TRAINING CAMP – biggest stories, four days in

Summary

Payne & Pendergast (Audacy) Episode: TRAINING CAMP – Biggest Stories, Four Days In
Date: August 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the pivotal storylines from the first four days of Houston Texans training camp 2026. Hosts Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast deliver sharp analysis and unfiltered takes on the Texans’ roster battles, CJ Stroud’s contract situation, the offensive line’s evolution, fan-favorite Tank Dell’s injury status, and standout performances on both sides of the ball. The show is laced with their trademark banter, candid opinions, and plenty of insider tidbits for Houston sports fans.

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Main Storylines & Discussion Highlights

1. Jadeveon Clowney Returns…and Wears #90

[01:50] Seth Payne, D’Amico Ryans

• Clowney is back in Houston, opting for his original #90 jersey.
  • “If you have an old number 90 Clowney jersey…he’s getting his old 90.” – Seth Payne [01:50]
  • “He’s already hurting the bottom line. Well, he took a hometown discount.” – Seth Payne [02:14]
• Hosts joke about jersey sales and the nostalgia of Clowney’s draft day.

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2. CJ Stroud’s Contract Situation: Negotiations, Perceptions & Patience

[04:08] Seth Payne, D'Amico Ryans; [05:11] Ian Rapoport (clip)

• The biggest camp story is CJ Stroud’s ongoing contract negotiations.
  • Both Stroud and GM Nick Caserio have publicly stated talks are positive, not tense.
  • “They both seem to have generally positive impressions of where things were at.” – Seth Payne [04:08]
• Ian Rapoport’s Update: (NFL Network clip) [05:11]
  • “We could, in fact, get a CJ Stroud deal sooner rather than later, provided all sides agree…and they are not there yet. But the fact that talks are going on is, I would say, at least extremely noteworthy for Houston's belief in C.J. Stroud.”
• Discussion on precedent: Stroud is seen as franchise QB; team is comfortable if it waits until next year.
• Comparison to other QBs (Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins), strategy of waiting out for bigger contracts, and the importance of not letting negotiations turn emotional.
  • “CJ’s doing a really good job of not being all emo about it.” – D’Amico Ryans [08:06]

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3. How Much Support Does Stroud Really Have? Offensive Scheme & Talent

[08:22] Seth Payne; [08:36] Steve Smith (audio)

• Steve Smith argues the Texans’ staff left Stroud out to dry with limited offensive variety (“just lineup, put him in shotgun and…hey, you beat ‘em”). [08:36]
• The hosts detail:
  • Last year’s offensive line woes, lack of creative schemes, issues with RB production, and the need for improvement from OC Nick Haley.
  • “It’s a very complex situation…How much did the offense help out the quarterback? …There are times last year where the receivers didn’t adjust, and CJ was looking for eyes to throw to when there’s pressure and there’s nobody looking at him.” – D’Amico Ryans [09:08]
  • “Statistically [Stroud] was put in [second and ten and third and ten] more than almost anybody.” – Seth Payne [10:22]
• This year: optimism about OL upgrades, more experience for Stroud and his weapons.

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4. Interior Offensive Line Battles: Featuring Keelan Rutledge

[12:46] D'Amico Ryans, [13:23] D'Amico Ryans (on Rutledge)

• Rookie Keelan Rutledge getting prominent snaps at guard and center.
• D’Amico Ryans speaks highly:
  • “Keelan is a swarm player. Man, I love it. When you have that type of mindset at O line, it’s a problem for defenders because you’re just a pest and you can’t get rid of guys.” – D’Amico Ryans [12:46]
• Guard spots wide open; team attempting to be “contract blind” with playing time (big names could back up emerging talents).
• Adjustments to new O-line coach Cole Popovich’s technique are a storyline for veterans and rookies alike.

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5. Defense: Still Elite, Still Creating Problems

[16:41] Nico Collins (clip)

• Nico Collins (WR) describes going against Texans’ blitz-heavy, tenacious defense:
  • “The defense, they the best now. So it’s only right…There’s no better feeling than going against them every day, sharpening the blade…” – Nico Collins [16:41]
• Standout battles: Nico vs. Stingley, interior OL vs. Kaden McDonald, pads going on in practice.
• “The defense, they’re bleeping amazing again.” – Seth Payne [16:41]

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6. Fan Favorite & Injury Watch: Tank Dell

[20:37] D’Amico Ryans, [21:22] James Palmer (clip)

• Tank Dell remains a crowd favorite despite being limited to light work post-injury.
• “He got a pop the other day out here, man, and Tank isn’t really doing much out here.” – Seth Payne [20:52]
• James Palmer updates Dell’s recovery:
  • “He was running most of the spring at about 70%...They’re cautiously optimistic…There is no timetable…It could be pretty wide ranging: he could be ahead, or might not be ready for start of season.” – James Palmer [21:22]
• Team is protecting Dell; no timetable, not placed on PUP, “betting on” him being healthy for Week 1.

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7. Madden Ratings: The Kids (and Players) Care

[23:46] Madden “Acknowledge Me” Segment

• Texans with 90+ Madden rating: Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley Jr., Nico Collins.
• CJ Stroud at 76 (“24th best QB in the league”). Discussion about Madden being a better talent measure than some TV lists.
  • “CJ Stroud, 76…Behind the likes of Aaron Rodgers. Old man Aaron Rodgers.” – Seth Payne [25:16]
• Fun banter around the cultural value of Madden ratings for fans and players.

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8. Around Houston Sports: Astros’ Yordan Alvarez & More

[33:08] Yordan Alvarez segment

• Yordan Alvarez’s domination of the Texas Rangers:
  • “Most HRs vs Rangers in 2026: Mariners 9, Yankees 9, Braves 9, Yordan Alvarez 8.” – Seth Payne [33:38]
• Astros have 25 HRs against Rangers this season; comparisons to past Texans nemeses (e.g., TY Hilton).

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9. Broadcast Notes: J.J. Watt’s New Role

[34:27] J.J. Watt segment

• J.J. Watt promoted to CBS’ A-team broadcasting alongside Jim Nance (filling in for Tony Romo, on indefinite leave).
• Hosts debate if Texans will land the top broadcast team in Week 1 vs. the Bills, ultimately thinking Vikings-Packers will get the nod.

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10. Defensive Scouting Reports: D’Amico Ryans on the Roster

[40:52] D’Amico Ryans’s player breakdowns

• Kalin Bullock (Safety):
  • “Kalin’s greatest asset is being able to take the football away…he’s putting in the work on tackling…well-versed in what we’re doing defensively.” – D’Amico Ryans [40:52]
• Logan Hall (DL):
  • “He just has to get used to the techniques and the things we’re asking a D-line to do. Completely different scheme from what he’s used to.” – D’Amico Ryans [46:21]
• Tommy Togiai (DL):
  • “Tommy is just always the most consistent guy. He’s always here, working out…smart, aware, great instincts inside. He’s looking the best that I’ve seen him look here in training camp.” – D’Amico Ryans [48:21]
• Fun with combine “spider charts” for Togiai: explosive, but with historically short arms—leading to laughter about how he plays elite defensive tackle without arms.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “CJ’s doing a really good job of not being all emo about it 100%...It highlights how well CJ’s handling [his contract negotiations].” – D’Amico Ryans [08:06]
• “Keelan is a swarm player…he’s a nuisance for the defense and that’s what he’s going to be for us.” – D’Amico Ryans on Rutledge [12:46]
• “Tank Dell is the most popular player on a near two year hiatus that I’ve ever seen in my life.” – Seth Payne [20:37]
• “The defense, they the best now…There’s no better feeling than this going against them every single day. Sharpening the blade, man.” – Nico Collins [16:41]
• “Four Texans with a Madden score of 90 or higher: Will Anderson Jr, Daniel Hunter, Derek Stingley and Nico Collins.” – Seth Payne [23:29]
• “JJ Watt is getting bumped up…He’s gonna be with Jim Nance for the foreseeable future on CBS.” – Seth Payne [34:40]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:50 – Clowney jersey number and banter
• 04:08/05:11 – CJ Stroud contract update (Ian Rapoport clip)
• 08:22/08:36 – Stroud’s support: offensive scheme, coaching, Steve Smith audio
• 12:46 – Keelan Rutledge & O-line battles
• 16:41 – Nico Collins on defense
• 20:37/21:22 – Tank Dell’s rehab and fans
• 23:46–25:38 – “Acknowledge Me” segment & Madden scores
• 33:08 – Astros, Yordan Alvarez; Houston sports round-up
• 34:27 – J.J. Watt’s new CBS broadcaster role
• 40:52 – D'Amico Ryans scouting reports (Bullock, Hall, Togiai)

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Tone & Style

• Genuine, playful banter grounded in real football insight—lots of ribbing, inside jokes, and pop culture (WWE, Madden).
• Analytical, measured breakdowns of schemes and player development.
• Guest and player audio supplements give the episode a boots-on-the-ground camp vibe.

