00:01All right, Clint, it seemed like you had some more thoughts on, I guess,
00:07something that we talked about yesterday in terms of how the Texans are going
00:12to approach the offseason with a draft and free agency.
00:16And I know yesterday my thoughts were I would much rather the approach
00:24for Nick Casario, D'Amico, and company is how about you pay offensive players?
00:30You pay for offense.
00:32Offense is more free agency-based because I think you have a better idea
00:37of what you're getting.
00:39You know what you're getting.
00:40You're probably going to have those guys be able to impact immediately,
00:43and then I would draft defense better to develop.
00:48It seemed like you had some more thoughts on that.
00:51Well, no, I just think you're spot on.
00:53Look, I think if you had it your way or if they had it their way,
00:57that I think it's given the demands, really, if we're being honest,
01:03the mental demand on defensive line versus offensive line,
01:08I think it is significantly higher on the offensive line.
01:13The amount of processing, the amount of – nobody knows that better
01:16than a Texans fan right now, right?
01:18I mean, we've heard about communication technique and mechanics,
01:21and we've watched young offensive linemen, particularly interior offensive linemen,
01:25not pan out.
01:26It's not because they weren't big enough, fast enough, and strong enough.
01:28It's because they can't communicate.
01:30It's because the technique's bad, the mechanics's bad, right?
01:32The reality of it is, Ron, is give me guys on the offensive side of the football
01:37that you've seen do it at an extremely high level beyond the physical side of it.
01:41Yes, the physical side of it's important, but give me a guy that you know can communicate
01:46and process at the necessary speed to run an NFL offense at the guard and center position.
01:51Don't go find a guy that can process and communicate and play a lesser-than player
01:57because he communicates better and because he processes at a better speed.
02:03Like, find me guys that have done that at a high level that are some of the best in the
02:07league.
02:07When it's all said and done, I think when you're talking about particularly offensive line
02:14and defensive line, and if you're talking draft versus free agent veteran, right,
02:19I think it's a no-brainer you draft the defensive lineman.
02:26That is literally a plug-and-play, as plug-and-play a position as you're going to find in football.
02:35You find me a guy that's got the tangibles and can physically play.
02:39Give me the tangibles and give me the motor.
02:41And that guy can play however many snaps you need him to.
02:44And the reality of it is, here in Houston, you're dealing with a guy that's going to rotate.
02:50I mean, if he can, he's going to rotate eight guys across the defensive line.
02:53So you're really just looking for a rotational piece.
02:55You're not even needing a guy that can play the bulk of the snaps.
02:59You're talking about a guy that can be a part of a rotation
03:01and can literally play inside the tackles at a high level.
03:06The draft, if you have to pick one or the other,
03:10the risk associated with an interior defensive lineman
03:13versus the risk associated with an interior offensive lineman,
03:16I believe is significantly higher for the offensive lineman.
03:21So I'm spot on with you, Ron.
03:22Especially on this coaching staff and what you have around it.
03:26Well, and we've heard this coaching staff talk about,
03:29hey, that's your gap, just penetrate.
03:30It's not like these guys are holding up and reading a bunch and processing a bunch.
03:35These cats are just lining up and eating.
03:37And I'll argue on this team, right now anyway,
03:39the guys that are going to get all the attention are your edge rushers.
03:44And so your interior guys are going to get more one-on-one matchups.
03:47Your interior guys are going to get more opportunity.
03:49And so, yeah, I just, I think that your point of,
03:52now I don't believe what we used yesterday or maybe it was the day before,
03:56or what, you know, I don't believe.
03:57Going back-to-back defensive tackles.
03:59I'm not real sure that we need to go back-to-back defensive tackles in the draft.
04:02Same position, but yeah.
04:02But the overall point of, look, there's an extreme need there.
04:07And if you're going to use the draft for one position,
04:12where are you more comfortable that you can hit on that position?
04:15I would argue that in football, the interior defensive line,
04:20just generally speaking, in football, O-line, D-line play,
04:23the interior D-line is easier to hit on than interior O-line.
04:26And then I'll argue within this organization,
04:30I trust D'Amico Rines and his ability to find a guy that can go in there
04:33and be a role player at the very least with a premium draft pick
04:36more than I trust anything that's being done on the offensive side of the football.
