HOUR 4 - Texans Disrespect! + Scheme Change Stroud’s Big Issue Last Year + Aiyuk Chirps at Daniels

Summary

PAYNE & PENDERGAST — HOUR 4 (JULY 6, 2026)
Episode Summary: “Texans Disrespect! + Scheme Change Stroud’s Big Issue Last Year + Aiyuk Chirps at Daniels”

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Main Theme / Purpose

Hour 4 of Payne & Pendergast, with guest host Luke Morrow joining Seth Payne, dives deep into perceptions surrounding the Houston Texans’ legitimacy as AFC contenders — particularly the “disrespect” in media and betting odds. The hosts scrutinize national concerns about the Texans offense, especially in light of The Athletic’s ranking of them as the AFC’s biggest question mark heading into 2026. They transition into a nuanced discussion of C.J. Stroud’s performance, scheme changes, and the challenges of a young quarterback paired with an inexperienced offensive coordinator. The show’s final segment shifts to the NFL-wide drama of Brandon Aiyuk’s public spat with former college teammate (now Commanders QB) Jaden Daniels, discussing whether Aiyuk is sabotaging his NFL career.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media Disrespect & “Biggest Concern” Label for Texans (01:00–19:00)

• Luke Morrow opens by stating the Texans are being disrespected nationally and in betting markets, noting that The Athletic named the Texans' offense as the biggest concern in the NFL – above even the Cardinals, Commanders, and Dolphins.

  • “If you polled people, I don’t think they’re putting the Texans in the top three best teams in the AFC going into this year.” — Luke Morrow (03:27)

• Hosts contrast Texans concerns with other AFC contenders:

  • Ravens and Bills both have first-time head coaches; first-time coaches haven’t won Super Bowls since 1989. Ravens also have a new OC. Bills' new HC and DC, lingering secondary questions, and lost pass rushers loom large.
  • Chiefs: Mahomes returning from a torn ACL is unprecedented for a SB-winning QB. The offense hasn’t been “top 15” in three years, suggesting more concern than Houston’s offense.
  • Patriots: Overachieved last year against historically soft schedule. AJ Brown replaces Diggs, but questions remain about O-line (Will Campbell’s poor playoffs) and if the run can be replicated.
  • Broncos: New playcaller, Bo Nix coming off a severe injury, general instability.
  • Chargers: Justin Herbert gets new OC (Mike McDaniel), but recurring issues with “clutchness,” and unproven despite high expectations.
  • Memorable Quote:

    “People kept talking about the Saints like they were the same organization after Peyton left…hell are you talking about? Sean Payton was a huge part of that. Same for the Ravens with Harbaugh gone now.”
    — Seth Payne (08:26)

• Hosts call out national double standards: Justin Herbert’s poor playoff performance hasn’t produced the same scrutiny as C.J. Stroud’s playoff flop.

  • “Herbert…he’s just like Teflon. People still say he’s a top five quarterback. He’s been lousy in the biggest games…” — Luke Morrow (18:00)

• Frustration with offseason speculation:

  • “So much of it revolves around C.J. Stroud...justifiably so, but my God, we can’t get to real football soon enough.” — Seth Payne (19:15)

2. C.J. Stroud’s Struggles: Scheme Change & Real Issues (24:40–32:32)

Andre Ware weighs in (Audio at 24:40):

• Andre Ware on Stroud’s 2025 dip:

  • Ware attributes some struggles to the “offensive scheme change.” Comparing to his own experience in Detroit (three OCs in four years), he says continuity is vital for a young QB.
  • Quote:

    “I think it’s the offensive scheme change...you’re kind of learning on the job...when you start the changes and the switching of terminology, it’s like starting all over again.”
    — Andre Ware (24:40)

• Stroud’s Sophomore Slump isn’t all about the OC change:

  • Payne notes that even in Stroud’s second year in the “same” system (with Slowik), there was regression. He points directly to Houston’s inability to run the ball as a central issue:

    “...they weren’t able to do that. They couldn’t do it versus light boxes, couldn’t do it versus heavy boxes...they were incapable of taking what the defense gives them.”
    — Seth Payne (28:37)

  • Even Mixon’s 100-yard games were not emblematic of consistent rushing success — it was “feast or famine.”

• No More Excuses:

  • “You’re in year four now and like nobody’s got an appetite for...‘oh, the offensive line wasn’t adequate.’ They’ve got to figure it out this year or heads will roll.”
    — Seth Payne (30:58)

• “Wait and See” for Stroud’s next step:

  • If Houston solves the run game and Stroud still stagnates, national (and local) skepticism will explode. Team and QB are out of time for “growing pains” — results must arrive.

  • “If they have a good rushing attack and CJ doesn’t look like a better quarterback, then that’s where the real hardcore doubt and skepticism is going to come in from outside of Houston.” — Seth Payne (31:20)

3. Brandon Aiyuk vs. Jaden Daniels: NFL Soap Opera (34:19–46:23)

• Brandon Aiyuk further unravels publicly:

  • Over the weekend, Aiyuk posts a video taunting Jaden Daniels (“stop running behind your mama...”), referring to Daniels as a "mama’s boy" and openly mocking the supposed expectation that he'd join the Commanders.
  • Dramatic Instagram series: Daniels unfollows Aiyuk, posts a thumbs down meme, while Aiyuk continues public outbursts.
  • “He just actually doesn’t even want to play football. Or he’s so far gone in whatever his mental state is…” — Seth Payne (36:27)
  • Morrow likens Aiyuk’s behavior to “Antonio Brown level self-sabotage.”

• Three possible explanations (Seth):

  1. He’s crazy.
  2. He’s crazy like a fox (has a plan).
  3. He’s just done with football altogether.
     • “Even if he didn’t want to play football anymore, there are better ways to go about it than what he’s doing right now.” — Seth Payne (41:03)

• Would Aiyuk fit with the Texans if he became a FA?

  • Hosts would only consider him on a wholly non-guaranteed, incentive-laden deal—and even then, they'd need to have a serious face-to-face to gauge his mentality.
  • “I would have a meeting with him...but I don’t want to give him any guaranteed money. Nothing about his behavior is someone ready to sign an incentive-laden contract.” — Seth Payne (43:04)
  • There’s consensus in crosstalk that the Texans’ receiver room is "reliable enough" and the “juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”

• Character vs. talent:

  • Reference to Texans’ signing of C.J. Gardner-Johnson as a calculated risk, but Aiyuk presents even higher volatility.

4. Crosstalk & Lighter Moments (46:37–55:33)

• Question of the Day: “Biggest, most memorable ‘phone a friend’ moment” inspired by the US Soccer red card drama and President’s intervention.
  • Seth tells about narrowly avoiding a lifetime football ban in sixth grade thanks to a well-placed favor.
• Fun on late bloomers: Seth describes his journey from undersized to NFL player, the “scrapper” mindset, and reflections on schoolyard nemeses.

