There were players who didn't play in the Texans' final preseason game that The Drive's Clint Stoerner and Ron Hughley found curious. They talk about it here.
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00:00Ron, the biggest worry coming out of this game, without a doubt, is the way that D'Amico
00:05Ryan's handled this game.
00:07So many guys that did not play, and look, we knew C.J. Stroud wasn't going to play,
00:13but hell, Davis Mills didn't play.
00:14Look, we knew Dalton Schultz wasn't going to play, but hell, Brevin Jordan didn't play.
00:18We knew Joe Mixon wasn't going to play, but damn, Damian Pierce didn't play.
00:22We knew Laramie Tunsell and Titus Howard weren't going to play, but damn, Blake Fisher didn't
00:25play.
00:26That one caught me off guard.
00:27It's one of those where you go, I mean, golly, what in the world is going on?
00:32And they say no.
00:34What is the point in this football game?
00:36But there are a couple of guys that I got to ask the question, Ron.
00:41It's Robert Woods and Damian Pierce.
00:46Those are the two guys for me that did not play, and if you can think of another one
00:50that did not play that fits this category, feel free.
00:54These are the two guys that, now I don't know why they didn't play.
01:00I don't believe the thought is that they've just 100% made this team and their roster
01:07spot's locked up and they are a top five receiver on this team and a top two running back on
01:12this team.
01:13I don't buy that.
01:14But were these play to trade, or better yet, no play to trade?
01:19I guess them not playing, was that a play by the team to keep these guys healthy to
01:26potentially trade them?
01:28We heard the rumor last week there was some Robert Woods was a top trade piece, potential
01:32trade piece for the Texans.
01:34Obviously, Damian Pierce is a guy that the trade verbiage has been thrown around with
01:40his name as well.
01:42Do you think that's potential with either or both of those guys?
01:47Yeah.
01:48Yeah.
01:49Yeah.
01:50The Robert Woods one is hard, it would be hard for me as a team to be like, yeah, I'll
01:58just wait till you get released, because I mean, I don't want to pick up any of that
02:03check unless the Texans are going to pay some of it to get something out of it.
02:08But the Damian Pierce one is very real, and I'll stand by what I said a couple of weeks
02:14ago after the Giants preseason game.
02:18I think he needs to change the scenery, and I think that would do him and the Texans good.
02:28Because if he's here, it feels like the Texans are hell bent on trying to potentially force
02:33that to work, even if it's not working and it's clearly clear to see.
02:40But I do think there are other teams that look at Damian Pierce and think, well, he
02:44can help us.
02:45Yeah.
02:46He can help us.
02:47That's a guy who's two years removed from being a top 10 back, the way he was playing
02:53in terms of yards before he got injured just two years ago, his rookie year.
02:59So he is the one that I'm betting people are checking in on when you look at...
03:05Because a lot of running back, like the Chiefs, their backup running back right now is the
03:09guy who I think they thought would be a fullback, as Clyde Edwards, who they thought would be
03:15their running back, is not able to go right now.
03:18I think somebody mentioned earlier, the Ravens like to collect backs and fit a certain system
03:26of physicality there.
03:28I think there are a lot of teams that look at that and think, boy, we could do something
03:33there.
03:34He could help us there and help a team that's improving.
03:39In the two spot as a backup running back.
03:41Yeah.
03:42No, I think a certain system, and I think Baltimore is a good one.
03:47They're going to move people.
03:49Look, I think you look at the Chargers, when you're a coach that's had success in college,
04:01there's a certain level of simplicity, if you will, with your system.
04:05Obviously, I believe Jim Harbaugh knows Pep Hamilton, I think.
04:10So there's probably some stuff there.
04:11I think there's a spot for Damian.
04:13Now what he draws in return, I have no idea.
04:17Yeah, because neither one of them are bringing back anything.
04:21Anything significant, right?
04:22But it's just better than releasing them.
04:25The other thing, which I think is really the biggest thing that happened on the field,
04:29Ron, for me, is...
