Astros comeback win against the Giants thanks to Cam Smith

Summary

Payne & Pendergast – August 11, 2026
Astros Rally to Beat Giants, Texans Training Camp & Roster Analysis

---

Episode Overview

On this action-packed episode, Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast break down the Astros' thrilling comeback win over the Giants, spotlighting Cam Smith’s clutch performance. The hosts also dissect the Texans’ latest training camp developments, the team’s evolving depth chart, and upcoming preseason action. The episode features a mix of sharp baseball analysis, amusing anecdotes about old-school sports betting, insider Texans talk, player development updates, and candid banter in their signature Houston style.

---

Astros’ Dramatic Comeback vs. Giants

Game Highlights & Smith’s Heroics

• [01:03] – Play-by-Play: “Ground ball, right side. Could be through. It is off the glove of Basami. We’re tied. Cam going to head to second. He’ll be out, but we’re tied at three, heading to the bottom of the ninth. Cam Smith with his third hit of the game. Astros down to their final strike. Pena ground ball, base hit. He snaps the over 24 with a go ahead run in the 10th. It’s 4:3, Astros.”
• [01:31] – Seth: Admits he went to bed during the 8th inning, only to wake up and discover the win on his phone at 2:11 a.m.: “I watched a couple highlights. And then you do. You get...now you’re awake...but that’s not the audience’s problem. That’s my problem. So I’m a little tired this morning, but for good reason. The Astros won last night.”

Key Moments

• Astros win 6–3 in extras, keeping their division lead.
• Cam Smith: 3 hits, including the ninth-inning game-tying single and a clutch home run.
• Jeremy Peña: Snapped an 0-for-24 streak with a critical RBI in the 10th ([35:35]).

Hosts’ Takes & Quotes

• [05:23] Seth: “So the three guys they got in the Kyle Tucker trade all getting it done. Last night.”
• [09:00] Sean (on Giants’ celebrations): “But you know, like not during prime time.”
• [14:14] Play-by-Play: “Payne, you ground ball, base hit. He snaps the O for 24 with a go ahead run in the 10th. It’s 4:3 Astros.”

Memorable Banter:

• [03:37] Seth: “There is that whole theme of, like, the Astros, they're inevitable, they're going to show up this time of year... it hasn’t really been that way the last couple years.”

---

Baseball Nostalgia & Houston Sports Betting Stories

Sports Gambling Before Legalization

• Seth and Sean reminisce about shady sports betting avenues before betting apps, recounting barbershop and sporting goods store bookies from their youth ([05:38]).
• Seth: “I went to my barber in my hometown and we were talking about the Super Bowl...he sent me over to the sporting goods store, and I went and talked to the owner...every week I would either drop off money or pick up money.”
• Sean: “...that owner would go on to be the mayor of our town.” ([06:14])
• [06:58] Sean: “Who would also become the mayor. Yeah. Yeah.”
• Reflective comment: “Oh, things are so corrupt now and everything. Oh, they've always been corrupt.” ([07:05])

---

Astros Roster Musings: Cam Smith, the Kyle Tucker Trade, and Velasquez Claim

• Sean gets “petty” about the Cam Smith-Kyle Tucker trade, rooting for Smith to out-perform Tucker in WAR ([07:13], [37:07]).
• “The three guys they got in the Kyle Tucker trade all getting it done last night... Cam Smith three for four, tied it with a home run... Wisneski promptly coughed up the lead... Sock Paredes gave the insurance runs in the 10th.” ([07:13])
• The Astros claim Nelson Velasquez off waivers, prompting playful skepticism about deadline improvements ([37:58]).

---

Texans Training Camp: Depth Chart & Preseason Anticipation

Walkthroughs & Preseason Trends

• Texans are simulating regular season game week with a walkthrough ahead of the preseason opener vs. Chargers ([02:24], [02:51]).
• Sean: "There aren't going to be a whole bunch of starters out there against the Chargers. In the modern NFL, it's more of a surprise when you do see a bunch of starters in the first preseason game." ([02:51])

Cam Smith & Peña as Astros Storylines

• Discussion on developing talent: "Pena has been awesome since June 1st, but really bad over the last week or so. Cam Smith has really made a push..." ([02:51])

Texans Depth Chart & Player Notes

• Depth chart analysis: Xavier Hutchinson sits atop the WR list due to Tank Dell’s recovery ([14:31]).
• Keelan Rutledge, rookie, solidified as first-string center: “He’s the undeniable first string center right now.” ([09:57])
• Kaden McDonald as second-string DT over veterans; Marlon Klein’s surprising depth chart position.
• “Clearly they’re not intentionally like burying rookies on the depth chart...which is, I’m told they like well.” ([15:10])
• Special Teams: “Tank Dell is listed as a second string punt returner. I’d be stunned if they stick Tank Dell back there.” ([18:13])

Notable Play: Tank Dell’s Camp Action

• Tank Dell returns to full drills, catching a red zone pass in traffic—“first drill that we’ve seen him do against...with somebody in an opposite colored jersey across.” ([13:40])

Key Texans Position Battles and Development

• Right tackle dogfight between Braden Smith and Trent Brown ([17:16])
• Depth on both OL and DL impressing hosts ([09:12])
• Wade Woodaz as a second-string linebacker on the depth chart.
• The rookie class’ overall progression highlighted for a future segment ([42:26])

---

Texans Offense & CJ Stroud Progress

Schultz & D’Amico on CJ’s Growth

• Dalton Schultz praises Stroud’s offseason work ethic: “Just that level of focus, I think it was...free OTAs. So I think when you’re able to do that, February, March, April… it’s dangerous… I’m excited to see him continue to put it together.” ([22:04])
• D’Amico Ryans on Stroud’s command: “He’s handling really well this camp...he’s going to be convicted, he’s going to be confident, he going to sling it around and make a lot of plays for us.” ([24:08])

Pendergast: Stroud “More Comfortable”

• “CJ looks like everything’s unfolding for him a little bit more slowly...I think he’s done a really good job.” ([24:58])
• Hosts note the offense is well ahead of last camp, but real answers come in joint practices & regular season ([26:58], [27:45]).

