Texans Rocking, Rockets Rolling, Anyone Checking In On the Astros?

Wex and AC get you caught up on a Tuesday with everything surrounding the Texans' short week and provide a status update on C.J. Stroud. 

Episode Transcript

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

Speaker 2 (00:06):
By Earl.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
Nolan, moulted by the magnificent roller coaster ride that is
Houston sports.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Chill lage down for the only homegrown afternoon team. Is
talking your teams? Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the
A Team.

Speaker 4 (00:35):
A straight up two o'clock here on Sportstocks seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (00:51):
It is the A Team. It's wax. It's a c
Another full show tonight. Are taking you to six o'clock tonight.
I should say Tomorrow will be a little abbreviated because
the Rockets will resume their schedule and they'll be in Cleveland,
so Rockets coverage will somewhat preempt our show.

Speaker 6 (01:09):
But unlike yesterday, we won't wait an hour and eight
minutes to give you the CJ Stroud news.

Speaker 5 (01:14):
He is out Thursday.

Speaker 6 (01:15):
Just announced it give years ago by Demico Ryans Jalen
Petrie as well.

Speaker 5 (01:19):
Go ahead, that's it. That's the news. They will both
miss Thursday's game. Okay, all right, I was gonna get
to that, but that's fine. They weren't ever well. CJ
was never going to play.

Speaker 6 (01:30):
After they yesterday turned to practice today. That doesn't you
know what, No, I say that, so people understand what
the concussion protocol is all about. You have to practice
and then practice again and then clear all the doctors necessary.
But make through this happen, make this happen. Okay, then okay, Well,
they don't have two more practices this week. They had

(01:52):
one it was today. They had one yesterday, which would
not have changed their status.

Speaker 5 (01:57):
They don't.

Speaker 6 (01:58):
The opportunity to change their STAFY is not in existence.
That's also what Demiko said today. The timing isn't there.
They actually might feel good, and they clearly both do. Obviously,
some of these symptoms have been subsiding, and have subsided
enough to be out there on the field. I was
out there on the field today, you wouldn't have known
any different watching him. You would have known a difference
based on how he was even participating for the little

(02:20):
practice that we see. But you also have to consider
what's ahead. Well after today, they're not practicing Thursday, they're
not practicing Friday, they're not practicing Saturday, they're not practicing Sunday.
It's possible next week they will have a Monday practice
before their Sunday game. I don't know that for sure,
I'm guessing they will, and then both of them will

(02:41):
participate in that practice. So Wednesday, for the first true
practice of the week for next game that Sunday the
thirties against Colts, they will be able to practice fully
and completely having cleared the concussion protocol for what will
then be a normal Wednesday, Thursday Friday practice for your
upcoming game.

Speaker 5 (03:00):
Part of the process, Well, okay, first things first, the
task at hand. The Buffalo Bills. The Texans play them
in two nights, so I know that we want to
know when CJ is going to be back on You
got to win this game Thursday, in my opinion for
any of that other stuff to even start mattering. I'm

(03:21):
not saying it doesn't matter when CJ comes back, but
if CJ comes back to a team that cannot really
make the postseason in all likelihood, because there's just even
more every time you lose a game from here on
out that the battle gets more uppill.

Speaker 6 (03:33):
And in this one it matters more than some are
leading people to believe. There's only so many teams that
you can catch. I still, somehow don't think people realize
that yet. If you can't catch these teams well, then
you can win all you want.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
It won't matter. You're a maths, a math.

Speaker 6 (03:50):
You have to get out of eighth place and into
seventh place. You have to pass at least one more team.
You've passed the Kansas City Chiefs. You give that back
if you lose to them down the but you keep
it and they're not no longer concerned for you. Likely
if you keep winning. Okay, well that's one team. Well,
Jacksonville's still ahead of you and you don't have any
more games against them. The Bills are still ahead of

(04:11):
you by two wins. Well, if you beat them this week,
that's another team you have a chance to catch.

Speaker 5 (04:17):
That matters.

Speaker 6 (04:18):
If you lose to them, that's another team you have
zero chance to catch, and they're only an eight win team.
The Colts can get their ninth to win this weekend.
The Patriots and Broncos already have nine wins. You're running
out of teams to catch. The Chargers, Bills, and Jaguars
essentially are it because the other teams in the I mean,

(04:39):
you have to consider the two teams in the North.
But you have the same record as the Ravens already,
and you have the tiebreaker and the Ravens are gonna
end up winning the division. So hopefully you can at
least have the same record as the Steelers at the
end of the year, who may or may not have
a broken wristed Aaron Rodgers playing for them this upcoming
week and they only have one more win than you.

(04:59):
There's a half of the AFC that's ahead of you
is uncatchable, and Buffalo joins them if they beat you.
It's about you got to catch somebody. So anything that
helps you do that. And this weekend's game is among
those games. This Thursday's game is among those games.

Speaker 5 (05:14):
They're huge, Yeah, it is. It's not a great place
to be. But looking back on your own three start,
that's the first thing you have to look at, because
I think, why can't you look at your five and
three since well, what I'm saying is the reason you're
in this two The reason you're yeah, that's right, isn't it? Yes,

(05:34):
that's on the fly. The reason you're in this position
at all is because and again we did what did
we just got to get done? Saying yesterday, well, some
of these losses it looked better, you know.

Speaker 6 (05:44):
Would you look at this game as you're preparing for it.
If you're a texaner, you're the fans, would you look
at it? It's just another game.

Speaker 5 (05:51):
This game this week? Yeah? No, that word for word
what Davis Mills just said, Well, what does he know?
I love it, love it. I mean, are you preparing
for this game?

Speaker 6 (05:59):
You have Thursday night, everyone's watching and it's just another
game a little bit.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
We got to go one to know each week. I
love it. It's genius. It is if you if you're
a player, I think that is a better way to
look at it. If you're a fan, it's not at.

Speaker 6 (06:13):
All how you're gonna ever look at it, and it
shows you the different we are watching scoreboards, looking at
the standings, paying out scenario. We've been here for six minutes.
We've already done it for about five of those rights.
The Texans are players for the most part, especially still
at this point in the season. Their last game put
them at ten games into the season. They still have
seven more games to go, and looking at the standings

(06:36):
and well, we need to win this one. So they
don't look at it like that, not till way way
further into the season. It's even true in baseball, it's
way or more true in basketball, they don't look at
the standing until like the last ten days, the last
eight or nine games maybe, But we do, and you do,
and we welcome the conversation on such.

Speaker 5 (06:54):
No, absolutely, and we will today. You want to weigh
in in any way, shape or form, we can, But
I just if PU this way. I told you I'm
going to the game on Thursday. You guys will be
there as well. They don't find a way to win
this game, it's going to be very, very difficult for

(07:16):
me personally to invest in anything other than Okay, at
this point, you're basically hurting your draft stock. And I
know you hate that, and I know that sounds awful,
especially in mid November, But going back to what I
just got done saying that's the position you put yourself
in when unfortunately you lost one score games to X,

(07:38):
Y and Z teams to start zero to three.

Speaker 6 (07:40):
Yeah, I understand every position matters if you're ninth or thirteenth,
or if you're twelveth through sixteenth.

Speaker 5 (07:45):
Yeah, there's there's a little bit of difference.

Speaker 6 (07:47):
But to me, if you're one through seven, one through six,
it's a big deal. Most years anywhere else outside of
the playoff pictures not not the end of the world.
I'm not going to be mad at them for going
eight and nine and instead of six and eleven. They
both missed the playoffs. Neither is top of the draft.
It's an awful place to be. But they're already five

(08:07):
and five, right and they lose this game, they're five
and six, and they're by no means out of the
playoffs because they could remain just one win behind Jacksonville
and remain with the same record as the Kansas City Chiefs.
I mean, there's still way too much season left with
what isn't in the standings to just say, well that
was that, why bother bringing CJ back? Or if you
can't beat I understand what a big picture means. So

(08:30):
great they made the playoffs, Well they didn't beat the Bills,
and then they didn't beat the Colt I mean, at
some point, if they're gonna be in the playoffs, well
that also means they didn't lose to the Colts twice
and the Chiefs after losing to the Bills, because that's
ten losses. You're not going to the playoffs with ten losses.
If this team loses to the Bills and makes the playoffs.

(08:50):
That means they beat somebody really really good, whether it
was the Chiefs or the Colts or the Chargers later
this year. So that's all still in front of them,
and those potentially, certainly the Charge potentially are a team
you might need to beat in order to qualify for
the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (09:05):
The Chargers couldn't even beat the Jags this past week.
Neither could the Texans. Once that's true, I did forget
about that. Neither could the Chiefs. Yeah, the Chiefs can
mess around the miss the playoffs.

Speaker 6 (09:14):
Chiefs are technically right behind the Texans at five and five,
sitting in the nine spot in the AFC. They've just
we talked about them quite a bit yesterday, and I'll
run through the entire slate of AFC teams and you'll
see why every team is where they are. Guess why
the Broncos have nine wins because they won a bunch
of close games. Guess why the Chiefs have five losses

(09:35):
because they lose a lot of close games. It's very simple.
Every year, these teams are not separated by much. And
I bring up those teams specifically, the Broncos are nine
and two. There are four wins better than the Chiefs, right, yep.
They beat them on the last play of the game
with a field goal two days ago. That's how much
better they are. It's just they've won the close games
and the Chiefs haven't. They're not that much better than them.

(09:56):
Their record says that they are. They just played fifty
nine minutes in fIF seconds of a tie game and
then the field goal went through and that was all
she wrote.

Speaker 5 (10:04):
Have you sat there, and I know you have, and
just looked at the scores for this season for Texans games,
it's all over the map.

Speaker 6 (10:12):
Well, two of the games are with Davis Mills. One
of the games was against Cooper Rush and like the
worst version of the Ravens we've seen in a decade. Maybe, yeah, so,
I think some of those are out there. Otherwise, even
those losses and then most of the games with CJ
after that, they're very fairly similar. They don't feel similar.
The Niners win and the Seahawks loss, and then the

(10:35):
Bucks and Rams losses, the Jaguars losses. Do they seem
that dissimilar the.

Speaker 5 (10:39):
First three game. The first three games look almost identical
in that they're all one score games. In some cases,
you know, less than a field goal in the Buccaneers case,
I should say, but they were all winnable. They all
you could have won on the final drive of the game.
I think I don't remember how the Jaguars game ended.

(10:59):
I kind of blacked that one out, But that ends.

Speaker 6 (11:01):
We're hoping to get the final late score and not
able to do that if I'm not taking.

Speaker 5 (11:06):
Yeah, well, the Rams they had the ball and were driving.
You fumbled. Buccaneers, you got the drive, you actually scored,
and then you couldn't stop them, which is really weird
in a season like this, with the defense playing the
way it did.

Speaker 6 (11:19):
It was the pass to Kirk the Heinzel and beat
uh Ers Rey ball got tipped picked off right there
in the inside.

Speaker 5 (11:26):
The you're throwing to the former Jaguar and it didn't
go well for you against the Jaguars. You're talking about
the Jags.

Speaker 6 (11:31):
Game, Yeah, seventeen ten. Why did they lose that game?
That's why they lost it. They drove all the way
down the field. The line of scrimmage was the twenty
eight yard line. They threw it inside. They basically were
trying to score on that play. It was third and
one and got intercepted. Kneel down followed game was over.

Speaker 5 (11:45):
I liked thirty six to twenty nine much better when
it came to playing the Jags this year. But yeah,
there's it really at this point because each week, I mean, okay, great,
say you get that Bills win. Well, now you got
to go to Indianapolis and say, somehow, some way you
the probably nine and two Colts at that point. Then
you've got to go to Arrowhead and win that game.

(12:05):
All of this to keep your season alive each week.
So when you hear the one game at a time
stuff from Davis Mills, or you hear a coach say
we're trying to go one and oh each week, it
sounds very cliched, and it is. But in this case,
that's where the Texans are, and that's where they've put themselves.

Speaker 6 (12:20):
The question of the day for you guys the rest
of the show, and at least through Thursdays. First snap,
who do you got? You got Bill's mafia or Mills Mafia?
Davis Mills will start his third consecutive game for the Texans.
You are not Sunday Night. So they're red helmets at
practice today. They are best in the league type stuff.
Love them they'll be fully red head to toe against

(12:43):
these Buffalo bills. So we encourage the conversation on that
hit you with best of X Father and Son edition
coming at two thirty. Our signature segment What's today? Today's Tuesday?
Say what come in your way? A little bit later
here on the program. We do that at four to
thirty each shin every week to afternoon here on the
A Team and a host of other items.

Speaker 5 (13:02):
This afternoon, be a fun ride here on the eight.

Speaker 1 (13:04):
Team, the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (13:16):
It is the A Team Sports Talk seven ninety. WEXAC
with you on a Tuesday edition of the program. Now,
one thing we didn't get to in the first segment,
and it's like, what is less than zero surprise that
this was said today in the grand scheme of things.
We finally got a non update update on Joe Mixon

(13:38):
from Nick Cassario went on local radio and said the following,
It's a very gray situation. Joe's worked at it. There
were times where he's made progress and other times when
the progress is kind of stalled. Obviously, we're getting pretty
late in the game here. I don't want to establish
any sort of expectations I don't think we have any

(14:00):
clarity at this point. He's out until he's not, and
thus concluded the Houston Texans career of one Joe Mixon.

Speaker 6 (14:08):
Contractually speaking, it's a pretty good chance that's the case.
Kind of felt this way throughout the season. It is
unlike I think your typical injury, and I don't know
that everybody's willing to I don't know realize that, oh
he broke his ankle and he had surgery. Oh, he
broke his leg and he had surgery, he's got an
acl injury. That's not what happened here, and it's not
even close to what happened here. Unfortunately, part of the

(14:31):
lack of I guess understanding of the situation is that
we have a lack of understanding of the situation because
something obviously happened to Joe Mixon beyond your normal injury,
as in probably possibly had some treatment that went in
a direction they did not expect, had a surgery that
went in a direction we did not expect, had outside

(14:51):
help outside the Texans that did not go the way
that they expected, Complications from surgery, infections from surgery, the
need to go back in because of an unsuccessful surgery.
They've not given us any information on that front. A
couple people have reported some different issues at times for
Joe Mixon.

Speaker 5 (15:08):
We know that he's been around the facility a little bit.

