Rockets Back on Track, One Day Closer to Texans-Patriots, Chris Gordy in Studio

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Seven to ninety Space City Home Network simulcast quickly approaching.
That'll be at the top of next hour. Welcome into
the show today, Houston. That is Adam Wexler over there.
He is wearing a blue polo. I am Adam Clanton.
I am wearing a blue button down. We got the
memo today. We did not talk at all about our wardrobe,
but you will be able to see us in an
hour when we simulcast. Over On the television side of things,

(00:20):
Josh Jordan is our producer. As per usual, got a
lot to get to on a middle of the week
edition of the program. As I understand it, a guy
that I have been lobbying for to get on this
show for a long long time was on the station today.
Wasn't on the A Team, and he wasn't on the
Matt Thomas show either. He was on the Morning Drive.

(00:42):
But as I understand it, it was pretty good content.
So even though we didn't get to talk to Dan Orlowski,
we will play some of what he had to say
earlier this morning. I just think his analysis is second
to none as far as the Four Letter Network goes,
partially because the bar solo, but partially because he's so good.
Does that make sense? They don't have a lot of
good analysts on the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
So when you get to hear from Dan, you'll see
why I like him so much because I won't be
able to contain myself with some of the things that
he has to say. But we've got a bunch of
good stuff. Glad he was on with Dan and Cole
this morning. If you missed it around eight forty five,
you can catch it in full via Sports Talk seven
ninety dot com. You're already I'm sure listening or subscribing
to the all of our programs via the iHeartRadio app,

(01:24):
so another great way to get it. Texans did get
on the practice field for the first time. This Week's
typical week now Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, practice Day, Saturday, travel Day,
Sunday Victory Day, and then prepare preparation for whoever wins
the game on Saturday that we'll meet them in the
AFC title game. Of note, Juwar Jordan was on the
practice field today. I would imagine he'll be listed as limited,

(01:45):
but I have no idea at this point. Just normally
players coming back from some sort of injury, that's often
the path back to playing. Whether or not he's active,
who knows, but here from Demiko Ryans and CJ. Stroud
this afternoon in just a few minutes, hopefully be able
to turn some of that for you. Reid on the
practice field today, that was expected considering he returned to
the game on Sunday after missing a handful of snaps.

(02:06):
He was hurt on the fourth play of the game
defensively a knee injury, but was able to return and
again hardly missed any plays. This was his first game
back from an arm injury and clearly first game back
immediately into the starting role. I think you can see
the value that they show they have in him. A
couple other players not at practice today also not alarming,
Trent Brown and Deniko Audrey. If you've been paying attention

(02:29):
to us or the injury reports for the last two months,
that is very normal for those two players not participating
in Wednesday practice or the first practice of the week
and then getting out there Thursday and or Friday and
taking their normal number of reps. For Deniko Audrey that's
twenty twenty five thirty snaps in a game that are outstanding,

(02:49):
and for Trent Brown that's every snap. He is the
starting tackle. He's the starting right tackle. He took every
snap in last week's game and was highlighted several times
on social media for eating defenders, gulfing defenders, hiding defenders
from the sun, and it was pretty awesome to watch
and that is something that he can do. He is
among the many people returning to New England for this game.

(03:10):
Spent a good chunk of his career playing for the Patriots.
Did not see Nico Collins or Justin Watson at practice today, Unfortunately,
that was also expected both of them, as Dimiko said
yesterday a day after the game, they were in concussion protocol.
Maybe get a little bit of clarity on that about
you know where things are. But it's only been a
couple of days normally those are more players that you hear.

(03:32):
We'll see how the week goes for them, but clearly
the concern about their well being considering the type of injuries.
First and foremost, they have plenty of options at wide receiver,
considering the active roster already has five other players on
it and they have a host of wide receivers on
the practice squad. Interesting addition to the New England Patriots
this week bringing Darryl Taylor in defensive end. That was

(03:55):
with the Texans the entire season until the week before
the first playoff game. Was the release the Texans made
to make room for Jalen Reed, So Kamari Lassiter, dare
Stingley Junior, and everybody else you might have been concerned
with who's been on the injury report. Uh, they had
a very clean sheet heading into their game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, and essentially it's just as clean other than

(04:20):
obviously the.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Two concussions I mentioned. Yeah, I should be. He's not
released yet. I don't wanna. I don't wanna kind of
even expect to see Nico Collins out there. That sucks
because I think, if you are put it this way,
the New England media is really fancying, uh the Patriots
as this juggernaut offense. And I'm not saying they're not
a decent offense, but I just think that they're not.

(04:43):
I don't think they're given the Texans enough credit going
into this, a lot of them and I just feel like,
if indeed they do decide to put up some points
a lah Riley Leonard with the cult at the end
of the year against by the way, a lot of backups,
and in the second half just extreme backups. But whatever,
I would at least like to TJ to have his

(05:06):
best arsenal available to him, and I just don't think
that that's going to be the case.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, the Patriots offense analysis and the Texans defense analysis
to me seem very very similar. When people heard Demiko
talk about the Texans defensive performance against the Steelers, are well,
whoa hey, hey, best performance ever, best you've ever seen.
You were playing Aaron Rodgers, you were playing the Steelers. Okay, Well, Similarly,

(05:30):
the New England Patriots have one of the best statistical
offenses in the NFL, one of the highest scoring teams.
They generated the most yards. There's a lot of things
out there, Okay, well it's all relatives. Who Okay, but
you put up thirty eight points in your last game
against the Dolphins, but you put up forty two points
in your last game against the Jets and the Giants

(05:50):
and the Bengals and the Jets again and on and
on and on. Doesn't mean they aren't awesome. It just
means you got to take it with a little bit
of recognition to what you're talking about. Cause that's ludicrous.
We're sitting here saying, how could you say they're not
awesome just because of who they played. It's why they're
awesome because the Steelers couldn't do anything. It's I mean,

(06:11):
any team's on the field against them at the NFL
and they literally they scored two field goals. One of
them was a gift from the offense of the team
that has the great defense. They played a sixty minute
football game, and the other team just well, let's put
it this way, they were outscored fourteen to six when
they were on the field when the Steelers' offense was
on the field. Technically, they were outscored twelve to six

(06:32):
because they were on the sidelines for the extra points
and one of them was missed. So that's a simple
way to put it. I think the Patriots have an
outstanding offense. I also think it's fair to say they
have faced a defense this good zero times so far
this year. Provided the Texans bring that to the table
Sunday afternoon, which I assume that they will.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
Yeah, I don't feel like there's been a game, and
I don't count the Colts game for a number of reasons.
I don't think there's been a game this season where
they haven't brought it defensively. You know, they might have
had ups and downs in quarters. That's that's about the
worst it's gotten for that side of the football this year.
I mean, I don't remember them just being embarrassed ever

(07:12):
or even giving up like a ton of like, oh man,
this defense shouldn't be giving up. They pretty much do
what I thought they would do every single week this
year for the most part.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
Yeah, I mean maybe the Jacksonville game that you won,
the Davis Mills game is one that would stand out
a little bit. But again, even though there were twenty
nine points on the board through three quarters, remember the
reason why the Texans scoring all those points in the
fourth quarter even mattered is because Jacksonville couldn't do anything.
They got the ball over and over and over again

(07:39):
in the fourth quarter with a twenty nine point lead,
with an eighteen point lead, with the lead just kept
getting smaller and smaller because they kept having to give
the ball back to the Texans because three plays after
they got it they would be punning. And obviously at
the end of the game they extended that advantage with
the touchdown to close things out. So, like you said,
for an entire game, not really bring I don't know

(08:00):
how much they brought it in that game. Although some
of the points were also scored on special teams. There's
a lot you gotta really actually do. They look back
at what really happened, and I think that'll play into
what we talk about the next three days Today, Tomorrow
and Friday. Hopefully check in a little bit on the
New England side to get a little bit better idea
of what they think they have done and will do

(08:21):
against a better team. Clearly, the Texans are a better
team than the Chargers. I think that's pretty fair to say.
Texans not only beat the Chargers, but I just think
they were better than them in every which way you'd
want to look at it. And Texans also have a
better offense than the Chargers. Whatever you want to say
about who they have. They can't play offense for the
same reason the Texans couldn't play offense last year. They
can't stop you. They fired their oc they fired their

(08:43):
offensive line coach, and a reminder to people of who
that offensive line coach was, Mike Devlin should be a
familiar name here, someone who lasted way too long with
this team, coaching offensive line played poorly. He was dealt
a pretty bad hand this year, to be fair, considering
how many players were hurt, and I doubt this is anything.
But while we're firing in the OC, he likes how
you coach offensive line, so obviously you're going out the

(09:05):
door with him. But the Texans don't have to worry
about those things yet. I don't think Toyota Center last
night starting off the home stand at least this way
with a win. Not sure how much more you could
say about it beyond that they did not play particularly
well offensively again, shot the ball very very poorly. Again,
timing of when they finally made some shots paid off,

(09:26):
because that's why.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
They won the game.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
They were down a point in the final four minutes
and Kevin Durant decided to wake Toyota Center up. Not
that they were already sleeping, not far from it, but
his drive through the lane to throw it down in
the half court off an offensive set put the Rockets
up by one. They ultimately took a nine point lead
in the final few minutes and won that game because
he did that, and Jabari Smith Junior hit some wide

(09:49):
open shots created for him by his teammates, which is
nothing different than the last five games. He buried him
in this case put up ten of his eighteen in
the fourth quarter and five game homes. Dan begins with
what they normally get at home. Remember, they lost their
opener at home, so not only are they twelve and
two at home, well, they're twelve and one in their
last thirteen home games and each of the next four,

(10:10):
beginning with a back to back Thursday and Friday, are
right back at Tota Center.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, and the competition is going to increase significantly, and they.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
Worry have the teams ahead of them in the standings.
There aren't many no are coming to town over the
next four games.

Speaker 1 (10:24):
Which makes you kind of worry when you consider the
struggling Go play ball. Get some arms length between you
and the crappy Chicago Bulls after losing to the crappy
Kings and the crappy Blazers.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
They needed this kick in the butt has not quite
been received yet, but they need it.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, And if they don't get it yet, they could
very well get it tomorrow night because the Thunder doesn't lose.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
Yeah. I think we're looking at what we saw last
year in the playoffs. From my standpoint, the Rockets could
be two, they could be three. They fought hard to
be two last year. I don't really think it matters.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
It doesn't matter, it's about the match.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
I think all these teams are very, very similar, with
the Rockets are very unlikely to put some unbelievable streak
together and vault all the way up to the top
unless injuries play a part in this, and they're like
everybody else, kind of suffering through some of those currently
just getting ALPI backs. Still without Finney Smith last night,
presuming he plays at least in one of these two
games coming up. No Tari Eason likely for a few
more games of this home stand. But I don't think

(11:23):
there's a whole lot of difference between last year. It
was probably two through six or two through seven, maybe
two through eight this year, depending on where what your
feelings are on San Antonio and if everybody's healthy, like
Denver's not gonna finish top two or three anymore, most likely,
even with Peyton Watson turning into one of the best
players in the league, because they're gonna miss so much
time with Nikola Jokicic two, three, four or five Lakers Rockets, Grizzlies,

(11:49):
they're all the same. I think it's gonna be fun
to watch what this team looks like against this year's
Grizzlies coming up Friday. It's been a while since they've
been up against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It'd be nice
to see what that matchup lo like again. And it's
been a while, and they have more games coming with
the San Antonio Spurs, but a week from yesterday they'll
get them again here at Toyota Center.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
All right, we will hear from Demiico Ryans on a
subject that I don't think the Texans are gonna have
any problems with, but you know something that I think
need needed to be said, and it was said as
you try and turn the page from a thrilling playoff win,
first of the road variety in franchise history to your
focus this week. So we'll hear from Demiko on that

(12:32):
subject when we come back, as the Texans and Patriots
are going to reunite their non playoff rivalry because it's
been so one sided this Sunday in Foxborough. That is
next here on the eighteen Sports Talk seven ninety Wednesday
edition of the program. So when you have a win

(12:53):
like that, like the Texans had on Monday Night on
I mean, every game is a big stage, but it
just it just means more sec style. I feel like
if it comes at the end of what has already
been a spectacular weekend, if it comes on Monday Night,
if there's talk about the streak that one of the
teams coming in has on said night of the week,

(13:14):
even if there are semantics problems with it.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, the a five game winning streak on Monday Night
during the regular season super important.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
Look, this can happen, And I think this happens a
lot more with basically any other sport because you play
once a week. I just don't feel like it really
happens where you're you know, maybe if you're in a
winning streak like the Texans word in the season, something
like that, But even then, I just don't feel like
you are complacent because you're winning too much. There's too

(13:45):
much preparation that goes between games in the NFL, in
my opinion, to be that way now as an organization,
as a team or a front office or a coaching staff,
Can you get complacent season to season in a different way?
Maybe perhaps, But I just don't feel like, you know,
it's the anywhere near the same as say an NBA

(14:08):
team with a ten game winning streak and they're going
to play fill in the blank, crappy ball club and
they get caught with their pants down because they didn't
take them seriously. I just don't think that happens as
much in the NFL because of the amount of time
between games. Having said all that, Damiko Ryans he absolutely
says celebration time is over. It's time to go focus

(14:30):
on what they need to do this weekend, which is
collaborating the New England Patriots.

Speaker 3 (14:34):
We turn the page, Like everybody understands, you know what
that moment was. We celebrated that moment. You know that
that evening. It was a really great performance by our team.
So we celebrate that because it was worthy to celebrate.
But you don't dwell on it, like, no matter how
you get it done, you get it done in the postseason.
Finish with the win. That's all that matters. It doesn't

(14:56):
matter how it looks. So I'm proud of our guys
for finishing with the win. Now, man, we're we're blessing
another opportunity to come to work this week, to go
try to get another one.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
That's one question I really have never asked an NFL player,
and the answer could be various, you know, different ways
they go about it. But like, I've never really asked
a player that because I don't think it comes up
because of what I'm saying. I just don't think that
players have a problem with that. And maybe I'm wrong,
maybe some do, but I just what he's saying, I

(15:27):
think is almost like goes without staying.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
And for the same reason when you're owing three, Yeah,
it really is. It sepecial with this team because they
weren't going into the Tampa game going when I'm sure
don't want to fall to own two. I remember how
we stink. We didn't play good football. Okay, now I
don't want to fall to oh and four. I know
Tennessee stinks, but man, that's a long losing stream. We
have won a game in three weeks, like in the NBA,
like you were talking about, if you haven't won a

(15:52):
game in three weeks, you've gone O in twelve. Right,
If you haven't won a game in three weeks in
the NFL and you had an off week, maybe you
went oh in two, maybe.

Speaker 1 (16:00):
Lost twice and I know you lost two games.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
The Texans haven't lost a game since they walked off
the field in November. First week, second day of November,
they lost to the Broncos. Then they played another fair
leaks to November and they won. Then they played every
game in December and they won. They've now played a
game in January. They haven't lost a game in forever.
But it's only been ten times. It's only been each week.

(16:26):
And that's why every NFL game these are cliches. This
league is all about them because they're accurate. It's a
one game season. You spend all week. Guess how much
they're looking at Buffalo or Denver this week? Not at all.
We talked to them on Sunday night or Monday morning
after a Sunday game, and they don't know anything about

(16:46):
the other team. They haven't spent any time on that either.

Speaker 4 (16:48):
Tame.

Speaker 2 (16:48):
They're trying to win this day and clearly none of
that stuff has a role, has a part, is at
all part of their thinking at this point in the season.
It really has Who cares what you did last week
and who cares what's in front of you? There's nothing
in front of you if you don't play good football
for three hours in New England. The season's over and
I feel like fifteen games in a row, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
I feel like every time we see one of those
Demko speeches during this streak, which is now ten games,
he says that almost immediately after whatever, his opening remarks
are back to work. Yeah, it's what he said. Well,
we got one day Monday night, Like we got one,
that's just one. We were onto the next.

Speaker 2 (17:26):
Any variation of that, and I think you used to
it by now it's ten times.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
I grow I know. You know what's funny about this
is that even though it's only been done, what was
it seven times, where you start zero to three and
you make the postseason. I think a having that seventeenth
and I guarantee it soon to be eighteenth game is
going to make that more and more of an anomaly.
I think teams are going to be able to overcome

(17:52):
rough starts a lot more once there's an eighteen game
schedule because there's more real estate to win. But I
it kind of just that statistic, that little cliche whatever
you want to call it, where only a handful of
teams have started owing three and made the playoffs. That
to me, I don't know. I haven't looked at all

(18:14):
the situations where a team started owing three and whether
or not they made the playoffs. But to me, there
are so many factors, even out of that team's control,
that factored into the to those teams not making the
playoffs versus you know, the Texans doing it twice and
the Texans doing it twice. Conversely, that just means there
were a lot of factors that were probably out of

(18:34):
their hands as well that went their way. It what
we're talking about the amount of time in between games
and just the insane amount of preparation. If you did
a take take a report of to work day for
just one position group for the Houston Texans and just
saw how much goes into one game, and then you

(18:56):
extrapolate that over an entire coaching staff, every position group,
game ops, everybody that puts the week, whatever it is
together to get a football team ready to play a game.
It's insane. And I don't think it allows for dwelling
on anything in the past because you too busy looking
at the next game.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, you might dwell on some things in the past,
like what did we see last year when we played
Drake May. What are the things we've seen this year
on film from Drake May, but the games themselves and
even last week's performance, it's the players who make sure,
and obviously through I think probably underrated coaches. I mean,
most of this year we've talked about Nick Kayley, Matt Burke,

(19:38):
Coach Ross, Frank Ross, and Demiko for the most part,
those are the guys we talk about. And it's almost
silly not to talk about coach Vasso in the secondary
and not to talk about coach Rod Right and Frank
Okam with the D line. I mean the jobs that
each of the individual position group coaches have done here,
which I do think. Finally, Cole Popovich obviously got talked

(19:59):
about quite a bit, but not necessarily for the right reasons,
even though he earned it as the season went on.
The offensive line coach, it's it's the job that they're doing,
It's the things that they're doing in their meeting rooms.
It really is the mindset of the players, and this
kind of goes back to their acquisition philosophy. I mean,
I don't want to act like the old school Texans
that had a problem with players who weren't Texans worthy

(20:20):
because This is not the same. This is more about
the mentality of this player on the field when he's
in our uniform, which he's not in yet. Is the
kind of player we want here. They do things we
want on the field. It's why there's I think there's
a lot of times where Nick Cassario's selections on draft
day are met with, well, I thought that guy would

(20:41):
be on the board for another fifty picks. I thought
that player, that's a little bit of a reach for
that player. Sometimes it's been right, but I don't know
a lot of people thought what he marks goes off
the board when he does. I definitely don't think many
people thought Kaylen Bullock goes off the board when he does.
You know, Jalen Peatree, Kamari Lasker, as a host of
players you could name, and you watch them play and
you see why they actually are Demiko Ryan's Texans Worthy

(21:06):
use the words. A couple of different people have used
the words about those guys, specifically defensive players. They're tackling machines.
Look at the mindset of Kamari Lasterers on the field. Yeah,
it'd be nice to get a pass break up, be
great to pick off a pass maybe even return it
for a touchdown. But you're telling me I can get
three TFLs today. You're telling me I can blast off
a wide receiver on a screen, a running back coming

(21:29):
out of the backfield that thinks he's gonna have all
this real estate and I'm there to stuff him and
turn it into second and thirteen. Put me on the
field for that. That's what these guys are as ease
as that player. Henry's that player. It's Henry's another late
round pick that has blossomed into a and extremely helpful
part of the best defense of the NFL. Their mentality

(21:49):
of who they are as football players, as people, as
hungry athletes, it all goes into everything you're saying. It's
I think it's why it's so easy for them not
to look at oh Man games in a row. We've
won seven games in a row, and it's because of
some of what they said about those first three games.
Just to point one last thing out before we hit
Best of X. The Texans team that turned into an

(22:10):
eleven and five team when they lost those first three
games the season in twenty eighteen. The Texans this year
lost their first three games. They were all one score games.
They were all games they thought a play here or
a play there. Maybe things are very very different, so
we don't think we're that far away now. I remember
how they played in those games, and I don't really
think it was quite the same, but the scores were.

