Houston Texans 2014 Thread

[eagle eye]

Houston is needing some defensive back help right? Yeah, I knew you'd agree with me. To help make up for this weakness on the team Houston resigned veteran safety Danieal Manning today. S Chris Clemens to make room for Manning.

Here's a rundown of the roster moves made this past weekend and today by the Texans.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-roster-moves-August-31/57ad4ba8-4173-4ea4-981f-02bf99096baa

Here is the list of the Texans 10 player practice squad from Texans.com.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-sign-10-to-practice-squad/8cdc8ada-f6c6-434b-82c3-f29ffea1de74

[Boomer]

J.J. Got his money today. Another one of the 2012 draft class just got paid. The deal was reported to be the highest ever at 50 million but Jason Cole reports a better break down in the tweet after Chris Mortenson here:Watt becomes NFL's highest paid def player, surpassing 6-year, $96-mill Bills gave ex-Texan Mario Williams, who got $50 mill guaranteed
12:28 AM - 2 Sep 2014
Ok, real guar on Watt is $30.87M. Remainder of $51.8M guar kicks in before 2016 season. Fair deal, but not Mario Williams deal.
8:33 AM - 2 Sep 2014 Jason Cole.

[eagle eye]

The way I look at it Watt has been a real warrior and he was the only bright spot in a pretty bad defense last year. He deserves the money and he is guaranteed to be a Texan for the foreseeable future. Well, done Houston. It may be the best off season move the Texans have made this year.

So far this preseason we saw a little of Jadeveon Clowney and he was pretty good flashing some of the potential to his game the Texans were hoping to get when they drafted him this past May. Now, instead of just a handful of plays we will get to see what it's going to be like to have Clowney on the field for 4 quarters. I really don't think Texans fans will be disappointed. The Texans announced that Clowney will start this Sunday against the Redskins.

[eagle eye]

I can't wait until the end of the season and the nay sayers about the Texans chances of having a +.500 record can go find a rock to crawl under. I've been saying this since the day Ryan Fitzpatrick was signed that he is better than he's given credit. It will start with a win on Sunday over the Redskins and end around Week 17 with no less than 10 wins. 10 wins could get a team a wild card spot in the playoffs. I've said it before and I'll say it again. This team was killed by injuries especially on defense last season and the inexplicable dumpster fire that was Matt Schaub. Fitzpatrick is not Matt Schaub. Fitz will go down the field some where Schaub was the one who liked to dink and dunk. The national press doesn't cover Houston and like every other team they report on they do it in generalizations, outward perceptions and clichés. Houston media, especially the guys on the Blitz in the afternoon, are just plain douches who can't find anything positive to say about Houston teams. I'll eat whatever crow I have to if Houston doesn't win at least 10 games but I don't think I will. They have a last place schedule and they play the NFC east which are all winnable games. I'm not saying they will but they won't be more than 6 point underdogs in any of them. It's going to start Sunday vs the Redskins. The other division they play this year is the AFC North which will be considerably harder but doable for at least one win (the Browns on the road) Don't think they can beat any of the other teams? Consider this. Houston had the Super Champion Seattle Seahawks on the ropes and the way their defense was playing a punt on third down and let the defense do their thing and Houston wins. That is until Matt Schaub tosses a pick six to Dick Sherman. Houston can beat any of the teams on their schedule. I honestly believe that. I think Texans fans better strap it up because we're in for a little fun.

[Boomer]

So the Ryan Mallett rumors have gone on for years. We finally get things to go our way and I hear this:
Lance Zierlein of Sports Talk 790 in Houston reports the Texans tried to trade for Eagles QB Matt Barkley before acquiring Ryan Mallett from the Patriots.
Zierlein is plugged into all things Texans, so we don't doubt its validity. The Philadelphia News and Inquirer reported last weekend that the Eagles were "open" to the idea of dealing Barkley. Houston likely didn't want to part with anything more than a late-round pick -- which was the price for Mallett -- while Philadelphia probably wanted at least a fourth-rounder for Barkley, considering it used the 98th overall pick on Barkley in last year's draft.
Related: Texans
Source: Lance Zierlein on Twitter Sep 5 - 8:42 AM

I don't think the coaching staff has a lot of faith in any QB they have and this season is going to be a long one.

I also found this tidbit about Mr. Foster: Coach Bill O'Brien said Arian Foster is "going to play a lot" Sunday against the Redskins, and "will get the bulk of the playing time" in the Texans' backfield.
Source: Houston Chronicle Sep 5 - 10:43 AM

I have no faith in Arian. Don't ever confuse how much you love the game and wish you were playing on Sunday with their feelings. He won't make it 8 games if he has to carry this team on his trick back.

[eagle eye]

All that can be said about the Texans has been said. Most people think the best Houston can do is 7-9. I am of the opinion they will go 10-6. If the preseason is any indication RGIII is not fully grasping the Sean McVay (read, Jay Gruden) offense. Despite all the top notch options Washington has on offense it's hard to use a tool, or tools, if you don't know how. Plus, the Redskins defense ain't all that.
One bit of bad news is that TE Garrett Graham could be a scratch from the game Sunday due to a bad back. He has missed practice since Wednesday and Coach O'Brien said it could come down to a workout Sunday morning to see if he can play. it seems Graham has learned some bad lessons from his mentor Owen Daniels.


Houston wins their opener by a score of...................

Houston 24 Washington 17.

[eagle eye]

I predicted a 24-17 win by the Texans and at least I got the team right. The score was a little lower than I thought with Houston winning 17-6. The Redskins have a ton of talent but RGIII and company didn't have an answer for the Texans resurgent defense. They were awesome. Despite Jadeveon Clowney having to leave the game with what has turned out to be a torn meniscus in the his knee it was all thumbs up for the Texans D. Ryan Fitzpatrick's numbers weren't gaudy (14-22 for 206 yds and a TD and NO PICKS) but he got the job done. The big blow was a 76 yard catch and run for the Texans first TD of the season. The Texans other score came on a blocked punt by rookie RB Alfred Blue who recovered the kick and took it 5 yards for the score.
Pretty much the rest of the game was a lesson in dominance by the Texans defense. JJ Watt was his usual awesome self and Brian Cushing showed why losing him is such a blow to the Texans D. He seemed to be everywhere. A big surprise was the play of LB Brooks Reed who played solid ball and the it wasn't a surprise but Jonathan Joseph's return to the lineup was big and he played big today.
Arian Foster had 100+ yards rushing and Andre Johnson had 93 yards on 6 catches and DeAndre Hopkins added 89 yards on 4 balls including the aforementioned TD. A win is a win and this was the first under Bill O'Brien and the first win since September of last season. In 2013 Houston went 2-0 and then proceeded to lose 14 straight. It's always nice to begin the season with a W isn't it?
As for Clowney, he'll miss some time with that meniscus issue but at least it wasn't an ACL. Whitney Mercilus had a solid game in relief of Clowney. We probably won't know any more than Bill O'Brien decides to disclose which probably ain't much considering he learned how to handle such things from Bill Belichick who is a notorious pain in the ...... neck when it comes to talking to the media.

[eagle eye]

Jadeveon Clowney had arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday to removed a portion of the meniscus in his right knee. He also has a torn MCL. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. I know most Texans fans knew this already but why I mentioned it was AM 610 out of Houston on their morning show has a orthopedic surgeon come on from time to time to talk about what effect or how serious an injury to a player may be. He discussed at length the difference between what Clowney had done vs a complete repair job which would have resulted in Clowney being placed on IR and lost for the season. The really interesting thing is most players opt for the procedure Clowney had done which will help him get back on the field quicker but could become a problem later in their lives whereas the complete repair is more favorable but has no guarantee it will even heal completely. The doctor said the meniscus is a tissue that doesn't like to be stitched and he could take a long time to heal IF it ever does. I thought it was an interesting conversation.

How about the efficiency of Ryan Fitzpatrick? Both Andre Johnson (6-93) and DeAndre Hopkins (4-87-1) had solid fantasy days. Fitz didn't have a lot of yardage but he was efficient. He's not a fantasy option at this point but as time goes by he may become a bye week option. Arian Foster was tested with 27 carries and he put up 103 yards for his effort. Nice balance from the offense but obviously you want a little more scoring taking place and some more sustained drives but I'll take a win. I am definitely not complaining.

[eagle eye]

The Texans returned to work today and missing was TE CJ Fiedorowicz missed practice today because of a foot injury. Bill O'Brien doing his best Bill Belichick imitation said of Fiedorowicz, “(Ryan) Griffin and C.J., they’re working hard and it is what it is.” Ryan Griffin is the other TE on the roster, a 2nd year man from UConn. Who knows what the heck is wrong with him! Garrett Graham who missed practices last week as well as the season opener against the Redskins because of a bad back was back at practice on a limited basis.

