- 4 weeks ago
How the Texans’ move could mirror a championship-building formula.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Today, also in the Texans running back room, as this year it'll be led by a new face.
00:05It's David Montgomery.
00:06D-Mo sometimes is referred to as 28 in this season is what we're looking at, right?
00:12He'll be 29.
00:1329 years old.
00:13There we go.
00:15Age 29 season coming in.
00:17Very much, very good red zone runner, swarmy runner, good dude, man of God, all those types
00:24of things.
00:24But this was reminiscent of another acquisition that has been made in NFL history.
00:31And you saw this, but also a former NFL player saw this, John Lopez.
00:35Yeah, let's hear from that former NFL player because I think it's one of those, maybe a
00:40slightly longer sound cut, but worth listening to the beginning and the end of this and the
00:47parallels with David Montgomery coming here.
00:49So this is Chris Long of the Green Light Podcast.
00:51As a running back, like he saw his touches go way down the last couple of years, right?
00:56Especially last year.
00:57That's worth noting because Houston's getting a guy that's 29 years old, but in dog years,
01:02what is he?
01:03When you take into account the workload or lack thereof that this running back has had over
01:07the past couple of years, I don't think of him as a guy nearing 30.
01:10I think he's got some juice left in the tank.
01:12You know, you're buying a car.
01:13You know, if I'm looking at an F-250 from 1996, well, yeah, it's a 96, but if it's got
01:1845,000
01:19miles on it, like, what are we really talking about here?
01:21Like, show me the car facts.
01:23It's not a big accident report on David Montgomery.
01:25I don't think he's had a lot of injuries throughout his career.
01:28You know, the mileage lately is not that high.
01:30The other thing that I found interesting is this.
01:32Nick Casario, who's been in New England or was in New England since 2002.
01:36If you know New England guys, the timeline of the Patriots dynasty is kind of like the Bible
01:41to them, right?
01:42Like, they like, there's parables, there's stories that you can call back to and be like,
01:46I can apply these stories to daily, you know, daily life and year of our Lord, 2026.
01:51I think for Nick Casario, the first thing that came to mind when I think about New England
01:54and trading for a running back is Corey Dillon.
01:57And so I go, I Google, how old was Corey Dillon when you made that trade?
02:00Corey Dillon was 29 years old.
02:02They made that trade in 2004.
02:04What'd they do that fall?
02:05They won the Super Bowl.
02:06He was fantastic.
02:07Bill Belichick still talks about Corey Dillon.
02:09And this team misses that.
02:11It's a shame they didn't fucking have Joe Mixon this year because had they had Joe Mixon
02:15this year, I think they might've played in the Super Bowl.
02:17As bad as CJ Stroud played, he was playing left-handed.
02:20Now, can you get the protection straight?
02:22Can you make him feel comfortable behind his like third, fourth iteration of an offensive
02:26line since he's been in the league?
02:28And I, my heart goes out to him.
02:30We wish him well, but the running back can help.
02:34This is, I want, the reason I wanted to hear the whole thing, because when you start listening
02:37as long as you think, okay, he's 29, is he going to say, you know, he had a lot of
02:40carries
02:41and all that, usage going down, maybe he's fading.
02:44No, no, no.
02:44He's saying the exact opposite.
02:46He's saying that this is the book of Casario.
02:48This is the, this is, you know, where he's going to harken back to the glory days, 2004,
02:53Corey Dillon coming in.
02:54And I think.
02:55The book of Casario?
02:56The book of Casario.
02:5820 colon 26.
02:5926 is, is, is, is the actual verse.
03:03Why are you like this?
03:04What made you this way?
03:05I don't know.
03:06This is the book of Casario, 20 colon 26, where he says, aha, to the Lord.
03:13We used, we used, aha, we used Corey Dillon and he was, Corey Dillon, by the way, had even
03:21more carries early in his career that, you know, with old school running back days, even
03:26more carries than David Montgomery did and then, and then kind of temp, tempered back
03:31just very slightly.
