Speaker 1: Stepping everybody. Welcome to Wednesday.
Speaker 2: Theytion of Texans All Access from the Hyundai Texans Radio studio,
Speaker 2: John Harris alongside the Voice of the Texans, Mark vandermir
Speaker 2: and third day straight in pads in the heat day
Speaker 2: off tomorrow. But Mark was another good day all around. Look,
Speaker 2: there were some moments where the defense just went off.
Speaker 2: There were some moments when the offense looked absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna give you my hair sits harrisits are up
Speaker 2: at Houston Texas dot Com. I don't know how many
Speaker 2: times I could say this, so I gotta think of
Speaker 2: a different way to say this.
Speaker 1: But outside of a team period, the middle team period, that.
Speaker 2: Did not look so good for the offense. For the offense, Yeah,
Speaker 2: Quarterback CJ. Stroud has been absolute nails. He has been outstanding, outstanding.
Speaker 3: That was the headline.
Speaker 1: That was headline.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, that was the headline. Today was my favorite
Speaker 3: day because today, in a two minute situation, Stroud was
Speaker 3: as good as you'd want him to be. So they
Speaker 3: got ambrouble and then he finds Higgins on a third
Speaker 3: and fourteen quick throw so nobody could get to him.
Speaker 3: Quick throw over the middle and Higgins was open because
Speaker 3: Higgins is a freaking beast. Johnny, if you just showed up,
Speaker 3: dropped from outer space into Texans training camp today and
Speaker 3: you said, what do you think of these guys, you'd say,
Speaker 3: and you didn't know anybody, you'd say that eighty one
Speaker 3: is a freaking beast. He's awesome. That is a monster
Speaker 3: out there. He's getting open, he's mossing people, he's making plays.
Speaker 3: All right, Mosling might be a little too dramatic, but
Speaker 3: the point is this. I've said it before. He's gonna
Speaker 3: have a big year. Today did nothing to sway me
Speaker 3: from that opinion. It's been reinforced. I can't wait to
Speaker 3: see more. He is an absolutely crucial part of this
Speaker 3: thing because you have Nico obviously, and you have Higgins.
Speaker 3: There are both huge targets. They're a big problem for
Speaker 3: even this defense. So if the protection holds up, even
Speaker 3: for this defense, these guys are an issue for that
Speaker 3: back end to deal with.
Speaker 2: There were moments, so Nico did not practice today, Tank
Speaker 2: did have the pads on, did go through some individual stuff,
Speaker 2: so took part in that. So it was great to see.
Speaker 2: We got excited when saw him in the pads. Didn't
Speaker 2: know how much he was gonna do, But it was
Speaker 2: just good to see him do something out of the
Speaker 2: field with the full receiver allotment.
Speaker 1: But it was not the full receiver allotments, you.
Speaker 2: Know, Jaalen Knowles stillump up, tank is still limited coming
Speaker 2: back and Nico was out when Jayden Higgins needed a rest,
Speaker 2: and they were an eleven personnel in those in the
Speaker 2: situations you talked about the two minute situations, there was
Speaker 2: a receiving crew of Justin Watson, Jared Wayne and at
Speaker 2: times Josh Kelly. Those are the three receivers you have
Speaker 2: in a field. It didn't matter shroud through dimes. I mean,
Speaker 2: he'd have pressure in his face, he'd stand and deliver.
Speaker 2: He threw a fastball at one point.
Speaker 1: I gotta look at my.
Speaker 2: Notes because he threw a fastball at one point on
Speaker 2: a throw that I didn't think there was any way
Speaker 2: that he was getting that ball to anybody because he
Speaker 2: kind of was he was kind of flat footed.
Speaker 1: He really didn't have time or.
Speaker 2: Space to step into the throat, so he literally was
Speaker 2: just you know, it's like taking a baseball swing with
Speaker 2: just you know, your feet locked in place, right, and
Speaker 2: he zipped one across the middle, and I thought, oh
Speaker 2: my god, that it was to Watson. It was ripped.
Speaker 2: Was it Watson or maybe maybe in Higgins. Eighty four
Speaker 2: looks like eighty one, so I think it was eighty one.
Speaker 2: And Higgins was kind of working his way in the
Speaker 2: middle of the field, and CJ amongst all the trees
Speaker 2: and everybody rushing him, just flat foot ripped fastball right.
Speaker 1: Between eight and one.
Speaker 2: I just I'm standing on the side of the field
Speaker 2: where the defense was, so I felt kind of bad,
Speaker 2: but I'm down away from the defense, and I just
Speaker 2: in my back of my mind, I'm like, crap, And
Speaker 2: I said out loud, great ball.
Speaker 1: Seven, because it was. It was just a tremendous throw.
Speaker 1: But he did that all throughout the day.
Speaker 2: All throughout the day, he was hitting those throws, touch
Speaker 2: throws perfect.
Speaker 1: The ripped fastball was perfect. He'd have to get rid
Speaker 1: of the ball was perfect.
Speaker 2: He was as good as he was as good at a
Speaker 2: two minute drill as I can remember.
Speaker 1: Because the throws.
Speaker 2: There were a couple of throws like that one where
Speaker 2: I think in previous years the pressure was just too much.
Speaker 2: He just kind of pull it down and kind of
Speaker 2: jogged through as if the player was over today.
Speaker 1: It was not like that. He ripped them to the sidelines.
Speaker 2: I thought maybe his best throw was one actually that
Speaker 2: Kaylen Bullock had to make a play on.
Speaker 1: They ran Josh Kelly down a seam. He was in
Speaker 1: a slot, ran down a seam.
Speaker 2: CJ. He didn't quite throw a three ball, you know,
Speaker 2: one balls laser to two is kind of in the
Speaker 2: middle three as kind of you lofted. He was kind
Speaker 2: of between the two and three and just laid it
Speaker 2: right on Josh Kelly.
Speaker 3: And it was a complete That was because of Bullock
Speaker 3: and a completion.
Speaker 2: That probably happens if Hawk is not back there. But
Speaker 2: you know that wing span and that speed, he was
Speaker 2: able to get back there and disrupt Kelly and he
Speaker 2: couldn't hang out in the pass.
Speaker 3: Kelly had a nice practice otherwise.
Speaker 1: But Kelly had a great the one handed catch, that
Speaker 1: one hand catcher. Sweet, he's got talent.
Speaker 2: That's what happens. We talk about this all the time.
Speaker 2: You know you've got a good squad when take a position.
Speaker 2: I don't care in this case receivers Jala no out
Speaker 2: Tank not practicing full yet, Nico not practicing at all.
Speaker 2: So everybody moves up a slot. Everybody moves up a spot,
Speaker 2: and you got to take some reps the ones if
Speaker 2: you've been taking him with the two's, and Josh Kelly
Speaker 2: took some of those and he made a brilliant one
Speaker 2: handed catch today. Lewis Bond not even a chance to
Speaker 2: watch one on ones, but I saw a couple of.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw it. Oh my, I saw it.
Speaker 4: I mean.
Speaker 1: That dude could play. Yeah.
Speaker 3: And it was a great throat, it was a.
Speaker 2: Great throw and it was a I mean it was
Speaker 2: top right in a bucket. Lewis catches it, gets both
Speaker 2: feet down. You come out to practice and you see
Speaker 2: eighty two and eighty five and we've been talking about
Speaker 2: those receivers, and it's going to be really tough for
Speaker 2: either one of those guys to end up making the
Speaker 2: fifty three man roster because it's so loaded at wide receiver,
Speaker 2: especially once Tank is back full and Jalen Nole's back.
Speaker 1: It's tough for anybody to make that.
Speaker 2: But eighty two and eighty five are making a serious
Speaker 2: bid for it. Lewis Bond and Josh Kelly, I mean,
Speaker 2: catching everything.