The TE's aren't the only ones with issues but you already know about Jadeveon Clowney. Otherwise the Texans came out of Week 1 pretty healthy. It looks like the defense is back. We should keep an eye on how Whitney Mercilus does in relief of Clowney going forward. With Brian Cushing back and Brooks Reed playing well maybe Mercilus will be free to be better than he has been so far in his career. It would be nice if Clowney has to earn his starting job back because that means that Mercilus is playing well as well as the rest of the defense.

The Raiders QBs have ties to Houston. There's Matt Schaub of course and lest you forget Matt McGloin was the QB in Bill O'Brien's first year as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. But this year's second round pick Derek Carr is the guy you need to remember. His big brother was a 1st round pick of the brand new Houston Texans franchise way back in 2002. Derek was a fixture around the Texans facility during his brother's tenure as a Texan. Now, Derek and his Oakland Raiders are hosting the Texans this Sunday.

[eagle eye]

On the eve of Houston's 2nd game of the year Andre Johnson said today that he likes new head coach Bill O'Brien's hard-nosed approach. This is a complete turnaround from his stance in May when he said he wasn't sure if Houston was the place he wanted to be. Johnson even held out of OTA's and mandatory mini camp and the question was would he boycott training camp? Well, he relented and showed up to Houston's facility on time for the beginning of training camp. Johnson postured but he probably never believed Houston would trade him. Houston couldn't because the cap hit the Texans would take would have been prohibitively large. Since he showed up he has developed a rapport with O'Brien and what strikes Johnson is O'Brien's blunt approach to his players. Johnson said that O'Brien will definitely tell when you do something wrong and he doesn't pull punches no matter who the player is. Johnson appreciates this honesty.

One item of note: Andre Johnson should be in your fantasy lineup. As bad as Houston was last year Johnson caught 10 balls for 116 yards. He has also had a lot of success vs the Raiders in his career.

Here's an article from Texans.com from beat writer Drew Dougharty on the 5 things you need to watch for in tomorrow's game.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/5-Things-to-Watch-Texans-at-Oakland/c1f8e3d2-2305-488e-bd40-3af9eca87439

How are the Texans going to do? How about Texans 27 Oakland 10

[eagle eye]

So far so good. 2-0 is just where Houston wants to be at this point and the Texans have been going about their business in a very business-like way. Run the back, pass efficiently, move the chains and score on offense. Even more simple, stop the run, stop the pass, force turnovers. Houston hardly broke a sweat beating the Oakland Raiders today. They may have settled for too many field goals but, shoot, that's just nitpicking. Go on the road in one of the most hostile environments in the NFL and just shut the crowd up. Arian Foster followed up last week's 103 yards with a 138 yard effort. Ryan Fitzpatrick was economical with a 14-19, 2 TD performance. Fantasy owners won't go crazy but Texans fans will definitely take that every week as long as Houston is winning. The defense gave up a combined 101 yards rushing to the Raiders and Derek Carr passed for 263 yards and 2 TDs but every time Oakland got something going there was an interception or a fumble to derail a Raiders drive. The final score was 30-14 but it wasn't that close. I predicted a final of 27-10 so that wasn't too bad even if I do say so myself.
So, let's enjoy the win and prepare ourselves to take on the New York Giants next week. I don't want to jinx anything but as bad as the Giants have looked the past two weeks Houston has to be licking their chops about Wednesday thinking about that trip to the Big Apple.
The only downer was an injury to CB Jonathan Joseph. We can only hope it isn't serious and he'll be ready to go next week.

[eagle eye]

It's nice to root for a team like the Texans because there isn't a lot of drama. The organization seems to be stable and the management has not shown any interest in getting face time in the media. As a Cowboys fan it does get tiring talking about, listening to and dealing with Jerry Jones. With the Texans you can consentrate on rooting for the team but the Cowboys carry a lot more baggage. I think the coverage of the Cowboys, especially on their website, is better over all than the Texans but still, it's nice to root for the team without all the fooferall.

On bit of good new is that C J Fiederowicz was back at practice yesterday and could be back for this week's game vs the Giants. CJ missed practices and the game last Sunday vs Oakland because of a foot injury but he could very well be back in the lineup Sunday.

Bill O'Brien said yesterday that JJ Watt could be used more as a tight end in goal line situations. This comes on the heels of his first TD catch of his NFL career last Sunday.

Arian Foster was on the Texans injury report yesterday as limited. This is news to me because I didn't know he was having hammy issues. He came out of the game on Sunday in the fouth quarter when the Texans were making substitutions all over the field because the game was well in hand. It may be just a veteran day off and nothing more. Let's hope so as Foster is the second leading rusher in the NFL after two weeks and one of only two backs with over 200 yards rushing so far. With 51 carries the past two weeks I think he's earned a veteran day off.

DJ Swearinger was limited in practice yesterday because of hyper extended elbow he suffered in a collision with Brian Cushing in the 3rd quarter of the Raiders game. He left the game and didn't return. He is experiencing a lack of mobility and some pain but he's hoping to be on the field this Sunday vs the Giants.

[eagle eye]

Houston is going to New York, or rather New Jersey, to face a really bad Giants team. For whatever reason the Gints are not firing on more than 2 cylinders trouble is that hasn't been nearly good enough. The defense is bad and the offense compliments this with an equal amount of ineptness. I think every week the Texans are growing in confidence and despite the loss of Jadeveon Clowney in the preseason for 6-8 weeks the defense has dominated and the offense is becoming believers in the Bill O'Brien system which features a heavy dose of Arian Foster. Foster is the second leading rusher in the NFL after the first two weeks of the season and the reason is O'Brien has the O-line playing at a high level. Everyone was down on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick but he's done nothing but lead his team to wins the first two weeks of the season. Houston is better than NY in every aspect and should win the game. It's on the road but Houston is better than that and they will win.

Final score? Houston 31 NY Giants 10

[Big T]

You may have jinxed em EE. They look horrible today and they are currently 0-5 in third down conversions. It's pathetic.

[eagle eye]

Yeah, I was afraid of something like this. It's not the first time the Giants have looked like total garbage to begin the season and then turn it around. One thing I didn't know until it was too late was that Arian Foster's hamstring issue was going to cause him to be benched for this game. We learned in a hurry how much Foster means to this team. Alfred Blue did a decent job but Foster's presence was certainly missed. It ddn't help any that Ryan Fitzpatrick has a total crap game. Every QB has 'em and today was one for Fitz. The Giants tried to give Houston help early but Houston couldn't capitalize and it opened the door for the Giants and they bull rushed their way through that door. 30-17 isn't embarrassing but it wasn't anything to hang your hat on either. Where is god's name was the defense letting Rashad Jennings rush for 176 yards for goodness sake. Jennings is a serviceable back but Houston made him look like the second coming of Jim Brown. Eli wasn't great but he did his job. When you have a dominating run game you don't have to be great.

[eagle eye]

The radio voice of the Texans, Marc Vandermeer, offers a quick perspective from his article in Texans.com.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Vandermeers-View-Knocked-Down-in-NY/af5974f6-17a3-4e15-891a-8889af2ff3f8

In an interview today Arian Foster describes his hamstring condition as day to day. Thanks Arian, all us fantasy football mavens who have you on their roster need to hear that ambiguous crap when we decide to set out lineups this week. Sheesh.

DeAndre Hopkins caught 6 balls for 116 yards yesterday and his performance drove him over 1,000 yards receiving in his career. Big deal, we lost.

Subbing for Arian Foster was rookie Alfred Blue who gained 78 yards on 13 carries who translates into 6 yards per carry. Houston abandoned the run after they got behind and the Texans lost out on some plays as a result of the 3 INTs thrown by Ryan Fitzpatrick. All in all it was a pretty decent outing for Blue's first NFL start it's just overshadowed by the fact the Texans lost the game.

[eagle eye]

One of Texans 2014 draft picks is now going to be sitting out the rest of the season. NT Louis Nix III from Notre Dame was placed on injured reserve today because of a wrist injury and the fact that he has never really seemed to heal after having arthroscopic knee surgery this past summer. He will get the whole off season to recover and get stronger so he's ready to go next spring. To fill the NT void Houston signed veteran Ryan Pickett to help shore up what was a very porous run defense last Sunday. Pickett is a 14 year veteran who began his career in St Louis spending 5 seasons with the Rams. He has spent the last 8 in Green Bay. Pickett is 6'2" and 340 lbs and he's going to join Texans free agent signee Jerrell Powe to plug the middle of the defensive line. JJ Watt expressed his excitement at having Pickett on the team saying that a man of his experience and having the success he's had in the NFL is a great addition to the team. Houston defensive line coach Bill Kohlar held the same position in St Louis when Pickett was there so a familiar face on hand to help Pickett learn the Romeo Crennel 3-4 will help him make the transition.

