Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Ultimate Division Crossover Special, Part I

Episode Date: July 13, 2020

On today's episode, Part I of our ultimate division crossover as we dissect Houston.Why in the world did they trade Deandre Hopkins? What's next for Deshaun Watson? Does Houston stack up in the AFC South well this year, or will they regress to the mean?All of this, plus so much more, as we go all-in on T.Y. Hilton's favorite opponent.Stay tuned all throughout this week as we go all throughout the AFC South, including your Indianapolis Colts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back with another Ultimate Division crossover with the AFC South, presented by the Locked On Podcast Network. I am your AFC South host for the Locked On Titans podcast, Tyler Rowland, here with the host of Locked On Colts, Evan Sidery, Locked On Jaguars, Tony Wiggins, and Locked On Texans, John Hickman. We are going to start off this training camp preview ultimate division crossover with the division champion Houston Texans. John Hickman is the host from the Locked On Titans along with his co-host Cody.

John, how are you doing today? Doing all right. Doing all right. Happy to be back. I always enjoy our crossover episodes or shows that we do with one another because it's important to know what I don't want to call you guys the brother man I'm going to call you guys the other man the other team is doing that's still close in the family in the AFC South it's a lot of talent in the AFC South and this entire offseason has really been about retooling

and boosting for the entire division. You know, look what the Colts did, boosted their defense, retooling. And look what Houston did with retooling and asserting and addressing needs that you feel like are, you know, more important than others. So I think this division this year, if we have a season, is going to be very exciting. Yeah, I absolutely agree. And that brings me into my first question here as we kind of dive into the Houston Texans. And I kind of want to look back with the first question. And

you talked about, you know, filling some of those needs, trying to assert what type of team they really want to be in this division. Where do you feel like they help some needs? We obviously know about the trade with DeAndre Hopkins. We've discussed that. How do you feel they've gone about addressing their other needs on the team that maybe, you know, the other fans of the other teams in the AFC South wouldn't necessarily know about? Well, you know, here's an interesting stat.

When DeAndre Hopkins had over 100 yards last season the Texans had a losing record when he didn't go over 100 yards they had a winning record and so I want to address that do I feel what was returned in the trade was warranted or was it no it was a terrible terrible trade And I would never agree with the actual trade. But do I think that bringing in Brandon Cooks, Randall Cobbs, do I think that is a possibility of Antonio Brown? If that happens, I really doubt it. But if – do I think that, you know, adding those key pieces

and with David Johnson, we're going to see a lot more Duke Johnson. I think that will help spread and balance an offense for Deshaun Watson. Deshaun Watson, if he's balancing out there doing his thing, then that's when the Texans look, you know, very unbeatable. Let me ask you this, John, about that Hopkins trade. You got back David Johnson, of course, in that trade, and I had a chance to watch him a lot last year, and he didn't look like his old self, but like you mentioned back David Johnson of course in that trade and I had a chance to watch him a lot last year and he didn't look like him old his old self but like you mentioned Duke Johnson he's done pretty well for himself in Houston this past year being traded there from the Browns

do you like that Johnson do you have it with Duke and David what's your expectation for them this upcoming year um I do like that that duo in the backfield here's the thing about it um I personally would love to see Dukeke johnson get the majority of touches this season i think that with his time in the in the nfl excuse me with his time in the nfl combined with uh his age and he's not that beat up he has a lot of mileage left on his body let's see what he can do with majority of the touches. And I also feel the versatility of David Johnson will help the offense as well because both of these running backs are good runners and they're also very good out of the backfield.

