July 3, 2025 • 46 mins
Marc and John talk with Hall of Famer John McClain about what it's going to take to get the offensive line playing well, as a unit. Plus, the guys discuss their favorite scenes in sports movies. McClain has actually appeared in many. The show concludes with an interview of Jaylon Thomas, an offensive lineman looking to make a big impression during Training Camp.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, Texans, Welcome to the program, and we are gonna
have some fun tonight because it is fourth of July
eve and the General is with us, which always makes
it fun. Mark Vandermer and John Harris with you. Everybody's
all over the place because it's summer, but we're all
together here huddled up on the radio, ready to roll.
(00:22):
All right, let's get started, gentlemen. And John McClain. First
of all, how's it going. I haven't taught to you,
so you tell us how how have you been? What's
going on?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Everything's great, Thank you for asking.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Okay, that's pretty good. That's establishing contact right there. What
about you, Johnny, because you and I are in different
places tonight, although on the air in the same place.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, I'm on the West coast.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Still a little snaff who at the rental car place
kept me from driving home, so I'm actually flying home
on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So it's it's all good. You know. Los Angeles is
a little different beast. And you know, the.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Interesting thing was is I've been I've never been to
a Dodgers game, and ironically tomorrow night they play the
Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium and I am doing all
I can to try and get to that game on
July fourth, because they've got.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
A big fireworks display afterwards.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
So I'm actually trying to go through my daughter's connections
to see Astros Dodgers, which will be kind of interesting
to be out in LA to see the response the
Astros get on Friday night. So we're working on that,
but obviously we've got a show and radio to do
the next couple of days.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Chavez Ravine very nice. I would love to go. I've
never been out there, so that would be a lot
of fun.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
All right.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I want to start here because getting off to a
good start is very important, and I feel like this
shows off to a pretty decent start. But the Texans
need to get off to a great start in the
twenty twenty five campaign, and they begin with the Rams
the Bucks, and I'll get to the rest of it later.
Let's just start with weeks one and two, opening against
NFC opponents, with the Rams on the road and the
(01:55):
Bucks at home. But I just want to get your
flavor of this general because we've been talking to AFC
South play by play men in the last few days,
and we had two of them on last night. But
let's start with the Rams. How do you think the
Texans stack up with the Rams? A team that went
to Philadelphia lost in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
They got a lot going for them right now. What
do you think of that matchup to begin the season?
Speaker 6 (02:18):
I think Tagsans will lose that game because the Rams
have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL.
They have the last two defensive rookies of the year
and tackle Goby Turner and in Jared Burst be a
great test.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
What about you, Johnny, Yeah, I don't know that I
love either one of those matchups, if I'm being honest. However,
I do think it's been interesting to kind of just
talk and listen to the offensive lineman that the Texans
have and that they've brought in and what they're trying
to do. I woke up on I don't know whatever
day it was Tuesday or Wednesday this week, and I
(02:55):
went to Instagram and Titus has Titus Howard had put
out a little short video of essentially Juice Jared Patterson,
Titus and a few others walking out to the actual
Texans practice field that they're staying there together and working
out together. And I think that's one of the key
(03:15):
things is Lake and Tomlinson told us on radio the night, So, General,
I'm gonna ask you, you were around in Houston when
the Oilers had Muchak Matthews and that offensive line was
so good, it was so talented, but it was so together.
How big a factor is that part, General, that they're
able to literally come together and think more as a
unit as opposed to five independent contractors.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
It's more important than any area on a team, the
offensive line, which requires so much communication before the ball
is snapped. When the ball is snapped and they're making
adjustments based on teams running stunts and loops and guys
dropping off into coverage, it has to be good. They
have to be able to communicate, to be able to
(04:00):
communicate and the right make the right decisions. And when
you got all new guys, so many new guys, it's difficult.
So I think it's great that they're spending as much
time as they can in together an off season. And
I think, you know, I keep I keep hearing about
(04:21):
what a great job the defensive lineman have done rushing
against the offensive lineman, And I say, how can you
know something like that? They're not in pads the offensive
line can't even breathe on them. Now, when they put
on pads and we watch them go down in the
corner and the lineman go against each other, that's going
to be a better barometer. And then of course the
joint practices will be the best of all. And I'll say,
(04:45):
right now, I'm so envious of you guys getting to
go back to West Virginia man on men and so
that's when we'll tell more about these guys. But right
now it's all mental and they can't spend too much
time together.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I find that I'm seeing a lot of these posts
seeing the d Beads working out in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
Was that just the dbs?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
But I'm seeing guys all over the place from this
squad being together in different groups. So it's not like
you have the entire ninety man roster in one place
in this offseason, but CJ throwing the guys and Tank
Deell working out. I've been really pleased with a lot
of the so called desert period pieces I'm seeing on
(05:30):
social media, so that's good. I feel like there is
a togetherness to this team general. I don't think we're
gonna get it the way I'm Johnny brought up his
oiler reference with the offensive line and how talented that
group was with two Hall of Famers on it. But
it's gonna be hard to get that bum Phillips type togetherness.
Maybe that'll never happen again in the NFL the way
it's structured right now. But I find that this group
(05:53):
has some sort of X factor about it with Demiko
Ryans coaching, and maybe it's something we didn't even see
in the Gary Kubiak when that group was so together.
What do you think of this group's togetherness versus the
Kubiak group togetherness which was pretty high at the time
when you had Shob and Eric Winston and those guys
Owen Daniels hanging out together a lot. You see pictures
(06:17):
from around town them at various restaurants.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
But what do you think comparatively so far, Kubia got.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
The best offensive line in the history of this organization.
You remember the year they had they missed one starter,
missed one game. Can you imagine if they were able
to pull that off this year. Now, that's not going
to happen because they have so many new guys. It's
going to be like checkers. You're just moving people all
over the place till you get the right combination, and
(06:43):
that may be several games in the regular season before
Nick Cayley and line coach Ko Popovich and of course
to Miko determined these our best five guys. But man,
if the think it'd be healthy. This team didn't have
as many injuries as two years ago, and the line
didn't and yet the line played better two years ago,
(07:04):
including with guys there were a bunch of nobodies than
the line did last year when it was relatively healthy.
So I if they could, if they can have an
offensive line that could be as good as that woe
Edward was it. Dwayne Brown and Newton and Waite Smith
and Chris Myers and Brandon Brooks were the starters, and
(07:28):
plus you know they had a great running back too
that helped them. And I think this running game is
going to be really good. I think we're going to
see more gap runs than we did in the past.
But until the line proves that it can show improvement
over last season, none of us is going to know
for sure, and all the togetherness in the world is
(07:49):
not going to happen, is not going to help unless
they can do it on the field.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
General Mark started off the show asking about the Rams
and the Bucks starting off the season and the buye
is early, but I always like talking about the first half,
that being before the by the second half. What do
you think it would say about this Texans team? And
I know it would be early in the year, but
if they were to go to Baltimore and get a
(08:14):
win at Baltimore in Week five, what do you think
that would say about this particular Texans team. It's never
beaten the Ravens in Baltimore. They've never beaten the Lamar
Jackson led Ravens team. They've gotten just hammered the last
few times. I mean, the only game I remember close
against the Ravens was a Monday night er with Tom
(08:35):
Savage and Joe Flacco at quarterback. And what does it
say or what would it say if the Texans were
able to go to Baltimore and get a win kind
of get that, you know, that monkey off their back,
if you will beating a really good team in their
building on the road. What would you think if they
were able to do that in Week five? How much
do that mean to the season.
Speaker 6 (08:55):
Remember the last time they beat Baltimore when Baltimore's offensive
cord was Gary Kubiak. They beat him here those before
Lamar Jackson. Of course, I think if they were to
beat Baltimore up there, which I would never predict, but
if they could, it would make everybody take them seriously.
They're taking them seriously now. Is dominating the AFC South?
(09:17):
You know Demiko won't want to hear that. The fact
is they should dominate THEFC South. The key is can
they be good enough to get the divisional playoff game
at home? Or can they win a divisional playoff game
on the road for the first time in team history.
If they could beat Baltimore on the road, that would
show this team is capable of beating any team, anytime, anywhere.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
General it broke this week that the league is not
expected to engage in any talks with the NFLPA until
next year. About an eighteen game regular season. They'd have
to crank open the CBA and get that done or
talk about getting it done. Your thoughts on that when
it's gonna happen, how it's gonna happen, what it will
(10:03):
be like, and what the players are really gonna want
The NFLPA is really gonna want to make the eighteen
game regular season schedule happen.
Speaker 6 (10:12):
The players are being paid more money than they've ever
been paid, but in their negotiations for collective Barty and Greenbuts,
they've basically got more time off and the offseason and
easier practices during the season at the.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Instead of money.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Where basically, you know, the owners run the NFL, the
Union runs baseball, the players run the NBA, and it's
never gonna change here. And I think this, if you
are going to they're gonna go to eighteen games. Everybody's
gonna make more money because of it. But players have
(10:49):
to have two by weeks, and it doesn't matter when
the super Bowl is played. They can play the super
Bowl opening day of the Major League Baseball season in April,
and the NFL and the super Bowl is going to dominate,
and cities have to keep all of February open, So
they just move the super Bowl back another week, give
(11:10):
them two weeks off in there, and then they will
have two games and then probably add another joint practice.
And coaches love joint practices more in preseason games because
they can control orchestrate everything. They're shorter and they're sweeter,
and so I think that's what we're headed for two
(11:31):
preseason games. Some teams will do three joint practices and
we'll have two by weeks. That's the least they can
do for the players. It's funny they legislate to help
with injuries and they profess that they're just so worried
about players health. Yet they're going to have to play
an extra game. But the players will do it because
(11:51):
they're going to make so much more money. And it's
all about the money.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
It is definitely all about the money, and it's all
about going all in apparently in Pittsburgh general. I think
this trade happened a couple of days after we spoke
last week, John hu Smith and Jalen Ramsey go to
Pittsburgh from Miami. Miami gets Mika Fitzpatrick, and I know
that's a big piece for Pittsburgh to be losing, but
that now means Aaron Rodgers, Darius Slay, Dk Metcalf, essentially
(12:21):
the twenty twenty All Pro team now in Pittsburgh. How
do you think think this experiment goes now that the
Pittsburgh Steelers have claimed essentially without saying it, we are
all in better get TJ. Watt signed, but Other than that,
your thoughts about the Steelers seemingly pushing all their chips
in the middle of the table.
Speaker 6 (12:40):
Well, first of all, Ramsey didn't play as well as
he has. Fitzpatrick didn't play as well as he has,
So it worked out well for both teams because I
think they had run out of patience with those two players.
