Reflection on the Colts game and projecting the Chiefs game | Texans All-Access

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Now times to dig in to what happened.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
It's Texans Monday, presented by Houston Methodist and Off.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Woody to the right, both hands on the ball.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
He's down just short of the line of scrimmage, and
the clock will run and it's basically over.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
It's sinked with the play clock.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
As the Texans are gonna do it today. They are
gonna beat the Indianapolis Colts. Houston has won its fourth straight,
knocking off.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
The Horseshoe on the road one to win.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
CJ returns and shines and the Texans defense makes a
huge stop at the moment of truth. Houston now seven
and five with the Chiefs on the road up next.
Oh yeah, let's go. It's on, baby. Four in a
row and seven of nine. The Houston Texans are on

(00:59):
a row. And it's really a beautiful thing to see
after the way this thing started. And in any case
at all, you're seven and five, you're game off the
lead in the AFC South. Two teams tied for the
lead in Jacksonville. My gosh, we'll get to them. We
were supposed to remove their souls after that come from
behind win, but apparently their souls are intact. And they're

(01:21):
still winning. But that's another problem. We'll get to it.
We're gonna need some help to derail them because the
Texans are gunning for the AFC South title. Something that
four weeks ago. If I had said that, you'd say
you need medical attention, Mark, But I don't because I'm
right here we are today and by the way, we're
on YouTube as well as the air weeks.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
We were right.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
We were we would be we would have been right,
we would have been believing, not as you met both
of them.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
No, I gotta say that four weeks ago, I was thinking, Okay,
maybe you can get in as a wild card.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
The Colts are rolling.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
I knew that the Colts would get into some stormy
seas with the schedule.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
That I know about what's happened.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
I don't know about Daniel Jones looking this bad, and
by this bat I mean he just does not look
as good as he did.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Really well, what I tell you here for the game,
he was not I said him. For the game, I said, guys,
I don't think he can get out of the pocket.
He cannot, he can't move in a small space. But
if you force him out of the pocket, he's either
gonna throw it away, take a sack, throw a yolo ball.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
He might throw in to you, but he is not running.
He's not going anywhere.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
He's a pretty good passer. I mean that throwed to
Pierce and the end zone was fantastic, alliance. I mean,
he had some nice throws yesterday, but that really limits
him or anybody who has that part of his game
as a weapon. And Jones has always been a good runner.
Now he fumbles sometimes, and we all know that he
is eight on the year. And the Texans had no
takeaways yesterday, which is interesting. They're remindus one. But they're

(02:46):
tied for second in the league in turnover margin, which
is interesting as well. Yep, and now they're winning. There's
seven and five, and it's it's been a week to
week thing. But a few weeks ago you felt this
sort of like, especially at three and five. I mean,
my gosh, where's this thing going? You knew you had
to climb out of the hole. You knew that you
had a chance to do it, but you knew how
tough the schedule was going to be.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
And they're handling it.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
They beat Jacksonville, Tennessee. Okay, fine, but you beat Buffalo
at home.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Now you beat the.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Colts at their place, incredible stuff, and now you have
the Kingdom. You have to go up there, and they're desperate.
This is their last stand. I mean, if they don't
win this one, a winout doesn't even guarantee that they
get in, considering the tie breakers that they won't have
going their way losses to Buffalo and the Houston Texans.
Buffalo is another one. Pittsburgh, my gosh, couldn't help us

(03:35):
out on one day. But anyway, a problem to be
dealt with later. There are so many different things that
could happen in the remaining five games. We're not even
talking three four ago. We're talking five games to go.
Narratives can be completely rewritten, including this one. You got
to keep this thing going because it's so positive right now.
Johnny the defense doing what they're doing. CJ returns and yeah,

(03:57):
we saw the interception, we all saw it. But I
thought he played well. I thought some of those throws
were fantastic.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
And if we didn't play a C game, I can
tell you that. Yeah, I don't think so.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
I think there was definitely B B plus what how Look,
I don't know what grade to put on it.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
You know what it is.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
You know, my grade is dub W. That's my grade
on the CJ. Strouds Exactly. You got the win, and
yeah you got that turnover, but it was early enough
where you overcame it. It wasn't like you did it
in the fourth quarter and oh my gosh, they're gonna
score the go ahead touchdown or something like that. And
they responded after that, after the pick and the ensuing touchdown,

(04:33):
they responded with one of their own. They got it
in with Nick Chubb red zone touchdown, headline beautiful And
I gotta admit I feel it too. Every time they
get inside the ten, it's like, okay, here we are, here,
we are again. And I actually use a share in
Peter Seto reference on the broadcast last week. Might have
I said, you know, like they would sing, here we
are again inside the ten, and we need to put

(04:57):
the ball in the enzone, and they did with Nick Chubb.

Speaker 4 (05:00):
By the way.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, it's it's frustrating when you get down there and
you're like, oh boy, what's gonna happen? Now, what's gonna
happen next?

Speaker 1 (05:08):
Creativity?

Speaker 4 (05:09):
All right?

Speaker 1 (05:09):
So yub Nico Collin, Well.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
The thing is is with the Chubb play, that was
just a cracked toss. I mean, that's a that's a
staple run play they have, and they just wiped out
that whole side and it was It was interesting because
that whole play is coming right at me and I'm
looking at it, going, well, I think they got this.
They got it, and all of a sudden, Nick turned
it up. It's like, well all right, And the same
thing with Nico. As soon as Nico got the ball,

(05:33):
I said, and I said, in your ear, probably like
the five yard line, like he's in he's got this
because he turned it up and it was like there's
nobody here.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Yeah, I think he got this. They did a great job.
I don't know who. I think X was one of them.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
X was making a block on the outside guy and
then whoever pulled around helped X, and then the corner
jumped back outside, so he basically blocked himself on that play.
So Nico turned it up and then there was extra
point time. So okay, let's handle a couple of things here.
The officiating. The Colts fans have been a little upset
about the officiating.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
Well, I want to go right here first though, were
you under the Okay, so that's how I was going
to start the upright for the So I get back there,
and a lot of times I kind of stand in
the middle so I can see it.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
But I moved a little bit closer to the right
up right because that was our sideline.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
So I was right.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
I got right under the upright where the ball went over.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
Wait, I thought it went over the left up right?
Well to you left me right?

Speaker 4 (06:31):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (06:31):
Okay, Remember we think opposite. I have to think opposite
when I tell you.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
Why, you have to flip your mind.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
So, okay, the upright you're looking at on TV, the
left up right?

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, so to me was on the right.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
Anyhow, I was maybe three yards behind the ref and
the ball well, I mean like I don't know, maybe
whatever whatever enough close enough to him As the ball
is going over me. If the upright had gone straight
to the roof, it would have hit the upright.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Okay, would have hit the upright, but would have hit
the upright I promise you to hit. But here's the thing.

Speaker 3 (07:11):
That three yards difference makes a lot of difference where
that ball is going. Because the way the ball is
cutting in at his angle. I could understand why he
thought it was good. But I stand back there to
tell you it's good. It's wide right, it's white. I
didn't say anything because I didn't know for the longest
time it went right directly, I mean directly. If you said, hey,

(07:34):
we're gonna put the upright to the to the ceiling, Kime,
you hit that and we win a game for the
next ten years straight, he would have won us a
game for the next ten year straight because he would
have hit it right square and that upright. But I
think what he saw was because he's three yards further
than me, he's right under it.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
He's directly under it, so he saw.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
And the rule is the ball has to be inside
the out side of the upright right because it you know,
you don't have up human error here, right. But I
think as close as that was, I think by the
letter of the law, he was good.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
It was good.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Well, so here's the thing. Have we seen a replay
because I haven't seen it. Look, I'm doing the game,
and I saw what the TV people showed in the moment,
and I haven't seen one after the straight up. Okay,
why aren't there cameras on the uprights? If this is
so important? First of all, well, now there might be yeah,
why not we got cameras everyone else, but throw up

(08:35):
there with a with a you know, wi fi or they.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
Showed the replay, but they didn't show a zoomed in Look.
You know a lot of times on s n F
they'll show like a zoomed in replay of the ball.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
The CBSC team, well it's not c. I don't want
to call those guys. See I say, the number two
team and the.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
Number one team. In my book, those two are so
much better. Thanksgiving, I just mark I was. I would
listen to Iron and JJ a thousand times over.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
I like Harlan and Iron are pretty much even as
far as the teams go, in my opinion. I don't
know how they rank them. Nansen Rollmar I think it JJ.
Those guys do a great job. J JJ called it
fair and and he said they he said the Colts
got hosed on the p.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
I okay, well let's hit to the p. I hang on,
just to.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
Put the upright to bed here. No, look straight up.
So anybody who thinks, oh it's clearly no, it's not.
You don't have the angle.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
You don't know.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
Being the ref for the two that had the best look,
and you know, seventy thousand people in there and.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
You don't even have as good a look as the
ref does. That's right right under it.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
He's got the look.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
He has an eighty song as well, but it was
she's got the look right anyway, he's got straight up
and right at the moment of truth. It tails after
that clearly out. But on camera, when you're looking at
these replays out, you don't know, you're not.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
You have no idea where it's crossing the upright when
you're looking at it from behind the.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
Kicker, almost like a strike that kind of tails out,
it catches the zone. Yeah, you got to see it
right when it crosses the plane. That's exactly right. Okay,
go on to the to the PI.

Speaker 1 (10:06):
Okay, So there are two pis called in that end
of the field.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
The one on Kaylan, I think everybody saw the ball
was about four or five yards out of bounds, and
Kaylan was frustrated because he felt like Pierce pushed off
when I saw when I saw the angle, I thought
initially it was interference just from my angle. Now I'm
opposite the field on that one. I was on the
other side. What did out in front of me is
on the other side. But I was like, damn it. Yeah,

(10:35):
I did not see what the ball landed, and I
didn't see it until I watched the game or I
watched the highlight of it later.

Speaker 1 (10:43):
I was like, that ball hit the white.

Speaker 3 (10:45):
So on my on the sideline, there's a white dotted line,
there's a yellow dotted line.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
Those are about.

Speaker 3 (10:49):
Four or five yards from the sideline. So when the
ball hits the white, that's four yards out of bounds.
And so for that reason, the ref could have just gone, hey,
it's on Kesh, no interference. Now they would have lost
their mind. But by the letter of law, the ball's uncatchable,
that's not interference. The other part of it is Kaylan
was pretty convinced that Pierce pushed off. Doesn't matter matter.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
I know, but that's why I'm saying, Kaylan.

Speaker 3 (11:13):
As soon as Pierce pushed off, Kaylan grabbed his arm
and Pierce did the right thing, which is.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
You go down, yeah, you flail, and he got the call.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
And then they hit Warren an X one and the
way you go okay, So they got that one. So
the past interference on Kenny Moore that they're crying about
the most. What was interesting to me was when the
foul happened, or what I thought it happened, X and more,
where the ball was going, where X was it was

(11:44):
at the fourteen yard line, But if you go back
and look at it, they spotted the ball at the seventeen.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
Which is where they thought the penalty was.

Speaker 3 (11:53):
Which is exactly where they thought the penalty was. And
that's what I thought, and that is that Kenny Moore
grabbed X. If you look at it, watch the play
all the way through. He grabs X's right arm at
about the seventeen yard line when the ball is in
the air. So when they break, that's when they showed
it on the video board. And when they broke, Moore

(12:14):
had already dropped his hand, so it doesn't look like
Kenny Moore makes contact with him at all.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
So early they saw was that part.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
And I will say the Colts video crew did a
hell of a job of putting up on the video
board plays that would.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
In sense that crowd.

Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, there was one play there's a tackle I think
I think Kayln made a tackle and Kaylyn and Lasser
came up to tackle Taylor and Kaylan he hit Taylor's
the top of Taylor's helmet his hand and he immediately
brought it back down, but they froze it, yeah, with
his hand on his heart, and they went crazy again.

(12:55):
So I gave the Colts video crew a ton of
credits for getting those replays up on the board and
just inciting a riot basically. But it was past interference
because Kenny Moore did grab x early early. But when
the ball was in the air, by definition, that's past interference.
If had it not been before the ball was thrown,
you could have just called flat out holding. You know,

(13:17):
it was thrown by the back judge who has the
best view of that play.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
Right, So you're saying early on, I'm eager you don't
have the L twenty two yet, right, I haven't seen it, no, okay,
but I'm eager to see him, you know when you
have it, So does you show me these things? So
I want to see that. You know what that is though,
what the Colt video crew does. It's the opposite of baseball,
because anybody's been to an Astros game knows what do
you want an Astros game? Were replays and then it'll

(13:43):
show enough because it's a baseball umpire thing or whatever.

Speaker 1 (13:46):
They are in.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
Cahoots like, we're not gonna We're not gonna upset the
crowd here. Let's not go too crazy. But in a
football game, it's let's show everything. And to freeze that
moment with Bullock is really nasty, but okay, clever on there.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
They showed the PI of Kaylin in slow motion.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
They feel like they got totally host but they ignored
the PI that should have been wiped out that they
called on the Texans, that it led to a touchdown
as well. So come on now, And there are numerous
I'll say at least two false starts that were not
called on the Colts.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
Oh god, Brighten Smith pulled up on I can't remember.
Maybe in Pierce's touchdown Rhyman two.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
I think it was. I don't know one of them.
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
I might have said the brak Smith was somebody picked
up early. I thought, oh, flap, and it didn't arrive.
I think I think it's in my call and uh,
and I'm trying.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
Not to be funny because you guys said it and
I was.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
I was literally about to whisper in your ear. They
pulled up early because it was on my side, and
it was it was the now.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
I love Jean Peterson, you know Rockets legend announcer. Uh,
he would work in and Elijah in the post filed
no call and.

Speaker 1 (14:52):
He he tunks it. You know, he just would work
in it. I think I had like.

Speaker 2 (14:56):
Fall start not called anyway, here's a touchdown pass. You know,
I'm trying not to be that way. But Geane was
so good at that working it in because he had
like a relationship with the officials.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
I think they called a tech on Gene once.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
I don't want that on me, but it's not gonna
happen in a football game, Johnny. Overall though you ran
the ball for over a hundie yep, and Stroud wasn't
a part of the running game.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
And it wasn't like this, you know, Barrage.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
They averaged under four Woody and Nick, but they stuck
with it. They threw for two seventy six and there
were some nice ones. And Nico Collins go ahead and
named Magus Oil Stadium Nico Nico Collins Stadium. That's what
we're gonna call it from now on because he owns that.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
Please there, t Y Hilton, I love it. Oh, boy,
he is there. T Y Hilton may see number twelve.
I watch them thirteen.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
I was watching them warm up laqwan treadwell for them.
It's not a fact that where's thirteen. I'm it's so
triggering to me to see that number in a Colt's uniform.
But Pierce has kind of become that in a way,
not all the way because they're not winning these games.
That's four in a row against it that's never happened
in the series.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
Four is a magic number.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
Four in a row against Indy, four in a row
at Indy Crazy.

Speaker 1 (16:10):
Four in a row in the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeap, it is a magic number. That's a beautiful thing.
And I know you like that symmetry with that.

Speaker 4 (16:17):
And it's me.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
I know you love that all.

Speaker 3 (16:19):
Right about this, if I had have told you these things, Mark,
you're gonna be You're gonna be minus one turnover margin.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
Right, You're gonna hold Taylor to eighty five.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
Yep, Daniel Jones will throw a touchdown and have a
rating of one o one.

Speaker 2 (16:37):
Through two touchdowns, right, yeah, sorry, throw two touchdowns in
a one on one rating.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
You'll only sack him once.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
I'm worried and listening to just that, I would say
maybe a close loss.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
And it was a close game. Okay, Now let's flip
the script.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
Okay, you hold Taylor to eighty five, right, you hold
them to three of ten on third downs, that's big.

Speaker 1 (16:59):
You hold them two and eighty one yards big.

Speaker 3 (17:02):
You have time of possession of thirty five minutes, they're
twenty five. Okay, you run for over a hundi, you
pile up three hundred and sixty four total UK.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
That's that's saying something like that's going the minus one
and the turnover. Like, if you just give me those
numbers and minus one and turnovers, I'd say, yeah, it's close.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
I don't know who won this game. I think it's close.

Speaker 2 (17:25):
It's not definitely a Texans, you know, lopsided victory, and
it's not definitely a close victory. But at the end
of the day, the third down number is huge, and
fourth down obviously huge. That last fourth down stop fourth
and nine, and shotpointed this out the play where they
had a third down stop where it was second and

(17:46):
short and they forced a third and seven because of
a TfL by Edwards and Will on a previous possession
was absolutely monumental because it was a field goal instead
of a continuation of the tribe. So I think that
was a big moment as well. And those are the
things that Demiko ryans. You know, the video crew led
by Tim bragg here who's the intel guy for Football ops. Uh,

(18:07):
they'll put together a great video. Demiko probably says, I
want this, this, this and this and anything else you
guys think is noteworthy. Let's go and they'll show it
to the players in the meeting last week, and this
came up in the Demico Ryans pregame interview, which you
always have to hear because there's usually a nugget or
two in there. And we didn't even air this one

(18:28):
on Friday night. We saved it for the pregame show,
which was we want to get turnovers now. They didn't
get the turnovers, but Demiico showed a video to the
players of Daniel Jones turning the ball over.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
And he had eight fumbles going into the game.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
He lost three of them, but through the course of
his career he's turned it over a little bit okay
with even some turnovers for Daniel Jones and Petree picked
him off in a preseason game.

Speaker 1 (18:52):
He showed that on the video.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
He just wanted the guys to get used to, Hey,
we're going to take the ballway now. That wasn't a factor,
but the willingness was there and the intensity was there
on defense clearly, and the fact that you were able
to hold Jonathan Taylor to Look, you didn't shut him down,
but you held them below what he's been doing. This
is the number one running back in the league. He
is their bell coow ninety eight percent of the snaps

(19:14):
he's in there, and they were able to stop them
when they needed to most And that was big. This
is the number one defense in the NFL and an
offense that's climbing getting better. Look the tush push. I
know it didn't work on third and short and fourth
and short, but I love the creativity.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
But a guess it worked earlier and they didn't expect it.
It did awesome.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
I thought it was great because guess what the Chiefs
are looking at that saying, now, we gotta get ready
for this, right, we gotta get ready for that, we
gotta get ready for this, we gotta get ready for
Nico ender around. We got ready for all of it, right,
They got to get ready for the entire package here.
That's good. Nick Kelly called a good game. Nick Kelly's
been doing a good job. This thing's getting better. It's
common together. It's look, it's a process. It didn't it

(19:55):
was not the finished product on day one and it
still isn't the finished product. You know, let's get to
the finished product. But it's getting better. It's going in
the right direction. And with the help of the number
one defense of the NFL. You've got something going on
here with four wins in a row and seven of
your last night, here's the coach after the game on
closing things out.

Speaker 5 (20:15):
We finished wrong, man, it's our defense. They stood up
and made a play, and we were in the same
position last week. Fourth down.

Speaker 4 (20:21):
You know, you got to.

Speaker 5 (20:22):
Make a play there, you know, in the red zone.
Guys made a play. Offense had to go and close
it out. Knew we had to run the football there.
They knew we were running the ball, and we did we.

Speaker 4 (20:32):
Need to do.

Speaker 5 (20:33):
I thought Woody, you know, did an exceptional job there
at the end of the game, closing it out, get
the first down, and just the way he turned out yards,
the way he protected the football.

Speaker 4 (20:42):
He did a great job.

Speaker 2 (20:43):
All game Woody and the line, Johnny, this is their
best line.

Speaker 1 (20:49):
It's working. Let's go with it.

Speaker 2 (20:51):
You know, Trent is at this stage of his career
really helping. And you know, I worry about guys, you know,
added advancing football age, if they're gonna be able to
hang in there with the whole thing. But you brought
them along at just the right time when you needed
a surge. He's providing part of this at right tackle,
his part of it, and the line is creating some

(21:12):
good things for these guys.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
I said it the day at practice. I saw it.
This is the best five this is the best five years.
It's not going to be perfect.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
And to your point, though, we get accused of being homers,
which we are technically because I don't care. But whatever,
it wasn't perfect yesterday because I know there are people
in the car screaming what.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
Happened in too many drive yesterday? What happened in to
too many drive? They get out of my laying car, Yeah,
and they're freaking out about that. Look it. I will
admit the two minute drive before the end and.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
A half, well, that was an that was not poor
execution of a two minute drive.

Speaker 3 (21:53):
That was what they were like that they could have
gone and stolen three points. Then they get three points
to start to set and half. Now it's sixteen to six.
Now you really got them chasing. And they answered, I'll
give them credit. They answered, but what did I tell
you during a break or during a break or during
a break? I don't know if I said this on
the air, but went back, I looked at the cold

(22:14):
schedule list, said, hey, Mark, they went to Berlin and
they went to overtime. Then they come back from Berlin,
they got to buy. But then they go to Kansas
City and what happened? They went to overtime again. And
I said, this is gonna show itself at some point.
You go overtime, you have that trip to Berlin, you

(22:34):
go overtime again. Then you got to face us and
we're physical on both sides of the ball. It's gonna
show itself. And when did it start to really pop?
In the second half, the Texans started pushing around a
I think a fatigue team Sauce goes out of the game.

(22:55):
Now they're got to reconfigure the secondary and the Texans
just that's where death by a thousand paper cuts comes in.
That was a tired football team mentally and physically, and
you just brought it to him in the second half
and they really didn't have the answers to stop you,
and the offense was able to move the ball and

(23:15):
do some things. And it also helped that CJ's shaking
off the rust in the second half. I thought he
played as good at thirty minutes as he could possibly play.
And then you get the defensive stop and then you
run the clock out.

Speaker 1 (23:28):
Now you want to see Demko Ryan smile on.

Speaker 3 (23:31):
The Coaches show, say hey, coach, you get the defensive
stop and then you run the clock out of again.

Speaker 1 (23:39):
I watched the smile on his face.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
I just want to be cleaner so I don't have
to look at the play clock in the game play
figure out that it's sank And you were helping me
out with that team.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
Yeah, Mark, I told Aaron on the bus the way home.
I have never seen that in football. I have never
seen that play clock and the game clock exactly synced up.

Speaker 1 (23:57):
I was like, whoa it was? It was exactly synced up.

Speaker 4 (24:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
I was like, well, late, I can't do a great
dramatic Oh yes I can final call.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Because I was I was like, it's syncd up. Does
that mean the game is over?

Speaker 3 (24:12):
And that's why that outside zone was a good play
to call because that thing takes.

Speaker 1 (24:16):
The time, little bit of time.

Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, the math was, you know, you're figuring it out
on the fly. Obviously the first down was huge. They
still had a time out, Johnny. Time of possession.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
Thirty five minutes.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
Sonny, this is a top three time of possession team
in the league. All these thirteen fourteen play drives where
they might or might not get a touchdown. Sometimes it's
just a field goal, but you eight clock and you
got the other team's defense not worn out, but you
taxed them a little bit along the way, and that
does have a cumulative effect.

Speaker 1 (24:48):
So that's good.

Speaker 4 (24:49):
C J.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
Stroud after the game, you want to talk about closing
things out, playing in the clutch here he is.

