After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

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For all terms and limitations, visit FelixCatInsurance.com slash terms. Ain't that the truth? And we see it over and over in the NFL from week to week. I've been saying this most of the night, but it's worth repeating, especially since we have people who are waking up and joining even now as we hit five o'clock on the east coast, the eastern time zone. Good morning to you. It's a Monday.

It sure is. And for those of you who've been listening, well, we're going to hammer the point home again. With now 10 different rookie starting quarterbacks, right? So we've seen 10 different rookies make starts. We've got a bunch of quarterbacks that are in their second year in the NFL and they're starting to. We've got quarterbacks in new places, although it's not really a problem for Josh Dobbs. But think about Taylor Heineke, for instance, with the Atlanta Falcons. Now, he got hurt yesterday and they went back to a second year guy in Desmond Ritter.

There's so many young guys or guys who are guys that are early in their tenure, like say Jordan Love. For that reason, the offense is taking a hit. If you haven't noticed, the offensive numbers are down.

There's a lot of field goals every week in the NFL. And as much as you can point to, oh, those teams suck. It's every team. It's almost every team. I don't know what the numbers in the red zone are this season compared to last season.

I could certainly look it up, although it's better if you have a full sample size. But red zone numbers, offensive passing numbers for the most part, a lot of those are down. And it comes back to, I mean, there's many reasons why for each individual team. But across the board, one major reason is because of the young baby QBs and rookies who were never really expected to be on the field. And no, we're not talking about CJ Stroud or Bryce Young. Of course, they were going to be on the field.

We're talking about guys like Tyson Bajan for Chicago, Tommy DeVito for New York. Aiden O'Connell now has the starting job, but they weren't expecting to use Aiden in Las Vegas. It was going to be Jimmy Garoppolo.

You can run down through the various divisions and you can see, you can feel on every Sunday, how much this has changed and altered 2023 on the field. Clayton Toon starting for the Arizona Cardinals. I mean, granted he got a touchdown yesterday, but he wasn't supposed to be out there either. Jaron Hall for the Vikings doesn't even last a full game. There was a lot of young QBs that were thrown into the fire before they were supposed to be out there, but that's the nature of the NFL. And because of it, not only is offense down, but we're seeing teams rely more on defense and, oh, kickers, special teams. Don't forget, this is your annual reminder that kickers are people too. And there's one big reason why we're seeing some separation, not a ton, but some separation between the haves and the have-nots, and that's the teams that still have their starting quarterbacks.

They're elite or high level above average starting quarterbacks. However, a nice byproduct, a dramatic and entertaining byproduct is that we're getting more games that are going down in the wire. And Sunday is a great example of that. Week 10 is a great example of that, but let's take Sunday just by itself. I don't think anybody really wants to think about Panthers and Bears, but this also falls into that category from Thursday night. On Sunday, nine of the 12 games were decided by a single score, so eight points or fewer. Nine of the 12 and five of them were settled on the final snap of the game. Walk-off field goals.

Unfortunately, not touchdowns this week, but walk-off field goals. Although I think it's funny when we call it that because they don't really walk. They celebrate, they leap.

In some cases, they lift the kicker up like he's baby in Dirty Dancing. I know it's another 80s slash 90s reference. Is that 80s or 90s?

I actually don't know that. I think it's probably 80s. Some of you have probably seen the remake of Dirty Dancing. It's not as good as the original, just trust me.

Same thing with Karate Kid, not as good as the original. 87, producer J tells me. Yep, I like being old. I got to see Jerry Rice play and Joe Montana play. You guys did not. Sad saps. I got to see Michael Jordan play.

Some of you did not. I will forever pity you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Good morning to you. It's a Monday. Oh, but we're getting close to Thanksgiving. Next week is Thanksgiving. Football fans, what are you thankful for on this Monday morning?

No, that's a steal. We have to wait till next week to do that, but just in general, what about some of these fantastic finishes? Which one was your favorite?

