PenderPoll results + ESPN releases Ryan Clark

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast Podcast Summary

Episode: PenderPoll results + ESPN releases Ryan Clark
Date: July 21, 2026
Hosts: Seth Payne & Sean Pendergast

Episode Overview

This episode delivers classic Houston sports talk with Payne and Pendergast as the duo navigates Texans training camp buzz, reacts to the latest PenderPoll about the team's early schedule, and breaks down the sudden news of Ryan Clark's firing from ESPN. They blend football analysis, fan insight, and sports media critique—anchored by their characteristic humor and firsthand experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Texans Training Camp, Rookies, and NFL Culture

[00:38–05:47]

• The hosts open with reflections on NFL training camp traditions, rookie preparations, and evolving culture around hazing.
• Seth shares gritty stories from his playing days, including notorious hazing practices with the New Orleans Saints:

  “They’d tape guys up to the goalpost…and leave them there all night. All night. All night. You’d get taped to a goal post all night and then have to practice the next day…” (03:00, Seth)

• Discussion touches on the shift in the league after scandals and injuries:

  “In 97 or 98, somebody finally got injured really badly…That’s when they cracked down on it around the league.” (04:44, Seth)

• They reminisce about pro sports teams’ lax attitudes toward drinking on charter flights, which changed after tragic incidents.

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2. Texans Season Outlook & Schedule Strategy

[06:03–11:24]

• Analysis focuses on the crucial first four games of the Texans’ 2026 season: versus Bills, Bengals, Colts, and Cowboys.
• Sean contextualizes fan expectations:

  “There's definitely a faction of Texan fans that are waiting till the playoffs next year to evaluate C.J. Stroud.” (06:24, Sean)

• Discussion of national media skepticism toward QB C.J. Stroud, despite general optimism for the Texans roster.
• Importance of a strong start given schedule compression:

  "They have to go five and two at least in these seven games...You play 4 of your 8 home games in the first seven weeks." (07:20, Sean)

• Seth stresses the challenge of late-season road games and weather as a true “prove it” situation.

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3. PenderPoll: Which Early-Season Loss Would Fans Prefer?

[11:24–19:19]

• The episode’s centerpiece is a lively breakdown of Sean’s Twitter poll: Given a guaranteed 3–1 start, which opening four games would Houston fans “choose” to lose?
• Sean and Seth game out the emotional and strategic stakes of losing to each opponent:
  • Bills: Expected Super Bowl contender; little shame in a competitive loss.
  • Bengals: Improved defense; emotionally neutral for most fans.
  • Colts: Division rival, but road losses to divisional foes are common.
  • Cowboys: Least palatable for Houston fans due to in-state rivalry and coworker banter.
• Result:

  "Cincinnati won. Yes...43.3% chose we'll lose to the Bengals. Yeah, we cannot be losing to the Bills, the Colts, or the Cowboys." (17:08–17:30, Sean)

• Both agree that fan emotion outweighs analytic tiebreakers:

  “Screw that. Life’s too short to be losing to the Cowboys.” (17:36, Seth)

• Discussion extends to tangent polls (e.g., "If the one loss is a blowout, does it change the answer?"). Both again align on preferring a Bengals loss.

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4. Texans’ Early Gauntlet: Defense and Opponent Breakdowns

[20:15–22:05]

• The stretch against Bills, Bengals, Colts, Cowboys is described as an “offensive gauntlet” for Houston—particularly a test for the defense.
• Sean previews the Bills’ faster, newly retooled receiver corps, dissecting the increased threat to Houston’s ability to contain Josh Allen.

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5. Ryan Clark Fired by ESPN

[26:41–33:20]

• Breaking news and reactions to NFL analyst and former player Ryan Clark’s abrupt layoff during an ESPN segment.
• Seth and Sean debate the optics:

  “Ryan Clark was actually doing a segment on air when he learned…he was about to get fired.” (27:10, Sean)
  “I would say, whoever told him…if Lopez came in and said ‘Hey, Seth, they’re about to fire you…’ I’d be like, hold on…” (27:55, Seth)

• Discussion about ESPN’s layoff wave, company structure post-NFL stake, and awkward timing of notification.
• Side note: Ryan Clark’s tendency to stir headlines for on- and off-air comments.

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6. Sports Media Career Lessons (using Ryan Clark as an Example)

[33:20–38:24]

• Sean lays out “Three Lessons for Broadcasters” learned from Ryan Clark’s departure:
  1. Don’t Be Joyless:

     “Ryan Clark is one of the more joyless people in media…He tries to turn everything, even things that are fun, into serious things.” (33:21, Sean)

  2. Don’t Belittle Colleagues On-Air:
     • They play audio of Ryan minimizing Peter Schrager’s football acumen, using “That’s the non-player in you talking…” as a preface.

