00:00:00
Speaker 1: Welcome in Texas huddle during the bye week, so we don't have a current player, but we got somebody that's a player playoff and we found John Harris sitting in with myself DP, I am in D. She's DP and a guy that I've really wanted to do multiple shows with because I've always had a respect for his approach to the game and obviously he played at a high level and he breaks it down like no other. He is in the huddle with us. What's going on with John Man, It's good to be here.
00:00:29
Speaker 2: Mark texted me the other day and said, Hey, DP and D wants you to come on as a guest.
00:00:32
Speaker 3: I'm like, absolutely, I was honored, so thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
00:00:38
Speaker 4: I was like, if we have John Harris on, I really can just sit back and chill because he's been Indy and Johnny, Who's gonna run itself to be the easiest show I've done all year? Not that our shows have been hard, but I enjoy the perspective that Indie brings. I love the perspective that John Harris brings. And you're right, like we've never the three of us have never been studio together.
00:00:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, what's up with that? That's never well, it doesn't always have to be football.
00:01:03
Speaker 2: It could be fashioned because if you look my man over here, he's sporting a kangle and that is nice, which I admitted to back when I was a senior high school nineteen ninety, I wore in my most likely succeed photo, I wore suspenders in my green kangle and it was nice because that was nineteen ninety. Though I can't support it like dy though you can. You think I should try it if I can find it. I'm aware it. If I can find it, which I've moved probably like thirty times since I'm aware, and.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: If I have only purchased, I'll wear a blue one, you wear a red one, wears a white one, yesh, and we'll have the whole time.
00:01:32
Speaker 3: That's what I have to do, absolutely.
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Speaker 5: That kangle. But I have a beret. Will that work?
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Speaker 2: It's got to be a cagle. I mean, it's got to you gotta. Yeah, we might make you turn yours backwards, so we're forward, you turn yours backwards. That's kind of beret ish.
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Speaker 4: Well, Andy's on Extra points this week with Mark vandermir So he's all dressed up and you look great, Indy, first of all, And now I wish you would dress up for radio.
00:01:58
Speaker 3: Yes, dressed up for radio what I do every day?
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Speaker 6: I hate dressing up.
00:02:02
Speaker 1: And I don't know if it's because I'm bigger and getting older and fatter, but just it's uncomfortable. If I could wear sweats and an oversized T shirt everywhere, everywhere, that's all I would do.
00:02:13
Speaker 2: You know, the first few years I started traveling with the team, and I would see the guys gown to playing really suits. I'm like, yo, i gotta I gotta take my game up a little bit. I gotta find some sort of drip. So I would get a few suits, Like okay, I'm looking. And now I've gotten to a point where like, I gotta wear a tie. Damn it, No, I do not want to wear a tie. I gotta do a Bear Brian Award function tonight after after I have replay, and so I gotta get over and I gotta I gotta go get a tie. I gotta put my jacket on. I'm like, ah, just let me talk.
00:02:40
Speaker 3: That's all I need to do. You don't need to see me, just let me talk.
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Speaker 6: I'm good.
00:02:43
Speaker 5: I think when you're doing radio. You just want to be comfortable.
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Speaker 4: I remember coming back from the London trip when we played the Jaguars a few years ago, the first thing I want to do was put on sweats. I mean, that's a long flight, you're working, you're dressed up all day.
00:02:54
Speaker 5: I feel you guy, I like to dress up, but I like to be I like to be comfortable when I gotta get some work done.
00:02:58
Speaker 2: So but it was a nice that we gotta stretch out on that plane. But nope, like sardines.
00:03:03
Speaker 1: Last thing on this because you just say stretched out and it reminded me. These new four way stretch jackets. Oh yeah, jeans got yes, like the jeens.
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Speaker 6: I don't know.
00:03:14
Speaker 1: Women leisure, but for men, I think they've had it a while for women, but for men they didn't have. But especially the jeans, because jeans just yeah. But now with this four ways, yes, it makes whoever.
00:03:31
Speaker 2: I just spent like a half hour the other day looking for looking for some jeans. I'm like, I had them in my shopping card and then I didn't do it. But I'm like, I'm absolutely anything that I can get that stretches just a little bit, I am all about it.
00:03:47
Speaker 3: I'm all about it, absolutely.
00:03:50
Speaker 5: All right, stretching pants for the wind.
00:03:51
Speaker 4: How do you go from stretchy pants to six and six into the bye week? Because, you know what, we're relaxing right now. I feel like we're in a night. We're in a nice spot in the season. Indy, like three and three at the at the bye Is this what you thought the team was going to be at?
00:04:05
Speaker 6: I was telling the truth. No, you know, I felt like.
00:04:07
Speaker 5: They were going to schedule.
00:04:08
Speaker 1: Like ahead of the season, looking at the schedule, my thought was they're going to play better. My thought was they're going to compete every game. But if you told me that they're going to be five hundred going get into the bye week, I would have been I would have said, you know what, that's pretty strong. You're being overly optimistic. But here they are, and now they're to the point and I can't wait to get y'all's take. We're going into every game I'm expecting them to win. You know, I'm not saying that they're going to go on which we.
00:04:32
Speaker 5: Had an expect right, Yeah.
00:04:35
Speaker 2: I mean even in nineteen when they were really good, I went into a week thinking, yeah, I think so, But it was just disjoined in twenty nineteen. There were just a lot of things going on with that team. In particular. You know, Bill O'Brien was doing too much at that time, God loving, but he was handled so many different things that by Friday, when the game plan was seeming in order, he wanted to change some things and it was just really disruptive for the off And now I just I feel like this team is just in better sink. I did think, indeed that they would run the ball better. I thought they would run the ball better. Now I you know, they have the line is reconfigured from what we thought. But when Scott Quisenberry went down, I was like, oh gosh, this is tough, but okay, we got juice.
00:05:20
Speaker 3: The juice goes.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: Down and we're like, man, Jared Patterson hasn't played center for a couple of years, okay, and so you can understand early why they had some But even the last few weeks, I thought, Okay, they're gonna run the ball a little bit better.
00:05:32
Speaker 3: It just hasn't been there. But in this offense, they're they're learning a new offense.
00:05:36
Speaker 2: Riocky quarterback still a rookie center, rookie play college so still trying to find themselves with that. But I think defensively I thought they'd be I thought they'd be good, but I think they're better than I thought. They've played together pretty well. I thought the lack of real size up front might hurt them eventually, Like, boy, they can penetrate, they can move, they're quick, but they're still not really big. Especially when on Ridgeway was put on the d L. I thought, boy, they're not really big this I'm worried about that. I'm worried about teams just going you know, Derrick Henry style, just hammering. But they really got better played from the linebackers and expect not perfect. First few games were tough, but Henry Totoa stepped up. But I really thought they would run the ball better. They've stopped the run probably better than I thought. I think the secondary has been what we thought, but I think we didn't really know what CJ. You know, we really didn't know what CJ. Like, I mean, even I I loved him come out of High State. I was saying to people week eighteen after they win, like, dude, celebrate the win because you're getting Brice or you're getting CJ.
00:06:34
Speaker 6: In neither way.
00:06:35
Speaker 2: It's gonna be a good thing for this organization. You're gonna be fine. No, no, no, we're rolling on Bryce. We're alling on Bryce. Well not what are people saying? And I think he's been even better than we thought. But I think the one thing that stood out to me is it's not just a bunch of checkdowns. He's not just throwing a bunch of snag routs, just little little things here or there. He's throing the ball down the field like inner, deep, intermediate stuff, the crossers, the corner he hit t Nico going into the north end zone. That was the Robert Woods touchdown a second quarter. Like he's making those throws. He's throwing the ball into spots where there's not even a spot. When he releases it and then the receiver moves into the frame, you're like, oh, okay, that's what he was doing. You're seeing those things from a young quarterback that I don't know that anybody thought we would get at that level this quickly.
00:07:18
Speaker 3: I thought we'd get there. I didn't think we'd get.
00:07:20
Speaker 5: There this quickly, and we've been getting there.
00:07:22
Speaker 6: All right.
00:07:23
Speaker 4: You got that's a lot to unpack, But I want to go back to your point about the run game. I want to get your thoughts on this because I saw somebody tweet out that, first of all, Devin Singletary has been getting a lot more carries, so Motor has been in there more than I think even that I had expected, and it seems like maybe we might see him get more carries than Pierce moving forward, depending on the game plan. But someone had tweeted out that a majority of the runs for Singletary were on the outside, a majority of the runs for Pierce were on the inside, and I thought that was curious. I did not watch it like that, Like you've obviously watched the film, But what would be the strategy you think in putting one of those guys in over the other?
00:07:59
Speaker 3: Well, don't you were the head. I don't totally buy that.
00:08:01
Speaker 2: Quick I don't totally buy that because you can watch Motor run between the A gaps, but that could be a C gap or a D gap run that he's cutting back. It's one of the things that he does really well is cut those runs back.
00:08:12
Speaker 3: And one of the things Damien.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: Would like to do at times is get that edge. He wants to get to the outside. I think you know that what was it? Twelve was like twelve carries for each or twelve for Devin and thirteen for Damian. You know, one of the things I think there's a challenge for any coach, no matter the level. And I know I had this challenge a long long time ago. Was trying to figure out, this is my offense, this is what I do. Let's tick the run end, this is my run game, this is what I like to do, this is my talent, this is what they do. And how do I marry those two together? And so, okay, I want to be more of an option running team. So does that fit with the guys that I have? They can they see it? Can they read it? Can they run it? Can they be explosive enough to put the pressure on the defense that way? And I still think that Bobby's kind of Bobby Slow is trying to kind of figure that out with his with his guys, Like what kind of runner.
00:09:08
Speaker 3: Okay, Damien, I think does this.
00:09:09
Speaker 2: But you can't get pigeonholed in when Damien comes in, Well, we're gonna run counter the NFL defense.
00:09:17
Speaker 5: Defense.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: You get one to that.
00:09:18
Speaker 2: You know, with Devin, you're gonna run outside zone. Well, he's gonna cut that back, you know that. So you want to give them what they do, but you wanted them to have enough variety such that they know, Okay, I can't hone in on just this because they may have this as as a counter, not a counterplay, but a counter to this particular play. So trying to find that. I think as an offensive coordinator, you'd think, well, you've been around them, you know you got this offense. And it takes a while for that to really kind of come into focus. And sometimes sometimes you get lucky as a coach, like sometimes something happens for me. For me, we got beat fifty six to nothing in a game time, and I wanted to throw the ball over the yard. I remember coming back to our coaches meeting. I said, guys, I said, we aren't gonna throw the ball anymore. We're just not because if we're gonna get beat, it's gonna be twenty eight to nothing and not fifty six to nothing. And all of a sudden, we started going to more of a run based offense, and all of a sudden, the next week, it's twenty eight twenty one in the fourth quarter against top ten team in the state, and I'm like, how are we doing this? And the clock was running, We're retrewed up, and so it just sort of developed and I was like, you know what, we're actually pretty good doing this. Let's continue that. And by the end, by the end of the next year, which my last year, we were aftering like three hundred yards a game on the ground and doing it in different ways then I had actually anticipated. And so that opened some things up, and I think they'll get there with this line. I'm curious what they'll do when Juice is ready to go. But I feel like the peer Singletary thing. They do play off one another really well because when Singletary comes in and you know this, you're in a hole with a guy like Singletary and you're ready to make that tackle and.
00:10:57
Speaker 3: Then he gives you.
00:10:58
Speaker 2: He gives you the dead leg chasing one ghost and he's going the other and you're like, dang it. But then you get pierced and you're like, Okay, this guy's gonna try and run me over, so I gotta be ready for it. And then he can shake you too. You know, he's got that in he's got that club in his bag. He's not using it as much. But I really think that that's gonna develop a little bit more with them, kind of a one to two punch.
00:11:18
Speaker 3: What I'd like to see. I like to see both them on the field together.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: I wouldn't mind seeing one of them, you know, not that one has to be the fullback, but if you put them both with the backfield and you won't put one in motion, you're gonna get a lot of nice key reads for CJ.
00:11:30
Speaker 3: When that's the case.
00:11:31
Speaker 2: And you know, if they leave them, take a linebacker out of the box, run the ball, you know, if they take a safety in the box, you know, now throw it to them.
00:11:39
Speaker 3: You know, see what you're gonna do. So I think there's some different things that they can get.
00:11:41
Speaker 2: Into that they haven't yet, and I think that may expand the box even more of the wrong game.
00:11:48
Speaker 1: When you look at Pierce, he's a guy that's so physical he could play a full back type role, more like a Mike Alstein, right. And I like what you say there, because as a defensive player, when you see both of them in the backfield, you still have to respet Beck, both of us getting the ball typically, and God love Beck. If Beck's in the backfield. You know, Okay, he's blocking, I'm just gonna follow him to get to the block. But when you have Pierce and Singletary there, you can't just assume that one's gonna block, one's gonna run the ball. So as a defense, you have to pay more attention to both guys. And what does that do? Makes you play more on your heels, that's what's going downfield. So we'll see, you know, we'll see if they can cook something up during this bye week because those two guys are so productive and could be productive together. When you look at Singletary what he did in Buffalo. The guy rushed for over one hundred and fifty carries the last four seasons and had over four point yard per carry. Four point yards per carry. You have to find a way to get him with the ball. You just you just have to this. He's a well respected weapon in the backfield and you just have to figure out a way to get him the ball.