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Luke (on media AFC rankings):
  • “You look at the AFC, I think there’s far bigger questions or concerns for some of the other top teams than the Texans.” (05:42)
• Seth (on Bills & Ravens):
  • “People are talking about the Ravens organization as if Harbaugh is still there...Maybe out of respect to the personnel department, but having a new head coach is kind of a big deal.” (08:26)
• Andre Ware (on Stroud):
  • “You’re kind of learning on the job, so to speak. And I think that’s exactly what he went through last year at times.” (24:40)
• Seth (on run game):
  • “Both C.J. and Bobby Slowik talked...how they’re probably going to start seeing a lot of coverages that are trying to take away the deep shots...They didn’t have any answers for it.” (28:37)
• Seth (on Aiyuk):
  • “Nothing that Brandon Aiyuk is doing, even if he’s trying to force the 49ers hand, really makes a whole lot of sense right now.” (41:03)
• Brandon Scott (crosstalk, on Aiyuk):
  • “If I was somebody in his life who cared about him, I would be really concerned about his mental health and stability…as a fan, I don’t want any part of that.” (46:47)
• Seth (on character risks):
  • “I’m open for any and all experiments when it comes to character issues—within reason...as long as you’re willing to pull the cord immediately.” (48:59)
• Seth (joking about childhood scuffle):
  • “I still hate him. I’m gonna go track him down at his place.” (52:03)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:00–04:51 – Texans media disrespect / introduction of The Athletic article and AFC comparison
• 05:25–13:48 – Deep dive into concerns about Ravens, Bills, Chiefs, Patriots, Broncos, and Chargers; arguing Texans’ issues are overblown
• 19:01–24:40 – Discussion of C.J. Stroud’s central role and anticipation for real football, not speculation
• 24:40–32:32 – Andre Ware on Stroud’s learning curve; analysis of scheme change and ongoing offensive issues
• 34:19–46:21 – Brandon Aiyuk/Jaden Daniels social media saga; implications for the NFL and for the Texans
• 46:37–55:41 – Crosstalk: “Phone-a-Friend” stories, locker room memories, wrap-up

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Tone & Style

• The tone is classic Payne & Pendergast: sharp, slightly exasperated, deeply analytical about football, but conversational, humorous, and occasionally self-deprecating.
• Hosts blend statistical/historical insight (about coaching, QB injuries, and run game) with personal anecdotes, Texas football culture, and pointed critiques of media narratives.
• Lively, direct, and unfiltered throughout, with honest reflection on topics both heavy (the importance of mental health for troubled NFL players) and lighthearted (youth sports brawls).

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For the Listener

This hour is a can’t-miss for Texans and NFL fans who want a no-spin, inside-out breakdown of Houston’s national perception, C.J. Stroud’s progress, and the unpredictable drama around player movement and personalities (with Aiyuk’s saga as a wild case study). The conversational chemistry and mix of robust football talk with relatable banter ensure even the crosstalk is memorable.

Skip to 24:40 to hear Andre Ware’s direct thoughts on the scheme change affecting Stroud.
Jump to 34:19 for a front-row seat in the NFL’s latest social media soap opera with Brandon Aiyuk vs. Jaden Daniels.

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End of Summary

Transcript

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[Luke Morrow]

I continue to say I think the Texans should be maybe the favorite of the afc. I don't have as much concern for them as a lot of other teams. Most people seem to disagree, but we'll talk about that here on Payne and Pender Gas. I'm Luke Morrow in for Sean alongside Seth Payne. You can join the conversation anytime. 713-572-4610 on the text line or in the YouTube and Twitch chats. By the way, Seth, we talked about it earlier, this whole red card controversy with the, with the World Cup USA plays Belgium tonight. Apparently from what I saw, they're going to allow Belgium to now appeal that today. So. Oh, so we're not done yet.

[Seth Payne]

This is going to be a down to the wire situation, I guess.

[Luke Morrow]

How can you go back on the appeal? You already changed it once. You can't change it again now on an appeal. That would be ridiculous.

[Seth Payne]

This is just, this is so much turmoil surrounding, surrounding something that I feel so inept in. Like actually I know my judgment of whether or not it should be a red card is, carries no weight whatsoever. And then when it comes to overturning the suspension, it's, it's just, it's, it's a way murkier feel than I want to have this morning. I just want to be able to enjoy it and, and watch people try to kick the ball into the goal.

[Luke Morrow]

That's right.

[Seth Payne]

Typically do.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah. Well, it starts at seven tonight. We'll see, we'll see what happens.

[Seth Payne]

So, so, so there's a chance that they might end up like, coming onto the field and pulling him off. I don't know.

[Luke Morrow]

I don't know when the decision is gonna have to be made, but I don't know how you can go back on it now after changing, and you can't snip, snap this thing, keep going back and forth.

[Cade Courtley]

I wonder what.

[Seth Payne]

Like, are there any theories about what. I guess I'm just trying to figure out a. So Trump. Trump called the president of FIFA. If, like, if. If whatever he said had an influence on FIFA, what exactly would it have been? Like? What's. What are the different avenues that the US could put pressure on FIFA or whether it was just. I mean, there's a chance that FIFA might have done this independent of whether or not Trump called them, which at that point. Imagine. Imagine if you're the FIFA president and you get. And you're like, okay, you know what? I'm pretty sure we're probably gonna overturn this thing. And then all of a sudden, the president of the United States called like, ah, crap. Yeah, this is gonna. Nobody's gonna believe me for a damn second. Nobody's gonna believe me for a damn second. This is what we were gonna do anyway.

[Andre Ware]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, we were gonna do it anyways. Yeah. Now it's.

[Seth Payne]

Because, I swear, we were gonna do it anyway. Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah. Now it's a much bigger, Much bigger story. Well, we'll see what happens there in the meantime. And, you know, the fellows coming up after us here in the Loop, they're big soccer guys, so they'll. They'll keep you all up to date of anything that might come out between now and then. So I've been saying for the different shows I've been. Been in on here in recent weeks, I keep making the case, and I'll make the case again here, that I think the Texans should be, if not the favorite of the afc, one of, I would say, top three. And yet in the betting odds, they're tied for six right now. And if you had. If you polled people, I don't think they're putting the Texans in the top three best teams in the AFC going into this year. And so I bring all this up because the Athletic put out an article last week at the end of the. At the end of last week of the biggest remaining questions for all 32 NFL teams. And I don't know, Seth, if you and Sean had gone through this on air, but then the Athletic doubled down by coming out with another article of, okay, of these biggest questions, what are the biggest concerns for the upcoming year and they chose four teams or four concerns as the biggest. And one was the Houston Texans was one of their biggest concerns of if the offense is going to be improved enough this year. So of the teams the athletic was most concerned about the, they put the Cardinals, the commanders, the Dolphins and the Texans. It's almost like a Sesame street question where one of these things is not like the other.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, I was really well and even the commanders, though, the commanders are in that conversation where you could see it going, you could see it being better than, you know, way better than expected if some things work out or whatever. But throwing like the, to act like the four biggest questions have anything to do with the Dolphins or the Cardinals. I don't, I don't get or understand that at all. When it's not on anybody's mind really, other than when they have to compile articles about 32 teams that okay, this is all right. Like is this how quickly can the Dolphins rookies contribute?

[Brandon Scott]

Cool.

[Seth Payne]

Will the turnaround be two years or three years? We don't know and nobody really cares. Can the Cardinals defense be any better? Maybe it's not going to make him a good football team. They can't, they can't get their starting quarterback, Jacoby Brissette to report to OTAs.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, yeah. And as they said, the phrasing alarmed about these four situations listed in order of severity. And the Texans are number one. So at least for the athletic or this writer, his biggest concern heading into the season is the Texans and if the offense is going to be good enough. And this is the point I've been trying to make on these airwaves here in recent weeks is I don't get this whole idea that when you look at the afc, I think there's far bigger questions or concerns for some of the other top teams in the afc. And just just to run through them real quick, the Ravens and the Bills both have not only new head coaches but first time head coaches. And we have not had first time head coaches win a Super bowl since the 1980s. It's only happened twice and it hasn't happened since 1989. So when you talk about the Ravens and the Bills are the two favorites right now, betting favorites at least to win the AFC they would do something that we don't see very often of first, not first year like of Mike Rabel, but first time head coaches having that much success.

[Seth Payne]

Well, and I think with the Bills too, it's, they're almost, they're in that category where when people talk about them, I Feel like they kind of just fly by some of the issues that they've had for the last couple years and make it all about Josh Allen and whether or not he has the support and his, you know, the receivers to make something happen. They like they have one of the best running backs in the league and James Cook, but you do have like your offensive coordinator becoming the head coach for the first time. It's not like the offense was. It's not like the offense felt like, okay, yeah, this is what makes it through a playoff run. This is the kind of just that grind it out, we're going to destroy you no matter what because we have so many different options. It was still largely a lot of hero ball by Josh Allen that was going to determine whether or not they were good as an offense. And I don't, I don't feel like just adding DJ Moore all of a sudden just flips the script that much. I, you know, I don't think it's the same as getting a younger Stefan Diggs in there and all of a sudden completely transforming the offense. And then the fact that they've got a brand new defensive coordinator with still a lot of questions in their secondary that they've had for years now, but also losing some of their best pass rushers like the. There's a good chance that the Bill's defense is actually worse this year than they were last year.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, for sure. There's a good chance Joe Brady doesn't know what he's doing or even that the offense suffers. If he's going to continue to try to call plays and now be a head coach. There's just, there's a lot of questions. I think that's a bigger question than the Texan scenario. I think even the Ravens new offensive coordinator, first time head coach, those are bigger questions elsewhere. Go ahead.

[Seth Payne]

You know, the Ravens, The Ravens are kind of. I noticed this with the Saints. When Peyton left, people kept talking about the Saints like they were the same organization. You would see people write two years after Peyton was gone, they would write things like, well, it seems like the Saints always have a way of figuring out how to may be relevant at the end of the year. Like, yeah, but yeah, Undershot. What the hell are you talking about? It's. Sean Payton was a huge part of that. Not to mention Drew Brees. I don't know what you're talking about with the Ravens. I feel there's a little bit of that going on where people are talking about the Ravens organization as if, as if, like Harbaugh is still there and that they're going to operate the same, that they're always going to have that, that same blend of competitive type players and everything. Maybe out of respect to the Ravens personnel department, but, but having a new head coach is, is kind of a big deal. And it's not as simple as, oh yeah, the Ravens will just operate the way they've always operated.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, absolutely. I'm with you. I like the comparison to Sean Payton and the Saints. So those are the two teams that are considered the favorites. I'm surprised because I think they have bigger questions. Meanwhile, if you look elsewhere in the afc, the Chiefs should always be up there in the conversation. I get that. But we do have Mahomes coming off an entry for a team that hasn't been top 15 in offense the last three years. And I know the idea here we're talking about like the top teams in the AFC or winning the afc. But I would also, taking it a step further, tell you that no quarterback has ever won a Super bowl coming off a torn acl. And you have Mahomes doing that. Now, look, there's ever a guy to do it, it's Mahomes. But my point being, if you want to talk about who has the greater concern or who has the bigger question, maybe I'm being a homer, but I think Mahomes coming off this injury and what you're going to get from him this year might be a bigger question or concern than whatever we're talking about with the Texans and their offense. Maybe I'm crazy. I don't know.

[Seth Payne]

Well, no, and I think that's. This is one of those scenarios where if you pull the Chiefs fan base, I feel like the, the, this might be one of those scenarios where the Chiefs fan base feels like national media is being too nice to the Chiefs, that they're ignoring the fact that, okay, depending on Rasheed Rice to be your, your bulwark at wide receiver has been kind of a dicey proposition over the last few years. Xavier Worthy hasn't really turned into what they hoped and that it doesn't feel like they've done a whole lot to address all of that. That, that there's there's a, there's a certain amount of just respect for Mahomes and the Chief's logo that just seems to assume that. Of course, while, yeah, with a, with a relatively healthy Mahomes, they'll be just fine. No, they weren't. They weren't just fine when Mahomes got injured last year. They haven't been just fine for a while now. They've like, they've been kind of scrapping it together and relying on their defense as much or more so than their offense for the last couple of years. They were in the Super Bowl.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, I'm, I'm with you. And so, you know, I think there's some concerns. There are some bigger questions there. Again, this all comes from the idea that the athletic athletics said their biggest concerns concern is with the Texans. The Texans are, is the number one team in the league where they're most concerned about when it comes to a specific issue for that team elsewhere in the afc, the Patriots. I'll be honest, the Patriots might be my weakest argument, but it's just the fact that it seems like they overachieved last year. They had the easiest schedule. They had a pretty easy walk in the playoffs. Teams oftentimes might struggle to get back there the following year. Plus, you throw in the Rossini and Vrabel things, schedule is going to be tougher this year. Teams might figure out Drake may a little bit more. It might not be my strongest argument, but I think most people are expecting the Patriots to take a step back. And yet right now, currently they have better odds in the AFC than the Texans.

[Seth Payne]

They have the, the Patriots are an interesting one because they had by a lot of respects and DVOA and everything, it was one of the easiest schedules in the history of football, in the history of modern football. And yet they did, they did have some good offensive performances versus some of the good defenses on their schedule. And that it almost, it feels so much like, like we're in the college football rankings argument. You know, where you're talking about, like, I don't ever remember talking about strength, strength of schedule as much as we did with the Patriots last year in the NFL. It felt, it felt like college football. I think the biggest thing for the Patriots would be that one like, okay, you bring in A.J. brown, great. But let's not pretend like Stefon Diggs wasn't a big part of what they did last year. And then A.J. brown is, he's not old at all, but that it's been, he's, he's, he's a couple years removed from when he was at his scariest that I don't think it's as simple as saying, oh, well, A.J. brown is a clear upgrade over Stefon Diggs, especially when you're dealing with a young quarterback. But that also, like, you know, it's not, we don't know for sure that Will Campbell is actually a good left tackle. Like, he had injuries that were an excuse for last year, but he was just. He was disgustingly bad in the playoffs. And whether it's his tiny little elfin arms or whether it was because he was injured or whatever else it might be, if they don't get their own line figured out and operating better, it's real hard. We've seen this with CJ Stroud. It's hard to replicate some of that early success if your offensive line is getting worse year by year.

[Luke Morrow]

Absolutely. Yeah. I have a lot of questions about the Patriots trying to duplicate their success this year. Other teams that are right now considered better than the Texans who I think might have bigger questions. The Denver Broncos is another one where new offensive coordinator has never called plays before. Now, granted, Sean Payton's there to look over his shoulder, but then you also have a quarterback coming off an injury. And I just told you a moment ago, no quarterback has won a Super bowl coming off, you know, an ACL or the lower leg injuries like that that caused them to miss eight to nine months. So you have a quarterback who. I still have questions about Bo Nix. Now you throw in the injury. Now you throw in a new play caller. I put them right there, if not higher than the Texans, of teams in the AFC that I think I have more concerns about or more questions.