Speaker 3: It's so disappointing that Nol has the finger issue because
Speaker 3: you want to see NOL out here in these situations.
Speaker 3: You know, this is great competition. Today they went long.
Speaker 3: They started early. Yeah, not getting out there earlier, but
Speaker 3: they got out of the bubble earlier.
Speaker 1: Feel for a long time.
Speaker 3: Well, I just know this. They're never in team before
Speaker 3: the show's over, right, right, right right, And they were
Speaker 3: in team today before the show was over. I'm thinking
Speaker 3: I missing the team right now. Team is eleven on
Speaker 3: eleven and I need to see that. That's what I
Speaker 3: love to see most. I mean, you like watching the
Speaker 3: intricacies and special teams practice, and that's your problem, Yeah,
Speaker 3: but I want to see team. And I love the
Speaker 3: individual as well. I mean the one on ones. They
Speaker 3: did not do one on ones prior to yesterday. That
Speaker 3: was the first time they didn't put on ones this camp, correct,
Speaker 3: And I do like the one on ones. It's such
Speaker 3: an unfair advantage for the receiver and the quarter because
Speaker 3: it's one on one. I'm not throwing it anywhere else.
Speaker 3: I'm throwing it to you and they have to blow
Speaker 3: the whistle or do something. Hey, that would have been
Speaker 3: a sack. You ran out of time because the longer
Speaker 3: you wait, you have four seconds you're gonna get the
Speaker 3: guy open, but how long can the dB hold in coverage?
Speaker 3: The throat to bond was as good as it gets.
Speaker 3: Look it wasn't all perfect. You mentioned one of the
Speaker 3: team periods defense blowing up everything. This defense is going
Speaker 3: to do that, and this is true. Iron sharpens iron.
Speaker 3: Today two minute situation, Stroud looked like a master. I
Speaker 3: mean he was the maestro that he's capable of being.
Speaker 3: And that's what you want to see. A couple of
Speaker 3: throws to X today, especially one in the two minute situation,
Speaker 3: was terrific. We've been saying on target, on target, running
Speaker 3: some kind of out and the ball is only where
Speaker 3: he can get it. He gets it. I saw Ex
Speaker 3: in the hallway earlier, dapped them up, said you were
Speaker 3: fun to watch.
Speaker 4: Man.
Speaker 3: X is making the most of this sure availability of
Speaker 3: reps in the receiving corps with you said Tank out
Speaker 3: and EGO sitting out today and no NOL. But I
Speaker 3: want to see Noel out there. Look, we all want
Speaker 3: to see Tank. I get it, I get it, I
Speaker 3: get it. But NOL is a very key building block
Speaker 3: here in this receiver group. However, they do have a
Speaker 3: lot of bodies and to your point. They're getting the
Speaker 3: reps and in these preseason games, these are the guys
Speaker 3: who are gonna play. These guys are gonna play a ton.
Speaker 3: We're gonna watch them. You're gonna be in the booths
Speaker 3: for TV. I'll be with Andre on the radio and
Speaker 3: we'll be talking about these guys. But I gotta see. No,
Speaker 3: we got to get them back, and I'm hoping it's
Speaker 3: within a week or two, so you can get him
Speaker 3: some good practice before week one because he has to
Speaker 3: make that year one to year two jump. He was
Speaker 3: really good last year returning catching want to see more,
Speaker 3: let's get it.
Speaker 1: So in the thirteen period, this is the one that
Speaker 1: stood out.
Speaker 2: And then I want to get to something else that
Speaker 2: I saw that gave me gona be really excited. First
Speaker 2: play on the two minute situation down twenty one to
Speaker 2: twenty I think it was two minutes. They put on
Speaker 2: a clock. They at one time it was like yeah,
Speaker 2: something like that. So first play CJ. Hits Haig on
Speaker 2: the out route, come back, beautiful throw completion. Second one,
Speaker 2: next play fifty one room that play, yeah, I mean
Speaker 2: he's he's gonna do that.
Speaker 3: But there was a penalty in there too.
Speaker 2: Right, there might have been, but that that was definitely
Speaker 2: a sack. So third play, that's the seam shot that
Speaker 2: he threw that Stroud through to Josh Kelly. That block
Speaker 2: made a great play on, but it's a great throw.
Speaker 2: So now it's third down. That's the one he rips
Speaker 2: the fastball to Higgins across the middle.
Speaker 1: Then he hits Hutch yep on that throw.
Speaker 3: What was the next one after that then, because I
Speaker 3: think they spiked it.
Speaker 1: They spiked it to stop the clock because they got
Speaker 1: the first down.
Speaker 2: Then on the sideline with seventeen seconds left, he throws
Speaker 2: that back.
Speaker 1: Shoulder ball to Foster Morow.
Speaker 3: That's the one that was a beautiful because that made
Speaker 3: it a chip shot as opposed to a long field.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 3: The one to Hutch put him in range for fair bench,
Speaker 3: that's right. I can't remember these act yardage, but it
Speaker 3: was still like we could use a little more.
Speaker 2: We're gonna get to Emmy in a second, okay, So
Speaker 2: it's the backshop of ball to Foste.
Speaker 1: I put them in position.
Speaker 2: Now they had thirteen seconds left there or no ten
Speaker 2: seconds left, and they had a timeout so they could
Speaker 2: take a show. So they ran Montgomery into the middle
Speaker 2: line just to burn clock. Called the timeout or spiked it,
Speaker 2: can't remember. Then Kyami hit the field goal from forty
Speaker 2: and I wrote this best I've seen. Number seven did
Speaker 2: it without all his wide receivers, Tank Nico Nol and
Speaker 2: then I put Higgins. Higgins had to catches up front,
Speaker 2: but the last few downs he didn't have Higg in there.
Speaker 2: Higg was was out those last two three plays.
Speaker 3: Yeah, why was that?
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I think it was just rotation stuff. I just think
Speaker 2: they were rotating guys in. I think that was im
Speaker 2: c G. I'm thinking eighty one, eighty one. I got
Speaker 2: eighty one already. Can we order from the eighty one menu?
Speaker 2: There's no twelve. I need eighty one. I need six
Speaker 2: to four out there. Here's the other note that I
Speaker 2: put in here, And it was right before the spike
Speaker 2: because I was on the I was on the other
Speaker 2: side from the fans, that is the left offensive side.
Speaker 2: That really was the first I should say it's the
Speaker 2: first time because he's done it before, but for consecutive plays,
Speaker 2: Arianta Ursery is slowing down will Anderson junior one on one.
Speaker 2: It's the first time I've seen it like consecutive plays
Speaker 2: like that, seeing them a lot, and I'm telling you,
Speaker 2: Ursery was on it and it just goes to show.
Speaker 2: And we've talked about this. There's you know, it's like
Speaker 2: basketball players. You're getting rhythm. You know, your offense gets
Speaker 2: in a rhythm. It feels like everything works.
Speaker 3: Sure.
Speaker 2: You know, backdoor cuts are perfect, you know the threes
Speaker 2: are going down. You know, pull up elbow jumpers are happening.
Speaker 2: That's the way it felt. It felt like the offense
Speaker 2: was in sync. Now, that was after a period that
Speaker 2: they got stuffed in period two, so they came back
Speaker 2: and got it right in in period three.
Speaker 1: On the team periods at that point.
Speaker 2: But one of the problems in not only the first group,
Speaker 2: but the second group was number ninety. There were uh,
Speaker 2: let me see it was in the was the second
Speaker 2: group right, ninety was in for like four straight plays
Speaker 2: and oh yeah, here we go. No, it was right
Speaker 2: after that two minute drill. Okay, so Davis comes on
Speaker 2: the field. He hits, He hits Marlin clown on the flat,
Speaker 2: then Clowny with ghosts move to dip under seventy seven
Speaker 2: forces incompletion forty great rush. He ended up hitting as
Speaker 2: he rushed. He ended up hitting Donnie Robinson right as
Speaker 2: they were both converging on Mills, but at forced Mills
Speaker 2: to throw the ball away ninety again, third straight time.
