Turn the Page Tuesday: Sark & Arch React to Ohio State, Cowboys Trade Talk, Texans Prep for Rams

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:37):
Or wherever you may be listening.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
This is a Turn to Page Texas Tuesday edition of
The Morning Kickoff right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen
hundred The Zone. Coach Sark and some of the players
met with the media yesterday.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Joe Cook of.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Inside Texas joins us at seven point thirty four. Bill
Belichick made his NCAA debut, and let's just say some
things never change. We'll be joined by Mark Vandermere, the
voice of the Texans, at eight seventeen as they preview

(01:15):
their game against the Rams. Micah has An injury and
the season starts on Thursday.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
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Speaker 1 (01:24):
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Speaker 3 (02:24):
Well.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Obviously we're gonna get right into it because yesterday coach
Sart met with the media, and it was after he
got a chance to go back and watch the film
and really regroup and address some of the things that
he saw on the film.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
And let's just say, some of the things weren't that bad.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
Alrighty, just a little recap from Saturday with a chance
to watch the tape. Obviously, what a what a great scene,
and what a great matchup for college football. Those are
those are two good teams battling it out in a
hard fought game.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Obviously, it's great to have an.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
Opportunity to honor coach Course in college game Day and
all that he's meant. I think the biggest thing coming
out of it is lots to build on from that game,
and I thought we built on a lot of things
during the game. I thought that we played a much
better second half than we did a first half. I
thought all the way through our guys played hard, they fought.
I think that was obviously evident there all the way

(03:20):
into the fourth quarter at the end of the ball game.
But I do think as we grow as a team,
and I think really good teams get better as the
season goes on, and that's been one of the challenges
to the team this morning, is that.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
You know, who we were.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
Saturday does not have to be who we are this
Saturday and the coming weeks. And so I think the
goal is for each and every person in the organization
to get better, to learn from that game. There are
plenty of lessons learned, and there are plenty of positives
that came out of the game, and there were some
negatives clearly, I think from an experience standpoint, I think
we played fifty players in the game Saturday, which was fantastic.

(03:57):
Seven of those fifty made their first career star arts
for US. We played four true freshmen, obviously had a
new punter, a new kicker, new punt returner, new kick returner,
so on and so forth. I thought defensively, we played
a very good football game, you know, to hold them
to three point eight yards per play. I think it
was two point three yards per rush, three to twelve

(04:20):
on third down, only two explosive plays which came on
two pass plays, one of which was the touchdown.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
You know.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
The one thing that came out of it where there
was some disappointment was, you know, we had a twenty
four game streak of forcing a turnover, which was the
longest in the country and our inability to create a
turnover or two in that game I think affected us some.
I thought offensively, you know, we played much better in
the second half. I think we had just about two

(04:47):
hundred and sixty yards in the second half. I think
our ability to run the football was evident in the game.
To go into that environment against that defense, to rush
for just about one hundred and seventy yards, I thought
was good for us. I thought we started to make
some plays in the passing game as the game went on,
which was a good sign for us moving forward.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
But I do think penalties were an.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Issue because it wasn't so much the amount of penalties,
it was the timing of the penalties. You think about,
you know, we have a third and four, we get
a stop, they're probably in a in a punt mode
because of the nature of the game, and we get
a legal hands to the face or a face mask
on a pass rush which extends the drive. Then we

(05:30):
get a defensive pass interference or a holding penalty that
extends the drive, and they ultimately score a touchdown. So
thirty yards and penalties on the one touchdown drive. Then
we have we have an opportunity to really pin them
deep in their own end and possibly get a safety.
And we get another hands to the face rushing rushing
the quarterback, which negated a safety. So ultimately, you know,

(05:53):
the two fouls which kind of equated to points in
the game.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
And I thought, offensively, same thing.

Speaker 4 (05:58):
We have a false start on a third and five,
which knocks us back to a third and ten, which
ultimately we have to punt and pin them deep again.
But I think ultimately what came out of it too
was we've got to be better at playing complimentary football.
I thought in the first half we had some really
good field position that we didn't capitalize on offensively, that
that that the defensive special teams got us.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (06:20):
Conversely, we had some good field position on defense. You know,
I think Jack pins them three times inside the ten
and we get stopped on the one, so four times
they had to start drives inside their own ten. And
I just didn't think we did a good enough job
of pinning them deep and flipping the field back in
our favor. So something for us to work on of
playing complimentary football.

Speaker 5 (06:39):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
And then ultimately, you know, the fourth down conversions on offense,
you know, one for five, you know we we were
We were aggressive initially obviously with the first fourth down
sneak and then the fourth and two which which we
didn't convert. Uh, and then a couple of the fourth
downs late were kind of because of the situation, we
kind of had to go for him.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
They were what they were.

Speaker 4 (06:58):
But but all in all, you know, I was proud
and happy for Cedric Baxter. You know, I think he
had fifteen touches in the game, his first game back
after you know, not playing for a year. You know,
ten rushes, five receptions. I thought Manny Muhammad competed his
tailoff Saturday against a great player in Jeremiah Smith. I
think Jack Boemeister was fantastic. He's a weapon for us

(07:20):
in the punt game. I thought to have four full
time first starters on the offensive line and the way
that they performed was definitely encouraging. And I think Arch
in the second half, I thought, we start to see
the glimp the glimpses of what he's capable of. So
a lot to a lot to look forward to the season.
I think of where this team can go. We've got

(07:41):
we've got a ton of potential, and now we've got
to make that come to life, but could be more
excited to get back to dk R. This Saturday, eleven
am against San Jose State should be a great environment,
great weather. I think it's only gonna be eighty nine
degrees Saturday is the high and we've had a lot worse,
you know, day games in September, so we're looking forward
to that. A ton of respect for Kenny Nea Mazalolo,

(08:02):
the job that he's done throughout his career, the job
that he's done at San Jose State. Just last season alone,
they beat Oregon State, they beat Washington State, they beat Stanford,
and they lose in five overtimes to South Florida in
their bowl game, So he's done a great job. They're
gonna throw the ball all over the yard. It's run
to shoot at its finest. They got a really good quarterback,
got a great linebacker, and Jordan Pollard who's a downhill player,

(08:25):
running hit guy. So good good challenge, good opportunity for us.
But but this week is really about us and what
we do and everybody in the organization being coachable and
striving to get better this week, So it's a it's
a lot of internal focus for us.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
And One of the main things that continues to glare
is he talked about the four trips into the red zone.
I mean, Texas had opportunities to put the ball in
the end zone and it has to be done. That's
one of the biggest achilles heels, I guess you would say.
And situationally, I know that we have the conversation that

(09:01):
the numbers went up last year contrary to belief. But
in these types of ball games, those are the ones
that are the most deadly. This is a tight, tight
ball game. Skill levels are the same. Both teams are
playing at an elite level. It's a fourteen to seven
old school smash mount football game. Those red zone opportunities

(09:24):
they don't come that often.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
You have to be able to punch him in.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
So that is something that I know that this team
is really going to be focusing on moving forward, and
I mean it is what it is. There has to
be something done in that area. But coach Sark had
his own debut when he was playing quarterback, and he
was asked about how this debut for Quinn yours, I

(09:50):
mean Quinn, you excuse me, Fordian slip, Flordian slip, arch
Manning and how he's adjusted to it, and what did
he do after his debut?

Speaker 6 (10:00):
Just get your career going, and how do you kind
of translate some of those lessons to Arch?

Speaker 4 (10:03):
Yeah, it was not a great day and it was
an eleven am kick. I'll never forget that day they had.
They had a good team. But you know, I think
it's it's it's learning from the game, you know, And
you know, I think one thing that happened a little
bit to Arch is the game can mount on you
a little bit and you feel like, oh man, we're
not scoring, or I missed to read or I missed
a throw, when in reality you look at the scoreboard

(10:26):
it's still zero to zero. And then the game can
mount and you feel like you got to make a play,
but you look at the scoreboards seven to nothing.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
Right that this game was It was a very tight game.
Sorry apologize. It was a very tight game that.