04:40And especially with the dynamics of what this team is
04:43and what they're trying to accomplish.
04:44Like this team, someone just texted in,
04:48shouldn't we go get an upper-level free agent lineman
04:50instead of developing a young guy?
04:52Well, this team right now.
04:53What kind of lineman they talk about?
04:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:55Just a free agent lineman.
04:58I would just say this team is trying to get over the divisional round hump.
05:04This team is trying to get to an AFC championship game into a Super Bowl.
05:08And to me, you go and grab, let's say a center is what you need.
05:16You go and grab a center that you know what you're getting.
05:19Not a center that, just look at Ursary.
05:22Let's say they draft a center early at 28 or in the first two rounds.
05:26It took Ursary a while before Ursary was able to kind of be over there
05:32and you were kind of comfortable with him and he started to feel himself.
05:37There was the Jacksonville game early in the year.
05:41Hines Allen just gave him work.
05:43And there were some struggles in other games.
05:45It takes them a while.
05:46Now, this team needs their offensive guys to be ready to go
05:49and know what you're getting.
05:52Defensively, when you got, as you said,
05:55Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson on one side,
06:00maybe you can take a little time to develop.
06:03Maybe we don't need you to be just balls.
06:06They need a center that can go.
06:08They need a guard that can go.
06:10They need a running back that can go.
06:12So, not somebody that they got to wait for the second half of the season
06:16because you might miss the playoffs fooling around.
06:18I know this wasn't the point,
06:20and we're talking more about D-line versus O-line in general.
06:23If they draft a center, I quit.
06:27If they're in this position and anybody in that, I'm telling you,
06:30if anybody in that building thinks that it's a really good idea
06:37and it's take the next step, AFC Championship, Super Bowl-type move
06:40to put a rookie center in front of C.J. Stroud
06:43with the obvious communication issues that have existed in this building
06:47to add a rookie center to the mix, and that's going to be the plan,
06:50I quit them.
06:51I quit.
06:52I'm not quitting the station.
06:54I quit the Texans.
06:57Absolutely, 100%.
06:57That would be the worst move any organization could make right now.
07:01Who's the top center in the draft?
07:03It don't matter.
07:03I don't even know.
07:04I don't want to hear about it.
07:05I mean, I know where people can go.
07:06They can go to John Harris' website and look at it and figure it out
07:09because he covers it all, but I just hate to tell you, man,
07:12they draft a center, I quit them.
07:13I don't quit the station.
07:14I quit the Texans.
07:15The Texans, to be clear.
07:17Every one of them.
07:18I love D'Amico.
07:19I quit him in a hurry.
07:21Draft a center.
07:23I quit.
07:25You could deal with Andrews rather than drafting a center that is a top.
07:31Absolutely.
07:34100%.
07:34But I think overall, I don't know that I would quit him,
07:37but I think overall for me, it's like they need to have guys
07:41that can plug and go right away on offense.
07:45And there's no O.
07:46On offense.
07:47They can stand to have a – like you can stand to say,
07:51all right, man, we've got a defensive tackle.
07:53We're going to develop him while we've got Tommy Togiai,
07:57and we've got Daniil Hunter, and we've got Barnett.
08:00We've got Will Anderson around him.
08:02Okay.
08:03Yeah.
08:03We can stand to maybe get a linebacker going up when you've got Aziz
08:06and you've got, you know, Henry around it.
08:09I don't know, man.
08:10I mean, Ron, have we even seen a defensive tackle in this scheme
08:12disappoint?
08:15Not really.
08:16I don't think so.
08:17I mean, every guy that they brought in, we've been like,
08:19hmm, that's kind of interesting.
08:20Because we've had a close eye on it, right?
08:21We've talked about the D-line since D'Amico got here.
08:23Yeah.
08:24But everyone they brought in, we were like, man, keep an eye on this guy.
08:25Every one of them has exceeded expectations.
08:27Oh, with the exception of the PED stuff with Danico Autry
08:32and obviously some injuries this year.
08:34I mean, I think from a play perspective,
08:36every interior defensive lineman that they brought in,
08:38no matter veteran or young, they have, I would say,
08:41exceeded expectations.
08:42I trust them to fill that void.
08:44I do, too.
08:44I trust them on that side of the ball.
08:46I don't know about the other one.
08:47I trust them on that side of the ball.
Comments