     “He didn’t have to point out as a preamble…‘That’s because you’re not a player and you don’t understand.’” (36:48, Seth)

  3. Don’t Negotiate in Public:

     “He did it in public...None are fireable offenses on the spot. But they are things that…show up on your balance sheet.” (37:45, Sean)

• Contrast with Pat McAfee’s unique leverage as a brand, not just an employee:

  “He’s got a contractual situation with his company...he has leverage and an ROI that ESPN can measure.” (37:59, Seth)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Saints Hazing Culture:
  “Can you imagine, though, you’re trying to make an NFL team…you have to run through gauntlets where they’re hitting you with socks full of quarters.” (03:38, Seth)
• On Losing to Cowboys:
  “Screw that. Life’s too short to be losing to the Cowboys.” (17:36, Seth)
• On ESPN Firing Ryan Clark Mid-Show:
  “They did the less unclassy thing. Yeah, just fire him in the middle of a show.” (27:49, Sean)
• On Joy in Sports Media:
  “Don’t be joyless…Ryan Clark is one of the more joyless people in media…tries to turn everything, even things that are fun, into serious things.” (33:21, Sean)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:38–05:47 — Training camp, NFL hazing, and rookie stories
• 06:03–11:24 — Texans’ season, national perspective on C.J. Stroud, schedule challenges
• 11:24–19:19 — PenderPoll: Preferred loss in opening four games, fan emotion vs. logic
• 20:15–22:05 — Texans’ defensive gauntlet and opponent breakdowns
• 26:41–33:20 — The Ryan Clark ESPN firing saga
• 33:20–38:24 — Career advice for sports broadcasters, media landscape, and McAfee contrast

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Episode Tone & Style

Conversational, witty, and deeply knowledgeable—a blend of ex-player realism (Seth) and long-time local media perspective (Sean). The banter is unfiltered but relatable, especially when dissecting Houston sports fandom and the idiosyncrasies of sports media life.

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For Houston sports fans or NFL observers, this episode delivers both timely team analysis and an instructive, behind-the-scenes look at sports broadcasting, with entertaining detours and plenty of heart.

Transcript

[A]

I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. And together we have the podcast Office Ladies. Just because we finished rewatching the Office does not mean we're going anywhere. Every Wednesday, we'll be sharing even more exclusive stories from the Office and our friendship with brand new guests. Plus, you can revisit all the Office Ladies rewatch episodes every Monday with new bonus tidbits before every episode. So follow and listen to Office Ladies on the free Odysee app and wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

Sports Radio 610 presents Payne and Pendergast. Pain and Pendergast.

[A]

Sorry.

[B]

We're just trying to solve the Astros problems.

[C]

We're trying to fix Jim Crow.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

We're trying.

[B]

We're trying to fix a man who's been highly successful.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And won two championships as an owner.

[C]

We're trying to get a 19 point plan.

[B]

Fix this poor guy. Yeah. Oh, man. We'll get back to the Astros a little bit later. Payne and Pendergast, with you here on a Tuesday. We are nine days. No, eight days. Eight days away from training camp. Rookies report today, I think.

[C]

Really?

[B]

I think so.

[C]

Good.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

In there.

[B]

Basic training when you were a player,

[C]

to learn how to make your bunk.

[B]

When you were a player. Did rookies report like a week ahead of everybody else?

[C]

We reported at the same time.

[B]

Really?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

And then we got hazed. There was our rookie mini camp.

[B]

What was the worst hazing?

[C]

We were pretty. We weren't bad. I just thought, yeah, no, we weren't bad at all.

[B]

I feel like the worse the hazing, the worse the culture is in the building with.

[C]

Yeah, you know what? Yeah, there might be. Well, the Saints were forever. When I was a player, the Saints were known as, by far the place you didn't want to go to.

[B]

Hitting Cam Cleveland with, like, socks full of pennies.

[C]

So that's what ended up. That's what hazing really fell off in the NFL when the Saints got busted for doing all kinds of nasty stuff.

[B]

So did bounties responsible for that.

[C]

Yeah, they do everything. They clean up the league.

[B]

Right.

[C]

By virtue of setting a bad example,

[B]

the Saints are like, thank God they didn't catch us deflating.

[C]

You know what? Through no fault of their own, the Saints kind of also enhanced RE play because they got hosed so bad in the championship game.

[B]

Yeah, that's a great point.

[C]

So, yeah, thank you, New Orleans Saints, for everything. No, the Saints used to do like it was going back to, you know, Jim Morris senior was an old school Coach. And I remember some. Joel Smingy was a defensive end who was a rookie in New Orleans, and he said it was just awful.

[B]

He's a teammate of yours.

[C]

Jacksonville. Yeah. But he had been a rookie with the Saints.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it was two things. One was the veterans on the team were like, this is back when training camp was seven weeks long or whatever it was. And. And he was. He took every rep of every period because they had a bunch of veteran defensive ends that weren't going to practice much. So he was out there every rep of every period. New Orleans training camp. Yeah. In New Orleans.

[B]

And they don't practice inside the Superdome.

[C]

And they would do stuff to the rookies, like. I mean, they would. They tape them. One of the old things to do. And this wasn't something that happened. This would happen for disciplinary reasons when I was a younger player. But in New Orleans, it was just the standard. They tape guys up to the goalpost.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And leave them there all night. All night.

[B]

All night.

[C]

All night. You'd get taped to a goal post all night and then have to practice the next day where you're taking all

[B]

the rest with no sleep.

[C]

Yeah. Or whatever sleep you could get standing up to a goalpost.

[B]

And it's. And I'm guessing it's. You're probably. It's probably not just one person taped to the goalposts. It's probably like you're scrunched up against two other guys all night.

[C]

I was at. When I did. When we were at the super bowl in New Orleans. Oh, I know. I know. When we were at the super bowl at New Orleans, there were. You know. I do that. The NFL PA gives you these full health scans and everything. Yeah. And they were offering one at the Super Bowl. So I went and did it. And there were a bunch of former Saints players there. So I was talking to a couple of.

[B]

From that era.

[C]

Yeah. And they were telling. They were. I was. I was kind of comparing notes with the story Swingy had told me. Yep. It all checked out. It was awful. Man. I don't. Yeah. Can you imagine, though, you're trying to make an NFL team. Biggest thing you've ever done in your entire life. And you're doing it on no sleep. You're getting going. You have to run through gauntlets where they're hitting you with socks full of quarters. It was just. It was a rough scene, man. Wow.

