Best Of Query & Company - Tuesday 7/29/25 - Query & Company

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Oh god, Oh, that's how.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
It sounded on WGN Radio Harry Kerry, of course, on
the call Ryan Samberg not one but two home runs
and the epic what is known as the Ryan Samberg
Game June twenty third of nineteen eighty four, as the Cubs,
both of them off of Hall of Famer Bruce Suiter
overcame deficits not once but twice to then win in

(01:01):
extra innings in a magical season for the Cubs where
they would win their division and go on to the
NLCS to lose to the San Diego Padres. Ryan Samberg
yesterday passing away that announcement from the Chicago Cubs at
the age of sixty five, I realized much has been
said about Samberg since then. Many of you have shared

(01:23):
sentiments as well, and I certainly understand that people would
tune into a radio show in Indianapolis, Indiana in July
during Colts camp, on a day when one Colts presumed
starter or at least one battling for position, left the
field with injury, on a day when another superstar got

(01:45):
into a bit of a scuffle with another superstar on
the field, and on a day when one of their
players just got a new one hundred million dollar deal.
It would certainly be a fair question to ask why
a talking head doing sports talk RACEDO in Indianapolis. We'll
be talking about Ryan Samberg on a day when all
of those things happen. Also on a day when the

(02:06):
head coach of of the Indiana Fever, Stephanie White, is
going to join us, and the question about Caitlin Clark's
availability fair to ask those questions. I'll begin with this
Colt's camp wrapping up just about thirty minutes ago. Jonathan
Taylor is set to join us. I think he's going
to call in just about twelve minutes from now. He

(02:26):
is scheduled to call in. Kylon Tally is filling in
today for Eddie Garrison. Who is Eddie Garrison is off
to see the Cincinnati Reds taking on the Dodger. So
Kylin filling in capably today. Kylon, you said about twelve
fifteen or so, it is when we anticipate Jonathan Taylor.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Correct, Yep, that's correct.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
He's sshing up and got to join us.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
All right, So here's the thing that happened today. Let
me read to you what was just posted on the
expost Twitter from James Boyd, who you hear on this
program each and every morning, including this morning when he
was in with jeff Rickard and Kevin Bowen. Jeff Ricker,
back from his vacation, was in with them this morning.
Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart just throw running back Jonathan

(03:09):
Taylor to the ground after Taylor made a short catch. Obviously,
j Tek took exception and shoved Grove in the chest.
Then left guard Quentin Nelson came over and had some
words for Grover. Two second day of Pad's has been physical.
That from James Boyd and Jonathan Taylor will get his
thoughts and reaction on that kind of gauge his mood

(03:30):
in just a couple of minutes. Jalen Jones, who we
had on the program yesterday left the field today with
what appeared to be perhaps a hamstring injury. He is
involved in that position battle along with Justin Whaley, who
we've talked a lot about. Obviously Juju Brents as well
in that position. So it is an area where the
Colts have some depth, and it didn't look like this

(03:52):
is the kind of injury that could bleed into even
the regular season, but you always keep an eye on that.
And for a guy in Jalen Jones, who I know
was very optimistic about trying to contend for a starting
position or be solidly within the rotation of lou Anorumo's defense,
we will see his availability for the remainder of camp today.
And then Bernard Ryman, who owes me seven percent. Bernard Ryman,

(04:17):
as you know, came on this program and when I
asked him about the status of entering in with the
potential free agency year in front of him, and Bernard
Ryman said, we are not on the same page and
we have yet to see if the Colts value the
position that I play. I'm paraphrasing, but nonetheless, Bernard Ryman

(04:38):
now with a four year, one hundred million dollar deal
at left tackle, that is I believe sixty two million
dollars guaranteed. And for an area where I have been critical,
there are a lot of areas where I've been critical
of Chris Ballard, but one area where I will give
Chris Ballard his flowers here and I will give him credit.

(05:01):
I think at the specialty positions there have been areas
where Chris Ballard has aired, but in the trenches he
has done well because Bordelini at the center position, Bernard Ryman,
who had short arms when he came out of the draft. Somehow,
I guess they got long enough to play in the NFL,
but that didn't seem to be an issue for Chris Ballard,

(05:21):
and Bernard Ryman was thrown into the fire at left
tackle and given the time to grow, and he has
and he looks like he's going to be a pillar piece.
So we'll talk more about that over the course of
the show. But that is an area where you got
to give the Colts credit. It looks like they have
found some players here to give them some stability long
term at the offensive line and to shore up that

(05:41):
offensive line. But back to Ryan Sandberg, you know, in
this market, it is obviously not typical that we would
lead with or talk about Major League Baseball. And I
know that baseball, you know, America's pastime, and baseball is
a sport certainly from a participation standpoint that is massive.

(06:01):
You know, the there is no denying the popularity, the
frequency of travel baseball, youth baseball, and that has probably
taken over from Little league baseball. And the one thing
about little league baseball and I know that this is
me overthinking it, perhaps, but I think now, you know,

(06:23):
baseball is still the American pastime, but it's almost more
so the American pastime from a participation standpoint as opposed
to a spectating standpoint, because young kids now play travel
ball and you know, through the course of the summer
really year round, and because they are spending so much
time on the diamond, they not only are playing more

(06:46):
and working on their game more and going to batting
cages and et cetera more, but they are focused on
their game and focused less on watching the major league game.
And in addition to that, the other thing that and
I think that we're starting to see this with the
passing of Dave Parker, with the passing of Ryan Samberg,

(07:08):
with the induction into the Hall of Fame of Ichi Row.
And you are seeing players now twenty five years from now,
when Mike Trout or Shoe Otani are going into the
Hall of Fame, I don't know that you will have
as many people that are of the slightly younger age

(07:32):
range that are talking about the childhood memories of seeing
those players play. And I think there are two things
that factor into that. Number one is what I just
mentioned the watching of baseball on Saturday as opposed to
the participation, and then the other one being baseball cards.
Because if you played little league baseball in the seventies,

(07:54):
eighties into the early nineties in this country, your concession
stand sold Big League two snow cones, astropops and a
packet of tops cards. And you got those cards and
you opened them and you looked for the All Star card,
and you put them in sleeves, and that's how you
kind of got to know your favorite players. And Ryan

(08:14):
Samberg was one of America's favorite players. And the thing
about him to me that was so fascinating. This is
a guy that never played in a World Series. This
is a guy that played on a franchise that, at
the time that he was playing there was still known
for being the lovable losers, and he helped them break

(08:36):
through that stereotype and that label because of that eighty
four season that was magical. It was so magical that
I can still tell you. I could probably tell you
the batting lineup Bobby Denier first, Ryan Samberg, second, Keith More,
Leon Durham fourth, fifth, I think was Gary Matthews, sixth,

(08:59):
Jody Davis seventh. Well, Ron Say would have been in there,
so say it would have been fifth. So everybody slide
everybody down. Jody Davis actually I think batted either seventh
or eighth, Larry Boa seventh or eighth, and then Rick
Zucklipper whoever was pitching ninth that team. It was a
different era because WGN and WTBS or TBS superstation made

(09:26):
the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves America's teams because
of the fact that you didn't have the regional networks.
I mean, if you lived in Indianapolis, you got Reds
games on probably Channel four or one of the different
channels here, but you didn't have the specified specialty networks
for every single team and every single market, which also,

(09:47):
to an extent, increased the nature of the giant of
the baseball star because Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays and
before them, you know, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth, they
were icons because people listened to them on the radio

(10:09):
and had to picture in their mind what they were,
and then it was so special to finally see them.
You know, I was in Liverpool, England, just over a
week ago, and I went to and I saw Strawberry
Fields where John Lennon it's just a park, just a
park in Liverpool where John Lennon played as a kid.
And I saw Penny Lane, which is just a street.

