May 29, 2025 • 47 mins
Through two days of OTAs, how are the Texans looking? What's different about the 2025 bunch? Longtime NFL Columnist John McClain checked in with Texans Voice Marc Vandermeer and Team Analyst/Radio Sideline Reporter John Harris to discuss.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello Texans, Welcome to the show. So great to have
you along for the ride home or wherever you are
going this evening, or if you're listening on the podcast
Walking the Dog like I do sometimes.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Great to have you along.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Mark vandermir, John Harris, and the General the Hall of
Famer John McClay joined us today. Yes, and we were
all at OTA's Day one on Wednesday. There'll be another
practice on Friday that had one today, and we'll be
talking about as much Texans practice as we possibly can,
because I know John McClain loves talking about practice in May. John,
(00:32):
am I accurate?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Oh yeah, I tell you.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
I remember one year and I'm sure you guys will
remember this, when the Texans missed the playoffs by game.
I think kobiek was the coach, and I remember afterward
all the players who said, Man, if we'd just done
better in OTAs, we would have won this game and
made the playoffs. If we just hadn't had those guys
(00:56):
missed the OTAs, we would have made the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Thank a.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Having many times you've heard players and coaches say, if
we've just done better in OTAs or we made the playoffs,
we won the Super Bowl, and boy we got off
to a great start in the OTAs. We have never
heard anybody say that at any time, make any reference
(01:20):
to the OTAs or the off season program. Of course,
we'll hear things like, well, I noticed the way back
in training camp how well this white rookie did, and
thought he might have a chance to be a starter.
And no, he turned out to be pretty good, especially
in that playoff win.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
You'll hear that talking.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
About maybe preseason, but you never hear anybody say, man,
he was great in the mandatory mini camp. I think's
why why he had such a good season. So the
fact is it's good. But can you take anything away
from it? Yeah you can right now. But in the
whole scheme of things, sorry to make o it doesn't
(02:02):
main squad except for the mental part.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
Yeah, and I think that part, John, when you're installing
a new offense, that helps. I mean defensively, you've got
the same scheme for the most part. I think nearly
every single one of the coaches is the same on
a defensive side as well. But you are bringing in
and putting in a new offense. So to that point,
the mental side of things, I would imagine is that
(02:25):
much more important for this offense.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
And I know we can't take a lot out of what.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
We saw just from the whole group, how the offense works,
all that kind of stuff, but general, just individually, were
there a couple of guys that just caught your eye
just with what they are physically, how they're built, how
they run, how they move. Were there any guys like
that where you go, oh, okay, I kind of get
it while they drafted that guy, where they signed that guy,
were there any players like that that stood out for
(02:50):
you from that perspective.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Yes, And one of them is when Nick Kayley was
at the Rams. One of the things they like to
do on the outside is that big receivers, and they'd
have a guy like too two that well, but they
like big receivers. And when you see Nico Collins and
Jadon Higgins standing next to each other, it looks like
maybe they're getting ready to tip off against the Knicks,
(03:16):
because both those guys look like they could be basketball players.
And I'm guessing they've probably played a lot of basketball
growing up, especially in high school when they started to spout,
and seeing those guys together, you know, why, how dangerous
they're going to be and what a difficult matchup they're
going to be for the cornerbacks. I think wide receiver
(03:39):
other than Nico Collins, including Christian Kirk, wide receiver is
going to be a position we're constantly looking at during
the OTAs and training camp and joint practice againt the
Panthers and the Lions, and the preseason games. Because there's
a couple of guys like John Mitchew, the third Xavier Hutchinson.
(04:00):
I think based on what they've done in the draft
and free agency, these are make or break. These are
make or break times for them once they get into
camp in preseason and then of course not looking at
the alignment of the offensive line where you look up, okay,
it's these five, it's like musical chairs. Five more come
(04:23):
in as they're gonna watch these guys as much as
they can. And the mental part is a big thing
right now, the mental parts for everybody. And they have
a lot of new linemen, and they have a new system,
and they have a new line coach. Even though colch
was the assistant offensive line coach, you know he's not
going to want to do things the same way because
(04:43):
if he did, he probably would have been fired. So
I can't wait to see what he does and the
different alignments they have up front.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
John McLean joining us, all right, Yeah, they do have
a lot of different places they can go. And I
pose this question. I think that Johnny last week, who
is the next Pro bowler on the offensive line in
the current group? And we all agreed it's got to
be tight as Howard probably, but we don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
But I think a guy.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Like Titus Howard gives the coaches a lot of options
here because you know, he could play right tackle. You
know he could play either guard spot in all likelihood
hasn't played center, can play left tackle too, So having
a guy like that general is certainly helpful. And right now,
other than fair Baron, he's the longest tenured Texan.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Is he not trying? Yes, that's right.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Twenty nineteen first round pick Bill O'Brien wanted him so
bad he jumped up and looked like a jack in
the box. Is scared the hell out of the owner.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Not Bob McNair.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Of course, he had died in twenty eighteen and Janis
was there and I was told she scared her to
death the way o jumped up, started cheering and I
wanted to use that and they wouldn't let me do it.
And I said, that's a cute story. Remember when everybody
said that got bamboozle because they wanted Andre Dillar. This
was nationally. They never wanted Dialer, they wanted Titus. What
(06:07):
Titus has to do that left guard is put together
a full season and be able to stay at left
guard and not be moved around and show them what
he can do. Because if he played really well, and
he's yet to have a consistently good season from start
to finish, he could help him get more money. And
(06:28):
I think that he just liked to be left in
one spot and it was pretty obvious last year left
guard was his best position. Let me ask you guys
something now, assuming Tay Nursery's going to be competing at
left tackle with Cam Robinson Trent Brown right tackle, he's
been all over the place, but Blake Fisher. Do you
(06:50):
guys think Blake Fisher is going to be the starting
right tackle when they go to camp? And do you
think he will be the starting right tackle when they
open the season at the Rams.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I'm gonna take it first.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I think he will be, but I think it's not
gonna be an easy road to get there. I do
believe that they want to have a look at everybody
at Guard that they could possibly have a look at,
whether it be Ingram or Tomlinson or Titus or whoever juice.
They want to get a long look at these guys,
and you have to settle the center spot too. Most
(07:25):
likely not Jews, Patterson Andrews. We saw Jake Andrews yesterday.
That was interesting. But I think Blake eventually wins it. Johnny,
what do you think? I do think and I think
you put it well.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
I think there's gonna be a pretty staunch competition that
whoever ends up winning that competition will have earned that spot.
It won't be as well. These two guys weren't very
good and we're just well, we're stuck with this guy.
I do think that Blake will improve. I'm curious to
see ursery once they turn this into a collision sport.
You put pads on a training camp. But I feel
(07:57):
like it's going to be well earned. You know, last
year there's a lot of talk about well, you know
those five guys were they were just labeled day one starters,
and they were starters. Problem is nobody really could push
them for a starting spot behind them, So it was
kind of tough because they were your five and there
really wasn't a lot of competition.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Who knows whether entitlements said and I don't know.
Speaker 5 (08:20):
Whatever, but I think this year it will be earned
all across the board. So I do think that I
do think Blake is gonna end up starting at right tackle. However,
as we saw in the OTAs and as Demiko described,
they're I mean, look, we're gonna get the best five.
We gotta we gotta work towards getting that best five.
(08:41):
So which five? And as Herb Brooks said, Miracle not
looking for the best players. I'm looking for the right ones.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
I like that. That's the most important thing.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Herb Brooks, Miracle, get the right ones, get the ones.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
That fit the best.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
And if you can do that, then you end up
putting yourself off in a pretty good situation.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
It would be great if Ursery could come in and
win that job over Cam Robinson. I'm sure it's not
going to happen. Right at the start, Robinson's on a
one year deal. He played every game last year for
two teams, so he knows he's playing for money again.
But at first he's good enough. Maybe early in the season,
maybe if Robinson gets hurt, he moves in solidifies the position.
(09:25):
The way I look at it, Howard's the left guard.
We know who the four guys competing at tackle will
be the key to center and right guard. And there
are a lot of candidates. This is a season for
Juice Scrugs, a second round pick, to step up, stay
out there and show why he was a second round pick.
(09:45):
He flashed at right guard and then they pulled him
and put Shaq Mason back in, and he was terrible.
But there are a lot of candidates who come in
here at center and guard, and that's the interior guys,
and they were the issue last year. That's the ones
I'm really big er look at when you're having the
joint practices and then when you're having the preseason games.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Okay, this one's for both of you know, stay with
me on this one. Okay, Okay. So there's five offensive linemen.
There are seventeen regular season games. That's eighty five starts
on the offensive line. Right, that's eighty five starts. How
many starts would you guesstimate? Will go to a player
(10:33):
that's not even in OTAs right now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Ooh, I would say, ooh, Johnny, that's a good one.
Speaker 5 (10:41):
I mean I'm saying that, like, let's say you get
a George fant right in the end that starting seventeen. Yeah,
I don't know what Georgia and up starting. I think
it was a lot of games, but Georgian and up starting.
But George is not with us in OTAs. He took
seventeen and those eighty five. So the eighty five starts
across the offensive line, how many of them would you
devote to somebody not in the building at this current moment?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Zero? Really?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Zero?
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Zero?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You guys? Are you?
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Guys are too much depth? They got more depth in
the offensive line than this team has ever had. Nick
Cassio has brought in five new lineman, four veterans. So
I'm like Mark, I'm gonna say zero about OTAs. Maybe
they start getting injuries in preseason or training camp, but
(11:30):
just in OTAs, I'm also saying zero.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Okay, all right, what's your number? I think the number
is somewhere between five and ten.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
I do think there will be some starts from guys
that are not here, because I do think, you know,
I think of that George Fan situation.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
You know that now injuries?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
How many were there last year?
Speaker 5 (11:47):
From it was the five they went with the five
guys they had for the most part until Kenyon got hurt, yep,
and then Jews and then wait, Jews moved.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Wait Patterson wasn't healthy early, right.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
He was a little backed up at the beginning, but
he was on your team in OTAs. I don't know
that we had any many that I can think of
that I can think, but twenty nineteen, Laramie was not
with us.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
In twenty nineteen. I guess twenty twenty Charlie Heck started
some at the end. That was seismic though with Line
I know, I know, But.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
That's that's the point that might it might come to
a point where you go through you know, OTAs, you
go through mini camp, and you go through parts of
training camp, you go through some joint practices, you go
through a preseason game and you're like, yo, we're in trouble,
we need something, and you go and you make a move.
