Blaes and Gottsch

Teresa Blaes and Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch are back together, and they open with the story that has fans fired up: Arizona Cardinals cornerback Kei’Trel Clark was fined more than $6,600 by the NFL for writing a message giving glory to God on his eye black. Both hosts call it an overreach, arguing that if the league is going to ban messages on equipment, it has to apply the rule evenly, and they give Clark huge props for standing his ground. From there they turn to the games. The Chiefs edged the Colts 33 to 30 in a back-and-forth barn burner, with Mahomes and Kelce doing what they do, but a handful of questionable calls, a scuffle, and a razor-close fumble review had both hosts saying they would never want to be a ref. The Broncos looked lethargic in the first half at home before rallying with 17 unanswered points to get to 1 and 1. The Cardinals were the low point, falling flat against the defending champion Seahawks after an early 82-yard touchdown run, though Teresa isn’t ready to write them off. They close with a simple charge: bring God wherever you are, don’t worry about the consequences, and let Him shine.

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Teresa Blaes goes solo this week while Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch sits out for football coverage, and Teresa breaks down two games that felt like statements. The Arizona Cardinals beat the L.A. Chargers 26 to 14 behind complementary football, a strong defensive push late, and a big afternoon disrupted only by a third-quarter injury to Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey. Teresa is impressed but not ready to call the Cardinals a finished product, especially with a tougher test coming against Seattle. She then turns to Monday Night Football, where the Chiefs blew out Denver behind Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and a 62-yard pick-six, and asks whether Kansas City can keep the momentum going. She closes with a faith message about trusting God in the fire, drawing on the story of the three Hebrew boys and the promise that there is a fourth man standing with them.

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Teresa Blaes and Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch look back at the full preseason for their three teams and get ready for real football to start. Denver gets the nod as the best overall preseason performer of the group, even though Teresa cautions that none of the three teams were playing their true starters. The pair are watching closely to see whether Bo Nix can stay healthy for the Chiefs–Broncos opener on Monday Night Football, and whether Denver’s defense can slow down Kansas City.

The Chiefs are a bigger question mark. Their preseason record sits at 0-2-1, they never found the end zone in the finale against Seattle, and penalties are the recurring worry heading into the year. Teresa and Mischelle agree the Chiefs still have the pieces, veteran coaching, and Mahomes, but the margin for error is thinner than usual.

Arizona is the wild card. They are moving on from Kyler Murray under new head coach Mike LaFleur, and the big question is whether Jacoby Brissett can be a franchise quarterback behind an offensive line that needs to give him time in the pocket. Both hosts came away impressed with backups Carson Beck and Gardner Minshew in preseason, and Mischelle names the Buccaneers as her dark-horse pick to surprise people this year, while still hoping Arizona finds a way to make some noise of its own.

They close on the bigger picture: doing your job with excellence and enjoying it, leaving the results to God, and getting back up after the setbacks that come with any season, on the field or off it. Teresa also teases a new project: a band she is launching, plus a podcast built around it.

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eresa Blaes hosts solo on Blaes and Gottsch (Michelle returns next week) to wrap up the 2026 NFL preseason, recapping three teams’ final preseason games:

Teresa ties it together with a broader theme: the preseason’s biggest recurring failure across these teams was an inability to finish, closing out games, finishing drives, and closes with a reflection on finishing well in whatever work you do.

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Teresa Blaes flies solo this week (Mischelle is off and back next episode) to break down a rough weekend — all three teams lost, but for three very different reasons.

Arizona dropped a 34-13 game to Dallas, where Joe Milton threw for 179 yards and two scores and the Cowboys never let up. The detail Teresa zeroes in on isn’t the scoreline but Coach LaFleur’s postgame comment that the loss reflected a sloppy week of practice. Gardner Minshew’s 177 yards was the lone bright spot; penalties and an inability to turn offensive production into points did the rest.

Kansas City fell 16-15 to Tampa Bay, and Teresa isn’t especially worried about the result. Harrison Butker’s roughly 70-yard field goal is the highlight of the night. The real concern is red zone execution — chance after chance to put the Bucs away, and nothing to show for it — plus a genuine question about whether the depth behind the starters can hold up once the season counts.

Denver lost 33-13 to Green Bay, and here the starters were fine. Bo Nix and the first team looked good; the trouble started when the backups took over, with Green Bay building a 23-10 halftime lead and Jarrett Stidham throwing an interception that turned into points.

Three games in, the picture is still murky: Denver flashed and then came back to earth, Kansas City still hasn’t won a preseason game, and Arizona has talent but can’t afford the ho-hum attitude. Teresa closes by carrying the theme off the field — don’t do your work sloppy; work as if you’re working for the Lord, because He deserves more than we can give.

