October 7, 2025 • 9 mins
Rolling into Week 5 in the NFL, the Texans kick off the season with a rough start following their first 4 games, standing 1-3. Turning things around quickly, they now enter the BYE Week standing at 2-3 following their recent two victories over the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens. Reviewing Sunday's game against Baltimore, the Texans appear to have played their first complete game of the season, as all aspects of the ball were surprisingly radiant. Taking a moment to evaluate the first few games the Texans have completed, Sean and Dan pose what could be the underlying issue with the Texans heading into the BYE Week with hopes of adjustments to be made coming out. Is it a mental block or the inability to execute effectively?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I think so. I mean, I think this is both
a group and an individual that have badly needed a
confidence boost, because I mean the offensive line they start to,
you know, believe that all five that they can do
their jobs, they can face the twists and the stunts,
everything else down at them. Then that helps out the corner.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Behalf the battle for those guys is knowing who to
block and protection. You know if they and when you don't.
When you're mentally not on the same page, physically, your
game suffers. Take the mental. If the metal is good,
physical you're better. And that's why guys that are not
as talented as other guys succeed in the league because
they realize I can't run as fast as that guy,
(00:38):
can't jump as I can't throw it like that guy can.
So what do I gotta do? Well, I gotta throw
my ball on time, I can't hold it longer, all
those things. And if you're a defensive player, I got
to know my keys and clues so I can get
to the spot quicker than a guy like Lawrence Taylor,
who can run the play down and the other side show.
I've never met a player, and nor have I ever
played in a game that came out and when the
game was over said, yeah, man, I was twenty two,
(01:00):
twenty seven, but had they had three three guys hurt,
so they had three backups. I've never walked into locker
and said to myself, yeah, man, I hope I can
do that against good player, I mean against our starters,
no player. It would matter if they'd have played with
eleven backups Baltimore, there still would have been the confidence, Well,
they're on an NFL roster, they're getting paid. You don't
(01:20):
ever on the side that's playing well look at it
and say yeah, but now you're grateful, say well Tom
Brady wasn't there, so we didn't have to score forty,
we'd score thirty eight. Yeah, but you never ever, that's
the old self talk. You never ever beat yourself up
for beating another NFL guy or winning that football game.
So the Texans this week didn't focus on well of
(01:40):
Baltimore's best. Now, when you go back again, if you
played him in the playoffs, let's say both made it,
played him again, you'd say, okay, guys, this is a
different team now, no doubt. But as professional athletes, there's
a respect in the fraternity that goes around saying that
left tackle was he's starting today, He's on a roster
getting paid, so I'm assuming he's Ronnie Stanley. That's how
(02:03):
a player looks at it. And you never you never
shrink yourself because you played against the backup. You actually
think I played against an NFL player, And that's what
I'm going to do.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
When they've had their struggles on the line, has it
been what's not being coached or is it lack of execution?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I think it's a I can't fathom. Now. I can't
answer that because I'm not in their meeting room, and
I know we all want to have hot take Salah,
the coach sucks well until you sit in the meeting
room and get up on the board and watch him
draw on teaching. Now, if five linemen go and they're
going to the head coach and other people and used
here through the grapevine, your sources say he's a bad teacher. Now, yeah,
(02:37):
you got to look into it. But I cannot stand
people from a distant say yeah, he's not teaching it
right in the room. I don't know now when I
constantly see it on the field. One of two things,
Either you're a bad teacher or those guys are horrible students,
So it can only be one of the two. They're
on a roster, so I would expect him, But it's
both sometimes, but I can't It leans on bad execution.