Speaker 2: He got to the quarterback. Finally Clowney went out and
Speaker 2: then he had time to throw, but then nobody was
Speaker 2: open because the secondary was there. Clowney had three straight
Speaker 2: plays where he threw three different moves. Mark one was
Speaker 2: was he did a sweite move, got on the hands
Speaker 2: a trent. The other one was a ghast move where
Speaker 2: you you dip, you dip to basically ghost yourself on Miller.
Speaker 2: On Miller made that possible. The guy sixty six and
Speaker 2: he's doing a ghost move, and then one he just
Speaker 2: kind of powered through. Clowney was an absolute Mennace today.
Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting because he looked like twenty four,
Speaker 2: like fourteen before with the injury.
Speaker 3: It looks like there's zero drop off from he was
Speaker 3: a young man. None in these instances. Now you know
Speaker 3: you have to play him sixty snaps. That might be different,
Speaker 3: but you're not gonna have to do that. So I'm
Speaker 3: looking at Will and Daneil and they're specimens. There's something
Speaker 3: about Clowney though, because of the height and the hair too,
Speaker 3: probably child, but the height where he's just massive out there.
Speaker 3: He's a massive human being, so long, so fast, and
Speaker 3: to have him on this football team. Look, it's been
Speaker 3: really good here. I love Derek Barnett. I'm not taking
Speaker 3: anything away from him. I will forever be grateful for
Speaker 3: dead Shot. Who knows, maybe he ends up here. He
Speaker 3: might end up here too, Mike Mario bat over the weekend.
Speaker 3: So I love dead Shot Derek Barnett, but we got
Speaker 3: to Dewon Clowney and we have willing Jadevion Clowney. First day,
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I'm in pads.
Speaker 1: I'm out there.
Speaker 3: Second day, I'm in pads that I'm making plays. And
Speaker 3: now the vander kidd Won was here today and I
Speaker 3: was watching the remainder of practice with him and he
Speaker 3: said he's like his dad bubble Wrap. He said, Dad
Speaker 3: bubble Wrap. Everybody, let's just get to the season because
Speaker 3: you have something so special here with all this talent.
Speaker 3: And yeah, you still have to go through all the
Speaker 3: preseason games and iron sharpens, iron training camp practices and everything. Dang, yeah,
Speaker 3: I'm telling you. Coach Vandermer says, we're ready in two
Speaker 3: weeks for the regular season.
Speaker 2: Let's go the thing about adding Clowning and adding a
Speaker 2: guy like Logan Hall in free agency. Those guys can
Speaker 2: play any of the defensive line positions, so you automatically
Speaker 2: with those two just present, you have an opportunity to
Speaker 2: play whoever you want together. Because Logan can play inside,
Speaker 2: Clowny can hold his own against.
Speaker 1: The guard we see today.
Speaker 2: Johnny, you can move everybody everywhere all the time. And then,
Speaker 2: by the way, if you want to bring heat off
Speaker 2: the edge, Jalen Petree is one of the better blitzers
Speaker 2: there is in the NFL. Like it's Matt Burke is
Speaker 2: probably up in his office right now going okay, I
Speaker 2: can only play eleven guys at once. It's unbelievable to
Speaker 2: watch the different combinations that can that can roll into
Speaker 2: the game and do the things that that they can do.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's absolutely fascinating. And final note this
Speaker 2: just in Kymie fairbearn Badass.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, Badass knocked everything down today.
Speaker 2: He hit two from sixty plus. Yeah, it was and
Speaker 2: absolutely money. The first one he hit it would have
Speaker 2: been good from seventy.
Speaker 1: I think I was.
Speaker 3: Looking at it. He one of the bombed it because
Speaker 3: I was in the north end zone and so it's
Speaker 3: hard to tell where it was. But I just looked
Speaker 3: at the logo in midfield. I'm thinking, dang bombed. This
Speaker 3: is far and he just smokes it. So he's ready
Speaker 3: for the regular seat and he's mid season form. A
Speaker 3: lot of guys are, A lot of guys are. Look,
Speaker 3: the offense still needs to work on it. We all
Speaker 3: know that, no doubt. Montgomery had a run today where
Speaker 3: the hole was you could have driven a truck through it.
Speaker 3: That was beautiful as well. Look, they are getting some
Speaker 3: good gains on offense. The two minute situation good, a
Speaker 3: lot of positives. Not everything perfect. This is pretty much
Speaker 3: the best you could ask for at this point. You know,
Speaker 3: not everybody's perfectly healthy, but so far, so good. Knock wood,
Speaker 3: knock on, whatever you want to knock on.
Speaker 2: Make sure you check out houst Texans dot com. Harris
Speaker 2: hits from day seven at practice are up all right.
Speaker 1: Albert Breer joined us.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 2: I was only there for a little bit because one
Speaker 2: on ones are going on. I had to go see him,
Speaker 2: but we had a great time talking to Albert. He's
Speaker 2: next right here in Texas All Access. All right, welcome
Speaker 2: back this Wednesday issue a Texans All Access from the
Speaker 2: Texans Radio studio. I'm your host, Sean Harris, football analyst,
Speaker 2: sideline reporter for your Houston Texans.
Speaker 1: Those Texans will have.
Speaker 2: An off day tomorrow and everybody needs it now, Mark
Speaker 2: and I will still be working. We got Texas training
Speaker 2: camp live from eight to ten. But Harris hits get
Speaker 2: a day off. The team gets a day off. Coaches
Speaker 2: will come in and do some work, I'm sure, but
Speaker 2: the team will have the day off on Thursday, get
Speaker 2: back to it Friday, and then have an evening practice
Speaker 2: on Saturday before in their day off on Sunday, which
Speaker 2: I am looking forward two.
Speaker 1: For a number of different reasons.
Speaker 2: We are moving ever so closely to the first preseason
Speaker 2: game of the year against the Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: Chargers eight days eight.
Speaker 2: That's amazing to say that we're eight days away from
Speaker 2: the first preseason game of the year.
Speaker 5: All right.
Speaker 2: Albert Breer does a lot in the media space MMQB
Speaker 2: Sports Illustrated. He's been around, he's been doing this for
Speaker 2: a while. He joined us this morning.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 2: I took off at some point because I had to
Speaker 2: go watch one on ones. We had a good talk
Speaker 2: with Albert Breer and started right here when I asked
Speaker 2: him about his travels looking at teams throughout the league.
Speaker 2: When you get a chance to get out and see
Speaker 2: other teams other than obviously the Patriots, what's it like
Speaker 2: for you? What do you kind of go into it with, like, Hey,
Speaker 2: I've got these three storylines that I want to follow.
Speaker 6: How do you go into I mean, like, I think,
Speaker 6: you know, my job is to cover all thirty two
Speaker 6: And I tell people it's like what yould like, what's
Speaker 6: the gist of your job? The way like I deliver
Speaker 6: the content is different in different places, obviously, but I
Speaker 6: think the gist of it is to.
Speaker 4: Know what's going on, you know.
Speaker 6: And I know that sounds simple, but it's being able
Speaker 6: to anticipate things. And that can only be done if
Speaker 6: you have relationships. And so you know, for me, like
Speaker 6: these stops, every one of these stops is more about
Speaker 6: seeing people than it is about producing any sort of
Speaker 6: piece of content now.
