Houston Texans
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NFL Team Column 2010 NFL Draft Review By Mark Stein |
Onward to Baltimore
Baltimore now beckons. The Houston Texans defeated the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday to win the first playoff game in team history. If I may borrow from Monty Python; “…and there was much rejoicing”. The Texans won by 21 points, 31-10. They won because they have a very good running game and a very strong defense. They won because the home town crowd was deafening. They won because quarterback T.J. Yates made the throws he had to make. They won because they avoided turning the ball over. It was a total team effort. The same effort will be needed to win this coming Sunday at the Baltimore Ravens. (Too bad they can’t take the hometown crowd with them.)
The Baltimore Ravens have not lost a game at home this season. That is a fact. The optimistic Texan fan would say “They must be due to lose.” The pessimistic Texan fan would say “Well, there’s no way the Texans can win.” Truth be told, we all know it could go either way, but whatever happens Sunday, it’s been a heck of a ride for Houston fans. The Texans lost many key players along the way in 2011, including their starting quarterback, yet still won ten games. Houston made the playoffs and won a game, something some fans had started to doubt would ever happen, but it’s now in the record books. Now that the team has moved on to round two of the NFL playoffs, they have nothing to lose.
The Texans can defeat the Ravens if they win the takeaway/giveaway war. Texans’ running back Arian Foster is battling a fumbling issue this year, but so it Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco. It comes down to protecting the ball.
The Texans can defeat the Ravens if they can run the ball successfully. When the Texans played at Baltimore earlier this season, Houston was without wide receiver Andre Johnson. Now that he is back, the Ravens safeties will have to play back a bit more. It comes down to the rushing attack.
The Texans can defeat the Ravens if the defense can hold Baltimore to a reasonable score. Takeaways will help, but Houston’s defense will have to play their best to force punts, not touchdowns or field goals. It comes down to defense.
Of course, the Ravens know all this too, and will try to do the same things. It’s remarkable how similar the two teams are in their rushing attacks and defenses. Where the Ravens have the edge is at quarterback and home field advantage. Will that be enough to carry the day? We shall see. It’s been said that NFL team can win on any given Sunday. Maybe this Sunday will be one of those Sundays for the Houston Texans. The way the Texans played last week, it is possible.
Texan’s First Postseason
The Houston Texans host the Cincinnati Bengals this Saturday in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. The long suffering fans of the Texans, who deserve to finally see their team in the playoffs, are ready for the kickoff right now. The team, after winning ten games and winning their division for the first time in team history, are now out to prove they can win in the playoffs. The Texans have hit a bit of a lull lately, losing the last three games of the regular season, but the players are not worried. The team has adopted a “don’t look back” attitude and seem full of confidence. They know they have a very good defense. They know they have a very good running game. What they don’t know is if their passing game is good enough to keep opposing defenses honest.
Rookie T.J. Yates is the third quarterback to start a game for Houston this year, and during last Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans, he led the team on an impressive opening touchdown drive before sitting down for the day. Head Coach Gary Kubiak probably wanted to see Yates lead a few more drives once the Titans adjusted to what he was doing, but when Yates was nearly badly injured, Kubiak used veteran backup Jake Delhomme for most of the game. Houston fans will now have to wait until Saturday to see if Yates can sustain more than just one drive. The rookie QB will have a healthy Andre Johnson back at wide receiver and tight end Owen Daniels plans to be back as well. Even though Yates had to leave early, the bright side was that Delhomme saw more action than he had in over a year.
Since Delhomme performed solidly, Kubiak probably will have a quick hook with Yates if he makes too many mistakes against the Bengals. The rookie from North Carolina looks to have a good future ahead of him, but the Texans need to use any and all weapons available to give their city a playoff victory. Yates psyche will just have to take the hit of being benched if it comes to that, but against a Cincinnati team that’s not special at any one facet of the game, expect Houston and their rookie quarterback to win the day.
On Saturday in Houston, look for the team with the best running game and the best defense to prevail. That is Houston. Remember that the Bengals also have a rookie at quarterback, and even though Andy Dalton has played more games than T.J. Yates, he has not started an NFL playoff game on the road. Dalton has no idea how loud an NFL stadium can get. He is about to find out at Reliant Stadium, which provides a very underrated home field advantage. Between the noise and Houston’s various blitz packages, Dalton will find it very hard to lead scoring drives. Putting everything together, expect Houston to move on to round two of the playoffs versus the Baltimore Ravens. Their fans and their city deserve it.
Prep for Playoffs
With the end of the season fast approaching and their first playoff appearance coming up soon, the Houston Texans are not performing as well as they could. Losers of their last two games against teams not considered strong, the Texans would do well to get back to fundamental football this week against the Tennessee Titans in preparation for the postseason. Winning the contest against the Titans is secondary, however, as the Texans can neither improve nor hurt their playoff seeding. They are locked into the third seed. More important is getting the offensive line back into synch after the loss of guard Mike Brisiel. Brisiel’s replacement last Thursday against the Indianapolis Colts, Antoine Caldwell, did not mesh well with his teammates on the line. This needs to get corrected quickly as Houston’s young quarterback, T.J. Yates, needs all the protection he can get. Also important is to keep the players rested and ready for the playoffs. If the game against the Titans gets out of hand either way, expect the Texans to substitute liberally.
One player that may get more rest than others could be running back Arian Foster. Foster was just named to the 2012 Pro Bowl, and he is the key to the Texans playoff success. Ben Tate, Houston’s backup tailback may end up getting the bulk of the carries and Tate also has an outside shot at a thousand yard season. Cornerback Jonathon Joseph also made the Pro Bowl this year but no other Texans made the squad. Fans and players may complain about this, but players get their reputation on prime time games, and it seems lately that when Houston plays on prime time, they self destruct. To get a Pro Bowl spot, the players need to go out and make it happen. After many years of futility, the Texans will have to work even harder to shake their loser reputation. Taking a loss to the hapless Colts did not help.
While the Texans have lost their last two games, some things are looking up. Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips will be coaching from the booth this Sunday after having kidney surgery. Texans defenders are very happy about this as Phillips is a popular coach, and it should boost their effort. Wide receiver Andre Johnson will also be back to help out on the offensive side. With just the threat of Johnson on the field, opposing safeties will have to back off and Houston’s running game will function more smoothly. Now, if only the Texans coaches would use fullback James Casey in the offense again, QB T.J. Yates would have even more options available to him. After a fast start this year, lately Casey has not been a factor.
All things taken into consideration, Texans fans should be happy to see their team finally assured of a playoff appearance. Given that the team lost its top two quarterbacks weeks ago, the team still did what it had to do to make the postseason. Though Houston may lose this week while resting key players, it does not mean the Texans are destined to lose in the playoffs. If the offensive line settles down and the defense starts taking the ball away again, there is a good possibility of the home town fans seeing a postseason victory at Reliant Stadium.
Streaking Ends
There is a theory about “let-down games” in football. The theory is that after a team achieves a big goal, or defeats a huge rival, the next week they have “let-down”, and lose an easier game. The Houston Texans proved this theory correct. The week after securing their first division championship in team history, the Texans lost to an inferior opponent on their home turf. After a seven game winning streak and clinching a playoff appearance, Houston played as if they could just show up for the game and be handed the victory. That did not happen. The Carolina Panthers, who had only won four previous games, walked away with the victory over the Texans 28-13.
Losing to the Panthers was an entire team lack of effort. The offense kept turning the ball over, and the defense could not force a turnover. When the offense did muster some points, the defense let Carolina score again. It was not Houston’s finest hour. Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates locked onto his intended targets which resulted in a couple easy interceptions for Carolina.
On other occasions, Yates hit his receivers in the hands, only to see the ball dropped. On the Panthers third touchdown, Carolina lined up inside Houston’s ten yard line in an odd formation that obviously confused the Texan’s defense. Instead of calling a timeout, Houston’s defensive leaders froze, and Carolina scored on a laughably easy trick play. Houston’s players need to think more quickly than that if they hope to win a playoff game this year.
It’s unfortunate that young teams have to lose badly to learn the lesson that any team can beat them if they don’t put out 100% effort. Physically and mentally, the Texans did not put out full effort last Sunday.
Looking at the big picture, Houston should not have been expected to run the table without WR Andre Johnson, LB Mario Williams, their top two quarterbacks and so many other players they have lost to injury this year. The Texans are truly more banged up than most teams on the NFL, and people should remember this. Houston fans quickly got used to the Texans mantra of “Next Man Up”, and started to believe their team could just keep plugging in reserve players and not lose a game. It’s just too hard to sustain a long winning streak in the NFL, just ask the Packers.
Houston quickly gets a chance to flush the memory of the game against Carolina, because they play on Thursday night. On a short week, Houston travels to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. Houston has never won at Indy, but if there ever is a time, it is now. The Colts have only won one game this year. With that in mind, the Texans hope to get back to their winning ways and avoid giving their fans another let down.
Next Game Up
Now, this is getting ridiculous. The news out of Houston Texans camp is that Defensive Coordinator, Wade Phillips, will now miss 7 to 10 days due to a kidney ailment. The Texans, who seem to lose at least one player a week due to injury are now losing coaches! The mantra of the Texans this season has been “Next Man Up”, as second and third string players have been called upon to start games. Now we shall see how linebackers coach, Reggie Herring does while in the Coordinator’s seat for Phillips. Offensive guard Mike Brisiel is also out with a broken leg suffered in the Texan’s 20-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. Third year man Antoine Caldwell will fill in for Brisiel.
Speaking of the Cincinnati game, one of the Texan’s next men up, QB T. J. Yates, did at fantastic job on the road against a good defense to direct Houston to a come from behind win. Down by 9 points in the fourth quarter, young Mr. Yates led his team on two scoring drives to steal a nice conference road win. The former third string quarterback hit WR Kevin Walter with a pass right in the end zone with 2 seconds left in regulation time. There was talk by the media early in the year about the Texans being a “soft” team, but the way they fought back against the Bengals, that case should be now put to rest.
Houston started the Cincinnati game as if in a haze and fell behind quickly, with the defense allowing long drives and the offense turning the ball over. After halftime, the Texans came out with more fire, executed much better and extended their team record winning streak to 7 games. With the victory, the Texans won the AFC South and for the first time ever, and assured themselves a spot in the playoffs. With the improbable win, DE Antonio Smith proclaimed that the 2011 Houston Texans were “a team of destiny”. He just may be right. Outside of Denver, and the Tim Tebow phenomenon, Houston’s story is the most miraculous. With three games left in the regular season, Houston now hopes to secure one of the top two seeds in the AFC, gaining a bye week and an extra week of healing. That late season drive starts this Sunday at home against the Carolina Panthers.
Cam Newton and the Panthers now make their every eight year venture to Reliant Stadium to try to tame the Texans. Newton is a special talent with his knack for running for touchdowns, but Houston’s rookie quarterback, Yates, is leading a better team. Expect Houston to run for big yardage behind RB’s Arian Foster & Ben Tate and score at a high clip. Houston’s 3-4 defense is just the tonic to keep Newton in check for most of the game, and the Texans should end up outscoring the Panthers for their eleventh victory of 2011. Hopefully for once, Houston can make it through a game without losing another player (or coach) to injury.
Texans Roll On
If the playoffs started today, the Houston Texans would be the number one seed in the American Football Conference. With four weeks to go in the 2011 NFL season, that is quite an accomplishment, but considering the amount of games lost by key players due to injury, it’s phenomenal. Last Sunday in a victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Houston saw Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson go down again with another hamstring injury. Though Johnson says this injury is not as severe as the first, expect him to miss at least two games.
The Texans also lost their punter, Brett Hartmann for the year when he went down, untouched, with an ACL tear. Linebacker Brian Cushing also left the Falcon game with a knee injury in the 2nd quarter, but is expected to play next week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Houston beat the Falcons 17-10, and the home crowd was rocking despite the injuries. Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates finished off his second NFL game with a win, and is quickly becoming a favorite of Texans’ fans who are maintaining a positive attitude.
Yates did a fine job in his first start with Houston. He did not hesitate to look for the deep pass and avoided a heavy rush with some nifty moves. Later, with the contest tied at ten in the third quarter, Yates led the Texans on a 19 play, 85 yard drive for a touchdown. The drive ate up a lot of clock and the touchdown forced Atlanta into having to go for their own TD at the end of the game. They failed. With the win, the Texans go to 9-3 on the season and are closing in on clinching a playoff appearance for the first time in team history. The easiest way to assure the playoffs would be to win the division, and with a full two game lead over the Tennessee Titans with four games to go, the Texans have great confidence they can do it. If Houston’s defense keeps playing like they did last Sunday, it’s hard to envision them not achieving the postseason.
The Texans defense has now reached a level that has not been seen in Houston since the Buddy Ryan led defenses of the early 90’s. The line continually bats down passes, the linebackers do everything well except cover tight ends, and the secondary is clearly the best the Houston Texans have ever fielded. After a win over the high powered Falcons, even doubters of the Texans have to admit they are a formidable foe. Houston next travels to Cincinnati to face the 7-5 Bengals. This will be T.J. Yates first pro start on the road, and the Bengals do field a good defense. It will be a stern test for Houston, but expect the Texans to run the ball better than they did against the Falcons. With the defense playing so well and a great rushing attack, the Texans could keep rolling on.
3rd String’s the Charm?
T.J. Yates is now the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. Let that sink in a moment. The rookie quarterback from North Carolina is now the starter in Houston. When the 2011 season began, most Texans fans were happy to have Matt Schaub as their starting QB with Matt Leinart as the backup. Surely, if Schaub got hurt, Leinart could guide the team until Schaub’s return. Things didn’t quite work out that way, did they? Now that Houston has lost both Schaub and Leinart to season ending injuries, the rookie Yates will lead the team over the final five games. (Barring injury, that is.)
Texans fans must have mixed emotions right now. They have an 8-3 team on a five game winning streak, yet now must rely on their 3rd string quarterback to guide the team to the playoffs. It is a confusing situation, to be sure. But things could be worse. Really. Young Yates actually did a good job when thrust into service last Sunday and if he can avoid rookie mistakes, he could be the man for the job.
With 1:45 left in the first half last Sunday at Jacksonville, starting QB Matt Leinart was hurt and had to leave the game. Yates was thrown not only into a game, he was thrown into a two minute drill. From all accounts, the new starting QB took charge of the huddle and did just fine. He led the offense to a field goal just before the half. Not too bad.
In the second half, Head Coach Gary Kubiak went ultra-conservative, secure in the knowledge that his defense could keep his team ahead of the inept Jacksonville team. The strategy worked and got Mr. Yates some well needed game experience without asking him to do too much. Next week against the Atlanta Falcons, it won’t be so easy.
Against the Jaguars, the Houston running backs and the offensive line did not play as well as they had been playing. Jacksonville was determined to stop the run and force Leinart to beat them with the pass. When Yates had to go in, the Jags re-doubled their efforts, and successfully stymied Houston’s running game. With a rookie now starting at quarterback for Houston, you can bet Atlanta will follow the same plan and load up against the run, daring the Texan’s passing game to beat them.
The rookie QB must be ready for the challenge. The Texans staff seems to sincerely believe Yates is prepared and ready to play. Just in case, Houston has signed QB Jake Delhomme, recently of the Cleveland Browns, to backup Yates. (More recently, he was retired.) After watching Delhomme play last year, Houston coaches should hope Yates can do the job. Because he is at the helm of the fine running machine that is the Texans, young T.J. just needs to keep the offense on the rails. He could just be the man for the job.
Texans Win, but Lose
You win some, you lose some. In the Houston Texans brief history, they have lost more than they have won, but last Sunday was just ridiculous. Houston won the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quite handily, but probably lost quarterback Matt Schaub with a season ending foot injury. This is quite a blow for the 7-3 Texans who seem to be on their way to the NFL playoffs for the first time in team history. Houston will now rely on backup QB Matt Leinart to guide the team the rest of they way.
The Tampa game took Houston to their bye week with a team record four game winning streak and was a thing of beauty on both sides of the ball. Houston’s offense put up 37 points with three different running backs scoring TD’s. The defense has moved into another category as they confused and abused a good Tampa Bay team who have defeated both the Saints and the Falcons this year. The defense was led once again by linebacker Brian Cushing, who is the heart, (and the mouth), of the Texans’ defenders. The future of the season was looking so bright that Head Coach Gary Kubiak was thinking of wearing shades, but then reports started surfacing that his star quarterback’s injury was worse than first thought.
ESPN reported on Monday that Matt Schaub was out for the year with a broken bone in his foot. If this is indeed true, it is a huge blow to the Texans, but Houston still has many weapons to make a successful run to the playoffs. After the upcoming bye week, the Texans expect WR Andre Johnson to return from his injury and play once again.
The running game has never been better, and the receivers are catching everything thrown their way. New starting QB Leinart will have a full week of taking reps with the first team before his road test in Jacksonville. It’s about as easy a re-launch into the NFL as Leinart could have. (He used to start for Arizona a couple of years ago before being beat out by Kurt Warner.) Houston’s upcoming schedule is not very hard according to the records of the foes, and the Texans should still win 10 or 11 games to reach the post season. What they will do there is anybodies guess, but Houston fans will surely be hoping for more wins than losses.
Streaking Texans
Defending the home turf was the goal. Winning the game against the Jacksonville Jags was the goal. Keep the home fans happy was the goal. The Texans say mission accomplished. Houston took out the Jacksonville Jaguars in workman-like fashion last Sunday by the score of 24-14. The victory came after a nice road win against Tennessee to put together back to back wins. Now, two wins in a row does not a streak make, but three in a row does, and if the Texans can take down the Cleveland Browns in Houston next Sunday, it is officially a winning streak. …And there will be much rejoicing. But, if Houston is to defeat Cleveland next week, there is plenty of work to be done.
The Houston running game has been producing big numbers, but when put in a position where they must pick up short yardage, they come up lacking. Two things contribute to this. 1) The middle of their offensive line is weak, and 2) Head Coach Gary Kubiak insists on running up the middle in short yardage situations. The Texans have had some success running up the middle this year, but when an opposing defense has time to load up against the run, it usually goes nowhere. Once Kubiak learns this, the offense will progress. On the good side of things, running back Arian Foster seems fully healed from his leg injury and has run for over 100 yards in back to back games. Without injured WR Andre Johnson in the lineup, Foster has carried more than his share of the load.
Not everyone has stepped up their game as quarterback Matt Schaub is having a sub-par year by his standards. It is my belief that the Texans receivers, especially the tight ends and WR Kevin Walter are better than most people believe because they turn bad passes into catches. Schaub’s 2011 year is noticeably worse than his 2010, and the team needs him to turn it around if they are to beat stronger teams in the future.
One unit of the team that is stepping up their production is the defense. After limiting Tennessee to only 7 points last week, Jacksonville could only manage 14 of their own. Both of the Jags scores were helped immensely by Houston turnovers that led to the Jacksonville working on a short field. The Houston Texans franchise has never had a defense this good in their history. Along with better personnel, they are finally receiving quality coaching. Combined, these things tend to create streaks of winning, such as Houston hopes to continue. Their next chance for victory comes next Sunday at Reliant Stadium.
The Cleveland Browns bring a 3-4 record to Houston and have played well in their road losses for the most part. It would not be smart for the Houston players to take the Browns lightly. Cleveland lost at Oakland by only 7, and lost to a very good San Fran team by only 10 on the west coast. The Texans would do well to start fast and never slow down. The hometown fans want to see a solid effort from the opening kickoff until final gun. They also want to see the Texans streak to a record of 6-3, a record they have never before achieved. It can be done. It should be done.
Streak on.
Texans Outplayed by Oakland
If the Texans are still entertaining ideas of going to the playoffs this season, they must play better than they did last Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. The Texans were outplayed and outcoached by the Raiders and lost by the score of 25 – 20. Oakland was obviously motivated by the death of long-time owner Al Davis on the eve of the game and Houston could not match the Raiders intensity. The Raider defensive line overpowered Houston’s offensive line and disrupted most of Houston’s running plays. Houston did dominate the first half, but only lead at the break 14-12. After halftime, the Raiders came out with playoff-like intensity and just seemed to want the game more.
Houston did find a way to get the ball to running back Arian Foster through a series of swing passes and Foster showed how hard it is for any defense to keep him down for long. His performance and the improved play of Houston’s defense give Houston fans hope for the future. The mental errors did not.
The Texans were out-thought in all phases of the game and the extra effort Oakland
expended kept them in a game in which they were outgained. The Raiders caught on to the fact that Houston punter Brett Hartmann took too long to get his punts off and blocked one. Oakland also did their own fake punt for great yardage and the Texans seemed totally unaware that fake punts existed. More than just mental errors, Houston committed physical mistakes too, such as fullback Lawrence Vickers not catching an easy pass in the fourth quarter that could have been a touchdown. Wide receiver Jacoby Jones started the game due to Andre Johnson’s injury, but did not step up to help his team. He will get another chance this week at Baltimore.
The Texans take on the Ravens in Baltimore this coming Sunday after the Ravens off week. It will be a stern test the Texans could win, but are not expected to. After a home loss and getting beat up in the press all week, perhaps Houston could use it as motivation to prove their doubters wrong. Their fans certainly hope there is more to the 2011 Texans than they saw last Sunday.
A Solid Victory
Fans of the Houston Texans were looking for the 2011 edition of the Texans to get a win against a quality team before they could totally get on board with the team. Defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday was that win. The Texans dominated the first half and went on to win 17-10. Running back Arian Foster returned from his hamstring injury to lead the offense by carrying the ball thirty times for 115 yards and a touchdown. The defense collected five sacks and stopped the Steelers when they had to. Now 3-1 on the young season, the Texans have some real momentum heading into tilts with the Oakland Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens.