00:12:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think one of the things to India about that is we saw it on that final drive against the Falcons, and I thought we would see it a little bit more against the Saints. But using them as pass rehievers, especially Damien. I mean, Damian gets aid fifteen six catch and run and he gets out in space, and now if he wants to square up on somebody's scoring up on a safety, which okay, cool, I don't want to scoring up on you every single time. You know, when he's trying to just plow through guys. So I would like to see them kind of develop that aspect of his game too. We know Motor can catch it, and when he gets out in space, he's trouble as well. Mike Boone's added to that mix as a third down receiver.
00:13:23
Speaker 6: Mike.
00:13:23
Speaker 2: I gotta give kudos to Mike Boone. He's had two of the best blitz pickups this year that I can remember. The one on the long pass the Tank against Jacksonville and then on the throw to Nico in the first half where Nico beat Alante Taylor, Tyron Matthews blitzing, Mike Boone picked him up, gave CJ a great pocket because Brazil was coming. Brazil had gotten around on a loop and so he was coming. I'm like, oh, but Mike picked up Tyron and kept him out of there and CJ had time to throw. Mike's gave him a lot in pass protection. I wouldn't mind seeing them get Mike even more involved on third downs.
00:13:54
Speaker 3: But I think they've got the right mix. It's just you got the right mix of.
00:13:58
Speaker 2: Personnel now five and the right mix in play calling in scheme to kind of match what you've got without giving things away, like hey, it's Damien back there. You guys know, it's Iso you know, or it's Toss you know, to not give that away. So I would think to use it in a passing game that When I saw that against the Falcons, I was like, yes, they found it, they're gonna go to it.
00:14:17
Speaker 3: But then Sunday they didn't really use it. So you know, maybe Bobby put.
00:14:20
Speaker 2: It back in his put the club back in his bag and said, I'll save it. I'll wait, I'll set it up and then we'll bring it out a little bit later, so we'll see what they have after the Buye's that's when I get excited, is like, after the buy, what'd you learn during to buy? And then what do you see new when you come out of the buy? And that's gonna be fun.
00:14:36
Speaker 4: I thought that you bring up an interesting point because Pierce didn't have any catches single Jarry had one catch, and I thought after the Atlanta game we saw Damien really have some success out in space catching the ball. I thought they would use more of him, especially with no Tank Dell, but they actually did less of it. So I wonder if it is something that they're waiting for pulling out for these final eleven games.
00:14:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe so.
00:14:56
Speaker 2: And again you bring up Tank, and I think Tank's a good one to talk about TV because Tank opens so much up. He with that speed, he opens so much up. But the wrinkle they went to, which I kind of like too, was putting Xavier Hutchinson back in the backfield, kind of letting him kind of be their debot because he's a bigger guy.
00:15:15
Speaker 5: That's how he would be used.
00:15:17
Speaker 3: Not necessarily.
00:15:18
Speaker 2: Not necessarily, but when you think about him back in college, like he's pretty good runner after the catch. You just because a guy gets and I think this happens to a lot of people, a guy gets pigeonholed as a wide receiver that and I think that's why it was kind of shocking in San Franciso.
00:15:34
Speaker 3: No Deebo's a wide receiver, Like, no, look at that, dude.
00:15:38
Speaker 2: I remember being at the senior Bowl and I looked I saw deeb. I'm like, that's a running back. I saw him in San Francisco in twenty twenty. I was like, that's a running back. That's not a wide receiver body. I mean, his his butt blocks out the moon thick thiughs, and he looks like a running back. Xaby doesn't quite look like a running back. But when you watch him after the catch, you realize, well, he's pretty good after the catch, babe. Let's let's try this and uh and see this works. Now Xavier doesn't. Xavier does not have a butt that blocks out the mos. He's six one two o five. I mean he's good size. But Deebo is like six foot five eleven and he's like two fifteen. But I'm telling you, like one hundred and fifty of it is from waist on down and that's what makes him look like a running back. But I think when you label a guy with a position, you're like, oh, wait.
00:16:22
Speaker 3: Now he's at running back. Oh, like you're playing football. I mean they tossed to him.
00:16:26
Speaker 1: One of those guys when you say, hey, what position do you play? And he says, I played football right exactly. Okay, yeah, absolutely here.
00:16:36
Speaker 3: Savior. Yeah.
00:16:37
Speaker 2: So and he's not like Deebo's kind of squatty Xavier's Xavier's kind of blankier. But you could tell the way he turned that corner when he got that toss going into the south end zone like, Okay, there's something there. Now, you don't have to go to it all the time. But I think that was kind of Bobby's answer, Okay, what's a wrinkle? What can we what can we use here? What can we do? And I like when he puts I like when he puts receivers in the backfield, because now you're putting the linebackers. Uh oh if they're in some sort of match or in their main coverage, Oh boy, I gotta cover.
00:17:09
Speaker 3: Oh I got ever him out of the backfield. That's a receiver.
00:17:11
Speaker 2: That's trouble and it can be trouble against the running backs as well. But you can kind of mess with defenses with just putting a guy in a different spot. They did it with Hutchinson. I think that might be something they do. They've used Robert Woods there a little bit. It's Robert running the same route. It's just a little circle route that he would run from any position on the field will snag circle route. He just does it from the backfield, and then linebackers are like, uh so those little wrinkles and things I think are gonna eventually help this offense, and it'll eventually help the running game too. But I just like to see them on first and second down. Be a little bit more in running games, so we can get to third and three, third and four, not leaving CJ in third nine, third and ten. There's a lot of that in the Falcons game, a little bit in the Saints game. But yet those third down and manageable, not that that's what you're working for. I like to see him attack. Let's make sure first and second down they're successful, so they're third manageable situations for.
00:17:57
Speaker 3: CJ and leaving the whole playbook.
00:17:59
Speaker 6: Oh but at that point, you know, it's cool about this offense.
00:18:02
Speaker 1: You're getting to the point where after every game we're gonna say, oh, he didn't get enough matches, he didn't get into targets because you have so many talented guys, whether it's Schultz, whether it's a Singletary, whether it's Peers, whether it's Robert Woods, Nico, like Tank Dell, the list goes on and on where I don't feel like that was the case this time last year, And like John said, it brings up matchup problems and it reminds me when I was playing. I was playing a linebacker position against the greatest shaw on turf for Kurt Warner, Tory Holt.
00:18:29
Speaker 6: And I had the three receivers.
00:18:31
Speaker 1: So for those listening, when you count receivers, you count from the outside end and typically the third receiver is going to be a running back or a tight end, which they were comfortable with me guarding or matching. And because they were so creative, I somehow got on Isaac Bruce and I remember lighting up and I was something isn't right.
00:18:51
Speaker 6: And this was what was cool about our defense.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: Like I looked back and Brian Dawkins, Hall of Fame Safety, he knew what I was thinking, and he said, don't worry, I got I got you. And even without you know doing what Jim Johnson, the best defensive coordinator in the history of defensive coordinators, made sole rest in peace.
00:19:08
Speaker 6: We knew what to do.
00:19:10
Speaker 1: But because of that matchup and because Brian saw my eyes when I turned around, I knew that I was only gonna have to carry them for like five yards and now I was gonna drop off. And I bring that up because I could see a scenario where the Texans offense creates those type of problem.
00:19:24
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:19:24
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
00:19:25
Speaker 2: I mean you mentioned Dalton Schultz as you're starting to Nds's what I thought about, because in the first three games, Dalton Schultz had I think a total of seven catches for forty seven yards. The last three games it's fourteen catches for like one hundred and ninety five yards and three touchdowns something like that.
00:19:43
Speaker 3: It's just a drastic difference.
00:19:45
Speaker 2: And in those first few games, you know, Nico had the big game against the Colts, and he had another one against the Steelers, and then in between their tank had the big game Robert Woods.
00:19:55
Speaker 3: The first game was catching third downs.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: I love that you can have a different, different guy or a different couple of guys featured every week, and it's almost like having the answers to the test. You don't know what they are, but you're like, Okay, I see this, I know what I want to do. Okay, they're gonna there, we come out on this personnel. They're gonna continue to put Indy Kalou on Dalton Schultz. That's a matchup we're gonna go to. We're gonna force them to change that matchup and leave India as a rusher and then make them bring a safety out. And once they bring a safety out, Okay, that's taking a guy out of the box, take him out of the count.
00:20:27
Speaker 3: We're gonna go and run the ball at that point. And so you have answers that way.
00:20:31
Speaker 2: And there's sometimes I watch the game at the at the start, after the first quarter, I kind of say to myself, Okay, this is a Tank game, or you know, this is a Nico game. Uh, this is gonna be a Dalton game. In the last few really kind of been been Dalton games. I mean, he's been getting some good matchups and they're widening the field to let him kind of, you know, use his use his moves, use his quickness. He's been getting open and available and then taking advantage of some of the defensive mistakes like the Saints. I mean, I don't know what Tyrone was looking at. I love Tyrone. He's the best I've ever seen in that position. I'm always looking at. I mean, that's a standard goal line play. Tight end goes to the back of the end zone. The wing goes to the to the goal line like it's the easiest thing in the world to cover, and Tyron's just sitting there watching the backfield, and I'm like, what's he doing? So they must be doing something right, you know, with a playfake like that to be able to get Dalton as open as he was. So I do I look at it like that and think, Okay, what kind of game is this gonna be? What are they gonna take away? What are they trying to take away? And looking at all right, they're not letting Tank get deep. Okay, we got to work Downdernath stuff. This is a Robert Nico kind of game. And hopefully at some point when this offense really gets good, those lines start getting blurred, like you're not gonna be able to figure it out, like, Okay, they might be trying to take away Nico, but maybe maybe not.
00:21:43
Speaker 3: Maybe this is gonna be a tank game.
00:21:44
Speaker 2: But you know, we'll see if they can get to a point where they're that good, and I hope we can.
00:21:48
Speaker 3: Hope we get there. You just we're not gonna know.
00:21:51
Speaker 2: And that's gonna be great because the defense is gonna be sitting there all game going I don't know. And that's where you really, that's where you want it to be. If you start you start questioning, Wait a second, they're hitting us with this, well, they're hit us with this personnel group. Oh we know it's this, but then they're giving him something else. I mean, to me, that's the game. It's not it's not being you know, trickier, slyer, deceptive. It's just you have counters, you have answers. And I love I love getting there as a coach. I love getting to a point where, oh, they think we're doing this, and then having one or two counters off something we did really well, so that my offense then you know, went from there that that was it.
00:22:26
Speaker 3: And I think Bobby will get there with this offense. It will be fun.
00:22:28
Speaker 4: Well like Noah Brown, I mean, he's a guy that was on camp that was just phenomenal, played week one, was on IR they bring him back and you know.
00:22:36
Speaker 5: He had a pretty quiet game.
00:22:37
Speaker 4: Mine it's the big thirty four yard catch that he had right after the interception.
00:22:42
Speaker 3: So just that, yeah, just that, I mean that, but huge.
00:22:46
Speaker 4: Huge changes the whole tide of the game of the drive, everything.
00:22:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, And I mean you no bea this former teammate Marshall Lattimore, which is kind of nice. And you know, being a guy man coverage when you're just running across the field, now you just got to catch it. And CJ makes it easy for those guys. You know, we talked about this in the broadcast. A lot a lot of crossers, a lot of deep overs, those kind of things. Those routes can be really difficult in some cases for receivers because they're hauling ass to get across the field. Like I mean, they're going because they they know if it's man coverage, Like if it's man, you take off. If it's own, you might sell up at some point. But it's man coverage, you just got it. So you're running full speed all the way across the field and all of a sudden, CJ's got to put that ball on you, so you don't have to adjust.
00:23:29
Speaker 3: You can just run right through it.
00:23:30
Speaker 2: That's to me, what makes CJ so great is the fact that when he throws the ball, guys then run through the ball. As opposed they have to stop and react or slide or go. It's right on them. They don't have to slow down, so they don't have to worry about that. It just just run. Cgill put it in the spot. You keep running it, he'll hitch at that spot.
00:23:48
Speaker 1: Texans huddle. No players today because they have the bye week, or you're going to take a quick time out on the other side. Let's talk about the other side, the defensive side of the ball, and we take what we've taken away after these six games. Quick time out, Texans huddle, we'll be right back. Welcome in, Welcome back Texan's huddle during the bye week. And don't forget after this we have Texans all access, so no reason to ever touch that doll. John Harris sitting in with us. I am indeed, she is DP. You are you, and you're always welcome to check out our podcast. But we talked a lot of offense. But let's talk about those guys on the defensive side. John, I want to get your take on this. I want to get your your transparent take on this. When I look at Will Anderson, when I watch him, I'm like, he's arrived. I feel like now every player can get better. JJ Watki could have gotten better up until his last game. Even though he's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. But when people look at the stat line that says sacks, they seem to be a little disappointed. I just want to get your take on his overall play and what he has to do to up the sack numbers.
