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00:00H-Town, wow!
00:04Football in H-Town is on the rise.
00:07I love Danico Ryan's man, I tell you what.
00:10H-Town, I'm back.
00:11Our guy B. Scott has all the latest from the gridiron.
00:15I don't see no bitches nowhere around here.
00:17It's time for your weekly Texans report.
00:21You ain't laying down for nobody.
00:23On The Drive with Sterner and Hugh Gley.
00:26All right, it is Wednesday, 440.
00:32Our guy B. Scott, Brandon Scott, is with us for his Texans report.
00:37We were hearing our guy earlier as the media met with D'Amico and C.J. Stroud.
00:43So he was there talking to the people.
00:46And this is one of those games, teams that in the D'Amico era,
00:53they have not, especially in terms of winning, had a lot of success.
00:58This is the team that ended their season last year.
01:01It seems like maybe they were trying to downplay it.
01:04Do you get a feel like this is a game that this team
01:09and the players on this team have been circling, have wanted,
01:13and there's a little something extra to this game when you saw them this week?
01:18Yeah, they did the same thing when they were going to play Baltimore earlier in the season, right?
01:22And that was a different circumstance.
01:24Early in the season, Baltimore was banged up.
01:27Not as much really on the line other than the fact that they had, you know,
01:32they were struggling and hadn't really done anything at that point.
01:35But now we're talking about going into the postseason,
01:38trying to secure your postseason fate.
01:40And there are a handful of teams in front of you that could keep you from doing that.
01:45And the Chiefs probably got to be the best one despite their record, right?
01:49Like you think of all their opponents, just beat the Colts who they play again.
01:53The next best team that they play other than the Chiefs is going to be the Chargers.
01:57And despite records, who do you trust more?
01:59Who scares you more?
02:00What bothers you more?
02:01Going to Kansas City and facing Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in that outfit?
02:06Or Justin Herbert and the Chargers going to L.A.
02:10So, like, this is your toughest opponent left.
02:13And it's the one, as you describe it, the one that's kind of had your number
02:17the last couple of times that you've seen them.
02:19So, yeah, no, I get a sense that it's just a lot of doubt.
02:22And remember, after they beat the Ravens,
02:25they did talk about how it was good to sort of get that monkey off their back.
02:29I'm paraphrasing here.
02:30But they did express those sentiments once they won the game.
02:33Didn't want to let you see too much of that before the game,
02:36but definitely showed that after the game.
02:39And I think it'll be a similar thing here if they're able to go out there and win this game.
02:42B. Scott, we talked about it a little earlier.
02:44There's a 76% chance that the Texans make the playoffs if they win this game.
02:48And that's obviously the number that matters and all that matters is you just find a way to win it.
02:53But I think, to me, as I look at the schedule,
02:55not only is going to Kansas City I think the toughest, most dangerous game left on the schedule,
03:03but I think when you look specifically at how the Texans want to play ball
03:07and you look at how they're comfortable in a close game
03:11and you look at how they appear to be okay playing towards kind of lead fourth quarter,
03:18a one-scored lead in the fourth quarter with their defense on the field.
03:22Not only is this the best team, I think this is the most dangerous team relative to how you want to play.
03:27I know the Texans are confident in who they are.
03:29I know they feel like they got speed.
03:30I know they feel like they can pass rush.
03:32But do you really want to be and can you really accomplish and survive
03:36and get a dub with Pat Mahomes on the other side of the ball
03:39playing in the fourth quarter in a one-score game?
03:42I think that test is going to be major.
03:45And if you pass it in that fashion, boy, what a statement win that would be.
03:50Yeah, man, and it's also the best.
03:53And this goes without saying because you know who these guys are.
03:55They're football famous.
03:57But it's the best combination of all of the key spots for a football team.
04:04When you think about head coach and play caller, quarterback,
04:07and even on the defensive side, defensive play caller, right?
04:10They talked a lot about that was the theme of the press conference today, both with D'Amico.
04:15And he was asked about it.
04:16D'Amico, to be fair, they were asked about Spags.
04:19But even with CJ Stroud, when they asked him the question about, hey, what can you learn from your previous matchups against the Chiefs?
04:27The first thing he mentions is, well, that Spags is really good.
04:30You know, that he's a really good coordinator.
