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00:00All right, welcome in one hour down as we are here live on the drive on the fan.
00:06And we're going to open up the phone lines to you, 713-572-4610.
00:10You can join us.
00:11Again, I want you to have this thought in mind.
00:15Do you believe in your thought process if the Texans are unable to get to the space
00:24they're trying to get to, get past that divisional round, bust their head through
00:28that glass ceiling of the divisional round, in your mind, do you think it'll be because
00:36CJ wasn't good enough?
00:37Is that going to, is that in your mind what you would predict the reason that they wouldn't
00:43make it, right?
00:44Like we knew that the Rockets weren't going to make it probably because they couldn't
00:48shoot.
00:49You know, but where is the thought process there?
00:53And I want to open up the phone lines, 713-572-4610.
00:56And Tyler will get you on, why do you think it will be the reason?
01:01What do you think the reason will be if the Texans aren't able to make it to the AFC
01:05championship game?
01:06Because they have, they have for the most part a team that, that is very, very capable
01:10of doing that.
01:11Now they did get some really tough news today.
01:13And if you missed it, uh, as we've talked about it, uh, since it's happened right here
01:18on, on the drive, Jalen, uh, Jaden Higgins is going to be out for the season, tore his
01:23ACL and Clint, according to, and this is tough, by the way, Keenan Allen just signed with the
01:30Colts a couple of days ago.
01:31That could have been an option, but, um, but coming from Aaron Wilson, it reports Clint
01:37that they got, uh, Jalen Noel from a hamstring and pinky and right pinky injuries this week,
01:43the plan is to ramp him up and to get him back to where he was in the spring where
01:49he
01:49was, uh, where he had some success, uh, receiver, Jared Wayne, who caught a touchdown against
01:54the chargers and is having the, his best camp, his arrows pointing up.
01:58That is somebody they really liked Xavier Hutchinson as a possession, uh, like Xavier Hutchinson's
02:06progression after he had a career high production last year.
02:10And then obviously they're going to lean heavily on guys like Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz.
02:14And I will think the other tight ends as well, but that's, that's where we are right now.
02:19Jaden Higgins out for the season.
02:21We'll see what they do, uh, moving forward, but yeah, guys like Jalen Noel, Jared Wayne, you
02:27kind of mentioned it earlier, Xavier Hutchinson, those guys most definitely got to step their
02:31games up.
02:32Yeah.
02:32I mean, look, if you look at, at where the Texans are, I think it's not a panic because
02:38it's easy.
02:39Xavier Hutchinson moves right into Higgins role, uh, which we've seen him do, uh, plenty
02:45of time and do, uh, at a, at a very high level.
02:48Uh, we've seen him go out and make plays that, that changed the season, um, with catches against
02:54what was it?
02:54The chargers.
02:55And there was a, there was another big one somewhere along the way, but
02:57um, so there's, you've got, you're plenty capable of filling the role.
03:01You're plenty capable of executing the offense.
03:04I think the big piece here is, is your explosiveness, your playmaking ability, your, your, your red
03:09zone threats.
03:10I think you just took a hit in all of the above positions, but right now, as you move forward
03:15in, in the, in the, the, the near future, uh, Xavier Hutchinson just becomes a bigger piece
03:20of what you were trying to do.
03:22Uh, and, and like you said, Jared Wayne, it's no longer, Hey man, can you make that fifth wide
03:26receiver spot?
03:28It's a, you've had a great training camp.
03:30Um, you've, you've appeared to create chemistry with every quarterback that you play with.
03:34You appear to be quarterback friendly.
03:35You make big plays in the red zone.
03:37Um, and, and now you got to step up and show that you can do it on Sundays and more
03:42of a
03:42prominent role with this offense.
03:44I think when you talk about Higgins and a ham, I mean, uh, Noel in a hamstring and then,
03:48and you talk about tank with the issues he's had, I think to bank on those guys, uh, to,
03:53to, to come back any sooner than they already were because Higgins got hurt, I think is a
03:57mistake.
