Full Transcript for GM Nick Caserio, DC Matt Burke & other join in | Texans All Access

mean he was a fourth round pick or whatever he was by the Browns are going back, So it's kind of bounced around roster practice squad and was on our practice squad here for a little bit, still is on our practice squad. So we'll look at where we are rosterwise going into the week and figure out what makes the most sense relative to you know, who gives us the best chance to win on Sunday. 00:02:23 Speaker 3: At the end of the day against Tennessee, you look at it, it's a loss, but you look at so many big plays that were made throughout the course of the game, a lot of things that you can build on moving forward. 00:02:32 Speaker 4: Yeah, that game is really emblematic of our season. So for their number of positives that took place in the game, but they're offset by the negatives. So we just have to figure out a way to maybe e eliminate some of those negative things that we can control, you know, penalties, the turnovers, those are things that we can control. So going into the game, you know, John and I we talked about what was some of the keys, and those kind of came to fruition. You know, in some senses that was good. In other senses it kind of was a negative. It say, the explosive plays on both sides of the ball, and then we gave up. Anytime you have explosive plays, regardless of the side of the ball that you're on, it's likely going to increase the chances of scoring drives taking place. So even going back in the Jacksonville game, they would hit some explosive plays. Brian Thomas, you know, we'll talk about here. So there's a number of positives, but it's kind of two steps forward, three steps back. So when you have those negative plays, we just have to figure out a way to eliminate those negative plays to put ourselves in the position where we can go ahead and finish the football game. 00:03:28 Speaker 2: Something Mark and I had talked about a while for a long time, but something that you brought up to the day and it really just resonates in my head, Nick, and that's first down production. You keep talking about first down production, first down production on both sides of the ball. 00:03:41 Speaker 1: How do you think that's gone both sides offense? 00:03:44 Speaker 2: Defensively, staying basically ahead of the sticks with good first down products, whether it's two, three, four yards, getting the second and six can be a good thing. How do you think that first down production has been on both sides of the ball. 00:03:54 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's always a point emphasis and at times it has been pretty good and other times it hasn't been good enough. So off offensively, you know when you have zero or negative yardage plays and you're in second and long and then you're just trying to get back on track there to put yourself and you know, I think we've had amongst the most third and longs in the league. 00:04:12 Speaker 6: However you categorize that. 00:04:13 Speaker 4: And then defensively, there's a couple examples there, and again the first play of the game, you know, it's a situation where they run a keeper. You know, we kind of have an assignment that we didn't execute and they were able to create a shong play and then to play the chig. The winning touchdown was a first down play. It was the start of the drive. So those are always key plays. You want to try to get off to a good start, those p and ten plays. So it's always a point of emphasis. And when you go through the league, it's funny, I was looking at that the other day. 00:04:39 Speaker 6: Here. 00:04:39 Speaker 4: You know, the teams at they're top of the league in first down production, are some of the better teams. We're kind of in the middle to the bottom. So it's about making incremental improvements in some areas. So I think first down production is going to enhance your overall ability and once you get to third down, so it's all tied together in the end. 00:04:56 Speaker 3: Nick, why is it so hard? Just tell the audience. Why is it so hard on special teams? Because I watch tons of football, we all do, and every time there's a punt, I'm holding my breath. 00:05:04 Speaker 1: No flags because you. 00:05:06 Speaker 3: Get this illegal block and the back kind of thing going on, and it happens to a lot of teams all across the league and beyond. 00:05:12 Speaker 1: Why is that difficult? 00:05:13 Speaker 4: Yeah, typically you're seen on the perimeter with the gunners, and a lot of times the gunners there's a speed element, So if they defeat the vice or the block, you know, on the right off the line of scrimmage, then you're sort of in a catch up mode. Or if you don't move your feet laterally and stay in front of the gunner, now the gunners are trying to release, they got to either release outside or if there's a vice, gott to split them or go inside. And if you don't play with the right technique, then you're in a position where you're grabbing or you're holding, or you're not just playing with the proper technique. So a lot of plays go back to basic fundamentals hand placement, foot placement technique, run your feet on contact, even on the offensive side of the ball. A lot of holding penalties or when guys end up outside of the framework because their hands are too wide or they don't run their feet on contact, so they're in good initial position and defender tries to x off and then they flail or they grab him or you pull them down. So it's just things happen at a high rate of speed, so you have to be able to react. So that's where you have to trust your technique and if you're out there, specifically on a punt return team going against a vice, you have to hope that your teammate that's involved is also going to execute the technique the proper way. So you just see a lot of guys and even on kickoff return so even though we've reduced the space because of the rules, so you go, you defeat that initial block, you're either in a catch up mode and you're out a position, then it's going to lead to potentially a

negative play. 00:06:36 Speaker 2: Speaking of kickoff returns, Damian Pierce has given us kickoff returns the old way the new way. Nick, what are your thoughts about him back there, because we talked about it on the broadcast that he might be the perfect guy because he is such a difficult guy to tackle that if you don't get a good shot on him, he can bounce off and do what he did the other day. Your thoughts about Damian being a kickoff returner or maybe finding a really good rule for him. 00:07:00 Speaker 4: Yeah, he's really done a great job with this opportunity. You can go back to last year, like alluded to, you had a kickoff return against Cleveland. So if a guy is good with the ball in his hands, sometimes you may just try him back there to see if he can handle it and not kickoff returns. Typically there's going to be some traffic element or traffic running where you're going to have to deal with some contact. So a guy that has balance, a guy that has strength, a guy that can break tackles. Not all running backs can handle that role of responsibility. Going back to my time in New England, you know, we put Brandon Bolden back there, who had never handled the ball as a kickoff returner, but he had good size, he could handle the ball, had a good running style, and he was able to get some positive plays. So you've had guys like Bolden, We've had guys like Dan Lewis, you know who is it different size than guys like Brandon or DP. But dp's done a really good job and it really you have to have a sensor of feel for space. And then the play that he made the other day was really more just he was able to stay on his feet, keep his balance and then he was able to kind of bounce it outside and then Hutch and Boyd were actually able to finish their block. So, but we've gotten some explosive plays on kickoff returns, no question, and dp's done a good job with those opportunities. 00:08:06 Speaker 3: We know you want to move the ball better in the second half. That's clear in CJ Stroud after the game taking a lot of things upon himself, taking blame for stuff. 00:08:14 Speaker 1: What do you make of that? 00:08:15 Speaker 3: And the unit as a whole is they try to improve moving into these final five games of the regular season. 00:08:20 Speaker 4: Yeah, players and coaches likewise, sometimes you internalize things and you put everything on your shoulders. But in the end, it's not about one person or one player. It's a collective effort. So I think all of us just have to do our jobs a little bit better. Quarterback is going to take responsibility. He probably gets his share of the blame on both sides of it because of the nature of the position. 00:08:38 Speaker 6: But CJ cares a lot. 00:08:40 Speaker 4: He's very competitive. He wants to do the right thing by the football team at all times. So in the end, we just got to come up with some solutions, just try to find some things that we can incorporate or improve upon and put ourselves in a better position in the second half. It's really more as a team not one particular position, one side of the ball. It's just collectively as an entire group. 00:08:58 Speaker 1: Because put that one behind. 00:09:00 Speaker 2: We talked to Demiko on Monday and talked about twenty four hour reels. Sometimes twenty four hour rule extends, but he talked about wanting to really not forget this game as you get ready for this one against Jacksonville. We go on the road Nick to take on the Jaguars place we've had success, but really doesn't matter because it's this one. Let's get into what's different about them? What are they bringing to the party. Trevor Or mac or does it matter? Thoughts on the Jaguars. What's the discovery report? 00:09:27 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's an interesting team when you look at it, and going back we played them whatever that was week four or five, so it's kind of in the middle. A lot of the things carry over, but they've had some injuries and had some things that have affected who's actually on the field. The one thing that's been consistent defensively is their front. Their front's probably the strength of their team on that side of the ball, and that's say the one guy that's really elevated his level of play has been Hamilton, so kind of started slow, but provides a really good presence on the interior their defense, really good run player, and two players on the edge. I mean, they've been as good as any edge combination league. Walker has improved and gotten better, and heinz Allen is just a good football player who pretty much plays well every week. So strength of their defenses. In the front, they've had a little bit of turnover at linebacker. The biggest difference or biggest change is Miller has assumed a little bit more responsibilities, even with Olacon kind of being back or in and out. But Miller's emerged as one of their leading tacklers. I think he's third or fourth, and he's played really well. He's fast, he's tough, he's instinctive. So they really have three for two a linebacker with Olacon, Lloyd and then now and now Miller. In the secondary, they got Campbell back and you know, so that's a player they didn't have earlier in the season, who's a good young corner. Darby's been pretty consistent on a perimeter, and then at Nicol they've kind of had some guys in and out. It really looks like they kind of said al On Jones the rookie there, and then Cisco in safety was kind of moved Savage back to safety. So a lot of good individual players. They've played well in spurts. I mean they played well against Minnesota, I mean held them to the thirteen points at three turnovers, whatever it was. So they present some challenges on the defensive side of the ball and offensively again to your point, you know, Max had to play last couple of games. We'll see where they are with Trevor. But the key to you know, at least on the perimeter with some of the receiver kirks out and gave davis Is out. But Thomas has emerged is really one of

the better young receivers in the League's big, he's strong, he's fast, he made a number of explosive plays and in the first game we had a hard time covering him. And they've kind of used the tight ends a little bit more strange just his role has kind of emerged. They've used a little bit more twelve than thirteen person out offset the eleven personnelity had some losses and then Bigsby's kind of taken on a little bit more of the heavy lifting there another you know, the long run there against us, you know, where we knock them out of the two and we were able to stop him on fourth down, which is to keep playing the game. So certainly presents some challenges on both sides of the ball, and it's a good kicking game unit as well. So let's say, like most teams, you go into it like they've played well at different points their record is I'm sure they hope their record is a little bit better. But by the same token, we inner stand the challenges of playing this particular team and playing on the road. So bottom line is we're just going to play good football and we'll have to prepare to play a good Jacksonville team well. 00:12:09 Speaker 3: And the things we have no control over department, the buy doesn't come until after this game, Jacksonville coming off of buy Historically, what does your data say about teams coming off a bye. They tend to do this and they work on that. Is it different? 00:12:22 Speaker 1: Do they come out with more rest and maybe rust? 00:12:25 Speaker 4: I don't know, it works both ways. I think the big thing you're just probably a little bit recovered physically. You're probably in a better position because you haven't had to go through the riggers of the previous game. And then typically what most teams will do is just go back and figure out, all right, what are some things that we might be able to incorporate a little bit more or maybe make some subtle modific cases and adjustments. Even when we get to the bye week, it's not going to be like you're going to have a wholesale change of offensive schematics or you know, maybe you have a few wrinkles or have a few complimentary things off of some of the things that you do well. So each team's a little bit different how they handle the bye week, but the expectation is they're going to be fresh, they're gonna be prepared, and we're ready to go. Or playing at home, you know, there's gonna be a lot of energy there, so we're just going to be ready to match their energy and be prepared and just study the team, study what they've done here over the last how many weeks before the buy, and then prepare for I would say those things, and it goes back to schematically, there's probably not going to be a lot of change. Then it's going to go back to understanding the personnel, Understanding some of the changes that they made from a personnel standpoint, one of. 00:13:24 Speaker 2: The things that struck me. You were talking to Sean and Seth last week. Your recall is really good. You talked about the game with Randy Moss where he had one catch for fourteen yards, but it was just that was what we had to play that game, and you know, in a year. 00:13:38 Speaker 1: And Moss was incredible. 00:13:40 Speaker 2: When you're thinking of Marion Thomas, you not compared to Moss, but just your recall, does he remind you of anybody? And as you're going through your draft assessment, as you want to face Brian Thomas, do you think about you know, that guy reminds me of this guy, and you know, against this guy, we did these different things that were successful against him. Does your recall kind of take you there when you look at a guy like him. 00:14:03 Speaker 6: No, it's a good question, John. 00:14:04 Speaker 4: You maybe have a reference point, but you kind of have to treat each player as their own entity and just understand their strengths, understand maybe some of the things that they may need to improve, and you got to be careful of making some comparisons. I think there's a natural tendency each year player comes on a draft. Okay, this guy's like so and so, well he might be, but he really isn't. So I would say in Bryan's case, he's big, he's fast, he has real good speed for his size, and he's faster than maybe you think he appears, but he's moving. So I mean he has a good, really good skill set. I mean when you go back and look at the ulsue receivers from last year, you're watching neighbors, you're watching Thomas Lacey's in a draft this year, Mason Taylor is probably going to be in the draft. So you're always kind of looking at everything, but you're really studying that particular player and focusing on what he does well, and you just have to be careful of making just too many the extrapolations about this player and he's like so and so, because every player in the end is their own entity. 00:15:05 Speaker 3: I wanted to ask you about penalties because the NFL, there's a human element here. You have players, you have officiating, you have all of it factoring in, right, So how do you get. 00:15:15 Speaker 1: Better at that? 00:15:16 Speaker 3: Because some penalties have to be about playing aggressively and maybe you take it too far. 00:15:20 Speaker 1: Others are mental mistakes. How do you see it? Nick? 00:15:22 Speaker 4: Yeah, as we all know, there's a little bit of a subject development. When it comes to officiating, it's a very hard job, so we can't. It's just it's difficult, and each crew maybe looks at the game or calls the game a little bit differently, which that's just the reality of it. So what we have to do is just understand the crew. What's their tendency, how do they call the calls that are obvious false starts, some of those penalties, I mean, like anybody, I mean, the three of us can figure those out. It's some of the other ones that are a little bit more subjective. So we ultimately can't control what the officials are going to do. All we can do is play within the rules, understand that, you know, we got to

