All Access with Nick Caserio | Inside the Comeback vs. Jaguars + Titans Preview

All Access with Nick Caserio | Inside the Comeback vs. Jaguars + Titans Preview

In studio with us, executive vice president and general manager Nick Cacerio. Nick, how’s it going? Good to see you. Oh, it’s good to be here. All right, let’s talk about Tennessee. But first, let’s review the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Epic comeback. What were your thoughts as the team was on the comeback trail, Nick? Yeah, I mean, the reality was got off to a pretty slow start. So, turn the ball over, kick the field goal, fumble a kickoff, and then a long part return for a touchdown. So, got off to a slow start, but then gradually started to piece some plays together, you know, in all three phases. Move the ball offensively. Um, got the ball into plus territory. Then we had some penalties. Really, the first half was about penalties and turnovers and some of the big plays. In the second half, played a little bit more discipline. Um, didn’t have the ball other than the one possession there um in the third quarter. Then the fourth quarter kind of took advantage of our scoring opportunities. You know, Johnny and I talked before the game, you know, some of the keys. We talked about the red zone, we talked about third down, we talked about the running game, and it’s all those things kind of came to fruition there a little bit. So, credit to the players and the staff for just showing some mental toughness just to work through and and finish a game, which is something we hadn’t been able to do, you know, for the for the course of the year. Nick, it didn’t hit me until last night. I was watching the game back and as I was watching on TV on our first drive of the second half, they flashed up how many yards we had in the first half. was like, “We had 192 yards.” And I remember De Mo after the game said, “You know, we were moving the ball.” And I guess she kind of blocked that out with kind of how bad things had been going. You kind of block out, but you really had you had moved the ball and done some good things in the first half and then it kind of exploded in the fourth quarter. But did that first half, the way that you were moving it with Davis at quarterback, hey, we can move the ball on these guys. Yeah, even though the score was what the score was, it never felt like the game was out of reach because we were we did have some positive plays. I forget what drive it was. We ended up there in a plus territory. Then we had the holding penalty and a running play and then we had drop snap. Then there was another number of negative plays. Then we were forced to punt the ball. So to your point, like we had a number of positive plays. Um the score was the score and a lot of that was our doing and turnovers and special teams when they can tilt when Jackson was operating essentially on half of a field or even less and then we gave up you know the the long punt return for the touchdown. So those are big plays but we’re able to kind of maintain some level of composure um and just kind of settle the game down a little bit and really the score there at the end of the half kind of put us in a position 20 to 10. So, it’s a two-score game to come out in the second half and if you have enough uh positive plays, then maybe have an opportunity in the fourth quarter to win. Nick, what about the ability to run the football? Because even during that final drive, a lot of those plays were nice pops with the run game. Yeah, our running game for the most part has been fairly positive. I mean, I think we’ve averaged close to around four yards a carry over the course of the year. So whether that was Woody, you know, whether it was Nick, Nick turned out some yards there in the fourth quarter, number of positive runs and the quarterbacks with Davis this week and then CJ in previous weeks have been able to make plays off schedule plays with their legs as well. So um when we do the right things in a running game, when we execute the right way, get the blockers distributed appropriately, sometimes the front that the defense gives you doesn’t always match up with the run and there’s times where you kind of tip your hat to the D. But if you can kind of stick to your sort of core principles and core runs and then maybe figure out different ways to run those, everybody’s comfortable with them. We’ve been doing them since training camp um in the spring. Typically, those are the runs that you’re going to have the most success with. I know the offensive line is five fingers and a glove, making a fist, all that kind of stuff, Nick. But I want to ask you about a guy you have most experience than more experience with than anybody else in this building. And and that’s Trent Brown. Steps in at right tackle. We hadn’t seen him all year. Weren’t really sure what kind of to expect. And then you watch him and you’re like, boy, they’re doing a really good job. I mean, the one hit that Trayvon Walker had, it was a three-step, he goes to cut, he missed, whatever. Other than that, I’m watching some of the block run blocking and he’s just engulfing guys. What a what can you tell us about Trent just in your history with him? And then what’ you think about the way that he came came back and played his first time in well over a year? Yeah, Trent has a lot of experience. He started a number of games at tackles. Um, when when I was in New England, we traded for him. He had never played left tackle before. He was a right tackle primarily at San Francisco and then we had a situation we were looking for a left tackle. Then he