LIVE: The Houston Texans address the media

Good. When it comes to Mahomes and kind of trying to keep him contained, it looks like he’s run a lot more this year. Uh obviously his offensive line he’s missing some guys, but uh what do you think of the matchup with Patrick? Uh I obviously supremely talented quarterback. uh very unique in in how he operates in terms of all the off schedule plays he makes and his ability to to make explosive throws from outside the pocket from anywhere outside the framework. Uh so obviously a huge challenge for us this week for sure. Uh how tough is it to lose a guy like Tim Settle? Yeah. Yeah. Sad news. Tim was playing really good football for us and uh is having a really good season. So obviously uh you know uh hurting for him and and what he’s what he’s going through. But, uh, you know, it’s unfortunate this time of year and it’s part of what we’re doing and, uh, we’ll have guys step up to to replace him. But, uh, for sure was playing really good football for us, particularly the last few weeks has, uh, had a really good stretch there for us. That was so close. Not that easy. Part of what they’ve always done is the pace. One big play and then pace leads to another. How do you kind of combat that? Um, and how much do you kind of work on that during the week, recovering from the inevitable plays that they their offense will make? Oh, why are they inevitable? I would assume they’re going to complete some. All right. Yeah. Uh, yeah. I don’t think there’s anything like I mean, I think it’s just, you know, I would say the way we operate in general is just um in terms of like resetting after every play and focus and then uh high alert just for communication standpoints. I think we’ve been pretty solid all year in terms of uh tempo stuff and being on the ball and and and getting the right calls, you know what I mean? Sometimes that’s just to get you kind of off balance a little bit and and I think our guys are uh do a really good job at just sort of resetting play to play. So, um, you know, we have to have just awareness of like we can’t be talking or worrying or like our eyes got to be on the huddle and what’s coming at us and as they’re getting on the ball. Like as coaches, we got to try to work to get the calls out to them that that we want to get them in and and or have them coached up on, hey, in these situations, this is what we want to get to if if something goes sideways. So, uh, we’ll be ready to to handle whatever we need to. I’ll rephrase if they were to make a play. There we go. That was that. That’s fair. Is there anything that Kansas City does offensively that we the regular fan doesn’t pay attention to or recognize that makes them so successful? Uh yeah, I don’t know what the regular fan what you would say. Uh we always ask you about Travis Kel. We always ask Yeah, we all get that and see that. Yeah, but I think that I would say that that that’s a very unique uh relationship and I think you talk when you talk about the offset plays and the and the scramble drill and those sort of things like I I don’t know how to like sort of classify it. It’s just different and it’s unique because like like sometimes you can’t even tell what routes that are being run, you know what I And so like when you’re breaking games down, you’re saying, “Oh, they run these routes and these concepts like and and uh Kelsey’s got such an innate ability to uncover and get open and to have that paired up with a quarterback that can find them and understand where those pockets are going to be is is is like very very unique. You know what I mean? Like it’s just there. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the league that operates the way they do when that when that happens. when the when the play gets going and play breaks down, like the receivers’s ability, particularly Kelsey, to find the spots and then the fact that Mahomes can can find those throws and know where they’re going to be, like it’s just it’s it’s hard in terms of how you’re trying to like get attached and get on guys because they’re just not like in the common spots and and how they have that connection to say like, I know he’s going to be there and I can make that throw or I know this is where it’s going to show up or where this receiver is going to be. Like, uh, we got to really work to to get attached when we’re in those situations. For sure. Hey Matt, you guys have had um some guys go out throughout the season on defense injuries part of the game. Sure. But the defense continues to do what it does. I know it’s next man up so much. How does that speak to the depth of just the way that you guys kind of approach preparation? Yeah, I would say I would say both. I would say uh obviously like we’ve tried to build a roster that has depth and that can withstand some of this stuff because there are going to be injuries as the year goes on. And um honestly, I would actually say it’s a it’s a credit to our position coaches as well. Like uh I don’t you’d have to ask