Reacapping Day 7 of Training Camp

Summary

Payne & Pendergast — Recapping Day 7 of Texans Training Camp

Date: August 6, 2026
Hosts: Seth Payne & Sean Pendergast
Podcast: Payne & Pendergast
Episode Theme: A deep dive into Day 7 of Houston Texans training camp, leading storylines across offense and defense, key player observations, insights from interviews with CJ Stroud and Jadeveon Clowney, plus Astros postgame reactions.

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on Day 7 of the Houston Texans’ 2026 training camp—the last practice before an off day. Seth and Sean bring their usual mix of sharp football analysis and H-Town sports banter to break down the major stories from camp, with a significant focus on the progress of the Texans' offense, the defensive line’s reinforcements, individual player performances, and lessons from the Astros' recent game.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Texans Training Camp Day 7: The "Grind Day"

• Coach Demeco Ryans on Team Mentality:
  “Today was a grind day. Wanted to see our guys push through the elements... For you to build a good team, you gotta go through hard things, right?... Today was a tough practice. I’m proud of the effort our guys show, proud of the discipline and really proud of the way they finished—anything I could ask for.” (01:46)
• The final practice before a rest day was longer and more physically taxing, aimed at building team discipline and camaraderie.
• Seth: Compared training camp optimism to high school scrimmages—"everyone thinks their side won."

2. Offense Trending Up: Sean’s Surprise Positivity

• Sean’s Take:
  “By the end of the interview [with Canadian radio], I’m like, I am feeling very positive about almost everything on the Texans right now on the offensive side.” (08:48)
• Last year’s offense was "a boring conversation" for all the wrong reasons; now, every room (except possibly wide receiver depth) seems improved.
• Encouraging depth at TE, RB, OL, and tanking concern only at the punting position.

3. Offensive Highlights from Practice

• CJ Stroud’s Progress:
  • Seth: “In the absence of a good rushing attack and with pass protection that...broke down, CJ was still really good. CJ was maneuvering in a pocket... making good decisions.” (10:04)
  • Specific highlights: Two-minute drill success, consistently finding receivers like Jaden Higgins, managing field goals.
• Kicker Update: Kaimi Fairbairn hit from 55 and 60 yards; punter competition remains underwhelming, with Jack Stonehouse and Kai Kroger vying for the spot.

4. Offensive Line & Physicality: Rutledge vs. Penning

• Seth on rookie Keelan Rutledge: “He does [play to the echo of the whistle], but while he’s keeping good balance and good technique and everything. There’s a lot to like about Keelan Rutledge.” (12:48)
• Difference between Rutledge vs. notorious ‘fake tough guy’ Trevor Penning:
  “Penning gets his butt whooped but then is a badass when it doesn’t matter...Rutledge is good, and he’s also like that.” (14:03)

5. Tank Dell Injury Update: “Hangar Flying”

• Tank Dell participated in individual drills with pads and a helmet, signaling incremental progress.
• Seth: “When he wasn’t doing drills...he’s kind of like cutting through them as if he’s cutting through the orange cones in his workouts. Almost like he was trying to show people, ‘I’m not in this drill, but my legs do still work.’” (15:15)
• Coach Ryans: “We’ll do the right thing by Tank—making sure...he’s feeling confident when he’s able to step back out there in full team drills.” (17:13)

6. CJ Stroud Interview on NFL Network (with Kurt Warner)

• Stroud praised offensive weapons:
  • “Nico...is the one-on-one guy. He can do everything...the other guys are very talented...our tight end room...our ace at tight end, Cade Foster...running backs doing well...my biggest thing is we’re tough up front.” (20:45, 22:33)
• Sean echoes the optimism:
  “I’m generally a positive person, but I feel decent about the direction of these rooms right now.” (23:14)
• Seth highlights Stroud’s new approach: trusting checkdowns as a sign of QB maturity—“You can turn a boring route into a good one if you trust your teammates.” (25:11)

7. Jadeveon Clowney Returns: Why Houston?

• Clowney on choosing Houston:
  “I didn’t like how I went the first time...I kept watching them after I left, watched D’Meco put this team together, and I was like, I’ve been living here...I might as well stay home and help the team I got drafted to.” (26:12)
• Sean: “That’s a significant thing—that Clowney’s the one making the phone call.” (28:27)
• Clowney on Dallas:
  “I was shocked myself. I reached out a few times...I think they wanted to go through training camp. And I was like, that ain’t my mindset right now...I’m not going to go to a team that can’t win. I want to go to a team that can win...Why not do it here where I started it?” (30:28)
• Early impressions: “He was disruptive yesterday—immediate impact, speed to power reps.”

8. Astros Recap: Painful Extra-Innings Loss

• Game Recap: Astros lose 5-4 in 10 innings to Blue Jays—now 4-2 on the homestand, still leading the division by 1.5 games.
• Key Moment:
  Yordan Alvarez thrown out at 2nd after driving in Pena, failing to slide—big momentum swing.
  • “Anytime you don’t slide, there’s a level of casualness...most noteworthy where he should have slid and chose not to.” (37:53, 38:32)
• Coach Espada disagreed with the call, but Yordan postgame admitted he likely missed the bag. (39:04)

9. Texans Defense Remains Elite

• Linebacker Henry To’o To’o on the offense’s camp:
  “Man, they moving fast. O-line looks really good. CJ’s making great decisions. And the running backs, man...they ball. They can move and when they get clicking, it’s over.” (39:58)
• Sean notes how the defense sets a high bar—offensive success in camp actually means something.

10. Offensive Line Competition & Depth

• Unlike previous camps, this year sees true depth and competition.
• Seth: “This year, it’s...backups who are bona fide starters on other teams.” (42:08)
• Right tackle spot getting serious competition; Keelan Rutledge praised for his potential.

