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Weekly wrap: No debate, Texans are the worst | Main
October 04, 2009
Ten things about the Texans you already know (or should)
10. Matt Schaub is better than Tony Romo and the Texans are better than the Cowboys. I know it's obvious, but it needed to be said. (And Schaub was not very good against the Raiders.) It won't take much for Texans fans to be better than Cowboys fans, but man, why did y'all leave so early on Sunday? The Texans hadn't won a game at home since last December, more than nine months. I would think you all would want to savor the victory. Very disappointing. (Yes, it was boring, but I stayed.)
9. Amobi Okoye hasn't gone from bust to star with very good games in consecutive weeks. He was not a bust in the first place. Let's not revisit that, but Okoye is doing what I expected him to do this season. He has been turned loose and is playing smarter, and that often comes with experience. Take the safety, when he and Antonio Smith manhandled Cooper Carlisle and Erik Pears — the right side of the Raiders' offensive line. Okoye read the play and thought about jumping out of his gap to get into the backfield, but instead he did his job, and Cushing took to the hole and made the tackle. That might be a huge growth moment for the youngster. Smart football is almost always better than attempts at the flashy, spectacular play.
8. Don't believe the thought that Jacoby Jones has an equal chance at fumbling the ball as he does at returning a kick for a touchdown. It's just not true. He has seven career fumbles and only three career TD returns. Kubiak thought I was crazy when I suggested it last year, but in situations when catching the ball is more important than returning it, the Texans should have sure-handed Andre Davis back there on punt returns. Jones is too shaky.
7. Gary Kubiak's offense will be good and high powered, but when it comes to going for the jugular or holding on for the win, he'll choose the latter. Statistically, there probably isn't much difference between the two when it comes to winning and losing after jumping out to a lead, but fans would rather a team keep the foot on the gas the entire game. (See: Patriots 2007.) Kubiak would rather get a lead and maintain it with a great running game. The Texans don't have a great running game, but they'll keep playing as if they do. The Texans have scored one, let me repeat that ONE offensive touchdown in the second half this season. That's not all about being conservative (well, against the Raiders it was), but Kubiak isn't going to run a wild and loose offense anytime soon.
6. Mar-i-o. Mar-i-o. Mar-i-o. Since college, the big man has tended to have big games in bunches. He hasn't had a big game yet, but he was all over the field Sunday. Not that I'm psychic, but don't be surprised if Mario Williams goes off the next couple of weeks at Arizona and Cincinnati.
5. The Texans-Colts matchup for first place on Nov. 8 is still on. Both teams probably won't be 6-2 as I thought they would, but I'm not jumping off my first half of the season prediction until I have to. The Texans are better than the 0-4 Titans, and clearly only a few of us saw that coming before the season, so there is panic in Nashville. Jacksonville has looked good offensively the last two weeks, but (in the voice of Judge Haller) they'll "win some lose some."
4. Hate him for making more money than you, and stay upset about Shoegate, but Dunta Robinson is playing well. He is flinging his body around like he always has. That is what made him the heart and soul of the Texans' defense. Good thing he has more help these days. Robinson has made several plays (fighting off blocks to make tackles, keeping backs from turning the corner) that few cornerbacks in this league make. You might not like the way he handled his contract situation, and he deserves some criticism, but ignore the juvenile radio talk. On a defense with few positives, Robinson is one of them.
3. Frank Bush (or whoever is making the defensive personnel calls) is far better at this than Richard Smith. The shuffle of players in search of competent play is disturbing in many ways, but it is far better than running a guy out there over and over to watch the guy get beat over and over. Bush doesn't seem hesitant to pull the trigger to improve. Richard Smith made moves two or three weeks (sometimes more) after they should have been made.
2. Be prepared for Bush to make the "wrong" call next week, and the media to point it out. Jacques Reeves says he will return to the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals. Will he start? Will the Texans go with Glover Quin, the rookie, against the Cardinals' potent pass attack? I don't know what the right call is, so I'm not criticizing and I won't after the fact. My point is that I expect the Cardinals to attack the Texans corners and do well. Arizona won't run worth a darn — at least they better not — but with an off week that offense should do some damage. Reeves might not look so good in his first game; Quin will probably look bad against Anquan Boldin or Larry Fitzgerald. Those guys are good. You make the call.
Me: Lots of the texan players have had the flu or are experienceing flu like symptoms at this time and every player is being watched.Chris Brown missed the raider game due to stomach problems dealing with the flu.
They have a video on one texan website that I could'nt get to load and bring over here but I'd say this is one thing that team don't need right now.
Not a lot of confidence in the teams defense and the offense has only scored one td in the second half all season long.Fans don't seem to be too happy with the play calling of the offense or defense and think Kubiak is on his way out.
At least we can sympothise with the play calling from the coordinators here with the CARDINALS.Mario has only had 2 sacks this season and thats against teams you'd expect him to get a lot more on.Especially the raiders.
The team is really down on Dunta Robinson in his contract year and many fans are dogging this guy.I hope and I'm sure we've selected him as a player to attack on Sunday afternoon.The more I read the better I'm feeling about this game.
I'm gonna go dig up some more information for everyone to chew on before the game.
