For a long time now I've used the hashtag #Bad[Insert thing here] as a general comment on all things that are stupid, silly or just plain awful. A lot of my Twitter tagging of #BadSports content has been in relation to the Texans.
But I haven't used that in response to the trades that went down over the weekend because it just seems so obvious that we're dealing with a #BadSports situation here.
Two trades, both unbalanced in the favor of the other team. You got too little back for Clowney and gave up too much for Tunsil and Stills. What is the potential of TWO first round draft picks?
How about JJ Watt and DeAndre Hopkins?
OK, that's an extreme example but still, if there's one thing the Texans have done a pretty good job of as a franchise it's hitting on first round picks. It's the rest of the rounds in the draft where they've struggled, which is why their roster is a wreck outside of a few key stars.
Still, getting Tunsil on-board does, finally, provide Watson with some protection, but there are four other positions on that offensive line and it's not very clear that any of the people manning them is going to be all that great. Tunsil will help, and it's much needed help, but he really only makes the offense marginally better while on defense you've gotten significantly worse.
Remember the vaunted pass-rush that was supposed to help a woeful secondary? Yeah, that narrative pretty much got blown out of the water. JJ Watt is great, but no man is an island and he needs help, especially when you consider that now all of the double teams that Clowney absorbed are going to be redistributed to #99.
Who else on this defense is worthy of a double-team?
The line from the team is that they're worried about this year and that they'll worry about the dearth of draft picks after the season, a line that's been parroted by aging, increasingly less insightful, Houston Chronicle columnist John McClain.
You might really be worried about it when you're trying to find a new GM, who looks at your upcoming draft equity and says "Thanks, but no thanks"
Still, and this is the truth, if the Texans win this season, and make a decent run in the playoffs, all will probably be forgiven. One thing this does ensure is that Texans fans, who seem content on supporting one of the worst franchises in football, will be there in droves for the home opener, hearts full of love and minds full of optimism for the boys in deep steel blue (or whatever the heck they call their colors).
If they lose however, all bets are off.
Showing posts with label Houston Texans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston Texans. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Houston Texans: Mea Culpa
I freely admit that I pegged this Texans team wrong. After a 0-2 start I DID write that they shouldn't panic, but I also stated that Bill O'Brien was probably not the coach to be leading the turn-around.
Eight wins in a row later and it appears that he WAS the guy to lead the team.
Not that his coaching has been brilliant, it just hasn't been BAD, and while I still think there are holes in the roster he's making good enough use of his talent to beat the teams he should which, coincidentally, are most of the teams on the schedule. As amazing as this might sound, the two toughest games remaining on the schedule might be the Browns and the Colts over the next two weeks.
But 8-3 is 8-3 and if you are what your record says you are then the Texans have turned into a much-better-than-average NFL team and the clear front-runner in the much depleted AFC South. They now hold what is basically a 3-game lead over the Colts (Since the Texans beat Indy in their first match-up earlier in the year) with 5 games remaining. They're not a lock to win the division, they still have to play them after all, but a Texans fans has to be feeling pretty good right about now.
This still doesn't cover up the issues on the offensive line (which, to be fair, has gotten a little better, especially in the run game) or the problems in the defensive backfield (which has also gotten better due to the re-emergence of the pass rush). But it does mean that the good players on this team are finally stepping up and making plays that cover up the deficiencies in other areas.
They are also getting a ridiculous amount of good luck in the form of other coaches making head-scratching calls. An example of this is the Titans handing the ball off to a TE (getting his first carry of his career) on 4th and inches instead of bruising tailback Henry. As I said, odd.
DeShaun Watson is playing much, much better, although still holding onto the ball too long, and DeAndre Hopkins is a joy to watch. Even Miller is running the ball with authority, and surprising speed last night in his franchise-record setting 97 yard TD jaunt.
I'm still not convinced this team has the make-up to get beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs, but they are looking more like a playoff team over the last 4 games of the winning streak than they did during the first 4.
So, mea culpa then, I was wrong. This year's Texans team IS a pretty good team that has the ability to win the division. While I'm still not entirely sold on their long-term potential, they're at least winning the games they should win now, which is something they've not always done in the past.
Eight wins in a row later and it appears that he WAS the guy to lead the team.
Not that his coaching has been brilliant, it just hasn't been BAD, and while I still think there are holes in the roster he's making good enough use of his talent to beat the teams he should which, coincidentally, are most of the teams on the schedule. As amazing as this might sound, the two toughest games remaining on the schedule might be the Browns and the Colts over the next two weeks.
But 8-3 is 8-3 and if you are what your record says you are then the Texans have turned into a much-better-than-average NFL team and the clear front-runner in the much depleted AFC South. They now hold what is basically a 3-game lead over the Colts (Since the Texans beat Indy in their first match-up earlier in the year) with 5 games remaining. They're not a lock to win the division, they still have to play them after all, but a Texans fans has to be feeling pretty good right about now.
This still doesn't cover up the issues on the offensive line (which, to be fair, has gotten a little better, especially in the run game) or the problems in the defensive backfield (which has also gotten better due to the re-emergence of the pass rush). But it does mean that the good players on this team are finally stepping up and making plays that cover up the deficiencies in other areas.
They are also getting a ridiculous amount of good luck in the form of other coaches making head-scratching calls. An example of this is the Titans handing the ball off to a TE (getting his first carry of his career) on 4th and inches instead of bruising tailback Henry. As I said, odd.
DeShaun Watson is playing much, much better, although still holding onto the ball too long, and DeAndre Hopkins is a joy to watch. Even Miller is running the ball with authority, and surprising speed last night in his franchise-record setting 97 yard TD jaunt.
I'm still not convinced this team has the make-up to get beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs, but they are looking more like a playoff team over the last 4 games of the winning streak than they did during the first 4.
So, mea culpa then, I was wrong. This year's Texans team IS a pretty good team that has the ability to win the division. While I'm still not entirely sold on their long-term potential, they're at least winning the games they should win now, which is something they've not always done in the past.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Houston Texans: The Accountability Myth.
Since their inception, the Houston Texans have been a model franchise. If, that is, you want to see how NOT to build a team from scratch. The only better model is the Cleveland Browns, but I'm assuming you don't want THAT type of ineptitude, you want something that's just going to be good enough to occasionally make the playoffs and continuing to hoover up fan dollars without actually having to make the tough decisions that lead teams to deep playoff runs.
Of course, this has some in Houston Media perturbed.
Rick Smith must answer questions!!!!!
Bob McNair must answer questions!!!!
Why should they?
Ignoring the fact that we're all better off when old Bob keeps his mouth shut there's very little that they're going to say which would indicate that they understand there is a problem.
Fire Rick Smith? *pshaw*
Rick Smith and Cal McNair are inseparable.
Have Rick Smith answer questions? And say....what exactly? Do you expect some mea culpa to emerge that he doesn't know what he's doing and that the lack of an offensive line, the sorry state of the defensive backfield or the total lack of depth on this team is entirely down to his sub-par ability to evaluate talent?
Because you're not going to get that. You're going to get a "woe is me" picture of injuries and Cushing blaming and all of the other crap excuses that this team continually makes.
Yes, the Texans have faced some brutal injuries this year. First it was JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus on the same play, followed by DeShaun Watson, but lest we forget, despite some big wins and offensive output, all the Texans were doing WITH Watson was losing in a spectacular fashion more often than not.
A healthy Watson probably gets this team to 9-7, without Watson they are a horrid 4-11 right now and having to beat the lowly Indianapolis Colts to avoid finishing in the basement of the putrid AFC South.
But by all means, lets have the owner and GM answer the media's questions, assuage their bruised egos. Not that it would do any good. Because it's the writers themselves that are a large part of the problem in Houston.
A few weeks ago I was listening to sports talk radio (don't ask) when John McClain, the Chron's version of "he must be an expert because he's done it for a long time newspaper football scribe, was waxing authoritatively on Houston's quarterback future.
In short, he was making the case that the Texans needed to "bring in a veteran quarterback to "mentor" Watson" he suggested former Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Never mind that this advice was silly (clearly, Watson does not need mentoring) and possibly racist, it also revealed a general lack of understanding of the modern football game.
What the Texans should do is spend a 5th or 6th round pick on a quarterback who could come in, learn from Watson, run the same offense and do some of the things that Watson does. But that way of thinking is so foreign to McClain that he didn't even listen to the radio host (Sean Pendergast) who was laying that out to him.
Then there's the real problem: The Texans fans.
On Christmas Day (Aside: STOP playing games on Thursdays and Christmas NFL, just STOP) the Steelers visited the Texans in a game that was neither competitive or all that compelling, except that the Texans quarterbacks continued the season-long trend of leaving the game after being concussed (about that O-line Rick Smith).
And Reliant Stadium was packed.
If you want to send a message you don't pack a stadium to watch a 4-10 disaster get boat-raced out of the stadium by one of the best teams in the league.
You stay home. You don't watch, you don't call into talk radio shows about it you ignore the team and pay attention to the Rockets or other things. (Hint: Find a provider that offers NFL Red Zone and keep the dial there if you must have an NFL fix) Take up a hobby, spend Sundays with your family.
You don't show up to the game.
Then again, when you think about it. Houston is a sorry excuse for a sports town, the Houston Chronicle is a sorry excuse for a newspaper and the Texans are a sorry excuse for a NFL Franchise.
They deserve each other.
Continue on then.
Of course, this has some in Houston Media perturbed.
Rick Smith must answer questions!!!!!
Bob McNair must answer questions!!!!
Why should they?
Ignoring the fact that we're all better off when old Bob keeps his mouth shut there's very little that they're going to say which would indicate that they understand there is a problem.
Fire Rick Smith? *pshaw*
Rick Smith and Cal McNair are inseparable.
Have Rick Smith answer questions? And say....what exactly? Do you expect some mea culpa to emerge that he doesn't know what he's doing and that the lack of an offensive line, the sorry state of the defensive backfield or the total lack of depth on this team is entirely down to his sub-par ability to evaluate talent?
Because you're not going to get that. You're going to get a "woe is me" picture of injuries and Cushing blaming and all of the other crap excuses that this team continually makes.
Yes, the Texans have faced some brutal injuries this year. First it was JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus on the same play, followed by DeShaun Watson, but lest we forget, despite some big wins and offensive output, all the Texans were doing WITH Watson was losing in a spectacular fashion more often than not.
A healthy Watson probably gets this team to 9-7, without Watson they are a horrid 4-11 right now and having to beat the lowly Indianapolis Colts to avoid finishing in the basement of the putrid AFC South.
But by all means, lets have the owner and GM answer the media's questions, assuage their bruised egos. Not that it would do any good. Because it's the writers themselves that are a large part of the problem in Houston.
A few weeks ago I was listening to sports talk radio (don't ask) when John McClain, the Chron's version of "he must be an expert because he's done it for a long time newspaper football scribe, was waxing authoritatively on Houston's quarterback future.
In short, he was making the case that the Texans needed to "bring in a veteran quarterback to "mentor" Watson" he suggested former Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Never mind that this advice was silly (clearly, Watson does not need mentoring) and possibly racist, it also revealed a general lack of understanding of the modern football game.
What the Texans should do is spend a 5th or 6th round pick on a quarterback who could come in, learn from Watson, run the same offense and do some of the things that Watson does. But that way of thinking is so foreign to McClain that he didn't even listen to the radio host (Sean Pendergast) who was laying that out to him.
Then there's the real problem: The Texans fans.
On Christmas Day (Aside: STOP playing games on Thursdays and Christmas NFL, just STOP) the Steelers visited the Texans in a game that was neither competitive or all that compelling, except that the Texans quarterbacks continued the season-long trend of leaving the game after being concussed (about that O-line Rick Smith).
And Reliant Stadium was packed.
If you want to send a message you don't pack a stadium to watch a 4-10 disaster get boat-raced out of the stadium by one of the best teams in the league.
You stay home. You don't watch, you don't call into talk radio shows about it you ignore the team and pay attention to the Rockets or other things. (Hint: Find a provider that offers NFL Red Zone and keep the dial there if you must have an NFL fix) Take up a hobby, spend Sundays with your family.
You don't show up to the game.
Then again, when you think about it. Houston is a sorry excuse for a sports town, the Houston Chronicle is a sorry excuse for a newspaper and the Texans are a sorry excuse for a NFL Franchise.
They deserve each other.
Continue on then.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Houston Texans: Welcome to the disaster.
The Houston Texans are talking Kaepernick which tells you just far off the rails this team has gone.
As an admitted fan of the 49ers I've always been sympathetic to Collin. He got caught up in a dysfunctional team environment and then cast aside by a 2nd generation head coach who didn't want to deal with the drama.
Yes, he's a polarizing figure, much of that he brings onto himself in tandem with his activist girlfriend. And yes, there are big (huge) questions regarding whether or not he can actually still play to the level he did during the Super Bowl run. But the issues with Kaepernick's protests are overblown and have become politicized to the point that the original intent has been washed away in a wave of psuedo-patriotism.
Ignoring all of that, were I the Texans I would give him a tryout.
'I'll boycott!!' you say? I would argue that most of the fans who would abandon the team over that have left already and that's a small sub-set of fans anyway.
MOST fans just want their team to win. To feel like they're a part of something that's successful on Sundays. And that's what fandom is really all about. Winning makes people feel good. They like it. Losing makes them feel like, well.....losers.
It's ridiculous and silly and it's all about being a fan.
For 49ers, and Texans, fans of late that's been a real hard thing.
At least the 49ers seem to have a plan for turning it around. For the Houston Texans things have never seemed more dire. You have an owner who isn't serious about winning, might possibly be slightly addled and is known more for his poor word choice than anything else. You have a general manager who might be the sucker at any table he sits down at, and a head coach who is irascible, foul mouthed and seemingly not very good at coaching the game of tackle football unless a gift from the God's is playing at QB.
But even WITH Watson the Texans record was 3 & 4 1/2. With three of those losses squarely falling on the shoulders of the Chin. Whether as a result of bad game-planning or overly conservative play-calling it's apparent that BoB is in well over his head, and the team is destined to be 9-7, 8-8 or (more likely) worse with him in charge.
Here's the problem. From top to bottom this is not a franchise that is built to win. It starts at the top, incompetent management who can evaluate talent in the first round, but which is splotchy in its track record in the subsequent rounds. The result of this is a roster with more holes than Mayor Turner's tax increase defense and no plan to address it. Do YOU have any faith the Texans brain trust can draft its way out of this mess?