Speaker 6 (15:10):
People have seen him around at events a little bit,
as have I But I think it's a situation where
that's why it's the answer that to Nick gave, I'm
sure is very accurate, and unfortunately it doesn't take you
anywhere because he's trying. I don't think there's a lack
of He didn't just bag the season. He did just
say well, it's just not gonna work out. I'm not

(15:30):
gonna try to come back. His career is not over.
I don't think there's more football for Joe Mixon, and
I think he's put everything he's had into trying to
come back from whatever this setback is. And that's why
I think Nick described it like that. At times it
probably looked like progress was being made and then there wasn't.
And that's where we are. There are eight weeks or
seven weeks of season left. The Texans have played ten

(15:51):
games through the eleven weeks that have been here. I really,
honestly do think the run game would have been only
marginally improved. I can recognize how good of a player
he is, how strong of a player he is. But
I think the way the Texans have done things, I
don't know if people have paid attention to this either.
You know, the last couple of weeks, the Texans are
basically throwing the ball NonStop, and I actually think it's working.

(16:14):
It worked right before CJ went down against the Broncos.
It's obviously worked in the two games that Davis Mills
has started work to the point that, yes, I realized
they haven't scored. That's where I would insert this other
comment on Joe Mixon's absence. The Texans in the red
zone have been almost crippled by the fact that they
don't have Joe Mixon because he is good enough and

(16:36):
he has a good enough nose for the end zone
as a top level red zone back that he would
find a way more often than not. He wouldn't just
run into the line and say, I can't believe I
didn't get through three thousand pounds of man meat. That's shocking.
I don't know how that didn't happen. Wood he Marks
does that, British Brooks does that. Nick Chubb does that,
there's nowhere for them to go. I think Mixon might

(16:57):
be able to do something else with that. They wouldn't
call as many plays like that. I think they're very
restricted and very conservative what they want to call. Because
the person standing behind CJ. Stroud or next to them
stupidly in the shotgun at the one yard line is
Joe Mixon instead of these players, I think it changes
a lot of how they would call it, how they
would address these play calls, and obviously the success rate

(17:20):
would not I would just have to assume it wouldn't
be quite as low as it is. They're just awful
in the red zone. They don't understand, haven't understood enough.
Last couple weeks have been a little bit better Woody
Mark's touchdown run from the red zone. Again, I watch
enough other football. People have got to stop saying this
is a Texans problem. Only watch the other teams and
how lazy, stupid, and boring their offensive coordinators are. When

(17:41):
they get to the one and two yard line, let's
run it up the middle. If we can't get a
yard here, then we're doing it wrong. Or you could
just do something else and score a touchdown. The Texans
ran a pitch play to Woody Marx, untouched touchdown, ran
to the corner of the end zone, got a second
block after Ersery got mad contact with the first player
he hit. He went out there with him, got a
second player, and you scored a touchdown. He had to

(18:03):
beat two guys, not nine guys. It really doesn't seem
as hard as these ocs make it.

Speaker 5 (18:08):
Well, I know it's different once you get down there,
but I still, fundamentally in my brain just hate the
fact that you're getting down there and then you're not.
It's like putting runners on base and then them not
coming home.

Speaker 6 (18:22):
Well, it is more difficult, I know, granted because there's
less field less field, everybody is right there. I do
think the Texans are doing one other thing fundamentally wrong.
You can do it maybe if you if you do
it on one of your three snaps before fourth down,
but you sure can't do it on all three snaps.
And they've they've shown the inability to get away from this.
If you don't want everybody right there over center and

(18:44):
in the box, then don't run a formation that begs
the entire defense to get up there and in the box.
Unless you're tricking them go ahead line, Jaden Higgins up
right over your sixth offensive lineman, bring Dalton Schultz in
motion and have him stop right before he gets to Erstreet.
It's great, the entire defense will be in the box. Well,
then fake the handoff, run a play action, and throw

(19:06):
it to the absolutely wide open Cad Stover who snuck
through the line and nobody went with them because they're
expecting you to run, and then you are running and
it's not going to work because their entire team is there.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
Your entire team isn't there.

Speaker 6 (19:19):
CJ's not there, the running back's not there, the wide
receivers aren't usually in the middle of the line making blocks.
So in addition to their whole team being there, your
whole team isn't there. And it's the worst part of
your team that is there, your on line.

Speaker 5 (19:32):
And don't you think similar? Since I just brought up
a Astro's analogy, don't you think similar to us? Just
not really talking about it all that much this year,
no one's really pointed to well, I mean, Texans didn't
have Joe Mixon this whole year as to why they're
having offensive woes, even though you could probably point to

(19:53):
him helping on a lot.

Speaker 6 (19:54):
Of these areas and tell you why I haven't pointed
to it. That was my initial comment. That's not how
you fix this offense. No, I know that the drop
off from Joe mixonto what they have. I said it
before the season, and the numbers make me look like
a moron, But I don't really care. I do not
think that's why this offense is struggling.

Speaker 5 (20:09):
But in the red zone specifically, and you just got
done saying he could saw red.

Speaker 6 (20:13):
Zone specifically, I definitely would change my tune.

Speaker 5 (20:16):
But if the offense is good enough to get to
the red zone and then he's punching it in when
you've been stuffed in other running scenarios, I mean, that's
probably enough for at least a couple wins. It could
be it, certainly.

Speaker 6 (20:28):
I mean, if you're down, you know, one score games,
Absolutely it makes a difference. Whether it's the first quarter
or the fourth quarter. You could have a two score
lead instead of a one score lead, instead of Kaymi
Fairbairn blowing everybody away. When it comes to I wonder
who the Texans leading scorer is this year. Maybe he
has fewer field goal attempts. Maybe you think trying a
field goal from inside the thirty five yard line is

(20:48):
absolutely stupid. Maybe I don't know, I would I would
like to unless it's fourth in the maximum amount of
yards it can be while still kicking it from an
inside the twenty five yard line. I hate short field goals,
and the only thing that Texans did even more wrong
last week, which you've gosh, you've got to avoid when
it's fourth and goal from the one and you go
for it, pretty much everything that can happen is still good.

Speaker 5 (21:12):
You can get stuffed, but it's.

Speaker 6 (21:14):
Still good because what happens on the very next snap
the other quarterback is standing in the end zone when
he takes it, they're gonna throw away their first day
and play probably, or if they drop back or if
they hand.

Speaker 5 (21:25):
Off in the end zone.

Speaker 6 (21:26):
Al you saw safety last night and the Cowboys Raiders
game for that very reason. They gave the ball to
Ashton Jenty and he couldn't get out of the end zone.
That's still a good result, but not when fourth and
one and Davis Mills drops back ten yards, it gets
sacked and now they get first and ten from the
eleven and they're standing at the nine yard line instead
of the end zone that just probably want to at

(21:46):
least put the ball in the air or throw it
away or just do something.

Speaker 5 (21:49):
It's it's unfortunate. And the update I'm using air quotes
was exactly what I thought it would be when he
said about three or four weeks ago that we were
three and a four weeks away from five whatever out.
I just I guess, I just wonder was he worried
that if they had said, well, there's a chance and

(22:09):
then he didn't play, that they would look bad because
I never thought he was going to play.

Speaker 6 (22:12):
I think he has ever been in a situation this year,
certainly not since the season started where it was obvious
to the team and the medical staff that he was
not going to play this year.

Speaker 5 (22:23):
And I don't even think that is true today.

Speaker 6 (22:25):
I don't think it's obvious to them unless I'm totally
naive and misreading it completely, that he is completely and
obviously unable to get healthy before the season ends.

Speaker 5 (22:34):
That's my belief. I could be wrong.

Speaker 6 (22:36):
It would help try to explain why they haven't been
more clear about it, because that would be presenting a
very unclear situation to your point, as usual, if they
knew and Joe knew and the medical staff knew, and
it's been a now a twelve week charade that makes
no sense. But there's no Again, coaches do weird things
sometimes when it comes to do with injuries. But you'd

(22:57):
have to really sit me down and see, how about
an hour's worth of conversation, explain to me how you
and your staff think this is at all a benefit
to anybody. Because that's why I have a hard time
kind of being more in disbelief about what they're doing
and kind of I don't want to say giving them
benefit of the doubt, but that's my understanding of the situation,

(23:18):
because yeah, I definitely don't understand the other the other alternative.

Speaker 5 (23:21):
There's no there's no advantage to.

Speaker 6 (23:22):
This, like just tell us, like if they really have
a concrete answer, then there's no advantage. If they have
a cloudy situation, which is truly what I believe has
been the mixing story this year, then it's more understandable.

Speaker 5 (23:35):
Especially competitive advantages. None of the things out there are like, oh, well,
we don't know. For facing Joe Mixon, who's in his
first game.

Speaker 6 (23:40):
Coach McDermott, Nick Casaria said there's a chance that Joe
Mixon could come back this week.

Speaker 5 (23:45):
Do you care at all? Are you even game planning
for that scenario?

Speaker 6 (23:50):
Yes, they have a great player coming back. We care absolutely.
Don't ask me a question like that. Don't be till
disrespectful about a player like that. Come on, man, But yeah,
we're going to game plan for the team with or
without him. It kind of makes a difference when you
have a quarterback change more than these changes. But they
will continue running with the Woody and Chubb Show.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (24:18):
Did you all see this?

Speaker 7 (24:19):
You should be putting out between five and fifteen posts day.

Speaker 6 (24:23):
Four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media.

Speaker 7 (24:26):
History repeats itself type bang, you will succeed.

Speaker 5 (24:31):
Never doubt that you're the one.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
Who bustle no one building.

Speaker 5 (24:36):
You're the best OX.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
Nothing's gonna have top.

Speaker 7 (24:40):
You know, you're the best of it, posting every single day,
and you're the best of X breaking the entire internet.

Speaker 5 (24:58):
All right, it is the best of X. It is
a Rockets list Basketball day today, they'll be back at
it again tomorrow night. Nationally televised Tilt between Your Rockets
at nine to three and the I'm not going to
call the Calves red hot, but I will call Donovan

(25:19):
Mitchell red hot. He's scoring like nearly forty every night lately. Yeah,
Brian T.

Speaker 6 (25:23):
Smith thinks he's one of the best ten players in
the NBA, while Kevin Durant is not.

Speaker 5 (25:27):
Just last week, yeah, no, it was good stuff.

Speaker 6 (25:31):
I'm sure I'll have an updated list this week, as
he suggested that he does right there on Talk Sports.

Speaker 5 (25:35):
I'll tell you what. And I know he played last year.
I vividly remember that game we were at. We were
able to place around the corner from the Space City Studios.
I was. It was a viewing party and the Rockets
spanked the Cavaliers in Cleveland that night. I think they
were without Evan Mobley. If I recall that, Donovan Mitchell
definitely did play. I bring all this up because Rockets

(25:56):
didn't play last night either. It's a little bit of
quirk in this early calendar where they're playing a ton
of road games and they'll play another one tomorrow night,
but they've gotten a lot of rest in between. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (26:07):
This isn't in reference to who they've played, but rather
when they have played, they've had the easiest schedule. In
the NBA, they opened before every other team in the
league did, but three on the twenty first have had
multiple situations. This is yet another one where they have
two days off in between games. They just spent three
games at home, so they spent nearly an entire week
at home, and it was all in advance of starting

(26:29):
a stretch of five out of six on the road.
They've traveled a lot, As you said, they've played a
lot of road games, but they've also had a lot
of time to rest, recover, and again while at home,
especially run through practices. For this particular team, I haven't
really looked or never bothered to. I don't know how
many different competitive teams changed three players in their starting

(26:49):
lineup from last year to this year, but the Rockets did,
and I do think that helped them a great deal
for the ability to get into the season the way
that they have. Some of who they've played clearly plays
into this, but I also think some of the scheduling
does too.

Speaker 5 (27:04):
They've won none of their last ten games. But I
want to reemphasize what you said, it's not who they've
played that has made it easy, right, it's when they've played. Yeah,
they've they've played good teams. I don't know.

Speaker 6 (27:14):
Again, I'm not sure of everybody else's schedule, but we're
twelve thirteen, fourteen games in. There can't be many teams
like Houston that's played the best two teams in the
NBA already. He played him on the first two nights
of the season, right, Isn't that crazy you think about that?
What a juggernaut to start the year. No wonder they
were owing to except they're clearly right there with him
those one game since. Yeah, there's only one other team

(27:36):
with a better record than Houston. They've they've played very
very well. That has basketball has something to do with
Best of x H not really the Rocket.

Speaker 5 (27:43):
One of the teams they played, and one against the
Milwaukee Bucks, who were featured last night when Giannis was
still healthy in this interview took place. Yeah, he has
a groin. Now, he's got a groin. He's a dang
good kid, but he's going to be out a while
after we looked at that. Mr he's got a groin,
That's what Gary would say. But he's not the head
coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Doc Rivers is and Doc

(28:07):
Rivers was interviewed last night before the game. Now that's
not out of the ordinary. I mean, coaches do pregame
areas national game.

Speaker 6 (28:14):
You got a few minutes for our reporter on scene,
so we can get a little bit for our pregame coverage.

Speaker 5 (28:18):
Absolutely, Oh I want to talk to you. Ever, Oh
it's it's my son. I don't want to talk to him. Yeah.
Austin Rivers conducted the pregame interview and there's no really,
there's no setup for this. Just listen and enjoy doc.
You guys are eight and six on the year. That's
my name.

Speaker 2 (28:34):
Tonight, Okay, tonight.

Speaker 8 (28:37):
Tonight I do five and five over your last ten. Yeah,
what are some ways that you guys can clean up
or maybe improve on tonight to get a winvers the Cavs.

Speaker 9 (28:44):
We got to rebound better, we gotta follow less, and
we got to get to the paint more.

Speaker 8 (28:49):
Have you watched on the bench and are you excited
about me tonight? Kind of hovering around your your your huddles.

Speaker 9 (28:54):
You've hovered around me my whole life, So this part
would be easy, right, I'm hoping. I'm hoping, don't say
anything that you shouldn't say.

Speaker 8 (29:03):
And last, but not least, most importantly, why couldn't you
have gotten me a mid level contract this this summer?
And before you you finish, I want you to think
about the possibilities here summerhouses, in the Hampton's, oh Ski
lodges and Aspen. This could have been ours. I don't
even want you to answer, how dare you back to you, Maria.

Speaker 6 (29:23):
He does work there on the sidelines for Peacock and
I being very literal in the job that they have
asked him to do. Robbie Hummel does it as well.
A little bit different look to the broadcast, he said,
hovering around the bench that is where this particular reporter
is stationed during games.

Speaker 5 (29:38):
He listens into huddles.

Speaker 6 (29:40):
I'm sure there's a lots of pregame discussion about what
to share and what not to share, but that's where
he reports from.

Speaker 5 (29:46):
He talks a lot about the ins and outs of
the game.