For all you wondering about Arian Foster Texans.com reported today the Foster was at practice and "did some things". That was the tag line to the article in Texans.com. No real explanation of "some things" was forthcoming but Bill O'Brien classified Foster as day to day. Meaning you will have to be alert prior to game time Sunday as to his playing status. Fantasy owners are like okay, is it Foster or Blue? I hate game time decisions.

Texans center Chris Meyers will start in his 100th game as a Texan this week. Myers, who was acquired in a 2008 trade with Denver, also currently holds the NFL’s longest active consecutive games streak for an offensive lineman (139) and active consecutive starts for a center (114). In 2012, he made franchise history when he became the first Texans offensive lineman ever to be elected to a Pro Bowl. So, way to go Chris, keep up the good work!

[eagle eye]

Houston is back home after being duely embarrassed by the NY Giants last week in New Jersey. The defense knows it played like crap and now they will be facing a more potent running attack by the Buffalo Bills. CJ Spiller and Freddie Jackson are a good 1-2 punch and for a team that looked as bad as it did against the run last week, Houston better suck it up and play better.
Too bad that Jadeveon Clowney is injured because the storyline would be how 2 No 1 picks in the draft by the Texans fared in this game. The other No 1 pick, of course, is Mario Williams who left for Buffalo a couple of years ago in free agency. Even though Clowney and Williams would never face each other on the field the comparisons would be too intriguing to pass up.
Arian Foster continues to be a game time decision. If Ryan Fitzpatrick can avoid throwing the ball to Bills defenders then either Foster or Alfred Blue can focus on pounding the rock. It's incredible how bad players, QBs in particular, can play on a given Sunday and last Sunday Fitz was god-awful. Let's hope he's got an ax to grind against his former team.
The Bills QB play hasn't caused any presses to stop. It's been mediocre at best and Houston's defense should be able to expliot that offense some. The reason I don't sound as confident about this as in the past is how terrible they looked against the Giants who were really pretty awful prior to last Sunday. As a matter of fact, the Giants tried to hand the game over to Houston early on but Houston wanted no part of it and it seemed to fire up the Giants who summarily steam-rolled the Texans into the turf.
All that said, I have to believe that at home, as 6.5 point favorites the Texans will play better and win and go to 3-1. Final score?

Houston 27 Buffalo 17

[eagle eye]

Houston played hard and they overcame a game Buffalo Bills team to win 23-17. They are now 3-1 on the season with the Cowboys up next in Arlington next Sunday. Make no mistake about though, Houston was lucky. Lucky to have a beast like JJ Watt athletic enough to jump up and intercept a pass and take it to the house from 80 yards away. He literally outran everyone to the end zone. Lucky to play defense well enough to hold Buffalo to 17 points and lucky enough to overcome another less than stellar effort by Ryan Fitzpatrick. I was all in on Fitz from day one but he's making me a non-believer as the weeks go by. I would not be surprised if he had another sticker like last week in New York that Tom Savage would be given the keys to the Texans car.

[eagle eye]

I hate to say this but I don't think that yesterday's win over Buffalo is all that great. It looked a lot more like luck to me. It may be that Houston's defense isn't as talented as I first thought. I should get better when Jadeveon Clowney comes back but his real impact may not be fully felt until next season when he will have the benefit of a full off season of work to get NFL strong. I may have been wrong about Ryan Fitzpatrick. He may be the journeyman QB with diminishing skills everyone thought he was coming in. It may be the next real stinker of game by Fitz that sees the beginning of the Ryan Mallet era in Houston. If not for a super human play from JJ Watt it's likely Houston is looking squarely at a 2-2 record with the real meat of their schedule coming up in the next few weeks beginning with the resurgent Cowboys at the Death Star in Arlington next week. I hate to say it but in yesterday's games the team that looked like a team capable of stringing together some wins wasn't Houston, it was Dallas. Dallas is better than Buffalo by a long shot and Tony Romo is better than EJ Manual by a long shot. In fact it was announced that Manuel was benched going forward and the starting job belongs to Kyle Orton, the ex-Cowboy backup. If the Texans expect to win next Sunday they better fix some major problems on defense and get better play from Fitzpatrick and the Texans offensive line. Seems like a lot to ask in one week.

[eagle eye]

The Texans placed S Shiloh Keo on waivers today. Keo has been with the Texans for four years but he was not playing all that well and he has been slowed by and ankle injury. To take his place the Texans brought up S Josh Aubrey from the practice squad. To fill Aubrey's spot the Texans have resigned WR Travis Labhart and they also waived punter/kicker Chris Boswell from their practice squad.
Aubrey is a hard hitting player who should be able to contribute on special teams. Aubrey should be somewhat familiar to BRI readers because he went to school at Stephen F Austin. He does have six games of NFL experience gained playing for the Cleveland Browns last year.

Jadeveon Clowney gave the media an update on his progress recovering from a broken foot. He said he's been out running and he expects to be back in a few weeks. Here's the article with accompanying video from Texans.com.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Jadeveon-Clowney-gives-injury-update/a0b19731-b297-4b80-abce-46269b5e0fb5

[eagle eye]

JJ Watt's 80 yard pick six against the Bills last week helped make him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Houston-Dallas rivalry goes back to the halcyon days of the Luv Ya Blue era in the 1970s when it was Dan Pastorini vs Roger Staubach, Earl Campbell vs Tony Dorsett any number of matchups that would be just as relevant. Don't believe it? You should have been in the Reliant Stadium stands on the inaugural game of the new Texans franchise. A woeful Dallas team was beaten by an expansion team in it's first ever game. No established NFL team had ever been beaten under those circumstances before. Was the crowd into it? You bet your sweet longhorns they were. It is easily the loudest place I have ever been in my life. I was at the inaugural game at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and the noise level couldn't compare to the Reliant crowd. My ears rang for days after that game. This intra-state rivalry is a meaningful one especially to Houston fans. I am a fan of both teams I can justify that because one is an NFC team and the other is an AFC team. My dream is for a Texas Super Bowl. It almost happened in 1977 and 78. It almost happened after the 1992 season but Houston couldn't hold up their end after blowing a 32 point halftime lead to lose to Buffalo 41-38 in overtime. Dallas faced those same Bills in the Super Bowl three weeks later. Dallas is on the rise and Houston is too. It probably won't happen this year but it could, and very soon. In the meantime we have a game to watch and enjoy this week. It's a meaningful game for both and it's meaningful to their playoff chase. It should be fun.

[eagle eye]

Okay, I have to make a correction. JJ Watt didn't win Defensive Player of the Week earlier this week. No, it was better than than. He was named Defensive Player of the MONTH for September. He was not the force he was in 2012 last season but under Romeo Crennel and Bill O'Brien he is having a bit of a resurgence. Needless to say he has been in full beast mode so far this season.

Arian Foster's availability is not in question for Sunday's game vs Dallas but how much he's able to do is still the question. Last week he suited up but he wasn't much of a factor. He did have some impact in the passing game coming out of the backfield but he wasn't setting the fantasy world on fire with the numbers he posted. It seems to be same song second verse. He's planning on suiting up for Dallas but how much or how well he will be able to play is still very much in question.

[eagle eye]

As a Cowboys fan this game scares the hell out of me. Why? Because, it's just this sort of game the Cowboys lose. What kind of game is it, you ask? I'll tell you. Dallas is by and large healthier than Houston. Dallas is arguably more talented than Houston and if compare position by position Dallas wins the projected matchups with a couple of exceptions. Dallas is at home. They are favored by 6.5 and they are coming off a big win over New Orleans last week that moved Dallas to 3-1 and they are on a roll. All the odds seem to favor Dallas. That's what scares me. The fact that Dallas is coming off a very emotional win really scares me. Houston could win.
Know what else scares me? Houston best three players are questionable for the game. Arian Foster has a gimpy hamstring. Andre Johnson has a bad ankle and didn't practice Friday and JJ Watt has a thigh problem. Foster and Watt are probable but how effective will they be? Johnson is questionable. You know, only Cleveland and Oakland could lose a game like this with the stars and the moon lining up like this. Houston has been overcoming poor odds and bad luck so far this season and this could be a real high water mark for them if they can pull off this upset. It's kismet, karma or what ever you want to say but Dallas loses games just like this. Houston can win this game. After all, they are 3-1. That means that both teams are tied for their division lead. Houston must be doing SOMETHING right. They can win but I don't think so. Final Score?