---

Warren Sharp’s Analytics: Texans Over/Under Debate

• Sean reviews Warren Sharp’s key points for betting Texans over 9.5 wins ([29:12]):
  • Texans survived 2025’s third-toughest schedule, still won 12 games.
  • Easiest schedule of opposing run defenses this year (hosts express skepticism).
  • 2025’s “fifth most injured” offense—especially Joe Mixon’s absence is significant.
  • 2026’s “sixth best net rest edge” (hosts dub this negligible in outcome).
• Seth: “The only one that really holds water for you is that, well, none of them do...these like trying to predict how tough the schedule is going to be. It just, I don’t know if maybe this Warren Sharp character hasn’t watched football lately.” ([34:01])

---

Cowboys Contract News

• Quinn Williams signs a 3-year, $106 million extension with the Cowboys.
• “Jerry might be entering that YOLO mode...I ain’t got no time to waste on this.” ([42:14])
• Decision context: “Jerry said, ‘for the amount of money that we would have paid Micah Parsons, that’s six starters...’ and then they renegotiate or they give Quinn Williams an extension.” ([42:32])

---

Notable Quotes & Fun Moments

• On clutch baseball: “That’s the equivalent of a bad decision out at a nightclub at 2am. It’ll just get you over through whatever obstacles you’re facing.” – Seth ([34:58])
• On Jadeveon Clowney in camp: “He just had a one on one rush off the edge…he got on me quicker than I expected.” – D’Amico Ryans ([38:24])
• Sean on must-see sports: “Third and long for other teams this year when they have Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson, and Jadeveion Clowney on the field at the same time...that’s the Jordan Alvarez at bat of Texans game.” ([40:22])

---

Episode Takeaways

• Astros are showing grit and timely hitting, Cam Smith emerging as a key contributor.
• The Kyle Tucker trade continues to be a hot topic among fans and the hosts, with playful rivalry between Smith and Tucker stats.
• Texans camp is competitive, with rising rookies and well-documented position battles, especially on the offensive line and right tackle.
• CJ Stroud is earning rave reviews for his poise and development in camp.
• The team’s depth chart offers clues but isn’t ironclad this early in preseason.
• The hosts cast a critical but humorous eye on advanced analytics for NFL win totals and schedule strength.
• The show is punctuated with old-school sports talk, stories from Houston and New England, and the unique mix of irreverence and expertise that defines Payne & Pendergast.

---

Essential Timestamps

• 01:03 — Astros play-by-play: Cam Smith, Peña drive comeback
• 05:38 — Seth’s barbershop bookie story
• 09:12 — Texans camp: depth, preseason preview
• 14:31 — Texans depth chart analysis
• 22:04 — Dalton Schultz praises Stroud’s work ethic
• 24:08 — D’Amico Ryans on Stroud’s progress
• 29:12 — Warren Sharp’s Texans over/under debate
• 34:14 — Astros and Texans headlines, clutch moments
• 38:24 — D’Amico Ryans on Jadeveon Clowney
• 42:09 — Cowboys’ Quinn Williams contract analysis

---

Final Notes

The episode is a true showcase of Houston sports culture—a blend of passionate Astros and Texans talk, humor, game insights, and old-school stories. It's an engaging listen for fans who want the pulse of Houston’s teams and relatable, unvarnished banter.

Transcript

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm Susie Welch, the host of Becoming youg, a podcast where I help you

[Seth Payne]

stop living by default and start living by design. Listen to Becoming youg wherever you get your podcasts.

[GameTime Ad Voice]

We have the tech to get food delivered in 15 minutes, but we all have horror stories about buying tickets. The GameTime app gives fans the advantage. Get amazing tickets in just a few taps. Fees are included, so what you see is what you pay. And the gametime guarantee means authentic tickets at the best price every time. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets to concerts, sports, comedy and more with GameTime. Download the GameTime app and create an account for $20 off your first purchase term supply.

[Seth Payne]

Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Sean Pendergast]

We coming to H time.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Let's get the work in, man. Let go.

[Seth Payne]

Great day.

[Sean Pendergast]

Great day. Oh, give me some juice, baby.

[Seth Payne]

O yeah, let's do it here.

[Play-by-Play Announcer]

Ground ball, right side. Could be through. It is off the glove of Basami. We're tied. Cam going to head to second. He'll be out, but we're tied at three, heading to the bottom of the ninth. Cam Smith with his third hit of the game. Astros down to their final strike. Pena ground ball, base hit. He snaps the over 24 with a go ahead run in the 10th. It's 4:3, Astros.

[D'Amico Ryan]

There you go.

[Seth Payne]

If you went to bed early last night or just early enough to where you didn't see that that was me. I. I was committed. I made it all the way to the eighth inning and I'm like, yeah, you know what? Gotta get up early tomorrow.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And then I did that thing that I told you that I did after one of these other Astro games a couple weeks ago where they came back and had this furious comeback. It was that Angels game where there are all those errors and everything else. They had 10 batters sent to the plate and they got one hit. The Astros, they still won the game. I did that same thing. Seth got up at 2:11 in the morning to go to the bathroom. Brought my phone in the bathroom and I looked and poof, they won the game.

[Sean Pendergast]

Were you able to go back to sleep?

[Seth Payne]

No.

[Sean Pendergast]

The adrenaline, the enthusiasm kept you up?

[Seth Payne]

I made the mistake of going.

[Sean Pendergast]

Old friends.

[Seth Payne]

I made the mistake of going, well, how did this happen? And I watched a couple highlights. And then you do. You get. All of a sudden, now you're awake and you're, you know, you're. You're all sensitized and everything. But that's not the audience's problem. That's my Problem. So I'm a little tired this morning, but for good reason. The Astros won last night.

[Play-by-Play Announcer]

They.

[Seth Payne]

They went on to win six to three in extra innings to keep their lead in the American League west last night. Good morning, everybody. Payne and Pendergast with you. We are in studio this morning as the Texans prepare for a walkthrough a little later on this morning. So no practice today, per se, out at the Methodist Training Center. The Texans are inside the stadium doing a walkthrough. They're kind of treating this like a game week because there is a game on Thursday. They play the Los Angeles Chargers. Good morning, my friend.

[Sean Pendergast]

Good morning. Yeah, and it'll be likely. I mean, d' Ameco didn't even really try to hide it yesterday. It's, it's, There aren't going to be a whole bunch of starters out there against the Chargers if there's, I mean, in the modern NFL, it's more of a surprise when you do see a bunch of starters in the first preseason game. Yeah, the Astros last night. I thought it was kind of the convergence of two things where Pena has been awesome since June 1st, but really bad over the last week or so. Cam Smith has really made a push over the last week, but the last time we saw him wasn't as impressive. So those two guys coming together there and hopefully, hopefully both of the trends of Cam Smith recently and Jeremy Pena over the course of the last couple months can continue on till greatness. Astros likely World Series favorites right now. I haven't checked, I haven't checked the odds. No, no, no.

[Seth Payne]

I know you're joking, but I wonder where they are on the board right now because they, you know, there is that whole, there is that whole theme of, like, the Astros, they're inevitable they're going to show up this time of year. Now they, it hasn't really been that way the last couple years. And they made the playoffs two years ago. They haven't won a playoff game since Game 5 of the ALCS back in 2023. The game where Altuve, where Altuve hit that home run. That was last night. Who knew that? The night that Altuve hit that big home run in Arlington against the Rangers. That would be the last playoff win we would experience for years and years and years.

