The Biggest Worry With How Texans Ended Preseason

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There were players who didn't play in the Texans' final preseason game that The Drive's Clint Stoerner and Ron Hughley found curious. They talk about it here.

Transcript

00:00Ron, the biggest worry coming out of this game, without a doubt, is the way that D'Amico

00:05Ryan's handled this game.

00:07So many guys that did not play, and look, we knew C.J. Stroud wasn't going to play,

00:13but hell, Davis Mills didn't play.

00:14Look, we knew Dalton Schultz wasn't going to play, but hell, Brevin Jordan didn't play.

00:18We knew Joe Mixon wasn't going to play, but damn, Damian Pierce didn't play.

00:22We knew Laramie Tunsell and Titus Howard weren't going to play, but damn, Blake Fisher didn't

00:25play.

00:26That one caught me off guard.

00:27It's one of those where you go, I mean, golly, what in the world is going on?

00:32And they say no.

00:34What is the point in this football game?

00:36But there are a couple of guys that I got to ask the question, Ron.

00:41It's Robert Woods and Damian Pierce.

00:46Those are the two guys for me that did not play, and if you can think of another one

00:50that did not play that fits this category, feel free.

00:54These are the two guys that, now I don't know why they didn't play.

01:00I don't believe the thought is that they've just 100% made this team and their roster

01:07spot's locked up and they are a top five receiver on this team and a top two running back on

01:12this team.

01:13I don't buy that.

01:14But were these play to trade, or better yet, no play to trade?

01:19I guess them not playing, was that a play by the team to keep these guys healthy to

01:26potentially trade them?

01:28We heard the rumor last week there was some Robert Woods was a top trade piece, potential

01:32trade piece for the Texans.

01:34Obviously, Damian Pierce is a guy that the trade verbiage has been thrown around with

01:40his name as well.

01:42Do you think that's potential with either or both of those guys?

01:47Yeah.

01:48Yeah.

01:49Yeah.

01:50The Robert Woods one is hard, it would be hard for me as a team to be like, yeah, I'll

01:58just wait till you get released, because I mean, I don't want to pick up any of that

02:03check unless the Texans are going to pay some of it to get something out of it.

02:08But the Damian Pierce one is very real, and I'll stand by what I said a couple of weeks

02:14ago after the Giants preseason game.

02:18I think he needs to change the scenery, and I think that would do him and the Texans good.

02:28Because if he's here, it feels like the Texans are hell bent on trying to potentially force

02:33that to work, even if it's not working and it's clearly clear to see.

02:40But I do think there are other teams that look at Damian Pierce and think, well, he

02:44can help us.

02:45Yeah.

02:46He can help us.

02:47That's a guy who's two years removed from being a top 10 back, the way he was playing

02:53in terms of yards before he got injured just two years ago, his rookie year.

02:59So he is the one that I'm betting people are checking in on when you look at...

03:05Because a lot of running back, like the Chiefs, their backup running back right now is the

03:09guy who I think they thought would be a fullback, as Clyde Edwards, who they thought would be

03:15their running back, is not able to go right now.

03:18I think somebody mentioned earlier, the Ravens like to collect backs and fit a certain system

03:26of physicality there.

03:28I think there are a lot of teams that look at that and think, boy, we could do something

03:33there.

03:34He could help us there and help a team that's improving.

03:39In the two spot as a backup running back.

03:41Yeah.

03:42No, I think a certain system, and I think Baltimore is a good one.

03:47They're going to move people.

03:49Look, I think you look at the Chargers, when you're a coach that's had success in college,

04:01there's a certain level of simplicity, if you will, with your system.

04:05Obviously, I believe Jim Harbaugh knows Pep Hamilton, I think.

04:10So there's probably some stuff there.

04:11I think there's a spot for Damian.

04:13Now what he draws in return, I have no idea.

04:17Yeah, because neither one of them are bringing back anything.

04:21Anything significant, right?

04:22But it's just better than releasing them.