(10:32):
It's got a barber shop and a nurse's station and
a firehouse. It's like Broaderpool Avenue, but it's where John
Lennon and Paul McCartney both went up and down as kids,
and then they wrote songs about it. And when you
heard those songs forever, it created this imagery in your mind,
and then to actually see it in person was like wow.
It Penny Lane is just a street, but it's a

(10:55):
street that was to me magnified by the vision and
the imagery and the dream of what I had always
thought of it to be because I had heard about
it so much on radio and baseball was a great
extent that and Ryan Samberg was part of that Cubs
team that was part of and yes we're talking two

(11:15):
or three decades since it was a strictly radio sport,
but that game that Ryan Samberg had on June twenty
third of nineteen eighty four, the Cubs who had been
a doormat forever, who were fifteen years removed from their
collapse in sixty nine when the Mazon Mets took over
the division. And here the Cubs surging, and are they

(11:35):
a pretender or a contender? And they're going up against
the Cardinals, their arch rival within the division, and they're
doing it on the NBC Game of the Week, which
is why Harry Carey was doing it on radio, because
wg and television was not covering it because it was
the NBC Game of the Week. Because back then, you
got a game each week, and you watched that game,

(11:56):
and it created heroes, and it created larger than life
figures because you only saw them once, but you'd heard
about him and you'd seen them on your baseball cards.
And Ryan Sambrigg was a young player. He was at
that time either twenty four or twenty five years old,
and in his career he hit two hundred and eighty
two home runs. In his career, two hundred and eighty

(12:20):
two home runs. But he was a classic baseball player.
His batting stance looked almost identical to the generic batting
stance on top of the participation trophy you got for
Little league when you were in first grade. His fielding
stance was not one of diving after loose balls like
an Assie Smith or falling backwards over fly balls like

(12:43):
a Willie Mays, but steady and stable, and he was
a good looking guy and an American looking guy. But
the thing about Ryan Sambrig and that game that is
notable to me is this, and that is the fact
that he hit two hundred and eighty two home runs
in his career. But in that game, in the first

(13:06):
time that he was on really the national stage with
America peering in to see this team that they'd heard
about going up against the Cardinals and finding out if
they were pretenders or contenders, he hit not one, but
two home runs. And there are very few players in
baseball history, and very few moments in baseball history that

(13:27):
you think about when you think about Dave Parker's cannon
throw from right field, when you think about Willie May's
basket catch, when you think about Don Larson's perfect game,
when you think about Joe Carter's walk off home run,
when you think about Kirk Gibson's home run, when you
think about all of those moments, all of them were
in the postseason. There are very few players in baseball

(13:50):
history that had signature moments and regular season games named
after them. But you talk to anybody that was around
in June of nineteen eighty four and cognitively watching baseball
at that time, they remember the Ryan Samberg game. And
yet he did that game, and he made that game
named after him because he did something that was an
anomaly for him. He was not a power hitter, but

(14:12):
when his team needed it, he hit for power not once,
but twice with America watching. And there's just something about
great players were Oftentimes in the most tense moments, players
shy away from that spotlight. But then there are spotlight
moments where the spotlight itself runs towards certain players, and

(14:38):
it's no coincidence that those players find themselves in that
moment and then become that moment. And Ryan Samberg, for
so many people was the personif the personification of class,
of dignity, of the love of baseball, and just of
the all American guy that kind of represented all of

(14:58):
us in pursuing a from Spokane, Washington, North Central High
School of Spokane, by the way, and then did it
in a classic ballpark for a classic team, and did
so with class through and through. And I know he
is mourned by Cubs fans in Central Indiana, but baseball
fans in general. And it is not often that baseball

(15:19):
fans or baseball players, I should say, and get eulogized
by fans in a non baseball city on a show
where there was a skirmish at that team's NFL camp.
But that's what Ryan Sandberg was. Now, as for Colts
camp itself, Kylon, lets me know that Jonathan Taylor is
calling in now, so let's get right to it. He

(15:40):
is in his sixth year as the running back of
the Indianapolis Colts. It is an interesting year because it
is one that we have not talked a lot about
Jonathan Taylor.

Speaker 5 (15:48):
That's good.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
He is coming off his second Pro Bowl appearance. And
I guess we'll get to the little skirmish here in
just a little bit. But let's welcome ame in Jonathan
Taylor to the program here on Querying Company.

Speaker 5 (15:58):
Jonathan is a pleasure.

Speaker 3 (15:59):
How I'm doing well today? How about to sell you
know what?

Speaker 2 (16:02):
I can't complain, But I'm not the one that's out
there having a run around in ridiculous heat, right, I mean,
like this is this is no joke, This is not Wisconsin.
I'm sure you're aware of that, but let's get right
to this. For you personally, camp has always been kind
of an interesting ride because there have been years where
you know, we didn't know if Jonathan Taylor is going
to be on the field, and then there have been
years and I understand it. I mean, you know, contractual things, injuries,

(16:25):
et cetera.

Speaker 5 (16:27):
What is it? You know, what is the mindset for you?

Speaker 6 (16:29):
Now?

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Being able to just clean slate, let's go, good to go,
and just how you feel, both physically and mentally.

Speaker 3 (16:35):
It's great to actually be able to come out here
and get better, especially with athletes for so schedule and
so regimented and our and our scheduled that when you
have a timeline and let's say you had somebody to
take care of in the off season to get healthy,
and then at that point in time, you're not ready
because we know the body is weird and an act different.
So you get a little frustrated because you know you

(16:56):
put so much work in and yet still you weren't
able to be healthy to be on the field. So
finally being able to have another camp where you can
just come out focus on your craft, I think it's
just that much better in order to build that chemistry
with the guys up front, but then also just preparing
for the season, to have everything in the playbook under
your belt and all the little nuances that we might
have picked up throughout the off season, having that lockdown

(17:18):
heading into the season.

Speaker 2 (17:19):
Over the course of your career, you have obviously taken
handoffs from myriad of quarterbacks as a running back. How
important is it to have stability at the quarterback position
in terms of just the overall I guess chemistry, timing all.

