Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Morning Drive with dadd and Cole.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's no good on the third try and we're going
to overtime. Slides it into Adams who lost the basketball
stolen by Murphy. Murphy right side, Ween get a jam
it down up a pass from Herb Jones to possession
Lee with fifty eight seconds remaining, Adam's a limbound. It's
(00:34):
gonna have to throw the full length of the floor
to mid court.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
For shingoon a gather a launch. It is up and
it is front rim and no good and the Pelicans.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Overcome a twenty five point deficit to upset the Rockets
tonight here in overtime in New Orleans. Final score Pelicans
won thirty three, the Rockets wont twenty eight.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
What was that?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I mean, genuinely, what in the actual bleeping hell was
that last night? One thirty three, one twenty eight finish
as your Houston Rockets twenty five point lead going into
the midway point of the third quarter. Find a way
to lose to the worst team in the Western Conference.
(01:27):
By the way, I haven't even had enough time to
introduce our guest Jonathan m Alexander joining us today right
here in the Morning Drive seven, one, three, two, one two,
five seven to ninety No, Damn Matthews, Cole Thompson, rocket
with you until ten am. Rockets. They find a way
to drop the ball last night Texans. They take the
hard one. I mean they take the floor on Sunday
with an opportunity to get the ten wins. And we
(01:48):
might have seen two teams prove that they belong in
the same conversation for the West, I mean for the
NFC title. All that more on the show, Jonathan, good morning,
my friend, Good morning Cole.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
You know uh, I got love for you from a
bare at six and the one I know you.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Two trust me. When I was trying to come up
with stuff, I was like, who is gonna be willing
to change their entire sleep schedule to hang out with
me for four hours? And I was like, Johann Alexander,
he gives me enough phrase, he's gonna he's gonna at
least throw me a bone one time.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
Absolutely, you know I got you. But this six am,
you gotta be different and wake up this early? Would
would it be in dark outside you?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
It's it's weird, trust me, because if I was doing
afternoons for so long, I don't remember what the sun
looked like for a lot of reasons for starters, because
I'd always wake up and I'd be like, oh, no sun,
no problem solve. And then i would say afterwards, and
by the time that I would leave the building, it
would already be dark outside. So I'm like, oh, okay,
I'm just gonna live in the dark at this point
for the rest of my life. I've accepted my reality
and fate as a person might as well. Man might
(02:43):
as well. Okay, last night, I'm at dinner Kirs and
I She's like, you know what, let's go out because
collegeot ball playoffs starts tonight. Triple A's team is going down.
My team is winning tonight, and she's not gonna see
me for the next like forty eight hours. She's like,
let's let's go spend some time together. You know, quality stuff.
You got you understand why I'm talking out And game's
up and I'm watching the Jordan Pool foul against Alpen
(03:04):
Shingun right before halftime, and I'm watching as they're up
by fourteen points. I'm like, okay, we don't even have
to discuss this tomorrow. We got John that coming on
in we got Texans coverage, a ten wins season on
the horizon. We got a team that right now is
playing like they have house money in the NFC, so
many other things to discuss. This is an afterthought. I mean,
(03:26):
it's the worst team in the Western Conference. This is
a Rockets team that is playing with a lot of
intensity because of they just lost in overtime to a
Denver Nuggets roster to where they felt they got slighted.
So we don't even have to worry about this game. Really,
Sidik Bay dropping season high twenty nine points, scoring twenty
(03:47):
one after halftime, overcoming the biggest deficit in franchise history,
the first time this has happened since two thousand and three,
Herb Jones dropping eighteen, Trey Murphy dropping twenty svan, the
inexcusable defense in the second half, the inability to get
anything rolling offensively, to blow a twenty five point lead,
(04:09):
and to have me frustrated at six o four in
the morning this much. What does this say about you
as an organization? Like for so long I have defended
the Rockets and said this is a team that now
with Katie, should be taking that next step forward. You're
putting them past teams like Los Angeles, and you don't
even think about the Clippers, and you're saying, Okay, that's
(04:30):
a really cute story, san Antonio, that you brought in Wemby,
But you guys are still gonna suck at the end
of the day in Dallas. You're a joke of a franchise.
Nobody cares about you because we got a good foundation
in place. Well, good teams find ways not to blow
twenty five point leads to anybody. Let's just start there.
Really good teams, teams that you believe can actually go
on a run in the playoffs, should not be losing
(04:52):
to the worst team in the NBA that has already
fired its coach and has made it clear we're doing
everything possible to tank for the number one pick.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Also, Zion Williamson not a factor last night, not even
a part of the rotation at any point. That's the shame. Brother.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
It was bad.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
But you know, to me, it speaks to some flaws
in this team. And number one, they're not the same
defensive team that they were last year, and obviously losing
Dylan Brooks Hurt said, I think KD is still a
solid defender, but they definitely didn't play any defense last night,
and this is supposed to be a staple of em
Udoka's teams, and they just let the Pelicans to shoot
(05:33):
all these threes scoring transition. I didn't see any stops
now obviously, Well, what I believe in is one thing
is Reece Shepherd's a little bit of a defensive liability.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Oh at this point, I think it's clear. Listen, you're
out there for one thing, shooting threes and being able
to go ahead and facilitate the ball. That's about it.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Yeah, And I think that hurts the Rockets, and it
was a huge reason obviously why they lost to the
NBA's worst team in the Western Conference. It's a shame
that it happened, but it shows them that they got
to fix these flaws that they got because it's not
going to help them win a championship this year.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Going on a thirty six to twenty run to end
the fourth quarter, incredible performance from Bay from Herb Jones,
you shot thirty one from downtown. You shot sixty seven
percent at the free throw line. That's been an underlying
thing that has really been bothersome to me when it
comes to the Rockets. The last three games they have
shot under seventy five percent when they get the extra
shot off. So to me, it's just an issue like
(06:28):
the little details that you think are supposed to be
kind of a selling point on what makes you one
of the more complete rosters in the NBA, one that
we can trust that can take a team like Oklahoma
City to six, take a team like Denver to seven,
force a couple of really close calls late in games,
and be able to take on over. They're finding ways
at this point to have inexcusable reasons for mediocrity, and
(06:51):
I think that's really been the frustrating part because I
said on Monday, I mean I said on Tuesday after
they went back and they reviewed the film and said, hey,
guys are bad. We missed three blatantly obvious calls that Okay,
certainly you feel like that the officials cost you that
game against Denver in overtime, but you still have to
play twelve minutes of exceptional defense. You still have to
(07:12):
be able to shut down Nikola Jokic when he's trying
to go to the basket but instead takes a fadeaway
step back and drains a three. Like little things like
that you're supposed to be able to handle and the
defense in deliver, and then last night you're up by
double digits. You're putting in backups because if you feel
confident that you're able to coast, you're able to kind
of get a relaxing day, you get to take a
(07:33):
victory flight on back home to Denver, you get to
go face off against a team that you felt slided by.
Now this, I mean, it's little details that go such
a long way to say you're not at the same
level right now as a team like Denver. You're nowhere
near at the same level as a team like Oklahoma City.
And there's a reason of doubt that this organization at
where it was last night specifically, is going to be
(07:55):
able to turn the tides to where we view you
as a legitimate threat to go on a run on
the Western Conference.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
Yeah, I mean, you brought up a great point within
their You know, I certainly think that the Rockets have
the tools to be a team that could go far
in the NBA playoffs, but they're not going to beat
the Oklahoma City Thunder the way they're playing the under.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the most complete team I've
seen since the Golden State Warriors just some few years ago,
(08:22):
just top to bottom, and they've played together. They have
that championship DNA and if the rock the only way
the Rockets beat them is one if they're healthy and
two if they're playing at the defensive level that they
played with last year. They know that they have a
better offense with Kevin Durant. Sengoon is playing a lot
better offensively even I'm and Thompson is playing well, and
(08:44):
they've been shooting better than they were last year. But
you're not going to beat this Thunder team if you're
not good defensively, and I think that is a huge
problem right now. Even then, I don't see them beating
the Thunder. They're that good unless it's be real. At
this moment, I don't know if you're beating a Denver
team in six. I mean, you have questions about what
(09:05):
are you gonna do against San Antonio? And here I
was just a few nights ago hooping and.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Hollering about look at how pathetic of a loss it
was to a team like the New York Knicks that has,
in my opinion, an interim coach kind of taking control
after Tom Thibodau left last season. It doesn't feel like
that they have a good identity outside of an MVP
in Jalen Brudson, and you're getting embarrassed in the NBA Cup.
Well right now, the way that the Rockets looked last night,
(09:29):
it feels like it's a slap in the face to me,
as slap in the face of this city because of
you want to be the best team in the state
of Texas, and on paper you should be. But the
way that you looked in the second half, the inexcusable defense,
the ability to allow the three in d to kind
of hit in the corners for guys who are playing
basically for an opportunity to get traded in February to
(09:51):
go to better organizations. Because this organization knows that it's
not going anywhere. They've openly said, guys, we royally messed
up by not hiring a better coach in the offseason.
We probably need to trade it away, Zion because we
have to hit reset and to lose in this type
of fashion, I mean, this is where the frustration kicks
on in and you go back to the drawing board
(10:11):
and go, what do we need to do? Because of
good teams never find a way to be outscored by
sixteen to a six win roster in the fourth quarter.
That's just embarrassing in an excuse.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
Me, Yeah, I mean, I do think it's easy to
blow past this wins. Say a loss is a loss,
but you do have to look at teams like the
Oklahoma City Thunder who have only lost two games, and
they've lost games of good teams. Uh, you know, the
San Antonio Spurs or team that's rising. You brought up
the Denver Nuggets. They're battle tested and to me, they're
among the top three teams in the Western Conference and
(10:45):
definitely can't beat the Rockets. But you know, you're right
about a lot of those points. They've got to improve
and be a lot better and not lose games like
this because that will hurt you on later in the season.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
We would love to get your inputs. Seven one three
two ninety Rockets lose last night. What is your stance
right now on where Houston is in routes potentially hoisting
up its first NBA title since the nineteen ninety seven
one three two one two five seven ninety. Look, we're
not gonna spend all morning talking about the Rockets. It's depressing.
(11:18):
It's sad. There's so many good things going on in
the world of sports. We got the college football playoffs
starting tonight. We got the Texans looking to get their
tenth win of the season, almost guaranteeing their spot in
colleg football PLAYFF. And and we have we have Jathan
Alexander for the Houston Chronicle joining us. Why are we
not gonna be spending more time talking about NFL, talking
about the Texans, talking about things that are his repertoire.
(11:39):
So we're gonna talk about Rockets one more segment I
want to get into more so what do we expect
from Houston later on this month? But last night proved
that the Rockets are missing one thing.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
What is that?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
We'll explain coming up after the break. Roger will get
to you as well as we're right underwear on the
Morning Drive right here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Ninety Matthews, Cole Thompson. This is the Morning Drive with
Dann and Cole.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
I want to bring this up. We tease this right
before break. The Rockets are missing element. I think it's
clear at this point you don't want to give up
on Reed Shepherd. I think at the offensive points that
he provides and the three point consistency that he has.
It's too valuable to say not a part of our
long term plan. Former number three overall pick guy who
(12:29):
at one point seemed to be figuring out a lot
of the small details that would carry you towards believing
he is a long term focal point. But the Rockets,
I think right now need to get somebody who's a
better facilitator, somebody who can play at the top of
the rim, and somebody that you can trust to be
that game manager as a point guard. The Rockets at
this point, I think need to at least start looking
(12:50):
around the options and see where they can get it.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
For the one, yeah, absolutely, because I think there's two
things with Ree Shepherd. Like I do think he could
be a really good six man, but he's a liability
on defense right now, and you can't put him in
late in the fourth quarter when you play teams like
the Oklahoma City Thunder, they're gonna get him in picking
rolls and try to expose him. And he's got to
improve his defense, but detect. I mean, the Rockets don't
(13:14):
have time to wait, like their championship window. Are these
next two or three years in particular, while KD is
still at the top of his game. So you know,
I do believe if they don't believe that they'll get
fred Van Fleet back before the end of the season,
I do think they got to consider getting a starting
caliber maybe not a star, but a starting caliber point
(13:37):
guard who can defend, who.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Can shoot, and can distribute the basketball. I think that
that's kind of where this whole problem starts, is that
you believe that from a standpoint of just being able
to set the tempo early on a game, spread would
have been able to play that role. I think a
lot of people understood his time as being a full
thirty five minute guy was probably over, but you still
(13:59):
wanted someone to be a to kind of let the
notion be set, here's how we're gonna play tonight. You
don't have that right now. The problem is also you
don't know when he's coming back. You may be lucky
to see him for the start of the playoffs, you
may be lucky to see him at the end of
the year. That's not good enough when you have a
team that right now is starting to flail in a
lot of areas. That probably is being a hindrance toward
(14:21):
their success, and it's going to hurt them when it
comes to the seeding standpoint, because there are some things
that you can just control. Last season, you were the
two seed. Unfortunately, when you were the two seed, you
went up against a team that you just can't get
pass in Golden State anybody else. I think you win
that first round with Dylan Brooks and Jalen Green. I agree,
but right now you can't rely on, Hey, we're gonna
(14:44):
face off against Utah the first round, We're gonna get
a bye, basically taken on Phoenix in the first round.
You have to be able to beat feel content that
you're gonna be able to play with basically anybody that's
out there in the Western Conference and handle business off
and defensively. And you don't have that right now on
the defensive side. When it comes to the point, and
(15:04):
I think that Ama Thompson has done a good job
of filling in his role. There are some things that
are very frustrating about his game, but partially that's just
who he is going into year three. That doesn't mean
that you can just sit by idle and go, well,
we're gonna throw a kogie out there and he'll play
the one on certain at certain points Defensively, we'll figure
it out with Read along the way. Figuring out with
Read along the way is why you're in this position
(15:25):
right now, losing in overtime to Denver. Figuring it out
with Reid and not having a good facilitator is why
you had a blown twenty five point lead last night.
Wasn't the only reason. Alput Chingoun owns the City of
Houston apology for how bad he played in the fourth quarter.
He may Udoka and needs to be able to sit
him down and realize if you want to be the guy,
you have got to be able to be the guy
(15:45):
in the critical moments against terrible teams. But regardless, it's
very clear that there is a reasoning that something is
needing to change for the Rockets if they want to
be able to put themselves right back in the same
conversation alongside Oklahoma City and even not that far I
go Los Angeles and Denver at this point. Yeah, I mean,
both of those teams are playing really well.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
I'm looking at Denver has a twenty to six record
and they've been playing really well all season. So the
Rockets are gonna have to turn it up if they
want to catch those teams, and you don't want to
be you don't want to have a number four, number
five seed because number one, that's gonna be a tough
game that you play whoever you're playing, and number two,
that second round is gonna be the thunder, and you
(16:25):
want to avoid the thunder as long as possible to
the NBA Finals. So Rockets definitely got to turn it up.
They definitely got to figure out what they're gonna do
at point guard. Find somebody who can really play good defense,
can distribute the ball. I just don't think it's a
natural You know, he's played point guard before, but I
just don't think it's a natural role for Amen Thompson.
I think he's better off ball slasher. Definitely get guard
(16:50):
the one, but to me, it's not the perfect fit
with him running the point guard.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
So you would say better as a two at this point.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Yeah, And that's what he played in his first what
one or two years and uh first two years in
the league, so uh, I think that's what he's used to,
is taking time to get adjusted to it. And you know,
I don't I don't even think they expected him to
do it this year. You know, fred Vin Fleet's injury
just kind of happened out of know, you're out of nowhere.
So I think you need time to prepare, like a
(17:17):
full offseason to prepare for that move. And and it's
it's unfortunate that he was put in that situation. I
don't I don't totally blame him.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Do the Rockets need a point guard to feel better
about their status in the Western Conference? Seven one, three,
two five, seven ninety. Let's go out to the phone lines, Roger,
what's on your mind? Good morning, my friend, Good morning cool.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
Yes, they do need a guy who can probe the
basketball and and and get it get in and out
of the lane, and and find somebody whenever all that
stuff starts breaking down. I've been I've been saying this
and missing a piece. Now they're gonna be good better
when when uh uh when Starry and uh the Doran
Finny Smith come back whenever that is that was supposed
(18:00):
to have been I guess a week ago, but now
they're saying it's going to be longer. Who knows about that,
but those are two key ingredients that we are missing. Buddy.
Uh So, yeah, somebody you're right, somebody needs to sit
down with with Jabbari Smith as well. Tell them don't
ever ever put the ball on the floor. Man, that's
a that's a turnover waiting to happen.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Don't do it.
Speaker 6 (18:23):
Just stop know your road, don't stay your lane. Ye,
be the turn You're the turnaround jumper guy, be the
corner three guy. Just don't be put on the ball
on the floor guy, at least not right now in
your development. Also, hey man, uh yeah, shang gun, somebody
needs to sit down Yeah, you're right, that guy needs
to be told that. Hey, I don't know. You might
(18:45):
be the man in the international playbro and all that,
but in here, how the hierarchy works is if you
do something in the in the in the postseason, then
you get your foul calls until then, you know, fall
in line, buddy, ball in line. Stop putting picking your
arms up for every play. Stop it, man, you look
like Steve Francis. Don't do it. Stop you know, just
(19:10):
all these little things. And yeah, yeah, I think because
they don't have a guy that can prove the middle
and and and and uh and facilitate kind of messes
them up defensively. Uh, you know, with the rotations. So yeah, man,
you're right, these guys need something or missing and and
times kicking. Man, we're already gonna be Christmas here. That's
(19:30):
when everybody starts, you know, It's when the NBA season
so called starts. So and yeah, I'm just looking moving forward.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Man.
Speaker 6 (19:36):
There's a lot of things we need to clean up.
And I told you we're not that. We're not a
top tier team yet. No way, no how Roger, all right,
I hope, I hope, I hope it works out. Man, Come,
let's go.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I appreciate you, Roger. He's right. I mean, everyone everyone
talks about how this season truly is underway. When Christmas
rolls around, you gotta match him against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Do you play the way you did last night? You're
not only getting blown out on national television, you're looking
like a bottom half team in the Western Conference in
my opinion, absolutely, my man, Rogers said, Jabari Smith need
to like the rock needle. I love the fact that
(20:11):
he was so confident about Hey, international, dude, mister Appenschinger,
that's cool story, bro. Uh, this is the Rockets. Start
acting like it. Start acting like you're supposed to be
a part of this team. And if we're paying y'
all the top dollars, you better be able to handle
business against the bottom dwellers in the Western Conference.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
You got to man, those are the games you gotta win,
like those are the gimmes you live with, the ones
that you lose against the top teams. You want to
beat those teams, but you gotta win the teams against
the bottom, the bottom dwellers.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Seven one three, two, one two five, seven to ninety.
What will it take for the Rockets to win your
hearts back over Houston, Because right now you are very
much allowed to say the relationship, it's complicated, it is
not fun. Billy, We see you on the other line.
Will get to you after the break. But Texans, there's
history potentially being made this weekend, Jonathan, and it does
(21:00):
involve Amiko Ryans. I have a hot take, and I
want to get your thoughts and now I want to
get the city of Houston thoughts on it and everyone's
thoughts right here in the morning dry Sports Talk seven
ninety coming up next, Hey Sparky from the Astros broadcast team.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Catch every Astros game on Sports Talk seven ninety and iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
App Home of your astros.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Billy and Katie. What's that?
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Billy?
Speaker 8 (21:29):
Hey, good mornicle. So a guy walks up on a
statement pile and he bends down and he goes, yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
It looks like crap.
Speaker 8 (21:37):
He picks it up, he smells like crap. He goes, Oh,
it tastes like crap. No, glad I didn't step in it.
I'm glad I didn't step in that game last night.
Speaker 7 (21:46):
That was crap.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Did you watch any of it?
Speaker 8 (21:48):
And yeah, I mean the first half was very good,
but the fourth quarter what happened?
Speaker 7 (21:59):
Okay, I don't get it.
Speaker 8 (22:02):
And I've been watching this team all year, and I mean,
the the glaring need is right there. It's like, my goodness,
it is like a wart on a beautiful girl's face.
You need a point guard. Last night, what I wanted
was Dylan Brooks, somebody to get out there and play defense,
Somebody to go out there and stop somebody do something
in the fourth quarter to go ahead and get an
(22:22):
ugly win. I'd gladly take an ugly win. But I'm
gonna say this, I'm gonna I want to give Raphael
Stone a Christmas present. I want to give him a
Christmas present. Of Christmas balls.
Speaker 7 (22:34):
I want him to go out and make a bold move.
Speaker 8 (22:39):
Okay, do something bold, Do something that can help this
team win chestnuts.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Right, that's what you want.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
We're roasting on an open fire. Absolutely, yes, do something please.
I love read Shepherd. Okay, coming off the bench, you
got a sixth Man of the Year candidate. Because this
guy is going to be able to hit threes like
nobody's posiness. He's gonna be your Robert or just six
(23:09):
inches shorter. Okay, but uh, you know this, this guy
has got that potential. But his defense and look Timmy
Smith when they were when the Rockets winning championship. Timmy
Smith was not a great defend He was good, but
it was not a great defender. But what he did
was he figured out how to funnel the driving the driver,
(23:29):
the guy who's got the ball, funnel him to a
keeam and Shin Gun has got to assume that role. No,
shan Gun is not a team but he's got to
be there in the middle. You've got to have your
blockers in the middle, and you've got to funnel those
guys to them and in the defensive work through with.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Reege On on the court.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
But you've got to go get a point guard.
Speaker 8 (23:49):
I'm sorry, Van Vlida is not gonna have a c
I text this to Era, I got tweeted this to
you today. He's not gonna have a Christmas miracle. He's
not gone back in January. He's not going to be
back for the playoffs. And even it is, it's seventy
to eighty percent of end Vliet. That's not what you
want against OKC and Denver. Go get a point guard.
Go get somebody who can help this team win. This
(24:11):
right now is smelling like nineteen ninety nine when Scottie
Pippen came in here and things went south on us
on a team that we thought was going to make
one last title run. This isn't the last title run,
but this is an opportunity. You got just what y'all
said two to three years right now to make a run.
They need to do it now. And you can't drag
(24:31):
your feet. You cannot take the assers approach and drag
your feet. Last thing I'll say is this, you can't
win without pitching in baseball. You can win without a
quarterback in football. By the way, we proved both of
those things. And you cannot win without a point guard
in basketball. Have a great day, guys, a great show.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
As always appreciate Billy. I mean, listen, he's right about
one thing. You can't win without a quarterback in football.
You know this as well as I because you were
a part of before you came here. You were living
in Charlotte. You got to see one of the greatest
quarterback runs at least for a twenty fifteen season with
Cam Newton, and you remember what that was like. He's
not wrong. You have to have a facilitator at the top.
You have to if you want to be able to
(25:08):
be consistent. It doesn't matter if you have great play
down low. It doesn't matter if you have exceptional defense
that's able to kind of coast in the second half
of games. If you don't have a guy that can
set up pick and rolls, can set up screens, can
help you be able to drive toward the basket. There
are so many other teams out there that have such
strengths and X factors that that's going to be the
separation between you being legitimately in the conversation of hoisting
(25:31):
up an NBA title or just being a really fun story.
In twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
Yeah, I don't know a team that's won an NBA
Championship that didn't have a good to great point guard.
I mean, and that point guard doesn't even always have
to be a facilitator or a great passer. But if
they're a shot creator and they draw a lot of defenders,
then they open up things for their teammates.
Speaker 9 (25:55):
You know.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
Shai is a good example of that. Yeah, Lshay is
a good example of that. Luka Dancs is a good
example of that. Steph Curry is a great example of that.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Even at thirty six years old, he still is killing it.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
That still is killing it. So you need a point guard.
It's the most important position in basketball. You need a creator,
a shot creator, somebody who can get his teammates going.
And the Rockets just don't have that right now.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
I mean, when you look at last season, especially in
the Eastern Conference, being able to watch what Tyrese Haliburton
did to facilitate everything and then to then utilize his
advantages to be able to win down low, to create
with assists opportunities. That was the separator in the Eastern Conference.
You don't have that right now. And the problem is
is that there are so many teams in the Western
(26:43):
Conference that have at least that stand out at the
top of the rim. You mentioned SGA and end that
you didn't match you with Jamal Murray. He's been playing
out of his mind this year and because of the
way the All Star Game is like easily first first
team ballot for Team Canada in the All Star Game,
he's having a career season. The little things like that
go such a long way, and it's not that. And again,
(27:03):
I think that everyone's been clear here, so don't come
in and could be calling and saying that we disagree
Reach Shepherd's good. Like like we we love Reach Shepherd
as a six man, we don't love him to be
able to be the key facilitator at the top of
the rim, dictating what you're doing with Aman Thompson and
Jabari Smith and shng Goon and KD and then get
involved with Josha Kogi and then when he gets back
(27:24):
fully healthy, Dorian Finney Smith with the three and D Like,
that's not what we're saying. We're just saying that there
is a role for him. It is not being that
key element at.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
The top of the room to be able to set
up drives absolutely, and like I said earlier, you know
Reeve Shepperd can hit the three, and that's important. He
can create a shot at times too, but he's a
liability on defense, and E may can't afford to have
him on the floor in critical minutes when you're going
up against another point guard led team, because they're going
(27:54):
to put him in pick and roll and they have
him as a mismatch on their best offensive player and
and that player is gonna score every time. Uh So
they definitely need another guy, and a guy who cannot
only create buckets for himself and his teammates, but a
guy who can defend as well and not be a
(28:14):
liability on defense.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
I don't know what we're gonna see come Saturday when
the Rockets take on the Nuggets, but you can listen
to it right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. What
is it going to take for you to fall back
in love with the Rockets as a threat in the
Western Conference? Seven one three, two one two five seven
to ninety. But Java I did tease this. Demiko Ryans
is a shot to get his tenth win of the
twenty twenty five season against the Las Vegas Raiers. This weekend. Okay,
(28:36):
let's stop. Demiko Ryans will get his tenth win of
the regular season against Las Vegas Raateers on Sunday. Am
I crazy to say that? No, You're not crazy? I
mean it has to happen.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
I mean the Raiders really hit bottom last week when
they had only seventy five total yards against the Eagles.
The Texans defense is hungry, especially after last week's game.
I have no doubt that they'll win this game.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Am I crazy to say that?
Speaker 7 (28:59):
Now?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Thirty wins in three years and potentially the best season
we've seen since the Gary Kubiak era, Demiko Ryans is
already the greatest Houston Texans coach of all time.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
You know, I got that question, and I did this
week in mail bag for the Houston Chronicle, and I
got that question, and I said, he can be if
he gets further than the division round. If he reaches
the Division A round and loses, then he's just as
good as Bill O'Brien. But yeah, he definitely has the
potential to do that because he's definitely had the most
success up until this point.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
But you're only as good as your playoff wins. So
I'm gonna explain why I think that Demiko with a
win on Sunday and one more win, because if you
have to get to eleven, will already cement himself as
the greatest coach of all time in Texans history. That
more Morning Drive coming up next right here on Sports
Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Back to Danny Cole as the Morning Drive cruises on.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
I believe that that Demiko Ryans is an opportunity to
become the greatest coach of all time in Texans history
with they win on Sunday because of two main elements.
So let's start here. Number one to be three straight
years of double digit victories. We have not seen that
since the Gary Kupiak era. So even when you had
Bill O'Brien here, there were still some laws along the way.
There were still some moments to where it felt like, hey,
(30:18):
there was a little bit of regression. You kind of
got lucky because of the way that the conference, the
division was building on out. Jacksonville sucked, Tennessee wasn't good,
Indianapolis was a shell of itself because they couldn't protect
their quarterback and he eventually retired. So this is going
to be a moment to where it feels like the
new expectation is ten plus wins because of what Demiko
Ryans has. The second thing is, Demiko Ryans is a
(30:40):
defensive coach. The defense is going to have back to
back top ten finishes in total yards per game and
total points per game. The third thing is it feels
as if right now, the way that the offense has
looked over the last month with CJ and with Nick Kayley,
you're gonna have your laws. We can all agree. The
third quarter against Kansas City was terrible, the single worst
(31:00):
quarter I have seen all season from a play calling
standpoint for a guy who has been at least here
for fifteen games. But to be able to respond in
the way that you did, and to be able to
not lose morale with starting a quarterback in Davis Mills
and to rally this team, to me, that speaks leadership standpoint.
Demiko will be the fastest coach to thirty wins in
(31:22):
franchise history. A win on Sunday almost guarantees that you're
going to the playoff again, even if you don't win
the division. And it does feel like, as of right now,
is there a team that you really think in the
AFC just neutral field, not in terms of you gotta
go play in Buffalo or you gotta go play at Baltimore,
just neutral field that the Texans can't handle you out
(31:42):
on that together. I've never felt that way about a
Texans team before, which is why I believe that Demico
Ryance has earned the title of goat when it comes
to Houston.
Speaker 6 (31:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:51):
So I want to preface this by saying I do
believe that Demico will become the best Texans.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Coach or not yet time, but eventually he's gonna go.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Yes, I believe he'll eventually get there, but I can't
say this until he wins more than one playoff game.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Haven't said that. I think that's gonna happen. Okay.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
I think the Texans are built to go deep into
the playoffs. That defense is the best in the NFL,
and I think that there's optimism for the offense.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
CJ.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Stroud is playing very well, as you said, had one
of his best performance since last week. Nick Cayley's offense
is growing. It hasn't been great, but it's getting better
in the offense, and it starts with that offensive line.
They found their best five and as long as they
can clean up the penalties. If they can get a
(32:46):
running game going, then they have the ingredients to get
to a Super Bowl. So yes, while I believe Demico
will ultimately end up being the greatest coaching and possibly
starting this year, I still want to wait and to
see if that happens.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
So a out of curiosity, do you say for that
to come true, they have to make it to the
Super Bowl or let's just say that they go play
in the AFC Championship Game. Yeah, something that the franchise
has never seen before, and it's two decade long history.
They finally able to get over the hump of winning
a divisional round game, which in itself would be a
massive win I think for Jamico's status, but also just
(33:25):
for the Texans long term. Is that good enough at
that point to say, all right, the due deserve his
flowers and he is easily the greatest of all time.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (33:32):
If they begets an AFC Championship game, absolutely, because no
team would have done it at that point. And then
you have three consecutive playoff appearances and then the AFC
Championship Game signals that you're making steps in the right direction.
And we have to point out and I don't think
it gets pointed out enough. This has been the most
impressive season so far in Damico Riya's ten year, considering
(33:56):
how difficult this schedule has been. They've played a first
play schedule for the second time in a row, and
they're on pace to break their wins mark set under
Demico Ryans. To me, that is impressive. I think it's
the second hardest schedule in the entire football league. So yeah,
to me, this Texans team overall, it's a lot tougher.
(34:19):
And then the other thing is there's a lot more
optimism late in the season than we've had at any
point in the previous two years, specifically that second year
where the Texans were literally limping to the finish line.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
And then I've been on record saying this a million times,
and you and I both we go to the games
on Sundays, We've seen the way that plans have fallen
on out. You look at that Bucks game. You gotta
stop on fourth down with Henry Toatoa, you win the matchup. Yeah,
So now you're already sitting up potentially eleven wins going
into this game. If CJ. Garner Johnson isn't playing out
a position against Brian Thomas Junior in Duval. You win
(34:51):
that game. Even with the bad fumble by Nico, even
with the horrendous interception that was caused because of bad
pressure with Arianta Ursri, I still think you win game
because if you're forcing a punt at midfield to give
the ball back to CJ in the offense. The Denver game,
to me is the outlier because if CJ plays in
the second half, I think that you win that one
out right, regardless of what happens with Bonix. You're talking
(35:12):
about a team that right now very well could be
the number one seed if one or two plays goes
their way in the fourth quarter. Yeah, because I think
they still would have lost their Rams because I'm not convinced.
I'm not gonna yeah the game is just like no,
I'm not convinced they would have scored in the red zone.
Did you see the game last sight? Yeah, because that
was like, oh, look at how well the texts a
player brother, Look at how well the Rams have responded
(35:33):
in every single matchup.
Speaker 5 (35:34):
Absolutely, the Rams have improved tremendously. But uh, but yeah,
I mean they were one. They should have beaten the Buccaneers. Absolutely,
they should have beaten the Jaguars. Absolutely uh so, yet
I mean, realistically, uh you know, everybody on that team
was right when they were saying they were one play away.
This was a great potentially a great team if they
(35:55):
could win those close games. And they've learned how to
win close games. It's the reason why they're on the
six game winning streak. And if you really look back,
that moment that really changed things was that fourth quarter
explosion by Davis Mills. He legitimately saved this season because
if they had lost that game, I think they would
have been down and I think that would have snowball
(36:16):
for the rest of the season.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Isn't wrong that I said this season's MVP is Davis Mills.
In the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, that was
the Marquee moment. MVP.
Speaker 5 (36:26):
I don't know, but that was definitely the Marquis moment.
This defense really has carried this team throughout this season, sure,
but very easily. The second that Davis Mills takes a
sack on third down and they're out of field goal
range against Jacksonville. I mean, we're talking about a team
that maybe loses the locker room, it loses morale because
you need to fight back against Tennessee on the road.
A week later, you had the game against Buffalo where
(36:49):
eight total sacks against Josh out seven in the second half,
and this is all behind Davis Mills, who, again, this
is a guy who a lot of people clamored right after.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
That Bill's game. Hey CJ, thanks for nothing, buddy, but
we're gonna rune it out with Ted. And I couldn't
stomach that. But at the same time, it's just like, Okay,
I don't agree with you at all, but I understand
where your brain comes from, because without that fourth quarter comeback,
the Texans are not in this position to begin with.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
Yeah, you know, I heard a lot of that, and
I want to bring up this one point. You know,
I was having a lot of arguments with people who
were clamoring for Davis Mills to start. I mean, the
Texans played a game without Nico Collins and won that game.
Does that mean that they shouldn't play without Nico Collins?
Like exactly, No, Like David Mills did what he was
supposed to do. The defense really stepped up their level.
(37:36):
But Davis Mills did well he's supposed to. He's one
of the better backups in the league. He can win
games when preparing. But yeah, that that game and that
moment in the fourth quarter was really his marquee was
really the Texans' marquee moment of the season and really
saved their season. And and you know, it just goes
to show how deep this team is and and that
(37:56):
when you need somebody to call on, guys can fill
in when needed.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
So we meet in the middle and say, Davis Mills
on MVP. But that was the MVP moment of the
twenty twenty five season to where everything turned in favor
of Houston for the rest of the year. I don't
like the word MVP, but I like marquee moment, So
marquee moment MVPCE the defense this in general like like
a pick a player, it's one hundred percent of the defense.
I actually do want to pick your brain on this
(38:20):
because you wrote an incredible article this past week on
one of the key players of this defense and arguably,
in my opinion, the most slept on player probably in
the NFL this season. I want to discuss that. I
want to discuss what to expect moving forward in the
AFC because I haven't picked your brain on this. The
Texans feel like that they're on a collision course to
make history this year simply because of the matchups. But
(38:43):
there are some teams that have better records. Does that
mean that they're better than the Texans? Seven one three,
two one two five, seven to ninety Does a record
define who you are as a program in the AFC
one hour down Houston ATVs EHD to Houston.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
The astro editor expect that and the Rockets. Sports Talk
seven ninety your home for your home teams, an iHeartRadio
station guaranteed Youhman, This is the Morning Drive with Dann
and Cole.
Speaker 3 (39:23):
So Texans Defense. We talked about being the MVP of
the season and a pick a name, and you're probably right,
like Tommy Togi, I, dude, from a national perspective, no
respect whatsoever. I think that when you talk about Aziz
al Shaier and what he's been accomplishing this year from
a leadership standpoint, stud Dereck Singley Junior Elite, Cavari Laster,
I'm gonna get to that point a minute. Oh uh, dog,
(39:46):
straight up, like, change your opinion if you do not
have him in your top ten cornerbacks of twenty twenty five.
That's how well I think he's been playing this year.
