00:00The reach will be bigger, the signal will be clearer,
00:04and the path to find all the Sports Radio 610, 95.7, the fan crew,
00:11will be easier, but damn sure, to find a drive.
00:1395.7 on your FM dial.
00:15Tell all your people about it.
00:16Make sure you join us tomorrow.
00:19And again, big shout-out to everybody that made it happen.
00:24That's right, it is.
00:25It's a new day, and we're on to bigger and better things.
00:28It's going to be fun tomorrow.
00:30Come join us.
00:31Come on over all day long and for the foreseeable future, 95.7, the fan.
00:38Got some swag, boys.
00:40Got a half zip.
00:41Got a polo.
00:42I got one, too.
00:43You did?
00:43They gave you one, too?
00:44I didn't know if it was going to hold out on you
00:45or maybe just give you one and not both of them.
00:46They gave me both of them.
00:47They gave me both of them.
00:49Yeah, got some.
00:50Well, they may have given one to Rob.
00:52I'm thinking about –
00:55Joint Clint and Rob.
00:56Yeah, that guy right there, man,
00:58when Ron's out, Rob's in.
00:59Of course you're ready.
01:00Yeah, I'm thinking about getting some hats made with the logo, too,
01:04just to make this thing official, man.
01:05And so, me and Tyler, you want to jump in on it?
01:07You want to jump in on it?
01:08You want to be a part of it?
01:09It ain't free now.
01:10It ain't free.
01:11It ain't on the station.
01:12It ain't free.
01:13I'll set this one out.
01:13Oh, you're going to set that one out?
01:14Yeah, you don't need no clean, Ashley.
01:16Yeah, no.
01:16You don't need that.
01:16I just bought a car.
01:17All right, y'all.
01:18Hey, look here.
01:19Yeah, you did.
01:19You got a car note for the first time in a while.
01:22A car.
01:23It's got a gym membership.
01:24Yeah, man.
01:25You got a lot going on.
01:26You got a lot going on.
01:26You better save that.
01:27You better save that $100, man.
01:29Oh, yeah, I'm out.
01:31Well, you get more than one hat.
01:32You get multiple hats, multiple colors, man.
01:35Rep your new station, bro.
01:37What's the hell?
01:37What's the deal, man?
01:40I'll give you a few days to think about that.
01:42August the 30th.
01:43Don't need them.
01:44Speaking of a few days.
01:46Speaking of a few days.
01:47August the 30th is cut down date for the Texans.
01:51That's when they cut from, I don't know, looks like they've got about 200 guys out there
01:54right now, down to 53.
01:56They don't really have 200 guys.
01:57I'm joking.
01:58But whatever it is, August 30th, the Texans will be at a 53-man roster.
02:04Now, I'm sure Nick will tell you, as he always does, is their practice squad is not just a
02:12practice squad.
02:13They move players up and down, and it's an extension of the roster.
02:17But they got to cut to 53 August the 30th.
02:21And, Ron, I think there's three pressing questions right now with the Houston Texans that just
02:27simply have to be flushed out by August the 30th.
02:31And if you look at it, it's August 12th right now.
02:33August 30th, you think 18 days.
02:36Well, over that 18 days, you've got three preseason games, which are typically a walk-through travel
02:41day before and an off day after.
02:44You've got the actual cut-down date, so it takes that day out of the mix.
02:49So you look at it.
02:51There's eight practices plus right now we've got three preseason games, which most guys
02:55aren't going to play in, right?
02:57Especially the guys that we're talking about right now probably aren't going to get a ton
03:00of run in the preseason games.
03:02So you've got really eight practices, right?
03:04But there's three things that the Texans have to get flushed out, and they've only got a
03:09handful of work days, time on task, if you will, to get it done.
03:13In no particular order, Ron, tell me if I'm crazy.
03:16Give me your thoughts on these.
03:18Number one, is Braden Smith worth the money?
03:23Two-year contract, $20 million, worth up to $25 million.
03:2913-5, I believe, guaranteed.
03:32Eight and a half guaranteed at signing for Braden Smith.
03:35And here we are, two weeks into training camp, the eve of the first preseason game, and Braden
03:45Smith is in a dogfight with Trent Brown for the starting right tackle position.
03:51And all evidence up to this point makes it appear that he is maybe losing that dogfight right
03:59now.
04:00When the unofficial depth chart came out, he was listed as the one behind Trent Brown.
04:05Trent Brown, I would say, has got the bulk of the run with the one.
04:09So by that metric, it looks like maybe he's even trailing in this.
04:14So is Braden Smith worth the money?
04:16In other words, are you all right with paying your back up right tackle $20 million over the
04:22next two years, right?
04:24So ultimately, is he worth the money, meaning does he earn the starting job, and do we get
04:29$20 million out of him, or is he expensive depth that potentially could be traded the
04:35way we saw Cam Robinson at the left tackle position get traded last year?
04:40So, Ron, Braden Smith, number one.
04:43Is he worth the money or not?
04:44What do you think happens there?
04:47I mean, right now, I would think Trent starts.
04:50I'm telling you.
04:51Right, right.
04:51I mean, I just, it is, I understand to follow the money, and he's getting, you know, he got
04:57$20 or something like that guaranteed, and he's getting $10 this year, and I know that
05:02it's $5 million for Trent Brown, and generally you follow the money.
05:07But man, like, at some point, he's got to take over the gig.
05:11Yeah.
05:11And we're not seeing that.
05:13And the other part we've talked about, they trust Trent Brown.
05:17Yeah.
05:18Well, if you're not significantly better than Trent Brown, Trent Brown's going to get denied.
05:23I've been in the offense forever, and I've talked about the strengths of him.