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Summary Takeaway

The Texans enter 2026 training camp with big expectations, but also big questions: Will CJ Stroud strike a deal? Can the OL finally stabilize? Will fan-favorite Tank Dell be ready, and who’ll win the fierce battles for starting spots? The defense looks elite, the roster is deeper, and the vibes are sky high in Houston—especially with Clowney’s return and the promise of stars like Anderson, Stingley, and Collins. It’s a thrilling time to follow H-Town sports, and Payne & Pendergast are your guide through every twist at camp.

Transcript

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[D'Amico Ryan]

The Houston Methodist Training Center Sports Radio 610 presents Pain and Pendergast.

[Seth Payne]

All right, a few things, few administrative things before we get into the big story lines that have evolved over the first four practices here at Texans training camp. Number one, we've had a few people ask this what number is Clowney gonna wear? He's gonna wear his old number 90. So if you have an old number 90 clowny jersey. Yeah, probably not good for revenue generation because a new number would have meant new jerseys for people. But he's getting his old 90.

[D'Amico Ryan]

He's already hurting the team.

[Seth Payne]

He's already hurting the bottom line. Well, he took a hometown discount.

[Seth]

Okay. All right.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Balances out, man.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, balances.

[D'Amico Ryan]

No. And the other thing, too, is when

[Seth]

you look at his draft photo, I've

[D'Amico Ryan]

got a nice picture of Rick Smith and Bill o' Brien as Clowney holds up the jersey.

[Seth]

It's in front of a backdrop that says Reliance Stadium. Yeah, I wonder if they changed the

[D'Amico Ryan]

name back to the stadium when they figured out we'll probably sign Clowney.

[Seth]

All those old photos popping up.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah. So he'll wear, he'll wear number 90. A few programming notes about this time tomorrow. Fifteen minutes from now, Nick Casario will join Seth and I out here at Texans training camp. So we'll get the skinny on how the whole Clowny thing went down and talk more about everything going on with the Texans.

[D'Amico Ryan]

You guys can spend your two minutes talking about WrestleMania4003 or something.

[Seth Payne]

SummerSlam over the weekend. Yeah, it was a big, big affair over the weekend. SummerSlam, you look, you look agitated right now. And then Cal and Hannah are going to be joining Mark and John out here this morning at 8:30. And off the field today in the loop has Kamari Laziter. So that's a good. Oh yeah, he's fun.

[Seth]

You know, was out here on Saturday

[D'Amico Ryan]

was Robert Mays from the Athletic. I talked to him a little bit. Oh, you did? And he interviewed Kamari Lassiter too. So if you're, if you're, what you're jonesing for is some Kamari Lassiter content, it's going to be a boatload of it.

[Seth Payne]

Yep, you've come to the right place.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah, the guys are doing the, putting the lines out on the field right now on the grounds crew and I

[Seth]

talked to, we talked to them a couple years ago. Aaron, how many miles did the guy. He said 12 miles. He walks to do all three of these fields.

[Seth Payne]

That sounds about right. Yeah, that sounds about right. It's a lot of walking.

[Seth]

You know what? There's no they better hustle.

[Seth Payne]

It's seven o'.

[James Palmer]

Clock.

[Seth]

You know what, you know what guys

[D'Amico Ryan]

love when they tell you something like that is when you give a comment

[Seth]

like, huh, you should be paying them. Get yourself a good workout. Cheaper than a health club.

[Kalen Bullock]

They love that.

[Seth]

Yeah, they love that.

[D'Amico Ryan]

He's lost 20 pounds in sweat.

[Seth Payne]

Oh my God. All right, so. So we are four practices into Texans training camp, fifth practice today. The biggest story so far, four days in, I would say the biggest one, the one that's gotten the most attention outside of Houston probably other than the Clowney signing yesterday, would be C.J. stroud's contract situation. We know that Nick Casario commented on it. We'll certainly, I'm sure that'll come up tomorrow when he joins us. C.J. commented on it. They both seem to have generally positive impressions of where things were at.

[Seth]

And I think the most positive situation

[D'Amico Ryan]

you could hope for. Is that okay, unlike Baker Mayfield, that if they don't come to an agreement that it's, I don't want to say no big deal, but that it's not anything that C.J. stroud or David Mulligetta gets agitated about.

[Kalen Bullock]

Right.

[D'Amico Ryan]

So when they say that conversations have been positive and productive, that could also include like, well, you know what, maybe

[Seth]

we're probably too far away.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Let's see how the season goes and we'll revisit.

[Seth Payne]

Yes, good point. So this is Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network as of as of Friday, where things stand with CJ Stroud.

[Ian Rapoport]

We could, in fact get a CJ Stroud deal sooner rather than later, provided all sides agree and they are not there yet. It does not seem like they are close yet. A couple important factors are. First of all, we saw CJ Stroud struggle at the end of the year for the Houston Texans. It is clear inside this organization they view him as the franchise starter, no question, the player who led them to the playoffs most of the multiple years in a row who is entrenched at that position. And those guys, those franchise starters who were young, were looking at new contracts they essentially make in the 50s based on new money average. I'm talking about the Jared Goffs of the world and Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence. Certainly seems like that would be the category of CJ Stroud. Will he end up being able to get a deal with Texans? We simply don't know. It seems like both sides are comfortable making an attempt at it, that if it doesn't happen by the season, that is okay. They will try again next year. But the fact that talks are going on is, I would say at least extremely noteworthy for Houston's belief in C.J. stroud.

[Seth]

The only issue I have sometimes with

[D'Amico Ryan]

the way people frame this is when they say, you know, Stroud led them to the playoffs. Like, all right, no. The last couple years it's been. It's been that Stroud's been a part of a playoff effort, but it's been the defense that's led them to the playoffs. And that's not I'm not even trying to criticize C.J. there or not, but it's important to point out that it's not like if there's a team Peyton Manning, back in the day, early in his career, he was awful. He was atrocious in the playoffs, but he led them to the playoffs. His regular seasons were incredible. He led them to the playoffs. It hasn't been that case. So it's not if a guy's genuinely. He's the reason you're getting to the playoffs. And it's a lot. It's a much easier decision to make.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, it's. It's way more complicated than that. Yeah, for sure. Which is why there's no contract right now. If it wasn't complicated complicated, there'd be

[D'Amico Ryan]

a contract from the player side of things.

[Seth]

Like, look, you know, Kirk Cousins and

[D'Amico Ryan]

Russell Wilson did a really good job in their careers or have done in their careers a good job of just financially. If you can not be too worried about injury, it always makes more financial sense to push it as far into close to free agency as possible. Dak Prescott did that. And that's the difference in football compared to baseball, is that you really got to worry more about injuries. But still, I don't if CJ's got that mindset and maybe Mulligetta, too, is like, look, man, look, we could. We could take this number now, but realistically, you just. You got to go out and perform, and you're gonna make more next year, and then. Then nobody's throwing a temper tantrum like little baby Baker Mayfield.

