- 1 week ago
Seth and Sean talk with Audacy NFL Insider Ross Tucker about Texans vs Steelers and where the Texans sit in this race for the AFC.
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00:00Happy New Year.
00:01I have a text that I'm going to read to you here, and it says this.
00:04It's Ross Tucker Tuesday.
00:06I take my 14-year-old to school every Tuesday so we can listen to Ross's interview together.
00:12We look forward to it every week.
00:14He's so good, and the three of y'all's vibe is so fun.
00:17Happy New Year.
00:17Go Texans.
00:20Wow.
00:21That's a nice way to start off the year with us, right, Ross?
00:24That is so, so cool.
00:27You know, I get feedback a lot, like the stuff I do locally, or I call the Eagles game on Sunday, which was cool,
00:35and had about 100 text messages after the game.
00:38But, you know, it's just cool for me to picture, I don't know, is it a dad and son?
00:44Is it a mom and daughter?
00:46I have no idea, some combination of which.
00:49I guess my initial reaction is it's a dad and son, but I have no idea.
00:54Whatever it is, I don't care.
00:57It's incredibly cool to hear that.
01:02It's funny because I don't often think, when we're doing this, and as you guys know, I cheat on you.
01:08I do this all over the country, right?
01:09It's okay.
01:10So, like, later today I'll do Buffalo, I'll do Kansas City, I'll do Cleveland.
01:15Like, you're not the only girl in town.
01:18Right, right.
01:19Well, you are the only girl in town.
01:22You're not the only girl in the country.
01:24But are we one of your favorite girls?
01:26Where's go-to in Houston?
01:27Yeah, yeah.
01:28Are we one of your favorite girls?
01:30That's what we want to know.
01:31You know what?
01:34Yeah, you guys might be.
01:36I don't know.
01:37It's cool in all sincerity.
01:38I have a really good relationship with, like, the Buffalo guys, the Cleveland guys.
01:42It's cool.
01:43I genuinely enjoy, like, going on with you guys and doing these.
01:49I don't know.
01:49Hopefully that comes across, I guess, to the dad and the 14-year-old.
01:53To at least one guy in his car, it's coming across.
01:55You know what?
01:56No, Ross, and this is one thing, honestly.
01:58Like, some of the best feedback, or at least the most touching feedback we ever get is that
02:02every now and then somebody will say, hey, like, I was in a really bad place at this point in my life.
02:06And that's when I started listening to you guys.
02:08And I kind of, like, I look at you guys as, man, that's the way I get my day started and things are back on track.
02:16And they'll kind of profess, yeah.
02:20Like, oh, man.
02:24That's a lot of pressure.
02:25Just by being a silly bastard that shows up every now and then.
02:29But, you know, aside from just, you know, working and everything, it's, yeah, you can, it's more than just,
02:34just because we talk about a completely meaningless thing in sports or whatever,
02:38it does have meaning to people out there because you're a part of their routine.
02:41There you go.
02:43It is so cool.
02:45And I've always thought of that, which is why I never, like, on my podcast and stuff,
02:50I never get into politics.
02:52I never get into anything divisive because I guess I've always looked at it like,
02:58especially, I mean, I think sports talk radio, too.
03:00But also, especially on a podcast, like, if they are choosing to, you know, consume my content,
03:09it's not because they want to hear what I have to say about the Venezuelan president.
03:14You know what I mean?
03:16Like, anything but that.
03:18And by the way, just for the record, I don't pay attention to the news or politics at all
03:23because, as you guys can tell, I'm a very happy, optimistic person.
03:29And I feel like that stuff is just very, very negative.
03:32And I choose to not include that in my consumption habits.
03:37And I don't know, it's kind of working for me.
03:39So that's also why I would never, ever, ever speak in any way about any topic like that
03:45because I think one of the only things, one of the biggest things I learned in college is
03:49don't talk about things you don't know what you're talking about.