[Seth Payne]

You know, what's funny is it's not funny for Bo Nix, but it's funny for me. During that Broncos game, he, when he got injured early in the game, they'd run some, you know, some design QB runs and some genuine zone reads type stuff like that. And I was texting with one of my friends who coaches high school football now, but he was in the. Drew Hodginey, he was an NFL offensive lineman. And I said, you know, like, why is it these NFL coaches will. They'll have a lot of success with designed QB runs early in the game, and then they just move so drastically away from them in the second half. And he was like, I know it's frustrating. And I guess, like, the only thing I can guess is it really is. They're just genuinely worried about. They want to get as much bang for the buck out of it, but they're worried about the quarterback getting injured. And then lo and behold, Bo Nix gets injured running the ball. And did he get injured at the end of the fourth quarter or in overtime? It was on that overtime series that they ended up scoring, whatever it was. Yeah, he gets injured now. He's still. Still a relative Question mark. Even though he participated in OTAs and everything that I. People don't feel rock solid, 100% confident that he's, that he's going to be 100%.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah. That was such a weird one. Honestly, I don't remember. Because they won the game. You had no idea that it was an injury like that. And then as you're celebrating this win, Sean Payton at the podium's like, oh, by the way, bro, Bo Nix just whatever. Broke his foot, whatever. It was like he's out for the rest of the playoffs. It's like, wait, what? It was such a roller coaster. It was so strange. I didn't, you know, you didn't realize watching the game that he suffered such a severe injury.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

And wasn't going to be available the following week. The final team I'll reference here that is considered to be better than the Texans on paper is the Chargers. And look, Mike McDaniel might be a home run, but they have two new coordinators. I still have plenty of questions about Justin Herbert myself. I put him in the same category as CJ Stroud, plus new coordinators. And Mike McDaniel. Call me a hater. I think he's still kind of living on the whole Shanahan thing of he wasn't calling the plays with Shanahan, but just because he was with Shanahan in San Francisco, he's considered this like mad genius.

[Seth Payne]

You know what it. I think with him, I think the post mortem on Tuatanga Violoa's career and I know he's still, he might be a starter this year, but I'll say the post mortem on his, on his Dolphins career is really now it's turned into. Okay, you know what, that early success was all a whole lot of Tyree kill and Mike McDaniel and them scheming him to be the best version that Tua Tunga Bailoa could be. So that's, that's going to be really interesting because you just don't like, that's the only instance you've seen with him as a, as an offensive coordinator on a new team that is he going to add something to the mix that makes Justin Herbert the best version of himself? I think it's very, very possible. But Justin Herbert also, like who is making, oh, I saw Quincy Avery making this point. Somebody like, hey look, you know who had four interceptions and a really, really bad playoff performance on the road was Justin Herbert. And yet here we are three years later and people aren't clamoring for you Know Justin Herbert, people aren't talking like Justin Herbert's the biggest disappointment in all the league. And that does put things into context a little bit. As bad as CJ's performance was that. Yeah, okay, yeah. Peyton Manning through four interceptions in a playoff performance, once you got to, you got to try to temper it a little bit and see what happens this year.

[Luke Morrow]

I said Friday during the radio thon. Yeah. I think Herbert, for whatever reason he's just like Teflon. People still say he's like a top five quarterback this and that. He's been lousy in the biggest games of his career. If you look up the numbers, he's not good when trailing in the fourth quarter or two minute drills. Like he's not a clutch quarterback.

[Seth Payne]

He loses a lot of post games. The last couple of years he's been managed and just not even throwing the football all that much for large stretches.

[Luke Morrow]

Right. And yet people are so like, ah, top five quarterback or certainly at least top ten just based off like potential and skill set. So anyways, my point being I was surprised that another publication, in this case the Athletic, ranked the Texans number one on their list. And maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here, but they race. They ranked the Texans number one on their list of, of situations that they are most concerned about. And for the Texans it was about their offense. And as I just tried to lay out, I think you can make the case for just about every other team that we think or people think is better than the Texans in the afc. I think they have larger, if not equal concerns than the Texans.

[Seth Payne]

It's, I mean so much of it revolves around C.J. stroud. It's this time of year where people are writing so many articles about all 32 teams. And it's a lot of stuff like this biggest question, biggest X factor, biggest that. I mean it's, it's all C.J. stroud.

[Andre Ware]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And I mean understandably and justifiably so, but it just, my God, we can't get to real football soon enough. Or at least that first, that one series that CJ plays in the first, first preseason game, if that where we read everything into it based on that one series against vanilla defenses and a bunch of backups. Yes. Does he look like he could win a Super Bowl?

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

It's going to be the Shroud super bowl himself. We'll see. So yeah, that's, that's, that's my point. This team was. The Texans should have been in the super bowl last year if they just got average quarterback play and yet everyone's talking about, you know, we're putting them in the same conversation here in this article as the the Dolphins and the Commanders and the Cardinals. Let's relax. So there's some audio too that I wanted to get to. We'll try to get to it next, including from Aaron Shots who might agree with with the case I was just making. But also I want to get to this when we come back. Andre Ware was on the radio thon. He was on these airwaves Friday with Reggie and Ron helping them raise a bunch of money as they did. But he had he gave his thoughts on CJ Stroud, the struggles for Stroud in this offense. And so we'll hear from the quarterback Andre Warehouse next here on Pain and Pendergast.

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[Luke Morrow]

youe Mother is a rewatch podcast that looks back episode by episode at the hit TV show How I Met yout Mother. It's hosted by me, Josh Radner along with series co creator Craig Thomas. In seasons one and two we were joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Bryan Cranston, Ashley Williams, Wayne Brady, Jenna

[Seth Payne]

Fisher and Angela Kinsey, Joe Manganiello and

[Luke Morrow]

my brilliant co creator Carter Bayes. And now we are diving into season three. So whether it's your 50th rewatch or your first time through, follow How We Made youe Mother wherever you get your podcasts. What did Andre Ware have to say about CJ Stroud and the Texans offense? We'll find out here in just a moment on Paine and Pendergast. I'm Luke Morrow in for Sean Seth Payne's alongside of course. Appreciate you starting the week with us 713-572-4610 on the text line and join the conversation anytime or you can get to us in the YouTube and Twitch chats as well. This audio that we're gonna play from Andre in a moment comes from the Radio Thon on Friday, the Reggie and Ron Radio Thon benefiting the Houston Food Bank. And so Props to those guys for the great work they did on the air for 12 hours to raise a bunch of money. I believe. I didn't see a final number. I believe close to the third to $30,000. So.

[Seth Payne]

Okay. Yeah, I couldn't. I didn't. I wasn't listening at the end of the show, so I didn't know. And they were waiting for maybe some of the auction items and everything to finalize.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, I didn't hear the end either, but I believe it. It was nearly 30,000.

[Seth Payne]

So they started out last year in the inaugural one. Their. Their goal was $5,000, I think. So the listeners have done an incredible job.

[Luke Morrow]

Absolutely. Yeah. Both years. And I was just trying to look online. Well, first, by the way. So I came in in the afternoon, and I hung out with them for a little bit, and they said, man, you know, I asked, like, how you guys holding up? Because at that point, it was like after two o'.

[Brandon Scott]

Clock.

[Luke Morrow]

They'd been on the air for eight hours, and they said, well, you know, it's a pretty easy start. We had Seth for two hours. Then we had John Harris for an hour. Like, it didn't feel like we had to do anything until the fourth hour of the day. So they. They got quite a head start. And they meant that, of course, in the best possible way of hopping on with you fellas in the morning. So. But I was just trying to look online. I'm curious what the final bids were for the dinners. I know.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, I know. Sean and I went for, like, $4,700. I think we were the high watermark on that.

[Luke Morrow]

You guys were the leaders.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Andre Ware]

Okay.

[Luke Morrow]

That's what I wanted to see, because I know Sean was talking about that, wanting to be number one. So I was curious.

[Seth Payne]

I enjoy these dinners that I do for charity because I get to text my mom and say, hey, I'm doing something. Sorry, Mom, I can't talk. Tonight. I'm doing a charity event for the Houston Food Bank. I'm really going to. I'm going to go out and have dinner bought for me and drinks bought for me and by people that donated a bunch of money to the. The. Well, Krava's donates the. For us. It's going to be. Krav is donating the meal and the drinks and everything. But I. But I do it for. You know, I do it because I'm a good person. That's. That's how I. That's how I give.

[Luke Morrow]

Absolutely.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

I get it.