Speaker 3 (17:36):
Of it well, Number one, especially with ball handling. You
know when you just continuously are getting in handoffs in
the same quarterback, you kind of know their steps. You
know on outside zone, are they you know, a longer
step guy or they a shorter step guy. You kind
of know whenever verse and now you know how tight
they're going to be, because you know, everybody's different, especially
when you have quarterbacks who are taller and you know,

(17:57):
have longer legs than others. So you know, when you
to get those repetitive reps from this one quarterback, it's
much easier and you get much more comfortable knowing, like, hey,
when they call the scheme, you know, Okay, hey, I
have to really get to my spot because I know
the quarterbacks are going to be there fast, or hey,
I got a little bit of time. Quarterback may have
a little bit shorter leg, so I got a little
bit of time to get there.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
Our Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson in terms of style
or in terms of just overall nuances within them, is
this the closest you've seen quarterback one to two in
terms of the starter or backup that you have had
in your offense since you've been here.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
They are very similar, and I don't think people realize,
like Daniel was actually really athletic. I don't know if
they realized, like you ran like twenty one almost twenty
two miles an hour before, so really being able to
have those similar schemes because I know in the past
we've kind of had two distinct different quarterbacks with different styles.
So if you know, one was up one week kind
of played what would be different than the other. But

(18:55):
they're actually very similar, So I think that actually gives
us an edge, especially you know we have, you know,
have to rely on both of those guys. It doesn't
shift if they came plan much either just like in
the past, Like I said, you know, two distinct style quarterbacks,
they kind of have to switch up kind of what
you guys are gonna run.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
You know, it is true now you mentioned Daniel Jones,
like twenty two miles an hour. That's your speed, right,
I mean, do you guys are you competitive about this?
Because that's that's Jonathan Taylor speed, is it not?

Speaker 3 (19:22):
That is That's why I'm I'm like, I don't think
people realize how I've leg he actually is. I know
people probably think he's athletic, but I want them to realize, like, no, actually,
this dude's like pretty fishing athletic, like he can roll.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
How much of you gotten a chance to you know,
I know you obviously know Anthony Richards and Jonathan Taylor
our guest. How much you have you gotten a chance
to work with and know away from field, Daniel Jones.

Speaker 3 (19:46):
I've been able to do a lot, and I just
think that it's gonna take some time though, to continue
to build. Like you mentioned, each year, it seemed like,
you know, it's been you know, a different guy back there.
So he's another face that I have to not even
figure out, just get reps to learn because every guy
has their own talent and every guy is different. So
it's just going to continue. We're only in the second
week of camp, so we're going to continue to build

(20:08):
that relationship and continue to build those reps together so
that when Sunday comes around, whoever's back there, that we're
able to heal all cylinders.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
This is the most and Jonathan Taylor, you know I've
had you on the show before. This to me feels
like the most energetic and optimistic Jonathan Taylor I've heard
in a while. Am I reading too much into that?

Speaker 3 (20:28):
I'd like to think that I'm always like this, But
I'm glad that you feel as does and I'm bringing
all energy to the show, which is amazing. Hopefully the
ratings are big time.

Speaker 6 (20:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
We need we need all the help we can get
in that regard, Jonathan, So thank you. Do you want
to stick around till three? We can use you till three?
Do you want to stick around.

Speaker 3 (20:43):
So you might have to talk to coach psych and
we got meetings.

Speaker 6 (20:46):
We got meetings now.

Speaker 5 (20:47):
I want to know this.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
I want to know if in one of those meetings
you've got to play kumbaya, because let me read you
what James Boyd, who does our morning show, had posted
on the expost Twitter earlier. Just a little bit ago,
Colt's defensive tackle, Grover Stewart just through Johnathan Taylor to
the ground. After Taylor made a short catch, Jt took
exception and shoved Grove in the chest. Lying left guard
Quentin Nelson came over and had some words for Grover

(21:10):
Stewart as well, and he says, second day of PADS
has been physical, all right, your recollection of it.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Definitely Grove got into the moment game time. He's flying around.
He'd let me know, he said, listen, man, I thought
it was game time, rightfully. So that's the type of
edge that we need on the field. I'm sure you
guys have seen the film of Grover's bullying guys on
the offensive line, so seg like you mentioned second day
of PAD, he probably got into god to that mode
a little bit too much. But that's what we need.

(21:38):
That's the type of edge that we need in order
to go where we want to.

Speaker 6 (21:41):
Go this year.

Speaker 2 (21:41):
Somebody asked me this question, Jonathan Taylor, so I'll ask
it to you. I think it's a good one, and
that is, if there are moments where someone is lagging,
where somebody is just going through the motions as opposed
to the intensity that is necessary.

Speaker 5 (21:55):
Who is the.

Speaker 2 (21:56):
Player in your locker room, on your roster that is
the one that just automatically is the leader that will
not be afraid to get in a guy's grill and
say you got to be a professional here, let's pick
it up. That guy for this roster is.

Speaker 3 (22:08):
Who, oh, definitely, definitely Quintin Nelson is always especially with
the guys off the line. You guys know the trajectory
that Quinton Nelson is on, not only on the field,
but off of the field as well. And he's a
guy who does everything the right way. He's he's a
true pros pro. And if guys seem to be not
holding up to the standard here in the building, he's

(22:29):
definitely wanted to say, listen, that's not the standard and
we're always fully behind you. Because at the end of
the day, you want someone who you know, day in
and day out is given everything he has to this organization,
and that's someone you want to be like. Ever you
want to be like Quentin Nelson. You want to be
like the Visus side. You want to be like a
the Ford Buckner. So that's definitely having those two guys
as model professionals. That's what a lot of guys are

(22:52):
striving to be.

Speaker 2 (22:53):
He strikes me Quentin Nelson is a guy that doesn't
speak a lot. So is he one of those that
when he does, you know what it means business or
are we just kind of hidden from the real gregarious
nature of Quentin Nelson.

Speaker 3 (23:04):
Noon definitely, definitely won't say a whole lot, but like
you mentioned, when he's powerful.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
Jonathan Taylor, our guest, All right, let's get to this
before we let you get back into meetings, Jonathan, in
terms of you personally, where you are right now in
terms of just kind of getting the feel again for
the speed of the season, and I guess if you will,
what things do you still feel like you need to
work on or you need to perfect before we get

(23:32):
into week one?

Speaker 3 (23:34):
Definitely being efficient. There's never a time where even if
things break down with the blocking scheme up front, can
you get back to the line of scrimmage. Can you
turn a no gain or a negative gain into a
one to two yard game? Is at the end of
the day, continuant to move the sticks forward, continuing to
be able to move the change is something that a
great running back is able to do with that helps

(23:55):
the offense. That helps the offense, especially when you get
towards third down. So it's not third and eleven, third
and ten. Now at the worst you may be working
with third and seven or third and six. So I
will say being able to work on that is definitely
something that I still want to make sure that I'm
pushing forward to start of the season.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
By the way, November fifteenth, Wisconsin at Indiana, Kurtz Signetti,
they're gonna do it again? Is Indiana gonna stun Wisconsin here?