The key with Johns Smaiths other than his time in
New England, which was disastrous, and we in Houston watch
him become a really good receiver. He's not a legitimate
(13:03):
tight end. He's like an h backer big receiver, but
he had I think eighty eight catches last season. Miami
thinks it's going to replace him with Darren Waller. Dust
In the cobwebs off of him hadn't had a good
season since Shawn Watson's last good season. That would be
twenty twenty Pittsburg. If it doesn't work out with Rogers,
(13:26):
next year will be a very deep quarterback draft like
it was last year.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It'll be the time to get one.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
And this is not the style that the Steelers have used.
But they're making their season more interesting. Will they be
better than last year? They may get in the playoffs.
I think they're wildcard, the tender, third best in that division,
and all of the playoff caliber other in Cleveland, of course,
which could have the first overall picking the draft. But
(13:52):
I kind of like what the Steelers are doing.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I guess I could say I like it. I'm going
to put it this way because friends texted me, oh Man,
Steelers all in watch this.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
I think these moves are.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Necessary to get them back to where they were last year,
which is a playoff team. I don't know if it
does much more for them. I don't know if i'd
picked them ahead of Cincinnati because of this. I know
Cincinnati still got defensive issues, but they still have Joe
Burrow as well, and they were going pretty good at
the end. If they can get cooking the way they
were at the end in the beginning, they're gonna have
a really good season. So I don't know what kind
(14:26):
of effect it's gonna have, but we can talk about
that more at another time.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
I want to do this, all right, Johnny.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I've not finished Cobra Kai, but but.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
It brought to mind.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And this is not a spoiler really, because they reference
sports movie scenes and other sports movies within the Cobra
Kai series, and they have one from Rocky Too, which
is really good. But you guys, think about this, what
are your favorite scenes or the best scenes not the
best sports movies, but the best scenes within sports movies
(14:58):
that are maybe to five all time. And this could
obviously it is subjective. It could be for you personally,
or it could be what you feel is objectively the
best in general. I'm gonna go first here and it's
a movie you are in called The Rookie, And I
think I've got two scenes from The Rookie that are
just outstanding.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
That are not under the radar. Yeah. The press box
where you appear is just so riveting.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
It's like, oh my gosh, they just nailed a sports
media personality with that actor, whoever he might be.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
His name is John McClain.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
But the one where he throws it by the radar
gun on the road and he thinks he threw seventy
five because the actual digit is blinking. He walks by
it it's blinking, and you see that he really through
ninety five and he doesn't even know it. He doesn't
know it until he gets to the tryout and he's
throwing ninety five. And to me, the Tryout is equally
(15:52):
as good as scene in The Rookie. Do you have
any phase from sports movies that you like, and Johnny,
I know you have an opinion on this as well.
Speaker 6 (16:00):
First of all, my favorite scene from The Rookie was
when and that was not about baseball. It was about
his son's relationship with his dad, Dennis Quay's relationship with
Brian Cox, and it was not good. And then after
the game in Arlington where Brian Cox came up to
see his son play and they were outside the locker
room and Quaid gave him the baseball that he won
(16:23):
with and Brian Cox took it.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
If there was if you.
Speaker 6 (16:27):
Didn't have if you didn't have watery eyes at that scene,
I thought it was tremendous and the best scene I
have ever seen.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Is the best sports movie I have ever seen, and
I have to tell you why.
Speaker 6 (16:39):
In nineteen seventy one, the original Brian Song Movie of
the Week, Gail Sayers, Brian Piccolough, Billy d Williams and
James Cohn. And at the end of it, after Piccolo
died a cancer, Billy D Williams as Gail Sayers asked
Jack Warden as George allis, can I tell the team?
And he said yes, And Billy D. Williams walks up
(17:00):
in front of the room and he says, Brian Piccolow
is dead.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I love Brian Piccolo. Yes.
Speaker 6 (17:05):
So I was at a Hall Pro Football Hall of
Fame luncheon that they have every year for the new inductees,
and Raynichke had died and he was the They named
the luncheon after him, announced it then and he said
and he said it'd be forever. No was the Ray
Ditchkey Memorial luncheon. Gil Sayers got up out of his table.
(17:28):
He walked to the front of the room to the
dais and he said, rayn Inchke is dead.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
And I loved Raynitchke. I saw that in.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
Person, and I saw that in the movies. It turned
out they were bitter enemies when they played for the
Bears and Packers, but through all their years of doing
charity stuff for the Hall of Fame, they'd become best friends.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Oh that's okay, tough to talk my Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
I met Nitschke one time, and I well, I met
Nitschke when I was a kid. I was like eight
years old and I was We were at a hotel
in Green Bay and we were just kind of vacationing
with a few friends. We just drove the forty five
minutes to Green Bay, and I remember my dad and
just everything that I had seen and heard like Nizchgie was.
He was a bad dude and he didn't want to
(18:13):
mess with him. And we saw him at the pool
and my dad was like, go get his all. I'm
scared as I was scared as all get out of Nizgi. Eventually,
I can't work came after you. He couldn't have been
the nicest guy. I mean, he was the nicest guy.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
That I ever met him. He was incredible.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
It was like, oh yeah, son, I'll sign up for
you talk to me for a couple of minutes. And
I never forgot that. I mean, he was just he
was fantastic on the field. He was a terror, which
leads me to mine. There are two of them. Number
one is one that we could never play on the radio,
but it's from one of my favorite movies, the program
Alvin Mackett linebacker uh talks a little trash to the
(18:48):
Mississippi State running back and it is absolutely glorious. Now
it is not for radio. It is not for young people,
but it was absolutely the best trash talk ever. The
other one comes from one of my favorite movies, and
it's the one event that I know in my lifetime,
(19:08):
my guess is, will never be replicated, and that was
the nineteen eighty US hockey team beating Russia. Herb Brooks
aka Kurt Russell giving the speech to his his Olympic
hockey players before they were to take on Russia. I
could watch that a thousand times over that. Those are
(19:29):
the two for me.
Speaker 6 (19:30):
What about this one Field's dreams. Yeah, Kevin Kosner, pay eight, Dad,
have a catch. I've never heard it put like that,
have a catch down here. It was always play catch
and he got to play catch with his dad coming
out of the corn.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
That was That was huge.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
I mean, that's the That was Kevin cost.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
And Susan Sarandon, But we won't talk.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
About well, the best scene of that general is when
they're sitting and she says she's got to pick and choose,
and Costner gets up and starts to walk away, and
she's like, well, what do you believe in? And he
goes through this litany of things that he believes in.
It's one of the best soliloquies in a movie there
ever is before Obviously there is a Susan Tarandan and
(20:13):
Kevin Costner's seen.
Speaker 6 (20:14):
That movie see I Go One More and I Will
say go Behind, and y'all tell me the movie all
right in the year were you ready?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Yeah, just a bit outside.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
That's major league and nineteen eighty seven eighty.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Seven, n okay, well that's late eighties, late eighties nine where.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
He can say something like one line out of a
movie and everybody knows what it was.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
You know, it's a classic, all right.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
So I've got two categories here, because there is the
money scene, like Johnny you said, the Kurt Russell speech,
Herb Brooks pregame us beats the Soviet's awesome. But there
are subtle scenes within sports movies too, like Rudy when
he gets carried off the field at the end, my gosh,
I mean, you know, it.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
Brings me to tears.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
But the scene where he gets the letter where he
gets accepted to Notre Dame finally after going to Holy
Cross Junior College, that scene to me is subtle.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
Yet that's really the turning point of the movie.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Because he gets in at that particular point and I
think it's amazing.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Remember the Titans. You know, we could talk about.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
The last game or whatever, but the scene where they're
a training camp at Gettingsburg College and the linebackers are
like strong side, left side, you know, black guy, white guy,
and they're finally getting along and that's what brings the
team together. Then you knew they really had something. I
think that scene is the subtle money scene of the movie.
(21:38):
And I love scenes in sports movies like that. Rocky too,
Adrien in the hospital bed, There's one thing I want
you to do for me when that one? Was that
a good impression?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
That one just blows me away.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
You know, you can talk about the fight and everything
at the end and how it ends in Rocky two,
But that scene right there, Man, you've followed by the
workout montage, you know, one of men dozens in Rocky films.
But man, those are awesome scenes right there. Are you
guys with me that there are subtle scenes in there
are obvious? The money scene of the movie.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Absolutely the one that I thought you were gonna say,
Mark and I can't remember what his name is, but
the head coach that gets moved out of the way.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
For Herman Boone.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
He stays on as a defensive coordinator Ghost and he
realizes Yost and Yost is they're in a game and
every call is going against the Titans, every single one
of us going against the Titans. And he calls time out,
he calls his defense over and he basically tells them
to unleash Hell.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
And I just remember that looking in his eyes.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
I was like, yes, that scene got like that got
me going because from then on they just you know,
rampage through that game. But I just remember him you
on leash Hell. I was like, oh, I was ready
to run through a wall for that one.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Remember. Yeah, there are always those little ones, for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I've got a Rudy story oiler practiced movie.
Speaker 6 (22:58):
Rudy is really big in a lot of them. Tension
and oilers were good then. And we're on sideline the
media and there's a David de Lotty, who was a
radio reporter then now's a real estate mogul walks up
and he's a little late, and he says to a
group of us, there's that short guy over there on
another sideline and Martin Berman goes, that's Rudy. He said, Rudy, Rudy,
(23:20):
what do you mean Rudy the actor, and he's over
there and he looks and de Lotti says, no, he
said it was Rudy, the real Rudy, and de Lotti goes,
so I got to go over there and talk to him.
So de Lotti goes around the field because we could
do this back, then goes up to Rudy, pulls out
his tape recorder, sticks it up there, shakes hands with
(23:40):
a guy. Next thing we know, de Lotti's shooting the
finger at Berman because that wasn't Rudy. Berman just moved up.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
David was so embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Oh gosh, that is beautiful.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
That is so good.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
He played a nice little trick on him. David de Lotti,
I miss David Delatti.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Very good already, reporter, but he's doing quite well.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
That's interesting with Rudy.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
As you get a little bit older, I think some
scenes resonate a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
I know when I saw that I was in I
was a senior in.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
College, and I think Rudy and the program kind of
came out the same year maybe, And so when I
watched Rudy, I looked at I looked at it through
the eyes of being a college.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
You know student, you know, more for Rudy and what
he had gone through.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
But now I look at it and I look at
when the dad walks into Notre Dame Stadium and you
just see the tears in his eyes. Yes, he's like,
this is the greatest sight these eyes have ever seen. Yeah,
I mean like it, that's it's just amazing that as
a parent that you get to experience that, you know
for your son seeing that, but you get experience it
(24:47):
for yourself. And I think about that, you know, being
out here in Los Angeles, all the things that my
daughter has been able.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
To do, and we drive by w B and.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
She's like, yeah, we shot our we shot one of
our scenes, like right over here, and I'm like, this
is w B, like you know, Warner Brothers. And so
it's been kind of cool, but thinking about a movie
in different terms, as you know, the years have gone on,
but that when my father looks around, he goes, this
is the greatest sight these eyes I've ever seen. I
mean that's kind of the way I feel like when
I go into all the stadiums in the NFL and
(25:16):
also those in college.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
So that was also a cool scene.
