- 2 days ago
Seth and Sean talk with Texans EVP and GM Nick Caserio about the offense, CJ Stroud, Keylan Rutledge, Nico's "raise," if Tank will practice again, and more.
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00:00Joining us on the show, Texans Executive Vice President and General Manager Nick Casario.
00:05Nick Housen, how are we doing this morning?
00:08Good morning, Housen. Everybody's good. Thanks for having us.
00:11It's good to have you. I tried exhaustively yesterday to use AI to put a Dan Housen
00:19ring entrance music that said Nick Housen instead of Dan Housen, and my AI chops just aren't good
00:24enough to do important work like that yet. Maybe I'll come out as a mini-housen one of these
00:30nights when he comes to the ring. That would be something else.
00:34Is that what his fan group was called, the mini-housen?
00:37No, he thought that he was in a match on a pay-per-view, and he had a mystery partner,
00:41and it ended up being a little person version of him called the mini-housen.
00:47Like a mini-me, but a mini-housen?
00:49And then five of them came out. Yep. So good to have you as always, Nick. Good to chat
00:56on the off day here in between OTAs. So I want to start there. D'Amico said last week,
01:03he's got a lot of questions about the offense with so many new parts, and I think people are
01:07very excited about that. D'Amico said that the offense is ahead of where they were this time last
01:14year because installation and everything else. You're out there every day too. Are you
01:19seeing and feeling the same thing with this offense? And if so, can you elaborate on that
01:22a little bit? Yeah, for sure. I would agree with
01:25D'Amico's assessment. I'd say overall as a team, we're probably further along this time of year
01:32than we were last year collectively. Offensively, we certainly made a lot of strides and a lot of
01:37progress. I mean, honestly, I think everything starts with CJ. It's probably been the best spring
01:43that he's had since he's been here. You know, he's had a really good offseason. He's trained well.
01:50I'd say his on-field demeanor, his presence, his communication, his ownership, his leadership of
01:55offense. I mean, it's really, it's stood out. And I think collectively, you know, just as an offense,
02:02seem like you're going into a year of understanding the terminology, understanding some of the nuances that
02:10are involved. And really, you're just trying to put the foundation here in place as a team.
02:16That's what the spring really is about. The way practice is designed, there's certain things you're
02:21going to be able to see. The other thing you're not going to be able to see. But just overall,
02:25it really speaks to the mindset and the mentality of the team. Our offseason attendance has been,
02:32I don't want to say, about 100%. It's like 98, 98, you know, 95, 98%, whatever it's been.
02:38So we have a lot of committed players with the right mentality, with the right mindset that have
02:43really had, I would say, a purposeful demeanor since the offseason program has started. And even
02:48going back to the beginning of March, when we found out 25, 20 to 25 players that were training here
02:55before the offseason program officially kicked off, which was April 17th. So overall, the team's done a
03:02really good job. We put in a lot of good work, try to finish off the spring here strong, and
03:08then
03:08understand that we're going to have a little bit of a window here, four to five weeks where we're
03:13going to be on our own. But then really, once training camp starts up, it's going to be built
03:19on a lot of things that we did in the spring. You really go back through a reinstallation of
03:23everything. You just do it at a quicker pace, and then you just start to get ready for playing
03:27meaningful football, you know, once the games start.
03:30You know, D'Amico has talked before about, you know, just the way he coaches individual players
03:37and trying to simplify things for them, giving them these pro-grow tapes, so they're just focused
03:41on a few specific things to improve on. Just given by how much D'Amico and others have talked
03:47about the pre-snap process on offense so far in OTAs, was that identified as, okay, this
03:55is one of the big areas that, man, we've got to fix this because it's a bread and butter,
03:59and if we can be better and more efficient pre-snap and have more time, you know, with
04:04the clock on the play clock, that we could probably make big leaps with that?
04:09Sure. When you go back and look at last season, I mean, there were things that happened before
04:12the snap, whether it was false start penalties or formationally or play clock, there's always
04:18a lot of different nuances and mechanics that are involved, but get in the huddle, get the
04:22play called, break the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage, if there's a shift or motion
04:26that's involved, or if you have some kind of double cadence that's involved, or the defense
04:31look where you have to make an adjustment, just being able to do it at, say, at a quick
04:36pace, and you're really trying to anticipate as best you can what the defense potentially
04:41is going to do, and then really trust your training and trust your eyes, what you see.