[B]

And being taped outside to a goalpost. This is not the Greenbrier where at night it's 62 degrees and pleasant and there's not gigantic creatures flying around.

[C]

Right, right.

[B]

You've got mosquitoes. This is in Metairie, Louisiana. Well, I don't know where it was back then, but the Saints now their outdoor facilities in Metairie. Imagine. It's just. Imagine like if you, if you went to the French Quarter in the summertime. You know how hot it gets in the French Quarter.

[C]

Imagine getting.

[B]

You had to sleep standing up taped to a lamp post.

[C]

You got taped to a lamppost in the French Quarter and you're not even paying for it. Yeah, right. You're not even into it. Yeah.

[B]

You know, you're by yourself. There's no services you're getting.

[C]

You know what I'd really like?

[B]

I'd like to be taped to a lamppost.

[C]

But I think it was in 97 or 98, somebody finally got injured really badly and running one of those gauntlets with the socks full of quarters. And that's when everything. They kind of cracked down on it around the league. The other thing that used to be common in pro sports, and this is much more tragic, was the. Just like, like lots of drinking on the planes, on the wide. But then remember a couple. That the Carolina hockey player got killed somebody in a DUI from a team flight.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

It was something, some kind of tragedy.

[B]

I vaguely remember.

[C]

And I remember that was when all of a sudden they cracked down because it was on our flights. This is how it used to work. The. There's a liquor cabinet in the back. Flight attendants weren't supposed to touch it, but the flight attendants were cool as hell. And so they kind of smuggle you. They'd smuggle you the little bottles of liquor as long as you were, you know, friendly and got poured in your Coke or whatever. But they cracked down on that and put locks on the liquor cabinet and

[B]

everything so the flight attendants, like can't even get in there.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Oh, man, those were the days.

[C]

No, but they used to have kegs on the plane and all kinds of crazy stuff.

[B]

Oh, no.

[C]

Probably. That probably violates FAA restrictions.

[B]

So. Yeah, you're pro.

[A]

Hey, what.

[C]

What should we put in this airplane? A 150 pound metal cylinder.

[B]

It's just in there. Pretty meticulous about how much things weigh on these flights.

[C]

Don't worry, we'll put a seatbelt on it during takeoff. Why are we a little off here right now?

[B]

All right, so yesterday you and I were talking about the first four games of the season. The question we had posed yesterday, if you want to go back and listen to it, it was right about this time was does CJ Stroud have a chance to shut up all the doubters in the first four games of the season? Never going to shut up all of anything. But that's what you do.

[C]

No matter how great you are, you'll always have your doubters and people will, they will not shut up.

[B]

There's definitely a faction of Texan fans that are waiting till the playoffs next year to evaluate C.J.

[C]

stroud. It's an interesting question because I think by and large I think the national media is other than the white hot heat after the playoffs. I think people have kind of settled in and into a wait and see.

[B]

I agree.

[C]

And there's, you know, there'll be a few here and there. Kendrick Perkins will say he wouldn't throw water on CJ Stroud if he was burning all of that. But like by and large people, I think like the analysts are very much in wait and see mode with CJ

[B]

I think so too. I think so too. I think as a team they've been more bullish on the Texans this off season than I've expected. Yeah, I've seen more people than I thought picking the Texans to go to the Super Bowl.

[C]

It's a whole lot of look at how good they are. If they could just figure out the minor detail of their quarterback. Yeah, yeah, it is like the Texans as a team have getting a lot of praise is. Well, almost well simultaneously given a backhand slap to C.J.

[B]

yes, yes, I think so. I. That that's a good way to put it. So the first four games of the season are the Bills at home, the Bengals at home, at the Colts home for Dallas, and this just Hammers home. I'll get to the poll question I put up in a second here, Seth. This just hammers home. Looking at these four games and you got a division game in there, but you got three home games in the first four weeks of the season. And I think this applies to the entire pre buy week for the Texans because they play following these four games. They play the Titans in Tennessee, Jacksonville in London, and then they close out the pre bi week portion with a home game against the Giants. They have to go five and two at least in these seven games because I don't think there's a nine game or 10 game winning streak sitting on the other side of the bi week this year. Yeah, the schedule you're, you're going to be, you're going to be drained of half your home schedule before the bi week. You play four of Your eight home games in the first seven weeks of the season. So not only you overloaded on road games in the back end of the season. You got a couple Thursday night games. You got an entire December of cold weather road games against mostly playoff teams.

[C]

Yeah. The back end of the season is, I would say, brutal. Except that I. If the Texans were a bad team, I would say it's brutal. It is a test, though.

[B]

It's manageable.

[C]

It's very much of a. Prove it. Like, hey, are you who we think you can be in the second half of the season, especially in potentially inclement weather?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

And my concerns with CJ Aren't about cold weather. It's about precipitation.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

I just. Like, we've seen this in nice weather in Houston when there's a drizzle in the day, that the passing game kind of goes to crap during. During practices. That I just. I need to see Jay perform well, you know, by. By NFL quarterback standards when it's wet out.

[B]

Yeah. Would you sign up for three and one in these first four games without knowing what's behind door number two?

[C]

I would. As a rule, I'd like to sign up for three and one at any portion of the season. Yep. This is. This is an interesting one, because the Bills. Look, I. I always have to caution myself against getting too cocky about the Bills because Josh Allen's been so bad in Houston, but I can't help myself. I'm cocky. I'm cocky. Bills right now. Yeah.

