The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Brian Baldinger of Fox Sports and NFL Network

Episode Date: January 31, 2020

Brian Baldinger of Fox Sports and NFL Network

It is the Matt Thomas Show. It is the Matt Thomas Show broadcasting live from Miami in a radio row here, thanks to the Lottie Center, and Twin Peaks Lodge, Ross v. Real here in Miami. Matt Thomas back in Houston. Now, pleased to be joined by Brian the Baldinger NFL veteran. And I'm just reading like NFL Network, Fox Sports, Compass Media, Intercom, skies where can you just take a breather can you settle down man listen i i like cashing checks oh okay i know every single teller at my bank all the managers i know my first name i like going making little

trips over there all right well it's it's baldy time here on that top of show uh so obviously we're here in houston uh brian let's just go ahead and start off with uh bill o'brien getting named the general manager um puzzling i think to a lot of people nationally locally weren't that surprise but I think especially after what happened in the divisional round, you get up 24 to nothing, you lose, and you get outscored 51 to 7 from that point, and he had basically been running the whole operation, but what do you make of Bill O'Brien

and all the control he has wrestled in this organization, and at least at the highest of levels, the results haven't been there? Well, I don't know why anybody would want all that control. It's just too much. He's like you, man. He's putting on 15 hats. Well, but the problem is, I don't believe there's enough time. Now, I know he's got all kinds of assistance there, but when you're getting ready for the draft and free agency, I don't know that there's enough hours. I mean, look, I don't pretend to do what Daniel Jeremiah does or what Mike Mayock did or whatever.

But, I mean, I do my fair share, and I just know me, if you're looking at these receivers right now, just say if you're looking at that position. I mean, there's a bunch of them. but you might want to see Jerry Judy back as a freshman. You might want to see him. I mean, there's just, it never really ends. And so, Billy's got, it's a lot getting ready, just getting Deshawn ready, getting the offense ready, getting the team ready, understanding like all the injuries they had,

you're signing all these guys, you know, Gary and Connolly and signing all these guys. It's just, I don't know how you can do it all. I really don't. I don't either. And, you know, it's like you said, it's a 24-7 thing because especially during the season, you know, guys go down, you've got to sign tree free-free agents, you've got to bring guys in for workouts, you've got to do all these things.

Like you said, breaking down film. That's my point. It's just too much. And I think it seems like to me sometimes he suffers on the field, I mean, because sometimes, you know, the challenges, the clock management decisions and all those types of things. He's got so much going on. The story here is, look, San Francisco is part of the story here. But like, could Kyle Shanhan did all this without John Lynch? No.

Could any redo this without Brett Veach? No. Or Eric Bien of me? Yes, I mean, you, but the personnel is completely different. It's a different, like, it's good that Billy will know what he's looking for. That will help what he needs. But it's also good to have another voice in the room. Right. It's just good to have arguments.

It's good to, you know, is Laramie Tonsorworth two first round picks? I mean, all those debates. I mean, they're healthy debates. Right. And so, like, who are you debating with? Himself? I don't know. that's the thing. It seems like it's like a dictatorship.

Whereas, I mean, I think. But I also know that, you know, titles can be a little deceiving. I mean, I'm sure there's. Right. That's true. I don't know. He's got help. I don't know everybody in that front office in Houston. I mean, I know who is there. I know who Billy's replacing. But it does seem like there's a great deal of responsibility in addition to coaching.

And I don't know why any coach would want to take it all on. Brian Baldinger here on the Matt Thomas show. And well, let's just talk about Bill then as a coach. What do you make of him and just from a play calling standpoint and those types of things? How good of a head coach do you think he is? Well, I mean, I just spent, I was at the Pro Bowl last week filming film sessions. And so we had Deshawn Watson with me and Kurt Warner. You know, Deshawn obviously is an impressive guy.

They did the best they had with all the injuries. They had it running back. Carlos Hyde had a fine year. They lost the rookie, you know, right tackle. But I thought sharpening was a good pick. I thought Tunsell was the right pick. I thought the offensive line got better. I think the tight ends are really good.

It's just weird that if Will Fuller is not in the lineup, how this offense just sort of crumbles. Like, I don't know why any offense would be so dependent on a number two receiver. Like, I, and the stats just tell you, like, they're just not going to explode, and DeAndre's not going to be as good, and all that stuff. And it just seems, guys are, like, those guys are going to get hurt. They're going to pull hamstrings. They're just not, the number of wide receivers are like that, speed guys.

I mean, they don't play 16 games. You just don't get that. All right. Let's go back to Houston. Matt Thomas there has a couple of questions. Boldie, again, I would like to say we're sorry for asking all these Texans questions, but we respect your opinion tremendously. So please indulge us a little bit.

Cal McNair, the owner of the team, puts this statement out last week and says, you know what, I like our new flatter structure. I like where we're going. I like we moved to one in division championship again. And for Houston fans that are listening to you right now, this organization, we feel like has been stuck in Quicksand for about 15 years. Do you, because you watch all the games and have called several of them over the years, do you see the 2019 Houston Texans being better than the previous years?

And on the uptick, because I know the Niners are on the uptick. They certainly were with their new administration, new leadership. Kansas City on the uptick with a new quarterback and great receivers. I don't see this massive uptick that Cal McNair sees. Well, what I don't see is just an abundance of talent. All right. So, I mean, if you look at the 49ers, I mean, they have accrued tremendous talent in the defensive line, which basically drove this team to an eight-and-o start.

