No Deadline Deals...So Texas Dead Team Walking?

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham Raised.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
My Earl.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Nolan, Multify the magnificent roller coaster ride.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
That is Houston Sports Hell.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Chill lage down for the only home grown afternoon team
is Talking your Teams?

Speaker 4 (00:29):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team A.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
It's a Wednesday edition of the A Team Sports Talk
seven ninety. He's Adam Wexler, I'm Adam Clanton. Our producer
is Cole Thompson, and we are taking you until six
o'clock tonight. Shortly thereafter, Rockets basketball resumes as they are
back out on the road. Another quirk of the early
portion of this schedule is they had one whole home

(01:04):
game against the Dallas Mavericks, and we'll be back out
on the road taking on Memphis. No word as to
whether or not John Morant has been suspended since the
last time we hosted the show. He's fine. Hey listen,
it's two o'clock. They're in the Central time zone.

Speaker 5 (01:18):
There's still Time's how he rolls, man, You don't think
that he could have like a late shoot around and
something could happen today A second shooter afternoon shoot around.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Put it this way, of all the guys in the
NBA where you would even put it on the list
of that being a possibility. He's at the top. If
there's one guy, I told you the top of a
list of nobody.

Speaker 5 (01:41):
Nobody gets suspended in the middle of the after guy
and just come back when nothing happened.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
This guy all the time, can't stay out of his
own way.

Speaker 5 (01:47):
I'm not too concerned whether he is available or not.
He will be available tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
They're bad. I wouldn't say they're bad.

Speaker 5 (01:54):
They're just not as good as they could have been
had they not decided to a change their coach and
be right away Desmond Bay.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Have you seen the memes floating around of the they
peaked basically when Dylan Brooks was basically discarded. Was he
was skapegoaded if you will, for everything that was wrong
with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Speaker 5 (02:14):
Yeah, there was enough talent without him last year to
be a much better team and they weren't. There was
enough talent without him before that, and they weren't. But
that is the timing, that is the inflection point for
the Memphis Grizzlies. Just kind of a middle of the
road team right now with all sorts of internal problems
and a little bit of a disconnect between what they're
doing or what their coaching staff wants to do, and
what the players probably want to do. They don't mesh

(02:36):
and that is an issue, and that's where they are
right now. But the Rockets don't really care. They'd like
to go out there and do to them what they've
done to each of their last four opponents. They drive
back into the Western Conference this week with the game
against the MAVs and then this one again tonight. Their
first Western Conference victory came on Monday night. Doesn't seem
like it, but there was only one other Western Conference
game that they had played in to that point. So

(02:57):
hopefully they can start seeing some of the teams that
are likely more competitive, but they can keep doing what
they've been doing, which is out playing them on a
regular basis. Now at four and two, all sorts of
numbers suggesting they are one of the best teams in
the NBA, even early in this NBA season, and I
have a chance to go up against some more of
them over the next couple of weeks. San Antonio obviously

(03:17):
comes on Friday. The Milwaukee Bucks are probably with how
little there is in the Eastern Conference, somebody who will
be top six in the East potentially as long as
Gianna stays healthy, but take care of their own business.
Couple of players to keep an eye on for Houston
with Jabari Smith Junior and Steven Adams both listed on
the injury report.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
We'll give you the latest on that as we continue
through the show.

Speaker 5 (03:39):
And speaking of injuries, I was over at Texans practice
their first of the week just before coming over here.
There are quite a few players not on the practice
field for Houston, Demiko Ryans. We'll meet with the media
here shortly and we'll probably get a little bit better
idea of some of the reasons why. I guess I
would guess some of the players that weren't there may
just be routine Wednesday rest day potentially, but there are

(04:04):
gonna be some players that they're gonna have to monitor
over the course of the week, not just the obvious ones.
You got two guys in concussion protocol, Titus Howard and
c J.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Stroud.

Speaker 5 (04:12):
I know Titus Howard is in the building, he was
not on the practice field participating.

Speaker 6 (04:18):
C J.

Speaker 5 (04:18):
Stroud was not on the practice field at all. Several
other players weren't either for various reasons. I did not
see Christian Harris, did not see Will Anderson Junior, did
not see Jalen Petrie, did not see Nick Chubb. They also,
if you recall, last week, took Juwar Jordan off of
their practice squad. They only have three tailbacks in the
building and they were all on the field today Damian Pierce,

(04:40):
Woody Marx, and Daria Gunbalwale, along with a couple of fullbacks,
so they would have to activate Yakub Johnson to include
him in that five player mix, along with British Brooks.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
In addition to Titus Howard ed Ingram.

Speaker 5 (04:53):
I did not see him at practice today, and remember
he played the second half of Sunday's game with a
knee issue, so I would imagine that would be the
reason he wasn't out there. It's a lot of players
that would normally be out there for this team and
their season. At three and five, mathematically, it does start
drifting away. We can talk about the season being over
if you'd like, and that's a certainly worthwhile discussion considering

(05:16):
what they have not done. We can expect them to
stay in the race, but that means they have to
beat teams that are good or at least teams that
are ahead of them, and that starts again anew after
their losing streak last Sunday with the Jacksonville Jaguars in town.
They were one of the teams that made a deal
yesterday to attempt to maybe rise up from number seven
in the AFC and number two in the AFC South.

(05:39):
We'll see what Jacobe Myers can do to the Texans.
Figured that the Texans would face him, and that they
also play the Raiders, but they will just face him
sooner and be done with him. So got to get
into that. Free agency in Major League Baseball is so
so close. Tomorrow it will be open, and I don't
think anything's of great nature going to happen then. But

(06:00):
the Astros are still having some things to fill with
roster wise. They release the all important spring training schedule.
We have not yet released our broadcast schedule for the
spring training activities. I'm not sure if we're carrying the
live game on March third between the Astros Exhibition outfit
and Team Venezuela, but we'll let you know as soon
as we know.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Who's gonna Who's Jose Gonnis play for I.

Speaker 5 (06:23):
Would imagine he would probably play Team Venezuela. You think
so he will be managed by Omar Lopez. How does
that even work?

Speaker 2 (06:34):
Done? Have they done this?

Speaker 6 (06:34):
Bet?

Speaker 5 (06:35):
So, they're preparing for the World Baseball Classic. It will
be at Dyke and Park. I mean different teams are
in different venues, but Dyke and Park is hosting a
handful of the teams obviously in their pool play and
beyond they have another set of games. So Team Venezuela
will get together and play exhibition games, and Jose Altuve,
should he have decided to play again, we'll be there.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
Is this the closest that baseball gets to soccer players
who are poached in the middle of seasons for yeah,
bigger tournaments, it's sure, But it's not the middle of
the season. And yeah, it's the beginning.

Speaker 5 (07:06):
It's not during the season. It's during the practice portion
of getting ready.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
As we all know too well, it can affect.

Speaker 5 (07:12):
Yeah, you get hurt and it can affect your preparation,
but you're you're not technically missing games. You're not away
from the team. You're away from the team that's practicing
to play real games.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Well, what the Astros wind up looking like when that happens,
because by then I think all of the at least
all the major decisions will have been made.

Speaker 5 (07:30):
Yeah, first games on the twenty first of February, So
maybe when they get to that game, I'm not sure
what day on how early in spring training they'll slot
JV's spot and on the rotation in, but probably sometime
early on to see if they can get him ramped
up for his Game three start, Hunter Brown Christian Javier
Justin Verlander starting against the not Albert Poolholz led Angels.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
How many people do you think aren't aware that this
is happening.

Speaker 5 (07:54):
Yeah, it's not a done deal. It's going to be
He's not open yet. I'm talking like it's a fact.
I don't know that it's a fact, but I do
think there is definitely there's a scale. If you drop
Justin Verlanders to the Astros on the scale, it's going
to go down because it's going to be heavy. I
do think there's more than a fifty to fifty chance
the number thirty five will be issued to Ben Verlander's
brother next year as an astro.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
Does does that mean that Ben Verlander is going to
hang around again?

Speaker 5 (08:19):
If the game's warrant it like when he's not to
the World Series this year, Justin didn't. That's true, he
didn't go to the playoffs this year, right, But Ben
has a job in baseball that takes him these places.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Well as long as show hayes in the postseason, he's
going to be there regardless of his job.

Speaker 5 (08:37):
He would have people that he works for Fox. They
have the World Series, he'll be there.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
Is that what it is? I thought it was like
a I guess it is like a like a a
Fox affiliated product. Yeah, I got you. Is he still
doing the podcast with what's her face? No?

Speaker 5 (08:53):
I think she took some time away to have her baby.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
And I didn't even know. I did not know that.
Ed there's a modern reference right there. So lots of
other stuff.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
We obviously last night got the first reveal of the
duh where are these teams going to be ranked in
the college football rankings?

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Or did not go?

Speaker 5 (09:10):
I don't think out of the box at all, but
there are some things to consider as you move forward.
And good thing is there's still football to be played.
So teams on the outside looking in, or teams a
little unhappy about where they were originally slotted. You got
football games in front of you still. If you want
to improve your standing, or if you want to prove
that you did not belong there to begin with, well

(09:30):
go play the appropriate football the remainder of the season,
and it will play itself out as it almost always does.
And remember this is twelve teams that are getting in.
So teams thirteen and fourteen or teams eleven and twelve
for reasons that automatic bids are a part of it.
That don't get in, it's because you didn't play good
enough football, not because the committee screwed you. It's it's

(09:52):
so simple now when they expand it, like you could
be first, second, third, fourth, fifth, you're battling for four,
fourteenth or thirteenth or twelfth. Just play better football and
you don't have to worry about it. There's plenty of opportunities.
Like Texas just went out, You'll be fine. There's a
one hundred percent chance if they went out there in
the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
Well will they I don't know that they will.

Speaker 5 (10:13):
They could even get in if they don't went out
because of who they have on their schedule. Two of
the highest ranked teams are on their remaining schedule. What's
Targa in Texas day.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
What time is Demico speaking again?

Speaker 5 (10:25):
Could be any any second, right, Well, it just depends
the Monday. They just pushed it back a little bit.
It's possible they have to do that again today.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
And what time is Nick Cassario's schedule to speak today?
He's not, He doesn't talk if they if he had
made a trade, would he have?

Speaker 6 (10:41):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (10:43):
That doesn't sit well with me. I mean, I'm sure
we'll hear. We probably will hear from him if we want.
I'm sure the in house media talk to him.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
We come back. I'm gonna tell you why it doesn't
sit well with me and why I think I'm hardly
alone because the Texans are just like last week, going
in that game against the Denver Broncos, I think the
franchise is at a crossroads. And I'll explain when we
come back here on the eighteen, the eighteen on Sports

(11:12):
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 7 (11:15):
Get Down, Down.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Down, eighteen minutes past. I'm Jim Rome. See I can't
hear this and not think of that, and then I
have to go into it. I can't. That's because you're
different than me. That's exactly right. Welcome to the eighteen.

(11:51):
We are joining studio right now by a man who
has covered Houston sports for a long time. His name
is Adam Wexler. Wex tell me about the Houston Texans
right now. They are hurting, they are down bad, and
Texans fan is gripping.

Speaker 5 (12:06):
First of all, thanks for the vine, Jim.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
He has not changed his show in like twenty five years.
It's the same exact thing, even though it has changed
many times. The only thing, Yeah, that's the only thing.
In all seriousness, if Jim Rome was doing this segment,
that's kind of how it would start. But I do
think that that's where a lot of Texans fans yesterday
that were wailing and gnashing their teeth that the uh,

(12:35):
the current general manager didn't make any moves.

Speaker 5 (12:38):
Yeah, I mean, first of all, I think that's a
little much like, well, here's here's why I think it's
different than last year. And I thought last year was
kind of like we looked at it sideways a little bit,
and then we heard his press conference and it didn't
exactly help things the way he was kind of addressing it,
at least the way he was coming off, even if
he didn't mean it to sound the way it did,
and we played the audio yesterday. I think this year

(13:00):
because you thought they would do more to address the
deficiencies and then they really didn't, and then we've seen
how the season has gone. And again earlier today I
saw someone talk about how close all these losses have been. Well,
if I'm not mistaken, the trade deadline would have fallen

(13:20):
after they played nine games last year just after Halloween.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
Okay, and that was the Jets game, right, that was
their ninth game. Yep, they would be six and three
at the time. It was a Thursday night game, so
they would.

Speaker 5 (13:30):
Have been attempting to get even better, have an even
better position in the division and in the post and
in the AFC, et cetera. Whereas this year, I should
they have been buyers?

Speaker 2 (13:42):
Are you sure? Should they have been sellers? Are you sure?
I think they're three and five. I know, and that's
not awful, and their quarterbacks hurt, but it's not good.
But I think that just not doing anything strikes me
as almost indecisive in a way on the organization's part.

Speaker 5 (14:04):
Yeah, I don't view it that way at all. I
didn't expect them to make a move. I didn't think
there was gonna be a player that would be worthwhile
to go get.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
Is that why you didn't expect them to make a move, Well,
because you didn't think there was anybody worth making a
move for for what.

Speaker 5 (14:16):
It would cost to get a player. What are you
trying to do? If you're the text, you're trying to
get significantly better? You're three and five? Who is that player?
Were they trading for Sauce Gardner to watch Kamari Lassiter
and Derek Stingley Junior play?

Speaker 2 (14:27):
That's not who they need.

Speaker 5 (14:28):
Were they trading for Quinn Williams to watch Sheldon Rankins
and all their other defensive tackles.

Speaker 2 (14:33):
Plays that were available?

Speaker 6 (14:36):
Right?

Speaker 2 (14:36):
So who are these other players? They're just not good
enough to make this team better. You're naming players that
were clearly available because they moved to different teams. They
they happened to play almost exclusively on the defensive side
of the football. A lot of those players you named,
So that's not something that Texans needed. But that doesn't
mean that there weren't necessarily.

Speaker 5 (14:55):
There were running backs being of there were running backs available.
They like every team that talked to the Jets decided
the price they were asking for Breeze Hall was too high,
so he did not get traded, even though he was
definitely being offered and definitely being negotiated around by GM
to their GM, and they just never came to an agreement.
Texans are just one of several teams. There was a
wide receiver that was moved, and I don't think the

(15:17):
Texans were in the market for Rashid Shaheed and he
went to Seattle, and there were a lot of teams
interested in supplementing their wide receiver group. I think Seattle
was smart to be the team that was able to
pull that trade off. There was an offensive lineman moved.
He went from one of the worst teams in the
NFL to a team in dire straits on the offensive line.
Quite honestly, just from this past Sunday, you could argue

(15:39):
that Texans are in dire straits. There's a real possibility
the group that finished the game on Sunday isn't even
the group they can start the next game with, because
I don't know what this status of ed Ingram will be.
You could see Blake Fisher and Tay Hersery at tackle.
You could see Juice Scruggs and Lake and Tomlinson both
starting at guard. And Jake Andrews in the mad protecting

(16:01):
Davis Mills and handing off to Damian Pierce. Everything I
said is an absolute possibility as I sit here on Wednesday,
how does that sound? It sounds awful, but it could
be reality when they get to Sunday at noon.

Speaker 2 (16:14):
Yeah, And I think that you know what you were
talking about with some of the players like a Damian Pierce,
Like even if you're not if you're not making a
move to get better i e. Bringing another player in
that kind of thing, then wouldn't it have made sense
to at least since some of those players that aren't
doing anything for you and aren't figuring in the future

(16:35):
out to try and get better in other ways.

Speaker 5 (16:37):
But with draft picks, even if they're low. We found
out today Nick Chubb wasn't practicing. I imagine Nick Cassario
probably knew that yesterday before the deadline. If Damian Pierce
had been traded the last several weeks or yesterday, they
would have had two tailbacks at practice today when at
other times of the year they have five. You don't
go into games with two tailbacks, you really you Sometimes

(16:58):
you can go into a game with three.

Speaker 2 (16:59):
That's what they've been doing. It's a little light.

Speaker 5 (17:01):
If you have the fullbacks or other guys that can
carry the football, you can make it work, but they
might have to make it work at tight end. You
shouldn't have to make it work. And Christian Harris got hurt.
The players that weren't making a big difference, and we're
playing an exceptionally low snapcount if even active in Harris
and Pierce, either the time had already passed where you

(17:23):
really were in a good position to move them and
you just adjust now if they had already been moved,
or now you're just not in a Who's trading for
Christian Harris when he's not healthy? And how could the
Texans move on from Damian Pierce if there's any possibility.
For all I know, Nick Chubb said today's practice out
for personal reasons or for rest, then there's nothing wrong
with him. I don't know that at this point, but
I do know that they you know, they went through
a Wednesday practice usually lighter than Thursday, and Thursday is

(17:46):
usually much more strenuous than a Friday practice.

Speaker 2 (17:49):
So I just don't know the status of it.

Speaker 5 (17:51):
But you know, the things you might want to do
are limited when you have so many players not available
to you.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, but again going back to not doing any thing
at all, do you think do you did you expect
that to be the case because the players weren't available
in your mind that would have helped the Texans, or
because you didn't think that Nick Cassaria was going to
send out some of these players we talked about, like
Damian Peace saying out any of those players doesn't do anything.

(18:19):
This better be good. CJ.

Speaker 5 (18:21):
Stroud will be out this week, according to Mika Ryan's Okay, Yeah,
he just started talking to the media and figured they
would have that information already, and it was nice to
have him give it to us already expected and I'm
glad it hopefully will be give CJ time to get better.
But this doesn't WI doesn't really tell us anything about
the long term future, even week to week. But we

(18:42):
know that Davis Mills is in front, and that's another
thing I was watching for at practice, and obviously with
the transactions they made a bunch of them. Today, they
don't have a third quarterback at all period, on the
practice squad or elsewhere they're going to go into this game.
It looks like and they could still sign somebody obviously
Thursday or Friday even sad if they want, they could
go into this game with Graham Mertz and his knee

(19:04):
brace as the only other available quarterback. He is healthy,
and he's obviously been cleared to play, and he's been
on the roster the entire season but has not played,
has been the third emergency quarterback every single week. They
don't have a practice squad quarterback. They literally have nobody
else here on the roster, all sixty nine players deep.
So I'm a little surprised in that he's never played

(19:26):
before and he's next in line, and he's, like I said,
coming off a pretty significant knee injury that ended his
college career. So just something to keep in mind as
they move into the week, and we'll see if there's
anything else divulged about.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
Some of those other players.

Speaker 5 (19:42):
Certainly it'll be divulged at least when the injury report
is released, although that will not be for several hours.
Texans have dealt with this before, and Davis Mills was
the again the answer, if you're being literal, who starts
when he's hurt? Davis Mills does? Is it a real answer?
Is it helping this team? Football games. There's a pretty
big drop off, and I don't know that we talked

(20:04):
about it enough because CJ didn't engineer touchdown drives during
the only three drives that he was on the field for.
But the offense was The offense was fine for those
three drives, absolutely fine. They didn't punch it in because
they have a weak run blocking offensive line and their
ocean head coach were bullheaded. I don't think they were

(20:26):
gonna have trouble moving the ball against the Broncos. I
don't think it was gonna be quite like them playing
against the Niners. But all of a sudden, you couldn't
move the ball because you didn't have your quarterback anymore.
It made a humongous difference. And on top of it,
I think Dave's mill played particularly well. Had he played well,
there still would have been a drop off. That's why
is the backup. Maybe this week will be a little

(20:47):
bit different because he gets all the reps at practice.
I don't think it'll be a tremendous amount of difference.
What will be different is they're playing the Jaguars defense,
who's okay, but not nearly as good as the Broncos defense.

Speaker 6 (20:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
No, I mean that's going back to what I was saying,
that it might not be the only week that he misses.
I think who they play the next week has a
lot to do with that. Like if he probably could
go and it was not an ankle injury, I know that,
But I'm saying, like, if the Titans are coming to

(21:19):
town and he could probably go, but it'd probably be
best for him to rest because it's already been one week,
and there's like that. They don't really do that with concussions.