(03:01):
I can't fathom now it's happened. And one thing we
do dan in this world, we think automatically, if you're
a GM, you're an expert. We think automatically if you're
a coach, that you're the best coach that you know
more than the guy that's coaching college and you're in
the NFL, which is not true. A lot of times
guys hire their buddy from twenty years ago. The game
may have passed them by, but most of.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
The time, or a guy that coached with Dante Sparnaki, right,
how many times we.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Heard that most of the time I've been in a room,
coaches know, at least on the board.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
They may not be able to be a coordinator because
they don't get in that play calling rhythm, but they
know x's and o's. I'd like to think so so
in that meaning, I don't know, so I don't know
what they're teaching. I'm assuming we've been around the Patriots
for a long time. I'm assuming you have a pretty
good idea.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I'm talking about the offensive coordinator Kaliel or if you've
been here with the previous and you've watched, I'm assuming
because the coach just doesn't hire you. He goes in
the meeting room. He puts you in on the board
when you hire him. Walked me through what you're going
to do. What you're teaching philosophy is so we can
apply to our team. So yes, most of them. No,
Now there are some that don't overturn every stone. I
know the guy in New England was there because I
(04:05):
talked to players there. There was rules. They knew the
rules of when a ball went out of bounds and
where the ball would go. He said they covered everything.
And that's a good thing as long as it's not
getting the way of covering who you had to block.
But I think it comes execution and it also comes panic.
It comes choke. Some guys look at the wrong thing
and listen, you're in a three point stance. You see
a different that's been their biggest problem. It's not the
(04:26):
oh my gosh, they're bringing eight. And sometimes this is
a Chicago Bears forty six defense. It's some of the
simple stuff where they outthink at all, I'm gonna block,
Like you saw the Texas personal protector. He blocked the
non most dangerous man, and the most dangerous man blocked
the punt. That's just out thinking yourself. Don't get too cute, dude,
Thump the guy who's closest to the punter. Thump the
(04:47):
guy closest to the quarterback. You never pass up an
A gap blitzer to go get a guy who's in
a wide nine. I'm assuming the A gap guys getting
there before that guy does. Hopefully the quarterback get the
ball out in time if I can at least put
push him off his mark and let the quarterback throw
the ball. So it comes that lack of execution is
either lack of focus. You'd like to think you're teacher
is a teacher, and there are times they didn't teach that.
(05:08):
We all go into a game on Sunday and we
saw something we didn't expect. Now you just got to
be a damn football player. Throw the ball out of bounds.
We'll tee it up the next time. And now we'll
go in and say on the sidelines, say see this
that look they're coming with. When we've played this formation,
you got to just But the most underrated thing that
we don't talk about. We do it once in a
while with rookies, but it happens to veterans. The ability
(05:30):
to take what you learn in the meeting of the
practical then process information quickly. If I'm ever if I
was ever coordinating or coaching, or and was a coordinator
or a head coach, the guy first things First, of
course you want great talent, but I'll take an eight
talent and a ten information processor, then a ten talent
(05:51):
and a six information process. I will I always want
the guy who at least knows what he's doing, and
then we'll work from there. Because you're really no good
to me if I run in a fifty yard dig
route and you run it at twelve or roll it
over to eighteen. But you're an enormous talent, Jeremie Thomson,
I just yeah, I just can't. You can't keep doing
it because you're putting us in a bind as a team.
So yeah, at times, I'm sure it's coached improperly, but
(06:13):
for the most part, I'd like to think, But also,
are they paying attention in the meeting room. Are they
are they really soaking it in? Or said yeah, I
hear the coach, I know that, And are they arrogant
enough to think, oh, I already know that. And then
a guy blows by and he said, ooh, I didn't
know they were going to run an eight gapletes? Well,
why not?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Right?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And you've got to do lonely work. Not enough players
at every level do lonely work. That means you take
it home. Seventh grader, tenth grader, twelfth grader, freshman in college,
senior in college, Heisman Trophy winner, Rookie of the Year, MVP.