00:24:55
Speaker 3: Well, it was pretty clear week two. Starting in week two, the Colts were very where Will Anderson.
00:25:01
Speaker 2: I mean, wherever Will went, there was a there was a tight end, or there was a back that was chipping to help on will Anderson junior. And you know, got the point where they couldn't do it every down because you know John was you know, getting some wins as well, but they were very, very aware of will Anderson. That's when I realized, Okay, he's gonna get that sort of treatment this year. He's gonna see he's gonna see.
00:25:23
Speaker 3: A lot of that.
00:25:25
Speaker 2: So I knew he probably wasn't gonna get a ton of sacks. And you know, when games are closer, you you know you're gonna see a little bit more run game. And obviously the Colts it was it was quick passing game. I mean, Mince, you got that ball out. He got the ball and he threw it and I remember a quote from JJ A long time ago. We played the Titans of twenty eighteen. They had Blaine Gabbertt playing quarterback. The two tackles were out there at Guardo was out. They had nothing and JJ didn't have a sack in that game. And I remember afterwards they asked him. He was like, what do you want me to do? They were throwing the ball within one second Gabrett caught it through it like what do you want me to do? And and you know Will's not gonna say that, but there have been times whether the quick passing game has been there. I think the Falcons game was the one where I was like, man, okay, where is it where we needed it a little bit more? But then you go back and watch and you're like, yeah, they're devoting a few more guys over there to Will. He's also going against Kayla McGarry, who's a pretty.
00:26:19
Speaker 3: He's kind of a mountain man.
00:26:22
Speaker 2: And so I know that Will will probably tell you know, there's probably a few things that I that he need to do. I think the great pass rushers in this league Indian you know, you know the game.
00:26:29
Speaker 3: And I've talked to pass rushers, I say, is it more art or.
00:26:32
Speaker 2: Science and they kind of think about it and they're like, yeah, that's interesting. And so I think Will's kind of trying to figure out how to bridge the gap. And I think one of the things to do that, I think one of the arts, like you watch, you know, Bosa who is I was watching, Oh, Daniel Hunter.
00:26:47
Speaker 3: I was watching Daniel Hunter the other day.
00:26:49
Speaker 2: This dude threw three different pass rush moves in the matter of like two seconds and it eventually got him free. And so I think, you know, for pass rushers, it's, you know, here's your pet move.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: This is what you like to do.
00:27:01
Speaker 2: And Will definitely likes to get that high side, you know, you know, dip and rip from the outside. I think that, you know, he probably could get, you know, try that little ghost move and try and dip that shoulder a little bit more, and that could be good. But he's got to figure out what his counter needs to be to that. And I think once he figures that out, he's gonna be a monster. But his redirect, how he moves, what he adds to the run game, run defense. But when he got that hit on Kamara, it was like in the movie Monsters, Inc. You remember that movie monsters inc in the in the the power was the kids screams, remember that, And so it felt like the way I don't know if Kamara, I don't know if he screamed, but it was like that hit charged him up. I watched him the next two plays like he was literally hopping in the huddle, like hopping like waiting for the next play. And then the next two plays he gets a pressure on car and then he disrupted the screen and I'm like, WHOA, So Sacks will come.
00:27:57
Speaker 3: I think Sacks will definitely come.
00:27:59
Speaker 2: And as they continue to work together, I think one of the things they'll continue to find out.
00:28:03
Speaker 3: And I thought this at Alabama.
00:28:04
Speaker 2: I think Will's one of the best loop like looping inside from outside position. His ability to loop and go from where he is behind the tackle into the backfield is as quick as anybody I've seen it. So I think that would be something that comes in due time as well. That's how he got a pressure on the mar that forced the interception in the Ravens game. But I think for him as just an individual pass rusher, he's one on one with a guy just kind of packaging some moves together.
00:28:30
Speaker 3: He wants to go that rip. He wants to go power. What's the counter?
00:28:33
Speaker 2: I think if he can kind of learn to throw this that and really do that together, I think John, if you watch Gernard, you can tell Grenard it's got a little bit more of the art down of rushing and he's got a little bit more of that. And I always felt like John's a gifted pass rusher when he came into the league. I think Will's house of fire and he's learning still how to be a one on one pass rusher.
00:28:53
Speaker 3: I think he's gonna get there.
00:28:54
Speaker 2: But if he could package and move together, you know, whether he gets that rip and he learns the free andie ice pick, that's move. If he could learn something like that, my god, I mean, he'd be lethal. But you know it takes some time to learn that and then how to apply it in a game and know when to apply it.
00:29:10
Speaker 3: And you know this.
00:29:11
Speaker 2: You know, if you're out there and you're thinking pass rush movies, you're like, I gonna take a risk, I musa spin inside.
00:29:15
Speaker 3: Well, you better.
00:29:16
Speaker 2: Somehow keep contained because you you let you know, you let dono mu nab outside of you, Like man, it's your backside, Like what do you do? I spun inside. Okay, but you have contained on this play. So there's some things that you kind of learn along the way, and I think Will is definitely learning those.
00:29:29
Speaker 4: I think, Okay, aside from the number of sacks, just seeing the quarterback pressures, the hits, the hurries, if you put all those together, like in Sunday's game he had so through six games. I saw next Gen Stats had said that Will has twenty five pressures, tied for second most among rookies through six games. So twenty five pressures, seven quarterback hits, sixteen qbhuries. I have a solution. I want to get your thoughts on this, Like, if there's a quarterback passer rating, why can't there be like a pass rusher rating where you take sacks, but then you also figure in like pressures, hurries, hits so as to gauge how effective a pass rusher could be. Like to me, I don't understand why someone hasn't come up with this one, Okay, John, he's an engineer like I am, Like, we like formulas and we want to do something with these stats.
00:30:17
Speaker 2: No, No, I'll put it very simply. The offensive guys need all that kind of stuff. They need to they need to be able to quantify it. Defensive players don't need that. Defensive players already know. Defensive players already know he's a dude. That's all I need to know. You don't need a bunch of numbers. The offensive pretty boys need that. Defensive players don't.
00:30:37
Speaker 4: People look at that lack of sacks and that's all they see because the stat sheet doesn't show.
00:30:41
Speaker 5: But that's necessarily andy. What would you have thought if I could measure your effective.
00:30:46
Speaker 1: That's a great points you bring up because the casual fan they look at just the sack. That's a great point. But John's right most and I think it's a little different now because everyone's trying to brand themselves and they know people are looking at stats. But you know you've had a good game as a defensive player. You can have a good game as a defensive lineman and literally have one tackle on the stat line because you did a great job protecting your gap. You uh cause disruption, you change the line of scrimmage. But I actually think you're onto something in this world where it's all about analytics and quantifying, quantifying everything. You can still have a good game and you can still show it with the right formula even if you don't get a sack. Because I will say this about Will Anderson, and I'm frustrated for him. As far as the sacks. I'm frustrated because I know the perception out there, but every game I watch, I'm like, he's that guy, he's that guy. And then when I look and like, oh, you know what, he only has one sack. Oh, well, you know I know what I'm watching and he's that guy. So you know you should do it.
00:31:44
Speaker 6: You used to do it. You have to help.
00:31:46
Speaker 3: You're the engineer, you're engineered the group.
00:31:49
Speaker 5: But somebody has to tell me, like what how do we.
00:31:51
Speaker 3: Weigh each thing?
00:31:52
Speaker 5: What's something? You're super important?
00:31:55
Speaker 3: But then I just got a tongue of cheek.
00:31:57
Speaker 2: In some sense, I do think you have to quantify things for people, like what do people a lot of times, casual fans, what do they do on Sunday?
00:32:05
Speaker 3: Well, PFF said this? Well why because watching the whole game.
00:32:08
Speaker 2: You're not watching the whole game, and PFF, you quantifies things for people. It's easier to say, well, that guy had three touchdowns, that guy threw the ball.
00:32:18
Speaker 3: Well, well, how do you know, Well, because I watched the damn game. I saw him throw.
00:32:23
Speaker 2: The ball well, because I know there were some people that we're talking about too, he was under fifty percent. Did you watch the game? Did you watch what he's doing? So I do think you know this this world where we want things quantified.
00:32:35
Speaker 4: Like we just want a number at the end of it, like I'm sure scouting like they here's here's.
00:32:39
Speaker 2: What you do if you don't know, if you're kind of like well, I don't know, you listen to nd you listen to people that played the game before saying Will Anderson's the truth.
00:32:47
Speaker 3: That's what you do.
00:32:48
Speaker 2: Now, that's what you have to do, or learn how to watch it yourself and go what was that a good play?
00:32:53
Speaker 3: Was that a bad play?
00:32:54
Speaker 2: Ask people that know what's going on and learn the game yourself, or you listen and rely on on on somebody like Indy understands those positions. Steve McKinney, I used to love having him on the air because he could tell you no, no, no, no, no no, that wasn't the guard's fault. The center was supposed to do this, like they can put it in those sort of terms and let you know, no, no, that wasn't that wasn't his fault. I mean, how often you see a quarterback sacked by a guy and the offensive line runs a split protection. So three go one way, two go the other, and here comes the linebacker through and sacks a quarterback and every.
00:33:25
Speaker 3: Goes offensive line.
00:33:28
Speaker 2: Week two, I can promise you Week two, Texans ran a split cover or a split protection like that linebacker came through and he ends up sacking CJ.
00:33:37
Speaker 3: One of the sixth They.
00:33:38
Speaker 2: Ended up having everybody and their brother was screaming about the offensive line and I want to watch. It was like, no, that's the back's responsibility. The running back was supposed to get that. Nope, six sacks had to be the offensive line.
00:33:51
Speaker 3: No, that's on the running back.
00:33:52
Speaker 2: The running back went running over to the three man side, like, no, he's going to help out on the back on the backer, and he didn't.
00:33:59
Speaker 3: And it's those things that you don't see.
00:34:03
Speaker 2: And that's why I'm glad jasking that Andy about Will because I've I've heard some of that same noise. I'm like, y'all crazy, are y'all watching the impact this man has on every single down? And that's the other thing too, when a guy has that impact, like I said, in Week two gets the cults. You're taking a guy out of a route as a receiver, taking a tight end or a back out of the route.
00:34:21
Speaker 3: Hey, we're so concerned about that guy that you can't.
00:34:24
Speaker 2: Go out for a pass. But it's will going to get any credit for that. No, unless we see it and we talk about it.
00:34:31
Speaker 1: No. With all that being said, because I'm always thinking a business minded, you should put something together.
00:34:38
Speaker 6: I didn't realize that.
00:34:39
Speaker 3: Absolutely stamp it. It's your status.
00:34:40
Speaker 6: Yeah, I would have assumed PFF or one of those.
00:34:43
Speaker 5: They probably grated.
00:34:44
Speaker 4: But I think like a like a stat that everyone can use, not just a PFF style like QBR rating like that's been changed over the years.
00:34:51
Speaker 1: You get a certain amount of points for yeah, well pressure that quarterback hit for a block pass?
00:34:59
Speaker 5: Yeah, I need you should do.
00:35:00
Speaker 3: You can put something together.
00:35:01
Speaker 4: You would know what how each should weigh in on a on the effectiveness of a past.
00:35:07
Speaker 6: Three of us should do it.
00:35:08
Speaker 3: The quarterback rating formula is a nightmare.
00:35:12
Speaker 4: Keep it super secret and then we just have this magical number out of forty two and we.
00:35:18
Speaker 1: Could test it out on the college kids for John's top one. And then we say, hey, this d Lineman has a d line writing of that's right, let's not talk about this anymore.
00:35:33
Speaker 5: Black execution or time for any of them.
00:35:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly.
00:35:37
Speaker 4: I do want to give Johnny and myself some props in the I know you just did extra points. Johnny and I were on extra points last week and we were at Drew asked us most underrated defensive player or one that we're not talking enough about. I forget how we were, I said, cash man, guess who? Johnny said, Who did I say? I forgot Steven Nelson?
00:35:56
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:35:57
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I don't think that's an issue anymore. After last Sunday's game, No, I talked.
00:36:02
Speaker 2: To Stephen in the in the locker room and it was like, you know the and INDI you know this the sack that gets away?
00:36:08
Speaker 3: You know, I remember Derek Thomas.
00:36:10
Speaker 2: When Derek Thomas had seven sacks against the Seahawks in nineteen ninety, they asked him after the game.
00:36:14
Speaker 3: He just he was downtrodden. And it's like, well, I mean, you said an NFL record with sacks.
