- 4 days ago
Would Achane’s speed transform the offense, or is this not the right move right now?
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00:00Yesterday we talked to our guy Jonathan Alexander after the news of the Texans parting ways with Gerard Johnson, quarterback
00:07coach.
00:08But he had put out a piece not too long before that where he was talking about some of the
00:13things that he learned being in Indianapolis for the Combine and everything.
00:17I'm not going to lie, a little mad at Jonathan because he did not harp on this note that he
00:21just kind of threw in there really casually in this piece for the Houston Chronicle that is worth checking out.
00:28I should say that the Texans in their quest to answer this question at running back, the top of their
00:37running back room, because I don't think it's going to be Joe Mixon.
00:39That moving on just makes too much sense.
00:42We talk about free agency with Kenneth Walker.
00:45Could it be possible that they answer it with the trade?
00:47And could it be possible that they answer it with the trade for this particular dude, a dude from Texas,
00:52played in Texas at A&M from Houston, Devon A. Chan.
00:56He is a 24-year-old.
00:57He is coming into the final year of his rookie contract there in Miami.
01:01And Miami has already done some selling off, right?
01:04They cut some pieces.
01:05They've traded some pieces.
01:06I think Minka Fitzpatrick is being held out there as a trade piece once again.
01:11This is very clear that, what is it, John Eric Sullivan, their general manager, is looking at this like, let's
01:17tear this thing down.
01:18I wonder if it's to the studs and try and build this thing up again.
01:21And they've got to be looking at this as, this is a valuable player in Devon A. Chan to trade,
01:26I might imagine.
01:27Should that be a place where the Texans go instead of this wide free agent market where we know Kenneth
01:33Walker is going to make him some money?
01:34People are interested.
01:35Could you get away from this?
01:37Because we've seen Nick Casario do this where he goes, I don't want to bid with everybody else.
01:40I'm just going to give up some draft capital and get my guy.
01:43Well, he'll have to ultimately give up a contract, too.
01:45Yes.
01:46You know, if they do make that trade.
01:48So there is a financial implication, a cap implication.
01:50But my short answer is if that's the guy that fits and that's the guy you want, you make that
01:56trade.
01:57You know, I'm a big fan of Kenneth Walker.
01:59I'm a big fan of Devon A. Chan.
02:01I wonder why.
02:01He's 20.
02:02No, that too.
02:03But he's 24, man.
02:05Yes.
02:05He's 24 years old and doesn't have a lot of tread worn off the tires.
02:10That is correct.
02:10I was looking at it and Devon A. Chan, as we mentioned, three seasons under his belt.
02:16He was a pro bowler just this past season.
02:19Had 1,000 yards, 1,350 to be exact last year.
02:23He has had 544 carries in his professional career.
02:27Yeah.
02:27Joe Mixon, when you acquired him, was what?
02:30He was headed into his age 28 season?
02:32Mm-hmm.
02:32He had had triple the amount of carries just about.
02:36Almost 1,500.
02:371,544 attempts at the time.
02:43Sorry.
02:431,571 attempts at the time when you got him.
02:48And Joe Mixon is a unique guy, right?
02:50It's not like everybody's going to be Joe Mixon, but a lot of guys can still run after only like
02:55550 attempts.
02:56This is an entirely different level of youth and of viability if you had any level of concern there.
03:03There's not very much tread on the tires or used off of the tires.
03:08Yeah.
03:08That would be a very attractive acquisition.
03:10But then you have to, okay, what are we paying here?
03:14You know, what are we paying here?
03:16Yeah, that's the scary part.
03:18The double pay, the dreaded double pay is something I don't love in sports.
03:22I don't love giving up draft capital, which is the opportunity to acquire cost-controlled
03:26players, and then paying, you know, high market value on top of that.
03:30The paying double side is tough.
03:32And I'm going to be honest.
03:34That's the reason why I don't think that this is the way that they should go about this.