04:31And this is, you're talking about a heel out down.
04:33You want to talk about a dead horse that I'm going to beat until it's proven that this
04:37is just...
04:38I don't know.
04:40I don't have any idea what in the hell is going on with this running back room.
04:46Cam Akers returning a kickoff with literally less than three minutes to go in the fourth
04:52quarter of the last preseason game, when anybody that will be in the box score week one is
04:58not playing, blows my mind.
05:02Cam Akers goes out there once again, every time this guy's touched the field.
05:06First of all, Cam Akers has a long resume in this offense.
05:09So he's experienced and he knows what the hell's going on.
05:13Seven carries, 53 yards.
05:14He averaged 7.6 yards per carry.
05:18He had three catches for 19 yards.
05:20Again, he had four targets in the past game.
05:23Boyle missed him on an H angle, H Texas, H post, whatever you want to call it.
05:28That would have been a decent little play as well.
05:32Cam Aker, there is no way in hell.
05:34There is no way on God's green earth that D'Amico Rhines and Bobby Slowick watch the
05:40eight snaps.
05:41Yes, I said eight, which blows my mind that Damian Pierce ended up being a kickoff returner
05:48and was not getting any run whatsoever at the running back position last season.
05:53To think that he's come in and had eight carries in the preseason and has convinced
05:58these guys to a point where he doesn't play, he doesn't suit up in the last game.
06:03I just-
06:04Especially when the head coach, prior to the game, a couple of days-
06:07Said he needs more work.
06:08Needs more opportunities.
06:09Needs more opportunities.
06:10I cannot, cannot believe under any circumstances that that's the case with Damian Pierce.
06:16Now you throw Cam Akers in the mix, Ron.
06:18It makes absolutely zero sense.
06:21There is nobody, there is no way, and I'll put this out there right now, I just don't
06:28believe it's true.
06:29There is no way that Bobby Slowick and D'Amico Rhines watch the preseason film of the Houston
06:37Texans and says, we're not going to give the rock to Cam Akers.
06:42We're going to prefer to give it, we're going to choose to give it to Damian Pierce.
06:47Dang it, Bobby.
06:48If and when, love that drop.
06:50If and when Mixon needs a break.
06:54And Mixon, who by the way, has been banged up in camp already this year a couple times.
06:58So there's not a football person on God's green earth that watches tape and says, yeah,
07:05we're going to ride with 31 over 22 after what we've seen this camp.
07:11That would be a head scratcher.
07:13That would be a head scratcher that if they went that direction, if like, hey, he needs
07:18a blow or, uh, you know, whatever they're going to do in, in, in, in getting the number
07:24two back in, that would, that it's wasting snaps, Ron, that would not make a lot of sense.
07:29It's like, it has to be now look, Damian Pierce may go out there and prove me wrong and prove
07:33them right here.
07:34All the receivers did it last year, but right now it, it, it, it, it would be a waste of
07:40snaps.
07:41It'd be a decision that you would be okay with choosing to hand the football to somebody
07:45that has not proven to be even remotely close to cam makers and cam makers has done it every
07:53time you give them an opportunity.
07:55It don't matter how small or big the sample size is.
07:58The guys go, the guy goes out there and makes a big play on a cutback.
08:01The guy goes out there and makes guys missing traffic with spin moves.
08:05The guy goes out there and own schedule, uh, hits, hits a crease, gets to the second level
08:11of the defense and, and has, it has one cut ability to get out the back gate.
08:15I mean, he, I just can't believe that football is good as football guys are.
08:20I cannot believe they sit there and watch and they, and they make the decision in two
08:24weeks against Indianapolis Colts to either hand the football to throw the football to
08:29or have past protect your quarterback, that they make the decision to go with, with Damian
08:34Pierce over cam makers.
08:35I love Damian Pierce.
08:36Look, I hope it all works out.
08:37Love him.