04:25The other thing, which I think is really the biggest thing that happened on the field,

04:29Ron, for me, is...

04:31And this is, you're talking about a heel out down.

04:33You want to talk about a dead horse that I'm going to beat until it's proven that this

04:37is just...

04:38I don't know.

04:40I don't have any idea what in the hell is going on with this running back room.

04:46Cam Akers returning a kickoff with literally less than three minutes to go in the fourth

04:52quarter of the last preseason game, when anybody that will be in the box score week one is

04:58not playing, blows my mind.

05:02Cam Akers goes out there once again, every time this guy's touched the field.

05:06First of all, Cam Akers has a long resume in this offense.

05:09So he's experienced and he knows what the hell's going on.

05:13Seven carries, 53 yards.

05:14He averaged 7.6 yards per carry.

05:18He had three catches for 19 yards.

05:20Again, he had four targets in the past game.

05:23Boyle missed him on an H angle, H Texas, H post, whatever you want to call it.

05:28That would have been a decent little play as well.

05:32Cam Aker, there is no way in hell.

05:34There is no way on God's green earth that D'Amico Rhines and Bobby Slowick watch the

05:40eight snaps.

05:41Yes, I said eight, which blows my mind that Damian Pierce ended up being a kickoff returner

05:48and was not getting any run whatsoever at the running back position last season.

05:53To think that he's come in and had eight carries in the preseason and has convinced

05:58these guys to a point where he doesn't play, he doesn't suit up in the last game.

06:03I just-

06:04Especially when the head coach, prior to the game, a couple of days-

06:07Said he needs more work.

06:08Needs more opportunities.

06:09Needs more opportunities.

06:10I cannot, cannot believe under any circumstances that that's the case with Damian Pierce.

06:16Now you throw Cam Akers in the mix, Ron.

06:18It makes absolutely zero sense.

06:21There is nobody, there is no way, and I'll put this out there right now, I just don't

06:28believe it's true.

06:29There is no way that Bobby Slowick and D'Amico Rhines watch the preseason film of the Houston

06:37Texans and says, we're not going to give the rock to Cam Akers.

06:42We're going to prefer to give it, we're going to choose to give it to Damian Pierce.

06:47Dang it, Bobby.

06:48If and when, love that drop.

06:50If and when Mixon needs a break.

06:54And Mixon, who by the way, has been banged up in camp already this year a couple times.

06:58So there's not a football person on God's green earth that watches tape and says, yeah,

07:05we're going to ride with 31 over 22 after what we've seen this camp.

07:11That would be a head scratcher.

07:13That would be a head scratcher that if they went that direction, if like, hey, he needs

07:18a blow or, uh, you know, whatever they're going to do in, in, in, in getting the number

07:24two back in, that would, that it's wasting snaps, Ron, that would not make a lot of sense.

07:29It's like, it has to be now look, Damian Pierce may go out there and prove me wrong and prove

07:33them right here.

07:34All the receivers did it last year, but right now it, it, it, it, it would be a waste of

07:40snaps.

07:41It'd be a decision that you would be okay with choosing to hand the football to somebody

07:45that has not proven to be even remotely close to cam makers and cam makers has done it every

07:53time you give them an opportunity.

07:55It don't matter how small or big the sample size is.

07:58The guys go, the guy goes out there and makes a big play on a cutback.

08:01The guy goes out there and makes guys missing traffic with spin moves.

08:05The guy goes out there and own schedule, uh, hits, hits a crease, gets to the second level

08:11of the defense and, and has, it has one cut ability to get out the back gate.

08:15I mean, he, I just can't believe that football is good as football guys are.

08:20I cannot believe they sit there and watch and they, and they make the decision in two

08:24weeks against Indianapolis Colts to either hand the football to throw the football to

08:29or have past protect your quarterback, that they make the decision to go with, with Damian

08:34Pierce over cam makers.

08:35I love Damian Pierce.

08:36Look, I hope it all works out.

08:37Love him.

