September 12, 2024 • 17 mins
Our good buddy James Palmer drops by The A-Team on Thursday to talk Texans-Bears this weekend at NRG Stadium. James is now with Underdog Fantasy, Bleacher Report and has a podcast with Steve Smith Sr. He talks about the special bond that this Texans offense seems to have already built this season. Plus, why the Texans might need to watch out for this part of the Bears team on Sunday.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Houston Texans, one of half of the league's teams
to start the season one and oh the Houston Texas.
Another one of those teams, the Chicago Bears. They visit
Sunday night primetime on NBC of course Sunday Night Football.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And to that end, as he's.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Been on our program many times before and a friend
of the program. Great to have him back covering NFL
again this season. That is James Palmer, great podcast you
can catch with he and Steve Smith Underdog Fantasy. Getting
the great info from James as well, And we really
appreciate you covering out some time here as we get
close to the NFL weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
What's up with you?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
What's up with me? What's up with you? Guys? I mean,
like remember all those Prime Time said last year and
now look at him. This is the first of what
five you guys have I believe six games my sixth.
Oh man, see even more than I thought. We're good, man,
(00:54):
We're good. We're really good. Hanging out with Steve Smith
talking receivers and ball. It's gonna be a fun year
him and I putting that show together and doing a
couple of other things. But it's a blast work with
my buddy. He's already got a lot of wild opinions,
so I'm excited to see where it goes the rest
of the year.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Well, I can't believe that the conversation at least a
little bit if it's focused in on the Houston Texans.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Sitting next to Steve Smith, it's.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Got to be about what we felt like was a
comfortable thing to say during the offseason as soon as
Stefan Diggs joined this team.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You can have good receivers anywhere else.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
The other thirty one teams might have a nice little group,
but nobody has a better group than the Houston Texans.
And even without anybody other than Nico going for a
large receiving day, they were hard to stop, as they're
going to be all season long. Against the Colts, all
got roughly the same number of touches. And I imagine
you agree, but I don't think there's a better tree
(01:46):
in the NFL. And DC's are going to be sleepless
Saturday nights figuring out what to do.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, And I think really the biggest thing is is
the way that this offense is put together, in the
way CJ's wired like he also know as this in
his back pocket because there's been you know, I've covered
the Bills a bunch, and there's always been talk about
you know, Digs like he wants his touches and understandably,
and he's been a top tier wide receiver a long
time in this league that that's not gonna be a
problem in this locker room because of the way CJ
(02:14):
is a leader and the way that this offense works
is the ball goes to the open man. And I
think the reason this offense works so well, guys, is
because everybody within it understands them. It's the trust that
was established between Slow and Stroud last year and between
Slok and the rest of this offense that it goes
to whoever's open and for CJ to have the talent
that he has at these spots, I mean, it's so
(02:36):
funny now, you know, you talked to all these teams
during the draft and I'm calling around, I'm asking about it,
you know, another really good wide receiver draft and the
number of teams that told me, you know, we were
right there on Tank. Now, guys, we were in on
Tank Thal. I'm like, of course you were, Yeah, of
course you were in love with him. Like everybody else
exactly right, You just didn't pull the trigger. It's just
they have all those type of guys that play the
(02:56):
position differently too. There's a lot of guys in the
league to talk about you want your skill guys to
be kind of built like a basketball team, where you
kind of have a touch of everything. You get that
power forward, you got a bigger body guy, you got
a speed guy, you got a guard right, and they
have their receiver room built like that. He can go
to whatever matchup he likes, and I think because of
his mentality, it's going to allow all of these guys
(03:18):
to thrive well.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
And it's interesting because CJ is hardly the only quarterback
that knows how to spread the wealth. Yet at the
same time, you've got a situation where he's just now
about to play the allotment of regular season games in
his career, and everybody, including him, is talking about him
as a.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Quarterback as if he's a five year vet.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
He was just giving a SoundBite earlier this week about
how well, you know, it was tough and I wouldn't
want to be back there in that position of being
a rookie.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Quarterback like it was five years ago.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
But that's this guy's mo and everybody is so impressed
with him because of that. But it's not He has
the rare ability for it to not come off as arrogant.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
It's just who he is.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
And why players not only are drawn to him on
the team, but want to come play with him from
other teams.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, he has that perfect mentality. I mean, I know
probably nobody in Houston wants me to make this comparison,
but like, he's wired the same way Mahomes is wired.
