A few days after Bengals head coach Zac Taylor handed tight ends coach James Casey a game ball after the Bengals’ 24-18 win over the Bills on Sunday night, Bengals.com senior writer Geoff Hobson sat down with Casey, whom Taylor refers to as “self-made.” His team had combined for 10 catches, 101 yards, and two touchdowns, which was 25 yards short of Casey’s career-high during seven NFL seasons.
Casey spent the majority of his 95 NFL games with the Texans, who play at Paycor Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12). Casey was a fifth-round pick of Houston in 2009, six years after the White Sox drafted him in the seventh round out of his Dallas-area high school and Baseball America named his fastball the best in the 2003 White Sox draft class. He was a teammate of Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans (they called him “Cap” even back then).
Casey prepares for his old team and teammate, hoping to pull off a win like they did against the Bengals at Paycor back in the day.
The Discussion: GH: When was the last time you were awarded a game ball?
JC: It had to be as a player at some point. But it’s not much. When he threw it to me, I almost had the he-be-gee-bees.
GH: It appeared that Zac threw you a grenade because you immediately threw it to Irv (Smith Jr.).
JC: It’s all about the players. Those are the guys who do everything. I’m watching from the sidelines. Nothing was done by me. Give it to those people. They have earned it.
JC: I had a couple in college. That seven-day period was enjoyable because Zac graciously allowed me to travel to Houston to be inducted into the Rice Hall of Fame. Then we flew to San Francisco, got a big win there, and came home on Sunday night with the tight ends playing as well as they did. Obviously, the Hall of Fame was memorable. It’s not every day that a player is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Then there’s the Sunday night game where the tight ends catch everything and score touchdowns. We’ve raised the bar significantly.
GH: Did you ever receive a game ball while playing for the Texans or in the NFL?
JC: I’m fairly certain I did. I bought this shirt a few times. It said MVP and featured a jackass image. Most of the time, I won that award. For being the biggest jerk throughout the game. Remove the blocking and other nonsense. That was the best award I could have received. I think I had (a game ball) when I was with Houston and we played in New Orleans. I had more than 100 yards (126 on September 25, 2011), so I probably got a game ball at the time.
Aside from that, and as Zac occasionally does, everyone gets a game ball. I have a lot of those. I still have them at home. My wife placed them in this large tube.
GH: How’s this one going?
JC: This one will be at the top. This one is much more unique because the players are out there making plays. It’s about our team.
GH: You like to be known as just a grinder doing his job. With all of this attention, you must be miserable.
JC: I am. Hopefully, you’ll be the last one standing. I don’t mind because I enjoy discussing the finer points. I’m just excited for the tight ends to get some love and attention. They do a lot of the dirty work that goes unnoticed, such as blocking and pass protection, and they’re often present in our routes.
You have certain routes that you’re working hard to open, and you’re sort of in the progression. And then there are some routes where you’re not really in the progression and you’re more like a checkdown for the quarterback or trying to do a job. Dig out the safety or run around the corner. They’re always unselfish like that, and it’s great to see them get some chances this last game.
GH: On the players’ day off and your game plan day, we’re sitting in your office with Tanner Hudson, who’s watching film. That’s not unusual, is it?
JC: It’s fantastic. Don’t worry about it. I sometimes tell him I have to do something, but most of the time I’m watching a movie and he’s just sitting there watching it with me. In my opinion, watching it in here with a clicker rather than on an iPad is far superior. You can easily pause it. Let’s fast forward. I tell the guys that it’s great when someone else operates the clicker. When I’m doing it and they’re watching, just the fact that I don’t have to press that button makes it so that you can see more. I might notice something different than if I were using the clicker.
