 What have you talked to Eric about this week after their turn? Decision making, so critical when our defense stops them, especially a team like Miami. Our job as the part return team is to give the ball now to the offense, to transition it to the offense. And special teams takeaways are so costly where they happen on the field. It's not happening at midfield, it's not happening in the plus area. It's happening towards our goal line. So we just gotta make a better decision, gotta stay away from the ball and give the ball back to our offense. Were you in the return and how does that process? Technically it was the pull on the arm, illegal? We haven't heard back and again, we've got to stay away. Were you in the return, he was going to feel it, you know, net low right, so how does that process work? Okay, so he's got to run up and yell Peter, Peter, Peter to get the guys that are blocking for him off of the blocks and out of bounds. So if the ball does hit him, it's not turned over. So that's the first thing and then he's got to make the decision. If he can catch it, he can go ahead and fair catch it. We've always got that ability to do that. And then lastly, if it does hit the ground, you know, you stay away from it. There's sometimes when there's no one around you, if it takes a candy hop right into you and then you could gain additional yards. So those are the different scenarios. I think you're regularly working with a lot of guys as options. Do you consider other options too or just look guys? Every week and that's really coach for Ables, you know. He sets the roster and then we figure where we can use different guys each week for all positions. What's the transition been for you into this role? Fast. I mean, it was a whirlwind last week and then it didn't stop because we got, you know, back late and on a short week. So it's been good. The players have been good. So it's working forward. First block field goal you guys have had in quite a while. Was that was there something of a low trajectory you saw in film or is that just Danico? Just I mean, that whole field block team, they give really good effort. They come every time and it's it's hard because it is so hard to block a field goal. And so he's just great individual effort. But then also the guys help him get him free. So but he had a block PAT earlier against Baltimore, I believe. Seathoo, you know, he's got a block over the years. In terms of anything in particular that he's just got a great get off in great timing of when to get the hand up and when to keep driving the feet. Some guys put their hand up too early. Some guys stopped driving their feet, but he's just got a real knack for it. How do you like how Pa, I guess, first time out for him here? I thought he did well. You know, he stayed within himself. He did what we wanted him to do. And so he did his job. So it was a job well done. What was I guess the emotions of the night like for you? I guess first time out with this team is the head guy and deal with kind of. Everything that happened, you know, it's a different transition because of the decisions that need to be made and the role. Previously, I wasn't making those decisions. So that was probably the biggest thing with the emotions. How long have you been practicing high pointing the ball like that to make that kind of catch like you did the other night? I think it was just a moment thing. Kind of shocked me a little bit, had to go up and get it. But a little made a great throw. I just had to go up and catch it. When you saw that replay, maybe were you a little bit oppressed yourself at the vertical that you got there? I know, I always knew I had I had ups, but, you know, I had to get I had a good little bit more on that one to catch it. So, but yeah, I was just glad I was able to make a play. Yeah, everybody was just everybody was talking about it. I was kind of surprised. I shocked it was to be honest, but no, it was it was a lot of fun, though. I think the cue collar on money. Is it the first time you've worn that when you continue to wear it? And maybe how come you felt like maybe incorporating that into your. A tire? Yeah, yeah, my first time wearing it. Actually, Traylin was worried I was asking him about it. He said he he thought it helped him out a lot. So, you know, I just tried to wear it just just in case. You know, I want to get put out the game again, just showing them doing everything I can effort wise to, you know, prevent, you know, any any head injuries. So, but it worked fine. I like it. So I continue to wear it. They're outside and you've been to see Will's development here last month or so in real time, the way he's played. I think we're all excited to see him go out there and take charge, make big plays, make big throws, be yourself and take command and go out there and just executing and doing the job very well. Has it given you more thoughts about being here beyond this season, you know, to be able to play with him? I haven't gotten that aspect of things. I'm just enjoying the season right now. I'm enjoying each and every moment and taking it day by day. And, you know, it's been it's good to see him growth about this season. Derek, you've been around Tai-Jay for about six months or so. Now, what is it about Tai-Jay, the person that you enjoy the most? This is a genuine person, you know, cares about his teammates, cares about the team and he comes and works hard and does his job the best that he can and to try to be as detailed as possible. And I feel like he's playing off on him. It's like he's got a useful exuberance to him, too. I mean, has he ever had a day where he weren't feeling great and he kind of changes your mood or is he kind of like that? Yeah, I mean, he's always an enjoyable mood, always happy, you know, always has good energy. So you need somebody around like that to pick you up some days, for sure. I think it was Elijah yesterday that said that was a very Titan's win, very nitty. You guys executed when you needed to. And there was no