So there's a lot of different ways you could get too.
(12:43):
Starts from somebody outside the building. And that's why I
say somewhere between five to seven, because I do think
there might be I mean, look, maybe you're playing well,
you're winning games somehow, but you're not getting great offensive
line play. But you're in it, and so near the
trade deadline you make a move, it starts for the
last half of the year.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
So I'm going I'll go above zero.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
I do think it'll be maybe not you maybe not
get lucky with like a George Fant, but you might
end up finding a guy that grinds through five to
seven starts on the interior throughout the year.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
If that's the case and that happens, they're in trouble.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Uh, they could be. I don't speak that.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
I don't know all the players they brought in.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
They've never had this kind of experience in the offensive line.
And if they have to sign somebody or trade for somebody,
that means they've had catastrophic injuries.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Okay, let me ask you this general, this defense, Will
this defense go down as the greatest Enfranchise history? And
let me just set something up for you here. Twenty eleven,
they were second in the league yards, fourth in points
in twenty fifteen, third and yards, seventh in points in
twenty eighteen, they were fourth in points, twelve in yards.
(13:55):
Last year sixth in yards, fourteen in points. Will this
be their best defense?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
What were they in twenty and twelve when they had
their greatest record twelve and four.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
The defensively they didn't rank as high. I think seventh
total defense yards and seventh in points.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Very good, no question.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Okay, I'm gonna say no, because they're playing a first
place schedule again. They're playing Patrick Mahomes, They're playing Lamar Jackson.
I think they have a super Bowl caliber defense and
they can finish in the top five. But I just
think with this schedule and all these quarterbacks Matthew Stafford,
(14:36):
they're going to throw the ball a lot, So I
don't think they will finish like as high as the
two thousand and eleven defense did. Remember in eleven, they
weren't playing a first place schedule. So I will say
it statistically, it will not be the best, but I
think overall it is the best because this is the
first time, looking at depth and talent and coaching that
(14:59):
I believe the Texans have a super Bowl caliber defense.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
Okay, this happens every year with the Super Bowl, Right
You're in the Super Bowl. The following year, one of
the teams falls off. It's hard to figure that team
out now because you're like, well, look they're great, they
just came out the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
They're great football teams.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
Invariably, one of the two teams in the Super Bowl
falls off. The other one stays in contention for the
most part, but one of the teams falls off the
Niners after the twenty three season going into last year,
Eagles or.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Chiefs, Chiefs the Super Bowl loser.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
The only one time has it gone back to the
Super Bowl since Buffalo, and that was the Patriots one year.
So I'm going with I think the Chiefs are going
to fall off. They might not win the AFC West
just because of historically speaking. I think they'll still be
good and get the playoffs, but it's just the Super
(15:58):
Bowl hangover. Could you imagine the team that loses.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
Could you imagine the Chiefs not winning the West and
then coming to Energy Stadium for the Texans Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Patrick Mahomes in that game, could you imagine that? Thank you? Oh,
I don't want to see thee always win. Yeah, that's
our that's our spot, that's our party.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Thirty Central time on Saturday, the first weekend of the
Wildcard playoffs.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
You don't have to worry about looking past them like
you might have against the Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Would you take that right now? General? Would you take
that right now?
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Chiefs Texans, Saturday three thirty, first round in the wild Card.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Would you take it?
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Why not?
Speaker 4 (16:37):
It means you wouldn't have to play at Arrowhead Stadium
when you beat them.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
And you know, Johnny I said before, I would take
ten wins in the division right now, and that would
put you exact right. So I guess I got to
take my medicine and your medicine.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Now.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
As far as your question goes those divisions, the AFC West,
the week Link Raiders, but they should be a lot
better this year with Pete Caroltino Smith Leime. They got
to whether they put together a winning season in Seattle.
As far as what you're dealing with in Philly Dallas,
is the Raider equivalent a team that, well, it's not
quite the equivalent because the Cowboys had a lot of injuries.
(17:13):
Now they've had a lot of changes from two years
ago when they won twelve games, but they've been able
to win twelve games, and Dak I think is a
better quarterback than Gino Smith when he's on, you know,
and they've got weaponry. So I think Dallas makes that
a tough division with their would be comeback campaign. And
by comeback, I mean they win eight games. That's gonna
be a factor. They'll split with Philly maybe if they
(17:33):
win eight games. So you have to take all those
things into consideration. But I agree with the general. The
Chiefs win all those games by the hair of their
chinny chin chin. And can they do it again in
twenty twenty five. I'm gonna say no, because they're playing
the first place schedule. They have to deal with the
Ravens and the Bills and US again, and it's not
going to work out as well this time.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
I mean logic and math tells you that's the case.
They can't keep winning those one score games the way
that they did. There are probably four of them that
they had something at the end of the game that,
you know, they block a Broncos field goal attempt, they
get a pass interference call on the Bengals at leads
to a game winning field goal, and who knows what
that offense will be. As Kelsey continues, to slow down athletically,
(18:13):
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Here's the general. I think it's a chief. You look
at the Eagles.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Yeah, they've lost some pieces, but my god, you still
have Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts coming back. Defensive line is
coming back one hundred percent intact. I think I think
the Eagles. I think the Eagles are gonna be salty
this general.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
I had a question about how the NFL has evolved
in the offseason, because we've talked about it before back
in the day. And by the way, I watched this
nineteen seventy eight oiler highlight reel. It's the NFL films
that's twenty two minutes on the entire season. It was
glorious because they go to San Angelo and they have
behind the scenes stuff and singing songs and Carl Mack
(18:51):
and it's just you see the whole vibe. Ye and
it's fantastic anyway. But General, when they used to report
July one or whatever, it was late June, very early July,
because they had six preseason games and they got in
shape during training camp. What was the rest of the
offseason like, And I'm wondering, why did the league get
away from that. I know it's a lot of work
for the players, but I feel I have one theory
(19:12):
on this. Maybe the players didn't want to have a
camp that long, but I bet the coaches also loved
this five week break or whatever amount of weeks they get,
because you know, when you have the draft to get
ready for all the front office people, we have the
draft to get ready for. Then we've got whatever offseason
practice we want that time off.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
That's our family time, that's our summer.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
To have three, four or five weeks and then we
go to camp and never to be heard from again
until the offseason.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Generally, your thoughts back.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
When our first my first oiler training camp seventy seven,
they were playing six games. They had a week's rookie
mini camp before the veterans came in, and veterans could
come in early if they wanted to. And back then
they had a collect They fought for a collective bargain agreement.
But it was all about getting more money. It wasn't
(19:59):
about time off. It wasn't about players' health and benefits
and things like that. Well, it was about benefits to
try to help them in insurance and stuff. So the
players would have to work out on their own, and
the facilities were terrible, so you'd have to buy health
club membership and go to work out. And a lot
(20:21):
of them had jobs, and I remember the only thing
in the off season you had to worry about was
the draft, and that was it. And back then, I
think it was twelve rounds, or maybe it might have
been sixteen. There were times when they had to draft
in December and while the college season was going on,
and they would go out and the first day they
(20:43):
would have double date practices two to two and a
half hours for both of them, and they would beat
the hell out of the players because they said that's
when they get in shape. And I remember Dale robertson
the Houston Post had a story that just killed me
because I was his competition. He had found Earl Campbell
(21:04):
working out on a bayou on Beach Nut and Earl
would run up and down the bayou and to get
in shape in June. And once he wrote that story
in the Post, all these players from colleges, high schools,
everybody started coming to that yue and they didn't need
to bow it anymore because the players would wear it
(21:24):
down and that and it was mosquitoes and it was humid,
and that's how Earl got in shape. And I remember
a player who used to use a bible in his
room to beat on his knee to make it swell
so he didn't have to practice double days all the time.
And I remember a lot of guys would come in overweight,
and they'd have a fat man's table in the cafeteria
(21:48):
camp and you got these guys away. Back then, three
hundred bounds was a lot, and they were miserable, couldn't
need anything but healthy stuff and diet stuff, and they
had to go I sweat for five hours a day,
and it was a lot different. It wasn't until the
CBA in ninety three when salary cap came in and everything,
(22:09):
that they started taking it easier on them, not want
players to get hurt because the cap and the players
got more rights in the CBA's about how much time
could be done. And they started easing up on practices.
And then as the team started getting great facilities like
the Texans have, and players would start coming over there
(22:30):
in the off season. They'd get three meals a day.
They wanted to come to work. They didn't have to
get rookies to go to McDonald's and bring them food
every day. Things changed until players started playing, until they
were in great shape when they reported and they didn't
have to beat them up. I remember one off season program.
Players were running going through these skills tests and Earl
(22:53):
Campbell he ran out of gas. Media goes around. Bomb
Phillips says, bomb bomber. Ol kid finished the mile and
bum Phillips chewed on some tobacco and he spat and
he said, well, when it's third to mile, we won't
give it to it.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
General Drew nine in the lab, we brought up joint
practices because Texas will joint private, joint practice. The Panthers
have a joint practice with the Lions, and our thought,
our tact was what's your favorite joint practice memory.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You've been to training.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Camp for an hour?
Speaker 5 (23:27):
Do you have a favorite one that you can share
on the radio. Not the one you don't want to
share in the radio.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
No, no, you guys, I know you'll like it. When
we went to Richmond, Virginia to watch the Commanders, I
think they were the Redskins then yes, and the Texans
and the weather was cool there, but it was raining
and they got so many fights. They had to stop
it early. And in the time where we went to
New Orleans for the Saints and the Texans and there
(23:58):
were so many fights and it was so hot, just
the exact opposite of Richmond. They had to stop that early.
And Greg Williams, I think, was a defensive coordinator. Of course,
Sean Payton was sad coach, and Greg Williams love for
his players to get in fights. He was from the
Buddy Ryan school, and I believe we had to be
(24:18):
watching constantly because we knew there were going to be
fights and we had to suit see who it was.
Another one I really liked, and I know y'all did too,
was when we went to Santa Clara before the Texans
played the forty nine.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
Ers and the weather was so nice.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Good, that was so nice.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Yes, at that time of year, it's all about weather.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
You know what.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Maybe I'll save it for the next segment. I'll give
you mine, I'll give you my well, you know, I'll
give you one because I got many. Because you guys
talked about this on in the last which I don't
know if it's been released yet, but.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
It'll be soon.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
The Texans Cowboys Year one was something at Robersons Stadium
and set up opening night September eight, two thousand and two. However,
the second year, and I've talked about this before, the
Alamo Dome scrimmage with the Cowboys was huge, and we
should do that every year. I will die on that hill.
