- 6 days ago
Seth and Sean discuss the positives and negatives of the Texans' offseason so far and give their letter grade assessment.
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00:00Texans offseason so far, I kind of broke this down, Seth, positives and negatives,
00:04and we can come up with a great after we kind of hash this thing out and go through it.
00:08I would say that these are the positives that came to mind for me immediately on the Texans offseason.
00:14First of all, I don't think they've made any moves where I'm like,
00:16what the hell are they thinking with this or whatever.
00:18The Reed Blankenship move as their first big signing, I think, sort of caught people off guard
00:24just because safety is not viewed as a bigger need than offensive line or running back.
00:28But they improved at running back by getting David Montgomery,
00:31who, by the way, was in the building yesterday doing the old social media,
00:34hey, what's up, H-Town? Can't wait to get to work, blah, blah, blah.
00:37So welcome to Houston, Demo, if you're listening.
00:40And I would say so far, even though I don't bar this from happening,
00:43I would say it's also still a positive that they haven't redone David Montgomery's deal.
00:47Yeah.
00:48Remember when they traded for Joe Mixon, everybody was like, awesome, cool.
00:51And then it was, oh, and they also gave him a healthy extension, this aging running back.
00:56And that couched some people's enthusiasm.
00:59And it would be, that was a concern that was justifiable,
01:04given whatever the hell's going on with Joe Mixon right now.
01:06That's right, given how it ended with Joe Mixon.
01:09So they improved running back over what they had last year.
01:13They shored up one of their few weaknesses on defense with the Blankenship.
01:17I like the Blankenship signing.
01:19I think he's a perfect fit.
01:20I think he's a perfect cultural fit.
01:22I think he's a perfect fit positionally.
01:24The other thing, too, with Blankenship, the thing that I'm really intrigued by is that
01:29they don't put as much of a mental load on defensive backs in this system as they do in Philadelphia.
01:35So for Blankenship, a guy who plays in a very swarmy-like way,
01:40you kind of put him into a system where he might be able to let his freak flag fly a
01:44little bit more.
01:45Yeah.
01:45You know, and just play downhill.
01:47That's why, if I'm not mistaken, that's why Xavier and Howard didn't like Vic Fangio.
01:53When Fangio's in Miami for a little bit, right?
01:55No, no.
01:56Look, I played for Vic Fangio.
01:57That's a common complaint is there's some guys that are cool with it.
02:01There's other guys that are like, man, I just want to go out and play football.
02:03Because Vic's almost, he kind of, his philosophy on defense is almost kind of like the philosophy
02:10that Tom Brady has on offense, where you're just trying to dial up the perfect play
02:14and then have the quarterback has the ability to make the adjustments and changes to make it the perfect play.
02:22Defensively, Vic wants his guys to be able to tweak things and change things pre-snap
02:27to put you in the perfect situation.
02:29And not every defensive player likes doing that.
02:31And some are just not capable of doing it.
02:33So it's, so even, so coming to a defense like D'Amico's is kind of liberating sometimes
02:39where they just want you to line up and play football.
02:42Yeah.
02:42So Blankenship's been a good player in Philly.
02:44You like him even more coming here.
02:46You think he's an even better figure?
02:47I think there's a chance that you see a better version of him.
02:51Yeah.
02:52Like in terms of the plays that he makes and the physicality and all of that.
02:57Because he didn't have as many impact plays last year as he had the previous couple years.
03:01But they're not paying him like he's a top-of-the-market defense.
03:03No, no.
03:04And I like the value on these signings.
03:05You know, right now, David Montgomery, especially considering what the top-of-the-market went for with running backs.
03:11And I'm not saying David Montgomery is better than Kenneth Walker III, but I don't think he's that much.
03:16I don't think he's that far behind him either.
03:17I think Montgomery's a top-20 running back in the NFL.
03:20And you're getting him, as of right now, for $6 million this year and I think something like $9 million
03:25next year.
03:26So I like that value.
03:27I like the value on Blankenship.
03:29I like the value on Brayden Smith, Seth.
03:30Honestly, two years, $20 million.
03:33Now it can be up to $25 million, which are probably playing time incentives.
03:37So I think if the Brayden Smith signing is going to be successful, we probably need to look at it
03:43as a two-year $25 million thing because that's probably what the incentives are tied to.
03:47But I like, you know, Brayden Smith, that he's a right tackle or could play guard for you.
03:52I'm not saying he's Titus Howard.
03:54I'm not saying he's better or worse than Titus Howard.
03:56But he at least put some of that versatility back into the offensive line.
04:00That was a luxury that you had with Titus the last year or two, which is, hey, we had this
04:04injury on the offensive line.
04:05All right, well, we'll slide Titus over and he can do that.
04:07That walked out the door when they traded him, but I think they got that back and they got it
04:11probably at a better value than Titus got in Cleveland.