[B]

Beat him.

[C]

The. The three in one part. I think the. The. The game that would make me most nervous, or should me make me the most nervous, is the Bengals only because everything that they did in the offseason was a. To get their defense right. Like Joe Burrow. Remember how mopey Joe Burrow was last year during the regular season?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Um, like he was kind of hinting that he might not want to be there long term.

[B]

All season long.

[C]

He's done a couple things this offseason have Bengals fans very happy. Because. Because typically what the Bengals would have done in a situation like this offseason is cut bait, maybe, and try to trade Joe Burrow, whatever. But they end up. They trade a first round draft pick to bring in a defensive lineman.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

To fix one of the worst defenses in the league.

[B]

And they spent big money on Joe's side of the ball.

[C]

And they brought. They brought in three. They brought in three new stud defensive linemen. They bolstered their secondary. They did all of these things. They retained some players that they wouldn't typically retain. So Burrow has said a couple of things that have people feeling really good in Cincinnati because Burrow seems happy with the commitment, but it's been on the defensive side of the ball. The Everything the Bengals did to improve their defense is also like the counterpart is everything the Texans have done to improve their offense. They bolstered their interior offensive line. Oh, what did the Bengals do? They bolstered their interior defensive line. The, the physicality and everything that you want to see out of this offense is going to be tested by Dexter, Dexter Lawrence and Boy Maffe and Jonathan Allen. So that's a huge test. And I like, I'm, I'm excited to see it because if they can, if they can make Bengals fans depressed about the state of their defense, if they can say, oh My gosh, the CJ Stroud just did that. CJ Stroud did that to our new fangled defense.

[B]

CJ's got ties to Ohio. Oh, you know, hometown home state college player there.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And then Indy and Dallas are the other two games. All right. So my question that I put up in this poll was the question I asked yesterday. So the gods have told you, Seth, that you're going three and one to start the season three and one in four games. But their gods are going to let you pick which of those four games the Texans lose. So you're going to pick which game the Texans lose. Whichever one is least painful by whatever your standard of pain is before, before you make your guess here on these four games real quickly, I will rapid fire what I think the case is for picking each one. As a Texan fan, I think the case for picking Buffalo is the one loss is they're easily the best team of these four. They're a Super bowl contender. These other three teams are not in that same. So you don't feel while it would suck going 0 and 1 and losing to a team that you've dominated in your stadium, it's. It's under. I think the Texans might be like a. They might be an underdog in that game by one or two points to

[C]

start the season against another one and a half points. Or at least they were for the longest time. Yeah.

[B]

And they probably will be unless there's a big injury. So. So there's no, there's no shame in losing a game that you're an underdog. Yeah, that's the case for Buffalo. The case for Cincinnati is, I think from an emotional standpoint, that would be the least painful. Like Buffalo, the emotion is you're Starting. Oh, and one that stinks. Indy and Dallas. The emotion is obvious in those. You got two hated rivals. So that's the case for Cincinnati. Again, you're going to be guessing what Texan fans picked here in a second. The case for choosing Indianapolis is one that you made yesterday, which is you lose road division games and in football all the time. You can recover from that. Yeah, it would suck losing to the

[C]

Colts, and I don't respect the Colts all that much.

[B]

Right.

[C]

I think the Colts will get. This is the thing. I think the Colts will get off to a fast start again this year. And then as people catch up to Daniel Jones's limitations, especially with him coming up in Achilles, it'll be same old.

[B]

Yep. The case for Dallas for. And again, we're picking. You get. If the Texans start three and one, you get to pick which game they lose. The case for Dallas is purely empirical. It's. They're an NFC opponent. They'll factor the least into tiebreakers at the end of the year. So it doesn't matter who it is. If it's an NFC opponent, they're always going to be less important than the afc.

[C]

But they're the most emotional, which makes it complicated. I mean, because that's the other thing. I mean, the Colts are the divisional ones, so, like, there's emotion tied into that. And it's the Colts, but you get to see them again later down the road.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

You only play the Cowboys every other year or so at best. So that's the, you know, depending on how the division matchups shake up.

[B]

So.

[C]

And then, then you, You. You have co workers who are Cowboys fans, and they're the worst. They're the worst of your coworkers.

[B]

Okay. So the question is, Texans start three and one. You get to pin. I put this to the, to the fans.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's. The poll is still open, by the way, on my, on my Twitter feed at Sean T. Pendergast, if you want to go vote, if you want to get out and vote, which team would you pick to have the loss to? Who do you think? Texan fans.

[C]

I think I don't even have to think too hard about this. When it comes to Texans fans, teams, you laid out all the arguments for why you might want to lose to them, but they're broad and varied where people, people can unite in their hatred of the Dallas Cowboys, not just in Houston, but nationwide. Okay. And so I think the winner of the poll. So I personally would be cool with losing to the Colts if it guarantees going Three and one.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I think the winner of this poll of the fans is that they would prefer that they don't. Oh, so they want to lose, too.

[A]

Crap.

[C]

Why did this.

[B]

You were going down a cowboy.

[C]

I know. This is the eighth time you've. I think Cincinnati is what they say.

[B]

Cincinnati won. Yes. What do you think the percentage was?

[C]

It was probably 40%.

[B]

All right, Byron, give Seth a ding for the guess of the Bengals.

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[B]

can you find the ding?

