December 19, 2025 • 53 mins
Today’s Best of Features:
(00:00-24:09) – Zach Osterman from the IndyStar makes an appearance on Query & Company to chat all things IU football and basketball with Jake Query. Their conversation starts out by debating which team IU matches up better against between Oklahoma and Alabama. They get into how Curt Cignetti will get his group refocused and motivated to go out and continue this historic season in the CFP. Finally, they debate if the fan interest for regular season college basketball is dying.
(24:09-37:24) – Voice of the Purdue Boilermakers, Rob Blackman, joins the show to preview another upcoming challenge for Matt Painter’s team tomorrow against the Auburn Tigers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Rob explains what the Boilermakers learned from their blowout loss to Iowa State, evaluates if Trey Kaufman-Renn has regressed at all, and agrees with Jake that all college basketball fans should hope for their program to admire the blueprint Matt Painter has developed.
(37:24-53:56) – Kevin Bowen from The Fan Morning Show makes his weekly appearance on Query & Company to preview the upcoming game for the Indianapolis Colts. Kevin shares what he knows about how Anthony Richardson sustained the orbital bone fracture injury, weighs in on last night’s game in relation to how the Colts performed against the Rams and Seahawks, and provides his thoughts on what he’s doing with all the brass for the Bennedict Mathurin statue.
Support the show: https://1075thefan.com/query-and-company/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Zach Osterman from the Indianapolis Star, who's joining us now
on the Java House Peel and Poor Guest line whether
or not he has experienced this. He joins us now
in the program, Zach, thank you Eddie. Zach. You have
or have not been to the Rose Bowl.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I've never been to the Rose Bowl. I didn't make
the trip last year in Indiana played UCLA.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Okay, because the one thing that it is a I
went this year for the first time. I mean, I've
been outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but going in
as a spectator at an event there. The one thing
that I will tell Indiana fans if you have a chance,
and by now you probably wouldn't, but if you're buying
on the secondary market, try to buy tickets as close
(00:42):
to the end of the aisle as possible because the
sections are literally like fifty five rows or seats across,
and if you're sitting in say twenty seven and twenty eight,
it is like an airplane. It is the tightest the
outside of the parking lot that we have here. It's
the tightest stadium I've ever seen, in the fact that
(01:03):
it's you know, ninety thousand seats or whatever. It may
be and it should be like sixty five thousand, you
know what I mean, but a fabulous venue in Indiana
get to be Their question would be this the better
matchup for Indiana, Alabama or Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You know, I've obviously discussed this with people for I
guess a couple of weeks now, and I think it
is a difficult question to answer.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
And the reason why is because I think.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
A lot of people would lean Oklahoma because Oklahoma has
struggled so consistently to move and score the ball this season,
and you know, frankly, even if you look at, you know,
some of the games Oklahoma played against teams that were
not very good, they still had some offensive issues. I
think the flip side is if you're sort of saying,
does either of these teams have something about their profile
(01:54):
that they do so exceptionally well that that could win
them a game that could win them a playoff game
by itself, it is Oklahoma defense, and so I think
you'd probably lean Oklahoma, you know, maybe allowing for the
possibility of five Simpson really being hurt and you know,
(02:15):
you're wanting to see a more limited quarterback.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
If you see Alabama, I think you probably lean Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
But I think that the danger there is if there's
kind of one one of these two teams that has
a unit, has.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
A feature.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Of itself that can win a game like this just
by itself. Oklahoma defense can do that at a level
that I'm not sure Alabama can.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
On either side of the ball.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
The Indiana stories act, there's nothing, literally you and I
could do. Like our sister station just did a fabulous
job as they do every year with the WIBC Salvation
Army radiothon right so they're on the radio and just
NonStop for you know, hours upon hours upon hours, And
you and I could do a radiothon right now and
talk to We're blue in the face, And yet we
(03:03):
still would not be able to properly illustrate how dumb
it would be to rule out anything about Indiana at
this point, you know what I mean, we've kind of
seen that they have now answered every single challenge. But
yet do you still think that people see them despite
being the number one seed? Are they the favorite in
(03:26):
this playoff?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I don't think they're the favorite, and I'm not sure
I would make them the favorite. That's not because they're Indiana.
That's just because I think on balance, you can still
make me a compelling argument that Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
In maybe Georgia would be slight a favorite ahead of them.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And I haven't looked at it, like the national championship odds.
I don't know where everybody stacks up. I just think like,
as good as Indiana is, you have to acknowledge them
about who is the favorite to win the literal national championship.
That's as narrow as the margins gets. And I would
argue that Indians maybe in the top three. Like I
(04:11):
was texting with a medium a fellow member of the
sort of college media apparatus in the third quarter of
the Big Ten Championship game, and I said, give me
these two teams in Georgia against the field. I think
one of those three teams wins the national title. I'm
sure I'll be wrong, because I always am, but I
(04:33):
just think like Indiana is in that rare air. They
are one of the teams that has the inside lane,
both because of their seeding and also because of what
they've proven about themselves. I think it's worth pointing out
nobody else has the wins Indiana.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Does you know that's that's kind of one.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Of the big I'm sorry, they.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Have the two best wins in college football.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
They do.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And even if you want to kind of go a
layer below that, a win at I a win at
Penn State, the way they beat Illinois. I mean, you know,
even the non conference schedule, that that was such a
such a controversial sort of talking point in the in
the in the preseason. Well now two of those teams
(05:18):
won ten games, one of them won their conference, So
you know it, nobody's got the sort of what have
you done on the field resume that Indiana Indiana's got.
Now I think there's some injury concerns that that may
come to bear on Indiana here in the playoffs. I
also just think, like I said, we're talking about the
(05:38):
narrowest imaginable margin. We're not talking about in Indiana gets
the six wins or seven wins or in Indiana you
know beat uh. You know these games we used to
talk about where we'd say, you know, the winner of
this game has a good shot at a bowl game,
and the loser is really going to struggle to find
a path. Now we're talking about being the best.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Team in the country.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And and if you're asking me who I think has
the best chance to win a national title.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
I think Indiana is comfortably in the lead pack.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I probably'll have State ever so slightly ahead of them.
And then again, I actually think Kirby has kind of
brought Georgia to the boil at just the right time
this season to put them in that conversation as well.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Zach Osterman is my guest Indianapoli star. He's on the
Java house peel and poor guest line. Zach. You look
at the injury for example, to Stephen Day, who you
know as a defensive lineman was a critical tackle for
lost guy for Indiana, and you know now we know
is not going to be available in the College Football Playoff.
But let me ask this and see how I can
(06:39):
word this. Does Indiana have more margin for error when
it comes to injury based on the fact that it
is not a roster that is built with huge disparity
between their starters and a bunch of five stars and
then they're reserves, a bunch of younger players or three star,
(07:00):
et cetera. There is less drop off per unit with Indiana,
and while they are very good players, what Indiana's formula
for success is is as much about preparation and execution
of what their coach wants versus actual jump out talent
across the board, and that allows for greater transfer of
(07:23):
execution from one player to the next. Overstating it or
some truth to that.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
So I think that's probably fair, at least to a point.
You know. I do think like, however, they solve the
Steven Daily you know, sort of problem here.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Whether it is just going to the next man up,
which is probably Daniel and Dukeway, who's a sophomore, a
little bit undersized.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
He came over.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
He was he was one of the players that was
committed to James Madison out of high school and flipped
his commitment to Indiana when Kurtz Signetti and his staff
came over in the Winner of twenty three, Whether it's
kicking somebody like Mario Landino, who's played tackle for basically
all of this season but did play a fair bit
of an end last season out to the edge, Whether
(08:12):
it is maybe running some more odd fronts Indiana. It's
been a pretty consistent four down front this season, but
we saw them run quite a bit of odd front
last season, you know, between sort of that two man
game between Michael Kamara and CJ. West, with James Carpenter
on the other side, or sometimes Lenel Carr on the
other side. I do think at a certain point, whatever
(08:33):
the solution is there, you're giving up something you can't
get back, whether it's experience in you know, let's not
forget just Steven Day, but also Kellen Wyatt, the Maryland
transfer who had looked so promising and was actually the
player whose injury kind of gave Daily a chance to
come to the four a little bit more as the
(08:54):
season went on. Whether it's the fact that you are
having to maybe change the complexion of your defense a
little bit this time of year. That could be in
moving a player like Landino who's been so productive at tackle.
It could be in changing what you're trying to do
sort of schematically and play maybe a little bit more
three three to five. I do think at a certain point, you,
(09:14):
like I said, before you start to lose something you
can't get back. But I think to your point, the
question is what is the margin on that that sort
of loss versus return And as long as particularly what
I would say is as long as Indiana's got it's
tackle rotation. This is why why I don't think Landino
maybe moves as long as Indiana's got its tackle rotation
(09:36):
tight and Indiana's got those three linebackers healthy.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I think that's the heart of this defense.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Because that is where it is just so hard to
win at the point of attack against Indiana. That the
ends the edges have been really good this season. Why
it was really good before he got hurt, Daily really
came to the four after why I got hurt. Michael
Kamaras saddled some injuries. He's also probably just suffered from
maybe getting a little bit more attention this season, which
(10:04):
has probably opened the door for someone like Wyat or
Daily to be a little bit more productive. But the
constant has been you know, in soccer, we use the
term called the spine of a team, the players, the
quality of the players that run straight through your team,
from your forward to your midfield, to your center backs
to your goalkeeper. The spine of that defense has been
(10:26):
the strength of its defensive tackle play. Tyrie Tucker has
been the first team All Big Ten player, He's been
an All American. I think Mario Landino probably got the
harsh end of some of that decisions, some of those
decision because he was just as good. And then those
three linebackers and how good they've been, how versatile and
multiple they are. As long as Indiana has gotten that,
I think they'll be okay. And I don't think that
(10:47):
your assessment is completely unfair. That there is an extent
to which the secret sauce in all this is Brian
Haynes and his ability, especially given some time. And I
think that's important here because he's had time to figure out.
He's had the best part of him a month or
he will have had the best part of the month
to figure out. Here's how we're going to solve this problem.
(11:08):
This wasn't you know, a fix that was concocted on
five day's turnaround between games. He's had time to sort
of go back to the drawing board, rethink it, rescheme it,
and then a bunch of time in practice. Whatever the
solution is, to drill it and repeat it and refine it.
I think that it is probably I think your your
(11:29):
assessment is probably fair.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
There.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
I'm curious of this, Zach. You know, I went to Indiana.
I grew up in Indiana. My friends, the vast majority
of them are I mean, I obviously pretty friends. My
Cousin's a huge Purdue booster, you know, et cetera. But
from an Indiana standpoint, the football and the rise with
(11:52):
the football program here, from an interest I see it
with my friends, is this now coming at the cost
of the interest and the nil money and the the
what's the word I'm looking for here, the support of
the basketball program as this continues for football at Indiana.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
You're talking about basically like, does it get to a place.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Where, you know, like football is almost siphoning off basketball?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Correct? Is basketball becoming Is basketball quickly becoming the secondary act? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think that's possible.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Now, I think there are some philosophical sort of questions
to acknowledge. They're not just specific to Indiana. For example,
you know, football is dramatically outpacing basketball and popularity in
this country. And I think part of the reason why
you have seen Indiana fans take football so quickly to
(12:52):
to sort of their parts these last two seasons is
just because the climate is right for some for a
to to kind of hand a fan base a newly
successful in.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And Zach listen, I want to weigh in on that
because I did a whole segment the other day about
this and I have no idea why I feel this way,
but it seems to me. And it's not because I
live in Indiana, and it's not because I went to
Indiana and talked about Indiana. But it feels to me
like there is this passing ships in the night of
(13:27):
the sports fan interest and passion about college football in
this country going in one direction and rising quickly before
our very eyes. And college basketball and it's blue bloods,
the Kentucky's, the kansas Is, the Louisville's, the Dukes, all
going through this weird transitional era that is hurting the
(13:49):
overall regular season interest level of college basketball. Am I wrong?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
No?