Speaker 6 (25:18):
To memorable excuse me Mark the first memorable great line
in the movie win one for the Gipper.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Okay, that was a great, great movie line, of course, absolutely,
But what is the best football not sports football movie?
And here's some candidates, certainly Rudy remember the Titans song
Bryant's song.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
Yes, it was, and it was a TV movie. You're right, general,
it was a Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
They were big movies of the week, had a budget
that was a big deal back then, you're on ABC,
you got the big budget movie of the week stuff.
There was another what was another big movie of the week.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Short Remake was the best football movie in history.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Yes, very good press box in that movie. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Movies with great reporter cameos secretariat longest.
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Hey, hold up, you mentioned movies of the week. Another
great one was Tribes. Tribes was Jan Michael Vincent and
Earl Holloman as the marine drill instructor and Jan Michael Vincent,
who was big back then. He was a hippie who
had to go into the war and Tribes was big.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
He got big.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
And it was in school the next day in high
school we were all talking about that movie. Well back then,
because like you said, they were big productions. Two hours
week week weekly and they were must see TV.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I'm looking at some of the historic ones right now.
I remember a weird one like Sarah Portrait of a
Teenage alcohol I don't know why that title sticks out
with me. All right, but what hey for best football movie?
We have to name it. I think remember the Titans
and Rudy are the top two?
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Am I wrong? Johnny?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
I know you love the program, but it's not as
good a movie as those other two.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
It's not gonna beat those other two. It doesn't have
the gravitas. I'll give you one to think about. I'm
not surprised that General did bring it up. North Dallas
forty is very It's a pretty awesome movie. I don't
know if it beats the others two the other two,
but it just gave you a look into NFL football
and it says professional football in the sense that maybe
people didn't know. And it's hilarious. It's got a great
(27:37):
CASTI Nolty's in it. Uh, North Dallas forty.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
I'll throw up.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
There is Nick Nolty getting out of bed in the morning.
I can relate to it.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Now.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
Wow, everything hurts.
Speaker 6 (27:47):
After Tom Landry said the Lord's Prayer. John Matuza jumped
up scream, let's.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Go kill those bla bleepers.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
That Tom Landry character sort of character in the movie.
What about any given Sunday? Does it belong in the
top three?
Speaker 6 (28:03):
No, No, I don't like any of those y'all are
talking about.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
To you the truth, any of those, I'm racking mouth.
They were cute. Rudy was cute.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
Remember the Titans. I love Denzel Washington. But has there
been a great movie. It's baseball movies have been better.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yes, football movie.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
And boxing as well. Absolutely right. Yeah, and even Basketball.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Hoosiers is a better movie than any football movie. I
think it is a better sports movie than any football movie.
Speaker 5 (28:35):
And that's the.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
White Man Can't Jump.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
White Man Can't Jump is just a tremendous basketball friendship movie.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
That's that's one of my favorites. I could watch it
any day of the week. It is.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
It's it's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
I think.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Look for some reason, I like Rudy better than Remember
the Titans, even though Remember the Titans is more important historically.
They're both based on true stories. Andre once met coach
Boone at a banquet or something I can't remember. Of
the whole story there. And I know Rudy Rudeger was
working radio row in the Super Bowl pre stuff in
(29:08):
Houston in twenty seventeen, so twenty sixteen season at the
George R. Brown Convention Center. I'm sure he's been to
other radio rows as well. He's not quite the same
guy that's portrayed in the movie. But hey, it's movie
land and you have a lot of that kind of
leeway if you will. General what do you have going
on for us with your documentary and anything else going
on in your life you need to share with the audience.
Speaker 6 (29:29):
We got several trips coming up with the documentary. We
just we went to Mobile.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
We got more.
Speaker 6 (29:35):
I'll bring you up to date on it after we
get back from the fourth Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Sounds great. Thank you, Sheff, Bye bye. All right, talk
to you soon.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Coming up on Texans Radio, Johnny and I talk about
some of the interviews we have been airing and some
of the highlights within as we get you ready for
the twenty twenty five campaign. We are within three weeks
of practice number one. It's Texans Radio. Back to it
here in the Hunday Texans Radio Studio. Mark Vandermaar and
John Harris as we keep you company on fourth of July.
Speaker 5 (30:07):
Eve and Johnny, Happy fourth.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
And guess what we are within three weeks of show
number one at the Houston Methodist Training Center for the
first Texans practice of twenty twenty five. Unbelievable that we're
that close.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Yeah, we were driving around in La my daughter and
I yesterday.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
We actually went to the Santa Monica Farmers Market, which
was really really cool, and so we were getting out
of there and for some reason, I looked at the
clock and I saw seven to twenty five, and I went,
We're three weeks out from camp. We're three weeks out
from camp, and today makes it less than three weeks
from training camp. It just kind of blew my mind.
He got me be excited all at the same time.
(30:46):
So it's I can't wait. You can't get here fast enough.
This time period is great to kind of get rejuvenated
and do some of the things you put off all
year long, but it's time to get back the ball man.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
So really really excited about that.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Well, we've been airing a lot of interviews with various
Texans that we got on media Day, and it's been
great to see them up on YouTube. Fans check them
out on YouTube or on Spotify. You can listen to
some of the back episodes of Texans All Access and
hear some of these interviews, and we haven't aired them
all yet. You're gonna get one at the end of
this show. Jalen Thomas offensive lineman. He hopes to make
(31:21):
a big impression in training camp and hopes to catch
on to what we would consider maybe ten offensive lineman
at least nine making the fifty three man roster, the
initial fifty three man roster with plenty of guys in practice,
squad mode, or whatever else they can do to contribute
to this team. But Johnny, what are some of the
memorable interviews that we've done so far that you like
(31:43):
that stand out to you?
Speaker 4 (31:44):
Well, I said this, I tweeted this when I tweeted
out the show. We always tweet post on Twitter x
ver you wanna call it. You know, Hey, here's the show,
here's what's on the show. And so when the Lake
and Tomlinson aired, I think it also went up on YouTube,
so I think they had been in Houston. Stresses was
talking about that interview and you and I after I mean,
(32:08):
we did forty interviews. We barely could breathe because there
was one guy walking into an interview. Hey, we're doing
an interview.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
Do an interview.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
That guy left, Another guy was sitting down literally thirty
seconds to one another. And some of these guys were
meeting for the first time. But we've done that in
the past, and we get interviews. Guys to come into
our studio and we sit and we talk with them,
and then they walk out. There have been many times
where I've turned to you and I just say I
get it. And you know what I mean. Now just
a couple of years, like what do you mean, I
(32:34):
just say I get it. And what I mean by
that is you. We talked to these guys and you
see exactly why that guy was brought to Houston, or
that guy was pursued by the Texans, and obviously he's
got to choose Houston as well.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
And Laken Tomlinson was one of those guys. You just
listen to him talk.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
You listen to him talk about uh, just his you know, himself,
but then talking about the unit, talking about the team
and talking about, you know, what it meant to be
here in Houston.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
His Jamaican background.
Speaker 4 (33:03):
And how he just flowed with us really easily in
this interview, but you could.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Tell that he was very high on what.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
We've talked about. This offensive line is camaraderie and chemistry.
Those are things that came out of that interview that
I was like, Okay, I get it. I understand why
Lake and Tomlinson is a Texan. Yeah, I know he's
been in the league for ten years or whatever and
maybe didn't go exceedingly well in Seattle, but I get
why he's here.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
I understand why he's here once you.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Once I listened, you know, basically to our interview that
we did with him, and I think that's the one
thing that there's and this this these words have been
used purposeful, intentional about what they're doing.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
They went out and.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
Got Lake and Thomlinson not just because he's a guard
but because he embodies the spirit of the swarm, but
also what they want on that offensive line, guys that
are willing to work together to be five fingers in
a glove and not independent contractors, not maybe the most talented,
but the better unit. And I really got that, especially
when we talked to Lake and Tomlinson.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
What about we talked to both long snappers at the time,
and then we aired both long snappers interviews. Then Tucker
Addington about a week later, gets released. But he's now
a Pittsburgh Steeler, so he's one of those Pittsburgh Steelers acquisitions.
And no one's really talking about the long snapper acquisition,
but that's just their life in general. But Austin Brinkman,
(34:28):
we had that interview on. We actually aired it a
couple of times, I think as a best of show
in one of the cases there. But I found that
notable that Austin Brinkman is the very likely long snapper.
He's the only one coming to camp that we know about.
You never know what Nick Casario has up his sleeve.
But I got to tell you the Dariagan Bowally interview
(34:49):
is one that I'll remember because he's always great to
catch up with.
Speaker 5 (34:53):
And then you get the feeling and.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
You and I we got a Twitter comment like vander
Maver and Harris have every run back making the roster,
No we don't. Our point was this, it's gonna be
a tougher cut than you expect.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
I love these people who are like oh Trade, Damian Pierce.
I'm like, really trade Damian Pierce. You think they're just
gonna do that. Now, they might end up trading somebody
who knows, but they're gonna get a good look at
what each of these guys can do in training camp.
And Dara so reliable, so dependable, so versatile, gives you
so much at running back. But there you have Woody Marx.
(35:27):
We also aired that interview. You have Woody Marks to
provide something that you hope would be really explosive as
a pass catcher out of the backfield and then some
So I found the Dara and Woody interviews to be interesting.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Of course Dari minches to Quiz Rodgers, which is gonna
tell you at my heartstrings.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
He is from the Mark Consolidated.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
One of my great friends is his agent, his uncle,
and so I've always watched Quiz and when Daria said
Quiz Rodgers, it kind of caught my attention again. But
just what Dari meets his team and it's funny Mark.
While I was here in Los Angeles, I just happened
to be one morning just kind of flipping through YouTube
and there was a video of I think it was
the Charger game that popped up like highlights, and so
(36:08):
I watched that and then the next one because the
logarithm just gives you it was more Texans highlights. And
so eventually it got to some twenty twenty three games
and I'm watching and I'm seeing Dara make plays in
those games. I'm hearing the announcers talk about Dara in
those games. But one of the other things that stood out,
I think it was the game against the Broncos Cee
(36:29):
CJ turn and toss the ball to Damian Pearson.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
I'm watching Damian run.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
I'm like, man, dang, I'd like that for twenty twenty five.