[Seth Payne]

Baker.

[D'Amico Ryan]

This is the thing about Baker Mayfield.

[Seth]

You can't have it both ways, bro. You can't be Joe, old school tough guy. But then also, like, I feel disrespected.

[Steve Smith]

I just.

[Seth]

I felt like I've done so much for this team, and this is the respect I get. You never do the dishes. Oh, oh, just shut up.

[Seth Payne]

I didn't think we were going to get a drive by a Baker Mayfield.

[Seth]

Don't be so emo, man.

[Seth Payne]

Don't be so.

[Seth]

Just, Just, Just settle down.

[Seth Payne]

I'm with you. I'm with you.

[Seth]

CJ's doing a really good job of

[D'Amico Ryan]

not being all emo about it 100%.

[Seth Payne]

That's why I love the Baker audio, because I think it highlights how well CJ's handling.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Right now. Storyline number two, four days into training camp, I think we should go into this one just because it's. I think it's. It's very much tied to CJ's contract situation.

[Steve Smith]

He's.

[Seth Payne]

He's looked good so far in training camp. The offense is actually winning some reps this year. This was Steve Smith on his podcast that he does with James Palmer, talking about how the Texans have not helped CJ Stroud enough.

[Steve Smith]

Now, they didn't do a really good job of holding themselves accountable, of not putting CJ Stroud in bad situations, because they literally just said they were a lineup Put them in shotgun and. And, hey, you beat him. Didn't have checkdowns, didn't have adjustments, just didn't do a really good job. In my humble opinion of setting CJ Stroud up to not be considered right. The Achilles heel at times.

[D'Amico Ryan]

The.

[Seth]

If.

[D'Amico Ryan]

If you look at that, that it's a.

[Seth]

It's a very complex situation when it

[D'Amico Ryan]

comes to, okay, how much did the offense help out the quarterback or how much did the coaching help out the quarterbacks? And there are a few things that went on last year where, yes, Nick Haley needs to be better as an offensive coordinator in his second year as an offensive coordinator, to be sure.

[Seth]

But whenever, like, it's way too easy

[D'Amico Ryan]

for people on the outside to say, well, I can't believe the offensive coordinator isn't doing this for the quarterback, when sometimes the quarterback is the obstacle. A lot of the really cool, funky, fun stuff that you want to do needs to be with the quarterback, handling it competently. And there were times last year where I think, because the operation isn't always just on everybody except cj, CJ directs the operation and needs to make those checks. And there are also times where, look, there's guys that. There's receivers that should have adjusted to either blitzes or coverages and become the hot route who didn't do it. So CJ is looking for eyes to throw to when there's pressure and there's nobody looking at him. And so how many Times Was it CJ's fault? How many times was it Nick Cayley's fault? How many times was it Jaden Higgins or Jalen Knowles fault?

[Seth]

It's impossible to say other than the

[D'Amico Ryan]

sum total was, yeah, it wasn't good enough.

[Campus Files Host]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

And then the big one, the big overarching one is when you can't run the football, your quarterback is put in second and 10 and third and 10 way too often.

[Seth Payne]

And he statistically was put in it more than almost anybody.

[Seth]

Right.

[D'Amico Ryan]

So no matter who you are as a quarterback, it doesn't matter if you're Tom Brady or anybody else, you're third and ten, you're more times than not, you're screwed. It's really, really hard to convert.

[Seth Payne]

Yep. So. But it's got. But it's looked better at camp this year. It's year two in the system. It's year two for CJ with Nick Kale. I think they've done a better job of going out and getting good offensive linemen this year than they did last year. I mean, they, you know, some of the stuff that was going on with the offensive line last year, you know, between giving Cam Robinson a bunch of money and then he's not even starting for you. Yeah, I mean, it's a good thing. Ariante Ursuline developed last year to a degree. I mean, he's still got, you know, he's still got room to improve, obviously in his second year. But I mean, if that hadn't happened, boy, they would have really been sunk last year.

[Seth]

Well, the whole like last year it

[D'Amico Ryan]

felt like, okay, this is going to be a two year process on the offensive line. And I wasn't.

[Seth]

I would have preferred that they were

[D'Amico Ryan]

aggressive the way the Bears were. The Bears. The Bears were incredibly aggressive in the offseason two years ago and ended up being one of the better offensive lines in football. But they made kind of muted moves. But two of them. Look, three of the moves last year. If you think about the four major moves on the offensive line last year, Ariante Ursary, Cam Robinson, Ed Ingram and Trent Brown wasn't really a major move at the time because they paid them almost nothing. I mean like the veteran minimum almost. And three of those four worked out and now they're aggressive again this year. More aggressive. And like, if a couple of those work out, then that's a.

[Seth]

It's a pretty good two year process. I would have been more. I'm still, I still would have preferred

[D'Amico Ryan]

they were greedy or more aggressive just last year.

[Seth Payne]

Well, left guard was just such an Achilles heel for them. You know, they're rotating guys in game. They're rotating guys and they're cutting Lake and Tomlinson starting in week one. If he's cut by the middle of the season.

[Seth]

They spent the first half of the

[D'Amico Ryan]

season having competition at left guard between two guys, neither of whom would win the competition.

[Seth]

Right, right, right, right.

[Seth Payne]

And who became the left guard? Their right tackle.

[Kalen Bullock]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Became the left guard. All right, so that's, that's. The first two storylines to me are C.J. stroud related. Number three, Keelum Rutledge. Speaking of the interior of the offensive line, we'll see what position he plays, but he's gonna play. I feel like he is gonna play whether it's guard. He now in the practice on Saturday, it was. He was all guard on Saturday. I don't know they did anything at center, but he's played a little of both in training camp. Here's d' Amico Ryan's. He can tell. He really likes their first round pick.

[Kalen Bullock]

Keelan is a swarm player. Man, I love it. Like, I love to see O lineman and pushing guys downfield, still fighting to make sure he finishes. I love his mindset. I mean, that's what it should be. He cares a lot. You guys see it standing to the side. We see it. I watch it all the time. Try to highlight him, you know, in our team meetings, because that's what we're looking for. When you have that type of mindset at O line, it's a problem for defenders because you're just a pest and you can't get rid of guys. And that's what he is. He's a nuisance for the defense and that's what he's going to be for us. And I love every bit of it.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah, I think his mindset and the way he operates and everything, whenever you, if you worry about whether a first round pick is going to take it seriously or not, he takes it. You can tell he takes it very, very seriously.

[Seth]

He's the only guy that.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I think in his interviews it reflects kind of what it looks like his mindset is at practice.

[Sophia with an F]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

There's no nonsense about him.

[Seth]

Yeah. And so that part of it, as

[D'Amico Ryan]

far as the intangibles, I think they, they got exactly what they were hoping to get. When it comes to where is he gonna play. Going back to what Casario said the first day of training camp, it's a wide open competition at every spot other than Ariante Ursary. And I think that that's what you want. You've got guys, multiple guys who are capable of being starters, competing to be a starter. I don't think Wyatt Teller's history as a, you know, I don't think the history of his career or the contract they gave him or anything like that means that he's 100% going to be the starting left guard. The big question is if Wyatt, like Keelan Rutledge in playing center, it's. It's a lot to learn as you're also just trying to learn how to be an NFL offensive lineman. And it might be something that he eventually gets, but it might not happen immediately. It's. There's a whole lot of muscle memory that goes into snapping the football in the gun or with the quarterback under center, and then, not to mention, you know, the variations in footwork and everything. So I don't think it's a slam dunk.

[Seth]

Even if Keela, like you could tell

[D'Amico Ryan]

me that Keelin Rutledge is going to be an all pro center in his second year, to me, that doesn't mean that he's starting at Center Week 1 of this year. It might take a little bit longer for him to figure that out.