Speaker 6 (24:54):
Yeah, like I just told him, he's just like, you know,
scoring a raison and is key, you know, making three,
you know seven, you know, and our defense has always
held us up. So like, you know, I don't know,
they always will say, you know, they want to clean
things up as well, but like as offense, you know,
I think we just that's the keys, Like if we
want to win games in the NFL, you know, you
got to score in the rezon you know, And I

(25:14):
thought these last couple of games, you know, our offense
has been able to do.

Speaker 4 (25:18):
That at a higher level.

Speaker 6 (25:19):
So you know, and even like today, like even not
like having a touchdown. You know, it's not like super cool,
but it's like we're driving the ball down, you know,
and then we're punching it in. And that's the best
feeling in the world.

Speaker 4 (25:30):
So you know, as long.

Speaker 6 (25:31):
As you know, we're doing our job that way, and
it takes forty plays or it takes too like it
is what it is. So I think, you know, just
being being on our p's and q's and xeq at
a high level is why you see a little bit
of difference.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
Dude.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
Touchdown passes look prettier on the stat sheet, absolutely, but
touchdowns anyway really good for the team, and that's what counts.
He threw for two seventy six. I thought he looked
really good. This is his first game back in a
tough environment. This is a gotta have a game against
the freaking Colts. Look good, Let's go go to Kansas City.
See what you can do and We'll talk to Ndy

(26:04):
Kalou about that. Andrey, where's gonna be on at nine?
And Houston Methodists. If you have an athlete in your
family or you yourself have a sign or signs of concussion,
they have eighteen locations that offer state of the art
diagnostic and treatment capabilities. It's Houston Methodist. They are the experts.
Logout to Houston Methodist dot org slash concussion for more information.

(26:26):
It's the official healthcare provider of the Houston Texans. Houston
Methodist leading medicine. It's Texans Monday.

Speaker 1 (26:34):
Now back to Texans Monday.

Speaker 2 (26:37):
Four than nine Colts of the Houston thirty one yard line,
Taylor of the backfield, Jones and the gun punch formation
whiteside right pierced to the short side left. Jones takes
the snap, Jones firing downfield, Tip Dad incomplete.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
The Colts turn it over on downs. Houston has the ball,
Stingley getting in the way.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
The Texans have it up for twenty to sixteen, but
a minute forty five to go.

Speaker 1 (27:01):
Can I ask you something? Yeah, you haven't thrown at
the All Pro All Game, No Game. Once nine you
decide to go to him, what are you doing? What
are you doing?

Speaker 2 (27:15):
The Texans surprised him with the coverage or whatever, and
that was the best option in their eyes or whatever.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
I mean, I totally get going for it there.

Speaker 2 (27:23):
Oh, I mean going for that because they had still
had three timeouts right there.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
But why didn't you throw to Pierce? Pierce was? Pierce
was hot? He was Steph Curry high yesterday he was,
and then you threw it to Draymond? Yeah, what are
you doing?

Speaker 4 (27:36):
Wait?

Speaker 1 (27:36):
Who is the attended receiver game Pittman, not Draymond.

Speaker 2 (27:41):
But in that game they did. They're not paying Pierce,
They're paying Draymond.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yeah. Yeah, but they're gonna have to change that because
Pierce was that's my new nickname for Pierce. Four for
seventy eight, Pittman one for thirteen.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
It was not It was not a great day for
How about the Seahawks screens to.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
Pittman and they like that. They weren't running them.

Speaker 3 (28:01):
They weren't running those They threw that screen to Taylor.
How about shoot the Seahawks Vikings games. JSN has two
for twenty three. Justin Jefferson has two for four.

Speaker 1 (28:11):
That's all that Jayson yesterday, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (28:13):
They both held two for twenty three. Yeah, because Max
Brosmurg kept throwing big six.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
I mean, the one was like the best pick six
even that Will I saw you see the Bill Levins moment. Uh,
Eddy Kalou joins us right now, twelve year NFL veteran
part of our Texans preseason TV crew of course, Texans
legend and d So here we go, another great defensive performance.
You gotta call it that you're on the road. You

(28:38):
keep Jonathan Taylor in check, he doesn't go off.

Speaker 1 (28:42):
What did you see?

Speaker 7 (28:43):
Good morning, good morning, good morning once again. And you know,
it's great to have CJ. Stroud back and the offense
is kind of continuing to pick up the pace. But
this defense has proven to be a historically great defense,
especially when you compare it to other Texans teams. And
it's the little thing. I mean, I know John and Mark,
I know you saw all this, but I know John

(29:03):
could appreciate this. That pick on Rankings sack, so oh yeah,
the d line stunt where Audrey is supposed to pick
the center and he just blasted the center. The pocket
collapsed and Rankings gets the sack. But it was such
a team sack because of the way the front floor rushed.

(29:25):
I mean, this defense is a real deal. And shout
out to A. Z's out Shire because he's still making
plays where you're like, oh, you probably shouldn't have done that,
But what he's telling you is, Hey, I don't care
about what people think about me. I don't care about
the past penalties. I'm still gonna play my brand of football.
And it just resonates throughout that entire defense.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
Yeah, it was interesting when he was down on the ground,
you know, with the concussion, there were than he kind of.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
Was a little danged. There was a buzz in the
crowd kind of like he could kind.

Speaker 3 (29:55):
Of feel it, like you're not supposed to cheer for
guys that are injured.

Speaker 1 (29:58):
But the Colts knew exactly who that was. That crowd
had a little nasty and it finally I gave him credit.
Was kind of like, nice job, guys, you got a
little nasty. Yeah, it was. It was.

Speaker 3 (30:09):
It was not the wine and cheese Crowder, I don't
know the whatever their shame to shrimp cocktail sauce Y
shrimp cocktail sauce.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
Our group of our group of people that went with us.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
As sponsors, they went to Saint almost. I thought it
was overrated, but you know, you gotta do it.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
It's not overrated.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
It is over rated. It's an experience. It's over If
you're an indie, you gotta do it. At least you
got to let him do what fun.

Speaker 3 (30:30):
Indy the the the defense yesterday, if I'd have told
you that they were only going to have one sack
going in, especially against the guy that's got a fibula,
as Shane Steiken called it, would you have been worried.

Speaker 1 (30:45):
And given answer that?

Speaker 3 (30:46):
But also, how did you feel like they got enough
pressure on Jones even though they only got the one sack.

Speaker 7 (30:54):
No, I definitely would have been worried because I was
watching the game here in Waco, so of course I
was sending to y'all call the game, and John, you
did an awesome job pregame talking about Daniel Jones. He
still doesn't look one hundred percent. He still has a
little bit of limb. So when I heard you say
that before the game, I was just smiling, like, Oh,
we're gonna have another eight sack game. So if you
would have known me then with everything that you said

(31:17):
pregame that they were still only going to have one sack,
I would have been concerned, But then the way it
played out and the fact that they focused on Taylor
and they were able to look like Mark said, slow
him down, You don't completely stop the guy like that.
He still had over eighty yards. You know, he still
had what considered to be a good day. But when
you when you factor in everything and all the big
plays they made, win and counted, I would have been

(31:39):
okay with it. But yes, going into that game, knowing
that Daniel Jones wasn't healthy, I would expected.

Speaker 2 (31:45):
More than one sack and d thoughts on CJ's return
has to pick twenty two of thirty five. He throws
for two seventy six in the game and make some
big throws along the way.

Speaker 7 (31:57):
You know what I like about it, Mark, He's knocking
the rust off off and I still expect them to
have better games. I still expect him to play even better,
play even more lights out, and they still won the
game with him playing. It wasn't pedestrian by any means.
It was a good game. Like you said, one interception
but no touchdowns. He was sacked a couple of times.
I can still see him elevating his game and for

(32:18):
him to be kind of getting back into the groove
of things and still be able to put up those
type of numbers. He understood who his number one target is.
You know, Nico Collins every week is really solidifying himself
as one of the top wide receivers in the entire
NFL and not just the AFC. I'm actually excited about
it because I'm expecting CJS strive to play even better
when they take on Kansas City, and with the way

(32:38):
the schedule is going, with what this team's trying to accomplish,
he's going to have to continue to get better. I
actually would have been a little more I would have
been more worthy if he had one of those four
hundred yard games, four touchdowns, no interceptions, where you're thinking, ooh,
is that what it's going to take to win? But
I felt like he had a game that he could
approve upon and they're still winning.

Speaker 3 (32:59):
You mentioned Nico ind and it got me thinking because
Nico has been tremendous the last three times at Lucas Oil.

Speaker 1 (33:07):
I mean tremendous. They have no answers.

Speaker 3 (33:11):
He's one hundred yard year, one hundred plus yards total
offense against them the first two times, like it's like
one ninety.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
Last year was like one fifty six. Yesterday he went
over one hundred.

Speaker 3 (33:21):
Uh he had ninety eight receiving, and then he had
the rushing touchdown which put him over one hundred. It
was t Y Hilton for a long time here at
Energy Stadium against the Texans, that one guy that walked
into your building and you're like, oh, this guy when
you played who was that guy?

Speaker 1 (33:38):
For you?

Speaker 3 (33:39):
Who was that one guy when you knew we walked
into building not receive. It could be anybody, but you
just went, oh, this guy, this guy owns us in
our building.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
For some reason.

Speaker 3 (33:48):
We just can't stop him no matter what running back, quarterback,
wide receiver, whatever it might be. Did you have one
of those guys when you were playing that you just said,
Oh my god, he's our t Y Hilton slash Nico Collin.

Speaker 7 (34:01):
You know, that's such a great question. And it's funny
as you were talking about Nico before even brought up
t Y Hilton, I was like, he's the reverse t
Y Hilton for the Cold. So I'm glad you brought
that up. You know what, as a defensive lineman, it's
always going to be a quarterback John because we don't
get to appreciate what goes on behind us. And what

(34:21):
I mean by that, you know, whether it was when
I was here in the AFC South or in the
NFC East, if there was that one receiver that would
have a big game, big game, we just it sounds
crazy to say, but we just wouldn't know. It's more
the quarterback because you're chasing him, and you know, when
you think you're getting a sack, he's still throwing a

(34:43):
thirty yard completion. And for us it was Tom Brady.
I mean even when we had our best defenses. Myself personally,
I had one of my best games against New England.
One time I actually thought I was sacking Tom Brady.
I brought him down. I thought it was a sack.
But We're playing in New England and the crowd sharing
and I'm like, I know they're not cheering for me.

(35:03):
And then when I get up, he completed a thirty
yard pass. So for us, it's just more of the quarterback.
And of course, with my time in the Texans, you
could always say Peyton Manning.

Speaker 2 (35:15):
Okay, Andy, what about this team winning four in a
row right now? What do you think the vibe is
like inside and the belief that they have that they
can do some really big things down the stretch and beyond.
Now that they're really they're establishing an identity on offense
with this ground game. It's not always as productive as

(35:37):
they want it to be, but they stick with it.
They got CJ back, obviously the defense number one in
the league.

Speaker 1 (35:42):
What are your thoughts.

Speaker 7 (35:44):
Here's what's crazy. I think as far as the belief
and the confidence they probably felt this way when they
were zero and three, you know, and now is coming
to fruition because a guy like Demiko, he's a little
bit prophetic. He's gonna tell these guys, hey, one game
at a time, we can still dig ourselves out of
this hole. And when you look at what this team
has been able to accomplish, I don't think that they're surprised.

(36:05):
So Mark, they're probably not thinking to themselves four games
in a row, four games in a row. It's just
one game at a time. It sounds cliche, you're hear
it on every level of football, but you just get
the sense with the Miko, the type of player, the
type of coach he is now that he's preaching it
and they're really believing in it. Right now, They're only
focus is Kansas City Chiefs, and it's the fans on
the outside looking in that could appreciate this role. I

(36:27):
would not be surprised if they have another three game
you know that, if they win another three games in
a row, because you're just looking at it one game
at a time, and when you look at the schedule,
there isn't a team on the schedule remaining on the
schedule where you just say to yourself, there's no way
they can win this game.