We should do this every year with the Dallas Cowboys.
Scrimmage them at the Alamo Dome, sell tickets, do charity stuff.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Whatever it takes, promote flag football, do it all. Texans
Cowboys at the Alamodome a week before the first preseason game.
I know Demiko would be down with that. You're indoors, yes,
So that's my thought.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
What do y'all think about this one? Texans Patriots at
the Greenbrier. Remember when so many Patriot fans came in
there and just overran the practice fields and they had
I think, what was it, two practices before they came
back here and played, and that again, the weather was great.
(25:49):
To get to see Brady up close and personal, seeing
how Mike Rabo was hanging out with Brady and they
had it was I just had a blast going there,
and I remember how all those Patriot fans descended on
Lewis Burger, West Virginia and just took over the place.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
I remember going off the practice field aftering interviews and
everything we think of the first practice, and I just
never forget in between the two practice fields, Deshaun was
a rookie and DeShawn was standing there and he was
with Tom Savage, and I'll never forget both of them.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
They were staring.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Brady had gone off to the other side of the
other practice field with Alex Carrero and.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
They had the bands yep.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
And Brady had just gone through a full practice, and
I just remember Shaun and Savager watching and Brady's just
going up and down the field with those bands yep,
for like fifteen minutes after a full practice. And you
just sit there and go, well, yeah, that makes sense.
I mean, the guy's the greatest because he freaking works
at it.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Look at him. Ones work at it.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
The great ones love practice, They love the prep, They
loved the process in general. What do you have going
on for us? I know you have the doc GK,
you entry underway, all the rest of it.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Yeah. In two weeks we're going to Key Largo, Florida
to interview Jimmy Johnson, who had a great almost kept
Corpus Christy Miller from being the first integrated team to
win a state championship in Texans. As port Arthur Jefferson
lost to Miller six to zero. We're going to talk
to Jimmy about the game, the environment of the Purview
(27:27):
Interscholastic League all black university interscholastically all white back then,
and Corpus Christy Miller was one of the first schools
to integrate. Johnny Rowland was their star player. We've got
other people we're going to interview, and I will be
in Waco on Friday to nominate Johnny Rowland for our
(27:51):
Veterans Nice nominations. So I'll be up there dealing with
the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. And I'll miss you
guys at the OTAs. But thank you, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
As always, well, you can always listen to Texans All
Access Friday night at six for a complete OTA review
general and I.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Know abolutely that's what I'll be doing.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Thank you, sir, Thank you guys.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
All right, coming up, Johnny and I discuss. I'll give
you more of my best joint practice memories and worst.
But I've got overrated, underrated and some other big questions
for you, Johnny, it's next here on Texans Radio.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Back to it here on Texans Radio.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Mark Vandermere and John Harris with you, and just to
pay off the t's as promised. You guys were talking
about joint practices. Yeah, and best ones, worst ones. You know, Johnny,
The thing about joint practices is a lot of the
memory seem to be either neutral or not so hot,
because when I think about the ones with the Saints,
(28:45):
those are probably the best ones. Like oh eight, that
was great, great week. Yeah, great preseason game. I know
that's a weird statement to make, but it really was.
Afterwards the Texans taking it to the Saints and racking
up a lot of yards and numbers. That's Super Dome
a lot fun to watch that one. That was the
first time we were away for a while doing joint practices.
(29:05):
But I've told you the story five Broncos here Jake
Plummer Kubiak coaching the offense for the Broncos.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
A year later he'd be the to this team.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
But that time where I saw the Broncos take it
to the Texans in a night joint practice at the
Houston Methodist Training Center, and I thought boy, I hope
they're going to the super Bowl because we're not at
their level. And clearly the Texans weren't their level. That
year went to at fourteen, Broncos went to the AFC
Championship game. Kubiak came here and helped this franchise a lot.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You bringing up the Broncos.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
I am very disappointed that you did not mention doing
radio from a closet.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Yeah, that was a good joint. I was twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
You and I had like a broom closet doing radio.
That sounds bad, yeah, I mean, but there we were,
the Broncos in their state of the art in the closet,
like literally, it was a big closet. It was about
the size of the studio, like an IT closet or something.
It was weird, and we just kind of set it
up and di the show. We had a two hour
show to do and we just knocked it out. He
essentially set the standard for you and I doing radio
(30:08):
shows anywhere, anytime.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, and that was our first year together do a show. Yeah,
so that worked out well. Yeah, mcla.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
That was actually my favorite preseason game ending. Oh yeah,
I think that's right. When Tom savage hit what's his
name from Aggie Land We're.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Gonna ask you were gonna say this to me? Oh,
it's at the tip of my tongue.
Speaker 5 (30:28):
Yo, Godravis Slotty, mcslotty, I can't remember his.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Name, Travis something. Yeah, Oh, come on, you thing that.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
But you know, we've been we've been on the road
for a lot of joint practices and I all of
them are enjoyable in some way, shape or form. I mean,
Drew and I talked a lot about this the seventeen
visit at the Greenbrier from the Patriots and.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Lab Heart, lab Heart, Travis Labhart. That's it came to me.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
I was looking it up, but it came to me
while I was looking it up, So I get credit.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
The reason that one kind of stands out a couple
of reasons.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
Number One, we stayed on Inglewood because that's where their
practice facility is. And the whole week was great, the
weather was great, everything was great. And I remember and
always remember this one of the most enduring images of
my childhood watching the chem Laijuan on the sidelines against
the Denver Nuggets and you always have the oxygen mask.
And I remember being out there in Englewood, like this
thing that doesn't bother me at all.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
So we have a good week with the Broncos.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
We go into Denver to play them at Mile High
and I can't breathe all night long. I find myself
waking up like and every time I go to Denver.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
It's the same thing. That's weird.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
But then we have this game with Denver and it's
a great preseason game.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
It's a great preseason game.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
Tom Savage at the end leads them down touchdown two
point to win the game.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
We go back with that.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
But my favorite story of that game is I don't
know if you remember this, but during the joint practices
it got chippy.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Chippy. Now we talked to Chris Clark about it. Yeah,
Peyton Manning.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Peyton Manning though, gets into it with our secondary because
our secondary is chirping, chirp and chirping. So in the game,
Peyton throws a seed for a touchdown. I mean just
rips one. It's like, man, this is Peyton Manning that
we haven't seen because he looked like he had the
arm strength back. So as he's running down the field,
he finds DJ Swearingert and just he says something. So
(32:19):
I find Swag in the locker room and I says, Swag,
what do you say to you? He goes, he goes
bleep you. And I thought Swag was talking to me.
So I was like, it's sorry, dude. I just asked him.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
No, no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
He's like, Johnny, that's what he said to me. I
was like, Okay. I looked at Peyton Manning a little
different light at that point.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
But I think that's one of the cool things is
just the opposite numbers you get to see, you know,
you get to see the great receivers. You know, last
last year it was Tyreek Hill getting to see here.
Two years ago, twenty twenty three, we got to see
Tyreek Hill. You know, you get to see all the
great quarterbacks. You know, obviously two of that year, but
we've seen Matt Stafford here in two forms, Lions and
(33:00):
the Rams. You know, Jimmy Garoppolo the one years come
off that big year in San Francisco and you're like,
this guy might have a little stuff to his team.
This will be an interesting team to watch. And then
Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady. I mean, we've seen a lot
of quarterbacks, you know, I know you would say, Drew Brees,
I didn't get to see those ones.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
Against the Saints.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Jerry Rice. Yeah, yeah, Jerry Rice was here once twenty fourteen.
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Those two joint practices were against Matt Ryan and then
Peyton Manning.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Damn, basically back to back weeks. That's big. Yeah, So we've.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Had some We've had a good time with the joint practices,
and this will be fun going facing the Lions, facing
the Panthers, seeing that that California connection between Bryce Young
and Tteroro McMillan.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
That w'll be fun.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
All right.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
So you and I saw another practice today which was
for business operations. Yes, it wasn't immediate thing, so we're
not gonna go nuts because you know it's not fair.
The media wasn't there, but you know, we work here,
so we got to go with the rest of the people.
And we're talking like accounting, HR ticketing. Yeah, all refer
to a practice. Yeah, they were gonna go yesterday, but
it got rained in, meaning rained into the bubble, so
(34:03):
that wasn't going to accommodate enough of the people. But anyway,
any thoughts on last couple of days, anything different, anything new,
anything In addition, to what we heard last night.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
I think the one thing I would say is anybody
that thinks offensively that anything is set in stone, anything
not so fast. Yes, you use your best corso not
so fast. If you're sitting there going, I guarantee it's
gonna be.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Like this, Eh, back up, Sparky, even more combos. And
I'm sure the media will see this tomorrow. Yeah they're
out there. Yeah, there's nothing set in stone, nothing's way
to And I think one of the things and I go,
I go back to this. I listened to a podcasts
Jordan Rodrigan, I want up to Big twelve Media Days.
A few years ago I drove to Dallas and Jordan
(34:51):
rodriga The Athletic, did this really good podcast where she
interviewed a lot of the the Shanahan Tree, kind of
the younger members mc vey, Shanahan, McDaniel, Matt Lafleur. And
one of the things I'll never forget is Sean McVay
talking about the evolution of his offense out with the Rams.
And I can't help but thinking Nick Kayley and Sean
(35:12):
McVay is young wounder Keeney goes out to the La
Rams and how's it going to be, and he goes
out there with a thought of what the offense was
he thought was gonna be. He gets out there, he
starts kind of messing around with the talent he's got,
and he's like, man, I thought we were gonna be
ex but then I see some of the talent we
turned into why And I thought that was always interesting?
(35:34):
And so I would imagine that McVay has probably shared
that with many offensive people that have been with him,
including Nikayley, and so I think probably Nick is going
through that at some point looking at, Okay, personnel wise,
I have this, This is what I thought I was
gonna be, but I've got this personnel, so maybe it
should be this, And so you kind of play around
(35:57):
with it until you find your voice your offense, right,
And I always think back to that with McVeigh, and
I feel like Nick's probably going through that with looking
at and you can know what talent you have until
you see it on a field and you see it
kind of come together. You don't know, you have no idea,
and so you don't really realize, look are we his
own team or we a gap scheme team?
Speaker 3 (36:16):
What are we? Well?
Speaker 5 (36:18):
I don't know until we kind of see it all
come together. We're not really sure what we are. Let's
kind of move this and move that, move this piece,
and you'll eventually hopefully find a nice little picture. Those
a little slide puzzles. You know, you look at slide puzzles.
