- 12 minutes ago
Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast give their initial thoughts on the Texans losing to the Bengals 20-6 on Sunday.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:0012 seconds to go. Joe Burrow approaches the line of scrimmage. The 38-yard line takes a knee, and it
00:06is over at Melian Stadium for the third time in his four years as a head coach. D'Amico Ryan
00:14sees his team start 0-2. They fall to the Bengals today, 20-6, with a division matchup at Indy
00:22next week.
00:24Hey, you know what? I'm going to embrace it. I'm going to embrace it because it makes our job easier
00:29when the Texans start 0-2, and here's why. And this is really what it's all about, purely selfishly. I
00:34know everybody's driving around this morning getting up ready to go to work. The Texans are 0-2, and they
00:39set the mood for the city. The Astros are not doing their part in pulling their weight. Hell, even the
00:43Cougs lost on Friday. At least that was a great, fun, competitive game to watch. It was a lost weekend.
00:48But, Seth, the nice thing is that because they've started 0-2 three times in the last four years, there's
00:55certain things I can just keep in drafts in my folder here, certain sentences that I use when I write
01:01my Houston Press articles about the Texans being 0-2.
01:04I mean, this week is going to be super easy to put segments together because I can just blow the
01:10dust off of, this is the percentage chance you have of making the playoffs when you start 0-2.
01:16I can blow the dust off of, where do the Texans rank amongst all the 0-2 teams to start
01:23the season out?
01:25So, it makes our job a little bit easier.
01:27That part of it, that part of it, the slow start.
01:29Muscle memory and repetition.
01:32Annoyingly, annoyingly normal for us.
01:34I think this is the difference, though, if you want to add a little extra spice to your misery.
01:39Oh, yeah.
01:40It's that they have, they've found new ways to disappoint in the first two games of the season.
01:45And this year, it's on special teams.
01:48It is drastically bad.
01:51It is horrendous.
01:52It is, you know, Sean, I felt disgusted with myself because after the game, you know, you go through and
01:59I'm thinking about the various ways, you know, some of the letdowns that the defense had.
02:02And then I'm remembering, oh, yeah, on half of their drives, they started at midfield.
02:08The Texans defense was put into a hole so many times by this incredibly bad special teams unit.
02:16The kickoff coverage, the punt coverage, horrendous.
02:21And not to mention just the decision to go for the field goal when you're down by seven.
02:27Yes.
02:28With your own 50 for a 58 yard field goal that even if you make the field goal, if you
02:34make the field goal, you still got to score another touchdown.
02:37In a game that's playing like touchdowns are at a super premium.
02:39If you miss the field goal, like, let's say you go for it, but don't get it.
02:44Okay.
02:45You're the offense gets the ball, but eight yards further back than when you miss the field goal and they
02:52spotted it at the spot of the where the place kicker is.
02:55Yeah.
02:55And it's seven or eight yards further back.
02:57Yep.
02:58It was.
02:59So that part of it's delightful.
03:01Yeah.
03:01Because you don't just have to wash, rinse, repeat.
03:03No, that's true.
03:04The special team sucks now, too.
03:05Yeah, that's true.
03:06Hey, that punter who was the league's worst punter last year.
03:09Remember he had a magical two weeks of training camp?
03:11Yeah, yeah.
03:12And hey, Kai Kroger's got it figured out.
03:14Yep.
03:14He can't punt or hold kicks.
03:16No, he's a horrible punter and a worse holder.
03:19So, yeah, so the special teams has now joined the party.
03:23Yeah, you're right.
03:24You're right about that.
03:25I'm glad you brought up that field goal.
03:27Welcome in, everybody, by the way.
03:28I hope other than your sports, you had a great weekend because the weekend in sports sucked here.
03:33There's nothing we can do to sugarcoat it or other than make you laugh and to laugh to keep from
03:41crying.
03:42That's what we can do this morning because the Texans are once again 0-2.
03:45I'm glad you brought that up.
03:46The decision on fourth and one to kick a 58-yard field goal, to attempt a 58-yard field goal
03:58in the third quarter of a game where you're down 10-3 was mind-numbing to me.