[C]

I've got my.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah, never mind. We got the bell in here. Give Seth a ding for the guests on the percentage as well. We give you a ding if you're within 5%. Yeah, 43.3% chose. We'll lose to the Bengals. Yeah, we cannot be losing to the Bills, the Colts, or the Cowboys. We'll go with the one that has the least emotion tied to the least

[C]

emotion tied to it. I mean, like, you're right, like, empirically, it should be Dallas.

[B]

Should be Dallas.

[C]

Screw that. Yeah, no.

[B]

Life's too short to be losing to the Cowboys.

[C]

The other thing about the. The way it lines up with these teams, and let's say. Let's say for the sake of argument, Indianapolis gets off to the start that they did last year offensively, where they're a potent offense that would suck. Look, there's a chance that the Texans defense has a bit of a letdown here somewhere in the first four games. You know, you can't pitch. Can't pitch shutouts against the best quarterback, but you've got. You've got some. Dude, you've got some quarterback heavyweights in here in the first, if you're.

[B]

I think Texas fans are counting on the Colts being the breather in this.

[C]

So I think that's the nice thing about this opening stretch is, hey, can the Texans be a more balanced football team this year?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Can they be a team where, if the defense isn't at its best, that it doesn't matter because you can match. You can have some potency on the offensive side?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, the two teams, the Bengals and the Cowboys, those were two of the worst defenses in the league last year. Yes. And they took. They. They went to great lengths to try to improve them in the offseason. The Texans, if the offense can figure some stuff out, it would be a really satisfying feeling to make those teams feel awful about their offseason.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't want to be the team that's feeling awful about my offseason.

[B]

No, no, no. I don't either. Who do you think finished second in the poll of Texan fans? I'm guessing largely Texan fans. That's my following.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Who do you think the number two team was that they. If they could pick to lose to?

[C]

So the winner was Indianapolis.

[B]

Winner was Indianapolis. In a runaway, they got nearly half the votes of four teams.

[C]

I think the second one would be because nobody wants to lose the home opener. So I think the second. Second one would be Cincinnati.

[B]

Do you think? Well, Cincinnati was first.

[C]

I'm sorry? Indianapolis.

[B]

Indianapolis. Indianapolis actually finished last.

[C]

Oh, really?

[B]

Yeah, 14.7%. Number two was the Bills.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

At 25%. And then number three was the Cowboys at 17%. I struggle with this because I guess ultimately I picked the Bengals because it's the least of a bunch of bad choices.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But.

[B]

But I. Boy, starting out two and. Oh. Against those two teams and those two quarterbacks, that would be a hell of a thing for C.J. stroud.

[C]

We should do this exercise every day leading up to the home opener against the Bills because maybe by Then I'll understand the concept and I'll guess based on the right track.

[B]

It is a bit of a convoluted question.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But yeah. So that's so Texan fans. 40, nearly 44% say, okay, if I got to lose a game in the first four, it's the Bills or at the time or sorry, it's the Bengals. I was, it was fun. I was listening to, to Clint and Ron yesterday at the beginning of their show in the first hour while I was on my walk and they were going through the first four weeks of the season.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And Clint was getting me excited about it, man. Talking about just like not even on the offensive side for the Texans, but like what a proving ground those four games are going to be for the defense.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like you and I are talking about like C.J. stroud and can he get redemption through these four games? And you've touched on the defense in this segment. I know. Would you bring up the potential for the Colts starting off this season like they did last season if Daniel Jones is healthy and everybody's healthy for them? That is a, that is a four game offensive gauntlet.

[C]

Right.

[B]

For a good defense.

[C]

Well, the fun thing about the Bills or the interesting thing about the Bills is that the complaint with the Bills for the last couple of years, ever since Stephon Diggs left, really is that he just doesn't have any speed on the outside. And this year they bring in DJ Moore and like they're saying all kinds of positive things about Keon Coleman, but he's been a big disappointment. He's been, I mean, he's been tardy a bunch of times. He's been a healthy scratch in four games last year. But I think the presence of D.J. moore is interesting. If you think about what the Texans did to Josh Allen last year, they completely eliminated his, his ability to hurt. Hurt them with his legs. They, they used a spy really effectively. They did a lot of things to take Josh Allen out of the best version of himself. And that's something that's been an issue for the Texans defense at times. Is the running quarterback, especially just in key moments in the fourth quarter and what have you. They did a great job with that, but they were doing it against Josh Allen, who didn't have a lot of speed in his receiving core and a lot of ways to test you. It's a lot harder to go in and spy, spy Josh Allen all the time and do some of those things if you've got more legitimate speed in the receiving core. So it's I think it'll be as long as everybody's healthy, it'll be a little bit more of a test this year.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

But I think part of it is just. It's a. That is a. NRG Stadium is a brutal place to play for quarterbacks. I mean, that game, being at home is just such. Such an advantage over any of the good quarterbacks that I still feel really confident about it. That's the one there. I still. I get personally offended that the Texans are underdogs in that game.

[B]

Yes, The Bills.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I was. I was a little surprised if it

[C]

was in Buffalo, I get it. But at home, I just don't get it.

[B]

Yep. Yep. People weighing in on the text page, we. There's a little. There's some people picking team. There's some people going through the exercise that I asked them to go through, and then there's others that, if I were a teacher, I'd be like, you need to listen better. They're like, we're not losing in the first four games.

[C]

Yeah. They choose not to participate.

[B]

That's fine. I hope they. Hey, I hope they go four and. Oh, also, it's an exercise. That's what we're doing here.

[C]

You know what?

[B]

You are.

[C]

You're like one of those people. Are you going to debate about something and you want to redefine the meaning of all words?

[B]

Right.

[C]

You know, thank you. Well, yeah, like.

[B]

Well, let's.

