- 35 minutes ago
Heisman Trophy winner and Texans radio analyst Andre Ware joins The Drive with Stoerner & Hughley to discuss the Texans' 0-4 start following their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. They also discuss Ware's beloved Coogs.
The Andre Ware Show is sponsored by ImageNet Consulting.
The Andre Ware Show is sponsored by ImageNet Consulting.
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00:00It's every week, though. There's no excuse for that. None.
00:04It's a Mo'Kerrim Injury Lawyers Reaction Monday on 95.7 The Fan.
00:09Here's The Drive with Sterner and Hughley.
00:20Alright, welcome back on a Reaction Monday, and this is the first of every Monday at 3 o'clock.
00:26We've got the Andre Ware Show, which is sponsored by ImageNet Consulting.
00:31Andre, we appreciate you joining us.
00:34We wish it was after a win yesterday, but this is going to be fun.
00:39Every Monday, you're going to be with us here at 3 o'clock, man.
00:42We appreciate you making some time every week for us.
00:45Yeah, guys. I've been a big fan of you guys and listened to the show quite often.
00:51I was telling Tyler, I said, if it wasn't right, I wouldn't attach my name to it.
00:55So, I respect the heck out of you guys, and I look forward to having a bunch of fun with
01:01you.
01:01Yes, sir.
01:03Listen, we'll get to CJ's stuff, and people are texting in questions they have for you.
01:07We'll get to – I do want to have an Ask Andre Anything, period, at the end of this.
01:15Be careful.
01:16It just came to me.
01:187-1-3-5-7-2-4-6-10, YouTube and Twitch, Ask Andre Anything, coming up towards the end
01:23of the segment.
01:25But I do – listen, we are obviously blessed to have you with your – you and Clint,
01:30with you all's expertise playing in the league.
01:32So, we will get to CJ and your thoughts about his performance this year.
01:37But from you, man, you've covered this team.
01:40What, in your opinion, that you see has happened to this defense that – that is the – I would
01:47argue the most surprising thing in the NFL
01:50is where the Texans' defense is.
01:53What are you seeing that is so different from what we've come to expect from this defense?
01:58Yeah, so I think that the thing that surprises me most is just the ability to close out games,
02:08especially after you had the past couple of years.
02:11I mean, it's a defense that's been building, but last year kind of flashed in a manner in which you
02:16thought
02:17or everyone thinks that it's one of the – it's historical defense.
02:21So, you get to this year, and the entire narrative of the offseason was can CJ just kind of maintain,
02:28play average.
02:34All right, hold on.
02:35We'll – let's get Andre – see if we can get a better line for Andre.
02:42There's – he'll – this is what I'm talking about, baby.
02:45This is kicking off right here, baby.
02:48Hey, this is – hey, this is – this is the drive right here, baby.
02:54This is the drive, maybe a little rocky, maybe a little – a little bit – a little bit in
03:00a tough spot.
03:02But I'm sure he'll join us here in a second, Clint.
03:04But that – all right, here's Andre.
03:06Go ahead.
03:06You can finish your point, Andre, as you were saying.
03:08Last year it was – they were – their inability to stop teams late in games.
03:14Yeah, well, it's this year.
03:16And, you know, three out of four games, the Texans have had the lead late,
03:19and just the inability to close out games.
03:22So that's the major surprise for me is that you – you don't have guys like Tim Settle,
03:28the secondary players after you remove guys out.
03:32Clowney, I thought, was an upgrade over Derek Barnett.
03:35But in the middle, right in the middle of that defense is where a lot of teams are having success,
03:40especially running the football.
03:43Will Anderson's playing out of his mind.
03:45Daniil Hunter is Daniil Hunter.
03:46But when you get past that, it's just tough to – when you lose Aziz
03:53and you lose a couple of other guys, Henry Toa Toa, then the second guys behind them,
03:59they just haven't had the impact that you'd like them to have to close out games late.
04:05Dre, talking about closing out games, I mean, there was obviously an interest –
04:09I don't know if it was a bust or just an odd coverage.
04:13It looked like some kind of man-to-man coverage.
04:15But really, the CeeDee Lamb just getting loose, 17 catches, career high.