04:05And I was a little nervous that that might be what they do as that drive was playing out.
04:09I'm like, God, I mean, they got stuffed on fourth and one, honestly, fourth and two inches earlier in the
04:15game.
04:16Boy, does this play into D'Amico's mindset here?
04:19Because we know he loves – he's not afraid to try a Kaimi Fairbairn 50-plus-yard field goal.
04:24Kicked a 58-yarder last week.
04:25So, I will admit, Kaimi's got that in his bag.
04:28He's kicked 58-yarders before.
04:30He kicked one a week ago.
04:32But it's fourth and one in a 10-3 game in the third quarter.
04:37No, he's not going to do that here.
04:38He's not going to do that here.
04:39And sure enough, D'Amico Ryans chose to trot Kaimi Fairbairn out there for what is not a layup of
04:43a field goal.
04:44It's not a chip shot.
04:45It's a 58-yarder.
04:47So, I think there's the – and that's where the game was decided because the – as you pointed out,
04:54the Bengals turn around.
04:55They get the ball at their own 48-yard line because the ball is placed where the kick came from,
05:00where the holder placed the ball.
05:02And then they turn around and in eight plays, they scored a touchdown that ended the game.
05:05That sequence ended the game right there.
05:07They're not just the analytics of the decision, which I can't imagine there's a calculator out there that says a
05:1458-yard field goal is easier than gaining a yard.
05:17And it's not a yard.
05:18It's inches.
05:19Yeah.
05:20Yeah.
05:20So, fourth and one, they decide to do this.
05:25He kicks – the ball lands in the back of the end zone.
05:28He doesn't even – never had a chance, right?
05:31He didn't have the distance on it.
05:32I think the bigger thing is for an offseason where the stated goal – the stated goal was to become
05:42tougher and become more physical and be able to move people on offense in the run game.
05:48That you make a decision that is just so fraught with mathematical error, not to mention the momentum shift that
05:55comes when inevitably we miss the 58-yard field goal.
05:58Well, it was an admission that everything you were trying to do this offseason was not working.
06:03The tough, nasty, physical, gritty offensive line and rushing attack?
06:07We brought out a former soccer player to clean up our mess with a 58-yard field goal.
06:12Yeah.
06:12As opposed to the five uglies up front.
06:17This is American football, not the European football.
06:20Oh, wait.
06:21Where people are flopping around and carrying on.
06:24No.
06:25Yeah, man.
06:25This is hard-nosed scrap iron football where we just let Dexter Lawrence toss our center around like he's yesterday's
06:34laundry.
06:35And I was really – I was disappointed in the press conference after the game that D'Amico Ryans was
06:40never really forced to address the thought process behind that decision.
06:43He was asked about it in the first question as an adjunct to a bigger question.
06:47Yeah, it was a two-part question.
06:48It was a two-part question, and he did what smart coaches do.
06:51When the second part of the question is something that you failed at miserably, you just ignore that one.
06:56If you go back and look, the question had – I don't know who asked it.
07:00It might have been Jonathan.
07:00I'm not sure, but asked a two-part question like, hey, here's a question, and here's another question.
07:06Please answer them both.
07:07And D'Amico just didn't answer the second one about the horrible, horrible, malpractice, unconscionable decision to kick a 58
07:14-yard field goal on a fourth and one in a 10-3 game in the third quarter.
07:19What's so strange about it is that – I mean, D'Amico at other times has been kind of bullheaded
07:24about insisting that we're going to run up the middle.
07:28Yeah, earlier in the game.
07:29Well, earlier in the game on fourth and short, I was a little confused after that play because a lot
07:34of people kept saying they tried to run outside or run off tackle on that play.
07:37And I'm like – and then I went back and watched it.
07:39I'm like, oh, people thought it was an outside run because Dexter Lawrence got so much penetration that David Montgomery,
07:46you know, tried to bounce it outside.
07:48But no, no, this is the best – the best part about that play, the fourth and inch – and
07:52this is where, again, you're going to be a tough, hard-nosed football team.
07:55But we're also going to be one of these modern teams that thinks a 6'5 stretched-out tight end
07:59can be a fullback.
