INDIANAPOLIS — Every Thursday on Query & Company, Jake Query will be taking a metaphorical ‘Road Trip’ to visit the opposing city in the Colts’ upcoming matchup.
This weekend, the Horseshoe will head to Houston, so Query & Company featured the radio play-by-play voice of the Houston Texans, Marc Vandermeer on Thursday.
Vandermeer had plenty to say to Jake Query and Jimmy Cook about the upcoming matchup between the Colts and Texans.
They started by talking about the Texans’ second-overall pick in quarterback CJ Stroud.
“He is a pure passer guys. He can throw the football,” Vandermeer told Query & Company. “I’ve seen him put touch on the ball in some difficult places. The ball placement is very good.”
In Stroud’s first career NFL game on Sunday, a 25-9 loss to the Texans, the rookie QB threw for 242 passing yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, and ran four times for 20 yards.
The problem, according to Vandermeer, is that there was not nearly enough of a run game for this squad. The team ran 23 times for just 72 yards, and Stroud accounted for nearly a third of that.
“You’ve got to be able to run the ball,” the voice of the Texans said. “He’s not like Anthony Richardson, he’s not going to generate his own ground game. He will run from time to time, but he’s not going to do it a ton… He’s not that [type of] quarterback. He’s a passer- and he’s a good one. But you have to at least have the threat of a ground game in order to get the passing game clicking.”
As for the defense, the Texans seemed to have found something in third-overall pick Will Anderson Jr. The rookie outside linebacker from Alabama racked up 4 tackles and a sack in his NFL debut. Thursday’s guest had high praise for the young player, comparing him to some of the great defensive players ever to wear a Texans uniform.
“We’ve had JJ Watt here, and Mario Williams and Jadeveon Clowney,” Vendermeer said. “With Will Anderson in practice, he was destroying people… Already made some plays against Baltimore and I think when he gets better matchups on opposing offensive lines, it’s going to look that much better for him.”
As far as the rest of the defensive, Vandermeer believes that DeMeco Ryans’ unit could surprise some people. Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the San Fransisco 49ers over the last two years, leading the league’s top defense in 2022.
“Defensively, [Houston] could be pretty good,” Vandermeer said. “I’m not saying that can be the Ravens of 2000 or the ’85 Bears, but they can be pretty good.”
Vandermeer backs up his argument by describing the mix of veteran players with young talent on all three levels of the defense.
The Colts will take the field at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m. You can hear pregame, play-by-play, and postgame coverage on 93.5 &107.5 The Fan.
Check out the full conversation with Marc Vandermeer below and keep listening to Query and Company, weekdays from 12-3 p.m., on 93.5 & 107.5 The Fan.