I've been around Pat a Ton and it's really really
hard to be one of the guys but also be
the guy that keeps everybody in line. It's a difficult position, right.
(04:32):
The pay at that quarterback position is just astronomical to
the rest of the league. It's hard to be one
of the guys in the locker room but also be
the leader that holds everybody accountable. I think very few
players in the league have it. CJ has it, and
I think he established it early. He established it in
camp last year when I was there in the early
portion of training camp talking to players. I remember talking
(04:53):
to Case Keena being like, he already owns our room
and he's the rookie, and so I just think he's
had this winter mentality almost his entire life, and I
think it does pay dividends that it was in a
variety of sports too, like basketball and baseball and things
like that that like guys gravitate to want to be
around him, You're exactly right, but also it's rare for
(05:13):
guys to want to be around you at that position.
But also they know you're gonna put you. He's gonna
put you in your place if you don't do it
the way that he wants it to be done, and
there's very few players that are wired that way. I
think there's one of Brady's superpowers, honestly, to be married
to a supermodel and living a life unlike anybody else
in that locker room. But when the door shut and
(05:35):
the media was gone, he was one of the guys,
but also held everybody accountable. CJ has that rare trick.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
James Palmer covering the NFL for Underdog Fantasy, joining us
here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
All that being said, CJ, CJ.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
The wide receivers, all that I have to imagine one
of the biggest takeaways coming out of that game had
nothing to do with those four players, but rather they
just busted off one hundred and fifty nine yards from
their new lead back with Joe Mixon run of people
running out the clock at the end of the game
with five of their last six plays Joe Mixon carries,
including that third and three run for.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Nine to finish things off.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I thought it was a smart secondary move by Nick
Casseio to go get him when it appeared he'd be
available from the Bengals when they went out and got
Zach Moss after they had failed to.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Bring in Saquon Barkley.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
But I was pretty clear over the offseason I never
expected this. I didn't think I saw this running back
in Cincinnati during his career there. The running back we
saw on Sunday for Houston seemed a lot more capable
of doing the things that they wouldn't want their running.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Back to do. I just gotta say I was a
little surprised by it.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
How'd you take Joe's opening game performance with this team
behind a line that had one of their best games
that we've seen in gears.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Yeah, I was gonna say that you marry with the line.
I think we saw that as well. The way that
they you know, the way they ran block in front
of them. I would say, this, how fresh did you
guys think his legs looked like? I thought he looked rejuvenated.
I thought he looked fresh pressure than I seen in Cincinnati.
And to show you what kind of player he is.
It's funny. I was talking to some people with the
Chiefs who are getting ready to e're up against Cincinnati,
(07:08):
and I was like, well, what do you think about
that offense? It didn't look great? And I got a
couple of texts back, like, you know, obviously line doesn't
look great. But one of the universal things back was
I think they missed Joe Mixon like and that's because
he's a really, really good back, and sometimes back hit
a certain age, a lot of people just kind of,
you know, play the percentages and turn their back. And
(07:28):
I think what we saw from Joe Mixon is a
rejuvenated player that's in a fresh offense that also he
doesn't have to carry all the time. I think you
you know, mentioning that stretch at the end of the game,
I think is a perfect example of Hey, when we
need you to carry us for a minute, you're going
to be able to go do that. But we have
all this, you know, all these other things going on
within our offense, then we don't need to lean on
(07:50):
you in per se, but when we need to, you're
going to be there to do it. I was really
impressed with the way it was drawn up. And I
remember having a conversation with Bobby Sloweck last year just
about run blocking and scheming it up with the offensive line,
and I was like, I've heard you really love you know,
scheming up run blocking up front, and he's like, love
the strong word. It's stressful, but when you do it right,
(08:12):
it really pays dividends. And I think he's really really
good at that, and I think that helped Joe quite
a bit.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
What do you think, James, is the opinion nationally or
just around the NFL. You know, we're through week one
of the twenty twenty four NFL season. What's them o,
what's the you know, what's the consensus if there is one?
