Could we see Tank Dell running routes at training camp tomorrow ?

Summary

Payne & Pendergast Episode: Could we see Tank Dell running routes at training camp tomorrow? Date: July 28, 2026

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

The central topic of today’s episode is the anticipation surrounding Houston Texans receiver Tank Dell and his anticipated return to training camp after a long injury hiatus. Hosts Sean Pendergast (with guest co-host Brandon Scott, filling in for Seth Payne) explore the latest updates on Dell, speculate on his impact, and dive into broader Texans and Houston sports conversation—highlighting defensive strengths, CJ Stroud’s standing among teammates, and lighthearted diversions involving squirrels and PR antics across the NFL.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

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1. Tank Dell’s Injury Comeback & Training Camp Status

• Background: Tank Dell, after missing an extended period due to injury, appears likely to participate in training camp. The last update from Texans GM Nick Caserio (06:13) suggested a training camp return was the target.
• Main takeaway:
  • The hosts replay Caserio's June remarks: “I would say more than likely it'll probably be in training camp...I think the goal is training camp. If he stays on schedule...he's chomping at the bit.” — Nick Caserio [05:22]
  • Sean’s translation: “Tomorrow is the day...Will we see Tank Dell fully activated?” [06:51]
• Implications for Texans’ offense:
  • B. Scott: “If you can throw Tank Dell in there, that is—I mean, that's just a huge game changer for me...” [07:16]
  • Dell's contract year, his recovery, and chemistry with CJ Stroud all compound the stakes.

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2. Wider Texans Roster and CJ Stroud’s Standing

• Stroud's declining status: Discussion about CJ Stroud possibly falling out of the “Top 100” NFL players and whether he even ranks top 10 among his own teammates.
• Team Top 10 Exercise: The hosts rank Texans players “by how good they are at their jobs,” excluding positional value.
  • Will Anderson, Derek Stingley Jr., Danielle Hunter, and Nico Collins are ranked above Stroud.
  • “I had CJ Stroud ninth. Barely checking.” — B. Scott [17:49]
  • “He would have been in the top three on this list after his rookie year.” — Sean [20:14]
• Broader point: This underscores just how loaded and talented the Texans’ roster is, particularly on defense.

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3. Defensive Strength: Texans Compared to the 1985 Bears

• Todd Haley's comparison: Former NFL head coach Todd Haley compares the Texans’ defense to the legendary ‘85 Bears (11:06).
  • “I don’t see any weaknesses in this group. I really don’t...I would not want to play this defense as an offensive coordinator.” — Todd Haley [11:06]
• Hosts’ reaction:
  • Sean: “Does this defense even have a weakness right now?...I don’t know that the Texans have that soft spot on the top of their alligator dome...” [12:36]
• Potential Weaknesses:
  • Linebacker depth (E.J. Speed's departure), backup at defensive end and safety, injury luck sustainability.
  • “Does the Texans defense lose its superpower if it loses Jalen Pitre for any stretch?” — B. Scott [26:50]
• Regal Problems:
  • “If there’s a world that’s better than first world problems, that’s the Texans defense right now.” — Sean [28:03]

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4. Listener Participation & Banter

• Text response riff [22:16]: Sean and B. Scott respond to an engaged listener who misunderstood their “no weaknesses” remark as referencing the entire team, not just the defense.
• Friendly teasing and community tone:
  • “You gotta listen. I appreciate...but you can’t come in correcting us...with complete lack of intricate listening skills.” — Sean [22:24]
  • “We’re family.” — B. Scott [29:11]

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5. Lighthearted Segments: The Squirrel Saga

• Recap of a viral black squirrel streaking across a Tigers baseball game (and speculation about its genetics and backstory), with extended banter and playful social commentary.
  • “This looked like they have a lab in the basement of Comerica Park...genetically engineering a gigantic pitch dark black squirrel.” — Sean [02:42]
  • “Where’s that doggone squirrel at? Look what he did to me. Detroit’s a dangerous city. Who knew the most dangerous things were the squirrels?” — Sean [03:44]
• Returns near the episode end, connecting the squirrel’s (black) coloring and treatment to human experiences:
  • “We're not all that different, man.” — Sean [46:21]
  • “Take note from the squirrels. Yeah, we ain’t all that different.” — B. Scott [46:23]

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6. PR Tactics & The Soft Side of NFL Coaching

• Vrabel vs. Embiid: PR “Human Shields” Debate [39:28]
  • Who’s guiltier: Mike Vrabel (bringing a puppy to deflect off-field scandal questions at his press conference) or Joel Embiid (bringing his young son to soften postseason scrutiny)?
  • “To me it's just so much more obvious... I do think there's thought given into, ‘let’s bring the puppies up there while we've got our shameful head coach up there.’” — B. Scott [45:28]
  • Listeners vote overwhelmingly that Vrabel’s puppy incident is the “worse” PR tactic.
• Discusses NFL media theater and the unspoken rules around press conferences and player/coach image management.

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7. Financial Literacy for Athletes

• Trending topic: Viral athlete videos bemoaning taxes and gifts to relatives.
  • “Athletes...seem to think that they're the only ones that pay taxes on their income. Everybody pays taxes.” — Barstool’s Roan (played by Sean) [32:21]
  • “The only thing other than Father Time that's undefeated is Uncle Sam.” — B. Scott [34:42]
• Value of NIL in college:
  • Sean: “I think this is the best part about NIL in college...there’s schools out there that are making it part of the curriculum for the athletes…” [36:59]

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NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• “Nobody’s worked harder, nobody's had a better attitude...he's chomping at the bit.” — Nick Caserio on Tank Dell [05:22]

• “Does this defense even have a weakness right now?...I don't know that the Texans have that soft spot on the top of their alligator dome.” — Sean [12:36]

• “Whereas we’re talking about the poor Texans, they don’t have a third pass rusher to terrorize offenses.” — B. Scott [14:46]

• “If there's a world that's better than first world problems, that's the Texans defense right now…These are monarchy. These are regal problems.” — Sean and B. Scott [28:03, 28:14]

• “Take note from the squirrels. Yeah, we ain't all that different.” — B. Scott [46:23]

• “The only thing other than Father Time that's undefeated is Uncle Sam.” — B. Scott [34:42]

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TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• [05:22] – Nick Caserio’s Tank Dell training camp status update (from June)
• [07:01] – Implications of Dell's return for the offense and Stroud’s rapport
• [11:06] – Todd Haley compares Texans defense to the 1985 Bears
• [15:35] – Is CJ Stroud a top-10 player on the Texans? Player rankings exercise
• [26:01] – Texans defensive "superpower" and backup plans at linebacker/safety
• [32:21] – Roan (Barstool) on athlete tax complaints – “tone deaf” viral trend
• [39:28] – PR tactics: Vrabel’s puppy vs. Embiid’s child at pressers
• [46:16] – Lighthearted lessons on squirrel genetics & social commentary

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EPISODE SUMMARY

• The episode opens with a light segment on a viral black squirrel at Comerica Park, segueing into football talk.
• Main focus is Tank Dell’s likely return at Texans training camp, including replayed remarks from Nick Caserio and parsing out what “on schedule” means for Dell and the offense.
• The hosts conduct an engaging exercise ranking the Texans’ best players by merit, unintentionally highlighting the team’s defensive riches and raising questions about CJ Stroud’s regression.
• Praise for the Texans defense peaks with Todd Haley’s “85 Bears” comparison, while hosts and listeners hunt for hypothetical weak spots—linebacker depth and injury luck being the most plausible concerns.
• Banter with listeners over texts, continued squirrel stories, and community-building remain a hallmark.
• The show rounds out with debates about NFL PR strategies (puppies and children as “human shields”), financial literacy in pro sports, and a philosophical riff on the lessons of squirrel diversity.
• Throughout, the tone remains conversational, irreverent, and Houston-centric, inviting listeners to participate in every topic.