Caleb blocks been awesome, but I personally believe in you
wrote about this guy yesterday the unsung hero of the NFL,
and he's been doing it since. Moving close to the
line of scrimmage. What kryptonite does Jalen Petrie have Because
(40:07):
if it feels like, if there is an opportunity for
him to make a play, he's gonna make a play.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
Yeah man, all right, so going he's a Chronicle dot
Com for that story. But you know, Jalen Petrie, after
that twenty twenty three season where he struggled, you know,
Demiko Ryans and his staff and I get into this
in the story. You know, looked at his tape and
saw like he's always around the ball, yeah, like, and
so they thought his best position was moving him from
(40:32):
safety to the nickel cornerback. And because he's so good
against the run and he can cover receivers as well,
and he's shown that. And the thing about Jalen Petrie,
he's so versatile. Now they have him playing both safety
and nickel because well it's not necessity, right, yeah, necessity,
But he's playing well in both areas. But to think
(40:52):
about Jalen that makes him so valuable And spoke to
a lot of people about this. Aside from the fact
that he calls out the offensive plays, uh, he they
don't have to take him off the field at all.
They don't have to match personnel when a team goes
to their you know, whatever they're doing for a run
or whether they go into a formation that is a pass.
(41:14):
They can keep Jalen Pietri on the field because he
can stop the run and he can guard the pass.
And I think that I mean and that obviously gives
them advantage because you don't know what the defense is running.
And I think he's the secret weapon to Demiko Ryan's
number one defense this season.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
So I remember watching him when he was at Baylor
and he was playing in Dave Randa's system as the
star and he won Big twelve Defensive Player of the Year.
And what was the thing that everybody talked about with him?
Hard hitter, plays the run, not afraid to tackle. Yeah,
And I remember watching him down to Mobile when he
went to the Singier Bowl that year and they were
running some defense from the Jets. I think it was
Robert Sala's unit, because if there were some similar traits
(41:51):
to where they figured that he would be able to
kind of fit into that safety role, but also probably
play like this, like the big star position or what
they would call the moneybacker, Like how they have a
Tam Buchanan when he was playing for Tim Bay for
a few years, and I remember just watching him be
able to go against running backs and just kill it.
And I kept saying to myself, if the Texans draft him,
(42:14):
please keep him near the line of scrimmage. Like I
get it that you that you want to try him
at safety because of you play a base defense underneath
Lovey Smith, But like, keep him near the line of
scrimmage because if he's so valuable at just playing with
physicality and winning and calling out defensive plays, and he
goes to safety and he has a fine first year.
But I mean, you remember that ye five interceptions, one
(42:36):
hundred and forty seven tackles. But when you have one
hundred and forty seven tackles, this is a safety rather
your defense is hard for it is so bad, like
everyone's like, hey, remember he has one hundred and forty
seven tackles. Why you crap it on the defense because
of a safety should never have more than one hundred
tackles in a season.
Speaker 5 (42:52):
Opposing teams were regularly getting to the second level on them,
like it was because Jalen Petrick and Jonathan Owens at
the times with the last level of.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Defense, right, And so then Tomko gets in here and
he keep him at safety for a year. But year
two they started to figure out, Hey, this guy's really
good against the run, like he's he's solid in coverage,
Like nobody's gonna say that he's bad in coverage, but
he's better against the run and playing against tight ends
and bigger slot receivers that they would give him credit for. Hey,
(43:21):
wasn't he like a big twelve defensive player of the
year at one point when he was doing this role. Oh,
we should move him down to that spot. Okay, say less.
Guess what happens defensive is playing better. It feels like
that you have more continuity. You feel pretty good about
where you were last season with what Kaylin Block was
doing opposite of Eric Murray for a time being. When
Eric Murray had to come back in I mean not
Eric Murray, I M. J. Stewart had to fill in
(43:42):
on that back end role. Then what you had with
a couple of other players that kind of mixed on
in Jalen Reied kind of filling into that back end role.
It felt like that there was such a harmonious action
to where everyone was lined up in the right place
at the right time, and you weren't having the self
inflicted wounds because of there just finally felt like home
for Jalen. Yeah. I mean, he's just so smart. He
(44:02):
can do many things.
Speaker 5 (44:03):
The other thing is, so the Texans defense plays a
lot of cover three right, and the one weakness really
is up the middle with the linebackers, you know, covering
a lot of the middle of field. But Jalen Petrie
is a guy who's fast, who can cover those guys.
So he takes a lot of way he takes a
lot of those weaknesses out of the equation. And then
(44:25):
like we mentioned earlier, he's really good against the run.
A lot of players and mentioned how he was the
deliverer of the hardest hits save ever taken h Cold
Comment and uh and and Derrick Henry.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
So you know, he can just he can do it all.
Speaker 5 (44:40):
And he gives Demiko Oriyans the flexibility to do a
lot of different things, and when he got hurt last year,
Demiko o Ryans publicly said it it was a gut
punch for him.
Speaker 3 (44:50):
To me, that was the difference about them being able
to face off against Kansas City last season. You had
nobody that could slow down Travis Kelsey. And I'm not
saying that you would have won that game because of
Number one. Officiating was crap. Number two number two, the
offensive line was horrendous in that matchup. By the way,
you've had more conversations with internal people than I ever have.
(45:12):
Can you please tell me what the hell were you
thinking moving Shaq Mason back into guard for that matchup.
Speaker 5 (45:17):
That was probably the most perplexing decision I've seen, and
I think a lot of people on a team question
why that happened. But for some reason, you know that
Texas didn't feel strongly about Juice Scruggs, even though I
thought he played.
Speaker 3 (45:33):
A fine game against each Oge. I did think he
was bad in that match, not even a little bit,
But to me, that was the ultimate deciding factor. Offensive
line was terrible, but again, one hundred and sixteen receiving
yards of Travis Kelsey, you had nobody to guard him
because even Jimmy Ward was out at that point with
the foot injury from the matchup against Kansas City earlier
in the year, so you were on your last leg
of defense when it came to that nickel position this
(45:55):
time around. What happened as he's al Shaer played great,
Jim Peach played great. You're forced an interception in the
fourth quarter when trying to target Travis Kelsey. You are
the reason why Kansas City is now eliminating from the
playoff altogether, even though Los Angeles was the one to
put the nail on the coffin. But still, Jalen Peach
played off his mind in that game do that interception.
(46:15):
I mean, I don't think we give enough credit for
how athletic he is.
Speaker 5 (46:19):
Yeah, I mean he was making all type of plays
that just a lot of just wild plays, and that's
what he's able to do. And he is athletic, extremely athletic,
and I think that helps him and he's underrated in
that aspect, and I think that helps him be the
player he is.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
He has four interceptions on the year, he's top three
on the team in pass breakups, and he's on a
very team friendly contract. Like a lot of the things
that when we nitpick what Nick Cassario does, it goes
back to the same question, why are you trading out
of the first round, Why are you waiting to draft
offensive lineman? Why are you going for the bargain bin motion?
But the contract that he's been giving out the Nico
(46:57):
Collins Steele steal at this point, Jalen peachdal the way
he's playing this season. I mean, he would get the
bank on the open market if they let him go.
And didn't understand that after last year, even with the injury, Hey,
we got to get the Sky locked up long term
him Stingley. You had to move on of Larry Tunsil.
But I'm not complaining at this point because if you
(47:17):
have two foundational pieces that are in lockstep for the
next four years.
Speaker 5 (47:21):
Yeah, I mean Nick Caserio has learned a lot from
his mistakes. I mean not all his contracts have been great.
I mean signing C. J. Gardner Johnson, uh and then
releasing him and then there was one more player that
they released.
Speaker 3 (47:32):
The Shack Mason extension after getting here was crazy. The
Brandon Cooks extension. But was he was he the Brandon
Cooks extension or was that was that Bill.
Speaker 5 (47:43):
No, No Nicks are next okay, extended Brandon Cooks. But
you know a lot of the deals that they have
made have been good. I think they're mixed results, so
you know, he's got to continue that. I think the
coaching staff, though, has has really been the hero and
the players have been really the heroes of this season.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
The other thing, it was the camera Robinson deal that
you were talking about. Yes, the cameras, Oh my god,
because and here's the thing, because like I was so
adamant about the Nick Nick Chubb deal being like a
really smart play because of if he hit a certain metric,
there's five million dollars. If you're getting pro Bowl Nick
Chubb for five million dollars, automatic steal in my opinion, absolutely,
But if you're not getting pro bol Nick Chubb two
(48:24):
point five million dollars for a dude that's going to
be a secondary option, it's bad. It's not a bad
price whatsoever. So you are right, he's made some really
smart deals. The Nico Collins one automatically, the one for
Jalen Peatree automatically. It I even think that with the
what I would consider to be step back year, but
not a bad year, from Derek Singley Junior. Still worth
(48:44):
it because you know what the price is for cornerbacks
these days, and now what we're seeing some of the
moves be made. You want to get ahead of the
curve to make in the highest paid corner You're not
complaining about that, but there is a movie that he
is going to eventually have to make. I think for
another player, and you can't make the move this offseason,
but two years from now, we've got to talk about
how are you going to be able to keep a
player around? Who is that player? I'll explain next. John
(49:07):
and Alexander filling on in for Dan Matthews on The
Morning Drive with Dan and Cole writ here on Sports
Sucks seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
The Morning Drive with d and Cole on Sports Talk
seven ninety Home with the Strolls, Rockets and Houston's best
sports Talk.
Speaker 3 (49:24):
There is no way in hell even if Gino Smith
somehow miraculously looks like the version of himself from Seattle
two years ago. You're winning this football game, and the
Eagles were playing bad up into that point. They were
playing horrible. Like I understand that they have like a
nine to four record and that they very well could
clinch the AFS, I mean the NFC East this weekend.
That does not mean you're a good team. That means
(49:45):
your division sucks.
Speaker 5 (49:46):
Yeah, for sure, absolutely, And the Raiders are just bottom
of the barrel offensively, they're mess. Who knows it might
even be Pete Carroll's last year. You know, I personally
think they should be patient with him in particular, give
in his accolades in history, but their bottom of the
barrel team not going anywhere. If the Texans lose this game,
(50:07):
I will be shocked. I will be absolutely astounded, and
will criticize them heavily in the Houston Chronicle.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
But I don't think that's gonna happen. Okay, So I
want to actually get your point on this, But remember
that the last two years the Texans have lost to
one team. Do you know what is the same common
theme with that team to the same team? No, no, no, no,
the same type of team. Oh the same time. Oh
uh it was Caroline and it was Tennessee. I guess,
two of the worst teams in the league at the time.
(50:37):
They got the number one overall pick and the Texans
lost to both of them. Yeah, there's still is a
scenario where if the Texans were to lose to Las Vegas,
but Las Vegas loses out and the other two teams,
which is Cleveland and New York, win another game. Because
of the strength of schedule, Las Vegas would get the
number one pick. So three straight years of ten wins
(50:58):
seasons for the Texans, three straight years of AFC South
Division titles, three straight years of losing to the team
that gets the number one overall pick. That to me
would be the ultimate signal of guys, I know that
you're right there on knocking on the door. You're not
there yet. No, you would have to say that they
might be cursed if they lose this game. Okay, so
you also agree with me because I'm very much adamant
(51:18):
of I think Pete Carroll, with how much he has
accomplished throughout his NFL career, what he was able to
build out in Seattle, be patient, give him another season,
let him figure out how to write this ship in
some direction to where there's an adult in the room.
Because this is an organization that panics like all the time.
Like I thought that they panicked after the John gruden't hire.
(51:41):
I thought they really panicked when they had Rich Passacia
in the building. They should have just hired him. They
went and they brought in Josh McDaniels. Hated the move,
hated the fact that they brought in another GM that
they never had a lot of faith in. They then
go hire Antonio Peers. They don't give him time to
fix the ship. They bring in a new GM. They say, hey,
Tom Tolusco, best of luck in your FUTUREWN, you're not
the right guy. And now they're bringing John Spytech. And
(52:02):
now they bringing uh, Pete Carroll, and Carrol's earned I
think the accolades to be able to say no, no, no, no, no,
I understand what the fault is. I at least get
one more shot to fix this in the right way.
If Bill Belichick out in Chapel Hill gets to spend
another season ruining that team, you at least deserve to give.
I think Pete Carroll one more season of trying to
(52:24):
fix the team.
Speaker 5 (52:24):
Absolutely, to me, the only time you fire coaches after
one year it should be if there's total dysfunction, if
the if you've lost the locker room. But we can't
totally say that about Pete Carroll. And now obviously he
hired the wrong offensive staff and one that didn't fit
his philosophy.
Speaker 3 (52:42):
So he made a mistake there.
Speaker 5 (52:43):
But I think you if you want to turn this
thing around, you can't totally flip everything all of a sudden.
You gotta stick. You gotta at least trust. You gotta
have some trust in Pete Carroll, and they got to
build a foundation that I don't. I like Elvin, I
like not often. I like Ashton Gentry, but I don't
(53:04):
think he was the right pick because they don't have
the foundation built, Like, they don't have an offensive line,
they don't have anything up front, right. So I think
this year you gotta that first pick. I don't know
you know better about the draft than I do. Sure
if there's a tackle up there, then I think you
gotta get them.
Speaker 3 (53:21):
I mean, there's a guy that's playing the night and
it's probably gonna be a part of a team that
beats up on an Oklahoma roster. I don't know. His
name's Kaden Proctor. He plays left tacker for Alabama. You
probably need to go that way. You gotta get a lot.
I mean, you gotta go big free agency. You gotta
get a new quarterback in that building because Gino Smith.
I understood the reason behind it, but I also was
(53:42):
very much like as soon as they brought in Mike
McDonald to Seattle last year, I kind of thought, Okay,
this is where it all comes crashing. I don't think
it's a Ryan grump thing. I think that Gino Smith
had his moment he was It was like the Ryan
Tannehill effect. Like remember when Tannehill was really really on
point for tesnase See gets a new extension, has the
highest passer rating in the NFL, and then you start
(54:03):
to see regression. It's like, Oh, this is gonna go
downhill really fast. Because he's thirty five years old. I mean, he's.
Speaker 5 (54:09):
Definitely a bridge quarterback, like a solid quarterback with the
right pieces and the right offensive coordinator around him.
Speaker 3 (54:15):
He doesn't have any of that right now, and that's
why he's struggling. Okay, So Chip Kelly was the officieve
coordinator for the Raiders. Yeah, it's really important to break
his name up because I got a lot of flak
from people saying he's coming to Houston. Yeah, he's gonna
be working with Tomko Ryan's They're gonna hire him. You
reported on this, You were very much in the know
about what was going on when it came to this deal.
(54:36):
Was it the right move not to bring him on
in Yeah?
Speaker 5 (54:38):
Oh absolutely, Okay, Yeah, I mean I reported, you know
around the Zoondie or Iron. You know, they put out
feelers for him, indicators of interest, see what he was
looking for, what type of contract he was looking for,
and he wanted to be paid, and ultimately came down
to the Texan was like, you know, we got candidates
of the same caliber. You know, we're not gonna pay
(55:00):
you all his money. And he went on and found
that money with the Raiders, and boy did they They
dodged a bullet. I don't know if he would have
been the guy that they ultimily decided on, but he
was definitely being considered.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
So he was at least one of the finalists that
was up for the job along Sarick.
Speaker 5 (55:14):
He was one of the candidates that they identified as
somebody that they might be interested in. Okay, Like it
didn't get to negotiations, it didn't get to an interview process,
but you know what college coaches is a little bit
different interviewing those guys. But he was definitely somebody they
identified as as a potential guy.
Speaker 3 (55:34):
That they could hire at OC And now right now,
we're not even gonna see Chick Kelly be on the
field at Energy Stadium this weekend. Fourteen and a half
point favorite for the Texans. According to Bett MGM, this
is going to be a game to where I feel
like you could play probably Davis Mills in the fourth
quarter and Sofid And that's not a shot at Davis,
because he's a really good backup. But isn't this like
(55:55):
what you're supposed to do when you're a team that's
hell bent on being considered a favorite in the AFC,
Getting guys like Jawar Jordan Reps, getting guys like CJ. Reps,
making sure that you get a little bit more Jalen
Knowle inside the slot at Christian kirk kntact the day off. Yeah,
I mean yeah.
Speaker 5 (56:10):
And the Texans have largely done a good job of
beating up on the bottom dweller teams. The only team
that they had a close game with that he shouldn't
have a close game with is the Titans. And maybe
you can attribute that to the fact that it's a
divisional opponent, but they've done a great job of beating
up on those teams. And I think they got a
good shot to beat up on the Raiders and then
(56:31):
rest you know, their starters in the fourth quarter. It
also gives me reason to believe why they if if
Derek Singley's not totally healthy, you know, they don't really
have to play him and allow him to rest up
for an all important game against the Chargers Hight.
Speaker 3 (56:44):
Sorry, I brought this up earlier seven two five, seven ninety.
Demiko Ryans is a win away from thirty victories in
three years? Do you believe he has already garnered the
status of goat coach of the Houston Texans. Want to
get your thoughts on that. And I also he's this.
I apologize, I'm very bad at doing this from time
to time. EX player who in two years is going
(57:05):
to be up for a new deal. It's a non
negotiable for me. You have got to resign him. If
you are Nick Casario, I'll explain who we got. Jonathan
Alexander for the Houston Chronicle. Joining us on the Morning
Drive with Dan and Cole right here on Sports Talk
seven ninety. This is Jabari Smith Jafari for three guys,
Stay clutched with the iHeartRadio app here every Rockets game
(57:28):
on Sports Talk seven ninety. We've already talked about the
defense being elite this year. Number one. You could pick
a player and he's probably the MVP, and I probably
am wrong to say that Davis Mills was the MVP.
The turning point is the right way to put it,
as you did. We need to spend more time talking
about from a national perspective, not just Jalen Petree, but
(57:50):
Kamari Laster. Yeah, dude, I mean, dude, I knew he
was going to be a good player. Yeah, he's exceeding
my expectations in year two, absolutely, and he's getting more
of an opportunity. As teams shy away from Derek Singley,
they're gonna have to learn they're gonna have to shy
away from Kamaria Laster too. But yet he is He's
(58:11):
been consistent, He plays with the right technique. He's a
hard worker.
Speaker 5 (58:17):
You know, I was talking to her and mevers as
I was writing a story about how good his defense
and how Farriday could go, and he said, you want
to you know, one of Kamari Leaster's strength is his
ability to tackle. He's probably the best, you know tackling
cornerback in the NFL, and I was looking at his
stats and I think he was number one.
Speaker 6 (58:35):
He was.
Speaker 5 (58:35):
He's definitely number one among all cornerbacks and stuffing to
run and when you have a guy who can play
the run well as well as played really well in coverage.
It's tied with the team league with four interceptions. Yeah,
you have a complete cornerback.
Speaker 3 (58:48):
I think the thing that really shout out about him
is people want to bring up his speed because he
ran like a four six forty, which again I get it.
You want to go talk about cornerback speed, so be it.
The dude plays so much faster when you see him
on the field, and he is great technique. And the
thing about him is that when he came on in
from Georgia. There are some non neg ghostbles you have
(59:11):
when playing for Kirby smart defense. Number One, you have
to be physical. Number two, you have to be willing
to tackle. Number three, you're gonna forfeit tackle. If you're
getting on the field. We're not letting you touch the
field because of Oh, you could make plays in the
back end of a secondary. You can go ahead and
forced turnovers all you want. But if you're not able
to tackle. Congratulations, goosit the bench, go through Repster and practice.
(59:35):
We'll figure out a role for you on special teams.
That's it. And the fact that he came on in
with that mentality, plus you already had a number one cornerback,
you got to feel pretty good about where you were
as an organization at this point.
Speaker 7 (59:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (59:46):
Absolutely. You know he's not afraid of anyone. That tackled
at safety last year against Ane of the Ravens, the
only points the Texans had anyway.
Speaker 3 (59:56):
But uh but yeah, that was huge.
Speaker 5 (59:58):
But he was every think Demiko Ryans was looking for
in a cornerback opposite of Stingley, Like, he has the
exact makeup. A hard worker, an intelligent player, a player
with talent, and you know he loves football every every
time I see him, or especially that first year around
(01:00:18):
the locker room he has that iPad you know, looking
at film like. He's a tireless worker. Comes from a
great family, you know, raised by single mom first few
years of his career, I mean first few years of
its life and his mom got married Dad Kenneth. You know,
they just taught him really great values and he just
(01:00:39):
loves the work. And that's why He's a perfect fit
for this defense.
Speaker 3 (01:00:43):
I still love the fact that he grew up in
Tuscaloosa and had no idea his coach went to Alabama,
which was crazy. That to me still is one of
the funniest moments we have seen of him in his
first two years with the organization. What coach from the PAMA. Yeah,
I didn't know. I didn't know that. That's crazy. I
didn't know. Uh, he's gonna probably be so you brought
the upper Derek Singley Junior. He did practice yesterday. I
don't think you need him for this game. I'm not
(01:01:05):
saying that he won't play. And we've seen the Texans
this year have guys not go through practice on Wednesday
or Thursday. They show up on Friday, they'll go on
the injury report is questionable, and then they'll stop on up.
This is one of those games to where I don't
think that you need Derek Stingley Junior simply because of
you got Brock Bowers, you have Trey Tucker. Trey Tucker
has basically been obsolete since Gino Smith went out. This
(01:01:28):
to me is also a game to where if you
don't have Derek Stingley Junior, if you're a Texans fan,
you got to feel pretty comfortable about having Kamara lost
her cover whoever is the number one in the opposing sideline, right.
Speaker 5 (01:01:38):
Yeah, because Kamari has been dealing with a foot injury,
but he hasn't missed a beat since playing and this
week was the first week since having that injury that
he's practiced on a Thursday, so he's obviously getting a
little bit better. You don't really need Stingley for this
game because they don't have that many weapons on the outside.
(01:02:00):
And the other thing about Stinglely is this is a
reoccurring injury, so you know, the more you can let
this injury rest, you know, the better. And the last
two games could very well be the most important games
of Houston season if the Colts win. And we're talking
about playoff positioning when it comes to a game against
the Chargers too.
Speaker 3 (01:02:20):
But you got to feel pretty good as an organization knowing, Hey,
all pro cornerback, he's missing the game. Yeah, no problem,
we got to do it. On the other side, it's
going to be a pro bowler this year. He's playing
out of his mind. He probably is a top seven
cornerback in the league. This season, and now we got
to pay him. And you know what, I think you
do have to pay him. I think this is a
dude where you may say, Okay, well what about what
(01:02:42):
do we do when it comes to the linebacking position?
What do we do when it comes to the safety spot?
I get that. I'm at this point of where it's like,
if I have Derek Stingley Junior and Kamari Loster and
locks up for the next four years, and I also
got Jalen Peacher at the nickel spot, good luck throwing
deep because you're taking away the deep ball at this point.
Speaker 5 (01:03:02):
Yeah, this is one of the better secondaries we've seen
in a long time since the Legion of boom Uh.
They're going to figure out a way to lock Kamari
Lasted up when his deal comes because you know, they
believe in everything he does and this is gonna be
a deep and really talented secondary for a long time.
Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
The thing is, also he's just perfect to Mike a
Ryan's player, like everything that Demiko has spoken about. And
remember when he when he was being an introductor, when
he was at his introductory press conference and talking about
the non negot supposed to play on my team. It's
just like, okay, Kamaria lost her check check. Like if
you could do a build a player, that would be
the epitome of what you want for to Mike a
(01:03:37):
Ryan's team.
Speaker 5 (01:03:38):
Absolutely. I mean he won that starting position entering training
camp like he was locked. He was basically locking up
Stefan Diggs in in in Otash. So he showed pretty
early on that number one. He's not he's not scared,
and he's gonna work hard, uh, you know, to achieve
the goals that he wants to achieve. And that's everything
Demiko looks for in a player and a good dude
(01:04:00):
at that too.
Speaker 3 (01:04:01):
I remember when everyone was like, oh, he's gonna play
in the nickel, like they're gonna have him as the
slot corner. He'll play like thirty percent of reps. It
took two days. There was like no, no, no, Jeffakuda,
you thanks for coming down here, will find a role
for you in CJ. Henderson some way.
Speaker 2 (01:04:15):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:04:16):
Kamari enjoyed CEB tip. Yeah, enjoyed the title already to
practice in.
Speaker 5 (01:04:21):
Yeah, he's the guy and he and even Kamari he
played some nickel when when Jalen Petrie went out so
you know he has the ability if you have to
do that. But yeah, yeah, he won that job fairly easily.
Speaker 3 (01:04:32):
Texans play against the Raiders this Sunday. Get your thoughts
on this seven one, seven ninety. Go out to the
phone line, Steve. Good morning, Steve, what's on your mind? Dude?
Speaker 10 (01:04:43):
Very good morning guys. You know, I love the confidence,
but I don't know if you guys remember last year,
didn't we go to the Jets and they sucked last year?
Speaker 9 (01:04:52):
And what we do?
Speaker 10 (01:04:53):
We came out of there with a loss, you know.
S Pete Carroll even though the team is bad, still
has a a scheme in his brain and is still
a good coach I think. I mean, look at last night.
Who would have thought that the Pelicans would have bet
beat the Rockets. That was a shocker. I bet people
lost money on that. But I'm hoping that Tomko puts
(01:05:16):
these guys in a frame of mind that this is
a playoff team. You go in there and you play
it as if you're this is the this is a
playoff game.
Speaker 3 (01:05:26):
I mean, we don't need to give these guys any.
Speaker 10 (01:05:28):
Billboard material to to, you know, to to hang their
hat on. Again, I love the confidence and everything, but
we got to play every game like it's a like
it's a playoff game so that.
Speaker 7 (01:05:38):
We can get to the get get to where we
want to get.
Speaker 4 (01:05:41):
And I just I just I just want to say
that have a blessed day.
Speaker 6 (01:05:46):
I'll hang up and listen.
Speaker 3 (01:05:48):
I hear you on that.
Speaker 5 (01:05:50):
But you know, I do think the Texans are treating this, uh,
every game as a playoff game. I mean, look, the
defense was tacked off this week. Yeah, they were ticked
off this week about about their performance against the Cardinals.
You know, they believe that they should be shutting down
every team, no matter what quarterback they're playing, whether that's
Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Jacobe Bissett.
Speaker 3 (01:06:10):
So you know, I think this different.
Speaker 5 (01:06:12):
This team is different than the teams that they've had
last year in the fact that you know, particularly the offense,
the offense is moving in the right direction as opposed
to last year where you had an offense that was
trending the opposite direction with all the different injuries. So
you know, this is why I think me and Cole
have the confidence that detections should take care of business.
(01:06:34):
Along with the fact that the Radiers are an extremely
bad team.
Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
This is a bad team. Like and by the way,
there was at least some bit of traction when you
faced off against Carolina in twenty twenty three. You were
a bad team initially from twenty twenty two rookie quarterbacks,
still learning, still learning. The game against Titans last year
probably the worst loss in the Namika Ryans era, just
because of all the mental mistakes you made. It's your three.
(01:07:00):
Like if you're talking about and I was getting flack
for weeks about saying I still got to see more
from this Textans team before I buy on it, well,
now I'm buying on it. You can't tell me at
this point that you're going to let me down after
I have finally seen the air of my ways I've had.
I've had Larry and Stafford call in every week and say, Cale,
how daring you disrespect this Texans roster. This is not
(01:07:21):
the point. This is not the point of the year
where it's like, guys, if you lose this game, You're
gonna prove all my points Right now, I'm gonna look
like I have even more egg on my face because
if I've been giving you such crap throughout the entire stity,
there's no way that you're this bad to show on it,
like and by the way, Trey McBride's awesome, Like, can
we agree that this is the best tit in the NFL?
(01:07:42):
And if you took him away, you're holding an Arizona
Cardinals team to order. It have been two like like
one hundred and ninety three passing yards and one touchdown.
So it's like like, like, let's call it as is
the dude's elite and you're allowed to have one slip
of performance. But meanwhile, your offen scores on eight consistent
dries out of out of eleven drives in the day,
the reds on offense soty, it's a little bit of work,
(01:08:03):
but we can go ahead and talk about that a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:08:04):
Ye.
Speaker 5 (01:08:04):
Yeah, I just think this is a better built team
than it was. You know, he mentioned the Jets game
and well number one, I think historically uh but Houston, Yeah,
Salid had had uh the offense's numbers, and then again
that Texas offense just wasn't good to me, like they
(01:08:24):
were trending in the wrong direction. They hadn't figured out
that their identity at that point. But I think this
offense is different. It's better. It's moving in the right
It's not great, but it's moving in the right direction.
There's a lot more optimism.
Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
I mean. Plus, the ghost of Jimmy Hoffe is apparently
buried underneath Mett Life Stadium, so you know, maybe just
the Goonies came on out that night. And again, the
Texans have always struggled when they play at matt Life
for some reason. Yeah, most teams find a way to
struggle when they play that way. We see you on
the phone Line's biscuit, We see you, John. We'll get
to you in a minute. Seven two five seven to
ninety Texans taking on the Raiders. Jonathan Alexander and I
(01:08:59):
we both agree this is not going to be a
game to yet to worry about. But if you think
that it is, let us know in the comment section.
Let us know on the phone lines. Take quick time
out when we come back. I want to get Jonathan's
thoughts on what could be the reasoning that the Texans
aren't considered the favorites in the AFC. There's a lot
of teams that I think right now could make a
case Texans certainly belong. In that conversation, what would be
(01:09:20):
the reason that they don't. We'll discuss that more seven
to ninety. Right here, Morning Drive day and Cole sports
exit and I had to come here right next.
Speaker 1 (01:09:29):
They are on Morning Drive. Here's Dan Matthews and Cole Thompson.
Speaker 3 (01:09:36):
Biscuit. Good morning, my friend. What's on your mind? Am I? Dude?
Speaker 4 (01:09:39):
Hey, top in the morning.
Speaker 7 (01:09:40):
My brothers man me.
Speaker 4 (01:09:42):
Let me say this. Man, I'm cold, you know, I'm
just pragmatic type of guy.
Speaker 3 (01:09:48):
Of course I do.
Speaker 4 (01:09:51):
In the history, in the history of the Texas cold.
Speaker 3 (01:09:55):
I'm talking about it a right, we go all the
way back to two right.
Speaker 4 (01:10:01):
All the way back two thousand two. This is the
first time the chance of making a run. And I'm
not saying it's the best team they've had. This is
the first time they have a legitimate chance and making
run the playoffs. And one of the things reasons is
for that, Cole is who you're gonna have to run
up against. Yep, there's no Brady, There's no Manning.
Speaker 6 (01:10:25):
No.
Speaker 4 (01:10:26):
Joe Burrow, no Mahomes, maybe not Lamar. This is they
got a shot this year. And so to your caller earlier,
he talking about, well why would we sit stinger. We
might look no, man. The question is would you rather
have Stingley in week fifteen or would you have to
rather have him healthy in the playoffs? That's the question
(01:10:48):
because we once you get in the playoffs, I think
the key, one of the keys is gonna be who's healthy.
Who's healthy, let's hold and if you got to see
him a week, you know, And now you know co
I work with Petrie's dad, right me? And if dad
work for a year. I remember Jayla when he was
a little kid. That's one of the reasons you know,
(01:11:08):
Jason was gonna place to make the Pro Bowl. But look,
if you have to set out a few games to
be healthy and ready to go when the real bullets
get to flying, this wholebe it. And so that's the
whole thing with the Texas I think, and what and
you asked the question, what could derail them? Well, of
course it's not smart enough points. If they can get
(01:11:31):
twenty four points on the board, they probably can beat anybody.
That's a big gift, though, But I'm just saying this
is a legitimate chance. They can make a run. I
don't care if they got a goat on the road
to Buffalo, or they can make a run this year.
This is the best chance they got.
Speaker 3 (01:11:49):
I appreciate you, Biscuit. I always appreciate your phone calls.
Speaker 11 (01:11:51):
My man.
Speaker 3 (01:11:54):
He's not wrong on one thing. There is no Mahmes.
They're probably there's no borrow. Yeah, they're probably is no Lamar.
You're talking about teams that right now, I still don't
know a lot about New England. You know what they
remind me of twenty twenty through Houston. Yeah, fourth place schedule,
very lucky to be able to get past a couple
of teams. They're probably gonna have a They're going to
(01:12:16):
have a come to cheese moment when it comes to
playoffs against a really good team. Yeah. I don't know
about Denver. I do not believe in Jacksonville. I will
never believe in Jacksonville. I don't care who is their
court coach. I don't care who is their quarterback. It's Jacksonville.
Prove it to me. You haven't, you never will. Chargers
are interesting. Not really sold on them because of their
offense right now. The only thing that and this is
(01:12:38):
why we'll push back, a biscuit. The only reason why
I believe that the Texans would not be able to
make it to the Super Bowl. Is I do worry
about them playing at high Mark Stadium in January cold winter,
negative eleven degree weather. Besides that, if they were to
be able to host Buffalo, you've already kicked the crap
out of Buffalo before. Why am I going to doubt
you at this point? Yeah? I mean, the Patriots haven't
(01:13:00):
beaten anybody this year. They beat the Bills once.
Speaker 5 (01:13:03):
That was a big win, but aside from that there,
you know, their wins have been against low level teams.
Speaker 6 (01:13:09):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:13:10):
You know, I think the Broncos are a good team.
Speaker 5 (01:13:12):
To me, they would give the Texans problems because they're
really good defensively. And then they have even though BNIX
isn't the greatest, they have Sean Payton as an offensive
mine who is experienced. You know, I think the Texans
have a mental edge over the Chargers, whose offense does
not scare me in the slightest bit. So yeah, I mean,
I agree. I think the Texans this is their best
(01:13:33):
chance to make a run. And you have to look
at the teams they've beaten in the strength of their
schedule and where they're at now, this has been impressive.
They're easily one of the strongest teams. I think between
them and the Broncos among the strongest teams. And I
think they definitely, especially if it falls in their favor,
I think they have a great chance to make a run.
Speaker 3 (01:13:55):
I agree with you, Jacksonville. You know, Trevor Lawrence to
me is an if he quarter cool. You threw six
touchdowns last week against the New York Chests. That just
fired the defense coordinator. Yeah, I'm sorry, proven against a
team that has a top five defense. And then we'll
talk seven one three, two one two five seven ninety
John on the Northwest Side, John, Good morning, what's on
(01:14:15):
your mind?
Speaker 7 (01:14:16):
I did?
Speaker 1 (01:14:17):
Hey?
Speaker 7 (01:14:18):
Good morning, Cole Jonathan.
Speaker 9 (01:14:19):
How y'all doing fantastic? Man?
Speaker 7 (01:14:23):
Hey, Jonathan, I've been listening to you for the last
few years, coming on some of behows. I like you input,
I like your knowledge about the Texans and all that. Listen.
This is what I want to ask you and cold Also, look, Cole,
I don't know if you remember I called in a
couple of weeks ago and I said that I would
like to see uh, Nick Kayley and them, you know,
run like a two back set.
Speaker 3 (01:14:46):
You always remember when you called it the show?
Speaker 7 (01:14:48):
Okay, Well, I didn't know because I know a lot
of people called it. But anyway, this previous game, they
brought in several running back. They brought in our Jamaican friend.
I don't want to mess up his name, can't pronounce
it all the time. Whatever, Nick canley send him my
dad for a past five ten yards. They had Woody
(01:15:09):
Marsh in there, they had the young kid they just
brought in. They mixed it up with their running back. Now,
that's how you attack a defense that is a winning
offense right there. You can't be a trick pony that
we've been seeing for years. You want you run one
running back now. I don't know if they stumbled on
(01:15:29):
that because Nick Tubb was hurting because Woody Mark's ankle
and that type of thing. So they had to, you know,
run some a variety of plays for the other running backs.
But my question is, man, Jonathan Cole, do you think
they're gonna continue that?
Speaker 1 (01:15:44):
Man?
Speaker 7 (01:15:44):
I hope they're not gonna go back to one trick pony,
one running back. The guys will do it. But man,
bringing several running back, do you think they're gonna continue this?
Speaker 1 (01:15:52):
Man?
Speaker 7 (01:15:53):
Because if you continue these plays for several running backs, now,
you can beat anybody. I'll hang up in distance, man.
Now I have a good day.
Speaker 3 (01:16:04):
H Right, here's what we're gonna do. Dan's gonna be
our talking point when we come back to quick time out.
Are they going to be a one trick pony? Because
I'll tell you what, John brings up some good points.
And Jerward Jordan, if you had on your Bengo card,
Jerward Jordan was going to be the first running back
for the Houston Texans in twenty twenty five. They hit
the triple digit marker. Brother, I need the lottery numbers.
(01:16:25):
I need to know who is winning the college football playoff.