Speaker 3 (24:18):
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, not at all,
not at all. Listen, Wisconsin, although we had to kind
of get our feet underneath us, that's all. That's nice
and cool. But now it's time for Wisconsin. They get
back to Wisconsin football, and I'm really looking forward to
those guys taking that next step forward this year.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
Jonathan. It is always a pleasure, man. I appreciate the optimism,
the energy, the good vibes, the sunshine, all of it.
And obviously we don't need any more heat out at
Colts Camp. But mind your p's and q's with those
guys that are flying around making plays. But certainly look
forward to having you back on the program. And I
appreciate the time today well to let you get back
into your your position meetings here.

Speaker 3 (24:55):
Thank you very much, man, I appreciate you.

Speaker 4 (24:57):
Right.

Speaker 2 (24:57):
Jonathan Taylor joining us on the program again. Big show
lined up for you today. Stephanie White going to join
a Stephen Holder as well as we roll along here
on a Tuesday querying company on the fans. She joins
us now on the guest line, the head coach of
the Indiana Fever Coach.

Speaker 6 (25:11):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (25:13):
I'm good?

Speaker 1 (25:13):
How are you good?

Speaker 5 (25:14):
Except for I feel like I'm in the dentists office
with that song.

Speaker 7 (25:17):
Yeah, that probably wasn't the best. You know, we couldn't
do Cheezburger in Paradise. We couldn't do Margaritaville.

Speaker 5 (25:26):
Fenn's is good.

Speaker 7 (25:27):
The first thing that came to my mind. I don't
know why.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
That's all right, I mean, it is Tuesday instead of Monday,
but that's okay, that's right, Okay, So let's get to this,
and I promise I'm going to wait for the second
question before I ask for a health update. So I
want to get to simply this and that is just
the way that you guys are playing. I mean, obviously
you've got a little bit time here before you go
to Phoenix or you know, hosting Phoenix that's tomorrow night
by the way, Fever and Phoenix tomorrow night. But you've

(25:52):
won obviously too straight here and Chicago in Vegas. What
have you seen without Caitlyn on the floor that so
far that you do like that you think maybe things
arounding into form with obviously a major piece for you.

Speaker 7 (26:08):
I like how we're sharing the ball, you know, I
think we're we're averaging like a like a seventy to
seventy five percent assist rate, which is I think what
we have to do to be successful. So we're sharing
the ball. We're getting lots of different players involved, so
production from a lot of different areas, which is important
for us having that balance. And what we're doing defensively,

(26:28):
you know, we we've get different looks without Caitlin on
the floor on the defensive end in terms of what
our coverages look like. We miss heared length certainly and
our ability to do some of our switches, but we've
got some speed and quickness when when Arion and Kelsey
are out there together, you know, and more than anything,
it's just it's continuing to continuing to be consistent on

(26:52):
on that end of the floor. And I think we've
we've we've grown into that now that we've we've got
bodies and we've been able to have some some continuity
and in terms of who is on the floor when you.

Speaker 2 (27:01):
Think back to you know, the WNBA, obviously we see
now and I mean, gosh, I'm watching last night, you know,
I'm watching I think it was New York and Dallas's
on and I'm watching it and Page Becker is such
a good player and New York. It's that to a
big lead, and you know, the league itself continues to grow. Coach,
And I'm curious, as a result of that, do you
have to plan against a more diverse style of plays?

(27:26):
In other words, do you see teams playing at different
styles that you have to prepare for more so than say,
even when you were a player.

Speaker 7 (27:36):
Definitely more than when I was a player, and even
more so than when I was a coach in this
league the first time around. And you know, it used
to be you could you could say, hey, what are
their top three to four plays? Really hone in on that,
and that would be your scout. You know, heavy usage
plays three to four and that'd be it. Now, teams
are running so many different actions. Obviously the players are

(27:58):
better than they've ever been. There is little as they've
ever been. And so you know, now it's you're not
just talking about pick and roll defense. You're talking about
inverted pick and rolls. You're talking about dribblendfs, talking about rescreens,
step up screen, angled screens, like all the different things.
And that's just on ball screening defense and the different
ways that they play in the different reads that they have.
It's much more free flowing, much more difficult to scout,

(28:19):
much more nuance to what what teams are running, and
so it is much more challenging. And then certain certain
teams have have different ways that that they look. You know,
Dallas certainly looks a lot different than than Atlanta. You know,
Vegas certainly looks a lot different than the New York
and Phoenix looks a lot different. Last two teams that
we played in Vegas and Chicago.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
What about Phoenix jumps out at you now as you
get set for this game tomorrow night, Obviously you're going
to see a familiar face into want to Bonner.

Speaker 5 (28:47):
I guess is that awkward?

Speaker 7 (28:49):
By the way, No, it's not awkward. I mean, look,
as professional sports, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You know,
I have a personal relationship with dB, So for me, uh,
I fine that she happy that that she's found a place.
You know, we've I think we've both kind of you know,
in terms of the situation we've we've been able to
move on in a positive way. She's been able to
move on in a positive way. So I'm happy for

(29:10):
her certainly seeing At. You know, At is what makes
any team that she's on a challenge, just the way
that she plays the game, her i Q, her ability
to play the point forward, get other players involved, you know,
her her defensive tenacity. But but you've got that coupled
with Sasu Saboli who is you know that Satu and
At two are the best four players you know in

(29:32):
the game. They make it a challenge called Leahkopper and
I think she's working back from injury, but I mean
she is as dangerous as ever. Trying to keep her
in front, you know, with certainly Olympians, they've got Multiplympians
on that team, so they create a challenge. Their size
will create some just for us as well.

Speaker 2 (29:50):
When you look at Alyssa Thomas and trying to neutralize that,
Stephanie White, our guest, the head coach of the Fever,
do you find in a situation like that that it's
better to defend her neutralize a player by fronting them
and simply trying to deny them the ball, or by
then getting help side and you know, being on the
backside of it to limit once they do get the
ball where they can then operate.

Speaker 7 (30:12):
Well, ah, he's going to have the ball in her
hands on the perimeter. And so for us, it's about
keeping her in front, not overhelping, so that she can
do what she does best. In terms of facilitating. You know,
we've got to be really, really disciplined how we play her.
We got a forcer to we got a force her
to hit tough shots. We got to make sure that
that we say really disapin make sure so so dynamic

(30:34):
is not just your scoring ability, which she's scoring it
at all time high, but it's for facilitating and she
is truly a point guard in a forward body.

Speaker 2 (30:42):
Yeah, I mean, I guess you're right, you know, that's
the thing. And that's another thing, coach. I think that
you know, when you look at a player that is
you know, and you're talking almost a double double WHENU
factor in the assists, right.

