00:00Cole, you've been putting these questions up, so what is the question of the day today?
00:03Will the new Derek Barnett please stand up?
00:07Okay, so lay out the Derek Barnett part of this for the audience.
00:10Derek Barnett, to me, was the most unsung hero on the Texans defensive line
00:14because if you didn't have a Will Anderson for a game or Daniel Hunter needed a drive-off,
00:19you had somebody that could fill in and be a quality No. 3 defensive end.
00:24And I think that a lot of people don't look at the stat lines because of,
00:27well, you've got two all-pro, world-class defensive ends coming off at the edge.
00:30Why do we care about that third guy?
00:32Just in case of injuries, just in case of somebody needs a break here or there,
00:37you need that extra player because that's been a strength of you.
00:40And there were rumors going into the draft that the Texans were at least going to be interested
00:44in adding in another defensive end, not for anything more than situational pass rushing.
00:49Where are you right now replacing a guy that, while here for only two years,
00:54or, I mean, two and a half years, was productive, finished No. 3 in sacks on the team two straight
00:58years,
00:59No. 3 on the team in quarterback hits three straight years,
01:02and Top 5 in tackles for losses three straight years.
01:04Scored a couple touchdowns, too.
01:06And it's not just injuries either.
01:08I mean, they just rotate their defensive linemen.
01:10So Danico Autry and Derek Barnett had about 500 combined snaps last year.
01:15I think that for right now, I share your concern, Cole.
01:19Sean and I have talked about this a good amount.
01:21And the thing I always try to remind myself is, man, we get into the same deal with the defensive
01:27tackles,
01:28where every year, you know, the Texans a few years ago, they signed Sheldon Rankins,
01:32and people are like, ah, Sheldon Rankins.
01:34Sheldon Rankins leaves in free agency, and people are up in arms.
01:37I can't believe they're the last Sheldon Rankins walk!
01:39I can't believe, because these guys come in, and they tend to do their best work on this defensive line
01:44in this defense.
01:45And Derek Barnett was the same way.
01:47I mean, he was picked up off the scrap heap in Philly, and wasn't doing all that much in Philly.
01:53Got to Houston, and the lights went on for him.
01:56And he's been a really valuable contributor over the last couple years.
02:00I think for now, Dominic Robinson is the most intriguing one,
02:04because he's got all of the physical traits of a guy that maybe just hasn't reached his potential.
02:11And I think they want to see him during training camp and figure out what they think they have in
02:15him.
02:16And then the other guy, too, is Logan Hall, who on first and second down especially,
02:21can go out and play defensive end if they're concerned about stopping the run.
02:24One thing the Texans have done a really good job of on first downs is just, like, being...
02:30They stop the run.
02:32If there's a pass, it's not going to be a first down.
02:34They get everything to second down, and then you worry about rushing the passer.
02:38They've got a lot of guys right now that can be out there on first and second down.
02:43They're not as good as Daniil Hunter or Will Anderson, but while those guys get a blow,
02:46they can get them into a good third down situation.
02:50So that's where I am.
02:55I'm cautiously optimistic that you're going to see the best version of Dominic Robinson.
02:58If you watch his highlight reel, you'd think, oh, this guy's all pro.
03:02He just hasn't been as consistent.
03:04Well, we should point out that when the question is, will the new Derek Barnett please stand up,
03:10that the actual Derek Barnett is still out there.
03:12Right.
03:12So he's still out there potentially as a solution.
03:15I would guess Derek Barnett, at his age, I think he's 33.
03:19I think he's 30, actually.
03:21Is he only 30?
03:22Yeah.
03:22Holy crap.
03:23He was 20 when he got drafted out of Tennessee.
03:25Really?
03:26Yeah, he was a young player.
03:27Derek Barnett's 30.
03:28He's only 30.
03:29He just turned 30.
03:30So I think he's looking at it as...
03:32So Derek Barnett, he was 29 last year when he played.
03:36He's got that look.
03:37He's bald and he's got the big beard.
03:39Kind of a Paredes effect.
03:41He looks like he's like 41.
03:42Yeah, Paredes.
03:43People are always shocked that Paredes is in his 20s.
03:45He's 25 or something like that, Paredes?
03:46Paredes is 27, I think.
03:48Yeah, okay.
03:48He looks 35.
03:49Yeah.
03:49So he's still out there, and I think his best fit where you know he's going to at least
03:56be productive for what they want is probably right here, but he's only 30.
03:59He probably wants to be a starter somewhere.
04:02Sure.
04:02And I'm guessing he's just waiting for a potential opportunity, but I would also guess that the
04:06Texans maybe have checked in on him and that at some point, if either they up the offer
04:11or if Derek Barnett realizes, all right, we're a couple weeks into camp and nobody's calling,
04:16I'll just go ahead and sign with the Texans.
04:18I think, yeah, he's a very, very viable option.
04:22So the guys that we've talked about outside of Derek Barnett that aren't in the building,
04:27that aren't in anybody's buildings right now, who are the ones that are still out there?
04:30Is Joey Bosa still out there?
04:32Joey Bosa's still out there, yeah.
04:34Okay, on Clowney's still.
04:35Clowney's still out there.
04:36Okay, Clowney's still out there.
04:37Very stout run defender.
