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What's happened?
Everybody? Happy Friday? It's painted Oh no, wit that was this morning when it was painted Pentergas. It's now Texans All Access with me John Harris Football on a sideline reporter. This is our number five on a Friday, alongside the voice of the Texans, Mark Vander remark. How are you doing? You're ready for some heavy lifting today? I'm doing great. I would have warned you about that. Agreeing to do the morning show, it's like.
Weeks away, like y'all, I'll do it. Yeah, awesome.
And then the day arrived, You're thinking I have to get up early. Oh no, and it's like today's Friday, so let me. Typically we would have Mika Ryan's pregame, we have a player pregame interview.
You know, we have Jonathan Alexander with us.
We'd have all this, but because the game was Wednesday, which I'm still trying to get caught up on my days.
I'm still kind of confused with it is. It's a bizarre week.
If there's never been another I like it, and there won't be another one like it for a long time. And I have thoughts on how they should handle the Christmas Day set up in future years on Wednesday, but unfortunately, well fortunately you don't have to deal with this every year. So my solution, I would think you played the doubleheader maybe on Friday, okay with the NFL teams that are gonna play on Christmas, or maybe you do the Thursday game the previous week and do a Friday game, or do a Thursday doubleheader and they have them play on Wednesday. I think fair that is a much better setup because I think despite the fact that the Ravens look great and the Chiefs feel good, I think it does hurt all fourteen in the short term to do that.
Now you get a week.
And a half off before your regular season finale, that's good stuff, and especially for the Ravens who need that win to clinch, and the Steelers are hanging on for dear life. The Chiefs don't need the regular season finale because they have clinched the number one. You're the number one seats, so we'll see how they handle that. And the Texans don't need the regular season finale either other than to play a lot better and feel better going into the postseason. I don't know, And this is going to be a debate all next week and Demiko Ryans will address this on Monday. I don't know if playing well against the Titans will make you feel that much better going into the postseason. I think playing well in the postseason will make you feel better, yes, But it's up to them to figure out the best way to hit the ground running when you host a playoff game here in two weeks and you play presumably the Steelers, but it could be anybody because Johnny as you know, if the Chargers of Broncos win two in a row and the Steelers should falter, that's it.
That's it.
It's gonna be one of those two teams it in here. So and the Ravens could still possibly come in here. You gave me that doomsday scenario.
I gave you the doomsday scenario, and it goes it goes as h it goes as follows. The Baltimore Ravens play the Cleveland Browns, and if the Ravens lose at home to the Browns, which is together altogether possible because in Cleveland it did happen.
The Browns did beat the Ravens, right. I don't think it's gonna happen, but go on and the Steelers.
Well, at that point, if the Steelers beat the Bengals, they just beat the Bengals and that game is at home for Pittsburgh, and the Browns beat the Ravens. So if you get a combination of Browns win, Steelers win, the Baltimore Ravens will come back here for wild Card weekend.
The Texans are locked into the four seed.
They are locked in, can't move, can't the city's locked into the one, two, three, five, six, seven.
Don't know, But now, what do you think will happen?
I think that Baltimore will beat the Browns, and if that happens, it doesn't matter about the Steelers. We would get the Steelers as the five seed here.
And I'm presuming.
That the Texas will play Saturday the afternoon game, yeah, because that's the game that they typically play.
Steelers are a big draw though.
That's the only thing that makes me think you could see this Sunday at noon possible, Yeah, maybe even the Monday night or I don't know how that goes. But Pittsburgh always draws a crowd. They're kind of like the Cowboys in that way. They get a big national art fans get in the crowd, that's for sure. Yeah, their fans are gonna want to come here. And after the showing on Christmas Day. I'm a little concerned about the resale if the ticket price goes up with the demand that the Steelers fans will have. Although maybe the Steelers fans are so upset that they're not going to travel as much as they usually would, Yeah, because they might not believe in the team. I watched or rewatch some of the Chiefs Pittsburgh game. You know, I wasn't able to focus in on that one. It was right before our game with Baltimore, and that game was on in the studio yesterday on the monitor, and man Russell Wilson is backsliding. You know, he's making some questionable decisions, shall we say, Yes, after playing so well for them for a huge chunk of the season. So we'll see how it goes. Look, it is what it is. You have the regular season finale. You got to get ready for that. And it could be Davis Mills, it could be CJ.
Stroud. You know, Dan Campbell has been clear, I'm gonna play my guys.
I don't know if the Mico is gonna feel that way, or play them for a series or two, or play them for the whole game, or.
Not play them at all. And we talked about this yesterday.
You cannot possibly sit everybody, but you could sit some key players and make sure that they don't get hurt. Because against the Ravens, Johnny, you were without four defensive starters in that game. That's right, and look, there are no excuses, but being without four starters is a big deal, especially when two of them are your bona fide defensive leaders in Jimmy and as He's al Shire. These are the two leaders on the defense. Not that the other guys can't be leaders, will et cetera. But those are the two marquee leader types and they also are playmakers.
So you're already without.
Petrie, then you lose Ward Noasease and fully Fanicasi is the other one, the fourth starter, and it turns out Folly's pretty important to you up front. His absence has been really known. Now, we couldn't have predicted it's coming out of the year. We thought they shuffle guys around, and they do that. But Tim Settle is a good player. He's starting right now. You start fully rotates Settle in and I think obviously you get deeper if Foley's there, and he's gonna play the front line snaps for this defense. So you were without four starters. You're gonna get two of them back with Azz and Folly. Ward and Petrie obviously are out for the year, but I like that you're getting those two guys back for the postseason.
Should be good.
Now there for the most part, things are leaning towards Pittsburgh being here as the five seed.
But I would present to you a completely.
Different animal, all right, and that animal literally the Denver Broncos. If now Denver's got as tough a closing pair of games.
As you could have Bengals this weekend, Bengals in Cincinnati this weekend, Kansas City now having the one seed locked up at Denver in the finale.
Carson Wentz, Yes, they're gonna sit in my.
Homes if Denver wins both yeah, and Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh in Week eighteen at Pittsburgh.
That's entirely possible.
It's possible. Yeah, it would put the Denver Broncos here as the five seed.
Look, i'll take it. You gotta take whatever's coming.
I'll take the rookie quarterback bow nixt But if Denver does that, Denver is reaching a stride that you don't.
Want to be a part of it.
That's exactly Michael Moe is joining them in the postseason, yep. And I don't want to see that, you know. I want a team coming in here that's whimpering, that's suffering, that's wounded, that's terrible. I want Connor Cook and the Raiders in here. I want that kind of opponent on wild card weekend. Don't give me the best. You're gonna be the best and beat the best. No, on wild card weekend. I want to lay up, if at all possible, and then take your shot elsewhere.
I'm that guy.
Okay, Now there's also an opportunity here, oh boy, for the LA Chargers. Doesn't matter at that point about the Bengals the Broncos. But in the finale, the Chargers play the Raiders. Yeah, so if Kansas City and Carson Wentz presumably meet the Broncos, the Steelers get knocked off by the Bengals, and the Chargers win against the Raiders. So basically, the Chargers have to sweet these two, the Patriots and Raiders. Yeah, that's there's a chance that it could be la the Chargers here is the number five seed.
Yeah, because Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh would win a tiebreaker with the Chargers. They beat the Chargers, that's right. But if Pittsburgh loses and stays at ten, now you've got a situation where the Chargers with two wins may have eleven.
Wins and they have more, so at that point, the Chargers would be the five seed. The thing about these scenarios, the least likely is Denver winning at Cincy and then beating Kansas City. I think I think Cincinnati can beat Pittsburgh. I think Cincinnati absolutely can beat Pittsburgh, especially the way Pittsburgh's playing now, games in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh's got the Mini by bit longer than Mini by. They got a week and a half before they play, So that game is gonna that game is gonna have some juice. That game will have some juice, especially if the Browns were to pull off the upset. So go back to this other thing week team last year we played on a Saturday Nday.
There's no way they move our game. I mean, our game is gonna not move our game. They haven't. They haven't scheduled Week eighteen yet. It's a noon lock. It's a noon Sunday lock.
It's gotta be I guess our late windows a possibility just for scheduling purposes a networks to get home.
That was so because you gotta playoff week, you got Saturday. You're gonna play Saturday, so you're gonna get back late from an afternoon.
And all of a sudden, the Panthers are no lock. That's right to win. But the Falcons have Washington on the road this week. Is that Sunday night that's that's.
A Sunday night game. Wow, that's a good one. That is the Sunday night game. You've got the Falcons and Commanders. Your Monday night game is Lions.
And so we're trying to guess the Sunday night game next week.
I think it's gotta be Detroit.
They're praying that that's for the division right there, because that'll be a monster.
That will be that would be incredible.
Now, they had a good one a couple of years ago. Detroit wasn't alive for a playoff berth, but they were alive for a winning season, and they actually knocked off the Packers in Green Bay, and that was a nice entertaining Sunday night game.
A couple it was, and it had already been decided at that point.
Let's see if the Lions the Lions man they the Vikings can if the Lions win, said, if Vikings lose the Packers this week, Lions beat the Niners, Detroit cinches up the one seat.
So you're right, that.
Game Minnesota and Detroit could absolutely be be meaningless.
At that particular point.
Campbell has already said, I'm playing my guys no matter what. So you know they might go with it anyway. I don't know they'll go with the more if they don't have a winner take all situation, and sometimes it's tough to get. Yeah, I've got a recommendation for the league, though, Johnny, you want excitement in the final weekend schedule Texans Colts. Now it wouldn't have Oh, maybe it would still turn out to be something.
Right, Look, it would it would Let's.
Say the Texas sitting here nine and seven and the Colts are eight and nine, all right, or what are they?
What are the Colts right now?
They're currently seven and eight, Yes, so they're still Yeah, that could be for the division. So go ahead and schedule Texans Colts and guess what else? Schedule Bucks Falcons. I could have told you there's no way I thought the Saints were going to be contending for the division, right. I know, they started off two to zero and they were everybody's heart throb going into week three. But look what happened to them. They've won three games shins the Buccaneers and Falcons. If I'm making the schedule, your buddy Blake Jones, who played quarterback for you, is in the big office for him coming up schedule. Yeah, you do schedule the Bucks and the Falcons in the final week. I like Vikings Lions. That was probably a smart ideal. Those Spaders Lions might have been smarter, right. You want to schedule these marquee games for the final week, and so you have all these possible abilities of winner take all, Chiefs Broncos. It's going to turn out that it's meaningless because the Chiefs have wrapped up the number one seed.
But who knew.
I would probably have put the Chargers against the Chiefs on the final weekend if I had to handicap who was likely to battle for a division title. No way, I put the Packers against the Bears. I know they want the division games late, but you got to think about these things if you're the league, because you could be left holding the bag with zero win and in games for both teams.
I mean, you've allowed Week eighteen to kind of be I mean, I guess you've given yourself a little bit of an opportunity. I mean, you're if you're in the NFL, you're praying that Minnesota and Detroit both win to go into that game fourteen to two.
Oh both, the phenomenal both.
I mean, that's a gift from the football gods. I mean for that time. I mean, who's to say it's a tough game against green Bay. Now the game is in Minnesota, and that in Minnesota beat them up a little before green Bay came back in the game that was earlier. But man, you're praying for fourteen to two and fourteen to two. But if you don't If Green Bay ends up winning that game in Detroit beat San Francisco on Monday night, you're talking about a huge paperweight. It doesn't mean anything. I mean, they're both in the playoffs at that point. Detroit will have clinching number one seed and the NFC North and now you've got the Vikers playing. They're playing it out at that particular point. So you and you know as well as I do, the NFL has utilizing the flex, being able to flex games.
I mean they flexed the game in.
A Thursday, yeah, from Sunday, which was the Broncos and the Chargers. They flexed that into Thursday, and they did it like two weeks out, not even so that's rough, that's tough.
But they were.
Able to do it, and in doing so, they ended up with a great game on Thursday night with the Broncos Chargers. They did not get that same game last night with the Bears and the Seahawks. Three field goals all in the first half and zero points in the second half. And I go back to this, I know there was a lot of momentum for the Chicago Bears going into the season. Caleb comes along, they bring in Keenan Allen, like, oh man, here we go.
They're on hard knock. They're gonna be like Detexans of twenty twenty three.
That's what I think they to me, that's what the league thought. That's why Mike North, Blake Jones and they thought that they were like, we missed out on the Texans, were not missing out on the train that is the Bears. Yeah, and that train went south. And Seth and I talked about that this morning. That that that loss to Washington, the hail Mary losses, it'll be known.
They win that. They had won three straight games going into the buy.
They scored twenty four to thirty six, thirty five offense clicking.
They win three going at t Bye. Bye week is Week seven.
Week eight is the infamous Hilmary game against the Commanders.
They never got right after that.
Never.
But here's the biggest thing. Listen to their point totals.
Fifteen nine three, nineteen twenty seven to twenty okay, thirteen twelve, seventeen to three.
They're not scoring anything.
Nothing, yeah, nothing. They didn't score a touchdown against the Seahawks. I mean another field over a tight it's in in overtime.
Nothing. Well, they have.
The defense keeps them in games, and that's what it did last year. And they have a worse record than they had last year. They won seven games last year with justin fields. And what fields provided for them offensively was the ability to run.
Yeah right, And.
I'm not gonna be sure part of an offense, Calebs'm not really turning the ball over unless he's fumbling a lot. He's not really throwing picks. Because I keep seeing on NFL memes and by the way, it is just one of the really horrible things about this year, and there are some really fuss strading things about twenty twenty four. Even though you're winning the division, you're going into the postseason is to be made fun of by NFL memes.
It's terrible.
