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Seth Payne
Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.
Sean Pendergast
We coming to ace time. Let's get the work in, man. Let's go.
Seth Payne
Great day, Great day.
Sean Pendergast
Oh, give me some juice, baby. Oh yeah. Let's do it.
Seth Payne
Happy. When real football starts, it's a lot of lot of all stars in shorts and that happens a lot. So I know I don't let anybody in shorts fool me, right? Football is played in pads, so that's where the evaluation process kicks up. When you put the pads on, you see, you talk about blocking and run game, which plays are successful. You don't have to have any guesswork when you put the pads on, you know who won a rep and who didn't win a replacement. And the pads go on today, baby. The pads go on out here at the Methodist Training Center. Welcome in, everybody, on a Monday morning. Good to be with you. Sean Pendergast and seth Payne. Day 5 of Texans training camp. And that's just the beginning of what's going on today.
Sean Pendergast
There's. Yeah, there's a lot going on. For those of you who missed it, you're just enjoying winning the Silver Boot and whatnot. The Texans signed two defensive linemen, Mario Edwards and Jadevion Clowney.
Seth Payne
Two reunions.
Sean Pendergast
Jadevion Clowney back in the fold. This has become. You know what? It's becoming a thing because they've done this with Sheldon Rankins, the defensive lineman. They go out into the world, they sow their oats, and then they come back into the fold. Yeah, there's no place like playing on this. D' Ameco Ryan's defense, he's been.
Seth Payne
Clowny's been on quite the journey.
Sean Pendergast
Clowney's been on the odyssey. He had to put wax in his ears and to come down I 45 from dad Ellis.
Seth Payne
Sheldon barely got to the county line. Clowney's been. He's been circumnavigating the globe.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
Over the last 10 years.
Sean Pendergast
Well, he's down on four. This is now his fifth team in the last five years.
Seth Payne
Yeah.
Sean Pendergast
And he's still. He's still a very, very good football player. And, you know, last year, led the Cowboys in sacks. I mean, they were a pathetic defense, but he did.
Toba Neath or Kristen Press
He.
Sean Pendergast
I went back and I watched four of his complete games. I put together a highlight reel from his whole season yesterday. And I actually did that yesterday morning because you and I had an inkling that this might happen. Yeah. So I was excited about it. And honestly. Honestly, look, I knew he'd still been playing well, and I'd watched him here and there, but really, just in going back and watching complete games and going back and watching all his sacks and pressures and tackles, he's still. Here's the thing about two things. Size and height and length. Those things don't change like he. Or, well, I should say strength. He's still strong as hell, and he's still a freakishly large human being who at times makes plays that other people can't, either because he's getting to it pretty quickly or because he's just so long. He takes one step and he makes a tackle for a loss. You know, coming down From a wide alignment, defensive end down to the, to the opposite side guard. He's making these tackles for a loss. He's fun to watch and look as a guy. For him to be your third guy, rotating in with Daniel Hunter and Will Anderson and maybe being in there on first and second down to stuff the run because he's still very, very good against the run. This is, this is the rich getting richer. Remember how people said that about the Texans signing Kaden McDonald?
Seth Payne
Yeah.
Sean Pendergast
And that's a draft pick.
Seth Payne
Yeah.
Sean Pendergast
You know, people, people around the league saw the Texans got Kaden McDonald, they were like, oh, great, great guy. That could have been a first rounder. The Texans get him. Of course, this is Jevon Clowney, who's a proven football player.
Seth Payne
Commodity. Proven commodity. Well, and I think, okay, so there may be people waking up not knowing the details of this. As Seth pointed out. Mario Edwards Jr. Back Jadevion Clowney signs yesterday. Here's the details of the deal. So it is a very good deal for the Texans. It's one year, five and a half million dollar base with a chance for him to earn up to $8 million. So presumably incentives in there for sacks and TFLs or whatever. He had eight and a half sacks last year for the Cowboys. He led the Cowboys in sacks last year. So at age 33, as Seth pointed out, he's still a very, very productive player. So he signs. They also signed Sione Takitaki, the linebacker who played five years in Cleveland. I think he was with New England most recently.
Sean Pendergast
Might be an indicator that Jake Hansen's ankle injury is worse than something minor.
Seth Payne
Is as bad as it looked when he had it the other day.
Sean Pendergast
At the very least, you know, even if it's not an awful, awful injury, if he's going to be out for three or four weeks, they've got a spot.
Seth Payne
The Clowney thing is really interesting to me because one this, you're right, this is like he's going to be in the Derek Barnett role. But the sheer fact of the matter is he's a better player than Derek Barnett is, maybe even significantly so. And that's not to diminish Derek Barnett. But Barnett was the guy who was sort of the third man in that defensive line rotation, played about 300 to 350 snaps last year. And Clowney said yesterday, like some of the quotes that are interesting from the article in the Chronicle and I think are worth noting here for Texan fans who may have a certain impression of Clowney in their minds, you know, maybe the fact that Bill o' Brien didn't want him here anymore and traded him for a third round pick. Still sticks with Texan fans. Maybe there's Texan fans who were following Clowney in Cleveland a couple of years ago when he had issues with the way he was being used in Cleveland. Hey, you're letting Myles Garrett line up all over the formation. Why didn't you let me line up all over the formation like you do with Myles Garrett?
Sean Pendergast
It felt like he'd earned that.
