucks.

Speaker 5 (12:22):
It's the worst part of being And then they tell
you about it. They all say it, and you hear it,
and you even believe it. But it doesn't matter until
you experience it. So it really does change your life
when you have kids. And that's today's Ted Talk in
the first segment.

Speaker 7 (12:34):
Yeah, I mean sports is nice, but if you have
better things to do with your family, then you know,
talking about it or going to a game or going
to a press conference or whatever. Go ahead and do
that like I wish i'd done.

Speaker 5 (12:46):
Oh jeez, all right, regret radio for the next four
hours here on Sports Talk seven ninety or we'll talked
about a reason why you should have another reason to
get pumped up about the Texans defense. I know y'all
already want to run through a brick wall, like where
Will Anderson Junior or Daniel Hunter? But man, I'm gonna
play you some audio coming up in the next segment

(13:08):
actually wex is technically and Donna play it or maybe Josh,
but it's gonna make you want to do just that
about this year's Texans defense.

Speaker 6 (13:15):
That's straight ahead.

Speaker 10 (13:18):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (13:23):
Say Mane Trilo, g bump be here make seven ninety
pre sent one on a new and improved iHeartRadio app.
You'll be riding dirty with Astros or Rockets games plus
h sounds most of the kits for song download a
update that free aheart radio today, Baby.

Speaker 6 (13:39):
I'm gonna break the korum here a little bit.

Speaker 5 (13:43):
Go off the planned beaten path for this segment real quick.

Speaker 6 (13:49):
You are aware that sometimes I will.

Speaker 5 (13:51):
Use the men's room during breaks and I'll come back
in with a story that I wasn't expecting to.

Speaker 6 (13:59):
Stump stumble up. They're never good.

Speaker 5 (14:01):
Well, this is good in a way. It's like I'm
not betraying the people because I'm not gonna name them,
you know what I mean? Does that make sense? But
when you walk into a conversation and you have to
share it.

Speaker 7 (14:15):
You walked in and there was a conversation already happening
in the bathroom.

Speaker 5 (14:18):
Well, I walked in on the exact most entertaining part
of this conversation.

Speaker 6 (14:21):
For sure.

Speaker 7 (14:23):
If you say so, let us in on this, please.

Speaker 5 (14:25):
One of our coworkers, and I don't think anybody in
our audience knows either of these people. So's that's even
better for what I'm trying to get out here. One
of the people said purpose Actually maybe one of the
people said, I just spent The sentence actually was uttered.

(14:47):
I just spent thirty dollars at Taco Bell. Thank goodness
is a reference to money, not time. And the other
person said, as you bleeping should, and the first person
responded by saying it about to get ugly.

Speaker 6 (15:04):
It just made my day.

Speaker 7 (15:05):
I just spent at Yeah, no, wonder here here.

Speaker 5 (15:10):
It's that amount of money at that particular fast food
restaurant that made this so glorious. It was a fantastic
conversation that I stumbled upon that I wasn't supposed to.

Speaker 7 (15:19):
Well, the good news for me is most days and
today will be another one of those days where between
two and six I don't visit the company restroom and
just head onto the house.

Speaker 6 (15:28):
How do you do that? Well, you you think say
that something's wrong.

Speaker 5 (15:31):
Maybe no, you constantly drink water throughout the show, yet
never do that.

Speaker 6 (15:37):
Yeah, what's going on?

Speaker 7 (15:39):
It's a filtration system up to date usually when I
get to the house, so, oh, i'd probably do this
before dinner.

Speaker 5 (15:44):
I mean, it's January sixth, it's a good time to
check these kinds of things out.

Speaker 7 (15:47):
It's basically second day back, second segment, and we're this
is what we're talking about.

Speaker 5 (15:52):
Well, I just want to know that everything's all right,
because you need to be here for the show four
hours in between visits. You think that's a long time.
You're drinking as much water as you are. Yes, it's fine,
all right, Matt Thomas, all right, here's the deal. Last
night was great. Katie hits the game winner. Then he
throws the suns under the bus. We will hear from
him as it pertains to that exact SoundBite before the

(16:15):
hour is up. But even of more pump you up.
Note I'm perusing things last night. I think it was
last night that I saw this, and it was actually
yesterday's show.

Speaker 6 (16:26):
I don't think it's from anything more recent.

Speaker 5 (16:30):
Look the national media, we have not had to have
anybody say, hey, you might want to notice the Texans
over here. They've got a pretty good defense. That's been
the case, I mean early of the year that was
being recognized.

Speaker 7 (16:42):
Yeah, you're not gonna miss it when they play the
way they have defensively, and then you can't miss it
when they go into the playoffs with the longest winning
streak in the league. They've run nine straight weeks or
nine straight games. They haven't lost a game in months. Yeah,
it's impossible to overlook them. You might not think they're
the best team or you certainly are open to debating
their the merits of their squad. Sure, but you can't
ignore them. I mean, it's too many weeks of boy.

Speaker 5 (17:06):
When you're doing that very thing, since you brought it up,
when you're debating the merits of the Texans squad, they're
only one side of the ball that you're debating.

Speaker 6 (17:13):
Special teams has been awesome too.

Speaker 7 (17:14):
Yeah, they've had a couple of instances where I can't
believe they gave that up. You know, the returns that
they've allowed this year at times, obviously in the Buffalo game,
that one really stands out, and there's a few others.
But if you look at the hole, which is all
you can do here as you headed the playoffs as
a whole, their special teams unit, coverage teams, return teams,
and obviously both their punter and their kicking units, they've

(17:37):
been great. They'll probably be graded out as a top
five unit yet again this year. I think Jalen Nole
had a huge hand in that. I think the fact
that they have they basically never and I hate to
say it, but since they've already switched long snappers, I
feel Okay. They basically never have technical issues execution issues
with either their punter or their kicker, or their holder

(17:58):
or their snapper if they miss or if they have
a bad punt, or if it goes out of bounds
or you miss a kick, or even if it gets
blocked and one of the kicks from Kayimi got blocked,
just one, a fifty plus yarder this year.

Speaker 6 (18:09):
That's it.

Speaker 5 (18:10):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (18:10):
Those they just they do things right.

Speaker 7 (18:13):
And Frank is just insane with how awesome of a
special teams coach he is. Of all the coaches that
have lasted through these coaching changes, and he's one of
just a couple. Dino Vasso in the second area another
another area of strength through the Texans, there's got I mean,
I feel like we could say it every year. Aren't
there bigger, better things for Frank Ross in the future.

(18:35):
He's much more than a special teams coordinator for the
Texans because of how much he helps on game days.

Speaker 6 (18:40):
He's a motivational speaker with Demiko.

Speaker 7 (18:42):
Go watch Damiko if you're at a game and look
who's right there with him a lot of the game,
more than any other coach, I'd say, I think so,
And even with Nick Kaylor on the sidelines. Obviously, Matt
Burke is on the sidelines. These are just three coordinators,
and he's now got two of them calling their plays
while he runs the team. There's just so much to
like about their team, and I still think people look

(19:04):
at their offense like they're terrible when they're really just mediocre.
They're probably a little bit above average, yeah, somewhere in
that neighborhood. They don't have a great passing game and
they don't have a great running game, so it makes
it hard to say, well, then how are they because
they put points on the board. Still they did. I
don't think anybody cares. They finished thirteenth in points scored,

(19:27):
and there didn't feel like it. It doesn't feel like it
at all. Okay, let's take the top thirteen teams in
points scored, and we'll take the top thirteen teams in
points all out. Well, Texas obviously were number two in
points allowed, but of the other eleven or twelve teams
that were in the top thirteen, there were two on
the defensive side points allowed that didn't make the playoffs.

(19:48):
On the offensive side, there were five teams in the
top thirteen in scoring that didn't make the playoffs. Dallas
was an unstoppable offensive force, and today they did the obvious.
They fired their they released their DC and the Detroit Lions.
They weren't as explosive as last year, but they were
one of the top scoring teams in the NFL. Again,

(20:09):
they didn't make the playoffs, and Cincinnati. There's a bunch
of teams in there. Like, they had to score enough
points to make all these defensive performances into victories. Yeah,
and they did that in two of the last three weeks.
There's a thirty eight on the board after Sunday's game.
Two weeks before that, there's a forty on the board.
I don't care who they're playing. To make this point,

(20:29):
they scored points. They put up seventy eight points in
those two games, two of the final three games of
the year, and the other game in between they obviously won.
I'm not saying it will definitely happen to the playoffs.
I'm just trying to regular season look at who they were.
They weren't nearly as bad of an offense as I
think people want to portray. So they can say, man,
their defense has got to carry him to the carry

(20:50):
him to the title bo both sides will have to
do their part and the Texans offense comes up short
and you can remember this segment.

Speaker 5 (20:59):
Yes, well, let's get to what is the hands down,
clear cut, no questions or debate about it, elite part
of this Texan squad, and that would be the defense.

Speaker 6 (21:09):
And you know who agrees with that. Marcus Spears were
gonna be there for Monday night. I don't think the
Steelers are threat.

Speaker 8 (21:16):
I'm actually terrified for him because two weeks ago I
saw him only score six points against the Cleveland Browns
and this Houston Texans team I never thought I would
say this is I don't think you want to play
against them well as an offense like this is one
of those situations where Aaron Rodgers last night took over
the football game and then a phenomenal job. But we

(21:39):
wasn't writing home about the Baltimore Ravens defense. We have
him rolle home about them all season long. This is
a different animal. And the only reason I say that
they're not a threat is because when you look at
the game last night, it was still balls flying over
the secondary head. Derrick Harry still was making explosive runs
and you saw the deficiencies that have shown up all season.

(22:01):
Loan now getting DK back is unbelievably timely for what
they are about to face against the Houston Texas and
the secondary. At times, you can win back there with
time and the ability. Hopefully that's the problem against Houston.
You just don't have time. So whatever game plan Aaron
Rodgers comes up with, because yes I'm saying Aaron Rodgers,

(22:22):
a lot of that I thought in the fourth quarter
was on him. He's gonna have to come up with
the best one he's ever come up with in his
life playing against the Houston Texas front.

Speaker 6 (22:32):
I ain't even talking about the back end. The front alone.

Speaker 8 (22:35):
You better come up with the best game player you.

Speaker 9 (22:37):
Ever came up with.

Speaker 5 (22:38):
It sounds like Marcus Spears would just line up the
front four and say, go ahead, let's see if you
can get past these guys.

Speaker 6 (22:44):
They don't even need a secondary.

Speaker 7 (22:46):
You guys can call it a wet blanket if you'd like,
because it's been here in the past. But next segment,
if you say it, yes, I will bring it out
and say one very very very important thing that counters
everything Marcus Spears just said, And you are not going
to like it.

Speaker 6 (23:04):
We'll also hit you with best of X breaking the
entire internet. All right, we'll go backwards.

Speaker 5 (23:17):
We will get the wet blanket portion of the of
the segment out of the way so we can get
to the fun stuff here.

Speaker 7 (23:27):
Marcus Spears thinks Aaron Rodgers is good luck against the
Texans defense. You're gonna be running for your life, gonna
be hit all game, gonna be sacked all game, and
it's gonna be curtains for the Steel curtain coming up
on Monday Night. Said they should be terrified, they should
be terrified. Now they can be terrified. I hope they're terrified.
I doubt he's terrified. He's seen it all. He's played

(23:50):
against defenses this good previously in his career, maybe one
this year with the Seattle Seahawks. But I'll present you
with this information. If he's so scared, if he needs
to be verified of the Texans defense, he probably still
has this thought in this fact in his back pocket.
There's a little stack called times pressured per dropback. The

(24:11):
quarterbacks that were pressured the highest percentage of the time
when they dropped back to pass one, two and three.
Two rookies and your favorite person to hate. Shador Sanders
cam Ward were first and third on that list. They
got pressured constantly, NonStop, bad offensive line play, and rookie quarterbacks.
Right there in between was Justin Herbert because of their

(24:32):
bad offensive line and the fact that they just figured out,
we might as well send the rush at him. He'll
screw it up and we'll beat them, and they still
want eleven games. But the point of this is to
go to the other end of the spectrum. There's thirty
eight quarterbacks that played enough football to be on this
list of how often were you pressured per dropback?

Speaker 6 (24:51):
CJ.

Speaker 7 (24:51):
Stroud's right there in the middle, ish a little bit
pressured a little bit more often than the league average
of twenty one point nine percent. League average be after
the top fourteen, and he was twenty first, so he
was pressured a little less than your average quarterback.

Speaker 6 (25:07):
But that's not related to this comment in any way.

Speaker 7 (25:11):
I'm talking about Aaron Rodgers talking about the Steelers offense,
talking about the Steelers protection schemes. I'm talking about the
Steelers' ability to have their forty two year old quarterback
stand back there and you know, drop dimes on people
like he did against the Baltimore Ravens just a couple
of days ago. He's thirty seventh out of thirty eight,
which is a really good place to be. It means

(25:32):
only Baker Mayfield was pressured on a lower percentage of
his dropbacks in twenty twenty five. So the Pittsburgh Steelers' scheme,
their line play, their blocking schemes, their personnel groups were
very cognizant of the fact we have a forty two
year old quarterback and he's not Philip Rivers, and he's

(25:54):
unable to move. Aaron Rodgers still moves pretty well into
the pocket. He's not likely to scram for first downs
very often, or you're not likely to lose because of
his feet. His ability to buy more time still exists, though,
And I think he got pressured.

Speaker 6 (26:10):
Just at such a low rate.

Speaker 7 (26:12):
He didn't play the Texans at all and didn't play
the best defenses if you look over their schedule. So,
like I said, at the end of twenty twenty five,
whether you were here or not, I cannot recall. I
decided maybe a little less wet blanket, and I can
still be me.

Speaker 6 (26:28):
This is a newter's resolution.

Speaker 7 (26:29):
No, I just I don't I mean sports is fun,
and you know, putting a wet blanket over sports can't
be fun to hear all the time, so I don't
need to be giving it all the time. So I
will add this to it. You look over the Steelers
schedule over the course of the season, they played the
Jets and the Browns, and the Bank Browns are a
pretty good defense, played them twice, and that's one of
the things that he referenced, so we can look at that.

(26:51):
They also played the Seahawks. Those will probably be two,
maybe the two best defenses that they faced. Obviously they
will now face what we believe is it even better
defense when they faced the Texans. So the game that
he mentioned, the thirteen to six game, what did the
Browns defense do to Aaron Rodgers. Well, they had seven
tackles for losses, five quarterback hits, and two sacks, so

(27:12):
they were in the backfield quite a bit and they
allowed just six points in a game the Steelers thought
they had to have in order to win their division,
and they scored six points and lost to the Browns.
And then you go to the Seahawks game from earlier
this year. It was only Week two, but what did
they do to Aaron Rodgers. What did they do to
the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line?

Speaker 6 (27:33):
Well, they got back there quite a bit.

Speaker 7 (27:34):
They spent a lot of time in the backfield for
the Steelers, a couple tackles for loss, three sacks, and
eight quarterback hits. Now, three sacks didn't sound like a
whole heck of a lot. I would imagine most people
would agree. He was sacked more than twice in a
game only three times all year, and that was one
of them. But those two games, specifically, when they did

(27:55):
not succeed, when they did see Aaron Rodgers pressure, when
they did have traffic in the backfield, their offense wasn't
good and Aaron Rodgers wasn't good. Well, so of all
these teams that they played, we should look at the
good defenses that they played only because they're not playing
a bad defense. This is the whole idea of you know,

(28:16):
what's Oklahoma City's record gonna be? How awesome are I
don't care if they won seventy games, tell me what
their record was against the teams that they're gonna see now.
Same thing with the Rockets, same thing with the Texans,
Same thing with the Bills. Who did you play that
you're now going to play which great defenses? And how
did you faregates?

Speaker 4 (28:33):
Right?

Speaker 7 (28:35):
Like the Patriots are gonna be dominant is an absolute
total guess. You're more than welcome to do it, and
it might happen. It absolutely could be, but it is
a guess. You have three games to look at. They
played game. They just didn't play any teams that were good,
and part of the reason those teams records are poor
is because the Patriots beat them, quite clearly. You could

(28:56):
even look at the Jaguars eight game winning streak and
how how many of those games are you looking at
as it relates to what they might be playing? Like
they won eight in a row? Okay, so how did
they play and who did they beat? It's fair to
look at that. And they clabbered the Chargers during this
eight game streak, and they beat the Broncos by two touchdowns.

(29:18):
But the biggest reason why their scoring margin ended up
as it was, and the biggest reason why Trevor Lawrence's
last six games were the best six games of his
NFL career was because during that six game span they
played the Titans twice, the embarrassingly bad Colts twice, and
the Jets and the Broncos five absolute can't lose games

(29:38):
against five incredibly bad defenses, and the Broncos, which he
played well against. All credit him for that, but the
big picture, like he was the second best quarterback in
the AFC for the last six weeks. Because this is
our sample size, he's playing it. No games against the
Titans in the future of twenty twenty five season. He's
not playing the Colts, he's not playing the Jets, he's

(29:59):
not playing the Cardinals, not playing the Raiders. You got
to look at how they did against the teams they're
actually gonna play. And the Texans can hear what Marcus
said and then hear what I said about Steelers. Don't
let Rogers get hit and still realize unless they're playing
somebody like you, the Texans.

Speaker 5 (30:18):
I feel good about this game coming up on Monday night.
It's gonna take execution. It's not just going to happen
because they show up to Pittsburgh and put their uniforms on.

Speaker 7 (30:29):
Oh man, what if one of the players on Thursday,
when we talked to him, says, you know, what do
you think is going to take to beat the Steelers?

Speaker 6 (30:34):
Showing up? We don't get a flat tire.

Speaker 5 (30:36):
That's like the most non Demico coached thing ever.

Speaker 7 (30:40):
Like, I know he's not. Do we have the address?
We should be fine? Yeah, I know will be good.

Speaker 5 (30:47):
I know they're not disciplined at times, and they get
way too many penalties and that's honestly a hallmark of
the twenty twenty five regular season.

Speaker 6 (30:54):
But I feel good about this defense. I do. Well,
we shall all right when we come back.

Speaker 5 (31:01):
Well, we'll get to some of the best of X
responses to something that I posted last night that honestly
I didn't know it was going to get this much engagement,
but given the subject matter of what I posted, doesn't
surprise me at in hindsight.

Speaker 6 (31:16):
Plus mentioned it earlier in the hour.

Speaker 5 (31:20):
Kevin Durant kind of low key decimated his last organization
he played for, and even with the extended you know
audio which we will play for you, I still think
it was well within his rights to do so, because
I think what he said was one hundred percent accurate
if you're if you followed the story. So all of
that and more as we wind down the two o'clock

(31:41):
hour coming up next. Hey, what, yeah, what's your favorite aerosmith?
Song say dream On, Uh, dream on?

Speaker 6 (31:51):
Sure.

Speaker 5 (31:52):
I think it's actually the answer to a lot of
people if they were really asked that question. Although there's
some good. If you're not an Aerosmith fan, obviously you're
not gonna be a part of the conversation. But if
you are, there's some candidates. Not a candidate the song
Stupid Armageddon's song that was on every time he turned
on the radio in the summer of ninety eight.

Speaker 6 (32:11):
You think this is a great song. No, I think
it sucks. I don't know.

Speaker 7 (32:14):
I mean there's lots of great candidates. That's not one
of them.

Speaker 2 (32:17):
They did not write that song, Foyl.

Speaker 6 (32:19):
They didn't.