I love NFL memes, but I don't like being the team that's made fun of last year. We were golden this two years ago. I don't even think they cared this year. If you're projected to do some big things and then you fall short of those big things and they are in the regular season anyway, then they're gonna have at it.
You know. CJ's the number is not as good this and that. The other thing.
How about this Offensively, you're ranking in twenty twenty three in points, was thirteen, Now you're seventeen in yards, twelfth offensively, now twenty first. Defensively, okay, you're up in yards from fourteen to eight last year to this year. Scoring, you're allowing more points than you did last year. You were eleventh last year, your fourteenth this year. But I always say it's a balance, it's a scale, it's a balance.
It's the libra thing.
If your offense is really producing and you have a pretty talented defense, it's gonna look a whole lot better because you're holding out of the ball, you're scoring points, you're putting pressure on the opponent, you're getting after the quarterback whatever. Now, and you're in a situation where your offense is not doing everything you want it to do. Puts a lot of pressure on the defense, and they spring some leaks from time to time, like they did majorly on Wednesday. So that's the story, and they're han't at it and it's just not working out the way you wanted to.
Yet I'm tangenting again. Here you are with.
An opportunity because you're in the postseason, and you gotta get it together somehow.
I was talking to my son.
He's like, start training camp next week, start over, And I'm thinking, you know, he's being facetious, but I think part of them thinks, yeah, let's start over.
We have to start. Every team starts over in the postseason. Start over.
It's not like you can implement a new offense, but just cut it down.
Get to what you do really well.
That's the key right there, of anything that you need to do.
You need to find a find the things that work.
Yep.
With those things that work, find what are your best counters off of that? So if you run inside zone and off of that you've got bootlegs.
Quarterbacks got to go the right direction.
Then make sure you have different variations that you can that you.
Can go to.
I mean, this almost turns into not just a mini by, this turns into a bye week. But your game isn't gonna be until January eleventh, because I look, you're gonna you're gonna have to go play what I what I would like to see what this Tennessee game is. I don't want to see seven play at all. He's got to get healthy. Whatever he said in his press conference, he mentioned it and he got off it real fast. But he mentioned he's banged up, and if he's mentioning it, we know how tough that dute is. There's something that that's getting to him. So let's let him get healthy. Let's go computer guts out at Tennessee. And sometimes sometimes some of your frontline guys need to see the guys that are thought to be backups go compete their guts out.
That would be nice.
They need to see it because they're like, oh, wait a second, look at these dudes busting their butt. I can't wait till I get out so I can do the same. So I think there's got to be a refresh. There's got to be a reset in some ways, there's got to be this. I don't want to go all the way back to square one, but what is our identity? I think you asked this question, what's our identity going into the playoffs? What's our identity going into the playoffs?
Before the Ravens game, I was a lot more confident to tell you, but I think it has to be the same. You have to throw that one out as a stinker, even though you've had other stinkers this year. You had Minnesota stinker. The Jets was a semi stinker.
Yeah.
I have all sorts of reasons and excuses and whatever. There's an alibi for the Jets game. Minnesota was rough. But that's week three. I mean, the world has changed so much. This team beat Buffalo. You beat Buffalo, and early on the way it was going in that five and one start, I was like, it's the heart stopping Texans, you know, the h town heart stoppers. As I said, they're winning games late. He hits Darigan Biwally in the Jacksonville game. Late Buffalo, they rallied for the late win. They played great defense, complimentary football, get a long field goal, knock it through dub and all of that stuff. The way they were winning games, and I thought, green Bay, here we go again. Late field goal try. You made it, but you couldn't stop them. And then the problem started. You weren't winning the close games at the end. You weren't able to beat Detroit at the end, the Packers at the end, the Titans. You made every mistake imaginable and you weren't able to win at the end. So you had those issues flare up on you. And the Chiefs game was the Chiefs game. But you know, all right, you go to Kansas City, tank gets hurt. It's awful, unable to get close, lose a one score game.
But the Ravens game is gonna stick for.
A while in my mind until they erase that memory, Johnny, because it just was. It just fell apart in all phases. I know they made the big special teams play with the punt, but they had two penalties before that on special teams and we are still a big chunk of the first half to play. So what's the identity. I think the identity is we play tough defense. I mentioned the four starters being at you get two backs, great, play tough defense. We're gonna try to manufacture some offense. I think that's got to be what it is until further notice, until your offense really gets going. And I don't know if it can get going this year or next year or whatever it's gonna be. But you're a sound defensive special teams team. We're gonna be opportunistic on offense the way you won the Miami game.
That's what the defense needs to be.
Because Johnny, I walked in today and you see it in the service level, the hallway here they have of the wins, they have players of the game and all that they put it on the wall, and the last win was the Dolphins games. And I'm looking at this, I'm looking at those photos and I'm thinking, this feels like a long time ago.
That wasn't even two weeks ago.
The Miami game wasn't even two weeks ago, and it feels like a month ago, and you won that very important game.
This is a.
Dolphins team that right now today has won five of its last seven and it's playing really good football. And the one loss they had before this one was at Green Bay and the cold temperatures where they never win, and you took it to him defensively in this building and won the freaking game.
And that's how you have to play.
You have to play like you did against them as you move forward here, and I'm with you regular season finale. I feel like if CJ is quote banged up, you cannot play him. If he's quote banged up, he's not on the injury report, but they all got something, and if he's got something, you can't play him.
You can't play him. So we'll see if he plays.
I think he's fine, totally healthy, or he's demanding the player whatever. But I'm okay if they sit him, and you know, I could be talked into him. But I think if he is quote banged up, you got to arrest him and get him one hundred as possible for the postseason.
I will not make not one excuse for this team for Christmas Day, well, not at all.
It was a it was a performance that we want to forget. We want it in the rear view.
There's a there's a part of me that thinks, okay is starting to get away.
Whatever. My my thing with it.
And again, I'm not gonna make this excuse, but I think when you face Baltimore to have some some semblance of success against Baltimore, you need you need time because that is just a different offense that you're facing. And oh, by the way, some of the things they do just against your style of defense that they do well, that's kind of a kryptonize of how this defense is constructed. And the Ravens did a nice job of exploiting that. Not just a nice show, they did a great job. And on top of that they've got Lamar. Well, you need some time for that. You talk about Dolphins game, what did we have before that, we had a bye week. They're fresh, they were healthy, they knew Miami inside and out, and it looked like it and it looked like it. So if you're gonna face the Ravens again, of all the teams that I look at in the playoffs, and I look at the Ravens, the Ravens do probably the most non traditional offensive stuff. The Chiefs are running stuff that they've been running for eons, pick plays, rub routes, short stuff. The Chiefs really have gotten to be kind of a dink and dunk offense, but they execute it really, really well.
And there were moments in the first three quarters where you.
Kind of had them right kind of where you wanted them to in a sense, but then they started own the offense. Obviously what happened to Tank probably had an impact, et cetera. The Ravens, you wouldn't see the AFC Championship game. But then you'll have a week to get ready for them, and you'll have a week to Okay, they like to do this, they like to do that, And I go back to what I said earlier when they ran when they ran typical stuff, that's seeing the NFL duo outside zone. The Texans didn't struggle as much with that because they're used to seeing that. But when you start seeing wam crunch and the traps and things they were running and it's Derrick Henry.
The other thing is you gotta have ten guy.
You gotta have eleven guys in the field when you're down on a goal up, that's just a different story.
Helt together.
But if you're if you can get to a point where you're repping those kind of things in practice, and that's what stands between you and going to a Super Bowl.
Whatever the case might be.
Okay, Pittsburgh's not gonna do stuff that is unconventional. They're gonna they're gonna run. They're gonna run a pro style offense you used to seeing. But Baltimore does such a good job of presenting you something that you're not used to seeing, and that I think played a big role. On top of the fact that our guys just, you know, physically.
I think they could have played better. Put it that way, could have played better, could have played better. How about that? Here's a question could have played better and we.
Cannot possibly know the correct answer to this, But if tank in the Kansas City game gets right up, like all right, great touchdown, Rock and Roll goes to the sideline. I don't think you missed the extra point. I agree, and I think that the universe changes. I'm not saying they win the game, yep, but it's a hotly contested affair down the stretch. Chiefs probably with it because they always do the black magic whatever, the dark secret special lucky things that happened to them. But I think the Ravens game changes at that point a little bit, and maybe you lose that one too, but maybe it's not as bad.
I don't know.
Maybe everyone feels a lot better about losing those two games than you do now, but maybe they don't.
I don't know. It is what it is.
You have to deal with it, and you don't play until a week from tomorrow at the earliest, a meaningful game, right the playoffs start a week from tomorrow at the earliest. You've got a lot of time here football wise to get your act together and play your best possible game with whatever version of players you can throw out there at the moment. And I can't wait for it. You know, you gotta get excited for it. You have to just flush it and just move on and figure it out. And there's probably a ceiling there is to what you can do, but maybe that's enough to do some really special things, especially if the quarterback can heal up a little bit here and you know, you make a play here or there, the whole thing changes.
So to take our shot, absolutely a guy that took his shots when he was here for a couple of years, Vince will Fork. He delivered a lot of blows. He was tremendous well. He sat down for go Talk and it's fabulous. Part one of our discussion with Vince will Fork next right here in Texans All Access Net every Friday. Welcome back to a Friday edstionar of Texas All Access from the Monday Texans Radio Studio. I am John Harris, your host on Very Little Sleep on my fifth hour radio today. But I love being here with you now. I love that we get a chance to play this next part one for you won Vince will Fork on Goat Talk. You remember Vince twenty fifteen to twenty sixteen, two years with the Texans, did an absolutely fabulous job.
When he and.
DJ Reader were in the middle of this formation, no body ran the football against them, nobody. It was so fun to watch. Here is Vince will Fork on Goat Talk with Andre Johnson and Jonathan.
Joseph Me and you came in recruited the same class at the University of Miami.
Is this true?
You used to return yeah, kickoffs in high school? I used to, Man, I did. I played it.
I played every position in high school. Honestly, I kicked. The first position I learned how to do was long snap because I had offensive line coach. He was like, hey, I'm gonna teach you how to loan slap because you know how to loan slap, you always have a job. So I'm like, okay, cool. So he taught me how to loan slap snap and from there and I played every position defensively, offensively, special teams. I returned kicks. But it's one position I would never play, and it was center.
I tried it. I swear to me.
Being a center like that was the hardest because you got to snap the ball and you have to man. The kid hit me so hard snapping the ball one day, I just walked off. I'm like, I'm never doing this no more. And I never played center again. But everything else I did. And running back, you know, running back is another one.
Like I.
You know, I was always a big dude, and I always you know, I had skills, and so I was like, man, let me run the ball. So my coach was like, okay, we'll give you, you know, we'll give you a four downs at the ten.
I'm like, oh cool, you know.
I did first down, I picked up like four, second down, I picked up like two. Third down came. I get it down to the gold line right. So I'm like, oh man, it's good. I remember a guy. He's a good friend of mine today. His name is Luther Luke. Because little Luke Luke was probably five six, one hundred and forty pounds. When I tell you, that was the hardest I ever been hit.
In my life.
I'm talking about he hit me so hard on the goal line. I said, forty five six and he's still five six to this day.
Let me tell you something, little tank game.
Man, he hit me so hard, and I was like, you know what, I always respected a running back position. After that, I wasn't afraid to run the ball. But I'm like, man, for a running back to get hit all time like that? Now not my cup of tea. I'd rather be doing the hitting, So I stuck the d line all.
Right for me? I did all right for myself.
You remember, like when we used to have our games the day before the game at the University of Miami, when we would be out on the field, Bro used to have me dying laughing because Joe he would sit over there and like he would have the trainers or like the equipment dudes, and he would be the quarterback. He would be designed and play the run on the field. Bro.
It was like the most entertaining thing they ever see.
But I always tell people, like because they're asked, you know, people ask about you and stuff like that. Bro, you had to probably be the one of the most as far as size and athletic ability. You have to be probably one of the most athletic guys that I played with. Yeah, like it was, it was crazy and it was it was just a joy to watch, man, just to watch you. So but you know, the think But the thing with that Dre is I never consider myself, you know, a big dude, you know what I mean. I played all the sports, you know, I played basketball, football, through the shot put, So in my mind I was just you know the same size as everybody else, you know. And I think growing up over time, you know, playing with younger guys and older guys that's a lot smaller than me. I never felt sorry for myself, Like, hey you if I have to cover this guy, I got to cover this guy. If I have to, you know, throw the ball, I got to throw the ball.
So I think that helped me growing up, being able to do all those sports and play with all those other guys, like, ain't nobody feel sorry for me? So my mindset was always I would never play my size, you know what I mean. I'm going to always bring a dynamic to my game that when somebody seen me play that, like damn, like this Joe he legit, like if it's his footwork or if it's my eyes and me and being able to move or make this type of play or do this and do that. I always consider myself a smaller guy, even though I wasn't. But in my mind I had to trick myself, mind myself right, So I had to trick myself and say, hey, you just like that, you know what I mean? You you you know you two one and thirty pounds, not three thirty.
You know what I'm saying.
Yeah, you're listening to Coach Talk with Vince will Fork alongside Andre Johnson and Jonathan Joseph right here. What Texan's all access piggyback on it?
Man.
You know, I only played with you a few years here, but like I just always remember watching from Afar. But like Dre said, if I had to just put two people in my mind, Like you know, they always talk about Larry Allen. You know, obviously your time coming up where you're gonna get your shine and get your enshrinement. But y'all too have to be the most big athletic guys. And I you know, watching you with the Patriots catch you interception running down the field. But I got to watch you in practice. I got to watch the film and I got to actually see what you're thinking. Then what's going on? If it's a screen, you don't take the step and you read and react, but you chase the ball twenty yards and when you get there, you got enough reality to break down and throw a shot and make a tackle.