Speaker 3 (36:43):
Ind it's the Chiefs this week, Sunday night. Everybody's going
to be watching, and it's that guy quarterback. That's probably
the guy I look at every time I see m
across the field like and.

Speaker 1 (36:54):
It isn't so much because it's the.

Speaker 3 (36:56):
Seventy yard throw, it's you know, it's the five yard
scramble or whatever. It's the plays he makes with defensive
lineman hanging all over him, Like last year, he's got
Mario Edwards at his ankles falling down and he hits
Kelsey for a touchdown. How maddening is it for the

(37:17):
defensive lineman to face a guy like Mahomes and knowing
that that's the way he plays and that's what he produces.
How much of a different tack does a defensive lineman
do you have to take. You can't hit him up high,
you can't hit him low, but you got to make
sure that you do hit him and bring him to
the ground. How tough is this for defensive lineman to

(37:37):
go against the guy like him?

Speaker 7 (37:40):
Very very tough because he's so slippery and he's just
a playmaker. You know, He's one of those guys. In
my opinion. I don't know what his stats look like
this season. He's still the best quarterback in the game,
and you get up for a quarterback like Mahomes. But
here's the thing, John. With the way that the Texans
played and performed against Josh Allen, I think you just
go out there and treat him like any other quarterback.

(38:00):
You don't start to get in your head, Oh if
I'm too aggressive and I'm not aiming at the upfield shoulder,
then I might miss a sack. The way they performed
against Josh Allen, I think they take that same mentality
against Mahomes and say, you know what, We're just gonna
hit him. We're gonna hit him hard, you know, we're
gonna tackle him in a way where we're not holding
on for dear life. We're gonna hit him and knock

(38:21):
him down so he doesn't have a chance to make
that extra play. But I just feel like you can't.
You have to almost disrespect him and the thought of
him when you go into the game.

Speaker 2 (38:31):
Indy, what about the rotation with the defensive lineman. I'm
looking at the snap count right here, Danil Will and
Sheldon Rankins played sixty three percent of the snaps on
defense and Tommy fifty four, Barnett forty percent. So it's
a healthy rotation. It's not exactly fifty to fifty with
some of these guys. But I saw some instances where Daneil,

(38:54):
Will and Rankins all came back into the game at
the same time. Maybe obvious pass rish a pass rush situation,
but your thoughts on the way they rotate things with
the front four.

Speaker 7 (39:05):
I was pleasantly surprised at that, and I actually noticed it, Mark.
I noticed it because every time I'm looking and I'm
watching the game, I'm looking at the trenches, and more
times than I expected, I didn't see Danil, Hunter Will
Anderson in the game. Yeah, and to the point where
you're saying, as great as those guys play Demico and Co,
they truly trust the entire defensive line. And that's something

(39:27):
that we've seen since preseason. You know, we talked about
the entire defensive line unit, not just the two superstars,
and how great they were and how they play together.
So when you look at that rotation, especially this late
in the season's gonna bode well for late in the season.
And dare I say the playoffs, because you're not gonna
feel fresh, but you're gonna be that You're gonna be

(39:48):
more fresh than you would be if a guy like
Daniel Hunter, Will Anderson or playing eighty five ninety percent
of the snaps every single week. So and keep in
mind they're still making plays. The pocket is still collapsing,
they're still tackled for loss. Is he still kill the
same energy and that's only gonna help you later in
the season as you make that playoff.

Speaker 3 (40:05):
Bush a guy that ended up playing one hundred percent
of the plays in his first game back former Baylor
Bear Jalen Petrie, he played one hundred percent of the
plays he did yesterday. And Mark I would go so
far as to say they needed every single one of
those plays because he was around the ball.

Speaker 1 (40:23):
He had two pass breakups yesterday.

Speaker 3 (40:25):
Andy, I don't know that we can fully put into
words the true essence of the value of Jalen Peatrie,
but I felt like yesterday was a pretty good example
of that.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
They blitzed him.

Speaker 3 (40:35):
He's playing in coverage, he's making tackles, he does a
little bit of everything, and to have him back, I
feel like he's the chest piece that completes the setback there.

Speaker 1 (40:45):
When he's out, they get it done.

Speaker 3 (40:47):
But I feel like when he's in they can do
so much more defensively. And I know your son's a
Baylor Bear, so I know you love Baylor Bears, But
what do you think about what Jalen Petrie has brought
to this defense? Brought back to this defense playing one
hundred percent of plays yesterday.

Speaker 7 (41:01):
I like it really says ditto to everything you said, John,
I mean it will I think of Jalen Petrie. I
don't like seeing dB next to his name, or as
for safety, you need to put atch athlete. You know,
he's one of those guys that you can't really define
him by a position. He could play in the box, linebacker,
he could play nickel, he could play safety, and credit
the defensive coordinator, credit Demiko Ryans for really knowing and

(41:24):
understanding how to use him as a defensive specialist, Like
this is a guy that he just needs to be
around the ball when certain DBS go down, you don't panic.
It's like, Okay, let's just move Jalen, or let's just
use this package where Jalen is covering the edges instead
of playing inside the box. And that's the reason, that's
why he plays one of the players, because they're going
to use him in so many different ways and this

(41:46):
is a great time to have a player like that back.
And again, you know I keep talking about not always
about the stats, but just the presence on the field
and allows you to do so much more with so
many other guys. I mean, just a welcome sight to
get Jalen Petrie.

Speaker 2 (42:00):
And d one more for you on Sunday, will know
the matchup for the Kenders Texas Bowl, which is December
twenty seventh here at NRG Stadium. Well, obviously lot of
college things to talk about, but I wanted to go here.
Where are you on coaches leaving staying once they take
another job? My opinion is just quickly you take another

(42:21):
job by have a nice time. You're not working for
me anymore, you're working for them, So how are you
gonna work for me if you're working for them anyway?

Speaker 1 (42:31):
Go on, what do you think?

Speaker 7 (42:33):
I agree, one understand with your sentiment on that mark,
But it blows my mind that they have not figured
out a way to allow coaches and players who are
going to hit the portal to finish the season before
you make that transaction, before you make that decision. It
just blows my mind that a guy like Lane Kiffin
can lead Ole Miss to the college football playoffs and

(42:55):
before the playoffs even start, he's taken a job with
LSU and more more power to him. And this is
not a shot at lank given at all. But I
just can't believe that with all these smart guys and
gals in the room, that they can't figure out a way,
uh to not have these transactions go on. I mean,
the NFL does it. The NFL figured out a way
to do it. I just don't see how they cannot

(43:17):
make that happen. It's it's a it's a disgrace to the.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
Sports exactly, don't open the portal until whatever date you
determine and then it all can happen.

Speaker 3 (43:28):
Well, there's this pesky little thing called school that gets
in the way of that because of when you start
the second semester and all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
Oh crap, really have a delayed start. Work it out?
Are you serious?

Speaker 1 (43:42):
Keeping it real for the academics in here? But I leez,
I'm choking. We can work this.

Speaker 4 (43:47):
That's no.

Speaker 3 (43:48):
That's the reason they hide behind. That's the reason they hide.

Speaker 2 (43:52):
Well, Andy, you said there are smart people in the room.
That was your first mistake. Yeah, they're not smart enough
to figure this out. They need more smart people. This
is not rocket science.

Speaker 1 (44:01):
Figure it out. Yeah, figure it out, Andy, Thanks so much.

Speaker 7 (44:05):
Yet I haven't heard is he actually coaching? Or is
he done?

Speaker 4 (44:07):
Will? No?

Speaker 1 (44:08):
Is he done? They said, And that's the right thing.
That's the right thing. They hired the defensive coordinators. The
permanent head.

Speaker 2 (44:14):
Coach, Steve Fisher called from Michigan and said, that's the
right thing.

Speaker 1 (44:16):
There you go. Okay, thanks a lot, m D. We
appreciate it, y'all, keep up the great appreciate Joe, Andy
Kalude joining us.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
Okay, coming up, what's it gonna take They can't look ahead,
but we will look ahead.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
We're gonna look ahead. And what has everybody else got?

Speaker 2 (44:31):
You're a game off the lead in the AFC South
and two teams are tied for first and they're not you.
Let's get to it next year on Texans Radio Now
More Texans Monday.

Speaker 1 (44:41):
Nick jomp in the backfield. Cj Ether center, first and
goal inside the five. Stover in motion to the left.
Here's the toss to Chuck needs some blocking. Chob to
the outside, Chub to.

Speaker 7 (44:51):
The co line.

Speaker 2 (44:52):
Touchdown, Houston, Nick Chubb and the Texans retake the lead
on Indeed, very nice drive, very nice finished, Nick Chubb.
Good complimentary running back stuff with Woody Marx and Nick Chubb.

Speaker 1 (45:06):
Woody, don't scare me like that.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
Don't scare me going into the tent running around on
the sideline. But you came back. You ended the game.
We need Woody to hold up here, man, Woody, Woody,
you got five games left on the regular season.

Speaker 1 (45:17):
Woody, this is big. You are a big factor here.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Pierce is now on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.
By the way, they let go of him a couple
of weeks ago. Now he's a Kansas City chief active
Sunday Johnny.

Speaker 1 (45:32):
If they're smart, I.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
Mean, come on not, I don't know whatever. Okay, here
it is the big picture. You beat the Colts, you
are a game out of first of the AFC South,
but two teams tied for the lead, and one of
them you don't play again. The Jacksonville Jaguars. You split
with them, and they're two and one in the division.
That's gonna be notable down the stretch. Perhaps the Cults

(45:56):
are two and one in the division, the Texans are
four and one. You only have one game left and
that is against Indy in the regular season finale. So
the Colts and Jags play this weekend. Who are we
rooting for this weekend? Like, how do you handle this?

Speaker 4 (46:10):
Well?

Speaker 2 (46:10):
I guess you're rooting for the Colts because you got
to get a loss on the Jags and you already
beat the Colts and you play the Colts again, and
look the Jags down the stretch, they're gonna lose again,
you would hope.

Speaker 1 (46:19):
Here's the Colts.

Speaker 2 (46:20):
Schedule, Jags Seahawks on the road out back to back roadies,
forty nine ers at home.

Speaker 1 (46:27):
No gimme at all.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
No Jags again at home, and then the Texans. Look,
you got to keep winning the Texans. Let's be clear here.
The Texans have to keep winning. You might be able
to squeeze in a loss down the stretch, but just
winning baby. Yep, that's the Colt schedule. Now what about
the Jags. You ask the Colts at home this Sunday?

(46:48):
All right, they always beat the Colts it oh in Jacksonville,
right always, But we'll see if that holds. The Jets
at home, keep going at Denver, at Denver, at Indy.
And then the Titans, I mean the Jags, Johnny. They
were supposed to die after they lost here, the way

(47:10):
they lost, it was over, but they bounced back with a.

Speaker 1 (47:13):
Monster window of the Chargers who might be dying themselves. Yeah,
justin Herbert's got a fractured left hand.

Speaker 3 (47:18):
He's apparently going for surgery and they'll have to figure
out how much time he's gonna miss. Now it's his
left hand, not his right hand. But if you as
we've and we'll play the Chargers two days after.

Speaker 1 (47:28):
About Aaron Rodgers with his left hand, that's exactly right.

Speaker 3 (47:31):
He missed the week, yeah, and he did not look
good no, look good, plus forty one years old.