went over there and played left tackle for the entire season and he helped us get to the Super Bowl. So he’s I would say very athletic for his size. He’s a big human being. So he’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s smart and he cares a lot about playing well. um he takes a lot of pride in what he does and he sustained the injury there October, week six, whatever it was for Cincinnati, but the idea when we signed Trent was this is a player potentially down the road at some point once he’s healthy might be able to provide some depth for us in whatever shape that looks like. And there was a situation there where Titus was out for the game. So, and we wanted to maintain jumbo. So, if you put Blake at right tackle and then you want to go jumbo, then there’s a lot of mechanics that go into that. So, the idea was let’s just put Trent at right tackle, he was able to have a full week of practice. We were able to kind of use our jumbo package, which has really helped us, I would say, probably this year more than any. Um, but Trent has a lot of experience to play a lot of football. Um, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s powerful, and the big thing is just when he’s on the field and able to stay healthy, he’s usually been a productive player. Do you tell him you need to bulk up a bit, Tread? I mean, my gosh, that not a discussion that we’re having with him. He’s a mountain of a man. Nick, once upon a time, Dwayne Brown told me it took him three to four years to figure it out at left tackle. Arie Urseri, here he is in his rookie campaign. There are no rookies anymore, but it seems like he’s really making a lot of progress week to week. What about his report progress-wise? Yeah, you’re seeing a lot of progress, generally speaking, throughout the course of the league. A lot of young players if they’re playing early on over the course of that season hopefully you’re seeing some improvements as opposed to maybe year two or three understanding you’re going to go through some ups and downs but say from the start of the season the training camp to where we are now Taye is really he’s made a lot of progress um has the right mentality has the right mindset um has a good playing style plays physical and if you correct something with him then he usually doesn’t make the same mistake twice so say early on part of our issue offensively we just made too many mental errors and just a matter of some focus and concentration and there’s always some technique things that you can work on and improve but from the start like I said till now he’s certainly made a lot of progress and the goal is to continue to make progress and what you’re trying to do is just establish a consistent level of performance so that you know what you’re going to get from that player on a week-toeek basis. Um he’s certainly headed in that in that direction. One more question on him and this applies to all rookies who eventually become leaders. Some guys are more vocal leaders than others as they evolve in their careers. When you observe certain elements of a rookie, how long does it take? When do you see that take over? Because I guess the rookies, it’s tough for them to be the leaders of the team, but Will Anderson Jr. had some of that. What do you see overall with rookies and their progression that way? It typically starts with your play. You kind of let your play do the talking and then when your teammates see that, then there’s a a mutual respect that starts to build up and then you sort of take age out of the equation. And everybody has different ways of leading. When Demo was playing, he obviously has a way that he leads and that’s the way he leads as a head coach. So, every player kind of takes on their own personality and they have to lead in their own way. Everybody’s capable of leadership. I think the big thing about leadership is just being true to who you are. Don’t try to be something that you’re not. And then good play usually will go a long way in reinforcing whatever leadership potential capabilities that you have. Well, Mark said rookies. It made me think of the email that we got yesterday. This is from the NFL. Mark was like, “Hey, you need to bring it up with Nick.” I thought this was a good one. We’ll get your thoughts on this. The 2025 draft class has combined for the most scrimmage yards and scrimmage TDs by any draft class through the first 10 weeks of their rookie season in the common draft era since 1967. First in scrimmage yards, first in scrimmage TDs, first in receiving TDs, second in receiving yards. As you think back to the class that you studied, does that does that kind of jive with what you thought this class might be able to do with receivers, running backs, obviously guys that can, you know, put yards and points up on the board? Is that that’s emblematic of the league? That’s the entire NFL entire NFL through week 10. It’s it’s surprising, but it’s not surprising. And we’ve kind of talked on this show a little bit. These guys have played a lot of football and they’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of football. So they’re more prepared and you’re seeing more teams and coaches and staffs are more inclined to give opportunities to younger players if they’ve earned those opportunities and if those are your best players then you’re going to put them on the field. So I would say that that’s surprising but it’s really not surprising because to your point we’ve evaluated a lot of these players and honestly it scans multiple rounds. So there’s probably a number of players that were drafted early, number of players drafted