Damn, what's going on?
So for me, like Dre said, you got to be somewhere the top when they come to athletic ability, you can do a pull up, you can do multiple pull ups.
I just seen you do everything and you really cat quick. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah.
You know at first they get off the first five, the first team, you're right there with anybody, some people that don't understand football. That's all to take for a guy your size, and that would make you special man.
And I appreciate that, man.
But like I said, you know, when I played the game, I always played it with a you know, chip on my shoulder. And I always want to be great, and I always tell people it's like, you can't be great if you don't take risks. And that's in life, like there's nobody that considered themselves great that never took a risk. And you know me being in you know, high school and college, I was a penetrating.
Defensive liney you know what I mean. Like, ain't nobody drafting.
No nose tackle that's a too you know, a two gapper first round?
Like no.
I you know, I got drafted off of my ability of what I could do, and that was being a penetrator.
Right.
So I get New England, I had to learn how to too gap like it was it was new me I had no idea what it was. And once I learned it, and to be a clearic, most people hate too gaping, hate too gap.
I hate it.
It's like I hated it and I'm like, man, I'm like, man, look cause you know here, I'm used to hitting it again and let's go TfL tackle Like man, look here, you have to sacrifice.
Man.
I had a sacrifice, you know.
So it took me about I got it in my third year because I was young, right, I'm coming from that background of the Warren sat Quarters, Kenny Jerome Brown, Russell Maryland's universal miment. I depth that defensive tackle like we we are defensive tackle right, and here I am.
I got to learn how to two gap? What's that? You have to sit right here and take this block? What I got to do? Man?
Nah?
You got man? You got meff Bill, I ain't doing that. You got man? Look here, man, you ain't draft me to come like man, you ain't see these highlights I had this.
You ain't see all snapping people next, man, And you want me to sit in this line of scrimmas.
And do what I said? Man, You're crazy.
Man, You got me messed up And it took a while for me to get in my head like listen, this is who you are now. Like they drafted me first round. They drafted me because Ted Washington was there. They got rid of Ted Washington. Here I come. And also on top of that, they coming off a Super Bowl win right here in Houston, right against Carolina.
So they first picked, they picked me.
So I had to really adjust my mindset and I had to really understand what it is to be a professional at that time. And I say my third year, I finally got it. And when I got it, I started liking it because that position, you know, man, y'all know the game is, it's an unselfish position, like I don't get no accolades, I don't make no plays, I don't do this, I don't do that. But it goes back to to be great, you have to have me. And I took some risks and the risk got took. You know, I made big plays that position, and you know the players I made is like you don't see a no sack of that two gap going to make that play. And I've always wanted to learn everything about my defense where my safety help is offensively, what motion does what? So I became a student of the game. So now I know if I have rotation in the back of me, I know where he's at. And if I get a check, I already know. Okay, my help is here, so I know the ball going here, so I'm moving my line. Hey do this by by by blah, crazy man. You got me messed up, and it took a while for me to get in my head like, listen, this is who you are now. Like they drafted me first round. They drafted me because Ted Washington was there. They got rid of Ted Washington and here I come. And also on top of that, they coming off a Super Bowl win right here in Houston, right against Carolina.
So they first picked, they picked me.
So I had to really adjust my mindset and I had to really understand what it is to be a professional at that time.
And I say, my third year, I finally got it.
And when I got it, I started liking it because that position, you know, man, y'all know the game is it's an unselfish position, like I don't get no accolades, I don't make no plays, I don't do this, I don't do that. But it goes back to to be great, you have to you have to, and I took some risks, and the risk I took, you know, I made big plays at that position, and you know the players I made is like, you don't see a no sack of that two gap going to make that play. And I've always wanted to learn everything about my defense when my where my safety help is offensively, what motion does what?
So I became a student of the game.
So now I know if I have rotation in the back of me, I know where he's at. And if I get a check, I already know. Okay, my my help is here, so I know the ball going here, so I'm moving my line. Hey do this by by About those was a luxury Bill gave me once he saw how it was a student of the game because it wasn't just about being a nose tackle. It was about what everybody else is doing around me. So I used to still plays all the time. That's that was my thing. I was like, you know, I'm.
Gonna go in this game. I would do the film work.
Don't tell me, hey, I got this tendency, I got to go.
I got it. Hey if I get this, If I get this, I'm gone now. If it ain't what it is.
I can't curse that, but I'm gonna make more than that. I'm gonna make more plays than not because my film study, you know what I mean. Just like that in interception, I said to myself, I say, okay, well here we are in the middle field. If this center stepped like this, I'm gone. And he stepped a certain type of way, which I thought I was screaming, and I said, I'm gonna lie and happened to be in the throwing lane of rivers for the pick. But my whole thought process was what he gives me. You see what I'm saying. I never took any risk without doing study and saying I'm just gonna be a hold in them discot I never did that. Everything I took and then it got to a point where I didn't want to take them no more.
I was like, I all low, somebody else to take it.
So I remember play when I came here in Houston and JJ and JJ. You know, JJ was known for getting at the quarterback, and so I told JJ, I said, hey, I would give you a green or red. I said, if I give you a green, just go, don't play no technique, just go all right, and it was against the Coats, I believe, and I said, I coach were the Titans. And I seen something. I said J J Green, JJ Green, and JJ got it.
It was it was a sack fumble, you know. Script.
So I took pleasure in my teammates eating. I had a great group of teammates here in Houston, in New England that I played with, and you know, I cherished that stuff, man, and I cherished it till the moon, you know, because it's a lot of people that can ain't say they never had a bad teammate. I had one bad teammate in my whole career, and I'm not gonna mention like one that he was in New England. And it ain't what people think it is either. It's not Aaron. I love Dary. Aaron was one of my best teammates. But out of all the football I played and all the teams I played and the people coming in and out, I really I only had one bad teammate, you know what I mean? And I cherished those that brotherhood, you know what I mean, the stories that we can sit back and we could talk about.
You're listening to coach Talk with Vince will Fork alongside Andre Johnson and Jonathan Joseph right here, Well, Texans all access.
Just hearing you talk about like your film study and all that stuff. Right, I don't know if you remember this. We played, y'all Joe, he calls me, say whoop'll get? He tells me, he said, whoop, y'all ass. He said, you might get about seven to eight catches, he said, but Arian ain't doing. That's how the phone call with So I'm like, all right, I just heard the phone. You remember that, Yeah, I remember that.
I remember that.
The other part of it is we walk in the stadium and I got my headphones on, but I normally like put my headphones a little to the side so I can hear. You know, if somebody called me and I heard somebody say, Yo, it's him, you remember what.
I told you that.
But the crazy thing with that situation was I nevergot think Arian had like about like about the twelve yard run the first player of the game, they called time out, Like as soon as it happened, they called timeout. Nothing NESSID.
Straight was on quick, quick, so quick.
We got more of that discussion coming up for you in our second hour of business. So stay tuned for more goat Talk with Vince will Fork alongside our good friends Andre Johnson and Jonathan Joseph. Okay, coming up, we'll go round the NFL. What you need to be looking for this weekend, we'll have it for you next right here in Texans All Access stopping Everyboday. Welcome back to the Friday edition of Texans All Access. It never stops playing on Wednesday. Don't care. Got two hours on Friday and so excited for that. I'm John Harris Football and Outside One reporter and your host. As I was this morning, I was sitting in for Sean Pendergast, so I got four hours with set pain, had a little bit more vanimeter start to show, and then we've got two hours for you tonight, on top of another hour at eight o'clock, so we actually have three hours, but I'm only on the first two.
So there you go.
We got six hours of me. Sorry about that, That's just kind of the way things go. Oh. I saw this news just before the show started and just gutted because he's one of the greats of all time in broadcasting, and that's Greg Gumble. The Gumble family. You've seen in a lot of different places, calling Sports Brian Gumbele on Real Sports. Greg Gumbele calling football basketball March Madness was just a rock star in the sports world. A statement from CBS Sports from Marcy and Michelle Gumble is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father. Greg Gumble passed away peacefully, surrounded by much love after courageous battle with cancer. Greg approached his illness like one to expect he would, with stoicism, grace, and positivity. Greg's memory will forever be treasured by his family, dearest friends, colleagues, and all who loved him. Everybody I've ever talked to said Greg Gumbele is just an awesome, awesome dude. And when it comes to broadcasting, that guy was one of the best. He was one of the best around. He was one of the best people around. Greg Gumbo passed away at the age of seventy eight. March Madness, NFL man. He was an absolute legends. So sad to hear about his passing. Okay, we'll get back together for the second hour of the show and on Tuesday, we will have Baylor versus Texas at Energy Stadium. It's the Kinders Texas Bowl two thirty, New Year's Eve Day, Big one. The executive director of the Kinders Texas Bowl, David Fletcher, will join me next right here in Texas. All accis, you got one hour?
Dad?
Now?
What are left to go? Right here on a beautiful Friday evening. Wherever you are, maybe you're watching bowl games, maybe you're having dinner, maybe you're walking on a beach. Hopefully that's what I'll be doing. Even if it's start making a little walk to the beach, that would be kind of fun. But appreciate you being here with me. John Harrit's Football on a Sideline reporter for your Houston Texans coming up on December thirty, first New Year's Eve Day.
Two thirty.
Baylor Bears, LSU Tigers Kinders Texas Bowl. The executive director of the Kinders Texas Bowl is my good friend David Fletcher. He sat down with me to discuss all that's going on getting Baylor and LSU into this game and the fact that both teams now on site in Houston with Rodeo Bowl this weekend. A lot of things going on. Fletch encapsulates at all right here, I'm totally geeked for my next guest, but before I get to him, because I want him to apply on this too. It's a monumental day for me and a lot of Ivy League football players former football players.
The Ivy League is going to the FCS playoffs.
This is monumental, people, This is absolutely tremendous, tremendous stuff that the Ivy League is now the FCS playoffs. Well, twenty twenty five, but we are making strides before you know what. We're gonna have the sixty four team NCAA Football Tournament.
We're gonna have two Ivy League teams going.
To the FCS playoffs. This is awesome.
Actually it's only one. They only get one, but that's fine for the ancient eight.
But I am so pumped talking about that, and then some with my man d Fletch, David Fletcher, executive director of the Kinders Texas Ball. I love fact that we can put kinners at the front of that fletch. First of all, how are you doing this time of year? Are you getting some sleep? Are you pumped that we are thirteen days away from the Kinders Texas Ball?
How you feeling?
It's the most wonderful time of the Year, Johnny, that's it, and it really is living up the bill.
Hey on the IVY League news. Yeah, this is great news, awesome.
I mean you, you know as well as anybody that that has been one of those weird things that happens in sports. Everybody else got to play for a championship, right except for the football players in IVY League schools.
You're celebrating today with your brown sweatshirt on.
How about that? I put this on and you know, I've got a little bit longer driving to work now. I put this on at like six forty five this morning, not even thinking about this being and I'm just flipping, literally flipping right before this interview, I've flipping through Twitter and I went, huh, we're going to the playoffs. Oh, this is awesome news. It was the only sport at the ivy Ley campus that did not go to the playoffs, and CLAA tournaments had Princeton upset people for years. They get into baseball tournament, they get in volleyball, I mean, they get into everything they just couldn't get in football, and finally they made this happen. It was It's tremendous, tremendous news. There's also some news floating out there. Then I want to get your thoughts on, Fletch, and we are not privy to any information, even though Sam Houston is very very close to many of us. But Phil Longo potentially the head coach at sam Houston. You were the one that brought this to my attention and I almost jumped out of my chair. This would be a home run higher I think for Sam Houston to get Phil Longo back. He was the offensive coordinator there before he moved on, so he he knows the university, he knows the right people, Fletcher. Some of the more explosive offenses and the most dynamic and productive offenses in Sam Houston history when he was the offensive coordinator, called a number of those games when he was there with Jeremi Briscoe who was the quarterback, who.
Was Jeremy Bristol at Sam Howe when he was at North Carolina got him to be.
He's had some gun slingers along the way, but Phil Longo is on his way. Hopefully, hopefully we'll see to Sam Houston to be the head coach there. Now, let's dive into the matter at hand, Fletched, and that is the Kinders Texas Bowl. Okay, we talked before the ball selection, we talked on air, we talked off air. I know you're going to tell me that you got the two teams that you wanted, but it really felt like you got the two teams that you wanted.
That's true, we got the two teams that we wanted. I mean, we would love all of the Big twelve and SEC friends to play them all absolutely different texts. I mean, you want to talk, you want to talk about a playoff expand and let's just host every Big twelve SEC matchup here.
I'm in. I think Houston would be in for that. I know the fans would be.
But really, when you look at how things unfolded with the Kinders Texas Bowl this year, Baylor LSU. So many storylines, so many great opportunities to celebrate bolseason around this matchupt start with New Year's Eve Day. We're closing out the year with football. That's a great start. Two thirty afternoon kick here at NRG Stadium. Baylor hottest team in the country arguably down the stretch. Six wins in a row, really fueled by some some play that that you know on the offensive side, that that has been one of the most exciting to watch in the country.
LSU.
LSU is LSU, but LSU had a guy named Dave randas their offensive i mean, their defensive coordinator in their championship run just a few years back. Where's Dave Randa at Now, he's not the head coach at Baylor. He's the head coach at Baylor, And so you've got that storyline. These two teams, despite their regional proximity, haven't played in forty years. So this is a really fun opportunity for these two fan bases to come out here to Houston, geographically night right in the center of both and really just celebrate the fun that is Bull season. And so far, I'm really excited to see that Houston and the football community has stepped up.