John, my question to you is this. We can talk about the actual replacing of DeHop. I do think they got faster. So this whole thing is looking to me like they wanted to get faster, especially with how it looked like Kansas City was a bunch of roadrunners against them in the playoff game. The question for me is, why does a guy who looks like a first ballot Hall of Famer want to leave

Bill O'Brien? And because that's what it came out. You know, at first everybody thought this is a horrible trade. But then DeHop says, no, no, no no it's not on them i wanted this so you get a guy that's a first ballot hall of famer i think the elephant in the room and the unanswered question is why do guys like that want to leave a situation like houston where they actually have a good relationship with a young generational talent quarterback in Deshaun Watson? I think what we really have to look to to answer that question,

in my opinion and in my opinion only, is the issue that, you know, I've had with a few of his disciples, but a lot of the Belichick disciples, they really want to talk the talk with everything and how Bill does things in New England. But when you try to walk the walk, well, your background and your – you know, what you've done really isn't that much, but he's ego-fed. And I think the two egos in the locker room, one side had the players, you know, saying, like, man, I agree with you. I agree with you.

This is probably what we should do. Then you have a coach that may possibly be losing his locker room or what he feels like it. The ego fault, and when you have a coach that's also your GM, well, he's going to do what he feels like is right to, you know, kind of get back at you. I still don't agree with the trade. I think that trade was terrible, and it's always going to leave a what if.

But here we are. Well, I want to flip over. We've talked about what kind of offensive weapons they have, and Bill O'Brien obviously is an offensive guy. But on the defensive side of the ball, that gives me a few questions about where they're going from here. So where did they improve with those needs on defense? And do you think that's a unit for this ball club that can maybe get a little

bit more publicity this year, maybe pull a little bit more of its weight than it did last year? You know, I'm going to go with where they improve would be the front seven. And the only reason why I wouldn't go with the secondary is because I believe the secondary improved towards the end of the year. But the front seven was mainly the issue last year. J.J. Watt went down, and then it seemed like all of the juice Whitney Merciless had when he first kicked off the season just went away.

Not able to get pressure on the quarterback, and then our run defense started to break down tremendously, which is D.J. Reid out there. So we go out and draft Ross Blacklock. We also draft Jonathan Gennar. You may know something about him. And then on top of that, we have second-year players that are coming back that are going to be better than what they were last year.

Charles Omena, who Duke, edge of four out of Duke, who missed him the entire offseason last year. He's been training and getting back to where he needs to be. J.J. Watt coming back healthy, and, you know, he already said if they have to play with a shield on their helmet, then he's not going to play, so whatever. But Jonathan Martin, who will be coming back for his second year with the team, and then we have to see what our new D.C.

Anthony Weaver is going to bring. He wants to be a little bit more exotic. But even on the backfield, I think we will get a better version of Lonnie Johnson Jr. this year. And also Gary Yonkani will get a full offseason of some sorts with a team that's going to believe in him and put him in the best game to succeed, which is not zone. John, let me ask you this about this Texans team because they're the only team I believe out there in the NFL that's doing this with their head coach being sort

of their GM as well at the same time. Obviously, Bill O'Brien's made some questionable moves at some points. The Clowney trading get much value back. The Hopkins trading get much value back. How do you feel like Bill O'Brien's done balancing the head coach role with the sort of GM role he's been playing?

Can I ask you a question? How do you feel? I don't. Outside looking in. I personally don't think he's been doing a good job at all. Because I just think, like, he's made questionable moves. The value has not been there. I think he could have gone a first-round pick for DeAndre Hopkins when he could have.

They got back David Johnson a second there. I think that, honestly, Houston would be smart to go out and try to get their own GM from the outside. I know it didn't work out with Nick Casario in New England, but I just don't think they should keep running it back with Bill O'Brien because I just don't think it makes sense to put that extra pressure on O'Brien. Well, not that I'm on Bill O'Brien's team or anything or on his side, but, I mean, when we look at the big moves, there's only been really one just big move outside of DeAndre Hopkins, and that was Jadeveon O'Clowney, that trade.

And, of course, everybody's going to feel like, because we still feel like you could have gotten more for that value at the time. But in the end, I believe that worked out. Jadeveon is still a free agent because his market isn't that big that he thought it was going to be. And he didn't have one of those crazy contract years that normally happen. And the guy he got back had more sacks than Jadeveon Clowney. So that kind of worked out. We don't know what's going to work out with DeAndre Hopkins, but as a GM he brought in Larry Matunsel.