03:32But when he got to new England at the age of 29, he had 1635 yards.
03:38He was rushing good, man.
03:401635 yards rushing.
03:42And so I, I could see where, according to the book of Casario to, to, to keep it going
03:46here, uh, that this is, this is actually just literally tearing a page out of that book
03:52and saying, we can do that right here.
03:54Those Patriots needed a big time running back that they could rely on.
03:58By the way, those Patriots in 2004, this is the other part of it that, that we need to
04:04know, you know, the combination of, of, uh, I was going to say Corey Dillon, the combination
04:09of David Montgomery and Woody Marks.
04:12It's just more affirmation confirmation that they're going to run the ball even more than
04:15you thought that 2004 team.
04:19Only four teams ran the ball more times than, than that backfield.
04:23They ran the ball 524 times in 2004.
04:27I could absolutely see it happening here.
04:30I don't know that you go that far.
04:31Well, not to the number I'm saying, but being the, among the leaders in rushing attempts.
04:35Oh, this is, this is something that they absolutely have talked about, right?
04:38Like this is absolutely that they, something that they have made very clear.
04:41They talked about this damn near all last year of wanting to be a team that's imposes their
04:46will and runs the football controls, the clock, so on and so forth.
04:50This is in some ways, at least what you're lining up does feel like, uh, it falls in line
04:55with what they've talked about.
04:56And I think that that then makes it so that we probably need to look at all the contexts
05:00of adding, uh, offensive linemen within that context as well.
05:04How many are, how well do these guys run block?
05:07Uh, you know, what, what is that that you're looking at and maybe that also ties in with
05:10the Titus Howard, uh, you know, sending him on where yes, the extension was a large part
05:15of it, but Titus Howard was a dude who was more a pass blocker than he was a run blocker.
05:20And so boom, you know, if this is our point of emphasis, if this is how we're trying to
05:24handle this, we can maybe find an upgrade elsewhere.
05:27I think personally, and I just a lot of us on the outside looking in would feel more comfortable
05:32seeing those, seeing those moves ahead of time.
05:34However, I could see how you get to that space in your mind, uh, to the point of the
05:38David Montgomery still having juice.
05:40He's had fewer carries than Joe Mixon did when you brought him in and especially fewer
05:46of late, fewer recently, but he's had fewer carries than when Joe Mixon, then you, when
05:50you brought Joe Mixon in.
05:51No.
05:51And that's confirmation.
05:53Uh, you know, the, the, the, the Titus Howard thing you mentioned is, is confirmation.
05:57And it's one of the reasons why I think, you know, why, uh, Teller really sort of
06:01rings, uh, rings, rings true to me because he's a much better run blocker.
06:07I mean, he's a, he's one of those big time run blockers.
06:09And so that could be, uh, the, the, the reported mutual interest there.
06:14That could be a part of the equation.
06:16Here's the other part of the equation.
06:17I think they're going to be top five in rushing attempts, uh, in, in 2026.
06:23I could easily see that happen.
06:25You know what else that is?
06:26That's insurance against CJ Stroud against CJ Stroud.
06:30Yeah, that's insurance for CJ Stroud against him.
06:32However you want to put, put it.
06:33In other words, if CJ Stroud is, is just kind of not the post-season CJ Stroud, but it's
06:38just kind of that same guy, you'd be made, being able to run the ball even more.
06:42It almost mitigates him having to, to take a step up as a, as a, you know, passing, you
06:48know, quarterback and as a fit, however we, you want to put it.
06:51How?
06:52Okay.
06:52Cause obviously running the football and we've seen some teams that trust their quarterbacks
06:57run the football a little bit more, but if you were saying that, then how do you feel
07:02about the larger conversation that we're all, you know, having and thinking about, about
07:06CJ Stroud?
07:07How do you feel about that?
07:08If, if you were, if you believe that there's anything within Nick Casario and this team
07:13coming to this from the thought process of this in, this ensures us against the possibility
07:18of a, of a CJ Stroud freak out or what have you, have you, does that not then mitigate
07:23or like negate some of the, you know, positivity that they at least put forward about CJ Stroud,
07:29right?