[Sean Pendergast]

They currently have the ninth shortest odds at plus 2000.

[Seth Payne]

That's better than I thought they would be.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's on ESPN Futures. Yeah, the espn. They stopped their sportsbook, right?

[Seth Payne]

They did something with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Espn. Bet you don't See that anymore.

[Seth Payne]

I think they got rid of that and they sold it. I don't know what they did.

[Sean Pendergast]

The gambling for a while seemed almost kind of like the, you know, like almost every single company out there had some kind of a seltzer drink. Like, hey, it was Michelin tires. Seltzer.

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Everybody was getting in on it because it was big and you could do it easily. That's it. Felt like every company in the world also had their gamble.

[Seth Payne]

I know, I know.

[Sean Pendergast]

And every state, my dentist was taking bets.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Well, it feels like every state except Texas had legalized it. So we feel. I feel like we. I feel like you and I, we may have missed the. The best of it.

[Warren Sharp]

Maybe in.

[Seth Payne]

In the rear view mirror.

[D'Amico Ryan]

You know what?

[Sean Pendergast]

I just. I think we stumbled onto something. Who better than a dentist, A dentist bookie to, you know, you know, get that. Oh, you want Novocaine, do you? Oh, you want Novocaine, do you? Last I checked, you're into me for two grand.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Oh, I like that. Yeah, I like that.

[Sean Pendergast]

You don't have to break any thumbs when you got an incisor at your disposal.

[Seth Payne]

Before they legalized it, you know, there were dentists taking book in their place like up in New Jersey and stuff like that. There had to be. Everything was a front for Gam.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that's what I've offered. Dentists and mattress stores. That is just a money laundering operation.

[Seth Payne]

In my hometown, it was the barber shop. And the sporting goods store is my barber shop, too.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I'm not going to tell you the name of the barber because, like, I know how to take care of myself.

[Seth Payne]

No, I'm not either. Well, I went. This is back in my early 20s. I went to my barber in my hometown and we were talking about the super bowl. And I said, you know what I'd like to do? I'd really love to place a bet on this Super Bowl. Keep in mind, this is like 1992. You know, the only place you go place bets was Vegas, unless you had a sports book in your town. But I wasn't smart to the ways yet of who the person was to go to. And he said, well, wait a second, Sean, hang on, Let me make a phone call. And he sent me over to the sporting goods store, and I went and talked to the owner of the sporting goods store. And he said, here's the phone number to call. Yeah, yeah. And every week I would either drop off money or pick up money. And I'm not saying any names on here. And it's Probably a statute of limitations thing.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. No.

[Seth Payne]

At sporting goods store owner would go on to be the mayor of our town.

[Sean Pendergast]

Six years later, he just painted a Norman Rockwell picture that was beautiful. Just a young man in America growing

[Seth Payne]

up the American in a very serene New England town.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Trees and babbling brooks and things like that.

[Sean Pendergast]

My area of the country had a lot of, like. It felt like every small town had somebody who was. It was like two or three generations removed from being full bore mob. But they were like Italian families or Greek families at times that kind of just had their thumb on everything in the. They weren't. They weren't charging people for protection or anything. There was no violent crime. But they were very. They were kind of plugged in to the point where they got away with

[Seth Payne]

a lot of stuff they knew their way around.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. And that was my barber in that town.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Who would also become the mayor. Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

For real.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So did our sporting goods guy. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Wow. And it lives with kids. Anytime you worry about it, like, oh, things are so corrupt now and everything. Oh, they've always been corrupt. Yeah, they have, man.

[Seth Payne]

Let's get over it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Actually, way more corrupt.

[Seth Payne]

Yep. So the Astros win last night. I like this point that Brian McTaggart made. We'll get to the Texans here in a second. The depth chart is out. I've got some hot depth chart takes. Brian McTaggart pointed this out after the game last night. And you know that I'm feeling petty about this whole thing right now with the whole. I told you Cam Smith and Kyle Tucker that I want Cam Smith to have better war at the end of the year. Wins above replacement. Good night last night for the Kyle Tucker trade. Wisneski quality start. Seven innings, three runs. Cam Smith three for four with a whole. He tied it with a home run in the eighth and then earn the seventh. And then Wisneski promptly coughed up the lead. And then he had that single that we heard in the. In the ninth inning to tie it up. And then he. Sock Paredes went 2 for 4 and he gave you the insurance runs in the 10th inning. He laced a double down the line in the 10.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So the three guys they got in the Kyle Tucker trade all getting it done. Last.

[Sean Pendergast]

Getting it done.

[Seth Payne]

I don't know why I'm feeling petty all of a sudden about the Kyle Tucker trade, but this is.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, you've been, you know, you've been agitated, you've been. You've been in a good place. You've been in that Hyper reactive baseball fan mode where you know, you want nothing to hear about, you know, hey, actually look at, look at the, look at the run they were just on. This is just a lull or anything you don't want to hear, hey, it's one out of 162 games. You're going to, you're going to ride the wave.

[Seth Payne]

Yes. And motion.

[Sean Pendergast]

You're. You're not going to mention that. By the way, this was against the Giants, one of the worst teams in, in the history of baseball.

[Seth Payne]

They won and they covered the 1 1/2 run spread.

[Sean Pendergast]

Even kept the Giants from fondling themselves or whatever the hell it is they do. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

The Giants have issues though.

[Sean Pendergast]

You remember they had those celebrations and everything early in the season.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Oh yeah. Were they.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're like trusting each other and all that.

[Seth Payne]

I forgot about that.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's not that cool. Do what you want to do. But you know, like not during prime time.

[Seth Payne]

Not during prime time. And honestly, celebrations like that, you have to be a good baseball team to get away with that. Right. Sorry. You're not.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Nobody wants that.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no. All right. Are you excited for Thursday, actual real preseason football against the Chargers?

[Sean Pendergast]

I actually am. I wish, I wish that. I wish d' Ameco would be the first coach to say, you know what? To hell. To hell with all of the common sense that it makes to hold our starters out of preseason games. We're going to do it old school. We're going to have the starters play at least some in the, in the first game, but we're not, we're not going to see that. I am excited about the A. I think the depth on the offensive line is a lot better this year. So seeing some of those guys, some of those guys who will be starters at point this year is because of injury. I'm excited about seeing that. And then the defensive line, their three deep roster is pretty damn impressive at this point. So I'm excited about watching the trenches. Really?

[Seth Payne]

Do you think that Keelan Rutledge will play on Thursday night?

[D'Amico Ryan]

That's a really.