03:52That might be, like, the biggest problem in our country right now
03:55is the amount of people that want to say their opinion about things they don't know crap about.
04:00You know, that was one of the funniest.
04:02Somebody forwarded an ex-post to me once of some young guy
04:06who was talking about how stupid his dad was about some political issue.
04:11And he said something that he recited something that his dad had said to him.
04:15And the kid's response was, bro, you get your news from Payne and Pendergast.
04:25That's how we knew we were hitting it right on the screws.
04:28Right on the screws.
04:30All right, Ross.
04:30One thing we know you do know a lot about is NFL football.
04:35So this matchup with the Texans and the Steelers, I guess I want to go back to Sunday night.
04:40If you were a Steeler fan, Ross, watching that Ravens-Steelers game,
04:45which side would you have been rooting for to want to go play in the first round of the playoffs?
04:52If you're a Texans fan.
04:53If you're a Texans fan, yeah.
04:54If you're a Texans fan.
04:55Yeah.
04:57Oh, sorry.
04:57Yeah.
04:58I thought you were doing the whole Steelers fan.
05:01Would you rather won or lost to Mike Tomlin?
05:03So Mike Tomlin can win.
05:04Yeah, no, no.
05:05I meant Texans.
05:05Because you guys know I live in Central PA.
05:08What's up?
05:08Yeah.
05:09I live in Central PA.
05:11And, man, a lot of Steelers fans around here, they really do not like Mike Tomlin,
05:17and they're really ready to move on from him, especially if he doesn't get this playoff win
05:22on Monday night.
05:24You know, a couple thoughts, by the way.
05:27First of all, do you guys realize that the Texans were winless until I called a game for them on CBS?
05:34Wow.
05:34It's you and JJ.
05:35JJ, why?
05:35You and JJ are undefeated.
05:37JJ's 4-0, Ross.
05:39Yeah, you and JJ.
05:40Nice.
05:41Yeah, that's fine.
05:42JJ, whatever.
05:43More like JJ, whatever.
05:46He listens to the show.
05:48He may be listening right now, Ross.
05:51Guess what?
05:52Guess what?
05:53He knows.
05:54He knows I'm a huge fan of him on a lot of levels.
05:57We text every once in a while now.
05:59He's doing a terrific job on TV.
06:00But I was, yeah, I think they were 0 for 3, and they were hosting the Titans.
06:08It was like the Cam Ward return home game.
06:12And ever since then, they went on a heck of a run.
06:15So that's number one.
06:16Number two, I actually have pulling double duty this weekend.
06:21It's the Keystone State double.
06:25So Sunday, I'll be in the booth for Eagles Niners.
06:29And then for the first, I only do this for two playoff games a year.
06:33Monday night, I'll be on the sideline for Texas State, which I love.
06:38I love, it's sideline radio.
06:40It'll be Harlan and Kurt Warner in the booth.
06:43But I love, love, love sideline for playoff games because the energy is just unbelievable.
06:51And I love, love, love, you know, just seeing it up close.
06:55And so it's, I tell my buddies this.
06:59And Sean, I don't know if you've ever done it.
07:01Maybe you have, maybe you haven't.
07:03If I could gift my friends and family, like, one thing, other than, you know, three more wishes,
07:11it would be to be able to be on the sideline for an NFL game, and in particular, NFL playoff game.
07:18I just, it's kind of like, oh, ice hockey on TV, you can't really see, you can't really tell how fast they're moving.
07:27In the NFL on TV, you have no idea just how fast things are happening out there and how hard they're really hitting.
07:40I mean, when they, when it's an outside play, you can feel, like, you can hear the pounding.
07:48You can feel it coming towards you like it's a herd of buffalo.
07:53Like, you can hear the running on the ground.
07:55It's like, and I always see these guys on the sideline that they wait until the guys get to, like, you know, outside the numbers.
08:03It's too late by then, bro.
08:05I am, you know, if it's coming towards me, I'm not tearing an ACL for any of these dudes.
08:09I get back, like, 15 yards.