11. Quick Hitters

• Stefon Diggs signed by Washington; Sean and Seth weigh in on his off-field drama compared to Brandon Aiyuk.
• Preview of next segment: QB Tiers article by Mike Sando.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Coach Ryans on Team Building: “To build a good team, you gotta go through hard things.” (01:46)
• Sean on Offense: “There’s not a part of it that I come away...feeling negative...wide receiver room a little concerning right now.” (08:48)
• Seth on CJ Stroud: “CJ was still really good...maneuvering in a pocket...making good decisions.” (10:04)
• Tank Dell “Hangar Flying”: “He’s hangar flying. I like that.” (16:36)
• Clowney on returning: “If I had to pick to come here or somewhere else, I might as well stay home and help the team that I got drafted to.” (26:16)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:46 – Demeco Ryans’ opening message on the grind of camp
• 08:48 – Sean’s positive assessment of offense
• 10:04 – CJ Stroud’s pocket management in practice
• 12:48 – Seth’s analysis of Rutledge vs. Penning
• 14:58 – Tank Dell individual drills update
• 15:50 – Seth on “hangar flying” and Tank’s body language
• 17:13 – Coach Ryans on Tank Dell’s progress plan
• 20:45, 22:33 – CJ Stroud on team weapons during NFLN interview
• 26:12 – Clowney on his reasons for returning to the Texans
• 30:28 – Clowney on why he didn't return to Dallas
• 37:53 – Discussion of Yordan Alvarez’s costly out at 2nd base
• 39:58 – To’o To’o on offensive improvements

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Overall Tone & Feel

The episode flows with trademark upbeat, insider H-Town dialogue, blending optimism about the Texans' trajectory with sharp, honest critiques and plenty of player anecdotes. Sean is surprisingly bullish on the offense, while Seth’s ex-player insights fuel position breakdowns. Banter over Tank Dell’s “hangar flying,” the Astros botched slide, and Clowney’s homecoming add personality.

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For fans and non-listeners:
This episode delivers an essential snapshot of where the Texans are as they close their first week of camp, what’s working, what’s still a concern, and why the offense may finally be catching up to the defense. The show’s engaging style keeps it informative yet fun—a definitive listen for Houston sports die-hards.

Transcript

[Seth Payne]

How We Made youe Mother is a

[Sean Pendergast]

rewatch podcast that looks back episode by

[Craig Thomas]

episode at the hit TV show How

[Seth Payne]

I Met yout Mother. It's hosted by me, Josh Radner, along

[Craig Thomas]

with series co creator Craig Thomas.

[Sean Pendergast]

In seasons one and two, we were joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Bryan Cranston, Ashley Williams, Wayne Brady, Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey, Joe Manganiello, and my brilliant co creator Carter Bayes. And now we are diving into season three. So whether it's your 50th rewatch or

[Seth Payne]

your first time through, follow How We

[Craig Thomas]

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[Sean Pendergast]

of the Sports Media Podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports,

[Craig Thomas]

the Sports Media podcast has you covered.

[Sean Pendergast]

I've been turning down interviews all week. Kodakapi reached out. Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said no. I was booked on the Deitch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen wherever you get your podcast. Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Seth Payne]

We coming to eighth time.

[Demeco Ryans]

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

[Sean Pendergast]

Great day. Great day.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, give me some juice, flame.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Let's do it.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

Today was a grind day. Wanted to see our guys push through the elements. Like for you to build a good team, you gotta go through hard things, right? And you gotta establish that and grow that camaraderie amongst each other. And you do that by doing hard things. Today was a tough practice. I'm proud of the effort our guys show, proud of the discipline and really proud of the way they finished any everything I could ask for.

[Seth Payne]

And now this game's going to be over. As Miles Straw comes in to make a catch on Dalton Varshow's fly out to center. A frustrating end to what was a really good home stand. The Astros dropped two out of three to the Blue Jays, losing five four here in 10 innings. They end up with a four and two home stand. But they lose five, four today. Heading out to the West coast after this one.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

Five, four.

[Craig Thomas]

The final.

[Seth Payne]

What we do to Todd Callis's voice is.

[Sean Pendergast]

Todd, did Todd Callis go to Munchkin Land a couple days ago?

[Seth Payne]

Phillies did and had a contest winner do the.

[Sean Pendergast]

Need to listen to the.

[Seth Payne]

You're gonna bring a contest winner in.

[Sean Pendergast]

I thought it was safe to play the final call of the game without making Todd Callis sound like one of the Lollipop Guild.

[Seth Payne]

Did you see the Phillies had a. A contest winner come in and did a pretty good job of it doing a play by play of the Phillies game? Yeah, I thought it was. I was kind of. It almost sounded like it could. Broadcaster.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

But then he started screwing some things up.

[Demeco Ryans]

But he was.

[Seth Payne]

He was really, really good.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay. We play some Todd Callis audio again in headlines.

[Seth Payne]

We'll have to see if it's. We're gonna have to apologize to Todd Callis.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, whoever. Yeah, I. You know, I. I'd have to go look and see who pulled the play by play of the game. It might have been. It might have been Tyler. I guess it was an afternoon game yesterday.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So I don't know what happened to that audio, but that. That was Todd Callis on the call. I know it sounds like it might have been Todd Callis's pre pubescent teenage son, but the Astros lose yesterday and a spot.

[Seth Payne]

I got tossed.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did he get tossed?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, he got tossed for arguing the Jordan thing.

[Sean Pendergast]

I was so hopping mad that Jordan got thrown out at second that I stopped looking at the tv. I just saw Espada coming out of the dugout.

[Seth Payne]

I look at this as Espada grabbing the team by the throat, saying, I'm going to oppose my will. He very cordially got tossed. So.

[Sean Pendergast]

He always cordially gets tossed. He's never. He's. He's never feisty when he gets tossed.

[Seth Payne]

Like an old man complaining about his.

[Sean Pendergast]

Exactly right, sir.

[Seth Payne]

Sir. It's just as. This is not acceptable.

[Sean Pendergast]

Lukewarm. Yeah, it's funny. If. If for those of you may have missed it yesterday, The Astros lose 5 to 4 in 10 innings. And they fell behind 5 to 3. Brett Bennett Sousa comes up and gives up an immediate home run to Clement, the second baseman for the Blue Jays. An extra inning. So it's five three. But you've got Jeremy Pena on second. You've got Jordan Alvarez up at the plate. About as good a combo as you could have to try to get a rally started. And Jordan Laces one down the right field line, driving Pena home. And apparently Yordon just thought it was going to be a walk in double. How do I know that? Because he basically tried to walk into second place.

[Seth Payne]

I mean, he was running hard.

[Sean Pendergast]

He was. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I guess.

[Seth Payne]

I mean, he said. He said afterwards that he had his head down and. Because the second. Because the second baseman kind of deked him to try to, you know, disguise when the ball was coming in, but Yordon just had his head down and was going.