04:13Right, yeah.
04:14And hopefully with hoping big time that their strategy isn't just like, hey, we don't actually have to worry about
04:20left guard because we can just move Brayden Smith down there.
04:22Right, right.
04:22If we don't like him at right tackle.
04:24Yes.
04:25No, I'd love to have it a break glass in case of emergency because you already have a left guard
04:31that you feel good about instead of having a tryout the first half of the season.
04:34Yep, here's Brayden Smith describing his style of play if you want to get to know him a little bit.
04:39I'd like to say that, you know, I'm a physical player.
04:42That's my style of play.
04:44Like, I like to really do the gritty stuff, the gritty work, and just playing physical.
04:50Like, I'm not a finesse guy.
04:52You know, I just, you know, I feel like I'm very kind of old school and, you know, especially with
04:57my days at Auburn, you know, running the ball all the time.
05:00I mean, that's just something I really enjoy.
05:03But then again, you know, I'm trying to be well-rounded and, you know, I'll do the finesse if I
05:07have to do the finesse.
05:09But my roots are in playing physical.
05:11Okay, here's my question, Seth.
05:13Okay.
05:13I feel like any offensive lineman that gets asked, hey, describe your style of play to me when they come
05:19to a new team, is going to say that they are physical.
05:22It's a little like a new defensive coordinator comes to a team.
05:25I've never seen a defensive coordinator come to a new team and not say that they have a very aggressive
05:31style of play.
05:32Right.
05:33They all say that, but some of them are BS about it.
05:36Is Brayden Smith being honest with us?
05:38No, yeah.
05:38Is that a good self-assessment?
05:39Yeah, I think that's a good self-assessment.
05:41One of his strengths is his physical strength.
05:44And he doesn't, you know, when you watch him, you would never mistake him for Laramie Tunsil.
05:49If you pulled some kind of AI trick where you just made them look the same and have the same
05:53uniform and everything,
05:54you could very easily pick out Laramie Tunsil and the way he moves athletically versus Brayden Smith.
06:01But Brayden Smith uses his actual physical strength to his advantage and plays with good technique.
06:07He's sound and in the run game does get after it.
06:11I told you, I went back and I watched the Texans game from a couple years ago.
06:14And look, Daniil Hunter does what he does and had some really good pass rush reps.
06:20But Brayden Smith held his own.
06:21But especially in the run game, he had a couple of really nice run blocks versus some Texans defensive linemen.
06:27And that's been borne out through his career.
06:29I think there's a difference in style of play between him and Titus Howard.
06:35Brayden Smith looks and plays a lot more like, I think, what D'Amico Ryans probably wants out of his
06:41football players.
06:41Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:42There's more of a swarmy trait to it in the run game.
06:44Yep.
06:44He's already been in touch with C.J. Stroud also.
06:47He texted me yesterday, just welcomed me.
06:49I'm welcoming me.
06:50And, you know, he's a great guy.
06:52And, you know, I'm really excited to get to know him on a personal level.
06:56And, you know, just be around all the guys.
06:58But, I mean, I was honestly kind of surprised, you know, just kind of a warm welcome, you know,
07:03just seeing a random number pop up on my phone and saying, hey, this is C.J.
07:08And, you know, just excited to get you here and work with you.
07:12And, you know, it was really cool.
07:14This is less about Brayden Smith, what I'm about to say, Seth, than it is about C.J. Stroud.
07:18But, look, C.J. had his moments this past year where, you know, with body language and, you know,
07:26kind of throughout a lot of the season, the podium for C.J.,
07:30which is something I think he liked actually doing early in his career when things were going really well for
07:35him.
07:36It looked like hostage video stuff at times this year with the podium.
07:40I think there's fans that question, like, boy, do the Texans want C.J. here long term?
07:44Does C.J. want to be here long term?
07:46It's a lot of questions, and I think there's still a lot of questions, no doubt about it.
07:50It did not end well for C.J. last year.
07:52I liked hearing that he was proactively reaching out to new guys coming to the team.
07:56I like to think it was something like this.
07:58I was in a restaurant once, Sean, and it was – Brandy and I went there all the time
08:02because it was – the service was so good.
08:05And it was always just these – the servers and everybody was just so – it was like a restaurant.
08:11It was a sit-down restaurant version of a Chick-fil-A where it's like,
08:14like, how are all these people so good and so happy to serve me and everything?
08:19Yeah.
08:19So I talked to the manager about it at one point, and he said,
08:23basically, when I identify really good employees, I ask them to bring their friends to me.
08:30And I kind of just find out these kids that they tend to have friends that are also good employees.
08:37Yeah.
08:38So I end up hiring a lot of my best employees' friends.
08:40Maybe that's what C.J. was doing to Braden.
08:42Okay.