08:12So, obviously, you can't watch me Monday night.
08:15I mean, you can't listen to me Monday night.
08:17When you're watching a game Monday night, I usually wear, like, an orange jacket.
08:21I'll try to wear something where I stand out.
08:22So, anytime a guy goes out of bounds, I try to get up there, like, help him up.
08:27Like, I try to get as much TV time as I possibly can.
08:30Oh, we will look for you.
08:31We will look for you for sure.
08:33Hey, real quick, insider calls brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs.
08:38Nationwide is on your side.
08:40Just back to the original question, though, Ross.
08:42Should we have been rooting for the Steelers or rooting for the Ravens on Sunday night for our matchup here?
08:46Absolutely should have been rooting for the Steelers.
08:51Absolutely.
08:52I mean, I can still foresee a scenario where the Ravens – I could have foreseen a scenario where, you know, Lamar gets hot and the Ravens go on a playoff run.
09:06And it would not have – I mean, it wouldn't have been likely, but it wouldn't have blown me away if they, you know, if they went on a playoff run and, like, went to the Super Bowl.
09:17I don't see that for the Steelers.
09:20I don't envision that for the Steelers.
09:22I mean, let's put it this way.
09:24The Texans are what?
09:25Three-point favorites?
09:26Yes.
09:27Yeah, they would not be three-point favorites in Baltimore.
09:30No.
09:30That's actually – have you guys done the research on that?
09:33I would love to know what the betting line would have been if they were playing in Baltimore against the Ravens.
09:41But I wouldn't even be surprised – I mean, it would have been maybe one-and-a-half either way.
09:47Maybe even Ravens favored by more.
09:50There was an email that came out during the game on – during the Ravens-Steelers game on Sunday night.
09:56That's when they – all the – for the next week on Sunday night.
09:59And they – the line at the time, the opening line for Steelers-Texans would have been a pick-em.
10:05Steelers-Ravens would have been three-and-a-half.
10:07Obviously, we know – or, I'm sorry, Ravens-Texans would have been three-and-a-half.
10:11So, yeah, about a field goal.
10:13The Ravens laying three-and-a-half.
10:14The Ravens laying three-and-a-half to the Texans, yes.
10:18Yeah, so there's no doubt if you're a Texans fan, you're happy that the Ravens kid missed that kick.
10:24Absolutely.
10:25If you're Ross Tucker and you live an hour and 15 minutes north of Baltimore, but three hours and 15 minutes east of Pittsburgh,
10:32you're not very happy at all with Tyler.
10:35Because he just cost you four hours of your life.
10:38That's right.
10:38You know, Ross, we've talked about this with you before.
10:41And, you know, especially in the first half of the season,
10:44one of the biggest indicators of whether the Texans' offense would look functional or not
10:49was how tough and physical are the defensive linemen that they're facing.
10:53And that was my one hang-up with trying to evaluate whether the Ravens or the Steelers would be a better matchup.
10:59It's that the Steelers, they've just got more full-grown men, just studs on their defensive line.
11:05And T.J. Watt, obviously, is the big name.
11:07But Cam Hayward is that guy who can play on the interior and you go back to Jeffrey Simmons or Chris Jones
11:14or some of these guys that have really given the Texans fits.
11:17I just, the Texans' offensive line has really stabilized and improved over the second half of the season.
11:21But that's still my big concern is just specifically Cam Hayward.
11:26Well, he's, I'm so amazed by what some of these guys do at their age now.
11:32I mean, he led all NFL D tackles.
11:37And how old is this guy?
11:41I mean, he was born in 89, 36 years old.
11:45Yeah.
11:45I mean, it is just absolutely incredible.
11:51He's like a Hall of Fame player.
11:52I mean, he's four-time first-team All-Pro.
11:56He's seven-time Pro Bowler.
11:59I mean, he's got a legit chance at the Hall of Fame.
12:02And I can see that part of it, I would say, Seth.