play with a certain technique and each crew is gonna maybe call a little bit differently, So I mean, we got to be careful about, you know, making too many comments about the officials and what we think of it, because in the end, it doesn't really matter what we think. All we can do is go out there and play and execute the right way within the rules, and understand maybe how the crew is gonna call the game. 00:16:14 Speaker 1: Yeah, you can leave the comments to us. We'll leave you out of that. 00:16:18 Speaker 2: Nick, as Mark was asking a question about the Jaguars coming off of by us going into the buy I kept thinking about, this is our latest buye we've ever had, and I know that's next week, but this is that last game before bye. Do you guys take away me? That's what this is gonna be? Thirteen games in row. I don't know how many teams play thirteen games in a row. Do you take a look at the analytics and look at whether you know players are showing some wear and tear and kind of how do you do you build that in at all? Or do you treat it as a normal week. Do you kind of look at it because it is the thirteenth game of thirteen in a row? How do you kind of look at that as you go into the last week before bye playing so many games in a row. 00:16:55 Speaker 6: No, it's an interesting idea. 00:16:56 Speaker 4: We're tracking everything during the course of season, so each practice we'll go out out there, we're measuring their loads, high speed running, where players maybe some a little more tax than others. Are just certain players we have to manage? Are there certain players we have to be able to lighter on Wednesday and then give them a higher load Thursday, and then Friday, you know, you pull back, so you rely on your internal information and ultimately I think the mindset this week is put everything we have to can into this game because it's the most important game on the schedule. Then worry about the buy next week. And then typically when you come back, you have to figure out what makes the most sense on that Monday because you have an extra day, so you want to make sure the players are still rested, recovered fresh, so you don't want to overdo it Monday, and then you're off and you go multiple days, so you have to figure out schedule the wise, what makes the most sense, not to get too far ahead, but once you get past the buy, the schedule I would say has some nuances that we haven't had in the past, but we have some experience because of the way the schedule had been set up earlier, so you try to modify and it just as we go to Miko does a great job and kind of having a pulse of where the team is and taking the information, and you want to make sure physically the players are in a position where they go out there and perform an optimal level on Sunday or Monday or whenever we play. 00:18:08 Speaker 3: I think I asked you this a couple of years ago, But where are we at now with you sending somebody to a game where the team is that's two weeks down the line in the schedule, you're going to face them, and you're in the building. You're still allowed to do those kinds of things. 00:18:21 Speaker 4: Yeah, typically the advanced scout will go watch the game of the opponent the week before, unless there's a buy and then maybe you go two weeks out. So it's pretty standard procedure across the league. So you know, Miami, whenever they play, will have somebody that's advanced in Miami that will see them play live. And really you're not looking for too many things other than a couple of things to kind of clean up their report, right, maybe send the injuries, what took place during the course of the game, so the coaches have the most updated information in terms of their preparation for that week. 00:18:51 Speaker 1: How do you do that for yourself? Right? 00:18:53 Speaker 3: Do you have different people and they have different roles every week looking at specific things. 00:18:57 Speaker 4: Yeah, every opponent has a specific scout assigned to that team, and then you have other people within the organization analytics, some of the other different groups will providing information on that particular team. So you kind of segment the responsibility to spread the responsibilities out and everybody kind of has a certain workload each week all to provide the information to the staff and to the players so we can utilize it and put ourselves in the best position on Sunday. So it's the scout and you report on Mount Union. They're a good football team that we haven't beaten I think in a long time. 00:19:30 Speaker 7: Yeah. 00:19:30 Speaker 6: Sure, if you ask Cecil, he'll tell you if and when it's ever happened. 00:19:33 Speaker 3: They have all those players, right, don't they have two hundred players or something. 00:19:36 Speaker 4: They've done a great job with a program, so they do. They have a massive amount of kids at their disposal. So however, many dress you know, varsity and then they have the university program. But it's a great program. Have a lot of respect for their program, what they've done through the years. There's not too many programs in college football that can compete with what Mount Union does, regardless of the level. So it'll be I'm sure it'll be a fun environment alliance here this week. 00:20:00 Speaker 1: I know, I know you're working. I get all that we're all working to. 00:20:03 Speaker 2: Get that, But is this the best football weekend of the year. That You've got Thanksgiving football, You've got high school playoff games I think are in here. On Friday, you've got obviously we travel, but then you've got all the college games that are happening, especially one that's in college station. And then you've got an NFL on Monday. I mean, we got Black Friday game too. I mean, we all kinds of things going on. Is this the best football weekend of the year. 00:20:27 Speaker 6: There's a lot of question. There's a lot going on. 00:20:29 Speaker 4: So typically

right around Thanksgiving or after Thanksgiving is really when football season starts because those games typically are the most meaningful, regardless of the level at our level, high school level, like you alluded to, bolseason, college football playoff starting to transition to that. So end of November December it's exciting time if you're a football fan, and there's a lot of content that's available, so content and they're still maction so you can't. 00:20:58 Speaker 1: Games on Tuesday night. 00:21:00 Speaker 3: Johnny wants to volunteer to be the scout for Aggie's Longhorns. 00:21:03 Speaker 1: By the way, absolutely tough tickets. 00:21:04 Speaker 6: So I would go down. 00:21:06 Speaker 4: There if the game wasn't too late. So but it's it's it's six thirty Saturday night, or. 00:21:10 Speaker 2: I couldn't make it back priorities mark you know this hours for the game. Very important question. 00:21:16 Speaker 6: Thanks National Anthem is playing. 00:21:18 Speaker 3: Yeah, we put coach on the spot about Thanksgiving, so we're gonna put you on the spot as well. You have to replace turkey as the main dish. Turkey's on waivers. You need to come up with a replacement. Who's what is going to replace the turkey? 00:21:31 Speaker 6: Is chicken an option? 00:21:32 Speaker 7: Or is. 00:21:34 Speaker 1: An option? 00:21:35 Speaker 4: We're kind of in the meat turkey family, so I probably. 00:21:39 Speaker 3: Turkey poultry too. Yeah like that, I guess. So it just doesn't seem like it. 00:21:44 Speaker 1: I don't know. 00:21:45 Speaker 4: Don't ask me about sides because I won't have a good solution. Nobody's gonna like my solution for size. I want to hear the sides, man, I want to hear the sides. 00:21:53 Speaker 1: I want to hear them. You're gonna have some sweet. 00:21:57 Speaker 4: Replacements for the existing Yeah, nobody would ever have Thanksgiving with me with the sides. 00:22:02 Speaker 2: I would absolutely nick, no doubt, as long as you have mass potatoes and I don't know, sweet potato cast role. 00:22:09 Speaker 1: Then we'd be good. We'd be fine. 00:22:10 Speaker 2: But my guess is that's not Hey here, Thanksgiving me all right, we get back, Mark and I we'll talk about the Jaguars, what takes back from Trevor Lawrence, and we'll predict the three games on Thanksgiving. 00:22:21 Speaker 1: That's tax on text. 00:22:22 Speaker 2: Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Texans All Access from the Unday Texans Radio Studio. John Harris, Mark Vandermire on Thanksgiving, Eve. 00:22:32 Speaker 1: Boy, we got a lot to be thankful. 00:22:34 Speaker 2: Look, I know the Texans have been struggling with wins lately, and I get all that. 00:22:38 Speaker 1: I mean, it's been tough. It's been tough sledding. 00:22:41 Speaker 2: But we'll get back on the horse on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mark, what do you make of Trevor Lawrence potentially being back? We don't know for sure, maybe be listed as questionable. I

got feelings to be back. What do you make of that as opposed to facing Mac Jones, who's the backup there in Jacksonville. 00:23:00 Speaker 3: I thought Mac Jones was going to be playing better when he got into the lineup. 00:23:04 Speaker 1: I thought he would perform better. 00:23:05 Speaker 3: I thought this was a golden opportunity for him when he went to Jacksonville. 00:23:08 Speaker 1: I thought, Okay, great for him. 00:23:10 Speaker 3: If Lawrence gets hurt, he's got that chance to prove Hey, I'm the mac Jones of twenty twenty one that looked pretty good and brought the Patriots to the playoffs. I mean, that was a lot of hope for that franchise at that point, and then he just regressed from there and that was it. 00:23:26 Speaker 1: So to me, it's worth noting that Lawrence. 00:23:31 Speaker 3: Is not playing well, like we saw him make some big plays from time to time earlier this season. But then, Johnny, every time I watch a highlight, it's like, oh, here there's a pick, or he gets sacked or whatever. And look, I know it's a collective thing. 00:23:46 Speaker 1: Johnny. 00:23:46 Speaker 3: It's not going well at all for him. Look at their offensive numbers. They are last or near last in so many categories offensively and defensively for that matter. It is a horrendous season. It's not so much about Lawrence to me, it's what do the Jags have coming out of the bye. Will there be some kind of bounce, a dead cat bounce or something like that, or are they really done? And everyone's thought about their summer plans during the bye and they're just going to come back and mail it in because I'm not so sure what to expect. I think they'll look at what the Titans did, but will they be able to do that? You tell me, Devon Hamilton, you know Eric Armstead in the middle. This is not exactly Jeffrey Simmons and Tovandre Sweat right, not this trick. I think that you're going to have success running against them because everybody has right there last in the league, so you should be able to run the football on them the way you did on Dallas, at least somewhat. And I think that's really going to help out the Texans and make life tough on Lawrence because he might have to rally his team from behind, and then you can get after them with this bunch of as Matt Burke will tell us, explosive defensive playmakers, because they can play like that. We've seen it and we need to see more of it on the road Sunday. 00:24:57 Speaker 2: So just to give you an idea, you the listener to Willmark's talking about, as far as it pertains to numbers, the Jaguars defense is the last in the league, giving up four and fourteen points or four and fourteen points per game, four and fourteen yards per game. Their last in passing defense, giving up two hundred and seventy eight yards per game. 00:25:19 Speaker 1: There's seventh from the bottom. 00:25:20 Speaker 2: Twenty sixth overall in the league with giving up one hundred and thirty six yards per game. Points allowed,