00:36:17
Speaker 2: He's like, yeah, but the one I didn't make was the one I threw the game winning touchdown on.
00:36:21
Speaker 1: And it's like for Steven he gets to pick at the end against trivial question. Yes, yes, there's text and ties.
00:36:31
Speaker 3: It was it was Andy Heck.
00:36:33
Speaker 2: Andy who was Andy Heck, who was a former tight ended Notre Dame turned offensive tackle who then went to the league and he and his wife birth won Charlie Heck and John Heck who's in our us in our way.
00:36:49
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, as very much so.
00:36:52
Speaker 2: But yeah, it's the one you've been I know, the one that's Stephen didn't catch.
00:36:56
Speaker 3: It's a tougher catch.
00:36:57
Speaker 2: I think that people think because it was the lowest way, it was kind of a I don't know, he threw kind of a sinker. I mean, Derek has that in end to kind of his Sometimes the throw is and it's not always the pretty spiral, and Steven doesn't catch that one, and then he catches the deep one after that, and you're like, ah, but I think Steven Nelson's been.
00:37:15
Speaker 3: As good as good in coverage this year and even last year.
00:37:18
Speaker 2: I thought he was tremendous last year, and I thought, well, you know, he's going to a new team, you know, Okay, does that continue this year? And there's all that nonsense in the offseason about vess and social media and all that. He's come back here and been brilliant, I mean brilliant to a point where we've won three out of four games since Derek Stingley went on ir right. And that's a large that's a big reason for that is Steven Nelson.
00:37:42
Speaker 3: Shack Griffin has been a big part of that.
00:37:44
Speaker 2: Missed him against the Falcons, but he's played at a really, really high level. And whether you know that last year reception. Look, he's got three interceptions through six games. I mean he's on a Pro Bowl clip right now. And that's the other thing too. You start winning and you start getting more attention people. Hey man, I hear the Texans are playing pretty good. I'll check the boxer Steven Nelson. I'll vote for him because they're playing pretty well. And then you know, maybe you get alternate and then you get into Pro Bowl and he definitely deserves it. So you had the big one, though, you had Cashman. That was a great one.
00:38:10
Speaker 3: He was weeks.
00:38:12
Speaker 5: It was no big surprise.
00:38:14
Speaker 2: Holy Couch was good man, he was good. That's the best linebacker playoffs seen in a long time. I mean it's the best. I mean, maybe sense of healthy cushion. Maybe, I mean Zach Cunningham had some days. But Zach gave you nothing in coverage. He gave you absolutely nothing coverage. He was gonna he was gonna stop the run. But Zach, you need to cover the tight end if he does this, if he goes there, you don't do that. Like No, he stopped the run and he was good at that coverage. Cashman put it all together the other day.
00:38:43
Speaker 6: That was great. That was really good.
00:38:44
Speaker 1: No, Cashman is a guy. If you followed him with his career in the Jets, early on, he showed flashes, but then he just got injured at the wrong time. Every single year went healthy. This is what he expected to do. That's what he's doing.
00:38:55
Speaker 5: Maybe because we had him on a huddle last week.
00:38:57
Speaker 3: Yes, that's why he got the huddle impact. We had Matt Burtle.
00:39:00
Speaker 2: We have Matt Burkin here on last week going into the game, gave up thirteen points, which, by the way, how about the no one saying it's in three games here have scored a total of two touchdowns against the Texans.
00:39:10
Speaker 3: How about that? About that one and seven one the other day? Only two and three games?
00:39:15
Speaker 1: Geez, good to know, all right, well, we only have one one more segment to go, Texans Huddle. John Harris joining us, I'm in D She's DP, quick time out. We'll be back for our final segment right after this. One more segment to go, Texans Huddle. Let's get right into it. We talked offense, we talked defense, but you know this is the NFL, So then pretty boy quarterbacks are going to get a segment to themselves, and when the Texans come back, you're gonna have one versus two CD Stroud taking on Bryce Young. Thoughts on that, let's start with you, DP. Let's start thoughts on that matchup with the two top rookies that were taking an episode.
00:39:53
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm definitely it's not what I expected it to be. I did not expect the Panthers to be oh to six. I mean, I thought the Texans could be, if not three and three, close to it, but I thought that the parody would be a lot closer between Young and Stroud. And it seems like Stroud has really surpassed everyone's expectations and the expectations that were on Bryce Young, Bryce Stroud.
00:40:14
Speaker 5: Bryce Young have not quite lived. It's not quite lived up.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: To what it was.
00:40:18
Speaker 4: Now there's still eleven games left, so a lot could change. The Panthers just trying to get things together. I saw Frank Reich is giving up his play calling duties to you know, I guess for the foreseeable future, to Thomas Brown to see.
00:40:32
Speaker 3: We'll see at least for the game that matters, for.
00:40:34
Speaker 5: The game that matters.
00:40:35
Speaker 4: But I'm excited about this matchup because I think that these two both have a lot of juice. They're very close, and I think if Bryce is going to bring it for any game, it's going to be against CJ. Stroud because he's gonna he's gonna want to prove that he's number one overall.
00:40:46
Speaker 5: Pick.
00:40:46
Speaker 4: That being said, I'm so so happy that Stroud is our quarterback. I'm glad that Texans won Week eighteen last year and it all worked out the way it is because he CJ has been a lot of fun to watch, a lot of fun to watch, and I think he is He's we overcome like a lot of injuries and a lot of issues with you know what this team has had at the old line, new new play caller, new head coach. I mean, it's it's just been a lot of fun I am super excited. I'm still mad that they.
00:41:11
Speaker 5: Didn't flexus in the primetime. I don't care what the Panthers record is.
00:41:13
Speaker 1: Real quick before you give your take. When he gives up control, you talk about Frank Wright giving up control of play calling duties. Do you think the mindset is he's humble enough to say, you know what, whatever I'm doing is not work and let me try someone else. Or is he saying I'm gonna show y'all it's not just me. Let somebody else call call the plays and we still won't have success.
00:41:33
Speaker 2: Like do I think it's I think it's I think it's yeah, fifty to fifty. I mean, I think there's equal parts to that. And d I really do to say, And I don't think we've seen it.
00:41:43
Speaker 5: We've seen it here too. We've seen like play calling duties split.
00:41:46
Speaker 3: Up get taken.
00:41:47
Speaker 2: We've seen this throughout the league this year, which has been interesting. We've seen, you know, Doug Peterson at some point in the game against US turned over to Press Taylor and said, okay, you call him for the second half, and then they end up scoring I take seventeen in the second half. So there's been some of that this year. And look, that's a new staff kind of working together. It's the first time Frank Reich and Thomas Brown have been together. So you kind of kind of feel it out and then you go, all right, well, let's see what we got. And when you're zero and six, you're kind of grasping at straw. I's like, all right, I've done this, I've done this. What's the one thing? Oh, I still have Blake calling? Well, let's maybe I'm a better coach if I don't have to worry about that. So Thomas do it, let him game plan it. I'll step back kind of ceo this thing, and you know, see if that works.
00:42:27
Speaker 3: Could also mean there's pressure from above to do it too.
00:42:30
Speaker 2: We know how NFL teams can be, and especially in Carolina, Dave Tepper has really got some influence in the building, and so you know, who knows.
00:42:38
Speaker 3: Maybe that was something that you know, he suggested. Who knows.
00:42:43
Speaker 2: I just think Bryce has been put in a situation there with Carolina ad feelings really started to play well for them. I think he said eleven catches three the last four games. He's been really good. And when you have that trusty vet, I think CJ found it out with Robert.
00:42:55
Speaker 3: Think about it. First game against the Ravens. What does he do?
00:42:58
Speaker 2: He goes to Robert Woods over and over over on third down because he knows and can trust him. You go to the veteran at that point. I think Bryce has got feeling now. And I don't know if that was really there, but I think the offensive line in Carolina.
00:43:11
Speaker 3: Has really been a mess. It really has not been good.
00:43:14
Speaker 2: They have not gotten great play out of Ikyakwanu, a left tackle and Indy.
00:43:19
Speaker 3: You know, when you're hitting quarterback over and over and over.
00:43:22
Speaker 2: Again, that has an impact that start, he starts feeling it. Then obviously when you start hit a guy you know, arms starts feeling it, or he missed a game, deal with the ankle, all of that starts playing a role. Now you start feeling and seeing ghosts and you start throwing a ball the other team, and now your confidence is shot.
00:43:38
Speaker 3: I think he started to get his confidence back.
00:43:39
Speaker 2: Hopefully this bye week doesn't get it back to him in full look, I think Bryce is going to be a really good quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. I'm glad we have CJ. Stroud here. I had Bryce a shade ahead of CJ. But there were so many people in this town saying, no, no, you gotta have Bryce, gotta have Bryce. I'm so glad we got the guy that we do humble. I think we would have gotten the same guy from Bryce. I think Bryce is a humble guy, would have been a really good leader as well. I just think Stroud's in the right situation, right time, and I think Bryce will get there with Carolina eventually. I don't know if it's the Reich staff that's the one that does it. He'll get there eventually. He's too good of a football player for that.
00:44:14
Speaker 1: They need to make sure, though, because you talked about those ghosts, and when you were talking, you were describing what happened right here in Houston years ago with David Carr. Yes, and I remember when I was in Philly and we were playing against the Texans. I don't know what was going on with the offensive line, and I don't want to put any one offensive lineman on the spot because I probably became teammates with him. Yeah, but there was a point where myself and Hugh Douglas were on the sideline scratching our head and no joke Hugh looked at me and said, do you think they don't like him? And he was talking about the offensive line and David Carr because we were just getting through their like wet toilet paper. And it affected David Carr for the remainder of his career because when I came here in Houston and I saw David Carr practice, I was like, man, this guy's good.
00:44:57
Speaker 6: He's fast, he's.
00:44:58
Speaker 1: Strong, he's smart. But then in game it was just a different person. So the Carolina Panthers, for the sake of Bryce Young and his career, they need to be very careful that they invest in a lot of offensive linemen, a lot of schemes where it's gonna protect him or he's gonna hear those ghosts throughout his career.
00:45:13
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, if they continue down this road, they'll get the number one pick.
00:45:17
Speaker 3: Oh wait, it's going to Chicago.
00:45:18
Speaker 2: Sorry, I mean it is, it's going to Chicago.
00:45:23
Speaker 3: I mean, I.
00:45:25
Speaker 5: Season play.
00:45:26
Speaker 4: He's a quarterback whisper, he's a season play caller.
00:45:29
Speaker 5: Like, I'm a little surprised by this.
00:45:32
Speaker 4: I think with Demiko Ryan's everybody's concern was, well, if the Texans take a quarterback, you've got a defensive minded head coach, what will you do? And you need to have a seasoned, you know, signal caller. And Bobby Slowick is just a young dude with a lot of creativity, who's really smart, who knows both sides of the ball really well.
00:45:48
Speaker 2: Well, Frank should know a little bit better too. In twenty eighteen, the game that we play against the coach was Week four. Up there, Andrew luck through sixty two times and Chris Ballad went to Frank at that point and said, Frank, and they had a young offensive line at that point. Quentin Nelson was a rookie, Brad Smith was a rookie. Ryan Kelly was like his second year. He's like, Frank, you gotta let those guys hit somebody. You gotta let those guys up front hit somebody and let them go forward. Let them go forward instead of always thinking back. Let them get some physicality. And all of a sudden they started finding balance between run and pass, and Andrew had his best year ever and an offensive line became one of the best in the league. Not saying that more run game for Carolina would help Bryce, but it might help and something Frank probably needs to think about.
00:46:28
Speaker 3: From his past. Hey, that worked in twenty eighteen. Let's do it here.
00:46:32
Speaker 2: That way, We're not relying on Bryce all the time. We can rely on the run game a little bit and then give Bryce some better throwing situations. And now that offensive line kind of has their defense on his heels a little bit.
00:46:41
Speaker 3: But if you know, it's third and nine and he's hauling.
00:46:44
Speaker 2: Off again to the quarterback, it was third and two, boy, I better protect the sea gap over here because Mike, I don't know. And all of a sudden, you're not as quick to rush. Now you get the ball off. Now your first downs and thinks go from there. So I think maybe that's what the Panthers probably will try and do through this buy. Thomas Brown was once a running back, so you never know, I want to see his running back sit fature a little bit more.
00:47:05
Speaker 1: All right, that's gonna do it for Texans Huddle, Texans All Access coming up next. You know what, we need to have a bye week every other week so we could get Johnny's a lot.
00:47:16
Speaker 5: We've learned everything about both sides of the ball.
00:47:18
Speaker 4: We've come up with the formula that's going to be top secret from here on out.
00:47:22
Speaker 5: Maybe that's something we can work on until the next by way.
00:47:24
Speaker 3: And we're all gonna wear hangles we.
00:47:27
Speaker 1: Learned hango kids. That's the podcast, all right, that's gonna do it for us. Do not test that now, Text and all access coming up next. Just leave it right here.