I mean, it was like a shark feeding every week watching those guys go play. Now, you can't always, but, you know, but they had you to have any clown in JJ, and they just couldn't figure out how to make it work. So they were on their way, and then it just sort of collapsed. And when it collapsed, I mean, they're just not very dynamic, you know? And if you think JJ Watt is going to go get you 20 sacks next year, you might be dreaming. I mean, I'm not going to say, I would never bet against the heart of a champion like that. But, I mean, guys that start getting injured get injured.

And you don't just stop at a certain point. And you go back to four years ago and you're the most dominant defensive player in league. Like, I don't think you're going to see that guy. Yeah. But even if that, I mean, that's how the 49ers got built. They got built because they were built strong in the trenches. They made a big move for a quarterback. They had to get it.

And then they've sort of just been adding. You know, Emmanuel Sanchez was a good fit. Debo Sanchez was a good fit. But they have a running game that is the most creative running game in the league that drives everything they do. And you certainly can't say that about the Texans. All right. Final question from me.

Let's go through the quarterback carousel. Where do you find Tom, Cam, and Philip in 2020? Well, so Tom, I don't understand the Patriots position. They don't have a succession plan. Jared Stidham is not the answer. Their succession plan is in the Super Bowl. Well, but I mean, but if you say you've got a top five defense. Stefan Gilmore is on his game.

The way they rush the quarterback, they can add a piece. Chase Winovich will be in the second year. The defense is set. You know you need help on offense. I mean, Antonio Brown goes there for one. three days and he's their best receiver. So, I mean, if you just said, we're going to

keep Tom for two years and we're going to add him some serious help, that would be a better plan than to let him go to the Chargers and let him jump into that offense and Tom goes and plays General Manager and gets himself three offense align in there and they're ready to go

compete. I mean, but I think that's where he's going to end up. I think he's going to end up with the Chargers. And Cam, I just don't know what the health is. Like, is he going to pass physicals and if he does, where is he right now? What was the third one, Matt? Philip Rivers. Philip, Philip Rivers.

You know, look, Eli Manning just retired. They came in together. You know, is there any difference between Philip Rivers and what we saw this year? And he couldn't win a game at the end to save his life this year. That's our lasting repression. Can he do it? Probably still. But everybody can still do it until they can't do it anymore.

I don't know if Philip River. I don't know what's a good landing spot for Phil. Rivers. All right. One more before. Obviously, got to talk about the low T centers as well. Brian, you said you met with Deshawn Watson. Tell me about that.

What setting was, what was it like? Yeah. Where was he at as far as, how impressed were you with him? Oh, he was sharp. So we worked at the Pro Bowl, me and Kurt Warner. We have the show. I started the show two years ago called film sessions. We sit in a film room.

They literally construct a film room, NFL films. and we put in 20 or 30 plays and we just had Deshawn Watson walk us through the play what he saw Kurt was really kind of peppering with some real football-type looks. He had an answer for everything. Then we put him at the whiteboard

his favorite red zone plays, concept. I mean, drew it up. All the options, what he's looking at, what his first read was. I mean, because I always think if you can go to the board and you can really tell it in front of not just guys like ourselves but teammates and the whole thing,

like you really know it. But he was really impressive. All right. So is he, is he tier one type of quarterback level? Yeah, he's a tier one quarterback. And I think, you know, he's an ascending player. I think he's still reading defenses. I think the offense is still being catered to him. I think there was a point I think we all saw it where Billy O'Brien was just kind of giving

Tom Brady's playbook to these guys, and it was just too much to handle. But I think the more the more tools that he gets at the line of scrimmage, the more adjustments you saw in the Kansas City game last year, like all the little two-man game with him and DeAndre to get first downs. I used to game that kind of stuff is just kind of built in. You know, the comeback against Buffalo was amazing. I think we're

looking at a player that still got a great deal of growth to go. All right, Brian Baldinger here on the Matt Thomas show and you're here talking about the low-tie centers, low-tacenter.com. Well, I'm not as young as you guys. I'm older, you know, so like I've got to find the edge here. I don't, my body, it's just simple score. I mean, my testosterone

scores aren't what they were when I was 35. And that's where the low T centers get coming. They can really, you know, professionally and medically get you back to speed, where when you get those scores right, you're going to sleep better, you're going to feel better. You're not going to hurt as bad, and you're going to look better. Well, I don't know if that's possible. No, but we appreciate the LOTC center.

They've been bringing us out here for years, so always good. And I think there's a number of centers in Houston as well. Yes, there is. Quite a few. I don't know what the number is right now, but, I mean, You don't have to go very far. Brian Baldinger, 11-year NFL vet, and then basically, we don't have enough time. We've got to get to a break.

I can't name all the places that you're on, Brian. Okay. Of course, catch you at Baldi NFL, any other stuff. You mentioned the stuff with Deshawn Watson. What else? Anything fun stuff you got coming up this week? Yeah, well, we still got a couple days left. I've been just really grinding the film room Monday morning, just breaking this game down

on all the different levels. We'll find out, you know, why a team won and why they lost, and I'm going to explain it to you. All right, Brian, thanks a lot for the time. My pleasure. Yep, thanks. All right, Brian Baldinger here on Sports Talk 7A of the Matt Thomas show. We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back, we've got a lot more great guests.

We've got all kinds of good stuff. We still have Clyde Drexel on the show. We still have Dana White on the show. So do not go anywhere. Keep it here. The Matt Thomas Show. Sports Talk 790 continues after this very short break.