Speaker 7 (32:19):
Wait, who sang the song Steven Tyler, so stop trying
to give him an excuse.

Speaker 6 (32:24):
Gosh, who wrote it?

Speaker 10 (32:26):
His daughter literally asked him to do it because she
was in that movie, remember Liftitler?

Speaker 7 (32:30):
In turn, did he ask her and Alicia Silverstone to
be in one of their videos?

Speaker 5 (32:35):
I think they were in like three videos, right, Yes, Well,
I want to know who made the decision to have
her be Sean Connery's daughter in The Rock.

Speaker 7 (32:42):
What about whose decision was it to have her the
love interest in The Incredible Hulk.

Speaker 6 (32:47):
Oh I didn't see that one.

Speaker 7 (32:48):
What else do we have, Josh that we don't like
liv Tyler for.

Speaker 6 (32:51):
Who wrote it? Though? You just said somebody else wrote it.

Speaker 10 (32:53):
Yeah, somebody else wrote I think it was one of
the professional songwriters. They had it and they got Yeah.
I think she just asked her dad to do it
to you know, put the air.

Speaker 6 (33:01):
So they were in a big.

Speaker 7 (33:02):
Beating and one of the people in the meeting said,
I'm gonna ask my dad.

Speaker 6 (33:05):
And it worked. When your dad is Stephen Tyler.

Speaker 7 (33:09):
About the movie she was, the movie she was in
that you know, probably she had some sort of knowledge,
you know, close to her heart.

Speaker 6 (33:16):
It was this movie.

Speaker 7 (33:16):
I'm sure many people saw it. She was originally the
girlfriend of the lead singer of the band, and as
the movie continued, turned out that, yeah, maybe I don't
really like him all that much, so I'm gonna get
with the drummer, which she did. Was that the one
not the premise of the movie basically, but it is
exactly what happened.

Speaker 6 (33:35):
That thing you do, that's right, That thing you do
that was a pretty good movie.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (33:41):
Tom Hanks kind of creached me out these days.

Speaker 7 (33:42):
Though probably also not on his top movies, just like
not Harrowsmith's top song.

Speaker 6 (33:48):
I think that's in his top twenty.

Speaker 7 (33:50):
Yeah, dream On is a Toyota Center staple.

Speaker 6 (33:53):
Well now it is.

Speaker 7 (33:54):
It has been for years, and it had a little
bit of a hiatus, and as you were in the
building last night, it made its return.

Speaker 11 (34:00):
Well.

Speaker 6 (34:01):
I was alerted to this by someone in the organization.

Speaker 5 (34:04):
Yesterday that they had a quote surprise for me, and
they gave a specific time of six fifty three pm
last night. Now, typically at that time for a seven
o'clock home tip, I am in my broadcast position for
the pregame show, as per usual, you.

Speaker 6 (34:20):
Are giving out your pick six.

Speaker 5 (34:22):
No, that's earlier in my thirty minutes. Oh, you don't
do it in the scoreboard segment like I do.

Speaker 6 (34:26):
No, we do.

Speaker 5 (34:27):
We do our shows differently, and it's fine. But that's
usually around the time we're starting the recap of the
prior game, which wasn't particularly fun because it was the
loss in Dallas. But I'm like, okay, well that's good
because that is going to afford me the opportunity to
see whatever this is all about. Now, I had no
idea what it was. And then along the line of

(34:50):
being there last night. After I left the show, I
just course of conversation with people. I ended up talking
to Jim Odessa, who is one of their video I
don't even know what his title is, but I would
call him a guru. He has a game ops guru. Yes,
he's sitting mid court court side every game most nights,

(35:10):
very close to the PA announcer Jonathan Sanford.

Speaker 6 (35:13):
Natalie is down.

Speaker 7 (35:14):
There the announcer and time left on shot clock announcer.

Speaker 5 (35:18):
We'll get to that. That was abackle and I have
some a recon on that as well, how that happened.
But Jim is the original solo by the way, editor
of the at this point fifty nine years of Tradition
video that used to run in Toyota Center that was

(35:41):
a companied by dreamond by Aerosmith. I bet you can't
guess which player they used when the chorus crescendos, it
was definitely Chuck Hayes.

Speaker 6 (35:53):
No, It's just amazing and it always has been.

Speaker 5 (35:56):
And the last time I remember really watching it was
like twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen, maybe it had been gone
for a while, And last week, unbeknownst to me that
they were even in the works of doing this. I
happen to have a conversation with another member of you know,
the social slash video ops. Basically, let's make the rockets
look amazing when you're in and around Toyota Center and

(36:16):
on social media. My boy Horain and we just had
that conversation. I was like, you know, why don't they
bring that back? It's awesome. It was always good. And
he didn't let on that. I don't even think he
knew that they were thinking about doing this. But last
night and again they had to do licensing. Clearance was

(36:37):
a part of this. Apparently, when COVID happened, everybody started
suing over music in places like Toyota Center, Like if
you used it, well, everybody's broke right now because the
government decided to be a great idea to shut down
the entire country over a chest cold. But anyway, they
were like licenses were turning into lawsuits and all this

(36:58):
kind of stuff was happening. It was holding this up
unbeknownst to me that all this was going on behind
the scenes, and so basically it's all clear now for
them to start doing it. In every home game, they
are going to run this video and it's I mean, gosh,
it's got to be three minutes long at least.

Speaker 7 (37:15):
I mean, there's no shortage of highlights defined over the
Rocket's long history.

Speaker 5 (37:20):
Of course, Hardin is prominently featured now which he wasn't before, right,
just things that have happened up to this season because
Katie's in it, by the way, and they're gonna have
to add one after last night.

Speaker 7 (37:31):
But yeah, I think they have some time. They do
another three game West Coast road trip.

Speaker 5 (37:36):
Yeah, and they're not playing well, they're playing them are nice.
I guess they have we have that going for us.
There's not more than one day in between games.

Speaker 7 (37:44):
But yeah, I just mean they have time because they
are to center game.

Speaker 6 (37:50):
It's absolutely insane.

Speaker 5 (37:52):
So point of all this is I was like, man,
I'd really like to see like the real, the real deal.
They can't boosted still because of all these technicalities. But
if somebody takes video of it, say me, and posts
it on social media, then everybody can enjoy it, which
is what I did. I had no idea that I

(38:13):
would get the positive feedback that you. I thought you'd
get some. But since we kind of carried over best
of x, Jan says my favorite effing intro. Ever, she
was very boisterous in her description.

Speaker 6 (38:27):
It's awesome.

Speaker 7 (38:28):
I've talked about it many times over the years. I
just could not enjoy it. Rumps well doing what we do.
We're in the arena at that time, not everybody, for
as we know, not everybody is ready and fired up
and in their seats, and it's part of you know.
I was always out there in the bowl for this,
and if possible, I'd probably stop what I was doing.

Speaker 6 (38:48):
I watch it in every time.

Speaker 5 (38:50):
You're the people that you're in the group that has
seen it many times, probably more than the average. I mean,
you're probably in the top one percent of how many
times you've seen it.

Speaker 6 (38:58):
Because of what we do.

Speaker 5 (38:59):
But the other side of the pendulum is every single
game there's gonna be someone who doesn't know it's coming
A and B. It makes them stop what they're doing
because it's so good. You can't help but stop what
you're doing and watch it. That's how good it is.

Speaker 7 (39:16):
So I can say I've never seen it on this version,
this big screen, big jumbo tron that they have now,
right unless.

Speaker 6 (39:24):
You were there last night. I was there, which you weren't,
but I did post it.

Speaker 5 (39:27):
If you want to go see it, It's on my
Twitter account, my ex account at Adam Clanton.

Speaker 6 (39:32):
Man can't wait to see this live.

Speaker 5 (39:34):
Loved it every time during the Hardened era, by far
one of the best things about going to Rockets games.
I used to look forward to watching that video when
I'd go. It was sad to see it go, but
I'm so glad it is returned, and it's right before
the game. It is going to get fired for the
starting lineup specifically. And what was funny is Matt I

(39:55):
didn't expect this, but Matt Thomas was like had to
stop his intro to the game broadcast to say, and
this is a great description. That's basically my life flashing
before my eyes. Because you know, if if you were
here when the Rockets got to town in what nineteen
seventy two, you know, they played in San Diego for

(40:15):
a few years. They started in nineteen sixty seven. Go ahead,
do it, kids, if you're listening, but then they shortly
moved to Houston. And that's basically what this video is.
It's like the entire history of the franchise, all the
good times, some of the bad times. It's awesome and
so it was just NonStop reaction to that, and it

(40:36):
was it was almost as much fun to read those
reactions going back to earlier today as it was to
see it. So and one guy says, Pierce says, this
is going to go so hard in the playoffs. Yeah,
when Houston actually shows up before the game and packs
the house in the playoffs only, this.

Speaker 7 (40:52):
Should be fine. I mean, it's probably the second half
of a doubleheader. East Coast team will tip it six
and we'll tip it eight fifty one locally.

Speaker 5 (40:58):
So dumb, but yeah, you're probably right, that's what's gonna happen.
So anyways, keep an eye out for that. The next
time you're a Toylet Center. It typically airs airs, It
typically is run on the big screen there, probably about
five minutes before the top of the hour for a
seven o'clock tip. It's amazing. All right, we'll take a
quick time out here. We'll come back. You will hear
from Kevin Durant. Also, I got a question for you.

(41:19):
Is Demico Ryans already the best coach in Texans history?

Speaker 2 (41:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (41:25):
Unlike usual where I would just blurt out the answer
before we get to and follow through on the team.

Speaker 6 (41:31):
Proud of you.

Speaker 7 (41:32):
I won't do that here. I'll think about the question
that he asked. I'll think about what some of you
guys might think, do little research on it, like I
haven't already. Heck, I haven't thought about this, all right?
Hasn't everybody thought about this? Didn't you think about this
the day they introduced him, the day you knew he
was coming for an interview, the day you knew they
needed a head coach that particular offseason, and it was

(41:52):
a real possibility. Never knew how it would play out.
But now we've got two full seasons and a third
regular season behind Demiko o'ryans. We don't have to wait
till after the postseason to answer this question. I don't
think so. We will pose that question and give our
thoughts on it. You can give yours as well. Is
Demiko o Ryans already the best head coach in Houston

(42:14):
Texans football history? We'll do that as we kick off
the three o'clock hour, zero.

Speaker 2 (42:19):
Point one seconds remaining. Japari to Durant at near mid court.

Speaker 3 (42:24):
Right'side angle three for the wind.

Speaker 6 (42:26):
Yeah, he know that?

Speaker 3 (42:29):
What three tens of a second remaining?

Speaker 6 (42:33):
Awesome?

Speaker 5 (42:33):
Awesome stuff Last night inside Toyota Center. Rockets get the
win one hundred to ninety seven. You heard it here
on Sports Talk seven ninety. That would be Matt Thomas
on the call and some jamoke yelling over him.

Speaker 6 (42:47):
How was all of us? Yeah, the only one with
a headset.

Speaker 5 (42:51):
Well, here's the problem. He had hit one of those
prior to that. In eleven attempts.

Speaker 7 (42:57):
He had nit hit none of those this season A
game winner, A game winner, Yeah, I had opportunities.

Speaker 5 (43:04):
I have the Rockets lost on the game winner this year.
I feel like they've if not at the buzzer was close, right.

Speaker 7 (43:09):
You could kind of say they lost the OKC DOUBLET
game that late bucket at the foul line. Uh yeah,
I guess the second late bucket, yes, But.

Speaker 6 (43:19):
To be fair, he called the time out. We didn't
have he did, we didn't have one.

Speaker 5 (43:24):
Yeah, I just it was nice for that situation to
kind of go the Rockets way for a change.

Speaker 6 (43:28):
Is how I fells.

Speaker 7 (43:29):
You know, it's to me, it's just so different when
it's tied.

Speaker 6 (43:34):
Well, it's so.

Speaker 5 (43:34):
Different when it's that shot being taken in that situation
versus all the ones he took all night. They were
chasing him Kevin Durant caught the ball an inordinate amount
of times about thirty five feet from the basket, with
like five to seven seconds on the shot clock.

Speaker 6 (43:49):
If it was even on it's teams have been doing it.
Do something with it.

Speaker 7 (43:52):
Teams are going to do that permanently with Alpa and
Shngoon off the floor the lineup, but they were already
doing it quite a bit even with him out there.
Now they're just gonna do it even more. It will
continue to show you how ridiculously talented Kevin Durant is
because teams are gonna try to double team and blitz him,
keep him from getting into the offense, have him thirty

(44:13):
plus feet away from the basket, and the rockets are
gonna have to be much more creative, and he's gonna
have to have the ball a lot less until they're
into their offense because they're not gonna keep the other
guys from bringing it up to the three point line
or getting it into the pain or whatever. They're gonna
print invent him from doing that. So he just has
to be used a little bit differently. It's not gonna
lower his usage rates, so to speak. It's not gonna

(44:35):
lower his shot count, but teams are absolutely going to
either ask you to beat them four on three, which
I think the Rockets can still do and should do.

Speaker 6 (44:44):
Where the Times can beat anybody off the dribble these days, well.

Speaker 7 (44:47):
When when they blitz him and send two defenders thirty
feet from the basket, the high post for amend should
now be basically the three point liner just inside of
her the top of the rings inside at the free
throw line, because when he's faced up against insert NBA
player wearing another uniform, it's over for the other guy.

Speaker 5 (45:04):
He made another series of moves last night, even one
of them was he got fouled, so it wasn't it
didn't count as a shot attempt, but the dribbling that
went into getting that foul called was insane.

Speaker 6 (45:16):
Yeah, whatever they get out of it.

Speaker 7 (45:17):
I'm not saying he shoots one hundred percent on those situations,
but he gets to the basket. He gets them in
a better position to finish that offensive possession the right way,
with a score, with an offensive rebound opportunity, with a
real attempt at the basket, not they're scrambling because Durant's
out of the play and you got Aaron Holliday or
Reed Sheppard trying to beat a six foot eight guy
from twenty five feet out wasn't a pretty the prettiest

(45:41):
of games, and now the Rockets have had a series
of games like that. But they played the defense that
we need to see more of. They played the type
of well, you you're not going to run away from us.
Even after the Suns built that lead, Sons got up
double figures there because of one of their runs, and
it looked like the Rockets were headed in the wrong
direction of that and time out. They immediately got right

(46:02):
back into the game. Score score score, stop, stop stop,
and then they were fairly close to the rest of
the way. The Rockets obviously overcame the Sun's late run
did not allow the Suns to make a field goal.
After that, Sons took the lead what ninety five ninety
four and did not hit a field goal. The rest
of the game was almost three minutes worth. They had
two free throws and that was it. Every other possession
was well defended. The second to last possession was extremely

(46:24):
well defended by Tarry Eason on Devin Booker, and obviously
Devin Booker's final shot that came after that was almost
a clean steal. It really was a clean steal by
a kogi. Then Booker just stole it right back before
they even landed. They need to make sure that they
secure some of these wins. And quite honestly, their clutch
time statistics and their record in close games not what

(46:48):
it should be for the talent that they have, So
they need some more of these to but get it
back to the right side.

Speaker 5 (46:52):
Specifically to that point as it pertains to their home games.
You know, all thirteen of them that they've played, I
think eleven and two. Yeah, they kept those two. They
kept those two losses right there in that ledger. I
thought this was going to be their third home loss
at one point late in the game, because I'm like,
oh man, it's just one of those nights where it's
just not going your way. It's proof, even though I

(47:14):
think it's flawed, proof that when the Rockets start playing
the lion's share of their games at home, because they've
played so many on the road already, you would think
it would bear itself out because there's such a home
or such a good home team record wise, But unfortunately
a lot of those games that they're about to play
at home are against really good competition, or at least

(47:36):
so far this year, the Thunders coming into town, the
Spurs come into town twice this month, whatever version of them.
I don't know if Victor winmbgnam is going to be
healthy for both of those matchups. I don't think he'll
play in the first one as my guest, but I
don't know.

Speaker 6 (47:50):
It's gonna be.

Speaker 5 (47:51):
It'll be interesting to see if they take advantage of
being at home and everything that comes with it. But
as it pertains to what happened last night and specifically,
Kevin Durant hitting a game winner wasn't even I mean,
it was drama and it was exciting, but I was
just as enthused when I heard what he said about
the team he beat and by the way we played

(48:11):
you Matt's call. Craig Ackerman mentioned this in the final
call He bites the hand that recently fed him, talking
about the Phoenix Suns organization which decided to trade Kevin
Durant this offseason, and the Rockets were like, yeah, we'll
take that. We've got a lot of your draft picks
and we'll go ahead and give you Jalen Green and
Dylan Brooks too. I still wish Dylan Brooks was on

(48:33):
his team after watching him last night.

Speaker 6 (48:35):
He's had a great year.

Speaker 7 (48:35):
If people haven't been paying it, didn't even have a
good game, but I think they have been, and I
mean all the way around. He brings the fire. He
still gets his technicals, which I still think he can
do what he does and prevent, but he hasn't. Didn't
do it here and doesn't do it there. But offensively
is kind of where Memphis tried to pretend that he
couldn't help them, and his last year there they asked
so little from him offensively that his numbers showed. And

(48:58):
then got here and the Rockets were quite the opposit,
and then his second year here they were more so
because he was becoming their best three point option and
he obviously was getting very good looks, but he was
burying them. And he's been able to do a lot
of the things with the Suns that he did early
in his career with Memphis, where he was a real
offensive option. Get him the ball and if they're not

(49:18):
bringing a double team, we're confident then he's going to
get a shot he'll make. He's done it all year
for the Suns. We've seen it in three games against Houston.
You're right, last night was not his best offensive performance
against Houston, but just go look at what he has
done this season and really actually watch them and why
they go to him as often as they do. He
has a full arsenal of offensive moves. It doesn't look

(49:39):
like a lot of other NBA players because he's so big,
and the way he creates space isn't like everybody else,
and he rarely just says I'm just going to drive
right by you. He really uses his body well offensively
as much as he does defensively. But the Rockets were
able to do to the Suns what they've done the
first two times.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
And all that being said, yeah, all that being said,
Kevin Durant a little bit of a shot at his
former team when asked about beating that specific organization with
that shot last night.

Speaker 12 (50:06):
That was definitely, you know what I'm saying, a place
that I didn't want to leave, and my first time
being to sound I don't want to sound too dramatic,
but I will to be kicked out of a place,
you know what I'm saying. And it felt like that,
you know, I've been scapegoaded, you know what I'm saying

(50:26):
for the issues we had as a team last year. Yeah,
it felt good to beat them and hit a game
winning shot.

Speaker 6 (50:32):
But that's that's all it is.

Speaker 12 (50:35):
It's not just for the moment, you know, it's something
tomorrow I won't even think about, you know. So it
was it was a fun game, like I said, of course, Yeah,
I felt you played with a little chip on your
should against your former team, especially when they trade you.

Speaker 5 (50:48):
All right, let me take you back to July when
that deal happened. Remember where he was. He was at
that fanatics fest or whatever in New Jersey, I believe,
and Kay Adams caught up with him and specifically asked him.

Speaker 7 (51:01):
First, Taylor Rooks caught up with him.

Speaker 6 (51:04):
Was it Taylor that was interviewing him? Huh?

Speaker 5 (51:05):
I thought it was Kay Adams that was interviewing him
on site, and then he also came on her podcast later.

Speaker 7 (51:10):
It was Taylor whoever it was? Yeah, And I think
you'd remember, of all people. Oh, I'm a big fan
of both of their, as are many. They're both really good.