Speaker 4: If I can.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, and like obviously we all have jobs
Speaker 6: to do, and we all you know, it's not just
Speaker 6: my job to go and glad hand and all of
Speaker 6: that but so I have to, you know, I have
Speaker 6: to give them some content. But the main thing for
Speaker 6: me is just, you know, maintaining my network. And you know,
Speaker 6: for years it was building the network. It's still I
Speaker 6: still try to as many new relationships as I can,
Speaker 6: but you know, when you get twenty years into doing this,
Speaker 6: a big part of it's maintaining them as well, because
Speaker 6: you've built a lot of them. So, yeah, this is
Speaker 6: Camp number ten for me. You guys are right at
Speaker 6: the turn. I have eighteen in eighteen days, and then
Speaker 6: I'll go home for that first full weekend of preseason
Speaker 6: games and then back out again and I usually.
Speaker 4: Try to get to about three quarters of the league.
Speaker 3: What's the best team you've seen so far?
Speaker 4: Albert Seattle?
Speaker 6: You know, I just think when you watch them practice,
Speaker 6: and I don't know, I haven't seen the first episode
Speaker 6: of Hard Knocks yet, so but like you just you
Speaker 6: see why they're as good as they are. You see
Speaker 6: that fourteen wins was not a fluke. You see that
Speaker 6: winning the Super Bowl was not a fluke. They beat
Speaker 6: the Rams at the end of the regular season to
Speaker 6: clinch home field advantage, and they beat the Rams again
Speaker 6: in the NFC Championship game in a game where I
Speaker 6: think Matthew Stafford may have played the best quarterback game
Speaker 6: by anybody all year. So I think what sticks out
Speaker 6: to me just seeing Seattle in person, And it hit
Speaker 6: me when I was I was up close with their
Speaker 6: defensive ends and Aden Derdet, who's their defensive coordinator, was
Speaker 6: running a drill on the sled and they lost a
Speaker 6: defensive end, boy Mafey to Cincinnati, who got twenty million
Speaker 6: dollars per year.
Speaker 4: And yet there's.
Speaker 6: DeMarcus Lawrence and chenna Uosu, Derek Hall who was one
Speaker 6: of the heroes of the Super Bowl, Dante Fallon, Like
Speaker 6: they're four deep at a position where they lost a
Speaker 6: twenty million dollar player. Right, It's just they have it rolling,
Speaker 6: and it's just a really well put together team.
Speaker 4: I mean the organize.
Speaker 6: I think John Schneider is, if not the best general
Speaker 6: manager of the last quarter century. He's like high, high
Speaker 6: high on that list. And you can see it, you know,
Speaker 6: you can see it. It was no Fluke, you know, I
Speaker 6: know a lot of people thought they came out of nowhere.
Speaker 4: That was no Fluke. They're gonna be really good again.
Speaker 2: No, we saw them on Monday night last year and
Speaker 2: we got on a bus after that game and I
Speaker 2: told Mark that same thing. I was like, this is
Speaker 2: the best team and they didn't play well against us.
Speaker 2: I mean, Saam turned it over the h and we
Speaker 2: stayed in it because of that. But it was not
Speaker 2: that was the one team all year we had no
Speaker 2: we had no shot against. One person who didn't mention
Speaker 2: is Mike McDonald's now in third years a coach. I
Speaker 2: saw one of the snippets from Hard Knocks. I was like, okay,
Speaker 2: I could I could see. But from his standpoint, he's
Speaker 2: only been there three years, but got that defense, got
Speaker 2: him right where it needed to be.
Speaker 1: Where he talks about Mike McDonald's, I mean he's.
Speaker 6: Brought elite in a lot of like different ways, like
Speaker 6: an elite teacher, an elite coach, an elite game planner,
Speaker 6: and just so comfortable in his own skin. I think
Speaker 6: that's something that will come across when people watch the show.
Speaker 6: You know, it's just I mean, you guys know, you
Speaker 6: guys are around these guys enough. Like the one thing
Speaker 6: that it's weird. I've said before, I feel like the
Speaker 6: one thing, like most football players have in common, they
Speaker 6: all come from different backgrounds. Some of them are smarter
Speaker 6: than others, some of our better athletes than others. They
Speaker 6: all have like an incredible BS meter. I don't know why,
Speaker 6: but they all can see through BS right, and they
Speaker 6: can see when somebody's not trying to when somebody's trying
Speaker 6: to be something other than themselves.
Speaker 4: And you know, like so to me.
Speaker 6: Like that's the baseline of being a head coach, and
Speaker 6: are you comfortable in your own skin? Can you project
Speaker 6: in a way that's authentically yourself? And Mike's just really
Speaker 6: really good at it, you know, and you know, obviously
Speaker 6: coming up under the Harbas there are some tenants of
Speaker 6: the Harbaugh program there the two and a half hour
Speaker 6: practices they do, like you know, and there's different philosophies
Speaker 6: of this, but they do a lot of their corrections
Speaker 6: on the field, right, like, which is why they have
Speaker 6: longer practices. But there's also like loud music in the
Speaker 6: meeting room and there's like so there's like stuff that
Speaker 6: like is authentically him.
Speaker 4: Wow, And so he just has like I think.
Speaker 6: A really good feel for what it takes to be
Speaker 6: a really great head coach.
Speaker 3: Albert Breer with us Okay, two things about the Texans,
Speaker 3: your thirty forty thousand foot view on the team and
Speaker 3: this defense and the defense plus Clowny.
Speaker 6: So I think my thirty thousand foot view on the
Speaker 6: team is you know, I I've.
Speaker 4: Brought this up to a few people.
Speaker 6: I still have this stuck in my head for last
Speaker 6: year watching the Monday night playoff game on ESPN and
Speaker 6: Aaron Rodgers checking the ball down to Jalen Warren and
Speaker 6: you know, I got the big screen up in my
Speaker 6: up on the wall in my house, and Jalen Warren
Speaker 6: was all alone on the screen and like you could
Speaker 6: have like snapped your fingers and there were three Navy
Speaker 6: helmets like on him, and it was just you saw
Speaker 6: like how Demiko had like just not even like with
Speaker 6: great athletes they are, but how hard they play, and
Speaker 6: so like I think you see that across the board.
Speaker 6: And I think a big part of cleaning out the
Speaker 6: offensive line room two years ago was they felt like
Speaker 6: they had a culture problem in that room and they
Speaker 6: wanted to match the culture that they had on defense
Speaker 6: on offense, and so they bring in Keelan Rutledge, they
Speaker 6: bring in Wyatt Teller, and I think the idea is
Speaker 6: we want to have the same identity on offense that
Speaker 6: we have on defense. And I from what I understand,
Speaker 6: it's starting to show up like that, the offenses starting
Speaker 6: to play the defense to a stack and they're not
Speaker 6: backing down to them.
Speaker 1: And so if you.
Speaker 6: Can just have the twelfth best offense, the thirteenth best offense,
Speaker 6: I think you're cooking them with gas. And then I
Speaker 6: mean defensively, it's just I don't know what superlative has
Speaker 6: not been used on these guys over the last year,
Speaker 6: But I really, I really believe like they they've got
Speaker 6: a chance. And you don't see as many of them
Speaker 6: this year that you know in this day and age.
Speaker 6: But you know what the twenty fifteen Broncos were, what
Speaker 6: the two thousand and two Buccaneers were, what the two
Speaker 6: thousand Ravens were, you know, some of those great Steeler defenses,
Speaker 6: you know, the best defenses of the new millennium.
Speaker 4: You know, I think they very much have.
Speaker 6: A chance to to to to throw their hat in
Speaker 6: the ring and be named alongside those groups. If if
Speaker 6: they can find a way to be good enough on
Speaker 6: the on the offensive side of.
Speaker 4: The ball to get to a Super Bowl.
