Texans Playoff Game Day Eve, Rockets Impress In Memphis and Can Texas Do It Tonight

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team A.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
What's Up Houston?

Speaker 3 (00:19):
It is a Friday edition of the A Team Sports
Talk seven ninety. Wex and AC with you until five
thirty tonight because we got to figure out who Notre
Dame is playing in the National Championship game on January twentieth.
That will be determined when Texas and Ohio State kick
things off. You'll hear it right here on your home

(00:40):
for Longhorns Football Sports Talk seven to ninety. But before
they get to that order of business, should probably talk
about what happened last night. Now, truth be told, both
of us were keeping one eyeball on one game and
one eyeball on another. And in Wex's case, he probably
had both ears on two other different events and all

(01:01):
sorts of things going on, because he's always watching fifty
things at once.

Speaker 4 (01:04):
I had my ears on the people that were watching
with me, you know, our fans that came out there
to watch Rockets basketball, right and some Notre Dame Penn
State football over at Tom's watch bar.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Is it bad? I mean Tom's Tom's watch bar is. No,
it's not bad. It was. It was great. I know
that at all. Is it bad?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Sometimes I want to say Tom's Diner because of the
song from the eighties.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Uh yeah, I actually would say, yes it is.

Speaker 4 (01:27):
They wouldn't like that because without me immediately having that
song come to mind, I know it's terrible.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Wait, how do you know it's terrible?

Speaker 4 (01:34):
It's terrible?

Speaker 2 (01:35):
But you just said you don't. You didn't have it
come to your mind, so you don't know how it
sounds like.

Speaker 4 (01:39):
Well, I definitely can tell you with one hundred percent certainty.
I do not want to hear it.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
It's gonna happen now.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
No, it's not gonna happen, because I've made it clear already.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
That doesn't ever matter. It should, I know it should.
But I have a feeling we're gonna hear that song
before the end of the show today. I really do. Anyway.
Uh yeah, Tom's Watch Bar had the Rockets Party Walk
Rockets Watch Party last night.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
We'll get to that in just a second. But I was,
you know, we had two.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Monitors on one on one game, one on the other
here at the studio as I was doing the network
call with Matt Thomas there in Memphis, and so we're
watching the seventy one combined free throws between the Grizzlies
and the Rockets last night. Just epic, epic entertainment value
for NBA basketball.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
And I'm like, this is about what I expected.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
These two teams, you know, defensively, can get after it.
Quarterback play is at best, and it was about it
was about for the most of the first half, you
had a field goal to speak of, and that's kind
of maybe a little less than I expected, but about
what I expected, kind of a defensive slog fest. And

(02:44):
then it turned into a really, really entertaining game and
once again James Franklin could not win the big one.
That's what happened last night's That's my takeaway from the
entire evening between the Golden Domers, who are gonna play
for their first national championships since they'll be playing in
a national championship game for the first time since twenty twelve,
and they'll be I said it last night. I'll see

(03:07):
if you agree with this. I think whoever wins tonight
is the de facto national champion. That's pretty much the consensus.

Speaker 4 (03:12):
It was even before last night's game was pretty much
as soon as the quarterfinals were over, just looking at
what was left. And you know the fact that the
best team to ever play college football since USC is
playing Texas tonight. I mean, of course they're going to
win everything, so why bother even discussing it?

Speaker 2 (03:27):
But are they even playing? Why they even played?

Speaker 4 (03:30):
There are monsters that they're a runaway train. They're a
force that cannot be stopped. It's incredible. I've never seen
anything like this for a team that lost a month ago.
Uh No, these two teams, I think clearly put together
better resumes and played better football. And even though both
Notre Dame and Penn State have tremendous defenses and that

(03:51):
was on display last night, well, these four teams have
among the best defenses in all of college football. Stands
to reason why they are here. We've seen it, kind
of mentioned it the other day, and we brought it
up as soon as the quarters were over. As soon
as that happens, well, there's only a handful of matchups
left for the national title, so obviously the odds makers
are gonna start putting those out there, and either one

(04:13):
of the teams that's playing tonight will be heavy favorites,
and they were going to be heavy favorites against either
team that won last night, and nothing changed from what
took place last night. Good news on that front. Nothing
of great significance from an injury standpoint took place. It
almost did, considering Notre Dame had to go to their
backup quarterback during the game with Riley Leonard and the

(04:34):
tent Drew Aller made what obviously was the biggest mistake
of the game. Some think the biggest mistake of the
game was the play call and the decision to be
that aggressive. There so definitely something to debate regarding the game.
James Franklin's Penn State team clearly, like you pointed out yesterday,
just in where James Franklin is in his career versus

(04:54):
where Marcus Freeman is in his Marcus Freeman can go
about continuing to do great things at Notre Dame Winter
lose last night. James Franklin has not win the big
game baggage with him. He packed it up and took
it with him to the Orange Bowl, and then he
packed it up and is taking it with him back
to Happy Valley because it just got He had to

(05:15):
add an extra bag They probably couldn't even put it
in the carry on. They had to store it, They
had to check it for him once he got on
the flight, because there's more in it. It just didn't
fit anymore. It was over the weight limit.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
It's not very happy there in that valley now, So
that definitely is a part of it. I don't really
think he.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
Managed the game or called the game or decision maked
based on that, and some people do based on what
he did on that final drive for Penn State. But
entertainment value was there, and we should love it. We
should be applauding it. We've seen the three game playoff
for several years, the four team playoff, and we just
haven't had very many entertaining you know, great fourth quarter,

(05:53):
back and forth, end of game drama, almost last play
game winning play last night. So we'll take it, and
I'll take it again tonight. Texas has already given a
lot of heart attacks out during this postseason, certainly did
with their win last week, and more of the same
comes with the same result. That would be great. One
more game for us to bring you right here on
your home for Longhorns Football Sports Talk seven to ninety.

(06:15):
Should they win tonight, and obviously, like you said, we
will jump out of here at five point thirty so
we can bring you some of the pregame coverage. Craig
Way Roger Wallace on the call for that, as they
have been throughout this year and several years. I definitely
had a different take on the Rockets game completely. I
thought the Rockets fell into the Grizzlies pace pretty much
from the time one of the three referees threw the

(06:38):
ball up. It was all Memphis all the time in
how they wanted to play, and the Rockets were up
to it. That was one of the best first quarters
of the Rockets might play all year.

Speaker 3 (06:48):
My complaints are about the second half. To be clear, right,
first half was great. They were up by seventeen.

Speaker 4 (06:53):
They played at that pace pretty much for the rest
of the night, even though it was stalled due to
free throw line. You know, I don't mind that they
took so many free throws as I actually was watching
it and thinking they're letting them play. These are two
teams that foul a lot. They play very physical. This
isn't your Zach Randolph Gasol grind it out Conley Grizzlies,

(07:14):
but they sure are physical for a team that isn't
really even with Zach Edy all that big and you know, muscular.
I mean, that's that is how they play. But they
also like to run up and down the court jack
up shots, and boy do they love to jack up shots,
even at a horribly low percentage. And they hate the basketball.
They hated it before last night, absolutely hated.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
It last night.

Speaker 4 (07:35):
I could not. I mean, I tell you this, out
of my hands, please, I don't want this.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
It's so hot. I can't touch it anymore. Do you
want it? And the Rockets said, sure, but you will
take it. You've seen teams turn the ball, you know,
turns the ball over a lot. The Golden State.

Speaker 4 (07:47):
Warriors, Oh, they're awful and they have remarkably they have
been for years.

Speaker 3 (07:51):
Even though even when they were winning, you know, seventy
plus games, I think they were turning the ball over
a lot. But like it doesn't always, it doesn't always
translate into point. Last night it did. Thirty one of
the Rockets one hundred and nineteen was off of Grizzly's turnovers.
And you're right, other than Luke Canard all time punching

(08:11):
the face guy can't stand him, and who is the
other guy, Jay Huff, who looks.

Speaker 4 (08:16):
Like you let Jake Lorevia off the hook.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well, every time Matt would say his name, Josh and
I would look at each other and say, Lawrence of Arabia.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
Couldn't help it. We're such children. Yeah, they have a
few players.

Speaker 4 (08:27):
I'm interesting, just interested to see what they might do
at the deadline with some of the names, if and
when they're healthy they want a lot of the guys
that have been a part of what they're doing won't
necessarily be But both Luke Canard and Desmond Baine had
some incredibly open threes late klank and shockingly missed.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, Baine's a good shoot Well, they're both decent shooters.
Is one of the best shooters in Yeah, but you're right.
I thought all of those were going in, especially the
ones from the current corner, and they kept missing him,
and the Rockets kept getting lucky because they were turning
the ball over late. And every time you were talking
about the free throws, every time out brnching Goo went
to the line, he missed, what the f i'lb Come on, man.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
So we've talked about we haven't even gotten to the
Texans yet.

Speaker 4 (09:08):
Yeah, they obviously play tomorrow, even though today's Friday, their
first game of the postseason, first game of the post
scene of the six games this weekend for wild Card weekend,
we're just talking about the Rockets.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
We mentioned the college football.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
If I went to looking up something some very very
important statistic off of what we've been talking about all
week or what happened last night, it's probably pretty easy
to guess what it was based on what you were
just talking about. I looked up to see when the
last time the Rockets won a game while missing seventeen
free throws, and it has happened a little bit more

(09:42):
frequently than you think, and they've had a bunch of
games where they missed twenty one or nineteen or eighteen.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
Well, you have to get a lot to miss a lot.

Speaker 4 (09:48):
First off, we haven't lost the game in five years
doing that, but it's nowhere near the team record because
back in the olden days, when nobody shot free throws, well,
it was more a common occurrence. But it isn't easy
to do that in this day and in the NBA
to get to the free throw line enough to miss
seventeen times, because you're probably gonna get there at least
thirty times, probably close to forty. And they're they're not

(10:09):
a good free throw shooting team.

Speaker 2 (10:10):
They did last night forty one.

Speaker 4 (10:11):
Yeah, they're not quite that bad. And the other part
of it is they didn't send them to the free
throw line in an attempt to catch up the last
couple of fouls. Yes, but not a stretch of a
minute's worth of we got a foul and we got
a that really wasn't what was happened. They just kept saying, well,
and it wasn't even because it was their best play.
It was just they fouled them, and they fouled it

(10:32):
Steven Adams brick Brick, and they fouled out Priam Shankun.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
Brick Brick brick brick, brick, brick brick brick Brick.

Speaker 4 (10:38):
I mean they said to Memphis, look, you miss all
the shots you want, but when we miss these free throws,
we're gonna have a dramatic finish. And Desmond Baine hit
not one, but two three pointers in the final ten seconds.
One of them counted, Neither of them counted. One was
after a Memphis timeout and the other was after a
foul that happened quickly enough. It was not yet shooting

(10:58):
the basketball. Yeah, I actually I forgot that neither of
them counted. I was I thought you were going for
the one that was that was made after the timeout
was taken. That's the third time in three games Lebron
did the same thing.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yep, yep, absolutely buried that thirty five foot three.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
But Anthony Davis took Aaron Holliday to the floor many times.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
We were trying to call it came out and shit,
we would have won. And this is like the exact
opposite of that.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
So, yeah, there are things to delve into about the Rockets.
I was writing the elevator up here, and they always
have it on the Four Letter Network where an NBA
themed show is playing, and they're going down the list
of teams and what they may or may not do
at the trade deadline, which is rapidly approaching, by the way,
I mean exactly. So I'm not I'm not opposed to

(11:49):
the Rockets making a trade, but it has to be
I don't want them to make one just to make one,
which I don't think they will. I don't think Rafel
he's not gone about his business like that out Darryl.

Speaker 4 (11:57):
He doesn't.

Speaker 2 (11:58):
He's not in a run of Major League Baseball team either.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
Well, I don't think Daryl would make trades just to
make them, even though it just seemed that way. He
was hoarding assets for a while there. How many times
did he trade?

Speaker 5 (12:07):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (12:08):
I won't be able to think of his name. They
Marty Lunan. No, just it was a wing player and
he brought him the guy.

Speaker 4 (12:16):
He's saying, that's the greatest thing ever that never played
a minute and NBA.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
Oh, that's right. Vacillis was from Greek and he did play.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
I was fascinated when interviewing him that his neck like
scruff perfectly connected all the way down to his chest.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
Forest. Yeah, there was. There was a bit of a
so we.

Speaker 4 (12:40):
Got plenty to get to. It's great to have you
with us on Friday. We will get into a little
bit of why the Rockets beat the Grizzlies for the
second time and two tries this year, how they've performed
against the other great teams in the Western Conference, of
which they are clearly one. They cemented their spot for
the time being as the second best team in the
West now game and a half better than the Memphis Grizzlies.
No field work today for the Texans. The Chargers making

(13:02):
their way to town today three point thirty tomorrow afternoon,
so we're just over twenty five hours away from kickoff
of another playoff season. It's only playoff seasons for Will
Anderson Junior, CJ. Stroud, Demiko Ryans, and anybody else that
joined the team after the Lovey Smith era. So we'll
get into that immediately upon our return here. We had
a bunch of guests coming your way. Also, we will

(13:23):
take a trip to Arlington for a little insight on
tonight's Cotton Bowl, which we'll have for you beginning at
five thirty our coverage here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Chris Gordy is there, so we will join us at
three point fifteen four o'clock. Aaron Wilson, our Texans insider,
will join us. Like I said, at four five o'clock.
We will get a little insight on what's going on
with the Los Angeles Chargers and obviously the situation they're

(13:45):
leaving behind them when we go behind enemy lines. All
on the way here on the A Team.

Speaker 1 (13:52):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety. Back to
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler, the Eighteam bark like you
want it, probably on the set list back.

Speaker 4 (14:12):
Here on the eight team about two twenty. We got
plenty of segments to go here, so we'll jump into
the conversation with the Texans getting ready for the Chargers
this weekend. They haven't flipped it. The Texans are not favored.
The Texans are underdogs at home the last game of
the weekend, which unfortunately has been forced to be shifted
from Los Angeles to Arizona, also a home team that

(14:34):
is not a favorite everybody else in between. It's gonna
be quite an upset if those teams don't end up
moving on, certainly on the AFC side, and before we
get into all the games, one of the most respected
postseason announcements was made earlier today the AP All Pro
Teams First and second teams. The Houston Texans have a

(14:57):
first team All Pro. I think it's pretty obvious. Derek
Stingley Junior is that player. Rightfully, so, he and Pat
certain of the most votes among players at their position.
In that position, you vote for two players. First place
votes gets you three points, second place votes gets you one.
That's your whole ballot. So twenty four of the voters

(15:18):
felt like he was a first teamer. He had the
second most votes to certain and lands there on that spot.
This is year three. Of those ballots, there are fifty
of them. One of them thought sauce Gardner was a
second teamer. As we continue that very important comparison keeping
those guys joined at the hip through their years. That
is what is called measuring it in degrees A one

(15:41):
to eighty sauce Gardner year one, Derek Stingley junior, year
one rookies fresh out of the top four in the draft.
Night and day Derek Stingley Junior are partial season. When
he was on the field, it was not a good season.
His team was embarrassing, his defense was embarrassing, and he
was playing in the defense that will nobody fit in.
And sauce Gardner was, Oh my god, how's this guy's
so good, so fast? So obviously among the best players

(16:04):
at his position right now. And I'm not saying sauce
Gardner's fallen off or is bad, but he certainly hasn't
had those those types of seasons that have followed.

Speaker 2 (16:14):
And this year was worse than last year.

Speaker 4 (16:15):
Last year was obviously worse than his rookie year, and
the opposite has happened for Derek Stingley Junior, one of
the very notable players, and it's a very small group
of them that Nick Caseario added before Dimiko Rans became
head coach, before they went into some of their drafts
saying hey man, let's go get some players they could play.
Let's try to put this taken thing together. Let's start

(16:36):
getting the opposite.

Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (16:37):
I mean, I know the lost column can have numbers
in it too, but we don't want to keep adding
to that first two years they did. And again, it's
really nice that recognition is coming. It doesn't have to happen.
We don't need it for any sort of validation. He
might the player and the GM might, but we have
the opportunity to watch them play every week and watch
how teams attack the Texans or don't attack them. Watch

(16:59):
how the techs are able to put teams away defensively.
They're not many players or teams. I guess I should say,
like last night, for example, why did Notre Dame win
the game? On They won the game because their cornerback
made an unbelievable play diving for the ball, taking it
away and giving his team offense a chance to score

(17:19):
the game winning points in the final. It was also
a terrible throw, and they will advised throw mentally, not
just the flight of the ball.

Speaker 2 (17:26):
But I'm sure he won't think about that all offseason.

Speaker 4 (17:28):
We both he'll probably forget about it as he rises
up the ranks and becomes one of the best prospects
in next year's draft, or decides to take nil money
and go to Miami after Carson Beck leaves in a year.
Because that's where he's going this year in the NFL.
That's wild. I mean, it shouldn't be, because that's where
we are. But shock took this long for people to

(17:48):
realize the amount of money that these collectives are generating
is going to be enough to tell players. I mean,
unless you're really worried about injury and you're not going
to have an insurance policy that kind of covers you,
why you're the NFL money even for him, Like we
talked about with Quinn ew Ers, who's not going to
be a first round pick, but Carson Beck I think
has a much greater chance of being a first round

(18:10):
pick this year. He's not where cam Ward is and
not where Trudeur Sanders is. I don't think, and I
don't know that any kind of postseason combined work or
visits and senior bowls things like, I don't know that
that could elevate him quite that high, but probably a
year's worth of even better college football would help.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
This is why I'm not a talent evaluator.

Speaker 4 (18:29):
I think is the report that Miami is going to
give him to not compete for the starting job at Georgia,
not going to the NFL draft, but rather go start
for an ACC football team that was on the outside
looking in, basically behind two teams Syracuse or excuse me,
Clemson and the team that was atop the conference all

(18:52):
year SMU.

