- 2 days ago
A Nick Caley progress report — where are you with him now after hearing more from the podium?
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00:00Let's do a little progress report.
00:01Where are you with Nick Caley now, right?
00:04We've had some of these conversations at times
00:06after some of the low points for this offense particularly.
00:09I'm interested.
00:10Where are you now, especially after that Jags game
00:13where things came back around?
00:14Because Nick Caley, along with Matt Burke, Frank Ross,
00:17the coordinators talked yesterday.
00:19I know that that's a little bit odd.
00:21Usually it's a Thursday that they talk on a normal week.
00:23However, things were flipped around, I believe,
00:24to accommodate D'Amico Ryans, who we just learned
00:27and gave the eulogy or sort of eulogy
00:30at Earl Cochran's, I guess, celebration of life
00:34is what I've seen it termed as, basically.
00:37Which, again, obviously condolences to all the people
00:40for whom that loss matters a great deal.
00:44But Nick Caley talked yesterday,
00:47and there were some things that he kind of reflected on
00:50in his time at this point.
00:52Can you give me cut 13 here, Fig?
00:54Because in particular in this game,
00:56there was just kind of like a lot of conversation
00:58just about what happened with the comeback.
01:01But this question specifically
01:02is one that I think matters to us right now
01:04as we're trying to find that transition
01:06into the Titans game.
01:07Hey, Nick, is there anything that you did well
01:08against the Jags that you think you can carry over
01:10into this Titans game?
01:12Well, I think the second half, we played cleaner.
01:14We were more efficient.
01:15We were able to move the ball forward more consistently.
01:17I think the first half
01:18was just, you know,
01:21we got into some bad long yardage situations,
01:23which always makes it tough.
01:24Never could really get into a rhythm, I would say.
01:26So I think we were able to put some positive plays,
01:28not that the third quarter,
01:29there's not many plays in the third quarter either,
01:30but, you know, being able to just continue
01:32to get positive plays,
01:33to continue to convert on third down
01:35and possession downs,
01:36and really just be able to operate our offense.
01:38And I thought it was a testament to our guys
01:40really going out and executing
01:41and doing a great job of that.
01:43Nothing more, nothing less.
01:45Nothing more, nothing less.
01:46Yeah.
01:46So you asked the question,
01:48where are you?
01:50And I'm going to tell you where I am
01:52because it's complicated, right?
01:55It's the old Facebook, it's complicated.
01:56Okay.
01:57I mean, you just heard him right there.
01:59Well, we weren't real good in the first half,
02:00getting in long distance.
02:02Weren't real good in the third quarter,
02:04but got it going in the fourth.
02:06I don't think they necessarily looked bad
02:10other than those mistakes that he's referencing.
02:13Early on, they were just kind of
02:15shooting themselves in the foot,
02:16which is exactly what he said.
02:18So it's very, very complicated with Nick Caley.
02:20You've got to love his stick-to-itiveness,
02:23as people like to say.
02:25We've talked about, you know,
02:26the energy and how hard he works
02:29and, you know, certainly, you know,
02:31trusting his assistants,
02:33which is what he talked about as well yesterday,
02:35you know, the quarterback passing game things.
02:39But was something unlocked
02:42is ultimately going to be what's,
02:43you know, what's asked here.
02:45And what's funny,
02:45but to go back to that particular quote,
02:48his answer seemingly is like, no.
02:50Like, seemingly, because again,
02:51the question was,
02:52is there anything you saw you could take over?
02:53And it's just like, no, just execution, basically.
02:56And the fact that,
02:58for a second quote,
03:01it was like, am I reading too much in it?
03:02And then you get to the nothing more, nothing less.
03:04And that feels like hell of a punctuation
03:05as to what he's doing.
03:07You know, one thing,
03:08and this isn't a side of sorts,
03:09one thing that I'm kind of interested in,
03:12and I understand why it's the case on both ends,
03:16there was a point in time late in Bobby's slowest tenure
03:18where it felt like a lot of questions
03:20were being asked of players about Bobby.
03:23And so you kind of got the tone of tenor
03:25of how they were talking about him.
03:26I'd be very interested,
03:27even though early on,
03:29there was a lot of real confidence
03:30from the players
03:31and confident speech about Nick Haley.