04:32So, look, I think that from that standpoint, too, like if you can, if your formula works against the best head coach,
04:40defensive coordinator, quarterback combination, that's a weird maybe threesome to make there.
04:46But if it can work against that, then you've got to feel good about it against everything else that you've got up against you.
04:52I just say a lot of teams' formulas have been working against that team this year.
04:59Let's just be honest.
05:00But we'll see.
05:01We'll see what happens in this game coming up.
05:06Woody Marks, Clint, I know, has been talking about that.
05:10He shows up on the injury report and doesn't practice today.
05:14Is he somebody to you if he isn't able to go or he's hampered?
05:20Does this change a lot of the offense and change what Nick Caley is going to have to do?
05:26Yeah, I think it changes the offense.
05:28I think what Nick Caley is going to have to do and what he's going to do is going to end up being relatively the same.
05:33Regardless of Woody Marks, it's just not going to look the same.
05:36And we're not going to like it the same, right?
05:38That's just the fact of the matter, right?
05:40If you make it Chubb and Agumawale as opposed to Marks and Chubb, that just changes the entire dynamic, right?
05:48So I think they're going to try to do the same things if Woody either can't go or he's hampered or limited or whatever the case may be.
05:56But it's just not be as I like Nick Chubb just to be clear.
05:59Like I don't mind if like say you had a better third back or you know what I mean?
06:06If you just had a little bit more depth there, it's not as much of a Nick Chubb problem as much as it would be a Woody Marks is special.
06:12But then also your depth is hurt because it's like Nick Chubb and then what else?
06:16Agumawale, you know, that's just a totally different dynamic.
06:19No disrespect to Daria Agumawale, but I mean, that's just what it is.
06:22So I think the game plan will be the same, but you would definitely miss the one guy that has stood out in that room, which is Woody Marks.
06:31Yeah. I mean, what we're talking about here is a guy that's had over 70% of the snaps.
06:34I'm about a guy that's getting 18, maybe in a game like this, even 20 carries in a game kind of deal.
06:40But he's carrying a big load and it seems to get bigger the more important that the games get.
06:45And so I'm not as worried about him playing injured.
06:50I'm not necessarily worried about, hey man, we got to, because of the foot,
06:54maybe we want to lessen his workload kind of deal.
06:56I'm fine with that.
06:58I'm with you.
06:59I'm worried about, man, if this guy gets to a point, this is a foot for a running back.
07:04If he gets to a point where he can't go.
07:06Yeah.
07:07Boy, it just takes the winds out of your sails of a guy that can get slippery on a third and short or fourth and short.
07:13Yeah.
07:14You know, a guy that can catch a ball in the backfield and give you, you know, 20 for 30 easily.
07:19That's a big blow to this offense.
07:23I mean, look, I like what Higgins is doing.
07:27A lot of these guys are doing, but they, we, we lack explosion across the board.
07:30You lack explosion and particular to the offense and how critical it is.
07:35Like it is important for this offense to be like, they can't not be a one dimensional offense.
07:41It just, it just can't be.
07:42They need to play complimentary football, not just all the way around as a team, but specifically as an offense as a whole.
07:49So like you think about the things that have made them better over the last several weeks over this four game winning streak or whatever it is.
07:56It's the fact that they have, even when they haven't necessarily run it well, they've been able to do it at least consistently enough to commit to it and feel confident in it.
08:05It's got a, I think a mix to do with their new offensive line combination, but also the fact that Woody Marks has ascended as that lead back.
08:14Like these things are working hand in hand.
08:16It's not like a coincidence.
08:17It's part of the progression of the offense that they can lean on Woody Marks.
08:21Then Nick Chubb could just be a secondary running back.
08:24So now they got a legitimate rush attack.
08:26You eliminate that, you take that away.
08:28And now we're almost back to square one with this offense, not really having a whole lot going.
08:33Because like you said, they don't have a whole lot of explosion.
08:36They're starting to at least show group force that they talked about wanting to show from the beginning.
08:40But, you know, if you don't have your best back, that's going to be difficult.
08:44Brandon, do you get a sense that this is a game that CJ Stroud has to go and make plays in?
08:52Like for them to win this game against this team, against that quarterback, is this a game where you're like,
08:59all right, we need our quarterback to go in there and not match Mahomes or match whatever,
09:06but make plays in this game for them to win?
