- 7 weeks ago
The Texans make it six in a row with a dominant 40–20 win over the Cardinals, but not everyone agrees on how clean the performance really was. Lopez saw a strong day from the offensive line, while Reggie thought it was just okay — so how good was it
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00:00that was sure reassuring man okay that was that was a reassuring type win for me because uh you
00:06got you got the things look everybody's gonna say yeah but it was the cardinals yeah but they've
00:11given up 40 points to uh what three other teams in the last six weeks or so uh i i don't i don't
00:17care uh i don't care about that because we would have been climbing the walls coming out of our
00:23skin had they just put up another 16 points or whatever and and had to hold on well 16 points
00:29would have lost this one but uh but you get my point 16 13 win or whatever uh like in the past
00:34they did what they needed to do the offensive line boy it sounds weird doesn't it is good
00:41i don't know if i can get there why are you putting me in this place here john lopez not great we are
00:47two minutes into the show and you're making me do the thing where i'm like yeah i can't go that far
00:51seven one three five seven two four six why are you doing this to me how many sacks they give up
00:55um i'm looking at i'm seeing a single solitary how many rushing yards from let's say nick chubb and
01:02woody marks and well none for nick chubb and he was out he was not active i know i'm gonna i realize
01:08that and woody marks and uh uh daria goomba wally i mean it wasn't like the fourth string running back
01:14had a good day or anything did he um so jawar jordan yeah number 26 that's my point number one
01:20in your heart 101 yard performance for the young man the first time this season not the jawar clearly
01:26it's his debut then any houston texan put up over 100 yards in a game all right let's get this thing
01:31going right 713-572-4610 is the number to text let us know what did we learn from this game because
01:37that was one of the things that we asked on friday what do we stand to learn in this football game
01:42versus the arizona cardinals i thought we were pretty confident but tried not to be too confident
01:46on the air to avoid any level of jinx or anything should you believe in such things um but we felt
01:51like this was a win that was assured however the way that they got the win would tell us some things
01:56so what did we learn 713-572-4610 always appreciative of the mo carom injury lawyers for the live stream
02:02we keep it 100 youtube page sports radio 610 where they're appreciating figgy uh getting his hair
02:07here did put together oh y'all know this they see it they see it they're always looking and then
02:11also uh 610 houston on the twitch chat but it feels like you for one for one uh were really
02:17excited about this offense i was talking to my guy ivan um at the uh southeast corner of the stadium
02:22before you know we were sitting watching shauna says do their things and i'm not trying to put ivan
02:26on blast anything because i knew exactly what he meant but he was like i'm tired of talking about
02:29the defense let's talk about this offense yeah did you learn something about the offense in this yes you
02:34did yeah you learned a few things well let me go through the list of why this was such a reassuring
02:38uh actually very promising win uh the defense if you if you rank all the all the you know the the
02:47branches so to speak all the elements uh offense defense special teams the defense might rank third
02:53in this game they might rank third special teams turn the game yeah shout out to uh scooby as they
03:00like school yeah they call them special teams turn the game two big returns fumble recovery great punting
03:07uh very good uh field goal kicking you know from 50 plus yards had one block at the end of the half
03:12no harm no foul there uh obviously the offense i talked about the offensive line even if you don't
03:18want to say good on the offensive line it is good enough and it is good enough because of number seven
03:24uh in your backfield who is just progressively continually getting better and better and better
03:30since he came back from his concussion uh probably his best game overall of the year on script and off
03:36which is what he's been thriving at knowing when to be on script when to when to go off script
03:41uh putting the ball you just heard uh john harris talking about with a dart yes that wasn't his only
03:47dart dude that wasn't his only dart we probably need to sit in that a little bit further you know me
03:52uh i try and take as diligent notes as possible um not always the best and i'll be honest i was in the
03:58booth uh my eyes were getting a little heavy but that's more on me and my weekend we don't have to
04:02talk about that but why not we'll do that later but one of the things i took down as i was like
04:07there's a need to appreciate the game that cj had yes here yeah i think that maybe also being out on
04:14the lots of talking out of it um you could hear some of the hey well cj i'm hoping that he's better