On Nick Cassario the GM here in Houston.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I think I think it's really good, honestly. I mean,
because what everybody talks about and this is a reflection
and it's not and it should be. Probably that's a
great question, because it should be directed more towards Nick individually,
and his name should be attached to it more frequently.
But it's a direct result of what he's done. When
the consensus when I talk to people around the league
is this turnaround happened much quicker than we all thought
(09:01):
it was going to happen. And that's because you put
together the right team. And that's because you flipped it
the right way and you went out and found the
right pieces, whether it's in creationcy or whether it's in
the you know, whether it's in the draft. But obviously
hitting on the quarterback is a massive, massive part of that.
But I also think it's like smaller moves. I mean,
I also look at, you know, when it comes to
the middle of the year or the back end of
(09:23):
a season. Oftentimes we look at the moves that were
made by a general manager that didn't really make a
boatload of headlines. But you're like, oh, man, I'm really
glad they got deeper at the linebacker spot. I'm really
glad that they beat up, you know, their front seven
with that move. Like and those are the type of
moves that Nick made this past offseason. I think you
can maybe throw mixing in there as well. I know,
like ideal like Stefan Diggs. You know, that makes all
(09:45):
the headlines, But usually the things that win seasons or
are the moves that you made that kind of went
under the radar. And I think Nick made a lot
of those this past offseason, and he's made a lot
of them over the last couple of years, honestly. And
it's when you don't get the stars to come in,
but it's when you get players that are just when
you talk to people around the league, it's like that
guy's just a really good football player. And I think
they added some more of those this past offseason. And
(10:07):
that's all Nick. And when everybody around the league says
this happened faster than we all expected, that's a compliment to.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Nick and it probably sent their opponent over the last
six months into thinking, well, if they did it, we
can do it. Is Caleb Williams the next CJ? Stroud
have has their GM and their personnel side. Have they
put together a group of offensive talented players to help
Caleb Williams replicate that caliber season. We think that's ridiculous
(10:37):
because CJ is that unique and it's not normal to
do what he did, but just in looking at the
actual moves without necessarily comparing it, knowing that maybe Roma
Dounza and Keenan Allen might not be out there this weekend,
but in general, it does look like they have kind
of tried to follow that same formula.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Yeah, rarely you're the number one pick and you look
at the team you walk it too, and this is
what you're walking into. I hate to say it, but
usually when you're a number one pick, you walk into
the situation Bryce Young's in. I mean, that's just the fact,
that's why you have the number one pick, that's where
your organization is. That's just the Bears have it. You know,
it was built differently and they got the pick differently,
and so he does walk in, I think to a
(11:17):
really good situation, one of the better situations we've seen
a number one overall pick really walk into. Maybe the
last one is luck. I'm not sure that's the last
one that comes to mind. Maybe that comes into they
made the postseason his rookie year, So maybe that's the
last one I can think of. But that's a really
good trio of of pass catchers. Swift is no slouts
at the backspot. You know, Cole Comet's a good tight end.
(11:39):
I'd say the O line definitely is still feeling some
things out and it's not really completely put together. I
think that's a little dangerous going against Houston. And this
is a defense that if you remember, like the second
half of last year, they were outstanding, like it was
a really good defense the second half of the season
last year, and then you saw what they did in
Week one. Obviously they kind of won the game for
Campa points with a with a you know, a special
(12:01):
team score and a pick six. So he wasn't as
bad when I talk to people around the league as
maybe the stat line shows. He missed probably half a
dozen throws, even said that himself, but you saw the
plays that he made athletically throwing on the run rolling
out to his left, which is something quarterbacks don't like
to do. You talk to people at some of the
best throws you see out of a quarterback rolling left.
(12:22):
He has all the talent in the world. I think
what he needs to figure out and what everybody's curious
about at the NFL level, and this is what CJ's
so great at is can he make plays on schedule
like CJ is one of the best quarterbacks already in
the NFL making plays within the structure of the offense.
Obviously he can create after that happens. But the freelancing,
it's tough in the NFL. It's really hard, and it's
(12:43):
something Caleb he almost likes to do, almost too quickly.