As a GM he made that last-minute trade for Garyon Conley, who ended up working out tremendously for the, for the Texans. As a GM, he brought in Brandon cooks. So as a GM, he's, he's had some hits more so than failures. I believe so.

But the clashing of it is we all disagree that, or we all should agree that he shouldn't be both. He shouldn't wear both hats, but he's done a better job at GM than people want to give him credit for. Yeah. And, you know, the thing with me with O'Brien is it's taking that next step. I mean, you have a franchise quarterback who's already a top five guy in everybody's opinion, and you have him on a rookie contract.

This is actually where you're supposed to be able to take advantage of that, a la Kansas City and some other teams around the league. But for me, what O'Brien is, and this might be a theme with Jacksonville because it happened in 2017. It might be something that we look at with Tyler because of last year's success with Tennessee. We all can realize, guys, and, of course, Evan, you guys are coming, that next step is hard, isn't it?

That next step going from almost to close and having to make moves as a GM, and I think that's where he's going to get criticized because Jacksonville failed at it one year. We'll see what the Titans do the next year. You guys up in Indy still have a mulligan. The thing with O'Brien is O'Brien's been right there on that doorstep We'll see what the Titans do the next year. You guys up in Indy still have a mulligan. The thing with O'Brien is O'Brien's been right there on that doorstep with Hall of Fame J.J. Watt, great quarterback play, Hall of Fame receiver, really dynamic player in Clowney,

Tyron Matthew for a year who was an all-pro and just became a champion. It's almost as if what he's failing at is taking that next step from almost to actually being very very good it's a tough step to uh to take and and i would just say for for bill o'brien sake yeah he's made questionable decisions as the gm i think all of us are on the same page that wearing both hats in the nfl it's just a conflict of interest the coach needs to win now the gm needs to win in the future and now. So eventually you're going to have issues there.

But I will say for Bill O'Brien as a head coach at least, just a head coach, I think he's done a pretty great job in his time in Houston. First in the AFC South four times out of six seasons, three nine and seven seasons, 11 and five, 10 and six. So I think it's fair to say that he is a good coach, especially considering the quarterbacks he had early on in his career in Houston. But yeah, for the GM spot, the questionable decisions right now, in my opinion, do outweigh some of the good decisions that you've talked about. But overall, I think as a coach,

at least, I have to give Bill O'Brien a thumbs up. He's done a pretty good job in Houston, but that is going to do it for the first part of our conversation about the Houston Texans. We are going to come back and have a second part. With the ever-increasing numbers of makes and models, it's now impossible to stock all the parts needed in a traditional chain store front. So why endure often points of seemingly intimidating questioning and wait while the cameraman orders the parts on his computer, choosing the only brand his warehouse happens to carry at the time. You get computers with extra RockAuto.com at home and in your pocket, so go ahead and do that because RockAuto has not only saved me a lot of money,

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Again, that's Locked On L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N in their How-To-Revise box so no one will send you over on the Locked On, their How To Rebounce box, so no we sent you. Again, that's Locked On, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, in their How To Rebounce box, so no we sent you over on the Locked On Podcast Network. We are back for the second part of our conversation about the Houston Texans with host John Hickman from the Locked On Texans Podcast. We are also here with Evan Sidery from the Locked On Colts. We are here with Tony Wiggins from the Locked On Jaguars Podcast,

and I am Tyler Rowland from the Locked On Colts. We are here with Tony Wiggins from the Locked On Jaguars podcast, and I am Tyler Rowland from the Locked On Texans. I just want to take a look forward now at training camp for the Houston Texans here. And, John, what do you think are some, I guess, battles that outside fans wouldn't know about for some starting positions that are going to be going down in training camp for the Texans? You know, that's very difficult considering we didn't have an offseason that we wanted.