Dallas 31 Houston 10

[eagle eye]

For those of you who think Ryan Fitzpatrick is holding this team back, well, I'm not sure I can disagree with any sort of straight face. One thing though, while the Cowboys didn't record a sack in the game they did pressure Fitz a lot and they got some good hits in too. Fitz completed 16 balls to 6 different receivers. Problem was, Dallas did a good job of tackling. They didn't allow much in YAC yardage which kept the offense down. Arian Foster did show up big for the first time since Week 2 so I guess his hamstring is a non-issue--for now. His 23 carries for 157 yards and 2 TDs gave the Texans a spark they haven't had. I wish to goodness Houston's defense had played this well against the NY Giants. The D had a big pass rush going and despite getting only one sack they were up in Tony Romo's grill all day. Unfortunately, Romo is an expert at making plays on the fly and he did it again Sunday. The only way I can figure, and I mentioned this in another post, is that Romo is a Jedi Master and using the Force he could feel the JJ Watt train wreck bearing down on him. Without ever seeing Watt coming Romo did a spin move to his right at the last possible moment leaving Watt only air to bash. Rolling back around in the direction Watt had just come from and quickly setting up and throwing a 43 yard strike to Terrence Williams for the Cowboys 1st TD of the game. That play and surreal catch by Dez Bryant in overtime broke the Texans backs. A simply superhuman effort by Bryant to come down with the desperate heave by Romo on 3rd and long with Jonathan Joseph (who pretty much shut Dez down the whole game to that point) hanging all over him like a cheap suit. That play will be one of THE plays of the 2014 season. All you can do is tip your cap to Dez for being a helluva player. Houston will have put this one behind them and pronto because Indy is coming to town Thursday. There is no time to think about woulda, coulda, shoulda in Arlington. They've got business to take care of at home.
One cool note: The fans represented in Arlington Sunday afternoon. The crowd was about a 50-50 split between the Cowboys and Texans. The noise from the Texans fans was loud enough to force Dallas to go to silent counts to get their plays off. Dallas usually has that kind of support when they travel. It had to be disheartening to have the tables turned on them in their own house.

[eagle eye]

The Texans have a quick turnaround but the circumstances seem eerily the same as they did with the Cowboys.

Instead of an in-state rival the Texans are playing a bitter division rival in the Colts who, when Peyton Manning was there was a thorn in the Texans side. Now that Andrew Luck has sort of ascended to the throne in Indianapolis the Colts are a thorn once more.

The Texans went to Dallas with both teams sitting at 3-1. This week the Texans and the Colts are both 3-2.

The Texans face a team again that seems to have found it's running game. Last week it's Dallas and DeMarco Murray. This week it's Indy and a resurgent Ahmad Bradshaw. (That's right, I didn't say Trent Richardson).

While Indy's defense isn't as suspect as the Cowboys the Colts have been, since the beginning of the Peyton Manning era, an offense dominated team just as the Cowboys have been. But, like the Cowboys, Indy has found a new life in the defensive side of the ball.

Dallas was a division co-leader (and they still are) as is Indy and the team they co-lead the division with is---wait for it----that's right. Our very own Houston Texans.

As the Texans seemed to be overmatched last week going in you just have to feel they are again. Mainly because of the quarterback. In Dallas last week Tony Romo was clearly the difference in the game for the Cowboys. Two huge plays by Romo, and I'll bet you know exactly which two, was the real difference in the game. Indy's Andrew Luck can scramble but I doubt he's got any Jedi in him. If JJ Watt gets around the left tackle like he did in Dallas Luck will be toast. But, Luck has also proved that he can make plays too. There is no Dez in Indy but TY Hilton and Reggie Wayne aren't chopped liver and provide Luck with pretty good targets. Houston can play defense. They have proven that all season. They harassed Tony Romo to distraction last Sunday and I don't see the quality O-line in Indy that Dallas has.
It's Indianapolis vs Houston on Thursday Night Football. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow night. Fact is, I don't much care for Thursday night football but I'll put that prejudice on the back burner for this week. I won't be torn about who I'm rooting for because it's Texans all the way, baby. I hope Bill O'Brien lets Fitz throw the ball downfield a little more this week. Word is the Bill O'Brien said today both Brian Cushing and Arian Foster will be available to play. We can only hope they show up and play like they did Sunday in Dallas. Houston is going to win this game, I feel it. Final score?

Houston 23 Indianapolis 18

[eagle eye]

The Texans played a good game. I'm proud of the way they came back from being down 24-0 early on. The final score was 33-28 and Houston had the ball with 2 minutes and change left to drive for a winning score. Unfortunately, after one first down Fitz coughed up the ball trying to avoid the Colts rush and that was it--ballgame. JJ Watt scored on a fumble recovery and he became the first pro football player to score on an interseption return, a fumble return and score a TD on offense since the caveman days of the NFL. If Watt keeps on keeping on he would be a legit candidate for MVP. The first quarter Houston couldn't do anything right and allowed the Colts to score seemingly at will. But, the Texans made a game of it and I'm sure there were some worried men on the Indy sideline especially with the crowd really into the game and making noise like nobody else can. It's one loss and Houston is just a game back of Indy and there are so many games left it is definitely not panic time.
I am so of tired of DJ Swearinger. All talk and no substance. He missed several tackles last night and anyone who talks like he does needs to tackle better. That's okay, minor complaint. I'm glad Houston has 11 days off before they play in Week 7 and there are a lot of people who didn't think the Texans would be 3-3 at this point.

[eagle eye]

Some good news is coming out of Houston. Today, NFL.com is reporting that Jadeveon Clowney could be back on the field next Monday night to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clowney is six weeks removed from the knee surgery he had at the end of training camp and he has been seen at the Texans facility running and doing his rehab work. Clowney is saying he's anxious to "hit somebody" but Bill O'Brien is less optimistic saying they (the Texans) will see how the next 10 days go before making a decision about Clowney's availability. At least some help for Superman (JJ Watt) is nearer than before.

[eagle eye]

Jadeveon Clowney may play this week in Pittsburgh then again, he may not. That's where he stands right now, a 50-50 shot at playing and that's a lot better than last week and if he's 50-50 now next week he should be good to go, don't you think? Besides JJ Watt the pressure hasn't been really forthcoming. Occasionally, a guy will make a play but Watt could use some reinforcement and if Clowney is what he's been advertised even a rookie can have an impact. I, for one, can't wait until Clowney is back on the field. I just don't want the Texans to rush him back. I want them to make darn sure he's 100% before he is thrown into a game.

I think it's safe to say Arian Foster is back. He ran all over the Cowboys who stopped Percy Harvin and Marshawn Lynch in their tracks last week. Even though they lost Houston gave Indianapolis all they could handle last week with Foster gaining 109 yards on 20 carries. He's got that burst back which is what makes him so special. Good to see and I'd like to see him get his 3rd consecutive 100 yard game against the hated Steelers this week.

Brian Cushing has been working his way back into game shape as he is seeing more and more snaps in the games as each week passes. Cush played in 64% of the Texans snap against the Cowboys while he was on the field for 97% of the defensive snaps last week against the Colts.

The Texans 2nd round draft pick, Xavier Su'a-Filo, got his first start and he and the rest of the starting O-line played every snap on offense.

Houston may have found their slot receiver in Damaris Johnson. Last week he was on the field for over half the Texans offensive snaps. He contributed 3 catches for 62 yards which included a 40 yard reception.

[eagle eye]

Jadeveon Clowney is a "game time decision" according to Bill O'Brien but we saw something yesterday we haven't seen since Week 1 when Clowney was injured against the Redskins. What's that? It's JC back at practice with the team instead of doing work with trainers on the side. It's pretty clear that if he isn't in the lineup Sunday he will be back next week. The Texans practice today and we'll see what Texans.com says after today's practice. The 50-50 chance is looking a little 60-40-ish but still I don't want Houston to rush him back. After all this is a marathon, not a sprint.

[eagle eye]

Houston returned home from Pittsburgh last night after losing to the Steelers 30-23. Now, on the surface it would appear that it was a good game that Houston just came up short in but, the real story is much more disheartening. You see, the Texans led with just under 3 minutes left in the first half 13-0. Pittsburgh could do virtually nothing right and really the score should have been by a wider margin. I think Houston could realistically been up 17-0 at very least. That's when all hell broke loose and by the time the half ended Houston trailed the Steelers 24-13. That's what happens when you fumble inside your own 5 and get a pass intercepted by a shaggy bearded upper 30-something who wasn't even on the Steelers roster when the season began. Of course I'm talking about long time Steeler Brett Keisel who tipped a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass which then bounced off a a helmet and back into Keisel's arms. When it goes south it goes south. The good thing was that Houston did come back and make the game close. In fact, if an on-side kick attempt had gone Houston's way and it almost did then Houston would have had a realistic chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. Fitz looked okay, Foster rushed for 102 yards things were going all Houston's way including a JJ Watt fumble recovery. It just wasn't meant to be as Pittsburgh won on Monday Night Football for the 16th consecutive time. Damn, I hate Pittsburgh. I posted a while back that I was getting tired of DJ Swearinger's act and I haven't given up that notion. I guess he thinks he's being a leader by pointing the finger at teammates when he's the one who appears to have screwed up. Either way, I think the guy is a jerk and an average football player at best. Houston got bad news before the game started when Jadeveon Clowney was a last minute scratch despite having warmed up on the field prior to the game. I don't think there's any way he won't be in the lineup next week at Tennessee. Besides Swearinger there was a list of bad performances in the second half of the game starting with Whitney Mercilus who seemed to be the focus of every bad play Houston made. Brian Cushing was shown up as slow in coverage and then there's Swearinger. Houston needs help, more help than Clowney can bring but he should help. Thank God Tennessee isn't all that good because Houston isn't either it seems and it's a game Houston SHOULD win. That is unless they give away the game like they did last night.