08:38I mean, he's, I mean, he's one of my favorite players, but I'm, this is just the football
08:42more surprised if he would, I mean, it would make more sense if he were traded, like Damian
08:50Pierce were traded.
08:51If either one of them are traded, it would make more sense than Damian Pierce getting
08:55carried over, over what acres right now, right now, you've given last season and this preseason,
09:03you've got to assume that they're okay with the risk of wasting downs and wasting series
09:07period.
09:08That's just the way it is.
09:10And they're that committed to Damian Pierce because they've got all the proof in the world,
09:15all the reason in the football world to go with cam acres and all the, all the reason
09:20in the football world to believe that cam acres is going to give you a better chance
09:23to move the football and score points period.
09:25I don't care what practice looked like.
09:27I don't care what the practice film looked like period.
09:29That's just the truth of the matter.
09:31We'll see what happens.
09:32It ain't been that good.
09:33No, it don't.
09:34You can't.
09:35No, it ain't.
09:36It ain't been that good.
09:37No, absolutely not.
09:38The other thing that, that I think sticks out from this game, Ron is, and we've talked
09:41a little bit about it.
09:42The receivers here, John Mechie, John Mechie added to his value.
09:47Once again, the last two weeks for John Mechie and I can't, I can't emphasize this enough.
09:55It wasn't just a couple of good weeks y'all.
09:58It was my big catch.
10:00The first three weeks of camp was, man, he ain't creating no separation.
10:03Sure.
10:04If he comes to the line of scrimmage and he happens to be working with CJ Stroud and the
10:07safeties are 20 yards deep and the linebackers are dropping to 10 or 12 yards and they're
10:11just, and they're, they're spot dropping and he's running a little under route.
10:14Yeah.
10:15He's sure he's going to, there's, there's some space there.
10:17I'm talking about when there's man or, or even if it's a, if it's a tight zone of where
10:22the, we use the word suffocate a lot, the safeties are coming down and they're really
10:26tightening down the inability for him to create separation and just flat out make plays was
10:32glaring the first three weeks of camp.
10:34The last two preseason games, my man at every level of the field in the red zone, um, created
10:41space, ran great routes, caught the ball in traffic, made guys miss, put DBS in a blender.
10:47I just saw a little bit of everything I needed to see to believe that John Mechie is going
10:56to be more than the guy that was really good in college, had an illness and just could
11:00never get back to himself.
11:01Like what I saw the last two weeks was I would buy stock in John Mechie, whether it's here
11:07or it's a trade, I would buy stock in John Mechie.
11:10I don't know where John Mechie is going to play his next down of football on the regular
11:13season, but his value went up again, whether that's trade value or that's just value here
11:19in Houston.
11:20In the future, John Mechie had him a solid, had him another solid outing short, but solid
11:26first, what first play made a guy miss on a move near the sideline.
11:32And you know, to me, I thought he probably did what he needed to do the week before.
11:37But sounds like he had a good week of practice and they've seen what they needed to see in
11:42game and in practice from him.
11:45And I think he's safe.
11:46I think he's fine.
11:47And I think he's in a good spot for a lot of reasons, but I think to the point that
11:52you're making, he also did things himself, uh, that those good reason reasons aren't
12:01just things that don't have anything to do with the football field on the field.
12:05He did things that he needed to do to, to get in a better place in a better standing
12:10because Clint, there could be a lot of off the field stuff that you feel about him.
12:15Like he's a good dude.
12:16He fits the system.
12:17Um, you really, really root for him.
12:19You really won't want him, but if he was still rolling out one for seven and one for
12:23four on, on preseason games, like at some point, like you can't, you can't, you can't
12:30defend that.
12:31You keep going with that.
12:32He gave him the reason for him to be, to be in a safer spot with his performance.
12:38Yeah.
12:39I look, I mean, in any way you put it, I mean, John met you up to his value, man, cam Acres
12:43balled out and most guys didn't play that's, that's a, that's a reaction Monday right there
12:48for you.