[Seth Payne]

It's like, Kirby, seriously, I know. Thank you everybody who donated. That was for sure.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, on the text line somebody said it was 24,000, so. So I mean I should know being in the building, I should have the exact number. But I'll be honest with you, I apologize. I don't know the exact number. Either way, it was a ton of money and it goes to a great cause with the, with the Houston Food Bank. So I, yeah, I hung out with them a little bit in the afternoon and they're like, oh, Andre Ware's coming on. And I was like, okay, well then I better get out of here. I don't need to, I don't need to linger when you have a star like Andre Ware hanging out. But they asked Andre about CJ Shroud and the offense and what he thought about everything we've seen from the Texans offense. So here's what Andre Ware had to say during the radio thon on Friday about the Texans quarterback and offense.

[Andre Ware]

I think it's the offensive scheme change and with that, bear with me. I went through three, I think it was three offensive coordinators in four years when I was at, when I was in Detroit. You talk about a young player that, that's tough. And so I think he's experiencing some of that. And yeah, he's a pro. Yeah, he said. But he hadn't been in it long enough to have played in a couple of offenses where you say, okay, this matches with this. I think under Slowik the first two years they made a, an effort to get him some of the stuff that he was comfortable with at Ohio State. And so we saw arguably his best season his first year there. And then when you start the changes and the switching of terminology, it's like starting all over again. And so it's like starting a job for most listeners where you don't have a lot of experience in that job and you're kind of learning on the, on the job, so to speak. And I think that's exactly what he, what he went through last year at times. There were times even early in the season when the team started rolling on that nine game winning streak that he just didn't look himself. And I think it's the offensive scheme and until he gets comfortable in it and until they give him some stuff that he wants, then you might, the struggle may continue a little while.

[Seth Payne]

And that's I think where again, going back to having a first time offense coordinator working with a young quarterback, there can be drawbacks and there can be benefits. I think you don't always see the benefits all that quickly necessarily because the offensive coordinator is figuring things out alongside the young quarterback. You know, if it does work out, then over time they'll have kind of built up this common knowledge base between the two of them. But if you, if you think about what the Patriots were able to do last year with Drake May young quarterback, new offensive coordinator. But the coordinator is Josh McDaniels. And Josh McDaniels did a lot of what Andre Ware was just talking about. Okay. Like what can we do that Drake May is comfortable doing now? We're not going to try to have him, you know, learn the whole syllabus right off the bat that, you know, presumably Josh McDaniels has more experience doing that with more young quarterbacks. And I'm not just talking about Tom Brady. And that it stands to reason that it would be a smoother process because a guy has some experience with Kaylee. The like, you got to gain that experience somewhere. But like all the, I think as it is with CJ a lot of the excuses for Kaylee being a first time coordinator last year, you can't you give him a one year grace period and okay, now you're in my eyes, you're a veteran quarterback and you're a veteran offensive coordinator. Figure it out. And please, I don't want to hear any about any more of these growing pains.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah. Which, which I think is fair. And by the way, Andre told the a good story about when he was in Detroit and they had the offensive line coach would call the run plays and he was like down on the field, I think it was. And the wide receiver coach would call the pass plays and he was up in the press box. So whenever the coach wanted a run play, he'd go to this coach. Pass play, this coach. And Andre was like, I, I, it was no wonder we struggle. Like, I don't, I've never heard of a team doing that else. And Andre was obviously a young quarterback at the time and he said it was a ridiculous setup. So obviously he comes from a place of experience and expertise and, and knows what it's like to change these different systems and whatnot. But I, I think that's fair for this past year.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

But I still wonder if like, what about the drop off from year one to year two where that was the same system. I feel like this only answers half of the concern because I feel like Stroud's been on a decline since year one and Kaylee hasn't been here for, you know, this was just the first year with Nikkale So I get why that would be challenging this past season of changing offense and learning on the fly and all that sort of stuff. But wasn't, wasn't some of these concerns already starting even before Kaylee came in?

[Seth Payne]

No. Yeah, you're, it's, you're, it's, it's 100%. One of the things that kind of gets lost in the wash is that right now I'm seeing a lot of people that are making arguments for Stroud and like good arguments or solid arguments for Stroud, but they do kind of just gloss over as they, as they all talk about, I'm not talking about Andre, I'm talking about some of the other people. Like they don't kind of gloss over this last year by saying, well, there's a lot new and there's a lot of change and everything. But without bringing up that, okay, yeah, in year two of being in the same offense, he didn't look as good. I think a lot of that going back to having a young offensive coordinator going into the second year. Both CJ and Bobby Slowik talked at the beginning of that year about how they're probably going to start seeing a lot of coverages that are trying to take away the deep shots. And we got to have answers for that. The problem was they didn't have any answers for it. And one of the things that you're supposed to be able to do when teams are trying to take away the deep ball is that you should be able to run the ball pretty consistently. And they weren't able to do that. They couldn't do it versus light boxes. They certainly couldn't do it versus heavy boxes. Like, they just, they, they were incapable of taking what the defense gives them. And that's where on Slowik, whether it was Slowik's faults or the offensive lines faults or CJ's faults or whatever, they just, they weren't going to be able to operate going into year two. I kept telling Sean I would have to keep stopping whenever anybody would say, like, hey, everybody thinks that the offense is going to be good this year, I'll say, no, I don't. I need to see that they can run the ball. If they can't run the ball because they couldn't run the ball effectively in the first year. If they can't run the ball effectively in year two, it's not going to be a good offense. And that's a huge part of what the issue was in year two. Even with Joe Mixon sometimes having 100 plus yard games, those hundred yard games were still not good. Rushing attacks, like it weren't, they weren't, you know, continually just moving the sticks methodically. It was a whole lot of feast or famine. So I mean that's the. But you're also, you're in year four now and like nobody's got an appetite for after this year saying like oh yeah, but it was only a second year in the offense. Yeah. Or hey, the offensive line wasn't adequate. Like they've got to, they've got to figure it out this year or heads will roll.

[Luke Morrow]

Luke Morrow it's true. It's true. I'm with you 100%. I liked when I heard you in on Friday on the with the radio thon I heard the point you making of and I would now use it to ask you a question of like what if they are able to run it early in the season but then the offense is still struggling or not quite clicking like then what do we say or where do we go from there?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. No, and that's exactly how like a lot of the people that I respect that watch a lot of film and it's people are bullish on CJ Stroud. If you talk about like Nate Tice or Robert Mays, some of these guys that they cover the whole league and they watch a lot of film and they know what they're talking about, they'll routinely bring up the lack of a run game for CJ and that's what the Texans did this year. They addressed that very heavily. They want to have a better rushing attack. Everybody's kind of talked their way into an either or scenario here where it's that hey, if they have a good rushing game, then we're predicting that C.J. is going to look like the best version of himself. If they have a good rushing attack and CJ doesn't look like a better quarterback, then that's where the real like the real hardcore doubt and skepticism is going to come in from outside of Houston. There's plenty of healthy skepticism inside of Houston right now. I think there's a lot of people on the outside that are kind of just in wait and see mode with CJ Stroud. But I think it's all built up to this being the year that man, if they actually did get everything in place and you don't look more like you did your rookie year, then we got to have some super serious conversations.

[Luke Morrow]

I referenced earlier some Aaron shots audio. We'll save that for tomorrow because I think there's some good stuff there and even from Kevin Clark. So call that a tease. We'll get back to that tomorrow. And also just to do a little housekeeping as people pointed out. Yeah, I saw the photo. I didn't even look at the number they in terms of I was wondering earlier how much money was raised for the Radio Thon. They have posted the photo, the big check online and I saw that photo but I never zoomed in. So they did raise 24,000 for the radio Thon. So great job done by certainly Reggie, Ron and everyone else that chipped in to help out the Houston Food Bank. Coming up, we'll catch up with the fellas from in the Loop. And also, we have to get to this story before we run out of time today, but Brandon Aiyuk continues to cause mayhem over the weekend. We'll talk about that next year. Payne and Pendergast I'm Hannah.