You're like, gonna move this over here. Sometimes you got
to move a piece three times left. So you can
just get one piece to move one time to the
(36:38):
right where you know it should go, but you got
to move all these other pieces.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Kind of move this around.
Speaker 5 (36:42):
So anything that anybody out there goes, yep, I know
exactly how.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
It's gonna go. Nope, no way, no way you have.
You have no idea. In fact, even you might be wrong.
If you give a vague idea, it might be wrong.
So we'll find out. We'll find out more tomorrow. Each
practice will be broken down six o'clock tomorrow, Friday night,
we will break down the third ota practice. All right, Johnny,
I went a little overrated underrated because I was talking
(37:08):
with some people today and it just reoccurred to me
because I've thought this before, how certain franchises are underrated
and other franchises are overrated. Okay, what do you think
is the most underrated franchise in the NFL. This franchise
has done some things. Now they're franchises who have done more,
(37:30):
but I think this particular franchise doesn't get enough credit
for being one of the premier franchises in this game.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
And look, they're not at.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
The level of the Chiefs who have gone nuts lately,
or the Eagles who have gone nuts lately, or the
Patriots who went nuts for two decades but not lately.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
They're not at that level.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
But they're at a high level, and they don't get
enough credit for being at that high level.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
I believe, I know that you're not referring to anybody
in the AFC South or the AFC for that man.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
THEFC, I've talked about them on a recent episode, maybe
within the last three weeks, and we played them this year.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
I think it's Tampay Buccaneers.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Oh, that's a good one. That's a good one. I
brought them up too. I like that as an underrated
franch I.
Speaker 5 (38:19):
Think Tampa Bay just doesn't get enough credit now that
I think part of it is because they've had such
down peers. I mean, obviously it came into the league
losing every single game for like seventeen straight games, so
it was like a year some change before they ended
up winning a game. And so I think that for
old heads. Old head but I'm getting there, But I
remember that as a little kid how bad the Bucks were,
(38:40):
because I was old enough to remember when they got
good in seventy nine. But then from there they've had
these periods of time where it's been pretty damn good
and they have lapses.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
But you're right, they have two suits underrated Bucks.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
I like that one. I like that one a lot.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
In fact, that one might be a better example than mine,
which was Seattle.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
I think Seattle's on it.
Speaker 5 (39:01):
I think they're probably it's funny because they both came
into the league the same year in seventy six.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yes, and they.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Both have done some things in the last twenty years.
And I think, and let's juxtapose with what I think
is an overrated franchise. Not that they're bad, they're really great.
They're really good. I maybe they're not great, but they're
really good. But I think they tend to get overrated,
and that would be the Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 4 (39:23):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I think this is an overrated Franchi.
Speaker 5 (39:25):
Ooh, I had one in mind same division, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. Yeah,
but Pittsburgh gets a lot of grief because they haven't
won a playoff game.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Since this and they eight and eight and then eight
nine or nine and well nine, nine and eight. He
always has a non losing season. But they kind of
get criticized that kind of they get criticized for that,
for not going anywhere. But the Ravens have had a
lot of not going anywhere, not going far enough. I
know they went to the AFC Championship Game in twenty three.
(39:53):
They did and beat the Texans and the Division war
so they get there, so good for them.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yeah, they won a super Bowl in twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
But since winning the Super Bowl, it has not exactly
been a cornucopia of excellence. True, all right, they've agreed
good years, but not great years. They had the one
AFC Championship Game appearance, but that's it since twenty twelve.
Since twenty twelve, the Seahawks have won a Super Bowl
more recently. Now, they don't have two Super Bowl wins
in the last twenty five years like the Ravens do,
(40:21):
because the Ravens won it in two thousand, but they've
won a super Bowl more recently, went to another more recently, and.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
They have winning season after winning season.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
Right the Seahawks, they let go of Pete Carroll while
he still had it going on. Pete Carroll leaves the
building at nine and eight, and guess what they didn't
lose last year with the new coach McDonald. They go
ten and seven, don't make the playoffs, but they go
ten and seven. The one losing season they've mixed in
in the last since twenty eleven is seven and ten
(40:52):
with Carol in twenty twenty one. So I stand by this.
I think they're underrated and I think the Bucks are
too Ravens.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
I think they're slightly overrated.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
People think that the Ravens are like the Patriots or
something like they have all this excellence, excellence, but they
have They're loud, they've got great personalities.
Speaker 2 (41:11):
They've got MVP and Lamar.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Jackson, three time MVP, two time MVFWO time could have
been three this year, but either way, yeah, could have
been three. Josh Allen won and thank you, and I
get it. They are going to be a very sexy
contender again this year. But we'll see if they get there.
I just think and look, I'm not saying they suck.
They think they're great, but they're slightly overrated in my opinion.
Speaker 5 (41:35):
So the Steelers win a lot of regular season games.
They have, I mean, it's kind of mark time with
where the Texas are. So the Texas came in the
league in two thousand and two, right, Steelers won a
lot of double digit even last year they were ten
to seven. But name me the last time that the
Pittsburgh Steelers won a playoff game.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Oh, it's it's been a while. It's like they haven't
won one since. Is it twenty sixteen? It's sixteen, twenty sixteen.
That's the last time they won a play last.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
Time they won a playoff game, they won one in fifteen.
They have three playoff victories since they went to the
Super Bowl and lost in twenty ten, twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
Just follow me, twenty eleven through current day, lost in wild.
Speaker 5 (42:23):
Card, out of playoffs, out of the playoffs, lost in wildcard,
lost in the visional round. But that year they beat
the Bengals in the opening round. They lost the division
round and that was perfect.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, yeah, that was the perfect year. They could have
lost that game very easily.
Speaker 5 (42:38):
Twenty sixteen, they get to face the Patriots in the
AFC Championship game.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
Okay, they lost that.
Speaker 5 (42:44):
Then seventeen they lost, they get a bye, They lose
the Jaguars at home in the division rounds. Right then
out of the playoffs, out of playoffs, lost wild card,
lost wild card. Out of the playoffs, lost wildcard, lost
wild card. Twenty sixteen, and we when the Steelers and Ravens.
It's the best rivalry in sports. Look, I'm not going
(43:07):
to dispute the regular season, but at some point you've
got to be able to produce in the playoffs or
you end up being an under an over eighty team.
The Bucks have won a title since then. The Seahawks
have won a title since both of those teams.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
Yeah, but they've won.
Speaker 5 (43:24):
Like I said, they won the one game against the
Bengals in fifteen, and then they won in sixteen. So
they've had three playoff wins since twenty eleven.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Well, Texans have more than that. How about that? Bingo exactly?
All right, final segment, we'll go around the league. A
former Texan still going a surprise a little bit of
one among other things.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
It's Texans Radio, all.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
Right, we were blabbing away in the last segment, so
we have been able time here. Texan new signs and
is still going former Texan, Former Texan, be clear. Mark
David Quesnberry signs with them, we might see him.
Speaker 5 (44:01):
There are very few players I shouldn't say very few.
After being in this building and meeting players, you get
to know a lot of them. There are very few
I cheer for more than David Quesnbury. I cheer for
him too. I just hate the fact that we let
him go.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
I knowted him walk out the door and he ends
up having a great career without the Texans who spent
all the time backing him, the mcnairs backing him, supporting
him in his recovery. And of course this is the
right thing to do, and they do the right thing,
but the football people make the decision.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
It was great he came out of the tunnel against
Pittsburgh Christmas Day twenty seventeen. That was cute. He played
against the Steelers. We got blown out. We don't think
he's got anything left for the NFL really, but it
was great that he made it back. Well, he becomes
a year's harder on the Titans.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Bills. He was somewhere else too.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
Now he's with the Rams, Vikings Vikings, my gosh, and
the Quesnbiarry family.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
Just great people all around. Have enjoyed meeting all of them.
Speaker 5 (44:58):
And the thing about it is there was no bitterness
on David's part, like at all.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Like he understood. He's like he knew it.
Speaker 5 (45:04):
Yeah, and he appreciated everything the city and the organization
did for him.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
And he knew it.
Speaker 5 (45:10):
When I talked to him and I'd see him, you know,
down on the field in other games, he was so
happy to see me and so excited askmile family is doing.
He just he was such a great guy, but he understood,
you know, that's the business of football.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Dude was draft into twenty thirteen, Draft twenty thirteen. Here
was sixth round.
Speaker 5 (45:25):
Twelve plus years later, and he's still kicking it around
good and he's back.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
He's back, well near home. He's in LA. He's from
San Diego, So San Jose State. Yeah, so San Jose State, Yeah,
San Jose State. So he's a couple hours from home.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
So good. Good for quiz man. I'm I'm very happy
for you.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
I remember interviewing Paul, because Paul was here, Scott, he was,
he was here.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
They're all great interviews, man, Yeah, really great.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Paul talked about how appreciative David was, and you know,
maybe I should be more kind to the football people
at the time for making that decision because who knew
thought he was going to do that. That's true, but
you give them chance after chance, like one more chance
you might have seen the fruit of your labor to
support him.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
I mean, I just hate that he went to the Titan.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
That's the killer. That's the one that drives me insane.
He went to the Titans.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Yeah, guys who end up with the divisional teams doing well, Look,
it's nothing personal, but you know how I feel about
the teams, especially.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
You go to a divisional team, we hate you from
now on.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Nothing was worse than It's Sports eight, than our Hall
of Famer oh Man playing for the Horseshoe. There was
nothing more awful than Andre Johnson catching two touchdown passes
against the Texans and the hassle beck and a diaper game.
We can do a whole show on that Texans painful moments.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
Maybe not.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
The McNair's are listening right now, like really here to
go there thirty for thirty game.
Speaker 5 (46:49):
Oh oh, we could do a good radio thirty for
thirty about that.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
We're gonna get the music. We're gonna do that.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
This is a good July show that is exactly July
one hundred and ten degrees out, and we're talking about it.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
We got the thirty for thirty theme.
Speaker 5 (47:04):
On the air, like how sick were you all? I
almost didn't play. I bet he would talk about it.
I bet you would too, I bet you, I absolutely
bet he would if we got it in my betty would.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
Their dad died recently, Don Hasselbeck. That's tight.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, oh yeah, that's too bad.
And we would talk with us. We need to, we
need to make that happen. We will make that happen.
And I hate to end the show on that note.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
But tomorrow six we'll review OTA's Day three, talk about
everything we see at practice. Let you know what's up.