[Sean Pendergast]

He definitely thought he had it. This we know because Jordan loves to slide. Yeah, he slides more than Jordan Alvarez should slide. And he didn't slide. He kind of. He kind of, you know, slow stepped into second base and came up short of the bag by, I guess, an inch or so.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Got tagged.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

He wasn't. According to the umpire, his foot wasn't on the bag when he stepped into second base and got tagged out. And the Astros challenged it. There was really no angle that could show that he did touch second base. The funny thing is that after the game, we'll play this audio and headlines. After the game, Joe Espada said he thought Jordan was in there, that he wasn't out. And your Jordan, in his media availability, basically said, now, I think I missed the bag. So. So anyways. But that was a killer. You know, that was essentially. It was, you know, not game over necessarily, but the difference between now being down by one run, no outs, guy on second.

[Demeco Ryans]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Versus one out, nobody on with a lineup that's kind of a fall into the Grand Canyon after the third or fourth spot in the order. So anyways, they lose yesterday, still a game and a half up in the division. So that's good news.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, the. Yeah. Yeah. You come out of it happy about that series and feeling good about the team in general. A bray. You also. Ray's got a two point, something like over one ERA since May 1st. Now they're June 1st. Yeah, he's. Yeah, he's been very good. And, you know, and Hunter. Hunter was dealing. Hunter really wasn't. He was until he wasn't. Right, right. But like, as if you're still giving him a little bit of leeway in the comeback and the fact that it happens in the sixth inning, I think I feel like he's really, really close to just slamming the door shut on all of the. Any concern or, you know, he looked great last night.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

He had no hitter through five and a third, so he was. And then it kind of Got away a little bit in the, in the, in the sixth inning. But you're right, that was a game. You know, they get up 3 nothing early in the game and you got Hunter Brown on the mound. I'm like, okay, well this is good. They're going to win a series here. And. And they did not. So Astros lose yesterday. We'll get into that a little bit more later. I think it was funny. D' Ameco, Ryan's. That cut we played on the way in where he's like, you know, this is one of those grind it out days. This is one of those days where, you know, you know, you get to bond with your teammates out here and you grind it as if yesterday was any hotter than any other day out there.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, it was. Well, it was a longer practice they had the day before. The ones didn't do a whole lot and it was.

[Sean Pendergast]

What was the last day before day off.

[Seth Payne]

Right, Right. No, and it was a longer. They took more reps, they had more series than they had the day before. So they got, they got a lot of work done. But it wasn't like none of d' Amico has the philosophy of getting in and being really crisp and intense and off the field. So it's not a marathon three hour session or anything?

[Sean Pendergast]

No, no, I, it's funny. I went on radio up in. We'll get to the big stories in camp here in a second. I went on radio up in Canada yesterday afternoon on Edmond in Edmonton. They wanted to talk about the Texans. So naturally, when you're up in Edmonton, I'm your go to. I'm big up in Canada. So they were asking me all the questions you should about the Texans. These hosts on the station up there, mostly about the offensive side because that's the thing. The, the defense is the calling card for the Texans.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

But when you're in another market, there's only so many things you can ask about a defense that's just freaking amazing. Like, tell us how awesome the defense is. And then I tell them and they're like, tell us again how awesome the defense is.

[Seth Payne]

What other things are good about this?

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, Right. So a lot of questions about the offense. And you know what? I found this was a good exercise because if it were this time a year ago, I think I would have come on there and been like, this stinks. That stinks. The line stinks. C.J. looks terrible. He can't throw. He can't hit the broadside of a barn. He came in all muscled up. He had a shoulder injury and OTAs, blah, blah, blah. They kind of went methodically, Seth. Like one. One component of the offense at a time.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

And by the end of the interview, I'm like, I am feeling very positive about almost everything on the Texans right now on the offensive side. Not very. Not like they're going to be the greatest show on turf or anything like that. But I. There's not a. There's not a part of it that I. That I come away, like, getting into my truck after camp and being like, God, this sucks. Like, I feel like the offensive line is improving. They got the right type of guys. I feel like they got a lot of bodies in the tight end room, and I don't feel like they're just taking up space. I feel like there's. There's purpose with that room. The wide receiver room is just a little concerning right now. We'll talk about Tank here in a second. Cause I know people want to hear about that, because we don't know what Tank is.

[Seth Payne]

Jaylen Noel hasn't been practicing, right?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, Jalen Noel hasn't practiced yet. Um, but I still. But the ascension of Jaden Higgins almost cancels those two things out for me. Higgins has looked great. And then the running back room. I feel good about how Woody Marks has looked alongside David Montgomery. So I was like, after that interview, I hung up the phone. I'm like, I think I'm feeling okay about the offense. Like, just, you know, and then CJ's the big thing. CJ's had a good camp so far.

[Seth Payne]

Well, I have my. My impression of yesterday's practice, and I always like to go back. You know, it's. When you watch these practices, it's kind of like when you're watching a high school scrimmage and you're convinced that your side won the scrimmage. If you're watching a scrimmage where you don't keep score, every. Every high school football player knows that his team won the scrimmage. You know, oh, yeah, we kicked their ass. You're really shocked to learn that some guy was. Some guy from the other school was telling some girl at your school that they kicked your ass. You're like, no, what the hell? And then you go fight at a pizzeria. The. That's how. So you're out there practicing. I think the one big difference I noticed as I was chatting with Jason Bristol and a few other people out there yesterday was, oh, you know what? We're having actual conversations about whether the offense is actually having a Good day or a bad day, which last year was never. It's a boring conversation last year. So you go through and you watch the play by play. And yesterday, I think the real story is, for me, and this is going to sound like something I never would have allowed myself to say, I was encouraged yesterday because I thought the offensive line in the running game was more of the issue than anything else. And before you say, wait a second, Seth, haven't you been screaming about the rushing attack for years now? Yes, I have. But by and large it's been better, way better this year than it has been in the last couple years. But in the absence of a good rushing attack and with pass protection that it sometimes broke down, CJ was still really good. CJ was maneuvering in a pocket and it wasn't a bunch of like, well, that would have been a sack or that would have been a sack. It was. He would have kind of a pocket, but a muddy pocket. He'd step up, make a good decision. He's throwing the ball away when he needs to. But the two minute drill hit Jaden Higgins for 10 yards, got sacked in an incompletion, but then had Higgins for 15 yards. Stroud to Hutchinson for eight, then to Foster Moreau for 11 yards. They kick a field goal. Converted.

[Sean Pendergast]

Converted a fourth down at one point on that drive to a fourth and three. I think so. Yeah. The two minutes row was nice at the end by C.J. i agree.