Speaker 2: It has just been my opinion watching I think we
Speaker 2: saw all the great defenses last year we started facing
Speaker 2: the Rams, we played the Broncos, we played the Seahawks.
Speaker 1: Obviously we get to see our defense.
Speaker 2: It feels as if there's a sort of defensive renaissance
Speaker 2: in this league that teams are looking at it. Twenty
Speaker 2: fifteen Broncos, two thousand Ravens. Hey, look, we can win
Speaker 2: with a great defense offense, just do enough. And I
Speaker 2: think Seattle kind of felling out of their offense was
Speaker 2: a little bit better than the offensive player of the
Speaker 2: year in Jason.
Speaker 1: It was very good.
Speaker 2: But it feels like there might be this defensive renaissance
Speaker 2: happening in the league that the Rams don't get Miles
Speaker 2: Garrett to put him with maybe Aaron Donald and whoever
Speaker 2: else I got up front this defense, the Eagles defense,
Speaker 2: that there are more great defenses in the league now
Speaker 2: than there have been in a while.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think it's well, I mean, like one thing
Speaker 6: you do here that's interesting, as it's getting harder to
Speaker 6: play quarterback right right, and it's like part of it
Speaker 6: is the way that defenses are putting athletes out there
Speaker 6: and changing the picture constantly, and so I think, you know,
Speaker 6: one thing that Mike McDonald I think is doing was
Speaker 6: really interesting, and I think he's opening the door because
Speaker 6: if you look at it, like over the last ten
Speaker 6: to fifteen years, obviously we've had a lot of like
Speaker 6: the young offensive assistants get jobs and succeed, right, So
Speaker 6: who's that, Well, it's Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan obviously,
Speaker 6: but even like Matt LeFleur going to a couple of
Speaker 6: NFC title games, Mike McDaniel gets the Dolphins back to
Speaker 6: the playoffs. There are tons of examples of that. And
Speaker 6: then there are defensive coaches who had success too, but
Speaker 6: a lot of those guys are ex players. The guy
Speaker 6: here right is a good example of it. You have
Speaker 6: Mike Rabel who's now won in both Tennessee and New England.
Speaker 7: And so I think, you know, there is a real.
Speaker 6: There's a class of young defensive coaches that are really
Speaker 6: smart guys that I think are sort of becoming the
Speaker 6: counterpoint and opening the door for what you're talking about.
Speaker 6: So Jesse Mintor is a really good example of it. Obviously,
Speaker 6: he has success at Michigan, was bonkers the last two
Speaker 6: years with the Chargers, and now we'll see what he
Speaker 6: does with the Evens. Matt Burke is a guy here
Speaker 6: who I think is like kind of in that group,
Speaker 6: you know, But there are like that again, there's like
Speaker 6: this this I think what you're talking about there is
Speaker 6: defenses are starting to challenge offenses in new new ways.
Speaker 7: It's making it harder for quarterbacks to operate.
Speaker 4: Seattle was a great example.
Speaker 7: Like to me, the difference between Stafford and.
Speaker 6: Drake May last year was right there for us in
Speaker 6: the NFC championship game in the Super Bowl, and what
Speaker 6: I the way I had somebody explain to me, was Seattle.
Speaker 4: Forces you to play quarterback, you know what I mean, Like.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it was Stafford kind of game like that.
Speaker 6: You still lose and Seattle and Stafford played great in
Speaker 6: that game, and you saw that's a guy who's been
Speaker 6: in the league for seventeen years. And then the next week,
Speaker 6: two or two weeks later, they played Drake May, who
Speaker 6: had a phenomenal season, was like worthy of being second
Speaker 6: in MVP voting, but they put him in a blender,
Speaker 6: you know. And so I think, like, you know, like
Speaker 6: the the like Winke Martindale, the Wink Martindale, you know,
Speaker 6: Tree and those guys and that's Jesse mentor Mike McDonald,
Speaker 6: all these guys that have come through that, and then
Speaker 6: some of the guys who come up n Neer, Vic Fangio.
Speaker 7: You're starting to see some real creativity.
Speaker 3: In that side of the All all right, a couple more
Speaker 3: for you, albert Is. Johnny's gonna go watch one on
Speaker 3: one because them Okay, so afc South, Jags, Titans, Colts.
Speaker 3: Have you been to any of the camps yet? Will
Speaker 3: you know?
Speaker 6: I have?
Speaker 7: I haven't been, so I will go to the Colt.
Speaker 6: I'll be the Colts Saber Day.
Speaker 7: And it's Saturday. I think I'm at the Colt. I can't.
Speaker 4: I think that's it. Yes, Saturday, I'll bet the Colt.
Speaker 3: But what do you think of the division?
Speaker 7: And then Jackson Jackson tits hopefully later.
Speaker 6: I mean it's better, you know, Like I think Liam
Speaker 6: Cohen obviously did a great job last year in Jacksonville
Speaker 6: and like man if like Trevor.
Speaker 7: Lawrence can fulfill the potential there.
Speaker 6: But it seems like the Jags have built a foundation
Speaker 6: for something that could be lasting. I think Shane steich
Speaker 6: In is one of the most underrated coaches in football,
Speaker 6: and where they were offensively last year. I mean, they
Speaker 6: were on a record breaking pace before you know, the
Speaker 6: injuries hit. Daniel Jones gets hurt. But when they they
Speaker 6: during that seven and one start, they were off the charts.
Speaker 6: So it'll be interesting to see if they can come
Speaker 6: back from that, you know. And then and then obviously,
Speaker 6: I think the Titans are kind of in this all right,
Speaker 6: like one step at a time. Can they get to
Speaker 6: eight nine wins? Can they play meaningful football in December?
Speaker 6: I think that's where they're at all right. Last one,
Speaker 6: sports media. You and I have talked about this kind
Speaker 6: of thing before.
Speaker 3: Over the years, but where we're at right now, what
Speaker 3: do you make of the state of the Union of
Speaker 3: sports media? Because it's more bizarre than ever even here.
Speaker 3: We got used to Chronicle as a reporter, ESPN's a reporter,
Speaker 3: get a lot of YouTubers. It's kind of a strange mix.
Speaker 3: It's a strange environment we live in right now.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, I didn't get a lot of things
Speaker 6: right when I was twenty two. But I remember one
Speaker 6: thing I can still remember. The one thing I think
Speaker 6: I did get right was when I was coming to
Speaker 6: out school. I remember when people would ask me, like
Speaker 6: what do you want your job to be in twenty years?
Speaker 6: I said, I don't know, because it doesn't exist yet.
Speaker 6: And I really felt like at that time, like the
Speaker 6: economics the business didn't work, and.
Speaker 4: So for me it was like, how do I teach
Speaker 4: myself how to do everything?
Speaker 6: Because if the economics of the business don't work, then
Speaker 6: you're gonna want to have one You don't have to
Speaker 6: have one person who can do multiple things, right, I
Speaker 6: think like where we're at now is just kind of
Speaker 6: it's fragmented more than it's ever been, And I think
Speaker 6: it's more on us to kind of meet the audience
Speaker 6: where they're at than ever before.
Speaker 4: Because I pay attention. I pay attention to my.
Speaker 6: Eleven year old, my nine year old, my six year old,
Speaker 6: how they consume content and not necessarily what they're consuming
Speaker 6: because their interests.
Speaker 4: Are what kids that age interests are.
Speaker 6: But like, how are you, like, how are you consuming content?
