- 1 day ago
Seth and Sean are joined by Texans EVP and GM Nick Caserio to talk about the draft, offseason, optimism about CJ Stroud, how the team's using AI, and more.
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00:00Nick, good morning. How you doing?
00:02Good morning, fellas. Great to be here. Thanks for having us.
00:04We'll try not to get cursed this morning.
00:05I know. I was going to ask you, Nick Housen, if you want...
00:10At any point, you've used the same theme music for six years now on this show.
00:14Do you want to change it to Dan Housen's theme music?
00:18I don't think it would have quite the same pop and effect.
00:22Probably not.
00:22Because I wouldn't run out with my face painted and looking like Ermin Munster.
00:28So, what's this guy do? He curses people?
00:31Sean was trying to explain this schtick to me.
00:33He does wrestle, Seth. He made an appearance the other night.
00:36So, he just doesn't walk out and curse people with his jar of teeth.
00:42Yeah, he's got a jar of teeth.
00:44He's got a jar of teeth, yeah.
00:45He curses people.
00:46I think you'd like...
00:47Your post-draft presser with a jar of teeth.
00:50Oh, yeah. Oh, the tribute, Nick. You've got to do it.
00:53You've got to do it. That would be tremendous.
00:55Yeah, I think you'd like this guy, Seth.
00:57I think you'd like this Dan Housen guy.
00:59Absolutely.
00:59So, Nick, I'm curious.
01:02The press conference on Monday, you talked about it.
01:05A lot of hay is in the barn already as you get ready.
01:07What do the final days leading up to the draft look like for you guys here?
01:15Yeah, no, it's a good question.
01:17It's a few things here.
01:18Just some fine-tuning details.
01:21We'll kind of have the final medical meeting where the medical folks will give us their analysis
01:29of where a player potentially, what the ailment is or isn't, what the prognosis is moving forward.
01:35You have some players in this draft that are coming off injuries.
01:39So, what you're trying to extrapolate is what's the nature of the injuries?
01:43Is it long-term? Is it short-term?
01:44So, trying to kind of get that put to bed so we have a true picture from an overall health
01:49standpoint
01:50to combine rechecks were last week.
01:52So, that's kind of why I'd say one last piece of information.
01:56And then we have some miscellaneous pieces of information.
02:00Our area scouts may reach out to their contact at a school or if you have another source somewhere else
02:06or there's a couple other data points.
02:08So, we're just trying to essentially take all the information that we've accumulated,
02:11essentially, from the beginning of the fall until now, put it into sort of a master profile,
02:17kind of finalize, here's where the player ultimately sits, here's where we think the role potentially will be,
02:23here's what the value is.
02:25And then a lot of this is just kind of organizing the board
02:27and just kind of putting the players in a position which we feel are reflective
02:31of where we think the value of that player is.
02:35So, we've had, I'd say, a lot of very productive discussions.
02:41We've met with the coaching staff.
02:43They've evaluated a number of players.
02:44They provided us their feedback, their kind of analysis, how they see that player fitting in.
02:49And then we'll continue the discussion.
02:51D'Amico and I, we've probably watched however many players that we've watched and discussed.
02:57So, essentially, it's, all right, here's the players, here's the grade,
03:00what's kind of the final resting spot.
03:02And then, as we get to the end of the week, end of the week will be a little bit
03:06light,
03:06then early next week, we'll start to look at strategy relative to, right now,
03:11we're scheduled to pick at 28.
03:13Potentially, if there's opportunities, what does that look like?
03:16What does that entail?
03:17So, it's a little bit more of that.
03:18So, most of the heavy lifting, to your point, Sean, is, the hay is in the barn.
03:24We're in a pretty good spot.
03:25And if we have to draft tomorrow, we can very easily draft tomorrow.
03:28But I'd say it's a culmination this week, a lot of work of a lot of different people.
03:32Is that, when you've kind of just had your head down and looking at literally hundreds of different players
03:39over the course of, you know, the past few months, but over the last year, really,
03:44do you ever just kind of consciously try to step back and away from everything
03:50so that you can maybe clear your head and come back in
03:53and just be sure that your perspective on everything is exactly the way you feel it should be?
03:59The short answer is yes.
04:00And I think what you find yourself, let's just say you've watched a player during a season
04:05or maybe you hadn't watched them since December.
04:09Maybe you're just trying to go back and see if you have a clear vision of what you thought that
04:13player was.
04:14You have your reports.
04:15You read your report.
04:16You might say, let me go back.
04:17Maybe just take another look, make sure I'm not missing anything.
04:19Or the other thing I'd say that's a little bit more commonplace now, Seth,
04:23is you might have, let's call it, three or four players that have similar types of value.
04:29So really what you're doing is you're just going to watch them back to back to back
04:32and just to make sure that, okay, that makes sense.
04:36You're in the right spot.
04:37Maybe one a little bit higher than the other.
04:39I'd say those are the things that probably are a little bit more – you're not going to go back
04:43and re-watch 150 players or 200 players or however many players you watch.
04:47But as you get a bit closer, it's, all right, let's start with this group.