[Seth Payne]

He's the undeniable first string center right now.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I hope he does. I think he's one of the guys that maybe gets at least a couple of.

[Seth Payne]

You're a. Needs the reps guy.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Well, the whole thing about the Rutledge versus the Texans, he doesn't see a whole lot of nose tackles right up in his face. The Texans don't play that way. So these first three pre. These three preseason games, the defenses all play a three, four. So there's going to be more opportunities to see a nose tackle right up in your face at the snap. And that's a. That's a big difference for a guy that's just learning how to play center. So I hope he gets some live action in all three of these games.

[Seth Payne]

I'm with you. I'm with you on that. Even if it's just a series, just to get your feet wet in an NFL environment, you know, going through the whole pregame and everything else, although I'm guessing everybody's going to go through the pregame, and then the guys who aren't going to play, I'll just put their sweats on and come back out and watch from the sideline. So yesterday's practice was not one of the better ones for the offense. Defense ruled the day. And I would say over the course of training camp, and to very little shock to anybody, if we, if we were grading training camp, they've had 10 practices now eight, I would say, like eight of them have been at an intensity level. That's a normal practice. And probably four or five of those have been in pads.

[Warren Sharp]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

If this, if we were grading this, like a prize fight, you know, if each day at practice were around in a fight, the defense is going to win in a decision here, you know, the defense probably won six or seven rounds. The offense, that's some. Some decent days, which is way more than we can say than last year, but defense ruled the day yesterday. I guess the biggest story, which I didn't see as much reaction to as I thought I would, but Tank Dell got in, in some real drills for

[Sean Pendergast]

a few routes and caught a catch in traffic in the red zone. You know, I was surprised, too. And I think maybe this is because. Partly because a lot of national accounts kind of misleadingly framed it as Tank Dell was already practicing. We saw a lot of headlines over the last week of Tank Dell practices for the first time, et cetera, et cetera. I know he hadn't done anything that we could see competitively in 11 on 11 drills.

[Seth Payne]

Until you do something where people were, the. The media relations people tell you you have to put your cameras down.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You haven't practiced yet.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, right, right.

[Seth Payne]

When it's something that you have to put your cameras down, you're not allowed to film.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That means that's a real drill.

[Sean Pendergast]

Drill.

[Seth Payne]

That's a real drill.

[Sean Pendergast]

So, yeah, that was really, really notable. And I was kind of surprised that that was the first action he saw was in the red zone, because there tends to be a lot of traffic there. Now. It also tends.

[Seth Payne]

It's full speed.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Warren Sharp]

If.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think Colin Wright was covering him. And Colin. Right. An undrafted rookie free agent might be the most likely guy to be overly rambunctious and hit a guy trying to make. But he was good. He's smart. He laid off of him. Yeah. It also. I've seen it framed that it was a touchdown. Tank. Tank. And his 165lb would have had to break three tackles to make that a touchdown. So it was not a touchdown, but it was a nice catch over the middle.

[Seth Payne]

I texted people. Yeah, I texted people that it was a touchdown because I only saw, like, the very end. I couldn't. I couldn't. I didn't see where the line of

[Sean Pendergast]

scrimmage was likely a tackle at the spot of the.

[Seth Payne]

Probably.

[Sean Pendergast]

Probably. But he did also have to reach behind himself to catch it. And he. He turned and ran really, really well. You know? Yeah. Maybe he could have spun out of one of those things down there. He's got a nose for the end zone.

[Seth Payne]

Or maybe I'm just an idiot.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, go back to the Bengals his rookie year and remember, and he kind of bulldozed his way into the end zone.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, he did. Yeah, he. He caught the ball, planted his foot, and then dove for the goal line.

[Sean Pendergast]

He took a hard hit on the way in.

[Seth Payne]

Did he.

[Sean Pendergast]

But that. That was so. That was like 18 years ago.

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

I was surprised that it wasn't a bigger deal, and I think it was. A lot of people just kind of assumed, oh, yeah, we know he's been practicing. No, he caught a pass.

[Seth Payne]

This is against other guys. Like, people got to understand this is the first drill that we've seen him do that we've seen him do against with. With somebody in a opposite colored jersey across.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Nice play. Because CJ got pressure on the edges and stepped up into a really muddy pocket. I think will. Will Anderson probably, in a real game would have hit him. I don't think it would have been a sack, but it might have been really interesting.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's where sometimes, you know, people kind of. You just assume, well, that, like, Will Anderson's close. Probably a sack. Yeah, sometimes. But then also sometimes CJ is capable of making cape. CJ makes some really nice throws as he's getting hit.

[Seth Payne]

Yep.

[Sean Pendergast]

And I think people have forgotten that CJ. CJ doesn't go out and throw for 33% every game.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no. Did you see that the depth chart is out for the game on Thursday.

[Sean Pendergast]

Unofficial depth chart.

[Seth Payne]

Unofficial depth chart. So here are some hot depth chart takes or at least some noteworthy things on the depth chart. Xavier Hutchinson is listed as a first string wide receiver on this team. So in case you're wondering if he's a guy because of all these other bodies that are in the wide receiver room, is Tank going to be on the opening day roster? All these things. Just know that likely affected heavily by injuries. Noel and Tank. Xavier Hutchinson is listed as a first string wide receiver along with Jaden Higgins and Nico Collins. Noteworthy. I also think it's noteworthy too. Clearly they're not intentionally like burying rookies on the depth chart. Like I feel like that's something Bill o', Brien, you get the first depth chart. Rookies are always in bold.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And with o', Brien, I always felt like all the rookies were the highest. They were was fourth string because the rookies don't know anything. I think it's interesting. Keelan Rutledge is appropriately listed as the first string center. So they're not doing this thing where they're hazing the rookies on the death chart.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Keelan Rutledge is listed as a first string center. Kaden McDonald's is listed as a second string defensive tackle ahead of Mario Edwards and Naquan Jones. Some veteran guys.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Marlon Klein is buried fifth on the tight end depth chart. He was, he. He has been getting snaps all over the place. Marlon Clock.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's where I think the, the rhyme and the reason on the depth chart here. I don' want to read too much into it because I do. Like I don't think right now, I don't think right this moment Kaden McDonald would be the second string on the second string defensive line.

[Seth Payne]

Nor do I think Klein would be the fifth.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, so I and I'm not sure we.

[David Spade]

Hey, what's up flies? This is David Spade. Dana Carvey. Okay, I know we never actually left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall. Every episode, including ones with guests, will now be on video. Every Thursday you'll hear us and see us chatting with big name celebrities. And every Monday you're stuck with just me and Dana. We react to news, what's trending, viral clips follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcasts.