they're giving up twenty nine. That's third to last in the NFL. The only category, the only major offense or defensive category where they are not within the last like ten last third of the league is sacks. They're tied for twelfth with twenty one, which makes sense. They've got Trayvon Walker, who's done some better things. Yeah, and I want to get to the comparison you had for him in a little bit. 00:25:51 Speaker 1: Theyve got Josh. 00:25:51 Speaker 2: Haines Allen who hasn't as good a year, but they can't rush the quarterback you mentioned, Von Hamilton, Eric Armison. 00:25:57 Speaker 1: They've got some dudes that can get there. So that's sack numbers up up. 00:26:00 Speaker 2: But you look at everything else now, third down defense, they're twenty ninth, giving up forty five percent conversion percentage, red zone defense sixty five percent for twenty six in the league takeaways, They're tied for twenty ninth with just eight, and the offense isn't much better. Total offense their thirtieth passing offense, they're twenty seventh, rushing offense their twenty fifth. Here's what bothers me if I'm a Jaguars fan with all of that mark, if I'm a Jaguars fan, I'm looking at going hold on. 00:26:30 Speaker 1: Trevor made a lot of strides. 00:26:31 Speaker 2: A couple of years ago, and I know he's missed last couple of games, But like what the two running backs Tank Bigsby, Trevor e TN, Travis Etn. I'm getting confused now because there's a Trevor and there's a Travis, Yes, Travis Etn and you. 00:26:45 Speaker 1: Got Tank Bigsby. Like what it is an offensive line? 00:26:49 Speaker 2: It got rid of Cam Robinson, but Scott some first round picks on it, Evan Ingram, Bryan Thomas, even though there's no Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, Like, like. 00:26:59 Speaker 1: What that offense? 00:27:00 Speaker 2: He says talent defensively mentioned some of the talent. Foyer Luka is one of the better linebackers in the league. Lloyd Devin Lloyd has played pretty well when he's been in there. 00:27:09 Speaker 1: Ventro Miller. 00:27:10 Speaker 2: We saw the introduction of Ventro Miller back in Week four. Ventro Miller was absolutely fantastic. Tyson Campbell we didn't face, but he's a pretty good corner. Cisco Savage, Like, what the absolute hell is going on that these numbers are abysmal. 00:27:28 Speaker 3: It just it's mind bowl, not just a middle of the pack bottom third. It's dead DFL, dead freaking last. And I've said it, the whole is less than the some of the parts with the Jaguars, and the Texans are playing that way offensively right now too, by the way, because you'd expect more was what they've got on the field. So they'll have to address that. Is this a get well game for the Texans. I don't think you can look at anything as a get well game right now. I don't know what just happened, but you do know this. You knew going into the Titans game. It was not the Dallas defense you were fake. It was a tougher defense statistically. It's true now in the red zone not as good, but they were pretty good in the red zone on Sunday. 00:28:06 Speaker 1: I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I know you had the ball at the eleven. 00:28:09 Speaker 3: You went backwards right, so that was a problem, and again a lot of that self inflicted. But with the Jags in Dallas, you look at those numbers and you're hoping that plays out that way, that you can run the ball with Joe, which is going to make life so much easier. And you went there last year in Week three and dismantled them. Now it was a closer game here. It was a closer game last year when you joint the field goal off the crossbar with Madame Mondola in the rematch. This is a rematch game. I just can't look past it. I can't assume anything. I've always given up on predictions. Okay, for years I've given up on predictions, but I always feel like I've got a little bit of a feel for how the team might play, and I think I know they're gonna play hard. I never questioned the effort. Even Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. It was execution all the way. So they're gonna play hard. Will they be able to execute? I think there'll be a lot better, but I don't know until I see it. And I think the coach probably feels the same way. He's got to see it. 00:29:05 Speaker 1: Because Johnny early on in my you know, not pro. 00:29:09 Speaker 3: Football coverage, but football coverage career, just being a reporter and listening to great coaches. I was covering Penn State as a reporter. Yeah, and Joe Paterno said, you never know how they're gonna play. Sometimes you practice good and they play bad. Sometimes you don't practice as well as you want. They played great, So that was my bad. Joe Paterno, by the way, that actually is pretty good. 00:29:30 Speaker 6: I like it. 00:29:30 Speaker 1: Well. 00:29:30 Speaker 3: His brother George used to do the color yeah, so on the radio. So the postgame interview was like, so, Joe, what'd you think of that second down? Well, George, I gotta tell you. I'll see it for dinner tonight. Oh yes, Sue's gonna make some apple pie. It'll be great. They were talking like that. Anyway, you never know how they're gonna play. He said two things I'll never forget. You never know how the schedule is gonna play out. And you really don't know how the team's gonna perform until you roll the ball out there. 00:29:53 Speaker 2: That's really true. You know who, I have a hard time, So I told us a little bit of this. But last last weekend, I was moving on Saturday, and so as I was driving the U haul back to the U haul place I got it from, I got on my phone and I got on YouTube TV and I put on the Notre Dame Army game. Yeah, and I just listened to it. And as I'm listening, I'm kind of thinking about things. I'm thinking ahead to Sunday. So I'm kind of like, I'm listening, but I'm not really focused. And so I hear a voice and I was like, man, why as I am doing this game, I thought NFL games, And then I realized, oh god, that's Noah.

00:30:33 Speaker 1: Yeah, they sound identical I do. I think Noah is a tinge deeper. 00:30:40 Speaker 2: I mean, amazing, but just I'm a big guy. Well you know, I'm definitely my right ear. So I don't hear as well as you do. You have you have great you have a great ear. 00:30:48 Speaker 7: I do not. 00:30:48 Speaker 2: I listen to them and go, oh my god. They they're they're so close, so like. 00:30:54 Speaker 1: They definitely sound like family members, think them. 00:30:56 Speaker 2: Hearing them like hearing Noah doing I got to remind myself, oh man, Noah's doing the. 00:31:01 Speaker 1: Game and he's like sixteen years old. 00:31:03 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. He looks like he's just, you know, straight out of it. But he But those two sound those two sound identical. So I can imagine what listening to Joe and George was. But it's a great point. You never know, because we've said this a few times. I like to play this game about what if I told you would you take it? 00:31:26 Speaker 6: Okay? 00:31:27 Speaker 2: Because how many times did we in the offseason go, would you take ten and seven? No, you know nothing about the season nothing, Yeah, but would you. 00:31:36 Speaker 1: Take ten and seven? And how many times? 00:31:39 Speaker 2: And how many people would respond and say, hell yeah against this schedule? Yes, I'll take ten and seven. Yes, against this schedule. Absolutely, I'll take ten and seven. 00:31:47 Speaker 3: People turn me down on that, you know, hypothetical, Yeah, but I took it. I took ten and seven, and I'm hoping for more and you still could get more. But right now, ten and seven means three and two down the stretch here. Yeah, oh boy. After seeing what happened on Sunday, you're thinking, is that gonna happen for then two? 00:32:04 Speaker 1: You know, you can't. 00:32:05 Speaker 3: Assume victories over Jacksonville in Tennessee, and then you get one of the others and you're good. 00:32:09 Speaker 1: I can't assume anything at this point. 00:32:10 Speaker 3: You got to play better, and I think they will, Johnny, I think they're gonna find a way. But you know, man, I'm the Norman Vincent Peel of sports casting. Yeah, I mean, I think I'm with you. I do think they'll they'll play better. I'm trying to. 00:32:27 Speaker 2: There are a lot of people that I went to lunch today with my friend Don and a few of his guys from the office, and we were talking about the game, and you're just talking about the team, et cetera. And it's I feel like this is kind of like a Chinese finger lock game and a Chinese finger lock if you ever got a Chinese finger lock, it's the thing where you put it on one finger, you put it on the other finger, and to get it off you actually have to think the opposite, Like you think to rip it out, but no, if you pull harder, you end up tightening it up. But if you end up kind of using some finesse and kind of go against it and kind of go against the grain, which is no no, no, push back in right and then subtly pull out. 00:33:10 Speaker 1: I think that's kind of what this game is about. 00:33:13 Speaker 2: And this is what I worry about us in a sense, is that in football, you think work harder, hit harder, goer harder, you'll win the game. And I think there are times where that's not always the case. Where I feel like that can put you in the Chinese finger lock. You start doing that, and yet now you're locked up. There's a finesse aspect too, right, There's a finesse and a flow and a rhythm that you've got to be able to find. And I think that's what this team needs to find. We don't need the the you don't need that, you don't need the Rocky. 00:33:47 Speaker 1: Speech, especially on defense right right, and they're already amped up as it is. But it's just. 00:33:53 Speaker 2: Play your game, get in your groove and dominate the game. This is a team in the Jaguars that won't have Cam Robinson. He's in Minnesota, so you're gonna see Walker Little and you're gonna see the young guy Anton Harrison on the other side. 00:34:06 Speaker 1: Get after it. Get yeah, just get after it. 00:34:08 Speaker 2: They're gonna they're gonna try and do whatever they can to slow you down. But it can't be this. And I think sometimes this happens and I mean it's you can use whatever analogy. I use a Chinese finger lock, but you can use any analogy that you want where you're just squeezing it too hard. You squeezing the ball too hard, you're aiming the balls you shoot it. You know, you're trying to hit your seven iron a little extra because you're just gassed up, like I gotta hte this thing. It's like, no, just settle in and play your game and you'll end up being okay, and let the emotion, like, don't let the emotion over take your execution in a game. 00:34:44 Speaker 1: You know you have to win. 00:34:45 Speaker 2: We have to win this, we have no, no, you have to just go play well, and if you play well, you'll win. 00:34:50 Speaker 3: Yeah, anybody who plays golf will tell you that's the thing. Right, swing harder, it's bound to go a lot better, right, Right, Not always, you know, sometimes I'll just cut my swing and a half for three quarters and I'm hitting it just as far because I'm making better content. 00:35:03 Speaker 5: Right. 00:35:04 Speaker 3: Thirty eight special sang hold on loosely, but don't let go. If you came too tight, you're gonna lose control. I read that like Shakespeare, but there were a band that featured Donnie van Zant, Ronnie's little brother. Oh really, yeah, Donnie's the lead singer. Now he doesn't sing that song. The guitarist, I forget his name, sings that song. But Donnie was actually their lead singer. And he wore a hat like Ronnie used to sometimes. Yeah, Ronnie, though, there's Johnny, Ronnie and Donnie. As far as the van Zants, those two are you good for you? But Ronnie had this charisma that you couldnot define. It was an intangible it was a thing. He sang free Bird among sweet Home, Alabama. Obviously, Ronnie van