[Seth Payne]

Could you see a scenario where your two starting guards are Wyatt Teller and Keelan Rutledge and Ed Ingram is.

[Seth]

Yeah, I could see that. I could see that.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I think that the more than likely scenario would be a lot of money.

[Seth]

The more than. Right, right. But I think, like going.

[D'Amico Ryan]

They're trying to be contract blind to it.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Cam Robinson was making a lot of money last year and then, you know,

[Seth Payne]

I get it, I get it.

[Seth]

Yeah. I think. I think Trent Brown could start at right tackle over Braden Smith, despite Braden

[D'Amico Ryan]

Smith being the higher ticket item.

[Seth Payne]

I 100% agree with you. It's just a really interesting scenario that you could see two guys making $13 million a year being backups.

[Seth]

I think the D' Amico made a

[D'Amico Ryan]

comment the other day about how even for the veteran players, it's an adjustment learning Cole Popovich's technique. So no matter what Wyatt Teller or Braden Smith or any of these other guys have done, they got to tweak their techniques a little bit to fit this scheme and what Cole Popovich and Nick Haley want to do. So from that standpoint, you know that maybe, maybe if it takes Wiateller a little bit longer to get longer to get comfortable in that and they like, they like the trajectory of Keelan Rutledge, then yeah, maybe he ends up being the starter or plays better than Ed Ingram.

[Seth]

I'll be surprised.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Ed Ingrid would be one of the bigger surprises if he's a big surprise.

[Seth Payne]

But he was. He was not great out here the other day. So we'll see. I mean, the pads go on today. Like, I don't.

[Seth]

Yeah, like, we'll see. I don't like, like, it's not like

[D'Amico Ryan]

I like giving excuses to the Texans offensive line because they haven't really earned the right to have excuses made for him. But like, nope, you just can't tell a no pass fourth practice.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, no, no, no. I'm not burying the guy. It's just, it's. It's going to be an interesting competition for sure. Storyline number four. Not much to say here on this one, but the defense, they're bleeping amazing again. They're awesome. They're really good. Here was Nico Collins on Saturday at his availability on the difficulty of facing the Texans defense.

[Nico Collins]

Nah, you just gotta keep positive pace, man. You know, defense, they send them blitzes and the offense, we gotta see, we gotta react. Hot routes and things like that, you know, as an offense, we gotta adapt to it. And defense, they can continue to do what they do, you know, so we gotta get in order to get better on that. We gotta find the, the boys, the hot routes, identify the safeties. Pre snout reads, you know, a lot coming to it. You know, the defense, they the best now. So it's only right. It's what you want as an offense. You want to go against the best every single day, you know, and there's no better feeling than this going against them every single day. Sharpening the blade, man. So on Sundays we humming, you know, so day four, supposed to be hard, supposed to be hot. That's going to count, man. That's what make it fun.

[Seth Payne]

Where, where does Nico versus the cornerback stack up on the matchups, the training camp matchups that you, you were stacking it like a wrestling card.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I don't spend a whole lot of time watch receivers and defensive backs, but like I, it's, it sticks out to you. 11 on 11 when Nico's running downfield, like that's where I'm just saying when I can tell the ball's not going to Nico or whatever, I'm not watching exactly what's going on. And it's like you don't get to go back and watch the film. There have been some really good, There have been really some really good battles between Nico and those two cornerbacks. On some of the deep balls. There have been some really tight window throws at CJ's. Some of them he's completed, some of them knocked away. But that part of it, watching those guys go after it.

[Seth]

But then also I'm a little bit

[D'Amico Ryan]

annoyed that CJ had the playoff performance that he did because I don't think CJ's in a position to be like,

[Seth]

yeah, it's just training camp.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I'm just gonna yolo.

[Seth]

I'm gonna throw a 50 ball. Go throw a 50, 50 ball to

[D'Amico Ryan]

Nico and Derek, to Derek Stingley and see what happens.

[Seth Payne]

Winds up on TikTok.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I think he's making the. No, I think he's making the right decision in a game. You're just, you know, there's certain parts of Derek Stingley that you're just, you're not, you're, you're not throwing it in that direction when it looks like it might be a 50, 50 ball.

[Seth Payne]

So there's people that are going to be out, there's fans out here. There's fans out here all week. Going up to the night practice on Saturday and there's fans already lined up outside here as there have been the last couple years for training camp. Probably listening on the Odyssey app on their phone. What's. If you were. If someone were driving here and you were telling them the matchup in pads today for the first time that you're most looking forward to seeing.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Oh, okay. I would say in the. When they're in any kind of a run situation, the interior offensive and defensive line. Because you'll see Kaden McDonald.

[Seth]

Well, for one, you're going to see

[D'Amico Ryan]

Keelan Rutledge potentially if he's working with the ones going against.

[Seth]

Well, really.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Even if he's working with the twos going against some really good defensive tackles. Kaden McDonald Just in general, like, he's a guy that can't.

[Seth Payne]

He's.

[D'Amico Ryan]

He's more of a strength guy than a speed guy. So there's not a lot that he can really flash during when there's no shoulder pads on. He earns his money and his draft status on days like this.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Where there's an inside run and how's he holding up in there and then how's the offensive line doing against him and Tommy Togi and all those guys.

[Nico Collins]

So.

[D'Amico Ryan]

But then on third down, Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson and I don't.

[Seth]

I think should have him practices today.

[Seth Payne]

I don't know.

[Steve Smith]

Travel.

[Seth Payne]

Should be.

[Seth]

Travel well. But yeah, he had been up.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Hmm.

[Seth Payne]

Maybe he has to take a physical.

[Seth]

He's gonna. No.

[D'Amico Ryan]

And they're gonna. They'll ease him into it and be sure that he's like. They'll probably have him do some teens.

[Kalen Bullock]

He's a vet.

[Seth Payne]

Vet.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth]

I would say though, but Will. Andrew, this is a. This is what I would say about

[D'Amico Ryan]

the offensive line this year, where even on Saturday some of the bad snaps is that two years ago last year. Excuse me. Last year guys weren't even in position to lose the physical battles because the O line was so stupid mentally this year at times.

[Seth]

You know what?

[Steve Smith]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Ariante Ursary is going to lose some reps to Daniel Hunter or Will Anderson, but he's had some good reps, too. And you know, Trent Brown had a really nice rep and one of the ones that kind of went viral on social media. Trent Brown had a really nice rep versus Will Anderson.

[Seth Payne]

Yep.

[Seth]

But it was all with no pads.

[D'Amico Ryan]

So watching today in pads, watching those edge rushers, just a lot easier to see with your. If you're at practice, watching from the stands, it's hard to watch the interior offensive and defensive line, but you can watch those edge rushers Yep.

[Seth Payne]

We'll get to acknowledge me in a second. Last one storylines from camp number five. For me, Tank Dell is the most popular player on a near two year hiatus that I've ever seen in my life.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Did you hear how he gets?

[D'Amico Ryan]

He's almost like a young J.J. watt when you come out for training.

[Seth Payne]

He got a pop the other day out here, man, and Tank isn't really doing much out here. He's, you know, catching off the jugs machine. He's doing some walkthrough stuff. But Tank is, man, Tank Dell is a popular, popular dude. He'll walk out here today. I'm sure he'll get another big pop.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I think people are also giving him emotional support. There is a kind of, you know, it's a combination of appreciation for seeing him out there, but also keep his spirits.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah. We're here for you, Tank.

[Seth Payne]

Yep.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Until you wrong us.

[Seth Payne]

This is James Palmer on the plan for Tank Dell.

[James Palmer]

All right, here's what I've gathered this spring. They thought he moved around. Well, they thought he moved around. You know, it was, it was positive. I'd say they're cautiously optimistic because of this. He was running most of the spring at about 70%. He was going full go.