This game's on fire.
We're gonna have an incredible atmosphere out here at NRG come New Year's Eve Day.
Bull Week is here before we know it.
Teams arrive a week from tomorrow, so we are we are on the clock here Houston, So to be exciting.
A week for tomorrow is the twenty sixth, and then you got all kinds of things fletch for them to do. Including Rodeo Bowl that will take place. I know that's a closed event, but it's the events that go with the Bowl. We've heard for years about how the teams have responded to it. It was like, man, that's the most fun we've had at a Bowl game. That's an incredible atmosphere. As you go into every Bowl and you consider, Okay, what can we do to top last year? What can we do in addition to what we did last year? I know you've got a ton of events for the people. Break some of those down, some of the things that people can look forward to as they're thinking about coming to the game or coming to the game and they just want things to do.
They'll be here over that weekend. What are some things they can do whether here?
Well, I think talking about the experience a couple of things that really aid our storyline here in Houston. Hostiality is what we do best. Houston is one of the great entertainment places of the world. Culture of food, of sports, of music really creates a great atmosphere for whether you're a player, a coach, or a fan traveling in. So we know how to do that here. And as a reminder, I know we've talked about this before, but we've lived it too. Johnny Houston's hosted more major sporting events than anybody else in the country in the last twenty years. So we know what we're doing down here, and we love the opportunity we get. We work for an NFL team, and this venue here in RG Stadium has been the backdrop of so many great events. But that NFL experience that we're able to bring to the fans and to the athletes in there in town is something that really enhances our position as a premier destination for college football. So you've got two really important pillars that help us right out of the gate. Then you go and you look at how we try and cultivate this experience here, and this year we got a big shot in the arm because we've got a brand new title sponsor in Kinders that is awesome to work with and it fits perfectly with game day atmosphere, whether you're homegating, tailgating, sauces, seasonings. They add to everything you're doing, and they're really fired up about what we're doing with them as part of our new partnership with them. So you start adding those elements and then you look at the events, and yes, we focus on every element of the experience that we can. We've got some really nice built in elements, beautiful hotels, downtown, Discovery Green areas, really an incredible campus, food, fun rockets are in town for a couple of games, so you know that's gonna help. The teams are each going to be going out to those events while they're here. But then you look at the Bowl Week events itself that we're creating. Rodeo Bowl is a private event, but it's the best Bowl Week event in the country many many, many times over.
That's been announced for the fans.
You know, it's about food, music, and tailgating, right, So when it comes to well, absolutely, I mean I mean l LSU fans, I think I start saw some already starting to try and get the parking lot for the game in two weeks already.
But that's how they roll and that's what we love. So you know, you've got.
You've got a you've got a week of food, to music and tailgate.
Right.
So starting on Sunday, the twenty ninth, we'll have downtown on Avenida, right in the heart of downtown Houston, party on the plaza down there, music, food, all kinds of events, games, things like that for fans free to come out and interact to be a part of what we're doing.
On the thirtieth, we have.
Our kickoff concert, our car Box Kickoff Concert presented by Kroger Tyler Farr headlining that show along with the Magnolia Brothers at the Rustic Downtown Free Show. But you do need to get your tickets, so go to Kinderstexas Bowl dot com get those free tickets for the show.
School pep rallies.
You'll have spirit groups, mascots, all that that really adds to the element of fun around these games.
And then on game day we'll get things started out here.
Ten thirty tailgate lots will open up at the Kinders Texas Bowl and there'll be food, live music from the Hoosa Brothers.
We'll have tailgating, we'll have all every game on.
That's a big day in terms of college football, and we're situated right in the middle of it as we are a lead into the first ever quarterfinal the Fiesta Bowl that night. Great spot for us to be on the college football calendar, but really an awesome place for you to start your New Year's Day festivities or celebrate the end of the new year. Come out here, and you know what, You've got a full day of football and you want to get home early and get to bed.
That's cool too.
We've got a little bit for everybody, tickets starting as low as thirty dollars. You've got a lot of things to do around the whole week, a lot of free events. So we really encourage everybody who is listening tonight. You know, we know your college football fans, we know your football fans, we know your Houston fans. Come out, come make the New Year's celebration out here at NRG Stadium in a big way, and join us for LSU and Baylor for the Kinders Texas.
Bowl Kinderstexas Bowl dot com. Kinders, Hey, you don't think I need to spell it off for you, you know, Kinders Texas Bowl dot Com. Fill this place up, man, This place for a bowl game is absolutely awesome. And I could see it from a four booth. I'll be calling a game from the eighth floor and you can just see the crowds. You fuel the crowds, You have the energy. But there's, like you said, Fletchers.
So much that goes goes into this game well, and I'd encourage you to start quickly. I mean Monday, LSU announced they're sold out of their tickets.
Wow.
Yesterday Baylor announced they're sold out of their tickets. So we're already off to a great start, a lot of energy between these two fan bases. Kinders, Texas Bowl dot Com, come out and enjoy us. It's gonna be a lot of fun to celebrate the new year, and I can't think of a better way to do that than with football.
Yeah.
Absolutely, I mean you know how I roll. Well, I mean I'm working that day, but I love it. You could you go throw me up there and have five we have five games?
Like you said, c Big twelve.
I think styles make fights, but in bowl games, I think quarterbacks can end up making Bowl games. And you got two good ones in this one. Nuspayer's already decided he's going back to LSU. Sawyer Robertson's as hot as any quarterback from Baylor. We know about price of Washington for Baylor, but those two quarterbacks, the fact that you have stud quarterbacks I think helps any bowl game. You know, you go to a bowl game and you're like, oh, no, quarterbacks are already moving on to the NFL. But you got two stud quarterbacks here, and I think that could make for one heck of a bowl game, especially for LSU because Elshue fans game here a few years ago and there was all kinds of movement going on with the program at the time and just quarterbacks moving on. Jane Daniels got there, yet Brian Kelly I think was just higher.
He was so the staff was in flux. Everything was kind of in flux.
But now you've got an LSU team where Brian Kelly is established, like a lot of players that are sticking around and staying around that are gonna be playing this game, including the garyonn nuss Meyer. It's really really exciting from that perspective, Fletch, that you get a quarterback matchup like that as well.
Well, look, I mean, you know, not to put any more pressure on Brian Kelly because obviously, you know, as the head football coach at LSU into itself as that it has that. But but he spoke to what I think is a really important element this game starts next year, Yes, right, the tone you set for the offseason, you know, the quest to be in the playoff with both of these teams, that's their objectives. So they didn't make it this year, but they use this game as a springboard for what they do next year. And that's something that we've seen in this game a lot over the years.
Four of sorry five of the last.
Seven winners of the Kinders Texas Bowl have played in the new year six the next year, which would now put them into the playoff, which is a great opportunity for both of these programs to focus on the quarterbacks definitely matter, I think ultimately, Johnny, you know, there's a lot of transition in.
College football right now.
Anybody who remotely follows the sport knows that, whether it's NROLO, NIL transfer, portal coach coaching movement, all litnean things. Well, one of the positives that I think is part of this new era is that more players are staying around to participate in these postseason events for a variety of reasons. But we are going to benefit in our game this year because both programs are going to have a solid roskin on each side and their star quarterbacks both will be here, which is great. So it really is something that as you look at the evolution of bowl season, we're certainly keeping an eye on. But for us this year, we think it creates a great matchup.
Yeah.
Absolutely, you're seeing not it's a significant number. I don't know that I could put a percentage on it, but you're seeing a lot of guys deciding, you know, I'm sticking around for another year. I make pretty decent and I own money. They're thinking I'm a day three pick. I think I can improve that. Let me stick around for another year making a little bit of money, see what I can do, and then go off after you know, fourth, fifth, sixth year, whatever it might be. Whereas five seven years ago, guys are like, I'm not making any money. I'm not getting anything at all. I gotta do something for my family. I've got to go to the NFL, and that would precipitate players not playing in a bowl game. But now you've got a ton sticking around and playing. I think it makes it makes the game. And there are even some situations where guys have decided to go to the NFL, but they're still playing in the turble game, and I think that's a hell of a development as well. I don't know, if you get a chance to talk to your colleague, your Bowl colleagues around, et cetera. But what's been kind of the thought on the playoff, the twelve team playoff as it's constructed.
I'm sure there's going to be some changes going forward.
I think probably the power conferences maybe didn't like see in Arizona State, Boisse date yet, bye weeks whatever. But what's been kind of your thought on the playoff and how it's constructed. I know the Longhorns are going to be playing on Saturday after the Mustangs play Penn State. Well, we're playing in Texans.
It's all kinds of stuff moving on.
Would you think, Well, look, I mean it's exciting for the sport. I mean, the the the energy around who gets in. You know, while at this stage you know, is still new to everybody, you can see it building, you can see the excitement around it.
Yeah, is it perfect? No, it's not.
And certainly, as somebody who is very active in the college football postseason myself, you know, I'd be very interested to see how how this weekend unfolds on campus games for the first time ever. You've got a quick turnaround after that into the into the bowls and and talking with my colleagues. You know, I think some of the storylines that you're starting to see is which, by the way, are good storylines. If you look at the Bowl season lineup as a whole this year, there's a lot of really good regional matchups, our game being one of them, right, and that creates a lot of fan interest. You've got familiarity with those teams and and certainly you have situations where.
That's not the case.
But but generally speaking, you know, that movement towards getting some of those matchups of teams that you know or see in your in your everyday lives, but but they don't play each other much. Yeah, definitely be a good development. We talked about the player participation element, and I think that's a really good element of this. Certainly the transfer portal and IOL will well, we'll create some additional changes to that even even over the next few days as that that winds down, but ultimately some stability, some continued uh investment of of in in Bowl season and and uh, you know, just you know, I think a shot in the arm for for games like ours that that really have had a great story but now you know, you're you're going to see even more emphasis on on playing in them is a good thing. We'll see how it plays out. The system has really this year and then we move into as an industry, the negotiation window with the conferences all of us see. Our current agreements end after next year's game, So there there are gonna be a lot of decisions made off of a very short runway of information. But you know, in the spirit of where we're heading, the evolution is a good thing for the sport. And you're seeing it in ratings, you're seeing it in metrics, and you're seeing it in the participation from players as well.
So it's a good thing. Is it's definitely a good thing.
Baylor LSU for the Kinders Texas Bowl is a great thing. Make sure you get your tickets.
Game is December thirty first at two thirty. December thirty first at two thirty, and it's.
Gonna be absolutely awesome. I will be on the radio call with Brett Dolan, so you can get in the stadium and listen to your radio inside the.
Stadium if you could do that, if if you aren't able to join us out here, it's okay. Sports Radio six ' ten yeah, our home for the Kinders Texas Bowl. John Harris and Brett Dolan. That's right on the call, so definitely be on the call.
We'd love to be able to see you here, but we understand that not everybody can make it. But when you make it and you have a great time, you should think my guest sitting across from me, my great friend David Fletcher. Fletch, You've done a heck of a job set this matchup up, and I know it's not just a bowl game. It's been soccer, it's Battle of Bay, it's everything that you bring to this environment. This community is absolutely fantastic. But for me, you're bringing in Baylor Lsu. I could kiss you, but you're like two arms length of way, so I won't do that, man.
But congratulations.
Hopefully we'll have a great time on December thirty first with these two teams coming in.
Thanks Free timming Man, thank you.
I know Fletch's feeling it right now because both teams are on site events going on twenty four to seven. He's leading everything and does such a great job. He will have a game that you will want to absolutely dive into at two point thirty at Energy Stadium. A couple days ago, Saw I came, I saw it on Twitter. Maybe it's an email we got through our company email. Both Baylor and LSU sold out of their allotment of tickets. These two teams want to be in a bowl game. And if I'm thinking about whether I want to go to a bowl game and watch it, that's the one thing I need to know because there have been times when teams that have come to the bowl game and you're like, Okay, they don't want to be here, and then you look at it and go, oh yeah, but that team does. If both teams want to be there, it turns out to be a heck of a bowl game. And that is what we're gonna have on Tuesday with Baylor and LSU. Listen to myself and Brett Dolan call the action on Sports Radio six ' ten. Looking forward to that starting two thirty on Tuesday afternoon, New Year's Eve Day. Okay, time for Part two of Goat Talk. Vince will Fork jumped in the hot seat so to speak with Andre Johnson and Jonathan Joseph. We'll have part two for you next when the guys discuss what it was like in New England, how they knew things would happen before it did. That's next on Texans All Access. By Welcome back to this Friday edition of Texans All Acts. It's a very special Friday because well, no game this weekend, which kind of stinks, and yet I think everybody that whereas the logo, is looking forward to some rest and relaxation this weekend. Thank you for tuning in as well. Tonight. I'm your host, John Harris, while I on the side of the reporter as I have been every eleven years and in this time slot. So we'll be back study Monday, Texans Monday at eight o'clock. But we got more show to go tonight. It's part two of our Goat Talk with Vince will Fork and Andre Johnson and Jonathan Joseph. When we last left the fellas in the previous segment, they were discussing the twenty twelve game, in which Andre Johnson told a story about how the Patriots had seen a run play about twelve yards and called a time out immediately afterwards, got it fixed, and well that was that. Here is Vince with Andre and j Joe.
Let me ask you this, what about I know, the old Patriot thing, like you know, people say, oh they cheatahs and this that and the other I feel like y'all was just great. Man, y'all had a hell of a run. Like, especially at my time and playing in the NFL. What was it about the Patriots the organization that made things just run the way they did? Like, what what was that greatness about?
It was?
