ASTROS Major Injuries | TEXANS Schedule Release | Shaq Mason Signed

welcome to Houston sports talk with your host Robert land thanks for checking into the best Houston sports podcast Robert long with Sports Radio 610 Sean bajani if you're new to the show Welcome Aboard 45 years in journalism between the two of us over 35 covered in sports in the H our show celebrates 10 years in September hit the Subscribe button on YouTube because Monday we drop an exclusive with Texans quarterback Case Keenum you're going to want to listen to that and if you need more Texans go back to our staff stradley conversation a couple of days ago we might have some Texans news later but today Sean we got to start off by not getting injured or trying not to get injured because we're going to talk about the Astros yeah the last five days they stunt Garcia done for the season or Kitty done for two months Brantley and McCormick their comebacks are on hold do something Sean do something did you mention dubon I think they skated with him but you know a little hamstring issue there the other night in the game and according to Dusty Baker they got him out just in time I mean thank goodness right um because it doesn't feel like they can really withstand much more than they've already experienced you know um with stuff that hadn't even happened in spring training but you know it's still lingering in brantley's case from last year in this injury that he's sustained in the game back in June I mean my gosh you just you need to get guys back healthy because once that happens it's not necessarily about the production for me immediately it's when you know you have your dudes back in the locker room with you and they're healthy and they can contribute when they're out there in The Dugout with you and you see them in the lineup and they're ready to play that just does something to a team we know it and it's going to do something to this team I mean this team is Battle tested we talk about it and we've seen it every single year for the last six there's nothing really new that you could tell these guys it's going to light a fire under them it's hey we know we're back at full strength we've got you know a full magazine in us and now let's go play some ball they don't have that yet they're still trying to figure it out as soon as they can get at least um you know Brantley Chas Altuve back if they can keep their guys that have been kind of keeping the boat afloat if you will a little bit uh healthy and sustained I think they'll be just fine I mean 19 and 18 at this point in time three and a half games back the angels and playing them the way that you just have the last couple of games it is encouraging I still have to say that I think it is encouraging yeah you're talking about when this guy gets back and that guy a lot of those guys I don't know when they're gonna get back and this is the issue Sean because Dusty Baker said Michael Brantley was more sore than usual quote unquote because he had played a lot on his minor league rehab assigned he had played a lot he was more sore than usual and Sean the Astros they use a lot of Cloak and Dagger language on these rehab assignments on these players that have been injured maybe that's fine if the rehabs were working maybe the Patriots you know Cloak and Dagger stuff is okay if it's working but Brantley McCormick and even McCullers rehab all look like a complete organizational failure the way this is all playing out I don't like a lot what I'm seeing you know and uh your Tweet the other day in regards to what the Astros did this off season when you look at the numbers the lack of production and you look at the ages you know 32 35 34 whatever it was for their off-season acquisitions or free agent signings if you will from Montero to nearest to brayu yeah really one year 12 million dollars played zero games Montero three years 34 million dollars and we know he's got a 614 era and a 317 batting average against you you know the Abreu Story the Astros Sean talking about that they wasted 41 million dollars just this year what could they have done with that money it's like Jim Crane got Jack Easter bead by Jack Jeff pagwell you got Jack easterby baggies low-hanging fruit right now at this point I mean we still don't know how influential we still don't know if that was solely His call and I'll almost all but guarantee it wasn't I mean we know how active Jim Crane was uh with this ball Club in the off season so it was just as much his decision I mean he's the one flipping the bill for it he's got to agree to it and he knows his baseball we've heard it from him um his track I just have a hard time believing that it was you know clicks underlings or Jeff luno's underly the other guys in the front office I mean Jeff Bagwell we look at him because as you know he was discussed he was the front man he was there you know trying to recruit Jose Abreu I mean this was Jeff bagwell's fingerprints all over it yeah and I always wonder you know if you would have had Dana Brown at that point in time how would if he have done things differently how would he how would he have attacked you know the free agent Market you know would there have been a deal put in place to retain Yuli guriel would you have gotten Jose abrey regardless but on a much more team-friendly deal would you have explored the trade market a little bit more aggressively with a center fielder or another first baseman you know Mark Reynolds was out there and he was rumored for months uh to to be interested uh to have mutual interest um and for the Astros to be in play for him that obviously didn't happen you know I just I hindsight is uh is a terrible thing sometimes and in this case it's not good but you just hope that you know in a Brave's case after get in his first day off all season long that maybe the worm starts to turn with him but I have to admit I mean I told you and I wasn't being I wasn't being facetious or anything like that the other day when I said hey Memorial Day well you know you're 20 days away from Memorial Day 20 days you got to really start to put some things together here you know your back's up against the wall a little bit with the rotation as it's looking right now you know having to rely on guys like JP France and maybe Brandon belak uh but hey Christian Javier and framer Valdez they've pitched like Aces their last two starts and at a time and against an opponent in which you really needed it and those kinds of contributions in and of itself can be the juice that a team needs to get going I mean we've seen it time and time again whether it be in the regular season or the postseason we've seen it from this ball Club so again I'm going to preserve a little bit of patience just given that it is May 11th presently and we've got just over two almost under three weeks before I really start getting a little bit more concerned and as much concerned as people have already been for about the last month or so yeah I I keep going back to the offseason because Sean I was just thinking how did Jim Crane not learn