[Seth Payne]

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[Seth Payne]

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[Luke Morrow]

Pain and Pender Gas with you here wrapping up the Monday morning, getting set to hand things off to the fellows of in the Loop, which today is Brandon Scott, Chris Partee. We'll catch up with them in a few moments. I'm Luke Morrow, in for Sean alongside Seth Payne here on this Monday. Hope you had a great July 4th weekend, Seth. I know you guys have been tracking this Brandon Aiyuk story as it's been unfolding.

[Seth Payne]

It's yes, yeah, unraveling whatever the Hell's going on with Brandon Iuk? Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

And he poured I guess more gasoline onto the fire with some sort of video over the weekend.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. So the latest video, which I think this was after our show on Friday, I think this was, was on Saturday or something. It's Brandon Iuk drinking from a drinking glass that has some kind of red drink in it. Is it grape juice? Is it wine? It wasn't quite purpley necessarily, but it was. I don't know what the drink was, but play this clip the very beginning. What he says was 5, 5 gonna text me talking about something. He's presumably talking about Jaden Daniels since he has Jaden Daniels tagged in this Instagram post.

[Brandon Scott]

Probably gonna text me talking about something. You on my team now. You follow my rules,

[Seth Payne]

boy.

[Brandon Scott]

I'm a grown ass man, boy. You gonna have to stop running behind your mama. And I might believe what you talking about. But until then.

[Seth Payne]

So yeah, yeah, calling, calling Jaden Daniels a mama's boy. I don't know. But Jaden Daniels had a couple things that happened this weekend. Somebody said something disparaging and cut Jayden Daniels out in public. Said something nasty about Brandon Aiuk and Jaden Daniels laughed at it. Brandon Aiyuk released this post. Jaden Daniels unfollowed Brandon Aiuk on Instagram, then also gave a thumbs down meme. At some point. Point is my zoom just put a rain cloud over my head.

[Luke Morrow]

I haven't seen that one.

[Seth Payne]

So this has got.

[Andre Ware]

This is.

[Seth Payne]

This seems to be the moment where Brandon Ayuk has been acting like it's a foregone conclusion that he's going to end up with the commanders at some point. The commanders have said nothing about it. Jaden Daniels has said nothing about it. Nobody. Nobody. The 49ers can't even cut Brandon Iuk until he files his reinstatement paper work. So he's the Brandon Iuk is the one who's holding all of this up by just not even cooperating with the process whatsoever. It felt like this weekend was the first time where I saw a lot of people say, oh wow, he just actually doesn't even want to play football. Or he's so he's so far gone in whatever his mental state is right now that it's hard to envision him playing for an NFL team this year.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, that's, that's, that's my thought it might be unfair but like I had thoughts like it almost reminds me like Antonio Brown of just like self sabotage. And you're wondering like what is going on with this guy or what is he thinking and whatnot. And I don't know what the. The future will hold for IUK at this point, but it's. It's almost like someone trying to ruin their relationship to go be with somebody else. Like, I'm talking romantically.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

And then that other person, you get to the, like, you see it play out in movies all the time where somebody might have an affair and then they, like, they leave their significant other and then they go to the other person like, oh, like, no, I'm not interested. I don't want you. Or I don't want relationship. And he just ruined everything and you got nowhere to go. And like, Ayuk is burning this bridge with the Niners and now apparently, for whatever reason, with the commanders. He was college teammates, right? With Jane and Daniels. They were.

[Seth Payne]

They were supposedly best friends, except Jaden. Like, you know how this goes. You've got. You got friends from high school or friends from college, and then all of a sudden, for the first time, they pop up on Facebook or something and you're like, whoa, this. This has taken a. His life has taken a turn. And boy, I did. I wasn't expecting to have to read his 4000 word manifesto this morning on Facebook. I feel like he's like, brandon Iuk is your. Your buddy from college that is now writing manifestos and you just, okay, we might not have the same relationship we used to. I don't. I think, honestly, I'm glad you brought up Antonio Brown, because Antonio Brown is the classic scenario where you'd say, well, gosh, he. What did he do? What did he say to the G. What did he say to Mike Mayock with the Raiders? And then. Then he gets cut by the Patriots. And you think, all right, well, this has got to be it for. For Antonio Brown, right? Nope. He goes and wins the super bowl with the Bucks. The. So I'm always hesitant to say, well, a guy can't come back from this. If a guy has talent, there's going to be teams that are going to entertain the notion Brandon Iuk isn't as good as Antonio Brown was. But I think that. I think that he would have an opportunity regardless of everything that's happened right now. If all of a sudden today he started cooperating with the 49ers, he took care of the outstanding warrant that he has in California, like, if he cleared the path. I don't. I don't. My guess is that he actually doesn't want to play football. Like, if he is Unless he's completely out of his mind right now. Everything that he's doing is conducting himself in a way where it feels like he just. He's done with football and he's been kind of just having fun with this commander's dynamic. But that nothing that he's been doing or saying publicly should make the commanders feel good about bringing him into their organization.

[Luke Morrow]

No, certainly I would be hesitant if I was any organization of dealing with him right now. It's. It's a strange situation. And you laid out three scenarios earlier off air of like, you know, what's going on? Is this just. Ayuk. Being crazy? Is this being crazy with a scheme in mind? Or like you just said, is this simply a guy that doesn't want to play football anymore?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I think that. Okay, so those are the three. The three possible scenarios are a, he's crazy, B, he's crazy like a fox, or C, he just is done with football, and this is how he's acting out and doing it. I think it's hard to separate. Number one, he's just crazy, and number three, he just doesn't want to play football anymore because it's. Even. Even if he didn't want to play football anymore, there's better ways to go about it than what he's doing right now. I mean, there's a chance if he keeps pushing this any further, the 49ers could start trying to claw back, you know, money they've already paid him that he might end up being responsible for paying back. So I. I think he's just. I think he's in a. I think he's in a rough place emotionally somewhere, because nothing. Nothing that he's doing, even if he's trying to force the 49ers hand, really makes a whole lot of sense right now.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah. I don't get it. I would take the first option of those three scenarios. I think he's just crazy, and I use that term loosely, but I just think, like, he's not in the right mindset. I don't know if he realizes the exact scenario or situation or who holds the cards and what he needs to do and whatnot. I think he's just kind of out of his mind, so to speak.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I mean, the biggest and the weirdest part about it is he's just gone MIA from first the team and then, I mean, even him in claiming that he'd fired his agent, like that the paperwork hadn't been filed at that point that he had fired his agent. I don't know if, like, are we aware, had he even been in communication with his agent to tell him he was fired? We have no idea. Because most of the people involved with this, from the 49ers to the commanders, are just, they're trying to stay as hands off as possible and just say, look, man, whatever he's doing, whatever he's doing, we're going to just try to handle our business internally.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, I know you guys have mentioned it before, but yeah, if I'm the commanders, I'm like, leave me out of this. We have nothing to do with this. We're not associated with this guy.