04:50All right, we have an idea.
04:51And this is more of the – I would say more of the horizontal sort of stacking takes place.
04:56So it's – let's say you have six players or watch those six players.
05:01All right, it looks about right.
05:02Even though they don't play the same position, okay, the good spotter is maybe one player
05:06a little bit higher or lower than he should be.
05:07Let's say you'd probably do a little bit more of that now than just go back
05:11and re-watch 400 plays of a player that you should have a pretty good understanding
05:17of what that player is.
05:19And to your point, don't overthink it.
05:21I mean, we have the grades for a reason.
05:23We put the grades in the system for a reason.
05:27Let's not, like, hem and haw or go back and forth.
05:29And really what we're looking for in the end is just conviction
05:32and everybody's opinion.
05:34Here's what I think.
05:35Here's how I see the role.
05:37And if there's something that you're not quite sure of, let's go find the answer.
05:43And that's, I'd say, probably where we are as we sit here today.
05:46Texans GM Nick Casario joining us here on Payne and Pendergast Sports Radio 610.
05:50Nick, I don't know that a lot of the audience is aware of this,
05:53but if I'm not mistaken, the time between picks in the first round this year
05:58has been reduced from 10 minutes to 8 minutes.
05:59Am I right about that?
06:01Yeah, I think it's going from 10 to 8.
06:02That's correct.
06:0310 to 8.
06:03Okay.
06:03So, first, for you, and you're somebody that likes to, you know,
06:07you make more trades than the average GM,
06:09and we know you've traded in and out of the first round a few times, obviously.
06:13Is that a significant thing, or is that not that big a deal?
06:17Well, you have to factor it in.
06:20I mean, there's a timing element.
06:21Because as soon as, whenever you're going to pick, I mean, who knows when we're going to pick,
06:25but whenever you are going to pick, as soon as the pick before you goes in, the clock starts.
06:31Yeah.
06:31So, it's really 8 minutes, but it really might be 7 minutes.
06:34So, you probably have an idea, okay, if we're going to draft, here's what's going to take place.
06:38I'd say where it gets a little bit tricky is if you have multiple trade scenarios
06:43or multiple trade discussions, you're going to have to go back and forth
06:47and either eliminate one or feel comfortable with one, and the clock's going to be ticking.
06:52And you're probably going to honestly be under five minutes before a trade is executed.
06:58Because then, like we've talked about on this show, if you do do a trade with another team,
07:02you agree to the terms, you both have to call New York, kind of the central hub,
07:07to make sure we have a trade, and then whoever's on the clock is on the clock.
07:10So, while you're doing a trade, you probably have to have the name in the computer ready to submit
07:16so that your time doesn't expire.
07:20So, it's on Saturday, it's whatever, three or four minutes.
07:23So, it goes pretty quick.
07:25Friday, you know, it's five, six minutes.
07:27It starts to go pretty quickly.
07:28You just have to be prepared, and you probably have to –
07:30you'll probably be talking about scenarios, four to five, six picks out,
07:36regardless of where you pick.
07:37I'm not talking about, well, if you're 28.
07:39Regardless of where you're picking, if there's going to be some movement,
07:42you're going to have some discussions.
07:44And I talked about this at the pre-draft press conference the other day.
07:48We're having constant discussion and dialogue, essentially,
07:51from the beginning of the draft until whenever it is that we pick.
07:54So, just because the teams in the top five are picking, okay, got it.
07:59You know, we're probably not going to go there.
08:01We don't have enough, I would say, ammunition to get to that point.
08:04Probably once you get past through, you know, get past six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
08:08then you're going to probably start, all right, what's going on?
08:11Who's up there?
08:11What are we looking at?
08:12What are some options?
08:13All right.
08:14You know, kind of maybe you've had some discussions maybe with some teams prior
08:18if you get to a point.
08:19I mean, so that's where you start to have maybe a little bit more substantive
08:23discussions.
08:24But to your point, I mean, it's two minutes is two minutes.
08:26But two minutes goes pretty quickly.
08:28And then that two minutes less turns into one minute less.
08:31Like I said, by the time you're on the clock and kind of talking,
08:34you're probably going to be at five or six minutes.
08:36So, whatever you're going to be doing, you better get moving.
08:38But we're pretty decisive.
08:40So, we're not going to hem and haw.
08:41So, whatever it is that we're going to do, we'll probably be prepared
08:44and ready to go with whatever it is we're going to do.
08:46Okay.
08:46I have two quick follow-ups to that.
08:47Are there, in the first round, especially knowing where you're picking
08:51currently and like you said on Monday and just now, like, you know,
08:55the first ten picks, you know, those are what they are.
08:58They're going to fly off the board or whatever.
08:59When you start to get into the teens, are there frameworks of trade-up deals
09:04that you've got in place like Monday and Tuesday this week?
09:07And it's just, okay, let's, you know, call this guy.
09:10It's like push button and execute this trade.
09:11Or does most of it happen in those eight minutes leading up to the deal?
09:15No, it's a great question.