Speaker 4 (10:43):
I don't think he needed to press and I think
he'll learn that as we go. Especially, you know, he's
fortunate right now he's got a great defense on the
other side of the ball. We were really good on
special teams and he doesn't have to force some of
those issues. But I think also he looked at the
game and thought there were some easy things that that
game where he can let the easy things be easy
and he doesn't have to press on that. So all

(11:06):
in all, I think he started to play football in
the second half the way he's capable playing. And I
think the other thing he learned in this game once
we really got going was he's probably a better athlete
than he gave himself credit for in the first half
of the game, and he started to use his legs
a little bit more, had a really nice scramble to
get out of the pocket for an explosive run. Obviously,

(11:26):
we utilized him a little more in the quarterback run game,
but I think him trusting his athleticism can help him
some too.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
And that is going to be key for Arch moving forward,
trusting his athleticism and continuing to move around. We're just
getting started on the Turn of Page Texas Tuesday edition
of the Morning Kickoff right here on Sports Radio AM
thirteen hundred of Zone. We're going to continue the conversations
here more on the old line play and the running game.

(11:55):
We'll have Joe Cook of Inside Texas at seven thirty four,
and we'll close out our number one in the beatdown
in Chapel Hill. Yeah, Bill college game is a little
bit different. Right here on the morning kickoff on sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone one hour from now,
where will talk to the voice of the Houston Texans,

(12:19):
Mark Vandermere, as the Texans travel to Los Angeles to take.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
On the Rams.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
The Rams got good news today saying that Matthew Stafford,
their starting quarterback, will be playing this weekend and that
is good news.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
But he's dealing with a.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
Back injury as well as Michael Parsons, and we'll talk
about that in the next hour, but right now, I
want to continue to talk about coach Sark and his
media availability yesterday. We'll hear from Arch Manning a little
bit later today as well. But one of the keys
to the game last week against Ohio State was the

(13:00):
fact that Texas got an opportunity to run the football.

Speaker 2 (13:04):
They received CJ.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Baxter back in the backfield, and we had heard through
our training camp that he was looking good, he was
able to run.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
He did a great job.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
But the story was about the offensive line in the
new offensive line, But coach Shark was asked about how
pleased he was with the run game.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, I was very pleased.

Speaker 4 (13:26):
You know, we felt like a year ago, for lack
of better terms, we were probably a little too cute
against those teams. And we wanted to get back to
a physical brand of football that we've kind of built
around here, and we went into that into this game
with that mentality. We ran the ball between the tackles.
We wanted to run the ball right at them. That

(13:48):
we wanted to have a physical mentality. And I think
we can with the style of offensive line that we have,
and I thought we did that, but I think one
thing we challenged the players on. I thought we had
opportunities for even bigger runs, but it takes all eleven.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
We need to block better on the perimeter at white out.

Speaker 4 (14:04):
We need to strain a little bit more on the
backside of runs so that that last defender can't make
that tackle. But there's a there's a commitment around here
to run in the football. And I've said all along,
like when you go on the road against really quality opponents, right,
you got to pack your defense, you got to pack
your run game. And those two things happen. Now we
need the other elements of our team still to show up.

(14:26):
But knowing we have those two things gives me a
ton of confidence as we go through this season that
we have the ability to.

Speaker 1 (14:33):
Do that and having those backs the way that they
are and the movement that they had. He also talked
about using arch a little bit more in the run game,
but sometimes you got to understand that in those confined areas,
sometimes if you spread people out, you might be able
to hit a couple of those home runs. But he

(14:54):
was asked also, what did the film tell you about
some of those and the results that were there.

Speaker 4 (15:02):
Yeah, No, I think that we had some good things
dialed up. We had other plays that they guarded too.
I'll give them credit. You know, they defended some things
pretty well, and you know, to a credit at that juncture,
that's when a guy's got to make a play, and
I thought that was evident.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
On Parker's touchdown catch.

Speaker 4 (15:19):
You know, it was very tight coverage, but but he
went and made a play on the ball, and some
other guys did too. Great catch by Jack Andres in
the fourth quarter on the wheel route into tight coverage.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
Took a big hit.

Speaker 4 (15:29):
So yeah, there's opportunities when guys are open. There's opportunities
when it's going to be tight and we have to
make some throws and make some plays on the ball.
I think in the end, it's like, hey, we can
practice a variety of looks and give a variety of
looks in practice of anticipation of what we think we
might get, especially early in the season, especially in Week one,

(15:51):
I can't predict it all, and you have to feel
some of these plays as they're happening in real time.
And I think that was a lesson learned for Arts
two that maybe it wasn't the exact look that we
gave in practice, but the route concept still unfolded the
way maybe we would have liked them too, And so
let's have a little bit of trust in that.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
But that's again, that's part of the growth.

Speaker 4 (16:12):
That's why I was saying, you know, on Saturday, let's
not judge this book by chapter one. Right there, We've
got let's read the whole book before we make an
assessment and judgment on this passing game, on him, on
what this team can be as a season on folds and.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
I continue to tell you it's like, listen, the game
is going to slow down for him. And I heard
some people talking yesterday and I even heard some people
bringing it up this morning. They were saying, this isn't
his first game, This isn't I understand that, we all
understand this isn't his first game, but not everybody's first

(16:51):
game is going to be against the defending national champion. Well,
they had sixteen guys go to the NFL. Well, so
did Texas, and so did a lot of people.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
The game is not The game is different.

Speaker 7 (17:03):
Ohio State has been consistently refeeling the tank, so I
was expecting this to be a tight game, low scoring,
with a lot of defense, and that's what we got.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yeah, there was a lot of good plays being made
on both sides. There weren't There weren't a lot of
opportunities for him to to find it. Go back and
look at it. The coverage was there. It couldn't have
been any tighter than what we saw.

Speaker 7 (17:29):
That was the reason why you didn't see many deep,
deep passing attempts.

Speaker 2 (17:32):
Right there was lockdown all over the field.

Speaker 1 (17:35):
But one of the things that coach Shark was asked
about is what does your ideal offense look like? What
is the vision of this offense to get to that
point we.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
Go down the field, we put it in the end zone.
I'm not that's kind of you know. I mean, you
want to be efficient. You know, there's not negative plays
in which we didn't have many of. I think we
had thirty some odd runs. It was one negative run.
I think we had one sack in the game, so
there weren't really negative plays. But you're efficient on first down,
you're fishing on second down. You don't have quite as

(18:12):
many third downs, and when you do, there's very few
third and long type situations. There's timing and rhythm in
the passing game, there's playmaking, there's speed, there's explosive plays,
and we didn't have We didn't have enough explosive plays Saturday,
and I think we're in sixty four plays and there
was only seven explosives. That's about eleven percent number. Our

(18:33):
goal is to be twenty percent or higher. So that
means we need to have about thirteen explosive plays in
a game like that, and I think we had chances to.
It just didn't. It just didn't happen the way we
would have liked. And so we've got to find ways
to be efficient but yet also be explosive, stay in
manageable third downs, or don't have third downs, win on
first and second down, and then ultimately, we've got to

(18:55):
be more efficient in the red area and when we
get our opportunities to score or we got to score
ding Ding.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
You have to score, and it has to be one
of those situations where you're giving your QB an opportunity. Look,
I understand the physicality. You want to go in there
and punch people in the face and show the power
that this team can have in the running game, but
I also believe that you can't run up the middle

(19:21):
all the time. You need to put yourself in a
position to where you give your quarterback a run.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
Option because he is that athletic.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
The one thing that I saw when watching the film
is they were trying to keep him in the pocket.
They did not want him to get outside. They weren't
trying to sack him. They were just making sure that
their gap resp responsibilities were onlock and it was efficient.
And after that first play when he rolled out and

(19:52):
he short armed the pass and he he was upset
about it, rightfully so, but there was an opportunity that
he didn't get the rest of the game where he
could get outside of the pocket. And when he did,
there was somebody there to hit him and turn him
back inside. So there was a lot that once you
go back and you watch the film that you have
to tip your cap to what Ohio State was able

(20:16):
to do. And again it was a one score ball game.
There were opportunities to win the ball game.

Speaker 7 (20:21):
Do you think they should have set off a few
times for the points instead of trying No, I understand, Trent,
you need to try to put set six on the board.

Speaker 1 (20:30):
But like you saw how this game was being played,
you have to go for it. This is a game
that is not going to be won on field goals.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
So, and the fact too, they were pinned deep in
the Ohio State was pinned deep in their own territory
multiple times. So the field position was in Texas's favor.
It just didn't close out. But for the running game,
one of the main things that we're going to talk
about with Joe Cook is the gap blocking scheme and

(21:00):
being able to control the line of scrimmage.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
I thought that the gap scheme stuff was better early
early in the game. I thought our guard pools were
a little better early. I felt like as the game
wore on, we were striking guys. We weren't bringing our
feet the way I would have liked, and that we
were kind of falling off blocks and guys were falling
back in and making plays where we felt like we

(21:24):
were gonna have runs for eight, ten, twelve yards. We
were getting three, four and five yards, and so we've
got to finish a little better from a gap skiing perspective.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
But I thought we did a good job of building
the wall. I thought we did a good job of kicking.