Zant was a legend. He just had this thing about him. It's hard to put into words, it's hard to quantify. Ironic that you brought it up when we're going to Jacksonville. Well, I was thinking about the home of Leonard Skidder, one of the greatest bands ever. And I will stand by this, Johnny. This isn't I don't know if this is a sizzlefire hot take. Okay, those of us who are into classic rock and all the great live albums that came out in the seventies, and I don't have to list them all, but I think Leonard Skinner has the best live album of all time, One More from the Road. It has live free Bird on it. It blows away the studio version. It's so good, it's so tight, they're so it sounds thick. It's awesome. It's better than Almond Brothers, Phil Moore. Ease, Okay, I'll stop now. Three people like this, but we'll move on back to football. 00:36:32 Speaker 1: Yeah, so we're going to Jacksonville. 00:36:33 Speaker 2: It was Lee High School, which actually has been changed I think to Legacy High School because they didn't want the Robert E. 00:36:39 Speaker 1: Lee connection in Jacksonville. That's where they met. 00:36:43 Speaker 2: They had a phys ed pe what a physical education whatever? 00:36:48 Speaker 7: You are? 00:36:49 Speaker 2: The teacher, right, the teacher was named Leonard Skinner, and so they changed. Skinner's a big name in Jacksonville, a big name. Oh, and so Leonard Skinner was the I don't know whether they named it, you know, ironically or whatever, but that's what they came up with they I saw the documentary. 00:37:06 Speaker 3: I forget how they arrived at that. And Lee High School here, by the way, change its name too. Lee High School. Well, there's one in Baytown, right, yeah, and there's one in West tim or West Park area. I used to do a junior junior achievement class. 00:37:21 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm trying to think if that's I forget what they changed the name to. But they changed the name. 00:37:26 Speaker 2: Yeah, but a lot of the a lot of the Robert E. Lee schools have changed the name. Like Odessa Permian's rival was at the time Midland Lee. That's now that's not Midland Legacy, so they've they've changed the name. 00:37:39 Speaker 1: So they think, go Midland Billy Bob Thornton, Yeah, yeah, yeah, you remember that for Friday Night. Light's one of the worst movies there ever was. Okay, don't like that. 00:37:46 Speaker 2: Tomorrow night we will not be on the air because there are three Thanksgiving games. Now, what I do every Friday is I pick every game straight up and against spread for fun, for fun. I pick those games for fun entertainment purposes only, yes, And I stress that every time that I do it, that we're doing it just for fun, because it's a fun way to talk about the games. Well, we're not gonna be on the air till Friday, and there will be three Thanksgiving games. I think one of them is but two of them get to be kind of interesting, so we guess what the one I. 00:38:27 Speaker 1: Mean, there's still drama with it. There always is. But I'll be watching. 00:38:30 Speaker 2: Yeah, don't forget your giant think I'm not watching. But there are three games, so we're gonna do this straight up and against the spread. You don't have to pick them, but we can just discuss them and just how we feel about these being our Thanksgiving games. Uh for Thursday. So Thursday starts as it always does, in Detroit with the Lions taking on the Bears. Okay, I'll let you guess Detroit's favorite. How much you think they're favored by against the Bears. It's a game eight and a half, you're good nine and a half? Okay, Detroit nine and a half point favorite. Chicago's plus three eighty on the money line. Wow, I think the Lions win this one. But the Bears are playing better. This whole Thomas Brown thing and offensive coordinator are a little bit. 00:39:18 Speaker 1: Barious, a little bit better. 00:39:19 Speaker 2: I'm curious what how do I say this? What saves Matt Eberfus's job? 00:39:25 Speaker 1: They how many they have? Five or four and seven? Right now? Are there? Four and seven or four and seven? So I got six left? 00:39:32 Speaker 3: If they go three and three, four and two and look good in the losses, close games, offensive proficiency, still playing good defense, Caleb making progress. I think there's I think he's likely back, because what are you gonna do? Really, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna get Bill Belichick? Are you gonna get Mike Rabel? If you can get one of those guys, that's tempting. But if you can't, where you're gonna go some young coordinator? 00:39:57 Speaker 1: I don't know is that really the way to go? Now? 00:40:00 Speaker 3: Wow, the Ben Johnson thing has been out there that if they needed a coach, he might want to go there. Coach Caleb take it from there. But the head coaching thing is a very different role. 00:40:11 Speaker 1: We all know that. 00:40:12 Speaker 3: Is he gonna want to go? Maybe he likes being a coordinator. I have no idea, but I would say that that could save Ebraflus's job and it would not surprise me at all if the Bears keep this close. This is Thanksgiving Detroit good team, bad team. They tend to lose on Thanksgiving, don't they Historically? 00:40:28 Speaker 2: Yes, But the last couple of years with Jared and the way that offense is playing, they are a good team. It's gonna be tough. I am I'm with you. I think Detroit wins this, but I think the Bear's gonna sid at nine. Now, that's a little too much for a division game to me. 00:40:38 Speaker 3: For entertainment purposes, I'll go twenty seven, twenty one. 00:40:43 Speaker 2: That sounds good. Toy Streuk is playing, I think that could happen. Okay, let's get to the let's get to the appetizer portion. 00:40:51 Speaker 1: Of Tommy DeVito didn't fly with the team. He did not, so it is going to be one. Drew Locke. 00:40:57 Speaker 2: Now, during the game the other day, Hey, you know, I brought this up. That Tennessee game to me, started having the feel

Denver Broncos, Denver Broncos twenty nineteen, and that was Drew Locke special. He went off. And what has Drew Lock done? Not much since, but that day he went he was phenomenal. He was so good. He made throws. I mean he made it throw. I was sitting in the back of the end zone and Noah Fant was right in line with me in Lock and I saw this ball screaming at me and it goes through like three defenders and hits Fan right between the eight and seven for a touchdown. Like boys, we're in trouble. Today he will start for the Giants. Yeah, against the Dallas Cowboys. What do you think the spread is a Who do you think is favorite? 00:41:43 Speaker 1: What do you think it is? Dallas by five and a half? 00:41:47 Speaker 2: Oh, not bad, Dallas three and a half Cowboys with Cooper rushed to coming off. By the way, did you see the way that game ended against Washington last week? 00:41:57 Speaker 1: That was incredible Turpin it was been did to us. 00:42:01 Speaker 3: He's the fastest guy, so fast other fast guys on the field, he looks noticeably faster. 00:42:08 Speaker 2: I think he's the only guy that I've ever seen that might be. 00:42:16 Speaker 3: More explosive than Tyreek. Straight line, speedy, just like straight line, just getting a ball and like in touchdown he had against the Texans, I couldn't even get the call out and he was celebrated. 00:42:27 Speaker 1: He's in a shower already. I know. 00:42:29 Speaker 3: It's like terpret with that touchdown. Oh my gosh, I couldn't even say a yard line. 00:42:33 Speaker 1: I mean, that's Tyreek stuff. That's Tyreek stuff. 00:42:35 Speaker 2: What he did, and then palming the ball, picking it up and then going for a touchdown. A little turn when he toward the Everybody was like, it's all right, comes comes back. 00:42:46 Speaker 3: It was total joystick stuff gone. It was incredible, Johnny. I like Dallas in this one. You know, they played well last week. It's Thanksgiving. I think Rush is coming around. I know he's been banged up. I like Dallas. 00:42:58 Speaker 1: This is kind of a must win. Dallas and played well at home. I don't think the Giants are very good. 00:43:02 Speaker 2: Uh, they do have a good front, but we'll see how that goes. 00:43:06 Speaker 1: I think Dallason can win. I think Dllason and cover Tommy de Vito were healthy. Yeah, that'd be Timmy. 00:43:12 Speaker 2: The fun game of the week of the Thanksgiving Day Thursday is the nightcap in green Bay facing the eighty three Packers the Miami Dolphins. The hot Dolphins went from two and six to five and six. 00:43:26 Speaker 1: That is three in a row. What do you think the spread is for this one? Not much, but for green Bay three three and a half. Very good, very good. 00:43:35 Speaker 3: I would say that's about that sounds about right. I like the Packers, Yeah, I just do. 00:43:39 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's cold weather. 00:43:41 Speaker 2: I'll tell you what, though, our buddy Anthony Weaver has done some good things. 00:43:44 Speaker 1: He's done some good things. We'll get out of him. 00:43:46 Speaker 3: Look, you and I identified him as a head coaching candidate a long time ago, so we deserve credit for. 00:43:51 Speaker 1: His entire career, that's right, that's all. 00:43:53 Speaker 3: And he should give us a cut of the new contract when he does get that gig if he forget it. But I like Green Bay and I love Anthony, but man, I just I think Tuas should take the rest of the year off for safety reasons. Yes, and we should be facing anybody else by the time they get here. 00:44:11 Speaker 1: Anybody next. That's the next Texans home game. It's not for at least two and a half weeks. 00:44:16 Speaker 2: I just remember watching that practice and he came here and he had Tyreek, he didn't even have Jalen Waddle, and he and Tyreek were just dialed in. I think Packers win this. I think they're going to cover that three and a half. You though, mine is going to make it interesting. Now, we won't be on there Friday until six. This game will be over, So we'll pick this one really quickly. It's green Bay all the way. 00:44:33 Speaker 3: Look at thirty degrees low of twenty two precipitation. 00:44:37 Speaker 1: Hawaiian Tua. 00:44:38 Speaker 6: No not, it's not happening up there. 00:44:40 Speaker 3: Although you know they had the Chiefs playoff game last year points so to score fourteen and lose twenty one to fourteen. 00:44:48 Speaker 1: Okay, got it? Here you go. 00:44:50 Speaker 2: Black Friday game, Raiders at Chiefs in Arrowhead casey favored by thirteen. Raiders ain't winning this game, but can they get decided thirteen? A lot of teams have a lot of teams have against the Kansas City Chiefs. 00:45:04 Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs. 00:45:05 Speaker 2: Have this inordinate amount, inordinate amount of one score games. 00:45:09 Speaker 1: Check this out. 00:45:11 Speaker 2: One by seven, one by one, one by five, one by seven. Now they beat the Saints by thirteen, beat the Niners by ten. Then they won by seven, six, two, nine to three. 00:45:21 Speaker 3: Every time I turn on the TV, they're lining up for a game winning field goal. That's what it feels like with the Kansas City Chiefs. So it wouldn't shock me if it's close again. Aiden O'Connell, Right, O'Connell. If i'm Amazon, I'm thinking you couldn't. 00:45:34 Speaker 1: Do a little bit better for me on Friday. You know who they got last year for the Jets, Tim Boyle. They got Tim Boyle. On started they got the secutive years Tim Boyle and eight O'Connell. I mean, sorry, Timmy, We love you, Timmy. 00:45:48 Speaker 3: You know, tim Tim I feel about you, but you know you're not exactly wanted marquee selling stuff. 00:45:53 Speaker 2: Yeah, they wanted Rogers. Do you give the Raiders a chance to get inside thirteen? 00:45:57 Speaker 1: Yes? 00:45:58 Speaker 2: Absolutely, Yeah, I think so too. Chiefs by ten. Yeah, that's a good one. I'm going twenty four to fourteen. That's a good one. All right,

that's great stuff. Now we got to go around the NFL. The injury report is out. Let's take a look at it. Who was in who was out on today's practice. We'll do that next on Texans All Access soap. But everybody, welcome back to this Wednesday isation of Texans All Access. I'm your host, John Harris, Football and the side of the Reporter for your Houston Texans, And let's dive into this injury report for Wednesday, first day back at practice. Notable names, especially on defense, especially on the defensive line. Will Anderson Junior, Deniko Autry, Foley Fotacasi. All three did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Jalen Petrie dealing with that shoulder you heard Demko say on the coach A Show with us A couple of weeks, A couple can be three, four, It can be five to six. We don't know, but Jayleen Petrie did not participate. Don't anticipate him playing on Sunday. 00:46:49 Speaker 1: Limited. 00:46:50 Speaker 2: Aziz Nico Blake was going to see Blake back at least practicing dealing with that concussion for a couple of weeks ago. Ex Exavier Houtchieson with a shoulder shag, Mason Rest tunsl rest teaging with the knee, Jimmy Ward with the knee. So Jimmy took kind of a weird fall right before the pick six on a TfL against the Tennessee Titans. He had that pick six about a play later, but then he went into the tenth. They looked at it was out of practice. Was limited On the Jaguars side, The biggest two actually are in a limited category. Cornerback Tyson Campbell, really good player. Did not see him in week four. He's limited. But the big one is Trevor Lawrence and what Jaguars are gonna do. 00:47:27 Speaker 1: He's back at. 00:47:27 Speaker 2: Practice and so kind of thought, all right, well, he's probably gonna play, and I'm bracing for that. But then it was mentioned that surgery is not off the table, So you don't know I think he's gonna be questionable, and we're just gonna have to play that waiting game and see on Sunday whether Trevor Lawrence is the guy or it's gonna be Jacksonville native Mac Jones. 00:47:44 Speaker 1: For the third straight week. We'll find out. I'm anticipating Trevor, but we'll see. 00:47:48 Speaker 2: We get back speaking to Jacksonville membe out of Mike Smart Vando me here with my guy, Frank FRANGI. 00:47:53 Speaker 1: Next on Texans All Access. We got one hour down, one hour left to go. 00:47:56 Speaker 2: Right here on a Wednesday edition to Texas All Access from the Unday Texans Radios to you, I'm John Harris football and a sideline reporter, and the Jacksonville. 00:48:03 Speaker 1: Games are always some of my favorite ones. 00:48:07 Speaker 2: In particular because the two men that will be calling the game are good friends of mine my earlier life. When I was a young buck living in Jacksonville, I got to know Frank Franjie the Jaguars played by play Man since twenty fourteen, and of course being in the building since twenty fourteen with my partner, my great friend, my family member, Mark Vandermiir the