04:45So overall, you know, we've used the play clocks for every team period here, so the
04:51quarterbacks have vision of the play clock, it's winded down, you have to expedite the
04:56snap, or to make sure you get the play off, so whether it's offensively or defensively,
05:02what happens before the ball is snapped, the more that you're prepared, and the more that
05:06you can anticipate, once the ball is snapped, it's really just, I mean, play takes, let's
05:10call it three to four seconds, so you're just kind of reacting to what you see.
05:14So, I mean, D'Amico talked to the team about that, so if we can just clean up some of
05:18the
05:18air, some of the things that happened before the ball was even snapped as a team, eliminate
05:22some of those issues, whether it's watching a ball on defense, jumping off sides, or whatever
05:28the case may be, if we can avoid some of those things, then you have an opportunity to potentially
05:32have a clean play in front of you.
05:34Nick Casario joining us here on Sports Radio 610, Texans Executive Vice President and General
05:40Manager.
05:41Nick, Keelan Rutledge, obviously you guys took him in the first round, and you guys
05:45really, really like him, and he's got some work, I know, at center at the Senior Bowl,
05:50and it looks like he's getting some work at center with you guys.
05:53Can you speak a little bit to what the, I guess, the challenges may be for a young player
05:58playing center for the first time, specifically in this type of system, if indeed that's where
06:03his role is going to be?
06:04Yeah, with a lot of the inside players, you're looking at, you try to cross-train them as
06:09best you can.
06:11So let's say a player that played guard exclusively in college, or a player that played center
06:16exclusively in college, if that's their best position, great, but you also want to train
06:21them in another spot, and we've talked about on this show, because during the course of
06:24the game, you've got eight linemen that are at the game.
06:26If you lose one of the three inside players, what's the next course of action?
06:30Can you move somebody over?
06:31Do you have to bring somebody else in?
06:33So I'd say that's really part of the calculus that goes into something like that.
06:37So this brings the opportunity where you can maybe try a few different things, maybe move
06:41some players around.
06:43Let's say we have different types of players right now on the roster inside.
06:47Some have played center only, some have played dart only, some have some degree of position
06:51flex when you look at guys like Patterson and Evan Brown.
06:56So we'll see how it goes with Keelan, but he's got a good mentality.
07:01He works hard, he's all business, which are the things that we liked about him coming
07:06out.
07:06So in the end, we're going to only ask the player, we're not going to put the player
07:10in a position.
07:10If he can't do something or isn't as comfortable, then we just have to figure out, all right,
07:14what makes the most sense for the team and what's the best situation for the players.
07:18But here's this practice is where you can kind of experiment with some different things,
07:24maybe move a player around positionally or try them in a different spot, whether it's
07:29individually or collectively, schematically, which we're experimenting with some things
07:34on the defensive side of the ball here during the spring.
07:36But that's the opportunity that's in front of us.
07:38So you try to see the player, the information, see what he can handle, and then put him in
07:43a position where he can go out there and play to the best of his ability.
07:47So you guys, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, give me Collins a pay raise, just if
07:54you need to, if you need to, you know, maneuver some stuff around with that news.
07:57I guess as much as you're willing to tell us, like, how did all of that come about?
08:02And then was there any aspect of that where you added some cap space and you're planning
08:07on doing something with that cap space?
08:10Yeah, every contractual discussion or situation is really different.
08:15It's really case by case.
08:17We've shown just the propensity to be flexible with our thought process and adaptable and
08:22kind of look at each situation and figure out if there's a discussion to be had, great.
08:27And then you engage in those discussions or dialogue.
08:29So, you know, we're in a decent spot right now.
08:32We do have a degree of flexibility.
08:33I think one thing that kind of gets lost sometimes is you kind of have to plan a little bit
08:38for
08:38your in-season spending.