the players, but I feel like we give the same amount of attention to everybody on the roster, practice squad guys, guys that just come into the building from other teams or whatever’s happening. Like we uh try to do a good job of coaching everybody and and dedicating time to everybody to make sure they’re all prepared. So when those situations come up, it’s not like a guy’s just been on the practice squad for a couple months and hasn’t been getting coached. So I think the position coaches do a really good job of coaching their entire groups from top to bottom and and prepping everybody because you never know play in play out who’s going to have to step up for us. So I would say it’s a credit to the to the position coaches as well. You all didn’t have Petri in either of the two matchups against Kansas City last year. Um with talking about some of those offset things that they kind of do over the middle of the field. How much does having him help defend against? Yeah, I mean he’s a good player uh obviously for us. So, uh, it’s obviously good to have have good players back for us and playing. So, uh, yeah, I think, uh, just that that core of sort of underneath defenders for us, the linebacker level, Petri, and the safety level, like that’s where a lot of that stuff’s happening. I mean, our corners are our corners and and and whatnot. But, uh, I think having, uh, a guy with his speed and tackling ability, because, again, a lot of it’s going to be tackling in space and and those sort of things, that’s a that hopefully is a huge benefit for us. to that elusiveness that you mentioned uh and and the way in which you know off schedule plays can can be so uh so damaging. Is there any way that you can try to try to replicate that or or try to have somebody who could run around like that? It could it could uh you know I mean we just try to like incorporate some of it. I mean like I said I think it’s a very unique style the way it happens. I mean, everybody can get out of the pocket and and run scramble drills or off schedule plays, but because of the uniqueness and trying to pinpoint how it’s going to be and where where sort of those bodies are going to show up and and how we have to get attached to them, I think we try to coach through that and hopefully we just have some awareness. I think it’s really just raising your awareness of that and and obviously tying the rush in in terms of trying to not not create enough, you know, direct escape lanes for him to get out quickly. It’s going to be our challenge. benefit you guys in any way knowing you’ve faced somebody similar who was good at that Josh Allen so we’ll see I’ll tell you I’ll tell you Monday morning that it all right guys sir thank Appreciate you. When it comes to Spags, what are some things that you see from him that may be unique compared to some other defensive coordinator? Yeah, I mean, he’s very multiple, um, aggressive, uh, you know, he’s been doing it for a long time, experienced, and I think that, you know, his guys are coordinated, disguises, uh, stunts, pressures, etc. um does a great job. Going back to the last game, the next to last offensive possession going for it on fourth down. Do said that he liked the push on third down and he wanted to go for it on fourth down. I think the phrasing he used was run it again. Did he say we’d like the same play again or he wanted you to get that yard? Yeah, we were talking about the same play. I mean, we had success on the first two and thought we had a good push actually on the third one. They marked it short and is what it is. So, had confidence to go out there and and do it and unfortunately we we came up short on that. How did you come about developing that play and and deciding on Kade for that role in that situation? I think Kate had a, you know, had history doing it dating back, you know, at least working through it at Ohio State and um always have researched that, researched that for a couple years and we had a lot of guys that have done the same thing on our staff. So, it’s kind of where the origin, I guess, the genesis of it was for us and just trying to find an alternative way um to give us an opportunity to convert a first down really and Kate had experience with that, too. What do you see as kind of the key to that play being a successful play consistently? Yeah, I think you got to you got to be able to be, you know, have good pad level. You got to have good inertia and surge off the off the initial, you know, wave on the line. You got to be able to, you know, be able to find the soft spot and be able to press and push. So, at the end of the uh first half, I know JJ was on the broadcast. He said he didn’t understand the plan. What What was the plan there? Yeah, the plan was to end the first half with points and just not dissimilar to the week before in Buffalo. um similar situation timing wise may have been a little bit difference in terms of seconds or whatever, but to be able to, you know, get our drive started. Um we were going to be