Speaker 1: Welcome in Texas huddle during the bye week, so we don't have a current player, but we got somebody that's a player playoff and we found John Harris sitting in with myself DP, I am in D. She's DP and a guy that I've really wanted to do multiple shows with because I've always had a respect for his approach to the game and obviously he played at a high level and he breaks it down like no other. He is in the huddle with us. What's going on with John Man, It's good to be here.
00:00:29
Speaker 2: Mark texted me the other day and said, Hey, DP and D wants you to come on as a guest.
00:00:32
Speaker 3: I'm like, absolutely, I was honored, so thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
00:00:38
Speaker 4: I was like, if we have John Harris on, I really can just sit back and chill because he's been Indy and Johnny, Who's gonna run itself to be the easiest show I've done all year? Not that our shows have been hard, but I enjoy the perspective that Indie brings. I love the perspective that John Harris brings. And you're right, like we've never the three of us have never been studio together.
00:00:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, what's up with that? That's never well, it doesn't always have to be football.
00:01:03
Speaker 2: It could be fashioned because if you look my man over here, he's sporting a kangle and that is nice, which I admitted to back when I was a senior high school nineteen ninety, I wore in my most likely succeed photo, I wore suspenders in my green kangle and it was nice because that was nineteen ninety. Though I can't support it like dy though you can. You think I should try it if I can find it. I'm aware it. If I can find it, which I've moved probably like thirty times since I'm aware, and.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: If I have only purchased, I'll wear a blue one, you wear a red one, wears a white one, yesh, and we'll have the whole time.
00:01:32
Speaker 3: That's what I have to do, absolutely.
00:01:34
Speaker 5: That kangle. But I have a beret. Will that work?
00:01:39
Speaker 2: It's got to be a cagle. I mean, it's got to you gotta. Yeah, we might make you turn yours backwards, so we're forward, you turn yours backwards. That's kind of beret ish.
00:01:47
Speaker 4: Well, Andy's on Extra points this week with Mark vandermir So he's all dressed up and you look great, Indy, first of all, And now I wish you would dress up for radio.
00:01:58
Speaker 3: Yes, dressed up for radio what I do every day?
00:02:00
Speaker 6: I hate dressing up.
00:02:02
Speaker 1: And I don't know if it's because I'm bigger and getting older and fatter, but just it's uncomfortable. If I could wear sweats and an oversized T shirt everywhere, everywhere, that's all I would do.
00:02:13
Speaker 2: You know, the first few years I started traveling with the team, and I would see the guys gown to playing really suits. I'm like, yo, i gotta I gotta take my game up a little bit. I gotta find some sort of drip. So I would get a few suits, Like okay, I'm looking. And now I've gotten to a point where like, I gotta wear a tie. Damn it, No, I do not want to wear a tie. I gotta do a Bear Brian Award function tonight after after I have replay, and so I gotta get over and I gotta I gotta go get a tie. I gotta put my jacket on. I'm like, ah, just let me talk.
00:02:40
Speaker 3: That's all I need to do. You don't need to see me, just let me talk.
00:02:42
Speaker 6: I'm good.
00:02:43
Speaker 5: I think when you're doing radio. You just want to be comfortable.
00:02:45
Speaker 4: I remember coming back from the London trip when we played the Jaguars a few years ago, the first thing I want to do was put on sweats. I mean, that's a long flight, you're working, you're dressed up all day.
00:02:54
Speaker 5: I feel you guy, I like to dress up, but I like to be I like to be comfortable when I gotta get some work done.
00:02:58
Speaker 2: So but it was a nice that we gotta stretch out on that plane. But nope, like sardines.
00:03:03
Speaker 1: Last thing on this because you just say stretched out and it reminded me. These new four way stretch jackets. Oh yeah, jeans got yes, like the jeens.
00:03:12
Speaker 6: I don't know.
00:03:14
Speaker 1: Women leisure, but for men, I think they've had it a while for women, but for men they didn't have. But especially the jeans, because jeans just yeah. But now with this four ways, yes, it makes whoever.
00:03:31
Speaker 2: I just spent like a half hour the other day looking for looking for some jeans. I'm like, I had them in my shopping card and then I didn't do it. But I'm like, I'm absolutely anything that I can get that stretches just a little bit, I am all about it.
00:03:47
Speaker 3: I'm all about it, absolutely.
00:03:50
Speaker 5: All right, stretching pants for the wind.
00:03:51
Speaker 4: How do you go from stretchy pants to six and six into the bye week? Because, you know what, we're relaxing right now. I feel like we're in a night. We're in a nice spot in the season. Indy, like three and three at the at the bye Is this what you thought the team was going to be at?
00:04:05
Speaker 6: I was telling the truth. No, you know, I felt like.
00:04:07
Speaker 5: They were going to schedule.
00:04:08
Speaker 1: Like ahead of the season, looking at the schedule, my thought was they're going to play better. My thought was they're going to compete every game. But if you told me that they're going to be five hundred going get into the bye week, I would have been I would have said, you know what, that's pretty strong. You're being overly optimistic. But here they are, and now they're to the point and I can't wait to get y'all's take. We're going into every game I'm expecting them to win. You know, I'm not saying that they're going to go on which we.
00:04:32
Speaker 5: Had an expect right, Yeah.
00:04:35
Speaker 2: I mean even in nineteen when they were really good, I went into a week thinking, yeah, I think so, But it was just disjoined in twenty nineteen. There were just a lot of things going on with that team. In particular. You know, Bill O'Brien was doing too much at that time, God loving, but he was handled so many different things that by Friday, when the game plan was seeming in order, he wanted to change some things and it was just really disruptive for the off And now I just I feel like this team is just in better sink. I did think, indeed that they would run the ball better. I thought they would run the ball better. Now I you know, they have the line is reconfigured from what we thought. But when Scott Quisenberry went down, I was like, oh gosh, this is tough, but okay, we got juice.
00:05:20
Speaker 3: The juice goes.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: Down and we're like, man, Jared Patterson hasn't played center for a couple of years, okay, and so you can understand early why they had some But even the last few weeks, I thought, Okay, they're gonna run the ball a little bit better.
00:05:32
Speaker 3: It just hasn't been there. But in this offense, they're they're learning a new offense.
00:05:36
Speaker 2: Riocky quarterback still a rookie center, rookie play college so still trying to find themselves with that. But I think defensively I thought they'd be I thought they'd be good, but I think they're better than I thought. They've played together pretty well. I thought the lack of real size up front might hurt them eventually, Like, boy, they can penetrate, they can move, they're quick, but they're still not really big. Especially when on Ridgeway was put on the d L. I thought, boy, they're not really big this I'm worried about that. I'm worried about teams just going you know, Derrick Henry style, just hammering. But they really got better played from the linebackers and expect not perfect. First few games were tough, but Henry Totoa stepped up. But I really thought they would run the ball better. They've stopped the run probably better than I thought. I think the secondary has been what we thought, but I think we didn't really know what CJ. You know, we really didn't know what CJ. Like, I mean, even I I loved him come out of High State. I was saying to people week eighteen after they win, like, dude, celebrate the win because you're getting Brice or you're getting CJ.
00:06:34
Speaker 6: In neither way.
00:06:35
Speaker 2: It's gonna be a good thing for this organization. You're gonna be fine. No, no, no, we're rolling on Bryce. We're alling on Bryce. Well not what are people saying? And I think he's been even better than we thought. But I think the one thing that stood out to me is it's not just a bunch of checkdowns. He's not just throwing a bunch of snag routs, just little little things here or there. He's throing the ball down the field like inner, deep, intermediate stuff, the crossers, the corner he hit t Nico going into the north end zone. That was the Robert Woods touchdown a second quarter. Like he's making those throws. He's throwing the ball into spots where there's not even a spot. When he releases it and then the receiver moves into the frame, you're like, oh, okay, that's what he was doing. You're seeing those things from a young quarterback that I don't know that anybody thought we would get at that level this quickly.
00:07:18
Speaker 3: I thought we'd get there. I didn't think we'd get.
00:07:20
Speaker 5: There this quickly, and we've been getting there.
00:07:22
Speaker 6: All right.
00:07:23
Speaker 4: You got that's a lot to unpack, But I want to go back to your point about the run game. I want to get your thoughts on this because I saw somebody tweet out that, first of all, Devin Singletary has been getting a lot more carries, so Motor has been in there more than I think even that I had expected, and it seems like maybe we might see him get more carries than Pierce moving forward, depending on the game plan. But someone had tweeted out that a majority of the runs for Singletary were on the outside, a majority of the runs for Pierce were on the inside, and I thought that was curious. I did not watch it like that, Like you've obviously watched the film, But what would be the strategy you think in putting one of those guys in over the other?
00:07:59
Speaker 3: Well, don't you were the head. I don't totally buy that.
00:08:01
Speaker 2: Quick I don't totally buy that because you can watch Motor run between the A gaps, but that could be a C gap or a D gap run that he's cutting back. It's one of the things that he does really well is cut those runs back.
00:08:12
Speaker 3: And one of the things Damien.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: Would like to do at times is get that edge. He wants to get to the outside. I think you know that what was it? Twelve was like twelve carries for each or twelve for Devin and thirteen for Damian. You know, one of the things I think there's a challenge for any coach, no matter the level. And I know I had this challenge a long long time ago. Was trying to figure out, this is my offense, this is what I do. Let's tick the run end, this is my run game, this is what I like to do, this is my talent, this is what they do. And how do I marry those two together? And so, okay, I want to be more of an option running team. So does that fit with the guys that I have? They can they see it? Can they read it? Can they run it? Can they be explosive enough to put the pressure on the defense that way? And I still think that Bobby's kind of Bobby Slow is trying to kind of figure that out with his with his guys, Like what kind of runner.
00:09:08
Speaker 3: Okay, Damien, I think does this.
00:09:09
Speaker 2: But you can't get pigeonholed in when Damien comes in, Well, we're gonna run counter the NFL defense.
00:09:17
Speaker 5: Defense.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: You get one to that.
00:09:18
Speaker 2: You know, with Devin, you're gonna run outside zone. Well, he's gonna cut that back, you know that. So you want to give them what they do, but you wanted them to have enough variety such that they know, Okay, I can't hone in on just this because they may have this as as a counter, not a counterplay, but a counter to this particular play. So trying to find that. I think as an offensive coordinator, you'd think, well, you've been around them, you know you got this offense. And it takes a while for that to really kind of come into focus. And sometimes sometimes you get lucky as a coach, like sometimes something happens for me. For me, we got beat fifty six to nothing in a game time, and I wanted to throw the ball over the yard. I remember coming back to our coaches meeting. I said, guys, I said, we aren't gonna throw the ball anymore. We're just not because if we're gonna get beat, it's gonna be twenty eight to nothing and not fifty six to nothing. And all of a sudden, we started going to more of a run based offense, and all of a sudden, the next week, it's twenty eight twenty one in the fourth quarter against top ten team in the state, and I'm like, how are we doing this? And the clock was running, We're retrewed up, and so it just sort of developed and I was like, you know what, we're actually pretty good doing this. Let's continue that. And by the end, by the end of the next year, which my last year, we were aftering like three hundred yards a game on the ground and doing it in different ways then I had actually anticipated. And so that opened some things up, and I think they'll get there with this line. I'm curious what they'll do when Juice is ready to go. But I feel like the peer Singletary thing. They do play off one another really well because when Singletary comes in and you know this, you're in a hole with a guy like Singletary and you're ready to make that tackle and.
00:10:57
Speaker 3: Then he gives you.
00:10:58
Speaker 2: He gives you the dead leg chasing one ghost and he's going the other and you're like, dang it. But then you get pierced and you're like, Okay, this guy's gonna try and run me over, so I gotta be ready for it. And then he can shake you too. You know, he's got that in he's got that club in his bag. He's not using it as much. But I really think that that's gonna develop a little bit more with them, kind of a one to two punch.
00:11:18
Speaker 3: What I'd like to see. I like to see both them on the field together.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: I wouldn't mind seeing one of them, you know, not that one has to be the fullback, but if you put them both with the backfield and you won't put one in motion, you're gonna get a lot of nice key reads for CJ.
00:11:30
Speaker 3: When that's the case.
00:11:31
Speaker 2: And you know, if they leave them, take a linebacker out of the box, run the ball, you know, if they take a safety in the box, you know, now throw it to them.
00:11:39
Speaker 3: You know, see what you're gonna do. So I think there's some different things that they can get.
00:11:41
Speaker 2: Into that they haven't yet, and I think that may expand the box even more of the wrong game.