Which one gave you Ajita? You can find our post up on our show Twitter After Hours CBS and then also on our Facebook page and we are asking you to vote for your Monday MVP. Well, lo and behold, we've got a repeat candidate from a week ago. He's a rookie quarterback, but he is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to the fit with his team, his receivers, his coach, and of course, how the team is playing right now. Pretty incredible and this is another stiff test for the Houston Texans and CJ Stroud on the road at Cincinnati and early on, yeah, there's all the makings of some fantastic offense.

Burrow ready for a shotgun snap. He catches at the 37, drops back to the 40, fires down the field, caught at the five by Trenton Irwin, touchdown Bengals as Burrow delivers a perfect strike and Trenton Irwin takes it in for the Bengals touchdown. Stroud of a gun, one back Devin Singletary.

Here's the snap. CJ looking, throwing right side Dell at the six, takes it to the goal line, he's in, touchdown Houston. Stroud to Dell for six. On both the Bengals and Texans radio networks, it was a tight first half. Not a ton of offense, but you did see right away Cincinnati started out with a five-minute drive and I'm thinking, oh wow, Bengals, they're picking up where they left off the last couple weeks with the offense.

So Trenton Irwin with the 32-yarder and then take Dell the rookie receiver for the Texans, another connection with CJ Stroud. But then Cincinnati runs into a game Houston defense and could not get anything going. I counted because I'm a nerd, four straight three and outs for Cincinnati in the second half. So their offensive rhythm disappeared like that. And then on the defensive side of the ball, they're not playing as well. A real long pass interference call to put Houston in the red zone. And Devin Singletary, he finishes with a six-yard run. And so the Texans are looking good now. In the third quarter, they're up 20 to 7. But the thing about having a veteran quarterback like Joe Burrow, one that has played in some of the biggest stages in the NFL and having weapons around him is that they don't need eight minutes to score.

They can hit you quick. Burrow will look to throw. Pressure forces him to scramble left.

Burrow throws deep downfield. He's at the 10, raises the ball in his right hand as he cruises into the end zone. Touchdown to Jamar Chase, a 64-yard strike.

Singletary motions out to the right. Empty back field for CJ. On first and goal, Stroud gets the snap. CJ looking, scrambling forward. CJ on the run across the five.

He's in! Touchdown CJ Stroud! The quarterback with the touchdown run. And the Texans go back up two scores on Cincinnati. Yeah, so you get Joe Burrow connecting with Jamar Chase. That was a pretty touchdown. Maybe a candidate for TD of the Week had the Bengals won.

Ruh-roh. And the back-to-back interceptions for the Houston defense too. So Joe Burrow, he is not a rookie obviously, but the defense was giving him fits at times. He misfired on a couple of throws and it came back to bite him in the rear. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio.

Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham on Bengals Radio and then Mark Vandermeer on Texans Radio. But speaking of interceptions, I suppose two defenses can play that game. Third down and two. Stroud fakes a handoff, rolls right, throws, hitter!

Interceptor! The Bengals are running it back! Cam Taylor Britt tackled inside the five.

It's not over yet. CJ Stroud with just his second INT of the year. Cam Taylor Britt with his fourth interception in the last five games. Tank Dell saved the touchdown, but the Bengals will have it first and goal near the five with three and a half minutes to go.

And it wasn't long before they punched in with Joe Mixon. So easy peasy, four yard rushing touchdown or somewhere inside the four yard line because that's where they started the drive. And that's it, three minutes and 18 seconds remaining. Cincinnati then uses a field goal to tie the game with 90 seconds left.

Heavens, where have we seen this before with one CJ Stroud? So yes, he's human, he's a rookie, he throws a late pick, but he's also able to get the ball in his hands again, put that behind him, and march downfield. And so he has a pair of 20 plus yard completions to get into field goal range. Keeping in mind again, last week it was, what, 46 seconds to go, we got the ball back and they scored with six seconds remaining. Well, this time they don't need a touchdown, but they still got to get in position and he's got to run the two minute drill to near perfection. John Weeks will snap, Cameron Johnston will hold. 38 yard field goal attempt from the left hash mark for the victory for Matt Amendola.