Speaker 6 (29:48):
These are both former players that they have given these
or those are their duties. But Austin Rivers working a
Glen Rivers game. If you heard the beginning of it,
that Stock's real name for those that don't know, Dad,
former NBA player himself. But it's it's cool. I think
you've heard from both of us many times over big
Austin Rivers fans. Yeah, when he was here playing, and

(30:09):
I think he's going I already thought it when he
did his own podcast, did some more for ESPN.

Speaker 5 (30:14):
Now he's part of the Peacock group.

Speaker 6 (30:16):
I think if he wants to, he can have a
very positive future in the broadcasting business.

Speaker 5 (30:21):
I was not a big Austin Rivers fan when he
was a member of the Clippers, which killed him very well. Well,
he was always killing the Rockets or not killing them.

Speaker 6 (30:29):
But would he come in late first quarter after JJ
Reddick went five for six to open.

Speaker 5 (30:35):
The game, fifteen points in the first quarter, and then
he would score three the rest of the way. Yep.
But yeah, I mean the Rockets had to go. You know,
they had some serious clashes with that Clippers team, many
of which ended up playing for the Rockets at one
point or another. I mean, Chris Paul is the most obvious.
Austin Rivers is another one, and I think there's another
guy in there, Eric Payaikowski. No, I'm kidding, although he

(30:57):
was a former Clipper by the time he got to Houston.
But yeah, you had to go war with those guys,
and there wasn't a lot of pleasantries up until that point.
And then Austin Rivers became a very integral part of
some good Rockets teams.

Speaker 6 (31:10):
I said this to you last night when we were
sharing this on social media with one another. I know
we know Glenn Doc Rivers voice by now, and it
still sounds more fake than Everything's funny, it's not. That's
how he talks, and it is getting a little bit
worse year after year. This is the person talking to
the players during huddles, all practice long, all game long.

Speaker 5 (31:32):
It's it's amazing he's able to do it. The first
answer he gave was Glenn, and then he became Doc
in the middle of the second answer, and every bit
of what he said afterwards, he was kind of gravelly
and he became Doc. Yeah there.

Speaker 6 (31:46):
I do kind of understand that a little bit when
he I assume it was, if my memory serves, was
the Clippers coach? What team did he coach when they
played the Rockets in the playoffs?

Speaker 5 (31:57):
Was it that person? Okay?

Speaker 6 (31:58):
Yeah, so he was here a Toyota Center on a
shoot around during the series and he just was hanging
out by the scorers table as the team was going
through things when media was allowed in and we just
had a conversation with him before it was true, you know,
the media session, and he did talk a little bit
a little bit more normally then. But I still find
it amazing. There are some coaches, you know.

Speaker 5 (32:18):
PJ.

Speaker 6 (32:18):
Carlismo's clearly another one. Willie Fritz right here in town
is another. It sounds like it's so stressful on their
vocal cords just to speak, and they're talking very convictedly
to their team for.

Speaker 5 (32:32):
Months and months on end. I think that's what seems
very difficult to do. Yeah, I think that's what's the
most impressive. Talking with conviction might be a better way
to say. With Udoka, I don't think he necessarily has
to raise his voice. I wouldn't think he would need to.

Speaker 6 (32:45):
He probably says something like this to his players, tell
me what you think I want to say to you
right now?

Speaker 5 (32:51):
Yeah, and then I love him. Got your coach, I
got it, I got it. I'm very very sorry before
you ever even say anything. So yeah, well, Doc Austin Rivers, Uh,
I'm just dismissed exactly. All right. We are going to
wind down the two o'clock hour coming up next. Still

(33:11):
a lot of conversation you get to around your Houston Texans.
They are going to have Davis Mills at starting quarterback
for the third consecutive game. The Bills come to town
Thursday night.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (33:44):
It is the eighteen Sports Talk seven ninety winding down
the two o'clock hour simulcast coming up on Space City
Home Network. Very next segment there until six o'clock. We'll
be able to wave to you on the cameras here
wex and ac with you as we take you until
six o'clock. Real quick, before we jump into some Texans conversation.
Did you see what the Cavs got in trouble for?

(34:06):
Like it just came down and seeing us out. They're
the Rockets next opponents.

Speaker 6 (34:11):
Every one of their players in quarantined until Wednesday at
ten pm.

Speaker 5 (34:15):
I don't know the NBA fining Cleveland the Cavaliers one hundred,
one hundred thousand dollars for violating the league's player participation
policy when the team held Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley
out of the team's game against the Miami Heat on

(34:36):
November twelfth. For Rest says six days ago. Obviously. I mean,
I don't know. This is load management being punished. There's
no other way to say it. Yeah, this has happened.

Speaker 6 (34:50):
This has happened multiple times over the last couple of years,
the Jazz and Hawks. I'm pretty sure we're hit with
it at one time or another last season and it's
the same fine one hundred thousand.

Speaker 5 (35:02):
How does how do the Clippers not have millions of
dollars in fines? They employ Kawhi Leonard.

Speaker 6 (35:07):
Because there are clearly other way, Like I'd have to
go back and think about the exact wording of how
they do it, because there are certain ways to do
it right while you're still technically doing the same thing right,
Like they're not telling you you can't ever rest a player.
They're not forcing you to play your healthy players eighty
two times a year. They're not doing that. But there

(35:30):
are ways through, whether it's called injury management or injury
recovery or just terminology and making it. Some of it
has to do with get that player listed on the
injury report when they're supposed to be instead of out
of nowhere. Oh, we've decided tonight he's gonna rest, And
I think that's maybe part of it. I'm not sure
if it's to this situation, but I think it happened.

(35:50):
I think that's what happened with the Jazz is Fine
last year. I think it was a market in Fine, Like,
who are the two players that you're talking about.

Speaker 5 (35:56):
Donovan Mitchell their best player and I have them Mobley
their second bestball.

Speaker 6 (35:59):
I think that's we're getting somewhere as we talk it out.
I think when you're dealing with somebody that is at
the high end, that is an elite player, And I
don't think this is related to the outcome of the
game as much as it's related to we're trying to
get these people to shell out ungodly sums of money
to come to our basketball games, and we're happy that
the networks have given us ungodly sums of money to

(36:20):
be part of our broadcasting partners. We got to make
sure we do this right so these players can be
available when we think they're going to be available. So
if you've gone that far into the afternoon and evening
and oh, Donovan Mitchell's playing night, this is awesome.

Speaker 5 (36:34):
Where is he right? And it is a huge problem
in the NBA specifically, like this happens occasionally in baseball. Oh,
it's a it's a rest day. Nobody even plat's an
eyelash because they play one hundred and sixty two games.
Now that's what the NBA would have you believe too, Well,
we play eighty two. We're the second most intensive schedule.

(36:55):
I tend to somewhat agree with them. Well, when you schedule,
and that's why the responses to this tweet, this is
a sham's tweet, by the way, are fantastic. One of
which was, maybe don't schedule them to play six games
in eight nights, which is a little bit of a joke,
but it's not that far off. Others were great. Indeed,
finn to be bankrupt, Yeah, that's that's probably not too

(37:18):
far off. They rested players and still lost to the Raptors. Well,
I thought this was against the heat, but whatever, you
shouldn't get fined if you still win. Might have been
one of my favorites.

Speaker 6 (37:31):
So they have unlike Houston, I think you would say
heading into the game tonight. Tonight's November nineteenth. Starting back
on November seventh, that was the first of two sets
of back to backs from the seventh to the nineteenth.

Speaker 5 (37:44):
By the way, it was six games and eight nights.
That's not a joke.

Speaker 6 (37:47):
They played on just these nights. Yeah, the seventh, the eighth,
the tenth, twelfth, the thirteenth, the fifteenth to seventeenth, and
now the nineteenth.

Speaker 5 (37:53):
I'd rest them too. But that's what I'm mad about,
because you've got the Rockets over here with you know,
two day gaps twice in as many weeks, and you've
got the Cleveland Cavaliers who are being forced to basically
make a prudent decision because look, if that schedule was
spread out, there's no way they rest those guys.

Speaker 6 (38:14):
And in this situation, the rest, I mean the twelfth
was probably their fourth consecutive night in Miami. They probably
flew in on the ninth, so they stayed there the ninth,
they played them on the tenth, they stayed there on
the eleventh, they played them again on the twelfth. They
rested on the game on the twelfth, right, fourth night

(38:35):
in Miami. I wonder, I wonder what they're arresting from.
Also of note, November twenty fourth, a week from last Monday,
they will play the backside of their fourth back to
back already this season.

Speaker 5 (38:49):
The Rockets have had none. Good Rockets have had like
a million in the last ten years. So I'm fine
with it.

Speaker 6 (38:56):
Well, just say that today, you know, I'm really fine
if you're gonna not say that when they start having
them all the time. They don't have their first one
until the fifth, sixth December.

Speaker 5 (39:05):
I'm not going to say anything when the Rockets play
all of April, all of March, and all of February
at home, because they play four times at Toyota Center
in December. Are you serious? Right now?

Speaker 6 (39:15):
NBA got a five game homestand in January they should
have been looking forward to that.

Speaker 5 (39:19):
Like I'm like, people are asking me for tickets. Got
a five game homestand in March that holidays are coming up. Yeah,
enjoy them on TV because they'll be in LA on
Christmas night and they'll that will be the end, I
believe of a five game road trip out West. I
think Bronni's dad's going to play in that game. Yeah,
he's playing a night against the Yazz. It's a soft j.

Speaker 6 (39:41):
I think it was Austin Reeves who said last week,
I think it's it's kind of funny to me that
Bronni's here starting for the Lakers, and Lebron is with
South Bay working his way back.

Speaker 5 (39:53):
He's in the G League right now, which was true.
Maybe he'll take his spot on the roster. That'd be
really funny, and it doesn't work that way in basketball.
Beat it, kid, this is my spot. We need.

Speaker 6 (40:03):
We need to make somebody unavailable today a healthy scratch. Sorry, Bronnie, Bronnie,
he's he's barely. He wouldn't even be in the league
at this point. That's it for debate.

Speaker 5 (40:14):
Do you don't think he think he would? I mean
he'd be.

Speaker 6 (40:17):
He could be just like JD. Davison of the Rockets,
on the roster for a bunch of games, technically in
the league but not really. Yeah, under contract with an
NBA team, Yes, in the league right now.

Speaker 5 (40:28):
If you were to tell me, all right, JD. Davison
and Bronnie are gonna get serious minutes in a game
the Rockets and Lakers play against each other. Who's scoring
morph well Davison.

Speaker 6 (40:37):
Which depends which coach decided to throw to bring everybody
off the bench in sooner, the team that was winning
Houston or the team that was losing LA.

Speaker 5 (40:45):
All right, all things even, all things equal, if they
get out there for the same amount of time, we're
gonna count three and we're gonna say our answer. Like
on the Matt Thomas Show.

Speaker 6 (40:54):
You're you're asking me who's better, JD. Davison or Bronnie.
I'm not asking you is better. I'm telling you to
tell me that JD. Davis is better because he is
and he's a borderline NBA player. Yes, no question, absolutely.

Speaker 5 (41:06):
All right. We are a we're a borderline sports talk
show here, but once we become televised, we really become
an amazing sports talk show. So we will do that
when we come back. Simulcast over on Space City Home
Network begins in a matter of minutes, The.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
A Team on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking your Team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 5 (41:48):
Welcome back in our number two of the A Team
Sports Talk seven to ninety our number one televised over
on Space City Home Network. He's wex I'm a c.
It is a Tuesday is of the program. A lot
of Texans and Rockets slash NBA conversation in that first hour,
A lot of it obviously centered around the fact that

(42:10):
we kind of figured this figured as much yesterday when
we got the news that C. J. Stroud was not
at practice, but came down the day officially he is
out for Thursday nights Buffalo Bills matchup. Hailey Steinfeld's husband
coming to town leading the Buffalo Bills in fresh off
of scoring forty four points. I don't think they'll score

(42:31):
forty four against this Texans defense, particularly at home. But
as of yesterday, and only Wex will know for sure
because he checks these kinds of things, they were favored
by five and a half the Bills.

Speaker 6 (42:41):
Yeah, I would imagine there could be a little bit
of a different tune today because the news became official
about one point thirty this afternoon. We'd been to practice
today and yesterday. Steve Javiously was not there yesterday, nor
was Jalen Petrie. We weren't at PRA. I shouldn't have
set it that way.

Speaker 5 (42:56):
We weren't.

Speaker 6 (42:56):
We didn't get to see practice yesterday. It was an
estimated part two pation for the players. Today we did,
so it was out there first players out there. Usually
when we get out there, the specialists already on the field,
and for the first time in weeks, Kaimi Fairbairn was
with them.

Speaker 5 (43:10):
Matthew Wright is still on the roster.

Speaker 6 (43:11):
He was out there also, but it was Kaimie handling
the practice kicks before everybody else was out there. As
Jamiko Ryan said earlier this week, the expectation is Fairbearan
will be healthy and ready to go. Looked healthy when
he was making his kicks that we got to see.
And then not long after the rest of the team
hits the field and out with the quarterbacks came c J. Stroud,
Out with the defensive backs, came Jalen Petrie. They both

(43:34):
practice today. I imagine they will both be limited. That's
normally the process of a player trying to end being
in the concussion protocol, being at practice and practicing on
what will likely be discussed are determined as a limited basis.

Speaker 5 (43:48):
If you don't take all.

Speaker 6 (43:49):
The reps with the ones as the starting quarterback, then
you'd be listed as limited.

Speaker 5 (43:54):
That's what's going to happen today.

Speaker 6 (43:55):
But when demikome up with the media after practice, he
told us where things are from a timeline standpoint, they're
really describing this. There's just not really time for them
to clear the protocol. So both Jalen Petrie and c J.
Stroud are deemed out already for Thursday night's game. They
won't play again until November thirtieth. The steps taken today
by being on the field are a pretty clear indication

(44:18):
that both are trending very very very positively to be
out of the concussion protocol and on the practice field
and ready to participate on November thirtieth against the Indianapolis Colts.
Which is obviously very good that both of these players
are no longer feeling those symptoms are able to you know,
do the things necessary to get to this point. A
lot of other issues still face the Texans, whether or

(44:39):
not c J. Stroud or Jalen Petrie are available, and
now we know definitively they are not.

Speaker 5 (44:44):
Yeah, it's something that you know, we expected, like you said,
or like I said earlier, in light of what's been
going on, I wonder after this game, let's just say
Buffalo comes and then pulls out the victory. It's not
to say that CJ wouldn't come back, but I do

(45:07):
wonder how they would handle that situation.

Speaker 6 (45:09):
Yeah, I don't think there's anything that I wouldn't wonder
about it. Personally, I think as long as soon as
it clear his concussion protocol, he plays. At what point
would he play if you're deciding to hold him out,
does he start next year or are you still worried?