Speaker 5 (21:31):
You don't think it's more cut and dry, like either
he can either he passes protocol or he doesn't passed.
The team doesn't. On top of that, say, but he's
our franchise quarterback. I'd rather be I'd rather take another
week off. Do you think they do that? I?

Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yes. And here's why I don't think anything's off the
table when it comes to concussions in the NFL, because
I never think we've gotten a straight answer from anybody
associated with that league about this subject. I just don't, Well,
what kind of answers are we missing? Well, I just
think that they they've never been held accountable for half
the stuff that they used to do, and now that
it's supposedly a concern of theirs. We're just talking about

(22:07):
the protocol, I know, but there, I mean, you can't
tell me. There's been times where even in today's NFL,
there was a quarterback that passed the concussion protocol, but
he still probably has some after effects. Maybe it's dizziness,
maybe it's symptoms. Are you hypothetically referring to CJ.

Speaker 5 (22:23):
Stroud when he ran over to the tent and he
jumped over the bench and he was trying to give
every impression that I don't even need to go in there,
and they had the officials took him off the field. Yeah,
I think in that situation, we've seen game day versions
of that might not have been handled the way it
should have been.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
And that's just one example of one that's because we
saw it right.

Speaker 5 (22:43):
Anything that happens behind closed doors, obviously it's purely speculation,
But I have to believe with the investment in CJ
that leans towards what you're saying. You know that the
doctors can say, look, he's no longer like sense whatever,
he's no longer this, and he can do that, and
he's gone through practice and he's passed all these tests
and he's not suffering from any of the symptoms. So
he has completed the concussion protocol and from our end,

(23:03):
the medical side, he is cleared. And then the team says,
and specific to CJ, this is not concussion number one.
It could be concussion number eight, but we know for
a fact he's missed time, he's been NFL concussion protocoled
before and missed games because of it. So I do
think their treatment of him might be a little bit different.

(23:25):
But you only have so much time in a season.
You only have so many years of this, You only
have so many games to recover from. Whatever your record
is my best guess and total speculation. If CJ clear's
concussion protocol in advance of whomever they play, that's the
game he returns in.

Speaker 6 (23:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (23:44):
Can they beat the Titans with Graham Mertz? Probably, But
if he's out of concussion protocol before the Titans game
and the trip to Nashville, then I think he'll start.

Speaker 2 (23:54):
Who was the worst quarterback you could start against the
Titans and still feel confident your team's gonna win.

Speaker 5 (23:58):
I mean, you could probably get case k him back
over here and beat them. I'm talking about any team
not just the Texans. They're so bad.

Speaker 2 (24:04):
It's it.

Speaker 5 (24:05):
They got two gift touchdowns a week ago and still
didn't come with it, you know. I mean it was
a one score game. If you want to put that
in your Titans cap.

Speaker 2 (24:13):
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he's out for two
weeks just because of that, knows. I thought it, just
me being the doctor on the radio, I thought it
looked like a very very bad concussion. And there is
such a thing as different variating or very variation forms
of concussion in their severity, So that's factors into a
lot of it. All right, Best of X Coming up next?

Speaker 1 (24:37):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (24:43):
Did you see this should be putting out?

Speaker 3 (24:45):
Between five and posts.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
Four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media.

Speaker 8 (24:51):
History repeats itself type Benuel's.

Speaker 2 (24:55):
Succeed Never doubt that you're the one.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
Who was go one.

Speaker 8 (25:01):
You're the best.

Speaker 2 (25:04):
Nothing's gonna have but top.

Speaker 8 (25:05):
You know, you're the best of ex post an every
single day you're the best of it, breaking the entire internet.

Speaker 2 (25:26):
How do you think you sounded singing that jingle?

Speaker 5 (25:29):
Just as I suspected, satisfactorily satisfactorily.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Yeah, I don't really even listen to it anymore. I
know what it sounds like. You've been doing it for
a while.

Speaker 5 (25:39):
We got a couple things to revisit from yesterday, because
there's just a never ending supply of content, whether it's
the beef online, well see it in person when they
meet on the court between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant,
or can we travel back to the sound we played
yesterday from former Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien and

(26:02):
there's more of that.

Speaker 6 (26:03):
Oh yeah, No, I'm glad you're down. I'm not down.
Nobody's down. We're fighting, we're competing.

Speaker 9 (26:09):
You know, it's the second year of this program, Mike.
You always come in here with these down questions, Like
you show up like once a month or.

Speaker 6 (26:14):
Something like that. You come in here with these down questions.
I'm not down.

Speaker 9 (26:18):
I don't know what year you graduated from BC.

Speaker 6 (26:20):
But this is a program that we're building.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
Nobody here's down.

Speaker 6 (26:23):
We're positive.

Speaker 9 (26:24):
We're gonna show up and play our asses off against SMU.

Speaker 6 (26:26):
You can you can go out there in.

Speaker 9 (26:28):
Your dark, clouded world or whatever it is, and do
what you want to do. We're not down. The sun
is up and we're fighting. That's my message to the fans.
What's up, Trevor.

Speaker 5 (26:37):
What's up Trevor, I believe has been trending on social
media ever since. ACC schedule this weekend is an interesting one.
The game that he mentioned, obviously is part of it.
You've got SMU at BC to kick off a full
Saturday of ACC football. All of their games are on Saturday.

(26:59):
You got North Carrol trying to get another win their
home for Stanford Virginia, who's inside the playoff rankings, obviously
at the top of the ACC. Miami's gonna try to
write the ship. They've got the Orange Florida State and
Clemson always ate not this year in California and Louisville.
Among the other games, Manny Diaz's duke team is playing Yukon.

(27:20):
If that were basketball, this would be awesome. It isn't,
so BC has a single win. Do you remember NFL
wide receiver Alan Robinson the second I doesn't played for
the Bears, ring about a little bit with the Rams
a few other teams in the NFL Jaguars also went
to State college. He was a Nitney Lion in State

(27:43):
and He quote tweeted to the post of the rant
high rade communication that Bill had with the media that
we played for you just moments ago. He quote tweeted
that and said, my guy exclamation point, one of my
favorite coaches.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
It was among several of the other.

Speaker 5 (28:01):
Side of things that I think was out there on
social media yesterday. We talked about the Bill part of it.
He's yelling at people. Of course, it's negative. You out
one win. It's gonna be the worst season in fifty
years in BC. It's not even your first year. Other
guys are able to go in and turn around programs
in two years, like here in Houston with Willie Fritz
and elsewhere in the country. But your program is headed

(28:22):
in the wrong direction, and so severely in the wrong direction.
We have to wonder what your message is for the fans.
So that was one comment that was made and it
was met with some reaction. The first one was he's
a horrible coach. Alan Well, Alan responded, Okay, what makes
a coach horrible?

Speaker 2 (28:42):
And what would your answer be? By ineffective communication has
to be at the top of the list, because of
I mean, his nickname is teapot.

Speaker 5 (28:54):
That was a response to many many people that saw
this yesterday. Alan did have a response to that very question,
what makes a coach horrible? He knows football. He may
not know this team, but he's the coach the best
at he's coached at the highest level. I think there's
a lot more BC than him, like the problem other
people responding with this is a six and six program,
not a one in eight program, and that's exactly where

(29:15):
they were.

Speaker 2 (29:16):
Alan says, what's the difference some bowl game?

Speaker 6 (29:19):
Now?

Speaker 5 (29:20):
I agree that, oh my god, this is awesome. We
went six and six. We can't wait to go to
this bowl that nobody attends. And it doesn't matter if
we win or lose. Well, there is a difference between
winning half your games and winning twice, which is probably
where they're headed at best. Maybe a two to ten
season is very likely. One and eleven seasons not out
of the question. There is a humongous difference. I don't

(29:41):
think it's bowl game or we don't care. You can
go oh for the season, for all you do care.
You're trying to have people interested in the program at
six and six. It's not so much that oh, yes,
our fans can celebrate by traveling to Memphis or some
other nowhere city to see this Bowl game. It's that
we gave you a competitive product to come out to
the stadium to see. We gave you a competitive product

(30:03):
to continue being fans of and maybe potentially give money
to the program and help with the nil all those things.
If you're one in eleven or two and ten, that's
a dramatic difference.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
We always gave Jeff Fisher a hard time for being
mister seven and nine right as an NFL coach. Yeah,
but that's kind of the same thing we did with
Bill O'Brien. In fact, there is a very famous press
conference about that nine and seven's not the bar Brian,
but that that's how he skated by in like conversely,

(30:35):
talking about one two win seasons, that's when you do
get fired. That's when things do go bad for you.
That's why he was able to always kind of I
think that's why he lasted as long as he did
in Houston.

Speaker 5 (30:46):
Right, I mean, I think it's apples and oranges because
of the support you need to drum up. Like as
an NFL head coach, you coach football, you literally don't
do anything else. You don't recruit, you don't generate money.
You don't press the flesh, you don't shake hand, you
don't have to do any of that stuff.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
You just coach football.

Speaker 5 (31:01):
You can and it might be helpful to the franchise
if people like you, but if you win, they won't
care about any of it.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
At Bill Belichick, it doesn't matter. You just have to
coach the game.

Speaker 5 (31:10):
You just have to either help get the players or
coach the players that are given to you. You're rear
running everything at college football. And if you're unliked and
unable to win and unable to get people to give
money to your program, which is a huge, huge, huge
part of your job, like stay in this conference. Look
at the difference between North Carolina's two head coaches their
last one in this one. And we know Mack Brown
pretty well from the time you spent here in Austin.

(31:31):
Like he could get by in college football if he
had to without winning at the grandest level because he
was so awesome at all the other stuff. He was
good with the kids, he was good with recruits, He
had the right people helping him in recruiting, with all
the people he had on staff over the years, and
he was very well liked in the office in that
arena where the AD needs you to do this, and

(31:53):
the AD needs you to do that, and the biggest
booster wants to hang out with you, and Matt couldn't
have been greater to do that.

Speaker 6 (31:58):
I don't.

Speaker 5 (31:58):
I can't see the nice guy like in that regard.
But it's an idea. It's a totally different ballgame. I
do think that ultimately is why Mac isn't there anymore,
because I think it just it passed him by. But
to what I said about the six and six in
the two and ten, Alan Robinson disagrees, in the grand
scheme of things, there's no difference, but I feel you, well.

Speaker 2 (32:18):
My question would be, as it pertains to him specifically,
how many people are Alan, Yeah, how many people on
the college or pro level have actually made that kind
of statement about Bill?

Speaker 5 (32:28):
Every one other person that is on Allen's side. She
married Chandler bing okay at Cox, Courtney posted, I absolutely
love this out of bull out of Bill now this
particular Courtney Cox works in radio in Boston and is
a Boston College homer self professed, and also in our

(32:51):
bio it says I did not play Monica on Friends,
but that does happen to be. So she's like people, Hey,
he cares, he's yes, he's combat. He's trying to tell
you I want to win. I'm I don't want this
to happen. I'm not doing this on you know.

Speaker 2 (33:08):
But the results are what they are.

Speaker 5 (33:10):
It's it's interesting that there are people on both sides
of what seemingly is one sided. I just want to
point that out. There's there's people on both sides. There's
super letter in Bill's corner. So Bill succeeds the moral
of this story. Bell O'Brien is still polarizing.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
He needs to take that kind of attitude with the team,
not the press. That's someone else's comment. Watch them play.
They stink.

Speaker 5 (33:34):
I appreciate this response out of Bob, but New England
fans will feast on this and double down on the
bleep takes.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
I have no dog in the fight. There haven't been
that many, but he is by far the most polarizing
Lightning Rod most discussed ex Texans coach in the history
of this city.

Speaker 5 (33:52):
US Shucks, Are you sure it's not even close? He
leap frogs Gary. Yeah, it's Gary's tenure was way better, well,
way better and way more friendly and people like it
so much.

Speaker 6 (34:04):
Good.

Speaker 2 (34:04):
That was the thing. If you are good and you
win more, you can be an a hole. Just ask
Bill Belichick. Technically one more than Gary. Is his record better? Yeah?

Speaker 5 (34:15):
By how much a game? Negligible? I mean, we're if
we're quibbling over that. It tells you the state of
the franchise's history.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
It's bad. Yeah. But he had like that one two
win season in there, and then he had like, I know,
he had double digit victories. They posted when did when
did Bill win?

Speaker 10 (34:31):
Was it?

Speaker 2 (34:32):
What was the most tends? Double figures? Barely mister nine
and seven. Bill O'Brien sucked as a GM.

Speaker 5 (34:41):
He was awful, and he was probably not as good
of a coach as some would think. Eleven wins his best.
Gary's best was twelve two ten win seasons. Bill had
two ten wins seasons. So he bottle that'll fought better,
all right.

Speaker 2 (34:53):
We'll battle fight out of the final segment of the show.
Next the hour.

Speaker 1 (35:02):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
It is the eighteen. Sports Talks seven ninety will be
again the simulcast coming at the top of the hour
over on Space City Home Network, But for now just
another plain old radio segment in which we reveal to
you what Jonathan Alexander revealed recently on the social media streets.

(35:34):
Asked Texans coach Tamiko Ryan's whether he was in agreement
with Nick Cassario's decision to not make a deal at
the trade deadline. Ryan says, it wasn't for a lack
of trying very cryptic. It's not cryptic at all. It's informative.
I mean, that's the thing I was. I guess I
understand why everyone has all this angst over the NFL

(35:55):
trade deadline, even though it's pretty rare. We saw what
we did yesterday, and this team was really not in
a position to do that anyway. There are a couple
of splashy players that were moved, and there are a
couple of teams in the playoff hunt clearly ahead of
the Texans that made moves to stay that way or
either side of the conference.

Speaker 5 (36:13):
But him saying that, like, are people learning that? Are
they surprised? Do they think Nick didn't come to work yesterday? Like,
of course he was on the phone trying to make
something happen. That's his job, that's what he does. It's
what he does in the off season is what he
does throughout the season. Yesterday was it the first day
he picked up the phone?

Speaker 2 (36:31):
Either? What about Jonathan Alexander's follow up to that same tweet,
Still a move was not made. He didn't specify whether
he agreed with it. That's why it's cryptic, even though
it's not. Oh well, it's just the way it's phrased.

Speaker 5 (36:45):
Well, I mean he gave I thought he gave a
good answer, like, yes, you were wanting this specific answer
to your question, and I totally respect that. But it's
an easier it's easier for the coach to prevent the unnecessary.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
Well, that's funny thing about it.

Speaker 5 (37:00):
It puts him in a position where either he is
piling on what everybody else.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
Oh yeah, you just lump me in with Nick.

Speaker 5 (37:07):
We don't know what we're doing, we didn't trade for anybody,
we're useless, or he's saying it's either me or him.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
Well, the funny things he.

Speaker 5 (37:14):
Doesn't agree with it, then he's telling you, we don't
have a gam that can did what we needed to
get done.

Speaker 11 (37:20):
Well.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
The funny thing about this tweet in particular, and I'm
not sure I'm not getting on Jonathan about the way
he wrote it, but it's written as Demiko ryans whether
he was in agreement with Nick Cassario's decision. It takes
two to make these trades. So if you're you know,
if you're Nick Casario and you want to make a trade,

(37:42):
you still have to have someone else also want to
make that trade. So it's not necessarily Nick Cassario's decision.
It's it didn't happen for a variety of reasons, especially
if he's gonna say it wasn't for a lack of trying.

Speaker 5 (37:53):
Yeah, that's why it's good that he said that. I'm
glad that he said that. It's helpful that he said that.
I guess, but again, duh, I really don't understand this, Like,
what do you think Nick does? He just says we're fine. Now,
he may say stuff like that, but that's not how
he operates. That's not how he does his job. He
may say things that you don't agree with, he may
say things that aren't even true, but he's not really
just out there sitting there lying to you. He said

(38:14):
he didn't expect a whole lot of activity to happen.
He said it back to back years, this year, last year.
I think he said it in previous years. That's how
he feels about the deadline in general and how his
team plays into it. Probably has a lot to do with, well,
are we three and five or are we six and three?
Do we have nine picks in the upcoming draft or
do we have five? Is there a player that we
know is available that we're not in a bidding war

(38:35):
with we can't outbid? And what are the assets we're
willing to part with? Oh my god, this is awesome.
Nick Cassario traded for Breese Hall. Will we be saying
that in April of twenty twenty six when the Texans
third round pick is being taken by the New York
Jets instead of you? He got a wigh all that
in and that's what the general manager did, and he said,
wasn't worth it. Go out there and win a game, Davis,

(38:56):
try to get us to four and five three o'clock hour. Beckins,
we'll reset a couple of items and we will hear
from Demiko Ryans. Is the Texans prep for the Jaguars?

Speaker 3 (39:07):
The A teen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (39:14):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam, we're talking your
team Adam.

Speaker 4 (39:21):
Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
It is the A Team Wednesday edition of the program,
our number two first hour televised on the Simulcast Space
City Home network. We're always on Sports Talk seven ninety.
We're taking you who hold tel six o'clock tonight. He's
wex I'm a c. Cole Thompson is our producer. Rockets Grizzlies.
Later on tonight on both networks, you'll be able to

(39:53):
see and hear them as they'll take on the Grizzlies
in Memphis, the start of a road trip that will
also take them to San Antoni. You know on Friday.
It's a big showdown right there. We talked a lot
about the Texans in the first hour and we will
continue to do so here simply because Demiko Ryans addressed
the media just in the last few minutes and in
case you uh, well, like I say, in case you're

(40:14):
under a rock, but I think there was pretty much
the assumption that we would not be seeing C. J.
Stroud in this week's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But
in case you needed to hear it officially, that was
absolutely said earlier today when Demiko met with the media
and was asked about his usual starting quarterback CJ.

Speaker 6 (40:33):
Stroud will be out this week.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
So there you go a lot of details there. And
in case you were wondering, the trade deadline was also addressed,
and we were just talking about that last segment. If
you want to hear exactly what Tamiko Ryans had to
say about that, that's what this sounds.

Speaker 12 (40:49):
Like I said earlier, like it's not from a lack
of trying. It's the repeat, not from a lack of
trying that we didn't try to make trades or anything.

Speaker 6 (40:58):
Unfortunately, nothing hand out for us.

Speaker 2 (41:01):
So when you hear that and you actually hear the
way he said it as opposed to us reading a
tweet that was basically quoting him talking about that, does
it change anything about your feelings about it? Because to me,
like I said, it goes back to if you're gonna
have a GM make a trade, you have to have
another team that wants to do that. You can interpret
that a couple of ways. You can interpret at it

(41:22):
as he just didn't do anything, or you can interpret
it as it was gonna cost too much to do
something maybe you wanted to do, or he asked for
players that weren't available, or you can interpret it. There's
a lot of different ways.

Speaker 5 (41:33):
It doesn't change how I thought about it at all,
not one bit. If you heard me last segment, that's
exactly why I was glad he said what he said. Now,
hearing him say it, I think exactly the same thing.
Nick did his job. It didn't net him any players
coming in, It didn't net him any players coming out.
I'm not grading the quality of the job he did,
but I expected him to make phone calls. I expect
him to try to come up with something. You know,

(41:54):
trades don't even when you, I mean, you make a trade,
it's like automatic.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
This is great. Oh they did something.

Speaker 5 (42:02):
Nick even says it, and people just they get mad
at it. But then when he does make a trade,
they they're, oh, yeah they did. And he says, we
don't just make a trade to make a trade. Well,
if he wanted to appease the fans, he would, because
that seems to appease them. I don't know if you
have to even evaluate the trade. Oh they did something,
I'm excited. Why let's actually evaluate what did happen?

Speaker 2 (42:21):
What did he do? What did what happened?