[Seth Payne]

Right in the middle there. Yeah, they still had a series after that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep. So that was good to see. And Kaimi was on point yesterday. Wow, they had Kaimi kicking 55 and 60 yarders yesterday at the end.

[Seth Payne]

Pretty soon we're going to start having that conversation about, hey, how come field goal kickers can't also be the punter? Because these guys have not been draping themselves in glory.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did you see they brought one in for a tryout yesterday?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, that should be expected.

[Sean Pendergast]

And if I'm that guy and I'm not on the Texans, I don't feel great about my career.

[Seth Payne]

What a squandering of a couple.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jack Browning is his name.

[Seth Payne]

Well, what a squandering of a couple of badass names. Kai Kroger and Stonehouse.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jack Stonehouse.

[Seth Payne]

Jack Stonehouse battles it out with Kai Kroger, who can shake the fewest number of punts.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, Jack. Jack Stonehouse sounds like he foils crime, that name. So, yeah, punting, honestly, it's one of the few things that I'm pessimistic about. Everything it's been a good camp so far. I think just seven practices in, I feel pretty. I feel great about the defense, obviously. I feel better about the offense than I thought I would at this point.

[Seth Payne]

No. And I think Keelan Rutledge is really just kind of consistently putting in good, solid days. And, you know, I get skeptical sometimes when people are all excited about, oh, it's an offensive lineman who's nasty and fights a lot because sometimes those guys end up sucking because they're too aggressive. Okay. This is. He does that stuff, but while he's keeping good balance and good technique and everything, there's. There's a lot to like about Keelan Rutledge.

[Sean Pendergast]

I had this set for later, but I'll ask it now since you brought up Rutledge and since it sounds like you kind of, you know, you kind of subtweeted Trevor Penning right there when you said what you said.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Chris Poulos, who's the owner of West Point Lincoln, texted me yesterday. He said, can you ask Seth this?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

He said, I'd like you to ask Seth the difference between Trevor Penning and Keelum Rutledge. Rutledge seems to have that same edge where he's finishing plays. But I know Seth. He says, I know Seth's disdain for Penning, and I'm just curious his thoughts. What's the difference between.

[Seth Payne]

This is the key guys who get a reputation for being a badass when what they do is they get. They get destroyed on a play, but then they jump on the guy after the whistle. That's Trevor Penning.

[Sean Pendergast]

Gotcha.

[Seth Payne]

Or, oh, look at that. He drove that. He drove that safety out of bounds. That's Trevor Penning.

[CJ Stroud]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

He gets his butt whooped. But then he's a badass when it doesn't matter.

[Sean Pendergast]

Just finishing blocks on Aziz. I'll show you.

[Seth Payne]

Right. He's like having a good play and then finishing a block. I would say the same thing about Wyatt Teller. In his career, I never thought of. Wyatt Teller is a dirty player because he's putting people in the dirt in the course of action. You know, he's a genuinely good football player. So that's a big. That's why I like Penning was and always has been and will be a fake tough guy. So he did a lot of stuff versus Mac opponents and in the Senior Bowl. This just dirty. While also not being good at playing offensive line. The difference. That's. That's the difference. Rutledge is good, and he's also like that. The Dirty part. If you're a defensive lineman, the dirty part is guys. Like in training camp, if you're kind of. If you're dragging guys down from behind, if you're doing a lot of stuff, that's a practice tempo violation.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

Yes.

[Seth Payne]

And that's not Rutledge. He's just. He's getting it out. He's playing till the echo of the whistle.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's a tone setter, man. No doubt. He's a tone setter. All right. So Tankdale wore pads yesterday. Seth, he wore pads, he wore a helmet, and he ran patterns against air.

[Seth Payne]

Yes. And that was progress yesterday in the individual period. Yes.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

And he.

[Seth Payne]

And he caught some passes, had one drop. It looked at the end of that period, he was just kind of standing, hanging his head. And I don't know if he was. I don't know if he was praying or meditating or focusing on something or just upset with himself over the drop.

[Sean Pendergast]

You know what I noticed about Tank is that when we all saw him run out there, we saw he had on pads and a helmet. Everybody got real excited about that. The crowd popped for it and everything else thought there.

[Seth Payne]

I thought he was going to be in an Oklahoma drill.

[Sean Pendergast]

That would have been fun. So what I noticed about Tank is that when he wasn't doing things, when he wasn't doing drills, which is most of the practice.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

When he was kind of moving from person to person to go talk to them, he's like, kind of like cutting through them as if he's cutting through the little orange cones and his workouts and stuff. Almost like he was trying to show people, like, hey, I'm not in this drill.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

But my legs do still work.

[Seth Payne]

My old special teams coach, Frank Gantt senior, who is a Navy pilot, he talked to us about that hangar flying. You always want to be practicing all the time because, you know, pilots will sit and they'll go. You watch the Blue Angels rehearse for a flight where they all close their eyes and they're kind of going through everything mentally. So that's what, you know, used to do that John Randall, the Hall of Fame defensive lineman, seemed to work for. He used to go through the shopping mall hitting pass rush moves on people. It was just you just you constantly. We used to do.

[Sean Pendergast]

We were nine.

[Demeco Ryans]

No.

[Seth Payne]

I remember reading that story about John Randall, and I started doing it when I was a kid, like, working my hands just on random things. You know, people who ski. Yeah. You know, guys who are annoyingly always practicing their golf swing when you're Talking to them.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Like that's what they're doing. They're hangar flying.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay.

[Seth Payne]

And that's what Tank's doing. He's hangar flying.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's hangar flying. I like that. Did you do it as an adult when you were going through the mall?

[Seth Payne]

Not too much like John Randall. Not once I got to the age. You didn't want it bad enough. I could be Trident as an adult.

[Sean Pendergast]

I've been a hall of Famer like John Randall.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Randall's doing up at the Mall of America in Minnesota where people are like, oh, my gosh, John Randall hit me with a spin move today. It was incredible.

[Sean Pendergast]

Seth. Seth's best mall stories when he got lost from his teammates at an appearance while wearing his uniform at the mall.

[Seth Payne]

Here was Jim Marshall head slapped me. It was great.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, exactly. Here was Dico Ryan's on Tank Dell being back out there yesterday on the right plan.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

He's. Nothing's changed with his plan. You know, we progressing him on really well. He got out did Indy today, and we expect him just continue to progress with how he's feeling. There's no set way of doing it. It'll be based upon how he's feeling. And we'll do the right thing thing by Tank making sure that we approach it the right way, take care of him the right way so he's feeling confident when he's able to step back out there in full team drills.