Speaker 4 (13:55):
I think that's fair.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
That was kind of the other thing I was going
to get to, which is that I think that where,
and lord knows, it's far from perfect, but where this
intersection of revenue sharing and NIL and the portal has
almost you know, given college football this this sort of
NFL draft and free agency kind of you know, off
(14:19):
season electricity.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
I know it doesn't happen dur any offseason.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
But we've almost kind of we've built a mill a
media industrial complex around covering that the same way that
we do the draft, the same way that we do
free agency. I don't think, well, I will be the
first to acknowledge that the portal and all that at
least keeps college basketball in sort of the public consciousness
(14:43):
for another six to eight weeks a year. I don't
think that necessarily that has been good for the college
basketball product in the way that it has been accepted
as good for the college football product. And that may
be a little bit of confirmation biased like if you
just if you just like football more than basketball as
a sports watching population, then you're gonna like the stuff
(15:06):
that comes with football off the field more than you're
gonna like the stuff that comes with basketball at the court.
But I think that where I don't think I have
seen and I don't know if this is a large
numbers thing. I don't know if this is just a
this is really just like a philothophical shift between the
two sports. But I think there has been a lot
less sort of revulsion and rejection at the idea of
(15:31):
the portal and roster turnover in football than there has
been a basketball And it could, like I said, it
could be a numbers thing where you can bring in
twenty five new guys, thirty five new guys every year
and there will still be fifty players on your team
that were there the year before. And football that you
recognize that you've cheered for, that your kids met at
pep rally event or whatever. But you turn over nine
(15:52):
guys on a basketball roster, even seven guys on a
basketball roster, and suddenly the whole thing seems different.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
So that might be part of it.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I mean, there's something to Zach, no doubt, and you're like, no, now,
is that the Elon guy or is that the the
Paul guy? I forget, you know what I mean? And
you do get into that for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, And listen, Indiana is also in this moment at
you know, I'm hesitant to use Indiana as too much
of a sort of like trend setter, because Indiana is
kind of at the extreme ends of this right now.
On the football side, it is realizing success that it
has never known that is just historic, beyond what would
(16:31):
have been previously considered possible.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
And on the basketball side, it's.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
The first year of a new coach who turned over
his entire roster, his entire staff. It's possible that these
things equal out a little bit in two to three years.
That sort of water finds its level, and we don't
look at these two sort of programs of being a
quite the extremes they are right now. But the last
thing I would say to your point, everyone knows this
(16:55):
basketball is not the currency that is it is going
to spind your way into safety in college sports in
the future. That you know, everyone knows there is another
round of consolidation coming probably in the next five to
eight years, once a lot of these TV deals start
to be renegotiated at the start of the next decade.
(17:20):
Football is what's going to keep you in the room
and the music stops. Football is what's going to make
sure that you have a chair to sit in. Basketball
is something like one tenth of like the media rights
equation here.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Football is like, you know, eight point d.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
It's why during conference realignment nobody cared where Kentucky and
Kansas ended up exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
And so there is also that I think fans not.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
That this is good for the sport.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I'm not saying that something that should be celebrated, but
I think even fans have come to sort of recognize
and support the idea that if you have the opportunity
to be good at football, right now. That's something you've
got to go all in on. Now there's again, like
you said, we could talk ourselves blue in the face
(18:09):
about all of this. There are some other changes that
I suspect are going to happen in the revshare and
NIL space in the next few years, next couple of years,
maybe that that are going to make it a little
bit easier for athletics departments to fund both of these
sports a little bit more fully. In particular, I think
you're I think there's a decent chance you're going to
see schools allowed to add scholarships in non revenue sports
(18:33):
without that counting against their revshare camp and then basically
all the revshare money would just buy a large go
to basketball and football.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
But it is, you know, listen, it is.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I think it is possible at once to say Indiana
it's a bit of an extreme case right now, and
that using Indiana as sort of the Canarian the coal
mine is probably a little bit dangerous, while also acknowledging
that Indiana undeniably reflects the wider sort of trend in
college athletics, which is that football in financial, competitive, political,
(19:07):
and cultural importance is dramatically outfacing basketball and there's not
really an end insight on that.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
By the way, Canary in the Coal Mine is a
great song by the police. I've never really understood what
the term means. Do you know what the term means?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Coal Miners used to bring canaries with them into the
mines before we had carbon monoxide detection equipment, because this
was always my understanding of the phrase anyway, because the
canary would succumb to carbon monoxide.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Poisoning much more quickly than a human.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Would, and if the canary passed out or died, then
the coal miners would know that there was a carbon
monoxide lead somewhere and they needed to get out.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Of the mine.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
That seems you know, unfair, right it does. Yeah, okay,
that makes it. I don't know why the canary though, Like,
why not, you know, I mean, there are canaries seem
like nice birds. Didn't do anything to anybody, good singers, right,
I mean, you know, there's a lot to like about
a canary, you know, why not? Why not a blue jay?
They're they're very aggressive birds. They they they're you know,
(20:06):
they can be a bit of a pest, so to speak,
you know.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, I mean I think it was I think It
was the ease of use of getting a scenario into
a cage and bringing it down out of the month.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Just when your local pet store get a canary. Well,
I'll tell you that that frank guy that wears that
that little light on his head, he's in here getting
canaries four or five times a week. What's up with
that guy? He better have a newspaper subscription. That guy's
got a lot of birds.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (20:34):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Lastly, what is Indiana zach real quick? You know, as
Indiana gets set now to go out to Pasadena, has
Kurt Signetti handled his I know that he said, you know,
I got to get these guys humbled and and you
know the phrase that he uses, right, hard work humble.
Is their schedule changed at all? Have they gone about
have they have they backed off a little bit to
(20:55):
get rested? Have they gone full bore? Are they simply
waiting to see who they're gonna play? That's been the
schedule for Indiana football.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, so they just kind of fired back up this week.
They got some time off kind of in the immediate
aftermath as a Big Ten championship game, which was always
the plan. You know, Signetti kind of I think outlined
with us even before the game against Ohio State, basically
that it would it would sort of be a like
immediately following everyone would get some rest, there'd be a
(21:24):
lot of focus on, you know, getting guys healthy, getting
guys as fresh as possible, getting treatment into players who's
maybe been playing with injuries and different things like that.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
This week is the week that they were kind of
going to get back to work.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
You know that that Signetti has said he and his
staff were kind of going to be balancing between self
scout and then some Oklahoma from Alabama. We've heard individual players,
including Feranana Mendoza, kind of talk about how they probably
watched a little bit of both teams. But typically, you know,
as with a lot of bowls prep, you do spend
a little bit of time focusing on yourself. You spend
(21:58):
a little bit of time sort of saying, okay, so
back some things that we weren't able to work on,
and the sort of meat grinder of the season, Let's
let's maybe clean up some fundamental things that we saw
really develop over.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
The last month.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Again, let's try to get some guys healthy, and then
I think you're really going to see Indiana beginning to
prepare an earnest once it knows.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Obviously it's opponent.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
The only thing that I think is it's probably different
from like the old sort of standard bowl practice set
up is that you ended you used to use your
bowl practices as almost a like a second spring season,
and you would you would give your young players. Yeah exactly,
I think that that that's probably gone. Now. You have
(22:43):
to spend more of this time on the guys that
are going to be on the field because you know, listen,
you know you're basically entering almost like a season onto itself. Now,
if if Indiana wins this game, they'll turn around and
have one week to prepare for whoever they play in
the Peach Bowl, and if they win that game, they'll
have a look little bit more time to prepare for
the national title. But like it, once you get back
(23:04):
into that rhythm, there's not going to be time to
sort of break back out of it and you know,
get a little bit more fundamental or philosophical again. So
I think that's the only thing that's really changed now
from the old ball prep is that your younger players,
the ones that aren't necessarily going to be involved in
these games, probably aren't getting as much sort of quality
on field time as if. Coach, you used to almost
look at bull prep as like you've got a second
(23:26):
spring season. Now I think it is much more about
whether you have to buy or you don't. The playoff is.
We are intensely focused on us here now and getting
ready for whatever now.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I have been in bowl seasons since September of nineteen
seventy two because it was at that time I began
focusing on myself and I've never stopped. I'm not going
to lie to you about that. Zach Ostraman Osterman from
the Indianapolis Star Indiana football basketball as well again Hoosiers
on the basketball side of things, taking on Chicago State.
That game is tomorrow. You can hear on our sister
(23:59):
station wi IBC. Zach appreciate the time as always on
the Java House, Peela Poor guest Line.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Absolutely thanks for having me as.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Always joining us now on the Java House Peel and
Poor Guest Line. He is the radio voice of the
Purdue boiler Makers. Purdue with a big one against Auburn
coming up, as it can seem it seems, Rob Blackman,
I think you'd agreed with me on this it seems
like the produce schedule literally every single time you turn around,
it's a different ranked team staring you in the face.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Yeah, and I'll tell you what. I would also give
a tip of the cap to Auburn as well, who's
going to be their fourth Top ten team. They've played
already this year. This will be their twelfth game, and
for the twelve have been to the Top ten. So
you have two teams that have not been bashful about
the scheduling high level competition, and you know, some of
(24:48):
that stuff like old for instance, when Purdue played in
the Bahamas, you know, you don't have any real control
over that. Whoever makes the tournament puts together the schedule.
So the fact you got to play Texas Tech certainly helped,
but there's no way knowing going into it. But yeah,
the least as far as the games that produce has
been able to schedule at their own position, Matt Painter,
(25:08):
as he's been doing the last five, six, seven years.
I've done everything in its power to make sure you
put together quality schedule and hopefully put enough good teams
on there to get you ready for the big ten
portion of the season.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Okay, when you mentioned Top ten games and Robins the
first time. You know, I realized that that There have
been games since then, two of them as a matter
of fact, But I want to go back to this.
One of the advantages of scheduling yourself and challenging yourself
via schedule is you know you could learn things or
take away things for the regular season. That's really what
(25:41):
it's all about. But Iowa State came in. It is
the largest margin of victory on the road between two
top ten teams out of conference. I believe in college
basketball history with what Iowa State was able to do
to completely control Purdue. Did they expose anything of purduing
that game?
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Boy, good question. I think the only thing, the one
thing they exposed at least answered a question for Purdue
that Perdue wasn't quite sure of the answer, and now
they know it is that Purdue's big three Brayden and
Fletcher and Tredy, Kaufman Wren cannot have a mediocre to
bad day all on the same day, not against the
quality opponent, at least not right now. Matt Painter has
(26:24):
said as much. As a matter of fact, he talked
about that earlier this week. I recorded a podcast with
him and he was talking about that. When you look
at Purdue and where they are right now this very
second December to whatever it's nineteenth, I guess December nineteenth.
Purdue is not good enough right now to survive a
day when all three, when you're Big three, have mediocre
(26:44):
to poor days, which is what happened that day. And look,
we're going to be truthful here. It was really just
one bad half. You know, Purdue was down four in
the first half and as actually we're doing okay. It
was just the second half got awfully ugly there for Purdue.
But so that's probably the one the answer that came
out of that that you were kind of thinking, well,
I'm not sure about this. Well now you know.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Now you know.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Uh, And as Matt Painter you mentioned earlier in the
week when I talked to him, So now the goal
is the trick is what do we need to do
to put ourselves in a position where, if indeed that
would happen again, say somewhere in the Big ten schedule,
can we find a way to win, because right now
not good enough.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
To do that.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
If if you can work your way towards being able
to do that, when the Big three are playing well
on the same day and still find a way to win,
and then you've really made some progress. But that's the
one thing to me I think that came out of
that game.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Rob. Every once in a while, and I know this
will shock you, Rob Blackman, our guest job, a house
peel and poor guest line. Every once in a while
I come up with terms to allow my brain to
illustrate things. And then I realized that I'm the only
one that understands the term. Okay, so let me give
you a term and then I'm going to explain it
to you. Okay, I call it the Darren Hancock phenomenon.
(28:01):
Now I'm assuming that you are unfamiliar with the name
Darren Hancock. Correct I am, Okay. It is not Herbie
Hancock that was rocket, but Darren Hancock was a When
I was at the University of Kansas a billion years
ago and KU was really good, and the big buzz
was they had signed the number one transfer in the country,
(28:22):
Darren Hancock, that was a high fly in twenty plus
point per game score out of junior college and he
was going to be the final piece for KU. And
he got there. And while Kansas was good, he just
never found footing and never as good as he was,
he wasn't good for them. It just didn't work, okay.