in our normal mode and then we were going to kick it into to our two-minute mode. We didn’t convert the third down, so I think that might have altered the um the approach from there. Unfortunately, we didn’t execute first play the I think the confusion is after the first play it was 41 seconds from the next snap and then you ran a play and it was 25 seconds. So, is that executing the plan as like 41? I would I would say this, the first one, you know, the first play we’re going to be in a normal offense in that situation. Every situation’s different. Um, we did and then, you know, relative to that. Second one, you know, had an opportunity hopefully to to get to the sideline. I could have probably done a better job maybe given in hindsight a better play than obviously to not gain enough yards and not get out of bounds. So, if I could go do do it back again, I certainly would on that second play. Um but you know ultimately we were going to start in a normal mode and and go from there when it was when we felt it was time to go do that. So So the 41 seconds is just according to planned again I mean normal operating procedure in terms of huddle operation. What are you seeing from this offensive line? Why are they starting to finally have success with this unit and what took us so long to get to these guys you think? Yeah I think they’ve continued to get better at just fundamental football um in the run game. I think our double teams and combinations um have gotten better and improved steadily. And I think just time on task, trying to settle in with the guys that are in there now. Um you know, just more time of doing it. Honestly, we’ve improved on that. I think the in terms of the pass protection, the cohesiveness, um starting with communication and being on the same page. Those guys have done a really good job of just working together, communicating so that we’re all coordinated in terms of our distribution and the pass bro. So when you couple that run game, pass protection, I think we’ve made some strides. We still got to we still got to make some more strides, but um you know, I’ve been pleased with the improvement from that standpoint. You know, we get a lot of extra work at practice, do a lot of stuff fundamentally um in terms of, you know, blitz pickup, etc. And I think, you know, it’s starting to to you know, show improvement at a at a good pace. We just got to make more. What’s the uh what’s the crowd preparation for the the atmosphere at Arrowhead and how vital is it you guys avoid those pre-nap penalties? Yeah, I mean it well clearly you want to avoid all the pre-nap penalties, but you know, it’s a hostile environment. And I mean, you crank the music up as long as loud as we can possibly do it. You try to make it as hard as you possibly can in practice. Um, you know, you’ll never be able to probably simulate exactly what Arrowhead’s like. It’s a great atmosphere for football. Um, and it’s going to be rocking, you know. So, you go back and biggest thing is, you know, huddle operation, getting in and out of the huddle quickly, good communication, getting our feet set, and being able, you know, verbally and non-verbally to be able to communicate in a setting like that. For sure. Sticking with the offensive line, what allows for this pass protection to be able to have success against blitzes, stunts, kinds of things Titus was talking about yesterday about having answers for those kinds of things. Yeah. Well, I think it it’s we we stress communication. We stress seeing it through the same set of eyes. Um, it starts with our mic point and our declaration and then everybody else being able to communicate and know exactly what we’re doing. Um, leave nothing to chance, communicate, and then be able to make our calls accordingly. Um, we want to protect inside out and we rep, you know, we take a lot of reps in terms of blitz pickups, stunts, pick, stunts, games, etc. like that. Um, so it’s like anything else, you got to work at it to improve it and that’s what we’re still trying to do. Uh Nick H. Um I remember you talking earlier about um being with the Rams during a two and six start. You know, how much did you uh draw on that um in order to try to improve um the offense and how did you if you did draw on that on that experience? Yeah, I think that experience for me the last two 2023 and 2024 was we kept working on we were processoriented. Um and we talked about this and we discussed in here you obviously we all want we’re going to go out there and win every week. Um, but in terms of having a clean process, being able to clean up mistakes, being able to practice and focus, you know, you you may, you know, fail fundamentally on a certain play or or a technique, but if your process is right continuously and you’re willing to improve and you’re willing to learn and work at it, you can make steady improvement. And that that was what I took from that. I mean, we continually um tried to refine and and clean up mistakes throughout those years, no different