[C]

Let's actually really redefine. What does the word is mean anyway? Yeah.

[B]

No losing to the Cowgirls. I will accept a loss to the Bengals. All the. Okay, this is interesting. All depends on how we lose. If we lose to Buffalo, but we lose by a field goal in the end, I'm happy. If we lose 35 to 2, then I'm depressed. Well, I can't get that nuanced with a poll, but I understand what you're saying.

[C]

Which team would you be okay with getting blown out by?

[B]

That's an interesting question.

[C]

The four and O people are not going to be happy.

[B]

They won't. The new Fender poll is you're three and one to start the season. The one loss is a blowout.

[C]

How about this one? You get blown out, you go home and you find out that your dog died while you're at the game. Which one? Which team?

[B]

Are you okay with that?

[A]

Right.

[C]

Your house burned to the ground.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

Okay. Getting blown out. If the defense had a big letdown, I don't want to get blown out by the. CJ threw three picks the blown out. Getting blown out. By far, it cannot be the cause.

[B]

You don't play them probably for another

[C]

four years, and they're so annoying.

[B]

Yeah. Okay, so nothing. So let's do process of elimination. We don't want to get blown out by the Cowboys. No, I don't want to get blown out in the open.

[C]

If you have to get blown out. Okay, four and oh, people, if you have to get blown out.

[B]

I think the answer is the same.

[C]

I think the Silver.

[B]

I think it's still the Bengals.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

And here's why. Because you're going to beat the Bills in the opener in this scenario, right? You're going to go 3 and 1. I could see there being a little bit of a letdown after that. Even though it's Joe Burrow coming to town, I could see there being a little bit of a letdown. Now, this would be a lot of a letdown if you lost by three touchdowns or something like that. But I would look at and go, okay, well, this is a great offense with the Bengal. You know, let's say they lose, you know, 35 to. To 17 or something like that. I'd be like, all right, it's a really good offense. C.J. had a bad day. You beat the bills. You're one and one. You live to fight another day. I, like. I can live with that. I can. That's an explainable one where. I mean, we're. Obviously, we don't like getting blown out by anybody, but I think the answer is still the same. I think it's still the Bengals. I do not want to get blown out by the Colts in Indianapolis.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And I don't want to lose. I don't want to lose. That opener might. That Buffalo game might be the least of the ones I want to lose at all. I want to get off to a one and. Oh, start beating a Super bowl favorite.

[C]

Can I tell you one of my favorite things I heard on a podcast? I've been trying to listen to a lot of podcasts from some of the Texans opponents. Get a feel for the things that, you know, nobody's talking about. Well, well, you know, the Bengals, they're still concerned about their linebackers. That's an interesting one. But the Colts. My favorite thing I heard in a Colts podcast was that this is exactly what we've been hearing about Anthony Richardson. Boy, you know what? He looks really good in their final seven. On seven that they did. I mean, he was three for eight, but it was really impressive.

[B]

Were they trying.

[C]

That was the final team Period. I think during minicamper, it was one of those deals. I can't remember which drill it was, but they were like. He looked really impressive. He made a couple of really nice throws. He was 3 for 8. But the throws that he made were really impressive. I was like, how are you guys. How are you guys still doing this? Dude, how are you still talking about this guy? This is what he's been.

[B]

This is what he was before you even drafted.

[C]

It was the exact emblem of what his issue has been. Yes, he can make some incredible throws, but he was. He was sub.50% small sample size and all. Yes, but, like, that's the exact. That's the exact. How can you gush about that?

[B]

Yeah. Oh, my God.

[C]

I'm not saying that going 3 for 8 in a team drill is like the worst thing in the history, but it's just. Don't gush about it while you're painting a picture of exactly what Anthony Richardson has been.

[B]

Dude, don't touch the stove again. Stop touching the stove. Colts fans. It's hot.

[A]

Oh.

[C]

And they were. They were talking about it in that way. They're kind of like, ah, you know what? Like, hey, listen, man, I don't like. I know, but he looks really good.

[B]

The Ryan Clark story from yesterday, shifting gears a little bit.

[C]

Ryan Clark, first we found out he is fired from espn.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

Or laid off, if you want to say it, put it that way. There's going to be a bunch of layoffs today. Yeah. NFL bought 10% of ESPN. Or did ESPN by 10% of the NFL Network.

[B]

NFL owns 10% of ESPN.

[C]

ESPN.

[B]

Yes. Yes. Yeah. Because how do you own these that

[C]

work when Disney owns ESPN? They don't own 10% of Disney, do they?

[B]

No, no, just 10% of ESPN.

[C]

And so there's going to be. There's going to be some more layoffs today. But Ryan Clark, we found out yesterday that he was losing his job. And then it later emerged that Ryan Clark was actually doing a segment on air when he learned from somebody that he was about to get fired.

[B]

He was on NFL Live. I think he was one of, like, the panelists on there.

[C]

Well, and then. Oh, yeah, ESPN actually told him because they got. Espn realized that some other outlets had gotten some information. They were going to report it, and

[B]

he was going to find out on the Internet that he was getting fired.

[C]

Yeah. So they decided to do the. The better thing, which is the kid tell him in the middle of a.

[B]

They did the less unclassy thing. Yeah, just fire him in the middle Of a show.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And he didn't come back on that.

[C]

He was done, like, show up. Back on the show.

[B]

He was.