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For those who missed the episode, this summary offers all you need to know about the latest vibes, debates, and key storylines driving Houston sports talk this week.

Transcript

[Sean]

Hey y', all, I'm Maddie. And I'm Poodle.

[B. Scott]

And together we host the podcast Reality Gays.

[Sean]

We are two ridiculous homosexuals who love nothing more than talking about reality television

[B. Scott]

and tearing in a new one.

[Sean]

So whether it's 90 day fiance love

[B. Scott]

is Blind Love After Lockup or any other trash TV show about lonely hearts looking for love, your gay bestie's got you covered, y'.

[Seth]

All.

[Sean]

New shows every week.

[B. Scott]

Follow and listen to Reality Gays wherever you get your podcast. Reality Gays. Let's love.

[Sean]

Sports Radio 610 presents Pain and Pender Gas. I couldn't tell. B. Scott, could you tell on the TV here in studio? So B. Scott and I have the TV on. We, we have it, we have on cage here in the morning watching, watching the news and, and it flips over to CBS Mornings and they. The video is a major league baseball game last night. I didn't catch which stadium it was, but there was some sort of vermin running around on the field.

[B. Scott]

Yeah, it's a good way to put some kind of vermin.

[Sean]

It was either a black squirrel or a skunk that doesn't have any white in its tail.

[B. Scott]

Nah, that thing was too big to be a squirrel.

[Sean]

So you think it was a skunk, like the, like a bizarro albino skunk?

[B. Scott]

Yeah, maybe a skunk.

[Sean]

It was an all black skunk.

[B. Scott]

I wanted to say that it could have been like a, like a possum. But, but possums aren't normally that color.

[Sean]

Then they don't have furry tails like that. Kind of a furry tail.

[B. Scott]

Right.

[Sean]

If you know what it is we're talking about, if you saw the same video, text in and let us know. I'm genuinely curious about this, but shout

[B. Scott]

out to the men of that stadium of that ballpark because no less than like a dozen guys go out there and get after it trying to capture this thing.

[Sean]

Producer Byron has information here. Byron, lay it on us.

[B. Scott]

Yeah, it was a squirrel at the Tigers. It was a squirrel squirrel.

[Sean]

It was.

[B. Scott]

I got here this morning. When I walked in, they were playing it on espn.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Seth]

Over.

[Sean]

Yeah, okay, so it was a squirrel.

[B. Scott]

That was, that was a humongous. That's the biggest squirrel I've ever seen.

[Sean]

Look. Genetically engineered. Yeah, it was big and it was dark. I've never seen it. That, that squirrel. I mean my, my eyes are not deceiving me. Right. Like, that was not normal. No gray colored squirrel.

[B. Scott]

No. If that was a normal squirrel, I feel like maybe they would have even let him make It. Yeah, you know, like the squirrels in your neighborhood.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Byron, you remember. I don't know if you remember the squirrels of Huntsville. Like, I've seen a couple. Oh, dude. The squirrels in Huntsville kind of ran the place at times. But this didn't look like one of those. No, this looked like a. That's why I confused it with a potential armadillo or opossum or something like that.

[Sean]

This looked like they have a lab in the basement of Comerica park that they genetically engineer squirrels and they're toying around with genetically engineering a gigantic pitch dark black squirrel. And one of them escaped from the lab, possibly by mauling the security guard.

[B. Scott]

Yeah. I'm curious. I kind of want to go back. Do, like the. There's this trend online now where people are doing like the TikTok of my Netflix doc, and they do like the opening shot of their Netflix doc. Yeah.

[Sean]

DeAndre Hopkins did one.

[B. Scott]

There we go.

[Sean]

He did.

[B. Scott]

He did. I want to know the backstory of how did the squirrel get that far? Like, where. What's the squirrel's origin story? Where did it come from? And how did it get that far?

[Sean]

With the security guard that the squirrel mauled.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Still with scratches on his face.

[B. Scott]

Dude.

[Sean]

A sling on his left arm.

[B. Scott]

War wounds, baby.

[Sean]

A crutch under his right arm. And he's here to tell his story about how he got mauled by some mutant black squirrel.

[B. Scott]

Where's that doggone squirrel at?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Look what he did to me.

[Sean]

Detroit's a dangerous city. Who knew the most dangerous things were the squirrels?

[B. Scott]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, 100%. And I'd like to point out, too, I've been going to either Daikin before that minute Maid park on a regular for no less than seven years now. And I still get. Hey, can you flip your badge around? Can we make. Basically, can we make sure that you're supposed to be here? All of the checks and balances to make sure that the human beings that are in these ballparks are supposed to be there.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Namely me. Somebody who's there all the time and that they should recognize. And this squirrel makes it all the way to the field, dude.

[Sean]

And it took like 10 people to corral him.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Amazing. I. We need a Kevin Harlan on that game to call it.

[Kendra Adachi]

He.

[Sean]

Kevin Harlan's the best at calling things that have nothing to do with the actual play on the field. All right, so the cat is elusive. Yeah. Look at the moves on the cat. All right, so just a follow up to our question. Training camp question of the day for the Texans. What is Tank Dell? This was back on June 3rd. Okay, so June 3rd was the last time. That's the last time we've had Nick Casserio on this show. Now he's going to join us next week. Next Tuesday, August 4th, Nick Casserio is going to sit down with Seth and I out at training camp.

[B. Scott]

So available to Media tomorrow at 8:30.

[Sean]

Yep.

[B. Scott]

In with pain and pender gas next Tuesday. Next Tuesday, August 4th. There you go.

[Sean]

Here we do it after SummerSlam so Nick and I can break that whole thing.

[Kendra Adachi]

You go.

[Sean]

So. So this was nick back on June 3rd. The answer to this simple question. Are we going to see Tankdale practice here at some point?

[Seth]

Yes, I would say more than likely it'll probably be in training camp. You know, we have about, I don't know, however many days left here in the spring. But there are certain things that he's able to do. He's done some things on the field, maybe separately, kind of off to the side. I think the goal is training camp. So we'll kind of see if he stays on schedule. But you know, I mean, nobody's worked harder, nobody's had a better attitude, you know, talking about a player that hasn't played football in, you know, almost 18 months or however long it's been. But you know, his attitude, his approach, he's chomping at the bit and he's certainly anxious and wants to be out there. By the same token, we want to make sure that we're taking care of him and doing the right things and putting him in a position where he can go out there and be the best version of himself. So I would say training camp seemed like a reasonable time frame in terms of his availability in terms of next steps.

[Sean]

Okay, so that tomorrow is training camp.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

This should be at the top of the list of things that we're looking for out there that people should be curious about. I think it would have been on the list anyways. Really high up the list. But repurposing that bit of audio right there, I think Hammers at home. I think, you know, Tank dropping more of these workout videos recently would seem to be his way of saying I'm on track to, to, to be doing stuff at training camp. That's how I interpret it at least. So good. I'm glad we found that audio. So tomorrow is the day.