Speaker 5 (30:51):
So, but the size itself, I.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
Don't know that we would have seen a player at
that size running that style twenty years ago. To me,
it just speaks to the evolution of the game. Am
I way romanticizing that?

Speaker 7 (31:05):
No, not at all. I mean, you're absolutely right.

Speaker 6 (31:07):
It's one of those.

Speaker 7 (31:08):
Things that the game's changed. You know, it's players have changed.
You know, she's she's used in a unique way. We
use there like that in Connecticut as well because that's
her skill set, it's what she does. And so yeah,
it makes it, it makes it challenging, but it does
show the growth of the game and the growth of players.

Speaker 2 (31:28):
If you look at your schedule, Stephanie White, our guest,
you have, I believe you have a game every two
or three days until the seventeenth of August. So we're
looking at, you know, a little under three weeks from now,
you get a reprieve of nearly an entire at least
work week off. Is there any thought to just letting

(31:48):
Caitlin Clark use that time to then kind of the
slow acclamation back in for her, as opposed to just
throwing her into the mix once she is healthy again.

Speaker 7 (31:59):
Yeah, I mean, certainly we'll have to have Caitlin go
through practices before we throw her out there into a
game again, you know, making sure that we're really taking
this slow. Oh. You know, last time she felt good,
so she got medical practice if any, and then thrown
out there into the game. You know, this time, we're
going to make sure that we get multiple practices. You know,

(32:20):
she gets through some for lack of a better term,
kind of benchmarks that we don't see any regression and
so so yeah, I mean it makes it tough because
we are playing every other day. We're playing every other day,
and then you know, we're traveling out west, and so
every time you travel there's inflammation that happens on airplanes,
rest recovery, time zone changes, all of those things that

(32:41):
affect your body as well as your mind.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
What's the latest you can tell us with any sort
of definitive nature on her status or where things stand
or what the timeline would be.

Speaker 7 (32:52):
Yeah, there's not really a lot that's definitive. You know.
I think the biggest thing is is we got to
make sure number one, from a rehab standpoint, that that
she's strong, that that she's comfortable, and then she's got
to start a conditioning regimen that that will allow her
to build endurance to make sure we don't have any
any setbacks there. And then we'll start movement patterns. You know,

(33:14):
all the lateral movement, all the movement was forced, you know,
all the contact that she takes. And then and then
after we get through those with no setbacks, we'll get
to practice and how it looks like to start to
get rhythm, timing, speed, balance all of that back and
make sure that she feels as close to one hundred
percent with that as possible before we throw back into games.

Speaker 2 (33:34):
We were talking about Ryan Samberg. You were a Cardinals
fan growing up?

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Is that right?

Speaker 7 (33:38):
I was? Yes? I was now big Cardinals fan, big
Gouds and Smith's fan.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
Okay, I want to know how I guess I mean
where you grew up. And for those that don't know
you grew up obviously, you know Secre, Indiana, Right, That's
what's that like?

Speaker 5 (33:52):
Just west of Lafayette? Is that right?

Speaker 7 (33:55):
It's southwest it's north of Tara Ho. It's halfway between
the University Illinois and for New University in the state
of Indiana. So I'm like one mile on the state line.

Speaker 6 (34:05):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (34:06):
So for that reason, I guess I'm gonna guess it's
because of like just the radio signal of the Cardinals
back in the day, and maybe like a family relative
or something was a Cardinals fan.

Speaker 5 (34:18):
But I want to know how it became a Cardinal fan.

Speaker 7 (34:19):
You said, radio said, how old do you think I am?

Speaker 5 (34:22):
No?

Speaker 2 (34:22):
No, no, I said, radio signal of an older relative.
So in other words, like your grandfather became a Cardinal
fan by listening to km OX and then carried that on.

Speaker 1 (34:31):
Okay, well, you know, listen, I'm old.

Speaker 6 (34:33):
You're not.

Speaker 5 (34:34):
I mean, I'm old, you're not. I know that.

Speaker 7 (34:36):
Really, where I grew up, we were it was kind
of split down the middle. It's like you were either
a Cardinals fan or you were a Cubs fan, and
that's that's kind of how it works. It was like
you're either a purdu fan or you were an Illinois fan.
So you're either a Bears fan or a Colts fan.
So it's kind of one of those things that that
at Chapol's Pacers that you kind of When I grew up,
it was like that, but I did. I used to

(34:58):
go to Cardinal games every summer when I as a kid.
My grandfather was a huge Cardinals fan. My grandfather was
a baseball guy. In fact, he played minor league baseball
in the Reds organization, but he was a Cardinal fan
growing up, and an in turn, we became Cardinal fans.
My whole family really is is extended family is are
Cardinal fans.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
I mean, Ozzie Smith was obviously prolific, the wizard, right.
I just wanted to the reason I asked it before
we let you go. You know, regardless of whatever team
you were a fan of, I just think Ryan Samberg
personified coach like everything that you would want out of
a player or a role model for young people during

(35:35):
his time, and just wanted to get your thoughts on
watching him, even as a rival so to speak, when
you were a kid.

Speaker 7 (35:42):
Oh, I loved watching him, you know, those were those
were those uh, those rivalry days, certainly when with the
Cubs and Cardinals. But I think just just just as
you mentioned, not just how he played the game, but
the way he handled himself, his leadership, his consistency. You know,
a as a young as a young kid, none of
those things really the leadership and consistency and all that

(36:02):
didn't didn't really matter. I didn't really understand that. But
then the older I've gotten, and when you look at
the craft and especially baseball, the number of games that
they have, the hours that they're on the field every
single day honing their craft, the short off seasons right,
the preseasons, and the way that they have to approach
the game mentally as much as physically, and with the

(36:25):
consistency and elite mentality that he played, I just think
it was really incredible, and you know, such a loss
for the sports community obviously, and just one of the
greatest that ever played.

Speaker 2 (36:37):
I always thought it'd be cool to play for the
Cubs back then because it was all day games and
you can still go out to dinner every night.

Speaker 8 (36:42):
That's right, that's hard think about it, right.

Speaker 5 (36:45):
I mean, Lights came in eighty eight.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Ryan Sabra get a home run in the first unofficial game,
it got rained out, and then they came back the
next night and played against Philadelphia tomorrow night. It will
be the fever in action taking on Phoenix. That is
a seven o'clock start at Gambridge Field House. Stephanie White,
the head coach, and again Stephanie, no Kaitlyn Clark tomorrow
or for at least at this time, any timeline of
the foreseeable future.