than what we’re doing now. And you know, just like here, we had coachable guys that took coaching. Um, coaches that, you know, no one had as any egos here, no one had any egos there, where you want to sit there and find out what you can do best, what can work best for your guys, and you try to put your best plan forward to help that, and you’re in it collectively together. And as long as you continue to work and eliminate mistakes and, you know, build upon the stuff that you do well, I think you’ll show improvement. Um, and and that’s what I think, you know, um, that happened in 2023. I that’s what’s happened here. You know, we have guys that care. they’re coachable and we’re all trying to grow each week and and just be better versions of ourselves here moving forward, all of us. Um, so that’s what I took from it, you know, just be have a have our process, understand what we have to clean up and there’s plenty of that that we still have to clean up, you know, and um and we can just got to continue to move forward with it. Like when you see yourself losing, like is it difficult to stick to the process instead of trying to turn change things how how they are? Uh, no, it’s not difficult to stick to the process. Sometimes you have to adjust and you have to alter your course or you know it might not be you know whether it’s schematically or you know something you might have to do a little bit different pertaining to who you got you adjust that but in terms of being honest you know looking at it and lifting up the hood and seeing you know what are the issues with things how do we improve them can we improve them in certain situations and if you can’t then you got to find alternative ways to do it and you start there and you go forward and you put your egos aside and when you know everybody wants to do what’s best for the team and that’s that’s what we got a group of guys here to do. So, no. Um, you know, and I think we’ve evolved, uh, throughout the year, you know, from start to, you know, till now. And, you know, I’m sure we’ll continue to as we get going, you know, whatever’s, you know, unforeseen out in front of us. Along those same lines, uh, during the endgame process, as far as what you see and what Davis seeing or what CJ sees, how do you all make those type of of in-game adjustments like that, especially if you all are seeing two different things? Well, we communicate, you know. I mean, we don’t ever take for chance that that we are seeing two different things. I mean, I hope we’re not, you know, if if we are seeing two different things, we discuss it and we arrive at a solution. Um, but every time we come off the field, um, you know, we’re we’re going through our series, we’re going through, you know, the calls, the front structures, the coverages, um, the execution or lack of execution and what the reasons for that are. and you try to chart your course, make adjustments, clean things up, communicate with the staff, with the players to be able to put ourselves in the best foot forward um to go out and take the field and rid ourselves of maybe some mistakes that had happened to try to clean some of those things up. But it all starts with communication and just transparency and and being on the same page and, you know, u and we are, you know, it doesn’t mean somebody might see something that’s different here or there and we talk about it and and uh and go from there. But it starts with communication, you know, players, coaches, everybody on the same page. What’s the There were times last week against the Colts where you know they were doubling Nico and it looked like time were using that to free some other guys open. What’s kind of the balance of trying to use that to free other guys but also still want to call plays to get more. Yeah, sure. Well, you know, I think you go into it and you’re not sitting there trying to to necessarily make anybody a decoy. We try to put together a plan that gives, you know, our players opportunities to go out and have success. Nico is a a very important person and player to to our obviously organization. So, um you know, but we also feel that guys that are in the other, you know, eligible spots to be able to catch the ball, you know, you got you’re also putting everybody in the position that we feel utilizes their strengths, skill set based on personnel group, etc., style of, you know, play, whether it’s pass types, etc. So, I think those are the biggest things is trying to, you know, not have a one-trick, you know, pony at one spot and then you don’t have a a viable option. try to have pure, you know, whether it’s a pure progression with backside compliments. So, if you’re off your first and second read, you have things that you like pertaining to the coverage structures that you’re going to see in the passing game. So, we’re always mindful of that when we build the plan. And, you know, I think we’ve got it’s a testament to the skilled players. Um, and we’ve got a a deep receiver room, tight ends, you know, backs