Seth Payne
He's a defensive player of the year, that's why. Yeah, but some of the quotes I think were interesting, Seth, in the Chronicle article about this, quotes like this. I've grown up and learned the game a lot more since leaving. I feel I can help the younger guys. I've learned how to lead. It was a really easy decision. It wasn't about the money. These are quotes that are very indicative of somebody who's much more mature than the Clowney that we knew when he left here. Not that he was a cancer or that he was a bad guy or anything like that. He was just kind of like an immature goofball in a way.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, he was a lovable goofball, if you would. If you didn't attach it to some of the performances of the Texans, you'd see in the contrast between him and Bill o' Brien, in hindsight is hilarious. At the time, it was kind of stressful. Yes. No, I think that's the. I think that's the thing that you got to be careful about is sometimes people put any kind of like any kind of either football character or maturity or anything. They put it all into one bucket and act like CJ Gardner Johnson and Jadevian Clowney are the same guy. Couldn't be more night and day when it comes to the. Whatever issues Bill o' Brien had with Jadevian Clowney. The. They weren't like the types of issues CJ Gardner Johnson has had where he's selling out teammates, where he's getting in arguments and battles and pointing fingers and all of that. Other than that one incident in Cleveland, which was also. That was. That was kind of a weirdly reported incident. And who knows exactly what happened there. I like, I think this is. I think this is a slam dunk. Awesome. Potentially. Honestly, and I'm saying this without trying to be a hot take artist or anything, this could end up being one of the smartest and best signings in the NFL this year for the amount of money you're paying and for the impact you could make on a Defense that's already really, really, really good. But who's one? One of the few questions that you had about their depth was, all right, who are your backup defensive ends and what kind of an impact?
Seth Payne
You've been talking about that since the off season started with them. And I think, too. Look, I think you got to point out the Texans were very fortunate last year with their injury luck on the defensive side of the ball. Will Anderson Jr. And Danil Hunter didn't miss a single game last year. And I know Daniel Hunter is a superhero, but he's in his early 30s now. That was the first season Will Anderson Jr. Had where he hadn't missed any games. He'd had that ankle issue his first two years in the league. The fact of the matter is it's football, and there's a chance that that type of luck doesn't happen again this year. Boy, if you can, if one of those guys has to miss a game or two and you're sliding Jadevion Clowney in there to play 60 snaps, that's about as good as it gets when you're talking about third defensive ends in a four, three defensive end rotation.
Sean Pendergast
And I think if, you know, because some of the guys who are out there, you might wonder about, like Von Miller probably wasn't the right scheme fit. You know, might be useful as a third down pass rusher. But unless Will or Danil gets injured, that's not necessarily what you're looking for. They need somebody that can rush the passer but also be really stout against the run, and that's where he is. Like Sean, the whole thing about, you know, Clowney getting older, the thing that doesn't hurt him like it might others, Clowney's always been kind of stiffer. You know, one of the reasons he doesn't have a boatload of sacks is he doesn't have great bend at the top of his pass rush.
Seth Payne
Kind of stiff.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, yeah, but he's. But it doesn't matter because. So he plays with a higher pad level than most defensive ends. Yeah, that's what he's always done. And the biggest. One of his biggest strengths is just he's so ridiculously strong that he kind of just stands there. There's some plays on his highlights that look like he's Hodor, where he almost just. There's almost nobody that can knock him backwards or side. The other thing, though, the one big misconception about Clowney that goes back to the scouting process that still angers me to this day is that people love to have this story about Clowney that he doesn't play hard all the time. And I can remember when you knew the Texans were going to draft him. I went back and I watched every snap of his final year in college. And I'm trying to find the. I'm trying to find these moments where he's slacking and he doesn't. He plays his butt off on Sundays. He chases down. He chased Xavier Worthy 20 yards downfield and tackled him. He's like he is. He plays with a lot of. He plays with a lot of swarm.
Seth Payne
Is he swarmy?
Sean Pendergast
That's incredibly sworn.
Seth Payne
That's the question.
Sean Pendergast
The question was always when he was here with Bill o' Brien and like he said himself, you know, he's more mature now. I think it was about, okay, how did he operate in practice, in rehab, all those things during the week that, you know, Bill o' Brien wanted more out of him. But as far as, like, how he's played on the field, he's always been a guy who plays his butt off. He's got a. He's got a really good motor. Yeah, it's. And it bothers me because it's the exact opposite of how the label that stuck with him. And I think that kind of. That label kind of colors some of the commentary about him. Like when Michel Tafoya reported that in that game when he was made inactive, she reported that he stormed out of the building. And it turns out, no, he was going out to the parking lot to give his. His mom some tickets.
Seth Payne
2015 Chiefs playoff but when somebody like
Sean Pendergast
Michelle Tafoya thinks, oh, yeah, Clowney, he's the guy that, you know, has this or that about him, like, somehow gets interpreted as him storming out the building.
Seth Payne
Yep. And, and, and if we're being honest, Seth, some of that may be the reason why you're able to get him for one year, five and a half million bucks.
Sean Pendergast
I'll hail the label. I'll hail the label. I've never been happier about a MISL than this one.
