Will Stroud Even Make the NFL Top 100? + Acknowledge Me

Summary

Payne & Pendergast Episode: Will Stroud Even Make the NFL Top 100? + Acknowledge Me Date: July 13, 2026

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Overview

This episode of Payne & Pendergast sees Seth Payne and his co-host (likely Mark Sesler filling in for Sean Pendergast) dive into two major topics: whether Texans QB C.J. Stroud will make the NFL's Top 100 list, and the dynamics around his contract future. They break down the voting process, player perceptions, and what it means for Houston if Stroud doesn't make the cut. The episode also features the "Acknowledge Me" segment, celebrating standout performances from Houston athletes and notable stories around the city’s sports scene.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Road Trip Banter, ChatGPT as Travel Companion

• Seth shares vacation stories from Montana, including finishing a personal bucket list to visit all 48 contiguous states.
• Discussion about how ChatGPT has become their go-to road trip assistant for trivia, navigation, and impromptu suggestions.
  • "[ChatGPT was] like having a tour guide. It was." – Seth (03:16)
  • The co-host prefers conversation mode while driving, but sometimes forgets it’s on, leading to funny moments.
• Lighthearted jokes about AI’s future implications.

Timestamps
[01:19-03:58] — Personal, humorous banter and the role of AI/ChatGPT in modern travel.

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2. Will C.J. Stroud Make the NFL Top 100?

• Seth expresses doubt about C.J. Stroud's chances to land on the 2026 NFL Top 100 player ranking.
• They discuss the previous spots for Stroud: 20th after his rookie year, 39th the following year.
• Noted that players like Bryce Young (98th), Brock Purdy (85th), Baker Mayfield (77th), and Jordan Love (72nd) have already been revealed.

Notable Insights

• The player ballots are typically completed before the playoffs, usually from Thanksgiving to January 1st.
  • "The ballots are submitted before the playoffs. ... It's largely voted on in November and December. So playoff failures, playoff disasters, playoff mass murders, basically ... they're not factored in." – Co-host (05:51)
• This timing means Stroud’s playoff struggles last season (including the loss to New England) don’t affect his ranking—only regular season matters.
• They debate if Stroud is perceived by peers as better than Baker Mayfield or Jordan Love, especially since both made the list.

Analysis of Player Perception

• Stroud had a similar regular season statistically to the prior year, so a significant drop in ranking might not be warranted.
• Baker Mayfield's late-season team collapse may have impacted his standing, even if not his fault.
• The co-host argues Stroud's fourth-quarter heroics against the Chiefs last year helped his reputation.
• Skepticism if Stroud’s playoff performance changes his status: "They're kind of waiting and seeing, they still believe in CJ, but they just got to see it for sure." – Co-host (07:57)

Notable Quote

• "If he's not in the Top 100 at all, that's the more interesting one, because then that's the league saying, 'Well, this is who he is.'" – Seth (09:07)

Timestamps
[04:07-10:46] — Deep dive into CJ Stroud’s standing and the NFL Top 100 process.

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3. Speculation on C.J. Stroud’s Future with the Texans

Contract & Franchise Direction

• Recap of a segment with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe on the radio, speculating that if Stroud underperforms, the Texans could look at options like Baker Mayfield for 2027.
  • “This is absolutely a prove-it year for CJ. ... If it doesn’t happen, then they gotta look at other options...they’re a win-now team.” – Cameron Wolfe (14:00)
• Hosts discuss the challenge of replacing Stroud with a "cast-off" QB like Mayfield or Sam Darnold.
• They caution against the "dumb precedent" of caving to QBs for early extensions, referencing Prescott and Lamar Jackson as examples of patience.
  • “One of the dumbest precedents in sport over the past decade has been teams kowtowing to their quarterbacks ... and give them a huge contract after their third or fourth season.” – Co-host (17:41)

Playoff Performance and Team Evaluation

• If Stroud struggles (especially in the playoffs), hosts debate whether it's grounds for moving on or just a bump for a developing player.
• Comparisons to Peyton Manning’s bad early playoff record to show patience can be rewarded.
  • “The biggest example of a guy that had much better regular seasons early in his career, but was horrendous in the playoffs is Peyton Manning.” – Co-host (20:30)

Timestamps
[12:45-21:48] — Stroud’s contract future, the “prove it” year concept, and historical QB comparisons.

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4. "Acknowledge Me" Segment — Saluting Houston Sports Standouts

Yordan Alvarez (Astros)

• Leading the AL MVP race, challenging for Triple Crown.
  • "He's having a potentially historic type of year." – Seth (26:05)
• Has remarkable stats at Globe Life Field.

Justin Verlander (Astros)

• Announced retirement; hosts declare him the best pitcher in Astros history:
  • "He's the only one with an ERA below three ... in my opinion, he's the best one." – Seth (28:16)
• Viewed as the catalyst for Astros’ “golden era” post-hurricane.