Here's the snap, here's the spot, here's the kick, plenty of leg, and it's good. The Texans walk off with a win in Cincinnati. They take it 30 to 27. Matt Amendola at the buzzer. The Texans walk away with a win that we'll never forget. The way our team battled, I'm so proud of our team, excited for them to be in a tight football game versus a playoff football team and come up with a win. That's where we're headed as a team, right? We're showing that we're a good team, we're showing that we can win tight games at the end of the game. I'm really proud of the way our guys battled.

Yeah, pretty impressive. They're now second in the AFC South. They're above 500. D'Amico Ryans is a first-year head coach. We know about CJ Stroud, but how about their run game? Devin Singletary, 150 yards for him. The Texans were able to use that run game at times to stabilize.

It's huge. So they've got young guys who are contributing and a quarterback who is fearless. And what was he hearing from his teammates right before a second consecutive week with very little time on the clock to engineer a game-winning drive? They looked me in the eyes and said, man, I trust you with this moment.

And that means a lot to me from left to right. A lot of meaningful ball has been played on different teams. This team, I think they were saying like, man, it was like eight or nine games last year that came down to the wire like that. And I think we lost every single one of them.

So the hope that we have in two-minute drill, that really goes to our coaching. There was three for five in the red zone too. So he's the atypical rookie quarterback this season.

More than 350 yards again. A couple of TD's and then the pick that put them in the hole, but he had redemption at the end. As for the Bengals, they also are sitting at five and four, but boy, it feels different, doesn't it?

Feels so different than the Texans five and four. And part of the issue is that they really didn't do a whole lot in the first half. And then they come out flat to start the second half as well. Just a lot of wasted opportunities.

Tough loss. I thought we were going to be able to pull it out. Didn't make enough plays at the end of the day. They played really well at this point. No rhythm, you know, just the first, first down, a lot of three and outs. That was really, that was just the issue was just getting that first, first down and trying to get in some sort of rhythm so we can, we can get some things going and just weren't able to do that in the first half. I don't know, man. Defense was playing, the plan was good. It was taken away.

I don't know. I think TB had another drop on the third down, I think. But I think that was two series that happened. Maybe even three, so it just wasn't consistent.

Well, that's interesting. Jamar Chase actually points to, you hear him say TB, that's Tyler Boyd. Tyler Boyd had a ball, hit him in the hands in the end zone.

Joe Burrow, I mean, is there any such thing? I guess there is in the NFL. There is such a thing as a perfect throw, but it shouldn't need to be because these are world-class receivers. Tyler Boyd drops what was a surefire touchdown pass in the end zone with just over 90 seconds to go. So right before they gave the ball back to CJ Stroud and the Texans, they had a near touchdown. And instead, because he dropped it, they had to settle for a field goal. So, you hear Jamar Chase say TB has another big drop on third down. I think they might have had one or two, maybe even three.

Interesting. Not usually do you hear one receiver point to another for a problem. They'll say we did this or we did that. So, Joe Burrow, what about Tyler Boyd's drop in the end zone? He wouldn't have even been down there if it wasn't for him. So, you know, obviously he'd like to come down with it, but, you know, we were able to go down and tie it up, like punch it in, make him go down and score, score a touchdown in that situation, but we were able to tie it up. So, he does say, hey, we still got points and we wouldn't have even been there if not for Tyler Boyd.

And that's probably true. Tyler had a big game, actually. He was on my bench in fantasy, so I saw exactly how many points he would have had over the next guy.

Eight catches for 117 yards, could have had the touchdown, though, as well. Now, coming up in 25 minutes, we're going to head to Houston, check in with a member of our Houston affiliate, Sports Radio 6-10, but also NFL veteran on CJ Stroud, on this D'Amico Ryans-led team that's stronger, getting stronger on both sides of the ball, and I like the culture, already like the culture. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio mentioned that the Bengals fall to five and four. They're once again in the basement of the AFC North.

