The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - ABC7 Curt Sandoval Joins The Show Talking NFL/Rams

Episode Date: September 4, 2025

ABC7 Curt Sandoval Joins The Show Talking NFL/Rams

Can you name me a ram you hate? Roman Gabriel. You really hate Roman Gabriel? What did Roman Gabriel do to you? Just kidding. I don't know. I was not prepared for Roman Gabriel hate. No, you weren't, were you?

All right. I'm sure our next guest is like, what the hell have I just signed myself up for here? Sorry, apologies in advance. Kurt Sandoval, ABC 7 on the Mad Tauvin Show, Ross. Kurt, how are you? Thanks for joining us. Roman Gabriel. Come on, man.

Okay. Since you've been in L.A. all your life, who is your least favorite ram? We won't tell anybody. I swear to God, it'll be just between us. I don't have a least favorite ram, you know? I have a least favorite Dodger. We could talk Dodgers Astros. That would bring out the hate, right?

Oh. Well, you know, we'll call you in October. Don't you think we won't we calling you for that. I would love it. Kurt is with ABC 7I Witness News. I watch that channel all the time when I'm out there with the Lakers and the Clippers. By the way, real quick, before we get to the Rams, how is the split among fan base chargers to Rams in Los Angeles,

both teams being there within the last decade? I would say 8-1 Rams. It really is. A lot of it stems from the Roman Gabriel days, you know, the fact that the Rams were here before, for one. Right. And two, Southern California has a love-hate relationship with San Diego, They consider them a little brother.

And, you know, the Chargers are, people still think it's San Diego's team. So San Diego doesn't, ever since they moved, you know, Dean Spamos is a horrible, you know, four-letter word, the owner of the Chargers. But I'll tell you, with Harbaugh and Justin Herbert, that seems going to be pretty darn good this year. So that's the best marketing tool, as you guys well know. So you as a longtime sports reporter there, you have to cover a variety of professionals. teams, you've got Clippers, Lakers, you've got RAM. You mean, you as a station have to decide what people care about, right? I mean, you're not really frankly giving it all equal treatment, are you? No, not at all. And in fact, it's really a unique situation. I've been here

at KBC 26 years. I spent four years in San Diego. I'm from Denver, actually worked for the Broncos, and that's probably more similar to Houston or Dallas. You know, it's, it's, it's It's if the Cowboys or the Broncos by a file cabinet, it's front page news, right? Out here, it's really a Laker town, really Dodger Town right now as the world champions and the sky is falling right now. And then it's Lakers. And then you could say Rams are third USC 3A and then everybody else. You know, every team has it to die hard, but that's kind of the big three. You're not leading with Anaheim Money Ducks highlights

is what you're trying to tell me then basically. But when they went to the, you know, Stanley Cup, everybody loved the Ducks. Was that 2005? You're asking me? I have no. If you said, Kurt, if you said, I'll give you $1,000 for every duck,

I could, I'd give you Donald Daffian. And it'd be about as far as we go. I couldn't name you a duck. All right, let's get to the Rams. There has been one storyline, period into story for this entire training camp. and that has been Matthew Stafford's back. How is it right now in your best estimation?

Well, my best estimation is it's doable. I mean, he slings it at practice. He looks good, but when you watch him stretching, he's the one guy who's not going to get on the ground. So when he gets hit to the ground, what's that going to entail? That's the elephant in the room. Anybody with a bad back knows, you know, it's tough. It's a very iffy situation at best.

That being said, man, the dude's not to be cliche. He is as tough as nails. He's dealt with injuries, his whole life. He's been sacked, you know, going back to the Detroit days, over 500 times in his career. But he's a coach on the field. He is the most cerebral player I have ever met. I mean, he's right there with Peyton Manning

in terms of cerebral knowledge of the game and quarterback on the field. But man, that is such the elephant in the room. What will it be when he gets hit? hit hard. What about Devante Adams? How is he looked and how do you think he fits in as getting a little bit older? We know how great

he has been in the past, but age 32 can be a tricky season for wide receivers. No question. I will say he has looked sensational. And so you kind of go back to the timing and the connection with quarterback and wide receiver and they were

you know, it was like a passing league in the offseason and both those two guys are great leaders, incredibly cerebral, really smart, re-defense as well. And Devante, when they scrimmaged the Cowboys, man, it was jaw-dropping, how good he looked. You put him in a Sean McVeigh system. I think he's, you know, if you haven't had your fantasy draft pick, you know, draft yet, I would highly go all in on Devonte Adams. I think he's going to have a really big year.

You match him with Puka Nakua and this wide receiver core. and a good offense line. If Stafford stays healthy, this is a team that, you know, won the Super Bowl a few years ago. And that season was the last year that they saw the Texans, right, back in October in Houston.

And this team offensively is better than that team on paper. Will they do it? We'll see. Obviously, they lose a great leader in Cooper Cup. But Devante is, my goodness, guys. I mean, former basketball player in high school, he can still get up.

He still reads routes. He looks incredible. But, you know, they haven't hit anybody yet, right? So you say that with an asterisk. Kurt Sandoval, ABC 7 in Los Angeles with us here on Sports Talk 790. What can you tell us about Nick Cayley? What was he thought of over there in L.A.? What do we expect?