anything from all these years with luno Mike Elias David Stearns James click sigmajal I mean they're all these guys that you know are the brains behind what you built up these are contracts that you know they're like the last years of the of the contracts that you didn't want to give to cry you didn't want to be paying Carlos Correa or George Springer 20 million dollars or 30 million dollars or even 15 million dollars in their mid to late 30s as their careers are winding down and yet those were the con you literally handed out that type of Buddy to guys in that you didn't even get the good years out of them you got the mid-30s years and with Montero um you know montero's in his early 30s so this is not somebody that should go off a cliff and there's still a chance that that contract might not be a disaster but the bottom line is Montero is not a contract that would have you would have seen from those other guys and the thing with Montero my bigger issue was the fact that this is a middle reliever and a guy that had no proof of doing this over a long period of time what was the urgency in doing this with Montero especially when you've got all of these really good middle relievers already you've got Hector near his side you had Brian abreu's sign you had Ryan stanik sign all on really good deals it just baffled me when it happened and now as every as as the the walls are collapsing around you like a you know you're getting crushed like like they were in the original Star Wars in the trash compactor you're like oh my God we can get out of it if we just had some money to go out and trade for some oh yeah we spent 40 million dollars on a bunch of nothing old guys that are are not good anymore yeah it's very reminiscent of the old school Astros under Drayton McLean you know this off season when you really look at it and a miscalculation it might have been been by Jeff Bagwell and Jim Crane and company and how is that going to affect the future in terms of the Astros what is that what are those contracts going to look like you know for the 2024 season you know might you have to take a step back and while you're still forced with some really tough decisions to make in regards to the future of Jose Altuve and Alex bregman and never mind Kyle Tucker in what a contract extension looks like for him there are a lot of important in franchise altering decisions as at least as we know them to be that are you know coming up and they're going to come up very quickly but hey look this is the season at hand right now there's no undoing what you did this off season the best case scenario for me you know is that you can you know start to get some contributions from some of these guys that you gave contracts to nearest Montero and Abreu those are your big three right never mind Michael Brown currently I mean we kind of all agreed that yes while he does bring you know some some important uh elements in terms of his presence in the clubhouse and The Dugout he certainly has value when he's a healthy as when he's a healthy player but when you start getting contributions from some of these guys that we're worried about you have to really start looking and we're going to see just how aggressive maybe you know Dana Brown is going to have to be you might have to give some to get back just a little uh just to kind of create more of an advantage for you going forward you know you might have to eat some of this money that you've given to these guys just in hopes that you're not hindering This World Series Championship window any more than maybe you already have and the other thing that's an issue is with the Abreu contract and his situation and where the Astros are at first base you would think oh first base that's an easy position to find replacements and you look at in the organization though the organization and I'm looking up and down at the numbers for their first baseman and there's nothing there's nobody that's jumping out there's nobody special all up and down the organization and frankly the organization is still trying to recover from those two seasons where they didn't have high draft picks and then I just feel like they they haven't recovered from you know all those guys that they were trading away to get some of the you know the grit the grankies and the Garrett Coles and the Justin verlanders that they got they just haven't recovered with some young Talent now those guys luckily not many of them did much of anything thankfully the Astros aren't looking back at that going oh wait we could have had this guy really cheap right now and he was a star but that is an issue and but you know I'll play the other side a little bit you still got this guy named Kyle Tucker and you're not Alvarez you're still running out there in the lineup every day and you know you just talked about a little bit earlier I mean frauber and Christian Javier those guys can really deal and Hunter Brown you know I still got a lot of confidence in that kid yeah 100 I mean you probably you could still look up and down this uh this roster and and you know find some bright spots that are going to be here for you in years to come there's no doubt about that I mean they've got a a pretty solid foundation in a lot of areas you know from the bullpen to the starting staff maybe you've got a really terrific catcher of the future and uh janard Diaz uh up with the big Club right now who is clearly showing his versatility the Astros maybe don't like it but the fact that you know he can step in keep his Bat in the lineup and play first base and you don't miss a hiccup with the defense you know at the catching position you still have that arm you know that threatens to throw anybody out but can I say something real quick about Jana because the real frustration for me with with genre Diaz the honor I don't I'm still gonna I'm gonna go white boy honor man I'm going yeah I I I don't know what the what the what the pronunciation is but with Diaz here here's the thing that just bugs the crap out of me and I think we talked about it earlier but man it looks bad right now you're you're over a month into the season Abreu has struggled Dusty refuses to give the guy a day off Dusty in the past is big on giving guys days off he's big on it we've seen it over and over again that is Dusty Baker now the reason why he hasn't given Jose Abreu the day off is he's like well we got to have that guy in the lineup well that guy hasn't shown up this year and he struggled and typically you would sit somebody that's struggling here and there he hasn't done it and it's a missed opportunity for at-bats to see more of John or Diaz because he can play first we just saw him play first the other night and you question why hasn't that happened especially because you brought in a third catcher on the roster who's basically a non-factor for this team who has barely touched a bat barely sat behind the plate and it tells me that Dana Brown and Dusty Baker are not on the same page Caesar Salazar is kind of like a grad assistant you know just wasting space with an office