03:37However, far be it for me at this early stage in the offseason to say, take that off the
03:41table as a way to maybe acquire a running back here.
03:44Well, the fit seems to matter, too.
03:46You have, you know, Woody Marks can catch the ball a little bit and run outside a little
03:51bit, but he's not Devon Achan.
03:53You know, he's just not.
03:54I mean, very few are.
03:56That's a guy that, I think he was in the 4-2 neighborhood, speaking of the combine.
03:59He's like, right, 4-2-8, 4-3, something like that.
04:03And so there's just very few people on the planet that can do that and get outside and
04:09catch the ball, you know, which is, you know, another thing that he's done.
04:12So if it's the target, you know, if that's the one you want to target at that age with
04:17that little wear and tear, I think it may.
04:21Now, I'm not talking about a second round pick, but I think it may make you want to think
04:26about giving up some of those picks.
04:29Okay.
04:29So by the way, 4-3-2.
04:31Yeah, he was right around there.
04:32Is what he ran, which trailed only Chris Johnson, Dre Archer, and Keith Marshall running backs
04:38all time.
04:39Yeah.
04:39Putting up numbers.
04:39So fourth fastest running back at the time when he ran it.
04:42That's kind of impressive.
04:43Just only kind of.
04:45But what would the, what would the compensation that you'd be comfortable with, understanding
04:52that you're going to give him the type of contract that you might be paying for one of these
04:56other running backs and freebies?
04:57He's an 11 or $12 million guy?
05:00Yeah.
05:00Yeah.
05:01Quite possibly.
05:0211 or 12 million, which is.
05:03But you might get the, you might get the first year at a reasonable rate of something like
05:065 million or something.
05:07And you're going to gain 8 and a half million from cutting bait with Joe Mixon.
05:11So you're going to get a little bit of that money back.
05:13And shout out to the NFL.
05:15Also, we learned today that they let their teams know that there was 22 more million dollars
05:20compared to last year on the salary cap officially.
05:23So does that change your accounting a little bit?
05:25I think it changes anyone's accounting.
05:27You know, more, a bigger cap.
05:29You're going to be able to save money with Joe Mixon.
05:32And, you know, he's young, younger than anybody except for Woody Marks.
05:37Really not that much older than Woody Marks, to be honest.
05:40Just, so compensation, is a third too crazy?
05:45Just a third?
05:46A third and whatever, sixth, you know.
05:49I was like, yeah, maybe a third and seventh or something.
05:51Yeah.
05:51I wonder if it is, because you're also only, because any team that acquires him is having
05:56to do the double pay.
05:57So I wonder how that goes.
06:01I'm having a hard time here also because you mentioned fit and him being able to run is
06:07cool.
06:07The question, well, not just run, but like run fast is what I mean.
06:10The question I have is, does he fit the style of running that you want to do here?
06:14I think he fits part of the style.
06:16Well, I think when you go outside or you get the ball in his hands on the edge, you
06:22know, and by the way.
06:23But they want to run between the tackles here.
06:25Well, I was just going to say, one of the biggest misconceptions about Devon Achan, and
06:29you probably can get to the data on this, he's a really good between the tackles runner.
06:34Damn it, now I have to go get data.
06:35People always think, well, he's a fast guy, you know, get him in space.
06:38And he's good at that.
06:39But you'd be surprised how effective he's been.
06:42And this is my eye test.
06:43I don't have the data in front of me.
06:45He is between the tackles.
06:47He's pretty darn good.
06:48So the answer to your question is yes, from my perspective.
06:51Yeah.
06:51Okay.
06:52But the only thing that I ask then is, is it that he's good at it?
06:55Or is he good if this is the, if this is the majority of the diet?
06:58Because this is not a team that's going to be running like outside zone.
07:01If anything, it's inside zone and, and, you know, power duo type things.
07:05Right.
07:06Is that going to be, is that going to be good if that becomes the entirety of, or I mean,
07:11I don't think it'll be the entirety of what 80, 90% of what the running
07:14is with a guy who is really flourished outside zone.