Speaker 5 (51:19):
But I he's He was asked specifically about Phoenix, as
I recall, and kind of gave a sideways quick answer
to just you know, I'm moving on, you know, in
other words, I'm not going to really even give you
an answer at all on that particular topic as it
pertains to this situation.

Speaker 6 (51:38):
And it took.

Speaker 5 (51:39):
Three games and him hitting the game winner for him
to give some of the most detailed, thoughtful, and quite
frankly unfiltered answers about that situation, to the point where
I didn't really even know he felt this strongly about
how he left there until last night.

Speaker 6 (51:59):
He iss.

Speaker 7 (52:01):
He's described it in a number of different times, and
I think you can definitely hear from him how he felt,
even if it's not necessarily how it played out, it's
how it felt to the person that was involved, and
that's why he's giving you his personal thoughts on it,
and you can see how he felt that way. Phoenix
might tell it a little bit differently, and there might
be some accuracy to how they say it. Obviously their
owners talked about it a little bit. You know, I'm

(52:23):
sure the scapegoating term that, well, it's because that's how
that's how he feels. I don't know that the Phoenix
has presented it that way. Media certainly could have presented
it that way, and you get the sense that that
is what happened a little bit when you've seen some
of the things that have been said since his departure
and the success of the team, because clearly Phoenix is
having a very one of the most surprisingly successful starts

(52:45):
to their season, and you're hearing some of that from
their point of view.

Speaker 6 (52:49):
There's always a different point of view.

Speaker 7 (52:50):
These are two divergent point of views, quite obviously, but
he went there win, and not long after he's there,
in their mind, one of the best ways we can
and try to win again is getting rid of you
our best player.

Speaker 5 (53:04):
Yeah, I mean that's kind of how it felt. I
don't care because he's here and he's I don't.

Speaker 7 (53:10):
Clearly really cares either to the point, I mean it
was presented to him on the in the perfect setting.
You just beat them with a game winning shot, right,
so he told you about it. I'm sure he did
actually say, you know, I'm gonna wake up tomorrow. I
won't think about this. Well, actually I will. I mean,
come on, because he's a human. Uh, he actually said that.

Speaker 5 (53:27):
I mean the first thing I thought of when I
woke up today was I was fun last night exactly.
I can't help it. I do that with the losses too.
By the way, because I'm a sicko.

Speaker 7 (53:34):
And you were never the color analyst for Phoenix Sun's radio,
it didn't mean that much to you.

Speaker 5 (53:39):
Eddie Johnson is he is, Actually he does TV. He's
a color analyst for the television. Y.

Speaker 6 (53:44):
Yeah, all right, we'll take a quick time out. As
a promised.

Speaker 5 (53:47):
You're gonna hear about why I think and maybe WEX
does Dimiico Ryan's is already the best coach in Texans history,
and you're hero.

Speaker 6 (53:55):
You're gonna hear from a former Texan that agrees.

Speaker 10 (53:57):
Next the A on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (54:04):
Hey, it's coach Udoka.

Speaker 12 (54:07):
Here every Rockets game on Sports Talk seven and on
the iHeartRadio app Home of Your Rockets.

Speaker 5 (54:18):
On a Tuesday edition of the program Sports Talk seven
ninety Space City Home Network. I never properly welcomed in
the viewers at the top of the hour. I think
the people watching understood that we were on their TV. Yeah,
but we just started talking. Oh, by the way, we
use you listening only on the radio. Our simulcast has
begun on television on Space City Home Network, as it
does each and every day at three o'clock. We run

(54:39):
through the final three hours of the program via simulcast
on our partners over with the Rockets and Astros, like
we are with the Rockets and Astros.

Speaker 6 (54:47):
Scritch to see you. Shout out to John Vallick and
company over there.

Speaker 7 (54:50):
Shout out to the peeps he has They yesterday brought
you live televised coverage of Tatsuo guys Preusser. How about Blummer? Yeah,
they went to their reporter on site, Jeff Blum.

Speaker 5 (55:02):
Well, Julia had to do Rockets last night, that's true,
but she was I wonder.

Speaker 7 (55:07):
Posted both of their live programs last evening.

Speaker 5 (55:10):
I guess, so, I guess that was already planned that
Jeff was going to do that. Yeah, he's really good
at it. He should do it more. He's understands the
life of a broadcaster. Yeah, but people think, oh, he's
a color analyst. He's strictly there for games, and then
some appears.

Speaker 7 (55:23):
He watched Astros baseball since he's been here, they do
it all the time. He doesn't pregame coverage.

Speaker 6 (55:28):
Let's go.

Speaker 7 (55:29):
Jeff Blum's standing by with ow and so.

Speaker 5 (55:30):
Right, But relative to how much he does color analysis,
it's it's few and far between, and he's just good.
I'm not blown small. I've told him this in person.
I said, dude, if you sucked, I just wouldn't say
anything to you. I'm not going to lie to you
and say, oh, yeah, you're great.

Speaker 7 (55:45):
We enjoyed having him in here for two hours while
you were gone.

Speaker 5 (55:48):
I saw that he was walking into the parking garage
telling everybody that he did the show. Right, I mean
it was almost as good as you could.

Speaker 7 (55:54):
Have seen him right there on Space City Home Network.

Speaker 5 (55:57):
Oh, he was actually on his network. Yeah, that's amazing. Well,
that's good they pay him. So all right, let's get
to what we were going to get to last segment.
We ran out of time because that's what we do.
Demico Ryans is hands down already after two regular seasons,
three regular seasons and two postseasons, he's the best playoff

(56:19):
or he's the best coach in Texans history, right right?

Speaker 6 (56:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (56:23):
I tried a couple of minutes ago to tease, like
we were gonna have a real conversation about this, but
you can't. Who's the next line other there's no other side. Well,
if you say who's the next in the line, then
please tell me You've heard us have this discussion before,
because before Demico got here, you had it with Lovey Smith, coach,
Dave Romeo, Wade Phillips the Dominator, and Garian Bill Only.

Speaker 6 (56:46):
Wex calls Dom Caper's.

Speaker 7 (56:48):
Well, when you go eighteen and forty six as head coach,
you earned the title the dominator, but he's at the
only twenty eight games under five hundred. You clearly dominated
while you were the head coach of the expansion Houston Tech.
Defense did dominate, though at times they were bad in
year one, and they got better in year two. They
got even better in year three, and then oh my god,
we're awful this year you're fired.

Speaker 5 (57:09):
That's what happened during the don papers, not the defense.
The defense I think was pretty great good.

Speaker 6 (57:13):
He was one of four.

Speaker 7 (57:15):
There are five coaches in Texans history, two of them
are interim, so really three. He's one of three coaches
in Texans history that did not take the team to
the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (57:24):
Mm hm.

Speaker 7 (57:25):
His four years are obviously the first four years of
the organization, which is why it was such a big
deal when Gary got them to the playoffs as their
next head coach. He was the first guy to ever
do that, and then obviously Build did the same multiple times.
Coach Dave and Lovey, neither one of them in their
one seasons of work trying to lose. So you are
our head coach and it sucks, but this is what
we're doing to you. Didn't make them, didn't get them

(57:48):
to the playoffs, somebody, So that conversation who was their
best head coach in Texans history was kind of lame.

Speaker 5 (57:53):
Yeah, but now there's a discussion. But going back to
Lovey real quick. Somebody sent me a video shout out
to Larry where this guy is trying to with a
straight face, claim that both the Texans and the Chicago Bears,
oh Lovey Smith a ring when they get their next

(58:15):
championship because he set everything in motion. And I'll just
concentrate on the Texans. We all know that he was
at the Helm when they not only scored against the
Colts but completed the two point conversion. But if he hadn't,
if he had lost that game like people like me
wanted him to, the Texans likely have Bryce Young on
their roster right now. And no matter what anybody wants

(58:38):
to tell me, he sucks.

Speaker 7 (58:40):
So table a couple of those discussions. Okay, the Bears
need to give Lovey a ring because he helped set
their current playoff team in motion.

Speaker 5 (58:51):
I think, so, I have to go back and look
at the video. I'm pretty sure it was the Bears
in the Texans though. Well, I mean, he coached the Bears.
I can understand this angle, but I can't understan that philosophy.

Speaker 6 (59:01):
I gotta watch the video.

Speaker 7 (59:02):
So when Lovey Smith was asked to stop coaching this team,
it was twenty twelve. They had won ten games, although
they finished third in the division and did not make
it cost He watched the video live on the air,
and then they hired another coach. He lasted two years.
And then they hired another coach. He lasted three years.
Then they heard another coach. He lasted four years. Then
they hired another coach. He lasted three years. Then they

(59:23):
hired current coach Ben Johnson. Now, if Ben Johnson and
Ryan Poles their GM can get this team into the
Super Bowl and win a ring, let's get our twenty
twelve head coach Lovey Smith a ring. Because he's the
one who said all this in motion. That can't be real.

Speaker 11 (59:41):
Responsible for creating two of the best If you don't
know who this is.

Speaker 6 (59:46):
This is love Smith. And in twenty twenty two he
was the head coach won It's My Show and in
the last game.

Speaker 11 (59:51):
Of the season, the Texans were two thirteen to one.
He lost this game, they'd get the first overall pick,
and they scored a touchdown and could easily have gone
to overtime. Smith realized he was going to get fired,
so he wanted to hurt the Texans a little.

Speaker 7 (01:00:04):
Oh now I understand this. You stop. So what he's
saying is what they did on that day as head
coach of the God, I'm dumb. God, I'm dumb. What
he did on that day got the Texans the number
two pick, which they which the got the team that
now has Caleb Williams a trade.

Speaker 5 (01:00:22):
They had the number one pick originally traded out Panthers
traded up with the Bears, which which I forgot to.

Speaker 6 (01:00:27):
You're not done forget. I was just I hear Lovey
Smith and coaching Texans. Well his he was.

Speaker 7 (01:00:34):
He was good when he was the coach of the Bears.
And if you remember, he took him to the Super Bowl.
When the Texans hired him, I said, he gets a
bad rap as a head coach in the NFL. He
gets a perfectly normal rap for being a DC coordinator
and his defenses. At the time he was the head
coach for the Bears and the Bucks was fine.

Speaker 5 (01:00:55):
But they are outdated here you thought the defense, ever,
this was not totally ridiculous to run defense, especially with
the personnel they had.

Speaker 7 (01:01:02):
Hey, Nick Man, I love that you drafted Derek Stingley
junior third overall. I don't know about using him in
man coverage though, let's not scudd note it was.

Speaker 6 (01:01:09):
The anti Kareem.

Speaker 7 (01:01:11):
He made him a bad player, which watched Derek Stingley.
How is that possible? But he did that. But my
point was when he was coaching for the Bucks and
he only got two years, they were working their way
through the number one pick, which was Giants backup quarterback
Jamis Winston currently and they improved dramatically and then they
fired him. And obviously when he was with the Bears,

(01:01:33):
it was the best era of Bears football for such
a long period of time, and that they won eleven
games in his second year. They still won ten games
in his last year. The years right, they were good.
They were a five win team when he got there,
they won seven games twice after that, every other year
they were in the hunt, and they made the playoffs
three different times. And it's like you said, they won

(01:01:56):
the NFC with Lovey Smith as head coach, which meant
they played in the Super Bowl with Lovey calling in plays,
signaling in plays through his coaching staff to Rex Grossman
as they tried to win a Super Bowl.

Speaker 5 (01:02:08):
That in and of itself is a impressive and be
the most bearst thing ever Jim McMahon.

Speaker 7 (01:02:13):
But you know one thing I've talked about quite a
bit about the number one picks in the draft because
it's happened so often, and it almost happened again this year.
Teams get the number one pick and then they play
their number one pick that year, their quarterback, and they're
so freaking terrible they earn the number one pick again. Yeah,
or they're in a situation where, yeah, this guy was

(01:02:35):
tear this guy's our future. But luckily while he's learning
to play football, we stink and we're right there at
the top of the draft.

Speaker 6 (01:02:43):
Trevor Lawrence did it.

Speaker 7 (01:02:44):
In this case, it's justin Field's doing it for the Bears,
as they didn't draft a quarterback when CJ. Stroud and
Bryce Young were available, they instead traded out of that
and then look what happened the following year. We're right
there at the top of the draft when Caleb Williams
is available, whom we know have and he is absolutely
he has a lot of shortcomings, he is absolutely a franchise.

Speaker 6 (01:03:05):
Galla fantastic this year though.

Speaker 7 (01:03:07):
Yeah, well he's been great when he's had to be,
which is kind of the mark of a playoff quarter.
Look at their last game sixteen Zip and they scored
two touchdowns late and got two two point conversions late.
Well they lost on a last second field anyway, but
still it's what he does.

Speaker 5 (01:03:21):
I still keep thinking about his walk off fifty three
yard bomb against the Packers a few days before Christmas.

Speaker 7 (01:03:27):
He's got it, And even against the Texans in Week
two of his rookie season, he was getting killed that
night and they were still on the field at the
end of the game, hoping for a long drive, a
hail Mary, all sorts of things, because even then I
think you could see what they would eventually see in him.
And then they were also correct and saying maybe we
should get rid of our head coach who's awful who

(01:03:47):
lasted one year in his next job, Matt Eberflus, who
was fired today by the Dallas Cowboys, and they got
an offensive guru, not just an offensive head coach. I
think it's fair to call Ben Johnson pretty good at
setting up an offense, calling an offense, recognizing his talent
in Jared Goff, and now recognizing his talent in Caleb Williams,
and they're in a really good spot. But I did
not realize how impactful Lovey Smith really was to both

(01:04:09):
of those two franchises.

Speaker 6 (01:04:11):
Are ring though.

Speaker 7 (01:04:12):
I don't know if he's gonna get a ring because
he might have called the plays or helped he was
in the defc he didn't call the offensive plays where
Davis Mills found the end zone and found Jordan Akens
and then he said, yeah, let's go ahead and go
for two. I'll give him credit for that, and then
Davis found Akins again for the two point conversion.

Speaker 6 (01:04:27):
To win the game. Stupid Akins.

Speaker 7 (01:04:29):
All right, Davis Mills in Week eighteen against the Colts
game winning drives.

Speaker 6 (01:04:33):
There's nothbody doins. Yeah, it's just it's old hat, all right.

Speaker 5 (01:04:37):
We will shelve the Texans legends comments on Demico for
the segment after this next one, because we're gonna switch gears.
A lot a lot has been said about the EMI
presser yesterday on this show. It's just been very Texans
and Rocket centric. But Chandler Ron with the Athletic, who
was at the press conference yesterday to introduce him, will
join us via the phone lines next the A team

(01:05:02):
on Sports Talk seven ninety Space City Home Network. As promised,
we are joined by Chandler Rome of the Athletic. Big
day for your Houston Astros yesterday. I guess it was
the news was already out of the bag. But the
introductory press conference, especially when translators involved, You know, this
is old hat for us here in Houston.

Speaker 6 (01:05:21):
WEX.

Speaker 5 (01:05:22):
This isn't the first time that we've done this kind
of thing, and Chandler probably knows that better than anyone.
After yesterday's press conference to introduce EMI, not e may Chandler,
how did it go down over at dike In Park yesterday?

Speaker 9 (01:05:37):
Well, em, I did get to watch em last night.
That was cool about it?

Speaker 7 (01:05:42):
Yeah, Well, he actually got to watch EM last night
after he watched Emy The Texans Kicker on Sunday, So
that is what they call him.

Speaker 13 (01:05:51):
I was about to say last night probably made up
for him having to watch Riley Leonard play against David Show.
So I'm happy he saw some like actual high quality
sporting events while he was in Houston. But yeah, it
was a I think he's endearing himself well to the
Houston fan base, to the city things like that. He

(01:06:11):
seems it's really hard in those settings to like really
get to know somebody just because of all the media there,
all the crush there, and like you don't really get
to talk to the guy. Really, it's it's hard to
like really get to know what they're about. But just
his mannerisms, the way he's you know, interacting with people

(01:06:31):
in the way that it just he seems like a
very genuine guy that has a really great personality. So
I thought it went well. It's really hard to butcher
one of those introductory press conferences, so.

Speaker 9 (01:06:43):
It went well.

Speaker 13 (01:06:45):
I think more importantly, what it showed and it really
kind of expressed, was that the this probably won't be
the last Japanese or Asian or or someone from the
Pacific room to come over and play for the Ashers.
That is a market that they really really want to
expand their footprint in and this was probably just the beginning.

Speaker 7 (01:07:05):
I know, it's kind of parsed right out of the gate,
and there's a lot of different ways to go with this.
But you know, what set of circumstances would have this
pitcher pitching for the Astros in twenty twenty seven under
the current deal.

Speaker 13 (01:07:20):
An injury or you know, maybe an injury shortened season,
or just honestly, maybe some of the risks that the
industry saw with him throughout this process, maybe some of
those risks turn out to be right. You know, there
are some teams that were doing their homework on Emi
that that thought he may have been a reliever, that
thought that there was a little bit of a reliever
risk there. There's some questions just how he's going to

(01:07:44):
transition from MPB to MLB. There's some questions about his fastball,
just kind of how he's able to play off of
his fastball, whether his fastball is a little more hittable
than others at the big league level, whether the secondary stuff,
whether or have to rely a lot on the second stuff.

Speaker 9 (01:08:00):
So there's a lot of.

Speaker 13 (01:08:01):
Unknowns with him, But make no mistake, if he pitches
to his capability, and I'm not even saying yes to
replicate his MPP numbers. If he pitches to his capability
and realizes that upside, yeah, this is a This is
like a ten month audition for that big deal that
he wasn't going to get on the market this time around.

Speaker 5 (01:08:19):
If he pitches to his capability, though, is this is
alone season as an Astro.

Speaker 13 (01:08:25):
I believe so yeah, because you know, it was funny,
like the way I described it and what I wrote
in the Athletic last night was like yesterday kind of
felt like a soft launch of the Astro's expansion into
Asia in the Pacific Rim because Jim Crane acknowledged like
they're beefing up scouting in all these places and they

(01:08:46):
want to enhance their their footprint there.

Speaker 9 (01:08:49):
But that had nothing to do with EMI signing.

Speaker 13 (01:08:52):
This was kind of more a byproduct of his market
didn't materialize the way they thought it would. You gotta
remember there were projections that I was going to get
somewhere from seven to eight years and one hundred and
eighty one hundred and ninety million dollars. Like I think
we all know that Jim Crane that that's just not
the sort of contract he's going to give out. When
that didn't manifest and they were willing to do a

(01:09:15):
contract that Jim and the Astros are far more amenable
to doing a shorter term deal with a high AAV.
They pounced on it. So I think the goal and
look he has Scott Boris is his agent. Scott Boris
invented these sort of contracts are called pillow contracts, and
usually it's for a guy coming off of an injury.
It's a guy that you know, you give him a

(01:09:37):
year deal to re establish his value and then get
him back into the market.

Speaker 9 (01:09:41):
That's what this deal is. It is a.

Speaker 13 (01:09:43):
Pillow contract that you know, if Emi pitches as well
as they think he can pitch, it's going to help
the twenty twenty six Astros, which is first and foremost
the goal for Jim Crane and Dana Brown, and it's
gonna help touch em. I get back into the market
and get that big deal that Scott always likes to
get for his clients.

Speaker 7 (01:10:01):
Chandlerome joining us here on the A team here on
Sports Talk seven to ninety in Space City, Home Network.
Beat writer for the Astros, covers Major League Baseball for
the athletic. You brought this up with us multiple times
in the last several months, and Dana Brown sounded like
he echoed the same thought. Likelihood is almost to guarantee
with their early schedule they'll be in a six man
rotation to start the season, just a couple of days

(01:10:22):
off over their first twenty some odd games and multiple
trips through the rotation.

