- 10 months ago
A massive TNF win over the Bills sparks a whole new level of belief. ITL breaks down the historic defensive showing
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00:00Let's end something today.
00:01Let's accomplish something.
00:03Let's stop something.
00:05Listen, Houston, we do not have to put qualifiers or conditions
00:11or yeah buts at all anymore with this team.
00:16Go ahead and at me.
00:17The defense was that good.
00:20The stage and the way you won it and the star power was that good.
00:25They can win a game, any game, against anyone,
00:28including that game.
00:31And you know what I'm talking about.
00:32This is that good of a defense.
00:34This is that good of a defense.
00:36You can get to and win a Super Bowl.
00:41Improve it.
00:42Nothing will.
00:43You know what I – the question that I have, it's a very simple question.
00:47Get involved.
00:48713-572-4610 is the text line.
00:50And then also appreciation to the Mo Caramendry lawyers for the live streams,
00:54both on the YouTube page, Sports Radio 610 and the Twitch chat, 610 Houston.
00:58Simple question.
01:00Do you believe?
01:02I just said it.
01:03Do you believe?
01:04If you didn't believe me, the way I was talking around it, let me just say it outright.
01:10I believe.
01:11I believe this is one of the greatest defenses we will ever see in this city.
01:14I believe this is – that was a masterpiece last night.
01:17I believe it was a message.
01:19I believe it was a statement.
01:21It was something that sent a message to the NFL world.
01:24You do not want to play this team.
01:26I believe this is an all-time great defense.
01:28And with an all-time great defense, there are no conditions and no qualifiers.
01:32None.
01:33Like, the thing about this defense, funny enough, is I look at it and I go,
01:38there's definitely – there's definitely some things.
01:41And I know when you're talking about no qualifying, I think that I very much sit within that.
01:47I'm always trying to look at the totality of it and, all right, but what are the other sides of this
01:52so I'm not missing things or what have you.
01:54And there's places where you can go where you talk about a, you know, third and –
01:58a fourth and a mile that gets picked up on a hook and lateral
02:00or even the Khalil Shakir, you know, kind of orbit motion into this dump off in the outside
02:05and, like, having him go for – there are portholes in the Death Star that happens.
02:10But that requires you to acknowledge that's a bleeping Death Star over there on defense.
02:15Like, this is evil empire-type defense level.
02:21I tend to be a Doubting Thomas in the way that I go about things.
02:25I want a preponderance of evidence before I jump into some places.
02:28Like, I want to put my hands on the nail holes, right?
02:32I feel like that was the type of game that gives it to you.
02:35You realize the reason why the Buffalo Bills were an incredible running team
02:40or an incredible running team?
02:41That offensive line over there, they bully folks.
02:45Like, Deion Dawkins, bullies folks.
02:48Old boy on the other side whose names I keep forgetting, bullies folks.
02:50Conor McGovern, bullies folks.
02:52Brother, I mean, there's a play where Daniil Hunter gets a sack.
02:56Nico Autry goes through Conor McGovern.
02:58He curls up in a ball.
03:00They bullied some bullies in this game.
03:03They absolutely did.
03:04And, you know, you talk about, you know, you like to maybe say,
03:08yeah, what if this and how about that?
03:11Those are still there.
03:12What I'm saying is this defense individually and collectively is good enough
03:18that by the end of the year, if not starting today, we're going to say,
03:23yeah, 2025 Texans, 2,000 Ravens, 20, what year was the Legion of Boom?
03:31Whatever, Seahawks, some of those Broncos teams.
03:36It is on that level.
03:38Reggie, I'm telling you, this is one of those things where,
03:42and I'm not exactly always, you know, speaking in superlatives about a team.
03:47You know, you always try to find, you know, the what ifs.
03:49But let's look at it individually.
03:51I was thinking about this this morning.
03:53I think there's three all-pro players on this defense right now,
03:57if you had the vote today.
04:00Will Anderson, those are all-pro.
04:01That's three on the same defense.
04:03I think there's probably five, maybe more, pro-bowl caliber players on this defense.
04:08Kamari Lasseter, Jalen Petrie, when healthy, obviously, and he will be.
04:12Sheldon Rankins, Kalen Bullock, maybe Alshair.