that have all contributed, all those guys, and obviously the quarterback CJ done a good job really distributing the football and being disciplined. What is uh Dalton Schultz’s what what is his impact on this offense? maybe not just on the field, but in the meeting rooms and everything else. Yeah, I mean, he’s he’s a pro. He’s smart. He’s extremely savvy. Um he understands the big picture. He sees the game uh through, you know, the lens, you know, the big picture lens, not just in the in the call it tight end box. He’s a he’s a he’s one of the smartest players, you know, that I’ve had an opportunity to work with. I have a lot of respect for him. Um he cares a lot. He works really really really hard. Uh he’s here early, he’s here late. Um I have all the respect in the world for him. And I think when you when you’ve had um a successful career and you’ve played as long as he has and he goes about it the right way. There’s to me no, it’s not by, you know, just a happening of why he’s had success and he’s he’s got character. He’s great, you know, leader for the guys in the room. And um you know, he does a lot for us in a lot of ways. And I’m I’m proud of the way he’s competed this year. I really am. I talked to Nico last week and asked him just how he handles not getting the ball if he’s if he’s not getting the ball and how he goes about it. He never he said he never views it about him needing to get the ball as an OC to have a star wide receiver that approaches it that way. How nice and helpful is that to you to do your job easier? Yeah, I think it’s a testament to to Nico. Um he’s a great teammate. He’s extremely unselfish. He’s a great player. Um and you know, obviously we we uh he’s a big part of what we do and I mean I think he he’s you see what you get with him every single day and he’s the same same guy every single day. He’s consistent in that approach. So, um, it’s why he is the person that he is. He’s the player that he is. He’s a great player and he’s a great teammate for us. Yep. Thank you guys. Okay, here we go. Okay. Um, excited to go to Kansas City. Um, very happy for the opportunity and for our football team. Um, you know, we have to do exactly what we’ve been doing the last little bit here and play complimentary football. And on fourth down, you guys all know whether it’s a cold game, a snow game, an indoor game, field position. So, we’re going to do our best. Um Dave Tob, their coordinator, is uh the best uh return game coach in the NFL. And we have to make sure that we neutralize um field position for our coverage units. And then explosively on offense. Um he’s going to start by handling violent players like uh Leo Chanel, Jack Cochran, uh Co Crane. Um Bassa, uh uh they they really play with a brand of football that is emblematic of the Kansas City Chiefs. So for us, I’m excited for the opportunity our guys to go out there and and step up to the challenge and make sure we match that. So let’s go. Hey Frank, there were a couple of games that the special teams was uncharacteristic, um not as solid as you guys had been. What was the difference? How do you turn that around and get back to being who you seen? Yeah. First off, anytime there’s a mistake like it’s the coach’s fault. It’s the coach’s fault, man. We got to coach it better. Got to coach it better. We got to get have more population to the football. We got to be putting the players in the right seats on the bus to go execute. And um it sounds may maybe it’s it’s a silver lining to me and it’s how I try to operate like never want man we want to play every play perfect across the whole season but when something does go like that you got to have a chin you got to be able to take it and then you got to make sure at the right time you come out in a win thank you great okay let’s go learn from it and I think we’ve done that um we’re able to make some adjustments and cover some things up nicely I call it a week ago. So, um we’re thankful to learn from that. Silver line is is when those things happen that we still get a football team win and that’s all that matters. So, um yeah, anytime there’s something a little shaky, we’re going to go and work hard to button it up. What does your go? What does your experience tell you about the cold relative cold but how it affects the kicking game and what kind of process will you guys go through pregame to determine, hey, this is our viable range for Yeah. uh for for example to the reference on uh range for kick uh for field goals for the kicker. You know, again, I’m always deferring to those guys. Nobody knows their skill set better than themselves. That’s definitely a pregame thing. Uh let me give you an example. Uh at Tennessee, we want uh we we chose okay to take the ball so we could choose the direction in the second half as an example. Um so, you know, definitely knowing those elements are going to factor all situational football, punting the ball, going for it on fourth down, whatever. That’s that’s that’s universal across all the NFL