09:09Yeah, I heard y'all having this discussion earlier.
09:11I do think that it is important for CJ.
09:14Like I don't think he has to go in there thinking that.
09:16Like I got to go in there and make plays.
09:18But the fact is he does have to make plays.
09:21Like I think that part is unavoidable.
09:23I think he can go in there with the mindset of, hey, I'm going to manage the game.
09:27I'm going to take care of the football.
09:29We are going to make it a priority to possess the football.
09:32I'm going to take what the defense gives me.
09:34But at the same time, knowing and having the confidence that, hey,
09:37when a play is there, that bootleg to, was it to Stover?
09:42Like a play like that.
09:44I'm going to be willing, ready and willing to make that play when it's there.
09:48Or like Clint was talking about it, the game dictates it.
09:51The Chiefs get out to a 14-0 lead.
09:53Hey, you know, we don't feel like we got a quarterback.
09:55I don't feel like I'm a quarterback of CJ Stroud who can't get us back in the game.
09:59So I think you got to have that mentality.
10:01But the way that they approach the game is going to be the way we've seen it, right?
10:06Like ball control, run the football, play keep away.
10:09I think a lot of what they have done is play keep away from the opposing quarterback,
10:12from the opposing offense.
10:13I don't think that this game is going to be much different.
10:15No, no, no.
10:16Don't talk to you, Clint.
10:17Let me ask you something.
10:19When you, how many times you played Peyton Manning?
10:23Twice.
10:24You played Manning.
10:25Tom Brady wasn't really Tom Brady when you played him at Michigan.
10:28He was good, but he's not what we think.
10:30You didn't go into that game thinking, in those Peyton Manning games,
10:35all right, this feels a little different than me playing Quincy Carter
10:40or whoever else you...
10:42Before you answer, Clint...
10:44You didn't go into thinking, all right, I've got to...
10:47Like, this is a game I've got to make some plays.
10:49Before you even answer, can I just say that to me,
10:51because I know that's been your position, Ron,
10:53that to me feels like overthinking it.
10:55Like, it's a fine thing to talk about,
10:57but for him to go in there and be like, man,
10:59it's Mahomes on the other side.
11:00It's the Chiefs.
11:01It's Peyton Manning.
11:02It's so-and-so.
11:03I've got to make a play.
11:04That feels like overthinking the game to me.
11:07Sure, I guess.
11:08I think athletes do that.
11:09Like, I think...
11:11I think...
11:12I think right now, when the Rockets play the Nuggets,
11:14I think...
11:15I think...
11:16I think Shingun is thinking to himself a little different,
11:18like, all right, hey, this is a game I've got to pick...
11:21I've got to pick it up a little bit.
11:22I've got to pick it up a little bit different than I'm playing Nurkic,
11:25like he played the Jazz.
11:27And I do think there are offenses and quarterbacks.
11:30That's...
11:31And, hell, I'll just let the guy answer because he's looking more than us.
11:34That's not easy.
11:35But I do think there are sometimes you look over there and you're like,
11:37all right, hey, man.
11:39Man, I don't think 17 is going to get it today.
11:42I don't think 14 is going to get it today.
11:44I've got to make some...
11:46I'm not talking about I'm throwing all kinds of pressure on myself.
11:49But, like, hey, I don't know if I can be as conservative this week
11:53as if I'm facing Cam Ward and the Titans.
11:56Right.
11:57That's what I'm saying.
11:58So, when you went into those games against teams like Peyton Manning,
12:01not in your mind did you think, all right, we've got to...
12:04Like, we've got to be a little bit more aggressive in this game.
12:06We've got to put more points up.
12:07No, I didn't.
12:08I mean, maybe I wasn't good enough to do that.
12:10I don't know.
12:11So stop it.
12:12No, I didn't.
12:13I mean, I just...
12:14My key, my focus...
12:15I meant about the good enough.
12:16But, I mean, my focus wholeheartedly was always on execute this offense,
12:23our offense, stay within our offense.
12:25The big play presents itself.
12:26Hell, yeah, I'm going to take it over.
12:28I never played scared.
12:29Some of the stuff that we talk about...
12:31Now, that may be why I've got a career 50-some-odd completion percentage
12:34or something, but it's...
12:35I mean, I never played scared.