Seth Payne
Keep perpetuating the narrative.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
So you can bring them back next year on the same deal.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
So Jadevian Clowney. I love this summary of it. This is by somebody named Max Loeb, who I didn't know who he was until yesterday, but I love the tweet. It's third down. You couldn't run the ball on first or second down against this Texans front seven. You now have to protect your QB on third and long against Will Anderson Jr. Daniel Hunter and Chadevion Clowney. And I think it's interesting because we've seen Will do it and we saw Clowney do it when he was here. Maybe there are some packages on third down where they line one of them up inside, line them up over a guard or a center, and use their quickness.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
To their advantage. But just to finish the tweet, you now have to protect your QB against Will Anderson, Daniel Hunter, and Jadevion Clowney while your wide receivers and tight ends are trying to get open against Derek Stingley, Kamari Lasseter, Reed Blankenship, Kalyn Bullock, and Jalen Petrie. I added to that and said yes. And it sees Al Shayer is lurking in the middle of the field. If anybody dare go through the kill zone.
Sean Pendergast
It's. It's a stacked defense, man. I mean, the things they did. It was already. So you put the Seahawks and the Texans up there at the very top of the NFL. The Seahawks lose a few guys this offseason. The Texans gain reed Blankenship, Caden McDonald, and now Jadevion Clowney. I mean, it's. It's really.
Seth Payne
Everybody else is back, right?
Sean Pendergast
Everybody else. Every starter is back except for the one, the one position that didn't have a starter last year, your revolving door safety opposite Calum Bullock. Now you've got an actual starter there. You've added a different body type to the defensive line with Caden McDonald. Now you've brought Barrio wet, you brought Edwards back, and then you've also added Jadevion Clowney into the fold.
Seth Payne
Yeah, man, it really is.
Sean Pendergast
Like for anybody that said all offseason long, man, all they need is above average play by CJ Stroud or just in that Patriots game. Obviously, just average QB play wins you that game, but it really, it makes it that much more of a dynamic that, man, the offense can be a functioning offense. If they can be a threatening offense, especially then it's a. It's a really, really hard team to beat.
Seth Payne
Yep. So. So then shifting gears, we're four practices in and I think I agree with you. That was my thought this morning. Seth, just in thinking through this Clowny thing driving down here, this puts even more pressure on the offense now.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
In my mind, with the Texans, like, okay, Clowney, this is a guy who's, you know, Clowney is coming here. This is one of those signings that super bowl contenders make. You know, Clowney said that he had other places for more money he could have gone to. I wholeheartedly believe him. He was a productive player in Dallas last year, and he was Their leading sack guy last year.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, he was.
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Seth Payne
And now Campus Files is back for another season. There's a guy screaming into his phone. He's like, I just saw Charlie Kirk get assassinated right in front of me. Every week is a new episode and a new story.
Sean Pendergast
It was so chaotic.
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It's almost like a university under siege. Listen to and follow Campus Files available now wherever you get your podcasts.
Seth Payne
He got the attention on a bad defense and still at eight and a half sacks last year at age 32. So. So I think this actually amps up the pressure on the offense even more this year. You're making additions like this on the defensive side of the ball. Says exactly what you're saying. The offense just and doesn't need to be great, but it needs to be good. And so four practices in. Just shifting gears for a second. What have you seen from the offense?
Sean Pendergast
Okay, so from the offense, I know a lot of people were depressed and concerned about the fact that the first couple of periods didn't go well for the offense on Saturday. And you know, I've been praising some of the progress, just how the offense is made from all the pre snap stuff from net, from being sharp with all of their pre snap motions and a lot of these tight end shifts they're using. CJ's been, you know, CJ's been completing passes and it hasn't been an aerial highlight show or anything, but they're going against the best defense in the league. It's just a, it's a, it's a functional offense right now. They're doing all of the little things, right, but they haven't had pads on the first couple of periods on Saturday. I think the one thing that's really important to remember is that the defense, this defense was kind of vanilla last year. Remember, they didn't disguise a whole bunch or have a bunch of wrinkles in it. There's going to be wrinkles this year. And I mean there was one of CJ's nicer throws to Jared Wayne on Saturday. Will Anderson was out in coverage, you know, so just like, just for, for that alone. And I'll say, you know, I'll describe that play because it's out there on the Internet and fans took shots of it and everything. The, like, the defense is going to be a little bit more complex. It doesn't have to be crazy. It doesn't have to Be like a Brian Flores type of defense or anything. But because they have all these veteran guys that are comfortable with the system, they can do a little bit more of that. I thought, honestly, the bad plays the offense had on Saturday, if I try to use that test where I walk out and I don't know anything about this team at all, and I just watch it play, I would say, well, yeah, the defense had some nice plays in that period, but then the offense came back and they did some good things too. And, you know, TJ had some clutch throws on hypothetical third downs. It was a back and forth, more so than I think, if you only watch the first period or the first couple periods of Saturday's practice.
Seth Payne
Yeah, I didn't think, you know, again, like you said, it's a practice. It's not in pads and. And. And whatnot. But I thought when CJ had time to throw on Saturday, I thought he looked pretty good. I think, you know, my. My grade for cj, if I. If we can grade, you know, three outdoor practices in an indoor walkthrough type practice, none of them in pads. I think CJ's been in, like, a solid B plus so far in training. Yeah, he's been good. He's been fine.
Sean Pendergast
You know, and the other thing, man, the battle between Nico Collins and Derek Stingley and Kamari Lasky, like, it. It's fun to watch. There have been a couple of deep balls to Nico where, man, Nico is fighting with Derek Singley and Kamari Lasseter. And I like, it's a. It's a 50, 50 ball type of situation. And that's where I'm trying to. I'm thinking from CJ's perspective, all right? You got to try to practice the way you would play. And if. If I'm looking at any receiver in a 50, 50 ball matchup with Derek Stingley, probably not gonna throw the ball that way. But there's a part of me that's like, ah, come on, CJ just let it rip a little bit. But then I think about CJ again and think about, like, oh, yeah, he spent the whole off season with the entire Western Hemisphere talking smack about how awful he is and everything.