(28:44):
And you see that a lot with transfers that are
upperclassmen because they already have set in their ways kind
of the style in which they play. And I was
curious as to whether or not Oscar Kluff would be
a Darren Hancock phenomenon, and it seems to be the
complete opposite. Is this as good an acclamation for a
guy as you have seen on Purdue rosters?
Speaker 5 (29:07):
Well, I would put it in the argument with Lance
Jones if we're just talking grad transfers for one year,
I think getting Purdue fan would admit Lance Jones was
the missing peach that got Purdue to the Final Four.
Even though he was the worst three point shooter on
the team if you just go percentages as far as
the guys that were shooting the most of them.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Even though his.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
Turnover numbers were way too high, he still was the
missing piece that Purdue needed from his effort on the
defensive end and the fact that he could hit the
big shot. You never knew when it was coming, but
he could do it. So I would put those two
in that same argument. I have to tell you, Jake,
he was. Of course, last spring was so crazy you
(29:47):
had because the transfer portal had opened up. Purdue was
in Indianapolis getting ready to play in the Sweet sixteen.
So you know, look, this wasn't immune to exclusive I
should say is purdueco But anyone who is still in
the Sweet sixteen was in this predicament that if you're
trying to coach your team and get ready to try
to advance in the NCAA tournament, but the transfer portal
(30:09):
windows open, so you're also trying to make your team
better for next year. So you have all these different
things on your plate. And I'm telling you this story
because I can promise you spending enough time with the
Purdue coaches in downtown Indy last year prepping for that
Houston Sweet sixteen game, there was a whole lot of
discussion about Oscar Cluck is the guy we absolutely have
to have. You know, if you said, okay, you can
(30:30):
get one guy from the portal, but you have to
sell your soul to the devil, it would have been
Oscar Cluck. That It's how sold they were on what
they thought he could bring to this team. Sure enough,
that these do. The first eleven games, he has done
just that. I mean he's the number one field goal
percent percentage to make seventy five percent. I mean he
doesn't take bad shots. He takes shots he knows he
(30:52):
can make. And that's while averaging twelve points a game.
It's one thing if you're averaging two points a game, right,
but he's averaging twelve points a game shooting seventy conference.
He's a good pre throw shooter, eighty one percent house shooter,
and he leads the country in offensive rebounding percentage. So
everything for due needed in the portal they got. And yes,
you never know, and you're talking about your guy, Hancock,
(31:13):
you never know when you bring those guys in. You
watch them one film as much as you can that
you know, the coaches do their due diligence, They talk
to other coaches or the players whatever in DA scouts,
all these guys that big trust. But you never really know.
But the fact that Oscar Cluff has yes acclimated himself
not only just to be a good player, but apparently
it seems to have plugged every single hole that needed
(31:36):
plugged to have an elite team again this year has
got a come story.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
And I don't mean this to be on the negative
side of it, Rob, but I'm curious, has the reliability
and the just the minutes that Kluff is giving them,
has that come at the cost of anything else, In
other words, maybe taking away a little bit from the
establishment offensively of Trey Kaufmann, who has still been very,
very good, or the growth of Daniel Jacobson, Or is
(32:04):
it really the perfect balance kind of across all three.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Yeah, I think the perfect balance. And especially with Trey
Kaufman Wren. His scoring numbers are down, but that's actually
a good thing for Purdue. You know, Trey last year
averaged twenty points six points a game that was top
ten in the country. He's down to thirteen points a
game this year. The reason Purdue has another viable option
in the low post, actually two of them, and Jacobson
and Kluff. So last year when Purdue through the ball inside,
(32:30):
they were throwing it to one guy. Let's all be
very quite oster throwing it to one guy, Tray Taufman
w Rent.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
That's it.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Now you have three guys that you feel comfortable throwing
the ball to in the low post. The other thing's
really helped Trey with is is rebounding. You know, last
year Trey always had to go against the bigger centers
in the league, so his rebounding numbers weren't great six
and a half or so a game. This year there
you know, he's a ten point four rebounds a game,
which is top ten in the country, mainly because now
he gets to rebounding against guys his size. The other
(32:57):
four is the other power forwards. So it's really helped
Tray's game. Again, if you're just looking across the board statistically,
can you look at points only you're like, yeah, is
Trey taking a step back? I don't think he's staying
a step back at all. He's actually flourished from the
fact that now he has a guy down there on
Oscar Cluff And look, this is not Zach Edy. Like, okay,
I don't want to. I think I made a mistake
(33:20):
earlier talking to some posts, I said, oh, you know,
you know Zach Edy. It was similar numbers when Zach
Edy was playing per Tray. No, Oscar Cluff is not
Zach Edy. Making no mistake about that. However, there are
enough similarities there that at least allows Trey to play
his own natural position and really relish in that position.
So yeah, well the scoring numbers might be down, I
(33:41):
think as a whole, if you're just looking at the
team as a whole, it's actually been better for this
whole team. And Trey Kaufman ran himself.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
I just think Trey Kaufman wran this year, Caleb first
before him. If you are a fan of college basketball,
if you were a fan of doing things the right way,
if you are a fan of selflessness and team concept
in what has become fewer, and if you're a fan
(34:09):
of Indiana football and you like the fact that it
is players that are doing what their coach needs as
opposed to what their resume needs, then you should be
a fan of pretty basketball because Trey Kaufman Wren and
that sacrifice of yeah, I'm going to lose forty percent
of my scoring, but it's what's best for my team.
Caleb First, Yeah, I'm going to go from being a starter,
(34:30):
but I'm going to go to med school and I'm
going to do what needs to be done. It's what's
best for my team. And these guys coming back and
sticking with it. Rob, I just think it is a
blueprint in college basketball that literally everybody in this country
that likes sports should admire. And I think that that
absolutely exemplifies it well.
Speaker 5 (34:51):
And I love to tell a story of Trey Colman Wrenn.
The reason he's a fifty year players because he voluntarily
took a red shirt as a freshman. I mean, think
about that. He was the gate A Player of the
Year in the state of Indiana. Okay, we're not We're
not talking about you know, Hawaii, No offense to Hawaii
High school, lass, We're talking to Indiana, dude, and he
voluntarily took a red shirt because he knew it would
(35:13):
be best for his for his long term career as
a college player. So yeah, that's a guy that has
it all together. And I'm with you, man. I watched
that Heisman except acceptance speech from Fernando Mendoza, and I
was like, Robert, what a great dude. What an absolutely
great not only college athlete, but just great human being.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
It's just ambassador, right.
Speaker 5 (35:34):
Absolutely what what a great ambassador for Indiana University. Forget
the football part, uh, but Trey very similar for Purdue.
And you know you mentioned Caleb first and others. Yes,
isn't it refreshing? As a fan, uh, to see these
young people that put the team first, the team goals
ahead of their individual accolades, and then and they're smart
(35:55):
enough to know. Obviously, I don't can't speak for Mendoza,
and I can't speak for creykoffin Ren, but I can
only assume they're smart enough to know. If I'm on
a really really good team, right and I'm a really
really good player, I'm going to get.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
My I'm gonna get my shot, right Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
Absolutely, that's all it comes down to.
Speaker 5 (36:10):
I don't have to average twenty a game here. I
can average thirteen and ten on the sixth range team
in the country, and I'm still going to get the
attention that I need.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
Do you know the best thing about being the Gatorade
Player of the Year in Hawaii?
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Oh my godness, No, no, I do not.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
You're in Hawaii right there, man, right true? Like, Also,
there's a kid right now, there's a kid right now
in Hawaii that's sipping his Gatorade out of an iced
tea glass and he's like, really seventy five and Sonny
out here, big boy? Are things out there?
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
You know what I'm saying. I mean, unless it's Greg
Brady trying to take some surfing waves. Things are pretty
good in Hawaii, you know, I mean, don't kid yourself.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Rob. You know I'm with you. If it was up
to me, would play in the Mali Invitations.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Let's go oh right, yep, but it is Auburn perduing
Auburn coming up six thirty on Saturday. Rob Blackman will
be on the call. Rob. If we do not talk
to you, have a very, very healthy and happy holiday season.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Man, we'll do Jake, thank you and Merry Christmas to you.
And yeah, let's chat again sometime in the new year.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
All right, sounds good. That is Rob Blackman joining us
on the Java House Peel and Poor Gaslam. Eddie, do
you happen to have the breaking news sounder? This just Dan.
I would like for you to please welcome and thank Stacy.
(37:38):
Stacy with an E female listener, thirty five Eddie check
it in up to thirty five now, female listeners. Did
you ever think you'd see the day? I wonder if
her mom's got to go it on? Okay, I think
we're done here. Okay, well thanks everybody. Shame he's up
(38:01):
next joining us now, and I'm sure thrilled to be
doing so based on that little interchange. He is on
the Java House Peel and Poor guest line, Kevin Bowen.
You hear him in the mornings and he has been
camped out over at the Colts Complex on this week
where it is a Monday. So we still got another
show before we get into Colts game stuff with San Francisco.
(38:21):
But I want to begin with this, Kevin, I thought yesterday,
But again, your boots on the ground, you're able to
see and sometimes you can just tell the temperative things
by being in the room and seeing people's reactions. It
felt to me like there were mixed messages between and
I don't mean that maliciously, between Shane Stikeen and Anthony
(38:42):
Richardson as to the severity of the eye injury for
Anthony Richardson and the vision moving forward your thoughts by
being there front and center for it.
Speaker 6 (38:54):
Yeah, and I think there's definitely been times where in
persuire with Richardson, you know sometimes you know, maybe what
Shane has said or what the organization has said is
not necessarily been either heard by Richardson, or you know,
again maybe it sounds a little different to him.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
I probably walked away from yesterday.
Speaker 6 (39:11):
It's more just player downplaying injury, which happens in every sport.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
I don't think it was necessarily you know, the.
Speaker 6 (39:20):
Same thing as maybe some past mixed messaging. I think
there's a very real vision impairment here and he's going
to have to, you know, I guess deal with it
for the time being. Maybe it gets better, maybe it
does not, but that's the reality of where he's at. So,
you know, I don't know if you can make a
comparison of a whatever, a person that wears contacts and
(39:41):
then they're asked to do some sort of activity or
sporting event without contacts in and you know how that
sort of impairment would go. But again, I mean he's
I mean the retina has been damaged. There is scarring
on his eye that is causing some blurred vision. It
could heal, it might not. We'll see what happens, maybe
in the off season, if another procedures need.
Speaker 4 (40:00):
But you know, I do think.
Speaker 6 (40:02):
Shane's words, if he's going out to manage it was
probably one of the more jarring comments of the day.
You know, it's one thing to manage a sprained ankle,
to manage you know, some level of imparavision to getting
not to the point where he can't drive or can't
you know, obviously attempt to practice in football. But whatever
if twenty twenty is you know, not necessarily there for him,
(40:24):
you know, that's what he's gonna have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
You know, Kevin. The one of the questions I had
about this, and I don't know, it was explained a
little bit yesterday, and I was hoping you might know.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Maybe I don't think he brought it out to show everybody,
But I was just talking about, you know, any gym
you see there are devices now they have that it
has basically a plastic you know, round area that you
put your foot on, and then it has two handles
with rubber and you pull those out and that stretches
your leg and your arms both and it's all one contraption.
(40:58):
Was it something like that that broken snapback? Or did
he simply have bands that he was using to like,
you know, wrap around a post or something and the
post itself snapped and came back and hit him or
do we know the reason why is because somebody had
asked me if there was a manufacturer malfunction that could
(41:18):
be responsible for this, and then you get into a
whole other area, which sounds ludicrous, but at the same
time I thought was a fair question. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (41:25):
I mean, he tried to explain it yesterday. I don't
believe it is the elastic band itself.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
I believe that that's part.
Speaker 6 (41:33):
Affiliated with it, some sort of whatever bar mechanism.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Again, I don't know that for sure, but that is
my assumption with that, So it was all one contraption.
Speaker 6 (41:44):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if he a blastic band,
you know, whatever goes on the bar, or you know,
how exactly that works. But I believe that is the
part that broke, that caused the orbital fracture, which caused
the trauma in the eye, and which caused the you know,
I think there was a real period there where they
thought potentially he could lose his vision. And you know,
if anything I've gathered, it is rather unprecedented for a
quarterback to be dealing with anything like this. I mean,
(42:07):
you could say many athletes, but in particularly a quarterback.
