WEBVTT - Phase 2 of the Offseason Program | Texans All Access 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.440 Hello Texans, and welcome to the program that gets you 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:06.240 inside and RG Stadium. Mark Vandermayer with you with John Harris, 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:08.319 back together again. It's been a while. It's been almost 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:10.840 a week since we've done a program together, Johnny, and 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:12.119 it's great to be on with you. We have a 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:14.120 lot to catch up. Are you ready to go, my friend? 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:16.760 Of course, we do have plenty to get caught up 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:22.479 on each day. Inching ever so closely to the end 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.040 of the off season, in the beginning of training camp. Oh, 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:27.600 I can't get here fast enough. I know. Well, it's 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:30.800 May eighteenth, and it's flying. I gotta say it's flying, 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.240 because you know, the off season gets started and you 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.320 have some events and we really haven't had it the 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.680 way it's usually been because of COVID, and now we're 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:41.040 coming out of COVID. But you look at the calendar 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:43.199 and you realize it's gonna be here before you know it. 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:46.160 You know, in two months, it's just basically the eve 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:49.000 of training camp and there you go off and running. 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.120 They're in phase two right now, the off season program. 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:54.760 And I've got a loaded question for you to start 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:58.520 off the show. Heh boy, loaded question. Will Tim Kelly 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.600 be different better? How will he be second year as 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.959 an offensive coordinator? Now it's his third year really, but 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:08.920 second year as a play caller? And what do you 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:12.000 think last year did for him? Because he's very active 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.560 out there right now, active with the rookies, active with 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:18.000 the veterans. I mean, he's the offensive coordinator and obviously 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:20.360 with the help of Pep Hamilton and the influence of 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:22.759 David Culley, it's going to be different. But how different 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:24.560 do you think it's going to be? The system? Now? 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.360 Culley does tell you a lot, but he's not going 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:30.280 to show his whole hand here, of course, because if 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:32.120 there is one thing they have, it's the element of 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:34.080 surprise and they don't want to blow that for opening 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:36.360 day against Jacksonville. After that, maybe all the hay is 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.319 out of the barn, or the horses out of the barn, 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:40.360 or the hay is in the bar, whatever. But you 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:42.800 get my drift here. They're going to try to keep 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:44.960 it as close to the vest as possible for a while. 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:47.800 What are you expecting well with Tim, I think the 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.560 biggest thing is just going to be a comfortability factor 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:56.640 when you consider the art of calling plays, and there's 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:58.640 definitely a science to part of it, and there's an 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:01.240 art to part of it as well. You know, one 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.040 of the things that people I think you know, they 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.840 can call plays very very easily from home, but the 0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:13.440 play calling process is extremely difficult. You've got I don't 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:15.360 know how many ever coaches in your ear. You got 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.119 your head coach down the way who wants one thing. 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:19.760 You got your coaches up the ear trying to give 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.040 you a down a distance, what hash it's on, who's 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:25.760 in there, what personnel they have on the defense has 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.120 on the field. You have all those things going around, 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:30.880 and then you got to look your play card and 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:32.359 be ready to go. And you got to do all 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:37.160 this within you know, forty seconds, but shorter than that, 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:39.880 you gotta do it about twenty seconds to make sure 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:41.880 that you give you a quarterback an opportunity to get 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:43.960 up to a lot of Stremmas, see the defense and 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.360 even talk to him in his ear up until fifteen 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.080 seconds are on a play clock, So you basically have 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.960 twenty seconds to have all this chaos going on, and 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:55.520 then you know, figure out what play you're gonna be, 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:58.519 what play it's going to be, and make that call 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:02.200 and get that call clearly your quarterback in his ear 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:07.600 with the coach comp system. That is not easy. Yes, 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:09.880 all your armchair quarterbacks out there, oh it's easy. You're 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.880 running the ball. You do this and not that easy 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:17.160 until you've done it and you can realize how difficult 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.600 it actually is. It takes a little while to get comfortable, 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:22.560 and it felt like by the end of the year, 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:24.760 Timmy was getting comfortable with that. And I think that's 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:29.040 the biggest thing, is that now there's a comfortability factor 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:32.440 in I've done this before, I've been in this role. 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.320 I know what to expect. I know the things that 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:41.680 were successful. I know that trusting this coach or like 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.480 just shutting guys off for the first five seconds, or 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:48.800 inquiring about these certain things before I give the play call, 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:52.960 those things are all hugely important. Here's the last one. 