03:57So it's definitely the guys, uh, Xavier Hutchinson, uh, in that crew that's got to, got to take
04:03the next step, which we've seen them do it before.
04:05Um, and, and hopefully they'll be able to do it again.
04:08All right.
04:08Um, that's the news of the day.
04:10Obviously Jaden Higgins out for the season.
04:12All right.
04:12We've got some folks on the line.
04:14Seven, one, three, five, seven, two, four, six, 10.
04:16We'll get to you in a second, but I do, I do want to get your thoughts on this.
04:21And I want to get your thoughts on this Clint.
04:23Um, as you know, we've been hearing this so much, man, if, if CJ, uh, is able to just
04:30play, you know, okay.
04:33If CJ is just able to go through the year and, and, you know, and, and not hurt the team
04:38and can, and can, can, can, can, can play at a certain level, we've heard names like
04:44Ryan Tannehill and, uh, and, and, and Alex Smith that the, uh, the Texans will be all
04:50right.
04:50And I'm wondering from you and the people, but you first Clint, when you kind of close
04:55your eyes and think about if it doesn't work, if the Texans aren't able to get past that
05:02divisional round, because we saw it in 2003, the first year Clint, when they lost to the
05:08Ravens, I think it felt like it was just really experienced and maybe just not ready for that
05:12moment in that game.
05:14I think the next year against the chiefs, the old line clearly was the huge thing that
05:19jumped out.
05:20They got sacked eight teams, eight times in the final game against the chiefs.
05:24And it was just an issue all year long.
05:26Only Caleb Williams was hit and sacked more than, than CJ Stroud.
05:31And then last year, you just have to be clear and honest about it.
05:34CJ Stroud just put the ball in harm's way and on the ground way too often.
05:38And that was the glaring thing that jumped out.
05:41If it doesn't work this year, Clint, when you close your eyes, what's the reason for
05:47you that you think just looking at everything you've seen, they would, they would fail to
05:53get to that goal.
05:55Wow.
05:56I, you know, I think CJ's down the list.
05:58Um, I think CJ's well down the list.
06:01That's interesting because most people, it seems like he is at the top of the list on
06:06a lot of things.
06:06I mean, I'm assuming, I'm assuming you're, you're asking, I mean, like last year when
06:10it was just a bomb and, and, and he was clearly the reason that we didn't, yeah, no, I'd be
06:16shocked if that happened again with CJ Stroud.
06:18The reality of it is, is, is CJ, it's, it's very safe to, to like CJ Stroud.
06:23It's very safe to think CJ's going to have a good season.
06:26CJ's going to have a good season, right?
06:28The question is, can it be great?
06:29The question is, is he franchised?
06:30The question is, do you pay him $60 million, right?
06:33I don't, I don't think, I don't expect, I'll be shocked if at any point in time this year
06:38we see the CJ Stroud that we saw in the playoff game.
06:41I will be shocked if the Texans don't make the playoffs, so I think they're going to be
06:44there.
06:45I would be shocked if the Texans, when they exit the playoffs, whenever that is, if it's
06:49at the hands of CJ Stroud turning the ball over at a historical level.
06:54Like that, that is, that, that is far down the list.
06:56I think, I think there's two things offensively.
06:59We could talk about injury, like severe, a severe run of injury to the defense, it knocks
07:03you damn near completely out of, maybe even the playoffs.
07:06But I think when you look at the offense, I think there's two things that are above CJ
07:09Stroud for sure, and there may be three.
07:11Number one, if they can't run the football, and I'm not talking about just, you know, if
07:17they don't just, if they can't run the football and be one of the better rushing football teams
07:21in the league, then they're going to struggle offensively.
07:24They're still going to win 10 or 12 games, but they're going to struggle to beat teams
07:28and play off win or go home type of moments that are worth a damn, right?
07:32You run into another Pittsburgh Steelers, you can win in the first round.
07:34But when you run into a team that's worth a damn, you're going to get beat like a, like
07:37a stepchild.