07:18And it's worth noting that his new offensive coordinator at the team that he's currently
07:22at is Bobby Sloak, who wants to run outside zone.
07:25And that seems like it would be fit, which I do wonder to some degree, are the dolphins
07:29even going to want to trade a dude who was young and fits the scheme that they're bringing?
07:32I mean, it's been reported that there's, there's interest.
07:35So, you know, who knows what, you know, what you believe on that?
07:38No, I, I, I think there, there are a number of ways that he would help you.
07:42He would help you a hundred percent.
07:44I am, I'm on the fence to know right now.
07:47And I feel weird saying that because he's a really good player.
07:51And I think that you need a really good running back at the top of this running back room.
07:54But I look at all of the money that you have that you're paying and that you're going to pay.
07:58And I would love to pay a running back.
08:00Well, actually you have extra capital.
08:01I think I'm bringing myself closer to a maybe at this point, but I'm a little, I'm a little skeptical.
08:06However, on the text line, no skepticism here from the seven, one, three, give him the bag.
08:10This would be incredible.
08:11Yeah.
08:12From the two, eight, one, this girl, man, this is girl math.
08:14I love it.
08:15Saved $8 million, spent 11.
08:17So really only spent three.
08:18Hey, but there's something to that.
08:20Yeah, there really is.
08:22And then from the eight, three, two, only way I'd be fine with the H hand trade is if you
08:26go get
08:27lender bomb with the money that you saved trading for H hand instead of signing Walker.
08:31And you'd have to remember that that would only be like the one year savings before the,
08:35you know, you would eventually have to give him a, don't count on lender bomb, but maybe
08:39there, maybe this is where you could go and really win in a contract, uh, in a contract
08:45war bidding war for the likes of McGovern or Cade Mays, probably Cade Mays feels a lot more
08:50like the dude, um, that would be more appealing, but maybe that's how you play this, where you
08:55know that you'll put a little bit extra in because you can get, you can get a little
08:59bit of savings, at least on this season when it comes to an H hand who has a lesser contract.
09:03Yeah, because it wouldn't kick in until later.
09:05Uh, no, I, I think there's a lot on that, but again, they've shown reported interest in,
09:11uh, in Walker and now reported interest in H hand.
09:14I think the other takeaway here is they're, they're not trying to mess around here.
09:17You know, I've been talking about, you know, you have to swing a little bigger now, you
09:21know, you can't play in the margins.
09:22This would be a swing.
09:23Yeah.
09:23You're not playing in the margins.
09:24If you're talking about walk Kenneth Walker and, uh, and Devon H hand, you're not in the
09:28margins.
09:29It would be a swing.
09:30Yeah.
09:30And then, yeah, I, I, I think that he is a burner.
09:35He's not as much of a bruise, even though he can run through the tackles.
09:38The only thing that I also bring up is, are you in a place where do you want to make
09:42sure
09:43you have diversity in your running back room and the styles of runners?
09:45That would be diversity.
09:47A hundred percent.
09:48Woody Marks ain't no bruiser.
09:49No, but, but he's, but he's, he's got the, how many times you see him finishing those
09:53runs and going, you know, he's more of a straightforward, he does have some jiggle, but yeah, you feel
09:57like Woody and H and are the same type of running back.
10:00Hell no.
10:01Not exactly the same, but they're not as diverse as what a Kenneth Walker would be.
10:04Not saying that I'm limiting myself to Kenneth Walker, but just kind of putting that up
10:07there as a thought.
10:08Uh, real quick before we move on, before we go here, um, when it came to the Toro district,
10:14you heard something that you found to be interesting.
10:16Did you not from, uh, from the precinct commissioner talking about, yeah, Leslie Brionis and, and
10:23you know, this is, this is something that you can dig in as, as much as you want, but, but
10:28one of the big takeaways that she said, actually, do we still have that audio figgy?
10:33Uh, let's listen to what she said first.
10:37Stay tuned on the future of NRG park.
