00:00You look at this defense, this defense trying to figure out what they're going to do
00:02and how they manage everything with the injuries that they've had.
00:06Now having M.J. Stewart lost for the season with that quad injury that he sustained on Sunday
00:12and then also having to do a little bit of musical chairs with Jalen Petrie still on concussion protocol.
00:18And even with that and the ways in which this defense was able to lock down on the Jaguars when it was needed
00:24and only allowed three and outs in the fourth quarter and so on and so forth,
00:27I think John Lopez was the biggest turning point that the Texans made actually on the defense in this game.
00:35I think you can make the argument.
00:36All right, go ahead. You got it, big dog.
00:37I think you can make the argument.
00:39How many times were we somewhat agitated, somewhat confused when D'Amico constantly said,
00:48one score game, one possession game?
00:51You mentioned it earlier and I said we're going to revisit it.
00:54Did you?
00:56Revisit it right now.
00:56I say a lot of things.
00:58I'll just be talking, man.
00:59You do, which is you're in the right business.
01:02But you were talking about, you know, how did you put it?
01:06It was on their watch.
01:08You know, that the game, the defense on their watch couldn't close it out.
01:13Yeah, you got, I mean, the Tampa game obviously comes strongly to mind.
01:19And then you also have the Broncos game where you have a similar thing happen again.
01:22And it felt like it happens again, right?
01:26I mean, specific.
01:27Rams.
01:28Rams, yeah.
01:28You also had that moment.
01:29I was trying to remember specifically how the Rams game ended.
01:32But yeah, there were moments in all those games where you were like, hey, this is what you want.
01:36Your defense, the best part of this team, what feels like it's superpower I've heard it described as.
01:41Because they're on the floor or on the field, and then you ultimately end up in a circumstance where, unfortunately, it feels like they can't close it out.
01:48But you know what they did Sunday?
01:49Close it out?
01:50Not only they closed it out, they closed it out.
01:52They added a flourish on it.
01:53Here's the cherry on top.
01:54How about Sheldon Rankin's give you six more points?
01:56How about that?
01:56They finally put a pelt on the wall.
01:58I use that term a lot because it's so important in sports to me.
02:03You know, you don't know that's what you are until you do it.
02:06And it's not about momentum, which I know is sort of an irritating thing for you, but it's about like pelts on the wall.
02:12We have done it.
02:13We can revisit that.
02:14We know we can get it done.
02:16They put the pelt on the wall.
02:17And Aziz Al-Shair, after the game, was the one that really had me thinking about this.
02:22I said, you know what?
02:23I think you could easily argue that this defense, as great as it's been, got better.
02:29It feels great because, you know, when we were in the meeting to start the week, you know, Meek challenged the defense.
02:35And that's what he said.
02:35He's like, you know, we say we're number one defense, yards, points, all this stuff.
02:39But, like, there's been multiple games where we've had the last chance.
02:43Like, we've had the last play, and the other team scored points to win the game, whether it was Denver, whether it was Tampa Bay early in the year.
02:50And it's like, you know, if we're the best, then close it up.
02:52So, I mean, as soon as, you know, offense scored, I didn't care if they got the two-point conversion or not.
02:57I knew we were going to be up by one point or three points, and either way it went.
03:00Like, we all looked at each other on defense like, this is exactly what we wanted to show.
03:06It was a turning point.
03:07I mean, they got it done.
03:09I get, you know, there's some questions to be asked, and I'm going to ask you a few right here.
03:13You know, of course it was Trevor Lawrence playing a really bad game.
03:17Of course it was the Jaguars.
03:18You know me well, because that's immediately where I was going to come to.
03:21I'm going to see if I can poke some holes in your assertion here of a text that comes in, which is absolutely fair from the 8-3-2.
03:28The Texans defense also messed it up on that final possession as well when you get the deep pass to Parker Washington, forced out by Tremont Smith.
03:38But there's an illegal hands to the face, right, that allows them to bring the ball back.
03:42Yeah.
03:42Right?
03:43So, I mean.
03:44Nevertheless, they closed it out.
03:47They did.
03:47And they put an exclamation point on it.
03:50You will not blame yourself for having good fortune in them.
03:52Exactly.
03:52You know, there was a lot of good fortune going the other way.
03:55You know, dropping punts and such.
03:58So, again, I'm not saying, you know, okay, now they can win every game like this.
04:03But now they know that in a one-possession game, they can finish the job.
04:07And I thought, and I get, trust me, I get Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars argument.
04:11But they did get it done in a game, not only closed it out,
04:15but closed it out for the entirety of the fourth quarter.
04:18Like, they knew they could not.
04:20There was no wiggle room.
04:21There was no wiggle room on the defensive side.
04:24Yeah.
04:26It's tough, man.
04:27Like, again, I believe strongly in this defense.
04:29I think that the thing about it is they should not have to be in those moments so frequently
04:34as they are.
04:35I mean, like, they showed that they could get off the field.
04:38There's been a lot of times in this year where they've gotten off the field time and time again.
04:41And then they've just been overexposed.
04:45As much as I think you're right, like, hey, the defense was actually able to close us out.
04:49I think the textures make a good point pointing out that, yeah, you got some good fortune.
04:52And I think also it's worth noting, right?
04:54One of the things that you mentioned, Aziz, that he was talking about was, well, actually
04:58not Aziz, it was Trent Brown talking about how they felt fresh.
05:00And you go and you look at the time of possession, that's because those guys, you know, those guys
05:05on the offensive side were able to actually matriculate their way down the field and hold
05:08on to the football and make it so that that defense on the other side was tired and that
05:13your defense was so well-rested.
05:15I think that that might be the bigger change when it comes to the way that they were able
05:18to stand up.