[eagle eye]

The football gods giveth and they taketh away. This week it's the return of the #1 pick in this year's draft Jadeveon Clowney is 99.9% sure he'll be playing against the Tennessee Titans Sunday in Nashville. That's the giveth part. The taketh away is the loss of at least one week of LB Brian Cushing who is having swelling in his knee. It was apparent that Cush wasn't himself against the Steelers Monday night and now we know why. This could actually wrong because Bill O'Brien said today that Cushing is 'day-to-day' and he will travel with the team to Nashville. I would rather Houston hold him out and give a an opportunity to get healthy, or as healthy as he can be during the season. Getting Clowney back should help offset the loss of Cushing but Houston needs him on the field. Am I wrong to wish it was Whitney Mercilus who has the swollen knee and not Cushing? If Cushing is out the likely replacement will veteran LB Justin Tuggle with Akeen Dent and Mike Mohamed in the mix as well.

[eagle eye]

Texans should be Tennessee. All the cards stack up for Houston. Better run game and a better quarterback (yeah, I said it. Ryan Fitzpatrick SHOULD be better than rookie Zack Mettenberger making his first NFL start) and at least a comparable defense. The difference maker of course is JJ Watt. Epic is the impact he's had this season and I would venture to say he's been better than his MVP season two years ago. Houston won't have Brian Cushing, or they shouldn't have him. It's been quite clear he isn't himself and Houston still has a shot at the division if they can string together some wins. Long term the Texans would be much better served by giving Cush a chance to heal and get back to the player he can be. Or at least a close proximity which is better than most player's best. It would be time for Jadeveon Clowney to get into the mix and prove the Texans right for using that No 1 pick on him back in May. Having an impact pass rusher to compliment Watt would be a huge boost in the Texans pass rush which would help the secondary out a bunch. Aside from Cushing the Texans are healthy. The advantage will be taking advantage of Mettenberger's rookie-ness. It's time for Houston to bring to a halt the current 3 game losing streak. This ain't 2013 and there's no time like the present. A road game against a division opponent and two games out of first in the division. If Houston wins and Indy loses to Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh we're one game out. This season isn't over yet and I, for one, won't give up on Houston. God help me, I still believe Ryan Fitzpatrick can get us on the winning path. The Texans just need to stop shooting themselves in the foot like they did in Pittsburgh last Monday. Final score?

Houston 27 Tennessee 19

[eagle eye]

Houston got off the losing train and they dominated doing it. 30-17 is pretty much domination. Arian Foster was his usual self gaining 151 yards on only 20 carries with 2 TDs. He added 4 catches for 22 yards and another TD. Ryan Fitzpatrick dinked and dunked his way to 227 yards on 19 completions in 35 attempts. DeAndre Hopkins getting the most yards (95) and Andre Johnson the most catches (7) with a total of 5 different receivers none catching less than 4 passes. The great thing was there were zero turnovers. The offense was efficient, almost surgical. It was the type of game I envisioned Houston playing week in and week out before the season began.
The defense was tough as well. They harassed rookie Zack Mettenberger into an interception and several bad passes. They did allow Mettenberger to throw for 299 yards and 2 scores but they did hold them to only the 17 points. The Texans only allowed 36 yards rushing on the day with Bishop Sankey getting the most carries, 9, for a mere 35 yards. JJ Watt was his usual badass self as he recorded 2 sacks, a batted pass he nearly picked off and forced fumble. Jadeveon Clowney played in his first game since opening week against Washington. He played mostly on passing downs and he ended up with only one tackle but at least he got out there. It may take a couple of weeks to get into game shape but it was nice to see him back on the field.

Houston has evened up their record now they sit at 4-4 on the season but they have a really stern test this week when Philadelphia comes to town. The Texans got the scenario I posted last week. They got a win in Tennessee and Colts got dismantled by Pittsburgh which means Houston is only one game out of first place in the AFC South. Houston now needs to to start stringing together some wins and they could very well do that vs an Eagles team that is sort of struggling right now. Good defense, a good running game and an effective controlled passing game with no turnovers is the recipe lets hope Houston can follow it.

[eagle eye]

Houston added some linebacker depth today by signing former Texan Zac Diles.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Former-Texan-Zac-Diles-returns-to-team/cb51adb0-348f-4bc7-b2e4-ecba3d9cdf90

The Texans will get to see more familiar faces Sunday at Reliant, uh I mean NRG Stadium. Sunday will see the return of former Texans Connor Barwin and DeMeco Ryans but they won't be wearing familiar unis. Now they are mainstays in the Philadelphia Eagles defense and they will be looking to reek havoc in Houston's backfield.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/DeMeco-Ryans-Connor-Barwin-return-to-NRG/8fab8b05-3c25-45ae-97ef-46302acfc157

[eagle eye]

Houston will have challenge they haven't faced so far in 2014 and that is an uptempo, get after it offense. Chip Kelly and his high octane offense are coming to town this week and Houston better have their big boy pants on or the Eagles will run them right out of NRG Stadium. It's a good thing Jadeveon Clowney got a game in under his belt last week. He should get more snaps this week and his athleticism will be much needed. I think the Texans offense can have some success against the Philly defense because they rely on an old school running game and an emerging passing game. Philly may be a little beat up after a very physical game against the Cardinals last week and the fact they have two long road trips in a row cannot be forgotten. Houston showed the ability to effectively pass the ball to a lot of different receivers and it may not be a bad strategy to play an uptempo offense of their own to try to wear down the Eagles early. As a Texans fan I am hoping that Houston discovered something in Tennessee last week that carries over this week and the weeks to come. It's something that remains to be seen. Heavy doses of Arian Foster and JJ Watt will give Houston a chance to win especially if the offense can keep the Philly offense on the sideline as spectators.

Nose tackle Ryan Pickett will play his 200th NFL game this week against the Eagles. Sounds like a nice extra motivation to stuff RB LeSean McCoy squash QB NIck Foles as a nice anniversary selfie gift. The 6'2" 340 DT will be a load to run around in the middle of the Texans line. It would be nice to see the big guy twist off on the Eagles.

In the spirit of Halloween this item from Texans.com was a bit of a hoot. Alfred Blue, Travis Labhart, Andre Hal and Jay Prosch dressed up as a group of super heroes for an event called TORO's Kids Club Cookies and Rookies. These players and the Texans cheerleaders joined about 100 kids at the Methodist Training Center for some holiday fun.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/BWTB-Super-Rookies/03e39d8b-ed66-4b90-b702-c59ae9e88117

[eagle eye]

I mentioned in an earlier post that former Texans DeMico Ryans and Connor Barwin along with 5 other former Texans will be coming back to the familiar digs at NRG Stadium but they come here as members of the Philadelphia Eagles. I was shocked that Houston let Ryans go. He was a mainstay on the defense in Houston and team captain. Now Ryans is a team captain in Philly and is also the leading tackler on the team. The loss of Ryans and Connor Barwin helped delute the talent of the Texans defense and along with the loss of Brian Cushing contributed mightily to the 2-14 season Houston had last year. Barwin was a 2nd round pick in 2009 and he was a good, solid player for Houston that Houston felt they could do without. I disagreed about that too. Unfortunately, I don't have a dog in that fight as far as the Texans brass is concerned. I miss Ryans and Barwin as part of the Texans team. If Houston could've, or would've, found a way to keep them how good could this defense be with what we've added. Right now, I would trade Whitney Mercilus for Connor Barwin in a heartbeat.

I was listening to 97.5 yesterday and A J Hoffman on The Blitz was in a discussion with a guest about the betting line this week in the Houston-Philly game and Hoffman was his usual negative self stating that he didn't think Houston had enough talent to even keep the game close against the Eagles. He was taking the Eagles and the points because he has zero faith in the Texans chances. Houston isn't that bad and they sure don't deserve the negativity that Hoffman and Fred Faour heap on the Texans. Did they not notice the Texans are 4-4 rather than -0-8 which is what they seem to feel is what they are? With basketball season under way now they can stop bashing the Astros and start ripping on the Rockets. That is just what Hoffman and Faour do.