It was a spirhead about Bill. You know Bill his backgrounds military, you know, and he was tough, you know. And it was when I tell you we practiced every little single detail. It was we had three or four walkthroughs, you know, then we go to practice, and then we come in the film, you know, and then if when even other walk through, we're going back out of the walkthrough. And I remember being a rookie and he would go with situation of football. Right here, I am, I'm a rookie.
I thought I knew football.
I'm like, man, this ain't gonna happen, and it's wasting my time, right, this ain't gonna happen. And sure enough, the same situation that he talked about, it popped up and it was about a fumble, if it's in the end zone, what to do with if it's not an end zone, what to do if it's about a sideline? What to do, and I'm like, man, whatever, and it happened, and I'm like, oh.
I better start taking this man little seriously.
So I think it was all about his mindset on what it takes to win. He never took it easy on us, you know, he never took it easy on us. And he would grill us, and he would grill us. He would grill us and he would and then he would come into the meetings and he asked questions. It ain't going home and not open up this playbook, like, no, you fee the study. He going to force you to study, you know what I mean. And as a rookie, that's how I learned how to study film. That's how I learned how to understand offense. You know, we had to know quarterback actions, we had to do We had to know all the motions, what they are, if it's a two eighteam, if it's three thirty eighths, if it's five, all those series we had to know as defensivelignment. So he was teaching us the game of football from an offensive side.
But I'm a defensive liney.
So when I get in the game and I hear five such and such such as, so oh, that's screen or if I see a zen motion, I'm like, okay, zen motion, they like do this, or if it's first and tend and they did.
They hear all this shot shot alert, We're gonna do all this.
So I think it was everything about the little details that he taught and he always presented to us, and he just kept his foot on our neck, you know. And I think not only that, it was the players that he had around. You know, we had them, uh Vrabel, we had Tom you know, we had Rodney Harris, and we had Ty Long, you know, Willie McGinnis. You seem like we had all these guys that's been in the game and they knew the game and they ain't let up. So Bill adin't have to say much. It was you know, when we take the feel, it's them talking. It's Rabel talking, you know, it's Rodney talking. And Rodney had come down there to me and say, hey man, you you better to shot Tor such and such. Yes, sir, let's do it. So I think what he built was based off of he knew what he had, He brung in the right guys, and well they understood what he was trying to do, and it just it took care of itself, you know what I mean. So I think it's all came down to like little details of just understanding putting guys around that understand.
What it takes to win, you know, I think the piggyback out of that. I think it's the fast forward a little bit to like today's culture. You see, how like some of the stuff going on obviously guys with the podcasts and things like that. What's the difference you think in times now, in times compared to when we was playing football from the locker room, just from the outside end, you got a little bit on the back of the car.
Yeah, And that's one of the things that forced me to retire, you honestly, because I started seeing the game trend in the direction that I wasn't used to. And I think now, you know, guys pay so much attention to outside than what they're really there for. You know, everybody want to be a model or a rapp or this whatever it may be. That's what they want to be. You know, they walk in they get mad if you don't take pictures of them so you can post on what they wearing like that, and it takes away from the game. So if you have a guy mindset. Is they worrying about what they're wearing? How can they be focused on? Like, how can you be focused on what we're here for?
You know what I'm saying.
So to me, it's just like the game of football and then got soft in the aspect of guys really not taking a serious of what the game was built on. Like we never had no phones in meeting rooms.
You know.
I can go to a meeting now and I have been in you know, some meetings, and I say half of the team got phones in the meeting room. It's a distraction the game of football. Now, these kids, it's a bunch of distraction going on with these in these kids head in their mind and they have no clue because society is allowing them. And you know, you have so many rules now, like it just takes away from the game. You know you can have You can tell teams that really put that work in, like this is how we're gonna play. You can tell those teams. You can tell those teams that they ain't for to put up with no bullcrap. Either you gonna play football or not? How do you slice it? You can tell those teams. But I think it's too much distractions now with these players with phones and social media, so much stuff outside of footballs. When they entered this building, stead of them saying, okay, I'm here to work. This phone's standings locking till this time to go home, they sitting here saying, hey, man, when I'm when I'm finished, Man, I can't wait to go do this. Like your mind shouldn't have even be on what's going to happen after this, you know what I mean. So it's just a different era, you know, in the game. And I think I had to luxury to see both sides, like you said. You know, my last couple of years, I started seeing like, nah, man, I don't rock like that, Like it's not my couple tea. And I always promise myself, and I promised the game. I say, you know, when the game become a different fit for me, it's time for me to go. You know, I never wanted to disrespect the game. I never wanted to cash a check just because I could. And I called a quitz because I just I wasn't willing to be a part of this new era of football. I leave it up to them because it's new football that I had no idea what it was.
You know, then when y'all beat Seattle on this Super Bowl, Malcolm made the play right. And I know y'all practiced away more than us, but we got Bill O'Brien every Friday. We ran those pick routes, you know, just to see him pick Rouse, pick Rouse, pick Rouse. And when Malcolm made their play, everybody going crazy. But I knew exactly why he made that play because y'all were up there every Friday in practice, whether he was a backup or a starter, he knew exactly what was coming.
And that play was beating everybody.
So to me, that told me, like, and I wouldn't there y'all beat I'm like, they prepared every time they hit that field for every situation.
Yeah, in practice, it was it was swapped. It was on the other side, and they didn't get a jam.
It was a touchdown. And I remember Bill getting on me in the in the meet. He got on him in the Super Bowl. It was on the opposite side and they realized that Brown and he realized it, got up, jammed the point man and allowed Malcolm to get old. And that was just a hell of a play, I mean, because nine or ten times that's an incomplete pass or you know whatever. You know, So that was just a great football play. Me be smoke four times slices. I don't give it, Damn smoke four times, no matter how many. I don't care how many in the bounds. He can have fifteen in the box. I'm handing it to him for our inch.
No, man, he got me. He's getting the ball. But I'm glad he didn't.
But at the end of the day, you know, when you get in the Super Bowl, when you have the best two teams, because a lot of times not the best to the two teams. The two best teams don't always play in that game, you know what I mean. But when you get the best two teams in the league to play the game, margin the area is very slim, you know what I mean.
So it's a chess match now, you know what I mean.
Now it's coaching versus coaching, it's players versus player, you know, because it's not going to be a lot of mistakes made, you know what I'm saying. So we had a package that we show. We sent big guys on the field, and I think Seattle thought we was going goal line. See, we gave it illusion to his goal line, but we had three corners in the game, so we can cover anything. So I think when they saw that and it was second down, it was like, Okay, here's our chance to throw the ball, because how you slice it. If they ran the ball, somebody was free. It was you just couldn't block all of us. And I think that's what they kind of kind of felt when they saw the big guys running on. But little do they know we had we had go line three corners, which we had an extra body, but.
We still have three corners to cover whatever we need to cover.
So, like I said, those details like that, you know a lot of times a lot of people don't understand how much that goes into planning, like game planning, and like you talking about the Super Bowl, you know, they down in the red air, they score, it's gonna be tough for us, right even though we got Tom over it, but it's still they go up.
It's a super Bowl. So those moments, man, and people just fail to realize how hard it is for one to win.
To win, to win, it's hard, and to win Super Bowl it's much harder because you have so much against you.
You know, it's like, man, the one mistake can call again.
You can go the whole game playing great football, but one mistake can cast you a Super Bowl. How you slice it in Seattle, I don't think it was a mistake. I say it was a mistake because they should have hand the ball off, But second down throwing the ball, I don't think that was a mistake. Now you could take it how you want to take it. But I don't blame them from taking the shot because they knew and they got third down.
We knew they're gonna change their package, you know. I knew that. You know, we knew that. But second down, that was like a fifty fifty Like, okay, here's our chance to catch them off. Take a chance.
Second But like I said, it's like, even with that play, that place should have been incomplete.
Have you slice it? You know what I'm saying, Like that's an incompletion plane. But it was in the slpthing.
One of the greatest players in Super Bowl history, I get it. But the margin of era to win the Super Bowl, man, it's very slim. And I've been part of the winning party and been part of the losing part. I'd have been on both sides so losing sucks. You don't want that feeling.
Trust me, I'd rather be at home not playing the super Bowl then playing in the super Bowl and losing.
I just I would, you know, because that's tough.
That's it's crazy you say that, man like, because you know I never had the chance to experience it, you know, but I would love to be in the super Bowl.
Win at the end of the day. Just give you a shot. You're on the shot. I'm just saying. It's like, I get what you're saying. And absolutely super Bowl is an experience that you can't explain to people, you know what I mean. I tell people they always ask me, how how do it feel? I can't explain it to you because you're talking about the top of the top of all sports.
There's no sports bigger than the Super Bowl.
Right.
You could take Kentucky Derby's the best two minutes in sports history. But when you talk about a game, there's nothing best. Because guess what, Basketball you have seven games, Baseball you got to say you.
Got serious series.
But football is one game and that's a miracle sport, like that's everybody watching that game. You can't make no mistakes, So it's like, man to lose it, man to walk off that feeling and have other people confetti hit you, boy.
Boy, like you got to take it on the chain. You have to take it on the chain. But it sucks though? How would it sucks?
Though?
But University of Miami, That's right? What would you Because people always ask me all the time. They always be like, man, how was it? You know y'all always you know, y'all had all these guys, And I always tell them, Man, I don't really think you could put that into words, yeah, because it was just so much I experienced there. I always tell people it was probably like the best days of my life, you know, with the talent we were surrounded around with and just the things we did together as a team. So how would you talk about that a little bit to just kind of let people know like what that experience.
Was like, Man, it's like the best I can explain. How I can explain it is you got say, fifty brothers, like and you hang out every day, you do what you love every day, you love each you do everything together like fifty brothers, and everything you do is good, Like she's like you successful.
Everything you do no matter what you choose to do.
You successful, right, But like you said, dre's so hard to put it into words though.
It's like that culture that we have.
And I tell this to anybody that want to hear Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, how have you?
Whoever you us, see you, any one of you clowns out there. I'll tell you this straight up. It ain't nor it ain't no university in brotherhood like the University the Miment period. I don't care how many times you want to get together and who It doesn't matter the University of the Miment. What we have down there, you can't you can't replace it, you can't duplicate it. It's just something about the South being a hurricane, and it's.
Just something about it.
They're like, you don't have to be around these guys for years, and when you get around them.
It's like talk to talk to me to day. But that's why I say, nobody, no college have that. Nobody. I don't care what. I don't care what they try to say. Nobody has that LSU. Nobody, Nobody have the camaraderie we have. And to put a chair on top of that, nobody have the careers that we had. Just look at the list, the longevity, the Super Bowl wins, the All pros, you name me, go look at the list.
Man.
That was a fun conversation between three of the best to ever do it, and three of them that did it right here in Houston. Those teams, Man, holy spokes. I wish Dre would have been here when Vince got here, so three of them could have played together. But there's so many ties with those three. It was great to hear them on Goat Talk, Vince will Fork alongside Andre Johnson and Jonathan Joseph.
Okay, we get back.
We got to do your predictions. It's a Friday, and there's games on Saturday, and there's games on Sunday, and they gave my Monday. We'll pick them all straight up and against the spread and have some fun next right here in Texans All Access. All right, folks, we got one final segment for me of six hours. Just kidding, but we have one final segment of this tech this edition of Texans All Access, and it's time for predictions. That's right, Texans have played, the Chiefs and Steelers played. That's two down. Then you have Bears and Seahawks three down, and you still have got a weekend full of games. So let's get my music and let's start picking games straight up and against the spread, for fun, for fun, for fun. However, let's do a quick little college football run through starting on Saturday, the twenty eight eighth. Is that right, Yeah, today's twenty seventh, twenty eight. Okay, we got a ton of games on that Saturday, like a full day of games. Let me rip through these because you know some people like to listen to college football.
So here we go.
Saturday in the Sabi Fenway Bowl. You cant taken on North Carolina. North Carolina's to and a half point favorite. I'm taking the tar Heels to win and to cover. Then former Texans coach Bill O'Brien leaves Boston College into the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankees Stadium. Nebraska is a four point favorite. I think Donovan Roola, Dylan Roola will be the difference. I think he will lead his team to victory. They'll win that thing by a touchdown. Let's go twenty four to seventeen Nebraska over Boston College. Louisiana's taken up Nicholas Foller, their quarterback for Colorado State. Young brash guy that knows what he's doing. I'm gonna go to Calorilo State in that one. I want to say I have a home field advantage playing Areason. Oh no, but close enough. Let's go with Colorado State to win. East Carolina taking a Nansy State in a goal bowling Military Bowl. Nancie State lost their best player early in the year, but still eaked out seven wins. He should say eat out seven wins. Still, that's like a number. Encie State has six wins. I think it'sc State wins this game. This is one of those that feels like in state it's not really a rivalry, I guess. But East Carolina's always trying to, you know, trying to say, hey, we don't forget about us, don't forget about us. I think the pirates play with a little bit more juice and they pull the upset and he States faired by seven. I think it's cc is gonna get the upset BYU's playing against Colorado. One of the interesting things about this in the Vale of Volero Almable is that Dean Sanders is taking out insurance.
What's the word I'm looking for here.