Speaker 3 (18:52):
So to me, when I saw this news, that to
me said, he knows he's not going to be anything
at the NFL level, thinks so, so I'm just going
to go get the money that I can because it's guaranteed,
and then whatever happens happens after that.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
Man, maybe I'm taking it too literally. He's not.

Speaker 4 (19:05):
If you're not going to be a first round pick,
then basically that's this is a great decision. Like Will
lev Is the second round pick, Hendon Hooker ends up
getting drafted where he was because of injury.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
If some college wants.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
To give you three, four, maybe more million dollars to
put that off, there there is no there's not much
of a downside to it because all you're putting off
is some sort of catastrophic career ending injury. Because if
you get drafted anywhere after the second round, the money
is almost the same, third, fourth, fifth, sixty, seventh round,
the money's not very different. You get a four year
deal and it's the neighborhood of you know, four to

(19:38):
six million dollars. So you're putting that off which you
would have made this year by accepting someone's four million
dollars for a year's with of college football. It is
a no brainer. And that's why even though I know
the people that are close to the Longhorns program have
to have insight on this, and they're all saying the
same thing. Quin Yours is not going in the transfer portal.
He's not taking an eye on money to play another

(20:01):
year of college football somewhere else. And one of the
two teams that it could be is playing in the
national title game because Riley Leonard won't be back, and
that is rumored to be an option, and they have
the money but just exactly the reason that Carson Beck
did it is why I can't quite put it aside.
It's why it was part of our bitsteal on Wednesday.

(20:23):
It's just extra money, and it's twice. It's doubling the
money you could make potentially as an NFL player. If
you get drafted the middle rounds and your quarterback and
you get your four year deal and there's no contract
after that, Well you made you know, four to five
million dollars. If you get all that money, if you
lasted for four years, there usually is one if you've
done anything. I mean, Sam Allgher has a chance to

(20:44):
continue that. Look at Davis Mills, although he got a
real opportunity to start, but he's gotten an extension from
the Texans. So it's not like that's definitely all you're
going to get, even if you don't get on the field.
But it should be the same thing you're gonna get
in a year plus four million dollars.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
Plus five dollars another year.

Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, it's just an interesting claim that college football is
clearly and to me not it's good for the players.
It's always been good for the players. You know, it's
phenomenal for them. This is it's a money making business
college football, and now they're a big, big part of it.
Got into this topic talking about Derek Stingley Junior. The

(21:26):
only other player on the Texans that got much run
as a first teamer was Tommy Townsend. You know, nine
of the fifty vallots had him as the first team punter.
Not very good at the beginning of the year, but
a good so good at the end of the year,
and he actually ended up probably regarded as a top
five punter, not that far off.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
He ended up third among punters.

Speaker 5 (21:45):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (21:45):
The other first place vote, one player got it, and
it was Laramie Tunsel. He finished sixth among left tackles.
You vote for the offensive line positions by your actual position,
but five other left tackles got a little bit more
concerned iteration. Seven other defensive ends got more juice than
both Daniel Hunter and Will.

Speaker 2 (22:06):
Anderson is going to be so pissed next year.

Speaker 4 (22:09):
When you look at the list, you'll you'll say, he
probably could have gotten more love than this player, that player,
but not too many.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
It's a pretty nice list.

Speaker 4 (22:17):
Kylen Bullock was listed as a second teamer on one
ballot at safety and Among the twenty long snappers that
were listed on at least one ballot. John Weeks was
listed as a second teamer on one ballot.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
Friend of the show, very friend in general, just a
great guy.

Speaker 4 (22:33):
I mean, if you want to talk Texas playoff history,
he's probably the guy to go.

Speaker 3 (22:37):
He's been there for all of them because he's been
what was his first year five? I think yes, he's
I mean, he's been there for all but like a
handful of.

Speaker 4 (22:46):
If you say it's so five, then he would have
been there for all of them because they obviously didn't
go to the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (22:51):
With I was just talking about their existence forget the playoffs.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
Well he's talking about.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
Down of Man.

Speaker 4 (22:56):
He wasn't there when Don was here. Who's Don oh Dom?
Well I didn't say the Dom of May so after
they had, you know, gotten.

Speaker 2 (23:05):
A little that's actually late.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, all right, well look it's I want I do
want to get more into the uh, the game tonight
between UT and Ohio State, because I'm seeing more and
more what you're just disgusted with. It's all over the place.

Speaker 4 (23:21):
It's okay if they win, and you're right that they're better,
but gosh, the level to which people think this is
a total mismatch, a little alarm it is.

Speaker 2 (23:29):
And I'm seeing more of it.

Speaker 3 (23:30):
But before we do that, we're gonna have to obviously
get to what else is going on out there on
the streets of social media.

Speaker 2 (23:38):
The best of X. When we come.

Speaker 6 (23:40):
Back the Age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 7 (23:47):
Timing stop by Duban, fantastic play by Mauricio Duba.

Speaker 5 (23:52):
This is Mauricio dubon sports Stock seven ninety and the iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
You're home for the astros? Did you all see this
putting out?

Speaker 4 (24:02):
Between five and post four hundred people were arrested for
things that they said on social media.

Speaker 8 (24:08):
History repeats itself. Type and you'll succeed. Never doubt that
you're the one to pers for no one building. You're
the best of X. Nothing's gonna have a top.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
You know you're the best post an every single day.

Speaker 4 (24:27):
You know you're the best of X.

Speaker 8 (24:31):
Breaking the entire Internet.

Speaker 4 (24:38):
All right, we peruse the streets of X. Pretty again,
Let's let's be clear. It's not exclusive to X. It
just happened to be the easiest song to parody.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
To mention X.

Speaker 4 (24:52):
Uh Instagram, you can, yeah, you can break the internet.
With some kind of story on a reel on Instagram.
You can do the same with a TikTok. I posted
to TikTok today. Did you happen to see it? I
know you'll probably enjoy it because it comes from one
of your favorite movies.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
What's one of my favorite movies? I don't know.

Speaker 4 (25:09):
That might have been taking a very popular movie with
the Bateman sideikis Murphy Spacey Bowen?

Speaker 9 (25:16):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (25:16):
Horrible Bosses one and two? Horrible Bosses? Yes, two actually
might be better.

Speaker 4 (25:20):
So you're familiar with the scene where Jade Dogg thinks
he's going to get the promotion from his horrible boss
Kevin Spacey, but.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
He alters course.

Speaker 4 (25:31):
Listen you, So he's making an announcement on the whole
floor to everybody. I've got a new VP of sales
and he's right here in this room. Oh good, he's
about to say my name. It's gonna be great, and
it's me. If you want the job done right, you
might as well do it yourself. I added a caption
to that saying, likely this is Texas Titans Vice President

(25:52):
of Football Operations Chad Brinker as he is done with
interviews for all his GM candidates, only to tell them, yeah,
I'm just gonna promote myself since I already have final rosters.
Say but yes, you could find Best of X material.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
And I think the best part of that scene was
color gam gam. I mean that that was in my opinion.

Speaker 4 (26:16):
They're very different actor actresses, clearly, but if the movie
was only about one of them, they were all awesome.
Aniston was obviously phenomenal. Horny Colin was pretty good. Just
a scumbag. He was extremely inappropriate and not in a
sexual way at all. Just everything he said about every

(26:38):
employee she's pregnant. It doesn't like to look at her
or them. Well after he got done doing cocaine in
the bathroom at work, and clearly Kevin Spacey was just mean.
He I believe had played that role in maybe like
ten other movies.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Basically, you know why he was able to so effectively
play that role because that's who he actually is in
real life.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
We came to find out, all right, we will take
it to the Best of X.

Speaker 3 (27:04):
Now I have a small contribution, but it's not I'll
let you go first.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
Let's put it that.

Speaker 4 (27:08):
Way, Okay, thanks so coaching carousel spinning wildly NFL. In
the NFL, the New York Jets. We mocked them earlier
in the week, saying they're only looking to interview these people,
and I rattle off a list of nine, ten, eleven,
twelve names, and the list continues to grow. Not long ago,

(27:30):
the Jets made sure everybody knows the list already grew,
as they tweeted out, we have completed an interview with
Mike Loxley for our head coach position. That came out
earlier today around twelve thirty in the afternoon.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
Michael Loxley, So, Mike Loxley, you're familiar with Mike's work,
of course not.

Speaker 4 (27:48):
Mike is a longtime head coach, been in charge of
several different outfits, none of them on the NFL side.
In fact, should he land this job, it would be
his first job in the NFL. He's been coaching since
nineteen ninety two. So they interviewed him to for their
open their vacant head coaching position. Currently, the head coach

(28:10):
over at Maryland has previously been the head coach of
New Mexico, Florida, Illinois, Bama, you know the Nick Saban
Resurrection job. He was once the OC for Nick Saban
at Alabama. So Mike Loxley's work at Maryland generated his
third losing season.

Speaker 2 (28:30):
In six years.

Speaker 4 (28:31):
This past year, he won a conference game. I was
accurate when I said a conference game. It's the second
time he's won only one conference game with Maryland in
the Big Ten Conference as they're currently we're currently constructed,
is actually the third time he's done it overall. He
got the job at Maryland four years after he lost
the job at New Mexico. His best win total in

(28:56):
parts of three seasons, his number one season, his elite
work there was done when he won a game. He
went one and eleven in his first year. He followed
that up with a second one and eleven season, and
then he lost every game to start the year and
they fired him.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
Allah Bill O'Brien, he started owning four and they said,
get out of here. Why does this feel like he's
the guy that the Jets will go with?

Speaker 4 (29:16):
So the Jets made that announcement today. I don't believe
Diana or Ian or Mike or Adam or Bert or
Jonathan at any point in the last four or five
six days, or even during the days of Jeff Olbrick
interim coach, ever said, it appears Mike Locksley is on

(29:37):
the Jets radar and could be a serious candidate to
become their next head coach. Odds are everybody sees what
this is or is going to have something clever to
say about it.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
Steve says, I.

Speaker 4 (29:53):
Thought it was Robin of Luxley for a second. The
real ab says, why Terps recruiting the Maryland Terps legend?
This guy has no chance. He wouldn't be enough of
a splash hire. So apparently multi chain man is almost
taking this seriously. Alex says, why can't he have Aaron Rodgers?

(30:17):
Why can't we have Aaron Rodgers as a player coach?
A retail investor guy says, interesting choice. Is this real?
Holy bleeped? They really are interviewing everyone. Need to put
my application in. I mean, it's not that hard to
not become a joke. And I haven't even gotten to

(30:38):
what is also clearly at play again. I mean, it's
very simple. As someone notes in their response, the Rooney
rule sucks.

Speaker 2 (30:51):
For what reason? Though?

Speaker 4 (30:52):
Because now I tell you there's the other side of it.
Every time we bring this up. Mike Loxley just got
an interview. He sat down with the Jets to learn
about how they do things to promote himself in the future.
This is a good opportunity for him. But I can't
sit here and really say that, knowing that they're not serious.

(31:14):
It's not really going to help him. It's happened for
I don't I don't even know how to put it
best when we all know why it happened. And I
feel like the team that on the same day interviewed
Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton for their vacant head coaching position.
They did that so you wouldn't say it because we

(31:36):
didn't just interview him because he satisfies the ruining rule.
And even though you have to have more than well,
we we in two guys we truly believe could be
the next leader of our franchise.

Speaker 2 (31:48):
Like seriously, that's what they actually did.

Speaker 4 (31:51):
Pep Hamilton, who is not gonna be a head coach
in the NFL next, It's possible he could reassume an
offensive coordinator position because just because it didn't work out
in an impossible situation here in Houston. He's got enough
of a track record, he's done enough of the work,
he's gotten enough people that respect what he does and
the results are there as well. He could absolutely be
an offensive coordinator every very well might end up being

(32:13):
somebody's offensive coordinator.

Speaker 2 (32:15):
Because of this.

Speaker 4 (32:17):
But they clearly, in my mind, there are teams that
just they don't pay it any mind because, and I
say it that way, there's one hundred percent every single
season there's been an open head coaching position since this
latest the latest parameters of the ruining rule have been
in place, one hundred percent of the time, there have
been extremely qualified minority candidates that don't get interviewed because

(32:44):
the team satisfied with these nonsense interviews. It's ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (32:49):
Yeah, yes, it's it's a placeholder placeholder interview. I guess
if you will.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
I'm trying.

Speaker 3 (32:57):
I think that's the best way to characterize it, because
it's not it's not legit, it's not real, and it's
just to check a box or five.

Speaker 4 (33:05):
Yeah, this is among the like both Byron Leftwich and
OC and Pep former OC that you don't really have
to explain that being that they're out of the NFL
and nobody wanted them on their staff at least this
past year.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
That's a little something.

Speaker 4 (33:21):
But Mike Loxley is he goes to the top of
the board of this treating that rule like an embarrassment
is an embarrassment.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
Robin of Loxley is good though.

Speaker 4 (33:31):
Now Meg, I guess we got that, But I'm not
not too enthused about that. I mean, if a team wants,
if if a coach wants to tell you no, like
Aaron Glenn told the Patriots no, thank you to their
interview request six openings, Aaron Glennett is or has already
interviewed with the Jets, Bears, Raiders, Jaguars, and Saints and

(33:53):
told the Patriots, Nah, not interested. You've never been a
head coach before, and I do not want to interview
with your team.

Speaker 3 (33:59):
That's what he should said to the Jets too. I
have no problem with him saying why because he has
history there.

Speaker 2 (34:04):
I don't care. It's not a well run organization.

Speaker 4 (34:08):
Until he starts cracking the whip and turns things around.
The owner's the owner, even though that job's not really available.
It's Rex's job, clearly according clearly Rex, all right, we
will come back. I'm gonna tell you about an awful
trend that I absolutely agree with.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
This person who's just down with it. Not down with it,
but down on it.

Speaker 4 (34:28):
And uh like, there's a difference between those two things
you just said.

Speaker 2 (34:31):
Wow, there can be. It just depends on how you
take it.

Speaker 3 (34:34):
Plus there's an element tonight's game we need to tell
you about, So we'll do all that when we come
back here on a Friday edition of the eighteen.

Speaker 6 (34:43):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (34:48):
Big thanks again to Sam and the just amazing staff
and crew over at Big City Wings. Thirteen convenient locations,
but this was basically a de facto location yesterday right
here in the studio.

Speaker 4 (35:00):
Yeah, garlic palm in the house, honey barbecue in the house, whatever,
flavor of true buffalo wings in the house. Very enjoyable,
very tasty, and really goes well with football last night, tonight,
all day, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Big City Wings.

Speaker 3 (35:18):
It was like a thirty for Thursday yesterday because everything
on the menu was in here. And speaking of that menu,
delicious fresh made to order menu items like USDA certified
angus beef are also there, Burgers, chicken tenders, and of
course bone in and boneless wings and so much more
family friendly restaurant with something on the menu for everyone

(35:40):
and like wex said, if you're looking for a place
to watch ut in Ohio State tonight, that is certainly
a fantastic place to go. In fact, thirteen of them,
and they've got catering for any special occasion.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
They do it all.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
Check them out online at Big Citywings dot com and
tell them to eighteen from Sports Talk seven ninety sent
you into any of the Big City Wings locations.

Speaker 1 (36:01):
Back to Adam Clinton and Adam.

Speaker 6 (36:03):
Wexler the eighteen.

Speaker 3 (36:11):
Friday edition of the eight team Sports Talk seven ninety
the Football weekend, and it's like an extended football weekend
has just gotten underway. Obviously, with the first participant in
the National Championship game decided last night, and then the
other one will be decided in a few hours, you'll
hear the Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes right here on

(36:33):
your home for Longhorns Football Sports Talk seven ninety. In
a matter of hours, that game will be kicking off
right here before we get something else about tonight. This
could have kind of gone in the best of X category,
but it's just not. It's nothing funny, slash clever, slash witty, slash.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
Oh, it's mean. It's a joke viral. No, none of that.

Speaker 3 (36:57):
But it is something that basically made me aware of
something that I didn't like that I would. I hadn't
realized I didn't like it until I saw it spelled
out in front of me. You and I are very
aware of Ari Alexander and his work over at kPr C.

Speaker 5 (37:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (37:11):
I haven't seen him since yesterday.

Speaker 2 (37:14):
J'all catch up.

Speaker 4 (37:15):
Since the last time you said, our paths really just crossed.
I was leaving Texans and he was getting there. We
were crossing Kirby rapidly. That's the light wasn't really ready
for us, but there weren't any cars around.

Speaker 2 (37:26):
There's bridges if you don't feel safe doing it on.

Speaker 4 (37:28):
The street, Nah, no bridges. That's I'm gonna walk and
get inside this gate, which I don't have access to,
and then walk all the way up and then walk
all the way across Marle, just across the street.

Speaker 3 (37:39):
I'm old enough to remember when there weren't gates there,
but then they had to put them there, all right.
So I bring this up because I saw him tweet
this about it a little less than an hour ago,
and it's so true. And I've seen this a lot
more lately, tell me if you have. I know you have,
just because you're you were an observant people watcher when
it comes to sporting events and just people.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
In general when we're walking around.

Speaker 3 (38:01):
I wish sometimes you guys could be a fly on
the wall when we're just happening to be walking in
public in some sort of setting, and just the comments
we make about the things we see that we just
can't share.

Speaker 2 (38:10):
With anybody else.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
All right, Ari tweets the following upside down word on
hat trend.

Speaker 2 (38:19):
Colin thumbs down emoji. I could not agree more.

Speaker 3 (38:24):
At what point did people who make hats specifically and
I see it more on hats? I don't think I've
seen it on shirts or anything like that. Think that
all right, we've done it all. We've used all the
versions of logos, we have done all the designs we can.
We've made them look as stupid as possible. Now we're
just gonna start taking the word Dallas, for example, and

(38:44):
put it upside down on the hat, and then Dak
Prescott will work it and we'll sell a million.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
Of these hotcakes.