That's how tough it is. They have the worst record at five and four. They have the worst record in the AFC North, but Texans are just a game back of the Jaguars after they get pummeled by the Niners. Now, the Texans pick up a game. Bottom of the division are the Tennessee Titans.

Why? Because the Bucks made them a sacrificial lamb, so the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had dropped four games in a row, and they were just about done with that, and so they're able to, I wouldn't say it was completely lopsided, but they're really able to work their offense. Baker Mayfield has a couple of touchdown passes. What really impressed me was the number of of either chunk plays or deep passes. He was able to connect with Mike Evans, also able to connect with Rashad White, and so he had room to throw the ball. They had a vertical passing game against that Titans defense, and the Tampa defense allows no touchdowns for the Titans.

So Will Leviss, welcome to the NFL rookie. Yeah, they were good on both sides of the ball. So I love what Mike Evans had to do, or what Mike Evans was able to do. Again, a bunch of balls that were 15 yards, 20 yards, even had one that was 43, I believe, and so when Baker can connect with those guys, it opens everything up.

Also, Evans had a drop TD as well, so see Tyler Boyd, you're not alone. So for the Buccaneers, they're trying to keep up with the Saints. The Saints actually lost to the Vikings on Sunday, so the Buccaneers are right behind them now.

Same number of losses, just have four wins instead of five. So yeah, it's good for them to be able to get that monkey off their back and end their skid. We took advantage of different looks that we had today. I think guys were all locked in, pretty prepared, and yeah, just little things, physical things today that prevented us from taking the next step, but those are the things that happen in football. It's a lot of weight off your shoulders.

I mean, this feels great. Everybody in the locker room, having fun. Four in a row is tough, especially with our talent and what we believe that we can do. We definitely believe that we can be contenders and be a playoff team. I'm a huge fan of Mike Evans, one of my favorite players in the NFL, and he wears his emotions on his sleeve.

So yeah, huge to be able to celebrate and have that weight lifted. Now, I wonder if they were lighting up victory cigars like what we saw in Vegas again, actually. Raiders and Jets from Sunday night, and no, I'm not going to break down the entire game.

Here's my question though. Seeing what happened at the end of the Jets Raiders game, but then also thinking about the first game of the day with the Patriots. Both Mac Jones and Zach Wilson throw costly interceptions at the end of these games with the possibility of victory. It's demoralizing for their teams, obviously for the fan bases.

I'm not sure which team is in a worse situation right now, but they happen to be in the same division. We'll bundle them together. It's like bundling home and auto. We'll bundle them together coming up next on Twitter, ALawRadio.

Monday MVP poll is live and waiting for you to cast your vote. You got to practice, right? And then on our Facebook page, same thing. You can also let us know which finish either smacked you in the face or gave you pure joy. In either case, I suppose the thrill of victory over the agony of defeating could keep you up at night. I mean, it was a fun Sunday.

Sure, there were some ugly games, but it was a fun Sunday. It doesn't get much smoother than that. It does. I actually wanted a car that seemed out of my range, but I was able to add a co-signer and found my dream car. It doesn't get much. Oh, it gets smoother. It's getting delivered tomorrow.