the middle. Krosky Merritt who was drafted in the seventh round by the commanders. It was a seventh round pick, but he’s their leading rusher. So it’s really what’s the opportunity and ultimately it’s up to the player that they take advantage of the opportunity once it’s presented. I would assume there are positives and negatives about the NIL era here, but one of the positives might be some guys have really embraced being a professional before they become professional, right? you can start to build some habits that you’re potentially going to have to endure or go through once you enter the NFL. So, it just when you play more, you have more opportunities for better or for worse. Maybe you’ve seen different programs, so you’ve been exposed to different styles, to different buildings, different mindset, and in the end, you have to figure out what works for you. Now, in college, to a certain extent, the players control where they play. In our league, they don’t really control where they play other than undrafted players once you make a decision. And so once you’re drafted, then you’re in the building. Then part of is understanding what’s the expectation daytoday. What’s the work requirement? What do I need to do to prepare myself on a day-to-day basis? And those are some of the things that we try to focus on. Mark and I have talked about this a lot. So get your thoughts about this about the the game and then we’ll move forward. What play or what moment in the game did you feel like, okay, this thing might be turning back our way? We we won’t tell you what we said. we want to influence you, but was there a moment where you went, “Okay, I think this one’s going our way.” Well, I think when we were able to convert the third and 10 there in the red area, the touchdown pass to Higgins, you know, then the kind of the score was at that point it was 29 to 29. Well, 29 to 16, then we went for two. So then, all right, it’s a two-score game. So, if it’s a two-score game there in the end of the third quarter into the fourth quarter, then it’s a couple possessions. So, then it’s going to be can you get a stop on defense? Can you get the ball back? Can you get points on the board? So, at that point, it’s all right, we at least have a two-possession game here. We just got to make a few plays, you know, on each side of the ball to give ourselves a position hopefully, give ourselves an opportunity at the end of the game. Yeah. You’re trying to evaluate evaluate what’s the biggest play, right? Is it the throw to Schultz from the seven yardd line on third and 10. Obviously, the 14- yard scramble for a touchdown is huge because it gives you the lead, but there were so many big plays through the course of that comeback. Yeah. And like we’ve talked about on this show, you never know where that play is going to come from and how the game is going to go. Inevitably, a game’s usually going to go come down to a handful of plays, five or six plays. Either you make them or the other team makes them, and at the end, you’re going to look and go, “All right, that was probably affected the outcome.” Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so this one’s in the review. Four and five. Here we go. Get trying to get to 500 at Tennessee against the Titans. We’ve seen them, but there’s been a lot that’s changed since. It’s changed. Head coach, kind of some other moving parts. They’ve traded off McCra. They’ve done some things. Brownley’s gone. What do they have now, Nick? We know some of the guys that have been holdovers. Cam Ward’s still there. They’re coming off a by-week, so nothing last week, but what have you seen since we faced them in week four? Nick, going forward, what we could see on Sunday? Yeah, really, we’re seeing a team that’s really improving. And from the time that we played them, however many weeks ago that was to where they are now, they’re really a different team. I mean, they played uh the Chargers essentially to one score game. So, they’ve been competitive essentially over the last few weeks. They played better, I would say, since our game. They’ve made some changes. Most of their changes have come more on the defensive side of the ball with some of the personnel and the offensive side of the ball offensively. You’ve seen Ward make a lot of plays. I think you’ve seen that from you saw it in our game and you’ve seen it in the success of games after that. But very talented player. Um his ball placement on some of the deep throws is something that’s really started to stand out. Um and the two rookie receivers have done a really nice job and and going back to the kind of the younger player discussion. So Gunnar Helm has been one of the better rookie tight ends. So between him and Shig. So two good tight ends, the two young receivers are doing a nice job for them offensively. Offensive line has kind of been the veteran group. And then defensively, they’ve kind of turned over the secondary or at least on the edges on the perimeter. That’s where they made some of the changes now. They’re using Marcus Harris a little bit more who was playing more in a kicking game, playing him in the slot. And safeties have kind of been, I would say, steady and consistent. Simmons is still an issue. He’s the best player, one of the best players in the league. The one guy that’s probably stood out that nobody really talks about is Gray. You leads him in tackles. I think he’s seventh or eighth in the league overall in tackles. So, there’s a young player in his second year, but he’s really ascending. Talk about year one to year two growth. Very instinctive, very tough, very