TEXANS O-LINE: THE KEY TO A SUPER BOWL RUN

TEXANS O-LINE: THE KEY TO A SUPER BOWL RUN

I like that mentality of, you know, knocking heads and we the ones that want to be the ones that step to that dark room instead of the defense. That is the mindset that you want from your offensive line, no matter what your team is, but especially if you are the Houston Texans. That was nowhere to be found last year. Finally, that is what this offensive line room is talking about. And we’re going to talk about why that’s finally happening in my conversation with Ed Ingram in just a little bit. But welcome to Kicking with Conungle. Will Conungle here. I appreciate y’all all of y’all t ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch chiming in and tuning in. Now, do me a favor. Like, subscribe, comment, do all the things to appease the algorithm and help me out. I appreciate all you. This has been a blast for me to do this season. And we’re going to be doing previews to each game. We’re going to do postgame reactions as well. And I love interacting with y’all. So, get your comments in as well. Now, this conversation with Ed Ingram, I think, is huge because one, look at the depth chart. He’s your starting right guard. This was not the expectation when he came over from the Vikings. Fans didn’t like this. They said he sucked. They looked at his PFF. They said his numbers were a joke. And they had nowhere. They had no business of him being on being in this offensive line room. And it’s not an improvement. Well, here we are. He’s now your starter. We talked about some of his flaws. He knows about some of his flaws, but his mindset, this is what Demo Ryan wants up front. So you let me know what you guys think of the line. By the way, Arante at left tackle, Lake and Tomlinson left guard, Jake Andrews at center, Ed at right, and then Titus Howard at right tackle. Um, if you want to talk about the rest of the depth chart, I did a season preview with Paul Golant on another episode. Go check that out as soon as this is finished. But this conversation with Ed Ingram, I think, is so important just because it shines a light on what the hell happened last year with the twists and stunts. I know Ed wasn’t here, but they’ve talked about it a lot, so he’s very aware. And the inability to create holes in the running game, to protect CJ Shroud, who was sacked 52 times last year. Like all of this he is aware of. And he also talks about Cole Papovic and what makes him an amazing offensive line coach, at least for this group. So without further ado, I’ll wrap it up on the backside. Here’s their conversation with Ed. How do you like the system here? How do you like what you know what Cole Papovich and those guys Nick Kaylor are asking you to do individually? I love it. I feel like they challenge me. I feel like I like a challenge. Um Pop as a O line coach is probably like one of my favorite O line coaches I’ve had just because he doesn’t just settle. He he wants to challenge us to be the best like O line unit as a whole. All right. So there there’s a little bit of a history here of the O line not being great last year. Like we had Demo said he wants to change the culture. He he changed the offensive line coach. He changed the offensive coordinator. So, what about Cole is it that gets the most out of his guys? What’s different? Not that you knew what happened last year, but like what do you love about him? Like I said, he challenges us. Like he doesn’t like we mess up in a drill, he makes us repeat it until we get right. Like he does not settle. um he’s all about mindset and like bringing it to the defense cuz um a lot of teams the defense is like the more dominant force than the offense. But he wants us to be the more dominant force as far as bringing it to the defense which is which is what I like cuz I like that mentality of you know knocking heads and we the ones that want to be the ones that step to that dark room instead of the defense. Like that answer alone is something we just never heard last year. It just was a very different answer. We don’t need to go into what the answers were, but it’s just very different mindset and Demo said he wants to change the culture. He wants to change the mindset of that room. How would you describe the mindset and culture of your room? I feel like that’s that’s what we starting to grow towards um after these first few pres few preseason games. I feel like we starting to see it like us getting uh running after the ball, pushing the pocket, um blocking combos like five yards down the field. Like that’s like our brand of football that we want to display. So, we just got to keep being consistent with that. So, when you get traded here, of course, the fans dive into the PFF. They’re like, I don’t like these numbers. I don’t like what I’m seeing from Ed Ingram what they’re saying. Like, what where do you feel like you’re better here? Because what you did against the Panthers in the preseason game, I mean, you were moving bodies like that. That’s what this offensive line’s looking for. Like, we need to go from point A to point B, not A to negative A. Yeah. Where do you feel more comfortable here? Because it looks like you’re better. I just feel like um it’s more attention to detail. This year is a big year for me, year four. And then also um like Cold Cole Papovic like he challenged me every day to be like the best player I can be. Uh when I first got here, he asked me something uh what did I want to work on like to become like a better player. I told him struggled in pass protection in Minnesota. So that’s something I just been working and working and working on to grow and get better at. That’s like my one thing I want to get better at and like being more detailed in the run game. and he allows me to be more detail in the run game every day. So, how do you get better at pass blocking? Like, for like fans don’t know what it takes to be a good offensive lineman, good, good and good, like good at the run, good at the pass. I get that, but like how do you get better at doing that? Just attention to detail, being consistent with your technique. Like what? Tell me like like um like your foot placements and your hands. Like not over setting. Like u if you have a tight three, you want to set him down the midline. You don’t want to over set cuz you if you over set him, you’re uh he can get hit you with an inside move. If you uh if you have a two eye and you go too far inside, can hit you with an outside move if you don’t if you’re not ready for it. Just it’s different technical stuff that you