[C]

How weird that I would say, whoever told him. Well, I guess it was ESPN themselves, because at first I didn't realize it was ESPN that told them. I thought I was putting myself in that situation. And it would have to be somebody that I really, really trust. Because if that were to happen, if, like, during the break, somebody came in, like, let's say Lopez came in. I trust Lopez, but he's not, like, management or whatever. Right. If Lopez came in and said, hey, Seth, they're about to fire you, I would still. I would stay on air. I'd be like, hold on a second. Wait. Like, okay, I need to. I need to. I need to figure out what the hell's going on.

[B]

Yeah, I wonder. Yeah.

[C]

Because, like. But. But then come to find out it was actual management that told him.

[B]

Well, yeah, told him. And then. So the question is, like, okay, do you stay on and fin your shift or do you come off or do you get off the air? Or did ESPN tell them and say, pull him off the air because you're afraid of what Ryan Clark might say, if he might say something on there? Because this just in. Ryan Clark, maybe this is why he's. He's out of his ESPN job right now. He said a lot of things in the last several months that he's had to apologize for or done things he's had to apologize for.

[C]

None of them have been, like, all that bad, have they? No, but.

[B]

But you. But I mean, firing somebody. Firing somebody who openly campaigned on social media for his new contract.

[C]

Oh, yeah. He's a bit of a live wire

[B]

when it comes to the employment side.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That is. Okay. So the other part in the.

[B]

I would guess that ESPN was like, so you can, you know, we need your jersey.

[C]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Because, you know, you fire a guy, you don't know what.

[C]

Ryan, you got torched Earth in the middle of that moment.

[B]

Right, Right.

[C]

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to withhold really bad news from somebody for, like, where, like, you knew that they were gonna. My nightmare is always like, okay, let's say. Let's say my Squarespace is not only

[A]

the best place to build your website, but to discover new domains, too? Something like topfootballcamp.com for your top football camp, whisperingbloom.com for your silent retreat, or whisperingboom.com for your shouting retreat. Maybe velvetcords.com for your music studio. Or existentialglitter.com for your artist studio. With a website from Squarespace, you can build your brand and your business [e-mail] get your domain before they're gone. With offer code. Make it real for 10% off your domain or website.

[C]

Football is fun. Why shouldn't your football podcast be the same?

[B]

Follow and listen to Heed the Call NFL Podcasts with Dan Hanzas and Mark Sesler.

[C]

Wherever you get your podcasts, let's say a loved one is about to play in the super bowl, and then there's an unspeakable tragedy that happens like an hour before the Super Bowl.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like a family member dies or something. Oh, you withhold the information until I definitely Super Bowl.

[B]

I 100% would.

[C]

But then I also worry that, like, what if somebody somehow, he finds out in this day of text messaging and whatnot, he finds out sometime, you know, it has to.

[B]

But I think something like what you're describing, that's that you can explain to somebody why you didn't tell them the news.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[B]

I just didn't want to affect your performance in that situation. Ryan Clark finding out on social media, if that's how he had found out that he was getting fired, like, that's inexcusable. That's in, you know, back in the day.

[C]

Back in the day, they didn't tell people who were dying that they were dying.

[B]

I know.

[C]

They had to figure it out on their own. Like, they were just. They thought that was the ethical thing to do.

[B]

I don't know. That sounds kind of like a better time and place for me.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know. I don't know.

[C]

I don't know. I'd like to get my ducks in a row, you know, especially. I'd like to know that. Okay. If I really only got three months left, I should probably, you know, be sure I paid the gas bill.

[B]

What's the old saying about preparing? You don't have to get prepared if you're already. You stay prepared.

[C]

All right? Okay.

[B]

So always have your ducks in a row.

[C]

What is that they say about old settlers? His life is in constant turmoil. Yeah. What do they say about the old saying about that's got a lot of loose ends he's got to tie up before he dies?

[B]

So. Yeah. So Ryan Clark, fired at esp, fired by espn. Now he's still got his podcast. My guess is he lands on his feet somewhere.

[C]

If I were him, I would just keep. Keep on doing the pivot.

[B]

Yeah. I'm sure he makes A good living doing that. It's a very popular podcast.

[C]

There was. I talked to Fred about Fred Taylor about that out at training camp a couple years.

[B]

He's one of his co hosts.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, That's. And Fred, honestly, like, because Fred isn't like, the biggest personality on that show, he's like the third biggest person.

[B]

I think it's a perfect fit. He's one of the.

[C]

Yeah, no, like, Channing Crowder's got a huge personality. Ryan Clark does his serious face thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I think Fred does a good job of kind of being relatable to a lot of the athletes. But Fred. Fred, logistically is. Drives a lot of, like, he has to set up camera crews every place he goes. I was kind of surprised. I was talking to Fred and I was like, so who do you have, like, you know, to coordinate all this stuff? And he's like, I do. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I got like, you got to set up a sound person, a lighting person, all this stuff. It was really impressive.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. It's. They. They do a good job on there. I'm. I'm not wild about Ryan Clark on espn. I do like what I see. I don't. I'm not a religious watcher.

[C]

Content out of the.

[B]

That they ask good questions, they get good guests. I think it's really good.

[C]

Well, no, look at the Kelsey's. Are the. They're going to sell or did sell their pockets. $100 million. Yeah.

[B]

Bucks.

[C]

And I think Ryan should focus on the podcast.