[Seth Payne]

That's a whole. I mean, because even, even if they signed him, if they, if the 49ers caught him and they signed him, there's gonna be some kind of an inquiry or some kind of investigation about tampering and then is it like, so as an organization via the Commanders, you can say if you're the gm, okay, look, I haven't tampered with them. We're fine. But you don't know what other people in your organization may or may not have done. So now you're put in a situation where you almost have to do. If you want to bring like, let's say Jaden Daniels hypothetically still wanted Brandon Aiyuk on the team, you got to do an internal audit before you can even make that, make that move. Because if, if one of your assistant coaches ended up having a text conversation or something with Jaden Daniels about something that's going to come under scrutiny. All this stuff that you just, it makes it really, really difficult for the commanders to operate. Like, oh, yeah, we're just picking this guy up off of waivers or not off of waivers.

[Luke Morrow]

As a free agent, say IUK becomes available, would you have any interest in him coming to Houston?

[Seth Payne]

I take him in the bill? I would, I'd have a meeting with him. I just. Who knows? You just never know until somebody puts their side of it out there. I guess I would, I would have a meeting with him. But then the other thing is, are you like, what's the contract going to look like? Because I don't want to give him any guaranteed money whatsoever. It's got to be all incentive laden. And it doesn't like, does anything that Brandon, I use been doing as of late look like a guy that's. That's ready to say, oh yeah, I get, I get, I get the damage that I've done and I'm going to sign nothing but an incentive laden contract.

[Luke Morrow]

Also a good point. Yeah, I don't think that would probably be likely. Some of the feedback coming in somebody said I think he's done with football. I just don't think it matters whether he wants to play or not. Another person said I don't think IUK or they said no way I you plays another down of football. Also saying we don't have a Tom Brady who can vouch for him like an Antonio Brown or let him come in and move with him so he might not get the opportunities that an Antonio Brown got.

[Seth Payne]

The most annoying thing that I've seen in just looking at the replies to some of these posts and everything is that there's a lot of people out there for one Commander's fans, Commanders fans for a long time were saying that it's this is all the 49ers fault. They don't know what they're doing with them. Us the Washington Commanders Avera much more a much more prestigious organization as of late where we know how to handle Brandon Iuk and we'll he's this is all just maneuvering because they've treated him unfairly. Those guys have kind of fallen by the wayside. There are a lot of people that are saying, oh no, this is just Jaden Daniels and Brandon Aiyuk playing with each other. Like kind of just putting up a work on social media.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

All right, cool. Is that is that really the way do you really want your quarterback to be engaging in stuff like this a month before the NFL season begins that your your explanation for it isn't the explanation you should want to be given? I don't. I would highly doubt that Jaden Daniels is just saying like, yeah, let's have fun with social media in this highly volatile personality right now.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, that's fair. It's fair. That would be interesting if this was almost like a wrestling. Yeah. Wrestling work and they're just trying to drum up attention. Hey, I tell you what, this time of year as like radio hosts, we would appreciate it, but it doesn't seem like something Jaden Daniels, a franchise quarterback, would concern himself with because I don't know if there's any winners in this whole scenario.

[Seth Payne]

That's all. And if you think about Stefan Diggs when he came in, you know, people had all kinds of speculation about what he was as a player and everything. I think like we saw man from a football context inside the locker room on the field and everything. He was everything you would want from a veteran player. And that's what a lot of people that knew Stefon Diggs told us we should expect I. With Brandon Aiyuk. You're not going to. Nobody's saying that, you know, like, nobody's saying like, oh yeah, he's going to come in and he's going to remember early in his career Kyle Shanahan had to have some conversations with him about his work ethic and how he practiced and all of that. Like, that's not. He doesn't have the reputation Stefan Diggs does as being a workaholic and guy that, you know, operates a certain way as a receiver. So bringing a veteran guy like that into that room of young receivers, it would, it would have to be only under the. The perfect scenario for me to be comfortable with them doing that with, with the Texans.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, it makes sense too. I'm with you on that.

[Seth Payne]

We can bring mentioned, you know, like again, he's another guy that's he's played in Shanahan system and having to transition into a different way of operating and everything. That's might be more of a leap for him than, than you realize at the beginning.

[Luke Morrow]

We can bring in the, the fellows of in the Loop as crosstalk sponsored by DNM Auto Leasing and today, that's Brandon Scott. Chris Partee. What's up fellas? How are you?

[Brandon Scott]

I feel like the guy needs an intervention first.

[Luke Morrow]

Right.

[Brandon Scott]

Like I want, he needs something. I don't want any parts of Brandon iu. Like I, I'm actually, if I care, like if I was somebody in his life who cared about him, I would be really concerned about his mental health and stability. Yeah, but as a football fan or as the fan of a team, I don't, I don't want any parts of that. We just talked about this before the show. I think that's part of the issue. He doesn't have the right people around him talking to him.

[Luke Morrow]

I don't.

[Seth Payne]

You know what, Chris? I always, I'm always reluctant to say that because. Yeah, because some people just, there's no talking to.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know, have you ever been asked to talk to a young f family member? Like, hey, can you talk some sense into him?

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And I'm like, probably not, but I'll try. It's like he's a 17 year old boy.

[Brandon Scott]

What was my response to you, Chris, when you said that? I was like, that's true. He seemed like he don't listen. And here's the thing. I may have been that young family member at one point in my life.

[Seth Payne]

So I did it.

[Brandon Scott]

Seth, I get what you're saying. I totally understand.

[Seth Payne]

It's kind of like the. It's the. The Johnny Manziel dynamic where he's railing against all the people who should have been helping him. I don't know. These. Those people found ways to help a lot of other young men that listen to their advice. Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

So. So we don't know if he listens. Is he still good? Can he still play?

[Seth Payne]

George Kittle says he still looks impressive physically, but then he also said, have fun with all of that. Yeah, exactly.

[Ana Garcia]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah, that's. That seems like one you want to stay away from. He. He sounds like he's talked himself out of the league. Like, I believe that. I don't see a place for him really.

[Ana Garcia]

Talking.

[Brandon Scott]

Talking and acting as erratically as he has. On top of the, you know, the health and. And production situation like he does, it just doesn't seem to be a lot of upside. Right.

[Seth Payne]

You know what I mean? A similar situation would be, hey, the Texans brought in CJ Gardner Johnson, and they did that with their eyes wide open. They. They knew why. He hadn't spent more than a year with anybody since. Since he left the Saints. And I think the key there is always that you got to know when to pull the cord, you know, on an experiment like that, and it's got to be for the right amount of money. I'm open for any and all experiments. When it comes to character issues, I mean, within reason. You know, it's not like. It's not like he's accused of a violent crime or anything.

[Cade Courtley]

No.

[Seth Payne]

So if you can get him in at very, very low risk, as long as you're willing to pull the cord, the moment that you realize you have to bail on the thing, I'm. I'm always cool with that. I'm very skeptical that this would be the situation, that the Texans would do it.

[Andre Ware]

I.

[Seth Payne]

That, and I'm not eager for it or anything, but I'm open to it.

[Brandon Scott]

Yeah. For as many doubts as I have about the Texans offense, and I think that even their weapons have something to prove, at least the pecking order outside of Nico Collins, like, I'm still trying to figure out. I asked this question every time I come on the radio almost. Where are the explosive plays exactly going to come from? Are they going to have to scheme them up? Is there going to be a. A player that's going to step up and sort of emerge in that role? With. Even with all those questions, man, I don't really have a whole lot of interest in this. Like, I feel like they Got enough guys that are reliable enough, that are dependable enough, that can make plays, that can make plays to where I would. I just would not be. Now, could it be one of those found money type of situations where, you know, a depreciated asset and. Maybe, but I just. I don't see the juice being worth the squeeze there for me.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, I'm with you. I think there's questions about him to begin with, as you guys already kind of touched on just based off of performance in recent years, let alone all this off season nonsense. So keeping the tradition alive, guys, what's the question of the day today?