Speaker 4 (21:36):
Now we got we gotta we got a strain to
finish so that we could that run lane stage consistent
for us.

Speaker 7 (21:41):
That's more of an experience thing.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
Yes, reps, it's reps. Some of these guys are gonna
get their reps. But there were also some plays where
guys cut in when they should have kept going out
and following the blocker.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
I mean, there was moments.

Speaker 1 (21:55):
That you gotta have that field in that vision. And
I'm not taking anything away from the running game. They
did exactly what they needed to do. They controlled the
line of scrimmage. But there, like he said, there are
times where you want to be able to have explosive plays,
and there were some opportunities that were missed. You don't
want to miss the next guest, our guy Joe Cook

(22:17):
of Inside Texas. He's gonna break down his thoughts from
the game, what he thought from the press conference, and
where does Texas go from here? Right here on a
Texas Tuesday, on a Turn to Page Tuesday, as well
on the Morning Kickoff on Sports Radio AM thirteen.

Speaker 4 (22:34):
Hundred The Zone.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
Welcome back to the Morning Kickoff right here on Sports
Radio AM thirteen one hundred The Zone. It is Tuesday,
so this is the time that we talked to our guy,
Joe Cook of Inside Texas. You can follow him at
Joseph Cook eighty nine and Joe. Yesterday, we got an
opportunity to hear from coach Sark, We got an opportunity

(22:58):
to hear from the players. Well before we get to
that reaction, I wanted to get your overall reaction from
the game on Saturday.

Speaker 6 (23:09):
Yeah, I mean I was. I was expecting a little
bit more high scoring. I didn't think it'd just be
a three touchdown game. My two big reactions are you know, Okay,
march Manning looks like a quarterback just making his first
start on the road and not what we thought march
Manning was going to be that's a little jarring, but
you know, I think that was a high potential outcome

(23:32):
even if we were maybe not talking about it all
that much. The other one is, you know, when you're
this Texas team and you're living in these one versus
three games, or you know, these top ten games that
they've been part of these past couple of years, you
think of Georgia, you think of Washington, Pecky kind of
think of the maybe even you know, the twenty twenty

(23:53):
three Red River shootout, like the Long Corns have not
had the ability to really put teams away or do something.
You know, I think when other teams know it's coming.
I think Ohio State was very content to play coverage,
but they couldn't pass through it. And you know, the

(24:13):
as our guy Paul Wadlinton said, we'll.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
Run inside Texas.

Speaker 6 (24:16):
A lot of those run lane yards are empty calories
like the twenties to twenty whatever. If you can both
in the red zone, it doesn't matter. That's what Ohio
State did a couple of times. And you know, we're
not going to really learn anything about that part of
Texas for the next couple of weeks, but they're gonna
have to get that ready because Florida is going to
have a run defense that they'll need to get passed,

(24:38):
and they're gonna have, you know, a red zone that
you're gonna need to score in. And it just thinks
that we're not really going to get an answer on
can Texas really show it's more than just a above
most average program, Like can it show that it's an
actual top five programs instead of maybe the top ten
range where I think they're very comfortab But you know,

(25:01):
they haven't done anything, I guess, over the past couple
of years to show that they're just like Lockstep, you know,
no doubt in that top five every single year.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
You know, I hear.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
People say that they're not going to have anything to
prove during these next three games. And I'm always on
the other side of that because we didn't see the smoothness,
we didn't see the cohesiveness of this team. And I
think that going out and playing against a team again
like San Jose, who coach Stark broke down all the
teams that they defeated last season, I think it is

(25:35):
important because to me, I think that the confidence level
has to be through the roof, and if there's not
a dominant performance in this ball game. I think that's
the part that people need to start worrying about.

Speaker 6 (25:48):
Right, Yeah, you want, you know, you want to hit
the hanging curve balls, and I feel like Texas is
going to get a few of those. Now, how do
you make sure those aren't you know, ninety mile our
grounders the third basement? And how do you make sure
that you do what you're supposed to do and level
swing and get under it. And I'm mixing all my
sports up. But they're gonna, but but they're gonna, They're

(26:12):
gonna have opportunities in these next couple of games that
are progressively easier. I think San Jose State will be
the best G five team they play, and then uteh
will be next, and then Sans Houston. They're gonna have
opportunities to Okay, this is what it looks like in practice,
this is what it's supposed to look like. Let's do
what it's supposed to look like against another opponent.

Speaker 3 (26:34):
The other team.

Speaker 6 (26:34):
Thing is, you know, we saw probably about I think
starts that they played about fifty players or something like
that total over in Columbus. That number is going to
jump to like seventy. Over these next couple of games,
we're gonna see a lot of young players get some opportunities.
More than just guys like Grayson Littleton, more than just
guys like Daylon McCutcheon. We're gonna see a lot of

(26:56):
these members of the twenty twenty five last probably start
to get them off the into twenty twenty four class.
Guys who red shirted last year get some opportunity. You know,
you really want your frontline guys to execute, but it's
going to be good to you know, when they rotate
this much, they're going to get some opportunity to show
that they'll be ready to contribute across what Texas.

Speaker 3 (27:19):
That was another thing Texas Cats saying, you know, fifteen to.

Speaker 6 (27:22):
Sixteen game season, they're not limiting themselves, so we got
to get to the SEC Championship. They still have their
eyes on the national title as that are in goal
no doubt.

Speaker 1 (27:32):
We're talking to Joe Cook of Inside Texas. Make sure
you follow them at Joseph Cook eighty nine and Joe,
you brought up Grayson Lyttleton and he's somebody that has
shown a lot of potential. Do you see more of
him in these next coming weeks, more of a prominent
role this this coming week.

Speaker 6 (27:53):
Yeah, I think this guy's going to be in the
starting lineup till until he leaves the forty acres Like that,
it's impressive. You know, we were trying to figure out
yesterday he were some of the other freshman starters on
defense and Jalen Gilbo did this a few years ago
in twenty twenty two. You know then he I think
he had an injury today, Bary it took over for

(28:14):
him and we know what happened there. But for Littleton
to already be making plays on Jeremiah Smith in your
first career game like that, I think we're kind of
under selling that when we put all those words together,
like he was a fantastic he was not a liability.

Speaker 3 (28:30):
And you know, when you're.

Speaker 6 (28:31):
Thinking about Brian Day and Brian Hartline, who might they hunt.
They're probably going to hunt that true freshman. They're probably
going to hunt that guy who's just now playing in
big time college football. And he showed the moment was
not too big for him. He's got to keep it going.
But that was that was super encouraging sign for a
player that's just been having great things said about him

(28:52):
all camp.

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, it's been very impressive to watch. Another thing that
has been impressive was the punting. We knew that the
punting game was going to be an integral part of
the success for this football team, being able to flip
the field. How excited were you to watch that display
by Bummeister.

Speaker 6 (29:12):
It was fantastic. You know, that probably is what put
Texas in position to score a handful of times. Texas
had some bad, terrible even special teams metrics last year
and a lot of that can be looked at, you know,
just missing field goals, but a lot of that really
is that like hidden yardage factor. And then when you
think about, okay, are we putting guys inside their own

(29:35):
five or are we putting them at the twenty fifteen yards,
that's an extra first down and a little bit more.
If you make the guys on the other team have
to move the sticks another time on another occasion, that's
another opportunity for them to fail. And that's what the
bow mister is helpful with. He just brings an element
to the punt game enough to get two in the
weeds that they didn't have last year. And now Texas

(29:59):
may have a true strengths on the punt you know,
punting team that they just haven't really had maybe since
you know Ryan Sanborn. I think he was real quality.
Cameron dicker Good did good stuff. They had ups and
downs with Daniel Trejo, but this may be the best.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
Of the bunch, and that's exactly what helps flip the
field in all of these situations. It's gonna be a
real weapon coming into this year. Look at us talking
special teams. Man, I'm excited about it. I'm excited about it.
Thank you Joe as always for bringing the heat, and
we'll continue these conversations next week.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
Absolutely sounds good.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
Hard there he is, Joe Cook of Inside Texas. You
can follow them at Joseph Cook eighty nine. What happened
in Chapel Hill. Well, we're gonna tell you, is that right,
mister Bill? Right here on the morning kickoff on Sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred the Zone. Great stuff from Joe

(30:57):
Cook of Inside Texas always he's bringing it.