By defeating the Steelers, the Texans showed that this year’s 3-1 start is stronger than last years. There are many good things happening with Houston, like Foster being back, but it’s not a finished product yet. The team is committing far too many penalties and that will hurt them sometime in the future if they don’t fix it. The Texans also have a disturbing habit of coasting when they have a lead. They did it against the Saints in week 3, and it cost them the game. They also did it again Sunday in the third quarter prompting Head Coach Gary Kubiak to yell at his offense in full view of the fans and television cameras. This type of action is uncharacteristic of Kubiak, but it was needed against Pittsburgh. The very next drive, the Texans went on their last scoring drive ending in a Foster TD.
Arian Foster came back from his hamstring injury with a vengeance. He showed a burst and moves that few NFL backs have. In fact, he is starting to invite comparisons to some of the greats in NFL history. He does not have the speed of O.J. Simpson or the moves of Barry Sanders or the breakaway ability of Eric Dickerson, but what he does have is roughly 90% of each. If he stays healthy and keeps his head straight, he has a great future.
The Texans are rolling even with a close loss to the Saints just two games ago, and they should keep it going at home against the Raiders. Even though Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson will miss some time with his own hamstring injury, Houston should have enough offense to score many points on Oakland, whose defense reminds no one of the all time greats.
Outscored by Saints
The New Orleans Saints score a lot of points at home. This is a fact. The Houston Texans did their best to keep pace last Sunday, but fell short by the score of 40-33. It was a tough loss, but losing on the road to a playoff team happens. The loss can be equally shared by the Texans’ offense and defense. Houston’s offense scored 33 points. This should be enough to win any game, but they settled for field goals in the red zone too many times. If one were to blame the defense, that’s easy. They gave up 40 points, including 21 in the 4th quarter. That’s too many.
In the fourth quarter, the Saints targeted the Texan’s weakest link in their defense. His name is Kareem Jackson. When Saints QB Drew Brees needed a key reception, he went to the man Jackson was covering, or not covering as it were. The strategy worked well. When the Saints wanted to mix it up, they ran with success up the middle of Houston’s defense, like they did when rookie RB Mark Ingram did on the game clinching touchdown. These weaknesses in the Texans defense need to be addressed, and surely the Houston coaching staff is doing just that. What Texans fans should keep in mind is that historically when a defense changes coaches and their entire scheme, it usually takes three or four games for the defense to click. (If it’s going to click) The New Orleans Saints are a very stern test this early in the year. Houston’s offense has no such excuses.
The Texans offense scored a touchdown on their first possession but had to settle for field goals on their next four serious scoring threats. Against a very good team like New Orleans, this obviously won’t do. It’s hard to blame an offense that scores on seven different drives and puts up 33 points, but as the team kept kicking field goals, there was just a feeling it would not be good enough, and that ended up being true. Also, given a 9 point lead in the fourth quarter, the offense could not run enough clock to help the defense. In fact, they gave up on the run and had too many short drives. Ben Tate had a healthy 4.3 yard average for the game but in the fourth quarter, he was the forgotten man. Houston threw much more than they ran the ball, and Head Coach Gary Kubiak knows he needs a more balanced offense. He has said it many times.
What needs to be remembered is that no one thought Houston would go 16-0, and losing to a very good playoff caliber team on the road happens. What counts is how the team responds.
Next Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Houston to face the Texans. The Steelers are coming off a road victory against the Colts and sport the same record as the Texans at 2-1. If the Texans are indeed going to turn it around this year and become a playoff team, this is a game they need to win. The Steelers are a conference foe and are coming off a Super Bowl appearance. If Houston could defeat them, if would surely boost the confidence of the entire Texans team, both offense and defense.
Texans Top Colts Again
What a difference a quarterback makes. The Indianapolis Colts traveled to Houston last Sunday to take on the Texans and did not look like a team that was going to continue their streak of making the playoffs. With quarterback Peyton Manning sitting out the game after neck surgery, the Colts were thoroughly whipped in every phase of the game. The Texans shot out to a 34-0 halftime lead and cruised in to an easy victory.
Lest we think the Texans only won because Manning didn’t play, remember that Houston beat Indy last year at home by ten points. It can be done. In fact, this win means Houston has won two out of the last three contests against the Colts. (Wrap your minds around that, Houston fans.)
The Texans had the offense going behind running back Ben Tate, wideout Andre Johnson and a very good offensive line. The defense was crazy good with linebacker Mario Williams leading the way, and returner Jacoby Jones brought back a punt 79 yards for a touchdown. Fun was had by all at Reliant Stadium if you were a follow the Texans. Not so much if you were pulling for Indy.
The Texans are still calling Mario Williams a linebacker, but when every passing situation came up, Mario sure lined up like a defensive end. Hey, whatever works, as they say. Williams notched two sacks and pressured the Colts all day. New Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’ hybrid 3-4 defense looked great and every Houston defender seems to be buying into the scheme. Linebacker Brian Cushing led the Texans in tackles and playing at a lighter weight, he seems to have his first year speed back.
On offense, running back Ben Tate wowed the hometown folks. Tate broke the hundred yard mark and scored a TD while not even starting the game. When RB Arian Foster returns, Houston will boast the best one-two punch in the league, and that should be this week when Houston travels to Miami. Foster ran a full practice on Wednesday.
The Texans are 5-0 in their history against the Dolphins and more than likely will be 6-0 after next Sunday. Miami is not special in any area and rely on RB Reggie Bush to generate the offense. This is not a recipe for success. Houston’s offense will be one of the top units in the NFL this year and will just put too much pressure on the young Dolphins defense. Also, the Dolphins don’t have the wide receivers or the quarterback it takes to exploit Houston’s biggest deficiency, which is the secondary. This all adds up to the Houston Texans starting the 2011 season with a 2-0 record. You just can’t get much better than that.
Texans March over Saints
The Houston running game was in high gear last Saturday night as the Texans defeated the New Orleans Saints by the score of 27-14 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. QB Matt Schaub and the passing game did alright too, but the running backs stole the show. On the other hand, the Texans defense made some big plays when it had to, but gave up too many long runs and big passing plays. They still have a lot of work to do and so do the special teams, which have not been special at all so far this year. Luckily, there are two practice games left before the real first kickoff on September 11th. The defense should be better than last year. (It’s not possible to be worse, is it?) The unit that is most ready for the season is the offense, and if Saturday night was any indication, RB Arian Foster will lead the way with another fine year in 2011.
Foster and the Texans offensive line were in total synch against the Saints as the young man out of Tennessee rushed for 47 yards on only 5 carries and scored two TD’s. Foster actually seemed to have a bit more burst than last year even though he was coming off a hamstring injury. He was not the only Texans’ running back to do well as 2nd year back Ben Tate was next up and he was equally impressive. Tate chewed up 95 yards on 9 carries with a long run of 43 yards. Tate also notched a TD and pushed injured RB Steve Slaton farther down the depth chart. The Texans would probably like to trade Slaton to a team in need like Miami or Arizona, but if he can’t get on the field to show what he can do, the team may have to waive him. On the night, Houston running backs netted 208 yards rushing against a deep New Orleans defense.
As for the passing game, QB Matt Schaub looked sharp and got in and out of the game unhurt. That’s the name of the game in preseason, not getting hurt. Schaub spread it around quite a bit and it seemed like he had two receivers running free most of the night. This was especially true when FB/TE James Casey was in the game. Casey blocked well when in fullback mode, but sometimes split out wide to confuse the opponent defense. It worked. Here’s hoping head coach Gary Kubiak keeps mixing it up and using his imagination when the regular season begins. The offense, without a doubt is ahead of the defense.
The Houston defense gave up too many yards to the Saints, but made some key plays to thwart scoring opportunities. It should be noted that New Orleans was playing hard, and still only scored 14 points, but the Texans have obvious holes to plug before the first real game. Cornerback Jason Allen was beaten badly on a long pass, and both Houston safeties were out of position on a long TD throw in the 2nd quarter. To be fair, the Texans were playing without some key veterans that will be back in the lineup soon, but Houston fans get nervous when opposing teams run right up the middle of the line for big chunks of yardage. Another thing to make Texans’ fans nervous is the bad play of the return teams. The lack of a return game that began in 2010 is still here, and it needs to get fixed fast. The team has speed and plenty of young players to fill out their special teams. Another bad year should not be tolerated by Kubiak.
The Texans travel to San Francisco for their first roadie of 2011 on Saturday and are hoping to stay undefeated on the preseason. More important than winning, though, is getting some starters healthy, and getting used to Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips new schemes. Getting good work in is more important than winning in the preseason, but hey, why not do both?
Houston Review/Preview
The Houston Texans defeated the New York Jets last Monday night by the score of 20 to 16, and it didn’t mean anything. Wins and losses in the preseason just don’t mean anything. You know it, and I know it. If any Houston fan needs reminding, look at last years’ results when Houston soundly defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason, and then got whipped by those same Cowboys just a few weeks later in the regular season. It wasn’t pretty, remember?
What did matter about last weeks game against the Jets was that the Texans’ 2nd and 3rd teams played with fire and energy. What did matter was that some young players that have practiced well also played well. What did matter was that the new defensive scheme came up with 7 sacks without using any exotic blitzes. Overall, this meant the game was fun to watch and a mild success.
The Monday night game could have been better if the Texan’s first team offense had looked sharp in the first quarter, but they did not. Houston fans should not be worried about this, as they should get on track if their history shows anything. The defense did okay until the 3rd quarter, when the Jets came out of halftime and quickly scored twice. Most of Houston’s young defenders showed well enough, and got a key turnover in the fourth quarter. This was a positive.
The defense looked good overall, but the experiment of Mario Williams at linebacker does not look good. This is not just based on one game, just common sense. Mario Williams is too big and slow to play linebacker in the NFL, and his lack of experience standing up will just make the problem worse. The Texans will move Mario back to the defensive line before the 3rd regular season game is played. More evidence for this will be on display Saturday night when the Texans host the New Orleans Saints.
The 2011 edition of Saints the will be on display this Saturday at Reliant Stadium to play the hometown Texans. Both the Houston first team offense and defense better be ready to start fast as the Saints bring two good units to the matchup. The Texans are playing on a short week, so it’s a good thing they didn’t play their starters very long last Monday. It’s like the coaches planned that or something, isn’t it? Hopefully, Houston fans will get to see another entertaining game this week, but remember, it won’t mean anything. …Okay, maybe a little something.
Houston Launch 2011
The Houston Texans launch their 2011 season next Monday night against the New York Jets, and Houston fans are ready. It’s only a preseason game, but fans of NFL football in Houston could not care less. Football is football, and in Texas, football is king. Texans’ owner Bob McNair went out and spent some money on coaches and players in the off-season and that should be commended. (Why he did not do that in 2010 is still a mystery, but I digress.) The Texan’s porous defense from 2010 now has a new leader, Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips, and quite a few new starters. Chief among these new starters are cornerback Jonathan Joseph from Cincinnati, and safety Danieal Manning from the Chicago Bears. These two players are clear upgrades over the players the Texans started last year. Houston also moved last year’s best cornerback to safety, and Glover Quin paired with Manning will be the fastest pair of safeties the Texans have ever had.
Houston’s defense is changing from the old 4-3 to the 3-4, which means Houston does not need as many defensive linemen, but they do need more linebackers. The team solved part of this problem by moving defensive end Mario Williams to linebacker. …You read that right. Mario is now a linebacker, and from early reports, he’s slimmed down and adjusting to his new duties quickly. The switch to the 3-4 defense should also help the special teams as there will be more linebackers on the roster this year. Special teams coaches love to use linebackers and tight ends, and Houston will have a bunch of both.
The Houston offense should do very well again this year as most of last year’s key players are back. If they stay healthy, they are one of the NFL’s top units. Remember last year the Texans’ return game was not good, and the defense was probably the worst unit in the NFL, but the offense was so good, the team still won six games. With just an average defense in 2011, Houston can’t help but be better. But, for now, let’s get ready for preseason.
The New York Jets hit Space City soon for the first Monday Night Football game of the year, and Texans’ fans should brace themselves for ESPN to refer to the Texans only as “the team the Jets are playing.” East coast bias will be in full effect. But don’t be bitter, Houston fans, when your team gets to the AFC Championship games two years in a row, ESPN will increase their coverage of your beloved team. With the Texans about the embark on their tenth season, Houston fans should expect and demand that their favorite organization do whatever it takes to finally make the playoffs. It’s about time.
Texans Draft Breakdown
The Houston Texans completed the NFL Draft last weekend with seven choices over the last six rounds. Houston traded up early to get a player of need, then later traded back to pick up an extra choice. By most accounts, the Texans did well, but we will know better in three years. Heck, we’ll know a lot more by the end of 2011.
Pick 10 of Round Two: Brooks Reed, LB, 6’2”, 255 lbs, Arizona: The Texans first choice on day two looks like he could be a nice fit at linebacker in the team’s new 3-4 scheme. Reed started 34 games while at Arizona and in 2010 was named first team All Pac-10. Reed is fast and is consistently timed in the 4.6’s in the 40yd dash. He had a very good Senior Bowl and Combine. Reed easily could have gone in Round One, and should win a starting job with Houston.
Pick 29 of Round Two: Brandon Harris, CB, 5’10”, 190 lbs, Miami: The Texans traded two later round picks with New England to jump back into the 2nd round to nab this talented corner. Harris could stand to gain some upper body strength, but this coaches’ son was a solid two year starter at Miami and was 2nd team All-ACC in 2010. Harris will compete immediately for either a starting role or playing key minutes in the nickel defense.
Pick 30 of Round Four: Rashad Carmichael, CB, 5’10”, 192 lbs, Virginia Tech: This speedy cornerback had a fine senior year with the Hokies. Like Harris, Rashad needs to hit the weights, but has good agility and cover skills. From some reports, he needs to work on looking back toward the quarterback while the ball’s in the air. A solid fourth round pick for Houston, he does play at an area of need for Houston and could do well.
Pick 13 of Round Five: Shiloh Keoh, SS, 5’11”, 219 lbs, Idaho: This strong safety was a fan favorite at Idaho for doing whatever it took to win. Not blessed with great speed, he returned kicks and did very well. At the East-West Shrine game, Keoh impressed with his versatility and hard hitting style. Keoh should be glad to have been chosen by the Texans as the team has a glaring need at safety. He should make the roster.
Pick 21 of Round Five: Taylor Yates, QB, 6’2”, 219 lbs, North Carolina: Drafting a quarterback in the fifth round was the first questionable pick by Houston. QB is not an area of need for the team and this pick probably surprised quite a few Texans fans. Yates had a solid, but not special senior year at Carolina, but may stick around on Houston’s practice squad. Some scouts like him more than others.
Pick 12 of Round Seven: Derek Newton, OT, 6’5”, 311 lbs, Arkansas State: Seventh round draft picks rarely make and NFL roster, but Newton could be the exception. In quite a few mock drafts, Derek was listed as a possible fifth or sixth round choice. He has nice size and had a very good senior season. Newton could find a fit on the practice squad, giving him time to work on his technique.
Pick 51 of Round Seven: Cheta Ozougwu, LB, 6’2”, 248 lbs, Rice: For the first time in Houston Texans history, the team had the last pick of the entire draft, and the Texans took a local product. Ozougwu is a high motor player and was named first team All-Conference USA in 2010. He tallied 54 tackles as a senior but will be hard pressed to make the team.
Overall, the Texans had a better than average draft. Texans fans were a more than a little puzzled by the first round choice of DE J. J. Watt from Wisconsin, but they will be won over by his athleticism, size and enthusiasm. Most of the Texans choices were characterized by the experts as “high motor guys”. That’s not a bad thing, is it?
Fans expected Houston to draft heavily from the defensive side of the ball and they did, giving Head Coach Gary Kubiak some fine football players to begin overhauling his less than stellar defense. Houston fans should be happy with this draft. Now, when's the lock out going to end?
Texans Grab Big End
The Houston Texans chose to go defense yesterday on the first day of the NFL Draft. They nabbed defensive end J. J. Watt from the University of Wisconsin with the 11th pick of the first round. The first team All Big Ten selection stands at 6’ 5” and weighs in at just over 290 pounds. Watt was also 2nd team AP All American and led Wisconsin in tackles for loss. He also led the team in sacks, quarterback hurries, forced fumbles and blocked kicks.
While Houston also has needs at outside linebacker, cornerback and safety, new Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips was very pleased with the pick of Watt according to first reports from Texan camp. From most scouting reports on Mr. Watt, he has a high motor and great measurables. He is strong, hard-working, smart and had a great combine. Watt will give the Texans a great rotation at defensive end and allow DE Mario Williams to take fewer snaps, thus allowing Williams to go harder when he is on the field.
Houston still has needs to fill at every level of the defense. Look for them to address the secondary and the linebacking corps in rounds two through four.
Texans Only Mock Draft
April 28th is just around the corner, and the Houston Texans’ big thinkers are hard at work preparing for the NFL Draft. General Manager Rick Smith knows he needs to do well with his picks in 2011. Smith and Head Coach Gary Kubiak did not go after many free agents this year or in 2010, so this year’s draft is very important to beefing up one of the league’s worst defenses. Most Texans’ fans are looking forward to seeing quite a few defensive players taken by Houston this year. And please…no tight ends.
Without further delay, here’s a round by round prognostication of every Houston Texans 2011 NFL Draft pick:
Round One; 11th Pick Overall: Robert Quinn, LB, North Carolina – Quinn has great acceleration and quickness for his size. As a defensive end, he could get overpowered sometimes, but Houston’s new Defensive Coordinator, Wade Phillips, will use Quinn as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme. A perfect fit. (For the first time ever, Rick Smith may be tempted to trade up in the first round to grab LB Von Miller or CB Patrick Peterson, but it’s really not his style.)
Round Two; 42nd Pick Overall: Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia – Very good size for a cornerback. Could be a first round pick, but injury concerns will let him fall here. A steal in round two…if he can stay healthy.
Round Three; 73rd Pick Overall: Quinton Carter, FS, Oklahoma – Safeties always tend to fall in the draft, but the Texans’ needs dictate using a third rounder on a safety here. Carter is adept at coverage and tackling and should start right away.
Round Four; 105th Pick Overall: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina - On day three of the draft, the Texans are surprised Austin is still here and can’t pass him up. Austin will compete at the nose tackle.
Round Five; 138th Pick Overall: Terrance Tolliver, WR, LSU – Tolliver has good size, and the Texans need someone to push WR Jacoby Jones to do better.
Round Six; 178th Pick Overall: Curtis Marsh, CB, Utah St. – Very good speed and size. Good attitude. He could surprise in the league.
Round Seven; 214th Pick Overall: Brad Thorson, OL, Kansas – Very tough blocker. Plays smart. Lack of foot speed is what makes him fall to round seven.
Round Seven; 254th Pick Overall: (Mr. Irrelevant) Brandon Saine, RB, Ohio State – Very good straight line speed, but not shifty. Can return kickoffs and play special teams. This pick means Steve Slaton’s time in Houston is almost over.
2011 Texans Draft Needs
The 2011 NFL Draft takes place in late April, and it is fast approaching. The players are still locked out and free agents cannot be signed, but at least we have the draft to look forward to. (That and whenever Charlie Sheen’s tour comes through your town. That man’s a freakin’ genius.)
Since the Houston Texans chose not to sign any free agents in the short period prior to the lockout, and they have no way of knowing if they’ll have another chance to do so before the start of the season, it stands to reason that they must draft for need this year. They don’t have the luxury of taking the best player available. Houston must also hope that these drafted rookies can contribute right away as their defense needs immediate help.
The Houston defense in 2010 was very bad. There’s just no debate about that statement, so in the 2011 draft, the Texans need help at every level of their defense. Since they switched to the 3-4 defense under Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips, they will need linebacker depth. Everyone knows Houston needs cornerback and safety help, and they probably will take a speed rushing lineman to compete with end Antonio Smith. Phillips says he is content with the defensive tackles on the roster, but it will shock no one if the Texans pick a space-eating nose tackle for the new scheme.
For the secondary, there are rumors that the team is considering moving CB Glover Quin to free safety, but since he was the teams’ best corner last year, that just does not make sense. Better to move a marginal cornerback on the roster to safety to give him one last shot at making the team. (Are you listening, Antwaun Molden?) Hopefully, the lockout will be resolved and Houston can sign a veteran cornerback to team with Quin. Obviously, the defense will be the focal point of this year’s draft, but the offense also needs depth.
Houston’s offense last season did well statistically, but there was a disturbing trend to start slow, then try to catch up. This is more of a coaching/motivational problem than something to be cured in the draft, but some offensive personnel are always taken. I’m sure Houston fans are anxious to see if General Manager Rick Smith takes yet another tight end this year.
With the re-signing of Owen Daniels completed and quite a few other tight ends on the roster, that position seems filled, but you never know with Smith. The Texans rushing attack was very good last season as the offensive line did a nice job, but you can never have enough depth on the O-line, so if a nice player falls to them, Houston would pick him up. A wide receiver probably will be taken late to compete for the number three or four spot in the receiver rotation.
Perhaps very late in the draft, a quarterback could be taken to compete with backup QB Dan Orlovsky. The running back stable is almost as deep as tight end, so in this year of need, there is no need to draft a rookie running back. In summary, the offense just does not need the attention the defense does. Expect Head Coach Gary Kubiak to defer to Wade Phillips in the early rounds so he can fill out his defense. (Whether he admits to this or not.)
First guess at who will be taken by the Texans with the 11th overall pick: DE/LB Robert Quin, North Carolina.
Adios to 2010
So the 2010 NFL regular season is behind us and the playoffs once again roll on with no Houston Texans. Nine seasons into their existence, the Texans did not come close to the postseason. You have to hand it to the Houston organization, they don’t panic. Head Coach Gary Kubiak kept his job as did General Manager Rick Smith. Houston did fire Defensive Coordinator Frank Bush and some defensive coaches, so we know the Texans owner Bob McNair was watching after all.
