00:00Paul, we've been talking about, you know, like Nick Haley had a lot of things to say today as he
00:04met the media at OTAs.
00:07And the relationship with CJ Stroud, you just heard him talk about it.
00:11And yes, I know there was a lot of words out and I've always had a great relationship with so
00:16-and-so, blah, blah, blah.
00:17I mean, it's almost like, you know, he crashed Davis about his cliches.
00:24He's sitting on the bus.
00:25Got to work on your cliches, kid.
00:26Bull Durham reference.
00:27Nice.
00:27And so far, we've played four different cuts from Nick Haley.
00:32And I feel like there's been a lot of cliches.
00:35There's been a lot of good, good, everything's good, good, good, good.
00:41And not a lot of info, not a lot of detail, not really a whole lot of anything.
00:48That's really become the Texans way for what it's worth between D'Amico, Nick Casario, and just about everybody there.
00:56But go on.
00:58You know, I guess this is.
01:02I get why they're paranoid all the time, but I'm a little paranoid.
01:06Maybe this is the angry sports fan in me because, I mean, I am from New York and, you know,
01:12sometimes it's hard to let go of the anger.
01:18I don't want to talk to you if you don't have anything to say.
01:22Oh.
01:23And so far, he hasn't had anything to say.
01:26There is nothing that Nick Haley said that we didn't either already know or give a damn about.
01:34Yeah.
01:34And I know it's OTAs.
01:36I know there's only so much you're really going to glean from things.
01:40I understand that part of it.
01:42But I guess as a fan, you know, it's now June.
01:47You're starting to get that football itch.
01:50You're ready for your teams to get into training camp.
01:54You're excited about your team.
01:56You think your defense is holy crap badass.
01:59You are hoping, not against hope, but you're hoping your team has finally put together an offensive line that resembles
02:10something better than five-par cars.
02:12You are hoping that your quarterback actually has a chance to be successful.
02:17And you're hoping you've put together enough weapons around your quarterback, not just Nico Collins and some guys who either
02:26get hurt or fall off a cliff.
02:29Or both.
02:30Looking at you, Christian Kirk.
02:33Looking at you, Stephon Diggs.
02:35Don't get hurt, and then don't fall off a cliff.
02:39Steph didn't fall off a cliff, but Christian Kirk, you are a different conversation.
02:43It's crazy he had that Steelers game.
02:44That's the only thing of value he did all year last year.
02:47Just randomly show up against the Steelers.
02:50Otherwise, he was just in Jalen Knoll's way.
02:52It was his no-brown moment.
02:55It was his no-brown moment.
02:56That's a good reference.
02:57I'm going to have two really good games, and I'm going to die.
03:01He had one really good game, and then he went back to being dead.
03:03Noah Brown had multiple good games.
03:05In a row.
03:05He had two or three great games in a row, and then dead.
03:09I think it was back-to-back games.
03:10He had something like 300 yards receiving.
03:12Yeah, it was insane.
03:13And what did he do last year?
03:15Dead.
03:16You know, it's very easy to pin the blame on the offensive coordinator, and this fan base loves to do
03:22that.
03:22But, I mean, we did it with Bobby Sloick instead of saying, hey, CJ Stroud might be part of this
03:26problem as well for 2024.
03:29And now I think a lot of people from the get-go were, I don't really know about Nick Haley.
03:34He's an expatriate guy.
03:36But it is really about what the supporting cast is going to do around him.
03:39I know Clint talked about it, the drive about how Jaden Higgins might be the biggest wild card on the
03:46Houston Texans.
03:47What is he going to give as wide receiver on the outside number two?
03:51What are you going to get from Jalen Knoll this coming season?
03:54The year one to year two jump for wide receivers is usually the biggest leap that you will make in
04:00the NFL.
04:01Are these guys, players who are going to end up, worthy of day two picks?
04:08Really worthy?
04:10Day two picks that are actually going to be difference makers?
04:13Or is this once again going to be an offense that if Nico Collins misses a game and he misses
04:17games every single year,
04:18they have zero chance in the passing game?
04:22And it would be nice if Jalen Knoll actually, you know, got an opportunity.
04:25Yeah, he should have.
04:26Very little of those.
04:27There must have been something up, you would think.
04:30But it could just have been, oh, well, he's a veteran and we paid him money.
04:34Let's play him.
04:35Let's force this in the same way that I'm learning that companies often force things even if they realize it's
04:41not working.
04:42That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.
04:45But it's the truest thing you've ever heard as well.
04:48You had mentioned earlier, talking about like CJ with the whole, you know,
04:52offensive death by a thousand paper cuts and whatnot.
04:56Here's Nick Caley talking about the need to create more explosive plays.
05:02Yeah, I think first and foremost, you know, everything, it all counts for something, right?
05:06You've got to tie in, whether it's in the pass game, it's protection, it's being clean on protection,
05:11it's route depth, it's proper reads, it's everybody tied together, right?
05:14Same thing in the run game.