If he runs like that, yeah, you can't trade him.
So I just it was like man watching him. I
didn't remember him running in twenty twenty four quite like that,
And so it was kind of good to go back
and kind of watch some of those highlights in some
of those games from even twenty twenty three and just
remember how some of them happened. And here's the other thing,
(36:55):
as it pertains the running backs. I ended up watching
the Cincinnati game twenty twenty three, the highlights at the end,
the last drive. You know who makes plays on that
final drive for US against the Bengals. I know that
Boone and Noah Brown. Mike Boone, Mike Boone and Noah Brown. Yeah,
Noel Brown was huge in that game.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
He was huge. He was massive. That last run was incredible.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
But Mike Boone makes a catch and gets out of
bounds right after Dalton Schultz catch to pick up a
few more yards, and you're like.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Mike Boone.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
So look, we can talk about all these running backs.
It may be somebody that comes.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Out of nowhere.
Speaker 4 (37:33):
And by the way, we didn't have everybody making it
from the running back group. We're just saying it's going
to be a tough cut because this is as deep
a running back group as they've had. So listening is
a skill that you can't acquire and you can work on.
So please listen before you start rattling keys and go, oh,
this is what they say.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
No, it's not. Listen to what we're saying. Please.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Watching some of these posts on YouTube that the Texans
account posts and then some other people post, and as
you bring that up, one of the things that stood
out to me over the last few weeks. You know,
as you're just kind of scrolling around some of these CJ.
Stroud highlights from twenty twenty four. I mean, I know,
twenty twenty three has all those great moments, historic rookie season,
(38:15):
all of that, but twenty twenty four he's got some moments,
he's got some unscripted stuff, and you're watching it thinking
he's got this, he's got this improbability, and I think
it's undersold. You know, we all know that he's much
more of a pocket passer than a guy who likes
to run.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
First.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Of course that's the case with CJ. Stroud, but he
could make off schedule plays. And I always think of
this as a guy who coaches youth league flag football, Johnny,
I have to point this out. You know, when the
players act among themselves or unto themselves and decide to
make plays, you feel like I'm a genius, you know,
And I think CJ.
Speaker 5 (38:52):
Stroud can make you look like a.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Genius sometimes because he can find guys open. If he
can buy himself a little extra time and guys running
that extra route, whatever the adjustment, scramble, drill, however you
want to put it, He's capable of that.
Speaker 5 (39:05):
Obviously.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
The play of the Year to Xavier is a big example.
Of that, and it's all started with a snap that
went through his hands, but he was able to make
the very most out of that. He can make something
out of nothing. And when you look at this Nick
Caley offense, we all want to see it just operate
so efficiently. He never has to leave the pocket and
whatever and throw within two seconds and it's all good.
(39:26):
But he's gonna have to be able to continue to
do that. I think it's only going up for him
because he's literally twenty three years old as we speak.
Speaker 5 (39:34):
He'll be twenty four during the season.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
You know, talking to James Palmer, you know, one of
the ways that CJ's going to be helped this year
is the addition of Higgins and Knowl and he and
Steve Smith Senior did a great job reviewing wide receiver
candidates for the draft, and Higgins was a guy that
he heard from a couple of coaches like, hey, keep
it down, man, we want that guy to slip to
(39:56):
us in the second round. There was a love affair
with Higgins and Nol with the coaches that you know
had reviewed them, and obviously the Texans had had had
as well, and so we talked about, you know, Jade
Higgins and both he and Nol and about this receiving corps.
I thought that interview with James was really really good,
you know, just speaking on that. And if Higgins and
(40:18):
or Nol just did one of them just takes a
really big step as a rookie, you'd like both. But
if it's just one of them, it takes a step
that you add to Nico and then one of the
running back tight ends, third wide receiver, fourth wide receiver
can emerge. Man, now you're cooking with gas. Now you've
got something. And I think it's gonna be really fun
to watch this offense take strides under Nick Kyley. But
(40:41):
I think the Stroud twenty twenty four stuff gets overblown
and I'm glad we're getting out of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Put it in the review absolutely, And speaking of tough
cuts the offensive line, there are some tougher cuts than
you might think. Jalen Thomas is going to join us
next year on the program and offensive lineman looking to
make some It's Texans Radio on the way out here
on tonight's program. You know, we've been hearing from a
lot of Texans during recent Texans All Access programs interviews
(41:10):
that we've done recently around Mini Camp.
Speaker 5 (41:13):
Jalen Thomas one of them.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
He's an offensive lineman from Lubbock, played at SMU, and
he played for the Ravens and Giants a little bit
in their organization. Spent some time with the Texans starting
in twenty twenty three, and he's hoping to make a
big impression here in camp. And we talk about where
he would like to play, what position, what could he do?
He's versatile, He's one of these guys and that really helps.
(41:35):
Twenty five year old offensive lineman Jalen Thomas. At what
position has he been spending his time?
Speaker 7 (41:40):
Mainly right now? Gart I played tackling in the past,
right played a FEU center, but right right now, just.
Speaker 5 (41:48):
Garth for how is that challenge?
Speaker 7 (41:50):
Truthfully, I've been moved over in my entire career been
at SMU. I placed in, I played tackle, played guard
when I was at SMU. So I feel like I've
moved around so much it just kind of became a
kind of easy for me to move from side to side.
So that's not that's never really a challenge for me.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
Okay, So being in Houston, you grew up Lubbock, went
to school in Dallas, with college in Dallas, now here
in Houston. Kept it in a Texas family. It's pretty good.
But what is what's it like Jalen being here in
Houston and with with the Texas organization with Tamiko Ryans
as head coach.
Speaker 3 (42:23):
Cole Popovich's your offen Tile coach, which you like being
in Houston.
Speaker 7 (42:26):
It's been great, especially a coach pop We just hear
the work get better every single day. He's gonna bring
the energy every single day. And also coach Ryan's He's
definitely bring the pressure every day. Defense going to bring
the pressure every day. It only makes you want to
be a better player. So I mean, it's exciting to
be here. It's a great competition every single day, so
I'm only going to make me better.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
So I love it here.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
You said side to side, so right side left side
for either a tackle guard, how is it different? Because
it's been explained to me, it's like, you know, doing
something right handed and left handed if you're really used
to one side over the other.
Speaker 5 (43:00):
But how is it for you if they move you around?
Speaker 7 (43:03):
For me, it's not too much of a challenge because
I feel like it is kind of like right hand
left him. But it's really just a change in your stance.
It's where you where you kind of push your power
into where your legs are at. Not too much of
a difference for me, though, I've moved around a lot
in my career and especially in college, so the right
to left doesn't really affect me.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
Okay, so take this question with a grain of salt.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
I want Jayleen Thomas to tell me where he wants
to play.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
We won't tell anybody.
Speaker 4 (43:30):
One of you call it back for what position would
you want to play?
Speaker 3 (43:36):
And why just guard?
Speaker 7 (43:39):
I like being in inside. I like pool, and I
like to hit. I feel like I'm very versatile. I
feel like my athleticism allows me, especially playing tackle in college,
my athleticism inside allows me to move around with especially
with bigger guys inside.
Speaker 3 (43:52):
That doesn't really affect me.
Speaker 7 (43:53):
I'm a pretty strong guy too, so it's being inside
allows me to use my athleticism, but also I have
the strength to to compare compete with these bigger defensive linemen.
Speaker 4 (44:03):
Either or in Jalen Thomas's opinion, are you a zone
scheme guy or gaps king guy?
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Which better for you? Because I can see if it's
in bowl. I can see if in both, But which
one would you pick? I don't know. I like both.
Speaker 7 (44:16):
I played I played zone in college, and I mean
this we're doing a little bit of gas now. So
like I like both, I don't really have a preference.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
It's kind of like the way I feel about different
flavors of ice cream.
Speaker 8 (44:27):
You I love ice cream, you know, like I like
ice cy I like I like vanilla. I like chocolate,
even like a little strawberry. Sometimes I agree, I agree,
you got to pick one.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
I'll pick chocolate.
Speaker 5 (44:39):
There's more than one right decisions.
Speaker 7 (44:43):
You know, cosmetology, Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Centered guard, tackle, political, defensive line.
Speaker 7 (44:53):
Come.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
I swear to god, I'm using that on.
Speaker 4 (44:54):
Preseason games the broadcast.
Speaker 5 (44:59):
Nice love obvious with us.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
All right, so some of the other guys, Cam Robinson,
you've been in the building here, so now you see
Cam Robinson walking around, You see Trent, you see Ingram,
you see Tomlinson.
Speaker 5 (45:10):
What is it like having these new guys around.
Speaker 7 (45:12):
Great vets, especially in Trent. Cam. They that mean they
help us every day, especially with technique. I mean in
the league so long, you know a lot of tricks,
the tricks of the trade, especially with offensive line, just helping,
you know, helping the young guys and helping us, you know,
get better every single day.
Speaker 3 (45:28):
So it's amazing, Chanden.
Speaker 4 (45:29):
One of the things that I hear from People have
asked me this all the time because they what you
just said about Trent and Cam helping you with different
things and techniques. Do like, well, that's what they gonna
know if it's a line coach for And it's great
that offense a line coaching. The offensive line coach can't
be with you down the locker room all day, but
other players can. So how valuable is that to have
(45:50):
players that are willing to then pour into you as
probably was poured into them outside of what coach Pop
can give you.
Speaker 7 (45:57):
I mean, it's very important. I mean, the coach's gonna
push you to be every single day. He's gonna give
you all the tricks that he knows. But I mean
the people who've played in the league and the people
who've been here for a long time. I'm sure you're
going on. I think Cam's going away as nineteenth. Yeah,
I mean transmen the league for for a long time,
been it.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
For a minute.
Speaker 7 (46:13):
They they helped I mean especially young guys, like especially
our tackles. I mean they're gonna help them tremendously in
terms of the things that they've learned throughout the league
and just stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (46:22):
Jailing thanks a lot for joining us. Best of luck
to you.
Speaker 7 (46:25):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
There's Jailen Thomas offensive Lineman for your Texans. Now we're
gonna get to Area forty five next six to ten
big day with the radiothon going on Houston Food Bank beneficiaries.
So very good work by the six to ten crew
all day long. The guys ready to join you up
for Area forty five tonight tomorrow night. We'll have a
(46:46):
lot of our great interviews, some of the best stuff.
Speaker 5 (46:48):
That we've had so far.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
On the fourth of July is your cookout, Get ready
for fireworks, whatever it is you're doing.