Wade Phillips, recently fired Dallas Cowboy Head Coach will be the new Defensive Coordinator in Houston. It’s not all doom and gloom for the Houston football team, though. For all the bad things that happened in 2010, there were some good things to talk about in 2010. (On offense)
Second year running back Arian Foster led the league in rushing yards with 1616 and made the Pro Bowl team. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry and tallied 2220 combined yards from scrimmage. No matter what happens in Foster’s career after this, they can’t take away his rushing title. (Unless he over-trained with LB Brian Cushing) With backup Derrick Ward averaging 6.3 yards per carry, one wonders why the Texans were only 19th in rushing attempts in the league.
As a coach, it’s probably hard to stick with the run when you are playing from behind most of the time. It’s also hard to stick with the running game when you have Andre Johnson playing wide receiver. Johnson led the league with 93.5 receiving yards per game and was voted to another Pro Bowl. A nagging ankle injury kept Johnson out of a few games and will probably keep him from making All Pro, but when he played, he was as good as ever. QB Matt Schaub had a good season, but after a fantastic 2009, a little more was expected of him. Schaub regressed a bit, but by no means is he the problem. Whatever flaws he showed this year can be corrected. Fullback Vonta Leach did a superior job and made the Pro Bowl for the first time.
The 2010 edition of the Houston Texans defense was very weak, and that’s being kind. The young secondary was exposed weekly by almost every quarterback they faced. The pass rush was not good enough to help them out either. DE Mario Williams did get 8.5 sacks on the year while playing with a sports hernia, but it was another year, another injury for Mario. Houston fans, who already feel snake-bit by going nine seasons without the playoffs, must wonder if Williams career will be defined as “he coulda been great if….”.
Now, about 2011; If the defense can stay healthy, if the general manager signs some defensive free agents, and if Coach Phillips works his magic, the Texans defense may just rise to average next season. A fan base can dream, can’t it? Anyway, let’s watch some playoff games, and get ready for the 2011 NFL Draft! Houston picks 11th. Start your research now.
Defense Implodes Again
Now we know just about any quarterback can throw for 300 yards on the 2010 Houston Texans defense. QB Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos is not known as a particularly good passer, but last Sunday he threw for 308 yards in a 24-23 victory over Houston. Tebow also led Denver back from a 17-0 deficit to take the win. It was highly unusual for the Texans to take a first half lead, but they did. After halftime, however, Houston was outscored 24 to 6 as the defense fell apart and the offense misfired.
Question: Who can stop RB Arian Foster?
Answer: Houston Head Coach Gary Kubiak can.
After leading his team to a large first half lead, the young Foster did not touch the ball much in the second half. One might think with a lead and the running game working, the team would come out in the second half and impose their will on Denver or die trying, but the Texans did not. Kubiak called for more passes than runs and helped conserve time for the Broncos to muster a late fourth quarter drive for a touchdown. The Texans did get the ball back for a last minute drive of their own, but a batted pass turned into an interception for Denver and that meant doom for the Texans. It was Houston’s eighth loss in nine games.
The loss in Denver hardly helped Kubiak’s chances of coming back next season as the Texans coach. After almost five full seasons in charge of the coaching and most of the personnel, Kubiak has not shown himself to be an above average head coach. A nice guy, yes. A stand up coach, yes. A winning coach that breeds confidence? No.
Whether owner Bob McNair brings Kubiak back next year is still a mystery, but the defensive coaching staff needs an extensive overhaul to say the least. Maybe this offseason, General Manager Rick Smith will also decide the defense could use a good, veteran free agent or two. Such are the dreams of Houston Texans fans.
For the season finale, the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Texans will host a Jags team that will begin the day with a chance to make the playoffs. Without much to play for the home team will make a game of it for a half, but eventually wear down. Look for the Jags to win; 27-20.
No Playoffs
The Houston Texans 2010 playoff quest officially ended in Nashville last Sunday. The Texans were defeated by the Tennessee Titans by the score of 31-17. After falling behind in the first quarter by 21 points, the game was never in question. Houston’s offense and defense both shared equally in the blame for this defeat. They weren’t just outplayed, they were outhustled. For the first time in Head Coach Gary Kubiak’s tenure in Houston, you could see some quit in the Texans.
The loss to the Titans dropped the Texans to 5-9 on the year and kept loyal Houston fans wondering just what they’ve done to deserve such a team. The Titans had lost six games in a row coming into the contest, but dominated in every phase of the game. RB Chris Johnson broke out of a slump to run for 130 yards and a TD. The Houston defense once again gave up big chunks of yardage in the passing game, dropped possible interceptions and missing tackles. With this season winding down, the thinking at the Texans offices should be how to trade back in the draft to gather up picks.
On offense, the Houston team once again started very slowly. The Texans could not score a touchdown until the third quarter when QB Matt Schaub hit probable Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson for a 12 yard strike. The Houston running game never got on track as the Titans had a good game plan to shut down RB Arian Foster. Foster is still leading the NFL in rushing yards, but his lead is shrinking. The Houston offensive line was dominated by Tennessee. They could not open running lanes or pass block effectively as Schaub got hit early and often. Unless Houston exerts more effort in the last two games, this team may end up the year at 5-11. One wonders if Texans owner Bob McNair will re-evaluate his view from last week that his team is “is still on track”.
Next up on the schedule for the Texans is the Denver Broncos led by rookie QB Tim Tebow. With a new head coach and a fun, new QB at the helm, you can bet the Broncs will bring a good effort to the game. No one can be sure what type of effort Houston will bring with them to Denver. The Texans will be smarting all week over the harsh coverage by the media and it could cause them to pack it in for the year. More likely, talent will win out over youth. Tebow just does not have the passing arm to exploit the Texans defense. (And that’s saying something.) The Denver defense won’t be able to stop Houston and the Texans defense will stop the Broncos running game. Houston will win in Denver; 34-21.
Monday Night Letdown
Well at least the Houston Texans are consistent. Almost each and every week they play badly in the first half, do much better in the second half to make a game of it, then lose. This week they did it on Monday Night Football in front of the entire nation. Houston lost to the Baltimore Ravens in overtime by the score of 34-28. This kind of performance by their home team must test the faith of even the most loyal Texan fan.
There are three games left to play in the 2010 season, and an 8-8 record for the Texans is still achievable. Given what the team has done under recent years under head coach Gary Kubiak, winning two or three of these games is expected. Once the pressure of the playoff race is off, the team usually ends on a winning streak. Texans owner Bob McNair should not be fooled by this anymore. Kubiak has had five full seasons to turn this team around, and still shows no sign of figuring out how to get his team to the playoffs. Quite a few coaches have turned bad teams around in less time. Some have done it in only one or two seasons. Kubiak has had five.
Since the Houston Texans were founded in 2002, other teams have gone from playoff caliber to the cellar and back again. Just looking at the NFL since Kubiak took over as head coach in 2006, many teams have made at least one appearance in the playoffs. In today’s NFL with free agency, it’s obviously not that hard to at least get to just one playoff game in a five year period. Kubiak and his hand picked general manager, Rick Smith have shaped the team exactly like they wanted it, and it’s not good enough. I’m sure Coach Kubiak and Mr. Smith are nice people, but in the NFL, people get fired for non-performance. Now is their time.
The Texans offense is so good this season, that if Smith had bothered to sign a few more defensive free agents in the offseason, or traded for some defensive help at the trading deadline, this Houston team might have snuck into the playoffs. He did not, and they will not. Many Houston fans showed their displeasure with the product by leaving Monday’s game before the team made their comeback to go into overtime. It spared them the pain of witnessing another heart-wrenching loss. Next year, those same fans may not attend the games at all. It’s doubtful this is what Bob McNair is waiting for before he makes a coaching change, but a case could be made for that scenario. If the stadium continues to sell out, why pay another coach more money? Let’s hope McNair isn’t that kind of owner.
Next week, the battle for the bottom of the AFC South is on. Houston travels to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. Since Kerry Collins is quarterbacking the Titans and WR Randy Moss seems to have quit on the season, the Texans can concentrate on stopping the run. Tennessee should find it hard to score. Texans will win; 24-17, and someone on the Texans staff will proclaim; “the kids never stopped fighting”, and “this team will be good next year”. Too little, too late.
Prime Time Loss
The Houston Texans were featured on “Mike Vick Night” last Thursday on the NFL Network. The Eagles starred and the Texans were the supporting act. After a two hour pregame tribute to how great Vick is, they played the game. What do ya know? Vick is pretty darned good. I know Texans fans are tired of this kind of treatment by the national media, but they must realize the Texans have to win big and demand the spotlight before they will get that kind of attention. In the game, Houston followed their normal formula; Get behind early, make a valiant comeback, then lose. This time the Eagles came out on top 34-24.
Some Texans players actually said the defense played a little better against Philly. It’s hard to see where. The Houston defense gave up 416 total yards, including 301 yards passing. Philadelphia was the sixth team this year to score 30 points or more against the Houston defenders. If this is playing better, the bar is set very low in the Texans clubhouse.
To the Texans’ credit, they did not get pushed around by the NFC East power. They gave as many good shots as they took. Houston found it hard to run against the Eagles but kept at it and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. The passing game worked too, although QB Matt Schaub took a few good shots on the night. The problem that continues to plague Houston is their slow starts. The Texans offense put together a touchdown drive in the second quarter, but they were down 17-3 before they got to the end zone. They were trailing at the half 20-10. If the players and the coaching staff could figure out a way to start the game at full speed, perhaps Houston wouldn’t spend so much energy trying to come back from deficits. The loss dropped Houston’s record to 5-7 and the playoffs seem far away.
Next on the schedule is another prime time game against the Baltimore Ravens on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. If the Texans still have dreams of the playoffs, the first step would be to win their final four games. Nothing about the Texan’s defense makes anyone think they are capable of reeling off four victories, but looking at the Texans recent history, they do tend to finish the season strong. Baltimore is coming off a bruising division loss to the Steelers and are working on a shorter week than the Texans. Houston has disappointed their fans with three home losses already in 2010, and will bring max effort to the game. The Ravens secondary is nearly as weak against the pass as Houston’s back four, the difference is the Texans are better equipped to exploit a weak secondary. Houston comes out throwing, Head Coach Gary Kubiak actually allows the offense to run a trick play or two, (maybe), and Houston will win 31-27.
Losing Streak Ends
The Houston Texans ended their four game losing streak last Sunday by defeating the Tennessee Titans 20-0. Led by LB Brian Cushing and CB Glover Quin, the Houston defense shut out an opponent for the first time in team history at their home stadium. The opponent did happen to be starting a rookie quarterback, but the Texans will take any achievement they can in 2010. The offense had a workmanlike day against a good Tennessee defense, holding the ball for over 39 minutes, clearly winning the time of possession war. Oh, yeah, there was a fight too.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Texans WR Andre Johnson seemed to have had enough of Titans’ CB Cortland Finnegan’s questionable actions. Finnegan is known through the league for cheap shots and various instigating tactics designed to anger opponents and get their heads out of the game. Last Sunday, Johnson endured one too many hands to the face, so he tore off Finnegan’s helmet and landed a couple punches to the corner’s head. Both players were ejected and fined, but neither was suspended. If the referees had been more forceful earlier in the game toward Finnegan, the fight may have been avoided. The fight, though exciting, was only a side show. The real story was the Texans dominating an opponent for the first time since opening week versus the Colts.
The Texans were in total control of the game from the opening kickoff. Houston fans excitement should be tempered by the fact that the Titans started Rusty Smith at quarterback. Also WR Randy Moss looks like he’s opened a big can of quit on this season. The fact remains that Houston dominated a team they should have. RB Arian Foster produced 218 all purpose yards and WR Andre Johnson gathered nine catches for 56 yards and a TD. On defense, CB Glover Quin set a team record with three interceptions and DE Mario Williams was very active, notching another sack. Quin was named AFC defensive player of the week for his efforts. Houston did well last Sunday, but on a short week, they now face a sterner test.
Houston now travels to Philadelphia to face the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. Philly QB Mike Vick is the highest rated signal caller in the NFC this year and he has a little more experience than Rusty Smith. (He’s faster than Rusty too.) The Texans defense will be facing a highly motivated Eagles offense as they lost to the Bears last weekend and don’t want to drop two in a row. Expect the Texans to try to keep Vick and the Eagles off the field by running the ball and burning clock. If Philadelphia gets an early lead, this plan will probably be shelved and a shootout will ensue. What the heck, just tune in for a shootout. Philly outscores Houston and takes the win: 35-31.
Another Stunning Loss
The Houston Texans lost to the New York Jets in New York last Sunday by the score of 30-27. By just looking at the score, one would think Houston fans could be proud of their team because they played a tough Jets squad and almost won on the road. If you are Houston Head Coach Gary Kubiak or Texans owner Bob McNair, that’s probably what you’re telling yourself. Alas, it’s not true.
The Texans did fight back to score 20 unanswered points in the second half of the game to take the lead, 27-23, but then the Texans defense took the field one more time. The Jets had to score a touchdown to win. A field goal would not do. And with only 49 seconds to go 72 yards for the go ahead score, the Houston defense fell apart. It took the Jets only 39 seconds to score the winning touchdown, and Houston’s defense continued to be a national joke. The Texans defense has allowed at least 24 points by their opponent in every game this year. That defensive coordinator Frank Bush still has his job is one of life’s mysteries. Kubiak and McNair must be the most patient people in football today as they see the once 4-2 Texans fall to 4-6, and as of today, they have fired no one. The defense is letting a good season by the Texans offense be wasted.
Some have criticized the Texans offense for their lack of first half scoring, but they did put up 24 points last week in Jacksonville and 27 points in New York Sunday. It’s hard to ask for more than that, but unfortunately that’s what the team must do. With the historically bad Houston defense, the team must take every chance they can to score TD’s and stop settling for field goals. If they don’t score at least 30 points, they lose. Sad but true.
The Houston front office seems to be taking everything well. They continue to talk of improvement and trying harder. Good for them. It’s nice to see a group of people able to stay positive under such circumstances. It’s doubtful the Houston fans are as forgiving, however. Maybe owner Bob McNair won’t be as ready to stay the course after he sees how many fans actually show up at Reliant Stadium this coming Sunday. On top of being Thanksgiving weekend, the Texans seem out of the playoff race and hometown hero Vince Young will not be playing for the other team, the Tennessee Titans.
The fans may find better things to do. The Titans will have rookie Rusty Smith starting at quarterback this week. The most interesting thing to look for in this game will be to see if Tennessee can score 24 points on the Texans defense. Look for that streak to finally end. The Titans have problems of their own and will run the ball hard, but lose. Texans 27, Titans 21.
Historic Loss: Texans lose to the Jaguars 31-24
For the fourth time in NFL history, a team lost on the last play of the game because of a pass play over 50 yards. Congratulations Houston, you’re in the history books again. I won’t go over each and every specific time Houston sports teams have been involved in gut wrenching losses, suffice it to say, there have been many. The Houston Texans defense is also among the worst in NFL history, but let’s reserve comment on that until the end of the year. They could end up number one!
The game in question happened last Sunday in Jacksonville as this writer traveled to Florida to witness the Texans lose to the Jaguars 31-24. After trailing 17-3 at halftime, the Houston offense went into high gear to tie up the game in the fourth quarter at 24-24. If the Texans offense had bothered to show up for the first half, perhaps the game would not been as close. We’ll never know. If the Jags reliable kicker, Josh Scobee, had not shanked two field goals, the game probably would not have been in doubt either. We’ll never know. What we do know is that very late in the fourth quarter, the Texans were in a tie ball game with the ball in their hands with the clock winding down. Also, they were in Jacksonville territory. Through a quick series of miscues, and a last second Hail Mary pass, Houston kept their losing skid intact.
Houston has now lost three in a row and four out of five games. The Texans record now stands at 4-5. A pessimist might say if not for two lucky wins against Kansas City and Washington, Houston would have only won two games instead of four. Let’s not do that here. Houston Texans fans have enough on their minds right now, like their below average management.
The Texans won nine games against seven losses in 2009, and management’s off-season strategy was to stay the course. They drafted some rookies, let a starting cornerback walk, and signed an average offensive lineman. General Manager Rick Smith should realize now that when you stand still, you fall behind. Houston’s defense fell behind, then fell off a cliff. Head Coach Gary Kubiak shares blame for the roster and how the team is playing. Kubiak has a lot of input on assembling players, and of course, is in charge of the coaching staff. If these coaches can coach at the NFL level, then they are failing at motivating the players. Kubiak is on record as saying players know what’s a stake, they can motivate themselves.
Hopefully, he’s changing his mind on that thinking. Watch Jets coach Rex Ryan sometime, or film of ex-Steeler coach Bill Cowher, and see if they agree NFL players don’t need much motivating. (Don’t waste your time looking. They do.) Speaking of the Jets, what’s next for Houston? The New York Jets.
The only thing capable of shaking up Houston’s season is a crazy, unexpected victory over a good team like the New York Jets. Something like that might get the team jump-started and confident enough to actually still make a run at the playoffs. This is highly unlikely on the road for the second week in a row at New York. Projection: Jets over Texans, 31-27.
Another Home Loss
The Houston Texans played in an exciting game last Sunday, although they didn’t really show up for the second half. Houston scored 20 points in the first half of a 29-23 loss to the San Diego Chargers last Sunday in Houston, but only scored 3 in the second half. Many fans are blaming the coaching staff, and they do deserve criticism, but the players did their fair share of the damage.
WR Jacoby Jones dropped a TD pass in the end zone after a Charger player tipped it. QB Matt Schaub had TE James Casey open on an end zone route, but threw the ball wrong. (Actually Schaub was off target most of the day, but in the fourth quarter this was mostly due to an injury). RB Arian Foster could have had a TD catch but used the ball to balance himself on the ground and lost possession. CB Kareem Jackson was beaten badly on two TD passes. WR Andre Johnson had a pass hit his hands, but kicked it in the air for an interception to seal the defeat. I’m sure the coaches did not teach the players to do these things.
This is not to say Head Coach Gary Kubiak and his staff are without blame. They did their share to ensure defeat. Kubiak ran a hurried quarterback sneak on a fourth down play in the fourth quarter instead of huddling and giving the ball to the league’s #1 running back, Arian Foster. If the yardage needed was less than half a yard, it might be a good call, but the Texans were a full yard away and running up the middle is hardly the team’s strong suit. This is just one example of questionable play calling on the day. (and on the year).
The big picture is San Diego had not won on the road this year. They won in Houston. San Diego had not won back to back games this year. They finally did it against Houston. The Texans did not score after kicking a field goal with about 9 minutes to go in the third quarter. At home, this is inexcusable. Giving up 29 points at home also is an embarrassment. The coaches seem to have no idea how to fix the defense. When they do call a blitz, the other team picks it up with relative ease. If they don’t blitz, they rarely get a quarterback pressure. They’re in a pickle, alright. It doesn’t get any easier this week as they travel to Jacksonville.
Division games are very important for the Texans, now with a record of 4-4. Luckily the team seems to play a bit better on the road. Less distractions on the road? Less night-life on the road? Less partying? Who’s to say? Whatever the reason, Houston is better on the road this year. They can hardly be worse. Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard is having a good year in 2010, and this is bad news for Houston’s secondary. In a shootout, Houston loses this week, 31-27.
Monday Night Blues
The Houston Texans lost to the Indianapolis Colts last Monday night by the score of 30-17. The Texans rarely get a chance to play on national television and their performance hardly warrants an encore. It was an entire team effort, or lack thereof. The offense executed poorly, the defense could not produce a turnover, and the coaches had a bad game plan and stuck with it. On the road at Indy? This spells l-o-s-s.
Head Coach Gary Kubiak should know that the key to defeating the Colts at Indy is to run the ball and keep Peyton Manning off the field with long drives. Surely he knows this, doesn’t everyone? The Texans have only had two victories against the Colts, and in both games they successfully used this strategy. On Monday night, Houston started the game with four straight passes as Kubiak tried to keep his offense “balanced”. Against the Colts, a balanced offense should go out the window. On top of keeping Manning off the field, it’s just plain harder to throw the ball against Indy than it is to run. DE’s Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney rush the passer much better than they play the run. Just a few weeks earlier, Houston had put up record rushing numbers against Indianapolis, but this game, the Texans coaches thought they knew better. They were wrong.
Even with the questionable game strategy by the Texans’ coaches, the contest never became a route, and if the offense had executed the plays better, we all may have seen a great match. QB Matt Schaub was getting hit much too quickly on most passing plays. When he did have time to throw, he was not on target. The only thing that worked well was the running game, (shocking!), with Arian Foster gaining 102 yards at 6.8 yards per carry. Houston ran the ball 18 times and threw it 38 times.
The defense did not play much better than they did before their off week. They allowed little used RB Mike Hart to have a career day with 84 yards with 7 yards per carry. Manning was sharp, going for 268 yards and 2 TD’s. The defense only notched one sack and did not dominate the Colts like they did in Houston a few weeks back. Second and third string TE’s seemed to get open at will against the Texans defense. San Diego’s Antonio Gates must be thrilled to see Houston on the schedule this week.
The San Diego game is coming up fast as the Texans get a short week. At least the game is in Houston at Reliant Stadium. The 3-5 Chargers know they can hardly afford their sixth loss in the AFC if they are to make the playoffs and will come to Houston fired up. The Texans better shake off the effects of the Monday night loss quickly if they are to have any chance to win. Houston is hardly unbeatable at home the last two years, and their defense is just too weak against both the run and the pass. The Texans will fall again; 31-24.
Texans at the Bye Week
The Houston Texans won last Sunday by the score of 35-31 over the Kansas City Chiefs. It was an ugly, ugly victory, but it counted. They now have a 4-2 record for the first time in their history, and with the worst defense in the NFL, this is quite an accomplishment. The Texans are last out of 32 teams in giving up points and next to last in yardage yielded. This adds up to the worst defense in the NFL. Now the team gets a week off to think things over. The bye week could not have come at a better time as Houston needs to come up with a whole new defensive philosophy and execution. The solution will come from the players on the squad and street free agents as the Texans let the trading deadline come and go without making a move.