[Steve Smith]

That's good.

[James Palmer]

And so that's kind of where he was at there. I don't think there is a timetable in place right now and I think that's also good. Like, hey, you got to be back for this. No, let's see how this goes. This could be, and I was told this in a couple days ago, prepping for this. It could be pretty wide ranging. He could show up at camp and go, oh, he's ahead. He put in a ton of work. All right, let's do this. Or it could be, hey, hey, this may. He might not be ready for the start of the season.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah. So I think when people ask, what's the plan for Tank Dell? The team's not going to be able to give you. If they were being completely open and transparent, they can't give you a real solid plan. Other than that, we're going to try to take it step by step. We're going to see how he does and we're going to see how he recovers when we advance a little bit.

[Seth]

To clarify, when James Palmer says, you

[D'Amico Ryan]

know, he was running at 70%, that doesn't mean that he never runs 100%. It's just in the volunteer three quarter speed drills, kind of like the ones we saw out there, that they're, they're tamping him back and making sure that he just goes step by step through the process.

[Seth]

The fact that he didn't. The fact that they are in that

[D'Amico Ryan]

wait and see mode or just, you know, not trying to put a specific timetable on it, it's. It makes it even more encouraging, though, that they didn't put him on the puppet because they could easily at that point say, well, if we don't know if he's going to be ready by week one, we want to reserve the right to put him on PUP at the. Keep him on PUP at the start of the season.

[Seth]

To put.

[D'Amico Ryan]

To not have him on PUP at the start of training camp, you're kind of pushing your chips in and saying, we got to see him out here in practice and see. And then maybe we're in an uncomfortable situation with roster spots, but it's worth the risk and it's worth the gamble.

[Seth Payne]

They are betting on him being healthy.

[Kalen Bullock]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That's what. Not being a p. It's a little

[D'Amico Ryan]

bit of a gamble on him. Yeah.

[Seth]

They're kind of betting if they had to toss a coin, it feels like

[D'Amico Ryan]

it's a weighted coin that it's a better than 50% chance that he's ready week one.

[Seth Payne]

That would seem to be. That would seem to be. All right, let's get to acknowledge me acknowledging big performances. Big news. Other things from over the weekend. I will say a name or in the case of the first one, a series of names. And Byron, who's back in the studio producing today, will play Roman Reigns.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Acknowledge me.

[Seth Payne]

Tribal Chief, who won at SummerSlam last night. He beat Seth Rollins. And we'll acknowledge big performances. All right, here we go.

[Seth]

Hey, can I ask you real quick?

[Jen Hatmaker]

Sure.

[D'Amico Ryan]

So on espn, are they actually breaking down wwe?

[Seth]

Is this what I saw?

[D'Amico Ryan]

I saw people all upset about something. Yeah, that's what it was. Actually breaking down wwe.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. And the week leading up to it, they have Joe Tessatore, who's one of the voices of WWE in studio, like breaking down the matches, and Mike Greenberg on get up.

[Seth]

Why would people be upset about that? Why would I see so many tweets about, like, oh, this is where we are right now?

[D'Amico Ryan]

I guess.

[Kalen Bullock]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I love it.

[Seth]

Oh, God, I love it. I have to start watching ESPN again and I don't even care about wrestling, but I'm intrigued to watch what everybody is.

[Seth Payne]

You need to watch the reaction.

[Seth]

Yeah. You need to watch.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Will Anderson Jr, Daniel Hunter, Derek Stingley and Nico Collins.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Acknowledge me.

[Seth Payne]

These are the four Texans with a Madden score of 90 or higher, Seth.

[Seth]

That's what it's all about, Sean. Big deal to the kids. It's like wwe. This is the stuff that matters. It is, kind of does from a team standpoint, like a business standpoint.

[D'Amico Ryan]

You want people out there playing with your players and everything.

[Seth]

Yeah, well, it is.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I mean, it is bringing the, bringing

[Seth]

the young folk up to be lifelong Texans fans.

[Seth Payne]

Look, I will say this. This is probably a better indicator of what your overall talent level is in the NFL top 100.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

They have like the nerds watching it.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Like. And it breaks down all the different aspects of a player.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So Those are the four players that are above 90. C.J. stroud, 76.

[D'Amico Ryan]

What's that, what's that mean?

[Seth Payne]

24th best quarterback in the sport according to Madden. Behind. Behind the likes of Aaron Rodgers. Old man Aaron Rodgers.

[D'Amico Ryan]

All right, that does that kind of annoy me.

[Seth Payne]

All right, Bryce Young.

[Seth]

Okay, I'll whatever.

[Seth Payne]

Jackson Dart, huh?

[Seth]

Well, I wonder, you know, factoring in

[D'Amico Ryan]

running ability and everything.

[Seth Payne]

Yes, I guess. I mean, I would, you know, took

[Seth]

it to Jackson Dart last year. Jadevian Clowney.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Seth]

He bounced his head off the turf a couple of times.

[Kalen Bullock]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Brian Dabel probably ignored. Pulled him out of the tent multiple

[D'Amico Ryan]

times after Jeff and Clowney.

[Seth Payne]

Which slight, which slight do you think C.J. takes the most offense to not making the NFL's top 100? I know the top 100 is not over yet. Yeah, but it looks like he's not going to make it. Not making the player voted NFL top 100, only getting one vote in that ESPN thing that were coaches and front office people. Or a 76 score on Madden that puts him behind Aaron Rodgers.

[Seth]

And Bryce, you know, the 76 score

[D'Amico Ryan]

is the one that comes up in nature the most. Like people approaching you and everything.

[Seth Payne]

He probably plays video games.

[Seth]

There's kids that want to play with C.J. stroud. They probably come up to him as like, I love you so much, but I just can't.

[Seth Payne]

I can't even win it.

[Seth]

Madden. And you're kind of like, oh, what

[D'Amico Ryan]

am I going to do?

[Seth]

Tell this kid to bleep off and go viral? Yeah, probably one that affects him the most. Just walking around when he's at the Kroger.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, I got to play with Jackson Dart now.

[Seth]

And it's always nice when you do have a high Madden score and kids come up to you because that happens for generations.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Sometimes a Madden score will be a

[D'Amico Ryan]

little too generous and kids will come

[Seth]

up to you and be like, man, I'll tell you what. In such and such year, you were a machine and I played with you every game.

[Seth Payne]

Did you ever know what your Madden score was?

[D'Amico Ryan]

No, I never had a clue.

[Seth Payne]

Okay.

[Seth]

I was always criminally underrated. I know, but there was like a glitch in a couple of years where

[D'Amico Ryan]

I had like one move that was unstoppable.

[Seth Payne]

Really?

[Seth]

Yeah, it was. And I had guys always. And I never bothered.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Don't be a jerk, man.

[Seth]

Yeah, no, it's like to this day I was at an airport rental car

[D'Amico Ryan]

counter in Buffalo and this kid, he

[Seth]

was like 23 years old and he was like, he was looking at my license and my reservation. He's like, are you the guy you played for the Jaguars and the Texans

[Steve Smith]

back in the day?

[Seth]

And I was like, yeah. He's like.

[Will Levis]

And he knew.

[Seth]

He had gone. He was like a super mad nerd.

[D'Amico Ryan]

He'd gone through and played every season. Yeah. And everything.

[Seth]

And he just like, he was telling me stuff about.

[Kalen Bullock]

You were.

[Seth]

What happened in 19, like 1990.

[Seth Payne]

Did he know about your, your super special move?

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

A counterclockwise swirl.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Yes. Will Levis.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Acknowledge me.

[Seth Payne]

I am going to acknowledge Will Levis for this five star level of delusion that he had. Will Levis had a press conference last week. He is the backup quarterback in Tennessee to Cam Ward. This is Will Levis talking about where he thinks he stands among other quarterbacks in the NFL.