03:33I'd be interested to see
03:34some of those questions arise again
03:36of the players.
03:37Well, let's see how it goes.
03:39Right, right.
03:39And I guess that'll give us some feeling of it.
03:42But part of the reason why I get to this place
03:44is there's really good reason
03:47to look at Nick Haley
03:48and say that he's definitely done some things
03:50and he's come along.
03:51I even look at FTN Fantasy,
03:54which, you know, my guy Aaron Schatz,
03:56who does a good job of getting some more
03:58of this deeper analytics,
03:59they have metrics
04:00where they kind of rank play callers.
04:02Or they play calling,
04:04and they manage to quantify it.
04:06And I still don't fully understand it.
04:08However, when looking at it,
04:09the Texans offensive,
04:11defensively clearly is much higher
04:12when you call it,
04:13play caller rankings or whatever.
04:15Offensively, it was pretty,
04:16it was pretty average right about,
04:18which again, feels better
04:20than what it at least had felt like
04:22with Nick Haley
04:22when it felt like he was entirely
04:24out of his depths.
04:25You talk, you take that,
04:27I take a man who's played in this league
04:29in Clint Sterner,
04:31who on the drive
04:32said that this was...
04:33Oh, just effusive.
04:34Effusive in his praise
04:35of Nick Haley,
04:36particularly in his game
04:36and his game planning
04:37and his game calling.
04:39And meet these people
04:41that I trust
04:41maybe even higher sometimes
04:42than myself,
04:43but then I put it on
04:43with my eye test
04:44and I'm like,
04:45I've seen in watching this game,
04:47watching it back
04:48and watching it live,
04:49the places where
04:49him as a play caller
04:51put defenses in
04:52a tough circumstance
04:54in a situation.
04:54Yeah.
04:55And I definitely feel better,
04:57but I think I might fall in line
04:58with Tate
04:59on the YouTube page
05:00who says,
05:00need to see more consistency
05:01in order for me to feel good.
05:03Does that feel right to you?
05:04Yes, 100%.
05:05Like I said,
05:06it is very complicated
05:07because of that.
05:08You know,
05:08part of the shooting
05:10in your own foot
05:12in the first half
05:14and not really getting it done
05:15in the third quarter,
05:16we've questioned
05:18are they just putting it
05:19on the players?
05:19But no,
05:19part of it is absolutely
05:20the play calling.
05:21Absolutely.
05:22Well, this game,
05:23I don't know how much,
05:24because you remember
05:24I went through
05:25and I looked at
05:26what were the plays
05:27that killed their first
05:28five drives,
05:29which really very much
05:29by that point
05:30you were in the hole
05:31in addition to
05:32some special team stuff
05:32that happened
05:33that didn't help you.
05:34I mean,
05:35it is fumbled snap.
05:39It is not picking up stunts
05:41or getting into
05:42these situations
05:42where you're being sacked.
05:44It's being down a distance
05:45absolutely factored in.
05:47It actually,
05:48in this game,
05:49early on,
05:49very, very early on,
05:50first few drives,
05:51it did not feel necessarily
05:52as much on the play calling.
05:54This was a game
05:55where them getting down
05:56did not feel like
05:57it was as much
05:58a play calling thing.
05:59Now, there were
06:00some decision-making things
06:01when you talk about
06:01the offensive line
06:02and we'll get deeper
06:03into that that I'm sure
06:03did not help
06:04to a large degree.
06:06This didn't feel
06:06like a play-making thing
06:07and so I'm trying to find,
06:09because very early on
06:10in this season,
06:11relatively at least,
06:12I should say,
06:13I got to a place
06:13where I was like,
06:14oh, this dude's
06:14out of his depth.
06:15I don't feel quite
06:16like that anymore.
06:17That's interesting
06:18because they call
06:21element into plays
06:22going bad.
06:23Now, outside of
06:24Davis Mills
06:25just dropping the ball,
06:27that one is not,
06:28oh, horrible play call.
06:29It can't even be.
06:30But a lot of times
06:31when you get in these
06:32third and long situations,
06:34it's not just execution.
06:37It's the execution
06:37can be blamed
06:39because the execution
06:41can be blamed
06:41because the play call
06:43was not right
06:44for what the defensive
06:45look was.