Speaker 1 (47:35):
They beat the crap out of him, So we'll see it.
So there's that. We'll see how that plays out for
the Chargers.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
But uh, look at this part of the year that
Colts have a tough finish, the Jaguars probably have the
easiest schedule from this point forward.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Now go to Denver that that we don't have. How
would you rate.

Speaker 2 (47:51):
The Texans finish as far as the schedule goes versus
the others.

Speaker 1 (47:55):
Chiefs six and six.

Speaker 3 (47:56):
Then you got the Cardinals mathematically eliminated.

Speaker 2 (48:00):
You say the record, it's the freaking chief that I know,
six and six.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
I know. But when you're doing like schedule, what did
I do?

Speaker 4 (48:09):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (48:09):
This was bad? What did I do?

Speaker 2 (48:10):
I can't believe I've waited this long into the show
to just.

Speaker 3 (48:13):
No, no, I know where you're going with this. You know,
you say you have to remind. You don't have to
say it out loud, but you do have to tell everybody, hey, remember.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
To protect the ball.

Speaker 3 (48:26):
You don't have to say, hey, remember Rosing Copter, but
you got to remember. I know I've said it in
you and my Hue and don't beat a ros and
Copter situation.

Speaker 1 (48:35):
What are you doing?

Speaker 3 (48:36):
No, I'm not summoning rosen cop I'm so you have
to be aware of it, so you my greatest regret.

Speaker 1 (48:43):
My greatest regret.

Speaker 3 (48:45):
Is my last game against the biggest rival we had.
We'd never beaten him in school history. We've got the lead,
it's third and three, and I touch base with everybody
in the offense in the line of what they're supposed
to do during the time out. All we gotta do
is get the time out or get the first down
and I can run the clock out. I forgot to
remind my running back to protect the damn ball.

Speaker 1 (49:04):
Well, and he's the most important one I know. And
then he fumbled.

Speaker 3 (49:08):
Okay, But my telling is that a play like rosen
Copter sticks in my head more than it does the
others because I had that personal experience with it.

Speaker 2 (49:15):
Listen in the call the final Woody run, that's just
for nothing.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
I heard it. But I heard you say Balt hands
on the ball. Ye, yes he did. That's the point.
The only thing that can go wrong right there is
I was just saying it to loved ones.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
That's all I was doing, I know. But you said
you didn't say secure the ball, you said roten.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
Copter, I said, we don't need rosen Copter exactly, Yes, exactly,
we didn't need it.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
We didn't need it, you know.

Speaker 3 (49:40):
And if you don't, you got hey, look two hands
on the ball, you know that, get that wrist protected,
you know, you gotta go. Speaking of Woody, he had
a funny quote after the game, and I was reading.
I always read the quotes after the game, and so
Woodies was in the transcripts and he was asked when
the fun when the injury first occurred, did you think
that you were going to be out of the game.

Speaker 1 (49:58):
Here's his answer and I quote for the game.

Speaker 3 (50:01):
Oh no, I ain't never out for the game, no
matter what, no matter what the situation is, I ain't
never out.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
I loved the good but he also loves that man.

Speaker 1 (50:10):
What did he say about what if I break out? Okay?

Speaker 3 (50:13):
So his first question was what does it mean you
to be able to come back in the game and
have the coach trust you like that to put the
ball in your hands. At the end of the game,
he said, everybody was just talking to me making sure
I knew what the down was. I had to actually
pull CJ to the side and ask him, Hey, if
I break out, should I score or not? He kind
of gave me tips on what to do, and Jake
Andrews kind of gave me tips on we just needed

(50:35):
five six yards to stay up and then get down.
Just protect the ball. Somebody's coming and then the game
was over. Just them trusting me to go back out
there with the injury. That's just who I am. Hats
off to them trust me.

Speaker 1 (50:46):
To go out score. I guarantee you it was not.
It was not this look just get the first down. Yeah,
because CJ was asked about it too, and CJ was like, no, man,
I can't tell you what I told him. I can't
tell you what I can use the words yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:04):
Okay, andre Ware coming up next here it's Texans Monday
presented by Houston Methodist.

Speaker 7 (51:10):
Now more Texans Monday presented by Houston Methodist.

Speaker 2 (51:15):
First, the goal of the seventh strout of the gun
marks to his left plus formation left.

Speaker 1 (51:18):
CJ takes the snap and they hand it.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
To Nico on the end around running left, Nico to
the goal line.

Speaker 1 (51:24):
He's got it.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
Nico takes it in for six from the seven.

Speaker 1 (51:32):
That was beautiful.

Speaker 2 (51:33):
Nicocollins around the left side into the end zone for
the TD two rushing touchdowns and he goes first for
the Houston Texans in a twenty to sixteen win over
the Colts and Man oh Man, the Texans are rolling
now seven of nine, four in a row into Kansas
City on Sunday Night Football on Sports Radio six ten.

(51:55):
I didn't say the TV network because you're gonna hear
it right here. Andre Ware joins us now and Drey,
let's start here. CJ Stroud the return two hundred and
seventy six yards. Your thoughts on his performance, the whole performance,
Good morning.

Speaker 4 (52:09):
Good morning guys. Yeah, I thought it was a consistent
performance kind of across the board for CJ. Having come
back from a concussion. I expected him actually to play
maybe not as good as he played in this one
because it's the Colts, because it's on the road, and
because he was coming back from the concussion. But he

(52:30):
was steady, held a ship and converted when needed, and
I thought I thought he had a nice return to
the lineup.

Speaker 1 (52:38):
Drey, kind of a two parter.

Speaker 3 (52:41):
Hey, what did you think when the Colts used to
come here with t Y Hilton? And do you think
Colts fans and followers feel that way now that Nico
Collins has made Lucas Oil his second home.

Speaker 4 (52:55):
Yeah, I mean that used to scare me a big
time t Y Hilton for a guy with his statue,
a football player of his statue carried a big punch
man and he used to he used to own the
Texans back in the day anywhere, whether it was here,
n Indy and anywhere else. But yeah, Nico Collins has

(53:15):
certainly stepped up. He's flashing now, he's playing well at
the right time. I thought Jayden Higgins really stepped up
yesterday and my reliant energy power player of the game beforehand,
Dalton Schultze added seven catches yep for fifty five yards.
So you know, we knew the ball needed to be
spread around. It couldn't just be entirely Nico, because that's

(53:40):
how Davis Mills was winning games. He kept defenses off balance.
You were going to have to do that to the Colts,
and CJ did exactly that with Nico leading the way.

Speaker 2 (53:50):
You had to work in that he was your power player.
Of course, that you got that.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
You gotta tell the truth. Yeah, he's got to work
that in. Tell the truth. Monday.

Speaker 2 (53:58):
It is tell the truth Monday. I mean, Schultz actually
the leading receiver on this football team in catches, all right,
fifty nine. Nico is fifty seven. Now, Nico climbing the
charts in yards in the league with seven ninety five,
so well on his way to another thousand yard season.

Speaker 1 (54:13):
Nico collins.

Speaker 2 (54:14):
But Drew, I'm glad you worked in Higgins here because
that rookie has put out a bit of a show lately.

Speaker 1 (54:20):
I mean it's not so subtle either.

Speaker 2 (54:22):
I mean it's four catches here, four catches there, and
right now he's the third leading receiver on this football team,
so that's good to see. But another rookie, Woody Marks,
what do you make of him? As he was able
to help the team run out the clock, had numerous
good runs. It wasn't an explosive performance all the way around,
but you're getting a pop from him now. And even
though Nick Chubb is listed as the starter, I think

(54:43):
we all agree Woody is the starter right now. And
Nick Chubb's more of a complimentary guy, but Chubb is
to be heard from. Had that touchdown run. Would you
make of the ground attack, especially Woody the rookie?

Speaker 4 (54:53):
Yeah, I think that's which occurred a couple of weeks
ago when they had a game at home, maybe Denver
game maybe, or the game following the Denver game, Wood
he started to get the majority of the work. Wood
he took feel first, though Tubb would start the second
half in those consecutive games. But I like what he's doing.
I like what that he played hurt yesterday because that

(55:16):
tells me that the culture is right in the building
when a guy is going out and he's willing to
put his body on the line and he's not one
hundred percent. He was a long way from one hundred percent.
Nobody is at this stage, but at that position, you
have to be able to function and do certain things.
He's throwing his body in there in pass protection. He's
you know, breaking off runs on third downs when they

(55:38):
needed it the most, and he's just steady. You know.
He has become one of those backs that you kind
of hold your breath when he hits the line of
scrimmage and gets to the second level because he can
hit the home run. So it's been fun to watch
the running game as a whole kind of come together
with Wood he leading the way and Nick Now kind
of in a supporting role. I thought they worked the

(55:59):
edge of Indies defense. Well, it's obviously something they caught
on film where they were stronger in the middle, but
they were weaker work in the edges because both touchdowns
came on on the left side of the formation outside
the tackle box. So that was fun to see as well.

Speaker 1 (56:19):
Drake building upon that.

Speaker 3 (56:20):
This is the second week now that we've seen this
offensive line is constructed Ursery, Titus, Andrews, ed and Trent.
It took a little while to kind of get it going,
and then obviously the viral block of Ed on Jermaine Pratt.

Speaker 1 (56:34):
Now he did with on one of the sacks, so
it happens.

Speaker 3 (56:37):
But this five that they have starting on the offensive line,
it feels like it's the right five. What are your
thoughts about what they've done the last couple of games
only giving.

Speaker 1 (56:47):
Up two sacks.

Speaker 3 (56:47):
I think it's one hundred yard performance in both games
from a rushing standpoint. What are your thoughts about this
five and how it's done and is it, in your
mind the right five?

Speaker 4 (56:57):
I think so. I like it. I like the production
of like the five guys where they are. I've always
thought Titus was a guard. Uh. You can argue with
me all day and tell me about this stat and
at and who said what He's a guard and that's
where he's He's having the most success at left guard
right now. And that's by no accident. Ed Ingram threw

(57:17):
one of the best blocks I think of the season yesterday.
Uh in that game against Pratt and Pratt leeds the
coltson UH and UH in tackles and one of the
leaders in the league in tackles, and he just just
ragged all him yesterday. Trent Brown has played outstanding at tackle.
There's still obviously tread on those on those tires, and

(57:39):
and Andrews as well as ursery I have come around.
So Uh, it's the best five where they are in
the positions that they are in, and they're getting they're
getting production in in the passing game as well as
being able to run the football when they obviously need it. Now.
There's still some work in the short short yardage where
you need some push up front to convert, but that's

(58:02):
obviously still a work in progress.

Speaker 2 (58:04):
All Right, this is for both of you, and I
want you to think carefully, and I know it didn't
work in third and fourth and short. But what do
we think of the tush push, and not only the
tush push, but just the desire to do something different
and creative. If you will, Dre you go first, what
do you think?

Speaker 4 (58:23):
Yeah, I think the way you described it, just the
creativity of it, the you know, the ability to give
other teams something to have to work on and spend
time on and not work on another area defensively is
brilliant in itself. And it's the first time in the
game it worked. I think maybe one converted one out
of three times that they used it. And so going forward,

(58:47):
that's an option in the short yardage. I don't know
that I like tight end taking that snap. I might
bring in Davis Mills to do something like that and
more a guy that's a little more athletic kind of
understands ball handling. But it is what it is, and
and you kind of ride with it from there. But
that's the ability to adapt and present something different is

(59:12):
in and of itself innovative.

Speaker 3 (59:14):
And to that point, if you are going to run
the toush push, right, what's your counter to it? Because
you got now that now the teams have seen it,
like well, all right, when Stower gets under we know
what they're doing, and that obviously is the adjustment to
the cults. Weal they know at that point that's what
they're gonna do, So what's your counter. The Ravens did
a great job. I think it was two weeks ago.