(22:33):
They lost by seven, they lost by three, both on
the road, and then they had what I thought was
an awful way to lose. They lost to Eli Mannings
Giants at home the home opener in week three. Watson
threw for almost four hundred yards and they didn't win.
So that made me think, man, this team is in trouble.
They won their next two games in overtime and didn't

(22:54):
lose again until December. Yeah, Ozho and three start three
close games. Maybe vibe in the locker room because of
their great leadership. Bill O'Brien was that we're really good
and we're not too far away, just like now.

Speaker 1 (23:07):
Or all right, As WEX mentioned, best of X usually
happens this time of day, and it will next kingle day.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
You're the best of X, breaking the entire in toney.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
That's right, it's the best of X. It's time to
take a gander at social media and see what they're
saying and see what's good, what's bad, what's in between,
and react to it and see what others are saying
to react to it. I am fascinated by how this
matchup is being covered first and foremost, and we'll get

(23:47):
to that at points along the way during the show.
But I think that when I saw this today and
I saw some reaction to it, and it was comical
because I kind of thought the same thing. It was like,
I know what Mike Vrabel's doing bringing in defensive end
Darryl Taylor, But I also think that this is a

(24:09):
special case where it's just I know, you want to
get recon and that's probably the only reason you're bringing
in a guy who the Texans just discarded and putting
him on your practice squad with the possibility of elevating
him for the playoffs, which is what Ian Rappaport was
reporting about the Patriots bringing in some quote pass rush help.

(24:30):
Taylor was waived by Houston this week, Patriots bringing him in.
Mike Vrabel's a defensive guy. This is a it's not
a hard code to crack here, But what is so
exotic about the Texans defense that you need recon? They
were talking about during the game on Monday.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
I mean, it's an obvious way to think, and I
don't doubt it at all.

Speaker 1 (24:50):
You have him, you might as well use him.

Speaker 2 (24:51):
But I also think you might be overlooking the fact
that they could use him, Like if you're going to
elevate the player, that means you need him to play.
And I think there's almost a I don't know, eighty
five ninety percent chance as long as they don't have
issue with his health or his wind. And he's been
healthy here late in the season for the Texans, as
he took his full three weeks to return from the

(25:12):
designated to return injured reserve list. I think he's going
to be active for a reason, so he can play.
I don't know what people think about their defense in
terms of edge rushing talent or pass rushing talent, what
they think they've accomplished this year, or maybe where you
even place them on that list.

Speaker 1 (25:30):
But I can't.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
I look at them and what they've done and where
they rush from and what they want to do. The
idea that they have some similarities defensively, not tremendous similarities,
but enough this is an edge rusher. They need him.
They probably need him on the field.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
So it's more about need in less about this version
of him as a reserve need. Like the Texans would
love to have him here, but now he's their sixth end.
They don't need a six then they're not going to
have a sixth end active. He spent much of the
year inactive. They happen to have depth at that is
that they liked. I like Derek Barnett, They obviously like
Dylan Horton. They like the ability for Denico Autry to

(26:05):
play wherever it is that they think they need him
on any given Sunday. When some of that has been
inside and between those three players, there's no spot for
him on an active game day roster. I was I'll
be honest with you.

Speaker 2 (26:18):
I brought it up before it happened because I thought
Braxton Barrios was the player that they would release rather
than Taylor for the very reason that it's a depth
situation and Braxton Burios is probably not gonna picked up
by any of the three teams that are remaining in
the playoffs. You didn't even know who they would be
other than Denver when you made the move with Taylor.
But you know, edge rushers are a little bit different,

(26:40):
So I don't know what it means that they went
that route. They obviously have two wide receivers that are
now likely to miss the game. Kirk Higgins, Hutchinson, Jalen Nolan, Braxton,
Burrios are the five that are on the roster. But
the idea that he isn't gonna be asked questions about
what they did, and even if they're simple, there are
still things that he can shed some light on. This

(27:02):
is smart, it stinks, but it's probably not games, probably
not the deciding factor.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
I think I thought we were gonna win. CJ.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
What'd you think about them? What they did defensively there? Well,
they must have known something because we haven't used that
play all year except in practice, and they seem to
know what was happening there. You think that's gonna happen?
You think ste is gonna say that Sunday night after
the game, or more importantly, you know what what were.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
What was? What was it about the Texans defense that
was so exotic that Drake May was able to have
the best game against this defense that anybody's had this
year because of things that he was told by Darryl Taylor.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
I mean, I don't really think that's the point. I
don't think that's how it helps a team. I know
what you're saying.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
Well, that's what the comments are saying and joking about it. Obviously,
that's why we love Except for this guy who said,
and I don't even I'm not even gonna give his
handle out because it's one of the dumbest comments I've
seen in that staying something during this segment, enjoy the
Intel boys. Texans d is getting exposed Sunday. Okay, there
is like fifty things wrong with that sentence, not the

(28:09):
least of which is getting exposed for what. It's not
like they try to hide what they're gonna do. And
the responses to this idiot say as much. I don't
have to say it because I can just read what
they said. What Intel, there's no secret. They just line
up across from you and choose to be better. Or
what we do we is already on tape. We have
like five plays and nobody can do anything about it.

(28:31):
Some variations of this. Basically, our defense used to use
the same play that all thirty two thirty two teams
already know and still destroy everyone. Patriots are one and
two against teams with a winning percentage this year, By
the way, enjoy the firestorm that's gonna come down. I
just I don't know what he's thinking saying that, and

(28:52):
I don't I don't know what exposed even means.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
There's just means everyone's telling you how awesome they are
and we're gonna expose that they're not. Their feeling is
that Texans deep. The person who posted that is the
Texans defense isn't all that.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
But I did see something earlier today on social that
kind of goes with this, and it's basically how the
goalposts keep moving with the Texans year by year, like
last year, the Chargers coming in, you know, and what
the excuses are after so like, I don't think anybody
was saying that DK Metcalf was going to basically cook
and Aaron Rodgers was going to be awesome. I think

(29:26):
they were maybe cautiously optimistic and it was a home game,
but of course after the game is oh, you just
beat old Aaron Rodgers, and I mean Mike Tomlin stepped
down and it was already going to go south. Anyways,
Like it basically people thinking that the Texans aren't being
given enough credit. But I don't think that's the case either,
because we're about to hear from dan Orloski and he's
just one of many nationally that are just they're slobbering

(29:48):
all over this Texans defense and they should.

Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah, one last thing to note, because I am aware
that the Patriots had a game last week. I am
aware that they gave up three points. I'm also aware
that the charge offense couldn't do anything. I'm also aware
that they had six sacks. I know what I said
this segment earlier about them needing help. If they got
to play an offensive line as bad as the Chargers

(30:11):
every week, then maybe Darryl Taylor wouldn't be there, maybe
nobody would be there, because it wouldn't matter who they start,
because you would get after the quarterback every single time.
That is the worst off arguably the worst offensive line
in the NFL. Everybody did that to the Chargers, even
the Texans a couple weeks before that got into their
backfield and essentially destroyed everything they wanted to do. I mean,

(30:33):
I'm also aware that they sacked the Raiders quarterback four times,
the Dolphins quarterback nine times in two games. They got
Tennessee's quarterback five times. Guess how many other games the
Patriots played this year and I've left you with thirteen
where they had more than two sacks in a game.
The answer is zero. Is the same amount of time

(30:54):
we have left. In this segment, the.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
A team It's Sports Talk seven nine mentioned that Dan
Orlofsky joined the Morning Drive this morning with col and
Dan and UH. A lot of topics were discussed in
long form. Listen, I don't the Texans defense and what
worked this past Monday. It might be easier to talk

(31:19):
about what didn't work, and I don't know what that
would be, Like, what's the list? What are the things
that went wrong for the Texans defense that they only
scored two touchdowns and when they could have scored three,
or they didn't pick off more footballs that went through
some of their defenders hands. Would that because I didn't
any interception? I don't even think they did. I know
they've left some on the table all season because that's

(31:41):
how good they are. As good as they are, but
that happens a lot of games with a lot of teams.
But let's just start there with with what Demiko Ryan
said immediately after the game. Before we get to Dan Orlovski.
What worked against this Pittsburgh offense on Monday night.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
They were locked in. That's the thing that I could see.
Those guys were locked in. They played with confidence, and
they tackled really well. That was the keys guys Warren
gain Well, they do an outstanding job of breaking tackles.
Those guys don't get enough credit for how good the
backs they are, great contact, balance, great jump cuts, make
a lot of guys miss. Our guys tackle well, and

(32:19):
that was a huge key for us. So the way
we tackled was really the key.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
And Kent say you know much about.

Speaker 3 (32:26):
This performance without talking about the third downs like that
was the game, Like we got off the field on
third down. Defensively they only converted two and then for
us offensively, we converted ten of sixteen. So that's the
game right there. That allowed us to stay on the
field offensively and defense was able to get off on
third which was very vital to our success.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
That's why when you ask someone, hey, what's so good
about the Texans defense, and it just sounds like it's
it's obvious, but it's I think it's harder to articulate
it in football terms. And that's why A guy like
Danie Roloski's so good because he's not going to just
tell you, Hey, the Sexans defense is really good. Anybody
can do that. I do that all the time. But

(33:07):
why they're good, why they are so effective? And that
was one of the questions that they asked Dan this
morning on the Morning Drive.

Speaker 5 (33:16):
Real story here.

Speaker 6 (33:17):
So we did their Monday night or against Seattle, and
I've obviously known Demko, and so I'm always watching tape
and I look at what teams do and I say, Okay,
you're good at this, I'm gonna hit you with this.
And so one of the things that stands about Houston is,
you know, really everybody on their defense in.

Speaker 5 (33:35):
The back seven, you know, the backers, the.

Speaker 6 (33:38):
Nickel, and the secondary. They're so good in run support.
They trigger so fast against the run. So my natural
inclination is to go, I'm gonna absolutely gut you in the.

Speaker 5 (33:49):
Play action pass game.

Speaker 6 (33:51):
But then teams run it and they don't gut this.

Speaker 5 (33:53):
Defense in the play action pass game. And so I
asked Amiko. I just said Mikol, like, hey man, how.

Speaker 6 (34:00):
How can you guys do both things so well? And
he kind of gave me that Tamiko chuckle like, well,
you're dumb, and you know, he was like, it's you
have to feel the block. If you don't feel the block,
it's not the run, and that on the surface level
for me I understand. But just the their ability to

(34:22):
feel the difference from everybody on the offense between the
run and run action in or play action, I think
is something that is probably a natural skill yet also
coached at an incredibly high level, and there's instincts attached
to it, and so I think that's one of the calling. Yes,
they're very talented. They obviously have edge rushers, but you
would think that there's a weakness that you can go after,

(34:45):
and there just is not a weakness that you feel confident.
I would say this the number one thing that I
would try to do against them is I would, on
a consistent basis, try to take shots at their stay.
I'm not gonna drive the length of the field over
the course of four quarters at.

Speaker 5 (35:05):
A regular basis against them.

Speaker 6 (35:07):
I have to generate big plays when they're there. I've
gotta make them. But they are a well coached, violent,
well tackling, physical, very smart athletic defense.

Speaker 2 (35:20):
It's exactly the last part there I've been saying it
for about three weeks, and I'm glad that really only
Riley Leonard's team was able to take advantage of it.

Speaker 1 (35:29):
You have to take shots.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
You have to over and over and over again, anytime
you think you can get the protection set to do so,
you just have to. I think it's the only way
to make your way down the field, because it's just
not gonna happen otherwise. There's too good at tackling, the
personnel is too good. Demiko might have a great defensive scheme,
and Matt Burke might be the best play caller on Earth.
Really wouldn't matter if they didn't have talent, Really wouldn't

(35:51):
matter if Jalen Petrie wasn't at all pro caliber safety
and like the sixth best player on their defense. It
wouldn't matter because they have so much talent that it
makes everything that they want to do work. And Pittsburgh
tried it a couple of times early in the game.
They sent dk Metcalf down the field deep obviously the
Calvin Austin play where he was looking for a flag
because he slowed up on a ball that was going

(36:12):
over his head to try to draw a flag and
the rest didn't fall for it, and I'm you could
see Aaron Rodgers was ticked off after that play.

Speaker 1 (36:19):
He's I think he was wondering why why didn't he
keep running to go get it?

Speaker 2 (36:23):
And I think Austin either thought he wasn't gonna get
it or I can just ensure that we get thirty
two thirty five forty yards here because they're gonna have
to call p I.

Speaker 1 (36:31):
But they didn't.

Speaker 2 (36:32):
But you just have to take shots if you think
you have the opportunity to do it. If it doesn't
work and they pick it off, you've you know, you've
put him forty yards down the field.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
You know. Bullock is not something about a shot.

Speaker 2 (36:44):
I think he does as good a job as anybody
breaking on the ball. But he's not always gonna be
on the right spot. He's not always gonna read things perfectly.
Nobody is Derek Stingley is Derek Stingley got beat by
Ale Pierce for a touchdown two weeks ago.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
It can happen.

Speaker 2 (36:59):
You're a little worried about when it doesn't happen and
you've thrown it Stingley Junior, and he picks it off
and you've thrown it last year and he picks it
off and you've thrown a Petrie or block and they've
picked it off. I get it, but I'd be pretty surprised.
And honestly, I think New England did it last year.
Drake May had three touchdown passes in a game that
was kind of lopsided because they fell behind by so
much quickly.

Speaker 1 (37:19):
He still played a pretty good.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Game for his first NFL start, and some of those
plays were shot plays down the sidelines, down deep down
the field against the Texans defense.

Speaker 1 (37:28):
Yeah, I think it's gonna be fascinating because even though
you know that they have played him before, it's just
not that that's your first start. Yeah, it doesn't mean much,
but it is better than, say, for example, going up
against Riley Leonard, where you have like no film I mean,
I guess.

Speaker 2 (37:45):
I mean, Drake May's probably regarded as uber talented and
Riley Leonard is a late round quarterback.

Speaker 1 (37:52):
Who might be on your roster. Yeah, but from the
standpoint of results against this current Texans defense, you could
kind of argue that Riley Leonard had the most success
against them versus any other quarterback this year in a
win or a loss.

Speaker 2 (38:07):
You could also point out that they only had a
half of football to show what they could do, and
it wasn't a very good half. They couldn't make up
for it in the second half because they weren't.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
On the field. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:17):
Yeah, seventeen points scored against them in the first half
was awful. Riley Leonard did their offense even with no
running game.

Speaker 1 (38:23):
They won.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
They beat the Texans defense, and granted they were down
by six at the half anyway because of what the
Texans offense had been able to do, But yeah, they
had some success and essentially it was just one Honestly,
I really think it was just one guy. I mean,
Alex Purce doesn't Pierce doesn't play for anybody with the
Colts until next year, So I'm a lot less worried
about the other things that people might be able to

(38:45):
do because of who they have. They don't have him.
Are there three other receivers they faced all year that
had that kind of day against him?

Speaker 5 (38:52):
Two?

Speaker 1 (38:53):
One? Yeah, it's fascinating. I'm really excited to see how
it all works out, because it's not going to be
like last week. I just Aaron Rodgers and company. I
just don't think that's even remotely the same, and we'll see.
We'll see who's gonna get exposed, since that term keeps
getting used. When we come back start of the simulcast

(39:14):
three o'clock hour, Will Christian Kirk need to have an
encore performance this Sunday, especially in light of Nico Collins's
potential absence. We'll discuss that next The A Team on
Sports Talk seven ninety. Welcome into our number two of
the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety and our

(39:35):
number one of our simulcast on Space City Home Network.
Hello viewers, it is the A Team and we are
taking you up until six o'clock tonight. WEX over there
ac right here. Josh Jordan is our producer. And the Rockets,
fresh off of snapping that three game skid, wonder of
all wonders, they want at home again. I know that's
not going to be easy to just say and or

(39:58):
do the next two nights, which will be of the
back to back variety with OKC and then Minnesota coming in,
but it was just nice to see them in the
win column last night at Toyota Center, and frankly, just
nice to see them home for a change, knowing they're
not going to go back out on the road.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
Now they got games here at home all the way
through next Tuesday. They got last night's opener of the
home stand, the back to back you just mentioned, Thursday
Friday game on Sunday late just after the Divisional round
of the NFL playoffs coming to their conclusion, because the
Texans won't need overtime, and then they have the last
game of the home stand against the San Antonio Spurs

(40:35):
this coming Tuesday. They still even going into tomorrow night's game,
twenty seven of their final forty five games are at home,
and is they didn't play great last night, and they
did what they normally do at home, they win basketball games.
So hopefully even with the level of competition, which I
think the Texans are right there with, like we said
in the opening hour, there's not a whole lot of difference.

(40:56):
Doesn't mean they're better than them, doesn't mean they're worse
than them, doesn't mean they're gonna beat them. But Oklahoma City, Minnesota,
and San Antonio should think the same things that the
Rockets think when they're all playing, well, we're gonna win
the title this year. I think all four of those
teams should think that Minnesota has a couple of things
they need to get smarter about. Usually that has to
do with the man in the middle. Sometimes they're smart,

(41:17):
sometimes they're not. In the playoffs with Rudy with San
Antonio Spurs, that's an awfully large leap from not a
playoff team to championship aspirations in the course of one
off season. But last year, late in the season, they
added Dearon Fox. In the draft, they added Dylan Harper.
If Wemby is healthier this year then he was last year,

(41:37):
that's a lot of change, even though it doesn't seem
like it from one year to the next. And clearly
they've played their way into that conversation because they've beaten
Oklahoma City multiple times and they sit second in the West,
and obviously Oklahoma City is the defending champions. They went
through their worst stretch of the season and still hardly
anybody could believe they were being beaten as often as
they were, or by as much by the Charlotte Hornets
as they were beaten by earlier. This last month's time

(42:00):
measuring sticks, not when you're at your best, can you
dig deeper and make yourself the team you were at
the beginning of the season. We'll probably find out around
six thirty Tomorrow night, around eight thirty Friday night, and
next Tuesday against the Spurs. Presumably they'll take care of
a Presumably they'll take care of Sunday's business.

