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00:007 carries 17 yards. So in the box score, nothing major. I thought he had a couple of runs though
00:05that looked like the old Damien, you know, there, there was a lot of moving forward with
00:09his runs. I thought, yeah. Well, I think with the run game in general in that game, the
00:14box score didn't look great for any of the running backs really. But when you look at
00:19the way the game went, the really encouraging thing was there were a lot of runs for first
00:22downs and they had 13 first downs by the run, 13 first downs by the pass. I think the lions
00:29had seven total first downs in the game. The Texans were just, they, they just dominated
00:33the game in a lot of ways. But the, the really interesting thing was, okay, you're getting
00:40run for two yards here. You're getting a run for four yards there. You're getting a three
00:44yard run, but it's for a first down. The number of third and shorts in that game, like turns
00:52of the third downs were third and five or less. And it's just, that's, you look at the Chiefs
00:58last year. They, they didn't have great offensive numbers, but you know what they did? They got
01:03the third and three, third and four a lot, and they played good team football. And like
01:07that, that's the Texans were the exact opposite. CJ Stroud had the second most third and 10
01:12pluses in the league last year. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's in numbers or numbers are interesting.
01:16Cause I think if you're, if you're a team that averages like four and a half yards of carry
01:19or more, it doesn't really matter how you get to that number. You're probably a pretty
01:23good offense. The Texans, if I'm not mistaken, if you take out Mertz's two scrambles and the
01:28two kneel downs at the end of the game, average about 3.9 yards per carry in that game. And
01:32they ran the ball a lot. Jawar Jordan had 15 carries. Damian had seven. Um, there were
01:38other backs that were carrying the ball in there. And, uh, Woody Marks had a bunch of
01:43carries, six carries, I think in that game. Um, the 3.9 yards per carry is interesting
01:48because the Texans, that's about what the Texans averaged last year. The problem last year is so
01:53often they would average 3.9 yards per carry because Joe Mixon would break off a 60 yard run
01:58and then everything else for the rest of the game would be this slog that was either run stuffs or
02:03negative runs. Yeah. And this was this 3.9 yards to your point was, Hey, it's getting them in second
02:10and seven. Hey, that's getting them in third and three. That to me, when you have a team, that's just
02:14not an explosive run game. Tell me what the down and distance situations are, you know, because
02:18again, the number they averaged per carry in that game on Saturday was, was about what they did last
02:24season, but they're able to stay on the field. They're able to control the clock.
02:31Is it doing this on Saturday are going to be on the field come week one against the Rams. But the hope
02:38is, and when we, the glimpses we've seen of the ones in situations, they too have been able to do
02:44that. No. And I think that, so when we get to Damian Pierce here and some of the things he's
02:47talked about, it's, it's very clear in him talking about Nick Caley and perhaps how it compares a
02:53little bit to Bobby Sloick, that there's a, there's a completely different mindset when it comes to
02:58the run game this year. Yep. Let's get to that. Here was Damian Pierce. Now take a listen to this. I
03:01Clint and I both looked at each other. He brought a Bobby by name in this cut right here. This was
03:05Damian Pierce. Uh, Clint asked him about, Hey, your role in this scheme versus your role in last
03:11year's scheme. Man, I'm one of the guys who like seeing the whole line of scrimmage, uh, you know,
03:15nothing against Bobby, but you know, we was, you know, kind of precedent on the outside zone and
03:20going lateral before we go vertical. But, uh, Caley, you know, he has a whole different approach to
03:24this, to the run game. You know, he likes a lot of duos, counters, tight zone, and, um, you know,
03:29periodically, he likes to throw a few tosses in there. But, uh, like I said, man, like I said in the
03:34early interview, uh, Kelly kind of knows how to cater to the guys on the field and, um,
03:38our skillset. So, uh, I feel like when he see me in the game, you know, he keeps my shoulders
03:42square. Cause he know, that's what I'm up. When I'm at my best, I'm my most dangerous and, um,
03:46I'm my most comfortable. So, uh, that definitely, uh, it's in truth to what the commentator was
03:50saying. I feel good. Hopefully I look good out there, man. You know, I'm just glad to be that guy.