So it's always interesting when these two get together to talk about the Jaguars. 00:48:31 Speaker 1: We call it men behind the mics. 00:48:34 Speaker 2: It's part vandam R the Voice of the Texans with the voice of the Jaguars Frank Frjie right. 00:48:38 Speaker 3: Here joining us here on Texans Radios. Frank Franzie, the voice of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And Frank, we catch you up for the second time this year. So let's just start here. Characterize this season for me. I know it's not what you expected. 00:48:52 Speaker 1: What are you getting out of the Jaguars in twenty twenty four. 00:48:55 Speaker 7: I'm mark good to be on with you and happy Thanksgiving, and I will tell you it's the strang the seasons since I've done this, I look a lot of times the Jags haven't been very good. We weren't super surprised by it. Maybe a little. I'm surprised. I thought most people thought, not just here in town, but around that the Jags had a pretty good team this year, and it hasn't gone the way anyone wanted. 00:49:16 Speaker 1: Two. 00:49:17 Speaker 7: I spent a lot of time with Doug Peterson. I know he's a little perplexed. I know everyone around here is. So it's been a tough go. There's been a lot of games. They got blown out out of Detroit the last game. I think they were kind of out of gas. There were reports out there that this or that was going to happen market. I think that affected them. Other than that, they've played teams pretty close. They've had five games or six games they lost by five points or less. That's a lot of games to lose by five points or less. All those games were decided kind of in the last minute. But that's kind of how the league goes too, you know. So we're surprised that they struggled this much, and I think the hope is they had their bye last week two years ago they were three and seven at the buy. They were refreshed and made on a went on a little bit of a run, and hopefully that have this tub We'll see, all right. 00:50:01 Speaker 3: So talk to me about Trevor Lawrence, Frank, because obviously not the kind of year he was looking for. I know he's been banged up, he's been out of the lineup for a while, but while he was in there, what are you seeing out of Trevor Lawrence this season? 00:50:14 Speaker 7: I think Trevor at moments has played very well. The biggest thing Trevor is all young quarterbacks, and he's still a young quarterback for twenty five years old and just turned twenty five. I think the one thing Trevor's got to learn is what plays not to make Mark. He's made some mistakes that he wished he had bet but at times he's made big plays, and I'm not sure he's had a lot of help. I don't know that the Jags have been great at the line of scrimmage. They've run the ball from time to time, other times they haven't. They've protected from time to time, but other times they haven't. But I think Trevor's going to be fine. If right now he's dealing with the shoulder, they're not sure he's going to play, they'll have to say it's kind of been a day to day thing. He's been out a left shoulder, not a throwing shoulder. He's been out the last mark the last two weeks, and they wanted him down before the breaks, and then they had the two weeks plus to buy. But I don't know if they're sure whether or not he's coming back or when he's coming back. Hopefully he'll be able to play this week, but I don't think that's the guarantee, at least not today. 00:51:04 Speaker 3: All right, So what about the running game, because I know injuries have been a factor there too, Frank tell me about that. 00:51:10 Speaker 7: I think the main thing with the running game. Yeah, Etm has banged up earlier. More recently, Tank Bigsby's been hurt. I think the bigger thing is they haven't blocked as well as they would have liked. Now. Look, having both running backs go through some injuries, to your point, is affected it a little bit. But they've got to block a little bit better. Mark. I think that's the thing probably that stands out, at least to me more than anything else. Tank Digsby's kind of evolved into their downhill runner. I think he's a pretty good downhill runner. Travis Etm the first round thing and still do special things. He's better in space, I think. But when they have both of those guys, they are a pretty good running team. They've just got to block better, be a little bit better at the point of impact. But I'll say this, the way they've built this thing, they've got to run the football to be effective. There's no debating that. There's no doubting that. To be as good as they could be. They've got to find a way to run the football, not just this week against the Texans, but in these last six games to try and salvage is the season, to try and salvage a good finish to the season. This season, that's been tough. Mark, They've got to run the football better than they have. 00:52:07 Speaker 3: Frank Frangie, Voice of the Jaguars with US on Texans Radio. What kind of revelation has Brian Thomas Junior been for you? 00:52:14 Speaker 7: What a terrific player we thought he would be good. I think the speed is really real, Mark. You know when you play those really fast receivers, and Texans have a bunch of them. So you see this when you play other teams, when you play those really fast guys, when you play Tyreek Hill, when you play guys that can run by players. BETCHI it's hard to replicate that in practice. So I think what the Jags have found out is when they protect Trevor, Trevor is a very good deep ball thrower. He's getting deep. I think Brian Thomas has been one of the most pleasant surprises. He shouldn't be surprised. He's the first round pick, but he went twenty third overall, and they traded down a little bit to get him. I think he's been one of the most pleasant surprises. He's competitive, he's tough. He's six to one tool five, so he's a big, physical guy. He's been a wonderful player here and he's been banged up a little bit. What's happening lately now

Christian Kirk's gone, Who's a really good player. They didn't have Gabe Davis last week, so teams are kind of double teaming Brian a little bit here. They've got a safety shading his side and that's affected him. You know, a young player hasn't gone through that. Routes are harder when there's two guys on you. At boy Mark, he's a good player. He's a guy that is the years move forward here in Jacksonville. Keep an eye on number seven. I think he's special. I really do. 00:53:23 Speaker 1: Frank. 00:53:24 Speaker 3: Back in two thousand and six, the Texans drafted Mario Williams number one overall, and I'm not saying he flew under the radar a bit, but he ended up putting up really good numbers. Slow start to his career because of injuries, but then he got it going. 00:53:37 Speaker 1: Do you liking Trayvon Walker to that a little bit. 00:53:40 Speaker 3: He had ten sacks kind of quietly last year while the Jags were having that struggle down the stretch, and now he's got seven and a half and he's on pace to do more. 00:53:47 Speaker 1: What about Trayvon Walker in year three, Frank. 00:53:50 Speaker 7: That's a really good comparison. I hadn't thought about him compared to Mario Williams, but he's kind of like it. He's a very big end. He's not one of these little rush guys like Mario. He's eighty ninety. He's a big, physical guy. That's a great comparison. He had a really good year last year. It was overshadowed because Josh Hines Allen on the other side had seventeen and a half sacked. It was one of the best pass puss in the league. So I'm not sure people noticed Travon's ten This year he got seven and a half. He's played well, Mark, The Jaggs have to play better at defensive tackle. I think that's the thing that struggled. That's the thing how the team you're seeing on on film. If you can't if you don't have good work at defensive tackle, if you don't make an impact. If you don't get that middle push well, then you can control the edges, you can chip them, you can double team them. And I think both Josh and Travon are seeing that some the tackles haven't played well the interior of the line. Von Hamilton was a terrific noseguard and he's trying to fight his way back. He had an illness that he's trying to overcome and he just had a tough time overcoming it from last year. So the tackles have to play better. If they do, I think you'll see a lot. But I think the edge is particularly Trayvon. He's having a very good Trayvon walk is a good play and the Mario Williams comparison is a really really good one. Built kind of the same, a little coming on a little slower, but it's going to be a very good, really going to be a good pro. 00:55:01 Speaker 3: Frank, give me another player or two that does not get the publicity, but that you want to highlight right here that fans should be aware of. 00:55:08 Speaker 1: With the Jacksonville Jaguars, I. 00:55:10 Speaker 7: Think their young players has been good. Ventrem Miller is a backup linebacker. He

says He's drafted out of Florida, a fourth round pick a year ago, got hurt, was on IR the whole year. Last year he's had to come in when Foyer Lullikan was banged up a little bit. He joined Devin Lloyd. Those screen now alternated. Those two inside linebacker spots. Park Boy. Ventrol Miller is good. He looks like he shot out of a cannon. He's a very fast downhill linebacker number fifty one. He's had a terrific seasons then. He's been very good. Tank Bigsby, well, I talked about a moment ago, the second year running back out of Auburn, he's been hurt. I hope they have him back. I don't know what that what the injury report is going to say come Sunday. But he's a downhill runner that they really kind of like. You know about Brian Thomas Junior. So most of the guys around here, you have a pretty good idea. I would say Ventrel Miller is a guy that people don't know about. This has been a terristic linebacker and Tank Bigsby when he's healthy and when they run run block is going to be a very good He's explosive. He's got four or five explosives already. Those are runs of better than twenty yards. He's got a couple of fifty plus yard runs. So number four take Bigsby a very good running back when healthy and when he gets some holes to run through. 00:56:13 Speaker 3: Frank Frangie, Voice of the Jaguars with US Frank, what was your reaction to what the Titans did to the Texans on Sunday? 00:56:20 Speaker 7: You know, I was shot. It's been an interesting division, it really. The Texans have been the cream of the crop of the division every since about the middle of last season. And I think the Texans have a really good team. From afar. It looks like leaking oil a little bit now, you know better than I do, Mark, and every team does that a bit, and so I was very surprised. I think that I don't know what to think of Levis. I've seen him a lot. I know the Titans love him. They've got a first year coach there. They believe they've got something, and when Levis is good, they're going to have a pretty good team there. I was surprised. I don't think the Texans are going to continue to struggle. I think they're going to snap out of that losing digs for the years affected. And again you know this better than I from Afar, that would be my take. The receivers have been in and out of the lineup when all three of those guys were there, When all three of those receivers were there, that might it's the fastest core in the league and might have been the best core in the league, but in and out of the lineup, and I know you guys have all dealt with that. DJ Stroud has got that sophomore thing where people kind of know him now a little bit, and I think that that happens every second year quarterback. So I was surprised by that result, and I'm surprised that Texans have struggled a little bit. But I think the Texans have a good team. I still think they're the cream of the crop in the division until they're not, and so I expect the Texans to play very well. When you guys get

here on Sunday, I really do. 00:57:32 Speaker 3: Your reaction to what the Colts have undergone this season. 00:57:35 Speaker 1: Frank, you know it's funny. 00:57:37 Speaker 7: When they got here, the Anthony Richardson stuff was up and then I saw him a lot in college. You know that market. We do a lot of college stuff around here, and I saw him a lot in college. And Ar is a great kid. He's an immense talent, but there was always something there. He was hurt a lot. He would make a magnificent play, then a not so good play only started thirteen. Gave me the college player got to the NFL. Banged up againlast year, as you know, and then it was weird this year, the kind of tapping out the play. He got beat up for that, probably more than he should have. I can tell you this. When Joe Flacco played here, the Jags won the game, but I thought Flacco was better here that day, mark than Anthony Richardson would have been that day, So they went with Flacco. Then he started struggling. So now Ar is back in the lineup, and look they're in it. They're five and seven, the Texans are seven and five. Nobody's sure what to make of the division right now. So I think they've got something in Anthony Richardson. They've got a good young team. I think Shane Sticken's a really good coach. But look, they'll go as Richardson. Everybody goes as the quarterback. Goes in this league, right when your quarterbacks, when Deshaun Watson's playing well, nobody could beat the technive when CJ got it going well. Last year, the Texans win the division. When Trevor's going really well. Here two years ago the Jags win the division. So you go as your quarterback goes. That's where the league's gone, and they'll go as ar goes. But it has been up and down. It's been hard to follow or hard to figure because it's been very up and down. 00:58:53 Speaker 3: For the Colt Frank Franjie joining us on Texans Radio. Okay, I know you do cover college football. You talked about it. So your thoughts on where we're at today or this week heading into the weekend with the twelve team playoffs? Are you really enjoying this season? I know you're not enjoying what's going on with the Knowles, but the Gators are coming around lately. But as far as just the macro picture of the playoffs, Frank, you know, I think. 00:59:17 Speaker 7: They're trying to find their way. So here's what's funny about that. And you're right, we do a lot of college football around here. Everybody wanted to get bigger than four, So they went from four teams to twelve teams. But they did that at the same time the SEC expanded and got better than ever. So what's interesting in the SEC? And obviously you have both Texas and Texas and Texas A and very close to where you are both in the league. What a big game that is that weekend by the way you're playing. But if the league got bigger, the league got harder. The SEC's almost evolved into a mini NFL where no one's going to go undefeated and very few teams are going to go eleven and