I'm not saying he's going to be CJ Stroud. I
do think the talent is really there, and he's got
a really good group around him, for sure. Number one
picks usually don't get that type of talent to the
team around them.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Well, you brought Carolina and into this, and that's how
you do it. You win seven games like the Bears did,
but you have Carolina's pick, so you're able to be
right there at the top. You mentioned Bryce Young. You
know that's the situation you normally walk into. I tried
to bite my tongue at the time, but now I
can say it, and then you make it worse with
your own play. I mean, I feel even meaner for
saying it out loud now, but man, it looks bad there.
(13:21):
We try not to make too big of a deal
about Week one, but I'm gonna ask you to make
a big deal of Week one outside of what we've
already talked about. Was there a game, a performance, a team,
an outlook that really stood out for you from what
took place during the opening week.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I mean it maybe because it's precious in my mind,
wex because it was Monday night, but San Francisco without
Christian McCaffrey and they might be without him for a minute.
To my understanding, like they didn't miss a beat, Like
the flexibility that they have, the versatility they have. You know,
you just put you know, Debo in the backfield and
Kyle Ustech used a little bit more and you know,
Brandon Ayuk was just coming back. You know, missed everything,
(14:01):
Trent Williams missed everything in the offseason, and they just
what they do. They just they did a top typical
Kyle Shanahan like run the ball unbelievably with an undrafted
guy and hold onto the football for almost thirty nine minutes,
like and just don't let Aaron Rodgers on the field.
That was an interesting, you know, I think first game
performance considering all the chaos that they had heading into
(14:23):
the year. You also throw the Ricky Piersoll you know situation,
which is tragic and unbelievable, and it's remarkable that he's fine,
but everything that San Francisco was dealing with heading into
Week one, I think their performance, I think really really
stood out to me as one of the teams that
you know that really showed something. And I will say
this honestly, and just to tie this to you guys,
like I was really really excited to see how you know,
(14:47):
you guys probably aren't, but Anthony Richardson play. I mean,
this is a guy that we saw some flashes in
such a small sample size in his rookie year. This
might be the battle. I kept thinking it's going to
be CJ. Stroud versus Trevor Lawrence in this division, but
it looks like it might be these two and Anthony Richardson.
It's really really fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Well, since you brought it up, that actually is a
topic we talked about quite a bit and we totally agree.
We think that's the rivalry of the future in the
AFC South. But I'll ask you one last question since
Anthony Richardson came into the conversation.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
It's twenty twenty six in the AFC.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
The best two quarterbacks in the AFC are Pat Mahomes
and c J.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Stroud. The next best quarterback in the AFC is Anthony Richardson.
Believe it or not.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I'm not going to believe it. I'm not gonna believe it,
and I'm going to say it for a couple of things. One,
I still think Joe Burrows outstanding. Now. I know everybody's
concerned about the risk. Hopefully he's healthy because the league's
better when the best players are at their best. I
think Joe is still outstanding, and if he's healthy, I
think he's going to be probably that guy that you're
going to say is the third And the other part
(15:55):
is and I know Anthony Richardson is an unbelievable talent.
And I talked to a couple of coordinators that were like,
I rewatched that throw like three four times. I didn't
think it was real when I when I saw it happen,
Like guys in the league that coached the position were like,
I've never seen the throw like that. But I think
you have to couple him with Shane Psycheim like, Shane
is such a good play caller and such a good coach.
(16:17):
Look at what happened, and we hope he bounces back.
But look at what happened has happened to Jalen Hurts
and Shane left Philadelphia. I mean that's that's a quarterback
that is some similar traits. But Shane got the best
out of him by far. And I would couple Shane
in with with Anthony Richardson in some of that success.
I would probably say Burrow is probably going to be
the third guy in this. In this scenario, I'm trying
(16:38):
to think, like how old my kids will be and everything.
This is like, this is wild six. It was like
a coach in college. Oh many like this, you know one.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
We'll live in the present now, and we certainly appreciate
you coming on with us. Looking forward to your coverage
UH this season with Underdog Fantasy, with the work on
the podcast with Steve Smith.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I always appreciate the time.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Oh guys, great to hear your voices. It's like football
season again. It's been too long. I will say that
I come on down soon, James, I will come down.
I've been I will make that an early stuff. I
wanted to make this game, but my parents are in town,
and I actually wanted to see Russell Wilson play against
Sean Payton and it's not going to happen, but I
really wanted to be there for that game or else.
