00:00So the Texans have some injuries.
00:02The injury list is long and distinguished, as I think it was Will Kunkel.
00:07I think I saw say that.
00:09Aziz, I'm not going to go through the whole thing.
00:12The big names we are watching this week, Woody Marks with his ankle injury.
00:17Kamari Lasseter, I say we're watching, but it seems Kamari just is on the injury list,
00:21and then he goes out and plays like a pro bowler.
00:23He's got one of these things that he's working through and managing, hopefully.
00:26Managing well.
00:27Sheldon Rankins is an interesting one because he is one of two healthy front-line defensive linemen,
00:33interior defensive linemen that you still have left.
00:35He's working on a knee right now.
00:37Well, so I guess the upside of that, at least, is that guys like Naquan Jones
00:41and whichever practice guys they call up for that defensive tackle rotation
00:45are going to get some reps with the ones and everything, or more reps to go around.
00:49I like that, looking on the bright side.
00:51EJ Speed, you pointed him out.
00:54You pointed that out after the game on Sunday that wasn't a great performance by the Texans
01:00defense, as D'Amico pointed out several times.
01:02You pointed out EJ Speed not being out there actually was kind of a big deal.
01:06Yeah, I think especially in the run game.
01:07I mean, there's times where they like EJ Speed more than they like Christian Harris at this
01:12point for a reason.
01:13Christian Harris just doesn't, because we still have people asking, like, hey, why isn't he
01:17Christian Harris playing?
01:18He just, he doesn't look the same ever since that lower leg injury.
01:22There's just, he's, he's not the same type of athlete.
01:25And, you know, there are times where he kind of got pushed around in the run game.
01:28When I went back and watched, he did better than it.
01:31He caught my eye on a couple of negative plays during the game.
01:34Yeah.
01:34He was more steady than I gave him credit for when I went back and rewatched.
01:38Yeah.
01:38You pointed that out to me in the press box.
01:40You're like, oop, they're attacking Christian Harris.
01:42In the run game.
01:43Yeah.
01:43And then there were times, I don't know, but again, going back and watching the, it wasn't
01:50as bad as I thought initially.
01:51So, and that was the first heavy usage he'd gotten in a while.
01:55So if EJ Speed can't play, I think it's reasonable to think that Christian Harris might
02:00look a little bit more comfortable this week.
02:02Stingley is another big one because he left the game against the Cardinals with an oblique
02:07injury, which he was dealing with earlier this year.
02:09If we're being honest, he's probably been dealing with it for most of the season, but
02:11off of the injury list.
02:13Yeah.
02:13He's back on the injury list with this.
02:15I will say this.
02:17The Raiders are the worst team.
02:18The Texans will play this year.
02:20The second worst team is the Tennessee Titans.
02:22They've played them twice already.
02:24Stingley was dealing with this oblique leading up to the week four game here against the, I
02:30think that was here against the Titans.
02:32And, and I know that I thought like, well, okay, well, this would be a game.
02:36They, they really don't have much firepower.
02:38This would be a game where Stingley can at least sit, sit off to the side and get healthy.
02:42He played in that game.
02:43He's played in every game this year.
02:45If he's healthy, I don't care who the opponent, the opponent can be, you know, it can be a high
02:50school team.
02:50Derek Stingley is going to play.
02:51The only, uh, I'm glad you brought up the Titans because that's the cautionary tale for
02:55anybody that wants to think, well, of course the Texans are going to blow these guys away.
02:59Yeah.
03:00Those Titans games were contests until the fourth quarter each time.
03:04So a two win football team was a contest till the very end of the, took you to the brink.
03:09Yeah.
03:10And it's, it's not as simple every given, any given Sunday, et cetera, et cetera.
03:15Yep.
03:15So let's hear from D'Amico Ryans right now on the two sides of the ball with the, uh,
03:19Las Vegas Raiders.
03:20This is first D'Amico, the challenges from the Raiders defense.
03:24Yeah.
03:24When it comes to the Raiders defense, uh, Max Crosby definitely sticks out amongst that defense.
03:30He's a very disruptive player, uh, run game and pass game.
03:34He does a really good job playing with good effort, finishing.
03:37So he's a guy we're definitely have to have awareness for of where he is.
03:41He aligns at both sides at any given time.
03:44So we have to know where he is and we have to make sure, you know, we're, we're outworking
03:48him.
03:48We got to get hands on him.
03:49We got to finish him.
03:50He's a good player.
03:51We got good players.
03:52We just got out working.
03:53All right.
03:54So funny that you should mention the fourth quarter, Seth, because for those of you who
03:59are new to the show, I'm actually Seth, I refer myself to the third in the third person.
04:02It's gotten really, you'll also hear Pope Zaza does it all the time.
04:05Um, so the thing about the fourth quarter is this, the Raiders defense is better.
04:10I think than some of the numbers suggest partly though, because the Raiders offense is
04:16so atrocious that the time of possession just acts up and you go back to the last impressively
04:22competitive game that the Raiders played was in week nine versus the Jaguars and they
04:27took it to overtime.
04:28It was an awesome game.
04:29I went back and rewatched it yesterday.
04:30Super fun game.
04:31I remember that.
04:32I take that back because it wasn't really, it wasn't like a display of prowess by either
04:36side, but it was a really close and competitive game.
04:38Yeah.
04:38But the, the problem is that by the fourth quarter, the, the Raiders defense in a lot
04:45of these games has been on the field forever.
04:46Like they were on the field for the, the Raiders possessed the ball for two minutes in the
04:51first quarter of that Jaguars game.
04:53So by the right out of the shoot, yeah.
04:56And guys like Max Crosby, you play every snap, you know, they, you, you start, you saw it
05:00start to mount up by the fourth quarter ETN started having some really nice runs.