Seth Payne
Four picks.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah. So if C.J. were coming off on all pro season or something, you might see CJ just out there, just be like, yeah, let's see what happens. I think he's gonna be so dialed in on trying to play clean football that we're not gonna.
Seth Payne
2000 people with cel here.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Seth Payne
This is gonna wind up on the Internet, and everybody's gonna think I'm trash.
Sean Pendergast
Cj, what's the worst that could happen? Oh, that's right. It's gonna get aggregated, and it's gonna send out, and it's gonna be. It's gonna be all over. First take. Yeah.
Seth Payne
You excited for pads today, man?
Sean Pendergast
I am. I am. I really. Yeah. But it's also, as d' Amico said, you know, some guys can kind of be pretenders and frauds. He didn't use the word frauds. But there's guys who are fraudster when there's no pads.
Seth Payne
Yeah.
Sean Pendergast
And especially in.
Seth Payne
Say it. But he meant it.
Sean Pendergast
Well, I don't have to worry about it on this defensive line because these guys are all proven. But with some defensive linemen, especially when there's no pads on and they just violate the practice tempo and they're jumping the snap count because they know, you know, they know the quarterback and all that, that some of those guys really shine when there's no pads on. And then all of a sudden, they disappear. I like when d' Amico said that he, you know, tries not to get fooled by guys when they're in no pads. The first year in 2002 of this franchise's existence, there was this linebacker who they gotten out of the Canadian League. And the guy was one of the most impressively built dudes you've ever seen. Incredible athlete. And he. He was the best linebacker I've ever seen in any OTAs ever. He was better than Ray. Ray Lewis was a bum compared to this kid then. And the coaches. The coaches remember the linebacker coach and these guys, they loved him. This was the guy. He was rocketing up the depth chart, and you get to the first week of training camp, and you're kind of like, what is that? Is he selling the team? Is that what happened to that guy Anyway.
Seth Payne
Yep, yep, yep.
Sean Pendergast
So d'. Amigo. D' Amigo wouldn't make that mistake of rocketing the guy up the depths. Yep.
Seth Payne
Yep. In wrestling, what they say is when a guy walks through the ring and he just looks like a million bucks.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
And they say. And then the bell rang.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah. Got those beach muscles.
Seth Payne
Yeah. Can't throw a punch. Can't do a move.
Sean Pendergast
That's why. Yeah. The beach muscles. The best. The best reminder of being too impressed by the beach muscles. When you think about guys like Darrell Rivas. Yeah. And Deion Sanders, those are two guys. You look at them. If you had to judge, if you did a physique contest, you'd be like, well, clearly those, those guys aren't very good defensive backs.
Seth Payne
No, they're two of the best ever. All right, Pain and Pendergast with you. Day 5 of training camp on a Monday. Big weekend this weekend. All right. Coming up next, let's circle over to the Astros. They swept the Rangers this weekend and now we've got a big 11 hours coming up here. What do the Astros do? What did they have lined up to do before it got nixed over the weekend? Reportedly? We'll, we'll lay out all the details from the from the Silver Boot over the weekend. Training camp is here live from the
Sean Pendergast
Houston Methodist Training Center. Sports Radio six ten presents Payne and Pendergast.
Seth Payne
All right. We should mention that in the the aftermath of Jadevian Clowney's return to Houston, a couple other signings the Texans made as well. Mario Edwards, returning, Sioni Takitaki, linebacker signing with the Texans that we will be able to discuss all of these transactions and a whole lot more Tomorrow morning at 7:15 when we are joined by Texans executive vice president and general manager Nick Casario. So he will join us for about 40 minutes tomorrow morning to talk about everything going on, both transactionally and with the Texans on the field. And again today, first day of padded practice. So busy time for GMs in this town is going to be hopefully a busy next 11 hours for Dana Brown. I can't believe I'm saying hopefully it's busy because I feel like it was just like a week and a half ago where I was like, sell Mortimer. But here we are and the astros have won 11 out of 12 games. They're 114 since the all Star break. They got swept by the Orioles right out of the chute and now they're 11:1 since then. And even amidst this 11:1 stretch that I still feel like I look at this team, I'm like, no, there's still definite needs on this team.
Sean Pendergast
You're right.
Seth Payne
There are moves to be made for this team.
Sean Pendergast
Right. Well, and the astounding thing is that you've been able to have this incredible turnaround and been one of the better teams in the league since late mid May. Mid May. Well, you and I had reset the season at May 15. May 15, May 22 is where you cherry pick and they've actually got really
Seth Payne
impressive 38 and 24 since then.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, but you also managed this when one of your starting pitchers is a guy who routinely goes out and gives you less than one inning. Now I've been relegated. They sent him they sent am I to the bullpen and I'm like, I don't know if he's got enough. I don't know if he's got. He doesn't have enough to make it through one inning in the bullpen. How does old one inning guy he's got. Can he last the three required batters that he needs to see when they insert him? I'm not so sure.
Seth Payne
Yep.