04:19And we never saw Derek Stingley Jr. shadow CeeDee Lamb.
04:23I think that's the biggest surprise defensively for me coming out was there never was that old –
04:29the coach give the old lock sign of, hey, man, 24, you go wherever CeeDee Lamb goes.
04:34Were you surprised to not see that?
04:36Was there something that you saw that you said, well, there's a reason why they didn't go that?
04:40What's your thoughts on that down the stretch?
04:42I was totally surprised, Clint, because of the manner in which he was so wide open,
04:48especially coming out after halftime.
04:50At some point, you make the adjustment to do exactly what you said.
04:53It's, hey, 24, you got him.
04:55Three, you got whoever.
04:57Just lock him down.
04:58I don't know that I've ever been a part – and maybe I have and I just don't realize it
05:02–
05:02but I don't know that I've ever been a part of a guy with 21 targets in a game
05:07and 17 of them, 17 receptions.
05:10That's a crazy number.
05:12And so that tells me they identified, they being the Cowboys,
05:17identified something with CeeDee Lamb, and it's come hell or high water,
05:21we're going to go to him, and there's nothing you can do about it.
05:24And so they did.
05:25They moved him around.
05:26He was inside, outside.
05:27He caught hitches.
05:28He put you to sleep, basically going in motion, and you forget where he was.
05:33And, oh, yeah, here he is wide open.
05:35Those are things that in the past they would have made adjustments.
05:39And why they didn't yesterday, especially in such a close ball game,
05:44it just leaves you kind of scratching your head a little bit.
05:47Andre Ware with us.
05:48The Andre Ware Show each and every Monday, sponsored by ImageNet Consulting.
05:54Andre, let's move over to, I would say, the biggest bright spot of this team.
05:59And you have as much experience, closest as much experience you and Clint do
06:04to understand what C.J. Stroud is kind of going through right now in this season.
06:11How would you assess his performance, his play, not just yesterday, but this year?
06:16Since this is the first time we've talked to you, you've covered all of his games,
06:19you've seen him.
06:20How would you assess what he has done this year?
06:24Yeah, I wanted to get, you know, maybe a full month show of just kind of that evaluation
06:29before you jump the gun one way or another.
06:32I'll tell you this, with all the pressure, and there's pressure, unnecessary pressure,
06:37put on him, I thought, this offseason.
06:39Because it's not like he played that way at any other point in his career.
06:43And there's some factors.
06:44When you go back and you start watching the game in New England,
06:47you watch the game in Pittsburgh,
06:49there are factors in that game that weren't C.J.
06:52Now, he didn't look himself, obviously,
06:55but I don't know that he deserved what he got after that game.
06:59And he's handled it with just basically a magic wand, so to speak,
07:03in terms of how he's played.
07:05I think he's been outstanding this year, especially yesterday.
07:09And that's the game that I kind of wanted to target.
07:13How's he going to be against Dak with all the pressure of, you know,
07:16the Cowboys versus Texans, it's in your building?
07:19He outplayed Dak yesterday.
07:20He outplayed him snap for snap, throw for throw on the average,
07:25average completion, all of that stuff.
07:27He outplayed Dak Prescott.
07:29And we know all the accolades that Dak has accomplished.
07:32Came into your building and you outplayed him.
07:35It's never the two of them against each other,
07:37but you can look at a stat sheet.
07:39And he had his team in the game with an opportunity to win it.
07:43And he's done that several times this year.
07:46And the Texans have just not been able to close it out.
07:49Dre, you've covered the game a lot longer and a lot closer than I ever have.
07:54But I don't recall a quarterback, whether he's having success or not,
07:59I just don't recall a quarterback.
08:01He literally, we use the term in the game a lot,
08:04having to throw it through a keyhole all the time.
08:07I don't know that I've ever covered or watched a quarterback that has less margin for error,
08:14if you will, playing the position down in, down out.
08:17Do you see that?
08:19Do you recall anybody in your covering the game or playing the game that had it that way?
08:25No, because most teams, you know, they have guys that,
08:28whether it's a dynamic of speed, is some way to find a way to get open.