Bruce Thornton (Rockets)

• Rookie summer league performance—set a scoring record in his debut.
  • “He's a bowling ball out there, man. ... I just couldn't take him off the court.” – Seth quoting Rockets staff (30:34)
• Thornton focuses on being a two-way player and credits his teammates and faith.

Stefon Diggs (Texans)

• Diggs’s viral ‘no better WR2 than me’ statement discussed.
  • "There's no better wide receiver 2 than me in the NFL." – Stefon Diggs (33:27)
• Hosts discuss his ongoing baggage and why some teams might pass despite his talent.

Keelan Rutledge (Houston Texans Rookie)

• Heartfelt acknowledgment after an in-depth Chronicle article covering his tough upbringing and comeback from a major car accident.
  • “I didn't know the tough upbringing that he had... that's not the only thing he's had to overcome.” – Seth (37:04)

Listener Appreciation: “Larry Zhang”

• Celebrated for his devotion to the show and personal resilience after his father’s stroke.
  • “Pain and Pendergast was the first thing to make him laugh after his dad suffered a stroke ... The show is a big part of his life.” – (37:55)

Timestamps
[23:58-38:56] — Uplifting and informative salute to local heroes and fan stories.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You can throw all your dry heat theories out the window. When it's 110, roll that window right back up, you're gonna die.” – Co-host, Montana vacation heat joke (01:42)
• “Just wait until I can put this guy [ChatGPT] into a sex bot. Yeah, it's over. It's over.” – Co-host on AI’s future (03:59)
• “So let's go out and go get a guy who was discarded by a team who didn't think Baker was a good enough player.” – Seth, on QB recycling (17:21)
• "He can [win the AL MVP]. Aaron Judge getting hurt really helped..." – Seth, on Yordan Alvarez’s MVP chances (26:05)
• “The 300 win club is closed. Not in our lifetime, at least.” – Seth, on Justin Verlander’s legacy (29:52)
• “There’s no better wide receiver 2 than me in the NFL.” – Stefon Diggs (33:27)

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Episode Structure & Flow

1. Light banter/travel stories (01:19-03:58)
2. Main sports segment: NFL Top 100, Stroud’s reputation & future (04:07-21:48)
3. Listener mailbag and past weekend’s NFL talk (12:45+)
4. Acknowledge Me segment: Astros, Rockets, Texans, local fan stories (23:58-38:56)
5. Tease for the next segment (“Pugilism in Vegas”—not included in summary)

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This episode blends sharp football analysis (especially around C.J. Stroud's perception and contract status) with Houston-centric acknowledgment and relatable stories, all delivered in the show's signature bantering, authentic style. Perfect for fans seeking insight and local flavor—even if they missed the live broadcast.

Transcript

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[Seth]

Payne and Pendergast with you on a. On a Monday. Somebody asked Sam asked on the text page real quick. Well, first of all, we have a few people that. We have at least one person set that lives in Montana.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Which is where I was on vacation. And I said, no, it was 82 is 83 1. Too bad. They're like, that's western Montana, eastern Montana. Buck 10 today, 110 degrees.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

You can throw all your dry heat theories out the window. When it's 110, roll that window right back up, you're gonna die.

[Seth]

Someone said, sean, how do you and Amy pick your towns and destinations and plan your trips? Really appreciate it if you could tell me that that's from Sam. We have been going, we've been trying to check off states. That's all we've been doing. You know, we've been trying to go to all 50 states. So that's. We, we plan different road trips based on checking off states. And I'm happy to report that we've, we've hit the whole continental US Now. Montana, Montana was the, the last one.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

You've hit the contiguous states. Yes, that's continental yeah. Because Alaska's. It's on the continent.

[Seth]

Oh, okay. Okay.

[Priceline Announcer]

Yeah.

[Seth]

The 48 contiguous states.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I think that's the way it works.

[Seth]

That's okay. It sounds logical to me.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

That's the only time, kind of like the only time you ever hear that you hear the word confluence is when they're talking about the Steelers stadium. Likewise, contiguous. You never hear that word other than the contiguous.

[Seth]

Yes, yes. So. But that's. That's how we do it. We're just. We've just been doing that. I told you this during the break. But you know what was really helpful on this trip for us? Chat. GPT.

[Guest or Producer]

Oh, yeah.

[Guest or Analyst]

Yeah.

[Seth]

When you're on the road.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

You don't realize until you actually have somebody that can answer all the questions with you that is Chat. You don't realize how many times you're driving. You go, boy, I wonder this, I wonder that. What is that thing over there? What is that all about?

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah. You're like, I had no idea that Mark Twain lived here, apparently. What's. What's the deal with that? I'll tell you all about all the, like, when and where somebody lived there or anything.

[Seth]

It was like having a tour guide. It was.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

You know what? You know what I like it for a lot is when I'm driving a lot of times I just put it in conversation mode and say, hey, I'm. I'm driving. Like, I'm driving to Texarkana on 59. Where's a good place where I could, you know, sit. Sit out and eat outside and everything? They'll tell me, like, well, there's a rest area with picnic tables here. Yeah, it's right. It's. Yeah. Without having to look like. Without having to try to search on Google Maps or anything.