The Texans front office chose not to make any bold moves in the offseason even though there is no salary cap this year. They chose to stand pat on defense except for the draft and letting CB Dunta Robinson leave via free agency. Even after losing key players like DL Tim Bulman, DE Connor Barwin and Pro Bowl LB Demeco Ryans, GM Rick Smith and staff did not trade for defensive help during the season. It’s a choice they will have to live with. Houston fans will surely remember.
A pessimist would say the Texans have been very lucky while notching four victories in six games. They might say they are closer to a 2-4 team than 4-2, and that the offense barely pulled the defense out of the fire in two key games. An optimist might counter that four wins out of six games in the NFL is a good thing no matter how you do it. The optimist would say with a few tweaks, the defense will be good enough to get the team to the playoffs. Time will tell. What is clear is that the schedule does not get any easier after the break.
The Texans defense needs to play smarter and re-commit to the fundamentals as there are no easy marks left on the schedule. The offense cannot be expected to just outscore every opponent. Houston’s offense, while usually very good, has had issues against physical defenses, and the Ravens, Jets and Titans are still left to play. After the bye week, the Texans offense should be healthy and good to go. When running right, they are one of the top units in the NFL behind QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson, and RB Arian Foster. If the Texans are to make the playoffs this year, the defense will have to at least play average from this point on.
Isn’t that the dream of every fan? “I wish my team could have an average defense.” Such are the hopes of Houston football fans. Sad but true. The Houston coaches have their work cut out for them.
First up after the break are the Indianapolis Colts at Indy. The Colts have had their share of injuries too, and recently lost TE Dallas Clark for the year. Peyton Manning still has quite a few weapons to work with and Indy wants revenge for a first week loss in Houston. Expect the Colts to win on Monday Night Football somewhere in the neighbor hood of 31-24.
Another Home Loss
Out-played and out-coached. That’s what happened to the Houston Texans last Sunday in Reliant Stadium in Houston. The New York Giants visited Space City and beat the hometown team by the score of 34-10. The Texans could not match the effort of the opposing team and paid the price. The Giants wanted it more, got out to a fast start and never slowed down. New York had the Texans well scouted and took advantage of every weakness. The big debate for Houston fans after the game must have been; who played worse, the offense or the defense?
The Houston pass defense is last in the NFL in yardage given up. This is due to inexperience in the secondary and lack of a pass rush. This will be hard to correct after five games into the season, but if Houston has any hopes of a playoff run something must be done quickly. Either some players roles must change, the scheme must change or the coaches must. The Texans are lucky to have a 3-2 record at this point with such a horrible pass defense and they know it. If Head Coach Gary Kubiak chooses to keep all his coaches in place, then another possibility would be to trade for a pass rusher or experienced corner before the trading deadline.
The Texans offense has imploded now twice in the last three weeks. Both times on the home field. Maybe the young Texans enjoy their Friday and Saturday nights too much while they are in Houston. If that is the case, the team leaders need to stand up and school the younger players on curtailing their nighttime activities when close to a game.
Some around the league just think Houston is a “soft” team. I’m sure the Houston players hate to be called soft, but the Giants pushed the Texans around with ease. If they don’t like the label “soft”, then they should do something about it. Defending their home turf would be a start.
The Texans get another home start this week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Look for Chiefs QB Matt Cassell to have his best passing day of the year. Fortunately for Houston, the Chiefs strength is the running game, and the Texans do play the run well. Texans will win; 24-23.
Houston Raids Oakland
The Oakland Raiders probably had a hard time recognizing the Houston Texans team that beat them last Sunday. Houston won the game 31-24 with quite a few of their star players sitting out. All Pro WR Andre Johnson was inactive to rest a sore ankle. Pro Bowl LB Brian Cushing and LT Duane Brown were out serving suspensions, and star RB Arian Foster did not play until late in the second quarter. With Pro Bowl TE Owen Daniels still slowed by his knee injury, Joel Dreesen caught most of the balls from the tight end spot.
Who were those guys? Just a solid bunch of reserves, that’s who.
Along with the other missing Texans, FS Eugene Wilson sat out with a bad hamstring, opening the door for young safeties Dominique Barber and Troy Nolan. Nolan grabbed the opportunity along with two interceptions to make his claim for starters minutes. The defense was very active, creating three turnovers and four sacks to none for the Raiders. LB Demeco Ryans and SS Bernard Pollard had the most tackles and timely hits. The Texans still have a lot of trouble covering tight ends and running backs, but they are taking away the deep throws. Houston’s defense makes their opponents work hard for their yardage. Against the Raiders, Houston’s defensive coaches seemed to blitz more often, and this helped out the young secondary. With next week’s return of LB Brian Cushing, maybe Houston fans will see the coaches taking even more chances.
On offense, the Houston running game started well and ended well. A young running back gashed the Oakland line for some nice gains and an early touchdown. The only thing was, it was not the young running back Texans’ fans have been used to seeing. It was Derrick Ward, whom the Texans recently signed, not Arian Foster. Foster sat out most of the first half for disciplinary reasons, and while Ward filled in nicely, he is not the running back Foster is. When young Arian did enter the game, the momentum immediately shifted to Houston, who then scored 17 unanswered points, then coasted to victory. The offensive line kept QB Matt Schaub from being sacked and opened some wide holes for the backs. The wide receivers and tight ends filled in as best they could for the missing Andre Johnson, getting key first downs when needed.
This could have been the game that WR Jacoby Jones showed he is ready for starting duties, but after dropping a sure first down pass and not getting open regularly enough, he will stay in the 3rd or 4th receiver spot. Matt Schaub had a very good day, playing smartly, and knowing when to throw the ball away. The throw-aways hurt his completion percentage, but they do help the team.
Next Sunday the New York Giants visit Houston and bring a fierce pass rush. The Giants are coming off a Sunday night game in which they notched nine sacks against the Bears…..in the first half! Houston will counter by establishing their running game to set up play action passes. WR Andre Johnson will be back to catch those passes. The Houston defense will be sky high with the return of LB Brian Cushing, and should play their best ball of the season. It’s the first time in awhile that Cushing, Ryans, Pollard and DE Mario Williams will all be on the field at the same time. The Giants got well against the Bears, but the Texans are better than the Bears. Houston wins: 27-20.
A Troubling Loss
In case you have not heard, the Houston Texans lost to the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday by the score of 27-13. Houston scored a late touchdown that made the game seem closer than it really was. The Texans offense seemed thrown off by the intensity of the Dallas defense, especially when they were in the red zone. Houston’s young defense was out-smarted by the older Cowboy vets. While it’s doubtful anyone thought the Texans would go undefeated this season, many, if not all Houston fans hoped one of the losses would not be to Dallas. The loss itself was not shocking, but the thoroughness of the defeat was.
The Houston home crowd was in good voice for the game, but the Texans team could not match their fans intensity. After a huge opening day win against the Colts, then a tough overtime victory at Washington, the Texans just could not get the needed emotion up for a third week in a row. The Cowboys had no such trouble. Dallas needed a victory badly, and it showed. They did not want to start the year 0-3, and played their most complete game so far in 2010. Dallas executed, Houston did not, especially the Houston defense.
The Texans pass defense has been atrocious all season. The combination of a lack of pass rush combined with the inexperience of the cornerbacks has hurt the team for three straight games. The below average play of safety Eugene Wilson in 2010 has not helped matters either. (Time for FS Troy Nolan to play, maybe?) The Texans need to find a way to force some turnovers as they lost that battle too. Even though there is no salary cap this year, Houston’s owner and General Manager decided not to bring in any experienced defensive starters in the off-season. The early returns on this decision don’t look good, and people won’t forget. There is still time for a trade, but all indications from Texans’ camp are that they will ride with the team they have.
On offense, the running game worked well, but was abandoned early. The only time in the game when the Texans seemed like they didn’t know how to run block was when they were in the red zone. The team came away with field goals on their first two trips in the red zone, but with their defense giving up touchdowns, it wasn’t an even trade. At least next week’s opponent is easily the weakest of the teams Houston has played so far this season.
The Texans travel to Oakland this Sunday to take on the Raiders. Oakland is 1-2 and they have not played the tough schedule that Houston has. The Raiders defense gives up just as many points as Houston, but their offense struggles to score against anyone. While Oakland will probably score their most points of the year against Houston, it won’t be enough. Houston gets lucky and plays an inferior team at the right time. The Texans should win; 27-20.
Escape from Washington
The Houston Texans took a quick working vacation to the nation’s capital last Sunday but almost forgot the “working” part. The first half of the contest must have reminded people of the early Texans days with all the miscues and mistakes. But in the second half, Houston played much better and was rewarded with the victory, 30-27 in overtime. The Washington Redskins defense offered more of a test than did the Indianapolis Colts the week before. The Texans did not run the ball nearly as effectively as they did against the Colts, but threw the ball all over the place. QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson and DE Mario Williams put the team on their backs in the second half and got a very nice road win.
The Texans first half was so mistake-filled that it’s just easier to say they were lucky to only be down 13 points after two quarters. Houston trailed at the end of the first half by the score of 20 to 7 and at one point in the third quarter, they were behind by 17 points. But these things matter not to the 2010 Texans. (Actually they do, but I just liked that line.) Houston kept fighting and the coaching staff made the right calls down the stretch. Schaub compiled most of his 497 passing yards in the second half. Most of the yardage went to WR Kevin Walter and an injured Andre Johnson. The Pro Bowl WR had to leave the game to the taunts of Redskin fans, but returned to score the tying TD late in the fourth quarter. Johnson finished with 158 yards receiving and that one, big score. You have to hand it to the Texan’s offense. It was tough to get anything done against a motivated Washington D. They just love to send extra bodies after the quarterback.
Houston’s offensive line was a little flustered by the Skins constant blitzing, but came together when they really needed to protect their QB. Because Houston played from behind most of the day, RB Arian Foster could only gain 69 rushing yards, but pitched in 69 receiving yards. This puts Foster on a pace for 3,008 combined yards on the year. (The thinking here is the Texans would probably settle for 2,000 total yards.) The offense surely did their share, but the defense and special teams had quite a hand in the victory too.
The Redskins put up 20 points in the first half, but only 7 in the second half. In both contests this year it seems Houston’s Head Coach Gary Kubiak and his staff have made some nice half-time adjustments. Washington surely would have put up 3 more points if not for a stellar effort by SS Bernard Pollard blocking a short field goal in the second half. In a day where the ‘Skins special teams outplayed Houston’s, this one play was the exception. The Texan defensive line had a great game stuffing the run, or was it that it was so easy to throw on Houston, the Redskins just decided to pass all day?
The Texan’s pass defense is definitely a team weakness. Houston has inexperienced corners, average coverage safeties and linebackers that can’t cover running backs or tight ends. Besides that, they’re okay. Oh, and besides Mario Williams, who notched three more sacks, no real pass rush. While Mario was the only Texan to get a sack, he also wreaked havoc against the run. If this is what a healthy Williams can do, it will be fun to watch him all season.
LB Zach Diles once again led the team in tackles along with CB Glover Quin. When LB Brian Cushing returns from suspension, the linebacking trio of Cushing, Diles and Pro Bowler Demeco Ryans will be one of the best in the league. The Houston D got it done in the second half, making enough stops to give the offense a chance to win. Kicker Neil Rackers then knocked through the game winning 35 yard field goal in a competitive overtime to seal the victory. They say any win on the road is a good one, and this game was a great example of that phrase being true.
Next up: The 0-2 Dallas Cowboys visit Houston this coming Sunday. Dallas needs a victory badly, but Houston has momentum and confidence on their side. Watch for the Cowboys to come out throwing as they know their running game has little chance against the Texan defense. Houston will come out with a balanced offense, then go with what’s working after halftime. The loud Houston crowd is worth at least 3 or 4 points. Stein says Houston rolls at home; 31-21.
Texans Prevail over the Colts
The Houston Texans ran wild over the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Texans running game was as good as it’s ever been, and their defense came to work looking to smack someone around, which they did. The final score was Houston 34, Indianapolis 24, but the Colts added on a late TD to make it look a little more respectable. Houston Head Coach Gary Kubiak had his team fired up and ready to go for the home opener this year. The Texans never trailed, and when they appeared from the halftime break, they almost abandoned the pass to run the ball to record yardage.
On offense, there was no doubt second year running back Arian Foster was the star of the show. He scored three TD’s and set a new Texans rushing record for one game at 231 yards. Over his last three games, Foster is now averaging a tidy 149 yards per game. (Actually, he’s only had three games as the featured back, but why quibble?) Quarterback Matt Schaub was not as sharp as he’s been in the past, but hit some nice throws when he had to. Schaub was noticeably short on two bombs and misread the Colts safeties to throw one pick on the day. He did finish one nice drive with a perfect strike to WR Kevin Walter for a score in the second quarter. Houston receivers didn’t have many balls to catch as Schaub only attempted 17 passes, but they did some nice blocking for Houston’s running backs. Speaking of nice blocking, Houston’s O-line had a mighty fine day pushing people around. While Foster hit the holes hard, some of the gaps were just too big to miss. Houston fans have never seen their offensive line and running back in perfect rhythm like they did last Sunday. Houston’s defense, however, had a rhythm all their own.
From the Colts first series, the Houston defense let their division rival know it was going to be a long day. If DE Mario Williams wasn’t sacking Colt’s quarterback Peyton Manning, he was pressuring or hitting the All Pro. The rest of the defensive line got in on the act by consistently chasing Manning out of his comfort zone. Yes, Mr. Manning had plenty of yardage passing, but he also had plenty of throws. Except for just a few passes, most were of the short variety. When Peyton did complete a pass, the Houston secondary was waiting. Veteran safety Bernard Pollard has brought a passion and intensity to Houston’s secondary that has not been seen before. The intensity has caught on as Indy’s receivers paid for each catch with a good hit by the Texans. Pollard was one of the top tacklers on the day along with LB’s Demeco Ryans and Zach Diles. The worst thing that happened to Houston’s defense was second year DE Connor Barwin suffering a season ending ankle injury. Barwin will be missed, but how much? Time will tell.
Next Up: Redskins
The question now is; was this game a rare event or the way things are going to be this year? It’s easy for a team to get pumped up for a home opener, but can they repeat this performance on the road? It won’t take long to find out as the team flies to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Redskins this coming Sunday. The ‘Skins offense is not nearly as polished as the Colts, but their defense is a different animal. They are good. Both teams are coming off emotional first week wins against division rivals, but the edge for this game comes from the longevity of the Texans coaching staff and roster. Washington has a new quarterback learning his receivers. They have new coaches and many new players. Houston’s players know each other well, and have most of their coaches back. This gives Houston the edge they need, and they will pull away late in the game to take down the Skins 21-14.
Ready to Roll
The Houston Texans are rapidly approaching the first game of the 2010 season with more confidence than ever before. No, they’re not crowing and posturing like the New York Jets, but they know they have the best, deepest roster they’ve ever assembled. Head Coach Gary Kubiak has steadily made over the roster since he first arrived in Houston, directed the Texans to their first winning season last year, and is now aiming for a playoff run. It won’t be easy, as several obstacles are in the Texans’ way.
First up is a very stern test against the Indianapolis Colts. If the Texans do make it to the playoffs this year, they need to at least split with Indy. Winning at home seems more likely than on the road later in the year. The last time the Texans beat the Colts was in December of ’06. To hear the media tell it, you’d think it never happened. It did happen, with Kubiak as coach and David Carr at quarterback. With Matt Schaub at the helm and coming off a fine year, Houston fans should feel much better about doing it again. The Texans very nearly won both games against the Colts last year, but need to learn how to finish them off. The Colts defense looked very suspect in the preseason, but we all know the offense can put up points. Expect a high scoring matchup this week at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
In preparing for the Colts, the Texans have also been busy with player transactions. Houston has fine tuned their roster in the last week by signing seven players to the practice squad, waiving some players, and picking up free agents. Quarterback Matt Leinart was one of the free agents that was signed. While Leinart has had a disappointing career, he is at least better than QB John David Booty, who was waived, and should provide competition for Dan Orlovsky as the second team quarterback. One of the players that was waived was the last original Texan on the roster, kicker Kris Brown. Brown had a good camp, but new kicker Neil Rackers was just as good, and had a better 2009 than Brown.
Week One: The Texans will score plenty of points at home this year, especially against the banged up Colts. Peyton Manning knows this and will come out throwing. Look for the game to be in doubt in the fourth quarter, but the Texans win; 31-27.
Texans Shut Down Cowboys
Texans 23, Cowboys 7: Okay, Houston fans, settle down a bit. The Texans probably aren’t as dominant as they seemed against Dallas last Saturday night. But….they also aren’t as bad as they seemed the week before against New Orleans either. However it worked out, it was nice to see the Texans’ defense shut down Dallas for more than three quarters. The Texans finally got a chance to play in front of the home crowd, and it paid off with a needed win.
On offense, second year running back Arian Foster became the first running back in Texans history to go over 100 yards in a preseason game. It also needs to be noted that Foster had a fat 6.1 yards per carry average against a good Dallas defense. QB Matt Schaub was very effective and found his favorite target, WR Andre Johnson, early and often. Schaub racked up 183 yards and one TD in three quarters of work, while Johnson caught seven balls for 79 yards. WR Jacoby Jones also had a very good night with a TD as looks ready to take over the number two wide receiver spot. Even if Jones does not overtake Kevin Walter for number two, he will get on the field a lot this year and make things happen. The offensive line blocked well for the run and the pass as they round into regular season shape.
In the hotly contested kicking contest, both kickers Kris Brown and Neil Rackers handled their duties cleanly. Brown is currently battling a right foot injury that can’t be helping his cause. The thing the Texans brass need to think about is if they choose to keep Kris Brown over Rackers and then Brown misses a key kick against the Colts in game one, it would be a public relations nightmare. Rackers has a better career percentage than Brown, was better last season than Brown, and has been perfect in preseason. That is hard to beat.
On defense, the Texans could have hardly done any better. Even though the Cowboy offensive line is suspect this year, holding the Dallas starters scoreless for most of the game was impressive. The defensive line sacked QB Tony Romo twice with DE Mario Williams nearly getting him a third time. The linebackers were much sharper than they were against the Saints. Rookie LB Darryl Sharpton looked good once again. The secondary also played well as this year’s additions of CB Kareem Jackson and FS Troy Nolan have helped immensely. Nolan is a second year player but sat out last season with an injury. Barring any other injuries, Houston’s secondary looks to be deeper and better in 2010.
This week’s game is on Thursday night versus the Tampa Bay Bucs. This yearly event will signal the end of the preseason. Look for key starting Texans players to take the night off and for fringe players to get their last chance to impress. Young players like Jackson, Sharpton and Nolan have already made the team. For others, this may be their last game in a Texans uniform. It’s worth watching.
Texans Get Run Over
The Houston Texans lost to the New Orleans Saints last Saturday night by the score of 35-20. It was not that close. The Saints ran wild all night against a Houston defense that did not seem ready to play. It was the Saints first game in the Super Dome since winning last season’s Super Bowl and the Saints and their fans were fired up. The Texans were not.
The Texans’ defense was the story of the game in that they have not looked that out of synch in years. Houston’s defensive line rarely made a tackle and had no sacks. The top three tacklers in the game play in the secondary. This shows the ineffectiveness of the linebacking corps and the line. The Texans had to blitz a safety and a linebacker just to record their only sack of the game. They gave up 198 yards rushing and 409 total yards. Perhaps playing back to back road games and living out of a New Orleans hotel all week took its toll. It’s as good an excuse as any for a bad game.
On offense, the quarterbacks looked good as both Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky led touchdown drives. RB Arian Foster ran well and scored a touchdown but had a costly fumble. The receivers and tight ends were solid, but the offense did not get much of a chance to shine as the defense gave up long drives and could not get the Saints offense off the field. The offense was far from perfect as two drives shorted out and ended with long field goals. Foster’s fumble plus a dropped kick by KR Trindon Holliday added to the bad field position Houston suffered much of the night. Houston started flat and stayed flat most of the night.
Next on the schedule is the annual preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. Houston fans are looking for a much more focused Texan team to take the field on Saturday. Most of these fans know that wins and losses are not the main thing in the preseason, but they do know a lack of preparation when they see it. They saw it last Saturday night.
Preseason Game One
Cardinals 19, Texans 16: When is a loss a win? Last Saturday, that’s when. The Houston Texans dominated the Arizona Cardinals for more than three quarters in Glendale Arizona, then decided to let the home town fans have a thrill by letting the Cards come back and win the game. The Texans didn’t really let the Cardinals win, it just worked out that way. It didn’t make much difference as Houston fans had already seen their first and second team totally shut down Arizona’s offense when it counted.
On defense, the Texans were primed and ready for the 2010 debut. DE Mario Williams lead the attack with two sacks, but he had plenty of help. LB’s Demeco Ryans and Brian Cushing were flying around with high energy. Safety Bernard Pollard has instilled a toughness in Houston’s secondary that made Cardinals receivers pay for each catch. Rookie LB Darryl Sharpton had a fine game including seven tackles and a pickoff of a Cardinal pass. That must have got him noticed by the coaches and fans. Second year safety Troy Nolan finally got a chance to contribute, grabbing an interception and making some nice hits. Young LB Darnell Bing also was in on a lot of action.
The offense started off with a bang as QB Matt Schaub threw a nice deep ball to All Pro WR Andre Johnson for the first TD of the game. After that, they cooled off a bit, but even though they failed to score a touchdown in four tries in the red zone, they did hit three field goals for a nice 16-0 lead. Houston controlled the game when it counted, but Head Coach Gary Kubiak knows they need to finish drives better. Scoring TD’s in the red zone is a priority this year, but since it’s game one of the preseason and the Texans obviously were trying things they would not do in the regular season, Texans’ fans shouldn’t be too worried.
