Lance Zierlein#11 of 87 NFL pundits · Aug 18, 2026
Zierlein expects Texans QB C.J. Stroud to play roughly 10-12 plays in Thursday's preseason game, with Davis Mills going to halftime and newly signed Brett Rypien playing the entire second half. They also said if Tank Dell isn't ready, Lewis Bond and Jaden Hall would both likely make the roster, and predicted Keelan Rutledge will be the starting center with Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith starting.
Said on air, transcribed by us · John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast)Hear the original
What Lance Zierlein said
I think Mills takes it to the to the half, and then my guess is Ripon will go the rest of the way in the second half.
- Where it was said
- John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast)
- The episode
- 08/18 Hour 1 - Houston Cougars enter 2026 ranked in the Ap Top 25!
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidAug 18
- GradedSep 25
How the call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveOne checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
The call scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.
The call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Roster Spot CallsLewis BondHouston Texans
Lewis Bond to make the roster
What happened1 week on a 53100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×2difficulty=+200skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- club:
- HOU
- skill:
- 200
- player:
- Lewis Bond
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he makes the 53
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he was on somebody's 53 last season, so he makes one again
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks on the53:
- 1
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- first week on the53:
- 2
- weeks on the practice squad:
- 2
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
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Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12.
More roster spot calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
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Williams writes that after releasing Odell Beckham Jr. to open a roster spot for Kirk Cousins, the Vikings will bring them back on the practice squad.