08:38I mean, he's, I mean, he's one of my favorite players, but I'm, this is just the football

08:42more surprised if he would, I mean, it would make more sense if he were traded, like Damian

08:50Pierce were traded.

08:51If either one of them are traded, it would make more sense than Damian Pierce getting

08:55carried over, over what acres right now, right now, you've given last season and this preseason,

09:03you've got to assume that they're okay with the risk of wasting downs and wasting series

09:07period.

09:08That's just the way it is.

09:10And they're that committed to Damian Pierce because they've got all the proof in the world,

09:15all the reason in the football world to go with cam acres and all the, all the reason

09:20in the football world to believe that cam acres is going to give you a better chance

09:23to move the football and score points period.

09:25I don't care what practice looked like.

09:27I don't care what the practice film looked like period.

09:29That's just the truth of the matter.

09:31We'll see what happens.

09:32It ain't been that good.

09:33No, it don't.

09:34You can't.

09:35No, it ain't.

09:36It ain't been that good.

09:37No, absolutely not.

09:38The other thing that, that I think sticks out from this game, Ron is, and we've talked

09:41a little bit about it.

09:42The receivers here, John Mechie, John Mechie added to his value.

09:47Once again, the last two weeks for John Mechie and I can't, I can't emphasize this enough.

09:55It wasn't just a couple of good weeks y'all.

09:58It was my big catch.

10:00The first three weeks of camp was, man, he ain't creating no separation.

10:03Sure.

10:04If he comes to the line of scrimmage and he happens to be working with CJ Stroud and the

10:07safeties are 20 yards deep and the linebackers are dropping to 10 or 12 yards and they're

10:11just, and they're, they're spot dropping and he's running a little under route.

10:14Yeah.

10:15He's sure he's going to, there's, there's some space there.

10:17I'm talking about when there's man or, or even if it's a, if it's a tight zone of where

10:22the, we use the word suffocate a lot, the safeties are coming down and they're really

10:26tightening down the inability for him to create separation and just flat out make plays was

10:32glaring the first three weeks of camp.

10:34The last two preseason games, my man at every level of the field in the red zone, um, created

10:41space, ran great routes, caught the ball in traffic, made guys miss, put DBS in a blender.

10:47I just saw a little bit of everything I needed to see to believe that John Mechie is going

10:56to be more than the guy that was really good in college, had an illness and just could

11:00never get back to himself.

11:01Like what I saw the last two weeks was I would buy stock in John Mechie, whether it's here

11:07or it's a trade, I would buy stock in John Mechie.

11:10I don't know where John Mechie is going to play his next down of football on the regular

11:13season, but his value went up again, whether that's trade value or that's just value here

11:19in Houston.

11:20In the future, John Mechie had him a solid, had him another solid outing short, but solid

11:26first, what first play made a guy miss on a move near the sideline.

11:32And you know, to me, I thought he probably did what he needed to do the week before.

11:37But sounds like he had a good week of practice and they've seen what they needed to see in

11:42game and in practice from him.

11:45And I think he's safe.

11:46I think he's fine.

11:47And I think he's in a good spot for a lot of reasons, but I think to the point that

11:52you're making, he also did things himself, uh, that those good reason reasons aren't

12:01just things that don't have anything to do with the football field on the field.

12:05He did things that he needed to do to, to get in a better place in a better standing

12:10because Clint, there could be a lot of off the field stuff that you feel about him.

12:15Like he's a good dude.

12:16He fits the system.

12:17Um, you really, really root for him.

12:19You really won't want him, but if he was still rolling out one for seven and one for

12:23four on, on preseason games, like at some point, like you can't, you can't, you can't

12:30defend that.

12:31You keep going with that.

12:32He gave him the reason for him to be, to be in a safer spot with his performance.

12:38Yeah.

12:39I look, I mean, in any way you put it, I mean, John met you up to his value, man, cam Acres

12:43balled out and most guys didn't play that's, that's a, that's a reaction Monday right there

12:48for you.

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