09:16I think what we'll do internally is we'll look and say, okay,
09:20in order to get to this spot, here's what the compensation,
09:25based on the trade chart, machine, whatever software you have built in,
09:30here's what it says it's probably going to be roughly the range.
09:34Okay.
09:35That's the range.
09:37All right.
09:37If you go up, hey, it's who are you going up for,
09:40and which is going to be driven by the grades, number one.
09:43Number two, here's the compensation associated with it.
09:45So internally, we'll probably have those discussions and play out some of those scenarios.
09:51But as far as actually consummating the trade, nothing's going to happen until whichever teams are on the clock.
09:59I mean, even going back to the trade however many years ago, we didn't really do the trade.
10:04We had sort of an idea of, all right, here's roughly what it would be,
10:07but it really didn't happen until both teams were on the clock.
10:10I'm talking about the Houston, Arizona situation however many years ago.
10:15So we've talked to some teams before the draft, even going back, how was it, two or three years ago,
10:20or whenever we did it, we did the trade with Minnesota before the draft started.
10:24It was 24.
10:25I mean, I think that trade was done March 15th.
10:27So if you're going to do something like that, it's probably already done.
10:30If you're not, everybody's like, all right, let's talk draft day,
10:35and then it's going to be a product of what people are looking at on the board.
10:39Okay.
10:39Real quick, Seth, just one more follow-up, because you brought up the Will.
10:42How much time was left when you called in the Will Anderson trade?
10:46It was like two or three minutes.
10:47It was starting to get pretty close.
10:49So kind of like when I was laying that out a little bit early, it was getting close.
10:52It was definitely getting close.
10:53You were very excited.
10:54The fist hit the table.
10:55That was fun.
10:56I re-watched that a lot, Nick, just so you know.
10:58That was a good day.
10:58I almost broke my hand, I think.
11:01I've done that in a press box before, too.
11:04So people have looked at me like, have you not broken your hand yet?
11:06I like the fire there.
11:08Do you start to get a feel for how other teams maybe, you know,
11:13value different players differently, not better or worse, just different than you?
11:18So there's a little bit of arbitrage going on maybe, or you feel like, okay,
11:23well, they're probably not going to value these players as much,
11:25so they're going to be willing to trade with us.
11:27And you kind of maybe vet it out even before you start figuring out who you might try to trade
11:32with?
11:33For sure, all of that.
11:34And that's where, kind of going back to Sean's question a little bit earlier,
11:37as we get towards the end of the week and even early next week,
11:39we'll go through essentially each team.
11:42Based on our analysis, here's kind of an overview or a need sort of analysis of how we see it.
11:51It doesn't mean it's going to happen, but just looking at the roster, understanding the team,
11:54and then you'll look at the front office structure.
11:58Maybe there are certain trends.
12:00Maybe they lean towards certain players or certain types of players.
12:03It doesn't mean it's automatically going to happen this year because every year is different.
12:08But you try to get a general sense and a philosophy who has an appetite for actually trading and doing
12:14trades,
12:15which I would say there definitely are more teams.
12:20Some teams are more inclined to trade than others, and that's okay.
12:24So you factor that into the calculus.
12:26So all of those types of, I would say, miscellaneous items, those are the things that you focus on now.
12:32Not so much, let's go back and evaluate this player and change our grade and do this.
12:37It's more from a strategy standpoint where you start to shift gears in anticipation of what could potentially happen starting
12:44Thursday night.
12:45When you talk about other front offices being more willing to trade,
12:48how do you think you're viewed around the league in front offices come draft day?
12:53Teams probably think that we're going to sit on our hands and not pick up the phone.
12:58Yeah, I feel like you're like ultimate open for business.
13:02Yeah, I've wondered about that if it's kind of a pain in the butt because everybody knows that you're willing
13:06to trade,
13:06that if you have to screen a lot of calls because you're getting so many calls.
13:11I think we've talked about this.
13:13I think kind of how we run our team and our program, we're always open-minded.
13:15We have core philosophies and beliefs, but we're never going to pigeonhole ourselves
13:20and not listen or entertain something that we feel potentially could put the team in a good spot.
13:27We're pretty, I would say, transparent and direct.
13:31I mean, I had a team reach out to me the other day, was just inquiring about something,
13:34and I kind of matter-of-factly said, well, here's the situation.
13:38We wouldn't do this.
13:39You know, and they appreciate just the candor.
13:42I would just say, I mean, my style is to kind of get to the bottom line.
13:46I know there's an element of, well, negotiation and all that, but in the end, like, let's get to the
13:52bottom line.
13:53Let's get to the point.
13:54Okay, is there a trade that works?
13:56Great.
13:56If it doesn't, no problem.
13:57We move on.
13:58And you just can't be, you can't just box yourself in, oh, man, we couldn't execute the trade.
14:04You have to be ready to pivot so quickly.
14:06If you're going to trade, great, here's a trade, you move on, and then you prepare for the next opportunity.
14:12If a trade doesn't come to fruition, no problem.
14:14Who we pick in, let's go.
14:16And then you just keep the operation moving forward.
14:20So, I mean, I think people understand when they deal with us kind of how we operate,
14:25and I think they respect and appreciate that.