00:11:48
Speaker 1: When you look at Pierce, he's a guy that's so physical he could play a full back type role, more like a Mike Alstein, right. And I like what you say there, because as a defensive player, when you see both of them in the backfield, you still have to respet Beck, both of us getting the ball typically, and God love Beck. If Beck's in the backfield. You know, Okay, he's blocking, I'm just gonna follow him to get to the block. But when you have Pierce and Singletary there, you can't just assume that one's gonna block, one's gonna run the ball. So as a defense, you have to pay more attention to both guys. And what does that do? Makes you play more on your heels, that's what's going downfield. So we'll see, you know, we'll see if they can cook something up during this bye week because those two guys are so productive and could be productive together. When you look at Singletary what he did in Buffalo. The guy rushed for over one hundred and fifty carries the last four seasons and had over four point yard per carry. Four point yards per carry. You have to find a way to get him with the ball. You just you just have to this. He's a well respected weapon in the backfield and you just have to figure out a way to get him the ball.
00:12:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think one of the things to India about that is we saw it on that final drive against the Falcons, and I thought we would see it a little bit more against the Saints. But using them as pass rehievers, especially Damien. I mean, Damian gets aid fifteen six catch and run and he gets out in space, and now if he wants to square up on somebody's scoring up on a safety, which okay, cool, I don't want to scoring up on you every single time. You know, when he's trying to just plow through guys. So I would like to see them kind of develop that aspect of his game too. We know Motor can catch it, and when he gets out in space, he's trouble as well. Mike Boone's added to that mix as a third down receiver.
00:13:23
Speaker 6: Mike.
00:13:23
Speaker 2: I gotta give kudos to Mike Boone. He's had two of the best blitz pickups this year that I can remember. The one on the long pass the Tank against Jacksonville and then on the throw to Nico in the first half where Nico beat Alante Taylor, Tyron Matthews blitzing, Mike Boone picked him up, gave CJ a great pocket because Brazil was coming. Brazil had gotten around on a loop and so he was coming. I'm like, oh, but Mike picked up Tyron and kept him out of there and CJ had time to throw. Mike's gave him a lot in pass protection. I wouldn't mind seeing them get Mike even more involved on third downs.
00:13:54
Speaker 3: But I think they've got the right mix. It's just you got the right mix of.
00:13:58
Speaker 2: Personnel now five and the right mix in play calling in scheme to kind of match what you've got without giving things away, like hey, it's Damien back there. You guys know, it's Iso you know, or it's Toss you know, to not give that away. So I would think to use it in a passing game that When I saw that against the Falcons, I was like, yes, they found it, they're gonna go to it.
00:14:17
Speaker 3: But then Sunday they didn't really use it. So you know, maybe Bobby put.
00:14:20
Speaker 2: It back in his put the club back in his bag and said, I'll save it. I'll wait, I'll set it up and then we'll bring it out a little bit later, so we'll see what they have after the Buye's that's when I get excited, is like, after the buy, what'd you learn during to buy? And then what do you see new when you come out of the buy? And that's gonna be fun.
00:14:36
Speaker 4: I thought that you bring up an interesting point because Pierce didn't have any catches single Jarry had one catch, and I thought after the Atlanta game we saw Damien really have some success out in space catching the ball. I thought they would use more of him, especially with no Tank Dell, but they actually did less of it. So I wonder if it is something that they're waiting for pulling out for these final eleven games.
00:14:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe so.
00:14:56
Speaker 2: And again you bring up Tank, and I think Tank's a good one to talk about TV because Tank opens so much up. He with that speed, he opens so much up. But the wrinkle they went to, which I kind of like too, was putting Xavier Hutchinson back in the backfield, kind of letting him kind of be their debot because he's a bigger guy.
00:15:15
Speaker 5: That's how he would be used.
00:15:17
Speaker 3: Not necessarily.
00:15:18
Speaker 2: Not necessarily, but when you think about him back in college, like he's pretty good runner after the catch. You just because a guy gets and I think this happens to a lot of people, a guy gets pigeonholed as a wide receiver that and I think that's why it was kind of shocking in San Franciso.
00:15:34
Speaker 3: No Deebo's a wide receiver, Like, no, look at that, dude.
00:15:38
Speaker 2: I remember being at the senior Bowl and I looked I saw deeb. I'm like, that's a running back. I saw him in San Francisco in twenty twenty. I was like, that's a running back. That's not a wide receiver body. I mean, his his butt blocks out the moon thick thiughs, and he looks like a running back. Xaby doesn't quite look like a running back. But when you watch him after the catch, you realize, well, he's pretty good after the catch, babe. Let's let's try this and uh and see this works. Now Xavier doesn't. Xavier does not have a butt that blocks out the mos. He's six one two o five. I mean he's good size. But Deebo is like six foot five eleven and he's like two fifteen. But I'm telling you, like one hundred and fifty of it is from waist on down and that's what makes him look like a running back. But I think when you label a guy with a position, you're like, oh, wait.
00:16:22
Speaker 3: Now he's at running back. Oh, like you're playing football. I mean they tossed to him.
00:16:26
Speaker 1: One of those guys when you say, hey, what position do you play? And he says, I played football right exactly. Okay, yeah, absolutely here.
00:16:36
Speaker 3: Savior. Yeah.
00:16:37
Speaker 2: So and he's not like Deebo's kind of squatty Xavier's Xavier's kind of blankier. But you could tell the way he turned that corner when he got that toss going into the south end zone like, Okay, there's something there. Now, you don't have to go to it all the time. But I think that was kind of Bobby's answer, Okay, what's a wrinkle? What can we what can we use here? What can we do? And I like when he puts I like when he puts receivers in the backfield, because now you're putting the linebackers. Uh oh if they're in some sort of match or in their main coverage, Oh boy, I gotta cover.
00:17:09
Speaker 3: Oh I got ever him out of the backfield. That's a receiver.
00:17:11
Speaker 2: That's trouble and it can be trouble against the running backs as well. But you can kind of mess with defenses with just putting a guy in a different spot. They did it with Hutchinson. I think that might be something they do. They've used Robert Woods there a little bit. It's Robert running the same route. It's just a little circle route that he would run from any position on the field will snag circle route. He just does it from the backfield, and then linebackers are like, uh so those little wrinkles and things I think are gonna eventually help this offense, and it'll eventually help the running game too. But I just like to see them on first and second down. Be a little bit more in running games, so we can get to third and three, third and four, not leaving CJ in third nine, third and ten. There's a lot of that in the Falcons game, a little bit in the Saints game. But yet those third down and manageable, not that that's what you're working for. I like to see him attack. Let's make sure first and second down they're successful, so they're third manageable situations for.
00:17:57
Speaker 3: CJ and leaving the whole playbook.
00:17:59
Speaker 6: Oh but at that point, you know, it's cool about this offense.
00:18:02
Speaker 1: You're getting to the point where after every game we're gonna say, oh, he didn't get enough matches, he didn't get into targets because you have so many talented guys, whether it's Schultz, whether it's a Singletary, whether it's Peers, whether it's Robert Woods, Nico, like Tank Dell, the list goes on and on where I don't feel like that was the case this time last year, And like John said, it brings up matchup problems and it reminds me when I was playing. I was playing a linebacker position against the greatest shaw on turf for Kurt Warner, Tory Holt.
00:18:29
Speaker 6: And I had the three receivers.
00:18:31
Speaker 1: So for those listening, when you count receivers, you count from the outside end and typically the third receiver is going to be a running back or a tight end, which they were comfortable with me guarding or matching. And because they were so creative, I somehow got on Isaac Bruce and I remember lighting up and I was something isn't right.
00:18:51
Speaker 6: And this was what was cool about our defense.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: Like I looked back and Brian Dawkins, Hall of Fame Safety, he knew what I was thinking, and he said, don't worry, I got I got you. And even without you know doing what Jim Johnson, the best defensive coordinator in the history of defensive coordinators, made sole rest in peace.
00:19:08
Speaker 6: We knew what to do.
00:19:10
Speaker 1: But because of that matchup and because Brian saw my eyes when I turned around, I knew that I was only gonna have to carry them for like five yards and now I was gonna drop off. And I bring that up because I could see a scenario where the Texans offense creates those type of problem.
00:19:24
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:19:24
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
00:19:25
Speaker 2: I mean you mentioned Dalton Schultz as you're starting to Nds's what I thought about, because in the first three games, Dalton Schultz had I think a total of seven catches for forty seven yards. The last three games it's fourteen catches for like one hundred and ninety five yards and three touchdowns something like that.
00:19:43
Speaker 3: It's just a drastic difference.
00:19:45
Speaker 2: And in those first few games, you know, Nico had the big game against the Colts, and he had another one against the Steelers, and then in between their tank had the big game Robert Woods.
00:19:55
Speaker 3: The first game was catching third downs.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: I love that you can have a different, different guy or a different couple of guys featured every week, and it's almost like having the answers to the test. You don't know what they are, but you're like, Okay, I see this, I know what I want to do. Okay, they're gonna there, we come out on this personnel. They're gonna continue to put Indy Kalou on Dalton Schultz. That's a matchup we're gonna go to. We're gonna force them to change that matchup and leave India as a rusher and then make them bring a safety out. And once they bring a safety out, Okay, that's taking a guy out of the box, take him out of the count.
00:20:27
Speaker 3: We're gonna go and run the ball at that point. And so you have answers that way.
00:20:31
Speaker 2: And there's sometimes I watch the game at the at the start, after the first quarter, I kind of say to myself, Okay, this is a Tank game, or you know, this is a Nico game. Uh, this is gonna be a Dalton game. In the last few really kind of been been Dalton games. I mean, he's been getting some good matchups and they're widening the field to let him kind of, you know, use his use his moves, use his quickness. He's been getting open and available and then taking advantage of some of the defensive mistakes like the Saints. I mean, I don't know what Tyrone was looking at. I love Tyrone. He's the best I've ever seen in that position. I'm always looking at. I mean, that's a standard goal line play. Tight end goes to the back of the end zone. The wing goes to the to the goal line like it's the easiest thing in the world to cover, and Tyron's just sitting there watching the backfield, and I'm like, what's he doing? So they must be doing something right, you know, with a playfake like that to be able to get Dalton as open as he was. So I do I look at it like that and think, Okay, what kind of game is this gonna be? What are they gonna take away? What are they trying to take away? And looking at all right, they're not letting Tank get deep. Okay, we got to work Downdernath stuff. This is a Robert Nico kind of game. And hopefully at some point when this offense really gets good, those lines start getting blurred, like you're not gonna be able to figure it out, like, Okay, they might be trying to take away Nico, but maybe maybe not.
00:21:43
Speaker 3: Maybe this is gonna be a tank game.
00:21:44
Speaker 2: But you know, we'll see if they can get to a point where they're that good, and I hope we can.
00:21:48
Speaker 3: Hope we get there. You just we're not gonna know.
00:21:51
Speaker 2: And that's gonna be great because the defense is gonna be sitting there all game going I don't know. And that's where you really, that's where you want it to be. If you start you start questioning, Wait a second, they're hitting us with this, well, they're hit us with this personnel group. Oh we know it's this, but then they're giving him something else. I mean, to me, that's the game. It's not it's not being you know, trickier, slyer, deceptive. It's just you have counters, you have answers. And I love I love getting there as a coach. I love getting to a point where, oh, they think we're doing this, and then having one or two counters off something we did really well, so that my offense then you know, went from there that that was it.
00:22:26
Speaker 3: And I think Bobby will get there with this offense. It will be fun.
00:22:28
Speaker 4: Well like Noah Brown, I mean, he's a guy that was on camp that was just phenomenal, played week one, was on IR they bring him back and you know.
00:22:36
Speaker 5: He had a pretty quiet game.
00:22:37
Speaker 4: Mine it's the big thirty four yard catch that he had right after the interception.
00:22:42
Speaker 3: So just that, yeah, just that, I mean that, but huge.
00:22:46
Speaker 4: Huge changes the whole tide of the game of the drive, everything.
00:22:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, And I mean you no bea this former teammate Marshall Lattimore, which is kind of nice. And you know, being a guy man coverage when you're just running across the field, now you just got to catch it. And CJ makes it easy for those guys. You know, we talked about this in the broadcast. A lot a lot of crossers, a lot of deep overs, those kind of things. Those routes can be really difficult in some cases for receivers because they're hauling ass to get across the field. Like I mean, they're going because they they know if it's man coverage, Like if it's man, you take off. If it's own, you might sell up at some point. But it's man coverage, you just got it. So you're running full speed all the way across the field and all of a sudden, CJ's got to put that ball on you, so you don't have to adjust.
00:23:29
Speaker 3: You can just run right through it.
00:23:30
Speaker 2: That's to me, what makes CJ so great is the fact that when he throws the ball, guys then run through the ball. As opposed they have to stop and react or slide or go. It's right on them. They don't have to slow down, so they don't have to worry about that. It just just run. Cgill put it in the spot. You keep running it, he'll hitch at that spot.