07:38No, no doubt about it.
07:39So I think the run game, number one, number two, I think it's second year play caller,
07:43Nick Cayley.
07:44Um, if he can't get creative, if he can't do more with less, if he can't, if his quick
07:50game and screen game, uh, isn't enough to compliment this run game and, and, and force
07:55a defense to, to play defense sideline to sideline, uh, line of scrimmage to goal line, then I
08:01think, I think that's more of a reason why this team doesn't take the next step.
08:06So if we're just talking about offensive, offensively, I would put CJ Stroud third, um, in a,
08:12I see like, I, and I would say it's a distant third.
08:14I just don't see that being the reason that the Texans don't have success regular season
08:17or playoffs, to be honest.
08:19Yeah.
08:19Yeah.
08:19I don't like when I close my eyes and I think like, what's gonna, what's gonna be the thing
08:26that hurts them?
08:27Like when we, we talked about it two years ago, like, I think we all knew at some point,
08:34man, I don't know if that offensive line is going to hold up and it didn't like, that
08:38was not a surprise.
08:39We saw it all season long.
08:41Like that is going to derail them is that offensive line.
08:45The way that I see it right now, Clint is, and, and, and I think it just became bigger
08:51today with the injury.
08:53And that is, are they as an offensive unit?
08:57And I think this points a lot to the coordinator.
09:00Are they as an offensive unit going to be able to, to factor well against good defenses,
09:10right?
09:11And, and, and, and I, and I think there's just going to be many points whenever to me,
09:16they, they lose and it's not going to be just like to me, one person, it will be damn.
09:21They just didn't really have any answers.
09:23Like there was just like, they just didn't have any answers to what these defenses were
09:30doing to them.
09:31And I, and so to me, I, I would think we would, we would be looking at, damn, not just
09:37one
09:37player, but maybe the overall offense, which probably points more to the coordinator.
09:41So I just, yeah, I don't think CJ will be the, uh, the reason I'd be surprised if he
09:48were the reason, like he was last year, last year, he would, I mean, he was, there was nothing
09:52else more glaring than what he did in the post season.
09:56But I, I think it would be an overall thing to where you look at and you're like, man,
10:00this offense just isn't good enough, just isn't good enough.
10:04And you can just, you can just see it.
10:06Well, if, if, yeah, I mean, all encompassing, right?
10:08I mean, I think when I talk about not being able to run the ball, that's obviously concludes
10:11the offensive line.
10:12To your point last year, it was the O-line not being able to handle, handle the pressure.
10:17CJ Stroud reacting in a way in which he turned the ball over.
10:20Uh, obviously the injuries were part of it.
10:22Like, like, I just, I just don't know.
10:24Um, I don't know that, that we see anybody hung up on that part of CJ Stroud at this point
10:30with what we've seen in training camp, I think is mistaken.
10:34Um, it, I just don't see that being the major problem.
10:37I would argue, even if you're given the same circumstances again, he would respond differently
10:42and not turn the ball over as much.
10:44Um, I mean, this is a time with as many times as he put the ball on the ground, whether
10:47it
10:48was fumbling or turning it over through the air.
10:50Um, I mean, he, hell you, you could eliminate a good chunk of those just by, by working ball
10:54protection all off season, uh, as a quarterback.
10:57And so, yeah, I don't, I don't see that being a problem.
11:00There's, there's going to be some, there's going to be some, some folks that got to, that got
11:04to answer some questions at the end of this thing.
11:06I don't, I don't suspect that it's going to be CJ Stroud.
11:09All right.
11:09Andre, let's let you jump in here, man.
11:11When you look at this season, if the, if the Texans aren't able to get past the divisional
11:17round, what do you think will be the reason?
11:20Hey, Ron, what's going on, fellas?
11:22What's good?
11:22Uh, well, I kind of side with Clint.
11:25I think it's, um, a little low hanging fruit to say that CJ will be the problem where the
11:31underlying issue is the last three years in the playoffs.