I was going to come down for this one on
Sunday night.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Well, there's some other nationally televised ones.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You might be able to make your way down.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
We appreciate and we will talk to you soon. James
Palmer here on Sports Talk seven ninety
The Houston Texans, one of half of the league's teams
to start the season one and oh the Houston Texas.
Another one of those teams, the Chicago Bears. They visit
Sunday night primetime on NBC of course Sunday Night Football.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And to that end, as he's.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Been on our program many times before and a friend
of the program. Great to have him back covering NFL
again this season. That is James Palmer, great podcast you
can catch with he and Steve Smith Underdog Fantasy. Getting
the great info from James as well, And we really
appreciate you covering out some time here as we get
close to the NFL weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
What's up with you?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
What's up with me? What's up with you? Guys? I mean,
like remember all those Prime Time said last year and
now look at him. This is the first of what
five you guys have I believe six games my sixth.
Oh man, see even more than I thought. We're good, man,
(00:54):
We're good. We're really good. Hanging out with Steve Smith
talking receivers and ball. It's gonna be a fun year
him and I putting that show together and doing a
couple of other things. But it's a blast work with
my buddy. He's already got a lot of wild opinions,
so I'm excited to see where it goes the rest
of the year.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Well, I can't believe that the conversation at least a
little bit if it's focused in on the Houston Texans.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Sitting next to Steve Smith, it's.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Got to be about what we felt like was a
comfortable thing to say during the offseason as soon as
Stefan Diggs joined this team.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
You can have good receivers anywhere else.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
The other thirty one teams might have a nice little group,
but nobody has a better group than the Houston Texans.
And even without anybody other than Nico going for a
large receiving day, they were hard to stop, as they're
going to be all season long. Against the Colts, all
got roughly the same number of touches. And I imagine
you agree, but I don't think there's a better tree
(01:46):
in the NFL. And DC's are going to be sleepless
Saturday nights figuring out what to do.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, And I think really the biggest thing is is
the way that this offense is put together, in the
way CJ's wired like he also know as this in
his back pocket because there's been you know, I've covered
the Bills a bunch, and there's always been talk about
you know, Digs like he wants his touches and understandably,
and he's been a top tier wide receiver a long
time in this league that that's not gonna be a
problem in this locker room because of the way CJ
(02:14):
is a leader and the way that this offense works
is the ball goes to the open man. And I
think the reason this offense works so well, guys, is
because everybody within it understands them. It's the trust that
was established between Slow and Stroud last year and between
Slok and the rest of this offense that it goes
to whoever's open and for CJ to have the talent
that he has at these spots, I mean, it's so
(02:36):
funny now, you know, you talked to all these teams
during the draft and I'm calling around, I'm asking about it,
you know, another really good wide receiver draft and the
number of teams that told me, you know, we were
right there on Tank. Now, guys, we were in on
Tank Thal. I'm like, of course you were, Yeah, of
course you were in love with him. Like everybody else
exactly right, You just didn't pull the trigger. It's just
they have all those type of guys that play the
(02:56):
position differently too. There's a lot of guys in the
league to talk about you want your skill guys to
be kind of built like a basketball team, where you
kind of have a touch of everything. You get that
power forward, you got a bigger body guy, you got
a speed guy, you got a guard right, and they
have their receiver room built like that. He can go
to whatever matchup he likes, and I think because of
his mentality, it's going to allow all of these guys
(03:18):
to thrive well.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
And it's interesting because CJ is hardly the only quarterback
that knows how to spread the wealth. Yet at the
same time, you've got a situation where he's just now
about to play the allotment of regular season games in
his career, and everybody, including him, is talking about him
as a.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Quarterback as if he's a five year vet.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
He was just giving a SoundBite earlier this week about
how well, you know, it was tough and I wouldn't
want to be back there in that position of being
a rookie.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Quarterback like it was five years ago.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
But that's this guy's mo and everybody is so impressed
with him because of that. But it's not He has
the rare ability for it to not come off as arrogant.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
It's just who he is.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
And why players not only are drawn to him on
the team, but want to come play with him from
other teams.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, he has that perfect mentality. I mean, I know
probably nobody in Houston wants me to make this comparison,
but like, he's wired the same way Mahomes is wired.