He's taken all policies that if his guys get hurt, insurance policies for his guys, uh, that they'll be covered. And I was like, man, that's a great idea. Colorado has done it. I think Colorado rides that. I don't think we'll see Travis Haunter, maybe see chaudor not sure Eyu's played hard all year long, Colorado. If they're without Travis Hunter not sure what they have. I'm gonna go BYU to win this. Colorado's Fairbouy three now, I think b Yu is gonna win that thing. Go get to eleven wins in the year. And finally, Army in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl down in Shreeport. Armies favored by fourteen. This was supposed to be Marshall, but after Charles Huff left Marshall to go to Southern Mississippi after winning the Sumbout Conference, Marshall decided, we don't have enough players. Of all these people getting in the transfer portal the field a team insert hometown on relatively hometown Louisiana Tech at five and seven, Army's tough to prepare for. Regardless, louis Antexa's gonna be happy to be there. Army's gonna win this thing thirty nine to twenty two, and that will give them a cover and win for Army for its twelfth win of the season. They're they're a fun team to watch. Ah, let's get to the NFL. Here we go, Starting on Saturday three games. The early game an NFL network will be the Chargers taken on the Patriots in New England. Chargers faired by four and a half. Patriots will played better, I just don't think they're good enough to knock off the Chargers. They get inside the four and a half, that's where I think they might be able to do it, but not this time. Charges will win this by ten, twenty four to fourteen. Chargers winning cover. Broncos taking on the Bengals. What a game this is now, Mark and I talked about this earlier. There is a chance that the Broncos could win their final two games against the Bengals in Cincinnati and at home against the Chiefs, and the Steelers lose in Week E team to the Bengals at home, the Broncos would be coming to Energy Stadium for the playoff game. But I don't think that happens because the Bengals are gonna win this thing at home the fair about three and a half.
I think they win this by four.
Just bear.
They're gonna get a winning.
A cover over the Broncos and get to eight and eight. Cardinals taking on the La Rams another great game. Even though the Cardinals are eliminated. The Rams gotta have it not well technically not really. If they lose, then they're tied with the Seahawks winner take all week team. I don't think they. I think the Rams win this thing. I think you're winning by nine. That's more than six and a half. So winning a cover for the Rams over the Cardinals. Okay, let's get Sunday in normal seed NFL On Sunday, what about that? The Jets are taken on the Bills. Now Aaron Rodgers questionable for this one. Don't know if he's gonna play. The Bills are twelve and three, more than likely have the two seed, but to lock that seed up, they need one of the final two against the Jets or the Patriots. Again, they barely beat the Patriots last week. I do think they'll win this game, but if Rogers plays, I don't think nine and a half's a little too rich for me. So I'm gonna go Bills will win. Let's get the Jets of cover conference or division games late in the year.
Yeah, you never know.
Probably go Bills will win. Just be happy to get that win, get the two seed, and then they'll rest everybody next week against the Patriots, Titans, Jaguars. Either way, we're winning because one of these teams will gena win.
I think let's say tie, which I don't know. Hopefully that doesn't happen.
Tennessee is favored by one on the road at Jacksonville, and I'm going with Jacksonville to win this game over Tennessee for no other reason than I think Jacksonville's better.
But I don't know. So we'll go with Jacksonville to win, and it'll win.
It will be a minor upset because they're anticipating Tennessee to win by one. Vegas is so Jacksonville minor upset right there at home, Indiwgal County Panthers taken on the Buccaneers. Now, I would like the Panthers to lose the last two games because I've got some friends that might want that to happen for various reasons. Because they over runers four and a half. They got four wins either way. Panthers taken on the Bucks. The Panthers have been playing really good football lately. The Bucks got tripped up against Dallas, and I think they'll bounce back. They're favored by eight at home. I think they beat the Panthers by fourteen, thirty five, twenty one. Rice plays and continues to play well, but Baker's just too good. Bucks go to nine and seven and they need it. In the NFC South, they gotta keep pace with the Falcons.
We'll get to them at just a little bit.
Raiders. Saints, Yeah, I mean the Saints. The Las Vegas favored by one and a half in New Orleans. I think the Saints will come up with the minor upset there. I think the Saints will win that and therefore they'll get inside that one and a half by Las Vegas. The Cowboys and Eagles. Cowa's got nothing to play for, nothing to lose. Eagles got everything up in the air right now, and Kenny Pickett will play quarterback for the Eagles. I think that keeps it closer than the seven and a half. But there's no seed lamp, so that kind of evens it out. So Eagles are gonna win this thing, and they're gonna win it by seven, just inside the seven and half. So Coways getta covered. The Eagles get to win. Colts Giants Anthony Richardson questionable for the Colts. Giants not good. Any's favored by seven and a half. They might be better off playing Joe Flack or to cover that seven and a half. So let's go Joe Flacco hopefully, and Colts get a win. They keep their small playoff hopes alive. Dolphins Browns. Dolphins aren't just playing up the street just yet, but it's close. The Brown's playing Dorian Thompson Robinson. Miami's faired by six and a half in Cleveland. No, sir, Dolphins win closer than the experts say. Brown's get a cover. Packers Vikings, Great game Sunday afternoon. Get in front of your TV for this one. The Vikings fair by just one and a half at home. I think they beat the Packers at home by six. Minnesota wins and covers Falcons Commanders on a Sunday night is glorious. Glorious. Commander's fair about three and a half. Michael Pennix against Jaye Daniels. This is awesome, going Commanders to win this thing. We winning by four. We're gonna go twenty seven to twenty three. That's a cover and a win for the Commanders. Monday Night Lions Niners. The Niners season is over done. Finito completo done the games out San Francisco and they can play spoiler, but it ain't gonna happen to Troitsky.
Go out there, get a little revenge, win that thing by seven.
So goes twenty eight twenty one for the Lions to win that thing over the Niners. And that, my friends, is the show. Thank you so much for being with me. We'll see you next time, and as always.
Go Texans.
Hello Texans, and welcome them to the eight o'clock hour on Friday night of Texans Radio, the final radio hour of the week. In a strange week because we had the Christmas game and no player availability or coach availability, meaning no interviews with anybody like that in the last couple of days.
So we've been recovering from.
Christmas, looking forward to the postseason and the regular season finale, which is what I think will be a week from Sunday. I've gone over the reasons why they haven't scheduled the Week eighteen games yet because they want to set up the best possible matchups to help determine TV audience. And you get some really compelling stuff on there because you have some games where it could be win and in like the Texans and Colts last year. Anyway, if you've been attending class here otherwise known as Texans All Access, you've heard me talk about this. But tonight some of the best content that we've had all year. Really, let's showcase some as it's a holiday show. It's a holiday special, right We're in Hanukkah, Christmas was a couple of days ago, Kwanza, all of it Festivus for the rest of us.
Let's do this.
Andre Ware and Indy klou huddle up and I was part of this a few weeks ago, and we had a great talk and we talked about what was going on with the Texans currently, but we also dived into the past, Andre's past and a little bit of other stuff as well.
So let's drop in mid conversation as we look back a bit.
Side note question here, and we're all old enough to remember, and most of the listeners should be or many of them. I don't want to just implicate everybody for being seasoned Dallas. Remember they used to do in the Lama offensive lineman up and down before the snap.
Why don't any Why doesn't anybody do that anymore? I don't know.
It's it used to look sweet. It's all get up. Yeah, it really loved it.
Man.
It was kind of would emulated in the in the sand.
You're playing sandline football, grass, grass line football, whatever you want to call it.
We do it on the street as well.
And if play the game where if you get close to the grass, that's when you can hit a guy. Yes, you never go towards the sideline because that's when they can load unload on you.
But it was that was just sweet. I think it's creative. It was sweet.
It was They were the first to really use, uh start using really technology to help in scouting players and things of that sort, and you know, streamlining a lot of it.
I got to say that that era of football coaches had brand identity.
Bum Phillips.
Bum Phillips was his own brand, Tom his own brand, Chuck Knowle, you know these guys.
Yeah, he was exactly right. Don Shula his face is a logo. I mean, it's one of those guys.
Right.
His grandson, Chris Shula is the defensive coordinator for the Rams, and they were here for practice this summer and he kind of has that Shula face.
You know, those those jaw exactly.
Paul Brown Lombardi. And remember when Mike Nolan wanted to wear a tie when he was head coach of the forty nine ers and they actually let him do it because his dad did it.
And there should be more of that. I like to Miko with the red dry fit. He usually wears the red.
Head coach at at Minnesota, PJ Fleck.
He wears a time like that.
See that's good. Harball as the Michigan coach kind of had that brand look.
Was in his mind, you know, thought he was resurrect yeah something. Yeah, he just started to look like him, dressed like him, had that academic like everything.
It was crazy.
Yeah.
Gochuck was probably the last one with that brand.
With the cutoff sweatshirt yeah, the hoodie, yeah, the hoodie and the cutoff sleeves.
And now it feels like the league makes them all wear the same thing on Sundays. It's just you know, but Demiko.
I like the red dry fits.
See.
I'm gonna tell the equipment guys here. I'm gonna tell Darwin he should always have red. Okay, that's that's what we should lobby for.
He always has. No he some games I think he was wearing the salute to service one of those.
We pay closer attention to this. Yeah, you wear red until you get beat.
Yeah you beat again, you switch back.
Yeah, don't mess with a winning street. But h question for both of you guys, because you know we're just here talking all right, this is the players Show, but no player availability this week. So we've got a former player Andre Ware and Andy Kalou of course, but you guys, as former players, both of you have this in common. You've built great careers after playing NFL football, right, great careers and different careers. All right, Drey obviously great broadcaster. I know you have other interests too, you're not going to talk about them. I know you have other things going on. You got other irons in the fire or whatever. Yeah, but anyway, what does that take and why don't more guys set themselves up better for post playing and d It's difficult because I know you have to pour yourself into your pro football career. But as we all know, no matter what age you retire, even Tom Brader, you're still a pretty young man relatively. I mean he might be on you know, the oldest one, but most guys are in their thirties at best. If you're in your thirties, Hell, you've had a tremendous career. When you retire, what does it take.
Well, the reason why a lot of guys don't prepare themselves. You know, their blessing is their curse. You have to be a little bit detached from reality to make it to the NFL. You have to have a mindset where most average people are the common persons going to be like, man, he's crazy. You know, how's this kid from Dickinson think he's gonna win the Heisman when he goes to you of age? But you have to have that unrealistic mindset just to make it to the NFL. And I also think that hurts you because while you're in the NFL, you're thinking, Oh, I'm going to sign three more contracts, I'm going to sign the one hundred million dollar deal, and I don't really have to worry about life after football because you feel like you're going to be great, and that's what got you there. But it's tough to throw in being real with yourself. So for me, I can't speak for anybody else, and everyone has a different story being an undersized fifth round pick from Rice. I even going, as stupid as it may sound, I went into the NFL thinking I'm going to be a Hall of Famer. You know, we can laugh about it now, but I really thought I was going to be a Hall of Famer. Yeah, yeah, that's the mentality. And after a while, I said, okay, you know what reality hit after like year five or six. You know, I want to play as long as I can, but I also want to make sure when I'm done playing, I don't have to work for anybody. So then that's when I started, you know, when got my real estate license and became a broker in the offseason and started buying apartments houses. I still thought I could be great, but I just knew that the end was gonna come. But with some of these players, especially the ones that start early on, you know, they're not thinking about what am I going to do in ten years. Their thought is I'm going to sign three four deals, be set for life and not have to worry about life after football. And I understand it because I was there, But at some point you do have to start thinking about life after and it's never easy. Even when I had things set up when I was done in two thousand and nine, it still took a couple of years to accept the fact that I wasn't a football player anymore.
It's a great way to put it because I'm jotting down some notes and the one thing I think a lot of players miss when they are drafted, when and family members when you're playing, to know that you're setting yourself up for later on in life.
You're not spending it. You're not you know, the guy that's buying the bottle.
Every bottle service every time you guys go out and have a good time, or you're you know, you're taking care of the bill. Every money runs out. You can spend it making millions, you can run. It can run out on you.
What's the percentage of lottery winners who go bankrupt. It's over fifty or something lottery winners.
And then you got to you gotta get into something that you're passionate about, that you really, you really love to do and it's not a lot of guys find themselves chasing what they used to make and that can get you in a lot of trouble as well. You start chasing money. Yeah, you got to have taken care of yourself on the front end while you're playing. That gives you the opportunity to really hand pick what you want to do in your next career and then from there you find something that you're passionate about.
I'll say this, there's a lot of positive and successful examples, but you know, we tend to focus on the negatives. And a lot of the guys that I know who are having success post playing career, they're not the biggest names, so they kind of, you know, had my mentality.
But it's kind of like the guys that you played with in college. The stars aren't the ones that are necessarily go on to do X, Y and Z and.
Run corporations exactly and and become doctors.
It's the walcome.
They're the most successful, more successful, uh, in terms of the life or lifestyles that that were on the call on your teams in college.
And often coaches are like that too, not all the time, but that often happens. Dray, how did you know how did you because you handled yourself well, how did you know how to handle yourself as far as being a pro and then transitioning into not being profess a professional athlete anymore and building your life.
I think it just goes back to how you were raised.
There's there's an arrogance that can come with playing professional sports that you have to get over. Once it's once it's once, it's you're done. I've seen guys that have acted like a holes while they were playing, and then all of a sudden they need to get into a certain industry and people remember how you acted when you were playing. So my I just respect everybody, and that's how I did it along the way, when you're at your highest peak, and as you're transitioning, you're the same way. And I would say, just be consistent in the way you treat people so that doors will open for you because you were INDI Kalou or Mark Vandermer, this awesome quarterback that played X amount of years. Oh heck, yeah, he's trying to transition into what we're doing. Yeah, that door is a little bit easier to open, and you can kind of handpick which one you want to go through, but if you're the a hole, those doors don't open nearly as fast. Yeah, I mean yeah, people remember, they remember interactions. I will meet somebody in my weekly travels that I've met fifteen twenty years ago, and I took a picture with their daughter and spent time. But you know, I knew the car was getting ready to leave and you were in a hurry, but you took the time to take this picture with my daughter. They show it to you and they're appreciative of it, and so that's that's kind of an example of if you needed that guy, you don't treat everybody the same because you don't know when you're gonna need somebody.