Speaker 6: Because in you know, ten to fifteen years, that's gonna
Speaker 6: be the primary audience. So I think that's the tricky thing,
Speaker 6: is like finding the audience. But if you're not trying
Speaker 6: to figure out where the audience is, you're dead, right, So,
Speaker 6: like I think it's like a lot of the fundamentals
Speaker 6: of the job remained in the same. I think you're
Speaker 6: having relationships, being able to get information, being able to
Speaker 6: have an opinion that isn't just that can't be can't
Speaker 6: that that that that that somebody just flicking on a
Speaker 6: switch on their computer can do the same thing you
Speaker 6: can do. It's being able to differentiate yourself that way.
Speaker 6: Then it's also okay, like, what's the best way for
Speaker 6: me to deliver this content in a way where I'm
Speaker 6: going to be able to reach as many people as.
Speaker 4: I possibly can.
Speaker 6: And again, it's just it's a way bigger challenge than
Speaker 6: it was when I first got into this and you
Speaker 6: could count on people picking up the newspaper or turning
Speaker 6: on the TV or turning on the radio.
Speaker 4: It's just way different than it used to be.
Speaker 3: Albert thanks a lot of that time.
Speaker 2: We appreciate it absolutely, Lincoln Sudbury's finest.
Speaker 1: Right there, Albert Breer, Are we get back?
Speaker 2: Jayane Higgins joined my good friends John Lopez, reggiad Tula
Speaker 2: on in the loop.
Speaker 1: Well that for you.
Speaker 2: Next right here in Texas All Access we go on
Speaker 2: final second this Wednesday edition at Texans All Access from
Speaker 2: a Texans radio studio. I'm your host, John Harris Football
Speaker 2: analst sidelin reporter for your Houston Texans, and we've been
Speaker 2: having a great time at Texas Training Camp. Texas train
Speaker 2: Camp Live in the morning from eight to ten, which
Speaker 2: you hear after Sean and Seth taken from six to
Speaker 2: eight and then John Lopez and Reggie had Tulla have
Speaker 2: in the loop. In every single practice, they get a
Speaker 2: player after the practice, right off the practice field, and
Speaker 2: today it was, Hey, it was Jaden Higgins who had
Speaker 2: another stellar day. And if you're out there playing fantasy
Speaker 2: and you're thinking about, man, you know who can I
Speaker 2: get off the radar if you will? Hey, Jaye Higgins
Speaker 2: is perfect. He's gonna produce, he's gonna have I mean,
Speaker 2: whatever league you've got, he is gonna put up numbers
Speaker 2: for this team this year.
Speaker 1: And he sat down with John and Reed today, Pig,
Speaker 1: how you doing, brother?
Speaker 8: Done good?
Speaker 1: All right, very good?
Speaker 9: And it's cool if I call you higg like that's
Speaker 9: that's what people are calling.
Speaker 8: You, right, Yeah, that's cool, that's cool. That's a that's
Speaker 8: one of the nicknames they got for me out here.
Speaker 1: What are some of the other ones that you got.
Speaker 8: I mean they just call me jay or I mean
Speaker 8: pretty much hig or a Jayden.
Speaker 1: Nothing too crazy? All right?
Speaker 3: Fair enough?
Speaker 9: Do you do you like having a craziness? Like is
Speaker 9: that something that you deep down inside would like to have?
Speaker 1: Nah?
Speaker 8: I mean, Kamari be calling me chill because my my
Speaker 8: instagram is chilled.
Speaker 1: I j five so and you you are a chill dude.
Speaker 9: It's one of the things I've thought about, Like, you
Speaker 9: are pretty humble in the way that you go about things,
Speaker 9: and it made me wonder, is there anything in your
Speaker 9: life that you're braggadocious about?
Speaker 1: Ah?
Speaker 8: Man, I don't know. I would probably say fishing. I
Speaker 8: love to fish, and I think I'm better than a
Speaker 8: lot of the guys on our team. I joke with
Speaker 8: Will all the time. I tell him I'm the best
Speaker 8: fisherman and he gets super upset. But yeah, I'd say that.
Speaker 5: Okay, so we're we we gotta go here. Then I
Speaker 5: was gonna I was telling myself, I mean, I fish
Speaker 5: every week, yep, I have a fishing podcas Yes, I
Speaker 5: have a fishing show on this same station in the mornings.
Speaker 5: And I kept telling myself, I'm not gonna ask him
Speaker 5: about fishing till later. I'm not going to ask about
Speaker 5: fish until later. But we're here, we're here. You are
Speaker 5: the second best fisherman at this table, But I will I.
Speaker 1: Will grant you, and he's not talking about me.
Speaker 5: I will grant you. How big is that competition, because
Speaker 5: when you're on the boat, when you're fishing, it's competition
Speaker 5: for sure.
Speaker 8: Yeah. I mean, you know, at the end of the day,
Speaker 8: as long as you go out there and you know
Speaker 8: catch fish is always a great day. But it's definitely
Speaker 8: a huge competition, you know, competing with those guys, and
Speaker 8: you know, coming back here and telling everybody that I'm
Speaker 8: a better fisherman is a big deal to me.
Speaker 5: Artificials or live and dead bait.
Speaker 8: It depends. When I'm bass fishing, I like to use
Speaker 8: artificial When I'm fishing in saltwater, definitely live.
Speaker 5: I promise we're gonna get the football, all our listeners,
Speaker 5: I promise I'm gonna get the football. You've got to
Speaker 5: get deeper into saltwater fishing. Now you're here, have you, Yeah,
Speaker 5: for sure.
Speaker 8: I'm from Miami, so so I always go out there
Speaker 8: in the salt water. But yeah, I've been to Galveston,
Speaker 8: a couple of times.
Speaker 5: You've been bayfishing or Jetty's or offshore.
Speaker 8: Uh yeah, offshore mostly, Yeah.
Speaker 5: Yep, Okay, we'll get to football then I'll come back.
Speaker 9: No, I think that's the football thing that I want
Speaker 9: to get to. Because you're talking about fishing and it
Speaker 9: you clearly have the details down. Where do you feel
Speaker 9: like you are with the details and the finer points
Speaker 9: of the wide receiver position? Because it's clear you got
Speaker 9: the raw abilities, big tall, good builds, you're fast as hell, Like,
Speaker 9: how do you feel like you're finding the details of
Speaker 9: the wide receiver position at this point?
Speaker 7: For sure?
Speaker 8: I mean, I think it all comes down to just
Speaker 8: the work that I'm putting in, you know, the work
Speaker 8: I put in each and every day with the coaching staff,
Speaker 8: with CJ, with all the guys. You know, just just
Speaker 8: making sure that I'm polished out there and I can
Speaker 8: make any play when the time comes.
Speaker 5: So a lot of times at every camp, you know,
Speaker 5: people talk about, well, this player's got a lot of
Speaker 5: there's a lot of buzz around this player. This player
Speaker 5: is really showing up, flashing whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 5: You are that guy in this camp. Do you feel it?
Speaker 5: Do you feel like your game is stepping up.
Speaker 8: Uh, I mean, I want to say so. I say,
Speaker 8: for me, it's just routine pretty much. You know, I
Speaker 8: got there. That's my job to go out there and
Speaker 8: make plays when he throws me the ball, you know,
Speaker 8: make sure I'm on the right alignment, assignment, you know,
Speaker 8: just make sure I'm doing the right thing out there.
Speaker 8: So I feel like me personally, that's what I'm supposed
Speaker 8: to do.
Speaker 5: How much of it is just pure development one.
Speaker 7: Year to the next, for sure, a lot of it.
Speaker 8: You know, just definitely being way more comfortable out there
Speaker 8: and ready to go out there and rock out.
Speaker 9: What's the difference between I guess off season one feels
Speaker 9: like it's not even off season.
Speaker 1: You get drafted, it's all the whirlwind.
Speaker 9: What's the difference between off season one and then off
Speaker 9: season two that you're just coming off of.