05:15You know, it's hat on a hat.
05:17It's miking it the proper way, okay?
05:18It's getting a hat on a hat and being cleaner and more efficient in those components of the offense.
05:24And then first and foremost, before we design anything, it's who are we talking about the players, right?
05:28It's, you know, players over plays, really.
05:30And just trying to continue to refine our techniques, our fundamentals, tie things together,
05:35and be able to put guys in the proper position.
05:38And like I said, we're further ahead now than we were at the end of the season.
05:42Obviously further ahead than last year.
05:43So we're just going to continue to try those things.
05:45But, you know, the explosives come by doing the right thing consistently
05:49and having all 11 tied together on those things, and that's where your opportunities come.
05:53And then to piggyback off that, you know, when you do have the ball in your hand,
05:57how can we create more yards after the catch with the ball in our hand?
06:01Is it attacking leverage, attacking entry, being able to set up defenders in the open field?
06:07Those are all things we're trying to attack on a daily basis and trying to make progress with.
06:10I just want you to know that was not John Harris with a voice-altering machine.
06:15That was all Nick Harris.
06:17He was explaining football to us with one answer to, from what the Texans transcripts say,
06:23the question was, on what is that process as the offensive coordinator
06:29to try and implement explosive plays?
06:32I would have to go back, and I would be able to figure out who asks that question,
06:36but I am very curious as to who asks that question,
06:38because going back to what you were saying just a moment ago
06:41about me talking about how C.J. Stroud, the Death by a Thousand paper cuts,
06:45he wasn't really that into it.
06:46This feels like the kind of question that gets asked by some sort of person who,
06:49I don't know, might be friendly to C.J. Stroud.
06:52Maybe.
06:53I'm going to go back and watch it.
06:55I have a hunch as to who asked that question.
06:57I was like, you've got a real short list.
06:59Yeah, I have a hunch, but maybe I'll, we'll see.
07:03Is that person often self-pander?
07:05Well, who amongst us doesn't?
07:08That's what does.
07:09That is the sports media game.
07:11Come on.
07:13Now, we're going to skip a few here.
07:16Good.
07:17We're going to skip a few here.
07:18My God, Nick.
07:20Let's talk about the Knicks on the Texans.
07:23The offensive line.
07:25These damn Knicks.
07:26The last couple of years, they've tried to reimagine the offensive line.
07:32It has flopped twice.
07:36What this year will be different?
07:37Here's Nick Caley on evaluating the O-line.
07:40Yeah, they love football.
07:41They want to be coached.
07:43They're tough.
07:44They've got the right mindset and mentality every single day we're out there,
07:47and I've seen continuous growth.
07:49I mean, surely, look, the pads don't come on now until we get to training camp.
07:52That's the truest measure.
07:53But we've got a bunch of guys that embrace physical toughness,
07:57and, you know, I'm excited about that.
07:59I'm excited about the direction.
08:00Cole Popovich does an outstanding job.
08:02Alex Ward helping him, too.
08:04Those guys do a really good job, and it's been positive.
08:07Learning techniques.
08:07We've got some new bodies here.
08:09So you talk about learning.
08:10Some guys have to learn a different way to do things.
08:12Are we going to hit double teams differently?
08:14Combination blocks differently?
08:15And that's part of the growth process in Phase 2, Phase 3,
08:19and we've got to carry that over to training camp.
08:21But I'm really happy with the progress,
08:22and I'm excited about the group of guys that we've got in that room.
08:25How do you hit double teams?
08:29Phrasing?
08:33Cole Popovich is, I think, as interesting a member of the Texans coaching staff this year
08:40as Nick Kaley, and you've heard Popovich's name mentioned a lot.
08:45Everyone who's brought him up, D'Amico Ryans, Kaley, Casario,
08:50they've all had great things to say about him.
08:53Is this offensive line, which in 2024 had a dude who was on the verge of retiring
09:00as their offensive line coach and a couple of guys and Lara,
09:05me, Tunsell, who always seemed to be more about him than the guys that are following his lead,
09:11and Titus Howard, who always had his tires pumped up by people who seemed to want to get
09:16access from him, favorable quotes from him.
09:20Is Popovich actually going to install mean, violent, mauling at the point of attack from this offense?
09:31We'll see.
09:32The guys look big.
09:35Keelan Rutledge finally signed today, so we'll see if he's as good as he potentially could be
09:43as a first-round pick.
09:44I think he actually got a little work at center today.
09:46But it's all about Popovich to me, maybe more than it is with Nick Kaley.
09:52Because if this offensive line takes a step in a big step in the direction that we've all been dying
09:59to ever see a Texans offensive line take post-2011-2012 with the offensive line that you had left to
10:07right,
10:07Wade Smith, excuse me, Eric Wynn, hang on, Dwayne Brown, Wade Smith, Chris Myers, Mike Breizel,
10:15then Eric Winston.
10:16They've been chasing that for years.
10:18Is it finally back?
10:20We'll see.
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