It's gotta be tough, though. When you guys were players and people want a picture or a lot of crap.
I signed every one of them if I could, because one someday they're gonna stop asking. And that's that's kind of how how I tell my son. He says, well, why do you sign all of them? And this that because one day they won't ask, but you want to keep them asking. But the fastest way they won't ask is to say no. And then that starts to spread itself around and all the way the internet and all that. Now, uh, that can spread pretty quickly.
All right, there's some of the conversation Indi Kalou, Andre Whaere and myself. We're gonna have more of that coming up. And speaking of Andrea's Andre Johnson coming up later on the show, part of the Shuffle with Chase b and that's a great talk. So you don't want to miss any of that. It's happening here on Texans Radio. Well here on Texans All Access to Bonus Hour on a Friday night, and we're digging back into the content archives a little bit here because you had the Christmas Day game. You have no player or coach availability interviews and such in the last couple of days. And we'll get back on the horse on Monday with Texans Monday at eight am and get you ready for the regular season finale against the Tennessee Titans and also of course wild card weekend at home. No matter what, Texans have to get ready for their opponent. Maybe it's Pittsburgh, maybe it's somebody else. As we'll learn a whole lot more with this weekend's results in the NFL. Back to our conversation here with Andre ware N d Kalou and myself as we talk about Andre's career. I love these stories because Dickinson High School and you played for Dub Ferris that was your coach, and when we did the morning show together from seven through oh nine, which man, as I say that, it sounds like a long time ago now, Andre, oh my gosh, but it feels like ten minutes ago that we did.
That show eighteen years ago. Man, that's holy crap. And I remember listening to you everything.
Oh yeah, that flies by you.
But you you would impart and it was great. And I gotta say this, Uh, Dre was an excellent morning host. Excellent. So once I how to wake up, once you learned how to drink once I once I corrupted you with coffee.
And I'm still drinking it.
Sorry twenty years later.
Sorry, that's sorry, But I'm not. I'm not just saying this because you're here. I just think that people got to know a different side of you, right, you know, they knew you as the Heisman Trophy winner, NFL guy broadcaster, great, great game broadcaster, National TV, Texans Radio. Great, but just being able to tell stories, you know, sit there for four hours a day, and tell stories and Dub Ferris, your high school coach, playing at Dickinson, the Gators, all that stuff. Uh, there were people calling in who remembered you from those days, But what would those days like playing high school ball there?
And Dickinson. They've kind of improved the facility since you were just a.
Little bit, just a little bit.
No, It's fabulous and Dickinson will always be home for me. It's why, like I don't understand how guys transfer so much in college, because where do you call home, you know, after you've played at eight places or however many they're playing now. But it's a special place for me. I got the chance to go to breakfast last week with Coach Ferris, and he and Miss Ferris, and we were in San Antonio had a game that night, and we sat down and got I wish we had more time, you know. It was just one of those where I had a late morning zoom production meeting for the game that night and had had to zoom off or get out of there. But he is as passionate about the game of football as he as he's ever was. I wish that every young man that puts a helmet on will have the relationship that I have with my high school coach, because it's a special one in a sense that when I was young, he became kind of my father figure, and he calls me his son now and I call him dad.
And things of that sort.
It's a deep relationship that my father passed when I was six years old, so I learned a lot in a short period of time from him. From the time I met him in seventh grade, he had my attention. We came in as freshman and he sits us down on this mat where I've seen numerous guys throw up from off season workouts, and he tells me, tells all of us, it's either my way or I'm going to get you out of here, and if you want to play, you adapt. And I wish things were that more so that way. In today's world, you can't even talk to kids like that. And nowadays he'd run you off for ear rings and things of that sort. And it was just he I think I forget the number that he told me in his first class that he had there, but by the time it may have been seventy something players. And by the time they got out of camp and off season, and he had twenty two. They went both ways and and uh, and they were competitive, but that's the individual he was. So a lot of how I am is because of how he was and how I got it from him. He was tough, Uh, that's the way I coached. But he was fair and he always let you know up front what his expectations were. And so when coaches coach that way and they tell you and they're honest with you and they're upfront with you, you can deal with it because now you know, now I've got the blueprint, I know what I need to go do. But when you're dishonest, that's when players don't trust you and you have a lot of animosity in the locker room. But that was never that way for me, Dickinson. The way things turned out, I would not change one thing about how I grew up, how I played, how how we won our lost games. It was an experience. And I think you win, you gain more from losing, and you learn more from losing than you ever will winning, because you won't change if you're winning.
You know, it's interesting.
I'm on the outset, I looking in, but my sons have played against Dickinson, and I believe this started with your coach. The culture. He said, I've left every time we've played Dickinson. It's been multiple times, thinking, God, dog, they're physical, they play hard. They play hard, their physical and they battle. And as you're telling this story, I'm thinking, I bet you that's where it started. And he created that fast. He kind of laid the groundwork for that stuff. Coach Nelson is and here very close to this day as well. Coach Nelson I think is the head of the High School Coaches Association and they meet in San Antonio, I think every year. But you know, it's it's one of those things where if you go down there to play a game, you're gonna know you played in the football game. And they're they're a little bigger and faster than we were. But we were small, quick and tough and that was that was how we played.
So you played baseball, you played basketball too, right, So you played all three sports and ran track and ran track.
So I would I would run a track meet on a Saturday morning and then that night go pick Oh my gosh, And it's crazy in today's world with all this. You know, you got to specialize in this specialization where you got to get down to one sport and that's the only one that you should you uhould play. Every sport helps. The other track helps with football, that's where you gain your speed. Basketball helps with hand and eye coordination, all of that stuff. So it's it's uh I think it's a it's you're doing kids a disservice by not allowing them to play everything. And then you get to high school you figure out which one or two that that you want to play or if you want to keep doing what I did and played all play all.
For do it?
Wow, well baseball you were really good at baseball and you were drafted. Yeah, so take us through that how baseball works for you getting drafted and you didn't consider it.
I didn't even consider it because my mom said, hey, you're going to college and it was a non It was a it was non negotiable, but uh I could throw it back then I could pitch. Uh I played in a district that had really talented players in it. Randy Pryor went off to A and m Kirk dressing door for ended up in the a's rotation, and when we played Parland, both of them played at Periland High School. When we played them, it was packed. There are a lot of scouts there. I remember the scout from the Dodgers at the time telling me that I'd run the fastest time from home to first that he timed at that point. And so baseball was my grandfather. If God bless his soul, he would tell you to this day that he thought it would be baseball that I would play professionally, not football. And I think football became one of those things where I wanted to play quarterback.
I knew that it didn't have a.
Long life, a lifeline, but I wanted to play it anyway. And so when I was a youngster in seventh grade, ALLOWED talked my way into basically a tryout outside the coach's office. I said, guy, wish he would let me play quarterback, just to give me a shot, and he heard me. Coach Holmes heard me, and so the next day at practice he asked me to stay after and I.
Was just like, oh damn, he's getting ready. He heard me.
He's getting ready to run me to death. He just wanted to see me throw. And after that he moved me to quarterback and that was kind of the really yeah, but I was set to play at U of h I broke my arm my freshman year, so obviously I had to get I was there to play football. I had to get my spot back and went through the spring rather than playing baseball that spring.
Let me ask you that, obviously we grew up in two different areas. I grew up in San Antonio, you're in Dickinson. But like you, I'm a multiple sport guy, track basketball, but baseball was never even on my radar, So like, how.
Was it introduced to you? And you know, I don't want to make this controversial about I always loved it.
We played what was it stickball or whatever with a tennis ball and a bat and growing up and I loved it so much that I would talk guys into playing me two on one where you had one base and I tried, you know, if I got them out, I would back. You know, I would never get out because they couldn't catch me. And it just became a love when I was For me at about the age of eight, when I started playing and my grandparents would take me to games for practice. I had two coaches that would pick me up. Jim and Matt Baker were my little league baseball coaches. My second year they moved me up. We had a it was a tear system, the American, Texas and National League. I went from the American League, playing my first year on the machine, to the National League where you just skip right over the league and you're in the best of the best. And I played in that league for three straight years. That's where my taste for baseball came from. And they would put me on the back of a truck, pick me up, take me to practice, put me on that same truck, bring me back home. I jump off, thank them, and do the same thing the next day. And so that's why to this day, if kids need a ride that play for me, what's it called, I reciprocate, I pay it forward. I go back and and uh and hopefully they will do the same thing for some kid once they become coaches or they're influential in a kid's life. But that's how that's why I do it, and that's why I do some of the things I do for the kids that play.
For you brought up a memory we don't see.
I used to have a coach, Coach Washington, pick us up for a track and we had like eight people in the back of a pickup going across town and and we didn't even think about it.
But I've never seen that.
You get a big ticket as long as you put together. If somebody's riding in the back.
But back, then.
Literally there'll be like eight of us in the back of a pick up all the time.
Let's go to Galveston, we jump in the back, You're riding next to us, a police officer way back and keep going.
So I wonder when, I wonder when I'll google this after the show, when it became a law that you couldn't do it because that was just the norm. Yeah, it was like, oh, I got to pick up so I could take ten people. Okay, eight of y'all are fitting in the back.
I don't think I put on a seatbelt till I was twenty five.
You know, I probably still My son is reminded me right around with that.
Yeah.
Yeah, And I know I know exactly how many times it will do it and how long it actually does it ten seconds, and then once it stops, it'll it's ten seconds off. Then it'll come back. After about four times of that, it's it'll shut off. So I just have to get through the first four four dans.
Now I feel naked without it, though, it's like I got to put it out. I don't know, it's strange.
Well, we talked about dre playing baseball. Mark, Have you ever called baseball games?
Yeah?
I have when I for me and I became a big baseball fan maybe eight years ago when I had my radio show and I read Joe Morgan's book Baseball for Dummies, And once I learned about the games within the game, I really appreciated it.
Me you're an Astros front runner. So when I.
Listened to the games on the radio, I love how they're just literally having a conversation. Liked, is it tougher? Is it easier calling baseball versus football? I think it's a lot harder in many ways. I love calling lot of a lot.
Of film between pitches, between that bats.
I've never done Major League Okay did the Hurricanes. We won the National championship in O one. I was able to call those games. And college is different because it feels like every count goes full, you know, and the plink of the aluminum bat. It's not as romantic a radio sport as Major League Baseball. The wooden bat, the sound of the wooden bat, versus plink of the aluminum bat just changes the dynamics of that being a radio sport. Now, you're right, it is a big conversation and a lot of nothing happens, but then all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose. Baseball's where all of a sudden, the ball's over here, and it's the one sport where as as the announcer you have to take your eye off the ball. Every other sport that I call you cannot take your.
Eye off the ball. But baseball you have to look who's rounding third? Here comes the throw?
Are they're gonna you know, you have to look at what's happening with the dynamics, and it's it's weird for me because I didn't grow up playing it or watching it. So a long story there, so it's not for a lot of guys. It's part of their DNA. It's really the Shakespeare of radio sports. I mean, it is a great radio sports storyteller.
Yeah, but I love Andy.
There's nothing like being on the air with this guy on a Sunday afternoon, and it's just it feels like.
War, you know.
There it is it's the battle and everything is fever pitch Oh my gosh.
Lives hang in the balance.
It's huge.
I can't shake that feeling. It's too big to ignore, you know. And even though we only get to do twenty of them a year, plus playoffs preferably, it just feels like there's no way I would drop that. There's no way I would let the event of the NFL weekly game go away.
It's just too big, it's too good.
I think I've told you this before, Mark, but I haven't told Andre. And we all know teenagers are in their own world. But one day we're driving back, so we're listening to y'all during the Texan game, and my teenage son said, man, just out of the blue, Man, they do a good job. I feel like i'm seeing the game.
Oh wow.
And I said, oh wow, like you actually said something profound. Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Appreciate that, no doubt, because you know it. In radio, all you're trying to do is paint the picture, and it's the it's the why it happened. From my aspect, he's the setup guy, and I'm there to tell why certain things happen and when they happen. And it's been a great twenty three year crush between us, and I'm look look forward to another twenty you can be around twenty three more years.
Hell yeah, I'm going I'm going out on a gurdy.
Yeah, I'm gonna need one of those little things with wheels and to give me to give me to the elevator.
I like it to like I'll tell you what's going on, and then Trey's just gonna fill in all the Like if it's a painting, I'm just got I got the pencil sketch, and he's gonna paintbrush all the colors in there and make it pretty and tell you, you know, show you exactly how it is. And uh and that's our goal, you know. But we've always I think we had chemistry from the very beginning. And it's only you know, it's years that we're like an old married couple. Now it's like I know, okay, you go ahead. I'll go ahead.
It's just it's in a great way. Every blue moon, I'll step on it.
But I knew right away that to kind of stay in my lane, you know, figure figure out his voice inflections and when he's wrapping up. And that's the thing about a relationship like like this and working with a guy for a long time. You got to kind of figure out what he does, what he likes to do. When he's gonna wrap his thoughts before you get dive right in. And a lot of guys get excited and caught up in the game, and all of a sudden you hear him stepping on each other all the time. But we've never had really had that problem. I've done it in excite out of excitement a couple of times.
But I do like it when he adds something though, like that, like put it back of the trunk right around this. I mean, it's good.
It's good here Dred the very first touchdown in Texans history, David Carter, Billy Miller.
You hear drego like he just he does. He makes a sound and there's something beautiful about that, like the emotion of it. All Right.
There is some of the best of the conversation that nd Kalou andre Ware myself had a few weeks back. Let's get to this now, the shuffle with Chase b He's worked with Travis Scott, rapper producer, and he catches up with various Texans, some current, some not so current, like the Hall of Famer Andre Johnson. Let's drop in on some of that conversation.