There are stars on the Texans, and a bunch of guys. The problem is most of the 'guys' are just that. Not players, not performers, but guys, roster spot fillers who would be camp bodies for good NFL teams, but who start for the Texans. I'm not going to call anyone out, you (and they) know who they are.
After losing Sunday to the hapless Colts, one struggles to find a future game on the roster where the Texans could reasonably be favorites.
Well, except for my 49ers of course. But 4-12 is now more of a possibility than is 9-7 and don't even think about 10-6. Such a thing for O'Brien is unpossible.
Maybe he can tell us again about his AFC Championships. THAT should do it.
As an admitted fan of the 49ers I've always been sympathetic to Collin. He got caught up in a dysfunctional team environment and then cast aside by a 2nd generation head coach who didn't want to deal with the drama.
Yes, he's a polarizing figure, much of that he brings onto himself in tandem with his activist girlfriend. And yes, there are big (huge) questions regarding whether or not he can actually still play to the level he did during the Super Bowl run. But the issues with Kaepernick's protests are overblown and have become politicized to the point that the original intent has been washed away in a wave of psuedo-patriotism.
Ignoring all of that, were I the Texans I would give him a tryout.
'I'll boycott!!' you say? I would argue that most of the fans who would abandon the team over that have left already and that's a small sub-set of fans anyway.
MOST fans just want their team to win. To feel like they're a part of something that's successful on Sundays. And that's what fandom is really all about. Winning makes people feel good. They like it. Losing makes them feel like, well.....losers.
It's ridiculous and silly and it's all about being a fan.
For 49ers, and Texans, fans of late that's been a real hard thing.
At least the 49ers seem to have a plan for turning it around. For the Houston Texans things have never seemed more dire. You have an owner who isn't serious about winning, might possibly be slightly addled and is known more for his poor word choice than anything else. You have a general manager who might be the sucker at any table he sits down at, and a head coach who is irascible, foul mouthed and seemingly not very good at coaching the game of tackle football unless a gift from the God's is playing at QB.
But even WITH Watson the Texans record was 3 & 4 1/2. With three of those losses squarely falling on the shoulders of the Chin. Whether as a result of bad game-planning or overly conservative play-calling it's apparent that BoB is in well over his head, and the team is destined to be 9-7, 8-8 or (more likely) worse with him in charge.
Here's the problem. From top to bottom this is not a franchise that is built to win. It starts at the top, incompetent management who can evaluate talent in the first round, but which is splotchy in its track record in the subsequent rounds. The result of this is a roster with more holes than Mayor Turner's tax increase defense and no plan to address it. Do YOU have any faith the Texans brain trust can draft its way out of this mess?
There are stars on the Texans, and a bunch of guys. The problem is most of the 'guys' are just that. Not players, not performers, but guys, roster spot fillers who would be camp bodies for good NFL teams, but who start for the Texans. I'm not going to call anyone out, you (and they) know who they are.
After losing Sunday to the hapless Colts, one struggles to find a future game on the roster where the Texans could reasonably be favorites.
Well, except for my 49ers of course. But 4-12 is now more of a possibility than is 9-7 and don't even think about 10-6. Such a thing for O'Brien is unpossible.
Maybe he can tell us again about his AFC Championships. THAT should do it.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Houston Texans: This is a bad football team, and QB is the least of their worries.
Another year another round of "It's on me" from the Houston Texans football coach explaining away a bad loss.
It's not just that the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13 in 2016) came into NRG Stadium and beat the dog mess out of them, or that the offense looked pathetic and the defense laid an egg, or even that Bill O'Brien panicked mid-game and changed quarterbacks (again) as he desperately looked for something to ignite a moribund offense, it's all of those things and the fact that, gushing media pre-season coverage notwithstanding, the Texans roster is just not very talented.
The worst unit, by far, is the offensive line. It's staffed by low-level free agent signings, some League cast-offs and street free agent signings of players who were cut by other teams for a reason. That reason being they're just not very good. The highlight of the game for the O-line was C Nick Martin, and the best that can be said about him is that he was "solid".
Next come the TE's, a unit that Bill O'Brien's offense relies on, but in which there is not one player who would be a starter for almost any team in the rest of the league. Even more unfortunate is the fact that all three TE's are currently in concussion protocol with a game fast approaching on Sunday.
WR had Hopkins, and not much else on Sunday, and it's unclear whether a returning Will Fuller IV is going to do all that much to help a unit who struggles to run clean routes, gain any meaningful separation and actually catch the ball on a consistent basis.
At RB your best current option, rookie D'Onta Freeman, is currently listed as 4th string, while journeyman Lamar Miller (who has had exactly one really good game in his career, against the Texans FWIW) and Alfred Blue languish ahead of him.
On defense things aren't much better.
On the Defensive Line you have JJ Watt, who is coming back from back surgery and who played injured while racking up one (1) tackle all game, while NT DJ Reader had a horrible game and opposite side DE Joel Heath was a non-entity.
The LB corps is good on the outside (JD Clowney and Whitney Mercilus) but incredibly weak on the inside with aging, injury prone Brian Cushing (concussion protocol) and living statue Benardrick McKinney coming up JUST short play after play.
On a bright note: the defensive backfield is competent.
How did it get so bad, so fast you ask? I would suggest that a lion's share of the blame should be shouldered by GM Rick Smith, who has done a terrible job drafting players in any round other than round 1 (and possibly 7) of the NFL draft. He's especially horrid during round's 2, 3 & 4, where rosters are filled and lineups solidified. The Texans are seeing the fruits of this now, as the team has entire chunks of roster filled with guys who should be planning for life after football.
Then there's the sobering reality that Bill O'Brien is not a very good coach. He's certainly not an "offensive guru" or a "quarterback whisperer" as advertised, Tom Brady can make almost anyone look competent, and he's in desperately over his head at the NFL level.
ALL THAT SAID
It's just one game. And one game, even a pathetic game, does not a season make. I would argue that it's more likely the Texans will go 6-10 than 10-6, but there are still 15 games left to play, the first on Thursday, and the Texans are likely staring down the barrel of playing that game with no currently active TE's eligible to play and missing Brian Cushing due to concussions.
If I'm wrong, and if O'Brien IS a quality coach, he's got his work cut out this weekend. If I'm right however, this team could spiral to 2-14 and it could all be over but the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
One thing is for sure, it's on the Texans fan to step up and NOT support football at this level. If the Texans lose to Cincinnati the next home game should find the Texans playing in front of a 1/4 full NRG, fans should stay home, tune out, and send a message to McNair that mediocre is not acceptable. Because as long as McNair sees a full NRG (and continues to rake in money) his real goal of ownership will be attained. This man pays lip-service to winning championships but that's about it.
If the Texans win in Cincy, then fans give them a second chance.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice?
Shame on us.
It's not just that the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13 in 2016) came into NRG Stadium and beat the dog mess out of them, or that the offense looked pathetic and the defense laid an egg, or even that Bill O'Brien panicked mid-game and changed quarterbacks (again) as he desperately looked for something to ignite a moribund offense, it's all of those things and the fact that, gushing media pre-season coverage notwithstanding, the Texans roster is just not very talented.
The worst unit, by far, is the offensive line. It's staffed by low-level free agent signings, some League cast-offs and street free agent signings of players who were cut by other teams for a reason. That reason being they're just not very good. The highlight of the game for the O-line was C Nick Martin, and the best that can be said about him is that he was "solid".
Next come the TE's, a unit that Bill O'Brien's offense relies on, but in which there is not one player who would be a starter for almost any team in the rest of the league. Even more unfortunate is the fact that all three TE's are currently in concussion protocol with a game fast approaching on Sunday.
WR had Hopkins, and not much else on Sunday, and it's unclear whether a returning Will Fuller IV is going to do all that much to help a unit who struggles to run clean routes, gain any meaningful separation and actually catch the ball on a consistent basis.
At RB your best current option, rookie D'Onta Freeman, is currently listed as 4th string, while journeyman Lamar Miller (who has had exactly one really good game in his career, against the Texans FWIW) and Alfred Blue languish ahead of him.
On defense things aren't much better.
On the Defensive Line you have JJ Watt, who is coming back from back surgery and who played injured while racking up one (1) tackle all game, while NT DJ Reader had a horrible game and opposite side DE Joel Heath was a non-entity.
The LB corps is good on the outside (JD Clowney and Whitney Mercilus) but incredibly weak on the inside with aging, injury prone Brian Cushing (concussion protocol) and living statue Benardrick McKinney coming up JUST short play after play.
On a bright note: the defensive backfield is competent.
How did it get so bad, so fast you ask? I would suggest that a lion's share of the blame should be shouldered by GM Rick Smith, who has done a terrible job drafting players in any round other than round 1 (and possibly 7) of the NFL draft. He's especially horrid during round's 2, 3 & 4, where rosters are filled and lineups solidified. The Texans are seeing the fruits of this now, as the team has entire chunks of roster filled with guys who should be planning for life after football.
Then there's the sobering reality that Bill O'Brien is not a very good coach. He's certainly not an "offensive guru" or a "quarterback whisperer" as advertised, Tom Brady can make almost anyone look competent, and he's in desperately over his head at the NFL level.
ALL THAT SAID
It's just one game. And one game, even a pathetic game, does not a season make. I would argue that it's more likely the Texans will go 6-10 than 10-6, but there are still 15 games left to play, the first on Thursday, and the Texans are likely staring down the barrel of playing that game with no currently active TE's eligible to play and missing Brian Cushing due to concussions.
If I'm wrong, and if O'Brien IS a quality coach, he's got his work cut out this weekend. If I'm right however, this team could spiral to 2-14 and it could all be over but the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
One thing is for sure, it's on the Texans fan to step up and NOT support football at this level. If the Texans lose to Cincinnati the next home game should find the Texans playing in front of a 1/4 full NRG, fans should stay home, tune out, and send a message to McNair that mediocre is not acceptable. Because as long as McNair sees a full NRG (and continues to rake in money) his real goal of ownership will be attained. This man pays lip-service to winning championships but that's about it.
If the Texans win in Cincy, then fans give them a second chance.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice?
Shame on us.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Houston Texans: Is it time to question O'Brien?
Stories like this make you wonder.
The fact is that Bill O'Brien is not the "quarterback whisperer" that he's been advertised to be. In fact, most of the quarterbacks who have left the Texans, Hoyer, the Fitz, etc. have played BETTER with their new teams than with Houston's professional football team.
For a supposed "offensive guru" O'Brien's offenses have been a consistent embarrassment during his tenure. On any team serious about winning he'd be on a seat so hot you'd feel the warmth in Beaumont.
But these are the Texans, owned by Crazy Bob McNair who is seemingly content to have the team win the pathetic AFC South some seasons and exit meekly in either the first or second round. He can afford to do this because he has one of the bat-shit craziest fan bases in the country, who continually sell out NRG stadium despite having a product that can only be defined as mediocre.
The reality that is starting to emerge is that, unless something changes, O'Brien's best work as coach of the Texans will be some funny monologues in Hard Knocks.
We all know that the Texans are lacking quality in the front office. GM Rick Smith appears over-matched by his peers, but this trade (undoubtedly dreamed up by an increasingly clever looking Browns team) probably gives him something to point to for years now as evidence of his brilliance.
The question is whether or not the dysfunction at NRG has pervaded the entire team? We know what the owner's priorities are, and it doesn't seem like anyone on Kirby has a real plan on how to win, and win big.
MAYBE the Texans don't get taken advantage of by Jerry Jones and the Cowboys in their pursuit of Tony Romo but the odds are not in favor. And MAYBE the team starts 2017 with someone other than "Tom Savage" penciled in as the starter at quarterback.
But, if it IS Tom Savage and hope time for the team then the fans should riot.
They won't though, which is why their team is allowed to continue to court mediocrity on the backs of their unfailing loyalty. Find something else to do on Sundays Texans fans, until the team gives you reason not to.
The fact is that Bill O'Brien is not the "quarterback whisperer" that he's been advertised to be. In fact, most of the quarterbacks who have left the Texans, Hoyer, the Fitz, etc. have played BETTER with their new teams than with Houston's professional football team.
For a supposed "offensive guru" O'Brien's offenses have been a consistent embarrassment during his tenure. On any team serious about winning he'd be on a seat so hot you'd feel the warmth in Beaumont.
But these are the Texans, owned by Crazy Bob McNair who is seemingly content to have the team win the pathetic AFC South some seasons and exit meekly in either the first or second round. He can afford to do this because he has one of the bat-shit craziest fan bases in the country, who continually sell out NRG stadium despite having a product that can only be defined as mediocre.
The reality that is starting to emerge is that, unless something changes, O'Brien's best work as coach of the Texans will be some funny monologues in Hard Knocks.
We all know that the Texans are lacking quality in the front office. GM Rick Smith appears over-matched by his peers, but this trade (undoubtedly dreamed up by an increasingly clever looking Browns team) probably gives him something to point to for years now as evidence of his brilliance.
The question is whether or not the dysfunction at NRG has pervaded the entire team? We know what the owner's priorities are, and it doesn't seem like anyone on Kirby has a real plan on how to win, and win big.
MAYBE the Texans don't get taken advantage of by Jerry Jones and the Cowboys in their pursuit of Tony Romo but the odds are not in favor. And MAYBE the team starts 2017 with someone other than "Tom Savage" penciled in as the starter at quarterback.
But, if it IS Tom Savage and hope time for the team then the fans should riot.
They won't though, which is why their team is allowed to continue to court mediocrity on the backs of their unfailing loyalty. Find something else to do on Sundays Texans fans, until the team gives you reason not to.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Houston Texans: Time to Either Blow up the Mess or Send your Money Elsewhere.
"We're still 6-5 and in 1st place in the Division"
"We had a chance to win"
"All we need to do is make the playoffs and then who knows?"
These are the things mediocre teams say to their fan base in attempts to convince them that things are OK. To be honest, in most cases they're probably trying to convince themselves.
But if you believe that everything is A-OK with the National Football League Franchise currently doing business on Kirby Drive in Houston Texas then you're just as much a part of the problem as they are.
This team is a mess. The front office is a mess, the coaching staff is a mess, player/personnel decision-making is a mess, the coaching is a mess, the roster is a mess, the defense is a mess, the quarterback is a (devolving) mess. The Houston Texans, as an organization, are a mess.
Their only saving grace?
They play in the AFC South which contains three franchises that are even bigger messes right now.
But the gap is narrowing. It's down to one game actually as the Titans improved to 5-6 vs the Texans 6-5. The two teams still have another head-to-head game to play.
The problems are almost too many to list. But let's give it a shot.