one, so it's going to be hard to make that twelve team field. So as you look up, Indiana's going to be eleven and one and in the field right Well, nobody believes Indiana would beat Texas, Georgia or even LSU or Tennessee, but they're going to be in the field, and some of those SEC teams are not going to make it. So I think that's got to play out. Here's where I think it's going to land, believe it or not. As much as everybody wanted to get to eight or twelve, it's probably gonna ultimately land at sixteen because right now You've got too many teams that could beat the top twelve teams left out, So I think that's where it's going to land. I loved it though it keeps teams in play. I think a lot of the mystery's gone out of it now if there's no more upsets. I think we kind of know the twelve teams. But you think Greg Sankee's going to stand for the fact that four big ten and three secs are in. No, he's not going to stand for it. So you'll see more changes in the years to come. But Mark, I think it's been a fun year. I really do. In the Canes, by the way, who you call their game for many years? Or they've got a good team, best Miami team they've had in many, many years. So it's been a fun college football season. It really has. 01:00:47 Speaker 1: All Right. 01:00:47 Speaker 3: One more for you, Frank, I'm on a national campaign to replace Thanksgiving turkey with brisket. 01:00:53 Speaker 1: Are you in? 01:00:57 Speaker 7: You know what? First of all, you're the perfect guy to lead that. If I could dominate one guy to lead that, it would be VanderMeer. Okay, So I love the fact that you're leading the charge. Yes, I'm in. I don't like turkey. It's on American to say you don't like turkey. I like the dressing. I'm a dressing guy, the stuffing guy. I don't like turkey. So if you need any help, Mark, I'm not going to contribute a whole lot financially to it, but I will contribute emotionally. I'm here emotionally for you and I will support you in that. You've got my work. 01:01:23 Speaker 3: All we need is airtime, Frank. Airtime can get this done. People get excited over brisket. Nobody gets excited about turkey. I'd get excited about going over to somebody's house for a brisket. 01:01:33 Speaker 7: Especially that end cut with all the fat in it. I'm in. Put me down all the airtime you need, Mark, I've got your back led to do it. 01:01:41 Speaker 3: Yeah, don't come at me with that lean meat. I want the fun meat. Okay, Frank, thanks so much for joining us. We look forward to see it on Sunday, my friend. 01:01:49 Speaker 7: Mark, always a pleasure. Happy Thanksgiving and see you Sunday. 01:01:51 Speaker 2: Happy Thanksgiving to you, mister Frangie as well. We'll see you on Sunday. 01:01:56 Speaker 1: All right. 01:01:56 Speaker 2: Coming up next is one of our favorite interviews that we have done. With an assistant coach and partially, well actually mostly why is the story that Matt Burke, defensive coordinator for your Houston Texans, tells

at the beginning. 01:02:11 Speaker 1: This is intriguing. 01:02:12 Speaker 2: You're gonna love this story and it has to do with My Cause, My Cleats that's coming up next on Texans All Access. A reminder of this segment is brought to you by Mattress Firm, the official sleep partner of your Houston Texans. 01:02:24 Speaker 1: It is sale. 01:02:25 Speaker 2: Time at Mattress Firm, and trust me, I've been looking for a Mattress replacement and Mattress Firm is the only place that I will go to check those out. So make sure you're checking out all the deals at Mattress Firm, the official sleep partner of your Houston Texans. It's time for defensive coordinator Matt Burke to join myself, your host, John Harris Football and a sideline reporter for your Houston Texans and the voice of the Texans, Mark vandermir Now, My Cause My Cleats is coming up. 01:02:55 Speaker 1: I think it's for us the fifteenth, the. 01:02:58 Speaker 2: Game against the Miami Dolphin, and I always love that game because I love to see all the different causes. If you guys have followed me over the years, you know that Mine is Autism Speaks. I absolutely love that organization for what it does for young people with autism and families that deal with individuals on the spectrum. And so Mine is Autism Speaks. Matt Burks is a little different. And so when Matt walked intoday and you'll hear Mark Vinier talk about this a little bit more. But Matt walked in, there was a box right here by the chair that he sits. 01:03:36 Speaker 1: In to do the interview. 01:03:37 Speaker 2: And of course when I walked in, there's nobody in here, and I was like, Oh, it's this box for me. I didn't think so, but I was like, ah, let me check. And I looked inside. I was like, no, it's not for me, and I knew it was in my cause Mike Cleat's situation. But the story behind it is absolutely fantastic. 01:03:53 Speaker 1: You will get that with me and Mark right now. 01:03:57 Speaker 3: In studio with us. It's defensive coordinator, Matt Burr coach. How's it going today? 01:04:01 Speaker 1: It's great. 01:04:01 Speaker 5: How are you guys? 01:04:02 Speaker 1: Great? Happy Thanksgiving? 01:04:03 Speaker 5: Same to you. 01:04:04 Speaker 3: I know it's a busy week always in the NFL, but with Thanksgiving, it changes things a little bit. How does it affect things preparation in your vision? 01:04:12 Speaker 8: I just really, I mean, obviously there's a few more distractions during the week, and a lot of guys have family in town, and Demko's obviously really accombinating for family things. 01:04:21 Speaker 5: So just adjusting our schedule a. 01:04:22 Speaker 8: Little bit tomorrow to make sure we can spend some time with those people. 01:04:27 Speaker 5: But work still got to get done. 01:04:29 Speaker 8: So at the end of the day, we're just we're just kind of readjusting and squeezing in some different time frames. 01:04:33 Speaker 2: Let's address the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room. Oh, we'll get to that in a second. Okay, dart with Beat Brown, All right, this past week, go ahead and gloat. You got thirty seconds to glove go. 01:04:46 Speaker 8: Beat first of all beats probably an understatement. Yes, fifty six we hung up. 01:04:50 Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know, fifty six It was not good, not a good thing. 01:04:53 Speaker 8: And bought us to share the title of the league title. So I think that's three in a row for the Green. Yeah, someday, someday. 01:04:59 Speaker 1: John, someday. 01:05:00 Speaker 2: I mean, a man could dream. It's been since I think two thousand and five, maybe for us. 01:05:04 Speaker 1: So do they play this weekend or is it done? 01:05:06 Speaker 5: That's it. That's over a ten game schedule. 01:05:09 Speaker 8: They literally start the Saturday before Thanksgiving and work backwards and no buys ten straight. 01:05:14 Speaker 1: That's it. 01:05:14 Speaker 9: It's over. 01:05:15 Speaker 2: Wow, where they've done it the way they will always do it. Now let's address the real eight hundred pound. 01:05:20 Speaker 1: Gorilla in the room and that are. 01:05:22 Speaker 2: These beautiful You see how I did that? That you learn at ivery think schools. We have your my cause, Mike. Yeah, these are freaking awesome, by the way. Cool the Diana Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Now, we had a feeling when these were sitting in here that there was a story in The very first words out of your mouth were, well, there's a story always, So let's get a story with First of all, why why this foundation? And what do you think about the kicks? 01:05:47 Speaker 5: Kicks are sweet? Man, I like them, great job. I was appreciative. Honestly, this is cool. 01:05:51 Speaker 8: This is like the first team I've been on that uh kind of lets coaches participate in and helps us out with this stuff. So that's that's pretty sweet. I'm appreciated the organization for that. But my wife and I got engaged in Uganda hiking with gorillas. 01:06:07 Speaker 1: Oh nice. 01:06:08 Speaker 8: So we were on a trip over there and there's it's actually at the time there were only this was however many years ago that was, but there were only about eight hundred mountain gorillas in the wild still in the eighties. It was down like it was like two hundred and fifty. We left obviously in dangered species, and so it's obviously near and dear to us, like we got engaged over there like that just obviously a big moment in our lives and was a huge experience for us besides the besides an engagement part, like just being around it. We spent three days where you hike out into the Bewindy impenetrable forest. There as a national park there right in the Rwanda you Ganda border, and you can kind of track the gorillas and see them. I mean, we were ten feet from from gorilla pods, which is really really cool experience. So the fund is one of the ones that we actually give to reg annually that just continues to protect the environment and protect the

habitat, preserve poaching still that goes on there and stuff. And just like I said, probably in the last call, it thirty forty years. I mean, they've almost like probably quadrupled the population of Mounta grillas in the wild. So it just, uh, it's just part of that process to help continue preserve those environments. Obviously even now with just the the forests and stuff that their their habitats are getting affected and stuff. So and then obviously we have a personal connection to the area and to the animals. So yeah, that's kind of where that started. So that's cool, that'll be fun. 01:07:38 Speaker 3: So when Lindsay Fox, our pr goddess, informed me that the Coach Burke Cause was the Diane Fossey Gorilla Foundation, I went full Sigourney Weaver. Gorilla's in the Miss nineteen eighty eight. I've seen the movie, so that's how I'm familiar with and I read up on Diane foss after seeing the movie, and I saw it again relatively recently within the. 01:07:57 Speaker 1: Last year and a half. 01:07:58 Speaker 3: Yeah, did that movie have a lot to do with the support really, because it's great publicity at the time in the eighties to alert everybody to this. 01:08:06 Speaker 8: Absolutely like her work over there and obviously like spending time and I think she was a little bit more focused in on the Rwanda side of things. It's the borders right there, and so like I think ninety percent of the world's gorilla population is in that one region and those there's like a mountain range that runs through there. So obviously her like sort of recognition internationally like allowed her to start this and and sort of like continue to preserve the animals. So it's been cool, like just to see them, even like I said, my ways gonna kill me, I gauged. I think what year that was, seventeen maybe, so like even the last seven years, I think it's it's added another like almost two hundred gorillas have been added into the wild population. 01:08:47 Speaker 2: So did you go there, I mean obviously were you aware at the time or was this something that when you got there you were made aware of that situation. Did you go there with that thought in mind, or did you go they're just want to have a great situation and then oh, man, look at this, this is something that we had discovered while we were there. 01:09:07 Speaker 8: No, we went specifically for this, like you have to kind of plan ahead. They because gorillas are so close to like humans, like a lot of the diseases, the same diseases affect them and things, so they actually limit the exposure, so you kind of have to buy almost like lottery tickets to like actually like go on some of these tracks. They try to limit the number of humans that actually get up and and things like that, so you have to kind of plan ahead to like actually get a get a chance to do this. 01:09:31 Speaker 5: So that was our goal. 01:09:33 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was cool when you got engaged on the trip. Was that so you would win every engagement story. 01:09:39 Speaker 1: I've got right here? 01:09:41 Speaker 5: No, I think this the clock was ticket. 01:09:42 Speaker 8: We've been danged for about five years already, so I had to do it at some point. But no, we just we travel a lot. That's like been part of that was part of our relationship still is to this day, like both of us to a lot of international travel and and so it just kind of felt like the right right thing to do. 01:09:55 Speaker 2: Speaking of marriage, your work, marriage with obviously the defense you're being married to the defense just your thoughts thus far, coach, because the last couple of games, especially at home, we've had situations where five interceptions, eight sacks. I mean, you're doing stuff that we're looking up during the third or fourth quarter of a game, going, hey, what's the record for sacks in a game, Well, how many interceptions? What's our record for interceptions? We're doing things that the Texans have never done before. Defensively, how do you kind of feel about what the unit has been able to do lately. 01:10:26 Speaker 8: Yeah, obviously there's a lot of a lot of good things, all those things stats and I would say, you know, we have dynamic playmakers. 01:10:35 Speaker 5: We do. 01:10:35 Speaker 8: We have good players, and there's explosive talent on the board. And I think, really and really, the messaging this week has been like that's all well and good and being an explosive defense, and everyone talks about explosive offense. 01:10:48 Speaker 5: I look at us as an explosive. 01:10:49 Speaker 8: Defense and the ability to create big plays and sacks and we've had a touchdown last two games, and the turnovers and all those things. But you know, there's still a little bit of inconsistency in the play and play out execution of your job, and so that can either carry so far or can mass things or that's when to me, that's when the results are a little up and down, right, when you have to cut through and say, hey man, we have to be able to execute consistently, playing and play out within the details of your job or whatever your responsibility is and if that's missing, then the big plays happened. But that fluctuates, right, and then you're giving up big plays all sort of stuff. So I think our messaging, especially coming off last week, is like, hey, we've got like great things and we wish we could be celebrating those things more. I mean, Daniel Hunter had an unbelievable game last week, you know what I mean, with three sacks and five TFLs. But we're not talking about that because we lost and because and why did that happen? And so I think the messaging has been, hey, we need to work on the consistency level of execution play and play out. I know Demico talked about focus or in the week and saying like, hey, this play, what's my responsibility like hyper focus on this and when you do that and the consistency level comes. Now the talent and the explos and those big plays are