I've been around Pat a Ton and it's really really
hard to be one of the guys but also be
the guy that keeps everybody in line. It's a difficult position, right.
(04:32):
The pay at that quarterback position is just astronomical to
the rest of the league. It's hard to be one
of the guys in the locker room but also be
the leader that holds everybody accountable. I think very few
players in the league have it. CJ has it, and
I think he established it early. He established it in
camp last year when I was there in the early
portion of training camp talking to players. I remember talking
(04:53):
to Case Keena being like, he already owns our room
and he's the rookie, and so I just think he's
had this winter mentality almost his entire life, and I
think it does pay dividends that it was in a
variety of sports too, like basketball and baseball and things
like that that like guys gravitate to want to be
around him, You're exactly right, but also it's rare for
(05:13):
guys to want to be around you at that position.
But also they know you're gonna put you. He's gonna
put you in your place if you don't do it
the way that he wants it to be done, and
there's very few players that are wired that way. I
think there's one of Brady's superpowers, honestly, to be married
to a supermodel and living a life unlike anybody else
in that locker room. But when the door shut and
(05:35):
the media was gone, he was one of the guys,
but also held everybody accountable. CJ has that rare trick.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
James Palmer covering the NFL for Underdog Fantasy, joining us
here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
All that being said, CJ, CJ.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
The wide receivers, all that I have to imagine one
of the biggest takeaways coming out of that game had
nothing to do with those four players, but rather they
just busted off one hundred and fifty nine yards from
their new lead back with Joe Mixon run of people
running out the clock at the end of the game
with five of their last six plays Joe Mixon carries,
including that third and three run for.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Nine to finish things off.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I thought it was a smart secondary move by Nick
Casseio to go get him when it appeared he'd be
available from the Bengals when they went out and got
Zach Moss after they had failed to.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Bring in Saquon Barkley.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
But I was pretty clear over the offseason I never
expected this. I didn't think I saw this running back
in Cincinnati during his career there. The running back we
saw on Sunday for Houston seemed a lot more capable
of doing the things that they wouldn't want their running.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Back to do. I just gotta say I was a
little surprised by it.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
How'd you take Joe's opening game performance with this team
behind a line that had one of their best games
that we've seen in gears.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Yeah, I was gonna say that you marry with the line.
I think we saw that as well. The way that
they you know, the way they ran block in front
of them. I would say, this, how fresh did you
guys think his legs looked like? I thought he looked rejuvenated.
I thought he looked fresh pressure than I seen in Cincinnati.
And to show you what kind of player he is.
It's funny. I was talking to some people with the
Chiefs who are getting ready to e're up against Cincinnati,
(07:08):
and I was like, well, what do you think about
that offense? It didn't look great? And I got a
couple of texts back, like, you know, obviously line doesn't
look great. But one of the universal things back was
I think they missed Joe Mixon like and that's because
he's a really, really good back, and sometimes back hit
a certain age, a lot of people just kind of,
you know, play the percentages and turn their back. And
(07:28):
I think what we saw from Joe Mixon is a
rejuvenated player that's in a fresh offense that also he
doesn't have to carry all the time. I think you
you know, mentioning that stretch at the end of the game,
I think is a perfect example of Hey, when we
need you to carry us for a minute, you're going
to be able to go do that. But we have
all this, you know, all these other things going on
within our offense, then we don't need to lean on
(07:50):
you in per se, but when we need to, you're
going to be there to do it. I was really
impressed with the way it was drawn up. And I
remember having a conversation with Bobby Sloweck last year just
about run blocking and scheming it up with the offensive line,
and I was like, I've heard you really love you know,
scheming up run blocking up front, and he's like, love
the strong word. It's stressful, but when you do it right,
(08:12):
it really pays dividends. And I think he's really really
good at that, and I think that helped Joe quite
a bit.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
What do you think, James, is the opinion nationally or
just around the NFL. You know, we're through week one
of the twenty twenty four NFL season. What's them o,
what's the you know, what's the consensus if there is one?
On Nick Cassario the GM here in Houston.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I think I think it's really good, honestly. I mean,
because what everybody talks about and this is a reflection
and it's not and it should be. Probably that's a
great question, because it should be directed more towards Nick individually,
and his name should be attached to it more frequently.