I guess if you're looking for a little bit of optimism,
it is the right eye. So for the right handed quarterback,
I think you'd probably if you had. Obviously it's not
ideal for either, but you know, blind sidewise would be
more of your left eye kind of looking over that.
Speaker 4 (42:26):
Shoulder, so you know.
Speaker 6 (42:29):
But again this is a very gruesome and quite the
ugly scene when it all unfold the form. And like
he said yesterday, you know, there's a point in time
early in the recovery process, which is now two months
plus that he thought today I yesterday wouldn't have been possible,
like him even practicing this season. So clearly he has
made enough progress with his vision that he is able
(42:52):
to do that.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
To me, Kevin Bowen, the easy answer is this, And
I know that there's still football to be played year,
but it seems almost a foregone conclusion now that you
simply franchise Daniel Jones, you tag him, You get him
for one more year so that you can see where
he is without having commitment beyond that year. In other words,
(43:17):
you don't sign him right, no, out of a four
year deal, which they may have been on the collision
course towards doing or the inevitability towards doing before Jones
got hurt. So now you franchise, tag him, and you
just see where you are, and maybe you have someone
else that takes over for the first couple of games
before he then gets back out onto the field. In
playing circumstance, talking about next year, you think that's a
(43:37):
fair assessment.
Speaker 6 (43:39):
Well, that's an expensive franchise tag if Daniel Jones isn't.
Speaker 4 (43:44):
Going to play.
Speaker 6 (43:45):
I mean, if I'm not mistakeing, I think it's north
of forty five million.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
So but it's only one year though, so you're only
committing yourself for a year, because wouldn't it be more
expensive if you gave him a three or four year
deal and then find out that he is not the
same guy?
Speaker 2 (44:00):
I think.
Speaker 6 (44:00):
Guess what the Colts gonna have to find out here
before mid March is you know, do you sit down
with this team and obviously the team's going to want
to try and squeeze every dollar, but you know you
sit there and say, hey, you know there's a good
chance whatever, he's going to be limited in some capacity
here in.
Speaker 4 (44:12):
Twenty twenty six. You know what if we did whatever fifteen.
Speaker 6 (44:15):
Million this first year and then you know the second
and the third year has a little bit more money
on that.
Speaker 4 (44:21):
Now, you know again, them saying yes to that is.
Speaker 6 (44:24):
Probably a different answer for you, but I mean slapping
the franchise tag if you are skeptical about his availability
for forty six million dollars for one years just seems
a really really rich. I get that quarterbacks can create
a lot of leverage, but that's a lot now. I
think internally the Colts feel like Daniel Jones is going
(44:46):
to be ready and could be ready as early as
Week one.
Speaker 4 (44:48):
Now ready and playing you know, quality football.
Speaker 6 (44:51):
Probably two different answers there, But like if I were
a betting man right now, I.
Speaker 4 (44:57):
Think the Colts.
Speaker 6 (44:58):
If you ask me how the Colts view it, I
think I think Daniel Jones would be the Week one starter.
Speaker 7 (45:02):
Does Daniel does Daniel Jones want to be back Kevin?
Because I go back to that, you know, that Instagram
post heamate and we have to over analyze these things
just because we don't get to talk to athletes, especially
after they suffer injuries. But when I read that, it
sounded and looked like a goodbye message to the fans
and to the Colts players.
Speaker 4 (45:20):
I boy, I don't. I'd have to go back and
read it.
Speaker 5 (45:22):
I don't.
Speaker 6 (45:23):
I don't remember myself reading that much into it. I
mean maybe a goodbye for twenty twenty five, of course.
But I mean, I think if you were Daniel Jones,
you have to look at the situation here and realize
on and off the field it helped your career greatly.
He doesn't strike me as necessarily the big city guy.
And you know, I could Minnesota re enter the picture.
(45:46):
I mean, they obviously liked him enough, and uh, you know,
they did go with JJ McCarthy. We'll see how McCarthy
plays out, and you know they they'll probably go down
that path again.
Speaker 4 (45:55):
But you know, that could be a team that enters it.
Speaker 6 (45:57):
But I think everything that Shane Stikeen did for him,
absuming it's the same regime, I would think it would make,
you know, certainly sense for the Jones camp.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
To want to be here.
Speaker 6 (46:06):
And he's already made a lot of money in his
NFL career, not that you're just simply trying to go
to wherever top dollar is everywhere. But you know, if
I were him, I would say, well, the situation worked
out pretty well for me, and you know the other
one didn't. So you know, maybe not cut of a deal,
but you know, if it's whatever two or three million
(46:26):
dollar difference, maybe you're not necessarily going to rush to
that top dollar right away.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
You know, the last night, Kevin, did I assume, I
mean you saw some of, if not all, that last
night to me between the Rams in Seattle was the
best game so far this season in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (46:44):
Agree or disagree, Yeah, I mean it's definitely got to
be up there.
Speaker 6 (46:50):
Yeah, just the back and forth nature, either the wild
two point conversion, you know, the big punt return, the
big comeback. Obviously the wild two point versions is just
a ploroughly you know, certainly with the backward pass, but
also there by Mike McDonald to go for it.
Speaker 4 (47:06):
So yeah, I mean.
Speaker 6 (47:07):
Stafford and Pooka looking like the best quarterback white out
tandem they've been all year. Yeah, I mean all of
the two divisional teams, you know, great environment.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
Yeah, definitely, because you have to the reason I bring
that up, if you are Chris Ballard, it had to
actually make you feel pretty good to an extent, because
I know they didn't beat the Rams, I get it,
but I think the Rams may well be the best
team in the league. And you also have a Seattle
team that you know, Darnald represents to an extent what
(47:38):
a Daniel Jones could be because Darnald is a guy
that was written off by several places, including obviously in
the same spot as Daniel Jones a year ago, and
yet once you built around him, he last night I
thought he showed a lot of pocket presence late in
that game. Daniel Jones post that Eddie had mentioned was
thank you to my teammates, coaches, the Colts organization and
(48:00):
all the fans for the overwhelming support. Tough way to
end this season, but it has been an honor to
wear the horseshoe and play for the Colts fans. I'll
mislighting up with my guys, but I'll be riding with
them every step of the way. Go Colts. So that
sounds like a guy that would be open to coming back.
But last night, I just thought that the darnled situation,
combined with the Rams and the way that they looked,
(48:22):
both of those things have to give Chris Ballard some
good feeling moving forward. Question is does that optimism way
over and carry over into his boss and the ownership
that he has them going in the right direction and
should be there next year.
Speaker 6 (48:41):
Yeah, I think it's obviously a great question, And you know,
I know It probably sounds like a cop out, but
I think with Carli Orsa.
Speaker 4 (48:48):
Gordon, the first answer to be, we just don't know.
Speaker 6 (48:49):
I mean, it's no past precedent with or to you know,
kind of judge other decisions off that you might have
with athletic directors or owners or you know, people that.
Speaker 4 (48:58):
Are in those sorts of authoritative roles.
Speaker 6 (49:03):
Now, I think when they made the trade for Sauca Gardner,
every indication was, well, yeah, you don't do that if
you don't think everybody's going to be back.
Speaker 4 (49:11):
But you know, if you had told me at the
start of the year that, assuming this trend.
Speaker 6 (49:14):
Continues, the Colts would miss the playoffs, I would not
have thought to myself that you would then just run
it all back.
Speaker 4 (49:23):
And it's not like the quarterback position has been solved.
Speaker 6 (49:26):
I mean, yes, Daniel Jones played you know, two very
good months of football. But unfortunately, you know, the most
consistent thing that Daniel Jones' career so far has been
season indian injury.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
And the breaks were starting to whistle a little bit there,
weren't they, you know what I mean, Like, I know
that he was really good through eight games, but he
was also starting to show some of those things that
you know, fans in New York had to be like, see,
there's a reason it was TJ Max, Right.
Speaker 6 (49:51):
Yeah, No, that is a that is a good way
to put it as well. So even if you want
to ignore that aspect of it, which I don't think
necessarily you you can. But if you want to give
what benefit of the doubt as a player, there still
is a question of just again overall health and making
it through a season, a season when he wasn't hit
you know, very much, and all of those things. So
(50:13):
you know, this is where I just get really torn
on it because the Gardner trade.
Speaker 4 (50:16):
Is obvious to me.
Speaker 6 (50:17):
It's like, wait, I mean, yeah, everybody's going to be back,
but I mean if they are to lose I mean,
right now, what is it four in a row? You know,
it could be seven. Let's say they win one of
the last three but missed the playoffs. I mean, you
lose six of your last seven when Chris Ballard, arguably
the thing he was most vocal about at the end
of last season was we have to find a way
to win, you know, end of season games better. You know,
(50:39):
on the egregious scale of this season, are there others
that are above it. Certainly, I don't think end of
the injury situation you can't totally ignore. But you know,
at the same time, it's like, just how much longer
are we going to continue to whatever, make excuses run
it back without tangible results.
Speaker 4 (50:58):
You know, seven of the sixteen teams each conference make
the playoffs. I mean that's just about half.
Speaker 6 (51:02):
You know, when this playoff field expanded, you know, back
whatever it was a half dozen years ago, I mean,
that's created almost half of each conference. And now you know,
if you don't make it for a fifth straight year.
Speaker 4 (51:14):
That to me is jarring. But again with Carly, we
just don't know.
Speaker 1 (51:19):
Kevin Bowen is my guest fan Morning show. Of course
you hear him along with James Boyd jeff Rickord each
and every morning from seven until ten am on this
radio station. Kevin, before we get to your son's pick,
I'm curious of this, And first off is your son
does he make it? What do we do on the
Monday with the schedule here in terms of your son's
colts picks?
Speaker 4 (51:39):
Yeah, they're sitting on the counter right now.
Speaker 6 (51:40):
I just I just took out the forty nine ers helmet,
so yeah, it's sitting there and it we have not
made a pick yet.
Speaker 4 (51:47):
He did pick the seahawks. He asked if they were
big or small.
Speaker 6 (51:50):
I don't know if your anatomy or your zoology brain
would have an answer to that.
Speaker 1 (51:54):
Well, I told you they're ospreys. They are rather large.
They are basically hawks, but of a water region.
Speaker 4 (52:01):
Oh yeah, that's right.
Speaker 6 (52:02):
That's because I said, whenever you do do retire, not
that you're Philip Rivers or Matt Ryan, but whenever you
do hang it up, you need to go work at
the zoo.
Speaker 3 (52:11):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (52:12):
Our friend Jersey Johnny worked at the zoo. It's a
perfect natural segue. Right, I love it.
Speaker 3 (52:17):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (52:18):
Okay, so you'll be making the pick win.
Speaker 4 (52:21):
Well, I assume probably later later today.
Speaker 6 (52:24):
You know, the Monday game is just kind of weird
and in the sense of it, you know, it seems like,
you know, we're not we should be.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
There, but we're not there yet. It's it's a long
way to Monday night.
Speaker 6 (52:33):
I believe It's what Hank Williams said at one point
in time. So yes, we'll release that this weekend.
Speaker 4 (52:39):
He did again.
Speaker 6 (52:40):
When last week he was on a bit of a
losing streak. So I want to say he's eight and
six on the year, if that's right.
Speaker 1 (52:45):
Okay, I mean that, I'll believe you. Eight and six.
I mean so he's the Colts basically, right.
Speaker 3 (52:51):
He's the Colts.
Speaker 4 (52:51):
Now he hasn't you know, gone with the Colts each
and every week.
Speaker 6 (52:53):
Obviously when against him last week, but over time he
is better than five hundreds. So for those out there
and in the city of sin, he is. If you
were to tail Max Bowen, you'd be making the money
right now.
Speaker 3 (53:05):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (53:06):
Lastly, do you have a garage full of bronze from
the stuff you ordered for the Ben Matheren statue? Where
do things stand with that?
Speaker 4 (53:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (53:13):
It is a little dusty in there, so yeah, am
I gonna need to ship that to a new city
here in the next month and a half?
Speaker 3 (53:20):
Was that ship?