Speaker 6 (01:10:26):
Would you anticipate.

Speaker 7 (01:10:28):
Emi and Burrows and who else among the four key
acquisitions Weiss and Pearson? Do you think two of them
are in the rotation when the year begins, three of
them one of them?

Speaker 13 (01:10:42):
Well, I think before we get into that, I think
it's important to note that the like the six man
rotation is probably going to happen before they signed em,
but now that they have touchs to you em. Remember
that MPB pitchers usually pitch on five days of rest,
which is different than in MLB, when you're usually in
a five man rotation early on four days of rest.
So not only do I think you'll see a six

(01:11:03):
man rotation to start the year just given the calendar,
but I think you'll see and Joe Spotty even said
it yesterday that you'll see a lot more of the
six man rotation this year just in general because of
EMI's what he's used to an MPB. But as far
as how they're going to open the season, you know,
I think there's four spots that are pretty much guaranteed.
And that's Hunter Brown, Christian Hobvier, that's Mike Burrows, and

(01:11:26):
that's Tatsuya Emi. Now, don't don't get all bent out
of shape about the order. The order does not matter.
I mean, Hunter Brown's gonna start an opening day, but
just the order does not matter. Then the other two
it's gonna be a competition in spring training. I think
it'll really be an open competition. You know, if you
go just by major league track record, you would look
at Lance mccullor's and you would look at Spencer Arraghetti

(01:11:48):
as having the leg up just in terms of they've
done it before, they've started at the big league level.
You have seen them be productive starting pitchers recent in
the in the not so distant past. But Ryan White
has an incentive laden contract based on innings pitched. He
threw one hundred and ninety innings and KBO last year,
like he is a starter, so he's gonna have a

(01:12:09):
competition to start. They're gonna stretch Nate piercing out, try
him as a starter. But I will say this, I
think because they're going to do a six man rotation
so often, it will be valuable to have, whether it's Weiss,
Pearson or aj Blueball, have long guys in the bullpen
that they can either use as piggyback starters or that

(01:12:30):
they can use in some sort of long relief role,
so they don't tax a bullpen that with a six
man rotation is going to be a man short.

Speaker 5 (01:12:38):
Chandler as always just an absolute wealth of information.

Speaker 6 (01:12:42):
We appreciate you taking the time.

Speaker 5 (01:12:43):
Hope you're enjoying your off season, and I'm sure we'll
be catching up very much, very quickly again soon seeing
us out Next month is February.

Speaker 9 (01:12:51):
Yep, all right, thanks guys, appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (01:12:52):
All right, Chandler Roam of the Athletic Here on Sports
Talks seven ninety we'll discuss what he had to say,
Plus we will get to a Texan's legends thoughts on
Dimico Ryans all of that coming up.

Speaker 6 (01:13:04):
Next the a t on Sports Talk sers So one
of the things.

Speaker 5 (01:13:12):
Chandler mentioned, and I had never heard that term before.
You may have in fact, you probably have the pillow contract.
Pillow contract that could be taken a lot of different ways. Uh, Like,
what's one way? Well, you've heard of the term pillow talk.
What's pillow talk? Pillow talk is how do I put
this delicoly where you talk about do you want to that?

Speaker 12 (01:13:32):
No?

Speaker 6 (01:13:33):
This is usually act Well maybe it was great, that's
part of it. Okay.

Speaker 5 (01:13:38):
Pillow talk is typically conversation exchanged after about whatever.

Speaker 7 (01:13:44):
But a pillow contract offers a soft landing. Yeah, doesn't
comfortable place?

Speaker 5 (01:13:51):
Doesn't the pillow contract sound suspiciously like the contract the
Red Sox gave Alex Bregman last season.

Speaker 7 (01:13:58):
As he was describing it, and I think everybody kind
of realized this the day that the news all broke
and Chandler was all over that as well, about the
contract that the astros a Scott Boris and his client
were agreeing to. Not to the crazy figure, but absolutely identical.
We don't have the means to sign you long term.
You're not gonna likely get the long term deal from

(01:14:18):
the team that you want to get it from, So
we're just gonna give you a nuts AAV for one
year or two or three if you so choose to
take less total guaranteed money, but massive for the individual
seasons you're accepting it for. And so they gave him
forty million for year one, and if you want it again,
you we'll do it for year two. If you want

(01:14:39):
it again, we'll do it for year three. And he
opted out after one year there in Boston. The Astros
are different player, different circumstances, but twenty three million dollars
AAV is more than both of the figures that Chandler
mentioned that he and his agent were hoping this off
season spending would get him, and then they realized it's

(01:14:59):
not gonna be anywhere near that kind of value. Seven years,
twenty three million a year, if that's where you want
to put it. A three year, sixty nine million dollar
deal or so for the Astros. Okay, so that's one
hundred and sixty one million. There was no one hundred
and sixty one guaranteed million dollars out there for him,
so instead he took sixty plus with Houston if he

(01:15:20):
wants it, and he can, again like Alex, take the
first year of the guarantee and then see what a
long term deal in year two could get him from
this team or some other.

Speaker 5 (01:15:30):
So that's a pillow contract. Then what was the career
of Jeff Blum who took a one year deal different
thirteen different seasons.

Speaker 7 (01:15:41):
Because the pillow contract also includes the option years at
exorbitant figures, there was no option year on a one
year I'm signing a one year deal. Emi did not
sign a one year deal unless he chooses to. There's
a player option.

Speaker 5 (01:15:55):
People will say the opposite, maybe as they talk about
a situation like that, you know how impressive that is.
You're on a one year deal every year for basically
a decade and a half, you legit are having to
keep proving yourself to be a major league talent. And
he did, like, never question at least that medal about

(01:16:19):
Jeff Plump. I don't know who would question any metal
about Jeff Flumm. He's a terrific human being, aside from being,
you know, a very good baseball player.

Speaker 7 (01:16:26):
But usually usually not an accident if you play professional
sports for fourteen fifteen years. He played fourteen years. Oh,
I I was shorting on I said professionally. He actually
played longer professionally because he was in the minors, but
major league baseball. He was a major League baseball player
for fourteen consecutive seasons.

Speaker 6 (01:16:48):
It's impressive. Not an accident. No, it's not a fluke.

Speaker 7 (01:16:51):
It's not an owner was nice to you and said,
okay here, and he earned a contract from multiple franchises.

Speaker 6 (01:16:58):
You know what's crazy?

Speaker 5 (01:16:59):
Multiple times you remember what his first season was doing
the Astros. I'll just we're just going to count the
Astros because that's where he's been full time and not
kind of in a transitionary or temporary role like he
was with Arizona, which is where he started his broadcasting career.

Speaker 7 (01:17:16):
He started in twelve correct. His last major league season
was with the Dbacks in twelve.

Speaker 5 (01:17:20):
So then, but in the middle of that season is
when he started doing TV work because they wanted to
work something out. I guess, as the story goes, I
don't have it exactly right. That means we're coming up
on we're not quite there. He's almost done Astros games
as long as he played. I feel super old suddenly
right now saying that. Well, while he was here in

(01:17:41):
Houston during both stops, I was in the clubhouse as well,
not as player, but was already covering the Astros. Had
been covering the Astros for quite a few years before
his first stop here in two thousand and two. Yeah,
the first just stop, I wasn't in there because I
started doing that kind of stuff in this business. Y
U late oh four, so the baseball side didn't start

(01:18:05):
until five, convenient time to start with the Astros coverage.
But yeah, his second go round, I don't remember him
in there, just for whatever reason. I mean, it wasn't
how many seasons did he play the second time here?

Speaker 6 (01:18:18):
Two?

Speaker 2 (01:18:19):
Three?

Speaker 5 (01:18:19):
Oh? It was three, okay, I just I was doing
TV then, but I just don't remember as much.

Speaker 6 (01:18:24):
So we were talking about this Pillow contract.

Speaker 7 (01:18:26):
Yeah, and the specific question you asked Chandler flat out
and odds are pretty good his answer will be correct.

Speaker 6 (01:18:31):
It's a one year deal. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:18:33):
If he and that's gonna stuck, that also likely means
twenty twenty six went well exactly for Houston. That's clearly
for him too. But if you're signing him to start
for you, whether you're in a five or six man rotation,
if he gives you twenty five twenty eight starts and
he wants to opt out because he thinks there's more
money for him elsewhere, then he probably pitched well enough

(01:18:54):
as your number two or your number three to that point,
behind Hunter Brown and whomever else to keep this a
Stro's team at the front side of the playoff picture
at the very least, if not the playoffs themselves.

Speaker 5 (01:19:05):
Fair to say, if he is opting out, his twenty
twenty sixth season was better than fromber Valdez's twenty twenty
sixth season, well, that's.

Speaker 6 (01:19:15):
A non debatable point.

Speaker 7 (01:19:16):
I think he could opt out with a far lesser
season if he pitches like Fromber did he's getting cy
young votes.

Speaker 5 (01:19:21):
Of course he's opting out. You're just assuming Frommer is
gonna be awesome this year. Oh oh, I didn't. I
wasn't listening correctly. Yeah, uh, I don't think he's gonna
outpitch Fromber personally. But it's just something to keep it.
We're all going to keep an eye on it. That's
all perfectly Well. You couldn't get Fromber to sign this deal,
could you?

Speaker 2 (01:19:39):
Have you heard lately?

Speaker 5 (01:19:40):
I can't say sign yet, by the way, but who
has no c and being no other though that's a
big long term deal.

Speaker 7 (01:19:49):
That was what seven years, right? So the pitching market
is a little undetermined.

Speaker 5 (01:19:53):
But what I'm talking about is I've seen reports where
Fromber's not like it's the doors cracked for him coming
back here.

Speaker 7 (01:20:03):
The door slammed shut this last week when they announced it,
and it was reported that they just signed Totsu.

Speaker 5 (01:20:11):
Because of this, Because of this, Yes, but prior to that,
I was reading reports, was like, it's not out of
the question he actually would return, and I would assume
it would have been a who's his agent?

Speaker 7 (01:20:22):
Well, he wouldn't. They wouldn't have given him. They would
have been a one year deal, flat out.

Speaker 6 (01:20:26):
That's what I'm saying. He's not Scott Boris.

Speaker 7 (01:20:27):
Could have been another air option, but then you would
be he would be forced to stay here things didn't
go well and they would not want that.

Speaker 6 (01:20:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:20:35):
I just thought that was incredible to read, even though,
like you said, I came here.

Speaker 7 (01:20:40):
YEA, if we're having the discussion about who's having a
better season in July, about Emi and Fromber, that would
be awesome because I think Frombert is gonna be just
great like he always has been.

Speaker 6 (01:20:51):
You know, if he doesn't get hurt.

Speaker 5 (01:20:52):
I think he will too, but it will be I mean,
it's gonna be the first time that he's ever pitched
anywhere else outside of this city them and when you combine.

Speaker 6 (01:21:02):
Look, I'm not gonna sit here.

Speaker 7 (01:21:04):
Saddled with having to throw to Seysar Salazar anymore.

Speaker 5 (01:21:07):
No one is saddled, and no one should be throwing
at his chest plate either.

Speaker 7 (01:21:12):
I mean, he's only tried to intentionally hit one catcher.
Why do we assume it was fromber fault? Because it's Fromber,
because it's Fromber's fault. Yeah, all right, Four o'clock hour
is straight ahead. We will get to not only that
Texan's legend talking about Demico Ryans, we'll get to Demiko
himself talking about this defense and our good buddy dan

(01:21:34):
Or Ofvlowski. I'm gonna fit it all into the next segment.
Four o'clock hour is underway. It's a Tuesday edition of
the A Team Halfway Home. As we take you up
until six o'clock tonight. We have a night cab, do
we not?

Speaker 6 (01:21:48):
Tonight?

Speaker 5 (01:21:49):
And the next night and then Astro's Astroline, I should say,
coming up on Thursday, which we'll have a little bit
of EMI and a lot of brand knew soonly minted
soon to be minted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent one
of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. J just kidding,
I'm sorry, dude, I like it makes me mad thinking

(01:22:11):
about what a jerk he was.

Speaker 7 (01:22:13):
I mean, I've dealt with some people that weren't the
most pleasant, and I still don't.

Speaker 6 (01:22:17):
Just think about that much disdained think about this.

Speaker 5 (01:22:19):
He was in the same clubhouse as Barry Bonds and
it was actually a contest.

Speaker 7 (01:22:24):
I mean, I don't know, we were never in that clubhouse.

Speaker 6 (01:22:27):
I heard things.

Speaker 7 (01:22:27):
I've heard things too, and it doesn't make me think
it was close.

Speaker 5 (01:22:31):
What was your favorite Jeff Kent non baseball career moment
when he was not washing his monster truck and told
his agent in the team that when he broke his
wrist because he was actually riding a motorcycle.

Speaker 6 (01:22:43):
Played pretty good baseball here he did that.

Speaker 5 (01:22:46):
Do you ever think about the fact that, even before
this run of Astros, just I feel like Jeff Kent's
walk off in that series against the Cardinals just doesn't
get as much oomph as even another.

Speaker 7 (01:22:58):
Miley had on his face. Can't you remember that I
couldn't see it because of the porn mustache. It's a mustache.

Speaker 5 (01:23:04):
It's that kind that's it's and there's two professions that
wear at that environment.

Speaker 7 (01:23:10):
Bill, like, I don't know a lot about the industry
to begin with the when or the now? Like any research,
I mean, I can. That's usually what I like to
do for the show to be prepared. I know the
show tomorrow is gonna come up today, So tune into
tomorrow's show.

Speaker 6 (01:23:24):
After I do some more research. So WEX is doing tonight? Like?

Speaker 8 (01:23:29):
Is that?

Speaker 6 (01:23:30):
Is that an old term? Probably outdated? If not?

Speaker 7 (01:23:34):
I think in the era you're thinking of where if
we weren't on TV, we'd be playing the ridiculous music
right now. To give you that image of the era
of cinema that you're talking about, it's not current, it's
not there's no such thing currently.

Speaker 5 (01:23:47):
Well like everything fashion and looks is all cyclical. Exactly,
do you feel like that industry is going to bring
back that look? I doubt it.

Speaker 7 (01:24:02):
No, it's definitely not as far as I know, But
I don't know until tomorrow after I do my research.

Speaker 5 (01:24:07):
Well, the fact that you're gonna A do that research
and then b you will be exclusively researching men show.

Speaker 7 (01:24:16):
When Clanton asks what I learned, my answer will be
I didn't do any research.

Speaker 8 (01:24:23):
Or not.

Speaker 6 (01:24:24):
Can we play some appropriate music during that segment?

Speaker 7 (01:24:27):
Well, then underneath me during the first hour, then right
when you ask me and I give that exact answer,
I bet you there's some a WEX.

Speaker 6 (01:24:34):
I don't know, man.

Speaker 7 (01:24:35):
There's no Rockets game tonight, there's no college football playoff game,
there's no NFL games.

Speaker 6 (01:24:39):
Did I talk again?

Speaker 7 (01:24:40):
Because they were off, So I don't know what you're yesterday,
you said, And we'll get to a couple of the
callers here in a minute, you I noted, and you said,
I'll save it for the show. You said, I told
you I watched something we've discussed here on the show
on Netflix? What did you watch?

Speaker 6 (01:24:55):
Holiday season?

Speaker 7 (01:24:58):
Having a bit of a viewing issue with the service
that I used in the house, so streaming services are
pretty much what I'm relegated to unless I want to
watch it on my phone or computer, which I watched
live sports the last couple of days and the days
moving forward, unfortunately, So Netflix was the option I went with.
And I said, huh, I remember some of the people

(01:25:19):
on our show, our host and our producer at the time,
talking about this relatively recently released movie, a sequel if
you will, And they said it was good and it
was funny, and so I watched it a sequel, a
sequel full of an unbelievable number of cameos.

Speaker 5 (01:25:38):
Oh, you watched the Happy Gilmore Happy Gilmore too, So
how do like a review? Well, how many times did
you watch the original? Roughly hundreds? Okay, so yes I would.
I'm definite sorry, JJ and Demico and Dan definitely won't
watch it again. Well, yeah it was mad.

Speaker 7 (01:25:55):
Oh it was bad, unfunny, uninteresting.

Speaker 5 (01:25:58):
I heard more than one person say that, like the
first thirty minutes were pretty good and then it just
drops off a.

Speaker 7 (01:26:03):
Click Like Sandler movies usually should be like eighty one minutes, Max,
that's a good wheelhouse and that's not a long movie.
That's a short movie. Yeah, we get it, cheap humor,
we got it. This one, I don't even know how
long it was, but it was like forever.

Speaker 5 (01:26:16):
So like how many minutes in where you were like,
well this was a bad decision, ten.

Speaker 7 (01:26:21):
Fifteen, less than one because there was like four thirty
in the morning.

Speaker 5 (01:26:25):
Well why even? Okay, Now here's the deal. If you're
starting anything, whether it wins an Academy or it's cabin Boy,
those are your parames.

Speaker 6 (01:26:35):
I'm still allowed to laugh out loud if it warranted it.
It didn't.

Speaker 5 (01:26:38):
But when you start anything that late, you're just taking early.
That's actually true.

Speaker 7 (01:26:44):
Up this that was gonna be I didn't go back
to sleep later in the day. Yeah, it's funny.

Speaker 5 (01:26:49):
This is when it happened, when it becomes early instead
of you've stayed up late. That's when you know you've
stayed up too long.

Speaker 6 (01:26:53):
Why are you up at four?

Speaker 7 (01:26:55):
Probably probably fell asleep at like ten thirty or something.

Speaker 6 (01:26:58):
I'm convinced.

Speaker 5 (01:26:59):
I used to think I was going to be like
a high strung heart attack victim, and that's how I
would just drop dead. But now I think it's going
to be like this slow burn because I just can't.
I'm forty five in less than a month.

Speaker 7 (01:27:10):
So yes, having a lot of cameos, sleek deprivation because
it was an awful movie.

Speaker 6 (01:27:16):
Well there goes that idea.

Speaker 7 (01:27:17):
I was gonna try to spoiler alert for anybody or
prevent you from watching it.

Speaker 6 (01:27:21):
Just man, was he at least good? He was.

Speaker 5 (01:27:26):
Old, you know, it's like his probably his most famous
role that or I was kidding. I don't know what's
for the ore Requiem for a Dream, which I've never
sat through but been told I need to see.

Speaker 6 (01:27:39):
All right, let's get to some Texans talk here. All right,
here's the deal.

Speaker 5 (01:27:42):
Demiko Ryan's very very fond of his defensive unit, which
is going to come in handy as we continue to
talk about it throughout this segment, whatever's left of it.
But this was Demico Ryans yesterday on his defense.

Speaker 14 (01:27:57):
A defense did a really nice job throughout the entire
year limiting points specifically, that's what makes you a good defense. Also,
you know, playing well in the passing passing game, but
we didn't end a year well defensively when it comes
to giving up explosive plays. Is really not good enough defensively.
So we got to do a much better job if

(01:28:20):
we want to advance and play longer in the playoffs,
got to play much better defense.

Speaker 9 (01:28:24):
So it didn't end how it should have.

Speaker 5 (01:28:27):
No, and I would agree with that because well, obviously
they came in second. The Seahawks are technically a better defense.

Speaker 7 (01:28:33):
Did you know the last play of the game against
the Colts prevented the Texans from giving up the most
yards they gave up in a game all year because
they lost eight yards on that play.