Here is an article from Texans.com about 5 things we need to be watching this week when Houston hosts the Eagles by Texans beat writer Drew Dougherty.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/5-Things-to-Watch-Texans-vs-Eagles/56b19666-4674-4b9a-b019-61eeeea7c0d9

[eagle eye]

That whole 'football gods giveth and taketh' thing from an earlier post is just what seems to have reared it's ugly head. It was learned yesterday that Clowney was listed on the Friday official injury report as "questionable" due to a knee injury and an illness. It isn't known if something in the knee he tore his meniscus that caused him to miss six weeks of play was the knee that he had a problem with. When asked about Clowney's status this week Bill O'Brien said, "I don't know, I wouldn't say it looks very good for him playing Sunday.". O'Brien added that Jadeveon will be checked out again today and he will ultimately be a game time decision.

That's the taketh away part. The giveth part is that LB Brian Cushing may be able to play Sunday. Cushing returned to practice Friday for the first time in two weeks and Bill O'Brien said, “It looked like he was moving around pretty good today so we’ll have to see how he’s doing this afternoon with a little bit more treatment,” O’Brien said. “We’ll touch base with him tomorrow and see how it feels in the morning.”

In a perfect world both Clowney and Cushing will play and play well but that's just me dreaming. If Clowney's knee is going to be a problem I would rather they just shut him down until he's 100%. I don't believe you can surgically repair a meniscus, in fact I just looked it up on WebMD and surgery is a last resort and may not work anyway. Rest is the only realiable medicine for a meniscus tear. If the inflammation is in that knee he may have to deal with issues his entire career. But, there's no use worrying about that now. Clowney is young, he's a rookie and his potential is too high to believe anything bad will happen to him. I'm a glass-half-full guy so let's rub some dirt of it and take a lap and get in the game because it's going to be okay!

[eagle eye]

Houston is going to be without to important cogs in their defensive machine. Jadeveon Clowney is out with a knee issue and Brian Cushing is out as well as he has a bum knee too. This is a problem for a defense who pretty much has to saddle up JJ Watt every week and ride on his back. Houston has some decent players on defense and it ain't like Cushing or Clowney have been in the lineup all season. They know how to play with what they have. It would seem about time Brian Cushing caught a break with all this knee business. He's a good player and good dude and he really deserves better than he's gotten. The Texans have to be getting a little frustrated with Jadeveon. He's played in 5 quarters this season so far and that ain't enough for the #1 pick in the freaking draft. That's okay. He'll be back, they both will and maybe it will be after Houston's bye next week. This defense could use a break. But, they have a day ahead of them today. Philadelphia is no slouch and they have to be feeling a little salty after losing to Arizona last week. But, the one thing we have is a run game. Arian Foster can do well against these Eagles and Fitzpatrick can too if he stays away from throwing picks like he did last week in Tennessee. The Texans will have to deal with an Eagle team that likes to blitz but they have the personnel to make them pay if they do. The Eagles are on the road for 2nd week in a row and they were long road trips. Arizona is physical team as is Houston. Home field means something in Houston and despite the nay-sayers on the The Blitz radio show I think the 4-4 Texans have more than a shot at the 5-2 Eagles. So much so that I believe I, and a lot of other Texans fans, will be happy campers come about 3:15 today. Final score?

Houston 26 Philadelphia 24

[eagle eye]

The Texans could have beaten the Eagles. No, check that, they should've beaten the Eagles. They knock the starting QB out of the game and possibly the season with a broken collar bone. They won the turnover battle 4-1 including a pick-six by CB AJ Bouye. Didn't matter because Houston couldn't contain LeSean McCoy or Jeremy Maclin both of whom had 100+ yards rushing and receiving respectively with Maclin scoring 2 TDs. Marc Sanchez played better than anyone could expect and Fitz just was the next best thing to mediocre. He was so bad that backup Ryan Mallett tweeted that he was ready to start right now. He pulled the tweet later that evening but the message seems clear. Some of the team is tired of Fitzpatrick's inconsistancy. DeAndre Hopkins got his 3rd career 100 yard game to which I say, "Big Whoop", some receivers have 3 or more 100 yard games this season. Houston is clutching at straws to find a silver lining to the so-so play of their QB. I have to admit that Fitz is the thing holding this offense back and it was clearly on display yesterday. I would be all for making the switch to Ryan Mallett after this week's bye. Houston is 4-5 now and they would be lucky to be a .500 club by season's end with Fitzpatrick under center. Some folks may be happy with a .500 record after last year. The Texans would certainly be ahead of the expectations of many of the NFL pundits around the league but Houston is better than that. They do keep making stupid mistakes that invariably bite them in the backside. They need to show better discipline than they have. They played a mistake free game last week against Tennessee and they won going away. But, in most games they didn't and they lost most of those games. The bye is here and it comes at just the right time. Arian Foster tweeked his groin late in yesterday's game so he and Jadeveon Clowney and Brian Cushing get an extra week to heal. In two week Houston comes back, hopefully a lot healthier, to face Cleveland on the road. It won't be an easy game but Houston can and should win, if they are healthy and hopefully with a new signal caller.

[eagle eye]

Well, they did it. In an earlier post I said that this bye week was a good opportunity to make the change at QB. What do you think happened today? I'll bet you know already but just in case you didn't here it is. Ryan Fitzpatrick is now the backup QB for the Texans and the other Ryan, Mallett, is now the starter. Bill O'Brien said in the press conference today that this isn't just a one game tryout. Mallett is likely going to get the rest of the season to show if he was worth all the hype. If he is he may be considered one of the best values for a sixth round draft pick, which is what Houston gave up to New England for him, ever. If not then Bill O'Brien and Ryan Mallett may be run out of Houston on a rail. Here's one item of hope. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick. Mallett is from the SEC (Arkansas) and he learned under Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and, yes, Bill O'Brien in New England for 3 years. At 26 years of age he could be ready to step into this role and be ready to go. That's what Bill O'Brien and the Texans want and that's what Texans fans hope will happen.

[eagle eye]

Andre Johnson had enough drama in Houston? This week he tweeted that he just needed to find an island some place. Hope Dre gets a nice week of rest so he can come back recharged. This team isn't as bad as their 4-5 record would indicate. What Bill O'Brien referenced in his press conference announcing the change at QB was that he felt that Ryan Mallett gave the Texans a better chance to win. Whether that comes to fruition or not remains to be seen but it's pretty much a fact that Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn't getting it done. He wasn't bad, he just wasn't all that good either. Mallett is O'Brien's guy. He wanted him because he knew him from his days at New England. He sees talent there. He's the kind of pocket passer that O'Brien likes in the mold of Tom Brady. So, Dre needs to get with the program and give the kid a chance and earn his freaking money. It's not like the Texans season is lost. They still have a shot at the playoffs and if Mallett is as good as many feel he is, that chance just got better. The Texans website always has an article about 5 Things to Watch well, IMO the other thing to watch is whether or not Mallett is the real deal. That and whether or not Jadeveon Clowney and Brian Cushing get back on the field next week. So, I guess that's 2 things to watch.

[eagle eye]

The Texans got back to work today after a much needed week off. They are starting their stretch run with a tough road game vs the AFC North leading Cleveland Browns. Be serious now, how many of you thought "AFC North leading" and "Cleveland Browns" would be in the same sentence? But, it's true after the Pittsburgh Steelers inexplicably lost to the New York Jets yesterday. That HAS to be the upset of the week. Houston will be in the elements facing the aftermath of a strong winter storm that will affect us in the Golden Triangle this week. They will have to deal with the strong wind coming off Lake Erie as well as the Browns stout defense. I guess there's no reason to shed any tears of self pity. Strap it up and let's go.

The Texans already know they will be without CB Kareem Jackson is all but ruled out of this week's game. We will need to keep and eye on a handful of players who have been nursing injuries through this bye week. Arian Foster (groin), Jadeveon Clowney (knee), Brian Cushing (knee), and Darryl Morris (ankle) are players who we have to question their status this week. CB Jonathan Joseph was cleared to practice after passing the NFL concussion protocols and he was on the field today. So, there's that anyway.

It is a healthy sign that instead of taking the week and the weekend off new starting QB Ryan Mallett was at the Texans practice facility working to get ready for his first start in the NFL in the regular season. In his fourth season in the NFL Mallett has had the opportunity to learn how to be an NFL QB from one of the best, Tom Brady. Learning in the Patriot way under Bill Belichick and, for one year, Bill O'Brien who was the offensive coordinator in New England before accepting the head coaching position at Penn State. Mallett was a guy Bill O'Brien wanted and he eventually got him just before the season began in a trade with the Patriots and all they had to give for him was a late round draft pick. If Mallett turns out to be what Houston hopes it will be a heckuva return on a minimal investment. This weekend is the first step in the Ryan Mallett Experiment.