I need to be able to guarantee that I am
betting the money line over Jonathan and over Triple E,
and over Matt Thomas, and over Chris Gordy and over
everybody here. So are the Texans going to be a
one trick pony offensively running the football? We will discuss
on the morning drop with Dan and Cole right after
(01:16:45):
this on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:16:48):
KDB Houston, KTVHD two Houston. That a Rockets. Sports Talk
seven ninety your home for your home team and iHeartRadio
stations guaranteed human this is the Morning Drive with Dan
(01:17:11):
and Cole.
Speaker 3 (01:17:15):
That, my friends, is a conversation we have got to have.
And the Texans looking to guarantee their third consecutive double
digit win season underneath Damiko Ryans who might be pushing
for the title of goat coach in franchise history seven one, two, five,
seven nine if you want to chime on in. Okay,
So we started out last segment talking about what could
(01:17:36):
be the things that would derail the Texans and a
part that I thought was really important that John brought
on up. This is now an offense that is trusting
its rushing attack outside of being a one trick pony
Jerward Jordan last weekend over one hundred yards. He didn't
have Woody Marks in the entire second half, didn't have
Nick Chubb. Well, this week, it feels like that Nick
Chubb is inching closer to playing in this game. Maybe
(01:17:56):
Woody Mark sits on out, but he mentioned that this
is an offense that is trusting multiple running backs or
is this something that we're gonna see moving forward? Yeah?
All right to me.
Speaker 5 (01:18:06):
I don't think you have to force running backs if
one's not working, but I think it does help to
have multiple running backs who are hitting on all cylinders,
Like you know, Juar Jordan came out of nowhere, but
he gives the Texans a different change up in their offense,
Like he's really good at the outside zone scheme, and
you know, he showed that potential in the preseason, so
(01:18:29):
I definitely think a little bit more of him along
with Woody Marx. Mixing those guys up, I think Nick
Chubb still gives you that experience, still gives you that
that power back. So he's different than both Woody Marks
and Juar Jordan. But Juar is different too, and he's
shown that he can be an explosive player. That fifty
yard run was his only explosive run. He had a
(01:18:50):
couple more for ten yards, and I think he could
be a factor. I think this is the game because
it's likely with William Marx not practicing on when his
his chances of playing on Sunday have dropped because he
didn't practice yesterday. Yeah, he didn't practice Thursday, so his
chances of playing drop some. So you know, if that
(01:19:10):
in fact is the case, then Jerwar Jordan and Nick
Chubb give you an audition to how you want to
uh you know, distribute carries later on down the season
into the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (01:19:19):
Okay, so, and Nick Keyley brought this up earlier this
week when he was meeting with the media talking about
how they always believed that Jawar could figure some things out.
There was a comment that was made, why did you
sign him to the active roster when you could just
kept them on the practice squad because he could have
been elevated one more time before how to make the
active roster, right, Yeah, dude, somebody was picking them off
for yeah, oh for somebody was picking off you don't
(01:19:41):
have one hundred yard gaate and then looking at teams
in the playoffs and say, oh, yeah, we're not gonna
trust it, like it was a flash in the pan moment. Yeah,
you had to sign into the active roster after that game, right, yeah,
I mean teams are looking for running backs. If the
Chiefs were stelling it, and they probably would have signed him.
You know, they went as far as to get Damian
Pierce on their practice quiet. But yet somebody who would
(01:20:04):
have needed a running back would have taken a chance
on Jordan, especially after his one hundred and one yard game.
So the Texans, knowing that Juar deserved it, knowing what
he's capable of, knowing that people have film on him
now and know what he can do, they had to
sign him. The thing that I wonder about with this offense, though,
is that as much as we've seen the pass protection
(01:20:26):
get better, because we have I think that probably the
most underlying trade over the last five weeks is the
pass protection for CJ. Stroud and even Davis has been phenomenal.
When you moved Trent Brown into right tackle, you moved
Titus Howard over to right guard, and you kind of
stabilize your offensive line. The run blocking has been hit
and miss at times, creating openings for both Woody, for
(01:20:46):
Nick Chubb, for Dare, for Jawar Jordan. I think that though,
right now, knowing that you have three different styles of
running backs, one that can move in and short yarded situations,
one that can be beneficial as a pass catcher, and
also moving to the outside, and the moment the speedback
like Jawar, maybe your past I mean, your run blocking
isn't gonna be perfect, but it could do just enough
(01:21:09):
to create a small crease to be able to get
to that second and third level of the defense to
where you are a more balanced offense going into the
final three weeks this season.
Speaker 5 (01:21:16):
Yeah, and balance is important for this team. You can't
put all the pressure on CJ. Shot and they've done
a lot of that at times. And CJ has been
really good in third downs. I think I saw one
stat where he had thrown like seven touchdowns one interception
on third downs. So, but you know, eventually you're gonna
play some really top defenses come playoffs, Chargers really good defense,
(01:21:40):
you know, Broncos really good defense, Patriot solid Bills has
its moments. So you're gonna have to have a balanced team,
keep teams off balance to open up play action pass,
which is where the Texans can thrive. So it's beneficial
that the offensive line really have its best performances here
(01:22:02):
down the stretch.
Speaker 3 (01:22:03):
Is there one player that you're looking forward to seeing
on Sunday, because, like I'm viewing this ass again, Texans,
you play C minus football, You're not only winning, you're
covering that fourteen to a half point spread. That's how
bad I think Las Vegas is right now. So it's
like you're starting to kind of pick and choose. We're
not looking for an elite performance from CJ. We're not
looking for, you know, Nico Collins to drop one hundred
(01:22:24):
and seventy five and two touchdowns, But like, is there
like one player that you really just want to see
maybe kind of honde into their element, Like last week
with JR. War having the one hundred yard game.
Speaker 5 (01:22:34):
Yeah, I mean, like you said, we know we're gonna
get from CJ. We know we're gonna get from Nico
Collins Dalton Schultz, but you know, like we were mentioned earlier,
Jauar Jordan, Like is he, you know, the answer to
their running game? Like they've been solid mixing it up
with Nick Chubb and Winning Mark. They've that those two
have gotten over one hundred yards, but never had a
single rusher had one hundred yards this season which is
(01:22:56):
something they've desperately missed with Joe Mixon. So with Juar
Jordan having that one hundred and one yard game, I'd
love to see if he could do it again. And
maybe he is a guy that you give more carries too,
and maybe he is a guy that gives you that
extra spark on defense, that on offense that you become
a balanced team.
Speaker 3 (01:23:16):
So Juwar Jordan definitely, can I ask you out of
curiosity how much longer do I at the hold out
hope that Jalen Knowle is going to be an X
factor on this offense, because if he's so good when
he gets on the field, but it feels like every
single time that he starts to gain just a little
bit of traction, it's like, Oh, by the way, we
have Christian kirksitting on the sidelines. Oh, Xavier Hudson, we
got to fource feed him the ball. Oh that other
(01:23:37):
wide receiver from Iowa State that we got. Hey, let's
see him get some action. And I'm like, there's gotta
be a moment where you finally give fourteen a shot, right.
Speaker 5 (01:23:44):
Yeah, I mean I would like to see him get
more touches because he's such a dynamic player when the
ball is in his hands. I think he does struggle
at Ryan blocking and that that might be why he's
not on the field as often. But you have seen
his Finally, his reps in the field offensive have gone
up while Christian Kirks have gone down some. They've been
getting equal snaps from the offensive side. But you would
(01:24:06):
like to see them figure out ways to get him
the ball more often, and maybe they're setting it up
maybe they don't want to show you all the goods
and then the playoffs he'll get something.
Speaker 3 (01:24:15):
Like he's He's like, who is that dude? For like
the New England Patriots that one year he was Jonas Great? Yeah,
like he had like back to back like one hundred
yard gains. Oh yeah, a practice squad player. Dude was
a beast in that playoff pat for It's like, is
that gonna be Jalen Nole? Because this feels like the game. Okay,
we're facing off against the lowly Raiders team. We don't
need to see an Nego Collins break for a thousand
(01:24:36):
yard He's already got the one thousand yard mark. He's
gonna get the bonus. Hey fourteen, this is where we
only hell on everybody else.
Speaker 5 (01:24:43):
Yeah yeah, and it's been a long season. These guys
no longer rookies. Get put the ball in your best playmakers, Sands.
I love what Jaden Higgins has been doing. He didn't
have a great game last week, but he he has
been having a lot of good games lately, so you know,
there there are other options outside of Nico.
Speaker 3 (01:25:00):
Collins have been doing a good job. Now let's let's
figure out how to get Jalen Nord Again, Bob Barry,
we see you on the phone lines. We're gonna get
to you as soon as we get back because of
what you want to talk about. I want to bring
up with Jonathan last night probably the best Thursday night
football game of the season, overtime win by the Seattle Seahawks.
I have two takeaways from this, and I think both
(01:25:21):
are very factual despite the different outcome. We'll explain in
the Morning Drive with Dan and Cole. Next right here
on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:25:30):
Back to the Morning Drive, here's Dan Matthews and Cole Thompson.
Speaker 3 (01:25:37):
Barry an uptown. What's on your mind, my dud, Yes, sir,
I will.
Speaker 12 (01:25:43):
But by the way, it was one of the greatest
Thursday night games I've ever seen and a total friend
of mine, I wanted to see a thirty seven, thirty
four down you Brook, but I wanted the ram to win, sure,
but the Rams seemed to stuck. Seems to stuck Cook
seems to start the lagging and coasting once they get
to the big lead, and see how came back. But
you know what, my hat's off to the winner.
Speaker 7 (01:26:02):
The Seattle played but hard.
Speaker 12 (01:26:03):
They were Dusty Gamblers had those two versions of not worth,
the game will have been lost.
Speaker 7 (01:26:09):
But the Rams have no excuses.
Speaker 12 (01:26:10):
They had the game one, and I don't know what
why team would go into a coasting mode because Seattle
was in the game to win and some of the
Seattle fans started leaving almost So I'm hoping the Rams
learned from this. I still got them at my NFC pick.
Speaker 3 (01:26:28):
I appreciate it, Bary, You're the man, Okay, so let's
talk about let's talk about it. So thirty eight thirty
seven final score. A couple of things I want to
take away from last night. Number One, that was the
best Thursday night game of the season so far. Sure,
I don't even think that's up for debate. Number Two,
there's two ways to look at this. And people were
going to say, well, why are you talking about a
Thursday night football game between two NFC teams when it
(01:26:49):
comes to the Texans. Okay, Well, the Texans very well
could make it to the Super Bowl this year. I
think that we just saw the team that they would
be facing off against either side because of Seattle last night,
how they were able to respond and you already lost
the Seattle earlier this season, and you also lost the
Los Angeles Seattle sitting at twelve and three. Right now,
they are the number one seed in the NFC. The
(01:27:11):
Twoes sakeaways that I have is number one. My opinion
on the Los Angeles Rams has not changed whatsoever because
of Matthew Stafford still nearly threw for five hundred yards
which they lost. That is insane to me. This defense
against this team, and you're able to get two hundred
and twelve two hundred and twenty five of those yards
to put an Akua and two touchdowns cheat code. I
(01:27:34):
mean quite literally the only player who right now I
think that you would say puts the fear of being
able to have a lock set with any cornerback in
the NFL. Is put going to CooA at this point? Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (01:27:45):
But I want to bring up a point to you
out we were I was having this conversation with a
good friend DJ being an enemy, and I was asking,
if Matt Stafford wins MVP and then wins Super Bowl MVP,
does he solidify a splat as in the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 3 (01:28:03):
I one hundred percent in my opinion, Yeah, I can't
argue at this point because I'm at this point where
and by the way, I think i've I don't know
if I've ever told you this, R I definitely not
haven't told the audience this. Matthew Stafford is one of
my favorite quarterbacks all time, just because of the way
that he went about his career, how he was such
a pillar for Detroit, stay loyal for as long as possible.
Finally goes out to La wins a title, says that
(01:28:25):
through all of the bumps and bruises, playing through adversity,
playing through pain, I'm not done just yet. The one
thing that he's been missing for his Hall of Fame
resume is that MVP trophy or another Super Bowl title.
It does feel like right now, like you, you're knocking
on the door for at least one of them two.
So I fully believe he's already in that conversation, he's
gonna finish top ten all time in passing, touchdowns, passing yards,
(01:28:48):
pass already just the physical brunt he had to deal
with during his time in Detroit, Like that mentality is
what I look for in a franchise quarterback. He's there.
But yeah, I mean, if you win one of the two, yeah,
one hundred percent, you're I think a Hall of Famer
at this point. I definitely think he siligifies the spot.
Speaker 5 (01:29:04):
He's been great, He's a lot of He's a quarterback
a lot of guys look up to, and he played
in the era with a lot of great quarterbacks. But yeah,
I believe that if the texansn't make it to the
super Bowl, they're in my opinion, I think they're going
to be facing the Rams because while I do believe
the Seahawks and the Rams have the best teams, I
have more faith in Matt Stafford than I do Sam
(01:29:25):
Donald in a playoff game, in a clutch playoff game.
Speaker 3 (01:29:27):
So that was my other point that I took away
from last night is that even though we have given
flak for Sam Donald, the narrative had to change at
least to a certain extent when it came to him,
because remind yourself last season with Minnesota, he goes fifty
to two leads into the playoffs, struggles in the playoff
game in Los Angeles, I mean in Arizona because they
(01:29:49):
couldn't played in LA because of the fires that were
going on. Luise to the Rams, sporadic fashion doesn't even
get a second look with Kevin O'Connell's team gets an
opportunity to go to Seattle, and what was kind of
the storyline, Okay, this is a guy who can play well,
but he can't win the big one. You have two
bad interceptions. I mean, I mean, you had the same
interception that we saw that Baker Mayfield through on Thursday
(01:30:11):
night last week against Atlanta, the under the loss, and
so you're saying to yourself, here is the same story
once again, Sam Arnold. You want to root for him
because if he was in a bad situation and you
were there in Charlotte when he got traded to from
New York and there was kind of this feeling of
all right, it's a rejuvenation. And then he had one
(01:30:32):
game against the Jets and he looked fine, I guess,
and then everything went downhill afterwards, and it was like, Okay,
this guy is probably just a bust. He's no longer
going to be in that same conversation. But now you
win against a team when you're struggling, and pretty much
the story's been written. Like you're halfway through, you're like
you're on paragraph fourteen about why this team is not
(01:30:52):
gonna be good in the playoffs and here he comes
bringing this roster back. They connect with Jacks with a jig,
but you connect big time down the field with Cooper
cumping overtime, you get the two point conversion. And now
you are the reason why, even with the struggles, that
the team is sitting at twelve and three and very
much in the driver's seat for running the NFC in
the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (01:31:12):
Yeah, I mean Sam Darnold, and I think it definitely
helped him, uh to sit back and be on that
forty nine team because when I covered him, he was
making a lot of mistakes and he still tends to
make a lot of mistakes. You can see the talent there,
but it's a lot of the decisions that tend to
cost him and then it compiles over time. And I
think you saw that very much early in his career.
(01:31:34):
I think he still has a tendency to throw a
lot of picks. He needs a good team around him
to be successful.
Speaker 3 (01:31:43):
But I think the interceptions and the turnovers will probably
keep them from the super Bowl, even though they'll be on.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Rams
in their past. So do you think though after last night,
you at least have to somewhat take Seattle seriously because they.
Speaker 5 (01:31:58):
Are still sure three, Sure, they're the second best team
in the entire NFL. They're just they're complete team and
they can beat the Rams. I do think the Rams
give Sam Donald problems, but yeah, you definitely have to
take them seriously.
Speaker 3 (01:32:11):
Okay, but but you do believe that number one is
still a lost angis oh for sure. See that's the
thing that like I want to bring on up is that, like, yeah,
you have the head to heads and like we talked
about this in college football all the time, because you
know when you bring on up, oh, why is this
team in? Why is this team not in? Well, the
head to head has to matter in the NFL. Yeah,
it was a great storyline for Seattle, and I think
that you respect them as an NFC contender. But my
(01:32:33):
opinion has not changed on LA whatsoever. You have arguably
the best weapon in the NFL. You have a good
run game both with Tyron Williams and Blake Korms really
come on strong as a number two. And in my opinion,
you have the MVP. And when you have the MVP
at quarterback, you can drop a game. It happens even
the best of us because it is the NFL. But
I'm still not worried about you. Maybe I worry a
(01:32:55):
little bit about the defense, just enough to say, okay, well,
if you're getting some shootout fashion, the secondary has been
kind of hit and miss. Maybe if you're not able
to get enough pressure, which you're averse coming off of
the edge, you'll be able to win a couple of
your matchups on third down. But I'm still not worried
whatsoever when it comes to I think Los Angeles being
a threat if they are to be the number one seed,
(01:33:15):
an even let they play on the road, I still
feel like, okay, well they be facing off against the
four seed, so who is that gonna be? Philadelphia? Yeah,
you're gonna win by two scores now?
Speaker 9 (01:33:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:33:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:33:24):
I mean even then, their defense was good for much
of the first half. I thought they got tired in
the second half. And they also gave a best special
teams to Teschdown.
Speaker 3 (01:33:31):
So Rashid sha Hee X factor like John Schneider take
a bow for that move. Because of I did not
realize how important he was gonna be. Dude, he has
come on and been such a key element to this
team turn things around. Seattle.
Speaker 5 (01:33:45):
Yeah, I mean they have one of the best special
team junits in the league, and I think that's an
underrated part of what helps the best team to be
the best. I thought it was holding the Texans back
early in the season and they've got they had their
best game specially and Youngina had his best game against
the Cardinals last week. And I think we don't talk
about that enough and and what factors into a good
(01:34:08):
team being a great team.
Speaker 3 (01:34:09):
Okay, right now, if you were to be a betting man,
Texans in the Super Bowl against Seattle, Texans win, you know,
I think they can win. Okay.
Speaker 5 (01:34:23):
I think they could make things difficult for Sam Darnold
with enough time. Okay, I think they have a better
chance of beating the Seahawks than they do.
Speaker 3 (01:34:30):
In the Rams. Okay, because that was my next one.
I have been on a on a tangent all week.
People are mad, It's okay, I will take the flag
for this one. I don't think anybody, if they make
it to the Super Bowl, is beating Los Angeles, including Houston, right,
So I'm not crazy for saying that at all. No,
not at all. Okay, just want to make sure that
I wasn't just going to be the villain of the
(01:34:51):
city of Houston. Because if everybody wants to say Cole
hates the Texans, I don't hate the Texans. I just
view Los Angeles as an elite team. I go as
far to say, Jonathan, the level is, here's tier one,
it's Los Angeles. Yeah, here's tier two. Throw Houston into
that conversation. Buffalo into that conversation, see out onto that
(01:35:12):
conversation if you want to. There is a clear direct
indication that there are far and away one team is
better than everybody else. When they're playing on other piece
and cues, you then have everybody else in tier two.
I absolutely agree.
Speaker 5 (01:35:22):
But I would love to see that matchup between Kamari
and Pooka and Sting and the DeVante Adams part.
Speaker 3 (01:35:29):
Two, because again, that was another thing that was missing,
a lout, like, do you think that if DeVante plays
in that game it ends up being more so what
we were accustomed seeing with that fourteen point win going
into the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5 (01:35:40):
I mean, it's possible, but they the Rams had a
heck of a game offensively even without DeVante Adams, but
there were lows in the fourth quarter that if they
had Davante Adams and not just pooking the court, because
there were times where I thought Nicole was definitely getting
the ball. And if you have Adams, then you you
leave it up to the defense guessings. So probably so.
Speaker 3 (01:36:00):
I mean, you had Xavier Smith of all people, who
was like a seven year player in college as you're
number two last night poking a CoA had twelve catches.
It was very similar to what we just saw with
Trey McBride and Michael Wilson against the Texans. Like you
had a fource feet eighty five, you're getting the ball
into twelve's hands and if he was making place, he
was making place. Yeah, and he was making place. Pooking
(01:36:22):
a coup for all his troubles that week is definitely
a playmaker. I say for Rams fans that were pissed
off at him, he probably won back a couple of
fans for having a big time performance when it came
to Fantasy last night, and Jack Smith and Jigba, thank
you for fighting your way to the end zone and
getting me twenty points because of I was on the
verge of losing my mind. We're in the seven ninety
(01:36:45):
Fantasy Draft I'm number one in the league this year
and playoffs just began. Yeah, I was projected to lose
this week. I'm still projected to lose, but now instead
of it being thirty five to sixty five, it's forty
nine to fifty one because of Jack Smith and Jigba
came on strong in the fourth quarter, So twenty points.
I appreciate you, and I didn't have to play against
Poukinakua last night. All right, the Texans versus the Rams
(01:37:09):
in the Super Bowl? Jonathan and I both agree right
now the Rams are on their owned level. Why can
the Texans beat Los Angeles or even Seattle in the
Super Bowl? Seven one three, two one two five seven ninety.
Get on it on the action, take a quick time
out when we come back. I want to get Jonathan's
thoughts on the NFC in general, and really just kind
of the playoff field, because for the first time in
(01:37:30):
a while outside of Los Angeles feels right open, feels
very much like a yeah, I can see them go
to the playoff? Am I crazy? Am I wrong? Let's
go discuss Morning Drive, Dan and Cole sports Sex seven
ninety coming your way.
Speaker 1 (01:37:43):
Next, Houston. It's You're a home team man, lifelong actions
fan here anytime anywhere. I love your home team. We'll
go to Rock Go. Just tell your smart device Slice
Sports Talk seven ninety on iHeart.
Speaker 3 (01:37:55):
Radio playing Sports Top seven ninety on iHeartRadio. Jonathan and
I were talking about this during the break. I know
that we're going to talk about teams in the NFC
the AFC being wide open, but I have to bring
this up on air. Jonathan, you and I just mentioned
that we both believe Matthew Stafford is a Hall of
Famer if he wins the MVP and he gets to
(01:38:17):
the super Bowl this year. Now hold up, do you
think he saw us to win the Super Bowl to
get in the get in the Hall of Fame or
just go this year? I think it'll be.
Speaker 5 (01:38:24):
Harder if he doesn't win a super Bowl, and I
think that a super Bowl solidifies his spot, absolutely no
doubt so. But I think he still can.
Speaker 3 (01:38:34):
Okay, Philip Rivers, let's have this conversation, because I am
very much a I think Philip Rivers the numbers and
the accolades during the regular season, he belongs in the
Hall of Fame. But you're not sold on it. No,
I'm not sold on it. What is the ultimate goal?
Speaker 9 (01:38:52):
Cool?
Speaker 5 (01:38:52):
The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl? Right, yes,
so how can you give it? This is where me
and you disagree. We agree on a lot of things,
but disagree on this, Like, for me, the ultimate goals
to win Super Bowl. And if you've never even made
it to an AFC championship, how can I give you
a Hall of Fame? You're not a winner in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (01:39:11):
Because and here's the reason why. Because of yes, and
I agree with you to a certain extent, the ultimate
goal is to get the Super Bowl. But there's also
quarterbacks that have been to the Super Bowl that are
absolutely horrendous during the regular season, and they're carried by
their team, and that's part of the reason why they
can say that they can they have a ring at
the end of the day.
Speaker 5 (01:39:29):
Here's the only way I would give somebody a pass, okay,
is if they didn't have a team. And the Chargers
have had teams. Philip Rivers has played with tremendous players,
the Damian Thomas and Antonio Gates, both Hall of Fame players.
It's not like he hasn't been around players, hasn't had
pieces around him.
Speaker 3 (01:39:48):
Okay, But when you're top five and passing yards, and
you're consistently putting up thirty plus touchdowns, and you're leading
your team to the playoff, and also you're consistently finishing
with the passer rating in the top three. Doesn't that
have to at least play some bit of a factor
for you. I had to argue he was stat patting,
So you're so you are saying stat Patti is the
reason why he's.
Speaker 5 (01:40:07):
That's what I'd argue. I mean, if you never won
a big thing, then I can't I can't give it
to me. Are you a conspiracy theorist person?
Speaker 3 (01:40:14):
No, no, ob, definitely not. So you're not on the
page of He got a phone call from somebody that
was in the Hall of Fame committee saying, here's the deal, buddy.
You have good numbers. You haven't done Didley's squad when
it comes to the playoffs. You're kind of an average
quarterback when it comes to your overall record. If Indianapolis
is being serious about calling you right now, you got
(01:40:35):
to come on out of retirement to prove that you
could still got a little bit left in the tank.
Speaker 5 (01:40:38):
I'd argue that it is more likely someone reminded him
that his health benefits were expiring.
Speaker 3 (01:40:45):
So you are to that conversation.
Speaker 5 (01:40:46):
I'm in that conversation, not the Hall of Fame conversation.
To me, I think Philip Rivers said, I gotta pay
for these kids.
Speaker 3 (01:40:54):
Yeah, I've ted I have a football team at home.
By the way, I'm a grandfather now and I'm not
sure that I sure my kids still on my benefits
at this point. So do I have a grandchild. I'm
paying for some of it up blaze and gentlemen, if
I go out swinging like if you go on to
Blaze of Glory like that, I mean to be completely fair,
and this is probably very dark and twisted, but if
(01:41:15):
he were to suffer a life altering injury on the
football field, but going out to Blaze of Glory, does
that play a factory into saying, all right, the man
left it all of it, quite literally left his life
on the field. The least we can do is put
him in the camp at this point now or so
you take the risk to that we can put him
in the charges ring of honor. Is that so that's it? Yeah,
And you can honor him for the Colts, but he's
(01:41:38):
not getting a can Okay, do you know the rules
when it comes to comeback Player of the Year. Uh,
I think you got to play? Is there a number
of games? I do believe you have to play most
of the season. Okay, because if he finishes the year,
and let's just say he brings Indianapolis because they're not
elimited for the playoffs yet, doesn't mean that they're gonna go.
I don't think that they are gonna go. But let's
(01:41:58):
just say that they were to somehow win their next
two games, because not the Texans, because they're gonna lose
because Will Anderson and Neil Hunter are going to eat
a forty four year old Philip Rivers a lot for sure.
But still, if they were to end up winning their
next two games and they beat San Francisco and they
beat Jacksonville, do you not give him the award for
(01:42:19):
come back Player of the Year? Because the man was
It wasn't like he was on the bench. The man
was on the couch. The man was coaching high school football.
They interviewed his wide receiver number one, who just got
a scholarship to place at Troy, Like, are we not
considering that to be the ultimate comeback player of the
year mentality.
Speaker 5 (01:42:38):
Look, I would be impressed if he were to win
these games, but you know who would be the leading
candidate would be Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 3 (01:42:46):
That, to me is probably the right answer right now.
Speaker 5 (01:42:48):
I'd be more I'm more impressed with Christian McAffrey because
I thought, like man, the injuries that he suffered and
the amount of punishment he's taken has been could derail
his career potentially. But he is, you know, the lone
guy that they go to in that offense, and he's
a huge reason why the forty nine ers are in
the playoff race.
Speaker 3 (01:43:08):
All right. So speaking of which, is that the quietest
ten win team in the NFL that we are not
talking about with San Francisco for sure.
Speaker 5 (01:43:14):
I Mean, you know, they've lost everybody on defense and
they've still managed to find a way to win games.
You know, I don't think that they're dangerous in the playoffs,
but the fact that they're even at this point with
one of the better coaching speaks to how good this
coaching staff is.
Speaker 3 (01:43:32):
They're on a four game win streak and that's with
a banged up rock party nobody on the defensive line.
Brandon Ayuk is not played this year, Ricky Piersoll's out again,
Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle are basically hanging on by
pins and needles and duct tape and rubber bands that
are just barely being able to withstand the pressure of
playing in a regular season. Yeah, Like, I mean, I
(01:43:55):
I don't believe that this team is going to be
able to make a run in the playoffs. But at
the same time, I and I was very critical of
Kyle Shane Han coming into the year. I thought he
was an overrated coach. I am sorry, Like I owe
a lot of people apologies this year. Yeah, Like, I
have been a very terrible sports fan with my takes,
and I have to admit that because I don't think
that any other coach besides maybe Kyle Shane Hank could
(01:44:17):
get the job done. Yeah, I mean, they should be
five and whatever.
Speaker 5 (01:44:20):
Having said that, though, the reason why they won't go
far in the playoffs is because he can't rest to
pass her. You got to be able to rest a
pastor in the playoffs, and they can't get any pressure
on quarterbacks right now.
Speaker 3 (01:44:29):
I remember the Texans offensive line was still having that
turnstile when it came to the left guard position. Zeo
Saxon that game, man CJ was eating lunch back there
in the podcast, it was like, all day here, let's
have a tea party sit down. Would you let to
go ahead and join me for a conversation here, Let's
have a philosophical dialogue on what's going on in the world,
on the world outside of sports right now. Oh, I
can throw the football downfield. Cool twenty yard game in
(01:44:51):
Nico Collins. Next, moving on on board, that was the
way that how bad the pass Russ was in that game? Oh?
Speaker 5 (01:44:56):
Absolutely, Like CJ. Stroud wasn't getting touched at all. So
you know, I think that'll keep them from going far
into playoffs. And you know, on the opposite side of
CD Stroud gets protection, he can go crazy.
Speaker 3 (01:45:08):
Seven one three, two, one two, five seven ninety Okay,
teams in the playoff. I want to get your opinion
buy or sell contender pretender, because it feels like at
this point there's a lot of open opportunity in the AFC,
but surprisingly the NFC there feels as if maybe one
or two teams could compete alongside with Los Angeles. You're
(01:45:30):
very knowledgeable when it comes to the NFL. That's why
we have you on the show, Jonathan Alexander. Want to
get your thoughts on what is going to be the
selling point of teams making a run toward the playoff.
That more in the Morning Drive of Dan and Cole
coming up next right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:45:45):
Page down. The Morning Drive continues. Now, now here's Dannan Cole.
Speaker 3 (01:45:53):
Who are legit teams or not? Texans are easily a contender, right,
Like we can just kind of just pencil like right
then in a permanent sharp at this point. Right. Absolutely, Buffalo.
Speaker 5 (01:46:03):
I think they're contenders anytime you got the best quarterback
in the league on your team and you have the
threat of being at home. I mean, they could win
the division over the Patriots if the Patriots lose one
of their final games and the Bills went out, And
I think that makes them arguably the dangerous, most dangerous
team if you're playing in Buffalo in January.
Speaker 3 (01:46:24):
Okay. The thing that I wonder about when it comes
to Buffalo, because they're currently are the sixth seed in
the playoffs, they don't even have the division title yet
over New England, but they got the MVP at quarterback Yeah,
you have the MVP a quarterback. It's kind of like
having the ace in the hole. By the way, no
Joe Burrow, no Patrick Mahomes, no Lamar Jackson. As of
right now, if you were to go play on the
(01:46:45):
playoffs in the first round, you're facing off against Jacksonville.
You then would face off against more than likely Denver.
I think they should be good against Denver. You definitely
would be good against New England because you've already proven
you could play New England. Whoever you face off against
in the AFC Championship. I still feel like, again, you
have Josh Allen, that's the cheek out. Oh, by the way,
you have a running back through this season when he
(01:47:06):
gets over one hundred outside of the one game that
he played on a Thursday night at a n RGY stadium,
Buffalo wins every single time. So you got to feel
pretty confident about that.
Speaker 5 (01:47:15):
Yeah, they got a really good offense. The only thing
about Buffalo is like, for some reason, Demico just has
his number. He just knows how to get I mean
they I think they really know Josh Allen's tenant sees
as a quarterback. They know that he's an off schedule
guy and likes to go to his right, and they've
just dominated him in the two games that Demiko has faced.
Speaker 3 (01:47:35):
So again, he's basically Sam Darnold seen goes when he
faces off against Houston Texas. I mean, probably like the
only team that he's like that. But yes, New England
buy or sell as a contender.
Speaker 5 (01:47:47):
No I sell that. I mean, I love Drake May
and I love what he's done. But I've looked at
their schedule and they've beaten up on a lot of
bad teams this year.
Speaker 3 (01:47:54):
They are the Texans of twenty twenty three. That's not
an insult because of you know what that means. You
have the coach into the building that's supposed to be
the right guy. You got the quarterback. The Milton Williams signing,
I think has proven to be a fabulous edition to
the team. They feel good about where they are Defensively.
You gotta feel good about Stefan Dick's coming on in.
He's lived up to the billing of I think the contract.
(01:48:15):
You're gonna be able to entice a lot of players
to come there next season like Houston did in twenty
twenty four. You're playing a fourth place schedule, bro, Yeah,
I gotta see you beat somebody of consistency.
Speaker 8 (01:48:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:48:26):
Oh, but they beat Buffalo. They beat Buffalo with a
bad offensive line, the a ton of injuries that day.
Sit down, Quiet down. You had a twenty one point
lead last week and you blew it against the same
Buffalo Bills team.
Speaker 5 (01:48:37):
And they've also lost to the Raiders, which was their
first game of the season, but still lost to the Raiders. Yeah,
I like I like the Patriots. I think they have
a good foundation now. But I think whoever they play
in the first round, unless it's the Jaguars, you know
they're gonna probably lose.
Speaker 3 (01:48:56):
If I have to hear about Alabama losing the Florida
State and loss still coming on up as like an
outlier why they do not belong in the playoffs, I
can use that exact same logic for losing to the
Las Vegas Raiders. It's the exact same thing. I don't
care that was round one. You don't lose to a
Raiders scene that sapat and then call yourself a contender.
Speaker 5 (01:49:13):
Jacksonville, Uh, pretender, you know, I just I'm not confident
in Trevor Lawrence. I think they're better, but they also
played a bass schedule.
Speaker 3 (01:49:22):
It's Trevor Lawrence man like, like, this is not yeah,
I've seen this story play on out Like yeah, it's
a cool thing that you know you have a coach
that's in the building and that you feel really good
about Jacobe Myers, which is why you just gave him
an extension, and that you've been able to work without
Travis Hunter. But like, guys, this is Trevor Lawrence for
talking about I've seen the version of him that finds
(01:49:44):
a way to rely on his defense and more specifically
the run game, bailing him out of trouble in the
playoff Travis et and you slow him down defense, you
put up a lot of points against them. Are you
trusting Trevor Lawrence to guide you on back to back
drives down by ten to need you to do a victory?
Yes or no?
Speaker 5 (01:50:01):
No, Like, don't get me wrong, Liam Cohen is a
great coach. Sure, Travis Etn is a good running back.
But when it comes to Trevor Lawrence, there's a blueprint
in stopping Denver.
Speaker 3 (01:50:14):
I believe that at this point last week, with the
win over Green Bay and the way that we saw
them be able to come back in the third quarter.
But more specifically, Bonnicks kind of have in his moment
of where I'm throwing for three hundred yards, I'm trusting
with what the elements are given to me. I'm also
forcing the ball down field. I don't think that they
will win the Super Bowl. I don't think they will
(01:50:34):
go to the Super Bowl, but I do think that
they are at least now in that conversation of being
a contender.
Speaker 5 (01:50:39):
Oh for sure. I think while Bonnicks isn't great, he's
good enough. Like he doesn't make a ton of mistakes.
He's a dual threat quarterback, so he can use his
legs and can pass, and then he has one of
the best offensive minds in the game of coaching him.
Speaker 3 (01:50:53):
Would you say at this point, like, hey, Sean Payton,
stick around for the next decade, because if we have
a quarterback that we know fits the system.
Speaker 5 (01:51:01):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean Sean Payton, his accolades speak for itself,
and you know he hired a great staff. Vance Joseph
is a great defensive coordinator. This defense is elite. Is
to me is the second best defense in the league.
So they're good enough to carry them too.
Speaker 3 (01:51:18):
Behind the Houston Taxi t Yeah, behind the Euston, just
making sure that everyone's on the same page real quickly
before we get on out of here. Pittsburgh Los Angeles
either want to pretender. I either want to contender.
Speaker 5 (01:51:28):
I mean, to me, Baltimore is always dangerous, but I
don't think Pittsburgh is a contender. They'll never be a
contender until they get a franchise quarterback.
Speaker 3 (01:51:37):
The Chicago Bears, they're currently the number two seed in
the NFC. I think of them the same way I
think about the Patriots. Who have you played? Who have
you beaten? New coach? That feels like you've changed the
culture for the long term. I'll see in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5 (01:51:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think they're a rising team, but they've
beaten up on some bad teams too. I actually do
think they can go further than the Patriots, but it
also depends on who they play.
Speaker 3 (01:52:05):
Tampa Bay. Do you believe that they can do anything
in the playoffs? No, they've fallen off so bad, like
it's I'm not convinced that they'll win a division. What
about Philly?