And do you think there's any sort of advantage gained on either side with the familiarity of Nick Cayley and his offense and what he wants to do and with his familiarity with the Rams. Boy, that's a million dollar question. You know, Sean alluded to that yesterday that this is the one week, right, that there's no, you kind of know what guys are going to do, but you kind of don't. And I think that's going to be a big thing that's going to play out. along that exact same line, you know, out here, small pivot, C.J. Stroud from Rancho Cucamonga, just personally, I think the world of him as a human being for what he did. You guys, I've never even talked to him. I've seen him at Laker games. But, you know, the coordinators on both sides are saying, you know, we need to play rules football. We need to play rules football. That to me is the wild card in this game Sunday.

You know, you talk about coordinators and teams knowing each other. They know the inside, but Sean McVeigh is really, really, really good in opening games. This is his ninth season. He's eight and six and two games. His two losses. One was the year after they won the Super Bowl came out flat against the bills. The other loss was last year in Detroit in just a fabulous game. So I think it's a little bit of hide-and-go-seek, it would be to answer your question.

Kurt, the number one concern for the Texans going in, and it's going to be this way the entire season is the offensive line. The Rams have a very stout defensive three-four assessment. How good are they going to be this week? How good are they going to be this year? And are they going to be good enough? Ultimately, I think the NFC is wide open. I really do. Is it just about keeping Stapford healthy?

Is it about the defense performing up to expectations? I think a lot of people are very nervous around here, whether this defensive front is going to call CJ and the offensive line some issues this week. Yeah, that's a great point. And, man, I just love week one because, A, there's excitement, B, there's, let's call what it is. There's overreaction on both sides. So to answer your question, the Rams defensive line really finished strong,

really finished strong last year. Statistically, they weren't that good top to bottom because they started horrible. I mean, and Chris Shula would say as much, their defensive coordinator. This team was 1 and 4 last year. They were getting beat pretty bad. But boy, did they flip the switch. And again, last year, ridiculously young, starting two rookies in Jared Verse and I'm just

drawn a blank 55. Anyway, my brain will wake up here in just a minute. But defensive line-wise, they're young and they're strong. Braden Fisky. Braden Fiske. Yeah, Brayden Fiske. Okay, sorry. His kids call him Frisky, though.

Go ahead. Continue on. And Brayden Fiske is coming off a knee injury that he hurt in the playoff loss to the Eagles. But he completely healthy. Kobe Turner, sensational. Byron Young, sensational. I mean, they're really still young. third year team, but oh my God, you guys cheer at first.

If you're watching the game, you know, just watch number eight on defense. He will talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And then at the end of the game, he'll say, you know, to the opposing player that he's been going up against Houston, he'll go, man, you made me better today. You know, he's that kind of guy. But I think that's, you know, not to get into the X's and O's. That's one of the, you know, it really is going to come down. down to the two line on the other side.

When you asked about Stafford, Stafford has to stay healthy. I mean, Jimmy Groplo is, if you have to go to your backup, that's a really good backup. He's not going to throw it deep. But he, in the scrimmage against the Cowboys guys, he was 30 of 33. I mean, he really knows the offense. But you got to have Stafford healthy, and that's the million-dollar question. I mean, and both offensive lines. I'll tell you the other really, really quick, fabulous story.

Alaric Jackson, the offensive lineman for the Rams, he had blood clots in his legs. And, you know, if you twist an ankle, okay, I know if my ankle's good. I got blood clots. How do you know if you're really good? He says it's a fatigue thing. He gets screened every day. He's going to start.

That's a big, big, big story on Sunday as well. Kurt, really appreciate the insight. I look forward to meeting you at a Rockets Clippers or Rockets Lakers game. In worst case, we're going to have you on for the Dodgers Astros World Series preview if you're okay with that. Well, you know what? There's a lot of great connections with what the Rockets are going to be this year. And I'm not from L.A. I just cover that team in blue.

And so anytime we can talk, Astros, Dodgers, bring me on. I love the conversation. Do you fear for your life when you go to Dodger games? I don't, listen, we could spend an hour talking about this. I don't want to put you in a spot. I was just teasing. Here's the two things. Dodger fans, God bless them, they're the most arrogant fans,

and that was before they won the World Series. So that arrogance, to be very honest, and I'm not saying anything that I wouldn't say, you know, inside the stadium. It starts from the front office. There are some great players. Dave Roberts, love them, dear. I'm old enough to say I covered Dave Roberts in high school in San Diego. Good manager. Shohei is the greatest pleasure of your career, anyone who gets to cover Shohei. But, oh my gosh, the arrogance. It's tough to stomach sometimes. So I try to hit it down the middle of the fairway, so to speak. I think it's a fabulous, fabulous conversation.

And I don't think the Dodgers are going to go back to the World Series. But if they did and they play the Astros, that would be a dream. And I hope it happens just so we can all talk again. Because Matt, John Ireland speaks so highly of you. And I appreciate you guys having me on. He's a good man, a good friend. And Kurt, you're now best. He's because of him.

Thank you, friend, for the time. We really appreciate it. Hey, you bet, guys. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Kurt's Hand of all joining us, ABC 7.