Speaker 8: Yeah, man, I think it's a huge difference. You know,
Speaker 8: being able to you know, get right into training instead
Speaker 8: of you know, having the train for the combine. You know,
Speaker 8: definitely allowed me to work on my athleticism, allow me
Speaker 8: to get bigger, stronger, faster, and then you know, just
Speaker 8: take more time with the offense. Of course, learn the
Speaker 8: ins and out of it, and you know, really just
Speaker 8: be in the building.
Speaker 5: How much a responsibility this is? This is a tough question,
Speaker 5: and I understand that going in, but you see what
Speaker 5: what the discussion is around CJ strout how much to
Speaker 5: do this? Does the receiver room say, hey man, that's us,
Speaker 5: that's all up. Do you feel that responsibility to do
Speaker 5: for him?
Speaker 8: For sure? Of course, Yeah, there's a bunch of things
Speaker 8: that we got to do to go out there and
Speaker 8: make sure that he's completing those passes and making those
Speaker 8: big plays, and that's what we're always gonna do. You know,
Speaker 8: we have a lot of responsibility as far as you know,
Speaker 8: certain routes and stuff we gotta run. So you know,
Speaker 8: everyone you know might always just want to point the
Speaker 8: finger on him, but it's definitely us a lot of times.
Speaker 9: I mean, how often is the case though, because I
Speaker 9: know that it sounds it might sound like you're just
Speaker 9: kind of talking generically about hey man, we have our responsibilities.
Speaker 9: But we were talking with Nico earlier with last week
Speaker 9: and he was mentioning, how, yeah, man, there's a lot
Speaker 9: of things that you have to go through in this system,
Speaker 9: and I imagine that only goes up more with you
Speaker 9: talking about maybe moving around in the formation.
Speaker 8: How much is that that's on your play For sure,
Speaker 8: it's a lot, But you know, you just got to
Speaker 8: get in that playbook. You got to make sure you're,
Speaker 8: you know, here every day and just ready to work.
Speaker 8: If the coaches can't trust you, if CJ can't trust you,
Speaker 8: then you know you're not going to be able to
Speaker 8: be out there.
Speaker 9: How much how much you talk about being in the playbook, Like,
Speaker 9: how often is it is it when you sit down
Speaker 9: to eat, you're not putting on nothing on YouTube?
Speaker 1: You're in the playbook? Like, what is it?
Speaker 8: Nothing crazy like that, Nothing crazy like that. I think,
Speaker 8: just just putting in some extra time, you know, each day,
Speaker 8: maybe an hour or something like that. None too crazy,
Speaker 8: as long as you stay up on it, you know.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 5: So the coaches have put a big emphasis on the
Speaker 5: run game this year. We're going to run the ball,
Speaker 5: We're gonna throw the ball to the backside of the backfield.
Speaker 5: Obviously that means you got block. Yeah, that means you
Speaker 5: got to make the most of your opportunities and maybe
Speaker 5: short passing game. How much of a difference is this offense?
Speaker 5: As much as it was the same offense. How much.
Speaker 5: How many new wrinkles are there with that in mind.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think, uh, you know, a lot of new wrinkles,
Speaker 8: but a lot of the same stuff. Also, you know,
Speaker 8: at the end of the day, we want to go
Speaker 8: out there and you know, run the ball down the
Speaker 8: defensive throat. You know, we got to pound the rock.
Speaker 8: We got to make sure that you know, we're blocking
Speaker 8: as a receiver unit. You know, that's the big thing.
Speaker 8: And then when you can do that, then all the
Speaker 8: passing game opens up to play action things like that.
Speaker 8: But you know, our O line has been looking really
Speaker 8: good this year. Real stout running backs look amazing in
Speaker 8: the backfield, and yeah, big players are just waiting out there.
Speaker 9: Who do you talk to when you want to when
Speaker 9: you want and need advice for playing the position? Because
Speaker 9: I mean it's it's a lot of young guys in
Speaker 9: that room. But also you got some interesting vets. I
Speaker 9: wonder like, who do you talk to where there are
Speaker 9: people outside of the building that you reach out to?
Speaker 8: Who are sure I think you know in the building,
Speaker 8: I just say I lean on the guys in the room. Definitely, Nico,
Speaker 8: you know, a vet in that room explosive player. I
Speaker 8: always talked to Hutch. I feel like he has a
Speaker 8: lot of good information. My guy Jalen of course, Uh Tank,
Speaker 8: you know, Tank's always you know, telling me little intricacies
Speaker 8: and you know, kind of just defining certain things. And
Speaker 8: then you know, outside of the building, I got a
Speaker 8: you know, a couple of receiver coaches that I lean onto,
Speaker 8: my metor coach Gant. So uh yeah, so I got
Speaker 8: a lot of guys.
Speaker 5: Another thing that we're seeing again this is us just
Speaker 5: our observations. We're not in the room. Uh it is
Speaker 5: a lot of the receivers are moving around, you know,
Speaker 5: outside inside. You know, one side the other is that
Speaker 5: I know you did it some last year, But is
Speaker 5: that something you're trying to hone in on that skill?
Speaker 8: For sure? I think, uh, you know, it just comes
Speaker 8: down to the coaches trusting me and trusting the other
Speaker 8: receivers to to go out there and know what you're
Speaker 8: doing and be able to make that play when it comes.
Speaker 9: I'm gonna be honest though, you're fast, man, Demiko Ryan
Speaker 9: sounded like he was he was on cloud nine talking
Speaker 9: about how fast you are?
Speaker 1: Where do you rank in the in the building, Like
Speaker 1: who who who the fastest?
Speaker 5: Are you?
Speaker 1: Are you up there on the podium? What are we
Speaker 1: doing here?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 8: No, nah, I ran track but I mostly jumped senior year.
Speaker 4: You do look like yeah.
Speaker 8: But the fastest I'll probably say Jalen know honestly a
Speaker 8: guy in the receiver room. And then we got we
Speaker 8: got uh, of course Stingley super fast, guy Nico super fast.
Speaker 8: I definitely say, you know that receiver receiver room is
Speaker 8: definitely tough to be but I probably say I'm top
Speaker 8: top five, ty ten.
Speaker 1: He's being real diplomatic about it.
Speaker 9: It really is because I look, I'll say it so
Speaker 9: you don't have to You left sting earlier.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you don't have to acknowledge it.
Speaker 5: You left him.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah, all right, So fishing, you've been in Gabbleston. You said, ye,
Speaker 5: have you been able to go down south at all,
Speaker 5: like some of the clear water because technics, that's the
Speaker 5: thing you heard Charles Barkley talking about the water and gables.
Speaker 5: It's because it's deeper, it's got a lot of and
Speaker 5: all that stuff. Down south we got clear flats, beautiful water,
Speaker 5: top water, baits, yeah, soft plastics. Have you been able
Speaker 5: to go down there?
Speaker 8: I haven't.
Speaker 1: I haven't.
Speaker 8: I need some recommendations.
Speaker 5: I can help you with that for sure. What about
Speaker 5: uh buying a boat?
Speaker 8: Buying a boat? No yet, I like to go on
Speaker 8: other people's boat.
Speaker 5: I worry about it.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I don't like to worry.
Speaker 5: The only the only thing better than having a boat
Speaker 5: is having a friend with a boat. Exactly, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 9: You mentioned though, obviously fishing, and I know, uh Jalenole's
Speaker 9: also a fisherman, isn't he? Like you know, what what
Speaker 9: are those expeditions like? And how how is he holding
Speaker 9: up right now? Because I know he's he's dealing with
Speaker 9: a little bit of rehabit back.
Speaker 8: Yeah, just like he said, it's it's a competition. When
Speaker 8: we go out there fishing, you know, I see Jalen
Speaker 8: catch a fish, I'm immediately trying to take his spot
Speaker 8: wherever he's.