Andre Johnson is here with us on the shuffle, bro, appreciate you joining us.
Was going on appreciation.
So what's his last couple of years been like?
Just you know, being from going from a football player to a professional football player to a Hall of Fame level football player.
What is that like emotionally for you? You know what I'm saying.
Man.
You know, as a kid, you know, you always have dreams of like playing college, playing in the NFL. For me, my dream school was always to go to University of Miami. So you know that ended up happening. When I got to Miami. My receiver coach, he was probably one of the best receiver coaches around. He was just like, man, I'm trying to prepare you for the NFL. And man, he pushed me like no one had ever had. So he was only by every little thing. He was very detailed about every little thing, and man, I was able to make it happen, and you know, ended up coming here and the transition for me was pretty smooth because he had prepared me like I was an NFL.
He still did you keep in contact with him when you got to the league.
Yeah, so he's uh, he's actually the head coach for the Houston Roughnecks. Yeah yeah, so, uh, you know, I went out to a few games, you know, just to support him and things and that he's like family to me.
So yeah, that's wild, Bron.
And then so you got to Houston and you obviously stay here for a while.
What was that like just seeing going through all the ties and tribulations with those early Texas teams into becoming like the playoff teams that you developed into.
What was just all because you were here for.
What like eleven twelve years? Twelve years, twelve years? Yeah, man, Chase, I can't lie, bro.
Yeah I know that.
Yeah, I can't lie, bro.
Like the first the first few years, like the first I should probably say like the first four.
Years, it was rough.
Yeah yeah, watching them, Yeah, it was tough, bro, But you know what, it never made me like every year made me want it even more, like you know what I'm saying, Like it maybe it just every year I just came back and I was like, we gotta get it done, you know what I'm saying. So when we finally, you know, when we made the playoffs, I remember we clinched in Cincinnati. T J y X was quarterback. We had a rookie quarterback. I got hurt, Man Chase, I ain't gonna lie. Bro. I've that was probably the biggest cheerleader because I was I was coming back from hamstring injury and Kobak was just like, man, you know, we can get this done without you. And uh Man. When we won, Bro, I was, I was like a kid in the candy store, but like I was jumping around going crazy. Man, I was super excited because it was like you had got that hump off your back, you know what I'm saying. So we got back here and man, the parking lot was full, Like fans was everywhere, you know what I'm saying. So we went out, you know, kind of celebrated with the fans a little bit. So it was a cool man.
That was a dope support from the entire Yeah, you know, So I'm gonna talk to you because obviously even now you know you're from Miami, but you mean so much to the city of Houston, just not just whether it be philanthropic work, just you know, charity work, just even you know, been in restaurants in the city just showing love to the as Shows, Rockets and the Texans. What was that time like, because I feel like around like two thousand and one to like two thousand and five, we had a whole lot of new energy when it came to Houston sports, like we was we.
Had just gotten Mini Made Park, we had just gotten the Toyota Center. You know what I'm saying.
Obviously energy or reliant was just not getting built. What was the climate like for you as a young athlete coming into a city where we just had all these like resurgences of energy when the Kingdom plays?
Man, you know what, It's funny.
The first thing, like the first piece of like real free time I had, Bro, you wouldn't believe the first thing I did. I went and bought some season tickets to the Rockets.
Oh real, Yeah so you did that?
Yeah, So like that was like one of my things. Like I always was a big fan of basketball.
So here in Texans All Access listening to the Shuffle with Chase b and Hall of Famer Andre Johnson.
Yeah, I played in high school. So when I when I got here, I was just like it's like now I want to just go get me some tickets, you know. So I started going to the games and things of that nature, and like, like you said, it was just because that was the year I got here, was the first year for the Toyota Center. Yeah, so I was the second year of the team, so everything was just kind of new, you know. So and as time went along, man, like I kind of seen all of it growing, just coming together. So right now, man, the city of Houston is just like it's like the place to be now.
Really, I was gonna talk about We're gonna talk about a little bit more of that little later, but just keeping the sports now. You I feel like the Texans and I feel like the Rockets kind of had that moment at the same time when we first got James and the Texas finally from the like playoff first and all of that. So what was it like the differences between those early years like the two thousand and two thousand and threes to like to two thousand and ten elevens, when I feel like everybody.
Was just on fire.
Man, it was definitely a different energy and it was just a different feeling in the city, like the city was rocking. It was you know, like I don't care if you went to a football game, like basketball game. Like It'll be times like we'll literally be a practice and dudes would be like, man, you go into the game tonight, like we're trying to go see the Rockets play, you know what I'm saying. So you know, you're trying to you know, you might have massages or something set up or you know, things you have to do after practice, and we're trying to get it done because the game, you know. So it was it was definitely like a great time, man, I mean it was, it was. It was some fun times. But like like I said, the city was on fire, and you know, it was some great experiences during that time.
To me at the time, I was actually at school in DC.
I was at Howard, but I used to come down all the time and watch your games and watch Rockets games.
And all that.
But as a professional athlete, I know how the streets is now in Houston, you.
Know what I'm saying.
We got the camps in the world, you know, all our clubs now. But what was what was like the night life like back then in twenty eleven. I feel like that was like a whole nother golden era then.
Yeah, it was.
It was.
It was fun, bro.
It was fun, man, Like, I mean, wherever you went, it just seemed like it was just jumping.
Like yeah.
So, I mean we had our nights, We'll go bowling. You know, you had your what was the club downtown. I can't think of the name of it, but it was a club venue. Yeah. I used to go to the venue and stuff back then. I mean, you had Belvedere, you know. When I first got here, m bar was like that, Yeah, you go to AIRBA on Thursday, you will see ain't know telling who you was gonna see and there, you know. So I always tell this story. I remember I was, I was in Miami. I was I'm I don't know, I just I was sitting in the barber shop. Bro, no, Lie, I was like, man, I'm gonna go back to Houston for real.
Yeah, so decided that you were like really gonna post up here and kind of.
Yeah, it was kind of around that time.
So I go, I leave the barber shop, shoot by the house, grab a bag, jump on the plane, and broke the whole first class was all NFL players. Yeah, I'm like here y'all going And they was like, bro, we're going to the embar.
You know what I'm saying yes, it was that serious.
Yees was like, was like that was the that was the thing?
Yeah?
Yeah as wow. So from what I understand, so you you Joe got a whole show called Go Talk. Yeah, how's that be going?
Like?
You got a lot of guess Chris Carter was on there, Uncle Luke was Yeah, we just.
Did Uncle Luke.
That's why Miami guy. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So I'm going to ask you this, first of all, how do you feel about just the whole tell me your space?
Now?
I know it's a lot of a lot of content getting pushed out, and what made you want to just be a part of that and tell me you know what?
To be honest, it was just an idea somebody came to me with because people don't never hear me talk, so you know, it gets to show them a difference. So ject Joe's the same way. You know, like unless you really know us, you're not going to really talk to them, you know. So I think it's giving people and showing people. It's just a different side. I think the stories are crazy. Yeah, I think just the whole space period, I think it's given guys, you know, their own platforms to tell their own stories and not have other people tell their story for them. Yeah, so I think it's definitely in a great space. I'm I can't sit here and say I listen to everybody's because I think sometimes they can get a little carried away with some of the things they say. Yeah, but uh, you know it's I think it's a great thing though.
Yeah, for sure, definitely need a platform. You know, I chourage everybody to get involved in the in the right life.
Yeah, I'm saying, yeah, keep it going with more of the Shuffle with Chase b and Andre Johnson.
So, speaking of goat talk, we got some gold questions for you before we get out of here.
All right, So what is to you?
What is the goat food spot in Houston?
Goat food spot? I don't know, man, I got a few places I like to go. I think everybody go to State forty eight, you.
Know, so I think that's a common thing through the whole. Definitely a go go goat Statehouse for sure. So what do you think is the goat club in Houston? We kind of talked about. You think it is m Bar.
You think that's a goat club of Houston?
Since I've been here. Yeah, either that, it's only two I go with that. Either that or Belvedere Belvedere. Yeah, I've been a Belvedere one time. I went I want to build at one time.
Who do you think is the goat wide receiver?
Wide receiver all the time?
Jerry Rice, Jay Rice? Who's the goat basketball player?
Always go back and forth for this, but I'm gonna say MJ.
Mike, Today's MJ. Tomorrow might be different, but today's for sure. Who's a goat rapper?
Coat rapper, Tupac Tupac go singer Beyonce.
Good Houston answer right, there can't go wrong on this show. And last one to go TV show it's your favorite.
Show, Go TV show where it doesn't really I mean it's a rerun now, but Martin was.
That's my I'm so. I was just watching Mark.
That's the only show on this iPad, is the only show I have every single episode downloaded and watch.
Yeah, I've heard Drey appreciation you stopping Bob bro.
All right, there's Chase b with Andrey Johnson on the shuffle. All of that is available on YouTube. The Texans YouTube page is loaded without standing content. Just go to the Texans YouTube page. Go to the video section, scroll down, and there's a bunch of stuff that you've probably missed that you're really gonna like if you're a Texans fan and I know you are coming up, we'll wrap up the show. Oh, get you ready for next week. Get a Houston methodist doctor in here, and get you ready for the weekend. It's Texans All Access, final segment of the week. And it's been a unique week. And we began the show, or the three hour block of shows at six and Johnny and I talking about what a strange trip it's been, the gauntlet of three games and eleven days that ended on Christmas Day, and we were mentioning, I think this is so notable. The Dolphins game feels like a month ago, but it was less than two weeks ago. It was two weeks ago Sunday. So it's a weird feeling that you've had three games in such a short amount of time, and obviously the last one went terribly wrong. The Chiefs game obviously a terrible finish after a would be tying score when Dell got hurt. We don't need to relive that, but the opportunity is still there to do some serious damage. But you got to play a whole lot better clearly, obviously, and they're going to have to work it out as they get ready for the regular season finale against Tennessee and then wild card weekended the post season. Can't wait for that Houston Methodist minutes. We usually do this on a Thursday, but it's been a different week schedule wise.
So here we go with.
Doctor Larry Baya, part two of our conversation. We did high ankle sprain last week because Mahomes he turned out to play and play very well against the Houston Texans on Saturday. But we're also focusing on another part of the foot, the achilles. Let's get into it with achilles injuries, because I'm noticing athletes coming back faster than ever from an achilles injury. So you tell me what's the difference in recovery, technology, surgery, whatever you're doing now to bring athletes back faster than ever.
Cool. This is one of my favorite things to talk about. So you know, I think we know a lot more about foot dynamics and the way that your foot strikes. We also know the tendon. There's quantification that can be performed in the office so you know ten years ago you'd have to go for an MRI to fully evaluate the Achilles tendon in some of the other structures. Where now in the office, you know I can do a diagnostic culture sound and the tended and tell you what it looks like. Talking about severity and variations. You can have Achilles tendonitis of the insertion of the mid substance, so within the tendon itself, you can also have irritation of the sheet or the structures around the Achilles tendon, and they'll all kind of be managed a little bit differently depending on what your foot dynamic looks like, depending on what your arch looks like. The tendon that runs on the inside of your foot and ankle that gives support to the arch you're posting your tips then also plays a vital role as well as dor seflection, so how well your ankle can bend upward when you're bringing your foot up and so all those dynamic movements will impact how much stress and pressure is put on the achilles. So when I see somebody normally, I'll doing exams a little vand and look at their achilles. We'll consider throwing the ultrasound on them. In the office. You know, it takes five minutes to look to further evaluate that tendon, and then we talk about are we gonna manage you conservatively, we're gonna offload you, Are we gonna consider doing something like p RP, which is platelet rich plasma. There's variations of that and depending on who you talk to, and you know what all they use. Some of the things that I found that have been useful are putting a little bit of PRP within the tendon sheath, putting some PRP within a nodule that's where there's an inflammatory process within the tenon fibers, so you can break up some of that starring, or even trying to approach the retro calcaaneal ursa to provide a little bit of anti inflammatory benefit. Typically we try to stay away from steroids to that area, so like a quartzone injection. You know, I'll have patients come in and ask me about that. But that anti inflammatory benefit is a little bit different than something like plate lenrich plasma, and you can often end up with an achilles rupture, which is terrible at the end of the day. So saw somebody last week, and you know, we talked about their achilles tendon and you know, one of the things that they mentioned was I've never heard of this stuff, and you know, we can do all this now, Like where were you ten fifteen years ago? I last I said, you know, I was.
I was still an.
Undergrad ten to fifteen years ago. But so more of this stuff is, you know, I would say, you know, newer cutting edge, and we're learning we can be a lot less aggressive and try to manage more of the mobility and try to get back with the tendon health before you just kind of jump back into things.
Incredible progress made in that area. Doctor, thanks so much for the visit. We really appreciate it.
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you having it.
There's doctor Larry Baye of Houston Methodists, the official healthcare provider of the Houston Texans. Houston Methodist leading Medicine and Houston Methodists will present our playoff content and also always presents Texans. Monday, we'll be back on at eight o'clock to begin a normal game week of sorts, and we expect the Texans and Titans to play noon on the final Sunday of week eighteen. We'll see how that goes. Maybe they schedule it differently. They're going to wait until they know what the setup is with these final tilts of the NFL regular season to make it as appealing as possible to the TV audience. So we'll let you know that shakes out and then get you ready for Wildcard weekend. That opportunity cannot be underestimated. Let's see how they prepare for it, and we'll all be watching and listening together. Thanks so much for being a part of the show tonight. Area forty five coming up next. Have a great weekend, Go Texans.