[Sean Pendergast]

Anything change with seeing Tank out there yesterday for you as far as how you feel about that?

[Seth Payne]

I feel like it's everything that they've told us is that they're just going to take it step by step and they're making it into incremental baby steps. And really, when talking to Nick. Sorry, I've got this new phone and I don't know how to silence it. Oh, there's a little right there.

[Sean Pendergast]

There's a button.

[Seth Payne]

I know there's a button instead of a switch. So I press the button and I think the thing.

[Sean Pendergast]

Welcome to the future.

[Seth Payne]

I'm kind of disappointed in this new iPhone. I was. I thought the battery life was supposed to be better and I think it might actually be worse.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's a 17, right? Yeah, I got a 15. I love the battery on this thing.

[Seth Payne]

So as far as the. They're taking the baby steps and from talking to Castario, it seemed like, yeah, the actual going through each process and after two years out of football, they want to be sure that everything's really natural and comfortable as they go along. So I mean, as small as it might seem, basically what he did today was the same thing he's been doing, except with shoulder pads on.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. I'm a little disappointed in Nick. This is the second straight time he's done an interview with us where we asked him about Tank. He gave a nice answer about Tank. Nice, expansive answer. But then the very next day, Tank does something that's milestone worthy.

[Seth Payne]

But you know what? I think in keeping with the policy, they don't want to put any kind of public expectation.

[Sean Pendergast]

I know, but I thought we were friends.

[Seth Payne]

If Tank woke up in the morning and felt like, you know, sometimes a pitcher wakes up and his arm is dead, yeah, he might have woken up. Like, I don't know if I can put on the pads.

[Sean Pendergast]

But the gm.

[Seth Payne]

But Casserio already told the people I was going to do it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Just told Pain and Pendergast I was going to put the pants on.

[Seth Payne]

All of a sudden, he goes out there and tears an acl.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's a good point.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, Nick, you're off the hook if you're listening right now.

[Seth Payne]

All right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Pain and Pendergast. Boy, there's a ton that I meant to get to in the open. And there's just so much stuff going on here with the Texans and with the Astros. By the way, Baseball Talk on Sports Radio 610 presented by Xfinity. Score the most reliable Wi Fi one price, five years guaranteed. Xfinity. Imagine that. All right, CJ Stroud and Jadevian Clowney both on the NFL Network Yesterday. What did CJ have to say?

[Demeco Ryans]

Does.

[Sean Pendergast]

Is CJ as bullish on these offensive weapons as I was 10 minutes ago? And Jadevion Clowney on why Houston? His phone call with Demiko Ryan's and Jane Slater asked him, hey, why didn't you go back to Dallas in a positively Dallas type of move? You'll want to hear what Jadevion Clowney says about that. We'll do all that coming up next. All right, the NFL Network was in town yesterday. Good seeing our friend Jane Slater out there.

[Seth Payne]

We talked to Jane Slater for a little bit before practice when we were done with our show.

[CJ Stroud]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I got excited to find out that Kurt Warner was going to be interviewing C.J. stroud.

[Craig Thomas]

Yes.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. The two of them sat down with CJ Stroud. Good interview. If you want to go find it, it's up there. It's on YouTube.

[Seth Payne]

You and I bet on Kelsey, which Bible verses they would discuss.

[Sean Pendergast]

They were heavy. They were playing.

[Seth Payne]

I figured they would be.

[Sean Pendergast]

They were Playing dueling Bible verses there.

[Seth Payne]

Kurt Warner is going to love C.J. stroud. It was, however skeptical he might be for whatever reason. Once they get, once they get onto the old, the old bibliotech, it's going to be, it's going to be on.

[Sean Pendergast]

There was a lot of faith talk, no doubt about that. Here was C.J. stroud on the, kind of just doing a rundown almost of the, of how things are going offensively. All the weapons in the different rooms on that side of the ball. How's he feeling about that group?

[CJ Stroud]

Nico, of course, is, you know, the one on one guy. He can do everything. He can get in a slot, go outside, you know, big playability, big yak ability. And then, you know, the other guys, I think they're very talented. You know, some guys who played a lot of college ball, you know, now

[Seth Payne]

at McDonald's, everyone can get more of what they want when they want it. With McVowey, you can choose your wake up call, you can choose your study meal or even your drive thru dinner.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jump from craving to saving with McDonald's under $3 menu including a McChicken for

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts]

only $2 limited time only.

[Sean Pendergast]

Price and participation may vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer.

[Craig Thomas]

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

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts]

Have you ever felt like you were living just a B or B life? It's so dangerous to live that. More dangerous than a B or a C plus life. Because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming youg. People think, okay, an A life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming youg. Wherever you get your podcasts played together

[CJ Stroud]

in college with Hutch and Higg and J. Noel and then you got Tank, you got Jywod. Coming from a championship mentality, I think he has three rings, you know, so he has that mentality and that work ethic. And then also our tight end room, I think we brought In Marlon, rookie from, you know, that team up north. He's doing very well. Then we got Dalton, you know, of course our ace at tight end, Cade Foster. Running backs doing well. So we. And then my biggest thing is we're tough up front. You know, we got some tough guys, some young guys who are pushing everybody else. Like, Keelan's doing great. Wyatt from the Browns got a lot of experience. I can go on and on. Everybody's doing really well. So. So I'm very excited for the group we have offensively.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's kind of echoing what I said in the open, Seth. Like, I found myself as I was talking about this offense with other. Another radio station yesterday, I'm like, wow, I'm. And I'm generally a positive person, but I'm like, I feel decent about the direction of these rooms right now. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And I think the. Wyatt Teller is the guy that I've been watching and you know, it's hard to see during play sometimes all the individual stuff, but when you watch him. But I've been pleased with him so far in the team periods, but then in the one on one pass rush, he's just such a technician. It's really fun to watch him work with his hands. And, you know, for young offensive linemen, same as it is for young defensive linemen, the, the biggest thing that guys maybe realize real quickly when they get to the NFL is how precise you have to be with your hands. And Wyatt Teller is one of the best in the, in the league in the last decade at that, and he's still very much that way. So the, the, the. The level of veteran expertise and then the promise of Keelan, Rutledge and Betchi, we. Woo. Honestly is like, I haven't been blown away, but it's hard to get blown away by interior offensive linemen. But the, the scouting report on him, just how solid and strong that he is, like, you can totally see that he might develop into something.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yep. Clowney was on with the folks on NFL Network yesterday as well. And oh, real quick before we move

[Seth Payne]

on, just because another thing that the CJ had said in his interview with Kurt Warner that I really liked, was that, you know, he talked about maturing as a quarterback and, you know, taking the. Taking the easy throws and everything. But he said a key thing in there, which is it's a, it's a great way to frame it, is that you got to trust your teammates to make those plays because sometimes it's kind of an insult to the other players when you don't Throw the running back early in the down. You know when you realize, okay, the coverage isn't right. Instead of hanging on, let me throw it to the running back and let him get some yak. Like, you're insulting your running back if you don't think he can do that.