Speaker 5 (45:22):
Well, that's when I just start week seventeen.

Speaker 6 (45:24):
What I don't want to say it in this way,
but at some point, if you're trying to say they're
five and six and with six games to go, we
don't want to put him out there after the doctors
have cleared him. I mean, you can make that decision
if you want, but I don't know why they would. Well,
I mean, I'll just be transparent. If you lose this game,

(45:47):
I guess you're not technically mathematically out, but you're very close.

Speaker 5 (45:52):
You're on life support. You're kind of on live support
now as it is. I don't agree. All right, so
you lose this game, how would you describe their playoff
chances if it's not on life support?

Speaker 6 (46:04):
Well, all that has to happen is beat the Chiefs
and outplay the Jaguars by one game and hope.

Speaker 5 (46:11):
I mean that's pretty that's it. That's pretty much it.
So you're you're by saying that you are surrendering two
losses to the Colts.

Speaker 6 (46:20):
Well, at some point I said, you have to outplay
those teams. So I'm not telling you can lose those
games and still get in.

Speaker 5 (46:26):
But you've got the Colts next week after this Buffalo game,
and you have them in week eighteen when they might
not care that's true, but you've got you lose this
game to Buffalo. Obviously, the most direct way you could
outplay the Chiefs is in two weeks at Arrowhead where
you face them.

Speaker 6 (46:44):
And that would give you all other games unknown or equal.
That would give you a two game lead over the
Chiefs because you'd have a game in hand, and the tiebreaker,
you know, because you're gonna have a better conference record
in addition to the head to head, which could in
some sort of multi team to breaker might not necessarily
be the only tiebreakery.

Speaker 5 (47:03):
You kept insisting Chiefs just need to lose the Broncos.
They're totally gonna do that. I said it would be helpful,
and it happened, and it happened. I just did not
envision that happening like the Jaguars.

Speaker 6 (47:14):
That's why yesterday or Sunday's game against the Chargers was
vital for Houston because they needed to lose that game.
They play the Cardinals and Titans the next two weeks
s Granted they're both on the road, but those two
teams aren't very good at winning football. Cardinals beat the
Cardinals have played well enough to look like they can
beat teams, but they haven't.

Speaker 5 (47:32):
They just they just don't win.

Speaker 6 (47:33):
And then they still have two games against the Colts remaining,
just like Houston, but they also have another game with
the Titans remaining and a game with the Jets.

Speaker 5 (47:44):
Like if they.

Speaker 6 (47:45):
Only beat the Jets this year, if this is all
that the Jags do the rest of the year, here
are their last four wins the Titans, twice, the Jets,
and this week against the Cardinals. If those are the
only games they win, which is possible, but the Texans
kind of needs able to lose one more and that's
why it's going to be difficult to pass them. That's

(48:05):
that's more about why they're on life support, less about
where they are, more about the math of it. But
that's that's that's probably the toughest thing to happen. You know,
they have the Broncos Colts twice, lose them all. Well,
the Texans might still need even more help than that
to get past them.

Speaker 5 (48:20):
This game is huge.

Speaker 6 (48:21):
I don't want to take anything away from it, and
it's going to be played with the quarterback that you
went every time with.

Speaker 5 (48:26):
I mean, what's so bad about that? Stop saying that
two NFL teams, no, two division games? No. I mean
technically the division part's true.

Speaker 6 (48:39):
But former number one overall pick and a former number
one overall pick.

Speaker 5 (48:42):
When you say how you played NFL teams, you're really stretching.

Speaker 6 (48:46):
The number one pick in the draft, Trevor Lawrence and
the number one pick in the draft, cam Ward. That's
who they've played and BEATNS. Cam Ward is like such
a small whiff compared to the Jacksonville with.

Speaker 5 (48:59):
Who will end up having the better career?

Speaker 6 (49:02):
I was looking against sad question looking up some numbers
today that should be on a hockey worst This is
a twofold discussion topic.

Speaker 5 (49:12):
Lowest passer rating since CJ.

Speaker 6 (49:13):
Stroud entered the league among quarterbacks with at least seven
hundred and fifty throws so starters. Basically, that's a pretty
low end for three seasons of football. Number one on
the list as in the worst quarterback rating, and I'm
only going to tell you about guys that are currently
starting quarterbacks. There's other backups that have amassed that total.
Is it Cam, No, it's Bryce Young. I camp doesn't

(49:34):
have seven hundred fifty attempts.

Speaker 5 (49:35):
He doesn't. I'm going back three years. Bryce Young is
the worst.

Speaker 6 (49:38):
He's the only quarterback that has a passer rating under
eighty that's been a starter basically since twenty twenty three.

Speaker 5 (49:44):
With that many attempts, He's awful.

Speaker 6 (49:46):
The next worst current starting quarterback over the three years
that c. J.

Speaker 5 (49:50):
Stroud has been in the league is Trevor Lawrence, the
Transcendent Trevor Lawrence. He I'm I'm sorry. Can we say
that phrase? Well, when we're wrong, we should use it
less and they were wrong, but stop transcendent.

Speaker 9 (50:04):
That means the.

Speaker 6 (50:06):
Belief is he is going to be a top five
quarterback very quickly, and for a long time they were wrong.
But it gets used like every draft, and it was
used less on a bunch of other quarterbacks who draft.

Speaker 5 (50:19):
To be very high. Drastically better, as you said, drastically
better that I just can't you want the second part
of this said what I found out, I guess you're
gonna like it.

Speaker 6 (50:30):
Okay, ninety three point seven passer rating. It's not great
in this current day of the NFL, but it's where
two quarterbacks sit same number twenty twenty three.

Speaker 5 (50:43):
Like when c J.

Speaker 6 (50:44):
Stroud entered the league, all the games he's played since then,
he is one of two quarterbacks with exactly a ninety
three point seven passer rating.

Speaker 5 (50:53):
It's c J. Stroud and Pat Mahomes. I knew you
were going to say that, the exact.

Speaker 6 (50:58):
Same passer rating from the time CJ entered the league.
They are twins.

Speaker 5 (51:05):
Why don't people understand why I want to go up
to the roof of this building and scream into the
abyss to get him a line A just Mahomes, No,
he has won. What his know what happened when they
had problems with their line in the Super Bowl, They
went out and went out and changed one off season.
Unbelievable How easy it is to do, relatively speaking, if

(51:27):
if you have people who know what they're doing in charge.

Speaker 6 (51:29):
Two of those players they replaced, and that very off
season came from that very off season's NFL draft, and
neither were first round picks.

Speaker 5 (51:37):
Wonder of wonders, and they're all still popping at people
exceptionally high level, and yet here we were just last
week Humphrey Aaron Wilson on the phone with us. Yeah,
I don't really see the Texans moving on from Nick Casario.

Speaker 6 (51:49):
That's again, it's a bigger discussion topic than that. It
shows you the difference. While Nick has done it, you
could argue he's done a good enough job to keep
his job, and that's a fair discussion. You would also
definitively say he's been worse than Kansas City's GM, but
you would say that about everything. That's why Kansas City City. Yes,
I'd said a lot, I didn't say every.

Speaker 5 (52:09):
Okay, I just that right there. You said it in
a nutshell. What's wrong with the Texans organization and has
been since day one? They accept just good enough, that's
their monty. They're afraid of worse. That's fine. You cannot
you can't win in the NFL without taking some sort
of risk, and they don't want to do it. Tiring

(52:31):
Nick was a risk first time, he's not a risk.
That's allowing a youth minister to use your private plane
to go circumvent the good decision you were about to
make with Omar Khan. What is he doing. Maybe I
know he would have been better than Nick Cassario. I
think putting an offensive line together absolutely so. What the
rest of the team looks like, I don't know, but
I know the offensive line would here. The offensive line

(52:54):
is the number one most important position group after the quarterback.
True or false going up? No argument here.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
The a team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (53:12):
Eighteen, Sports Stock seven ninety, Space City Home Network. I
know what you're thinking, you guys out there listening and watching.
You're Texans fans, and you're thinking to yourself. You know,
I wonder what Dimiko Ryans thinks about this short week.
The Texans just coming off that win in Nashville over
the Titans, and now they got to turn around and

(53:34):
play the Bills coming up on Thursday night at home. Well,
I'm glad you asked, because Dimico did address the short
week scenario the Texans are undergoing this week.

Speaker 8 (53:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 10 (53:45):
What the short week is for me? What I've learned
most is don't talk about how much of a short
week it is. Like everybody goes in, Hey, it's a
short week, get it like, let's wrap it up and
let's go. Like everybody has the same amount of time,
do what we have to do to go out and
have our sales physically and mentally prepared to go play.

Speaker 6 (54:05):
Yeah, it's third year as a head coach, multiple years
now as a head coach. If everybody's got a Thursday
night game, the Bills did play on Sunday. The Texans
did play on Sunday. The only real difference is that
Texans don't have to travel to this game. Obviously they
have to travel back to Houston, but that was Sunday night.
Both teams are in their homes Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday,

(54:27):
and then you get to be here throughout. That's really
the only difference. Your bodies have to get ready in
very short order. You know, we're talking to Jadon Higgins
yesterday about you know what he's hoping to figure out
before Thursday, because this is the first time for him,
the rookie wide receiver out of Iowa State, And he said,
you know what, I did notice some of the other guys,
some of the other guys in the wide receiver room,
they were getting in the cold tubs.

Speaker 5 (54:47):
So I thought, no, it's probably a good idea. I
will do that too.

Speaker 6 (54:50):
If you guys were watching closely the postgame speech given
by Demico Ryans to the team there in Nashville after
the victory, he mentioned, get your body. We're gonna have
things open tonight when we get back. Get in there,
get in a sauna, get in a cold tub, whatever
it is that you need to do. Get that going quickly.
Because I don't think he used the exact phrase we're

(55:12):
on to Buffalo, but that's essentially what he was saying,
because there is no time to oh, hey, we'll see
you Wednesday. We'll see it first thing in the morning
tomorrow because yesterday, one day after they played, they're basically
practicing again, and yesterday again super light and a kind
of an estimation of how players would have participated. But
there are things that are going to game going through

(55:33):
game plan wise for this next team, And like he said,
it's the same for both teams. It's not ideal for
elite physical activity at the NFL level for football players.
Their bodies just can't get there that fast. But the
other part of it is, which has nothing to do
with the actual short week stuff. We talked about this

(55:53):
several times leading up to just where this timeline was
gonna fit. When CJ's concussion occurred. When Jalen Petris cutting
cushion occurred, it occurred with a Sunday game and a
Sunday game followed by a Thursday game.

Speaker 5 (56:06):
If CJ.

Speaker 6 (56:06):
Stroud and Jalen Petrie were at practiced today, and they were,
if they're at that stage of the concussion protocol, almost
out of it, out beyond the symptoms that keep them
from being able to get to the you're on the
practice field step, and Demiko Ryans explained today that they're
both out for Thursday, essentially saying there's just not you know,
the time isn't there to have them ready because possibly

(56:28):
they're playing Thursday, not a Thursday practice, a Friday practice,
a day off Saturday, and then a game on Sunday.
If you're this close to the end of concussion protocol
and emerging from it healthy and cleared by the doctors,
but not quite enough time for Thursday, yeah, I absolutely
think it's possible. Had this been a Sunday game, three

(56:50):
work weeks worth of Sunday games instead of that third
week when you've gotten beyond it, yeah, I think there
would have been a chance, But that's obviously not the case.

Speaker 5 (56:58):
The game itself I don't.

Speaker 6 (57:00):
Think we're gonna see like this goes very much against
your philosophy on Thursday Night football. Last couple of Thursday
Night footballs were right in your wheelhouse. Two bad teams.
We got a bad product. I want it to be
my wheelhouse, right, But it gets brought up all the
time because it happens far too often. And this week
we might get a game like that. I hope we
don't and we shouldn't. You're you're coming off of a

(57:20):
week where at some point Buffalo like the light switch
had to go on or the locker room had to
shake themselves like what are we doing?

Speaker 5 (57:28):
Are we wasting this season? Yes, because Kansas City and
Baltimore where they're at, you would certainly be wasting it.

Speaker 6 (57:35):
So did they wake up in the third quarter of
their game against Tampa last week?

Speaker 5 (57:40):
Like I know?

Speaker 6 (57:40):
They scored forty four points and they're coming in off
one of those special Josh Allen games. Without one of
those special Josh Allen games, they would have lost to
the Tampa Bay Bucks by giving up as many points
as they did.

Speaker 5 (57:53):
They just gave up thirty two points. They have not
played good defensive football this year. They're kind of a
middle of the road defense. Can you take it advantage
of that? Can you recognize that?

Speaker 6 (58:02):
You know, the Texans at some point have to Unfortunately
it coincided with losing their quarterback. They had to shake
themselves like, we're on three we're not at five hundred,
We're still two games under. We just lost to Seattle.
At some point the season was going to slip away.
They've prevented that from happening. To date, we're into Week
twelve and the season hasn't slipped completely away. Short week
or not both teams in the same vote.

Speaker 5 (58:24):
You know what's wild is they are clearly looking up
at the Patriots. Still the Buffalo Bills and their only
matchup this year, the Patriots were able to squeak out
a three point victory, but they're not. It's it's still
not out of the question they can win that division,
especially since they still do play the Patriots, although they
have to go to Foxboro to do it.

Speaker 6 (58:44):
They have a little bit of a trouble spot the Texans,
as I described how they're trying to catch Jacksonville for second,
is the same thing the Bills are trying to do
with the Patriots and the Jags and Patriots schedules are
the problem. The Patriots just got done and got to
nine and two, and they beat a bad Jets team

(59:05):
to do it. Their reward for that they play the Bengals,
and then they played the Giants, and they have an
off week in advance of their hosting the Bills. And
they still have a second game to go with the Jets,
and they finish with the Dolphins. Where are all these
losses coming from, even if Buffalo beats them? Yeah, well
that's yeah. And again this is kind of like with

(59:27):
the Texans.

Speaker 5 (59:28):
You know, why did you lose to the Patriots and
the Falcons and the Dolphins. If you're the Bills, those
are their three losses. Yeah, those are bad losses. Bills
have one game left with the Jets. They also play
the Bengals. They also play the Browns, but they also
played the Texans, Steelers, and Eagles. I still vividly remember,
just like I remember Week one of the Ravens season

(59:51):
last year. The toe touch Ravens Bills was awesome to
start the year.

Speaker 6 (59:59):
Ye I've said this a couple times again because I
was wasting so much time looking at these schedules. Ravens
got to five and five with their not very impressive
win over the Browns this past week, and the Steelers
stayed a game ahead of them with their very impressive
win over a bad Bengals team. The Ravens finished with
two more games against the Bengals, two more games against
the Steelers, Patriots, Packers, and Jets. Some tough put that

(01:00:24):
four games in the.