14:27So, again, they know to pick up the phone or at least ask, and what's the worst somebody can say?
14:34It's no.
14:35No problem.
14:35All right, then they just keep moving.
14:38Nick Casario joining us here on Sports Radio 610.
14:41Nick, just shifting gears away from the draft for a little bit,
14:43it seems like every free agency acquisition you guys have made this offseason
14:49have gone out of their way to talk about sort of like the D'Amico Ryan's effect,
14:53how excited they are to play for D'Amico, how much they kind of watch from afar,
14:57what it thought about it, what it would be like to play for D'Amico.
14:59I'm curious from your perspective, like what is the D'Amico effect?
15:03How does that trickle down to you?
15:04How does that affect your job as a GM when it comes to recruiting and negotiating with free agents
15:10or even keeping some of your own guys like Ed Ingram?
15:12No, we're, I mean, it's flattering in some respects.
15:16I mean, who wouldn't want to play for D'Amico Ryan's and be associated with this program?
15:20And I think you talk to different people during the course of the year.
15:25I think they respect and appreciate how we play as a team.
15:29And then once players are in the building, Seth knows this, I mean, players talk.
15:35So they know, you don't know exactly what's going on in other buildings,
15:38but you have an understanding of the overall flow, the temperature, the philosophy, the mindset,
15:44the attitude, how players are treated.
15:48What are some of the things that, you know, the resources that are available?
15:52So we feel very fortunate, hopefully, that we've put the organization in a position
15:57where this becomes a destination for folks and they want to be associated with winning programs.
16:03And when D'Amico speaks with the players, I mean, he and I are similar.
16:09Like, we're very honest and candid and we're not going to sugarcoat anything.
16:13And I think players sort of appreciate that honesty
16:16because they know what the expectation is when they come here.
16:18So, you know, we feel, and I've said this, you know, we're proud of the program that we've built.
16:24We're proud of the program that we're continuing to build.
16:27There's always room for improvement, but players want to be here.
16:31And that's a credit to the coaching staff.
16:34That's a credit that starts with D'Amico.
16:35And honestly, it's a credit to the players that are in the locker room.
16:40So, I mean, hopefully we continue to add really good players
16:44that want to be affiliated with a really good organization
16:47that hopefully does things the right way.
16:50In any end, our job is to go out there and try to win football games
16:53and just get the right people in the building at all costs.
16:58And whatever that looks like, wherever they come from.
17:02I mean, that's kind of our job is to sort of identify who those folks are.
17:07No, yeah, no, you're 100% right, Nick.
17:09And on that, you know, Sean and I have joked around for over a year now
17:13about how if I were a free agent defensive tackle
17:16and I wasn't, especially if I wasn't getting the offers I wanted,
17:19I would fly to Houston myself and camp out in front of D'Amico's office
17:23and ask him to sign me to a one-year deal because it's not just, you know,
17:27D'Amico as a coach, but that defense especially, man.
17:31It's a fun system to play in,
17:33and you guys seem to get the most out of those guys.
17:35I mean, Charles Amenehu basically said the same thing on a podcast this week.
17:40That's the system you want to go to.
17:42Have you noticed anything like that?
17:44Have you fielded more, like, inquiries from free agent defensive tackles
17:49or other positions like that?
17:51Well, it's not position-specific.
17:54You know, I think teams look at, like I said, our system and our program
17:58and a lot of the things that we're doing.
18:00And honestly, the position coaches,
18:03let's say if you're talking specifically about the defensive line,
18:06I mean, Rod and Frank Oakham probably deserve as much credit as anybody.
18:10I mean, and, you know, we've had –
18:12fortunately we've had players come in here and help us even on a –
18:16let's call it on a smaller scale.
18:17I mean, even guys like Taylor Tartt and even Naquan last year on a short-term basis.
18:23Tommy taking advantage of his opportunity.
18:25And I think going back to the question about our program,
18:29teams know – players know that if they come here –
18:31and I think D'Amico articulates this very well –
18:34just once you're here, like, we don't really care how you arrived
18:40and we don't really care where you've come from,
18:43the best guys are going to play and you're going to have an equal opportunity
18:48regardless of who's been here or how they got here or where they were drafted.
18:54And I think players appreciate that.
18:57That's all they want is just a chance and an opportunity.
19:00And we're in the opportunity business.
19:02So if you're looking for an opportunity,
19:04then our program is probably the one for you.
19:07It's going to be no different than when you get to undrafted players
19:11when we're talking about those guys, you know, a week from now on Saturday.
19:15Don't worry about who's here.
19:17If you're looking for an opportunity, then you're in the right spot.
19:21And we're going to probably – look at our roster.
19:23We have a number of players over the course of their career
19:26who either weren't drafted or were drafted late.
19:30And they have taken a job potentially of a player.
19:33Maybe he was drafted higher or whatever the case may be.
19:37So I think from that lens, through that lens, I think D'Amico is very clear with the players
19:43when he has a dialogue and a conversation about this place
19:47and about what their chances are when they come here.
19:51I'm glad you brought up Tommy Togiai.
