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00:00and look the topic with the Texans until rubber meets the road and we see not one to be honest
00:06with you but multiple games with this particular 2025 version of the Houston Texans the biggest
00:14talking point is going to be the offensive line the biggest talking point is going to be the
00:18offensive line and Nick Casario was on Payne and Pendergast talking about two of the most
00:22important figures when it comes to the Texans fixing their offensive line problems let's start
00:28with Nick Casario telling us Tyler what what the Texans are up against this week they are up
00:35against one of what Nick Casario says is one of the best defensive fronts in football here's Nick
00:41Casario talking about the Rams defensive line yeah we're probably as ready as we'll be on the
00:47offensive line so you know we understand the challenge in front of us against the Rams I mean
00:51this is arguably like top to bottom like one through five when you include Puna Florida in there which
00:56not everybody's really talking about Puna I mean they have probably this is collectively you know
01:01one of the better defensive lines we'll probably see over the course of the year just from a one
01:06through five basis like we're going to face good defensive linemen every week and some teams maybe
01:11only have one or two but you know when you look at the Rams I mean they literally have five guys who
01:16are as good as anybody in the league at their respective positions so we're certainly going to have to
01:21account for their defensive line and almost every snap I mean verse kind of moves around the front a little
01:25bit I mean it's a really good front again it's probably as good of a front just top to bottom
01:30that we're going to face one through five so you know we're going to need everybody to just focus on
01:34their execution their fundamentals and their assignment understand what the intent is on each
01:39play and just make sure the communication is clean it's going to be a hostile environment it's
01:43going to be on the road so we just got to make sure we have all five doing the same thing and the
01:47tight ends will be a part of it and the running backs will be a part of it quarterback certainly have
01:50responsibility in it as well so it's going to take a collective effort to handle their defense without
01:54question high praise high praise D'Amico had high praise for Jared Burst calling him one of the best
02:00in the league Nick Casario talking about this front with the five-man rotation that they can roll
02:05through there being as good as there is in the league I don't know that I can get there in terms of
02:09one of the best in the league but I do believe that this is a very solid test for the Houston Texans
02:17I don't think there's anybody on here Jared Burst is a great player I mean they've got some great
02:21players he mentioned Puna Ford there are some great players on this team but I don't think
02:26there's guys on there Ron that should just absolutely wreck the pocket for C.J. Stroud or
02:32wreck the run game blocking schemes for Nick Chubb like this is a good challenge great challenge
02:38but it's one that we as Texans fans should expect to have a little bit of success you don't think
02:44versus that type of player I know I think he potentially can be but I'm not ready to anoint his
02:49ass is that no I don't watch Jared I watch Jared Burst and I remember I loved him in college he was
02:54one of my favorite players coming out of Florida State and and they ended up getting both of the
02:59defensive linemen from Florida State and I like him and he may end up being one of the best in the
03:03league I just don't know that I'm ready to I'm ready to call him an absolute game wrecker and mention
03:07him with some of the best that the NFL has to offer in my opinion now we'll see maybe Sunday he proves
03:13me wrong I the point being is I agree with Nick Casario right there one through five this is a
03:18good rotation this offensive I mean defensive line can pose some problems for the Texans who their
03:24number one priority is to fix the damn offensive line and I think before we see rubber meet in the
03:29road I think the number one person that can help the offensive line and fix the problems from last
03:34year is C.J. Stroud you just heard from him at 340 and he gave you some reasons why he can help
03:39this offensive line there's been multiple times that he's been asked this offseason about the
03:43offensive line he said hey we got to help these guys I've got to help these guys Nick Caley's got
03:48to help these guys right I think C.J. Stroud the quarterback is number one the number one guy that
03:53can help this team but there are two other guys that Nick Casario spoke about today one of them being
03:58the new offensive line coach Cole Popovich here's Nick Casario on the O-line coach uh and and uh
04:05and the guy that ultimately I think is tasked with making the biggest improvement across the
04:11board for the Texans this year yeah Cole's worked really hard during this opportunity and he didn't