Coaching - Head Coach Bill O'Brien seems completely incapable of either making a creative game plan on offense, or adjusting much during the game. If you take away the runs on 1st and 2nd down this team is clueless. In fact, the highest point total they've had this year is 24 points. 24. The defense doesn't have an excuse either, despite missing JJ Watt due to back surgery they still have what we've been promised is a cast of talented players. The coaching staff consistently has major problems nullifying what opposing teams do well. Good defensive staffs can usually do this.
Players - Despite what you hear in local media, this is not an especially talented, or deep, roster. General Manager Rick Smith is starting to hurt the team due to his seeming inability to find NFL quality players in any round other than 1 & 7. The list of bad 2nd and 3rd round draft picks in this team's history is longer than the amount of current drafted players on the roster.
Offense - In short, the Texans barely have one. They rank 30th in total yards, 30th in passing, are near the bottom in points. The only thing this team does well is run the ball (5th in rushing) but they can't score because they are 29th in points. Much of this is due to the horrible play of high-priced free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler who is 27th in the league in total QBR, For the Texans, this is a historically awful offense, reminiscent of the expansion-era offenses.
Fans - You read that correctly, the fans themselves are a big part of the problem for this team. They're a problem because they keep spending money buying tickets, renewing season tickets, and generally supporting this hot-mess of mediocrity that stays the exact same year after year.
You want to improve this luke-warm pile of porridge that masquerades as a team that wants to "compete for and win Super Bowls"?
Start finding better ways to spend your Sundays, and more constructive uses for your season-ticket money. Stop buying jerseys etc. It's not enough to just show up and boo loudly. Bob McNair doesn't care because he's already got you money and is happy being mediocre while his kids spend it.
The only way to drive change, to force this team to get a new front office, revamp the roster and find a quality coaching staff, is to start threatening Cal's children't inheritance. That means it's time for Texans fans to show the team some tough love, by ignoring them in the same manner they did the Rockets and Astros when they weren't trying to build winners.
Don't worry, even if you purchased a PSL you can buy back in should the team get good again.
Consider it a fan intervention. It's tough, but it has to be done.
"We had a chance to win"
"All we need to do is make the playoffs and then who knows?"
These are the things mediocre teams say to their fan base in attempts to convince them that things are OK. To be honest, in most cases they're probably trying to convince themselves.
But if you believe that everything is A-OK with the National Football League Franchise currently doing business on Kirby Drive in Houston Texas then you're just as much a part of the problem as they are.
This team is a mess. The front office is a mess, the coaching staff is a mess, player/personnel decision-making is a mess, the coaching is a mess, the roster is a mess, the defense is a mess, the quarterback is a (devolving) mess. The Houston Texans, as an organization, are a mess.
Their only saving grace?
They play in the AFC South which contains three franchises that are even bigger messes right now.
But the gap is narrowing. It's down to one game actually as the Titans improved to 5-6 vs the Texans 6-5. The two teams still have another head-to-head game to play.
The problems are almost too many to list. But let's give it a shot.
Coaching - Head Coach Bill O'Brien seems completely incapable of either making a creative game plan on offense, or adjusting much during the game. If you take away the runs on 1st and 2nd down this team is clueless. In fact, the highest point total they've had this year is 24 points. 24. The defense doesn't have an excuse either, despite missing JJ Watt due to back surgery they still have what we've been promised is a cast of talented players. The coaching staff consistently has major problems nullifying what opposing teams do well. Good defensive staffs can usually do this.
Players - Despite what you hear in local media, this is not an especially talented, or deep, roster. General Manager Rick Smith is starting to hurt the team due to his seeming inability to find NFL quality players in any round other than 1 & 7. The list of bad 2nd and 3rd round draft picks in this team's history is longer than the amount of current drafted players on the roster.
Offense - In short, the Texans barely have one. They rank 30th in total yards, 30th in passing, are near the bottom in points. The only thing this team does well is run the ball (5th in rushing) but they can't score because they are 29th in points. Much of this is due to the horrible play of high-priced free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler who is 27th in the league in total QBR, For the Texans, this is a historically awful offense, reminiscent of the expansion-era offenses.
Fans - You read that correctly, the fans themselves are a big part of the problem for this team. They're a problem because they keep spending money buying tickets, renewing season tickets, and generally supporting this hot-mess of mediocrity that stays the exact same year after year.
You want to improve this luke-warm pile of porridge that masquerades as a team that wants to "compete for and win Super Bowls"?
Start finding better ways to spend your Sundays, and more constructive uses for your season-ticket money. Stop buying jerseys etc. It's not enough to just show up and boo loudly. Bob McNair doesn't care because he's already got you money and is happy being mediocre while his kids spend it.
The only way to drive change, to force this team to get a new front office, revamp the roster and find a quality coaching staff, is to start threatening Cal's children't inheritance. That means it's time for Texans fans to show the team some tough love, by ignoring them in the same manner they did the Rockets and Astros when they weren't trying to build winners.
Don't worry, even if you purchased a PSL you can buy back in should the team get good again.
Consider it a fan intervention. It's tough, but it has to be done.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Houston Texans: So? What now? (27-9 Edition)
There are several ways to react to a thorough beat-down of the type the Denver Broncos put on the Houston Texans last night.
You can go faux tough-guy like Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla (Who himself would fold like a cheap pizza box if Osweiler ever came at him with fire in his eyes)
You can go cliche (in an online story full of type-setting errors, grammatical errors etc.)
You can go disappointed parent angry (Which, aside from confirming National sources for local stories, is all this guy does these days)
Or you can go somewhat poetic (I say somewhat because it's clear Wilson and football are only slightly acquainted.)
In between bouts of deep depression and fits of anger (or worse, for the team, resignation) you could forgive Texans fan for ignoring all of this and deciding that there are better things to do on Sunday. In short: You could go numb. You'll find your brisket moment however, it might have been the Fumbleception, or it might come in the future.
But a franchise that is interested in actually winning playoff games and championships wouldn't. They wouldn't stand pat as week after week the head coach says "This was on me" and "We have to play better" and the $72MM quarterback stands in front of cameras stating "I have to play better".
It wouldn't continue to employ a GM whose built a roster slightly better than the Browns, Titans and Bears of the world, but nowhere near competitive against the Broncos, Patriots, Vikings, Steelers et al. It wouldn't keep around a GM who seemingly is clueless in talent evaluation, who has consistently fielded in order: An offensive line that is below average, cornerbacks and safeties who have trouble both in coverage and run support, linebackers who are, to put it delicately, slow. And a D-line who, absent JJ Watt, spends more time getting pushed around than pushing people around.
And we haven't even gotten to a quarterback who has trouble throwing the ball further than 4 yards down the field, TE's who are not especially good at either running routes, catching passes or run blocking, and WR's who, as a unit, cannot run a complex route tree and separate from coverage. At least the special teams last night didn't have their now once-per-game meltdown.
By any metric this Texans team is low on talent. To deny that is to deny that the on-the-road-against-good-football-teams beat-downs are becoming routine. The Texans didn't just lose last night, they got beaten. Beaten in every aspect of the game. Only the fact that the Broncos are stubbornly choosing to start Trevor Simien kept them from getting trucked by 40 or more.
The difference though, is that Denver does have talent across the board. They have enough talent that they can afford to sit and wait on Simien to develop as a quarterback, to grow through playing. Because if he messes up, the defense is good enough to cover that up.
The Texans just aren't talented enough to win despite having a QB who is seemingly allergic to completing the vertical pass right now. To be fair though, he's not being given much of an opportunity to complete down the field passes because the Texans have implemented a game plan full of three step drops and quick releases. They have to do this because the O-line can't slow down the rush enough to allow routes to develop downfield.
The worst news is that it's going to get worse, because Derek Newton (who I've been critical of in the past but who was having a good year, when healthy, to this point) went down last night with what is apparently two torn patella tendons. That's a brutal injury and I hope the best for Mr. Newton. It's certainly season ending, I'm a little worried it could be career ending for him.
One thing for sure, last night's game was a season-ender for the Texans, in terms of being a contender. They might still make the playoffs only because the AFC South is a raging dumpster fire of bad football. But they might not, because the Jaguars are looking better of late and I still think they end up winning the thing at 9-7.
But even if the Texans DO win and make the playoffs, do you have any faith that they can beat a team that's playoff caliber? Right now the only team with a current winning record is the Chiefs, who sit at 4-2 and might still be the 4th best team in their division. At the maximum they're the 3rd. And the Texans beat them at home, in a game where they still had a ton of players out with injury, including their best player, Running back Jamaal Charles.
The Texans will go to the press after this game and say all of the rote things. They'll say that they "need to play better" and remark on how Denver (and Minnesota, and the Patriots) are "good teams" and that they believe they can beat anyone in the league if they just play good football and "execute their game plan".
Here's the problem with those talking points. It's becoming increasingly obvious that they're not true. It's also becoming increasingly obvious that things are not going to change as long as Bob McNair is making money hand over fist. So enjoy it Texans fans, a future full of 8-8 with a handful of dumpster fires against good teams whenever you play them.
You can go faux tough-guy like Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla (Who himself would fold like a cheap pizza box if Osweiler ever came at him with fire in his eyes)
You can go cliche (in an online story full of type-setting errors, grammatical errors etc.)
You can go disappointed parent angry (Which, aside from confirming National sources for local stories, is all this guy does these days)
Or you can go somewhat poetic (I say somewhat because it's clear Wilson and football are only slightly acquainted.)
In between bouts of deep depression and fits of anger (or worse, for the team, resignation) you could forgive Texans fan for ignoring all of this and deciding that there are better things to do on Sunday. In short: You could go numb. You'll find your brisket moment however, it might have been the Fumbleception, or it might come in the future.
But a franchise that is interested in actually winning playoff games and championships wouldn't. They wouldn't stand pat as week after week the head coach says "This was on me" and "We have to play better" and the $72MM quarterback stands in front of cameras stating "I have to play better".
It wouldn't continue to employ a GM whose built a roster slightly better than the Browns, Titans and Bears of the world, but nowhere near competitive against the Broncos, Patriots, Vikings, Steelers et al. It wouldn't keep around a GM who seemingly is clueless in talent evaluation, who has consistently fielded in order: An offensive line that is below average, cornerbacks and safeties who have trouble both in coverage and run support, linebackers who are, to put it delicately, slow. And a D-line who, absent JJ Watt, spends more time getting pushed around than pushing people around.
And we haven't even gotten to a quarterback who has trouble throwing the ball further than 4 yards down the field, TE's who are not especially good at either running routes, catching passes or run blocking, and WR's who, as a unit, cannot run a complex route tree and separate from coverage. At least the special teams last night didn't have their now once-per-game meltdown.
By any metric this Texans team is low on talent. To deny that is to deny that the on-the-road-against-good-football-teams beat-downs are becoming routine. The Texans didn't just lose last night, they got beaten. Beaten in every aspect of the game. Only the fact that the Broncos are stubbornly choosing to start Trevor Simien kept them from getting trucked by 40 or more.
The difference though, is that Denver does have talent across the board. They have enough talent that they can afford to sit and wait on Simien to develop as a quarterback, to grow through playing. Because if he messes up, the defense is good enough to cover that up.
The Texans just aren't talented enough to win despite having a QB who is seemingly allergic to completing the vertical pass right now. To be fair though, he's not being given much of an opportunity to complete down the field passes because the Texans have implemented a game plan full of three step drops and quick releases. They have to do this because the O-line can't slow down the rush enough to allow routes to develop downfield.
The worst news is that it's going to get worse, because Derek Newton (who I've been critical of in the past but who was having a good year, when healthy, to this point) went down last night with what is apparently two torn patella tendons. That's a brutal injury and I hope the best for Mr. Newton. It's certainly season ending, I'm a little worried it could be career ending for him.
One thing for sure, last night's game was a season-ender for the Texans, in terms of being a contender. They might still make the playoffs only because the AFC South is a raging dumpster fire of bad football. But they might not, because the Jaguars are looking better of late and I still think they end up winning the thing at 9-7.
But even if the Texans DO win and make the playoffs, do you have any faith that they can beat a team that's playoff caliber? Right now the only team with a current winning record is the Chiefs, who sit at 4-2 and might still be the 4th best team in their division. At the maximum they're the 3rd. And the Texans beat them at home, in a game where they still had a ton of players out with injury, including their best player, Running back Jamaal Charles.
The Texans will go to the press after this game and say all of the rote things. They'll say that they "need to play better" and remark on how Denver (and Minnesota, and the Patriots) are "good teams" and that they believe they can beat anyone in the league if they just play good football and "execute their game plan".
Here's the problem with those talking points. It's becoming increasingly obvious that they're not true. It's also becoming increasingly obvious that things are not going to change as long as Bob McNair is making money hand over fist. So enjoy it Texans fans, a future full of 8-8 with a handful of dumpster fires against good teams whenever you play them.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Houston Texans: Playoff blowout exposes some big lies.
If you watched any of the Chief's 30-0 walloping of the Houston Texans today you probably realized the team over on Kirby street had no business making it to the NFL Playoffs. You'd be forgiven for thinking that the following comments, made at various times by players, coaches, management and ownership, are lies:
1. 'If you get into the playoffs you have a chance' Clearly, the Texans didn't have a chance today. From the opening kickoff (a 106 yard TD return by Knile Davis) to the 4 INT's and a fumble given up by quarterback Brian Hoyer, it's painfully clear that the Texans are not a playoff caliber team.
2. 'You can win without a top-flight QB' Yes, but who ever you have needs to be above average at least. Hoyer is bottom third.
3. 'This Texans team has a lot of talent on the roster' Not true. They have some talent, at certain positions, but this is not a talent laden roster. There are holes everywhere, the injury to JJ Watt exposed those holes in the defense.
4. 'We're not happy just making the playoffs' Can we all agree that McNair doesn't care about winning a Super Bowl as long as he's turning a nifty profit? This is a company that doesn't have any pressure from the top to be excellent.
5. 'Whitney Mercilus emerged as a star this year' No, he didn't. He's going to end the season with 15 sacks yes but, if you go back and look at them they came either a.)against bad teams or b.) at meaningless times. Mercilus is in a contract year, and he's going to make a lot of money. The Texans shouldn't be the team that pays him that money.
6. 'Bill O'Brien has done a great job this year turning the Texans around.' First, O'Brien is NOT a good game day coach. He's constantly out-schemed and plain out-coached by opponents. Second, the team had the exact same record as last year. The ONLY reason this team made the playoffs is because the AFC South is Biblically awful this year.