08:40So practice squad, injured reserve, replacement players, potentially leave yourself enough
08:46room if you get to the trade deadline.
08:49So we try to just create as much optionality and flexibility for us as possible.
08:54Nico's been a good player for this program for a number of years.
08:57So we felt this particular situation, it made sense for both sides.
09:01So we're glad that we're able to reach a resolution.
09:04So with something like that, if a player comes to you and asks, you know, for a pay raise
09:09or whatever, I think the immediate reaction from guys like us or fans is, all right, are
09:14you creating this precedent here where now all of a sudden everybody's going to want to
09:18get paid?
09:19Like, have you ever been in that situation where you've just had to flat out say to somebody,
09:23listen, you're no Nico Collins, okay?
09:27You kind of said it, Seth.
09:29Every situation is different.
09:31It's always the case.
09:32And that's all you can do is just communicate to the individuals involved, the thought process
09:37behind it to some degree.
09:39Not everybody's going to agree or necessarily understand.
09:42I mean, that's the reality of it.
09:44So ultimately, we just try to look at the big picture and ultimately just try to make what
09:48we feel are the right decisions for, you know, the organization and everybody involved.
09:52You know, the best way to handle it, we tell this story every time we tell it, I give the
09:58disclaimer, I have no idea if it's true or not, but I don't think Bill O'Brien would mind
10:04me saying that this was a story about Bill O'Brien, and I'm not sure if it's true or
10:07not, but that at one point, kind of a fringe roster player came into his office and asked
10:12to be traded, and the story goes that Bill O'Brien said, who the hell do you think you
10:18are, Deacon Jones?
10:19Get out of here.
10:21Which, if that's what he said, I approve of that version of Bill O'Brien.
10:26That's a good story if that happened.
10:30And possibly on brand.
10:32I'm guessing you might not frame it the same way Bill O'Brien might frame it, but that's
10:35the general gist of it is like, hey, we're going to do different things for different
10:39guys.
10:40Every player in every situation is different, so you just try to handle it case by case.
10:44There you go.
10:45Nick Casario, Texans general manager, joining us here on Sports Radio 610.
10:49Nick, I think people are very excited about David Montgomery.
10:52I'm excited to see him once the pads go on, for sure.
10:56I'm curious, with trading for David Montgomery, do you feel like along with that you may get
11:03a better version of Woody Marks as well, like maybe Woody in a role that he's perfectly suited
11:10for as the one B to David Montgomery's 1A, as opposed to maybe the role that Woody kind
11:15of had to play last year with injuries and whatnot?
11:19Yeah, Woody's had a really good offseason.
11:22He looks bigger.
11:23He looks stronger.
11:24He looks faster.
11:25He's had, he's really made a strong commitment.
11:28You know, we feel that overall, that room, it's kind of an interesting collection of players.
11:32They all kind of have their strengths, all kind of have things that they do a little
11:36bit differently.
11:36You know, with Montgomery and Woody, you maybe have two certain types of backs, and then
11:41Jawar kind of showed some of the things that he could do last season.
11:46You know, British is kind of a little bit of a hybrid player, so he had to carry the ball
11:51there a little bit at the end.
11:52You know, we signed a couple guys after the draft in Whittington and Pitsenberger, so
11:58overall, it's a pretty diverse room.
12:01Montgomery's been outstanding.
12:03I mean, his work ethic, his mentality, his mindset, even his toughness.
12:09I know we're not in pads, and you can't really see anything, but just kind of the way he goes
12:13about his business, and even in some of the things that we're doing, like, looks like
12:18his vision and instinctiveness.
12:19He has a really good feel and sense for space, and Woody is a good example.
12:25Let's say we have a number of players in this category who, when they're rookies, there's
12:30a lot that's happening, and the playtime could fluctuate, could play a little bit more, could
12:34play a little bit less.
12:36Woody ended up playing a decent amount last year, and then once the season is over, he
12:39probably looked back and go, okay, wow, that was, you know, that was quite a bit that happened
12:43over the course of the year.
12:44All right, now let's focus on the offseason and getting yourself prepared for the upcoming
12:49season.