08:42He's like, hey, you got any other offensive linemen that you hang out with?
08:47Yeah.
08:47He was just like, you know –
08:48Talk to?
08:49Maybe talk to them about coming to work for the Texans.
08:51Do you guys have a convention in the offseason of offensive linemen that you haven't met a few guys?
08:54Have you tried our bread bowl?
08:56Yeah.
08:56It's – yeah.
08:58We're trying to get a good thing going here.
09:00That would be good.
09:01Hey, man, whatever it takes.
09:02Whatever it takes.
09:04So I think those are the positives of the offseason, and we're going to give a great –
09:08I think the other positive is they've still got four picks in the top 69.
09:11They've got plenty of draft capital to still go attack some things, move back, pick up some more picks, two
09:17-second round picks.
09:18You got a lot of power when you got two second-round picks and you still have your first-round
09:21pick.
09:22That's nice.
09:23As far as negatives go, I – you know, look, I try to keep in tune with social media and
09:27the text page as to what people are still kind of wringing their hands over.
09:31I think it's still – it's hard to get really agitated over anything on the defensive side of the ball.
09:38You know, maybe you feel like they backslid at punter a little bit with this Kroger guy versus Tommy Townsend.
09:44I have no idea.
09:45On the offensive side of the ball, the David Montgomery acquisition quells me for now at running back.
09:52Wide receiver, I don't think I felt like was a real big need to begin with for this team.
09:56CJ's a separate thing altogether.
09:58That has nothing to do with free agency or the first week of the offseason.
10:03It's still all the offensive line, and I think there's injury concerns with Braden Smith.
10:07As of right now, you're running it back with Jake Andrews at center.
10:10That's not ideal to a lot of people, I don't think.
10:13And then the Ed Ingram contract for me, I – mildly surprised the Texans went to $13 million on Ed
10:19Ingram.
10:19Yeah.
10:20But I'm fine with it, but he's had one good season, and that's a conservative one-year wonder.
10:26One good season as a run blocker.
10:28Yeah.
10:28And still has had some – he's had some pass protection issues.
10:34I think sometimes – this is a double-edged sword, what I'm about to say here.
10:37I think the perception of how bad or how much he struggles as a pass protector is a little overblown,
10:44but understandably so because some of his bad pass protection reps have been when he allows really quick pressure,
10:51which is the worst kind of pressure to allow.
10:53Yes.
10:54You don't need to be a football expert to know that.
10:57So I'd like –
10:57Especially up the middle.
10:58Right.
10:59Like a down-by-down basis, it's not as bad as it might seem.
11:02But, yeah, some of the bad reps have been really bad, and you can't downplay that.
11:07The part about that, though, is that his aggression in the run game is also his weakness as a pass
11:15protector.
11:16There's times where, especially versus the better guys like Chris Jones, he's kind of on the attack,
11:21and he's short-setting guys.
11:22He's trying to – and trying to take the fight to him physically.
11:27Versus really good pass rushers, those guys can dupe you real quick.
11:32Yep.
11:32And they just slip you, and they're in the backfield real quickly.
11:35So for him, it's not even as much about technique as strategy
11:40and understanding when to be aggressive as a pass protector
11:43and when to be a little bit more passive.
11:45So I'm optimistic that he can fix that.
11:47That's on him and Cole Popovich.
11:49But I think the upside there is a lot more attainable than maybe it felt at times last year.
11:54Yeah.
11:55Do you have any other negatives so far on the offseason?
11:59I would say I was a little disappointed that Elton Jenkins went to the Browns for two years, $24 million,
12:04because the Texans were reportedly in on him.
12:07And if the Texans weren't willing to, let's say, match that –
12:12I have a hard time believing that Elton Jenkins would want to go to the Browns instead of the Texans.
12:16For the same money.
12:17For the same money.
12:17Yeah.
12:18That that seems like an affordable amount to get a guy that can play both guard and center.
12:22And center is the big thing, too.
12:23And hem things up on the interior as you maybe then try to get even better in the draft.
12:28Yep.
12:28So I'm disappointed in that.
12:29I don't know what the actual negotiations were, but that seems very affordable.
12:34All right.
12:34So here it is, Professor Payne.
12:36It's report card time.
12:37What do you give so far?
12:38I know technically it's incomplete because we've got –
12:41but so far, how are you feeling if you had to attach a letter grade to what's been done so
12:45far?
12:46I think in line with the Texans being right around the middle of the pack
12:50and how much money they've spent in free agency,
12:54that makes me feel like it's about an average effort, which would be a C+.
12:58Yep.
12:59But then there's also the part of me that remembers, oh, yeah,
13:02being aggressive in free agency more times than not bites you in the butt.
13:06Yeah.
13:06So do I give them credit for their conservatism?
13:10I am 51 years old, and you tend to skew more conservative as you get older.