7, 'Rick Smith is a competent NFL General Manager' - Nope. I think we see just how bad he is by the make-up of this roster.
The problem is that the Texans fish is rotting from the top and Bob McNair is not going to fire himself obviously. So don't be surprised during the upcoming draft when the Texans draft another QB who is slow of foot, makes questionable decisions and has below average accuracy and arm strength in Christian Hackenberg.
1. 'If you get into the playoffs you have a chance' Clearly, the Texans didn't have a chance today. From the opening kickoff (a 106 yard TD return by Knile Davis) to the 4 INT's and a fumble given up by quarterback Brian Hoyer, it's painfully clear that the Texans are not a playoff caliber team.
2. 'You can win without a top-flight QB' Yes, but who ever you have needs to be above average at least. Hoyer is bottom third.
3. 'This Texans team has a lot of talent on the roster' Not true. They have some talent, at certain positions, but this is not a talent laden roster. There are holes everywhere, the injury to JJ Watt exposed those holes in the defense.
4. 'We're not happy just making the playoffs' Can we all agree that McNair doesn't care about winning a Super Bowl as long as he's turning a nifty profit? This is a company that doesn't have any pressure from the top to be excellent.
5. 'Whitney Mercilus emerged as a star this year' No, he didn't. He's going to end the season with 15 sacks yes but, if you go back and look at them they came either a.)against bad teams or b.) at meaningless times. Mercilus is in a contract year, and he's going to make a lot of money. The Texans shouldn't be the team that pays him that money.
6. 'Bill O'Brien has done a great job this year turning the Texans around.' First, O'Brien is NOT a good game day coach. He's constantly out-schemed and plain out-coached by opponents. Second, the team had the exact same record as last year. The ONLY reason this team made the playoffs is because the AFC South is Biblically awful this year.
7, 'Rick Smith is a competent NFL General Manager' - Nope. I think we see just how bad he is by the make-up of this roster.
The problem is that the Texans fish is rotting from the top and Bob McNair is not going to fire himself obviously. So don't be surprised during the upcoming draft when the Texans draft another QB who is slow of foot, makes questionable decisions and has below average accuracy and arm strength in Christian Hackenberg.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Houston Texans: Inside the Texans Brain Trust (Probably)
(Somewhere in between preparing for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and recording one of his many radio spots, Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien takes a moment to speak with General Manger Rick Smith about the next draft*.......)
NRG Stadium: Wednesday, December 30th. 2:40 PM CST
Rick Smith: "Hey coach, you got a minute?"
Bill O'Brien: "The fuck you want now Rick?"
Smith: "Listen, I know you're busy working on actual football stuff but Mr. McNair did say that we had to find a quarterba.."
O'Brien: "What? Now? Can't you fucking see that I'm in the middle of fucking preparing to play the Jaguars with Brandon fucking Weeden as my starting QB?"
Smith: "Yeah, about that. I know you're busy but did you have a chance to watch Paxton Lynch play today? He was in that bowl game you kn....."
O'Brien: (Sighs) "Lynch, Lynch it's always fucking Lynch with you. Haven't I already decided that we're picking Christian?"
Smith: "No, no you're right coach, and I don't feel that strongly about it either way, I just thought that with his height and ar...."
O'Brien: "OK, fine. We'll pay attention to this Goddamn Lynch kid for a minute. What was his line today?"
Smith: "Got it right here......he went 17/38 for....ummmm..."
O'Brien: "For?"
Smith: "Well, this was only one game and his....."
O'Brien: "Rick, we've been over this. I don't care if it's one game or 20, give me his fucking stat line. I've just beaten the Titans with Brandon Fucking Weeden at QB you idiot."
Smith: "104 yards and one INT Bill."
O'Brien: Vince Fucking Wilfork in overalls Rick! 104 with one INT? Just write the name Christian Hackenberg on the damn draft slip, mail it to NY and leave me the fuck alone. Shouldn't you be funneling McClain some bullshit about Arian coming back or something?"
Smith: "Sorry Bill, it won't happen again. I'm all over the Hackenberg thing. You're right. Sorry."
O'Brien: (mumbling) "Jesus fucking Christ....104 and one interception. Could have gotten that shit out of Mallett."
*Obviously a parody conversation. Except the cursing which I'm pretty sure, given O'Brien's language, is pretty real.
NRG Stadium: Wednesday, December 30th. 2:40 PM CST
Rick Smith: "Hey coach, you got a minute?"
Bill O'Brien: "The fuck you want now Rick?"
Smith: "Listen, I know you're busy working on actual football stuff but Mr. McNair did say that we had to find a quarterba.."
O'Brien: "What? Now? Can't you fucking see that I'm in the middle of fucking preparing to play the Jaguars with Brandon fucking Weeden as my starting QB?"
Smith: "Yeah, about that. I know you're busy but did you have a chance to watch Paxton Lynch play today? He was in that bowl game you kn....."
O'Brien: (Sighs) "Lynch, Lynch it's always fucking Lynch with you. Haven't I already decided that we're picking Christian?"
Smith: "No, no you're right coach, and I don't feel that strongly about it either way, I just thought that with his height and ar...."
O'Brien: "OK, fine. We'll pay attention to this Goddamn Lynch kid for a minute. What was his line today?"
Smith: "Got it right here......he went 17/38 for....ummmm..."
O'Brien: "For?"
Smith: "Well, this was only one game and his....."
O'Brien: "Rick, we've been over this. I don't care if it's one game or 20, give me his fucking stat line. I've just beaten the Titans with Brandon Fucking Weeden at QB you idiot."
Smith: "104 yards and one INT Bill."
O'Brien: Vince Fucking Wilfork in overalls Rick! 104 with one INT? Just write the name Christian Hackenberg on the damn draft slip, mail it to NY and leave me the fuck alone. Shouldn't you be funneling McClain some bullshit about Arian coming back or something?"
Smith: "Sorry Bill, it won't happen again. I'm all over the Hackenberg thing. You're right. Sorry."
O'Brien: (mumbling) "Jesus fucking Christ....104 and one interception. Could have gotten that shit out of Mallett."
*Obviously a parody conversation. Except the cursing which I'm pretty sure, given O'Brien's language, is pretty real.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Houston Texans: All but in the playoffs.
Brandon Weeden.
The Texans trounced the hapless Tennessee Titans 34-6 on Sunday with Brandon Weeden quarterbacking the team.
As a result, the team is now all but assured of the Division crown (If Cincinnati wins on Monday night they're in, otherwise the Colts need a Rube Goldberg chain of events to happen to pass the Texans) and a home-game in the playoffs, potentially at 9-7.
Forgetting for a minute the silliness of the NFL playoff structure (it's now likely the Texans will face the potentially 11-5 Chiefs (who beat them) in the first round) or the fact that there are teams with better records (Pittsburgh) who could be on the outside looking in, as champions of the pedestrian AFC South the Texans will be in the playoffs whether that's good for the team or no.
This seems pretty impossible for a team who, after the first half of the season, was 3-5 and coming off horrendous losses to the Falcons and then the hapless Dolphins. A team whose defense looked like it couldn't stop a stiff Jr. High Marching Band and whose offense had just lost it's best weapon (Arian Foster) to a season ending Achilles tendon tear.
There were even calls, by many including me I admit, for a house-cleaning to occur at the end of the season.
Yet, improbably, this team seemingly from the Island of Offensive Misfit Toys turned things around and, behind the arm of Brandon Weeden, beat the aforementioned Titans by a bunch and sewed up a playoff berth barring the highly improbable.
How improbable? If you were to take a flight to Vegas and place $100 on the chain of events that need to happen for the Texans to lose out to the Colts on a parlay the resulting payout would be North of $100,000.
Here's what would need to happen.
1. Denver beats Cincinnati (MNF)
2.Texans lose to Jaguars
3. Colts beat Titans
4. Miami beats New England
5. Denver beats San Diego
6. Atlanta beats New Orleans
7. Baltimore beats Cincinnati
8. Buffalo beats New York (Jets)
9. Oakland beats Kansas City
10. Pittsburgh beats Cleveland.
Any deviation from that formula and the Texans are in. I've seen the odds placed at around 3300-1.
Now, granted, all of the above are possible, but not probable. New England losing to Miami would be the biggest upset. Of course, the Texans can silence any of this talk by beating Jacksonville on Sunday. If that happens none of the nightmare scenario above matters.
It's no secret that I've been negative toward this team all season long. I still remain lukewarm about their long-term success as currently constructed, especially with what I feel is one of the weakest personnel evaluation teams in the league. Still, O'Brien has done a decent job coaching this team after the disasters at Atlanta and Miami had people questioning his ability and, after the 1st half debacle, the defense has decided to play like many thought they could in the pre-season.
So, while I still think the Texans have talent deficiencies at a variety of positions, I think their coaching staff is scheming well enough to hide that, and creating game plans that play to their strengths.
I'm still not sure if making the playoffs is a good thing for this team in the long-run (Bob McNair has shown a strong tendency to ignore weakness when he shouldn't), I do think that they should be praised for what they have done.
Provided disaster, and improbability, doesn't strike that is.
The Texans trounced the hapless Tennessee Titans 34-6 on Sunday with Brandon Weeden quarterbacking the team.
As a result, the team is now all but assured of the Division crown (If Cincinnati wins on Monday night they're in, otherwise the Colts need a Rube Goldberg chain of events to happen to pass the Texans) and a home-game in the playoffs, potentially at 9-7.
Forgetting for a minute the silliness of the NFL playoff structure (it's now likely the Texans will face the potentially 11-5 Chiefs (who beat them) in the first round) or the fact that there are teams with better records (Pittsburgh) who could be on the outside looking in, as champions of the pedestrian AFC South the Texans will be in the playoffs whether that's good for the team or no.
This seems pretty impossible for a team who, after the first half of the season, was 3-5 and coming off horrendous losses to the Falcons and then the hapless Dolphins. A team whose defense looked like it couldn't stop a stiff Jr. High Marching Band and whose offense had just lost it's best weapon (Arian Foster) to a season ending Achilles tendon tear.
There were even calls, by many including me I admit, for a house-cleaning to occur at the end of the season.
Yet, improbably, this team seemingly from the Island of Offensive Misfit Toys turned things around and, behind the arm of Brandon Weeden, beat the aforementioned Titans by a bunch and sewed up a playoff berth barring the highly improbable.
How improbable? If you were to take a flight to Vegas and place $100 on the chain of events that need to happen for the Texans to lose out to the Colts on a parlay the resulting payout would be North of $100,000.
Here's what would need to happen.
1. Denver beats Cincinnati (MNF)
2.Texans lose to Jaguars
3. Colts beat Titans
4. Miami beats New England
5. Denver beats San Diego
6. Atlanta beats New Orleans
7. Baltimore beats Cincinnati
8. Buffalo beats New York (Jets)
9. Oakland beats Kansas City
10. Pittsburgh beats Cleveland.
Any deviation from that formula and the Texans are in. I've seen the odds placed at around 3300-1.
Now, granted, all of the above are possible, but not probable. New England losing to Miami would be the biggest upset. Of course, the Texans can silence any of this talk by beating Jacksonville on Sunday. If that happens none of the nightmare scenario above matters.
It's no secret that I've been negative toward this team all season long. I still remain lukewarm about their long-term success as currently constructed, especially with what I feel is one of the weakest personnel evaluation teams in the league. Still, O'Brien has done a decent job coaching this team after the disasters at Atlanta and Miami had people questioning his ability and, after the 1st half debacle, the defense has decided to play like many thought they could in the pre-season.
So, while I still think the Texans have talent deficiencies at a variety of positions, I think their coaching staff is scheming well enough to hide that, and creating game plans that play to their strengths.
I'm still not sure if making the playoffs is a good thing for this team in the long-run (Bob McNair has shown a strong tendency to ignore weakness when he shouldn't), I do think that they should be praised for what they have done.
Provided disaster, and improbability, doesn't strike that is.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Houston Texans: Still unable to solve the Patriots riddle.
In the end, the result of Sunday Night's NFL tie between the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots was deja vu all over again.
New England 27 Houston 6
In reality, the final score was closer than the actual game. Appearances to the contrary the Texans defense did put up some fight, especially in the 3rd quarter, but the anemic offense was unable to score against a banged-up Patriots defense who was doing it with coaching, and street free-agent pickups.
The link above directs you to John McClain's "grades" for the Texans in last night's game. I do so because his analysis of the Texans is either too negative, or too positive depending on the outcome, and is one of the funnier post-game reads in Houston.
All of the above said, for people who are clamoring for the Texans to draft a "franchise quarterback" (as true as that need is) there are other positional needs on this team which, left unaddressed, are going to limit the team's ability to ever seriously contend for a playoff spot.
That said, let's take a look at the positions of need for the Texans in order of importance:
Quarterback: This is, and has been for a while, a critical area of need. While it's very easy to say that the team "needs a top-line quarterback" actually finding one is difficult. The chalk money has the Texans trying to get Penn State signal-caller Christian Hackenberg with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Hackenberg was an O'Brien signal caller during his time at Penn State is considered to be "NFL ready" because he played in a pro-style offense in College. He has a strong arm and Scouts say he "can make all of the throws" which are viewed as positives. There are questions regarding his pocket presence and decision making abilities, which I believe are more critical factors in a QB's ability to make the leap from College to the NFL. Other candidates include Cal signal caller Goff (who comes from an Air Raid offense [huge negative]) and Memphis QB Paxton Lynch (questions about his durability and just how good he really is) One dark horse candidate could be Michigan State's Connor Cook, he appears to be a game-manager type but he does have a strong arm and a history of winning. The problem is he's about as mobile as a glacier and will struggle behind the Texans O-line.
The fact is that the 2016 Draft Class at Quarterback might not have the top-tier franchise QB that the Texans need so desperately.
Offensive Line: Not only is this a huge need, but it's a critical one for the development of a quarterback as well. Ben Jones seems to be OK at Center, and Duane Brown is a capable, Pro Bowl caliber, Left tackle. At the two guard positions and at Right Tackle however the Texans are incredibly weak. Xavier Sua-Filo and Derrick Newton are going to get a quarterback killed. Last night Newton was especially weak, and his week ahead is unlikely to be pleasant.
Fortunately, this is projected to be a strong hear for both Offensive Tackles and, to a lesser extent, guards. If the Texans do as expected and draft QB in round 1 then both rounds 2 & 3 need to be spent finding quality starters who can provide the new "face of the franchise" with a clean pocket.