for us. Um going to have great communication from the specialist to me to coach be able to operate through that way knowing that generally speaking there’s going to be a side of the field the ball will not travel as far on and it’s in the cold so maybe you know if the ball’s not going to fly as much. That’s that’s just a reality and we know that we’ll be prepared. Frank, how how uh much are you involved in the conversations when coach wants to be aggressive and go scoring on fourth down compared to maybe you know kicking a field goal taking the points? Yeah, for sure. Always two ears, one mouth, making sure that we uh great listener and then when it’s time to interject and um give input uh when it’s necessary. But um you know, coach obviously has final call on all those things, head football coach, but we definitely have conversations not only leading up to it throughout the uh quarter, the half um but the week leading up to it. We’re going to make sure that we have all those situations that could arise. you know, we talked about those, you know, and that’s an evergoing process from when the season has started, but each week’s tailored specifically um and uh uh making sure that the most important thing is everybody is prepared and ready to go, whether it’s myself, coach, uh the offense, or the defensive staff, having all the information at hand quickly and accurately. What was uh Ka’s comfort in terms of range uh last week in Indianapolis? And then was it the consideration before the half to to even attempt a 64 yard field goal because he was he was trying on the side. Sure. What was your confidence level and his confidence level on that? Yeah. Well, I I think it would be a little uh uh dependent on the second or third down of course, but so he’s always going to be taking that process regardless of where we’re at on the field. You know, once we start getting over there and um our our holder and snapper, they’re starting they get some long snaps and then they get some short snaps as we progress on any drive. So that’s always going to be the case for him. And then yeah, we’re going to be able to have our range at any point in time. But um when things happen and they happen fast, you know, we’ve got to make sure that we have a a marked area for him. So um uh we’re almost there. We’re almost there. You guys moved up a mirror speed. What are some of the traits you see in air? Uh including on that tackle where he fought through a couple blocks. Man, it’s it’s been a little bit of a carousel out there at the Gunner position for us. Um, you know, uh, uh, Carter came up for a few games, goes down, obviously Jay Smith, JRock Jaylen, uh, Smith, um, you know, was pretty dynamic early on as a rookie, but it’s a it’s a hard position to stay, you know, on repeat and you’re asking to run the fastest people in the NFL over long distances a lot. And you know that’s when you know I know sports science or whatever like that that’s a real thing being able to handle those strains on your body. So um yeah we’ve had a a number of guys out there. Amir got in the building on Tuesday opening tackle against his old team. Couldn’t have been happier for him. Was special teams player of the week. Like man he he showed up very in tune very ready to go. 63 44 4-3 guy. Like love that. And uh um has experience at the position. He was able to come in and assimilate to our room right away. It showed on the first one. Then he actually had a shot tackle on that next punt. That would have been a big game changer. I want I Man, I was happy he he missed. That’s okay, man. Go be aggressive. Make the returner check his feet entry angle. Figure that out a little bit better to be a little bit more outside in. But Aaron, me and you ain’t getting an opportunity for the shot tackle. A mere speed is, and I’m glad he does, you know. So, it’s a it’s a skill set that only a few people have running hit. Um, happy with h happy and lucky to have him here on short notice. Coach, I know that you and Damen Pierce had a real special type of relationship. Um, how good is it going to be to see him this weekend? Yeah, NFL’s tough, man. It’s a tough business and uh that we we’ve had that multiple times of people coming and going. Um, thankful for I’m a teacher, but thankful for the relationship I have with all of our players. Uh, Damian, a special one. wish him nothing but the best in KC and um you know we we on Sunday at Sunday night we’re on opposite sides of the field. Good. See you guys. Thank you. Thank you.

Subscribe to the Houston Texans YouTube Channel: tex.nz/youtubesubscribe
#htownmade #Texans #NFL

FOLLOW THE TEAM
https://www.facebook.com/HoustonTexans/

https://www.instagram.com/houstontexans/

GET TO KNOW THE TEAM
https://www.HoustonTexans.com
https://www.houstontexans.com/team/players-roster/
https://www.houstontexans.com/team/stats/
https://www.houstontexans.com/team/team-history
https://www.houstontexans.com/team/standings/
https://www.houstontexans.com/schedule/

2 comments
Leave a Reply