05:27The strengths are real strengths, like game-changing strengths.
05:30If both of these right tackles end up having warts, then they're probably going to go with
05:35Trent Brown.
05:35So, we'll see.
05:36But is Braden Smith worth the money?
05:38Number two.
05:39Can Marlon Klein, rookie, second-round draft pick, tight end, be an impact player, not just
05:46in general, and not someday, can he be an impact player week one?
05:50Ron, we've seen a couple of highlights from him recently in training camp where 6'6", 250
05:56ain't supposed to move like that.
05:58Like, 6'6", 250 that moves like that, you go, well, okay, now I understand why he was
06:03a second-round draft pick.
06:05And he has the ability, again, at 6'6", 250 to put his hand in the dirt and do some
06:09things
06:10that these other guys just don't have the ability to do.
06:12And he appears to want to do those things and want to get better at those things.
06:17Your opinion, Marlon Klein, rookie, tight end, impact player week one, or does it take
06:22him longer?
06:23I think it takes him longer.
06:25But, Clint, he's becoming a more serious conversation.
06:32This is not just a...
06:34I mean, there was points in my thoughts leading into this.
06:40Would he be, you know, an IR type of thing?
06:44Would he be like, you know, I wondered if he would, if this would almost in some way try
06:50to be pushed as like a redshirt type of thing.
06:52But he has had a huge jump in a week.
06:57And that's just to us.
06:59That jump may have started before that to them, moving into, because they're giving him more.
07:05He's made it a conversation that, yo, like this guy, just a project for the future, this
07:13guy might be somebody that is a part of this.
07:16So I think it's going to take a little bit of time before Buffalo, but I think he is kind
07:22of gearing towards that.
07:23And I think they potentially view him differently than they did a couple of weeks ago.
07:28I think there's been two guys on this team in training camp that are depth players, whether
07:31it be a veteran or a rookie, but are depth players that have made plays and showcased
07:37their ability over, you know, 11 practices in 13 or 14 days, whatever it was, that I'm talking
07:44about the kind of practice and the kind of skill set where a head coach goes, how do
07:49I get any more touches?
07:50I know it's going to be tough, but how do I get any more touches?
07:53I think it's Jawar Jordan, and I think it's Marlon Klein.
07:56Marlon Klein is a guy, again, at that size, when you see him catch the ball and run, even
08:01a defensive-minded head coach looks at that and goes, good God, that's got to be an easy
08:05target to hit.
08:06Good God, look what he can do after the catch.
08:08Man, that kind of body in the red zone, in the end zone, running back line, big target for
08:13the quarterback, I mean, that's what he's been able to do.
08:16I think he is, Ron.
08:17I'm not saying he's going to go out there and make impact plays in week one, but I think
08:23he's going to be out there with the opportunity to make impact plays week one.
08:27I don't think they're going to be able to keep him off the field.
08:29I think he's proven enough to be out there and be given the, even if it's just a red
08:34zone, we're going to try to get a chunk play, we're going to try to get an explosive,
08:38let's get him on the field kind of thing, even if it's that.
08:40All right, third, last but not least for me, Ron, it's simple.
08:44Who is Jalen Knoll?
08:45Is Jalen Knoll a return specialist that in a pinch, if you need him, even below Xavier
08:52Hutchinson, can give you a little bit of run if you need him?
08:56Otherwise, he's just a return specialist that plays special teams and is another guy out
09:01there, just a guy out there, a jag?
09:02Or is he what we thought he was a month ago as super explosive, great chemistry, sees
09:10the game through the quarterback's eyes, the ball always finds him, and oh, he's got a
09:14great skill set to be that tight end that we saw back in the day in the New England, not
09:19tight end, slot receiver, that we saw back in that early 2000 Patriot offense that was
09:25so special.
09:26Is he that guy, that ability, does he get there in eight practices, or is this one of
09:32the things where, hey man, you miss some very important moments in training camp, so Higgins
09:41is already that move guy, we're really happy with Hutch, and right now we just need you
09:46to be that return guy.
09:47Who is Jalen Knoll, and you got eight practices to figure it out?
09:52Yeah, he's hard to figure out, and not really him, but he's hard to figure out in terms of
10:01how they feel about him, right?
10:03We talked about it last year, we were surprised that he didn't get more run based off the
10:09things that he was doing when he got opportunities last year, and he seemed to be relegated to
10:15mostly a return guy, and sometimes he gets involved in the offense.
10:22I think, obviously the injury has played a major part, but Clint, I don't know if this
10:29is a situation in which, all right, Nico has missed a couple of days, we know Nico's going
10:33to fall right back into the spot that he was in.
10:35We know that Jarrett Wayne and some of those other guys are just playing in a position and
10:40holding a spot for Nico, and when Nico is healthy, that's going to be his space.
10:46I thought coming into the season that Jalen Knoll was clearly going to be the slot receiver.
10:53They didn't go out and get anybody else.
10:56They let the old Aggie go and just never drafted or brought anyone else in.
11:04So I thought he had a spot.
11:06Now, the emergence of kind of Xavier Hutchinson playing there in that spot, I'm not 100% certain
11:14that he just jumps right into where he was whenever his finger is good enough for him
11:19to play.
11:19Yeah, I think it's something that they've got to get figured out, man, and not that it can't
11:25happen in the regular season, but boy, if you get somebody, as you mentioned, Xavier Hutchinson
11:29that you're real comfortable with, Higgins being that move guy you get real comfortable with,
11:32you start having some success with, all of a sudden the opportunity's out the window.
11:36And so who is Jalen Knoll and how does he help this team win beyond just being that return
11:42specialist?
11:43I really do think that is something that they've got to get flushed out here in the next eight
11:48practices.
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