Speaker 6 (01:28:45):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 7 (01:28:46):
So they were at three sixty two before that last
stupid snap, and that was the most yards of the
Texans have given up in a game all season. And
they obviously gave up thirty points. And this was a
second or third or fourth game where there's a lot
of feelings about's not up to our state. Clearly, this
one really stood out because of how it backups were
in the second half too. Clearly that's a part of

(01:29:06):
no question at all sides. But they they didn't stop
him in the first half. They scored seventeen points in
the first half. They were throwing over the defense in
the first half. Granted also that was a backup, and.

Speaker 5 (01:29:16):
Trimon struggled trying to kind of filter this all throughout
yesterday's show, and it just didn't come up that much anyways.

Speaker 6 (01:29:22):
But I I hate Riley Leonard. I don't even know
why to not.

Speaker 7 (01:29:28):
Riley Leonard played about as well as any quarterback, especially
just throwing the football, because I can't dismiss the turnovers
that he was involved in, but he threw the football
against the Texans defense about as well as anybody.

Speaker 5 (01:29:40):
All he is, you know, he reminded me of, but
it sounds stupid saying it because he went on to
have a really good NFL career and now is a
very prominent broadcaster. Remember the first time Ryan Fitzpatrick got
loose against the team it was the Texans, and he
took him to overtime as a member of the Saint
Louis Rams.

Speaker 7 (01:29:58):
He'll probably end up with a better career than Leonard
just because of how long it went and how many
different teams utilized him, like the Texans as a starter,
but then really just the first half, he put the
ball where it was supposed to be a lot. He
wasn't under pressure a lot. Their offensive line did a
pretty good job. They couldn't run the ball at all.
The Texans weren't killing him in the run game. Jonathan
Taylor looked like he was He looked like he looked up.

Speaker 5 (01:30:21):
He looked like washed up Derrick Henry, which was on
display a lot of this year, by the way.

Speaker 7 (01:30:28):
So Dimiko, I think appropriately it assessed him. And this
week was no different. Like I said, in the last
couple of weeks, they just weren't playing. They were still
creating turnovers and they ended up having two before the
final third turnover on the last play, and they did
the things that you could overcome bad days overall if
you make a couple of key plays, and they made them.
They forced the ball into their hands, they gave their

(01:30:50):
offense the ball at the two yard line, They obviously
scored on the final play, and you overcome some of
the issues that you had.

Speaker 5 (01:30:55):
Check out what Dan Orlovsky had to say about that
very same defensive unit. This is Dan, but he's been
super complimentary of the Texans this year.

Speaker 15 (01:31:03):
Worked well for Pittsburgh last night, two hundred and eighteen
yards after the catch that they have not work against
this Houston defense. That's been the trademark of this Steelers
offense this year. Us kind of mundane as it's been,
or average as it's been. It's get the ball in
play Baker's hands and let them have to be kind
of special in space. And it won in many ways
them the game last night. This defense in Houston does.

Speaker 6 (01:31:27):
Not get that out and so not.

Speaker 2 (01:31:31):
That you got to block.

Speaker 15 (01:31:32):
Them, it's like then you got to get the ball
out to people, and those people have to make the
people that are really good at tackling be bad.

Speaker 6 (01:31:39):
At the other It's true the yards after the catch.

Speaker 5 (01:31:42):
That doesn't happen against the Texans, and well, although it
did with Riley Leonard, because I mean things, he.

Speaker 7 (01:31:48):
Got yards after the catch from Alec Pierce on the
first throw because there wasn't anybody within twenty He almost
fell over after he caught it. He had to stumble
to stay on his feet, and then he just waltzed
into the end zone for the few remaining yards that
were left. But the general thought on that is they've
been sure tacklers, and there were times a year this year,
even in the Raiders game was just relatively recent where

(01:32:08):
they weren't as sure of tacklers.

Speaker 6 (01:32:09):
They were very good at it against the.

Speaker 7 (01:32:11):
Colts, even with what they gave up, and they've been
good at most of the year after the first couple
of weeks of the season, and it wasn't the reason
they lost those first three games necessarily, but they weren't
nearly as sharp, even though this is right after they
got to practice it, because remember they've gone about eighteen
weeks like every NFL team, without really practicing tackling. They
actually run a bunch of tackling drills while we're out

(01:32:32):
of practice where they're crushing the dummy or crushing the sled,
which prior to this year, I don't remember too many
teams doing that. While we're out there, they may still
do it, but I just hadn't seen a whole lot
of them because they can't hit each other in the
way that they did during training camp and there are
no joint practices during the year. You would think some
of your tackling technique skills would be honed a little
bit better earlier in the year, but I think Texans

(01:32:53):
actually had pockets where it wasn't and then at the
end of the year, despite some of them not being
some of their defensive games not being ill. I do
think that's one thing they did well, and I think
Dan's right, that's one thing they will do well. There
are some shifty players not feeling but between DK Metcalf,
Calvin Austin, Kenneth Gainwell that their defense needs to be
sure tacklers against Come Monday night, we will hear from

(01:33:16):
that Texans legend when we come back.

Speaker 1 (01:33:21):
The Texans and Steelers coming up on Monday night finale
of the first weekend of playoff football for the twenty
twenty five regular season, and of course, as is the case.

Speaker 5 (01:33:34):
Every year, everything bleeds on over into the new year.
But look, you've heard from dan Orlowski and specifically about
the yards after the catch and how you don't usually
get that against this Texans team. You've heard from Demiko himself,
even though in so doing he said we should have
played better in that game overall, not just the second
half when backups were in. But I posed the question

(01:33:57):
earlier and we kind of answered it. It is tonguean shink
the answer you, Demiko. Ryan's probably already the best coach
in Texas history. If you want to argue Gary Kubiak,
because I guess he went to more postseasons so far
than Dimico has. What he did, I'm not sure honestly
when I say it, I can tell you in one

(01:34:18):
way he didn't. Well, he went to more. He went
to the postseason more years. Yeah, I was also here
more years. Did he go every year he had a
chance to? No, Demiko did so far. Yeah, every year
he's been the head coach, they've been on the playoffs.
He's at one hundred percent right now. I would rate
that it's better than anything Gary. Also, no two win
seasons like Gary correct which he survived barely don't don't

(01:34:43):
do it?

Speaker 6 (01:34:44):
Well, he actually didn't. Actually, you're right. That season is
when he got.

Speaker 7 (01:34:48):
Like very Wade Phillips games at the end of the year.
Eleventh loss was too in a row, was too much
for the ownership to take well, So.

Speaker 6 (01:34:59):
He didn't even last as as long as Pete Carroll.

Speaker 7 (01:35:01):
Gary Kubiak did make the playoffs more times. Yes, he
did not coach this team in more games in the playoffs. Really,
he has four playoff games, they won two and they
lost too.

Speaker 5 (01:35:18):
And as of Monday night, Dimiko will surpass him with
his fifth playoff game, and if he wins, he will
become the all time winning his postseason coach in team history. Right,
which is weird because Gary coached Demiko. It's not really weird,
it's just how it happened.

Speaker 7 (01:35:34):
Yeah, I mean, there's really nothing. There's no debate, there's
no discussion, there's nothing to talk about. Gary Kubiak was
a really good coach and he got the team to
the playoffs a couple of times. Bill O'Brien won more
than half of his games, which Gary did not do,
and got into the playoffs a bunch of times. And
this guy's way better.

Speaker 5 (01:35:52):
So you think Gary Kubiak is the third best coach
in franchise history?

Speaker 6 (01:35:55):
Is what you just said.

Speaker 7 (01:35:57):
I've had this discussion with you before, or you could
easily arc I think you could easily argue that Bill
O'Brien was a better head football coach of the Texans
than Gary was. But he had such a huge impact
on the team in such an insanely negative way. For
the power he obtained, and then the subsequent moves that
were made, you.

Speaker 6 (01:36:16):
Just can't trade DeAndre Hopins.

Speaker 7 (01:36:17):
Hard to separate the two, but it's not even It's
just every where this organization went, people point to the
DeAndre Hopkins trade first almost every time. And I still
think there were other moves that were honest, honestly, truthfully
that were worse because I think you can still win
games without DeAndre Hopkins. I think you can still play
good offensive football without DeAndre Hopkins. But the manner in

(01:36:41):
which they went about their pursuit and acquisition of Laramie
Tunstall was an embarrassment. The manner in which they dealt
with Jadevian Clowney a similar embarrassment. It's like not knowing
how to run an NFL team, and that bothers me
more than making bad decisions, they just really didn't know
what they were doing well.

Speaker 5 (01:36:58):
Jackieuster Bey was also involved with That was the McNair's fault,
not Bill.

Speaker 6 (01:37:02):
You drafted him.

Speaker 7 (01:37:03):
You have something, you have some leverage with how that
contract is got, you should use it and not to
the detriment of the player. Maybe it works out for
both sides. They may made it so it was detrimental
for the team. How they handled both of those deals.
Laramie Tunsell could basically ask for whatever he wanted because
they threw everything at Miami, who said absolutely and didn't

(01:37:25):
rework the deal, didn't sign him long term, and somehow
they found a way to unseat their own leverage in
a franchise tag year for Jdavian Clowney and ultimately moved
on from him in what clearly even that day we
knew was a bad trade on top of it. So
it's just a series of very bad decisions, and the
culture that was now being created there was one of

(01:37:48):
total distrust. Like I say this most of the time
when it comes up to remind people whether it doesn't
have to deal with whether you like or dislike Deshaun
Watson but Deshaun Watson's disdain for the organization was not
with Bill O'Brien, who traded DeAndre Hopkins. He wanted to
play for Bill. He liked playing for Bill. He would
have been happy to continue four right. It was, that,

(01:38:11):
wasn't it? But the culture was partly on Bill, and
the culture was obviously on Cal and easter Be and
everybody else that helped foster what it turned into. And
that's where the distrust came from. I don't know that
he ever would have played for this team again anyway,
if he'd never sat out a year, Who knows, because
of all the other things that you know, came to
be a part of his Houston football story.

Speaker 6 (01:38:31):
The interview was Houston football.

Speaker 7 (01:38:32):
Story, big of an organizational cancer for sure. So all right, yah,
Demiko Ryans Is. They've played fifty one games, three seventeen
game seasons. They've won ten, ten and twelve. They've gone
to the playoffs as a ten win division winner twice.
They've gone to the playoffs as a twelve win wild
card winner this year and the twelve win season. I
guess you could strike him for it a little. It

(01:38:54):
took him till the seventeenth game to get it. But
they've only had one other twelve win season in franchise history.

Speaker 6 (01:38:59):
He got one of them.

Speaker 7 (01:39:00):
They only have one other nine game winning streak in
franchise history.

Speaker 6 (01:39:03):
He's got that one too.

Speaker 7 (01:39:04):
I mean, yeah, I don't think it's debatable even he's
he's surpassed what they've done, and he sits level with
them on playoff wins.

Speaker 5 (01:39:12):
And a guy who would know about everything we're talking
about because he lived it as a member of the organization.

Speaker 7 (01:39:18):
He got a head nod for me this past weekend.

Speaker 5 (01:39:22):
Did you when he posted the picture of the stadium?
Did you do what everybody else did?

Speaker 6 (01:39:26):
No, because I don't come.

Speaker 7 (01:39:28):
I don't play that game like I probably should on
social media.

Speaker 6 (01:39:31):
Oh my god, I've all emoji.

Speaker 7 (01:39:33):
We we've I don't think it's happened a lot this
year with Tamiko, but clearly it happened a lot in
the early stages of JJ's retirement and Tomiko's time as
a head coach. Do you think he should would you
reach out? Has he reached out to you? What do
you think he could give you?

Speaker 5 (01:39:45):
You do watch him on TV every week and realize
he's half the size he was when he played, but
when he's badgered by Pat on his show Weekly about
coming back, which he still was this year, he says,
I don't want to pry.

Speaker 7 (01:40:00):
I can't practice. I'm not in that kind of shape.
There's no way I'd make it to game day. You
need me for twenty pass rush snaps.

Speaker 6 (01:40:07):
I can give you that.

Speaker 5 (01:40:08):
And as funny as it is win pack, Pat McAfee
badgers him on camera, it's way funnier when Shane Gillis
does it.

Speaker 11 (01:40:14):
GG way.

Speaker 6 (01:40:17):
All right.

Speaker 5 (01:40:17):
So jj Watt obviously has thoughts on one Dimico ryans
he's biased as they did.

Speaker 6 (01:40:23):
Did they play together for one year? Yeah?

Speaker 5 (01:40:25):
Yeah, But I just he was a huge fan, clearly,
And if you don't believe me, listen to him.

Speaker 16 (01:40:32):
Three years ago, they were in a place where it
was not good down here in Houston, and they needed
somebody to write the ship and set the culture of
the organization and put it in the right direction. And
Tamiko Ryan's having played here understanding what this place needs
to be to be successful, has done that and then
some three years, three playoff appearances, ten plus wins, and
he's been able to do it successfully over and over again,

(01:40:53):
even after an oen three start this year. Just who
he is and the way he leads this organization so stable,
the same guy every day in such a good football
coach that these guys are getting the most out of
them thanks to their head coach.

Speaker 7 (01:41:06):
It is kind of fitting that he has that vibe
for it and understands it. We've heard many people say this,
and this is why this year's Coach of the Year
race is wild because you have to consider the first
year coaches that flipped their teams around. Ben Johnson in
Chicago and Mike Rabel and New England. Clearly, like the
teams were last place teams, the roster didn't have a

(01:41:27):
complete turnover. Guess who was the starting quarterback last year
was for both teams the same guy.

Speaker 6 (01:41:32):
There's some turnover.

Speaker 7 (01:41:34):
But a four and thirteen team just won thirteen games,
a five win team from a year ago just one
to eleven games and a division title both of them.
They have to be close to her at the top
of the list. But you got Liam Cohen, first year
coaching Jacksonville. They won thirteen games this year. He did
an incredible job this team's season. If I told you
Demiko Ryans took this team to go twelve and five,

(01:41:56):
you wouldn't even immediately say, well, man, he should be
in the Coach of the Year voting. They finished with
the fourth best record in the AFC. Well, what if
I said they went twelve and five after starting on
to three? What are coaches supposed to do? Fix things?
Make things better?

Speaker 6 (01:42:10):
Geg? Adjustments in season?

Speaker 7 (01:42:11):
Coach right, improve Like the team's better today than they
were then, clearly by record. But I also think you
can see them playing better football each week. They're finishing
the games off where they're in front, where they're winning
games defensively when.

Speaker 6 (01:42:24):
They need to. He didn't.

Speaker 7 (01:42:26):
He did easily his best coaching job this year, just
here in the last three years.

Speaker 6 (01:42:31):
Easily.

Speaker 5 (01:42:31):
This was to be the best way to have done
what he did in twenty twenty three, given the same things.
The fired Kevin Stefanski, that guy, the unemployed Kevin Stefanski,
who is the coach of the year.

Speaker 7 (01:42:41):
You voter, suck. Sometimes you're going to get at least
two head coaching interviews. It looks like the Giants are
one of the teams that are interested in Brameryman. I'd
have to look and see if his name was mentioned there.
I think that's another one.

Speaker 6 (01:42:54):
Are though I just to.

Speaker 5 (01:42:55):
Be entertaining hiring a female head coach? Or am I
crazy that I read that somewhere?

Speaker 7 (01:43:01):
I definitely want to know more about that.

Speaker 6 (01:43:03):
I'm gonna google it.

Speaker 7 (01:43:04):
I just posted this because i'd seen Bert Breer mention
his name one of the hot We know some of
the names in the coaching carousel this year, but I
think the hottest name will actually be Kubiak. I think
Clint Kubiak will be the most sought after interview and
possibly the most sought after head coaching higher this coaching cycle,
even with no head coaching experience. And I put this

(01:43:26):
together just a minute ago. I mean, I don't know
if it plays out this way, but if you're Kubiak,
would you entertain getting hired by Brady putting on the
silver and black drafting Mendoza and there's your head coaching career.
That all sounds good until you realize you've got six
games every year against Mahomes, Nixon, Herbert. All three teams
were probably better than you buy a good amount when

(01:43:49):
you get started.

Speaker 6 (01:43:50):
You're assuming Mahomes comes back one hundred percent healthy.

Speaker 7 (01:43:52):
I'm assuming the Raiders will not outplay the Kansas City
Chiefs in twenty twenty six and Clint Kubiak's first season
as head coach of the Raiders. Should he choose to
accept that assignment, he will be interviewed by the Raiders
and others. I believe he's also still coaching the number
one seed in the NFLO.

Speaker 9 (01:44:09):
What are you talking about?

Speaker 6 (01:44:11):
On a Tuesday?

Speaker 11 (01:44:12):
Say what?

Speaker 6 (01:44:13):
Odin? I tell you?

Speaker 11 (01:44:15):
Now?

Speaker 14 (01:44:16):
Say what.

Speaker 7 (01:44:18):
Signats to segment time. It is Tuesday.

Speaker 6 (01:44:20):
That means we with say what.

Speaker 7 (01:44:22):
As a segment began, and decided to flip our monitor
over to the NFL network so I could watch Steelers
Ravens so I could watch the last game with John
Harbaugh as Raven's head coach.

Speaker 6 (01:44:35):
Say what?

Speaker 7 (01:44:36):
After eighteen seasons, there's a new head coach headed to Baltimore.
I don't know who's going to be, but they fired
John Harbaugh. There's a one hundred percent chance he would
not have been fired Tuesday, January sixth if Tyler Loop
made his field goal at the end of their last
game on Sunday night, I don't know if they maybe

(01:44:57):
would have fired him sometime after their seed and ended,
because they would have made the playoffs and they would
be hosting the Texans on Monday night Football is coming
week had he made that kick, which then would have
given them an opportunity to win a home game in
the playoffs and advance into the Final Four for the
third consecutive season. But that didn't happen, and with the
second worst season in his coaching career, an eight and

(01:45:22):
nine season ties for the second worst season of John
Harbaugh's Baltimore head coaching career, the only place he's ever
been head coach for, he is out. They finished second
in the division. Because of that loss, they had won
back to back division titles, they had won six division
titles during his run. They obviously won the second of
the franchises to Super Bowls with him as head coach,

(01:45:46):
and they'd been in the playoffs very consistently with Lamar
Jackson as John Harbaughs head coach. When he was injured
for all or part of some of those seasons, they
struggled to get to the postseason. If he had a
healthy life, Tamar Jackson, they went to the playoffs and
won a lot of football games. Brings into question what
their overall future holds, and it definitely brings into question

(01:46:08):
well what is it that they want to be as
a football team. They've changed ocs during his run there.
They've obviously changed DC's over his run there. They've run
the ball incredibly well as he's been there. But this
is the first time with Lamar Jackson under contract, very
significant overall, Maybe sweeping changes could be made or is

(01:46:29):
his future there also in doubt.

Speaker 5 (01:46:32):
You have to ask that question. If for no other reason,
then look at twenty twenty six. John Harbaugh's not coming
back to coach. Dereck Henry is another year older. He
almost led the league in rushing this year, I know,
and he was awful during the middle of the year
and then he was hurt. Well, Lamar was hurt more

(01:46:52):
so that's another thing about this. Lamar wasn't great when
he did play at times, but he didn't play a
big chunk of this.

Speaker 7 (01:47:00):
He wasn't himself. Yeah, he actually threw the ball well
again this year. He just wasn't running all over the
place like we're used to.