(59:36):
I can't remember who they were playing, and Mark Andrews
instead Toush pushing, they ran they He took the ball
and he was under center. He took the ball and
ran a sweep. So those guys pulled in front of him.
Everybody's diving in. They gets Toush push and then he
swept it around the end. He ran thirty five yards
a trash point.

Speaker 2 (59:52):
Maybe that's not a silver thing, but maybe Mills or
somebody else who does.

Speaker 1 (59:56):
Oh And to that end, I made sure we talked
about this during the break. I asked Kate.

Speaker 3 (01:00:00):
I said, I'm pretty sure you told me you played
all positions in high school, including quarterback, and he's like, yeah,
I play quarterback in ices.

Speaker 1 (01:00:06):
Okay, there it is, so I thought he had said that, but.

Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
Still taking a I mean, Tyler Warren took snaps at
Penn State in that position and he botched the snap,
which which was a.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
Big play Cleveland botched the snap with a tight end
taking a touch push yesterday as well, that's four yardage.

Speaker 3 (01:00:21):
Yeah, absolutely, Dre. Earlier, we're talking to nd and asked
him his question. I'll ask you as well. We all
knew about CJ coming back.

Speaker 1 (01:00:28):
A lot was made.

Speaker 3 (01:00:29):
He's a quarterback coming back. But Jalen Petrie also came back.
And by the way, I think he's the first Texan
to wear a Guardian cap in a regular season game.

Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
So good for him. And he played well.

Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
He had two passes defense, he had three tackles, he
was blitzing, he was in a lot of he was
Jalen Petrie basically, and I feel like the defense can
do some different things, especially when he's on the field.
What is the impact of having him back, Dre, in
your opinion, I.

Speaker 4 (01:00:55):
Think it just gives you more versatility on the back end.
And he does so many things in terms of the
run run game, stopping to run, as well as where
they bring him on blitzes. He knows how to time blitzes.
That's a skill that you actually have to learn the
cadence of a quarterback, how to time it up, what
depth to come from, and you just can't plug and

(01:01:18):
get the same production from one player to the next.
It's a skill set and Petrie possesses it. We saw
yesterday in coverage. I wouldn't make a living with him
covering Josh downs, but for a down or two he
had to do that and found himself in that position.
Was able to get a knockdown certainly on one of

(01:01:38):
them on a third down at that to get the
defense off the field. So he just gives you a
tremendous amount of versatility on the back end when there
are times I didn't know that he would even fit
into this defense, but he has shown you he's missed
when he's not in the lineup.

Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
Dray Jones made some nice throws, did not turn it over,
but clearly he does not look like the way he
looked earlier this season, so that injury, whatever it is,
he's not the same quarterback he was in the first
eight nine games of the year. Jonathan Taylor is Jonathan Taylor,
but the Texans did a pretty good job keeping him
in check yesterday. Your thoughts on Indias They are tied

(01:02:20):
for first with the Jacksonville Jaguars coming down the stretch here,
the Texans the heat is on a game back with
another game against the Colts coming up in the regular
season finale, Thoughts, let me ask.

Speaker 4 (01:02:32):
You this, if I've told you before that game CJ's returning,
he's gonna go fourteen of twenty seven for two hundred
yards and two touchdown passes, would you take that performance?

Speaker 1 (01:02:44):
Yeah, I know, I know where you're going with this.
That's Jones stat line.

Speaker 4 (01:02:48):
Yeah, that's Jones and a quarterback rating of one oh
one right to CJ. Seventy five point four, no touchdowns,
one interception. So I don't think Daniel Jones is playing
that bad, is my point. I just don't think Indy's
defense is worth a down and they can't stop the run,
and it's not Daniel Jones is playing defense. Daniel Jones

(01:03:11):
did what Daniel Jones has always done and actually may
have played a little above it from a percentage standpoint.
Obviously he can play better there completing more passes in
certain situations. But I'm taking the two touchdowns and the
two hundred yards going in to that game if you're
giving CJ that. Now, obviously he threw for more yards,
but not the type of production in the touchdown the column.

(01:03:36):
But I don't think Daniel Jones is the problem here.
He's not as mobile as he once was. Maybe who
is at this point in the season, But I don't
think he's the Indy's problem. Indy's problem is that now
people are loading the box to stop Jonathan Taylor. They've
got to get a little more created there, and then
on the defensive side, they got to get stopped. The
Texans win six or thirteen on third downs, they only

(01:03:59):
converted three of ten. That's a stat that's you know,
he has maybe a little bit to do with that,
but not a whole lot, and so I'll take his performance.
I think, you know, a lot of people point the
finger at the quarterback when it's not going right, and
Indy's obviously on a slide, so he's an easy target.
But they need to take a really hard look at

(01:04:20):
what Indy's doing defensively as well, because they're a big
part of why they've had this slide lately.

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
Take the Texans out of it. Colts Jags. They play
each other twice starting this weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:04:32):
I know who's better. Who's better? Jags are Colts right now?

Speaker 4 (01:04:37):
I said last week. I think last week or the
week before I'm more afraid of Jacksonville than I am
Indianapolis because of their ability on defense. They've got playmakers
on that side of the ball. They've got guys that
can get after the quarterback out on the edges. They've
got secondary players that are better than Indies. Indies problems
they can't as well. Now that you can't stop the run,

(01:04:57):
the weakness of the defense all season long has been
the secondary because there's no chemistry back there. So I
fear Jacksonville a little bit more. I think they're playing
with a little more swagger right now, and they're only
a game back of Indy. Buckle up, because here we go.
It's gonna be a fun ride to the finish line.

Speaker 3 (01:05:16):
I think one of the things that the Colts have
lost with with Jones, with this fibula, as it was
called by.

Speaker 1 (01:05:22):
Shane Steiken, is that Daniel he can't move in the pocket.
Like what we saw.

Speaker 3 (01:05:27):
His answer in the pocket to getting away from the
rush was throwing off his back foot. Now, the one time,
one time he did that to Pierce, he dropped a
dime in the back corner of the end zone.

Speaker 1 (01:05:37):
I mean he dotted him. It was unbelievable. But they
got nothing out of Michael Pittman.

Speaker 3 (01:05:42):
Now, Warren was sick throughout the week, and they did
get the touchdown pass to him, but other than that,
they didn't get a whole lot from Tyler Warren either.
But Jones, he you could tell that he was not
getting out of the pocket.

Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
He wasn't gonna duck up and under.

Speaker 3 (01:05:56):
You know, if if you rushed him high side, he
went up and under and rolled to the right. And
now once you get scrambled drow going, all bets are off.
Now he's got anybody. But you know he made it.
The couple of the one throw he mote made the
downs on our sideline in the third quarterbow Tapper, Oh
my god, that's as good. Those two throws are as
good as anything I've seen all year, and think of

(01:06:18):
the quarterbacks we've seen. I mean, it's it was. It
was unbelievable. But I think that's that's what they're lacking.
But Drey's right, this isn't on I don't think the offense.
I know the offense scored sixteen. They could have they
could have done a little bit better with that, there's
no doubt. But that defense was on the field way
too long. They couldn't get off the field on third downs.
They struggled covering Nico Collins again, then they gave him

(01:06:39):
the two touchdowns in the red zone.

Speaker 1 (01:06:40):
We're one of the worst red zone offenses in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
And the Nico Sauce matchup doesn't materialize again because this
Sauce gets hurtin Yeah, so we don't get to see
that because Nico got hurt early two years ago and
we won't see it for a while.

Speaker 1 (01:06:53):
That's right.

Speaker 4 (01:06:53):
And just take a peak. Take a peak at time
of possession thirty four fifty thirty five minutes to basic
twenty five. Yep, that shows you that it's not the
offensive indie. Uh. They can't get off the field defensively.

Speaker 1 (01:07:08):
Yeah. Absolutely, drem to ask you a question.

Speaker 3 (01:07:11):
I actually just saw pop up on the screen, and
I know you know this team better than a lot
of people, but it's a I think one of the
more intriguing questions that we're gonna have over the last five.

Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
Weeks and not to the offseason. Is this the final
season in Pittsburgh for Mike Tomlin.

Speaker 4 (01:07:27):
I think it should be. I just think you know,
guys have stopped responding to the bravado that is Mike Tomlin.
And you know that lasts for a while, but then
you know, eventually, if the results aren't there, or you're
not making decisions that the locker room feels like in
the best interest of the locker room, then it starts

(01:07:48):
going in one ear and out the other. And I'll
give you an example that I gave you, guys with
a text question that I gave you on George Pickens.
As desperate as Pittsburgh needs receivers, you lot a talent
like that, get out the door and you've got this
this special motivator that should be able to reach every
player and get the best out of him. But you

(01:08:09):
couldn't get it from Pickings. But he goes to Dallas
and he's the model citizen. He's basically become the number
one receiver there and at a position that you needed.
But you had to trade him away because you couldn't
control You could no longer control him. That that tells
me that you've your hands are slipping a little bit
off the steering wheel. And you know, you guys know,

(01:08:29):
and I've followed the Steelers since I was six years old,
so you know I'm very close to that situation and
know the ins and out of that program. It may
be time for a different voice in the in that
locker room. Now mich will go on. There'll be places
lining up to hire him, and rightfully so. But sometimes
a change of scener is good for everybody.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
Yeah, and they're in the Omar Khan era now, Kevin
Colbert no longer pulling the switches with the draft and everything,
So that's something else to consider.

Speaker 8 (01:08:58):
Kevin.

Speaker 4 (01:08:58):
I've known Kevin for Kevin was in Detroit when I
was there. He was kind of an understudy and then
got his chance, obviously, and grew up in the Steelers.
He kind of cut his teeth in the Steelers organization
along with the Lions, and he had great drafts, great
free agent signings, put together a roster, and when he
left that, that franchise took a dip and has been

(01:09:23):
dipping and just kind of treading water. Do you want
to be known for, you know, just not having a
losing record, or do you want to be known as
contributing and having deep runs into the playoffs every year
and winning Super Bowls? I think Tomlin won one and
it was on the back of Cowards players. So I
don't really attribute that one Super Bowl win to Tomlin,

(01:09:46):
but uh, tough, you know you you? Yeah, well, hey,
the toughest tough. When you sit in the big boy seats,
you got to be a big boy. And I'm not
sure that they're getting that same type of production.

Speaker 2 (01:09:58):
Okay, here is the situation. The Texans survived and thrived
in the frying pan. Now they go into the fire
Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. And maybe the fire is the
wrong metaphor, because here's the weather report, gentlemen, thirty one
degrees high wins out of the northwest, ten miles per hour.
Bring you, that's not blowing too hot yet. But the
Chiefs have a closed press box.

Speaker 4 (01:10:19):
I may very well do that. And I just need
to know if the windows open or club dray.

Speaker 2 (01:10:25):
It's it's permanently closed. And I hate it. And I
know you love this, but I hate it.

Speaker 1 (01:10:30):
And we had that. We had that one year where
they were at black.

Speaker 4 (01:10:33):
The Heater, Johnny, I'm good, You're good.

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
I had that one year where they were blasting the
heat too hot. I was like, you guys got to
turn this down. The glass FuG up for you guys.

Speaker 4 (01:10:42):
I I was peeling off layers that year.

Speaker 2 (01:10:45):
Yeah, the glass does not fog up, or it does
if it's cold enough, like it did for that Dolphin
playoff game that was like sub zero. Well, we've never
had it there. We've never had a glass fog up problem.
For an announcer, I can tell you this. Mitch Holtis
the voice of the Chiefs. He has some big calls,
but you hear the sound bouncing off that class. Look,
this is just an inside broadcasting issue, So forget about that.

(01:11:07):
The most important thing is wins out of the northwest
ten miles prior. That's not blowing too hard, but it's
a bit of a factor.

Speaker 1 (01:11:13):
But it makes it a little more chilly.