Speaker 1 (53:22):
Yes? That was every once in a while that we
had a little hiccup in the stream. But yes, he
did say ship by the way, so yes, yeah, I
do think that is going to be the case. Ken,
We talked about it earlier on this show. I do
think Ben Matheren really good player, really good guy, kind
of a quiet dude. I do think probably is going
to be playing elsewhere, but we shall see. That's one
(53:43):
of the things that we will look for, all right, Kevin,
have a wonderful weekend, pleasure as always, and outstanding coverage
on the Colts as well. Mary Christmas, you boys appreciate it.
Kevin Bowen joining us on the Java House Peel and
Poor Guest line
Zach Osterman from the Indianapolis Star, who's joining us now
on the Java House Peel and Poor Guest line whether
or not he has experienced this. He joins us now
in the program, Zach, thank you Eddie. Zach. You have
or have not been to the Rose Bowl.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I've never been to the Rose Bowl. I didn't make
the trip last year in Indiana played UCLA.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Okay, because the one thing that it is a I
went this year for the first time. I mean, I've
been outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but going in
as a spectator at an event there. The one thing
that I will tell Indiana fans if you have a chance,
and by now you probably wouldn't, but if you're buying
on the secondary market, try to buy tickets as close
(00:42):
to the end of the aisle as possible because the
sections are literally like fifty five rows or seats across,
and if you're sitting in say twenty seven and twenty eight,
it is like an airplane. It is the tightest the
outside of the parking lot that we have here. It's
the tightest stadium I've ever seen, in the fact that
(01:03):
it's you know, ninety thousand seats or whatever. It may
be and it should be like sixty five thousand, you
know what I mean, but a fabulous venue in Indiana
get to be Their question would be this the better
matchup for Indiana, Alabama or Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You know, I've obviously discussed this with people for I
guess a couple of weeks now, and I think it
is a difficult question to answer.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
And the reason why is because I think.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
A lot of people would lean Oklahoma because Oklahoma has
struggled so consistently to move and score the ball this season,
and you know, frankly, even if you look at, you know,
some of the games Oklahoma played against teams that were
not very good, they still had some offensive issues. I
think the flip side is if you're sort of saying,
does either of these teams have something about their profile
(01:54):
that they do so exceptionally well that that could win
them a game that could win them a playoff game
by itself, it is Oklahoma defense, and so I think
you'd probably lean Oklahoma, you know, maybe allowing for the
possibility of five Simpson really being hurt and you know,
(02:15):
you're wanting to see a more limited quarterback.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
If you see Alabama, I think you probably lean Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
But I think that the danger there is if there's
kind of one one of these two teams that has
a unit, has.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
A feature.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Of itself that can win a game like this just
by itself. Oklahoma defense can do that at a level
that I'm not sure Alabama can.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
On either side of the ball.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
The Indiana stories act, there's nothing, literally you and I
could do. Like our sister station just did a fabulous
job as they do every year with the WIBC Salvation
Army radiothon right so they're on the radio and just
NonStop for you know, hours upon hours upon hours, And
you and I could do a radiothon right now and
talk to We're blue in the face, And yet we
(03:03):
still would not be able to properly illustrate how dumb
it would be to rule out anything about Indiana at
this point, you know what I mean, we've kind of
seen that they have now answered every single challenge. But
yet do you still think that people see them despite
being the number one seed? Are they the favorite in
(03:26):
this playoff?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I don't think they're the favorite, and I'm not sure
I would make them the favorite. That's not because they're Indiana.
That's just because I think on balance, you can still
make me a compelling argument that Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
In maybe Georgia would be slight a favorite ahead of them.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And I haven't looked at it, like the national championship odds.
I don't know where everybody stacks up. I just think like,
as good as Indiana is, you have to acknowledge them
about who is the favorite to win the literal national championship.
That's as narrow as the margins gets. And I would
argue that Indians maybe in the top three. Like I
(04:11):
was texting with a medium a fellow member of the
sort of college media apparatus in the third quarter of
the Big Ten Championship game, and I said, give me
these two teams in Georgia against the field. I think
one of those three teams wins the national title. I'm
sure I'll be wrong, because I always am, but I
(04:33):
just think like Indiana is in that rare air. They
are one of the teams that has the inside lane,
both because of their seeding and also because of what
they've proven about themselves. I think it's worth pointing out
nobody else has the wins Indiana.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Does you know that's that's kind of one.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Of the big I'm sorry, they.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Have the two best wins in college football.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
They do.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And even if you want to kind of go a
layer below that, a win at I a win at
Penn State, the way they beat Illinois. I mean, you know,
even the non conference schedule, that that was such a
such a controversial sort of talking point in the in
the in the preseason. Well now two of those teams
(05:18):
won ten games, one of them won their conference, So
you know it, nobody's got the sort of what have
you done on the field resume that Indiana Indiana's got.
Now I think there's some injury concerns that that may
come to bear on Indiana here in the playoffs. I
also just think, like I said, we're talking about the
(05:38):
narrowest imaginable margin. We're not talking about in Indiana gets
the six wins or seven wins or in Indiana you
know beat uh. You know these games we used to
talk about where we'd say, you know, the winner of
this game has a good shot at a bowl game,
and the loser is really going to struggle to find
a path. Now we're talking about being the best.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Team in the country.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And and if you're asking me who I think has
the best chance to win a national title.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
I think Indiana is comfortably in the lead pack.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I probably'll have State ever so slightly ahead of them.
And then again, I actually think Kirby has kind of
brought Georgia to the boil at just the right time
this season to put them in that conversation as well.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Zach Osterman is my guest Indianapoli star. He's on the
Java house peel and poor guest line. Zach. You look
at the injury for example, to Stephen Day, who you
know as a defensive lineman was a critical tackle for
lost guy for Indiana, and you know now we know
is not going to be available in the College Football Playoff.
But let me ask this and see how I can
(06:39):
word this. Does Indiana have more margin for error when
it comes to injury based on the fact that it
is not a roster that is built with huge disparity
between their starters and a bunch of five stars and
then they're reserves, a bunch of younger players or three star,
(07:00):
et cetera. There is less drop off per unit with Indiana,
and while they are very good players, what Indiana's formula
for success is is as much about preparation and execution
of what their coach wants versus actual jump out talent
across the board, and that allows for greater transfer of
(07:23):
execution from one player to the next. Overstating it or
some truth to that.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
So I think that's probably fair, at least to a point.
You know. I do think like, however, they solve the
Steven Daily you know, sort of problem here.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Whether it is just going to the next man up,
which is probably Daniel and Dukeway, who's a sophomore, a
little bit undersized.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
He came over.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
He was he was one of the players that was
committed to James Madison out of high school and flipped
his commitment to Indiana when Kurtz Signetti and his staff
came over in the Winner of twenty three, Whether it's
kicking somebody like Mario Landino, who's played tackle for basically
all of this season but did play a fair bit
of an end last season out to the edge, Whether
(08:12):
it is maybe running some more odd fronts Indiana. It's
been a pretty consistent four down front this season, but
we saw them run quite a bit of odd front
last season, you know, between sort of that two man
game between Michael Kamara and CJ. West, with James Carpenter
on the other side, or sometimes Lenel Carr on the
other side. I do think at a certain point, whatever
(08:33):
the solution is there, you're giving up something you can't
get back, whether it's experience in you know, let's not
forget just Steven Day, but also Kellen Wyatt, the Maryland
transfer who had looked so promising and was actually the
player whose injury kind of gave Daily a chance to
come to the four a little bit more as the
(08:54):
season went on. Whether it's the fact that you are
having to maybe change the complexion of your defense a
little bit this time of year. That could be in
moving a player like Landino who's been so productive at tackle.
It could be in changing what you're trying to do
sort of schematically and play maybe a little bit more
three three to five. I do think at a certain point, you,
(09:14):
like I said, before you start to lose something you
can't get back. But I think to your point, the
question is what is the margin on that that sort
of loss versus return And as long as particularly what
I would say is as long as Indiana's got it's
tackle rotation. This is why why I don't think Landino
maybe moves as long as Indiana's got its tackle rotation
(09:36):
tight and Indiana's got those three linebackers healthy.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I think that's the heart of this defense.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Because that is where it is just so hard to
win at the point of attack against Indiana. That the
ends the edges have been really good this season. Why
it was really good before he got hurt, Daily really
came to the four after why I got hurt. Michael
Kamaras saddled some injuries. He's also probably just suffered from
maybe getting a little bit more attention this season, which
(10:04):
has probably opened the door for someone like Wyat or
Daily to be a little bit more productive. But the
constant has been you know, in soccer, we use the
term called the spine of a team, the players, the
quality of the players that run straight through your team,
from your forward to your midfield, to your center backs
to your goalkeeper. The spine of that defense has been
(10:26):
the strength of its defensive tackle play. Tyrie Tucker has
been the first team All Big Ten player, He's been
an All American. I think Mario Landino probably got the
harsh end of some of that decisions, some of those
decision because he was just as good. And then those
three linebackers and how good they've been, how versatile and
multiple they are. As long as Indiana has gotten that,
I think they'll be okay. And I don't think that
(10:47):
your assessment is completely unfair. That there is an extent
to which the secret sauce in all this is Brian
Haynes and his ability, especially given some time. And I
think that's important here because he's had time to figure out.
He's had the best part of him a month or
he will have had the best part of the month
to figure out. Here's how we're going to solve this problem.
(11:08):
This wasn't you know, a fix that was concocted on
five day's turnaround between games. He's had time to sort
of go back to the drawing board, rethink it, rescheme it,
and then a bunch of time in practice. Whatever the
solution is, to drill it and repeat it and refine it.
I think that it is probably I think your your
(11:29):
assessment is probably fair.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
There.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
I'm curious of this, Zach. You know, I went to Indiana.
I grew up in Indiana. My friends, the vast majority
of them are I mean, I obviously pretty friends. My
Cousin's a huge Purdue booster, you know, et cetera. But
from an Indiana standpoint, the football and the rise with
(11:52):
the football program here, from an interest I see it
with my friends, is this now coming at the cost
of the interest and the nil money and the the
what's the word I'm looking for here, the support of
the basketball program as this continues for football at Indiana.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
You're talking about basically like, does it get to a place.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Where, you know, like football is almost siphoning off basketball?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Correct? Is basketball becoming Is basketball quickly becoming the secondary act? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think that's possible.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Now, I think there are some philosophical sort of questions
to acknowledge. They're not just specific to Indiana. For example,
you know, football is dramatically outpacing basketball and popularity in
this country. And I think part of the reason why
you have seen Indiana fans take football so quickly to
(12:52):
to sort of their parts these last two seasons is
just because the climate is right for some for a
to to kind of hand a fan base a newly
successful in.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And Zach listen, I want to weigh in on that
because I did a whole segment the other day about
this and I have no idea why I feel this way,
but it seems to me. And it's not because I
live in Indiana, and it's not because I went to
Indiana and talked about Indiana. But it feels to me
like there is this passing ships in the night of
(13:27):
the sports fan interest and passion about college football in
this country going in one direction and rising quickly before
our very eyes. And college basketball and it's blue bloods,
the Kentucky's, the kansas Is, the Louisville's, the Dukes, all
going through this weird transitional era that is hurting the
(13:49):
overall regular season interest level of college basketball. Am I wrong?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
No?
Speaker 4 (13:55):
I think that's fair.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
That was kind of the other thing I was going
to get to, which is that I think that where,
and lord knows, it's far from perfect, but where this
intersection of revenue sharing and NIL and the portal has
almost you know, given college football this this sort of
NFL draft and free agency kind of you know, off
(14:19):
season electricity.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
I know it doesn't happen dur any offseason.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
But we've almost kind of we've built a mill a
media industrial complex around covering that the same way that
we do the draft, the same way that we do
free agency. I don't think, well, I will be the
first to acknowledge that the portal and all that at
least keeps college basketball in sort of the public consciousness
(14:43):
for another six to eight weeks a year. I don't
think that necessarily that has been good for the college
basketball product in the way that it has been accepted
as good for the college football product. And that may
be a little bit of confirmation biased like if you
just if you just like football more than basketball as
a sports watching population, then you're gonna like the stuff
(15:06):
that comes with football off the field more than you're
gonna like the stuff that comes with basketball at the court.