Speaker 5 (37:07):
Correct, that's right, Okay.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
Appreciate the time as always, coach, all right, thank you,
We shure the best of luck. Stephanie White joining us
on the program tomorrow night and again unlessa Thomas, like
I said, I mean a six to two a point
forward basically, and I know that that's you're operating on
the premter. It's not the same in any way, shape
or form. But you look at even you know, like

(37:32):
a Halliburton, I mean Halliburton is a is a point guard.
But the size in general, in relation to the rest
of the floor, that's what makes it so difficult, and
that is certainly a challenge for certain But that's the
big news there. With Kaitlyn Clark. Again, they have I
think it's five games between now and the seventeenth of
August and then they get a reprief. So it'll be

(37:52):
interesting to see. As she talked about need practice days,
we'll see how that all slots speaking of practice days,
busy one today for the colts. Stephen Holder will join
us about thirteen minutes from now, and it's kind of
a mash unit report from today. We'll get the latest
on that when we come back. Let's get to Stephen Older,
who joins us from I'm assuming no longer standing on

(38:16):
the side of the field in Westfield, because Stephen, my
understanding is it is now getting significantly warm outside.

Speaker 4 (38:21):
Correct, it's a bit warm. Remind you of Florida? That, yeah,
or or Hell that's what I imagine. Okay, what I
imagine Hellfield? So like, I don't know, not been there,
thankfully I think, but.

Speaker 5 (38:37):
I would think though, here's the thing, I would think.

Speaker 4 (38:39):
That Hell is a dry heat, right, yeah, I mean
Arizona's a dry heat, but it still sucks, right, so sure.

Speaker 5 (38:48):
Fair enough, fair enough. You know.

Speaker 2 (38:50):
I had a buddy from Phoenix one time, though, I
said to him, I said, how in the world do
you live in one hundred and fifteen degree heat? And
I'll never forget he said, Look, you and I both
live in areas that can have stream weather conditions, but
none of them for me ever make it any slower
to go out to get my mail. I mean that's
a good point, Like you got to walk on ice,
it's a good point, right, I mean.

Speaker 6 (39:10):
You're probably walking pretty fast to get the mail when
it's one hundred and fifteen.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
Yeah, don't do a bare foota do not. Okay, Steven,
let's get to this from an injury standpoint. I mentioned
Jalen Jones, I mentioned Michael Pittman Junior. What else happened
today out at camp and what is the latest in
terms of anybody that may miss time?

Speaker 6 (39:30):
Yeah, well, I'll just add for contact on the Jalen
Jones front. I mean we all saw it happen. He
was running down on an individual portion of practice to
do the one on one passing drills, and he was
trailing the receiver I forget who it was, and uh,
you know, sort of in a sprint on a deep
ball and he just pulled up lame and just went

(39:52):
down immediately and grabbed that hamstring. And you know, it
wasn't one of those where he just kind of like
tweaked it and you know, just walked off the field.
He went down hard and it looks you know, I
don't want to characterize it because I have no idea, right,
but it did not look like like a routine thing,
so I think there's concern there beyond that. I think

(40:15):
the other one that's of note is Juju Brents missed
practice today with a hamstring and his so you know,
that raises questions even beyond Ellen Jones because now you
have a possible depth issue at that position. I don't
know if Jujubin's situation is serious. He practiced yesterday, he

(40:37):
talked to reporters after practice. I saw him talk to him.
He seemed fine, and then today he wasn't out there,
So I don't know what to make of that. But
that was interesting and surprising, I guess. But if there's
an issue there with him that is remotely long term,
that's concern because now you're down two guys out of

(40:59):
maybe you're top five corners, and that's not great. At
a position where injuries are are high, they tend to
be higher. So anyway, I think that that's the other
one to mention.

Speaker 2 (41:11):
Let's get then to battle number one, which we're gonna
check on each and every day. Quarterback Battle today. If
you had to, if this was one of those games
they have up on the video board Steven where it
shows like the you know section three in section four,
are you know cheer it on to see who's gonna
which dot's gonna win and they go back and forth,
back and forth. Is that what this quarterback battle is?

(41:33):
Or is it too early to say? If either one
of them has a lead, I would say.

Speaker 6 (41:39):
They've been very even. I wouldn't call it back and forth.
In fact, it's weird when they when they've been good,
they've both had days I think, at the same time,
and then when they've had bad days, those days have
come at the same time. So I don't know if
you if you understand what I'm saying. But because of that,

(41:59):
from an optics perspective, it doesn't look like anyone's really
in a way because they're kind of they're kind of
neck and neck. At least in my perspective. I tend
to think for me, that means that that Andy Richardson
probably has an edge. I got to feel like Daniel

(42:20):
Jones has to come in and I think win the job.
That's the way I conceive this going, at least in
my head. I don't know what the colts Field and
I would say, if that's the standard, then that has
not happened so far.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
Okay, Steven, tell me if this makes sense. And you
might have to like kind of pause for a second
after I say it to absorb it because it's going
to sound weird. But I think I've simplified my thought
by saying this. If Daniel Jones is the starter week one,
it's likely it's not because Daniel Jones won the job.

(42:54):
It's because Anthony Richardson did not.

Speaker 6 (42:58):
I that's that's what mentally true, because look, I think
right now, if we if Daniel Jones keeps performing at
the level he's performing at right now, it's not anything special. Okay,
is it being plucked? No, it isn't. But I but

(43:20):
I would say with him, I think what you have
is he's playing at an acceptable level. So is Daniel Jones,
right but nothing special Anthony Richardson, I think it's performing
at an acceptable level right now in practice.

Speaker 4 (43:36):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (43:37):
The difference though, is he has the explosive ability both
with his legs and his big arm, and and that
I think, putically in my mind, that separates him a
little bit from Daniel Jones his version of ordinary. Does
that make sense?

Speaker 5 (43:53):
It does? I think here's the thing. Let me, I guess.

Speaker 2 (43:57):
A better way to say it is this, does Anthony
Richardson to you? Has he shown Steven Holder any more
consistency with the easy throws? We know he can make
the hard throws, it's the routine throws. Is he any
better with his accuracy?

Speaker 6 (44:14):
I would say yes. I do think so. Yeah, And
I like that. I like that he is is more decisive.
I think I think a little more decisive. One of
the things he did last year and has done is
it maybe hold the ball a tick too long when
that first read maybe isn't readily available. You've got to

(44:37):
make snap decisions, and so he has gotten rid of
the ball. I think on time today, I thought he
was fantastic today in some spots. Now he was spotty
at the end of practice, but he had some really
good throws today that were contested throws on the sideline
outside the numbers. Not deep throws, but short and intermediate throws.

(44:58):
Those are sometimes the hardest throws. The deep throws. Those
tend to be all about timing, right, you know, receiver wins.
You give him a chance, he goes in and gets
the ball. They're beautiful throws, and we love the big
plays and all that right. But but where you really
make your money is is making the tough contested throws.

(45:18):
He's doing that, at least in practice right now, I think,
at a level that is greater than I've ever seen
him do it. And so if he's answering that question,
I think it was the biggest question. He also is
not turning it over as much, which is a huge,
I think point to make because last year I thought

(45:39):
the turnovers were his biggest problem.