19:53And I expected that you would because you bring him up at least once
19:55every time you do a media appearance.
19:57If we go back to the 2021 draft, I can't fault you for not drafting Tommy Togiai
20:04because at pick number 89 –
20:06You had no picks.
20:07At pick number 89, you chose Nico Collins.
20:09That seems to have worked out well.
20:11Even though Tommy Togiai was on the board.
20:13I think we picked Roy –
20:14You wouldn't pick again until –
20:14Is that the year we picked Roy Lopez?
20:16We take him?
20:17Yeah, you did.
20:17Yeah, yeah.
20:18He's still bouncing around.
20:19He hit much later, yeah.
20:20Yeah, he just –
20:21We saw him on a list somewhere for something the other day.
20:24QB pressures from a nose tackle.
20:26From a nose –
20:26Yeah, he's like eighth on the list.
20:28I liked –
20:29Okay, I don't want to get up on a tangent.
20:30So, number 89 –
20:31They're very similar, actually.
20:33I interrupted you.
20:33Sorry about that.
20:34Oh, no, no, that's all right.
20:35No, I liked him a lot when he was in.
20:37He was so polished by rookie defensive tackle standards.
20:41So, number 89, you picked Nico Collins.
20:43Good job, Nick.
20:45Even though Tommy Togiai was on the board.
20:47Tommy Togiai got drafted at number 132,
20:50and then several picks later at number 147,
20:54you guys drafted Brevin Jordan.
20:56I think a very good pick there as well.
20:58Were you –
20:59At that point, were you watching Tommy Togiai during that draft?
21:03Or has he kind of surpassed what your expectations were?
21:06No, I think we had him graded –
21:08I think, honestly, I think we had he and Lopez kind of graded similarly
21:13just in terms of when you look at their profile.
21:17And he got picked there in the fourth round in Cleveland.
21:19And, you know, he – we talked about his situation.
21:22He just drafted in the fourth round and then kind of hit –
21:25had some stops and starts, had some injury situations.
21:27And, look, the reality is we took a flyer on Tommy,
21:29however many years ago that was.
21:31I mean, we worked him out at the end of September.
21:33We put him on the practice squad.
21:36Nobody really was going to be –
21:38anybody that sits here and tells you, like,
21:40he was going to turn into being one of the better interior defensive tackles,
21:43like on our roster, potentially in the league,
21:45nobody would have said that.
21:46I certainly wouldn't have said that.
21:48So it was just more of here's a player, has some traits,
21:50has some good qualities.
21:51And it goes back to I would just say one of the things that we talked about
21:54the other day was you're drafting, you're adding people.
21:58And when you look at Tommy's profile, just his work ethic, his toughness,
22:03his competitiveness, his instinctiveness, those things have translated
22:07and carried over.
22:07So he all of a sudden, like, those didn't disappear.
22:11Like, he's still the same guy.
22:12Nobody works harder on our roster than him.
22:15So the mindset, the work ethic, the competitiveness, the toughness,
22:19the ability and a willingness to take coaching, those are still there.
22:23And he's improved as a player.
22:25And going back to what I said a little bit earlier,
22:27there's a good example of a player that's taken advantage of his opportunity.
22:30So, again, there's no – we're not smarter than anybody else,
22:35and we're not going to say that everybody, every player that we bring into this
22:38building that walks through the doors is going to work,
22:40because that's not the truth.
22:41But there's going to be – I'm sure we could cite multiple examples.
22:45Well, you know what?
22:46It didn't really work out the way that any of us hoped.
22:48No problem.
22:49We move on to the next one.
22:50So – but I would say, going back to your question,
22:52they were probably not bracketed similarly.
22:55He and Lopez, maybe Tommy was a smidge.
22:57The grade was a little bit higher.
22:59I'd have to go back into the database and check.
23:00But they were – they had a similar profile coming out.
23:03No, and honestly, you guys use way more advanced stuff than this,
23:08but there's this website called Mock Draftable,
23:09which is kind of cool because it takes the combine stats
23:11and gives you comps for it based on the measurables.
23:15And the first comp for Tommy Togiai is Roy Lopez.
23:18That's pretty funny.
23:19That's wild.
23:19Yeah.
23:20That's funny.
23:20Smaller guy, shorter arms, et cetera, but not ideal size.
23:24They're both about – yeah, six – I want to say, without looking at it,
23:266-0-1-1, 300, 3-0-5, 5-flat, whatever else.
23:30But a good three-cone drill, like all that short area quickness stuff
23:33and everything, yeah.
23:34That's wild.
23:35Which you had.
23:35What was your three-cone?
23:37Oh, that was the first – oh, listen to this, Nick.
23:39Listen to this BS.
23:40That was the first year – 1997 was the first year they did the three-cone.
23:45I had never seen it before in my life, ever.
23:49I show up, and they're explaining the rules for the three-cone.
23:52I'm watching the guys go in front of me.
23:54And, you know, it's not rocket science, but you've got to go around this cone
23:58and then back over this one.
23:59It was bad.
24:00Whatever it was, it was bad.
24:01I'm still mad about that.
24:02Now they do it.