Speaker 1 (42:19):
We'll have to wait. Yeah, I'd like to see them
build a twenty five point lead against the Pelicans and
then not blow it and lose. That's why I said presumably. Jeez.

Speaker 2 (42:28):
I mean, if you're at the bottom of the standings
in the West, then you can hang it up on
your mantle.

Speaker 1 (42:32):
We beat the Rockets. I mean, it is just there's
been some bad losses this year. There's no way to
sugarcoat it. But they'll try to avoid that. And you know,
the first two out of the gate, as you mentioned though,
that's going to be a real test, especially of the
back to back variety. Have they played back to back
at home yet both games? Yeah, it's about to say
they have not won on the second out of a

(42:53):
back to back all season yet. But like you said,
part of that had to probably do with where the
venue was the night before. One way or the other.
It was definitely a factor. So we'll see in the meantime.
The venue on Sunday is Foxborough. The opponent is very
familiar from a logo standpoint. I mean everything's changed up

(43:14):
there except for basically the owner, but everything is is.
He is super impactful on Sundays. I mean he had
a huge hand in their win over the Chargers. He
had his huge hand in something a bunch of championship rings.
Oh you weren't referencing the orchids of Asia in Jupiter, Florida.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
Presumably he had his hand in his wallet in order
to take care of that afternoon's business.

Speaker 1 (43:36):
I know, I have a lot of trivial knowledge in
my head that just is just stupid at the end
of the day. There's no other way to describe it.
I have no idea why I can remember that so well.
It's one of a kind. It's hard to forget. It's unique.
It stands out.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
I mean a bunch of other people, athletes and executives
in the sports world at once, or even celebrities. Ed Murphy,
what's the English Hugh Grant? A lot of people have
been involved in something similar, whether they called someone they
didn't realize they shouldn't have called, whether they got caught
going to somebody that but we don't necessarily have a

(44:13):
place of business associated with it. We might have the
name of the other person involved, like Devine Brown, which
is very hard to forget.

Speaker 1 (44:20):
Charles Barkley did that once, but it was just a car.
They didn't go to an establishment.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
Thus there's nothing big and memorable for us to always say, like.

Speaker 1 (44:34):
Robert Krafts or Asia. There you go. Yeah, all right.
I really hope a Texans fan shows up with an
Orchids of Asia sign this Sunday. I think that'd be great.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
Well mentioning the link to these two teams. You know
you'll see it on a graphic since I just made it.
The Texans have obviously not won a division game. They've
been there six times. In a Divisional round game, they've
been there six times, they've lost six times. Two of
those that are the Patriots. And then you'll also see
that the Patriots have won eight consecutive Divisional round games.

(45:05):
And I even hated putting it on there because it
doesn't mean anything. Who on their team was there for
any of those games, none of which have taken place
since twenty nineteen. It's like Monday Night Mike Tibles not
I mean, like Josh McDaniels has a tiny little piece
of that because he was watching Tom Brady from the

(45:25):
sidelines do whatever he wanted while he was the offensive
play caller. But beyond that, there's so little that matters. Maybe,
you know, there's a little bit of connection here and there,
but Drake May wasn't there. This is a new offense,
this is a new defense, it's new head coach. All
that's and they've there's a reason why they haven't lost
any divisional games since twenty nineteen.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
They haven't been in.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
Any Yeah, that's a good point. It has been a
Texas have been in it for three straight years. They're
now making their way back up to the competitive top
of the AFC.

Speaker 1 (45:55):
They won four games last year.

Speaker 2 (45:57):
Yeah, can you imagine sitting in their seats heading into
the office season thinking a year and two weeks from now,
we're going to be talking about their divisional round playoff
matchup against their A team they've beaten many times there,
they would have never they would have expected better, they
would expected improvement. They might have bought into Drake May
can be the answer. But they've won fifteen of the
eighteen times they've hit the field this year. That's incredible.

Speaker 1 (46:20):
Yeah, and it's it is why it's I don't think
it's necessarily the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. I mean,
this is not Hogan and Andre after all, who was
supposed to win? Well, oh, it's I forgot. It's scripted. No,
I Hogan was supposed to win. Who won? According to

(46:41):
the script? What happened? Hogan won? Oh, okay, you know
the backstory on that. Let's hear it. Hogan didn't know
as of the day of the event.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
Ever, No, there's two pages missing from the end of
the script.

Speaker 1 (46:54):
That's not what I'm going with. They didn't. Andre the
Giant is seven foot four, five hundred pounds. If he
doesn't want something to happen, it's not gonna happen.

Speaker 2 (47:04):
Vince, I got those pages I was missing. And on
page thirty two it says Terry will lift Andre over
his head and body slam him. That's that's a did
someone make a mistake? Who put this in there? Come on,
Andre has to let him do it, and he didn't let.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
Him do it. What does he do lose weight in
the middle of the grapple. If if Andre the Giant
didn't want hull Cogan to body slam him. Yes, Hull
Cogan wouldn't have bodies He.

Speaker 2 (47:29):
Wouldn't have grabbed the bottom of his speedo to help
with the leverage like they do. Yeah, that's true, that's
the move. Well, it's it's actually what's it called a
heights what?

Speaker 1 (47:46):
Yeah? But Andre had the one strap the unitard that's
what I was trying to think of. That's a great word.
But yeah. Apparently the day of it was in Pontiac, Michigan,
at the now defunct and non existent Silver Dome, and
and Hogan shows up to the venue that afternoon, does
not know if Andre is gonna, as they say, do
business and are you down? Well, you're good with this right?

(48:09):
He's playing cards in the back with the boys before
the events. Andre he always did that, Like what did
the card look like in his hand? A scrap, a
piece of paper? Give me a little ball, Yes, give
me a little piece of paper, And that would that
would be what it looked like. Hey, Andre, I have
got a full house. What do you have?

Speaker 3 (48:26):
I win?

Speaker 1 (48:27):
Okay? Kind of like you know those the soda that
you can get at the grocery store that's in the
mini cans. Yeah, well that's what a real like I've
seen that as in fact he has in his hand.
It's just insane. So anyway, all of that is to say,
I don't think that's what this is, because I do
think that what you just said, oh, they've they've won
you know this how many, however many games of this

(48:48):
many on the schedule and and in the way they
did it, and the offense and all that kind of stuff,
the factors into it. I do feel if you're going
to say, all right, let's look at these two teams,
let's strip away everything, which one's more fraudulent in twenty
twenty five with what they've accomplished from a record standpoint
and how they went, the Patriots have to be looked

(49:08):
at more that way. I mean, it's like the Texans
made it easy on themselves, first of all, out of
the gate, and even so even when they were losing,
which you just mentioned these were one score games, they
were right in it. And the Texans have talked about this.
CJ mentioned this going into the game last week or
on Monday night, that they thought they were gonna win

(49:29):
out because they believed in what they did. But you know,
they're the last play schedule, all that kind of stuff.
I mean, we would say that. I would say that
about the Colts earlier on this year, and it would
just come off as, Oh, you're just a hater because
you're in Houston and they play in the AFC South.
But as the season went on and Colts fans are
obviously going to point to the injury to Daniel Jones

(49:51):
instead of reality, didn't matter if Daniel Jones was playing
or not. Once you started playing good teams, it wasn't
smooth sailing. It was to start the year, what's the
good team? And don't tell me it's the Chargers that
the Patriots have played and absolutely proven Yeah, we're the
better team for sure.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
Proving they're the better team only comes Sunday. These teams
aren't that far apart. It's a thirteen win team, it's
a fifteen win team. I think we can start there.
I think dismissing what they've done just because their schedule
was easier than almost anybody that's accomplished this before is
not being fair to them. Honestly, they can't help it.
I mean, who did they play that they didn't beat

(50:32):
this year? Two teams, and both happened in the first
two weeks this season. They played Vegas to open the season,
they lost, played Pittsburgh two weeks later, and they lost
every other team on their schedule.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
They beat Hey, Texans, beat those two teams by the.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
Way, and they lost the teams that the Patriots didn't
lose too. I mean they lost to Buffalo as the
season continued. I'm aware of that, but they also beat
Buffalo a couple weeks before that, So I don't know
what I don't. If you only leave it at that,
then yeah, you can call them frauds, but that sets
your own peril if you act like they're not a
good football team. It's the best offense statistically in the AFC,

(51:04):
and it's probably not close.

Speaker 1 (51:05):
An encore from Christian Kirk and refreshing comments from Kevin Durant.
Those two things are next seven ninety the Space City
Home Network Wednesday edition of the program. So we'll get
to the Rockets in a bit, but mentioned the text
exchange that we had during the game on Monday night.
You know, bad things would happen when you would throw

(51:28):
the ball to Christian Kirk this year, if he were
throwing it to him at all, and if he was
out there at all, or if he was involved in
the offense. You give it the pattern here. Either he
wasn't effective because of something he was doing, or it
wasn't effective when you tried to make him effective getting
him involved because bad things were happening that didn't happen
on Monday night. Everything was the opposite. He had a

(51:49):
franchise best type game at that position. And it's a
good thing because Nico Collins was concussed before you knew
it and likely is not going to be available to
you in Foxborough. I don't know what the concussion protocol
powers that be, say. I just the fact that that
game was on a Monday and you're playing on a Sunday.

(52:12):
That probably dashes any hope of a miracle availability. I guess.
I guess he could could clear it the concussion protocol
by Sunday afternoon.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
Some form of being on the field tomorrow is probably
a must, based on the steps that you need to
pass in order to get there. But I don't think
it's likely on a short week. I wouldn't think it's
likely on a long week. If they played on a Saturday,
they didn't have another game until Monday, I wouldn't think
anything differently, and at some point you have to recognize
that you're still dealing with somebody who went into concussion protocol.

(52:46):
No matter how quickly he came out of it, the
likelihood he goes back into it because of what has
now already happened, and in my opinion, it happened more
than once in this game on Monday Night.

Speaker 1 (52:56):
I'd be a little bit.

Speaker 2 (52:57):
More hesitant to clear a player like that. And as
a coach then, I mean coach only listens to the
medical staff they say he's good to play, if these
clear concussion protocol, is probably gonna play him.

Speaker 1 (53:07):
You know, the player is going to want to play.

Speaker 2 (53:09):
It's a very tough situation to be and it's not
like the other injuries where they say, well, what kind
of pain can he play through?

Speaker 1 (53:14):
Or how much can he take?

Speaker 2 (53:15):
Or he goes out there and it's just too much
and he can't, or he goes out there and he
can and he can make his cussy. It's just not
like that. You have to consider more than that. And
I think the Texans, I'm hopeful the Texans will. Can
they beat the Patriots without Nico Collins? I hope everybody
knows the answer is yes, yeah, but it would just
be nice to have him. The thing is, though he

(53:35):
brought up yesterday that you could see him in the
locker room when Demiko is making his speech.

Speaker 1 (53:41):
Now, he was in sweats. He's obviously had kind of
beating everybody into the routine of getting ready to get
on the airplane because he wasn't in that game. But
he wasn't carted off the field. Better not say that
he rose.

Speaker 2 (53:54):
Driven off the field while riding on a cart. It's
like saying he was driven off the sidelines after he
exited the medical tent, which he walked into after he
walked off the.

Speaker 1 (54:06):
Field on his own power. Well, that's what walking is.
He wasn't carted off the field. He was not all right.
All of that is to say, were you like me
when you saw that and you immediately put your doctor
hat on? How does he look right now he's applauding
the speech. He looks like he's coherent and lucid. He
doesn't look like he was.

Speaker 2 (54:23):
Well, it's not. It's really it's more about what is
what is bothering you? What are your symptoms? I mean,
this is a loud setting, this is a it's not
the brightest setting. And the visitors locker room is like
the Texans locker room, every team's home locker room.

Speaker 1 (54:38):
It's more well lit than the visitors locker room. This
just in.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
If you've seen a visitor's locker room, you've seen all
of the visitors' locker rooms. They're almost the same.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
The bare bones minimum. How did they set it up?
Where did they try to say?

Speaker 2 (54:49):
Oh, absolutely, sixty seventy players and thirty support staff can
fit in here, no question. They could definitely fit in
this room with hot water works. Absolutely. I mean this
visitor's locker room is a little bit dimmer. I don't
think the noise that it holds is any different, though,
And Demiko Ryan's is screaming at the team. People are
clapping about everything, They're jumping up and down. I don't

(55:11):
think he participated in the jumping up in that ump
and down Texans swarm at the end of it. But yeah,
it is noticeable, and I did I said it on
the first time I saw it here on the show yesterday.
I do find that as a nugget that is noteworthy
about how at that point in time, before he'd flown back,
before he'd gone to bed, and woke up the next morning.

(55:32):
Because remember there's players that go play an NFL game
and we don't know anything about it, and then all
of a sudden we talked to Demiko or whatever head
coach it is the next morning or the next day
or the next time they're available, and we learned that
this player wasn't at practice because he's in concussion protocol.
That's Jalen Petrie earlier this year. Yeah, when did it happen?
I'm not sure. Was he in it during the game?

Speaker 1 (55:51):
He was not. He once again become a sleuth about these.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
It's just a matter of you know, when do the symptoms,
how do the symptoms hit you. Every player is different,
Every con hushion worthy smash is different.

Speaker 1 (56:03):
And you know, even though and again this is just
eye test on camera in slow mo o of course,
even though in my opinion it was it was the
front of his head versus the back of his head.
It was a completely different approach and launch angle and
impact and all that kind of stuff than CJ's. I

(56:23):
do have to factor in the fact that that ground
that his head hit was probably a lot harder than
the ground that CJ's head snapped back onto. And that
absolutely contributes to the severity of the injury we're talking about.

Speaker 2 (56:40):
Uh yeah, and probably the hit that was delivered is
term like you're talking about the ground that Nico hit, Well,
he was actually hit less with less force than CJ
was hit with and then he hit what you're calling
softer turf quote unquote. He got a violent hit, which
was the end of the tackle. Nico Collins was in
the mids trying to catch a ball with a dB

(57:02):
wrapped around him and they went down to the ground
and that there was no violent hit. Yeah, it was
just the manner in which he got tackled, which unfortunately
he kind of drove his own head into the ground.

Speaker 1 (57:10):
That part right there you mentioned. I you know, there's
always gonna be placed throughout a playoff game where you
think the call should have gone your way. I don't remember.
Was it Porter that got there that made that tackle
on Nico. I can't remember. I think it was Porter
across the middle because that's where he was going. I
remembered thinking, gosh, he got there soon, and gosh, he's

(57:31):
making a lot of contact before the ball even gets there.
And then for that to happen, the concussion because as
Joe Buck alluded to on the broadcast, he couldn't brace
for impact the way he probably normally would if he
wasn't wrapped up that way. But I thought the defender
got there a lot sooner than he should have. There

(57:52):
was no flags. And I'm not saying Portered or whoever
it was, did anything dirty necessarily or menacing, because he
absolutely did not. But is getting there soon?

Speaker 2 (58:02):
Absolutely mean he maybe grabbed his waist a little out
of his jersey. Yes, you could argue there could have
been a p I called. I'm not saying that, but
he didn't do anything to make any forward push towards
that guy hitting his head in the turch.

Speaker 1 (58:15):
But let me ask you this, if he's not there
the way he got there, and Nico is able to
brace his fall, maybe this doesn't happen. This is gonna
sound like I'm a total a hole. You're right.

Speaker 2 (58:27):
If he's not a football player, it wouldn't have happened.
Like he played football. I mean, what did you do?
He tried to make a play, He wrapped a guy
around the waist, he made a tackle. He tried to
prevent a pass from being completed by sticking his arm
in there like this.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
That's what happened. That's all is ez Al Shaier did
last year against Trevor Lawrence.

Speaker 2 (58:43):
There's an element to that statement that I said that
is still true. It's just a that goes into what
put the player in jeopardy? What put Nico Collins in jeopardy?

Speaker 1 (58:53):
Nothing?

Speaker 2 (58:53):
He's playing football. What put Trevor Lawrence in CJ. Stroud
in jeopardy? The stupid sliding ruide. This is trying to
keep yourself stupid stupid sliding rule. In my opinion, you know,
it's just a bad rule. They should tell quarterbacks we've
taken it out. You can slide all you want, but
you have zero protection. You need to take yourself out
of the play some other way because it's too dangerous,

(59:15):
because nobody knows.

Speaker 1 (59:16):
How to hit without doing this. And it's just I
don't like it. I don't like funny about that particular play.
Is that what's the verbiage that is used? Giving yourself up?
That's certainly what you're doing. You're giving up your brain
to get it scrambled like eggs.

Speaker 2 (59:30):
What happened in the in the Buffalo game happened more
than once. Josh Allen gave himself up. Okay, where did
he start his dive? Where we spot the football because
it looks like he's five yards past it when the
slide is done, but he actually began it just before then.
It's so ridiculously difficult to officiate and happen so fast

(59:50):
for everybody. I think it would be tough to take
it out completely because it's just a It would change
the way that quarterbacks play, but it would, at the
end of the day, would keep them healthier. It would
almost assuredly keep them healthyer. They probably wouldn't run as much,
They probably wouldn't take contact as much. They probably wouldn't
take Oh my, there's five yards for me to get. Well,
now you might not be able to get him because

(01:00:11):
you don't have that in your back pocket. Nonetheless, it's
just that that was more of a you're playing football outdoors,
it's cold, and you hit your head.

Speaker 1 (01:00:19):
It sucks, it's off, and that's why they're gonna probably
be without him. But it also lends itself to you're
probably gonna need somebody Christian Kirk or otherwise to step up.
My play is actually Higgins as a guy who I
think is gonna have like a breakout game because he
can and because of the way the game's gonna go.
We shall see. Are we still having the technical difficulties

(01:00:41):
because we can always play it later. We're no sound here,
all right, No sound is happening this segment. We also
have to hit the brakes. Not happening. Yeah, well, just.

Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
Keep in mind with Christian Kirk, he's only eighty yards
plus from his second best Texans game. His best Texans
game ever he only was here one year, was sixty
four yards. Now add eighty to that and that's what
against the Steelers, a repeat of that good defense. By
the way, you don't think the Steelers are a good defense.

(01:01:08):
They create a lot of turnovers and have a decent
pass rush, but they don't stop you from moving the football,
which is what they did so all night.

Speaker 1 (01:01:14):
Just say their secondary sucks. They're eight. You can run
on them too. Well, say their secondary sucks so we
can end the segment. Come on, do it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:22):
The Texans were the better team in the past game.
How about that They give it four hundred yards and
that was not out of character for them.

