Houston Texans prep for Cleveland Browns

Alright, welcome back you guys. Let's talk about the Texans here. A viewer says that we're going to the Super Bowl. Alright, let's see what we got. We got a win against the Chargers now. We're hoping to continue that trend. Eyes now set on the Cleveland Browns. Lenard Davis Jr., our sports producer, joining us live at Reliant Stadium. Alright, Lenard, what's going on with the team? Well, first things first, I'm going to address this right now. You're looking like you're fresh out the barbershop, man. You can't fish in this week because you're looking like a new fish right now. I'm going to point it out right now. Hey, I see you got a fresh cut too, brother. I see you got a fresh cut too. I appreciate that. You're looking good, man. I seen that post, so I had to step my game up, make sure I make my appointment. But, um... Biggest news of the day, David Montgomery was back at practice. He hasn't played since week five due to that groin injury, so that's good news because The Texans are playing a Browns defense that's not strong at defending the run. But on the flip side, Woody Marks was not at practice today. He's nursing a knee injury, so that's something that we're definitely going to keep our eye on. But no matter what, we got C.J. Stroud at cornerback who's playing lights out, 384 yards, five touchdown game against the Chargers. And I got to talk to his QB coach, Jerry Shalumpski. Thank you. During practice today and this is what he had to say about how proud he was of his quarterback. Proud of you of CJ, quarterback, AFC Player of the Week, the only player to get it twice in the season so far. Yeah, very proud. It's a testament to his hard work that he's been putting in, the leadership he's been showing with the offense. He's been a multiplier for us. He's been raising everyone's level around us, coaches, players, everybody. So really proud of him to see his growth this year and how well he's done. Only two interceptions so far. Has anything changed in his progression from last season? This has always been CJ, right? Yeah, I think he's been playing really well. Well, I don't, you know, None of us want interceptions or turnovers in general. I think they are part of the game sometimes, and sometimes they get you. I don't know if you can see the picture, but He's, like I said, I think he sees it well, he's got a comfortability of what's going on. I think he feels comfortable with what the defense is and what they're giving him. He's aggressive when he needs to be aggressive, and he's been taking outlets when he needs to take them. And I think that leads to good production that way. Last question for me. Every coach has their own philosophies, why you got in this business. How has CJ played that role for you? Yeah, I think, you know, from an intangible perspective, that guy needs to be vocal in a good way, in the right way. I've seen that from him. We went through stuff with the quarterbacks this year, and we talked about, like, certain characteristics that we think are important in the position. And then they kind of chose what they want to be, you know, basically, you know. Remembered by this year and you know leadership was at the top of that list, mental toughness was at the top of that list, communication was on that list. And so we kind of worked on those things together. I'm proud of what I see from him. He's challenging guys. Like I said, he's been a multiplier for us in a good way. You know, he's been accountable. He's vulnerable. He, you know, he gathered the team up the other day. I don't know what he said to them, but he gathered the offense up after one of the series and, you know, had some words with them in a good way. You know what I mean? It wasn't like, I believe it was more like, hey, we got to fix this. You know, we've had a couple drives that stalled or whatever, and you could see his intensity out there. It's been really cool to see. And so, in case you didn't know, CJ is the first quarterback, first player, really, in the AFC to get, you know, AFC Player of the Week. So, pay that man because he is showing that he's worth every dollar. All right, we'll see what the Texans decide to do with CJ in terms of that new contract towards the end of the season. But in the meantime, you know, viewers are already texting me like, hey, we got to turn this around and go to the Super Bowl. But let's take a look at the realistic chance of the playoffs first. What do you think are our chances of making the playoffs here? Pretty interesting story here that I saw online, ESPN Analytics posted that with a win on Sunday that the Texans will have an increased 53% to 53% chance of making the playoffs if they lose 22%. And then when you look at the schedule that they have, including the Browns, that's a winnable game. And then also you have Thursday Night Football, which we have a pre- and post-game show that we are excited about. I'm excited about me and you, Ant, on the field. Yes, sir. They have the Colts at home, now they've been struggling at home but this is a winnable game because the Colts are clearly in rebuild and then after that they have a Ravens team that will be without Lamar Jackson from what it looks like at this point in the season. So they can get to six and five, that's a win for them to get over 500 and get that winning record and then déjà vu, they could work their way all the way to the playoffs with a pretty nice win streak. All right, we know the AFC South ain't the strongest division in the NFL, but, hey, we'll take what we can get here. Like you said, let's continue to pick up some wins and then find ourselves in the playoffs, and then from there it's just one game at a time. Leonard, thanks a lot, my man. Shout-out to your barber for the fresh cut. We'll see you on Thursday as well next week there for Thursday Night Football again. As he just told you guys, we've got a pre- and post-game show.