[Sean Pendergast]

Biwu would be the backup right guard. Now that gets, that gets a little dicey just because you know there's a swing interior offensive lineman. They've also got Jake Andrews listed ahead of Jarrett Patterson on the depth chart. And I don't know if that's the actual.

[Seth Payne]

Well, Patterson rew reworked his contract earlier this week, which everybody's reading is a sign. He's going to make the team.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's going to make the team. Whereas Jake Andrews, I think is fighting for a roster spot.

[Seth Payne]

Yes. And he's a center only. And Patterson has position versatility, which is I'm told they like well.

[Sean Pendergast]

And he's also in terms of who Jake Andrews is competing with, you know, Evan Brown can play all three spots, he's been a starter, etc. Etc.

[Seth Payne]

Right tackle, which many have said is the position battle that they really, really are going to enjoy here.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Because Braden Smith and Trent Brown are two veterans who've been productive. They're in a dogfight right now for right tackle. That is one of those very special. They have. Or in between the two of them.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. You know, with my.

[Seth Payne]

Nobody's getting ahead. Nobody's falling behind with my old man.

[Sean Pendergast]

And just, you know, still it being baseball season, everything I thought, I thought that said doctor instead of. Or. And I thought, oh, he's. I didn't know. He's from the Dominican Republic. The doctor spits out another great athlete.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Non traditional sport.

[Seth Payne]

Braden Smith. Yeah.

[Warren Sharp]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So it's.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, it's. Trent Brown would be the doctor.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, oh, gotcha.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

It's funnier if Braden Smith's from the doctor.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that's true. That is. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Braden Smith or Trent Brown on the depth chart. Wade Wood, as long as we're going through the rookies. Wade Wood as listed as a second string linebacker. This one I'm not sure. I totally buy. At the very bottom there. If you page down to the special teams, Tank Dell is listed as a second shrink punt returner. I'd be stunned if they stick Tank Dell back there to return punts.

[Warren Sharp]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Wouldn't you?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes, I would.

[Seth Payne]

Based on the injuries.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. Like as of right now and even

[Seth Payne]

in the season, you know, Jalen, for one thing, Jalen Noel is really good at it.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

But I think the, you know, one of you smart people out there back me up on this or don't, you know, shut me down. I don't. I feel like punt return is one of those things that people think is way more dangerous than it actually is just because of the speed involved.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

That it's just not a bunch of

[Seth Payne]

guys running at you.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. I mean it's.

[Seth Payne]

You're out there naked.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, right, right. But it's not you know, it's not the Canadian Football League with no fair catch or anything.

[Warren Sharp]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

That they might feel, they might feel like, okay, actually we, we like that because unlike, unlike running a route, you're not necessarily going to be making breaks and cuts, you know, traffic and all that.

[Play-by-Play Announcer]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And Tank's been a good punt returner.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know, he, he's, he's shown the ability to make game changing plays. I just think this is an extreme example. I am one of those people that. I agree with you like, I think too much is made of guys playing on special teams that are regulars in the lineup. This might be an extreme example though, with Tank just with, with the.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know. Yeah, I guess, like football in general is a pretty violent sport and I just figured I kind of look at it all the same way. Yeah. I think if, if they're going to have him out there as a receiver, you might as well also have them out there as a punt returner.

[Seth Payne]

All right, we got a bunch of stuff to get. So we got some good audio yesterday from Dalton Schultz and from Sheldon Rankins that will sprinkle in here. But coming up next, Warren.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, what happened?

[Seth Payne]

Oh, baseball. Oh, the baseball talk promo still in the baseball talk ON Sports Radio 610 is presented by Xfinity Score. The most reliable Wi Fi 1 price 5 years guaranteed Xfinity. Imagine that. Coming up next, Warren Sharp, noted analytics guy in football. If you're looking to get a bet down on the Texans over under nine and a half, he brings up some, what I think are some really good reasons to go over nine and a half that I want to run by you.

[Sean Pendergast]

I've got a. Okay, yeah, yeah, do that next. I've got a really Good Sports Radio 610 presents Pain and Pendergast. It looks good, dude.

[Warren Sharp]

We're, we're excited. We are. We're very much further along than where we usually are. So it's allowed us to do some different stuff, work some different stuff that we haven't been able to work in the last year. I'm excited about the growth of like a lot of the young guys, especially picking up a brand new offense. Like they're almost falling in line with the guys that are in year two of the system in terms of just picking it up. So, yeah, we're, we're on the roll.

[Seth Payne]

All right, there you go. That was Dalton Schultz yesterday. Dalton Schultz, he went deep on a few very kind of X's and O's type of topics yesterday.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. He talked about Kind of like how defenses have changed. But he also talked about. He talked about how dumb he was as a rookie, and that was really interesting. And, yeah, he kind of. He was philosophical almost. But I think the. The one thing was that he really likes having Foster Moreau in there, partly just to have another veteran. I kind of empathize with him because it's. It's true. When you're the only veteran in a room, sometimes you feel like an old man shouting at the party.

[Seth Payne]

Have you had that happen to you?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I've had something similar to that before. Yeah. Where it was when ND Kalu came in, and I felt like, oh, here's another, like, veteran who gives a damn in the room. This is nice. Yeah, this is really, really nice. It was refreshing. So, yeah, I think he probably felt that way with Foster. Yeah, you feel like you're, you know, when you're trying to talk to a teenager and talk some sense to him, and you can just tell it isn't sinking in.

[David Spade]

Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Probably because of the drugs or something. Yeah, that's. That's.

[Seth Payne]

That's how all of those things. Yeah. So, yeah, Dalton Schultz was really good yesterday. This was Dalton Schultz on what he's seen from CJ Stroud this offseason season.

[Warren Sharp]

So I. I mean, we went out and we worked out prior to OTAs, and I think, like. I mean, talking to him, like, after the season, like, you could tell. But, like, when I really saw him and saw, like, the shape that he was in, like, how much he had been working, like just that level of focus, I think it was, yeah, free. Free OTAs. So I think when you're able to do that, February, March, April, coming in April, and, like, continue to build off that, it's dangerous. And I'm excited to see, you know, him continue to put it together through his camp.

[Seth Payne]

All right, so Dan Dalton's one of those guys that. He's part of those workouts CJ gets together every year.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think the question there was along the lines of, you know, how could you tell when CJ had turned the page or kind of forgotten last year or whatever.

[Seth Payne]

The end of last year paints a

[Sean Pendergast]

picture of, you know, a guy who's pretty focused and determined.