October 04, 2009
Ten things about the Texans you already know (or should)
10. Matt Schaub is better than Tony Romo and the Texans are better than the Cowboys. I know it's obvious, but it needed to be said. (And Schaub was not very good against the Raiders.) It won't take much for Texans fans to be better than Cowboys fans, but man, why did y'all leave so early on Sunday? The Texans hadn't won a game at home since last December, more than nine months. I would think you all would want to savor the victory. Very disappointing. (Yes, it was boring, but I stayed.)
• • •
9. Amobi Okoye hasn't gone from bust to star with very good games in consecutive weeks. He was not a bust in the first place. Let's not revisit that, but Okoye is doing what I expected him to do this season. He has been turned loose and is playing smarter, and that often comes with experience. Take the safety, when he and Antonio Smith manhandled Cooper Carlisle and Erik Pears — the right side of the Raiders' offensive line. Okoye read the play and thought about jumping out of his gap to get into the backfield, but instead he did his job, and Cushing took to the hole and made the tackle. That might be a huge growth moment for the youngster. Smart football is almost always better than attempts at the flashy, spectacular play.
• • •
8. Don't believe the thought that Jacoby Jones has an equal chance at fumbling the ball as he does at returning a kick for a touchdown. It's just not true. He has seven career fumbles and only three career TD returns. Kubiak thought I was crazy when I suggested it last year, but in situations when catching the ball is more important than returning it, the Texans should have sure-handed Andre Davis back there on punt returns. Jones is too shaky.
• • •
7. Gary Kubiak's offense will be good and high powered, but when it comes to going for the jugular or holding on for the win, he'll choose the latter. Statistically, there probably isn't much difference between the two when it comes to winning and losing after jumping out to a lead, but fans would rather a team keep the foot on the gas the entire game. (See: Patriots 2007.) Kubiak would rather get a lead and maintain it with a great running game. The Texans don't have a great running game, but they'll keep playing as if they do. The Texans have scored one, let me repeat that ONE offensive touchdown in the second half this season. That's not all about being conservative (well, against the Raiders it was), but Kubiak isn't going to run a wild and loose offense anytime soon.
• • •
6. Mar-i-o. Mar-i-o. Mar-i-o. Since college, the big man has tended to have big games in bunches. He hasn't had a big game yet, but he was all over the field Sunday. Not that I'm psychic, but don't be surprised if Mario Williams goes off the next couple of weeks at Arizona and Cincinnati.
• • •
5. The Texans-Colts matchup for first place on Nov. 8 is still on. Both teams probably won't be 6-2 as I thought they would, but I'm not jumping off my first half of the season prediction until I have to. The Texans are better than the 0-4 Titans, and clearly only a few of us saw that coming before the season, so there is panic in Nashville. Jacksonville has looked good offensively the last two weeks, but (in the voice of Judge Haller) they'll "win some lose some."
• • •
4. Hate him for making more money than you, and stay upset about Shoegate, but Dunta Robinson is playing well. He is flinging his body around like he always has. That is what made him the heart and soul of the Texans' defense. Good thing he has more help these days. Robinson has made several plays (fighting off blocks to make tackles, keeping backs from turning the corner) that few cornerbacks in this league make. You might not like the way he handled his contract situation, and he deserves some criticism, but ignore the juvenile radio talk. On a defense with few positives, Robinson is one of them.
• • •
3. Frank Bush (or whoever is making the defensive personnel calls) is far better at this than Richard Smith. The shuffle of players in search of competent play is disturbing in many ways, but it is far better than running a guy out there over and over to watch the guy get beat over and over. Bush doesn't seem hesitant to pull the trigger to improve. Richard Smith made moves two or three weeks (sometimes more) after they should have been made.
• • •
2. Be prepared for Bush to make the "wrong" call next week, and the media to point it out. Jacques Reeves says he will return to the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals. Will he start? Will the Texans go with Glover Quin, the rookie, against the Cardinals' potent pass attack? I don't know what the right call is, so I'm not criticizing and I won't after the fact. My point is that I expect the Cardinals to attack the Texans corners and do well. Arizona won't run worth a darn — at least they better not — but with an off week that offense should do some damage. Reeves might not look so good in his first game; Quin will probably look bad against Anquan Boldin or Larry Fitzgerald. Those guys are good. You make the call.
• • •
1. The Big Play Days of the Texans' defense aren't exactly the "good old days" just yet. They'll be back. Great day against the Raiders, but let's not overdo it. Bush is being forced to play too many inexperienced players. There were crucial third down snaps Sunday in which the Texans had four rookies on the field. They will make huge mistakes and good offenses/good quarterbacks will take advantage of that. They might be fun to watch, but they will be painful to watch at times too. I love the fan belief that young players will get better. That is not always true.Me: Lots of the texan players have had the flu or are experienceing flu like symptoms at this time and every player is being watched.Chris Brown missed the raider game due to stomach problems dealing with the flu.
They have a video on one texan website that I could'nt get to load and bring over here but I'd say this is one thing that team don't need right now.
Not a lot of confidence in the teams defense and the offense has only scored one td in the second half all season long.Fans don't seem to be too happy with the play calling of the offense or defense and think Kubiak is on his way out.
At least we can sympothise with the play calling from the coordinators here with the CARDINALS.Mario has only had 2 sacks this season and thats against teams you'd expect him to get a lot more on.Especially the raiders.
The team is really down on Dunta Robinson in his contract year and many fans are dogging this guy.I hope and I'm sure we've selected him as a player to attack on Sunday afternoon.The more I read the better I'm feeling about this game.
I'm gonna go dig up some more information for everyone to chew on before the game.