Speaker 2 (31:02):
Coming up in the.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
Next hour, we will have the voice of the Houston Texans,
Mark Vandermere, as he breaks down the Texans talk about
their camp, how everything's finished up, and what the expectations
are this week. I also wanted to bring this up
because I sit back and I think about the changes

(31:24):
in college athletics, and everybody this whole offseason was talking
about Bill Belichick and the age gap between here he
and his girlfriend Jordan. By the way, they call her
hair Jordan, She's got her own sign. I mean, it's crazy,
but all that needed to stop because you wanted to

(31:46):
see what things were going to be like.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
On the football field.

Speaker 1 (31:51):
Well before the game, he got a chance to talk
to Holly row about his expectations going into this ball game.

Speaker 5 (31:58):
Which weird It is thirty four years to the day
that you debuted as an NFL head coach and now
you're making your debut as a college of football coach.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
What's going on inside you right now? With excitement, nerves?
What does it feel like?

Speaker 8 (32:11):
I hope it goes a lot better in the game
against Dallas and Jimmy Johnson, they crossed us, So hope
it goes better.

Speaker 3 (32:18):
Not.

Speaker 5 (32:18):
I know that you've got a great motto where you
say practice execution becomes game reality. What have you seen
this week in practice that you think your kids can
execute tonight?

Speaker 8 (32:28):
Well, hopefully we do good job of their fundamentals, all
security and communication.

Speaker 5 (32:34):
Tell me about the hoodie, I mean had to be
cut off sleeves.

Speaker 2 (32:37):
Right, yeah, it's kind of my thing. Thank you, coach.
How fun tonight? All right? Thanks all, thanks you, thank you. Well.

Speaker 1 (32:45):
Needless to say after that debut September first in nineteen
ninety one as the Cleveland Browns head coach, as the
Cowboys defeated them twenty six to fourteen, Well they opened
up the can on them forty eight to fourteen. TCU
came in after a great drive to start the game for.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
North Carolina.

Speaker 1 (33:11):
The rest was all about TCU until the very end.
And the thing about it is, you know it's bad
when you're starting quarterback.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
Goo Lopez has a stat on.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
The game that he has not completed a past in
an hour and a half. They put that stat up
to say that he was not he did not complete
a pass. But leading up to this matchup, nobody was
talking about TCU. They had a quarterback that threw for
almost four thousand yards and thirty one touchdowns last year.

(33:47):
They had a bunch of transfers that came in that
were very talented.

Speaker 2 (33:51):
They had a wide receiver and McAllister who was a.

Speaker 1 (33:55):
Big time playmaker last year, but no one spoke about that,
and I got Sonny Dyke's a little fired up performance and.

Speaker 9 (34:04):
Speaking of Sonny Nike's Holy.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
Rome, well, coach Tikes, there were a lot of other
headlines leading into.

Speaker 3 (34:09):
This game tonight.

Speaker 5 (34:10):
How did you make it about TC leaving the game?

Speaker 10 (34:13):
Yeah, I mean I think we all felt a little
disrespected maybe coming in by There's a lot of conversation
and none of it was about us, and so, you know,
I think we're all highly motivated. Our players were certainly
excited to play. I thought we did a great job
of you know, North Carolina came out and executed really
well in the first job. We got down early and
and it didn't look great for us, our guys just
hanging there, and you know, we really prepared well. I'm

(34:36):
really proud of our guys, and I put a lot
of work in and we showed up today.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
And that is what it's all about. But the question
is what's next for Bill Belichick? Is Bill Belichick trying
to figure this out? Because they got a lot of players,
seventy players they brought in from the transfer portal, and
now they've got to try to figure out how they're
gonna mesh Hey.

Speaker 3 (34:58):
Nike's greeting rap Saint ce in Dublin.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
Yeah, season openers next.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
Year and.

Speaker 11 (35:06):
Carolina like every team that has a rough opening week,
he may go up to the film room right now
and take a peek to see where they can get better.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
They're obviously going to get better. Be interesting to see
if mac.

Speaker 11 (35:17):
Max Johnson is the quarterback next time around. We hope
Ceo is okay. But in the meantime, what a win
for TCU. The story really is about sunny Dike's and
horn frogs and dominating performances.

Speaker 2 (35:29):
And they have to figure it out.

Speaker 1 (35:30):
Because that performance yesterday, as I said, they went down
on that first drive in everybody, everybody was excited about it.
They had a picture of Michael Jordan, Roy Williams and
Lawrence Taylor. By the way, LT was smoking cigars in
the stadium yesterday.

Speaker 2 (35:49):
Hey, it's LT. He's in a suit. He could do
what he wants to do.

Speaker 1 (35:52):
But the one thing that I talk about all the
time is being present. You have to be present. And
I believe that Bill Belichick totally misunderstood the assignment when
he came in. Now, just like everybody else, it's game one.
Bill Belichick's Hall of Fame head coach. He's gonna get

(36:13):
this thing turned around. But the NFL, you have grown
men that are there that can adjust, that know how
to handle certain things. You can go out and get
a guy that's on his last leg and turn him
around because of the hunger and the drive that they
have there. I'm curious to how these players are going

(36:34):
to continue to react to Bill Belichick. I mean, you
make that transfer, you might have to make the change.
Gedo looked okay, But when you're when the stack comes
up on ESPN that you did not complete a pass
in an hour and a half, that is something that obviously.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
Needs to be talked about.

Speaker 1 (36:54):
But then you look at Max Johnson, the backup quarterback
whose brother is the tight end, who ended up They
ended up throwing a pass to each other for a touchdown,
which was a very special moment because Mad Max almost
had his leg amputated. He had five surgeries last year

(37:15):
for him to even beat on the field. Another former
Texas A and M quarterback. Now, I said that a
lot yesterday. There's a lot of former Texas A and
M quarterbacks that are out there doing some things but
for the fact that he was able to do that,
he may end up.

Speaker 2 (37:31):
Being the starting quarterback.

Speaker 1 (37:33):
I'm not sure because GEO got to make sure that
he's going to be healthy. But Bill Belichick in this squad,
they've got a lot of work to do. And not
to take anything away from TCU, because TCU is a
team that has been wanting that respect for quite some time.
Sonny Dykes has won a hell of a coach. They

(37:56):
continue to find players and I don't know how many
people actually watched that game last night, but that Josh
Hoover kid, that ball jumps out of his hand, and
the way that they run that offense, that run and
shoot type of offense and.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Move the ball around.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
They create running lanes and they also create wide open
patterns where guys are running free and he hits.

Speaker 2 (38:21):
Them on a dart.

Speaker 1 (38:22):
So impressive, impressive win for TCU. Back to the drawing
board from Bill Belichick, And there's a meme out there
of his girl looking at Randy Moss last night. I
didn't think anything of it, but there's a lot of
people like she might be on the move. She might
have went to a frat party last night. Who knows

(38:45):
our number? One is in the books. Our number two
is just around the corner. Cowboys Eagles. Micah needs an epidural,
we'll talk about it right here on the Morning Kickoff
on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred. Welcome back to our
number two of the Morning Kickoff right here on Sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone and our number one.

(39:08):
We heard from coach Sark in his weekly media availability,
recapping the game against Ohio State and previewing a little
bit of San Jose State. We also talked to Joe
Cook of Inside Texas and we just finished up with
Bill Belichick losing to TCU forty eight to fourteen and

(39:30):
his NCAA college debut in Chapel Hill.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
Coming up.

Speaker 1 (39:35):
At eight seventeen, we'll have Mark VanderMeer, the voice of
the Houston Texans, as he talks all things Texans as
they kick off the season in LA against the Rams,
and there's a Texas Longhorn that signed with them. At
eight thirty four, we will hear from Arch Manning as
he spoke with the media, and of course we'll finish

(39:59):
out the show talking about the athletics. List of a
couple players that you need to know that you may
not be talking about just yet. Yesterday we talked a
little bit about the Cowboys and the move off of
Micah Parsons, and now there's some news that is coming
out from Adam Schefter that Michaeh Parsons is dealing with

(40:25):
what some are saying in L four to L five
face it joint sprain in his back and may have
to take an epidural injection prior to Sunday's game against
the Lions if needed, to help him play in the game.
As we talked about before, they were talking with the

(40:46):
Cowboys about Michaeh Parsons and his back being messed up
and probably taking quart of zone shots and all these
different things to get going. And one thing I do
know in any sport, in day to day life, moving
around with back pain is never ever a good thing.

(41:07):
So with that being said, did Jerah know something? Did
Jarah really understand why he didn't want to pay Micah
the money is because he knew that they were dealing
with a back issue.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
But as we talked about yesterday, here's Dak Prescott talking
about the fact that Michael Parsons was getting traded and
he really did not believe.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
That that was going to happen.