Speaker 5 (01:52:14):
No, I think Philly has too many holes. Jalen Hurst
is too up and down, and I just don't think
that team gets along.
Speaker 3 (01:52:20):
With each other. I put you on the spot right now.
Detroit can they make it to the playoffs? Number one?
But then number two? Can they win playoff games?
Speaker 7 (01:52:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:52:27):
I like Detroit as a as a dark horse team.
So you're still sold that even with the defensive faults
in some bit of an offensive regression with no Ben Johnson,
that they can make a run. Yeah. I think they're
a dangerous team that's gonna be coaching I dandy right,
like the way like you like you play off of
who your head.
Speaker 5 (01:52:42):
Coaches, well coached, tough teams, and they have a running game,
which is important for the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (01:52:46):
San Francisco sitting at ten and four, the quietest ten
and four team that may end up finishing twelve and five,
buying them. No, it feels so weird to say that too,
because if it's like that was the thing that like
everyone brought into the season. It's a four play schedule.
Though the record will be really good, it doesn't even
get buy into them, like like that's the thing about records.
Not every team is playing the exact same schedule. Therefore,
(01:53:08):
sometimes you'll benefit from bolstinging it all up.
Speaker 5 (01:53:10):
Absolutely. I mean, we see that throughout the AFC. But yeah,
they just don't have enough on defense.
Speaker 3 (01:53:15):
Last team, you know the scene very well, the Carolina Panthers,
Bryce Young year three, Dave Canalis year two. There is
a ground game with Rico Dell. I like this roster.
Can they make a noise in the playoffs for starters
didn't even get to the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (01:53:31):
My dad is a frequent watcher of the Carolina Panthers.
He's listened to this show today, So shout out to
my dad. He will tell you that, no, they are
not a continued They are way too up and down
each week.
Speaker 3 (01:53:42):
How do you lose? How do you beat Los Angeles
and then lose to New Orleans? It makes zero sense.
It makes zero sense. But still I do think that
Bryce Young at least gets to one more year to
figure somethings out.
Speaker 5 (01:53:53):
Yeah, yeah, they'll give Bryce another year because he's had
some really good games, but he's also had some really
bad games and he needs to figure that out. I
think he and Dave Canalis are a big reason why
the team is so up and down all the time.
Speaker 3 (01:54:04):
Ted McMillan though, really good player that I cannot wait
to see what he does in your two. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:54:08):
I like Ted McMillan and his his potential. I think
he'll be I don't want to say a superstar, but
I think he'll be one of the better wide receivers
before the end of his career.
Speaker 3 (01:54:17):
Seven one three, two one two five seven ninety Martin
and Angleton, we see you on the guest line. We'll
get to you in the moment. I do want to
talk with Jonathan about something that could happen this offseason
that will change the Texans. Is a name someone we
have to wonder about for a head coaching opportunity. We'll
discuss that has been closed out the nine o'clock hour
or start the nine o'clock hour right here on the
(01:54:38):
Morning Drive with Dan and Cole Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:54:42):
KB Houston atv HD two Houston, The Astross the Rockets,
Rockets as before your home for your home teams. This
is Sports Talk seven ninety and iHeartRadio station Guaranteed Human.
This is the Morning Drive with Dadd and Cole.
Speaker 3 (01:55:09):
Let's go to the phone lines. Martin's been waiting long enough.
Martin and Engleton, good morning. What's up by man.
Speaker 13 (01:55:15):
Triple as a really cool dude to talk to Well,
what I call about is, can someone please explain to me,
uh the timeline rules of when Jordan had to be
signed so no one else would claiming? And and how
how does that work?
Speaker 9 (01:55:33):
Uh?
Speaker 13 (01:55:34):
Who can have first? Uh to claiming? What does it
start with? Uh? The worst record first and then going
on from then? Or how does how do all that work? Please?
Speaker 3 (01:55:49):
Yeah, you're you're on the right track.
Speaker 1 (01:55:51):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (01:55:52):
As far as the timeline, Juir Jordan could have been
called up three times before being put on the raw.
But you know, when you're on the practice squad, any
team can sign you to their fifty three man roster.
And obviously players want to be on a fifty three
man roster versus a practice squad because it gives them
(01:56:14):
guaranteed money. And that was the case with Juar and
the Texans didn't want to risk another team signing Jawar
Jordan to their fifty three man roster and losing him.
Speaker 3 (01:56:24):
I don't blame him, because again, you don't rush for
one hundred yards and then just stick around on the
practice squad. Yeah, that never happens in the likes of
the NFL. It just doesn't. So even if you think
that it's something that could be a possibility. It just
it never happens that way, like and again the role
for him this week. Okay, let's just get this out
of the way. Woody Marks playing yesterday. In your opinion,
(01:56:45):
if I had a guess, I would say he's not.
I wouldn't risk it either because of and we had
a caller earlier in the show bringing up you need
your players at their peak healthy for the playoffs. You're
not getting the first round by You're just not. Either
New England will get it, or we'll get it, or
God forbid, the team that I don't believe in, never
will believe in. You can't convince me otherwise. Jacksonville will
(01:57:06):
get it for some reason. They will find a way
to do it, and then they're losing the second round
and it will be hilarious and we'll all have a
good chuckle because of their a joke of a franchise
and I don't believe in them, and I hate that team.
Regardless you're gonna have to play in that first round.
I'd much rather have a Derek Singley junior who's dealing
with an oblique injury fully rested and good to go,
even for next week against a team that may be
(01:57:28):
able to hold toe to toe with you in Los Angeles,
then against a two win Raiders team. I'd much rather
have Woody marks near at one hundred percent than be
playing in this game to where Okay, he gets five carries.
What if one of those carries he reaggravates his ankle,
He's out for the rest of the season and now
in a race for a division title, even you're out
(01:57:50):
for those two critical games against teams that are fighting
for a playoff spot. Yeah, I mean, and you got
to think about it.
Speaker 5 (01:57:54):
This is probably the longest season he's played in his career,
cause don't play as many games, and he's been the
lead back for probably the last six or seven, and
so he's taken a lot of punishment recently.
Speaker 3 (01:58:07):
I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 5 (01:58:08):
He's coming out of the game for at least one
play in each of the last six games, or at
least it feels like it. So, uh, you know, I
could see them wanting to give him a rest, and
especially with how Juar Jordan played last week.
Speaker 3 (01:58:20):
How about your how about how about this? And this
is something I brought up. Let I brought this up
two weeks ago during Mbawallee not saying he needs to
play a couple of reps. What I will say is
nobody can be mad at him in this city because
if he was the reason why you want against the
Kansa Chiefs, right like, we're past the week one fumble
with Los Angeles because Los Angeles feels like it's probably
(01:58:42):
the most complete team in the NFL right now, right
right absolutely, so, I you know, yeah, I think Dari
definitely got a lot of flak. I often get Twitter
messages about why he's playing, but he's a guy that
they trust and they count on for a lot of
different things. He's their utility player, so he's a solid
vetter and he might not be their best option at
(01:59:03):
running back, but he's a solid better look. I'm not
saying let him play twenty five reps in this game
against Las Vegas. What I am saying is is that
I feel like even Dari Gumbawall and Jerwar Jordan can
make some plays boot scooting and boogie like Brooks and
down on the dance floor instead of a guy like
Nick Chubber what he marks, and you'll still win. Yeah, Like,
I like the thing. I don't think that's so far.
Fetch to say against a team that right now is
(01:59:25):
twenty seventh in red zone defense, is bottom ten in
run defense, is bottom ten in scoring, and bottom five
and third on conversion. Yeah, you should be good enough.
Speaker 5 (01:59:33):
To beat them, right Yeah in the one games last
year with Dari playing a huge role in the several games,
so he has that experience. He's not a scrub just
because he fumbles that one time. A lot of people
talk about their predictability because he's been most passing downs,
but he can mix it up.
Speaker 3 (01:59:49):
Okay. I want to bring this up with you because
if they are going to be I think probably six
maybe seven head coaching openings at the end of the year,
we already know that you already have the job of
him for the Titans. The Giants is open. I think
at this point to a getting benched Mike signaled the
end of the era for Mike McDaniels times. Jonathan Cannon
(02:00:11):
out in Arizona's probably opening up. There's a few others,
Zach Taylor with Cincinnati opening on up. When you look
at right now names that are made available, do you
think that Matt Burker is going to get at least
a conversation of being a name to be floated around.
Now that he's been calling play defensively, I think it's possible.
Speaker 5 (02:00:33):
That he could get a gig as a or people
will inquire him about the defensive play caller full time.
I mean, he's doing that now, so I'd be inclined
to believe that he wouldn't leave, especially given how this
defense is playing. I think he would probably need another
subsame year a good year for people to call him
(02:00:53):
for head coaching jobs. But I think he's gotten probably
what he wanted to do and call him the plays,
and I think he set up right now, you know,
to stay here. But in the future, you know, if
he continues to have success, yeah, teams will call.
Speaker 3 (02:01:06):
So this season, not yet next season. Still a defense
that ranks top five and almost every single category, you
think it's time to have that conversation because of he
has been probably the most unsung hero. And the reason
that we say that is because so many people think
about Demiko being a defensive minded coach. He wants to
have a say, but Dimgo kinda took his foot off
(02:01:26):
the gas and said, here, you run the car, you
run the defense. I'll have an input but I need
to be able to focus more in on the team
in general. And so far this season again number one
in total yards allowed, number one in scoring, number three
in run defense in the league, and currently number four
in pass defense in the league. Yeah, I mean, like
that's a tribute to what he's been able to see
(02:01:48):
and he's been at least signaling these are things that
we have got to change. And you trust me enough
to be able to make the call, and I kind
of get to have the veto over you, and so
far the result has been paying the way.
Speaker 5 (02:01:58):
Yeah, I mean, he's done a nomenal job calling plays,
and you know, you look at the opposite side. You know,
offensive guys get credit all the time, even when they're
not calling playoffs. If they're part of offensive staff that
is killing, then they get opportunities all the time. So
Burck should get looks. But I definitely think that they'll
(02:02:20):
probably come next year though. Okay, there's a lot of
people who have been begging to know what the answer
this is. I mean, have you on and you are
close to the best when it comes to conversations going on.
Nick Hales can be back next year, right, you know,
I've reported this in my mail bag. You know, I
haven't had any indication that he he wouldn't come back.
(02:02:43):
Now things go haywire then, you know, I'm sure Demico
will evaluate that, but I haven't had any indication that
he won't come back at this point.
Speaker 3 (02:02:53):
So if you were to say percentage wise coming back,
and I give you the over under seventy percent, you're
taking the old as of right now.
Speaker 5 (02:03:02):
Yeah, because you know they're just right now. Yeah, they're
in a position to go far into the playoffs and
if they make a Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (02:03:08):
Why would you fire Kelly at them? If you go
to the AFC Championship for the first time in franchise history,
why are you letting go of anybody on the coaching
staff unless they get a promotion, exactly like Gerrod Johnson's like,
everyone's been like, well what about him? You know, we
could be at the play card You're right, he very
well could be a play caller next season with a
new team when they hire a first year head coach
and they're looking for an offense coordinator. Yeah, that makes
(02:03:30):
some sense. But I'm not firing an OC because if
he has a bad performance in the AFC title game
when we as an organization have never been to the
AFC title game. Yeah, you're behind that partially. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:03:42):
I mean, if they've turned around their offense, Denise, you
get credit. I also believe that there is some factor
in the fact that Nick Keayley is a first time
play caller, and if he continues to get better, then
there's optimism.
Speaker 3 (02:03:56):
There seven one three, two one two five seven ninety
Alexander Cole Thompson triple E. We all probably agreed that
Nick Cayley is gonna be back in twenty twenty six.
So what, in your opinion, is the reason he won't
be back in twenty twenty six. He gets a head
coaching job, he has such a terrible performance down the
stretch that he's fired because if they missed the playoffs.
(02:04:16):
Whatever is on your mind, Brad, we see you on
the phone lines. We'll get to you when we come back.
But Jonathan brought this up to me earlier, and I
want to make sure that we bring this on up.
Rockets lose last night in horrendous fashion, and there is
a reason behind it. There is a name that both
of us have agreed upon. If the Rockets can bring
on in will change the culture for the better. I
(02:04:37):
have no idea how it's going to work, but now
I can't get my mind off of the name. We'll
tell you who that is and more as we go
continue here nine o'clock hour Sports Talks of a ninety
morning Drive with Dan and Cole.
Speaker 1 (02:04:47):
Next, Dan Matthews, Cole Thompson. This is the Morning Drive
with Dan and Cole.
Speaker 3 (02:04:58):
I don't feel good this guy.
Speaker 4 (02:04:59):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (02:05:03):
Let's go to the phone line Brad and Houston. Brad,
good morning. What's on your mind?
Speaker 1 (02:05:06):
Did well?
Speaker 11 (02:05:08):
Since you got a football co host there, I'll stick
in a football with the baseball.
Speaker 4 (02:05:15):
Uh, the football I know they got.
Speaker 11 (02:05:18):
I'm all satisfied with the present team and all. But
in the draft they got six six picks in the
first four rounds. Can you can you please tell me
that they can get at least two O.
Speaker 4 (02:05:31):
Linemen and two D linemen to keep.
Speaker 11 (02:05:34):
The future going, because I think those two positions are
are we get address those for good if we get
at least two.
Speaker 7 (02:05:43):
On each side.
Speaker 11 (02:05:45):
And then my baseball question is how can the Toronto
Blue Jay spend this kind of money? And then we
got excuses here because we're at the threshold this that
I mean, we we have got a few players off
the backup catcher Frambury even though he wasn't getting h
I mean, he's still a guy paid eighteen million.
Speaker 4 (02:06:07):
I mean, you can't tell him you can't get.
Speaker 7 (02:06:09):
One stud pitcher and.
Speaker 1 (02:06:14):
Go from there.
Speaker 11 (02:06:15):
I mean, if Toronto can do it, there's something wrong
with the balance of baseball. I know the Dodgers deffer off,
but then those are my two things.
Speaker 3 (02:06:25):
Appreciate you, brod all Right, we'll get the baseball one
out of the way. Uh, here's the bottom line. It
comes out of TV revenue. The reason why the Dodgers
are able to afford everybody is because of not only
the fact that they defer the money, but they have
such a good TV revenue because they're in a big market.
Like you know, like people want to always wonder what's
the deal with the big market teams being able to
spend H. Well, Philadelphia has a great television distribution, Toronto
(02:06:48):
has a big television distribution, Seattle, New York, Boston, all
these teams are able to bring in the money and
the revenue that allows them to be able to spend
because of there is no salary cap, so you get it.
Basef of what you get in distribution. So like it
makes sense that why Toronto does it because it's the
only baseball team in Canada. It's the only one. Like, yeah,
(02:07:09):
they're gonna be a little bit more popular like TSN,
like everyone was like talking about like when it was
on Fox. It's like, okay, well Fox is hosting is
hosting the World Series. Well, the reason why when you
look at it internationally as the most popular World Series
in the last two decades is because of TSN had
its own ratings that would go out to Los Angeles
and then have to travel back to Toronto. Oh and
(02:07:30):
by the way, they had to do that on a
consistent basis throughout the entire playoffs. Yeah, so it makes
sense and why you have to spend that type of money. Okay,
now onto the football question. What do you think about
the Texans draft? Like, if you were to be Nick
Cassio right now, and you do have that second round
pick from Washington and the Lamy Tunsil trade, and now
that's looking more and more like it's gonna be a
top forty pick the only offensive or defensive line first.
Speaker 5 (02:07:54):
Well, all right, so here's where I have read of
you because I don't know who who the top guys
are yet. I haven't done my research on the top
guys yet, but I do know that the Texans or not.
I don't know this for sure, but I would assume,
you know, based on their needs, that they're going to
address defensive tackle, guard, and probably running back within the
(02:08:18):
first three rounds.
Speaker 3 (02:08:19):
That would be my best I think, what do you
think about safety? Because if you do have Kalen for
another year when he's on his Rickie deal before you
could get up for an extension. So that's one.
Speaker 9 (02:08:29):
But m J.
Speaker 3 (02:08:31):
Sertt was on a one year contract, Jamie Wore's gonna
be off the books next year. You are going to
probably not believe Miles Brian is the long term answer there.
And you do have a nickel defender in Jalen Petree
that I want to keep inside the slot as much
as possible. Yeah, so I think that safety has to
be in that conversation. But maybe you could solve that
(02:08:51):
by bringing in a dude on a one year contract
for your free agency. Yeah. I think that's the most
likely scenario.
Speaker 5 (02:08:57):
I think they like Jalen Reid enough that they would
probably bring in a veteran to compete with Jalen Reid.
Hope that Jalen red wins out the job, which has
happened in the past a lot with the Texans, and
and let that suffice. And then if it doesn't work
out with Jalen Reid or this veteran that they bring in,
(02:09:17):
then they draft the following year or maybe even they
get somebody within the late round.
Speaker 3 (02:09:21):
Yeah, they do again what they did with the Jalen
Reid fifth round pick. Hey, by the way, now you're
also competing for the job, I think right now at
some point, and this is again this is Demko RAN's
making the pick. I think he will go defense no
matter what, because if that's all, this is going to
be them for a defensive minded coach. And there comes
a level of where it's nice that you have Sheldon
Rankins back and he's been a good fit, and Mario
(02:09:42):
Edwards and Tim Settle. But the one thing that the
Texans have done over the last three years is they've
gone bargain shopping at the defensive tackle spot. At some point,
I feel like that you've got to be able to
bring in a guy who will be a long term
enforcer alongside with Will Anderson. In the trenches. Yeah, and
that makes sense to where at the into the first
round you're not sore on offensive lineman. And I'm gonna
(02:10:03):
be completely transparent, dude, I'm not trusting Nick Cassario when
it comes to offensive lineman entirely, So I trust him
to lay the defensive tackle more. I feel like that's
the right pick when you're going around one.
Speaker 5 (02:10:14):
Yeah, and I've reported this a few times, but the
Texans have tried to get a defensive tackle in the
last two drafts and then have just been unsuccessful at it.
Two years ago they were looking at Michael Hall and
what's the guy who went to Washington who had the
vender in mathis or No, no defensive tackle. It was
(02:10:36):
two years ago. He had the injury so he didn't
play at the beginning of the year. Oh it was
a jrews On Newton from Illinois, Yes, noon, Yes, yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:10:44):
They were.
Speaker 5 (02:10:46):
Highly looking at a defensive tackle that year. So I
think they'll continue to pursue that, especially with Tim Settle
being a free agent. I think Mario Edwards has one
more year, Foley, and then you got to re up
on Sheldon rankings.
Speaker 3 (02:11:01):
You're not letting him walk a second time, right, Well,
it just depends on how much money he wants.
Speaker 5 (02:11:05):
He can command more money than he got and and
the Texans have to decide whether they want to pay that.
Speaker 3 (02:11:10):
I don't want to lose him again. He was too
valuable the first time around, and he's so good in
the locker room, and he's such a he's such a
good fit for what you need alongside with Will I
understand in Deafner. So I just can't let him go.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety Jonathan.
Before we get you on out of here, you and
I were talking about this Rockets last night. Embarrassing loss.
There's not even a way to put it. You cannot
(02:11:31):
be up by twenty five points against the worst team
in the Western Conference and then consider yourself a favorite
in the Western Conference by blowing that game and going
to overtime. I can't deal with it, like I'm sorry.
There's no way that you can phrase that. You're in
the same stratosphere as teams like Denver and Oklahoma City
when that happens.
Speaker 5 (02:11:50):
No terrible, terrible, terrible loss. They've got to figure out
something defensively, and we have a guy in mind. Drew
hollow for the Portland Trailblazers. That feels like if they
are to make one swing, perfect fit right.
Speaker 7 (02:12:07):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (02:12:07):
Absolutely, And to me, Drew Hollidays when he's healthy's still
playing at a high level. He's a championship caliber player.
Wanted in twenty twenty four, twenty twenty two, two different teams.
You put him on posey and team's best player. I'm
not saying he shuts down Shi, Gilbris Alexander, but it
(02:12:28):
gives you the ability that you know, it's hard to
put those guys in pick and roll situations because now
they can switch off a lot better. So I'd love him, don't.
I don't know how they make that work financially?
Speaker 3 (02:12:42):
What do you give up?
Speaker 5 (02:12:42):
As the question, I'd give up one of those first
round picks that they have twenty twenty seven from the
Phoenix Suns.
Speaker 3 (02:12:47):
Do you also give up like would you have to
give up like saying na Kogi or something like that,
or do you Because I'm not giving up Reach Chapper
for him. I just I refused to because if I
think that there's still value, I don't think that you're
not giving up Anama Thompson or an Jabari Smith that's
can't be part. I really don't.
Speaker 5 (02:13:03):
I don't necessarily think you have to give up they Whoever,
if they were trading Drew Holliday, they probably want a
younger player, but you might not have to if you
offer them multiple first round picks. But also the Blazers
would have to be selling.
Speaker 3 (02:13:18):
I Blazers right now sit currently with an eleven and
sixteen record. They don't have a head coach because on
what was going on, which I think a lot of
people have forgotten about because the NBA season has gone underway.
But still you get to about February. Now, I'll give
you enough time to figure out what you have A
Dorian Phinney Smith, because I think at some point you
(02:13:38):
will see him. You'll also know at this point who
is Reach Shepherd. Yeah, it still looks the way it
did last night, and you're still seeing the defensive liability
and you're not getting the three in dconsistency from a DFS.
You got to be able to make a move. I
think that we're both in agreement. Portland not a good team.
(02:13:59):
Probably could go Land Holiday great defensively, He's pesky in
the same way that you ge Dylan Brooks, but it
doesn't take away the fact that you are still trusting
that eventually Reachippard will get there. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (02:14:08):
I mean ideally, you know, this is just a dream
kind of scenario. You know, I have no knowledge if
the Rockets what even considered this, but I would love
this for the for that team.
Speaker 3 (02:14:19):
All Right, we'll get you out of here on this
final score Sunday's game Texans Raiders, who wins? White me
phrase that what? What's what? What is the domination of
this game? To where the talking port on Monday morning?
Speaker 5 (02:14:34):
Yeah, I think the Texans will dominate, and make sure
y'all check out our story in the Houston Chronicle coming up.
But I think my prediction was, if I'm not mistaken,
twenty seven to nine. You know, I am giving the
Raiders a little bit too much credit, but I do
think that they'll win by two touchdowns at least.
Speaker 3 (02:14:51):
I think it's gonna be like forty two to nothing.
So there we go, seven seven nine. If you want
to get on in, Jonathan, I appreciate you this morning, brother,
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 9 (02:14:58):
Man.
Speaker 3 (02:14:58):
All right, take quick time out and we come back.
Aaron Wilson, KPRC Sports Talk seven ninety insider for the Texans,
joining us will break down everything that we need to
know about this game and more specifically the Texans run
toward the playoff. All that more coming up next right
here on the Morning Drive with Dan Cole Sports Talk
seven ninety. Next, Hey, it's un three.
Speaker 1 (02:15:19):
Catch every ass game on Sports Talk seven ninety for
the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 3 (02:15:24):
Home of your ash Ros APRC two and Sports Talk
seven ninety. Texans insider Aaron Wilson joins us right now. Aaron,
good morning. Let's start off with the obvious question that
everyone wants to know. Derek Stingley junior, Woody Marks both
on the injury report. Both misspracticed yesterday, got intuition going
in to walk through this afternoon. Are either one of
(02:15:46):
them going to see the field comes Sunday.
Speaker 9 (02:15:49):
Right in the next hour. We'll see if they practice,
and Woody Marx told me he intends to practice, so
we'll see if what he falls through on that and
is out there, and if he does practice, he doesn't
have any setbacks. I would think he'll play on Sunday.
But I think they'll have a division of workload because
Nick Chubb is good to go, and we also what
(02:16:11):
Jaar Jordan can do, but I don't think they shake
it up that much like all of a sudden Jaar
Jordan's leap broggating these guys on the depth chart just
based on one football game. But I anticipate Derek Steeley
Junior to give it a go. As he has said
many times, takes a lot to keep him out of
the game. No sense than anything is real serious with him.
(02:16:31):
One thing that probably is worth watching on Sunday. If
they get to lead, I'm expecting a lot of substitution
to happen.
Speaker 3 (02:16:39):
Okay, I want to get to that point. Actually, so
this is a game to where I and I'm going
to be completely real. We're not breaking down this game.
You and I probably both agree. I think America agrees
that the Texans are going to win. Texas will get
ten wins on the year, there'll be one step closer
to the playoff. Who is a name that you're looking
to see how a bigger role in the second half
that could end up playing a big factor when it
comes to play playoffs.
Speaker 9 (02:17:02):
On the offensive side of the football, Dalton Schultz, because
there's been an expansion of the targets for him and
I think he's capable of that every week. This is
just a choice that they have to make to emphasize
the tight end position, and he's certainly capable of doing
some damage. The guy's had it's flown under the radar.
(02:17:23):
I think some of this Toos because he's not a
big self promoter at all. He doesn't really do a
lot of interviews, kind of reluctant labell chat. He's very
good and very insightful when he does talk, but he's
not out there pumping himself up and he doesn't really.
Speaker 3 (02:17:36):
Look for that.
Speaker 9 (02:17:36):
But I think Dalden Schultz has quietly had a really
commendable season. And then on defense, there's a couple of
guys that they don't get a lot of love, but
Henry Toteau and Toma Tigee. You know, yeah, there's been
a lot of praising dmko Ryans, but I still don't
think there's a lot of awareness about him around the league.
But those guys kinda fly under the radar a little bit.
Toto has played some very good football, had kind of
(02:17:59):
a rough start to year, say much better lately.
Speaker 3 (02:18:01):
Sports Talk seven ninety NFL insider Aaron Wilson also our
KPRC joins us right here on the morning drive Sports
Talk seven ninety Aaron Demiko Ryans as an opportunity to
be the fastest coach in franchise history to get to
thirty wins. Texans went on Sunday, they have an opportunity
to get to twelve wins, would be the most since
the Gary Kubiak era if they are to win on out.
(02:18:22):
When I bring this up to you, I think it's
a hot take, but I also think that there's some
validity behind it. If the Texans already gets twelve wins
this year, has Demiko solidified himself as the best coach
in franchise history?
Speaker 4 (02:18:36):
Yet?
Speaker 9 (02:18:38):
You know, I think that's the title is going to
go to the coach that takes them somewhere they haven't
been before, and that's the aph Championship game. Well, once
he does that, he will edge out Garry Kubiak, his
former coach. I think that's the real marking point for
being the best is taking this where they have been
(02:18:59):
and as you guys know, they're owing six all time
in the divisional round. So that next step, and I
think that's when you can say, by any measure that
he's the best coach they've had, the most successful coach
they've had, and I think ultimately, you know, for coaches,
wins and losses, that's what distinguishes them the most, not
(02:19:20):
just the intangibles and the newness of this. You know,
back when Gary was here. They have some good seasons.
They have some good football players. I would cover a
lot of those games against the Texans when I was
covering the Baltimore Ravens. But I think that this era
has the potential to go much higher than the Kubiak era.
But until they do it, it's potential, and I think
(02:19:43):
they're right within striking distance. They're close.
Speaker 3 (02:19:45):
Okay. So the thing that I threw out this year
is that, like the Texans, I don't know if this
is the best thing that they've ever had. What I
will say is this is the first time I felt
confident that they are going to go on a run
in the playoffs. You feel like that everything is still
ahead of them. They're playing with fire right now. They're
hot when it comes to the defensive side. They figured
out an idaddy on offense. The fact that you don't
have a Lamar Jackson in the playoffs, the fact that
(02:20:07):
you don't have a Joe Burrow in the playoffs, No
Patrick Mahomes, and it does feel like it's Buffalo season
only because if they have an MVP quarterback, that's the
only thing standing in your way. Should that give you
a sense of confidence that again, we've never seen this
team make a run towards the conference championship. As long
as they aren't having the self inflicted wounds, they should
(02:20:28):
find themselves in that category of maybe playing all the
way up until the last week of the regular of
the postseason.
Speaker 6 (02:20:34):
I agree.
Speaker 9 (02:20:35):
Yeah, cool, there's no reason for there to be afraid
of any of these teams. That includes the Broncos, the Patriots,
and the Buffalo Bills. They've already beaten the Bills and
they can do it again with the Broncos. They were
in that football game. CJ. Stroud got knocked out of
the game with a concussion and then you know Patriots,
they are a new team this year with Mike Rabel.
(02:20:57):
They've definitely made some improvements. We saw what they did
last year against Drake May, but that was his rookie year.
It's a different Drake May, so that is a bit
of an unknown when it comes to new England and
you know they have Triga on Henderson. There's some changes
there in New England. Some I think obviously more inspired
football team with Rabel's coaching style. But these other teams,
I mean, I don't think it's gonna be afraid. I
(02:21:19):
mean they have a great defense. Nobody really wants to
play the Texans. They're the most dangerous defense in the NFL.
And the offense, they're getting it done a little bit
workmen like fashion, but certainly they're putting up points and
c J. Stroud going off script run over the middle,
deserving of the praise he's getting locally and nationally because
(02:21:39):
he's up to his game. He's taking care of the football.
So I look at the Texans of the team. It's
peaking at the right time here in December and has
a chance to play some very meaningful football games in January.
You know, it's like to make their's the same as
how they part giveaway. Tom mc nerv was talking about,
you know, the important games and the focus and handmac
aers talking about that. I see it. I think this
(02:22:02):
team definitely on a mission and just the Bible around them.
It's good. You know, we're there every day talking to
these guys, talking with the mcar, with the players in
the locker room, and it's a close team, good camaraderie.
Definitely a team I think it's gonna make some noise
in the playoffs once they get there. They got to
get there and they got to keep it up and
stay focused and take care of business like they we
(02:22:24):
expect them to against Las Vegas Raiders will have two
wins this year. It's me it steels like a team
that's on the cusp of sometime.
Speaker 3 (02:22:31):
Aaron, We're not gonna spend any time talking about this
Las Vegas Raires team. And you know that you know
the NFL as well as anybody else out there. And
that's the thing is that I don't think they would
give you enough credit for being able to speak on
what is the league. So last night we saw two
of the better teams in the NFC, two teams that
beat the Texans in Seattle and Los Angeles go toe
to toe with each other. Overall thoughts on those two teams,
(02:22:52):
do you feel like, just from a broader standpoint, if
the Texans were to go to the Super Bowl, those
would be the two from the NFC that you worry
about the most of being able to hoist up a
Lombardi Trophy and not bring history down to Houston.
Speaker 9 (02:23:05):
Loved that game last night. Watched all of it and
didn't love some of the calls, But other than that,
I loved this game. I thought that, you know, when
they played Seattle Los Angeles, the Texans just weren't quite there.
Especially against Seattle. It was pretty glaring. They weren't playing
very well themselves, and Seattle looked awesome, but la they
(02:23:26):
were in the game, they had some problems. Sure, everybody
has problems with Puka Nakua and Matthew Stafford, but I
did any tough. I don't think they would be the
favorites against either of those teams, obviously having lost to them,
if they did get to the Super Bowl, which is
real far down the road but hard enough to think
about it. I was thinking about this last night. I
was like, I was telling my wife, I said, yeah,
(02:23:47):
those are two teams that the Texans couldn't beat there
on this winning streak. Now, but we were just watching,
you know, watching how great both those teams were playing,
and the play calling and the strategy, and that was
a cool, cool football game. And I mean if you're Amazon,
and you're gonna be pretty happy about that game. That
is the best game I've watched on Thursday night this year.
Speaker 3 (02:24:07):
Aaron Wilson, KPRC News Sports Sucks seven ninety Textans Insider, Aaron,
appreciate the time today. I'll see ye. I'll see you
like a what thirty match or so, because I'll be
at practice. So see what I get there? All right,
I'd be good, all right, seven nine if you watch
im on in all right, here's what we're gonna do
to end the show. Triple Ley and I are going
(02:24:28):
to be in lockstep on not just conversations of smack talking.
When it comes to the tech Alabama versus Oklahoma, Tripley
and I are gonna make our college football play predictions.
We're gonna go through entirely, and we're going to decide
who will be hoisting up the national title. Lock in step,
do not miss. That's how we're gonna close out a
Friday edition of The Morning Drive Sports Sucks seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (02:24:48):
Next back to Cole as the Morning Drive Cruise is off.
Speaker 3 (02:24:56):
Can you put the end of this? Is it gonna
be Alabama is gonna go? Ahea put it this way
that we saw this game.
Speaker 14 (02:25:01):
A couple of weeks ago, Alabama lost to Oklahoma in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama turned the ball over several times in their home stadium.
Am I to believe that Alabama's gonna go up to
Norman in a raucous atmosphere and play flawless free football.
I just find that hard to believe. I feel like Oklahoma.
(02:25:23):
The argument for them is their offense didn't do much
of anything in Tuscaloosa and they still won. What if
their offense does anything tonight, it's advantage Oklahoma. Yeah, look again, Alabama,
they will have to Alabama can win, they will have
to play a near flawless football game.
Speaker 3 (02:25:42):
So when they play a near flawless football game, both
if you're gonna have to ecrown good morning? Yeah, we see.
Just make it sure. All right, let's get this out
of the way, TRIPLEA, You and I, let's make our
college football playoff predictions. We'll go through every single game,
locking on in and at the very end, one of
us will go ahead and reward each other something else
outside of breakfast or six pack of beer. All right,
So Alabama takes on Oklahoma tonight. We already know What's
(02:26:03):
which way each of us are going? All right, Miami
versus Texas A and M tomorrow? Who you got? That's
the one that I haven't scratched my head on, but
I want to. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go with
A and M, so you are gonna leave with them.
I don't think it's gonna be a blowout like some
do envision. I think the A and M is gonna win.
But I'll tell you what, man, if you let Malachai
Tony Cook, he is gonna be able to force feed
(02:26:23):
his way into the end zone on multiple occasions. And
I hate the fact that we're dealing with an eleven
am kick for this game. Like ESPN, you already screwed
up royally when it came to how you want to
go about the selection process. You can't even get the
game times right. Really, we have to have two lane
oh miss JMU and Oregon as the nightcap play. Well,
here's the other thing.
Speaker 14 (02:26:44):
We got two NFL games tomorrow after to night I'm sorry,
jam you organ is going to get their ass kicked
in the ratings and games.
Speaker 3 (02:26:53):
Oh yeah, TNT is really gonna be able to go
toe to toe with NFL network on that one. All right,
do you think that either one of the upsets is
gonna happen between two lane Jmu or jam you No, alright,
so you're saying Oregon, you're also saying almost is gonna win, right, yes,
all right? So Oregon versus Texas Tech. Who you got?
I got Oregon, I got Oregon as well? Okay, Right,
Indiana versus Oklahoma Oklahoma, so you are going with Oklahoma going, yes,
(02:27:16):
I'm Alabama, Sorry Alabama, and congratulates to my dad. Indiana's
winning that one. Georgia versus Ole Miss Georgia. Of course,
Georgia is well. Texas a and vers Ohio State, Oh, Ohio, alright,
so we're both going with the highest You're already jumping
ahead the next week. Yeah, one hundred percent. We're going
through the whole prediction, all right, final one, Oregon versus Oklahoma,
give me the Sooners. Sorry, Oregon's Oregon's beating Indiana and
(02:27:40):
that one for me. Ohio State versus Georgia. Okay, alright, No,
Ohio savers Georgia. Okay, who you got Ohio, say you're Georgia.
Give me Georgia Georgia as well. So you got the
Georgia and Oklahoma in the National Championship. Yes, and I
got Georgia, got Georgia's beaten Oregon in the National Championship.
That's how it's gonna go. That is how the show goes. Tripley,
(02:28:01):
thank you for producing. You can stick around if you
want to. It's it's your building anyway. Special thanks johnth
and Alexander Special thanks to Aaron Wilson for joining us today.
Damn Matthews back Monday, Cole Thompson back Monday, Texans victory,
Rockets victory, and we hope so Alabama victory. Yeah, that's
gonna happen for TRIPLEY. I am Cole Thompson Morning Drive
(02:28:24):
up next to Matt Thomas Show with Nott Ross. Instead,
we have Chris Gordy. We will talk to you in
sixty eight hours.
Speaker 1 (02:28:29):
Peace.