Tight Ends: The O'Brien offense, which is really a carbon-copy of the Belicheck offense, needs three things to run successfully, a quarterback with a quick release, accuracy and superior decision making, an O-line that keeps him clean, and tight ends who can block, and who provide match-up nightmares for opposing defenses. The Patriots have Gronkowski, who I believe is the best TE in the game today, while the Texans have, nothing. Looking forward to the draft the pickings are slim. But I think that either Jarell Adams or David Morgan II could be viable 4th round options if available.
It might not hurt the team to look at the FA market as well, to find some depth at a position that requires it.
Linebacker: Aside from Jadeveon Clowney this is a position of need. While Whitney Mercilus is playing well, he will be a FA at the end of the year and will probably take the money and run. Brian Cushing is a shell of his former self and Benardrick McKinney was exposed as lacking strength last night as he was repeatedly ran-over by "just guys" running backs.
Sadly, the linebacker class of 2016 is incredibly weak. And the Texans have a host of needs on the offensive side that they have to address before looking to defense. James Burgess of Louisville or Joe Schmidt of Notre Dame might be late-round fliers who could pay off in the short-term.
Other: There are more needs, depth at CB, new starters at S, depth on the DL, a replacement for suddenly old-looking Vince Wilfork at NT but the team only has so many draft picks to use. I've said before that, although it seems unthinkable, a JJ Watt trade for a bushel-basket of draft picks could be the only way to fix this mess quickly. There is also the possibility that the Texans could take advantage of the free agent market, but that assumes that the teams biggest need of all gets addressed:
General Manager: It's pretty clear that something within the Texans' player evaluation model is off-kilter. The team has too many busts in the 2nd-5th rounds to truly be competitive. While they can claim first round successes, it's the next four rounds where teams are built, where depth is established, and where starters can be had for cheap.
In order to proceed the Texans need to reassign current GM Rick Smith to a ceremonial role and turn over player evaluation to someone new. It needs to happen sooner, rather than later, to allow the new man a chance to evaluate the team in advance of the upcoming draft.
Conclusion: The worst possible thing for this Texans team might be sneaking into the playoffs at either 9-7 or 8-8, or even (unlikely) 7-9. That would delay the beginning of an inevitable review of what's needed and convince part of the fan base that the current plan is working.
Unfortunately, the Texans are a member of the worst division in the NFL, the lowly AFC South. Currently they are in 2nd place behind an Indianapolis team who just surrendered 51 points to Jacksonville. The Colts lead the division at 6-7, the same record as the Texans but with a win in Houston breaking the tie. The Jaguars are one game back at 5-8 (Houston would have the tie-breaker over Jacksonville right now). Going forward, Indianapolis is a disaster, Houston struggles to score points, and the once-lowly Jaguars appear to be the team with the inside path to the playoffs. Jacksonville gets the free-falling Atlanta Falcons next, followed by the not-very good New Orleans Saints, and then finishes the season in Houston. The Texans have to travel to Indianapolis (where they've never won) then to Tennessee (where they struggle) before finishing the season at home against the same Jaguars. The Colts have the most favorable schedule (Texans at home, at Miami, Titans at home) but are such a dumpster fire right now it's not hard to envision them going 1-2 over the closing stretch.
At this point, my favorite in the division to make the playoffs is Jacksonville. As crazy as it sounds I think the season-ending game in Houston will be a de-facto playoff game for the division title at 8-8.
New England 27 Houston 6
In reality, the final score was closer than the actual game. Appearances to the contrary the Texans defense did put up some fight, especially in the 3rd quarter, but the anemic offense was unable to score against a banged-up Patriots defense who was doing it with coaching, and street free-agent pickups.
The link above directs you to John McClain's "grades" for the Texans in last night's game. I do so because his analysis of the Texans is either too negative, or too positive depending on the outcome, and is one of the funnier post-game reads in Houston.
All of the above said, for people who are clamoring for the Texans to draft a "franchise quarterback" (as true as that need is) there are other positional needs on this team which, left unaddressed, are going to limit the team's ability to ever seriously contend for a playoff spot.
That said, let's take a look at the positions of need for the Texans in order of importance:
Quarterback: This is, and has been for a while, a critical area of need. While it's very easy to say that the team "needs a top-line quarterback" actually finding one is difficult. The chalk money has the Texans trying to get Penn State signal-caller Christian Hackenberg with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Hackenberg was an O'Brien signal caller during his time at Penn State is considered to be "NFL ready" because he played in a pro-style offense in College. He has a strong arm and Scouts say he "can make all of the throws" which are viewed as positives. There are questions regarding his pocket presence and decision making abilities, which I believe are more critical factors in a QB's ability to make the leap from College to the NFL. Other candidates include Cal signal caller Goff (who comes from an Air Raid offense [huge negative]) and Memphis QB Paxton Lynch (questions about his durability and just how good he really is) One dark horse candidate could be Michigan State's Connor Cook, he appears to be a game-manager type but he does have a strong arm and a history of winning. The problem is he's about as mobile as a glacier and will struggle behind the Texans O-line.
The fact is that the 2016 Draft Class at Quarterback might not have the top-tier franchise QB that the Texans need so desperately.
Offensive Line: Not only is this a huge need, but it's a critical one for the development of a quarterback as well. Ben Jones seems to be OK at Center, and Duane Brown is a capable, Pro Bowl caliber, Left tackle. At the two guard positions and at Right Tackle however the Texans are incredibly weak. Xavier Sua-Filo and Derrick Newton are going to get a quarterback killed. Last night Newton was especially weak, and his week ahead is unlikely to be pleasant.
Fortunately, this is projected to be a strong hear for both Offensive Tackles and, to a lesser extent, guards. If the Texans do as expected and draft QB in round 1 then both rounds 2 & 3 need to be spent finding quality starters who can provide the new "face of the franchise" with a clean pocket.
Tight Ends: The O'Brien offense, which is really a carbon-copy of the Belicheck offense, needs three things to run successfully, a quarterback with a quick release, accuracy and superior decision making, an O-line that keeps him clean, and tight ends who can block, and who provide match-up nightmares for opposing defenses. The Patriots have Gronkowski, who I believe is the best TE in the game today, while the Texans have, nothing. Looking forward to the draft the pickings are slim. But I think that either Jarell Adams or David Morgan II could be viable 4th round options if available.
It might not hurt the team to look at the FA market as well, to find some depth at a position that requires it.
Linebacker: Aside from Jadeveon Clowney this is a position of need. While Whitney Mercilus is playing well, he will be a FA at the end of the year and will probably take the money and run. Brian Cushing is a shell of his former self and Benardrick McKinney was exposed as lacking strength last night as he was repeatedly ran-over by "just guys" running backs.
Sadly, the linebacker class of 2016 is incredibly weak. And the Texans have a host of needs on the offensive side that they have to address before looking to defense. James Burgess of Louisville or Joe Schmidt of Notre Dame might be late-round fliers who could pay off in the short-term.
Other: There are more needs, depth at CB, new starters at S, depth on the DL, a replacement for suddenly old-looking Vince Wilfork at NT but the team only has so many draft picks to use. I've said before that, although it seems unthinkable, a JJ Watt trade for a bushel-basket of draft picks could be the only way to fix this mess quickly. There is also the possibility that the Texans could take advantage of the free agent market, but that assumes that the teams biggest need of all gets addressed:
General Manager: It's pretty clear that something within the Texans' player evaluation model is off-kilter. The team has too many busts in the 2nd-5th rounds to truly be competitive. While they can claim first round successes, it's the next four rounds where teams are built, where depth is established, and where starters can be had for cheap.
In order to proceed the Texans need to reassign current GM Rick Smith to a ceremonial role and turn over player evaluation to someone new. It needs to happen sooner, rather than later, to allow the new man a chance to evaluate the team in advance of the upcoming draft.
Conclusion: The worst possible thing for this Texans team might be sneaking into the playoffs at either 9-7 or 8-8, or even (unlikely) 7-9. That would delay the beginning of an inevitable review of what's needed and convince part of the fan base that the current plan is working.
Unfortunately, the Texans are a member of the worst division in the NFL, the lowly AFC South. Currently they are in 2nd place behind an Indianapolis team who just surrendered 51 points to Jacksonville. The Colts lead the division at 6-7, the same record as the Texans but with a win in Houston breaking the tie. The Jaguars are one game back at 5-8 (Houston would have the tie-breaker over Jacksonville right now). Going forward, Indianapolis is a disaster, Houston struggles to score points, and the once-lowly Jaguars appear to be the team with the inside path to the playoffs. Jacksonville gets the free-falling Atlanta Falcons next, followed by the not-very good New Orleans Saints, and then finishes the season in Houston. The Texans have to travel to Indianapolis (where they've never won) then to Tennessee (where they struggle) before finishing the season at home against the same Jaguars. The Colts have the most favorable schedule (Texans at home, at Miami, Titans at home) but are such a dumpster fire right now it's not hard to envision them going 1-2 over the closing stretch.
At this point, my favorite in the division to make the playoffs is Jacksonville. As crazy as it sounds I think the season-ending game in Houston will be a de-facto playoff game for the division title at 8-8.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Houston Texans: Making it respectable.
Much to everyone's (OK, me) surprise, the Houston Texans beat the New York Jets 24-17 on Sunday and looked (fairly) comfortable doing it.
Some thoughts.....
1. It's time to give O'Brien some credit for getting QB's ready. It's easy to criticize, harder to praise. However, given the play of TJ Yates over the last couple of weeks it's fair to say that Coach O'Brien and the offensive staff have done a good job preparing him to play since bringing Yates back to the team.
Not that the offense has been spectacular, but it's been good enough against two opponents that many consider to be in playoff contention.
2. Running the ball is a pipe dream. It doesn't appear that the Texans will be able to do so with any sustained success for the remainder of the year.
That said, Jonathan Grimes is looking much better than Alfred Blue. It may be time to give the former a start or three.
3. DeAndre Hopkins has gotten much better at route running. He's always had good hands but, my one criticism of him was that he ran poor routes. Over the last few weeks he's been much improved in this area and seems to be on the cusp of superstardom.
4. The defense is..... Well, it just is. Two young players in particular, Benardrick McKinney and Kevin Johnson, have been playing very well. This is important because we're starting to see decent, although not as great as everyone is saying, play from Cushing and JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus continue to have standout seasons.
Even Jonathan Joseph is playing better of late.
And finally.....
They're STILL not tied for "first place" The Texans are, like it or not, in 2nd place due to the tie-breaker process in the NFL. From a W/L perspective yes, they are tied with the Colts, but they would miss out on the playoffs (as things stand now) due to tiebreaking procedures.
That said, given the awful records of many AFC teams, there are only five teams in the AFC with a better record than Houston. This could mean that (amazingly) a Wild Card berth is in play. This would make the next two games, against the Saints and the Bills, must-wins. Of course, then you get the Patriots and the Colts before finishing with the Titans and a Jaguars team who might still have something to play for.
The team is 5-5, I still say that 7-9 or 8-8 are the most likely records. (With a strong nod to my pre-season prediction of 6-10 being within the realm of probability.)
Some thoughts.....
1. It's time to give O'Brien some credit for getting QB's ready. It's easy to criticize, harder to praise. However, given the play of TJ Yates over the last couple of weeks it's fair to say that Coach O'Brien and the offensive staff have done a good job preparing him to play since bringing Yates back to the team.
Not that the offense has been spectacular, but it's been good enough against two opponents that many consider to be in playoff contention.
2. Running the ball is a pipe dream. It doesn't appear that the Texans will be able to do so with any sustained success for the remainder of the year.
That said, Jonathan Grimes is looking much better than Alfred Blue. It may be time to give the former a start or three.
3. DeAndre Hopkins has gotten much better at route running. He's always had good hands but, my one criticism of him was that he ran poor routes. Over the last few weeks he's been much improved in this area and seems to be on the cusp of superstardom.
4. The defense is..... Well, it just is. Two young players in particular, Benardrick McKinney and Kevin Johnson, have been playing very well. This is important because we're starting to see decent, although not as great as everyone is saying, play from Cushing and JJ Watt and Whitney Mercilus continue to have standout seasons.
Even Jonathan Joseph is playing better of late.
And finally.....
They're STILL not tied for "first place" The Texans are, like it or not, in 2nd place due to the tie-breaker process in the NFL. From a W/L perspective yes, they are tied with the Colts, but they would miss out on the playoffs (as things stand now) due to tiebreaking procedures.
That said, given the awful records of many AFC teams, there are only five teams in the AFC with a better record than Houston. This could mean that (amazingly) a Wild Card berth is in play. This would make the next two games, against the Saints and the Bills, must-wins. Of course, then you get the Patriots and the Colts before finishing with the Titans and a Jaguars team who might still have something to play for.
The team is 5-5, I still say that 7-9 or 8-8 are the most likely records. (With a strong nod to my pre-season prediction of 6-10 being within the realm of probability.)
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Houston Texans: "Red Rider BB Gun" and other thoughts
Since the game was so boring it seems the national media is trying to gin up controversy from JJ Watt's post game comments.
JJ Watt to Critics: "How you doin?" Mike Florio, NBC Sports
I heard what Watt said in the post-game interview with Lisa Salters, cringed a little at the canned delivery, and then turned off the TV and went to bed. I knew however that, when I woke up this morning, the media was going to be all over this for a variety of reasons:
1. The game itself was boring and ugly football. There's really not much to say about it. You could talk about TJ Yates coming in and throwing a touchdown pass to D'Andre Hopkins (who made a spectacular catch) or you could talk about neither team running the ball, or the fact that most of the receivers on the field had the dropsies, or you can talk about JJ Watt saying words.
2. There's nothing America likes more, than tearing down a good guy. Yes, it's easy to have Watt fatigue, especially in Houston where he's on seemingly every commercial. But that's not what this is about. In America the only thing we love more than our heroes is to try and tear them down. It's because we're jealous of their success and have become very British in our class envy. As Jeremy Clarkson once said "In America when they see someone in a Lamborghini they say "Someday I'll have one of those" while in Britain they say "Someday I'll see him out of that." That sentiment is no longer the case. In America now when someone does good we say "Some day they're going to mess up, and I'm going to mock them for it."
3. The devaluation of winning and losing. "It's not whether your win or lose, but how you play the game" - Grantland Rice - It should not surprise you that a sportswriter came up with a quote that we now consider sacrosanct in sports. Nevermind that it's bull. It does matter if you win or lose. Just as it matters whether you win or lose within the rules. Acting like our sports stars need to be statesmen after pulling off a large win is ridiculous on it's face. On the one hand we want JJ Watt to play hard on the field, on the other hand we want him to sing Kum-bai-ya with the opposition after sacking them. Bull. They made Andy Dalton look like a Red Rider BB Gun. Suck it up and play better Andy, and quit griping about your feels.