I’ve also cleaned up the transcript the same way as last episode:

Names fixed: “Blaze and Guts” / “Blazing Guts” → Blaes and Gottsch, Theresa → Teresa, Michelle → Mischelle, “writing solo” → riding solo, “Coach Lafour” → Coach LaFleur, “Gardner mentioned” → Gardner Minshew, “Harrison Buckner” → Harrison Butker, “Denver Marcos” → Denver Broncos, “Bonyx” → Bo Nix, “Jared Stenham” → Jarrett Stidham, “the bucks” → the Bucs.

One thing worth a look: I read the closing line as “work as if you’re working for the Lord,” which is the Colossians 3:23 phrasing the garbled text seemed to be reaching for. If you said something closer to “work as unto the Lord,” that’s an easy swap.

Also, this episode settles a question from E3 — Gardner Minshew is clearly on the Cardinals here. That makes my E3 guess in the Chiefs-QB passage (“Garrett Nesmeyer”) probably wrong. If you can tell me who that actually was, I’ll fix the E3 file.

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Teresa Blaes and Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch are back after a break (Teresa’s been recovering from surgery, and yes, the power rankings are still coming) to dig into the first wave of preseason football across their three teams.

Teresa opens with a hard take: the Chiefs looked rusty, with a lackluster offense and 12 penalties — a game that felt more like college ball than pro. Mischelle pushes back, pointing out that Andy Reid leans heavily on rookies and roster-bubble guys in preseason and it’s far too early to judge. The two hash it out respectfully and land on common ground: nobody’s calling the Chiefs bad, but the penalties, the offensive line’s ability to give Mahomes time, and the risk of becoming a one-dimensional offense are all real things to clean up.

Denver, meanwhile, lit up the scoreboard without leaning on Bo Nix, and Arizona has been a mixed bag — a loss in the Hall of Fame game where Carson Beck still threw lights-out numbers, followed by a win over the Raiders built on the ground game. The Cardinals’ momentum comes with a cost, though: injuries at running back and a leg injury that looks season-ending. Teresa also weighs in on the Kyler Murray departure, the Gannon firing, and what Mike LaFleur’s punch-you-in-the-mouth style might bring to Arizona.

Along the way they tamp down Carson Beck hype, explain how waivers and practice squads actually work for cut players, and look ahead to the Chiefs–Broncos opener on September 14 and the Mahomes vs. Nix storyline. The faith thread ties it together: it’s about putting in the reps — on the field and in God’s word — with a nod to Kirk Cousins mentoring his own competition on the Raiders as a picture of football as a brotherhood.

They close with personal updates — Mischelle’s nonprofit expansion and Global Podcast Network work through Altered Stories Ministry, and Teresa’s new shows, upcoming book, and her band, Ragged Thread, with roughly three albums’ worth of songs written and a Patreon on the way — plus a call for listener feedback, favorite teams, and faith stories from around the league.

Still worth a quick check on a few garbled player names in the transcript (a couple of Cardinals players, and “Bakerfield” for Baker Mayfield) before this goes into show notes.

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Teresa Blaes flies solo again for the first football of the year, opening with congratulations to the 2026 Hall of Fame class and a tribute to Larry Fitzgerald. She then breaks down the Hall of Fame game, a 33 to 30 Panthers win over the Cardinals sealed by a Haynes King scramble. Her first note is a caution: rookie quarterback Carson Beck looked good, but he was going up against other rookies, and she wants to see him against veterans before anyone crowns him QB1. She calls out the defense for failing to finish, then turns to the positives: Beck’s poise and postgame accountability, touchdown passes to Jalen Brooks and Simi Fehoko, Corey Kiner capping a 96 yard drive, Kedon Slovis going 9 of 10 late with a touchdown to Bryson Green, and two Chad Ryland field goals. She closes hoping the Cardinals can build on it and give fans something better than last year’s 3 and 14.

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Teresa Blaes opens Season 5 flying solo (Michelle is out this week) with an update on what’s coming to Blaes and Gottsch: more podcast episodes, more articles, and a new weekly power rankings series that will shift week to week throughout the season. She then breaks down preseason storylines for three teams: the Kansas City Chiefs (a healthy Patrick Mahomes, the Kenneth Walker addition and the run/pass balance question, the backup QB battle, and OC Eric Bieniemy’s family emergency), the Denver Broncos (Bo Nix taking the next step, the Jaylen Waddle trade, and whether the Pat Surtain-led defense can hold its reputation), and the Arizona Cardinals (their first training camp without Kyler Murray since 2019, a three-way quarterback competition, and the Jonathan Gannon-to-Mike LaFleur coaching change). She closes with a faith-based challenge to listeners: are you a playmaker being led by the Holy Spirit, or are you getting played by life, the enemy, and your flesh?