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Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Odyssey podcast all lowercase go to Shopify.com slash Odyssey podcast now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in Shopify.com slash Odyssey podcast. Get the best workout with the best kept secret in fitness hydro the state of the art at home rower hydro engages 86% of your muscles delivering the ultimate full body workout in just 20 minutes from advanced to beginner hydro has over 4,000 classes that are shot all over the world and are taught by olympians and world-class athletes for a 30-day risk-free trial with free standard shipping go to hydro.com and use code fit 500 to save up to $500 that's h-y-d-r-o-w.com code fit 500. Ew gotta get rid of this old Backstreet Boys t-shirt tell me why because it stinks boys tell me what i've washed it so many times but the odor won't come out tell me why no you tell me why i can't get rid of this odor have you tried downy rinse and refresh it doesn't just cover up odors it helps remove them wow it worked guys yeah downy rinse and refresh removes more odor in one wash than the leading value detergent in three washes find it wherever you buy laundry products or listening to the after hours podcast shotgun to wilson five step drop dumps it short and it's picked off at the 15 30 35 chased down from behind at the 40 robert spillane with his third pick of the year and the defense does it again max crosby is almost out of the numbers here's the snap wilson back wilson in trouble spinning left chased by crosby wilson runs outside the numbers turns fires it up into the end zone it is knocked down incomplete raiders win the los vegas raiders pick up the win beating the new york jets 16 to 12 antonio pierce goes to 2 and 0 as the raiders said coach as vague as emons at season record at five and five the jets suffer a second straight defeat they go to four and five raiders win by four 16 12 the final this is after hours with amy lawrence once change really can make a massive difference we knew the raiders had talent just the voice that was speaking to them the atmosphere whatever it was that josh mcdaniels was putting down the raiders were not picking up it didn't work in their locker room and and there's a bazillion ways to look at it could analyze it from now until next sunday but ultimately this group of guys did not play for him not that they didn't play hard but it was frustrating there weren't any changes adjustments amendments my way or the highway they were too talented to be that bad to be that stagnant and to be that stoic actually but now back-to-back weeks cigars in the victorious locker room it's after hours with amy lawrence on cbs sports radio a com a completely different spirit i mean we're talking about a completely different atmosphere with antonio pierce who in his coaching debut has got two wins in a row our fans they kept us in the game their energy their passion their support throughout that's what energize our guys at the end and then if you watched at the very you know the last 30 seconds i think you saw an entire bench up on the sideline rooting on our defense talking devante right next to me josh jacobs i mean all those guys are sitting there just rallying the troops that's what this culture is about it's about team it's football you know not everything's gonna go your your way uh nobody's trying to make a mistake nobody does anything on purpose to have a bad call or you know do something silly um and like i told these guys at the very beginning we're all fortunate to be national football league we're all fortunate to work for a great organization fan base and alumnis and when you come to work every day do it with a smile because one day that door's gonna close you're not gonna be able to walk in there no more polar opposite from josh mctaniels it's crazy because it can't be that simple right it can't just be as simple as a different voice a different attitude a different approach and that's not all of it i mean they did make the change at quarterback they're doing a little more offensively to open things up but honestly we talk about uh like corporate synergy or in some cases corporate morale why it's such a big thing when you're talking about putting together competitive teams or building a business that can be a winner that can be successful we're still human beings we still have hearts and souls and minds and wills and sometimes it is about a different voice and a different spirit and a different leader a different style of leadership and that's what they're getting with antonio pierce as for the new york jets as you hear with jason horowitz on raiders radio and then also ryan radke last two possessions for the jets they fall flat again i mean there was some life there in the fourth quarter with the jets but zack wilson throws another demoralizing interception and the hail mary it is what it is so much frustration i don't know how to put it any other way i mean i don't know if people could see i was frustrated on the sideline um in a good way i mean it's it's a good thing to be frustrated um but i mean the hard thing is i know everyone's battling you know these penalties aren't aren't like anyone's not trying or you know but we got to find a way to to be better there it's very frustrating um we're gonna work to fix it man we'll keep working bro because it's very frustrating you know um yeah garrett wilson trying to be careful he