quit that he saw. Was that something that you agree that's maybe has been missing a little bit more this year of going back to how this team can play? You know, I mean, I felt like that was a great win for us. Like I said, on Monday, we definitely made it hard into what it needed to be, but I think to show the resiliency and agree to be able to come back in a critical situation and be able to guys, be able to make plays and us being able to leave out a W to W. Seems like we're almost every week where you're kind of hitting a milestone one kind or another. A lot of them, you know, are something like, you know, a number of a thousand yard seasons, a number of rushing touchdowns. How proud of you are kind of the consistency and reliability that allows you to to hit those marks over a number of years like that? Yeah, just thankful. Very blessed. God has best me tremendously to keep going. That's to keep going this long and have to the sets I had and hopefully continue to use and, you know, like I always say, get credit to everybody that was involved, that has been involved. And hopefully we can keep it going. People talk about Tajah's excitement, Will's excitement. Do veteran guys like yourself get excited? Haven't been in the league this long when you see young guys like that getting fired up? Yeah, I mean, it's always great to have young playmakers. And I definitely think they are a great asset to this team. And they've been doing a great job and it gives us, you know, more fuel to the fire. You know, when we go out there, guys who can make big plays, take your top off and give us a great chance to win. Been a lot of conversation this week just about Will and not being afraid to take contact. And Vrable talking to him about sliding. What do you think about his maybe aggressive running style and you tell him yourself, hey, watch it so you don't get hurt? Yeah, he's probably sly a little bit more. But you love the physicality that he plays with, but you just got to be smart out there. And, you know, when you're in the position, running the ball, knowing to go down and, you know, you can be tough every now and then. But sly a little bit more, you know, for him, for sure. Derek, you've been a part of a lot of wins here, but how enjoyable was that locker room on the flight home on Monday night? Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Guys were happy. Like I said, locker room on Monday. It was a good energy. Good to have the energy back and, you know, guys just having fun and being excited. And, you know, it was good to have that feeling back as well. Derek, how are you specifically, like in the last several games, you guys have been successful down there? What's been the few running the ball? Yeah, I mean, that just goes to execution. You know, I've been talking about it for a couple of weeks now. And glad it's that we're able to translate it to the games and being successful and being able to get the ball in the end zone. And hopefully as we keep it going. Did you take any Levis chess poems by any chance after one of those two drives near the end of the game? No, I didn't. But I saw videos of how he was reacting. I was like, good Lord. I was going to say, you ever seen a quarterback that fired up and kind of physical in terms of celebration? Yeah, his celebration is a little different. But that's just him being him. Not like that, no. But I get fired up, though. Would you be fired up if Brable showed up at the game with a cowboy hat on Sunday? Brable showed up with a cowboy hat. That's going to be funny. But, you know, it'll be cool to see you have the old school vibe to it. So, yeah, that'll be cool. It kind of teased that you guys are going to hold him to it. He might do it, you know? I mean, I don't, you know, I don't think, you know, he would say something and not really consider doing that. He might, so he might surprise y'all. Have you watched the Hard Knocks for the Dolphins this last episode? They talked a lot about you and their preparation. No, I didn't watch it at all, no. I hope it was good stuff. No, I didn't see it. What have you seen from the Texans' defense until? I think they're a really good defense. I think they fly around. They're fast, physical, got good penetrators on the D-line. They're good in the back end. I think they're a solid overall defense. And you've got a Bama boy, D'Amico, got them over there juiced up and fired up, so they've been playing very good. I don't really know D'Amico that well, but, you know, Bama's all over the NFL, so this is how it goes. There's kind of a weird scheduling thing where you play them twice and three weeks, basically. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to that when you're playing them that quickly again? Oh, this happened before with other division teams. The Texans this year, we just want to see each other, you know, the schedule just closer than it usually is, usually spread out when we play them, but it's kind of like a two-week period, but it is what it is. How's everyone doing? Good, good, good, good. Tim, the way going fast obviously had to go fast at the end of the game the other night, but the way the offense will seem to be comfortable moving the ball down the field, is that something maybe to consider trying earlier in the game? Sure, you know, being able to, you know, play in varying tempos and doing things along those lines always keeps the defense off balance, and Will's done a good job of being able to kind of execute those situations, especially Monday night. So, you know, got to do a better job of being able to put ourselves in those spots. It's hard to do that when you're behind the chains or you can't really get into a drive because of a three-in-out or whatever it may be, so doing a better job there of extending those drives and keeping us in better down and distance situations wouldn't allow us more flexibility to do that. How much can you, I guess, measure the progress of a quarterback by the way he operates in two minutes because a lot