This is the Morning Drive with dadd and Cole.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's no good on the third try and we're going
to overtime. Slides it into Adams who lost the basketball
stolen by Murphy. Murphy right side, Ween get a jam
it down up a pass from Herb Jones to possession
Lee with fifty eight seconds remaining, Adam's a limbound. It's
(00:34):
gonna have to throw the full length of the floor
to mid court.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
For shingoon a gather a launch. It is up and
it is front rim and no good and the Pelicans.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Overcome a twenty five point deficit to upset the Rockets
tonight here in overtime in New Orleans. Final score Pelicans
won thirty three, the Rockets wont twenty eight.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
What was that?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I mean, genuinely, what in the actual bleeping hell was
that last night? One thirty three, one twenty eight finish
as your Houston Rockets twenty five point lead going into
the midway point of the third quarter. Find a way
to lose to the worst team in the Western Conference.
(01:27):
By the way, I haven't even had enough time to
introduce our guest Jonathan m Alexander joining us today right
here in the Morning Drive seven, one, three, two, one two,
five seven to ninety No, Damn Matthews, Cole Thompson, rocket
with you until ten am. Rockets. They find a way
to drop the ball last night Texans. They take the
hard one. I mean they take the floor on Sunday
with an opportunity to get the ten wins. And we
(01:48):
might have seen two teams prove that they belong in
the same conversation for the West, I mean for the
NFC title. All that more on the show, Jonathan, good morning,
my friend, Good morning Cole.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
You know uh, I got love for you from a
bare at six and the one I know you.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Two trust me. When I was trying to come up
with stuff, I was like, who is gonna be willing
to change their entire sleep schedule to hang out with
me for four hours? And I was like, Johann Alexander,
he gives me enough phrase, he's gonna he's gonna at
least throw me a bone one time.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
Absolutely, you know I got you. But this six am,
you gotta be different and wake up this early? Would
would it be in dark outside you?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
It's it's weird, trust me, because if I was doing
afternoons for so long, I don't remember what the sun
looked like for a lot of reasons for starters, because
I'd always wake up and I'd be like, oh, no sun,
no problem solve. And then i would say afterwards, and
by the time that I would leave the building, it
would already be dark outside. So I'm like, oh, okay,
I'm just gonna live in the dark at this point
for the rest of my life. I've accepted my reality
and fate as a person might as well. Man might
(02:43):
as well. Okay, last night, I'm at dinner Kirs and
I She's like, you know what, let's go out because
collegeot ball playoffs starts tonight. Triple A's team is going down.
My team is winning tonight, and she's not gonna see
me for the next like forty eight hours. She's like,
let's let's go spend some time together. You know, quality stuff.
You got you understand why I'm talking out And game's
up and I'm watching the Jordan Pool foul against Alpen
(03:04):
Shingun right before halftime, and I'm watching as they're up
by fourteen points. I'm like, okay, we don't even have
to discuss this tomorrow. We got John that coming on
in we got Texans coverage, a ten wins season on
the horizon. We got a team that right now is
playing like they have house money in the NFC, so
many other things to discuss. This is an afterthought. I mean,
(03:26):
it's the worst team in the Western Conference. This is
a Rockets team that is playing with a lot of
intensity because of they just lost in overtime to a
Denver Nuggets roster to where they felt they got slighted.
So we don't even have to worry about this game. Really,
Sidik Bay dropping season high twenty nine points, scoring twenty
(03:47):
one after halftime, overcoming the biggest deficit in franchise history,
the first time this has happened since two thousand and three,
Herb Jones dropping eighteen, Trey Murphy dropping twenty svan, the
inexcusable defense in the second half, the inability to get
anything rolling offensively, to blow a twenty five point lead,
(04:09):
and to have me frustrated at six o four in
the morning this much. What does this say about you
as an organization? Like for so long I have defended
the Rockets and said this is a team that now
with Katie, should be taking that next step forward. You're
putting them past teams like Los Angeles, and you don't
even think about the Clippers, and you're saying, Okay, that's
(04:30):
a really cute story, san Antonio, that you brought in Wemby,
But you guys are still gonna suck at the end
of the day in Dallas. You're a joke of a franchise.
Nobody cares about you because we got a good foundation
in place. Well, good teams find ways not to blow
twenty five point leads to anybody. Let's just start there.
Really good teams, teams that you believe can actually go
on a run in the playoffs, should not be losing
(04:52):
to the worst team in the NBA that has already
fired its coach and has made it clear we're doing
everything possible to tank for the number one pick.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Also, Zion Williamson not a factor last night, not even
a part of the rotation at any point. That's the shame. Brother.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
It was bad.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
But you know, to me, it speaks to some flaws
in this team. And number one, they're not the same
defensive team that they were last year, and obviously losing
Dylan Brooks Hurt said, I think KD is still a
solid defender, but they definitely didn't play any defense last night,
and this is supposed to be a staple of em
Udoka's teams, and they just let the Pelicans to shoot
(05:33):
all these threes scoring transition. I didn't see any stops
now obviously, Well, what I believe in is one thing
is Reece Shepherd's a little bit of a defensive liability.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Oh at this point, I think it's clear. Listen, you're
out there for one thing, shooting threes and being able
to go ahead and facilitate the ball. That's about it.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Yeah, And I think that hurts the Rockets, and it
was a huge reason obviously why they lost to the
NBA's worst team in the Western Conference. It's a shame
that it happened, but it shows them that they got
to fix these flaws that they got because it's not
going to help them win a championship this year.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Going on a thirty six to twenty run to end
the fourth quarter, incredible performance from Bay from Herb Jones,
you shot thirty one from downtown. You shot sixty seven
percent at the free throw line. That's been an underlying
thing that has really been bothersome to me when it
comes to the Rockets. The last three games they have
shot under seventy five percent when they get the extra
shot off. So to me, it's just an issue like
(06:28):
the little details that you think are supposed to be
kind of a selling point on what makes you one
of the more complete rosters in the NBA, one that
we can trust that can take a team like Oklahoma
City to six, take a team like Denver to seven,
force a couple of really close calls late in games,
and be able to take on over. They're finding ways
at this point to have inexcusable reasons for mediocrity, and
(06:51):
I think that's really been the frustrating part because I
said on Monday, I mean I said on Tuesday after
they went back and they reviewed the film and said, hey,
guys are bad. We missed three blatantly obvious calls that Okay,
certainly you feel like that the officials cost you that
game against Denver in overtime, but you still have to
play twelve minutes of exceptional defense. You still have to
(07:12):
be able to shut down Nikola Jokic when he's trying
to go to the basket but instead takes a fadeaway
step back and drains a three. Like little things like
that you're supposed to be able to handle and the
defense in deliver, and then last night you're up by
double digits. You're putting in backups because if you feel
confident that you're able to coast, you're able to kind
of get a relaxing day, you get to take a
(07:33):
victory flight on back home to Denver, you get to
go face off against a team that you felt slided by.
Now this, I mean, it's little details that go such
a long way to say you're not at the same
level right now as a team like Denver. You're nowhere
near at the same level as a team like Oklahoma City.
And there's a reason of doubt that this organization at
where it was last night specifically, is going to be
(07:55):
able to turn the tides to where we view you
as a legitimate threat to go on a run on
the Western Conference.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
Yeah, I mean, you brought up a great point within
their You know, I certainly think that the Rockets have
the tools to be a team that could go far
in the NBA playoffs, but they're not going to beat
the Oklahoma City Thunder the way they're playing the under.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the most complete team I've
seen since the Golden State Warriors just some few years ago,
(08:22):
just top to bottom, and they've played together. They have
that championship DNA and if the rock the only way
the Rockets beat them is one if they're healthy and
two if they're playing at the defensive level that they
played with last year. They know that they have a
better offense with Kevin Durant. Sengoon is playing a lot
better offensively even I'm and Thompson is playing well, and
(08:44):
they've been shooting better than they were last year. But
you're not going to beat this Thunder team if you're
not good defensively, and I think that is a huge
problem right now. Even then, I don't see them beating
the Thunder. They're that good unless it's be real. At
this moment, I don't know if you're beating a Denver
team in six. I mean, you have questions about what
(09:05):
are you gonna do against San Antonio? And here I
was just a few nights ago hooping and.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Hollering about look at how pathetic of a loss it
was to a team like the New York Knicks that has,
in my opinion, an interim coach kind of taking control
after Tom Thibodau left last season. It doesn't feel like
that they have a good identity outside of an MVP
in Jalen Brudson, and you're getting embarrassed in the NBA Cup.
Well right now, the way that the Rockets looked last night,
(09:29):
it feels like it's a slap in the face to me,
as slap in the face of this city because of
you want to be the best team in the state
of Texas, and on paper you should be. But the
way that you looked in the second half, the inexcusable defense,
the ability to allow the three in d to kind
of hit in the corners for guys who are playing
basically for an opportunity to get traded in February to
(09:51):
go to better organizations. Because this organization knows that it's
not going anywhere. They've openly said, guys, we royally messed
up by not hiring a better coach in the offseason.
We probably need to trade it away, Zion because we
have to hit reset and to lose in this type
of fashion, I mean, this is where the frustration kicks
on in and you go back to the drawing board
(10:11):
and go, what do we need to do? Because of
good teams never find a way to be outscored by
sixteen to a six win roster in the fourth quarter.
That's just embarrassing in an excuse.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
Me, Yeah, I mean, I do think it's easy to
blow past this wins. Say a loss is a loss,
but you do have to look at teams like the
Oklahoma City Thunder who have only lost two games, and
they've lost games of good teams. Uh, you know, the
San Antonio Spurs or team that's rising. You brought up
the Denver Nuggets. They're battle tested and to me, they're
among the top three teams in the Western Conference and
(10:45):
definitely can't beat the Rockets. But you know, you're right
about a lot of those points. They've got to improve
and be a lot better and not lose games like
this because that will hurt you on later in the season.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
We would love to get your inputs. Seven one three
two ninety Rockets lose last night. What is your stance
right now on where Houston is in routes potentially hoisting
up its first NBA title since the nineteen ninety seven
one three two one two five seven ninety. Look, we're
not gonna spend all morning talking about the Rockets. It's depressing.
(11:18):
It's sad. There's so many good things going on in
the world of sports. We got the college football playoffs
starting tonight. We got the Texans looking to get their
tenth win of the season, almost guaranteeing their spot in
colleg football PLAYFF. And and we have we have Jathan
Alexander for the Houston Chronicle joining us. Why are we
not gonna be spending more time talking about NFL, talking
about the Texans, talking about things that are his repertoire.
(11:39):
So we're gonna talk about Rockets one more segment I
want to get into more so what do we expect
from Houston later on this month? But last night proved
that the Rockets are missing one thing.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
What is that?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
We'll explain coming up after the break. Roger will get
to you as well as we're right underwear on the
Morning Drive right here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Ninety Matthews, Cole Thompson. This is the Morning Drive with
Dann and Cole.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
I want to bring this up. We tease this right
before break. The Rockets are missing element. I think it's
clear at this point you don't want to give up
on Reed Shepherd. I think at the offensive points that
he provides and the three point consistency that he has.
It's too valuable to say not a part of our
long term plan. Former number three overall pick guy who
(12:29):
at one point seemed to be figuring out a lot
of the small details that would carry you towards believing
he is a long term focal point. But the Rockets,
I think right now need to get somebody who's a
better facilitator, somebody who can play at the top of
the rim, and somebody that you can trust to be
that game manager as a point guard. The Rockets at
this point, I think need to at least start looking
(12:50):
around the options and see where they can get it.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
For the one, yeah, absolutely, because I think there's two
things with Ree Shepherd. Like I do think he could
be a really good six man, but he's a liability
on defense right now, and you can't put him in
late in the fourth quarter when you play teams like
the Oklahoma City Thunder, they're gonna get him in picking
rolls and try to expose him. And he's got to
improve his defense, but detect. I mean, the Rockets don't
(13:14):
have time to wait, like their championship window. Are these
next two or three years in particular, while KD is
still at the top of his game. So you know,
I do believe if they don't believe that they'll get
fred Van Fleet back before the end of the season,
I do think they got to consider getting a starting
caliber maybe not a star, but a starting caliber point
(13:37):
guard who can defend, who.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Can shoot, and can distribute the basketball. I think that
that's kind of where this whole problem starts, is that
you believe that from a standpoint of just being able
to set the tempo early on a game, spread would
have been able to play that role. I think a
lot of people understood his time as being a full
thirty five minute guy was probably over, but you still
(13:59):
wanted someone to be a to kind of let the
notion be set, here's how we're gonna play tonight. You
don't have that right now. The problem is also you
don't know when he's coming back. You may be lucky
to see him for the start of the playoffs, you
may be lucky to see him at the end of
the year. That's not good enough when you have a
team that right now is starting to flail in a
lot of areas. That probably is being a hindrance toward
(14:21):
their success, and it's going to hurt them when it
comes to the seeding standpoint, because there are some things
that you can just control. Last season, you were the
two seed. Unfortunately, when you were the two seed, you
went up against a team that you just can't get
pass in Golden State anybody else. I think you win
that first round with Dylan Brooks and Jalen Green. I agree,
but right now you can't rely on, Hey, we're gonna
(14:44):
face off against Utah the first round, We're gonna get
a bye, basically taken on Phoenix in the first round.
You have to be able to beat feel content that
you're gonna be able to play with basically anybody that's
out there in the Western Conference and handle business off
and defensively. And you don't have that right now on
the defensive side. When it comes to the point, and
(15:04):
I think that Ama Thompson has done a good job
of filling in his role. There are some things that
are very frustrating about his game, but partially that's just
who he is going into year three. That doesn't mean
that you can just sit by idle and go, well,
we're gonna throw a kogie out there and he'll play
the one on certain at certain points Defensively, we'll figure
it out with Read along the way. Figuring out with
Read along the way is why you're in this position
(15:25):
right now, losing in overtime to Denver. Figuring it out
with Reid and not having a good facilitator is why
you had a blown twenty five point lead last night.
Wasn't the only reason. Alput Chingoun owns the City of
Houston apology for how bad he played in the fourth quarter.
He may Udoka and needs to be able to sit
him down and realize if you want to be the guy,
you have got to be able to be the guy
(15:45):
in the critical moments against terrible teams. But regardless, it's
very clear that there is a reasoning that something is
needing to change for the Rockets if they want to
be able to put themselves right back in the same
conversation alongside Oklahoma City and even not that far I
go Los Angeles and Denver at this point. Yeah, I mean,
both of those teams are playing really well.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
I'm looking at Denver has a twenty to six record
and they've been playing really well all season. So the
Rockets are gonna have to turn it up if they
want to catch those teams, and you don't want to
be you don't want to have a number four, number
five seed because number one, that's gonna be a tough
game that you play whoever you're playing, and number two,
that second round is gonna be the thunder, and you
(16:25):
want to avoid the thunder as long as possible to
the NBA Finals. So Rockets definitely got to turn it up.
They definitely got to figure out what they're gonna do
at point guard. Find somebody who can really play good defense,
can distribute the ball. I just don't think it's a
natural You know, he's played point guard before, but I
just don't think it's a natural role for Amen Thompson.
I think he's better off ball slasher. Definitely get guard
(16:50):
the one, but to me, it's not the perfect fit
with him running the point guard.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
So you would say better as a two at this point.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Yeah, And that's what he played in his first what
one or two years and uh first two years in
the league, so uh, I think that's what he's used to,
is taking time to get adjusted to it. And you know,
I don't I don't even think they expected him to
do it this year. You know, fred Vin Fleet's injury
just kind of happened out of know, you're out of nowhere.
So I think you need time to prepare, like a
(17:17):
full offseason to prepare for that move. And and it's
it's unfortunate that he was put in that situation. I
don't I don't totally blame him.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Do the Rockets need a point guard to feel better
about their status in the Western Conference? Seven one, three,
two five, seven ninety. Let's go out to the phone lines, Roger,
what's on your mind? Good morning, my friend, Good morning cool.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
Yes, they do need a guy who can probe the
basketball and and and get it get in and out
of the lane, and and find somebody whenever all that
stuff starts breaking down. I've been I've been saying this
and missing a piece. Now they're gonna be good better
when when uh uh when Starry and uh the Doran
Finny Smith come back whenever that is that was supposed
(18:00):
to have been I guess a week ago, but now
they're saying it's going to be longer. Who knows about that,
but those are two key ingredients that we are missing. Buddy.
Uh So, yeah, somebody you're right, somebody needs to sit
down with with Jabbari Smith as well. Tell them don't
ever ever put the ball on the floor. Man, that's
a that's a turnover waiting to happen.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Don't do it.
Speaker 6 (18:23):
Just stop know your road, don't stay your lane. Ye,
be the turn You're the turnaround jumper guy, be the
corner three guy. Just don't be put on the ball
on the floor guy, at least not right now in
your development. Also, hey man, uh yeah, shang gun, somebody
needs to sit down Yeah, you're right, that guy needs
to be told that. Hey, I don't know. You might
(18:45):
be the man in the international playbro and all that,
but in here, how the hierarchy works is if you
do something in the in the in the postseason, then
you get your foul calls until then, you know, fall
in line, buddy, ball in line. Stop putting picking your
arms up for every play. Stop it, man, you look
like Steve Francis. Don't do it. Stop you know, just
(19:10):
all these little things. And yeah, yeah, I think because
they don't have a guy that can prove the middle
and and and and uh and facilitate kind of messes
them up defensively. Uh, you know, with the rotations. So yeah, man,
you're right, these guys need something or missing and and
times kicking. Man, we're already gonna be Christmas here. That's
(19:30):
when everybody starts, you know, It's when the NBA season
so called starts. So and yeah, I'm just looking moving forward.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Man.
Speaker 6 (19:36):
There's a lot of things we need to clean up.
And I told you we're not that. We're not a
top tier team yet. No way, no how Roger, all right,
I hope, I hope, I hope it works out. Man, Come,
let's go.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
I appreciate you, Roger. He's right. I mean, everyone everyone
talks about how this season truly is underway. When Christmas
rolls around, you gotta match him against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Do you play the way you did last night? You're
not only getting blown out on national television, you're looking
like a bottom half team in the Western Conference in
my opinion, absolutely, my man, Rogers said, Jabari Smith need
to like the rock needle. I love the fact that
(20:11):
he was so confident about Hey, international, dude, mister Appenschinger,
that's cool story, bro. Uh, this is the Rockets. Start
acting like it. Start acting like you're supposed to be
a part of this team. And if we're paying y'
all the top dollars, you better be able to handle
business against the bottom dwellers in the Western Conference.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
You got to man, those are the games you gotta win,
like those are the gimmes you live with, the ones
that you lose against the top teams. You want to
beat those teams, but you gotta win the teams against
the bottom, the bottom dwellers.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Seven one three, two, one two five, seven to ninety.
What will it take for the Rockets to win your
hearts back over Houston, Because right now you are very
much allowed to say the relationship, it's complicated, it is
not fun. Billy, We see you on the other line.
Will get to you after the break. But Texans, there's
history potentially being made this weekend, Jonathan, and it does
(21:00):
involve Amiko Ryans. I have a hot take, and I
want to get your thoughts and now I want to
get the city of Houston thoughts on it and everyone's
thoughts right here in the morning dry Sports Talk seven
ninety coming up next, Hey Sparky from the Astros broadcast team.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Catch every Astros game on Sports Talk seven ninety and iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
App Home of your astros.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Billy and Katie. What's that?
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Billy?
Speaker 8 (21:29):
Hey, good mornicle. So a guy walks up on a
statement pile and he bends down and he goes, yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
It looks like crap.
Speaker 8 (21:37):
He picks it up, he smells like crap. He goes, Oh,
it tastes like crap. No, glad I didn't step in it.
I'm glad I didn't step in that game last night.
Speaker 7 (21:46):
That was crap.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Did you watch any of it?
Speaker 8 (21:48):
And yeah, I mean the first half was very good,
but the fourth quarter what happened?
Speaker 7 (21:59):
Okay, I don't get it.
Speaker 8 (22:02):
And I've been watching this team all year, and I mean,
the the glaring need is right there. It's like, my goodness,
it is like a wart on a beautiful girl's face.
You need a point guard. Last night, what I wanted
was Dylan Brooks, somebody to get out there and play defense,
Somebody to go out there and stop somebody do something
in the fourth quarter to go ahead and get an
(22:22):
ugly win. I'd gladly take an ugly win. But I'm
gonna say this, I'm gonna I want to give Raphael
Stone a Christmas present. I want to give him a
Christmas present. Of Christmas balls.
Speaker 7 (22:34):
I want him to go out and make a bold move.
Speaker 8 (22:39):
Okay, do something bold, Do something that can help this
team win chestnuts.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Right, that's what you want.
Speaker 8 (22:47):
We're roasting on an open fire. Absolutely, yes, do something please.
I love read Shepherd. Okay, coming off the bench, you
got a sixth Man of the Year candidate. Because this
guy is going to be able to hit threes like
nobody's posiness. He's gonna be your Robert or just six
(23:09):
inches shorter. Okay, but uh, you know this, this guy
has got that potential. But his defense and look Timmy
Smith when they were when the Rockets winning championship. Timmy
Smith was not a great defend He was good, but
it was not a great defender. But what he did
was he figured out how to funnel the driving the driver,
(23:29):
the guy who's got the ball, funnel him to a
keeam and Shin Gun has got to assume that role. No,
shan Gun is not a team but he's got to
be there in the middle. You've got to have your
blockers in the middle, and you've got to funnel those
guys to them and in the defensive work through with.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Reege On on the court.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
But you've got to go get a point guard.
Speaker 8 (23:49):
I'm sorry, Van Vlida is not gonna have a c
I text this to Era, I got tweeted this to
you today. He's not gonna have a Christmas miracle. He's
not gone back in January. He's not going to be
back for the playoffs. And even it is, it's seventy
to eighty percent of end Vliet. That's not what you
want against OKC and Denver. Go get a point guard.
Go get somebody who can help this team win. This
(24:11):
right now is smelling like nineteen ninety nine when Scottie
Pippen came in here and things went south on us
on a team that we thought was going to make
one last title run. This isn't the last title run,
but this is an opportunity. You got just what y'all
said two to three years right now to make a run.
They need to do it now. And you can't drag
(24:31):
your feet. You cannot take the assers approach and drag
your feet. Last thing I'll say is this, you can't
win without pitching in baseball. You can win without a
quarterback in football. By the way, we proved both of
those things. And you cannot win without a point guard
in basketball. Have a great day, guys, a great show.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
As always appreciate Billy. I mean, listen, he's right about
one thing. You can't win without a quarterback in football.
You know this as well as I because you were
a part of before you came here. You were living
in Charlotte. You got to see one of the greatest
quarterback runs at least for a twenty fifteen season with
Cam Newton, and you remember what that was like. He's
not wrong. You have to have a facilitator at the top.
You have to if you want to be able to
(25:08):
be consistent. It doesn't matter if you have great play
down low. It doesn't matter if you have exceptional defense
that's able to kind of coast in the second half
of games. If you don't have a guy that can
set up pick and rolls, can set up screens, can
help you be able to drive toward the basket. There
are so many other teams out there that have such
strengths and X factors that that's going to be the
separation between you being legitimately in the conversation of hoisting
(25:31):
up an NBA title or just being a really fun story.
In twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
Yeah, I don't know a team that's won an NBA
Championship that didn't have a good to great point guard.
I mean, and that point guard doesn't even always have
to be a facilitator or a great passer. But if
they're a shot creator and they draw a lot of defenders,
then they open up things for their teammates.
Speaker 9 (25:55):
You know.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
Shai is a good example of that. Yeah, Lshay is
a good example of that. Luka Dancs is a good
example of that. Steph Curry is a great example of that.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Even at thirty six years old, he still is killing it.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
That still is killing it. So you need a point guard.
It's the most important position in basketball. You need a creator,
a shot creator, somebody who can get his teammates going.
And the Rockets just don't have that right now.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
I mean, when you look at last season, especially in
the Eastern Conference, being able to watch what Tyrese Haliburton
did to facilitate everything and then to then utilize his
advantages to be able to win down low, to create
with assists opportunities. That was the separator in the Eastern Conference.
You don't have that right now. And the problem is
is that there are so many teams in the Western
(26:43):
Conference that have at least that stand out at the
top of the rim. You mentioned SGA and end that
you didn't match you with Jamal Murray. He's been playing
out of his mind this year and because of the
way the All Star Game is like easily first first
team ballot for Team Canada in the All Star Game,
he's having a career season. The little things like that
go such a long way, and it's not that. And again,
(27:03):
I think that everyone's been clear here, so don't come
in and could be calling and saying that we disagree
Reach Shepherd's good. Like like we we love Reach Shepherd
as a six man, we don't love him to be
able to be the key facilitator at the top of
the rim, dictating what you're doing with Aman Thompson and
Jabari Smith and shng Goon and KD and then get
involved with Josha Kogi and then when he gets back
(27:24):
fully healthy, Dorian Finney Smith with the three and D Like,
that's not what we're saying. We're just saying that there
is a role for him. It is not being that
key element at.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
The top of the room to be able to set
up drives absolutely, and like I said earlier, you know
Reeve Shepperd can hit the three, and that's important. He
can create a shot at times too, but he's a
liability on defense, and E may can't afford to have
him on the floor in critical minutes when you're going
up against another point guard led team, because they're going
(27:54):
to put him in pick and roll and they have
him as a mismatch on their best offensive player and
and that player is gonna score every time. Uh So
they definitely need another guy, and a guy who cannot
only create buckets for himself and his teammates, but a
guy who can defend as well and not be a
(28:14):
liability on defense.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
I don't know what we're gonna see come Saturday when
the Rockets take on the Nuggets, but you can listen
to it right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. What
is it going to take for you to fall back
in love with the Rockets as a threat in the
Western Conference? Seven one three, two one two five seven
to ninety. But Java I did tease this. Demiko Ryans
is a shot to get his tenth win of the
twenty twenty five season against the Las Vegas Raiers. This weekend. Okay,
(28:36):
let's stop. Demiko Ryans will get his tenth win of
the regular season against Las Vegas Raateers on Sunday. Am
I crazy to say that? No, You're not crazy? I
mean it has to happen.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
I mean the Raiders really hit bottom last week when
they had only seventy five total yards against the Eagles.
The Texans defense is hungry, especially after last week's game.
I have no doubt that they'll win this game.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Am I crazy to say that?
Speaker 7 (28:59):
Now?
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Thirty wins in three years and potentially the best season
we've seen since the Gary Kubiak era, Demiko Ryans is
already the greatest Houston Texans coach of all time.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
You know, I got that question, and I did this
week in mail bag for the Houston Chronicle, and I
got that question, and I said, he can be if
he gets further than the division round. If he reaches
the Division A round and loses, then he's just as
good as Bill O'Brien. But yeah, he definitely has the
potential to do that because he's definitely had the most
success up until this point.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
But you're only as good as your playoff wins. So
I'm gonna explain why I think that Demiko with a
win on Sunday and one more win, because if you
have to get to eleven, will already cement himself as
the greatest coach of all time in Texans history. That
more Morning Drive coming up next right here on Sports
Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Back to Danny Cole as the Morning Drive cruises on.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
I believe that that Demiko Ryans is an opportunity to
become the greatest coach of all time in Texans history
with they win on Sunday because of two main elements.
So let's start here. Number one to be three straight
years of double digit victories. We have not seen that
since the Gary Kupiak era. So even when you had
Bill O'Brien here, there were still some laws along the way.
There were still some moments to where it felt like, hey,
(30:18):
there was a little bit of regression. You kind of
got lucky because of the way that the conference, the
division was building on out. Jacksonville sucked, Tennessee wasn't good,
Indianapolis was a shell of itself because they couldn't protect
their quarterback and he eventually retired. So this is going
to be a moment to where it feels like the
new expectation is ten plus wins because of what Demiko
Ryans has. The second thing is, Demiko Ryans is a
(30:40):
defensive coach. The defense is going to have back to
back top ten finishes in total yards per game and
total points per game. The third thing is it feels
as if right now, the way that the offense has
looked over the last month with CJ and with Nick Kayley,
you're gonna have your laws. We can all agree. The
third quarter against Kansas City was terrible, the single worst
(31:00):
quarter I have seen all season from a play calling
standpoint for a guy who has been at least here
for fifteen games. But to be able to respond in
the way that you did, and to be able to
not lose morale with starting a quarterback in Davis Mills
and to rally this team, to me, that speaks leadership standpoint.
Demiko will be the fastest coach to thirty wins in
(31:22):
franchise history. A win on Sunday almost guarantees that you're
going to the playoff again, even if you don't win
the division. And it does feel like, as of right now,
is there a team that you really think in the
AFC just neutral field, not in terms of you gotta
go play in Buffalo or you gotta go play at Baltimore,
just neutral field that the Texans can't handle you out
(31:42):
on that together. I've never felt that way about a
Texans team before, which is why I believe that Demico
Ryance has earned the title of goat when it comes
to Houston.
Speaker 6 (31:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:51):
So I want to preface this by saying I do
believe that Demico will become the best Texans.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Coach or not yet time, but eventually he's gonna go.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Yes, I believe he'll eventually get there, but I can't
say this until he wins more than one playoff game.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Haven't said that. I think that's gonna happen. Okay.
Speaker 5 (32:13):
I think the Texans are built to go deep into
the playoffs. That defense is the best in the NFL,
and I think that there's optimism for the offense.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
CJ.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Stroud is playing very well, as you said, had one
of his best performance since last week. Nick Cayley's offense
is growing. It hasn't been great, but it's getting better
in the offense, and it starts with that offensive line.
They found their best five and as long as they
can clean up the penalties. If they can get a
(32:46):
running game going, then they have the ingredients to get
to a Super Bowl. So yes, while I believe Demico
will ultimately end up being the greatest coaching and possibly
starting this year, I still want to wait and to
see if that happens.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
So a out of curiosity, do you say for that
to come true, they have to make it to the
Super Bowl or let's just say that they go play
in the AFC Championship Game. Yeah, something that the franchise
has never seen before, and it's two decade long history.
They finally able to get over the hump of winning
a divisional round game, which in itself would be a
massive win I think for Jamico's status, but also just
(33:25):
for the Texans long term. Is that good enough at
that point to say, all right, the due deserve his
flowers and he is easily the greatest of all time.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (33:32):
If they begets an AFC Championship game, absolutely, because no
team would have done it at that point. And then
you have three consecutive playoff appearances and then the AFC
Championship Game signals that you're making steps in the right direction.
And we have to point out and I don't think
it gets pointed out enough. This has been the most
impressive season so far in Damico Riya's ten year, considering
(33:56):
how difficult this schedule has been. They've played a first
play schedule for the second time in a row, and
they're on pace to break their wins mark set under
Demico Ryans. To me, that is impressive. I think it's
the second hardest schedule in the entire football league. So yeah,
to me, this Texans team overall, it's a lot tougher.
(34:19):
And then the other thing is there's a lot more
optimism late in the season than we've had at any
point in the previous two years, specifically that second year
where the Texans were literally limping to the finish line.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
And then I've been on record saying this a million times,
and you and I both we go to the games
on Sundays, We've seen the way that plans have fallen
on out. You look at that Bucks game. You gotta
stop on fourth down with Henry Toatoa, you win the matchup. Yeah,
So now you're already sitting up potentially eleven wins going
into this game. If CJ. Garner Johnson isn't playing out
a position against Brian Thomas Junior in Duval. You win
(34:51):
that game. Even with the bad fumble by Nico, even
with the horrendous interception that was caused because of bad
pressure with Arianta Ursri, I still think you win game
because if you're forcing a punt at midfield to give
the ball back to CJ in the offense. The Denver game,
to me is the outlier because if CJ plays in
the second half, I think that you win that one
out right, regardless of what happens with Bonix. You're talking
(35:12):
about a team that right now very well could be
the number one seed if one or two plays goes
their way in the fourth quarter. Yeah, because I think
they still would have lost their Rams because I'm not convinced.
I'm not gonna yeah the game is just like no,
I'm not convinced they would have scored in the red zone.
Did you see the game last sight? Yeah, because that
was like, oh, look at how well the texts a
player brother, Look at how well the Rams have responded
(35:33):
in every single matchup.
Speaker 5 (35:34):
Absolutely, the Rams have improved tremendously. But uh, but yeah,
I mean they were one. They should have beaten the Buccaneers. Absolutely,
they should have beaten the Jaguars. Absolutely uh so, yet
I mean, realistically, uh you know, everybody on that team
was right when they were saying they were one play away.
This was a great potentially a great team if they
(35:55):
could win those close games. And they've learned how to
win close games. It's the reason why they're on the
six game winning streak. And if you really look back,
that moment that really changed things was that fourth quarter
explosion by Davis Mills. He legitimately saved this season because
if they had lost that game, I think they would
have been down and I think that would have snowball
(36:16):
for the rest of the season.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Isn't wrong that I said this season's MVP is Davis Mills.
In the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, that was
the Marquee moment. MVP.
Speaker 5 (36:26):
I don't know, but that was definitely the Marquis moment.
This defense really has carried this team throughout this season, sure,
but very easily. The second that Davis Mills takes a
sack on third down and they're out of field goal
range against Jacksonville. I mean, we're talking about a team
that maybe loses the locker room, it loses morale because
you need to fight back against Tennessee on the road.
A week later, you had the game against Buffalo where
(36:49):
eight total sacks against Josh out seven in the second half,
and this is all behind Davis Mills, who, again, this
is a guy who a lot of people clamored right after.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
That Bill's game. Hey CJ, thanks for nothing, buddy, but
we're gonna rune it out with Ted. And I couldn't
stomach that. But at the same time, it's just like, Okay,
I don't agree with you at all, but I understand
where your brain comes from, because without that fourth quarter comeback,
the Texans are not in this position to begin with.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
Yeah, you know, I heard a lot of that, and
I want to bring up this one point. You know,
I was having a lot of arguments with people who
were clamoring for Davis Mills to start. I mean, the
Texans played a game without Nico Collins and won that game.
Does that mean that they shouldn't play without Nico Collins?
Like exactly, No, Like David Mills did what he was
supposed to do. The defense really stepped up their level.
(37:36):
But Davis Mills did well he's supposed to. He's one
of the better backups in the league. He can win
games when preparing. But yeah, that that game and that
moment in the fourth quarter was really his marquee was
really the Texans' marquee moment of the season and really
saved their season. And and you know, it just goes
to show how deep this team is and and that
(37:56):
when you need somebody to call on, guys can fill
in when needed.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
So we meet in the middle and say, Davis Mills
on MVP. But that was the MVP moment of the
twenty twenty five season to where everything turned in favor
of Houston for the rest of the year. I don't
like the word MVP, but I like marquee moment, So
marquee moment MVPCE the defense this in general like like
a pick a player, it's one hundred percent of the defense.
I actually do want to pick your brain on this
(38:20):
because you wrote an incredible article this past week on
one of the key players of this defense and arguably,
in my opinion, the most slept on player probably in
the NFL this season. I want to discuss that. I
want to discuss what to expect moving forward in the
AFC because I haven't picked your brain on this. The
Texans feel like that they're on a collision course to
make history this year simply because of the matchups. But
(38:43):
there are some teams that have better records. Does that
mean that they're better than the Texans? Seven one three,
two one two five, seven to ninety Does a record
define who you are as a program in the AFC
one hour down Houston ATVs EHD to Houston.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
The astro editor expect that and the Rockets. Sports Talk
seven ninety your home for your home teams, an iHeartRadio
station guaranteed Youhman, This is the Morning Drive with Dann
and Cole.
Speaker 3 (39:23):
So Texans Defense. We talked about being the MVP of
the season and a pick a name, and you're probably right,
like Tommy Togi, I, dude, from a national perspective, no
respect whatsoever. I think that when you talk about Aziz
al Shaier and what he's been accomplishing this year from
a leadership standpoint, stud Dereck Singley Junior Elite, Cavari Laster,
I'm gonna get to that point a minute. Oh uh, dog,
(39:46):
straight up, like, change your opinion if you do not
have him in your top ten cornerbacks of twenty twenty five.
That's how well I think he's been playing this year.