12:51He's done a really good example of a player that's kind of going that year one to year
12:55two transition, so we'll see how big of a leap and a jump that he can make.
12:59But overall, we feel like that's a pretty competitive room, and there's a number of players in there
13:04that we feel can help us.
13:05Yeah, and you know, I'm always like this every year during OTAs and training camp, but Jowar
13:10Jordan is just fun to watch run around on a football field, but he's got, he's a much
13:16smaller guy than those other backs.
13:18How's he looking going into year three, and is there, is it possible that he actually got
13:24a, I feel like he got more explosive this year, just from a very, very small watching
13:30of him, but is there, have you noticed any physical changes in him?
13:34Yeah, no, it's a good point, Seth.
13:36Even coming out, I think the one thing that differentiated him from maybe some other backs,
13:40you saw that burst and straight line speed, and he was obviously a smaller player, but
13:46I'd say even going back to last year, there were some games where he was able to handle
13:50contact and break tackles and get some yards after, you know, with the ball in his hand.
13:57Jowar's worked really hard, and there's a good example of a player, we brought him in, he
14:02was out of the building for a period of time, then he came back on the practice squad, and
14:06he's taken advantage of his opportunities.
14:09You see that, I would say, acceleration and speed, they show up, especially when he has
14:15a little bit of space, but he's a great kid, really quiet, works really hard.
14:19He's never going to be a big back or a big person, but you can have running backs who
14:26are strong for their size.
14:29I'd say Kevin Falk was an example of a player, he was 500 pounds, but Kevin had good playing
14:34strength for his size.
14:36James White was the same way.
14:38I'd say, Jowar, I'm not saying he's exactly like those players, but you're talking about
14:42undersized backs that have, you know, maybe more strength than you'd think for their size.
14:48But he's a great kid, and he can do some things that some of our other backs can't.
14:54So, you know, we're glad that he's here and excited to see what he can do here in the preseason
14:59and then potentially heading into the regular season.
15:02Nick Casario joining us here on Sports Radio 610.
15:05Nick, I think this is the first we've talked to you since Will Anderson signed his contract
15:10extension, making him the highest paid non-quarterback by average annual value.
15:17His agent, Nicole, was very complimentary of you and the Texans in working to get that
15:22deal done.
15:23In some ways, when it's a guy like Will, who runner-up for defensive player of the year
15:28and checks every box off of the field as well, even though the money is huge, are those sometimes
15:33some of the easiest deals to get done just because of how apparent it is that he's almost
15:38the perfect football player?
15:40If you're asking me if you and Seth could have done the deal, probably.
15:44But the reality is...
15:46I already do a show with a ham sandwich.
15:49Just to be clear, Nick, that was not what I was saying.
15:54This is a deal that any clown could go do.
15:58But anyways, I'd say we're...
16:01And I have a lot of respect and appreciation for Nicole and the way she operates.
16:05And we try to...
16:07Look, if you're going to do a deal, then you're going to do a deal.
16:12You're going to get it worked out.
16:13You know, you still have to have discussions.
16:15There's always different dynamics and components that are involved.
16:18So if there's an agreement about the player and where you think you are on the contract,
16:25then you go ahead and try to find a solution that works for everybody.
16:28But, I mean, you know, like I said, Nicole does a great job for a lot of her clients.
16:33You know, Will, you know, earned the opportunity.
16:37So, again, you still have to work through some different dynamics and some different mechanics.
16:41But, you know, hopefully it works out well for everybody involved.
16:47You know, Will is a great ambassador for the program, for, you know, the organization,
16:51for the city of Houston.
16:53And he backs that up with his play on the field.
16:57You know, nobody practices harder.
16:58Nobody plays harder.
16:59You know, nobody has the respect of his teammates, you know, more than him.
17:04So, again, like that's another situation.
17:06That situation is a little bit different than the Nico Collins situation.
17:09So we kind of take it case by case and try to figure out, all right, where are the gaps?
17:13All right, can we close the gaps?
17:14All right, then, in the end, let's just, if there's a solution to be had, great.
17:17If there's not, then we kind of keep the ball moving forward.