[Brandon Scott]

So I want to know from the audience and y' all text in 713-57-2, 4, 6, 10, and get involved on the YouTube and Twitch. In the spirit of the president stepping in for the U.S. men's National Team, I want to know your biggest, most memorable phone a friend moment. It could be a time where you phoned a friend on your own behalf, or you had to be that friend to have to be phoned A memory that you have your biggest phone a friend memory. I got a couple. I got a couple of them. But I want to hear from the audience and hear from y'.

[Andre Ware]

All.

[Seth Payne]

What y' all think my, by far, a pivotal moment in my life was when I was in. I think I was in sixth grade after a pee wee football game. We were going through the handshake line or the slap, you know, slap five line. And there was a kid from the other team who was like, being a real jerk, like, kind of like shouldering people and everything. And I saw it coming. So when he got to me, I just. I clocked him and just went to town on him. And they were. I was gonna be booted out of the league.

[Andre Ware]

Oh, wow.

[Seth Payne]

It would turn out, except that my best friend's father was. That was the commissioner of the league.

[Brandon Scott]

Ah, so.

[Seth Payne]

So you weren't going to be booted out. Yeah, he kind of talked everybody off the ledge and everything, but who knows what. Who knows where. Where the fork in the road might have led me if I hadn't. If I'd been excluded from playing football. The only outlet for my. My tendencies, such as pouncing on that stupid little bastard that. Yeah, who knows what would have happened?

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah, that's a good question. I'm looking for.

[Brandon Scott]

Great story.

[Luke Morrow]

It is a great story.

[Brandon Scott]

Like he flipped that switch. He's like, man, real fast.

[Seth Payne]

I'd like to follow up with that kid. I still hate him. I'm gonna go track him down at his place.

[Brandon Scott]

Part two. Hey, that's the rematch.

[Luke Morrow]

Do you remember who it was? Like, you know his name. You can look him up. Okay.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

Curious to try to Google him, see what he's up to.

[Brandon Scott]

Was he anywhere as large as you or, like, was he. Was it.

[Seth Payne]

He was, like, my same size. Yeah. Like, we were probably the biggest kids on the team. Oh.

[Cade Courtley]

It was.

[Seth Payne]

It was left to me to handle the business. Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

Somebody had to do it. I'm picturing that guy. It's good to know that y' all are the same size or a similar size, because I'm picturing that guy on the other side telling this same story. Like, you won't believe who clocked me

[Seth Payne]

in the sixth grade.

[Brandon Scott]

This guy that played a decade in the NFL and is 6 4. And I remember.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. I'm probably gonna get sued after this show. Somebody's gonna send this to him.

[Cade Courtley]

He probably tells that story at parties.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I would.

[Brandon Scott]

I would.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah. Except in his story, it probably went a little better for him.

[Seth Payne]

He might not have known it at the time. They wouldn't. Because I wasn't really a good football player. Like, a really, really good football player until my senior year in high school. Like, nobody really knew me all that much.

[Cade Courtley]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

Which is wild. The fact that you say that senior year of high school and then you had the NFL career.

[Seth Payne]

Right.

[Luke Morrow]

I was.

[Seth Payne]

I was a late bloomer. I grew. I grew 2 inches between my junior and senior year, and then I grew, like another inch or inch. An inch and a half in college.

[Brandon Scott]

Wow.

[Seth Payne]

So I was kind of always. It was cool, because when you're a late bloomer, the advantages. Yeah. That you. You learn to scrap. You know, like, you really. You're not.

[Brandon Scott]

Nothing's handed to you.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like, all of a sudden, you learn to be scrappy. But then by the. But then all of a sudden, you get to the. The bully size, and you're the. You're the perfect beast.

[Brandon Scott]

I'm just picturing this guy watching Seth Sack, Quincy Carter back in 2002, and he's like, man, that guy looks familiar.

[Luke Morrow]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That tall, skinny kid. Yeah,

[Luke Morrow]

it's a. It's a good question. I don't know if I have a great answer for you. I mean, being on the receiving side, it's always nice when you can, like, set up somebody with tickets because you know somebody. Since we work, like, in the sporting world.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

That's always a nice feeling. If a friend or a cousin or someone's like, hey, any chance you could score me tickets to this or whatever it is, and that's always nice. But I grew up in a pretty small town and my parents knew everybody in the town and like surrounding towns, they know everyone. So it's not an exact answer to your question, but the first thing I thought of was my driving test. I get in the car and the guy says, oh, Luke Morrow. And he says, are you related to Ted? And I said, he's my father. And he just checked off all the boxes.

[Brandon Scott]

Wow.

[Luke Morrow]

And he said, okay, you're good. And I'm like, all right, cool.

[Brandon Scott]

While you run over all the cones. Exactly.

[Luke Morrow]

Hey, I can drive. Don't worry. But yeah, that's. That's. I guess that's. I didn't phone it in, but it. It came up organically. That's pretty good. Yeah. So it's nice. I look forward to those answers, though. Coming up in about 35 minutes.

[Brandon Scott]

Mine, I'll just as a tease. Mine also involved my father, who was a 30 year Houston police officer.

[Andre Ware]

Oh, wow.

[Brandon Scott]

Houston Police Department. 30 years. So kind of take for that.

[Luke Morrow]

Take that what you will, but I

[Brandon Scott]

had quite a few phone a friend moments and it's actually my dad. And I'm glad that he's my dad. Right.

[Andre Ware]

Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

That's also glad that your dad was probably a pretty solid dude within the. The department.

[Andre Ware]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

It's like if your dad was like the cop that everybody hated.

[Andre Ware]

Yeah.

[Brandon Scott]

That wouldn't be fun at all. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know Mr. Scott, like. Oh, yeah, yeah, we do.

[Brandon Scott]

In which case, you don't want to let him know.

[Ana Garcia]

Right.

[Brandon Scott]

You want to distance yourself from dude.

[Cade Courtley]

So no relation.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Luke Morrow]

Right.

[Brandon Scott]

Not at all. But your head and your face looks just. No, that's not. That's not. That's not my dad.

[Seth Payne]

Not my dad.

[Luke Morrow]

That's a great phone. A friend to have, certainly. Well, hey, Seth, we'll do it again tomorrow. Good. Hang with you. Yes, sir.

[Andre Ware]

Hey, guys.

[Luke Morrow]

Fly on the Wall is back for another season.

[Cade Courtley]

That's right.

[Luke Morrow]

On audio and video. Every Monday and Thursday, follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere. You get your podcasts.

[Cade Courtley]

This is Cade Courtley, former Navy SEAL, sniper and platoon commander. I've seen what happens when the lights go out. And after Hurricane Helene left 4 million Americans in the dark for days, I'm giving you the same advice I give my own family. Get backup power now. So to celebrate July 4th, get the best selling Patriot power generator, 2200x with a free mini generator to charge your smaller devices. That's double the solar power absolutely free because as a seal, I learned two is one and one is none, you'll recharge twice as fast. For true power independence, this generator will run your fridge, charge every phone in your house, keep critical medical devices alive, all without a drop of gas or deadly fumes. Get $100 off if you're a senior or veteran like me and take a full year to pay. Why such a crazy deal? Because July 4th is our holiday, and you deserve it. This sale ends July 7th. Go to fourpatriots.com that's the number four patriots.com don't wait. Get peace of mind.

[Luke Morrow]

For years, Gone south has been a podcast about crime in the American South.

[Seth Payne]

But for our new season, we're widening the lens.

[Luke Morrow]

Through deeply reported, narrative driven stories, we're digging into the myths, scandals and power structures that still shape the south and in a lot of ways, the country itself. Follow and listen to Gone South Season 5 An Odyssey podcast, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.