08:00No, Cade Stover was very careful to sidestep Dexter Lawrence on the way to get to where it's drawn up
08:06in the playbook.
08:07I got to get that guy.
08:08Right.
08:08I got to get that guy.
08:09Not the gargantuan human being that's about to destroy my running back because you're trying to act tough.
08:16Like this offense, it's been so many years where they're just – they try to act so tough.
08:21Oh, my gosh.
08:22Well, we're going to be tough.
08:24We're going to get in there.
08:25Oh, gosh.
08:25Oh, watch out.
08:26Did you see that guy?
08:28You know what Cade Stover was?
08:30You know that episode of The Office where Michael is – the gist of the episode is they're starting to
08:36get replaced by computers.
08:37People are.
08:38And Michael's driving home from a meeting with Dwight, and the GPS tells him to take a left.
08:44And if he takes a left, he drives right into a pond.
08:46Yeah.
08:47And he's like, but this is what it's telling me to do.
08:50And that was Cade Stover.
08:52He's like, the play is telling me to go to the next level and block his linebacker.
08:56But this large man's about to throw your car into the lake.
09:00Yeah.
09:00No!
09:01I'm supposed to block the linebacker.
09:04Sean, I got to – you know, we were joking the other day about, you know, me watching my high
09:07school highlight film.
09:09I might have to go get it because, honestly, it looked – Dexter Lawrence yesterday looked like I did.
09:14When I was in high school playing against a 175-pound car.
09:17People are a foot shorter than you.
09:18For East Rochester.
09:19Yeah.
09:22It looked like a sport that should be banned.
09:25He did.
09:25Like it was like some kind of – yeah, this isn't humane.
09:29Yeah.
09:29This – this – this – this – this normal – if you didn't know the actual dimensions, it would
09:34look like what they used to do with the little people sometimes.
09:37But it's – you know?
09:38But it's –
09:38They're throwing them down bowling alleys and stuff.
09:40They don't do that anymore.
09:41They did.
09:41He's right.
09:42They did.
09:43He bowled – Dexter Lawrence bowled a perfect game with Evan Brown's body.
09:47They're just tossing right down a grease lane.
09:49But let's – but let's expand this here because, like, nobody's immune to this today.
09:55Anyway, on the field, and I will say, too, roster construction, it was a big wake-up call yesterday that
10:02on the one side, you had the team that made all their big moves on the defensive side in the
10:05trenches.
10:06Yeah.
10:06You know, granted, the Texans weren't out there going in – you know, the Dexter Lawrence equivalent to go get
10:12in the interior of the offensive line maybe wasn't available.
10:14But the Texans made a concerted effort this offseason to once again shuffle the deck on the offensive line.
10:21And it didn't work yesterday, and it didn't work against the team that made a concerted effort to really upgrade
10:26its defensive line, and it worked like a charm.
10:28Oh, yeah.
10:28You know what I mean?
10:29So, it was a reminder of the two offseasons as well.
10:31Like, so far, you're 0-2 in all the moves that were getting lauded throughout the summertime.
10:37You know, two games in, I can't think of any of them that feel like home run.
10:41You know, Dave Montgomery had a nice first game, scored a few touchdowns.
10:44Yesterday, he was six carries for 10 yards.
10:47You know, the two running backs had 14 carries for 18 yards yesterday.
10:52So, two games in, we have one game where we can go, okay, the running game was pretty good.
10:56We have a second game –
10:57It was a prolific three yards per carry out of David Montgomery.
11:00Yeah, yeah.
11:01And some of that is the nature of his runs.
11:03It was the nature of the runs, but also, remember, because it took him three attempts down on the goal
11:06line.
11:06Correct.
11:07It was – some of that – when you go by O-line blocking on some of those short yardage
11:12plays, he should have been stuffed even harder last week.
11:15Yeah, so nobody's immune to it today, man.
11:17Everybody needs to be unnoticed, you know, from D'Amico Ryans for just that horrible, horrible decision.
11:22Nick Caley, who we'll get into, who in a game where they brought four tight ends to the game day
11:27roster.