Speaker 4 (38:49):
Was eating dinner the other night the family and was
making my way out, and my daughter said what does
that hat say?

Speaker 7 (38:56):
Like?

Speaker 4 (38:56):
She said, that doesn't say sooners On? It does it?
Girl was wearing a hat, and I go, I can't
quite tell. Hang on a second. I walked over to her.
I just basically did a lap around her table, right
next to her and right back to Samantha. She's like,
why did I can't believe you just did that. I go, yeah,
it says sooners On.

Speaker 5 (39:12):
It.

Speaker 4 (39:12):
It was upside down it said sooners On. It is
super popular, and I have wondered what would super stupid
for me to trot that out? You're not gonna do it,
you Texans, Houston Rockets, Longhorns, anything trot there's everybody's got one.
I'm assuming more teams probably will have their own from

(39:34):
their own team shops. But yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll
probably be able to say that's a no for me. Dog.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
It is absolutely something that you're gonna see in five
years and be like, huh, I remember when people we
were in that stupid bleep because that's how I.

Speaker 2 (39:47):
Feel about it right now.

Speaker 3 (39:49):
Like you know, there there are things that have been
fashion trends. I'll tell you what that's going on right
now that I can't stand and it's not this skinny
jeans the opposite fat geen. Yes, I mean baggy. No,
it's actually a combo. It's a combo of baggy jeans
and mom jeans, and that's what women are wearing right now.

(40:09):
I know this because I have an eighteen year old
and my wife and the house who both wear them.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
And every time trues has I'm like, why why are
you doing that? I said, change that up. This is
a terrible thing to say, but I didn't care.

Speaker 3 (40:24):
I said to her, I said, I said, when I
cannot wait for this trend to be over, I said,
those look ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (40:29):
They another trend right after. You'll hate that one too, well,
I said's such a waste. That's what I told her.

Speaker 4 (40:34):
Can we briefly comment on the tweet? He sent a
couple tweets before. That's something I also quote tweeted yesterday
from somebody else. It reads source Kyle Tucker and the
Cubs were not able to reach an agreement and will
head to arbitration.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
Yes, Kyle's representation said, same bleep, different team.

Speaker 4 (40:52):
When we left yesterday, it had not been reported, and
it turned out that the Astros were able to do it.
They did agree with from Bervaldez on a figure to
avoid arbitration. So all eight of the Astros arbitration eligible players,
and now that Kyle Tucker is not one of them,
they were able to avoid arbitration with in reach agreement
on a one year deal for each of them.

Speaker 2 (41:13):
Frober got more than Kyle.

Speaker 4 (41:14):
Fromber got more than Kyle would have gotten even if
he had gotten exactly what he asked for. He filed
at seventeen and a half, the Cubs filed at fifteen,
and they never found some number closer to one or
in between them two.

Speaker 2 (41:30):
So they will discuss.

Speaker 4 (41:32):
His production with the Astros and his potential production for
his one season in Chicago in front of the arbitrator.

Speaker 3 (41:41):
Obviously, he's say, advice, you ready for this when they
sit down with him and they're going over his tape
here in Houston for his upcoming pay again't Chicago.

Speaker 4 (41:50):
So Kyle, tell me what Kyle's age, tell me what
happened here? I mean, I can see from the video
he's down on one knee, and I can see he's
wincing in pain, and I can see he goes back
to the dugout. Then I can see he goes back
to the play and tries to play. Then I can
see him go back to the dugout, and then I
don't know how far we can fast forward this, but
I don't see him again for three months.

Speaker 2 (42:08):
Tell me what's happening here.

Speaker 3 (42:09):
It was a bruise, obviously, that's what he'll say. And
don't dog his defense. It doesn't usually go well. Just
a word of advice. The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham talking your team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A team.

Speaker 3 (42:36):
A It is straight up three o'clock on a game
day Friday here on Sports Talks seven ninety wex over.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
There, ac right here.

Speaker 3 (42:47):
We are now simulcast on Space City Home Network. Will
be with you until five thirty when we make way
for Longhorns and Buckeyes coverage. These two have gotten together
for some very important over the year, but none as
important as this one here tonight, and the winner doesn't
take all, but as a chance to take all, and

(43:10):
the Golden Domers are waiting on them as Notre Dame
got to win last night, clutch victory, sudden flurry of offense,
late in that game.

Speaker 2 (43:18):
I think the over under was forty six and a half.

Speaker 3 (43:20):
As I asked Josh about this, and I would have
guessed thirty six because I didn't know the number, and
I was like, Oh, it was definitely gonna do the
under and then just non stop scoring down the stretch.
By the way, I know that no matter what happened,
how it happened, what have you, Penn State was gonna
feel bad and feel like they left something on the table,

(43:41):
or you're always gonna regret when you get that far
in the college football playoff and you don't even make
it to the championship game and you had to lead
the way they did.

Speaker 4 (43:49):
Yeah, especially after your top less MU and Boise State gone.

Speaker 3 (43:55):
Those were two like grown man drives and grown man
scoring runs to punch those two touchdowns in.

Speaker 4 (44:02):
Yeah, getting tackled at the two and still pushing the
ball over the goal line. The other touchdown was unfortunate.
The Notre Dame touchdown. You had the initial defender slipping
and then the other defender juked into a slip. You
had a big, long touchdown pass because of it was

(44:24):
great play by Notre Dame, great play by the receiver.
Everything was great on their end, but it was pretty entertaining.
They did get a clutch kick. There are rumblings out
of Arlington that should the Longhorns need a clutch kick,
Bert Auburn's hair will be on the sidelines for it.
No official word yet, but we'll have to wait and
see if will Stone will actually be doing the kicking five.

Speaker 3 (44:47):
I hope he doesn't have a problem with that because
it's his own fault. Why would he It's just football,
it's sports.

Speaker 4 (44:53):
It happens.

Speaker 2 (44:55):
How many kicks do you have to miss? Though?

Speaker 3 (44:57):
Until they stopped trotting you out there at any level?

Speaker 2 (45:00):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (45:01):
Probably asked the Titans probably about that. They've gone through
like nine kickers in the last four or five years.

Speaker 2 (45:08):
But I, you know, situations have a lot to do
with it too.

Speaker 4 (45:11):
He's not a bad kick, how big a kick, not
currently in a groove and currently they're in the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (45:18):
Kind of bad timing, But this is the ultimate you
have one job.

Speaker 4 (45:22):
Granted, if it were that easy kind of thing, it's
it isn't. I just I That's why the sayings are
out there about a college kicker. Well, there's one hundred
plus Division one programs. There are one hundred plus Division
one programs that didn't make it to the College football Playoff.
We're dealing with the best programs with the most resources,

(45:44):
with the most ability to upgrade any position they want,
and some of their college kickers aren't very good. And
the vast majority of them aren't even going to be
sitting on the streets waiting for some team's top two
kickers to get hurt so some NFL team will then
put them on the practice squad. There just aren't that
many elite kickers apparently walking the planet.

Speaker 2 (46:08):
Why can't we take kicking out of the game, I'm
seriously asking you. Okay, well, let's take it to the
last night's game.

Speaker 4 (46:13):
You know, Penn State has the football after they forced
Notre Dame to punt, and they hand the ball off
under a minute to go, and they get enough yards
on it that they're the clock stops, with the chains moving,
they don't have to burn a time out.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
Why don't Why don't we call it pass play?

Speaker 4 (46:26):
We can get into field goal range, well, if your
kicker's not there. If the timeouts for both teams might
have dictated exactly what they needed to do, because they
couldn't just kneel down on it, but they weren't going
to go for it. James Franklin is not going to
try to get eight seventy five eighty yards in the
five and forty five seconds.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
I don't think. But here's either though.

Speaker 4 (46:46):
That's the only way to score now is to get
all the way into the end zone. It would change
things dramatically if we literally did went Madden on it
and get rid of kicks. We can tell you, guys,
and I'm I'm all for it, yes, And I guess
my thing is is what happens when you go to
overtime Eventually in college football.

Speaker 2 (47:03):
It's a shootout.

Speaker 3 (47:04):
Well, it's two point two point two point two point two,
there's no kicking.

Speaker 4 (47:08):
But it wasn't a shootout when the Longhorns and Arizona
State got to overtime because we determined a winner before
they got to the shootout portion.

Speaker 3 (47:15):
Ye, that could have been determined long before that. If
the kicker didn't suck.

Speaker 4 (47:19):
Well, if he made the first kick, things would have
been clearly been different because of how things would have happened. No,
it all worked out for the last week. It was
at the buzzer. That obviously is simple you make it,
you win, you don't, you go to overtime?

Speaker 3 (47:31):
Like this has been talked about for years, and I
do think you mentioned Madden jokingly, but that absolutely vaulted
this into like a much larger discussion in my opinion too.

Speaker 4 (47:44):
You're on the thirty whatever and the person on the
ratty old couch next to you with all the beer
cans is flicking his clicker into field goal mode and
flicking clicker.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
Could you sound more old? Saying something?

Speaker 4 (47:58):
Well, that was after he went into the kitchen and
zapped his food in the microwave. A few others clicker. Yeah,
you are remote control and calling it a clicker?

Speaker 2 (48:08):
Is it a remote control?

Speaker 4 (48:11):
Remote? It's a clicker, it's a remote it's a clicker,
returned the channel. Yeah, grind me the clicker.

Speaker 2 (48:16):
Well, remote control.

Speaker 4 (48:18):
Everybody in the room when the player does that, says
what are you doing? Yes, you can't do that, like
they're really, Matt, you cannot.

Speaker 3 (48:27):
Well kick a field goal, except for in the case
of our former producer who faked the kick and then
won the game.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
Did you fall for it?

Speaker 3 (48:34):
We knew he couldn't kick. I don't know what I
was thinking. I'm so angry about that still.

Speaker 4 (48:37):
Minor storyline, and we'll have more storylines when we take
a trip to Arlington. Next segment are on Chris Gordy
is there for the Cotton Bowl Classic, so he'll check
in with us at the top of the next segment,
So in about ten minutes, we'll check in with him.

Speaker 2 (48:51):
Something we mentioned earlier, and.

Speaker 4 (48:52):
Just to give you the actual details on that house
State is a six point favorite. If they win, they
will be a nine and a half to ten point
favorite over Notre Dame on the twentieth for all the Marbles.
If the Longhorns pull off the upset tonight and head
on into the National Title Game, they will be three
point favorites over Notre Dame. They won't have any kind

(49:12):
of home field like some people think they kind of do.
With the game being played in Arlington, I'm sure the
fans support will be leaning heavily towards them. The travel
and the weather probably also plays somewhat of a role.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
But I do know all of a couple people, Gordy.

Speaker 4 (49:27):
Among them, that were able to make their way up
there day of and get to enjoy the game, and
we are looking forward to it ourselves. Two hours and
change away from our coverage beginning on that coming up
at five thirty.

Speaker 3 (49:38):
While that game was going on last night to determine
the opponent who awaits the winner of tonight's game, there
was also a basketball contest that was played in Memphis, which,
by the way, I when we were hosting the show yesterday,
I had no clue what lineup slash depth was going
to be on display for Memphis. Turns out, everybody but

(49:58):
Marcus Smart basically played at least as far as rotation
fourth questionable players, and they were all available. And I
didn't know that, Like, I didn't check with Tracy or
anyone until I just I saw the graphic in the
pre game.

Speaker 2 (50:09):
I'm like, Okay, this is going to be very different tonight.

Speaker 3 (50:12):
This is going to be as close to full strength
as you can possibly get for the first time in
forever for the Memphis Grizzlies. This will be a difficult
victory to get on the road, especially and you said
it first half. Rockets wrote to the challenge. They were
up by seventeen. They were hitting key shotts, Alprin Shingoon
was eating whoever was defending him lunch at any given time,

(50:35):
and he was making his free throws in the first half,
but that all changed in the second half, third quarter,
and I knew it about eleven seconds in to the
fourth quarter. You got a continuation of what had happened
all third quarter long. You had a foul. There were
many of those. I mean whistle, whistle, whistle. It felt
like every time you would go down the floor there

(50:55):
was a whistle on either end. I wasn't even complaining
one way or the other because it didn't feel like
you know it was.

Speaker 2 (51:01):
I didn't like.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
I didn't dislike the crew from the standpoint of, oh,
this is all one way. I disliked the crew because
they kept blowing their whistle. But like you said, in
the first hour, what were they supposed to do? Everybody
kept fouling because that's what these two teams do.

Speaker 2 (51:14):
They're very physical.

Speaker 3 (51:16):
If these two got in a playoff matchup at any
given time, which there's probably a pretty good chance they do,
I'm guessing in the simis of the West, it's going
to absolutely there's gonna be a confrontation.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
It was almost happened last night.

Speaker 4 (51:29):
I wouldn't mind too much of it happened in the
in the Western Conference finals, say if Memphis slides down
to four, rockets are two or three, and thus they
have to take care of the thunder for everybody else,
and they might be able to do that, but yeah,
because if you're you know, two or three and there four,
obviously they would have to go on the other side
of the bracket. Currently there they are in the same
and we're almost at the halfway point. You know, I

(51:50):
build a lot of graphics for the show. Quite obviously,
I've kept myself away from a Western Conference standings graphic
way too early for that. We're a handful of days,
a handful of games away from half of the season
being old.

Speaker 3 (52:05):
Not too early, and it hasn't been for about a
month because they've been at the two spot basically all year.
I mean the first, first or second week of the
season was the last time they weren't. And I know
that means nothing in the final analysis. It's what happens
in the postseason. But you're talking about a team that
was forty one and forty one last year and we
were dancing in the streets about it.

Speaker 2 (52:25):
Oh, they finished five hundred. That's amazing.

Speaker 3 (52:28):
In e Ma's first year, where we were used to
consecutive twenty ish win seasons three years in a row.
And okay, well, man, if they could get like, you know,
just a few games over five hundred this year and
maybe even not just being the play in but they're
like an actual six seed, that would be awesome. Now
we're just gonna mess around and get home court in
the first round.

Speaker 4 (52:47):
Yeah, they've traded e Ma's first season somewhat similarly to
Tamiko Ryan's first season. Well, we don't have anything. We
know it's gonna take a while to build things. So
these seasons are gonna be loser seasons with players who
can't win. I won't call them losers. I'll call them
players who can't win. And we're not going to really
hurt ourselves from a cap standpoint. We're going to do
it the other way. And then Dimigo gets hired, they

(53:08):
go all in on the draft, and they win immediately
back to back ten.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
Win seasons with division championships. Ema gets hired.

Speaker 4 (53:15):
There was only so much you could do from a
draft perspective in the NBA, but obviously they still had
the draft capital to add an Amend Thompson, to add
a Cam wit More, but more, much more, notably and
This is year two of talking about this. They were
real in free agency. They really wanted players to help
them win basketball games. Not be great, not be Western

(53:35):
Conference elite, but literally just win some games. Play smart basketball.
That's why Jeff Green and Jack Landell, and obviously the
two starters Fred Van Vliet and Dylan Brooks, they were added,
these aren't going to get you to a championship level.
They're going to teach you how to play basketball. They're
going to teach you what life's like in the NBA.
So when you have the talent to win, you'll have
that taken care of. And last night was probably more

(53:58):
evidence of that. Dylan Brooks two for fifty team helped
them win. Even though he went two for fifteen. He
did and that wasn't great.

Speaker 3 (54:06):
All right, when we come back, you know what will
be great checking in in Arlington, where our own Chris
Gordy will join us with a pregame update on how
things are going there. I'm assuming he's made it in
the building and gotten through all the snow and whatnot,
because he'll be joining us via the phone lines.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety back to Adam
Clinton and Adam Wexler the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (54:37):
Friday afternoon.

Speaker 4 (54:38):
I hope everybody is taking care of business and can
go ahead and enjoy the rest of their weekend right
here in the h or maybe up the road a
little bit, as many of you have taking yourselves to
the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Ohio State buck Guys and
the Texas Longhorns. There are two of the three teams
that still have a chance to win the national championship.

Speaker 2 (54:57):
Notre Dame is the other. They won last night.

Speaker 4 (54:59):
The little Folk on this game, which we'll have for
you in a little over two hours, our own Chris
Gordy is on site at at and T Stadium inside.
First quick thought on the conditions there, and secondly, does
it feel like you're about to witness the soon to
be national champion tonight?

Speaker 2 (55:17):
Because whoever wins tonight is the champ.

Speaker 9 (55:21):
Yeah, let me give you guys a little scene center.
I stopped at the infamous BUCkies on the drive up
and a lot of Ohio State fans. I was really surprised.
I mean there were dozens outside and went inside of
BUCkies there were dozens and dozens more and I don't
know where the hell they came from. I guess maybe
flew into Houston because they couldn't get a flight to

(55:41):
Dallas or something. But it was really odd to see
that many Ohio State fans all on the road up
to up to Dallas, and of course tons of longhorned
fans everywhere out here came across no ice until I
got right here. Literally outside the stadium, there's tons of
ice and remnants of snow from overnight, but they've cleared
the roads. All the snow is pushed off to the side.

(56:02):
There's a lot of vehicles with snow on it. But yeah,
for the most part, if you came in today, you
avoided all the awful driving and wet and snow conditions
from last night. But you're right, Wex. Yeah, it does
feel like whoever wins this game is going to be
the primitive favorite over Notre Dame. Nothing against Notre Dame.
It's just Texas and Ohio State have just looked a

(56:22):
lot better.

Speaker 5 (56:23):
And yeah, I.

Speaker 9 (56:24):
Feel like when those betting lines come out with whoever
wins this game will be a minut you know somewhere,
probably Ohio State probably close to a five six point
favorite over Notre Dame. And I would think probably Texas
will be a three to four point favorite.

Speaker 3 (56:37):
Wax nearly got into a fistfight on the radio with
Charles Davies yesterday because he basically stopped short of saying
they shouldn't even play the game because Ohio State is
so awesome. As the resident Texas hater on this program
that you were this year.