doesn't say something else that's going to get him in the headlines or get him in trouble meanwhile aaron rogers hugging davante adams telling nbc that he plans to be back in december boy i suppose it's possible anything is possible it's after hours here on cbs sports radio looking at the afc east you got the jets now falling back below 500 back-to-back losses so much talent including garrett wilson including sauce gardner that defense continues to put the ball in the hands of zack wilson and i will say this i don't think zack wilson is a top flight quarterback most aces not even average but there are a lot of other issues too there really are it's just a disaster on offense and it's a lot to ask of the defense i suppose patriots and patriots fans feel the exact same way if you weren't watching the game in frankfurt well there wasn't a whole lot of offense to write about jonathan taylor had a rushing touchdown late in the second quarter all right it was field goals it was miss field goals it was empty possessions but man there was drama at the end the colts are up 10 to 6 on a matt gay field goal from midfield so the 51 yarder in the fourth quarter they're up 10 to 6 and mack jones the patriots they're moving the ball 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services offered by member companies of the principal financial group des Moines Iowa for important information visit principle.com slash disclosures babysitter paid pizza ordered flowers delivered you can do a lot of things with your phone and with blue link plus you can even access your Hyundai Tucson limited remotely doors unlocked temperature set lost car found oh there it is get complimentary class leading blue link plus just another way we make owning a Hyundai Tucson limited more convenient than ever learn more about the new Tucson and blue link plus at Hyundai USA.com call 562-314-4603 for complete details and they're into the red zone patriots have it inside the red zone shotgun snap jones play action close it down field picked off by the Colts get up and run with it julian blackman is not down on the three yard line gets off his haunches and then sprints it up to the five the Colts with an enormous takeaway yeah so Mac jones does the same thing so Mac jones does the same thing I can't imagine which group of fans is more frustrated the Jets fans and their team that's ready-made or Patriots fans feeling like they were going to take a step forward with Bill O'Brien as the offensive coordinator who by the way took a chunk out of Mac Jones on the sidelines I mean chewed him a new one so Mac gets benched because the Patriots defense gives them the ball back and it's Bailey Zappi then who comes into the game 43 seconds 42 Colts lead 10-6 Patriots out of timeouts at their own 41st out in 10 and Zappi spikes the football no no no he faked it and throws over the middle and throws over the middle and it's intercepted Rodney Thomas picks it off he faked the spike and rifles it over the middle and Rodney Thomas picks it off and the Indianapolis Colts are gonna leave Frankfurt Germany with a huge win to get them to five and five so good for the Colts I mean the fact that they're 500 without their starting quarterback is amazing and Jonathan Taylor being nowhere to be found for the first month I mean that's huge so give them credit and give Shane Steichen credit but honestly the headline here is Mac Jones gets benched again and then his replacement Bailey Zappi comes in and throws a pick as well so Bill Belichick trying to get him to say anything is really like trying to get water out of a rock yeah I just thought it was tough for a change yeah but look I made a decision that's what it was we'll deal with next week next week I have faith in a lot of players they just told me I was out of the game so I wasn't playing very good so I got taken out of the game before the two-minute drive at the end of the game so um yeah that's that's kind of what it was it's hard right it's it's it's a difficult situation but the end of the day I really did want the team to win I'll always be that person um I know that you know we didn't win so it's it's hard for everybody but um I have to play better to not even be in that situation he's a likable young man he really is he's funny he takes care of his business he fits Patriots culture really well it's just man the whole thing and again it's not all on him like it's not all on Zach Wilson but this was a terrible throw he air mailed it he lobbed it it was short his his receiver was behind the defense we don't have time for that you throw it deep you throw a little bit farther but two feet and it's a touchdown he just didn't put it enough juice on it and instead the defender is able to step it and grab it on the goal line and I know Patriots fans are certainly frustrated not Texans fans though we're going to head to Houston next it's after hours with Amy Lawrence you are listening to the after hours podcast 38 yard field goal attempt from the left hash mark for the victory for Matt Amendola here's the snap here's the spot here's the kick plenty of leg and it's good the Texans walk off with a win yeah Cincinnati they take it 30 to 27 Matt Amendola at the buzzer the Texans walk away with a win that will never forget this is after hours with Amy Lawrence thanks so much for hanging out with us it's a Monday morning we're hitting you up the side of the head with a bunch of walk-off field goals in the NFL and nine games