Area forty five is next. Have a great night, Go Texans.
Hello Texans, Welcome to the show. So great to have
you along for the ride home or wherever you are
going this evening, or if you're listening on the podcast
Walking the Dog like I do sometimes.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Great to have you along.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Mark vandermir, John Harris, and the General the Hall of
Famer John McClay joined us today. Yes, and we were
all at OTA's Day one on Wednesday. There'll be another
practice on Friday that had one today, and we'll be
talking about as much Texans practice as we possibly can,
because I know John McClain loves talking about practice in May. John,
(00:32):
am I accurate?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Oh yeah, I tell you.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
I remember one year and I'm sure you guys will
remember this, when the Texans missed the playoffs by game.
I think kobiek was the coach, and I remember afterward
all the players who said, Man, if we'd just done
better in OTAs, we would have won this game and
made the playoffs. If we just hadn't had those guys
(00:56):
missed the OTAs, we would have made the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Thank a.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Having many times you've heard players and coaches say, if
we've just done better in OTAs or we made the playoffs,
we won the Super Bowl, and boy we got off
to a great start in the OTAs. We have never
heard anybody say that at any time, make any reference
(01:20):
to the OTAs or the off season program. Of course,
we'll hear things like, well, I noticed the way back
in training camp how well this white rookie did, and
thought he might have a chance to be a starter.
And no, he turned out to be pretty good, especially
in that playoff win.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
You'll hear that talking.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
About maybe preseason, but you never hear anybody say, man,
he was great in the mandatory mini camp. I think's
why why he had such a good season. So the
fact is it's good. But can you take anything away
from it? Yeah you can right now. But in the
whole scheme of things, sorry to make o it doesn't
(02:02):
main squad except for the mental part.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
Yeah, and I think that part, John, when you're installing
a new offense, that helps. I mean defensively, you've got
the same scheme for the most part. I think nearly
every single one of the coaches is the same on
a defensive side as well. But you are bringing in
and putting in a new offense. So to that point,
the mental side of things, I would imagine is that
(02:25):
much more important for this offense.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
And I know we can't take a lot out of what.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
We saw just from the whole group, how the offense works,
all that kind of stuff, but general, just individually, were
there a couple of guys that just caught your eye
just with what they are physically, how they're built, how
they run, how they move. Were there any guys like
that where you go, oh, okay, I kind of get
it while they drafted that guy, where they signed that guy,
were there any players like that that stood out for
(02:50):
you from that perspective.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Yes, And one of them is when Nick Kayley was
at the Rams. One of the things they like to
do on the outside is that big receivers, and they'd
have a guy like too two that well, but they
like big receivers. And when you see Nico Collins and
Jadon Higgins standing next to each other, it looks like
maybe they're getting ready to tip off against the Knicks,
(03:16):
because both those guys look like they could be basketball players.
And I'm guessing they've probably played a lot of basketball
growing up, especially in high school when they started to spout,
and seeing those guys together, you know, why, how dangerous
they're going to be and what a difficult matchup they're
going to be for the cornerbacks. I think wide receiver
(03:39):
other than Nico Collins, including Christian Kirk, wide receiver is
going to be a position we're constantly looking at during
the OTAs and training camp and joint practice againt the
Panthers and the Lions, and the preseason games. Because there's
a couple of guys like John Mitchew, the third Xavier Hutchinson.
(04:00):
I think based on what they've done in the draft
and free agency, these are make or break. These are
make or break times for them once they get into
camp in preseason and then of course not looking at
the alignment of the offensive line where you look up, okay,
it's these five, it's like musical chairs. Five more come
(04:23):
in as they're gonna watch these guys as much as
they can. And the mental part is a big thing
right now, the mental parts for everybody. And they have
a lot of new linemen, and they have a new system,
and they have a new line coach. Even though colch
was the assistant offensive line coach, you know he's not
going to want to do things the same way because
(04:43):
if he did, he probably would have been fired. So
I can't wait to see what he does and the
different alignments they have up front.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
John McLean joining us, all right, Yeah, they do have
a lot of different places they can go. And I
pose this question. I think that Johnny last week, who
is the next Pro bowler on the offensive line in
the current group? And we all agreed it's got to
be tight as Howard probably, but we don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
But I think a guy.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Like Titus Howard gives the coaches a lot of options
here because you know, he could play right tackle. You
know he could play either guard spot in all likelihood
hasn't played center, can play left tackle too, So having
a guy like that general is certainly helpful. And right now,
other than fair Baron, he's the longest tenured Texan.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Is he not trying? Yes, that's right.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Twenty nineteen first round pick Bill O'Brien wanted him so
bad he jumped up and looked like a jack in
the box. Is scared the hell out of the owner.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Not Bob McNair.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Of course, he had died in twenty eighteen and Janis
was there and I was told she scared her to
death the way o jumped up, started cheering and I
wanted to use that and they wouldn't let me do it.
And I said, that's a cute story. Remember when everybody
said that got bamboozle because they wanted Andre Dillar. This
was nationally. They never wanted Dialer, they wanted Titus. What
(06:07):
Titus has to do that left guard is put together
a full season and be able to stay at left
guard and not be moved around and show them what
he can do. Because if he played really well, and
he's yet to have a consistently good season from start
to finish, he could help him get more money. And
(06:28):
I think that he just liked to be left in
one spot and it was pretty obvious last year left
guard was his best position. Let me ask you guys
something now, assuming Tay Nursery's going to be competing at
left tackle with Cam Robinson Trent Brown right tackle, he's
been all over the place, but Blake Fisher. Do you
(06:50):
guys think Blake Fisher is going to be the starting
right tackle when they go to camp? And do you
think he will be the starting right tackle when they
open the season at the Rams.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I'm gonna take it first.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I think he will be, but I think it's not
gonna be an easy road to get there. I do
believe that they want to have a look at everybody
at Guard that they could possibly have a look at,
whether it be Ingram or Tomlinson or Titus or whoever juice.
They want to get a long look at these guys,
and you have to settle the center spot too. Most
(07:25):
likely not Jews, Patterson Andrews. We saw Jake Andrews yesterday.
That was interesting. But I think Blake eventually wins it. Johnny,
what do you think? I do think and I think
you put it well.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
I think there's gonna be a pretty staunch competition that
whoever ends up winning that competition will have earned that spot.
It won't be as well. These two guys weren't very
good and we're just well, we're stuck with this guy.
I do think that Blake will improve. I'm curious to
see ursery once they turn this into a collision sport.
You put pads on a training camp. But I feel
(07:57):
like it's going to be well earned. You know, last
year there's a lot of talk about well, you know
those five guys were they were just labeled day one starters,
and they were starters. Problem is nobody really could push
them for a starting spot behind them, So it was
kind of tough because they were your five and there
really wasn't a lot of competition.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Who knows whether entitlements said and I don't know.
Speaker 5 (08:20):
Whatever, but I think this year it will be earned
all across the board. So I do think that I
do think Blake is gonna end up starting at right tackle. However,
as we saw in the OTAs and as Demiko described,
they're I mean, look, we're gonna get the best five.
We gotta we gotta work towards getting that best five.
(08:41):
So which five? And as Herb Brooks said, Miracle not
looking for the best players. I'm looking for the right ones.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
I like that. That's the most important thing.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Herb Brooks, Miracle, get the right ones, get the ones.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
That fit the best.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
And if you can do that, then you end up
putting yourself off in a pretty good situation.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
It would be great if Ursery could come in and
win that job over Cam Robinson. I'm sure it's not
going to happen. Right at the start, Robinson's on a
one year deal. He played every game last year for
two teams, so he knows he's playing for money again.
But at first he's good enough. Maybe early in the season,
maybe if Robinson gets hurt, he moves in solidifies the position.
(09:25):
The way I look at it, Howard's the left guard.
We know who the four guys competing at tackle will
be the key to center and right guard. And there
are a lot of candidates. This is a season for
Juice Scrugs, a second round pick, to step up, stay
out there and show why he was a second round pick.
(09:45):
He flashed at right guard and then they pulled him
and put Shaq Mason back in, and he was terrible.
But there are a lot of candidates who come in
here at center and guard, and that's the interior guys,
and they were the issue last year. That's the ones
I'm really big er look at when you're having the
joint practices and then when you're having the preseason games.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Okay, this one's for both of you know, stay with
me on this one. Okay, Okay. So there's five offensive linemen.
There are seventeen regular season games. That's eighty five starts
on the offensive line. Right, that's eighty five starts. How
many starts would you guesstimate? Will go to a player
(10:33):
that's not even in OTAs right now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Ooh, I would say, ooh, Johnny, that's a good one.
Speaker 5 (10:41):
I mean I'm saying that, like, let's say you get
a George fant right in the end that starting seventeen. Yeah,
I don't know what Georgia and up starting. I think
it was a lot of games, but Georgian and up starting.
But George is not with us in OTAs. He took
seventeen and those eighty five. So the eighty five starts
across the offensive line, how many of them would you
devote to somebody not in the building at this current moment?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Zero? Really?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Zero?
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Zero?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
You guys? Are you?
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Guys are too much depth? They got more depth in
the offensive line than this team has ever had. Nick
Cassio has brought in five new lineman, four veterans. So
I'm like Mark, I'm gonna say zero about OTAs. Maybe
they start getting injuries in preseason or training camp, but
(11:30):
just in OTAs, I'm also saying zero.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Okay, all right, what's your number? I think the number
is somewhere between five and ten.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
I do think there will be some starts from guys
that are not here, because I do think, you know,
I think of that George Fan situation.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
You know that now injuries?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
How many were there last year?
Speaker 5 (11:47):
From it was the five they went with the five
guys they had for the most part until Kenyon got hurt, yep,
and then Jews and then wait, Jews moved.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Wait Patterson wasn't healthy early, right.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
He was a little backed up at the beginning, but
he was on your team in OTAs. I don't know
that we had any many that I can think of
that I can think, but twenty nineteen, Laramie was not
with us.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
In twenty nineteen. I guess twenty twenty Charlie Heck started
some at the end. That was seismic though with Line
I know, I know, But.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
That's that's the point that might it might come to
a point where you go through you know, OTAs, you
go through mini camp, and you go through parts of
training camp, you go through some joint practices, you go
through a preseason game and you're like, yo, we're in trouble,
we need something, and you go and you make a move.
So there's a lot of different ways you could get too.
