(SportsRadio 610) - When former Texans Pro Bowl guard Wade Smith thinks about the team's new offensive line coach George Warhop, it takes him back nearly 20 years, when he he was preparing for the 2003 NFL Draft.
Warhop held the same position for the Dallas Cowboys at the time, and they brought in Smith for his first chalk talk session with an NFL team. It was also Smith's first time working with an African-American offensive line coach, which he found relatable.
Smith and SportsRadio 610 morning show co-host Seth Payne, an original Texans defensive lineman, talked Friday morning about what they can expect to change under Warhop, who was recently hired under Lovie Smith's coaching staff.
"He still has that same presence when I listen to him talk," Smith said. "He still has that same demeanor and thought process of, his guys are going to be physical as hell up front. He's going to demand that out of his guys and you really haven't seen that here in Houston for a very long time."
One area the Texans could especially use improvement is the interior offensive line, where it's been a revolving door of inconsistent play for years.
In an effort to fix it, they compounded issue by moving Tytus Howard from right tackle to left guard, where he struggled initially.
Pro Football Focus ranked the Texans' line 29th last season, noting 11 different linemen played at least 58 snaps, with 10 of them playing over 200.
I asked Warhop earlier this week about what he saw on tape from the Texans' interior linemen. He did not want to criticize last year's performance, but gave some insight into what he's expecting in 2022.
"I just know whoever we have inside, we want them to be physical. We want them to be tough," Warhop said. "We want to have a mindset that we're not going to take any crap out of anybody. And we want to give our backs the best chance to be successful."
The biggest difference, Smith said, is that there will be less thinking involved with these blocking schemes.
"You're coming off the ball, you're trying to get double teams. There's not a lot of thinking about how we're going to get a guy blocked," Smith said. "What you saw from the Texans over the past few years, there was a lot of miscommunication of guys not knowing what, and why, and how, because of every play, trying to be in the perfect play, and seeing what the defense is going to do, then we're going to respond. No, we're going to line up. We're going to call it and run it. We're going to get off the ball and move people. ... That's his mentality."
Listen to the audio player above for the entire segment.
Brandon Scott is the senior digital content coordinator for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott .