- 2 days ago
Seth and Sean talk with Audacy NFL Insider Ross Tucker about the Texans' win over the Colts and their sudden implementation of the "tush push."
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00:00It's a pleasure, as always, to be joined by our Odyssey NFL insider, Ross Tucker.
00:05Insider Calls are brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
00:10Nationwide is on your side.
00:12Ross, how are you doing, my friend?
00:15I'm doing fantastic. How are you guys?
00:16We're doing great. So we're going to do our observations on a Colts-Texans rewatch,
00:22but I'm curious what your big takeaway was from the Texans' big win over the Colts this weekend.
00:27Ooh. Well, a few. One of which is, I like a lot of the things that Nick Caley, the OC, is doing for the Texans right now.
00:44Although I'm not exactly sure why they couldn't get lined up right a few times.
00:49Like, that one boggles my mind, but I still like that they're doing some creative stuff.
00:58There's no doubt in my mind the offensive line has improved as the year has gone on, which is a sign.
01:06I thought CJ played well, with the exception of that one pass that, you know, kind of floated on him.
01:14But, you know, I thought he'd be rustier coming out after his, you know, missing those three games.
01:21But I thought overall he played pretty darn well.
01:24I will say the Colts' defense is not great.
01:28They haven't been great.
01:29And now, by far, their two highest-paid guys aren't playing.
01:34You know, Buckner at D-tackle.
01:36Sauce Gardner got hurt during the game.
01:38But it feels like a lot of these young guys have been coming along, you know, the young receivers for the Texans, Woody Marks.
01:45And the defense, as we've known all year, is just awesome.
01:48I mean, their defense is awesome.
01:51It's actually kind of crazy to me to think that there's, like, a very real possibility that, to me, the clear two best defense in the NFL,
02:03that neither one of them might make the playoffs.
02:06I mean, the Cleveland Browns are definitely not making the playoffs.
02:10But then the Texans, obviously, are going to be fighting tooth and nail down the stretch.
02:15That just feels, to me, it feels weird to have, you know, the two best defenses.
02:20And there's a chance neither one of them even makes the playoffs.
02:24Yeah, we've gone from defense wins championships to defense doesn't even get you in the playoffs.
02:28That's the world we live in.
02:31Ross, as a Philadelphia-adjacent resident, you know, you spend a lot of time watching the Eagles and talking about the Eagles.
02:41You are obviously an expert in the tush push.
02:45And the Texans run the Cade Stover tush push four times in this game.
02:49The last two times, unsuccessfully on third and short and fourth and short.
02:53What did you think about their actual execution of that play?
02:58And in that moment, like, did they show enough on third down that D'Amico, D'Amico came out in his press conference yesterday and just flat out said he told Nick Cayley to do it again.
03:07Did you feel like the effort on third down merited a second attempt at that?
03:11I kind of did, yeah.
03:14I kind of thought, all right, well, they got, you know, if it was a full yard to go, it felt like they got half a yard or whatever on third down.
03:23And I thought, they'll run it again and they'll get it.
03:26And I was surprised that didn't.
03:29I was surprised they got stuffed in the way that they did.
03:33I don't think the offensive line knows really the right way to run it.
03:38Uh, they're not taught in the same manner the Eagles are.
03:42Although I will say, you know, sitting there and watching the red zone, I didn't have a game on Sunday.
03:50I did Iowa and Nebraska on Friday.
03:51So watching the red zone and then you go back and you'll watch some of the games for media appearances I'm going to do.
03:58It is crazy how much of a difference I would say fourth downs in general make in these games.
04:07But then, you know, fourth and short in particular, you know, like it is the difference in a lot of these games.
04:16I mean, it's crazy.
04:17You know, the Carolina Panthers threw two touchdown passes against the Rams on fourth down, which was huge.
04:25Um, other teams that are getting stuffed on fourth down, it's usually the reason why they lose the game.
04:31It's, it's really, um, as more and more teams are going for it in those situations and probably rightfully so,
04:38it's come much more of a differentiator and a swing play, which is probably one of the reasons why the Eagles have had a lot of success.
04:47Although it doesn't feel like they're getting in as many of those situations.
04:51And even when they ran it against the Bears, Hurts let the ball get ripped out of his hands.
04:57Well, yeah.
04:57And, you know, this week, like last week, the Colts are one of the leading teams in the league in fourth down conversions per game.
05:04The Chiefs are number one in fourth down conversions per game.
05:08They're very, very good on third and short.
05:11And I guess that's one of the, one of my moments, one of my kind of highlighted areas of concern is, all right, can the Texans defense, as good as they are in a lot of areas, at times, it doesn't feel like they're as stout up the middle versus a run when they need to be.
05:26You ever notice, Sean, no matter how well the Texans are playing, no matter how many games they've won in a row,
05:36Seth still wants someone to say, they could really use a run stuffing deep tackle like you, Sethy boy.
05:45You're so right.
05:47You know, now that you mention it.
05:48I know they have, I know it's hurting your feelings that they have the best defense in the NFL and that everybody keeps saying that.
05:56So you're right, Sethy Poo.
05:59If they had you, they'd be even better on short yardage run defense.
06:03Yeah, they need to sign a 245-pound 50-year-old to go in there and play deep tackle for them.
06:08No, Ross, I've defended the defensive tackles, like, through the entire offseason.
06:14A lot of people were upset that the Texans haven't aggressively signed a big-name guy.
06:18And I think they, I think those defensive tackles and how they ask them to play have done a really good job.
06:24I am, though, right now, it's Tuesday, and yes, the Chiefs are a 500 team, but I'm kind of actively looking at ways that this Chiefs offense still has an edge over things.
06:34And one of the things that they're still really good at is converting third and one and fourth and one.
06:39Obviously, they've got the potential for big explosive plays.
06:42So I guess really what I'm asking is, what, what, what, if you're the Texans, if you're Matt Burke and D'Amico Ryans looking at this Chiefs offense,
06:50what scares you or what concerns you the most?
06:53Well, what's crazy about what you just said is, and I didn't realize the Chiefs were that good in, you know, third and fourth and short.
07:02But I, I'll believe you.
07:05And if that's the case, isn't it strange that they're six and six?
07:10I mean, like, those swing plays, think about this for a second.
07:17The Miami Dolphins are five and seven.
07:20The Miami Dolphins are a game behind the Chiefs.
07:23The Chiefs are in 10th place in the AFC right now at six and six with a plus 73, by the way, point differential,
07:33which is pretty, pretty wild when you think about it.
07:37Now they have been much, much better at home.
07:41They're five and one at home, one and five on the road.
07:45But that, that makes their record even more surprising to hear that they've been that good in those high leverage third and fourth and short situations.
07:55I still think your biggest concern, I mean, they got three guys that can fly.
08:00Hollywood Brown, Rashi Rice, Xavier Worthy.
08:04I know you have really good corners, but because you have really good corners, you trust them a lot.
08:12You just don't want, you know, no matter how much you trust them, no matter how good they are, you know, you don't want to let these guys get behind you and get the, get the big explosive plays.
08:21Ross Tucker is our Odyssey NFL insider joining us.
08:25Insider Calls brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
08:30Nationwide is on your side.
08:31You know, so Ross, it's interesting.
08:33You know, the Chiefs are six and six right now.
08:35As you mentioned, they're the 10 seed right now.
08:38The AFC is wild.
08:39When you look at who's leading all the different divisions, how little playoff experience there is with the quarterbacks of the top three seeds in the AFC.
08:47See, I'm curious on this either or for you, because I think the Texans, Ross, you know, now that they're a game back in the division, they could be anywhere from the three.
08:57If they make the playoffs could be anywhere from the three seed winning the winning the AFC South to the seven seed, just sneaking into the playoffs.
09:05So would you rather be a three seed getting a home game in the first round, but playing Kansas City as a wildcard team or the seven seed?
09:17And going on the road to play Bo Nix in Denver.
09:21It's a great question.
09:23I think it's a fair question.
09:25You know.
09:28Let's take a step back.
09:30Do we do we all agree it's unlikely the Texans will win the Super Bowl this year?
09:34Of course.
09:35In the same way that it's unlikely that any single team will win the Super Bowl, but that's as much as I'll give you.
09:41Yes.
09:41OK, well, I would say it's more unlikely that the Texans will win it than some of these other teams like the Rams, who I think are still an awesome football team.
09:52Yeah.
09:52So what how I would submit to you is if you operate under the assumption that it's going to be pretty hard to get to the Super Bowl and win it, wouldn't you at least want to win the division?
10:05Like, wouldn't you at least want to be able to say division champs again?
10:09Again, we own the South.
10:12Forget you Colts.
10:13Forget you Jags.
10:15Yeah.
10:15Yeah.
10:15You got off to good start.
10:17So yet you're better than you were.
10:18But we still own.
10:19In other words, I think your point about.
10:24What's the better path to go as far in the postseason as possible is well taken.
10:30And I think you can argue both for and against the three seed versus the seven seed.
10:37I guess I would always pick the three seed because they've proven they can win playoff games the last two years at home.
10:45And it's cool to win your division.
10:47It's cool to win.
10:48It's cool to have a home playoff game.
10:50You know how many fan bases out there that haven't had a home playoff game in years and years?
10:57Those things are like gold.
10:58Yeah.
10:59Well, and the Texans are the two-time defending division champs, too.
11:03You know, so there's something to.
11:05They've never won three divisions in a row.
11:07You know, I'll grant you that.
11:08And, yes, you know what I'll grant you as well, Ross?
11:10The Jag fans and the Colts fans have gotten more and more annoying over the last couple years.
11:15Especially Colts fans this past weekend acting like the referees cost them the game.
11:20So, yes, I want the division title.
11:23Yeah.
11:25Yeah.
11:25I mean, there's a lot of people saying that about the refs these days.
11:29I don't know.
11:30I mean, two thoughts on that.
11:33One is these officials are the best in the world.
11:38So, if they're missing calls, the only solution is to help them more with technology.
11:46Like, all these other possible solutions to me are nonsensical.
11:51They should be full-time.
11:53Okay, so you're telling me a guy sitting at a desk in May?
11:58Like, that's going to make a difference on whether or not he makes the right pass interference call in a split second.
12:06Like, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
12:07Yes.
12:08Yeah.
12:08It really is.
12:09I want these guys on PEDs, too.
12:12I want them to be, every single one of them, to look like that Ed Hockley Jr. or whatever.
12:17Yeah.
12:18Senior probably looks pretty good still, too.
12:21Laser eye surgery every offseason just to get down to 20 over 10.
12:24Yes, all of it.
12:26Film review, virtual reality kind of scenario practice and all that.
12:33Yeah.
12:33Go for it, man.
12:34The full-time, Ross, you hit the nail on that.
12:36I've been saying it every time.
12:38That is totally, the people that are like, you need to make them full-time,
12:41that's somebody trying to sound smart and just speaking in generalities on first take or get up.
12:47You know, like, they need to come full-time.
12:48Hmm, they're only part-time?
12:49No, exactly.
12:51Full-time, what are you going to do for 50 hours a week as a referee
12:54outside of those 17 Sundays?
12:56It's dumb.
12:56You know, there's certain things in life that it's like people can always go to
13:02because there's not really people that are going to check them on it, you know?
13:07It's like one of them is refs should be full-time.
13:11The second thing is blaming the refs.
13:13Like, if you want to get any engagement on social media, just criticize the officiating.
13:19It's really unbelievable.
13:21It's like the one thing that everybody can harp on and jump on and agree with.
13:28And then the other one is for college football to just say, like,
13:34whoever set this calendar up is just, they're the worst.
13:38I blame whoever set this calendar up.
13:41Like, whoever set this calendar up, it's the coaches themselves.
13:46So, I've been to the AFCA Coaches Conference.
13:51They're the ones that set the schedule.
13:53They're the ones that set the dates.
13:56You know, we know when the regular season ends.
13:59They're the ones that thought the early setting day was a good idea.
14:02They're the ones that have the two different portal dates.
14:05It's like, you know, it's so popular.
14:08You don't want to blame, like, any of these coaches or any of these players
14:11because people know their name.
14:13So, you just blame the ambiguous, whoever the master, as if there's, like,
14:19one person sitting on high saying, you know what I'm going to do?
14:24I'm going to come up with a calendar so that coaches have to leave
14:28before their seasons are over.
14:30The calendar boogeyman.
14:32Ross, you know, as you were talking about the Texans' odds of winning the Super Bowl
14:37are long odds.
14:38I think they're 14th favored to win the Super Bowl right now.
14:43I'm going to read you off the top five and tell me which one of these is most
14:46fraudulent when it comes to them being a Super Bowl champion.
14:50Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers,
14:55Denver Broncos.
15:01I think probably the Broncos.
15:04Yeah, that's what I would go with.
15:05I really think the Broncos.
15:07I mean, the Broncos and Seahawks are actually really similar,
15:11where it's, like, really good defenses, good offenses,
15:16but it's hard to really trust the quarterback.
15:20Whereas, I've seen Jordan Love play enough awesome games now that I kind of
15:26trust him.
15:27I mean, they should have went to the NFC Championship game a few years ago.
15:30And then, you know, obviously Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford.
15:34It's, you know, to me, sometimes it feels like a flaw in the sport.
15:37But, you know, that so much of it comes down to that position and how we feel about that
15:44position, which is interesting, by the way, because I don't think many people think that
15:48Jalen Hurts is a top five quarterback.
15:50And the Eagles have been in the Super Bowl two out of the last three years.
15:54They won it once.
15:55And then the other one they lost, he actually outplayed Mahomes.
15:59He was awesome in that game.
16:00He should have been the MVP.
16:01That was, like, the best game he's ever played, and they lost.
16:04Yeah.
16:05Well, along those lines, how are you – where are you on C.J. Stroud right now?
16:10That is the right question.
16:12That's a really good question.
16:13Because I'm sitting there thinking, you know, why can't Stroud, you know, win three playoff
16:21games compared to some of the other guys?
16:23Like, I'll take Stroud over Trevor Lawrence still.
16:26Oh, yeah.
16:26I'll take Stroud over Bo Nix still.
16:29Yep.
16:29I would not take him over Drake May.
16:31Drake May is, like – Drake May might be the MVP of the NFL.
16:34Yeah.
16:34Yeah.
16:35I would not take him over Josh Allen or Mahomes.
16:38I mean, the way Lamar Jackson's playing right now, I might take him over Lamar.
16:42We'll see if he can get healthy or whatever.
16:44Yeah.
16:44Yeah.
16:44He's super banged up right now.
16:46Ross, you probably got to go do your Even Money gambling podcast right now, right?
16:51I do.
16:52By the way, I was up 20 units again this week.
16:56Oh, my God.
16:57This is with the Vig and everything.
16:58Wow.
16:59So, if you're not listening or watching YouTube.com slash Ross Tucker NFL to the Even Money
17:08betting podcast, you're doing it wrong.
17:10And I'll give you a little sneak preview.
17:12Okay.
17:12Okay?
17:12Yeah.
17:14I will be taking the Houston Texans plus three and a half against Kansas City.
17:21So, I'm up 68.4 units for the season.
17:2617% ROI, 65% strike rate, not to brag.
17:32But I'll also be taking the Houston Texans.
17:35I love getting three and a half.
17:37Yeah.
17:37Because what they're telling you is it's probably going to be a close game.
17:41Yeah.
17:41And we're going to say that you get the field goal and the hook.
17:45So, if the Texans win, I win.
17:47And I think right now, the way these teams are playing, I think there's like a 50% chance
17:51the Texans win.
17:52Yep.
17:52Okay.
17:53Then, let's say there's, where's the chance the Chiefs win?
17:5650%.
17:56But how much of that is by more than three and a half?
18:01Right.
18:01I'd say about 20% chance the Chiefs win by a field goal.
18:06So, now I feel like I have a 70% chance to win that bet and 30% chance to lose.
18:10Yeah.
18:11That's all the Texans do is play close games.
18:13So, I like that one.
18:14I like that one a lot.
18:15Ross?
18:15We hardly ever, by half a millimeter, make or miss an extra point.
18:22Right.
18:23Yes.
18:23It'll be fine.
18:24It'll be just fine.
18:25Oh, my gosh.
18:26Is someone doing more research into that?
18:29No.
18:30Why bother?
18:30Look into the Chiefs.
18:31Yeah.
18:32On to the Chiefs.
18:32Looks fine.
18:33Yeah.
18:33I don't know what everybody's...
18:34I don't know what the hell you're talking about, camera angles and whatnot.
18:36Yeah.
18:36I know what everybody's all upset about.
18:37I almost forgot about that.
18:39But I want to see, like, somebody has to have the answer, right?
18:44Oh, man.
18:44I've been so duped so many times by camera angles that I can't say one way or the other
18:49whether that was definitely in or definitely out.
18:52It's just, the camera placement matters so much.
18:55And the NFL, with all of its billions of dollars, can't afford a few cheap little high-def
19:00cameras to put it right angles on the end line and behind the uprights.
19:05There is, Ross, there's literally one person that would know for sure, and it's the referee
19:12standing underneath the upright.
19:14Other than that, we're all just guessing because of what Seth just said.
19:16One of those referees that you can't stop yapping about and gushing praise for.
19:20I mean, but he might have messed up.
19:24No, it doesn't happen.
19:26You see your guy, Youngway, Youngway Coup last night?
19:29Yeah, that was beautiful.
19:31That was like the most amazing field goal attempt I've ever seen.
19:34Oh, my God.
19:35He was drunk.
19:37It was crazy.
19:39Hey, real quick, and just to back you up, Ross, man, I hadn't realized that Sam Darnold
19:44has had, in the last three weeks, two worst ratings of the season or in two of the last
19:50three games.
19:51I mean, part of that, but they also had, you know, a couple of good, one was the loss
19:56to the Rams.
19:56The other one, they scored, they scored a boatload of points.
19:59It was, oh, they beat down Tennessee.
20:01He was just taking it.
20:02Oh, no, that was the Minnesota.
20:04They beat down Minnesota, 26-0.
20:05Beat his old team.
20:06He only threw for like 120 yards or something.
20:08No, he hasn't played well in a few weeks now.
20:11Yeah.
20:11Yep.
20:12It's something to keep an eye on.
20:14For sure.
20:14For sure.
20:15That's our Odyssey NFL insider, Ross Tucker.
20:17Insider Call is brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
20:21Nationwide is on your side.
20:23Hey, Ross, we'll catch up with you next Tuesday.
20:24Always enjoy it, man.
20:26Sounds great.
20:26See you, dude.
20:27All right, see you.
20:27That's the great Ross Tucker joining us here.
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