08:33And that's why it was so important yesterday, Clint, that Nico came back
08:37and had the type of response and game that he had,
08:40because he is a guy that you don't have to be perfect when you're throwing to him.
08:45There is separation.
08:46Even when there are guys around him, he's a hand catcher.
08:50He's not catching the ball with his chest, so you don't have to be perfect.
08:52You just put it in an area.
08:54The two big catches that he had, he's snatching the ball out of the air.
08:58I mean, it's with authority.
08:59So that's why it looked different yesterday, because now you've got another guy
09:04or at least one guy that can get open.
09:07That softens it up for everybody else because it takes a defender away,
09:11even though they're trying to bracket Nico.
09:13He's still finding ways to make catches and contribute.
09:16But from a quarterback standpoint, that's hard to do week in, week out,
09:21from game, from snap to snap.
09:23In a game, that gets tough when you've got to be perfect every single time.
09:29But kudos to CJ.
09:31He has delivered.
09:32He has been near perfect yesterday, and a lot of those passes were throwaways.
09:37A couple were throwaways, a couple where they were dropped.
09:40So even with the 10 incompletions, you could probably chop that in half
09:44and then look at it from that standpoint.
09:47But he's been spot on in terms of what he's needed to do for this team to be successful.
09:54I'm telling you, Dre, Nico puts on a dang clinic when he's out there.
09:57If you're a young receiver, I'll say it again.
09:59Can you imagine playing with one like that?
10:00I mean, I had Herman Moore in Detroit, who was a hand catcher,
10:05and he basically would extend his arms and catch everything away from his body
10:10within that radius.
10:11And Herman had some really good hands, really long arms.
10:15But I don't know that Herman ever had the speed that Nico has.
10:18When you look at Nico, he looks more – I bump into him in the elevator every once in a
10:23while,
10:24and he's always cordial.
10:25But when you're sizing him up, he looks more like a damn defensive end
10:29than he does a receiver.
10:31He's so well put together, man.
10:33I'm like, can we find two or three more like that and go to battle with him?
10:38Yeah, well, CJ would love to have two or three more of those.
10:40Hey, what about the trivial part of this offense, I think, is the offensive line
10:46and the addition, obviously, of David Montgomery and the emphasis put on running the football.
10:51We all know it hasn't been – I mean, it's been awful this year, to be honest with you.
10:54But with you watching, do you see any hope there?
10:57What do you see the problems are?
11:00Are there any fixes that Andre sees for this run game?
11:05Oh, boy, because you spent the entire offseason building that narrative, right,
11:10that this is what you wanted to be, a physical team.
11:13And, you know, two of the top O-linemen that you signed that you thought would be starters or not,
11:18one is, you know, on the mend.
11:21And then the running back that you brought in, Montgomery,
11:24it just seems like, to me, Woody hits the hole with a little bit more burst.
11:28Guys don't have to hold blocks quite as long for Woody.
11:32And I would imagine, with all the changes that have been discussed or talked about
11:36or, you know, been put out there, that that may be one that's coming,
11:40that he gets more carries.
11:42Because going into a game, only 19 carries,
11:45and part of that was split between Jalen Noel on a quick little end around
11:50as well as CJ running it two or three times in there.
11:53But it's only 16 times with the running backs, and that's where you want to hang your head.
11:58You're playing an explosive offense, and you see that they're having success.
12:02A way to shorten it or keep them off the field is to run the football, possess it.
12:06And I felt like that was going to be part of the game plan.
12:10If they were going to win, it was to have win time of possession.
12:14Well, part of that's being able to run the football.
12:16But if you've got to throw to run, you do that as well.
12:19Just don't tighten that baby down,
12:21because you're already not having success with the tight formations.
12:25It's okay to run the football with three wides and a tight end flexed out.
12:30If that's what gives you your best chance to win, then that's what you do.
12:34And they were doing that at times.
12:36It's when they brought it all down,
12:38and you can't move guys off the line of scrimmage.
12:40That's been the frustration of knocking your head against the wall a little bit
12:44in the first three games in short-yarded situations.
12:46They can't get movement.
12:48That's that old run-and-shoot Dre right there talking about spread them out.