Caleb blocks been awesome, but I personally believe in you
wrote about this guy yesterday the unsung hero of the NFL,
and he's been doing it since. Moving close to the
line of scrimmage. What kryptonite does Jalen Petrie have Because
(40:07):
if it feels like, if there is an opportunity for
him to make a play, he's gonna make a play.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
Yeah man, all right, so going he's a Chronicle dot
Com for that story. But you know, Jalen Petrie, after
that twenty twenty three season where he struggled, you know,
Demiko Ryans and his staff and I get into this
in the story. You know, looked at his tape and
saw like he's always around the ball, yeah, like, and
so they thought his best position was moving him from
(40:32):
safety to the nickel cornerback. And because he's so good
against the run and he can cover receivers as well,
and he's shown that. And the thing about Jalen Petrie,
he's so versatile. Now they have him playing both safety
and nickel because well it's not necessity, right, yeah, necessity,
But he's playing well in both areas. But to think
(40:52):
about Jalen that makes him so valuable And spoke to
a lot of people about this. Aside from the fact
that he calls out the offensive plays, uh, he they
don't have to take him off the field at all.
They don't have to match personnel when a team goes
to their you know, whatever they're doing for a run
or whether they go into a formation that is a pass.
(41:14):
They can keep Jalen Pietri on the field because he
can stop the run and he can guard the pass.
And I think that I mean and that obviously gives
them advantage because you don't know what the defense is running.
And I think he's the secret weapon to Demiko Ryan's
number one defense this season.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
So I remember watching him when he was at Baylor
and he was playing in Dave Randa's system as the
star and he won Big twelve Defensive Player of the Year.
And what was the thing that everybody talked about with him?
Hard hitter, plays the run, not afraid to tackle. Yeah,
And I remember watching him down to Mobile when he
went to the Singier Bowl that year and they were
running some defense from the Jets. I think it was
Robert Sala's unit, because if there were some similar traits
(41:51):
to where they figured that he would be able to
kind of fit into that safety role, but also probably
play like this, like the big star position or what
they would call the moneybacker, Like how they have a
Tam Buchanan when he was playing for Tim Bay for
a few years, and I remember just watching him be
able to go against running backs and just kill it.
And I kept saying to myself, if the Texans draft him,
(42:14):
please keep him near the line of scrimmage. Like I
get it that you that you want to try him
at safety because of you play a base defense underneath
Lovey Smith, But like, keep him near the line of
scrimmage because if he's so valuable at just playing with
physicality and winning and calling out defensive plays, and he
goes to safety and he has a fine first year.
But I mean, you remember that ye five interceptions, one
(42:36):
hundred and forty seven tackles. But when you have one
hundred and forty seven tackles, this is a safety rather
your defense is hard for it is so bad, like
everyone's like, hey, remember he has one hundred and forty
seven tackles. Why you crap it on the defense because
of a safety should never have more than one hundred
tackles in a season.
Speaker 5 (42:52):
Opposing teams were regularly getting to the second level on them,
like it was because Jalen Petrick and Jonathan Owens at
the times with the last level of.
Speaker 3 (42:58):
Defense, right, And so then Tomko gets in here and
he keep him at safety for a year. But year
two they started to figure out, Hey, this guy's really
good against the run, like he's he's solid in coverage,
Like nobody's gonna say that he's bad in coverage, but
he's better against the run and playing against tight ends
and bigger slot receivers that they would give him credit for. Hey,
(43:21):
wasn't he like a big twelve defensive player of the
year at one point when he was doing this role. Oh,
we should move him down to that spot. Okay, say less.
Guess what happens defensive is playing better. It feels like
that you have more continuity. You feel pretty good about
where you were last season with what Kaylin Block was
doing opposite of Eric Murray for a time being. When
Eric Murray had to come back in I mean not
Eric Murray, I M. J. Stewart had to fill in
(43:42):
on that back end role. Then what you had with
a couple of other players that kind of mixed on
in Jalen Reied kind of filling into that back end role.
It felt like that there was such a harmonious action
to where everyone was lined up in the right place
at the right time, and you weren't having the self
inflicted wounds because of there just finally felt like home
for Jalen. Yeah. I mean, he's just so smart. He
(44:02):
can do many things.
Speaker 5 (44:03):
The other thing is, so the Texans defense plays a
lot of cover three right, and the one weakness really
is up the middle with the linebackers, you know, covering
a lot of the middle of field. But Jalen Petrie
is a guy who's fast, who can cover those guys.
So he takes a lot of way he takes a
lot of those weaknesses out of the equation. And then
(44:25):
like we mentioned earlier, he's really good against the run.
A lot of players and mentioned how he was the
deliverer of the hardest hits save ever taken h Cold
Comment and uh and and Derrick Henry.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
So you know, he can just he can do it all.
Speaker 5 (44:40):
And he gives Demiko Oriyans the flexibility to do a
lot of different things, and when he got hurt last year,
Demiko o Ryans publicly said it it was a gut
punch for him.
Speaker 3 (44:50):
To me, that was the difference about them being able
to face off against Kansas City last season. You had
nobody that could slow down Travis Kelsey. And I'm not
saying that you would have won that game because of
Number one. Officiating was crap. Number two number two, the
offensive line was horrendous in that matchup. By the way,
you've had more conversations with internal people than I ever have.
(45:12):
Can you please tell me what the hell were you
thinking moving Shaq Mason back into guard for that matchup.
Speaker 5 (45:17):
That was probably the most perplexing decision I've seen, and
I think a lot of people on a team question
why that happened. But for some reason, you know that
Texas didn't feel strongly about Juice Scruggs, even though I
thought he played.
Speaker 3 (45:33):
A fine game against each Oge. I did think he
was bad in that match, not even a little bit,
But to me, that was the ultimate deciding factor. Offensive
line was terrible, but again, one hundred and sixteen receiving
yards of Travis Kelsey, you had nobody to guard him
because even Jimmy Ward was out at that point with
the foot injury from the matchup against Kansas City earlier
in the year, so you were on your last leg
of defense when it came to that nickel position this
(45:55):
time around. What happened as he's al Shaer played great,
Jim Peach played great. You're forced an interception in the
fourth quarter when trying to target Travis Kelsey. You are
the reason why Kansas City is now eliminating from the
playoff altogether, even though Los Angeles was the one to
put the nail on the coffin. But still, Jalen Peach
played off his mind in that game do that interception.
(46:15):
I mean, I don't think we give enough credit for
how athletic he is.
Speaker 5 (46:19):
Yeah, I mean he was making all type of plays
that just a lot of just wild plays, and that's
what he's able to do. And he is athletic, extremely athletic,
and I think that helps him and he's underrated in
that aspect, and I think that helps him be the
player he is.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
He has four interceptions on the year, he's top three
on the team in pass breakups, and he's on a
very team friendly contract. Like a lot of the things
that when we nitpick what Nick Cassario does, it goes
back to the same question, why are you trading out
of the first round, Why are you waiting to draft
offensive lineman? Why are you going for the bargain bin motion?
But the contract that he's been giving out the Nico
(46:57):
Collins Steele steal at this point, Jalen peachdal the way
he's playing this season. I mean, he would get the
bank on the open market if they let him go.
And didn't understand that after last year, even with the injury, Hey,
we got to get the Sky locked up long term
him Stingley. You had to move on of Larry Tunsil.
But I'm not complaining at this point because if you
(47:17):
have two foundational pieces that are in lockstep for the
next four years.
Speaker 5 (47:21):
Yeah, I mean Nick Caserio has learned a lot from
his mistakes. I mean not all his contracts have been great.
I mean signing C. J. Gardner Johnson, uh and then
releasing him and then there was one more player that
they released.
Speaker 3 (47:32):
The Shack Mason extension after getting here was crazy. The
Brandon Cooks extension. But was he was he the Brandon
Cooks extension or was that was that Bill.
Speaker 5 (47:43):
No, No Nicks are next okay, extended Brandon Cooks. But
you know a lot of the deals that they have
made have been good. I think they're mixed results, so
you know, he's got to continue that. I think the
coaching staff, though, has has really been the hero and
the players have been really the heroes of this season.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
The other thing, it was the camera Robinson deal that
you were talking about. Yes, the cameras, Oh my god,
because and here's the thing, because like I was so
adamant about the Nick Nick Chubb deal being like a
really smart play because of if he hit a certain metric,
there's five million dollars. If you're getting pro Bowl Nick
Chubb for five million dollars, automatic steal in my opinion, absolutely,
But if you're not getting pro bol Nick Chubb two
(48:24):
point five million dollars for a dude that's going to
be a secondary option, it's bad. It's not a bad
price whatsoever. So you are right, he's made some really
smart deals. The Nico Collins one automatically, the one for
Jalen Peatree automatically. It I even think that with the
what I would consider to be step back year, but
not a bad year, from Derek Singley Junior. Still worth
(48:44):
it because you know what the price is for cornerbacks
these days, and now what we're seeing some of the
moves be made. You want to get ahead of the
curve to make in the highest paid corner You're not
complaining about that, but there is a movie that he
is going to eventually have to make. I think for
another player, and you can't make the move this offseason,
but two years from now, we've got to talk about
how are you going to be able to keep a
player around? Who is that player? I'll explain next. John
(49:07):
and Alexander filling on in for Dan Matthews on The
Morning Drive with Dan and Cole writ here on Sports
Sucks seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
The Morning Drive with d and Cole on Sports Talk
seven ninety Home with the Strolls, Rockets and Houston's best
sports Talk.
Speaker 3 (49:24):
There is no way in hell even if Gino Smith
somehow miraculously looks like the version of himself from Seattle
two years ago. You're winning this football game, and the
Eagles were playing bad up into that point. They were
playing horrible. Like I understand that they have like a
nine to four record and that they very well could
clinch the AFS, I mean the NFC East this weekend.
That does not mean you're a good team. That means
(49:45):
your division sucks.
Speaker 5 (49:46):
Yeah, for sure, absolutely, And the Raiders are just bottom
of the barrel offensively, they're mess. Who knows it might
even be Pete Carroll's last year. You know, I personally
think they should be patient with him in particular, give
in his accolades in history, but their bottom of the
barrel team not going anywhere. If the Texans lose this game,
(50:07):
I will be shocked. I will be absolutely astounded, and
will criticize them heavily in the Houston Chronicle.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
But I don't think that's gonna happen. Okay, So I
want to actually get your point on this, But remember
that the last two years the Texans have lost to
one team. Do you know what is the same common
theme with that team to the same team? No, no, no, no,
the same type of team. Oh the same time. Oh
uh it was Caroline and it was Tennessee. I guess,
two of the worst teams in the league at the time.
(50:37):
They got the number one overall pick and the Texans
lost to both of them. Yeah, there's still is a
scenario where if the Texans were to lose to Las Vegas,
but Las Vegas loses out and the other two teams,
which is Cleveland and New York, win another game. Because
of the strength of schedule, Las Vegas would get the
number one pick. So three straight years of ten wins
(50:58):
seasons for the Texans, three straight years of AFC South
Division titles, three straight years of losing to the team
that gets the number one overall pick. That to me
would be the ultimate signal of guys, I know that
you're right there on knocking on the door. You're not
there yet. No, you would have to say that they
might be cursed if they lose this game. Okay, so
you also agree with me because I'm very much adamant
(51:18):
of I think Pete Carroll, with how much he has
accomplished throughout his NFL career, what he was able to
build out in Seattle, be patient, give him another season,
let him figure out how to write this ship in
some direction to where there's an adult in the room.
Because this is an organization that panics like all the time.
Like I thought that they panicked after the John gruden't hire.
(51:41):
I thought they really panicked when they had Rich Passacia
in the building. They should have just hired him. They
went and they brought in Josh McDaniels. Hated the move,
hated the fact that they brought in another GM that
they never had a lot of faith in. They then
go hire Antonio Peers. They don't give him time to
fix the ship. They bring in a new GM. They say, hey,
Tom Tolusco, best of luck in your FUTUREWN, you're not
the right guy. And now they're bringing John Spytech. And
(52:02):
now they bringing uh, Pete Carroll, and Carrol's earned I
think the accolades to be able to say no, no, no, no, no,
I understand what the fault is. I at least get
one more shot to fix this in the right way.
If Bill Belichick out in Chapel Hill gets to spend
another season ruining that team, you at least deserve to give.
I think Pete Carroll one more season of trying to
(52:24):
fix the team.
Speaker 5 (52:24):
Absolutely, to me, the only time you fire coaches after
one year it should be if there's total dysfunction, if
the if you've lost the locker room. But we can't
totally say that about Pete Carroll. And now obviously he
hired the wrong offensive staff and one that didn't fit
his philosophy.
Speaker 3 (52:42):
So he made a mistake there.
Speaker 5 (52:43):
But I think you if you want to turn this
thing around, you can't totally flip everything all of a sudden.
You gotta stick. You gotta at least trust. You gotta
have some trust in Pete Carroll, and they got to
build a foundation that I don't. I like Elvin, I
like not often. I like Ashton Gentry, but I don't
(53:04):
think he was the right pick because they don't have
the foundation built, Like, they don't have an offensive line,
they don't have anything up front, right. So I think
this year you gotta that first pick. I don't know
you know better about the draft than I do. Sure
if there's a tackle up there, then I think you
gotta get them.
Speaker 3 (53:21):
I mean, there's a guy that's playing the night and
it's probably gonna be a part of a team that
beats up on an Oklahoma roster. I don't know. His
name's Kaden Proctor. He plays left tacker for Alabama. You
probably need to go that way. You gotta get a lot.
I mean, you gotta go big free agency. You gotta
get a new quarterback in that building because Gino Smith.
I understood the reason behind it, but I also was
(53:42):
very much like as soon as they brought in Mike
McDonald to Seattle last year, I kind of thought, Okay,
this is where it all comes crashing. I don't think
it's a Ryan grump thing. I think that Gino Smith
had his moment he was It was like the Ryan
Tannehill effect. Like remember when Tannehill was really really on
point for tesnase See gets a new extension, has the
highest passer rating in the NFL, and then you start
(54:03):
to see regression. It's like, Oh, this is gonna go
downhill really fast. Because he's thirty five years old. I mean, he's.
Speaker 5 (54:09):
Definitely a bridge quarterback, like a solid quarterback with the
right pieces and the right offensive coordinator around him.
Speaker 3 (54:15):
He doesn't have any of that right now, and that's
why he's struggling. Okay, So Chip Kelly was the officieve
coordinator for the Raiders. Yeah, it's really important to break
his name up because I got a lot of flak
from people saying he's coming to Houston. Yeah, he's gonna
be working with Tomko Ryan's They're gonna hire him. You
reported on this, You were very much in the know
about what was going on when it came to this deal.
(54:36):
Was it the right move not to bring him on
in Yeah?
Speaker 5 (54:38):
Oh absolutely, Okay, Yeah, I mean I reported, you know
around the Zoondie or Iron. You know, they put out
feelers for him, indicators of interest, see what he was
looking for, what type of contract he was looking for,
and he wanted to be paid, and ultimately came down
to the Texan was like, you know, we got candidates
of the same caliber. You know, we're not gonna pay
(55:00):
you all his money. And he went on and found
that money with the Raiders, and boy did they They
dodged a bullet. I don't know if he would have
been the guy that they ultimily decided on, but he
was definitely being considered.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
So he was at least one of the finalists that
was up for the job along Sarick.
Speaker 5 (55:14):
He was one of the candidates that they identified as
somebody that they might be interested in. Okay, Like it
didn't get to negotiations, it didn't get to an interview process,
but you know what college coaches is a little bit
different interviewing those guys. But he was definitely somebody they
identified as as a potential guy.
Speaker 3 (55:34):
That they could hire at OC And now right now,
we're not even gonna see Chick Kelly be on the
field at Energy Stadium this weekend. Fourteen and a half
point favorite for the Texans. According to Bett MGM, this
is going to be a game to where I feel
like you could play probably Davis Mills in the fourth
quarter and Sofid And that's not a shot at Davis,
because he's a really good backup. But isn't this like
(55:55):
what you're supposed to do when you're a team that's
hell bent on being considered a favorite in the AFC,
Getting guys like Jawar Jordan Reps, getting guys like CJ. Reps,
making sure that you get a little bit more Jalen
Knowle inside the slot at Christian kirk kntact the day off. Yeah,
I mean yeah.
Speaker 5 (56:10):
And the Texans have largely done a good job of
beating up on the bottom dweller teams. The only team
that they had a close game with that he shouldn't
have a close game with is the Titans. And maybe
you can attribute that to the fact that it's a
divisional opponent, but they've done a great job of beating
up on those teams. And I think they got a
good shot to beat up on the Raiders and then
(56:31):
rest you know, their starters in the fourth quarter. It
also gives me reason to believe why they if if
Derek Singley's not totally healthy, you know, they don't really
have to play him and allow him to rest up
for an all important game against the Chargers Hight.
Speaker 3 (56:44):
Sorry, I brought this up earlier seven two five, seven ninety.
Demiko Ryans is a win away from thirty victories in
three years? Do you believe he has already garnered the
status of goat coach of the Houston Texans. Want to
get your thoughts on that. And I also he's this.
I apologize, I'm very bad at doing this from time
to time. EX player who in two years is going
(57:05):
to be up for a new deal. It's a non
negotiable for me. You have got to resign him. If
you are Nick Casario, I'll explain who we got. Jonathan
Alexander for the Houston Chronicle. Joining us on the Morning
Drive with Dan and Cole right here on Sports Talk
seven ninety. This is Jabari Smith Jafari for three guys,
Stay clutched with the iHeartRadio app here every Rockets game
(57:28):
on Sports Talk seven ninety. We've already talked about the
defense being elite this year. Number one. You could pick
a player and he's probably the MVP, and I probably
am wrong to say that Davis Mills was the MVP.
The turning point is the right way to put it,
as you did. We need to spend more time talking
about from a national perspective, not just Jalen Petree, but
(57:50):
Kamari Laster. Yeah, dude, I mean, dude, I knew he
was going to be a good player. Yeah, he's exceeding
my expectations in year two, absolutely, and he's getting more
of an opportunity. As teams shy away from Derek Singley,
they're gonna have to learn they're gonna have to shy
away from Kamaria Laster too. But yet he is He's
(58:11):
been consistent, He plays with the right technique. He's a
hard worker.
Speaker 5 (58:17):
You know, I was talking to her and mevers as
I was writing a story about how good his defense
and how Farriday could go, and he said, you want
to you know, one of Kamari Leaster's strength is his
ability to tackle. He's probably the best, you know tackling
cornerback in the NFL, and I was looking at his
stats and I think he was number one.
Speaker 6 (58:35):
He was.
Speaker 5 (58:35):
He's definitely number one among all cornerbacks and stuffing to
run and when you have a guy who can play
the run well as well as played really well in coverage.
It's tied with the team league with four interceptions. Yeah,
you have a complete cornerback.
Speaker 3 (58:48):
I think the thing that really shout out about him
is people want to bring up his speed because he
ran like a four six forty, which again I get it.
You want to go talk about cornerback speed, so be it.
The dude plays so much faster when you see him
on the field, and he is great technique. And the
thing about him is that when he came on in
from Georgia. There are some non neg ghostbles you have
(59:11):
when playing for Kirby smart defense. Number One, you have
to be physical. Number two, you have to be willing
to tackle. Number three, you're gonna forfeit tackle. If you're
getting on the field. We're not letting you touch the
field because of Oh, you could make plays in the
back end of a secondary. You can go ahead and
forced turnovers all you want. But if you're not able
to tackle. Congratulations, goosit the bench, go through Repster and practice.
(59:35):
We'll figure out a role for you on special teams.
That's it. And the fact that he came on in
with that mentality, plus you already had a number one cornerback,
you got to feel pretty good about where you were
as an organization at this point.
Speaker 7 (59:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (59:46):
Absolutely. You know he's not afraid of anyone. That tackled
at safety last year against Ane of the Ravens, the
only points the Texans had anyway.
Speaker 3 (59:56):
But uh but yeah, that was huge.
Speaker 5 (59:58):
But he was every think Demiko Ryans was looking for
in a cornerback opposite of Stingley, Like, he has the
exact makeup. A hard worker, an intelligent player, a player
with talent, and you know he loves football every every
time I see him, or especially that first year around
(01:00:18):
the locker room he has that iPad you know, looking
at film like. He's a tireless worker. Comes from a
great family, you know, raised by single mom first few
years of his career, I mean first few years of
its life and his mom got married Dad Kenneth. You know,
they just taught him really great values and he just
(01:00:39):
loves the work. And that's why He's a perfect fit
for this defense.
Speaker 3 (01:00:43):
I still love the fact that he grew up in
Tuscaloosa and had no idea his coach went to Alabama,
which was crazy. That to me still is one of
the funniest moments we have seen of him in his
first two years with the organization. What coach from the PAMA. Yeah,
I didn't know. I didn't know that. That's crazy. I
didn't know. Uh, he's gonna probably be so you brought
the upper Derek Singley Junior. He did practice yesterday. I
don't think you need him for this game. I'm not
(01:01:05):
saying that he won't play. And we've seen the Texans
this year have guys not go through practice on Wednesday
or Thursday. They show up on Friday, they'll go on
the injury report is questionable, and then they'll stop on up.
This is one of those games to where I don't
think that you need Derek Stingley Junior simply because of
you got Brock Bowers, you have Trey Tucker. Trey Tucker
has basically been obsolete since Gino Smith went out. This
(01:01:28):
to me is also a game to where if you
don't have Derek Stingley Junior, if you're a Texans fan,
you got to feel pretty comfortable about having Kamara lost
her cover whoever is the number one in the opposing sideline, right.
Speaker 5 (01:01:38):
Yeah, because Kamari has been dealing with a foot injury,
but he hasn't missed a beat since playing and this
week was the first week since having that injury that
he's practiced on a Thursday, so he's obviously getting a
little bit better. You don't really need Stingley for this
game because they don't have that many weapons on the outside.
(01:02:00):
And the other thing about Stinglely is this is a
reoccurring injury, so you know, the more you can let
this injury rest, you know, the better. And the last
two games could very well be the most important games
of Houston season if the Colts win. And we're talking
about playoff positioning when it comes to a game against
the Chargers too.
Speaker 3 (01:02:20):
But you got to feel pretty good as an organization knowing, Hey,
all pro cornerback, he's missing the game. Yeah, no problem,
we got to do it. On the other side, it's
going to be a pro bowler this year. He's playing
out of his mind. He probably is a top seven
cornerback in the league. This season, and now we got
to pay him. And you know what, I think you
do have to pay him. I think this is a
dude where you may say, Okay, well what about what
(01:02:42):
do we do when it comes to the linebacking position?
What do we do when it comes to the safety spot?
I get that. I'm at this point of where it's like,
if I have Derek Stingley Junior and Kamari Loster and
locks up for the next four years, and I also
got Jalen Peacher at the nickel spot, good luck throwing
deep because you're taking away the deep ball at this point.
Speaker 5 (01:03:02):
Yeah, this is one of the better secondaries we've seen
in a long time since the Legion of boom Uh.
They're going to figure out a way to lock Kamari
Lasted up when his deal comes because you know, they
believe in everything he does and this is gonna be
a deep and really talented secondary for a long time.
Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
The thing is, also he's just perfect to Mike a
Ryan's player, like everything that Demiko has spoken about. And
remember when he when he was being an introductor, when
he was at his introductory press conference and talking about
the non negot supposed to play on my team. It's
just like, okay, Kamaria lost her check check. Like if
you could do a build a player, that would be
the epitome of what you want for to Mike a
(01:03:37):
Ryan's team.
Speaker 5 (01:03:38):
Absolutely. I mean he won that starting position entering training
camp like he was locked. He was basically locking up
Stefan Diggs in in in Otash. So he showed pretty
early on that number one. He's not he's not scared,
and he's gonna work hard, uh, you know, to achieve
the goals that he wants to achieve. And that's everything
Demiko looks for in a player and a good dude
(01:04:00):
at that too.
Speaker 3 (01:04:01):
I remember when everyone was like, oh, he's gonna play
in the nickel, like they're gonna have him as the
slot corner. He'll play like thirty percent of reps. It
took two days. There was like no, no, no, Jeffakuda,
you thanks for coming down here, will find a role
for you in CJ. Henderson some way.
Speaker 2 (01:04:15):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:04:16):
Kamari enjoyed CEB tip. Yeah, enjoyed the title already to
practice in.
Speaker 5 (01:04:21):
Yeah, he's the guy and he and even Kamari he
played some nickel when when Jalen Petrie went out so
you know he has the ability if you have to
do that. But yeah, yeah, he won that job fairly easily.
Speaker 3 (01:04:32):
Texans play against the Raiders this Sunday. Get your thoughts
on this seven one, seven ninety. Go out to the
phone line, Steve. Good morning, Steve, what's on your mind? Dude?
Speaker 10 (01:04:43):
Very good morning guys. You know, I love the confidence,
but I don't know if you guys remember last year,
didn't we go to the Jets and they sucked last year?
Speaker 9 (01:04:52):
And what we do?
Speaker 10 (01:04:53):
We came out of there with a loss, you know.
S Pete Carroll even though the team is bad, still
has a a scheme in his brain and is still
a good coach I think. I mean, look at last night.
Who would have thought that the Pelicans would have bet
beat the Rockets. That was a shocker. I bet people
lost money on that. But I'm hoping that Tomko puts
(01:05:16):
these guys in a frame of mind that this is
a playoff team. You go in there and you play
it as if you're this is the this is a
playoff game.
Speaker 3 (01:05:26):
I mean, we don't need to give these guys any.
Speaker 10 (01:05:28):
Billboard material to to, you know, to to hang their
hat on. Again, I love the confidence and everything, but
we got to play every game like it's a like
it's a playoff game so that.
Speaker 7 (01:05:38):
We can get to the get get to where we
want to get.
Speaker 4 (01:05:41):
And I just I just I just want to say
that have a blessed day.
Speaker 6 (01:05:46):
I'll hang up and listen.
Speaker 3 (01:05:48):
I hear you on that.
Speaker 5 (01:05:50):
But you know, I do think the Texans are treating this, uh,
every game as a playoff game. I mean, look, the
defense was tacked off this week. Yeah, they were ticked
off this week about about their performance against the Cardinals.
You know, they believe that they should be shutting down
every team, no matter what quarterback they're playing, whether that's
Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Jacobe Bissett.
Speaker 3 (01:06:10):
So you know, I think this different.
Speaker 5 (01:06:12):
This team is different than the teams that they've had
last year in the fact that you know, particularly the offense,
the offense is moving in the right direction as opposed
to last year where you had an offense that was
trending the opposite direction with all the different injuries. So
you know, this is why I think me and Cole
have the confidence that detections should take care of business.
(01:06:34):
Along with the fact that the Radiers are an extremely
bad team.
Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
This is a bad team. Like and by the way,
there was at least some bit of traction when you
faced off against Carolina in twenty twenty three. You were
a bad team initially from twenty twenty two rookie quarterbacks,
still learning, still learning. The game against Titans last year
probably the worst loss in the Namika Ryans era, just
because of all the mental mistakes you made. It's your three.
(01:07:00):
Like if you're talking about and I was getting flack
for weeks about saying I still got to see more
from this Textans team before I buy on it, well,
now I'm buying on it. You can't tell me at
this point that you're going to let me down after
I have finally seen the air of my ways I've had.
I've had Larry and Stafford call in every week and say, Cale,
how daring you disrespect this Texans roster. This is not
(01:07:21):
the point. This is not the point of the year
where it's like, guys, if you lose this game, You're
gonna prove all my points Right now, I'm gonna look
like I have even more egg on my face because
if I've been giving you such crap throughout the entire stity,
there's no way that you're this bad to show on it,
like and by the way, Trey McBride's awesome, Like, can
we agree that this is the best tit in the NFL?
(01:07:42):
And if you took him away, you're holding an Arizona
Cardinals team to order. It have been two like like
one hundred and ninety three passing yards and one touchdown.
So it's like like, like, let's call it as is
the dude's elite and you're allowed to have one slip
of performance. But meanwhile, your offen scores on eight consistent
dries out of out of eleven drives in the day,
the reds on offense soty, it's a little bit of work,
(01:08:03):
but we can go ahead and talk about that a lot.
Speaker 1 (01:08:04):
Ye.
Speaker 5 (01:08:04):
Yeah, I just think this is a better built team
than it was. You know, he mentioned the Jets game
and well number one, I think historically uh but Houston, Yeah,
Salid had had uh the offense's numbers, and then again
that Texas offense just wasn't good to me, like they
(01:08:24):
were trending in the wrong direction. They hadn't figured out
that their identity at that point. But I think this
offense is different. It's better. It's moving in the right
It's not great, but it's moving in the right direction.
There's a lot more optimism.
Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
I mean. Plus, the ghost of Jimmy Hoffe is apparently
buried underneath Mett Life Stadium, so you know, maybe just
the Goonies came on out that night. And again, the
Texans have always struggled when they play at matt Life
for some reason. Yeah, most teams find a way to
struggle when they play that way. We see you on
the phone Line's biscuit, We see you, John. We'll get
to you in a minute. Seven two five seven to
ninety Texans taking on the Raiders. Jonathan Alexander and I
(01:08:59):
we both agree this is not going to be a
game to yet to worry about. But if you think
that it is, let us know in the comment section.
Let us know on the phone lines. Take quick time
out when we come back. I want to get Jonathan's
thoughts on what could be the reasoning that the Texans
aren't considered the favorites in the AFC. There's a lot
of teams that I think right now could make a
case Texans certainly belong. In that conversation, what would be
(01:09:20):
the reason that they don't. We'll discuss that more seven
to ninety. Right here, Morning Drive day and Cole sports
exit and I had to come here right next.
Speaker 1 (01:09:29):
They are on Morning Drive. Here's Dan Matthews and Cole Thompson.
Speaker 3 (01:09:36):
Biscuit. Good morning, my friend. What's on your mind? Am I? Dude?
Speaker 4 (01:09:39):
Hey, top in the morning.
Speaker 7 (01:09:40):
My brothers man me.
Speaker 4 (01:09:42):
Let me say this. Man, I'm cold, you know, I'm
just pragmatic type of guy.
Speaker 3 (01:09:48):
Of course I do.
Speaker 4 (01:09:51):
In the history, in the history of the Texas cold.
Speaker 3 (01:09:55):
I'm talking about it a right, we go all the
way back to two right.
Speaker 4 (01:10:01):
All the way back two thousand two. This is the
first time the chance of making a run. And I'm
not saying it's the best team they've had. This is
the first time they have a legitimate chance and making
run the playoffs. And one of the things reasons is
for that, Cole is who you're gonna have to run
up against. Yep, there's no Brady, There's no Manning.
Speaker 6 (01:10:25):
No.
Speaker 4 (01:10:26):
Joe Burrow, no Mahomes, maybe not Lamar. This is they
got a shot this year. And so to your caller earlier,
he talking about, well why would we sit stinger. We
might look no, man. The question is would you rather
have Stingley in week fifteen or would you have to
rather have him healthy in the playoffs? That's the question
(01:10:48):
because we once you get in the playoffs, I think
the key, one of the keys is gonna be who's healthy.
Who's healthy, let's hold and if you got to see
him a week, you know, And now you know co
I work with Petrie's dad, right me? And if dad
work for a year. I remember Jayla when he was
a little kid. That's one of the reasons you know,
(01:11:08):
Jason was gonna place to make the Pro Bowl. But look,
if you have to set out a few games to
be healthy and ready to go when the real bullets
get to flying, this wholebe it. And so that's the
whole thing with the Texas I think, and what and
you asked the question, what could derail them? Well, of
course it's not smart enough points. If they can get
(01:11:31):
twenty four points on the board, they probably can beat anybody.
That's a big gift, though, But I'm just saying this
is a legitimate chance. They can make a run. I
don't care if they got a goat on the road
to Buffalo, or they can make a run this year.
This is the best chance they got.
Speaker 3 (01:11:49):
I appreciate you, Biscuit. I always appreciate your phone calls.
Speaker 11 (01:11:51):
My man.
Speaker 3 (01:11:54):
He's not wrong on one thing. There is no Mahmes.
They're probably there's no borrow. Yeah, they're probably is no Lamar.
You're talking about teams that right now, I still don't
know a lot about New England. You know what they
remind me of twenty twenty through Houston. Yeah, fourth place schedule,
very lucky to be able to get past a couple
of teams. They're probably gonna have a They're going to
(01:12:16):
have a come to cheese moment when it comes to
playoffs against a really good team. Yeah. I don't know
about Denver. I do not believe in Jacksonville. I will
never believe in Jacksonville. I don't care who is their
court coach. I don't care who is their quarterback. It's Jacksonville.
Prove it to me. You haven't, you never will. Chargers
are interesting. Not really sold on them because of their
offense right now. The only thing that and this is
(01:12:38):
why we'll push back, a biscuit. The only reason why
I believe that the Texans would not be able to
make it to the Super Bowl. Is I do worry
about them playing at high Mark Stadium in January cold winter,
negative eleven degree weather. Besides that, if they were to
be able to host Buffalo, you've already kicked the crap
out of Buffalo before. Why am I going to doubt
you at this point? Yeah? I mean, the Patriots haven't
(01:13:00):
beaten anybody this year. They beat the Bills once.
Speaker 5 (01:13:03):
That was a big win, but aside from that there,
you know, their wins have been against low level teams.
Speaker 6 (01:13:09):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:13:10):
You know, I think the Broncos are a good team.
Speaker 5 (01:13:12):
To me, they would give the Texans problems because they're
really good defensively. And then they have even though BNIX
isn't the greatest, they have Sean Payton as an offensive
mine who is experienced. You know, I think the Texans
have a mental edge over the Chargers, whose offense does
not scare me in the slightest bit. So yeah, I mean,
I agree. I think the Texans this is their best
(01:13:33):
chance to make a run. And you have to look
at the teams they've beaten in the strength of their
schedule and where they're at now, this has been impressive.
They're easily one of the strongest teams. I think between
them and the Broncos among the strongest teams. And I
think they definitely, especially if it falls in their favor,
I think they have a great chance to make a run.
Speaker 3 (01:13:55):
I agree with you, Jacksonville. You know, Trevor Lawrence to
me is an if he quarter cool. You threw six
touchdowns last week against the New York Chests. That just
fired the defense coordinator. Yeah, I'm sorry, proven against a
team that has a top five defense. And then we'll
talk seven one three, two one two five seven ninety
John on the Northwest Side, John, Good morning, what's on
(01:14:15):
your mind?
Speaker 7 (01:14:16):
I did?
Speaker 1 (01:14:17):
Hey?
Speaker 7 (01:14:18):
Good morning, Cole Jonathan.
Speaker 9 (01:14:19):
How y'all doing fantastic? Man?
Speaker 7 (01:14:23):
Hey, Jonathan, I've been listening to you for the last
few years, coming on some of behows. I like you input,
I like your knowledge about the Texans and all that. Listen.
This is what I want to ask you and cold Also, look, Cole,
I don't know if you remember I called in a
couple of weeks ago and I said that I would
like to see uh, Nick Kayley and them, you know,
run like a two back set.
Speaker 3 (01:14:46):
You always remember when you called it the show?
Speaker 7 (01:14:48):
Okay, Well, I didn't know because I know a lot
of people called it. But anyway, this previous game, they
brought in several running back. They brought in our Jamaican friend.
I don't want to mess up his name, can't pronounce
it all the time. Whatever, Nick canley send him my
dad for a past five ten yards. They had Woody
(01:15:09):
Marsh in there, they had the young kid they just
brought in. They mixed it up with their running back. Now,
that's how you attack a defense that is a winning
offense right there. You can't be a trick pony that
we've been seeing for years. You want you run one
running back now. I don't know if they stumbled on
(01:15:29):
that because Nick Tubb was hurting because Woody Mark's ankle
and that type of thing. So they had to, you know,
run some a variety of plays for the other running backs.
But my question is, man, Jonathan Cole, do you think
they're gonna continue that?
Speaker 1 (01:15:44):
Man?
Speaker 7 (01:15:44):
I hope they're not gonna go back to one trick pony,
one running back. The guys will do it. But man,
bringing several running back, do you think they're gonna continue this?
Speaker 1 (01:15:52):
Man?
Speaker 7 (01:15:53):
Because if you continue these plays for several running backs, now,
you can beat anybody. I'll hang up in distance, man.
Now I have a good day.
Speaker 3 (01:16:04):
H Right, here's what we're gonna do. Dan's gonna be
our talking point when we come back to quick time out.
Are they going to be a one trick pony? Because
I'll tell you what, John brings up some good points.
And Jerward Jordan, if you had on your Bengo card,
Jerward Jordan was going to be the first running back
for the Houston Texans in twenty twenty five. They hit
the triple digit marker. Brother, I need the lottery numbers.
(01:16:25):
I need to know who is winning the college football playoff.
