Texans Defense Sends a Message Against Raiders In Joint Practice
Interceptions turned into touchdowns and relentless pressure defined DeMeco Ryans' defensive unit, proving Houston's aggressive identity travels well against unfamiliar schemes as the regular season nears.
Video Transcript
Defensive interior.
And then Clowney broke, and I thought, "This doesn't happen.
Come on.
This, this kind of thing does not happen, where you acquire a player like this, drafted by the team, 2014.
Here he is, you know, it's 13 years later, 12 years later, and you're gonna go ahead and get Clowney back on the squad?"
Now, this is a different Clowney.
And we interviewed him, it's up on YouTube.
I know you, pro- probably posted some of this as well, Garrett.
Yep.
And you can just see how Clowney's grown so much, 'cause Texans fans haven't heard a lot from him directly, and especially with the kind of ear, like he's a Texan again, you haven't had the same kind of listening to what Clowney's saying.
You can tell that Clowney is a changed man, a grown man, a seasoned pro, knows how to take care of himself.
Look, I know he's been with a lot of teams, but he's done well for a lot of teams, and had he gone anywhere else, he's got to start, right?
Most places, he's got to start.
Doesn't have to start here.
Can't start here, no way.
You have the best two guys in the league on the edges, and now you put Clowney, you know, coming off the bench, or as you saw last year, you know, they would begin series defensively with Dylan Horton and Derek Barnett in there- Mm-hmm on first and second down, and then bring Will and DeNeil in later.
As the season wore on, they were doing more and more of that kind of stuff to preserve Will and DeNeil, because a lot of reps, obviously.
17 game season plus playoffs.
So who knows how they handle him, other than similar to what I just said.
Also, you can move him inside.
I mean, you can do a lot with Clowney.
Let him roam around, wreak havoc, destroy games.
It's gonna be awesome to watch.
I think he really wants to be here.
You know, Garrett, he shows up day one.
He's in pads, he's out at practice.
He has been a participant at practice every day.
He's out there, he's giving it his all.
It's a beautiful thing to see.
You know, because Clowney didn't always, wasn't always able to practice when he was here last time, and, you know, I don't wanna get into the whole Bill O'Brien era and what he said or whatever.
Yeah.
Who, who knows?
That's all water under the bridge.
Let's go.
It's the DeMeco show with Clowney as a role player, not a starter, and I'm here for it.
That's important, too.
Like, I know initially when the signing happened, people were thinking, one, of the old Clowney, and two, like, "Okay, well, like, he signed a one-year, $5 million contract to be a rotational edge rusher."
Like, perspective matters.
Yep.
And I also think, too, with Clowney, you know, he's a guy that typically doesn't do training camp, so the fact that he did training camp this year tells you a lot, like, about his mindset.
Like, he's really about winning a championship, so it's got me excited.
There's a lot of like I, I don't wanna get-