00:23:48
Speaker 1: Texans huddle. No players today because they have the bye week, or you're going to take a quick time out on the other side. Let's talk about the other side, the defensive side of the ball, and we take what we've taken away after these six games. Quick time out, Texans huddle, we'll be right back. Welcome in, Welcome back Texan's huddle during the bye week. And don't forget after this we have Texans all access, so no reason to ever touch that doll. John Harris sitting in with us. I am indeed, she is DP. You are you, and you're always welcome to check out our podcast. But we talked a lot of offense. But let's talk about those guys on the defensive side. John, I want to get your take on this. I want to get your your transparent take on this. When I look at Will Anderson, when I watch him, I'm like, he's arrived. I feel like now every player can get better. JJ Watki could have gotten better up until his last game. Even though he's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. But when people look at the stat line that says sacks, they seem to be a little disappointed. I just want to get your take on his overall play and what he has to do to up the sack numbers.
00:24:55
Speaker 3: Well, it was pretty clear week two. Starting in week two, the Colts were very where Will Anderson.
00:25:01
Speaker 2: I mean, wherever Will went, there was a there was a tight end, or there was a back that was chipping to help on will Anderson junior. And you know, got the point where they couldn't do it every down because you know John was you know, getting some wins as well, but they were very, very aware of will Anderson. That's when I realized, Okay, he's gonna get that sort of treatment this year. He's gonna see he's gonna see.
00:25:23
Speaker 3: A lot of that.
00:25:25
Speaker 2: So I knew he probably wasn't gonna get a ton of sacks. And you know, when games are closer, you you know you're gonna see a little bit more run game. And obviously the Colts it was it was quick passing game. I mean, Mince, you got that ball out. He got the ball and he threw it and I remember a quote from JJ A long time ago. We played the Titans of twenty eighteen. They had Blaine Gabbertt playing quarterback. The two tackles were out there at Guardo was out. They had nothing and JJ didn't have a sack in that game. And I remember afterwards they asked him. He was like, what do you want me to do? They were throwing the ball within one second Gabrett caught it through it like what do you want me to do? And and you know Will's not gonna say that, but there have been times whether the quick passing game has been there. I think the Falcons game was the one where I was like, man, okay, where is it where we needed it a little bit more? But then you go back and watch and you're like, yeah, they're devoting a few more guys over there to Will. He's also going against Kayla McGarry, who's a pretty.
00:26:19
Speaker 3: He's kind of a mountain man.
00:26:22
Speaker 2: And so I know that Will will probably tell you know, there's probably a few things that I that he need to do. I think the great pass rushers in this league Indian you know, you know the game.
00:26:29
Speaker 3: And I've talked to pass rushers, I say, is it more art or.
00:26:32
Speaker 2: Science and they kind of think about it and they're like, yeah, that's interesting. And so I think Will's kind of trying to figure out how to bridge the gap. And I think one of the things to do that, I think one of the arts, like you watch, you know, Bosa who is I was watching, Oh, Daniel Hunter.
00:26:47
Speaker 3: I was watching Daniel Hunter the other day.
00:26:49
Speaker 2: This dude threw three different pass rush moves in the matter of like two seconds and it eventually got him free. And so I think, you know, for pass rushers, it's, you know, here's your pet move.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: This is what you like to do.
00:27:01
Speaker 2: And Will definitely likes to get that high side, you know, you know, dip and rip from the outside. I think that, you know, he probably could get, you know, try that little ghost move and try and dip that shoulder a little bit more, and that could be good. But he's got to figure out what his counter needs to be to that. And I think once he figures that out, he's gonna be a monster. But his redirect, how he moves, what he adds to the run game, run defense. But when he got that hit on Kamara, it was like in the movie Monsters, Inc. You remember that movie monsters inc in the in the the power was the kids screams, remember that, And so it felt like the way I don't know if Kamara, I don't know if he screamed, but it was like that hit charged him up. I watched him the next two plays like he was literally hopping in the huddle, like hopping like waiting for the next play. And then the next two plays he gets a pressure on car and then he disrupted the screen and I'm like, WHOA, So Sacks will come.
00:27:57
Speaker 3: I think Sacks will definitely come.
00:27:59
Speaker 2: And as they continue to work together, I think one of the things they'll continue to find out.
00:28:03
Speaker 3: And I thought this at Alabama.
00:28:04
Speaker 2: I think Will's one of the best loop like looping inside from outside position. His ability to loop and go from where he is behind the tackle into the backfield is as quick as anybody I've seen it. So I think that would be something that comes in due time as well. That's how he got a pressure on the mar that forced the interception in the Ravens game. But I think for him as just an individual pass rusher, he's one on one with a guy just kind of packaging some moves together.
00:28:30
Speaker 3: He wants to go that rip. He wants to go power. What's the counter?
00:28:33
Speaker 2: I think if he can kind of learn to throw this that and really do that together, I think John, if you watch Gernard, you can tell Grenard it's got a little bit more of the art down of rushing and he's got a little bit more of that. And I always felt like John's a gifted pass rusher when he came into the league. I think Will's house of fire and he's learning still how to be a one on one pass rusher.
00:28:53
Speaker 3: I think he's gonna get there.
00:28:54
Speaker 2: But if he could package and move together, you know, whether he gets that rip and he learns the free andie ice pick, that's move. If he could learn something like that, my god, I mean, he'd be lethal. But you know it takes some time to learn that and then how to apply it in a game and know when to apply it.
00:29:10
Speaker 3: And you know this.
00:29:11
Speaker 2: You know, if you're out there and you're thinking pass rush movies, you're like, I gonna take a risk, I musa spin inside.
00:29:15
Speaker 3: Well, you better.
00:29:16
Speaker 2: Somehow keep contained because you you let you know, you let dono mu nab outside of you, Like man, it's your backside, Like what do you do? I spun inside. Okay, but you have contained on this play. So there's some things that you kind of learn along the way, and I think Will is definitely learning those.
00:29:29
Speaker 4: I think, Okay, aside from the number of sacks, just seeing the quarterback pressures, the hits, the hurries, if you put all those together, like in Sunday's game he had so through six games. I saw next Gen Stats had said that Will has twenty five pressures, tied for second most among rookies through six games. So twenty five pressures, seven quarterback hits, sixteen qbhuries. I have a solution. I want to get your thoughts on this, Like, if there's a quarterback passer rating, why can't there be like a pass rusher rating where you take sacks, but then you also figure in like pressures, hurries, hits so as to gauge how effective a pass rusher could be. Like to me, I don't understand why someone hasn't come up with this one, Okay, John, he's an engineer like I am, Like, we like formulas and we want to do something with these stats.
00:30:17
Speaker 2: No, No, I'll put it very simply. The offensive guys need all that kind of stuff. They need to they need to be able to quantify it. Defensive players don't need that. Defensive players already know. Defensive players already know he's a dude. That's all I need to know. You don't need a bunch of numbers. The offensive pretty boys need that. Defensive players don't.
00:30:37
Speaker 4: People look at that lack of sacks and that's all they see because the stat sheet doesn't show.
00:30:41
Speaker 5: But that's necessarily andy. What would you have thought if I could measure your effective.
00:30:46
Speaker 1: That's a great points you bring up because the casual fan they look at just the sack. That's a great point. But John's right most and I think it's a little different now because everyone's trying to brand themselves and they know people are looking at stats. But you know you've had a good game as a defensive player. You can have a good game as a defensive lineman and literally have one tackle on the stat line because you did a great job protecting your gap. You uh cause disruption, you change the line of scrimmage. But I actually think you're onto something in this world where it's all about analytics and quantifying, quantifying everything. You can still have a good game and you can still show it with the right formula even if you don't get a sack. Because I will say this about Will Anderson, and I'm frustrated for him. As far as the sacks. I'm frustrated because I know the perception out there, but every game I watch, I'm like, he's that guy, he's that guy. And then when I look and like, oh, you know what, he only has one sack. Oh, well, you know I know what I'm watching and he's that guy. So you know you should do it.
00:31:44
Speaker 6: You used to do it. You have to help.
00:31:46
Speaker 3: You're the engineer, you're engineered the group.
00:31:49
Speaker 5: But somebody has to tell me, like what how do we.
00:31:51
Speaker 3: Weigh each thing?
00:31:52
Speaker 5: What's something? You're super important?
00:31:55
Speaker 3: But then I just got a tongue of cheek.
00:31:57
Speaker 2: In some sense, I do think you have to quantify things for people, like what do people a lot of times, casual fans, what do they do on Sunday?
00:32:05
Speaker 3: Well, PFF said this? Well why because watching the whole game.
00:32:08
Speaker 2: You're not watching the whole game, and PFF, you quantifies things for people. It's easier to say, well, that guy had three touchdowns, that guy threw the ball.
00:32:18
Speaker 3: Well, well, how do you know, Well, because I watched the damn game. I saw him throw.
00:32:23
Speaker 2: The ball well, because I know there were some people that we're talking about too, he was under fifty percent. Did you watch the game? Did you watch what he's doing? So I do think you know this this world where we want things quantified.
00:32:35
Speaker 4: Like we just want a number at the end of it, like I'm sure scouting like they here's here's.
00:32:39
Speaker 2: What you do if you don't know, if you're kind of like well, I don't know, you listen to nd you listen to people that played the game before saying Will Anderson's the truth.
00:32:47
Speaker 3: That's what you do.
00:32:48
Speaker 2: Now, that's what you have to do, or learn how to watch it yourself and go what was that a good play?
00:32:53
Speaker 3: Was that a bad play?
00:32:54
Speaker 2: Ask people that know what's going on and learn the game yourself, or you listen and rely on on on somebody like Indy understands those positions. Steve McKinney, I used to love having him on the air because he could tell you no, no, no, no, no no, that wasn't the guard's fault. The center was supposed to do this, like they can put it in those sort of terms and let you know, no, no, that wasn't that wasn't his fault. I mean, how often you see a quarterback sacked by a guy and the offensive line runs a split protection. So three go one way, two go the other, and here comes the linebacker through and sacks a quarterback and every.
00:33:25
Speaker 3: Goes offensive line.
00:33:28
Speaker 2: Week two, I can promise you Week two, Texans ran a split cover or a split protection like that linebacker came through and he ends up sacking CJ.
00:33:37
Speaker 3: One of the sixth They.
00:33:38
Speaker 2: Ended up having everybody and their brother was screaming about the offensive line and I want to watch. It was like, no, that's the back's responsibility. The running back was supposed to get that. Nope, six sacks had to be the offensive line.
00:33:51
Speaker 3: No, that's on the running back.
00:33:52
Speaker 2: The running back went running over to the three man side, like, no, he's going to help out on the back on the backer, and he didn't.
00:33:59
Speaker 3: And it's those things that you don't see.
00:34:03
Speaker 2: And that's why I'm glad jasking that Andy about Will because I've I've heard some of that same noise. I'm like, y'all crazy, are y'all watching the impact this man has on every single down? And that's the other thing too, when a guy has that impact, like I said, in Week two gets the cults. You're taking a guy out of a route as a receiver, taking a tight end or a back out of the route.
00:34:21
Speaker 3: Hey, we're so concerned about that guy that you can't.
00:34:24
Speaker 2: Go out for a pass. But it's will going to get any credit for that. No, unless we see it and we talk about it.
00:34:31
Speaker 1: No. With all that being said, because I'm always thinking a business minded, you should put something together.
00:34:38
Speaker 6: I didn't realize that.
00:34:39
Speaker 3: Absolutely stamp it. It's your status.
00:34:40
Speaker 6: Yeah, I would have assumed PFF or one of those.
00:34:43
Speaker 5: They probably grated.
00:34:44
Speaker 4: But I think like a like a stat that everyone can use, not just a PFF style like QBR rating like that's been changed over the years.
00:34:51
Speaker 1: You get a certain amount of points for yeah, well pressure that quarterback hit for a block pass?
00:34:59
Speaker 5: Yeah, I need you should do.
00:35:00
Speaker 3: You can put something together.
00:35:01
Speaker 4: You would know what how each should weigh in on a on the effectiveness of a past.
00:35:07
Speaker 6: Three of us should do it.
00:35:08
Speaker 3: The quarterback rating formula is a nightmare.
00:35:12
Speaker 4: Keep it super secret and then we just have this magical number out of forty two and we.
00:35:18
Speaker 1: Could test it out on the college kids for John's top one. And then we say, hey, this d Lineman has a d line writing of that's right, let's not talk about this anymore.
00:35:33
Speaker 5: Black execution or time for any of them.
00:35:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly.
00:35:37
Speaker 4: I do want to give Johnny and myself some props in the I know you just did extra points. Johnny and I were on extra points last week and we were at Drew asked us most underrated defensive player or one that we're not talking enough about. I forget how we were, I said, cash man, guess who? Johnny said, Who did I say? I forgot Steven Nelson?
00:35:56
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:35:57
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I don't think that's an issue anymore. After last Sunday's game, No, I talked.
00:36:02
Speaker 2: To Stephen in the in the locker room and it was like, you know the and INDI you know this the sack that gets away?
00:36:08
Speaker 3: You know, I remember Derek Thomas.
00:36:10
Speaker 2: When Derek Thomas had seven sacks against the Seahawks in nineteen ninety, they asked him after the game.
00:36:14
Speaker 3: He just he was downtrodden. And it's like, well, I mean, you said an NFL record with sacks.