[Seth Payne]

Yep.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think that cj, like, without reading body language or anything, I think that just by virtue of the offense operating the way it is pre snap and how much cleaner it's looked out there, that doesn't happen unless your quarterback is. Is more in command. And I think that's exactly what they have now Some of it, too, might be that Nick Caylee, after his first year as an oc, has learned, okay, this is what we need to focus on. This is where are we in the process of, you know, getting C.J. comfortable in this offense? That's what Josh McDaniels did that with Drake May last year. Really? Well, Drake May wasn't a rookie quarterback, but it was a new offense to him. And Josh McDaniels kind of just brought him along bit by bit. Same way you'd done with Mac Jones back when Mac Jones had a really good rookie season. You just kind of. It's almost like you. You keep checking off prerequisites in the syllabus to, to really being able to handle the full workload. And I think right now they've, they've, they're further along in the syllabus than they were last year.

[Seth Payne]

Here's one from d' Amico Ryan's. This is last week when the NFL Network was here. Kurt Warner asking him about getting the best out of C.J. stroud is getting C.J.

[D'Amico Ryan]

back to the C.J.

[Seth Payne]

we saw his rookie year.

[D'Amico Ryan]

What is your process in trying to get the best out of your Michigan? The process with him is like being competent and confident in your preparations. Like when you have the conviction, when you get the ball, you have conviction. You know where you're going with the football. You can read the defense. You know what it looks. He can put the ball anywhere, make any play that we need him to make. Right. And so now what's going to happen is it's year two in the system, Right. Under Coach Kaylee. Like, he's very comfortable with what we're asking to do. We put a lot on him when it comes to protections. He's handling really well this camp. So he's going to take that job, he's going to be more comfortable, he's going to be convicted, he's going to be confident, he going to sling it around and make a lot of plays for us.

[Seth Payne]

Is that what you're seeing out of him, this camp? Are you seeing more of that?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, no, I think I. Yeah, I think that he. It feels like things have slowed down for him. Yeah. You know, a lot of times what people say and people said this about CJ Last year or other quarterbacks when they're kind of struggling mentally or when they're uncomfortable in the system is that they look sped up, they're starting to. They're either trying to, you know, force a play or they get locked in on a receiver, or maybe they scramble before they should or whatever it might be. I think CJ looks like everything's unfolding for him a little bit more slowly. And this is the hard part and I'm encouraged by this. But I don't want to read too much into it until they're playing tackle football. I think that in the pocket he's, he's moving really well in the pocket. His pocket mobility, not necessarily scrambling all the time, but just taking two steps up into the pocket, sometimes just scrambling to the right a few yards instead of a full bore rolling out to the right. I think he's done a really good job of that. We've seen him do that in the previous three years. It's just last year at times it didn't feel as consistent. And you're also trying to figure out, okay, but how much of this, that is the fault of the offensive line. So all of that tied together. If it's CJ and the offensive line. The thing I've been most encouraged by during training camp is they're going against a really good defensive line. And look, yesterday, yesterday, offensively, they did some nice things. Offensively, the problem was every single set of downs, there was also a sack. So that's the hard part. But they're also going against some really, really good defensive ends. There are times, there are more times this year where CJ's got a compressed pocket but the pocket is holding up. And so CJ's got an opportunity to just get those reps moving around the pocket, stepping up in the pocket in a way that I don't think you got last training camp. So I'm very, very optimistic right this moment that the Texans offense is going to be better than it was last year. It's just, it's frustrating because it's hard to judge them when they're going against that defense. They're not as good as that defense.

[Seth Payne]

And we're not going to get to see with our own eyes much of them going against other teams. Yeah, we're going to have. And fans, fans will hardly get to see any of it. Unless you're going to the Raiders joint practice next week and unless you're flying to Carolina to go to the joint practice against the Panthers, which we are not, then you're not going to see either of the joint practices and, and that I think the better work is going to get done there for the first string offense than in whatever minimal preseason games we see them playing. What do we see? The first string. What is CJ going to play maybe a couple of series in that Raiders game at nrg. And he's not going to play in this game. It looks like he's not going to play in this game coming up on Thursday. And they never play starters in the final preseason game. So the, the very valuable evaluation reps that you're hoping to see, we're just not going to see many of them.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

You know. Right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So we're not going to know until week one. On time.

[Sean Pendergast]

I might have to go out to Carolina on my own dime, fly into that miserable airport in Charlotte and see. See what's up.

[Seth Payne]

But the weather's nice. Nicer than here.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Now, I don't know. It's hot all over. It is a little hot. It's like, oh, yeah, Carolina. Is that. Is that. Is that just south of Canada or.

[Seth Payne]

No, but it's north of Houston.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, the. Yeah, that part. The combined practice versus the Raiders and versus the Panthers is where you hope to see the most action. The Raider and they. Hey, look, Max, I'm sitting here making excuses for these guys because they're facing these defensive ends. The Raiders do have a Max Crosby who seems to be. They do. Seems to have a very big chip on his shoulder.

[Seth Payne]

That's good, though. I mean, I want it to be a defense that has some pieces out there, just not Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter.

[Sean Pendergast]

The other thing about this offense in some of the. When it struggles versus this defense, there's two things to remember is that one, if you're game planning versus this defense, I think the protections are going to be. They're not going to be as many instances where guys are one on one and you're just kind of seeing how they hold up. Two, it's the Texans are they're going to work their outside zone run and get those reps at it. Doing it versus this defense is really, really hard. Just by scheme alone, it's hard to run outside zone versus this defense. And then when you have the Texans, who are the best in the league at operating that type of scheme, it's really, really difficult. So I'm trying to. I'm more looking at the running backs making the read Zo lineman being in the right spot and that's all better than it was last year.

[Seth Payne]

Okay, so Warren Sharp brings up some pretty good points on taking the Texans over nine and a half wins this year. Warren Sharp is an analytics guy. Do these hold water for you, Seth? I'll rapid fire. In 2025, the Texans played the third toughest schedule however he measures it and they still won 12 games last year. So they played a tough schedule last year, still won 12 games. They played. Okay, they played the third toughest set of run defenses last year and they now, the Texans do coming into this season have the biggest drop in the NFL in the caliber of run defenses they're going against.

[Sean Pendergast]

The one thing about that right there is I think that yes, if you go by last year's results, then these run defenses that they're playing aren't as good. And yet they're also facing a bunch of teams this year that were bad defenses last year and they decided to stock up on defense. And a lot of them, like the Bengals, they stocked up hardcore on the

[Seth Payne]

defensive lines, is having a good camp too.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, they, I mean they added three stud defensive linemen to the Bengals. The Cowboys have seen stocked up with brand new stock. The Cowboys have about, I think six new starters on their defense. Some of those are going to work out, some of them aren't. I just don't think it's, I don't think it's going to be, it won't work out that they end up facing the weakest run defense.

[Seth Payne]

So that might be a little phony, that one.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Warren Sharp said they had the number six or number five most injured offense in 2025.