Speaker 1 (01:01:29):
Just one time, I want you to be less diplomatic.

Speaker 2 (01:01:32):
Their secondary is not real good in my opinion, you
could have said it sucked, but you didn't. Anyway, we're
gonna talk to somebody who doesn't suck. His name is
Chris Gordy. He will join us in studio next.

Speaker 1 (01:01:44):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety seven ninety and
Space City Home Network wetsay c with you on a
middle of the week program and as promised, in studio,
joining us to talk a little pig skin. That would
be Chris Gordy. Gordy, you've had had forty eight hours
now to digest what happened roughly on on Monday night

(01:02:05):
against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we talked about this earlier.
How I think it's weird with with football teams becoming
complacent or you know, resting on your laurels or whatever
that not being able to put a game and a
celebration behind you. I don't think that typically happens as
thrilling as it was for the Texans to get that
first ever franchise road victory in the playoffs. I don't

(01:02:27):
think any of them are thinking, yeah, man, I want
to think about that a little bit longer. They've got
Drake May in their crosshairs right now.

Speaker 7 (01:02:34):
Yeah, it seems like they they are saying all the
right things. I mean, it's the night of the game
they want. I mean they Tomiko was like, hey, got
a few more, We're gonna take this one game at
a time. I mean, it's they understand what they got
to do. It's just, you know, I had somebody tell me, oh,
you know the past demons of going to New England.
I'm like, none of these guys were part of that,

(01:02:55):
Like they don't. It's yeah, I think I think that's
always silly.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
You know.

Speaker 7 (01:02:59):
It's the same thing with the thing about the oh
the Monday night they own Monday Night. Okay, this is different.
This is a playoff game that just they happen to
put it on Monday night. It's not Monday Night football.
So all things must come to an end. The Texans
draft of losing in New England in the playoffs can
very well come to an end this weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:03:17):
All that stuff just total utter. Makes me want to curse.
Do it? See what happened? The worst? I mean, you're
not playing.

Speaker 2 (01:03:24):
You're gonna see Tom Brady because his dumbass statue is
outside the stadium. You're gonna gonna see Robert Kraft because
he still owns the team. There's gonna be a McNair
on the field because they still own it.

Speaker 1 (01:03:34):
They called Jiles Stadium. The don't change it. So yeah,
it just doesn't mean anything.

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
What does mean something is something Tomiko talked about early
in his availability today, and it's a little bit different
albeit similar format. Jalen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell were I
think what most fans were most concerned with, Like, if
they take care of those two the way that they're
gonna short passing game them, You got guys in space.
This is where Gainwell's hurt you. They've both averaged better

(01:04:00):
than four and a half yards of pop this season,
So if they take care of that, I feel pretty
good about it. Well, it's it's a two headed monster now.
Finally New England finally realized how awesome Trevion Henderson is
and they're both healthy. He and ramondre Stevenson are differently built,
but probably the AFC version of Jamier Gibbs and David
Montgomery of the Lions, and it's very difficult to get

(01:04:22):
a handle on. And they're as explosive in the run
game because of Henderson as they are in the past game.
Do you think there's any cause for concern that the
Texans front basically will have issues with them.

Speaker 7 (01:04:39):
I mean I would say you want to. I mean,
you obviously have to game plan for him. But I
thought it was even more so. You know when we
looked at what what Gainwell and those guys. I mean,
Kenneth Gainwell was the leading receiver for Pittsburgh. I mean
they were the way they were throwing the ball to
him so much this season.

Speaker 1 (01:04:58):
You know, this one's a little bit more.

Speaker 7 (01:05:00):
They used the tight ends a lot like Pittsburgh did,
but you know, a little bit more traditional with the
wide receivers with with Stefan Diggs and in company back there.
But but yeah, I mean it always starts with slowing
down the run.

Speaker 1 (01:05:13):
I thought they did a good job.

Speaker 7 (01:05:14):
I mean, you know what, each of them had about
a ten plus yard run last week, Warren and gain Well.
But for the most part, you bottled him up. Averaged
three and a half yards of carry.

Speaker 2 (01:05:24):
So ye had two carries, one apiece for twenty six yards.
There are other sixteen carries went for thirty seven yards.

Speaker 7 (01:05:30):
Yeah, so that's that's mission accomplished. That's getting the job done.

Speaker 1 (01:05:34):
But don't you think these guys are better a little bit?

Speaker 7 (01:05:37):
I've just maybe it's just because I've always steered cleared
of Stevenson in fantasy football. Maybe that's just the back
of my mind going, I don't think he's that great.
But no, Henderson's been great and you know, average over
five yards of carry for them this year. So yeah,
it always starts with with slowing them down. I think
if you're the Texans, you want to make this a

(01:05:58):
game where you say, Drake may have to beat us
with his arm and his likes.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
But and he was the number one passer in the
NFL this year. It was touchdowns, it was passer rating
is incredible. Granted he played none of those games against
this defense, so how much does that matter?

Speaker 7 (01:06:14):
I will say too, I was looking at their schedule,
the narrative of they haven't played anybody.

Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
They do have some good wins on the schedule.

Speaker 7 (01:06:20):
It's not like they played they go look at it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:24):
They beat Buffalo very good. Now we're done with the
teams in the playoffs that they beat in the AFC.
If you want to count Carolina, you're more.

Speaker 1 (01:06:32):
Than you could give them that one. But seriously, just
for everybody that is it's a good one. Did they
have Lamar? Look, I mean, Baltimore is not good. I'm
sorry this Tampa. Tampa was good at one point. They
lost more games than they won.

Speaker 7 (01:06:52):
I'm just saying it wasn't all the Jets every week
that they were playing, but it was twice.

Speaker 1 (01:06:57):
I'd love to for the Texans who have played the
Jets twice. We don't need to debate this.

Speaker 2 (01:07:02):
They had the softest schedule I think I've ever seen, sure,
but they also dominated it, so there's something to gain
from it.

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
They were the high scoring team in the ANFC.

Speaker 2 (01:07:11):
They weren't beating the Miami in New York and all
these teams late in the season by a touchdown.

Speaker 1 (01:07:16):
Now one of them they beat.

Speaker 2 (01:07:17):
They beat Baltimore twenty eight twenty four, last four games
of the season, two close games, Buffalo and Baltimore.

Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
They'd beat too Burrough, I believe right. Uh yeah, they
beat him with Burrow twenty six twenty awesome.

Speaker 7 (01:07:29):
I'm just saying, like everyone's with all they played, team
rug does okay?

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
Stroud is well, you have to separate the two. You
can't act like they had a hard schedule. They didn't
point blank, end of story. But you can't use that
and then try to say only for that reason you
don't think they're a good football team. They are a
good football team. Watch them play, Watch what actually happen
in those games, watch him get guys open, watch them
scheme for the run game, watch what they do defensively,

(01:07:55):
And for our last conversation, we'll bring your way, Gordy,
we were talking about Nico Collins being absent likely this week. Well,
how much does it change things about how the Patriots
want to defend? You know, the Texans have two corners
that allow them to do whatever they want. Well, the
Patriots have at least one at that level. Christian Gonzalez
is at that level. He's outstanding. He's in concussion protocol too.

(01:08:15):
Odds are very good he won't be available at one
more day before the game. But how do you think
that changes what Rabel and his defense can do or
want to do.

Speaker 7 (01:08:23):
Well, it's the question is could Christian Kirk repeat what
he did last week? And I think the answer is
probably not. But can he still be a force? Can
he be eighty yards and a touchdown something like that?
I think that's that's possible. But it's the other guys.
It's the Higgins, it's the Hutchinson, it's the Dalton Schultz.
It's those guys. You know, maybe there's a game where
Dalton Schultz steps up and he fills that point, he

(01:08:45):
has seventy five yards in a score or something like that.
So yeah, it's stings with NOA. Nico's likely not going
to be in there. But but yeah, I wouldn't just
put it all on Christian Kirk again and go man
E catches one hundred and forty four yard. If he
does that again, it repeats that we'll go ahead and
start etching him into the Texans Hall of Fame.

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
Future people should be looking at there. And by the way,
it was a Joe Flacco game, not a Joe Burrow game.

Speaker 1 (01:09:08):
Okay, I'm look at the play.

Speaker 2 (01:09:10):
He's good to look at where what he did and
why he was. They schemed him well enough, Kirk. He
was wide open on those long pass plays, he was
wide open on the touchdown play. Their execution play calling
in that game it's the best they've had all year.
They were outstanding. It wasn't just Christian Kirk running circles
around guys and making moves and long extended.

Speaker 7 (01:09:31):
He just flat out and think of the games when
the plays they called that were good that Stroud just
fumbled the football on it mean those plays.

Speaker 1 (01:09:37):
Were there to be had too. Well, Okay, so we
were talking about this a little bit earlier. If it's
not if it's not, if it's not Christian Kirk having
an encore performance, who's your guy to basically spell Nico, Well.

Speaker 7 (01:09:52):
That's what I'm saying. I think I just feel like
I don't know why I feel this way. I feel
like this is a game where Adult and Schultz will
play more of an impact, like six catches seventy yards,
eighty yards, something like that, and then maybe like a
Woody Marks is a little bit more four catches for
thirty five or something. Just feel like it's going to
be like a little bit more balanced as opposed to
last week it was all Kirk and then barely anybody else.

Speaker 1 (01:10:14):
We shall see Gordy, We appreciate the time. We'll do
it again soon. R Phils, all right, we will head
to break when we come back. More from dan Orlowski
this morning.

Speaker 5 (01:10:26):
The eight.

Speaker 2 (01:10:26):
It is Wednesday, a real Wednesday in the NFL world
for the Texans who play on Sunday, not really a
Wednesday for the teams that play on Saturday because they
have less time to prepare for their game. And all
that being said, since there is the early game on Saturday,
that is the other two teams in the AFC, the
Bills and the Broncos. As the Texans make their way
into the final preparations for their game on Sunday on

(01:10:49):
the road at New England against the two seed, they
will know if the one seed has advanced, and we'll
get to stay home and await the winner to visit
their stadium first game of the following week. They already
announced the game times for the title games and the
respective conferences. The AFC game will be first and the
NFC game will be second. So two o'clock on the
twenty fifth, either the Denver Broncos are at home hosting

(01:11:13):
the winner of the Texans Patriots game, or the Patriots
are at home playing the Buffalo Bills, or the Texans
are at home playing the Buffalo Bills.

Speaker 1 (01:11:25):
Bills don't have any more home games.

Speaker 2 (01:11:26):
When the opening weekends games were complete, that's when I
saw somebody covering the Bills finally put it to bed
said that will finally do it. There are no more
games at high Mark Stadium as we know it. They
as the sixth seed, there was still an outside chance
that they could get a home game, But Sunday night,
when the Patriots beat the Chargers, the only remaining seed
worse than the Bills was ousted. So that's all that

(01:11:48):
is in front of all of them. But that being
said that the Texans, I hope, pay very very very
little attention to it. And it's hard to say how
much attention they pay to it. When the Watson led
Texans were taking on the mahomes Leg Chiefs and we're
up twenty four to nothing and all that, when the
possibility of then hosting an AFC title game was right
there in front of them, the same could be true.
They'll have about twenty four hours advanced notice of that

(01:12:10):
as they head into this game. They don't know anything
about it now. They won't know anything Thursday or Friday,
or even or most of the day Saturday, as they're
on the bird getting to New England, and the team
will send them off just like they did a week ago.
If you want to head out there to the stadium,
enjoy it. They'll have another watch party inside the building
for the two o'clock kickoff on Sunday, same as before.
But the possibility is that that is something that's dangling

(01:12:31):
in front of them, and the idea that they would
not only have a home game, they'd have a home
game against the team they already beat here in Houston.
They will one hundred percent be favored to win the
AFC if they are at home next Sunday, one hundred percent.
Even with Josh Allen and whatever it is that they
did to beat Buffalo, whatever kind of crazy performance or not.

(01:12:53):
To me, there would be no way that the money
play the Vegas opening line. And again, what happens after
that is how the players play, the gambling players play.
I can't imagine a scenario where the Texans have gone
to New England and won that game and Buffalo has
gone to Denver and won their game the day prior,
and they're set to meet in a week in Houston,

(01:13:14):
and Houston's not the favorite. Houston will be the favorite
against the Buffalo Bills if that is the matchup for
the AFC title game.

Speaker 1 (01:13:21):
And since we're talking about narratives, you know what's going
to be the case. If that's the eventual matchup, Josh
Allen's owned by the Texans. Can he overcome this Texans
curse where he can't beat them, Well, it won't be
a narrative, it will be a fact. Well, whatever you
want to call it. That's what he's going to be
said going into the game. The other thing that's going
to be said is the complete opposite. He's taking advantage

(01:13:43):
of what isn't in front of him. The Chiefs, Josh
Allen's team, who is only the sixth seed even though
they won twelve games, only a wild card team because
the Patriots, Well, he's way more competitive against the Chiefs,
way more.

Speaker 2 (01:13:57):
Well yeah, but at the point they're playing the Texans,
he would have already gone on the road and beaten
two other clearly good teams. They would have beaten the
Broncos and their defense, and they would have beaten the
Jaguars a week ago by scoring late to beat them.
The coordination, right, But he's been unreal in the playoffs.
He's only played the Texans of the playoffs when he
was a kid, and they did not win. They almost did,

(01:14:18):
despite the fact that they never should have been in
that game, but they almost did. Texans had to take
him to overtime and Taiwan Jones had to help lead
the way to a field goal at the end of
that game. But that was that was one of the
very he's obviously lost. He's lost five other playoff games.
I'm not saying he's invincible, but he's been awesome. We
talk about this during the year when we look at
MVP and Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen and other players

(01:14:41):
who have postseason experience, It's hard to do what Josh
Allen individually has done in the postseason. He has been
in my mind, he's been spectacular and that will always
be on their side no matter what defense they're facing,
including Houston. They what they did against them on Thursday night,
and the All Reds, they would have to go do
it again. What they did against Josh Allen in twenty

(01:15:01):
twenty four doesn't really matter. It matters if you can
do that, and the most marbles the Texans have ever
had on the line will be on the line. None
of the players for this team have ever been in
that game.

Speaker 1 (01:15:13):
For this team.

Speaker 2 (01:15:14):
Demiko Rians has been with this franchise for a decade.
In from form or fashion, He's never been in this
game with them other McNair's the team that they organization
never to this level. But again, if it's the Bills,
you're also playing in the very controlled comfort of your
indoor stadium. Yeah, there's no concerns about kicking fifty one

(01:15:34):
yard field goals because there's a dead spot. No concern
about somehow not quite clearing the crossbar on your extra point.

Speaker 1 (01:15:43):
Yea, Kaymi did this weekend. And there's probably not even
concern for whether outside the stadium either because you're playing
in Houston, Texas. But now, every once in a while
there could be a cold snap during a playoff game here.

Speaker 2 (01:15:55):
I don't imagine the weather affects teams once they're inside.

Speaker 1 (01:15:58):
Does it. No, I'm just making making generalizations about the
city we live in and how we have hardly any
winter weather. This week's been awesome compared to last week.
All Right, we promise you guys that you would hear
from Dan Orlowsky And he mentioned or he visited the
Morning Drive with Dan and Cole earlier today, and one
of the things that was talked about was how CJ
performed or maybe didn't perform, I guess in this case

(01:16:21):
against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 6 (01:16:25):
I'm not overreacting to what we saw from CJ. I'll
say this before the game, even leading up on NFL Live,
we all were sitting there going.

Speaker 5 (01:16:38):
Dude, it's cold and it is windy, and so you know, a.

Speaker 6 (01:16:42):
Lot negative plays were attached to some of those shotgun snap.

Speaker 5 (01:16:47):
Snap boos, and you're sitting there going, what's going on?

Speaker 6 (01:16:50):
You know, some of the not ready for them not
catching it, and so whether that's the case again in
New England or not, I think that's got to be
something that they've got to take away. But then you know,
the contrast was man, he made some big time throws
down the field and some of the I know he
miss his Nico when he climbs the pocket, but some

(01:17:11):
of the big time throws down the field and some
of the pucket navigation. And so I'm sure there's conversations
going on with CJ and Nick Kayley and Jamiko of hey,
what's going on with the snaps? Just remember how elite
our defense is, but still continue to be yourself. And
so that wasn't abnormal performance. I've seen CJ play big

(01:17:32):
time football in big time games, so and there's just
this reality Guys like you gotta score twenty. If you
score twenty, you're gonna win the football game. And so
there's a style of play that I think he's well
aware of.

Speaker 1 (01:17:48):
I hadn't really thought about the cold weather impacting some
of the stuff that went wrong. I feel like it
sounds like you're making excuses, but maybe that was part
of why that kind of thing was happening.

Speaker 2 (01:18:00):
I mean, if you don't think you have a good
a grip on the football in that weather, it wasn't
mentioned by CJ. I mean, I think it's a fact
sometimes quarterbacks feel that way, and you know, it's just
a matter of if he feels like telling he or
if it really was a factor. The two snaps are
don't have anything to do with that. He snapped the
ball into his chest when he wasn't looking once and
he snapped the ball into his hands both of them.
On the other one, he didn't catch it.

Speaker 1 (01:18:20):
He should have. All Right, we're gonna go to another
successful part of Monday night when we come back and
what Demko Ryans had to say about a very key
down that Texas just owned on Monday against Pittsburgh Steelers.
And it's not the only person that's going to talk
about it, because you'll hear more from Dan Orlovsky on
that topic, because the four o'clock hour gets under way

(01:18:41):
straight ahead the AE on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (01:18:46):
Eight, two in two to go here on a Wednesday
edition of the A Team. The Rockets playing last night
and again tomorrow night. Got a victory over the Bulls
last night. Texas back on the practice field earlier today,
see the injury report.

Speaker 1 (01:19:01):
Shortly locker room opened up. Heard from CJ and Demiko.

Speaker 2 (01:19:04):
We'll share some of their thoughts moving into now the
future and less about the past of what took place
on Monday night, the thirty to sixth victory over the
Pittsburgh Steelers, winning on the road in the cold, which
is something they have now done a couple of times
this season. Granted, one of those couple of times was
against the Kansas City Chiefs. And you heard me bash
some of the opponents of the Patriots and bashed football

(01:19:27):
teams in general. Kansas City is not a very good
football team this year. Yes, Pat Mahomes on the field,
and yes that's a potent quarterback, and yes he's got
MVPs and Super Bowls in his back pocket, But Pat
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in twenty twenty five
when the Texans played and beat them in Kansas City.
Not a very good football team got worse when he
was off the field. Quite clearly, They literally might have
been the worst team in the NFL once he left

(01:19:49):
the field. But it was something that the organization probably
had a lot of feeling behind.

Speaker 1 (01:19:55):
This is something we have not done.