Starting RB Arian Foster looked in tune with the offense, snapping off some nice runs. Second year running back Jeremiah Johnson also had a nice per carry average and earned some more time. RB Steve Slaton did not impress. He struggled finding holes to run through, then fumbled at the goal line as Houston was prepared to finish a drive. WR’s Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones were the bright spots on the receiving corps. The offensive line did a fine job pass blocking and their run blocking seemed just as good as long as Foster and Johnson were carrying the ball. (Funny how a good running back makes the line look better.) Rookie WR Dorin Dickerson caught the ball well but could learn to run straight up field to maximize each catch. In the kicking competition, neither kicker missed a field goal and their kickoffs were about equal distance.
Overall, the first preseason game has to be considered a success. The score says Arizona won, but the Texans starters have no doubt who really won the game. The worst part of the visit to the desert was the loss of rookie RB Ben Tate from Auburn. The young man reportedly has a broken ankle that will shelve him for the season. (Let’s hope he doesn’t have Charles Spencer’s doctors on the case.) Hopefully Tate will come back at full speed next season to join the Texans on their second run to the playoffs.
Risky Off Season
Houston Texans’ training camp starts soon, and many Houston fans are hoping for a playoff appearance in the 2010-11 season. Much of this hope comes from a young nucleus of good players all reaching their prime. Some of it comes from the thinking that the city is just due to win this year. It is not from all the wheeling and dealing the Texans leadership has been up to, that’s for sure. Texans owner Bob McNair and General Manager Rick Smith seemed to take no risks in the off season. They signed no free agents of note, and made no splashy trades. At first glance, one might think the Texans spent the off season taking no risks, but this is not true. They are risking a lot.
In the off season of 2010, there was no salary cap, so NFL teams could sign proven, starting free agents if the team was willing to go for it. The Texans were not. NFL teams could make trades like never before if they chose to be bold. The Texans did not. By not going out on the market to find a speedy free safety, the Texans’ brass is saying; “We are good enough at safety.” Most do not believe this. Bernard Pollard is a very good run stuffing strong safety, but does not cover well. Eugene Wilson is an average free safety, but injury prone. Through trade or free agency, a fast free safety was needed.
In the 2009 season, the Texans ran the ball poorly. The team could have traded for an established offensive lineman or signed a talented free agent, but they did not. Instead, they drafted young running back Ben Tate and declared the running game would now be better. Most observers and fans thought the team might do more to wake up the dormant running attack. They were told all is just fine. The same can be said of staying with Dan Orlovsky as backup quarterback. “We’ll be just fine”, Rick Smith says. The Texans are taking a risk by not taking risks.
Houston did have an above average draft at first look, but so much more could have been done this off season. So much more was expected from the leadership of a team on the cusp of the playoffs. Instead, Houston saved their money and proceeded to tell their fans they didn’t need to do anything fancy. They are telling the fans they know what they are doing and the team did not need impact free agents to make the playoffs. But by taking no risks on the player market, they are risking their reputations as judges of talent. They are risking the faith of the fans. After eight seasons of football with no playoffs, that’s risky.
Houston Texans have An Eventful May
Once upon a time there was a professional football team in South Texas that dreamed of being mentioned by the national media once and awhile. In May of 2010, the team got their wish, just not exactly the way they wanted to. The Houston Texans finally got some air time on some national shows by one player holding out for a better deal, and another getting suspended for a banned substance.
All Pro WR Andre Johnson held out a couple days of organized team activities, (OTA’s), to get a point across to team management that he would like to talk about a new contract extension. I would like to take this moment to make a point; “Hey Andre, maybe you should have had a real agent negotiating your last deal!” (Andre had his uncle representing him and they signed a deal that was too long.) Johnson did not stay away from practice for very long, and in the end he did hire a professional agent who was not related to him.
Last year’s defensive rookie of the year, LB Brian Cushing was revealed to have been tested positive for a banned substance by the NFL. Cushing will miss the first four regular season games of the 2010 season. This story got significant airplay by the media as they just love to rant on and on about steroids and such. Too bad for the other 31 teams in the league that also have stories to tell. The media just loves to lead off and spend much of their air time on either steroid related stories or Brett Favre.
Meanwhile over near Reliant Stadium in Houston, the Texans OTA’s are almost over and some players have shown very well for Head Coach Gary Kubiak. The coach has gone out of his way to praise fourth year wide receiver Jacoby Jones. Kubiak says Jones is doing better now than ever before and should push WR’s Kevin Walter and David Anderson for playing time. Also on the offensive end, running back Arian Foster has been running with the first team. Foster is said to be doing everything well and he has the size the coaches like. Third year back Steve Slaton also has had some fine practices and is looking just as good as his rookie year, maybe better. Rookie RB Ben Tate missed the first 10 OTA practices and has much time to make up.
Second year TE James Casey and rookie TE Garrett Graham have impressed Coach Kubiak by splitting all the snaps at their position while the other TE’s nurse injuries. The coaches plan on using Casey exclusively at tight end for now.
On the defensive side of the ball, the team has been impressed with their first round pick, cornerback Kareem Jackson and the third round pick Earl Mitchell, a defensive tackle. Kubiak has said these two rookies have the best chance to contribute this year. Also impressing the coach is third year corner Antwaun Molden. Molden has always had the tools to play in the league, but needs to stay healthy if he is to stick around. Safety Troy Nolan, a second year player is doing very well in the OTA’s and he is pushing hard to be the backup to either Brian Pollard or Eugene Wilson, the projected opening day starters at safety.
Overall, it was an eventful May, and the Houston Texans finally got some big time news coverage. Not the most positive of stories, but it is air time, right? At least Houston fans got to see the national media talk about their team. Now if the media would only get a chance to mention the Texans and the playoffs in the same sentence. That’s the dream.
The 8th Round
After the NFL Draft is over, General Managers get very busy signing undrafted free agent rookies. While it’s rare an undrafted player sticks with a team and makes an impact in the NFL, it does happen. For the teams that pick them up, these players provide depth during training camp and could make the practice squad. Best case scenario, the player really surprises and makes the 53 man roster. For the players, it’s a chance to show all the teams in the NFL what they missed out on and if they don’t make the cut this year, they gain valuable experience in an NFL camp to try to make another run at it next year. Reportedly, here’s the rookie free agents the Houston Texans made agreements with after the draft:
QB Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green; 6’4”, 225 lbs – 3rd Team All MAC. Two year starter. Passed for just over 4,000 yards last season. Familiar with the West Coast offense.
FB Jack Corcoran, Rutgers; 6’1”, 230 lbs. – Started 21 games for Rutgers in his career. Strictly a blocking fullback.
FB/LB Isaiah Greenhouse, Northwestern State; 6’2”, 240 lbs – A special teams star in college, Greenhouse will not be outworked. Played linebacker in college.
WR London Crawford, Arkansas; 6’2”, 205 lbs – Good speed, but a raw player. Not used very much at Arkansas. 17 career starts. Injuries held him back in college.
WR Trey Stross, Iowa, 6’2”, 200 lbs – Very good leaping ability, with average speed. High jumped in college for track team. Injuries hampered his career. Won Iowa hustle award for special teams.
TE/OT Steve Maneri, Temple; 6’6”, 270 lbs. – Good blocking TE. If he can gain weight, could be tried at tackle. 3rd team All MAC. With all the TE’s in camp, he better gain weight!
OT Cole Pemberton, Colorado State; 6’7”, 315 lbs. – Three year starter in college. Played in East-West Shrine game. More than a few services had him going in sixth or seventh rounds.
OT Adam Ulatoski, Texas; 6’5”, 310 lbs – 2nd team Sporting News All American. First team all Big 12. Starter for most of his career at Texas. Good strength. Could be moved to guard.
OG Kristian Matte, Concordia; 6’4”, 300 lbs – Played in Canada. Probably will be tried inside instead of tackle.
LB Will Patterson, Indiana; 6’1”, 235 lbs – Three year starter. Team captain his final two years. Smart, if not talented player.
DT Malcom Sheppard, Arkansas, 6’2” 285 lbs; Plays hard all the time. Undersized for defensive tackle, but very productive. Suffered shoulder injury in Liberty Bowl that still bothers him.
DE Mitch Unrein, Wyoming, 6’4”, 270 lbs. – All Mountain West Honorable Mention. Had a good pro day that caught some scouts eyes. Good, but not great speed.
CB Pierre Singfield, Arizona State, 5’11”, 195 lbs. – Good size. Plays physical. Average speed.
FS Torri Williams, Purdue, 6’0”, 205 lbs – Hampered by injuries most of his college career. Tackles well. Played both corner and safety in college.
FS Nick Polk, Indiana, 5’11”, 210 lbs – Four year starter at Indiana. Does not time well in the 40, but plays faster than he tests. Supports against the run well.
SS Aaron Webster, Cincinnati, 6’1”, 210 lbs – Good strength. Has been times under 4.5 forty recently. Led Cincy in interceptions his senior year, and was third in tackles.
While it seems all of these players have some potential, they cannot all make the team. As deep as the Texans are these days, don’t expect more than a few of these players to even make the practice squad. There must have been some reason why they all went undrafted.
The NFL draft weekend has come and gone and it looks like the Houston Texans targeted quantity and depth with their picks. With some wheeling and dealing, Houston General Manager Rick Smith started with eight picks but ended up with nine. Houston went for need picks on the first and second day, grabbing a very good cornerback, a star running back and a defensive tackle with their first three picks. The defensive tackle, Earl Mitchell from Arizona, seems a lot like what the team has now, (a short, sub-300 pound DT), but it is a position of need.
After much discussion over Friday night and into Saturday morning, Houston opened day three by going for depth, not need, with a linebacker and a tight end. The tight ends the Texans have on the roster must be more hurt than the fans were led to believe if the team needed a tight end over safety help. The fans will also keep an eye on the players Houston passed up to take a middle linebacker, trust me. The Texans brass could have also gone with offensive linemen in the 4th or 5th rounds but chose not to do so. They must believe the running problems the team had in 2009 were due to their running backs and not the offensive line as they have done little this off-season to shore up their interior linemen. Time will tell if that is true.
Let’s take a look at the newest Houston Texans:
Round One: CB Kareem Jackson, 5’11”, 195 lbs, Alabama – Three year starter for 2009 national champs then jumped to the NFL after junior year. Physical defender with very good speed. Should start for Texans.
Round Two: RB Ben Tate, 5’11”, 220 lbs, Auburn – 2nd team All-SEC Conference player. Very fast straight line speed. Posted a sub 4.4 forty yard dash at the combine. Follows blockers well, then cuts and goes. Tate should be in the fight for the starting job right away.
Round Three: DT Earl Mitchell, 6’2”, 295 lbs, Arizona – Mitchell has good speed for a DT. He caught the eyes of the scouts by running a 4.75 forty yard dash at the combine. 2nd team All Pac-10. Quicker than he is strong, Mitchell will be counted on to shoot the gaps to disrupt opposing offenses. Mitchell hopefully will be part of Houston’s defensive tackle rotation.
Round Four: LB Darryl Sharpton, 6’0”, 230 lbs, Miami – 2nd team All-ACC. Four year player at Miami, Sharpton was a starter his last two years. Great motor and instincts. Hard hitter for his size. The Texans hope he will add depth to a fine linebacking corps.
Round Four: TE Garrett Graham, 6’3”, 250 lbs, Wisconsin – Sure handed receiver for the Badgers. Also a good blocker. First team all Big Ten, and honorable mention All American. Graham will fight James Casey to be Owen Daniels backup.
Round Five: CB Sherrick McManis, 6’1”, 190 lbs, Northwestern – First team all Big Ten selection by the media. McManis does not have great speed, but is smart enough to compensate. Could be moved to free safety. Will have to fight to make the team. Could be prime candidate for practice squad.
Round Six: OL Shelley Smith, 6’4”, 300 lbs, Colorado State – Honorable mention all conference. Good foot speed, but not great strength. Played in a zone blocking scheme in college much like the Texans. Practice squad material unless he shows well in camp.
Round Six: KR Trindon Holliday, 5’5”, 160 lbs, LSU – Probably the fastest player in college football last year. Consistently timed under 4.4 in the 40. He is a better kick returner than punt returner, but can do both. The Texans hope he can handle both so WR Jacoby Jones can concentrate on his receiving skills.
Round Seven: WR/TE Dorin Dickerson, 6’2”, 220 lbs, Pittsburgh – Texans plan to use Dickerson at WR. Has posted a 43” vertical leap. Very good hands. First team All American. A definite steal in the 7th round, he could make the 53 man roster if he proves he can run pro routes.
Next: The Eighth Round
Texans Corner Jackson
When the Houston Texans decided to let CB Dunta Robinson leave via free agency, everyone knew they would have to address their need for cornerback in this year’s NFL draft at some point. To kill any suspense, the Texans grabbed CB Kareem Jackson from the University of Alabama in the first round. The Houston brass were watching to see if RB Ryan Mathews fell to them at the 20th pick, but when San Diego jumped in front of them to nab Mathews, the Texans turned their sights to a cornerback. At pick 20, the Texans still had their choice of Jackson, Rutgers Devin McCourty, or Boise State’s Kyle Wilson, but Defensive Coordinator Frank Bush stated that the team thought Jackson was the most complete and game-ready player of the three.
Kareem Jackson, 5’11”, 195 lbs, started at Alabama since his freshman season and started in 40 of 41 games he was eligible to play. As a junior, he was a big part of the national championship team. Jackson plays the run well and has better than average speed. The Texans liked the fact that Jackson played in the SEC against a high level of competition for a top coach like Nick Saban. After learning of being picked by the Texans, Kareem said he will bring a feisty attitude with him and play with a bruising style.
Texans Mock Draft
Before I get around to telling you all exactly the players the Texans will pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, I need to say a little something.
I am getting tired of hearing “draft experts” in the media calling Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford a “franchise quarterback”. Mr. Bradford is not a franchise quarterback. He may be in time, but he is not right now. The term “franchise quarterback” should be reserved for QB’s that have actually done something. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Tom Brady are prime examples of this phenomenon. Any undrafted QB or any second year NFL QB are not yet franchise quarterbacks. They could be. They might be. They possibly have the potential to be, but they are not. Savvy? Some QB’s are taken very early because a GM or an owner label the kid a franchise quarterback, but they never lead that franchise anywhere. David Carr, Ryan Leaf and Rick Mirer are fine examples of this. If you hear any draftnik, guru or expert say any quarterback is a “franchise QB” before he is drafted, treat everything else that person says with suspicion. You have been warned.
Now then, here is the Houston Texans’ mock draft. Be amazed as I tell you exactly which players the Texans will choose and what round! (Of course, I’m joking, I only intend to get half of these exactly right.)
Round One, Pick 20: Earl Thomas, Safety, 5’10”, 202 lbs, Texas – The Texans have never had a top flight free safety, and if Thomas is there at pick 20, Houston will grab him. Houston has a fine strong safety in Bernard Pollard, but Pollard is not the fastest safety you’ll ever see. Thomas would cover much ground and allow Pollard to play closer to the line. It’s a natural. (Fallback Pick: Ryan Mathews, RB, Fresno State)
Round Two, Pick 51: Kareem Jackson, Cornerback, 5’11”, 196 lbs, Alabama – Houston goes for a need position and a fine player in Jackson. He would compete for a starting job right off the bat. (Fallback Pick: Brian Price, DT, UCLA)
Round Three, Pick 81: Ben Tate, Running Back, 5’11”, 220 lbs, Auburn – Tate has the size Houston is looking for and surprising speed. With all the Houston backs having some sort of question mark, watch the Texans take a running back in one of the first three rounds. (Fallback Pick: Dominique Franks, CB, Oklahoma)
Round Four, Pick 118: Arthur Jones, Defensive Tackle, 6’3”, 301 lbs, Syracuse – Jones can add some weight to his large frame and he is already a good run stuffer. He would fit right in to the Texans’ D-Tackle rotation. Amobi Okoye is on notice. (Fallback Pick: J.D. Walton, C, Baylor)
Round Five, Pick 150: Zane Beadles, Offensive Tackle/Guard, 6’5”, 305, Utah – Beadles is light on his feet and moves well for an O-lineman. Must add some muscle to be pro-ready. (Don’t need no stinking fallback pick. I will nail the final rounds)
Round Six, Pick 187: Jevon Snead, Quarterback, 6’3”, 218 lbs, Mississippi – With Dan Orlovsky as the backup for Matt Schaub, it’s worth a sixth or seventh round pick to take a QB to develop. Snead is the pick. Not very accurate, but big and mobile. (Sounds like Orlovsky)
Round Six, Pick 197: O’Brien Schofield, Linebacker, 6’2”, 225 lbs, Wisconsin – Schofield would have gone much higher than this, but injured his knee during Senior Bowl practice. He will be worth the one year wait, and he’s got a cool name.
Round Seven, Pick 227: Zoltan Mesko, Punter, 6’5”, 240 lbs, Michigan – Houston brought in some competition for kicker Kris Brown, so they now bring in competition for punter Matt Turk. It makes sense, don’t it? Also……cool name.
Next week: Final Thoughts Before Big Thursday
Draft Needs by Position
Before jumping into draft related issues, the Houston Texans took care of some other business recently. They re-signed a couple of their own key free agents, namely LB Demeco Ryans and SS Bernard Pollard. Ryans’ contract was extended six years. Pollard only signed a one year tender, but both sides are talking long term deals. These moves showed the Texans commitment to keep productive players locked up. Could TE Own Daniels be next? We shall see.
The Eagles shook up the upcoming draft by trading QB Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins. A few draft services had the ‘Skins taking a QB with their first round pick, but now that seems very unlikely. The McNabb trade should not affect the Texans pick at 20 since the ‘Skins are now more likely to grab an offensive lineman in the first round. Houston probably was not going to go offensive line in the first round anyway.
Where will the Texans go in the first round? Let’s look at what they don’t need first. Don’t expect Houston to use early picks at TE, LB, QB, K, P, or WR. Sure, they may grab a player from these positions later, or if someone they love drops to them but these are not “need” positions right now. The top five areas of need for the Texans are CB, FS, RB, DT, OL. The thinking around Texans camp is that 2nd year man, Connor Barwin will be ready for an increased role in the defense in 2010. In a limited role last year, Barwin still notched 4.5 sacks. He should help bringing heat to opposing QB’s, so the team can turn to the secondary. Expect the Texans to grab a cornerback on day one or day two. By not re-signing CB Dunta Robinson, Houston needs more corner help.
Houston has never had a top flight free safety with speed and ball skills. The 2010 draft may be the year they change that. There is depth and talent at both the cornerback and safety position among the young athletes coming out in the draft this year. Houston may use a high pick at safety for the first time. Another position in the draft that has depth galore is running back. The Texans could wait until rounds three or four and still get a nice back to give incumbents Steve Slaton and Arian Foster a run for their money.
The Texans in their history have usually chosen to trade back rather than trade up. With the depth of this year’s draft, it may be wise to keep to that course of action. New England, Philadelphia and San Diego may want to move up and give Houston one of their later picks. This would afford the Texans a chance at five picks in the first four rounds, and they could go after all their need positions. Smith has also shown a flair for adding good late round players, so this “trade back” strategy could serve the team well.
First Stab at Houston’s First Round Choice:
Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State, 5’10”, 195 lbs.
Off-Season Needs; Defense
It’s late March in Houston, and no defensive free agents have been signed by the Texans. In fact, all Houston has done is re-sign WR Kevin Walter, P Matt Turk and pluck reserve offensive lineman Wade Smith away from Kansas City. With no salary cap this year, it’s a sure bet more Texans’ fans were hoping for more activity from their team but so far it’s not happening. The lack of activity on the free agent market is starting to dictate what the team needs to do in the draft.
By losing CB Dunta Robinson to free agency, Houston must surely target a cornerback in the first three rounds. On their roster, they do have two capable starters in Jacques Reeves and second year man Glover Quin. Quin had a fine ’09 season for a rookie, but Reeves not so much. Reeves did battle injuries and is expected to be at full speed this season. The Texans do not, however, have a shutdown corner and depth is a problem. Cornerback, safety and defensive tackle all need shoring up equally so any one of those positions could be taken in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft. Houston may also bow to fan pressure to take a first round running back.
When Bernard Pollard was signed by GM Rick Smith early last season, the team’s strong safety needs seemed solved for the next few years. Pollard helps mightily against the run and brings an edge the young Houston defense needed. Pollard is limited in coverage, so the wise choice would be to bring a speedy free safety into the fold to cover more ground. FS Eugene Wilson is above average at the position, but is getting older and more prone to injuries. Big corners Fred Bennett or Antwaun Molden could be converted to safety if Head Coach Gary Kubiak and his staff wanted to think outside the box. If Kubiak continues to follow his conservative nature, expect Houston not to try that and grab a safety somewhere in the first four rounds.
The only defensive position Houston is loaded at is linebacker. All Houston linebackers had their moments last year with Demeco Ryans leading the way. Second year LB Brian Cushing had a stellar year and should get even better. Former seventh round pick Zach Diles is the bookend to Cushing and is very solid. If Houston adds a linebacker this off season, it will be for depth and is not a high priority. The defensive line is another story.
In 2009, the Texans’ defensive line started the season horribly against the run and could not generate a pass rush. During the season, they fixed one of those problems. Houston did better against the run as the year progressed, but never mounted much pressure on enemy quarterbacks. The team spent big money to bring in DE Antonio Smith last year, drafted DE Connor Barwin and already has Mario Williams, so if Houston does go for a lineman, expect it to be a tackle. If Barwin shows enough improvement, Smith may also play more snaps on the inside. DT Shaun Cody played well against the run, but neither he nor fourth year pro Amobi Okoye generate much inside pressure. A rookie with a great motor may get a call from Houston in late April. Tackles Jared Odrick from Penn State or Brian Price out of UCLA could be the young men called.