[Demeco Ryans]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

Like, learn that. Yeah. No, that can be a really, really vicious weapon if you don't do it. And he framed it almost that way. Is like, yeah, trust your teammates. It doesn't have to be the circus. Throw downfield. You can turn a boring route into a good one if you trust your teammates to do it.

[Sean Pendergast]

I thought the. One of the really interesting things he said in there, we don't have the audio, so I apologize. But when they asked him about kind of changing his mentality of taking place like that.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Taking what the defense gives you, is that he's like, yes. Since I've been in height since I was in high school, every other coach before this coaching staff or before getting to the NFL probably really was like, yeah, man, you can make all the throws.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

You should be zipping it all over the place.

[Seth Payne]

Like, yeah, you too can be the next Jay Cutler in the NFL if you so choose.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right? Yeah, it was interesting. It was good. It was a good interview. It's a good sit down with those guys. Here was Jedevion Clowney.

[Seth Payne]

I mean that in just like, yeah. Be so. Just so hungry for the deep ball that you don't actually develop as a genuine quarterback.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's right. Here's devion Clowney when he was asked by Jane Slater and Kurt Warner, why Houston?

[Demeco Ryans]

I didn't like how I went the first time, and I felt like we had a good team to win when I was here the first time. And I kept watching them after I left, watched d' Amigo put this team together, and I was like, I've been living here. My kids go to school here. If I had to pick to come here or somewhere else, I might as well stay home and help the team that I got drafted to. And I was looking forward to this. They got a lot of great players up front. I said, if I can get in the mix with that group, it could be special for us this year. And I was looking forward to that.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, so it's interesting, it's funny, because I've heard d' Amico make comparisons or not make comparisons, but mention Daniel Hunter in the same answers, which Devion Clowney, because of the Houston angle to the whole thing, you know, Daniil wanting to come back here and do something special in his hometown. This isn't Jadevi on Clowney's official hometown, but it's his football hometown. This is where he started his career. Like the, The. It's funny to me, like, how this defense is such a walking advertisement for itself. Daniel Hunter, when he signed here, brought up the fact that he was at that Cleveland playoff game. But the game, the playoff game against Cleveland back in D' Amico's first year, CJ's rookie year, he was at that game and he watched that defense and was like, damn, I want to play on that defense and I can do it in my hometown. It's almost an identical story from Clowney.

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

Clowny had inside sounded a little bit in that particular slice he talked about when in his introductory press conference, he talked a good amount about the environment that's here with d' Amico and how it's different. That particular answer sounded a little bit more like convenience, that it was part of it. I feel like that one wasn't as. Didn't. It wasn't as much full bore into, like, yeah, this is the spot that needs to be. But like, in. In fairness to him, he has given that other answer a couple of times.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, for sure. For sure. This is what his phone call, how his phone call went with d'. Amico, Ryan's. What was that call with d'?

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts]

Ameco?

[Demeco Ryans]

Like, I was just really speaking to him like, hey, I see. I like what you done did with the culture, but I can tell the energy in the locker room for watching you guys on tv. And I. I was like, hey, I'd like to be a part of that. You know, I'm here. I can help the team. And just reached out to him and that. And he was like, hey, we can work on that. And the next week, he made things happen, got me in the building. Now it's been up from here again,

[Sean Pendergast]

that, like, that's a. That that's a significant thing that Clowney's doing. The one making the phone call.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And that dynamic happens. It's. It's always interesting because you wonder exactly what, like, what they've reached out to him eventually. Sometimes I hear stories from front offices where I'm like, man, what's the harm in a phone call? Just to see if somebody, like, they'll assume somebody isn't interested, or so they might have been planning on talking to Clowney's agent at some point anyway. Clowney also has been a guy that has routinely waited until late in camp or when the regular Season has begun to make his decision. So then maybe they're just kind of slow playing it and not. Not wanting to look desperate. So it was nice when they got a call from.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think it's really interesting just how motivated is probably the wrong word, because I think Clowney is a motivated player, as you pointed out several times. And you've got the. The cuts to prove it on your computer over there. That effort and motor on the field is not an issue with Clowney. But he has had this sort of strange reputation that's followed him about being, you know, like, doesn't do training camp, you know, like that. Stuff like that. Little things like that. He's still a very, very good football player, obviously. That's why I thought that it was really that he's doing the reaching out to d' Ameco that he saw these things again. There's a convenience factor, too. He lives here in Houston. But. But that. In the fact that, as he pointed out, I wanted to get into a training camp so I could finally get into a scheme and not turn to the guy next to me and ask what I'm doing. It just seems like a much. It seems like a really rounded out, mature version of clown.

[Seth Payne]

No, he's. He's a different guy than. Than when he left. And he's still like, in terms of personality, everything. He's not. He's not Will Anderson because There's only like 4 or 5 Will Anderson type guys in the league. But he's definitely just. He's not the young kid whose head was spinning when he first got here.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay, so he played for the Cowboys last year. He was their best defensive lineman, probably until they traded for Quinn and Williams is. Did Dallas take the old Clowney for granted in their approach with him this off season? Because they asked Clowney yesterday. Why didn't you go back to Dallas?

[Demeco Ryans]

I was shocked myself. I reached out a few times like, hey, what y' all thinking? I think they wanted to go through training camp. And I was like, that ain't my mindset right now. I think I deserve to be signed. Right after the season was over, I felt like. And when they didn't sign me, I was just like, I'm not going to go crazy far off the play. I'm not going to a team that can't win. I want to go to a team that can win. And going to be in position to be in the playoffs come December time. And why not do it here where I started it.

[Sean Pendergast]

It. I mean, that sounds to me, Seth, like They were like, nah, Clowney always signs in late August anyways. Yeah, the Cowboys, that's how I choose to interpret well.