11:34Um, we had wide receiver issues, whether it's King Dale not participating, whether it's
11:39Stefan Diggs and Nico Collins being hurt and you know, so on and so on.
11:43Yes, it was the inexperience, as you mentioned earlier on.
11:46Um, it's always something, but I would think that the wide receiver depth might be the biggest
11:52issue with that.
11:54You know, that's just something.
11:55Yes, of course, the offensive line, it has issues.
11:57Yes, of course, we couldn't run the ball, but I feel that kind of goes hand in hand.
12:01Um, Nick Haley has to come on.
12:03He has to come with it this year, fellas.
12:05Uh, yeah, I'm sorry.
12:07I'm so talkative.
12:07I'm kind of nervous, but I wanted to say one more thing before I go.
12:11The drive is live.
12:12There you go.
12:13There you go, man.
12:16There you go.
12:17Steve, in your, in your mind, uh, jump in on this.
12:21If the Texans aren't able to reach the goals that they have, when you look back, what do
12:27you think right now is going to be the reason?
12:32I'm on.
12:32I'm on guys.
12:33I'm on.
12:33You're on.
12:34Go ahead, Steve.
12:35Oh, God.
12:35Oh, shit.
12:36Well, man, I'm sorry, right, man.
12:37First of all, man, I love you guys, but, uh, but seriously, I think it has something
12:43to do with CJ Stroud is in the middle of my list.
12:46Um, I personally think that it's between the two Knicks, Nick Casario, Nick Paley.
12:51I honestly feel like they're one in two because I have a feeling that Nick Casario has a vision
12:58and what he wants is offensively to rely on.
13:01And I'm going to be honest with you.
13:02I think it's built on precision.
13:04And that's a very dangerous game to play is to be precise all the time.
13:10And we lack overall just offensive speed.
13:13Um, you know, that's always going to be something that's going to change the fortitude of the
13:18game.
13:19And I just think that personally between Kaylee and Casario, I think if, if, if Kaylee falls
13:26flat, I think you really got to consider Casario job.
13:31I think it's around that time, I think he's taking all the reins from the Mico for even
13:36having an input on this offense.
13:39And, uh, and I just want to know, you know, what you guys think about that.
13:42And along with the team overall ability to make explosive plays, I think things just a
13:48little slow.
13:49So I want to know what you guys think.
13:51All right.
13:51Appreciate the call.
13:52Uh, and yeah, I mean, I, I, yeah, I don't think Casario is on, is any kind of, is in
14:00any kind of trouble right now, unless it just absolutely blows up in his, in his face.
14:08Um, so I, I don't think he's in any trouble.
14:10I think he's got a great, uh, relationship with the owners and the decision makers.
14:15And he is, you look at the last three years, what he's been a part of, he's done a good
14:19job, but, um, but yeah, I, I think people are starting to get to a point where they
14:25are frustrated about where the, uh, the Texans are right now.
14:30So, yeah, I mean, I think that they need to make a move.
14:33Look, Ron, when, when you, when you, you got offensive line problems that you've been
14:37unable to fix, whether it's D'Amico or Casario, take your pick, right?
14:41Um, yeah, there's been a couple of good draft picks, but your offensive line is still, is
14:45still struggling.
14:46They're still turnstiles at two or three positions, right?
14:50And now all of a sudden you've decided to go with Nico Collins and a bunch of young, young
14:53unproven cats at the wide receiver position.
14:56And one of them look appears to be out for the season.
14:58One of them we haven't seen because of finger injury and a, and a, a hamstring injury.
15:03And, and now you're down to depth guys and, and Jarrett Wayne, who's best known for taking
15:08the legs out of tank dealing in Kansas city.
15:10I mean, that that's what you're down to when you choose to go that route and, and, and put
15:15stock in unproven guys and pass on other guys.
15:17I get it.
15:18It's football.
15:18It's built.
15:19It's, it's roster construction.
15:20You got to do it.
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