12:37But there's...
12:38You know, there's a...
12:40You know, there's some truth to what you hear and, you know, about this offense
12:47and about CJ Stroud.
12:49And I'm very...
12:50I'm cut from the cloth of, hey, man, this isn't about being a playmaker.
12:55This isn't about how many great plays you can make.
12:57I wholeheartedly believe in, if you're going to win championships, and this offense emphasizes
13:02majorly, by the way, I wholeheartedly believe in it's about how few mistakes you make and
13:06not about how many great plays you make.
13:08But, see, I also think that the defense, the Texans' defense is an important caveat
13:12in this whole discussion.
13:13No question.
13:14Absolutely.
13:15That's where it's different.
13:16It's like, hey, if I have a defense like this, and this is where it might be different
13:20in Clint's situation or in some of those other situations that you mentioned in basketball,
13:25like, hey, I've got this other complimentary piece that dictates that I don't necessarily
13:30have to do that.
13:31Or, at the very least, I can wait until, like you were saying, until proven otherwise,
13:36until they bust this defense's ass, until they actually show me that I got to show them,
13:42I'm going to go with the game plan and think of it kind of along the lines of the way it's
13:45been going.
13:46Well, this is an extreme example of what's going on with Houston right now.
13:51Like, I think this is extreme now.
13:53Obviously, C.J.'s better than this guy.
13:55But, like, this is like the Baltimore team.
13:57Of, like, you don't offensive.
14:00Yeah.
14:01Look, I know C.J. is more talented than Dilfer.
14:03I'm just saying, like, the approach is, hey, we can win with a lot less at quarterback
14:09than C.J. Stroud.
14:10Right.
14:11Let's do that until the game or the moment, you know, dictates that, okay, now all of
14:18a sudden you've got to go do Pat Mahomes type deals or we've got to put this thing on your
14:22back and you've got to do.
14:23Like, I think that is, it's extreme, but with our defense, I think it's true.
14:27And with the way that this group, particularly Casario, Kaylee, and I think a defensive-minded
14:33head coach, I just, I believe that they have no problem preaching that and that being their
14:38messaging.
14:39I also wonder how different the offense would look with Tank Dale or at least a player like
14:45that.
14:46Like a player that they trusted, like, that they could stretch the ball, that they could
14:48stretch the field beyond just Niko.
14:50If they, like, if Jalen Noll, if they treated him the way we talk about him, right, or if
14:55they just had a player that was similar to Tank Dale or Tank Dale himself, if we would
14:59see more aggressive plays, more shots downfield.
15:02They got a lot of guys that can thread, I feel like, underneath the short intermediate.
15:06Of course, you got Niko that can do a lot of things.
15:08But I feel like the personnel and, like, the offensive personnel itself and the defense
15:13dictate that they should kind of play the way they have.
15:15I'm trying not to be selfish because I'm looking at this time because I believe we could roll
15:19through this for another five more minutes.
15:21Because I know I'm not crazy as hell when Josh Allen sits over there and says, all right,
15:24yeah, we got the number one defense over here.
15:26But, damn it, that's the Ravens or that's the Chiefs.
15:30And, hey, when they say, hey, we can't kick field goals, that also means, I mean, we got
15:34to make some plays.
15:36Well, no, look, I don't think you're wrong.
15:41I did it, it, it, I was selfish.
15:42No, look, hell with it, hell with it.
15:43Look, I don't think you're wrong.
15:44I think there's a handful of guys, now a handful, I think Lamar Jackson, I mean, particularly
15:50the guys at this level that can make plays with their feet, I don't doubt that they go
15:54in there and go, okay, when this thing breaks down, I ain't throwing this bad boy away.
15:57I'm going to get something with my feet.
15:58Yeah, yeah.
15:59But, you know.
16:00And I'm not saying CJ's got to be Josh.
16:02I'm not saying, I also think he's got to be more than Davis.
16:06I think he's got to be more than.
16:08I'm sure he will at some point, but the game has to dictate that.
16:11To be fair.
16:12The game plan is not.
16:14I felt like he was in this last game, to be fair, against the Colts, even though the
16:19numbers didn't necessarily dictate that, he made a couple of plays that was like, oh,
16:22you know what, only certain guys make those plays.
16:24Yeah.
16:25All right, let me get out of here.
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