[B. Scott]

Nick.

[Sean]

Nick said that on June 3rd and he mentioned training camp multiple times. Tomorrow is the first day of training camp. Will we see Tank Dell fully activated?

[B. Scott]

I just Feel like it's got so many implications. What is Tank deal? Back to the question, you know, obviously for Tank, but more specifically for the team, how that changes the offense, how we look at them, how we view them, what their potential actually is. I think. Not that it hinges on Tank Dell per se, but then it also kind of does because if he's out there, then that's just a. That's just a. Another weapon. Whereas we're having the conversation or we asked the question earlier in this exercise when y' all were doing the 10 questions leading up to training camp, what are the non Nico wide receivers? Well, if you can throw Tank Dale in there, that is. I mean, that's just a huge game changer for me.

[Sean]

Huge, man.

[B. Scott]

And then on top of it. And again, this is more specific to Tank and his own personal situation. We also got to consider the fact that it's a contract year for Tank Dale. Like what, what does Tank Dale recovering from traumatic injury in contract season look like? And first year in the offense? All of those things together colliding at once. What does it look like?

[Sean]

That's a. That is a really good question. I didn't even thought about the contract. I've just been focused on him.

[B. Scott]

As you should.

[Sean]

Getting back to playing football because it's

[B. Scott]

the cart before the horse. But that is the next logical question.

[Sean]

After that, it is definitely the cart before the horse. But. But if we can play the hypothetical game for a little bit, why not? This is a team that's going to be paying a lot of guys pretty soon, including the quarterback who really likes Tank. Tell, you know, like he, you know, Tank Dell is he CJ's guy. So, you know, CJ himself has to get his stroke back. Like the question after CJ's rookie year would be like, how much stroke does CJ have in the building to make sure the Tanks around for a second contract? Now the question is, two years later, you know, cj, does CJ Stroud get his stroke back in the building? You know, I say stroke in the building. Like, you know, Nick and d' Ameco are going to make all the decisions. But you could have foreseen a day, you know, back when CJ was winning rookie of the Year, where they maybe get his input on things like that.

[B. Scott]

When, back when CJ was winning rookie of the Year, it was unthinkable. Just the concept, the idea that by 2027, perhaps tank and CJ aren't here anymore.

[Sean]

Yeah, yeah.

[B. Scott]

I don't think you would. Maybe you would have Predicted one. Maybe you know, that look, they're already paying Nico. Maybe they have to make a business decision at some point. But you would have thought at the very least one of those guys would be here. And ideally, both of them are foundational pieces and are here for as long as they're in their prime health and all of that sort of thing. But now tanks in a contract year after having not played in a year and a half or whatever it's been. And we've got all of these questions with CJ Stroud.

[Sean]

Yep. All right. Pain and pender gas B. Scott in for Seth. Pain today. Seth back tomorrow. You and Zach gel have been doing some radio on Sundays recently. I don't know if people listening realize we have weekend programming here on Sports Radio 6 10.

[B. Scott]

We back, baby.

[Sean]

Soon to be 95. Seven the fan.

[B. Scott]

That's right.

[Sean]

And it's and that's going to continue to grow and grow. So that's this is fun. This takes me back to the days where it was Sports Radio 610 live and local, seemingly pillar to post. Right?

[B. Scott]

Yep. Nights and weekends.

[Sean]

And you guys sound great. You had Todd Haley on this past Sunday.

[B. Scott]

We did Todd Haley this past Sunday. Warren Moon the Sunday before that.

[Sean]

You want to set this one up here?

[B. Scott]

Well, so we were asking Todd Haley, you know, a host of questions, right. About really these were offensive questions, talking about C.J. stroud and he volunteers and in an answer about C.J. stroud, about the offense, and of course, Todd Haley, as you guys know, and if you don't know, former offensive coordinator and, you know, head coach in the NFL. So he comes from, you know, from an offensive mind with an offensive bent. But he goes straight to the defense. And we were surprised to hear him make this comparison about the Texans defense.

[Seth]

I don't see any weaknesses in this group. I really don't. You know, and if health isn't an issue, like I said, I mean, Reed being there I think is big. He's kind of a quarterback ball hawk

[B. Scott]

type dude that the ball just comes to him.

[Seth]

You know, I like the entire group and I love d' Ameco and the energy that he brings to the group. And I would, I would not want to play this defense as an offense coordinator.

[B. Scott]

So. And so the comparison there, though, leading up to that question, in a previous answer, he says this is the 80. This is like the 85 bears.

[Seth]

Wow.

[B. Scott]

He compares the Texans to the 85 bears. And the answer you just heard there was his justification, his reasoning for that.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

And it's because I had to follow up on that. Like, why do you think you've seen a lot? Why do you think that this team is comparable to the 85 Bears? And then that was the answer you heard. Because I see no weaknesses. And the, the parting shot there is. I wouldn't want to face this defense.

[Sean]

Yes. That's a former offensive coordinator saying that.

[B. Scott]

Yes.

[Sean]

Former head coach saying that.

[B. Scott]

And has coached in a Super Bowl.

[Sean]

Right. Reed, who he's bringing up there obviously is Reed Blankenship.

[B. Scott]

Correct.

[Sean]

And I, I kind of posed that question. I did. I'm doing a piece for tomorrow for the Houston Press. Three questions about the defense heading into training camp that we've got. And, and one of them is, quite honestly, with the signing of Reed Blankenship. And I'll throw the drafting of Kaden McDonald in there, too.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Does this defense even have a weakness right now? Do they have anything remotely resembling a kill spot on it? You know, like, you ever watch Swamp People back in the day? And, you know, they. These are all a bunch of gator hunters. In Louisiana. It's hard to kill a gator, but they've got that soft spot.

[B. Scott]

Yep.

[Sean]

On the top of the head. So anytime you. Anytime you saw Troy Landry. Chewed him. Chewed him. Anytime you saw Troy Landry kill a gator, it was always shooting one very specific spot.

[B. Scott]

Yep.

[Sean]

I don't know that the Texans have that soft spot on the top of their alligator dome, so I can tell

[B. Scott]

that they don't because of another question that we've asked in this exercise. Cole Thompson, I think, came up with this question as well. Shout out to Cole, will the real or will the new? Was it the new Derek Martineau?

[Kendra Adachi]

Hey there. I'm Kendra Adachi, and my show, the Lazy Genius Podcast, helps you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that it don't. And you get to decide what matters. I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to give you a new way to see. Episodes of the Lazy Genius podcast are full of compassionate time management tips and permission slips to do what makes sense for you. New episodes drop every Monday. Follow and listen to the Lazy Genius podcast on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sean]

Question number eight, will the new in the countdown of 10 questions, the camp that we've been doing at 6:25 every day, will the new Derek Barnett please stand up? That's exactly what it is.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

And this is kind of. It's a little bit of a slim shady reference there I see what Cole was doing. He was kind of going for an Eminem Slim Shady reference, but going with the idea with like with the Texans, Derek Barnett, to your point, is there a weakness on this defense? We're here up here talking about who's going to back up the two all pro defensive ends.

[Sean]

Right.

[B. Scott]

Like that's the life of luxury, the house spoiled, the embarrassment of riches that we're talking about right now with the Texans in this defense. It's like, well, what's going to happen when one of those all pros has to take a breather? Do they have another guy that could go out and get eight to double

[Sean]

digit sex or five interceptions like everybody did last year in the secondary. There you go.

[B. Scott]

So, so there's your weakness. It's that oh my God, poor Texans. They don't have a third pass rusher to terrorize offenses.

[Sean]

I saw an interesting one too that you had put in the rundown. Just going back to your show with Zach on Sunday.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Because we talked a lot about the top 100 with CJ Stroud and how it's looking more and more like he will not be in the top 100 this year. Oh yeah. When he's been 20th and 39th his first two years.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So his peers have voted him. You know, if you believe in the voting system. His peers have voted him the. A top 40 player in the NFL the first two. The first two seasons he played in the league. It would appear as though his third season has not impressed them thusly.

[B. Scott]

No.

[Sean]

So you pose an interesting question. Nevermind. Top 100, never mind top 10 QB in the NFL. Is CJ Stroud a top 10 player on this team?

[B. Scott]

Yeah, and I'm throwing that. I'm throwing that to you because Zach and I did this exercise. So Zach kind of threw.

[Sean]

Oh, you want me to workshop this thing live on the air?

[B. Scott]

Well, so. And this will be fun because like I've already done it and like once you start rattling off names. So the exercise on Sunday was where does C.J. stroud rank? Like we didn't do the top 10 framing. We just did. Hey, how many names will you get to? Where does CJ Stroud rank amongst his own teammates? Amongst Texans players and being good at their job. Yes.

[Sean]

Because there's two different. And I know you know where I'm going with this. He is unquestionably the most important player on the team.

[B. Scott]

Yes.

[Sean]

Because of the position he plays.

[B. Scott]

Right.

[Sean]

He's valuable. So he. There is value to C.J. stroud that, that transcends safeties.

[B. Scott]

Correct.

[Sean]

Or guards.

[B. Scott]

Yes.

[Sean]

Or things like that.

[B. Scott]

And so my goal was to try to do this exercise independent of the importance of the position.

[Sean]

Who's good at their job.

[B. Scott]

Just wanted to evaluate them in a vacuum. Now, I did cheat a little bit. Before we start, I do want to tell you, just as a qualifier, I did cheat a. A little bit. And I just left Kaimi Fairbairn off the list.

[Sean]

I was just gonna say.

[B. Scott]

I said no kickers, no specialists. Leave them off the list because.

[Sean]

Exactly what I was just gonna say.

[B. Scott]

But honestly, it's a little bit of an indictment on Stroud and credit to Fairbairn for being a really good kicker. Yeah. But a little bit of an indictment to Stroud because had I left him on the list. Yeah. Fairbairn, that is, Left the kicker on the list. Yeah, yeah. He would have been ahead of Stroud on this list.

[Sean]

He was better at his job last year.

[B. Scott]

There you go.

[Sean]

Jaime sets a record for field goals in a season. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B. Scott]

All right.

[Sean]

So it's just real football players.

[B. Scott]

Real football players.

[Sean]

Sorry. Sorry. Kaimi, if you're listening.

[B. Scott]

So here's how I do.

[Sean]

And punters, too. Whichever punter ends up winning the job. Although. Although the one rookie they brought in has a little bit of juice to his game.

[Seth]

The.

[Sean]

The Kroger. The kid they picked up. He's not the rookie. Stonehouse is the rookie. The Kroger kid they picked up from New Orleans has a highlight reel of passes that he threw back at South Carolina.

[B. Scott]

Stay tuned. Yeah, stay tuned.

[Sean]

Still not a real player.

[B. Scott]

So. So Dr. Just to give it away real quick, and I'll let you do this. I had him ninth.

[Sean]

You had him ninth. Okay.

[B. Scott]

I had C.J. stroud ninth. Barely checking.

[Sean]

I get the same eight.

[B. Scott]

Let's do it. Let's do it.

[Sean]

Okay.

[B. Scott]

Who's the best player on this team?

[Sean]

Will Anderson Jr. Is the best football player on this team.

[B. Scott]

All right, so we're agreed there on the top number two.

[Sean]

Number two on this team is. I'll go. Derek Stingley Jr.

[B. Scott]

Okay, this gets interesting because I think there's three guys who are candidates for number two. I had somebody else. Okay, go ahead.

[Sean]

Daniel Hunter.

[Seth]

All right.

[B. Scott]

I had him at number two.

[Sean]

You had him number two. I think you can interchange either of them. I expect them to be within a fraction of each other when their names get revealed.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, within a. Within a few picks of each other when their names get revealed in the top 100, because they'll both make it.

[B. Scott]

Of note three picks in. You have three defensive players.

[Sean]

Yep. I would say the next one would be Nico Collins.

[B. Scott]

All right, so you've got my top four just sort of reordered.

[Sean]

Yep.

[B. Scott]

I went Will Daniil, then Nico and then Derek. Sting.

[Sean]

She had. Nico had a Stingley. I did.

[B. Scott]

I did.

[Sean]

Stingley was really good this year. He was. He was better the year before, I thought. Yes. Still. Still deserving to be all pro. I mean, he's. I mean, we're really talking about levels of greatness here. We're not talking about guy was good or bad.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I would say Kamar Lasseter was better at his job last year than C.J. stroud.

[B. Scott]

Okay, so now we're at 4. 5.

[Guest or caller]

4, 5.

[B. Scott]

Now we're at 5. Okay.

[Sean]

I would say Jalen Petrie was better at his job last year than cj.

[B. Scott]

Made my list as well.

[Sean]

Okay. I would say Caleb Bullock better than CJ Stroud.

[B. Scott]

You're on it. I got one more ahead of CJ Stroud.

[Sean]

Z Al Shayer.

[B. Scott]

There you go.

[Sean]

So it's basically all the guys that have gotten some sort of accolade in the off season. Yep. Or some sort of recognition.

[B. Scott]

That's eight guys, right?

[Sean]

That's eight guys.

[B. Scott]

Do you have anybody else?

[Sean]

I would say, you know, he did. Boy, if we're just talking about better at his job, are we holding it against David Montgomery that he wasn't on the Texans last year? I wouldn't, you know, like, is David is.

[B. Scott]

Is.

[Sean]

Is David Montgomery. He's clearly. Clearly plays a position that's not nearly as important as quarterback because. And this is no disrespect to David Montgomery, running back has become the most interchangeable position in the sport. Now, there are ways to set yourself apart, and there are ways David Montgomery sets. There are things he's excellent at, better at than most running back, short yardage, physicality. I think probably the type of guy he is behind the scenes factors in. So I'm just bringing that up to workshop it with you for a little bit. I'm not necessarily saying, but I think it goes to show you that we would. Even having a conversation like this is kind of indicative of where CJ's at versus he would have been. He would have been in the top three on this list after his rookie year.

[B. Scott]

Dude, not only that, you're talking about David Montgomery. I struggled with the ninth spot, which, again, CJ Stroud came in at the ninth spot for me, but I had not just David Montgomery, but another guy

[Sean]

in this conversation was Tommy Togei. Better at his job than C.J. stroud last year.

[B. Scott]

Now, now we have cracked cross the bridge.

[Sean]

Tommy Togi better at his job than to be Stroud last year.

[B. Scott]

It's a fair question. I did not have Tommy to damn in my mix. He. I'm going to say no because he wasn't even in the mix for me in this conversation. But I think it's a fair point.

[Sean]

He's really good at his job, man.