(12:43):
Starts from somebody outside the building. And that's why I
say somewhere between five to seven, because I do think
there might be I mean, look, maybe you're playing well,
you're winning games somehow, but you're not getting great offensive
line play. But you're in it, and so near the
trade deadline you make a move, it starts for the
last half of the year.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
So I'm going I'll go above zero.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
I do think it'll be maybe not you maybe not
get lucky with like a George Fant, but you might
end up finding a guy that grinds through five to
seven starts on the interior throughout the year.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
If that's the case and that happens, they're in trouble.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Uh, they could be. I don't speak that.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
I don't know all the players they brought in.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
They've never had this kind of experience in the offensive line.
And if they have to sign somebody or trade for somebody,
that means they've had catastrophic injuries.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Okay, let me ask you this general, this defense, Will
this defense go down as the greatest Enfranchise history? And
let me just set something up for you here. Twenty eleven,
they were second in the league yards, fourth in points
in twenty fifteen, third and yards, seventh in points in
twenty eighteen, they were fourth in points, twelve in yards.
(13:55):
Last year sixth in yards, fourteen in points. Will this
be their best defense?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
What were they in twenty and twelve when they had
their greatest record twelve and four.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
The defensively they didn't rank as high. I think seventh
total defense yards and seventh in points.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Very good, no question.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Okay, I'm gonna say no, because they're playing a first
place schedule again. They're playing Patrick Mahomes, They're playing Lamar Jackson.
I think they have a super Bowl caliber defense and
they can finish in the top five. But I just
think with this schedule and all these quarterbacks Matthew Stafford,
(14:36):
they're going to throw the ball a lot, So I
don't think they will finish like as high as the
two thousand and eleven defense did. Remember in eleven, they
weren't playing a first place schedule. So I will say
it statistically, it will not be the best, but I
think overall it is the best because this is the
first time, looking at depth and talent and coaching that
(14:59):
I believe the Texans have a super Bowl caliber defense.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
Okay, this happens every year with the Super Bowl, Right
You're in the Super Bowl. The following year, one of
the teams falls off. It's hard to figure that team
out now because you're like, well, look they're great, they
just came out the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
They're great football teams.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
Invariably, one of the two teams in the Super Bowl
falls off. The other one stays in contention for the
most part, but one of the teams falls off the
Niners after the twenty three season going into last year,
Eagles or.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Chiefs, Chiefs the Super Bowl loser.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
The only one time has it gone back to the
Super Bowl since Buffalo, and that was the Patriots one year.
So I'm going with I think the Chiefs are going
to fall off. They might not win the AFC West
just because of historically speaking. I think they'll still be
good and get the playoffs, but it's just the Super
(15:58):
Bowl hangover. Could you imagine the team that loses.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
Could you imagine the Chiefs not winning the West and
then coming to Energy Stadium for the Texans Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Patrick Mahomes in that game, could you imagine that? Thank you? Oh,
I don't want to see thee always win. Yeah, that's
our that's our spot, that's our party.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Thirty Central time on Saturday, the first weekend of the
Wildcard playoffs.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I'll take that.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
You don't have to worry about looking past them like
you might have against the Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Would you take that right now? General? Would you take
that right now?
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Chiefs Texans, Saturday three thirty, first round in the wild Card.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Would you take it?
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Why not?
Speaker 4 (16:37):
It means you wouldn't have to play at Arrowhead Stadium
when you beat them.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
And you know, Johnny I said before, I would take
ten wins in the division right now, and that would
put you exact right. So I guess I got to
take my medicine and your medicine.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Now.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
As far as your question goes those divisions, the AFC West,
the week Link Raiders, but they should be a lot
better this year with Pete Caroltino Smith Leime. They got
to whether they put together a winning season in Seattle.
As far as what you're dealing with in Philly Dallas,
is the Raider equivalent a team that, well, it's not
quite the equivalent because the Cowboys had a lot of injuries.
(17:13):
Now they've had a lot of changes from two years
ago when they won twelve games, but they've been able
to win twelve games, and Dak I think is a
better quarterback than Gino Smith when he's on, you know,
and they've got weaponry. So I think Dallas makes that
a tough division with their would be comeback campaign. And
by comeback, I mean they win eight games. That's gonna
be a factor. They'll split with Philly maybe if they
(17:33):
win eight games. So you have to take all those
things into consideration. But I agree with the general. The
Chiefs win all those games by the hair of their
chinny chin chin. And can they do it again in
twenty twenty five. I'm gonna say no, because they're playing
the first place schedule. They have to deal with the
Ravens and the Bills and US again, and it's not
going to work out as well this time.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
I mean logic and math tells you that's the case.
They can't keep winning those one score games the way
that they did. There are probably four of them that
they had something at the end of the game that,
you know, they block a Broncos field goal attempt, they
get a pass interference call on the Bengals at leads
to a game winning field goal, and who knows what
that offense will be. As Kelsey continues, to slow down athletically,
(18:13):
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Here's the general. I think it's a chief. You look
at the Eagles.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Yeah, they've lost some pieces, but my god, you still
have Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts coming back. Defensive line is
coming back one hundred percent intact. I think I think
the Eagles. I think the Eagles are gonna be salty
this general.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
I had a question about how the NFL has evolved
in the offseason, because we've talked about it before back
in the day. And by the way, I watched this
nineteen seventy eight oiler highlight reel. It's the NFL films
that's twenty two minutes on the entire season. It was
glorious because they go to San Angelo and they have
behind the scenes stuff and singing songs and Carl Mack
(18:51):
and it's just you see the whole vibe. Ye and
it's fantastic anyway. But General, when they used to report
July one or whatever, it was late June, very early July,
because they had six preseason games and they got in
shape during training camp. What was the rest of the
offseason like, And I'm wondering, why did the league get
away from that. I know it's a lot of work
for the players, but I feel I have one theory
(19:12):
on this. Maybe the players didn't want to have a
camp that long, but I bet the coaches also loved
this five week break or whatever amount of weeks they get,
because you know, when you have the draft to get
ready for all the front office people, we have the
draft to get ready for. Then we've got whatever offseason
practice we want that time off.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
That's our family time, that's our summer.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
To have three, four or five weeks and then we
go to camp and never to be heard from again
until the offseason.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Generally, your thoughts back.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
When our first my first oiler training camp seventy seven,
they were playing six games. They had a week's rookie
mini camp before the veterans came in, and veterans could
come in early if they wanted to. And back then
they had a collect They fought for a collective bargain agreement.
But it was all about getting more money. It wasn't
(19:59):
about time off. It wasn't about players' health and benefits
and things like that. Well, it was about benefits to
try to help them in insurance and stuff. So the
players would have to work out on their own, and
the facilities were terrible, so you'd have to buy health
club membership and go to work out. And a lot
(20:21):
of them had jobs, and I remember the only thing
in the off season you had to worry about was
the draft, and that was it. And back then, I
think it was twelve rounds, or maybe it might have
been sixteen. There were times when they had to draft
in December and while the college season was going on,
and they would go out and the first day they
(20:43):
would have double date practices two to two and a
half hours for both of them, and they would beat
the hell out of the players because they said that's
when they get in shape. And I remember Dale robertson
the Houston Post had a story that just killed me
because I was his competition. He had found Earl Campbell
(21:04):
working out on a bayou on Beach Nut and Earl
would run up and down the bayou and to get
in shape in June. And once he wrote that story
in the Post, all these players from colleges, high schools,
everybody started coming to that yue and they didn't need
to bow it anymore because the players would wear it
(21:24):
down and that and it was mosquitoes and it was humid,
and that's how Earl got in shape. And I remember
a player who used to use a bible in his
room to beat on his knee to make it swell
so he didn't have to practice double days all the time.
And I remember a lot of guys would come in overweight,
and they'd have a fat man's table in the cafeteria
(21:48):
camp and you got these guys away. Back then, three
hundred bounds was a lot, and they were miserable, couldn't
need anything but healthy stuff and diet stuff, and they
had to go I sweat for five hours a day,
and it was a lot different. It wasn't until the
CBA in ninety three when salary cap came in and everything,
(22:09):
that they started taking it easier on them, not want
players to get hurt because the cap and the players
got more rights in the CBA's about how much time
could be done. And they started easing up on practices.
And then as the team started getting great facilities like
the Texans have, and players would start coming over there
(22:30):
in the off season. They'd get three meals a day.
They wanted to come to work. They didn't have to
get rookies to go to McDonald's and bring them food
every day. Things changed until players started playing, until they
were in great shape when they reported and they didn't
have to beat them up. I remember one off season program.
Players were running going through these skills tests and Earl
(22:53):
Campbell he ran out of gas. Media goes around. Bomb
Phillips says, bomb bomber. Ol kid finished the mile and
bum Phillips chewed on some tobacco and he spat and
he said, well, when it's third to mile, we won't
give it to it.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
General Drew nine in the lab, we brought up joint
practices because Texas will joint private, joint practice. The Panthers
have a joint practice with the Lions, and our thought,
our tact was what's your favorite joint practice memory.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You've been to training.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Camp for an hour?
Speaker 5 (23:27):
Do you have a favorite one that you can share
on the radio. Not the one you don't want to
share in the radio.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
No, no, you guys, I know you'll like it. When
we went to Richmond, Virginia to watch the Commanders, I
think they were the Redskins then yes, and the Texans
and the weather was cool there, but it was raining
and they got so many fights. They had to stop
it early. And in the time where we went to
New Orleans for the Saints and the Texans and there
(23:58):
were so many fights and it was so hot, just
the exact opposite of Richmond. They had to stop that early.
And Greg Williams, I think, was a defensive coordinator. Of course,
Sean Payton was sad coach, and Greg Williams love for
his players to get in fights. He was from the
Buddy Ryan school, and I believe we had to be
(24:18):
watching constantly because we knew there were going to be
fights and we had to suit see who it was.
Another one I really liked, and I know y'all did too,
was when we went to Santa Clara before the Texans
played the forty nine.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
Ers and the weather was so nice.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Good, that was so nice.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Yes, at that time of year, it's all about weather.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
You know what.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Maybe I'll save it for the next segment. I'll give
you mine, I'll give you my well, you know, I'll
give you one because I got many. Because you guys
talked about this on in the last which I don't
know if it's been released yet, but.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
It'll be soon.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
The Texans Cowboys Year one was something at Robersons Stadium
and set up opening night September eight, two thousand and two. However,
the second year, and I've talked about this before, the
Alamo Dome scrimmage with the Cowboys was huge, and we
should do that every year. I will die on that hill.
We should do this every year with the Dallas Cowboys.
Scrimmage them at the Alamo Dome, sell tickets, do charity stuff.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Whatever it takes, promote flag football, do it all. Texans
Cowboys at the Alamodome a week before the first preseason game.