[Will Levis]

I know I've put the tape out there already that I'm a, you know, a dang good quarterback in this league and I'm even better than I ever have been. So the faith that you have a

[Seth Payne]

future as a starter.

[Will Levis]

100%. 100%. I know I'm, you know, I think I'm there. There are not 32 quarterbacks in this league better than me. I know that for sure.

[D'Amico Ryan]

So he's a confident young man.

[Seth]

I'd say he's every bit as stupid as Jackson Dart. But without all the physical prowess to

[D'Amico Ryan]

make up for it, Will Levis might be one of the dumbest football players I've ever seen.

[Seth Payne]

Is he one of the 32 best

[Seth]

quarterbacks walking the planet?

[Seth Payne]

That's the question.

[Seth]

I don't know. There's some bad quarterbacks out there. I don't know. Let's see, last year with his 13

[D'Amico Ryan]

touchdowns and 12 interceptions and his 2000, this was 2024, not last year.

[Seth]

No, I would have to say that.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I don't think it's a slam dunk that he's better than 32 guys out there.

[Seth Payne]

Can I just tell you, Aaron Raybould, who's out here on site, pulled up your Madden scores from your career. You age like a fine wine. Your three best Madden scores were your last three years in football.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah, but I don't know, they weren't good madden schools.

[Seth Payne]

You 87?

[Seth]

Is that good?

[Seth Payne]

That's good.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Is it?

[Seth Payne]

87's good if you're in the high 80s. Dude.

[Seth]

You know what's so bogus about that

[D'Amico Ryan]

though, is like so much of that's based on probably how many.

[Seth]

Like, because I had a couple. I had a couple years worth.

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[D'Amico Ryan]

For a nose tackle, I had like five sacks, which is like so. But it wasn't like I was better that year or anything. I just had.

[Seth Payne]

You know, it's funny, and I think you'll take most offense to this because you had a pretty good vertical leap for a big guy.

[Kalen Bullock]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

They added jumping ability in 2001.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Jumping ability for a nose tackle.

[Seth]

11. Oh, is that out of a hundred? Yes, but.

[Seth Payne]

But then the next six years you were in the 40s, so clearly they just.

[D'Amico Ryan]

That was race based right there.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, they judged a book by.

[Seth]

I had a really good. No, it's like, then they started watching

[Seth Payne]

like, wow, look at the hot.

[Seth]

My combine set. My 40 time station sucked. But like, as far as my vertical, my horizontal and all that stuff, I was pretty damn explosive.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, man.

[Seth]

And. And yet I had all these coaches being like, you ever think about playing o line? And I'm like, I don't. Like, I feel like I'm. I feel like I can play defensive tackle. Why are you asking me this question?

[Seth Payne]

An 11 jumping. You may as well be wearing cement shoes.

[Seth]

Well, that was also after a couple

[D'Amico Ryan]

of ACLs and a torn pateller tendon.

[Seth Payne]

How is it? Oh, no, no, no. But.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah, that was before Jacksonville.

[Kendra Adachi]

Yeah.

[Squarespace Sponsor]

Yeah.

[Seth]

No, I tore my patellar tent in my rookie year.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, you did? Oh, that's right.

[Seth]

Well, I played with it for two years.

[Seth Payne]

You didn't know about it.

[Seth]

I played. Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Partially torn patellar tendon.

[Seth Payne]

That's your psychological connection with Yordon Alvarez.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Cuz he played with a couple.

[Seth]

It's not fun.

[Seth Payne]

Hey, by the way, let me.

[D'Amico Ryan]

They didn't know that it was partially torn back then. They would do an MRI and it was just. I'm pretty sure they would just like use a Polaroid and guess.

[Will Levis]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Here's the outside of your knee. Speaking of Yordon, Yordon Alvarez. Acknowledge me, Jordan Alvarez, who is. Is way out in front for American League MVP right now. Another this thing. My favorite thing about when the Astros play the Rangers. Seth.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Is we get at least one hilarious Jordan Alvarez graphic during a game about how he's destroyed the Rangers to the same degree that whole teams have.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Or that he's hit as many home runs in that ballpark as guys on the Rangers who are leading them in home runs. Things like that. This was the funny graphic from over the weekend. Most home runs against The Rangers in 2026. The Mariners with nine. The Yankees with nine. The Braves with nine. Jordan Alvarez with eight.

[Seth]

He is there. He is to, by the way, the

[Seth Payne]

Astros, 25 home runs against the Rangers this year. How about that?

[Seth]

Yeah, go ahead.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I interrupt a bunch of losers.

[Seth]

So I was almost to say Yordon

[D'Amico Ryan]

is to the Rangers kind of what

[Seth]

Ty Hilton was to the Texans. Difference is though, that Ty Hilton wasn't.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Ty Hillen wasn't nearly as good a football player as he was when he was versus the Texans.

[Seth]

Right. He was way better versus the Texans than he was the rest of the time.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Whereas Jordan is one of the best players in the league.

[Seth]

So I get. He's kind of like Derrick Henry was

[D'Amico Ryan]

to the Texans for a long time until d' Ameco got here. And now d' Amico's had the Texans since d' Ameco has gotten here, have

[Seth]

delivered Derrick Henry a couple of the

[D'Amico Ryan]

worst games of his career.

[Kalen Bullock]

Career.

[Seth]

But he's still like when Derrick Henry

[D'Amico Ryan]

had just remember, like he had basically rushed for a mile against the Texans.

[Seth Payne]

He was like three 200 yard games in a row or something like that. Yeah.

[Seth]

All right.

[Seth Payne]

J.J. watt.

[Seth]

Did they sign him now?

[Kalen Bullock]

No.

[Seth Payne]

That would be fun though. That would be great. He is. This happened over the weekend. He is getting bumped up, at least on an interim basis to the A team on cbs.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So that would seem to indicate to me that Tony Romo, by the way, Tony Romo, who's been put on indefinite leave by CBS in the aftermath of his OWI arrest up in Wisconsin. It's DWI to you and me. JJ Watt is getting bumped up. He's gonna be with Jim Nance for the foreseeable future on cbs.

[Seth]

I'm with you. I really liked him with an iron

[D'Amico Ryan]

eagle and I thought they were a great pair. And I don't know, maybe like really, Jim Nance and Tony Romo together as a package have really not been a great broadcast crew. But I think Jim Nance has been dragged down by Tony Romo just deciding to not pay attention to the game he's watching.

[Seth]

You know, DEZ Bryant.

[D'Amico Ryan]

DEZ Bryant had a tweet this weekend about how smart Romo is and how he sees the game and everything.

[Seth]

And I, and I wanted to say, like, yes, I agree with you. He probably, those things are probably true, but he's devoting none of that intelligence towards actually preparing for or watching the game while he's out there.

[Seth Payne]

This was the Dumbest. I have his tweet. Des Bryant. Des Bryant's actually pretty good on Twitter.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

This was. And he's taken up for Tony Romo. I get it. The dumbest thing in this tweet was when he says the knowledge. Tony rarely shows the world is on another level. And so I retweeted, I said this. He's a broadcaster. I would suggest he show that he

[Seth]

rarely shows it to the world.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Seth]

It is like you knew from his first couple of years as a broadcaster that, oh, cool. Yeah, he sees the game differently. I thought people took the calling out

[D'Amico Ryan]

the plays a little too far because for one, he was wrong way more than people realize. But two is just annoying.

[Nico Collins]

Yep.

[D'Amico Ryan]

And.

[Seth]

But he just steadily over time looked like everything that. If I were a Cowboys fan, I would be like, oh, this is why

[D'Amico Ryan]

he never really capitalized on his potential as a player. It doesn't seem like he's really working all that hard at it.