Speaker 5 (42:23):
To your roster, that you're excited about what what happened
to your roster, you think made you better today than
you were the day before. And it's always big picture stuff.

Speaker 10 (42:31):
You know.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
Clearly the Colts pushed.

Speaker 5 (42:33):
Their chips in for twenty twenty five because they went
out and got an extremely talented player who, by the way,
practiced in full today had been in the concussion protocol.
But sauce Gardner is trending to be ready to play
this weekend in every game for the rest of the
season with the Indianapolis Colts, who already have the best
record in the league. There are also some pretty significant

(42:53):
ramication ramifications for what they gave away two first round picks,
but again, they got one in. He's a first round pick,
and the picks they gave way are almost assuredly way
worse in where they fall. I can't tell you the
quality of the players they're going to get, but I
know the quality of the player that they have. I
don't know what the what the other team's gonna get
because we don't know those players. I know who's on

(43:14):
the Colts. He's very costly and for a team that
doesn't have long term stability, at quarterback. That does create
some challenges, but this will show you why. If you
have what you want, you figure out how to get
it done. If they believe Daniel Jones is their guy,
and whatever happens the remaining eight games of their season
plus playoffs shows it, they will not have any problem

(43:37):
whatsoever signing him to whatever deal makes sense for both sides.
If he asks for more money than they can give,
I don't think it's gonna turn into great. I'm out
somebody else will pay me. If he plays well, he's
gonna be the Colts quarterback moving forward, and probably for
the long term, even with Sauce Gardner's money, even with
Jonathan Taylor's money, even with everybody else on their cap,
and whatever other dumb moves it. You know, Chris Ballard's

(43:59):
may be over the years. They're trying to win.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
Right now.

Speaker 5 (44:02):
I don't know what the Cowboys are trying to do.
The Texans are three and five. The Cowboys are three
five and one, and they have made multiple deals since
the beginning of the year, both before their record became
three to five and one and after their record became
three five and one with adding Logan Wilson and adding
Quinn Williams the Texans. I'm sure at three and five
the fans wanted them to put new players on the

(44:24):
field in twenty twenty five from somebody else's roster.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
And if you just glance around the players that were not.

Speaker 5 (44:29):
Traded but clearly were sought after, or you look around
the players that did get moved, what is it?

Speaker 2 (44:36):
What did you want him to do?

Speaker 5 (44:37):
Who is this mystery player that he failed to get
that was either not moved to any team or was
moved but just didn't come here.

Speaker 2 (44:46):
Well you have you have said you don't think he'll
be back next season? Time on Nick Assario.

Speaker 5 (44:51):
Yeah, unless you're finding out that at Ingram is a
plus player and they're going to resign him and he's
an anchor of the interior. Relyne Unless you find out
for certain and you know you've definitely hit on tay Erser.
I think it's trending in that direction for sure. I mean,
as I sit here today, I'd be shocked if somebody
else is starting at left tackle in twenty twenty six,
it will be him. What are you doing long term

(45:11):
with Titus Howard? Don't know that we know what you're
doing short term with Titus Howard considering his concussion situation.
But we know the offensive line is going to get
another makeover this offseason.

Speaker 2 (45:22):
We know it. They're playing like it. They're not playing
well enough to prevent it.

Speaker 6 (45:26):
Well.

Speaker 5 (45:27):
So now you have to ask yourself, if you're Cal
and Hannah and Janis and everybody else that's making anybody
else that's making the decisions, do you trust him?

Speaker 2 (45:34):
You trust him to fill out the rest of your roster?
Has he made some mistakes? Sure? Could your tight end
position be better?

Speaker 6 (45:39):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (45:39):
Cause your running back position be better? Sure? Was Christian
Kirk a great signing?

Speaker 6 (45:42):
No?

Speaker 2 (45:43):
Did he have a great off season this year? Talking
about Nick?

Speaker 5 (45:45):
Probably not? Big picture of fifty three man roster plus sixteen?
Has he put together a roster that you can live
with as he's your GM and if I fire him,
I have to get somebody better than him. He's got
all that stuff. But the question is do you trust
him to fix the only problem that he has never fixed?
The same people that have evaluated the talent all these
years and honed in on we must draft this player,

(46:08):
we must sign this player, and we must extend player.
They're all still there. I mean, are you asking him
to fire his scouts. Are you asking him to fire
James Lipfort in order to keep his job, or you're
just saying you're all gone because you're all the same
people that have been here making these same decisions throughout
this entire span of their offensive line is not good enough,

(46:28):
it's substandard, it's way below average, and you're asking your
two ocs over a three year period to figure out
a game plan to overcome your obvious, unaddressed, properly weakness.

Speaker 2 (46:41):
Do you trust him? You mentioned if you do get
rid of Nick Assario, a guy, bring in somebody who's better.
And it always makes me think of Omar Khan because
that was the guy slated to be the Texans GM
before he suddenly wasn't because Jackieaster be gone on an
airplane and brought back Nick Asserio. Well, just because we
don't really get into it, why don't we do that?

Speaker 6 (46:59):
Now?

Speaker 2 (47:00):
What's Omar Khan done? Oh? No, I Look, he has
the job.

Speaker 5 (47:04):
He's the general manager of the most stable franchise in
the history of the NFL.

Speaker 2 (47:08):
He took over a good program. They've remained a good program.
That's what he's done. Absolutely nothing.

Speaker 5 (47:12):
Yeah, but they they've had they've This is probably one
of the worst stretches of Steelers football.

Speaker 2 (47:16):
Because they don't have a quarterback whose job is it
to get one? No, I'm saying they have not gotten
a franchise quarterback put in place, and there's been a
lot of teams that haven't been able to do that.
If you take Cleveland out of the equation, because that's
just laughable. That's they do try to tilt the scale
and one, yeah, but that's every that's every NFL franchise
until it's not. And I know it seems like it's easy.

Speaker 5 (47:42):
I mean, I'm being super glib, clearly, But where were
they when he got there, roster wise and talent wise
and results wise? And where are they now? They're not
in a better place. They're They're definitely not in a
better place. They're They're the same.

Speaker 2 (47:55):
So you're arguing that because when Nick Cassario got here,
the text are in a better player.

Speaker 5 (48:01):
Well, I'm not saying they missed out on Omar Khan
is all I'm saying, did they?

Speaker 2 (48:05):
I don't know. He is an NFL GM, but he
wasn't just like brought in. He was already in that
organization assisting the prior GM, which I his name escaped
Bulbert okay, I mean he was part of the team
that was doing very well. Not surprisingly, that's when they
had Ben Roethlisberger still calling the shots.

Speaker 5 (48:23):
Nine and seven or nine, seven and one, nine and eight,
ten and seven, ten and seven. And this year they're
five and three, which puts them on the exact same
trajectory they were twelve and four before that. They've lost
the wild card game four consecutive trips to the postseason.
They've been less successful than Nick Cassario's game, if you
want to get down to it.

Speaker 2 (48:42):
But that's right. I mean a better record, but I've
been less successful. I'm not saying you bring in Omar
Khan when you fire Nick Cassio. I'm just saying, since
you brought up the fact that you need to be
bringing in somebody who is better, and that was basically
who was competing for the job, if you want to
put it that way. Yeah, for sure, I don't know
who that would be because much like these players were
talking about, well, if they're good, they're not gonna be available.

Speaker 5 (49:05):
So ask the secondary question, are you afraid of them
making that decision?

Speaker 6 (49:11):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (49:11):
Then being callan Hannah. Absolutely.

Speaker 5 (49:14):
If you take Nick Cassero out of this job and
whatever other moves you think are necessary in the personnel
department to go along with it, you obviously have the
option of doing what the Steelers did. You could just
advance James Lipfort's career and he becomes the GM. He's
been an assistant essentially, the different titles go along with
he's been the assistant GM. If you just want to
tell you, I can tell you what his job is.

(49:35):
He helps Nick Cassaria with every possible part of putting
this roster together, both college and pro and has done
that for many many years. More of a focus on
one versus the other at times, but that's what he does.
He is an NFL GM in waiting if you want,
not necessarily here, but when jobs are open, he should
be in line to get interview.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
A million dollar question for this subject is how much
influence and sway is Demiko going to have on that decision?
Or add to that, do you try trust him?

Speaker 6 (50:00):
Like?

Speaker 5 (50:00):
Why is he good at it? Why you know he's
going to get the right thing done? Well, how do
you know he knows the person that wants to do that?
You're putting a lot of your trust in somebody who's
never done that before. He's only worked for two teams,
so he's only really worked for two gms. One of
those gms was Rank karth On, and he was run
out of Tennessee and has not gotten another job. I
don't think he did an awful job there, He just

(50:21):
lost a power struggle, like about twenty other people have
in the time that Miss Strunk has been wielding the
power over there. Adam Peters was a guy we talked
about quite a bit because of his affiliation there with
Demico and other Niners personnel people he's with the commanders now,
I mean, there are only so many people he has
contacts with. I guess, but yeah, he comes down to trust.
Do you trust Nick to get the job done? Do

(50:42):
you trust the people that remain here, the owners to
hire the right person the next go around if that
job becomes available, A lot of trust.

Speaker 2 (50:49):
Maybe we'll ask Dimitrius Harvey, who he thinks should be
the next GM of the Texans, but probably will ask
him about the Jacksonville Jaguars, especially since he is the
Jags reporter for the Florida Times Union and he will
join us next.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
The a team on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 2 (51:04):
Ninety oh, but to be joined by Dimitrius Harvey sooner
rather than later this segment. Oh there he is, okay,
just making sure we had him. Demitrius Harvey joining us

(51:24):
on the phone lines right now. He is the Jacksonville
Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times at Union. Demitrius, good
to have you on the program. Obviously, the team you
cover is looking to sweep the season series against the
Houston Texans, team that they are already ahead of in
the standings. Be honest, and this goes for both teams
and the colts. Did you, in your wildest imagination think

(51:46):
that the AFC South would look like this on November
fifth at the beginning of this year.

Speaker 10 (51:52):
No, I really can't say I would have expect hit
this at all.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
You know.

Speaker 13 (51:56):
I think going into the season, I had the Jaguars
win in about six games, and they're one away from that.
I wouldn't expected them to be, you know, this far ahead.
I think of their build, and I think it's just
a credit to you know, what the coaching staff has
done down there and are down here in Jacksonville, and
it's it's sort of been unbelievable to watch. And then
obviously with Indy, I mean that that's incredible, that situation

(52:18):
with Daniel Jones. Yeah, you know, the AFC Sund's breaking
down like this is not what I expected.

Speaker 5 (52:24):
Is the job done by the coaching staff maybe the
best thing that's been uncovered this season for the Jaguars.

Speaker 13 (52:34):
Yeah, I mean, I really do think that that's been
the primary reason why they've gotten better. You know, obviously,
they brought him some players. You know, Jordan Lewis has
made some plays. He's definitely helped the team a lot.
Eric Murray as a safety, you know, before he got hurt,
he was helping the team a lot. You know, they
brought in different guys, and they drafted you know, obviously
Travis Hunter and.

Speaker 10 (52:53):
And and things of that nature. But really, for the
most part, the twenty two players.

Speaker 13 (52:58):
That are starting, you know, more or less, it's pretty
much the same. And so I really do think that
the coaching staff.

Speaker 10 (53:04):
Had a lot to do with that. I think that they've.

Speaker 13 (53:06):
Really bought into this coaching staff. It's clearly one that
they believe in, and I think that you know, sometimes
it does take change of scenery, not just for a
players leaving, but players getting new coaches, new teachers just.

Speaker 10 (53:20):
Sort of come in.

Speaker 5 (53:21):
Yeah, there's a lot of things to look at statistically speaking,
and they definitely don't point to the Jaguars should be
five and three. They've won a couple of games by
making plays late. Obviously, their last game was an overtime
victory with a play not made by the Raiders. Their
victory over the Chiefs was a play made by Trevor
Lawrence on a drive. With several plays made by Trevor Lawrence,
what do you do with your grade for Lawrence at

(53:42):
this point of his career? What are your thoughts about
him today? Are they any different than they were heading
into the season with Liam Cohen?

Speaker 13 (53:51):
You know, I think that Trevor's Trevor's an interesting quarterback.
You know, obviously, coming out of Clinton, he was noted
to be a generational talent. Everyone had these high expectations, understandably.
Obviously he was incredible at Clemson, and then when he
comes into the NFL he has to go through, you know,
a few different coaching staffs. We just got done, you know,
with him going through the Doug Peterson coaching staff, which

(54:13):
is a completely different offense than the one Liam Cohen
has all about to say is sort of, you know,
I'm not necessarily shocked at where Trevor is right now
in terms of his play. I don't think he's playing
as bad as everybody or as some people might think.
But I also know that he's not playing to the
level that he should be expecting or you know, for
that price tag. So he's kind of in that weird

(54:34):
middle ground where I just need to see it play out.
I need to see the rest of the season play
out and see where he's at the end where I mean.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
Okay, So if I were if I were to ask
you to describe the Jags season through these first you know,
first half basically with one word, what would it be?

Speaker 10 (54:53):
That's a good question. Hmm.

Speaker 13 (54:56):
If I had to describe it with one word, I
guess surprising.

Speaker 2 (55:03):
If that's okay to use, yeah, because I mean, the
reason I ask is because it's not like they've been
one of the better teams in the NFL. But they
haven't been awful, and they've had some good wins against
good teams. But and again part of this is you
have to include the fact that I don't think anybody
saw this coming from the Colts, So it just kind

(55:24):
of throws a wrench into anything. I think a lot
of us thought, all right, if there is a, you know,
a race in the AFC South, it'll probably be a
two horse race and it'll probably be Jacksonville and Houston.
And here you are. It's it's kind of a two
horse race. But the Colts have just come out so strong.
So that's that's kind of why I asked. And you
know how Jacksonville figures into things that down the stretch,

(55:45):
it's it's gonna obviously start with this game this weekend.

Speaker 10 (55:49):
Yeah, absolutely it will.

Speaker 13 (55:50):
And you know, I think that this is actually probably
Houston's most important game. I don't know how you guys
feel about that, but to go down to two oh
and two to the Jaguars, I think he would get
to six or green seven, like the the the time
for the Houston to sort of come back would be now.
And and that's interesting because I would have said coming
into the season, and I probably did on your show

(56:11):
that coming into the season, you know, Houston and Jacksonville
would be the two teams to sort of watch, and
then obviously Indy's gonna lag behind, and then I think
everybody assumed that Tennessee would be where they're at right now,
So you know, it's a it's a funny situation. I
do think that this is a very important game for
both teams, but especially for Houston, who sort of seems
to be struggling obviously over the last few weeks.

Speaker 2 (56:30):
There'd be a lot of question marks.

Speaker 5 (56:32):
We talked to Demetrius Harvey here covering the Jags there
for the Florida Times Union, a lot of question marks
about who Trevor's going to be throwing to these next
several weeks. It looks like, and you can correct me
if I'm wrong, Brian Thomas Junior will be available for
this game. I know it's only Wednesday, but you know,
Parker Washington obviously steps into a larger role. Liam gets
his hands on Jacoby Myers to figure out how he

(56:52):
fits in. And I don't know if you have a
clear timetable beyond the ir stay for Travis Hunter, But
what what do you think the final are these sack
and half of the season will be in terms of
who he should be looking to throw the ball to.

Speaker 10 (57:05):
Yeah, it's gonna be tough, even on Brian Thomas. I'll
be honest, I don't.

Speaker 13 (57:09):
Know if he'll play this week, just because he's he
misspracticed today with that ankle sprame. You know, I think
that it was reported by Adam Schefter that it was
a low grade high ankle sprain. I'm not exactly sure
what that means. So we're just gonna have to see.
You know, with Brian, he probably will be good to go.
He's he's the type of player who gets gets banged
up and then all of a sudden he's back. But

(57:31):
but yeah, you know, it's gonna be Brian Thomas, it's
gonna be a guy like Parker Washington. It's gonna be
Jacoby Myers once he gets going.

Speaker 10 (57:37):
You know, I don't know how.

Speaker 13 (57:38):
Much he'll play this week. You know he will play,
but how much you can actually put on the guy,
I'm not sure. So you know, they're gonna be rolling
with Jakobe, They're gonna be rolling with Parker Washington, Damie Brown,
who's practicing at least limited this week, and so yeah,
it's gonna be tough and and for for the longer
term future. For Travis Hunter, I'm not exactly sure when
he's coming back. I mean, that's the situation that the

(57:59):
team is necessarily just you know, broadcasting telling everybody he's
coming back in December. But I do get the sense
that this is not an injury that's gonna knock it like,
for sure, knock him out throughout the rest of the
season and into the playoffs. But it is something where
he's not expected to be back for a very long
time and they have to sort of work through that.
And one last thing, you know, I do know that

(58:21):
they're gonna be getting Britain Strange back in the next
couple of weeks.

Speaker 10 (58:24):
I think that that's gonna be a huge boost.

Speaker 13 (58:26):
That's something that Trevor has desperately, desperately needed over the
last couple of weeks.

Speaker 5 (58:30):
It's been a calendar year almost with James Gladstone. He's
taking his swings.

Speaker 2 (58:36):
For sure.

Speaker 5 (58:37):
You feel like you already have a feel for what
kind of GM he will be throughout however many years
he's there.

Speaker 13 (58:44):
I do, and and I think that he is a
guy who is not going to make rash decisions, but
he will make, you know, to use his own words,
bold moves in order to upgrade the team. I think
it was just reported by Jordan Schultz. I don't necessarily
know in particular this, but apparently the Jaguars were in
on the Quinn Williams the Quinn Williams trade, so you know,

(59:05):
it's a situation where I do think that regardless of
you know, how anyone feels, the Jaguars are going to
be a competitive in terms of landing the players that
they want. He likes a lot of synergy with his players,
so he likes players that sort of compliment each other.
So that's sort of the direction that this team is
going to take. And I think that so far I
kind of have a little bit of a blueprint of

(59:26):
how this guy thinks.

Speaker 2 (59:28):
To me, sus you're your guy that you know, don't
you probably don't watch the Texans every single week, but
you're in the division covering a team that does play
them twice a year. So your opinion on this is
interesting to me. Since we're talking about gms, and since
we're talking about you know, Jacobe Meyers coming to Jacksonville
and saus Gardner goes to the Colts. A lot of
people are upset the Texans didn't do anything. But what

(59:50):
is your opinion on Nick Cassario as a GM since
he's been here because I don't think we always talk
about this guy and whether or not he's going to
be here after this season for a right of reasons,
and it always comes back to this guy's done some
really amazing things on the defensive side of things, but
the offensive line is still just not enough for what CJ.
Stroud needs in front of him. So I'm interested your

(01:00:11):
opinion on a guy like Nick Assirio.

Speaker 10 (01:00:14):
Yeah, you kind of said that at the end there.
I just really feel like, you know, so far in
the build and.

Speaker 13 (01:00:21):
What you guys have been able to do. You know,
obviously there are some very good there's some very good
talent on the defensive side of the ball. They're ranked high,
maybe even number one, I believe for a reason, and
so on that end, I do feel like he's done
a great job. And I do think he's done a
great job at you know, surrounding CJ. Shroud with some
weapons to throw to, you know, getting Dalton Shalls, you know,

(01:00:43):
drafting the guys he drafted, getting Christian Kirky, even though
he's been hurt over the last few weeks. And then
you know, obviously Nico Collins is sensational, so you know,
on that end, I do think he's done a good job.
But to your point, you know, he's neglected, in my opinion,
the offensive line for far too long, and it's showing
up year after year a year, and when something like
that gets so painfully obvious, I do think that there

(01:01:04):
does need to be at least a shift in in philosophy,
if not a completely change in GM. And then that's
sort of similar to kind of how the Jaguars were,
you know, with Trent Balky.

Speaker 10 (01:01:15):
He was able to build up a team.