Speaker 12 (41:35):
I can't say I was completely surprised, but I definitely
didn't think he was going to get traded.

Speaker 2 (41:43):
I'll say that.

Speaker 12 (41:45):
But just with the way that their negotiations went down,
obviously to some extent, I mean, hell, y'all asking me questions,
it seemed like it got personal on their ends.

Speaker 2 (41:53):
So like that's why I wasn't surprised, But yeah.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
You know, it just kind of seems like Dak is
at that point of, yeah, I really don't want to
talk about this anymore because I went through my own
issues and maybe there was some leadership, as we talked
about before, maybe there was some leadership conversation during that
time to where it was like, no, man, there's just

(42:19):
something about this situation that doesn't seem right. But the
other top player and someone who is a captain on
this football team talked a little bit about Micah and
how the fear of him getting to the quarterback is
an issue, and that's from one CD LAMB.

Speaker 5 (42:39):
What's gonna be like in September twenty eight the worst,
It's gonna be weird, it's gonna be conflicting, and I
hope he is not in a backfield in two seconds
who asks, He.

Speaker 1 (42:48):
Was like, I pray for my quarterback because I have
a feeling there's going to be a serious, serious pain
threshold that Dak is gonna have to be able to
withstand because there's a lot that is going to be
broken down in that particular moment.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
Because think about this, I'm.

Speaker 1 (43:08):
Disappointed because the Cowboys in two days is playing against
the defending national champion, I mean national champion, Super Bowl
champion Philadelphia Eagles at home as they bring down the banner.
And yet everybody is still talking about Micah Parsons going to.

Speaker 2 (43:31):
Green Bay and it has.

Speaker 1 (43:32):
Nothing to do with the game that's coming up. The
Green Bay is not even in your division. They are
in your conference. You need to play your divisional game
against the Philadelphia Eagles because if you win a division,
you're in the playoffs. And so I'm just like, why
we continue to look at a couple of games away

(43:55):
and instead of paying attention to the game that happens
Thursday night, which I will be at Armadilla Den if
you want to come and hang out with me for
the Dallas Cowboys watch party brought to you by my
good friends over at Brown, distributing seven to nine. I
will be out at Armadilla Den. You'll hear more about
that and the specials as we go on. But yeah, man,

(44:19):
talk about what's going on this week. Don't worry about
what Michael Parsons is doing. We just told you that
he's got a back injury. He may not even be
in the game. So you need to focus on those
monsters that are playing up front for Philadelphia, because this
is a team that did not play. When I say

(44:40):
the team, Dak Prescott did not play, Ceedee Lamb did
not play, George Pickens did not play. But they scramage.
They scramage. Yeah, but that's not game adrenaline. Now. The
only saving grace in this conversation as of right now
is the number that Dak Prescott has continued to put

(45:02):
up as the quarterback against the Philadelphia Eagles. Dak has
always played good against the Eagles. He's put up decent
numbers that you can continue to look at and say,
all right, here we go. And his record against Jalen
Hurts is two and one. He's averaged two hundred and

(45:24):
ninety four yards. He's got eight touchdowns and no interceptions
and one sixteen.

Speaker 2 (45:32):
Passer rating.

Speaker 1 (45:33):
That right there is your only hope Cowboy fans, because
the rest of it, I'm not feeling it.

Speaker 2 (45:39):
I'm a guy.

Speaker 1 (45:41):
I went to Vegas and I put money on the
Cowboys because they're over under was seven and a half.
Seven and a half, I thought was ridiculous. Now, maybe
those people in Vegas knew that Michael Parsons wasn't gonna
be there.

Speaker 7 (45:56):
Maybe it's the reason why those big shiny buildings up there.

Speaker 1 (45:59):
There's a reason why these guys have put these numbers
out there because they know something we don't know as
far as the strength of the schedule, and maybe even
more than that. But as I sit here today and
I look at what this team has to achieve to
be in this, I'm starting to question myself on why

(46:22):
did I go out there and do that. Why did
I believe that the Cowboys. Why did I put anything
on the Cowboys? Should have done it with maybe three
other teams, because I know that they would have been
a lot better. But as you look at this now
and look at the Cowboys in this situation, it seems
to me that their focus is more on the fact

(46:44):
of Micah.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
Maybe it's just because the.

Speaker 1 (46:49):
Media was asking the questions, so they had to ask
answer it. And those are the sound bites that everybody
is looking for. But the focus should be on the
Philadelphia because you know who they are as an opponent. Yeah,
I told you the records, but that don't even matter
because it could be two and two starting on Thursday night.

(47:09):
So there's a lot too unpacked when it comes to
this matchup. We'll talk more about it tomorrow and leading
up to Thursday night. Because the NFL season is underway.
It is right in front of our face and I
cannot wait for it. And other news in the NFL,
there's a lot being talked about. When you look at

(47:32):
all the quarterbacks in the NFL, and sixteen of those quarterbacks,
sixteen of those quarterbacks are guys that are looking to
either get big contracts or have big contracts, and you
continue to look at the leadership by all of them.
When you look across the NFL, is Kyler Murray ready

(47:54):
to take that next step to help his team win?
In the NFC Web, you also look at Michael PENNOCKX
junior in the NFC South, Is he ready to take
that next step as the leader of the group, and
we shall see. There's so many other teams that are
trying to make moves, and now that they have their quarterbacks,

(48:17):
Geno Smith, is Geno Smith going to be a guy
that can make things happen in LA Because you're in
the West, in the AFC West with Patrick Mahomes, justin Herbert,
Geno Smith, and who's that other quarterback that everybody likes
to talk about?

Speaker 2 (48:39):
Oh really that guy? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (48:44):
None of those guys in the AFC West are those
types of players. So you start to look around and
understand that these quarterbacks that are trying to change the
game and trying to make the moves in that division
are little bit different than what you was expecting before.
Because when you look at him and you understand that

(49:05):
all those quarterbacks in that division, Patrick Mahomes, bow Nicks,
I don't think Geno and the Raiders are gonna be
able to make that happen. But I'm not gonna go
against him until because every time you bet against him,
he always wants to run it back on you. He
don't bet on himself. He just make sure that you

(49:28):
keep pushing him to that next level. We're gonna continue
to talk AFC South because coming up next in this
next segment, we've got Mark Vandermere, the voice of the
Houston Texans, as he breaks down everything that has gone
on in h Town. And they got a new offensive
line CJ. Stroud, and of course they're making some moves

(49:52):
with the transitions and the transactions that they have made.
We'll talk about it right here on the morning kickoff
on sports Radio AM third the Zone. Let's go down
to Age Town as they get ready to travel to
Los Angeles.

Speaker 2 (50:07):
But we got to get the.

Speaker 1 (50:09):
Lowdown from our guy, the voice of the Texans, Mark Vandermere. Mark,
good morning and happy game week.

Speaker 2 (50:17):
My friend.

Speaker 3 (50:20):
It's about time.

Speaker 9 (50:21):
Ah here we go, ready to rock.

Speaker 3 (50:23):
This is huge.

Speaker 13 (50:24):
Can't wait to contenders, I mean at least deep playoff,
if not Super Bowl contenders going out on Sunday in LA.

Speaker 1 (50:32):
Cannot wait for the Texans made news yesterday announcing that CJ.
Gardner Johnson, the safety, is expected to be back with
the squad and ready to go. What does this do
for the secondary?

Speaker 13 (50:47):
Well, it's so much stronger, and not just the secondary,
I think the entire defense, the entire team.

Speaker 3 (50:54):
Maybe he's one.

Speaker 13 (50:54):
Of these vocal leaders, as you know, and somebody who
can be infectious with that, he's going to be all
fired up. He really hasn't done much in camp since
the Greenbrier.

Speaker 3 (51:04):
I was at the Greenbrier when he got injured, and
it was a seeing harge.

Speaker 13 (51:08):
I mean, you had the cart come out, you had
the players gather around. It was one of those stop practice,
dead silence, guys thinking he might be out for the year.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
Then a false report comes out.

Speaker 13 (51:19):
That he's out for the year with a knee, but
he's not. And here he is playing Week one. This
is going to be big. They're not as deep as.

Speaker 9 (51:26):
They want to be in the secondary, but with him.

Speaker 13 (51:28):
With all the front line guys there, they're as good
as anybody in the league.

Speaker 3 (51:32):
So let's see what happened against the Rams.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
And on the other side of it, the offensive line
was talked about a lot heading into training camp. Obviously
the offseason with all the releases and the trades. How
do you think the old line fared heading and heading
into this season?