[Sean Pendergast]

That one was interesting because I didn't think of the offense as being incredibly beleaguered by injuries. And then I remembered, okay, well if we're counting Joe Mixon, then yeah, you missed 17 regular season games of Joe Mixon and that was kind of a big deal.

[Seth Payne]

I would count Joe Mix.

[Sean Pendergast]

And then also, even though they weren't your starters, you were down on a team that went in with a first team. A first time offensive coordinator who I think was planning on using the tight ends a bunch last year lost their second and third string tight ends within the first week of we have the

[GameTime Ad Voice]

tech to get food delivered in 15 minutes, but we all have horror stories about buying tickets. The GameTime app gives fans the advantage. Get amazing tickets in just a few taps. Fees are included. So what you see is what you pay. And the game time guarantee means authentic tickets at the best price every time. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets to concerts, sports, comedy and more with GameTime. Download the GameTime app and create an account for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

[Sean Pendergast]

Football is Fun why shouldn't your football podcast be the same?

[GameTime Ad Voice]

Follow and listen to Heed the Call NFL Podcast with Dan Hanzas and Mark Sess, wherever you get your podcasts, the

[Sean Pendergast]

season or the first two. When did Stover. Stover got injured in the Rams game.

[Seth Payne]

The Rams game, first week of the season.

[Sean Pendergast]

So, you know, Brevin Jordan's on ir, then Kate Stover's on ir. That, that ended up being, you know, regardless of how many total games were lost and everything, that ended up being a big deal for them. Then CJ with his. CJ's concussion didn't end up hurting you that much in the regular season.

[Seth Payne]

Davis went three and.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, well, yeah, I mean, but the. Who knows, the Broncos game, maybe he

[Seth Payne]

might have won that one.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. So, yeah, I'm not, I'm not going to. I still don't look at that offense. Other than that, Joe Mixon was a really, really big deal.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, forget about like measuring it statistically. I just look at it like, man, you're missing Joe Mixon. That's a huge thing. You know, however you want to measure it empirically. Last one. This season, the Texans have the six best net rest edge in the NFL.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, go die. I don't care. Okay.

[Seth Payne]

They only have one game with a rest disadvantage of more than one day.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay, so this is what I've seen from the stat nerds is that all of these and everything that they break down about this team has to travel this many miles or this team has a disadvantageous number of rest days compared to everybody else. Is it in the, like, the sum total of it is. It's really hard to see that it makes a huge difference.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I don't know the one. I guess from a Texans perspective, the one time we've seen it recently where I feel like it did kind of hit them was two years ago where

[Sean Pendergast]

they had the stretch over Christmas.

[Seth Payne]

They didn't have a bye week until week 14. And then they just. In the Christmas game, which was the end of that stretch, they just looked horrible, I think.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, it's hard to figure out from one year to the next or one team to the next.

[Warren Sharp]

It's.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's. How much bad luck do you have during those stretches?

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So, yeah, if you're going through a stretch where you've got a bunch of injuries and you're on low rest or when your quarterback gets a concussion but you've got a Thursday night game the next week, then, yeah, it really, really screws you.

[Seth Payne]

I didn't need to be sold by Warren Sharp. I'm taking them. I've taken them over nine and a half wins because d' Ameco's gone over nine and a half wins all three seasons so far.

[Sean Pendergast]

You know where it balances out. Maybe is that so many of those times where you have to play on short rest. It's also hurting the other team at times. So if you're a better team then it just doesn't end up the only

[Seth Payne]

one that really holds water for you is that, well, none of them do. It sounds like none of them.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, I know these, these like trying to predict how tough the schedule is going to be. It just, I don't know if maybe this Warren Sharp character hasn't watched football lately. It's just so you can, you never can tell from year to year.

[Warren Sharp]

All right.

[Seth Payne]

Headlines. Coming up next, we will get to the Astros. They won last night. If you went to bed early when they, when they were losing, they did not. Lo Spoiler alert. We've got more from Texans training camp and a big deal signed in the NFL yesterday. 222222.

[Sean Pendergast]

Paine and Pendergast with today's headlines.

[Play-by-Play Announcer]

Payne, you ground ball, base hit. He snaps the O for 24 with a go ahead run in the 10th. It's 4:3 Astros.

[Seth Payne]

All right, Jeremy Pena, sometimes when you snap an O for 24 streak, it needs to be a seeing eye single through a drawn in in field. You know, it's, that's what gets guys going.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

It's a slump buster that counts. We'll take it.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's the equivalent of a bad decision out at a nightclub at 2am It'll just get you over through whatever obstacles you're facing.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, man. So Jeremy Pena last night with the game winning rbi. The reason the Astros are in that position in the first place was because of Cam Smith who hit a game tying home run in the seventh to tie it at two. Hayden Wisneski promptly gave up a home run to Drew Gilbert of all people, former Astros farmhand, to lose that lead. And then Camp Smith, two outs, top of the ninth. Base hit to right field ties the game at three. The Astros go to extra innings and they get yet another comeback win. They've that's one of the things I've really liked through this kind of second half of the season set the really like I guess I would say the last two thirds of the season since the middle of May when they've been playing pretty good baseball. They've shown a lot of pluckiness in the, in the back third of games here.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that, yeah. Like early in the season when they were, they were like 1 in 29 when trailing after the seventh inning or something. It was just they had all kinds of annoyingly lopsided stats when it came down to these clutch moments. And they look a lot more like a team that can handle these clutch moments.

[Seth Payne]

Josh Hader, a two inning outing last night for the Astros also now he only threw 22 pitches to me. It's not the innings, it's the pitches that he got out of the ninth. So he. So they tied the game, top of the ninth, they brought in Hater to make sure they got to extra innings, and he only threw 11 pitches. I like that he came back out there, he threw 22 pitches in two innings. And these, these games are all important now. You know, you're in a dog fight in the division. So seeing Josh Hater able to get you a two inning outing, you get the win last night was big too, for the Astros.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. So, you know, I feel like yesterday you, I think at some point during the show yesterday said, just burn the whole stadium down. You're done with the Astros. And yeah, I think it was something like that. I think it says something you wanted

[Seth Payne]

to night remotely closed.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. No, no, no. But you were a little down in the dumps yesterday and. Yeah, I get it. It's all right. No, no, no, that's fine. I mean, you just, you were, you were acting like, you know what it was yesterday. What you basically wiped away all of the good stuff that Cam Smith did last week and said. Yeah, I felt like, I felt like there was like an animosity against Cam Smith.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I, I said that the. One of the things I'm rooting for for the rest of the year is for Cam Smith to have a better wins above replacement than Kyle Tucker.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, right, right. You said, how is that me being bum like he was?

[Seth Payne]

I didn't say that at all.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think that's what you said.

