• 2 months ago
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.
Transcript
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.

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