I need to be able to guarantee that I am
betting the money line over Jonathan and over Triple E,
and over Matt Thomas, and over Chris Gordy and over
everybody here. So are the Texans going to be a
one trick pony offensively running the football? We will discuss
on the morning drop with Dan and Cole right after
(01:16:45):
this on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:16:48):
KDB Houston, KTVHD two Houston. That a Rockets. Sports Talk
seven ninety your home for your home team and iHeartRadio
stations guaranteed human this is the Morning Drive with Dan
(01:17:11):
and Cole.
Speaker 3 (01:17:15):
That, my friends, is a conversation we have got to have.
And the Texans looking to guarantee their third consecutive double
digit win season underneath Damiko Ryans who might be pushing
for the title of goat coach in franchise history seven one, two, five,
seven nine if you want to chime on in. Okay,
So we started out last segment talking about what could
(01:17:36):
be the things that would derail the Texans and a
part that I thought was really important that John brought
on up. This is now an offense that is trusting
its rushing attack outside of being a one trick pony
Jerward Jordan last weekend over one hundred yards. He didn't
have Woody Marks in the entire second half, didn't have
Nick Chubb. Well, this week, it feels like that Nick
Chubb is inching closer to playing in this game. Maybe
(01:17:56):
Woody Mark sits on out, but he mentioned that this
is an offense that is trusting multiple running backs or
is this something that we're gonna see moving forward? Yeah?
All right to me.
Speaker 5 (01:18:06):
I don't think you have to force running backs if
one's not working, but I think it does help to
have multiple running backs who are hitting on all cylinders,
Like you know, Juar Jordan came out of nowhere, but
he gives the Texans a different change up in their offense,
Like he's really good at the outside zone scheme, and
you know, he showed that potential in the preseason, so
(01:18:29):
I definitely think a little bit more of him along
with Woody Marx. Mixing those guys up, I think Nick
Chubb still gives you that experience, still gives you that
that power back. So he's different than both Woody Marks
and Juar Jordan. But Juar is different too, and he's
shown that he can be an explosive player. That fifty
yard run was his only explosive run. He had a
(01:18:50):
couple more for ten yards, and I think he could
be a factor. I think this is the game because
it's likely with William Marx not practicing on when his
his chances of playing on Sunday have dropped because he
didn't practice yesterday. Yeah, he didn't practice Thursday, so his
chances of playing drop some. So you know, if that
(01:19:10):
in fact is the case, then Jerwar Jordan and Nick
Chubb give you an audition to how you want to
uh you know, distribute carries later on down the season
into the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (01:19:19):
Okay, so, and Nick Keyley brought this up earlier this
week when he was meeting with the media talking about
how they always believed that Jawar could figure some things out.
There was a comment that was made, why did you
sign him to the active roster when you could just
kept them on the practice squad because he could have
been elevated one more time before how to make the
active roster, right, Yeah, dude, somebody was picking them off
for yeah, oh for somebody was picking off you don't
(01:19:41):
have one hundred yard gaate and then looking at teams
in the playoffs and say, oh, yeah, we're not gonna
trust it, like it was a flash in the pan moment. Yeah,
you had to sign into the active roster after that game, right, yeah,
I mean teams are looking for running backs. If the
Chiefs were stelling it, and they probably would have signed him.
You know, they went as far as to get Damian
Pierce on their practice quiet. But yet somebody who would
(01:20:04):
have needed a running back would have taken a chance
on Jordan, especially after his one hundred and one yard game.
So the Texans, knowing that Juar deserved it, knowing what
he's capable of, knowing that people have film on him
now and know what he can do, they had to
sign him. The thing that I wonder about with this offense, though,
is that as much as we've seen the pass protection
(01:20:26):
get better, because we have I think that probably the
most underlying trade over the last five weeks is the
pass protection for CJ. Stroud and even Davis has been phenomenal.
When you moved Trent Brown into right tackle, you moved
Titus Howard over to right guard, and you kind of
stabilize your offensive line. The run blocking has been hit
and miss at times, creating openings for both Woody, for
(01:20:46):
Nick Chubb, for Dare, for Jawar Jordan. I think that though,
right now, knowing that you have three different styles of
running backs, one that can move in and short yarded situations,
one that can be beneficial as a pass catcher, and
also moving to the outside, and the moment the speedback
like Jawar, maybe your past I mean, your run blocking
isn't gonna be perfect, but it could do just enough
(01:21:09):
to create a small crease to be able to get
to that second and third level of the defense to
where you are a more balanced offense going into the
final three weeks this season.
Speaker 5 (01:21:16):
Yeah, and balance is important for this team. You can't
put all the pressure on CJ. Shot and they've done
a lot of that at times. And CJ has been
really good in third downs. I think I saw one
stat where he had thrown like seven touchdowns one interception
on third downs. So, but you know, eventually you're gonna
play some really top defenses come playoffs, Chargers really good defense,
(01:21:40):
you know, Broncos really good defense, Patriot solid Bills has
its moments. So you're gonna have to have a balanced team,
keep teams off balance to open up play action pass,
which is where the Texans can thrive. So it's beneficial
that the offensive line really have its best performances here
(01:22:02):
down the stretch.
Speaker 3 (01:22:03):
Is there one player that you're looking forward to seeing
on Sunday, because, like I'm viewing this ass again, Texans,
you play C minus football, You're not only winning, you're
covering that fourteen to a half point spread. That's how
bad I think Las Vegas is right now. So it's
like you're starting to kind of pick and choose. We're
not looking for an elite performance from CJ. We're not
looking for, you know, Nico Collins to drop one hundred
(01:22:24):
and seventy five and two touchdowns, But like, is there
like one player that you really just want to see
maybe kind of honde into their element, Like last week
with JR. War having the one hundred yard game.
Speaker 5 (01:22:34):
Yeah, I mean, like you said, we know we're gonna
get from CJ. We know we're gonna get from Nico
Collins Dalton Schultz, but you know, like we were mentioned earlier,
Jauar Jordan, Like is he, you know, the answer to
their running game? Like they've been solid mixing it up
with Nick Chubb and Winning Mark. They've that those two
have gotten over one hundred yards, but never had a
single rusher had one hundred yards this season which is
(01:22:56):
something they've desperately missed with Joe Mixon. So with Juar
Jordan having that one hundred and one yard game, I'd
love to see if he could do it again. And
maybe he is a guy that you give more carries too,
and maybe he is a guy that gives you that
extra spark on defense, that on offense that you become
a balanced team.
Speaker 3 (01:23:16):
So Juwar Jordan definitely, can I ask you out of
curiosity how much longer do I at the hold out
hope that Jalen Knowle is going to be an X
factor on this offense, because if he's so good when
he gets on the field, but it feels like every
single time that he starts to gain just a little
bit of traction, it's like, Oh, by the way, we
have Christian kirksitting on the sidelines. Oh, Xavier Hudson, we
got to fource feed him the ball. Oh that other
(01:23:37):
wide receiver from Iowa State that we got. Hey, let's
see him get some action. And I'm like, there's gotta
be a moment where you finally give fourteen a shot, right.
Speaker 5 (01:23:44):
Yeah, I mean I would like to see him get
more touches because he's such a dynamic player when the
ball is in his hands. I think he does struggle
at Ryan blocking and that that might be why he's
not on the field as often. But you have seen
his Finally, his reps in the field offensive have gone
up while Christian Kirks have gone down some. They've been
getting equal snaps from the offensive side. But you would
(01:24:06):
like to see them figure out ways to get him
the ball more often, and maybe they're setting it up
maybe they don't want to show you all the goods
and then the playoffs he'll get something.
Speaker 3 (01:24:15):
Like he's He's like, who is that dude? For like
the New England Patriots that one year he was Jonas Great? Yeah,
like he had like back to back like one hundred
yard gains. Oh yeah, a practice squad player. Dude was
a beast in that playoff pat for It's like, is
that gonna be Jalen Nole? Because this feels like the game. Okay,
we're facing off against the lowly Raiders team. We don't
need to see an Nego Collins break for a thousand
(01:24:36):
yard He's already got the one thousand yard mark. He's
gonna get the bonus. Hey fourteen, this is where we
only hell on everybody else.
Speaker 5 (01:24:43):
Yeah yeah, and it's been a long season. These guys
no longer rookies. Get put the ball in your best playmakers, Sands.
I love what Jaden Higgins has been doing. He didn't
have a great game last week, but he he has
been having a lot of good games lately, so you know,
there there are other options outside of Nico.
Speaker 3 (01:25:00):
Collins have been doing a good job. Now let's let's
figure out how to get Jalen Nord Again, Bob Barry,
we see you on the phone lines. We're gonna get
to you as soon as we get back because of
what you want to talk about. I want to bring
up with Jonathan last night probably the best Thursday night
football game of the season, overtime win by the Seattle Seahawks.
I have two takeaways from this, and I think both
(01:25:21):
are very factual despite the different outcome. We'll explain in
the Morning Drive with Dan and Cole. Next right here
on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:25:30):
Back to the Morning Drive, here's Dan Matthews and Cole Thompson.
Speaker 3 (01:25:37):
Barry an uptown. What's on your mind, my dud, Yes, sir,
I will.
Speaker 12 (01:25:43):
But by the way, it was one of the greatest
Thursday night games I've ever seen and a total friend
of mine, I wanted to see a thirty seven, thirty
four down you Brook, but I wanted the ram to win, sure,
but the Rams seemed to stuck. Seems to stuck Cook
seems to start the lagging and coasting once they get
to the big lead, and see how came back. But
you know what, my hat's off to the winner.
Speaker 7 (01:26:02):
The Seattle played but hard.
Speaker 12 (01:26:03):
They were Dusty Gamblers had those two versions of not worth,
the game will have been lost.
Speaker 7 (01:26:09):
But the Rams have no excuses.
Speaker 12 (01:26:10):
They had the game one, and I don't know what
why team would go into a coasting mode because Seattle
was in the game to win and some of the
Seattle fans started leaving almost So I'm hoping the Rams
learned from this. I still got them at my NFC pick.
Speaker 3 (01:26:28):
I appreciate it, Bary, You're the man, Okay, so let's
talk about let's talk about it. So thirty eight thirty
seven final score. A couple of things I want to
take away from last night. Number One, that was the
best Thursday night game of the season so far. Sure,
I don't even think that's up for debate. Number Two,
there's two ways to look at this. And people were
going to say, well, why are you talking about a
Thursday night football game between two NFC teams when it
(01:26:49):
comes to the Texans. Okay, Well, the Texans very well
could make it to the Super Bowl this year. I
think that we just saw the team that they would
be facing off against either side because of Seattle last night,
how they were able to respond and you already lost
the Seattle earlier this season, and you also lost the
Los Angeles Seattle sitting at twelve and three. Right now,
they are the number one seed in the NFC. The
(01:27:11):
Twoes sakeaways that I have is number one. My opinion
on the Los Angeles Rams has not changed whatsoever because
of Matthew Stafford still nearly threw for five hundred yards
which they lost. That is insane to me. This defense
against this team, and you're able to get two hundred
and twelve two hundred and twenty five of those yards
to put an Akua and two touchdowns cheat code. I
(01:27:34):
mean quite literally the only player who right now I
think that you would say puts the fear of being
able to have a lock set with any cornerback in
the NFL. Is put going to CooA at this point? Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (01:27:45):
But I want to bring up a point to you
out we were I was having this conversation with a
good friend DJ being an enemy, and I was asking,
if Matt Stafford wins MVP and then wins Super Bowl MVP,
does he solidify a splat as in the Hall of Fame?
Speaker 3 (01:28:03):
I one hundred percent in my opinion, Yeah, I can't
argue at this point because I'm at this point where
and by the way, I think i've I don't know
if I've ever told you this, R I definitely not
haven't told the audience this. Matthew Stafford is one of
my favorite quarterbacks all time, just because of the way
that he went about his career, how he was such
a pillar for Detroit, stay loyal for as long as possible.
Finally goes out to La wins a title, says that
(01:28:25):
through all of the bumps and bruises, playing through adversity,
playing through pain, I'm not done just yet. The one
thing that he's been missing for his Hall of Fame
resume is that MVP trophy or another Super Bowl title.
It does feel like right now, like you, you're knocking
on the door for at least one of them two.
So I fully believe he's already in that conversation, he's
gonna finish top ten all time in passing, touchdowns, passing yards,
(01:28:48):
pass already just the physical brunt he had to deal
with during his time in Detroit, Like that mentality is
what I look for in a franchise quarterback. He's there.
But yeah, I mean, if you win one of the two, yeah,
one hundred percent, you're I think a Hall of Famer
at this point. I definitely think he siligifies the spot.
Speaker 5 (01:29:04):
He's been great, He's a lot of He's a quarterback
a lot of guys look up to, and he played
in the era with a lot of great quarterbacks. But yeah,
I believe that if the texansn't make it to the
super Bowl, they're in my opinion, I think they're going
to be facing the Rams because while I do believe
the Seahawks and the Rams have the best teams, I
have more faith in Matt Stafford than I do Sam
(01:29:25):
Donald in a playoff game, in a clutch playoff game.
Speaker 3 (01:29:27):
So that was my other point that I took away
from last night is that even though we have given
flak for Sam Donald, the narrative had to change at
least to a certain extent when it came to him,
because remind yourself last season with Minnesota, he goes fifty
to two leads into the playoffs, struggles in the playoff
game in Los Angeles, I mean in Arizona because they
(01:29:49):
couldn't played in LA because of the fires that were
going on. Luise to the Rams, sporadic fashion doesn't even
get a second look with Kevin O'Connell's team gets an
opportunity to go to Seattle, and what was kind of
the storyline, Okay, this is a guy who can play well,
but he can't win the big one. You have two
bad interceptions. I mean, I mean, you had the same
interception that we saw that Baker Mayfield through on Thursday
(01:30:11):
night last week against Atlanta, the under the loss, and
so you're saying to yourself, here is the same story
once again, Sam Arnold. You want to root for him
because if he was in a bad situation and you
were there in Charlotte when he got traded to from
New York and there was kind of this feeling of
all right, it's a rejuvenation. And then he had one
(01:30:32):
game against the Jets and he looked fine, I guess,
and then everything went downhill afterwards, and it was like, Okay,
this guy is probably just a bust. He's no longer
going to be in that same conversation. But now you
win against a team when you're struggling, and pretty much
the story's been written. Like you're halfway through, you're like
you're on paragraph fourteen about why this team is not
(01:30:52):
gonna be good in the playoffs and here he comes
bringing this roster back. They connect with Jacks with a jig,
but you connect big time down the field with Cooper
cumping overtime, you get the two point conversion. And now
you are the reason why, even with the struggles, that
the team is sitting at twelve and three and very
much in the driver's seat for running the NFC in
the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (01:31:12):
Yeah, I mean Sam Darnold, and I think it definitely
helped him, uh to sit back and be on that
forty nine team because when I covered him, he was
making a lot of mistakes and he still tends to
make a lot of mistakes. You can see the talent there,
but it's a lot of the decisions that tend to
cost him and then it compiles over time. And I
think you saw that very much early in his career.
(01:31:34):
I think he still has a tendency to throw a
lot of picks. He needs a good team around him
to be successful.
Speaker 3 (01:31:43):
But I think the interceptions and the turnovers will probably
keep them from the super Bowl, even though they'll be on.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Rams
in their past. So do you think though after last night,
you at least have to somewhat take Seattle seriously because they.
Speaker 5 (01:31:58):
Are still sure three, Sure, they're the second best team
in the entire NFL. They're just they're complete team and
they can beat the Rams. I do think the Rams
give Sam Donald problems, but yeah, you definitely have to
take them seriously.
Speaker 3 (01:32:11):
Okay, but but you do believe that number one is
still a lost angis oh for sure. See that's the
thing that like I want to bring on up is that, like, yeah,
you have the head to heads and like we talked
about this in college football all the time, because you
know when you bring on up, oh, why is this
team in? Why is this team not in? Well, the
head to head has to matter in the NFL. Yeah,
it was a great storyline for Seattle, and I think
that you respect them as an NFC contender. But my
(01:32:33):
opinion has not changed on LA whatsoever. You have arguably
the best weapon in the NFL. You have a good
run game both with Tyron Williams and Blake Korms really
come on strong as a number two. And in my opinion,
you have the MVP. And when you have the MVP
at quarterback, you can drop a game. It happens even
the best of us because it is the NFL. But
I'm still not worried about you. Maybe I worry a
(01:32:55):
little bit about the defense, just enough to say, okay, well,
if you're getting some shootout fashion, the secondary has been
kind of hit and miss. Maybe if you're not able
to get enough pressure, which you're averse coming off of
the edge, you'll be able to win a couple of
your matchups on third down. But I'm still not worried
whatsoever when it comes to I think Los Angeles being
a threat if they are to be the number one seed,
(01:33:15):
an even let they play on the road, I still
feel like, okay, well they be facing off against the
four seed, so who is that gonna be? Philadelphia? Yeah,
you're gonna win by two scores now?
Speaker 9 (01:33:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:33:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (01:33:24):
I mean even then, their defense was good for much
of the first half. I thought they got tired in
the second half. And they also gave a best special
teams to Teschdown.
Speaker 3 (01:33:31):
So Rashid sha Hee X factor like John Schneider take
a bow for that move. Because of I did not
realize how important he was gonna be. Dude, he has
come on and been such a key element to this
team turn things around. Seattle.
Speaker 5 (01:33:45):
Yeah, I mean they have one of the best special
team junits in the league, and I think that's an
underrated part of what helps the best team to be
the best. I thought it was holding the Texans back
early in the season and they've got they had their
best game specially and Youngina had his best game against
the Cardinals last week. And I think we don't talk
about that enough and and what factors into a good
(01:34:08):
team being a great team.
Speaker 3 (01:34:09):
Okay, right now, if you were to be a betting man,
Texans in the Super Bowl against Seattle, Texans win, you know,
I think they can win. Okay.
Speaker 5 (01:34:23):
I think they could make things difficult for Sam Darnold
with enough time. Okay, I think they have a better
chance of beating the Seahawks than they do.
Speaker 3 (01:34:30):
In the Rams. Okay, because that was my next one.
I have been on a on a tangent all week.
People are mad, It's okay, I will take the flag
for this one. I don't think anybody, if they make
it to the Super Bowl, is beating Los Angeles, including Houston, right,
So I'm not crazy for saying that at all. No,
not at all. Okay, just want to make sure that
I wasn't just going to be the villain of the
(01:34:51):
city of Houston. Because if everybody wants to say Cole
hates the Texans, I don't hate the Texans. I just
view Los Angeles as an elite team. I go as
far to say, Jonathan, the level is, here's tier one,
it's Los Angeles. Yeah, here's tier two. Throw Houston into
that conversation. Buffalo into that conversation, see out onto that
(01:35:12):
conversation if you want to. There is a clear direct
indication that there are far and away one team is
better than everybody else. When they're playing on other piece
and cues, you then have everybody else in tier two.
I absolutely agree.
Speaker 5 (01:35:22):
But I would love to see that matchup between Kamari
and Pooka and Sting and the DeVante Adams part.
Speaker 3 (01:35:29):
Two, because again, that was another thing that was missing,
a lout, like, do you think that if DeVante plays
in that game it ends up being more so what
we were accustomed seeing with that fourteen point win going
into the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5 (01:35:40):
I mean, it's possible, but they the Rams had a
heck of a game offensively even without DeVante Adams, but
there were lows in the fourth quarter that if they
had Davante Adams and not just pooking the court, because
there were times where I thought Nicole was definitely getting
the ball. And if you have Adams, then you you
leave it up to the defense guessings. So probably so.
Speaker 3 (01:36:00):
I mean, you had Xavier Smith of all people, who
was like a seven year player in college as you're
number two last night poking a CoA had twelve catches.
It was very similar to what we just saw with
Trey McBride and Michael Wilson against the Texans. Like you
had a fource feet eighty five, you're getting the ball
into twelve's hands and if he was making place, he
was making place. Yeah, and he was making place. Pooking
(01:36:22):
a coup for all his troubles that week is definitely
a playmaker. I say for Rams fans that were pissed
off at him, he probably won back a couple of
fans for having a big time performance when it came
to Fantasy last night, and Jack Smith and Jigba, thank
you for fighting your way to the end zone and
getting me twenty points because of I was on the
verge of losing my mind. We're in the seven ninety
(01:36:45):
Fantasy Draft I'm number one in the league this year
and playoffs just began. Yeah, I was projected to lose
this week. I'm still projected to lose, but now instead
of it being thirty five to sixty five, it's forty
nine to fifty one because of Jack Smith and Jigba
came on strong in the fourth quarter, So twenty points.
I appreciate you, and I didn't have to play against
Poukinakua last night. All right, the Texans versus the Rams
(01:37:09):
in the Super Bowl? Jonathan and I both agree right
now the Rams are on their owned level. Why can
the Texans beat Los Angeles or even Seattle in the
Super Bowl? Seven one three, two one two five seven ninety.
Get on it on the action, take a quick time
out when we come back. I want to get Jonathan's
thoughts on the NFC in general, and really just kind
of the playoff field, because for the first time in
(01:37:30):
a while outside of Los Angeles feels right open, feels
very much like a yeah, I can see them go
to the playoff? Am I crazy? Am I wrong? Let's
go discuss Morning Drive, Dan and Cole sports Sex seven
ninety coming your way.
Speaker 1 (01:37:43):
Next, Houston. It's You're a home team man, lifelong actions
fan here anytime anywhere. I love your home team. We'll
go to Rock Go. Just tell your smart device Slice
Sports Talk seven ninety on iHeart.
Speaker 3 (01:37:55):
Radio playing Sports Top seven ninety on iHeartRadio. Jonathan and
I were talking about this during the break. I know
that we're going to talk about teams in the NFC
the AFC being wide open, but I have to bring
this up on air. Jonathan, you and I just mentioned
that we both believe Matthew Stafford is a Hall of
Famer if he wins the MVP and he gets to
(01:38:17):
the super Bowl this year. Now hold up, do you
think he saw us to win the Super Bowl to
get in the get in the Hall of Fame or
just go this year? I think it'll be.
Speaker 5 (01:38:24):
Harder if he doesn't win a super Bowl, and I
think that a super Bowl solidifies his spot, absolutely no
doubt so. But I think he still can.
Speaker 3 (01:38:34):
Okay, Philip Rivers, let's have this conversation, because I am
very much a I think Philip Rivers the numbers and
the accolades during the regular season, he belongs in the
Hall of Fame. But you're not sold on it. No,
I'm not sold on it. What is the ultimate goal?
Speaker 9 (01:38:52):
Cool?
Speaker 5 (01:38:52):
The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl? Right, yes,
so how can you give it? This is where me
and you disagree. We agree on a lot of things,
but disagree on this, Like, for me, the ultimate goals
to win Super Bowl. And if you've never even made
it to an AFC championship, how can I give you
a Hall of Fame? You're not a winner in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (01:39:11):
Because and here's the reason why. Because of yes, and
I agree with you to a certain extent, the ultimate
goal is to get the Super Bowl. But there's also
quarterbacks that have been to the Super Bowl that are
absolutely horrendous during the regular season, and they're carried by
their team, and that's part of the reason why they
can say that they can they have a ring at
the end of the day.
Speaker 5 (01:39:29):
Here's the only way I would give somebody a pass, okay,
is if they didn't have a team. And the Chargers
have had teams. Philip Rivers has played with tremendous players,
the Damian Thomas and Antonio Gates, both Hall of Fame players.
It's not like he hasn't been around players, hasn't had
pieces around him.
Speaker 3 (01:39:48):
Okay, But when you're top five and passing yards, and
you're consistently putting up thirty plus touchdowns, and you're leading
your team to the playoff, and also you're consistently finishing
with the passer rating in the top three. Doesn't that
have to at least play some bit of a factor
for you. I had to argue he was stat patting,
So you're so you are saying stat Patti is the
reason why he's.
Speaker 5 (01:40:07):
That's what I'd argue. I mean, if you never won
a big thing, then I can't I can't give it
to me. Are you a conspiracy theorist person?
Speaker 3 (01:40:14):
No, no, ob, definitely not. So you're not on the
page of He got a phone call from somebody that
was in the Hall of Fame committee saying, here's the deal, buddy.
You have good numbers. You haven't done Didley's squad when
it comes to the playoffs. You're kind of an average
quarterback when it comes to your overall record. If Indianapolis
is being serious about calling you right now, you got
(01:40:35):
to come on out of retirement to prove that you
could still got a little bit left in the tank.
Speaker 5 (01:40:38):
I'd argue that it is more likely someone reminded him
that his health benefits were expiring.
Speaker 3 (01:40:45):
So you are to that conversation.
Speaker 5 (01:40:46):
I'm in that conversation, not the Hall of Fame conversation.
To me, I think Philip Rivers said, I gotta pay
for these kids.
Speaker 3 (01:40:54):
Yeah, I've ted I have a football team at home.
By the way, I'm a grandfather now and I'm not
sure that I sure my kids still on my benefits
at this point. So do I have a grandchild. I'm
paying for some of it up blaze and gentlemen, if
I go out swinging like if you go on to
Blaze of Glory like that, I mean to be completely fair,
and this is probably very dark and twisted, but if
(01:41:15):
he were to suffer a life altering injury on the
football field, but going out to Blaze of Glory, does
that play a factory into saying, all right, the man
left it all of it, quite literally left his life
on the field. The least we can do is put
him in the camp at this point now or so
you take the risk to that we can put him
in the charges ring of honor. Is that so that's it? Yeah,
And you can honor him for the Colts, but he's
(01:41:38):
not getting a can Okay, do you know the rules
when it comes to comeback Player of the Year. Uh,
I think you got to play? Is there a number
of games? I do believe you have to play most
of the season. Okay, because if he finishes the year,
and let's just say he brings Indianapolis because they're not
elimited for the playoffs yet, doesn't mean that they're gonna go.
I don't think that they are gonna go. But let's
(01:41:58):
just say that they were to somehow win their next
two games, because not the Texans, because they're gonna lose
because Will Anderson and Neil Hunter are going to eat
a forty four year old Philip Rivers a lot for sure.
But still, if they were to end up winning their
next two games and they beat San Francisco and they
beat Jacksonville, do you not give him the award for
(01:42:19):
come back Player of the Year? Because the man was
It wasn't like he was on the bench. The man
was on the couch. The man was coaching high school football.
They interviewed his wide receiver number one, who just got
a scholarship to place at Troy, Like, are we not
considering that to be the ultimate comeback player of the
year mentality.
Speaker 5 (01:42:38):
Look, I would be impressed if he were to win
these games, but you know who would be the leading
candidate would be Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 3 (01:42:46):
That, to me is probably the right answer right now.
Speaker 5 (01:42:48):
I'd be more I'm more impressed with Christian McAffrey because
I thought, like man, the injuries that he suffered and
the amount of punishment he's taken has been could derail
his career potentially. But he is, you know, the lone
guy that they go to in that offense, and he's
a huge reason why the forty nine ers are in
the playoff race.
Speaker 3 (01:43:08):
All right. So speaking of which, is that the quietest
ten win team in the NFL that we are not
talking about with San Francisco for sure.
Speaker 5 (01:43:14):
I Mean, you know, they've lost everybody on defense and
they've still managed to find a way to win games.
You know, I don't think that they're dangerous in the playoffs,
but the fact that they're even at this point with
one of the better coaching speaks to how good this
coaching staff is.
Speaker 3 (01:43:32):
They're on a four game win streak and that's with
a banged up rock party nobody on the defensive line.
Brandon Ayuk is not played this year, Ricky Piersoll's out again,
Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle are basically hanging on by
pins and needles and duct tape and rubber bands that
are just barely being able to withstand the pressure of
playing in a regular season. Yeah, Like, I mean, I
(01:43:55):
I don't believe that this team is going to be
able to make a run in the playoffs. But at
the same time, I and I was very critical of
Kyle Shane Han coming into the year. I thought he
was an overrated coach. I am sorry, Like I owe
a lot of people apologies this year. Yeah, Like, I
have been a very terrible sports fan with my takes,
and I have to admit that because I don't think
that any other coach besides maybe Kyle Shane Hank could
(01:44:17):
get the job done. Yeah, I mean, they should be
five and whatever.
Speaker 5 (01:44:20):
Having said that, though, the reason why they won't go
far in the playoffs is because he can't rest to
pass her. You got to be able to rest a
pastor in the playoffs, and they can't get any pressure
on quarterbacks right now.
Speaker 3 (01:44:29):
I remember the Texans offensive line was still having that
turnstile when it came to the left guard position. Zeo
Saxon that game, man CJ was eating lunch back there
in the podcast, it was like, all day here, let's
have a tea party sit down. Would you let to
go ahead and join me for a conversation here, Let's
have a philosophical dialogue on what's going on in the world,
on the world outside of sports right now. Oh, I
can throw the football downfield. Cool twenty yard game in
(01:44:51):
Nico Collins. Next, moving on on board, that was the
way that how bad the pass Russ was in that game? Oh?
Speaker 5 (01:44:56):
Absolutely, Like CJ. Stroud wasn't getting touched at all. So
you know, I think that'll keep them from going far
into playoffs. And you know, on the opposite side of
CD Stroud gets protection, he can go crazy.
Speaker 3 (01:45:08):
Seven one three, two, one two, five seven ninety Okay,
teams in the playoff. I want to get your opinion
buy or sell contender pretender, because it feels like at
this point there's a lot of open opportunity in the AFC,
but surprisingly the NFC there feels as if maybe one
or two teams could compete alongside with Los Angeles. You're
(01:45:30):
very knowledgeable when it comes to the NFL. That's why
we have you on the show, Jonathan Alexander. Want to
get your thoughts on what is going to be the
selling point of teams making a run toward the playoff.
That more in the Morning Drive of Dan and Cole
coming up next right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:45:45):
Page down. The Morning Drive continues. Now, now here's Dannan Cole.
Speaker 3 (01:45:53):
Who are legit teams or not? Texans are easily a contender, right,
Like we can just kind of just pencil like right
then in a permanent sharp at this point. Right. Absolutely, Buffalo.
Speaker 5 (01:46:03):
I think they're contenders anytime you got the best quarterback
in the league on your team and you have the
threat of being at home. I mean, they could win
the division over the Patriots if the Patriots lose one
of their final games and the Bills went out, And
I think that makes them arguably the dangerous, most dangerous
team if you're playing in Buffalo in January.
Speaker 3 (01:46:24):
Okay. The thing that I wonder about when it comes
to Buffalo, because they're currently are the sixth seed in
the playoffs, they don't even have the division title yet
over New England, but they got the MVP at quarterback Yeah,
you have the MVP a quarterback. It's kind of like
having the ace in the hole. By the way, no
Joe Burrow, no Patrick Mahomes, no Lamar Jackson. As of
right now, if you were to go play on the
(01:46:45):
playoffs in the first round, you're facing off against Jacksonville.
You then would face off against more than likely Denver.
I think they should be good against Denver. You definitely
would be good against New England because you've already proven
you could play New England. Whoever you face off against
in the AFC Championship. I still feel like, again, you
have Josh Allen, that's the cheek out. Oh, by the way,
you have a running back through this season when he
(01:47:06):
gets over one hundred outside of the one game that
he played on a Thursday night at a n RGY stadium,
Buffalo wins every single time. So you got to feel
pretty confident about that.
Speaker 5 (01:47:15):
Yeah, they got a really good offense. The only thing
about Buffalo is like, for some reason, Demico just has
his number. He just knows how to get I mean
they I think they really know Josh Allen's tenant sees
as a quarterback. They know that he's an off schedule
guy and likes to go to his right, and they've
just dominated him in the two games that Demiko has faced.
Speaker 3 (01:47:35):
So again, he's basically Sam Darnold seen goes when he
faces off against Houston Texas. I mean, probably like the
only team that he's like that. But yes, New England
buy or sell as a contender.
Speaker 5 (01:47:47):
No I sell that. I mean, I love Drake May
and I love what he's done. But I've looked at
their schedule and they've beaten up on a lot of
bad teams this year.
Speaker 3 (01:47:54):
They are the Texans of twenty twenty three. That's not
an insult because of you know what that means. You
have the coach into the building that's supposed to be
the right guy. You got the quarterback. The Milton Williams signing,
I think has proven to be a fabulous edition to
the team. They feel good about where they are Defensively.
You gotta feel good about Stefan Dick's coming on in.
He's lived up to the billing of I think the contract.
(01:48:15):
You're gonna be able to entice a lot of players
to come there next season like Houston did in twenty
twenty four. You're playing a fourth place schedule, bro, Yeah,
I gotta see you beat somebody of consistency.
Speaker 8 (01:48:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:48:26):
Oh, but they beat Buffalo. They beat Buffalo with a
bad offensive line, the a ton of injuries that day.
Sit down, Quiet down. You had a twenty one point
lead last week and you blew it against the same
Buffalo Bills team.
Speaker 5 (01:48:37):
And they've also lost to the Raiders, which was their
first game of the season, but still lost to the Raiders. Yeah,
I like I like the Patriots. I think they have
a good foundation now. But I think whoever they play
in the first round, unless it's the Jaguars, you know
they're gonna probably lose.
Speaker 3 (01:48:56):
If I have to hear about Alabama losing the Florida
State and loss still coming on up as like an
outlier why they do not belong in the playoffs, I
can use that exact same logic for losing to the
Las Vegas Raiders. It's the exact same thing. I don't
care that was round one. You don't lose to a
Raiders scene that sapat and then call yourself a contender.
Speaker 5 (01:49:13):
Jacksonville, Uh, pretender, you know, I just I'm not confident
in Trevor Lawrence. I think they're better, but they also
played a bass schedule.
Speaker 3 (01:49:22):
It's Trevor Lawrence man like, like, this is not yeah,
I've seen this story play on out Like yeah, it's
a cool thing that you know you have a coach
that's in the building and that you feel really good
about Jacobe Myers, which is why you just gave him
an extension, and that you've been able to work without
Travis Hunter. But like, guys, this is Trevor Lawrence for
talking about I've seen the version of him that finds
(01:49:44):
a way to rely on his defense and more specifically
the run game, bailing him out of trouble in the
playoff Travis et and you slow him down defense, you
put up a lot of points against them. Are you
trusting Trevor Lawrence to guide you on back to back
drives down by ten to need you to do a victory?
Yes or no?
Speaker 5 (01:50:01):
No, Like, don't get me wrong, Liam Cohen is a
great coach. Sure, Travis Etn is a good running back.
But when it comes to Trevor Lawrence, there's a blueprint
in stopping Denver.
Speaker 3 (01:50:14):
I believe that at this point last week, with the
win over Green Bay and the way that we saw
them be able to come back in the third quarter.
But more specifically, Bonnicks kind of have in his moment
of where I'm throwing for three hundred yards, I'm trusting
with what the elements are given to me. I'm also
forcing the ball down field. I don't think that they
will win the Super Bowl. I don't think they will
(01:50:34):
go to the Super Bowl, but I do think that
they are at least now in that conversation of being
a contender.
Speaker 5 (01:50:39):
Oh for sure. I think while Bonnicks isn't great, he's
good enough. Like he doesn't make a ton of mistakes.
He's a dual threat quarterback, so he can use his
legs and can pass, and then he has one of
the best offensive minds in the game of coaching him.
Speaker 3 (01:50:53):
Would you say at this point, like, hey, Sean Payton,
stick around for the next decade, because if we have
a quarterback that we know fits the system.
Speaker 5 (01:51:01):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean Sean Payton, his accolades speak for itself,
and you know he hired a great staff. Vance Joseph
is a great defensive coordinator. This defense is elite. Is
to me is the second best defense in the league.
So they're good enough to carry them too.
Speaker 3 (01:51:18):
Behind the Houston Taxi t Yeah, behind the Euston, just
making sure that everyone's on the same page real quickly
before we get on out of here. Pittsburgh Los Angeles
either want to pretender. I either want to contender.
Speaker 5 (01:51:28):
I mean, to me, Baltimore is always dangerous, but I
don't think Pittsburgh is a contender. They'll never be a
contender until they get a franchise quarterback.
Speaker 3 (01:51:37):
The Chicago Bears, they're currently the number two seed in
the NFC. I think of them the same way I
think about the Patriots. Who have you played? Who have
you beaten? New coach? That feels like you've changed the
culture for the long term. I'll see in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 5 (01:51:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think they're a rising team, but they've
beaten up on some bad teams too. I actually do
think they can go further than the Patriots, but it
also depends on who they play.