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:56.119 As crazy as it sounds, spitting on that play call, 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.920 that can be fourteen fifteen sixteen words to your quarterback, 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:03.680 getting all of that out, just saying it and making 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:07.920 sure that the home makes sense. Is that also is 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:09.480 a factor too. So you gotta do all that with 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:11.440 about twenty seconds. I think tim is just going to 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:15.640 be more comfortable in doing that. In twenty twenty one, 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:19.280 and once you find that comfort, it's gonna make it dimachasier. 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.320 The other thing about it, Mark is I remember the 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:24.560 very first year I call plays, and I mean obviously 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:28.680 on a different, you know level, but I remember after 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:30.320 going back and self scouting at the end of the 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.200 year and I'm like, oh my god, what did I 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:35.760 do there? Okay, I'm changing this and we're gonna do 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.000 it this way going forward. And you just know what 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:42.120 adjustments in what changes to make, and if you see 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:45.599 a particular defense, you know this is the adjustment you 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.000 want to make. Those are all the things you can 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:48.560 do and self scout after the year, and I know 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.240 that Timmy's gone through and done that. I would imagine 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.400 every single game and figured out every single play, and 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:56.480 he's now in a second year being able to call plays, 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:58.680 and I think it's gonna be huge for him. Yeah, 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:01.120 it should be. And it's funny you mentioned how long 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.440 it takes to even say the name of the play. 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:06.120 I was once doing a luncheon with Job and that 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:08.400 question came up from a fan. It was a great question. 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:10.719 Can you just say the name of a play? You know, 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.040 we're at a dinner or something. It was a luncheon, 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.119 dinner or whatever it was a meal, and he said 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.000 the name of a play, and it went on and 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.360 on and on, and I thought, jeez, how do you 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:23.080 spit that out in time? As you say, you have 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:27.240 fifteen second deadline, right, and then he's got to be 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:29.920 able to say the play to the teammates and then 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:32.159 spot anything that needs to be addressed at the line 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.560 of scrimmage. So all that stuff happens very quickly. And 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:38.200 I think if you got one thing out of last year, 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:42.520 you had Tim Kelly on the job training Bill O'Brien Gonn. 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:44.840 After week four he had to be the guy coaching 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:48.120 the offense and he took it over. And it didn't 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:50.680 transform instantly, but as the year went on, it really 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:52.880 got better. You know, it really got better. We saw 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:55.520 those last three games the running game got better. That 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:58.320 kind of stuff. Now, I'll ask you another question, James 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:00.520 camp and is the offensive line coach. He's getting his 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:02.680 first taste of action with these guys, the guys who 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.760 were incumbents and the guys who are new And what 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:07.680 do you think the effect is going to be of 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:11.120 Camping And however they organize things with the guys up 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:15.160 front with this old line because it's going to be different. 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.320 You hope it's better. What do you expecting, Well, I 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.520 expected to be better. I mean he was with the 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:24.240 Packers for eleven years. I mean he was instrumental and 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.839 taking a guy like David Baktiari fourth round pick and 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.159 turning him into one of the best, if not the best, 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.839 left tackles in the game. And that Green Bay offensive 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:38.760 line was always successful, whether it was far whether it 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.200 was Rogers, it was always a successful unit as long 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.760 as they could stay healthy. And that was kind of 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:46.479 the key at the end. You know, Lane Taylor signed 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:50.479 with the Texans his last year that he played where 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.920 he was healthy. It was twenty the beginning the right 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.119 to the beginning of twenty nineteen, and that was not 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:58.599 well that there wasn't much there twenty He almost have 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:00.600 to go back to twenty eighteen to see him play 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.880 in full. But that was another guy that Camping helped 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:06.960 develop when he got to Green Bay. So it's the 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.080 development to me of players. It wasn't that they got 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:12.320 a bunch of first round draft picks or second round 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:15.320 draft picks, and he made those guys. You know, those 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.040 guys were really good players. And they remained good players. 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:21.640 He took third, fourth, fifth round guys and turned them 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.840 into excellent offensive linemen, and that, to me is is 0:07:24.880 --> 0:07:32.440 the biggest thing that development into tremendous football players up front. 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.360 I think you combine that with what's here. There are 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.560 a ton of events, but there are some young dudes, 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:42.040 I mean, Tydus Howard Max sharpin going into year number three. 