[Seth Payne]

And it's tricky. The Cowboys are trying to massively overhaul their defense, too. So it was good last year for that. Right, right, right. But I mean, they already, they've got six, seven new starters potentially on defense, and maybe just for, for whatever reason with an older player, they just didn't want too many older guys on there.

[Sean Pendergast]

They obviously didn't prioritize him or he'd

[Seth Payne]

be a Dallas Cowboy, probably. I mean, they, they prioritized Rashawn Gary last year. That seems like I would rather have Clowney.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, I would too. We got some text rolling in here. What does Clowney's contract look like? Very team friendly. Base salary of five and a half million, maxing out at eight million with incentives. Yeah, that's a really good deal for the Texans.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, no, and it's, it's. It's not that much more than they paid EJ Speed or Dominique Robinson. You know, it's a, It's a few million more. But I do think Genevion probably would have had better offers, especially if he'd wait. You know, part of him just, it's not like. It's not fair, I think, to say, oh, he just doesn't want to go to training camp. Part of it is that he's in that category of guy, that he's probably going to get his best deal at the end of camp when teams realize, okay, we don't have. We need a guy or one of our guys got injured and that's probably where the best deals have been. So if he had, if he had followed the same strategy, at some point, somebody would have come along maybe with a much more lucrative deal in this. Maybe they had a good team who loses a starter to an ACL and is a contender or what have you. There's somebody that might have played him, paid him a lot more.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's in a couple of practices and he was disruptive yesterday. No, no, no.

[Seth Payne]

Yesterday it was. No, it was immediate. He came in and he did a speed to power against Braden Smith and just destroyed him. I think Braden might have gotten his feet tangled up with somebody. I couldn't see from the sideline, but it was pretty damn impressive. And then he immediately had two really nice reps against Trent Brown.

[Sean Pendergast]

There is gas in the tank there.

[Seth Payne]

And I know when I mentioned this yesterday, a couple people said, well, is that actually good? Because that's against our offensive lineman. Yeah, it's fine. It's fine. Like they're, he's doing it against proven offensive linemen and that's what Clowney is going to do in one on ones at time. I had a conversation with somebody yesterday about like, well, what, like why would they just not chip them and because you can't, you can't chip somebody every single play, you know. Oh no, that was a question about Will Anderson. But like, because you can't, you can't chip everybody every single play. And especially if you trust your tackles. Yeah, they're going to be a one on one and sometimes they're going to get beat.

[Sean Pendergast]

Hey, real quick, along those lines, text message, anybody had eyes on Ursary so far?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, Ursari's had, he's had some bad snaps versus Daniel Hunter, which is fine. Yeah, I think, I think he's looked generally where I'd expect him right now. He hasn't blown me away, but I think he's, he's an improved, I think he's an improved player over where he was at the end of last year, you know, without seeing him in an actual game yet. That's my expectation in Week one.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, let's get to headlines. Coming up next, the Astros lose yesterday, still leading the division. We've got more audio from training camp coming signing of a former Texan has found a home. We will tell you who that is as well. We'll do all that in headlines.

[Seth Payne]

Pain and Pendergast with today's headlines. Smashes one fair ball to the wall and right into Scorpena. Jordan digging for second. He will be out at second base. A great throw by Nathan Lucas to get Yordan and Jordan cannot believe that throw was on him. And the tag made by Jimenez for a huge first out of the inning.

[Sean Pendergast]

All right, that was a big play in that game yesterday. The Astros lose 54 to the Toronto Blue Jays. So they lose the series to the Blue Jays, still leading in the AL west by a game and a half over the Rangers, who won yesterday 5 to 4. The final score in 10 innings, 5 to 3. Going into the bottom of the life can feel overwhelming.

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts]

But on my podcast, from the Heart with Rachel Braethan, we're in it together. Every Friday brings you a new story. Listen to from the Heart with Rachel Braethon. Wherever you get your podcasts, we have

[Craig Thomas]

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

[Seth Payne]

Terms apply now at McDonald's, everyone can get more of what they want when they want it. With McVowey, you can choose your wake up call. You can choose your study meal or even your drive through dinner.

[Sean Pendergast]

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[Seth Payne]

I'm Kiana, and I leveled up my business with Shopify. Once I figured out that Shopify was

[Sean Pendergast]

a thing, I never turned back. I can create a site with my eyes closed.

[Seth Payne]

Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything.

[Sean Pendergast]

Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use.

[Seth Payne]

It's like, I can't stop.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm addicted. Start your free [e-mail] 10th after an Ernie Clement home run off of Bennett Sousa put the Blue Jays up 5 to 3. Pena. Pena was on second base to start the inning. Jordan Alvarez was your leadoff batter for that inning. And Jordan promptly laces a double down. Well, it looked like it was supposed to be a double, ended up being a single with him getting thrown out at second. But Pena scores on the play to make it 5 4. And it looked like you were going to have runner on second, nobody out, down by one run. And instead Jordan, who for. For whatever reason, the rare time he chooses not to slide, he goes into second base standing up. And at least according to the umpire, he. He came up just short of the base, you know, fraction of an inch short. Heads up play by the Blue Jays infielder there to tag him. And they challenged the play. Espada. They lost the challenge. Espada went out, argued it, got tossed, and. And The Astros lose 5 to 4 yesterday. That was a big. That was a big swing in that game in that bottom.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, and it was. You know, it's funny, I felt bad for you because it puts you in a pickle, because you hate it when you are on stage. And yet in the very instance, because he'll do. He'll do some superfluous slides where you're like, hey, big fella, he loves slides. Don't put yourself in harm's way. And this is the exact time. And he didn't even get deked by the deke either. He just. He said he just had his head down and just. He thought it was a double looking for the bag.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. He just thought. He thought he had.

[Seth Payne]

Well, he wasn't casually rolling in there.

[Sean Pendergast]

And I think anytime you don't slide, there's a level of casualness to what you're doing. You know what I mean? Like, it's that. So I think.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So the. So the two times.

[Seth Payne]

But he said it was almost like he. I wonder if he said he had his head down in the. Looking for the base. Almost as if maybe he was running faster than he realized.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know.

[Seth Payne]

All of a sudden there was the base and, oh, I should have slid all I know.

[Sean Pendergast]

Your point is a good point. I am very anti Yordon sliding vocally, so I have my own Reddit group for it. I've got a club anti Yordon sliding

[Seth Payne]

tattoo on your left. But yep, yep, yep.