Speaker 7: At, I'm casting.
Speaker 1: Oh you're that guy.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I'm not going.
Speaker 7: Definitely that guy.
Speaker 5: You're that guy. So like he gets he.
Speaker 8: Missed, he misses, that's my.
Speaker 5: Come on, man, come on.
Speaker 8: But uh, yeah, he's been holding up good. He's in
Speaker 8: high spirits and ready to get out here on the
Speaker 8: field soon.
Speaker 5: So what's the group like if you have to say,
Speaker 5: these dudes are real fishermen, not like hey, I'll go
Speaker 5: out and whatever, but like actual serious fisherman like yourself.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I say myself definitely, Jalen. I say, Will is
Speaker 8: a serious fisherman. We got Dan a new receiver. He's
Speaker 8: a serious fisherman for sure. He has a lot of information.
Speaker 8: And then I don't know, everyone else is kind.
Speaker 5: Of laconships from down in Alabama.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I've never been able to test the skills out.
Speaker 7: Yeah, so we'll see.
Speaker 5: We'll see. What's your favorite type of fish of fishing
Speaker 5: in terms of like targeting fish.
Speaker 8: My favorite type of fishing like red fish, yeah, the
Speaker 8: saltwater or bass or yeah, rad fish in Miami, I
Speaker 8: like to fish in like the mangroves. So it's mostly
Speaker 8: fishing for like, yeah, snug red fish, mangrove snapper and
Speaker 8: stuff like that. I get a little seasick when I'm
Speaker 8: out there on.
Speaker 7: The boat too far.
Speaker 5: Man, can you cast under the main?
Speaker 7: I can't do it.
Speaker 5: I can get closed though.
Speaker 9: I can help you, all right, So we to get
Speaker 9: y'all on a boat together when we absolutely do.
Speaker 5: I actually I actually told Omar if you ever have
Speaker 5: an off weekend or something happy to take you guys
Speaker 5: all off the record. Just fishing. I don't talk sports
Speaker 5: and fishing spinning reel or casting.
Speaker 8: Uh, I do both.
Speaker 5: Into the wind, you got to use spinning.
Speaker 8: Yeah, For like freshwater, I like to use a bait caster,
Speaker 8: and then for like saltwater, I'll probably definitely do a
Speaker 8: spinning reel.
Speaker 5: Yeah. And what's your what's your setup? What's your favorite setup?
Speaker 8: Yeah?
Speaker 5: Nothing too crazy.
Speaker 8: I just like to have either floral or mono and
Speaker 8: then you know, have that that braid tied on there
Speaker 8: but the mind of being the leader. But uh yeah,
Speaker 8: nothing too crazy. It all depends on the conditions.
Speaker 5: And the best fish you ever caught, the best fish,
Speaker 5: and the best one that got away, the best fish
Speaker 5: the story where you still go because we always remember
Speaker 5: the ones that got away.
Speaker 8: Yeah, sheeeesh, I don't know.
Speaker 4: That's hard.
Speaker 8: When I was in yeah, I was then I caught
Speaker 8: a huge red fish, one of the big drums, one
Speaker 8: of those huge it was like mating sea and it
Speaker 8: was huge.
Speaker 7: So I'd say that one.
Speaker 8: I don't even remember how big it was, but it
Speaker 8: was alread. Yeah, and then one that got away. I
Speaker 8: don't know. I'm still chasing there.
Speaker 9: I can tell you everyone that got away because there's
Speaker 9: not a lot of them.
Speaker 3: More.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 9: I did want to ask you though, because I've become
Speaker 9: fascinated with the welcome to the NFL moments. Did you
Speaker 9: did you feel like you had one of those last year?
Speaker 8: I would say, honestly, just coming out here to practice
Speaker 8: and you know, going against Sting and Kamari and you
Speaker 8: know Petrie, those guys in the secondary, Kalen back there, Bahaking,
Speaker 8: going against those guys was definitely welcome to NFL before
Speaker 8: I even got to a game.
Speaker 9: I imagine when you practice like this, game days are
Speaker 9: all feel easy?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 5: Sure, a little bit.
Speaker 7: I love it.
Speaker 9: Is there is there anything in particular, because I know
Speaker 9: you just want to get better in all fast? Is
Speaker 9: there anything in particular that you were focused on uniquely
Speaker 9: for the twenty twenty six season to be.
Speaker 5: Better at uh?
Speaker 8: I would definitely say, you know, trying to get some
Speaker 8: more run after catch, making plays with the bomb in
Speaker 8: my hand.
Speaker 5: Yeah, after the catch.
Speaker 9: Well, that's why we're working on the athleticism. One of
Speaker 9: the new people in the dirt. I love it all right.
Speaker 1: One more thing I want to ask you, just so
Speaker 1: I can get because.
Speaker 9: You clearly have favorite fish. What's your favorite routes to
Speaker 9: run out here?
Speaker 8: My favorite out Oh man, that's all right.
Speaker 1: I was a slant guy person.
Speaker 8: I like running slans. I do like running slants. I'd
Speaker 8: probably say like it's like a six step out like that.
Speaker 3: I like to get that.
Speaker 8: Kids get vertical.
Speaker 1: That's interesting.
Speaker 9: I would have never gone for that. But that's why
Speaker 9: we're different, right. Also, I have a microphone, and you
Speaker 9: play football. That's also another place. But we appreciate you greatly.
Speaker 5: Sitting down with and if anybody didn't like the fishing,
Speaker 5: talk too bad.
Speaker 1: Too bad?
Speaker 9: Right, All that means that we got to have you
Speaker 9: back over talk to more football. Have a great season,
Speaker 9: my guy. It's Jaye Higgins for you, Houston Texans.
Speaker 2: Yeah, caught the Ben McDaniels miked up, which I did
Speaker 2: last night. Ben's awesome. I don't know if it always
Speaker 2: comes through on the miked up because he kind of
Speaker 2: knows when he's miked up. But he's pretty good and
Speaker 2: he's a really really good coach. And he calls Hig Higg.
Speaker 2: It's funny to know the nicknames that they they call
Speaker 2: each other. Until we get him in studio and sometimes
Speaker 2: they'll use a nickname when they're referring to somebody and
Speaker 2: we're like, wait, who, But yeah, we caught up on
Speaker 2: that one. Hag was great today. He had a tremendous practice.
Speaker 2: He and Cjr. Really linked up, really linked up, and
Speaker 2: Tank only did a little bit. Nico did not practice,
Speaker 2: so he got a step up and he did. And
Speaker 2: he's done that many many times in his short career
Speaker 2: here with the Texans.
Speaker 1: So love his growth, love he's been able to do.
Speaker 1: But man, the receiver's been really good.
Speaker 2: Josh Kelly and Lewis Bond have been highly noticeable, highly noticeable.
Speaker 2: They've been fantastic. Josh Kelly had to catch it the
Speaker 2: day of one hander that he kind of brought into
Speaker 2: his body a couple of defenders around him.
Speaker 1: He snagged it was really really good catch.
Speaker 2: Receivers had played very well and I cannot wait to
Speaker 2: get more practice from Tank, to get more from Jalen No.
Speaker 2: Hopefully will be back relatively soon. And once you got
Speaker 2: the full arsenal, boy, that is a really tough group
Speaker 2: to stop. Appreciate Hig for stopping by Reggie and John
Speaker 2: of course, the best of friends and great broadcasters appreciate them.
Speaker 1: Figgy fig back in studio. It's been tremendous being with.
Speaker 2: You this evening. Big thanks to Mark, thanks to Albert
Speaker 2: Breer who joined us. Says, well, we'll see tomorrow everybody,
Speaker 2: Texas Training Camp live at eight be there.
Speaker 1: We'll see that everybody, and as always, go Texans,