Speaker 2 (01:11:14):
Okay, So the Texans are gonna be throwing all these
questions about weather, and the Northern teams are like, this
is Tuesday for us.

Speaker 1 (01:11:20):
What are you kidding? They practice in this stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:11:22):
So here we go Chiefs Sunday dre thoughts.

Speaker 4 (01:11:29):
Yeah, I think it's a tough game. Obviously. We talked
a little bit about this in the post game last
night or yesterday after the Indie game, that you know,
they just got healthy at the right time for some reason.
There's a little bit of mojo just kind of inching
its way away from the Chiefs where they don't have

(01:11:49):
that whenever they need to reach down and win a game.
It's just it doesn't seem to be there in twenty
twenty five. And for the Texans going there, it's a
good thing. The way the Texans are playing and going there,
it's obviously a good thing. I don't fear him as
much as maybe I once did, but they are still

(01:12:10):
I think a dangerous football team, a team that's capable
of putting it all together. I don't think they're utilizing
or getting quite the production out of Travis Kelsey that
they once did. And that is the difference in why
they're not, you know, running away from from from foes
or opponents in games because they don't control the middle

(01:12:31):
of the field. Now they've got playmakers obviously on the
outside with four and one, those two receivers are dynamic.
The running game is gonna be tough to stop. But
they just don't have what they used to have in Kelsey.
Does he have it? I think he still does, but
it's not an area that they have tapped into this season.
So that with the defense, the defense is solid, the

(01:12:54):
Chiefs are still the Chiefs, and I still think you
got to go there and you've got to beat them soundly.
They're not going to give you a game. They're not
going to make it easy for the Texans traveling in there.

Speaker 2 (01:13:05):
Next week, Dray, a week from now, we will know
the Kinders Texas Bowl match up December twenty seventh. Looking
forward to the game here at NRG Stadium, I'm going
to ask you this. Should coaches be allowed to coach
their team after they resign and work for somebody else?
Should they be allowed to double dip? What are your
thoughts on the whole situation. It's a big mess in
the college game.

Speaker 4 (01:13:27):
I would say no, you know, you take a job,
you go, you go ahead and you leave and go
coach a new team. Don't. You don't need another day
around here to persuade players or you know, closed door
conversations about hey, you want to go with me and
take players and staff members and things of that sort.
If you do, I'm not going to make it easy
on you in order to do so, and that very

(01:13:50):
well may happen a lot of Ole Miss players leaving
to go to LSU and coaches as well. But no,
I think once you decide, and you make that determination,
you could tell LSU you think they'd have waited on Lane, Hey,
I'm gonna coach my team, and this, that and the other,
and and Old Miss would have waited as well. I

(01:14:10):
think for this to kind of play itself out now,
you lose maybe some traction and recruiting if you do that,
and it shows just how much you actually want to
do it if you're full time at Old Miss before
making a commitment and making it publicly. But once you
make the decision, it's time to go ahead and pack
up and and uh and head that way.

Speaker 1 (01:14:33):
This is the way that I sort of looked at
it if I could. It's LSU and ol Miss. Those teams,
they don't like each other.

Speaker 4 (01:14:42):
They are arriving exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:14:43):
They play every flipping year. It's like Dre walked into
you and said, Hey, Mark, I'm going to Colts and
call games for the Colts, but I'm gonna stay here
through the rest of this year. Huh, yeah, exactly exactly.
That's that's the point, Like how I just don't.

Speaker 1 (01:14:59):
Think that that Pard.

Speaker 3 (01:15:00):
I don't think people are, you know, because John Sommerl's
doing it for Tulane. Well, Tulane and Florida live in
different worlds. Oh Miss and Lsu are neighbors.

Speaker 1 (01:15:10):
Like, Hey, I'm gonna go.

Speaker 3 (01:15:12):
I'm gonna go with my neighbor's wife over here, so
good luck, you know, but you know I want to
stick around for New Year's and have fun. No, you
go next door, pal, We'll move forward With Pete Golding.
I thought it was the most asidine thing. Look for
him asking Hey, he can ask.

Speaker 2 (01:15:28):
Yeah, but you can always say no, you can always
say that's what they did. Yeah, it's And the funny
thing is Lane Kiffin became likable again or likable maybe
for the first time as the old Miss coach because
kind of a character and it's interesting and old Miss,
and now everyone hates him again, and here we go.

Speaker 4 (01:15:44):
It goes like, Brian, where did elis you get all
this money where they can buy out Brian Kelly, give
them Lane Kiff and one hundred million. I just read
a year or so ago that you know how badly
that that program was struggling, and it was in it
And all of a sudden they find the money to
get Brian Kelly find the money to pay Lane King

(01:16:04):
And this is crazy, and then they're gonna give him
twenty five million dollars a year to go shopping for
uh for NIL players. I mean that that in and
of itself is is crazy. So I guess they have it.
It was maybe maybe what I was reading was misreported
or whatever, but they they've certainly found guests on the

(01:16:24):
bag in which to pay Kiffin with.

Speaker 2 (01:16:27):
Be careful what you ask for. Go nine and three
next to year Kiffin. See how that feels. Yeah at LSU, yeah,
see at all missed. They would be like, okay, great,
but you know we missed it.

Speaker 3 (01:16:36):
So fans ain't want to go to the Ala mobile.
No fense San Antonio. But you're paying that for Lank Kiven. No,
by the way, they're still paying ed Ors.

Speaker 1 (01:16:44):
You're on two.

Speaker 2 (01:16:44):
Yeah, so here we go, Here we go. This is
gonna be rough, all right, dra Well, thanks so much.
You got Jmu this week right some Belt championship.

Speaker 4 (01:16:54):
Jmu and Troy in the Sunbelt Championship game. There was
an outside chance that Jay and you can maybe skate
into the playoff if some things happened differently the last
two weeks of the season. I don't see a path
for them to get in now so that it'll be
a tough game, but they can still finish with a

(01:17:14):
twelve wins season and get to a higher bowl game
than they they maybe thought they would get to before
the season started.

Speaker 1 (01:17:22):
Very cool the Dukes.

Speaker 2 (01:17:24):
James Madison, all right, Dray, thanks a lot for joining
us as always, Thanks guys. All right, running late, let's
get to the general next here on Texans Monday.

Speaker 1 (01:17:34):
Now back to Texans Monday.

Speaker 2 (01:17:37):
Here we go with the tush push. You at at
Stover ready to take the snap. They push it forward
two men behind Kate Stover. Do they have the seven
yard lode? It looks like he's got it. They get
British Brooks behind Kate Stover to help push, along with
Yakub Johnson, and they get the first down, first to
goal at.

Speaker 1 (01:17:54):
The seventh tush push.

Speaker 2 (01:17:57):
A new rinko for the Houston Texans offen on the
return of CJ. Stroud at Indie Texans winners and they
get it done, scoring twenty points. And they got two
big touchdown drives in this one. I say big because hey,
the Colts, they know how a lockdown on defense against
the run. Texans ram for over one hundred and we're
able to come away with the victory. Number one defense

(01:18:19):
in the league points and yards. Again, the Rams had
the two tenths of a point advantage, but they gave
up thirty one going into the weekend, but they gave
up thirty one at Carolina Texans number one d and
the offense climbing the charts, and the team climbing the
charts with four victories in a row. And we visit
with the Hall of Famer John McClain general, How did
you see it yesterday? Watching the Colts lose to the

(01:18:41):
Texans in Indy?

Speaker 8 (01:18:44):
I thought it concluded a November to remember after that
heartbreaking loss at home to the Broncos in which CJ.
Stroud was knocked out, but then adding four consecutive victories,
You guys know this time up rate the contenders from
the pretenders, and the Texans know they are a legitimate candidate,

(01:19:06):
not just to win a wildcard birth, but to win
a third consecutive division title. What a Game's Sunday Night,
National TV, and they'll know what happened with Jacksonville and Indy.
When the Colts visit the Jaguars, it's a three team races.
It's the hottest race in the NFL, in the AFC

(01:19:28):
South and the defense. Of course, that was ten games
in which the Texans have allowed fewer twenty points or fewer,
and that's the best in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (01:19:40):
And I think you said a general, maybe you didn't
held the Colts on their twenty. It's the first time
they've been held their twenty all year long, and there
are a lot of factors for that. Well, how do
you think they did on Jonathan Taylor? John he went
twenty one for eighty five. He had that one screen
for thirty three, so he ends up with one hundred
and eight teen total yards from scrimmage.

Speaker 1 (01:20:03):
How do you think they did on Jonathan Taylor yesterday?

Speaker 8 (01:20:06):
Oh, he didn't get one hundred yards. That's kind that
says benchmark. And he had his longest run was twelve yards.
Every time he gets the ball and he's not in
a scrum, you worry about him breaking it. And the
Taxans did a good job with tackling and when they
got to him, and that was so important. But anytime

(01:20:27):
you limit them to eighty six yards in three point
seven yards of carry, you got a chance to win.
Because teams that have beaten them Kansas City Pittsburgh. It's
all because they've limited Taylor to fewer than one hundred
yards and made Daniel Jones beat them, and he hasn't
been able to do it. You know, only got one sack,

(01:20:49):
but they got good pressure. He had two touchdown passes.
It was a gallant performance by him. We're playing with
a fractured fibula. But the bottom line is this defense again,
as Mark mentions, number one and fewest points allowed after
barely falling behind the Rams. And I can't wait for

(01:21:10):
that Sunday night game being on the national stage for
the highest rated program of the week every week.

Speaker 2 (01:21:20):
That's right, number one show on television Sunday Night Football
and number one of the radio two. As you'll hear
at Sunday Night Texans at Chiefs General offensively, the evolutions
return of ste c J. Stroud and the offense evolving
with the touch push, with everything else they're doing trying
to be more creative. Nico Collins end around for the touchdown.

(01:21:41):
Your thoughts on their development overall?

Speaker 8 (01:21:45):
Stroud looked like a quarterback at times. He'd missed three games.
He had cobwebs to work off. He missed targets that
ordinarily would have hit. But overall, I thought he had
a terrific game two hundred seventy six yards, He had
interception to set up a touchdown drive, and his rating
was only seventy five point four compared to Daniel Jones

(01:22:07):
one oh one. That they'll take it into victory every week,
and I expect him at Kansas City to be even better,
even more accurate. Hit some of those plays he was
unable to hit. Excuse me, Nick Kayley had that great
call on Nico Collins running for the winning touchdown and

(01:22:29):
the Toush push. I like it when it works. I
don't like it when it doesn't work. And be interesting
to see when Kayley's asked about it this week, having
your two fullbacks behind the quarterback and that in this
case is Stover taking the snap? And why not too big?
Lineman always wanted Trent Brown. Do they list at six

(01:22:52):
eight and three eighty He's been listed at three eighty
for ten years. You know he's over four. If he
was behind doing the pushing, how that crowd that everything
a power might be moved about ten yards? But it
worked twice, didn't work twice, and they escaped with that
victory I just read where the Chiefs might have three

(01:23:13):
backup offensive lineman playing because of injuries, and how scary
that is considering how well the Texans play up front,
and so I wish that Sunday night or tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (01:23:28):
Okay, it's my question of the week. As always, get
your dollar ready.

Speaker 1 (01:23:32):
Okay, got your dollar it.

Speaker 3 (01:23:34):
You can go to your local establishment and go to
lizards with Sean if you want. I'm sure they've got
a sports book there. You got books all over the place.
Here's your dollar, and I'm gonna make this real easy.
You get to go and put that dollar on the
team you believe in the most over the last five
games of the year, either the Indianapolis Colts or the

(01:23:58):
Jacksonville jaguarsen you get to go first. It's the only
two teams you can bet on. Are those two? You're
gonna get a winner one of those two. Which team
do you believe in the most? You've seen twelve games
I think of each?