cubicle in the coaching Lounge you know it's like if you're not going to contribute dude like if we're not really able to see anything right now it's hard to really justify your presence on the roster right now much less the 40 man so yeah I mean a decision's got to be made a lot of decisions have to be made but you know what Brady that's kind of a fascinating deal to me I mean this guy has a major league veteran who's you know been through his struggles and has corrected it and has put up some terrific numbers and I understand the slide over the course of the last couple of three years and coming into this year it's not pretty but you never know what kind of dynamic you're you're really working with with a new personality I I just I don't want to crush Dusty really because I don't know in regards to why he'd waited so long to sit Jose Abreu her brother give him a day off you know maybe just to kind of decompress figure some things out because you never know man like Jose Abreu yeah I remember hearing old stories you know with Jeff Bagwell Craig Biggio like when dirker would try to give one of those guys a rest they'd be the first ones at his office door that day as soon as they found out video gets so pissed off that he threw baseballs at his door but the difference between Bagwell and Bijou getting days off those guys were leaders and long time guys in this Clubhouse the best players Abreu get in line buddy you're behind Altuve and Jordan and Kyle Tucker and Alex bregman get in line and look the MVPs and the All-Star games that sits at the door you're on a championship team now brother and if you ain't putting up shut up and sit down when I tell you to sit down there isn't a question that Dusty Baker should have all the gravity she's coming off a championship best managers in baseball best people managers in baseball how can he not have asked him to sit he solidified himself as a Hall of Famer you know Dusty's gonna be a Hall of Famer now he's got the World Series Championship under his belt you know as manager of the Astros but you know by the same token I I don't know that it was that it's been a brave flexing or that it's just been Dusty being Dusty you know and flexing and just trying to take an approach like hey man this guy's a baller as long as he's healthy I'm gonna keep putting him out there he's going to figure it out it's a vote of confidence you know for a player uh of a veteran status that yeah you're right is it MVP is an All-Star is a guy that's proven in this league coming into a world championship roster and struggling mightily but when he has that vote of confidence when he has the faith of a manager in him you know maybe that can be a relaxing sort of mode for him to kind of just get going it hasn't worked to this point he got a day off maybe Dusty had a talk with him and said hey take a day decompress figure some stuff out don't even think about baseball today don't look at anything you know I don't know what it was but we'll see if it happens well you know what he came right back out and you know shot a laser beam to center field and it was caught you know the guy hit the ball hard you know I don't know if that gets him rolling I don't know if it doesn't but one thing's for sure Dusty's definitely going to give him the opportunity to fix things and I think Dana Brown is certainly going to have to do that as well just the fact that they're paying him as much as they are you know 58 59 60 million dollars for the next three years whatever it is so it's something that we have to live with and I'll tell you what you know I I might sound like it but ain't nobody a bigger Jose Abreu fan right now than me because I want to see the guy climb out of this massive hole that he's dug and just be an absolute baller um it's funny because as much as we're criticizing and people are criticizing Jose Abreu this year and rightfully so the guys what he's getting paid not producing I mean we could steal quotes all day from Carlos Correa this week like hey you know what I should be getting booed for the way that I'm playing it's it's terrible right I mean you should be booing Jose abre you should be criticizing him for what he's getting paid in the way that he's playing and not performing sure but how much crap did people talk about Yuli guriel last year when he struggled to hit 240 All Season hold on hold on I want to just I I want to say something because I was thinking when you were talking about that and what Abreu had done that the reason why I didn't always give that much crap to Yuli guriel number one everything he had done already with the Astros you know you build up you build up some gravitas but number two and Sean this is something that I don't think you were gonna mention it's it's a little bit easier to give Yuli guriela pass when he's making defensive plays all over the place as opposed to Abreu there's no question about that you know that was kind of his Saving Grace last year there was that was the and butt man Yulie looked terrible you know at the play tonight but man he saved the Astros but you know on that Scoop from bregman at third or that terrific play you know by Pena short whatever the case might have been you're 100 right but the point is production you know because you're hurting in all areas right now with this team and look I just watched The Brave last night pick one at first base on a really nice play from Pena short like nobody talks about that but because we become so used to seeing that from Yulie and you know the one or two mistakes that you know Abreu makes it's like man you know Yulie would have made that play well you know what he made a hell of a play last night and it was fine and you know what the Astros needed every bit of that because the bullpen almost imploded you didn't see it last night because uh they played in the afternoon but you met a couple nights ago I know what you meant give me this crap you're right but I mean yeah like I just think you have to be fair and you're 100 right like gravitas you know what Yoli did as an astro a Bray you hadn't had that opportunity just yet but I'm willing to bet that he's gonna come up and save the Astros butts a time or two and he'll have all of us eating out of the palm of his hand just like the sheep that we are you know at some point at least that's my hope yeah I I wish I could be as hopeful I I just I I've watched guys get watched and he looks like a guy that's got washed I hope I'm wrong you know I mean we I people on Twitter need to understand look at look at what I do I'm Houston Sports Talk listen to the show I I criticize these guys but obviously I'll do yeah if I didn't care about the Astros I'm not hosting this stupid deal that like I said I've been doing this now for a decade hey we got to talk about the Texans schedule because it is out but before we do that I gotta talk about some personal stuff because me and Luis Garcia we've got a lot in common right now I'm going to be undergoing the knife this Tuesday then I go on a rehab assignment I'm out indefinitely but this shouldn't be a McCullers situation Sean I wish I could blame this one on the World Baseball Classic but I can unfortunately I wasn't there as well we might as well on the WBC everybody else is so the story here's the story and and I haven't got a ton into a some personal stuff with my health but I have had what has been termed I guess uh or what I was with term is basically chronic fatigue for 23 years this goes back to 1999 and I thought right off the bat I had sleep apnea and I went to go get tested and I got tested again a few years later and they kept telling me you don't have sleep apnea and I'm like well it sure seems like it I even had a deviated septum surgery a couple of years in and I had a sinus infection surgery so I was trying to get whatever was going on with my sleep corrected in in a couple of different ways and then and they but they kept telling me on the test I didn't have sleep apnea and then a few months ago I went to a different place there's a place that's one of the best in Houston if anybody wants to reach out to me I I'm hoping this is going to help me and if it helps me I wanted to help you guys because I don't want anybody to go through what I've gone through the last couple of decades but they said my sleep apnea is severe uh 45 times an hour which I I don't I mean I don't know if that means I'm stop breathing but when I wake up in the morning it oftentimes feels like that's what was going on overnight I wake up feeling horrible uh out of breath sometimes with chest and heart pain sometimes with uh Suffocation feelings and stuff like that but it's been going on a long time and it's got much more severe I think as the years have gone on so they're gonna basically I'm getting a Superman Josh on they're gonna they're gonna pull my entire jaw forward and make some more room down my throat it's a surgery that's gotten much less complicated in recent years and I'm I'm really really hoping that this is finally the answer to a lot of the issues that I've I've had but I I do the surgery on Tuesday I'm not sure how long I'm going to be wiped out with the surgery but they said the recovery should not be too bad we'll see I've talked to a couple of people that have done it and said it wasn't a bad recovery at all um but I'm I'm just hoping I I'm not worried about the surgery I'm worried that it's not going to work and hoping that it's going to work though and and and you know you you're as a sports fan Sean for so many years you know I just keep pushing through things because that's what these guys teach us you just you push through and you push through and you push through and you know you just hope that something's going to turn around and something's going to be better and um I feel in a lot of ways like Lance McCullers and Anthony Davis like things just keep getting worse and the injuries keep piling up and you hope you can get out of it at some point yeah well then you will I mean you've been a bulldog you've been playing hurt man for a long time but you've been doing a hell of a job at it and you know now you've kind of seized the opportunity to get it done and you're just gonna have a chiseled Jaw jawline like that you know and so it's going to be better um and hopefully you kind of look back on it and it was just a blip on the radar screen so all the best to you my man and uh we'll hold down the fort you know while you're uh while you're recovering and you just got to make sure you uh don't overdo it like Chaz and Michael Brantley in your rehab assignment and do what the doctors and the trainers tell you to do that's my advice yeah Chaz with back issues man I've had those for years too and that's always difficult John I mean and back issues it seems like once you get them they don't go away that's that was my concern with Carlos Correa I I understood that Astros hesitancy Carlos Correa he's really struggling this year I don't think it's back issues but who knows but yeah they're they're booing him with the twins right now I don't know if you noticed that yeah yeah I just mentioned it you know uh with what his commentary was you know after receiving the booze this week oh yeah yeah that's right yeah yeah yeah he said I deserve it yeah 100 you know and I wouldn't expect anything less from a guy like Carlos Correa I can't imagine ever him getting booed here in Houston um by his own fans because he's so beloved um if he'd never left or even if he did coming back you know he's still he's still gonna warrant a round of applause uh when that day comes but um yeah man you'll you'll you'll you'll you'll make it through I got no doubt about that just as much hope as I have in the Astros I got more hope for you that you're gonna make it out uh bigger and better through this whole thing Texans schedule dropped as we're doing the show so breaking news at least for us for you guys that might not be but what do you see there Sean when you look at the schedule all right your three preseason games uh you're gonna start off at the New England Patriots on August 10th home for the Miami Dolphins on the 19th and then you go to New Orleans to round out the preseason schedule on the 27th TBD is a kickoff time for that Patriots game but everything else in the preseason is seven o'clock you're going to open the regular season uh with the Baltimore Ravens and that is a noon kick every single one of the Houston Texans games except for two this regular season are noon kickoffs there's a 305 against the Denver Broncos that's a home game December 3rd Sunday that's 305 on CBS the other one is the final game of the regular season you have the Indianapolis Colts uh the day and date is TBD for week 18. uh no TV network no time so they're leaving that one open obviously to be flexed potentially you have a one you have one fox game sorry oh no you have one two three four five six fox games and that is home against the Colts and that is on the 17th away at the Jags on the 24th the very next week that's week three uh your other Fox game is October 8th at the Falcons October 15th home against the Saints at the Panthers when I broke last night uh the Texans are at the Panthers that is a fox game but a noon kick on the 29th uh some no Sunday Night Football for that one and the other Fox game is December 31st uh uh against the Tennessee Titans at home so by the way you also have the Cleveland Browns uh coming to H-Town that is week 16 so you get a chance to see DeSean Watson on Christmas Eve uh on a CBS noontime that's funny Christmas Eve to Sean Watson what a what a gift good stocking stuffer there right I can't wait for the uh uh for the material leading up to that one but uh hopefully it's uh you know watered down because you know looking at the schedule I mean I could make an argument for a lot of really tough games just based on you know how much better the teams specifically the Jaguars have gotten in your own division but you're opening at Baltimore you know if there was a game that I would presume the Texans could be double-digit underdogs against it might be the Ravens you know they've been double-digit underdogs you know quite a bit you know over the course of the last two years but I mean the Ravens that's a that's a tough start you know week one you don't know who your quarterback's gonna be officially yet for that first game um maybe Stroud maybe it's Keenum who knows but I mean that's a tough one that's a tough one so you got Ravens Colts Jags Steelers I mean right out of the gate there's uh arguably you know three out of your four really really tough games first year in Texas history with no Prime Time games wow is it the first year did they have one last year uh didn't they I think this is the first year that there you don't have to have Prime Time games according to the NFL schedule because uh we did have the Thursday game last year right yeah yeah but I mean I'm looking at the Denver Broncos game you know Sunday December 3rd I mean that's that's a three o'clock game and I I know it's you know now seven o'clock it's not considered prime time but I'm just kind of looking at it in the sense that hey that's Russell Wilson that's Sean Payton it's three o'clock it'll be two o'clock in Denver a lot of eyes are going to be on that that's still middle of the day Sunday people are out at the bar I mean that's going to be a pretty heavily viewed game you know especially if the Texans are competitive and Stroud is you know if the Texans are competitive that's probably saying that Stroud is playing fairly well uh as a rookie so I mean that's that's a pretty good game I mean a three o'clock time slot for that one's a heck of a lot better than noon so I'm kind of excited for that one and you don't know if the season shakes out um you know like I think it will where you know you get around uh week 11 you know week 10 and you see the column on the right side of your screen that says in the hunt I fully expect the Texans to be there uh through that stretch run and playing meaningful games the final month of the season so that Colts game to round out the regular season schedule um I mean that could be Flex that could be a Prime Time game I understand why the Texans aren't on prime time to a degree but I feel like the Texans have one of the more compelling stories this year with the drafting of CJ Stroud you know getting demiko uh drafting Will Anderson and and the big thing that I thought you know it's not a late in the season game it's sort of you know October the 29th I mean yeah it's middle of the season and potentially these teams could look like garbage by that point but when they played Carolina it's it's Bryce versus CJ which is I think it's could be one of the more compelling story lines one verse two you know Carolina making the decision to draft Bryce over CJ Stroud uh those guys by some people were considered pretty close I'm surprised that they they wouldn't throw that match up a bone I I get it I and Carolina obviously not a big media Market but I I thought that might be a Prime Time game now that's fair and I'm gonna look up if I can and see what other games are scheduled that day like who got the Prime Time games I don't know if that's available on uh ESPN which is the site that I'm going to go to here in a minute but I will say this one thing that I did notice about this schedule I think is kind of cool and you could tell me if I'm wrong but I don't remember I don't feel like it's commonplace for a team to have three straight home games but the Texans have three straight home games uh November 19th 26th and December 3rd all Sunday contests you get the Cardinals Jags and Broncos coming in back to back to back weeks of home games really double down on it they have four out of five games at NRG from November 5th to December 3rd so you're going to see your team at home a lot and that's a really juicy part of the season two weeks removed from the bye week which is week seven for the Texans so they're kind of back in the NFL's good graces you could almost guarantee lock it up when it was a 16-game schedule the Texans were always kind of graced with a very favorable bye week before the last two three seasons happened you know it was generally around like week eight nine or ten right in the heart of the middle of the season when you needed that break and so you get a week seven you know that's that's pretty good draw for the Texans which I feel like uh you know it's been all over the place the last couple of Seasons but um four out of five home games you know in the course of a month and three in a row I like it and then two straight home games before uh you go to Indianapolis for the uh for the week 18 contest but um I'm gonna see who plays on the 29th yeah Stroud versus Bryce you could have put that on Thursday Night Football I mean I'd get it not throwing it on a Sunday night even a Monday night but that could have been a Thursday night game but I look at this schedule Sean and we gotta you know look at that first section of it and frankly it it's not terrible if you're the Texans and you want to have some winnable games early to give the team a little bit of confidence you don't want to you know face the murderer's row right off the bat early in the season but if you look at that schedule yeah the Ravens uh we'll see I mean I I don't think this is you know a guarantee that the Ravens are just going to be this Juggernaut this year so uh not not that they're a a bad team that that's probably a game that you're going to lose right off the bat at Baltimore but after that you're playing the Colts at home uh you know who knows who their quarterback is going to be then you face Jacksonville um that's the toughest division game the Steelers are trying to get their feet they've got a quarterback that's still trying to prove himself he's in his second year very Davis mills-ish uh after that the Atlanta Falcons that that could definitely be a winnable game same with the Saints after that then you got a bye week Carolina's gonna have a rookie quarterback uh they're they're a better team on paper but uh they're gonna have a rookie quarterback for sure starting that game and then Tampa Bay I assume that's going to be bad without Tom Brady um so you've got some games in those first few that I think okay maybe you can get grab that one you could be in this one you know there there's not going to be a bunch of blowout it's a bunch of you know Patrick Mahomes running the score up on you early on and stuff like that I I just feel like you know that that's a good thing for this Texan schedule just to give him a little bit of confidence early in on and again yeah yeah um you know I'm just kind of looking through this and I'm trying to see which ones I'm really anticipating you know the Ravens is certainly one uh the Colts any division game this year I think aside from the Titans which I think are going to be really really bad I'm looking forward to because the Texans and Colts Texans and Jags they always seem to play uh some really competitive football games so the first three weeks are really good Steelers are always entertaining uh an exciting Atlanta Saints okay you know let's see let's get a little bit of Derek Carr action um obviously the August October 29th game at Carolina you know the top two picks in the NFL draft Buccaneers is it going to be Baker Mayfield at quarterback I don't know Bengals gonna be a really good one tough one at Cincinnati November 12th Cardinals Jags Broncos all three home games in that back to back to back stretch I was talking about um really looking forward to the Jags and the Broncos Cardinals too you know with Kyler Murray uh in a really pivotal year for him uh wait wait hold on with that Cardinals this is a huge game for the Texans because you want to win that one because you're trying to give them a worse pick this coming year and look the Cardinals the Cardinals if you lose to the cart I mean the Cardinals buy most people's account look like the worst team on paper in the entire NFL right now yeah yeah and I even looked at them that closely um you know with a new general manager and I mean really whole new regime over there with uh Kingsbury out and so I say it's a pivotal year for college Murray he's got to show vast Improvement um I'm looking forward to that game and you know around that time you'll kind of get a pretty good idea of kind of what he's becoming uh of the 2023 season Jets game Robert Sala D'Amico Ryan's you know back-to-back defensive coordinators at uh San Francisco now head coaches in the league I'm looking forward to that one obviously DeShaun Watson and the Browns coming in Christmas Eve and you round out with the Titans on New Year's Eve and the Colts for week 18. so a lot of exciting games to be honest with you well the exciting I I I'm gonna say this is not a story please this is not a marquis this is not a marquee quarterback schedule yeah there's some storyline there's always story lines but as far as quarterbacks like we're we're not talking about the murderers I mean you're gonna face Joe burrow uh Aaron Rodgers no Russell Wilson yeah is he the same Russell Wilson no uh you're gonna you're gonna face to Sean Watson is is it this is DeSean Watson gonna be I mean there are three guys that are Marquis in this group and you have no idea the rest of the quarterbacks in this schedule uh I mean Trevor and who I mean but I'm saying I'm saying Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson they're not I mean come on Sean like these guys are getting older both of those guys I mean I mean it's big but they're not the same guy I mean this this is not a deal where you're I mean I'm not expecting them all of a sudden to flash back to when they were in their late 20s and early 30s they look like guys on the decline this is they're not you know the they're not in the top five or ten best quarterbacks in the NFL anymore I don't think they are but maybe maybe Aaron Rodgers can have a comeback year Russell Wilson I would doubt on a given day um I'm not gonna put it past them you know and when your team plays them it's just that one day you know what are they going to look like but you've got Lamar Jackson you've got Trevor Lawrence you've got I'm not gonna go Derek Carr yet so I'm sticking with two and you've got uh Bryce young you've got Joe burrow you've got Kyler Murray you've got Russell Wilson Aaron Rodgers and DeSean Watson I mean that's eight different quarterbacks I mean half of your schedules some pretty damn good quarterbacks and if you want to throw Derek Carr in there you see what he does with the Saints this year I don't know we'll see Derek Carr was a guy that Texans fan have you ever told Texas fam we're gonna go get Derek card they would have thrown up in their mouth Bryce young is a rookie quarterback uh Russell Wilson looked like garbage last year Sean Payton I know this is going to be if he pulls this if he turns it around it's going to be one of the great resurrect and there's a reason why Russell Wilson was traded from the Seattle so like quit looking quit doing your Dusty Baker and looking at the back of the baseball card and look at the guy that we see today you know look at the age and where the trend is going with these guys yeah I get it but my point is is I'm looking forward to those games because you know why Sean Payton was hired you know to turn things around in Denver and he's gonna have to do it with Russell Wilson so that's going to be an exciting game and if he's doing at that point in the season in the heart of the middle of the season when you're going to see them could be a really good matchup DeSean Watson does he look like the Texans version of DeSean Watson for the first time in Cleveland that's going to be a really interesting one what does that look like you know where the Cleveland Browns vying for a playoff spot right there are they potentially knocking detections out of a wild card seed or an in the hunt whatever it may be for the division who knows because I still think that's very getable I'm not going to give the trophy to uh Trevor Lawrence in the Jacksonville Jaguars it's still the AFC South until proven otherwise there's just some games man and you know Aaron Rodgers and uh New York that's going to be a hell of an experiment this year that uh I'm gonna have both of my eyes on every single week it's for nothing else going to be pretty entertaining so I like it you know um I wish there was a couple of Prime Time games mixed in there you know a good Thursday night or at least Sunday night football don't need a Monday but I wish there was just a couple you never know I'm old I hope that maybe that week 18 uh lights a fire and is interesting enough for uh you know the the higher ups and we get to see the Texans on prime time in a meaningful game week 18 against the Colts so we'll see it's funny to hear you say I'm looking forward to this game and that game would there be a game that you would not look forward to you're a football fan you're a Texans fan you're gonna be looking forward to all of them aren't you uh you know the Falcons that's like a fart in the wind you know I don't care about them uh there's there's three or four games that I don't you know I don't really uh Pine to see but I know there's gonna be some afternoons where I'm uh looking forward to uh the food display and the Press Box much more than I am maybe watching some football but I don't know at least that's the way that it's been in years past but uh something tells me that as long as CJ Stroud and this rookie class is on the field they're healthy and they're contributing yeah I mean I'm looking forward to all of it there's a newness man I mean you know what it is um everything is new but you know I said something in in my article that I wrote a couple of days ago you can check it out on sportsradio610.com that you know I I know it's a little Hyperbole and but but I think it's really true there's as much Unknown about all of the new additions as there maybe is about the known of the incumbents with this organization and that might be an exciting thing for some that might be a scary thing uh for some people but nonetheless the worm is certainly turned and you're going to be glued if you're a fan of football in Houston and you want your team back you're going to be glued to your TV to Sports Talk Radio to Texans talk all season long to see what's going on with the Miko what kind of development is CJ Stroud you know undergoing what kind of progress is he making what are these young receivers looking like is this offensive line really solidified does this defense have an angry bone in their body what is the Mikko doing on that side so I I just think there's a lot to pay attention to a lot to be excited about um because I don't expect it all to work you know their their new minds they're different approaches to this there's so many new bodies around they're not going to pitch a perfect game what did they screw up on this off season what could they have done better that's what we're going to spend this entire regular season and even training camp uh dissecting and criticizing and I'm really just looking forward to that in and of itself and so if it is a popcorn fart of a game like the Falcons or the Tennessee Titans hey I'm still here for it hopefully at least this year you're not going to be sitting in a library over at NRG Stadium you're not going to be thinking where can I look for the the uh I want to look for the math books where's the Dewey Decimal System because it's just so quiet in here I think I can go study and uh get some homework done it might be a little bit louder at NRG Stadium this year than it has been hopefully yep 100 I I will guarantee that and um with only room to grow there's no doubt about it I mean they gotta they got an opportunity man because you're in the distance in this Division and because you never know how healthy or anything like that is going to shake out they can play some really exciting football and and impress a lot of people this season and I I kind of hold on to the historical aspects on these things because it does excite me that you know over the course of the last 22 Seasons 20 times has a team finished last in their division and finished first the very next year I'm not saying I'm looking forward to the Texans doing that but I am saying I'm gonna do a little bit more digging on this in terms of the type of improvement in the games and in which they were played under the previous regime with some similar players and the Texans have plenty of them this year in spots that they're going to be asked by a new regime to contribute what is the Improvement I got a lot of homework to do over the course of the last 20 25 years but I'm looking forward to it I just wouldn't be surprised man the over under from Vegas is five and a half wins for the Texans I'm not a betting Guy usually but today I'm going to make this bet and without even having dissected the schedule any further than you and I have right now I'll take that five and a half over um I like it that much I I just I I believe in in the competency and the Improvement as such from just the coaching staff in relation to the direction that the organization actually wants to go they weren't trying to win a damn thing last year and hell the one time you knew they didn't want to they did week 18 hashtag thanks lovey for nothing um but I'm looking for a vast improvement from last year to this year Shaq Mason last part of the show he got a new contract three years 36 million dollars 10 million dollars guaranteed that's pretty much what I would have put him at with what he brings to the table for the Texans you can say well he's a little bit older should you pay him he might be declining a little bit I don't know him declining is better than all the other guys that we've seen on the incline or the whatever leveled off uh guys that we've seen that guard recently by the Texans so um no problem with that deal at all I mean Jack Mason is in his early 30s and it's a 10 million dollar guarantee that's the only money that really matters like if you get rid of them how much did you really pay him and and that's the number yeah um I was actually surprised is maybe even a little too strong but uh I mean I raised my eyebrows when I saw the text and signed them to a three-year deal and they didn't put pads on yet I mean it's obviously I just wondered like why wouldn't you have done that deal when you acquired him you know why why now and maybe you know Nick and Texans they just had a lot of stuff going on and you know they promised Shaq that hey you know we're going to do something later this off season don't worry we'll take care of you kind of a thing but uh I mean it's good Shaq was actually asked about you know being here on the life of a previous contract and his availability last week and the only thing that he'd said he was like hey man I don't really care about that I don't mess with that stuff I let my people handle that I'm just here to play football and I I like those kinds of answers you know from my athletes like he's here he wants to play football he likes Houston he was intrigued by the situation he's happy to be here and happy to be with a team that has a a true Direction like he knows where they want to go and he can see it I think he's even one of the guys that said hey we got the recipe man um which I thought was an interesting line from him and how he was breaking down what he thought Nick Acero and demeko Ryan's were doing and have done brother uh this off season so I was intrigued by that I'm I'm glad they locked him up you know he's got one of the longest deals out of any Houston Texan on the roster so that's good for him it's maybe tonsil and M I don't know about their kicker kayemi fairbound outside of the fact that he had to choke up number seven for CJ Stroud um but well let me just talk about the length of the contract for a second because you're you're talking about it and he got three years yeah uh you've got Kenya degree who's at least here gonna be here for three more years you got Laramie tonsil that's going to be here for three more years you get two rookie centers that are going to be here for four years so really yeah in the offensive line it's it's yeah it's continuity and other positions you don't need continuity necessarily at linebacker a defensive line but in the offensive line nobody helps yeah no that's uh that's a really really good point and one guy I mean I'd say you'd know for a fact is going to be here uh and that's tonsil you just made him the highest paid left tackle uh in the game and what are they going to do with Titus Howard I imagine he's probably going to get close to um you know record type money at right now nope don't think so I think I think there's a good chance that Titus Howard is they just let it run out there's a good chance that they just decide to draft somebody next year because Titus Howard if you look at the numbers if you look at what he's doing he's just a dude he's a Jag at right tackle and I I don't know if he's shown enough to go man let's go and give him some decent money as a right tackle as opposed to just getting a rookie and plugging him in there I don't know man I mean he was one of only three guys I think last year to have seen as many pressures at his position and give up just one sack you know through 17 weeks of the season um I mean that's the level of production that you're going to point to you know if you're Titus and say Hey you know pay me I'm just saying if the Texans do decide to if the Texans do deem there is a future here with Titus I would suspect that he would get close to you know record-setting money but you know let's just speculative at this point I think that would be a mistake what do you mean record setting money money what what record for what you mean record-setting money you know what record-setting money is for Laramie Tunstall it left tackle he got it this year I'm saying you're talking about Laramie tonsil money for for Titus Howard I'm I'm saying you know I wouldn't be surprised if the Texans offered in record setting money you know in the right tackle position I don't know no way no way no way no way I don't know what that looks like at right tackle it's probably a little bit different you know left tackle money and you have to look at it um I would just say based off of his production and versatility I mean what would you expect a guy that is up for his first big contract to get you know who's been healthy and has been a stable staple you know at right tackle for the Texans just saying people where else has he played he's played guard uh under you know just talked about his versatility I mean where has he been versatility means you're good at multiple positions he was not good at guard well guard I think is his natural position right no no he was a tackle no no no he was a tackle we came in his tackle and played guard yeah yeah you're right he started off as a tackle his first year they moved him to guard with and they moved him around because of injuries but they moved him to guard they did a lot of stupid things that I disagreed with about moving him around and that's what that's the frustration is if he had been there for four years at tackle and I could see does he have consistency is he good instead they jacked around with him and this was not this was not this was not this regime's fault this was not the previous regime's fault this goes back to mistakes made by Bill O'Brien and and that regime sure yeah he said a couple of different offensive line coaches you know over the course of the last few years um but he was good he was really good last year um and you know with a solidified offensive line and a quarterback you know now a real quarterback at least one that's better than what you've had in-house the last few years I mean I'm excited for him so I don't know what record money looks like I just threw it out so um I just wouldn't be surprised you want to talk about solidifying an offensive line and making all of these kind of contracts you know um concurrent I mean why wouldn't you do that with a guy like Titus Howard he's not going to get middling money I'll tell you that I disagree I don't think anybody's running out there and giving a ton of money to Titus Howard based on you know unless he has an incredible year this year based on like one good year at right tackle he he basically his rookie year he played tackle and then they bounced him around he he didn't have a lot of starts at tackle the last the two years before this past year um this is not somebody that grades out Pro Football Focus you know unbelievable grades or anything like that compared to other right tackles I don't think he's considered top five right tackle in the NFL and if if you've got uh information to prove otherwise I'm open to it I I hope that I hope I'm wrong but we we had games where we we said yeah Titus Howard did not have a good game we would you know if for the people that sure he had similar stats on Laramie Tunstall last year you know who is a false start machine you know at times but what does he do best he protects the quarterback um you know what is Titus Howard done really really well you know in particular last year he protected the quarterback from his position you know he allowed one sack there was only three other offensive linemen with the amount of pressures that he'd seen in games played that did that Laramie tonsil was one of the others um I used to know the third off the top of my head but yet not to go look for it but he's had a really good season man uh he needs to put another really good one together and I think uh he'll be able to kind of command you know the market uh at that position at least in terms of what the Texans think of him so we'll see you know I want those problems I want you to pay really good players and uh when you have the ability to do that I mean that that means things are working so I mean you're not going to pay a right tackle and a left tackle you know record-setting money with Davis Mills as your quarterback I think that was a lot of people's fear this off season when tonsil got that deal and there was conversation about the Texans not drafting a quarterback that wasn't going to happen um so and I'm glad we don't have to have that conversation any further so we'll see I mean yeah we all want those good problems and I know people don't necessarily think Pro Football Focus is perfect but I can sort of get ballpark with with with offensive lineman uh and it's it's it was a 67-68 last year you know that's not spectacular the year before that he was low 50s the year before that he graded out at 62.1 uh so you know if you look at what he's done so far he's had one good year in four years and part of that I think is because he they jacked with him and they moved him around especially after his rookie year and you know I've had a lot of complaints about that if you're a regular you know that but you gotta you know to me if I'm giving a guy a good contract he's got to do it more than hey do it more than one year in a row don't Rafael Montero the deal let's let's see him do it twice right right yeah that's a good cop that's a good comp with exception of the age maybe but yeah we'll see man we'll see all right let's uh talk some Case Keenum on Monday and uh hopefully I'll see you guys before too long after that but keep keep your eye out I'm gonna put up uh at least I'm gonna have one throwback show that was a real fun one that we did a few years ago um we're talking all sorts of classic uh Houston sports stuff so keep an eye out for that but thanks a lot Sean and I good luck to the uh rookies this weekend who will you will be out there for that right yeah I will I'll be out there Friday can't make it Saturday but uh I'll definitely have a report for you next week outstanding I'll see you down the road here all right man you're listening to Houston Sports Talk hey don't forget to support us by subscribing and commenting on YouTube you can always listen to us on Spotify apple or your favorite podcast app tell your friends about us and share our Show links on social media spread the word everybody thanks for listening [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]