12:51Hey, throw it to run.
12:52When you get back, I've never understood, Clint, where guys go down the field,
12:56you spread them out, you're running the football effectively,
12:58and then you get inside the 10-yard line and you tighten it down.
13:01Bunch them up, baby.
13:03Why?
13:03Why?
13:04You know, you're having success with them spread out.
13:08Keep them that way.
13:09And you've got better blocking angles for some guys to help each other inside
13:13along the offensive line with those five and maybe a tight end.
13:17All right, text in, ask Andre anything.
13:20Before we get to some of the questions, we've got some good ones here.
13:23Somebody's got a couple of relationship ones, Andre, so here we go.
13:28You just talked about it.
13:30What do you think is the best way this team should attack offense?
13:36Now, Clint has flipped it.
13:37He's out.
13:37He's out.
13:38It seemed like their thought was we're going to be a physical team that runs the football
13:43and plays towards our defense.
13:45Now that you've had four weeks to watch this team and the offense in particular,
13:49how do you think is the best way for the Texans to attack offensively?
13:54I think it's – you've got to change your frame of thought from the offseason.
14:01And if you don't, then you're going to keep running into that same wall
14:04that you're running into, and that's no fun for anybody.
14:07And, you know, at some point the players get frustrated with that as well.
14:11Your approach should be just watching for the first four weeks of the season
14:15is to, you know, spread guys out, and that's the best way to run the football.
14:19If they stay in the box, then you're going to throw it out on the edges
14:22and work from outside in.
14:25If they don't – you know, if they spread out with you,
14:28now you've got what you want in the running game.
14:30And so you can't – you don't have to be perfect.
14:32You don't have to have a guy that needs to hit it in there.
14:35You can take advantage of what David Montgomery brings to it,
14:39but it's apparent to me now that you've got to throw in order to run.
14:44And that's okay as long as you make the switch
14:47and it's not costing you games by just being hard-headed.
14:51What's your – Dre, where are you at with the Texans right now?
14:55Starting out 0-4 obviously is not ideal,
14:58and we all know the history of playoff, you know, success
15:01or even getting there at 0-4.
15:03But what's your thoughts for the Texans moving forward
15:07with getting this thing back on track
15:09and what needs to be done to get it back on track?
15:13Well, I think it starts with Tennessee.
15:15And if you go there, you know, it should be one of those
15:18where you don't take your foot off the gas.
15:19You fix everything, including special teams, defense.
15:23If you, you know, can put together a game where you've got five-plus sacks
15:27against Cam Ward because they're not very good on the offensive line,
15:30and he's still a young quarterback trying to find his way.
15:33The defense should be effective in this game.
15:36The offense should be – if they duplicate what they were able to do yesterday,
15:42then they're going to have success in Nashville on Sunday.
15:44If you go in there and you're overconfident, it's still – I said it this morning,
15:50it's a pro football team that has gotten a little bit better under Salah
15:55the last couple of weeks, and can they reach up and bite you?
15:59Absolutely, if you go in there and you're not ready to play football.
16:03So it's one of those where you've got to change your mind, change your thinking,
16:07and throw the football in order to be able to run it.
16:11That's where CJ has been most effective.
16:14Yesterday they actually pass blocked, and he had plenty of time to throw the football.
16:20And so I think that's where you start to make the change going forward.
16:23All right, I asked Andre anything people are texting in.
16:27The first one here, Andre, is I feel like my girlfriend – this is from Shane –
16:32I feel like my girlfriend is about to tell me she loves me,
16:34but I don't know what to say back to her because I'm not ready to say it back.
16:39Your advice on that?
16:41Well, don't say it back.
16:43I mean, if you're not ready, you're just not ready.
16:47And I got that advice years ago.
16:50I don't know that I followed it very well.
16:52And I probably should have – would have saved me a lot of headaches.
16:57But that was a long time ago.
16:59But if you don't want to say it, then you just don't say it.
17:03Hey, Shane, let old Dirty tell you.
17:05As soon as it's a picture, Chief, we'll let you know.
17:08All right, one more.
17:09Ask Andre anything.
17:10What can U of H do to get the crowd in there for a ranked team?