Speaker 9 (51:49):
They made progress.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
They started to move the ball, moved.

Speaker 13 (51:52):
The line of scrimmage, and really, when you take it
from the Carolina Panthers joint practice all the way through
the Detroit game, and I know that wasn't the front
liners in the Detroit.

Speaker 3 (52:02):
Game, but practice we talked about, So that's what you
want to see. You want to see that push. Nick
Chubb looks solid.

Speaker 13 (52:11):
We know that Joe Mixon's out because the roster came
out last week, the initial fifty three.

Speaker 3 (52:17):
He's on IR. So you don't have Joe.

Speaker 13 (52:20):
Mixon, but you have Nick Chubb, you have Damian Pierce,
you have Woody Marx, you have Daria Gounbawally. I think
you got enough to make some noise with the ground
game and that should open up things for CJ.

Speaker 3 (52:30):
Stroud.

Speaker 13 (52:31):
And it all starts with the guys up front. Like
you said, I believe they'll be better.

Speaker 9 (52:35):
Than last year. How much better We'll all be watching
together to find out.

Speaker 1 (52:40):
We're talking to the voice of the Houston Texans, Mark VanderMeer,
and I wanted to ask you this because CJ. Stroud
is expected to bounce back from what some thought was
an off year, which I was not one of those
people that thought that he had an off year. I
thought it was just because that offensive line struggled mightily

(53:02):
and it just looked like he was running for his life.

Speaker 2 (53:05):
He lost wide receivers.

Speaker 1 (53:07):
Now this this seems to be where CJ is about
to us, ind are you having that type of feeling
coming into this season. Yeah.

Speaker 13 (53:17):
I think last year he played more like a veteran
who's been around for a while who's having offensive line problems.
I mean, that's what it felt like to me. The
expectations were sky high. We talked about it. Receivers didn't
stay healthy. That was a problem. I think teams had
a lot of tape on him. You know, you go
into the season twenty two years old, everybody's telling you how.

Speaker 3 (53:37):
Great you are.

Speaker 13 (53:38):
He's got the brain to deal with that. But he's
only human, and I'm not saying it got to him,
but I just think it was a season with offensive adversity.

Speaker 9 (53:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 13 (53:49):
Here they were winning ten games still and winning a
playoff game. So you know, if that's the downside, I'll
take it every time. And I believe you're right that
he's going to have a much better year. He's just
a salty veteran now. And year three is where a
lot of things start to happen for a lot of players.

Speaker 3 (54:06):
As long as you continue to work on your craft
and desire to improve, and that's what he does.

Speaker 13 (54:12):
He has this tremendous thirst for getting better at this game.

Speaker 3 (54:16):
So I think it's going to show up on the field.

Speaker 1 (54:18):
And I wanted to ask you about Dimiko, because Demiko
makes a lot, made a lot of changes in the
offensive side of the ball, got a different offensive coordinator.
He seems to be in a great place, and everybody's
talking about this defense and how this has the possibility
of being one of the better defenses in the NFL

(54:40):
moving forward.

Speaker 9 (54:43):
Yeah, So he handled his head coaching.

Speaker 13 (54:46):
Job differently this preseason.

Speaker 9 (54:48):
He delegated the defensive play calling to.

Speaker 13 (54:50):
Matt Burke, his defensive coordinator, because he was one of
those coordinators not calling plays.

Speaker 9 (54:56):
But I think Demico takes that back now now that
we're in the season.

Speaker 13 (54:59):
He takes it back because during camp he was spending
a lot of time with the offense and not necessarily hands.

Speaker 3 (55:05):
On down to down coaching them.

Speaker 13 (55:08):
But I think he really wanted to see how it
was going with Nick Keley, are they fulfilling the vision,
the collective vision they have for the offense, and wanted
to make sure that that was being constructed properly.

Speaker 9 (55:19):
He got his wish and now it's back to.

Speaker 13 (55:22):
Nick Kelly, you coach the offense, He'll be on the
field for that and Demko's in all likelihood going to
call the defensive plays. And I think that's a good thing.
He's got a great field for the game. You know,
obviously he played at the highest level. He knows what
they need, he knows how to run the operation, and
it's going to be fun to watch him put this
all together because they are, like I said, as talented
as anybody, and.

Speaker 3 (55:43):
They're healthy right now. Harje.

Speaker 13 (55:45):
Two years ago, they go into the season, they arrive
in Baltimore for opening Day pretty much unhealthy. I mean,
they had a lot of guys nicked up, and they
had a lot of young players, including rookie quarterback. Last
year they were not the picture of health either, and
then they had offensive struggles. What they have now is
health and they feel some juice going in now. It's

(56:05):
a really tough opponent, but I'm eager to see how
this things shake down, because I think the Texans are
ready for the challenge.

Speaker 1 (56:11):
If you had one question mark going into this weekend,
what is something that you feel is the biggest part
of the question.

Speaker 9 (56:21):
There's no question it's.

Speaker 13 (56:22):
The offensive line of the ability ability to generate a
ground game. You've got new players up there, some you're
starting a rookie left tackle. In all likelihood, you've got
Nick Chubb running the ball.

Speaker 3 (56:33):
Who is he?

Speaker 2 (56:34):
Now?

Speaker 13 (56:34):
He looked good as the preseason progressed, but who is he?
So there are a whole bunch of questions generated around those
five guys up front and running the ball, because, as
you know, if you can do that, if you can
get some gashing runs, it's going to make life so much.

Speaker 3 (56:49):
Easier for him, because.

Speaker 13 (56:51):
You know, you don't have a receiving corps that's ocean deep,
at least in experience. They look good on paper, they
look good on field, on the field in practice, but
other than Nico Collis and Christian Kirk, who do you
really have that's totally proven?

Speaker 9 (57:05):
So you got to put it all together.

Speaker 3 (57:07):
It's a new offense. That's the big question. How are
they going to put this whole thing together?

Speaker 13 (57:10):
What's it going to be like? And again, it will
unveil itself Sunday.

Speaker 9 (57:14):
The first two games are against.

Speaker 13 (57:16):
Contenders Rams and the Buccaneers. Buccaneers are really tough. As
you know, you could go ohero and two and still
have a good team. I don't want to see them
going and to all want to see them go too,
And well, let's see.

Speaker 3 (57:26):
If they can pull it off.

Speaker 1 (57:28):
I think they have the capabilities of going to and
as well, but they are going up against the Rams.
The Rams make the announcement that Matthew Stafford is appearing
to be on course to be back and as the
starter this weekend. Did you think that he, too, with
this back injury situation, was probably going to miss some time.

Speaker 3 (57:52):
Yeah, I was hoping that he would take a few
weeks off hard.

Speaker 9 (57:56):
You know, just go ahead, relax, rash. You know, your
health is the most important thing.

Speaker 3 (58:00):
You don't want to risk it. But in all.

Speaker 13 (58:02):
Seriousness, he's got a back injury that he's dealing with
and it sat him down for a lot of the preseason.
He can come out smoking and be just fine, be
the old Matthew Stafford, but you could hit him a.

Speaker 9 (58:14):
Few times and see what happens.

Speaker 3 (58:16):
Shake him up a little. You know.

Speaker 13 (58:17):
Demico likes to go after the quarterback in a legal way,
but he likes to make it rough on the quarterback physically.
I mean, don't let the smile fool you.

Speaker 3 (58:25):
He's gonna come after you.

Speaker 13 (58:27):
So if they can get to him with Daniel Hunter,
Will Anderson Junior and friends, they.

Speaker 9 (58:31):
Can make life miserable.

Speaker 13 (58:33):
Anybody I ever talked to it, I'm sure you the
same way. Who's got a back injury, who's had epidurals.

Speaker 9 (58:38):
It's tough, you know, Michael Parsons is.

Speaker 13 (58:40):
Talking about the epidural going into week one. You know,
everyone's talking about this trade. I'm thinking, like, wait, what
he needs an epidural before he plays? You know, maybe
they're crazy like a fox here in DFW.

Speaker 3 (58:51):
We don't have to get into that, but the point
is this.

Speaker 9 (58:53):
Back injuries are funny, are really serious.

Speaker 3 (58:57):
You gotta be careful.

Speaker 13 (58:58):
So for him, it's gonna be interesting to see how
he handles it and how the Rams season goes from here.

Speaker 2 (59:03):
Yeah, it's funny that you say that about back injuries.