04:16You're talking about eight or nine guys on the same defense
04:19that are among the best at what they do individually in the entire NFL.
04:24That is next level.
04:26That, getting back to my first point, no more qualifiers.
04:30You can win any game you play.
04:32Any game you play, including that one.
04:34Brother, that's like Josh Allen.
04:36Josh Allen, look, you had the most sacks that Josh Allen has taken in his career
04:40in that game, right?
04:43Like, that is wild.
04:45This Josh Allen-led offense that, admittedly, had been up and down this season.
04:49We talked about it.
04:49But the high-water mark for this offense and for Josh Allen
04:52and just what he can do is incredible.
04:54Without blitzing, for the most part.
04:56And really, just not even playing man.
04:58Like, they were in zone, one of those things that I was a little concerned about.
05:02They scored, what, 13, 12, 13 points, two touchdowns?
05:05Well, they scored one touchdown on offense.
05:08Oh, yeah, and then the field was right.
05:10Like, I was the idiot that said you would need 24 to win.
05:15Were you?
05:16Well, yeah.
05:17Because, really, if not for a special team's 98-yard return,
05:24like, you would have gotten over with 17.
05:26Yeah.
05:27Yeah, no, absolutely.
05:29Here's another interesting thing about how this team fits in with aspirations
05:33and how good it can be.
05:35Not only is it a defense that can play at that level.
05:40This is, like, the best quarterbacks in the league
05:44are not on the best teams in the standings.
05:46Look at the standings.
05:48Like, outside of Matthew Stafford,
05:50there are not a lot of truly great quarterbacks.
05:52Defense is what this season is all about,
05:54and the Texans have the best one.
05:56Well, I think, honestly, defense is part of what this season is about.
06:00I think this season is about finding some level of consistency.
06:03I think that that defense has been incredibly consistent.
06:06The interesting thing for me, right, because when I ask do you believe,
06:09it's not do you believe that this defense is incredible.
06:11We came into the season with that level of belief.
06:14Have they found a way to take that up a notch?
06:16I think so.
06:16There's some instances where I think they will tell you,
06:18hey, these individual instances of allowing a team to get out of the corner
06:24that we've put them in is problematic, and we need to fix those.
06:28But ultimately, they can clean up their own messes when they have the instance.
06:31But we knew that we were there with the defense, this team as a whole.
06:36And I think that that's where the do you believe gets even more interesting
06:40because in watching this game,
06:42yes, they were able to run the ball in a way because of the fact that
06:47the defense opposing you was not good at it.
06:50I think that they were frisky enough passing the football in certain instances
06:54that makes me look at what Nick Haley is doing here and go,
06:58okay, they're finding their footing.
07:00Is it great?
07:01No.
07:02I don't think that this is going to be a great offense at any point this year.
07:04I don't think it has to be.
07:05I don't think it's going to be particularly like a very good offense
07:07at any point this year.
07:08Doesn't have to be.
07:09But it could be near average, probably just below average
07:13because they're starting to do some things schematically as well
07:17to help them create some things and ways to diversify a little bit more.
07:22That makes it so that you can meet up with when this defense holds a team to 16,
07:27you can give me 20.
07:28Let me convince you in audio form here because you said,
07:33you mentioned Josh Allen.
07:35We've been talking about that.
07:36Most sacks of his life, at least his professional life,
07:40that reigning MVP coming off a six-touchdown performance.
07:46Let's hear these.
07:47This is the best evidence I can give you why you can get to wherever you want with this team.
07:52Here's Allen taking the snap.
07:53Allen with time.
07:54Allen scrambling around the backfield, and Allen's going to go down.
07:58Will Anderson, Jr. pulls him back for a sack.
08:04How about that?
08:05Allen to throw.
08:07Allen pocket collapsing.
08:08Allen escapes the sack.
08:10Allen backing up now, sliding to the left side.
08:12Can't square up, and he's all the way deep in the backfield.
08:16He's finally brought down at the 24-yard line by Will Anderson, Jr.
08:20The turn.
08:21Allen to throw.
08:22Allen looking.
08:23Pocket collapsing.
08:24Allen escaping, and now he's finally sacked.
08:26Brought down.
08:27Daniel Hunter brings down Josh Allen.
08:32Allen in the backfield in trouble.
08:35He goes down again.