of the 12 that are settled by a single score it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio and we're gonna rush to Houston without delay and welcome one half of pain and pender gas from our affiliate sports radio 610 Seth Payne getting ready for his show also former NFL defensive lineman well is that true of the here mark Vandermeer on Texans radio is it true that it's a win you'll never forget um yeah I believe it will be I think this is the this is the first win of the season is the Texans are now five and two in their last seven games five and four on the year um but this was the this was the litmus test you know this was a okay this is a this is a real bona fide Super Bowl contender that they'd be facing in the in CJ Stroud would be lining opposite lining up opposite Joe Burrow so yeah I think you know whether it's this season or in the context of CJ Stroud's career this felt like a step forward he had a record-breaking performance last week with 470 yards but this one you know driving driving to kick a field goal with a street free agent kicker that you just elevated from the practice squad uh and and you know with multiple game-winning drives in the final minutes of games over the last several weeks it's uh it's been it's been a fun run here in Houston okay I looked this up but I just want to clarify did you and D'Amico Ryans cross paths at the at the tail end of your career in Houston we did I actually uh I I yelled at him in training camp once because I was it was my final year in the NFL and it's his rookie season and this is when I first really kind of learned that D'Amico has a different way about him uh he he'd been elevated a starter you know early in training camp he was a rookie and I was kind of a crusty old grumpy veteran and it was hot out and he was having a hard time getting the play call out and we were in some kind of a situational drill where there was a play clock running and and I yelled at him I was like get the bleep and bleep call out and he kind of looked at me it was almost like uh like he was uh like a a beast master or something like he he calmed me down and just very patiently uh got the call out and from there on you know his rookie year he was just everything you want in the line back he was all over the place he was uh like he was just vicious when it came to hitting people but he's so calm and even tempered in every other area of life so he's just got a rare blend of all the things you want in a football player um in terms of fire but then also all those team things in terms of maturity on and off the field and and that's frankly a bit of what I've seen in CJ too he's just freakishly mature for his age and he's got a different perspective on life I think because of his background and um both as you know in life in in his family but then also as a football player where he didn't uh you know he can't I don't want to say he came up the hard way he's still got a scholarship to Ohio State but he was relatively lightly recruited and one of the last guys really really plucked from that class behind guys like Bryce Young as a high school recruit so um it's a really cool blend between those two still though to have it come together so quickly how is it happening um I think it's obviously when you have a quarterback it makes all the difference in the world so you know you can't ever ignore that and CJ's done an incredible job but I think a couple things aside from some of the talent acquisitions I mean Bobby Floke the offensive coordinator has also worked very very well with CJ Stroud and if you look at the way CJ's been able to spread the ball around there are just there are options out there you know Noah Brown the wide receiver hmm I don't know if he's ever had more than 500 or so yards in a season he's had 300 yards receiving in the last two games uh Tank Dell the rookie out of Houston is just very very fast he's undersized but he gets a lot of separation Nico Collins was injured yesterday but he's been the very best he's been since he's been here in Houston you know Nico's been here um but we're getting the best version of him I think Bobby Floke does a really good job working with CJ and kind of surpassing all these hurdles and this is where this has been the interesting thing to watch you know with any rookie you're kind of waiting to see okay what's gonna what's gonna throw them where's the next what what are defensive coordinators gonna throw at them diplomacy them really from the Atlantic game onward defensive coordinators have been showing a lot of different looks you know rushing three and dropping eight trying to bury coverages as much as possible but they're throwing a kitchen sink at CJ and he's he's adjusted each step along the way so um you know we got another half season to go but it's been very impressive so far yeah it is impressive considering the number of rookie quarterbacks who've started and you see kind of the median the mean where a lot of them it's just a wild ride and with CJ well they're certainly it's not perfection there are a couple mistakes here and there it's amazing how much better he looks than your average rookie it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio Seth Payne is with us from Sports Radio 610 in Houston getting set for their morning show Payne and Pendergast so I saw that you posted on your Twitter that it was just so much fun I know you don't just mean winning what else is fun besides the winning oh well I