Speaker 5 (46:55):
Have a great night everyone, Go Texans.
Hello, Texans, Welcome to the program, and we are gonna
have some fun tonight because it is fourth of July
eve and the General is with us, which always makes
it fun. Mark Vandermer and John Harris with you. Everybody's
all over the place because it's summer, but we're all
together here huddled up on the radio, ready to roll.
(00:22):
All right, let's get started, gentlemen. And John McClain. First
of all, how's it going. I haven't taught to you,
so you tell us how how have you been? What's
going on?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Everything's great, Thank you for asking.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Okay, that's pretty good. That's establishing contact right there. What
about you, Johnny, because you and I are in different
places tonight, although on the air in the same place.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, I'm on the West coast.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Still a little snaff who at the rental car place
kept me from driving home, so I'm actually flying home
on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So it's it's all good. You know. Los Angeles is
a little different beast. And you know, the.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Interesting thing was is I've been I've never been to
a Dodgers game, and ironically tomorrow night they play the
Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium and I am doing all
I can to try and get to that game on
July fourth, because they've got.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
A big fireworks display afterwards.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
So I'm actually trying to go through my daughter's connections
to see Astros Dodgers, which will be kind of interesting
to be out in LA to see the response the
Astros get on Friday night. So we're working on that,
but obviously we've got a show and radio to do
the next couple of days.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Chavez Ravine very nice. I would love to go. I've
never been out there, so that would be a lot
of fun.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
All right.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I want to start here because getting off to a
good start is very important, and I feel like this
shows off to a pretty decent start. But the Texans
need to get off to a great start in the
twenty twenty five campaign, and they begin with the Rams
the Bucks, and I'll get to the rest of it later.
Let's just start with weeks one and two, opening against
NFC opponents, with the Rams on the road and the
(01:55):
Bucks at home. But I just want to get your
flavor of this general because we've been talking to AFC
South play by play men in the last few days,
and we had two of them on last night. But
let's start with the Rams. How do you think the
Texans stack up with the Rams? A team that went
to Philadelphia lost in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
They got a lot going for them right now. What
do you think of that matchup to begin the season?
Speaker 6 (02:18):
I think Tagsans will lose that game because the Rams
have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL.
They have the last two defensive rookies of the year
and tackle Goby Turner and in Jared Burst be a
great test.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
What about you, Johnny, Yeah, I don't know that I
love either one of those matchups, if I'm being honest. However,
I do think it's been interesting to kind of just
talk and listen to the offensive lineman that the Texans
have and that they've brought in and what they're trying
to do. I woke up on I don't know whatever
day it was Tuesday or Wednesday this week, and I
(02:55):
went to Instagram and Titus has Titus Howard had put
out a little short video of essentially Juice Jared Patterson,
Titus and a few others walking out to the actual
Texans practice field that they're staying there together and working
out together. And I think that's one of the key
(03:15):
things is Lake and Tomlinson told us on radio the night, So, General,
I'm gonna ask you, you were around in Houston when
the Oilers had Muchak Matthews and that offensive line was
so good, it was so talented, but it was so together.
How big a factor is that part, General, that they're
able to literally come together and think more as a
unit as opposed to five independent contractors.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
It's more important than any area on a team, the
offensive line, which requires so much communication before the ball
is snapped. When the ball is snapped and they're making
adjustments based on teams running stunts and loops and guys
dropping off into coverage, it has to be good. They
have to be able to communicate, to be able to
(04:00):
communicate and the right make the right decisions. And when
you got all new guys, so many new guys, it's difficult.
So I think it's great that they're spending as much
time as they can in together an off season. And
I think, you know, I keep I keep hearing about
(04:21):
what a great job the defensive lineman have done rushing
against the offensive lineman, And I say, how can you
know something like that? They're not in pads the offensive
line can't even breathe on them. Now, when they put
on pads and we watch them go down in the
corner and the lineman go against each other, that's going
to be a better barometer. And then of course the
joint practices will be the best of all. And I'll say,
(04:45):
right now, I'm so envious of you guys getting to
go back to West Virginia man on men and so
that's when we'll tell more about these guys. But right
now it's all mental and they can't spend too much
time together.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I find that I'm seeing a lot of these posts
seeing the d Beads working out in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
Was that just the dbs?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
But I'm seeing guys all over the place from this
squad being together in different groups. So it's not like
you have the entire ninety man roster in one place
in this offseason, but CJ throwing the guys and Tank
Deell working out. I've been really pleased with a lot
of the so called desert period pieces I'm seeing on
(05:30):
social media, so that's good. I feel like there is
a togetherness to this team general. I don't think we're
gonna get it the way I'm Johnny brought up his
oiler reference with the offensive line and how talented that
group was with two Hall of Famers on it. But
it's gonna be hard to get that bum Phillips type togetherness.
Maybe that'll never happen again in the NFL the way
it's structured right now. But I find that this group
(05:53):
has some sort of X factor about it with Demiko
Ryans coaching, and maybe it's something we didn't even see
in the Gary Kubiak when that group was so together.
What do you think of this group's togetherness versus the
Kubiak group togetherness which was pretty high at the time
when you had Shob and Eric Winston and those guys
Owen Daniels hanging out together a lot. You see pictures
(06:17):
from around town them at various restaurants.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
But what do you think comparatively so far, Kubia got.
Speaker 6 (06:22):
The best offensive line in the history of this organization.
You remember the year they had they missed one starter,
missed one game. Can you imagine if they were able
to pull that off this year. Now, that's not going
to happen because they have so many new guys. It's
going to be like checkers. You're just moving people all
over the place till you get the right combination, and
(06:43):
that may be several games in the regular season before
Nick Cayley and line coach Ko Popovich and of course
to Miko determined these our best five guys. But man,
if the think it'd be healthy. This team didn't have
as many injuries as two years ago, and the line
didn't and yet the line played better two years ago,
(07:04):
including with guys there were a bunch of nobodies than
the line did last year when it was relatively healthy.
So I if they could, if they can have an
offensive line that could be as good as that woe
Edward was it. Dwayne Brown and Newton and Waite Smith
and Chris Myers and Brandon Brooks were the starters, and
(07:28):
plus you know they had a great running back too
that helped them. And I think this running game is
going to be really good. I think we're going to
see more gap runs than we did in the past.
But until the line proves that it can show improvement
over last season, none of us is going to know
for sure, and all the togetherness in the world is
(07:49):
not going to happen, is not going to help unless
they can do it on the field.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
General Mark started off the show asking about the Rams
and the Bucks starting off the season and the buye
is early, but I always like talking about the first half,
that being before the by the second half. What do
you think it would say about this Texans team? And
I know it would be early in the year, but
if they were to go to Baltimore and get a
(08:14):
win at Baltimore in Week five, what do you think
that would say about this particular Texans team. It's never
beaten the Ravens in Baltimore. They've never beaten the Lamar
Jackson led Ravens team. They've gotten just hammered the last
few times. I mean, the only game I remember close
against the Ravens was a Monday night er with Tom
(08:35):
Savage and Joe Flacco at quarterback. And what does it
say or what would it say if the Texans were
able to go to Baltimore and get a win kind
of get that, you know, that monkey off their back,
if you will beating a really good team in their
building on the road. What would you think if they
were able to do that in Week five? How much
do that mean to the season.
Speaker 6 (08:55):
Remember the last time they beat Baltimore when Baltimore's offensive
cord was Gary Kubiak. They beat him here those before
Lamar Jackson. Of course, I think if they were to
beat Baltimore up there, which I would never predict, but
if they could, it would make everybody take them seriously.
They're taking them seriously now. Is dominating the AFC South?
(09:17):
You know Demiko won't want to hear that. The fact
is they should dominate THEFC South. The key is can
they be good enough to get the divisional playoff game
at home? Or can they win a divisional playoff game
on the road for the first time in team history.
If they could beat Baltimore on the road, that would
show this team is capable of beating any team, anytime, anywhere.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
General it broke this week that the league is not
expected to engage in any talks with the NFLPA until
next year. About an eighteen game regular season. They'd have
to crank open the CBA and get that done or
talk about getting it done. Your thoughts on that when
it's gonna happen, how it's gonna happen, what it will
(10:03):
be like, and what the players are really gonna want
The NFLPA is really gonna want to make the eighteen
game regular season schedule happen.
Speaker 6 (10:12):
The players are being paid more money than they've ever
been paid, but in their negotiations for collective Barty and Greenbuts,
they've basically got more time off and the offseason and
easier practices during the season at the.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Instead of money.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Where basically, you know, the owners run the NFL, the
Union runs baseball, the players run the NBA, and it's
never gonna change here. And I think this, if you
are going to they're gonna go to eighteen games. Everybody's
gonna make more money because of it. But players have
(10:49):
to have two by weeks, and it doesn't matter when
the super Bowl is played. They can play the super
Bowl opening day of the Major League Baseball season in April,
and the NFL and the super Bowl is going to dominate,
and cities have to keep all of February open, So
they just move the super Bowl back another week, give
(11:10):
them two weeks off in there, and then they will
have two games and then probably add another joint practice.
And coaches love joint practices more in preseason games because
they can control orchestrate everything. They're shorter and they're sweeter,
and so I think that's what we're headed for two
(11:31):
preseason games. Some teams will do three joint practices and
we'll have two by weeks. That's the least they can
do for the players. It's funny they legislate to help
with injuries and they profess that they're just so worried
about players health. Yet they're going to have to play
an extra game. But the players will do it because
(11:51):
they're going to make so much more money. And it's
all about the money.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
It is definitely all about the money, and it's all
about going all in apparently in Pittsburgh general. I think
this trade happened a couple of days after we spoke
last week, John hu Smith and Jalen Ramsey go to
Pittsburgh from Miami. Miami gets Mika Fitzpatrick, and I know
that's a big piece for Pittsburgh to be losing, but
that now means Aaron Rodgers, Darius Slay, Dk Metcalf, essentially
(12:21):
the twenty twenty All Pro team now in Pittsburgh. How
do you think think this experiment goes now that the
Pittsburgh Steelers have claimed essentially without saying it, we are
all in better get TJ. Watt signed, but Other than that,
your thoughts about the Steelers seemingly pushing all their chips
in the middle of the table.
Speaker 6 (12:40):
Well, first of all, Ramsey didn't play as well as
he has. Fitzpatrick didn't play as well as he has,
So it worked out well for both teams because I
think they had run out of patience with those two players.