04:16have it easy when you look at kind of where he started and to where he is now um it's a credit to
04:21him and his approach and I think what you're hoping for as a player is just whomever the coach is is just
04:27for somebody that's consistent that's honest and that's authentic and I think Cole embodies a lot of
04:32those principles and he has his own style which is important but he's very smart he works very very
04:39hard he played the position so he has a little bit of a background in terms of you know what the
04:44expectation understanding is of scheme etc and he and Zach Yenzer have worked really well together
04:50and your job as a coach is just to get the players prepared so when they go out there they can perform
04:55at an optimum level you know Cole's worked really hard there's a reason that we brought him into the
05:00program when we did you know Cole's earned this opportunity and we're glad he's here
05:04Cole Popovich the new offensive line coach Ron I I think this Jesus obviously he is the the uh the
05:12task has been laid at his feet and he's he's got to fix this offensive line yeah Nick Caley's got to
05:17schematically do some things and hold some guys you know set a certain standard but but Cole Popovich
05:21is the one that's in the room with him and here's what I like about Cole Popovich Ron he was in the
05:25room last year with all of the dysfunction right and and when they hired Cole Popovich like what the
05:31hell this guy was in the room why couldn't he fix it now and I that's still there now we'll see if he
05:35can over if he can outplay that so to speak but the fact that he was in the room last year with all
05:39this dysfunction Ron it it should have been and hopefully was a key piece in confidently making
05:45the necessary moves move on from Laramie Tunsil uh you know make some of the moves that they made
05:50with with players that were in there last year be able to confidently say hey here's some of the
05:55things that were going on in that room and give D'Amico Ryans a a first-hand account of what was
06:00going on in that room right and so therefore Cole Popovich should know how to fix it you ain't coming
06:05in blind and going well who are these guys what do we do Cole Popovich should know the experience in
06:10this system that Nick Caley is trying to install and the Texans are hoping to run this year um you know
06:16not only in the system but he was he was under one of the best offensive line
06:20coaches the league has ever seen and and I think that that has to mean something for
06:25Cole Popovich I like that about his resume Ron and his overall approach to coaching offensive line
06:30I think is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Texans I don't know internally like from the
06:35players I don't know those guys but I know from a fan's perspective and from a media perspective
06:39watches a lot of film this team needed to be held to a physicality standard like set the standard of
06:46hey we are going to play the game in a physical nature and I think this team needed it and I like
06:53that about Cole Popovich leading into the season yeah he uh he everything has been a-okay thumbs up
07:01great belief in everything but if I know Texans fans the way that they should be approaching it
07:12and the way that I think I know them after this being the sixth year I'm covering this team
07:18it is under there the it is under there and they the the the concerns the concerns of what this
07:29thing is going to look like is still there and they and they need they need to get going off on a good
07:36start so up to this point everything has been has been positive but the real bullets are about to
07:41to get fired and they need to see it fixing the offenses uh the Texans offensive line problem CJ
07:47Stroud's number one uh close second his new offensive line coach Cole Popovich he was in there and saw
07:53what was going on damn it he ought to be able to fix it if he's worth the worth the damn in terms of
07:57being a coach we shall see there I think I think another key player here uh with the Texans in a sense of
08:03fixing their offensive line play is is the center Jake Andrews and look Jake Andrews is a guy that
08:09was released by the New England Patriots a rebuilding franchise with a young quarterback
08:12and immediately scooped up by the Texans I mean clearly Nick Casario clearly Cole Popovich have
08:19experience with Jake Andrews knew him well and thought it'd be good to bring him in here I did
08:23not think that he was going to get the Kamari Lasseter treatment though Ron you pick a guy up off the
08:27streets that couldn't cut it in New England you bring him in here you give him the starting job
08:31and he never let it go here's here is Nick Casario on what about center Jake Andrews earned him
08:38the starting job yeah sure no he was a player that we evaluated when he was coming out of Troy
08:43in 22 or 23 whatever year that was he had a certain I'd say playing style physicality toughness
08:49about him that what we liked and we graded him kind of accordingly and then he was drafted there in
08:55the fourth round by New England and the fact that Cole had coached him we had some more