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:45.560 So they're gonna be hearing things differently for the first 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:47.280 time after hearing it from Mike Devil, They're gonna be 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:50.320 hearing it from James Camping, and with the success camp 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.680 and has had, hopefully that's gonna be something that you know, 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:57.160 those two players in particular are able to grab onto 0:07:57.480 --> 0:07:59.880 and learn from, and then there are some veterans coming 0:07:59.880 --> 0:08:03.800 in that all together, hopefully it's going to make for 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:06.440 a pretty cerebral offensive line room. And that's what you want. 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:09.200 But you obviously proofs of the putting. But it just 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.520 seems that James Camping is a guy that has developed 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:18.560 players all along. Wherever he's been, Packers's with the Browns 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:21.560 for a year, Chargers don't matter. He has developed offensive 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:25.520 lineman very very well, and hopefully that's gonna be something 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:29.080 that even established veterans it guy like Laramie got Laramie 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:33.120 gets better because of James Camping's influenced. So I'm excited 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:36.040 to see what James Camping can do for this offense. 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:40.160 But you bring in James Camping at Pep Hamilton among others. Offensively, 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:46.680 those are two pretty well respected position coaches throughout NFL, 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:51.080 throughout college. Those guys really know how to get it 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.800 done at those particular positions. Camp on the offensive line 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:55.960 a Pep Hamilton a quarterback, So I feel like there's 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.640 just more offensive brain firepower that is going to help 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:02.960 make that unit that much better weekend and week out. 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.120 All right, quarterback position. Obviously, we still have the humongous 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.320 story out there, very serious story with Watson, and we 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.920 don't know how it's all going to resolve itself. Obviously, 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.079 A ton is out of the control of any of us. 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.199 So let's just talk about who's available, right, and that 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:24.959 would be Tarrod Taylor, Davis Mills, Ryan Finley, Mills. Over 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.640 the weekend of the rookie camp, you have Taylor. I 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:31.400 ask actually asked Coach Culley about Taylor on a partner's call, 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.280 and we'll play those comments later on this week, you 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:36.640 know what he brings to the table, especially in this 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.800 particular situation with all the unknowns. But your take on 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.920 Mills and Taylor and what's going on right now, because 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.520 you have, you know, the availability of such and you 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:49.160 got to get ready. I mean, you have to get 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:52.320 as many guys ready as possible, there's no question. And 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:55.719 for Davis Mills, I mean, obviously his head's probably got 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.120 to be spinning in some respects. There are probably going 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.600 to be some things he hears that he's like, Yo, wait, 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.920 I know that one. I know that one, but it's late, 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:09.000 you know, the offensive the off season. I was just 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:11.439 talking to somebody a little while ago up the off season. 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:14.280 You know, it's a great it's a great time because 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.720 there's no game at the end of the week. You 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:21.400 don't have to be stressed about that. You just go 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.240 out to coach ball, learn a little something, and go 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:27.640 from there. But for these rookies in particular, they get 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.559 an opportunity to learn. But man, they're learning at a rate, 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:33.520 probably faster than they ever have. And I think that's 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:35.960 the biggest thing. And hopefully Davis can pick all of 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:39.600 that up and soaking in from to Rod Taylor. Just 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:41.800 listening to Rod and things that he says and how 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:45.400 he goes about his business. That's a that's a massive 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:47.760 part of the education. I mean, I think about just 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.880 the things that I've learned over the years. Sometimes it's 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:53.800 gonna sound funny, but just shutting up and just listening 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:57.200 to people talk and listening to what they say. And 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.760 there they may not even know in the room what 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:06.760 they've said could strike a chord with somebody and could 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:08.640 be something that they learned from. They mightn't even know 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:10.800 they're doing it, but they just might be talking football 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:12.760 and that might be something that a young player over 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:14.360 here is and goes, oh wait a second, I needed 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:15.960 to write head down or I need to get on 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:18.319 top of that. So I think that's what it is. 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:21.840 For Davis Mills is just soaking it up just like 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:25.320 a sponge every day. And then for Tarrad it's and 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.760 I know this is hard because he's been in a 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.760 situation where there was a first round draft pick in 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.520 Cleveland with him, in Baker Mayfield, there was justin Herbert 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:36.440 with the Chargers. It was going to be a matter 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:38.360 of a time before those first round picks got on 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:41.680 the field. Unfortunately, because Tarrod got hurt into those two places, 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.560 it was a lot sooner than later. But it's another 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:47.040 Now it's a third round pick, but it was the 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:50.160 first pick the Texans had. Here's another rookie, he's been 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:54.319 through this situation before. It is tiring, it's tough, it's frustrating. 