physical, and leads them in tackles. And then Barton is giving them good play as well. So, their linebacking core and then the front kind of in the middle that is still a formidable uh task to deal with. So despite the number of changes that they made, they they’re improving. Um their kicking game, they’re well coached. I mean, Bones is as good of kicking game coaches in the league coming off the heels of what happened here last week. So we’re certainly going to have our hands full. So in the end, it’s going to come down to our execution and just do we make enough winning plays against, I would say, a much improved Tennessee team. Talk about the rookie wide receivers DK as the returner doing some good things. had to return touchdown against the Chargers and obviously after what we did last week. I would imagine they’re probably licking their chops with him because he’s done a great job in that role. He really has. I mean, very instinctive, very smart, very tough, strong, good with the ball in his hands. And I think that’s something that he’s continued to develop and grow in that role. Not too dissimilar to Parker Washington in some respects who Parker has kind of emerged and evolving there a little bit. So, to your point, Johnny, he’s done a really nice job and he looks, you know, their leading receiver. So, he’s, you know, been very impressive as well. There’s a reason they drafted those two players. And I think between the two receivers and then Gunner and the player that didn’t play in our first game who’s now back is Spears who gives them kind of a good onetwo punch with him and Pard. Y this doesn’t really apply to them. Maybe all teams. Nick, we always ask you about the draft and everything, but what about free agency? Is there a free agent board? These guys could potentially become free agents and you have them ranked or evaluated. How do you go about that this time of year? For sure. We’re going through that. So we go we know going into our game whoever the next opponent is going to our database we have a color coding system so you know okay this player’s under contract this player is going to be an unrestricted free agent. This player is going to be a restricted free agent. You have a player maybe he has a salary that could not be may not be commensurate with a role. So potentially after the season there’s a player that potentially could be released. So that’s definitely a list that we’re starting to populate and we’re starting to kind of prepare and transition. So once the season is over, we can go through the free agent process and the free agent meeting and stack the board essentially like we do for the draft. Nick, in the second time of facing Cam Ward, I’d imagine that guys are not used to it, but I think when you face a guy first time, especially the way that he keeps plays alive, like he has that one where he looks like he’s getting sacked, he shakes off somebody, throws it back across his body. does things that you kind of teach quarterbacks not to do, but yet he does them and gets away with them because he’s so good. Does it help having faced him already that you know, hey, I better bring my full bag of tools to bring this guy to the ground, keep him in the pocket, make sure he’s not creating like he can way off schedule. Does it help to face him a second time that you kind of have at least that knowledge in the back of your head as opposed to the first time we faced him? No, it’s an interesting point. When you any time you go into playing a newer opponent, you can talk about during the course of the week. Sometimes the players that message may or may not resonate and then you play that player and or team and then your eyes kind of open up and go, “Oh, they were actually right.” And I think there’s a little bit of that with Cam. I think I don’t want to say you underestimate like his arm strength and arm talent as good as any quarterback in the league. He can get the ball to our part all parts of the field with accuracy. So you can’t underestimate his ability to even if he’s in a bad spot to make a big time play. Nick Davis Mills. It’s interesting because he hadn’t started a game in almost three years and he gets behind the wheel of the offense and it’s a different offense than the one he had three years ago. Here he is in this situation performing really well in the clutch. What about his growth as a professional, as a quarterback throughout the years, this system, what he did on Sunday. Yeah, it says a lot about Davis. Says a lot about the offensive staff to get him ready to go. Davis has always been a very diligent, very smart, talented player who has grown and he’s certainly improved and there were some growing pains that he had to endure his first couple years when he played. I think his first start was on the road in Buffalo and we know what it’s like trying to play up there. Um, so from that point to where we are now, he’s earned a confidence with the staff. He’s earned a confidence with his teammates with his play. He just shows up, he does his job, he puts in the work, and he’s prepared. And you never really know in his position when that opportunity is going to arise. So even in the game when CJ’s playing, you’re one snap away. So you have to make sure you’re prepared in the event that an opportunity does present itself. So credit to Davis and credit to the offensive staff for being prepared and getting him ready to go. He sat in that chair and he told us he’s aging like a fine wine and he had been playing pretty well, but then he goes out with the injury and it looks like we’ll lose MJ Stewart for the year. Nick, what a