[B. Scott]

You know who was though, in this conversation for me? Go ahead.

[Sean]

On the offensive side or defensive side?

[B. Scott]

Oh, that's going to be a dead giveaway.

[Sean]

Offensive side, Offensive side, better at his job.

[B. Scott]

And mind you, you've already mentioned David Montgomery, who is finally or firmly planted in this conversation. No.

[Sean]

Was it somebody on the Dalton Schultz? Dalton Schultz, yeah. Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Who for me tapped in at 10.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

So I had C.J. stroud, 9.

[Sean]

Dalton Schultz Dalton put up really good numbers. I think CJ And Dalton are really. They're probably pretty close. Yeah, but I would put CJ Ahead

[B. Scott]

of him like you did is exactly what. And I did leave David Montgomery just outside. But. But those three were in that conversation for me. For the ninth guy.

[Sean]

Think of the top 10 for the Texans. Sort of like in baseball where you've got wins above replacement. Oh, that's what somebody's saying on the text page. Yeah, someone's saying on the text page. Also, I spit my coffee out when B. Scott brought up the Huntsville squirrels. They ran that campus, often with violence.

[B. Scott]

Dude, I am not telling a story here. This is a lived experience of walking up on a squirrel, us looking at each other dead in the eye and having to make a decision.

[Sean]

Okay? This is where the. This is where. Texter, you need to listen, ok? And I'm going to put your business out there. Your last four digits of your number are 9,664. Texans QB1 is the alligator kill sp. Well, he says alligator bait. What WTF are y' all talking about? With no weak spot on this team. I said on the defense.

[B. Scott]

Defense, bro.

[Sean]

Defense. Listen. And it's not alligator bait. It's the kill spot on the top of the alligator's head.

[B. Scott]

Not listening at all.

[Sean]

You gotta listen. I appreciate. No, look, dude, I appreciate you listening to the show, but you can't come in correcting us on a text with complete lack of intricate listening skills.

[B. Scott]

Is there.

[Sean]

You just can't do that.

[B. Scott]

Is there anything.

[Sean]

Maybe it'll be better on FM for this guy. Maybe some static right now kind of bled out the fact that I said defense.

[B. Scott]

Look at you providing an excuse.

[Sean]

Yeah. He's a loyal listener.

[B. Scott]

Obviously the listener. Or listen, listener. Sean loves you because he just. He just came up with an excuse for you.

[Sean]

Yeah, man.

[B. Scott]

But. Yeah, nah, come on, man.

[Sean]

We said the defense. We didn't say.

[B. Scott]

And also to the point, WTF are you talking. Go ahead and text back, since you're correcting us. Text back with your weakness for the defense, because I tried.

[Sean]

In an apology to me. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kendra Adachi]

If.

[Sean]

Well, yeah, if there's. There is no kill spot on this defense. The kid. I'll tell you what one of my other questions is for my Houston Press article I'm writing for today.

[B. Scott]

All right.

[Sean]

Can they have the same type of injury luck as a defense this year that they did last year?

[B. Scott]

I'm glad you bring it up.

[Sean]

Those.

[Seth]

Name.

[Sean]

Those seven name. Those seven defensive names you have. You have ahead of CJ Stroud as being better at their job than CJ Last year. Those seven names missed a combined total of five games last year.

[B. Scott]

Ooh.

[Sean]

Three of them were Jalen Petrie with a concussion.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So the other.

[B. Scott]

Can you count on that?

[Sean]

The other six, you know, and Kamari was like, week 18. They sat him out. Like, he probably could have played if he, you know, if they had to win that game to get the one seed or something like that. Yeah, he probably could have played. So you're talking about, you know, concussions are just weird. They can happen. You know, I'm talking like, the normal bumps and bruises, like Will Anderson, the ankle issue he had the first couple years, they basically missed as a collective foundational half dozen or so guys, just a couple of games with bumps. And, you know, Aziz missed the Raiders game.

[B. Scott]

Yeah, that thing. So I'm glad you mentioned the injuries because, like, I. I know that the afternoon show did a similar exercise, or they just asked the question of can the defense be as good or better as they were last year? And I think Ron's justification for saying no is because he did not want to just grant them the injury fortune that they had last year. Yeah, he's. He's doing a calculation of, like, this war of attrition that happens in football of, like, man, they. They just can't get that lucky again. Which I think is a fair point, but also relevant to this group of Texans because. And right on time. Sean Caldwell, in our YouTube chat, he points out. And I think this is a fair point, defensive weakness. Who feels E.J. speed's role, which I. I think we did a version of that in our questions. Talking about the linebacker depth. That's a fair point because injury is going to be like the question of can the defense replicate what it did last year? And oh, by the way, they've already had a fairly significant injury to the defense before they even play a downer football.

[Sean]

They have. E.J. speed played a lot of snaps for this team last year. I think Seth. Seth has the number. Typically when we bring up EJ Speed, I've heard Seth say it. I think it's like he played like 45% of the stats.

[B. Scott]

I believe that's the. That's the number that he was on

[Sean]

the field a lot. So if you're looking for other guys for us to keep an eye on at training camp this year, you know, I think obviously Aziz, Al Shayer and Henry Towatoa are your top two guys. They, they play a lot of nickel with Jalen Petrie out there. Jalen Petrie, he's your third linebacker. He's kind of your third linebacker. But, you know, something happens to Jalen Petrie. You know, we've posed that question before. Jalen Petrie is such a unique player.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Who is the backup to Jalen Petrie? The backup is. You play base defense. Yeah, that's the backup. The backup isn't. You throw another Jalen Petrie out there because there's only one.

[B. Scott]

Yeah. And they tried to do it a little bit with Miles Bryant and respect to Miles Bryant, but that's just not

[Sean]

the same the guy. He's not the same Jalen Petrie. So you go to play more base defense. So now this all of a sudden turns guys like Wade Wood as guys like Jamal Hill.

[B. Scott]

Hill.

[Seth]

Yep.

[Sean]

Guys like, you know, even Aiden Fisher, I know he's a seventh round pick, but it gets you, it gets you watching these guys out at camp because they. One of them is probably in the running to be the backup plan to something happening to Jalen Petrie. Yeah, they'd still play some nickel because it's the NFL. You're not just going to be in base the whole time, but on first and second down, you're probably going to be in it a lot more than you would be with a healthy Jalen Petrie.

[B. Scott]

But it makes it a fair question of do the Texans. Does the Texans defense lose its superpower? And if for some reason it loses Jalen Petrie for any stretch. Right. Like, is the superpower in the Texans, the fact that their base defense is their nickel defense and that their nickel defense is their base defense as opposed to without Jalen Petrie? Having to play a much more traditional base defense.

[Sean]

But to your original point, about my question, is there a weakness on this defense now that they've signed Reed Blankenship to lock down that safety spot, which I think, too, and Seth makes this point a lot. I think you're going to get a better version of Kalen Bullock with Reed Blankenship out there, hopefully. So, you know, probably can roam around a little bit more.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Do kind of those Hawk things that he does. And then with, you know, the drafting of McDonald helping shore up the interior. I say shore up the interior. Played fine last year on the D line, but he's certainly a nice. He's an interesting piece. He's a rookie, so I don't want to get too out over my skis with him. But to your original point, when you talked about the Derek Barnett question from a week or so ago, like, these are the things we're talking about. Backup line. Excuse me, backup linebacker, backup defensive end, the other safety.