is on his shoulders in those situations? Yeah, I mean, the most important thing is that he didn't blink. You know, it was, didn't flinch, was able to handle everything that we gave him and, you know, just kind of show the type of competitor he is, so he did a really good job in those situations of, you know, picking and choosing the time to push the ball down the field and understand when it's beneficial to be able to kind of take a check down and was able to see the benefits there, especially getting the ball into a guy like Tache's hands with space. So he definitely made some improvements there and looking for him to take some more steps here in a couple of days. There was a point in the first half. After the block punt, you guys ran three times and then got the ball back and you went for the juggler. It seemed like, what changed? The time. There's just less time. You know, as we were looking at it, again, kind of to piggyback off what we were talking about earlier, we wanted to get into that mode, you know, before we had to get the ball back to him. I think we had the run for six, it was second and four, and then I think we got called for a hold at that point in time. You don't want to give that offense, you know, the ball back with, you know, the amount of time to be able to go down and score. So again, understanding what's best for the whole team and what's gonna give the team the best chance to win and, again, not doing everything that we can at that point in time to make sure, again, that we're being smart and putting ourselves in a good spot. So it seemed like there's any potential, I guess, of training coming back and not doing much the last couple of weeks. Any possibility that he's still suffering, any kind of after-effects, whether it's physical or mental from the contestant? No, I don't think so. What do you think the reason is we haven't seen too much production? Yeah, I mean, for whatever reason, the ball hasn't found him, he ran some good routes. There were some times there where, you know, he was, you know, option two and option one was open, you know? So, and some of it is gonna make sure we're doing a good job of continuing to find different ways to, you know, get in the ball. And then others, when it's there, to be able to go make it. Go ahead. No, you're good. What do you see from Tajah Spear, specifically in the pass-catching game and just how he got involved in that? And then those two drives being considered all the way he was? Yeah, first of all, he was in, you know, love Tajah. When you look at the box score, it's evident to see his impact in the game in terms of the amount of yards and scrimmage he had. But from our standpoint, you know, the impact he had in pass protection, both him and Chig were, you know, a big reason why we were able to operate the way that we did. And that just goes to kind of speak to the type of people those are and the type of teammate both those guys are, is understanding that they may not be getting, you know, into some of the droughts that other people may be getting into, but understanding their role in, you know, executing at a high level to make sure that we have an opportunity to win the game. And then he showed not only his ability to be able to go and catch the ball and throw to him, but showed some pretty cool instincts. You know, he did a really good job for us, was able to go and win when isolated a couple of times, made a great catch on that seam route. So yeah, he had a really good game and, you know, hopefully we can build on that. I guess that clip of Will coming off the sideline screaming as he's coming towards you, what are you thinking when you see him coming after your red face like that? And how do you kind of like his emotions out there? You love it. You know, he's a hell of a competitor. And, you know, it was really cool for me to be able to see him, to see our offense go and go down there and execute, you know, in a critical situation against a good opponent on the road and on national television. You know, those guys came together and did a great job and, you know, brought those plays to life. So, was really proud of the way that he was able to go and operate and able to go function and lead that offense down, you know, to put ourselves in a position to win the game. So yeah, yeah, I mean, he's got those crazy eyes. You know, when he starts hulking out, but I was proud of him and it was a cool moment for him. That relationship that he and Hopkins have, the way it's developed over time, from your perspective, how could you, you know, how would you categorize that relationship? Yeah, it's been cool to see that develop throughout the however many weeks it's been now. So, obviously, you know, there's some growing pains there and you got two guys that want to win more than anything else. So, and they both, you know, figure it out and do a good job of being able to go and be on the same page with some different route adjustments and, you know, Will's got a good feel for where Hop is gonna be and what he's gonna do and does a great job of making decisions to not jam the ball into him also. I know he's got a bunch of targets, but very few of them have been ill-advised throws. So, he's doing a good job there and Hop's doing a great job too of being able to talk to him on the sideline, being able to communicate what he's seeing and just making sure that that communication is going on throughout the entire game to make sure they're on the same page. Russell said he feels a lot better after a low snap game there. Did you envision him being back to full time or some kind of rotation? Yeah, I mean, I think we just gotta get a feel for where we're at and where the game's at and, you know, figure out what combination up front's gonna work best for us. I mean, it's totally different. Different scheme, different coaching staff from the most part, especially on defense. I think Dino's back. Maybe a couple other guys, but, you know, not much just because the scheme's so different. You