Speaker 1 (01:24:13):
Is that right? Yeah? Twelve of each, which, by the way,
we're seven and five.

Speaker 3 (01:24:16):
We were seven and five last year too, by the way,
which is kind of crazy to eighty five.

Speaker 1 (01:24:20):
Yeah and eight and five, So hopef we were eight
and five. General the Colts or the Jags, What are
you doing with your dollar?

Speaker 8 (01:24:26):
I'm going with the Jaguars because the Texans have played
them twice. The Texans still have a chance to sweep
the Colts, and with Daniel Jones having that injury, and
with them having so many good receivers and a good
tight end, but they weren't able to utilize them the
way they wanted. But it's hard for me to believe

(01:24:48):
in the Jaguars after seeing the Texans do what they
did to them here in the fourth quarter behind Davis Mills,
and then thinking about that first game, three fourth quarter
touchdowns in a red I mean turnovers in the red
zone out easily the Texans could have won that game.
But I'm still going with Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence is healthy,

(01:25:09):
they got pretty good balance, they got Brian Thomas junior back.
Jakobe Myers has been a terrific addition at the trade deadline,
and so there's a chance the Texans could play either
one of those teams three times. But give me Jacksonville
right now.

Speaker 1 (01:25:28):
Damn you, Gladstone going on, get ja Kobe Myers. Yeah,
that's a help. Let me pick up for them.

Speaker 3 (01:25:34):
If you go with the Jags, you go with Trevor,
you go with Trevor's up, Trevor.

Speaker 2 (01:25:38):
They're finding ways to win. I just look, I picked
the Jaguars over the Colts right now, having seen both recently,
and the Colts with Daniel Jones injury.

Speaker 1 (01:25:46):
If Daniel Jones miraculously.

Speaker 2 (01:25:49):
Heals and can run with the ball a little bit,
get a little more mobile, that would be good for
the Colts. But I don't want to see that. Take
a rest, everybody. Let's take the division. But Johnny, your
usual question, who's the best team in the league. It's
really tough because it do.

Speaker 1 (01:26:03):
You believe in New England? Really?

Speaker 2 (01:26:05):
Denver looks very ten and two, but they're shaky as
all get Barryota gets that ball over, Nick Benito, it's
ballgame command. They win games by the hair of their
chinny chin chin. And you could say, look, the Texans
win close games.

Speaker 1 (01:26:18):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (01:26:19):
I'm not putting the Texans in this conversation yet yet.
But who's the team you believe in the most general?
Because is it the Rams? They turned it over like
it was on fire against Carolina?

Speaker 1 (01:26:29):
The Bears, the Bears, Really you want to. They're only
shaky kind of.

Speaker 2 (01:26:34):
Really successful teams right now. But maybe the Bears aren't
as shaky as we thought. Maybe Ben Johnson is the answer.
The Seahawks. They're nine to three. I don't know that.
NFC west Race, by the way, that is hot. Nine wins,
it's unbelievable. Yeah, and the other two or nine and three?
All right, general, what are your thoughts? Who's the best team?
Who do you believe in the most?

Speaker 1 (01:26:53):
Overall?

Speaker 2 (01:26:53):
Take the Texans out of it.

Speaker 8 (01:26:55):
I'm still taking the Rams. Everybody has a bad game.
They had a bad game. Matthew Stafford had thrown two interceptions.
He threw two against the Panthers and lost to Pumble.
May have gotten it out of the system. They have
good balance, they have good defense, good running games. So
I'm sticking with the Rams. I'd like to take the Seahawksmen.
Nobody can pay attention to that game. Yesterday Minnesota started

(01:27:19):
a quarterback, an undrafted rookie free agent who played, they say,
one of the worst games in the history of Pro football.
And New England and the Bears. You know you're talking
about quarterbacks. If it's New England and Drake May against
the Broncos and their defense. Every week, everybody talks about,

(01:27:40):
oh man, the Broncos are getting lucky. They're doing this
this this kind of like the Chiefs got lucky last
year with all those late victories and one score games.
So I'm going with the Broncos in the AFC. And
I don't care that Mariota didn't get the pass high enough.
It was a great game and all Texans fans should

(01:28:01):
have been praying for the Broncos to win that game.
And that Laramie Tunsel Pigs in a second and fourth
round are higher, and because it's obvious that Texans are
not gonna be I And so I'm going with the Rams.

Speaker 4 (01:28:16):
And the Broncos.

Speaker 1 (01:28:18):
That's right. I forgot about those draft picks, by the way. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:28:21):
Vikings QBR in week twelve with JJ McCarthy thirty four
point two. Vikings QBR in week thirteen was Max Brosmer,
the undrafted free agent that general talked about, thirty two
point eight QBR. If you spiked the ball every play,
thirty nine point sid.

Speaker 1 (01:28:35):
So funny, it's going to hell.

Speaker 2 (01:28:38):
Rusty Smith called and said that was a rough outing
by bros Mur. Yeah, that's a dated reference. But a
good one. Fans, You know that one question of the morning.
Should college coaches be allowed to coach at their team
despite taking another job. Your thoughts on the whole Kiffin
situation and the mess that is college football, these coaching changes,
the portal, all of it.

Speaker 4 (01:29:00):
I blame this all on the NCAA.

Speaker 8 (01:29:02):
The portals should not open and recruiting should not go
on until everybody's through. It is chaos and it's their
own doing. And if it's in the conference like that,
of course, Lane Kiffin shouldn't be able to coach Old
Miss when he's gonna take some guys to LSU, even
though it looks like he had some kind of promise

(01:29:24):
or guarantee that he would not take anybody if they
allowed him to stay and coach. But judging by the
reaction on the defensive coordinator who was elevated, the players
are buying in Joe Judge is still is going to
be calling the plays overt Kiff, And so I think
in other situations where you have the other coaches are

(01:29:45):
going to bigger schools, like goal is going to Auburn
and from South Florida. South Florida, we're in the playoffs.
I think it would not be direct competition, they'd be
more in line to do it. That's what's going on
over there. Morris at North Texas, if they get into
the college football playoffs, he's coaching them as long as

(01:30:06):
they're surviving, and they have no problem with it. Giffing,
Would anybody trust Lane Kiffin on anything he says about anything?

Speaker 2 (01:30:16):
No, no, no way, no way. I mean I might
trust him that he's gonna.

Speaker 1 (01:30:20):
Pay dog Juice Kiffin. I might trust the dog, but.

Speaker 2 (01:30:23):
No, I mean I might trust him paint his yoga bill.
All right, General, thanks so much for the time. We'll
catch up soon.

Speaker 1 (01:30:30):
Sounds good, guys, Thank you very much.

Speaker 2 (01:30:32):
John McLean joining us on Texans Monday, coming up smoking
hot players of the game and also a peak ahead
at the Chiefs once again thirty one degree high Sunday
at Arrowhead. It is on Let's Go Texans Radio, Now
more Texans Monday.

Speaker 1 (01:30:49):
Stroud takes the snap. Stroud takes the gift. Stroud fires
downfield to his right.

Speaker 2 (01:30:54):
Nico Collins at the fifty breaks of tackle forty five
and he's out of the forty one yard line, buying them.

Speaker 1 (01:30:59):
With their shoes.

Speaker 2 (01:30:59):
Straight tackle, big play to Nico Collins. He spins the
ball in celebration, almost a hundi for Nico, who's climbing
the charts in the NFL in receiving yardage man after
a sluggish start to the season. And it's always weird
with receivers, you know, people ask me like, why isn't
so and so getty more receptions or whatever? Like this
is a team effort here to get an individual the

(01:31:23):
ball right at that position where you need the blocking
and the throwing and the play design and the catch
all of it.

Speaker 4 (01:31:30):
Right.

Speaker 2 (01:31:30):
If somebody's getting a ton of drops, well that's on them.
But you know Nico's got to get the ball. And
Nico's getting the ball now, which is very cool to see.
He's still the second leading receiver on this team behind
Schultz who's got a ton of receptions, and Schultz is
a great weapon for this squad. It's not a contest.
I just want to see number twelve get the ball
an awful lot.

Speaker 3 (01:31:47):
Can I read you Daniel Jeremia's post, Ye please slash Twitter,
do it? Nico Collins slash Jaden Higgins equals twin towers
two dot h and then he's got a gift of
a kim Elijah Wan schooling David Robinson in the ninety
five playoffs. It's like, man that hits it to Houston
cores right there, Like.

Speaker 2 (01:32:08):
Yeah, when he went to Ladies, should have gone nineteen
eighty five Western Conference Finals against the Lakers' right, So
he's just hitting the big shot.

Speaker 3 (01:32:16):
Yeah, he just showed. He just showed Elijah Wan. Uh,
but I love it. I mean west stead of Draft Draft,
the second night Draft Knight, because the first night Leary
and Stafford is really mad about Matthew Golden and I
was like, oh, calm down, because we'll be fine and
we get jayde Higgins. I think we're very happy with
Jane Higgins on this lush So I was like, and
Nico was my comp for jayde Higgins. Now that I've

(01:32:36):
seen them up close, I wouldn't have like this way.
I don't know that I would have said it, but Nico,
and this is where I hope Jayden goes. Nico is
tremendous after the catch, Like when he catches it, there's
no telling whether he's gonna break away from a safety
and take it to the house.

Speaker 1 (01:32:55):
Dresh guys four or five more are.

Speaker 3 (01:32:57):
Exactly and that that part of his game. I was
at I think I was in Buffalo, and they're like,
what makes Nico Collins so good? And I said that
he can. He can become a running back really fast
and coming off the field. I wanted to do but
I said running back Nico Collins and he just smiled.

Speaker 1 (01:33:12):
He was so happy to get that running touchdown. Was great.

Speaker 3 (01:33:15):
But now you had Higgins in there with the catch
radius that he has and the way that he's learning
how to body control feet on the sidelines, you know
where you can when a guy six' four as a.
Quarterback If i'm c jam, LIKE i love this BECAUSE
i could throw this ball way away from the defense
and he still can catch.

Speaker 1 (01:33:34):
It it's Like hop throwing The Hop bull those.

Speaker 3 (01:33:35):
Years throw the ball three yards out of, Bounds hop's
gonna catch it and to.

Speaker 1 (01:33:39):
Tap you got two six to four studs like. THIS
i JUST i saw this. POST i was, Like, okay
we're In. HOUSTON i gotta say, this is.

Speaker 3 (01:33:45):
Fantastic twin towers two out zero And Daniel jeremiah will
see those twin towers in about four weeks when.

Speaker 1 (01:33:51):
We play The, chargers, right because he's gonna do that
game FOR Nfl. Network, Yep. Saturday, no he calls against
for The.

Speaker 2 (01:33:56):
Chargers oh that's, right he's, yeah but HE i thought
he did one of The. Eurogames Maybe i'm, Wrong, okay
but that game should be It's, saturday but IT'S.

Speaker 1 (01:34:05):
Tvd, yeah that was all over the. Place we don't.

Speaker 2 (01:34:07):
Know it's still gonna be The, saturday, right we'll, See,
okay we'll see how that. Goes, anyway we know The
texans are playing The Chiefs sunday night and it's gonna be.
Awesome Kansas city six and Six texans go into the
game with a better record than The chiefs this late
in the. Season, now you want to come out with
a better, Record, okay not an even, record a better
record against The Kansas City chiefs On sunday night and

(01:34:30):
keep this baby.

Speaker 1 (01:34:31):
Going all.

Speaker 2 (01:34:31):
Right we want to thank everyone who worked on the, Program,
ben thank you for. Producing in The loop is coming
up next and we'll be back with The Demico Ryans
show at.

Speaker 1 (01:34:40):
Five Go. Texans