17:19Yeah, well, I'm curious because, I mean, obviously, you guys, you know, you're a good team.
17:23You have a lot of good players.
17:24You have a lot of good young players.
17:26So there's a lot of, you know, there's going to be big contracts coming up in the next couple
17:29of years for sure.
17:30And I know there's ways around, you know, there's ways to make anything, practically
17:34anything work with the salary cap.
17:36I'm curious, where do the Texans fit on that scale of using everything that's available
17:43to you with maneuvering around the cap?
17:45And how important is ownership when it comes to being able to maneuver when you're cutting
17:50these big checks?
17:52Yeah, no, we're always, we try to stay in constant communication and just make sure that
17:57they're supportive of what we're doing.
17:59Can't say enough about, you know, Cal and Hannah, like they understand what we're trying to do.
18:04And we're fortunate that, you know, we have a number of good young players.
18:09Hopefully that continues moving forward.
18:11We try to be responsible to your question.
18:14You know, there's a lot of, I'd say, mechanics that you could potentially employ.
18:18But at some point, accounting is accounting.
18:21And you have to, everything is, you know, has a price.
18:25And at some point, it's going to count in some capacity on the books.
18:30So when you look at, generally speaking, you know, the whole cash over cap concept, everybody
18:35understands what the salary cap is.
18:37Sometimes you're maybe a little more cash over cap.
18:40Sometimes your cash and cap are equal.
18:43Again, we have the support ownership.
18:46So that certainly makes a difference.
18:49And I think they understand what we're trying to do and what we're trying to accomplish.
18:52But we also want to do it in a responsible fashion, you know, and just make sure that
18:58we're making sound decisions.
18:59Because what you don't want to do is put the organization and the team in a position financially
19:03where you're forced to make decisions or forced to do things because of maybe some decisions
19:08that you've made.
19:10So player costs are going up.
19:12So we have to plan accordingly and, you know, figure out how we're going to allocate.
19:18And then, you know, I think hopefully we've tried to put the contracts together in a way
19:24where we have a little bit of flexibility, where there's a little, they're staggered to some
19:28degree.
19:29So it potentially is that the bill is not.
19:34But eventually, like, you're going to have to account for everything.
19:36But, you know, you want to, there's some tools that are available and we'll do it in a responsible
19:41fashion just so that we don't put the organization in a poor position.
19:46Nick Casario, Texans Executive Vice President and General Manager, joining us here on Sports
19:51Radio 610.
19:53Nick, it's great to see Tank back out there in a football uniform again, for sure.
19:57And I'm not asking for a timeline or anything like that, because we know it's day by day
20:01with Tank.
20:01Do you expect him at some point down the road to return to practicing?
20:07Yes.
20:08I would say more than likely it'll probably be in training camp.
20:13You know, we have about, I don't know, however many days left here in the spring, but there
20:17are certain things that he's able to do.
20:19He's done some things on the field, maybe separately, kind of off to the side.
20:23I think the goal is training camp.
20:25Um, so we'll kind of see if he stays on schedule, but I mean, nobody's worked harder.
20:30Nobody's had a better attitude.
20:31Um, you know, talking about a player that hasn't played football and, you know, almost 18 months
20:36or however long it's been, but you know, his attitude, his approach, he's chomping at
20:41the bit and he's certainly anxious and wants to be out there by the same token.
20:46We want to make sure that we're taking care of him and doing the right things and putting
20:50him in a position where he can go out there and be the best version of himself.
20:53Uh, so I would say training camp seems like a reasonable timeframe in terms of his availability,
20:59um, in, in, in terms of next steps.
21:03Nick, um, since we're talking about injuries here, uh, not that a guardian cap would have
21:08helped tank Dell in that, in that situation whatsoever.
21:11Uh, but from, uh, from, from the year 2021, where I thought that guardian caps looked stupid
21:16in there, uh, what the hell are we even doing here?
21:19Uh, Sean and I are now at a point where we feel like, uh, we need the league to demand
21:23that players wear guardian caps.
21:25Are there, is there any, is there any way that are you guys allowed to tell guys to wear guardian
21:29caps?
21:30Are you strictly forbidden to do that by the, the CBA?