Off-Season Needs; Offense
The Texans’ off-season is officially off and running! Multiple media sources have reported that the Texans will not put the franchise tag on CB Dunta Robinson this year. The word is the team won’t negotiate a contract with Robinson at all. If true, this decision makes signing a free agent cornerback or taking a rookie corner early in the NFL draft a must. Although the coaches publicly said nice things about Robinson’s abilities, the Texans obviously don’t think he is worth the reported 12 million dollars another franchise tag would cost the team. This news opens the window to talk about Houston’s off-season needs. This week we look at the offense.
Looking at what the Houston Texans will be targeting this off-season gives us a chance to review last season. The offensive line did a fine job in the pass blocking category, but not so much with the run blocking. Was that purely because the offensive linemen are inadequate, or are Houston’s running backs mediocre? If Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew or Adrian Peterson had played for the Texans last year, one must believe the Texans would have produced a 1200 yard rusher. Alas, Houston had running backs Steve Slaton, Chris Brown and Ryan Moats. There was more fumbling than running happening. With starting OG’s Chester Pitts and Mike Briesel coming back from injuries, and their backups gaining valuable playing time last year, don’t look for the Texans to draft an offensive lineman high this year. Running back is another story.
Although some people have been vocal about wanting the Texans to sign RB LaDainian Tomlinson, who was recently waived by San Diego, don’t expect it to happen. The memory of brittle, older running back Ahman Green is too fresh in the teams’ mind. Look instead for Houston to draft a rookie running back with one of their top three picks. Ryan Mathews from Fresno State or Ben Tate from Auburn may be what the Texans brass is looking for. Along with the returning Steve Slaton and Ryan Moats, Houston will also have Jeremiah Johnson coming back from an injury year. Arian Foster, who ran well in the last two games also will be back to compete. Fullback is covered by underrated Vonta Leach. Houston may look for a backup fullback and keep James Casey at full time tight end.
Continuing with the offense, the wide receivers are a great group. All-Pro WR Andre Johnson and sure handed WR Kevin Walter are the starters, but Walter is an unrestricted free agent. Stein says Houston should shell out the dollars to keep Walter on the Texans roster. It’s not my money, I say spend it. Quality backups David Anderson, Jacoby Jones and Andre Davis make wide receiver a non-need area. If a wide receiver is taken, it will be after the first four picks. Tight Ends are also covered with Pro Bowler Owen Daniels destined to be on the roster one way or another. Houston has good depth at tight end with Joel Dreessen, James Casey and Anthony Hill. Quarterback is not a need position with Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Schaub coming back along with backups Rex Grossman and Dan Orlovsky. General Manager Rick Smith may grab a QB in the later rounds if someone he likes is falling. Trading Grossman or Orlovsky is always on the table if a partner is willing.
With two starting offensive linemen coming back, along with TE Owen Daniels, the Texans running game should be better in 2010. There should also be great competition at running back especially if Houston brings in a top rookie. It looks like most of the Texans draft will aim at the defense once again. As always, I advise the team to trade back in the first round. If they trade back or not, the concentration should be at defensive tackle, cornerback and safety depending on what they do in free agency.
Pro Bowl Week
Well, its Pro Bowl week and what do ya know? I’m warming up to the idea of the game being played the week before the Super Bowl. Usually, this weekend is a bit of a letdown after the Championship games, and it’s still not overly exciting, but at least the Pro Bowl gives us a chance to see some pro football players doing their thing. When the Pro Bowl is played the week after the Super Bowl, most people, including myself, don’t give it a glance, but this year, I get the feeling more people will. For Houston Texans fans, this year is a special treat as the team has placed five players on the AFC squad. WR Andre Johnson, DE Mario Williams, LB Demeco Ryans and rookie LB Brian Cushing were named to the team early on, and QB Matt Schaub was a late substitute. However they got on the roster, five Texans in the Pro Bowl is a record. Yes, I know Cushing will not play due to injuries, but why quibble?
The Pro Bowl is not the only football on the tube this week. The Senior Bowl is also this weekend and that gives us a chance to see some of the best college players in the land goes against one another. By watching some network’s coverage, you might think the week is about Florida QB Tim Tebow and some other dudes, but there really are some good pro prospects out there. Texan fans should pay particular attention to running backs, offensive linemen and safeties. Actually, the only positions not high on the Texans need list are tight ends, wide receivers and linebackers, so go ahead and watch everyone. The Senior Bowl, along with the Shrine Game and the NFL Combine go a long way to determining a players draft order, so if you’re interested in the NFL Draft, you should be interested in the Senior Bowl.
Speaking of the NFL draft, it is fast approaching and has become a great two day event over the years. The draft has done very well in the ratings in recent years as a Saturday & Sunday event. Coupled with almost every other major sport playing that weekend, the draft was the focal point of many fans’ April weekend sports party. It’s a shame the NFL is changing the draft schedule to make more money. The league is televising the first round on a Thursday night this year. The second two rounds will be shown on Friday night. It’s a shame. Regardless of the NFL’s claim that they are trying to make the draft more accessible, it’s about the cash. How can a televised event be more accessible on a Thursday night rather than Saturday, when most Americans don’t work? It makes no sense. Maybe the league will change the draft back to Saturday/Sunday next year if enough fans complain or simply don’t watch the weeknight telecasts. We can hope.
Finally Get Nine Wins
So the Houston Texans are finally above average. Houston fans have suspected it for some time, but now they have proof. The Texans defeated the New England Patriots last Sunday by the score of 34-27. The Texans finished 9-7 and it was the first time in their history they finished over .500. Head Coach Gary Kubiak’s team has shown slow and steady improvement since his arrival. Some teams go from bad to great overnight, then back to bad again. Not Houston. It’s steady as she goes. Kubiak’s teams have won six games, then eight, then eight again, now nine. (If this continues, an undefeated season is in the future) Coach Kubiak is working his plan to build through the draft while picking up key free agents here and there. It’s good enough for Texans’ owner Bob McNair to proclaim Kubiak’s job safe for at least one more season.
While collecting their ninth victory, Houston made their fans sweat it out. The Texans were down by fourteen early in the fourth quarter before Kubiak instructed his offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, to go to the hurry up offense. It worked. Quarterback Matt Schaub worked the offense to perfection and in less than eleven minutes, three TD’s were produced and the game was won. When in the red zone, the team stuck mostly to the run game with rookie RB Arion Foster running behind a motivated and effective offensive line. Foster finished with 119 rushing yards and two TD’s to stake his claim to the starting tailback job next year. Were you watching, Steve Slaton? WR Jacoby Jones had a nice game also, making up for a pass in the third quarter that went through his hands for a Pats pick six. On defense, LB Demeco Ryans collected 7 tackles and rookie LB Brian Cushing was everywhere and notched another sack. DE Mario Williams also got his ninth sack of the year. It was a fine effort that was rewarded by possibly the loudest home crowd of the season.
While there was many good things about the Patriot game, two year long problems were still in evidence; Kicker Kris Brown and fumbling. Kris Brown finished up a bad year with a bad game. Brown missed two field goals and an extra point. His year long success rate was below 70%. Expect the Texans to bring in some competition for Brown’s job next year. Then there were two fumbles. RB Ryan Moats dropped the ball and so did WR Andre Johnson. Neither fumble was lost, but they reminded many of why Houston only won nine games. Key fumbles throughout the year dearly cost the team. On the whole, however, it was a good day for the Texans and their fans.
With some help from other teams, Houston would have made the playoffs, but it was not meant to be. The Texans players can go into the offseason with a good feeling about the 2009 season. It could have been a great feeling, but this very young team missed some key opportunities. Live and learn they say. (They do say that, right?)
Notes: Four Texans were voted Pro Bowl starters or reserves: DE Mario Williams, LB Demeco Ryans, WR Andre Johnson, and rookie LB Brian Cushing. Cushing was also named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Slim Playoff Chance
The Houston Texans have finally perfected the art of playing just one half of football. The trick is to score so much in the first half that the opposing team can’t catch up. The Texans defeated the Miami Dolphins at Landshark Stadium in Miami by the score of 27-20 last Sunday. They led in the second quarter 27-0 and held on for the win. Houston did not score in the second half. This has been a theme all year long for Houston with the team either doing well in the first or second half, rarely have they put a whole game together. Houston now has a record of 8-7 and still has a slight chance at a playoff appearance.
The Houston Texans have never been over .500 after 15 games. This is a new area for the team. If they can defeat the New England Patriots next Sunday in Houston, they will end the year with a franchise best 9-7 record. Even if the Texans win the Patriot game, they will still need two of the right teams to lose to reach the post season. More than likely, Houston fans will have to be happy with their first nine win season. (If the Texans beat the Pats)
Last Sunday, Houston played just about as well as they have all year in the first half. QB Matt Schaub was very sharp. WR Andre Johnson probably locked up an All Pro nod by going over 1500 yards for the 2nd year in a row. Johnson also grabbed another TD pass. Rookie LB Brian Cushing and LB Demeco Ryans led the defense to a first half shutout. Cushing’s nine tackle day was highlighted by a sack and an interception. The second half was another story. Miami came out throwing and made it a very close game, but Houston’s defense made plays when they had to, and the offense ran off enough clock to go back to Houston with the win.
With the Patriots coming to Reliant Stadium, the Texans cannot assume they will reach nine victories. Houston has not been a good home team and New England is not known for resting players for the playoffs. The Pats also need a win to be the third seed in the AFC. The Texans will have to play a full game this week or at least play another stellar half to take down the Patriots. If Houston wins and gets some help from some other teams, they may even finally experience the playoffs. After playing badly at home in ’09 and not doing well in their division, this would be a minor miracle.
A Win is a Win?
The Houston Texans defeated the St. Louis Rams last Sunday by the score of 16-13. Any win is a good win right? …Right? This is the question Texans fans must be wrestling with this week. After last week’s demolition of the Seattle Seahawks, Houston fans probably were thinking their team would roll into St. Louis and blast the Rams. Alas, it did not happen. But it moved the Texans a little closer to a winning record. The win kept the team’s faint playoff hopes alive, but did it give Head Coach Gary Kubiak more job security? Not really. Kubiak’s team showed the same flaws it has all year; No running game, fumbles, and playing down to the opponent. Houston also had to settle for field goals in the red zone instead of touchdowns. It was a win, but was it inspiring? No, it was not.
The game in the Gateway City was not all gloom and doom. Some good things did happen. QB Matt Schaub was 28 of 40 for 367 yards and a touchdown. WR Andre Johnson had 9 catches for 196 yards on his way to another Pro Bowl. Houston’s defense held the Rams to only 13 points, notched three sacks and held RB Steven Jackson to 82 rushing yards. Kicker Kris Brown connected on 2 of 3 field goals. He only missed on a 52 yarder, and that hit the upright. The Texans overcame a slow start to defeat an obviously motivated Rams team.
The Texans have now evened their record to 7-7 with two games to go. The playoffs are still a distant dream even if they win both remaining games. They must win at Miami and at home against New England to even hope of a playoff birth. The 2009 season is now about missed chances. What if they could have finished off the Colts after they held a 17-0 lead? What if they had just split with the Jaguars? What if they could have defeated the Titans at home in front of a rabid Monday Night Football crowd? Just one of those wins would have Houston in a far better position. But Houston fans are getting tired of these what ifs. They want results. Houston management surely has noticed.
The questions the Houston brass must now answer is would the team be better off the next 2 or 3 seasons if they replaced Coach Kubiak? Is Kubiak close to leading the team to a playoff birth, or does the team need the spark of a new head coach to reach the next level? Is there a coach out there clearly better than Kubiak that wants the job? These are the questions that make this writer happy he writes and is not a general manager. The thinking here is that owner Bob McNair keeps Kubiak for the 2010 season with the strict edict of playoffs or bust. Too many teams have turned it around in less time than Kubiak has had to play it otherwise.
Next: At the Dolphins
A Blowout Win
The Seattle Seahawks proved no match for the fired up Houston Texans last Sunday. Head Coach Gary Kubiak gave his team an inspirational speech the night before the game that got them in the winning frame of mind. After sprinting out to a 17-0 lead, the Texans were never threatened and won by the score of 34-7.
After four straight losses, Coach Kubiak thought it was time to rally his team with a long Saturday night speech. From what some players said, he reminded the team they still had something to play for and should not give up on the year. Some star players, like DE Mario Williams, were also pulled aside by the coach for some one on one talks. Some people would say this kind of motivation was long overdue, but regardless of when it happened, it worked. WR Andre Johnson had a monster first half with 11 catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
QB Matt Schaub had 2 TD throws with 365 yards passing on the afternoon. Both players cooled off in the second half, but the team seemed to be working on the running game. The Texans were also burning as much of the clock as they could in the second half. With a huge lead, it was the smart play.
The defense also played with a lot of passion on the day. LB Demeco Ryans was everywhere while racking up 12 tackles. Mario Williams had his best game of the season with 2 sacks, 6 tackles and a forced fumble. Rookie LB Brian Cushing contributed 10 tackles and a sack. The big picture was the defense allowing Seattle only 7 points for the entire game. Seattle came in with a two game win streak and five victories. They are not a great team by any stretch, but they are not terrible. The Houston D gave up only 13 first downs and 282 total yards to the Seahawks. The defense even scored when SS Brian Pollard grabbed away an interception and scampered 70 yards to the ‘zone. (Was that scampering or running for his life?) It was a good show for the Houston fans, but the question is; Is it too little too late?
The Texans’ record now sits at 6-7 with three games left in the 2009 season. All Houston playoff scenarios start with the Texans winning the rest of their games. That is not likely. Even if that did happen, many other teams need to lose in the right combinations. That is not likely either. What is likely is the Texans players playing hard the rest of the season.
The team likes Coach Kubiak and believes that they are responsible for not winning more games, not the coaches. The players seem to want the current coaching staff around for at least one more year. To do that, they better play as hard and as smart as they did last week against Seattle. If they slip and lose one or more of the remaining games, they may have no say in the matter.
A Very Bad Streak
Well, things are getting downright grim for the Houston Texans. The Texans went to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars last Sunday and lost 23-18. That’s four losses in a row for those of you that are counting. Believe me, plenty of Texans fans are counting. Whatever slim chances Houston had for the playoffs ended in Jacksonville.
Houston went into the contest without their best kick returner, WR Jacoby Jones. Jones missed a team meeting on Saturday, and was told to stay in Houston. Fans that want to blame someone for that decision need to blame Jones, not Head Coach Gary Kubiak. From most accounts, Jones has missed enough meetings to warrant the one game suspension. Jones should be accountable for his actions, and it was the correct decision.
On to the game itself: Playing a division foe in the heat of a playoff race is hard enough, but then Houston lost their quarterback on the first play of the game. QB Matt Schaub, whom some call “Fragile Matt”, separated his left shoulder when hit hard by a Jags defender. (By the way, I’m the one who calls him “Fragile Matt”.) While Schaub was in the locker room, QB Rex Grossman came into the game and threw the ball all over the field to both teams. That boy just loves to fling it. Soon the score was 17-0 Jacksonville and the game looked hopeless, but Schaub was not done. “Manly Matt” Schaub showed grit and courage by getting the shoulder popped back into place and re-entering the game. The injured QB immediately took the team downfield to score a touchdown. Unfortunately, the Texans’ defense then gave up a quick field goal drive to the Jags to go down 20-7 at the half.
The second half saw the Texans chip away at the big lead of the hometown Jaguars with a determined effort to stop the running of RB Maurice Jones-Drew. This was effective for most of the second half. (I repeat; Most of the second half.) The comeback was doing fine with the score 23-12 and Houston driving for a touchdown. Then the Texans coaches decided to run a halfback pass on a first down play close to the goal line. Houston had been moving the ball just fine with the quarterbacks passing the ball and running backs running the ball, but Coach Kubiak thought this was the time for some trickery. It backfired. RB Chris Brown was hit as he threw the ball, and tossed a soft interception to the enemy. This was a blow to the effort, but fans and media who think this play cost Houston the game need to re-watch the film. After the interception, Jacksonville only used up about one minute of time and punted the ball. The Texans then methodically took the ball back downfield and scored the TD with 4:07 left in the game. This made the score 23-18, with Jacksonville leading, but so much time was wasted.
The story of the fourth quarter was not the trick play/interception, it was a combination of things. With the team down by two scores with 7:25 to go, Houston showed no sense of urgency. They didn’t have to run a no huddle offense, but how about a hurry up offense? The players walked back to the huddle like they had all day. They then stood around waiting for the calls to come into the huddle. Many valuable seconds were wasted. Then, after Houston did score their final touchdown, Jacksonville got the ball back with 3:57 to go in the game. The Texans had all their timeouts to use, but could not stop Jones-Drew on seven straight runs for the two first downs the Jags needed to run the clock out. The real story of the fourth quarter was the Texans inability to stop Jones-Drew when they had to and the Texans wasting precious time on their last drive. Kubiak needs to find some way to get his plays in faster and get his players to move quicker.
After a 5-3 start, Houston looked like they could be on the way to their first playoff birth, but after four consecutive losses, all to division foes, that dream is over. The question now is whether Gary Kubiak and staff will be retained for next season. If the losing streak continues, the matter may well decide itself. If the Texans go on their normal late season winning streak, it may be enough for Texans owner Bob McNair to give the current coaches one more season. In any event, Houston fans have now endured eight straight seasons of pro football without their team in the playoffs. How many will stick around for the owner’s decision.
Texans Reject Home Cookin’
It’s official. The Houston Texans are not a good home team in 2009. The Indianapolis Colts took the Texan’s best shot last Sunday and came away victorious. The Colts won the contest 35-27 to make Houston 2-4 at Reliant Stadium this season. Houston got off to a great start with leads of 17-0 and 20-7 before totally falling apart in the second half. The Texans are among the league leaders in losing games by one score. This game was only different in that it really wasn’t as close as the final seven point margin indicates.
Head Coach Gary Kubiak had his team ready to go as they promptly scored on their opening drive for the first time this year. Houston got their hometown fans in a frenzy by extending the lead to 17-0. Getting out to such a lead is a nice feat against any team, let alone an undefeated Colts team. DE Mario Williams and rookie DE Connor Barwin both grabbed Colts QB Peyton Manning for sacks. The defense also pressured Manning into throwing two interceptions in the first half. QB Matt Schaub was rolling out and hitting his receivers just like the coaches drew it up. Houston’s running game was even working, and that’s not an every week occurrence. But much to the coaches’ chagrin, the players reverted to their form of only playing one half of good football.
In the second half, the Houston players played like they lost their focus. That’s not to say they didn’t have the same purpose and focus they had in the first half merely that it did not show. Were they overconfident and sloppy in the second half, or did they just seem that way to this writer’s untrained eye? Were they unprepared mentally? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were ready to play. I try not to hurt the feelings of today’s delicate athlete.
What is for certain is that the Texans fell apart at home to a division foe. It was the team’s third loss in a row and their fourth loss at home this season. Houston got away from the run. Matt Schaub lost his accuracy and his ability to protect the ball. The defense just could not hold down Peyton Manning and company like they did in the first half. Whatever the reasons, the Texans just did come out ready to finish off the game. In 2009, either on the road or at home, Houston rarely puts two good halves together.
Houston’s fans deserve better than what they are getting on the home turf, that’s for sure. Four losses in six games are hard for anyone to take. The home field is huge in pro football, especially in Houston Texas. The offense gets near silence to hear the plays and the defense gets a raucous roar to throw off the opponent. The home team is just not taking advantage of their loyal fans. At 5-6 with five games to play, Houston players need to use any advantage at their disposal whether at home or on the road. A winning season depends on it.
Monday Night Letdown
It could have been a turning point game in the history of the Houston Texans. It was not. It could have been a turning point game in Head Coach Gary Kubiak’s career. It was not. The Houston Texans played the Tennessee Titans last Monday night before a national audience and lost 20-17. The Houston Texans remain status quo. The Texans went 8-8 last year and 8-8 the year before. Their record is now 5-5. That’s status quo for pro football in Houston Texas these days.
The big picture is that the Texans could only score 17 points at home against a Titan team that gives up a lot of yardage and points. The big picture is that Houston has now lost three out of five home games in 2009. Many people point to the fact that kicker Kris Brown missed the game tying field goal from 49 yards as the reason the team failed. That is too easy.
There were many reasons Houston lost the game. CB Dunta Robinson dropped a sure interception. RB Steve Slaton and WR Andre Johnson dropped passes. The referees called a questionable “horse collar” tackle on safety John Busing. Coach Kubiak chose to use Chris Brown as his main running back. The offense could not score a TD with three tries from the eight yard line in the third quarter. And yes, Kris Brown missed two field goals.
The offense also failed when they got the ball back in the fourth quarter with 5:14 left in the game with the score tied at 17. They could not put together a scoring drive that used up the clock and won the game. They could not put together a drive that could have changed the course of franchise history. A very good team would do that. The Texans are not a very good team. They are just good, or average you might say. Five wins and five losses is average.
Coach Kubiak is running out of chances to prove himself in Houston. On Monday Night Football after an off week, he could not motivate his team to defeat a six loss Titan team. You want the big picture? There have been quite a few head coaches in history that have turned around bad teams in less time than Kubiak has had. The head coach just had his turning point game and failed. A finishing run to ten wins or the playoffs might be the only thing that saves his job. That’s the big picture.
Colts Still a Bit Better
The Houston Texans traveled to Indianapolis to take on the undefeated Colts last Sunday afternoon. While it was a hotly contested game, the Texans came out on the losing end 20-17. The game came down to the final seconds when Houston kicker Kris Brown missed a 42 yard field goal that would have sent the game into overtime. The 8-0 Colts led the game 13-3 at halftime with the Texans unable to move the ball on offense and committing far too many penalties. The second half saw Houston play much better and actually taking the lead in the fourth quarter before succumbing to the better team.