05:19The defense was more that they just had an opportunity with their offense, helping them
05:24out enough to be refreshed and ready enough to handle the moment.
05:28But at the same time, this is a team that week in, week out, just about week in, week
05:32out, they're going to play a close game.
05:34It, it, it, it does by design, sadly enough, nothing about this team says comfortable win
05:40like nothing from how the offense has been playing.
05:43Now, maybe there'll be a little better.
05:44Who knows?
05:44We'll find out.
05:45Uh, but nothing, and especially when you're facing the bills, the chiefs, the Colts twice,
05:51it stands to reason that it's a, it's a close game.
05:54I think they feel better.
05:55And I know I feel better that now that they've, they've done it, you know, they, they've actually
06:00gotten on the field as, as you said, you know, earlier, you know, with it was on their, on
06:05their watch, they got it done.
06:06I, I, that, that's my point.
06:08I think it matters a lot in that locker room.
06:10I think it matters a lot in, in the confidence level and all that.
06:13And, and, and certainly there are some other questions as well.
06:16There's the other one I had for you.
06:17Can they sustain this because the injuries are starting to pile up?
06:20That is the question that I think gets really big.
06:24The interesting reason they're playing up on the backside of this, uh, you talk about
06:29MJ Stewart, the other interest injury that clearly makes a big difference is Petrie.
06:34I think you're in a time period in the schedule where you can, you can sustain that.
06:38I don't have much fear of what the Titans are going to do just at all.
06:43I think that you, you have the type of team where you're just so much better than them
06:46that you should be able to make it happen.
06:48Now, beyond that, like I, I have a hard time thinking that Petrie would still be out, but
06:52if he is out beyond that, it narrows what you're able to do.
06:55This team absolutely leaned a little bit more into their base defense, which I thought they
06:59were going to anyways.
07:00Remember, I talked about this where it's like, oh, this will work, right?
07:02You, you already are trying to stop the run, lean into base a little bit more.
07:05That'll be fine.
07:06On the backside of that, when you, when you're playing the bills, how does that work for you?
07:11Right?
07:11Like, is that something that actually works in the way that you want?
07:14Bills or Chiefs.
07:15Or Chiefs, right?
07:16Or Colts.
07:16If, if you are for, if now, of course, I don't know what kind of mega concussion would
07:20be if, if Petrie is not available through any of those, but like the way in which his,
07:25his nickel, the way that he plays that position allows you to play almost like you still have
07:29those three linebackers with a little bit more fluidity and, and I guess, malleability
07:34and him being active, uh, for those games makes it really important.
07:39So when you talk about the injuries, I think that that matters, but on the back end, that's
07:44where it gets interesting.
07:45And again, not just this week, but in weeks prior, when you talk about trying to spin
07:48this forward, ultimately, I think that they, they should be able to handle this.
07:51And you're, I think you mentioned something that we should stick with, which is as much
07:55as we're all going to on the text line and myself are going to poke holes in what you're
07:58saying here.
07:59I do think there is something to be said for the psychological aspect of this and the
08:02mental tool that we, yes, we did it.
08:07We put it on wax.
08:08We believe that we are capable of doing this, not just that they didn't believe before, but
08:11we believe it in a different way, in a more tangible way where we can hold evidence up
08:15for ourselves and say that we've done it before.
08:17And so let's do it.
08:18And I think there are some other factors on the front end that might give them more confidence.
08:23Foremost, Daniil Hunter is grooving.
08:26So Daniil Hunter is finishing.
08:29He's had a lot of pressures.
08:30He hadn't had all those sacks.
08:32And now what is he like third in the league in sacks after just this one game?
08:35Because he got three and a half or something.
08:37That was, that was the last time I checked.
08:38Yeah.
08:38That's what it looked like.
08:39So, so Daniil Hunter is finding his group.
08:41And then there's another couple of players and Figgy was mentioning him in the last segment.
08:45Tommy Toji is a crucial element on the, on, in the middle of this defense.
08:49EJ speed.
08:50Yes.
08:51Has been elevating his game.
08:53So on the front end, they're getting better.
08:55And those are all pointing to things like, Hey, you know, we're this, we've been a great
08:58defense all year.
08:59We're now getting plays up front.
09:02Yeah.
09:02I think that that's fair.
09:04Um, and I'll be intrigued, intrigued to see how that continues to go.
09:07The tough part about it is all season long.
09:10It feels like it's been a common refrain.
09:11I almost feel bad that I keep bringing up, especially again, with this defense is yeah.
09:15But who are you playing?
09:16Right.
09:17And so fair, it's absolutely fair.
09:19So I know what I saw and they, and they know what they saw.
09:22Right.
09:22And I think that that's where I ultimately will very much agree with you is the, with
09:26the psyche of this defense, like a lot of football is, you know, you know, getting out there and
09:30doing it, but there is a level of belief that's necessary in this.
09:33And not to say that there was disbelief before, but I think an emboldening of that defense is
09:37good.
09:38Uh, and you get another one, right?
09:39There's the idea of like these, uh, these easy games to build your confidence or easy
09:45have you that maybe, maybe what you saw, uh, with them closing out ends up being then maybe
09:49the Titans can be that again, even if, uh, you know, even if maybe it could be setting
09:54up as a little, little bit of trap game, you know?
09:56Oh God, no.
09:57No, let's, we'll examine that at some point during the week.
10:01Titans trap game.
10:02I don't, I don't, it feels like one of them booby traps, you know, how, when you go to
10:05like the joke store and like a kid goes, gets like a whoopee cushion.
10:09Right.
10:10And it's like, sit on this dad.
10:12It's like, I think it might be that kind of trap, but it might be one of those things
10:15where you can't, you just got to make sure you don't look beyond.
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