The key with Johns Smaiths other than his time in
New England, which was disastrous, and we in Houston watch
him become a really good receiver. He's not a legitimate
(13:03):
tight end. He's like an h backer big receiver, but
he had I think eighty eight catches last season. Miami
thinks it's going to replace him with Darren Waller. Dust
In the cobwebs off of him hadn't had a good
season since Shawn Watson's last good season. That would be
twenty twenty Pittsburg. If it doesn't work out with Rogers,
(13:26):
next year will be a very deep quarterback draft like
it was last year.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It'll be the time to get one.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
And this is not the style that the Steelers have used.
But they're making their season more interesting. Will they be
better than last year? They may get in the playoffs.
I think they're wildcard, the tender, third best in that division,
and all of the playoff caliber other in Cleveland, of course,
which could have the first overall picking the draft. But
(13:52):
I kind of like what the Steelers are doing.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
I guess I could say I like it. I'm going
to put it this way because friends texted me, oh Man,
Steelers all in watch this.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
I think these moves are.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Necessary to get them back to where they were last year,
which is a playoff team. I don't know if it
does much more for them. I don't know if i'd
picked them ahead of Cincinnati because of this. I know
Cincinnati still got defensive issues, but they still have Joe
Burrow as well, and they were going pretty good at
the end. If they can get cooking the way they
were at the end in the beginning, they're gonna have
a really good season. So I don't know what kind
(14:26):
of effect it's gonna have, but we can talk about
that more at another time.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
I want to do this, all right, Johnny.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I've not finished Cobra Kai, but but.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
It brought to mind.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And this is not a spoiler really, because they reference
sports movie scenes and other sports movies within the Cobra
Kai series, and they have one from Rocky Too, which
is really good. But you guys, think about this, what
are your favorite scenes or the best scenes not the
best sports movies, but the best scenes within sports movies
(14:58):
that are maybe to five all time. And this could
obviously it is subjective. It could be for you personally,
or it could be what you feel is objectively the
best in general. I'm gonna go first here and it's
a movie you are in called The Rookie, And I
think I've got two scenes from The Rookie that are
just outstanding.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
That are not under the radar. Yeah. The press box
where you appear is just so riveting.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
It's like, oh my gosh, they just nailed a sports
media personality with that actor, whoever he might be.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
His name is John McClain.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
But the one where he throws it by the radar
gun on the road and he thinks he threw seventy
five because the actual digit is blinking. He walks by
it it's blinking, and you see that he really through
ninety five and he doesn't even know it. He doesn't
know it until he gets to the tryout and he's
throwing ninety five. And to me, the Tryout is equally
(15:52):
as good as scene in The Rookie. Do you have
any phase from sports movies that you like, and Johnny,
I know you have an opinion on this as well.
Speaker 6 (16:00):
First of all, my favorite scene from The Rookie was
when and that was not about baseball. It was about
his son's relationship with his dad, Dennis Quay's relationship with
Brian Cox, and it was not good. And then after
the game in Arlington where Brian Cox came up to
see his son play and they were outside the locker
room and Quaid gave him the baseball that he won
(16:23):
with and Brian Cox took it.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
If there was if you.
Speaker 6 (16:27):
Didn't have if you didn't have watery eyes at that scene,
I thought it was tremendous and the best scene I
have ever seen.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Is the best sports movie I have ever seen, and
I have to tell you why.
Speaker 6 (16:39):
In nineteen seventy one, the original Brian Song Movie of
the Week, Gail Sayers, Brian Piccolough, Billy d Williams and
James Cohn. And at the end of it, after Piccolo
died a cancer, Billy D Williams as Gail Sayers asked
Jack Warden as George allis, can I tell the team?
And he said yes, And Billy D. Williams walks up
(17:00):
in front of the room and he says, Brian Piccolow
is dead.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I love Brian Piccolo. Yes.
Speaker 6 (17:05):
So I was at a Hall Pro Football Hall of
Fame luncheon that they have every year for the new inductees,
and Raynichke had died and he was the They named
the luncheon after him, announced it then and he said
and he said it'd be forever. No was the Ray
Ditchkey Memorial luncheon. Gil Sayers got up out of his table.
(17:28):
He walked to the front of the room to the
dais and he said, rayn Inchke is dead.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
And I loved Raynitchke. I saw that in.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
Person, and I saw that in the movies. It turned
out they were bitter enemies when they played for the
Bears and Packers, but through all their years of doing
charity stuff for the Hall of Fame, they'd become best friends.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Oh that's okay, tough to talk my Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
I met Nitschke one time, and I well, I met
Nitschke when I was a kid. I was like eight
years old and I was We were at a hotel
in Green Bay and we were just kind of vacationing
with a few friends. We just drove the forty five
minutes to Green Bay, and I remember my dad and
just everything that I had seen and heard like Nizchgie was.
He was a bad dude and he didn't want to
(18:13):
mess with him. And we saw him at the pool
and my dad was like, go get his all. I'm
scared as I was scared as all get out of Nizgi. Eventually,
I can't work came after you. He couldn't have been
the nicest guy. I mean, he was the nicest guy.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
That I ever met him. He was incredible.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
It was like, oh yeah, son, I'll sign up for
you talk to me for a couple of minutes. And
I never forgot that. I mean, he was just he
was fantastic on the field. He was a terror, which
leads me to mine. There are two of them. Number
one is one that we could never play on the radio,
but it's from one of my favorite movies, the program
Alvin Mackett linebacker uh talks a little trash to the
(18:48):
Mississippi State running back and it is absolutely glorious. Now
it is not for radio. It is not for young people,
but it was absolutely the best trash talk ever. The
other one comes from one of my favorite movies, and
it's the one event that I know in my lifetime,
(19:08):
my guess is, will never be replicated, and that was
the nineteen eighty US hockey team beating Russia. Herb Brooks
aka Kurt Russell giving the speech to his his Olympic
hockey players before they were to take on Russia. I
could watch that a thousand times over that. Those are
(19:29):
the two for me.
Speaker 6 (19:30):
What about this one Field's dreams. Yeah, Kevin Kosner, pay eight, Dad,
have a catch. I've never heard it put like that,
have a catch down here. It was always play catch
and he got to play catch with his dad coming
out of the corn.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
That was That was huge.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
I mean, that's the That was Kevin cost.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
And Susan Sarandon, But we won't talk.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
About well, the best scene of that general is when
they're sitting and she says she's got to pick and choose,
and Costner gets up and starts to walk away, and
she's like, well, what do you believe in? And he
goes through this litany of things that he believes in.
It's one of the best soliloquies in a movie there
ever is before Obviously there is a Susan Tarandan and
(20:13):
Kevin Costner's seen.
Speaker 6 (20:14):
That movie see I Go One More and I Will
say go Behind, and y'all tell me the movie all
right in the year were you ready?
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Yeah, just a bit outside.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
That's major league and nineteen eighty seven eighty.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Seven, n okay, well that's late eighties, late eighties nine where.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
He can say something like one line out of a
movie and everybody knows what it was.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
You know, it's a classic, all right.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
So I've got two categories here, because there is the
money scene, like Johnny you said, the Kurt Russell speech,
Herb Brooks pregame us beats the Soviet's awesome. But there
are subtle scenes within sports movies too, like Rudy when
he gets carried off the field at the end, my gosh,
I mean, you know, it.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
Brings me to tears.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
But the scene where he gets the letter where he
gets accepted to Notre Dame finally after going to Holy
Cross Junior College, that scene to me is subtle.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
Yet that's really the turning point of the movie.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Because he gets in at that particular point and I
think it's amazing.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Remember the Titans. You know, we could talk about.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
The last game or whatever, but the scene where they're
a training camp at Gettingsburg College and the linebackers are
like strong side, left side, you know, black guy, white guy,
and they're finally getting along and that's what brings the
team together. Then you knew they really had something. I
think that scene is the subtle money scene of the movie.
(21:38):
And I love scenes in sports movies like that. Rocky too,
Adrien in the hospital bed, There's one thing I want
you to do for me when that one? Was that
a good impression?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
That one just blows me away.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
You know, you can talk about the fight and everything
at the end and how it ends in Rocky two,
But that scene right there, Man, you've followed by the
workout montage, you know, one of men dozens in Rocky films.
But man, those are awesome scenes right there. Are you
guys with me that there are subtle scenes in there
are obvious? The money scene of the movie.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
Absolutely the one that I thought you were gonna say,
Mark and I can't remember what his name is, but
the head coach that gets moved out of the way.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
For Herman Boone.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
He stays on as a defensive coordinator Ghost and he
realizes Yost and Yost is they're in a game and
every call is going against the Titans, every single one
of us going against the Titans. And he calls time out,
he calls his defense over and he basically tells them
to unleash Hell.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
And I just remember that looking in his eyes.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
I was like, yes, that scene got like that got
me going because from then on they just you know,
rampage through that game. But I just remember him you
on leash Hell. I was like, oh, I was ready
to run through a wall for that one.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Remember. Yeah, there are always those little ones, for sure.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I've got a Rudy story oiler practiced movie.
Speaker 6 (22:58):
Rudy is really big in a lot of them. Tension
and oilers were good then. And we're on sideline the
media and there's a David de Lotty, who was a
radio reporter then now's a real estate mogul walks up
and he's a little late, and he says to a
group of us, there's that short guy over there on
another sideline and Martin Berman goes, that's Rudy. He said, Rudy, Rudy,
(23:20):
what do you mean Rudy the actor, and he's over
there and he looks and de Lotti says, no, he
said it was Rudy, the real Rudy, and de Lotti goes,
so I got to go over there and talk to him.
So de Lotti goes around the field because we could
do this back, then goes up to Rudy, pulls out
his tape recorder, sticks it up there, shakes hands with
(23:40):
a guy. Next thing we know, de Lotti's shooting the
finger at Berman because that wasn't Rudy. Berman just moved up.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
David was so embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Oh gosh, that is beautiful.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
That is so good.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
He played a nice little trick on him. David de Lotti,
I miss David Delatti.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Very good already, reporter, but he's doing quite well.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
That's interesting with Rudy.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
As you get a little bit older, I think some
scenes resonate a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
I know when I saw that I was in I
was a senior in.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
College, and I think Rudy and the program kind of
came out the same year maybe, And so when I
watched Rudy, I looked at I looked at it through
the eyes of being a college.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
You know student, you know, more for Rudy and what
he had gone through.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
But now I look at it and I look at
when the dad walks into Notre Dame Stadium and you
just see the tears in his eyes. Yes, he's like,
this is the greatest sight these eyes have ever seen. Yeah,
I mean like it, that's it's just amazing that as
a parent that you get to experience that, you know
for your son seeing that, but you get experience it
(24:47):
for yourself. And I think about that, you know, being
out here in Los Angeles, all the things that my
daughter has been able.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
To do, and we drive by w B and.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
She's like, yeah, we shot our we shot one of
our scenes, like right over here, and I'm like, this
is w B, like you know, Warner Brothers. And so
it's been kind of cool, but thinking about a movie
in different terms, as you know, the years have gone on,
but that when my father looks around, he goes, this
is the greatest sight these eyes I've ever seen. I
mean that's kind of the way I feel like when
I go into all the stadiums in the NFL and
(25:16):
also those in college.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
So that was also a cool scene.