The first half of the contest was controlled by the Colts. The Colts defense prevented the Texans from getting anything going until late in the half. Houston QB Matt Schaub was not sharp much of the day, making his receivers work hard to catch the ball. He also threw two costly picks. Texans running backs were ineffective all day with Steve Slaton and Ryan Moats combining for only 55 yards. Not all was lost as WR Andre Johnson had a good game with 10 catches for 103 yards. Houston’s defense was severely tested a Colts offense and that bent them but did not break them. The defense was on the field for much of the first half yet only yielded the 13 points. The score would have been worse if not for a second quarter interception by safety Bernard Pollard that stopped a late Colts drive.
Houston may have scored more than three points in the first half, but a strange play stopped the rally. Close to the goal line with about 2:20 left in the 2nd quarter RB Ryan Moats appeared to go out of bounds while the ball slipped from his grasp. Houston coaches did not read the play correctly as they let the clock run down to the two minute warning. The Colts coaches took the extra time to review the play and throw their red flag. They made the correct call and got the ball back at their own 20 on the turnover. Head Coach Gary Kubiak needs to reevaluate his operation as the play was clearly questionable. Someone on the Texans staff had to see that they needed to run a play quickly to stop the Colts from challenging the play. Even if the Texans did not think it was a fumble, it was close enough to warrant a quick snap. But the show went on.
The second half saw the Texans’ offense finally rise to the challenge to score on two TD drives. RB Steve Slaton scored on a short run and RB Ryan Moats had a short TD catch. The Houston defense punished the Indy receivers after every catch. Rookie LB Brian Cushing and safety Pollard led the team with 12 tackles each. Pollard also nabbed two interceptions on the day. DE’s Antonio Smith and Mario Williams both had sacks and pressured Colts QB Peyton Manning much more than they did in the first half. The Texans did make a nice game of it after all was said and done, but when Kris Brown missed the late field goal, the result was the same. The Colts defeated the Texans.
Houston will get another shot at the Colts November 29th in Houston at Reliant Stadium. Before that happens, they get their off week and a Monday Night Football game against the Titans. The Texans just came off stretch of four road games in five weeks and they are still on track for a winning season at 5-4. The bye week could not have come at a better time. Key players such as Brian Cushing and Mario Williams need rest. Houston will probably be favored to win in four of their next five games, so if they take care of business, not only will they have a winning record, they may have a shot at the playoffs.
Road Victors
The Houston Texans defeated the Buffalo Bills Sunday by the score of 31-10. It was the Texans third straight victory and their fourth win in the last five games. The Texans are now 3-1 on the road in 2009 and 5-3 overall. Both marks are franchise bests. The Texans dominated both sides of the ball and if not for three turnovers in the first half, the score would have been worse.
Running back Ryan Moats was the story of the game with 151 total yards of offense, (126 rushing), and three touchdowns. Moats would not have gotten as many touches had RB Steve Slaton not fumbled again in the first quarter. Slaton has lost five fumbles in the first eight games of the season. This problem got him benched for the rest of the game and Moats was ready and waiting. Quarterback Matt Schaub had another efficient game by connecting on 25 of 34 throws to 10 different receivers for 268 yards. WR Andre Johnson had six of the catches for 63 tough yards.
The defense had their share of stars with rookie LB Brian Cushing leading the way. Cushing was in on 10 tackles, had one sack and got the last interception to halt the Bills final effort to score. LB Demeco Ryans had eight tackles and was in control of his defense. Cornerback Jacques Reeves grabbed and interception and DE Antonio Smith had a sack.
Houston’s offense took three quarters to get it rolling, but the defense kept the game close until that happened. The Texans are a far better team lately because if one side of the ball is not clicking, the other side picks them up. The Houston coaches are also to be commended for conveying a quiet confidence according to some players.
The worst result on the day was an injury to TE Owen Daniels. Daniels blew out his knee on a routine route and is lost for the year. Rookie TE James Casey played the game with a hurt knee but after a scoping procedure on Monday, he is also lost for three weeks. Houston’s deepest position is now a question mark.
The undermanned Texans must now travel to Indianapolis to face the mighty Colts. For the national media to take the Texans seriously, they need to win games like this. With Houston’s off week looming, expect a great effort to get that win. Houston has done a few unexpected feats already this season, so winning in Indy would fit right in.
Defending the Home Turf
The Houston Texans won Sunday to go 4-3 for only the second time in their history. They defeated the San Francisco Forty-Niners at Reliant Stadium in Houston by the score of 24-21. The Texans jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half, and then saw the Niners rally to make it darned close at the end. Texans fans know it’s rarely easy. The Texans have now won two in a row for the first time this season and have won three out of the last four. The last two wins came against quality opponents. Houston will try to extend the streak to three games when they travel next week to Buffalo to face the Bills.
The first half saw Houston struggle but succeed against a rested San Fran team coming off their bye week. The Niners are a good young team and they showed a good defensive plan by blitzing up the middle against the Texans inexperienced guards. Quarterback Matt Schaub withstood the pressure and found his receivers when he needed to get them the ball. Schaub had another fine day with 264 passing yards, two TD’s and no interceptions. WR Andre Johnson was the focal point of the Frisco defense, but that opened up chances for TE Owen Daniels. Daniels tallied seven catches for 123 yards and one trip to the ‘zone. The offensive line is a work in progress but showed some fine blocking along the goal line to spring RB Steve Slaton for a first quarter touchdown. Slaton’s TD came with three TE’s in the game and the play worked liked gold.
The second half saw an emotionally charged San Francisco team come out with a fire they did not have in the first half. The also came out with a QB they did not have in the first half. Alex Smith, the golden boy of the old Niners regime was allowed to play by Head Coach Mike Singletary. The Niners went more to a spread offense and worked the middle of the field against the Texans linebackers and safeties. This resulted in three TD passes to TE Vernon Davis with Texans players trailing just a tad behind him. Houston did have some good drives in the second half, but stopped themselves with a Steve Slaton fumble, penalties and a badly timed sack. Kicker Kris Brown saved the day for the home team by connecting on a 50 yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the winning margin. While chewing up some clock in the fourth quarter, Steve Slaton and WR Andre Davis also made a couple key plays to help seal the win.
Mama always said a win is a win. Houston fans can fret about almost blowing a game, or relish the fact that they now win close games they used to lose. They can fret about Steve Slaton’s fumbling or relish the fact that he had 89 total yards and two TD’s. (It’s a glass half full thing) Slaton is electric, but he simply must hold the ball with two hands when in a crowd. On the other side of the ball, the Texans run defense stepped up again this week. Houston held their fourth straight opponent to under 60 yards rushing. DE Mario Williams had a sack and rookie LB Brian Cushing led the team with 8 tackles. The old man of the team, 39 year old DT Jeff Zgonina even notched a sack. (Zgonina is pronounced just like its spelled)
Houston now shuffles off to Buffalo to go against a 3-4 Bills team that has their own two game winning streak going. If the Texans are to keep their playoff hopes alive, they need to beat teams like Buffalo. Stein says they will. But as Texans fans know, don’t expect it to be easy.
A Tale of Two Halves
The Houston Texans traveled to Glendale Arizona last Sunday to play a football game. Unfortunately, they did not start playing until the third quarter. The Texans were outscored 21-0 in the first half, but won the second half 21-7. Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak is not a rah-rah speaker, but obviously someone needs to fire up his team before the game. This Houston team cannot motivate themselves. The hometown Cardinals had to feel fortunate to be spotted a twenty-one point lead as Houston came roaring back in the second half only to come up an inch or two short of tying the game. (I’ve heard it’s a game of inches.)
The first half had Texans’ QB Matt Schaub missing open targets, the offensive line opening no holes to run through, and Arizona QB Kurt Warner having plenty of time to pass. Houston’s defense was bad, but could have been worse as the Cardinals were only up 14-0 late in the second quarter. Then the Texans version of a two minute drill only consumed around 16 seconds. Punter Matt Turk then shanked a short punt, and Warner made Houston pay with a late TD to WR Larry Fitzgerald. 21-0. Houston’s defense probably would not have given up so many points if the offense could have killed some clock by running. They did not.
In the second half, both teams looked different. Punt returner Jacoby Jones ripped off a long punt return in the third quarter but no points were scored on the drive. Not to be deterred, Matt Schaub put on a throwing clinic for the rest of the game. With the running game still not working, Schaub led three long touchdown drives. Two drives ended with TD tosses to Andre Johnson. The second touchdown by Johnson will be a year long highlight as he powered his way through three defenders to score. 21-21.
While Houston’s offense worked to tie the score at 21, their defense probably played their best half of football ever. Arizona was held to only 43 total yards in the second half and Warner and his receivers were shut down. The Texans even put good pressure on the quarterback which was good to see. The Texans staggered a bit when Schaub was picked off by CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who scored. 28-21, Arizona. After a long kickoff return by WR Andre Davis and a nice drive to the red zone, Houston could not score with a first down and goal to go situation. Game over.
Based on what I’ve heard and seen, Houston’s continuing trouble scoring when near the end zone is extremely frustrating for Texans fans. Players and coaches must feel it too, but in a different way. The Texans last play of the game was widely criticized for its lack of imagination and in many ways it was deserved. The Houston coaches decided to pack in the line and run up the middle between the guard and center on fourth down with less than a yard to go. This is not the team’s strength.
They could have run over RT Eric Winston, sneaked the quarterback, or at least spread out the Cardinal defense by having a couple receivers split wide. They chose not to do this. Lack of imagination, right? On the last play yes, but not over the last four plays. On the preceding down, they passed to TE Joel Dresseen. The play worked perfectly until Matt Schaub needlessly jumped in the air, causing him to throw a bad pass. So with first and goal, the coaches had called a shovel pass, run up the middle, pass to the TE, and run up the middle. They did mix it up, but not successfully. The only thing restless Texans fans want to see now is success.
So, with that in mind, here’s some free advice for Gary Kubiak. He’s never asked me for it, but here it is anyway:
Embrace being a passing team. Throw to set up the run.
Sweeps, draws, and pitches are runs too. You don’t have to run between the tackles.
Spread it out on the goal line. If you pack it in, they pack it in.
You don’t have to wait until you’re inside the 10 to throw for the end zone. I’ve seen good teams do it from the 30 or the 20.
Move CB Glover Quin to free safety. You need speed there.
Now, go out and win! Rah-Rah!
Next: at Cincinnati
A Win for the Defense
The Houston Texans defeated the Oakland Raiders last Sunday 29-6 behind a rejuvenated defense. The Texans held the Raiders to only 165 total yards. Houston’s defensive players seemed highly motivated and were flying all over the field. (Not literally, but you get what I’m saying) We all know it was only the Oakland Raiders, but that Raider team won seven games last year. The true test of whether the defense is taking to Defensive Coordinator Frank Bush’s scheme is next Sunday at the Arizona Cardinals coming off a bye week.
The positive aspects to this game were many. LB Demeco Ryans seemed to be everywhere. Don’t let the stat sheet fool you, Ryans led the Texans defense. If he was not pressuring Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell, he was making tackles or clearing the path for other tacklers. Defensive linemen Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye each grabbed a sack and dominated their opponents. New strong safety Bernard Pollard helped the run defense immensely. The secondary as a whole did a fine job. With Coach Bush’s new attacking defense, mistakes will be made early in the year. Hopefully as the season goes on Houston fans will see more and more games like this one.
On offense, things could have been better. QB Matt Schaub completed only 50% of his passes for 224 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Schaub, however, was not afraid to fling long balls to various receivers and ended up with an average of over 20 yards per completion. Running back Steve Slaton lost another fumble causing Head Coach Gary Kubiak to bench him for a short while. When Slaton came back in, he was running harder and rushed for one TD, and caught a nice pass for another. Backup RB Ryan Moats showed he is ready when called upon with some nice runs. The average per carry looks bad in the box score due to the fact that the team was up by three scores for much of the second half, and the offense was running out the clock.
Kick returner Jacoby Jones was good and bad all by himself. On the punt after LB Brian Cushing’s safety, Jones electrified the Houston crowd with a 95 yard return for a TD. Not long after that he dropped a punt but recovered it. Jones is a talent, but seems to be one or two more fumbles away from possibly losing his job. Kubiak must lose sleep over this kid. He’s productive, but scary.
This week Houston travels to Arizona to face the high powered Cardinals. The Cards offense is a little better than the Raiders. (Or so I hear) Teams that lose the Super Bowl tend to be super bad the next season but Kurt Warner and company hope to buck the trend. This week the Texans will not have another game where the team gets to run out the clock in the second half due to a big lead. If Houston’s defense can keep up the intensity they showed against Oakland they have a chance to not only win the game, but to do very well this year. Kubiak and staff must hope both the offense and defense show up ready to play this week.
Defense Still Absent
First I would like to thank Gary P Alexander for filling in on this column while I was away on vacation.
This week, the Houston Texans lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars by the score of 31-24. Against the Jags, the Texans played a good game on offense, but they were sorely lacking on defense. That being said, Houston only scored three points in the second half and that does not win many games either. QB Matt Schaub had a stellar first half with three TD’s. WR’s Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter each nabbed one TD toss. TE Owen Daniels had another. RB Chris Brown lost a huge fumble late in the 4th quarter at the goal line that would have tied the game. The Texans’ defense generated no sacks and no interceptions. The defense gave up 184 rushing yards and 398 total yards to the Jags. Rookie LB Brian Cushing again led the team with 8 total tackles. The Houston safeties are still slow and not great tacklers. Have you noticed that, Texans’ owner Bob McNair?
Now, just the facts: Over the first three games, the Houston Texans are 1-2. The team is giving up an average of 29.7 points per game even though two of the games were in Houston. Over three games, the Texans’ run defense is giving up an average of 204.6 yards per game. Over the same three games, the opposition team is averaging 6.2 yards per carry versus the Texans. Pending the Monday night game, the team should rank 32nd in yardage yielded by a defense. Did you catch those stats, Bob McNair?
In his weekly press conference, Head Coach Gary Kubiak says the team will work harder at what they are doing. One would think the coaches might swallow their pride and just copy what the best defenses are doing, but the Texans will just work harder. Houston fans have to be pumped about that.
Luckily, the Oakland Raiders are heading to Houston so the Texans shortcomings could be hidden for at least one week. The Texans have shown they cannot take anyone lightly, so Kubiak and Defensive Coordinator Frank Bush need to tighten up the defense quickly. A third straight loss at home could spell doom for both coaches. A third straight loss at home might even make the faithful Texans fans stay home and not buy stuff at the stadium. Are you listening, Bob McNair?
Texans Lose to Jets 24-7
I come to you today as a substitute as your normal intrepid Houston Texans Draft Dog reporter is on tour of the Far East. Unfortunately, he took the Texans offense with him.
What a dismal display to kick off what is/was supposed to be the Texans ‘year’.
We have been down this road all too often as Texan fan, and I will come out and tell you now, I’ve been on this boat since the 3 hour tour began in 2002, this just was not what we expected of this team in 2009.
The skipper on this SS Minnow was Matt Schaub and his merry band of 10 Gilligans on offense.
This one falls on the offense, not scoring at home on opening day, what happened?
Andre Johnson, All-Pro wide receiver catches 1 pass when the game was still in the balance, 1 pass. That’s one more than Ginger ever caught.
Steve Slaton ran like the Professor, and when he did get free, fumbled the ball in the red zone.
Owen Daniels, Pro Bowl tight end, missed a block so badly which could have set Andre Davis free on a nice gainer, just really epitomized the whole game offensively.
They were horrible. Out of synch. Not on the same page. Terrible play calling.
Oh, the defense has a role in this too. Sure they scored a touchdown, which was 6 points more than the offense did, and when it came time to make a stop to get back in it, they failed, crashed on the beach, without a single luxury.
The Special teams played well then again, after a 15 yard penalty against the NYJ on the Pick Six/Fumble return, kicking off from the 45yard line, they kick the thing into the stands. Why not try a high kick dropping it down inside the 10yard line, maybe chance to pin the jets deep?
Who was this team that showed up for Texans White Out day? It was an epic failure as a team.
So the good news, that was yesterday’s game and this week the Texans travel to Nashville to take on the hated Titans. And yes, I hate their guts. The Texans proved last year they could go smash mouth against Tennessee winning late in the season 13-12 in Reliant Stadium. So, it’s a new day and this team has got to be fired up and ready to go Sunday.
Here’s what it will take for the Texans to win their first game of 2009. Steve Slaton and Chris Brown need to run the ball with success, pound it against ‘em, so Schaub can set up some play action, and bootleg roll outs to get away from Titan pressure. And then this gets those safeties to sneak up and free Andre Johnson to do what we know he can do.
Defensively, stop the run, which they did a pretty good job of early against the NYJ, and put pressure on Kerry Collins. Cut 2nd round draft pick Conner Barwin loose, and see what happens. Pressure pressure pressure!
If they can put together a game like we know this team can, yes they can win on the road and yes they can be the team they and we think they can be. If not, looks like we’ll be stranded on this uncharted deserted island forever.
Thanks and Good Luck,
By
Gary P Alexander
Backups Win in Tampa
The Houston Texans wrapped up their preseason schedule in Tamp Bay last Friday night. Playing mostly second and third stringers, the team looked good. Houston won by the score of 27-20. The offense looked sharp in the running and passing games. The Texans defense hit hard and forced some turnovers. Best of all, there were no Tampa Bay touchdown runs of 70 yards or more!
Offense: The final score ended up in Houston’s favor, but the main story was the strong performances of WR Jacoby Jones and QB Rex Grossman. Jones had his finest receiving performance ever with three catches for 148 yards and a long TD. Grossman may have made the Texans coaches rethink which quarterback will backup QB Matt Schaub. Grossman had two TD tosses to go with no interceptions. Current backup QB Dan Orlovsky was once again picked off in his short stint in the game. The running game was average but tailback Ryan Moats looked good with limited carries. If he’s the Texans number three back, that’s a good thing. Rookie TE Anthony Hill had a rough game with a fumble and a dropped pass. The other rookie TE, James Casey, did just fine and grabbed a TD pass. Casey is the second best tight end on the team right now.
Defense: Safety John Busing had a nice game with a near interception and a fine fumble return. Big DT Frank Okam played with fire and had a sack. It’s time for Okam to establish himself now that Travis Johnson is gone. Rookie DE Connor Barwin played the run well in extended time and even had a key tackle for loss on a third down play. Tackles for loss are almost as good as a sack but just don’t get the pub. LB Xavier Adibi was very active and played better than he did against Minnesota, but he was playing against backups this time. Tampa didn’t do too much against the Texans defense until the fourth quarter.
The starters return to the field next Sunday at noon at Reliant Stadium to take on the New York Jets. The Jets will be starting rookie QB Mark Sanchez so look for them to try to establish the run early. Why would they not? If there is a clear weakness for the Texans, it’s the run defense. Hopefully Houston’s revamped front seven is up to the challenge. Those wise guys that live in Las Vegas say the Texans should win and so does Stein. The Jets have new coaches, new schemes, a rookie quarterback and they have to play in Houston. The Texans veterans should expect to win and then go out and make it happen. Head Coach Gary Kubiak has remade this team over the last few years. The vast majority of his players did not play for the last head coach, so Kubiak has his own men and his own coaches. It is time for the Houston Texans to start the season strong and end up with a playoff appearance. Houston fans deserve such a season.
Houston vs. The Favres
The Texans played their third preseason game last Monday night against the
Minnesota Vikings at Reliant Stadium in Houston. If you watched ESPN’s coverage, it was the game that starred Brett Favre and the Vikes vs. some other team. Overall, Houston’s defense played much better than they did previously against the Saints, but that first long TD run by RB Adrian Peterson was a reminder things aren’t fixed yet. The Vikings won the game 17-10 in a defensive struggle. The Minnesota coaches were obviously trying harder to win the game with a wide array of offensive formations. Houston head coach Gary Kubiak seems to want to evaluate his players more than win in the preseason.
The sky is falling! According to fans on Houston talk radio, one 75 yard TD run by Peterson to start the game means the Texans are headed for the cellar again. These fans should probably give last season’s final eight games more weight than a preseason game. Remember last year? When most of the defensive starters were healthy, and the coaches decided to blitz more often, the defense did well. New defensive coordinator Frank Bush probably has plenty of schemes up his sleeve that he has not shown yet.
There were plenty of good things to say about the Texans’ performance on Monday Night Football. Mario Williams motored to another sack. Rookie DE Connor Barwin showed speed and nice moves to pressure the quarterback. (Favre, wasn’t it?) LB Demeco Ryans was amazing with a sack and sixteen tackles. The offense showed some punch in the red zone when RB Steve Slaton ran in a TD in the second quarter. Houston fans should also be very pleased to see a sense of urgency in the second quarter when the Texans got the ball with only twenty-two seconds left in the half. Limping QB Matt Schaub threw some nice passes to get the team in range for a field goal. Schaub was limping due to an ankle sprain received earlier in the game. He should be good to go by the first regular season game.
Of course, not everything was good with the Texans performance. The first TD run by Peterson showed Houston was not ready for the Vikings intensity and that Houston’s defensive tackle and linebacker play need help. The Texans’ safeties are still slow. Second team QB Dan Orlovsky threw a bad pass resulting in a drive killing interception. Matt Schaub also threw an early interception straight to the other team. Even All Pro WR Andre Johnson let up on a deep route that may have cost the team another TD.
There is one more practice game coming up to evaluate the fringe players. The Texans get a very short week to prepare for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they play on Friday night at 6pm Central Time. Expect most starters to get little or no playing time as the Houston coaches must see the second team players. Watch for QB Rex Grossman to come back from his injured hamstring for a last shot to make the team.