[B]

Maybe so. Maybe so. This would be this based on Ryan Clark getting fired. Yesterday I posted this on Twitter. Got a lot of traction on Twitter yesterday based on Ryan Clark getting fired because he was making 2 million a year. But, you know, that, which is I, you know, compared to Stephen A. Making 20 and McAfee about to make 60 is nothing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm guessing Ryan Clark, it came down to something here or something there. When they decided it was going to be him, they like, oh, he's on a lot of stuff for them. Yeah, he's on Monday Night Countdown. He was on NFL Live. Three things for young broadcasters out there based on Ryan Clark getting fired. Three lessons. One, don't be joyless. Ryan Clark is one of the more joyless people in media. He's all like you. Like you said, he's always so serious. He tries to turn everything, even things that are fun, into serious things. I can't remember one time Ryan Clark has laughed or made me laugh. And I do remember the one time he tried to joke and Someone didn't get the joke. They didn't get that he was joking.

[C]

Oh, it was when he talked about the Uber driver. That's what it was. He said the Uber driver always had wrap on when he

[B]

totally believed him because he's serious about everything.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. The Uber drivers are profiling him. You know, the one thing I wondered about that is. I'm guessing, I think there's a place where you can, when you're going through your profile that you can actually.

[B]

There is.

[C]

Like, and I felt like he might even throw an Uber drivers under the bus for profiling him when he himself had actually selected that without remembering that my preferred music. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Number two, don't belittle your colleagues on

[C]

air, especially when one ends up going to espn. That your new part? No, that's right. He belittled him once he came to espn. Yeah.

[B]

We'll play the audio right here. Here's Peter Schrager on the get on the first take panel talking in the. This is after Week 1 of the NFL season last year. They're talking Eagles, Cowboys, and Peter Schrager had a take that was a little contrarian to the players on the set there. And Ryan Clark did the. This is the non player in you talking. It was the one target.

[C]

He runs the outright. You wake up this quarter, AJ Brown had a better day than Ceedee Lamb. You know what you wake up saying though? AJ Brown's team is one and okay, I get it. But the thing is this though, and we shouldn't do this on tv and so I apologize if people think this is rude. That's the non player. Oh, stop. That's no CP Lamb is.

[B]

Let me tell you why.

[C]

I'm not saying I'm not looking at fantasy football, Ryan. I'm not. Don't belittle me like that. I could come in and say as 3x players are saying one thing and give an alternative perspective that maybe CD Lamb did play. Well, Peter, what I need for you to do. What I need for you to do is not get mad and let me finish for one.

[A]

Okay, go on.

[C]

It wasn't about you. It was going to be about me.

[B]

Okay, for once, it's not about you.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

It's about me.

[C]

That's a dude. That's. That's a. That is classy. Good gaslighting right there. Whenever the person is like, oh, I need you to calm down. Like one of the guys. One of the guys is the most kind of heated and emotive people on there. And Everything. What I need you to do is calm down. I know I just said that. I know I specifically used the pronoun you just a second ago, but this isn't about you. It's not always about you, even though I just said it specifically about you. Yeah.

[B]

So don't belittle your colleagues.

[C]

You know what the thing is, the way that that was presented by a lot of people when they, they played the clip, was it. Was they presented as worse than what Ryan Clark actually said he did, though. Like, he was going to make a point about, like, what it's like in the locker room and all of that. But he didn't. He didn't have to. He didn't have to point out as a, like, as a preamble to it. Oh, no, that's because you're not a player and you don't understand.

[B]

Let me talk. Let me talk for once.

[C]

Yeah, for once.

[B]

For once is a big game changer in there. That's an implication that Peter Schrager is doing this all the time to him.

[C]

Strager's favorite person on television. But he's never struck me as the guy that dominates the conversation.

[B]

Not at all.

[C]

Old bellicose. If anything, he's the opposite of bellicose.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Hey, I, you know, everybody's really awesome.

[B]

Yeah. This fun young team. Third one here. Real quick, because we're up against it. Don't negotiate with your employer in public. Don't use Twitter. And for those. I don't have time to read the paragraphs that Ryan Clark was typing on Twitter about the journey and how the last contract he got, he thought he got kind of slow played on that contract. This time around, I'm going to get what I'm worth. And he got $2 million a year. But he did it in public. None of those things like the Schrager thing, negotiating in public, being joyless. None of them are fireable offenses on the spot. But they are things. This is why. This is advice. They are things that when the time comes for your employer to make decisions, does this guy go or that guy go? It shows up on your balance sheet.

[C]

You know what somebody is saying, well, what about Pat McAfee? Because he just flat out called up, called out one of the higher ups at ESPN.

[B]

Yeah. McAfee's worth it.

[C]

Right? And. Well, the difference. Well, that's the difference. He's not an employee. That's the whole thing about McAfee. He's not an employee. He's got a contractual situation with his company. And Esp point. So like he has leverage and in like, and he actually has an ROI. Like ESPN knows with Pat McAfee that like, no, he's bringing this amount of viewers to us on YouTube and this, that the other thing and everything. The on air personalities don't necessarily have that, that clear cut of a proof of their value.

[B]

Not that we can discern from the outside for sure. Yeah, the ROI thing. But yeah, McAfee's got a very clear one because of that relationship that they have with him. All right, coming up next, the odds are out this is happening. It sounds like this thing that seems to be annoying a lot of people, including Mike Florio. Looks like it's going to be happening. At least that's what the rumors are on tmz. Hey, it's Jen Hatmaker.

[C]

Here's what I've learned in midlife.

[B]

Joy isn't the reward you earn after all the work is done. Joy is the work. That's what this new series on for

[C]

the Love is all about.

[B]

The sacred yes.

[A]

It's choosing delight, rest and pleasure on purpose.

[B]

Because saying yes to yourself, that's the thing that finally lets you fill your table with everybody else.

[C]

Come find your sacred yes with me. Follow and listen to for the Love.

[A]

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