The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Aaron Reiss Joins Matt Thomas As The Texans Prepare For The Colts

Episode Date: November 19, 2019

Aaron Reiss of The Athletic joins Matt as the Texans prepare to take on Indy on a short week

Houston's Sports Talk for lunch. Matt Thomas returns on Sports Talk 790. Aaron Reese covers the Texans for the athletic, and he's with us here on the Matt Thomas show. Our time is here 133. So, Aaron, you jump on a plane, you go to Baltimore, you think about this amazing quarterback matchup between Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson. And it turns out to be one of the biggest duds, probably since you've covered the team. How disappointing. Take us through what it was like watching this non-competitive game

and the reaction from the guys in the locker room following the massive disappointment. I almost think that by the time we got in the locker and all the reporters, you know, about 20 or so many of the game, some of these guys seemed like they kind of already processed it because the game had been out of reach for, you know, over a quarter in the actual game. But by the time they were undress and everything and getting ready, head on the plane, they kind of had a lot of time for the defeat to already think in. And so not only do they go from potentially being a legitimate AFC contender

because it would have been a quality, quality win, to Aaron now the loser this game is really behind the eight ball for the AFC South Race. So with that being said, I know this short game helps out in terms of getting rid of the bad memories, but this defense is pretty banged up, is it not? Yeah, you know, they still don't have Bradley Robey, but he did practice last week. There's a better chance he might come back this week. And then they'll add Vernon Hargraves, defensive backfield. But, yeah, just the reading of the heavy injury report yesterday has a concussion.

So if they can't have him, then Jolie will have to step in his place and play alongside Tishon Gibson. And it is played a lot already this season. But, you know, just to read, obviously is someone that you want to have available to you. And, you know, they didn't really, they look like Dennis, JJ Wilde a lot more against Lamar Jackson. against Gardner Minshu. They got basically next to no pressure on Lamar in that game. And the few times they did get the pressure on him, he was able to make a mess mostly.

What about Lonnie Johnson status? Lonnie Johnson, yeah. Also, he heard his ankle in that game, and he was on crutches in the locker room afterwards. And, you know, I think that they'll probably be careful with him. We'll see here as the week goes on. But I think, you know, with the short turnaround, it's probably likely that he would play in the game.

So in your mind, where did it go wrong last Sunday? day. Where didn't it go wrong? You know, I think that the offensive line had some trouble with a Raven defense that blitz a lot and, you know, Deshaun Watson held on the ball too long. And O'Brien, so there it's kind of a whole team issue. And I think this game actually was a pretty good summary of that. Watson held on the ball for a long time.

The Ravens also did a really good job covering the Texans. If you look at all the tracking data and stuff, the receivers mostly, for the most part, generated, like below league average separation on all their targets. And then defensively, you know, I think that this run defense is still probably a good run defense. But this Raven's offense is unlike any other offense they have to face. And I think that just caused problems for them, just like it caused problems for every other team. You know, and I do think that this defense is going to still be in trouble. I mean, they won't have to deal with a Lamar Jackson every week.

But, you know, there's not much that gives you a lot to feel good about regarding the secondary. So how am I supposed to? And look, I've been trying to figure out who the Texan fan that listens to this show in particular. I don't think I've got the super diehard. I don't care who they're playing. We're the best team. Go, go, Texans audience. I've got an audience that's very much an wait-and-see mode and very much of an audience, Aaron, that is saying,

you had a chance to go prove, at least if it was a close loss, you could say you could play, you could compete with them. The Texans didn't compete. So where are they in the pecking owner of the AFC? are we making too much out of one game or at the end of the day, if they lose this one, they lose to New England, but yet they finish the year with the four wins against four winnable opponents. It's a 10-win football team and probably going to end up in the exact same spot under the auspice of history repeating itself.

How do we shake ourselves from that kind of storyline coming up in the next seven or eight weeks? Yeah, I mean, I think that this game, obviously, on Thursday will go a long way. And I think, but I think, you know, if they do, even if they beat the Colts close and then they get smoked by the Patriots, I think that kind of is the default setting, right? I mean, there's not much else to feel. That was my takeaway from the game. And, you know, I think you try to keep in perspective that there's 16 of them, so you're probably prone to overreact to all of them. But if you just think about kind of their performances over the course of this season, right?

They beat the chiefs who had a banged up Patrick Mahomes and, you know, looks last night like maybe Kansas City starting around and to form a little bit more. And then, you know, the Colts and Jacoby Brissette, who's not kind of the strength of that team. They torch the Texas secondary. Obviously, Lamar did what Lamar did. And I think that this game against Patriots, if you're looking past this one, will probably be close just because New England's offense is not great. But, you know, I don't, I think that the Texans are going to run into a New England defense that's been a buzz saw for like every other team in the league. And I'm not sure that they'll be able to overcome that. Air Race with us with us to be athletic here on the mat, Thomas Joey, with us every Tuesday at 1.30.