17:14That's a good – outside of just going door to door and working your way inside out
17:19from as close to the campus as you can get to all over the city.
17:25You know, you got to go knock on doors.
17:26You got to do it.
17:27I was there.
17:28I did that game against UCF.
17:30And, you know, I'm listening to my crew, Anish and Morgan Uber,
17:36our sideline reporter, ask me over and over, where is everybody?
17:39Why aren't they here?
17:40You guys got a top-20 team in the country.
17:43Why aren't they supporting it?
17:46UCF is 3-1.
17:47It's going to be a good football game.
17:49Where is it?
17:49I mean, over and over and over, it was coming at me.
17:52And all I could tell them was, I don't know why.
17:54I don't know why.
17:56Whenever we were there doing our thing, we could only pull about 30 into the Astrodome.
18:01So it's kind of always been that way.
18:04The frustrating part about it for guys that are in the program or players that have played there
18:09is that you sit and you listen as an alum to what we need to do.
18:13We need to be in the Big 12.
18:14Okay, if we get there, are you going to support it?
18:16Oh, absolutely.
18:17And then those same people aren't at games.
18:19That's the frustrating part about it.
18:21And I don't know that I have the answer.
18:23I know there are a lot of people making some pretty good coin over there that do that
18:27and should have the answers.
18:29But if you got to go knock door to door, hell, give away tickets.
18:32If they're not being sold, just so you get some butts in the seats.
18:36Hey, Dre, it's that half-priced beer.
18:38We'll get you there now.
18:40Half-priced beer.
18:40Hey, don't do it, man.
18:41If that's what it takes.
18:42Hey, Dre, I do want –
18:44Hey, sweet refills, baby.
18:46Hey, souvenir cup.
18:48Hey, I do, Dre, want to ask you real quick about the Cougs, though.
18:52Regardless of who's in the stands or not, you had that game this weekend.
18:56We watched them play a game that, man, I mean,
18:58they're literally inches away from taking Texas Tech to overtime, I believe it was.
19:06Obviously can play with college football playoff teams in the Big 12 now.
19:10I mean, things are going the right direction at U of H with the Cougs, right?
19:15No doubt about it.
19:17I think they've got the guy in Coach Fritz that can lead this team to a lot of big,
19:23big Saturdays, and he has.
19:25I mean, putting together 10 wins last season,
19:30and I thought he was still probably a year or so away.
19:33So now that ups the expectations.
19:36And what do they do?
19:37They come out and they're doing their thing this year again.
19:39So it's fun to watch.
19:43I don't know that there's a situation in the country that has a better quarterback room
19:49and situation than the Cougs.
19:51You've got a five-star backing up a guy that is playing out of his mind right now,
19:56and there's nobody clamoring for the five-star.
19:59You know, you'd love to see him at some point.
20:01He got a chance to play earlier in the year against Southern and looked fantastic.
20:06So you know the future is bright at that position.
20:09But you cannot downgrade where Connor Wigman has done.
20:13He is playing as well as anybody at that position in the country.
20:18And so you've got to, you know, you want to support that.
20:21Micah Hughes has done a heck of a job.
20:24He and Rashawn Sanders, those two at running back, and it's been one and two.
20:28I deem them 1A and 1B because there is no one and two.
20:34Those guys are on the same plane.
20:35And it's just exciting.
20:37The defense has played well.
20:39Coach Fritz has done a heck of a job of rebuilding that thing in a very quick, fast-paced manner.
20:45And they're just fun to watch.
20:46I've had them two times this year against Oregon State and then last week against UCF,
20:51and they didn't disappoint.
20:53All right, Andre, we're going to have some fun this year, man.
20:56We appreciate you stopping by.
20:58That's the Andre Ware Show each and every Monday.
21:02The Andre Ware Show is sponsored by ImageNet Consulting.
21:05Andre, we'll talk to you next week.
21:07Yes, indeed.
21:08Just real quick before we get out of here, thanks to ImageNet Consulting for being a part of this
21:13and sponsoring this show.
21:15I look forward to having a great time with you guys.
21:17I really do.
21:18All right.
21:18There's Andre Ware.
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