00:36:17
Speaker 2: He's like, yeah, but the one I didn't make was the one I threw the game winning touchdown on.
00:36:21
Speaker 1: And it's like for Steven he gets to pick at the end against trivial question. Yes, yes, there's text and ties.
00:36:31
Speaker 3: It was it was Andy Heck.
00:36:33
Speaker 2: Andy who was Andy Heck, who was a former tight ended Notre Dame turned offensive tackle who then went to the league and he and his wife birth won Charlie Heck and John Heck who's in our us in our way.
00:36:49
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, as very much so.
00:36:52
Speaker 2: But yeah, it's the one you've been I know, the one that's Stephen didn't catch.
00:36:56
Speaker 3: It's a tougher catch.
00:36:57
Speaker 2: I think that people think because it was the lowest way, it was kind of a I don't know, he threw kind of a sinker. I mean, Derek has that in end to kind of his Sometimes the throw is and it's not always the pretty spiral, and Steven doesn't catch that one, and then he catches the deep one after that, and you're like, ah, but I think Steven Nelson's been.
00:37:15
Speaker 3: As good as good in coverage this year and even last year.
00:37:18
Speaker 2: I thought he was tremendous last year, and I thought, well, you know, he's going to a new team, you know, Okay, does that continue this year? And there's all that nonsense in the offseason about vess and social media and all that. He's come back here and been brilliant, I mean brilliant to a point where we've won three out of four games since Derek Stingley went on ir right. And that's a large that's a big reason for that is Steven Nelson.
00:37:42
Speaker 3: Shack Griffin has been a big part of that.
00:37:44
Speaker 2: Missed him against the Falcons, but he's played at a really, really high level. And whether you know that last year reception. Look, he's got three interceptions through six games. I mean he's on a Pro Bowl clip right now. And that's the other thing too. You start winning and you start getting more attention people. Hey man, I hear the Texans are playing pretty good. I'll check the boxer Steven Nelson. I'll vote for him because they're playing pretty well. And then you know, maybe you get alternate and then you get into Pro Bowl and he definitely deserves it. So you had the big one, though, you had Cashman. That was a great one.
00:38:10
Speaker 3: He was weeks.
00:38:12
Speaker 5: It was no big surprise.
00:38:14
Speaker 2: Holy Couch was good man, he was good. That's the best linebacker playoffs seen in a long time. I mean it's the best. I mean, maybe sense of healthy cushion. Maybe, I mean Zach Cunningham had some days. But Zach gave you nothing in coverage. He gave you absolutely nothing coverage. He was gonna he was gonna stop the run. But Zach, you need to cover the tight end if he does this, if he goes there, you don't do that. Like No, he stopped the run and he was good at that coverage. Cashman put it all together the other day.
00:38:43
Speaker 6: That was great. That was really good.
00:38:44
Speaker 1: No, Cashman is a guy. If you followed him with his career in the Jets, early on, he showed flashes, but then he just got injured at the wrong time. Every single year went healthy. This is what he expected to do. That's what he's doing.
00:38:55
Speaker 5: Maybe because we had him on a huddle last week.
00:38:57
Speaker 3: Yes, that's why he got the huddle impact. We had Matt Burtle.
00:39:00
Speaker 2: We have Matt Burkin here on last week going into the game, gave up thirteen points, which, by the way, how about the no one saying it's in three games here have scored a total of two touchdowns against the Texans.
00:39:10
Speaker 3: How about that? About that one and seven one the other day? Only two and three games?
00:39:15
Speaker 1: Geez, good to know, all right, well, we only have one one more segment to go, Texans Huddle. John Harris joining us, I'm in D She's DP, quick time out. We'll be back for our final segment right after this. One more segment to go, Texans Huddle. Let's get right into it. We talked offense, we talked defense, but you know this is the NFL, So then pretty boy quarterbacks are going to get a segment to themselves, and when the Texans come back, you're gonna have one versus two CD Stroud taking on Bryce Young. Thoughts on that, let's start with you, DP. Let's start thoughts on that matchup with the two top rookies that were taking an episode.
00:39:53
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm definitely it's not what I expected it to be. I did not expect the Panthers to be oh to six. I mean, I thought the Texans could be, if not three and three, close to it, but I thought that the parody would be a lot closer between Young and Stroud. And it seems like Stroud has really surpassed everyone's expectations and the expectations that were on Bryce Young, Bryce Stroud.
00:40:14
Speaker 5: Bryce Young have not quite lived. It's not quite lived up.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: To what it was.
00:40:18
Speaker 4: Now there's still eleven games left, so a lot could change. The Panthers just trying to get things together. I saw Frank Reich is giving up his play calling duties to you know, I guess for the foreseeable future, to Thomas Brown to see.
00:40:32
Speaker 3: We'll see at least for the game that matters, for.
00:40:34
Speaker 5: The game that matters.
00:40:35
Speaker 4: But I'm excited about this matchup because I think that these two both have a lot of juice. They're very close, and I think if Bryce is going to bring it for any game, it's going to be against CJ. Stroud because he's gonna he's gonna want to prove that he's number one overall.
00:40:46
Speaker 5: Pick.
00:40:46
Speaker 4: That being said, I'm so so happy that Stroud is our quarterback. I'm glad that Texans won Week eighteen last year and it all worked out the way it is because he CJ has been a lot of fun to watch, a lot of fun to watch, and I think he is He's we overcome like a lot of injuries and a lot of issues with you know what this team has had at the old line, new new play caller, new head coach. I mean, it's it's just been a lot of fun I am super excited. I'm still mad that they.
00:41:11
Speaker 5: Didn't flexus in the primetime. I don't care what the Panthers record is.
00:41:13
Speaker 1: Real quick before you give your take. When he gives up control, you talk about Frank Wright giving up control of play calling duties. Do you think the mindset is he's humble enough to say, you know what, whatever I'm doing is not work and let me try someone else. Or is he saying I'm gonna show y'all it's not just me. Let somebody else call call the plays and we still won't have success.
00:41:33
Speaker 2: Like do I think it's I think it's I think it's yeah, fifty to fifty. I mean, I think there's equal parts to that. And d I really do to say, And I don't think we've seen it.
00:41:43
Speaker 5: We've seen it here too. We've seen like play calling duties split.
00:41:46
Speaker 3: Up get taken.
00:41:47
Speaker 2: We've seen this throughout the league this year, which has been interesting. We've seen, you know, Doug Peterson at some point in the game against US turned over to Press Taylor and said, okay, you call him for the second half, and then they end up scoring I take seventeen in the second half. So there's been some of that this year. And look, that's a new staff kind of working together. It's the first time Frank Reich and Thomas Brown have been together. So you kind of kind of feel it out and then you go, all right, well, let's see what we got. And when you're zero and six, you're kind of grasping at straw. I's like, all right, I've done this, I've done this. What's the one thing? Oh, I still have Blake calling? Well, let's maybe I'm a better coach if I don't have to worry about that. So Thomas do it, let him game plan it. I'll step back kind of ceo this thing, and you know, see if that works.
00:42:27
Speaker 3: Could also mean there's pressure from above to do it too.
00:42:30
Speaker 2: We know how NFL teams can be, and especially in Carolina, Dave Tepper has really got some influence in the building, and so you know, who knows.
00:42:38
Speaker 3: Maybe that was something that you know, he suggested. Who knows.
00:42:43
Speaker 2: I just think Bryce has been put in a situation there with Carolina ad feelings really started to play well for them. I think he said eleven catches three the last four games. He's been really good. And when you have that trusty vet, I think CJ found it out with Robert.
00:42:55
Speaker 3: Think about it. First game against the Ravens. What does he do?
00:42:58
Speaker 2: He goes to Robert Woods over and over over on third down because he knows and can trust him. You go to the veteran at that point. I think Bryce has got feeling now. And I don't know if that was really there, but I think the offensive line in Carolina.
00:43:11
Speaker 3: Has really been a mess. It really has not been good.
00:43:14
Speaker 2: They have not gotten great play out of Ikyakwanu, a left tackle and Indy.
00:43:19
Speaker 3: You know, when you're hitting quarterback over and over and over.
00:43:22
Speaker 2: Again, that has an impact that start, he starts feeling it. Then obviously when you start hit a guy you know, arms starts feeling it, or he missed a game, deal with the ankle, all of that starts playing a role. Now you start feeling and seeing ghosts and you start throwing a ball the other team, and now your confidence is shot.
00:43:38
Speaker 3: I think he started to get his confidence back.
00:43:39
Speaker 2: Hopefully this bye week doesn't get it back to him in full look, I think Bryce is going to be a really good quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. I'm glad we have CJ. Stroud here. I had Bryce a shade ahead of CJ. But there were so many people in this town saying, no, no, you gotta have Bryce, gotta have Bryce. I'm so glad we got the guy that we do humble. I think we would have gotten the same guy from Bryce. I think Bryce is a humble guy, would have been a really good leader as well. I just think Stroud's in the right situation, right time, and I think Bryce will get there with Carolina eventually. I don't know if it's the Reich staff that's the one that does it. He'll get there eventually. He's too good of a football player for that.
00:44:14
Speaker 1: They need to make sure, though, because you talked about those ghosts, and when you were talking, you were describing what happened right here in Houston years ago with David Carr. Yes, and I remember when I was in Philly and we were playing against the Texans. I don't know what was going on with the offensive line, and I don't want to put any one offensive lineman on the spot because I probably became teammates with him. Yeah, but there was a point where myself and Hugh Douglas were on the sideline scratching our head and no joke Hugh looked at me and said, do you think they don't like him? And he was talking about the offensive line and David Carr because we were just getting through their like wet toilet paper. And it affected David Carr for the remainder of his career because when I came here in Houston and I saw David Carr practice, I was like, man, this guy's good.
00:44:57
Speaker 6: He's fast, he's.
00:44:58
Speaker 1: Strong, he's smart. But then in game it was just a different person. So the Carolina Panthers, for the sake of Bryce Young and his career, they need to be very careful that they invest in a lot of offensive linemen, a lot of schemes where it's gonna protect him or he's gonna hear those ghosts throughout his career.
00:45:13
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, if they continue down this road, they'll get the number one pick.
00:45:17
Speaker 3: Oh wait, it's going to Chicago.
00:45:18
Speaker 2: Sorry, I mean it is, it's going to Chicago.
00:45:23
Speaker 3: I mean, I.
00:45:25
Speaker 5: Season play.
00:45:26
Speaker 4: He's a quarterback whisper, he's a season play caller.
00:45:29
Speaker 5: Like, I'm a little surprised by this.
00:45:32
Speaker 4: I think with Demiko Ryan's everybody's concern was, well, if the Texans take a quarterback, you've got a defensive minded head coach, what will you do? And you need to have a seasoned, you know, signal caller. And Bobby Slowick is just a young dude with a lot of creativity, who's really smart, who knows both sides of the ball really well.
00:45:48
Speaker 2: Well, Frank should know a little bit better too. In twenty eighteen, the game that we play against the coach was Week four. Up there, Andrew luck through sixty two times and Chris Ballad went to Frank at that point and said, Frank, and they had a young offensive line at that point. Quentin Nelson was a rookie, Brad Smith was a rookie. Ryan Kelly was like his second year. He's like, Frank, you gotta let those guys hit somebody. You gotta let those guys up front hit somebody and let them go forward. Let them go forward instead of always thinking back. Let them get some physicality. And all of a sudden they started finding balance between run and pass, and Andrew had his best year ever and an offensive line became one of the best in the league. Not saying that more run game for Carolina would help Bryce, but it might help and something Frank probably needs to think about.
00:46:28
Speaker 3: From his past. Hey, that worked in twenty eighteen. Let's do it here.
00:46:32
Speaker 2: That way, We're not relying on Bryce all the time. We can rely on the run game a little bit and then give Bryce some better throwing situations. And now that offensive line kind of has their defense on his heels a little bit.
00:46:41
Speaker 3: But if you know, it's third and nine and he's hauling.
00:46:44
Speaker 2: Off again to the quarterback, it was third and two, boy, I better protect the sea gap over here because Mike, I don't know. And all of a sudden, you're not as quick to rush. Now you get the ball off. Now your first downs and thinks go from there. So I think maybe that's what the Panthers probably will try and do through this buy. Thomas Brown was once a running back, so you never know, I want to see his running back sit fature a little bit more.
00:47:05
Speaker 1: All right, that's gonna do it for Texans Huddle, Texans All Access coming up next. You know what, we need to have a bye week every other week so we could get Johnny's a lot.
00:47:16
Speaker 5: We've learned everything about both sides of the ball.
00:47:18
Speaker 4: We've come up with the formula that's going to be top secret from here on out.
00:47:22
Speaker 5: Maybe that's something we can work on until the next by way.
00:47:24
Speaker 3: And we're all gonna wear hangles we.
00:47:27
Speaker 1: Learned hango kids. That's the podcast, all right, that's gonna do it for us. Do not test that now, Text and all access coming up next. Just leave it right here.