There's a reason why Peyton Manning and year sixteen is
still at tape at ten o'clock and night's studying, and
the rookie's wondering why how come he's got it? Well,
(06:49):
because he's still studying, and he's been in the league
longer than you've been born. So it just there's but
give me, I'm a smart football player. I'm gonna beat
you more than you will with athletes. Now, if you've
got a smart athlete is playing, you get a Randy Moss,
who's the best at it all, had great football IQ. Well,
then you're screwed and you got to take the l
That's just the way it works. Manning was even doing
it when he couldn't play. You ever heard the Orlowski story. Well,
(07:11):
I can tell you. I got the picture in my phone.
Del Rio's on staff there. Jack sends me a picture.
He says, get a load of this, dude. Manning's got
his helmet on. He's in the he's in a whirlpool.
He's got his helmet on with his computer. He's got
the headset in his ear. He's listening. He's got the
(07:32):
script of the practice. He's getting his treatment. He's got
his helmet on, so he's listening to the plays being called.
They've somehow piped the transmitter into the training room. He's
icing is whatever. He's either the hot pool or the
cold pool. He's listening to the play called, looking at
the script during practice with his helmet on. I got
the picture, I say, Jack, send it to me. I'm like,
you got to be kidding. But you know what, doesn't
(07:55):
it fit? And how many guys in the league doing that.
That's why I love looking at their phone in tech,
you know where every when they're on the training because
nobody's watching them.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Right, Yeah, where he was watching film and then Manning
comes in and goes, hey, man you want you mind
if I watch some and he's like yeah, sure. He
sits down and he finally goes turns around and goes alone,
meaning get out.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
He was just kind of like, well, I'm mean you're
himself like, yeah, so you get out.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, here's the clicker. I would have turned around and said,
here's the clicker. Could I'm begging you? Could I just
be the audience. I won't say a word. I just
want to just talk out loud when you're talking to yourself, right.
But that's it. He sent me a picture of Manning
sitting in the training yea, And I'm like, you have
got to be kidding me. But it explains it. It
explained that's why you also think that Arch is going
(08:43):
to come out of this. And now they're different. I
know they're different, but they do have some of the
similar DNA and at some point time I'm sure Peyton
and Peyton's probably smart enough not to bother him during
the season, work your way through it, and Peyton's like,
Frank that let the coach take it. That's why we
trusted the coach and the off season we'll get to work.
Or if you've got some you need to talking to
you're feeling down, call me. Yeah, but they have they're
(09:05):
a unique family and you're easy to root for. But
I can assure you that they're not lacking preparation.
I think so. I mean, I think this is both
a group and an individual that have badly needed a
confidence boost, because I mean the offensive line they start to,
you know, believe that all five that they can do
their jobs, they can face the twists and the stunts,
everything else down at them. Then that helps out the corner.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Behalf the battle for those guys is knowing who to
block and protection. You know if they and when you don't.
When you're mentally not on the same page, physically, your
game suffers. Take the mental. If the metal is good,
physical you're better. And that's why guys that are not
as talented as other guys succeed in the league because
they realize I can't run as fast as that guy,
(00:38):
can't jump as I can't throw it like that guy can.
So what do I gotta do? Well, I gotta throw
my ball on time, I can't hold it longer, all
those things. And if you're a defensive player, I got
to know my keys and clues so I can get
to the spot quicker than a guy like Lawrence Taylor,
who can run the play down and the other side show.
I've never met a player, and nor have I ever
played in a game that came out and when the
game was over said, yeah, man, I was twenty two,
(01:00):
twenty seven, but had they had three three guys hurt,
so they had three backups. I've never walked into locker
and said to myself, yeah, man, I hope I can
do that against good player, I mean against our starters,
no player. It would matter if they'd have played with
eleven backups Baltimore, there still would have been the confidence, Well,
they're on an NFL roster, they're getting paid. You don't
(01:20):
ever on the side that's playing well look at it
and say yeah, but now you're grateful, say well Tom
Brady wasn't there, so we didn't have to score forty,
we'd score thirty eight. Yeah, but you never ever, that's
the old self talk. You never ever beat yourself up
for beating another NFL guy or winning that football game.