[Seth Payne]

Here's my question to you. Yeah, these are the CBS Week 1 game. Because Bill's Texans is a good game. Yeah, that's the game. That's. It's noon Sunday, week one. These are the six CBS games. Do you think we get Jim Nance and J.J. watt? Bills, Texans, Jets, Titans. No chance that they get him.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Ravens, Colts. I think Bill's Texans better than that, I would say.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah. Browns, Jaguars, Likely not.

[Seth Payne]

Likely not.

[Seth]

Okay.

[D'Amico Ryan]

No, definitely likely not. You've got a bad team versus a good team, but the good team is one of the smallest markets.

[Seth Payne]

Yep, yep, yep. And then the two late window games. Two late window games. I'll get this one out of the way. They're not doing Cardinals, Chargers.

[D'Amico Ryan]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Seth Payne]

But 325 window, which is a big window for CBS. Yeah, that's oftentimes where you see the A team on there. Packers, Vikings. It's gonna get Texans, Bills, noon, or Packers, Vikings, late window.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I think it probably ends up being Packers, Vikings.

[Seth Payne]

I think that. I think that games in the late window for a reason.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know what I mean?

[D'Amico Ryan]

Right, right, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ana Garcia]

The.

[Seth Payne]

Bill's Texans, man.

[Seth]

No, no, no. Bill's Texans is if you base it purely on pure. Pure football matchup, two of the favorites in the afc, etc, etc, the two

[D'Amico Ryan]

big name quarterbacks, all of that. Whereas the Vikings, you don't. You don't even know what the hell is going on with the quarterback situation.

[Kalen Bullock]

No, no.

[Seth]

By pure football standards, it should be Texans versus the Bills or Bills versus Texans. But the packers are the packers.

[D'Amico Ryan]

And it's a divisional matchup with.

[Kalen Bullock]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

And it's the, It's a late afternoon.

[Seth Payne]

That's the biggest thing. If the Packers, Vikings were at noon, I'd be like, oh, yeah, no, they'll do Bills, Texans. But that late window to me is, is that.

[Seth]

What's the latest scuttlebutt? J.J. mcCarthy is actually in the lead now in the quarterback competition.

[Seth Payne]

That's not what I've seen.

[Seth]

Is that what you've seen?

[Seth Payne]

I haven't been following.

[Seth]

I just follow. I just see various tweets, so who knows?

[D'Amico Ryan]

I haven't read an article or anything.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Seth]

So they're saying Kyler Murray is the favorite.

[Steve Smith]

Now that.

[Seth]

I thought after the first week it looked like, well, this is what I saw. I was like, okay, JJ McCarthy looks

[D'Amico Ryan]

like a guy who's been in the system for a year.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

And knows what he's doing. Whereas Kyler Murray, it's still more of a.

[Seth Payne]

Again, when I say I haven't seen, I've not followed it at all. So, yeah, I'm just not. Yeah, I, I, I had heard good things about Kyler Murray through the spring, but, you know, this is where the rubber meets the road. All right, that was Acknowledge me. We do it. But we do it each and every Monday at about this time. All right, d' Amico Ryan's scouting reports on different guys. Four practices in, including two new guys. And this guy is still getting the same label, the same title he got from d' Amico Ryan's last year. And I'm, I like it. I wonder if this guy's gonna be around for a long time. We'll see. But we got d' Amico Ryan scouting reports as we get you ready for today's first padded practice out here at Texans training camp. That's coming up next.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Center Sports Radio 610 presents Pain and Pendergast.

[Kendra Adachi]

All right.

[Seth Payne]

Pain and Pendergast. All right, Seth. So we just in Acknowledge me. Acknowledge. You know what? We should have acknowledged Seth Byron. Can we get Seth Payne and Acknowledge me real quick? Acknowledge you were an 87 on Madden overall your last three years in the NFL. Yeah, like a fine wine year.

[D'Amico Ryan]

You tell me. It's good.

[Seth Payne]

This is who you. Okay. How would you feel if you were the equivalent of Zach Allen of the Denver Broncos?

[D'Amico Ryan]

You had to go the white guy, huh?

[Seth]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You're sandwiched in between Leonard Williams and Milton Williams.

[Seth]

I was. Yeah. That's cool.

[Seth Payne]

One point behind Leonard Williams. He's really good.

[Seth]

Yeah, I know. It's always such a. It's always such a shock to people

[D'Amico Ryan]

like you when you find out that I was.

[Seth Payne]

You accept. You accept praise like you're being handed a diagnosis.

[Seth]

Well, you always act, like, incredibly surprised. Like, hey, look at that. I'm excited for you. No.

[Squarespace Sponsor]

Yeah.

[Seth]

I don't like. You were a good player. I don't like being singled out for stuff.

[PJ Vogt]

Okay.

[Seth]

Yeah. No, but, yes, thank you. Yeah.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I'll acknowledge that I was a good player.

[Seth]

Okay.

[Seth Payne]

Good, Good. We've got. We've got 10 minutes left in the show. I shall now read all the 20, 26 defensive linemen that 2006 Seth Payne was better than. Grover Stewart, Kobe Turner.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Byron Murphy, D.J. reader.

[Kalen Bullock]

84.

[Seth Payne]

Daron Payne, your brother. He's 84 also. Yeah. All right, I won't keep going.

[Seth]

All right.

[Seth Payne]

So d', Ameco, Ryan's met with the media over the weekend, as he always does, and he. It was kind of cool. He gave, like, sort of some scouting thumbnails on some of the guys. Kalin Bullock met with the media, too. This was d' Amico Ryan. Caleb Bullock's one of the guys people are real excited about in year three. I know you've said this with Reed Blankenship back there now maybe it unlocks a different level with Kalen Bullock. This was d' Ameco on Kalen Bullock this weekend.

[Kalen Bullock]

Kalen's done a really good job of just working on his communication skills. We all know Kalen's greatest assets is being able to take the football away. That's where he truly shines. One of the best in the league at taking the football away. I've seen him take a jump and his tackling, like, every year, the kid has gotten better and he's putting in the work to do that. So this year has just been the communication moving him around a little bit more. He's well versed in what we're doing defensively now, continuing to work with his disguises and, you know, showing one thing, giving him another. So the more he can really own that role, the better he'll be, the better our defense will be.

[Seth Payne]

Is he another one of these guys set that benefits from something you were talking about earlier in the show, which is this is a defense that's just going to have more wrinkles to it this year?

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah, 100%, for one.

[D'Amico Ryan]

All these guys have been in the system now for a couple of years, at least a couple of years. We look at Kamari Lasseter and Kalen Bullock, but then you Add Reed Blankenship to it, and now that you've got five veteran players in the defensive backfield, you can do some funkier things.

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[Campus Files Host]

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[D'Amico Ryan]

It's almost like a university under siege.

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[D'Amico Ryan]

[e-mail] and for one, you know Bullock, when he's in that deep center field safety position, that's where he can really utilize his range and be kind of an eraser. And if there's, if there's an errant pass at all, it turns from an incompletion into a potential interception.

[Seth]

But they also, because you have Reed

[D'Amico Ryan]

Blankenship, it frees them up to maybe move Calum Bullock up near the line of scrimmage at times and have Reed Blankenship play deep and take advantage of Bullock's speed and versatility down there.

[Seth]

Yeah, and they're, there will be more

[D'Amico Ryan]

wrinkles this year just because if you

[Seth]

look at last year having a revolving

[D'Amico Ryan]

door at safety next to Kalin, there's just only so much you can do in terms of disguising without screwing everything up because it's, it's just more on the plate of a rookie or a guy that you just signed to, to try to disguise or to do anything funky. It's just there's going to be more mental errors when you can't trust everybody back there. So as long as everybody's healthy or, you know, like if Jalen Petrie got injured, for instance, hypothetically, they can, they can, you know, they can move Reed Blankenship around or some of those younger guys are now a year older, that it doesn't have to disrupt you as much. So, yeah, I think this year they'll be really freed up to take advantage of everything that Kalen Bullock offers athletically.