10:39We're in close, close partnership with the Texans and the rodeo and the future of NRG
10:44park.
10:44So stay tuned for a big, bold vision.
10:47Well, I want the best, um, sports stadium and center in the country at NRG park.
10:53That is, that is my strong preference.
10:55I like us being the best here in Harris County and we will have more land to do something even
11:00bigger and bolder because the practice facility will now be here.
11:03So it actually highly compliments the deal we're working on for NRG.
11:08And it actually gives us an even more runway to be extra bold and creative.
11:12Boy, she was letting some things out the, at the, out the bag, wasn't she?
11:15Big, bold vision, extra bold and creative.
11:19I want to have the best, uh, I think she said park or whatever, however she put it, uh, in
11:24the country.
11:25So I'm you, well, I'll ask the question, can you be extra bold and creative?
11:30Can you have a big, bold vision and still have the Astrodome looking like it is?
11:34Uh, I don't think so, but I, that, that sounds like she's, she was giving game away.
11:40Cause she goes with the practice facilities out the way that man, if you're talking about
11:45that plot of land, that's next to NRG stadium, where you have three practice fields in an indoor
11:49stadium or indoor, uh, not stadium, but indoor practice facility.
11:54Hey, what can you do with land the size of a stadium or the size of a, of a, of
11:58a small
11:59entertainment district, right?
12:00She's letting the bag that they want to use that area to help develop this.
12:04And that feels like either whatever money that you might put into a, a stadium redevelopment
12:09or even a new stadium in that same site, they're wanting to use that land and have a more
12:14mixed use.
12:15And it feels like that's also, that's the type of time where if you're already putting
12:19all this money over here, why not put in this money to utilize the land where the Astrodome
12:22stands?
12:22I mean, if you say you're extra bold and creative and you do all that and there's still all this
12:28hand wringing over the Astrodome, listen, I know people give me a hard time.
12:31Here you go.
12:32But, but here you go about that.
12:33I'm being dead serious.
12:34And I think you guys agree with me.
12:35You, you're lying to me.
12:37If you think you're, you're extra bold and creative and you, and you keep so many memories
12:40there, man.
12:41Yes.
12:42And, and there has to be, that was such an insincere thing.
12:45Oh my God.
12:47Because that, that whole thing of the possibilities are incredible.
12:52Absolutely incredible.
12:53So listening to that, listening to that, do that make you feel more confident?
12:57Yes.
12:57That they are, you know, that is, it's serious now.
13:01Put it this way.
13:01It's on their minds.
13:03It has to be.
13:04Not even on their minds.
13:05It's serious.
13:05Yeah.
13:06She, she made it seem, I, I was already in a place where, I mean, we've talked about
13:10it.
13:10I thought that this could bode well for their capabilities of getting something done at
13:14NRG park.
13:15The way that she said that one of two things, she could be doing the thing.
13:19Cause she is an elected official where she, she might be doing the, Hey, can I kick tickets?
13:23Can I, can I score one more win by saying, Hey, not only did we do this, but we got
13:27more
13:27coming or is she, are they in active conversations?
13:30And she's like, Hey, and that's something that's something that Manera's wanted, man.
13:35They want that gone.
13:36And she said it three times, big, bold vision, bold, extra bold.
13:41She said extra bold and creative.
13:43You tell me a politician stuck to a talking point.
13:45No, look, but what I'm telling you is I think she was being sincere that there, there's
13:49something going on here.
13:50Yeah.
13:50And they, I'm sure they want them to stay over there too.
13:53So, yeah.
13:54Yeah.
13:54We'll see.
13:55But I, it's, it's an interesting thing.
13:56A good catch there, Lopez on the way that that sounds, cause she did feel like she
14:00was, she was telling, telling business that maybe she wasn't supposed to be telling.
14:04Sounded like it was a done deal.
14:05She really did try and talk about it in such a way.
14:07I want to see the renderings now.
14:09Oh, I'm always good for renderings.
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