07:29Does that not then put you in an odd place on how you feel about that next contract?
07:34Well, he's still going to throw the ball.
07:36I mean, he's still going to have, you know, relatively decent, if not good numbers.
07:41What I'm saying is I think they're sort of protecting themselves.
07:44Like we're going to, when we say we're going to run the ball, we're going to run the ball
07:48and we're, we're going to get linemen that are, you know, road graders.
07:51We're going to get, uh, these running backs that, uh, you know, like I said, page out of
07:55the past and the, and then CJ Stroud doesn't have to be slinging it everywhere, even though
08:01he wants to, I think that's kind of their insurance there.
08:05They, they are the Patriots offense and don't let anybody tell you any different.
08:09They are the Patriots offense and they're going to try to do it here.
08:11Do you think they're going to run, uh, Montgomery like they did Corey Dillon?
08:15I think Montgomery and Woody Marks.
08:17And that's why I also think there's another running back in the works perhaps, you know,
08:21later in the draft or whatever, because this is, this is what they want to do.
08:25Uh, I often say, you watch what they do, not what they say, but watch what they say here.
08:29They've said it multiple times.
08:31We're going to run.
08:32We're going to run.
08:32The part I'm nervous about is them trying to make Montgomery a workhorse.
08:37Just that one guy, this is RB one and that's it.
08:40Corey Dillon did it.
08:41Yeah, but this ain't, I don't, I mean, is he like Corey Dillon?
08:45Like, I'm not sure.
08:47Yeah.
08:47And I, the one thing I heard from Chris Long in that, in that clip from the green light
08:51podcast was that, you know, it hasn't had a lot of injuries.
08:54He has had a string of injuries.
08:56The thing about it is he's a little bit removed from them.
08:58The last one I'm seeing was a grade two knee, knee sprain, MCL sprain in December of 24.
09:05So not this past year, nothing that pops up this past year, but the year prior where he
09:09missed three games.
09:10Uh, he missed a couple of games in, or missed a few games in 2023 rib thigh thing, those types
09:15of things.
09:16Um, he has had some injuries, but they're a little bit removed, especially as his role
09:20was limited in some ways in Detroit.
09:23When Jameer Gibbs is just showing up in such a way that they want to feature him more and
09:28his role, David Montgomery's that is kind of tamps back.
09:31If you are then trying to make him a heavy, heavy, um, usage running back, do you then
09:38put that back into play is the question that I have.
09:40And I don't, I don't have concerns about it.
09:43If you're doing something that feels a little bit more like, Hey, something like 12, 15 carries
09:47for him and then, you know, also have another, another, you know, a certain amount for Woody
09:53marks as well.
09:53Right.
09:54Another 10 to 12 for him as well, as opposed to like a 20 carry type back where then I
10:00have
10:00concerns and I have questions as to whether or not those injuries pop back up.
10:03Well, uh, doesn't that just speak to again, the Corey Dillon thing, uh, the Patriots didn't
10:09really, I mean, they, they wrote him like a mule.
10:11Uh, they, you know, he was later in his career, the exact same age that David Montgomery is
10:15here and they just struck gold with Dillon 1635 yards.
10:19Nobody's expecting that out of David Montgomery, but I think he might be the workhorse with,
10:24with Woody marks, you know, being a kind of one B if you feel like he will be the workhorse.
10:31Don't it kind of take out the question of them possibly getting another running back though?
10:35Well, I think they're going to get another running back.
10:37Cause I, I just feel that they don't necessarily, they need another one.
10:41They don't necessarily trust trust me, bro.
10:42Uh, Gerard Jordan or, you know, any of these other running backs as much as I feel like
10:47if they was going to make them the workhorse, they probably going, they probably cool with
10:50Gerard Jordan at this point.
10:53Maybe now if they was doing the whole committee thing, like I want them to do, I can see them
10:58going at the another running back, but can't you see him being a workhorse?