04:19and it's like are we appreciating what cj's done since he's returned uh obviously you can go to the
04:23wins and losses i'm not huge for that but three and oh and in in the return back but he's been
04:29really good both uh i think if you talk about the analytical numbers of it but then also when you
04:36break it down to some very specific things that we could talk about but i think it also just feels
04:40you started talking about it the knowing when and where to do what things yes it's super important
04:46and it's more difficult uh one of the things that we've talked about with tom brady uh when he talks
04:50about this modern era of quarterbacks is like the intelligence portion of the game and knowing what to do
04:56per time is one of those things that he feels like is lacking in this newer generation that was
05:01obviously um coached deeply into older generations of quarterbacks both in college and then in the nfl
05:06level where there's probably more time to work and practice and drill those things in it feels like cj
05:11we're watching him mature before our eyes in that particular way of having a great feel of when to
05:18be aggressive when not to be aggressive and he will still rightfully saying we heard him say this that
05:22there's room to grow there's still room for improvement for him as i think it's domico's been
05:27domico's charge for the entirety of the team you'll hear his uh comments post game in the locker room
05:31where he capped off with there's still stuff to clean up after a fun victory like this one but cj has
05:37been really good and one of the things that's highlighted by that highlight that we came in with
05:41the uh second play from scrimmage where you get a slant to uh nico collins and he takes it to the
05:46house um is in breakers have been a huge benefit for this team yeah uh really most of the season but
05:52they've really leaned into it so salute to nick cayley for acknowledging that and getting getting
05:56the football there a lot salute to nico collins for taking that and obviously doing something with
06:00and of course most importantly salute to cj for acknowledging it getting the ball where it needs
06:04to be and really putting some pinpoint passes through uh between the trees to make he threw two
06:09to uh to uh dalton schultz that were just unreal do that one to nico several others uh off script
06:16the the touchdown uh to schultz was just really really good uh i i know i i have these numbers
06:22roughly correct i don't have them in front of me but since he's come back he's got a 97 quarterback
06:27rating four touchdowns one interception thrown for over 200 yards progressively better in every game
06:33three touchdowns yesterday uh all of those were were were plays that uh were not necessarily on
06:41script including the running play to woody marks but we'll get to that during passing thoughts
06:44uh later because i don't know what you're talking about oh my goodness that was something uh but
06:49this here's here's the point we know this defense is super bowl caliber no one can argue that right
06:56no one no one can argue that this is not a super bowl caliber defense yeah and if you do
07:01get out of here if you want to make that argument more power to you all right let's give figgy the
07:06floor here no no i know he's kidding so no one can argue this is super bowl caliber defense
07:11this offense has never had we've said it we said it in the preseason we saw how they were operating
07:16what they wanted to their goal to be their their game plan their their mo their their philosophy
07:22identity if you will you know not death by a thousand cuts that was just something that that cj
07:27was saying when he was quite frustrated he's not frustrated anymore it's now knowing what you do
07:32getting into the plays that you need to and knowing when to get out of those plays and that's
07:38what cj stroud is doing at an elite level right now you heard me correct at an elite level if you
07:42don't believe me look at yesterday's game uh but not only that this offense has never had to be
07:47overwhelming ever from from day one of of mini camp they never wanted to be overwhelming they wanted to
07:55be smart and good and and effective you know when it counts the most this offense has now started to
08:02catch up it'll never catch up to the defense was started to catch up in enough to where you can
08:08you can actually go against anyone and feel pretty good yeah i was like even catch up i wouldn't use
08:12that terminology i understand what you're saying though they're they're finding their way to
08:16continue to matriculate down the field to uh get the ball where they need to obviously salute to uh
08:21dalton schultz i think that he continues to serve as like a safety blanket of sorts and uh you see that
08:26to a large degree it's a lot of it's a lot of the feeling of um you know just a drop of water drop of
08:33water here and all of a sudden you look up you have an ocean that's that's the way it feels like
08:36they go about that but no absolutely i think you felt like you learned something about
08:40the offense when it comes to this one of the things that it felt like was um i mentioned it