JJ Watt to Critics: "How you doin?" Mike Florio, NBC Sports
“Just talkin’ to my teammates about how everybody told us we couldn’t do this,” Watt told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game. “Everybody said there ain’t no — you’re 3-5, there’s no way you’re gonna go in their building and win. Well, how you all doin’?”
Watt then trotted out some rehearsed material that possibly went over better when he practiced it in the mirror.
“Our goal was to come out here and make the Red Rifle look like a Red Ryder BB Gun,” Watt said, in reference to Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.
Watt needs to perhaps tread lightly, given that the Texans very well could face the Bengals again, in the postseason.
I heard what Watt said in the post-game interview with Lisa Salters, cringed a little at the canned delivery, and then turned off the TV and went to bed. I knew however that, when I woke up this morning, the media was going to be all over this for a variety of reasons:
1. The game itself was boring and ugly football. There's really not much to say about it. You could talk about TJ Yates coming in and throwing a touchdown pass to D'Andre Hopkins (who made a spectacular catch) or you could talk about neither team running the ball, or the fact that most of the receivers on the field had the dropsies, or you can talk about JJ Watt saying words.
2. There's nothing America likes more, than tearing down a good guy. Yes, it's easy to have Watt fatigue, especially in Houston where he's on seemingly every commercial. But that's not what this is about. In America the only thing we love more than our heroes is to try and tear them down. It's because we're jealous of their success and have become very British in our class envy. As Jeremy Clarkson once said "In America when they see someone in a Lamborghini they say "Someday I'll have one of those" while in Britain they say "Someday I'll see him out of that." That sentiment is no longer the case. In America now when someone does good we say "Some day they're going to mess up, and I'm going to mock them for it."
3. The devaluation of winning and losing. "It's not whether your win or lose, but how you play the game" - Grantland Rice - It should not surprise you that a sportswriter came up with a quote that we now consider sacrosanct in sports. Nevermind that it's bull. It does matter if you win or lose. Just as it matters whether you win or lose within the rules. Acting like our sports stars need to be statesmen after pulling off a large win is ridiculous on it's face. On the one hand we want JJ Watt to play hard on the field, on the other hand we want him to sing Kum-bai-ya with the opposition after sacking them. Bull. They made Andy Dalton look like a Red Rider BB Gun. Suck it up and play better Andy, and quit griping about your feels.
Monday Night Football: Stranger things have happpened.
While last night's result wasn't New Mexico beating Boise State in terms of the magnitude of the upset, for that matter it wasn't even Holm/Rousey, it was a meaningful win for the Texans because they have now, finally, beaten a team with a winning record and one that is probably heading for the playoffs.
And it was unexpected by most. (including me)
Unfortunately, for the Texans, most of the media oxygen is going to be sucked up by a Red Rider BB Gun and Dalton's ridiculous response to the comments (hint: laugh it off sir) rather than the fact that the Texans defense played really, really well, was aided by some curious ball handling errors by the Bengals, and TJ Yates seemingly has Cincinnati's number.
Still, it's a win. And wins in the NFL are hard to come by, especially in an ugly game like the one Monday. Neither offense looked good and it's hard to tell if it was due to good defense or just more bad football being played in NFL prime-time games. I'm OK with the NFL moving games away from Sunday, but it would be nice if the quality of play was up to snuff.
Going forward the Texans find themselves in the 3rd quarter of a season that could be key to any hopes they have for the post season.
In the 1st quarter, they stumbled out of the gate to a 1-3 start. They took advantage of a soft 2Q schedule to go 2-2 before hitting the bye (luckily) right at the halfway mark. Now they start the 3rd quarter 1-0 with some winnable games coming up. All three teams, the Jets, the Saints, and the Bills can be beaten but it's possible the Texans go 0-3 as well. Especially if the offense continues to sputter, the run game is non-existent and the defense is inconsistent.
If the Texans are going to make any noise, they have to make it now, because the 4th quarter of the season has them playing the Patriots at home (loss) before going on the road for three straight weeks to face the Colts (probable loss, given history) an improving Titans team, and then the Jaguars who are getting better every week.
Right now the team is 4-5, winning the next three would get them to 7-5, which means that going 2-2 in the 4th quarter of the season means a 9-7 final record. That COULD be enough for the division, given that the Colts will be without Andrew Luck for a few weeks.
While that all seems rosy my thought is still that they are going to be closer to 8-8, 7-9. I think they go 1-2 over the next three games before finishing 2-2 or 3-1 depending on what happens with the Colts. Amazingly, that MIGHT be enough to win the sorry AFC South.
Some random thoughts:
1. Benardrick McKinney - McKinney is easily the best LB on the team right now, and the only one who is flashing some speed. Cushing is the signal caller and, behind Watt, the defensive leader, but he has slowed considerably, due in large part to unfortunate knee problems, and McKinney is clearly much faster than Cushing right now.
2. Whitney Mercilus - Jadeveon who? Mercilus, in a contract year, is playing lights out. I suspect this is because he wants to get paid, which means I'd think twice about signing him in the off-season. For the Texans right now this is working out well.
3. Running game - In short, there is none. At the end of the first half the Texans leading rusher was Brian Hoyer with 15 yards. Overall the team ended with a paltry 82 yards rushing and Jonathan Grimes was the leading rusher with 33 yards. To be fair, the Bengals were worse, tallying only 73 yards rushing for the game.
4. Defensive speed - The Texans defense is still painfully slow at the LB and S position, McKinney notwithstanding. I was surprised that the Bengals continued to try and feed the ball to Hill, instead of Bernard who was having a much easier time running around the Texans slow LB corps. This is a need that must be addressed in future drafts/free agency
And it was unexpected by most. (including me)
Unfortunately, for the Texans, most of the media oxygen is going to be sucked up by a Red Rider BB Gun and Dalton's ridiculous response to the comments (hint: laugh it off sir) rather than the fact that the Texans defense played really, really well, was aided by some curious ball handling errors by the Bengals, and TJ Yates seemingly has Cincinnati's number.
Still, it's a win. And wins in the NFL are hard to come by, especially in an ugly game like the one Monday. Neither offense looked good and it's hard to tell if it was due to good defense or just more bad football being played in NFL prime-time games. I'm OK with the NFL moving games away from Sunday, but it would be nice if the quality of play was up to snuff.
Going forward the Texans find themselves in the 3rd quarter of a season that could be key to any hopes they have for the post season.
In the 1st quarter, they stumbled out of the gate to a 1-3 start. They took advantage of a soft 2Q schedule to go 2-2 before hitting the bye (luckily) right at the halfway mark. Now they start the 3rd quarter 1-0 with some winnable games coming up. All three teams, the Jets, the Saints, and the Bills can be beaten but it's possible the Texans go 0-3 as well. Especially if the offense continues to sputter, the run game is non-existent and the defense is inconsistent.
If the Texans are going to make any noise, they have to make it now, because the 4th quarter of the season has them playing the Patriots at home (loss) before going on the road for three straight weeks to face the Colts (probable loss, given history) an improving Titans team, and then the Jaguars who are getting better every week.
Right now the team is 4-5, winning the next three would get them to 7-5, which means that going 2-2 in the 4th quarter of the season means a 9-7 final record. That COULD be enough for the division, given that the Colts will be without Andrew Luck for a few weeks.
While that all seems rosy my thought is still that they are going to be closer to 8-8, 7-9. I think they go 1-2 over the next three games before finishing 2-2 or 3-1 depending on what happens with the Colts. Amazingly, that MIGHT be enough to win the sorry AFC South.
Some random thoughts:
1. Benardrick McKinney - McKinney is easily the best LB on the team right now, and the only one who is flashing some speed. Cushing is the signal caller and, behind Watt, the defensive leader, but he has slowed considerably, due in large part to unfortunate knee problems, and McKinney is clearly much faster than Cushing right now.
2. Whitney Mercilus - Jadeveon who? Mercilus, in a contract year, is playing lights out. I suspect this is because he wants to get paid, which means I'd think twice about signing him in the off-season. For the Texans right now this is working out well.
3. Running game - In short, there is none. At the end of the first half the Texans leading rusher was Brian Hoyer with 15 yards. Overall the team ended with a paltry 82 yards rushing and Jonathan Grimes was the leading rusher with 33 yards. To be fair, the Bengals were worse, tallying only 73 yards rushing for the game.
4. Defensive speed - The Texans defense is still painfully slow at the LB and S position, McKinney notwithstanding. I was surprised that the Bengals continued to try and feed the ball to Hill, instead of Bernard who was having a much easier time running around the Texans slow LB corps. This is a need that must be addressed in future drafts/free agency
Monday, November 16, 2015
Monday Night Football: Yes, the Texans "could" win, but they probably "won't".
Game Info:
Home Team: Cincinnati Bengals (-10.5) (as of 6:00 AM Monday)
Visiting Team: Houston Texans
O/U: 46.5
The best thing about the Texans playing the Bengals tonight on Monday Night Football is that you weren't saddled on Sunday being stuck watching this train-wreck of a team play. The bad news is that you're going to be stuck watching bad football on Monday Night, during a time-frame when a lot of new eyes might tune in to see if the Bengals are any good. This means potentially more people than usual turning the dial over to watch what is possibly one of the best teams in the league take on what is undoubtedly one of the worst.
In the immortal words of Rick Perry: "Oops."
Searching for a glimmer of hope, Texans fans are latching onto the fact that the team is in the woeful AFC South where a 3-5 record is good enough for 2nd place and, in the not-so-great AFC, means that only a game or two separates the Texans from Wild Card contention. Coming off the off (not bye) week the Texans feel they should be rested and the oft-maligned coaching staff has enjoyed an extra week to study tape to try and find the weaknesses in a Cincy team that has shown few so far.
Is it a trap game, as Houston Chronicle Jerome Solomon calls it? I don't think so. For one thing the Texans have won the last five straight over Cincinnati and this means that the team in orange and black should be focused.
If anything, this is a revenge game for the Bengals. As such I think that the final score could be a sloppy as the weather is likely to be. It's supposed to be cold, and rainy, which doesn't bode well for a Texans team who has had difficulties running the ball, and stopping the run.
The Bengals will hit the Texans defense with the dual threat of former LSU running back Jeremy Hill, and former UNC stand-out Giovanni Bernard. I expect Bernard especially to expose the Texans lack of speed at LB and S, and Hill, near the end of the game, to pound the Texans undersized defense into submission.
Even IF the Texans defense slows down the Bengal's running attack, there's still the problem of stopping Andy Dalton and the passing game, which have been excellent this year. Ask yourself this: Who on the Texans can cover A.J. Green? Mohammed Sanu, or Marvin Jones? Do you really think that a slow, suddenly undersized, Brian Cushing is going to be able to cover Tyler Eifert?
On the offensive side of the ball the Texans could be in even bigger trouble. Vontez Burfict is back, and he will be the most active defender in the game (sorry JJ) and the Bengals defensive line has the potential to make the Texans offensive line look non-existent. The Bengals also put tremendous pressure on opposing QB's which means that it could be a long night for Brian Hoyer.
Still, this is the NFL and, as we saw on Sunday, even the biggest of underdogs can find themselves in with a chance. So, if the Texans play solid, mistake-free football, return Dalton back to the turnover-prone QB that he has been historically and find a way to generate some offense they could find a way to win.
But, probably not. I think this game is going to be illustrative of how the Bengals have improved, and just how far the Texans have fallen.
Prediction: Texans 3 Bengals 38
Remember this as well: Monday Nights in the NFL have not been known recently for stirring football. Although it has been somewhat better this year, I think this game reverts us back to form.
I like the Bengals, and the under since I think Cincinnati is going to have to cover this number basically on their own.
Home Team: Cincinnati Bengals (-10.5) (as of 6:00 AM Monday)
Visiting Team: Houston Texans
O/U: 46.5
The best thing about the Texans playing the Bengals tonight on Monday Night Football is that you weren't saddled on Sunday being stuck watching this train-wreck of a team play. The bad news is that you're going to be stuck watching bad football on Monday Night, during a time-frame when a lot of new eyes might tune in to see if the Bengals are any good. This means potentially more people than usual turning the dial over to watch what is possibly one of the best teams in the league take on what is undoubtedly one of the worst.
In the immortal words of Rick Perry: "Oops."
Searching for a glimmer of hope, Texans fans are latching onto the fact that the team is in the woeful AFC South where a 3-5 record is good enough for 2nd place and, in the not-so-great AFC, means that only a game or two separates the Texans from Wild Card contention. Coming off the off (not bye) week the Texans feel they should be rested and the oft-maligned coaching staff has enjoyed an extra week to study tape to try and find the weaknesses in a Cincy team that has shown few so far.
Is it a trap game, as Houston Chronicle Jerome Solomon calls it? I don't think so. For one thing the Texans have won the last five straight over Cincinnati and this means that the team in orange and black should be focused.
If anything, this is a revenge game for the Bengals. As such I think that the final score could be a sloppy as the weather is likely to be. It's supposed to be cold, and rainy, which doesn't bode well for a Texans team who has had difficulties running the ball, and stopping the run.
The Bengals will hit the Texans defense with the dual threat of former LSU running back Jeremy Hill, and former UNC stand-out Giovanni Bernard. I expect Bernard especially to expose the Texans lack of speed at LB and S, and Hill, near the end of the game, to pound the Texans undersized defense into submission.
Even IF the Texans defense slows down the Bengal's running attack, there's still the problem of stopping Andy Dalton and the passing game, which have been excellent this year. Ask yourself this: Who on the Texans can cover A.J. Green? Mohammed Sanu, or Marvin Jones? Do you really think that a slow, suddenly undersized, Brian Cushing is going to be able to cover Tyler Eifert?
On the offensive side of the ball the Texans could be in even bigger trouble. Vontez Burfict is back, and he will be the most active defender in the game (sorry JJ) and the Bengals defensive line has the potential to make the Texans offensive line look non-existent. The Bengals also put tremendous pressure on opposing QB's which means that it could be a long night for Brian Hoyer.
Still, this is the NFL and, as we saw on Sunday, even the biggest of underdogs can find themselves in with a chance. So, if the Texans play solid, mistake-free football, return Dalton back to the turnover-prone QB that he has been historically and find a way to generate some offense they could find a way to win.