[Seth]

It's really, really cool. Now, do you keep it in conversation mode when you're in the car with Brandy?

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I do. And then I forget that I'm in conversation mode, and I'll just make an offhand remark to Brandy, and chat will be like. We're like, that's a great point, Seth. And I look at Brandy, who didn't even acknowledge what I said, and it's like, yeah.

[Oregon Lottery Announcer]

Huh?

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

See, just wait. Just wait until I can put this guy into a sex spot. Yeah, it's over. It's over.

[Seth]

Okay, so the NFL's top 100 is continuing here over the next several days. Therehere we are, 30 players into the top 100 as of Friday. I am Seth. I am starting to get the feeling that C.J. stroud might not make the top 100. Now, let me be clear.

[Ella Langley]

He.

[Seth]

He in his two eligible off season so far, yeah, C.J. stroud has been 20th, which is after his rookie year, 39th after his season last year. And now the question is, and when you and I were kind of previewing the NFL top 100 or I was making my predictions as to which Texans would be in and out, I said, I don't know, man. CJ feels like a coin flip. And then they revealed the first few players and Bryce Young was 98th. And I said, okay, well, CJ's better than Bryce. Even with the year CJ had, even with that bad playoff game, CJ Stroud has got to have a better cachet with his fellow players than Bryce Young at 98. And then Brock Purdy pops up at 85. And I'm like, all right, well, I mean, Purdy Purdy's probably had a better last few years. And CJ's been to a Super bowl, you know.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And then so I'm like, okay, there's maybe 50. 50, you know, Brock Purdy may still suffer from that seventh round label that he's got. And Baker Mayfield pops up while I'm on vacation at 77. And then on Friday, Jordan Love pops up at 72. I don't know. What do you think the chances are that CJ's peers think he's better than Jordan Love and Baker Mayfield?

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

This is what you need to know. It's that the ballots are submitted before the playoffs. The vast majority of ballots are Thanksgiving through January 1st.

[Seth]

I did not know this.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah, I double checked this and I'm pretty positive that's the way that it still is. So it's largely voted on in November and December. So playoff failures, playoff disasters, playoff mass murders, basically might as well have been. They're not factored in. So. So I think that that's where I would go back to. Hey, you know what? CJ was ranked ahead of Baker Mayfield last year. Both of them had pretty mediocre seasons. Baker started off a lot faster, but I think CJ still got better. Either just either cachet or just reputation or just maybe because he's, for whatever reason amongst players to the year before last year, CJ was ahead of Baker Mayfield. Baker ended up dropping about 20 spots this year. I think there's a good chance that CJ is. He drops a certain amount too. But CJ had the same year last year that he really had in 2024, like statistically looking at it, etc.

[Priceline Announcer]

Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah, you know, so I think that, I think he's still in it and I think people will be pod and they'll talk about, and they'll, you know, Baker. Statistically, in a lot of ways, Baker had a better year last year, partly just because he was healthy the whole year, but I think, I think CJ is still going to make it.

[Seth]

I think Baker is hurt by the collapse that the Buccaneers as a team had over the second half of last season. Those, those, even if it's not deserved to be put on the quarterback. That gets put on the quarterback.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Well, no, and think about even though cj, look, the box score doesn't look good for the Chiefs game, but CJ's performance in the fourth quarter, it was really impressive coming off that Chiefs game last year. And that was right around the time when people were starting to either submit their ballots or thinking about it and everything. The Texans were on what would end up being an 11 game winning streak and in for all those reasons. I think that, and I still think just as, just as it is with a lot of the people who watch film and the hardcore analysts and everything, they're kind of waiting and seeing, they still believe in cj, but they just got to see it, you know, they got to see it for sure. I think that's how a lot of

[Seth]

NFL players, that's, that's interesting. Okay, good. I'm glad you point that out that the ballots were submitted before the playoffs because this is the part that was getting really interesting to me was that we're starting to get into the 60s and then the 50s in this top 100 and we're starting to get into like the 60s are a spot where, you know, CJ had a, an okay regular season. Statistically, it was just okay. I know you probably had to watch him week to week to see the progress that he made within Nick Kaylee's offense and things like that. And then you just had this playoff just collapse really in both games, but really bad in the New England game. But if that's what was getting interesting to me, like before you pointed out that the ballots were submitted before the playoffs, I was thinking the playoffs that they were submitted after everything was over these ballots because the, the, you know, the poll itself doesn't come out till this dead time of year that we're in. I'm like, man, we're getting into an area here where we don't know if he's in the top 100. If he is, that's an area like the 60s for a season, for the season C.J. had in the regular season, that's like, total exoneration for that New England game. If the New England game were to have counted towards.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Right, right.

[Seth]

Or if he's not in the top 100 at all, that's the more interesting one, because then that's the league saying, well, this is who he is. Yeah, this is who he is. Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I'd like the. It would be cool if they didn't do it until February and just really base it on all of that stuff.

[Seth]

Yeah, The.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

The other thing, too, about some of the players that are already in him, you got to remember, too, with Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy had just started playing football again in November, so he was injured.

[Seth]

That's right. The Texans didn't even face him in that game.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah. Yeah. So Brock Purdy had two games before his injury and then ended up starting, I think, mid November, I think was when he came back.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

So, like, again, back when people started submitting their ballots around Thanksgiving Day and everything. And if they're looking at stats or whatever, Brock Purdy's not really necessarily front and center in anybody's mind.

[Seth]

Nope. So, okay. So good.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I mean, the fact that Bryce Young is on here.

[Seth]

CJ's got to be on here.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah. Yeah. Like. No, Bryce. Bryce Young is the 98th quarterback on here, and he didn't start doing anything of note until the second half of the season.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I just. Yeah, I know that. I'm not saying it's correct or anything. No. And people are going to make a big old hoopla about this, but the Baker Mayfield and Jordan Love dynamic. Baker Mayfield at 77. Jordan Love is at 72. It feels like C.J. and Jordan Love, as well as the packers and the Texans, have kind of orbited each other in terms of how people are evaluating these guys early in their career. I think that he ends up being somewhere close to Jordan.

[Seth]

My handicap has completely changed with you saying that the ballots don't come in until. Until they do.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

They. They're in before.

[Seth]

I'm sorry. Yeah, In.

[Guest or Producer]

In.

[Seth]

Before the playoffs. Yeah.

[Guest or Analyst]

That.

[Seth]

That completely changes the. The handicap on that confidence.

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[Seth]

This was from yesterday afternoon. We've got weekend radio going on Sports Radio 610. Zach Gel and Luke Morrow were on Sports Radio 610 yesterday after Luke who did last week with you, Seth and Zach Gel, who a lot of you probably know from CBS Sports Radio. You and I have gone on Zach's show. He's not a CBS Sports Radio obviously doesn't exist anymore but and Zach is doing his own thing now, but he did some Sunday radio on Sports Radio 610 yesterday. Talking a little Houston they had Cameron Wolf on who I know you guys played the audio last week of Cameron Wolf saying that the Texans are a Super bowl contender, right? Cameron Wolf of the NFL Network. Yeah, he was on with the guys yesterday. Speaking of Baker Mayfield and C.J. stroud and Zach asked Cameron Wolf, hey, if things don't go well for CJ this year and if Baker Mayfield hits free agency or if he's available, let's say maybe they franchise him and trade him. Tampa Bay could the Texans look to Baker Mayfield in 2027?

[Guest or Analyst]

Why not? I absolutely. I think as much as I think CJ can fix this, I think that this is absolutely a prove it year for cj. I think that the pressure's on. I think they've told you through your actions, we are not ready to pay you a top of the market money yet. And so go show us. And yes, you're right. If it doesn't happen, then they got to look at other options and, and they're a win now team. They've already paid a lot of their defensive cornerstones that defense is championship ready. The way they built this roster, they're ready to win. So yes, if it's not tj, I don't see them just sort of band aiding it around. I think they go get a real guy and maybe that's Baker, maybe that's someone else. But we have seen teams quickly pivot off their young quarterback if it doesn't work. You know, Minnesota is an example of that. Even Seattle, they felt like, you know, they made the swap from Gino to Sam and it worked out for them. So I think the days of just waiting five or six years to figure out if your quarterback is the guy or not or over.

[Seth]

I like the way he framed that Seth, is that, that I can't envision this being a team that goes into 2027 with one of those draft one of like the six quarterbacks who everybody sees as first rounders coming out of college this year because the Texans wouldn't be in a position to take the best of the best of that crew. I just can't see this being a team that goes into 2027 with even, even a first round quarterback. They feel good about long term as the quarterback for this team.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah, I think the, and that's where the, that's where the whole contract negotiation and everything gets interesting because I mean there's, there's part of me whenever somebody says like, yeah, maybe they decide to go with a guy like Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield, that. My immediate thought is, yeah, imagine if the Browns had let Baker Mayfield stick around or if the jets had actually done something to support Sam Darnold in his time and if you had operated that way, going back to guys like Eli Manning, who, who had a. Eli had a much slower start to his NFL career than C.J. stroud did. You just kind of figure out a way to make it work around those guys and support them like they do. I like that all sounds good. And I would say that like CJ's shown enough promise that I can't, I can't sit here as an organization and say we're making the right decision. If our solution is to take a guy like Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield, who was discarded by a bad organization earlier in their career, but now we

[Seth]

have him, Baker's fifth team, if he were to.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Right, right, right. Like, okay, why not? How about we be the team that actually holds on to a guy like Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold and figures out how to get the most out of him? The only dicey part of that is, is there any tension to an extreme degree or to, to a debt, like, to a harmful degree about the contract negotiation and all of that? And that's when I say, you know what? I'm not. Look, the Ravens and the Cowboys haven't won a Super bowl or anything, or even many playoff games in the case of. So. Except that as far as how is their relationship with Dak Prescott? How is their relationship with Lamar Jackson? Those two organizations pushed it out to the extreme edge of when they had to give him a contract. Those guys are still there and they're still playing really good football. So it's not, I think sometimes people worry and organizations start to worry, like, oh, oh, dear, oh, our quarterback's going to be upset or disgruntled, whatever. Shall we do? You deal with it. You deal with it. You know, so I'm, I don't, I don't want to, like, honestly think about the irony of that. Like, well, CJ hasn't really turned into what we want.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

So let's go out and go get a guy who was discarded by a team who didn't think Baker was a good enough player.

[Seth]

That's a really good point. It's, it's, it's, it's a really good point. So what would you say? What would you say? The chance you, you. So you think there's a chance cj, There's a scenario in which CJ plays for the Texans on the fifth year option in 2027.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah. Yeah. I think there's, I think it's very, very possible. I think it's one of the dumbest, one of the dumbest precedents in sport over the past decade has been teams kowtowing to their quarterbacks and feeling like they need to treat them like precious little divas and give them a huge contract after their third or fourth season.

[Seth]

Just because it is an interesting needle to thread, though. And I'm thinking of the, the other, the other direction, which is, okay, what if CJ's underwhelming again? What if he has a bad playoff performance in 2026?

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

If he has a bad playoff performance, that's then. And that, that Becomes. That's where I flip immediately. Especially, like, let's say he has a more. Let's say he has an improved regular season this year.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

But then just completely. Just falls apart in the playoffs. Then I'd be done with him. You'd be done. Like, I don't have to think about it at that point.

[Seth]

Yeah. That's why I think it's a, It's a. It's a really interesting conversation. It's a very difficult needle to thread. If CJ has an underwhelming 20, 26, you know, like, like I'm trying to picture that. Like, okay, he has an underwhelming regular season. Maybe they lose in the playoffs, in the divisional round again. But it's not really CJ's fault. It's something else. He doesn't throw four interceptions in that game. Then maybe it's a scenario where they say, you know, we're still not. We're just not ready to. We're just not ready to pay you. You know, we're just not ready to give you what you think you might be worth. Then it's, it's really interesting.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I think the, the one thing that I don't. It's, it's tough because there's people that I agree with, but then they start citing like that CJ's got these playoff victories. I don't, I don't buy into that. Like, it's, I do buy into it when, when I'll say that, look, CJ's had good performances in the playoffs, but, like, action, like, because he's won three, three playoff games, that's some kind of a, a mark of a true champion or something. There's like, Mark Sanchez won three playoff games in his first couple years.

[Seth]

Let's, let's break it down. He's three and three in the playoffs. He, he wasn't great in any of the three losses, obviously. He was, you know, that Kansas City game they lost in the playoffs. He was good for three quarters, then the wall caved in on him. Not, not totally his fault, but he didn't do anything. In the three losses where I go, boy, he fought valiantly. And he, you know, he, you know, he, he was certainly wasn't the reason, you know, like, the three losses are the three losses, the three wins. He was outstanding his rookie year against Cleveland, against the team that just whacked them three weeks before that. But the Charger, The Charger game looks better in the box score than it really was. He was terrible for, like, almost two quarters. And then had that play to Xavier Hutchinson.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

That actually started with him fumbling the football.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And then that kind of broke the dam, and he was great after that.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

And then the snap in a playoff game and then.

[Seth]

And then the Steeler game. He wasn't good in the Steeler. Like, he's played six playoff games. He wasn't good in at least four of them. Four and a half. So I'm with you on that.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

It's the one thing that holds me back a little bit from. Like I just said, okay, if he. If he fell apart completely in the playoffs, then I'd be done with them. I mean, the biggest example of a guy that had. This guy had much better regular seasons early in his career, but was horrendous in the playoffs is Peyton Manning. You know, it took forever for him to even win. He was in his. Was his seventh year in the league by the time he won the playoff.

[Seth]

Yeah, it was.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

And some of those. Some of those performances you go through, I mean, he was 14 for 31 versus the jets in. In 2003. He was 17 for 32 against the Dolphins in. In. In the year 2000, his fourth year.

[Seth]

I can't name one guy on either of those teams. The jets and the Dolphins on their defense.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Well, my first tendency. My first thought with the Colts was like, part of the issues of the playoffs early on was that the defense was awful. Yeah. Or they were kind of built there. They were built for the regular season. But these are. This is Peyton Manning's first three playoff games in his career, which were. They were all losses. So this is in three separate years against. Against Tennessee, he went 19 for 42. That's. That's a 45% completion percentage. His next bout in the playoffs, he was 17 for 32, a 53% completion percentage, and a loss to the. The Dolphins. That was in overtime, though.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

And then he went 14 for 31 against the Jets. He was ridiculously bad his first three times in the playoffs.

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

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[Seth]

Why shouldn't your football podcast be the same?

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[Seth]

All right, let's get to Acknowledge Me acknowledging big performances from over the weekend from last week. We will I will say a name and Ben Gary, our producer will hit that sounder and and on and on we go. We'll give people their their accolades here in a segment we call Acknowledge Me Yordon Alvarez. It's an easy one. We're going to acknowledge Yordon practically every week between now and the rest of the season. He goes into the All Star break, Seth as what seems to be the runaway leader for the American League mvp. He's right in the mix for the first Triple Crown award since Miguel Cabrera led the American League in batting average, home runs and RBIs back in 2012. Jordan, at least as of yesterday going into yesterday, led the league in home runs, RBIs. He was second to Yandy Diaz in in batting average. So we need something bad to happen to Yandy Diaz or he needs to fall back. My favorite Yordon stat from over the weekend on the broadcast of yesterday's game is that in 28 plate appearances going into yesterday, Jordan Alvarez had the second most home runs in Globe Life Field among any players in baseball, including the players that play all of their home games there. Jock Peterson, number one with 10. Jordan Alvarez, number two with seven. He's got more home runs in the Rangers Stadium than all of the Rangers except Jock Peterson.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Right now, the Rangers should be embarrassed even though they won the series two to one. Yeah, no, I. I think the biggest thing about Jordan in the MVP race is that at the very least, the Astros are in the playoff mix. And yes, they might be a mediocre team, but there have been plenty of precedents of guys winning the MVP on mediocre teams right here in this division with Mike Trout. But the. The fact that they're within reach, I think really, really helps out a lot. As long as they. As long as they can maintain this depressing level of play, that's. At the very least, Jordan can be the mvp.

[Seth]

He can. Aaron Judge getting hurt really helped because Judge feels like that. Judge. Judge is like the Shohei of the American League. Like Shohei Ohtani, as long as he's healthy, is going to be the leader, the front runner for the National League MVP every year, it would seem. Similarly, Aaron Judge, as long as he's healthy and he's hitting 60 home runs every year, is going to be the front runner for the American League mvp. So I'm with you. The dynamic in the American League where pretty much every team except for two or three of them are mediocre or bad, and the fact that Aaron Judge is hurt, both help Yordan out and Jordan and what he's doing, he's not just having a great year, he's having a potentially historic type of year. Yeah, he's having one of those years where people. Chandler Rome had an outstanding article by Jordan Alvarez last week that I'm guessing you guys talked about, where just it interviews his teammates and people. He goes against it. Interview Mauricio Dubon, who of course, was sort of his, you know, kind of his playmate here in Houston in the dugout after home runs. I mean, he's a guy that. That. That teammates and opponents alike talk about as one of the best hitters they've ever seen, not just the best one in the American League this year. So Jordan gets acknowledged. Justin Verlander. We are acknowledging Justin Verlander. Cause he announced last week that he's going to be retiring. But I. And I know it happened last week, but I think it fits this segment, I would say, Seth, my opinion, I think he's the best pitcher in Astros history. I know a lot of longtime Astro fans will want to debate that. Guys. Maybe Roger Clemens from the early 2000s. Roy Oswalt certainly is in that conversation. I know Nolan Ryan is going to get a lot of love for a lot of reasons, but Justin Verlander, of the 23 pitchers, starting pitchers in Astros history that have thrown 800 innings or more, he's the only one with an ERA below three. He is the leader in least amount of hits per nine innings, least amount of walks per nine innings. His whip, walks, hits per innings pitched is under one. The next closest one is 1.14. These are big differences in my opinion. He's the best one in my opinion. And by the way, his three fully

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

healthy, that's all with his tenure with the Astros.

[Seth]

With the Astros, Yeah. These are just Astro stats. Yes. His three full seasons where he was healthy from beginning to end and an Astro from beginning to end because obviously two of the seasons he came here partway through the season in 17 and 23, he was the Cy Young winner twice in the runner up the other time. Like he's just, he's. I'll put that up against anybody else.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

He's the best. And then I think the other part of it too is just the, the fact that he was. He was the move that sparked the, the genuine entrance. Entry. Entry into the golden era.

[Seth]

Absolutely.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

You know, like, I think the biggest thing aside from the Hurricane, the fact that the Astros had kind of been, I don't want to say scuttling, but not looking like a world championship caliber team right up until then either. There were so many things that just pivoted when they signed him and obviously led to so many things afterwards. And I also like the. There's a part of him too, that the nice thing about him announcing this now is that you started to. There's an appreciation for Justin Verlander as kind of one of the last of his kind that. All right, there's like the 300. The 300 win pitcher is done dead and gone. It's funny that the guy that has 266 wins is the guy that they're choosing to highlight the 300 win pitchers because it's just, it's not going to happen again. And this is the guy, the guy that would have had the best shot at it is now retiring and he's just, he's a, he's a throwback player in a lot of ways.