I know Demiko would be down with that. You're indoors, yes,
So that's my thought.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
What do y'all think about this one? Texans Patriots at
the Greenbrier. Remember when so many Patriot fans came in
there and just overran the practice fields and they had
I think, what was it, two practices before they came
back here and played, and that again, the weather was great.
(25:49):
To get to see Brady up close and personal, seeing
how Mike Rabo was hanging out with Brady and they
had it was I just had a blast going there,
and I remember how all those Patriot fans descended on
Lewis Burger, West Virginia and just took over the place.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
I remember going off the practice field aftering interviews and
everything we think of the first practice, and I just
never forget in between the two practice fields, Deshaun was
a rookie and DeShawn was standing there and he was
with Tom Savage, and I'll never forget both of them.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
They were staring.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Brady had gone off to the other side of the
other practice field with Alex Carrero and.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
They had the bands yep.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
And Brady had just gone through a full practice, and
I just remember Shaun and Savager watching and Brady's just
going up and down the field with those bands yep,
for like fifteen minutes after a full practice. And you
just sit there and go, well, yeah, that makes sense.
I mean, the guy's the greatest because he freaking works
at it.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Look at him. Ones work at it.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
The great ones love practice, They love the prep, They
loved the process in general. What do you have going
on for us? I know you have the doc GK,
you entry underway, all the rest of it.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Yeah. In two weeks we're going to Key Largo, Florida
to interview Jimmy Johnson, who had a great almost kept
Corpus Christy Miller from being the first integrated team to
win a state championship in Texans. As port Arthur Jefferson
lost to Miller six to zero. We're going to talk
to Jimmy about the game, the environment of the Purview
(27:27):
Interscholastic League all black university interscholastically all white back then,
and Corpus Christy Miller was one of the first schools
to integrate. Johnny Rowland was their star player. We've got
other people we're going to interview, and I will be
in Waco on Friday to nominate Johnny Rowland for our
(27:51):
Veterans Nice nominations. So I'll be up there dealing with
the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. And I'll miss you
guys at the OTAs. But thank you, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
As always, well, you can always listen to Texans All
Access Friday night at six for a complete OTA review
general and I.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Know abolutely that's what I'll be doing.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Thank you, sir, Thank you guys.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
All right, coming up, Johnny and I discuss. I'll give
you more of my best joint practice memories and worst.
But I've got overrated, underrated and some other big questions
for you, Johnny, it's next here on Texans Radio.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Back to it here on Texans Radio.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Mark Vandermere and John Harris with you, and just to
pay off the t's as promised. You guys were talking
about joint practices. Yeah, and best ones, worst ones. You know, Johnny,
The thing about joint practices is a lot of the
memory seem to be either neutral or not so hot,
because when I think about the ones with the Saints,
(28:45):
those are probably the best ones. Like oh eight, that
was great, great week. Yeah, great preseason game. I know
that's a weird statement to make, but it really was.
Afterwards the Texans taking it to the Saints and racking
up a lot of yards and numbers. That's Super Dome
a lot fun to watch that one. That was the
first time we were away for a while doing joint practices.
(29:05):
But I've told you the story five Broncos here Jake
Plummer Kubiak coaching the offense for the Broncos.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
A year later he'd be the to this team.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
But that time where I saw the Broncos take it
to the Texans in a night joint practice at the
Houston Methodist Training Center, and I thought boy, I hope
they're going to the super Bowl because we're not at
their level. And clearly the Texans weren't their level. That
year went to at fourteen, Broncos went to the AFC
Championship game. Kubiak came here and helped this franchise a lot.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You bringing up the Broncos.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
I am very disappointed that you did not mention doing
radio from a closet.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Yeah, that was a good joint. I was twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
You and I had like a broom closet doing radio.
That sounds bad, yeah, I mean, but there we were,
the Broncos in their state of the art in the closet,
like literally, it was a big closet. It was about
the size of the studio, like an IT closet or something.
It was weird, and we just kind of set it
up and di the show. We had a two hour
show to do and we just knocked it out. He
essentially set the standard for you and I doing radio
(30:08):
shows anywhere, anytime.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, and that was our first year together do a show. Yeah,
so that worked out well. Yeah, mcla.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
That was actually my favorite preseason game ending. Oh yeah,
I think that's right. When Tom savage hit what's his
name from Aggie Land We're.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Gonna ask you were gonna say this to me? Oh,
it's at the tip of my tongue.
Speaker 5 (30:28):
Yo, Godravis Slotty, mcslotty, I can't remember his.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Name, Travis something. Yeah, Oh, come on, you thing that.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
But you know, we've been we've been on the road
for a lot of joint practices and I all of
them are enjoyable in some way, shape or form. I mean,
Drew and I talked a lot about this the seventeen
visit at the Greenbrier from the Patriots and.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Lab Heart, lab Heart, Travis Labhart. That's it came to me.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
I was looking it up, but it came to me
while I was looking it up, So I get credit.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
The reason that one kind of stands out a couple
of reasons.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
Number One, we stayed on Inglewood because that's where their
practice facility is. And the whole week was great, the
weather was great, everything was great. And I remember and
always remember this one of the most enduring images of
my childhood watching the chem Laijuan on the sidelines against
the Denver Nuggets and you always have the oxygen mask.
And I remember being out there in Englewood, like this
thing that doesn't bother me at all.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
So we have a good week with the Broncos.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
We go into Denver to play them at Mile High
and I can't breathe all night long. I find myself
waking up like and every time I go to Denver.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
It's the same thing. That's weird.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
But then we have this game with Denver and it's
a great preseason game.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
It's a great preseason game.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
Tom Savage at the end leads them down touchdown two
point to win the game.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
We go back with that.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
But my favorite story of that game is I don't
know if you remember this, but during the joint practices
it got chippy.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Chippy. Now we talked to Chris Clark about it. Yeah,
Peyton Manning.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Peyton Manning though, gets into it with our secondary because
our secondary is chirping, chirp and chirping. So in the game,
Peyton throws a seed for a touchdown. I mean just
rips one. It's like, man, this is Peyton Manning that
we haven't seen because he looked like he had the
arm strength back. So as he's running down the field,
he finds DJ Swearingert and just he says something. So
(32:19):
I find Swag in the locker room and I says, Swag,
what do you say to you? He goes, he goes
bleep you. And I thought Swag was talking to me.
So I was like, it's sorry, dude. I just asked him.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
No, no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
He's like, Johnny, that's what he said to me. I
was like, Okay. I looked at Peyton Manning a little
different light at that point.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
But I think that's one of the cool things is
just the opposite numbers you get to see, you know,
you get to see the great receivers. You know, last
last year it was Tyreek Hill getting to see here.
Two years ago, twenty twenty three, we got to see
Tyreek Hill. You know, you get to see all the
great quarterbacks. You know, obviously two of that year, but
we've seen Matt Stafford here in two forms, Lions and
(33:00):
the Rams. You know, Jimmy Garoppolo the one years come
off that big year in San Francisco and you're like,
this guy might have a little stuff to his team.
This will be an interesting team to watch. And then
Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady. I mean, we've seen a lot
of quarterbacks, you know, I know you would say, Drew Brees,
I didn't get to see those ones.
Speaker 2 (33:16):
Against the Saints.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Jerry Rice. Yeah, yeah, Jerry Rice was here once twenty fourteen.
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Those two joint practices were against Matt Ryan and then
Peyton Manning.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Damn, basically back to back weeks. That's big. Yeah, So we've.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Had some We've had a good time with the joint practices,
and this will be fun going facing the Lions, facing
the Panthers, seeing that that California connection between Bryce Young
and Tteroro McMillan.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
That w'll be fun.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
All right.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
So you and I saw another practice today which was
for business operations. Yes, it wasn't immediate thing, so we're
not gonna go nuts because you know it's not fair.
The media wasn't there, but you know, we work here,
so we got to go with the rest of the people.
And we're talking like accounting, HR ticketing. Yeah, all refer
to a practice. Yeah, they were gonna go yesterday, but
it got rained in, meaning rained into the bubble, so
(34:03):
that wasn't going to accommodate enough of the people. But anyway,
any thoughts on last couple of days, anything different, anything new,
anything In addition, to what we heard last night.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
I think the one thing I would say is anybody
that thinks offensively that anything is set in stone, anything
not so fast. Yes, you use your best corso not
so fast. If you're sitting there going, I guarantee it's
gonna be.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Like this, Eh, back up, Sparky, even more combos. And
I'm sure the media will see this tomorrow. Yeah they're
out there. Yeah, there's nothing set in stone, nothing's way
to And I think one of the things and I go,
I go back to this. I listened to a podcasts
Jordan Rodrigan, I want up to Big twelve Media Days.
A few years ago I drove to Dallas and Jordan
(34:51):
rodriga The Athletic, did this really good podcast where she
interviewed a lot of the the Shanahan Tree, kind of
the younger members mc vey, Shanahan, McDaniel, Matt Lafleur. And
one of the things I'll never forget is Sean McVay
talking about the evolution of his offense out with the Rams.
And I can't help but thinking Nick Kayley and Sean
(35:12):
McVay is young wounder Keeney goes out to the La
Rams and how's it going to be, and he goes
out there with a thought of what the offense was
he thought was gonna be. He gets out there, he
starts kind of messing around with the talent he's got,
and he's like, man, I thought we were gonna be
ex but then I see some of the talent we
turned into why And I thought that was always interesting?
(35:34):
And so I would imagine that McVay has probably shared
that with many offensive people that have been with him,
including Nikayley, and so I think probably Nick is going
through that at some point looking at, Okay, personnel wise,
I have this, This is what I thought I was
gonna be, but I've got this personnel, so maybe it
should be this, And so you kind of play around
(35:57):
with it until you find your voice your offense, right,
And I always think back to that with McVeigh, and
I feel like Nick's probably going through that with looking
at and you can know what talent you have until
you see it on a field and you see it
kind of come together. You don't know, you have no idea,
and so you don't really realize, look are we his
own team or we a gap scheme team?
Speaker 3 (36:16):
What are we? Well?
Speaker 5 (36:18):
I don't know until we kind of see it all
come together. We're not really sure what we are. Let's
kind of move this and move that, move this piece,
and you'll eventually hopefully find a nice little picture. Those
a little slide puzzles. You know, you look at slide puzzles.
You're like, gonna move this over here. Sometimes you got
to move a piece three times left. So you can
just get one piece to move one time to the
(36:38):
right where you know it should go, but you got
to move all these other pieces.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Kind of move this around.