Speaker 2 (01:19:57):
This is a team that's been in our way and
we have been able to beat them with much higher
stakes more often than not when you're playing in the playoffs. Clearly,
now you've won a game on the road in the playoffs,
something the organization hasn't done, but more importantly, something that CJ.
Stroud hadn't done, something that Will Anderson Junior hadn't done,
something that Demiico Ryans hadn't done. Otherwise they wouldn't even
be here to have another of those type of games.

(01:20:20):
This team's never been to the playoffs with a wild card.
They've done that. They've never won a game on the road.
They've done that. They've never won a game in the
divisional round in six tries. And this franchise that they're
playing has been on the other side of it. In
two of those times, Drake May and Tom Brader are
not identical twins, people will probably confuse them for such
over the course of the five remaining days before we'd.

Speaker 1 (01:20:39):
Play that game.

Speaker 2 (01:20:40):
Most of the people that do that will probably have
Massachusetts addresses. I don't think anybody else is doing that,
nor should they. Drake May is one playoff game into
his two season NFL career. There's a long way to
go to put him in even the elite of the
current day quarterbacks. He had a remarkable season. He threw
the ball exceptionally well. And one of the things we've

(01:21:02):
talked about pretty much every week, especially on the weeks
where they play a quarterback who's pretty good at it,
is he's run the football. He has run the football
very well. He's turned broken plays into big gains. He
did that again in this game against the Chargers. He
actually did it in the game against the Texans a
season ago when he was making his first NFL start.
He really hasn't ever stopped. He's not Lamar Jackson, he's

(01:21:24):
not quite Josh Allen, but he's going to gain yards
with his legs just like the two of them do.

Speaker 1 (01:21:32):
In terms of totals.

Speaker 2 (01:21:33):
He does it in a different way, but he gains
them all the same and it's a major concern for
any defense. It's a concern for this defense. They know
their responsibilities. They've gotten better all year long as taken
care of those. You've still got to set the edge.
You can't just go rush willy nilly. You can't go
on this delayed blitz and leave this area open and

(01:21:53):
open up this gap. And hope they've done a remarkably
good job of making that not a huge issue. It's
played thirty NFL games plus the playoff game this past weekend,
and he's rushed for just shy of a thousand yards
in that time, just a little under eight hundred and
fifty or a little over eight hundred and fifty yards
in the regular season these last ye year's about four

(01:22:14):
hundred and fifty each year.

Speaker 1 (01:22:15):
He's a threat.

Speaker 2 (01:22:17):
I'm hopeful that's not at all a factor in the game,
but I bet it will be.

Speaker 1 (01:22:21):
There's a lot of factors that are going to be
in this one. And one of the things that I
thought I was surprised, honestly, not because I thought the
Texans aren't effective running the ball. When they've tried to
or put their minds to it. But that has been
the case at some points this year. Earlier in the season,
it was it was part of the bigger overall picture

(01:22:42):
about the offensive line and just another element of that
offensive line where people like me were just like, here
you go again. But to their credit, as they've evolved
this season, and we've used that word this week talking
about this offensive line. Effective running in the emergence of
what he marks is the forefront of that has been

(01:23:03):
something that's helped facilitate victories for this Texans team. Not
I wouldn't say it's consistent, Like, how would you describe
the Texans run game awful? In the overall grand scheme
of things.

Speaker 2 (01:23:16):
Ketches were a bad running football team in twenty twenty five,
simple as I can put it.

Speaker 1 (01:23:20):
They did not run the football well, didn't do the
last month because it's not been awful the last month
it's been better. And it wasn't awful. It was actually
really good on Monday Night. Yeah, it was on this
the best game of the season. Yeah, you've never done that.

Speaker 5 (01:23:33):
I know.

Speaker 2 (01:23:33):
They had one hundred and sixty seven yards rushing against
the Ravens that had one hundred and sixty four on
Monday night, But the way they did it on Monday
night is totally different. I ran through their numbers last show.
By quarter, first quarter of the game didn't look much different,
didn't look very good. Each of the individual quarters that followed.
There was no stopping the Texans, and especially in the
fourth quarter when everybody knew what they were gonna do

(01:23:53):
and they couldn't stop them. The Texans offense of the
fourth quarter two touches, two scores. They scored both times
they had the football, and they only had the football
two times. Their defense also scored two times. But they
could not be stopped. Obviously, on the ninety two yard
drive earlier in the game, their long touchdown drive before
the fourth quarter. I know we're only we're not even
forty eight hours removed, right m h People remember it

(01:24:13):
was seven to six going to the fourth quarter, right barely,
it was only seven to six going to the fourth quarter.
But during that ninety two yard drive that did net
them that first touchdown, they did run the ball very well.
When you're just four yard. They averaged less than four
yards of carry for the duration of the season.

Speaker 1 (01:24:29):
That's not good.

Speaker 2 (01:24:30):
That's bad but they were getting four yards on most
of their bad carries. On Monday night, the good carries
were hitting nine. The better carries were a twelve yard
touchdown run and it was both backs. Nick Chubb wasn't
being met in the backfield. He was able to where
should I be going? He actually has Woody Marks has
more running back skills today, but I don't know that

(01:24:50):
he has better vision than Nick Chubb yet. And I
think actually in this game, I honestly thought they took
him out because he was not seeing what they we
wanted him to see, so they could show him either
on the sidelines or watch Nick or something, because he
ran the ball so much more effectively after that happened, because.

Speaker 1 (01:25:09):
There were holes all over the place.

Speaker 2 (01:25:10):
Their offensive line blew away the Pittsburgh Steelers front in
run block and they just mashed them.

Speaker 1 (01:25:17):
Go watch the twelve yard touchdown run.

Speaker 2 (01:25:18):
For instance, Jake Andrews was six yards down the field,
Trent Brown was five yards down the field, and Ingram's
hitting two and three guys on these runs. And to
your point, one of the reasons why I can say
they weren't good during the year, and you can say,
look at what they were at the end of the year.
It's because the offensive line. Can you imagine what this
team would have looked like if the team the offensive
line they had in the opener was on the field

(01:25:40):
on Monday night, they had gotten smoked offensively.

Speaker 1 (01:25:42):
T J.

Speaker 2 (01:25:43):
Wah would have had like ten sacks. They just weren't good.
They didn't have good players out there. Trent Brown has
been a good player, and he's in turn made the
guard that Titus Howard is now a good player. Tay
Orsery's better today than he was that day, for sure.
All those things have gotten better. And Ed Ingram wasn't
even there. He didn't start the opener because he was hurt.

Speaker 1 (01:26:01):
And I know I knew going into that game that
the offensive line, for example, was playing its best football.
By the way, this is what you want. I'll take
the crappy zero and three start and everything else that
was crappy about this season as long as it's in
September in exchange that for success in January and beyond.
But in that vein, even after everything you just got

(01:26:23):
done saying and everything we've talked about, how about how
this offense, or at least this offensive line, if not CJ.
Because CJ had his his moments that weren't so great.
On Monday, I was still still shocked with the insane
rate of success on third down. They haven't done that
all year, like throwing or passing, I mean throwing CJ.

(01:26:47):
They haven't. I just would, but it didn't mattter like
what they did against jack I take it back.

Speaker 2 (01:26:52):
I would rate these as comparable what they We've talked
about the Niners game a couple times. That was CJ's
best game of the year. They were nine to sixteen
on third down, and they kept drives a lot constantly.
Jacksonville game. Most of it came in the fourth quarter,
but when Davis Mills was out there, obviously they extended
all those drives. They were ten to fifteen in that game.
And you heard from Demiko Ryans the difference in the
game was third down that he was referring to both units.

(01:27:14):
The Texans kept staying on the field over and over
and over again, another ten for fifteen day and they
started six of seven and the Steelers couldn't stay on
the field. They converted two third downs the whole game.
The Texans are one of the best teams in the NFL.
Both ways or on defense and getting teams off the
field on third down. That's just like the tenth best

(01:27:36):
thing about them, and it's a huge factor. But they're
so good at everything else you kind of forget about
they get teams off the field on third down.

Speaker 1 (01:27:42):
This was Demiko yesterday, not after the game, but yesterday
talking about that success on the offensive side of things
on third down.

Speaker 3 (01:27:53):
Its stars that we were able to do many different
things just with different play types, formation types. We did
a really nice job of calling it, mixing it up
on third down. That's really the key, and we executed
what was called very well to allow us to stay
on the field, and that's what it is all about.
And those guys did a great job calling the plays

(01:28:15):
and our players did a great job of executing it.

Speaker 1 (01:28:18):
Yeah, and again you're gonna hear Dan lor Orlovsky talk
about this next segment. It was a very good balance.
In fact, I remember at one point and I can't
remember if the score was still seven to six, probably
since it was for the majority of the game, but
they put a graphic up about just not third down,
but just genero you know, general rushing versus passing, and

(01:28:40):
I just remember thinking, Wow, that is a super balanced attack,
and you plan that if you're an offensive coordinator, if
you're a quarterback, if you're a head coach, everybody that
goes into what you're gonna do every single week, that's
what you want to have happened. But how many thousands
of different things happened during the course of a game
that you cannot plan for, You couldn't ever even potentially
plan for. That just happened during a football game. That

(01:29:02):
throw that number off. And yet there they were almost
fifty to fifty perfectly.

Speaker 2 (01:29:06):
They had very few issues with third down in the
first half for a big reason.

Speaker 1 (01:29:10):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:29:11):
One of the third downs they didn't convert was a
third and six because it turned into third and eleven
because they committed a penalty. They didn't convert third and
eleven on the false start on Trent Brown. The ones
they did convert were third and five and third and
four and third and two and third and two and
third and four.

Speaker 1 (01:29:28):
In other words, what they've done well all year, and
anything outside of eight nine is usually bad.

Speaker 2 (01:29:33):
Sure, every team does that, but you got to get there.
You gotta make it third and two, you gotta make
it third and four instead of making it third and
nine and third and thirteen, And that's what they've had
a hard time doing is creating those good down and
distant situations on third down. Again, just the third and
six defense doesn't know what you're doing. You're running it,
you're passing it. Are we blitzing? Are we bringing everybody?

(01:29:54):
We're dropping everybody. Well, now it's third and eleven, you're
totally up against it. Your backs are now against Well,
you made it that way third and six. Un Less,
you can still do a number of different things, not
on third and eleven.

Speaker 1 (01:30:06):
Yeah, yeah, it's you limit your options for sure. Mentioned
that we would hear from Dani Rolovsky about this topic.
He was just so good this morning on the Morning
Drive that we've wanted to sprinkle his wisdom his knowledge
throughout the show. So we'll come back next with that
talking about that very topic. Those two very topics, the
balanced offense by the Texans and their amazing third down

(01:30:27):
success against the Steelers.

Speaker 2 (01:30:30):
Patriots two o'clock Sunday, last AFC game prior to the
AFC Title game, so they'll know where they're headed and
what opponent they will be facing. After they face the
opponent in New England, Texans had a balanced offense four
hundred yards total, one hundred and sixty four yards on
the ground to forty four through the air. Wanted to
get to something Dani Rolofsky said this morning when he

(01:30:51):
was on the morning Drive with Dan and Cole, specific
to that and their success on third down. Wanted to
give you a chance to hear it, give us a
chance to react to it, and that's where conversation leads
you to discuss, from Dan's point of view, how this
team was able to do things in that game, and
what they'd like to replicate a balanced offense, and how
everything is still predicated on success on third down.

Speaker 6 (01:31:12):
I think the way that you know Houston, I've been
outspoken about this is the way that Houston has play
a lot better from the interior of their offensive line,
and really both facets of offense. Run in defense has
been massive. Both backs have run the football well. There's
a little bit of Los Angeles rams. Unsurprisingly with Nick
and the philosophy of the run game, they're not overly creative.

(01:31:36):
There comes duo and double teams and so no New England.
I'll say this, Milton Williams coming back is huge. Their
linebackers do a fantastic job. You know, it's not only
the D line.

Speaker 5 (01:31:48):
That does a good job.

Speaker 6 (01:31:49):
The backers are outstanding in New England, both Gibbons, Dan
Splane and so I do think the run game from
a scheme standpoint is a good thing for Houston. You know,
another massive unknown in this game I guess is is
Nico gonna play with the concussion? Is Christian Gonzales gonna
play with concussion? So I think Houston can have some

(01:32:12):
at least, you know, efficiency running the football. I think
the big challenge on you mentioned the third downs is
you know, just and from a defensive perspective of New
England they create such a problem in passing situations from
a coverage standpoint, and will they do it or as

(01:32:33):
well without Gonzales if he doesn't play. Is there's just
not a lot of clarity from a quarterback.

Speaker 5 (01:32:39):
Perspective of what the defense is in.

Speaker 6 (01:32:42):
We call it being muddy and cloudy. You just don't
know what the coverage is.

Speaker 5 (01:32:47):
And that might sound.

Speaker 6 (01:32:49):
Really simple to people at home, but from.

Speaker 5 (01:32:51):
A quarterback's mindset, if I don't know.

Speaker 6 (01:32:54):
What you're in or what the coverage is, I don't
necessarily know where to attack you, And so you're getting
me to play slower than I want to.

Speaker 5 (01:33:03):
I often say you can you can speed a quarterback up,
or you can slow a quarterback down.

Speaker 6 (01:33:08):
And the way that they make their coverage confusing just
slows quarterbacks down and that's when that pass rush is
paired to it. So that's going to be the challenge
for CG on those third downs.

Speaker 1 (01:33:20):
So I mean the pass rush of the New England
Patriots is what, in one word, average that is better
or worse than what he faced on Monday.

Speaker 2 (01:33:31):
Night, significantly worse. So couple that WM again aware they
had six sacks this weekend, Yeah, everybody would have six
sacks against the Chargers offensive line.

Speaker 1 (01:33:44):
Also known as Swiss cheese. Having said that, and you
combine that with I just think, by nature, because of
how talented he is and because of everything else that
goes into these scenarios, I just can't envision CJ playing
worse than he did at his very bottom of the barrel.

Speaker 2 (01:34:04):
Has no turnovers, but doesn't make the throws. So it's
basically a wash. It's basically the opposite, but a wash. Yes,
like this last game he made a ton of throws,
but he made he made the turnover mistakes. What if
he just what if he's twelve of twenty five with
one hundred and fifty yards and no turnovers.

Speaker 1 (01:34:22):
That's crazily enough a worse scenario. It's not a wash.
I need you got to make some place. Unless those
nine completions are bombs. You know that. W Higgins. Oh
I already called it. Higgins is going to have a
stellar outing to to give.

Speaker 2 (01:34:39):
You a numbers or lated answer the Patriots pass rush
at least one entities calculations of it. Pass rush win
rate ESPN produces those stats. They were nineteenth in the
NFL in that regard. Keep in mind, it's it's it's
why you have to gather these from a bunch of

(01:35:01):
different places. Here's pressure rate from this group, here's win
rate from that group. I don't know how this is
even possible, especially with the Texans having several players at
the top of the pass rush win rate list two
in the top twenty I think three if Denico Autry qualified.
The Texans were worse than that according to this metric,

(01:35:25):
and win rate as pass rushers worse than the Patriots,
who had thirty five sacks this year. So like I said,
I'm telling you what i'm watching. I'm telling you what
I've seen from them. I'm talking about the personnel that
they have and the way that they generate a pass rush.
I don't have to use these numbers. I want to
provide you these numbers. They are probably a little healthier

(01:35:48):
up front, and some of this is all is also
from the interior of their line. But if the Texans
handled the Steelers pass rush, and in my opinion, they
handled it fine, and I know what, the pressure numbers
are much higher than it seemed like as you're watching
the game, then I think they should be able to
do the very same. I think the Patriots will try
things that the Steelers didn't. I think the Patriots try

(01:36:10):
to confuse them much more than the Steelers did. There
are a few plays where they tried it. There are
a few plays where it was successful. But I do
think the Texans are just so much more well prepared
for this stuff with both the five they have out there,
or six because Fisher's out there, or eight because Schultz
and Stover are also out there, and because Nick Kayley

(01:36:30):
is their OC and not Bob Slowick.

Speaker 1 (01:36:33):
Both these head coaches are fantastic Pro Bowl caliber, all
Pro caliber linebackers from their playing days. I don't think
that gets talked enough enough or talked about enough as
it pertains to how Demiko probably has an influence in
getting CJ ready to face any sort of resistance, whether

(01:36:55):
it's upfront, whether it's in the secondary.

Speaker 2 (01:37:00):
It's not that it's the end all be all. What
do you think in their respective careers? How many Pro
Bowl appearances do you think those two head coaches you
mentioned ten years of NFL football, A couple of years
were shorted by injury for Demiko, how many Pro Bowls
like it matters do you think he made? And Mike
Rabel played fourteen years and played virtually the entire season
all of those years.

Speaker 1 (01:37:20):
I'm gonna say, well, I definitely know Vrabel had more.
Should I clip that and use it later? Come on,
he did make a Pro Bowl some time. So was
Teddy Bruski getting all the love? No?

Speaker 2 (01:37:32):
I think people have this inflated view of who he
was because he did so many things to help them win.
They had more touchdowns, had a billion touchdowns. He was
on a billion great teams. But he was playing with
Pro bowlers. Yeah, he was a. He was a plus
level linebacker. He was a really good players, a really
smart player. He played on a lot of good defenses

(01:37:53):
that were good because he was on it. But he
wasn't one of the best lineback times.

Speaker 1 (01:37:57):
And I balked to New England and tell him that
my co host said he stinks a linebacker.

Speaker 2 (01:38:01):
He's just a I mean, he's probably the because I
haven't seen Dimico do it hardly at all. He's probably
the best linebacker that's currently coaching that still participates in practice.
I've seen Rabel. And I don't mean from the time here,
I mean still in New England. We still see clips
when he was here. He was way too involved in
practice for even a position coach.

Speaker 1 (01:38:22):
I was amazing. Take that helmet off man.

Speaker 2 (01:38:24):
Demiko has participated in front of my eyes in a
few situations, and the only ones I can even recall
are when he threw on a scout team Jersey and
was participating maybe because no numbers weren't there.

Speaker 1 (01:38:36):
He's too busy participating in the weight room. No, Rabel,
I don't don't want to totally diminish his career. Uh,
he's on the numbers.

Speaker 2 (01:38:44):
He made it once and Tomiko made it twice. Wow,
again the foe bawl. So let's not go crazy about
what it means.

Speaker 1 (01:38:51):
Well, okay, how about the All pros?

Speaker 4 (01:38:53):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (01:38:53):
None for either, I don't think no at one time.
All Pro for Rabes and Demico never got an All
Pro even though he was the quarter back of a
really really good defense. That's crazy to me. Second team
All Pro once his second year. Okay, his second year
when he got hurt in his last year in Houston.

Speaker 2 (01:39:12):
He got hurt prior to his He played six games
in twenty ten, which was year five, and then every
game in twenty eleven before going off to Philly.

Speaker 1 (01:39:21):
Okay, wow, I usually remember these things.