06:45You know what I'm saying?
06:46So I think it all
06:47ties in together.
06:48So this was an interesting
06:50question asked
06:50of Nick Cayley yesterday.
06:52How much has your vision
06:53on the sidelines,
06:54how much has your vision
06:56on the sidelines
06:57watching the plays
06:57developed since week one?
06:59Because we know
06:59he was trying to make
07:00that decision.
07:00Is he going to be
07:01in the booth?
07:01Is he on the sideline?
07:02How much has that
07:03changed since week one?
07:05I feel good.
07:06I mean, I feel like
07:06anything else,
07:07the more reps you get
07:09into it like anything
07:09else, the better off
07:10it is.
07:11But I feel good.
07:12I feel good about
07:13being able to see it.
07:14I feel good about
07:14the communication
07:15that we have within
07:15a staff.
07:16That's what the
07:16staff's for, too.
07:17I mean, we have
07:17good dialogue,
07:18good communication.
07:19We solve problems
07:20together, and that's
07:20what a staff does.
07:22So we've got a
07:23really good staff,
07:23good people.
07:24We've got coaches
07:25and players that are
07:26connected that communicate
07:27well on the sideline
07:28and get good feedback,
07:29and we solve problems.
07:31We look at the pictures,
07:32see what we had
07:32on the live takes,
07:33and be able to see
07:34how we want to move
07:34forward from series
07:35to series.
07:37Sometimes you get
07:38some unscouted looks.
07:39Sometimes it's more
07:40similar to what you
07:40thought you were going
07:41to get, and you go
07:42from there.
07:42But I feel good
07:44about the communication.
07:44I feel good about
07:45the approach and the
07:47vantage point, definitely.
07:48This felt really
07:48transparent.
07:49It felt transparent,
07:51but was that
07:51encouraging?
07:53Again, it goes back
07:53to, boy, a lot of
07:55complicated things
07:56going through your
07:57mind here, because
07:58on the one,
08:00transparent and
08:01honest, and that's
08:02what you want, right?
08:03You know, he's like,
08:04it's basically saying,
08:05it's coming along,
08:06and I'm like, that's
08:08not exactly what we
08:09want to hear.
08:10But on the other
08:11hand, not only is
08:12that not good, but
08:14you also feel like he
08:15does feel like he's
08:16got a better grasp of
08:17things.
08:18Yes.
08:18You know?
08:19It definitely feels
08:20like it's coming
08:20along.
08:21And I kind of did,
08:22well, I mean, here's
08:23the thing.
08:23If he was like, yeah,
08:24we're fully there, that
08:26would be less encouraging.
08:27The idea that it's
08:28coming along, you can
08:29see some improvement,
08:31and so the idea that
08:32that seems to track
08:33with what he's saying
08:34there is interesting.
08:34On top of that, the
08:36idea that he basically
08:37unwarranted or like
08:39unsolicited started
08:42talking about the
08:43team, the offensive
08:45staff, that I found
08:47very interesting because
08:48it feels very much,
08:49one, it's a clear
08:50juxtaposition to what
08:51we had last year with
08:52Bobby Slowick, at least
08:53what we kind of got in
08:55retrospect when it
08:56comes to him and his
08:57ability to leverage the
08:58various other repositories
09:01and knowledge that he had
09:02around him.
09:03This feels like very
09:04clearly, oh, no, we're
09:05solving all these
09:06problems together because
09:07you kind of need to, but
09:08I kind of appreciate that
09:10because it does feel like
09:11they're finding better
09:11answers, and it seems
09:12like it might be in
09:14part because they're
09:15leaning heavily into
09:16all of the answers that
09:18various guys, whether
09:20it's Chaplinsky or
09:21Gerard Johnson or Bill
09:23Lazor, it feels like
09:25they're doing a better
09:25job of tapping into
09:26that, and I hope that
09:27that's why they were
09:27better in the red zone
09:28this week.
09:28So glad you brought
09:29that up.
09:30Remember, just last
09:31week, D'Amico was
09:33saying, we got to
09:34change something.
09:35Yeah.
09:35Flat out.
09:36Yeah.
09:36We got to change
09:37something.
09:40I hurt because I'm
09:41like, that's what
09:42they're changing.