Sean Pendergast
But yeah, you do that with guys like Peter Lambert who's just been awesome and in that Pena has really been a revelation and him coming back and playing the way he has, but also being a guy that after the Astros got swept coming out of the All Star break, emerged as one of the team leaders that really just flat out said, hey guys, this ain't cutting it. You gotta be better than this.
Seth Payne
Yep. Yep. He's been great. Jordan's been great. The whole. The top third of the order has been fantastic.
Sean Pendergast
Yesterday we could have gotten frustrated about what they did with runners in scoring position, except that it didn't matter because they had 15 hits and it was.
Seth Payne
Yeah, yeah. Well, it was bad early too. They like, they, they had. They had like seven at bats with runners in scoring position in the first two innings.
Sean Pendergast
Right? Yeah, it was crazy. Squandered a lot.
Seth Payne
Yep. And still won seven to three yesterday. So they sweep the Rangers this weekend. Chandler Rome has a piece on the trade deadline on the Athletic kind of what he's hearing about the Astros at the trade deadline. We should point out before we get into that that the Astros reportedly over the weekend I saw this Michael Marino who's a an MLB reporter over the weekend reported that they had a deal all lined up. The Astros did to address left handed bat in the outfield. They were going to trade Brian Abreu to the Twins for outfielder Trevor Larnac. And according to Michael. Michael Marino says Jim Crane nix the deal. Yeah, I've talked to other people and it was. Wasn't necessarily Jim Crane solo coming down and saying Jim Crane's got a, an inner circle around him that I think are overseeing a lot of the things that Dana is doing. Feels like there's a lot of checking on Dana Brown's paper, you know, like, like looking over, let me see your work here.
Sean Pendergast
They're not, they're not just submitting it.
Seth Payne
Yeah. Yeah. So they're so, so it was, it did get nixed that, that I had heard that that deal had gotten lined up and got nixed, which I think says a lot about two things. One, that Brian Abreu actually has value again, I think is a significant thing.
Sean Pendergast
Right.
Seth Payne
I don't think he's getting. Obviously he's not getting traded. They nixed. Unless it's a really good deal, because they nixed a deal. That's been a nice development, too, that now all of a sudden you got the 8 and the 9 inning. They're kind of sewed down.
Sean Pendergast
He's gotten. He's on a streak of seven scoreless innings now.
Seth Payne
Good.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah. After whatever. So fixing whatever was leading to the disastrous first half of the season.
Seth Payne
Yeah. And I think that story also kind of tells you who's running things here. And if. And if Jim Crane, who obviously is running things, he's the owner. But if he's having the level of oversight that it would appear, I think they're going to make an aggressive move today. They make an aggressive move every single year. I went back and looked at the history of trade. There's not been a single trade deadline since the beginning of the golden era, including the first two years before they even won a World Series, where they have not been aggressive at the trade.
Sean Pendergast
The only thing with whether Jim Crane and his brain trust nix the Abreu trade is that I worry sometimes that the brain trust is wrapped up a little bit in their own egos when it comes to guys like Jose Abreu or whomever else, or Brian. Jose Abreu or Brian Abreu that. All right, these are much maligned. These are much maligned contracts and decisions you've made with these guys. And yet you just hang on and hang on and hang on. And because Abreu is in the middle of a good stretch right now. Are you weighting that too heavily as opposed to just really rounding out the team better than he is right now?
Seth Payne
Larnac's had a good year. I mean, it's been kind of an outlier year for him. He's got an OPS of.823. He's typically been a guy that's been in the 700s, OPS wise, but he's a lefty bat that would have fit in nice in the outfield. There's so many variables going on with this team right now, though, and we'll get into this in headlines, but Carlos Correa over the weekend saying he might be back now, like he's. He's doing things again.
Sean Pendergast
He demurred on whether he was asked the question. He didn't quite. You didn't give an emphatic no. Right. I've got the audio and headlines.
Seth Payne
Yeah, we'll play it in headlines. Yeah, we'll. We'll play it in headlines. I got the audio and headlines. Here's what Chandler is saying, Seth, about the trade deadline. Just a couple things that are worth noting here. Jim Crane reportedly, according to Chandler, has instructed Dana Brown not to trade off of the major league roster. Yeah, so don't do anything. And maybe that's the spirit of why they nixed the Brian Abreu trade, is that Abreu has re. Evolved back into a pretty critical piece for them on the. You know, you're weakening one thing to strengthen another. So according to Chandler, no trading off of the major league roster. And it sounds like their major prospects, which in their system would be Kevin Alvarez and Xavier Nyens, are believed to have a very low chance of being moved. They're the equivalent of Kyle tucker back in 2018 or something like that.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, yeah. I guess the only. The only thing I worry about sometimes with the Astros and the way they operate when, you know, forever. Even after the Astros didn't have the incredible farm system that they had, they would. They would read like the rankings of the Astros farm system would fall down way below the actual guys that they got out of that farm system because their player development was so good and because they scouted Latin American players that the Astros farm system would be ranked is not all that great. And then all of a sudden, you got guys like Javier and Blanco and everybody else showing up. I just don't know if the Astros are that same organization anymore when it comes to player development, when you're throwing away prospects. And I don't know if they have that edge when it comes to scouting prospects either. I think that's what they've tried to do. They're trying to gain that edge in Asia that they used to have in Latin America. So far, it's led to Imai and, you know, Dung doesn't really count because he was already in the mlb. But, like, I just don't know if. I don't know if they're a team that can operate by trading away the future so flippantly because, oh, hey, we'll just develop these other guys that people are sleeping on.