But, probably not. I think this game is going to be illustrative of how the Bengals have improved, and just how far the Texans have fallen.
Prediction: Texans 3 Bengals 38
Remember this as well: Monday Nights in the NFL have not been known recently for stirring football. Although it has been somewhat better this year, I think this game reverts us back to form.
I like the Bengals, and the under since I think Cincinnati is going to have to cover this number basically on their own.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Houston Texans: Adding injury to insult.
No matter how early you tuned out of the Houston Texans game versus the Miami Dolphins there's only two things you need to know:
1. The team was down 41-0 at halftime, which was really the only score that matters.
2. Arian Foster left the game in the 4th quarter with an apparent Achilles tendon tear that probably ends his active career as a Houston Texan.
Everything else that happened, the Texans 26 meaningless points in the 2nd half to bring the final score to 44-26, JJ Watt's 2 2nd half sacks that had a very Mario Williams-ish feeling to them, to Nate Washington having over 100 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns, doesn't matter. All that matters is this team looked like the same team that fell behind 42-0 to the Atlanta Falcons, they're 2-5, and have probably lost their best offensive player for good.
In the process of becoming the laughingstock of the league Bill O'Brien's Houston Texan team has made Ryan Tannyhill set the record for most consecutive completions, let Suh tally his first two sacks of the season, made Jarvis Landry appear to be an all-world WR, and took turns watching Lamar Miller run past them. The defense in the first half wasn't just bad, it was comically awful.
Vince Wilfork, he of the free agent contract that caused much excitement in the off-season, was a virtual non-entity defending the run, continually getting stoned at the line with no penetration. JJ Watt, the NFL's "Best player of 2015" continually overran plays not only losing gap discipline, but opening up wide holes for Miller to run through uncontested. For all of his talk and swagger, Brian Cushing got faked out more than a 3 year old a magic convention. His missed tackles were not only bad, they were highlight reel material, for the other side.
While most of the blame for the offensive woes will be placed on Hoyer, it would not be fair to fail to mention the utter ineptitude of the Texans offensive line. Miami spent the afternoon in the Texans backfield, holding the Texans to 0 yards by the time the Dolphins had scored 35 points. It hasn't been verified, but this has to be some kind of record. In addition to the O-line woes the tight ends for the Texans are Biblicly awful. Graham dropped a pass that was picked off for a touchdown, and Fiedorowitz doesn't appear to have the skills necessary to make things work at an NFL level. Yes, Hoyer was not good, but the game plan itself seemed to be hand it to Foster and then........
Speaking of Arian, it appears that he is out for the year with a possible ruptured Achilles. If this is true he's probably played his last down as both a Houston Texan and a starting NFL running back.
So, what does all of this mean?
Unfortunately, probably not much.
Sure, there will be calls by the fans for change and screams that "Something! Must be done." but Bob McNair is not a do Something! type of owner. The spin from the team will be that the Texans are just "one game out of first place" in the horrific AFC South and that fans just need to trust Coach BOB and GM Rick Smith that they have a plan.
Meanwhile fans will continue to provide unquestioning support to this mess of a franchise because they have bought into the lie that this is a "talented roster" that is only a step away from Houston's mythical berth in the SuperBowl. Meanwhile, McNair will keep making money and Smith will keep blowing draft picks and the team will keep hiring coaches whose game analysis begins and ends with "It's on me."
Houston Texans football is turning into a bad copy of Groundhog Day, and the fans keep lapping it up and rewarding the team and management for being mediocre or worse.
1. The team was down 41-0 at halftime, which was really the only score that matters.
2. Arian Foster left the game in the 4th quarter with an apparent Achilles tendon tear that probably ends his active career as a Houston Texan.
Everything else that happened, the Texans 26 meaningless points in the 2nd half to bring the final score to 44-26, JJ Watt's 2 2nd half sacks that had a very Mario Williams-ish feeling to them, to Nate Washington having over 100 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns, doesn't matter. All that matters is this team looked like the same team that fell behind 42-0 to the Atlanta Falcons, they're 2-5, and have probably lost their best offensive player for good.
In the process of becoming the laughingstock of the league Bill O'Brien's Houston Texan team has made Ryan Tannyhill set the record for most consecutive completions, let Suh tally his first two sacks of the season, made Jarvis Landry appear to be an all-world WR, and took turns watching Lamar Miller run past them. The defense in the first half wasn't just bad, it was comically awful.
Vince Wilfork, he of the free agent contract that caused much excitement in the off-season, was a virtual non-entity defending the run, continually getting stoned at the line with no penetration. JJ Watt, the NFL's "Best player of 2015" continually overran plays not only losing gap discipline, but opening up wide holes for Miller to run through uncontested. For all of his talk and swagger, Brian Cushing got faked out more than a 3 year old a magic convention. His missed tackles were not only bad, they were highlight reel material, for the other side.
While most of the blame for the offensive woes will be placed on Hoyer, it would not be fair to fail to mention the utter ineptitude of the Texans offensive line. Miami spent the afternoon in the Texans backfield, holding the Texans to 0 yards by the time the Dolphins had scored 35 points. It hasn't been verified, but this has to be some kind of record. In addition to the O-line woes the tight ends for the Texans are Biblicly awful. Graham dropped a pass that was picked off for a touchdown, and Fiedorowitz doesn't appear to have the skills necessary to make things work at an NFL level. Yes, Hoyer was not good, but the game plan itself seemed to be hand it to Foster and then........
Speaking of Arian, it appears that he is out for the year with a possible ruptured Achilles. If this is true he's probably played his last down as both a Houston Texan and a starting NFL running back.
So, what does all of this mean?
Unfortunately, probably not much.
Sure, there will be calls by the fans for change and screams that "Something! Must be done." but Bob McNair is not a do Something! type of owner. The spin from the team will be that the Texans are just "one game out of first place" in the horrific AFC South and that fans just need to trust Coach BOB and GM Rick Smith that they have a plan.
Meanwhile fans will continue to provide unquestioning support to this mess of a franchise because they have bought into the lie that this is a "talented roster" that is only a step away from Houston's mythical berth in the SuperBowl. Meanwhile, McNair will keep making money and Smith will keep blowing draft picks and the team will keep hiring coaches whose game analysis begins and ends with "It's on me."
Houston Texans football is turning into a bad copy of Groundhog Day, and the fans keep lapping it up and rewarding the team and management for being mediocre or worse.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Houston Texans: A bad loss to the Falcons brings questions, concerns the season is falling away.
It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was pretty damn ugly. The Texans were down 28-0 at halftime before falling behind 42-0 at the end of the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th Quarter, the team replaced struggling QB Ryan Mallett with journeyman Brian Hoyer. Against the Falcon's 2nd and 3rd string defenders Hoyer and the Texans scored 21 straight points before surrendering 6 on Cecil Shorts III fumble, returned for a TD, on the final play of the game as time expired. Even worse, it appears that Shorts was hurt on the play, bringing additional weakness to a WR group that's already pretty thin.
So, offensively, the Texans are a shambles right now. Defensively (projected to be the stronger unit on the team) they're a sieve, and special teams are still a disaster. The Texans got out-coached, outplayed, out-hustled and out-talented by a Falcon's team who is turning things around off of a disaster of a season last year.
This raises the following questions:
Why can the Falcons turn it around but the Texans cannot?
During the entire history of this team we've heard (from the media) that the Texans are building it the "right" way by not looking for quick fixes but building slowly, incrementally, and getting better every year. Blessed with a fan base whose loyalty doesn't seem to require actual results, the Texans executive office seems content with maintaining the status-quo and not worrying about the bigger-picture things like winning actual games.
Because of this, instead of addressing quarterback which is the team's greatest need, the Texans have made a lot of curious draft picks choosing to pick defensive players in the first round before trying to fix a talent-deficient offense. Without a quality QB (Matt Schaub is the best QB in franchise history, think about that) the Texans have gone from mediocre to worse on offense, while the defense is not doing much this year to stop the other team.
The Falcons can turn it around fast because 1. They have a quality QB and 2. they've drafted wisely. The Texans will never get better until they increase the talent level on this team.
What is the quickest way for the Texans to turn things around?
The answer to this question lies in two parts, one the fans are going to like and one that they won't.
First, Rick Smith needs to go. It was clear watching Hard Knocks this year that he's very soft as a GM, taking a position on a player and then immediately caving when challenged by O'Brien. Whatever O'Brien's strengths, he doesn't have the pedigree in the NFL to earn the ability to "buy his own groceries". The Texans need to bring in a strong personnel guy who can stand up to O'Brien and back him down when they have conflicts over players.
Second, drastic roster changes need to happen. And by drastic I mean bringing in a new GM, and giving him a mandate to do whatever is necessary to turn this around fast. The Texans should even go so far as to consider trading JJ Watt for draft picks. I would put Clowney on the block as well. You let Arian Foster go, and basically just blow up this team. You then make a couple of key FA signings, grab a QB in the first round of the draft and use all of the draft picks you received in trades (hopefully in rounds 2-4, or even a 2nd 1st rounder) to bring up the talent level on this team.
This is why Smith needs to go, because he can't be trusted to run a draft. I've outlined his futility in picking players in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and we're already seeing more of it this year as 2nd round WR Jaelen Strong was on the inactive list this year. On a team with virtually no depth at the WR position, him not making the active roster is an indictment on the player evaluation process that Smith has in place.
Is there hope?
Amazingly, there is a slight hope for the Texans still. IF they can stop the bleeding and start playing smart football they have the fortune of playing in the AFC South. This is shaping up to be the worst division in the NFL by a long-shot. At 2-2 the hapless Colts lead the division while Jacksonville, Houston and the Titans all are looking up at one win each. The Jacksonville Jaguars almost beat the Colts at home today, needing to miss two FG's to lose to Indy 16-13 in Indianapolis. All the Jaguars did last week was lose to the Patriots 51-17.
As bad as the Texans have been, they are still only one game out of first place. While this is a small hope it is a hope. The problem is as follows: The Colts are still probably much better than the Texans and the Jaguars and Titans might have passed them in terms of talent.
Last place in the AFC South was hardly in the scope of vision for most Texans fans, but it's a possibility they might want to start entertaining.
Things look horrible right now, and let's just hope that the Houston media doesn't try to focus on the 21 meaningless points the Texans scored in the 4th quarter. The fact is, except against the bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Texans haven't looked competitive against NFL teams unless it's garbage time.
I said 6-10 to start the season, it's looking more like 4-12 and a high draft pick unless something changes fast.
So, offensively, the Texans are a shambles right now. Defensively (projected to be the stronger unit on the team) they're a sieve, and special teams are still a disaster. The Texans got out-coached, outplayed, out-hustled and out-talented by a Falcon's team who is turning things around off of a disaster of a season last year.
This raises the following questions:
Why can the Falcons turn it around but the Texans cannot?
During the entire history of this team we've heard (from the media) that the Texans are building it the "right" way by not looking for quick fixes but building slowly, incrementally, and getting better every year. Blessed with a fan base whose loyalty doesn't seem to require actual results, the Texans executive office seems content with maintaining the status-quo and not worrying about the bigger-picture things like winning actual games.
Because of this, instead of addressing quarterback which is the team's greatest need, the Texans have made a lot of curious draft picks choosing to pick defensive players in the first round before trying to fix a talent-deficient offense. Without a quality QB (Matt Schaub is the best QB in franchise history, think about that) the Texans have gone from mediocre to worse on offense, while the defense is not doing much this year to stop the other team.
The Falcons can turn it around fast because 1. They have a quality QB and 2. they've drafted wisely. The Texans will never get better until they increase the talent level on this team.
What is the quickest way for the Texans to turn things around?
The answer to this question lies in two parts, one the fans are going to like and one that they won't.
First, Rick Smith needs to go. It was clear watching Hard Knocks this year that he's very soft as a GM, taking a position on a player and then immediately caving when challenged by O'Brien. Whatever O'Brien's strengths, he doesn't have the pedigree in the NFL to earn the ability to "buy his own groceries". The Texans need to bring in a strong personnel guy who can stand up to O'Brien and back him down when they have conflicts over players.
Second, drastic roster changes need to happen. And by drastic I mean bringing in a new GM, and giving him a mandate to do whatever is necessary to turn this around fast. The Texans should even go so far as to consider trading JJ Watt for draft picks. I would put Clowney on the block as well. You let Arian Foster go, and basically just blow up this team. You then make a couple of key FA signings, grab a QB in the first round of the draft and use all of the draft picks you received in trades (hopefully in rounds 2-4, or even a 2nd 1st rounder) to bring up the talent level on this team.
This is why Smith needs to go, because he can't be trusted to run a draft. I've outlined his futility in picking players in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and we're already seeing more of it this year as 2nd round WR Jaelen Strong was on the inactive list this year. On a team with virtually no depth at the WR position, him not making the active roster is an indictment on the player evaluation process that Smith has in place.
Is there hope?
Amazingly, there is a slight hope for the Texans still. IF they can stop the bleeding and start playing smart football they have the fortune of playing in the AFC South. This is shaping up to be the worst division in the NFL by a long-shot. At 2-2 the hapless Colts lead the division while Jacksonville, Houston and the Titans all are looking up at one win each. The Jacksonville Jaguars almost beat the Colts at home today, needing to miss two FG's to lose to Indy 16-13 in Indianapolis. All the Jaguars did last week was lose to the Patriots 51-17.
As bad as the Texans have been, they are still only one game out of first place. While this is a small hope it is a hope. The problem is as follows: The Colts are still probably much better than the Texans and the Jaguars and Titans might have passed them in terms of talent.
Last place in the AFC South was hardly in the scope of vision for most Texans fans, but it's a possibility they might want to start entertaining.
Things look horrible right now, and let's just hope that the Houston media doesn't try to focus on the 21 meaningless points the Texans scored in the 4th quarter. The fact is, except against the bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Texans haven't looked competitive against NFL teams unless it's garbage time.
I said 6-10 to start the season, it's looking more like 4-12 and a high draft pick unless something changes fast.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Houston Texans: Tied for First (and Last) in what might be the worst division in the NFL
Contrary to current appearances, someone is going to win the AFC South and make it to the NFL Playoffs. Who that is might be up for debate, as the pre-season favorite Colts have suddenly looked inept and (at key positions) either incredibly untalented or old, but someone will win despite all of this.
The question that Houstonians have is this: Can it be the Texans?
Not to throw too wet of a blanket on the victory celebration but I doubt it.
Last week we discussed the offense, which played marginally better this week (at least they ran the ball OK) but still has issues scoring points, as Jerome Solomon mentions here. While his piece reads (somewhat) tongue and cheek it is notable that Alfred Blue looked to be much more active and hit the hole much better than in weeks one and two. Add to that improved play from the O-line and you wind up with an ugly, ugly win. But a win nevertheless which is good enough to bring the Texans even with the other three teams in the division at 1-2.
My concern this week is with the defense. A defense that was supposed to be dominant has looked less than. The Texans only got no sacks on rookie QB Jameis Winston and the coverage down the field was troublesome, at best.
This is a big problem for a defensive line that contains JJ Watt and Vince Wilfork, with a supposedly "back to healthy" Brian Cushing backing them up at the LB position. In fact, Mr. Watt was held to only 5 tackles, 2 of them solo with only 1 tackle for loss and 3 QB hits. Wilfork? 2 tackles, 0 solo and 0 for a loss. Cushing, supposedly the fiercest tackler on the team, only had 5 tackles, 3 solo and 0 TFL on his stat sheet. Compare that to Tampa Bay LB Lavonte David, who had 14 tackles, 3 solo and 1 TFL. In fact, the top six tacklers in the game all wore Pewter, Red and Orange uniforms.
For a team built on defense, these are troubling trends. Especially when you consider the Buccaneers have had trouble in the first 2 weeks protecting Winston.
If you're going to have a team, as the Texans appear to, that is going to be offensively challenged and won't be scoring many points, then you had better have a dominant defense in place to counteract that. The problem is the Texans defense does not look all that dominant to me after three weeks.
While people won't admit it, there is a talent shortage on this defense that is going to rear it's ugly head against teams that are more talented than Tampa Bay. The LB corps are weak. I've not doubt that Clowney has the physical tools to become a dominant player, but it's certainly not clear that he has the motor to do so. Cushing, for all of the fan hope, appears to be a day late and a dollar short when it comes to reaching plays to make the tackle. If you watch the game he has a tendency to show up one or two steps late. Mercilus is looking more and more like a bust. And I hate to say that because I thought he was good pick when he was drafted.
Among the young guys Benardrick McKinney looks good, but we'll have to see how he develops in the 3-4, which I think his game is unsuited to. Maybe Kevin Johnson improves, and the Texans had better hope so because Joseph is looking older and older by the game.
The defense did do a good job stuffing the run, and they did OK on the passes, but you have to wonder what a fully healthy Mike Adams would have done to them, instead of the still-banged-up, coming-off-an-injury version they saw Sunday.
The good news? On paper the schedule looked like it was going to bet getting harder over the next couple of weeks. While I think the Falcons are an improved team and will beat the Texans soundly, the next four weeks, games against the Colts, Jaguars, Dolphins and Titans all appear to be winnable.
Right now, the Texans are 1-2 and tied for first. But they're also 1-2 and tied for last place in an awful division. While I think next week is going to be difficult I think, with Foster coming back, the 1-3 Texans could run off four in a row and find themselves at 5-3, and very much in playoff contention.
Until the 2nd half of the season starts, and the schedule gets noticeably tougher. At the beginning of the season I thought the Texans would go 6-10. I'm revising that up slightly to 7-9, but they have to get much better at playing the game of tackle football to get there.
Trouble spots: The Titans and Jaguars, while possessing the same record as the Texans, are starting to show signs of improvement. While I realize the New England Patriots housed the Jaguars last week I really don't see that happening again for a while, and the Titans, with Mariota calling signals, are showing some ability.
The question that Houstonians have is this: Can it be the Texans?
Not to throw too wet of a blanket on the victory celebration but I doubt it.
Last week we discussed the offense, which played marginally better this week (at least they ran the ball OK) but still has issues scoring points, as Jerome Solomon mentions here. While his piece reads (somewhat) tongue and cheek it is notable that Alfred Blue looked to be much more active and hit the hole much better than in weeks one and two. Add to that improved play from the O-line and you wind up with an ugly, ugly win. But a win nevertheless which is good enough to bring the Texans even with the other three teams in the division at 1-2.
My concern this week is with the defense. A defense that was supposed to be dominant has looked less than. The Texans only got no sacks on rookie QB Jameis Winston and the coverage down the field was troublesome, at best.
This is a big problem for a defensive line that contains JJ Watt and Vince Wilfork, with a supposedly "back to healthy" Brian Cushing backing them up at the LB position. In fact, Mr. Watt was held to only 5 tackles, 2 of them solo with only 1 tackle for loss and 3 QB hits. Wilfork? 2 tackles, 0 solo and 0 for a loss. Cushing, supposedly the fiercest tackler on the team, only had 5 tackles, 3 solo and 0 TFL on his stat sheet. Compare that to Tampa Bay LB Lavonte David, who had 14 tackles, 3 solo and 1 TFL. In fact, the top six tacklers in the game all wore Pewter, Red and Orange uniforms.
For a team built on defense, these are troubling trends. Especially when you consider the Buccaneers have had trouble in the first 2 weeks protecting Winston.
If you're going to have a team, as the Texans appear to, that is going to be offensively challenged and won't be scoring many points, then you had better have a dominant defense in place to counteract that. The problem is the Texans defense does not look all that dominant to me after three weeks.
While people won't admit it, there is a talent shortage on this defense that is going to rear it's ugly head against teams that are more talented than Tampa Bay. The LB corps are weak. I've not doubt that Clowney has the physical tools to become a dominant player, but it's certainly not clear that he has the motor to do so. Cushing, for all of the fan hope, appears to be a day late and a dollar short when it comes to reaching plays to make the tackle. If you watch the game he has a tendency to show up one or two steps late. Mercilus is looking more and more like a bust. And I hate to say that because I thought he was good pick when he was drafted.
Among the young guys Benardrick McKinney looks good, but we'll have to see how he develops in the 3-4, which I think his game is unsuited to. Maybe Kevin Johnson improves, and the Texans had better hope so because Joseph is looking older and older by the game.
The defense did do a good job stuffing the run, and they did OK on the passes, but you have to wonder what a fully healthy Mike Adams would have done to them, instead of the still-banged-up, coming-off-an-injury version they saw Sunday.
The good news? On paper the schedule looked like it was going to bet getting harder over the next couple of weeks. While I think the Falcons are an improved team and will beat the Texans soundly, the next four weeks, games against the Colts, Jaguars, Dolphins and Titans all appear to be winnable.
Right now, the Texans are 1-2 and tied for first. But they're also 1-2 and tied for last place in an awful division. While I think next week is going to be difficult I think, with Foster coming back, the 1-3 Texans could run off four in a row and find themselves at 5-3, and very much in playoff contention.
Until the 2nd half of the season starts, and the schedule gets noticeably tougher. At the beginning of the season I thought the Texans would go 6-10. I'm revising that up slightly to 7-9, but they have to get much better at playing the game of tackle football to get there.
Trouble spots: The Titans and Jaguars, while possessing the same record as the Texans, are starting to show signs of improvement. While I realize the New England Patriots housed the Jaguars last week I really don't see that happening again for a while, and the Titans, with Mariota calling signals, are showing some ability.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Houston Texans: There's 0-2 and then there's 0-2. The Texans are the latter. (Offense Edition)
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Fresh off of a slightly better than .500 season Texans fans expected the team to move forward. An easy schedule and a team that's been touted (by local media and the team itself) as "talented" coach Bill O'Brien was supposed to bring the Texans to the playoff promised land THIS year, questions at the QB position be damned.
Then Hard Knocks happened, Arian Foster got injured (again) and the season went two weeks deep and everyone started to realize that this "talented team" was only secure at a few positions, with glaring holes almost everywhere else.
It's easy to point a finger at the QB position. Neither Brian Hoyer or now-starter Ryan Mallett are top-flight choices. Both are career journeymen/backup types who have some skill but not enough necessary to carry the load that is currently required. This leaves people pointing fingers at the running backs a group who, without Foster, seem to have little ability to move the ball forward in the increments necessary for the offense to succeed. Then there's the excuse making for what has been a below-average defense. John McClain says "to be fair" they're only been bad in the first half. Last I checked however the first half still counts. And when you put an offense that's not designed to play from behind in an early hole that matters.
Amazingly, the offensive line has received a pass from the media, and they've been just about the worst group on the field for the team. A review of the statistics over two games shows just how dire the situation is:
Total Rushing yards: 156 (Average: 78/game)
Total Passing yards: 537 (Average: 268.5/game)
Total Sacks allowed: 6 (Average: 3/game)
Total Sacks: 4 (Average 2/game)
Total turnovers: 2 (Average: 1/game)
Amazingly, despite their troubles, the Texans still manage to rank #12 in the NFL in total yards. Alas, they rank 24th in rushing.
Defensively it's not much better. The Texans rank 26th in the league against the run (Wilfork was supposed to help with that remember?) and 11th in passing. We thought these numbers would be flipped. In total defense the Texans rank 12th in yards, but are tied for 19th in points. For a defense that was hyped as having top-five potential, those are unacceptable numbers early on.
Clearly then this is a team that's struggling. But why? The easy answer is to blame the lack of talent at the QB position and move on but I think it runs deeper than that. As I'll point out below....
1. Quarterbacks - While it's true that the Texans don't have a true NFL starter on their roster, the play shouldn't be this bad. While it's not fair to suggest QB play should be great against the AFC South it's looking as if average would qualify for a playoff berth. Sadly, the Texans aren't even getting average play from the position.
2. Running Backs - It's easy to say, as many are, that missing Foster is the problem here, but a bigger problem is that the team (specifically GM Rick Smith) never seemed all that interesting in finding a replacement. Running with Blue, Polk and Grimes as your tandem is not working out.
3. Wide Receivers - There is little evidence, early in the season, to suggest that the Texans have 3 NFL caliber starters on their roster. Hopkins is maturing but Shorts III and Washington are starting to show their age. Plus, Washington has the drops. The rookie, Jaelen Strong, is starting to look like just another 3rd round draft bust by the team. He's not registered a catch in regular season play. The other receivers, Mumphery and Worthy are just fringe guys who are more on the roster for special teams than anything. This was the group I was most worried about heading into the season, and it seems that those fears were well founded.
4. Tight-Ends - CJ Fiedorowicz has 2 catches for 34 yards. Ryan Griffin has 1 for 18. Garrett Graham 1 for 7. That's it. Given that O'Brien comes from a coaching tree with a TE happy passing structure, the lack of production here is amazing.
5. Offensive line - I saved this for last because, without Duane Brown in the line up, I consider this to be the weakest unit on the Texans as a team. Yes, even weaker than the defensive backfield. Outside of Brown the only player who I believe should be on an NFL starting roster is Ben Jones. The Oline did only give up one sack on Sunday, but they seemingly cannot open up many holes in the running game.
Overall the offense, save a good 2nd half showing in week 1, when the game was mostly out of reach, has not been good. Some pundits are pointing to missing Arian Foster but I disagree. The biggest problem that the Texans have right now on offense is an overall lack of talent at ALL positions.
I'll have more later on the Defense and Coaching.
Then Hard Knocks happened, Arian Foster got injured (again) and the season went two weeks deep and everyone started to realize that this "talented team" was only secure at a few positions, with glaring holes almost everywhere else.
It's easy to point a finger at the QB position. Neither Brian Hoyer or now-starter Ryan Mallett are top-flight choices. Both are career journeymen/backup types who have some skill but not enough necessary to carry the load that is currently required. This leaves people pointing fingers at the running backs a group who, without Foster, seem to have little ability to move the ball forward in the increments necessary for the offense to succeed. Then there's the excuse making for what has been a below-average defense. John McClain says "to be fair" they're only been bad in the first half. Last I checked however the first half still counts. And when you put an offense that's not designed to play from behind in an early hole that matters.
Amazingly, the offensive line has received a pass from the media, and they've been just about the worst group on the field for the team. A review of the statistics over two games shows just how dire the situation is:
Total Rushing yards: 156 (Average: 78/game)
Total Passing yards: 537 (Average: 268.5/game)
Total Sacks allowed: 6 (Average: 3/game)
Total Sacks: 4 (Average 2/game)
Total turnovers: 2 (Average: 1/game)
Amazingly, despite their troubles, the Texans still manage to rank #12 in the NFL in total yards. Alas, they rank 24th in rushing.
Defensively it's not much better. The Texans rank 26th in the league against the run (Wilfork was supposed to help with that remember?) and 11th in passing. We thought these numbers would be flipped. In total defense the Texans rank 12th in yards, but are tied for 19th in points. For a defense that was hyped as having top-five potential, those are unacceptable numbers early on.
Clearly then this is a team that's struggling. But why? The easy answer is to blame the lack of talent at the QB position and move on but I think it runs deeper than that. As I'll point out below....
1. Quarterbacks - While it's true that the Texans don't have a true NFL starter on their roster, the play shouldn't be this bad. While it's not fair to suggest QB play should be great against the AFC South it's looking as if average would qualify for a playoff berth. Sadly, the Texans aren't even getting average play from the position.
2. Running Backs - It's easy to say, as many are, that missing Foster is the problem here, but a bigger problem is that the team (specifically GM Rick Smith) never seemed all that interesting in finding a replacement. Running with Blue, Polk and Grimes as your tandem is not working out.
3. Wide Receivers - There is little evidence, early in the season, to suggest that the Texans have 3 NFL caliber starters on their roster. Hopkins is maturing but Shorts III and Washington are starting to show their age. Plus, Washington has the drops. The rookie, Jaelen Strong, is starting to look like just another 3rd round draft bust by the team. He's not registered a catch in regular season play. The other receivers, Mumphery and Worthy are just fringe guys who are more on the roster for special teams than anything. This was the group I was most worried about heading into the season, and it seems that those fears were well founded.
4. Tight-Ends - CJ Fiedorowicz has 2 catches for 34 yards. Ryan Griffin has 1 for 18. Garrett Graham 1 for 7. That's it. Given that O'Brien comes from a coaching tree with a TE happy passing structure, the lack of production here is amazing.
5. Offensive line - I saved this for last because, without Duane Brown in the line up, I consider this to be the weakest unit on the Texans as a team. Yes, even weaker than the defensive backfield. Outside of Brown the only player who I believe should be on an NFL starting roster is Ben Jones. The Oline did only give up one sack on Sunday, but they seemingly cannot open up many holes in the running game.
Overall the offense, save a good 2nd half showing in week 1, when the game was mostly out of reach, has not been good. Some pundits are pointing to missing Arian Foster but I disagree. The biggest problem that the Texans have right now on offense is an overall lack of talent at ALL positions.
I'll have more later on the Defense and Coaching.
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