So the Texans this week didn't focus on well of
(01:40):
Baltimore's best. Now, when you go back again, if you
played him in the playoffs, let's say both made it,
played him again, you'd say, okay, guys, this is a
different team now, no doubt. But as professional athletes, there's
a respect in the fraternity that goes around saying that
left tackle was he's starting today, He's on a roster
getting paid, so I'm assuming he's Ronnie Stanley. That's how
(02:03):
a player looks at it. And you never you never
shrink yourself because you played against the backup. You actually
think I played against an NFL player, And that's what
I'm going to do.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
When they've had their struggles on the line, has it
been what's not being coached or is it lack of execution?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I think it's a I can't fathom. Now. I can't
answer that because I'm not in their meeting room, and
I know we all want to have hot take Salah,
the coach sucks well until you sit in the meeting
room and get up on the board and watch him
draw on teaching. Now, if five linemen go and they're
going to the head coach and other people and used
here through the grapevine, your sources say he's a bad teacher. Now, yeah,
(02:37):
you got to look into it. But I cannot stand
people from a distant say yeah, he's not teaching it
right in the room. I don't know now when I
constantly see it on the field. One of two things,
Either you're a bad teacher or those guys are horrible students,
So it can only be one of the two. They're
on a roster, so I would expect him, But it's
both sometimes, but I can't It leans on bad execution.
(03:01):
I can't fathom now it's happened. And one thing we
do dan in this world, we think automatically, if you're
a GM, you're an expert. We think automatically if you're
a coach, that you're the best coach that you know
more than the guy that's coaching college and you're in
the NFL, which is not true. A lot of times
guys hire their buddy from twenty years ago. The game
may have passed them by, but most of.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
The time, or a guy that coached with Dante Sparnaki, right,
how many times we.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Heard that most of the time I've been in a room,
coaches know, at least on the board.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
They may not be able to be a coordinator because
they don't get in that play calling rhythm, but they
know x's and o's. I'd like to think so so
in that meaning, I don't know, so I don't know
what they're teaching. I'm assuming we've been around the Patriots
for a long time. I'm assuming you have a pretty
good idea.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I'm talking about the offensive coordinator Kaliel or if you've
been here with the previous and you've watched, I'm assuming
because the coach just doesn't hire you. He goes in
the meeting room. He puts you in on the board
when you hire him. Walked me through what you're going
to do. What you're teaching philosophy is so we can
apply to our team. So yes, most of them. No,
Now there are some that don't overturn every stone. I
know the guy in New England was there because I
(04:05):
talked to players there. There was rules. They knew the
rules of when a ball went out of bounds and
where the ball would go. He said they covered everything.
And that's a good thing as long as it's not
getting the way of covering who you had to block.
But I think it comes execution and it also comes panic.
It comes choke. Some guys look at the wrong thing
and listen, you're in a three point stance. You see
a different that's been their biggest problem. It's not the
(04:26):
oh my gosh, they're bringing eight. And sometimes this is
a Chicago Bears forty six defense. It's some of the
simple stuff where they outthink at all, I'm gonna block,
Like you saw the Texas personal protector. He blocked the
non most dangerous man, and the most dangerous man blocked
the punt. That's just out thinking yourself. Don't get too cute, dude,
Thump the guy who's closest to the punter. Thump the
(04:47):
guy closest to the quarterback. You never pass up an
A gap blitzer to go get a guy who's in
a wide nine. I'm assuming the A gap guys getting
there before that guy does. Hopefully the quarterback get the
ball out in time if I can at least put
push him off his mark and let the quarterback throw
the ball. So it comes that lack of execution is
either lack of focus. You'd like to think you're teacher
is a teacher, and there are times they didn't teach that.
(05:08):
We all go into a game on Sunday and we
saw something we didn't expect. Now you just got to
be a damn football player. Throw the ball out of bounds.