11:28They've got five on the roster.
11:30Yeah.
11:30They're missing Nico Collins and Jaden Higgins.
11:33I'll throw Tank Dell in there too, I guess.
11:34But Nico Collins and Jaden Higgins for sure in terms of guys they planned on having to start the season.
11:39And then he's out there running three wide receiver sets for almost the entire game.
11:43The entire game, yeah.
11:44And it's like, I don't know, I think if maybe part of what they were thinking was,
11:48all right, we'll spread it out a little bit and try to give the running back some room to run.
11:52But you're not – that wasn't working.
11:55But they weren't running.
11:56They were just throwing it all over the place.
11:57They had to quit running because they were so bad at it.
11:59Yep.
12:00And, yeah, and honestly, Sean, though, too, we can talk about Dexter Lawrence.
12:05I mean, Trent Brown on that one short yardage play got destroyed by TJ Slayton,
12:09who's a backup defensive lineman.
12:11It was a buffet of just taking what you wanted from that offensive line yesterday.
12:18Yep, yep.
12:19And, I mean, seriously, you look at the O-line construction in the offseason.
12:23Hey, Wyatt Teller's playing because he was an acquisition.
12:25He's a backup.
12:26But he's got to replace the guy who let up one of the game-losing sacks at the end of
12:34last week,
12:34Ed Ingram, who you paid big money.
12:36Trent Brown was a nice bargain signing, but he beats out Braden Smith.
12:42Before Braden Smith got injured, Braden Smith was getting beat out.
12:45Yep.
12:45You know, maybe when Braden Smith comes back, he'll look better than he did before.
12:50But that was a disaster yesterday.
12:53It was a disaster.
12:54And then the two – I mean, both your offensive tackles getting destroyed on a three-man pass rush.
12:58At the end.
12:59At the end.
12:59Yeah.
12:59I mean, which is the same thing that happened last week.
13:02Yep.
13:02Your Trent Brown got beat on a three-man pass rush.
13:04Yep.
13:05Yep.
13:05So, I mean, there's some numbers with this performance that we can get into that are just –
13:10all it does is confirm everything we saw yesterday.
13:1316.7% rushing success rate, which is infinitesimally low.
13:19And combine that with a pressure rate of over 43%, which is very, very high.
13:23Yeah.
13:24I'll tell you what.
13:25They allowed a lot of pressure on C.J. Stroud, and they didn't allow the running game any room to
13:29run.
13:29And I, honestly, haven't gone back and watched this game almost two full times.
13:36Why would you do that to yourself?
13:37Well, you know, you watch the condensed version and just kind of speed through it.
13:40Right.
13:40The All-22 isn't out until this morning.
13:42For me, people have these, like, bootlegged All-22s.
13:46I thought you former NFL players got, like, a special little kiosk you got to go to for that type
13:51of stuff.
13:51No, no, no.
13:52Okay.
13:53We just – yeah.
13:54They give us a body language, Cam.
13:56Anyway, two things.
13:57I thought C.J.'s body language was good yesterday through adversity, I thought,
14:01because it's very important that we talk about this.
14:04The second, though, is that C.J. was dealing.
14:06I mean, given the circumstances and given who he was throwing to, they had at least five drops on the
14:12day.
14:12Those are always dicey with the way that they're graded.
14:14I think it was clear there were times where there were some hard-to-catch passes that, you know,
14:20would have been reasonably impressive if they'd been caught, and yet they were not caught.
14:24And that's what happens when you're playing a bunch of backup wide receivers.
14:27But, I mean, he had to throw into really tight windows, and he did it without putting the ball in
14:33harm's way.
14:34And I can't remember a pass that looked interception-worthy in that game.
14:38He threw that one towards the end of the game that the linebacker almost intercepted.
14:42Yeah, I got to throw that out.
14:43Yeah, I got to throw that out.
14:44It's kind of garbage time.
14:45But I thought that, like, I don't put it on C.J.
14:48If I had to power rank my most disappointing players in that game, he's way, way, way down the list.
14:53He's very far down.
14:54And I know people who are still out on C.J. are going to say, guys, they scored six points.