know, Grinard's playing really well. Malik's still playing at a high level. So, you know, there's some players there that, you know, have some familiarity with, but other than that, not much. Willis said that he's his own worst critic at times. Did you have to say anything to him after the pick six? Yeah, calm the hell down. Like, it wasn't, you know what I mean? Like, it's a long game. There's a lot that goes into it. And the one thing that, you know, we've talked to our unit about is you're never out of the fight, right? I think we've displayed that and hopefully after Monday night, there's, you know, a whole heart of belief in that, but you're never out of it. It's just, now we have to go make a play. You gotta figure it out. So, you know, and it goes for all of us. I was not happy on the sideline at a certain point in time on Monday night and needed to vent. And then two seconds later, you're back into it. So, everybody has their own mechanism of being able to deal with it. The important thing is when, you know, the maturity and taking strides is when you don't let it affect you when you get out there for the next play or whatever, you know, the next series. And he's done a good job of that throughout the entire year. Houston's obviously made a huge jump. How much do you credit D'Amico Ryan's and his knowledge and passion of kind of leading that team back? Yeah, I think it's evident when you turn on the tape, you know, the way that he has that defense playing, they're flying around, they're playing really, really fast. They're flying to the football. You can sense the energy that they play with. Just take a peek at their sidelines when you're watching the tape. So, I mean, he's obviously had a lot of success out in San Francisco leading that defense, and that's carried over there to the entire team in Houston. So, we've got to do a good job here on Sunday being able to go out there and match their speed and venture enthusiasm. Can you say a little bit about McCreary and Murphy Punting from the Monday Night Game guys who both had to lead the game at some point and were still able to come back and make some progress? Yeah, I think it shows their toughness. I mean, I was pleased with how both those guys played. I thought they showed up. I mean, S&B to have the third down caught on him. It was close. He challenged. And then they get that DPI, and then he shows up and makes two plays in a row, really three plays in a row force down the red zone to get up to force him to a field goal, right? So, the way he responded, and then Roger just keeps improving. He does. He does everything we ask of him. I think he's getting more comfortable in there every single week. Can cover, can show up in the run game, flies around, had a really great effort play right before half where he's chasing, gets that PBU. So, pleased with where those guys were on Monday night and hopefully continue Sunday. How much did the physical style of play that you guys put out there, even being kind of short handed? How much did that play into, I guess, controlling the game and being able to keep him in check? Yeah, I mean, I think every week as a defense, that's kind of what we're aiming to do, right? To know our strengths, know where we hopefully have an advantage in terms of that each week. The one thing that showed up to me is, I mean, we were playing pretty soft coverage-wise. A little bit lighter box, and they had some rushing yards, but there were 18 runs in there that were four yards less, right? And they broke a few, I think, on us that we missed some tackles and they got up over 10, but there wasn't ever the big one that gashed us, right? So, I mean, I think the guys bought into that. I think the swarm and the effort was tremendous, and that allowed us to make up for some of those lighter boxes at times. What sort of life are you guys preparing this week for a team that got a couple of key players on the end of the report and you just don't know what their status is going to be? Yeah, I mean, you got to prepare for everybody. Don't know what's going to happen with the quarterback as the week goes. Obviously, the receiver, too, with the calf, so we'll kind of have to gauge that as we go, but we're preparing for all of them right now, making sure our guys understand who we're going up against. It could change, obviously, come Sunday, but making sure we have knowledge of everybody that could be out there. Me and it's a little bit of a challenge. I just don't really know how much schematically we're going to change from Stroud to Davis Mills. I don't. I think they're still going to be running the ball, have the play action, have the shots down the field, some of that stuff is going to show up, but we got to make sure we know their skill sets and their strengths and weaknesses. You say Harold's all the way back now? It was good to see him do that Monday night, right? So hopefully that continues, and it was good to see him go out there and have that type of production for us Monday night. Outside of the numbers, are you just seeing a better Harold every now? Yeah, I think you saw some speed around the edge. I think that continues the uptake as we go here, and again, it's a process. Anytime you come back from an injury like that, it's going to take some time, and it's gradually, gradually, gradually. Hopefully it continues to strengthen and he continues to get where he needs to be to go out there and play and have that type of production. With all those edge guys, it seems like something. Yeah, I mean, it's showing up. We've actually been able to get some pressure on the road here these past couple of games, right, which we weren't doing early. So hopefully they can continue to be coordinated. I think that's a big, big part of it. It's making sure they're all on the same page, seeing things the same way, because again, it takes all four to rush the pass. There's never just one guy. You've got to be relentless without you rushing. Hopefully we can compliment each other up there.