Speaker 3 (01:52:05):
Tampa Bay. Do you believe that they can do anything
in the playoffs? No, they've fallen off so bad, like
it's I'm not convinced that they'll win a division. What
about Philly?
Speaker 5 (01:52:14):
No, I think Philly has too many holes. Jalen Hurst
is too up and down, and I just don't think
that team gets along.
Speaker 3 (01:52:20):
With each other. I put you on the spot right now.
Detroit can they make it to the playoffs? Number one?
But then number two? Can they win playoff games?
Speaker 7 (01:52:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:52:27):
I like Detroit as a as a dark horse team.
So you're still sold that even with the defensive faults
in some bit of an offensive regression with no Ben Johnson,
that they can make a run. Yeah. I think they're
a dangerous team that's gonna be coaching I dandy right,
like the way like you like you play off of
who your head.
Speaker 5 (01:52:42):
Coaches, well coached, tough teams, and they have a running game,
which is important for the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (01:52:46):
San Francisco sitting at ten and four, the quietest ten
and four team that may end up finishing twelve and five,
buying them. No, it feels so weird to say that too,
because if it's like that was the thing that like
everyone brought into the season. It's a four play schedule.
Though the record will be really good, it doesn't even
get buy into them, like like that's the thing about records.
Not every team is playing the exact same schedule. Therefore,
(01:53:08):
sometimes you'll benefit from bolstinging it all up.
Speaker 5 (01:53:10):
Absolutely. I mean, we see that throughout the AFC. But yeah,
they just don't have enough on defense.
Speaker 3 (01:53:15):
Last team, you know the scene very well, the Carolina Panthers,
Bryce Young year three, Dave Canalis year two. There is
a ground game with Rico Dell. I like this roster.
Can they make a noise in the playoffs for starters
didn't even get to the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (01:53:31):
My dad is a frequent watcher of the Carolina Panthers.
He's listened to this show today, So shout out to
my dad. He will tell you that, no, they are
not a continued They are way too up and down
each week.
Speaker 3 (01:53:42):
How do you lose? How do you beat Los Angeles
and then lose to New Orleans? It makes zero sense.
It makes zero sense. But still I do think that
Bryce Young at least gets to one more year to
figure somethings out.
Speaker 5 (01:53:53):
Yeah, yeah, they'll give Bryce another year because he's had
some really good games, but he's also had some really
bad games and he needs to figure that out. I
think he and Dave Canalis are a big reason why
the team is so up and down all the time.
Speaker 3 (01:54:04):
Ted McMillan though, really good player that I cannot wait
to see what he does in your two. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:54:08):
I like Ted McMillan and his his potential. I think
he'll be I don't want to say a superstar, but
I think he'll be one of the better wide receivers
before the end of his career.
Speaker 3 (01:54:17):
Seven one three, two one two five seven ninety Martin
and Angleton, we see you on the guest line. We'll
get to you in the moment. I do want to
talk with Jonathan about something that could happen this offseason
that will change the Texans. Is a name someone we
have to wonder about for a head coaching opportunity. We'll
discuss that has been closed out the nine o'clock hour
or start the nine o'clock hour right here on the
(01:54:38):
Morning Drive with Dan and Cole Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:54:42):
KB Houston atv HD two Houston, The Astross the Rockets,
Rockets as before your home for your home teams. This
is Sports Talk seven ninety and iHeartRadio station Guaranteed Human.
This is the Morning Drive with Dadd and Cole.
Speaker 3 (01:55:09):
Let's go to the phone lines. Martin's been waiting long enough.
Martin and Engleton, good morning. What's up by man.
Speaker 13 (01:55:15):
Triple as a really cool dude to talk to Well,
what I call about is, can someone please explain to me,
uh the timeline rules of when Jordan had to be
signed so no one else would claiming? And and how
how does that work?
Speaker 9 (01:55:33):
Uh?
Speaker 13 (01:55:34):
Who can have first? Uh to claiming? What does it
start with? Uh? The worst record first and then going
on from then? Or how does how do all that work? Please?
Speaker 3 (01:55:49):
Yeah, you're you're on the right track.
Speaker 1 (01:55:51):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (01:55:52):
As far as the timeline, Juir Jordan could have been
called up three times before being put on the raw.
But you know, when you're on the practice squad, any
team can sign you to their fifty three man roster.
And obviously players want to be on a fifty three
man roster versus a practice squad because it gives them
(01:56:14):
guaranteed money. And that was the case with Juar and
the Texans didn't want to risk another team signing Jawar
Jordan to their fifty three man roster and losing him.
Speaker 3 (01:56:24):
I don't blame him, because again, you don't rush for
one hundred yards and then just stick around on the
practice squad. Yeah, that never happens in the likes of
the NFL. It just doesn't. So even if you think
that it's something that could be a possibility. It just
it never happens that way, like and again the role
for him this week. Okay, let's just get this out
of the way. Woody Marks playing yesterday. In your opinion,
(01:56:45):
if I had a guess, I would say he's not.
I wouldn't risk it either because of and we had
a caller earlier in the show bringing up you need
your players at their peak healthy for the playoffs. You're
not getting the first round by You're just not. Either
New England will get it, or we'll get it, or
God forbid, the team that I don't believe in, never
will believe in. You can't convince me otherwise. Jacksonville will
(01:57:06):
get it for some reason. They will find a way
to do it, and then they're losing the second round
and it will be hilarious and we'll all have a
good chuckle because of their a joke of a franchise
and I don't believe in them, and I hate that team.
Regardless you're gonna have to play in that first round.
I'd much rather have a Derek Singley junior who's dealing
with an oblique injury fully rested and good to go,
even for next week against a team that may be
(01:57:28):
able to hold toe to toe with you in Los Angeles,
then against a two win Raiders team. I'd much rather
have Woody marks near at one hundred percent than be
playing in this game to where Okay, he gets five carries.
What if one of those carries he reaggravates his ankle,
He's out for the rest of the season and now
in a race for a division title, even you're out
(01:57:50):
for those two critical games against teams that are fighting
for a playoff spot. Yeah, I mean, and you got
to think about it.
Speaker 5 (01:57:54):
This is probably the longest season he's played in his career,
cause don't play as many games, and he's been the
lead back for probably the last six or seven, and
so he's taken a lot of punishment recently.
Speaker 3 (01:58:07):
I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 5 (01:58:08):
He's coming out of the game for at least one
play in each of the last six games, or at
least it feels like it. So, uh, you know, I
could see them wanting to give him a rest, and
especially with how Juar Jordan played last week.
Speaker 3 (01:58:20):
How about your how about how about this? And this
is something I brought up. Let I brought this up
two weeks ago during Mbawallee not saying he needs to
play a couple of reps. What I will say is
nobody can be mad at him in this city because
if he was the reason why you want against the
Kansa Chiefs, right like, we're past the week one fumble
with Los Angeles because Los Angeles feels like it's probably
(01:58:42):
the most complete team in the NFL right now, right
right absolutely, so, I you know, yeah, I think Dari
definitely got a lot of flak. I often get Twitter
messages about why he's playing, but he's a guy that
they trust and they count on for a lot of
different things. He's their utility player, so he's a solid
vetter and he might not be their best option at
(01:59:03):
running back, but he's a solid better look. I'm not
saying let him play twenty five reps in this game
against Las Vegas. What I am saying is is that
I feel like even Dari Gumbawall and Jerwar Jordan can
make some plays boot scooting and boogie like Brooks and
down on the dance floor instead of a guy like
Nick Chubber what he marks, and you'll still win. Yeah, Like,
I like the thing. I don't think that's so far.
Fetch to say against a team that right now is
(01:59:25):
twenty seventh in red zone defense, is bottom ten in
run defense, is bottom ten in scoring, and bottom five
and third on conversion. Yeah, you should be good enough.
Speaker 5 (01:59:33):
To beat them, right Yeah in the one games last
year with Dari playing a huge role in the several games,
so he has that experience. He's not a scrub just
because he fumbles that one time. A lot of people
talk about their predictability because he's been most passing downs,
but he can mix it up.
Speaker 3 (01:59:49):
Okay. I want to bring this up with you because
if they are going to be I think probably six
maybe seven head coaching openings at the end of the year,
we already know that you already have the job of
him for the Titans. The Giants is open. I think
at this point to a getting benched Mike signaled the
end of the era for Mike McDaniels times. Jonathan Cannon
(02:00:11):
out in Arizona's probably opening up. There's a few others,
Zach Taylor with Cincinnati opening on up. When you look
at right now names that are made available, do you
think that Matt Burker is going to get at least
a conversation of being a name to be floated around.
Now that he's been calling play defensively, I think it's possible.
Speaker 5 (02:00:33):
That he could get a gig as a or people
will inquire him about the defensive play caller full time.
I mean, he's doing that now, so I'd be inclined
to believe that he wouldn't leave, especially given how this
defense is playing. I think he would probably need another
subsame year a good year for people to call him
(02:00:53):
for head coaching jobs. But I think he's gotten probably
what he wanted to do and call him the plays,
and I think he set up right now, you know,
to stay here. But in the future, you know, if
he continues to have success, yeah, teams will call.
Speaker 3 (02:01:06):
So this season, not yet next season. Still a defense
that ranks top five and almost every single category, you
think it's time to have that conversation because of he
has been probably the most unsung hero. And the reason
that we say that is because so many people think
about Demiko being a defensive minded coach. He wants to
have a say, but Dimgo kinda took his foot off
(02:01:26):
the gas and said, here, you run the car, you
run the defense. I'll have an input but I need
to be able to focus more in on the team
in general. And so far this season again number one
in total yards allowed, number one in scoring, number three
in run defense in the league, and currently number four
in pass defense in the league. Yeah, I mean, like
that's a tribute to what he's been able to see
(02:01:48):
and he's been at least signaling these are things that
we have got to change. And you trust me enough
to be able to make the call, and I kind
of get to have the veto over you, and so
far the result has been paying the way.
Speaker 5 (02:01:58):
Yeah, I mean, he's done a nomenal job calling plays,
and you know, you look at the opposite side. You know,
offensive guys get credit all the time, even when they're
not calling playoffs. If they're part of offensive staff that
is killing, then they get opportunities all the time. So
Burck should get looks. But I definitely think that they'll
(02:02:20):
probably come next year though. Okay, there's a lot of
people who have been begging to know what the answer
this is. I mean, have you on and you are
close to the best when it comes to conversations going on.
Nick Hales can be back next year, right, you know,
I've reported this in my mail bag. You know, I
haven't had any indication that he he wouldn't come back.
(02:02:43):
Now things go haywire then, you know, I'm sure Demico
will evaluate that, but I haven't had any indication that
he won't come back at this point.
Speaker 3 (02:02:53):
So if you were to say percentage wise coming back,
and I give you the over under seventy percent, you're
taking the old as of right now.
Speaker 5 (02:03:02):
Yeah, because you know they're just right now. Yeah, they're
in a position to go far into the playoffs and
if they make a Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (02:03:08):
Why would you fire Kelly at them? If you go
to the AFC Championship for the first time in franchise history,
why are you letting go of anybody on the coaching
staff unless they get a promotion, exactly like Gerrod Johnson's like,
everyone's been like, well what about him? You know, we
could be at the play card You're right, he very
well could be a play caller next season with a
new team when they hire a first year head coach
and they're looking for an offense coordinator. Yeah, that makes
(02:03:30):
some sense. But I'm not firing an OC because if
he has a bad performance in the AFC title game
when we as an organization have never been to the
AFC title game. Yeah, you're behind that partially. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:03:42):
I mean, if they've turned around their offense, Denise, you
get credit. I also believe that there is some factor
in the fact that Nick Keayley is a first time
play caller, and if he continues to get better, then
there's optimism.
Speaker 3 (02:03:56):
There seven one three, two one two five seven ninety
Alexander Cole Thompson triple E. We all probably agreed that
Nick Cayley is gonna be back in twenty twenty six.
So what, in your opinion, is the reason he won't
be back in twenty twenty six. He gets a head
coaching job, he has such a terrible performance down the
stretch that he's fired because if they missed the playoffs.
(02:04:16):
Whatever is on your mind, Brad, we see you on
the phone lines. We'll get to you when we come back.
But Jonathan brought this up to me earlier, and I
want to make sure that we bring this on up.
Rockets lose last night in horrendous fashion, and there is
a reason behind it. There is a name that both
of us have agreed upon. If the Rockets can bring
on in will change the culture for the better. I
(02:04:37):
have no idea how it's going to work, but now
I can't get my mind off of the name. We'll
tell you who that is and more as we go
continue here nine o'clock hour Sports Talks of a ninety
morning Drive with Dan and Cole.
Speaker 1 (02:04:47):
Next, Dan Matthews, Cole Thompson. This is the Morning Drive
with Dan and Cole.
Speaker 3 (02:04:58):
I don't feel good this guy.
Speaker 4 (02:04:59):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (02:05:03):
Let's go to the phone line Brad and Houston. Brad,
good morning. What's on your mind?
Speaker 1 (02:05:06):
Did well?
Speaker 11 (02:05:08):
Since you got a football co host there, I'll stick
in a football with the baseball.
Speaker 4 (02:05:15):
Uh, the football I know they got.
Speaker 11 (02:05:18):
I'm all satisfied with the present team and all. But
in the draft they got six six picks in the
first four rounds. Can you can you please tell me
that they can get at least two O.
Speaker 4 (02:05:31):
Linemen and two D linemen to keep.
Speaker 11 (02:05:34):
The future going, because I think those two positions are
are we get address those for good if we get
at least two.
Speaker 7 (02:05:43):
On each side.
Speaker 11 (02:05:45):
And then my baseball question is how can the Toronto
Blue Jay spend this kind of money? And then we
got excuses here because we're at the threshold this that
I mean, we we have got a few players off
the backup catcher Frambury even though he wasn't getting h
I mean, he's still a guy paid eighteen million.
Speaker 4 (02:06:07):
I mean, you can't tell him you can't get.
Speaker 7 (02:06:09):
One stud pitcher and.
Speaker 1 (02:06:14):
Go from there.
Speaker 11 (02:06:15):
I mean, if Toronto can do it, there's something wrong
with the balance of baseball. I know the Dodgers deffer off,
but then those are my two things.
Speaker 3 (02:06:25):
Appreciate you, brod all Right, we'll get the baseball one
out of the way. Uh, here's the bottom line. It
comes out of TV revenue. The reason why the Dodgers
are able to afford everybody is because of not only
the fact that they defer the money, but they have
such a good TV revenue because they're in a big market.
Like you know, like people want to always wonder what's
the deal with the big market teams being able to
spend H. Well, Philadelphia has a great television distribution, Toronto
(02:06:48):
has a big television distribution, Seattle, New York, Boston, all
these teams are able to bring in the money and
the revenue that allows them to be able to spend
because of there is no salary cap, so you get it.
Basef of what you get in distribution. So like it
makes sense that why Toronto does it because it's the
only baseball team in Canada. It's the only one. Like, yeah,
(02:07:09):
they're gonna be a little bit more popular like TSN,
like everyone was like talking about like when it was
on Fox. It's like, okay, well Fox is hosting is
hosting the World Series. Well, the reason why when you
look at it internationally as the most popular World Series
in the last two decades is because of TSN had
its own ratings that would go out to Los Angeles
and then have to travel back to Toronto. Oh and
(02:07:30):
by the way, they had to do that on a
consistent basis throughout the entire playoffs. Yeah, so it makes
sense and why you have to spend that type of money. Okay,
now onto the football question. What do you think about
the Texans draft? Like, if you were to be Nick
Cassio right now, and you do have that second round
pick from Washington and the Lamy Tunsil trade, and now
that's looking more and more like it's gonna be a
top forty pick the only offensive or defensive line first.
Speaker 5 (02:07:54):
Well, all right, so here's where I have read of
you because I don't know who who the top guys
are yet. I haven't done my research on the top
guys yet, but I do know that the Texans or not.
I don't know this for sure, but I would assume,
you know, based on their needs, that they're going to
address defensive tackle, guard, and probably running back within the
(02:08:18):
first three rounds.
Speaker 3 (02:08:19):
That would be my best I think, what do you
think about safety? Because if you do have Kalen for
another year when he's on his Rickie deal before you
could get up for an extension. So that's one.
Speaker 9 (02:08:29):
But m J.
Speaker 3 (02:08:31):
Sertt was on a one year contract, Jamie Wore's gonna
be off the books next year. You are going to
probably not believe Miles Brian is the long term answer there.
And you do have a nickel defender in Jalen Petree
that I want to keep inside the slot as much
as possible. Yeah, so I think that safety has to
be in that conversation. But maybe you could solve that
(02:08:51):
by bringing in a dude on a one year contract
for your free agency. Yeah. I think that's the most
likely scenario.
Speaker 5 (02:08:57):
I think they like Jalen Reid enough that they would
probably bring in a veteran to compete with Jalen Reid.
Hope that Jalen red wins out the job, which has
happened in the past a lot with the Texans, and
and let that suffice. And then if it doesn't work
out with Jalen Reid or this veteran that they bring in,
(02:09:17):
then they draft the following year or maybe even they
get somebody within the late round.
Speaker 3 (02:09:21):
Yeah, they do again what they did with the Jalen
Reid fifth round pick. Hey, by the way, now you're
also competing for the job, I think right now at
some point, and this is again this is Demko RAN's
making the pick. I think he will go defense no
matter what, because if that's all, this is going to
be them for a defensive minded coach. And there comes
a level of where it's nice that you have Sheldon
Rankins back and he's been a good fit, and Mario
(02:09:42):
Edwards and Tim Settle. But the one thing that the
Texans have done over the last three years is they've
gone bargain shopping at the defensive tackle spot. At some point,
I feel like that you've got to be able to
bring in a guy who will be a long term
enforcer alongside with Will Anderson. In the trenches. Yeah, and
that makes sense to where at the into the first
round you're not sore on offensive lineman. And I'm gonna
(02:10:03):
be completely transparent, dude, I'm not trusting Nick Cassario when
it comes to offensive lineman entirely, So I trust him
to lay the defensive tackle more. I feel like that's
the right pick when you're going around one.
Speaker 5 (02:10:14):
Yeah, and I've reported this a few times, but the
Texans have tried to get a defensive tackle in the
last two drafts and then have just been unsuccessful at it.
Two years ago they were looking at Michael Hall and
what's the guy who went to Washington who had the
vender in mathis or No, no defensive tackle. It was
(02:10:36):
two years ago. He had the injury so he didn't
play at the beginning of the year. Oh it was
a jrews On Newton from Illinois, Yes, noon, Yes, yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:10:44):
They were.
Speaker 5 (02:10:46):
Highly looking at a defensive tackle that year. So I
think they'll continue to pursue that, especially with Tim Settle
being a free agent. I think Mario Edwards has one
more year, Foley, and then you got to re up
on Sheldon rankings.
Speaker 3 (02:11:01):
You're not letting him walk a second time, right, Well,
it just depends on how much money he wants.
Speaker 5 (02:11:05):
He can command more money than he got and and
the Texans have to decide whether they want to pay that.
Speaker 3 (02:11:10):
I don't want to lose him again. He was too
valuable the first time around, and he's so good in
the locker room, and he's such a he's such a
good fit for what you need alongside with Will I
understand in Deafner. So I just can't let him go.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety Jonathan.
Before we get you on out of here, you and
I were talking about this Rockets last night. Embarrassing loss.
There's not even a way to put it. You cannot
(02:11:31):
be up by twenty five points against the worst team
in the Western Conference and then consider yourself a favorite
in the Western Conference by blowing that game and going
to overtime. I can't deal with it, like I'm sorry.
There's no way that you can phrase that. You're in
the same stratosphere as teams like Denver and Oklahoma City
when that happens.
Speaker 5 (02:11:50):
No terrible, terrible, terrible loss. They've got to figure out
something defensively, and we have a guy in mind. Drew
hollow for the Portland Trailblazers. That feels like if they
are to make one swing, perfect fit right.
Speaker 7 (02:12:07):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (02:12:07):
Absolutely, And to me, Drew Hollidays when he's healthy's still
playing at a high level. He's a championship caliber player.
Wanted in twenty twenty four, twenty twenty two, two different teams.
You put him on posey and team's best player. I'm
not saying he shuts down Shi, Gilbris Alexander, but it
(02:12:28):
gives you the ability that you know, it's hard to
put those guys in pick and roll situations because now
they can switch off a lot better. So I'd love him, don't.
I don't know how they make that work financially?
Speaker 3 (02:12:42):
What do you give up?
Speaker 5 (02:12:42):
As the question, I'd give up one of those first
round picks that they have twenty twenty seven from the
Phoenix Suns.
Speaker 3 (02:12:47):
Do you also give up like would you have to
give up like saying na Kogi or something like that,
or do you Because I'm not giving up Reach Chapper
for him. I just I refused to because if I
think that there's still value, I don't think that you're
not giving up Anama Thompson or an Jabari Smith that's
can't be part. I really don't.
Speaker 5 (02:13:03):
I don't necessarily think you have to give up they Whoever,
if they were trading Drew Holliday, they probably want a
younger player, but you might not have to if you
offer them multiple first round picks. But also the Blazers
would have to be selling.
Speaker 3 (02:13:18):
I Blazers right now sit currently with an eleven and
sixteen record. They don't have a head coach because on
what was going on, which I think a lot of
people have forgotten about because the NBA season has gone underway.
But still you get to about February. Now, I'll give
you enough time to figure out what you have A
Dorian Phinney Smith, because I think at some point you
(02:13:38):
will see him. You'll also know at this point who
is Reach Shepherd. Yeah, it still looks the way it
did last night, and you're still seeing the defensive liability
and you're not getting the three in dconsistency from a DFS.
You got to be able to make a move. I
think that we're both in agreement. Portland not a good team.
(02:13:59):
Probably could go Land Holiday great defensively, He's pesky in
the same way that you ge Dylan Brooks, but it
doesn't take away the fact that you are still trusting
that eventually Reachippard will get there. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (02:14:08):
I mean ideally, you know, this is just a dream
kind of scenario. You know, I have no knowledge if
the Rockets what even considered this, but I would love
this for the for that team.
Speaker 3 (02:14:19):
All Right, we'll get you out of here on this
final score Sunday's game Texans Raiders, who wins? White me
phrase that what? What's what? What is the domination of
this game? To where the talking port on Monday morning?
Speaker 5 (02:14:34):
Yeah, I think the Texans will dominate, and make sure
y'all check out our story in the Houston Chronicle coming up.
But I think my prediction was, if I'm not mistaken,
twenty seven to nine. You know, I am giving the
Raiders a little bit too much credit, but I do
think that they'll win by two touchdowns at least.
Speaker 3 (02:14:51):
I think it's gonna be like forty two to nothing.
So there we go, seven seven nine. If you want
to get on in, Jonathan, I appreciate you this morning, brother,
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 9 (02:14:58):
Man.
Speaker 3 (02:14:58):
All right, take quick time out and we come back.
Aaron Wilson, KPRC Sports Talk seven ninety insider for the Texans,
joining us will break down everything that we need to
know about this game and more specifically the Texans run
toward the playoff. All that more coming up next right
here on the Morning Drive with Dan Cole Sports Talk
seven ninety. Next, Hey, it's un three.
Speaker 1 (02:15:19):
Catch every ass game on Sports Talk seven ninety for
the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 3 (02:15:24):
Home of your ash Ros APRC two and Sports Talk
seven ninety. Texans insider Aaron Wilson joins us right now. Aaron,
good morning. Let's start off with the obvious question that
everyone wants to know. Derek Stingley junior, Woody Marks both
on the injury report. Both misspracticed yesterday, got intuition going
in to walk through this afternoon. Are either one of
(02:15:46):
them going to see the field comes Sunday.
Speaker 9 (02:15:49):
Right in the next hour. We'll see if they practice,
and Woody Marx told me he intends to practice, so
we'll see if what he falls through on that and
is out there, and if he does practice, he doesn't
have any setbacks. I would think he'll play on Sunday.
But I think they'll have a division of workload because
Nick Chubb is good to go, and we also what
(02:16:11):
Jaar Jordan can do, but I don't think they shake
it up that much like all of a sudden Jaar
Jordan's leap broggating these guys on the depth chart just
based on one football game. But I anticipate Derek Steeley
Junior to give it a go. As he has said
many times, takes a lot to keep him out of
the game. No sense than anything is real serious with him.
(02:16:31):
One thing that probably is worth watching on Sunday. If
they get to lead, I'm expecting a lot of substitution
to happen.
Speaker 3 (02:16:39):
Okay, I want to get to that point. Actually, so
this is a game to where I and I'm going
to be completely real. We're not breaking down this game.
You and I probably both agree. I think America agrees
that the Texans are going to win. Texas will get
ten wins on the year, there'll be one step closer
to the playoff. Who is a name that you're looking
to see how a bigger role in the second half
that could end up playing a big factor when it
comes to play playoffs.
Speaker 9 (02:17:02):
On the offensive side of the football, Dalton Schultz, because
there's been an expansion of the targets for him and
I think he's capable of that every week. This is
just a choice that they have to make to emphasize
the tight end position, and he's certainly capable of doing
some damage. The guy's had it's flown under the radar.
(02:17:23):
I think some of this Toos because he's not a
big self promoter at all. He doesn't really do a
lot of interviews, kind of reluctant labell chat. He's very
good and very insightful when he does talk, but he's
not out there pumping himself up and he doesn't really.
Speaker 3 (02:17:36):
Look for that.
Speaker 9 (02:17:36):
But I think Dalden Schultz has quietly had a really
commendable season. And then on defense, there's a couple of
guys that they don't get a lot of love, but
Henry Toteau and Toma Tigee. You know, yeah, there's been
a lot of praising dmko Ryans, but I still don't
think there's a lot of awareness about him around the league.
But those guys kinda fly under the radar a little bit.
Toto has played some very good football, had kind of
(02:17:59):
a rough start to year, say much better lately.
Speaker 3 (02:18:01):
Sports Talk seven ninety NFL insider Aaron Wilson also our
KPRC joins us right here on the morning drive Sports
Talk seven ninety Aaron Demiko Ryans as an opportunity to
be the fastest coach in franchise history to get to
thirty wins. Texans went on Sunday, they have an opportunity
to get to twelve wins, would be the most since
the Gary Kubiak era if they are to win on out.
(02:18:22):
When I bring this up to you, I think it's
a hot take, but I also think that there's some
validity behind it. If the Texans already gets twelve wins
this year, has Demiko solidified himself as the best coach
in franchise history?
Speaker 4 (02:18:36):
Yet?
Speaker 9 (02:18:38):
You know, I think that's the title is going to
go to the coach that takes them somewhere they haven't
been before, and that's the aph Championship game. Well, once
he does that, he will edge out Garry Kubiak, his
former coach. I think that's the real marking point for
being the best is taking this where they have been
(02:18:59):
and as you guys know, they're owing six all time
in the divisional round. So that next step, and I
think that's when you can say, by any measure that
he's the best coach they've had, the most successful coach
they've had, and I think ultimately, you know, for coaches,
wins and losses, that's what distinguishes them the most, not
(02:19:20):
just the intangibles and the newness of this. You know,
back when Gary was here. They have some good seasons.
They have some good football players. I would cover a
lot of those games against the Texans when I was
covering the Baltimore Ravens. But I think that this era
has the potential to go much higher than the Kubiak era.
But until they do it, it's potential, and I think
(02:19:43):
they're right within striking distance. They're close.
Speaker 3 (02:19:45):
Okay. So the thing that I threw out this year
is that, like the Texans, I don't know if this
is the best thing that they've ever had. What I
will say is this is the first time I felt
confident that they are going to go on a run
in the playoffs. You feel like that everything is still
ahead of them. They're playing with fire right now. They're
hot when it comes to the defensive side. They figured
out an idaddy on offense. The fact that you don't
have a Lamar Jackson in the playoffs, the fact that
(02:20:07):
you don't have a Joe Burrow in the playoffs, No
Patrick Mahomes, and it does feel like it's Buffalo season
only because if they have an MVP quarterback, that's the
only thing standing in your way. Should that give you
a sense of confidence that again, we've never seen this
team make a run towards the conference championship. As long
as they aren't having the self inflicted wounds, they should
(02:20:28):
find themselves in that category of maybe playing all the
way up until the last week of the regular of
the postseason.
Speaker 6 (02:20:34):
I agree.
Speaker 9 (02:20:35):
Yeah, cool, there's no reason for there to be afraid
of any of these teams. That includes the Broncos, the Patriots,
and the Buffalo Bills. They've already beaten the Bills and
they can do it again with the Broncos. They were
in that football game. CJ. Stroud got knocked out of
the game with a concussion and then you know Patriots,
they are a new team this year with Mike Rabel.
(02:20:57):
They've definitely made some improvements. We saw what they did
last year against Drake May, but that was his rookie year.
It's a different Drake May, so that is a bit
of an unknown when it comes to new England and
you know they have Triga on Henderson. There's some changes
there in New England. Some I think obviously more inspired
football team with Rabel's coaching style. But these other teams,
I mean, I don't think it's gonna be afraid. I
(02:21:19):
mean they have a great defense. Nobody really wants to
play the Texans. They're the most dangerous defense in the NFL.
And the offense, they're getting it done a little bit
workmen like fashion, but certainly they're putting up points and
c J. Stroud going off script run over the middle,
deserving of the praise he's getting locally and nationally because
(02:21:39):
he's up to his game. He's taking care of the football.
So I look at the Texans of the team. It's
peaking at the right time here in December and has
a chance to play some very meaningful football games in January.
You know, it's like to make their's the same as
how they part giveaway. Tom mc nerv was talking about,
you know, the important games and the focus and handmac
aers talking about that. I see it. I think this
(02:22:02):
team definitely on a mission and just the Bible around them.
It's good. You know, we're there every day talking to
these guys, talking with the mcar, with the players in
the locker room, and it's a close team, good camaraderie.
Definitely a team I think it's gonna make some noise
in the playoffs once they get there. They got to
get there and they got to keep it up and
stay focused and take care of business like they we
(02:22:24):
expect them to against Las Vegas Raiders will have two
wins this year. It's me it steels like a team
that's on the cusp of sometime.
Speaker 3 (02:22:31):
Aaron, We're not gonna spend any time talking about this
Las Vegas Raires team. And you know that you know
the NFL as well as anybody else out there. And
that's the thing is that I don't think they would
give you enough credit for being able to speak on
what is the league. So last night we saw two
of the better teams in the NFC, two teams that
beat the Texans in Seattle and Los Angeles go toe
to toe with each other. Overall thoughts on those two teams,
(02:22:52):
do you feel like, just from a broader standpoint, if
the Texans were to go to the Super Bowl, those
would be the two from the NFC that you worry
about the most of being able to hoist up a
Lombardi Trophy and not bring history down to Houston.
Speaker 9 (02:23:05):
Loved that game last night. Watched all of it and
didn't love some of the calls, But other than that,
I loved this game. I thought that, you know, when
they played Seattle Los Angeles, the Texans just weren't quite there.
Especially against Seattle. It was pretty glaring. They weren't playing
very well themselves, and Seattle looked awesome, but la they
(02:23:26):
were in the game, they had some problems. Sure, everybody
has problems with Puka Nakua and Matthew Stafford, but I
did any tough. I don't think they would be the
favorites against either of those teams, obviously having lost to them,
if they did get to the Super Bowl, which is
real far down the road but hard enough to think
about it. I was thinking about this last night. I
was like, I was telling my wife, I said, yeah,
(02:23:47):
those are two teams that the Texans couldn't beat there
on this winning streak. Now, but we were just watching,
you know, watching how great both those teams were playing,
and the play calling and the strategy, and that was
a cool, cool football game. And I mean if you're Amazon,
and you're gonna be pretty happy about that game. That
is the best game I've watched on Thursday night this year.
Speaker 3 (02:24:07):
Aaron Wilson, KPRC News Sports Sucks seven ninety Textans Insider, Aaron,
appreciate the time today. I'll see ye. I'll see you
like a what thirty match or so, because I'll be
at practice. So see what I get there? All right,
I'd be good, all right, seven nine if you watch
im on in all right, here's what we're gonna do
to end the show. Triple Ley and I are going
(02:24:28):
to be in lockstep on not just conversations of smack talking.
When it comes to the tech Alabama versus Oklahoma, Tripley
and I are gonna make our college football play predictions.
We're gonna go through entirely, and we're going to decide
who will be hoisting up the national title. Lock in step,
do not miss. That's how we're gonna close out a
Friday edition of The Morning Drive Sports Sucks seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (02:24:48):
Next back to Cole as the Morning Drive Cruise is off.
Speaker 3 (02:24:56):
Can you put the end of this? Is it gonna
be Alabama is gonna go? Ahea put it this way
that we saw this game.
Speaker 14 (02:25:01):
A couple of weeks ago, Alabama lost to Oklahoma in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama turned the ball over several times in their home stadium.
Am I to believe that Alabama's gonna go up to
Norman in a raucous atmosphere and play flawless free football.
I just find that hard to believe. I feel like Oklahoma.
(02:25:23):
The argument for them is their offense didn't do much
of anything in Tuscaloosa and they still won. What if
their offense does anything tonight, it's advantage Oklahoma. Yeah, look again, Alabama,
they will have to Alabama can win, they will have
to play a near flawless football game.
Speaker 3 (02:25:42):
So when they play a near flawless football game, both
if you're gonna have to ecrown good morning? Yeah, we see.
Just make it sure. All right, let's get this out
of the way, TRIPLEA, You and I, let's make our
college football playoff predictions. We'll go through every single game,
locking on in and at the very end, one of
us will go ahead and reward each other something else
outside of breakfast or six pack of beer. All right,
So Alabama takes on Oklahoma tonight. We already know What's
(02:26:03):
which way each of us are going? All right, Miami
versus Texas A and M tomorrow? Who you got? That's
the one that I haven't scratched my head on, but
I want to. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go with
A and M, so you are gonna leave with them.
I don't think it's gonna be a blowout like some
do envision. I think the A and M is gonna win.
But I'll tell you what, man, if you let Malachai
Tony Cook, he is gonna be able to force feed
(02:26:23):
his way into the end zone on multiple occasions. And
I hate the fact that we're dealing with an eleven
am kick for this game. Like ESPN, you already screwed
up royally when it came to how you want to
go about the selection process. You can't even get the
game times right. Really, we have to have two lane
oh miss JMU and Oregon as the nightcap play. Well,
here's the other thing.
Speaker 14 (02:26:44):
We got two NFL games tomorrow after to night I'm sorry,
jam you organ is going to get their ass kicked
in the ratings and games.
Speaker 3 (02:26:53):
Oh yeah, TNT is really gonna be able to go
toe to toe with NFL network on that one. All right,
do you think that either one of the upsets is
gonna happen between two lane Jmu or jam you No, alright,
so you're saying Oregon, you're also saying almost is gonna win, right, yes,
all right? So Oregon versus Texas Tech. Who you got?
I got Oregon, I got Oregon as well? Okay, Right,
Indiana versus Oklahoma Oklahoma, so you are going with Oklahoma going, yes,
(02:27:16):
I'm Alabama, Sorry Alabama, and congratulates to my dad. Indiana's
winning that one. Georgia versus Ole Miss Georgia. Of course,
Georgia is well. Texas a and vers Ohio State, Oh, Ohio, alright,
so we're both going with the highest You're already jumping
ahead the next week. Yeah, one hundred percent. We're going
through the whole prediction, all right, final one, Oregon versus Oklahoma,
give me the Sooners. Sorry, Oregon's Oregon's beating Indiana and
(02:27:40):
that one for me. Ohio State versus Georgia. Okay, alright, No,
Ohio savers Georgia. Okay, who you got Ohio, say you're Georgia.
Give me Georgia Georgia as well. So you got the
Georgia and Oklahoma in the National Championship. Yes, and I
got Georgia, got Georgia's beaten Oregon in the National Championship.
That's how it's gonna go. That is how the show goes. Tripley,
(02:28:01):
thank you for producing. You can stick around if you
want to. It's it's your building anyway. Special thanks johnth
and Alexander Special thanks to Aaron Wilson for joining us today.
Damn Matthews back Monday, Cole Thompson back Monday, Texans victory,
Rockets victory, and we hope so Alabama victory. Yeah, that's
gonna happen for TRIPLEY. I am Cole Thompson Morning Drive
(02:28:24):
up next to Matt Thomas Show with Nott Ross. Instead,
we have Chris Gordy. We will talk to you in
sixty eight hours.
Speaker 1 (02:28:29):
Peace.
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