09:43Whether it was, you
09:45know, per D'Amico's
09:46orders or Nick
09:48Kaley, who's obviously
09:49been very, worked very
09:50well with all those
09:51three guys that you
09:51mentioned saying, all
09:53right, what do you
09:54guys think about the
09:56passing game approach,
09:58you know, against the
09:59Jaguars?
10:00And maybe leaning more
10:01into that, maybe
10:02accepting more, using
10:03that more.
10:04I feel like that was
10:05very, very key, and
10:07that actually is
10:08encouraging because
10:08you've heard me say
10:09it.
10:10Not only did D'Amico
10:11say, we got to
10:11change something.
10:12I flat out said,
10:13wondered, I should
10:14say, is he in over
10:15his head?
10:16And when I say that,
10:17I've meant the
10:18passing game because
10:19he's a tight end guy,
10:20he's a run game guy,
10:21it's what their
10:21offense is, etc.
10:23So I'm wondering if
10:24maybe that is the
10:26most encouraging
10:26thing, able to take
10:28on some of these
10:28passing minds, you
10:31know, passing game
10:32minds and using them.
10:33Yeah, and using them
10:34to good effect.
10:35Yes.
10:35It does, though, make
10:36me question, and
10:37again, there's a lot
10:39of reading into it that
10:39we're doing right
10:40now, so there's a
10:40possibility that we
10:41just might be too
10:42deep in the sticks
10:42here, but it's week
10:4510?
10:45It's going into week
10:4611.
10:47Is this to maybe say
10:49that the lack of full
10:50effect that we've seen
10:52or that, you know, to
10:53this point is in part
10:54because they had not
10:55found that rapport and
10:56they had not been able
10:57to dig deep into their
10:58abilities all the way
10:59around and get the
11:00most out of it?
11:01Is that what we're
11:02saying here?
11:03I mean, maybe, you
11:04know, maybe, you
11:06know, being able to, we
11:08always said, you know,
11:09before five weeks, well,
11:10it's now 10, and it
11:12finally seems to be
11:13something that they
11:13might be grasping just
11:15the dynamic in the
11:17offensive room.
11:18From the 3-4 season, we
11:21win a game that's tight
11:22the whole time, like the
11:23Rams, the Bucs.
11:25Okay.
11:25I don't disagree too
11:27much.
11:28There's still some
11:28hurdles for, I think,
11:30fully impressed from
11:33myself, but I have to
11:35give him some credit.
11:36And I mean...
11:37And by the way, Red
11:37Zone was better.
11:38Red Zone was not just
11:40better.
11:40Red Zone was damn
11:41good.
11:41Three out of four.
11:42Red Zone was damn
11:43good in that moment.
11:44How much of that was
11:45him?
11:45How much was it?
11:46What we're talking
11:46about here is
11:47collaboration.
11:48Is this becoming a
11:49better collaborative
11:50offensive game plan?
11:52And even though he's
11:53the one ultimately
11:54making the calls, like,
11:55on the field, other
11:57people put in those
11:58passing plays for each
12:00opponent.
12:00Did he collaborate
12:01more on, we're going
12:02to do more of this?
12:04They put in a Red
12:05Zone package.
12:07You know, in fact,
12:08didn't Davis Mills say
12:09after his big run,
12:11that was a repeat?
12:12So when it broke
12:14down, I knew I could
12:16make that run.
12:17So is there more
12:19collaboration there?
12:20Whatever it is,
12:21right?
12:21Whether it's
12:21collaboration, whether
12:22he took a step up,
12:23the results were
12:24significantly better.
12:25If you can replicate
12:26with whatever process
12:28that they had,
12:29replicate or have
12:30some level of
12:31replication of the
12:31results at the very
12:32least in that fourth
12:33quarter, you're setting
12:34yourself up for a path
12:35of those games that
12:37we're looking forward
12:37to, you have
12:38opportunities, you have
12:39chances, and then
12:40maybe you can get in
12:40the playoffs and
12:41ultimately rectify
12:42whatever the beginning
12:43of this season was.
12:45That's what I'm
12:45invested in.
12:47And so that's why
12:48that particular answer
12:49meant something to me
12:50because it felt like,
12:51okay, this is
12:51something I can circle
12:52as to, okay, tangible
12:53change.