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In this episode titled “Highlights of NFL Week 2 Games,” hosts Teresa Blaes and Mischelle Saunders Gottsch discuss the events and performances of various NFL teams during week two of the season, with a particular focus on the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals.

The episode begins with Teresa welcoming listeners, and Mischelle, referring to Teresa as her friend and cohost, checks in about her feelings regarding the NFL season. Teresa shares her disappointment with the Chiefs, noting that they have had a tough start to the season.

Mischelle highlights a moment of silence held by NFL teams for Charlie Kirk, acknowledging it positively, and emphasizes the importance of taking a break from current events through football. They then delve into the struggles of the Chiefs, with Teresa outlining issues such as key player injuries, offensive line struggles, and an overreliance on quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

A discussion ensues about a specific interception by Travis Kelsey and whether it was due to Mahomes’ throw or Kelsey’s performance. Teresa expresses that the combination of several factors led to the interception, including issues within the team and injuries affecting the passing game.

The conversation shifts to the Chiefs’ performance and their upcoming game against the Giants. Mischelle, drawing from personal experience, discusses the challenges a team faces when performance dips and stresses the need for teams to rely on their faith and not become complacent despite past successes.

They also cover the Broncos’ recent game, which ended in a heartbreaking loss due to a last-minute penalty. Teresa comments on the Broncos’ strengths despite their loss, recognizing their solid defense.

The episode then turns to a more uplifting note with the Cardinals’ 2-0 standing. Mischelle expresses excitement over their impressive start, detailing the game highlights, including a defensive touchdown and a strong performance by the Cardinals’ defense, even though the offense still needs work.

Mischelle mentions her upcoming book and invites listeners to check it out, before they briefly discuss the upcoming game against the 49ers. The hosts emphasize their love for football as a source of joy amidst life’s challenges.

Teresa highlights Colts kicker Spencer Schrader’s standout performance in the previous week’s game as a moment of faith and perseverance, noting his ability to rely on God amidst pressure.

As they wrap up, Teresa reflects on Tom Brady’s commentary about the Chiefs, sharing insights about the vulnerability even the best players can face. Mischelle ties this back to the importance of putting confidence in God rather than in one’s abilities.

The episode concludes with the hosts expressing their gratitude for the discussion and their enjoyment of football, encouraging listeners to stay grounded in their faith and the dynamics it brings to sports.

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In this episode of the Blaes and Gutch podcast, hosts Teresa Blaes and Mischelle Saunders Gottsch reunite for a conversation about the upcoming NFL season following the end of preseason. Teresa expresses excitement about the season’s official games starting, while Mischelle agrees and emphasizes the joy of having good conversations about football, faith, and life.

They discuss the pressures players face during preseason to perform well, with every play counting as they audition for other teams. Both hosts acknowledge the mental and physical demands placed on players, noting the importance of mental strength and physical conditioning in preparing for the intensity of the NFL.

Teresa outlines her intention to categorize teams as rebuilding, transitioning, or stable as they head into the season. Mischelle initially suggests that all teams are always in a state of rebuilding and transitioning due to constant changes and the introduction of international games.

The Arizona Cardinals are highlighted as a rebuilding team. They discuss the health of the Cardinals’ roster and mention the surprise of releasing players like Michael Carter and DJ Dallas. Mischelle asks for clarification on the process of player releases and waivers, to which Teresa responds that released players become free agents.

Both hosts share their concerns about the special teams’ errors and mental mistakes during preseason. In contrast, they highlight the defensive strength of the Cardinals. Mischelle stresses the need for players, especially quarterback Kyler Murray, to perform consistently and take leadership seriously, while Teresa mentions the challenges posed by the previous season’s injuries.

The conversation shifts to the Denver Broncos, whom Teresa describes as a team in transition, noting their new moves and veteran releases. Mischelle acknowledges the changes the Broncos are undergoing and highlights the necessity for stability in their leadership and quarterback position.

They then discuss the Kansas City Chiefs, asserting that the team has retained its core players and coaches, making them stable candidates for playoff contention. Mischelle brings up the potential last season for Travis Kelce, linking his personal life to his performance motivation.

As they dive into topics like penalties and new virtual measurement rules instituted by the NFL, both hosts voice their skepticism about these changes. Teresa expresses hope that penalties won’t disrupt the game and questions the necessity of rules regulating player celebrations.

Towards the episode’s end, Teresa announces her plan to have Mischelle on every other episode and introduces the idea of sharing inspiring stories about players, aiming to highlight the positive aspects of the NFL community.

The episode concludes with excitement for the upcoming season, acknowledging the initiatives being taken to engage fans internationally and the anticipation building for the first games. Teresa gives a farewell to listeners, expressing her excitement about the football season’s arrival.

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