We'll tee it up the next time. And now we'll
go in and say on the sidelines, say see this
that look they're coming with. When we've played this formation,
you got to just But the most underrated thing that
we don't talk about. We do it once in a
while with rookies, but it happens to veterans. The ability
(05:30):
to take what you learn in the meeting of the
practical then process information quickly. If I'm ever if I
was ever coordinating or coaching, or and was a coordinator
or a head coach, the guy first things First, of
course you want great talent, but I'll take an eight
talent and a ten information processor, then a ten talent
(05:51):
and a six information process. I will I always want
the guy who at least knows what he's doing, and
then we'll work from there. Because you're really no good
to me if I run in a fifty yard dig
route and you run it at twelve or roll it
over to eighteen. But you're an enormous talent, Jeremie Thomson,
I just yeah, I just can't. You can't keep doing
it because you're putting us in a bind as a team.
So yeah, at times, I'm sure it's coached improperly, but
(06:13):
for the most part, I'd like to think, But also,
are they paying attention in the meeting room. Are they
are they really soaking it in? Or said yeah, I
hear the coach, I know that, And are they arrogant
enough to think, oh, I already know that. And then
a guy blows by and he said, ooh, I didn't
know they were going to run an eight gapletes? Well,
why not?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Right?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And you've got to do lonely work. Not enough players
at every level do lonely work. That means you take
it home. Seventh grader, tenth grader, twelfth grader, freshman in college,
senior in college, Heisman Trophy winner, Rookie of the Year, MVP.
There's a reason why Peyton Manning and year sixteen is
still at tape at ten o'clock and night's studying, and
the rookie's wondering why how come he's got it? Well,
(06:49):
because he's still studying, and he's been in the league
longer than you've been born. So it just there's but
give me, I'm a smart football player. I'm gonna beat
you more than you will with athletes. Now, if you've
got a smart athlete is playing, you get a Randy Moss,
who's the best at it all, had great football IQ. Well,
then you're screwed and you got to take the l
That's just the way it works. Manning was even doing
it when he couldn't play. You ever heard the Orlowski story. Well,
(07:11):
I can tell you. I got the picture in my phone.
Del Rio's on staff there. Jack sends me a picture.
He says, get a load of this, dude. Manning's got
his helmet on. He's in the he's in a whirlpool.
He's got his helmet on with his computer. He's got
the headset in his ear. He's listening. He's got the
(07:32):
script of the practice. He's getting his treatment. He's got
his helmet on, so he's listening to the plays being called.
They've somehow piped the transmitter into the training room. He's
icing is whatever. He's either the hot pool or the
cold pool. He's listening to the play called, looking at
the script during practice with his helmet on. I got
the picture, I say, Jack, send it to me. I'm like,
you got to be kidding. But you know what, doesn't
(07:55):
it fit? And how many guys in the league doing that.
That's why I love looking at their phone in tech,
you know where every when they're on the training because
nobody's watching them.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Right, Yeah, where he was watching film and then Manning
comes in and goes, hey, man you want you mind
if I watch some and he's like yeah, sure. He
sits down and he finally goes turns around and goes alone,
meaning get out.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
He was just kind of like, well, I'm mean you're
himself like, yeah, so you get out.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, here's the clicker. I would have turned around and said,
here's the clicker. Could I'm begging you? Could I just
be the audience. I won't say a word. I just
want to just talk out loud when you're talking to yourself, right.
But that's it. He sent me a picture of Manning
sitting in the training yea, And I'm like, you have
got to be kidding me. But it explains it. It
explained that's why you also think that Arch is going
(08:43):
to come out of this. And now they're different. I
know they're different, but they do have some of the
similar DNA and at some point time I'm sure Peyton
and Peyton's probably smart enough not to bother him during
the season, work your way through it, and Peyton's like,
Frank that let the coach take it. That's why we
trusted the coach and the off season we'll get to work.
Or if you've got some you need to talking to
you're feeling down, call me. Yeah, but they have they're
(09:05):
a unique family and you're easy to root for. But
I can assure you that they're not lacking preparation.
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