But it's a direct result of what he's done. When
the consensus when I talk to people around the league
is this turnaround happened much quicker than we all thought
(09:01):
it was going to happen. And that's because you put
together the right team. And that's because you flipped it
the right way and you went out and found the
right pieces, whether it's in creationcy or whether it's in
the you know, whether it's in the draft. But obviously
hitting on the quarterback is a massive, massive part of that.
But I also think it's like smaller moves. I mean,
I also look at, you know, when it comes to
the middle of the year or the back end of
(09:23):
a season. Oftentimes we look at the moves that were
made by a general manager that didn't really make a
boatload of headlines. But you're like, oh, man, I'm really
glad they got deeper at the linebacker spot. I'm really
glad that they beat up, you know, their front seven
with that move. Like and those are the type of
moves that Nick made this past offseason. I think you
can maybe throw mixing in there as well. I know,
like ideal like Stefan Diggs. You know, that makes all
(09:45):
the headlines, But usually the things that win seasons or
are the moves that you made that kind of went
under the radar. And I think Nick made a lot
of those this past offseason, and he's made a lot
of them over the last couple of years, honestly. And
it's when you don't get the stars to come in,
but it's when you get players that are just when
you talk to people around the league, it's like that
guy's just a really good football player. And I think
they added some more of those this past offseason. And
(10:07):
that's all Nick. And when everybody around the league says
this happened faster than we all expected, that's a compliment to.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Nick and it probably sent their opponent over the last
six months into thinking, well, if they did it, we
can do it. Is Caleb Williams the next CJ? Stroud
have has their GM and their personnel side. Have they
put together a group of offensive talented players to help
Caleb Williams replicate that caliber season. We think that's ridiculous
(10:37):
because CJ is that unique and it's not normal to
do what he did, but just in looking at the
actual moves without necessarily comparing it, knowing that maybe Roma
Dounza and Keenan Allen might not be out there this weekend,
but in general, it does look like they have kind
of tried to follow that same formula.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Yeah, rarely you're the number one pick and you look
at the team you walk it too, and this is
what you're walking into. I hate to say it, but
usually when you're a number one pick, you walk into
the situation Bryce Young's in. I mean, that's just the fact,
that's why you have the number one pick, that's where
your organization is. That's just the Bears have it. You know,
it was built differently and they got the pick differently,
and so he does walk in, I think to a
(11:17):
really good situation, one of the better situations we've seen
a number one overall pick really walk into. Maybe the
last one is luck. I'm not sure that's the last
one that comes to mind. Maybe that comes into they
made the postseason his rookie year, So maybe that's the
last one I can think of. But that's a really
good trio of of pass catchers. Swift is no slouts
at the backspot. You know, Cole Comet's a good tight end.
(11:39):
I'd say the O line definitely is still feeling some
things out and it's not really completely put together. I
think that's a little dangerous going against Houston. And this
is a defense that if you remember, like the second
half of last year, they were outstanding, like it was
a really good defense the second half of the season
last year, and then you saw what they did in
Week one. Obviously they kind of won the game for
Campa points with a with a you know, a special
(12:01):
team score and a pick six. So he wasn't as
bad when I talk to people around the league as
maybe the stat line shows. He missed probably half a
dozen throws, even said that himself, but you saw the
plays that he made athletically throwing on the run rolling
out to his left, which is something quarterbacks don't like
to do. You talk to people at some of the
best throws you see out of a quarterback rolling left.
(12:22):
He has all the talent in the world. I think
what he needs to figure out and what everybody's curious
about at the NFL level, and this is what CJ's
so great at is can he make plays on schedule
like CJ is one of the best quarterbacks already in
the NFL making plays within the structure of the offense.
Obviously he can create after that happens. But the freelancing,
it's tough in the NFL. It's really hard, and it's
(12:43):
something Caleb he almost likes to do, almost too quickly.
I'm not saying he's going to be CJ Stroud. I
do think the talent is really there, and he's got
a really good group around him, for sure. Number one
picks usually don't get that type of talent to the
team around them.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Well, you brought Carolina and into this, and that's how
you do it. You win seven games like the Bears did,
but you have Carolina's pick, so you're able to be
right there at the top. You mentioned Bryce Young. You
know that's the situation you normally walk into. I tried
to bite my tongue at the time, but now I
can say it, and then you make it worse with
your own play. I mean, I feel even meaner for
saying it out loud now, but man, it looks bad there.
