Blaes and Gottsch

Teresa Bales & Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Football
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Blaes and Gottsch, where we cover all things NFL and talk about the players who live their faith on and off the field. Ready, set, lets talk football!

  1. Oct 8

    No Time for Defeat: Cardinals Fall Short, Broncos Rally, Chiefs Roll to 3-0

    Teresa Blaes rides solo again this week to break down three Week 3 games. She starts with the Arizona Cardinals, who dropped to 1-2 after a 36-30 loss to the 49ers. Jacoby Brissett played well and the late fourth-quarter comeback showed signs of life, but penalties, a late start, and a defense that could not get a stop against Brock Purdy were too much to overcome. Later in the show she adds one more complaint: fourth-quarter clock management that left Arizona without enough time to finish the comeback. In Denver, Teresa says the real story is the Rams, who led 16-0 at halftime and let it slip away. The Broncos showed up when they had to have a win, and Talanoa Hufanga delivered a pick six right when they needed it. Kansas City’s 24-10 win was steady and unremarkable outside of Kenneth Walker carrying the load on the ground, with Mahomes and Kelce doing what they do. The Chiefs and Raiders both sit at 3-0 atop the division, with the Broncos right behind at 2-1, and Teresa asks whether winning the games you have to win, even the ugly ones, is what this Chiefs season is going to look like. She closes by turning to Paul’s use of sports in scripture: wrestling, running the race with endurance, and disciplining the body. Her encouragement to anyone who feels like things are crashing is to keep people around you who can hold up your arms, lean on Jesus, and refuse to give up. Nobody in an NFL locker room throws in the towel, and when you are in the middle of it, you do not have time to give in to defeat. The post No Time for Defeat: Cardinals Fall Short, Broncos Rally, Chiefs Roll to 3-0 appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  2. Oct 1

    Glory Be 2 God: The NFL Fines Faith

    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. The post Glory Be 2 God: The NFL Fines Faith appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  3. Sep 23

    Statement Season: How Arizona and Kansas City Answered Their Doubters

    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. The post Statement Season: How Arizona and Kansas City Answered Their Doubters appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  4. Sep 17

    Fun, Fundamentals, and Faith: Getting Ready for Kickoff

    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. The post Fun, Fundamentals, and Faith: Getting Ready for Kickoff appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  5. Sep 14

    Fireworks, Failures, and Finishing: Preseason Recap

    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: Arizona put up impressive offense (492 yards) but blew a lead, letting Green Bay score 15 unanswered points in the final five minutes to lose 38–42. Big question mark: can they close out games? Green Bay had the standout performance of the preseason, routing Minnesota 34–6, outgaining them 412–269 yards and keeping them out of the end zone entirely. Teresa’s genuinely excited about their trajectory. Kansas City managed only 9 points in a low-scoring game at Seattle (Seattle’s Jason Myers missed a potential game-winning field goal), moving the ball well but repeatedly failing to finish drives in the red zone. 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. The post Fireworks, Failures, and Finishing: Preseason Recap appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  6. Sep 2

    0-for-3: Cardinals, Chiefs, and Broncos Close Out Preseason Week 3

    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. The post 0-for-3: Cardinals, Chiefs, and Broncos Close Out Preseason Week 3 appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  7. Aug 26

    12 Penalties and a Prayer: Blaes & Gottsch Break Down Week 1 of Preseason

    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. The post 12 Penalties and a Prayer: Blaes & Gottsch Break Down Week 1 of Preseason appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

  8. Aug 18

    “Don’t Get the Cart Before the Horse” | Hall of Fame Game: Panthers vs. Cardinals

    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. The post “Don’t Get the Cart Before the Horse” | Hall of Fame Game: Panthers vs. Cardinals appeared first on Blaes and Gottsch.

See All (49)

About

Welcome to Blaes and Gottsch, where we cover all things NFL and talk about the players who live their faith on and off the field. Ready, set, lets talk football!

Information

  • Creator
    Teresa Bales & Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    Blaes and Gottsch