03:57Yeah. Look, I don't think that's a shot at Bobby Sloan. I think it's just two different
04:00methodologies and that this one fits Damian Pierce better. The, and Nick Haley is just by
04:06virtue of his play calling all throughout training camp, both in practice. Yeah, this is, this is an
04:13offense that he wants to be about blunt force trauma that you just, he wants to win physical
04:17battles and he wants his running backs to, to always, as D'Amico says constantly, every time he
04:23talks about running backs, he talks about running behind your pads. Like D'Amico, who's so good at kind
04:27of simplifying things for players and just letting them understand what the assignment
04:32is. Yeah. I think they get, they want those two extra yards you get. They keep it from being
04:37instead of, instead of second and 10, it's second, it's second and seven. And you can work with that
04:44and just above all else, just keep, keep moving forward. Um, and, and that's what the run game
04:51is going to look like. And then, so then the next test is, all right, you get into the regular season.
04:54Okay. Which of these guys are, it's one thing to bully people in the preseason. It's another
04:59thing to bully people in the regular season when all the starters are out there. That's
05:02the next big test. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and I think Damien ends up making the team in part,
05:07cause I don't think Joe Mixon is going to, my gut tells me Joe Mixon isn't going to start
05:11the season healthy. Uh, I just said, we haven't even seen Joe Mixon like out at practice. Like
05:16he's been persona non grata. And for people who, if Damien ends up making the team for people who
05:22are, uh, who are confused about that, maybe Hey, Joe, our Jordans look better. Damien doesn't
05:27practice at all. They kept Damien around last year when he was not a scheme fit at all. My guess
05:33is that there's a big part of them that does want to see what Damien looks like fully activated
05:38in, in, in this scheme. Yeah. And something that fits him better. The two guys that have been
05:45injured and haven't done much in training camp or Damien Pierce and Christian Harris. Those are the two
05:49guys on either. And about, okay, what exactly are we going to see? I don't think either of them
05:55looked nearly like the most impressive versions of themselves. And Christian Harris got about 13
06:01snaps in the game and he did, you know, wasn't awful, but also didn't really show up and do some
06:07of the things that we've seen him do. Didn't necessarily have any opportunities to go sideline
06:12to sideline. I mean, his range is one of the things that's really impressive. Didn't get tested
06:16in coverage all that much. Um, but I, you're almost taking a baseball mentality at this point.
06:22You know, I think the coaches are where they know what the upside of both these guys are.
06:26They know that they're coming back from injury and now it's just a matter of, okay, Hey,
06:30we got Lance McCullers coming back into the fold. Let's see how he does set the name you wanted me
06:35to use. Yeah. Is that the name? No, no, no. Use Javier. I know. How about Jordan? Okay. We got
06:40Jordan coming back as Jordan goes. So we'll go. My, uh, my optimism about Christian Harris and Damien
06:46Chris. There you go. There you go. Um, if you're looking to feel good about Nick Caley and how this
06:51team is being coached, this was Damien Pierce. When we asked him about pass protection by the
06:57running backs, it sure does look like you guys have been more on point with that here in the
07:01preseason than you were at the end of last year. What about that, Damien? Oh, I agree. Uh, well,
07:06for one, it starts with, uh, Caley and Cole. Cole is like our offensive line coach. So, uh,
07:12those two guys do a great job of, you know, making it clear and concise for everyone,
07:17not just the running backs, everyone involved in pass protection from the quarterback to the
07:21O-line to us, and then even receivers being dialed in on their hots. You know what I'm saying? So
07:25big shout out to those guys. And then just to add,
07:29just to add, you know, being more concise on it, uh, our running back coach,
07:35coach DB does a great job of making sure we're mentally and physically prepared every day. You know,
07:40whether it's drills, whether it's film, whether it's just walking and talking, you know, we,
07:44that's probably the most, that's probably the most we spend the time, spend our time on in the
07:49running back room is pass bros. Cause you know, DB has a thing. He says, you know, we know how to
07:54run the ball. You know, we wouldn't be here if we didn't know how to run the ball. So just make
07:57sure we protect the ball and protect the quarterback. So, uh, we spend a lot of time on that and
08:01everybody has done a great job of buying into it and, um, just, you know, putting our pride and joy into it.