what did we lose and b how do we kind of go forward at safety? Yeah, tough loss. I mean, he has a respect of really everybody in the building. Um, there’s another player who has improved and his role has kind of grown outside of the kicking game. He’s been one of our most consistent, one of our most dependable players on fourth down and he’s had the opportunity to play more defensively this year and going out there and played good football. Um, so anytime that happens, you feel bad for your teammate and a player like that who’s as tough and well respected as MJ is. We kind of had to adjust mid-flight there mid game and and Miles really went from playing slot corner to moving back to safety. So that speaks to Miles and his preparation, his ability to kind of transition roles on the fly during the course of the game. So there’ll probably be some combination of different players that are going to have to assume a little bit more of a role. Um certainly feel bad for MJ, but you know, he certainly meant a lot to this program and to a lot of people here in the building. So wish him a speedy recovery. Nick, I feel like every week or two, I’m going to ask about kickoffs because it’s interesting more data comes in every week. So I always want to get your thoughts on what you think is happening. The Jags actually forced the touchback, forced, I’ll put that in air quotes, two or three times in that game. You never know how teams are going to handle it. What are your thoughts lately overall? Yeah, I think it really is more of a product of what’s going on during the course of the game. I think when you start the game, everybody is probably going to try to force returns in some capacity because you’re playing a field position game. I think the data says there’s been, I don’t know, 80% kickoffs that have been returned. Then it’s about starting field position and then what’s the e and flow of the game? Is there weather involved? and you’re seeing maybe a little bit more schematics based on the team and who they account for on the coverage units. So, um, overall, I mean, it’s been a fairly productive play. You’ve seen some teams make a few more plays than others. For the most part, we’ve done a decent job covering kickoffs. We missed some tackles there the other day, which is kind of a, you know, emblematic of kind of how the game went for us on fourth down. Um, but overall it’ll continue to grow and evolve and after the season if there’s any adjustments and modifications that the league or the teams have to make, then we’ll be prepared accordingly. More impressive one-handed catch, Nico’s two-pointer or Stingley’s interception. It’s funny, we had this conversation in the team meeting yesterday and even and even Nico said Stingley. So, I would say it was probably a little bit of a cleaner catch. I mean, Nico’s different kind of catch because he hit his hand, but then he had to corral it, then he had to get his feet down in bounds. So, I mean, they were both pretty impressive plays by two pretty good players. Is that Stingley’s best pick as far as the degree of difficulty, never mind the context of the game. Demo thought the Miami won because it ended the game. Yeah, I would agree with Demo on that one just for the the timing of the game, the impact in the game, and the play that he actually I mean, he essentially took the ball away from Tyreek. Yeah, this one he had a lay out. He was in phase. He was in a good spot and he just reached out. And I think a lot of players have talked his ball skills, his hands are receiver like. Not that he’s a receiver, but his ability just to absorb the football. Um, he takes a lot of pride in that. No question about it. Yeah, he was upset after the game when I said, “Man, that was incredible interception.” Yeah, but I dropped the other one. On the touchdown drive, he he had his hands on it. He had his hands on made a nice kind of defensive back play, which I have to do at point, but he was kind of upset about that. I’ve got one more for you. We’re going to music city, Nick. And uh this brings up the thought of music in general because Nashville is about all music really. So karaoke hypothetical situation. We’re going to put you on stage with a microphone and you have to use your go-to karaoke song. Nick, what would it be? I don’t think I’ve done karaoke once in my life, but there’s always a first time. Yeah. Uh it probably would be something country rel related. Uh I’d say Luke Bryan. Mhm. Uh Dustin Lynch, like I’m kind of part when I work out, I kind of listen to those guys. So it might be something that I take. We’re going to the right city. Take one of those. Take a shot on one of those. Bring a camera. Let Nick and I do it for the first time on Cowboys Saturday night. Okay, Nick. Thanks a lot. Good luck. Thanks fellas.

Executive VP/GM Nick Caserio joins the studio after Houston’s epic comeback vs. Jacksonville. He details the slow start (TOs/penalties/STs), why the offense still felt “in it,” and how a disciplined second half turned into a 26-0 fourth-quarter finish. Caserio explains the run-game pops (Woody/Nick + QB legs), Trent Brown’s first action at RT, and Aireontae Ersery’s week-to-week growth. Then it’s on to Tennessee: Cam Ward’s off-schedule arm talent, their rookie receivers, Gunnar Helm at TE, a reworked perimeter on defense, and why Jeffery Simmons still tilts the front. Plus: the in-season free-agency board, kickoff-return strategy trends, Derek Stingley Jr.’s one-hander vs. Nico Collins’ two-pointer, and how Davis Mills stayed ready to close in the clutch.

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