leading to bigger results. 01:12:03 Speaker 3: So what about facing Trevor Lawrence possibly most likely and the Jacksonville Jaguars whatever they put on the field, because they do have explosive playmakers. They haven't always done it this year, but they're capable of doing, no. 01:12:13 Speaker 5: Doubt, no doubt. I mean, I think it's the same thing. 01:12:15 Speaker 8: I mean, two good running backs, a great tight end, a great receiver. I mean, and yeah, they're starting quarterback. We're assuming coming back. We'll see how that plays out. But you know it's a division game and on the road again, so I mean all those things like it's it's it's gonna take our best effort. And I think again we're starting with hey man, like, we got to do it playing and play out and we can't. We can't slip all my bad There's there's not a week for my bads. I mean, they have a lot of talent and a lot of capability of creating plays on you. So hopefully we can go down and show really what what improvements we've made going through this process. 01:12:49 Speaker 2: Court you mentioned Danil the last two games. It feels like there are things that he's doing on a field where if you're watching a film, you got to a little quicker, You're like, what what did I do? 01:12:59 Speaker 1: What am I? 01:13:00 Speaker 2: Holy cow? What did he just do to get to the quarterback here? It feels like he's hitting a stride that I don't even know that he hit. 01:13:07 Speaker 1: Minnesota. 01:13:08 Speaker 2: What's been kind of the biggest thing for him to kind of get to this level, because it feels like he's played at a high level all year. 01:13:14 Speaker 1: Last two weeks, it's almost like he went to a different level. 01:13:16 Speaker 5: Yeah. 01:13:16 Speaker 8: Yeah, he's on a heater for sure. I don't know, man, Like I do think he's kind of just growing into it. You know, we all I say this a lot. 01:13:24 Speaker 5: Man, It's. 01:13:26 Speaker 8: It's a different system off, it's it's a different style of kind of how we how we play and preach things here and it and and even though when he's a great player and he is, like, it still takes some growth and some time to really acclimate to to our our system and our style. And so I think he's just getting more and more comfortable within that. And so the sort of like you know, for anyone, not just him, like when you're learning something new, like the hesitation and the uncertainty, like obviously the more reps you get, that part's going away. And again now he's just he's such a he's like in a flow state right now, and it's just it's just happening naturally. He's not thinking, he's just really out there just playing and reacting to what he's seeing. So he's just to me, it's been a little bit like more he's playing with a little more freedom almost mentally, because he's just not I think he's kind of he's got it. 01:14:12 Speaker 5: It kind of clicked for him and yeah. 01:14:16 Speaker 1: Players getting it in. Yeah,

it's kind of in that area. 01:14:18 Speaker 8: Yes, I think he sure has been, so I hope he stays that way for a couple of months. 01:14:23 Speaker 3: All right, one more for a very important question here. I asked to coach this and Nick Cassario and Eric Murray, we had him in here yesterday. 01:14:30 Speaker 1: It's Thanksgiving company right there. 01:14:32 Speaker 3: And look, you have to replace turkey on the Thanksgiving table, You have to put turkey on waivers and need to replace it on the Thanksgiving roster. 01:14:42 Speaker 1: What are you going to replace turkey with? 01:14:44 Speaker 5: Is a protein? 01:14:45 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I would assume you're not going to go alfalfa sprouts and stuff. 01:14:50 Speaker 5: Live on the potatoes and stuffing. 01:14:52 Speaker 1: I mean I would. I'd love. 01:14:55 Speaker 8: We always were like a spiral ham side note back in the day. So I feel like that's got some like holiday association. 01:15:02 Speaker 1: I mean, see you and Tomico think alike. 01:15:04 Speaker 5: Yeah, just. 01:15:07 Speaker 1: Go said barbecue. 01:15:09 Speaker 3: I think did. But just to be politically correct, in Texas. 01:15:12 Speaker 1: That's exactly what he's doing. He didn't want to, you know, Coach, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck this week. 01:15:19 Speaker 5: Appreciate it. 01:15:20 Speaker 1: Guys. Man, I love that dude. 01:15:21 Speaker 2: He's a great coach, great dude, great man, great great humanitarian. Matt Burke, Devinces coordinator for your Houston Texans. All right, we got one segment left, and you know, Wednesday it is time for in the Lab. So Drew and I had a little a little venting to do, but then we're gonna leave it behind us and we're gonna move on to Jacksonville. 01:15:38 Speaker 1: That's next on Texans All Access. 01:15:43 Speaker 2: Weren't one to find a segment of this inedition to Texans All Acts. I appreciate you being with me, John Harris Football on a sideline reporter and one half of the In the Lab crew, my ma Andrew Doherty is the better half. And we had a lot to think and say as we get into this Thanksgiving Eve. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody, because I know I'm gonna probably forget at the very end of the show to say that, but here's Drew and I dive in in the Lab, a little venting and then leaving it behind and then talking about Jacksonville. 01:16:14 Speaker 10: Right here, this is a weird, weird, weird season that we're still in the middle of. 01:16:21 Speaker 9: Yes, the final chapter has not been written. 01:16:24 Speaker 1: Correct. 01:16:26 Speaker 10: Much could still go great, much could not. We could be see, we could see something somewhere in the middle. But what I want to focus on right now, John, and you and I have talked offline about this. It's the damnedest thing. Starting with the Patriots win. 01:16:45 Speaker 9: Since then, so. 01:16:45 Speaker 10: Week six, Week six, yep, the Texans are plus twelve solely in that span turnover

differential wise, meaning including the Patriots game, blitting the Patriots game plus three. In that one, they're plus three. The next week they're plus one, plus one, they were even in a game they're plus one and plus three, So three different games they've been plus three, which is bonkers. But anyways, they've been plus twelve, meaning they've taken the ball away twelve more times than they've turned it over. Now, yes, they have turned it over some in that span, but plus twelve. They're the third best team overall in the NFL in the entire season or on the entire season at plus nine. So they came into that Patriots game, they were down, they were in the bottom third of the NFL in turnover differential, had a good week that boosts them back up, and they've steadily risen. There's only two teams that have a better turnover differential rate than they do right now. 01:17:38 Speaker 9: Only two. 01:17:41 Speaker 10: I don't know what the span is since week twelve with the rest of the NFL, but excuse me, since week six with the rest of the NFL, but plus twelve, I mean, you're at a plus two rate per game. That's bananas, and it hasn't equated or it hasn't come out to wins and losses, and it's it's the weirdest freaking thing. And you pick off a guy five times and you lose. You sack a guy eight times and you also get a pick six off him and you lose. It was just the weirdest freaking thing. What is going on? How is this happening? But with the turnover stuff, like. 01:18:15 Speaker 1: Yeah, well yeah, it's mind blowing. I mean it really is. 01:18:22 Speaker 2: You know, I think that the Detroit game was the one five interceptions. 01:18:27 Speaker 1: You got five. 01:18:28 Speaker 2: Now I'll take you back, You've got four extra possessions because the fifth interception out of the where it ranked in the order. 01:18:35 Speaker 1: But Kamari Laster picked offhill Mary. 01:18:38 Speaker 2: But you got four extra possessions against Detroit, because that's the way in essence, you need. 01:18:45 Speaker 1: To think about a turnover. 01:18:47 Speaker 2: That's an extra possession for your offense that you weren't planning on getting but you got. And when you're plus twelve now, obviously, like I said, take that hill Mary. At the end, you're eleven extra possessions over seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven like six games ish, so you're averaging about two extra possessions per game and you just haven't been able to turn that into points. 01:19:15 Speaker 1: And that to me. 01:19:19 Speaker 2: The you can go one step further of the weirdness since New England since that game, because Damian Pierce had a touchdown in that game. I'm trying to think with the other's another touchdown in that second half was Digs. Yeah, maybe Digs after the turnover, So you had two touchdowns in the second half of that game. Since that game, so that would be Green Bay going forward. Derek Barnett has one touchdown, but offensively, Jimmy Ward has a touchdown, So Derek

Barnett Jimmy Ward have touchdowns and the offense has a touchdown. That's right there, the crux of of the issue, and that's that's in the second half, you know, finishing games, and you know, there are a lot of different theories reasons why the second halves of games have been a struggle. 01:20:14 Speaker 9: There's still one answer to answer. 01:20:17 Speaker 2: There's there's no clean answer like, oh, it's this guy, or it's this scheme, or it's this issue a bunch of and sometimes one of the people don't want to hear it. But sometimes it just comes down to bad luck. And I mean and sometimes turnovers are luck. I don't think so. I mean that in Underdemiko, they've turned teams over I don't know how many times. 01:20:40 Speaker 1: But sometimes it just comes down to bad luck. 01:20:43 Speaker 2: You know, what if what if CJ sees tank earlier in that game against Detroit throws that touchdown, I think we win that Detroit game. I think after winning Detroit, there's no way we're losing to. 01:20:55 Speaker 1: To Tennessee at home. 01:20:58 Speaker 2: But I think this offense is in a in a rut in some sense and just hard to get out. And when you know, you think about if your car gets stuck in the mud, you think about if you gas it, you're just gonna create a bigger and bigger and bigger rut, Like just give it more power through hit the accelerator more. You're just gonna leave a big old rut, like an even bigger tire rut. 01:21:21 Speaker 9: Just gotta jiggle it a little bit. 01:21:24 Speaker 1: Right, There's you've gotta you've got to. 01:21:26 Speaker 9: Be one of the tires right the ward on one of the time. 01:21:29 Speaker 2: You've got to do something outside of just harder, you know what I mean, it's gotta there's got to be something different than that. You could keep working hard and try trying harder, but there's got to be something else that's got to kind of jolt it back into into you know, it's like a dislocated knee, you know, it's like you gotta you know, kind of turn it and oh, okay, it's back and hopefully at some point that can happen. Maybe not, I don't know. Maybe that's what this sea is going to teach all of us. Drew, I don't know, but I know I know people are upset. Look, most upset people are the offensive staff's his team not getting games. I mean, the defensive staff was probably pretty upset with the way things went down. 01:22:12 Speaker 9: Well, I was gonna say, yeah, I was gonna say that. 01:22:15 Speaker 10: I can't remember who was asking the question, but it was basically, hey are you Demiko? 01:22:20 Speaker 9: What do you think about this offense? You know, what's the deal? 01:22:23 Speaker 10: And he said, we got to play better complimentary fill And normally you roll your eyes at that type of thing, but man, all three phases, they made some whoppers of mistakes yep. That helped lose that game the other day, but they all it's the weirdest thing. They all also did all sorts of great stuff too. On each side of the ball. There were miraculous things that happened, not miraculous, but fantastic things that happened. But he did too many things that didn't go your way in every phase, all three of those phases that kept you from winning. 01:22:52 Speaker 1: Yew. 01:22:53 Speaker 10: You saw Kyane Fairburn throwing his helmet off at the end, But Kanye, he also made a fifty yard field goal. He also had a phenomenal kickoff or turn to start the game that helps you get that first touchdown, But then you get a penalty on on some returns a couple of times that set you back defense. Yeah you get eight secks, Yeah you score, but also you might ice the game if you wrap up and bring Pollard down they're inside the five instead of let them get free for the first I mean, there's all sorts of every single phase of the ball, and we've talked at linked about what the offense needs to do better every single phase of the ball. They all looked at themselves and were blaming themselves, and you know, it was a collective loss, which stinks. 01:23:36 Speaker 1: But this is what I wrote, Drew and Harris his this is a paragraph. 01:23:40 Speaker 9: Yeah, drawing a lot on that too. 01:23:42 Speaker 2: Yeah, but it's you know, when you you wonder often, Okay, could we have prevented the bad things that happened? 01:23:51 Speaker 5: Okay? 01:23:52 Speaker 2: So as I read this, think about the bad things that happen. Could these have been prevented? Texans had a penalty a kickoff but wiped out a forty eight yard Damian Pierce the illegal contact penalty and a third and eight they led to a Titans field goal in the first half. 01:24:04 Speaker 1: Had a delay a game penalty on a punt in the first. 01:24:06 Speaker 2: Half, nearly gave up a touchdown because the returner didn't down the ball and had to dive on it to avoid a Titan's touchdown. Dropped a kickoff after the cheek or cockboard touchdown and was tackled at the eighteen yard line. Had consecutive false starts on third down on the first drive of the fourth quarter. Had a holding penalty that cost the Texans field position on a punt to the Tennessee thirty nine yard line. Committed a two man in motion this is a killer illegal shift penalty on go ahead Nico Collins touched on the fourth quarter, committed a holding on first and ten from the Tennessee eleven Three plays later after Collins should have been td missed a shorter than an extra point twenty yard field goal, and finally committed a fifteen yard blind side block penalty and the final Titans punt with the ball to the Texas seven yard line intead of Texans twenty four that led to a Titan safety for a final thirty two to twenty seven lead. 01:24:50 Speaker 1: As I'm going through that, I'm seeing. 01:24:52 Speaker 2: All those plays, I think sometimes the penalties, especially on special teams, those can be kind of tough. Those are you know, you're trying haul, but still you got to do everything possible to avoid, Like, for example, the holding penalty