[Seth Payne]

How is that me being down on Cam Smith, that I'm rooting for him to do something versus Kyle Tucker.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was even as you were, because as you were hoping for Cam Smith to finish for the final wins above replacement of Kyle Tucker, it almost felt like, well, well, Tucker's not having a good year, so at least we can have this at all.

[Seth Payne]

You're reading me so. You're usually pretty good at reading me. You're way off base on this one. Way off base. Other news with the Astros, I mean,

[Sean Pendergast]

the stuff you said off air was even worse.

[Seth Payne]

Well, that's not off air. It's. Yeah, Astros pick Up Nelson Velasquez off waivers from the Cardinals. I'm waiting for Dana Brown to say, well, this is just like we made a trade.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I know this. We did talk about. We were a little bit down to that. I, I got agitated when I saw the article about like, hey, the Astros might not have picked up anything exciting at the trade deadline, but they're not done yet. There's guys on waivers.

[Seth Payne]

No, they got one yesterday. Nelson Velasquez. Yeah. Hey, let's get to the Texans here real quick. Demiko Ryan's met with the media yesterday. He was asked about how, hey, how's Jadevion Clowney coming along?

[D'Amico Ryan]

Clowney is still getting adjusted to how we do things. You see him probably his first day. I saw, we were doing a two minute drill the first day and he just had a one on one rush off the edge and I'm standing back there behind the quarterback and he got on me quicker. Quicker than I expected. So I expect to see that from him. Right. He's by what I've seen so far and it's his first few days of being here not having a full off season with us, but to come in where he is right now and it's only going to keep getting better. Excited to see where he winds up and how our rush group looks on third down.

[Sean Pendergast]

Was there any bit of trepidation in your soul when he, When d' Amigo opened up with Clown? He's still getting used to the way we do things around here.

[Seth Payne]

No, there was an actual, like. Oh, no. Yeah. Thought about that.

[Sean Pendergast]

There was all this maturity talk and everything.

[Seth Payne]

I hadn't thought about it because. Right. Because things have been going so good.

[Sean Pendergast]

He left right into just. It wasn't that. I don't think he meant it that way at all. He was just saying he's getting, you know, integrated into the system.

[Seth Payne]

I think if he did, in his mind think that that's how it was going, he just wouldn't say anything.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Play-by-Play Announcer]

No.

[Sean Pendergast]

In that first play that d' Amico's talking about, it was vintage clowning where he covers. He covers a hectare in two steps. You know, he just really. He covers so much ground.

[Seth Payne]

And what is a hectare?

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know. It's like.

[Seth Payne]

It's like a patch of grand. Patch of ground, I should say.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. Yeah. Back when they were giving out land in the Midwest, they would talk about like, you had 100 hectares.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, okay.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think it's like. Like 60 acres or something. I don't know.

[David Spade]

Okay.

[Sean Pendergast]

I Like it. I've never heard that word linear measurement, so it doesn't make any sense. Yeah, yeah, but he. Yeah, he covers a lot of ground, I would say.

[Seth Payne]

You know, that there's that thing sometimes I talk about, Seth, like the. What's the most must watch thing in Houston sports right now?

[Sean Pendergast]

Like, for many report.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no, no.

[Play-by-Play Announcer]

The.

[D'Amico Ryan]

But.

[Seth Payne]

But like a Yordon. When Yordon's on a heater, you can't leave the television when he's at bat and when he's. Yeah, I got to go to the bathroom. Oh, wait, Yordon's up. I got to watch this at bat.

[Warren Sharp]

That kind of thing.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, I gotta go out. Oh, wait, hang on. Jordan's up. The next thing, I'll wait to go to the grocery store. Then third and long for other teams this year when they have Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson, and Jadevion Clowney on the field at the same time. Oh, yeah, that's the Jordan Alvarez at bat of Texans game.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that's a good point, Hector. By the way, I grossly overestimated 2. It's a measly 2.47 acres, which leads you to wonder why was it ever a thing.

[Seth Payne]

He's covered way more acreage than that.

[Sean Pendergast]

So.

[Warren Sharp]

Yeah, that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that. That dynamic of Jordan especially. That's a really good. That's a really good one. Overpowered how many hours of sleep lost in Houston on a West coast trip based on, like, that extra 10 minutes you might stay awake because, you know,

[Seth Payne]

as soon as he got out in the eighth inning, I'm like, I'm going to bed. And then I missed the comeback in the ninth inning. So that was D'. Ameco. Hey, real quick. Cowboys signed Quinn and Williams. Three years, $106 million extension.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's a good move by Jerry staying ahead of the curve. Jerry, get it. Being proactive, dude.

[Seth Payne]

That's true. He is being proactive for a change. Maybe he learned something. I love that they traded Micah Parsons and they started paying everybody I know.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay, that's where it's. Because he. You know why it's a shock? Because Jerry's true to his word. Now, Jerry said, hey, for the amount of money that we would have paid Micah Parsons, that's six starters or so that you can pay. And then they promptly. They turned around and they had. They re. Upped somebody last year after they did that, they. They. They renegotiate or they give Quinn Williams an extension, and they've done a couple other guys. So I feel like Jerry. Jerry might be entering that YOLO mode where, hey, you know what I've always been? I've always just waited and waited and waited and operated a certain different way. Like, okay, I ain't got no time to waste on this.

[Seth Payne]

Quinn Williams, a really good player like they, they may have. You know, Michael Parsons, when he's healthy, is one of the best.

[Sean Pendergast]

But I remember Ralph Wilson, the Bill's owner, at one point late in his life said that where he just started to get a little frisky financially where he'd always been, I think kind of stingy. And he just flat out said, I don't like, I don't know how many years I got left with this.

[Seth Payne]

Might not be around for this. Yeah. All right. Coming up next, let's take a look at the rookie class. They're 10 training camp practices into their NFL preseason careers. How is this rookie class stacking up right now? We will, we will run through these.

[Sean Pendergast]

We'll do How We Made youe Mother

[Seth Payne]

is a rewatch podcast that looks back

[GameTime Ad Voice]

episode by episode at the hit TV

[Sean Pendergast]

show How I Met yout Mother. It's hosted by me, Josh Radner, along with series co creator and my friend Craig Thomas.

[Seth Payne]

Follow How We Made youe Mother wherever

[Sean Pendergast]

you get your podcasts.

[GameTime Ad Voice]

We have the tech to get food delivered in 15 minutes, but we all have horror stories about buying tickets. The GameTime app gives fans the advantage. Get amazing tickets in just a few taps. Fees are included, so what you see is what you pay. And the game time guarantee means authentic tickets at the best price every time. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets to concerts, sports, comedy and more with GameTime. Download the GameTime app and create an account for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.