Speaker 1 (59:06):
I was talking about it earlier and I was like,
even if you are a normal person walking around with
a back injury and nothing long, trying to go out
there and take on one of these offensive or defensive
linemans and being able to move around, it's a tough go.
And I'm to be interested to see how long Matthew
Stafford is going to be able to play if that

(59:27):
back injury is as serious as some think it might be.

Speaker 13 (59:31):
Oh yeah, you know, I do the games with Andre
Ware and he's got back problems, He's had epidurals, and he.

Speaker 9 (59:37):
Tells me the same thing, like getting him out.

Speaker 3 (59:38):
Of the car is an adventure sometimes. Well, getting you're
in the pocket with Danil Hunter coming down on you.

Speaker 9 (59:45):
I mean, that's tough stuff right there.

Speaker 3 (59:46):
So good luck with that. We'll see how it goes.

Speaker 1 (59:49):
I cannot wait football season is finally here. Obviously we
talked a lot about the Houston Texans. But I know
your daughter goes to the University of Texas. How did
she this past weekend?

Speaker 9 (01:00:02):
Okay, it's my son and he did not.

Speaker 3 (01:00:04):
Handle it great. But no, it's fine.

Speaker 9 (01:00:07):
But you know, it's it's it's tough, right because I'm
sure you guys are just it's the it's the gift
that keeps on giving with phone calls and talk and
speculation and what's next. You know, you just got to.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
Take it week by week and hope that it improves.
What else can you do?

Speaker 13 (01:00:23):
I mean, that's a hell of a team you played,
and you're right there, But I get it.

Speaker 9 (01:00:27):
I was feeling the same.

Speaker 3 (01:00:28):
Way as everybody else.

Speaker 9 (01:00:29):
Wait, what aren't we supposed to be able to hit
the open man?

Speaker 13 (01:00:32):
So I think that it'll get better and we'll see.
I mean, it's still a great team, you know, it
has to be. Everything's there on paper, you have demonstrated
ability of the last couple of years.

Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
They'll be there. But they got to get it together fast.

Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
No doubt.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
And Bill Belichick has to get it together too. In
Chapel Hill, I totally understand.

Speaker 13 (01:00:53):
Yeah, they were pulling that that Toby lost a Buffalo
thirty one nothing to begin the season like twenty years go,
and I think they went to the super Bowl.

Speaker 3 (01:01:01):
They had a really good season or whatever after that,
and they.

Speaker 13 (01:01:04):
Had a really good week too, so they were talking
about that. But this is North Carolina. It looks like
they don't have players, so we'll see what happens there.

Speaker 9 (01:01:11):
It's fun to follow.

Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
It's definitely gonna be fun to follow, and I'll make
sure that people are following you at Texan's Voice on
social media, and as always, we look forward to catching
up next Tuesday. Hopefully it'll be a victory that we
are talking about. Have a good call, man, and enjoy
yourself this week.

Speaker 9 (01:01:30):
Sounds good, harsh, thanks a lot for having me on.

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
No problem.

Speaker 1 (01:01:32):
There is the voice of the Texans, Mark Vandermere, breaking
it down like no other. Coming up next, we're gonna
talk about arch Manning. We're gonna actually hear from arch
Manning and get his thoughts on his performance this past weekend,
and then we're gonna turn the page. That's right, folks,
we're gonna turn the page and start focusing on San Jose.

(01:01:55):
Stay right here on the morning kickoff on sports Radio
AM thirteen The Zone.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
Great stuff by Mark.

Speaker 1 (01:02:02):
Vanderber, the voice of the Houston Texans as they get
ready to start the season against the La Rams Silas
Bolden was on the practice squad and is going to
some point make an impact on that team. But right now,
somebody that we want to make an impact on the
team is arch Manning. Arch Manning had a tough go

(01:02:26):
in the first half of that football game, but in
the second half he started to make some throws. And
yesterday he came in faced the media and was ready
for all the questions and was very cordial, but you
could tell that he was really locked into improving as
he gets ready for this week's action. But the question

(01:02:49):
was asked and it's been talked about all over the place,
is about his fundamentals, and Arch feels like, you know,
my fundamentals were good, but there were some times that
I got out of character.

Speaker 8 (01:03:01):
Yeah, obviously you don't like losing, especially the opening week
on one, but you know, the sun comes up and
it's time to attack Santaday State and candle.

Speaker 2 (01:03:13):
In the past is not gonna help me or help
the team.

Speaker 8 (01:03:15):
So you got to learn from it and get better
and attack this week.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
And then with some of the other things that he
was talking about as well, Uh, thirty three was about
his fundamentals and what he's supposed to be working on.

Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:03:36):
Yeah, you're always trying to, you know, get better each
week and go back to here one. Fundamentals Obviously got
to hit Ryan Lay in the game. I kind of
looked back for him. So just continue to get better
each week and perfect my crafts.

Speaker 1 (01:03:49):
And he also was talking about getting better and what
he needs to do to get better as he starts
to make his move, just.

Speaker 8 (01:03:57):
Starting faster, getting completions, get into my guys space, being consistent,
and just operating the offense and executing each play at
a time.

Speaker 1 (01:04:05):
And then coach Shark mentioned this earlier about the explosive
plays and how Texas only got to eleven percent of
those explosive plays, and Arch was asked about that as well,
about not reaching it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:20):
He was very open about it.

Speaker 8 (01:04:22):
Me, I got to get our ball to the balls receiver,
be more accurate so we can produce more exposed to plays.

Speaker 2 (01:04:28):
We were like eleven percent.

Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
One good enough was not good enough, And there were
some opportunities. Yes, he stretched the ball down the field
on one throw to Jack Andrews, which was an exciting play.
Then you also look at the touchdown to Parker Livingston
that was another explosive play. But til his point, there
were some times that he missed Ryan Wingo on a

(01:04:52):
crossing route that could have been an explosive play, and
he did it a couple times, and sometimes it's that read.
And we talked about Matt Patricia and the way that
he was making things look a little bit tough on him. Look,
there's been plenty of guys that have gone up against
Matt Patricia in the NFL, let alone in college football,

(01:05:14):
and for him to be able to confuse a young
player like he did that's nothing new.

Speaker 2 (01:05:20):
Now.

Speaker 1 (01:05:20):
I said it to Joe Cook, and I'm gonna say
it to everybody that's listening right now. If he goes
out and he plays well, that defense that he saw
last week will be the best defense that he sees
all year long.

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
Trust me, there's not.

Speaker 1 (01:05:38):
A defensive coordinator that is going to be able to
put those types of plays.

Speaker 2 (01:05:44):
Can you say that's the blueprint.

Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
Absolutely, you can use that as the blueprint, but that's
not the way that that is going to take place.
You can have the blueprint, but you gotta have the
talent too, exactly.

Speaker 2 (01:05:56):
That's my point.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
You're not going to be able to have that type
of standout performance that you was able to see ya
last week against Ohio State. Well, now they're on to
San Jose State and he's ready to put that game
behind him.

Speaker 8 (01:06:12):
Yeah, I think it was. It was a long twenty
four hours, but I think I got it all out
of the way. Wash the tape with everyone this morning
and they go to Bad the Ugly and then an
now we're full on to Santa State. Actually, I guess
this media after we stopped talking.

Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
About he's ready to stop talking to media.

Speaker 1 (01:06:29):
He's not a big fan of the media, and that
is something that not in a bad way, not.

Speaker 2 (01:06:35):
In a bad way.

Speaker 1 (01:06:36):
I just think too, he's been dealing with so much
of the hype, he's been dealing with so much of
the angst of being the Heisman favorite, the potential national champion,
number one pig, and it's all media driven because they
know that it gets clicked.

Speaker 2 (01:06:55):
It's like the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 1 (01:06:57):
If we come in here every single day and we
talk about the Dallas Boys, boom boom boom, boom boom.
That's why national media always talks about the Cowboys. And
right now Arch Manning's name is being all over the
national media.

Speaker 7 (01:07:10):
So he's consistently said he needs to prove it on
the field. He's yeah, he's not about he's not about
the hype is basically he's basically saying, I need to
do it. I need to show it before you start
talking about it.

Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
Yeah. He said that from the very beginning, and.

Speaker 1 (01:07:26):
He's tried to shut a lot of the conversations down,
as have I. As I've said the entire time, let
the kid go out there and play a little bit
and let him get used to the competition, the speed
of the game and build his confidence up.

Speaker 2 (01:07:41):
Coach Sark said early.

Speaker 1 (01:07:43):
I got to make sure that I get him involved
in the ballgame in certain fashions. They're still learning each
other in these types of aspects and trying to put
the new things in place. But the one thing that
I always look at and I tried to to kind
of be a realist when it comes to these types

(01:08:04):
of things, you have the potential, you have the players,
you have the team around you. Now it's all about
finding your timing and your rhythm within this offense. And
he said it himself, I've got to get this team going.