[B. Scott]

Even if there's.

[Sean]

If there's a world that's better than first world problems. Yes. That's the Texans defense right now.

[B. Scott]

Like royalty, I guess.

[Sean]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B. Scott]

These are. These are monarchy.

[Sean]

These are regal problems.

[B. Scott]

Regal problems.

[Sean]

Yeah, Regal from monarchy problems. Yeah, yeah.

[B. Scott]

I'm not mad at it.

[Sean]

Oligarch problem.

[B. Scott]

There you go. Yeah, there you go.

[Sean]

All right. Payne and Pendergast. B. Scott in for Seth C. Pain. Okay, fellas, this is not the guy who I just corrected, by the way, but this is a guy sticking up for the guy.

[Seth]

Okay?

[Sean]

Okay, fellas, we have jobs that take us away from the radio. Don't sit on us because we like to participate in the show. No, not sitting on you. I'm just correcting somebody the same way this person was correcting us.

[B. Scott]

And we're under the assumption.

[Sean]

Am I not allowed to correct the corrector?

[B. Scott]

Well, let's. Let's break down the. The, like, kind of break down the barrier here. This is all in good fun, right? Like. Like, we're. We're just. We're just joshing.

[Guest or caller]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Having a good time.

[Sean]

If I saw you in person, I would be nice to you.

[B. Scott]

Yeah. What are we really good friends if we can't, like, needle each other a little bit here?

[Sean]

And that's. That's. That's right.

[B. Scott]

Come on now. We're family.

[Sean]

That's right, B. Scott. All right, people weighing in. Defensive weakness. Henry Towa Toa and friendly fire.

[B. Scott]

Okay, fair enough.

[Sean]

Has got to chill out with the friendly fire. Probably a little bit.

[B. Scott]

Fair enough. Mobile Quarterbacks. Speaking of Henry to a toa. Mobile quarterbacks. Could be it. They. They have had their issue with mobile quarterbacks. It's. Except, I guess. Except Josh Allen.

[Sean]

They've had their right. Right. They've had a plan for him.

[Guest or caller]

Yeah.

[Sean]

There's that black squirrel video again on espn. That thing is. That's a beast.

[B. Scott]

That is a big old squirrel. That's not the Huntsville squirrel. No, I'm gonna tell you that now.

[Sean]

We get a lot of people weighing in on the black squirrel. Lots of black. They call them black cat squirrels, I guess in East Texas. It does look like a cat.

[B. Scott]

Yeah, man. When you mentioned it, I said, no way that's a squirrel.

[Sean]

They've got every. They literally have every single, like, maintenance worker at the ballpark surrounding this thing trying to catch it.

[B. Scott]

It's like everybody that's got on a navy blue shirt and khaki pants.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Come out here right now. You're needed.

[Sean]

And this. In this thing. It is. Oh, nice job. Someone just threw a towel over it and they caught it.

[B. Scott]

Yeah, well, that's what they had been trying to do. But the squirrel is elusive.

[Sean]

He looked like he got away.

[B. Scott]

Kevin Harlan would say.

[Sean]

Yeah, it looks like this thing is tailor made for yakety sacks. No,

[B. Scott]

dude. Where was Kevin Harlan when we truly

[Sean]

needed him in this moment? Yeah. Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Come on now.

[Sean]

Someone said that if you. If you're able to get the video of it, that the play by play guy, maybe we'll go find it. Had a. Had a great call of this, actually.

[B. Scott]

I hope he did.

[Sean]

I hope he play by play channeled some. Some Kevin Harlan.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

All right, Shifting gears for a second. I am still on my Twitter timeline. The algorithm is still feeding me financial videos of athletes or celebrities, telling me how little. Well, one of two things. Telling me how little money nine figures is.

[B. Scott]

What is this trend?

[Sean]

I don't know.

[B. Scott]

Why are they doing.

[Sean]

And I clicked on a couple of them, and now I. That's all I get fed. Now the good news is I'm starting to get some more sensible ones or more fun ones fed. Me, too. Like I played. I don't know if I was with you last week, B. Scott, or if Seth was here, but I played one of Jameis Winston. Oh, Seth was. He was. Me and Seth talking about it. Jameis Winston was a delight to listen to him talk about his first deposit, his first direct deposit he got from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of $13.4 million or something. And he talked about how amazing it was to log into his bank account and see $13 million. And it was classic Jameis. Yeah. And he spent two minutes talking about the recliner that he bought his diabetic grandmother.

[B. Scott]

Love it.

[Sean]

Who, you know, who, who was on her feet all day because she's a nurse. The. So I'm getting fed stuff like this and stuff like what we're about to play, which is I guess Roan from Barstool.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Who shared some of my frustration with some of these videos starring athletes that seem to think that they're the only ones that pay taxes on their income.

[Guest or caller]

You know, it has been endlessly pissing me the off. There's a trend right now where athletes are like, how did you spend your first million? Or other athletes like J.J. redick talking about like, how 10, what $10 million does for an NBA player. And every single one of them are like, well, what you don't realize is uncle Sam takes 50% off the top. As if they're the only people who pay taxes. Everybody pays taxes. If you work at McDonald's, you have to give a bunch of to taxes. If you make $100,000 a year, you have to give a bunch of it to taxes. Talk about tone deaf dudes who are like $40 million actually. You have to give your mom $150,000 car. You have to pay off a house for your dad. It's like, shut the up. That's. That is tone deaf. That is infuriating.

[Sean]

I actually had no back and forth with this, about this with Mike Meltzer over the, over the weekend because he saw me tweet about it.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And so he was like, he wasn't hardcore defending the, you know, the people I'm arguing or the people I'm pointing at kind of. But he's like, you know, could, could it be that, that they see? What did Meltzer say? Oh, could it be that he sees like.

[Kendra Adachi]

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[Sean]

History that Doesn't Suck is a legit, hard hitting American history podcast told through entertaining stories. History that Doesn't Suck. An Odyssey podcast. Available wherever you get your podcasts. The other multimillionaires that it's not Just, they're not just W2 like these guys are all these players are all getting W2s that sometimes they see these CEOs out there that are getting stock options and things like that. That there's like there's these ways around and things like that. I said, well, Mike, a couple of things I know you know this. You do pay tax on stock options as well once they get exercised.

[Seth]

Right.

[Sean]

Like Uncle Sam comes for you at some point regardless of what the form of income is.

[Guest or caller]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

The only thing other than Father Time that's undefeated is Uncle Sam.

[Sean]

Yes.

[B. Scott]

He will find you one way or another.

[Sean]

And if you notice the ones that I have that I take the most issue with aren't the ones that talk about the taxes necessarily or even the agency fees and things like that. It's the ones that act like part of the to do list when you get your $100 million contract is you have to buy a bugatti for your 10 favorite relatives.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You've got to buy a mansion for your mom that she will have to pay property taxes on in perpetuity.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I don't think they realize that, like those are the things you can't just

[B. Scott]

find a regular old subdivision.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Guest or caller]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

You know, just like a normal house

[Sean]

you will be able to pay the property taxes on after you're done playing. Yes. Yeah.

[B. Scott]

You can buy your mom a nicer crib than the one that she raised you in. Thank you. Without buying. Without going to River Oaks or whatever, the nicest neighborhood and getting her a million dollar crib. Like there is an in between. How do I know it? Because most of us live in places like this. Most of us are not at the very, very bottom of the food chain. Most of us ain't rich and just live in a regular old house, man.