Speaker 5 (01:47:07):
And I get that even when they have been good,
their playoff success wasn't what you wanted it to be
in light of the fact that you had the league MVP.

Speaker 6 (01:47:15):
Well. Same in Buffalo. That happened with Josh Allen, the
same but different.

Speaker 7 (01:47:19):
The difference is Josh Allen has been insanely awesome individually
in the playoffs and Lamar hasn't.

Speaker 5 (01:47:26):
Yeah, and that's John Harbaugh's fault, exactly. It's not John
Harbas's fault at all. Somebody's gonna get a really good
head coach and Baltimore is going to start to suck.

Speaker 6 (01:47:34):
That's my prediction.

Speaker 7 (01:47:35):
Okay, So that makes seven two teams for their coach
during the season, the Titans and the Bengals.

Speaker 5 (01:47:41):
And he's immediately the best coach available right now. And
is this the best job available Baltimore? No, what's the
best job available? Well, you get to coach Lamar Jackson.
Now tell me what else.

Speaker 6 (01:47:54):
I mean.

Speaker 5 (01:47:54):
I know you have Zay Flowers, I know Dereck Henry
led the league in rushing nearly and all that.

Speaker 7 (01:47:58):
But like Kyle Hamilton, like he's he's an absolutely, he's
one of the eleven most important I'm positioned by a position,
he's probably the most important safety in the NFL. When
he's out there, he's more important. So no offense to
Jalen barely. I mean, they play a totally different position
despite both having an s before they're well.

Speaker 5 (01:48:16):
Look, in all honesty, I mean, I don't know who
is going to scoop him up. I don't know if
he'll be scooped up. I don't know if he's scoop
upable because he might want to have a break after
eighteen years. Keep this other part of it in mind.

Speaker 7 (01:48:29):
Each of the other coaching jobs, and almost I think
all of the other significant coaching candidates. So what offense are?
What is your offense?

Speaker 6 (01:48:40):
Oh?

Speaker 7 (01:48:40):
I'm sorry, your DC. I should have known that it
is your defense that you're bringing here. You aren't asking
John that he's not an OC, He's not a DC.
He's a good head coach. He became their head coach
after being a special teams coordinator. Obviously he has plenty
of knowledge about both sides of the football.

Speaker 6 (01:48:55):
I'm not saying that.

Speaker 7 (01:48:56):
But he'll have an idea of what he wants to
do defensively, and he will hire an offensive coordinator who
calls plays, and he will hire a defensive coordinator who
calls plays. It'll be their respective units.

Speaker 5 (01:49:09):
If well, I say this, their coaching situation is I
guess steadied relative to others if there was ever a
time that Jerry Jones wanted to make a good coaching
hire for an actual head coach, not a coordinator, and

(01:49:29):
somebody who has the backbone to deal with him. It's
probably gonna happen in a couple of years when John
Harbaugh comes back to coaching, because I think he's going
to take some time off, and that's about the time
that the Dallas Cowboys will be on their latest version
of Oh yeah, I get another head coach because things
aren't going well.

Speaker 7 (01:49:44):
But yeah, I think Brian Schottenheimer. Actually, I mean I
was very critical of the hire. I had to question
why has he been a coordinator for so long, has
been on a handful of interviews, he's never landed the
head coaching job. There's probably a reason, and you just decided, well,
here's our guy, And I just didn't think it made
a whole lot. I think he did a perfectly fine job.
I recognize they were bad at football. I think it's

(01:50:05):
personnel related, and I think it was coordinator related. I
think Matt Eberfliss is going to have a hard time
getting another gig after how poorly they played. Granted, Jerry said,
I can't wait to have you as DC, and in
a couple months, I'm going to trade Micah Parson's away,
so you're not going to get to use him. And
it definitely showed. He then made some adjustments by some
of the players. They then traded four defensively, added two

(01:50:27):
defensive tackles that were very good and Williams and Clark.

Speaker 6 (01:50:30):
Clark was one of the pieces of that deal. But
I don't.

Speaker 7 (01:50:34):
Think that Brian Schottenheimer is designated to or destined to
fail as Cowboys head coach. I think other changes will
be made first. Because now they've had repeat disappointing records
with DAK and CD and some of the other pieces
in place, maybe you're a little closer to starting to say, well,
maybe overall we're doing things differently. And at some point

(01:50:57):
I tried to watch the Jerry Jonestock also during the holidays.

Speaker 6 (01:51:01):
I could not do it.

Speaker 5 (01:51:02):
It was it was difficult. It took so long to
get into it. It was very well done, yeah, but
it was too long. There's a lot of production value
versus substance. Even if you're the biggest diehard Cowboys fan,
you probably don't want to watch it because it has
so much Jerry.

Speaker 7 (01:51:14):
What I was getting to is is at some point
he is going to step away from some of the
all of the responsibilities.

Speaker 5 (01:51:21):
The difference, the biggest difference between these two situations as
it stands right now, John Harbaugh leaving the Ravens organization,
where he had one of the best personnel men for
the majority of his tenure in the history of the league.
In Ozzie Newsom, you go to Dallas and you've got
Jerry running the show.

Speaker 6 (01:51:40):
No, no, no, no no.

Speaker 7 (01:51:41):
I don't see Harball landing there at any point in time.
And I think chat Enneimer's got a little bit of
time there too. But I brought up the question to you,
and I just think there's not even it's not even
remotely close. The Ravens job is by far the best
job you can win immediately you're playing in a mediocre division.
I think their structure of how they've built their personnel,
site things and to costa that I don't think.

Speaker 6 (01:52:01):
So this is just change of pace for them. It's
just time to move on. Yeah, I can see that,
You're right.

Speaker 5 (01:52:07):
I mean, who goes there next is going to be
as fascinating as where John Harbaugh lands next. By the way,
he's the best harball coach in his family. That's where
NFL wins in a Super Bowl. He's also like way
more likable to talk to. Not that that matters, It
probably doesn't, but that's very, very, very big news, the

(01:52:27):
biggest of the latest coaching carousel. I guess we're going
to be continuing to react to this in the next segment.

Speaker 4 (01:52:38):
The eight.

Speaker 5 (01:52:39):
The odds are John Harbaugh does not coach this upcoming season, right.

Speaker 6 (01:52:44):
Totally speculative.

Speaker 7 (01:52:45):
Who knows, But what you just talked about me the
jobs that are available, yeah, you could easily. You're he's
in a position to pick and choose because good teams
do have openings. This is evidence is a good football
team if you wanted to fix it, they just don't.
There aren't any other currentem good teams that have an opening.

Speaker 5 (01:53:06):
If you wanted to fix everything as quickly as possible,
and you had, you know, one of the best venues
available and the location and an ownership that would love
nothing more than to return to glory, it's the Raiders.

Speaker 6 (01:53:21):
Oh, by the way, Brady's involved.

Speaker 7 (01:53:23):
It's an interesting spot because the respect that you have
for Brady and you have the number one pick of
the draft too, you do, and maybe you have a
draft pick a little bit like cam Ward this year.
I don't think he's some overwhelming prospect Mendoza, but he's
probably worth a number one pick at quarterback because he
plays quarterback. And so I do think Mendoz is going
to be the number one pick. I do think the

(01:53:44):
Raiders are going to make it and take him. They
have one of the league's biggest game wreckers in Max Crosby,
and uh, he's gonna figure out what he needs to
do with his knee this offseason. That was a very
unsettling situation for Raiders fans to try to They'd love
to win with Mex Crosby on their team, and they
don't know if they're going to because of how poorly
they have played. But you're just starting from ground zero,

(01:54:07):
like not a talented team, and you're putting all your
faith in Brady and Brady's guy. The GM there is
Brady's guy. Brady is part of the decision making Group,
which he was also a part of this last go round.
He was He and his group were so bad the
first time they had a chance to hire their staff,

(01:54:27):
they fired them all after one year. They were so
bad at choosing a head coach in oc et cetera.
They fired them after one year. Their decision was that bad,
so you'd be trusting them. And the same thing I
brought up with Kobia a couple segments ago. Great John Harball,
he's gonna make it great? How's he going to make
the Raiders better than the Chargers, Broncos and Chiefs? And when,

(01:54:50):
like Mahomes is it still seven eight years of excellent
football at a bare minimum, justin Herbert's on the front
side of his career. Bo Nix is year two, and
Sean Payton is coaching one of those teams. Jim Harbaugh
is coaching another one of those teams. Andy Reid is
coaching the other team. John Harbaugh takes the job in

(01:55:10):
the end in the AFC West for the Raiders. He's
he the worst coach in the division. I mean, I
don't even you don't need to answer. That's just the
point of what he would be or any coach would
be walking into. And things changed quickly.

Speaker 5 (01:55:24):
We saw two last place teams finished first this year,
and all the division winners did not repeat this year
except for Philadelphia, So it's not impossible but that's a
pretty long way to go. The Raiders are They're very
deserving of the number one pick. Even though four other
teams won three games, they earned it. They have earned it,
and the Jets could make a case for it. But

(01:55:44):
it's not a very good place to be. Could you
be the reason why it gets turned around?

Speaker 6 (01:55:48):
Sure, that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 7 (01:55:50):
He didn't really like do you think he had to
turn around the Ravens Like? Were they in a bad spot?
Did he take over there? Well, he's been there eighteen years.
He took over for coach Billick, who during his run
won a Super Bowl.

Speaker 5 (01:56:03):
I forgot that Billock was the head coach when they
did that. Billick, the offensive minded head coach with the
greatest defense of our generation and friend of the show
and friend of the show.

Speaker 6 (01:56:15):
He's been on with us several times.

Speaker 7 (01:56:17):
They were thirteen and three in Billick's second to last year,
then they went five to eleven, fired him, and John
Harbaugh came in and they've been winning ever since. The
franchise was in perfectly good shape. They didn't have all
the answers, but they then drafted Joe Flacco, who.

Speaker 6 (01:56:33):
He won a freaking Super Bowl. With I.

Speaker 7 (01:56:38):
I mean, it's eighteen years is a long time? Is
It's this very similar situation. That's why this game And
I already saw a meme of the field goal kick.
It was a screenshot of the uprights and the two
sides that the outside left and the outside right, and
obviously right down the middle on the left side outside
a miss, it says harbaughfie on the outside right again,

(01:57:01):
what would be a miss? It says Harbaugh fired? And
right down the middle it says Tomlin fired. Well, if
the ball goes through the middle, is Tomlin out in Pittsburgh?

Speaker 6 (01:57:10):
Did he decide to leave?

Speaker 7 (01:57:11):
Or do they move on from him and just say
what we're saying about Harbaugh? Maybe they just feel like
it's time.

Speaker 5 (01:57:16):
It is interesting that that probably is the case in
those two scenarios.

Speaker 7 (01:57:21):
We said it about Tomlin, and I'm saying it now
today about Harbaugh. I think there's nothing wrong with the
way that they coach their football team. If you believe
it's just time, which Pittsburgh has never done, then go
right ahead. I just don't think there's much merit to
saying we need to make change because this isn't working.
And that's what they're saying to a certain extent in
Baltimore and what they would have been saying if Mike

(01:57:43):
Tomlin was asked to leave in Pittsburgh, and it's just
not what's happening there. He's been in a terrible quarterback situation.
The Ravens haven't. They've been in an uneasy quarterback situation
because of the way that their negotiations went a couple
of years ago. For the injuries that he has suffered.
He's it's going to be an injury prone quarterback because
of the way he plays. He takes so many more hits.

(01:58:05):
It is a miracle. And I know the consecutive game
streak will mean a lot to people with Josh Allen,
but it's kind of fake because he should have and
basically did, sit out two games at the end of
the season. But he plays the way Lamar does. He's
built a little bit differently. He's a little bit bigger
than or maybe some would say a lot.

Speaker 6 (01:58:23):
Bigger than Lamar.

Speaker 7 (01:58:25):
But he gets hit all the time too. He never
miss his games. I don't know if there's a specific
reason for Lamar's injury as it relates to comparing those two.
I mean, maybe it's just pure size. It's a dangerous
way to play quarterback. But he's so good you don't
want to ever stifle him because it's why they're great.
And I wonder if the next head coach would have

(01:58:46):
to consider that. We talked about it with and at
some point it was gonna come up. I'll save it
for football at five completely, But what do you do
with a quarterback like that? Shane Steiken comes in in Indianapolis.
It's one of the things I talked about. You know,
Anthony Richardson can succeed running the football. It's a guarantee

(01:59:06):
when you're inside the three yard line. Why would you
ever pass it. Nobody's gonna stop this guy.

Speaker 6 (01:59:11):
Just run the ball.

Speaker 7 (01:59:11):
You can run a push push, you can run him outside.
He's a linebacker, he's Cam Newton. Well, resistance bands would
stop him. But you're risking his career, You're risking injury.
It's it's a great football play in the moment.

Speaker 5 (01:59:24):
And every time he gets hit, even though nobody stopped him,
his injury stops him right.

Speaker 7 (01:59:29):
And so to a certain set, you have to think
about that RG three same way with Shanahan. I thought
the Shanahan's did a miserable job with RG three, like
they put him in harm's way. I don't think the
rae evens have put Lamar in harm's way. They're just
taking advantage of his skills and unfortunately a few times
he's been hurt.

Speaker 6 (01:59:46):
Yeah, I is, it's gonna be fascinating to watch.

Speaker 5 (01:59:48):
Like I said, the betting odds say, he doesn't even
he's got burnout.

Speaker 6 (01:59:53):
He needs.

Speaker 5 (01:59:54):
I mean, you see this all the time. Belichick even
did it. He took a year off to roast Tom
Brady other act activities.

Speaker 7 (02:00:01):
He took a year off because he interviewed for jobs
and they said.

Speaker 5 (02:00:04):
Nah, would the Falcons be better off right now?

Speaker 6 (02:00:09):
I don't think so. Well, they're not in a great spot.

Speaker 7 (02:00:11):
They fired both their GM and their head coach, and
I think their head coach was a product of their
poor GMing. And I think Rahim Morris got fired because
of it. I don't think I said yesterday, I don't
think he deserved to be fired at all.

Speaker 6 (02:00:23):
What's he supposed to do?

Speaker 7 (02:00:24):
You gave me a guy that's being paid one hundred
and sixty million for no reason, and then in the
same offseason they did his contra drafted a guy that
shouldn't have been drafted number eight overall with miserable injury history.
Guess what happened? The guy's not where the one hundred
and sixty million isn't good enough to win with, and
the guy who has injury history is hurt.

Speaker 6 (02:00:43):
I was supposed to win. They did tie for the
division lead.

Speaker 5 (02:00:47):
They did, by the way, in addition to what we
already promised will happen in Football at five.

Speaker 6 (02:00:53):
A way too early.

Speaker 5 (02:00:55):
Look at how they're screwing up the Texans first round
draft pick.

Speaker 6 (02:00:58):
That's right on January sixth.

Speaker 5 (02:01:00):
Next they these people were going to discuss what they're
screwing up in the Texans first round projected picks.

Speaker 6 (02:01:09):
Not even the right side of the ball.

Speaker 5 (02:01:13):
The eight this hour always on football Football at five
WETSAC and Josh here with you. Plenty of discussion about
the NFL, of course, throughout the day, getting set for
the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs wild Card weekend.
Two games Saturday, three games Sunday, and of course Texans
and Steelers coming up on Monday Night Football. The team
the Steelers beat on Sunday Night Football this past weekend

(02:01:37):
was just told to no longer come to work.

Speaker 7 (02:01:39):
That's Jim John Harbaugh. The four other coaches that were
fired postseason, and the two coaches that were fired during
the season. Brings us to seven openings in the NFL.
AFC South has one, with the Tennessee Titans did not
get one as announced by the Colts own own yesterday

(02:02:01):
in Indianapolis. Both Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard remain in
their respective positions. Three years of no playoffs for Shane,
a decade's worth of not what they think they should
be doing. With Chris Ballard, but for some reason he
continues to be there, and again we like that here.
Now a couple of other openings in the AFC. We
mentioned the Raiders and obviously now the Ravens no opening

(02:02:22):
in Cincinnati. They're continuing with Zach Taylor. There are going
to be some other coaches still being let go. And
one that we had not brought up today was a
situation that is continuing to mirror c J. Stroud situation
in Houston.

Speaker 5 (02:02:40):
C J.

Speaker 7 (02:02:40):
Stroud jumps into the NFL and is unbelievable, best rookie
season we've ever seen, Division championship, postseason victories for the
Texans and excellence expected on into his career. Then he
plays his second year, and then what do they do
after his second year? They fire his OC. Well, what

(02:03:02):
happened after his first year? Jayden Daniels came into the
NFL and then he had the best rookie season anyone
had ever.

Speaker 6 (02:03:09):
Seen, and he.

Speaker 7 (02:03:12):
Was able to take his team deep into the playoffs
and everything's great. Then he had year two, and what
happened in year two? He had some injuries, he regressed,
they weren't very good, and they've fired some people, including
his offensive coordinator. As he heads into year three, he
will do what CJ.

Speaker 6 (02:03:29):
Stroud did.

Speaker 7 (02:03:29):
Heading into year three, he will be working with a
new offensive coordinator. They've turned at a mutual parting of
the ways. It was expected Cliff Kingsbury would draw interest
for head coaching positions maybe or other opportunities elsewhere, and
I don't think that had materialized. But nonetheless, they're moving

(02:03:50):
on from Cliff Kingsbury, who if he did such a
great job in year one and he barely got to
play with Jaden Daniels in year two, I'm not really
sure that I would put much of their failures this
year on Cliff's shoulders, but nonetheless he's available Ladies. Cliff
Kingsbury again unattached to an NFL team.

Speaker 6 (02:04:07):
So he's by the way, he's still getting paid by
those two.

Speaker 7 (02:04:11):
Yes, his contract was did not expire at the end
of the season, and his contract with the Arizona Cardinals,
who also have a head coaching opening again three years later,
so he's he has I mean, is he truthfully still
getting paid or have they paid him off for whatever
number of years remained on his contract, because technically I
think you could say that the contract he was working

(02:04:32):
under still would like ed Orzron, he was still being
paid by LSU. I think they just made their last payment.
They're obviously playing Brian Kelly and now they're also.

Speaker 5 (02:04:41):
Paying Lurry had one year left on his contract and
is still receiving money from the Arizona Cardinals.

Speaker 7 (02:04:48):
Cardinals are another one of those teams. I think I
omitted them each time I brought up the openings that
were there. We didn't talk much about the NFC. I
don't think that's a very good job at all. No,
I think you have ownership that are is hard to
believe in the long term ownership of the.

Speaker 6 (02:05:02):
Bidwell fanmas quarterback.

Speaker 7 (02:05:04):
Yeah, Kyler Murray took to the socials to express his
gratitude for the work that he did with coach Gannon. Again,
Gann is a defensive coach and they had shown promise.
I'm just thinking back to our conversations heading into this year.
Their divisions very very difficult, and they had last year
become very competitive with those teams. Thought they might be

(02:05:25):
able to do it again. We're dead wrong, and Kyler's
injury situation did not help things.

Speaker 6 (02:05:29):
Bird Gang guy gone.

Speaker 7 (02:05:31):
Yeah, I am hopeful that he lands another gig, and
he's pretty well respected for his defensive work. He was
one of the two Philly Dees coordinators that left simultaneously
after winning. Shane Steichen was the OC he went to
coach the Colts, and Gannon was the DC and he
went to coach the Cardinals, and remember both came to
Houston to interview. They hired Demico Ryans. Duh, well, Demiko Ryans.