21:33No, you, you recommend to the players, you give them the options.
21:38And I think one of the things the league has done with the helmet design, there's certain
21:42helmets, the way they're designed and manufactured, it essentially replicates or could potentially
21:48take the place of the guardian caps.
21:50So let's say you don't want to wear the guardian cap.
21:52Then, you know, you have a helmet that hopefully will help mitigate, um, some of the issues
21:58potentially, but the players all have the ability, um, it's an option for them and they
22:02have different designs.
22:03You've seen, you know, P3 wears a certain type.
22:06There's other players that have, um, a different type.
22:09Um, and I think the one thing, the least that what they do do is during the season, it's essentially
22:16required in practice because we're trying to look at it from a player health and safety
22:20standpoint, not some players don't want to wear them.
22:23And sometimes you got to remind them like, Hey, you got to wear the guardian cap in practice
22:27when it comes to the game.
22:29Like the player has a choice and ultimately they're going to do what they feel is best,
22:33but the helmet design has certainly improved and the league, it gives you, okay, these helmets,
22:39they fit the criteria.
22:41If the helmet is below this, I would say range, essentially like you, you, they can't use it.
22:47Um, so, um, the league is pretty proactive in that area and, you know, we try to, we educate
22:52the players, make sure they understand what's involved.
22:54I mean, we play a physical sport, um, and they understand the risks that are involved.
23:00So ultimately like their health and wellbeing is the most important thing and they got to
23:03figure out what works for them.
23:04You know, maybe if you guys warm in studio, then we can make it required to wear, um, during
23:10I'm drinking, Nick, I'm drinking out of a coffee cat right now that it's a, there's a picture
23:15of an orange tabby with a, with a plaid cap on it.
23:19Yeah.
23:19You think I, you think I'm going to be afraid of wearing a guardian cap, but I'm the manliest
23:23man there is.
23:24Okay.
23:25You know what?
23:25Let me go up on a little bit of a rant here, a positive and a negative, Nick.
23:29First, the positive.
23:30I get so excited to hear D'Amico talk about how you guys are emphasizing the hard count,
23:35um, and the snap count and all that stuff, because that is the stuff as a defensive player.
23:39Like, I don't think, I don't think some quarterbacks understand the power of the hard count and just
23:45how it, I agree.
23:48Yeah.
23:48It gives you the keys to, it gives you the, the, the answers to the test.
23:52Like that's how there was a play last year, Matt Stafford used the hard count brilliantly
23:57and Jalen Petrie early in the season just took a little bit of a, a little bit of a jab
24:03step and, and it told Matt Stafford everything he needed to know.
24:06And it's just, yeah, that's what these veteran quarterbacks do.
24:09So that's on the, um, on the positive side of things.
24:11And now this isn't a criticism, but this is because I know that you remember this era
24:14back when running backs used to wear some fricking pads on their body.
24:19Curtis Martin was dressed up like a medieval knight and he lasted forever.
24:23These running backs, yeah, they get injured all the time.
24:26They're wearing like three ounces of padding.
24:28Can you, can you, can you, can you dictate to the Texans running backs?
24:32The gigantic old dorky looking shoulder pads.
24:36Nobody wants to wear pads anymore.
24:38I know.
24:40But like the, the, the, the shoulder pads, the design has evolved through the years.
24:46I remember when we had, you know, uh, Martellus, his brother, Michael, he didn't have really,
24:52he had no shoulder pad or protection up there on the tricep area.
24:57He basically cut the flaps off.
24:59And we had him like, Hey man, you got to wear shoulder pads.
25:02And I'm sure if you talk to Martellus, he probably has his take on that one.
25:08Oh my God.
25:09Oh no.
25:09I look at, I look at pictures of myself in high school and college.
25:12I'm like, what a dork.
25:15That's great.
25:16That is great.
25:18Uh, Nick Casario joining us, Nick.
25:19I know we only have you for a few more minutes here.
25:21The one time where, when I ask you, are you okay on time?
25:24I know today the answer is no.
25:25We got to get you out here in a, in a, in a few minutes.
25:28I have a little flexibility.