[Sean]

And you can have nice neighbors and nice things put in a pool.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Do all those things you could.

[B. Scott]

You know what? And it's not out of the question to buy your mom.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

A Toyota or a link to go to West Point Lincoln instead of getting her a Bugatti.

[Seth]

Thank you.

[B. Scott]

Or a Rolls Royce.

[Sean]

Absolutely.

[B. Scott]

You don't have to do that.

[Sean]

They have new and certified pre owned

[B. Scott]

there, I'm telling you.

[Sean]

Over a thousand on the lot. B. Scott knows. He bought one from them.

[B. Scott]

I'm a normal guy with a normal nice car.

[Sean]

Right.

[B. Scott]

You can do that.

[Sean]

You can do that.

[B. Scott]

And I've never gotten a $13 million check, just for the record.

[Sean]

No, no, no. Me neither. You know, Joe Hayden was the one where I'M like, well. And then once. Once I was done, he's like, I got this $12 million bonus. It was 7 million after taxes. I'm like, all right, here we go with the taxes. He's like, and then once I set my parents up with $3 million of their own, I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What? Like, that's your choice, bro.

[B. Scott]

But you know what it does show, though, Sean? Yeah. The fact that their financial literacy does not come until after they've squandered.

[Sean]

Right, Right. For a lot of them.

[B. Scott]

Because they're saying things that the rest of us adults that just live in the regular real world are saying. Yeah, you gotta pay your taxes.

[Sean]

I think this is the best part about nil in college is not only do you get money where you need to have financial literacy to manage it. And I say this as somebody who has operated in my adult life with not great financial literacy. Okay? But I think there's schools out there, too, that are making it part of the curriculum for the athletes. As you're getting this nil money, you're going to take this. It may not even be a course that they're getting credit for. It may be that they bring in one of the finance professors, and after practice for a week, they come in and do an hour of financial literacy stuff. I think it's great. Yeah, I think it's great.

[B. Scott]

I might sidebar this with Woody Marks, who famously told somebody around here that he made more money in his last year at USC than he did as a rookie.

[Sean]

He did.

[B. Scott]

I'm curious on what. So what was the financial literacy that went with that? Because I imagine he didn't squander his rookie check after having already gotten paid.

[Sean]

As a question for Woody Marksman, training camp gets started tomorrow.

[B. Scott]

There you go.

[Sean]

Nice. All right, Pain and Pendergast. B. Scott in today for Seth Payne. All right, add one more. One more deflection to Mike Vrabel's bag of tricks, and the results are in. Who's the bigger jerk? Brandon Scott or Shaun T. Pendergast? Sports Radio 610 presents live from the West Point Lincoln and West Point Lincoln of Sugarland Studios. Here's Pain and Pendergast. All right, so B. Scott and I got into a bit of a debate yesterday. I did not expect it to be a point of contention between the two of us. We'll tell you what it was in just a second, but let's pay off on the tease of audio here. So Mike Rabel, who. Who at his first Press conference of training camp. Brought a cute little puppy dog with him underneath his arm. And as I've had several Patriot fans point out to me, as I. And you being among the hundreds of thousands of people that thought it was a disingenuous attempt to deflect having any questions asked about his alleged affair with Diana Rossini, to portray him as, you know, some sort of gentle family man, sympathetic figure. Sympathetic figure is a good way to put it. Yep. So that was day one. Yesterday there was a. I guess a reporter there that brought his daughter with him to the press conference. I don't know if it was bring your kid to work day or something like that. I have no idea.

[B. Scott]

Still, summer things happen.

[Sean]

But Vrabel. That's right. Yeah, it could be something like that. Yeah, it could be something like. Yeah, whoever watches her, you know, had a. Had an issue, whatever it was. There's a 12 year old girl at the press conference. And Vrabel, I guess, traditionally allows a woman to ask the first question at his press conferences. Um, so in this case, he. He allowed this particular reporter's daughter to ask the first question of the press conference. Karen, you might get Trump this morning. Olivia, welcome.

[B. Scott]

How you been? Good.

[Sean]

It's good to see you.

[B. Scott]

Do you have a question today?

[Guest or caller]

Kinda.

[Seth]

Okay.

[Guest or caller]

Kinda.

[Sean]

They kind of have questions too.

[B. Scott]

How was Taylor's wedding?

[Sean]

It was good, thank you. It was a fairy tale or whatever she says in that song. Okay.

[B. Scott]

Thanks for asking.

[Sean]

How was Taylor's wedding?

[B. Scott]

Yeah, he could have given her a little bit more than that.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Give us a little tea on the wedding, my man.

[Sean]

Well, I wonder we. We've not heard a ton about that wedding. I like, I wonder what the. The marching orders were for people who went to that wedding.

[B. Scott]

Oh, about what?

[Sean]

They are allowed and not allowed to share in press conferences and things like that.

[B. Scott]

Yeah, like if you're big enough to have your wedding at the Garden. And again, not. Not a Garden. The Garden.

[Sean]

The Garden.

[B. Scott]

Madison Square Garden. Are you like, are NDAs at the door or at the entryway?

[Sean]

Good question. Like, you know who went to it, Who's a regular guest on this show? Hopefully we're getting him this season too. Ross Tucker.

[B. Scott]

Ross Tucker went to the wedding.

[Sean]

Ross Tucker went to the wedding. Now he's a Philly guy and she's a Philly gal. Taylor is.

[B. Scott]

Whoa.

[Sean]

Yeah. Ross Tucker went to Taylor Swift's wedding.

[B. Scott]

I've met Ross Tucker and I've met somebody that went to the wedding.

[Sean]

Absolutely.

[Seth]

Wow.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Okay. Yep.

[B. Scott]

That's pretty cool.

[Sean]

Ross Tucker. All right, so. So that was. That was Rabel's. You know, I don't know how many more tricks he has up his sleeve to try to soften the beginning of all these press conferences. He's got a puppy dog. Got a little girl asking a Taylor Swift question. I can't wait to see what the tactic is today to make Mike Vrabel soften his Q rating here. You know, get him winning the. The PR battle, if there is one to be won up in New England. I have no idea. But. So you pointed out yesterday that this was. That the dog, specifically the puppy dog. Forget about the girl whose audio we just played. That the puppy dog. You brought up Joel Embiid.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Bringing his kid to a press conference after they had just lost. They just got swept by the Knicks. Yeah. And Joel Embiid brings his. His young kid who could have been older than three or four years old, swept and collapsed.

[B. Scott]

Yeah. So, like, not just you lost, but we got real questions to ask you.

[Sean]

Absolutely. He brought his kid to the press conference, which has long been something I have found. I. I don't know if offensive is the right word. I'm not a journalist like you are. Like it just.

[B. Scott]

But you don't like it.

[Sean]

It's tacky. Yeah, it's tacky at best, which I actually. And I don't like it.

[B. Scott]

And I actually agree with that part of it.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

So my objection was I agree that it's tacky and borderline unprofessional that you just shouldn't do it. Unfortunately, it is a common thing that they do. I just didn't draw the same conclusion. So I. I guess I dislike it or think it's tacky for different reasons. I didn't draw the same conclusion that y' all had.

[Sean]

I think it's a human shield situation.

[B. Scott]

Right, Right. I just thought it was just flat out tacky, but not necessarily the human shield that this, to me, clearly was.