24:03The players do it probably 75 times before they actually test it,
24:07so they can actually run a good time.
24:08That's crazy.
24:09No, I did.
24:10I had 45 seconds of prep time to learn and get ready for my three-cone.
24:15For your job interview, basically.
24:17Plus, Nick, that was the year they decided they were going to use the Mondo surface,
24:20like the artificial track service at the dome, so the 40 times were better.
24:25What they neglected to realize was that they were putting it on an AstroTurf surface.
24:30It felt like it was sucking the life out of your legs as you were running down the track.
24:34Everybody had horrible 40 times that year.
24:36That's why nobody wants to play on turf.
24:38That's right.
24:38Yeah, exactly.
24:39Exactly.
24:39I had a good vertical, though.
24:40I had a good vertical.
24:41Oh, did you?
24:42Yeah, I did.
24:42What was your vertical?
24:43My vertical and my broad jump were really good.
24:45Yeah, yeah.
24:46You could dunk.
24:47I asked you.
24:47My RAS, I've got an elite explosiveness score.
24:50Yeah, yes.
24:51Nick, we're going to talk about me for the next seven minutes.
24:52Right, right, right.
24:53We've got 13 minutes left to talk about Seth.
24:55I think my vertical was 33 inches and my broad jump was 10 foot.
24:59Dude.
24:59Eight, I think.
25:00That's pretty good.
25:00Anything over 10 is very good.
25:02Yeah.
25:0333.
25:03Very good.
25:04Big nose tackle.
25:05Hell yeah.
25:05Nick Casario joining us on the program.
25:07So, Nick, you were asked about CJ and the fifth-year option on Monday.
25:11Said it was a no-brainer.
25:12We agree with that.
25:13But so, specifically, but you and D'Amico both talked in general about the offseason
25:18that CJ has had so far.
25:20What is it, maybe more specifically, that has you excited about what CJ's been doing
25:25so far this offseason as maybe compared to previous offseasons?
25:29Yeah.
25:29The big thing with any player is once the season is over, kind of take inventory.
25:34All right, here's what happened, and everybody needs a little bit of time away.
25:36And then there'll be certain things, and I think when the players come back in the building
25:43Monday, like we've had a decent amount of players that have been through the building,
25:46but the official offseason program starts on Monday.
25:49So, D'Amico does a really good job of working with the position coaches and the coordinators
25:54and kind of having a checklist for each player, just kind of a growth opportunities, like here
25:59are some areas of improvement.
26:00So, we'll talk to the players individually about that.
26:03But I think between, call it February and April, if you're working out on your own,
26:08you're doing things on your own, which we've got various players, like CJ's spent a lot
26:12of time in California.
26:13He's done some things working with whomever.
26:16Jaden Higgins has kind of been down in Florida doing some things there.
26:19So, the big thing is just putting in the time and putting in the work and just working on
26:24your continued skill development specific to your position.
26:28So, those are the main things.
26:29And then, once you get into a little bit more of a structured offseason program, if the
26:34players, whomever is here, then you can get into some, a little more detail and some of
26:38the nuances associated with whether it's an individual technique, whether there's some
26:43schematic things.
26:44So, I mean, I think that's where the focus and attention will be with CJ and the majority
26:49of our players.
26:50Last year, CJ, it took a while before he started throwing in the offseason stuff.
26:54Is he good health-wise this season?
26:56Yeah, it seems like he should be in a good spot, unless anybody has any information that
27:01we're not aware of.
27:02So, I mean, you know, I'd say the majority of our players are healthy and ready to go.
27:07We have some players that will be in kind of a rehab state here, coming back from various
27:12levels of injuries.
27:14So, we're kind of, different players will be in different stages.
27:17So, we'll work through the spring.
27:19And then, the goal is to hopefully have whomever is going to be ready to go and available for
27:24training camp.
27:25That will be the primary focus, trying to get the players ready for that opportunity.
27:29Have you guys had, you know, you talked about using AI yesterday.
27:32And you and I, we had talked about AI in one of our previous interviews.
27:37And then, some of the other things that you're doing with technology to try to assess people's
27:42athleticism.
27:43Has, I don't want to even say you individually.
27:46Julie, has the NFL figured out any better way to predict whether a player is going to
27:51be durable in his career or his susceptibility to injury?
27:55I think they're trying to build some predictive type models.
28:00But it's, the reality is it's difficult to do.
28:04I think the best, what you can do is, wherever the player is now, and let's take the draft
28:10players, what is their, let's say, injury history?
28:14And just as we sit here today, you're trying to assess what's the level of risk associated
28:21with that particular player.
28:23Then, whomever we draft or sign, once they come in our building, then we'll do a little
28:27bit more of an in-depth analysis.
28:30And then, we can kind of track things on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis.
28:36There's no, I would say, magic formula.
28:38Injuries are part of the sport.
28:39Injuries are going to happen.
28:41What you're trying to do is prepare the athlete as best you can for what he's going to be asked
28:47to do, you know, on a week-to-week basis on Sundays.
28:51So, I think the league is just trying to, as best they can, we want as many healthy players
28:58and many available players as possible.