Speaker 13 (01:01:17):
You know that you know, could have could compete. You know,
in twenty twenty two, they competed, twenty twenty three, they competed. Obviously,
injuries derailed, but they did not. They neglected you know,
certain parts the interior defensive lind interior offensive liond and
so that kind.

Speaker 10 (01:01:31):
Of derailed the team even the last couple of years.

Speaker 13 (01:01:34):
So yeah, you know, to me, I think that that's
the situation that after the season, I would imagine that
many would call for him to be replaced.

Speaker 10 (01:01:41):
And I wouldn't blame him very much.

Speaker 5 (01:01:43):
The story will be following the rest of the year internally,
with this team looking forward to the game this weekend,
likely will be close. Jaguars have played in six to
one score games, Texans have played in five. I imagine that's
what we will see on Sunday here in Houston. Demetrius,
appreciate you joining us again and I'll look forward to
catching up.

Speaker 10 (01:02:00):
Appreciate it. Have a good one.

Speaker 6 (01:02:02):
You got it.

Speaker 2 (01:02:02):
Texans and Jaguars Sunday at noon, last of three consecutive
home games for Houston.

Speaker 5 (01:02:08):
They'll try to take two of three if they can
win on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (01:02:14):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven nineteen.

Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
Thanks again to Demetrius Harvey, Jags reporter for the Florida
Times Union. A couple of things that he said that
I wanted to expand upon. First of all, it was
interesting to hear that he basically thinks Nick Casario is
probably going to be moved on from this year because Beatris.

Speaker 5 (01:02:42):
Has a eyeballs, and I've seen them play the Jaguars
at least firsthand many times. It probably knows plenty about
what the Texans problems are. He said it was neglected.
The offensive line is, yeah, it's been neglected. If you're
not doing it right, then you're neglecting it. I did
it very wrong, because it was bad and expensive in
twenty twenty four. It's less expensive this year, but hasn't
made nearly enough improvements to give yourself an opportunity to

(01:03:04):
go out and do the things you want to do.

Speaker 2 (01:03:06):
Offensive You know why I like that he said that
because too many times when you bring up that topic
with regards to Nick Cassario's tenure, people are like, ah,
he's tried. And the way you just said that is
how I feel. If you do it wrong, you are
neglecting it. You know it's not you don't get participation
trophies for trying. It's your franchise quarterback. Again. You've done

(01:03:31):
all and he gave him credit for this. You put
all these weapons around him. But if he can't get
it to him because he's not protected or the protection
isn't good enough, because you've done it wrong, then you've
neglected the offensive line.

Speaker 5 (01:03:43):
Yeah, he tried. I think it's foolish for at least
this offseason. I think that's extremely ill advised comment. If
people think that, hey, you don't try to fix the
offensive line by shopping at the scrap heap. You don't
try to fix the offensive line by making the assumption
that when we're just going to promote from within for
somebody who's never done it before. This is a first

(01:04:05):
time Kole Popovich's runner offensive line at the NFL level,
we're going to I don't want to get into Laramie Tunsel, This, that,
and the other. Laramie Tunsel is an extremely plus level
pass protector. Might commit a lot of penalties, might be
a bad locker room guy, but he's not. Might be
not a good run blocker, he's not. But you didn't

(01:04:28):
get better by moving We're talking about the field product.
We're talking about the ability to block people and make
your offense work. That was not a address the offensive line,
not at least in one off season. I'm sure it's
part of the master plan because essentially he's been replaced
by the correct choice. What they actually did there is okay,

(01:04:48):
But you didn't make your offensive line better by doing
the things you did this past off season. And no
matter how many times in different ways you say it,
you can't possibly think that addressing your offensive line issues
this passed off season and trotting out the interior offensive
line that they're trotting out there is not They don't match.
You didn't address the offensive line by taking a benched Viking,

(01:05:09):
a non playing Patriot, and a no longer useful forty
nine er or Seahawk Lacan came from the Seahawks most recently.
That's not how you make your offensive line better. I'm
sure he's not. He probably needs one for the future.
Maybe a new red hat battle red make the Texans

(01:05:31):
offensive line great again, because he's certainly never worn it.

Speaker 2 (01:05:34):
You gotta do better, Nick, you gotta do better. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:05:37):
I don't mind the change that he made it less expensive,
but you didn't add any talent, and there is some
talent involved. I mean, you can add the strongest line
to new has bad footwork. You can do something to
try to well make if you have. You add a
strong lineman with terrible footwork, and he plays for you
on this past Sunday, Well, you run behind him and
you probably score a touchdown on first, second, or third

(01:05:58):
goal because he can actually push somebody over.

Speaker 2 (01:06:00):
I mentioned this yesterday. Go back and watch those plays.

Speaker 5 (01:06:03):
Like the play is not unsuccessful because they don't have
the right running backs. It's unsuccessful because they're getting hit
behind the line of scrimmage, in this instance, the one
yard line, because none of their offensive linemen are in
the end zone. None of the offensive lineman had any
push forward. They didn't push anybody. And that's just the
first five guys that they blocked. That's not the linebackers
coming from behind, that's not the safety's coming from the

(01:06:25):
edge or behind them. There's no way those plays are
going to succeed with the group that you have. And
then that's where it flies in the face of your philosophy.
Got the physical mindset philosophy, Well great, I actually love
that philosophy, but it doesn't work with the personnel that
you currently have, Demiko, so you shouldn't be influencing Nick's
Nick Cayley's decisions on play calls, which it seems like

(01:06:48):
he does when they're in that situation. I mean, Nick
Cayley will talk about it, I'm sure today, but he
won't shed any light on it because he doesn't do that.
Does how much does Demico influence your know the game
plan each week? The play calls you had there inside
the two yard line. I don't know what kind of
answer you're gonna get, but it's a question worth asking.

Speaker 2 (01:07:08):
Yeah, I just I guess I was still surprised to
hear somebody say that they think he's gonna they're gonna
move on for I've been.

Speaker 5 (01:07:16):
Surprised to hear you say that. Walk around the rest
of the league. There's thirty other teams that have beat writers.
Why do you think the Texans aren't good in twenty
twenty five? Don't you think twenty five of them they
are gonna give that same answer?

Speaker 2 (01:07:25):
Yeah, And again I'm not I know it comes off
that I'm like, I'm sounding like a Nick Cassario apologist.
Far be it from me to sound like that, or
I'm not intending to, But I just feel like if
he was a horrific GM, it'd be easier. But he
has had some really good draft picks, signing whatever you

(01:07:46):
want to call him. Uh, and particularly on the defensive
side of the football. I don't know if that's because
Demiko had a hand in that. And going back to
your previous question, I think Demiko should absolutely have a
huge hand in who the next GM is if that's
indeed the direction they go, because I think he's the
next to go if it doesn't go right, that's just

(01:08:08):
the chain of command.

Speaker 5 (01:08:09):
These days, head coach was allowed to hire and fire
his OC. He's working on OC number two. Then he'll
be allowed to fire and hire a new GM or
be a big part of it. Yeah, I would think
he would be next in line.

Speaker 6 (01:08:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:08:22):
Do you like the culture of the Houston Texans since
Namiko Ryans took over? Because I do. I mean it's
definitely changed for the better. And forget the two years
prior to him getting here. That doesn't count. I'm talking
about a complete overhaul and culture from the Bill O'Brien era.

Speaker 5 (01:08:36):
I also forget about the players they didn't have. Well,
the only culture he's been able to build is with C. J.
Stroud and Will Anderson in the building. He's never been
the head coach of this team with during a football
game without them on the roster. That helps change your
culture as much as he does. Yes, I don't want
to take credit away from him, but you have been
a product to work with.

Speaker 6 (01:08:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:08:56):
I mean, Dave Cully and Lovey Smith, we're working with
a crap product. I don't think they were going to
succeed with any product. But there's no culture to build anyway,
and they weren't trying to win. The franchise wasn't trying
to win, so they the coach they brought in would
need to have done what Demiko was asked to do.
But I do think they chose the type of coach
that likely would be able to do that. I like

(01:09:17):
so much about what they want to do as a
football team, clearly what they want to do defensively.

Speaker 2 (01:09:22):
I don't know what there is to not like working.

Speaker 5 (01:09:24):
I mean, there's a few things I'd certainly like to
see them do better. It's always room to say they
could be improved, and they absolutely can. But they're doing
things right. You know, mistackles from certain players, miss assignments
because this is this uber aggressive defense. Swarm's not saying
that's what they do. There were a billion plays in
this Broncos game. You know these you know, whether it was.

Speaker 2 (01:09:46):
Harvey or.

Speaker 5 (01:09:49):
Dobbins getting to the edge or even a screen to
whether it was their tight end or somebody else.

Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
They'd get out there.

Speaker 5 (01:09:55):
They will have beaten the front and then there's six
guys waiting for They can't cut left, they can't cut right,
they can't even get out of bounds because the whole
rest of the defense is waiting there to gang tackle
them over and over. It helps you not miss tackles
because there's that many guys to do so, but there's
just so many good things about it, and more often
than not, your culture is dictated by your defense, especially

(01:10:20):
when you have a defensive head coach.

Speaker 2 (01:10:22):
Yeah, no, for sure, but I guess it's just you
talk about the scales. It's just so weighted heavily in
the deed, like there's so many things that have gone
right on the defensive side of the football. And for
all of your attempts to put those weapons around him,
and I think some of them are good, it just
feels like he's still playing with a hand tie behind

(01:10:42):
his back, and this week he won't be playing at all.
In case you missed it earlier, because Davis Mills will
be the starting quarterback against the aforementioned Jacksonville Jaguars, we
will shift gears a little bit. Is there another betting
scandal in sports? We'll discuss next.

Speaker 3 (01:10:59):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
It is the eight team Sports Stock seven ninety Space
City Home Network winding down three o'clock hour. Talked a
lot of Texans here in the three o'clock hour, especially
with the guest we had earlier, Demetrius Harvey, the Jags
reporter of the Florida Times Union got Davis Mills and
Trevor Lawrence this weekend at NRG Stadium.

Speaker 5 (01:11:32):
Doesn't sound right, but it is. We talked about the CJ.
Stroud concussion of two years ago against the Jets and
the first team reps that Davis Mills was taking that
week only to see Case Keenum start and then he
started the subsequent game after that. What doesn't seem like it,
but it's true. This is going to be Davis Mills'
first start since c J. Stroud arrived. Yeah, look, started

(01:11:55):
all those games under the previous coaches. We already talked
about today and don't need to again. If he hadn't
started a game, didn't start a game in twenty three,
didn't start a game in twenty four. He's obviously not
going to be passed by Graham Mertz this week as
he was by case situation.

Speaker 2 (01:12:10):
All it takes is one snap.

Speaker 5 (01:12:12):
He's not going to be passed during the week and
gets hurted practice. How horrible would that week be? Well,
then they would be compelled to sign another quarterback.

Speaker 2 (01:12:20):
And you know what, you know what Demetrius said that
really almost made me laugh out loud, but I didn't.
I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or anything, but he
was like, you know, I think this is a big
game for the Textans. This is like make or break season.
I'm like, actually, they played that last week and they lost.
Well mathematically, he's right, Yeah, so you lose. Let's say
you lose this week. Okay, you're three and six and
the Jaguars are six and three. So in order to

(01:12:43):
pass the Jaguars, you have to have more wins than
them now, because they now have the tiebreaker and three
more wins than you, and they've already beat eight games left. Yeah,
so that's all there is to it. You're not likely
to pass them. Well, when were you ever likely to
pass the Colts.

Speaker 5 (01:12:55):
Let's say you beat them twice, but now you've already
suffered lost six because you've lost Jacksonville. The best you
can hope for is they fall to seven and three.
You're still four wins behind them.

Speaker 2 (01:13:06):
This is why I keep saying they're not making the
playoffs this year. Well, they have to win this game.

Speaker 5 (01:13:11):
I keep that in play so many passing Jacksonville is
a breeze if you beat them, yeah, because now you're
only one win behind them and neither one of you
has the tiebreaker. You could easily win the tiebreak, don't you.
They only need one more game. Yeah, but there are
too many good teams in the AFC and other conferences.
Then you're still like you have to pass two teams.

Speaker 6 (01:13:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:13:31):
Ns, I just feel like, I just feel like the
Colts are the only team coming from this division that's
going to make the postseason. For a variety of reasons.

Speaker 5 (01:13:41):
You and the Chiefs are ninth and eighth, respectively. The
Chiefs just need to beat the teams that they can,
because they also do not have the tiebreaker over the
team they trail most immediately, one of those being the Colts.
This week, well, I'm just saying they just lost to
the Jaguars. That's why they're behind the Jaguars. They're five
and four. The Jaguars are five and three. So at
the end of the season when they played the same
number of games, which will start this week. Because the

(01:14:03):
Chiefs are off this week, they have to be better.
They have to finish with a better record than the Jaguars,
and quite honestly, they could be fighting for six, seven
to eight at the end of the season, depending how
other teams fare. Remember all these a lot of these
other teams. The Broncos have seven wins, the Charters have
six wins. Now these teams are and the Patriots have

(01:14:23):
seven wins, they're not right close to either the Chiefs
or the Texans. Necessarily, there's a lot of work to
be done for the two teams on the outside looking in.
We just get this idea that the Chiefs are playing
so much better than they you know, over the course
of the season when they ran off that winning streak, Well,
sure they did play better. They've lost four times. There
are seven teams in the AFC that do not have

(01:14:44):
four losses. That's why they're also on the outside looking in.
And then you have to consider Baltimore. Now, Baltimore doesn't
actually play much of a role anymore because they hardly
have any games left against anybody but their own division.
So it's likely that they'll probably bring the Steelers back
to the p but they're also going to be a
part of the pack moving forward. They sit right behind Houston,

(01:15:05):
who's the only team they have the tiebreaker overs is
the only team that matters that they've beaten this year.

Speaker 2 (01:15:09):
In the AFC.

Speaker 5 (01:15:11):
There is a near impossibility that they make the playoffs
if they don't win this week. But I think they
have a very realistic shot to make the playoffs, the
Texans or the Texans if they do, because it's about
passing the teams in front of you, and you only
have so many opportunities to see them lose when you
play them.

Speaker 2 (01:15:31):
That's the best opportunity.

Speaker 5 (01:15:33):
And Jacksonville's their five and three record is because they
have won more than they've lost in close games. Texans
have played five close games, they've lost them all. The
Jaguars have played six close games. They've won four of them,
including win that win over the Chiefs.

Speaker 2 (01:15:46):
But let's say you beat the Jags and the Titans,
which your favored to do. So now you're five hundred.
You're not beating the Bills. Why not?

Speaker 5 (01:15:55):
You're just not because you can't outscore them. That's why
why not? The Bills are they're good? I don't think
this is I think they've had previous Bills teams each
of the last two.

Speaker 2 (01:16:06):
Years that are better than the one they have on
the field this year, and the Texans beat that team.
They did beat them last year twenty three twenty in Houston.
But the Texans offense last year. The Texans were also
better last year. That's that probably should add that to that.
That's the main reason why I don't think they're gonna
beat the Bills. They have a better defense this year
than they did last year. Fair the Texans definitely. So

(01:16:28):
this is just and this is what glaringly points out
what Demetris and we've been talking about. It's like you're
wasting this awesome defensive season. You're just wasting it because
your offense is trash. It's gonna get trashier this week
because CJ's not even playing.

Speaker 5 (01:16:42):
Yeah, the real issue isn't you know, can they beat
the The real issue is how how do they look
when CJ returns? The season could be lost because he's
not out there. I don't know. I don't think we've
had enough time for the line to do anything yet.
We brought it up yesterday and at that time yesterday,
the Texans were favor one and a half point favorites
over the Jaguars, and we were discussing, well, when Davis

(01:17:04):
Mills is named officially the starter if anything, do.

Speaker 2 (01:17:07):
You get that already know he wasn't playing that I
think they won't eventually, like Sunday afternoon.

Speaker 5 (01:17:12):
They probably did not have a line yet, but shortly
thereafter he's in concussion protocol. Odds or not, he's right,
so I said, I don't think the line's going to
change much, if at all, when Davis Mills is officially
the starter. But it sounds crazy that a five and
three football team coming off a victory who's already beaten
you once in their place, is coming to town. Well,
you put your backup quarterback out there for an offense

(01:17:33):
that is way below average and didn't score any touchdown.

Speaker 2 (01:17:36):
They've beat you with your good quarterback. Why would you
be favored? I don't know, only because they're at home,
But that just doesn't That doesn't hold enough water for me.

Speaker 5 (01:17:44):
The same home they played in a week ago and
scored five field goals.

Speaker 2 (01:17:48):
Oh, by the way, by the way, Kyami fairbarn is
probably not even gonna play, or.

Speaker 5 (01:17:52):
He's not playing. I think Demiko was pretty clear about
that today. He's not a big deal.

Speaker 2 (01:17:57):
It is. Well, I think it's a good thing. Why
you're not gonna try as many field goals so you're
just gonna go for it on fourth down? Always talking
about it like the Madden absolutely I am if there's
a fish with Davis Mills.

Speaker 5 (01:18:11):
Yeah, okay, that's why you need to go into these
situations like it's four down territory. Don't let yourself get
into fourth and eleven where you can't go for it.
Don't let yourself get into those situations. If it's third
and thirteen, get seven yards and then go forward on
fourth down. Matt Wright is the epitome of why you
give Kymie fairbear in a contract. I've long been like

(01:18:32):
the only supporter of why they keep resigning him for
the at the level they do, which makes him one
of the higher paid kickers, and kickers don't make any money, so.

Speaker 2 (01:18:40):
I don't know why anymore because he's the leading scorer.

Speaker 5 (01:18:43):
Well, you want a kicker that you don't have to
think about, like the amount of coaches that have to
deal with this because they don't know, like Kyle Shanahan
and the ridiculous nonsense. They've had a kicker for multiple seasons.
It's the worst. It's awful, Like I've lost James football here.
I've got a great defense, I'm putting a game plan together.
I'm high and coaches, we're putting personnel out there. But
I can't count on this guy to make a forty

(01:19:03):
yard field goal. I can't counter and make an extra point.
Look at what Raheem Morris is dealing with this year.
In Atlanta, they're getting a new kicker for the third time.
We're barely halfway through the season. Timy Fairburn is out.
Matthew Wright is on the practice squad. He will be
elevated to the active roster and he'll be your placekicker
on Sunday and Jay, They're still favored.

Speaker 3 (01:19:25):
The A team. On Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (01:19:27):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham talking your team.

Speaker 4 (01:19:38):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A team.

Speaker 2 (01:19:43):
Age our number three here on the A team. It's
Sports Talks seven ninety Space City Home Network. Lot of
Texans conversation today. Just to kind of sum up the
show in one tweet. Jonathan Alexander quarterback CJ. Stroud is out,

(01:20:04):
kicker Kymie Fairbairn is not expected to play, and offensive
tackle Titus Howard is still in concussion protocol, but it
sounds like there's still a chance.

Speaker 6 (01:20:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:20:13):
I was over there at practice today and it was
pretty obvious with Kaymie situation.

Speaker 2 (01:20:18):
Aaron Wilson.

Speaker 5 (01:20:19):
Others had reported that there was a leg issue and
matthew Wright was outed to the practice squad, and we
knew that before he got out there. Kickers or kicker
and his two specialists are they are always the first
people on the field, long before the rest of the
team exits the bubble and comes onto the field, they're
out there. So first thing we saw was WHLL number
forty two kicking, and he kicked during the small portion

(01:20:40):
of practice we're able to see, so yes, he will
be out there.

Speaker 2 (01:20:43):
On Sunday.

Speaker 5 (01:20:44):
Left practice, most everybody goes inside to sit down for
Demiko's press conference. Wednesday usually is also CJ's press conference,
and then the locker room is open.

Speaker 2 (01:20:54):
I don't do that.