Speaker 6 (25:18):
To memorable excuse me Mark the first memorable great line
in the movie win one for the Gipper.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Okay, that was a great, great movie line, of course, absolutely,
But what is the best football not sports football movie?
And here's some candidates, certainly Rudy remember the Titans song
Bryant's song.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
Yes, it was, and it was a TV movie. You're right, general,
it was a Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
They were big movies of the week, had a budget
that was a big deal back then, you're on ABC,
you got the big budget movie of the week stuff.
There was another what was another big movie of the week.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Short Remake was the best football movie in history.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Yes, very good press box in that movie. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Movies with great reporter cameos secretariat longest.
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Hey, hold up, you mentioned movies of the week. Another
great one was Tribes. Tribes was Jan Michael Vincent and
Earl Holloman as the marine drill instructor and Jan Michael Vincent,
who was big back then. He was a hippie who
had to go into the war and Tribes was big.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
He got big.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
And it was in school the next day in high
school we were all talking about that movie. Well back then,
because like you said, they were big productions. Two hours
week week weekly and they were must see TV.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I'm looking at some of the historic ones right now.
I remember a weird one like Sarah Portrait of a
Teenage alcohol I don't know why that title sticks out
with me. All right, but what hey for best football movie?
We have to name it. I think remember the Titans
and Rudy are the top two?
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Am I wrong? Johnny?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
I know you love the program, but it's not as
good a movie as those other two.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
It's not gonna beat those other two. It doesn't have
the gravitas. I'll give you one to think about. I'm
not surprised that General did bring it up. North Dallas
forty is very It's a pretty awesome movie. I don't
know if it beats the others two the other two,
but it just gave you a look into NFL football
and it says professional football in the sense that maybe
people didn't know. And it's hilarious. It's got a great
(27:37):
CASTI Nolty's in it. Uh, North Dallas forty.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
I'll throw up.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
There is Nick Nolty getting out of bed in the morning.
I can relate to it.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Now.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
Wow, everything hurts.
Speaker 6 (27:47):
After Tom Landry said the Lord's Prayer. John Matuza jumped
up scream, let's.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Go kill those bla bleepers.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
That Tom Landry character sort of character in the movie.
What about any given Sunday? Does it belong in the
top three?
Speaker 6 (28:03):
No, No, I don't like any of those y'all are
talking about.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
To you the truth, any of those, I'm racking mouth.
They were cute. Rudy was cute.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
Remember the Titans. I love Denzel Washington. But has there
been a great movie. It's baseball movies have been better.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yes, football movie.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
And boxing as well. Absolutely right. Yeah, and even Basketball.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Hoosiers is a better movie than any football movie. I
think it is a better sports movie than any football movie.
Speaker 5 (28:35):
And that's the.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
White Man Can't Jump.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
White Man Can't Jump is just a tremendous basketball friendship movie.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
That's that's one of my favorites. I could watch it
any day of the week. It is.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
It's it's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
I think.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Look for some reason, I like Rudy better than Remember
the Titans, even though Remember the Titans is more important historically.
They're both based on true stories. Andre once met coach
Boone at a banquet or something I can't remember. Of
the whole story there. And I know Rudy Rudeger was
working radio row in the Super Bowl pre stuff in
(29:08):
Houston in twenty seventeen, so twenty sixteen season at the
George R. Brown Convention Center. I'm sure he's been to
other radio rows as well. He's not quite the same
guy that's portrayed in the movie. But hey, it's movie
land and you have a lot of that kind of
leeway if you will. General what do you have going
on for us with your documentary and anything else going
on in your life you need to share with the audience.
Speaker 6 (29:29):
We got several trips coming up with the documentary. We
just we went to Mobile.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
We got more.
Speaker 6 (29:35):
I'll bring you up to date on it after we
get back from the fourth Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Sounds great. Thank you, Sheff, Bye bye. All right, talk
to you soon.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Coming up on Texans Radio, Johnny and I talk about
some of the interviews we have been airing and some
of the highlights within as we get you ready for
the twenty twenty five campaign. We are within three weeks
of practice number one. It's Texans Radio. Back to it
here in the Hunday Texans Radio Studio. Mark Vandermaar and
John Harris as we keep you company on fourth of July.
Speaker 5 (30:07):
Eve and Johnny, Happy fourth.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
And guess what we are within three weeks of show
number one at the Houston Methodist Training Center for the
first Texans practice of twenty twenty five. Unbelievable that we're
that close.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Yeah, we were driving around in La my daughter and
I yesterday.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
We actually went to the Santa Monica Farmers Market, which
was really really cool, and so we were getting out
of there and for some reason, I looked at the
clock and I saw seven to twenty five, and I went,
We're three weeks out from camp. We're three weeks out
from camp, and today makes it less than three weeks
from training camp. It just kind of blew my mind.
He got me be excited all at the same time.
(30:46):
So it's I can't wait. You can't get here fast enough.
This time period is great to kind of get rejuvenated
and do some of the things you put off all
year long, but it's time to get back the ball man.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
So really really excited about that.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Well, we've been airing a lot of interviews with various
Texans that we got on media Day, and it's been
great to see them up on YouTube. Fans check them
out on YouTube or on Spotify. You can listen to
some of the back episodes of Texans All Access and
hear some of these interviews, and we haven't aired them
all yet. You're gonna get one at the end of
this show. Jalen Thomas offensive lineman. He hopes to make
(31:21):
a big impression in training camp and hopes to catch
on to what we would consider maybe ten offensive lineman
at least nine making the fifty three man roster, the
initial fifty three man roster with plenty of guys in practice,
squad mode, or whatever else they can do to contribute
to this team. But Johnny, what are some of the
memorable interviews that we've done so far that you like
(31:43):
that stand out to you?
Speaker 4 (31:44):
Well, I said this, I tweeted this when I tweeted
out the show. We always tweet post on Twitter x
ver you wanna call it. You know, Hey, here's the show,
here's what's on the show. And so when the Lake
and Tomlinson aired, I think it also went up on YouTube,
so I think they had been in Houston. Stresses was
talking about that interview and you and I after I mean,
(32:08):
we did forty interviews. We barely could breathe because there
was one guy walking into an interview. Hey, we're doing
an interview.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
Do an interview.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
That guy left, Another guy was sitting down literally thirty
seconds to one another. And some of these guys were
meeting for the first time. But we've done that in
the past, and we get interviews. Guys to come into
our studio and we sit and we talk with them,
and then they walk out. There have been many times
where I've turned to you and I just say I
get it. And you know what I mean. Now just
a couple of years, like what do you mean, I
(32:34):
just say I get it. And what I mean by
that is you. We talked to these guys and you
see exactly why that guy was brought to Houston, or
that guy was pursued by the Texans, and obviously he's
got to choose Houston as well.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
And Laken Tomlinson was one of those guys. You just
listen to him talk.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
You listen to him talk about uh, just his you know, himself,
but then talking about the unit, talking about the team
and talking about, you know, what it meant to be
here in Houston.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
His Jamaican background.
Speaker 4 (33:03):
And how he just flowed with us really easily in
this interview, but you could.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Tell that he was very high on what.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
We've talked about. This offensive line is camaraderie and chemistry.
Those are things that came out of that interview that
I was like, Okay, I get it. I understand why
Lake and Tomlinson is a Texan. Yeah, I know he's
been in the league for ten years or whatever and
maybe didn't go exceedingly well in Seattle, but I get
why he's here.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
I understand why he's here once you.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Once I listened, you know, basically to our interview that
we did with him, and I think that's the one
thing that there's and this this these words have been
used purposeful, intentional about what they're doing.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
They went out and.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
Got Lake and Thomlinson not just because he's a guard
but because he embodies the spirit of the swarm, but
also what they want on that offensive line, guys that
are willing to work together to be five fingers in
a glove and not independent contractors, not maybe the most talented,
but the better unit. And I really got that, especially
when we talked to Lake and Tomlinson.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
What about we talked to both long snappers at the time,
and then we aired both long snappers interviews. Then Tucker
Addington about a week later, gets released. But he's now
a Pittsburgh Steeler, so he's one of those Pittsburgh Steelers acquisitions.
And no one's really talking about the long snapper acquisition,
but that's just their life in general. But Austin Brinkman,
(34:28):
we had that interview on. We actually aired it a
couple of times, I think as a best of show
in one of the cases there. But I found that
notable that Austin Brinkman is the very likely long snapper.
He's the only one coming to camp that we know about.
You never know what Nick Casario has up his sleeve.
But I got to tell you the Dariagan Bowally interview
(34:49):
is one that I'll remember because he's always great to
catch up with.
Speaker 5 (34:53):
And then you get the feeling and.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
You and I we got a Twitter comment like vander
Maver and Harris have every run back making the roster,
No we don't. Our point was this, it's gonna be
a tougher cut than you expect.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
I love these people who are like oh Trade, Damian Pierce.
I'm like, really trade Damian Pierce. You think they're just
gonna do that. Now, they might end up trading somebody
who knows, but they're gonna get a good look at
what each of these guys can do in training camp.
And Dara so reliable, so dependable, so versatile, gives you
so much at running back. But there you have Woody Marx.
(35:27):
We also aired that interview. You have Woody Marks to
provide something that you hope would be really explosive as
a pass catcher out of the backfield and then some
So I found the Dara and Woody interviews to be interesting.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Of course Dari minches to Quiz Rodgers, which is gonna
tell you at my heartstrings.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
He is from the Mark Consolidated.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
One of my great friends is his agent, his uncle,
and so I've always watched Quiz and when Daria said
Quiz Rodgers, it kind of caught my attention again. But
just what Dari meets his team and it's funny Mark.
While I was here in Los Angeles, I just happened
to be one morning just kind of flipping through YouTube
and there was a video of I think it was
the Charger game that popped up like highlights, and so
(36:08):
I watched that and then the next one because the
logarithm just gives you it was more Texans highlights. And
so eventually it got to some twenty twenty three games
and I'm watching and I'm seeing Dara make plays in
those games. I'm hearing the announcers talk about Dara in
those games. But one of the other things that stood out,
I think it was the game against the Broncos Cee
(36:29):
CJ turn and toss the ball to Damian Pearson.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
I'm watching Damian run.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
I'm like, man, dang, I'd like that for twenty twenty five.