29:01What's the constitution?
29:02What does that look like?
29:03It's probably going to be a little bit different for each player and each team.
29:06Um, so there's no perfect solution or formula, but you're trying to at least project a player's
29:13availability, both really more short-term, the long-term, is once the player has played
29:19a number of years.
29:20Then, the question is, can they maintain a certain level of performance?
29:25How long do we anticipate?
29:28And that's where you try to predict as best you can, even though there's no perfect formula
29:32or science for that.
29:33Nick, we know one of the guys coming back from injury is Tank Dell, and you answered
29:37the question on Monday about kind of where Tank is health-wise right now.
29:40The question I have, if and when Tank is healthy, how quickly do you think he'll be able to get
29:45up to speed with the system?
29:47You know, we know he, when he was injured, it was Bobby Slowick was the offensive coordinator.
29:52This is now Nick Caley's system.
29:54I know it's a Texan system, but it's different than the one that Tank was playing in before.
29:57We know he's been around the team a lot, because we see him in every celebration video
30:01after you guys win games.
30:03He's there every day.
30:03We know that.
30:04But how quickly do you think he'll be able to get up to speed when he's back on the field
30:08with the nuances of the system?
30:10Yeah, that won't be an issue.
30:11I mean, Tank's a smart kid.
30:13You know, he can learn.
30:15He can process information.
30:16I think when you do it on the field, that's the best sort of teaching mechanism.
30:21But, I mean, I would say he's pretty familiar, very familiar with what we're doing.
30:25Honestly, you just have to train your mind and your ears just to hear it and then apply it.
30:31But, I mean, I don't think anybody has any concerns about his ability to, I would say,
30:36handle that.
30:37There is some carryover.
30:39Some of the terms have carried over.
30:42So, I mean, that'll probably be the least of anybody's concerns.
30:46Nick, I liked the format you guys used in the presser the other day,
30:50having both James Lifford and Chris Blanco up there.
30:53Was that your idea?
30:54I appreciate that.
30:56No, I mean, it just felt like those two have made a big impact on our program.
31:02They work really hard.
31:03We rely on them for, you know, a lot of information.
31:08They manage different people and different folks.
31:11I think they're very highly thought of league-wide.
31:15So, and I think it's important for us to continue to provide opportunities for individuals that have earned them.
31:24And I'd say, you know, James and Chris certainly have done that.
31:26So, I have a lot of respect and appreciation for them, both professionally and on a personal level.
31:33They've enhanced our program.
31:35I mean, I had a relationship, you know, with James going back to our time in New England.
31:38So, he's been here essentially since I was here.
31:40Chris was here, then he left, but then he came back, you know, because he wanted to be associated and
31:46affiliated with what we were doing here.
31:48So, I mean, it says a lot about him.
31:50But, I mean, there are two great examples of it doesn't really matter how you start your career or where
31:57you end up.
31:58And, you know, you can make a positive contribution.
32:02Blanco's a damn lawyer, right?
32:03Well, Chris is probably one of the smartest people in our building.
32:07And a damn lawyer.
32:09That wanted to be in football.
32:11He made the right decision to be in football.
32:13Well, you always hear about, you know, Kyle Shanahan will take a lot of time to really help mold guys
32:20to potentially be head coaches.
32:22And, you know, it's a double-edged sword because you're helping guys out and attracting guys into that kind of
32:28environment.
32:28But you're also, you know, maybe, you know, increasing the amount of turnover you're going to have in an organization.
32:35Is that an environment you're trying to maybe create as, okay, okay, we want to be somebody that people can
32:41come to and know that they're going to potentially get opportunities from it?
32:44I mean, ultimately, the league will determine who's suitable and who's not.
32:49I think the way D'Amico and I have always approached it, I mean, part of our job and responsibilities
32:53is to train and develop and continue to give opportunities to people that earn them.
32:59And if we can help them and shepherd them in any way and be a resource for them, like, that's
33:04part of our responsibility.
33:05I think both of us have the mindset of we want to help people.
33:09And we want to – and, again, you never know what's going to happen.
33:13You know, you could have people leave and you never really – you don't know if you're prepared for an
33:19opportunity or position until, quite frankly, you're in that position.
33:22But if there's things that you can do to help individuals along the way.
33:27But ultimately, they're going to put their own spin on whatever they think makes the most sense for their program
33:33if they have an opportunity to run it.
33:34Everybody kind of has a core foundation.
33:36So, I think, you know, we have a responsibility to not only with people like James and Chris, but to
33:44do that with individuals in our building.
33:46I think we want to be able to train, grow, develop internally in-house.
33:52It's no different than what we do with the players, the coaching staff, the scouting staff, football operations.
33:58So, if you bring the right people in the building and give them the opportunity to grow, then, you know,
34:04I mean, that's ultimately what we want to be able to do.
34:06I think you build the best infrastructure, but when you develop continuity and you're able to keep sort of a
34:12group together for a long period of time, understanding people are going to leave.
34:16And if you have to replace them, great.
34:18I think you would rather replace them internally as opposed to having to go out externally unless you think that's
34:24the best option.