Speaker 5 (01:00:24):
Division split those Steelers' games though, just because maybe division game.
What about the Rogers situation? I know, but he's not
gonna need surgery.

Speaker 6 (01:00:32):
He's not going to need surgery, and they haven't roared
it out for this game yet. Cast it up, man,
Steelers are at the Bears place.

Speaker 5 (01:00:41):
Listen, if Emmitt Smith can play with a separated shoulder
in the NFC Championship as a running back, you can
put some sort of apparatus on that thing you don't
throw the ball with.

Speaker 6 (01:00:51):
My guess is you're right, and he will play. It's
a it's a wrist injury. It is a fracture, but
they deemed not to need surgery, and it's on his
left hand, left wrist.

Speaker 5 (01:01:00):
Just don't break your fall with that arm.

Speaker 6 (01:01:04):
Might get a little bit of extra juice from your
offensive lineman knowing how and if we can just keep
this guy healthy, because if we don't, we're bringing in
Mason Rudolph.

Speaker 5 (01:01:13):
That's all I would be doing to motivate them if
I was the offensive line coach right now.

Speaker 6 (01:01:17):
Yep, he's shockingly played well enough to help that team
get to the playoffs once before. But I do think
the Ravens passed the Steelers. I don't think the Steelers
make the playoffs, but they are at six and four,
so there's a few teams and based on again scheduling,
can only go so far. At some point, it's not well,
we've played a good team we lost, but we've played
a bad team we won. Somebody's gonna lose a game
that they shouldn't among all these teams we've talked about.

(01:01:37):
A Jaguars loss to the Titans or Cardinals, a Texans
loss to any team that's not very good on their
schedule would end things for them. But the Chargers, the
Broncos aren't gonna win out. The Broncos have won every
week for two months. They're not gonna win every game
the rest of the season. I don't think they're finishing fifteen.

Speaker 5 (01:01:52):
I still can't believe they won this week. I still
can't believe that. Well, they are all sock Chiefs. You're
absolutely useless every single year for what we need here
in Houston. I hate you. Well it was that was
a good result. Yeah, I guess there's no guess. Did
you want the Broncos to fall to eight and three?
Here's why you want the Chiefs to fall to five
and five? The second thing I wanted to lose. But

(01:02:15):
what I really know is going to happen because it
always does. And until I'm proven otherwise, they're gonna go
up to Arrowhead. They're gonna find a way to lose
badly to the stupid Chiefs again. And I'm so tired
of losing to that trash team because they're not that
good anymore. I have no problem telling you that they
were awesome back when they were. Last year was a
total fluke, especially with their record, and it bore itself

(01:02:37):
out in the playoffs, I suppose, But I'm still mad
about that playoff loss, like it just.

Speaker 6 (01:02:43):
You can't get rid of it. You get an offensive
line of the anger unless you go out there and
beat them. Yeah, you can't.

Speaker 5 (01:02:49):
Beat them until you fix your stupid line. Texans that's
sense to put all. Yes, that's it. How many times
did CJ. Strau get sacked in that game? I know
they didn't defend Travis Kelsey. I get all that. That's
you know what, they get that pass because they're the
only reason that Texans have been in any games for
the last two seasons. That defense.

Speaker 6 (01:03:08):
I kind of look at it the opposite way, of course,
you do. Well, the good unit is the one I'd
like to count on, not the bad one. I know,
the bad one good it.

Speaker 5 (01:03:18):
Never shows up against that team, especially in that building.
That's the problem when they get called for penalties. They
get called for penalties because that's who they're playing.

Speaker 6 (01:03:26):
I send you the Chiefs meme earlier today. No, I'll
have to get that for you. Well, you're gonna love it.
It's your favorite actor is in it, Denzel that's the one. Oh, yes,
you sent me that to see you guys. You gotta
remember what I did.

Speaker 5 (01:03:39):
I'm putting cases on all O. Yeah, I got it,
I got it all right, There you go, And now
we're in the break.

Speaker 2 (01:03:47):
On Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 9 (01:03:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:03:59):
What I was just thinking about how awesome that overtime
victory was for the Rockets on Sunday. It was pretty entertaining.
They've got a big game against the Calves tomorrow night.
We will have it for you right here on Sports
Talk seven ninety. It is a nationally televised game.

Speaker 6 (01:04:17):
So yeah, as of now, it looks like the Calves
and Rockets will be sending all their best players to
the game, unlike the second of the two national games
tomorrow night.

Speaker 5 (01:04:25):
Who's the other game on the doubleheader?

Speaker 6 (01:04:27):
Unfortunately it involves a team that is suffering quite a
bit from injuries. MAVs are in the second game of
the double dip tomorrow. They're obviously playing without several key
all NBA caliber performers.

Speaker 5 (01:04:40):
That's a shame. So they'll see what they can do.
But who is happen from time to time? Well, let's
see Dallas. Who are they hosting? How far away does
a team have to go to play against them? They're
hosting the New York Knickerbockers. Oh will they have Jalen
Brunson playing for them? Don't believe?

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
So?

Speaker 5 (01:04:58):
Okay, Karl Anthony Towns is good though, All right? Good?
Are you one of those people that thinks, oh, this
is the year Knicks are gonna go to the finals.

Speaker 6 (01:05:08):
Uh no, it isn't, because I think we're gonna see
one of the best Eastern Conference playoff matchups last year
was Nick's Pistons, and that's what we're gonna see in
the conference finals again. And for the rare time in
the end, like normally the team more on the come,
the super young team, this is their first go at it.
The Pistons made the playoffs last year obviously, but this

(01:05:30):
time they oh, this is a real legit contender. It's like, Okay,
see a couple of years ago, Well, you're not going
to win the West. They're they're getting there, and then
they'll win the West. That's what happened. They're a one
time Western Conference champion right now. They just won the
West the year before they didn't the MAVs did. I
think that's right where the Pistons are going to be,
except I think they're going to win the Eastern Conference

(01:05:51):
this year.

Speaker 5 (01:05:51):
Because there's no Boston full strength, there's no Indiana full strength.
The Knicks are flawed still because they're the Knicks.

Speaker 6 (01:05:58):
I wonder if they will view them as a better team,
more equipped team to win in the playoffs because they
fired Thibodeau and went with Mike Brown has a long
way to go there. I don't think it's really flawed
when you say, well, they can't stop Jalen Brunson, so
why don't we just run everything through him and have
them take thirty five shots. Maybe it's good, maybe it's not.
Can wear him down, But we'll see how they try

(01:06:19):
to go at it this year. And currently there there's
they're the two best teams in the East.

Speaker 5 (01:06:24):
I would say, you know what's interesting about all this,
That's what I was getting to. If you're the Calves
and you're essentially running it back for the third straight year,
like you've gotten a really great regular season out of
Donovan Mitchell for two years in a row, and you've
gotten a team around him that can clearly win a
bunch of regular season games, and then you get to

(01:06:46):
the postseason and it's just a total disappearing act for
one reason or another if they don't do it this year,
especially like they're the ones this should be looking at
this the way you're saying the Pistons do. Look, Boston's
not in this. In is not in this. The next
best threat is New York and we've got a better
roster and record than they do.

Speaker 6 (01:07:06):
You know how many games played Donovan Mitchell has in
the Western or Eastern Conference finals.

Speaker 5 (01:07:13):
Zero? He can't get out of the second round. He's
like Tracy McGrady in the first round until he wasn't.

Speaker 6 (01:07:20):
He played well in the playoffs in each of the
last two years for Cleveland, so I wouldn't necessarily put
it on him. He's had some playoff disasters before he
got the Rockets, Yep, more than once.

Speaker 5 (01:07:30):
That was them doing it to him, though, I think, yeah,
I agree offensively, yep, but he's he's also a lot
younger than your best player can carry you. But in
the playoffs it is difficult.

Speaker 6 (01:07:42):
You can have your best player just ball out, and
he did, and it isn't necessarily enough.

Speaker 5 (01:07:48):
No, Sometimes it's just not given to Mike need Evan
Mobley and Darius Garland and Jared Allen and others to
come along for the round. What they do during the
regular season.

Speaker 6 (01:07:55):
Yeah, and then's some injuries, A little bits and pieces
of it had a little bit to do with it.
They've started the year with Garland hurt, but they're out
two a ten and five start, and they're a team
there aren't very many of them, but Denver, the Calves,
the Thunder are certainly three of them. The regular season
is of very little consequence to them. It figure it
out if we've got new pieces, get it in sync,

(01:08:15):
find some chemistry. But they know who they are, they
know how they want to play, they know the roles
that each of their players play. They all three of
those teams, the cores of those respective teams. They know
what they are, they know who they are, and they
know how they need to win in the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (01:08:30):
Meanwhile, completely out of left field, but baseball related because
of the terminology. Did you see Jeff Passon's article about
where the big names might be going in free agency?
Was the title of My Best Guesses? Basically, Okay, The
interesting thing is he throws out a scenario where Kyle

(01:08:52):
Schwarber leaves the Phillies and that's where Kyle Tucker winds
up replacing him.

Speaker 6 (01:08:58):
Yeah, I have seen the Philly and the Mets and
the Dodgers. I take that back, not the Mets, the
Phillies and the Dodgers, and then a tiny Yankees note
seems like the likeliest because the contract's going to be huge.
These teams don't necessarily have to figure out how to
do it.

Speaker 5 (01:09:15):
They just do it.

Speaker 6 (01:09:16):
But if the Phillies are losing a big chunk of
salary and schwarbur and what many people think they are
not everybody thinks they are, then they'd be more than
happy and are more than financially capable of sending that
money Kyle Tucker's way.

Speaker 5 (01:09:27):
By the way, all of those teams you just mentioned
are not where pass and thinks is the favorite for
Tucker to land.

Speaker 6 (01:09:37):
For Tucker to land, it's not Chicago, it's not any
of the New York teams, and or the teams I
just mentioned. It's obviously not the Houston Astros.

Speaker 5 (01:09:47):
The Blue Jays, coming off their first World Series birth
in more than three decades, have no plans to slow down.
They are considered the favorite by other executives to land Tucker,
And that gets my attention just because who would know
better than other executives where player movement is likely to
go because they're always in these conversations. Would you imagine

(01:10:09):
all on the Blue Jays? Well, I would hate for
that to happen, playing in the outfield, with George Springer.

Speaker 6 (01:10:17):
Playing in the outfield in place of Joey loperfdo. So
that's a shame. Joey's really he's bie at his time.
He's waited for his opportunity. You know why he does
because he's not very good. He'd be playing if he was,
or they could. Well, here's the issue, one of the issues.
They're into year two of Anthony Santander's awful unnecessary contract.

Speaker 5 (01:10:40):
Aren't you glad the Astros didn't do that?

Speaker 6 (01:10:41):
He wasn't on there, he could not, He was not
eligible for their final roster because they had taken him
off the CS roster.

Speaker 5 (01:10:48):
Is worse than a bray you in Houston.

Speaker 6 (01:10:52):
No, because it no because of who you are, like
it killed the Astros. Yeah, Santander was the his first
year in Toronto, they were in Game seven of the
World Series, though not because of him. He barely played.
He was hurt and then obviously got hurt again in
the postseason. Maybe there's a better year for him, and
that's what they have to hope for. I would you

(01:11:12):
know he gives you some George Springer insurance and because
it is George Springer, a blue Jay after this year, no,
when his six year deal runs out and he's that
much older, he had an awesome year, like very few
come back here.

Speaker 5 (01:11:25):
You know how how well he.

Speaker 6 (01:11:26):
Played for the age he currently is this past year
George Springer and gutted it out after he finally got
back in the lineup.

Speaker 5 (01:11:34):
But isn't that kind of Kyle Schwarber right now? He's
not young? Yeah, but he doesn't have to do what George.

Speaker 6 (01:11:39):
I know, George was turned into a designated hitter much
more this year and obviously at the end of the year.

Speaker 5 (01:11:43):
Nothing. But that's Kyle Schwarber.

Speaker 6 (01:11:46):
I mean, I think he has a glove, but it's
very much like Carlos Beltron's glove.

Speaker 5 (01:11:51):
Barriot in the outfields. Since you brought up the Dodgers,
this is an interesting paragraph. Tucker makes sense for a
Dodgers team in need of a productive outfit. BAT sources
said their interest is more likely to be on a
high dollar, shorter term deal, and top free agents, particularly
those Tuckers age twenty nine in January, rarely sacrifice years

(01:12:12):
for dollars, making Los Angeles a longer shot.

Speaker 6 (01:12:16):
One other factor we have just the right amount of
time to talk about here. As we hit the brake,
we're headed towards a strike lockout, do you want a
short term deal, a one year dealpe The answer is no.

Speaker 5 (01:12:27):
Don't like the answer to that.

Speaker 2 (01:12:30):
The ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (01:12:39):
So it's still hot, will remain hot for several weeks
months before they get to spring training. So one other
piece of information, as expected fromber Valdez said nah, no, thanks,
qualifying offer you, I'm not signing that. No interest in
a one year, twenty two point h two five million

(01:13:00):
dollar deal from the Astros, So he will hit free
agency with that attached to him. Like eight other players
who rejected the deal, it means it is more costly
from a draft standpoint to sign that player, and similarly,
for the team that now loses that player, draft pick
compensation comes their way. Because they made a qualifying offer

(01:13:21):
but the player rejected it. Four players said okay, twenty
two million plus one year, Sure, I'll take it. Trent
Grisham is going back to the Yankees on that deal.
He had a ridiculous offensive season this past year, very
much unexpected.

Speaker 5 (01:13:37):
Is won't happen again, and I can't wait.

Speaker 6 (01:13:40):
Thus he accepted a twenty two million dollars one year deal.

Speaker 5 (01:13:43):
Glabor Torres with the Tigers.

Speaker 6 (01:13:45):
Brandon Woodriff of the Brewers, and Imanaga showed Amanaga from
the Cubs, all said yes, one year twenty two million,
and it is any other year. I think all four
of those would have been no brainers for those individual players.
But it is for the reason I closed out last
segment a little bit more of a tough spot to

(01:14:06):
be in, because you're heading into free agency, into an
offseason that might be the longest offseason of all of
our baseball lives.

Speaker 5 (01:14:13):
Listen, it's November eighteenth, twenty twenty five. This time next year,
we will be gearing up for the longest summer of
our lives, and it won't even be December.

Speaker 6 (01:14:30):
Maybe Kyle and Alex and George and a lot of
other major leaguers will get together and say we can't
have this.

Speaker 5 (01:14:40):
They'll have a charity baseball game like they did over
at Top Finds back in nineteen ninety nine. They'll start
their own league. We'll lock in the commissioner. They don't
need a commissioners.