12:05But their defense still hasn't even been that great.
12:08You know, like, he's doing a good job.
12:10They're better with the Harmon, the first-round kid from Oregon.
12:14But I think their secondary can be had.
12:17And I don't think that they're going to score very many points against the Texans' defense.
12:22I mean, that would surprise me.
12:25Ross Tucker is our Odyssey NFL insider, joining us here on Sports Radio 610, as he does each and every week.
12:31Just looking at the playoffs at large, Ross, what would you say?
12:35What is the – because it's a crazy postseason here, especially in the AFC,
12:39where the top three seeds are Denver, New England, and Jacksonville.
12:44And those three quarterbacks have combined for one playoff win.
12:46And then you've got the NFC, where Sam Darnold's at the tippy-top of that.
12:50But, you know, crazy, crazy playoff tapestry, what do you feel like is the safest bet in the playoffs right now?
12:58Did you say tippy-top?
13:00Tippy-top.
13:01Yeah, the very tippy-top.
13:02You're a tippy-top guy?
13:04I'm a collateral material guy and a tippy-top guy.
13:06That is a tippy-top show.
13:07Yeah.
13:08Yeah.
13:08Okay.
13:09All right.
13:09We're tippy-top guys.
13:10So, it's funny.
13:14My initial instinct is that the winner of the Bills-Jags game is going to go to the Super Bowl.
13:23Okay.
13:23I like that.
13:24I don't like that, but it's interesting.
13:25The Jags are playing awesome right now.
13:29Interestingly, the Bills are still favored in that one.
13:32Nobody believes – the Jags have won like a zillion games in a row, and nobody cares.
13:37Texans, I guess, fall in that category, too, but it's funny.
13:42I just call it a gut hunch or whatever.
13:45I just – I think that that's who I would feel best about, probably, is whoever wins that Bills-Jags game.
13:53But I do think – I think we talked about this last week.
13:56There's a very real opportunity for the Texans.
13:58I mean, first of all, you definitely have the best first-round opponent.
14:02I think you'd rather play the Steelers than any other team that's in the playoffs.
14:07I'd rather play the Steelers, I think, than the Chargers, even though you just beat them, or the Bills.
14:12And so that's a good thing.
14:15And then even if you win, let's say you win and you have to go to Denver, I'm not scared of Denver.
14:21I know Denver's at the tippy-top of the AFC, you know, seating, but I'm not afraid of the tippy-top Broncos.
14:27Ross, Ross, you're exactly right about the Jaguars' win streak and how it doesn't feel like people are necessarily giving it the credibility that perhaps they should.
14:35Even though they beat Denver and the Chargers on that win streak.
14:39The thing that sets that up even better, if you have to do a 30-second intro to that game, if you're broadcasting it,
14:45the last time the Jaguars lost a game, it was to the Houston Texans on November 9th.
14:50So if the Texans face the Jaguars in the playoffs, those teams will both be on long winnings.
14:57The last time the Jaguars lost was to the Houston Texans.
15:00He coughed up a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter.
15:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:04And because it's the AFC South, because it's the AFC South and people tend not to pay attention to the AFC South,
15:11the Texans at least have a defense that people in the national media love to talk about and have noticed,
15:17but the Jaguars have done it in relative anonymity.
15:19It's a really good point.
15:23And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they both win and you get two AFC South teams in the divisional round.
15:32I mean, it's unlikely, but it's definitely not outside the realm of possibility that we would have an AFC South championship game,
15:41which I think would be incredible as one of the world's foremost experts in AFC South football on the CBS 6 crew.
15:50That would be good for me and my people, you know?
15:54And your people.
15:57You are carrying on the legacy of Steve Tasker so well.
16:02That's why Houston loves you so much, Ross.
16:04You're one of us, man.
16:05Hey, listen, I think I did four Titans games.
16:10I think I only did one Texans, though, right?
16:13I think that might be the only Texans game I did.
16:15I did Colts.
16:16I did Jags.