34:24Nick Casario joining us.
34:25Nick, we've only got a few minutes left, so I want to hit a couple things before we get you
34:28out of here.
34:29Have you heard from anybody with the NBA since Monday?
34:34Well, I'm not online, so I don't know if anybody had any comments.
34:38And I think my point on that, I know I probably like every basketball fan.
34:41Yeah, just to reset.
34:43Hates me right now.
34:44Talking about how competitive the NFL is.
34:45I wasn't talking about the Rockets.
34:47The Rockets have had, you know, a really good year.
34:49They're in the playoffs.
34:50Oh, yeah.
34:50They're in the fifth seed.
34:51They're probably going to beat the Lakers.
34:52It was more of, you look at our league, we have 17 weeks.
34:58And each game takes on, I would say, an inordinate amount of significance.
35:03I think what's happened with the NBA, there's 82 games.
35:07And if we're just being honest with one another, each game doesn't take on the same importance.
35:12So however teams handle it, they handle it.
35:14So, and again, there was, I don't know, I think even I was listening to Jim Rome the
35:19other day.
35:19I mean, he's talking about, I think, Friday or Saturday, I mean, 165 players didn't play
35:23or, I mean, it's just, you know, again, I don't know all the dynamics, all the ins and
35:28outs, but I was speaking more from the lens of our league is so competitive and the statistics
35:34bear that out.
35:35And I alluded to that when 70% of the games are one-score games going into the fourth quarter,
35:40the three out of every four game that's played on a weekly basis is a one-score games.
35:44It just shows you that really anybody, any week has an opportunity to win.
35:49I think that was the point that I was trying to make and probably got lost in translation
35:53there.
35:53So between, you know, the FIFA fans and the basketball fans out there, so I probably, I probably
35:59won't get any Christmas cards this year, but you didn't say anything that anybody that
36:04like anything that NBA fans or NBA writers or anybody isn't also saying it's a, it's a huge
36:09issue.
36:10Well, yeah, I have a lot of respect.
36:11I think the Rockets have had a really good year.
36:13I mean, honestly, I think they're going to beat the Lakers.
36:15I mean, they got a lot of, they got a good team.
36:16They got a lot of good players.
36:18I mean, they won 52 games.
36:19So, I mean, they've played well and they've worked really hard.
36:22And then there's some other teams who, I mean, quite frankly, didn't look like they're
36:26putting forth the same effort.
36:28So that's all.
36:28I mean, I wasn't trying to cause any chaos.
36:30So just to try to provide some context.
36:32Yeah.
36:33No, the commissioner of that league is having to put, is having to think of rules to get teams
36:36to try.
36:37I mean, that's like, that's, that's where the NBA is right now.
36:40We knew what you were referring to the last one.
36:42And this is actually on behalf of Landry Locker, our former colleague here at 610, who I know
36:46is at your press conference.
36:47He was going to ask you this question, but you guys kind of ran out of time on Monday,
36:50but in the aftermath, in the aftermath of the masters over the weekend, he wanted to know
36:55what your master's dinner would look like if you had won the masters the year before.
37:01Nobody would show up to the master's dinner.
37:03No.
37:03Okay.
37:04I'll give you just a quick snapshot.
37:05I would say we'd probably have either some kind of soup of choice, whether like maybe
37:12lobster bisque or maybe a chicken or tortilla soup, probably like an arugula salad or a
37:18spinach salad.
37:18Okay.
37:19The main course, you'd have an opportunity for a fish or some kind of, I mean, I know
37:24there's a lot of steak and meat lovers out there with a side of maybe like some truffle
37:28fries that people that I wouldn't eat, but they would eat, or maybe some asparagus and
37:32then probably have a dessert of choice.
37:35So we'll try to play to the masses, not eat like a rabbit, like that I would probably eat.
37:41So I try to be fair and, you know, considerate of the other attendees.
37:46So hopefully that gets back to Landry.
37:49You lost me at soup, but won me back immediately with lobster bisque.
37:53You should have seen Nick.
37:54You should have seen Seth's face.
37:56He looked downtrodden when you said soup and you said bisque and he was like the undertaker.
38:00Like he popped up.
38:01It was amazing.
38:02It was amazing.
38:03Hey, speaking of which, before we get you out of here, are you going to be able to weave
38:05in a little WrestleMania watching this weekend on Saturday or Sunday?
38:09We'll see.
38:09I mean, I have some other commitments on Saturday and Sunday separate from like football, but
38:13I'm sure I'll, I'll get online and kind of see what's going on.
38:17So, um, you know, we'll, we'll probably be exchanging some, some texts over the weekend
38:21regarding WrestleMania.
38:23I'm sure we will.
38:24I can guarantee you that.
38:26Good stuff.
38:26Nick Casario, Texans general manager, joining us here on the show.
38:30Hey, Nick, we know this is a busy time for you.
38:32We appreciate you, uh, being so generous with your time as always enjoyed it and, uh, good
38:37luck in the draft next week.
38:38We'll all be watching and we'll be covering it here on sports radio 610.
38:41We can't wait.
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