But I think that where I don't think I have
seen and I don't know if this is a large
numbers thing. I don't know if this is just a
this is really just like a philothophical shift between the
two sports. But I think there has been a lot
less sort of revulsion and rejection at the idea of
(15:31):
the portal and roster turnover in football than there has
been a basketball And it could, like I said, it
could be a numbers thing where you can bring in
twenty five new guys, thirty five new guys every year
and there will still be fifty players on your team
that were there the year before. And football that you
recognize that you've cheered for, that your kids met at
pep rally event or whatever. But you turn over nine
(15:52):
guys on a basketball roster, even seven guys on a
basketball roster, and suddenly the whole thing seems different.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
So that might be part of it.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I mean, there's something to Zach, no doubt, and you're like, no, now,
is that the Elon guy or is that the the
Paul guy? I forget, you know what I mean? And
you do get into that for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, And listen, Indiana is also in this moment at
you know, I'm hesitant to use Indiana as too much
of a sort of like trend setter, because Indiana is
kind of at the extreme ends of this right now.
On the football side, it is realizing success that it
has never known that is just historic, beyond what would
(16:31):
have been previously considered possible.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
And on the basketball side, it's.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
The first year of a new coach who turned over
his entire roster, his entire staff. It's possible that these
things equal out a little bit in two to three years.
That sort of water finds its level, and we don't
look at these two sort of programs of being a
quite the extremes they are right now. But the last
thing I would say to your point, everyone knows this
(16:55):
basketball is not the currency that is it is going
to spind your way into safety in college sports in
the future. That you know, everyone knows there is another
round of consolidation coming probably in the next five to
eight years, once a lot of these TV deals start
to be renegotiated at the start of the next decade.
(17:20):
Football is what's going to keep you in the room
and the music stops. Football is what's going to make
sure that you have a chair to sit in. Basketball
is something like one tenth of like the media rights
equation here.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Football is like, you know, eight point d.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
It's why during conference realignment nobody cared where Kentucky and
Kansas ended up exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
And so there is also that I think fans not.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
That this is good for the sport.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
I'm not saying that something that should be celebrated, but
I think even fans have come to sort of recognize
and support the idea that if you have the opportunity
to be good at football, right now. That's something you've
got to go all in on. Now there's again, like
you said, we could talk ourselves blue in the face
(18:09):
about all of this. There are some other changes that
I suspect are going to happen in the revshare and
NIL space in the next few years, next couple of years,
maybe that that are going to make it a little
bit easier for athletics departments to fund both of these
sports a little bit more fully. In particular, I think
you're I think there's a decent chance you're going to
see schools allowed to add scholarships in non revenue sports
(18:33):
without that counting against their revshare camp and then basically
all the revshare money would just buy a large go
to basketball and football.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
But it is, you know, listen, it is.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I think it is possible at once to say Indiana
it's a bit of an extreme case right now, and
that using Indiana as sort of the Canarian the coal
mine is probably a little bit dangerous, while also acknowledging
that Indiana undeniably reflects the wider sort of trend in
college athletics, which is that football in financial, competitive, political,
(19:07):
and cultural importance is dramatically outfacing basketball and there's not
really an end insight on that.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
By the way, Canary in the Coal Mine is a
great song by the police. I've never really understood what
the term means. Do you know what the term means?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Coal Miners used to bring canaries with them into the
mines before we had carbon monoxide detection equipment, because this
was always my understanding of the phrase anyway, because the
canary would succumb to carbon monoxide.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Poisoning much more quickly than a human.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Would, and if the canary passed out or died, then
the coal miners would know that there was a carbon
monoxide lead somewhere and they needed to get out.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Of the mine.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
That seems you know, unfair, right it does. Yeah, okay,
that makes it. I don't know why the canary though, Like,
why not, you know, I mean, there are canaries seem
like nice birds. Didn't do anything to anybody, good singers, right,
I mean, you know, there's a lot to like about
a canary, you know, why not? Why not a blue jay?
They're they're very aggressive birds. They they they're you know,
(20:06):
they can be a bit of a pest, so to speak,
you know.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, I mean I think it was I think It
was the ease of use of getting a scenario into
a cage and bringing it down out of the month.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Just when your local pet store get a canary. Well,
I'll tell you that that frank guy that wears that
that little light on his head, he's in here getting
canaries four or five times a week. What's up with
that guy? He better have a newspaper subscription. That guy's
got a lot of birds.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (20:34):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Lastly, what is Indiana zach real quick? You know, as
Indiana gets set now to go out to Pasadena, has
Kurt Signetti handled his I know that he said, you know,
I got to get these guys humbled and and you
know the phrase that he uses, right, hard work humble.
Is their schedule changed at all? Have they gone about
have they have they backed off a little bit to
(20:55):
get rested? Have they gone full bore? Are they simply
waiting to see who they're gonna play? That's been the
schedule for Indiana football.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, so they just kind of fired back up this week.
They got some time off kind of in the immediate
aftermath as a Big Ten championship game, which was always
the plan. You know, Signetti kind of I think outlined
with us even before the game against Ohio State, basically
that it would it would sort of be a like
immediately following everyone would get some rest, there'd be a
(21:24):
lot of focus on, you know, getting guys healthy, getting
guys as fresh as possible, getting treatment into players who's
maybe been playing with injuries and different things like that.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
This week is the week that they were kind of
going to get back to work.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
You know that that Signetti has said he and his
staff were kind of going to be balancing between self
scout and then some Oklahoma from Alabama. We've heard individual players,
including Feranana Mendoza, kind of talk about how they probably
watched a little bit of both teams. But typically, you know,
as with a lot of bowls prep, you do spend
a little bit of time focusing on yourself. You spend
(21:58):
a little bit of time sort of saying, okay, so
back some things that we weren't able to work on,
and the sort of meat grinder of the season, Let's
let's maybe clean up some fundamental things that we saw
really develop over.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
The last month.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Again, let's try to get some guys healthy, and then
I think you're really going to see Indiana beginning to
prepare an earnest once it knows.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Obviously it's opponent.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
The only thing that I think is it's probably different
from like the old sort of standard bowl practice set
up is that you ended you used to use your
bowl practices as almost a like a second spring season,
and you would you would give your young players. Yeah exactly,
I think that that that's probably gone. Now. You have
(22:43):
to spend more of this time on the guys that
are going to be on the field because you know, listen,
you know you're basically entering almost like a season onto itself. Now,
if if Indiana wins this game, they'll turn around and
have one week to prepare for whoever they play in
the Peach Bowl, and if they win that game, they'll
have a look little bit more time to prepare for
the national title. But like it, once you get back
(23:04):
into that rhythm, there's not going to be time to
sort of break back out of it and you know,
get a little bit more fundamental or philosophical again. So
I think that's the only thing that's really changed now
from the old ball prep is that your younger players,
the ones that aren't necessarily going to be involved in
these games, probably aren't getting as much sort of quality
on field time as if. Coach, you used to almost
look at bull prep as like you've got a second
(23:26):
spring season. Now I think it is much more about
whether you have to buy or you don't. The playoff is.
We are intensely focused on us here now and getting
ready for whatever now.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I have been in bowl seasons since September of nineteen
seventy two because it was at that time I began
focusing on myself and I've never stopped. I'm not going
to lie to you about that. Zach Ostraman Osterman from
the Indianapolis Star Indiana football basketball as well again Hoosiers
on the basketball side of things, taking on Chicago State.
That game is tomorrow. You can hear on our sister
(23:59):
station wi IBC. Zach appreciate the time as always on
the Java House, Peela Poor guest Line.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Absolutely thanks for having me as.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Always joining us now on the Java House Peel and
Poor Guest Line. He is the radio voice of the
Purdue boiler Makers. Purdue with a big one against Auburn
coming up, as it can seem it seems, Rob Blackman,
I think you'd agreed with me on this it seems
like the produce schedule literally every single time you turn around,
it's a different ranked team staring you in the face.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Yeah, and I'll tell you what. I would also give
a tip of the cap to Auburn as well, who's
going to be their fourth Top ten team. They've played
already this year. This will be their twelfth game, and
for the twelve have been to the Top ten. So
you have two teams that have not been bashful about
the scheduling high level competition, and you know, some of
(24:48):
that stuff like old for instance, when Purdue played in
the Bahamas, you know, you don't have any real control
over that. Whoever makes the tournament puts together the schedule.
So the fact you got to play Texas Tech certainly helped,
but there's no way knowing going into it. But yeah,
the least as far as the games that produce has
been able to schedule at their own position, Matt Painter,
(25:08):
as he's been doing the last five, six, seven years.
I've done everything in its power to make sure you
put together quality schedule and hopefully put enough good teams
on there to get you ready for the big ten
portion of the season.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Okay, when you mentioned Top ten games and Robins the
first time. You know, I realized that that There have
been games since then, two of them as a matter
of fact, But I want to go back to this.
One of the advantages of scheduling yourself and challenging yourself
via schedule is you know you could learn things or
take away things for the regular season. That's really what
(25:41):
it's all about. But Iowa State came in. It is
the largest margin of victory on the road between two
top ten teams out of conference. I believe in college
basketball history with what Iowa State was able to do
to completely control Purdue. Did they expose anything of purduing
that game?
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Boy, good question. I think the only thing, the one
thing they exposed at least answered a question for Purdue
that Perdue wasn't quite sure of the answer, and now
they know it is that Purdue's big three Brayden and
Fletcher and Tredy, Kaufman Wren cannot have a mediocre to
bad day all on the same day, not against the
quality opponent, at least not right now. Matt Painter has
(26:24):
said as much. As a matter of fact, he talked
about that earlier this week. I recorded a podcast with
him and he was talking about that. When you look
at Purdue and where they are right now this very
second December to whatever it's nineteenth, I guess December nineteenth.
Purdue is not good enough right now to survive a
day when all three, when you're Big three, have mediocre
(26:44):
to poor days, which is what happened that day. And look,
we're going to be truthful here. It was really just
one bad half. You know, Purdue was down four in
the first half and as actually we're doing okay. It
was just the second half got awfully ugly there for Purdue.
But so that's probably the one the answer that came
out of that that you were kind of thinking, well,
I'm not sure about this. Well now you know.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Now you know.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Uh, And as Matt Painter you mentioned earlier in the
week when I talked to him, So now the goal
is the trick is what do we need to do
to put ourselves in a position where, if indeed that
would happen again, say somewhere in the Big ten schedule,
can we find a way to win, because right now
not good enough.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
To do that.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
If if you can work your way towards being able
to do that, when the Big three are playing well
on the same day and still find a way to win,
and then you've really made some progress. But that's the
one thing to me I think that came out of
that game.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Rob. Every once in a while, and I know this
will shock you, Rob Blackman, our guest job, a house
peel and poor guest line. Every once in a while
I come up with terms to allow my brain to
illustrate things. And then I realized that I'm the only
one that understands the term. Okay, so let me give
you a term and then I'm going to explain it
to you. Okay, I call it the Darren Hancock phenomenon.
(28:01):
Now I'm assuming that you are unfamiliar with the name
Darren Hancock. Correct I am, Okay. It is not Herbie
Hancock that was rocket, but Darren Hancock was a When
I was at the University of Kansas a billion years
ago and KU was really good, and the big buzz
was they had signed the number one transfer in the country,
(28:22):
Darren Hancock, that was a high fly in twenty plus
point per game score out of junior college and he
was going to be the final piece for KU. And
he got there. And while Kansas was good, he just
never found footing and never as good as he was,
he wasn't good for them. It just didn't work, okay.
(28:44):
And you see that a lot with transfers that are
upperclassmen because they already have set in their ways kind
of the style in which they play. And I was
curious as to whether or not Oscar Kluff would be
a Darren Hancock phenomenon, and it seems to be the
complete opposite. Is this as good an acclamation for a
guy as you have seen on Purdue rosters?
Speaker 5 (29:07):
Well, I would put it in the argument with Lance
Jones if we're just talking grad transfers for one year,
I think getting Purdue fan would admit Lance Jones was
the missing peach that got Purdue to the Final Four.