Speaker 4 (56:51):
Not anymore, SEC, that's so good brand for both of you.

Speaker 9 (56:59):
I mean, it wasn't It wasn't hating on Texas. It
was just saying, you know what, the fact was that
they hadn't really been tested. But since that time, they
have been tested. And you know, played Georgia again for
a second time in the SEC title game, was a
close game with the overtime, and then played a really
good Cleansing team that had just won the ACC and
the you know, in the playoffs, and then you know,
last week, played a really good Arizona State team with

(57:21):
Skataboo and obviously we're up twenty four to eight in
the fourth quarter. Should have put it away. They didn't
had to go to double all the time, but made
the plays that were necessary to win. So yeah, I
would almost make an argument I'd rather Texas's path of
you've played these close games. You're more battle tested than
this Ohio State team that's just basically rolled the ball
out there and just run rough shot over everybody. I'll

(57:44):
just tell people, like the momentum thing is a little
never get caught up in that. Just because Ohio State
has played two awesome games in the first two rounds
of the playoffs doesn't mean it's just gonna keep carrying
over to every round. They could easily show up today
and look like the team that laid a a giant
egg against Michigan a little over a month ago at home,
losing that game thirteen to ten. So again, I think

(58:06):
this will be the best defense that Ohio State has
seen all year. The secondary for Texas has been so good.
Everybody from barn to I mean literally Michael Pass name
all the guys that they've had in that secondary, they
have all made big plays down the stretch of the
course of the last couple of weeks. So yeah, again,
this is kind of interesting. I saw some people make
it some predictions of Ohio State scoring thirty four points.

(58:29):
I said, well, if that happens, that's that would be
the most points Texas has given up all year. I
think they're up for the challenge. I think they're ready
to slow down these wide receivers. The big thing for
me is can Texas get their offense back going? Can
they get the run game goal with Trey Wisner company.
I think getting Cam Williams backer right tackle's going to
help that.

Speaker 4 (58:46):
Yeah, their run game usually dictates how comfortable their quarterback is.
But before I talk more about that, I'm curious what
do you think of the other quarterback? I mean, with
the two that played last night, Drew Aler's future and
the storylines behind, you know, the Notre Dame quarterback Riley
Leonard quinn Ewers and everything that's gone on to Texas,
the arch factor and the season. Very little talk about

(59:08):
Will Howard this year after he slid late in the
Ohio State Oregon game. He's had a really really good year.
They have a really really talented offense, both the run
game and the weapons you mentioned. Do you favor one
quarterback in their matchup against the respective defense versus the
other tonight?

Speaker 9 (59:27):
Well, I mean, look, Will Howard's been good. He's but
you know, he's not He's not a superstar. By he means,
he's not like nobody's gonna be running out and buying
a will Howard Jersey. I don't know if draft scouts
are going to be going gaga over him, but he's
he's been solid, he's been sound, and I think the
big reason for that is he's got stud receivers. You know,
Jeremiah Smith could literally enter the NFL draft this year

(59:49):
and be the number one pick, except one problem. He's
a freshman.

Speaker 5 (59:52):
He can't.

Speaker 9 (59:53):
You know. I think Buka's obviously been around a while
and a lot of people are very high on him
as well, so you know, it's a crazy thing. It
was like, I think they got to the playoffs and
Ryan Day said, you know, we've got these really studly
awesome receivers, maybe we should just throw them the football,
And suddenly they started performing very well. So I like,
I like what they what they've been doing. But like

(01:00:13):
I said, I think Texas's secondary is up to the task.
And on the flip side, big game for Quinn yours, right,
I mean, like this is a big moment for him
to show all these rumblings out there of him possibly entering.
The transfer portal reportedly has a six million dollars off
from the table if before it goes the NFL Draft,
we'll find out who that school is, although some people
are reporting it could very well could be Notre Dame.

(01:00:34):
I think they got to put all those distractions behind
him and he's got to play well because, you know,
let's we forget, Yes, he made the great fourth and
thirteen pass in overtime against Arizona State, but let's we
forget he threw the interception that put them in a
bund to have to go to overtime. I guess Arizona State.

Speaker 5 (01:00:49):
Man.

Speaker 4 (01:00:50):
Everything you're saying is just making it too perfect. With
the nil, with the transfer portal, with what Carson Beck
just did, with the possibility that Notre Dame and Texas
are about to match up. I'm tampering being involved in
all this, but nothing can be done about it. Should
Notre Dame just give him the six million dollars before
the twentieth and when they play each other, to say, look,
we'll bring in for six million if you can hook

(01:01:12):
us up tonight in the national title game.

Speaker 9 (01:01:15):
Yeah, I mean that's that's the that's the rumor. Yeah,
we'll see this whole thing will play out. I mean
I even talk to somebody in Texas who said, there's
a world where Quinn comes back to Texas next year.
I said, well, good luck telling the Banning family about that,
because I'm sure they will have other plans. But no,
I mean it makes a lot of sense. Carson Beck
was projected as a as a Day two draft pick.

(01:01:35):
I even saw one scout had him as a Day
three draft pick. And if that's the case, and he
was gonna pall that far in the draft, why not
go get four million from the University of Miami where
his girlfriend plays basketball, And how fun than college for
one more year. So we'll see what Quinn's ultimate decision
is after all this. But most Texas fans I talked
to you have said, I don't give a damn about
Quinn's future. I care about Quinn right now. Go win

(01:01:57):
us the game tonight.

Speaker 4 (01:01:58):
Were you trying to tell us that Carson Beck's girl
friend's last name is Cavender?

Speaker 5 (01:02:02):
Uh?

Speaker 9 (01:02:03):
That is the case with any way, If you guys
remember the night the NIL was legalized, her and her
sister or in Miami with Miami's big, big rich booster
signing NIL deal to go from Presto State to Miami.
So I guarantee she had a hand in this reaching
out to the big Mouney bushes of Miami going sa say, hey,
you you get Carson back fool million to come over here.

Speaker 2 (01:02:25):
Unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (01:02:25):
Hey, I know we all hate the Cowboys here as
we should, as every red blooded American should, But I
have always kind of stumped for that venue. It doesn't
matter what's there, it always has a big feel. I
still think it's one I haven't been to so far,
or any of the newer big ones, but Jerry World still,

(01:02:46):
for all of the flaws having to do with the
Cowboys and that team and that organization.

Speaker 2 (01:02:51):
They do it right. That that is.

Speaker 3 (01:02:53):
Is it not one of the best venues to go
see a game like you're gonna see tonight.

Speaker 5 (01:02:58):
It is.

Speaker 9 (01:02:59):
The Only thing I will plaint about is that the
media parking lot that I parked in it was on
the complete opposite side of media pickup, so I had
to walk around the entire stadium in thirty degree weather,
which by the way, they have big portions of outside
the stadium blocked off for pregame fan stuff, which you
can't even get into yet because they haven't opened the
doors yet. So yeah, it took about a twenty minute

(01:03:19):
walk to get around the stadium to get a credential,
and then luckily it was only about a five minute
walk to get to the media entrance. But it makes
a difference when it's thirty degrees outside. But we actually, guys,
I'm looking outside. We got a sun peeking through right now.
So what it's actually gonna be? Yeah, the sunshine is
actually about this. It might be might be pretty nice.
But one complaint. Just walk through the press box. The

(01:03:39):
drink machine was not on and there's no food up there.

Speaker 3 (01:03:41):
So to get that going, Oh my gosh, Gordy has
to walk extra steps and he's not getting the food
and drink that he wants.

Speaker 4 (01:03:47):
We kind of ran through the matchups and what is
at stake the quarterbacks? What do you anticipate kind of
being the difference maker in this game? Where is there
a player you think this is? This is the guy
that's going to turn it in favor of his team.

Speaker 9 (01:04:00):
Yeah, I think I just think it's turnovers. I mean
we've seen throughout these playoffs. I mean last night, Drew
Aller makes the big mistake late in a in a
tight game between Penn State and Notre Dame. You know,
whoever makes that big mistake tonight. It could be Will Howard,
It could be Quinn Ewers. It could be one of
the running backs from you know, from from Ohio State
get you know, gets hit wrong and fumbles the football.

(01:04:21):
Could be a special team's return, you know. To me,
it's it's all the simple fundamentals you got to take
care of in a big game. But it just always
comes back to show. I mean, whoever makes the big
mistake at the wrong time and momentum shifts in the
other team's favor could cost them the game.

Speaker 3 (01:04:38):
Chris Gordy live from AT and T Stadium there in Arlington, Texas.
Appreciate all the insight and if you see Maddie, you
know what to do.

Speaker 2 (01:04:47):
You already know what to do. I didn't have to
tell you anything gory right, oh absolutely.

Speaker 9 (01:04:51):
Let me give you guys just a quick up date.
Looking out side right now, it is about eighty five
percent Ohio State fans compared to Texas in this line
I'm seeing outside right now, which is a couple of hundred,
So it should be a pretty big Ohio State fan
presence today.

Speaker 3 (01:05:03):
Looking forward to it. I know you are looking forward
to seeing it in person. We appreciate it, and we'll
continue to discuss here on a Friday edition of the program. Also,
where are you watching the game tonight? What's on the menu?
And I'll tell you why all of that is key
when we come back here on the eighteen.

Speaker 1 (01:05:22):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety. Listen to Sports
Talk seven ninety on the free iHeartRadio app. It's all
your music, sports podcasts and talk free. Never sounded so good.

Speaker 3 (01:05:38):
Thanks again to Gordy up in Arlington catching up with
us and giving us a little bit of the flavor
up there at Jerry World as UT and Ohio State
will be kicking off before you know it right here
on Sports Talk seven ninety. Okay, So, speaking of tonight's
game and everything that goes into it, you know, where
are you watching tonight? We've already suggested a very very

(01:06:00):
good option one of the thirteen area locations for Big
City Wings. They're gonna have all the screens that you
would ever want to check out this game. So whatever
angle you're sitting at and just chowing down on all
the good food they have, that would be a very
good place to go. But if you are, you know,
watching it, say at the house. Say, for example, you

(01:06:22):
are in the first you've just finished the first semester
of your daughter being a ut longhorn, and her roommate
also obviously at.

Speaker 2 (01:06:34):
Austin, but someone that she went to high school with
before that.

Speaker 3 (01:06:37):
Maybe you end up watching the game with those combined
families tonight in.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
A home setting. What's on the menu?

Speaker 3 (01:06:47):
And is it something that you traditionally watch football and
consume or is it just kind of, like in my case,
something that came together. And I bring all this up
for one somemot reason. My wife is she's a great
cook when she decides to sometimes, I mean, she works

(01:07:07):
her backside off, and so some nights she's like, I'm
ordering in, what do you want? Like because by the
time I get there, whatever's going to be consumed for
dinner that night has already been determined and is already
ready one way or the other. And a lot of
times it's just it's been one of those hectic days.
We're going to order in what have you? But tonight
people are coming over to watch the game. That's the setting,
that's the lineup, that's how it's all gonna go. And

(01:07:28):
she suggested something that while she likes. She does not
like me to prepare in the house because it's heavy
on onions. Now, I don't know how you feel about onions,
just in general, white red, what have you? What kind
of shape they're in? Are they caramelized? Are they sliced?
Are are they on a burger? Or are they on
this on that I make these beans, and I don't

(01:07:50):
even like the biggest like beans guy like bake beans
because we're having like basically barbecue brisket, that kind of thing.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
And I make these beans. She will not let me
make them in the house because it smells like onions
for the next three to four days if I do
it in the house.

Speaker 4 (01:08:05):
What about the window that's over the sink, So we
have an island where the stove is. The stove is central,
it's not against the wall in other words, and it's
certainly not under a window like you're trying to suggest,
like very helpful human being would no. Now, Luckily, when
we did the whole pool thing, I put a burner

(01:08:25):
out there by the grill. Very first world, don't care
love it for situations like this. So it's like, I
don't know, low forties this morning, late morning when I
started cutting up bacon, getting the chopped onions, getting the
brown sugar, all the ingredients, the marinade that goes into
these ingredients.

Speaker 3 (01:08:46):
Oh my gosh, these are and I'm not even like again,
I'd probably make these twice a year.

Speaker 4 (01:08:51):
Special occasion. Longhorns in the semis because of this though.

Speaker 3 (01:08:54):
I'm either making them in sub zero temperatures like I
was today, or I'm make them and just sweating to
death even in the shade because it's the summer.

Speaker 2 (01:09:04):
Yeah this this is better. You're warming up.

Speaker 3 (01:09:07):
Oh yeah, food, get it out, this kind of and
this kind of food on a night like this, like
this weather today, overcast, chili temperatures, it screams one of
two things.

Speaker 2 (01:09:16):
Chili. I just love it.

Speaker 3 (01:09:18):
Don't put beans in chili though, since we're on the subject,
don't don't put those in there.

Speaker 2 (01:09:23):
But also just chili. Just chili needs me in the chili.

Speaker 4 (01:09:27):
I don't need the beans. So or a barbecue, Yeah,
sure it's the best. So let me give you some
onion insight to me. Let's say we're out having burgers
and one of the two people with me or three, Uh,
you gonna you look like you're done. You're gonna finish that, No,
you can have it. What's the next thing that Robin

(01:09:50):
will say after she said no, you can have it?

Speaker 2 (01:09:53):
Are there onions on it?

Speaker 4 (01:09:54):
No, she'll say, but you're gonna have to take the
onions off because she knows I don't want them. Onions
are satisfactory in my meal if they're grilled, uh huh
or caramelized, yes, but not chopped, no, thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:10:07):
See you're like me because if I go to water Burger,
for example, that's a very onion centric place if you
let it be.

Speaker 2 (01:10:16):
Because if you.

Speaker 3 (01:10:17):
Don't say, hold the onions on this burger, you're going
to get the entire onion.

Speaker 4 (01:10:23):
When I order burgers establishments like that, fast food places
I don't special order. If they put onions on it,
go right ahead. I'll take them off if I don't
want them. But why because then I can't get mad
that it got they got it wrong.

Speaker 3 (01:10:38):
But you do know that I don't know how others
work when it comes to this, because I just I
don't know, like you know, the traditional Big Three.

Speaker 2 (01:10:47):
I guess they're pretty good about Hey, I don't want you.

Speaker 4 (01:10:50):
Yeah, I'm not saying they're always going to get it wrong.
But if I just say give me this and I
don't tell them anything else. That's how they're gonna make it.
And that's fine.

Speaker 2 (01:10:58):
But I'll deal with them after.

Speaker 3 (01:11:00):
Convinced that the amount of onions that water Burger puts
on their burgers is such that they pay extra attention
if someone in person in the drive through, what have
you said? No onions because it's not like a small thing.
If they do put them on there, you are legit
gonna be scraping half the onion off that burger. Understood,
But you're so right, because when I get fijidas, like

(01:11:22):
if I go to Papasitos or I go to Loope,
all these places that we're giving mentions that we shouldn't.
When I go to these places, I like the grilled
onions on the fijetas h and I do like caramelized onions.
I don't like onion rings and I don't like chopped onions.

Speaker 2 (01:11:37):
See that's that's another one.

Speaker 4 (01:11:39):
Really good onion rings in the studio yesterday from Big
City Wings.

Speaker 3 (01:11:42):
And I saw them and I hate them. They're fine,
but that's not what I'm gonna go for. I can't
go for that. Like halling Oates, I can't do it.
It's just certain and it's weird because it's the same food.

Speaker 4 (01:11:52):
Right, and those onions they're not they're just inside a
fried package. They're just regular old. The other thing is
those all intensive purposes.

Speaker 3 (01:11:59):
For the most part, I think one hundred percent of
the time, are always white onions, right.

Speaker 4 (01:12:04):
If you yeah a big this recipe tonight calls for red. Well,
see what you're describing sounds like it's an ideal food
that can be made on site at your tailgate.

Speaker 3 (01:12:16):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, because everybody that has a tailgate
has the ability to have.

Speaker 2 (01:12:20):
Open flame and that's what you make this on However,
I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:12:23):
All sorts of like portable grills will have the burner
option on the outside, and that's what I just had.
It's a small burner. I was actually worried because it
was pretty windy out there.

Speaker 2 (01:12:32):
But why don't you just watch the game outside? I could,
but it's gonna be like thirty tonight. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:12:38):
Well, I've got a bigger screen inside where the heat
is so yeah, I just I didn't know how you
felt about onions, is what this really actually came down to.

Speaker 2 (01:12:47):
I mean, you did not disappoint.

Speaker 4 (01:12:48):
They do seem like they're all wrapped up in the
recipe and cooked in a certain way that they probably
they are detectable, but they're not.

Speaker 3 (01:12:54):
In the MARISTI evens it out, but they're not gonna
be And the brown sugar, by the way, but they're
not gonna be same without the onions.

Speaker 4 (01:13:01):
Yes, onions unprepared, just sprinkled on your food item, whatever
that might be.

Speaker 2 (01:13:07):
They have a tendency to be the only thing you
taste exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:13:09):
I'm not a fan, which is why this is so interesting,
because it's not like that.

Speaker 2 (01:13:13):
That's good to hear. I can't wait to get invited.
One time I knew it was gonna happen segment.

Speaker 3 (01:13:20):
I was about to say, we had less than a
minute left, and you didn't get it in until just now.
That's what I'm not in charge of this shebang. Yeah,
I'm only in charge of this food item over here,
although I did.

Speaker 2 (01:13:30):
Make it in the store. As you know, it's it's
a free for all.

Speaker 3 (01:13:34):
When I wore sweats to the grocery store this morning
to pick up some of these items, not joggers, well
they were tapered at the bottom.

Speaker 4 (01:13:42):
And their joggers. I've just told that this week, and
I had an Astros sweatshirt courtesy of the team when
they hooked us up with some gear nice and I
put the hood on when I was out there cooking,
of course, but I had slides on with no socks.