Speaker 5 (36:42):
So anything that anybody out there goes, yep, I know
exactly how.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
It's gonna go. Nope, no way, no way you have.
You have no idea. In fact, even you might be wrong.
If you give a vague idea, it might be wrong.
So we'll find out. We'll find out more tomorrow. Each
practice will be broken down six o'clock tomorrow, Friday night,
we will break down the third ota practice. All right, Johnny,
I went a little overrated underrated because I was talking
(37:08):
with some people today and it just reoccurred to me
because I've thought this before, how certain franchises are underrated
and other franchises are overrated. Okay, what do you think
is the most underrated franchise in the NFL. This franchise
has done some things. Now they're franchises who have done more,
(37:30):
but I think this particular franchise doesn't get enough credit
for being one of the premier franchises in this game.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
And look, they're not at.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
The level of the Chiefs who have gone nuts lately,
or the Eagles who have gone nuts lately, or the
Patriots who went nuts for two decades but not lately.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
They're not at that level.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
But they're at a high level, and they don't get
enough credit for being at that high level.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
I believe, I know that you're not referring to anybody
in the AFC South or the AFC for that man.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
THEFC, I've talked about them on a recent episode, maybe
within the last three weeks, and we played them this year.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
I think it's Tampay Buccaneers.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Oh, that's a good one. That's a good one. I
brought them up too. I like that as an underrated
franch I.
Speaker 5 (38:19):
Think Tampa Bay just doesn't get enough credit now that
I think part of it is because they've had such
down peers. I mean, obviously it came into the league
losing every single game for like seventeen straight games, so
it was like a year some change before they ended
up winning a game. And so I think that for
old heads. Old head but I'm getting there, But I
remember that as a little kid how bad the Bucks were,
(38:40):
because I was old enough to remember when they got
good in seventy nine. But then from there they've had
these periods of time where it's been pretty damn good
and they have lapses.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
But you're right, they have two suits underrated Bucks.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
I like that one. I like that one a lot.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
In fact, that one might be a better example than mine,
which was Seattle.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
I think Seattle's on it.
Speaker 5 (39:01):
I think they're probably it's funny because they both came
into the league the same year in seventy six.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yes, and they.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Both have done some things in the last twenty years.
And I think, and let's juxtapose with what I think
is an overrated franchise. Not that they're bad, they're really great.
They're really good. I maybe they're not great, but they're
really good. But I think they tend to get overrated,
and that would be the Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 4 (39:23):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I think this is an overrated Franchi.
Speaker 5 (39:25):
Ooh, I had one in mind same division, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. Yeah,
but Pittsburgh gets a lot of grief because they haven't
won a playoff game.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Since this and they eight and eight and then eight
nine or nine and well nine, nine and eight. He
always has a non losing season. But they kind of
get criticized that kind of they get criticized for that,
for not going anywhere. But the Ravens have had a
lot of not going anywhere, not going far enough. I
know they went to the AFC Championship Game in twenty three.
(39:53):
They did and beat the Texans and the Division war
so they get there, so good for them.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yeah, they won a super Bowl in twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
But since winning the Super Bowl, it has not exactly
been a cornucopia of excellence. True, all right, they've agreed
good years, but not great years. They had the one
AFC Championship Game appearance, but that's it since twenty twelve.
Since twenty twelve, the Seahawks have won a Super Bowl
more recently. Now, they don't have two Super Bowl wins
in the last twenty five years like the Ravens do,
(40:21):
because the Ravens won it in two thousand, but they've
won a super Bowl more recently, went to another more recently, and.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
They have winning season after winning season.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
Right the Seahawks, they let go of Pete Carroll while
he still had it going on. Pete Carroll leaves the
building at nine and eight, and guess what they didn't
lose last year with the new coach McDonald. They go
ten and seven, don't make the playoffs, but they go
ten and seven. The one losing season they've mixed in
in the last since twenty eleven is seven and ten
(40:52):
with Carol in twenty twenty one. So I stand by this.
I think they're underrated and I think the Bucks are
too Ravens.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
I think they're slightly overrated.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
People think that the Ravens are like the Patriots or
something like they have all this excellence, excellence, but they
have They're loud, they've got great personalities.
Speaker 2 (41:11):
They've got MVP and Lamar.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Jackson, three time MVP, two time MVFWO time could have
been three this year, but either way, yeah, could have
been three. Josh Allen won and thank you, and I
get it. They are going to be a very sexy
contender again this year. But we'll see if they get there.
I just think and look, I'm not saying they suck.
They think they're great, but they're slightly overrated in my opinion.
Speaker 5 (41:35):
So the Steelers win a lot of regular season games.
They have, I mean, it's kind of mark time with
where the Texas are. So the Texas came in the
league in two thousand and two, right, Steelers won a
lot of double digit even last year they were ten
to seven. But name me the last time that the
Pittsburgh Steelers won a playoff game.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Oh, it's it's been a while. It's like they haven't
won one since. Is it twenty sixteen? It's sixteen, twenty sixteen.
That's the last time they won a play last.
Speaker 5 (42:07):
Time they won a playoff game, they won one in fifteen.
They have three playoff victories since they went to the
Super Bowl and lost in twenty ten, twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
Just follow me, twenty eleven through current day, lost in wild.
Speaker 5 (42:23):
Card, out of playoffs, out of the playoffs, lost in wildcard,
lost in the visional round. But that year they beat
the Bengals in the opening round. They lost the division
round and that was perfect.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, yeah, that was the perfect year. They could have
lost that game very easily.
Speaker 5 (42:38):
Twenty sixteen, they get to face the Patriots in the
AFC Championship game.
Speaker 2 (42:42):
Okay, they lost that.
Speaker 5 (42:44):
Then seventeen they lost, they get a bye, They lose
the Jaguars at home in the division rounds. Right then
out of the playoffs, out of playoffs, lost wild card,
lost wild card. Out of the playoffs, lost wildcard, lost
wild card. Twenty sixteen, and we when the Steelers and Ravens.
It's the best rivalry in sports. Look, I'm not going
(43:07):
to dispute the regular season, but at some point you've
got to be able to produce in the playoffs or
you end up being an under an over eighty team.
The Bucks have won a title since then. The Seahawks
have won a title since both of those teams.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
Yeah, but they've won.
Speaker 5 (43:24):
Like I said, they won the one game against the
Bengals in fifteen, and then they won in sixteen. So
they've had three playoff wins since twenty eleven.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Well, Texans have more than that. How about that? Bingo exactly?
All right, final segment, we'll go around the league. A
former Texan still going a surprise a little bit of
one among other things.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
It's Texans Radio, all.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
Right, we were blabbing away in the last segment, so
we have been able time here. Texan new signs and
is still going former Texan, Former Texan, be clear. Mark
David Quesnberry signs with them, we might see him.
Speaker 5 (44:01):
There are very few players I shouldn't say very few.
After being in this building and meeting players, you get
to know a lot of them. There are very few
I cheer for more than David Quesnbury. I cheer for
him too. I just hate the fact that we let
him go.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
I knowted him walk out the door and he ends
up having a great career without the Texans who spent
all the time backing him, the mcnairs backing him, supporting
him in his recovery. And of course this is the
right thing to do, and they do the right thing,
but the football people make the decision.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
You know.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
It was great he came out of the tunnel against
Pittsburgh Christmas Day twenty seventeen. That was cute. He played
against the Steelers. We got blown out. We don't think
he's got anything left for the NFL really, but it
was great that he made it back. Well, he becomes
a year's harder on the Titans.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Bills. He was somewhere else too.
Speaker 1 (44:50):
Now he's with the Rams, Vikings Vikings, my gosh, and
the Quesnbiarry family.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
Just great people all around. Have enjoyed meeting all of them.
Speaker 5 (44:58):
And the thing about it is there was no bitterness
on David's part, like at all.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Like he understood. He's like he knew it.
Speaker 5 (45:04):
Yeah, and he appreciated everything the city and the organization
did for him.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
And he knew it.
Speaker 5 (45:10):
When I talked to him and I'd see him, you know,
down on the field in other games, he was so
happy to see me and so excited askmile family is doing.
He just he was such a great guy, but he understood,
you know, that's the business of football.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Dude was draft into twenty thirteen, Draft twenty thirteen. Here
was sixth round.
Speaker 5 (45:25):
Twelve plus years later, and he's still kicking it around
good and he's back.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
He's back, well near home. He's in LA. He's from
San Diego, So San Jose State. Yeah, so San Jose State, Yeah,
San Jose State. So he's a couple hours from home.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
So good. Good for quiz man. I'm I'm very happy
for you.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
I remember interviewing Paul, because Paul was here, Scott, he was,
he was here.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
They're all great interviews, man, Yeah, really great.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
Paul talked about how appreciative David was, and you know,
maybe I should be more kind to the football people
at the time for making that decision because who knew
thought he was going to do that. That's true, but
you give them chance after chance, like one more chance
you might have seen the fruit of your labor to
support him.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
I mean, I just hate that he went to the Titan.
Speaker 5 (46:11):
That's the killer. That's the one that drives me insane.
He went to the Titans.
Speaker 1 (46:15):
Yeah, guys who end up with the divisional teams doing well, Look,
it's nothing personal, but you know how I feel about
the teams, especially.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
You go to a divisional team, we hate you from
now on.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Nothing was worse than It's Sports eight, than our Hall
of Famer oh Man playing for the Horseshoe. There was
nothing more awful than Andre Johnson catching two touchdown passes
against the Texans and the hassle beck and a diaper game.
We can do a whole show on that Texans painful moments.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
Maybe not.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
The McNair's are listening right now, like really here to
go there thirty for thirty game.
Speaker 5 (46:49):
Oh oh, we could do a good radio thirty for
thirty about that.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
We're gonna get the music. We're gonna do that.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
This is a good July show that is exactly July
one hundred and ten degrees out, and we're talking about it.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
We got the thirty for thirty theme.
Speaker 5 (47:04):
On the air, like how sick were you all? I
almost didn't play. I bet he would talk about it.
I bet you would too, I bet you, I absolutely
bet he would if we got it in my betty would.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
Their dad died recently, Don Hasselbeck. That's tight.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, oh yeah, that's too bad.
And we would talk with us. We need to, we
need to make that happen. We will make that happen.
And I hate to end the show on that note.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
But tomorrow six we'll review OTA's Day three, talk about
everything we see at practice. Let you know what's up.
Area forty five is next. Have a great night, Go Texans.
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