Speaker 5 (02:05:56):
Though, I mean it felt good, but when you make
these kinds of hires, and what I mean is guys
that haven't been head coaches before, but have been maybe
highly talented, highly touted coordinators or anything of that nature,
you're hoping for the best, and you're hoping you're not

(02:06:16):
sitting here having this conversation in two to three seasons
that we're having about these guys not named Dimiko Ryans,
and so much goes into it that has nothing to
do necessarily with your coaching ability, the personnel, the personnel
person who's involved. I mean, how much you're a part
of that or not involved in that, What the quarterback

(02:06:38):
situation is, which is probably at the top of every
list like this.

Speaker 7 (02:06:40):
Well, you know one other thing that ties this all together,
and back to Demiico in some regard, is what happened
on draft Day before Dimiko coached his first game, before
Jonathan Gannon coached his first game, GM for the Arizona
Cardinals said, yes, Nick, you can have the third pick
in the draft. Absolutely, give us a bunch of assets.
We'll bump back in the draft, and you can draft

(02:07:03):
the best edge rusher in any of the last three
drafts and one of the best edge rushers in the
NFL from the moment he stepped onto the field. You
can have him. Jonathan Gannon will figure things out here.
We don't need Will Anderson. They absolutely, positively, I feel
very comfortable saying if they did not work out a deal,
they would have definitely drafted Will Anderson junior and things

(02:07:25):
would be totally different there, just like they'd be totally
different here. But Monty, who's being kept in Arizona as GM, said,
we can do things. We are in need of so
much help that it makes sense for us to pass
on this talent.

Speaker 5 (02:07:40):
You fired the wrong guy, maybe, although you might have.
See I'm always of the opinion that if you're getting
rid of either the GM or the head coach, there
is something to be said for a clean start, and
that's something that Texans have never even done.

Speaker 7 (02:07:58):
So Jacksonville maybe, and it looks like definitively Atlanta. Atlanta
is trying to do exactly what you're saying. It's not
just because they fired their GM and head coach. It's
because they're restructuring things. They want somebody else in charge
of both of them so they can have a clean
slate and they can have a so called executive group,

(02:08:20):
which is probably going to be led by CBS studio
analyst Matt Ryan. He's actually interviewing for the positions. Hey,
he's a shark guy, and he's probably going to get
the job, and then he will head up their search
for both the GM and the head coach to be
hired at the same time, where the GM won't be
well I didn't hire this head coach, or the head

(02:08:41):
coach will be well I was here first. It will
be in tandem with somebody above them, and I felt
like that's kind of how they put things together finally
in Jacksonville. And I don't really know if it's accurate
for how much power Tony Bisselli has, but he's basically
the EVP of football offs. He's in that position. Gladstone
came in this year as their GM. Liam Cohen came

(02:09:04):
in this year as their head coach, So you, I mean,
obviously they didn't weren't hired in the same meeting. So
there is one before the other, so to speak. But
there's a little bit more NFL teams are thinking there
may be a structural issue with how we're putting teams together.
The Titans finally acknowledge what they've been doing is moronic.
With Chad Brinker and Mike Morrian by Amy Well, they

(02:09:27):
who's the boss, who's in charge of the fifty three
man roster, who's making the decisions on this and then,
as most people have clearly acknowledged for the last sixteen
or six months or so, what were they doing choosing
anybody over Mike Vrabel, who's like John Harbaugh. You see,
if he wants to coach, he'll be the most sought

(02:09:48):
after coach the second the ink wasn't even dry on
the we're signing off on your key card here now
that you've turned it in, Mike hit the bricks. The
eighteen teams that have had coaching openings would like to
interview Mike Rabel, Like people couldn't line up fast enough
to talk to him. And he obviously had a great
landing spot with the team he knows best and immediately

(02:10:09):
was hired. And almost immediately they're like, wow, this is
working out great.

Speaker 6 (02:10:13):
How could you let this gag go?

Speaker 5 (02:10:14):
I really do think that Mike Vrabel now again, he
probably went to the one place that, hands down would
be better for him because of the familiarity, if nothing else,
Like he's Demiko Ryans, He's the AFC East Tamika ryants Oh.
I played linebacker for this franchise and now I'm returning
them to prominence.

Speaker 6 (02:10:33):
Although the Patriots prominence.

Speaker 7 (02:10:35):
Is again did take it that he was not immediately hired.

Speaker 5 (02:10:39):
He yeah, but they had to wait for Gerard Mayo's
one year on crap.

Speaker 7 (02:10:43):
So it wasn't like everyone did want to interview him
and he decided to go the route that he did,
so he would then be in the coaching cycle.

Speaker 6 (02:10:50):
But think about like if if.

Speaker 5 (02:10:53):
He goes anywhere else and has you know, a modicum
of success, it's not going to be as satisfying. But
also I think he will. He would still have wondered
just in the back of his mind. He's never gonna
verbalize this or admit it probably to anybody, not even
with pillow talk.

Speaker 6 (02:11:10):
What could have been in Tennessee.

Speaker 7 (02:11:12):
Well, the difference in what could have been in Tennessee
and what is in New England is not only did
he get to go back to New England, he got
to see his future for an entire year. Do you
want to hop on board the Drake may train? And
he correctly watched what he saw last year and said, yes.

Speaker 5 (02:11:30):
I'm telling you right now, And I don't even think
about this for the Broncos because I'm not a bo
Knicks believer like some people are. I think he's this
is all smoking. You want to talk about regressing after
one year. He doesn't have a fraction of the talent
that CJ or Jane Williams has.

Speaker 6 (02:11:45):
We'll see. You know, Sean Payton.

Speaker 5 (02:11:48):
Is the quarterback whisperer that everybody said Bill O'Brien was.
But like Drake May next year, and I know, it's
not as rookie year this year, so it's a little different.

Speaker 7 (02:12:00):
They're both in their second season.

Speaker 5 (02:12:02):
Yeah, but they both to me feel like they're rookies
because of various.

Speaker 6 (02:12:08):
Aspects of their situations.

Speaker 5 (02:12:10):
I am fascinated to see if Drake May can do
this again next year, playing a first place schedule again.

Speaker 6 (02:12:16):
It only it changes two games.

Speaker 7 (02:12:18):
Now what division you play when you catch the NFC
South during this era of suckage, hopefully you.

Speaker 6 (02:12:23):
Take advantage of it and a half wins. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (02:12:25):
Bon Nicks and the Broncos, Drake May and the Patriots
fourteen win teams in year two for those respective quarterbacks
already twenty four games quarterbacked by Boon Knicks in which
his team won in just his first two seasons, and
his team has been in the playoffs in both of
those seasons. The Texans have been in the playoffs both
of those seasons, they could meet in the divisional rounds.

(02:12:48):
Lots to discuss before we get there. Here on the eighteam,
I gotta.

Speaker 6 (02:12:54):
Say something about my personal life on the air.

Speaker 7 (02:12:57):
No better place for it than right here on the
aight on a Tuesday afternoon. This really is a miss
by me, especially with all the time away you spent
and all the holiday time I had to think about it.
Why is this not a bit or a segment on
the show'd come on Bobie in or listening?

Speaker 5 (02:13:16):
No, no, no, I'm not putting it on mister Mike. Why
he's the best? I mean, I want it to be good.
You said, I'm going to talk about my personal life here.

Speaker 7 (02:13:23):
I'm sure I could take that and all the things
you do talk about and figure out what great parody
I could make off of that.

Speaker 6 (02:13:30):
It'll be hey WEX instead of Hey Jude, Hey we.

Speaker 7 (02:13:33):
Does usually precede something not sports related.

Speaker 6 (02:13:38):
You just like singing on the show.

Speaker 7 (02:13:39):
I don't know, well, I kind of like to refresh,
like I do get it?

Speaker 6 (02:13:43):
Are people?

Speaker 7 (02:13:44):
Are you guys sick of hearing me sing best of
X every single day?

Speaker 11 (02:13:47):
No?

Speaker 5 (02:13:47):
Okay, so your personal life? So hey Jude is the
song that you use. Plus Matt Thomas will love it.
All right, So my wife is a very health conscious person, right, nice,
it's clean.

Speaker 6 (02:14:00):
I'm smart.

Speaker 5 (02:14:01):
She looks at me with disdain when I don't, sounds
like she cares. Yeah's good. So I'm like, all right,
I already do the thing where I eat once a day,
which is just crazy if you think about it. But really,
once you get used to it, it's not bad because
then you realize, turns out this is just society pressuring

(02:14:21):
everybody to eat more and.

Speaker 6 (02:14:22):
Make us fat, Like you don't need three meals a.

Speaker 7 (02:14:25):
Day, like what Bradley Cooper is doing with that foods
delivery service.

Speaker 6 (02:14:28):
Yeah in the NFL. He's an Eagles fan, you know, yes,
so like so it's.

Speaker 7 (02:14:32):
A ruse to eat, Yeah, when you wake up and
then eat during the twelve o'clock portion of the day,
and then eat again and have a little supper. Well,
listen to this, it's unnecessary. What's the phrase not recommended
by doctors?

Speaker 6 (02:14:45):
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. No,
it's not. I function fine for years without it.

Speaker 7 (02:14:50):
I feel like we talk about the most important meal
of the day. It's the same thing when we do
talk about the NFL schedule. Well, I mean, this is
their biggest game of the season. I know they're the
next one, this game of the season, right, So breakfast, lunch, dinner,
they're all that's equally important. Once which one's next.

Speaker 5 (02:15:05):
You want exactly once you get used to not eating
as much, which you know because you've tried this dumb,
It's not dumb.

Speaker 6 (02:15:12):
If it works.

Speaker 5 (02:15:13):
You did eat as much as you want, whatever you
want while you eat, and then don't eat the rest
of the day and have water and or black coffee,
which you love coffee as we know. So uh so,
I like, you know, the point of being is she's
always health conscious.

Speaker 6 (02:15:26):
You shouldn't be eating that. I'm just telling you shouldn't
eat that. You feel bit if you need.

Speaker 5 (02:15:30):
Okay, So I've tried to layer on something. I'm not
gonna get into the specifics, you know, but I'm not
gonna put it out there. I'm not gonna put it
all out there. And all I'm getting is not pushback,
but more of this. And I read aloud from my phone.
Your new obsession is very overwhelming. It's like your whole life,

(02:15:51):
all right, So I could go home tonight.

Speaker 7 (02:15:53):
And in context, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to receive
from her. Out of context, that could be truble.

Speaker 6 (02:16:00):
Is it reasonable, though?

Speaker 5 (02:16:01):
Yes, this person who is always about I've got to
take this supplement and I've got to do this thing
and that.

Speaker 7 (02:16:09):
Cabinet and throws one in. It's not that big a deal.
I gotta go here to get this. We can't go
there to eat that. I gotta do this to eat this.

Speaker 5 (02:16:16):
All I hear about all day long with her is
what she's got to get right in this area or
what's wrong here earth?

Speaker 7 (02:16:25):
Delivery from you is just classically it's all I get.

Speaker 6 (02:16:30):
I wake up.

Speaker 5 (02:16:31):
Morning and it's like, ah, this is going poorly and
it's all you know from a physical standpoint, And I'm like,
all right, so now I'm trying to.

Speaker 6 (02:16:39):
Take initiative here. It's not even a New Year's resolution.

Speaker 5 (02:16:41):
It just worked because of the vacation I happen to
be on at this time of the year. I've never
been a New Year's resolution guy. In fact, I resolve
to be meaner and not as nice and insult people
like all that. I do that on purpose, just to
get back at these people. Oh I'm going to go
to the gym. Yeah, and on February first, it's all
blown out because you didn't do crap. You were never

(02:17:02):
going to. So anyways, all that is being said, why
am I getting this pushback?

Speaker 7 (02:17:07):
Like I could be? It affects her worse habits? It's
a b Yeah, it's kind of a not a big
deal to try to Yeah, try no better New year.

Speaker 6 (02:17:16):
Knew me. I'm gonna do more drugs this year.

Speaker 7 (02:17:18):
What if I said that, well, she would probably say
this is really affecting the way we want to live
the same thing, just for a different reason.

Speaker 6 (02:17:25):
It would be the exact same phrasing.

Speaker 5 (02:17:27):
Hey, I thought I was going to start black tar
heroin in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 6 (02:17:31):
You know your new obsession is very overwhelming. It's like
your whole life, that's what you're saying. Yes, you know
I deal with the both of them all day long.
What does he'd give you grief over he her? I'm
talking about you and my wife. I got my work
wife and I have my real wife. I support you
in every way.

Speaker 7 (02:17:50):
Do you no pushback for me on anything?

Speaker 6 (02:17:53):
Never? Never?

Speaker 5 (02:17:54):
I don't even you say something. You can't even say
it with a straight face. What happened first? You say something,
what happens next? I disagree with it exactly. We came
in and agree about what we're talking about. He'll be fine,
she'll be fine. She's just looking out for you. She's like,
you're making this very difficult on me. That's what I said.

(02:18:16):
It's impacting your co inhabitant. But how am I How
exactly am I making a harder on her by not
having as much things that I go to the grocery
store and buy so that she doesn't have to have
a delivery made, which is another.

Speaker 7 (02:18:31):
She's all going to be eating dinner shortly after the show. Yeah,
that's where this whole thing started, exactly.

Speaker 5 (02:18:36):
I texted her, Hey, I'm really craving some scrambled eggs
because that's one of the things I can eat.

Speaker 6 (02:18:40):
Where are you going to pick them up from?

Speaker 7 (02:18:42):
I already did this weekend, okay, in bulk because you off,
But that means you're going to come home and make them.

Speaker 6 (02:18:49):
Now she's making them for you. Well, she's making it
for everybody. She's making food for everybody.

Speaker 7 (02:18:54):
So in other words, there's a limited number of things
that you're going to be eating, right and if they're
you're going home to eat them with her, then she's
might So that is why it's affecting her. What if
she wants to eat something else.

Speaker 5 (02:19:07):
Because she loves She'll hard boil eggs and then she'll
make scrambled eggs and I'm like, that sounds good. I'll
have some of those, make eight or more.

Speaker 7 (02:19:16):
It's not a co decision on what we're eating for dinner.
She just tells, I'm making this, and you say, all right,
make me some.

Speaker 5 (02:19:22):
You might have heard all this conversation, should you not
have already turned the channel?

Speaker 6 (02:19:26):
Which should we understand, no question.

Speaker 5 (02:19:27):
But if if you had heard this whole conversation and
you had just assumed that I was the one making
things difficult at this time of day for her, you
would be far far from the truth. What the reality
is is the little prince that she caters to twenty
four to seven. I wonder why he's acting like a
jerk today, Probably because you gave him everything you wanted
when he wanted it. Did they have a good Christmas? Yeah,

(02:19:50):
of course he did. And I'm part of the problem
there too. He's the reason because what are his food groups?
Macaroni and cheese, pizza, and macar corn syrup. It's like,
come on, man, diversify your foods. Just eat something else.

Speaker 6 (02:20:07):
He's young, He'll get there. No, he won't. Not according
to Ryan.

Speaker 7 (02:20:12):
That's totally different story. It's totally fair because I'm right.

Speaker 5 (02:20:16):
He still doesn't eat anything except for the things that
he likes, which are like three.

Speaker 6 (02:20:20):
He's Carson, he's just older.

Speaker 5 (02:20:22):
He's not quite like that. But you said yourself, he's
one of the pickiest eaters. I'll get me put in
his business out there on the radio.

Speaker 7 (02:20:29):
See I don't. There's when Ryan hey Clinton. That never happens.

Speaker 6 (02:20:33):
I know. Well, it's not a staple of the show.
Was my line. But like, seriously, you still talk about
all the time, one of the pickiest eater.

Speaker 7 (02:20:41):
We've got everybody's a picky eater in your house in
America and the world.

Speaker 5 (02:20:46):
That's not true. I see lots of fat people are
noting that's true. No, they just eat a lot of
the things they like. You see that guy over there,
he's four bills, not picky. He'll eat anything. He's like
Mikey on the commercial. They just eat what they like,
just maybe a little bit too much of it. No,
there is a difference between being picky and eating anything,

(02:21:09):
and they're the ones that eat anything. Well, it's not
about the quantity. If you would lay off of some
of these things.

Speaker 6 (02:21:15):
You think it's about the quality.

Speaker 5 (02:21:16):
Yes, absolutely, it's like these people that have been out
of shape because their snap benefits are going away and
they can't buy high fructose corn syrup, sodas in candy
with that money that the government is giving them.

Speaker 6 (02:21:28):
Exactly what I was about to say.

Speaker 5 (02:21:30):
Of course it was political. It shouldn't even be political.
That's the funny thing. Why are you so bent out
of shape? If you want that crap, you buy it.
Why should we have to we taxpayers? I sounded really
elitist just then, didn't I kind of?

Speaker 6 (02:21:48):
I don't care.

Speaker 5 (02:21:49):
I don't have to have a filter anymore. It's twenty
twenty six. That's just like I want. I want my
diet to not be.

Speaker 7 (02:21:57):
Ridiculed to getting started. Everything will be fine.

Speaker 6 (02:22:00):
Pace myself because it's January sixth.

Speaker 7 (02:22:01):
Like, she'll get used to it, You'll get used to it.

Speaker 6 (02:22:04):
It'll be fine.

Speaker 5 (02:22:05):
Hey, clan, why are you so defensive all the time?
Because I'm married to Teresa and I work with WEX
That's why defensive. That's a promo right there by the way,
that whole line right there. Mike Bobyan could put that
together tomorrow and.

Speaker 6 (02:22:16):
It would be but it'll be okay, right five twenty six.

Speaker 5 (02:22:22):
Yeah, I can make another half hour, has provided there's
some food on the on the table when I get there.

Speaker 7 (02:22:27):
Well, we have not told you how these people are
already ruining the twenty twenty six textans. That's true, so
we need to do that. And in case you missed it,
we have not mentioned the tickets. We have to give
it away to you in the final segment of the show.
So we will do that here to get you ready
for the final segment of the show, and we'll actually
give them away. We got Monster Jam tickets. That event

(02:22:48):
is February fifteenth over at NRG Stadium.

Speaker 6 (02:22:51):
We have got u H. Cougar Hoops tickets.

Speaker 7 (02:22:54):
They're playing West Virginia a week from tonight over at
for Tita Center, have a huge game against Tech before that.
But we got a pair of tickets to each of
those events, actually a four pack to the Monster Jam event.
Final segment of the show, we'll ask you a question
about something we talked about here this hour. Maybe it
was a personal item from Ac this very segment, or
maybe not.

Speaker 6 (02:23:13):
You'll have to keep listening.

Speaker 7 (02:23:14):
Give that away in the final segment, in case you
missed it, is next and how these idiots are ruining
the Texans.

Speaker 6 (02:23:21):
That's next, in case you.

Speaker 7 (02:23:25):
Missed it, here, that's what it's time for. Halfway through
this final hour of the show. In case you missed it,
last segment, AC talked about his personal life.

Speaker 6 (02:23:31):
That will continue this segment.

Speaker 7 (02:23:33):
In case you missed it, I offered up some tickets
and the final segment of the show that will be
exclusively Monster Jam tickets. So we'll have a four pack
of tickets to give away to the Monster Jam event.
And that is all for today. In case you missed it,
John Harbaugh was fired by the Baltimore Ravens. I'll deliver
you just the first line from his very lengthy posted

(02:23:55):
statements on social media this afternoon, because this did apparently
have been very unexpectedly. I was not even able to
inform his staff that this was happening. They were then
informed by those who fired him. But the first line
of his statement says, well, I was hoping for a
different kind of message on my last day here someday,

(02:24:16):
but that day has come. Today comes with disappointment, certainly,
but more with all caps gratitude and appreciation.