09:00better understanding of what the player was about we felt that was a player that when we claimed him
09:05he would at least be competitive with the rest of the group understanding we were kind of still
09:09piecing that together but from jump I mean his attitude his mindset the way he works I mean he's
09:16upstairs as much as any player watching film spending time with Cole and and we had legit competition
09:24at center JP's played a number of snaps he started and played quality football for us you know juice
09:30really has the most position flexibility between those guys centered at guard but juices started at
09:35center so we let the competition kind of sort itself out the reality is we're probably going to need
09:40everybody in that room at some point but Jake has earned this opportunity with his work ethic with
09:45his mindset and you know we're glad that he's here high praise for center Jake Andrews from Nick Casario
09:51the general manager for the Texans I'll tell you what I love about about Jake Andrews and and and his
09:56ability to help this team be better in in the o-line play overall but if we're being honest it's about
10:02pass protection the fact that he knows he knows this system he knows the terminology he knows offensive
10:09line coach Cole Popovich like the back of his hand I believe he's got experience with Nick Kaley the
10:13offensive coordinator as well I think Jake Andrews won this center competition for two reasons one he can
10:21communicate he knew the system he can communicate clearly he's a good communicator number two we
10:26talked about the physicality that I think Cole Popovich wants out of this offensive line he brings
10:30a level of physicality at least in the run game uh blocking perspective he brings a level of
10:35physicality that I think is is what they want out of their offensive line so uh Cole Popovich the
10:40o-line coach Jake Andrews the new center Ron I think those are the two key pieces beyond beyond CJ
10:46Stroud that uh that that are gonna that are gonna play a role whether good or bad good bad or indifferent
10:51in fixing the Texans offensive line problems to start it was a Patterson Andrews Scruggs type of
10:59situation in the center yep then it dropped to a Patterson and Andrews from what you watched in
11:06training camp and to the texters and listeners as well what you watched in training camp what you
11:12watched uh in preseason games did you feel like Andrews clearly separated himself in that competition
11:20well I look I I wouldn't say I see that clearly but I I think overall as the offensive line play goes
11:26he spent most of his time with the ones from start to finish and and as I said many a times watching
11:32training camp yes the practices were ugly and messy for the offense and and a lot of it was pass
11:37protection for CJ Stroud not being able to get a ball off but as I saw it it was more about tackles
11:42getting their ass whooped it wasn't about the the center the middle offensive linemen um not being able
11:48to to stand their ground it wasn't about guys getting out of position because they didn't know
11:53who the hell they had to block it was about guys getting beat one-on-one and so I gotta believe that
11:57that has a lot to do with number one the communication and it starts with the center I think it starts with
12:02the center CJ Stroud has he can overrule anything override anything but the center communicating I
12:08think is a big reason why that interior line play was better and then I think the second part of it
12:12Ron is is look we never looked at this team at this unit this is probably not fair but it's real
12:19we never looked at this team with Jarrett Patterson at center and said hey man look at that movement
12:22inside Jarrett Jarrett Patterson did a fine job but we never looked at the offensive line I'm talking
12:27about beforehand before last year when he was getting run we never looked at them and said man did you see
12:32that center guard a double team just completely move that d tackle from the damn hole we never saw
12:38that so I've got to attribute the fact that we're seeing it now in the preseason we saw it some in
12:42joint practices I got to attribute that to somebody and to me that's Jake Andrews and I'm leaning
12:48solely on the fact that what we've heard people in the building talk about is boy Jake Andrews is
12:52really in that run blocking in that physicality in firing off the ball and hitting somebody he puts an
12:59emphasis on running the football and so I got to believe that there's some truth to that so
13:03I don't I don't think to me it wasn't like oh my gosh Jake Andrews head over heels the better center
13:08but I think the overall product improved significantly with him in there and so I got to believe that he
13:14had something to do with that one thing that was real noticeable is he he seemed to have like like
13:18take control like he completely knew what was going on from the from that position he seemed to with the system
13:26and everything he seemed to have a clear control and understanding to me more that that stood out
13:33than the other guys he was yep compete with
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