14:59And that's a fair point.
15:00But he is way down on the list of problems with this team right now.
15:03Look, watch Joe Burrow yesterday.
15:07Joe Burrow made some great plays, but he's also throwing the ball to Jamar Chase and T. Higgins.
15:11It makes a difference.
15:12Hey, I'm not making all the excuses for C.J. or anything, but it kind of makes a difference.
15:18We've got a couple minutes still here.
15:20Where are you on the defense right now?
15:22The defense, I'm, okay.
15:24I thought that in the second half, this is where it gets dicey.
15:27And people were getting mad at me yesterday because I was, I dared to criticize the defense at all.
15:34I think when the Bengals were in a position of, okay, we've got this lead, we're going to milk the
15:38clock, we're going to drive.
15:40They were able to run the ball with too much ease.
15:43And that goes back to, all right, Henry Toto is out, Jake Hansen's in there.
15:47I think Jake Hansen is doing an admirable job for what he is and what his abilities are.
15:53But between that and then the defensive tackles getting knocked around a good amount in the run game.
15:57In the second half, they were just, they were too leaky against the run.
16:01And it was nothing ridiculous.
16:03It wasn't a bunch of breakouts or anything, but it was four and five yards at a clip.
16:07Samaji P. Ryan and Chase Brown.
16:10Yeah.
16:10It was P. Ryan as a receiver.
16:11I didn't realize, I thought it was Chase Brown.
16:14The 16-yard catch there.
16:15Yeah, that was P. Ryan.
16:16Yeah.
16:17Yeah, you pointed this out to me when we were in the press box.
16:20It's like Chase Brown's overall numbers weren't eye-popping.
16:23He had 20 carries for 80 yards.
16:24That's a fine day at the office.
16:26It's that his long carry was 11 yards.
16:28Yeah.
16:28You know, a lot of times, we saw this with Joe Mixon a couple years ago.
16:31Joe Mixon would have 21 carries for 130 yards, and his long rush would be 62 yards.
16:36So, on the other 19 carries, he's barely pedestrian.
16:39Yeah.
16:40When your long is 11 and you're rushing 20 times for 80 yards, it means you're possessing
16:45the football, you're churning clock, you're wearing down a defense, you're leaning on them.
16:50And that's what Cincinnati did.
16:51Cincinnati, even with all that firepower, they were content to win 20-6.
16:55I mean, that team's a problem.
16:58You know, and that's the other thing, too, is all of a sudden, this is what's coming back
17:02to roost also, is it looks like order has been restored to some degree in the AFC, right?
17:08Buffalo looks like a juggernaut, at least offensively they do.
17:12Cincinnati, if this is what their defense is going to be two games in, they're going to
17:16be a problem if Joe Burrow stays healthy.
17:18I know the Ravens lost yesterday.
17:20I think the Ravens are going to be fine.
17:21I think the Saints just may be better than we think they are.
17:24But Lamar Jackson is healthy, and we saw last night, Patrick Mahomes, it looks like he's
17:29back to being Patrick Mahomes again.
17:31He threw three touchdown passes last night.
17:33You know, by the way, Indy traded blows with them all night long at Arrowhead Stadium.
17:37That's who you play next week.
17:38That's who you play next week.
17:40So the AFC, at least two games in, is not laying out as nearly the soft landing that it
17:46did last year.
17:47This 0-2 feels different.
17:48We'll talk about it at 7 o'clock today.
17:50Is this different than the other ones?
17:52I think it is, and I think just empirically it is in a bad way for the Texans.
17:56You know, and honestly, and too, we'll revisit this later, but even in going back over that
18:00too with me, you know, whining about maybe being a little too soft in the run, it was
18:04really, it was only for one series that it was even an issue in the second half.
18:07It was just the defense had so much pressure on them.
18:10Oh, the field position battle was ridiculous.
18:12Yeah, they just, they got off, they were started, the Bengals had six drives that started past their
18:17own 40-yard line.
18:19Five of the first eight, including the first three of the game, and luckily the Texans defense
18:24held up on those, and the Bengals got a bunch of penalties.
Comments