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.160 But what we know about Tarrod Taylor is he's a 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.680 tremendous professional and he's going to try and help Davis 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:03.800 Mill if at all possible, for as long as Davis 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.199 wants to soak it in. And that's why Davis just 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:08.760 takes it all in. And to Rot is there to 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.320 help that, but also to get himself ready to play 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:15.000 if indeed he is needed to play. And Ryan Finley 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:19.240 there's there's nothing like an opportunity and he's looking at 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:23.360 it going, hey, why not mean, why why can't I 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:25.120 be a part of this mix? And you're coming on 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.480 in C State, he was pretty highly thought of, you know, 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:29.960 he was a guy. Ironically to me that reminded me 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.280 when I went back and did Davis Mills and studied him. 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.200 Ryan Finley was the name that came to mind as 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:38.959 I was watching Davis Mills. So they're they're somewhat similar. 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:41.600 So you've got, you know, these three guys, and obviously 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.920 we know that the situation is up in the air 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:47.600 and no idea really about it. But from those three guys, 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:53.439 the biggest thing is make sure that, from a playbook standpoint, 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:55.839 that when you go on the field, everybody's gonna be 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:58.080 looking at you. Everybody's gonna be looking at you. Did 0:12:58.120 --> 0:12:59.680 I line up right? Am I in the right spot? 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:01.640 Am I the ball? I'm off the ball? At ZM 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.040 I and ax, hey tight end? Should I be on 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.360 the ball? I'm off the ball, I'm over here. As 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:09.640 a quarterback, you're that guy. You're the guy says nope, 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:13.160 on the ball, off move shift, You're doing all that. 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:14.839 You've got to make sure that when you got on 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:18.480 the field with those guys, they get that, they understand 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.040 that they can turn to you and they're not totally 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:25.959 sure and you're able to say there over here next 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.520 to me up by the time, you've got to be 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:31.080 able to direct them in that particular way. If you 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:34.400 don't build that trust, then these offensive players are wayward. 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:37.400 They're like, well, I can't on my quarterback. Oh my gosh, 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.000 what am I gonna do? Now it's on them to 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.600 know what they're doing, but to have that resource out 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.320 on the field, those three quarterbacks have got to provide 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.520 that for those players, all right, So flipping sides of 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.960 the ball. Here we are in phase two, Johnny and 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:52.800 Lovey Smith coaching this D trying to get it ready, 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.080 trying to get it in mid season form a SAP. 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:58.040 I'm not saying they're there yet. Okay, we haven't even 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:00.720 hit training camp yet. Can't wait for the season games. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:02.840 By the way, that's gonna be so much fun to 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:06.000 see preseason games and just get a taste of what 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.280 this bunch can do and where they need to improve 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.560 and what looks good, what needs work. Anyway, so you 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:16.080 have Lovey Smith's Tampa two. How does Zach Cunningham fit 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.560 in to this particular D. How do you see things 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.400 sort of shaping up from where we are right now? 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:24.880 I know things can change, but what is your thought 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:29.840 on what could be accomplished here? Well? I think that 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.840 Zach Cuttingham fits this defense about as well as a 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:38.400 linebacker could fit it, and love me is going to 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:42.760 ask his linebackers to do a ton in this defense, 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:47.920 obviously stopping the runnings a massive deal. I mean, especially 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:52.720 in this division with Jacksonville, James Robinson, now Travis etn 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:57.640 with that guy up in Tennessee, oh good grief Taylor, 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:02.240 then Jonathan Taylor, Marlin Mac. You got to be able 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.440 to stop the run. But what all, every single one 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.720 of those guys that I that we mentioned is also 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:11.280 a pretty good pass receiver. So those linebackers have got 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:12.880 to be able to stay in the field, play the run, 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.720 but then be able to cover receivers out of the backfield. 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:19.160 And in Love's defense, the one thing a linebacker is 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.720 going to have to do is be able to run 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:25.160 down the middle of the field in that Tampa two 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:28.800 because in a traditional Tampa two you have two safeties 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.240 covered two as of the field. But what Tony Dunge 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:34.880 Lovey Smith over the years crafted was, look, let's let 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.400 those safeties play wider and let's let our middle linebacker 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.280 run down the middle of the field to allow those 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.120 safeties if there's a ball in the middle, to give 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:46.040 them more time to get there. So they're just covering 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:48.920 more ground. And so that's where Brian or Locker came 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:52.400 in and it was a perfect fit. Now, Zach is 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.640 not the size of Brian R. Locker, But he definitely 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.160 has the speed, got a rod he's got and he's 0:15:57.160 --> 0:15:58.560 got to and you've got to be able to run 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.160 as linebacker in this this defense, man, you cannot be 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.840 just a gap plugger. You can't just be a guy 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.280 that plays on first down comes off the field. And 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.720 I think Zach is that guy we've seen develop over 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.880 the years. Now he still has he still has some 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:15.400 things he's got to clean up in his game, especially 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.960 from a coverage and from a coverage standpoint, and I 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.040 think from the run game, he's very, very comfortable. He 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.520 relies on instincts and there might be some different reads 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.320 and some things that might be different in this defense 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.360 than it was in previous defense. But the key for 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:37.560 him is sea ball, fine ball, tackle the guy with 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:39.840 the ball. I mean that's pretty much it seaball fine 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.320 ball and that's it, and that's whatever the defense is. 