Seth Payne
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And did you see that Tarek Skubal's got a new home?
Sean Pendergast
Frickin. What the hell? Why'd you have to bring that up, man?
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Sean Pendergast
I have never been. This was.
Seth Payne
This was.
Sean Pendergast
This is what did it. I'm like, all right, yeah, there needs to be a salary cap. I. Look, I kind of. I've been a dispassionate observer.
Seth Payne
This is what puts you over this
Sean Pendergast
to the team and yeah, and it's not, it's not like it's a sudden development or anything.
Seth Payne
No, but it's. I'm pretty confident talking into a mic.
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Seth Payne
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Sean Pendergast
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Seth Payne
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Sean Pendergast
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Seth Payne
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Sean Pendergast
Seriously, what the hell?
Seth Payne
This was my thing yesterday and I was curious as soon as I typed this. I'm like, I can't wait to see what Seth has to say about this. Because I think, you know, I'm probably a little Bit more cognizant than the average fan of a work stoppage.
Sean Pendergast
A looming work stoppage stoppage.
Seth Payne
And I think it bothers you a little bit that I'm not living in the moment as much as I should in 2026.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
And as soon as I typed it in the rundown, I'm like, I think Seth's going to take me to task for this. But it sounds like it hit you the same way, which is like if, man, when you got this, you have this season going on where the work stoppage is kind of looming in the background. The last thing you could you think of a more stark reminder that there's a work stoppage coming up after this year likely than the Dodgers picking up the best pitcher in baseball over the years.
Sean Pendergast
I don't begrudge you thinking about it or worrying about it being interesting, but like by and large the one thing I've noticed in my 15 years in this industry is that the public at large doesn't care about this stuff nearly as much as the either talking heads or like the die hard baseball.
Seth Payne
I agree with you. But this was a tipping point for a lot of people.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, yeah.
Seth Payne
No, that's.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, exactly.
Seth Payne
Yeah, yeah, is a big tipping point for a lot of people, I think.
Sean Pendergast
And just when it comes down to you've just got, you've got some teams that are operating in such a different environment where when there's no cap the amount of revenue that they make, like the Dodgers make 752 million in revenue per year.
Seth Payne
Their local TV deals are the difference.
Sean Pendergast
You know, the Astros make 494 and they're no poppers.
Seth Payne
No, they're pretty good. Yeah.
Sean Pendergast
But like when you're Talking about almost 300 million more per year in revenue out of one of the team that's able to spend on guys like Tarik Skubal. Yeah, it's, it's, it's hard to compete.
Seth Payne
And then add to that that those big time teams like the Dodgers, the Mets especially.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
Have owners that really don't care about running in the red.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
You know, they don't, they don't care about. Jim Crane wants to have a profitable business. Yeah, the, the Mets, they, they f. The profits, you know, like they, they don't. And I'm not sure how the, if the Dodgers operate the same way it would appear because they're spending including luxury tax, $120 million this year. Kyle Tucker's 710 ops.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah. I'd be interested in seeing their P&L there's something the public at large loves, spreadsheets and whatnot. But because of all those deferred contracts, you got no understanding of ebitda.
Seth Payne
Ebitda.
Sean Pendergast
The whole thing about the Dodgers, too, is they've got all those deferred contracts too.
Seth Payne
Yes.
Sean Pendergast
So yeah, I don't know. I don't know whether they're running in the red operationally or not, but good point.
Seth Payne
They will be someday with Shohei's contract coming up down the pipe. All right, headlines Coming up next, we've got big Texans news that we hit in the open. We'll hit it again, by the way. Baseball Talk on Sports Radio 610 presented by Xfinity. Score the most reliable Wi Fi 1 price 5 years guaranteed Xfinity. Imagine that. Texans news and headlines. We will circle back to the Astros. We'll have that Correa audio that we promised as well. And another Texan, former Texan, I think a lot of people want back that didn't see the news of what he's going to be doing moving forward over the weekend.
Sean Pendergast
We'll get to that as in npendergas with today's headlines.
Seth Payne
All right, let's start with the Texans. Big day yesterday for the Texans. Nothing going on on the practice field, but plenty going on inside the building. Working the phones. Nick Casario doing work yesterday. On a Sunday, the Texans sign three players, including two returning players. Sione Takitaki, linebacker, is the Houston Texan. Mario Edwards returns after being cut loose with an injury designation earlier in the offseason. Apparently healthy again, he'll be back to help fortify the depth on the defensive line. But the big one is Jadevion Clowney. The former number one overall pick for the Texans back in 2014, made three Pro Bowls for the Texans between 2016 and 2018 before being, I will say, unceremoniously traded away to the Seattle Seahawks for a third round pick by then general manager Bill O' Brien back in 2019. Since then, Clowney's had quite the journey. He's played for about a half dozen other teams in the league. Still been a productive player. He returns here, Seth, on a one year five and a half million dollar deal in which he can earn up to $8 million total. This is a signing that I think if I'm the other playoff contenders in the afc, if I'm other teams that are contenders around the NFL, I think there were a lot of like drinks thrown at computers when they saw that. This is a, this is a great sign of Houston Texans.