Speaker 6 (02:24:25):
He delivers a very nice message, basic class act. I
like John Harball a lot.

Speaker 7 (02:24:30):
He leaves the Ravens as one of these seven current
head coaching openings. Two teams finished the year with interim coaches,
the Titans with Mike McCoy and the Giants with Mike Kafka.
Kafka another coach who has interviewed for the previously vacant
Texans head coaching position, but this ultimately was his first

(02:24:51):
go round in any capacity as a head coach at
the NFL level. The other spots that are open since
firings that occurred after the final regular season game Cardinals, Falcons, Browns, Raiders,
and now Ravens. Those are the seven positions currently. And
I think I think we're done because the Jets said, no,

(02:25:13):
we're not firing either our new GM or our new
head coach. The Bengals have said the same thing, the
Colts have said the same thing, and several other teams
that should have or could have been considering that, the
Dolphins or another have said no, we're good.

Speaker 5 (02:25:27):
Mike McDaniel survives and eight others don't. Didn't have that
on my BEINGO card about what six weeks ago. Yeah,
maybe Tampa is still not one hundred percent. Todd Bowles
is already talking about the fact that, come on, man,
look at what we've done here.

Speaker 6 (02:25:41):
Look at where we are right now.

Speaker 5 (02:25:43):
Todd Bowles, I'd be like Harbaugh, not quite, but he
hasn't been there longcht him that much. They keep winning
the division and they hied for the division title this year.

Speaker 6 (02:25:51):
I don't think it's Todd Bowles.

Speaker 7 (02:25:53):
Also that their team cratered the way they did down
the stretch. His quarterback was out there for pretty much
all of it, and maybe not one hundred percent, but
he played very badly and that's not Bolls.

Speaker 5 (02:26:06):
Also, something I didn't see at the beginning of the
season when he was in MVP debates.

Speaker 7 (02:26:11):
Yeah, he did not have a good clearly did not
have a good finish to his season. Had a visit
with Chandler Rome earlier. In case you missed it and
you want to catch that via the podcast, you can
always do that at Sports Talk seven ninety dot com
or those of you that correctly, smartly clever. You already
subscribed to the podcast and you catch it via your
iHeartRadio app. We asked him about the likelihood of this

(02:26:35):
being one and done for new starting pitcher Tatsuya Emi.
His answer can be found right there on the podcast
in case you missed it.

Speaker 5 (02:26:45):
So we have a p one Aaron that messaged in okay,
and he took last segments content and turned it into
a family feud style response.

Speaker 6 (02:26:56):
Okay, Hey Clinton, why are you so defensive? Survey says
ding Ding ding ding Ding.

Speaker 5 (02:27:01):
Teresa got seventy, WEX got twenty, Twitter X social media
got ten.

Speaker 7 (02:27:09):
Hey Clinton, why are you? Why are you so defensive?

Speaker 11 (02:27:12):
Mm?

Speaker 6 (02:27:13):
Yes, uh Teresa ding ding Ding number one answer on the.

Speaker 7 (02:27:17):
Board, serving at one hundred listeners to the show, seventy
of them said Tea.

Speaker 5 (02:27:22):
She's already being defensive about the fact that I told
her why she's number one. It was a topic of
conversation last year, so I got twenty votes. She goes,
the conversations are always great with your one sided opinion
of things. I'm sure you painted me as a total
psychopath as always pure goals.

Speaker 6 (02:27:38):
See what she just said, I didn't say anything.

Speaker 7 (02:27:40):
Delivers a little bit of the background as to why
the position I'm in is the normal position I'm in.
It's one sided when you deliver it. And she recognizes that,
and I'm off and on her unrepresented side.

Speaker 6 (02:27:54):
Yeah, but did I do anything?

Speaker 5 (02:27:55):
She said in the second part the second text paint
her as a psycho path What else do we have today, Josh?

Speaker 6 (02:28:02):
Yeah, in case you missed it.

Speaker 5 (02:28:04):
All of a sudden, the non represented doesn't want to
be represented anymore by her agent.

Speaker 6 (02:28:09):
The two of you.

Speaker 5 (02:28:10):
Huh, we're not in cahodis. It's not seventy twenty either.

Speaker 7 (02:28:14):
Well, man, I'm just taking Aaron's word for it.

Speaker 5 (02:28:17):
Aaron, you should listen more. It's like barely on social media.
I know's that's tough.

Speaker 7 (02:28:24):
Because these people aren't as aggravating.

Speaker 6 (02:28:26):
As usual half the time.

Speaker 5 (02:28:27):
These people are like national pundits now and no longer
non existent people as you call them on social media.

Speaker 6 (02:28:33):
Yes, people don't.

Speaker 5 (02:28:34):
Even count Egga avatars forty five follower People's all right there, Josh?

Speaker 6 (02:28:38):
What else do we have?

Speaker 9 (02:28:39):
All right?

Speaker 2 (02:28:39):
Well, we've run down a lot of the guys that
have been canned.

Speaker 10 (02:28:42):
But how about where some of these coaches could be
going already? Saving reports Kevin Stefanski serious candidate for the
Giants coaching job.

Speaker 6 (02:28:51):
Is he please let that happen?

Speaker 2 (02:28:52):
Is he the answer for the Giants?

Speaker 6 (02:28:54):
Boys?

Speaker 7 (02:28:55):
I would love it if I were a fan of
any of the other teams in the NFC.

Speaker 6 (02:28:59):
Good, he's Brian. What's the difference between him and Brian Dable? Nothing?

Speaker 7 (02:29:03):
Brian Dable very good, longtime assistant, very good offensive mind.
Had a little success in his first stop as a
head coach with this team. Kevin Stefanski somehow different than that?

Speaker 5 (02:29:12):
Yes, is one thing. He won Coach of the Year twice. Yeah,
erroneously yep.

Speaker 7 (02:29:17):
Rex Ryan went on a pretty finely tuned Dia tribe
about Stefanski, basically saying, don't give me this Coach of
the year garbage. There's a lot of great coaches out
there that have never won Coach of the Year. It
doesn't mean a thing. Don't use that as some sort
of And he's not saying it to Kevin. He's just
saying to all of us, that's not some great resume builder.
You know, Kevin Stefanski, this and that. I don't give

(02:29:38):
a I think he said crap about it on the air, Yeah,
over on the Worldwide Leader. But I tend to agree.
I do think the Cleveland Browns made the correct decision
and just one other thing to bring it together. They've
been asking Kevin Stefanski to develop or find ways to
win with young quarterbacks there in Cleveland after the Sean

(02:29:59):
Watson trade did not. Now they're gonna give him Jackson
Dart and ask him to do the same thing there. Granted,
he's a first round pick and a talent I suppose,
but I would more like to have in the future,
starting next year, if I was an NFL owner, I
would prefer to have Brian Dabole on staff. Then I'd
prefer to have Kevin Stefanski as my head coach, and

(02:30:19):
Dabele is going to be an OC somewhere in the NFL,
I would suspect next year.

Speaker 6 (02:30:23):
What else do we have?

Speaker 10 (02:30:25):
Yeah, kind of on along the same line. Lions, we
talked about this the other day. Wex about how they
gave them Campbell gave himself an F Now they're firing
their OC John Morton. No surprise that Campbell took over
play calling, but I mean it's been a big difference
after they lost Ben Johnson last year.

Speaker 2 (02:30:43):
Is is this the right move? I think it probably is.

Speaker 7 (02:30:47):
Their defense was awful, their offense was not what it awful,
maybe a little stronger. Both sides of the ball were
not nearly as successful as they were with their previous
two coordinators, who both left for head coaching jobs, and
making the change in season with the play calling was
kind of the precursor to this.

Speaker 5 (02:31:07):
I can't I'm even with the poaching that happened. I'm
shocked at how far the Lions fell this year.

Speaker 6 (02:31:15):
Are you are? They still won more than a half
their games barely.

Speaker 5 (02:31:19):
Yeah, but relative to what they did your prior and yeah,
they're so close to the super Bowl.

Speaker 7 (02:31:24):
I thought they would have a downturn, and every week
when I looked at them and it was considering stone
cold locks. Until late in the season, I'm like, what
are you kidding me? There much better than this. They're
definitely going to cover this. I like their games alone
a lot for this reason. They weren't the same team,
and absolutely positively, the coaching staff changes were a monster.

Speaker 6 (02:31:42):
Part of that. Not as many knee caps eating, not.

Speaker 7 (02:31:45):
As many kneecaps eating a freaking f That's what Dan
Campbell said about his coaching job this past year.

Speaker 6 (02:31:53):
The a on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 4 (02:31:57):
Right now.

Speaker 7 (02:31:58):
Yeah, Well, apparently one of our listeners could hook us
up if he also sent his address along with whatever
dinner he's making tonight when he hit us up on
the social saying he's watching the program right there on
Space City Home Network.

Speaker 5 (02:32:09):
Appreciate you, Josh m hm. But uh, I don't have
an answer yet. I don't know what you're gonna be
eating tonight.

Speaker 7 (02:32:14):
But we did have a discussion about that earlier, and
if you've been listening to the program this hour, you're
gonna know the answer to this very important sports related question.
There has nothing to do with sports, so we talked
about earlier here on the show. And if you do know,
you can win your tickets a four pack of tickets
with pit passes for Monster Jam February fifteenth and RG Stadium.

Speaker 6 (02:32:33):
It's one of three.

Speaker 7 (02:32:34):
Days they have Monster Jam events, the seventh, fourteenth, and fifteenth.
We've got pour back of tickets to that show on
the fifteenth. They're also on sale via ticketmaster dot com
all three Monster Jam events over at NRG Stadium if
you would like to attend, But if you like to
win your tickets right here, that four pack, you just
need to call in at seven one three two one
two five seven ninety with the answer to this question.

(02:32:55):
We had a very very important Hey WEX segment. Usually
that leads to us talking about nonsports related personal items
in AC's life, often involving his wife Teresa, and it
did in this case. We talked about some of his
eating habits and communication between he and the mississ last
had some of his two shows into the new year,

(02:33:17):
this is making me fly. We got some responses or
he got a response on his telephone product and it's
seen bro interesting that you say that. And he said,
we should be using this information family feud style. And
he said top one hundred answers on the board or

(02:33:41):
one hundred people surveyed, top answers on the board. And
if we said three answers were given to this question
why are you being so defensive?

Speaker 6 (02:33:48):
Clinton?

Speaker 7 (02:33:49):
If one of the answers that got ten votes, ten
percent of the vote was social media and the other
votes were given exclusively to the why are you being
so defensive?

Speaker 6 (02:33:59):
Quest?

Speaker 7 (02:34:00):
As either me X or Teresa? What percentage did Teresa
draw of the hundred people surveyed fake one hundred people surveys?
According to this person not me, family feud style game show.
What is making you so defensive? Teresa? Is an acceptable answer?
What percentage of the people thought that's the answer to

(02:34:21):
the question.

Speaker 5 (02:34:22):
Shout out to Aaron for giving our trivia question content
for the day.

Speaker 7 (02:34:26):
Yeah, I again, ten percent would have been social media
and some split, some fifty to fifty split, some sixty
forty split. Of the remaining votes were given to myself
as to the reason you're being so defensive, or your
wife Teresa were HEARDing the reason you're being so defensive?

Speaker 6 (02:34:47):
Or imaginary total?

Speaker 7 (02:34:47):
What was her imaginary total? A percent out of one
hundred according to percentage I received, yes, which was uttered
multiple times during the program. And as we move along,
Josh will give us a thumbs up when we have
a winner, and if we do not, we will the hints,
but we don't need to.

Speaker 5 (02:35:03):
Somebody said you had twenty. That's laughable. I mean on
her worst day, it's not seventy. Is it's not that
big of a split? Yeah, you think I drive you
nuts that much? Well, no, it's more it's more about
I don't think she's that's so weighted heavily.

Speaker 7 (02:35:19):
And again, maybe like, what's making you just so defensive.
It's only these three things, and it's only these two people.

Speaker 5 (02:35:26):
Come on if you consider how much she is actually working.

Speaker 6 (02:35:31):
So the interaction, what's what I'm saying?

Speaker 5 (02:35:33):
An I feel like on weekdays, like provided I do
a Rockets game, so I don't come home until Junior's
definitely been sawing logs for hours and she may or
may not be awake. I think I spend more time
with you during the week.

Speaker 6 (02:35:46):
Well that's sweet. Now, I'm not saying you got seventy either,
I'm just saying it's not seventy for her.

Speaker 7 (02:35:52):
We'll try to flip it around tomorrow and get a
get some sort of personal trivia question, presuming we are
to give it.

Speaker 6 (02:35:57):
A fight of the year. It's coming.

Speaker 7 (02:35:59):
So we talked about the teams in the NFC East.
That would be great. Kevin Stefanski not worried about him
and the Giants at all. What do you think about
the Titans in the AFC South. Apparently their interview schedule
is shaping up nicely. They have five coaching interviews already
lined up. According to Albert Breer, did they get the
second or the third pick in the draft this year?

(02:36:22):
They at three and fourteen I believe they landed in
the three spot. I'll double check for you as I
run through that batch of high draft picks. They have
the worst of the three and fourteen teams because their
strength of schedule was the most difficult, meaning they deserved
that recorders the Vegas Raiders, who played an easier schedule, like,
come on, you couldn't even meet these teams, you must
really be bad. So yeah, Vegas, Jets, Cardinals, Titans, and

(02:36:47):
of those four teams, all but the Jets are looking
for a no head coach. Actually, of these seven teams
that finished with fewer than six wins, the Commanders fired
two coordinators today, not their head coach. The Browns are
looking for a new head coach, The Giants are looking
for a new head coach. Tennessee, Arizona, and Vegas all

(02:37:08):
looking for new head coaches. The Jets are the only
team they finished with fewer than six wins that are
not making a significant coaching change. Aaron Glenn, the GM
and apparently the assistance will be brought back.

Speaker 6 (02:37:20):
Even though Aaron Glenn basically said it's on me.

Speaker 7 (02:37:22):
Yes, as he should, and I think he's taking it
pretty hard how their season went.

Speaker 16 (02:37:27):
It was.

Speaker 6 (02:37:27):
It wasn't just a bad season.

Speaker 7 (02:37:29):
They did some things that are just unheard of obviously,
and not having an interception has never happened before.

Speaker 6 (02:37:33):
He should go easier on himself. He coaches the Jets.

Speaker 7 (02:37:36):
Okay, So the Titans have these five people set up
for interviews. I say people because one of them is
not a current coach.

Speaker 6 (02:37:47):
Ooh.

Speaker 7 (02:37:48):
Stefanski's coming in on Saturday to interview chiefs OC and
former Bears head coach Matt Naggie's coming in on Thursday.

Speaker 6 (02:37:56):
Tomorrow.

Speaker 7 (02:37:57):
Colts d C lou Ana Rumos coming in, and so
is Broncos DC Vance Joseph. Joseph is in the playoffs
but eligible to be interviewed this week because his team
is on an off week, just like any coach for
the Seahawks, like Clint Kubiak, who's coming in on Friday.
I said, he's not currently a coach. He does have
head coaching NFL head coaching experience, but he has not

(02:38:21):
been an NFL coach for a number of years.

Speaker 5 (02:38:23):
There goes my funny joke I was gonna make about
the guy that the Texans kept trying to force in.

Speaker 7 (02:38:31):
It's not coach McCown is on staff with the Vikings,
so he would not have been the answer to this quest.

Speaker 6 (02:38:37):
So he's finally getting head coach or a coaching experience
in the NFL.

Speaker 7 (02:38:42):
The respect, any kind, the respect it appears that NFL
management and owners have for Kevin O'Connell will likely land
McCown for the job he's also done there and the
respect they have for him.

Speaker 6 (02:38:55):
More coaching interviews.

Speaker 5 (02:38:56):
You Texans fans out there that worship at the altar
of Hannah, like once she started taking over and calling
more shots. She was in the room when they were
almost twice gonna hire this guy.

Speaker 6 (02:39:08):
Don't act like she wasn't like, oh, you know what,
items to.

Speaker 7 (02:39:12):
Give her a break. I really think she's not the
loudest voice saying this is what's the way.

Speaker 6 (02:39:16):
He's the loudest voice.

Speaker 7 (02:39:17):
Now, good, look a look at how things are. They're great.

Speaker 6 (02:39:22):
If she's going to get credit for Damiko, she gets
zero credit for two times.

Speaker 7 (02:39:26):
Josh, back to the question at hand. Yeah, been out
of the NFL for four seasons.

Speaker 6 (02:39:32):
Four seeds. Although he's been involved.

Speaker 7 (02:39:34):
In the NFL for all of those seasons, former head
coach of one team he's been in oc he's played
football for both the team he used to be the
head coach for and the team that he is the
team he was oc for. This is tough, Yes, red Hair,

(02:39:57):
that's really tough. He coached Jerry Jones the Stallis Cowboys
and play for them. Please let them hire Jason Garrett.
Jason Garrett for the Tennessee Sees hire the coaching position
on Friday.

Speaker 5 (02:40:09):
I don't know if I want them to hire him
or Nagy Moore, because they're both going to absolutely torpedo
that franchise.

Speaker 6 (02:40:15):
With Amy Adams, I look like a thumbstrunk running it.

Speaker 7 (02:40:18):
The longest name of an owner in the NFL.

Speaker 6 (02:40:20):
Come on, don't you want this to happen?

Speaker 7 (02:40:24):
Ranking those five makes me sad if I'm a Titans fan.

Speaker 5 (02:40:28):
Ranking those five makes me happy as a Texans follower,
and basically anybody that's gonna be playing that team twice
a year.

Speaker 7 (02:40:36):
All but one of them have previous head coaching experience
in the NFL, and this probably won't be the only
five coaches.

Speaker 5 (02:40:42):
Does this mean we don't get his stellar analysis in
the studio if he gets hired by them, Well, Maria,
I think dead da Vanilla, Vanilla Vanilla.

Speaker 6 (02:40:52):
He's awful at everything he does. He is vanilla. That's
well perfectly described. He needs to be.

Speaker 7 (02:40:57):
He's more vanilla on the football coverage we get from
NBC than Chris Simms, much more vanilla.

Speaker 5 (02:41:04):
Well, Chris Simms has hot takes. He's the opposite of
vanilla exactly. Jason Garrett is just so. I mean, he's like,
I don't even know what the description is boiling water
that you're watching.

Speaker 7 (02:41:14):
He's feeling you already described him grass growing?

Speaker 6 (02:41:18):
Which one is it.

Speaker 7 (02:41:20):
I'm just curious what sort of grass reference we're now
going to make tomorrow yet to yesterday touch grass got explained.

Speaker 9 (02:41:26):
Yep.

Speaker 6 (02:41:27):
Now we got grass growing, which apparently is boring.

Speaker 5 (02:41:29):
Well, tomorrow we'll get to the Snoop Dog story we
didn't get too and there you go.

Speaker 6 (02:41:32):
All right, Well, there.

Speaker 7 (02:41:32):
You have it for another edition of the A Team.
Two shows into twenty twenty six.

Speaker 5 (02:41:37):
I am killing it this year so far, the two
of your best shows of the year, without question, and
two of my worst.

Speaker 7 (02:41:42):
We've got the Nightcap coming your way. Next, we'll take
you on into the rest of the evening. Obviously, we'll
be back with you again and looking forward to it
tomorrow beginning at two, and of course on the simulcast
beginning at three.

Speaker 6 (02:41:53):
I have a great evening. We will talk to you
then