The Saints Marched In
The New Orleans Saints came to Houston last Saturday night and had a mighty fine time. The Saints had no trouble running the ball or scoring points. The Texans, on the other hand, had trouble doing both. The final score of the Texans second preseason game was 38 to 14 in favor of New Orleans, but Houston fans should not jump ship yet. With nine and a half minutes to go in the third quarter, the score was only 17-14 Saints. Yes, Houston’s second and third teams got steamrolled, but in preseason, that can happen. Houston’s defense is also operating under a new defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. It may take awhile to learn their systems.
The Offense: Matt Schaub looked good for the second week in a row. Schaub was very accurate and in control of the offense. The running game was not nearly as effective this week as against Kansas City. Steve Slaton sprang for 30 yards on 6 carries, but the other running backs were not as successful. The wide receivers looked sharp with David Anderson and Andre Davis finding the ‘zone. The wide receivers in general are all having good training camps. The cut down to only five receivers will be tough with Jacoby Jones, Glenn Martinez and Darnell Jenkins all showing good things in practice. The offensive line struggled against a high energy Saints line, but to be fair they are working without some key starters. Starting left guard Chester Pitts will be back and practicing with the team this week.
The Defense: Rookie Connor Barwin notched another sack. Over a two game career, young Barwin is averaging one sack per game. If he averaged that in the regular season, he would probably finish the season with around 16 sacks. I could be wrong, but that’s what I came up with. But enough hilarity. Let’s turn to the run defense. Judging by the game last Saturday, the Texans defensive front seven needs a lot of improvement defending the run. The Saints ran wild on Houston. RB Mike Bell averaged 10 yards per carry on ten carries. The defense as a whole gave up 420 total yards. New defensive system or not, the defense needs to execute much better.
Next on the schedule is Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikes recently signed Brett Favre, did you hear about that? It’s been in the news. Favre is slated to play the entire first half for Minnesota. This will be a noticeable drop-off from Drew Brees, so Houston’s defense can load up against the run. They will need to stack the line against RB’s Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Expect the home town Texans to come out very fired up after what is certain to be an unpleasant week of practice in the Texas heat. The Houston coaches probably are looking forward to some loud “coaching” this week.
Victory in a Midwest Monsoon
There was crazy weather in Kansas City last Saturday night as the Texans took down the Chiefs for preseason win number one. Houston outscored the hometown Chiefs 16-10 in a torrential downpour at Arrowhead Stadium. The Texans had to contend with the rain and more blitzing than is usually seen in a preseason game. KC was obviously motivated to win Head Coach Todd Haley’s first game but came up short. Houston’s offense was powered by the accurate passing of QB Matt Schaub and power running by RB Chris Brown.
The Texans defense dominated the Chiefs in the first half, allowing only three points. Kansas City gave great effort and finally notched a TD in the fourth quarter. One thing that really stood out about the Texans players was the way they attacked any loose ball. In practices, the Houston coaches have been on the team to get after loose balls, and it was evident against Kansas City.
The Offense: Matt Schaub was extremely accurate in his limited time, completing all seven of his passes. The blitzing Chiefs did get Schaub for a sack, but only because a wide receiver did not cut off his route. Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky showed good mobility and arm strength, but easily could have been picked off twice. The running game was in high gear thanks to RB Chris Brown.
Brown showed good speed and a nose for the ‘zone. Head Coach Gary Kubiak is a big Chris Brown fan and if Brown can stay healthy, he could be a big part of this year’s offense. RB Ryan Moats also looked extra speedy in his first game.
The receiving corps did a fine job with WR Andre Davis showing the good hands that have coaches raving about his training camp. Rookie TE James Casey was featured on national television for an outstanding one handed grab. Casey will get more reps at fullback this week as FB Boomer Grigsby suffered a nasty ankle sprain. Punter Matt Turk had a highlight as he sprinted for a first down after bobbling a wet snap. “That play was not planned.” Coach Kubiak stated. Safety John Busing was that number 40 that was in on every coverage play. Busing will be hard to cut the way he plays. If running backs Steve Slaton, Brown and Moats all stay healthy, the Texans running game will match their passing game in ’09.
The Defense: Houston’s defense shut down KC in the first half by dominating the line. Houston did not blitz as much as Kansas City, mostly playing the base defense. DE Mario Williams was his usual powerful self. Second year DT Frank Okam looked energetic and seems ready to contribute to the defensive line rotation this year. Rookie Connor Barwin grabbed the team’s only sack with a sweet shoulder dipping move around the left tackle. He should get more opportunities if he keeps up the kind of effort he is showing.
The starting linebackers played a good game and reserve LB Buster Davis showed surprising speed. Davis was a little too aggressive on a late hit in the second half, but otherwise did a fine job. Rookie cornerbacks Glover Quin and Brice McCain showed promise and made no glaring mistakes.
Once starter Jacques Reeves returns from injury, Quin and McCain should provide good depth. CB Fred Bennett is playing his best football in quite awhile. On the other hand, safety Brandon Harrison seems to be continuing his poor play from last year. Harrison is just slow and takes bad angles to the play. The Texans will have to hope starting safeties Eugene Wilson and Dominique Barber stay healthy because there is not much depth at the position.
Next Game vs. New Orleans: Even though they played in a driving rainstorm, the Texans looked good against a young Chiefs team. The competition level jumps up a notch this week when the New Orleans Saints visit Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Saints gang of Brees, Colston, Shockey and Pierre Thomas can put points up in bunches.
The Saints defense, however, gives up points in bunches, so it should be an entertaining game. With third string QB Rex Grossman out for a few weeks with a bad hammy, expect to see Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky to take more snaps than they would normally in the second preseason game. Fans could see a fun aerial show as both secondaries get tested. With people paying regular season prices for preseason games, high scoring games are always nice. Maybe Matt Turk can snap off a fake punt for a TD this time! One can imagine Coach Kubiak thinking; “That play will not be called.”
Training Camp Heat
The Texans open their preseason schedule against the KC Chiefs in just a few days, and training camp is in full swing. Number 23, (whose name shall not be mentioned), is still holding out because 9.9 million dollars is an insult and he won’t stand for it again next year. The cornerbacks that are in camp like Fred Bennett and rookie Glover Quin are happy to take the reps as starters. Veteran CB Jacques Reeves’ broken leg likely will keep him out until about week three of the regular season.
Rookies such as LB Brian Cushing and DE Connor Barwin are doing well and Head Coach Gary Kubiak is looking for ways to move Barwin around the defensive line. Rookie TE James Casey from Rice has taken reps at tight end, fullback, and long snapper. What a slacker. The wide receivers are looking very good as Andre Davis is catching everything and Jacoby Jones is running crisp routes and getting behind the defense. SS Dominique Barber ran with the first team the other day, and may supplant veteran safety Nick Ferguson.
Reports out of camp are that Coach Kubiak is pleased with the effort except for one practice that resulted in a minor injury to center Chris Myers. The quarterbacks are looking smooth and it will be interesting to see is vet Rex Grossman is given a shot at the backup job. Matt Schaub, of course, is entrenched as the starter. Look for the report on the Chiefs game to come out quickly on your one and only NFL Draft Dog.com.
Now, because I pitched it last column, here’s the predicted scores for every game of the ’09 season! You really have to respect a man that will go out on a limb this early, right? ...right?
Week 1, at Houston: Texans 21, Jets 8. Houston will average about 27 points at home, but the Jets D should be stout. The Jets O? Not so good. Texans 1-0
Week 2, at Tennessee: Titans 21, Texans 17. The Texans will split with the Titans, and they lose a close one on the road. (Unless Vince plays, then all bets are off.) Texans 1-1
Week 3, at Houston: Texans 31, Jaguars 17. It will be close early, but the home team explodes in the second half. Texans 2-1
Week 4, at Houston: Texans 34, Raiders 14. Payback for last years surprise loss. Texans 3-1
Week 5, at Arizona: Cardinals 27, Texans 24. A fun shootout, but it does not go Houston’s way. Texans 3-2
Week 6, at Cincinnati: Texans 27, Bengals 24. A fun shootout, and it does go Houston’s way. Texans 4-2
Week 7, at Houston: Texans 30, 49ers 15. San Fran is not ready to be good on the road. Texans 5-2
Week 8, at Buffalo: Bills 21, Texans 20. With their third roadie in four weeks, the Texans lose a close one. Texans 5-3
Week 9, at Indy: Colts 27, Texans 20. Colts too much for road weary Houston. Texans 5-4
Week 10, BYE WEEK
Week 11, at Houston: (Monday Night Football): Texans 28, Titans 14. The rowdy home crowd cheers the home team to victory. Texans 6-4
Week 12, at Houston: Texans 27, Colts 20. Texans avenge week 9 loss by the exact same score! That’s just freaky. Texans 7-4
Week 13, at Jacksonville: Texans 17, Jaguars 14. After beating the Colts, Houston takes down another division foe. Texans 8-4
Week 14, at Houston: Texans 31, Seattle 20. Houston is really rolling. Texans 9-4
Week 15, at St. Louis: Texans 24, Rams 17. Rams just not good this year. Texans 10-4
Week 16, at Miami: Dolphins 20, Texans 19. Dolphins barely earn the win. Texans 10-5
Week 17, at Houston: Texans 24, Patriots 21. New England rests just enough players that the home team wins. Texans 11-5
Houston goes 8-0 at home and 3-5 on the road. If Houston goes to the playoffs, they better hope they play at home. Texans fans probably will just be happy with a playoff experience and the 11-5 record. They are due a winning season.
Next: Preseason Game One
Back to the Top
I Got Your 53 Man Roster Right Here!
With a few weeks until Texans training camp, things are quiet around Houston HQ. TE Owen Daniels and CB Dunta Robinson still don’t have new contract extensions, but neither player has many options at this point, and it’s doubtful either will hold out of training camp. The biggest news lately is that QB Alex Brink was released. That shows you how much is going on with the team. Now seems like a good enough time to guess which players will make the final 53 man squad! Since training camp has not even started and we don’t know who will be running first team in practice it makes it a little more challenging. Besides, the only thing on NFL Network and ESPN is Brett Favre stories. Really.
Stein’s best guess at the Texans final 53:
QB: Matt Schaub*, Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman
RB: Steve Slaton*, Ryan Moats, Chris Brown
FB: Vonta Leach*, Boomer Grigsby
OL: Duane Brown*, Chester Pitts*, Chris Myers*, Mike Brisiel*, Eric Winston*, Chris White, Rashad Butler, Kasey Studdard, Antoine Caldwell-R
TE: Owen Daniels*, Anthony Hill-R, Joel Dreesen, James Casey-R
WR: Andre Johnnson*, Kevin Walter*, Andre Davis, David Anderson, Jacoby Jones
K: Kris Brown
LS/TE: Clark Harris
DL: Mario Williams*, Amobi Okoye*, Antonio Smith*, Travis Johnson*, Shaun Cody, Deljuan Robinson, Tim Bulman, Connor Barwin-R
LB: Demeco Ryans*, Brian Cushing*-R, Xavier Adibi*, Zach Diles, Cato June, Kevin Bentley, Buster Davis
CB: Dunta Robinson*, Jacques Reeves*, Fred Bennett, Glover Quin-R, Brice McCain-R
S: Dominique Barber*, Eugene Wilson*, Nick Ferguson, Brandon Harrison
P: Matt Turk
* = Starter ; R = Rookie
Practice Squad: G Dan Stevenson, DE/LB Jesse Nading, CB/S Antwaun Molden, RB Jeremiah Johnson-R, WR Mike Jones-R, OT Jason Watkins-R, DT Frank Okam, S Troy Nolan-R, RB Arian Foster-R
Some people think rookie TE James Casey will be the backup FB, but being a blocking back is harder than it looks. I would still love to see one of the teams cornerbacks converted to safety. Bennett, Molden, and Quin are prime candidates to become a speedy free safety. Brandon Harrison may have been the slowest safety in the history of the NFL last season, and that includes Matt Stevens. With depth at tight end and linebacker, (and quarterback), the Texans would do well to trade for a free safety. Look for Adibi to edge out Diles and Cato June as a starting linebacker. Travis Johnson once again makes the cut, but Deljuan Robinson will see plenty of time.
So there’s the Houston Texans final roster. That’s easy! Next; Stein predicts all the scores to all the games.
Dog Days and Organized Team Activities (OTAs)
It’s early June in Texas and no Hurricane in sight…yet. The Houston Texans are spending their summer days having fun at organized team activities, (OTA’s). Every healthy starter is participating except CB Dunta Robinson and TE Owen Daniels. They are having contract issues. Some rookies and vets are having good OTA’s, but before we get into that, let’s finish up the eighth round.
The Texans did not sign undrafted rookie free agent William Rentmeester from Wisconsin, but they have signed a couple more of these UFA’s. Punter Justin Brantley from Texas A&M was brought in to keep Texans punter Matt Turk from overusing his leg. Brantley had a good punting average in college, but currently lacks the hang time on his kicks the coaches like. Also, he tends to kick the low rolling punts that add to the average, but are very returnable. Other rookies brought in were DT Jake Visser from Ferris State and CB Mark Parson from Ohio University. Parson is very fast, but will find it hard to stick because of the plethora of CB’s in camp. Visser is just OTA filler. He has the slimmest of chances to make the practice squad.
At OTA’s Head Coach Gary Kubiak has had a few days to look over his new rookies and returning vets. One name that continues to come up is 4th round pick CB Glover Quin from New Mexico. Quin just seems to be around the ball, and has come up with enough interceptions to get noticed. Quin has the size to play free safety, but Kubiak likes him at corner. Also getting mentions from the coaching staff was DT Deljuan Robinson. Deljuan is starting his third season with the Texans and is pushing hard to make the rotation at tackle. DT Travis Johnson hobbling around with a bum hamstring is getting Robinson more reps, and he is making the most of his chance.
First Round pick Brian Cushing is running with the first team linebackers and is impressing everyone. There was some confusion about his playing weight, but Cushing says he played around 255 lbs last year at USC but dropped weight for the combine, and then scouts started listing him at 240 or 245. Veterans in camp say Brian moves around like he’s 240 so he must be quick. Rookie guard Brandon Walker from Oklahoma has already been waived. Returning starting quarterback Matt Schaub is looking sharp and is much more comfortable at this time in ’09 than last year. Last year Schaub was coming off shoulder surgery, and could not take as many reps. Look for him to start the year much more accurate than last season. Schaub and WR Andre Johnson are looking to pick up right where they left off last season. And that was red hot.
At running back, Kubiak is talking of Ryan Moats and Chris Brown as 2a and 2b, but Moats is showing off even better speed this year and is really hitting the holes. When rookie RB Jerimiah Johnson is allowed to report after his college ends, the competition at running back should be the best the squad has ever experienced.
While it’s very early in the 2009 season, optimism reigns supreme at the fields near Kirby Drive in Houston. Playoffs are expected by almost everyone. Once the contracts of Dunta Robinson and Owen Daniels get hammered out, it will be one big happy once again. Watch for Demeco Ryans to also get a new deal done soon.
The Eighth Round 2009
The Houston Texans protect their undrafted rookie free agent list like it’s some kind of national security issue, but a little digging has produced some names. This list may not be 100% accurate, but it’s darn close. These players were lucky enough to have not been taken in the 7th round, thus giving them some choice in where they play. At least where they will attempt to play. Here, we call it the 8th round.
RB Jeremiah Johnson, 5’9”, 210 lbs, Oregon; Second team Pac-10, Jeremiah gained 1201 yards last year for the Ducks. He also scored 13 TD’s and had a sweet per carry average of 7.1 yards. Johnson will get a long look as the 2nd or 3rd running back on the Texans roster, as the team did not draft an RB. He has the quickness to hit the hole and good strength, but not game-breaking speed.
RB Arian Foster, 6’1”, 225 lbs, Tennessee; Although Foster has had some trouble with fumbling, he had a very productive junior season. Just two years ago, he tallied over 1100 yards rushing and 12 TD’s for the Vols. Last season his stats dropped like the rest of the Tennessee team. Faster than he looks, Foster hits the hole quick and is hard to tackle. Competition at running back should be fun to watch.
FB William Rentmeester, 6’1”, 248 lbs, Wisconsin; Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, this young man averaged 4.5 yards per carry last year for the Badgers. The problem is he only had 11 carries all year. Big Rent is the definition of training camp fodder. He would have to be special teams beast just to make the practice squad.
DT Josh Leonard, 6’2”, 292 lbs, Hawaii; Leonard is not a top prospect, but after he knocked out 41 reps of 225 lbs at the Hawaii pro day, scouts took interest. He also did very well in the agility test. Texans coaches are probably thinking with a little teaching, the big kid has a shot at the practice squad.
OT Jason Watkins, 6’6”, 320 lbs, Florida; Started 14 games his senior season at right tackle after playing his junior year at left tackle. A Florida team captain, Watkins may not have great feet, but works hard. Honorable Mention All SEC.
C Brett Helms, 6’2”, 280 lbs, LSU; A bit light for the NFL as of now, Helms started 41 games at LSU. When you are a three year starter at LSU, you must have something going for you. Helms hopes to stick around long enough to get a little more weight on his side.
OG Brandon Walker, 6’3” 300, Oklahoma; Walker was 2nd team All Big 12 last season at right guard. He was a two year starter at OU after a stint in junior college. Some scouts had B.W. rated higher than teammate Duke Robinson. Walker could surprise in camp.
OT Doug Dedrick, 6’4”, 301, Iowa State; Started the last 24 games for the Cyclones. A long shot to make the team in any fashion.
DE Tim Jamison, 6’3” 256 lbs, Michigan; Not a top of the heap athlete, Jamison did manage 5.5 sacks his last year at Michigan mostly due to effort. A standout in a mostly forgettable season at Ann Arbor.
WR Mike Jones, 6’4”, 211 lbs, Arizona St.; A three year starter for the Sun Devils, Jones posted 61 catches for 744 yards and 4 TD’s last season. He has a good vertical leap with very good speed. A hometown kid who lives in Sugar Land, his best shot is staying healthy and making the practice squad.
OLB Toddrick Verdell, 6’3”, 225 lbs, Florida St.; A one year starter for the Seminoles, he was 2nd on the team with 66 tackles. Verdell has some potential, but never starred at Florida State.
With the Texans roster deeper and more talented than it has ever been, it will be hard for these non-drafted players to make the team. But, every year there are surprises, and with a couple breaks, one or more can make the practice squad or better.
Post Draft Report ‘09
In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans started with eight picks, and ended with eight picks. The team had an extra fourth rounder the Vikings from the Sage Rosenfels trade. They say sometimes the best trade is the one you don’t make, and that’s how Houston played their cards. Houston was offered a few picks to trade back, but nothing good enough for the team to make the move. The Texans went heavy on the defense, as expected, including their first and second round picks.
Round One: Brian Cushing, LB, USC, 6’3”, 245 lbs; Texans General Manager Rick Smith once again got the man they were looking at all along. Cushing should beef up the team’s rush defense, and the Texans brain trust hope he’s a starter on opening day. Zach Diles was playing a good strong side linebacker when he was injured last year, but hopefully Cushing is a little better at everything. Brian was 2nd team All American last year, and can play any LB spot.
Round Two: Connor Barwin, DE, Cincinnati, 6’4”, 260 lbs; Surprisingly, the very athletic Barwin was still available when the Texans drafted in the middle of the second round. Many scouting services had this defensive end rated as a first rounder. Barwin was first team All Big East last year. He finished his first season at DE with 11 sacks, and already has some pass rush moves. Barwin is also a special teams standout. He probably will play DE on passing downs with new Texans D-lineman Antonio Smith moving inside to tackle.
Round Three: Antoine Caldwell, C, Alabama, 6’3”, 310 lbs; This versatile center from Alabama can also play guard, and played tackle when needed at ‘Bama. Caldwell was first team All SEC and Sporting News All American. Houston needed a running back or more defense here, but must have felt Caldwell was just too good to pass up. Houston coaches have said Antoine will probably backup at center and guard on game days this year.
Round Four: Pick One: Glover Quin, CB, New Mexico, 5’11’, 205 lbs; Some scouting services list Quin at safety, but Head Coach Gary Kubiak has stated they see Quin playing cornerback, specifically the nickleback. Quin was a three year starter at New Mexico, and made the All Mountain West first team.
Round Four: Pick Two: Anthony Hill, TE, N.C. State, 6’5”, 265 lbs; Kubiak had wanted a big TE to take on the larger LB’s they see in 3-4 defenses, so Hill was the pick here. Young Mr. Hill comes with some injury concerns, but when healthy, he should be the best blocking TE on the roster.
Round Five: James Casey, TE, Rice, 6’3”, 245 lbs; The Houston brass did not plan on taking two TE’s, but when the versatile Casey was still available here, they had to pull the trigger. Casey is a Houston hometown favorite. After a few years of baseball, the 24 year old Casey played various positions at Rice. He once played 7 positions in one game. Casey will be counted on to play special teams, some tight end, and probably backup at quarterback. Who knows, we may even see him on defense or at H-back.
Round Six: Brice McCain, CB, Utah, 5’9”, 185 lbs; McCain is a small CB, but when Kubiak was watching film of Utah CB Sean Smith, McCain kept catching his eye. Scouts say that even though he times out well, he plays even better than his measurables. With the sheer number of corners on the Houston roster, he will have to work very hard to earn a spot.
Round Seven: Troy Nolan, S, Arizona St, 6’0”, 210 lbs; Known as a big play guy at Arizona State, Nolan had five defensive TD’s in the last two seasons. He plays faster than his times. With the under whelming talent on the Texans roster at safety, Nolan just may be the steal of the 7th round, and make the 53 man roster.
While Houston did pass up some possible running backs in the draft, they did address the defense. They feel there are other avenues to address the running back position. The Houston Chronicle has reported that the Texans have signed a pair of free agent running backs along with a few other rookie free agents, but it’s best to wait for the Texans to announce the signings. These reports get out early, and are often wrong. Houston strengthened their depth at all three levels of the defense, and will have some fine competition at cornerback and linebacker. Training camp is right around the corner, and Houston fans should be looking ahead with high hopes.
Next: The 8th Round.