Speaker 2 (01:13:55):
That kind of defeats the purpose.

Speaker 3 (01:13:57):
Only my feet were cold, especially when I went to
the dairy section. Very preventable. I just I it was
too lazy to put shoes on that I had to tie,
and I didn't have any slip ons on.

Speaker 2 (01:14:06):
So that's it. That's what you have it, all right.

Speaker 3 (01:14:09):
It is the eighteen Sports Talk seven ninety Space City
Home Network Top of the Hour. Aaron Wilson is going
to be joining us to talk about something we have
not talked about really much, but we will this upcoming segment.

Speaker 2 (01:14:20):
The Texans and Chargers play tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (01:14:24):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:14:29):
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Speaker 1 (01:15:30):
One show, two Adams and Less Possibilities to the eighteen
continues on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:15:51):
Two things in particular, one of them we did mention
quite obviously with Chris Gordy the game coming up tonight
between the Longhorns and to the Kansas State Wildcats, I
mean the Ohio State Buckeyes. As was pointed out by
one of our listeners because we haven't really brought it
up since this matchup was on the table. Will Howard,
the quarterback for Ohio State, is playing Texas tonight here

(01:16:14):
in the state of Texas. He has seen the Longhorns before,
not once, not twice, but three times in his college career.
He's come out on the same side each of those
three times, the losing side. When he first faced the Longhorns,
he went up against fourth year soon to be fourth
year quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. Sam Ellinger, was the

(01:16:37):
starter at Texas when Will Howard's Wildcats faced them and
lost to them. They lost too, as I tweeted back
at this gentleman, They lost to the law firm of
Johnson and Robinson. Bijon Robinson ran for one hundred plus
and three scores. No shame in that Roshawn Johnson ran
for one hundred plus and three scores. They put sixty

(01:16:58):
nine on Will Howard's Wildcats that ballgame and took him down.
It was a revenge game for Howard last game because
of what happened in the Ohio State Oregon game earlier
in the season when they were very very close to
knocking that zero out of the lost column for Oregon.
But he slid just a touch late, there's no time

(01:17:19):
left for them to spike, call time out, kick the
wheel bill, whatever, and they lose by one. I think
he's fine about getting the revenge because they absolutely hammered
Oregon in their last game in the quarterfinal to reach
this round. A lot more revenge probably, even though the
stakes are comparable. I mean, he lost three regular season
games in conference in the Big Twelve to Texas during

(01:17:40):
his Kansas State days, and now he's got one more
chance to try to take down Texas, and this time
they are favored to do so. His teams, to be
fair to Howard, the Longhorns, as I kind of noted,
with those two players, Jordan Whittington and others that all
play in the NFL, they're pretty different talent gap. That's

(01:18:03):
not the case today A lot of the when we
get to this point in the college football season, even
last year when you just had the four teams, well,
let's see whose rosters are better. This team has how
many five stars and four stars and three stars on
down the line of these two programs compared to the
two teams that played last night had many more on
the top end five and four star players in Ohio
state technically has even more than Texas does. Tonight, there

(01:18:27):
will be in addition to Chris Gordy being there tonight
and other assorted family and friends of both of ours.
I'm sure, like Ari, there might be a few scouts there. Oh,
you think there might be a few NFL talents there.
And it's funny that the player that Gordy mentioned, Jeremiah Smith,
they'll be there, and they'll be there and they'll be
there each of the next three years to watch a

(01:18:49):
potential wide receiver be the number one pick in the draft.
And it has to do with what is happening in
the NFL. You know, Malik Neighbors is turning a team's
offense on its head if they had a quarterback and
he still produced. Brian Thomas Junior just did the same
thing with the Jaguars. Now, there's so many wideouts that
have come into the league that don't have to be

(01:19:10):
drafted right out of the gate top ten or as
I suggest, probably erroneously, Jeremiah Smith at number one.

Speaker 2 (01:19:17):
Maybe teams don't feel that.

Speaker 4 (01:19:18):
Way, but that is the kind of talent that he
has and the other story that I wanted to bring up,
and it's strictly from a talent base.

Speaker 2 (01:19:24):
It draws back into the conversation.

Speaker 4 (01:19:27):
I was confused by the reports earlier today about exactly
what happened, but luckily the team cleared it up for everybody.
A second surgery for Cleveland Brown's quarterback to the same
achilles he injured back on October twentieth, because he tore
it again roughly three weeks ago, apparently working in Miami.

(01:19:50):
That was the word from the Browns today. Doctor performed
the same surgery. Clearly, that's a timetable issue. That was
October twentieth when he the first time. It is now
early January when the surgery took place. Yesterday. We talked
about some insurance options they have from a financial standpoint,

(01:20:10):
But the idea that this changes the Browns thinking with
their draft pick and what they might do at quarterback,
because they landed so close to the top of the draft,
there's no way, there's no way this impacts that at all.
They've already moved on. He's not their quarterback of the future.

(01:20:33):
They want to get rid of him as fast as
they can with relation to their cap situation and the
dead cap. He's not going to compete with anybody for
a job on the field. If they care about winning,
they might not draft a quarterback, but it's not gonna
because they have Deshaun Watson. They might not draft a
quarterback because they don't like Cam or they don't like
Shudur Sanders. They'd rather get more draft capital out of

(01:20:55):
the number two bick because they need so much help.
Because they also might be deciding to move on from
Miles Garrett this offseason at his request, if that happens,
but the idea that he might not play next year
because he's gonna be hurt longer, how can that matter?
How bad at running a football team do we think
the Browns are? Like, I know, we know they're bad.

(01:21:17):
Are they really that bad?

Speaker 3 (01:21:18):
It's not that there, it's how It's not how bad
they are, it's do they do something that makes it worse?
Because guaranteeing his contract was the first bad stat and
they had no way of knowing this was gonna happen.
But every time something happens with him doesn't matter. If
it's this, which is clearly catastrophic, not that most of
the items that have had to do with him in

(01:21:40):
the news. Haven't been in some way, shape or form,
whether on or off the football field.

Speaker 2 (01:21:45):
But I just.

Speaker 3 (01:21:48):
Can you imagine if Texans fans and all they've been through,
we're having to deal with all of this right now.

Speaker 2 (01:21:54):
After what happened off the field.

Speaker 4 (01:21:56):
Yeah, clearly he helped make sure that didn't happen. Yeah,
the Texans didn't go to this and say we don't
want you to play. He just paid him, right, he
told them I don't want to play this year, and
then the other things that went after that. So four
straight years since his last time on the field, that's
when the NFL went to the seventeen game schedule. Sixty

(01:22:17):
eight NFL games have been played regular season games. He's
played in nineteen of them. To the tune of he's terrible.
I'm talking about the money though, Oh yeah, to the
tune of making three of the five years worth of
his two hundred and fifty plus million dollar or two
hundred and thirty million dollar guaranteed cons.

Speaker 3 (01:22:35):
Like we just said what we did about his injury
situation in October initial tear and then another one. They
owe him forty six million next year and the year
after that.

Speaker 4 (01:22:46):
Yeah, he will only impact their team moving forward on
the occasion that he's gotten healthy and somehow he's on
the roster and two other guys got hurt and he
had to play, or just how do we manipulate our
cap around the whatever money is still hitting from whatever
move they've decided to make with a more lack of
move And again, these are things I know. It seems
probably it seems like it's me. Maybe it seems like

(01:23:08):
it's everybody else. We talk about him or the Browns
quite a bit. When he first got to the Browns,
this was a talented team that with the good quarterback
should have mattered.

Speaker 2 (01:23:20):
That's why they made the deal they did.

Speaker 4 (01:23:21):
And the Browns were in the playoffs last year with
Joe Flacco. They have talent and he's helped take them
out of the equation. For everybody else in the AFC,
you need teams like this. You need the Jets, you
need the Dolphins and the Tyreek Hill drama.

Speaker 2 (01:23:41):
It's great, he needs the Titans, it's super.

Speaker 4 (01:23:43):
You love the Titans, I mean, and you love their management,
and you love the fact that we got to make
this one. Now we're gonna fire this guy. They don't
know where they're going. This is phenomenal. It's nice that
three teams in your division are all in the midst
of directionless football.

Speaker 2 (01:23:59):
The GM of the Colts is going off on himself.

Speaker 4 (01:24:02):
Today talking about how bad his decision making was last
offseason with how they put the roster together, all while
knowing the hearsays are firing me.

Speaker 2 (01:24:10):
This is great. Jim's drunk somewhere.

Speaker 4 (01:24:13):
It's a phenomenal situation to be in. As much as
everybody complains about, oh, you want a crappy division, Yeah,
there's fourteen teams left. The Texans are one of them.

Speaker 1 (01:24:23):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety two lifelong Houston
sports guys named Adam Talking Your Teams series, Adam Clinton
and Adam Wexler are the A Team A.

Speaker 3 (01:24:45):
It is the A Team Sports Talk seven ninety As
the four o'clock hour gets underwayte simulcast as per usual
on Space City Home Network and has promised we are
joined by our good friend Aaron Wilson, who is Look,
we're all getting primed for like several football games in
a row here, especially in the great State of Texas.
But it is a wild card weekend and in addition,

(01:25:07):
to the college football Playoff. This is as big as
it gets as far as important games across the board
all weekend long. What we've been kind of struggling with Aaron,
and maybe you could help, is which team is getting
more overlooked Texas tonight or the Houston Texans tomorrow against
the Chargers.

Speaker 5 (01:25:28):
I think probably the Texans and maybe be a little
closer to it, but it just feels like they are
counted out by everybody, like they have no chance to win.
I think we're looking at a good football game to
to be very close. I think it's pretty easily matched.
But yeah, I think Texas gets some respect. I don't
think it's like everybody in the country thinks they have
no opportunity to win one thing.

Speaker 2 (01:25:50):
Maybe if if you have some insight onto this.

Speaker 4 (01:25:53):
The Texans obviously will be out without Shaq Mason, and
we've talked to Demiko Ryans a couple of times about
the offensive line and how it's now can figured a
little bit hard to base it all on a half
of football against the Titans, even though they have a
good front. I talked about it yesterday. So I actually
want to turn the clock back a little bit. Why
didn't the Texans look at this alignment more. Why wasn't

(01:26:16):
their competition at center between Scruggs and Patterson, Why was
their competition at guard between Kenyon Green and anybody at
the beginning of the season or off season?

Speaker 5 (01:26:25):
Great questions? Yeah, they instead of having competitions, they acted
as if these guys were established pros when none of
them were, with the exception of the Titus Howard's and
Laramie Thompson's and Jack Masons. So when you don't have
any competition, you just hand guys jobs. I would say,
you create a situation where you guys aren't really on

(01:26:48):
their game. I didn't since that Kenyon he lost all
the weight, but he lost a lot of strength and
power too, and so he didn't look even as good
as he did when he was heavier. I thought, if anything,
he got worse as a player with Juice Scrugs, you know,
he's incomplete. He's not a great communicator when it comes
to the line calls. And it took them a while

(01:27:10):
to figure that out. It took the Green Bay game
before they finally, you know, made that decision to get
Patterson out there. You know, you look at everything they've done,
and it shouldn't have taken this long to figure it out.
You've got a lame duck offensive line coach Chris Strausser,
You've got a team that's given up way too many sacks.

(01:27:30):
And I don't think they may mused to have a
false sense of security just because of the Titans game.
It looked okay, but it wasn't like you're getting the
A game from Jeffrey Simmons. Pardon the pun and channel
your guys name for here they have, you know, it
wasn't like Jeffrey Simmons and de Monors don't really bringing it. So, yeah,
it's a great question. I don't know why they did that,

(01:27:51):
but probably the foster confidence in young players that they
hoped high draft picks would win jobs. First drum pick
Kenyon Green, fifteenth overall select second round pick gif scrugs.
And it's not as if the talent behind them is
soul overwhelming. Ultimately, it's all kind of marginal, a lot
of half measures. Nothing's the perfect solution. This is the

(01:28:13):
best spivee that gets out there that's healthy right now,
and they got to hope it's good enough, and it
might not be.

Speaker 6 (01:28:19):
It might be a.

Speaker 5 (01:28:19):
Very tall order for Blake Fisher to block kind of
personnel it's going to be attacking him small well.

Speaker 3 (01:28:26):
And we know the names for all of these pass
rushing tandems across the playoffs. But I guess maybe the
question could be which one of these teams pass rushing
tandems get gets after the quarterback better? And that might
actually be determine who wins this football game?

Speaker 2 (01:28:44):
Would it not?

Speaker 5 (01:28:45):
Right? I think it will be decided in the trenches.
We look at the Chargers and all the talents and
personnel they have had my majority boson Khalil Mack, but
it's not just those guys. There's good Dupree, there's others.
And the Texans have as good a you know, book
in rushing tandem as there's in the NFL. But Rashaun
Slater and all that's a really good tackles hand them.

(01:29:09):
So you know, that's kind of the prime time one.
The other one, Yeah, we expect the Chargers to get pressure,
but can the Texans get after the quarterback? And they
do that, it's really a big accomplishment because of how
good the Chargers pass protection has been and how a
loose of Justin Herbert can be for a big guy.
He can run, he can do a lot of things.
He can get after it. He had a forty one

(01:29:31):
yard run and you look at the you know, line
of scrimminage, and I think that's where a lot of
the best actions going to be a couple.

Speaker 4 (01:29:38):
Of things About the injury side of things, as expected,
at least to me and I'm sure probably to you
even more so, taking Toriana will not make it back
for this game. They won't activate him, so he's obviously
out the three questionable players. We already know Christian Harris
is going to play. How does the John Metchi situation
impact maybe usage of Deontay Johnson in the game tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:29:58):
And how much can Denik Autrey give this team.

Speaker 4 (01:30:01):
I would assume they would have him active and maybe
not have Jerry Hughes active.

Speaker 5 (01:30:07):
Right the plan is to have them all active. Deniko's
knee has improved a bit through rest, and it's been lingering.
He might even need to get it scopes in the offseason,
but he's dealt with it all season long, and we've
seen him when he has had rest, you know, answer
the bell and play pretty well. John Mitch is third
again active, but you know how good is the shoulder

(01:30:31):
going to feel. I think he's gonna play through, you know,
some pain. They have a package of plays for Deontay Johnson.
I think it could be a little more usage. But
we're not talking about just by what they're saying. No, like,
is he gonna get six targets. No, I mean we're
talking about a couple of catches, probably maybe at best.
So it's kind of I don't think it's gonna be

(01:30:51):
a giant impact on the game. I think it's gonna
be Anico Collins show. And then you know, you look
at them not activating in cue Toreano. He didn't get
many snaps with the offense, so it was kind of
already understood that he wouldn't play. But he's healthy enough
to play. They just didn't need him. They have any
injuries at tight end right now except for Burbon Jordan

(01:31:11):
already being ruled out earlier in the season with the
torn acl so they just didn't have a need for him.

Speaker 4 (01:31:17):
How do you think Harris and al Shayer playing together
for the first time impacts how the linebackers will be used. Obviously,
Henry Toatoa had a remarkably productive, helpful excellent season. They
have the issue with what they want to do on
the slot because of the absence of Petrian Ward, and
then obviously how it relates to what they're up against,
what the Chargers like to do offensively. How do you

(01:31:38):
think that those players are how they'll deploy that defense.

Speaker 5 (01:31:42):
Right Lately it's been three linebackers sets, but this is
the first time because Harris was inactive and they wanted
to rest his ankle, that they're going to have an
oportion to just go with al Shaier and Harris. I
still think to Ato, they're not going to take a
lot of field that much, and there's another reason for that.
They don't have a Jalen teachers Iman Ward available at nickel.

(01:32:04):
They have to play Miles Bryant, so they'd rather play
the three linebackers and try to stop the run for JK.
Dobbins and Gus Edwards. I think they need that extra
linebacker because you don't have a hitter of the caliber
of a Jimmy Ward or a Jalen t Trade the
lineup right now. When you have Bryant out, there's a
smaller nickel and I think that's why you'll still see

(01:32:26):
the three linebacker alignment.

Speaker 3 (01:32:28):
Maybe the most oversimplified statement about the twenty twenty four
Houston Texans is that when Joe Mixon has a good game,
they win, and when he doesn't, well, it's it feels
like they lost because he doesn't in a lot of times.
Is it as simple as that in some respects. I
know we just got done talking about the defense, but
you mentioned the trenches, and I just feel like whenever

(01:32:49):
he goes off, the Texans are in great shape.

Speaker 6 (01:32:52):
Right like the.

Speaker 5 (01:32:53):
First game of the season, we had one hundred and
fifty yards, like the Dallas game. There's games like that
where no Jacksonville he imposes really takes over. And I
don't think there's gonna be any game plan where he's
not involved. He's going to have to touch the ball
unless they fall behind, and then they always abandoned the run.
If the game is close, I expect him to be involved,

(01:33:13):
and it's really been out a necessity when they've taken
the ball out of his hands, or it's just completely ineffective.
And they built such a wall, there's no cutback lanes.
There's nothing like one of the Titans games that they had.
They started something. You know, whether Tennessee tried that hard.
I don't know, but they ran the ball well. I

(01:33:33):
think they got to keep that going. Albeit you know,
it was Damian Pierson, Wyvie Joe mixing with the touches
this time. I think they got to keep that going.
Make things easier for CJ. S droughts, set up the
play action. He doesn't have that any targets down the
field right now. They don't need to be so pass happy,
and I think that's been an emphasis in recent weeks

(01:33:54):
that throw it less. The more you throw, the more
opportunities you have with all these drop back To get CJ.
Shroud hit, maybe even hurt, I think, yeah, you've got
to have Joe Mixon heavily involved. There's a reason he's
in the Pro Bowl. He's scored a lot of touchdowns.
He's a really, really good running back. He's very tough,
he has a lot of playoff experience. He's been to
the Super Bowl before, where he's played in two AFT

(01:34:16):
Championship games.

Speaker 6 (01:34:18):
Give him the ball.