Speaker 6 (01:14:49):
Let's just go play some games, all right, they don't
need one, now pick it. We'll be showing them we
don't even need a commissioner. So give the people a
reference point what game were you referring to at all fines?

Speaker 5 (01:15:01):
Well, I think it was ninety nine. Yeah, it was
the winner of ninety nine and the lockout had gotten underway.
Charles Barkley was still a Rocket. Just to kind of
give you a well, Clyde was retired and was now
the head coach of the u of AH. This was
Charles's attempt at making a super team. Yes, Scott Pippen

(01:15:26):
was on his way to town. He bought the media
beer and pizza. I believe as they waited for the
there was some hold up. Do you remember this? You
were there? You had to have been his signing. Hm, well,
I just remember west Side Tennis Club.

Speaker 6 (01:15:42):
Oh, he's he signed, and here he's coming today and
we're gonna g have a chance to catch him, you know,
exiting his vehicle and walking into the press conference or
the facility. Except that he didn't come to the entrance.
Everyone thought he was going to be coming to if
I'm not mistaken.

Speaker 5 (01:15:57):
So that's why it was he was missed. I'm not
sure he come in the back entrance. That's a lot
of years have gone past since then, you know, I've
never been into that portion of West Side Tennis club.
I went there to cover when they had the Houston
whatever it was tennis, actual tennis event that was going on.
There had no idea what I was doing.

Speaker 6 (01:16:19):
Yeah, it was Westside Tennis Club hosted events, Rockets practice
basketball home practice facility that was nowhere near the arena
they played in.

Speaker 5 (01:16:28):
That's correct, But I like, I never saw that hole setup,
what it looked like, any of that stuff. But you
were there, right, You were there for Scott Pippens introductory.
I kind of feel like that was something I might
have missed. I don't think I was there for that
in ninety nine. I mean I was working at the time,
but I don't think I was there for that. I
just remember him being on the cover of Sports Illustrated

(01:16:49):
in a Rockets uniform, not Slam magazine. No. It was
crazy though, Like, Wow, Skottie Pippen lifelong Chicago bull just
won the championship with that team. Jordan's out because they
wanted to hire Tim Floyd and not continue to employ Philip.

Speaker 6 (01:17:06):
Yeah, at some point this will this will resonate even
bigger than it currently does. And I don't even know
how much it resonates. Like, do people realize who has
come through the rockets doors over the years. Se was
win big with any of them except the one time
they won a title after they won their first title,
when Clyde came through. But Clyde and Charles and Dwight

(01:17:28):
and James and Russell and Chriss and Scott, I mean
Tracy McGrady, it's pretty insane. Dwight Howard, Yeah, so who
are some of the bigger fish? And now Kevin Durant
And Kevin Durant, he's honestly at this point until he wins,
he's no different than them. He is the elite of
the elite and all NBA performer, a guy headed to

(01:17:49):
the Hall everything disagree player we mentioned Hall of Famer,
That's what.

Speaker 5 (01:17:53):
He is, even though Dwight was younger, because he's probably
the closest as far as like he was at his
peak powers when he came to Houston. He's probably the guy.
Everybody else that came through was on the back end
of their career.

Speaker 6 (01:18:06):
Did you expect to win a championship while they were
wearing your uniform?

Speaker 5 (01:18:09):
And the answer is yes in every case, yep, And
and I still expect that with Kevin Durant, that's how
good I think he was before he ever played a
minute in a Rocket uniform. And he's done nothing to
make me think otherwise, Oh there was more. He's done nothing,
he has done Jack Squat to make me think that
it's any different.

Speaker 6 (01:18:30):
Here very Well said, yeah, he's twelve games in, thumbs
are still up.

Speaker 5 (01:18:34):
I mean he's not. And what's funny is he's averaging
what like just under twenty six a game. I think
he's twenty five to nine.

Speaker 6 (01:18:41):
Not quite the player that Donovan Mitchell is. He's a
twenty nine point six.

Speaker 5 (01:18:44):
I mean, if he had not had that eleven point game,
he'd probably be right there with Giannis averaging like thirty two. No,
he's too bad, too bad. Giannis isn't gonna be playing
for a while. This is this is something else.

Speaker 6 (01:18:55):
People will just have to face facts if they if
it bothers them, and then I'm sorry. This is going
to be a low scoring average season for Kevin Durant.
As it relates to who Kevin Durant has cares, it
doesn't have anything to do with how talented he still is,
how capable he still is, and how he can still
take a game over, how he'll still mattered like he
always has in the postseason, but it's just not necessary

(01:19:17):
for him to try to score thirty points every game.
Their last game, it was paramount that he tried to
score thirty points. He got thirty five points, the last
eight of which monstrous two threes late and the two
pointer that gave him a three point lead late in
the overtime period. But at twenty five point nine points
per game, it's one of the lowest scoring average seasons

(01:19:41):
in his entire NBA career. He's only had four fewer
in his eighteen years. Don't pay any attention to that.
Those teams in a year where everybody's scoring like crazy,
If they weren't, it'd probably be at twenty four.

Speaker 5 (01:19:53):
How many of those teams were at nine and three
or better through the first twelve games. I'd challenge you
to say the research, Well, not as many as you'd
probably think, and he'd probably was scoring ten more points
per game at the time. He's averaged thirty five before,
hasn't he He's averaged over thirty just twice. Okay, here's
a scary part. A Fred's gonna come back at some point,

(01:20:15):
but even scarier one. Yeah, I think so. Okay, I
really do think that nothing I've heard.

Speaker 6 (01:20:21):
I just I would say, well, doctor Clinton speaks, but
when doctor Clinton actually speaks, it's usually about Yao's foot,
and we don't like that.

Speaker 5 (01:20:29):
Get out of here, Tom. But even better, Shingoon's going
to get better than this the games.

Speaker 6 (01:20:39):
He has taken a step forward already, and this guy's
forecasting a second step this year.

Speaker 5 (01:20:45):
Baby Joker, I like it, Joker. The real one will
be in town on Friday, but first Cleveland and next
the four o'clock hour, Tamiko ryans on the two players
that are very, very intricate and a big part of
how the Texans went in games. Well, they're not going
to have their services against the Buffalo Bills, and Tamiko
will talk about the expectations in light of that when

(01:21:07):
we come back.

Speaker 2 (01:21:10):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (01:21:12):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam talking your Team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 5 (01:21:29):
A straight up four o'clock here on the A team
Sports Talk seven ninety Space City home Network, our number three.
Oh the Tuesday edition of the program, He's wex I'm Ac.
We are taking you until six o'clock tonight. A lot

(01:21:52):
of NBA conversation over the past hour or so as
we talked about really, I mean we mentioned this last segment,
we mentioned was going to be out with a groin injury.
During the show yesterday, we were talking about the Sham's bomb.
What do you call them? That he used to be
a WOJ bomb? What do you call shams? What does
he do Sham's flamethrower?

Speaker 6 (01:22:14):
Is it a Sham's He has had one, and I
don't know what we called it because he was the
one who broke the Anthony Davis is going to be
a Maverick trade?

Speaker 5 (01:22:24):
Is it a Sham's Reaper drone? Maybe? Is it a
Sham's Daisy cutter? Sure, that's my extent of military knowledge
at this point. Weaponry.

Speaker 6 (01:22:33):
He mentioned yesterday that Victor webmbin Yama would miss some
time with a calf injury.

Speaker 5 (01:22:38):
Could be up to thirty days.

Speaker 6 (01:22:39):
Well, this is how a lot of teams, I know,
the Warriors, for one, they usually address some of these
injuries like this. He's going to be out for this
period of time, at which time he'll be reevaluated. And
that's essentially what the Spurs report was from the team.
He's going to be out two to three weeks and
then he will be reevaluated. So it's not like he's
out for two to three weeks. It's possible when he's revaluated.

(01:23:00):
Isay Man, the healing that this has done in your
calf unbelievable.

Speaker 5 (01:23:06):
You're playing to night, but it's very unlikely. You Know
what's really interesting. I was reading I think the athletics
coverage on this very topic, and they had talked to
a doctor, either a doctor affiliated with an NBA team
or just a doctor who observes these types of things
and keeps track of what kind of injuries and how

(01:23:26):
many of them are is a very wex type thing
to do. I have a spreadsheet here and here are
all the occurrences of this particular injury. And the question
was asked, is there an uptick? Simply because Tyrese Haliburton,
Jason Tatum, and Jannis no Wimby, but there was one

(01:23:47):
other one, oh, Anthony Davis, all have either experienced calf
titaness that led to achilles tears or in this case
Davis and wimb and Yama, they're experiencing calf titaness. Now
that's keep them on the shelf in fear of said
achilles tear. And the doctor was asked if there was
an uptick in calf tightness across the NBA, and he said, no,

(01:24:12):
it was not. It was actually it wasn't, you know, down,
but it certainly was not up either. It's just probably
seems that way because of the high profile. But this
is not This does not qualify in my opinion, as
something that goes along with my predictor like he's not
going to last physically because of his stature. Those aren't

(01:24:32):
the types of injuries. This is something that any NBA
Muggsy Bogues could have dealt with. This and he was
five foot three, has nothing to do with him being
seven foot ten or anything else, much like the blood
cloth thing. Is not something I would have predicted. But
they're happening and at what point is he the dreaded
injury prone.

Speaker 6 (01:24:53):
Four eighteen pm yesterday I sent this text out to
some people that like Dallas Mavericks basketball and Spurs basketball
seventy one in year one, forty six in year two,
how many games played in year three for Wemby?

Speaker 5 (01:25:09):
Are you telling me to guess their responses? I didn't
get any response.

Speaker 6 (01:25:12):
You didn't get any responses we shall see was the
lone response.

Speaker 5 (01:25:15):
You know why they didn't say that because it's not nice,
same reason I don't want to say it. We're sitting
here talking about how Kevin Durant is still efficient and
awesome and taking over again. I don't want him to
get I don't wish injuries upon anyone. Well maybe now
I'm kidding anyone because I don't want it to happen
to my team. You know why, because here in Houston,

(01:25:37):
especially with the Houston Rockets, and especially as it pertains
to what would they have been against the San Antonio Spurs,
specifically during their most injury ravaged portion ever, you had
two superstars who, if they're healthy in two thousand and nine,
there probably is a fourth banner that should have been.
Because I'm gonna go ahead and give them twenty eighteen

(01:25:58):
as well, the Rockets probably win the championship if both
Yaoming and Tracy McGrady are alongside Ron ar Test that year. Wow.
Three additional series victories to the one that they got
were in the second round and took the Lakers to
Game seven without Yoo. In like two of those games.

Speaker 6 (01:26:16):
And I was at those games, and I'll still say
now what I said then.

Speaker 5 (01:26:20):
Because they were good. It was amazing.

Speaker 6 (01:26:23):
I know, they played their butts off and they just
played harder and definitely took them for granted. They thought,
oh well, and this.

Speaker 5 (01:26:31):
Is phil Bill didn't. He was down there at the
post credit is what he said.

Speaker 6 (01:26:37):
This is the series where it was blowout city almost
every game either way. Goodness gracious. I mean, dude, did
you see what was his name, man, Tim Legler?

Speaker 5 (01:26:50):
I hate it when you do this. Well did you
see with no angle? Did you see Billy Ocean light
up the Lakers in Game six? I think I'm sorry
I met Aaron Brooks.

Speaker 6 (01:27:00):
If I'm not mistaken, I was gonna guess Bill Simmons next.
I think he posted something this week with Billy Ocean
in it. Really the Billy Ocean. Well, you know why
he was questioning how did something like how did we
what happened in the eighties, like how could we have
let this happen? Because it was Billy Ocean's video from
the Romancing the Stone movie genre with featuring Danny DeVito,

(01:27:24):
Kathleen Turner, and Michael Duglas.

Speaker 5 (01:27:26):
Decisions were made in the eighties that these are the
videos that were being made for music. But here's the deal.
As much as I pile on Bill Simmons, and rightfully so,
because he's an absolute, just abhorrent Delta Bravo, he's a blowhard.
He's just not a very pleasant person. Pleasure from Boston.

Speaker 8 (01:27:45):
Right.

Speaker 5 (01:27:47):
He is a part of some really like the Andre
the Giant documentary. He's the EP on that, the yacht
Rock documentary, also the executive producer on that, which makes
me think, I'm not saying Billy Ocean's yacht Rock Player
certainly has some selections that would qualify, no doubt, but yeah,
there's some there are some decisions that were made. All

(01:28:08):
of that is to say how much how better would
And I'm not saying it would have made a difference.
I'm not even saying that. You know, the Spurs don't
win some of those championships, but you think about their
luck post nineteen ninety five when it comes to injury.
How about just injuries that turned into I mean, David
Robinson was completely healthy, they sat him down for close

(01:28:31):
to eighty games and they got Tim Duncan. That's bs.
So you already tested fate once then you get Victor
winbin Yama. The one time you're sucky enough to get
the number one pick in the draft. That's the most
amazing part of the Rockets. They've never gotten the number
one pick overall since Yao Mingh. And they've built this
team with top five picks, but never number one, and

(01:28:52):
certainly not the year that Vicky was available.

Speaker 6 (01:28:55):
We'll always keep an eye on what those other players
do for that very reason. Cunningham's team do, what will
Poolo's team do, and obviously what we're Victor's team.

Speaker 5 (01:29:04):
Cad fresh off a new shoe endorsement, Yeah, he is,
He's earned it. I think he wanted to play. He's
been exceptional. I think he's won the Caid versus Jalen
debate as if there ever was one, Bingo. I mean,
it sucks. That's another example of well, if the Rockets
had the number one pick, then maybe Kid Cunningham's here
and you don't have Kevin Durant because you never traded
Jalen Green.

Speaker 6 (01:29:25):
Their path to where they are today just changes dramatically.

Speaker 5 (01:29:28):
And I think I think Kid Cunningham, even though Steven
Silas was the original Kaid Cunningham here playing for em
last season instead of Jalen Green. Just take those out
and put them in. You definitely beat the Warriors. You
definitely beat the Warriors.

Speaker 6 (01:29:44):
He's he is they have Detroit has put together a
team that they fit. Who those players actually are. I
don't know if it's the coaches kind of gone to
them or vice versa on how they wanted to build it.
They're they're the Eastern Conference Houston Rockets when it comes
to you're not pulling us around, Yeah, we are going
to bully you, and we're gonna bully you. And we're
also pretty talented. So I really would love to destroyed

(01:30:05):
by the way the Rockets owe them. That was a
stinker here. And Jalen Duran, I want him to play
a whole game so he can get bullied for forty
eight minutes.