[Guest or caller]

So you.

[Sean]

You definitely think that Vrabel is a human shield, even though there is a charity component to this, to that dog and other dogs, this potriots thing that they do at training camp where they're trying to find homes for several dozen stray dogs.

[B. Scott]

Yeah. If they did it last year, it wasn't a human shield last year. Doing it. Now it is. Okay.

[Sean]

So even though they did it last year. Okay, so you. So I.

[B. Scott]

Doubling down on this.

[Sean]

I think the Embiid thing, bringing his kid to the press conference, to me, is worse than Rabel bringing a cute little puppy dog. To his press conference. You, on the other hand, feel strongly the other way.

[B. Scott]

Yeah. And maybe if for no reason because we've just seen so much of it before, I might be more conditioned to it, but. Yeah. I thought this was worse.

[Sean]

Who do you think the voting constituency on this Pender poll voted for? I posted this yesterday. A few hundred people have voted.

[Guest or caller]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So Brandon. Brandon. I'm just going to read it for the audience. Brandon Scott and I differ greatly on this today. So I'll put it to the people. Which is worse. Joel and B, bringing his kid, Mike Rabel bringing a cute puppy dog to, to, to his presser.

[B. Scott]

So I, I followed it, went on and vote. Exercised my right as an American.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Get out and vote and, and vote it.

[Sean]

You can still vote. There's six hours left if you're listening. Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Many great people. F. So I went ahead and voted in my Pender poll.

[Sean]

Right.

[B. Scott]

And so about 150 votes in is the last time I checked in on your poll. And the Embiid. I'm sorry, the, the Rabel one was winning by a landslide at that point.

[Sean]

It was like, you are winning this right now.

[B. Scott]

Okay.

[Sean]

74% of the people agree with you.

[B. Scott]

Okay.

[Sean]

That Vrabel bringing the puppy dog is worse than Joel Embiid bringing his kid to the press conference.

[Guest or caller]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So evidently I'm the A hole of the two of us.

[B. Scott]

I think you're just missing the. It's just. To me it's just so much more obvious.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

Like I think you can justify or at least explain away bringing your kid up there. Even though we do agree that you should just leave the kid wherever he came from. Like wherever the, whoever brought the kid, let the kid stay with that person until the very least you're done with your press conference. It's a professional setting.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[B. Scott]

So I don't think the kid should be there for that reason. But I don't think that they bring the kid up there necessarily as a human shield. I don't know if there's a lot of thought given into that. I do think that there's thought given into let's bring the puppies up there while we've got our shameful head coach up there.

[Sean]

I just love that it's this lopsided. I, If I had to predict, I, well, I probably would have predicted Embiid, but I guess I'm, I'm lacking in some self awareness on that. It is very lopsided this vote. Interesting people pointing out the various places in the United States that had Black squirrels. I had never seen one before.

[B. Scott]

Hey, man, you got to get out into grass.

[Sean]

I gotta get out. I know you doing. I gotta get out of my gray squirrel neighborhood shelter.

[B. Scott]

Son of a gun, you.

[Sean]

It's funny, I asked. I asked Chat GPT, other than color, how are black squirrels different than regular squirrels? And my chatgpt bot, lefty is his name, says. Great question, Sean. The short answer is they usually aren't much different at all. A black squirrel is just a color variation of the same species.

[B. Scott]

Huh.

[Sean]

You don't talking during the break. And I'm like, this feels like we're talking about human beings here.

[B. Scott]

It's a metaphor for life.

[Sean]

We're not all that different, man.

[B. Scott]

Take note from the squirrels. Yeah, we ain't all that different.

[Sean]

That's right. That's right.

[B. Scott]

But it is worth wondering, would that squirrel had been treated differently if it wasn't black?

[Sean]

With a gray squirrel, would the gray squirrel have gotten away with running onto Comerica Park?

[B. Scott]

Only a black squirrel. Yeah. Could cause a dozen men to have to jump out of his seat to corral him. I'm just telling you, the perp walk

[Sean]

they made that black squirrel do off of the field.

[B. Scott]

This is life. But in all the while, as chatgpt, or is the. As the AI bot tells you, we ain't all that different.

[Sean]

Hey.

[B. Scott]

All right.

[Sean]

Fun fact. This is chat GPT. If a black squirrel and a gray squirrel mate.

[B. Scott]

Oh, now we're getting into some really risky business.

[Sean]

Can be black, gray, or even a mix. Oh. Depending on color, genes. That they were basically squirrels. We're basically squirrels.

[B. Scott]

When you put it that way. Right?

[Sean]

Yeah, man.

[B. Scott]

I bet you we just changed a lot of hearts and minds out there today.

[Sean]

I think we did.

[B. Scott]

Doing the Lord's work here on radio.

[Sean]

This is no disrespect to Seth. This is the most important episode of Pain and Pender. Look, this is a very special episode. I would.

[B. Scott]

Knowing Seth, I would predict that he is a little bit upset that he missed this moment in time maybe. Yes.

[Sean]

That he would. That he wasn't here for all of us through the radio.

[B. Scott]

I'm telling you, this is to hold hands. This is a Hallmark moment.

[Sean]

Yes.

[B. Scott]

A seminal moment in history right now.

[Sean]

I mean, you can mad lib in humans here.

[B. Scott]

Yeah.

[Sean]

For squirrels. And that's how we should feel.

[B. Scott]

I could. I could just imagine your chat bot going. A response to your question going.

[Sean]

Oh, yeah.

[B. Scott]

Oh, he wants to know. He wants to let. Well, let me tell you about the difference. Yeah. There ain't no it's funny.

[Sean]

I've never seen him. I literally. People are commenting on it. I'd never seen one before. Die black squirrel.

[B. Scott]

I had neither. And I. And I.

[Sean]

Apparently there's some up in Huntsville.

[B. Scott]

I've been in the school. I've been in the trenches with the squirrels. Didn't see any black ones.

[Sean]

Yeah, man.

[B. Scott]

But I'll tell you, this. Wouldn't have treated him any different.

[Sean]

That's right.

[B. Scott]

Other ones.

[Sean]

Hell yeah.

[B. Scott]

Tell you that.

[Sean]

That's right.

[B. Scott]

All right.

[Sean]

Pain and pender gas. B. Scott in for Seth Payne. Are you ready to get petty, man?

[B. Scott]

I can't wait.

[Sean]

In the next segment, I actually have two things I'm petty about, including one thing that I saw this weekend on my staycation with Amy that appalled me. I will have that for you.

[B. Scott]

Let's do it.

[Sean]

Are you looking for a pro football podcast that doesn't put you to sleep

[B. Scott]

with spreadsheets or insult you with mindless hot takes?

[Guest or caller]

Footballers.

[B. Scott]

Why shouldn't your football podcast be the same?

[Sean]

Follow and listen to Heed the call. NFL podcast with Dan Hanzis and Mark Sessler. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[B. Scott]

Mom, can you tell me a story?

[Kendra Adachi]

Sure. Once upon a time, a mom needed a new car.

[B. Scott]

Was she brave?

[Kendra Adachi]

She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.

[Sean]

Did you have to fight a dragon?

[Kendra Adachi]

Nope. She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually.

[Sean]

Was it scary?

[Kendra Adachi]

Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be. Did the car have a sunroof? It did, actually.

[B. Scott]

Okay, good story.

[Kendra Adachi]

Car buying. You'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.