25:30Okay.
25:30You're okay.
25:31Okay, cool.
25:32Well, we'll, we'll, we'll get you out.
25:33We'll, we'll, we'll get you out with plenty of, got some FIFA official forcing you out
25:36or something.
25:37Yeah.
25:41The American football man wants to be on the telephone.
25:44Out of here, general manager.
25:46Yes.
25:47Um, Seth and I were joking, uh, a few weeks ago.
25:50We said we would ask you about this.
25:52Um, when it comes to scouting college players and you've, I'm sure you've got a checklist
25:57of things and the scouting report is very extensive.
25:59At some point, is there a final box you check where you just ask yourself, how much is this
26:04guy like D'Amico Ryans?
26:07Uh, well, we, we actually, actually like boxes.
26:12We have some, we have a, uh, a Houston Texan, I would say symbol or fit where we essentially
26:18say, all right, this player is a tech.
26:21We think he's a Texan and there's different tiers.
26:24Um, I, I don't think there's anybody that, that when they come in our building, when they
26:30visit with D'Amico and talk to D'Amico that says, I don't want to play for that coach.
26:34So, um, if they do, then we've probably got the wrong guy or like one of the coach you'd
26:41want to, want to play for, because again, he has the unique ability and you all know
26:47this and, you know, he, he's demanding.
26:50Um, but he is as genuine and honest and sincere and his joy and he just wants what's best for
27:00the, for the players.
27:01And he just wants the team to succeed by the same token, they're going to be accountable
27:06for their actions and held to a high standard.
27:08And there's a, you know, there's a balance to be able to do that.
27:12Um, which is why I think he's held in such high regard, not only internally in our building,
27:17but externally throughout the league as well.
27:19So if a player felt that way, like, you've really got to ask yourself, like, is this a
27:24player that, you know, is actually going to be able to succeed in our building?
27:28Yeah.
27:28Okay.
27:29This is a, this is crucial for, cause we're going to make a whole bit out of this.
27:32What's, what's the name you have for the top tier Texan caliber?
27:36Uh, it's nothing, I would say exotic, um, like, like Texan blue or, you know, stamp player
27:44or just something that maybe delineates himself.
27:49Believe me, like in terms of the creativity, I'm like the wrong person to talk to you about
27:54that.
27:55We'll call it tier one.
27:56We have something we can maybe separate that player from maybe a different pool of players.
28:01Yeah.
28:02That's tier one Texan.
28:03We'll name it after people.
28:05Like it's the JJ watt tier.
28:07You will do an homage to former Texans.
28:08We'll get this all work.
28:09We'll workshop this thing for you, Nick.
28:11We'll get it back to you.
28:12Yeah.
28:12We'll get it done before you guys break for the summer.
28:15So yeah, yeah.
28:15We'll, we'll get it done for this year's draft class for sure.
28:18Um, Nick Casario joining us here.
28:20Uh, you, by the way, you're listening to KLT AM, KLT FM, HD two Houston, an Odyssey sports
28:25station.
28:25The other contract extension that happened, uh, since we last spoke was Aziz Alshair.
28:32And I'm just curious.
28:33I know you, you, I know that you and D'Amico both, uh, personally love Aziz.
28:39I loved it when you came to his defense a couple of years ago, when the whole Trevor Lawrence
28:43thing happened, you, your feelings are very evident for Aziz Alshair.
28:46I guess just, can you talk a little bit about just how happy you are for him, what that extension
28:51meant to the team and what he means to the team?
28:54Yeah, he, he, he means a lot and he's made an impact since the day that he's walked in
28:59the building.
29:00Um, when you just look at the arc of his career, what he's had to endure, kind of where he
29:06started, even going back to, you know, when he came out of college with a knee injury,
29:10wasn't drafted.
29:11I mean, he had to overcome quite a bit and it hadn't stopped him from getting to where
29:17he is currently.
29:19And to say his toughness, his leadership, I mean, he's a signal caller.
29:23He runs the defense.
29:24Um, he, and he's able to, I would say, you know, cross pollinate across all aspects in
29:31all areas of the team, defense players, offensive players, specialists, whomever it is.