got to be like on your toes to do. So, is Cole teaching you things that you didn’t know or teaching you to like be more aware of things that you already knew about but weren’t thinking about? It’s kind of um he’s teaching me the same things that I’ I’ve learned, but except like he’s teaching in a different way to where it’s a little bit um better for me to understand as far as like inside out principles. Like we block inside out. That’s our that’s our technique inside out of the defender and pass protection. You don’t want to never get beat inside. That’s what he’s always taught. So I feel like that narrows it down cuz you don’t want to get beat inside. So just set inside out. He can either go outside or through you. It sounded like last year was super confusing to a lot of guys, the blocking scheme. This year it seems like it’s KISS, keep it simple, stupid. Is that is that like fair to say? Like when in doubt, fire out. Just know kind of what you’re doing. It’s very simple. Like uh when I first got here, I felt like it’s going to be like it was it was really different compared to Minnesota just cuz it’s a different system. But like after you learn it, it gets easy. It’s like super easy to put it in categories. What is it like going up against your defense every day? Is it horrible or is it like really good? Man, it’s it’s like it’s like a bittersweet cuz it’s like I love it at the same time I don’t love it. I love it because it gets me better, but uh just some days I’ll just be tired and just like I know I got to work today cuz I got rank, I got big Tim, like I got Tom. Like it’s like they always keep you on your toes. But we got a a great defensive front, a great defense, like period. So last year if if you you don’t even have to be a great football fan to know that the stunts and the twists gave the offensive line like fits. Have you worked on that specifically this off season or have they talked about that specifically yet or not? We literally worked it today in Indie like we worked at every day in Indie. Um Pop has talked about that like about like in the future of us struggling with that. I mean the past of us struggling with that. So he says like we’re going to get better at that. So that’s something we’ve been really harping on this whole training camp. passing off games, blocking movement. Just generally when a when an offensive line does struggle with twists and stunts, why? Like, is it a communication thing? A lack of not knowing who you’re grabbing? Like, what is it? It’s all about chemistry and like everybody being on the same page. Like, if we know we have a stunt coming up, it’s about technique. Like, pop always teaches us to get back and like have some awareness. Like, if a dude’s not rushing you like he usually does, look to the right cuz he probably get in the game. So, it’s like it’s different stuff he been teaching us to like be aware of, look out for, and and like just being on the same page. Like, we have communication up front. So, we got to talk to each other. Would you rather drop back in a pass block and allow CJ throw for the game-winning touchdown or take your man and drive him seven yards into the ground and game-winning rushing touchdown? Rushing touchdown. Like, who wouldn’t love a rushing touchdown? Come on now. I mean, I know there was a former line that may not answer it that, right? I appreciate you, bro. Thanks for your time, man. Thank you. I really hope that you guys enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. I loved Ed’s honesty about him struggling and pass blocking. Cole asking him where he wants to get better. Me asking about the stunts and the twists and like how the hell does that even happen. And then the explanation of the lack of communication and understanding of what a group is supposed to do. I’ve said this all off season. I wanted competition coming into training camp. like bring in all the dudes that you can and then let’s compete for the spot. We now see Drew Scruggs, Drew Patterson or Drew Scruggs and Jarrett Patterson and Blake Fischer who all saw significant snaps last year, not in the starting lineup this year. What did that say about them? I don’t know. We’re going to find out. But I will say that they had the competition that they got the best unit on the field, at least the way that they feel right now. Of course, Cam Robinson is a big question mark as to what’s happening with him. People I’ve talked to say that those those trade rumors are certainly heating up and the trade conversations are heating up because he wants to be at left tackle. But it looks like the Texans may have found we’re going to find out as the season goes along their left tackle for the future. But nonetheless, I I love that conversation and I love how they are addressing the issues headon. They’re not hiding from them. They’re aware of them and remember Ed wasn’t even here last year. So the fact that he is so cognizant of what the issues were last year, you know that they are talking about them in that offensive line room and it cannot happen again because this is the most consequential group of men in the NFL. The Texans offensive line has the ability to either, you know, nine wins, maybe get in the playoffs and then flame out or a serious run towards AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl. If they are able to figure out the offensive line and they are able to be average at best and then let the do the defense do their thing, like the sky is the limit for this team. Let alone if the offense actually for real figures it out, then they become a threat offensively and defensively. And of course, Frank Ross has his boys doing their thing on special teams. This could be a special year for the Texans. But it all starts up front on the offensive line. All right, that’s it y’all. Do me a solid. Like the video, please. Subscribe to the channel and of course comment. I appreciate all you guys and all your support all season long. I can’t wait to do reaction videos after each game and talk to you guys and let you know what I think and I want to hear what you guys think as well. And then previews and conversations with players in the locker room all season long. Appreciate you guys. Peace.

The Houston Texans have Super Bowl dreams. But it’s only a dream in the NFL without a good enough offensive line. The offensive line was BAD in 2024. The group must learn to protect C.J. Stroud and have a good running game if they want to win more football games and make a Super Bowl run this season.

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