Speaker 5 (01:34:18):
I think that would really help things all around to
have a running.

Speaker 4 (01:34:23):
Game right all right. Aaron I was with you earlier
this week on Monday, and we gave a predition on
the game over on Channel two on the KPRC two plus.
Now we're at the end of the week. Your prediction changed,
tell us what it is.

Speaker 5 (01:34:37):
I'm gonna stick with my prediction and that's the Texans
byfield goal, where it's prism with they lose, no, but
the go with my gut and I think they're gonna
play a little bit better and then they have the
chance to advance. So we'll see. Maybe I'm gonna be
want to be wrong, but yeah, that's my pick. I'm
gonna go with it that the Texans winning my field.

Speaker 2 (01:34:57):
Goal won't be long from now here.

Speaker 4 (01:34:59):
Aaron will give our still o cold locks and we'll
make our own prediction on the Texans games. We'll hold
on to those for our listeners for now, but really
appreciate your coverage all throughout the year and hope there's
another week of it in season. I know there will
be there for you regardless, especially with potential coaching changes,
not only head coaches elsewhere in the league, but certainly
on long the staff here in Houston KPRC two plus,

(01:35:20):
the insider for the Texans there and of course here
at Sports Talk seven to ninety. Aaron really appreciate the
time as always.

Speaker 5 (01:35:26):
Thanks guys, have a great show.

Speaker 4 (01:35:28):
Appreciate it. The Texans now less than twenty four hours
away from kickoff against the Chargers, probably worth mentioning here.
The Texans and the Vikings, the two opponents for the
two Los Angeles teams in the postseason. Along with those
teams and the NFL Foundation donated a huge sums of

(01:35:49):
money to the relief efforts a million apiece from those
two teams, the Vikings and the Texans, the non LA
teams and the NFL as well, trying to do whatever
they can these teams and try to figure it out
from their family standpoint and from everything else going on
in the community.

Speaker 2 (01:36:06):
It obviously is still going on.

Speaker 4 (01:36:08):
They'll play a football game in Arizona instead of LA,
and obviously the Chargers are coming here before flying back
home after Saturday's game regardless of the result.

Speaker 1 (01:36:20):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety. The A
Team continues on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:36:34):
Thanks again to Aaron Wilson for joining us a little
bit of a preview of the Texans Chargers showdown tomorrow
inside in RG Stadium.

Speaker 2 (01:36:45):
The three of us will be there.

Speaker 4 (01:36:46):
First postseason meeting between these two squads. Although Houston and
the Chargers have met in the postseason before, just not
since this Houston has been around. The Chargers with a loss,
would fall to twelve and twenty in their postseason history
as a franchise.

Speaker 2 (01:37:05):
Good job, Schottenheimer.

Speaker 4 (01:37:06):
That would be the second worst among the thirty two
NFL teams.

Speaker 2 (01:37:10):
Who's the worst? I don't know, somebody is worse.

Speaker 4 (01:37:17):
I guess probably Cincinnati.

Speaker 2 (01:37:19):
Yeah, that's actually they've been to the Super Bowl a
couple times. That doesn't matter, it matters.

Speaker 3 (01:37:24):
Yeah, but like in the grand scheme of things, with
as many years as they've been around, they could still
have the worst.

Speaker 4 (01:37:29):
No, No, the Chargers haven't been the Browns.

Speaker 2 (01:37:32):
Oh yeah they have, and whet The Browns are the
worst is the answer to your question.

Speaker 3 (01:37:37):
The Browns are the worst is the answer to every question,
as we covered earlier.

Speaker 2 (01:37:41):
Speaking of which, if you're looking around at the other.

Speaker 4 (01:37:45):
Matchups, passing the Bengals, who are currently second.

Speaker 3 (01:37:47):
Worst, see you're looking at the matchups this weekend strictly
wild card weekend. I know I've kind of already said
this this week what my most intriguing match is, or
at least the one I think has the most Like,
I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna watch this game. I
really think that Rams Vikings actually could be the most entertaining.

(01:38:11):
But I got a dark horse. It's not the Eagles, Packers,
it's not even the Bills and Broncos. Certainly not the
Raven Steelers, because that's that's my vote for worst.

Speaker 4 (01:38:22):
Yeah, as evidence by the line, which actually now is
the same as Bill's Broncos, but much of the week
the Raven Steelers line has been the highest eight and
a half.

Speaker 2 (01:38:31):
I mean, one team is playing the worst football of anybody,
and the other team's playing the best. Arguably. I don't
even thinks it is arguably. I think they literally are. Yeah,
and honestly they probably have been all year.

Speaker 4 (01:38:44):
I do think the other matchup, though, the Bills Broncos game,
even with that wide line, it's pretty intriguing because the
Broncos have something that can be hard to deal with.
Their defense is really really good. They have players over
there they're very hard to deal with. They have the
best corner in football. Know Benito has been you brought
up earlier. You know, Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson Junior.

(01:39:06):
What do we have to do to get people's a tent.
Benito is a player who has gotten more love for
the work he's put in this year, and he's been
a game wrecker. So they really have the type of
defense that might make Josh Allen's day not what it's
been for much of the year. By the way, he
went on this meteoric rise to the obvious overwhelming favorite

(01:39:26):
to be MVP, and he still had that one shootout
game that took place after but most of the remainder
of his season was pretty pedestrian. He obviously didn't play
in Week eighteen out of they didn't need him. So
I think there's an opportunity maybe for the Broncos to
be a lot livelier large dog than that number would suggest.
On the flip side, if the Ravens had a healthy

(01:39:48):
Za Flowers, the line could have been eleven twelve and
I still would have bet on the Ravens. I mean,
it does bring it back to a little bit closer.
It's not even so much how much you miss him,
but you miss him so much because you don't have
anybody else. Take a look at what the Texans have
Nico Collins. Well, if Nico Collins isn't out there, then

(01:40:08):
what to me, that's the Ravens. If you don't have
zayon Tejers obviously, well, if you don't have Zay Flowers
and they don't, then Rashad Bateman he's okay. I mean,
I think he's gonna get over forty five and a
half yards rushing and receiving this week, which we'll learn
about more in ten minutes. But the quality of play

(01:40:29):
from their receivers drops down so dramatically. A bunch of
veteran guys Agalar and Wallace, they're not going to be
in dire straits, especially since they use their two tight
ends as much as they do, and they have Dereck
Henry and they have Lamar Jackson. So comparing it to
the Texans, you see why it's not quite apples to apples.
But he's a Pro Bowl receiver this year. He got
hurt in the final game of the season and he's

(01:40:50):
not going to be able to play. I think that
impacts how comfortable Lamar Jackson is going to be when
he's scrambling around. That's his guy, because nobody makes DB's
look bad on a broken play like Zay Flowers can
on their roster, So I think missing him is a
big deal. I'm with you on the Vikings rams of
all the games this weekend, I think it's the most

(01:41:11):
difficult to predict a.

Speaker 2 (01:41:13):
Winner on Well I stayed away from it. Yeah, I
did as well.

Speaker 4 (01:41:16):
I think the Vikings, had they played a little bit
better football in the final week, probably'd feel a little
bit better about him. Sam Darnold with pressure on his shoulders.
We saw it once last week. Now we're going to
see it again. It's different pressure than trying to be
the guy as the top draft pick for the Jets.
Different pressure being a playoff quarterback for a Super Bowl

(01:41:37):
hopeful for the very first time.

Speaker 2 (01:41:38):
That's the situation he's in now.

Speaker 3 (01:41:40):
Yeah, there's not going to be any experience there, considering
where he came from and what they were not doing
in this case. But again, going back to what I
was going to say, the dark horse candidate Bucks commis
give me those offenses.

Speaker 4 (01:41:55):
Yeah, I'm looking for an entertaining game that I'm gonna
lean on. Crazy These probably sounds the higher draft pick
Baker Mayfield the number one overall pick, over Jadon Daniels,
a number two overall pick.

Speaker 3 (01:42:08):
The quarterback the Browns should have hung onto or the.

Speaker 4 (01:42:15):
Or the Rams or the Panthers.

Speaker 3 (01:42:18):
It's yeah, but when you start thinking about the vast
wasteland of quarterback carcasses in NFL history, I mean, there
is no other franchise that represents that line better than Cleveland.

Speaker 4 (01:42:35):
Sure, and we've said it before, so we'll say it again.
There's it's not a blameless Baker Mayfield, and he's readily
acknowledged that. The leader and much more mature Mayfield in Tampa,
he just didn't exist when he was playing quarterback in Cleveland.

Speaker 2 (01:42:50):
He was far less mature.

Speaker 4 (01:42:52):
I don't think he really understood what it was like
that the responsibility that he had. They did not have
a very good group working with him, both on the
field as coaches or in the front office. So definitely
fault on both ends, but they keep going to the playoffs.
We had so many quarterbacks go kind of berserk this
year statistically, so much so that we don't talk about

(01:43:15):
Justin Herbert and his three interceptions. What he did basically
never happens, but we never talk about it because of
Lamar and Josh and Joe Burrow and who's right there
with them with touchdown passes and what he accomplished this year,
it's Baker Mayfield. You got a couple quarterbacks that had
forty touchdown passes this year, Lamar Joe and Baker. Baker

(01:43:38):
was great this year and made some mistakes, but then
he find a way to overcome it. He played part
of the year without mi Ech, Mike Evans, He's played
a bulk of the year without Chris Godwin.

Speaker 2 (01:43:47):
Just keeps making plays. And are we going to sit
here and continue?

Speaker 3 (01:43:50):
I know we're not, and I know a lot of
people aren't, but it feels like it because what you
just got them talking about with Justin Herbert.

Speaker 2 (01:43:58):
No one's talking about Todd Bowles.

Speaker 3 (01:44:01):
No one is talking about him, and taking a step further,
another guy that came from a woe begone oftentimes franchise
his first time around as the head guy there Baker
Mayfield and Cleveland Todd Bowls in New York with the Jets,
and it wasn't even that long ago, fifteen through eighteen
he was the coach of the Jets. People remember that,

(01:44:21):
I don't, And here he is in Tampa. You could argue, well,
unfortunately so the Jets fans, But it's in a long list,
just like Cleveland of ugh, that didn't work.

Speaker 2 (01:44:30):
That didn't work.

Speaker 4 (01:44:31):
They lost a lot of games. You lose thirty five
games in three years. I think it's reasonable to think
a change needs to be made. Blaming your coaches the easy.

Speaker 3 (01:44:38):
But if you would have told me that Baker Mayfield
as the quarterback and Todd Bowles as the head coach
back in let's just say twenty twenty one.

Speaker 4 (01:44:46):
Yeah, you would say, well, who are you drafting first
and with what new coach?

Speaker 2 (01:44:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:44:50):
Get it?

Speaker 2 (01:44:50):
And they're they've they're back to back division champs.

Speaker 4 (01:44:53):
Yeah, they won a gain an additional game each of
the two years after his first year in Tampa, they
started with eight wins, then last year they won nine,
then this year they've got ten. And it's a fun
matchup for sure, because now this is the other matchup
with a rookie starting quarterback. You got the bow Nicks
one that we mentioned there, and you got Jaden Daniels
right here with Cliff Kingsbury, who's almost assuredly going to

(01:45:13):
say yes to the interviews we know he's been requested for.
And for good reason, it's not easy to look this
smooth offensively as they have in Washington. They probably have
better talent than everyone would have wanted to acknowledge as
they played quarterback free football the last couple of years.
So having Terry McLaurin there, having what they have in
the backfield with multiple options to run the football, and

(01:45:36):
adding Austin Eckler to that I thought was very smart,
have a pretty good line, and oh, by the way,
Jaydon Daniels in many other years he would have stood
out even more. It isn't easy to do what he
did in his rookie year. We're one year over removed
from me yelling at people. Yelling at people, stop asking
who's going to be next in doing what CJ.

Speaker 2 (01:45:55):
Stroud just did.

Speaker 4 (01:45:56):
There was nobody before him that did it, because he's
the best we'd ever seen as a rookie, and there
was an next. What Jayden Daniels did this year is
at least as good, at least as remarkable as what
CJ did last year, and probably better.

Speaker 3 (01:46:11):
By the way, I am like such a low key,
huge Todd Bowles fan. Going back to that, he's just
he might be one of the most likable personalities that's
not a personality.

Speaker 4 (01:46:22):
Thirty two head coaches in the NFL rank one through
thirty two based on this part of their demeanor. No nonsense,
he'd probably be close to number one.

Speaker 2 (01:46:31):
Tomlin's up there.

Speaker 4 (01:46:33):
Tomlin still delivers material for us, has lines for us,
kind of plays the media game a little bit. Bowles
is there to coach football and get the most out
of his players. John Harball, Uh, I mean, his brother
makes it impossible for me to put him up there.
We're gonna get to that here coming up this hour.
What Jim Harbaugh said about C. J. Stroud considering his

(01:46:55):
long relationship with him back to college. But Jim is
so weird, Huh. I have a hard time not thinking that.
John probably is, even though he doesn't show it a
little bit too.

Speaker 2 (01:47:07):
That's probably fair assessment.

Speaker 3 (01:47:09):
So yeah, all that more coming up, but not before
we get to one of the best segments of the
week every single football season. Our Stone Cold Locks, Wild
Card Weekend and College Football Playoff Edition are next.

Speaker 1 (01:47:25):

Speaker 6 (01:47:29):
If you can buy Rockets gear on it, you can
hear us on it.

Speaker 8 (01:47:34):
That's amazing.

Speaker 6 (01:47:35):
Listen live for free on any smart device.

Speaker 1 (01:47:41):
Remember that magic aball A nice little shaken.

Speaker 6 (01:47:46):
Look at this. I'm getting late tonight would make.

Speaker 7 (01:47:48):
An answer, guys giving it to you.

Speaker 1 (01:47:51):
You can trust whatever it said, or you could trust
these two guys named Adam.

Speaker 6 (01:47:56):
It's a crap shoot either way. But these are your
stone Cold.

Speaker 5 (01:48:04):
Locks.

Speaker 4 (01:48:06):
Singer Segment time on a Friday brings us the stone
Cold Locks, and we just wrapped up the week late
last night with the first of the two CFP semifinals.
Turns out this week is the college football game of
the week, and there's one game remaining, and that is
tonight's game between the Longhorns and the buck Eyes. But

(01:48:26):
with the result of last night's game only took us
nineteen weeks. But now each one of the three of
us has had a perfect week and going with Notre
Dame to cover as dogs and that they won, they
obviously covered as dogs, and I was a clean sweep,
friendly nice pretty five selections and five victories, drawing him
up to forty six. The two of us are very close,

(01:48:50):
both sitting at fifty five. You got three right last
week me just two of course. Chargers and Texans are
on the board for us this week. Texans will go
with them being as they were when the week began.
There are three point Dogs over under a forty two
and a half. The Buckeys are six point favorites, and
the over under is fifty one and a half this

(01:49:11):
evening right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety, Dan,
looking for a second consecutive five in a week. Why
don't you run through all your picks except for the Texans?

Speaker 10 (01:49:21):
All right, So I'm gonna lead off with the Shawn
Michaels pick. I'm sorry Wex and for any Longhorn fans
out there, I'm going to Ohio State minus six against
Texas wild Card. I'm gonna go Ravens minus nine and
a half against the Steelers Broncos. I think this is
a steal plus eight and a half on the road
at Buffalo, and my prop, I'm gonna go with Lamar

(01:49:43):
Jackson under two hundred and sixteen in a hook passing
yards against Pittsburgh.

Speaker 4 (01:49:48):
Well, you and your wallet, which we don't use for
this fake segment, We'll be happy to know that we've chosen.
Judges have ruled on it being an eight and a
half number for the Ravens over. The Steelers have it
as well, but at present press, that's where they have
it at eight and a half. Back to the Longhorns
and the buck Eys. So Ohio staid big favorite Ohio

(01:50:08):
State to cover, as you say they will cover tonight
because what goes their way. Will Howard plays well, Jeremiah
Smith is unable to be corralled. The Texans run game
doesn't get going. Yours has a youwers like game. What's
it going to be?

Speaker 10 (01:50:24):
I think it's probably point number two in the final
one you just brought up right there, because if Texas
is looking to get a run game going against this
Ohio State defensive front that is bookended by Jack Sawyer
and JT. Twoy Moloow, I think you're in for a
rough performance. And the other one too. You brought up
Quinn youwers. You know, I heard Gordy both with us

(01:50:44):
in with Matt and Ross earlier bring up Texas defensive backs.
Ohio State's secondary is pretty darn good. Davisonigmnosen is an
NFL corner, same with Denzel Burke. And then you've got
Latham Ransom as well as the Alabama transfer who who
is escaping me right now.

Speaker 4 (01:51:02):
Well, he's probably the best player on the team. He's
an Alabama transfer.

Speaker 10 (01:51:05):
Yeah, So I mean they've got a really good secondary
that is advantageous and can take away the football Caleb
downs and so.

Speaker 4 (01:51:13):
I'm looking for, yeah, good a number two, right, Yes,
So that's kind of the thing that I feel the
same way about the game, just kind of on the
other side, these teams are crazy talented. To say Ohio
State has great talent in Texas doesn't as silly. To
say Texas secondary is crazy talented and Ohio States isn't
is also silly. And that's why most people think these
teams severely outclass the two that played last night, even

(01:51:37):
though they're all sitting there at the top of the
rankings and seatings. All of these four teams were among
the top eight. They were all among the top six
from a seating a ranking standpoint. But I happen to
feel the other way. I will take the conch and
move on. I've got Texas to manage somehow to stay

(01:51:57):
within six points'd be nice if they go ahead and
you know, advance get a dub that would obviously be
a nice cover. Mentioned I have the same thing as
you with Baltimore covering the eight and a half against
the Steelers. Again, all three AFC games go off before
any of the NFC games Buffalo and Denver first, and
then the Steeler excuse me, Steelers and Ravens in the
evening after the Texans, and then the Buffalo game. First

(01:52:19):
thing on Sunday, I said, Rashad bateon and earlier over
forty five and a half rushing and receiving yards, and
that he's got to throw to somebody, and last week
or their last game, he did look his direction quite
a bit. After Zay Flowers went down talking about Lamar
Jackson and the game we talked about is we went
to break the Commanders and the Bucks.