You know, they got a lot of that virtual workout in, but outside of that, we don't know. We have a lot of second-year players coming in, a lot of rookies that we want to see how it's going to work out. But I will say that we really still don't know what's going to happen with the running back position as far as who will start. And I've had my wishes, like I mentioned earlier, but the Texans may go with David Johnson because, you know,

ultimately he was an all-pro player one year, and his ceiling is still higher than Duke's. Let me ask you this about the offensive line too, John, because obviously that's been a big question for this team the last couple years. You traded for Larry Minton, so got him to a huge extension, did pretty well for himself last year at Texas as well. But I really was impressed with the rookies too, and especially at guard Max Sharp.

I think he did pretty well for himself as well. How do you feel like the expectations are for this offensive line in 2020? Because, of course, you've got to keep Deshaun Watson upright and healthy. Yeah, I mean, we have to give that offensive line a lot of credit because they brought in Larry Mouton's last minute. And for the most part, we have to give a lot of credit when Deshaun Watson creates those sacks and he eats those sacks. But for the most part, they had a pretty good year.

I'm very excited about Max Sharpen. I was more excited about him than I was Titus Howard because I feel like he's naturally at the position that he's been good at for a very long time. With the camaraderie of this group getting more chemistry and more chemistry, I expect the possibility of one more added pro bowler from this offensive line. That's a good point.

It seems like the games that I've watched, and normally, you know, obviously usually the Jaguars and the Texans play at the same time. So sometimes I don't see them all. But when they do play each other in the playoff games, one thing that I give Bill O'Brien credit for is his ability to get off the quick starts. And a lot of that obviously has to do with the fact that he has, he had a great receiver and then he has Deshaun Watson, their quarterback. I think that play calling allows him, and we saw with the 24-0 lead in the playoffs against the Chiefs, that play calling allows that team to

get off to good starts. Now, what is it about him being able to do that? And then what is it about him maybe not being able to close when it comes down the stretch that has either hindered this team down the stretch? And what allows him as a coach to really make these teams come out and get off to a very, very good start every week? You know, that's really funny. I thought to myself a couple days ago how the two most anticipated

and, you know, hyped games of the season last year that the Texans lost was opening night and the 24-0 lead. And you're right. He is terrible. Both games we had leads in. He is terrible at, you know, containing in, he is terrible at containing and holding on big leagues. Why? Well,

to simply answer that question, comfortability. Time and time again, Bill O'Brien, he has two different offenses. One that is trying to hit you in the mouth or trying to catch up. Hitting you in the mouth or trying to catch up.

Hitting you in the mouth and catch up offense is the same offense, and it's explosive, and the team is going, and you're seeing a little bit more hurry up, and play calling is different. Then he has, let's just take this home. And we see the same offenses in one game. But I think he just gets comfortable. He gets very comfortable, and he's just trying to take it home. That's been the history of Bill O'Brien.

Sorry about that. I just had a question for you. I obviously don't want to ignore the elephant in the room, and you started kind of hitting on it when you answered my last question. But obviously we've seen the restrictions from COVID-19 on the offseason and probably will continue to see throughout training camp and preseason. I'm scared to even say preseason because right now we aren't certain if there will be one, but with all the new pieces that

you have on offense at the wide receiver position and Cooks and Cobb, and then some of the new pieces that you have on defense with the rookies or the second year players returning and we know that that second offseason after your rookie year is one of the most important ones for a young player do you think that because of the situation the Texans are in with new pieces and young players that the the restrictions we're seeing on the offseason could could be maybe more of a detriment to the Texans than other teams in the league? Absolutely. Absolutely. The reason why I would say that is let's look at the division right now.

