RSS
Home
Pitts explains it all
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
#69 Chester Pitts (NFLPA)
Texans offensive guard Chester 'Hollywood' Pitts joined Marc Vandermeer and Adam Clanton in-studio this morning on SportsRadio610.
Chester was great as usual, talking openly about a wide range of topics and offering up a bunch of interesting tidbits - football related and otherwise.
Pitts, from San Diego State, is in his 8th season in the NFL. He's an original Texan and has been an iron man, missing only seven plays in seven years (knocking on wood).
The Texans have a couple of offensive linemen who are really good with the media - Eric Winston being another (more on that later) - and it's clear that Chester is just as comfortable behind a radio mike as he is in front of a TV camera.
It was an enjoyable discussion from a listener perspective and I've captured some highlights below. I recommend that you listen to the entire 39 minute podcast here so you can get the appropriate context.
- Did you know (or care) that Chester has been on the Ellen DeGeneres show eleven times? (and he really misses Ephraim)
- Matt Schaub gave the o-line some really nice Christmas gifts last year
- Alex Gibbs, the self proclaimed "Angry Little Cherokee" doesn't give compliments very often according to Pitts, but in a meeting before the last game of the season, Gibbs told the Texans offensive linemen that in 30 years of coaching, he'd never had five guys line up for 16 straight. Pitts said that was one of the biggest compliments the o-line could ever get.
- When asked by Vandermeer about who would be the surprise offensive lineman this year, Pitts said Rashad Butler. Pitts said that for a guy who hasn't played much, his technique is really good and that he looks like he's 310-315 lbs. now. That's a far cry from where he was a few years ago.
- On Antoine Caldwell: "Tough nosed kid," said Pitts. "He might take my job" (in five years).
- On Mike Brisiel (going from being undrafted and now a starter): "It shows what dedication and perseverance can do."
- On Eric Winston's comments about how the Texans zone blocking scheme is now second nature to the Texans offensive linemen: Pitts (joking) said "he needs to play one more year before he does all this talking and all these radio shows." "It doesn't take a braniac to play tackle in our scheme (although they do have to take on the best pass rushers on the field) but in our system it's a lot tougher for the guards from a thinking standpoint."
- Pitts spoke in glowing terms about Steve Slaton and how he's not letting his rookie season success go to his head (like Jerome Mathis did). When asked when he knew Slaton was going to be something special, Pitts said "in Week 2 last year there was a play - a bad play ... an interception return for a score ... and the last man still running trying to make that tackle even though he was the most out of position was Steve. And he did it knowing that he would have to be back on the field the very next play to carry the ball."
- Pitts talked about the Rex Grossman signing and how the competition will be good for Dan Orlovsky - and how the price was right
- On Brian Cushing: "He's a machine," said Pitts. "He runs like the wind blows, he's strong as an ox, and he's a smart kid. He likes to play up on the line and we're going to run a lot more 'under' than 'over' this year so that will give him a chance to beat up on tight ends a little bit. Teams may have to shift their runs to weak side more since it will be tough to run over there."
- On Connor Barwin: "He's already got a little swagger about him," said Pitts. "If he can back it up that will be great."
- And finally, when asked to look back on his overall memories of David Carr, since Carr turned 30 years old yesterday, Pitts shared the worst kept secret ever known to Texans fans. "Good guy and a great family man," said Pitts. "But as a football player I would have loved for him to love the game more ... to have more passion about the game."
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