12:54Because you go back to
12:54that first one, and
12:55what he's saying is,
12:56oh, well, they just
12:57executed.
12:57That doesn't feel like
12:58something where I
12:58go, okay, that
13:01second though, the
13:02idea that, oh, yeah,
13:03I'm finding more
13:03comfort, it feels like
13:04we have some real
13:05good collaboration
13:06and we're doing
13:07that, that feels
13:08like it's something.
13:08That feels like
13:09that's something that
13:09can be leaned on.
13:11Although, you know
13:12me, it wouldn't be
13:12me if I didn't find
13:13something that made
13:14me go, ooh.
13:15Can you give me
13:16this cut three here,
13:17Fig?
13:18What went into
13:18Woody Marks taking
13:19the bulk of the
13:20snaps here?
13:21Yeah, well, I think
13:22it goes with, you
13:23know, everything, you
13:23know, you go into a
13:24game and you sit
13:25there and you try to,
13:26you know, you try to
13:27have balance in a
13:27variety of ways for
13:28all the right reasons
13:29and sometimes, you
13:29know, you get into a
13:30rhythm and he played
13:31well and he was
13:32playing well down the
13:33stretch.
13:33I think they both
13:33complement him and
13:34Nick both complement
13:34each other.
13:35So, he did well.
13:37You know, it's hard to
13:38say how every game's
13:39going to go.
13:39Sometimes it doesn't
13:40go the way you want
13:40it to, but he did a
13:41great job and, you
13:42know, I thought played
13:43consistent throughout
13:43the game and happy
13:45with his performance
13:45for sure.
13:47Yeah, and there is no
13:48questioning.
13:49He was also asked
13:50about, you know, his
13:51ability to take as
13:52many snaps as he did
13:53versus previous games.
13:55There's no question
13:56in my mind.
13:57When D'Amico said
13:59something's got to
14:00change, we've got to
14:01change something, I
14:02think he was looking
14:03specifically at
14:04Woody Marks and maybe
14:06some of the, you know,
14:07the offensive attack,
14:07the play calling, the
14:08passing game.
14:09Are you sure there
14:09though?
14:10Because that very much
14:10sounded like the
14:11circumstances of the
14:12week dictated him
14:13having a majority of
14:14the snaps.
14:14Yeah, but that's...
14:15And that they might do
14:16this thing where they
14:16flip this thing back
14:17around again.
14:18I don't think so.
14:19That's very Patriots
14:20101.
14:21Okay.
14:21You know, we're a
14:22game plan offense,
14:23et cetera.
14:23I think you're going
14:24to see more of Woody
14:26Marks.
14:26I'm not going to lie.
14:28I really hope that you
14:29are correct in that.
14:30But again, I've been
14:32hurt before.
14:33I've been hurt before
14:34with some of these
14:35games being like, oh,
14:36it feels like they
14:37found something to go
14:38back.
14:38Oh, we all have.
14:40And it hit my ear, at
14:42least.
14:43As the circumstances of
14:44the week dictated that
14:45he had more snaps, but
14:47only God knows what
14:48happens another week or
14:50next week.
14:51And so that's one of
14:51those things that I
14:52think I'm continuing to
14:53sit with.
14:54But ultimately, when it
14:54comes to the progress
14:55report on Nick Caley, I
14:57think we're trending
14:58forward, right?
14:59We are definitely
14:59trending forward, which
15:00again, is a good thing,
15:01especially when you have
15:03a defense that looks
15:04like it's also in a
15:05place where he will
15:06absolutely shut you
15:07the bleep down.
15:08So I understand there's
15:10some people that are
15:10like absolutely need to
15:12be better one yard on
15:14offense.
15:14Still want to see
15:16something better, right?
15:17When you compare
15:18Sloic to Caley, they
15:19need to recognize
15:20that Sloic had
15:21Tunsell and
15:22Stefan Diggs and
15:23Tank and Joe
15:24Mixon where maybe
15:25if Tank Dell is
15:26available or something
15:27like that, this looks
15:27different.
15:28All of those things
15:28fair.
15:29But I think the
15:29progress report
15:30largely, even if it's
15:31not a huge change
15:32for it, it clearly
15:33feels like there's a
15:34change forward for
15:36this offense.
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