If he runs like that, yeah, you can't trade him.
So I just it was like man watching him. I
didn't remember him running in twenty twenty four quite like that,
And so it was kind of good to go back
and kind of watch some of those highlights in some
of those games from even twenty twenty three and just
remember how some of them happened. And here's the other thing,
(36:55):
as it pertains the running backs. I ended up watching
the Cincinnati game twenty twenty three, the highlights at the end,
the last drive. You know who makes plays on that
final drive for US against the Bengals. I know that
Boone and Noah Brown. Mike Boone, Mike Boone and Noah Brown. Yeah,
Noel Brown was huge in that game.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
He was huge. He was massive. That last run was incredible.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
But Mike Boone makes a catch and gets out of
bounds right after Dalton Schultz catch to pick up a
few more yards, and you're like.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Mike Boone.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
So look, we can talk about all these running backs.
It may be somebody that comes.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Out of nowhere.
Speaker 4 (37:33):
And by the way, we didn't have everybody making it
from the running back group. We're just saying it's going
to be a tough cut because this is as deep
a running back group as they've had. So listening is
a skill that you can't acquire and you can work on.
So please listen before you start rattling keys and go, oh,
this is what they say.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
No, it's not. Listen to what we're saying. Please.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Watching some of these posts on YouTube that the Texans
account posts and then some other people post, and as
you bring that up, one of the things that stood
out to me over the last few weeks. You know,
as you're just kind of scrolling around some of these CJ.
Stroud highlights from twenty twenty four. I mean, I know,
twenty twenty three has all those great moments, historic rookie season,
(38:15):
all of that, but twenty twenty four he's got some moments,
he's got some unscripted stuff, and you're watching it thinking
he's got this, he's got this improbability, and I think
it's undersold. You know, we all know that he's much
more of a pocket passer than a guy who likes
to run.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
First.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Of course that's the case with CJ. Stroud, but he
could make off schedule plays. And I always think of
this as a guy who coaches youth league flag football, Johnny,
I have to point this out. You know, when the
players act among themselves or unto themselves and decide to
make plays, you feel like I'm a genius, you know,
And I think CJ.
Speaker 5 (38:52):
Stroud can make you look like a.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Genius sometimes because he can find guys open. If he
can buy himself a little extra time and guys running
that extra route, whatever the adjustment, scramble, drill, however you
want to put it, He's capable of that.
Speaker 5 (39:05):
Obviously.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
The play of the Year to Xavier is a big example.
Of that, and it's all started with a snap that
went through his hands, but he was able to make
the very most out of that. He can make something
out of nothing. And when you look at this Nick
Caley offense, we all want to see it just operate
so efficiently. He never has to leave the pocket and
whatever and throw within two seconds and it's all good.
(39:26):
But he's gonna have to be able to continue to
do that. I think it's only going up for him
because he's literally twenty three years old as we speak.
Speaker 5 (39:34):
He'll be twenty four during the season.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
You know, talking to James Palmer, you know, one of
the ways that CJ's going to be helped this year
is the addition of Higgins and Knowl and he and
Steve Smith Senior did a great job reviewing wide receiver
candidates for the draft, and Higgins was a guy that
he heard from a couple of coaches like, hey, keep
it down, man, we want that guy to slip to
(39:56):
us in the second round. There was a love affair
with Higgins and Nol with the coaches that you know
had reviewed them, and obviously the Texans had had had
as well, and so we talked about, you know, Jade
Higgins and both he and Nol and about this receiving corps.
I thought that interview with James was really really good,
you know, just speaking on that. And if Higgins and
(40:18):
or Nol just did one of them just takes a
really big step as a rookie, you'd like both. But
if it's just one of them, it takes a step
that you add to Nico and then one of the
running back tight ends, third wide receiver, fourth wide receiver
can emerge. Man, now you're cooking with gas. Now you've
got something. And I think it's gonna be really fun
to watch this offense take strides under Nick Kyley. But
(40:41):
I think the Stroud twenty twenty four stuff gets overblown
and I'm glad we're getting out of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Put it in the review absolutely, And speaking of tough
cuts the offensive line, there are some tougher cuts than
you might think. Jalen Thomas is going to join us
next year on the program and offensive lineman looking to
make some It's Texans Radio on the way out here
on tonight's program. You know, we've been hearing from a
lot of Texans during recent Texans All Access programs interviews
(41:10):
that we've done recently around Mini Camp.
Speaker 5 (41:13):
Jalen Thomas one of them.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
He's an offensive lineman from Lubbock, played at SMU, and
he played for the Ravens and Giants a little bit
in their organization. Spent some time with the Texans starting
in twenty twenty three, and he's hoping to make a
big impression here in camp. And we talk about where
he would like to play, what position, what could he do?
He's versatile, He's one of these guys and that really helps.
(41:35):
Twenty five year old offensive lineman Jalen Thomas. At what
position has he been spending his time?
Speaker 7 (41:40):
Mainly right now? Gart I played tackling in the past,
right played a FEU center, but right right now, just.
Speaker 5 (41:48):
Garth for how is that challenge?
Speaker 7 (41:50):
Truthfully, I've been moved over in my entire career been
at SMU. I placed in, I played tackle, played guard
when I was at SMU. So I feel like I've
moved around so much it just kind of became a
kind of easy for me to move from side to side.
So that's not that's never really a challenge for me.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
Okay, So being in Houston, you grew up Lubbock, went
to school in Dallas, with college in Dallas, now here
in Houston. Kept it in a Texas family. It's pretty good.
But what is what's it like Jalen being here in
Houston and with with the Texas organization with Tamiko Ryans
as head coach.
Speaker 3 (42:23):
Cole Popovich's your offen Tile coach, which you like being
in Houston.
Speaker 7 (42:26):
It's been great, especially a coach pop We just hear
the work get better every single day. He's gonna bring
the energy every single day. And also coach Ryan's He's
definitely bring the pressure every day. Defense going to bring
the pressure every day. It only makes you want to
be a better player. So I mean, it's exciting to
be here. It's a great competition every single day, so
I'm only going to make me better.
Speaker 3 (42:45):
So I love it here.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
You said side to side, so right side left side
for either a tackle guard, how is it different? Because
it's been explained to me, it's like, you know, doing
something right handed and left handed if you're really used
to one side over the other.
Speaker 5 (43:00):
But how is it for you if they move you around?
Speaker 7 (43:03):
For me, it's not too much of a challenge because
I feel like it is kind of like right hand
left him. But it's really just a change in your stance.
It's where you where you kind of push your power
into where your legs are at. Not too much of
a difference for me, though, I've moved around a lot
in my career and especially in college, so the right
to left doesn't really affect me.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
Okay, so take this question with a grain of salt.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
I want Jayleen Thomas to tell me where he wants
to play.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
We won't tell anybody.
Speaker 4 (43:30):
One of you call it back for what position would
you want to play?
Speaker 3 (43:36):
And why just guard?
Speaker 7 (43:39):
I like being in inside. I like pool, and I
like to hit. I feel like I'm very versatile. I
feel like my athleticism allows me, especially playing tackle in college,
my athleticism inside allows me to move around with especially
with bigger guys inside.
Speaker 3 (43:52):
That doesn't really affect me.
Speaker 7 (43:53):
I'm a pretty strong guy too, so it's being inside
allows me to use my athleticism, but also I have
the strength to to compare compete with these bigger defensive linemen.
Speaker 4 (44:03):
Either or in Jalen Thomas's opinion, are you a zone
scheme guy or gaps king guy?
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Which better for you? Because I can see if it's
in bowl. I can see if in both, But which
one would you pick? I don't know. I like both.
Speaker 7 (44:16):
I played I played zone in college, and I mean
this we're doing a little bit of gas now. So
like I like both, I don't really have a preference.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
It's kind of like the way I feel about different
flavors of ice cream.
Speaker 8 (44:27):
You I love ice cream, you know, like I like
ice cy I like I like vanilla. I like chocolate,
even like a little strawberry. Sometimes I agree, I agree,
you got to pick one.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
I'll pick chocolate.
Speaker 5 (44:39):
There's more than one right decisions.
Speaker 7 (44:43):
You know, cosmetology, Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Centered guard, tackle, political, defensive line.
Speaker 7 (44:53):
Come.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
I swear to god, I'm using that on.
Speaker 4 (44:54):
Preseason games the broadcast.
Speaker 5 (44:59):
Nice love obvious with us.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
All right, so some of the other guys, Cam Robinson,
you've been in the building here, so now you see
Cam Robinson walking around, You see Trent, you see Ingram,
you see Tomlinson.
Speaker 5 (45:10):
What is it like having these new guys around.
Speaker 7 (45:12):
Great vets, especially in Trent. Cam. They that mean they
help us every day, especially with technique. I mean in
the league so long, you know a lot of tricks,
the tricks of the trade, especially with offensive line, just helping,
you know, helping the young guys and helping us, you know,
get better every single day.
Speaker 3 (45:28):
So it's amazing, Chanden.
Speaker 4 (45:29):
One of the things that I hear from People have
asked me this all the time because they what you
just said about Trent and Cam helping you with different
things and techniques. Do like, well, that's what they gonna
know if it's a line coach for And it's great
that offense a line coaching. The offensive line coach can't
be with you down the locker room all day, but
other players can. So how valuable is that to have
(45:50):
players that are willing to then pour into you as
probably was poured into them outside of what coach Pop
can give you.
Speaker 7 (45:57):
I mean, it's very important. I mean, the coach's gonna
push you to be every single day. He's gonna give
you all the tricks that he knows. But I mean
the people who've played in the league and the people
who've been here for a long time. I'm sure you're
going on. I think Cam's going away as nineteenth. Yeah,
I mean transmen the league for for a long time,
been it.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
For a minute.
Speaker 7 (46:13):
They they helped I mean especially young guys, like especially
our tackles. I mean they're gonna help them tremendously in
terms of the things that they've learned throughout the league
and just stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (46:22):
Jailing thanks a lot for joining us. Best of luck
to you.
Speaker 7 (46:25):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
There's Jailen Thomas offensive Lineman for your Texans. Now we're
gonna get to Area forty five next six to ten
big day with the radiothon going on Houston Food Bank beneficiaries.
So very good work by the six to ten crew
all day long. The guys ready to join you up
for Area forty five tonight tomorrow night. We'll have a
(46:46):
lot of our great interviews, some of the best stuff.
Speaker 5 (46:48):
That we've had so far.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
On the fourth of July is your cookout, Get ready
for fireworks, whatever it is you're doing.
Speaker 5 (46:55):
Have a great night everyone, Go Texans.
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