11:03He's been that I guess he's been, he's been that I think, I think if they wanted him to
11:07be, I think he can do it.
11:08Um, I just don't, I'm, I'm just kind of confused.
11:12I wonder if they going to, if they brought him in to be that, or if they really trying
11:16to use Woody Mars too.
11:17They definitely brought him in to have more of a role because that was something that he
11:21desperately wanted in Detroit.
11:22And I think that that's part of what makes him more amenable to come in here to Houston
11:26is that, Oh, there is more opportunity for me.
11:29I do wonder if you have to protect that desire for feed me, um, especially for a dude who's
11:3529 years old with again, I'm not saying that to say that he's washed or he does not have
11:39something left or there's no, not still juice, but there is a finish line out there, right?
11:43But you don't, you don't want to, you don't want to get too much, uh, take too much out
11:46of that account.
11:47So to say too quickly, the question I'll ask here, cause you're very strong on the, this
11:51is, this is the repeating of Patriots history.
11:54This is what it's going to look like.
11:55They're going to run the ball heavily, which I, I'm not all that, uh, opposed to as, as
11:59kind of your takeaway here.
12:01The question, a very simple one.
12:02Do you like that?
12:03This is the approach that the Texans are taking.
12:06Well, I, I like it from this perspective there.
12:09They've kind of been mixing and matching.
12:10Hey, we're going to do a little bit of this, uh, you know, a little bit of that.
12:14I don't think they're hiding it anymore.
12:16I mean, look at their coaching staff and look at, uh, you know, their, you know, everything
12:19they've done here thus far in early in the off season.
12:23It, it, it speaks to exactly what they want to be.
12:26At least they're all on the same page.
12:28I'll put it that way.
12:28There's no more little of this, little of that.
12:30I think they're going to be exactly what try to be exactly what that Patriots.
12:34Did he ask my question?
12:35Yeah.
12:36I said, from this perspective, but do you like it?
12:39Well, I like, I like that.
12:40Yes.
12:41I like that.
12:41They're all in on this.
12:43So you like this Patriots style offense.
12:45And the reason I'm hedging a little bit is I don't like it for CJ Stroud.
12:49Well, I mean, they're not doing CJ Stroud any favors.
12:52There should still be the opportunity to obviously play action.
12:56Obviously, you know, you, you can again, talk about dictating formations and someone
13:01like, uh, I can easily see someone like a Jalen Noel benefiting from this, especially
13:05because we talked about this in passing on, was it Monday when this came down?
13:09Yes.
13:09Cause it's only for Wednesday on Monday.
13:11When this came down is David Montgomery saw the fifth highest percentage of stacked
13:16boxes of anybody in the league last year.
13:18And that's still with him as a, as a secondary back of sorts to Jameer Gibbs in that tandem
13:23there, right?
13:24How much do you force defenses as that has become the name of the game in this league to look
13:29at him and go, damn, we really got to pack in.
13:31We got to make sure we stop this run.
13:32And what does that open up with the Nico Collins on the outside?
13:35That's going to take attention with the Jaden Higgins that is starting to come into his
13:38own.
13:38There's going to be some possibility of a Jalen Noel, maybe depending on if it's 11 personnel
13:42versus 12 personnel, especially, or even a Dolan Schultz, right?
13:45An opportunity to leak out in these instances where you'd be looking, where teams are definitely
13:49looking for run.
13:50I think there's still opportunities to pass in a great way.
13:53Absolutely.
13:53And that's what they're selling.
13:54Like, listen, man, you do this, it's going to open everything up and we're going to take
13:57our shots.
13:58They're going to be measured with those shots.
14:00They were measured with them this year, but now that they're all in on this, I think,
14:04you know, they have to do a sales job on CJ Stroud and he has to buy in.
14:09Yeah, but there was already a sales job on CJ Stroud, right?
14:11He still has to buy in.
14:11Yeah.
14:12Yeah.
Comments