08:45in breakers like they've they've they've been able to really lean into that as i don't know fully of
08:50an identity but definitely one of those things where cj stroud over the middle of the field is
08:54going to do work um and you've got guys that are capable of catching the ball over the middle so
08:58lean into that i'm interested in how you feel about the run game because we have to lean further
09:02into this and talk about the fact that you had a fantastic uh running game or at least a good
09:07running game which honestly if you just call it flat out relatively speaking fantastic yeah relatively
09:12speaking fantastic but a very good game 143 yards on the ground good for 4.3 which nobody will turn
09:18their nose up at in the national football league um you had a good running game how sustainable does that
09:25feel because for me i go this was it was good to get this game but we came in understanding the
09:30cardinals are not a great run run defense um i felt like you had some up and down instances from
09:37the offensive line there were some times where there was like stuffs that were happening but
09:40there were also times where they absolutely move bodies and i want obviously we have to salute jawar
09:45jordan but i'll just ask you straight up how'd you feel about the sustainability of this run game
09:49that you saw you i'll keep it very simple yeah and i alluded to it earlier you had your fourth string
09:54running back rush for more than 100 yards that is a credit to him and cj was talking about
10:00i saw it in his eyes uh you know in the pregame and all that's cool and he's fast and he's shifty
10:05but no matter how you cut it he's your fourth string running back and he ran for he ran for over 100
10:11yards that's the offensive line man i i don't care what anybody says that's that's the offensive line
10:16you know being able to to move bodies and make holes for the fourth string running back you cannot
10:24deny that you know he's good you know he's in the nfl for a reason and he got the game ball and we'll hear
10:29from that later and all that stuff but that is the offensive line doing its job i think they were
10:35doing their job to some degree i think also when you acknowledge that one got to give him his credit
10:40right being ready for his opportunity in his moment um there was a number of guys talking in the locker
10:44room about the way that he performed um in this game and the ways in which he just kind of stayed
10:50ready this is one of those mantras that this team has like every team in football will talk about
10:55next man up this team lives it right they make sure that everybody is prepared for their moment
11:00and that mentality clearly uh shows up and it's pervasive and you see that in jawar jordan but i
11:05think also i will give nick cayley a little bit of credit here as well one of the things you saw early
11:09on they were trying to run it between the tackles as they continue to want to do even with uh what do
11:14you what do you marks a times they want to run between the tackles early on that it seemed to fit
11:18what jawar jordan does as a little bit smaller back but more of a guy who's good and short has
11:24good uh short space um like agility uh good in space and you saw them they started using a lot
11:31more tosses i thought that that was an uh being alert and noticing hey this the run game that we
11:37typically run doesn't necessarily suit what he does fit as he talked about a lot and we we had a lot
11:43of conversations in the offseason about fitting what you do to your players now and in the course of
11:48this game you could see them go oh get him out to get him to the outside you even have in uh credit
11:53to the offensive line you have guys that you can get outside of the uh outside of the tackle box i
11:57guess and have them get in space and block out on you know the likes of ariante urshory that we've
12:01seen a lot get down space get him outside allow those guys to get blocks and let him work in the
12:06space and i think that that's what allowed him to really show his wares including a 50-yard play
12:11that was i mean a large chunk of a chunk of his running not to say that that was the only run and
12:16that he did incredibly well but that was that was an evidence of um obviously jawar and his
12:22capabilities but neat and nick hailey recognizing what his capabilities were and fitting what he
12:26was doing in this game to that yes yes but let's not forget the offensive line being able to do those
12:32things being able to get out and to the second level and on the cutbacks being uh being able to
12:37sustain their blocks you know uh domica was talking afterwards and i'm not sitting here saying this is
12:41the you know this is the the greatest offensive line ever what i'm saying is you got yourself a
12:46line that is playing pretty dang well and and to be able to okay nick k let's say nick hailey did that
12:51and he did you know adjust these plays the line still has to get to the second level sustain their
12:56blocks get to them you know be able to to hold their blocks etc and woody marks ran for 4.3 yards a carry
