The Drive's Got the KEYS, KEYS, KEYS-to Victory for the Texans vs Cardinals!

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00:00All right, Clint, in this game, right, there's obviously some matchups, some key matchups

00:05that we need to look out and look after in this game, and we do this, we tend to do this

00:13each week.

00:14When the Texans have the ball, Clint, for, and maybe this is an NFC team that a lot of

00:20people may not know as much about, what are key matchups for you in this game when it

00:28comes to the Texans having the ball against that Cardinals defense?

00:32Yeah, look, I think it's Nico.

00:33They've got a rookie corner, Will Johnson.

00:35Remember, he was a corner.

00:36At Michigan, they got injured.

00:37Yeah, well, he slid because he was injured, but apparently a really good corner.

00:41I heard Casario talk about he's played a lot.

00:44There are other corners injured, and I believe he's out.

00:48So, you know, you've got Nico Collins versus Will Johnson, a rookie corner, and versus a

00:52backup corner on the other side.

00:53Look, I think they're going to be able to do some things offensively, but at this point

00:59in the season, I am dialed in on how they use Nico Collins.

01:02I'm going to tell you right now, this is as big a deal as we've got with the Houston Texans

01:09right now.

01:10If the Houston Texans are going to just camp Nico Collins out one side or the other and

01:15allow defensive coordinators to zero in on him and eliminate him by giving more attention

01:21to him pre-snap, that is going to be the death of us.

01:24That is going to be the death of us.

01:27If our offense score and whatever little points we need to score with how good our defense is,

01:32if that's going to be dependent once you get in the playoffs or down the stretch here on

01:36Higgins creating separation or Kirk or Noel or 19 or, you know, like you're just not going

01:43to be explosive enough unless 12 is a big, big part of it.

01:46And he cannot disappear for a half of a game like he did last week.

01:49So, you know, I think this week I'm leaning into that thought for my matchups as well as

01:55you've got a rookie over there, you've got some depth corners that are going to have to

01:58play, and Nico just needs to be a big part of what they do.

02:02Well, I think also, Clint, as you said in the first segment, it's Will Johnson for the

02:08first part of it, but it's also the alignment.

02:11I am going to guess we've watched teams do this all year long because, as you said, the

02:16Texans have just allowed it to happen, and it happened again really after almost after

02:21the – in the second half completely where they just stack a safety right up over the

02:27top of Nico Collins and play press coverage right there, and then there's always constant

02:32help.

02:33And it seems to work to either take him completely out of the game or at least minimize his effect

02:40on the game, and I think that's a part of it, just that coverage is there going to be

02:46an adjustment on that, right?

02:48Because it's just – it isn't just one-on-one with the corner with Nico, it's the help.

02:52Well, and here's the deal is, I mean, look, Nico can go out and have a good game that way,

02:59obviously.

02:59He's a good enough player where he can get pressed all day long and get off the ball,

03:04and even with the safety over the top.

03:06Now we've got to hold the football quarterback so we can get into the deep curl zones and

03:10so we can run the deep digs and we can run these different routes.

03:13So it just requires a little bit more from everybody on the field to get in the ball that

03:17way.

03:17It's a little bit more difficult on him.

03:19What I'm looking for is just some easier touches for Nico.

03:23Again, whether that's in a screen game, a quick game, if you move him, you're automatically

03:26going to give him a free release.

03:28You get him in the middle of the field some, you may get him on a nickel defender.

03:31They may switch it.

03:32You get them in chase mode instead of, we're going to double this guy, we know exactly

03:36where it is.

03:37Now they're chasing and reacting, and you can create some opportunity that way with your

03:41big guy.

03:42I just hope that's what they do, because I'm telling you, Ron, there's just, I love

03:46the complementary receivers that we have, the potential as a Texans fan.

03:50I'm like, yeah, Higgins is coming, man.

03:51Yeah, I like Noah.

03:53I mean, you know, I still have a little bit of hope for 13, but against better defenses,

04:00it's just going to, it shouldn't come down to that.

04:03And that's the thing is, Clint, I think they will be all right in this game if, you know,

04:11if Nico, like, we take a look at the Ravens game, you know, he didn't have that big of

04:15a game with 40, 50 yards or something like that, and they were able to spread it around.

04:18But, but if you potentially run into Mike Rabel, it's his hands on you.

04:24Last week, last week, yeah, but yeah, we're talking to playoffs, you potentially run into

04:29Mike Rabel, you potentially run into Vance Joseph again, and this, you know, and this

04:33time he has Patrick Sertan, right?

04:36Like, you run into these teams that will have the ability to, you know, apparently be able

04:43to take Nico out the game and make it tougher for the other guys around him.

04:47Can they in games like this show that they can move Nico around and get him out of that

04:53type of coverage and that they'll still be effective in that so they can prepare themselves

04:57for the games that, that, where that'll be really important, where you just can't have

05:02Nico Collins not be a part of, like Nico Collins not getting a catch or, or a target in a half

05:09of a game that, that you are struggling in, in a game that's tight, that you're struggling

05:15offensively, where you, where you go five, six possessions with negative two yards, and

05:21he doesn't get a touch or target, that's, that, like, there can't be a defense out there

05:26that, that, that, that can, that, that can have, well, you gotta make it a lot, you gotta

05:31make it a lot more difficult than that, and, and, you know, maybe they will when they're

05:35not in a game where they feel like they've got control of the game, maybe, I don't know,

05:38but, but I'd like to see it this week some.

05:39All right, what about when the, when the Cardinals have the ball?

05:43Well, this one for me is, is simple, it's about the, the Cardinals interior offensive

05:49line versus a real thin spot right now for the Texans.

05:53No Tim Settle, no Foley Fadakasi, I mean, you, you're, you're down, you're, you're thin

05:59right there in the middle, and, and so it's not necessarily any one guy, it's just a down

06:04the stretch here in the season, how does the Texans interior defensive line, how do

06:09they stand up down the stretch in the, in the last four ballgames, and, and does the

06:14late season start to wear on some of these guys, because here's what happens, when you've

06:18got guys that are asked to do more than, because we've heard D'Amico talk about this, this

06:25rotating eight defensive line.

06:27Hey, Tommy Togiai's coming now.

06:29That's it, Togiai, that's right, he is, but there's, there's, when you look at it, he

06:34wants to rotate those guys, so he's got a bunch of bodies in there that, that, that

06:37play fast, and are, and, and, you know, you need to rotate, well, when you lose a couple

06:43of those guys, all of a sudden they're playing more, right, more mileage, more, more of the

06:47load on those guys, can they handle it down the stretch, or do they need to add guys to

06:54that rotation, right, that, that's going to be the, the spot with the, with the Texans

06:59moving forward, is no Foley Fadakasi, no Tim Settle, how do these guys hold up, and this

07:05will be a good week, I think, to, to see, is there another guy that gets in the fold there?

07:09Yeah.

07:10I mean, D'Amico Autry's had a, had a hell of a season, I mean, he's, he gets in there

07:13and he either commits a penalty or, or has a, a monster play that changes the game, so

07:17I'll take it, that's right, that's right.

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