08:07You know, we're very powerful about pass bros. We're very powerful about keeping seven off the
08:11dirt. Cause you know, when seven is clean, we have a great chance of winning the football game.
08:15Of the things that have jumped out in the preseason, if I could have a wish list of the
08:19things I would carry over into the regular season depth, that's, if that's not at the top of the
08:24list, it's pretty damn close. The improvement in the pass protection. Right now that, that one,
08:30I look that as, I don't think Damian was trying to take a shot at, at Bobby Sloick, but I
08:34interpreted as a shot at Bobby Sloick and that my biggest complaint with Bobby was it always
08:39seemed like he was probably, he was hell on wheels on the whiteboard when it came to actually
08:44coaching things. I never got the sense that guys were being taught or coached properly.
08:48Whereas this is, Hey, what's the most important thing? Keeping CJ Stroud healthy. Let's spend time
08:54and on it, let's have, let's be sure the offensive line is working with the running backs, uh, on,
08:59on pass protection and all those things. And it showed up. I mean that, if there's one thing I'll
09:04take from this preseason where I won't say, well, it's just the preseason, they, it was very
09:09clear that I remember had impressive moments in pass protection, including your young guys,
09:19your rookies. And that's not normal, especially for your younger running backs. Usually you're
09:24cajoling your running backs to give a damn, your young running backs to give a damn about pass
09:28protection. And that, that's my, that's my most rock solid indicator in my mind that Kaylee might
09:35really know what he's doing because that's, that was very, very impressive. Whether it was preseason,
09:39regular season, whatever, that was impressive. Here's one more from Damian Pierce. Of course,
09:43he was brought back pretty slowly from his injury. He finally was able to put on the pads within the
09:49last week, got in at the joint practice and got seven carries in the game on Saturday. Uh, was it
09:55difficult watching, watching off to the side while guys are competing at your position?
10:01For sure. Cause you know, uh, especially in the, in the deep running back room, we got, you know,
10:04as a competitor, you know, it kind of sucked and, um, you know, I, I have my, you know, I have my
10:09moments, uh, you know, mentally going through, uh, like, damn, I want to be out there so bad. But,
10:13uh, just looking at the big picture and looking at the end goal of what I want for myself,
10:17it kind of brought me back to earth and, uh, with that end goal being, you know, when I get back to the
10:21field, I want to be dominant. I want to be explosive. I want to be the me that I know I can be.
10:25And, um, not prove anybody else wrong. I just want to prove, I'm more so focused on proving myself
10:29right. You know, uh, the last few years, few years, you know, I kind of just let everybody
10:34get to me, you know, you know, rightfully so, you know, this NFL, you know, everybody look at what
10:38we do, you know, from the moment we, from the moment we report the camp to the last game of the
10:42season, you know, but, uh, just, just being on the sideline, focusing on the main goal and,
10:47um, just getting back healthy. So I can get back to my friend of football. He said that he maybe let
10:54everything get to him a little bit. And I, I, I thought he was talking about kind of just chatter
10:58by the noise or fan base or whatever it is. It reminded me a little bit of Arian Foster
11:02and that Arian, Arian went through on a much bigger stage and under more scrutiny, got so much love
11:09as a young player. And then all of a sudden started to see the flip side of it and it get, and it can,
11:15and it wears at you. Cause once you, once you let people in, then all of a sudden they affect you
11:19cause you're taking in all the positives, all the positives. And then all of a sudden,
11:23wait a second, these people that said they loved me are now saying unkind things about me. It's a
11:28little bit of a shock to your system. So I like that Damien kind of got to go through that and
11:32learn that lesson maybe without, without it being quite as drastic that you just gotta, you gotta
11:36focus, you gotta focus on the guys in the building and try really, really hard to just, I mean,
11:42it's nice to appreciate the nice things people say about you, but you always got to remember that
11:46large, largely that's, that's not actual love. No, that's not actual respect. That's you helping
11:52them win their fantasy. Yeah. Yeah. No, well, and you know, you know, who's really good at,
11:56at, at parsing that out, at least, at least he's, you know, by the talking, the talk is CJ Stroud.