Speaker 2 (01:08:19):
Earlier in the ball game.

Speaker 1 (01:08:21):
If Arch Manning rolls out and he hits that pass
the DeAndre Moore to start the game, I think this
game is a lot different.

Speaker 2 (01:08:28):
I think his rhythm is a lot different.

Speaker 1 (01:08:31):
I think the momentum of the game kind of swings.
But when you short arm a ball and it's five
feet in front of a guy and it's skipping, that's.

Speaker 2 (01:08:41):
Not a good look.

Speaker 1 (01:08:42):
And there's a lot that needs to transpire in those moments,
so and can.

Speaker 7 (01:08:45):
Be demoralizing for a short period of time.

Speaker 1 (01:08:48):
Yeah, well, I mean I think as a competitor, I
think he's gonna be able to flip the switch and
he's gonna be ready to go as always. So that's
why I'm not too worried about it. But the thing
I do want to say is they come out and
they play well against the San Jose State team, find
a rhythm and kind of pick some pieces off in

(01:09:11):
this ball game. I think things will be a lot
different for this Texas football team moving forward. Coming up next,
we're gonna close out the show and send you to
Damn Patrick. But first, the athletic have put some names
out there that I think Texas fans are gonna love
to hear about about the next level in the NFL.
Right here on the morning kickoff on sports Radio AM

(01:09:34):
thirteen hundred The Zone. What a great show and if
you missed any parts of the show, all you got
to do is get over to the podcast page wherever
you get your podcasts, and hopefully it's on the iHeartRadio
app because it's free because you already got us number
one on your free sets and everything that goes along
with that. I also want you to stay tuned all

(01:09:58):
day long as Craig Way and Cam Parker will bring
you the Craig Wayshell the voice of the Texas Longhorn.
They'll give you their thoughts on the presser from yesterday,
and also you know, they always got something going on there.
But right now I want to get into this conversation
because the Athletic did something that I was really glad

(01:10:22):
to see. And the title of it. At first I
was looking at it, I was like, Okay, here we go.
I was looking. I read the title and it was
said the number the NFL Future hit.

Speaker 2 (01:10:32):
List, and I was like, wait what and it was.

Speaker 1 (01:10:35):
Like thirty two under the radar names of that every
true fan should know.

Speaker 2 (01:10:42):
And I was like, okay, now you got me pequed.

Speaker 1 (01:10:46):
And then I looked at the picture on there and
it was a Texas Longhorn player, one of my favorite
players that has ever played at the University of Texas,
and I'll get to him in just a moment. But
there were more than just one Texas Longhorn that was
on there. The one Texas Longhorn, one of the Texas

(01:11:06):
Longhorns that was on there is Jaden Blue of the
Dallas Cowboys. He is somebody that they believe is going
to be an exciting player for the Cowboys.

Speaker 2 (01:11:17):
And here's what it read.

Speaker 1 (01:11:19):
It said Blue is a fifth round pick from Texas
who must climb a few spots on the depth chart
to get his touches as a rookie. But he also
can show that he can run the football and catch it.
But his speed and versatility and potential in the passing
game will make him a player to watch long term.
So I was like, Okay, that's what I want to see.

(01:11:41):
That's what I thought they were talking about. But then
you go to Philadelphia and there's another guy that has
been gone for a while, played hard. Was a late
round draft pick moral Ojamo. He was a seventh round
pick in twenty twenty three, and he has drawn praise
for I'm inside the Eagles building from analysts outside of

(01:12:03):
it since the spring and the summer since he been
working out that locker room. Survey said that he is
one that will have a breakout season this year, so
we will see what he is capable of doing. But
as I said, there was one player that has always
been my favorite guy that is now finally starting to

(01:12:24):
get some respect in the NFL, and that is one
Jordan Whittington.

Speaker 2 (01:12:31):
And this is what it reads about him.

Speaker 1 (01:12:33):
While the Rams are set with their eleven personnel depth,
three wide receivers Davontae Adams, Puka Nakua, and two to
two at well. I predict it will be extremely difficult
to keep Jordan Whittington off the field. The second year
player has rotated in on rundowns with the first team,
but when the receiver is on the second team, he

(01:12:54):
moves at different speed and physicality than the others. He
could also play full back in a pinch, and we'll
get a shot at kickoff in punt return duties after
excelling in them at the end of his rookie season.
So as a big fan of Jordan Whittington, I'm glad
that other people are starting to take notice. I said

(01:13:17):
from day one, this guy is a pro and once
he gets to the next level, people are going to
use him the best way that they can, and I
believe that he's going to get a shot to shine.
Another guy that everybody knows from the state of Texas
is Aley Gordon, second running back from Oklahoma State. He

(01:13:37):
is now the running back with one of the running
backs with the Miami Dolphins. He is built, they say,
like Corey Dyllon, who is going to be tough and
I believe he showed out during that time. Danny Stutsman
of the New Orleans Saints inside linebacker who played at Oklahoma,
He's getting some love as well. There's a couple other

(01:14:02):
guys that have been doing some really cool things that
these people are starting to take notice. And since you
have Trevion Henderson is somebody that they believe is going
to be a starter in the NFL at running back
because of his ability to catch the ball out of
the backfield and he also will be returning kicks. We

(01:14:23):
know all about him catching the ball out of the
backfield the way that he played against the University of Texas,
the Green Bay Packers, Edrin Cooper, Texas A and m
He is somebody that has shown up and shown out
every since he's been there. And of course they did
a slight mention of Matthew Golden, the first round pick.

(01:14:46):
So throughout these names, I'm glad to see that the
Texas Longhorns are well represented on the next level. Out
of those guys, Marcus, is there anybody that you like
in particular on that from that Texas football team?

Speaker 7 (01:15:03):
H Jaden Bluem I kind of expect, actually, I have
high expectations for him with the Cowboys, I see them
using them a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:15:12):
Yeah, he's a guy coming out of the backfield that
they were talking about his speed and his versatility, which
made some of those other backs on the team expendable.
That now that you're looking around and you're starting to
see that, hey, this guy has the ability to do
some amazing things. So I'm glad to see that they

(01:15:33):
finally are given his just due. But like I said,
Jordan Whittington has been somebody that I thought should have
got the ball more here at the University of Texas.
I know that he was playing with Xavier Worthy and
that speed was on a whole nother level. But Jay
Witt could run too, and he had that type of ability.
So I'm just I'm just happy to see that people

(01:15:55):
are starting to take notice at what I've been trying
to see for a long time. He wasn't healthy in
the very beginning when he got to the University of Texas,
so that is why I believe that some of the
conversation has been had like that. But now that he's
been healthy, he's taking care of himself. He's in a

(01:16:17):
pro system, and what I mean by that is He's
in a pro position right now where he's not working
every single day extra hard. He's working hard enough to
get himself ready for that, and he's taking care of
his body.

Speaker 7 (01:16:31):
And with a quarterback like Herba, to throw them the ball.

Speaker 1 (01:16:34):
No, no, no, Stafford, Stafford, Stafford, Yeah, Stafford to throw
them the ball.

Speaker 2 (01:16:39):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:16:40):
You can see him being able to. It's always a
new guy with the Rams.

Speaker 1 (01:16:45):
Since it pops up every year, every single year, and
that is why I'm excited to watch this young man play.
I'm excited for tomorrow too, because we're going to continue
these conversations. We are one day closer to the kickoff
the NFL season as the Dallas Cowboys will be taking.

Speaker 2 (01:17:04):
On the Philadelphia Eagles.

Speaker 1 (01:17:07):
I will be doing a watch party on Thursday at
the Armor of Dylon. Dem be on the lookout for
all of that information as we get closer and closer
to kickoff.

Speaker 2 (01:17:17):
It was a turn the page Tuesday.

Speaker 1 (01:17:19):
Now we're going to be focusing on all things San
Jose State as they get ready to come into town
and take on the Texas Longhorns at eleven o'clock DKR
Texas Memorial Stadium. Make sure you tune in to the
Craigway Show this afternoon.

Speaker 2 (01:17:37):
For Marcus, I'm Harball Hart.

Speaker 1 (01:17:38):
Don't believe everything you see, because even salt looks like sugar.

Speaker 2 (01:17:42):
Have a good day, peace,

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

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Turn the Page Tuesday: Sark & Arch React to Ohio State, Cowboys Trade Talk, Texans Prep for Rams

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