[eagle eye]

This the Texans don't get any publicity. That may be somewhat true to some extent but JJ Watt helping to shine a light on Houston by making adding to his legend. In this short article from Texans.com Watt is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine with pictures of the covers.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/JJ-Watt-featured-on-Sports-Illustrated-and-ESPN-The-Magazine-covers/11c8d3c5-06ab-48bc-9f3c-b9454c664efe

In a BWTB (Breakfast With The Bulls) article in Texans.com beat writer Eric Saninocencio looks at the fortunes of other NFL QBs who took over the starting jobs mid season like Ryan Mallett will do this week against the Cleveland Browns.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/BWTB-Mallett-and-the-history-of-mid-season-starters/18adb7ec-a49c-4ada-b2fd-25230b2f185b

[eagle eye]

I don't know how but I just figured out that today's game vs the Browns has an underlying story line. It's really not that big a deal but if you look at how well that Brian Hoyer has been playing, after all his Browns lead the AFC North with a 6-3 record, and the first ever NFL regular season start of Ryan Mallett I suppose it bears mentioning that these two guys are both born of the same mother, so to speak. What? That's right, both Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer began their careers as New England Patriots. Both learned how to be NFL QBs under the great Tom Brady and learned the right way to go about becoming NFL players under the great Bill Belichick. I don't mind giving Brady props because the guy is good but Belicheat I still have my doubts but you can't deny the success the Pats have had. Hoyer has had a stumble or two this season but by and large the Browns have been so pleased with his play Johnny Manziel has gone from Johnny Football to Johnny Who. It is an interesting story line I'd say and don't we hope Mallett is as good as Hoyer has been?
Houston is going to be severely handicapped going into this game. On a cold day you'd like to have one of the best RBs in the league to lean on but it won't happen today as Texans head man Bill O'Brien told the media yesterday Arian Foster is out still nursing an injured groin from the Philly game two weeks ago. So, the Texans will try to lean on Alfred Blue. What the Texans are really hoping is that Mallett will make their passing game click. The Browns defense won't make that task as simple as when you say it. Those guys are good. The good thing is both Jadeveon Clowney and Brian Cushing will be back on the field. It's going to be a good game I think but unfortunately I think the Texans have too tall a hill to climb this week. I hate to say it but.......the final score?

Cleveland 24 Houston 10

[eagle eye]

Houston did it. I didn't think they could and I stand happily corrected. For his first start in the NFL 4th year man Ryan Mallett did a good job. He spread the ball around and he even got his first TD pass as a pro. What's memorable about it will be it was to DE JJ Watt who made a heckuva catch to score his fourth TD of the season. Watt's 4 TDs ties a record for TDs for defensive lineman set by somebody I never heard of who did it before I was even born.
Watt had a Watt kind of day. Besides his TD catch he forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and recorded a sack, his 9th of the season. In short he seemed to be everywhere and the Browns will probably have nightmares about Watt for a few days. Watt wasn't perfect though as he was flagged twice for roughing the kicker trying block punts. The second one gave the Browns new life and they scored on the drive kept alive by Watt.
The win evens their season record at 5-5 which is only one game behind the 6-4 Indianapolis Colts who got pounded by the New England Patriots. The switch to Mallett seems to have given the Texans a spark but we'll have to see if it's a one hit wonder like Case Keenum brought to last year. The difference was Keenum's Texans lost despite the spark he brought to the team and Mallett is a more NFL ready QB that Keenum will probably ever be. We'll see if Houston can duplicate, or better, yesterday's performance when they come back to NRG Stadium to play Cincinnati.

[eagle eye]

The Texans will have to wait and see if Arian Foster is in the lineup this week as he is still battling a groin injury suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles 3 weeks ago. If Foster can't go the job will again fall on Alfred Blue. Blue did a nice job against Cleveland last week gaining 159 yards on the ground to help ease the burden of first time starter Ryan Mallett.
An interesting sidebar here is if Blue is the main ball carrier he will be facing off against his old LSU teammate Jeremy Hill who is starting in place of Giovanni Bernard, who is also nursing a groin injury, for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Texans host Cincinnati this week and you wonder who the heck will show up for the Bengals. The crappy Bengals who lost to Cleveland two weeks ago or the good Bengals who beat the Saints in New Orleans last week. I think we all hope the crappy Bengals show up. Just like we all hope Jacksonville finally puts it together and beats the Colts in Indy. If all that happens Houston and Indy will be tied for the division lead at 6-5. Shoot, a guy can dream can't he?

A little Football 101 comes from Texans analyst John Harris. Most of you guys already know this stuff but it may help you explain it to someone else.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/BWTB-Explaining-coverages/b24b6a72-e15c-4069-8f65-e20bcca6eed7

[eagle eye]

I'm sitting here at my house watching the Lamar-Indiana game (we're not doing bad so far --- down 10 with about 7 minutes left in the 1st half) when I got a feeling that I just had to get down. Houston is going to win tomorrow. I can't tell you for sure how or why but I do know that Houston seems to be kryptonite to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are missing their best defensive player in Vontase Berfect and they haven't been consistent all season. I guess that's why they are 6-3-1. It will be the 2nd week in a row that Houston will play the AFC North division leader. Last week it was Cleveland in Cleveland and Houston pretty much opened up a can of whup-ass on the Browns.
Now, I'm not saying we are going to put a smack-down on the Bengals but every week Jadeveon Clowney gets into better game shape and gets a little closer to being the impact player he was supposed to be when he was drafted. JJ is JJ and enough said about that. The linebackers are playing well and especially in the case of Brian Cushing they are healthy. Or as healthy as players can be at this time of the season. The DBs are playing pretty well too. On the offensive side of the ball we are healthy except for Foster but in his debut last week Ryan Mallett sure looked like a guy who was ready, willing and able to lead an NFL team. He made good decisions, he was pretty accurate passing the ball and the road crowd didn't seem too big for him to handle. Bill O'Brien may have been right, that Mallett gives Houston the best chance to win games. I like our team and I like them against the Bengals. Shoot, in a perfect world Jacksonville will upset the Colts at home and Houston takes care of business vs Cincy and by 3:30 tomorrow afternoon Houston will be tied for 1st place in the AFC South with the Colts with identical 6-5 records. I may be a glass 3/4 full guy here but the final score?

Houston 27 Cincinnati 20

[eagle eye]

Looks like Andy Dalton found immunity from kryptonite because, while he wasn't great he did enough to lead his Bengals over the Texans. I don't think it was a beat down by the Bengals so much as a missed opportunity by the Texans. As solid as Ryan Mallett was against the Browns last week. He was high and behind to most of the receivers he threw to and that was the real difference in the game. Houston couldn't sustain drives and the only real drive they put together was late in the 4th qtr when the game was out of reach. The Texans managed only 2 field goals on offense. Their lone TD came on a 60 yd interception by Jonathan Joseph in the 3rd qtr. After that and a 25 yd field goal by Randy Bullock actually got Houston within 3 at 16-13. But, Cincy was able to get a couple of 4th qtr field goals of their own to stretch the lead to 22-13 and that's how it ended up. It's hard to believe Mallett was so off and he was never able to right the ship.
So now Houston is a game under .500 and two behind the Colts for the division lead. They have 5 games left to try to make a run at the playoffs but if Mallet plays like he did yesterday Houston has no shot.

[eagle eye]

Well, now I got the reason why Ryan Mallett had such a bad game yesterday. The news just came out today and lo and behold Mallett tore a pectoral muscle during warmups before the game. He played the whole game likely in a lot of pain. Now neither he nor the Texans will have to worry about his pain for the rest of the season because he season is over. Ryan wanted to play despite the pain in his chest because he was finally getting his chance to start after a 4 year apprenticeship. He didn't want to come out. Ironically, he should have been benched because of the bad game he ultimately had. Now it's going to be Ryan Fitzpatrick down the stretch with Tom Savage backing him up.
It's too bad for Mallett, you gotta feel for the guy who bided his time, paid his dues, waited for his chance and after two games his season is done.

One good thing is that Arian Foster should be back in the lineup next week to face Tennessee.

[eagle eye]

Houston will have the other Ryan, Fitzpatrick under center for the remainder of the season barring injury. That's okay. They were one game under .500 when Mallett replaced him two games ago and that's where Houston stands right now. They were two game behind the Colts two weeks ago and darned if they are 2 games back now. It's kind of like a no harm-no foul situation.