05:06And I think that's the key where the Texans have done a pretty good job of sustaining
05:09drives, winning time of possession.
05:11I'm just, I'm not going to be shocked or alarmed if this is a closer game than you're comfortable
05:15with going into the fourth quarter.
05:17But that's when, if the Texans are a legitimate contender, that's when everything just kind
05:22of mounts up and you just take over.
05:24So I'm, I'm preparing myself for that type of game where I'm frustrated that they're not
05:28destroying the Raiders.
05:29But hopefully in the fourth quarter, it grabs hold.
05:32And the Texans have been pretty good at possessing the ball on the flip side.
05:35The Raiders have been awful at possessing it.
05:37The Texans for all their issues in the red zone, they've gotten pretty good at stringing long
05:42drives together over the last five or six weeks.
05:44The, uh, well, there's any games when you look at the, um, you look at the, uh, what
05:54am I talking about?
05:54The Raiders.
05:55Yes.
05:56Um, when they've got like 20 minutes time of possession.
05:58Yeah.
05:58Yeah.
05:58That's horrible.
05:59They're second to last in time of possession in the league.
06:02Yeah.
06:02Yeah.
06:03Yeah.
06:03The, uh, the Steelers are dead last.
06:06Uh, they're not a great offensive team.
06:07No, no, no.
06:08I just, it's, it is weird though.
06:10You're right.
06:10There's so many things about the Steelers that are weird this year.
06:12Yep.
06:13Uh, and God, I hope they win the AFC North.
06:15But in Houston is third.
06:18Is third in time of possession.
06:19Yeah.
06:20Yeah.
06:20Yeah.
06:20They've done, they've done a very, the offense has done a very good job.
06:23They've done it.
06:23The two teams that have good records that is also where you'd expect, okay, wow.
06:28They're, they must be playing the type of offense where you've got a really good defense.
06:32Uh, the, the defense is getting off the field a lot on third and short and third now.
06:37So, um, just let's take care of the football, et cetera.
06:40It's Houston, third in time of possession, Chicago, fourth in time of possession.
06:43Yep.
06:44Here's D'Amico Ryans on the Raiders offense.
06:47Yeah.
06:47With this Raiders offense, I think, you know, it's, they have really some good players.
06:52When I, the first player that jumps out to my mind is Bowers, right?
06:56The tight end.
06:57He's a, a truly dynamic tight end.
06:59You don't see many tight ends like him who he aligns all over the field.
07:03He's not just aligned at the tight end position, he aligns at the receiver position and he runs
07:08wire, wire receiver routes.
07:10So he's, he presents a tough challenge for us matchup wise, kind of like on the flip side
07:15with Crosby.
07:16You know, you got to know where Bowers is at all time and he does a really great job of
07:22catching the football.
07:23Uh, he can run every route on the route tree.
07:25So he's not just a one trick pony.
07:27He can do, he can do it all.
07:28So I really respect his game, really love this game when he was at Georgia as well.
07:34I think he's one of the best tight ends in the league right now.
07:37And then when I go to the backfield and you see the back, Jenty, like, and what he's capable
07:42of doing.
07:43I know they haven't ran for a ton of yards, but when you watch the film and you watch this
07:48young, young man run the football, he's a, he's probably one of the best when it comes
07:53to contact balance, like he finds a, finds a way to jump through tackles and continue
07:58to make guys miss tackle.
08:00He plays tough plays behind his pass.
08:02I really tough runner that I, I respect a lot.
08:05I think he has a really bright future, you know, in our league.
08:08So those two players are the guys that stick out to me the most and they can definitely,
08:13they can definitely make some big plays on you.
08:15So you have to be aware of those guys at all times.
08:18As, uh, as you know, I like to give myself the appropriate amount of fear about an opponent,
08:23even if they're really bad, find ways to, to be nervous about these guys.
08:28And, uh, after, yeah, they, and I found, I think I found the same clips that D'Amico
08:33is showing his team of Ashton Jenty, breaking tackles, making guys look like fools without
08:39ever mentioning to myself that the Raiders are dead last in rushing yards per game.
08:44He's a good player on a bad team.
08:45Last, but he will, he'll make you look like a fool.
08:48Yep.
08:49That's where you got to hit him.
08:50Hey, it's a team game, et cetera, et cetera.
08:51But in instilling the perfect amount, the appropriate amount of fear, you got to get
08:56guys thinking about don't embarrass yourself out there.
08:58Right.
08:58Hey, look at the, look at what this, look at those Ashton Jenty did to a couple of these
09:01fools.
09:02Yeah.
09:02Sure.
09:03Sure.
09:03They ran for 48 yards in the game, but a couple of these guys look like morons.
09:07Yeah.
09:07Yeah.
09:07Yeah.
09:07He ran for two yards on that play, but you look like he made the guy look like an idiot.
09:11Yeah.
09:11And then as far as Brock Bowers, I think this is a simple one.
09:14And it's just that, yes, look at all these Brock Bowers highlights.
09:17And let's also take a look at Trey McBride last week.
09:19You guys look, you guys made Trey McBride look like the best version of himself.
09:23They are different in how the teams use them.
09:26They're kind of similar players in a lot of regards, but I don't, I don't worry as much
09:31about Brock Bowers.
09:32Cause everything D'Amico is describing about the way they use Brock Bowers.
09:35I think that actually matches up better versus the Texans.
09:38And in, in reality, you can kind of treat them like a receiver more so than Trey McBride
09:43who lined up and a lot of times would, would be blocking and then seep out onto a route.
09:48Yeah.
09:48And that's where some of the deception and they did a good, the Cardinals did a good job
09:52of, of game planning for the Texans.
09:55It's not as, I don't think it's as likely to screw up the Texans as Trey McBride.
10:00All right.
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