Speaker 8 (45:43):
He's mat then, he's a better player player to the
to this point in camp, Steven Older ESPN dot Com
is our guest the player in camp to this point
who has most helped himself.

Speaker 5 (45:58):
Not named Bernard Ryman, by the way.

Speaker 6 (46:01):
Oh my goodness, helped himself a lot. You know, the
guy that just keeps showing up. And I know, if
you're following the daily coverage, you've heard this name a lot,
but I'll repeat it justin Wally. I am thoroughly impressed
the rookie cornerback from Minnesota. This guy. Every day he
makes a play. I'm not joking every day and with
what I just outlined, with the injury situation at corner,

(46:24):
it's only going to strengthen the notion that he's an
opening day starter. Look, they'll have Kennymore at the nickel
corner and outside in the defense. But you know, generally
a nickel corner Shavarius Ward, and then there's that third
cornerback on the outside, the second outside cornerback. That's the
position that's up for grabs. Jalen Jones was the starter

(46:48):
there for seventeen games last season. He got hurt. Today.
We'll see how bad it is. But I think even
without the injury, Justin Wally is ahead of him right
now and he has earned it. I'm telling you. The
guy makes a play every day. Yesterday, I believe it
was yesterday. Yeah, he had a pass breakup against Tyler Warren.

(47:09):
Or it might have been Sunday. Their days run together.
They're all hot, that's all I know. He had a
pass breakup against Tyler Warren. That was just a brilliant play.
That guy, he has a real, real stud potential. I
think I'm exaggerating. He's been really good.

Speaker 5 (47:24):
How big is he?

Speaker 2 (47:25):
Because you know, like Juju Britz, I really like because
he's big, right, But then you get I go back
to like Tye Poole. You know, we've seen guys that
are smaller, but if they've got reaction time, it doesn't
matter how big is is Whely.

Speaker 6 (47:39):
Not big at all, He's like five ten. And in fact,
it was the most puzzled thing to me because Chris
Ballard has made no bones about it. I mean, he
likes long cornerbacks. You see the guys that he has
drafted over the years. I mean, Juju Brent's being a
great example. It's the reason he wasn't even interested in
cleaning Kenny Moore waivers when he was available well eight

(48:02):
years ago or whatever that was, and his personnel staff
had to like beg him to make the waiver claim
that turned out okay. But you know, Kennymore is a
small guy. He's five to nine and and wasn't you know,
didn't have the the dimensions that Chris Paller looks for.
So I saw that here with with Justin Wallly, and

(48:25):
I was kind of surprised they would make the pick.
But they what they really like and what they what
they thought would help him overcome his size is his competitiveness.
He has an edge to him, man, I'm telling you.
And and at that position, you got to have an
Edgemnally and physically he's tough and he is competitive, and
there's there's a lot to like there. I really like

(48:45):
to pick so far Steven.

Speaker 2 (48:47):
When you look at an NFL roster in general, over
your experience of watching teams being built, the position where
you can mask or hide a play that is not
up to par is where what is this of the
non specialty position, So I'm not talking punter, kicker, long snapper,

(49:09):
but of the everyday down positions, which one is the
one where if you had to pick one guy that
is like the least on your depth chart, you can
get away with it at that spot and it kind
of gets covered up.

Speaker 6 (49:21):
So I think the one that historically has been true
as linebacker, and they may be find to do that
here frankly, because they haven't invested anything in that position.
So maybe there's truth to that. Maybe they adhere to
that philosophy in Indy, I guess depending on defense, sometimes

(49:43):
depending on what that players asked to do. Safety or
at least one of the safeties if you're playing if
you're playing a safety that's for example, in the box,
like the Colts used to do with Gus Bradley's position,
or Gus Bradley's defense. Sometimes you can mask that with
the strong safety that free. Steed's got to be able

(50:04):
to cover a lot of ground in a single high defense,
So that would not that would not be a choice.
But certainly some safeties and some defenses, and I think
linebackers that's the little ones. I'd say. The other one
would be maybe interior offensive line. But if you but
but with the emergence these these stud defensive tackles that

(50:28):
we see today, that's gotten harder and you can't hide
them anymore. And then one other thing I'd add is
that at linebacker, with the way some of these tight
ends have emerged and the matchups that you get put
in there, you can't hide them sometimes either. So you know,
at some point, everybody's gonna have to make a play.

Speaker 2 (50:48):
Steven Holder, our guest ESPN dot com is where you
can read his work as he covers Colts camp and
gets you set for the regular season, obviously, and all
the way through the preseason. Steven, what about a player's
so far in this camp that has most hurt themselves?
And I don't mean from an injury standpoint, and I
don't mean at the quarterback spot, but somebody that you

(51:08):
look at and you just go, boy, opportunities there in
a platter.

Speaker 5 (51:12):
And they have yet to reach out and grab it.

Speaker 6 (51:14):
You No, I still come back to a d Mitchell
just the inconsistency for me, I just I don't know
how you trust him. Now. He's had a good couple
of days. I would say, yesterday and today. I thought
he's bounced back and he needed it because he was dropping,
damn there everything for the first week of camp. And

(51:36):
I don't know if there was something going on with him,
if he was just trying too hard, and maybe there was,
you know, an issue there where he's just forcing things.
I don't know. I'm not a psychologist, but I just
I saw a guy who just could not be counted on,
and I think for him. You know, this is a
team of coaching staff that has been over backwards to

(52:00):
tell us we still love this guy and he's still
a guy that we believe in. They've done that repeatedly,
and my argument has been he hasn't earned that, but
they keep telling us that, right, and so at some
point you have to actually give some evidence of what
your coaches are saying is true. And he had not

(52:22):
done that. Through the first week of camp. We'll see
if he can keep this going in the last couple
of days the bounce back that he's had, but but
that remains. He had a good day.

Speaker 5 (52:31):
He had a good day today.

Speaker 6 (52:33):
Correct, Yeah, I'd say, I'd say yes.

Speaker 2 (52:36):
Now, let me ask you about this guy. You know,
each year I go all in on a guy, right,
I go all in. Usually it's a guy I know
nothing about. I just look at the roster and I
go I like that guy.

Speaker 6 (52:46):
Okay, like the high school he went to, or well, of.

Speaker 2 (52:50):
Course, right Landon Parker's got hair like Jeff's McCoy and
he's a rookie at the age of twenty five out
of Troy. I'm all in on Landon Parker. Have you
heard of land Parker. He's a wide receiver.

Speaker 6 (53:02):
Uh yeah, yeah, yeah, a big expert on land Is.

Speaker 5 (53:06):
He still there? Do we know? If he's still there?
He might have been released earlier today.

Speaker 6 (53:10):
I don't think so, not that I'm aware of, but
I reserved the right to be wrong.

Speaker 2 (53:15):
A year ago, my guy was Derek I think his
name was Derek Slifka something like that.

Speaker 6 (53:19):
I remember this. We had many conversations about this guy. Well, no,
you had conversations and I just nodded.