[Seth]

Yep. The 300 win club is, is closed. Not. Not in our lifetime, at least. It's not happening. Bruce Thornton Rockets rookie point guard Seth set a rookie summer league Rocket rookie summer league record in scoring in a win over Denver in his first summer league game. 27 points, 3 of 8 from 3. And then a follow up game against Toronto at 17 points 3 for 6 from 3. It's interesting. Done is his last. I can't remember his first name. Rockets assistant Done is the guy who's coaching their summer league team and I was reading an article and he was saying yeah, I probably will.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Done.

[Seth]

Well done.

[Guest or Producer]

Thank you.

[Seth]

He's like, I probably kept Bruce in there for way more minutes than I thought I would, but I just couldn't take him off the court. I just, I had to have him out there. He's a bowling ball out there, man. And he's. It's interesting because the. Well, let's hear, let's hear from Bruce Thornton first and then we'll share some thoughts. Productive day for you.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

What do you think?

[Seth]

You showed I can compete, I can hoop even though I'm undersized.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I give everything I got. I'm from forever Georgia.

[Seth]

That's how we play. I just put it out here and

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

display what I can do being a

[Seth]

two way player, offense and defense.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

What do you think the biggest thing

[Seth]

that you learned today in this small sample?

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[Seth]

But my teammates and coach that helped me throughout this week be in the best position I can. They, my teammates helped me so much and I give all.

[Priceline Announcer]

Glory to God.

[Seth]

What's it out about working with this group today? It's fun, man. Everybody willing to pass the ball, everybody willing to win at a high level. You know, we got our guys on sidelines, man. It just, it's just a blessing to

[Guest or Producer]

be in the position.

[Priceline Announcer]

I mean I'm so glad to be in Houston Rockets.

[Marketing Voice]

Thank you.

[Seth]

So that was, that was Bruce Thornton following following that game. I think what's interesting about this is the last time that we had this sort of relationship with a rookie in

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

the rookie league, Reed Shepherd.

[Seth]

Reed Shepherd 2 years ago he was

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

tearing it up, man.

[Seth]

Reed shepherd at one point in the summer was favorite for rookie of the year.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah. Because team started paying attention to him.

[Seth]

Yeah. Well then he just didn't play, you know, like he was on a, he was on a team that had a lot of vets, you know.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah. Oh, oh yeah. No. But in the, in the rookie league though finish up the rookie league didn't end up all that impressive either. They started paying attention to him.

[Seth]

That's Right.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

And it got a lot more difficult. But yeah, when he was just this little dude running around there, at first he was just lighting it up and

[Seth]

popping threes and doing his thing. Yeah, they were. Oh, yeah, they were making Steph Curry comparisons. Like, look at him in the mid range. Look at the crossover. Like, fun fact. And I think this is why they traded up to get him. Bruce Thornton is, he's nine months older than Reed shepherd right now. Not nine months older than Reed shepherd. When Reed was, you know, Reed's age when he was in the rookie, like right now. And that's because he was, you know, he played 136 games of college basketball.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

The all time leading scorer at Ohio State.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I said, I said rookie league. Sorry, I'm stuck in. I'm thinking about the Astros and which, which pitcher is about to get sent.

[Seth]

Oh, summer league. Summer league is, Summer league is kind of rookie league though. I mean, it's the same thing. So, so that was good to see Bruce Thornton. We'll see, you know, we'll see how much he contributes. They've done things for the, you know, they get Fred Van Vliet back. They signed Marcus Smart. Probably not a ton of minutes available for a rookie, but it was nice to see him do well over the weekend. Stefan Diggs, one of the stranger flexes from over the weekend. I want to take a listen to this in print. This looks like a weird flex. Now listening to the audio, does this look like sound like a weird flex? Here is Stefan Diggs in a video that popped up on his YouTube stream saying there's no better wide receiver 2 than me in the NFL.

[Guest or Producer]

Opportunities aside, people might say it might

[Seth]

be like what, seven?

[Guest or Producer]

That's like real one, right? My opinion, I can compete with anybody. But take those as your ones. Right?

[Guest or Analyst]

Right.

[Guest or Producer]

You can't name a number. Too bad there's not a number two on a team. Like, let's presumably give people the credit to just say, okay, you want to take the number one spot away. Name your number two receiver right now. Right. And tell me how much he makes. And then my last question is, is he better than me?

[Priceline Announcer]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Okay, tell me how much he makes is a weird one, because a lot of number two, like, well, Jaden Higgins makes 2 million a year because he's on a rookie deal, right?

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Well, no, but I think it's. He's basically saying that like he should be on a team somewhere the. The end. Okay, like, okay, how much are these guys making? There's probably guys like Devonte Smith or somebody else that. That I should be, you know, I could. I should be making that amount of money. Yeah.

[Guest or Analyst]

That.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

It shouldn't be that big a deal. I shouldn't be out here.

[Paragould Luxury Announcer]

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Well, he is also suing and being countersued by a former employee yet again. That I just. The problem with Stefan Diggs is that he's just. It's always something with him. I mean, that's. He's at that point where there is always something going on. There was something going on in his personal life when he was in Houston. He had two women accusing him of this or that. And whether he settles with people out of court or whether he's found not guilty in a court of law, it's just. It's always something. And as he gets older, it's going to be harder and harder for teams to want to deal with the. The. The circus that comes along with him. To a certain degree.

[Seth]

Yes. Totally agree. He was also good last year.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Right. I know that's right. No, that's the thing. He is still. I'm not saying he's washed up or anything, but it's. There are a lot of teams out there right now that are probably saying, like, yeah, we'd love to have Stefan Diggs, but we've got these other two young guys. Let's see how it goes.

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Let's see how. Let's see how some of these younger guys develop and then we'll figure out whether we're in the Stef.

[Seth]

Yep.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yep.

[Seth]

No, that's fair. That's fair. I want to acknowledge Jonathan Alexander, the Chronicle, and Keelan Rutledge of the Houston Texans there. I don't know if you saw this piece, Seth. Jonathan Alexander had an amazing article about Keelan Rutledge that I highly recommend anybody about his. I think a lot of people know about the accident that he was in, really in between Middle Tennessee State and going to Georgia Tech. He was literally leaving Georgia Tech after a visit there to transfer there. He was leaving to go to Clemson to visit Clemson and flipped his truck in the rain. You know, some car cut him off and he flipped his truck. He almost lost his foot because of an infection from some surgeries that he had. I didn't realize too, though. I mean, it's a really insightful and interesting article. Like, Keelan Rutledge's upbringing was not the greatest as well. His dad left him when he was really young, bounced from house to house. You know, his girlfriend, now wife, maybe fiance. Wife, I'm not sure is really like his savior. In a lot of ways. They met in high school and she really helped get him focused and take care of him. It's, it's.

[Marketing Voice]

I'm.

[Seth]

I'm only bringing it up and acknowledge me because I go out of your way to find the article. It's a really good article about the Texans first round pick.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I'll tell you one thing about the Texans, is that if you're an offensive lineman who was in a really bad car wreck, they want you.

[Muscle Milk Announcer]

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

That was Drew Scruggs calling card. If you haven't. If you want to go play for the Texans and you haven't gotten in a devastating car accident, I don't even know what you're doing. Yeah, that.

[Seth]

That's out there in the bad weather.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

I like, I always, I'm always intrigued by this because teams love guys who have overcome adversity. But like, some of that's just dumb luck. Like, I'm sorry, I've never been in a devastating car crash they had to come back from.

[Seth]

But that's sort of my point about this article is I only knew about the car wreck. I didn't know the tough upbringing that he had.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

That part of it is like he's. That's not the only thing that's. That he's had to overcome.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Yeah.

[Seth]

It's a really good article. Go out of your way to find it. I will say that. All right. Last one.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

He found his foot though, right?

[Seth]

They found. Yeah. They know he never lost it to begin with. Yeah. It was built down. He's like, oh, yeah, it's still there. Needs a lot of work, but still there. And it works. Larry Zhang. Who's Larry Zhang? He's a loyal listener. His girlfriend, Mary Grace hit me up on Instagram. Seth. And we're. We're happy to do this. It was his birthday last Saturday. Loyal listener has a birthday last Saturday, Larry. She told me that our show Pain and Pendergast was the first thing to make him laugh after his dad suffered a stroke a year and a half ago.

[Ella Langley]

Oh.

[Seth]

The show is a big part of his life. He loves Pain and Pendergast, he loves the station. And so therefore we love Larry and he gets an acknowledge me. Give him another one, Ben. It's his birthday, by God, and his

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

dad's got a good shot of playing offensive line for the Texans.

[Seth]

He's adversity to overcome adversity. I double checked. Dad's doing better. Dad's doing better. So. So that's good to hear as well. So, Larry, we appreciate your appreciate your listenership. Happy birthday. And Mary Grace, we appreciate you reaching. I will acknowledge Mary Grace too, while we're at it. There we go. And his dad, that's we're done. Ben. That's all Ben's like. Does he have any other family members we need to acknowledge? Probably, but those are the only ones I know of. Larry, thank you for listening to the show, man. We appreciate that. All right, that was acknowledge me. All right. Pugilism in Vegas over the weekend. One scheduled, one unscheduled, one sanctioned, one unsanctioned. The unsanctioned one was way more exciting than the sanctioned one. We will hit that coming up next.

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

chosen for the halftime challenge, I love

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

But when my half court heave only goes half the distance, how embarrassing for him. I wonder if is sport clips better than sports? Because sport clips haircuts is sports on tv plus an expert haircut. Hot steam towel and massaging shampoo tear

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up his comically large check.

[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Which is better than sports plus public embarrassment. Sport clips.

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[Seth's Co-host (possibly Mark Sesler)]

Check it online@sport clips.com.

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