Just look at the division. The coach got Phillip Rivers, right? But he's a seasoned, like well-seasoned vet. And so he can do certain things just coming in because he's been doing it so long as a Muslim. I think the Jaguars know that they're going to be in an iffy season, regardless of how, you know, second or third-year players come in. And then we have Tennessee who, you know,

they got a lot of their guys back and they got better as well. We have a lot of guys coming into their first or second year at key positions that we still don't know about. Colts fans, make sure to subscribe to Locked on Colts whenever you're streaming platform and listening to it. We are back on the daily grind here as we get closer and closer to training camp. And we're getting even closer to games actually happening this year for the NFL season. A lot of fun stuff happening in this Colts team,

whether it be Phillip Rivers joining the team, DeForest Buckner, many more new members for a really competitive roster. Go ahead and subscribe so you don't miss out on the action here on Locked on Colts on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, wherever you're listening to us on. Just search Locked on Colts, and it'll be right there for you guys throughout this amazing season that we're going to be having for the Annapolis Colts. So make sure to subscribe to Locked on Colts right now. And not only coming in with the draft, but also coming in free agency.

Brandon Cooks and Ronald Cobbs, you know, those two guys are putting together to replace where DeAndre Hopkins would be able to produce, but we haven't really seen him on the field. Now, granted, Deshaun Watson, a great leader that he is, has been working out with his guys at different facilities and trying to get that chemistry. I give him all that credit. We really need to see a lot of that against what you can do on the field.

John, also with Deshaun Watson, looking ahead to this big year for him, he's obviously already one of the most elite quarterbacks in the NFL. What improvements do you want him to have entering into 2020? Because the Texans have been in the playoffs. They've won division multiple times already with Deshaun Watson, our quarterback. But what's the next step now for Watson, especially now with that Hopkins out there?

Just make the smartest play. And if it's not there, get rid of the ball. Let's just get rid of the ball. We don't have to eat a lot of these sacks. We don't have to. All the time we don't need the Houdini X when you can just make the play. Save a lot of that juice for the end ofini X when you can just play and save a lot of that juice for the end of the game when it's needed.

He creates a lot of sacks or at times he'll miss a read, but that just comes with time. And that's what we want to see this year, which is why, you know, to go back to COVID-19, that is what really hurt us because we're not having an opportunity. Right. That's a very, very good point. And I'm sure when we later this week, when we get to the Jaguars, I'll really be able to explain to you guys why I believe COVID-19 probably hurts Jacksonville more than anyone. I will tell you this.

The team speed aspect that I spoke up earlier, and you made a very good point, John, that I did not know. I did not know the games where Nuke went over a hundred yards, they lost. And maybe there's a little bit of trying to force the ball to him too much to, you know, cause those alpha receivers, man, they're always open, right? I mean, they're open all the time. All the time.

Yeah. They're open in their sleep. You know, even the Jags wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell, he's probably open right now. That was his motto. But the thing is, for me, is if there is a silver lining with the offense, when you add – when you already have Kenny Stills and Will Fuller who can run, and then you add Randall Cobb who understands how to sit down in the middle of the defense and provide opportunities. And then by, you know, actually going out and getting Brandon Cooks,

and they're talking about A.B., they may be – if you get all of those guys, they may be the second-fastest receiver tandem in the league or room in the league besides Kansas City. Yeah, then let's throw in our tight ends who are not elite, but Darren Fields had seven touchdowns last year, seven big touchdowns, red zone monster. And I believe that coming in, Jordan Atkins will be a much better version of himself from last year.

The Texans are still trying to see what's going on with Keheli Warren, but you look at the tight end group, but then we know how explosive and dynamic the running back group is. I mean, those key pieces with Deshaun Watson being able to pick and play with whoever he wants to, you know, hit right here or hit right there. And if – let me say this. If Will Fuller can give us 13 games, I mean, those 13 games, the offense should be soaring through the roof because it's so talented, it's so fast, it can get out in space,

it can hit you in the middle of the field. It can do a lot of things that with Watson and Tim Kelly, I got to throw Tim Kelly in as well, our full-time play caller. That could be very crazy. Absolutely. It'll be something to watch. I really do appreciate you answering all our questions John, that is going to do it for the first episode

of our Ultimate Division Crossover Podcast our training camp preview here for the AFC South we are going to be back tomorrow where we preview my team, the Tennessee Titans in episode 2 of our Ultimate Division Crossover for the AFC South presented by the Locked On Podcast Network