Speaker 2 (53:25):
You know, Derek Slifegod. By the way, a little non
fun fact future roommate of Landon Parker just so you know,
right they're gonna be sharing a two bedroom somewhere in
the UFL.

Speaker 6 (53:35):
It sounds like a play that, you know what, and
they'll live happily ever after.

Speaker 2 (53:38):
I even went all in in the in the USFL,
now the UFL or whatever it's called. I went all
in on the Birmingham Stallions and now they're moving like
I'm literally yesterday I had Jalen Jones on the show.
He heard his hamstring. Alec Pierce on the show gets
a boo boo blister. I mean, I'm a walking jinx Stephen.
As a matter of fact, you're not driving right now,
are you?

Speaker 6 (53:57):
I am? But you did get Bernard Raymond paid, so
I gave you that one.

Speaker 2 (54:01):
Listen, I look, look, you gotta you gotta get Bernard.
Ryman knew what he was saying, didn't he.

Speaker 6 (54:08):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, he's no idiot, very savvy. I
love it. That was. So when when a plan comes together.

Speaker 2 (54:15):
Should I get agent gets seven percent? Should I get
three and a half percent? For those that are unfamiliar.
Bernard Ryman on this radio show spoke out about how
far away he was with the Colts on a contract
agreement that went somewhat noteworthy from a national standpoint amongst
football circles, and then people were like, what is Indianapolis doing?
And then buy a boom. He gets one hundred million
bucks three and a half percent. I should get right.

Speaker 6 (54:39):
I mean, you start there and then you negotiate from there.
I'd say, but that's a good start.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
I'll take a watch. Don't guys do like running backs
by lineman watches. I'll take a watch.

Speaker 6 (54:50):
I think I think that's fair. I think that's fair.
You know. I would also add, just Claire, I do
think just as much as you might have helped him,
he he might also have been helped by the gargantuan
contracts that other offensive linemen have signed in the last
few weeks. But I mean that's just me saying that.

Speaker 5 (55:07):
Oh, you're right.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
I mean, there's no doubt about the fact. As we
talked about Steven kidding aside, the Colts kind of had
to get it done because his tag, unless he got hurt,
was only going to go up right.

Speaker 6 (55:16):
His price Yeah, No, he's gotten better every year. That's
the thing about him, which is which is great, that's
what you want. But what if he goes out there
and he shuts down all these stud defensive ends. Well,
if you're his agents, you're like, buddy, you know that
contract we talked about last year. Yeah, forget that, right,

(55:37):
that's exactly the conversation. So they were right to do
it now. And they've done this with all their big
offensive linemen. They did this with with Quinton Nelson, they
did it with Ryan Kelly multiple times, they did it
in Smith right, they signed all these guys going into
the final year of their rookie deals. And that's how

(55:59):
you do it it. Don't screw around when when you
got a good thing. You know, I think I look
at it as as team building. I look at it
as problem solving. Right, your your goal, your job is
to go out there and figure it out, figure things out,
solve problems. Well, letting your your left tackle, who you love,

(56:19):
get to free agency, that is creating a problem. So
this was a problem solving move by the Colts to
lock them up, and now they're there.

Speaker 5 (56:28):
Okay, Steven.

Speaker 2 (56:28):
In conclusion, give me a problem when it comes to
the Colts that you are looking for a riddle, or
I should say a riddle for the Colts that you're
looking for the answer here in the next couple of days.
We are looking for what storylines now through camp?

Speaker 3 (56:44):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (56:45):
I guess i'd say consistency at wide receiver. These guys
are too good, I think, to be up and down
the way they have been Pittman and down's been better
the last couple of days. So I'm happy about that.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
Okay, groin injury today you say not significant at least, right,
I don't think so.

Speaker 6 (57:03):
I don't think so.

Speaker 5 (57:04):
Okay, anyway, as you were on the receiver.

Speaker 6 (57:07):
So anyway, I just think, uh, way too uneven for
the first week of camp, and these guys are too
good for that, and they got to help the quarterback.
So let's just see if they can continue that what
they've done the last couple of days and and make
what the first week was, or let me rephrase that,
make the first week an aberration. Let's put it that way.

(57:29):
The other thing, I guess, if you want a bonus
one look next week or in fact a week from today.
They're in Baltimore. Let's see how they look against Lamar Jackson,
and let's see what kind of stress he puts on them,
and that'll tell us a lot about this defense. So
that's an upcoming riddle you know that we made an
answer to.

Speaker 2 (57:46):
By the way, in terms of consistency at receiver. Let
me introduce you to Landon Parker.

Speaker 6 (57:53):
I mean, here you are with an answer.

Speaker 2 (57:57):
I'm telling you, looks like spec You got the answer.
It looks like Spiccoli plays like Jefferson. That's all I
got to say. All right, Steven Holder, appreciate it. We
will talk to you soon, all right, stay cool at camp.
All right, Oh, Stephen, you know what?

Speaker 5 (58:11):
Hold on? I got one other one for you. Sorry,
I totally forgot this. Are you still there?

Speaker 6 (58:16):
Yeah? I am.

Speaker 5 (58:17):
Listen.

Speaker 2 (58:17):
I'm gonna put you on the spot here, and I
apologize for that, but I totally never do that. I
know you never do that. We have mentioned before on
the program. Your uncle in law is Hall of Famer
Andre Dawson. I think we've mentioned that on the show.
I hope you don't mind me outing that that your
wife spend a lot of time in childhood with Andre Dawson,
her uncle. I'm just strictly curious whether or not just

(58:38):
in pat you know, yesterday or whatever it may be,
if she ever made mention of the fact, or if
she ever had any encounter with Ryan Samberg since we
lost Ryan Samberg yesterday, I thought maybe there might have
been a story that she had shared with you that
you could share.

Speaker 6 (58:51):
No, she knew the family in fact, Yeah, and if
I recall correctly, may have actually babysat his kids, So
I mean, you know when she was like twelve. But yeah, yeah,
I said the first thing I thought about when I
saw the news. So, yeah, that whole Cubs crew back
in the day from everything I was told, I mean

(59:13):
I wasn't there, but everything I've told, I mean, that
was a really close knit group, as you can imagine, right,
and they're all the families are still close and all that.
So yeah, I haven't talked to de Andre since that
news or heard from him, but I imagine, I imagine
he'll he'll be there for the services and that kind
of thing. That group's still pretty close, So I definitely

(59:36):
that's definitely struck a quarter with me when I saw it.
For that reason.

Speaker 2 (59:40):
Yeah, great player, no question, appreciate it, Steven. As always,
Ryan Samberg, whose daughter, by the way, lived in Central
and I think Ryan Samberg spent a lot of time,
it might have even lived here briefly. But truly truly
a class gentleman.

All Episodes

Best Of Query & Company - Tuesday 7/29/25

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Best Of Query & Company - Tuesday 7/29/25