you know and I posted that I posted that right at the beginning of the final field goal drive and most of the replies from Texan fans were like what the hell are you talking about I'm losing my hair here everybody's going crazy I just to give a damn you know to care about a football team at the end of football games and more than anything just to believe in the quarterback and that that part of it is a whole lot of fun especially given you know the Texans the Texans have it's not just as losing on the field over the last couple years it's been tough they've had just a litany of atypical issues whether it's the Sean Watson or things going on in the front office like all this stuff he's just been really weird and I think a lot of Texans fans just got tired of being a spectacle you know like it was it was more about gossip and weirdness than it was about even your run of the mill bad football team so it's just it's nice to be relevant in a good way again okay well let me piggyback on that about two and a half minutes to go just as a warning there was a lot of criticism of Nick Casario when he was hired in fact that was theoretically one of the reasons why Deshaun wanted out before we heard about all of his other issues but there was a lot of criticism has Nick now earned the respect or at least earned I don't know a couple of attaboys for the the team that he's put together and the hire he made in D'Amico I think so and you know how it goes with GMs it's going to be it's going to be a mixed bag of responses on that from various people the biggest obstacle he has right now is that the two first round picks from last year uh Kenyon Green and Derek Stingley have been very injured uh and a lot and you haven't gotten much out of them Derek Stingley came back and played yesterday getting a quarterback changes everything I think um and you know some of the mid-round picks like tank bell like Jalen Petrie not a mid-round pick but a second-round pick those guys have done well so I think a lot of it'll ride on a CJ Shaw continuing to play well and then b Will Anderson the team traded a lot for Will Anderson he's only got a couple sacks on the year but he's been he's been getting very very close to the quarterback and like getting a lot of pressures I I feel good about Will Anderson over the next couple years taking a lot of steps forward I mean it certainly is a complete change after the the Texans were down to the dumpers to use the Dan Campbell word but a couple of words just about their toughness too because I think it feels like they're taking on that personality of D'Amico yeah yeah and I think again both D'Amico and CJ embody that um and the it's and I'll tell you what to just to piggyback on what I was saying about Caserio I think Nick doesn't get enough credit for getting all the picks he did for Deshaun Watson I mean that was if I were a GM I would have I would have cut bait so quickly because of the uncertainty so that was an ugly situation but like he came out of it the best possible way for the Texans and as far as D'Amico yeah he's he's uh like I don't he's brought in a little like they've gotten all the toughness out of these guys I think a lot of these guys are naturally tough and D'Amico just has such a way with people that guys are really allowed to shine and show that toughness and you know personally I love that all right you can find Seth on twitter at Seth C. Payne former D lineman in the NFL knows D'Amico from their encounter in training camp haha getting ready to to host his show with our friend Sean Pendergast on Sports Radio 610 thank you for a couple of minutes we really appreciate it hey my pleasure Amy good stuff to hear from Seth personally about D'Amico and also to try to understand what it is about CJ Stroud that makes him different he is cut differently and the toughness but also under fire the poise the calm under fire that stems from leadership which is amazing all right that takes us up to the top we will regroup tonight after Monday Night Football have a great day or at least survive it's after hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio boom this episode is brought to you by FX's A Murder at the End of the World starring Emma Corrin Clive Owen and Britt Marling Emma plays Darby Hart a sleuth and tech savvy hacker she joins an exclusive group invited to a retreat when one of the guests is found dead Darby must prove it was murder before the killer takes another life FX's A Murder at the End of the World now streaming only on Hulu this holiday season give concert and comedy tickets to their favorite artists choose from thousands of the hottest upcoming shows plus other great gifts for every fan on your list like VIP packages artist merch gift cards and more you can also ask for concert and comedy tickets with a live nation wish list just sign in add your favorite shows and share with friends and family get what you really want this year and gift the unforgettable at live nation.com slash gifts that's live nation.com slash gifts basketball season is finally back and BetQL is ready to help you win more consistently this year BetQL is an absolute game changer if you're looking to find trends to help you win make smarter bets on spreads totals player props and more BetQL has already helped over 300,000 people with powerful analytics and community insights don't airball your opportunity this basketball season visit BetQL.com for their free daily analysis today that's BetQL.com