00:00Nick Haley, the offensive coordinator you used in Texans,
00:03just spoke after another instance of organized training activities for your Texans.
00:07What caught your attention the most in the rapid response from the OC?
00:12Well, I think number one would be when he was asked about explosive plays.
00:16Yeah, shout out to B. Scott.
00:18Yeah, it was B. Scott, so shouldn't be surprised.
00:20That's a really good question about explosive plays.
00:22He didn't necessarily say, oh, yeah, we're going to do this, this, and this,
00:28and nor should you expect him to say too much about that,
00:31but it was interesting to me that he said explosives come from doing the right things.
00:35Explosives come from yards after catch.
00:38Yeah.
00:39How can we create the more yards after catch before design anything?
00:44It's players over plays, et cetera.
00:47So it was kind of almost not doubling down, but it was kind of some insight into,
00:52like, no, they want to be controlled.
00:55They're not going to be slinging it all over the field.
00:57Right.
00:58This did not sound like, oh, we're going to generate explosives.
01:01Oh, yeah.
01:01We're all about it.
01:02We're going to have dudes run down the field, and we're going to throw it up over them,
01:05which makes sense, right, to some degree with what we have heard from them.
01:09They very much want to be a team that generates explosives by breaking a run for 20-plus yards,
01:16for whatever the normal in-breaker is that they run, catching it and then turning it upfield.
01:22That is the explosive.
01:23It's not necessarily one where we're going to have a post into that middle of the field,
01:28and we're throwing it in the air 30 yards for the explosive.
01:32That does not seem like what's coming.
01:34He did hit us with a whole bunch of jargon on that one.
01:36Oh, yeah.
01:37That was what I heard.
01:37But I did find it interesting, which you noted as well.
01:40He said explosives come by doing the right thing consistently.
01:45I did find this more than just the same vein of what we were just talking about.
01:50I thought that this was notable that he said that they're asking themselves,
01:54how can we create more yards after catch with the ball in our hand?
01:57And I do feel like that is where we're talking about getting the ball and utilizing screens
02:04and utilizing your running backs out of the backfield.
02:08That's what I think when I hear, how do we generate yards after catch?
02:12Those are the things that they did not utilize all that much.
02:15In fact, I think that ties very much and very nicely with another question that he was asked,
02:19I think also by B. Scott, who might be the MVP of this particular press conference.
02:24What did you learn about yourself in the self-scout?
02:27And Nick Haley, in responding to that, talked about questions that he asked himself like,
02:31how can we avoid getting into longer yardage situations, which, yes, please, let's not do that.
02:36But he also at some point talked about better alternatives to things to do on early downs
02:41or early downs, rather.
02:42Early down and distance phases.
02:44Trying to evolve on early down and distance.
02:46But then more intentionality of putting guys in different positions,
02:50putting guys in position to show what they're capable of.
02:53And that felt very much to me like two players.
02:56Jalen Knoll, putting him in position to show you what he's capable of doing.
03:00And Nico Collins.
03:02Jalen Knoll, putting him in position to show you what he's capable of doing.
03:03I thought of Jalen Higgins.
03:05I thought of Jalen Higgins.
03:06Because remember when he spoke, when did he speak?
03:10Was it Monday?
03:11Anyway, they're kind of running together.
03:13He talked about Jalen Higgins.
03:15It was Tuesday.
03:15Either way, Jalen Higgins talked specifically about, I'm going to try to be multiple in terms
03:22of X, Y, Z, inside, outside.
03:25He literally said, that's what I'm working on.
03:27That's what I want to do.
03:28So I thought, okay, he's talking about Jaden Higgins right here.
03:32Being able to be a guy that can give the defense potential matchup issues
03:37depending on where he lines up.
03:38So I thought the same thing, but with a different player.
03:41I think that's exactly what they're doing.
03:43And keep in mind, he was also asked about tight ends and said,
03:47we want to do 11, we want to do 12, we want to do 13, we want to do 20.
03:52Yeah, I found that very interesting.
03:54In other words, one running back, two tight ends,
03:57or one tight end, three tight ends, or no tight ends.
04:00Yeah, I found that to be very interesting, right?
04:0420 is the one that caught me.
04:0611, that's NFL football.
04:08Yeah, that's everybody.
04:0812, makes sense.
04:1013 is very Patriots-like.
04:1213 is, but also it's Rams-like.
04:14Rams led the league last year in 13 utilization,
04:17and it was more than anything that we'd seen in the NFL of late.
04:21So that is also, Phil, and that was the thing I was wondering
04:24if he wanted to do more 12 and 13 last year,
04:26just didn't have the opportunity.
04:28He said that damn near explicitly here.
04:31But the 20 is what caught me,
04:32because that's three wide receivers and two running backs.
04:35And that makes me go, oh, okay.
04:37Now are we seeing them value Woody Marks out of the backfield?
04:42Woody Marks not even just out of the backfield,
04:43but lined up in wide.
04:45The 20 is the one that caught me,
04:47and how unorthodox are they actually going to be?
04:49Is this just a theory,
04:51or are we actually getting to the place
04:52where we're being innovative and imaginative with the offense?