Speaker 5 (01:20:55):
I leave because I have a radio show that conflicts
with that. But I did see ty Is Howard. He
wasn't participating practice. He wasn't even yet on the practice field,
And as I mentioned earlier this week, I don't I
was at the game, and I think people will probably
get annoyed by some of my injury related posts when
I'm at games. Christian Harris just went into the medical tent.

(01:21:17):
Christian Harris just left the medical tent. And it was
walking back to the text and locker room. Christian Harris
just returned to the textan sidelines. Christian Harris is testing.
Is whatever transparent?

Speaker 2 (01:21:26):
Your snapcount tweets are way more annoying than your injury tweets.

Speaker 5 (01:21:30):
Those I just want to clarify. Those are first thing
Monday morning. But I'm trying to let people know who
don't get that from the broadcast. If they're watching on TV,
or if they're following along in the stadium, they might
not notice.

Speaker 2 (01:21:39):
I want to let people know that.

Speaker 5 (01:21:41):
But I do notice all those things, like when Woody
Marks is off the field, Oh, he's testing on the sideline.
He's going to come back ed Ingram looks like he's
going to try to give it a go. I didn't
see Titus Howard period. I didn't know he left the game.
I didn't know he what is where he left in
terms of part of a series or after a series.
I don't think the snapcount that I sent out off

(01:22:02):
the official report was even accurate because I went back
and watched it and he didn't leave during the middle
of the series. His snapcount suggested that he did, but
then we got the news that he was questionable return
being evaluated for concussion, and we got the news that,
like CJ, was not going to return. So whatever had happened,
it didn't require attention on the field. He wasn't told

(01:22:24):
to come out the official that I saw, they obviously
never went onto the field because he was down. So
I'm just not sure where it took place, but it
took place during the game at some point. But again,
grading out the severity of it, it's good news that
he's feeling well enough that they haven't put a definitive
answer on whether or not it can participate. The answer
that Steve that Dimigo gave about Nick Chubb at least

(01:22:46):
confirmed he wasn't missing practice for rest and he wasn't
missing practice for personal reasons. He was missing practice because
something is a miss injury wise. He didn't say what
it was. We'll get a little more insight when the
injury report is released, but that's pretty significant.

Speaker 6 (01:23:00):
Two.

Speaker 5 (01:23:00):
I mean, you we walk you down this list, how
many more starters would you like to not be available
for a game that we've deemed quote unquote a must
win and also they're still favored. We can't get over it.
I would wonder if if the news today forces the
line in the Jags direction, because money, that's what changes

(01:23:21):
the line. For the most part, a bunch of money's
gonna come out on the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence and the
Jaguars at five and three are gonna come to Houston
and lose to Davis Mills, to an offense that's already
played two of eight games without a touchdown. I mean,
the Texas have played their first game. In their last game,
they never found the end zone, didn't score a touchdown
against the Rams in defeat, didn't score a touchdown against
the Broncos in defeat. So a week of practice reps,

(01:23:44):
being the number one, taking first team snaps, and playing
a lesser defense, Davis is gonna have I mean, arguably,
I'd have to say, like the start of his life.
We know he has starting experience. Is there a game
you'd like to point to, how about it? Well, you
have to start with this.

Speaker 2 (01:24:02):
He has to play better than he played when he
got in the game last week.

Speaker 5 (01:24:08):
Yeah, he missed too many players that were open, too
many routes that were run like you want and had
the time to get there. Just wasn't a very sharp day.
And again the early portion of his day. They at
least moved down the field to kickfield goals twice they
were in a very very good position on one of them.
They gained nine yards and they kicked a field goal.
But second half was like the most useless offense the

(01:24:30):
Texans have had since CJ's arrived. At least I know
Davis has had games like that previously with much less
talent around him. But yeah, they just simply couldn't get
anything done against the Broncos defense for an entire half
of football.

Speaker 2 (01:24:42):
Yeah, that was brutal. I don't know if this will
be brutal. I'm not a huge fan of it, but
apparently it's a thing. Chandler Rome is all but saying
that Justin Verlander is going to be an Astro next year. Now,
I'm not saying he's coming right out and say, but
if you listen to this, I mean, would you bet

(01:25:05):
money on it?

Speaker 5 (01:25:05):
As you know, Chandler not only participates in our program
year round when needed and obviously throughout the baseball season,
for which we appreciated covers the Astros for the athletic crush.
Shitty Territory is also where you can find some of
his work as that as the podcast he helps two hosts,
and he said the following about Justin Verlander when asked specifically, like,

(01:25:27):
come on, man, how long has it been he hadn't
been here in how long shouldn't he be back by now?

Speaker 2 (01:25:31):
Tell us what's up with JV.

Speaker 14 (01:25:33):
I think there's a good chance he will be pretty soon.
I'm not gonna I look, I don't think I would
put the odds at greater than fifty percent that it happens.
I've not been told that anything is like tangibly close.
But I mean, you don't really have to have like
backroom sources or anything to hear this, Like, I mean
Justin Verlander when when the Giants came to Houston this year,

(01:25:54):
like Justin said like on the rail, like yeah, I'm
always open to coming back here. I want to come
back here.

Speaker 6 (01:25:58):
He said.

Speaker 14 (01:25:59):
He called Jim last year when the Giants offered him
and said, can you match this? And at the time,
so they weren't in a position to do that.

Speaker 2 (01:26:08):
Okay, let's saying and doing are two different things, obviously,
But let's just cut to the chase. He's forty three
years old. He was awful in the first half of
last season. If you want to say that's because of injury,
which I think a lot of people and Justin included,
would have said that he just wasn't right physically fine,
then why should a team that is just coming off

(01:26:28):
of one of the most disappointing seasons ever due to
injuries pony up more money, even if it's one year,
even if it's not relatively that much for a forty
three year old guy who, while he was good at
the second half of last season. I just I don't know.
I feel like, I know you need help with your rotation.

(01:26:48):
I know you're not going to resign fromber so those
are how that's how you're starting your off season, which,
by the way, MLB free agency starts tomorrow. I know
all that's going in. I just feel like every bit
of money you spend should be to realistically help you win,
no matter how you're spending it. And I don't know
that getting Justin Verlander, even if it's on a one

(01:27:09):
year deal, even if it's for not that much relatively money,
is the right move here.

Speaker 5 (01:27:14):
Yeah, if it doesn't prevent you from making other moves
that make much more sense and give you something beyond this. Season,
younger players, somebody might really want to be more of
an anchor.

Speaker 2 (01:27:23):
He's not an anchor. I don't think they're signing him
to be an anchor.

Speaker 5 (01:27:25):
So nobody's confused by that twelve million bucks to pitch
for the Giants.

Speaker 2 (01:27:30):
Can you get him for ten? Can you get him
for less? Can you you know? Whatever it takes. I
would hope it's in that range or.

Speaker 5 (01:27:36):
Lower and saying he pitched one on the second half
of the season or post All Star break, just to
be definitive. He had a two ninety ninety and fourteen starts.
That's tremendous, very good. That's phenomenal. That's winning baseball. That's
how you win games when you get that from your
starting pitcher. Now, similar, not quite exactly, but similar to

(01:27:58):
Dylan Cees. He he doesn't have quite the swing and
miss stuff that he used to, So that's not at
all like Dylan Seas. He's nothing but swinging miss stuff.
But he hates throwing strikes, so he walks a bunch
of guys and he can't get out of five innings
justin can't get through more than five innings very often
because they foul off a billion pitches. He nibbles and
tries to you know, he's kind of judicious about how

(01:28:22):
often he wants to challenge hitters, and he figured out
a little bit better way to do it last year.
He clearly for the several years after going to the Mets,
coming back to the Astros, pitching for the Astros, and
then going to the Giants in the first part of
the season, I think he was trying to figure out, Okay,
what do I really have now, and how can I
get guys out?

Speaker 2 (01:28:38):
And maybe he learned a little bit about how to
do that.

Speaker 5 (01:28:40):
And the last fourteen starts of the year, that's half
a season, fourteen starts, roughly, and he had a two
ninety NINETYRA.

Speaker 2 (01:28:47):
Teams still hit two forty seven off of him.

Speaker 5 (01:28:50):
He still walked twenty six batters in seventy five innings,
which isn't a ton, it's just more than he used to.
But he also struck out seventy in seventy five innings.
That's a big jump up from what he had been
doing at the stage of his career. For eight million
dollars to make the third start of your rotation, to
be behind Christian Xavier and Hunter Brown, ahead of Spencer Aarraghetti,

(01:29:12):
let's say, and the other spot in the rotation we
still don't know about. You're not signing him to basically
be your third best starter, and he might end up
being there. He's just one of the additions you almost
have to make to your starting rotation.

Speaker 2 (01:29:27):
Yeah. Let me But if you're Jim Crane and you're
listening or you're watching right now because it is your network, eh,
So ask yourself this question. Are you more likely to
get the version of Justin Verlander in the second half
of last season or are you more likely to get
any combination of the first half of last season or

(01:29:50):
the second or back end of the season he pitched
for you, in which if you had made it to
a Game three against the Tigers, it was going to
be a thing like should he even make the playoff
roster was being talked about here two years ago, which
he did not two years ago, not last season, two
years ago. So you're gonna now and again where you

(01:30:12):
swatted him in the rotation.

Speaker 5 (01:30:14):
Yeah, I mean, it doesn't really matter. He's just a
part of your five man that's not at the top
that right, But.

Speaker 2 (01:30:19):
Again, it's I just in a season where you're probably
if you're Jim Cray and you're thinking, well, we've got
to at least be better than we were last year
just on health alone. You can't bank on health because
you just can't, especially with Jordan. I'm sorry, like, I
don't know what I'm gonna get this year. I hate
it because when he's right, oh my gosh. But when
he's wrong, you're screwed. As an offense. We'ren't even talking

(01:30:42):
about the offense yet.

Speaker 5 (01:30:43):
You shouldn't be. Your offense shouldn't completely fall apart because
he's not there. You should go from really good offense
to just not quite as good. Last year that had
so many other injuries they were shot without him, and
Jeremy Pania and he's prettis and on and on and on.

Speaker 2 (01:31:01):
And Christian Walker at home who was basically like he
was injured at home even though he wasn't out well,
he wasn't good at home.

Speaker 1 (01:31:11):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety it.

Speaker 2 (01:31:22):
Is the eight team Sports Talk seven ninety. We work
with some evil people. I'm just gonna leave it at that.
Oh man, uh wex and ac with you. On a
Wednesday edition of the program, Justin Verlander will be an
Astro sooner rather than later is basically what we talked
about all last segment.

Speaker 5 (01:31:39):
Yeah, you also have to look at what's out there
and what you really can do. Like what's out there
free agency wise is very very limited. It's not a
great crop of pitchers out there. Like Lucas shi Alito
is a name that will be out there. Do you
have any interest in doing that? A little bit younger,
just as inconsistent, some good some bad injury issues for
him too. That's kind of what you're looking at if
you're not looking at the very top end of what
is available. If you really if you're making a run

(01:32:00):
at Dylan Ceese and the Astros open up the season
with Hunter Brown, Dylan c Spencer Arrighetty, Justin Verlin or
Christian Xavier in their rotation, which financially is absolutely feasible.

Speaker 2 (01:32:11):
That sounds so good on paper, but I just don't
know if that's what it is.

Speaker 5 (01:32:15):
I would have a hard time telling people that sounds
good because I've been so exceptionally negative about Cease. What
it would do is give you five legitimate options to
at least if they're healthy, to start this season. Plus
you'd have some other guys that filled in this year.
You know, aj Blueballs obviously a part of this conversation.
I don't know how they feel and what the situation
will be with Jason Alexander, but there's a handful of

(01:32:37):
other names clearly like that. Okay, so you start the
year like that. That's great at the start of each
of those games, but aren't you already going into the
season with three of those five unlikely to pitch deep
into the games Christianavier unless he starts throwing more strikes
and walking througher batters.

Speaker 2 (01:32:54):
It's what she used to do.

Speaker 5 (01:32:55):
It's a struggle for him to get through six innings.
It's five innings, and then we'll see then that third
time through the order, when does that come up?

Speaker 2 (01:33:02):
He gives up? He had been giving up so few hits.
The third time through the order. Was that much further
into the game. I'm still hopeful of a full spring
training Christian Haavier returns to form.

Speaker 5 (01:33:12):
But even in form, he's not a you know, I
know he's pitched seven innings plenty, he's been part of
no hitters. He can at times, but that's one of three.
Cease is the same, and obviously at this point his career.
I think JV is the same. He had a handful
of seven innings starts last year that wasn't quite as
bad as as Cease is. But that means you're starting
the year knowing, well, whoever Steven okerd is, if he's

(01:33:35):
back or if someone like him better be ready? You know,
same thing with Brian King. Where do things stand with
the other pitchers that we keep not talking about? How
great for four months was Bennett Susa? Who's that going
to be this year? But you know he's Josh Hayter
obviously is in a similar spot. I mean it's no
you have mentioned, uh, Hayden was Nesky and Renel Blanco

(01:33:59):
for the half of the season. Those are two, But no,
I don't know Lance. Oh I'm not even considering Lance.

Speaker 2 (01:34:06):
That's how crazy is it that that's where it's gotten
with him?

Speaker 5 (01:34:10):
Like the way you should consider Lance and is a
little flippant the way I said that if his time
away from injury is one of the things that was
holding him back from doing what he wanted to do,
executing more of his pitches. He got pretty limited with
what he could throw because these are the only pitches
that are working these are the only pitches I could
throw for strikes. It got rather limiting for him. But
if the timing of well, what did you expect? Man,

(01:34:32):
he just came back and he'd had this setback, and
he had this setback, and he hadn't pitched in however
many hundred days. So he hit the off season healthy. Yeah,
he gets to go through this off season normal pairing
for a season, and I'm hopeful before the opener on
February twenty. First, the spring training exhibition schedules released today,

(01:34:53):
so that means reporting day should be neighborhood of eight, nine,
ten days before that. Somewhere in that neighborhood, you want
to feel like we don't get any unwanted news. JV
is not ready to throw yet, and Lance is not
ready to throw yet.

Speaker 2 (01:35:07):
JPS like we've done it through every single season and
they're still winning championships until last year.

Speaker 5 (01:35:12):
If he arrives to West Palm Beach as he left
Dyke and Park, then hopefully there is an opportunity for
him to use the time away as more of the
recovery process, because that is also normal. Like we just
watched Shane Bieber and Christian Xavier for that matter. They
had Tommy John surgery, they went through rehab, and they

(01:35:34):
returned and they you know, Javier had his moments of
pitching pretty effectively and he was far from a design
no complications. But Shane Bieber came back and he's throwing
in the World Series because they have that much confidence
in him, and he pitched well enough at the end
of the season to absolutely warrant it. That's I hope
that's more the normal path. It just was nothing like
the path that Lance took. So what you're counting on

(01:35:54):
from him, I don't know. Obviously, we saw him pitch
out of the bullpen, which we never thought we would.
I don't anticipate debate that's how they would want him
to start next year as an option in the bullpen.
But if you're not an option in the bullpen and
they do land a couple of starters and you don't
start in the rotation, what do you do with him? Well,
and he's not pitching for the space the last year

(01:36:16):
on his deal, it's one of the last years of
his deal.

Speaker 2 (01:36:19):
What do you mean either the last year it's closer
to the end, it just isn't at the end. Is
that your way of saying, I'm not sure. No, it's
not this year in the following. He's got two more
years left on that deal. It's a five year deal.
How does it feel like all the other players that
their deals were expiring, It's all been faster. It wasn't it. It
was just a five year contract, wasn't it? Five years?

(01:36:41):
Eighty five million?

Speaker 6 (01:36:42):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:36:43):
Yes, but he was not done with it. He had
not begun it when the extension didn't kick in until right, Okay,
maybe maybe that's what it is. It felt like, I
take it back, twenty six does look like it's the
last I thought it was.

Speaker 5 (01:36:59):
It started in twenty two? Yeah, the year Okay, So yeah,
you're paying him a lot of money.

Speaker 2 (01:37:06):
Yeah, but that's not well, I'm just talking about when
it comes down to being a starter versus a bullpen guy.

Speaker 5 (01:37:12):
He wouldn't be the highest paid bullpen pitcher Yash's gig. Well,
we know that he wouldn't be making as much as
Heavier next year, he wouldn't be making as much as
Dylan Cees next year. They'd all be making more than
Hunter Brown. Because Hunter will likely not sign an extension
but rather go through the arbitration process. Hopefully they'll avoid
the actual arbitration here.

Speaker 2 (01:37:32):
Scott Bora's client, Hunter Brown, is about to make more
money than all of them combined have ever made.

Speaker 5 (01:37:38):
It's off in the distance. He made eight hundred k
last year. I never got that jersey last year. I
think I was just mad too much last season eight
and seventy not at him, and it's I would say,
I feel confident, but I don't know this yet.

Speaker 2 (01:37:50):
We'll find out next week.

Speaker 5 (01:37:52):
He'll finish third in the al Cy Young voting, probably
pretty close with Crochet I think, and Scooba will win
by a.

Speaker 2 (01:37:59):
Large Spregman stand in Boston.

Speaker 5 (01:38:02):
Yeah, he's one of the players that has opted out,
and they had until tomorrow to do so. And then
that's why free agency begins with all the opt out
decisions being made. I still think, yes, I think it
opens the door for Boris to do what he does,
you know, kind of pushed the pressure on Boston to
now be forced to match a deal he could get elsewhere.
I think he's serious about playing elsewhere. I don't think
he's totally playing them, but I mean I don't know

(01:38:24):
the situation that well. I obviously have not talked to
Alex or his family. But I look at the Boston
situation and how many young players they have, like Anthony
made it into the Rookie of the Year finalists list,
And even though he only played part of a season,
if they still have Meyer, they still have the shortstop
that they extended and then ultimately had to send down

(01:38:45):
because he just wasn't hitting well. They really have players
ready to be the astros. Yeah, what he experienced here
helping guide some of these younger players on being a
part of that young group himself. He's obviously on the
other side of it now, but they're in position to compet.
He's in position to be the reason why these young
players helped me, the reason why these young players succeed.

Speaker 2 (01:39:06):
He's good for the team.

Speaker 5 (01:39:07):
We could talk till we're blue in the face about
how much he meant inside the locker room. There's no
doubt it was the same thing there. I was like
many other people looking through their phone in our business,
looking through our phones today for November fifth, twenty twenty two,
saw a bunch of videos of him holding the trophy,
smoking a cigar, telling us about his bum finger that

(01:39:28):
they or may not have kept him out of action,
moving forward. Had there been any you know, hugging up
a led Miss Diaz and just celebrating a championship here
in Houston three years ago.

Speaker 2 (01:39:36):
This day should have been in twenty three too, Yep,
could have been. It wasn't stupid Rangers, you suck.

Speaker 5 (01:39:42):
I look at the Red Sox and why they wanted him,
as they want to do what we did here. They
have that there's another team like that we developed that
talent going on. If there's another team like that that
he almost landed with that, I think if he went
to them this offseason after opting out, he could have
at least the success he had this year and maybe more.

(01:40:03):
Detroit Yep, yeah, I think their talent is already there.
It's just a little bit older. Kerry Carpenter, Riley Green,
you know, Parker Meadows. I think their talent is not
quite as young, and they could have used him the
way they lost this postseason. That's the only difference. I
tend to agree the type of team they had. That's
why I always thought the baseball was a perfect fit.
AJ's there, they're on the com they're playing in that division.

(01:40:25):
He's going to do wonders there. But I never thought
he wanted to live in Detroit, and nobody wants to
live in Detroit. And I always thought he wanted to
live in Boston. And I only say that because it
doesn't always matter to players, but as a kid having
another kid. His wife is extremely busy and influential in
her own way as an influencer, and I think it
helps her do what she wants to do by not

(01:40:47):
being in Detroit.

Speaker 2 (01:40:48):
I think it's funny though, that what we keep hearing
about with Justin is how much he likes it here
in Houston, you know, with his superstar wife.

Speaker 5 (01:40:58):
So he's played in Detroit that ownership group, he's played
in New York for that ownership group, and now he's
played for San Francisco and that ownership group.

Speaker 2 (01:41:06):
He's like best friends with this owner. Big makes a
big deal. And let's talk about the fact that I
don't is is he using that to his advantage? Yes,
you mean like getting more money or finding a home. Yes, well,
I don't know what the deal is going to be.

Speaker 5 (01:41:21):
I honestly don't think so, because I think he has
to listen back to what Chandler just said. He talked
to Jim about last year's deal with San Francisco, and
Jim said, this is just something we can't do.

Speaker 2 (01:41:30):
All I got to do is keep playing golf with
this guy and he'll keep giving me money, but not
at a level that hurts the team he's joining. I hope, yeah,
let's hope that's not the case. We've got our signature
segment on a Wednesday. It's Wednesday's BS, and we'll have
that next.

Speaker 1 (01:41:47):
The ad on Sports Talk seven ninety a little help
over the hump with some Wednesday BS, two Adams.

Speaker 2 (01:41:58):
And a whole lot of bit stealing.

Speaker 1 (01:42:00):
Bit stealing with the bit Steelers, better known as the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (01:42:08):
Wednesday's BS.

Speaker 5 (01:42:09):
We'll leave the rest of the shows alone and will
not be bit stealing today, but rather take the term
for exactly what it is, nonsense BS, and dive headfirst
into that. There are a couple of betting related stories
to get into, one probably a little bit larger than
the other. We'll save that one for second first. Probably
didn't even hear about this. IM not sure that it

(01:42:30):
needs a whole lot of discussion, but it happened nonetheless,
and it's pretty interesting from a college angle. The NCAA
handed out punishment this this week, calling it a major
infractions case. Violation summary essentially points out that an Indiana
volleyball assistant coach placed about seven hundred bets totaling over

(01:42:56):
three hundred and twenty five thousand dollars, a very small percentage.
Twenty seven out of seven hundred of those bets were
on Indiana football and Indiana men's basketball. The coaching questions
that he used an unregulated computer program.

Speaker 2 (01:43:13):
Listen to this. This is wild.

Speaker 5 (01:43:15):
He used an unregulated computer program to place the bets
on games automatically based on an algorithm, and as a result,
he was not aware of which games he was betting on,
including the Indiana games.

Speaker 2 (01:43:29):
So it's just like when guys are training and putting
certain supplements in their bodies and they're not aware of them.

Speaker 5 (01:43:36):
Is that like, I would never intentionally do something like that,
knowing how much I mean to the team and how
much this job. Yeah, exactly, very much. I mean, I
was using an algorithm. It was just spitting out the
games that I should be wagering on. I was gladly
dropping in the funds necessary to make all these algorithm
generated wagers. Now there's some rules that are changing with

(01:43:57):
the NCAA. Later this month that will no longer prohibit
student athletes or staff members from legally betting on professional sports.
It will be allowed, but you still can't bet on
any kind of college sports. So even with the rules changing,
it's not really relevant because all this took place while
the rules for college have remained the same.

Speaker 2 (01:44:16):
You can't do that.

Speaker 5 (01:44:17):
All he's getting is a two year show show cause order.
So essentially, should anyone want to hire him, he's got
to handle some certain other responsibilities.

Speaker 2 (01:44:25):
You know, he's got to take some classes.

Speaker 5 (01:44:27):
He's got to you know, take some he's got to complete,
and they use the word meaningful sports betting education and
provide sports betting education to his peers. But like I said,
this is something that happened on the assistant volleyball coach
side of college sports gambling. Don't know that anyone that
our listeners were even aware of it. I happen to

(01:44:49):
skim across NCAA releases constantly, so it happened here. This
other story might be one that you could grab onto
a little bit more with the US.

Speaker 2 (01:45:00):
Yeah, so Dana White is all about making money, Dana
White is I mean, as you.

Speaker 5 (01:45:07):
Happened to I know the answers no, but I'll ask anyway.
You didn't happen to see it live or via a
real or video of the Uh Property Brothers skit on SNL.
So Miles Teller's the host and they went us the
Property Brothers for a skit and he played both parts.
You know what home they were renovating Dana whitees close. Uh,

(01:45:30):
Where's Dana White gonna be hosting an event Vegas?

Speaker 2 (01:45:34):
Where else?

Speaker 6 (01:45:36):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:45:36):
The White House.

Speaker 5 (01:45:37):
They were renovating the White House, and part of the
renovations included building a UFC stage, and well, it would
fit very well in the ballroom. Yes, which everybody's so
mad about you. I'll probably send it to You'll probably
like it. But yeah, UFC has a lot of you know,
he likes to be big, unique and record setting, does
Dana White?

Speaker 2 (01:45:57):
Well, Okay, Isaac Dulgarian Yadier del Vail, I'm probably butchering
both of those pronunciations. That two fighters. Yeah, that fight
has been pulled from some betting books. The line has
gone from minus two fifty all the way down to
minus one sixty six, which means a crazy amount of

(01:46:19):
money has come in on del val in the last
couple of hours. That was back on November one, at
about seven o'clock, yeah, prior to the well the Saturday Yes,
So over the weekend, fans noticed that line being suspicious
and now Dana White is speaking out as the company

(01:46:43):
faces a potential betting scandal. So Dulgarian, which was initially
a minus two to fifty favorite, ended up losing the
fight handily, and that led to two sports books offering
refunds due to the suspicious betting line and outcome. UFC
went on to release a statement saying that the betting
integrity service I SEE three sixty. Like many professional sports organizations,

(01:47:07):
UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor
wagering activity on our events. Our betting integrity partner I
SEE three sixty monitors wagering on every UFC event and
is conducting a thorough review of the facts surrounding the
aforementioned fight. We take these allegations very seriously, and along

(01:47:27):
with the health and safety of our fighters, nothing is
more important the integrity. Dana White came out, spoke to
TMZ and said, we called the fighter and his lawyer
and said, what's going on. There's some weird betting action
going on in your fight. Are you injured, do you
owe somebody money? Anybody approach you? This is basically Bruce
Willison's yeah fiction, yes exactly, and he goes the kid

(01:47:51):
said no, absolutely not. I'm going to kill this guy
figuratively speaking in the ring. Yeah, in the octagon. So
we said, okay, all right, So if he dies, he dies.
So we said okay, fight plays out first round, finish
by rear naked choke. Literally, the first thing we did
was call the FBI. This is the NBA all over again,

(01:48:12):
sort of. The NBA didn't call the FBI, though.

Speaker 5 (01:48:14):
And this is boxing or now UFC or MMA, this
is Unfortunately. That's why I brought up Bruce Willis. He's
the person he's fighting. There's really nobody else involved. I mean,
certainly people in his corner could know, training partners could know,
family members could know. But he's the one participating the event.

(01:48:35):
It's not even a one of five players participating in
the basketball game at one time.

Speaker 2 (01:48:39):
It's one guy.

Speaker 5 (01:48:41):
If you get to him and he has reason to
be gotten to because he owes money, or he's gotten
himself in a bad spot, or he's just in with
the yes, it has happened many times before.

Speaker 2 (01:48:52):
The NBA or any league, which again could be taken
down by scandal. But Dana White is like the guy.
He's the owner, he's he's in charge. He's not going
to and you know Dana, I mean you literally know
him a little bit. We've interviewed him, we've been around,
and we know people who work with him very closely.

(01:49:12):
He's not going to bleep around about this because it's
big money and it's his money.

Speaker 5 (01:49:18):
And similarly to what I was just saying, what are
you gonna do with the Toronto Raptors when John Tay
Porter is fixing a game?

Speaker 2 (01:49:26):
You're not gonna kick the Raptors out of Oh, you're
gonna kick He's gonna kick Porter off the.

Speaker 5 (01:49:29):
But Dana can kick this team out of the league.
It's a fighter, right, you're out. I'm not saying you're
not gonna be sancsuit for any fight I ever put on.

Speaker 2 (01:49:36):
Ever. Again, that's that if you can do that, if
you try to do this, I've been very vocal and
very open about this, we will be your worst enemy.
We will immediately go after you. Guns are blazing with
the FBI and whoever we need to get and we
will do everything we can to make sure you go
to prison. It's like you're seeing things out on the
internet where fighters are coming out and going, oh, I
was approached. I was approached. Really, why didn't you tell

(01:49:56):
us that? Or more importantly, why didn't you tell a
law enforcement that you were approached? Now you're saying you
were approached. It's like if somebody comes up and says, hey,
I want you to rob a bank, I'm gonna go
rob banks. Want to rob a bank with me? And
you don't do it? What you're not going to tell
law enforcement? It's really weird that fighters are coming out
now and saying they were approached, and they're going to
be approached now by the FBI. He is trying desperately

(01:50:20):
to get ahead of this, so he's got that going
for him, unlike the NBA, who has did its own
internal investigation and found nothing.

Speaker 3 (01:50:29):
The ad on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 2 (01:50:31):
Ninety never know what time Texans will release their injury
report on any given Wednesday before a Sunday game.

Speaker 5 (01:50:42):
Sometimes they wait for the other team, sometimes they don't.
Today they just released it. And as I told you,
I was at practice today, I couldn't even keep track
and have enough time for the limited time we were
out there to figure out everybody that was not practicing. Well,
there were one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
nine to ten Texans that did not practice today according

(01:51:04):
to their injury report. Told you about a few of them,
but to a couple that We were uncertain about the
reasons why Jalen Petrie didn't practice because he's one of
three Texans who is listed with a concussion, so along
with Titus Howard and c J. Stroud, he's in the
concussion protocol and c J. Stroud has already been deemed
out by Demiko Rans when he met with the media

(01:51:26):
earlier today. Did not see Will Anderson Junior at practice,
and it was not for rest or personal reasons. It
was because he has a quad injury. I told you
at Ingram wasn't practicing. He had a knee injury in
the game and that was the reason he did not
practice today. Kymy Fairbairn's injury is a right quad. He
did not practice today and Demiko also said he doesn't
expect him to kick this week. And Matthew Wright, who

(01:51:47):
was signed to the practice squad before today's practice, was
out on the field preparing to kick for the Texans
on Sunday against Jacksonville. Nick Chubb did not see him
at practice. They had three tailbacks out there. That's hire
allotment of tailbacks on the active roster and practice squad combined.
He has a foot injury that kept him off of
the practice field. Didn't figure Christian Harris would practice after

(01:52:09):
being unable to finish the game on Sunday. Didn't see
him out there, and he did not practice because of
that shin injury and the block field goal Maestro Deniko Autrey,
who's been working his way back and has gotten on
the field on a limited basis because of a knee injury.
He did not practice because of that knee injury. Harrison
Bryant I did not spot him, but other reporters did,

(01:52:31):
saying he was attending practice but not participating. Obviously not
dressed for practice. He did not practice. He has a
shoulder injury which I do think took place during this game.
They also released Dalton Keene off of their practice squad,
so Luke Lache is still on the practice squad and

(01:52:54):
he's the rookie tight end that hasn't seen any action
in any game. Hasn't been elevated for any game, and
Dalton Schultz and that's it for healthy tight ends that
put on Texans uniforms at practice. I don't know what
Harrison Bryant's situation will be, but I've been telling you
I think it's almost crazy to only go into all
these games with only two tight ends. Right now, they

(01:53:15):
only have one healthy tight end on the active roster.
The only other healthy body at tight end is Luke Liche,
So I don't know if there's a roster move that
needs to be made beyond an elevation. I don't know
that Harrison Bryan's deemed out by any means. It's only Wednesday.
But you also run into a situation where I don't
think anybody that's not practicing other than maybe Christian Harris

(01:53:37):
and maybe unfortunately Kymi Fairbair that could even be sent
to IR to give you some roster flexibility. You only
have so many inactive spots. They have way more dnps
than spots available on the inactive list when you get
to Sunday, meaning you're dressing far fewer players than you

(01:53:57):
would normally want to for any NFL game, you have
a maximum number of players to dress and they'll be
way under it. If all these players are unavailable and
there are no moves in terms of getting them off
the active roster by putting them on the injured list
so or injured reserve, which means they have to miss
four games.

Speaker 2 (01:54:15):
My first question is, am I crazy to think that
I did? Did you see Jalen Petree suffer concussion?

Speaker 6 (01:54:20):
No?

Speaker 5 (01:54:20):
And I also note, as you said in the Extreme
Minutia you hate it report that I put out each
week of Yeah, snap counts, the league puts it out.
I just gather it and send it out and give
a little bit of analysis on it.

Speaker 2 (01:54:32):
It's just a joke.

Speaker 5 (01:54:33):
He played every snap. He never left the fright, So
that's strange. I mean, that's well, this is why the
it's not a league issue. It's a This is hard
to handle for anybody in any situation, certainly in a
car crash situation that an NFL football game is. If
he doesn't have some visible instances, if he isn't wobbly,

(01:54:55):
if he isn't noticed by somebody on the sideline, a teammate,
a coach.

Speaker 15 (01:54:59):
A.

Speaker 5 (01:55:01):
Or it's not obvious, or he didn't suffer symptoms during
the game, right, Well, then there's the after the game
that he went home, then he woke up on the
wedding and yeah, stems may have then presented.

Speaker 2 (01:55:10):
Did he have nausea, did he have light sensitivity, headaches?
All that kind of stuff. And then you know, we
know so many times these players don't want to come
out of games, don't want to miss time, all that
kind of stuff. It had to have been pretty bad
for him to have now been placed on the injury
report with a concussion alongside the other two guys that
already had them.

Speaker 5 (01:55:29):
Well batter, I don't know about that. It just means
he probably had symptoms, so he had to go into
the protocol.

Speaker 2 (01:55:35):
But I'm just like they had to ask him, when
do you think you got this?

Speaker 5 (01:55:39):
You know they probably I mean, I haven't scoured the
game film for this particular injury. I bet it's I mean,
I'm sure they found it.

Speaker 2 (01:55:45):
Honestly surprised. This doesn't happen more with guys who play
his position, defensive backs in general.

Speaker 5 (01:55:51):
If you're running all over the field and from his
slot position defending some of the players that he does,
and the angles from where he hits people. Kamari Lasser
is in the same boat. I'm glad that it hasn't
happened more often. And the Texans, you know the Nico
Collins concussion a little bit away. You know, three concussions
in one game. That's that's too many. Yeah, and it's

(01:56:12):
tough to overcome. And I feel bad for the players
because these are the injuries that are the least. You
just I broke a bone, I have a bad shoulder. Well,
here's how you rehabit, here's how you get over here's
what we can do to compensate for.

Speaker 2 (01:56:24):
This is not like those injuries at all. It's about
It's just it's worse all of this as they are
headed into a game against the Jacksonville team that, as
you mentioned, has already beaten them once with c J. Stroud,
They're not gonna have c J. Stroud. I would tend
to think Jalen Petrie's not going to play in this
game if he has a concussion. Right now.

Speaker 5 (01:56:41):
Well, I, like I said with Titus Howard, I don't
have any idea where what stages they're at, how bad
the symptoms are, and I don't know how they're gonna
wake up on Thursday. For all we know, he's been
in the concussion protocol but has been passing stages and
on a Wednesday, there's only so far you can get
through it, and he's just not through it.

Speaker 2 (01:56:59):
And you need to win this game to even have
a prayer at making the postseason in all likelihood. And
Demiko Ryan's talking about this this Jaguars team extensively just
a few hours ago.

Speaker 12 (01:57:11):
When I when I watched Jacksonville and what they what
they've done. Think, everything starts for me with the running game.
Like they've done a great job of running the football,
which show they ran it a lot in their last
game and they were successful at it, and they've done
a really good job. So we have to put our
focus first and foremost on stopping the run knowing that
they had it or receiver Myers smart player made plays

(01:57:33):
in this league before it can move all across the form.
Mason play different spots. So you know, we just have
to really play our defense. We're not focusing in on
one players, just about us playing our defense the right way.
And when it comes to their their defense, these guys
do a good great job of you know, just flying
to the football, attacking the ball. They've done a great
job of turning the ball over, playing physical, and of

(01:57:54):
course their edge guys are you know, two of the
best edge guys in the league.

Speaker 6 (01:57:58):
So we have really good matt there. We have to
win on the edges.

Speaker 5 (01:58:02):
We're talking about specifically the offense. We'll take that part
first to get at some of the others as we
continue this conversation Football at five. It's kind of what
I brought up to Demetrius Harvey when he joined US earlier.
Jaguars beat Rider. They're five and three. What are they
good at? I mean, I know what Demiko's saying, taking
the ball away, Yeah, but they've totally slowed down on that.

(01:58:23):
They got all those turnovers so fast to start the season.
In the last several weeks, as they've played with all
these one score games, it just hasn't been like that.
You know, yards per play, the Jacksonville offense is outside
the top twenty. They're twenty fourth. Rushing yards per play,
they're outside the top ten. They're eleventh, passing yards per
play like they're twenty seventh. Interception rate they're eighteenth, nineteenth,

(01:58:48):
and sacks per passe attemp. They're a five and three
football team that screams average. That's exactly what they are
on both sides of the ball. They do have a
lot of takeaways, but like I said, those came so
quickly and so early in the season. They're now third
in the league of takeaways. Guess who's right behind them.
Right behind them, they have fifteen. The Texans have thirteen.

(01:59:08):
The takeaways for the Jaguars. Since Week four, they have
two in four games. They've taken the ball away two
times in four games. They're a minus. Okay, they've padded
their stats early, yep, so that's more than likely the
team you'll be seeing Sunday. Extended conversation on that thoughts
on Nick Cassario moving forward post trade deadline and engineering

(01:59:30):
this three and five team to where they are today.

Speaker 3 (01:59:35):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 4 (01:59:37):
Ninety, Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (01:59:45):
A football at five conversation begins.

Speaker 5 (01:59:57):
Texans have fifty three guys on the active roster, and
anybody else whose practice windows open would be listed there,
So technically that's fifty four when you count Yakov Johnson.
Of those fifty four players, fourteen of them were listed
on the injury or report. Ten of those fourteen did not practice,
and obviously their availability for the game would come into question.

Speaker 2 (02:00:17):
Two of those ten are already deemed out.

Speaker 5 (02:00:20):
Your placekicker Kaemy Fairbairn and your quarterback CJ. Stroud Will
Anderson Junior out with a quad injury from today's practice.

Speaker 2 (02:00:28):
We'll see if tomorrow's padded.

Speaker 5 (02:00:29):
Practice, although I'm not sure that they won't really even
want to do that considering this, We'll see how things
are tomorrow. Maybe you have a little bit better idea
of some of the other availabilities regarding those players. But
as I told you before, it's a simple numbers game.
When you get down to it, there's only so many
things you can do. You can't have this many players
on your active roster unavailable for a game.

Speaker 2 (02:00:51):
You just can't do it.

Speaker 5 (02:00:52):
You can't go into a game that many players down
down from you need fifty three players. You need to
have as many players stout for a game as you
possibly can the forty six that year, you know. So,
I don't know what their plans are at this point,
but it doesn't have to be determined just yet. Jalen Smith,
by the way, one of the roster moves they made
earlier today, he was placed on IR. The rookie from

(02:01:14):
USC who had played fairly well, had returned from a
previous IR stint to get back on the field, but
this ends his season. There is no designation to return
for a second time for a player, so his placement
on the injury reserve means his season is over. Daryl
Taylor placed there as well, and I mentioned that a couple
other roster moves they made. Elijah Huzzy is now on

(02:01:35):
the active roster. His practice window was closing tomorrow and
so they made that move, so he essentially takes that
cornerback spot. He has not been active for any games,
obviously spending his time on a list that now is
only occupied by Joe Mixon.

Speaker 2 (02:01:51):
That part of the NFI list.

Speaker 5 (02:01:53):
Three other players still on the pup list, including Tank Dell,
Jimmy Ward, and Kurt Heinisch. So many other things going on,
there hadn't been a recent question about Joe Mixon or
Tank Dell. Tank Dell is obviously continuing to work, continuing
to rehab. I'm sure many of you who have seen
him many places U of H games, high school football games,

(02:02:15):
Texans games. He's on the sidelines with the team sat
down next to CJ. Stroud at times when the offense
was off the field, looking over similar things that he
and Jira Johnson are looking at. And unfortunately, while we
haven't seen much of Joe Mixon, he was at their
first of these three home games. I don'tly use ever
on the field or anything like that, but seen at
the facility at Energy Stadium this two Sundays ago when

(02:02:37):
they beat the Niners, right around the time we were
told they would have a better idea of what the
rest of the season would hold. So I would imagine
neither probably Wednesday, maybe Monday, Monday, after the game Demiko's availability,
I would think it's time to get a if there
is an update, that's probably the time to see if

(02:02:58):
there is one on Joe Mixon.

Speaker 2 (02:03:00):
Say those those questions died down pretty quickly.

Speaker 5 (02:03:04):
Well when Nick Cassario says, and you know, he gave
us a time frame of when they expected to have
more information, I think with more important things to discuss,
and you're he also is unavailable after he spoke with
us to Miko's available plenty. Uh, there's there's other things
to get into.

Speaker 2 (02:03:20):
Yeah, no, I'm things like involving guys that are actually
going to be on there.

Speaker 5 (02:03:23):
You might be coming out of Monday's game without Nick
Chubb having played. It'd be very pertinent to get an
update on.

Speaker 2 (02:03:29):
When does this line move as all these guys are
added to the list of guys not participating. And I
gotta think Jalen Peatrie randomly popping up with a concussion
has to do something. I mean, it wouldn't. Well how
what's what's the percentage is that a guy's listed with
a concussion he plays the following week. It's not it's

(02:03:51):
gotta low. It's I mean, I don't know what it is.
But because now you're starting to take away from the
side of the ball they're good at, you know, like.

Speaker 5 (02:03:57):
I mean, I don't I'm not grading these things out.
Will Anderson's on the injured list. He did not practice.
Jalen Petrie did not practice. This is becoming a very
difficult thing to overcome on a weekly basis. Everything might
be different in a week, but you're playing a game
in five days. It's a great or four days. It's
of great consequence. If these players just they can't. I

(02:04:18):
don't want them out there to be putting the rest
of their season at Jeopardy so they can play on
a Sunday, and it just puts them in a situation
where it can't get better. This is a bad spot.
They haven't been in a spot like this. It was
two weeks ago I was talking about this is like
the cleanest injury report you see in season hardly as
far as I can remember.

Speaker 2 (02:04:38):
This is what happens to the end. Well, it changes
dramatically and quickly. Yeah, and December it was a nightmare
for the Texans last year. That's when Tank Dell's injury occurred.
That's when it seemed like every single time they would
play a game, someone else significant had been lost. Petrie
was one of them. You know, it just it kept
getting worse and worse and worse, and then you get

(02:04:59):
to the post season and it's just like you're basically
playing with the skeleton crew. It felt like, so yeah,
that wasn't a lot of fun. The Texans did begin
talking about, you know, Jacksonville a little bit more today
and the fact that we do know for sure. I
mean I think we kind of guess, but like I
said it, it became official earlier today when Demiko mentioned

(02:05:21):
it that Davis Mills is going to be the starting quarterback,
and he spoke extensively on the Texans now starting quarterback
going into this very very important game against the division rival.

Speaker 12 (02:05:35):
Davis is a he's a super super smart guy, sharp guy.
Just seeing how he operates in a huddle and they
just saying how he can fix things when we're not
all the way right. When guys are coming out of
the huddle they have questions. Davis gets it fixed very quickly,
articulation very well in the huddle. And now it's about
post snap, Like post snap, can we go through, can

(02:05:56):
we make the proper reaves? Can we get to the
right spot with the football? And we just execute right?
What I Davis doesn't have to do too much right.
We just all have to do our job. Nobody has
to step up do anything different. Everybody just has to
execute and do their job. What they're here for is
to go out and play good football. And that's all
we're expecting them to.

Speaker 5 (02:06:15):
Do with limited work and only you know, opportunities here
and there and no starts.

Speaker 2 (02:06:21):
Since CJ.

Speaker 5 (02:06:22):
Stroud has been here, he's just been awful. Unfortunately, he's
just not played good football as their quarterback. It's totally
understandable with the spottedness of his opportunities, but completing a
little over fifty percent of his passes over the last
three years is kind of disastrous. Not being able to
move the football this past week and his first opportunity

(02:06:42):
with the twenty twenty five team just significantly worse than
how he played. When you know, as expected, if you
go out there every week, presumably you're going to have
a better feel for playing NFL quarterback. When you sit
on the bench every week and you get ten snaps
here and you get thirty passes this year and thirty
passes that, yeah, it's probably gonna look like this is
the caliber of player. He's not going anywhere to become

(02:07:04):
any team starter. He's not pushing anybody for a starting job,
and it's certainly not doing it here. He's a backup
quarterback taking all the reps this week, playing against the
team he should at least be somewhat familiar with, even
though they made significant changes from last year to this
year with a totally new coaching staff.

Speaker 2 (02:07:18):
But it's a big challenge.

Speaker 5 (02:07:21):
We think we know the caliber of player they're talking about,
and this is the decision the team made. I didn't
disagree with it. I'm sure you're aware of that. I
thought re signing him and having him here as the
backup's perfectly fine. You could have any backup quarterback in
the NFL. He probably fits somewhere in between. We've seen
backups get on the field this year all over the place.
Some of those have even been benched, like Jake Browning,

(02:07:41):
you know, like Andy Dalton. There's other backups like Jacoby Brissett,
who is now in line to start for now most
of the season with Kyler Murray going to ir. Different
gms have different ideas of how to find a backup,
or cultivate a backup, or just sign somebody else's backup.
I mean they drafted Graham Mertz this year, carried Keaton
Slovas last year, and Davis Mills had been the number

(02:08:03):
two throughout. Just remember he was the number two and
twenty twenty three also when they chose to start the
number three over.

Speaker 2 (02:08:09):
Him in back to back games when CJ.

Speaker 5 (02:08:11):
Stroud was out, we got a phone call in we
want to get to Brent wants to join us talk
a little Texans football. We've weighed in on the opportunity
to move on from people that work there now otherwise.

Speaker 2 (02:08:23):
But Brent, what do you have on your mind today?
Welcome in.

Speaker 11 (02:08:26):
Oh, it's good to be here. I been thinking about
Marcus Mariota and you know a lot of backups that
could be here. And I guess I get to watch
Davis Mills again. You know, I remember Davis Mills from
back in the Lovey Smith and I don't even remember
the guy before Lovey Smith. But you know, as other

(02:08:47):
Adam mentioned earlier, he's a smart guy. Well yeah, he
went to Stanford, so he's highly intelligent. You know, you
and I both went to ut and we're highly intelligent too.
But you know, if I'm Nick Casario, I'm sure gonna
find somebody better to be a backup quarterback in case,
you know, C J.

Speaker 10 (02:09:04):
Stroud gets a concussion.

Speaker 2 (02:09:07):
He has chosen otherwise many times over. He drafted him.

Speaker 5 (02:09:10):
As you recall, the first ever draft pick for Nick
Cassario was Davis Mills. As his four year contract was
going to expire following the twenty twenty four season, they
re upped him for twenty twenty five, and they have
since re upped him for twenty twenty six. They feel
comfortable with Davis Mills. We're going to find out if
they are wrong or right with his first real opportunity

(02:09:33):
since C. J. Stroud has stepped aside or had been
off the field. And I think it is noteworthy that
he's been in the backup the whole time. And I'm
still I'd look back on it now like I can't
believe they chose to go with case Keenum. Then it worked,
they won, They played well enough to help them win.
Then they played Cleveland and they got clobbered. He beat
the Titans. Miracle catch by Dalton Schultz. I'm sure many

(02:09:56):
people remember late in the game in the red zone.
Oh no, no, no, yes, I really thought that was
about to be a pick and kind of hurt the
cause a little bit. But you mentioned Marcus Mariota, I
mentioned Andy Dalton, I mentioned Jacoby Brissaid, I mentioned Jake Browning,
Joe Milton.

Speaker 2 (02:10:12):
In Dallas. It's not a ton of good quarterbacks that
are good back there.

Speaker 5 (02:10:16):
There are teams starting quarterbacks who stink. I mean, Torod
Taylor is in a battle maybe with Justin Fields.

Speaker 2 (02:10:22):
On a weekend. They've already They're not a lot out there.

Speaker 5 (02:10:26):
You know, this year, I think we will see many
more teams interested in the draft class of quarterbacks. I
don't mean at the top of the draft. I mean
there are more players I think that will end up
on practice. I was looking over at the practice squad
quarterbacks this earlier this week because I thought there was
a chance that Texans might need to add a third quarterback,
like pluck somebody off a practice squad or just find

(02:10:47):
somebody to sign for their own practice squad, which obviously
means they wouldn't have been on anyone else's. And the
names are awful guys that will never start in the NFL.
Aren't developmental players. They just used to play quarterback in
college and I have somehow managed to land a job
and pull a check on a practice squad. They're not
developing these guys, They're just sitting there. There's not ninety

(02:11:07):
six good quarterbacks around the NFL for teams to carry
three good ones. And the Texans don't no offense.

Speaker 2 (02:11:12):
To Graham Mertz or Davis Mills or Davis Mills.

Speaker 1 (02:11:18):
The a teen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (02:11:27):
Hey, Wes, what is up? So we've been talking so
much about injuries and concussions and backup quarterbacks and on
and on and on that we haven't gotten down to business,
and that business is this The Texans and Jags hate
each other and they have for a long long time.

(02:11:49):
Is that fair say? I mean, this version of these
two teams definitely hates each other from a year ago.

Speaker 5 (02:11:57):
The players that remain. If you recall last year when
it's the al Shaier was ejected from the game and
caught a suspension after the game, but for the hit
on Trevor Lawrence. It sent him injured shoulder and concussion.
The first player involved, as Demiko described it, their bench overreacted,
although this was a player on the field at the time,
was Evan Ingram. He's the one who shoved Al Shaher

(02:12:21):
back to the ground. Well, he didn't play there anymore.
He's in Denver now. He just got done with his
hatred for the Texans last week.

Speaker 2 (02:12:27):
Do you think Trevor Lawrence hates Azaz al Shier, Ah, yeah,
I probably do.

Speaker 5 (02:12:35):
Like the Clary yeah, I mean, I think there's some
level of respect, and they may have had some I
wasn't intending to do that type of conversation. And by
the way, keep in mind this whole you know, nothing
happened to the player that hit CJ.

Speaker 2 (02:12:47):
Stroud.

Speaker 5 (02:12:47):
He wasn't even penalized, let alone ejected or facing any
kind of league suspension. And look what happened to his ease.
If you don't recognize the difference in those two things,
for not only what actually happened on the hit, but
who those two players are, then there's no reason to
continue the nonsense discussions that is actually happening all over
the Twitter verse. Ausese is a repeat offender many many

(02:13:10):
times over, for all sorts of different variations of illegal
acts that involve physical hits, hitting guys laid out of bounds,
this particular hit many times over.

Speaker 2 (02:13:22):
But he's our dirty player.

Speaker 5 (02:13:23):
Well that's that's why he was punished. One of the
reasons he was punished the way he was. But I
agreed with Nick and as he's last year when they
thought what the league did and said was way over
the top, totally unnecessary and just flat out wrong suspending
him because at some point, if you're constantly being penalized
for hits of this nature, and at that point in
his career, especially his Texans career, he was, yes, something

(02:13:48):
other form of punishment besides in a higher fine, a
bigger fine, another.

Speaker 2 (02:13:52):
Big yes, I was the dirty player that was on
the panel. He said, right, what a turd he is.
I can't stand that guy. What have you about? What
do you think Demiko Ryans thinks about these two teams
hating each other.

Speaker 5 (02:14:05):
I mean, I'm sure he carries a long standing grudge
from his time as a Texan.

Speaker 2 (02:14:09):
Well he should, so let's hear what he has to
say about it.

Speaker 6 (02:14:11):
I don't.

Speaker 12 (02:14:12):
I don't feel any animosity unless you know I'm missing something.
But we're going out. We're going out to play our game.
We're gonna play a tough, physical game. That's who we are.
We don't change it just because of who we play.
Doesn't ramp up because of the opponent. Like we have
a style of play here in Houston, how we play,
and that's what we'll do every time we step on
the grass.

Speaker 6 (02:14:32):
It doesn't matter where we play.

Speaker 2 (02:14:33):
Wop wop. Lean into it, Dimiko, come on, start stir
the pot cause some controversy, say you hate them?

Speaker 5 (02:14:43):
Anything to make this more interesting than it's gonna be.
We can want it to be the case all we want.
But what you have in the AFC North, what you
have in the NFC North, what you have in the
NFC East, you don't have it here and it's not
about to start.

Speaker 2 (02:14:57):
That's because Jacksonville is a terrible city. It's because the
t and this division aren't good enough. Well, but these
two teams, we talked about this recently, of all the
three teams outside of Houston the division, this is by
far the most competitive series overall.

Speaker 5 (02:15:11):
Sure it is okay, and all those other divisions that
you have rivalries for usually they come about because both
teams are good and they're actually playing for something and
the winner of this gets that. Not in the AFC South,
the winner wins the division, the other team finishes under
five hundred, the winner wins the season series two games
to nothing, and the other team is deciding who to

(02:15:32):
take with the third overall pick.

Speaker 2 (02:15:33):
It is the most boring division in all of the NFL.
What are they? When were they?

Speaker 5 (02:15:37):
When was the last time these two teams, whoever they are,
they're twelve and four, or they're twelve and three going
to the final game and they're eleven and four and
let's see what happens, or they're they're both double figure
win teams.

Speaker 2 (02:15:47):
It's very very rare. Now, the whole, the whole, since
the Peyton Manning days. Especially, the whole division has been
pretty mediocre.

Speaker 5 (02:15:55):
However, the Texans weren't competing with them at all. It
had to be somebody else, I mean, getting their heads.
Kis have had some time where they were really good. Obviously,
the Derrick Henry Ryan Tannehill Titans were a number one seed.
Clearly the Cults are the team like currently.

Speaker 2 (02:16:12):
Hey, Steve McNair and Eddie George played against the Texans.

Speaker 5 (02:16:14):
Right, but look at what's happened in this division recently,
if I'm not mistaken, everybody's won the division multiple times
in the last ten years, and the Colts haven't even
won it at all. Right, the Titans have two division titles,
the Jaguars have two, the Texans have six. I think
basically like they've been the worst outfit in this division
and then poof, they're not not quite lapping the field,

(02:16:38):
but the Texans beat the Jaguars. It's gonna look like that.
I'm telling you right now, the Colts season is about
to go south. I'm here to tell you I do
not agree, Sauce Gardner. Your quarterback's still Daniel Jones, and
he's about to remember who he is Anyway, what about
Liam Cohen. He's got to add some spice to this situation. Seriously,
the two most vanilla head coaches as far as press

(02:17:00):
conferences go, let's hear one talk about the other.

Speaker 12 (02:17:03):
Liam has done a great job of how they call
it and having multiple plays at the line of scrimmage
trying to get into the proper look. You'll see a
lot of alerts where you know whether it's one high
too high. They have their alert package there and they've
done a good job. But think Trevor has done a
really good job at the line of scrimmage, really communicating
getting the offense and the best play possible. So you

(02:17:26):
can see, you know, Liam's imprint on the offense, you
can see how he's helped Trevor, and you can see
how they're moving the football scoring points.

Speaker 5 (02:17:34):
I don't know about calling Liam vanilla, considering he nearly
got in a fight on the field with Robert Salah
Duvall that seemed very vanilla. That's where it feels like
the tasteless Vanilla of all time. And Demiico's just he's
become pretty elite at and every coach they've had has
been pretty good at it, and every coach around the

(02:17:54):
league is pretty good at it. Come on, man, they stink. Oh,
Trevor Lawrence is a great job of this? Isn't a
great job of that? No, he hasn't. He's not a
good quarterback. But he's not gonna stand up there and
say that. I wish he would, but he shouldn't. It's
not it's not benefit. I wish more coaches would. You know,
were just talking about UFC. They have no problem saying
how much they hate the other guy and how much
they stuff a fight. This is not a fight. It

(02:18:16):
is a fight every week. It's a fight. You're trying
to fight for the division. And these guys are being polite. Okay,
In boxing, in m m A, in UFC and any
kind of you know, combat combat sports don't do they
thrive on giving the opponent bulletin board material to the
point they don't. They definitely don't care, and they they
definitely want it. They want it. It's a big part

(02:18:37):
of it. Everybody in these other team sports is so
afraid of it. Why we don't want to give a
bulletin board material? Oh, you're trying to bait me to
say something. I mean, you know, you know I don't
want to give him that.

Speaker 2 (02:18:48):
I'm telling you, I've seen and I've seen guys say
this before, the true winners a lot of times, or
who says this too, You need something to get up
for an NFL game, you're probably not in the right league,
and coaches say that line all the time. So then
why are you afraid of the bulletin board material? It's
not that's that's the sentence. It's not bulletin board on

(02:19:11):
the bulletin board. And I took offense to it. Yeah,
and that's what's wrong with today's society. Oh, I took
offense to it. Dude, freaking Lawrence Taylor, them kids, no,
Michael Jordan, everything he that motivated him. What did he
say last dance bullet board? I mean he was creating

(02:19:35):
it himself. He was taking somebody, he was making up things.
Who was the kid in Washington that was like supposedly talking.

Speaker 5 (02:19:42):
To him, said if you need this, you're in the
wrong place. And the ultimate competitor is making stuff up
so he could get to this place.

Speaker 2 (02:19:51):
Yeah, but that's because he was a sociopath. That's not competitive,
that's wrong in the brain and fueling, you know, using
it to fuel you to Champ being ship glory.

Speaker 6 (02:20:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (02:20:01):
I don't want to get anybody into a lengthy conversation
about is this Trevor Lawrence's worst year as an NFL quarterback?

Speaker 2 (02:20:08):
But we could Why don't you just say that it is?
And then you could be right?

Speaker 5 (02:20:11):
I mean there was there five and three so that
I can't believe he's beating the Texans or the Chiefs
just because of the Texans defense. Like every word you
would use, every adjective you would use that's a positive
about how to describe a quarterback, you.

Speaker 2 (02:20:24):
Would lose none of the list with Trevor. Now do
you see why I hate the draft and everything about it?

Speaker 5 (02:20:31):
Well, so the guest we had Demetrius and the word
generational talent, and I bristle at it every time I
hear it with people. I think nobody said that. I
didn't say anything because people did say that.

Speaker 2 (02:20:43):
And they said it about Andrew Luck, and neither one
of those guys were that.

Speaker 5 (02:20:46):
I think Andrew Luck should have been anybody wasn't, but
he wasn't, and it had honestly, it had nothing to
do with his team. He never figured certain things out
that I can't believe he didn't figure out the guy
was a turnover machine. The guy just hated taking care
of the foot ball, and it never got any better.
He had some thirty plus touchdown seasons. At a forty
touchdown season, they won a bunch of games. He can
make every play, but you just got I mean, you

(02:21:07):
can't all be Brett fav and think it's not going
to hurt you.

Speaker 2 (02:21:10):
And that's something else I know. I take it to
the other extreme where I'm like, just let me see
how they play and I'll figure it out then. But
I cannot know. What I'm saying is I cannot. I
can't stand draft season because of this. You don't know anything,
you mister expert, and you, mister you don't know anything
because you're the same people that said horse Face was

(02:21:30):
going to change the league and this guy over here
was transcendent to and neither one of them are.

Speaker 3 (02:21:36):
The age. On Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 5 (02:21:39):
Ninety tune in the next segment so we can figure
out who horse Face is. Looking forward to it, looking
forward to that. I can't wait.

Speaker 2 (02:21:49):
Her liners went up and in case you missed it,
we'll have tickets to give away. In the final segment
of the show.

Speaker 5 (02:21:53):
Two awesome shows coming to the area in twenty twenty six,
May thirteenth, for the Woodman's Pavilions will be performing. We've
got a pair of tickets to see that we'll give
away in the final segment of the show, same as we.

Speaker 2 (02:22:04):
Will for a pair of tickets see a c DC.

Speaker 5 (02:22:07):
They are touring in twenty twenty six the Power Up
Tour August thirty first at Energy Stadium is when their
show is about tickets for.

Speaker 2 (02:22:14):
Both of those shows.

Speaker 5 (02:22:15):
Thanks to our listeners for joining the program and thus
you will know the answer to that question we ask
you in the upcoming segment in case you missed it.

Speaker 2 (02:22:23):
The Rockets had a couple of.

Speaker 5 (02:22:25):
Players on today's injury report throughout the day heading into
tonight's tilt with the Memphis Grizzlies. Jabari Smith Junior will
be available for tonight's game against Memphis.

Speaker 2 (02:22:37):
You told me he wasn't playing.

Speaker 5 (02:22:39):
I was guessing obviously. Steven Adams will not be available
for tonight's game.

Speaker 2 (02:22:44):
Against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Speaker 5 (02:22:46):
He maybe Doka just recently meeting with the media and
giving that update. We'll have much more on Rockets Grizzlies
beginning at six o'clock with rockets launch pad Ross. We'll
have that for you and I'll get you going with
rockets countdown at.

Speaker 2 (02:22:57):
Six thirty tip off, seven o'clock.

Speaker 5 (02:22:59):
What else do we yet today, Sarah Jessica Parker not
sports participants?

Speaker 2 (02:23:06):
That is? Is that your guess?

Speaker 3 (02:23:07):
That's horse face?

Speaker 2 (02:23:08):
No horse face is Trevor Lawrence, isn't it? I mean,
I didn't think it was hard and I think, honestly,
I think WEX was feigning ignorance.

Speaker 15 (02:23:17):
I mean, can we be real though, Sarah Juska Parker
horse face.

Speaker 2 (02:23:21):
I'm not a fan. I'm even less of a fan
of that show now because one of the other cast
members is a complete lunatic.

Speaker 15 (02:23:30):
But anyway, well, Jamika Ryan's isn't a lunatic, but he
definitely did not like the way that this question was
phrased earlier. So naturally, the Texans offensively have had their
fair share struggles to be a well documented by you
me right, literally anybody that works in the media, and
some have decided to go ahead and turn the pitchforks
on Nick Kayley because Nick Kaylee right now is getting

(02:23:52):
a lot of the brunt end of the stick, bad designs,
not able to punch it on in and so the
question was brought up, Hey, must be game. You gotta
go take down an AFC South opponent.

Speaker 2 (02:24:04):
Does that curiosity? Somebody in the media decide to ask this, Well.

Speaker 6 (02:24:08):
Nick call plays this week? Why would he not call players?

Speaker 2 (02:24:12):
And that was the answer. Dad is about as cantankerous
as Demiko will get.

Speaker 5 (02:24:18):
Well, he's like, okay, no, he will not. Who is
Jerrod Johnson, Bill Laser, Jerry Schlapink, Schablinsky. Well, of course
Nick Kaylee's calling plays, which is exactly why Demiko answered
it that way. I guess, like I'm being serious, there's

(02:24:39):
the people outside the organization are firing Nick Cayley. The
people inside the organization have never even hinted at the
remote possibility of that taking place, let alone taking play
calling duties away from him. For who Laser does have
play calling experience, but he's not a coach, he's a consultant.
He's around the offense every day. He's been around CJ

(02:24:59):
for a couple of years. He's been with the team
for a couple of years. But that's your alternative. Or
Gerard Johnson, who's never been an OC, never been a
play caller, he's one of the bobs, he's a consultant,
which saying is this really like, do you really think
they're about to take play calling duties away from then?

Speaker 2 (02:25:13):
What is he doing? Does he even have to come
to the game? I would counter with it doesn't really
matter who's calling plays these days in light of the
way things are right now. I mean, it's hard to
argue with that.

Speaker 5 (02:25:25):
I think it definitely matters, and I could I could
underscour if they had a different makeup of their staff,
which most teams don't, but you could have a more
experienced group around. You could have a quarterback coach who's
play calling. There's nothing wrong with Jirad Johnson. I don't
mean to make light of his position if it sounded
that way, he just hasn't done it before, and an
in season change to that, Like guys are giving up

(02:25:45):
play calling duties around the league. Kevin Stefanski has done
it again. This is something he's done previously. He's letting
Tommy Reese call plays. But he's the head coach giving
up play calling duties, which has already happened here Demigo
Ryans and Matt Burke. The role has shifted to a
certain extent, and Matt Burke is calling plays. But the
offensive play caller is the offensive coordinator, not the head coach.

(02:26:07):
If he's not calling plays, what is he doing. He's
the play caller, he's a placeholder. I mean you could
have asked, I didn't see Nick on the practice field
today's he fired. I mean, you couldn't have asked that
because you weren't at practice. But I can understand asking it,
but I totally understand the response to it.

Speaker 2 (02:26:24):
Of course he's calling plays, by the way, not to
completely take it back to the initial subject of this segment, Yeah,
you know why Steven Adams isn't playing tonight. They don't
have a back to back, they have a game. It's
gets san Antonio.

Speaker 6 (02:26:38):
I can go.

Speaker 2 (02:26:41):
What does that have to do with kit? He wants
to seeing him.

Speaker 5 (02:26:44):
Tonight so it'll be healthier on Friday. Well yeah, okay,
I hope he plays Friday.

Speaker 2 (02:26:49):
He's gonna play Friday when they have a real center.
What now, you're complimenting him? Now that was for your benefit.
They just want full tilt book for Steven Adams against
that French stiff.

Speaker 5 (02:27:02):
By the way, no surprise, the league's leading offensive rebounder
by a lot again this year among players who's right
play fifty minutes or more seen action in all their
teams games.

Speaker 2 (02:27:16):
That's the new Zeasan monster they have. But do you
know who's second? I don't know.

Speaker 5 (02:27:21):
Clint Capella. Oh well, that's cool, it's pretty awesome. I
thought you were going to tell me who was the
number one loser. Now apparently it's Clint. These two guys
are pacing the league in offensive rebounding. If you think
the Rockets knew what they were doing this offseason, they
knew what they were doing.

Speaker 2 (02:27:35):
I actually thought you were gonna say, Wimby, I know
what else do we have?

Speaker 15 (02:27:39):
College football Playoffs selection has been made no major surprise, Alabama,
Ohio State, techs A and M, and Indiana of the
top four teams and the EP pole for the top
four teams and last night's bid number five, Georgia, number six,
sole Miss number seven BYU who plays number eight Texas
Tech this weekend, Number nine, oregonber ten Notre Dame.

Speaker 2 (02:28:01):
Now here's where it gets a little confusing.

Speaker 15 (02:28:03):
Virginia at number fourteen gets in as the eleven seed
because they would be the ACCED representative, and then Memphis
that was not ranked whatsoever. Is the twelve seed as
the G five percentive and coming in at number eleven
and twelve, we have an opportunity to gain some ground
and punch their ticket into the conference ball playoff with

(02:28:23):
games against Alabama, Georgia and Texas A and M in
Sun capacity in Texas at eleven, Oklahoma at twelfth.

Speaker 5 (02:28:31):
Yeah, this is part of how you put it together
and get all the ads and all the commissioners to say, oh, okay,
I guess I mean. Virginia's definitely not one of the
twelve bets teams in the country that haven't played that
way yet this year, and I doubt they will continue
to make any change on that. But they play in
a major conference and they're in first place, so they
get the automatic slot. Unlike last year where they would

(02:28:51):
have been thrust into a top four spot and an
off week.

Speaker 2 (02:28:54):
They don't get that this year. Nobody gets that.

Speaker 5 (02:28:56):
It's just a straight ranking and everyone slots in according
and so Memphis is a similar situation. They're not even
one of the best twenty some items in the country,
but somebody has to get that spot. And if you
look at the rankings or even the top twenty five
from the AP or the coaches poll. Outside of Notre Dame,
who is independent, it's full of nothing but conference major

(02:29:18):
conference representatives.

Speaker 2 (02:29:19):
All the Big ten and Big twelve and SEC and
ACC teams make up the entire top twenty five. And
then there's Memphis and that's how they got in.

Speaker 5 (02:29:27):
That's not really much to discuss now because it's Cole
noted and we've noted many times. The games that are
left on the schedule will probably hash this out with
what I don't think will be a whole lot of
angst when we get down to it, but we shall
see anything else.

Speaker 2 (02:29:41):
Yeah, just two more.

Speaker 15 (02:29:42):
Two pitchers that could have been landing with the Astros
that THEEOP would have hit free agency have.

Speaker 2 (02:29:46):
Opted in on their deals.

Speaker 15 (02:29:48):
Chris Sale was opted in by the club, but that
land off for an eighteen million dollars salary next year.
And then Shane Bieber, who was phenomenal in the postseason
outside of that one home run the Hedio to Will
Smith opt in on a sixteen million dollar deal with
the Blucher. So they are not going to be available
for the Astros when free acy beginning tomorrow.

Speaker 5 (02:30:04):
Did you say outside of that home run he gave
up to Will Smith, and one was.

Speaker 2 (02:30:07):
That bottom of the I'm on top of the tenth hening.

Speaker 5 (02:30:11):
So like the last run that was scored in the
World Series was an exciting factory.

Speaker 2 (02:30:15):
Yeah. Other than that, he was good. Other than that
one the game losing pitch. Other than that, the wet
blankets sound when you need one. Everybody wants to talk
about how it is the greatest World Series ever. Let
me go ahead and wet blanket this myself. If the
Dodgers win it, it's not one of the greatest ever.
That's me ringing it out the eighteen.

Speaker 1 (02:30:37):
On Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:30:44):
Well, if you want to see Sting or if you
want to see ac DC perform Woodland's Pavilion for Sting
on May thirteenth of next year, ac DC on August
thirty first at Energy Stadium of next year. That's their
Power Up Tour, and tickets go on sale for that
event Friday at ten am on ticketmaster dot com. Same

(02:31:06):
for Sting Friday ten am at ticketmaster dot com. If
you like to see the show, just tell Cole at
seven one three two one two five seven ninety Since
you were listening last segment, what major league pitcher that
opted into his deal?

Speaker 2 (02:31:19):
Did I just drape with a wet blanket? Last segment?
I wanted to do this question. I mean, that's a
satisfactory want seven seven nine day. That is the answer
to the question we ask you just call in and
choose your tickets. You're nicer than me, though, you know
what I would have got.

Speaker 15 (02:31:36):
It is also true this is the one picture I
wanted the Astros to sign to.

Speaker 2 (02:31:39):
I would have vulation to justin no, no, no. I
would have asked the listeners which actress he referred to
as horse face. That's the question I would have gone with. Now,
either way, you're listening to the show, you know the answer.
But since you didn't ask that, I can reveal that
it was Sarah Jessica Parker.

Speaker 5 (02:31:56):
But you were actually referring to a football player, not trouble.

Speaker 2 (02:32:00):
It's also not an answer to this question because neither
one of them pitch in Major League baseball. Yeah, hopefully
that's not confusing. Anybody did you watch that show?

Speaker 10 (02:32:09):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (02:32:09):
Yeah, Sex and the City.

Speaker 5 (02:32:11):
You watch that like this was there was a lot
less streaming really wasn't around yet and essentially HBO you
name it.

Speaker 2 (02:32:21):
I watched it all of this, so it was mainly
it was an HBO thing. Yeah, like what were some
of the ones.

Speaker 5 (02:32:26):
Other than the awesome, awesome, awesome dramas which I somehow
didn't really watch, but all their comedies every.

Speaker 2 (02:32:32):
Time when Sex and the City was airing was simultaneous,
simultaneous to win. Sopranos was in a taday correct give
or take. It started first overlapping for sure, Okay, because
I know you were watching that the.

Speaker 5 (02:32:46):
Best well that to me love seeing those pop up
on reels where it's just a compilation of who all
they're sayings that every guy on the show had, whether
their curse words or not.

Speaker 2 (02:32:58):
Tony was just so good.

Speaker 5 (02:33:02):
Yeah, he was good. It's best role. There's really nothing
I can quote, no, not here, not on this show.
But I feel like during that time that show was
for women, and oh Sopranos was for men, and you would.

Speaker 2 (02:33:15):
Was also preposterous. What Sex in the City. They're both
preposterous if you think about it.

Speaker 5 (02:33:22):
I don't know, I know a lot less about what
life is like if that's the family you live in
than I do about these ridiculous New York women pretending
to lead a life like that any of the four
of them.

Speaker 2 (02:33:35):
Well, and by the way, if she's writing some sort
of column in a newspaper, she can't afford an apartment
like that in Manhattan. She's coming in from New Jersey.
You can buy all the shoes she wants, no matter what.
You know. It was worse though, kind of a spin
on that that both Teresa and Brooklyn would then watch
ad nauseum to torture me.

Speaker 5 (02:33:53):
Gossip Girl here, like if that show was airing now.

Speaker 2 (02:33:58):
Gossip Girl or Sex in the City, one of them, okay,
versus all these other reality TV shows, they would never
survive because everybody watches reality TV. I would be the same.
What's the Island one? What's it called love Island?

Speaker 6 (02:34:09):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:34:09):
That the Island one? Yeah, the Island one. Only forgot
one word, love Island. Well, you know what they call
it at our house earmuffs kids, butt cheek Island, That's
what they call it. You know why. That's because all
you see, I wonder why it's so popular. I'm like,
can you not watch it while he's in the room.
I mean, forget the fact that it's like an f

(02:34:30):
bom every five seconds. That's you guys can do better
than that I can, or if you're not going to,
don't ever complain to me that he's in the room
while I'm watching something that you disapprove of sports while
you watch butt cheek Island in the language that they
use on that show. Not to mention you know that.
I mean it's clean.

Speaker 5 (02:34:50):
I think you don't. You never see anything it's not.
You can't not allowed to show that on that program.
Cheeks are alloud. He got in trouble, What do you do? Well,
he he did something. He did what dad does when
he walks by mom in the kitchen or whatever. Smack, yeah,
She's like, he can't do that, right, Well, that's what Yeah, exactly,

(02:35:10):
you can't.

Speaker 2 (02:35:10):
You can't do that. He got in trouble.

Speaker 5 (02:35:13):
Well, feel free to go ahead and set up the
camera when that happens and fire that up on TikTok
or do.

Speaker 2 (02:35:19):
You think that'll go more reviews than cutting up? It
will get a tremendous number of views. She's cut up
a sweatshirt that I bought her in San Diego.

Speaker 5 (02:35:26):
You knew what was coming, now, I really didn't it.
Usually she asks before it's something I purchased. Oh, by
the way, she can do that after stay away from
my jerseys, everything else or your clothes.

Speaker 2 (02:35:38):
So was this you just said you got it for her.
I bought it and it didn't fit me, so she
inherited it. Wow, it was a serious gift you gave her.
H but you know how these things behind? That was
at Coronado in San Diego. So of course we go
to the gift shop in the hotel and it's like
when you went to Papasa, very well priced. You went
to that one place that rhymes with mapa mitos it

(02:35:59):
rhymes with top. See this, and they jack up the
dice in that one location that you went to. It's
more expensive there than others. Yeah, well this fighting airport
probably cost them five dollars to make and they charge
me probably north of one hundred bucks. And there she
is on Instagram with her scissors increasing the value. I
guess it's increasing the value. I don't know. All right,

(02:36:19):
But what are we talking about with the Bob but
Cheek Island? Were already done with that.

Speaker 5 (02:36:24):
I say, he can't take it anymore. Cole, Well, what
else is there? It's five point fifty three pribe the
entire show, and we haven't started talking about sports, yet
fire away. Finish out the show like this. There's nothing
else to say about the show, is there?

Speaker 6 (02:36:37):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:36:37):
There is? Go ahead. Your MIC's are all open. Why
do you watch it? I have to watch it? No, See,
that's where you're wrong. You always say that I have
to because she doesn't.

Speaker 5 (02:36:47):
How many people need to stop having sound marriage more
than one. You don't have to listen. It doesn't matter
how many screens you have or how many whatever. Stop
using your wife as an excuse for why you watch
bad television.

Speaker 2 (02:36:59):
You have a choice, and you're a grown.

Speaker 15 (02:37:01):
Man's the only thing being talked about in my house
at least I would like to have a conversation.

Speaker 2 (02:37:05):
Can you start talking about your things and make her
talk about them? Talk to Your house.

Speaker 5 (02:37:10):
Has different numbers than our houses. There's three people in
his house, there's three people in my house. A conversation
can be had without you in our houses, how is
the conversation being held without you?

Speaker 2 (02:37:20):
Did you hear what you just said? There's nobody else there?
You know you'd hear he just said. He said she
doesn't want to talk about college football, Well, then you
don't want to talk about but Cheek Island. That's how
that works. It's a give and take. Well, actually right now,
it's tap Dancing with the Stars. Whatever it is if
you don't want to do it, but your maids rock
and Roll Hall of Fame song week that anything. She's

(02:37:41):
not you? Hold on you are you?

Speaker 5 (02:37:44):
I watched Braxton Burios' girlfriend dance. I watched Conan O'Brien's
sidekick dance.

Speaker 2 (02:37:51):
Find a Way to Survive another week.

Speaker 5 (02:37:53):
I didn't last to see Olympian Jordan Childs last. She
had a later in the show dance. Didn't see the
Crocodile Hunter kid dance.

Speaker 2 (02:38:00):
What about t Penga? I didn't see her dance, big fan,
Well she's not she's no longer there. Hate to break
it tea about Stan that was her last show this
this week? Yeah, fandn't go anywhere and again Yeah, I
mean we ate dinner when I got home for Dancing
with the Stars. What you guys disappoint me so greatly?
You have no idea. I mean Steve erwins, Kid's gonna win.

(02:38:23):
That's the same point.

Speaker 5 (02:38:24):
Who's Key No, the other guy with the six pack?
Ephron's bro?

Speaker 2 (02:38:28):
Why is he on the show? Zac Efron's got a brother.
That's on Dancing with the Stars. What's what is? What
did he do before this? He's Zach Efron's brother. That's
just claim to fame. Really, I'm not joking. This is
why I hate the show.

Speaker 5 (02:38:45):
What's wrong with our listeners right now? Why aren't you
tweeting at us? Sending us messages private text message saying
you guys are awful because said segment.

Speaker 2 (02:38:57):
E got the a c DC ticks from the eighteen thing.
They're busy complimenting us. There you go. Love to hear
that exactly. Are we back on track now for the
next thirty seconds? That's awesome. You could do a whole
Rockets game tonight where nobody's going to interrupt you with
any nonsense about OJ or sex in the city or anything.
Where are they playing tonight? Me Memphis? Yeah, no celebrities
there for Matt to talk about. Well, does Justin Timberlake
still own have a minority share in the team?

Speaker 5 (02:39:19):
Do not know what Jessica Bill's husband is up to,
Jessica Bill fan Russ will be with you momentarily. He
has the Rockets launch Pad program. Next half hour of
that half hour of the Rockets Countdown program with yours
truly and then we got Rockets basketball looking for five
straight against the Memphis Grizzlies. Week reconvene on the A

(02:39:39):
team tomorrow at two

Speaker 3 (02:39:42):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety

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