08:36He's sacked by Henry To'o To'o.
08:39Another sack on Josh Allen.
08:41Allen, they are firing blind.
08:45Second and five, Allen in the pocket.
08:47Allen's sacked again.
08:48They wrap him up.
08:51Josh Allen.
08:53First down at the Houston 20.
08:54Allen in the gun.
08:55Empty backfield.
08:56Pumps.
08:56Allen's going to go down again.
08:58Second down and 10.
09:02Bills from their 47.
09:04109 to go.
09:05Texans leading 23.
09:07Allen to throw.
09:08Allen stepping up.
09:09He's got too much time.
09:10Now he's in trouble.
09:11Allen is going to go down to Daniel Hunter.
09:14He brings him down.
09:16Third and 20.
09:17Bills from their 37.
09:18Allen with split backs.
09:19He's in the gun here.
09:20Pressure right up the middle.
09:22Allen flag down.
09:23Allen sacked again at the 30-yard line.
09:27Eight.
09:28Count them.
09:29Eight.
09:29If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what does.
09:32And largely with four men rushing.
09:33This is an epic time for Houston Texans fans.
09:40I've been there since day one.
09:41I've never quite seen anything like this.
09:43Yes, I saw J.J. Watt.
09:44Yes, I saw all of them.
09:46Mario Williams, man.
09:47All of them.
09:48I've never felt anything this good about a defense in mind.
09:51I got a question for y'all because I agree with you.
09:53I feel like this defense is probably one of the best in this team's history.
09:57Do you feel like this puts a lot of pressure on the offense to kind of get it together, too?
10:02Pressure is – I mean, the pressure's probably been innate there anyways.
10:05But, yeah.
10:06I mean, but I think it's the good type of pressure.
10:08Because this is a historic defense at this point, man.
10:11I think it's the appropriate type of pressure.
10:13And honestly, to some degree, no, because they have responsibilities.
10:17I don't think you get out there trying to just slack, right?
10:20You don't play at the highest levels of sport or any competition in order to just kind of cruise by.
10:25Like, you want to go out and put your best foot forward.
10:28And they will readily recognize that that's not been the case.
10:31They are trying to be better versions of themselves.
10:34I mean, I think people with a reasonable mindset, you get in the way this feels.
10:41Yeah.
10:42And right now, I think that the offense understands that, right?
10:44And so, yes, there is a level of pressure to be better versions of themselves.
10:47I think that they're finding little ways to be better, right?
10:50Because I see the people, right?
10:51Because, again, the question is, do you believe, especially after a big-time victory against –
10:58I mean, look, that is a pretty good Bills team.
11:01I think we can understand, though, they're not perfect.
11:03However, you look around the National Football League right now.
11:06There are no perfect.
11:06There are very, very few teams that I look at that I go really, really incredibly good.
11:11And there might be a small handful of teams that I look at that I go,
11:15especially on the AFC side of things.
11:17That I look at and go, they're better than those Bills.
11:20And you handled them very, very well, right?
11:22I think that, for me, that is where my belief starts to come in.
11:25And, yes, there's some things that factor in, right?
11:27We talk about a Thursday night short week.
11:29I talked about how I felt like there was an advantage there.
11:31Some people on the text line felt like, hey, that's not nearly as big of an advantage.
11:34Look back to the Ravens last year.
11:36Okay, I can see, right?
11:37Same four days, same team coming in.
11:39This looked different.
11:40This looked significantly different than that.
11:42It looked significantly different.
11:44It felt different.
11:44And, really, that's where, you know, as fans, as people who have been covering this team
11:50and this game for a long time, it truly is a you-know-it-when-you-see-it thing.
11:55You know, I know what I'm looking at now.
11:57You know, there were some things, you know, that maybe even defensively you could parse out
12:02and maybe this, maybe that.
12:03And is the offense going to be good enough?
12:05You talk about the offense, and we mentioned it yesterday.
12:08Can you get to 24?
12:09If you can get to 24, I think the Texans win every game in which they score at least 24 points.
12:14They win every game the rest of the way.
12:15It's still going to be intriguing to see how that happens.
12:17There's still a lot of questions.
12:21The kernel of why I asked that question.
12:22Do you believe, like, are you in a place where you believe that this is plausible?
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