(13:21):
We try not to make too big of a deal
about Week one, but I'm gonna ask you to make
a big deal of Week one outside of what we've
already talked about. Was there a game, a performance, a team,
an outlook that really stood out for you from what
took place during the opening week.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I mean it maybe because it's precious in my mind,
wex because it was Monday night, but San Francisco without
Christian McCaffrey and they might be without him for a minute.
To my understanding, like they didn't miss a beat, Like
the flexibility that they have, the versatility they have. You know,
you just put you know, Debo in the backfield and
Kyle Ustech used a little bit more and you know,
Brandon Ayuk was just coming back. You know, missed everything,
(14:01):
Trent Williams missed everything in the offseason, and they just
what they do. They just they did a top typical
Kyle Shanahan like run the ball unbelievably with an undrafted
guy and hold onto the football for almost thirty nine minutes,
like and just don't let Aaron Rodgers on the field.
That was an interesting, you know, I think first game
performance considering all the chaos that they had heading into
(14:23):
the year. You also throw the Ricky Piersoll you know situation,
which is tragic and unbelievable, and it's remarkable that he's fine,
but everything that San Francisco was dealing with heading into
Week one, I think their performance, I think really really
stood out to me as one of the teams that
you know that really showed something. And I will say
this honestly, and just to tie this to you guys,
like I was really really excited to see how you know,
(14:47):
you guys probably aren't, but Anthony Richardson play. I mean,
this is a guy that we saw some flashes in
such a small sample size in his rookie year. This
might be the battle. I kept thinking it's going to
be CJ. Stroud versus Trevor Lawrence in this division, but
it looks like it might be these two and Anthony Richardson.
It's really really fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Well, since you brought it up, that actually is a
topic we talked about quite a bit and we totally agree.
We think that's the rivalry of the future in the
AFC South. But I'll ask you one last question since
Anthony Richardson came into the conversation.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
It's twenty twenty six in the AFC.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
The best two quarterbacks in the AFC are Pat Mahomes
and c J.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Stroud. The next best quarterback in the AFC is Anthony Richardson.
Believe it or not.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I'm not going to believe it. I'm not gonna believe it,
and I'm going to say it for a couple of things. One,
I still think Joe Burrows outstanding. Now. I know everybody's
concerned about the risk. Hopefully he's healthy because the league's
better when the best players are at their best. I
think Joe is still outstanding, and if he's healthy, I
think he's going to be probably that guy that you're
going to say is the third And the other part
(15:55):
is and I know Anthony Richardson is an unbelievable talent.
And I talked to a couple of coordinators that were like,
I rewatched that throw like three four times. I didn't
think it was real when I when I saw it happen,
Like guys in the league that coached the position were like,
I've never seen the throw like that. But I think
you have to couple him with Shane Psycheim like, Shane
is such a good play caller and such a good coach.
(16:17):
Look at what happened, and we hope he bounces back.
But look at what happened has happened to Jalen Hurts
and Shane left Philadelphia. I mean that's that's a quarterback
that is some similar traits. But Shane got the best
out of him by far. And I would couple Shane
in with with Anthony Richardson in some of that success.
I would probably say Burrow is probably going to be
the third guy in this. In this scenario, I'm trying
(16:38):
to think, like how old my kids will be and everything.
This is like, this is wild six. It was like
a coach in college. Oh many like this, you know one.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
We'll live in the present now, and we certainly appreciate
you coming on with us. Looking forward to your coverage
UH this season with Underdog Fantasy, with the work on
the podcast with Steve Smith.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I always appreciate the time.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Oh guys, great to hear your voices. It's like football
season again. It's been too long. I will say that
I come on down soon, James, I will come down.
I've been I will make that an early stuff. I
wanted to make this game, but my parents are in town,
and I actually wanted to see Russell Wilson play against
Sean Payton and it's not going to happen, but I
really wanted to be there for that game or else.
I was going to come down for this one on
Sunday night.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Well, there's some other nationally televised ones.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You might be able to make your way down.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
We appreciate and we will talk to you soon. James
Palmer here on Sports Talk seven ninety
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