Sean Pendergast
The thing about Clowney is that he's just always been kind of an enigma in terms of like, I, I predicted that this is what he would do is start going to a sign in one year, deals year after year. He's kind of like a vagabond that goes around like, or a mercenary soldier and consistently plays really good football. It's been really annoying. Like when he was with the Ravens a few years ago, people were saying this is the best clown he has ever played. Like, no, you idiots. He played this way when he was in Houston. He's been a good, solid, steady player. It just matters whether he's on a good team or not, whether people notice it. And that's what he did last year for the Cowboys. He had eight and a half sacks. He had double digit tackles for a loss. He's still very effective versus the run. He's still a guy that rushes the passer well and puts pressure on the quarterback. He's just, he's not great at finishing sacks. So he does, he's never had double digit sacks, but he's very much a presence. The old, the old saying, disruption is production. Yeah, that's Clowny. Like, all right. The conventional sack numbers and everything don't reflect how disruptive he is as a football player.
Seth Payne
Yep. So. So he is, he is back. Jadevion Clowney is. And I would, I don't know if he'll be out here today. I mean, he lives in Houston, so it's not like he's got to fly in and find a hotel or whatever. He still lives here, so it's incredibly convenient for him to slam a hotel
Sean Pendergast
if he wanted to. He's got $8 million, potentially.
Seth Payne
That's true. You know what? Just for the hell of it, he's going to stay at the Marriott Marquis downtown. So Clowney is back. That's good news. The Astros over the weekend, good news. A lot of good news. This weekend they sweep the Texas Rangers. And it almost appears now, seth, with about 10 or 11 hours till the trade deadline. That and we'll hear from Carlos Correa here in a second. But after the sweep of the Rangers, reportedly the Rangers had been on the brink of do we buy or do we sell?
Sean Pendergast
Yeah.
Seth Payne
And to the point where Ken Rosenthal was even saying, like yesterday's game was a big deal for the rangers and like one out of 162. But that might tip the scales, like if they're two and a half behind the Astros as opposed to virtually tied with them in the division. And Seattle is already doing Things that would indicate that they're going to be selling. They traded Luis Castillo. Granted, he's not been good this year, but he's one of their starting pitchers. They traded him to the Chicago White Sox, another American League team. So it almost looks like with the way the Astros have been playing, that signs seem to point to them kind of having squelched the life out of the rest of the division.
Sean Pendergast
A bunch of quitters.
Seth Payne
This little run that they're on at
Sean Pendergast
the end of the day, that's ultimately what they are.
Seth Payne
But you know what? It's. And it's. And I, and, and I agree with you.
Sean Pendergast
We were quitters like two weeks ago.
Seth Payne
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, no, but that. But there was one point throughout this, the last month or so, through the ups and downs, where there. Somebody had a report like, no, the Astros are still looking. They're still acting like a buyer out there, like, even when it was bad. And there was part of me that was like, you know what? I'm glad my team, actually, I know it's not the most practical thing to do, and I know they're probably not winning the World Series this year, but as a fan, like, I'm just looking at Texas and Seattle, I'm like, they're just giving. They're giving up. There it is. I mean, they're within shouting distance.
Sean Pendergast
Especially when, you know, it's. It's the old. If you just make it into the tournament, anything can happen. And everybody. I'm old enough to remember 2019, Sean. And what the Nationals were able to do in a year where it looked like they were. They were. They were a nothing before the trade deadline or before in the first half of the season.
Seth Payne
Yeah, man.
Sean Pendergast
And ended up winning a World Series versus a pretty good baseball team in my memory.
Seth Payne
I don't remember that one. I blocked that one out.
Sean Pendergast
They were pretty good.
Seth Payne
So Carlos Correa was at Dyken park yesterday and he was doing things. He was running. He was. He wasn't hitting yet, but he was taking grounders on one knee. So while Carlos is there, the media gathered around him and said, hey, man, you're out here doing some things. What is this an indicator that you could possibly be coming back? Alright, so let's adjudicate this here. Here's Carlos Correa talking about the possibility of returning. Keep in mind the reports when he got surgery on his ankle was he was going to be out till spring training next year.
Sean Pendergast
Things are going well. Things are going real well. That's where I will leave it. At. Is there a chance you play again this season?
Seth Payne
We'll see.
Sean Pendergast
I wouldn't be doing all this work if I didn't think there was a chance.
Seth Payne
Has the recovery progressed, like, faster than you thought it would initially or just where are you at compared to where you.
Sean Pendergast
I'm in a really good spot. In a really good spot. I don't feel it. We've been progressing to running and sprinting, and everything feels great.
Toba Neath or Kristen Press
Are you at all surprised at how fast you're progressing?
Sean Pendergast
Well, as soon as I got hurt, I got on this protocol and I started looking for all the information I could into how to speed up the process and the things that I needed to eat and, you know, how I needed to sleep and the type of treatment that I needed. And we've been doing a great job with that. So we're in a good spot. Okay.
Seth Payne
And I flew to Germany and I.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, that's what I was kind of hoping to be like. He didn't understand, you know, there's some substances that, you know, the. The authorities haven't caught up to yet that are still technically legal. No, just food and diet.
Seth Payne
Based on that audio, what do you think the chances are that Carlos Correa retires?
Sean Pendergast
I'm just. I think I tend to look at like, that kind of like the Fred Van Vliet throwing it out there that maybe there's a chance or something that'd
Seth Payne
be a major shift from, like, yeah, he ain't coming back till March. He might be playing in the playoffs in October.
Sean Pendergast
And that's the other miraculous as the comeback CJ Gardner Johnson made last year. Roundabout this time.