All right, so the Colts lose Marlon Mack to a bad hand, but their running back system has been able to provide a lot of extra help. Jacoby Brissette's back moving around. How do the Texans beat the Colts for the first time in a while? Because last time the Colts were in this building, they torched them. Last time the Texans played the Colts in Indianapolis, it was a Colts victory. How do you see Indianapolis losing this game, and how do you see the Texans winning it? Yeah, you know, I mean, I think the Texans really. need a, even if they're going to be without Lonnie Johnson, they need Braddon's

back, they need Darren Conley to play a little better than he did in that last game. They need Vernon Hargraves to have a good first showing with the Texans. I think that secondary is really the key here because, you know, despite what happening in Baltimore last week, I do think, like I said, the Texans still have a pretty solid run defense and, you know, the culture of me without Maro Mac, but the question is, can, is Dakota to decide going to do this to the Texans again? And, you know, the body of work continues pile up in the season, the numbers for the Texans defense over the middle of the field, they basically can make every quarterback look like

Patrick Mahomes over the middle of the field. I don't think that's going to go away. And so that to me is the question is, can the secondary finally solidify a little bit and play a little bit better because if they can, then I think you're going to see a pretty similar game to the one we saw in Indianapolis earlier the season. Can you evaluate for me in the audience the role of Whitney Marshall since JJ's absence? And what do you think he's done right and wrong? and have we called his name enough since the injury? Yeah, you know, in that last game, I was looking it up before I got on the phone with you.

He only had one pressure, according to pro football focus. The Texans of the team only had forks. I mean, no one really had a great game. But, you know, he obviously is the guy that needs to be the one generating pass rush for them. And I think that the production has tailed off here in the second half as the season has worn on. And not that I thought he was going to continue at that pace he had at the beginning of the year, but I think you'd like to see some more consistent contributions than maybe what they're getting right now. But, you know, it's hard.

There's not really anyone else to draw much attention from him. Otherwise, Charles Menon, who the rookie, has also kind of tailed off. Jacob Martin, a situational pass rush. I haven't really done it on the time in the recent weeks. So I think everyone is kind of being affected by the lack of JJ Watt, but Wayne Mercos, obviously, is the one that is going to come to mind from most people, and the guy that's supposed to be the next person to step up. And I don't think they're really getting that from him right now.

Where are we on Will Fuller and is Kiki Kootie out of the doghouse? Yeah, you know, I mean, Fuller practice last week and the seconds have tended to give these guys kind of like a gear up week. So that would seem to indicate that this would be the week if he was going to play. On the other hand, you know, at the Thursday, I don't know if maybe they would have rather had two full weeks or the way again and give them her long dress the next game. And also, you know, just with the situation of Fuller, they might handle that little carefully than some other players. As for Kiki, yeah, it appears he is. He played a good amount of snaps, and DeAndre Carter, who had an average to have played some of the past two games.

He only played four snaps on offense, the equivalent of A.J. McCarran. So, I mean, I think Kiki is out of the doghouse for now. And he had one drop, but it got negated by a penalty, so he finished with three targets, three catches, 25 yards. All right. Give us a storyline for Thursday night if you're able to look into crystal ball right now. Oh, man.

If I'm going to look at my crystal ball, I think that these Texans teams, O'Brien, he tends to kind of rally on when the backs are against the wall. The backs are very much against the wall in this game. I think that they went a close one. I don't know if the secondary does a ton to make you feel great about them moving forward, but I think that will probably be a little better than we saw in Indianapolis earlier in the season. And then I think from there, kind of the same stir with we talked about earlier. You know, maybe they don't show up really against New England,

and then something uninspiring finish to the season, and then you're back in the same place with this team. And that's the thing, Aaron, is that one and two, which would be their record over these three super important games, I'm going to steal your term, uninspiring. So how do we get inspired for a team that has been beset by injuries on the defensive side and lack of depth? And the fact is that, look, the Texans may not be able to score

against the New England defense because it's been so good. Maybe we're just in a position that, you know what, Being a Texan fan is about 10 wins. It's about winning AMC South. But at the end of the day, Aaron, they're just never going to be in that super conversation with the New England's and the Baltimore's of the world and maybe even Kansas cities as legitimate title contenders.

And that's where, again, I think that going back to an earlier point of our conversation, history repeating itself at times becomes very aggravating. Yeah, definitely. I get that perspective. I would say, you know, they obviously will continue to have Watson. They continue to have tons of. They'll still have DeAndre Hopkins, and if you kind of look at the salaries and stuff,

they're going to have the flexibility to kind of remodel this defense a little bit in the offseason. You know, they'll at quarterback, they'll probably draft one. And they'll pursue one in three agency. You know, they can do some different things on the defense. They try to find other pass rushers. But, you know, they traded a lot and have made moves that would indicate they want to win this season. And I think that at the end of the day, the season is starting to come to a close. You're seeing that maybe those moves have not put them in the same sort of

bracket as the other teams that we're talking about here at Baltimore and New England. Yep, and that's why this whole thought of maybe him being a better general manager than coach, it may come back to Hawn him a little bit because you can't rely on that draft, especially with all the picks gone. Aaron, thank you great for them of great material, as always. We'll visit again next Tuesday and look forward to reading your work on The Athletic. Yeah, thanks for having me. You got it, Aaron Reese, Aaron J. Reese on Twitter from The Athletic, a regular Tuesday contributor here to the Matt Thomas show.