Speaker 2 (01:52:38):
Terry McLaurin very good.

Speaker 4 (01:52:41):
Player to have with a rookie quarterback, and that's played
all season long. I'll take him over sixty and a
half rushing yards. We'll hang on to my Texans thoughts
till you give your four other selections.

Speaker 3 (01:52:52):
Well, you mentioned all the talent involved in tonight's game,
so that has to include not just the Texas defense,
but also the Buckeyes defense, and so in that vein,
I will take the under on.

Speaker 2 (01:53:03):
Fifty one and a half.

Speaker 3 (01:53:05):
I've got the Kamis and the Bucks, the Broncos and
the Bills both on the over. Fifty and a half
for that dark horse best game of the weekend, as
I called it, the Commis and the Bucks and the
Broncos Bills, even though you know the Broncos can play
some defense over on that forty seven and a half number,

(01:53:27):
and even though it's not the Texans Chargers game itself,
my prop does include the Texans and CJ. Stroud for
the first time all season, Wex. I'm taking the under
on his passing touchdowns over under, which is one and
a half in this game.

Speaker 4 (01:53:43):
Every quarterback had a one and a half number for
this opening weekend of the postseason, and probably will again
next week.

Speaker 2 (01:53:48):
That's a nod to Joe Mixon by doing that. By
the way, so over one and a half touchdown passes.

Speaker 4 (01:53:55):
He did it twice in December in the lost to
Kansas City and the victory over Miami. He did it
once in November and their loss to Tennessee, and three
times in the first six games of the season when
they went five to one. Out of necessity, I would
think he needs to throw touchdown passes if they're going

(01:54:15):
to win.

Speaker 2 (01:54:16):
Not necessarily makes me think you don't think they're going
to win.

Speaker 3 (01:54:19):
I haven't just I honestly, do we have to do
the game prediction this segment or can we wait till the.

Speaker 2 (01:54:23):
End of the show. Oh, we can wait another fifty
one minutes. Okay, See, it's not that number.

Speaker 3 (01:54:29):
Taking the under on that is just like I said,
it's so much more about the nod to Joe Mixon.
A lot of times when he didn't throw for two
touchdown passes or more, it's because Joe is going off.

Speaker 2 (01:54:40):
Is that Joe's going off? They might win.

Speaker 4 (01:54:44):
I know they had a great running game just a
few days ago. Not him, Damian Pierce.

Speaker 3 (01:54:50):
He wasn't horrible, but he wasn't the guy that was
going for nearly two hundred yards rushing.

Speaker 2 (01:54:54):
It's been a month since he went off.

Speaker 4 (01:54:57):
He rested twenty two yards, twenty three yard, twenty six yards.

Speaker 2 (01:55:02):
I'm not expecting him to go off.

Speaker 4 (01:55:04):
I'm expecting to have more runs like Pierce had, and
more runs that move the football. But I don't know that.
I don't expect one hundred yard day out of Joe Mixon.
But your thought on the Texans game, what's your what's
your play for so called locks?

Speaker 10 (01:55:17):
I'm gonna go Texans plus three. I just think that
they take a deep breath. What happened in the regular
season doesn't matter, and they have the home field on
their side.

Speaker 2 (01:55:28):
I did the same. I assume you took the over
I did. I was making sure. What's forty two and
a half.

Speaker 4 (01:55:37):
Yeah, so you're calling for not your prediction. You're saying
they're gonna win twenty three to twenty on a last
second field will hit the over. No, that's what Aon
Wilson said. Move along, that they were gonna win by
a field goal. I mean you think they're gonna win
by more than that.

Speaker 2 (01:55:50):
I didn't say they were gonna win one way or
the other.

Speaker 4 (01:55:52):
All right, we will come up with our predictions on
the game a little bit later in the show. Still
have a visit from the Charger side of things. That
will be right at the time of football at five.
Looking forward to that conversation. A few other items from
elsewhere around the sports world we've not really had a
chance to dive into fully, and anything else on your mind.
Always fair game here as we continue this is it

(01:56:14):
is it the second or last day of the Texan season.

Speaker 2 (01:56:16):
We'll find out.

Speaker 6 (01:56:19):

Speaker 1 (01:56:24):
Using your turn signal one your drive home greatly reduces
the chance of a tire iron.

Speaker 6 (01:56:29):
Through your windshield. A helpful tip while.

Speaker 1 (01:56:32):
Writing with Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler. The A Team
continues on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 11 (01:56:42):
Just one more thing stemming from last segment when we
were talking about, you know, our stone cold locks, but
specifically how this game goes with regards to Joe Mixon,
I did look up anybody who could be.

Speaker 2 (01:56:56):
Considered a runner in this game.

Speaker 3 (01:56:58):
Do you like how I was diplomatic about not calling
the quarterbacks running backs?

Speaker 2 (01:57:02):
For your benefit?

Speaker 4 (01:57:03):
Everybody could be considered that all eleven offensive players the worst.
Hey fumble as Howard scoops it up and there he
goes a gain of eight.

Speaker 3 (01:57:13):
Well, at the bottom of this would be runners list
is CJ. Stroud, the aforementioned quarterback who I think would
be passing for less than two touchdowns.

Speaker 4 (01:57:26):
He had eight and a half as his over under
for longest run of the game.

Speaker 3 (01:57:31):
Well, his over under total is thirteen and a half.
Herbert just a little bit ahead. You mentioned what a
good runner he deceptively could be.

Speaker 4 (01:57:40):
I'm really surprised, you know, going back and looking over
his season that there wasn't more of it. He had
a couple of long runs, but he didn't run too much.
I think he can and they probably just didn't need
him to. And I'm afraid that might come up a
few times.

Speaker 3 (01:57:52):
Well, he and Gus Edwards, for what it's worth, both
at twenty and a half on their over under.

Speaker 2 (01:57:58):
And then it gets interesting. JK.

Speaker 3 (01:58:01):
Dobbins is not the top over under number on this list.
He's listed at sixty one and a half Joe Mixon
seventy and a half.

Speaker 4 (01:58:12):
Yeah, I mean that's mostly a factor of even with
what Damian Pierce did last week, he's he's not likely
to be a part of their running game and Dobbins case.
With a healthy Edwards, it's possible, and else and others.
It's possible, you're not Bell, it's likely you're not Bell.
Callying it with JK. Dobbins, don't you feel like, though,

(01:58:33):
if the if Joe Mixon is having a good day,
not only did the Texans probably win because that's just
been like we talked about with Aaron, that's usually the case,
but it would be out of the ordinary from what
we're thinking is going to be their offensive game plan.
Don't you expect more passing way more if they're going

(01:58:54):
to be successful. And yet we could be sitting there saying,
now he got one hundred and fifty yards and touchdown
or two, and they failed reality at some point during
the season. I think it's hard to pinpoint it. Even
when you look at their play calling. They want to
run the football. This is who we want to be.
That's why Joe Mixon is here. It's why we did
what we did in the opener. Then they faced it reality, Well,

(01:59:15):
we can't because we can't protect our quarterback and he's
just getting We've got to open up the offense by
throwing the football, and they shifted towards that and kind
of coincident. I don't know if it's quincentence or not,
but you saw much more inconsistent production out of the
running game. I don't even want to say out of Mixon.
When Joe Mixon doesn't have a good day, and when

(01:59:36):
running backs don't have a good day, it's not like
everybody else on the team. If Nico Collins has a
bad day, maybe he had a drop, maybe he had
a miscommunication. Maybe the defensive back he was going up
against is too much for him, or is an equal
to him. If Joe Mixon doesn't have a good day,
it's not even usually because the defense. It's usually because
his offensive line didn't come to play. It's because there

(01:59:57):
was nowhere to go. And that's what happened last week.
On the other side of it, Damian Pierce was running
through holes. Damian Pierce put his foot in the ground
and shot up the middle because there was a massive
hole at the eight yard line, and ninety two yards
later he was in the end zone. You had Laramie
Tunsel coming out of his left tackle spot and he

(02:00:17):
needed to get to that hole at least before Pierce did,
presumably before the linebacker did. All he did was put
his hands on the guy. I'm glad he didn't really
shove him. He might have been called for an illegal block,
but he just kind of got in the way and
off Pierce went.

Speaker 2 (02:00:32):
And then he had another eight yard run and broadcast.

Speaker 4 (02:00:36):
It's because they were creating running lanes and he did
it in Pierce's to kind of promote what he did well.
He saw the holes. He was making super quick decisive
foot in the ground. Cuts and cutbacks and cutbacks is
what Joe Mixon did all season. Cutbacks is what made
him the successful running back he was here. If he

(02:00:57):
had a hole to run through, I'm sure he would
take it, but more often than not he didn't.

Speaker 3 (02:01:02):
Had a big one in the Jacksonville game, had a
huge one on the Monday night game in Dallas, and
yeah it again, it's almost to the like, he's bad,
they lose, he's good, they went.

Speaker 2 (02:01:19):
I've never seen. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (02:01:21):
There probably is a game other than the Bears game
that doesn't count because he left and then he came back,
but he was hurt, and then he was out for
a few games.

Speaker 2 (02:01:28):
I don't you could probably bring up every single game.

Speaker 3 (02:01:31):
I doubt you would find a game where Joe Mixon
was pedestrian and the Texans, you know, were successful and
conversely the other way around.

Speaker 2 (02:01:40):
All right, I'll go, all right, what is it? Which week?
Was it? Just the Miami game? So that's the.

Speaker 3 (02:01:44):
Only one out of a seventeen game schedule where he
played what fourteen of those games?

Speaker 2 (02:01:48):
Thirteen?

Speaker 10 (02:01:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:01:49):
How many did he miss? I can't remember.

Speaker 4 (02:01:50):
He missed those three games? He played three other fourteen?

Speaker 2 (02:01:53):
Gotcha?

Speaker 4 (02:01:53):
So he had seven one hundred yard rushing days and
they lost to Green Bay. I was one on the
other side where our last second field goal on the
last second field goal. And then he had the one
game against the Dolphins where running wise, they only gave
him the ball twelve times, he had less than two
yards of carry. He's a big part of the passing game,
but a non productive day, but they won. Those really

(02:02:14):
are the only two games on both sides, good or bad,
where his performance didn't kind of directly impact what they did.
Twenty two yards against twenty Tennessee at home. They lost
forty six yards against Detroit at home. They lost twenty
six yards against Baltimore at home. They lost one hundred
against the Jags victory, one hundred against the Cowboys victory,

(02:02:35):
a hundred against the Colts victory. I probably should have
included the Jets game. My bad. He ran for over
one hundred yards against the Jets and they did not win.

Speaker 2 (02:02:43):
What was the final score on that horrible Halloween t
won score game twenty one thirteen. I hate that game
so much. That was the beginning of the end for
this season.

Speaker 4 (02:02:51):
Being supposed to happen is he's supposed to run the
ball successfully. He's supposed to take pressure off of the
quarterback he's supposed to slow down the pass rush because
of that, and then CJ. Stroud can go twenty four
to thirty two hundred and forty six yards, two touchdowns,
no interceptions.

Speaker 2 (02:03:08):
That's what really didn't happen much this year.

Speaker 4 (02:03:11):
The one is supposed to get you to the other,
and it just didn't very often.

Speaker 3 (02:03:16):
And ironically, the same line that was either opening up
poles or just giving him the ability to make those
cutbacks and provide whatever to get those one hundred plus
yard games was the same line that couldn't protect cjf
to do his part.

Speaker 4 (02:03:31):
And on the mixing thing, first, you know, split his
season in half. He had twenty five or more carries
four times the first seven weeks of the season.

Speaker 2 (02:03:40):
Yeah, we were talking about his usual.

Speaker 4 (02:03:41):
He had more than twenty carries zero times the last
seven games of the season, granted last six because he
didn't play in the last game but the first series,
but something that was extremely common to start the year,
heavy heavy mixing workload. These were it's designed, this is
how they wanted to be and felt like they could

(02:04:03):
be successful playing that way, and they just didn't feel
that way most of the rest of the season, and
they were probably right they were losing.

Speaker 2 (02:04:11):
I just I don't.

Speaker 3 (02:04:13):
I like, I don't go into this game expecting him
to have an insane game, But it does kind of
jump out that in a game where and I know JK.
Dobbins has some injury question marks, but I think, for
all intents and purposes, which is one of those guys
that everybody's beat up this time of year, and he's
he's active, he'll be playing, he'll be doing his thing.
It's the Texans job to keep him from really doing

(02:04:35):
his thing. But it does surprise me. I guess when
I look at over unders that he's not the top
top guy listed.

Speaker 4 (02:04:42):
Derrick Henry, Bucky Irvine, Jean Robinson, James Connor, the four
running backs that had one hundred yard games against the
Chargers this year.

Speaker 2 (02:04:51):
Guess what Dereck Henry's over under is for this week?

Speaker 4 (02:04:54):
Uh, ninety three, ninety nine and a half.

Speaker 3 (02:04:59):
It's there, basically guaranteeing he's going to have one hundred
yards against the crap Steelers.

Speaker 4 (02:05:04):
Talked all week Chargers defense, this Chargers defense that you
can run on the Chargers if you're if you have
a line.

Speaker 3 (02:05:11):
I hope Joe Mixon does because I think that's going
to be very, very good news for the Houston Texans.
We will talk more football coming up at the top
of the.

Speaker 6 (02:05:19):
Hour The A teen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (02:05:27):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team A.

Speaker 2 (02:05:48):
Well. Well at five has arrived.

Speaker 4 (02:05:50):
Half an hour this final hour of the show, we'll
shift into Longhorns Buck Guys coverage from AT and T Stadium,
the last of the semi final. On the college football side,
there are only three teams left. There will be only
two teams left by the end of this evening. Notre
Dame has already arrived there and it was a very
exciting game back and forth, much more entertaining offensive second half,

(02:06:14):
but doesn't mean it wasn't great in the first half either,
when the defense is dominated in Penn State, probably looking
back saying it felt like we were further ahead in
how the game was being played, but certainly not on
the scoreboard. Notre Dame getting a little bit from their
backup quarterback and then everything they needed at the end
of the game. One huge mistake late James Franklin and

(02:06:35):
hoping to get in field goal range late after the
opening play of their final drive that began with less
than a minute left. Was a good, healthy gain on
the ground, so they threw the ball on the next play.
It was cool that a quarterback was in the booth
for this if you were watching and heard what a
former Bama quarterback had to say about it. Sean McDonough
on the call and Greg McElroy there with him, and

(02:06:56):
he basically said, you know this from the first day
you start playing quarterback.

Speaker 2 (02:07:00):
You can't go late over the middle. And that's what
Drew Aller did.

Speaker 4 (02:07:04):
In addition to that, he was off balance, footwork wasn't right,
he was facing the rush, he was about to get hit.
He threw it off his back foot and it just
wasn't a very accurate throw. It was a great play
made by the Notre Dame defense to not only get
there but secure the ball that was looked at for
quite some time to make sure it was an interception.
Notre Dame was able to, even with Penn State having timeouts,

(02:07:26):
essentially bleed the clock out to where Franklin was left with,
I have to call and use my timeouts on defense
to force them to kick the field on fourth down,
even though it's gonna leave me with a couple of
seconds and no timeouts, and ultimately that's how the game ended.
Notre Dame advances, and like I said, it's against one
of these two teams, both of whom I think spent
most of the year with national championship aspirations, and I

(02:07:49):
think Notre Dame spent almost none of the year with
national championship aspirations. If they had them when the year began,
they probably went out the window when Northern Illinois beat them.
They haven't lost since, and that's why they are where
they are heading into the game on the twentieth. We're
heading into a game tomorrow less than twenty four hours away,
the Texans back in the Wildcard round, so naturally is

(02:08:10):
a three point thirty kickoff. It's the first game of
the NFL Wildcard weekend that runs through Monday night. The
Chargers and Justin Herbert come to town, and with that
we have an opportunity to go and check in on
those Chargers. Isaac lohan Kron of the San Diego Chargers, see,
I waited all week. It's Friday, It's a final opportunity
and I actually did it on purpose, just for a see.

Speaker 2 (02:08:32):
I love it.

Speaker 4 (02:08:33):
Los Angeles Chargers Radio Network Isaac Lohan Kron to join
us here. I guess I'll start on the injury front.
Was there anything to be made of them activating a
wide receiver for this game? We're pulling him off of
IR because of Quentin Johnston's situation, just even from a
depth standpoint.

Speaker 7 (02:08:53):
Yeah, I'll get that to that in a minute. What's
this about Big City Wings in studio? Can you save
me some cool ranch dry blend?

Speaker 2 (02:09:00):
Please? We do that anytime? Look at this.

Speaker 7 (02:09:03):
I mean, you know we'll well, we'll have to save it,
but I'm willing to do it.

Speaker 3 (02:09:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (02:09:07):
No.

Speaker 7 (02:09:07):
To answer your question, Simi fojoco, who they who they
activated off of injured reserve? I don't think that's related
to Quentin Johnson's injury. My sense is that Quentin Johnston
will definitely play tomorrow. The question is will he be

(02:09:28):
at one hundred percent? Because the reason is attributed to
illness and a thigh injury. Obviously, as you guys know,
he's coming off the best game of his career against
the Raiders last week. So my guess is he plays.
I can't say for sure. How whether it'll be one
hundred percent effective. I'm not sure the semi fojoco thing

(02:09:50):
is one hundred percent related to that. The other thing
from an injury standpoint, you know, JK. Dobbins was on
the injury report this week because of an ankle injury.
He was limited in practice. I'm certain he's going to play.
The question with him is going to be, you know,
is he going to be at one hundred percent effectiveness?
They did elevate another running back earlier today, but he's

(02:10:11):
a guy who's played on special teams this year. So
I think both of those guys will play. I think
the question is will they be at one hundred percent effectiveness?