13:15I love you talking this through.
13:16So I'll give them a B minus.
13:18B minus?
13:18A B minus based on a frustrating yet probably appropriately – no, I can't.
13:27Because as of yet, they still haven't brought in a veteran on the interior offensive line,
13:33and I need them to do that in free agency or via trade during this period.
13:38So they're at a C+.
13:39Okay, C+.
13:40I'm at a B.
13:41There's not a single deal they've done where I'm like, well, that was stupid.
13:44Like, the deals they've all done all make sense to me.
13:47There just hadn't been that home run yet.
13:48And, yes, there's still holes to fill.
13:50I'm at a B.
13:51The text page is it.
13:52It looks – I'm seeing a B minus.
13:53I'm seeing a B plus.
13:55I think without a huge sizzle move or whatever, it's going to be hard to give them an A or
13:59an A minus at this point.
14:01Sizzle move.
14:01Sizzle move.
14:02What are they saying in your YouTube chat?
14:04Okay, so I had them summarize the comments.
14:06My last video was about – my video was titled,
14:10Are the Texans Done Fixing the O-Line?
14:12Okay.
14:13They better not be.
14:14Oh, good title.
14:16Thanks.
14:17Yeah.
14:17Chat GPT gave it to me.
14:19So this is the summary of the comments to that video.
14:24Okay.
14:24And I'm guessing there's usually like 40 or 50 comments.
14:27Right.
14:28Viewers are deeply concerned that the current offensive line additions are insufficient to protect C.J. Stroud.
14:32Okay.
14:33And believe the front office must prioritize high-caliber starters through specific draft targets or veteran trades.
14:39Yeah.
14:40That sounds about right.
14:41That matches the smell test.
14:42That's where I just gave him a C plus because at the very least, please target a solid starter on
14:47the interior of the offensive line.
14:48There still are a bunch of them out there.
14:50Just a solid 31-year-old.
14:52Give me that.
14:53That's what I'm like.
14:54Yeah.
14:54I'm like a woman that's realized like, hey, my biological clock is ticking.
14:57Right.
14:58I just want a solid earner.
14:59Okay?
15:00He doesn't have to look.
15:01He doesn't have to be a looker or anything.
15:03Right.
15:03Just give me a provider so I can start spitting babies out of my loins.
15:06I've had my eye on this Petonio guy for a while.
15:09Yeah.
15:09So, urgent offensive line reinforcement.
15:12Okay.
15:12That's a frequent comment there.
15:14Yep.
15:14Strong consensus that the current unit remains a bottom tier group.
15:18Okay.
15:18And that failure to significantly upgrade the line threatens both the team's success and C.J. Stroud's long-term health.
15:24Mmm.
15:25You need to protect his physical health.
15:26Yes, his physical health, his body, his bodily health.
15:32Many commenters are calling for specific personnel moves, including trading for Wyatt Teller or Trent Williams.
15:42Oh!
15:43Using early round draft picks.
15:45Well, you wouldn't trade for Wyatt Teller, but trade for Trent Williams.
15:48Yeah.
15:48The Wyatt Teller is interesting because I think that one other thing I've noticed in the comments, both from our
15:53radio show and on YouTube,
15:54is that there does seem to be a fixation on Wyatt Teller.
15:57I would put Wyatt Teller in that bucket of 30-plus-year-old veteran solid starters.
16:04Yeah.
16:04They've had some injury concerns because they're getting older and everything.
16:07I don't – I'm not fixated on him, but I think it's a fun name to say.
16:11It is.
16:11Yeah.
16:12I think the name factors in with that.
16:13I think there's a little bit – Joel Petonio is fun to say, too, but he's also 35 years old.
16:17Right, but it is fun to say.
16:18I mean, just for a year.
16:19Kevin Zeitler, that's fun to say.
16:21Yeah, for a year.
16:21But he's like 36 years old.
16:23Just for a year.
16:23I just want to say it for a year.
16:25That's all.
16:26One last one real quick.
16:27Front office accountability.
16:29They say a notable portion of the audience expresses frustration with Nick Casario's multi-year struggle to fix the O
16:36-line,
16:36with some suggesting that jobs should be at stake if the protection does not improve this season.
16:42Okay, that needs more time than we have right now.
16:44We need to revisit that last one about Nick.
16:46Does he need to get fired?
16:47If the O-line doesn't get fixed this year, do you want Nick Casario fired?
16:50Well, there's people that do, and yet you look at the sum total of all the work that's been done
16:55on the roster,
16:56and I think it's been a pretty good job.
16:58It's hard to balance out the homegrown secondary, but then also the combination of free agent and homegrown offensive line.
17:07Yeah.
17:07One's been incredible.
17:09One's been abysmal.
17:10Absolutely.
17:10It's tough.
17:11It's tough.
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