04:38We just talked about, okay, what do you do on first down?
04:40Yeah.
04:40Yeah, Clowney's the most intriguing one to me.
04:43I like the Clowney idea, yeah.
04:45Yeah, I know, and I think the whole thing about Clowney, like Clowney and Bill O'Brien
04:48would always chape a little bit, and it was the stories you'd always hear is like, okay,
04:52look, he plays his ass off on Sundays.
04:55He 100% does.
04:56I think that people that thought that he didn't have a good motor or anything, I hope that
04:59the first time you saw him hawk a wide receiver 30 yards downfield, you realize he plays really
05:04hard on Sunday.
05:05As a younger player, he didn't necessarily check off all the other boxes when it came to,
05:10you know, be in a certain type of way at practice and in the building.
05:14I think for one, we don't know how he is in that regard now because we haven't seen him
05:18in a long time.
05:19Right.
05:19But the other thing is, too, he's also at an age where you want to, those guys, your defensive
05:25linemen who are well into their 30s, you're trying to load manage them anyway.
05:29Yes.
05:29And it might just be not that much of a factor.
05:32Yeah.
05:32He's always been a good dude.
05:34He just wasn't, like, he didn't have those J.J.
05:36Watt attributes of, uh...
05:38Dude, they checked in on Terry and Arnold last week.
05:41Right.
05:41They were checking out on everybody at this point.
05:43Like, what's Clowney ever done?
05:44You know what I think?
05:45You know what?
05:46I'll allow it.
05:46Usually you'll say, like, hey, this guy's never been arrested or anything.
05:49And I'm like, well, come on.
05:51Is that our bar?
05:52Really?
05:53Well, Terry and Arnold's actually the new bar.
05:54There are a lot of guys that have been arrested who are, like, a lot of the guys who, usually
05:58it's the guys who claim, hey, I've never been arrested.
06:01That's a red flag.
06:02And we're like, okay, if you think that's what the standard is, like, no.
06:05There are a lot of guys who have been arrested a bunch of times, but who are awesome football
06:08citizens and do everything the right way on the football side.
06:11Two other names out there are Von Miller and Ron Reddick.
06:15Well, those are other defense fans.
06:16Those guys are interesting because, you know, like I was just saying,
06:19I think they want guys who can roll in on first and second down, but your heavy hitters
06:25as pass rushers are Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson.
06:28So with Reddick and Von Miller, they don't really fit the system other than if they're
06:33going to come in and be a pure pass rusher.
06:35And you don't really have a need for them right now unless they just, that's what they
06:40want to do.
06:41But they're just, they don't really fit the mold of this defense.
06:44If you can get them in a bargain and be a guy that's there and you can come in and
06:47rush them rotationally, and especially if there's an injury, sure, but I just don't
06:51think that's the best fit.
06:52The injury, the injury thing's interesting.
06:54Real quick, where are we, Will Anderson played all 17 games last year.
06:57Last year, but he missed two games the year before.
06:59And he missed three the year before that.
07:01So he's missed five total.
07:01And it was always with an ankle.
07:03It was the Steph Curry dynamic.
07:04It was always with an ankle.
07:05And I was hoping, last year was the first year of the Steph Curry, like, oh, he figured
07:08out his ankle issues.
07:09Yeah, yeah.
07:10A lot of it, you know, you work on ankle.
07:11You're on those wobble boards all off season and everything.
07:14You work on your ankle flexion.
07:16So what's, so as a former professional athlete, what's your concern level over this ankle
07:21thing with Will Anderson?
07:22Is it behind him now, you think?
07:23You know what, I had ankle issues when I was a young player, too.
07:26And I do, I, there's a lot that you can do to just strengthen them and stabilize them
07:32that I don't worry about it being a chronic thing.
07:36Like, I don't think we were just lucky last year.
07:38Yeah, I don't think so, either.
07:40Yeah.
07:40I do, I, that, this is a, this is bigger than the question you were asking, Cole.
07:44To be clear, I didn't have quite as much force flowing through my ankles when I ran as Will
07:50Anderson.
07:52You can't find many on the corner on the edge.
07:55You don't have that type of bet.
07:56Yeah, yeah.
07:57Yeah, they were, I just, I'll point this out just real quick.
07:59They were really lucky with injuries last year on the defensive side of the ball, the
08:03Texans.
08:04You know, they did.
08:04They did, the big ones, I mean, Jalen Petrie in the middle of the season.
08:08That was, he missed three and nobody else missed more than one, I don't think.
08:12Yeah.
08:12Out of the core guys.
08:13And then Kamari at the end of the season, you know, that, that one, was it one or two
08:16series versus the Chargers?
08:18It was six snaps.
08:19It was six snaps and everything fell apart.
08:21Yeah.
08:22For six snaps.
08:22It felt like 60 snaps.
08:23You also had a street free agent playing next to him at safety, too.
08:27Devon Wallace.
08:28That was, yeah.
08:29That's a good point.
08:30That was, I mean, you know what, we say that they had good luck with injuries.
08:33They did, except that it was a turnstile at safety.
08:36I mean, they're just, it was player after player.
08:38Either you had C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was just doing his own thing.
08:42Yeah.
08:42You had Reed, who's a rookie, getting injured.
08:45You have multiple guys in there.
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