[Seth Payne]

I think one of the more interesting guys on the defense that we haven't talked about a ton is Logan hall because of the versatility he brings to the defensive line. Who knows if the Clowney signing impacts how they envisioned using him eventually? Because I think there had been a notion that they were so thin at the backup defensive end that Logan hall could give you some snaps there. We'll see how that works out. But this was d' Amico and this is obviously before the Clowney signing, but this was d' Ameco on Logan Hall.

[Kalen Bullock]

Well, Logan, he's done a good job with just, you know, working himself back, getting out of playing football. You know, he had surgery there in the off season, so he's been, you know, doing a good job of working with our guys on the side and now getting integrated back to football. He just has to get used to the techniques and the things we're asking a D line to do. As we know, completely different scheme from what he's used to. So it'll take some time to him to get caught up what we're doing. So. So we'll see how he continues to grow with that. But he's. He's done a great job in his first four days.

[Seth]

No. So Logan hall, you know, we've talked a lot about how, okay, Logan hall

[D'Amico Ryan]

in some ways can be the replacement for Deanico Autry, who's kind of a. Like a. He's a. He's more of a combo defensive end slash defensive tackle. Played defensive end in a 3, 4. That's kind of like an interior defensive lineman. So. But I think more so than Denico Autry, they'd be more comfortable having him play defensive tackle in more situations. So it's going to be a game plan by game plan thing or based on injuries. He gives you a lot more ability that look, he can be a replacement for like, not a direct replacement, but if Will Anderson goes down or both of them went down, if Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter both went down, you got Jadevion Clowney and Logan hall as your defensive end and you can roll with that. You're not going to be as good, obviously, but you can roll with that. But likewise if you have a bunch of injuries, the defensive tackle, Logan hall can play a lot more defensive tackle in normal situations. Autry was kind of a guy that might play defensive tackle in passing situations or, you know, in specific, you know, other. Other situations. Logan hall is more of a genuinely versatile inside outside player.

[Seth Payne]

All right, last one here.

[James Palmer]

The.

[Seth Payne]

The title of most consistent player last year. This shocked a lot of people when d' Ameco said it a year ago, said the most consistent Houston Texan is Tommy Togiai. And this is before Togih had evolved into what he became this past season. Does he still hold the belt for most consistent Houston Texan?

[Kalen Bullock]

Tommy is just always the most consistent guy. He's always here, working out, always one of our best guys in the weight room. And it shows on the field. When he steps on the field, there's no. He doesn't surprise us. He's made a play today on the screen in the backfield. He's just smart, aware. Not just running with his eyes closed. He's aware of what's going on. Really good feel really Great instincts inside and that's what's allowed him to shine as a player for us. And he's again gotten better each and every year. He's looking the best that I've seen him look here in training camp. So excited for to see the type of season that he'll have.

[Seth]

This is.

[D'Amico Ryan]

I'm going to show you something that

[Seth]

I had actually I texted to you

[D'Amico Ryan]

and Nick Casario after the last time we had Kasario on because he was talking about Togei being as explosive as he is. And it's spider chart.

[Seth]

If you ever go to mock draftable,

[D'Amico Ryan]

it's a fun thing to do.

[Seth]

They'll show how a player looks based

[D'Amico Ryan]

on his combine stats. Like relative to other things.

[Seth]

Togei, you might wonder. Okay, how's the guy using the 92nd

[D'Amico Ryan]

percentile of the three cone drill?

[Seth]

77th percentile of 20 yard shuttle.

[D'Amico Ryan]

He's in the 80th percentile of vertical jump.

[Seth]

Looks like a pretty explosive guy. He's a mid round draft pick.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Arm length, 9th percentile.

[Seth Payne]

He had no arms.

[Seth]

Hand size, 2nd percentile.

[Seth Payne]

He's trying to play defensive tackle without any arms height and weight.

[Squarespace Sponsor]

Weight.

[Seth]

He's at the top of the lower quartile. Right, right, right.

[Seth Payne]

Well, it would stand to reason that when you have no arms, your hand size would also be very small.

[Seth]

He's a smaller guy so he doesn't have any hands and he's not quite as impressive.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Aaron Donald was.

[Seth]

It could get overcome. He's like he doesn't have the length that guys feel comfortable with but sometimes guys like that end up being really like. Aaron Donald's the ultimate example of a

[D'Amico Ryan]

guy that is short and it didn't matter because he made up for it in so many different ways.

[Seth Payne]

The ideal spider chart is where there's color spreading everywhere.

[Seth]

J.J. watts.

[D'Amico Ryan]

It's like all green. Like it's color. All the whole circle is green. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Like on Tommy Togi. Like the left hand half. That's all like drills.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Are all amazing. The other half is like the invisible man.

[Seth]

But the he doesn't exist.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Oh, that was the fun thing too. I did this once. So you look at JJ's and it's almost all over other than his 40 because they're comparing him to edge rushers.

[Seth Payne]

Where does he. That's his 40 right there. Yeah.

[Seth]

Okay, so it's 40 time but like

[D'Amico Ryan]

20 yard shuttle, bench press, arm length, hand, all that.

[Seth Payne]

It's a much fuller web than Togi.

[Seth]

No. It's funny because if you take I Found three guys who curiously were recruited

[D'Amico Ryan]

as tight ends out of high school or were recruited only to mid major conferences. It was Max Crosby, J.J. watt and what's his name. From the Bengals to the, to the Ravens.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, Trey Hendrickson.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah, Trey Hendrickson.

[Seth]

Like huh?

[Seth Payne]

What are they all having fun?

[D'Amico Ryan]

Every college coach in the nation looked at these guys and thought, I don't know, not sure he's cut out to be a pass rusher in college. Looks more like a tight end to me. If they're made of idiots.

[Seth Payne]

Central Michigan was J.J. right?

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Max Crosby, Eastern Michigan.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And then I think Florida. One of the Florida's either international or Atlantic.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

For Hendrickson.

[Seth]

JJ started off as a tight end

[D'Amico Ryan]

and I want to say one of those other two guys also started off as a tight end.

[Seth Payne]

Sounds right.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Defensive end at the very least. Didn't get any big time offers.

[Seth Payne]

Definitely passes the eye test.

[Seth]

97th percentile. A three cone drill amongst NFL players. Looks like he's probably going to be a tight end in Central Michigan. Unbelievable.

[Seth Payne]

Oh my God. How unsophisticated. Holy smokes. All right, so.

[D'Amico Ryan]

Well that's what they used to do with quarterbacks of the recruiting process too.

[Nico Collins]

Indeed.

[Seth]

That was where like high school quarterback. This fellow looks more like a wide receiver to me.

[D'Amico Ryan]

To my eyes.

[Seth]

I know I've been watching football a long time and this fella here is no quarterback. Oh my God. He threw for 7,000 yards. Yeah, but looks more like a wide receiver to me.

[Seth Payne]

Oh my God. All right, so a reminder, a couple of things. Couple, two, three things. John Harris, Mark Vandermeer who are about to get the hot tag from us. They're going to have Cal McNair and Hannah McNair on this Morning at 8:30. The fellas on in the Loop. We're going to have Kamari Lassiter off the field today as their player guest. And tomorrow at 7:15, Nick Casario joins Seth and myself here on Pain and Pendergast. So first day of Paz. If you're a fan coming out here, we look forward to seeing you out here. If you're a fan standing in line, God bless you out there. Antibodies to you, my friend, if you're driving.

[Peter Hamby]

Understanding power requires more than headlines. I'm Peter Hamby, host of the Powers that Be, a podcast from Puck examining politics, economics and media to provide context, analysis and clarity without sensationalism. We ask how power operates, who benefits and what's at stake. If you want to move beyond breaking news to deeper understanding, join us on the Powers that Be new episodes every weekday. Follow the Powers that Be wherever you get your podcasts.