Even though he was the worst three point shooter on
the team if you just go percentages as far as
the guys that were shooting the most of them.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Even though his.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
Turnover numbers were way too high, he still was the
missing piece that Purdue needed from his effort on the
defensive end and the fact that he could hit the
big shot. You never knew when it was coming, but
he could do it. So I would put those two
in that same argument. I have to tell you, Jake,
he was. Of course, last spring was so crazy you
(29:47):
had because the transfer portal had opened up. Purdue was
in Indianapolis getting ready to play in the Sweet sixteen.
So you know, look, this wasn't immune to exclusive I
should say is purdueco But anyone who is still in
the Sweet sixteen was in this predicament that if you're
trying to coach your team and get ready to try
to advance in the NCAA tournament, but the transfer portal
(30:09):
windows open, so you're also trying to make your team
better for next year. So you have all these different
things on your plate. And I'm telling you this story
because I can promise you spending enough time with the
Purdue coaches in downtown Indy last year prepping for that
Houston Sweet sixteen game, there was a whole lot of
discussion about Oscar Cluck is the guy we absolutely have
to have. You know, if you said, okay, you can
(30:30):
get one guy from the portal, but you have to
sell your soul to the devil, it would have been
Oscar Cluck. That It's how sold they were on what
they thought he could bring to this team. Sure enough,
that these do. The first eleven games, he has done
just that. I mean he's the number one field goal
percent percentage to make seventy five percent. I mean he
doesn't take bad shots. He takes shots he knows he
(30:52):
can make. And that's while averaging twelve points a game.
It's one thing if you're averaging two points a game, right,
but he's averaging twelve points a game shooting seventy conference.
He's a good pre throw shooter, eighty one percent house shooter,
and he leads the country in offensive rebounding percentage. So
everything for due needed in the portal they got. And yes,
you never know, and you're talking about your guy, Hancock,
(31:13):
you never know when you bring those guys in. You
watch them one film as much as you can that
you know, the coaches do their due diligence, They talk
to other coaches or the players whatever in DA scouts,
all these guys that big trust. But you never really know.
But the fact that Oscar Cluff has yes acclimated himself
not only just to be a good player, but apparently
it seems to have plugged every single hole that needed
(31:36):
plugged to have an elite team again this year has
got a come story.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
And I don't mean this to be on the negative
side of it, Rob, but I'm curious, has the reliability
and the just the minutes that Kluff is giving them,
has that come at the cost of anything else, In
other words, maybe taking away a little bit from the
establishment offensively of Trey Kaufmann, who has still been very,
very good, or the growth of Daniel Jacobson, Or is
(32:04):
it really the perfect balance kind of across all three.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Yeah, I think the perfect balance. And especially with Trey
Kaufman Wren. His scoring numbers are down, but that's actually
a good thing for Purdue. You know, Trey last year
averaged twenty points six points a game that was top
ten in the country. He's down to thirteen points a
game this year. The reason Purdue has another viable option
in the low post, actually two of them, and Jacobson
and Kluff. So last year when Purdue through the ball inside,
(32:30):
they were throwing it to one guy. Let's all be
very quite oster throwing it to one guy, Tray Taufman
w Rent.
Speaker 4 (32:35):
That's it.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Now you have three guys that you feel comfortable throwing
the ball to in the low post. The other thing's
really helped Trey with is is rebounding. You know, last
year Trey always had to go against the bigger centers
in the league, so his rebounding numbers weren't great six
and a half or so a game. This year there
you know, he's a ten point four rebounds a game,
which is top ten in the country, mainly because now
he gets to rebounding against guys his size. The other
(32:57):
four is the other power forwards. So it's really helped
Tray's game. Again, if you're just looking across the board statistically,
can you look at points only you're like, yeah, is
Trey taking a step back? I don't think he's staying
a step back at all. He's actually flourished from the
fact that now he has a guy down there on
Oscar Cluff And look, this is not Zach Edy. Like, okay,
I don't want to. I think I made a mistake
(33:20):
earlier talking to some posts, I said, oh, you know,
you know Zach Edy. It was similar numbers when Zach
Edy was playing per Tray. No, Oscar Cluff is not
Zach Edy. Making no mistake about that. However, there are
enough similarities there that at least allows Trey to play
his own natural position and really relish in that position.
So yeah, well the scoring numbers might be down, I
(33:41):
think as a whole, if you're just looking at the
team as a whole, it's actually been better for this
whole team. And Trey Kaufman ran himself.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
I just think Trey Kaufman wran this year, Caleb first
before him. If you are a fan of college basketball,
if you were a fan of doing things the right way,
if you are a fan of selflessness and team concept
in what has become fewer, and if you're a fan
(34:09):
of Indiana football and you like the fact that it
is players that are doing what their coach needs as
opposed to what their resume needs, then you should be
a fan of pretty basketball because Trey Kaufman Wren and
that sacrifice of yeah, I'm going to lose forty percent
of my scoring, but it's what's best for my team.
Caleb First, Yeah, I'm going to go from being a starter,
(34:30):
but I'm going to go to med school and I'm
going to do what needs to be done. It's what's
best for my team. And these guys coming back and
sticking with it. Rob, I just think it is a
blueprint in college basketball that literally everybody in this country
that likes sports should admire. And I think that that
absolutely exemplifies it well.
Speaker 5 (34:51):
And I love to tell a story of Trey Colman Wrenn.
The reason he's a fifty year players because he voluntarily
took a red shirt as a freshman. I mean, think
about that. He was the gate A Player of the
Year in the state of Indiana. Okay, we're not We're
not talking about you know, Hawaii, No offense to Hawaii
High school, lass, We're talking to Indiana, dude, and he
voluntarily took a red shirt because he knew it would
(35:13):
be best for his for his long term career as
a college player. So yeah, that's a guy that has
it all together. And I'm with you, man. I watched
that Heisman except acceptance speech from Fernando Mendoza, and I
was like, Robert, what a great dude. What an absolutely
great not only college athlete, but just great human being.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
It's just ambassador, right.
Speaker 5 (35:34):
Absolutely what what a great ambassador for Indiana University. Forget
the football part, uh, but Trey very similar for Purdue.
And you know you mentioned Caleb first and others. Yes,
isn't it refreshing? As a fan, uh, to see these
young people that put the team first, the team goals
ahead of their individual accolades, and then and they're smart
(35:55):
enough to know. Obviously, I don't can't speak for Mendoza,
and I can't speak for creykoffin Ren, but I can
only assume they're smart enough to know. If I'm on
a really really good team, right and I'm a really
really good player, I'm going to get.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
My I'm gonna get my shot, right Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
Absolutely, that's all it comes down to.
Speaker 5 (36:10):
I don't have to average twenty a game here. I
can average thirteen and ten on the sixth range team
in the country, and I'm still going to get the
attention that I need.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
Do you know the best thing about being the Gatorade
Player of the Year in Hawaii?
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Oh my godness, No, no, I do not.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
You're in Hawaii right there, man, right true? Like, Also,
there's a kid right now, there's a kid right now
in Hawaii that's sipping his Gatorade out of an iced
tea glass and he's like, really seventy five and Sonny
out here, big boy? Are things out there?
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
You know what I'm saying. I mean, unless it's Greg
Brady trying to take some surfing waves. Things are pretty
good in Hawaii, you know, I mean, don't kid yourself.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Rob. You know I'm with you. If it was up
to me, would play in the Mali Invitations.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Let's go oh right, yep, but it is Auburn perduing
Auburn coming up six thirty on Saturday. Rob Blackman will
be on the call. Rob. If we do not talk
to you, have a very, very healthy and happy holiday season.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Man, we'll do Jake, thank you and Merry Christmas to you.
And yeah, let's chat again sometime in the new year.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
All right, sounds good. That is Rob Blackman joining us
on the Java House Peel and Poor Gaslam. Eddie, do
you happen to have the breaking news sounder? This just Dan.
I would like for you to please welcome and thank Stacy.
(37:38):
Stacy with an E female listener, thirty five Eddie check
it in up to thirty five now, female listeners. Did
you ever think you'd see the day? I wonder if
her mom's got to go it on? Okay, I think
we're done here. Okay, well thanks everybody. Shame he's up
(38:01):
next joining us now, and I'm sure thrilled to be
doing so based on that little interchange. He is on
the Java House Peel and Poor guest line, Kevin Bowen.
You hear him in the mornings and he has been
camped out over at the Colts Complex on this week
where it is a Monday. So we still got another
show before we get into Colts game stuff with San Francisco.
(38:21):
But I want to begin with this, Kevin, I thought yesterday,
But again, your boots on the ground, you're able to
see and sometimes you can just tell the temperative things
by being in the room and seeing people's reactions. It
felt to me like there were mixed messages between and
I don't mean that maliciously, between Shane Stikeen and Anthony
(38:42):
Richardson as to the severity of the eye injury for
Anthony Richardson and the vision moving forward your thoughts by
being there front and center for it.
Speaker 6 (38:54):
Yeah, and I think there's definitely been times where in
persuire with Richardson, you know sometimes you know, maybe what
Shane has said or what the organization has said is
not necessarily been either heard by Richardson, or you know,
again maybe it sounds a little different to him.
Speaker 4 (39:09):
I probably walked away from yesterday.
Speaker 6 (39:11):
It's more just player downplaying injury, which happens in every sport.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
I don't think it was necessarily you know, the.
Speaker 6 (39:20):
Same thing as maybe some past mixed messaging. I think
there's a very real vision impairment here and he's going
to have to, you know, I guess deal with it
for the time being. Maybe it gets better, maybe it
does not, but that's the reality of where he's at. So,
you know, I don't know if you can make a
comparison of a whatever, a person that wears contacts and
(39:41):
then they're asked to do some sort of activity or
sporting event without contacts in and you know how that
sort of impairment would go. But again, I mean he's
I mean the retina has been damaged. There is scarring
on his eye that is causing some blurred vision. It
could heal, it might not. We'll see what happens, maybe
in the off season, if another procedures need.
Speaker 4 (40:00):
But you know, I do think.
Speaker 6 (40:02):
Shane's words, if he's going out to manage it was
probably one of the more jarring comments of the day.
You know, it's one thing to manage a sprained ankle,
to manage you know, some level of imparavision to getting
not to the point where he can't drive or can't
you know, obviously attempt to practice in football. But whatever
if twenty twenty is you know, not necessarily there for him,
(40:24):
you know, that's what he's gonna have to deal with.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
You know, Kevin. The one of the questions I had
about this, and I don't know, it was explained a
little bit yesterday, and I was hoping you might know.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Maybe I don't think he brought it out to show everybody,
But I was just talking about, you know, any gym
you see there are devices now they have that it
has basically a plastic you know, round area that you
put your foot on, and then it has two handles
with rubber and you pull those out and that stretches
your leg and your arms both and it's all one contraption.
(40:58):
Was it something like that that broken snapback? Or did
he simply have bands that he was using to like,
you know, wrap around a post or something and the
post itself snapped and came back and hit him or
do we know the reason why is because somebody had
asked me if there was a manufacturer malfunction that could
(41:18):
be responsible for this, and then you get into a
whole other area, which sounds ludicrous, but at the same
time I thought was a fair question. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (41:25):
I mean, he tried to explain it yesterday. I don't
believe it is the elastic band itself.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
I believe that that's part.
Speaker 6 (41:33):
Affiliated with it, some sort of whatever bar mechanism.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Again, I don't know that for sure, but that is
my assumption with that, So it was all one contraption.
Speaker 6 (41:44):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if he a blastic band,
you know, whatever goes on the bar, or you know,
how exactly that works. But I believe that is the
part that broke, that caused the orbital fracture, which caused
the trauma in the eye, and which caused the you know,
I think there was a real period there where they
thought potentially he could lose his vision. And you know,
if anything I've gathered, it is rather unprecedented for a
quarterback to be dealing with anything like this. I mean,
(42:07):
you could say many athletes, but in particularly a quarterback.
I guess if you're looking for a little bit of optimism,
it is the right eye. So for the right handed quarterback,
I think you'd probably if you had. Obviously it's not
ideal for either, but you know, blind sidewise would be
more of your left eye kind of looking over that.
Speaker 4 (42:26):
Shoulder, so you know.