Speaker 5 (01:30:13):
Well, he's more of the dishing out than receiving. He's
gonna get some receiving. That what that's what, That's what
you got coming your way? All right at the toilet store?
All right? Good?

Speaker 6 (01:30:23):
Ge't wait, all right, there's other injury news to get to. Yes,
since the Texans did get to their injury report along
with the Buffalo Bills, bills is really hard to kind
of put a handle on. I don't think there's I
would make much of what their injury report says. They've
had walkthroughs both days. I think most of the players
that started the week likely to play are all going

(01:30:46):
to play. You're probably gonna miss Dalton Kincaid with that
recently suffered hamstring, and I think there's still some question
marks about, you know, where Samuel is and everything. I
guess I don't really know about Shakir, who plays a
pretty important role for them, but he was not available
either of the last two days, but it's personal reasons.

Speaker 5 (01:31:02):
I have no idea what that is. I haven't heard
from coach McDermott yet.

Speaker 6 (01:31:06):
He may have said it's something that we think will
be taken care of by Thursday. Anything else on the
injury reports a little bit of a guessing game, But
nobody else was unable to at least participate partially Texan side.
We had a pretty good idea of what of concern
would be there for them. Jalen Petri and CJ. Stroud
I told you I was at practice earlier. They both
did practice, each on a limited basis, both because of

(01:31:27):
their respective concussions, and then after practice Dimiko said they
are both out for this game. Camee Fairbairn full participant.
He's going to play this week. There's no roster move
that has to be made because he never came off
the active roster, never went on ir They are a
two kicker team currently though on the fifty three man roster,
so if there's a spot that they need, they could

(01:31:49):
decide that that's enough. You kicked a game winning field well,
and now we don't want you here anymore. With Matthew Wright,
there are five other players that were limited today, Howard
and Brown on the offensive line with ankle, hand and
knee respectively, Deniko Autry and Will Anderson Junior same thing
as yesterday, their knee and their ankle respectively, and the
illness and knee for Aziz al Shaer all limited. I

(01:32:09):
wouldn't expect any of those players to be unavailable. I'm
not sure what they will want from those five players.
I think with ed Ingram practicing in full as it's
termed this week both yesterday and today, he's going to
be back in the starting lineup my guess, which means
he and Patterson will be the guards. Andrews will remain

(01:32:31):
at center, and Titus Howard will bump back out to
his usual tackle position along with Ercri on the left side,
and Trent Brown probably will still be active for various reasons,
but so will Blake Fisher, who will remain as their
tackle eligible on nearly every one of those plays that
they like to still run.

Speaker 5 (01:32:48):
Just a guess, but that seems likely come Thursday. All right,
we will hear from Demico Ryans on both c J.
Stroud and Jalen Peatree's absence when we come back here
on a Tuesday edition of the program.

Speaker 1 (01:33:02):
The AE on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:33:14):
Eight team rolling along here on a Tuesday edition of
the program. It's Sports Talk seven ninety Space City Home
Network signature segment coming up next. It's a good one
of the college variety. Say what, I am fascinated by
everything going on around that situation. I'll give you a hint.

(01:33:36):
It's very outspoken coach on social media and a very
very enticing open position in college football. There's your hint.
I don't think it's hard to put it together.

Speaker 6 (01:33:46):
If you want to head down the ladder in the SEC, well,
by all means, why you gotta be like that. I mean,
if you want to go to a worse program, have at.

Speaker 5 (01:33:54):
It, stop it. That's your choice. What this year the
record is? Yeah, I mean I live in the present.
It's not a worse program. Oh okay, you a pound
for pound? Really sure? Don't do this? Why not? Because
it's on purpose? I'll save it for say what? Yeah,
I can't wait? All right, we need to hear from

(01:34:17):
Demiico Ryans.

Speaker 6 (01:34:19):
All right, let's do that. Oh my god, how are
the Texans gonna win? How are they gonna stop Josh
Allen this? And Josh Allen that? He just had a
six touchdown game? And you guys are playing Davis Mills.
Why even play? It's national forfeit. It's gonna be awful.
Oh they also have James Cook. What do you think
about James Cook?

Speaker 10 (01:34:38):
Demiko presses his box really well, so when he cuts
it back, he cuts it.

Speaker 5 (01:34:47):
When he cuts it back, he actually cuts it off.
That's me.

Speaker 10 (01:34:51):
He does a really good job I think of really,
when they're running the outside zone, he presses his box
really well, so when he cuts it back, he cuts
it back with speed. Has a really good feel for
the zone scheme that they run, and he has a
really good field for just finding that open area. They
do a good tip of come running off the ball
from the offensive line, and he hits it fast and aggressive,
and he's a tough tackle. So it's gonna take, you know,

(01:35:13):
how we play anyway, It's gonna take everybody getting to
the ball, swarming the football, just multiple hats trying to
surround as best we can to get it down.

Speaker 6 (01:35:21):
He did not mention that twenty twenty five James Cook
is Jacko and Hyde.

Speaker 5 (01:35:28):
Well, he's gonna be which, well, which is which? So
who's the good one? The mystery or the doctor? Doctor?
Which one's which? Doctor? Jackal's the good guy? Okay, so
doctor he's effective in this case. Yes.

Speaker 6 (01:35:40):
One hundred and fourteen yards against Kansas City in a victory.
Two hundred and sixteen yards against Bryce Young's defense in
a victory.

Speaker 5 (01:35:48):
Why Bryce Young's defense, he doesn't play for them.

Speaker 6 (01:35:50):
One hundred and seventeen yards against the Saints in victory.
One hundred and eight yards against the Dolphins in a victory,
one hundred and thirty two yards against the Jets, also
in a victory. That's half of his season. They've played
ten times. Those are five of his games of one
hundred yards or better, now do the good teams, all
of which he's averaged five or more yards against the
other five games, he ran for forty four yards in

(01:36:12):
that offensive explosion game to open the season against Buffalo
forty four yard. Now, he did have fifty eight yard
races against the Ravens, Buffalo and Baltimore. Yeah, so not
a particularly effective game. He averaged three point four yards
of carry. A couple weeks later in their loss to
New England, he averaged three point three yards of carry,

(01:36:33):
had less than fifty yards rushing, and didn't catch a pass.
They lost to the Falcons. The following yes, the Buffalo
Bills lost to the Falcons this year, he had eighty
seven yards rushing and again no receiving yards because he
didn't catch any passes. The last two weeks he's run
for one hundred and one yards total fifty three to
one game, forty eight in the other. That's five games

(01:36:54):
of rather unimpressive performances, the majority of which all three
of their losses, as a matter of fact, have come
in those games. If the Texans keep him under wraps,
so to speak, or if they force the Bills to
move away from getting the ball in James Cook's hands
enough to just say they're in really good shape.

Speaker 5 (01:37:16):
Normally I would say yes, Here's why I'm not feeling
good about this. Typically, when the Texans, with this defense,
by the way, face a running quarterback and they're able
to neutralize the running back, it actually just means that
that quarterback becomes the running back by default. And I
know that Lamar Jackson is one of one, and I'm

(01:37:38):
not trying to compare Josh Allen running the football with
Lamar Jackson. But Josh Allen can get out and run.
And I told you that yesterday. This is what this
is what scares me about this game. I feel like
I'm gonna be sitting there on Thursday night watching Josh
Allen rack up eighty one hundred. Come on, man, what
if he gets loose?

Speaker 6 (01:37:58):
For a fact on why what do you think he
does on a regular basis eighty or one hundred.

Speaker 5 (01:38:04):
I'm not saying a regular basis. I'm saying this defense.
He didn't have a game over sixty this year. They
haven't played the Texans, the horrible, terrible can't stay with
a running quarterbacks thing like That's what makes me the
most frustrated about it is they are a good defense,
and they're a good defense. It's stopping the run from

(01:38:27):
a running back. But this same defensive unit, for the
most part, got torched by Lamar Jackson.

Speaker 6 (01:38:34):
And I know, I know you put last year away
because obviously you're talking about last year.

Speaker 5 (01:38:39):
He didn't play against them this year. This year's defense different.

Speaker 6 (01:38:42):
But I'm talking about defense more capable because I ran
through it yesterday. And these are just individual plays, not
a series of them. You know, Trevor Lawrence probably had
two plays where they busted them defensively, but they never
got to him, so he ran and he made a
huge gain. It was obviously late in the game on
one of them where he was able to do that.
Cam Wore did it one time on Sunday and it

(01:39:05):
was part of their huge drive that tied the game.
And earlier in the year, what's the one run that
I was thinking of? It happened one oh, quarterbacker Mayfield
fourth and ten. Oh. Yeah, they allowed that to happen.
They really didn't allow much of the rest of the game.
But it's different with him totally.

Speaker 5 (01:39:22):
To me.

Speaker 6 (01:39:23):
He's got ten rushing touchdowns this year, which is just insane.
Every year he does, it's fifteen, whatever number he's gonna
end up. A lot of them are sneaks though, but uh,
some of them are. But some of them are like
last week. The other thing is he he's not that
interested in running. I don't think against the Texans he
is interested in running around. That's what I'm actually more

(01:39:43):
worried about against him. Usually it is the running like
mahometf it's third and six and Mahomes runs for six
and a half. It's third and seven in Mahomes runs
for eight. It's just that's maddening. I think he's going
to run around and run around and run around, and
then somebody will have lost one of their receivers and
all of a sudden, it's not They're not gonna gain
eight yards.

Speaker 5 (01:40:02):
Well fifty yards. You better hope that he doesn't run
into his z's out shut here.

Speaker 6 (01:40:07):
He might not be the guy chasing him, and that
that also what you're saying, and what I'm saying, we
should obviously get to the other part of it. When
you play Lamar and when you play Josh, and there's
a few others it it almost forces you to change
whatever it is you do. Whatever the Texans do is working.
Here's how we like to play defense. You have to
adjust to us. We don't care how you play offense.

(01:40:27):
We're awesome. We trust what we do. Accept In these instances,
you're almost compelled to.

Speaker 5 (01:40:33):
We got to put a spy out there.

Speaker 6 (01:40:34):
This player isn't rushing the quarterback, he's not dropping into coverage.
He's basically playing zone on the quarterback. If he breaks
the pocket, if he gets outside, if they haven't gotten
to him yet, We're not gonna let him step into
the pocket and have nobody there. You know, do you
play as much man where your back is to Josh
Allen And once he gets out there, it takes forever
to you to realize he's not throwing the football. I

(01:40:57):
need to turn around and go chase him instead of
staying with the receiver. It happens all the time, and
it's very even a talented, well coached, well disciplined defense.
That's why they're so That's why these quarterbacks are so good.

Speaker 5 (01:41:11):
Yeah, I get again. The fear is not all the
Texans defense can't handle this assignment. The fear is this
assignment gets blown up and the in so doing, the
Texans defense gives up a big play or two that
normally wouldn't. It's kind of flucish in that way, and
it ends up costing them the game because their offense

(01:41:34):
is just awful.

Speaker 6 (01:41:35):
What do I set the over under at Josh Allen
turnovers at one and a half, which is like.

Speaker 5 (01:41:39):
I think he will. I'm not ready to say he'll
throw two picks. He's thrown seven interceptions.

Speaker 6 (01:41:46):
About this, He's put the ball on the ground five
times that I lost all of them, but he's put
it on the ground time.

Speaker 5 (01:41:51):
I am actually because of his style of play, I
actually think there's a better chance that the Texans force
a fumble on him in the backfield with one of
those monsters they have that rush the passer. My money's
on Will Anderson.

Speaker 6 (01:42:06):
Based on my information, my insider information from inside the
Texans locker room when me and several other media members
talked to Tim Settle, he's the one that's getting it
this week, his former team. He feels like it's time
for him. He's watched Will do it, He's watched to
Neil do it, and he watched Sheldon Rankins rumble into
the end zone.

Speaker 5 (01:42:23):
He feels like it's he thinks it's his turn. Well,
maybe Will Anderson forces the fumble and settles the one
that picks it up and takes it in. But I
tell you this, that's going to make life a whole
lot easier on your offense, which has all the pressure
in the world. It's again the fact that Ed Oliver
is not going to be bearing down on Davis Mills's
neck in this what in this game? Not unintentional? Uh,

(01:42:46):
it makes me feel a little better. But they're not.
I don't think they're pushovers defensively either.

Speaker 6 (01:42:50):
He's missed a bunch of time, Bosa's missed a bunch
of time. And they're the leading still the top two
on the sack chart for Buffalo. A couple of players
have three along with Ed Bose has four. Team has
twenty six. A little bit above average in that category,
but not overwhelming. That's one of the few defensive areas
where they are above average. They're a very average defense

(01:43:11):
this year.

Speaker 5 (01:43:12):
Good. I hope Davis Mills kills them, but I'm skeptical.
All Right, we're gonna argue about SEC football is one
guy worth all of the headaches, the conversation surrounding and
by the way, it's already starting. The rumors are there,
and oh, by the way, they're tracking planes and all
sorts of stuff's going on. Will he or won't he

(01:43:35):
jump ship? We'll tell you who we're talking about next.

Speaker 1 (01:43:40):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety. This is Adam
and Adams Weekly, chumped through mind buckling moments that make
you goay, what what tad boys here?

Speaker 3 (01:44:00):
What are you talking about?

Speaker 5 (01:44:01):
Man on a Tuesday? What odin I did?

Speaker 2 (01:44:05):
Now? Say what.

Speaker 5 (01:44:09):
Signature segment?

Speaker 6 (01:44:10):
Time we get to halfway through our number three, that's
four thirty signature segment Tuesday afternoon. Say what college football
had a pairing yesterday? James Franklin, it's gonna be the
new head coach at Virginia Tech. I don't know that
this helps start the spinning of the coaching carousel. Essentially,
we've just seen exits. This is our first entrance to

(01:44:31):
a new job. But there are actually gonna be a
bunch more exits before we get anywhere, And once the
season's a little bit closer to conclusion, we'll start seeing
that in between bowl games, many more jobs will be taken.
Not many of these coaches that have been let go
are in line for them. James Franklin was definitely a
different case consider where he was preseason top five and

(01:44:54):
where he was last year semifinals of the playoffs. Des
not usually a coach that's sitting out there. Brian Kelly's
close to that. He's also available, but I would be
shocked if he was hired by anybody before the season end.
Might be a little bit surprised if he's hired by
anybody period. He's in this coaching cycle, But we shall see.
But everything else that's going on from a coaching standpoint

(01:45:16):
on college football is the rumor mill spinning wildly because
it just means more in the SEC and when they
have several open jobs and they have several prominent coaches
that are still holding down their current jobs as the
likeliest candidates for them, Missouri with Eli Drinkwitz or miss
with Lane Kiffin, it certainly could land here and say

(01:45:37):
what as it has today?