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:46.440 That's the biggest key for him, and I think he's 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:48.480 gonna fit this defense. I think there are two players 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:52.080 that really are going to benefit from the change in schemes, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.760 and one being Zach Cuttingham, the other being Ross Blacklock. 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:57.560 Up front. I think this defense has made for Ross. 0:16:58.160 --> 0:16:59.920 He is a guy that wants to get up fielding, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:04.080 wants to penetrate. I do think that in time, Ross 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:08.199 could develop into a very very good three four defensive end, 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.760 a guy that could play different spots on three four, 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.240 but he's a four three three technique. I mean, that's 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:17.480 the way he's built. That's the way he played at TCU, 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:20.879 and hopefully that's what he gets back to here, because 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:23.119 I think if he gets back to that provides not 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:28.359 only the ability to take on blockers, but the ability 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:31.520 to speed past them and be disruptive and chaotic up 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.120 the field. That's gonna be a little different, and that's 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.320 gonna make things different for these offenses. We've got to 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.080 face them. So I think Zach Cuttingham and Ross Blacklock 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:41.600 are gonna be two guys that end up benefiting from 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.640 this change in defense from three four to four three. 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:47.720 All Right, So they're also working on special teams, of 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.320 course they always do, and I think that based on 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:55.639 who they acquired this offseason, they got a lot of 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:59.280 options in return ability. I mean, kickoff returns, plunt returns. 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.159 They's got a lot of different directions they can go. 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.680 It's got to be like a congo line when they're 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:07.200 out there trying to return punts. You know, they're not 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.879 enough reps to go around for all the possibilities they have. 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:13.720 You know, when you go from Andre Roberts on down, 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.760 they got a lot of different guys who could possibly 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:18.880 handle the role. And I like that situation. I don't 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:20.800 know who the gunners are gonna be or anything like that, 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:23.280 but again, they've got a lot of bodies for that too, 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:27.000 because anybody coming in here, they know, look, I better 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:28.920 play special teams for the most part. All right, not 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.479 everybody's gonna do it, but for the most part, you've 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.400 got a lot of guys who want to hang their 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.440 hat on something. Make that final fifty three. You better 0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:39.640 play special And it's not like they have a plethora 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:42.119 of rookies to go to. These veterans are going to 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:45.480 have to help, there's no doubt. And when you look 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:49.840 at the guys that have that were signed, I can 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:51.400 look at each rom and go, well, this guy played 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:53.000 special teams for a while. This guy played it for 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:54.520 a while, this guy played it for a while. You 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:58.000 see guys that not only played special teams, but excelled 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:03.199 on special teams. And that's something that no matter what 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:06.240 kind of offense, what kind of defense you have. You 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:08.199 got to be able to ball out on special teams, 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.680 and it got to a point last year with guys 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:14.800 that were hurt and banged up. The special teams suffered 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.280 more than anything else because now you're taking guys that 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.359 were typically on special teams and now they're getting one 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.160 hundred percent of the reps. I think of Keiana Cross 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:23.880 and Keian was one of the better special teams guys 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:27.320 in the entire league. But Kean had to come off 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:30.920 special teams for the most part because he had to 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:32.720 play full time corner in the last two three weeks 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:35.360 of the year. So now your special teams are without 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:39.199 one of the better players in that particular group, and 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:43.080 that was an issue. So first of all, guys hopefully 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:46.119 can stay healthy, but you're also going to have I 0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:49.400 think a bigger pool to pick from for guys that 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:52.680 will go down on special teams and be a factor 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:56.280 on special teams. I'm curious to see how that part 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.560 of it plays out. But you know as well as 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:01.760 I do, that they're gonna be some guys on the 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.720 bubble and it gets decided by this guy plays special 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:08.040 teams and that guy tries, but it is not very 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.040 good on special teams, or that guy doesn't play special teams. 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:13.680