Seth Payne
He got hurt again this weekend.
Sean Pendergast
Yeah, he did. Now it looks like it might be an Achilles this year.
Seth Payne
Yeah.
Sean Pendergast
But I was making a joke because the report was that he was going to be out for the year.
Seth Payne
Right.
Sean Pendergast
Turns out he was fine, unfortunately. Yeah, unfortunately, he was fine.
Seth Payne
Would have been better off. Yeah, I. Here's the thing that I think. But look, Carlos Correa is a. He's an outstanding player, obviously. You know, he's good hitter, great fielder, can play third base and shortstop for you. The first thing I thought of, though, Seth, was of the guys in this lineup right now. And there's plenty of holes for a good team. There's plenty of holes in this lineup right now. Two of your holes right now are not third base or shortstop.
Sean Pendergast
Those are.
Seth Payne
Two of your three best players right now are Jeremy Pena and Isak Paredes. The top third of that order. I know Jordan and Jeremy Pena are Getting a lot of the attention. Isak paredes has nearly a.900 OPS since the middle of June. Yeah, he's had a good run. There's a reason he's batting third in the lineup every day. So I just wondered that, like, look, I'm not going to sit here and say if Carlos Correa could come back and be the player that he is, if the Astros couldn't use him because injuries happen in the playoffs, too. But the last thing I want to have happen right now is for the possibility of Correa coming back to loom over Issac Paredes. Mojo right now.
Sean Pendergast
You know, I think, you know what, honestly, with all three of the major teams we could look at in the last calendar year. All right. Tank Dell, there are whispers and possibilities that maybe he would come back at the end of last season. And here we are in August waiting for him to participate in an 11:11 full speed drill or even a 7 on 7. And Fred Van Vliet, who knows, don't rule him out. So I just, I think more times than not, he's probably making more progress than the schedule would suggest at this point. But he's also got to get to like, at some point you got to make the smart decision about just, you know, injuring yourself again.
Seth Payne
Well, that. But I was honestly, I was more glad hearing Carlos talk about where he's at when it comes to next season than I was about this season. You know that because, you know, eventually they're going to need him. They're paying him a lot of money over the next couple years.
Sean Pendergast
All right.
Seth Payne
Those are your headlines, Tarik. School ball to the Dodgers. We talked about that a little bit. Luis Castillo traded from the Mariners to the White Sox, among other trades over the weekend. Peralta getting traded from the Mets to, oh God, I wish I had it in front of me. Anyways, oh. To the Rays and oh, by the way, DeAndre Hopkins joining the staff at Georgia Tech. So for those of you out there like, hey, bring t hop back now,
Sean Pendergast
but also not he reiterated he's not officially retired.
Seth Payne
Right.
Sean Pendergast
He's open to leaving for another job.
Seth Payne
Yep. But he's, he will be an assistant wide receivers coach and people are wondering the connection there. George Gotzi, who was the offensive coordinator here during a couple of DeAndre Hopkins years, including the one horrible year he had here by DeAndre standards.
Sean Pendergast
And Gotzi was a quarterback at Georgia.
Seth Payne
He's a quarterback there. He's the OC now. So. Yeah. All right.
Sean Pendergast
Pain and pender gas, those nerds. Deandre with all those nerds. That's good. That's interesting.
Seth Payne
Yeah, yeah. You know, we'll get some content on social media.
Sean Pendergast
I like DeAndre teaching those guys how to live. Yes. Yeah. All right, coming up now, you're engineering textbooks.
Seth Payne
Four practices in here at Texans training camp. What are the biggest storylines so far? As we get ready for the first
Toba Neath or Kristen Press
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Sean Pendergast
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Episode: JADEVEON CLOWNEY is coming home!
Date: August 3, 2026
Hosts: Seth Payne & Sean Pendergast
Podcast: Houston’s SportsRadio 610 (Audacy)
This lively Monday edition centers on the Houston Texans’ headline-grabbing return of Jadeveon Clowney, as well as broader Texans training camp storylines and Astros trade deadline intrigue. Former NFL lineman Seth Payne and veteran radio voice Sean Pendergast dig into the Clowney signing’s significance, roster construction, training camp developments, and the Astros’ red-hot run as the MLB deadline looms. The episode weaves together insider insight, sharp banter, and relatable fandom, making it a must-listen for Houston sports fans.
[02:59] – [15:17]
Notable Quote:
“Size and height and length… those things don’t change. He’s still strong as hell and… at times makes plays that other people can’t.” – Sean [04:04]
[14:45] – [21:36]
[22:11] – [28:32]
[29:38] – [34:38]
[35:16] – [44:41]
Conversational, witty, and deeply rooted in Houston sports culture. The hosts mix critical analysis, inside reporting, relatable banter, and the perspective of both player/insider (Payne) and fan/journalist (Pendergast), with playful jabs, spontaneous quotes, and insider references.
This episode is a can’t-miss for Texans and Astros fans. The Clowney homecoming is dissected from every angle—on-field impact, locker room maturity, contract value, and the wider ripple on Houston’s defensive depth. The Texans’ championship-caliber defense is contrasted with rising offensive expectations and the burning question of whether training-camp offense struggles are worth sweating. Astros fans get deep trade deadline insight, worry over MLB’s future labor peace, and fresh developments on Carlos Correa’s recovery. The episode is rich in relevant updates, sharp and memorable quotes, plenty of laughs, and true Houston sports passion.