Speaker 5 (01:45:38):
Well, yes it has, and that's because Lane Kiffin is
a lightning rod, always in the news for one reason
or another, even if his team isn't.

Speaker 6 (01:45:48):
Particularly do you see the couple that got engaged at
their game a couple of weeks, I didn't see that. Yeah,
guy went down there as a ruse on a field
goal kicking kind of promotion. Missus soon to be was
there to hold for him, and he was approaching the
kick and instead of kicking the ball, he got down
on one knee and proposed to her and she said yes.

(01:46:08):
And that was during a TV timeout as they were
posing for their on field picture in the middle of
the game, Lane Kiffen came over from his bench and
got in the picture with them.

Speaker 5 (01:46:17):
They'll never forget that. Yep. Why couldn't he kick the
field goal though? Oh, because it was all over. It
was just a setup. Okay, fine, do you think all
missus getting tired of this conversation about LSU? I'm sure
that they are.

Speaker 6 (01:46:30):
One reason is good, we must be awesome, which they are,
and one reason is bad. How are we going to
stay awesome if we're looking for a new head coach?

Speaker 5 (01:46:38):
Yeah? They, According to him, Lane Kiffin did not give
him an ultimatum. The administration all miss to make a decision.

Speaker 6 (01:46:48):
Yeah, that was reported earlier today, I think earlier this
morning that said they report that they had said, all right,
enough of this, here's an ultimatum. Are you here or
are you not here, and I'm sure that there was
money offered in the ultimate just like we saw with
coach Elco in College Station. Different scenario, but he obviously
got a huge chunk of change long term to remain
doing what.

Speaker 5 (01:47:08):
He does there very well.

Speaker 6 (01:47:09):
So Lane put that to bed publicly and hopefully truthfully.

Speaker 5 (01:47:13):
Yeah, he said down on the Pat McAfee show, knaps
or absolutely not true, No ultimatum anything like that at all.
So I don't know where that came from. Like a
lot of stuff that comes out there, Like I said, Man,
we're having a blast. I love it here. I'm sure
he does by all accounts. Great place to be, great
place to watch a game, great place to coach, but

(01:47:36):
it's not LSU.

Speaker 6 (01:47:37):
He's had ole Miss in the top ten five consecutive
seasons at some point in the season finished in the
top ten, and one of those five and this could
certainly be too, top fifteen, and four of those five.
They're running on a three season streak of ten or
more wins. They're already at ten this year. For the
last five years at ten or more wins, ole Miss
probably will never, ever, ever, ever be considered in the

(01:48:01):
same viewpoint perspective football wise program wise as LSU. I
think that's that almost goes without saying. I mean, it's
understandable that this is two different places. However, if you're
trying to win national championships, make tons of money, become
super famous, popular, whatever it is, you're after all centered

(01:48:23):
around winning football games in the SEC and dominating and
having a legacy and all that. I mean, sure, winning
at LSU is awesome. It's what everybody does except for
Brian Kelly. Is one other point you could make. If
you don't do it, you stink you're fired. The other
three guys have already done it, and they also got shown.

Speaker 5 (01:48:41):
I mean, Nick, it's a little different.

Speaker 6 (01:48:43):
But Edo, and you know this, less Miles shown the
door after winning the national time, not just ah, it's
run its courts.

Speaker 5 (01:48:49):
It's time to shown the door. Get out of here.
We don't want you here anymore. So I told you
what Lane said. But then the dreaded H word came
out right after that. You know what that is? Ah,
what's the h? However? Okay, However, sources told ESPN today
that Old MISS officials are pressing Kiffen and his agent

(01:49:10):
Jimmy Sexton YEP for a resolution athletic director Keith Carter
has asked for Kiffen to reach a decision by this
upcoming weekend. The sources stop short of calling it an ultimatum,
but they added that Carter and others want an answer
so they can prepare for the postseason, a potential coaching
transition before the college football playoff, and a search to

(01:49:33):
identify Kiffen's replacement if he does leave. And then. Sources
confirmed on Tuesday that Kiffen's ex wife, Layla Great Song
by Derek and the Dominoes, son Knox, and his brother Chris,
Griffin's son visited Gainesville, Florida on Sunday. Layla, who lives

(01:49:55):
in Oxford, visited Baton Rouge the next day with other
family members. That's true, It's all factual. All mis officials
have made it clear to Kiffin and sext And that
the Rebels would match any contract offer the Gators and
Tigers might make.

Speaker 6 (01:50:11):
Basically, at this point, it's like making sure that you
have a date to the problem.

Speaker 5 (01:50:14):
Hey, are you gonna be my date?

Speaker 8 (01:50:16):
No?

Speaker 5 (01:50:16):
Okay, I gotta move on. This is about where Lane
Kifvin wants to go. Though he's in charge, that he's
he's got all the leverage, all that kind of stuff
any way you want to look at it. So then
it just becomes which which of those other programs would
be better for him in his opinion, because they're both

(01:50:38):
better than ole Miss. Uh yeah, I'm gonna get to that.
What is okay?

Speaker 6 (01:50:42):
He wins the national title this year with ole Miss,
they go into the playoffs, is the four to five,
six seed, whatever it is, they win the SEC championship,
whatever it takes. Then they go and win their playoff games,
they win the national title, or they do it next
year because he stayed. What's the difference, what is the
real difference from doing it there with where he has
that program in this outrageously large, tremendously talented conference, or

(01:51:04):
he goes to LSU and does what they've done countless
times and art again, you're not talking about their history
but there, and this becomes I know we're going to
talk it out and try to answer the question. It's
totally personal. Does he value winning a title as the
LSU football coach more than he values the title of
winning it where he currently is? Because I'm not sure
that he should. I can't tell you how he's going

(01:51:26):
to feel, but you're in the sec Why is ole
Miss where they are? Not because of their history, it's
because of you.

Speaker 5 (01:51:34):
Right.

Speaker 6 (01:51:35):
If LSU wins a title, is it because of you? Well, yes,
clearly partially. And the most recent coach was a huge
failure on this massive expectation front.

Speaker 5 (01:51:45):
He didn't win one, which would further solidify that way
of thinking.

Speaker 6 (01:51:47):
Lane Kiffin's the greatest coach in the history of ole
Miss football case close, no question about it. When they
win their title, Lane Kiffin is on the same level
as Less Smiles and ed Orgeron now that he has
a title.

Speaker 5 (01:52:00):
Jimmy Sexton, is that what you're saying to him?

Speaker 6 (01:52:01):
Well, it could also be why are you wasting all
your's time? The segment's about to run out. Just ask
for as much money as you can get from LSU
and Florida and then take it from ole Miss. It's eventually,
I don't know what to tell you his decision will be,
but I don't It's some things are changing in college.

Speaker 5 (01:52:17):
For I was about to say, it doesn't really necessarily
so bad that he's like, that's how it's viewed winning
a title at ole Miss.

Speaker 6 (01:52:23):
But you could win a title at Florida and you
could win a title at LSU.

Speaker 5 (01:52:27):
Maybe look where he already is a strongly worded letter
and zero accountability. We'll talk about those things next.

Speaker 1 (01:52:37):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:52:51):
Several times over the course of us hosting this show
together since do give or take March Plish of twenty nineteen.
I don't know how many incidents that Draymond Green has
been involved in, whether it was in the playoffs, whether
it was in the regular season, it doesn't matter. Wherever

(01:53:12):
he goes, controversy follows. This one might be my favorite, though.
I mean, even though he didn't kick anybody in the crotch,
that's happened more than one occasion, a player to a
different player in each occasion during an NBA game, a
playoff game, well both times, right, Steven Adams was in

(01:53:34):
the playoffs, wasn't I know Lebron was It was in
the finals, got suspended, suspend it. If he hadn't kicked
the guy that the crosch, you wouldn't got suspended anyway. Why
is it that he has the longest leash in all
of sports? So what's what's the leash about this time?
What should have happened. That didn't he Now again, you
have to take this with a grain of salt, because

(01:53:56):
it's a he said, versus he said in this occasion, Okay,
the NBA, I can't this is The NBA has issued
a warning but no fine, to Warriors forward Draymond Green
for his interaction with a vocal fan in New Orleans
on Sunday night. According to Schams, after Green had a

(01:54:20):
first quarter possession with several offensive rebounds and missed shots,
the fan yelled Angel Reese toward Green, who said he
initially laughed, but after the fan repeated the chant several times,
Green walked over to confront him on the baseline during
a second quarter stoppage. It was a good joke at first,

(01:54:41):
but you can't keep calling me a woman. I got
four kids, one on the way. You can't keep calling
me a woman now. First and foremost, that's one of
the most creative, trash talking chants I've ever heard from
a fan. He's clearly got some knowledge of not only
the NBA but also the WNBA, and the fact that
angel Reese is a prolific rebounder in that she is

(01:55:05):
a prolific shot misser. So it was good trash talk.
Right first and foremost, did you ever like was the
first thing you noticed the fact that this guy was
standing eye to eye with Draymond Green, who's six foot six.

Speaker 6 (01:55:19):
I mean, he's arguably he was taller than Draymond, but yes,
I did notice that he's six foot seven.

Speaker 5 (01:55:23):
According to him, he reached out to Clay Travis. I
don't know the genesis of all this, but apparently he
reached out to Clay Travis. And if what he said
to Clay Travis is true, it's a little bit more context,
but again it's a he said. He said he sent
Clay a DM and he kind of bullet pointed it,

(01:55:44):
itemized it if you will. He said, I meant no
disrespect to women's basketball or Angel Reese. That's a lie.
I was only trying to get in Draymond's head because
he's and he calls him a derogatory term. Clearly it worked.
Number two, Draymond told him to and there was an

(01:56:05):
act he told him to do. All right, I'll let
you use your imagination, and supposedly Draymond had done this
in the first quarter. Number three, I never used any
expletives or profane language. Again, this is the guy Sam
Green is his name, who confronted Draymond Green, or actually
Draymond confronted him. He was on his you know, in
his seat area on the baseline. Number four, I've been

(01:56:27):
kicked out of several games for heckling players, but never
have had one come up to me in my face.
Number five, a fourteen year veteran who is the quote
heartbeat of the Warriors, is not a tough guy. He's soft.
And Number six, I believe as a fan you have
every right to heckle as long as it's respectful. Like

(01:56:49):
I said, didn't curse, talk about his kids, wives, baby mamas,
et cetera. That's believable to me. Here's my thing. Why
is this stuff keep happening with Draymond Green? Number one
and number two? Because it does keep happening, and it's
different versions of it. Sometimes it's physical. In this case,

(01:57:09):
all things considered, it was just a close call altercation.
By the way, the officials and players took way too
long to get in between those two. I mean, it
was a long confrontation regardless of what did or didn't happen.
But finally, like this guy, instant after incident after incident,
after incident, and if what this guy says is true

(01:57:29):
that Draymond Green first of all laughed initially at the
taunt and secondly said what he did, which again very
very derogatory, There's no way I could even attempt to
clean it up on the air for what Draymond Green
told this guy to do. I don't get how the
NBA this is all they do. It's for whatever reason,
this guy always gets a pass almost always.

Speaker 6 (01:57:51):
I mean, I think this is a kind of a
one of one is very very different than all the
other incidents scenarios, basketball or otherwise.

Speaker 5 (01:57:58):
But he clearly has a file.

Speaker 6 (01:58:00):
Let's take out the Draymond Green file and see where
we kind of want to, you know, wager or wage
our punishment based on that. I don't know the real
like the NBA Communications Department did not make this official
that they reprimanded him without a fine or gave him
a warning without a fine. I also because of that,

(01:58:23):
I don't really know what they did about it. Did
they did they investigate this? Did they ask Draymond what
took place? Did they ask Sam the fan what took place?
Did they ask other fans what took place? Did they
ask arena security, Courtney Kirkland, and the other officials that
were working. I hope so, because if you're looking to
say something to Draymond Green, whether it's a warning, suspension, fine, whatever,

(01:58:45):
those would be the normal steps to take, and then
we would actually have it he said, versus he said
did Draymond didn't dispute any of this because nobody's asked
him about it, right, he told you what he said happened,
But that's not what we're at odds about. He called
He said, Angel Reese, you said he called you a woman. Okay,
you're in agreement. That's what happened. But Sam's also added

(01:59:07):
what else took place? To which, again, the only time
Draymond's spoken about it was in the post game. If
I'm not mistaken, and nobody, I guess knew to ask, well,
did you curse at him earlier? Did you start this?
Did you say something you should say that? That would
be assuming that Warriors media.

Speaker 5 (01:59:23):
Or Pelicans media, they could have been in there. I
guess it's a road game in New Orleans. How many
New Orleans media do you think it's a Draymond's presser.
I'll go back into the Pelicans dressing room like I
mean you and I did for Steph Curry after he
took a sweet Earth time and finally came out, and
then I asked him a question.

Speaker 6 (01:59:42):
I guess they would have been pot arm wrestling, busy
with the changes in Pelicans domb.

Speaker 5 (01:59:46):
But what's funny is okay, So somebody confronted this guy
on social about this because he's obviously on he's on
ex Twitter or whatever, and he says, so he admits
to getting kicked out of several games for heckling players,
but they still let him come back, which is interesting
because that's what I'm getting on the NBA about for
Draymond Green. You keep letting him get away with this stuff.
And he responded and said, you're allowed to heckle, you're

(02:00:09):
not allowed to use profanity. I told Luca he had cankles.
I I asked Josh Giddy if his underage girlfriend was
at least eighteen and dog years. Don't you think those
two are very very different, Yes, very different. They're very different,
and one of them's very out of bounds, but he's
being transnarent.

Speaker 6 (02:00:29):
I think they both should warrant if heard ejection from
the arena. I think good pointed out by a player
to an official. Maybe, but no, Well, she can't be
ejected from the arena for calling saying, Luka Donctz has
ankles that aren't impressive.

Speaker 5 (02:00:45):
In today's NBA. It wouldn't surprise me, is what I
should have responded.

Speaker 6 (02:00:48):
But if a player says, man, you got to stop
this guy, and everybody in the arena knows that he
just said you have cankeles, wouldn't you say sorry, Luca?

Speaker 5 (02:00:57):
Yeah? But I would say the same thing about the
Josh Giddy thing. I would say. I would say all
of these things should just leave it alone. Man, this
league's soft where I would.

Speaker 6 (02:01:07):
Really haven't gotten into it very much on the Raybond side,
just kind of laying it all out for you. We'll
do that five point fifteen, little revisit of if something
something different should have gone down with that from an
NBA perspective. But football at five comes your way

Speaker 2 (02:01:20):
Next the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety