November 21, 2025 • 10 mins
Houston’s 3rd straight win has them set up to make a playoff push.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
I thought the Texans may have been doom last night
when Buffalo completed the fourth and twenty seven first down
the hooking ladder. Well, it wasn't really it wasn't really
a hook and ladder because the hook and ladder is
usually a down and in pattern. And then you put
the running back is trailing the play and you later
on it to him it's this is a different version
(00:25):
of right, it's the Boise State. Oh you play from
two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
That's what I was getting.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's still too it's still too soon.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I know, I know, like I know you you said
it's the.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Marriage proposal game from the Boise State.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Guys, because I know you said, I know you said
all the time. I don't believe you, but I know
you say all the time about how like oh like
I graduate MoU, but I'm much more ingrained at you.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Tis say, like you still you don't forget your first
love like that? And no, I just don't know who that.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
I don't know any of their players, so I don't
have time to learn them or study them unless UTSA
is playing them and they're not on the schedule anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
We have to talk about this one thing.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
With the Texans though, Andy, and that's that going into
the season, a lot of people had pegged the Packers
had the best pair of edge rushers with Rashaun Gary
and then Michael Parsons. Right, we need to have that
discussion now about Danil Hunter and Will Anderson because they
have been wrecking shot the less.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Cos they have been the Texans I think are as
good a defense as there in the league. There may
be others that are equal to them, but I don't
know that there's any that are better. And that'll be
a topic with Mark Vandermere that you and Shane will
have to do the You and Sam will have to
do the interview on Tuesday. We get to talk to
you get Mark next week.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
I won't be here.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I would love to be able to do the show
from the road like I normally do, but UTSA is
in a basketball tournament and because there's games ahead of us, Yeah,
there's really it's too distracting for everybody for me to
do a show while the game is going on. So
that's that's the that's the issue. But you'll get Mark
on Tuesday to discuss that fact. I want to go
back to the fourth and twenty seven play, because I
(01:54):
think that play should be run more often because I've
seen it being run twice and it's worked both times.
It worked in two thousand and eight, and I have
never seen anybody run it since. Now. There may be
teams that have, I just haven't seen it. It might
be like ANC team it kind of because when you
run the when you run the slant instead of the
instead of like the little curl pattern in the at
(02:17):
at the you know, ten yards out curl and then
pitch it to the running back that's trailing right. You
get this, You get a more spread field when you've
got four or five wide and you hit somebody and
he runs for a while and he drags the defense
with him to almost midfield before he pitches it to
the guy that's coming back underneath him. And and if
(02:37):
you look at the they I'm glad that Prime showed
this end zone shot because every one of the Texans
players was already committed to the opposite side of the
fifty yard line and it was They're lucky he didn't
score on that play. They did have somebody, some people
that could get enough of an angle to get over
there and get him out of bounds. And then the
defense took over for a second time. But I would
(02:58):
I think that's a play that should be run more
often because I think it's really hard to defend.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
The thing with trick playz is Andy is that when
they work, they work great and never were to talk
about it. But when they fail, there's a reason why
the trick blazer wants a wild type of play, like
for a long time.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I'm not saying you would ever run it, but maybe
once every two seasons. Yeah, but literally the last time
I saw that play ran was two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I'm trying to think of it.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
If there's been Like I mean, we've had games where
like they throw the wall and the intention.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Is to lateral it, but you're talking about one and
I've seen the hook and ladder a lot. I would
say I've seen that almost every year with some team
running it, right, But this is an extended version of
it because the usually on the hook and ladder, as
soon as the receiver catches it, it's followed by an
immediate pitch to the trailing running back. Where this was
the receiver is going to take off and draw the
(03:46):
defense to the opposite side of the field before I
give it, give it to the trailing wide receiver. I
think it's a miracle, a master play. And it's like
I said, the Texans are fun to watch. It's fun
to watch because it works. But anyway, the my concern
about the Texans going forward is uh is the offense
(04:08):
is somewhat anemic at times. They don't they have they
have a when they have a good running day, they
win games. But they don't always have a good running day,
especially with Joe Mixon gone. And I saw an article
yesterday where the Houston Texans basically announced that Nixon is
not even going to try to come back this year.
They're going to rehab him for the entire year. So
(04:30):
they're gonna have to go with the guys they got,
which are okay backs, but they're not great backs.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Well, I mean that's you.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I don't I don't think and I know you disagree
with them, but I don't believe in this day and age,
you need to have a great back if if you
have a good running scheme, and with guys like Woody
Marx and Nick Chubb running the ball and hand in hand,
I think they have a good running scheme.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
But how much long Marx is young, but Chubb is not.
So you're gonna have to find an Ideally, you'd like
define the diamond and the rough running back that falls
to the second or third round, sure, so that you
don't have to pay him. You don't really want to
eat up a lot of salary with running.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Backs until until he becomes a free age, until they.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Becomes a free agent, and then you have to worry.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Then you have to.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Hope he's not good enough to be in the in
the franchise level or above.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Well, this is this is why I think, and I
think I've cracked the running back code, by the way,
for how to pay them. So you do draft them
in the first round if they're were that and here's
here's why I would do that.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
So with with their running back.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Let's assume that they're elite the entire time, So you
have four plus the fifth year option, right if the contracts.
If the contracts stay the same way, you tagged them
for a six year, that's ten eleven million dollars hard
on the cap, No big deal, right. If they perform
them well again, tag them again.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Bag them again.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So that's seven years in a row where you're paying
a running back about ten million dollars or less per
year at worst on a rookie deal, and then after
once they turn thirty twenty nine, you release them to
the world.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
At that point, you've gotten.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
All you've got, You've gotten all you're gonna get out
of it. I would do thirty year old running backs
unless you're Derrick Henry, right, you're done.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Well because this year, like a lot of people are
talking about Amud Hardy, the running back fro Missouri. They
talk Aboutjeremia Love from Notre Dame. Some people really like
Robert Henry from UTSA. I don't know if it will
be a first round pick.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I don't think Robert will be a first I think
maybe late second to early fourth in that range.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I think like early day three, late day two might
be because he's he got the right size and he's
fast and those guys like especially in a year where
because last year was a really good running back class,
this one just looking at is not near as deep,
which helps him out. So the Texans they actually have
themselves in position too if they wanted to draft a
running back early, and then if you go that route,
paying cheap.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Through his entire career, well, the Texans now have the
week off until they play the Colts Indianapolis, and the
Colts are gonna if I am, if I'm the Texans,
I really want the Colts to beat the Chiefs. I
want that even though it's it's good and this is
kind of counterintuitive if you're still trying to win the division,
(06:59):
because I don't think you're gonna win the division anyway,
but you don't want to. I don't think the Colts
are going to lose two or three games in a row.
And so if they lose to the to the to
the Chiefs, they're going to come back home and they're
gonna feel really good about Hellky, we're back home. Let's regroup,
and good teams do regroup and get back to winning football.
So my thought is is that if if they lose
(07:20):
to the Chiefs, they're going to be even more motivated
to beat the Texans. So either way that that game
next week is going to be huge for both teams
because that's going to likely give Indianapolis a chance to
get separation on everybody in their division. It's also going
to be a game where can't or the Texans can
get back in the wildcard race.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
But Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
On the other hand, I'm not so sure that they're
a playoff they're a playoff team. I think they're a
wildcard team right now, but I don't think they're the
super Bowl contender that we thought they were at the
beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Okay, so now you guys s out on them a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, I mean, they you had the Miami game where
they were terrible, You had the the win last week
against Tampa Bay, and then four days later they turn
around and they can't get They can't score except for
the opening drive. They had to settle for field goals
the rest of the game and a kickoff return for
a touchdown, and their offense is getting bogged down and
(08:14):
it's getting very predictable. So there's some concern there.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Here.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Here's my thought. If I'm handicapping the NFC, I'm going Philadelphia, Tampa, La, Seattle.
Those are the four teams that I think are legitimate
Super Bowl teams. The other three teams that make the playoffs,
I'm not so sure they're good enough to make it
to the super Bowl. In the AFC, I don't trust
New England because they haven't been there. With this team,
(08:38):
I don't trust Buffalo because their offense is bad. The
Ravens are playing better, but their defense is still very mediocre.
Kansas City, we don't know if they're going to be
contenders or pretenders. The Broncos got to the playoffs last
year and they have Sean Payton. They may be the
bods on favorite. And then Indianapolis I think may actually
be the best team, but they're also in what have
(09:00):
you done for me lately? I've never been in this scenario, Apien,
we can we get it done.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, I don't hate the mindset of that. I would
probably like so in the NFC, I agree with those
top four teams. I would also at this point even
throwing the Panthers as a threat, especially to win the South,
because I don't know if you're just the Bucks, I
get trusted and the AFC, the AFC, you're right? Is
such a question just because right now, the three best
teams at least record wise, Broncos, Colts, Patriots. The most
(09:26):
experienced team to make in the postseason is the Broncos
at least of late. And then you look at teams
and at the next group up. You would look at
the teams like the Jags. They've been in the playoffs,
but it's been a minute. The Chargers, they've been in
the playoffs, but can we trust the Chargers in the playoffs?
The Bills are by far the most experienced team that's
been to the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
That's that's in the playoff run right now.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
But you're right, the offense is underwhelming up to this point,
even though Josh Allen has at least the league in
total touchdowns, rushing and passing. But the problem is is
like when is when your offense is so predicated on
one player, and not just count of the quarterback, but
when your office is so predicated on the success of
him throwing it and run the ball. If you can
take away one of those aspects, whichever one you think
(10:07):
is the bigger threat, a lot of times you can
like pretty much stalwart the other one at least slow
it down.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
We saw that yesterday against the Texans.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Josh Allen couldn't run, he had to throw right and
they had the secondary to compete it.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
All right, We got news out of Oxford, Mississippi. We'll
share that with you. Coming up in the next segment.
Chador gets his first start, and how do you handicap
the Cowboys and Eagles, all that discussion coming up on
the ticket
I thought the Texans may have been doom last night
when Buffalo completed the fourth and twenty seven first down
the hooking ladder. Well, it wasn't really it wasn't really
a hook and ladder because the hook and ladder is
usually a down and in pattern. And then you put
the running back is trailing the play and you later
on it to him it's this is a different version
(00:25):
of right, it's the Boise State. Oh you play from
two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
That's what I was getting.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's still too it's still too soon.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I know, I know, like I know you you said
it's the.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Marriage proposal game from the Boise State.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Guys, because I know you said, I know you said
all the time. I don't believe you, but I know
you say all the time about how like oh like
I graduate MoU, but I'm much more ingrained at you.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Tis say, like you still you don't forget your first
love like that? And no, I just don't know who that.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
I don't know any of their players, so I don't
have time to learn them or study them unless UTSA
is playing them and they're not on the schedule anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
We have to talk about this one thing.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
With the Texans though, Andy, and that's that going into
the season, a lot of people had pegged the Packers
had the best pair of edge rushers with Rashaun Gary
and then Michael Parsons. Right, we need to have that
discussion now about Danil Hunter and Will Anderson because they
have been wrecking shot the less.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Cos they have been the Texans I think are as
good a defense as there in the league. There may
be others that are equal to them, but I don't
know that there's any that are better. And that'll be
a topic with Mark Vandermere that you and Shane will
have to do the You and Sam will have to
do the interview on Tuesday. We get to talk to
you get Mark next week.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
I won't be here.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I would love to be able to do the show
from the road like I normally do, but UTSA is
in a basketball tournament and because there's games ahead of us, Yeah,
there's really it's too distracting for everybody for me to
do a show while the game is going on. So
that's that's the that's the issue. But you'll get Mark
on Tuesday to discuss that fact. I want to go
back to the fourth and twenty seven play, because I
(01:54):
think that play should be run more often because I've
seen it being run twice and it's worked both times.
It worked in two thousand and eight, and I have
never seen anybody run it since. Now. There may be
teams that have, I just haven't seen it. It might
be like ANC team it kind of because when you
run the when you run the slant instead of the
instead of like the little curl pattern in the at
(02:17):
at the you know, ten yards out curl and then
pitch it to the running back that's trailing right. You
get this, You get a more spread field when you've
got four or five wide and you hit somebody and
he runs for a while and he drags the defense
with him to almost midfield before he pitches it to
the guy that's coming back underneath him. And and if
(02:37):
you look at the they I'm glad that Prime showed
this end zone shot because every one of the Texans
players was already committed to the opposite side of the
fifty yard line and it was They're lucky he didn't
score on that play. They did have somebody, some people
that could get enough of an angle to get over
there and get him out of bounds. And then the
defense took over for a second time. But I would
(02:58):
I think that's a play that should be run more
often because I think it's really hard to defend.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
The thing with trick playz is Andy is that when
they work, they work great and never were to talk
about it. But when they fail, there's a reason why
the trick blazer wants a wild type of play, like
for a long time.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I'm not saying you would ever run it, but maybe
once every two seasons. Yeah, but literally the last time
I saw that play ran was two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I'm trying to think of it.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
If there's been Like I mean, we've had games where
like they throw the wall and the intention.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Is to lateral it, but you're talking about one and
I've seen the hook and ladder a lot. I would
say I've seen that almost every year with some team
running it, right, But this is an extended version of
it because the usually on the hook and ladder, as
soon as the receiver catches it, it's followed by an
immediate pitch to the trailing running back. Where this was
the receiver is going to take off and draw the
(03:46):
defense to the opposite side of the field before I
give it, give it to the trailing wide receiver. I
think it's a miracle, a master play. And it's like
I said, the Texans are fun to watch. It's fun
to watch because it works. But anyway, the my concern
about the Texans going forward is uh is the offense
(04:08):
is somewhat anemic at times. They don't they have they
have a when they have a good running day, they
win games. But they don't always have a good running day,
especially with Joe Mixon gone. And I saw an article
yesterday where the Houston Texans basically announced that Nixon is
not even going to try to come back this year.
They're going to rehab him for the entire year. So
(04:30):
they're gonna have to go with the guys they got,
which are okay backs, but they're not great backs.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Well, I mean that's you.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I don't I don't think and I know you disagree
with them, but I don't believe in this day and age,
you need to have a great back if if you
have a good running scheme, and with guys like Woody
Marx and Nick Chubb running the ball and hand in hand,
I think they have a good running scheme.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
But how much long Marx is young, but Chubb is not.
So you're gonna have to find an Ideally, you'd like
define the diamond and the rough running back that falls
to the second or third round, sure, so that you
don't have to pay him. You don't really want to
eat up a lot of salary with running.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Backs until until he becomes a free age, until they.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Becomes a free agent, and then you have to worry.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Then you have to.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Hope he's not good enough to be in the in
the franchise level or above.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Well, this is this is why I think, and I
think I've cracked the running back code, by the way,
for how to pay them. So you do draft them
in the first round if they're were that and here's
here's why I would do that.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
So with with their running back.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Let's assume that they're elite the entire time, So you
have four plus the fifth year option, right if the contracts.
If the contracts stay the same way, you tagged them
for a six year, that's ten eleven million dollars hard
on the cap, No big deal, right. If they perform
them well again, tag them again.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Bag them again.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So that's seven years in a row where you're paying
a running back about ten million dollars or less per
year at worst on a rookie deal, and then after
once they turn thirty twenty nine, you release them to
the world.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
At that point, you've gotten.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
All you've got, You've gotten all you're gonna get out
of it. I would do thirty year old running backs
unless you're Derrick Henry, right, you're done.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Well because this year, like a lot of people are
talking about Amud Hardy, the running back fro Missouri. They
talk Aboutjeremia Love from Notre Dame. Some people really like
Robert Henry from UTSA. I don't know if it will
be a first round pick.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I don't think Robert will be a first I think
maybe late second to early fourth in that range.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I think like early day three, late day two might
be because he's he got the right size and he's
fast and those guys like especially in a year where
because last year was a really good running back class,
this one just looking at is not near as deep,
which helps him out. So the Texans they actually have
themselves in position too if they wanted to draft a
running back early, and then if you go that route,
paying cheap.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Through his entire career, well, the Texans now have the
week off until they play the Colts Indianapolis, and the
Colts are gonna if I am, if I'm the Texans,
I really want the Colts to beat the Chiefs. I
want that even though it's it's good and this is
kind of counterintuitive if you're still trying to win the division,
(06:59):
because I don't think you're gonna win the division anyway,
but you don't want to. I don't think the Colts
are going to lose two or three games in a row.
And so if they lose to the to the to
the Chiefs, they're going to come back home and they're
gonna feel really good about Hellky, we're back home. Let's regroup,
and good teams do regroup and get back to winning football.
So my thought is is that if if they lose
(07:20):
to the Chiefs, they're going to be even more motivated
to beat the Texans. So either way that that game
next week is going to be huge for both teams
because that's going to likely give Indianapolis a chance to
get separation on everybody in their division. It's also going
to be a game where can't or the Texans can
get back in the wildcard race.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
But Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
On the other hand, I'm not so sure that they're
a playoff they're a playoff team. I think they're a
wildcard team right now, but I don't think they're the
super Bowl contender that we thought they were at the
beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Okay, so now you guys s out on them a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, I mean, they you had the Miami game where
they were terrible, You had the the win last week
against Tampa Bay, and then four days later they turn
around and they can't get They can't score except for
the opening drive. They had to settle for field goals
the rest of the game and a kickoff return for
a touchdown, and their offense is getting bogged down and
(08:14):
it's getting very predictable. So there's some concern there.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Here.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Here's my thought. If I'm handicapping the NFC, I'm going Philadelphia, Tampa, La, Seattle.
Those are the four teams that I think are legitimate
Super Bowl teams. The other three teams that make the playoffs,
I'm not so sure they're good enough to make it
to the super Bowl. In the AFC, I don't trust
New England because they haven't been there. With this team,
(08:38):
I don't trust Buffalo because their offense is bad. The
Ravens are playing better, but their defense is still very mediocre.
Kansas City, we don't know if they're going to be
contenders or pretenders. The Broncos got to the playoffs last
year and they have Sean Payton. They may be the
bods on favorite. And then Indianapolis I think may actually
be the best team, but they're also in what have
(09:00):
you done for me lately? I've never been in this scenario, Apien,
we can we get it done.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, I don't hate the mindset of that. I would
probably like so in the NFC, I agree with those
top four teams. I would also at this point even
throwing the Panthers as a threat, especially to win the South,
because I don't know if you're just the Bucks, I
get trusted and the AFC, the AFC, you're right? Is
such a question just because right now, the three best
teams at least record wise, Broncos, Colts, Patriots. The most
(09:26):
experienced team to make in the postseason is the Broncos
at least of late. And then you look at teams
and at the next group up. You would look at
the teams like the Jags. They've been in the playoffs,
but it's been a minute. The Chargers, they've been in
the playoffs, but can we trust the Chargers in the playoffs?
The Bills are by far the most experienced team that's
been to the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
That's that's in the playoff run right now.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
But you're right, the offense is underwhelming up to this point,
even though Josh Allen has at least the league in
total touchdowns, rushing and passing. But the problem is is
like when is when your offense is so predicated on
one player, and not just count of the quarterback, but
when your office is so predicated on the success of
him throwing it and run the ball. If you can
take away one of those aspects, whichever one you think
(10:07):
is the bigger threat, a lot of times you can
like pretty much stalwart the other one at least slow
it down.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
We saw that yesterday against the Texans.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Josh Allen couldn't run, he had to throw right and
they had the secondary to compete it.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
All right, We got news out of Oxford, Mississippi. We'll
share that with you. Coming up in the next segment.
Chador gets his first start, and how do you handicap
the Cowboys and Eagles, all that discussion coming up on
the ticket
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