Speaker 2 (01:39:24):
Everything you said, even though I spent three minutes on it,
is not relevant to the conversation. What is relevant to
what you said is why they played linebackers so well,
and what they bring to the table as a head coach,
and how CJ's preparing getting prepared by Demico and his
other coaches, and similarly, like that's the other part to
be helping. Okay, they won four games last year. We

(01:39:45):
one hundred percent of people thought the Patriots were definitely
going to be better this year. Just because Rabel was there,
didn't know how much better. But most people didn't think, yeah,
they'll probably win five or six. Most people thought eight
or none. Yeah, because he's there, Drake May is probably
the guy. He's in his second year. He also has

(01:40:05):
a lot more knowledge about what kind of players he
and this current GM and personnel structure should be putting
on the team, and I think that doesn't get talked
about enough for him, and I think we talk about
it a ton for Dimiko because we're here. I spent
a whole segment on the mindset of these defensive players
and why they draft these players, and everyone's kind of

(01:40:26):
I'm not sure.

Speaker 1 (01:40:26):
That you should go get him here.

Speaker 2 (01:40:28):
Well, they are sure because they know who they are,
because Dimico knows what players will work and what he
wants to do.

Speaker 1 (01:40:33):
And I think Vrabel's very similar in that regard. And
I guarantee you, heading into a game, if this magnitude
against this kind of defense, Drake May is like, uh,
could you come over here and help me out? Head coach.
I guarantee you that's happening this week and has already
long before this matchup. All right, we'll continue to discuss
all things Texans Patriots. But it's time for our signature

(01:40:55):
segment on a Wednesday, and that would be BS. And boy,
is this a good example of that NEXTX.

Speaker 2 (01:41:02):
The A, Maybe, just maybe for this signature segment in
that we've leaned away from bits stealing so heavy, almost exclusively,
maybe it's time for reimaging, reimagining of the segment. But
BS still applies and it's not really apropos to that
per se. But before we dive into that at large,

(01:41:24):
probably worth noting how the Texans described their players after
practice today, their injury status and the update on each
of them. Their injury report released not too long ago
and we just had not addressed it. The dnps were
as I described earlier today since I was there, Denico Autry,
Trent Brown, Justin Watson, and Nico Collins. Concussions for both

(01:41:46):
Watson and Nico Collins, the reasons for them, same reasons
for both Trent Brown and Denico Autro over the course
of the year. An ankle injury for Trent Brown actually
much of the year it was an ankle and a
knee for him, and the knee injury for Audrey in
their cases, both of them, as far as I know,
and as far as what I've heard elsewhere is that
they should be available for the game on Sunday, and

(01:42:08):
likely we'll see the practice field over the course of
the next two days in some form or fashion. Aziz Kamari, Jward, Jordan,
ed Ingram, Titus Howard, Sheldon Rankins all were there. I
saw them all, and they were all limited full participants,
but on the injury report Tay Ursie, Austin Brinkman, the
long snapper, and Jalen Reid. Ursery's obviously going to be

(01:42:31):
on the injury report probably the rest of the year
because of his thumb injury, but he practiced in full
and took every.

Speaker 1 (01:42:35):
Snap in the game.

Speaker 2 (01:42:37):
Jalen Reid injured his kneed during the game, but only
missed a couple of snaps before returning. He practiced in
full today, and Brinkman has been on the injury report
quite a bit. The later stage of this season does
not appear to have impacted his ability to snap the
football to Tommy Townsend, whether he's ready to catch it
and punt it poorly or well, or ready to catch
it and put it down on the hard turf. And

(01:42:58):
hope Kaymi can make the case.

Speaker 1 (01:43:00):
No surprises that stick out, by the way, But like
you said earlier in the show, if we don't see
Nico Collins doing something tomorrow, the miracle is not gonna happen.

Speaker 2 (01:43:11):
Well, the miracle would be that he continues and has
no issues with concussions and CTE and all those things.

Speaker 1 (01:43:19):
The miracle of him playing is not going to happen.

Speaker 2 (01:43:21):
Concussion protocol for a pair of Patriots players also which
we knew, Treell Jennings, who's been running third or fourth
behind Henderson and Stevenson in their backfield. As running back,
Christian Gonzalez is their best. You might be able to
argue their best defensive player period, but at cornerback he's
certainly their best player. No practice for Moses and Mumford,

(01:43:42):
their two offensive linemen who've been battling injury. I'm not
sure that any of the other injuries listed will prevent
players from appearing. Harold Landry and Hunter Henry probably stand
out the most on the list. Henry's favorite target among
their tight end group quite obviously, and Landry is someone
the Texans have seen a bunch over the years. The
time he spent with Titans and his familiarity with coach

(01:44:03):
Rabel and both of those players limited today.

Speaker 1 (01:44:07):
All Right, what's the worst thing a athlete can do
in direct response to a fan base when they're not
happy with how things are going during a season?

Speaker 2 (01:44:22):
Call them out, go at them. Yeah, some counter it
with his own nonsense. I don't know, some variation of
that is. You know, we all remember, well, not all
of us, Once upon a time, kids in nineteen ninety four,
the Rockets were the number two seed in the playoffs,
and they had made it to the second round and

(01:44:43):
had home court advantage against the Phoenix Suns, and they
promptly blew twenty point wins or twenty point leads to
lose both of those games and fall into an zero
to two hole headed back to Phoenix in the best
of seven series.

Speaker 1 (01:44:58):
Not a great place to be. And on top of that,
on his way out the door, Vernon Maxwell said, to
hell with these fans that are booing us at the
end of those games. That's never I mean, I know
where he's coming from in that situation. And by the way,
choke City was the headline the next day and that
became clutch City and here we are. But like, that's
a no win situation when anything fan related is directly disputed,

(01:45:24):
like vocally, predominantly, and in this case, by the best
player on the team, when the fans are giving it
to you because things aren't going well. And that's what
happened with the Bucks last night in Milwaukee. Fans were
booing them because they were getting absolutely destroyed by a
team that's going to be in here later this week,

(01:45:45):
the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Bucks were trailing big at halftime.
They go to the half and the fans are booing them.
So Yannist, who always reads the room, always has the
pulse of just society. Honestly, he's just a He's a
guy that always knows what's to say or do and

(01:46:05):
present himself well in every single Are you getting the sarcasm? Yet?
He scores the first basket of the half and proceeds
to he got fouled, so he lands on his butt
on the baseline. So he's staring right into the baseline
seats in Milwaukee. So what does he do. He puts
his thumbs down like this and starts booing the fans

(01:46:28):
like and you know, we're gonna differ on this because
this kind of stuff irks me. A whole lot more
than it does Wex, because nothing irks Wex unless we
stop talking sports during our show. I just this guy's
so unlikable and gets a free pass from a lot
of people despite that, Like Lebron does unlikable things, and

(01:46:49):
weirdly he gets I think less of a free pass
just because he's such a lightning bolt for criticism that
kind of thing, or lightning rod for criticism. I should say.
Jannis is like excuse all the time for the most
like obnoxiously immature, just delta bravo behavior, and always has been.
That time he like launched the basketball in James Harden's

(01:47:10):
face and tried to do a basketball play. Yeah, a
basketball play if you're playing dodgeball like it. There was
no doubt in anybody's mind that he did that on purpose.
Oh except for anybody outside of Houston who hated James Harden,
because then they all made excuses for him.

Speaker 2 (01:47:28):
He hated a bunch of other stuff like that was
a basketball. His reaction to that play, as you're describing,
was laughable. The soundbites he gives routinely are just they're
La has a totally different viewpoint of the NBA and
I don't know. I it's for just who he is
or how he got to the NBA, the international aspect
of it all. You know, he's given some answers, very
long answers about you know. I think it was when

(01:47:50):
they one of the years they came up short and
you know, disappointed, and he was like, he just gave
an answer very few stars would give in describing failure
versus success. Yeah, you shouldn't. Why should I be so crush?

Speaker 4 (01:48:04):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (01:48:05):
You know I should. I feel this way.

Speaker 2 (01:48:06):
Everyone's telling me you're supposed to feel this way. And
I'm paraphrasing to a certain degree, but we hear from
so many stars we believe in and are fans of
because they are crushed by it. This is the end
of their sports world. I don't I mean, I don't
even want what to do. I'm in near tears. I
can't believe we're done for the year. I can't believe
I just put everything I had into the season and
we didn't win the title. Even if it's not the

(01:48:28):
finals or the conference finals, just all of it is
just it's so much for them, And yeah, I want
to get back to it. I can't wait to bike
and get back on the court because I hate this.
The idea maybe is simply put, they hate losing more
than they love winning. And some of the things he
said in that regard kind of made it seem differently.

Speaker 1 (01:48:45):
He and Michael Jordan are not the same. Let's just
put it that way.

Speaker 2 (01:48:48):
Yeah, Jeordan has six titles. He has one well, and
just the way they look at the game. But like
what you're saying, so why so, why does that make
him so unlikable? He's different, he doesn't think like everybody else.
That's definitely true.

Speaker 1 (01:48:58):
He took the reporter to take ask something for asking
that question. He's he has done that before, right, I
don't think that whether you agree with it or not,
I think there was a large contingent of people that
were like, I don't like that. Rubs me the wrong way.
Whenever I get booed, I boo back, and hadn't happened
that often. Right, Well, I'll tell you the next part
of the quote, just to wrap it up as we

(01:49:19):
start the next segment. But he's he's not very likable,
I don't think, but a lot of guys do like him.
They're going to run out of likable players in the
NBA pretty soon. I have plenty of Anthony Edwards, love
him and he's very very boyous about the Anthony and Dallas. No,
he's never out there. All right, we will get to
the end of that, and we'll also pump the brakes
on assuming whether or not Mike Tomlin is headed to

(01:49:41):
the TV booth after this. The rest of this Jannis
quote just has me dying, laughing, dying, laughing. It doesn't matter. Again,
they got booed at the half. They were getting blown
out by the Timberwolves. They wind up losing one thirty nine,
one oh six. That's one of those games. During the
halftime scoreboard. Last night, after I interviewed Zeus of the

(01:50:06):
Harlem Globetrotters, by the way, there'll be a toylet of
Center of February seventh, you did a halftime interview too.
It was awesome. He was great. I did with Gunnis
book of world record holder Zeus. I did one with
Anthony Hernandez for UFC and I just wanted him to
love his language. Yeah, Fluffy, he missed the first shot.
Zeus did not. I just wanted to.

Speaker 2 (01:50:26):
But yes, that's the kind of score I give it.
Halftime where I say, Milwaukee Bucks have forty six points.
The team they're hosting tonight has thirty three more than that.

Speaker 1 (01:50:37):
I mean, they're again they were getting mollywopped, and as
they're walking off the floor at halftime, they get booed
because they're getting mollywop. That's what fans do. They've paid
to see you, Jannis, mister MVP, mister NBA champion, mister
get out of the way. NWA. What do I say,

(01:50:58):
Like eminem they fade to see who play basketball? And
you're not playing it very well? Now I think he's
but he's still the stat sheet he has nobody.

Speaker 2 (01:51:08):
Yeah, well, I mean you know who their second best
player is. And I'm not even joking, Michael No starts
with the Kevin and it ends with a Porter junior.
He's not even having a bad year. I'm not even
trying to crush Kevin. But they don't have any players.
This is gonna be the worst I feel since Yannis
has become the elite player. This is the worst team

(01:51:30):
he's ever been on. They're gonna finish under five hundred.

Speaker 1 (01:51:32):
I love that for them. Okay, so finish, So he says, uh,
let me, I do like him. It doesn't matter like
Yanni's Tyson. When I hear Jannis, I think Mike Tyson
and Mike Jackson had a baby together. And that's my
and that's him. He's from Greece, so they're not. So
why does he sound like them? He doesn't. One of
them from Brooklyn and one of them from Gary, Indiana.

(01:51:55):
Gary Freak Freak Remain's brother is from Gary. The Janet's
brother brother, LaToya is a mess to this day. Oh,
they're in better shape than Michael too soon.

Speaker 2 (01:52:10):
Okay, what did he say? I'll try to stop interrupting,
but I'll probably failure. I played basketball from my teammates.
I played basketball for myself and my family. When people
don't believe in me, I don't tend to be with them.
I broke my back spinal. He just said spinal in
the middle of this for no reason. Now, that's funny,
like the words that he's saying. I play for my teammates,

(01:52:31):
which is fine, But how many times we heard these
the players in whatever sport. Yeah, we you know, we
appreciate the fans. We go out there for you, we
say for you all the time he's playing.

Speaker 1 (01:52:42):
Here's the thing, we're playing.

Speaker 2 (01:52:43):
I'm playing for the other guys in Bucks jerseys, the
other guys in the stands in Bucks jerseys.

Speaker 1 (01:52:47):
I have never been. They paid their ticket, so they
can say whatever they want. Guy, Even though to a
large extent that's probably true.

Speaker 2 (01:52:55):
I mean, inside that game, in the moment, the emotional
moment when it happened. Reaction is one thing. Yeah, an
hour later, when you're speaking with the media, if you
want to describe your emotions, sure, but they were bad.
They've been bad. They got booed by the home fans.
I would think, I think a lot of players have
and I thought he would in this instance also say
what do we want them to do? What do you expect?

(01:53:17):
I understand what they're I understand where they're coming. Or
we don't want to do this, we don't think, we
don't want to play bad basketball. We want to be
winning again, and this is what we're giving them.

Speaker 1 (01:53:26):
I just think that. And again, when I say I
tend to agree with that, that of course has its limits.
Anything you know, disparaging from a racial standpoint or whatever.
That kind of stuff's out of bounds. But you know,
I played basketball for my teammates. I play basketball for
myself and my family. When people don't believe in me,
I don't tend to be with them. I tend to

(01:53:47):
do what I'm here to do, what I'm good at.
It won't change home or away. But yeah, I've never
been a part of something like that before. And I
don't think it's fair. I don't, but every I can't
not do this in his voice.

Speaker 2 (01:54:00):
When and I are saying things like Drago, I fight
for me if he dies, he dies. I I don't
think it's fair. I don't, but everybody has their opinion
to do what they want to do. I'm not going
to tell them what to do and how they should
act when we don't play hard.

Speaker 1 (01:54:18):
What so when we don't play hard, which I'm admitting
to I'm candid stabbed as teammates. I mean it's like,
come on, or when we lose games or when we're
not we're supposed to be. I don't think anybody has
the right to tell me how I should act on
a basketball court after I've been here thirteen years and
I'm basically the all time leader in everything. This is
a quote that's awesome. It is awesome if you like

(01:54:40):
heels in wrestling, but dude, I hate to tell this guy.
I'm the man. End of story. Basically, I've been the
man and just because we suck now, it's not my fault.
I'm not the one not playing exactly. So don't boom
me or I'll boo you back. This is awesome, baby,
this is the greatest. He's honest and better by the moment.
This is Hollywood Hogan. Brother. I just feel like so.

Speaker 2 (01:55:01):
All these years he's been trying to be Hulk Hogan,
the regular old, awesome wrestler that rips off his shirt
and comes into Hulk.

Speaker 1 (01:55:08):
Of mass began. But now, Hollywood, he's nwoing at all.
He's going to the black and white all right, he
is They forget to shave too, well, not the goate didn't.
That's still got. I mean, I like, here's the deal, though,
I hate to be this guy, but like you, you
can play for your teammates who you just threw under
the bus. You can play for yourself, clearly, you can

(01:55:31):
play for your family, half of which is on your roster.
But you can't deny that none of those people are
the ones putting that money in your pocket that you've
been getting the last thirteen years. That you just booed,
and I'm not telling you that. You know I'm I
would be one of those people in the crowd doing that,
But like, you can't get mad at them when they
do it. If you guys are getting one nine to

(01:55:53):
one oh six, it was tight, uh huh when tip
off happened and it was zero zero, That's that quote
is amazing to me. I'm basically the all time leader
in everything. It really is becoming Mike Tyson awesome. He's
telling them you can't boo me. Don't. Don't you know
me what I am? I broke my back spinal I

(01:56:15):
just listen. The Wolves didn't have Rudy Gobert last night,
who you think is one of the greatest. Why didn't
they have Rudy Gobert last night? He was suspended. Why
was he suspended? Well, he uh, he had a lot
of flagrant foles that he had community stupid Gobert. I
got in on him last night. Edwards his middle name,
because he wasn't out there either. He had to injury

(01:56:36):
manage his right foot. I hope he does that against
the Rockets. That would be nice, it would I hope
shake Gilgess Alexander has to manage an injury too. Pretty unlikely.
That was a really round about way.

Speaker 2 (01:56:46):
I think when I went through their score last night,
the thunder blew out the Spurs in the second half,
Shake Gilders Alexander had eleven at the free throw line,
and then I just went to the next game.

Speaker 1 (01:56:56):
Did he have eleven in the second half? I don't
know because it wouldn't a prize me this this guy again,
he's been look to see where we're adding to the list.
We're not.

Speaker 2 (01:57:07):
We're getting I haven't even gotten to the game on
the twentieth against Victor.

Speaker 1 (01:57:11):
But you've got who has done and gatable to right this?
You're all You're I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:57:18):
We got to have an all fifteen player team of
the guys I hate the most superstars.

Speaker 1 (01:57:24):
For every guy say I hate, there is a guy
who's a superstar I like. Anthony Edwards is one of
my favorite players.

Speaker 2 (01:57:30):
All right, I'll start far my favorite Anthony in the NBA.
Here are the guys you hate, Wemb s g A
and Joannest. That's three. I've got one on this side,
Anthony Edwards. Can we get it? Can we balance the scale?
I'll do some research during the break, I can figure
out who I like. I gotta jump in there right next.

Speaker 1 (01:57:47):
Len No Lebron's his own category of just deplorable. Suck
the patch on his jersey help keep them ahead of
the Rockets in the standings last night the patch on
the jersey list let me congratulate myself on staying around
five years too long. One numbers on the patch twenty three.
Jordan next to the air logo picks football at five.

(01:58:11):
So naturally I have one more thing to say about
Giannis and the Bucks. Could you imagine this season? Just
take this week in fact, just take since Saturday or
wherever it was that Doc Rivers sat down for his
press conference and open up his pie hole to say stupid,
uneducated things. Could you imagine having to listen and cover

(01:58:32):
both those idiots every single night if you're in First
of all, you're living in Milwaukee. You know what they're
famous for, Jeffrey Dahmer. Okay, now you have to cover
two of the biggest in the history of this league,
Doc Rivers, who was gifted a coaching opportunity in Boston
and that's why he has his one ring. By the way,
I love his son. Great analysis was a solid role

(01:58:56):
player for the Rockets. I like Austin Rivers a lot
his dad. Oh not a good head coach. You finally
convinced me there was a time I actually wanted this
idiot to coach the Rockets. What a dummy I am.
But man, Doc Rivers and Yannis two of the most
insufferable characters. I'm gonna tell you right now, the NBA

(01:59:16):
has a serious image problem with its players. And that's
why Kevin Durant so refreshing. I know, I'm gonna sit here,
I'm gonna criticize the NBA right now, but in the
same breath I'm gonna I'm not gonna not point to
the good. Kevin Durant the other night in his press
conference was talking about, you know, what was it like,
how did it feel to finally get that separation from
the Bulls this last night after last night's game, and

(01:59:39):
he said something super super duper simplistic and obvious. Do
you have it? Of course I have it? All right,
Listen to KD talk about what was the why did
you find why were you able to finally beat the
crappy Bulls? Making sense?

Speaker 6 (01:59:54):
Da?

Speaker 1 (01:59:54):
I mean, it's one thousand percent true. But what did
how did he deliver that line? And it was a
lot more obviously what was he doing he was doing
when he did that pouring over the stat box? You
know what he did One time this season when Matt
and I interviewed him courtside during the post, like right
after the most game, he was courtside. We were hey,

(02:00:16):
it's Matt and Ac up top. I'm not going to
say we were on the moon like Matt does in
other areas of the NBA, but yeah, you know what
he was doing. He had the status sheet out on
the scorer's table and was looking it over. He's a junkie.
You know what he doesn't talk about. I play for
myself and my family and my teammates.

Speaker 2 (02:00:34):
And I might have said that to somebody on the socials.
KD gets it.

Speaker 1 (02:00:37):
KD understands that not only is he blessed with the
opportunity blessed with the skill first of all, that's God
given it, all that kind of stuff, but blessed with
the opportunity to play a kid's game for all this money.
I know I'm sounding like an old fuddy duddy right now,
but I have to. When I just read this quote
and then I get like, in the same week, the
media that covers Doc Rivers just an absolute ignoramus when

(02:01:02):
it comes to what he was attempting to talk about.
And then Giannis does this, I'm.

Speaker 2 (02:01:06):
Gonna boo the fans because they're booing me. Let me,
let me mix in a phone call here real quick.
Who've got Jerry who wants to talk to us?

Speaker 1 (02:01:12):
And he oh, he just hung up.

Speaker 2 (02:01:14):
He wanted to say, hey, man, did y'all change the
format of the show? I specifically got in my car
at five o'clock because I wanted to hear you guys
talk about football like you do every day. I just
I thought I heard the football at five music.

Speaker 1 (02:01:26):
Well, this is what made me do this, partly because
I was already on a roll about it. What did
you tell me during the break about the memes involving
Doc Rivers.

Speaker 2 (02:01:34):
Yeah, Mike Tomlin walking off the field and his Steelers
had except they'd replaced his face with Doc Rivers.

Speaker 1 (02:01:39):
Okay, time out, Steelers fans. And I'd like to respect
you more than this is allowing me to right now.
But you've had three head coaches in the history of
your franchise, and they've all won super Bowls. Correct, Well,
they Kower went to a Super Bowl. He didn't. Went
he did was that Roethlisberger, I think was Bubby Brister,

(02:02:03):
Neil O'Donnell. I know he went with Neil O'Donnell right
against the Cowboys in ninety six. He's a one time champ,
as Tomlin is as well. Okay, so all of them
have won Super Bowls. No, you don't have five Lombardi
trophies like the kill Boys and the food image of
the world. But like that's a that's a heritage franchise

(02:02:23):
that is steeped in tradition. That is like I compared
him a little bit to the Saint Louis Cardinals of
how they kind of their fan base kind of projects itself.
I'd like to think, But like, really, you're gonna do
this to Mike Tomlin on his way out? What has
he had? I mean, this is like since you stopped
caring about the position, about the day that Ben Roethlisberger
walked out.

Speaker 2 (02:02:43):
The time a couple of years that they didn't succeed
with him still there, right, and then all of the
years since his departure have been.

Speaker 1 (02:02:50):
So Aaron Rodgers. In other words, he's Aaron Rodgers in
those last couple of years where they weren't getting it
done because he was old, or he was fat, or
he was both. He was actually always fat, but he
was just success fat. Yeah, I agree with the sentiment, awesome.
You you had a hard time winning in the playoffs,
mainly because it was a miracle you got there, and

(02:03:12):
you were not good enough to win in the playoffs.
He didn't get out coached, They weren't making mistakes that
he could have avoided. They were playing against the team
with a better quarterback most every time, and they're just
plat out playing against a better team point blank. They
were in it.

Speaker 2 (02:03:28):
Didn't lose because Aaron Rodgers couldn't get it done on Monday.
They lost because the team that came to Pittsburgh is
way better than them. Mike Tomlin lost another consecutive playoff
game because his team was not the better team. Like,
you can coach your way to winning some of those games,
and he did, just didn't do it in any of
these recent playoff games, and they were blown out nearly

(02:03:49):
every one of them. So I understand some anger over it,
but you're pointing it at the wrong person, and you're
comparing him, you should be at Omar Khan. My dude,
I got to own it. My new head coach is
gonna work with Omar on the roster. And they did
have their president speaking today and he did shed some
light on what I think two different futures. He talked

(02:04:10):
about Mike Tomlin potentially being hired elsewhere and where compensation
might fall. He made it sound like Mike told us
he wants to get away from this and do some
things with his family that because of coaching, has not
been able to do. So I don't anticipate that being
a problem on Aaron Rodgers. When asked about that situation,
he said, when Aaron Rodgers came to play for Mike Tomlin,

(02:04:30):
and most people looked or hurt his answer and made
it out to be He's not gonna be here next
year because Tomlin's not gonna be here, and maybe it'll
be mutual, but the bottom line is it doesn't appear
that he is going to be a part of their future.
He doesn't think Mike Tomlin's gonna coach next year, and
he didn't make it sound like Aaron Rodgers is gonna
play there next year.

Speaker 1 (02:04:48):
And I think those are both probably accurate. Yeah, the
only question I have is whether or not Aaron Rodgers
plays at all, and if he's not playing at the
beginning of the season, I don't think he's gonna do
the thing. I'm not tied, even though I'm nine t
about Philip Rivers. I'm talking about it didn't anticipate doing right.
That's an emergency, total outlier situation because under no circumstances
can you just start your backup quarterback Riley Leonard. You

(02:05:10):
just cannot do that. He still can't believe they didn't.
Speaking of fat he threw a touchdown pass in an
NFL game this season. That's insane to me, So where
could I know?

Speaker 2 (02:05:22):
This is very important now that the Steelers season is
over and we won't have anything to do with Aaron
Rodgers for probably three months. But if he plays again
and it's not Pittsburgh, I think it has to be
for a team that's Pittsburgh level competitive, like borderline playoff
caliber team, because if you're better than that, you don't
need a quarterback and you have an opening. It's that's

(02:05:42):
a very small number of teams every year. I don't
know if it's even one this year. If they're on
the if they are done with Tua and Miami and
the new regime thinks, well, we can't get a quarterback
this year, do they risk winning eight or nine or
even ten games in their division with Rogers, Because that's

(02:06:02):
what Pittsburgh did. Pittsburgh wasn't going for it this year,
but they decided not to tank either, and they went
out and got Aaron Rodgers.

Speaker 1 (02:06:10):
It's Tyreek Hill healthy for the beginning of the of
the season. I don't think he's I don't think so.
I don't know that for a fact. But I also
don't think he's going to be there either you think
he'll be traded or I think his leave in Miami
is over for however that happens. Yes, generally, guys that
get arrested on the way to games didn't end well.

Speaker 2 (02:06:28):
Yeah, that's that's you know, that's that's Wednesday's bs getting
what did he I mean arrested on the way to
the game for what.

Speaker 1 (02:06:37):
I mean?

Speaker 2 (02:06:38):
It was speeding, It was it was not the kind
of thing for for this particular player. You got ten
other things to say before you get to.

Speaker 1 (02:06:45):
That, Oh for sure, But if you're that guy, first
of all, you don't get arrested for speeding if you're
going like forty five and a thirty. Yeah, I think
he was going outrageously fast. And then I'm sure, I'm
sure he was super super polite with the officer. He's like,
I got to get to the game. Can I just

(02:07:06):
go play football? Like legit in the pictures? Wasn't the
stadium like right behind him? He was so close. Heemates
were right in their cars behind me. I forgot about
all that little mess. Eight and nine teams, seven nine
and one teams? Do you have one in mind?

Speaker 2 (02:07:19):
No, because unless we're talking about the Vikings and giving
up on McCarthy, why wouldn't you. I would, But I
don't think they will just suck. I think they're going
to bring in a veteran, but it's not going to
be Rogers.

Speaker 1 (02:07:31):
He that is total gonna do Farv all over again.
By way of but the Jets and the Steelers first, Yes,
well Farv was a Jet, he wasn't a Steeler.

Speaker 2 (02:07:43):
He wasn't a Steeler. But Farv also he actually he
went to the Vikings first. They should have won the
Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (02:07:50):
Maybe threw his patented soul crushing pick in the end zone.
Well what he always does.

Speaker 2 (02:07:54):
He threw the pick in the in the New Orleans
game when he threw the ball across his body and
your your gay. Paul Allen was besides one of his
all time greatest calls, and it's an anti Vikings call.

Speaker 1 (02:08:05):
Because I haven't heard it in what are you doing?
You can't do that? He's so violent. I love Paul Allen.
I want the Texans to play them again just so
I can talk to Paul Allen on this show. Except
for every time the Texans play the Vikings, they lose
every single time. They have never beaten the Vikings. Okay,
I don't think that sounds about right. It's probably been
like there's a few Fred games they they have beaten

(02:08:25):
the Jets that finally they got that monkey off their
back recently. But yeah, that's that's one of those teams.
But anyway, going back to Mike Tomlin, an old quote
surfaced about someone who had speaken to the Steelers coach
about becoming a broadcaster after his coaching career concludes, and
has teased him that he's got a job waiting for

(02:08:48):
him if he just says the word. And Tomlin's response
was he told me Fred, this is Fred Goadelli. Fred,
I'm never coming to the dark side. I think you'll
come to the dark I see with Fred is still
absc ESPN related. He'd been doing Monday night Football for
a long time. This is from twenty twenty one, so
I don't know. Well at that time, yes, the answer
was a lot of change. So yeah, five years ago roughly.

(02:09:11):
I don't know if it was late in twenty twenty
one or early.

Speaker 2 (02:09:14):
People change. I'm curious, like where, what what role? He's
not going in the booth to do games. CBS has
a chance to do the funniest thing. Put him next
to Bill Kawer or fire Bill Cower. We're looking to
replace you and it might seem like deja vu for you.

Speaker 1 (02:09:32):
I mean, seriously, what is coward bra What are any
of those guys love him? There?

Speaker 2 (02:09:37):
On the guys on set, they love him. He's just
he's a different Eras for they're set, they do have
an opening because Matt Ryan's out.

Speaker 1 (02:09:46):
It's very very boring set. Mike Tomlin would make it
very no not the number one set like Toma would
scare everybody there, including Cowerserned Adam Wexlo. You know this
T shirt that was like a T shirt. Okay, I'm
going to share a little for my personal life now
when we really need to get some Maybe, No, that's
on me. I'm too. I'm backed up with when I

(02:10:10):
I I probably shouldn't even be sharing this, but I
don't like when Carson Shall use like William Joel's music
my life. Uh yeah, a good one. Listen to ac
It's my life something like that. Yeah, Okay, I probably
shouldn't share this, but I don't care. And don't you
have time. I've already started. You can pump the brakes.

(02:10:31):
I don't want to. I want to accelerate right through
light's red. Dude, Well, I'm blowing the intersection right now.
I'm getting I'll have it this way. I'm getting texts
from someone that say he's making me mental right now.
Hear the amount of times where I'm here in the

(02:10:53):
afternoon hours when my son is getting out of school
and he's no longer a uh little unim emotional blob
who doesn't talk to people or smile ever like he
was the first three years of his life. We legit
thought he was going to be like an Italian mafia.
Don that just sat in the corner and judged people
with his facial expressions for the remainder of his life,
because that's what he did for the first three years.

(02:11:15):
Now he never shuts up, and God blessed the kid.
He's just he's a great kid. He's got a great heart,
nothing like his dad. He's just always asking questions, he's
curious all that kind of stuff. But she's still trying
to work when he gets out of school, and so
it's because I'm not there. So I start getting paragraphs

(02:11:38):
right around this time of day where he's been home
for about an hour and a half, and she's quote mental.
I just got a textas said, he's making me mental.
You don't need to leave early, do you? No? Not
like that one time? Were you? Was that you? No?
It was Sean Jones. Do ever tell you about that time?
Show much earlier? You were done at noon? Right?

Speaker 6 (02:11:57):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (02:11:58):
Well about that? So I think it was either two
or three that we were done. And you know Lucy, well,
she's the younger of the two idiots that we call
dogs in our house. Yes, she's like maybe a week old,
maybe two. And I had gotten this huge mechanical electronic
couch that did all of the things, great piece of furniture,

(02:12:20):
it was brand new. She managed to wedge herself into
the mechanical gear of the reclining mechanism and we didn't
find that out until somebody tried to put it back
and she started squealing. She has scars to this day.
She's fine, nothing happened. She's lived a nice life. She's
lived a great life. Actually. But I get a phone

(02:12:44):
call during a break that Teresa had to use, as
she put it, superhuman woman strength to lift the couch
and with one hand. And again, these power couches are
a lot heavier. Something about Mary lifting the couch strength.
She's lifting it with one hand so that she could
retrieve the dog who's making the most awful sounds on
the planet with the other hand. And I actually had

(02:13:06):
to leave the show early because we had to take
her to the vet to make sure she wasn't gonna die.
That's definitely a good reason. Yeah, that's different than he's
making me mental texts that I'm getting right now. He's fine,
she's fine. I'll be home soon.

Speaker 2 (02:13:19):
We haven't talked about where coaches should land with the
nine openings. We talked about who's gone in interviews where
the interest might be. The other end of it is
what we're left with moving forward. All nine of these
coaches will all be first year head coaches. There the
less tenure with their new club than anybody else that's coaching,
So it means twenty three coaches will go into next

(02:13:40):
year with varying degrees of heat on their seat. I
think the bottom of the list is actually pretty easy
to talk about, so is the top. If you're in
the playoffs, Demiko, Mike Rabil, Sean Payton, all these guys,
there's years before I think there's real concern about any
of them. What about Matt Lafleur, I think it's I
think he's Mike Tomlin the NFC. I don't know what

(02:14:02):
you think you're gonna do to get better. It's I
don't know what you want from this guy. If Jordan
Love plays great football, gol raster issue, then you're gonna go, well, No,
It's more like I'll say this about this particular game,
and I said it the day after the first day
we were on the air. I thought Green Bay did
a very bad job in the final three minutes of
that game, managing the clock. I thought they called plays

(02:14:23):
that helped Chicago do the things they did to beat
that coaching That is.

Speaker 1 (02:14:26):
The problem with him in the scenario, never gotten to
that point. If he loses that game and it's a
nip and tuck game, it sucks, but you lost that.
You can't lose a twenty one to six lead.

Speaker 2 (02:14:36):
That's the problem with Why is it, like I say
the same thing about Shanahan and the Super Bowl liked,
Does Matt Ryan or Jordan Love get no blame? Does
the offensive line? Does the I mean, I know these
guys are in Shanahan's case, he's the OCS literally the
play caller, and so was Lafleur.

Speaker 1 (02:14:53):
Is the head coach?

Speaker 2 (02:14:54):
Like at some point the same players that put you
up twenty one nothing, they're all the ones that are
on the field now. They just completely shut her down.
It's not because he said I want you to run
it every place. There is a defensive same thing element
to this. That's not Shanahan's fault. Hair scored twenty eight
points after being down twenty one to three. It's the
Patriots hea scord. However many was it thirty five to

(02:15:15):
twenty eight? Final thirty four? I think thirty four? Here
in Houston. Yes, and then he got his jersey soling. Yeah,
Lafleur probably is on a little hotter seat than I
would ever have him on it. You gotta tell me,
you gotta tell me this. Look at the who's out there.
It's a miracle. You have two awesome coaches like Harbaugh
and Tomlin out there. Only one of them looks like
they want to coach this year. Everybody else is a
is a guest. Matt Naggy might be the lead candidate

(02:15:37):
right now in Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (02:15:39):
Great. I don't think he's a good head coach. I don't.
I don't even know that he's a good Schwartz got
interviewed by the Baltimore Ravens. Please hire him. He sucks.

Speaker 2 (02:15:46):
He's really bad in my opinion as a head coach.
I think he's perfectly fine as a DC.

Speaker 1 (02:15:52):
That's why we haven't heard from him in a few years,
because he's done his job as a DC fine. He
was one of the million coaches in Detroit who is terrible.
Wasn't he the one that was the coach when the
Texans won there on Thanksgiving Day? When Justin for Set's
knee was down and they counted it. I don't think
so who was it?

Speaker 2 (02:16:08):
No?

Speaker 1 (02:16:08):
Isn't he was not down? Yeah, well not according to
the officials who didn't think that's who where their coach was.

Speaker 2 (02:16:13):
Yeah, but what I was saying is the guys that
who are on Who are the guys on the hottest seats?

Speaker 1 (02:16:19):
Do you think there's somebody hotter than the floor? Oh?

Speaker 2 (02:16:22):
My god, there's got there's probably Aaron Glenn is on
the hottest seat, no question about. It's barely even his fault.
He's been there a year and they did things that
have never been seen before in the NFL in terms
of futility.

Speaker 1 (02:16:33):
Oh, I told him not to take that job. You did?
You were correct on this show. I didn't tell him.

Speaker 2 (02:16:37):
There's five guys at the bottom of the list, and
I'll say, what why? I have issues with it, Aaron Glenn,
That's just the situation he's in. I got no issue
with that. I hate it for him, but I totally
get it. They have a terrible franchise. They continue to lose.
The next guy's going to lose two. Zach Taylor already
thought he should have been fired. He's the next hottest seat.
I don't think he lasted the year if they don't
come out of the gates in a division with no

(02:16:58):
other returning head coaches and play well. I think Todd
Bowles is doing as well as any other coach would
be doing with what they have. How did the exact
same team with the exact same quarterback win all their
games to start the year six and two and lose
all their games to finish the year they finished two
and seven because he forgot how to coach, because he

(02:17:19):
stopped winning division champion. He's finished tied for first again,
which is ridiculous. But I think he's gonna get fired
next year if they don't play well, and I think
it'll be silly. Now, Dan Quinn was the last time
we had an NFC championship game, In other words, the
most recent NFC title game.

Speaker 1 (02:17:37):
He was in it. Yeah, he was in it.

Speaker 2 (02:17:40):
He was coaching in it with his commanders. He's fourth
on the list of hottest seat for a head coach
Darren Washington. Cliff Kingbury's out as OC, Joe Witt is
out as DC. So essentially, all they're really saying is
this is what coaches are afforded. You want to fire
your coordinators because so it's not you. You get it right,

(02:18:02):
but now you don't have it anymore. If Jaydon Daniels
is healthy next year, they shouldn't be any worse than
second in the division.