04:56And maybe I'm doing too much of a stretch
04:57by taking that and taking that there,
04:59but I really hope so,
05:00because it felt like they were on the wrong side
05:02of imagination in year one.
05:04Yeah, and it could be a tight end landing up in the backfield.
05:07Yeah, but it'd still be a tight end.
05:09But it'd be a 20 set-up, line-up.
05:13If we're talking about him as a fullback or something like that.
05:15Yeah, something like that.
05:15I think it could be any number of things,
05:17but it still speaks to the creativity thing you're talking about.
05:20No, kind of the whole, just sort of absorbing the whole press conference there.
05:26I think the first thing that stood out,
05:28and this stands to reason, given that it's June,
05:33he did seem to have that energy back.
05:36Remember toward the end of the year last year,
05:38he was kind of beaten down.
05:39We beat him up a little bit.
05:40He was kind of beaten down.
05:43Or life.
05:45Or the first time.
05:46Hey, man, first time in a new job.
05:49We've all been there.
05:50First time in a new job.
05:51His head's swimming.
05:52Finding your equilibrium, finding the stasis is not easy.
05:56I can tell you that.
05:57Yeah, and then the second thing that stood out,
06:00aside from just the demeanor there,
06:01was he definitely, they definitely,
06:04everything we talked about with the offensive linemen,
06:07the more physicality.
06:08He talked about them a little bit.
06:10You know, the right mindset and mentality that they have.
06:12Embracing physical toughness.
06:15Everything we think they're going to be,
06:17when you talk about, you know, the explosive plays,
06:20and he goes into yards after catch,
06:22and, you know, the personnel with the two and three tight ends,
06:25and then the offensive line,
06:27they're going to be exactly what we think they're going to be.
06:29They're going to be exactly what we think.
06:31We're not going to have too many surprises, right?
06:33Like that, the essence of what they've talked about
06:35is still going to be there.
06:36I think one of the only other things that caught my attention,
06:40and this is the place where I, I'm not going to lie,
06:42rolled my eyes a little bit.
06:44He was asked how the relationship with CJ has developed.
06:47And it's worth noting that this is something
06:50that has been commented on by other people.
06:52Yeah.
06:53I think that, was it D'Amico, did D'Amico comment on,
06:55I know that Nick Cayley, or Nick Casario rather did,
06:57different NC.
06:58Nick Casario did, talked about the relationship
07:01that's grown there.
07:02I think D'Amico Ryans did as well, if memory serves.
07:05When asked about it, Cayley came from a place of,
07:07I've always had a good relationship with CJ,
07:09and I was like, hey man.
07:10This is us you're talking to.
07:12You ain't got a lot to kick it.
07:13We were there.
07:14You don't have to dress it up.
07:15We were there.
07:16He said, and he, he, the basically,
07:18any, any growth that he's trying to say
07:21basically came in the context of,
07:23you know, you're a diver,
07:24and you're always, you know,
07:25trying to get more there.
07:27But it felt like he was underselling that,
07:29and I wonder if that was him being defensive for a reason.
07:32Yeah, maybe.
07:34That's certainly a possibility.
07:36I think this is maybe just a different twist
07:39on all the positive affirmation we're hearing
07:42from D'Amico and Casario.
07:46Maybe even some players were really trying to bolster CJ
07:49by being, you know, hey, you know, look at this guy.
07:51We talked about it yesterday.
07:53I think this is just another twist on it.
07:54Like, we've always been good.
07:55He sees the game really, really well.
07:57And more time on task, you know.
07:58Right.
07:59I think it's just like, we are so lifting up this guy.
08:03You know, we want, we know it's there.
08:05We want him to be our guy.
08:06Yeah, and I think that that was the thing that ultimately,
08:08I appreciate it, right, outside of the almost conspiracy
08:11that I was building there.
08:12Yeah.
08:12But it's that he looks at CJ and he has great perspective,
08:17sees the game well, and that speaks to hopefully some of the things
08:20that we heard about, you know, from D'Amico about them,
08:23CJ adding in to what he likes into this offense so that hopefully
08:27that you're doing a little bit of actually living up to the,
08:31we are going to put our players in positions to succeed.
08:33We're going to help them do the things that they do well within this offense
08:37and call it that way.
08:37Hopefully that, the idea that the relationship has always been good
08:41and that he really appreciates the way that CJ sees the game,
08:44hopefully that translates into you're putting in, into the game plan,
08:49into the offense, the things that help CJ feel most comfortable
08:53and help him be the best version of himself.
08:55Because I think everybody in Texans land is invested in that being the case,
08:59for CJ to be the best version of himself, for them to go and win a Super Bowl
09:02and then ultimately him sign a company.
09:03Yeah, and to be fair, you know, you can't blame the Texans.
09:07They are handling this, not with kid gloves,
09:10maybe some people would perceive it that way,
09:12but they're really massaging the whole idea of, you know,
09:17we are here for you, we're going to lift you up,
09:20we're going to have your back, we're going to, you know,
09:23obviously make sure that people understand you are in it with us.
09:28You know, they're doing it all they can.
09:30It really comes back to what we said at the end of last season.
09:33How is CJ going to respond, you know, over the long haul?
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