13:03seven carries but nevertheless sure that was between the tackles i towards one had 80 yards after
13:10contact yeah okay look you're not going to get me off this that was a good game by the do you feel
13:17like do you feel like this was the best game the offensive line had this season yes 100 percent pass
13:23blocking run blocking being able to rush for all those all those yards uh again i'm not sitting here
13:29saying boy look at these guys they're you know they're hall of famers i'm saying that was progress
13:34by the offensive line not just you know pass blocking but in being able to have like i said
13:39the fourth string running back run for that many yards i'm i kind of agree with you a little bit i'm
13:44not disagreeing at all like i i do think it's something there but i'm just kind of curious if it
13:50wasn't gerard jordan if it was damian pierce do you think he could have had that type of game
13:54i don't know with his office well damian pierce is a different style runner you know again woody
13:59marks ran between the tackles for four four three yards a carry yeah they have and let's not just
14:04put it in a bubble with just one game what has this offensive line done the last three games
14:08you know it's gotten progressively better certainly yeah yeah no that's true i just i know you're not
14:14trying to do this lopez but it seemed like you kind of just saying any fourth uh fourth string
14:19running back could have no this behind this offensive line that's the last thing i'm doing yeah i think
14:23is the fact that you did with the fourth string running back yeah you got to credit the guys up front
14:29you have to give me domico five here uh because i thought domico he did lay out what this offensive
14:35line was because it was a much better run uh run performance than we've seen from this team this
14:40is domico being asked on what the old line has been doing right and getting more comfortable together
14:44wait hold on one okay no problem no problem but yeah he was he was talking about the run game and
14:48what went right with it and he also like you went to the offensive line i i i hate to be the person
14:54that's like poo-pooing this because i do feel like you're right over the longer stretch of things
14:59especially in this time period i think the offensive line has absolutely gotten better i don't know that
15:03i look at this as the crowning jewel on the offensive line performance with due respect for them and i
15:08think it's because also i've started raising the bar on the expectation like especially now that they found
15:13their five that they're going to continue to roll with i think there's still more to be there's definitely
15:18more to be earned out of it and i thought that there was this was a game where it was again
15:22sufficient probably isn't fair to them but it was good enough sufficient i would take it was good
15:28enough yeah i don't know that this was a crowning achievement for them but again in a game like this
15:32you put up 40 points like i'm not trying to you know look a gift horse in the mouth like they did
15:36well enough to allow against a a defense that oddly enough doesn't feel like they have an identity
15:41yeah um and there's something to be said about that where you look at hey that's a defensive head
15:46coach and jonathan gannon you got a defensive head coach look at the distinctions for two guys that
15:51came in at the same time with similar issues for their team at large and look at how domico
15:56ryans has clear built a clear identity that they execute very well look at jonathan gannon without
16:01an identity that identity that they clearly don't execute but again here's domico ryans talking about
16:05the offensive line in the run game yesterday i'll have to go back and look at the film but from my
16:10vantage point looked like we were finishing blocks a little bit better uh today still always room to clean
16:16some things up but for the most part thought we finished better therefore we were able to have
16:20i think a better average in the run game today yeah and and you know i was reading some of the text
16:25here uh the whole line was good on the youtube uh stream but i still want to address this in the
16:31off season yeah me too yeah yeah yeah definitely me too i just ain't running this off it's a line back
16:37no disrespect absolutely as much as we have bashed them as bad as they have been i cannot say oh yeah
16:45but given the circumstance of what they were and what they are now and and it goes back to the big
16:52sweeping point that i made the offense all of a sudden is carrying its weight and that starts with
16:57the offensive line and cj strout to me those were the two big stories obviously jordan spectacular game
17:02uh etc but for the offense to be able to carry its weight it had to it has to get what it got
17:08yesterday out of this line and clearly cj strout yeah i think that that's
17:12that's awesome
17:13so
17:13that's way to carry dificult
17:29so
17:30i think that's a great thingy
17:31so
17:32so
17:33you
17:33it's
17:34it's
17:38you
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