that the Titans were backed up, Titans were backed up. Robert Woods came up and fuelled the ball and got to the thirty nine yard line. You're already fugal range. You're in fugal range. And there's a holding on Kamara last year and I was like, wait, that's weird. 01:25:22 Speaker 1: Kamara doesn't really play special teams. And remember, oh Cadar Holman got hurt. 01:25:26 Speaker 2: He's got and play the gunner and he doesn't do that. That's not his he's not used to that. So of course he held. Hey got a ten year old penalty. Now, that was also the drive that you had the illegal shift with two menu in motion, and that was that was a killer And to me, of all of them, that's the one that bothers me the most. Not because it took a touchdown off the board. It did take a touch on off the board. It would have been the go ahead touchdown. But it's the week twelve. We were week twelve. That shouldn't be happening. Those are the things that shouldn't be happening. Penalties, you know, like daring not getting on the ball in the end zone, like okay, he should know that. Two minute emotion like come on, we can't we can't have that. But those kind of things, you know, like the holding penalty that was on Jared Patterson. 01:26:12 Speaker 1: It never should have happened. It never should have happened. 01:26:16 Speaker 2: There was a double team on Simmons, but Shaq Mason got thrown down basically by Simmons. And now it's what I want against Patterson. WHI Jared's not gonna win that. Nobody's gonna win that against Simmons one on one. That was the whole point that double team needed to stay stronger. But no, it's a holding penalty. Now move Bob moves back, and now you got to settle for the twenty eight yard field goal. 01:26:34 Speaker 1: And of course Kaimi has been fantastic all year and. 01:26:37 Speaker 2: He and he missed, Yeah, he pushed it left, and you know those things are gonna happen. Happening against the Jets. You know, those things are gonna happen. This guy's been carrying us all year. And I think as I as I have thought through this, and I've talked to a lot of people. I was actually on lunch at lunch on Wednesday, and you know, the guys that I was at lunch with were like, well, you know there's this, and there's that, and there's you know, all these different things. And I think what's frustrating is in a sense is one of them said, they talked about CJ and Kayimi, and they're like, we're just so used to those guys putting a cape on and bailing us out basically, you know, playing not not hero ball. 01:27:09 Speaker 9: But we got spoiled to a degree. Yeah, yet spoiled. 01:27:12 Speaker 10: And they are they are human and they're still way I say human, they're superhuman, but even superhuman sometimes. 01:27:18 Speaker 2: Absolutely and and and this was one and this was one of those times. And those guys are gonna step right back up, and they're gonna nail fifty yard field goals and they're gonna hit fifty yard bombs and hit twenty yard deep comebacks, and they're gonna be the guys that we want them to that we have always thought them to be. But there are gonna be moments you trip up. And that was that was one of them. And they just there was a confluence of events and that was part of it. And it ended up with us getting a fifth loss, and we probably deserve to lose. We we didn't desert win that game totally but we could have stolen it totally. 01:27:49 Speaker 10: And one last thing, Yeah, they were two and eight, but damn it, that's a good defense the Titans have, Yes, it is. 01:27:56 Speaker 1: That was as good as secondary. 01:27:57 Speaker 2: Those guys were stickier in coverage than I did have L Jerry sneed I know. They were sticky in coverage and that was probably the best secondary I could think of because they didn't sack CJ early in the game. Now they they did pressure him and move him off his spot a. 01:28:11 Speaker 9: Little eliminated the run. They eliminated the run. 01:28:14 Speaker 1: Simmons, that secondary was sticky man. 01:28:16 Speaker 2: Daryl Worley stepped up at safety and uh was really really good. And he was subbing for Harmoni Hooker, who had made the trip but was sick and couldn't play, so Worley had to step in there last second and ended up making a couple of really key plays in that game. 01:28:29 Speaker 10: Are you ready to put Jeffrey Simmons up on the Mount Rushmore of AFC South, Yes, villain's with t Y Hilton who has two places on the Mount Rushmore? 01:28:37 Speaker 9: And who's the who's the who's the other? 01:28:39 Speaker 1: Oh? 01:28:39 Speaker 10: King Henry, Yeah, Derrick Henry, Yeah, King Henry is there a jaguar that we can put in there or. 01:28:43 Speaker 1: No, I don't think so. 01:28:46 Speaker 9: Who's got who's the guy that caught that hail Mary? 01:28:48 Speaker 10: That Mike Thomas not you can't really put don't even know if you have at this point. Not not Jeffrey Simmons, Whiz that guy's good Simmons, Derrick Henry t Y Hill. 01:29:00 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, all. 01:29:03 Speaker 10: Right, So we look back in a good We're back in a good friend of mind, because that's what we're gonna be. 01:29:09 Speaker 9: We're gonna be in a good friend wind. It's Thanksgiving. 01:29:11 Speaker 10: I'm thankful for you, John, and I'm thankful for Randy the macho man, savage with his cream of the crop, the crop, cream of the crop, saying, because we're gonna pick a cream of the crop this guy. If the Texans are flying back on Sunday evening with a victory, their eighth of the year, if they're flying back with a victory, it'll be because these guys, these two guys, one for me, one for you, were Cream of the Crop award winners. I'm going with Tank Dell. Tank Dell erupted right outside his hometown last year. He's from Daytona Beach, he had a nice crowd there on the sidelines. In Week three, when the Texans got that first win of the Debigo Ryans Era, their first win of the season, they took it to them. You had the Tank Dell long

touchdown. You had another long Tank Dell reception early in the game. 01:30:00 Speaker 9: Get the Andrew Beck. God bless Andrew Beck. 01:30:03 Speaker 10: Yeah, kickoff return for a score and uh youh Will and Anderson block in a field goal. Lots of good stuff, Brevin Jordan, lots of fun stuff. So I'm gonna go with Tank Dell because I think he's gonna get his I think the matchups will present themselves. I think Nico is gonna get what he normally gets. But I think when you add in Tank to it, let me get a redo a reducts of last season. 01:30:23 Speaker 9: More Tank Dell heroics. CJ. 01:30:26 Speaker 10: Stroud and the crew come through after the break as well and get some touchdowns. You get back on the winning track. You're coasting into a much needed bye week. You get some things fixed, you jiggle some things, and then hing about a bam, you roll into the playoffs with a nice December. 01:30:43 Speaker 9: You like that? You cool with that? 01:30:44 Speaker 6: Like that? 01:30:44 Speaker 2: Okay, who's your In fact, I struggled with this one because there's a guy I want to say, but I'm not going to do it. 01:30:52 Speaker 1: I'll tell you who that is, Okay, and that's CJ Stroud. 01:30:55 Speaker 9: All right, we kind of got to take him out. He's straw that stirs the drink. 01:30:59 Speaker 2: You know, taking him out, Yeah, because this quarterback and there's in this instance, it would be yeah, I would grant that. I think there's been a lot of noise about about CJ and a lot of people like. 01:31:12 Speaker 1: What's wrong CJ, sophomore slump, all this kind of stuff. 01:31:15 Speaker 2: Man, I went back and I watched every single throw he made against Tennessee Titans. 01:31:18 Speaker 1: I'm telling you, I'll take sophomore slump all week. 01:31:21 Speaker 3: Ye. 01:31:21 Speaker 1: Sure, he threw an interception that was a bad he knew it. He knew he threw a. 01:31:24 Speaker 2: Bad interception the first interception, I didn't. I'm not putting on him because I I think there was something. I think there was a disconnect there. I think that route was supposed to run a little deeper. I think CJ expected it to be a little deeper, and he threw it a little deeper. Thought I'm not putting that one on him. There were two of the throws that were kind of like they were on CJ. Like, but he made plus throws throughout that game. He made I thought the throw to Nico on the sideline where Nico toe tapped, that was a plus plus throw. That was just a extraordinary throw that not many quarterbacks in this league end up making. So you know all this, Oh he's slumping, he's just look at numbers last few weeks. Look, the overall offense hasn't been great, but he has been fighting through some protection issues and then just second year stuff that he's just trying. 01:32:10 Speaker 1: He's getting over. 01:32:10 Speaker 2: But I think this is a big game for him from from that standpoint. 01:32:14 Speaker 1: So I'm not gonna I'm not gonna pick CJ. 01:32:16 Speaker 10: Okay, so hold on, I almost I almost have to put Nico in that same category as you can't pick him because he's just guy. I wasn't gonna he's gonna do yeah, got Lee John, he wasn't gonna pick him. I mean, he's had those two touchdowns wiped off the board, but he's still he still gets the yardage, he still gets the big catches. 01:32:35 Speaker 9: Like he is in another stratosphere right now. 01:32:38 Speaker 2: So I almost want to put this next guy that I am gonna pick on the shelf. 01:32:42 Speaker 9: Okay, because the last two games. 01:32:44 Speaker 2: Have been arguably one of the best back to back games for a defensive player I've ever seen. And we watched Watt in the twenty twenty four fourteen season, and that is Daniel Hunter. 01:32:54 Speaker 1: I'm going with him. 01:32:55 Speaker 2: The Jags traded Cam Robinson because they wanted to see what they had Walker Little, and so now it's gonna be Walker Little, Anton Harrison against Daniel Hunter and hopefully Will Anderson Junior. 01:33:07 Speaker 1: So I'm going with Danil. 01:33:08 Speaker 2: I think he has been absolutely extraordinary pro Bowl level the last few weeks. He took his sack level from I think it was five and a half going to Dallas game, it's now ten and a half. 01:33:17 Speaker 1: I believe. I think there was the numbers either way, he's been phenomenal. 01:33:21 Speaker 10: He entered that Dallas game leading the NFL in pressures, right, the sacks hadn't coming down the names. 01:33:28 Speaker 2: Yeah, he has played. I mean last week three sacks, five TFLs. I mean, just incredible. And I guarantee you Jacksonville will put some you know, chips and things against him, and they've been defeating those. In fact, the one player that went viral on on Twitter was a chip was supposed to be a chip by Ezekiel Elliott, but then Neil spun inside to get away from it and he ends up getting I can't remember if it's a sack or pressure on that play, but it was just incredible to see what he's gonna do. So I'm gonna go cream of the crop against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Danil Hunter, do it against Walker Little and Cam Robinson. Yeah, because Walker Little and Anthony Harrison. 01:34:04 Speaker 10: You get just one of those that winds up, maybe more one of those winds up being a strip sack and you you recover it. 01:34:11 Speaker 1: Right, Who knows what that means? It exactly possessions we talked about to start this. 01:34:14 Speaker 9: Yes, we tied it all back together like the great comedians do. 01:34:17 Speaker 1: Look at that. 01:34:19 Speaker 10: Hey, I'm thankful for you, Like I said, I'm thankful for you for checking this podcast out. Hope you have all your turkey, all your ham, all your sides that you want some fun desserts as well. I hope you're with the ones you love and if not, I'm sorry that stinks, but we've all been there. My first first Thanksgiving away from home. I had a ham sandwich to start the day, did a sports cast out in Lubbock, and then got some Waterburger for dinner, which was that was nice. 01:34:47 Speaker 9: But it's not bad. 01:34:51 Speaker 10: I was employed, I had my health, I was not hungry, you know, so I can't complain too much, right, yeah, all right, man? 01:35:00 Speaker 9: What was your first did you ever have a Thanksgiving away from home? 01:35:02 Speaker 1: You know? 01:35:03 Speaker 2: My my actually my first Thanksgiving that I was away from home tournament is probably Paige and I just having you know, our Thanksgiving dinner and now we've just expanded it work. 01:35:13 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's good, it's great. 01:35:15 Speaker 2: But uh, the last couple of years it's been just myself and my son Jack, Yes, and we've we've handled it and had some fun. 01:35:22 Speaker 1: And that's what I wanted to be for everybody. 01:35:25 Speaker 2: Listen, fun family, watch the football if you want, go play football. 01:35:30 Speaker 1: In the yard. 01:35:30 Speaker 2: But either way, just huggle loved one, be around a loved one, enjoy Thanksgiving, and give thanks. I give thanks to Drew, to Mark, to Frank Frangie, to Matt Burke, who was awesome. We appreciate you guys for listening. Thank you for everything Texans fans enjoy the day Tomorrow. 01:35:48 Speaker 1: Will reconvene on Friday. 01:35:50 Speaker 2: With more all access before we get ready to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. 01:35:55 Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving, and as always, Go Texans.