16:17I did three or four Titans.
16:19Yeah.
16:20That's interesting.
16:21I only did that one Texans game.
16:22Yeah.
16:23Well, you know, we got on that winning streak and we started getting...
16:27That's all you guys needed for me.
16:27Then my work was done.
16:28Yeah, no.
16:29We were...
16:30At 0-3, we were sixth-team CBS material.
16:33They get on that long winning streak and now J.J. wide.
16:38No, that's...
16:38That's actually crazy because J.J. and Ian are the number two crew.
16:42That's actually wild that the Texans have had the number two CBS crew for that many years.
16:474-0.
16:48Yeah.
16:484-0 with J.J. and Ian.
16:50And annoyingly, J.J. has been very good at being impartial during those broadcasts.
16:55There are actually a lot of...
16:56There's a number of people in Houston that are kind of like,
16:58Hey, J.J., hey, why don't you quit it with the impartiality?
17:01Right.
17:02Okay?
17:02You don't have to say that was a good call that went in the Colts' favor.
17:05And Colts fans are like, This guy's not bad.
17:07Yeah.
17:07I like this guy.
17:09That is exactly what I got on Sunday because I didn't play for the Eagles, but I do their
17:16preseason games.
17:17And I do work for them during the season.
17:19In a sense, I do like their NBC pregame show that I record earlier in the week.
17:26I do a social media thing.
17:28Some people know me as the little Caesars guy because the Eagles put it through on the
17:31push notification.
17:33Like, so it's funny because there were some Eagles fans.
17:37You know, I saw some people.
17:38Most people said terrific job, but some people were like, you know, some of those calls that
17:43you didn't have to say they were all the right call.
17:46He literally tackled the guy.
17:50And hey, and Ross, not to stereotype, but JJ having to deal with hostile Houston Texan
17:56fans, probably much easier than dealing with hostile Philadelphia Eagle fans is my guess.
18:02Yes.
18:02Yeah.
18:02I think that JJ, I mean, JJ's a first ballot Hall of Famer for the team.
18:08I'm just some slob.
18:10He didn't get mooned by his father-in-law on his way home.
18:15Right.
18:15Exactly.
18:17Exactly.
18:18Tucker, our Odyssey NFL insider insider calls brought to you by Nationwide for your insurance
18:22and financial needs.
18:23Nationwide is on your side.
18:25All right.
18:25So, Ross, just to recap, we look forward to having you on the sidelines for the Texans and
18:32the Steelers playoff game on Monday night, a game that you can hear.
18:36Well, we won't hear that.
18:37We'll get the Texans broadcast on that one.
18:38But around the country, you can hear Ross doing the sidelines.
18:42It doesn't matter.
18:42I'm on sidelines.
18:43I only say like five things anyway.
18:45But we'll look for you.
18:46We'll look for you in a bright orange jacket helping guys up.
18:50Yeah.
18:50My wife thinks it's becoming a little discolored, so I might not.
18:53I don't know which.
18:54Here's what you need to do.
18:55Follow me on social media at Ross Tucker NFL.
18:58Okay.
18:58So that you see what I'm wearing that night.
19:00And then literally anytime a guy goes out of bounds, look for me.
19:05I go back first.
19:06I don't want to get hurt.
19:07I get way out of the way.
19:08Okay.
19:08But then when all these other slowpokes, when they start to get out of the way, I'm already
19:13coming back in because I know the guy's going down on the ground.
19:16I'm going to come help him up.
19:17Look at you.
19:17That is amazing.
19:19The great Ross Tucker joining us here.
19:21He is the tippy top of guests on this show.
19:23And he's going to go do the tippy top of betting podcasts.
19:25I would imagine here shortly.
19:27The even money betting podcast, right?
19:29In three minutes.
19:30I got to go.
19:31All right.
19:31See you, Ross.
19:32See you, boys.
19:33All right.
19:33Take care.
19:34That's the great Ross Tucker.
19:35Take care.
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