Speaker 3 (02:10:20):
Isaac was what was the hyperbolic statement that you got
a bigger kick out of from Rex Ryan the fact
that this is a bye week for the Chargers or
the fact that he's already putting Justin Herbert in the
Hall of Fame.

Speaker 7 (02:10:32):
Look, I am shocked that Rex Ryan is picking against
a team that as a player on its roster named
Henry Too Too, and they also have a guy on
their roster named Tommy Togii. Yet Rex Ryan is picking
against that team. It doesn't make sense to me, knowing

(02:10:57):
what we all know about Rex Ryan.

Speaker 6 (02:11:01):
That being said, as soon as.

Speaker 4 (02:11:02):
You're doing there, we all know you're telling us that
Rex Ryan put his foot in his mouth.

Speaker 7 (02:11:06):
We get it, not the first time, not the last time.
But I just honestly didn't take that very seriously, and
most importantly, the Chargers didn't take it seriously because you know,
as you guys know as we break down this matchup,
and Greg Roman, the Chargers offensive coordinator, said it yesterday,

(02:11:29):
this is the fastest defense that they played this season.
And they're a big play defenses, you guys know, I
mean second in the NFL and interceptions, fourth in sacks.
They've allowed the lowest completion percentage in the NFL. So
you know, my read on the game is the I
think the Chargers are gonna win on paper. I think
they're the better team on paper. But at the same time,

(02:11:53):
absolutely the Texans have a capability to win this game
for sure, and most importantly the Chargers know that themselves
full well as well.

Speaker 4 (02:12:00):
What kind of play has the one postseason game for
Justin Herbert and how it went, What kind of play
is that gotten?

Speaker 7 (02:12:07):
This week it's been less about him, but more about
it from a team wide standpoint, because you know, he
had a really solid game against Jacksonville. He threw for
two seventy three, did not turn the ball over. But
the issue was more that it was a team wide failure.

(02:12:29):
I mean, Joey Bosa very memorably had two unsportsmanlike conduct
penalties in the second half of that game. As I recalled,
during Jacksonville's game winning drive, they allowed a long jet
sweep run on a fourth down play that got them
into the position for a game winning field goal. Jacksonville,

(02:12:49):
during that comeback, pulled off a couple of successful two
point conversions. So I would say it's more of a
team wide narrative than it is a justin Herbert narrative. Now,
if Herbert, you know, uncharacteristically he say, has a multi
interception game tomorrow and they wind up losing, and you know,

(02:13:10):
he's done literally a virtually historic job of limiting his
interceptions this year. But if he has, like a multiple
interception game against a Houston team that has shown a proclivity,
particularly you know, Derek Stingley and Klen Bullock, of coming
up with big plays and making interceptions, then I think
he'll probably be the target for the national narrative.

Speaker 4 (02:13:32):
Well, it's been quite some time since Herbert did that.
How about week six or week seven of the twenty
three season, the last time he had a multi interception game.
How about what should be moving forward and probably is
even today his number one target. The ninth wide receiver
drafted in twenty twenty four was Lad McConkie, and you
could make an argument, a pretty good one, that he

(02:13:53):
had the most successful season of all of the wide
receivers drafted. All things considered, he probably played with the
best quarterback, but it did seem rather quick that they
got on the same page. The style of wide receiver
that mconkie is might not have people comparing him to
neighbors or Brian Thomas Junior or things like that, but
the production, especially this back half of the season, it's

(02:14:16):
been up there with all of the veteran receivers in the.

Speaker 7 (02:14:19):
League, absolutely, And going into this season, people were penciling
into chargers number one receiver as DJ Shark, who wound
up missing the first half of the season with a
groin injury and wound up with just four receptions all
season long. But McConkie has been amazing from day one,
and there was there was a particular stretch during the

(02:14:42):
course of the season. I would say it was it
was roughly about two thirds of the way through the
season when for one reason or another, McConkie was essentially
the only dependable wide receiver that the Chargers had. So
you knew on a gotta have it play, particularly on

(02:15:02):
third down and medium, third down and long, you knew
that the ball was going to him. The defense knew
the ball was going to him, yet they still couldn't
stop him, and he still converted. That was I think
the most impressive part of an extremely impressive season, the
fact that there was a point in the season where,

(02:15:24):
on God to have it plays, the defense knew it
was going to Lad maconkey and they still couldn't stop him.
And as you guys know, what's fascinating tomorrow is he
very well could be matched up against his college teammate
for two national championships at Georgia in Kamari Lassiter.

Speaker 3 (02:15:42):
Jim Harbaugh this time last year was getting prepared to
win a national championship right here in Houston. What his
year one of the Jim Harbaugh experience been like there
in La.

Speaker 7 (02:15:54):
Oh, it's been manna from heaven for Chargers fans because
a Chargers fans standpoint, especially, there was no plan B.

Speaker 2 (02:16:05):
It was Jim.

Speaker 7 (02:16:05):
Harbaugh or bust, and that was Charger fans put literally
all their eggs in Jim Harbaugh's basket when they you know,
fired Brandon Staley and Tom to LESCo towards the end
of last season. I mean, we had callers to our
shows because they were in town for the Rose Bowl
and it was around his birthday. I'm not sure how

(02:16:27):
the timing lined up, but we literally had callers calling
in after you know, Charger games last season singing Jim
Harbaugh Happy Birthday.

Speaker 5 (02:16:35):
On the air.

Speaker 7 (02:16:36):
They had you know, Chargers fans stalking. This too much
of a word, but I would say recruiting him when
Michigan had their team day at Disneyland before the Rose
Bowl last year, and in so many ways, tangibly and
just from just from an organizational soul standpoint, he's transformed

(02:16:59):
the Chargers. I mean from a statistical standpoint, you look
at the pass defense thirtieth in the NFL last year,
seventh this year, scoring defense goes from twenty fourth to first.
But just as sort of a CEO and a leader
of this team. Some of the moves he's made with
bringing Jesse Minter as the defensive coordinator, Ben Herbert as

(02:17:19):
the lead strength and conditioning guy. Even the rehab from
injuries seems to have gone quicker than it has last season.
Just in all aspects of the organization. The results speak
from themselves. Just as a thought exercise earlier today, I
went and looked at their schedule, and there are five
or six games that the Chargers won this season that

(02:17:40):
last year's team before Jim Harbaugh would have lost. And
you know, there hasn't been too significant of a change
in personnel between this year and last year's team. In fact,
from a personnel standpoint, you know, they lost Austin Eckler,
Mike Williams, and Keenan Allen. So you could actually make
the argument that maybe they were not as good on
paper going into the season as they were last year.

Speaker 4 (02:18:02):
You probably could, But I think looking back at it now,
noting what they did do to try to accommodate those
wide receiver losses. Clearly we have already talked about McConkey.
You really mentioned. The last thing I wanted to get
to was probably what he did with his defensive staff.
They hadn't been in the top twenty in points allowed
defensively for four seasons, obviously none of the seasons with
the previous head coach. I am curious though they're number

(02:18:24):
one in scoring defense obviously number one and fewest points allowed.
I do think the offense probably plays a little bit
of a role with how few turnovers they had and
field position and things that go along with that. But
in looking at some of what they did, teams can
and have moved the ball against them, but they don't score.
What is it that they're doing so well?

Speaker 7 (02:18:44):
It's just they're phenomenal in red zone and goal to
go situations. I mean they're first in the league in
red zone touchdown percentage and their third in goal to
go defense. And I think from a run stop being standpoint,
they're really good in short yardage goal line situations. I

(02:19:04):
think a big reason for that is Derwin James, who's
had a career year and really a career renaissance. I
think he's being used in a much more effective way.
I mean, he had a career high ten tackles for
loss this season. But at the same time, while they
have ranked first and third in those categories. You know,

(02:19:25):
as you mentioned, anecdotally, there have been stretches this year
where they have been susceptible to big plays. And oddly enough,
I look at a guy like Damian Pierson if I'm
a Chargers fan, and you know, no disrespect to Joe Mixon,
who's a pro bowler and a thousand yard rusher, but
Damian Pierce is a guy who obviously, you know, ninety

(02:19:46):
two yard touchdown run against the Titans whatever. You know,
Tennessee was already out of it. But I remember very
well two years ago this guy ran for one thirty
one against the Chargers, including a seventy five yard touchdown
run in that game. So he's a guy who has
big playability. So certainly, you know, their numbers and their
rankings defensively speak for themselves, but there have been certain,

(02:20:08):
you know, anecdotal moments throughout the season where they have
been vulnerable to big plays.

Speaker 4 (02:20:14):
Well, I'll take that and walk you out the door
with the numbers. Conversely, the Chargers, as you mentioned, first
in red zone defense, third in goal to go percentage defense,
the Texans twenty seventh and thirtieth defensively, respectively, great defense.

Speaker 2 (02:20:30):
It's exactly the opposite.

Speaker 4 (02:20:32):
They have not been good in those situations where the
Chargers have really good stuff, very entertaining matchup. I think
we're in store for and Isaac. We certainly appreciate your
time this afternoon.

Speaker 7 (02:20:42):
Thank you. And I can't wait to try that boneless
wing basket for Big City Wings. Appreciate your time, guys,
thank you.

Speaker 3 (02:20:48):
I love this guy absolutely, and Big City Sam loves
him too.

Speaker 2 (02:20:51):
He does.

Speaker 3 (02:20:52):
All right, we got one more segment before we make
way for the Longhorns and the buck guys right here
on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (02:21:01):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety Adam Clinton, I'd Adam.

Speaker 5 (02:21:07):
Wet for it.

Speaker 6 (02:21:08):
The eighteen.

Speaker 2 (02:21:17):
Is this where we make our picks?

Speaker 4 (02:21:19):
Now after we give away the last of our Monster
Jam tickets, I'm going, oh good February second. I'm not
going with whoever wins, uh, I mean you'll be leave
me alone if you see me.

Speaker 2 (02:21:29):
No, I'm kidding.

Speaker 4 (02:21:30):
Well, it does remind me before we get to that
and you come up with a question to give away
the Monster Jams. Okay, so yesterday was over at Tom's
watch Bar for yet another a watch party. We'll have
another one coming up on January twenty fifth, Ad Jose
and the winner, George, we're all hanging out with me
for the game last night. So he got himself a
couple of tickets to go see the Grizzlies and the Rockets.

(02:21:52):
They'll be here in town.

Speaker 3 (02:21:53):
If you like seeing all the free throws on TV,
now you can see them in persons.

Speaker 4 (02:21:57):
That'll be Monday night. Great food obviously, lots great to
drinks out there. It's a nice cool night. I had
a lot of cold drinks and just off one table
away from us, there was one two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve,
thirteen dudes together.

Speaker 2 (02:22:13):
They were all wearing Irish gear. No, they were not.

Speaker 4 (02:22:17):
Actually, they were very far removed from the Notre Dame
penn S date game. They were from Nebraska, and they
set themselves up to come to Houston by choice, group
decision because they wanted to have Alex's bachelor party in Houston.
They're going to the Texans game tomorrow, and they knew

(02:22:40):
they were leaving town before Monday, so they were hoping, well,
the Texans are going to be scheduled for Saturday, we hope,
so we can go obviously that happened.

Speaker 2 (02:22:48):
Well, they've paid attention to their history.

Speaker 4 (02:22:50):
They managed to find their way to enough seats to
accommodate the whole crew. They were a bachelor party, so
their routing this factor, I thought was pretty on point.
I don't know how the last time you've enjoyed a
large beer from Tom's watch bar. I think the design

(02:23:10):
of their mugs basically is genius. Their dual handle, so
they're not going to spill on delivery, and they're probably
not going to spill when thirteen guys at a bachelor
party stack all the empties on top of each other
like that, so they had a good time. They were
They were excited for George when I announced him as
the winner, even though that meant they lost out. And

(02:23:30):
I did tell Alex and Chloe congrats, best of luck
on your April wedding.

Speaker 2 (02:23:36):
Uh did they seem like it was gonna stick? Well?

Speaker 4 (02:23:39):
All of his friends, these guys were probably at least
one year younger than I was.

Speaker 2 (02:23:45):
The old lines of all, who's the fool here? Who's
you know?

Speaker 4 (02:23:49):
What are you doing here? You know you still got
three months to change your mind, you know.

Speaker 3 (02:23:52):
I did have somebody reach out to me before my
first wedding, and they essentially very friendly said sure, Uh, that.

Speaker 4 (02:24:00):
The question that you can answer. Oh, I had one, Oh,
go ahead, fire away.

Speaker 3 (02:24:05):
I mentioned to our guest last segment that there were
two hyperbolic statements Rex Ryan made in relation to the
Texans Chargers game this weekend. We all know the first one.

Speaker 4 (02:24:17):
Yeah, again, this this information is for a four pack
of tickets with pit passes to Monster Jam on Sunday,
February second at NRG Stadium.

Speaker 5 (02:24:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:24:24):
He's essentially rendered this playoff game meaningless. It doesn't even
need to be played because the Chargers have a bye week.

Speaker 4 (02:24:30):
Got it.

Speaker 3 (02:24:31):
What's the other thing I mentioned? He said to our
guest that was kind of over the top.

Speaker 4 (02:24:38):
Yeah, if you listened to us earlier this week, I
definitely went off on that part of his comment. And
if you listened a few moments ago, and you'll know
the answer to the question seven one three two one
two five seven ninety seven one three two one two
five seven ninety The other item mentioned by Rex Ryan
that seemed absolutely ludicrous at this point in time from
an NFL perspective. We just brought it up a few

(02:24:58):
minutes ago. What was it regarding UH. One of the
two quarterbacks set to play a hand Saturday seven, seven
ninety have a four pack or two maybe more to
UH hand out to a lucky listener now right now, okay,
you go first, Saturday three thirty. What happens by six.

Speaker 3 (02:25:19):
Thirty Texans twenty four, Chargers twenty seven.

Speaker 2 (02:25:30):
Wow?

Speaker 4 (02:25:30):
That is I am not in sports kind of score.
I'm in news and I'm reading the sports. Sportscaster hasn't
come in today.

Speaker 3 (02:25:37):
I did it intentionally because if usually you do it
the right way, you.

Speaker 4 (02:25:40):
Left his hanging like a good Jeopardy host would on
Final Jeopardy when you write it down. He goes, oh,
you wrote down that's a good at correct. How much
did you wager? Okay, so you got the Chargers winning.
Moving on, the Texan season ends without a playoff victory
in year two of Demik Will and CJ. Very interesting.

(02:26:02):
I think something we just talked about with Isaac will
be in play and the Texans will be very They'll
be flirting with disaster the whole game. Drive down the field,
field goal, drive down the field, field goal. It's what
other teams have fallen to against the Chargers, and I
think they are going to as well, two touchdowns.

Speaker 2 (02:26:21):
Three field goals.

Speaker 4 (02:26:22):
Texans are sitting on twenty three and it's enough to
get them the victory.

Speaker 2 (02:26:26):
Wow, they score twenty three points and they win by
how many.

Speaker 4 (02:26:30):
U twenty three, twenty twenty three, seventeen somewhere in that neighborhood,
twenty three to twenty one.

Speaker 3 (02:26:35):
I I mean, I hope I'm wrong because I'd like
it to. You know, it would be fun provided everything
goes according to plan outside of this matchup, that the
Texans go back to Arrowhead and shock the world.

Speaker 4 (02:26:49):
I kind of feel like if the Texans win, which
is an upset, it will not be the only upset
in the AFC playoffs and they will thus not end
up in Kansas City.

Speaker 2 (02:27:01):
But it has nothing to do with them.

Speaker 4 (02:27:02):
No, absolutely not, and it really doesn't matter. I think
of these.

Speaker 2 (02:27:06):
Games killers knock off the Ravens.

Speaker 5 (02:27:07):
See.

Speaker 4 (02:27:08):
Yeah, that's the thing. I basically told you what I'm
saying without saying it. That means I think the Broncos
are gonna upset the Bills.

Speaker 3 (02:27:14):
But if they do, that's not a surprise to me.
As crazy as that sounds. I know it's in Buffalo.
I know it's a rookie quarterback who cares like nobody.
You know what's funny.

Speaker 2 (02:27:26):
Nobody gave the Texans a chance against Cleveland last year.

Speaker 4 (02:27:29):
I was so foolish because they were looking at what
happened when Amari Cooper and Joe Flacco took apart case
Keenum's team again defensively, I couldn't believe it.

Speaker 2 (02:27:37):
Let me tell you something about Josh Allen.

Speaker 4 (02:27:38):
If you were unaware, there is one quarterback Steinfeld in
postseason history with twenty or more touchdowns passing in five
or fewer interceptions in the history of the NFL. He
is it. Twenty one touchdown passes, four interceptions in his
ten career playoff games. Like quarterbacks who've had great regular seasons,

(02:27:59):
great numbers, all sorts of things, don't always continue to
have great postseasons. Lamar Jackson would like to put that
to bed. Even Tom Brady's postseason numbers aren't remotely close
to his regular season numbers. Josh Allen is a career
one hundred on the nose postseason passer.

Speaker 2 (02:28:16):
Texas twenty seven to twenty. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:28:18):
I'll take Texas to outscore Oklahoma. Oh high status, give
me a score. Yeah, I can give you a score.
I'll give it to you tonight after it's over.

Speaker 2 (02:28:24):
That's crap.

Speaker 3 (02:28:26):
Uh yeah, Look, that's the perfect weekend for fans in
these parts, I would assume. But yeah, I like it.
I like that to be how things go. And we'll
get you to coverage right away. Have a great weekend.
We'll discuss it all on Monday the eighteen

Speaker 6 (02:28:43):
On Sports Talk seven ninety

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