Nick Caley’s Progress Report

KILT-AM / SportsRadio 610

DeMeco Ryans talked about how far Caley has come this season during the Coaches Show yesterday. What's the progress report on Nick Caley?

Transcript

00:00This is where we have to talk about the progress report.

00:02What is the progress report on Nick Caley?

00:04And you just heard it from D'Amico Ryans.

00:07I think it's a – what do you get on a progress report?

00:11Do you get letter grade?

00:12For this sake, let's say letter grade.

00:14I think it's an A++.

00:15Well, from D'Amico's standpoint.

00:16From D'Amico, it's an A++.

00:18He understands the assignment, Nick Caley.

00:22They're doing it no matter what.

00:23You talk about the play action, and you've heard this a million times.

00:28You don't have to be a great runner to be successful on play action.

00:32But the other part of that is if the defense knows you're willing to run the ball

00:37for one and two yards, the play action becomes better

00:39because they don't know if you're – it looks more convincing

00:42that you are going to run the ball even if you're against a stacked box or whatever.

00:46The other part for me is my progress report on Nick Caley is a strong B

00:55because two reasons.

00:57Number one, he's doing exactly what D'Amico has charged him to do,

01:01and they're doing it better.

01:03They're not blowing anybody's skirt up or anything, but they are doing it better.

01:08We've had a lot of weird sayings today on this program.

01:13I've got to admit.

01:14That one probably did – maybe I was influenced.

01:17But either way, they're not blowing –

01:18We're blaming Andy Reid for that one.

01:20Andy Reid – we're blaming – like you remember Geno Smith when he got on the podium.

01:24He's like, just blame everything on me.

01:25We are deciding that everything bad that happens on today's show,

01:28and honestly, today just generally.

01:30Go ahead and blame it on Andy Reid.

01:31It's his fault for tickling to us.

01:32I will.

01:33They're not blowing anybody away with their offense,

01:36but they're doing exactly what they need to do.

01:38And then the second part that's very important when it comes to the progress report.

01:41So, in big-time games, in playoff games, more teams are successful with offenses like this,

01:51considering the defense, than offenses like the Colts.

01:54You know, the games get compressed.

01:57They tend to be, you know, a lot more intense, maybe lower scoring.

02:02You know, certainly every play magnified, where you just don't want to make the big mistake.

02:09That's what Nick Caley is doing to a tee.

02:12I'm not going to sit here and say, what a great offensive coordinator.

02:15What I am saying is, he's doing the job exactly how D'Amico wanted, and it's successful.

02:22Yeah, this is – I think that one thing you could say is that there's definitely progress.

02:25Now, you started in a place that felt damn near untenable, but there's definitely progress.

02:31And I think D'Amico actually started laying out, for me, the rubric,

02:35to continue this kind of metaphor that we've got here, O-line settling in absolutely is a thing.

02:40Now, it took them a while to get there, but they found an O-line that feels like,

02:43one, they could protect the quarterback, right?

02:46If you go back and watch a number of plays in that game,

02:49and I know that there's a lot of people on Twitter and such that are kind of putting some clip and cut up,

02:54you'll see they're picking up stunts much better.

02:57They're not getting got by games at times.

03:00The pockets are holding up significantly better, which is a place that it matters

03:04considering the way that they handled their offensive line this offseason.

03:07The fact that they've gotten there is a credit.

03:09One, I think also you've got to talk about your offensive line coach, right?

03:13100%. You've got to give him some credit, but I think Caley matters there.

03:16The quarterback's playing pretty good here.

03:18I think it's something that he said.

03:19I wonder how they are playing pretty well within the context of what they're being asked to do.

03:25I still wonder if there's more to be extracted from that, but I think that they wouldn't deny that.

03:29And then you do have wide receivers making plays.

03:32Because that was the thing that we were worried about or we asked questions about.

03:35You brought in this offseason.

03:38The idea was get some weapons.

03:39I remember our guy Larry Stafford, and he's not the only one,

03:42that when Matthew Golden goes off the board are peeved

03:45because you need weapons to go alongside Nico Collins.

03:49It felt like there was nobody there.

03:50You come off of a Week 13 matchup where, yeah, you had Nico getting his.

03:55Jaden Higgins also got his.

03:57Dolan Schultz got his.

03:59And then you have some other people also adding in.

04:01Xavier Hutchison adds in.

04:03I think you're having some more people make plays.

04:06Is it the amount of people that I'd probably want, or is it the specific people?

04:10I think there's still room there.

04:11And with all that being the case, I feel like it's a B-.

04:13I feel like that is the way that I look at it.

04:15I said a strong B.

04:16And here's the most important thing to me.

04:19We still haven't completely reset our perceptions of what we thought this offense would be.

04:25If you do reset your perception, remember before last season,

04:29the whole five-headed monster thing?

04:31And C.J. Stroud on the podcast circuit talking about, you know, I'm a dog.

04:37And we all had these thoughts of, well, they're going to sling it everywhere.

04:41And they have all these weapons and all this.

04:43It's not what they are.

04:44You have to reset your perceptions.

04:45That is not what this team is offensively.

04:48Maybe it's what we wish.

04:49Maybe it's what we thought it would be.

04:51Maybe it's even what, you know, C.J. Stroud wants it to be in his heart of hearts.

04:55It's not what they are.

04:56And if you recognize what they are, run team, controlled, Patriot-style offense,

05:02the progress report is positive.

05:05And on top of that, I talked about it yesterday, the kind of, the line of demarcation of 10-plus air yards

05:11and then less than 10 air yards and the way that C.J. was entirely different.

05:16Well, he's still got some yards here.

05:17Like, don't get me wrong, like, on both sides of that.

05:20But the comfort, the efficiency of throwing short, of him coming back at this time,

05:27I was like, oh, okay.

05:29This is something you can work off of.

05:30And if you notice these trends and lean into what you do well,

05:33I think that that leans into the room for improvement.

05:36But I think the one thing that I will quibble with D'Amico Ryans on,

05:40the idea that, you know, just find ways to win offensively.

05:45I hear you.

05:47I still, as much as I talk about the fact that all the offenses in the league

05:50are on the NFC side and the AFC offenses are also going to have to contend with the Texans' defense,

05:55I still am in this place where I'm like, I would also like this offense to be a little more consistent.

06:02And the idea that we're just going to find a way to get over the line every week

06:05is not enough to satisfy me, especially because they found their way all the way back

06:10after atrocious 0-3 start, after showing your ass in Seattle,

06:14after, you know, a number of different setbacks during the season.

06:18You are now back in the place where I think the expectations are back where they were at the start of the season.

06:21Trust me, I wish, and I think a lot of Texans fans wish,

06:25this offense was what we thought it was going to be, you know, going into last season.

06:29I wish it was.

06:30It's not.

06:31And that's my point.

06:33They are Patriot-style, controlled, short passes, take maybe one or two shots a game offense.

06:42And it makes for the close games, the saving grace is they have a defense that can win those close games.

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