12:02Cause he'll say all the time, like, yeah, well, they love, you know, they'll love you one minute.
12:05And then the next minute, you know, you're, they hate you the next minute. I think he knows that
12:09academically. I think that, I think, I think all young players these days, uh, go through a,
12:14uh, you're like, you gotta get genuinely callous at some point. That's why I said,
12:18talk to talk. Like he said, he says the right things. Yeah. Well, CJ, CJ went through it to
12:23the epitome at Ohio state and now he's getting it on the flip side. We're now I get the sense
12:27from a lot of Ohio state fans, the ones who will like calm heart rate. Uh, it is that five of them
12:35boy, boy, a lot of these Ohio state fans sure do seem to love CJ Stroud a lot more now than they did
12:41when he was at Ohio state that, especially if they're also Browns fans, you know, they're
12:46looking, they're looking at it and they're like, well, sure. I might've criticized CJ a little
12:50bit at times, uh, back when he was in Columbus. But, uh, but, but of course that that's, that's
12:55all neither here nor there. He's not the one losing to Michigan anymore. It's somebody else
12:58doing that. Although they won a national championship. CJ had an indoctrination into it earlier about
13:03being careful about all the praise. For sure. For sure. Text message, Sean, you had a great
13:07take on Woody Marks looking a lot like rookie Damien Pierce. And by that logic, Damien Pierce
13:13should be the one who gets cut in 2025. My take on that, I think I had it on this show,
13:17I think, and I know I had it on the post game show was that if this team were not as good
13:22as they are, if they were like the team in 2022, the Damien Pierce was on, I think Woody
13:28Marks would be getting a lot of that same Damien Pierce love that, that, that Damien was getting
13:34in 2022. And for some reason he was behind Rex Burkhead to start the season. Woody, Woody
13:38Marks has popped in practice and in these games. I think Woody Marks, especially if Joe
13:44Mixon is hurt, I think Woody Marks is going to be a much bigger part of this team's offense
13:49than people anticipate early in the season.
13:52But he's also a different type of running back. So that's where I think that Woody Marks
13:58is almost in a separate category than Damien Pierce that because of his catch catching ability
14:03and everything else. And he's a smaller guy right now. I, you look at Damien Pierce is
14:09all right, this is your class. Right now we have two other classic all purpose backs, Joe
14:16Mixon, who might not be playing in week one and Nick Chubb who has looked good so far, but
14:23we still, you still just can't, you can't expect that he's going to get 25 carries in a game,
14:28a few games in a row and be just fine. He's still coming back from his knee injury. He's an aging
14:32running back, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So for, for where the team is right now,
14:36I think they're, they're kind of in separate conversations.
14:38Do you, do you think Woody gets touches in week one again? If, if Joe Mixon is hurt,
14:43do you think Woody? Yeah. Yeah. Especially. Yeah. I think the, I think the classic simple
14:47thing is okay. At the very least on passing downs, Woody Marks is the guy you want in there
14:51because he's any, because he's shown that you can, you can count on him as a pass protector.
14:56Yeah. Usually the thing that keeps guys like Woody Marks off the field is all right. Well,
15:00great. He's a receiver, but because he can't pass block and because maybe he's not that good of an
15:05actual runner, then the defense, it's easy to, the defense can just treat him like another slot
15:11receiver or something where Woody Marks, because I think he's got genuine value as an all around runner
15:16and because he can pass protect that there's no reason not to play him early on.
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