[Sean Pendergast]

If you want to check out my social media, it's at. Don't slide your don.

[Seth Payne]

You put your sliding pants.

[Sean Pendergast]

I do the two times, most noteworthy where he should have slid and chose not to. He sprained his ankle on home plate.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

And he got thrown out last night or yesterday afternoon. So here was Joe Espada on that particular play after the game. No, I. I think I saw enough there. I think his foot was on the bag. And I don't know if he called him off. Call him out because the foots came

[Seth Payne]

off or not, but looked to me

[Sean Pendergast]

like he beat the play.

[Seth Payne]

How frustrating is that? Just with the, you know, just with, you know, he had a chance to be the time run there with Noel.

[CJ Stroud]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Very frustrating. But, you know, they.

[Seth Payne]

So, you know, they.

[Sean Pendergast]

They make the call in New York and that's the ruling. And, you know, I disagree with it. The funny thing about that is Yordon after the game was like, yeah, I think my foot was off the bat. I don't think I made it.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Sorry, Joe. I didn't mean to throw you under the bus. All right, so the Astros off today. They're off to the west coast to play the San Diego Padres. And they're the Astros up game and a half in the division. Training camp yesterday for the Texans. Long one. It was a long. Little bit longer than usual. And they're off today. The Texans also off today. No training camp practice. This was Henry Toa toa the offense has been a big talking point throughout training camp because we know that's the side of the football that needs to get better. This was Henry Toa Toa, inside linebacker for the Texans, saying what he's been noticing with the offense this year. Man, they moving fast. O line looks really good. CJ's making great decision. And the running backs, man, I'm running backs. Is they good now?

[Seth Payne]

Oh, man, I don't know. Whatever you've seen out there, don't believe it.

[Sean Pendergast]

That like those boys are good. They, they ball like they can move and when they get clicking, it's over. Like, no, I don't think nobody can stop them.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

They're.

[Sean Pendergast]

They're that good and they're putting all the pieces together and they're a hell of an offense, I'm telling you. Hell of an offense. He's even more bullish than I am. Hell of an offense. Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know what the. I mean I, I've had that thought before where I'm trying not to try not get to get too excited over non tackle football, but that is still a very, very good defense that practices really hard out there. And some of the plays that the Texans are making are plays that they didn't have a prayer of making last year during training camp. But Jaz, do I dare to start comparing them to other offenses just yet? I'm going to need to see, I'm going to need to see the first couple of preseason series.

[Sean Pendergast]

I agree.

[Seth Payne]

I do hope Sergeant pointed this out from. Remember two years ago, the starting offensive line wasn't even together at any point in the preseason game. I think until the final. Like for a series on the final

[Sean Pendergast]

that was still when Tunsil was on the team.

[Demeco Ryans (Coach)]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

No, no. And it's. Yeah. And it was, it was just a matter of like. There's a lot of uncertainty about that offense going into 2024. There were still some things I wanted to see and it felt like they were just kind of casually rolling into the season. We'll be just fine with these guys. Look, yeah, your risk of injury goes up, but your risk of sucking goes up too. If you don't have your offensive line out there for at least a few series altogether in the preseason games, that

[Sean Pendergast]

was the offensive line. Unlike this camp, where it feels like other than Ariante or Street, they're shuffling everybody around. Even between, you know, Keelum Rutledge has played guard and center. You know, the competition at right tackle is a really good one with Braden Smith and Trent Brown right now this is a better offensive line room overall, talent wise than that one two years ago. And yet that one two years ago felt like they had their ones all set. Like on July 26th or whatever. When camp started. That was the year was Tunsil, Kenyan skinny, Kenyan green.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Coming back from the injury. And then it was Juice Scruggs at center, Shaq Mason and Titus Howard. That was it. Those are your ones. This is a very different camp, but I feel like it's a better room.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, no, the depth in the actual competition of guys that like last year you had backups competing to be starters and which means that your backup was going to be a guy that might be third string on a lot of teams where this year it's these are bonafide there's going to be backups who are bona fide starters on other teams.

[Sean Pendergast]

We'll talk more about this. We're up against it so we'll talk more about this. In the seven o' clock hour. Stefan Diggs has found a home. He is a Washington commander one year up to $12 million.

[Seth Payne]

Brandon Iuk comment on that?

[Sean Pendergast]

Not that I've seen yet. That's who I want to see Brandon Iuk go after because I feel like Diggs might fire back at Brandon I

[Seth Payne]

this is where maybe this is a wake up moment for Brandon Iuk where he realizes, wow, yeah, okay, Diggs is the guy.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, maybe.

[Seth Payne]

I mean Diggs has been more productive recently and you know, on the football field has not been a character risk at all the last few players. Couple places he's been and yet he's got. He's got a certain cache to him that Brandon Aiuks his cachet is even worse.

[Sean Pendergast]

And we'll get more to digs in the 7 o' clock hour. I just found it hilarious the article in the athletic that was reporting dig with the commanders and towards the very. It's not a long article, it's a report. But the very end gives like a paragraph or two on the whole lawsuit that he was kind of exonerated from because the witness was terrible, blah, blah, blah. And then there's a sense at the very end says Deke still has two outstanding pending civil lawsuits.

[Seth Payne]

I mean that's.

[Sean Pendergast]

And they just kind of left it at that.

[Seth Payne]

You know, I saw Warren Sapp was telling a story about the things that Tony Dungy used to tell guys to watch out for. He had like five items and one of them was the. The women you know too well and the women you don't know well enough or something. Along those lines. And that's like Diggs. Diggs has a history of maybe associating with people that aren't. Aren't the best for him.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yes, I would agree with that.

[Seth Payne]

So even when he's not technically the victim or when he's not technically at fault, man, you put yourself in a lot of hairy situations.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, you're just, you're, you're walking drama, man. You're just drama all the time.

[Seth Payne]

All right.

[Sean Pendergast]

Ringing endorsement from one of his teammates for CJ Stroud. And we haven't dug into the Mike Sando QB tears. There's some interesting non CJ angles to this. The the tears. The ranking of the quarterbacks by executives and coaches around the league. We'll get into that and a whole lot more in the 7 o' clock hour that is coming up next.

[Podcast Advertisers/Hosts]

I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast. Every week we bring you in depth coverage on cases making headlines as well as those that go under the radar. Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking exploration and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless. Each week we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops. And neither do we. Listen to True Crime News. Available now on the Odyssey app. App or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Seth Payne]

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[Seth Payne]

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