29:36Um, and he's held in the highest regard and he plays with the right demeanor and mentality.
29:43But the reality is he's a physical player.
29:45He plays aggressively.
29:47Um, and then, you know, off the field, you know, nobody's done more to represent the organization,
29:53um, and the McNair family than Aziz.
29:56So when you put those factors together, um, again, players earn their, what they receive
30:03with the P the person that they are, with their performance on the field, the contract and
30:08the business side of it.
30:10I mean, that's something you always have to just to work through.
30:12And, you know, similarly to some of the other discussions that we've had, hopefully you
30:17can come to resolution that works for everybody, but, you know, certainly happy for Aziz.
30:21And in the end, like the goal is for him to go out there and just continue to play good
30:25football and continue to represent the organization, um, you know, in the right way.
30:30Do you have a, uh, do you have a team you're rooting for in the NBA finals?
30:34And why is it the Knicks because of Dan Housen?
30:38Well, because the other team is cursed.
30:40So you probably got a team that's not a curse, but no, it's interesting.
30:44My, uh, our middle daughter, we've kind of, we've watched the Stanley cup playoffs together
30:50and she's kind of taken a liking.
30:52We've watched both the Eastern conference and Western conference finals together.
30:55Um, I actually happened to be away, um, on Saturday and she was watching.
31:00She asked me, are you watching the game?
31:02And I said, well, I'm not watching.
31:03I'm following.
31:04So, um, I, it's two really good teams.
31:07Um, the Knicks have played really good basketball over the last call it month, six weeks, you
31:13know, San Antonio, Oklahoma city, uh, series, you know, I saw two really good basketball teams,
31:19two young teams, two really good programs.
31:21So it'll be interesting.
31:23My goal is just that Dan Housen actually shows up in Madison square garden for game three.
31:28Um, and then we'll see what the outcome actually is in between Timothy Chalamet and Kylie Jenner.
31:35Yes, that needs, that needs to happen.
31:37Do you have one particular player in this series that you feel would make the best Houston Texan
31:41out of, off of either team?
31:43Uh, I probably Bronson probably would go in that category.
31:48Um, and I, you know, Wemby is kind of like a unicorn, but I think the one thing that stands
31:54out about Wemby, it appears, it's just the, for the level of skill that he has, just his
32:02innate competitiveness and how much he cares.
32:05Um, then the team kind of, I don't know, he's, I don't know, 22, 23 years old.
32:09I don't know.
32:10He's a young player, but it looks like he has the pulse of that team.
32:14So be able to do that.
32:15And when your best player has those qualities, you know, that's probably the reason why the,
32:22the, the Spurs are in the position that they're in.
32:25And they, they obviously have a history, um, with their program with pop and RC and, you
32:29know, and our coach Johnson has done a really good job.
32:32So I would say probably Bronson and Wemby look like they could probably walk in a Reliant
32:37stadium and potentially go on now.
32:39Wemby might, you know, I'm not sure where you play them.
32:41Um, but you know, probably have to find somewhere to put them where it just falls in the end
32:46zone.
32:46Red zone, man.
32:47Yeah.
32:47Just throw, yeah.
32:48Throw the ball up to him.
32:49Just that rule.
32:50Just like five snaps.
32:52It's a game down.
32:53Prop solved.
32:53There you go.
32:54Nick Casario, Texans executive vice president and general manager.
32:57Hey Nick, we appreciate the time as always.
33:00The next time we talk to you, we'll be out at training camp and that'll be here before
33:02we know it.
33:03So enjoy your summer vacation with, uh, with your family and, uh, well, we'll see you out
33:08at OTAs and mini camp the next couple of days too.
33:10So, or the next couple of weeks, but, uh, last time we'll talk here before training camp.
33:14So, uh, enjoy the summer.
33:16Appreciate you fellas.
33:17Always great to visit with you.
33:18Yep.
33:18You too.
33:19Thanks, Nick.
33:19Appreciate it.
33:20Nick Casario joining us over the phone.
33:21Thanks, Nick.
33:21Thanks, Nick.
33:22Thanks, Nick.
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