Speaker 6 (42:29):
But again this is a very gruesome and quite the
ugly scene when it all unfold the form. And like
he said yesterday, you know, there's a point in time
early in the recovery process, which is now two months
plus that he thought today I yesterday wouldn't have been possible,
like him even practicing this season. So clearly he has
made enough progress with his vision that he is able
(42:52):
to do that.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
To me, Kevin Bowen, the easy answer is this, And
I know that there's still football to be played year,
but it seems almost a foregone conclusion now that you
simply franchise Daniel Jones, you tag him, You get him
for one more year so that you can see where
he is without having commitment beyond that year. In other words,
(43:17):
you don't sign him right, no, out of a four
year deal, which they may have been on the collision
course towards doing or the inevitability towards doing before Jones
got hurt. So now you franchise, tag him, and you
just see where you are, and maybe you have someone
else that takes over for the first couple of games
before he then gets back out onto the field. In
playing circumstance, talking about next year, you think that's a
(43:37):
fair assessment.
Speaker 6 (43:39):
Well, that's an expensive franchise tag if Daniel Jones isn't.
Speaker 4 (43:44):
Going to play.
Speaker 6 (43:45):
I mean, if I'm not mistakeing, I think it's north
of forty five million.
Speaker 1 (43:48):
So but it's only one year though, so you're only
committing yourself for a year, because wouldn't it be more
expensive if you gave him a three or four year
deal and then find out that he is not the
same guy?
Speaker 2 (44:00):
I think.
Speaker 6 (44:00):
Guess what the Colts gonna have to find out here
before mid March is you know, do you sit down
with this team and obviously the team's going to want
to try and squeeze every dollar, but you know you
sit there and say, hey, you know there's a good
chance whatever, he's going to be limited in some capacity
here in.
Speaker 4 (44:12):
Twenty twenty six. You know what if we did whatever fifteen.
Speaker 6 (44:15):
Million this first year and then you know the second
and the third year has a little bit more money
on that.
Speaker 4 (44:21):
Now, you know again, them saying yes to that is.
Speaker 6 (44:24):
Probably a different answer for you, but I mean slapping
the franchise tag if you are skeptical about his availability
for forty six million dollars for one years just seems
a really really rich. I get that quarterbacks can create
a lot of leverage, but that's a lot now. I
think internally the Colts feel like Daniel Jones is going
(44:46):
to be ready and could be ready as early as
Week one.
Speaker 4 (44:48):
Now ready and playing you know, quality football.
Speaker 6 (44:51):
Probably two different answers there, But like if I were
a betting man right now, I.
Speaker 4 (44:57):
Think the Colts.
Speaker 6 (44:58):
If you ask me how the Colts view it, I
think I think Daniel Jones would be the Week one starter.
Speaker 7 (45:02):
Does Daniel does Daniel Jones want to be back Kevin?
Because I go back to that, you know, that Instagram
post heamate and we have to over analyze these things
just because we don't get to talk to athletes, especially
after they suffer injuries. But when I read that, it
sounded and looked like a goodbye message to the fans
and to the Colts players.
Speaker 4 (45:20):
I boy, I don't. I'd have to go back and
read it.
Speaker 5 (45:22):
I don't.
Speaker 6 (45:23):
I don't remember myself reading that much into it. I
mean maybe a goodbye for twenty twenty five, of course.
But I mean, I think if you were Daniel Jones,
you have to look at the situation here and realize
on and off the field it helped your career greatly.
He doesn't strike me as necessarily the big city guy.
And you know, I could Minnesota re enter the picture.
(45:46):
I mean, they obviously liked him enough, and uh, you know,
they did go with JJ McCarthy. We'll see how McCarthy
plays out, and you know they they'll probably go down
that path again.
Speaker 4 (45:55):
But you know, that could be a team that enters it.
Speaker 6 (45:57):
But I think everything that Shane Stikeen did for him,
absuming it's the same regime, I would think it would make,
you know, certainly sense for the Jones camp.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
To want to be here.
Speaker 6 (46:06):
And he's already made a lot of money in his
NFL career, not that you're just simply trying to go
to wherever top dollar is everywhere. But you know, if
I were him, I would say, well, the situation worked
out pretty well for me, and you know the other
one didn't. So you know, maybe not cut of a deal,
but you know, if it's whatever two or three million
(46:26):
dollar difference, maybe you're not necessarily going to rush to
that top dollar right away.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
You know, the last night, Kevin, did I assume, I
mean you saw some of, if not all, that last
night to me between the Rams in Seattle was the
best game so far this season in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (46:44):
Agree or disagree, Yeah, I mean it's definitely got to
be up there.
Speaker 6 (46:50):
Yeah, just the back and forth nature, either the wild
two point conversion, you know, the big punt return, the
big comeback. Obviously the wild two point versions is just
a ploroughly you know, certainly with the backward pass, but
also there by Mike McDonald to go for it.
Speaker 4 (47:06):
So yeah, I mean.
Speaker 6 (47:07):
Stafford and Pooka looking like the best quarterback white out
tandem they've been all year. Yeah, I mean all of
the two divisional teams, you know, great environment.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
Yeah, definitely, because you have to the reason I bring
that up, if you are Chris Ballard, it had to
actually make you feel pretty good to an extent, because
I know they didn't beat the Rams, I get it,
but I think the Rams may well be the best
team in the league. And you also have a Seattle
team that you know, Darnald represents to an extent what
(47:38):
a Daniel Jones could be because Darnald is a guy
that was written off by several places, including obviously in
the same spot as Daniel Jones a year ago, and
yet once you built around him, he last night I
thought he showed a lot of pocket presence late in
that game. Daniel Jones post that Eddie had mentioned was
thank you to my teammates, coaches, the Colts organization and
(48:00):
all the fans for the overwhelming support. Tough way to
end this season, but it has been an honor to
wear the horseshoe and play for the Colts fans. I'll
mislighting up with my guys, but I'll be riding with
them every step of the way. Go Colts. So that
sounds like a guy that would be open to coming back.
But last night, I just thought that the darnled situation,
combined with the Rams and the way that they looked,
(48:22):
both of those things have to give Chris Ballard some
good feeling moving forward. Question is does that optimism way
over and carry over into his boss and the ownership
that he has them going in the right direction and
should be there next year.
Speaker 6 (48:41):
Yeah, I think it's obviously a great question, And you know,
I know It probably sounds like a cop out, but
I think with Carli Orsa.
Speaker 4 (48:48):
Gordon, the first answer to be, we just don't know.
Speaker 6 (48:49):
I mean, it's no past precedent with or to you know,
kind of judge other decisions off that you might have
with athletic directors or owners or you know, people that.
Speaker 4 (48:58):
Are in those sorts of authoritative roles.
Speaker 6 (49:03):
Now, I think when they made the trade for Sauca Gardner,
every indication was, well, yeah, you don't do that if
you don't think everybody's going to be back.
Speaker 4 (49:11):
But you know, if you had told me at the
start of the year that, assuming this trend.
Speaker 6 (49:14):
Continues, the Colts would miss the playoffs, I would not
have thought to myself that you would then just run
it all back.
Speaker 4 (49:23):
And it's not like the quarterback position has been solved.
Speaker 6 (49:26):
I mean, yes, Daniel Jones played you know, two very
good months of football. But unfortunately, you know, the most
consistent thing that Daniel Jones' career so far has been
season indian injury.
Speaker 1 (49:36):
And the breaks were starting to whistle a little bit there,
weren't they, you know what I mean, Like, I know
that he was really good through eight games, but he
was also starting to show some of those things that
you know, fans in New York had to be like, see,
there's a reason it was TJ Max, Right.
Speaker 6 (49:51):
Yeah, No, that is a that is a good way
to put it as well. So even if you want
to ignore that aspect of it, which I don't think
necessarily you you can. But if you want to give
what benefit of the doubt as a player, there still
is a question of just again overall health and making
it through a season, a season when he wasn't hit
you know, very much, and all of those things. So
(50:13):
you know, this is where I just get really torn
on it because the Gardner trade.
Speaker 4 (50:16):
Is obvious to me.
Speaker 6 (50:17):
It's like, wait, I mean, yeah, everybody's going to be back,
but I mean if they are to lose I mean,
right now, what is it four in a row? You know,
it could be seven. Let's say they win one of
the last three but missed the playoffs. I mean, you
lose six of your last seven when Chris Ballard, arguably
the thing he was most vocal about at the end
of last season was we have to find a way
to win, you know, end of season games better. You know,
(50:39):
on the egregious scale of this season, are there others
that are above it. Certainly, I don't think end of
the injury situation you can't totally ignore. But you know,
at the same time, it's like, just how much longer
are we going to continue to whatever, make excuses run
it back without tangible results.
Speaker 4 (50:58):
You know, seven of the sixteen teams each conference make
the playoffs. I mean that's just about half.
Speaker 6 (51:02):
You know, when this playoff field expanded, you know, back
whatever it was a half dozen years ago, I mean,
that's created almost half of each conference. And now you know,
if you don't make it for a fifth straight year.
Speaker 4 (51:14):
That to me is jarring. But again with Carly, we
just don't know.
Speaker 1 (51:19):
Kevin Bowen is my guest fan Morning show. Of course
you hear him along with James Boyd jeff Rickord each
and every morning from seven until ten am on this
radio station. Kevin, before we get to your son's pick,
I'm curious of this, And first off is your son
does he make it? What do we do on the
Monday with the schedule here in terms of your son's
colts picks?
Speaker 4 (51:39):
Yeah, they're sitting on the counter right now.
Speaker 6 (51:40):
I just I just took out the forty nine ers helmet,
so yeah, it's sitting there and it we have not
made a pick yet.
Speaker 4 (51:47):
He did pick the seahawks. He asked if they were
big or small.
Speaker 6 (51:50):
I don't know if your anatomy or your zoology brain
would have an answer to that.
Speaker 1 (51:54):
Well, I told you they're ospreys. They are rather large.
They are basically hawks, but of a water region.
Speaker 4 (52:01):
Oh yeah, that's right.
Speaker 6 (52:02):
That's because I said, whenever you do do retire, not
that you're Philip Rivers or Matt Ryan, but whenever you
do hang it up, you need to go work at
the zoo.
Speaker 3 (52:11):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (52:12):
Our friend Jersey Johnny worked at the zoo. It's a
perfect natural segue. Right, I love it.
Speaker 3 (52:17):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (52:18):
Okay, so you'll be making the pick win.
Speaker 4 (52:21):
Well, I assume probably later later today.
Speaker 6 (52:24):
You know, the Monday game is just kind of weird
and in the sense of it, you know, it seems like,
you know, we're not we should be.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
There, but we're not there yet. It's it's a long
way to Monday night.
Speaker 6 (52:33):
I believe It's what Hank Williams said at one point
in time. So yes, we'll release that this weekend.
Speaker 4 (52:39):
He did again.
Speaker 6 (52:40):
When last week he was on a bit of a
losing streak. So I want to say he's eight and
six on the year, if that's right.
Speaker 1 (52:45):
Okay, I mean that, I'll believe you. Eight and six.
I mean so he's the Colts basically, right.
Speaker 3 (52:51):
He's the Colts.
Speaker 4 (52:51):
Now he hasn't you know, gone with the Colts each
and every week.
Speaker 6 (52:53):
Obviously when against him last week, but over time he
is better than five hundreds. So for those out there
and in the city of sin, he is. If you
were to tail Max Bowen, you'd be making the money
right now.
Speaker 3 (53:05):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (53:06):
Lastly, do you have a garage full of bronze from
the stuff you ordered for the Ben Matheren statue? Where
do things stand with that?
Speaker 4 (53:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (53:13):
It is a little dusty in there, so yeah, am
I gonna need to ship that to a new city
here in the next month and a half?
Speaker 3 (53:20):
Was that ship?
Speaker 1 (53:22):
Yes? That was every once in a while that we
had a little hiccup in the stream. But yes, he
did say ship by the way, so yes, yeah, I
do think that is going to be the case. Ken,
We talked about it earlier on this show. I do
think Ben Matheren really good player, really good guy, kind
of a quiet dude. I do think probably is going
to be playing elsewhere, but we shall see. That's one
(53:43):
of the things that we will look for, all right, Kevin,
have a wonderful weekend, pleasure as always, and outstanding coverage
on the Colts as well. Mary Christmas, you boys appreciate it.
Kevin Bowen joining us on the Java House Peel and
Poor Guest line
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.