Speaker 1 (02:18:08):
How would you like to be the commis and you're
just if you're their fan base Right now, since you
brought that up, they are just gripping that he's not
the second coming of RG three, which he shouldn't be
a little different. That was weird, but yeah, like he
could not stay on the field this year, that's why
he hasn't regressed yet. He did, he was on the

(02:18:29):
field and did not play well. But according to the
same people who says the excuse is made because of
all the injuries for sure, because I can't defend CJ
after Monday night like I want to.

Speaker 2 (02:18:39):
I mean, we we went into that game and I don't.
I don't even think we talked about it enough. I mean,
are are We've got one game? We're getting another game
to evaluate his future with these massive games now to
be played. He's now played a fifth playoff game. Man,
he was awesome in which one? Well, well which part

(02:19:01):
of which one? Because he really have to do it.
But I'm only doing that with one game.

Speaker 1 (02:19:05):
That comes to mind, and that's last year's Chargers game,
because he was awesome in the second half. It was
he was pretty good. It took him nearly dying on
the rollout and then a busted play turned into a
big game and they were off and running. Yep, and
then the defense did what it did Monday. Thank you
guys back that have been with us all week.

Speaker 2 (02:19:22):
To kj's call about CJ and which I agreed with them,
I'm gonna say these negative things like which playoff game
was a awesome and and how sure And I'm not
still from year one dyed now year three.

Speaker 1 (02:19:34):
I am not wavering at all.

Speaker 2 (02:19:36):
They should and they will give CJ one of the
most lucrative quarterback contracts in NFL history.

Speaker 1 (02:19:43):
It's just probably not this offseason. No, And I think
in a weird way, because it's gonna come eventually. It's
it's just a matter of when, in a weird way
the way things are going so far. But look, if
they win the Super Bowl, they got to pay him
and will this offseason, right, it's not necessarily still look
bad if they don't unless they win in spite of

(02:20:04):
him every game, every game and calling it in spite
of him this last game. I'm not ed Werder.

Speaker 2 (02:20:09):
I don't really believe that in case you missed it,
he won't be a part of in case you missed
it coming.

Speaker 1 (02:20:13):
Up the age you missed it, and I did miss
this about forty five minutes ago. This is very important WEX.
I can't wait to see this eye roll. It's going
to be an all timer. I'm ready. I'm reading loud
from Twitter. I refuse to call it X. I'm sorry.
I agree with at Adam Clanton on just about everything,

(02:20:36):
including Lebron, but to take on Yannis is perplexing. I
didn't see the play last night. Well that's his first problem.
But he's never demanded a trade like most NBA divas.
He kind of did this offseason without doing it. He
half asked it, basically, and I urge you to watch
this recent interview. He reminds me a lot of Hakeem A.

(02:20:58):
Keim would never talk like that. Could you imagine Hakeem unbeatable? Never?
He literally doesn't talk like that. Okay, he reminds me
a lot of Achem, who had his bad moments like
punching Billy Pultz in the face and multiple other NBA
players portion of his career. And if you like Austin Rivers,

(02:21:20):
I've got to think you'll change your mind about Yannis.
Since Rivers is clearly impressed with Yanni's humility in this interview,
he attaches a YouTube file, as do the commenters under
this YouTube video. By the way, I agree with you
on Doc Rivers, though this is at ball club. Well,
I'm glad you accreds me on Doc. Here's the thing.
First of all, he admits he didn't see the play,

(02:21:43):
but did you not hear the quote? I read that
sounds like it was made up? It was so bad.
I'm the best at everything I played for my teammates
Spinal Come on, man, you need to watch more Yannis
press conference, and you need to watch go back and
watch the play. I don't even like James Harden, but

(02:22:05):
come on, man, you can't just throw like eighty mile
an hour basketballs at guy's heads and then act like
what are you? Danny Ainge, same kind of guy. Weasel.
Gianness is just a big, overgrown weasel. And by the way,
James Harden was right when he talked about this guy's
got no skill. He just burrows through people. That was true.
Plus he takes like ten steps on his way to

(02:22:25):
the basket without dribbling. That's a travel, but it works
right because the officials are stupid. It's another umpteenth way
they're dumb. You gotta officiate properly. The guy just took
ten steps and you didn't call it. Oh, he's so
skilled that nobody says he's so skilled. You just got
to respect that. The accomplishments have happened. He still grabs rebounds,
gots assists, and dunks. The basketball is another thirty points

(02:22:47):
a game. That was another interview. Eighteen dunks per game,
very player. In case you know what, I don't know
how or why.

Speaker 2 (02:22:58):
In the middle of another Texan's playoff run, we are
yannising ourselves to death.

Speaker 1 (02:23:04):
Today people enjoy it. They might not think they do.

Speaker 2 (02:23:07):
One segment, not two segments. This is the fourth segment,
thanks ball club.

Speaker 1 (02:23:12):
Not one, not two, not three. See I got a
Lebron reference in there too. In case you missed it.

Speaker 2 (02:23:19):
To sum up an hour's worth of segments, that's what
four segments are. Jannis to ac is insufferable. This is
in case you missed it. No way you could have
missed that. If you've been listening probably didn't miss the
fact that we have tickets to give away to the
automotive show. That's the Combo Land and Sea Enthusiast Extravaganza
coming up at NRG Center late this month and into February,

(02:23:41):
the twenty eighth of this month through February. First, we'll
give those tickets away a four pack of tickets or more.
May have a couple of those to give away today
when we get to the final segment. But now we'll
finally turn over in case you missed it to Josh
as we always do.

Speaker 8 (02:23:56):
All right, guys, you covered this a little bit earlier WEX,
but I thought it was worth going back to Patriots
cornerback Christian Gonzalez limited on Wednesday and also Hunter Henry limited.
So those are two of their best players, and we
know with Nico and you hit on that. Maybe we'll
go back to the Texans injury report too, But Nico's
not out there, whereas Gonzalez is out there limited, so

(02:24:19):
it looks like he's maybe a little further along in
the process than Nico.

Speaker 2 (02:24:23):
Yeah, it was again, the day's difference isn't what the
significance is. It's the symptom situation that these players are in.
That's super noteworthy. I don't even know if we mentioned
it the way we should have earlier. He is in
concussion protocol. Christian Gonzales, he was at practice. He practiced
on a limited basis. Part of clearing concussion protocol is

(02:24:45):
participating in practice, which he's doing already, which is very significant.

Speaker 1 (02:24:51):
I only saw a little bit of him walking off
the field.

Speaker 2 (02:24:54):
It's really tough to tell what might be going on
in that situation at the time. And same thing about
any of the players we've talked about when they wake
up the next day, when things are you know, if
they're twenty four hours passed at forty eight hours past
the whatever created the concussion to begin with, everyone's different,
everyone reacts different to it. In the nature of what
it was that put them in concussion protocol, the actual

(02:25:16):
event is always some degree of difference. But that's noteworthy
and that steps to get through. And even remember when
CJ and Jalen Petrie were limited at practice a couple
weeks after their concussions, they didn't immediately hit their two
practices go limited on both of them then cleared the protocol.
They ended up missing additional games that were after them

(02:25:39):
practicing on a limited basis, What.

Speaker 1 (02:25:40):
Else do we have?

Speaker 8 (02:25:42):
Yeah, I thought it was interesting too, that Shouldnico start
wearing what Jalen Petrie is wearing on his helmet with
all the concussions piling up Before we get to the
next thing.

Speaker 2 (02:25:50):
I'll make this simple because I know I've said it before.
I probably said it louder off air, just in different conversations.
It's I don't understand how this is possible. The league
has given every indication, with all the things they've done
the last several years and the lawsuits that came before it,
that they care, and they have come up with all
this technology and worked with all these groups, and they

(02:26:11):
have them and they've designed them, these guardian caps that
players have to wear. It is mandatory that certain players,
certain position groups wear these at training camp when they're
practicing in padded practices and have content. It is mandatory.
Why would you not make it mandatory for all of

(02:26:32):
these players in a game. Jalen Petrie, of course he
should wear it. Romeo Dobbs, of course you should wear it.
Does it look weird? Is it tough to get off?
Which Jalen Petrie showed quite clearly in one of the
social media videos this weekend than it is he had
to get Kalen Bullet to help him get his helmet off. Whatever,
you want to play more football, you want to have

(02:26:54):
a different life. You want to be able to withstand
this and maybe not have the repercussions from some of
these hits.

Speaker 1 (02:26:59):
I don't understand. I can't believe they don't all wear them.
I'm being dead serious.

Speaker 2 (02:27:05):
I can't believe they have information and data that says
wearing this helps and they just say, but you can
play without it.

Speaker 1 (02:27:15):
Is it essentially just a cushioned bubble sirt, Yes, essentially,
Like I wonder you've had the same thing as wearing
a helmet period, right?

Speaker 2 (02:27:26):
Can imagine the force their heads would be hitting the
turf if there was no helmet on their heads, right,
with all the padding inside of it to help with
the shock and the force of these hits, which is
what the Guardian cap also does.

Speaker 1 (02:27:37):
I just wonder how much more it weighs. It does
weigh more, and it is uncomfortable and a receiver to
turn around and look at a ball coming of their way.

Speaker 2 (02:27:44):
You're getting all you're answering some of these questions as
we talk through it, and I still think there's probably
a way to make a modification here or do something
there where it's still serves somewhat of its purpose and
it's not preventing you. And heck, it's a bigger I mean,
we're talking about a wide receiver and Dobbs that does
wear one. Has he dropped more passes because of it?

(02:28:05):
Has he seen fewer passes because of it? I can't
imagine he thinks it's an impact him in any way.
I guess somebody's telling him that it's a good idea
to wear it. I hope it's him, But yeah, I
would to your question the very simple answers. Yes, absolutely,
Nico should wear it. CJ Stroud should be wearing it.
There are ten other teammates on the field should be
wearing it somewhere, CJ. Fedora, which should still be wearing it.

(02:28:30):
It's just I don't know. It seems like it makes
too much sense. I can understand some of the you
brought up concerns, but how could they outweigh the other concerns?

Speaker 1 (02:28:38):
You know, I get it all right. Final segment, which
will include some ticket giveaways and Ross Tucker has your
AFC Championship matchup. I'll give you a hint. It involves
the Texans. I'll give you another hint. It involves them
playing here. Who would they be playing for the tease?
Can't wait to hear it? One hijacks the show. Let's

(02:29:02):
get some tickets into your hands people now.

Speaker 2 (02:29:05):
Four pack of tickets to enjoy the twenty twenty six
Houston Automotive Show.

Speaker 1 (02:29:11):
Awesome went they last year? Me too, you did as well.
I wanna go again.

Speaker 2 (02:29:15):
Great event for land an Sea enthusiasts. Tickets hits you
into both the auto show and the boat Show. It's
January twenty eighth through February first. It's at NRG Center
and you can buy your tickets now and get more
info on the event at Houston Autoshow dot com. We
have a four pack of tickets to give away for
that program. If you know the answer to this question,

(02:29:35):
which you heard about in multiple segments of this show
today seven one three two one two five seven ninety
seven one three two one two five seven ninety if
you listen to the show today, you know that a
new superstar athlete makes Adam Clinton's all insufferable list.

Speaker 1 (02:29:54):
Another superstar mega talent.

Speaker 2 (02:29:58):
He just can't stand, just despises for all that he
stands for and does and says, and mocks.

Speaker 1 (02:30:04):
Him unmercifully by pretending he can talk like him. Who
is that plan?

Speaker 2 (02:30:09):
If you heard the show today, you will know the
answer to that question. Very very easy answer to that question.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety seven
one three two one two five seven niney. We appreciate
you listening, sticking with us through all hours of the program,
some inane segments as well, and some of the good
ones too, So our reward to you.

Speaker 1 (02:30:27):
As you listen to the show. You have the opportunity
to go see some great.

Speaker 2 (02:30:30):
Things concerts, comedians, Auto and Boat Show today it's the
Auto and Boat Show. Four pack of tickets to see
it if you know the answer to that question. Seven
one three two one two five seven ninety A lot
of scenarios this weekend. The same three seeds, one on
each side of the AFC and the NFC A one

(02:30:51):
in two host this week was both two seeds one
h two and six face each other because both six
seeds one and the five seed in both cases is
also advanced. And that's your other road matchup. Texans will
know their future with a win before they play their game.
Their future is either in Denver with a win, if
the Broncos win, their future is in Houston if the

(02:31:13):
Buffalo Bills win. And both of the AFC games still
run pretty tight when talking to the odds makers and
the wagers and the numbers that go along with it,
I do think we'll see a little bit of movement
between now and Saturday for the Bills Broncos games and
Sunday for the Texans and Patriots game. It is a

(02:31:35):
field goal game. Still, New England is a field goal
favor over the Texans. The Broncos, the home team, the
one seed, the team with the off week, the team
that was fourteen and three and awarded the number one
seed is a one and a half point favorite over
the sixth seed Buffalo Bills.

Speaker 1 (02:31:53):
To all that is to say, there's a matchup to
someone's predicting. Now, how do you feel about Ross Tucker?
I always asked he was there, so I feel good
about him having some knowledge. He was on the one
of the crews that broadcast the game, and I think
he's pretty I don't have to agree with what he says,
but I think he's rooted in information, so I like
him all right. Well, with that in mind, this is
what he thinks is going to happen. He might be

(02:32:18):
taking phone calls. Don't you think the game is still
going to be played? Ross? You don't even want to
say anything. Ross's guy says nothing. He is absolutely silent
on the matter. You why don't you just tell us
what he said? You practically did when you teased it.
Now now I want to. I think Josh is going
to deliver here. He is coming with it right now.

Speaker 4 (02:32:37):
And I think the Houston Texans are gonna host the
AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills. When's the last
time that happened that a team's first home playoff game
in a season is the AFC Championship game? But I'm
calling it now Texans Bills next week because the Texans

(02:33:01):
knock off the Patriots sixteen thirteen.

Speaker 2 (02:33:04):
Would have been a whole lot more awesome. I think
if he would have made that prediction months and months
and months ago. But he also gave a score a prediction,
and he gave you that obviously.

Speaker 1 (02:33:16):
This was a my lazing offense in New England is
going to score a grand total of thirteen points. They
are they are?

Speaker 2 (02:33:22):
I mean, come on, man, they are a good offense,
and good offenses can be beaten.

Speaker 1 (02:33:27):
Yeah, good and good offense against crap opponents.

Speaker 2 (02:33:29):
I would be surprised if they did that to them.
To be honest with you, I do think it's going
to be a lower scoring game, but I don't know
it's going to be sixteen thirteen if it is. Well,
everybody shut up already about again. Every I mean, I
think I have this point of view always, and I
don't know that I'm right on it. Maybe I don't
pay attention as much as you. I don't who is

(02:33:51):
over the top with them? Everyone just Patriots people, which
is normal, the same Steelers people, media alike. We're telling
us how I mean, they're making guarantees that the Steelers
don't win this weekend.

Speaker 1 (02:34:03):
Then I'll do this.

Speaker 2 (02:34:04):
The Steelers are absolutely winning this game. Beating Baltimore puts
them at home, puts them in the playoffs, and they
are advancing.

Speaker 1 (02:34:10):
Like there, that's what they do. We said it here
with Houston. We just I'll tell you who. I'm very
curious to hear what he has to say, because he
was could not have been more wrong last year and
he could not been more right this year. And that's
Rex Ryan. I'm dying to hear what he thinks about
this matchup. He thought it was a bye week for
the Chargers a year ago, and he was telling Alex

(02:34:32):
Smith and Teddy Brusky shut up, even though Teddy Brusk
ended up looking like a genius for oh, CJ. Shrow
might struggle a little bit. That's he looked good in
what he said. But Alex Smith was like, I don't know, man,
think maybe thinking the excore some points, then maybe it's
an upset in Pittsburgh's gonna advance. So I'm trying to
think of who else they have over there. By the way,

(02:34:53):
Alex Smith has come around since then, and is Monday
since Monday, well prior to month. I think it was
Sunday when he was making these comments. It could have
been earlier in the day on Monday, though. He's all
in on Texans going into this matchup with the Patriots.

Speaker 2 (02:35:07):
After he changes his tune, did anybody, and I know
this is mean, did anybody say, oh, so you watched
the Texans for the.

Speaker 1 (02:35:12):
First time this year, Oh, I thought you were going
to do something else.

Speaker 2 (02:35:15):
No, he doesn't have a bias against the Texans because
they Kareem and JJ broke his leg.

Speaker 1 (02:35:20):
Broke his leg is very very light.

Speaker 2 (02:35:23):
I was trying to paint the way to the super
Bowl for the Texans on the Worldwide Leader because their
most prominent, two most prominent shows, First Take and an
NFL show, NFL Countdown or whatever the NFL show you
want to talk about. So last week they took First Take.

Speaker 1 (02:35:43):
They have the Monday night game.

Speaker 2 (02:35:44):
Of course, the ESPN is going to put programming on
from the side of the game, so it's Pittsburgh, So
First Takes doing their show from a bar and First Take,
and then the NFL Countdown on later in the day
their field side. Of course they are well. One of
the people they ask for their prediction is a former stealer.
Of course, he had his terrible towel out there and
he was waving and he picked the Steelers.

Speaker 1 (02:36:03):
That's not even the worst thing he did that. What
about this week?

Speaker 2 (02:36:06):
Isn't Teddy Bruski going to do the same thing? So
what's what do they have in place the following week?
Like who's the Bronco or Bill to pick against the Texans?
That's on staff there, so they're they're good to go.
Then that if the Texans did they beat the vaunted
Patriots with Brady two point zero. I mean, Drake May
is the second coming of Christ. Haven't you heard? His

(02:36:28):
wife actually is on a bigger pedestal than he is,
the Queen of the North.

Speaker 1 (02:36:33):
Her name.

Speaker 2 (02:36:33):
They can't get enough of her because she has a
social media presence with her baking and her cooking, and
they're like, we love you because you're Drake.

Speaker 1 (02:36:42):
This is why we have him. She bakes and she's
on social media. She's like as she is so unlike
what you're picturing, like, she's not at all like that.
What's her name? And Michael May and Michael May they've
been together since seventh grade. I don't think i've ever
seen her. She's I get through my Ella Langley algorithm

(02:37:02):
here before you look at her and Michael May, like
she and he are both the same.

Speaker 2 (02:37:07):
And there's one ice cream word for the two of them. Okay,
it's vanilla. They're so vanilla.

Speaker 1 (02:37:15):
It's great.

Speaker 2 (02:37:15):
They're just plain oil like so does so do a
lot of people. There's a pretty she has a pretty
large following, but nonetheless we'll get into that should goober.
He's just hey, man, I I also play football, also
am an athlete.

Speaker 1 (02:37:31):
She reminds me a little bit of Kyle Tucker's wife
in that way. I wonder where they're gonna live, Uh,
New York.

Speaker 2 (02:37:40):
If you like UT basketball, you're gonna love our next
program here on Sports Talk seven ninety it's The Coaches Show.

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