The Texans placed Ryan Mallett on injured reserve to officially end his 2014 season. In a rather surprising move the Texans signed veteran QB Thad Lewis who is in his 4th year out of Duke. The following article gives some details about Lewis and his connection to Bill O'Brien. There's also a practice video of Lewis and Arian Foster at practice.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/QB-Thad-Lewis-reunited-with-Bill-OBrien/9deb7fbe-80b0-4233-8108-9062a04b803f

As for Fitz, he shaved his beard. Not completely but he doesn't look like Grizzly Adams any more.

[eagle eye]

It was reported today that Arian Foster will be back in the lineup after missing several weeks due to a groin injury suffered against the Eagles.

Jadeveon Clowney, on the other hand, is out because of swelling and discomfort in the knee he had surgery on after the Washington game in Week 1. Bill O'Brien said this week that Jadeveon's situation amounts to bad luck both for Clowney and the Texans. It certainly isn't what Houston was hoping for when they drafted him with the first overall pick in this year's draft.

Cornerback Kareem Jackson will miss this week's game with a knee injury. Everyone else is slated to play which is actually pretty good for this time of year.

Houston is hosting the 2-9 Tennessee Titans at noon Sunday. For the 5-6 Texans this is a winnable game in a "must win" situation if they want to keep their hopes alive for the playoffs. They are relatively healthy and they are at home which should be enough of an advantage for Houston to even their record to 6-6. Unfortunately, the Texans probably won't get much help this week as Indianapolis hosts the Washington Redskins. The Redskins have decided to replace RGIII as the starting QB and give Colt McCoy another shot as the starter. In his first stint he worked a game and a half and led the Redskins to 2 of their 3 wins. RGIII has been really bad in his play in 2014 and it was obvious something had to change and McCoy has support inside the Redskins locker room. Maybe Colt can do what he did in Week 8 by going into Dallas on a Monday night and leading the Redskins to an upset of the Cowboys. I'm sure the ex-Texas Longhorn has plenty of fans in the Houston locker room this week.

[eagle eye]

I'm here on Saturday night thinking I'll just get this out of the way and tomorrow I can just sit back and enjoy some NFL football tomorrow. (How I love NFL Sunday Ticket!) Of course the featured game and the one with the most hype will be the Patriots at Green Bay. If the weather isn't a factor, you know colder than a well digger's backside or snowing like crazy or raining that frozen tundra rain they get in Wisconsin then it should be a good game. I'll certainly be watching because I will have Eddie Lacy on one side and Brandon LaFell on the other in my fantasy leagues but it should be a fun game to see. But we're not here to talk about the freaking Packers and Patriots are we?
Sorry, I got a little off topic but I'm back now. The Texans are the order of the day and the order is to win tomorrow. IMO it's a must win game as I've said before. The Texans have been playing pretty good defense the last couple of weeks, certainly good enough to win both games in Houston's two week battle with the state of Ohio. It wasn't until after the fact, that fact being a loss to Cincinnati, that we found out why Ryan Mallett was so bad in the game. It was because he suffered a torn Pec muscle in pre-game warmups. The fact his he probably hurt it the previous week against Cleveland but it was only a partial tear and he managed to finish the job in pre-game. Gotta give the guy credit though. Tearing your pec has to hurt and if it's as painful a tearing a rotator cuff, which I have done, he needs to be given toughness credit for gutting out playing last week. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the man in the hot seat now. He needs to be more consistant and IMO more aggressive this time around as the starter. Some of that aggressiveness could be play calling but whatever the reason he needs to push the ball down the field much like Mallett did. It will help having Arian Foster back giving the Texans a real nice one-two punch with Alfred Blue earning some carries after playing pretty well the last few weeks while Foster was out. The Texans are home, they are playing their division rivals. A team, by the way, that abandoned Houston over a decade ago, (Oiler fans will NEVER forget or forgive the evil Bud Adams) and the Texans are just plain better than Tennessee. All reasons enough for Houston to plant a big ole size 14 boot up their collective behinds. I really believe the Texans will do it too. Final score?

Houston 31 Tennessee 13

PS Houston has to hold up the state of Texas tomorrow because Lord knows Dallas didn't on Thursday!

[eagle eye]

The Texans are enjoying a week where JJ Watt is doing a fashion show and basking in the glow of a totally dominating win over another NFL team. It's been a while since that happened.

Among the basking I mentioned above is the Offensive Player of the Week award and, no, it wasn't Watt. It was none other than QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on the strength of the six, count em, six TD passes he threw. That six TD passes, by the way, is a franchise record. Fitz was 24-33 for 358 yds, the six TDs and ZERO picks. The Texans converted another franchise record 11 3rd downs and Fitz had a career high 147.5 passer rating. Pretty sweet.

For some Texans, one in particular, there wasn't much basking. Rookie LB Max Bullough was placed on season ending IR with a hamstring issue. Bullough was finally active for the first time this season and he messed up his hammy during the Titans game. To fill his roster spot the Texans promoted practice squad player tight end Anthony Denham. It is believed he was brought up as a precaution because of an injury to Garrett Graham's ankle last Sunday. Denham may be active as soon as this Sunday against Jacksonville. To fill Denham's spot on the practice squad Houston signed rookie WR Jace Davis a 6'1"/206 lb player from Northern Colorado. (Who says small school guys don't get a shot in the NFL?)

Heck, not only do the Texans get to enjoy a week as a winner it looks like they will get the opportunity to bask again next week as they square off against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. Houston does have to travel to Florida but honestly, if Houston's defense keeps playing the way it has, I don't see any possibility for a Jaguars win. (I'm knocking on wood here so I don't jinx the Texans!) Just as I believed that Houston is just a better team than Tennessee last week I feel the same about Jacksonville.

Houston has a pretty darn favorable schedule going forward. 2 games against Jacksonville should be 2 wins we can count on. A tough road game against the Colts but Houston's defense can harass the heck out of Andrew Luck and if the offense clicks like it did last week Houston can win that game. The other game is against Baltimore in Houston and frankly I don't like the Ravens, Joe Flacco in particular. Again, I believe that Houston's defense is going to cause the Ravens problems. So, projecting that Houston goes 4-0 in December they would end up 10-6 on the season and at least be in the discussion for a playoff spot. Take that Fred and AJ. You guys both said Houston would be lucky to win 6 games. Ha! Here we are talking about at least 8 with games against the Jags!

[eagle eye]

The best thing didn't happen in 2014 for Jadeveon Clowney. In Week 1 he messed up his knee in the first half of the game against Washington and next thing you know he's had arthroscopic surgery on that knee. He missed six games and upon his return his knee flared up and he got the flu which kept him out of a game. After a 2-3 week struggle to get back on the field his season is now done. Clowney will require a second surgery on the same knee and there's no way he can make it back after that. It sucks for Clowney and it sucks for Houston who didn't envision Clowney's rookie season coming after they made him the first over all pick in the NFL draft. Disappointed probably doesn't cover it.

One bright spot for Houston is that when they play the Baltimore Ravens in 3 weeks they won't have to deal with All Pro nose tackle Haloti Ngata. Ngata was suspended for violating the NFL substance abuse program for the last 4 games of the season. Ngata admitted using adderal which is sort of an old school type of PHD. Ngata has apologized to teammates, coaches and fans for his suspension but it rings a little hollow as Baltimore is in a dogfight within their division for a playoff spot. The Ravens run defense has been porous this season and losing their main man in the middle isn't going to help the Ravens one bit. As a Texans fan all I can say is---SWEET!

Sunday's game against the Jags won't be easy. Division games are one thing but division games on the road is taking hard to the next level. Houston is in good shape injury wise and with Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Houston offense displaying an aggressiveness they really hadn't before last Sunday against Jacksonville things look pretty good. Aside from losing Clowney, Houston was missing TE Garrett Graham, CB Jonathan Joseph and S Danieal Manning from yesterday's practice. There were a slew of guys listed as limited but looking at the list I feel like a lot of guys got some veteran day off type of treatment.

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

ILB Brian Cushing (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/brian-cushing/6807ee1b-2f18-4c4c-bbaa-17c0ed9f0635/) Knee
TE Anthony Denham (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/anthony-denham/18d6d5f8-dd23-420f-9009-5e08e9314102/) Illness
ILB Akeem Dent (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/akeem-dent/3e8bea1c-799d-4fca-8e20-5ae7ec336437/) Neck
RB Arian Foster (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/arian-foster/723e6c0c-f534-4b7e-a392-bb3bd6b17e3c/) Groin
CB Kareem Jackson (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/kareem-jackson/9b2f316d-0327-4b82-946d-cb503138851b/) Knee
WR Andre Johnson (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/andre-johnson/7678fd27-7805-43d1-b038-76fc00bdfac7/) Not Injury Related
P Shane Lechler (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/shane-lechler/a780939c-c88d-4b15-8f6a-a57fd1f7106e/) Biceps
NT Ryan Pickett (http://www.bigredinsider.com/team/roster/ryan-pickett/76247d9c-a302-4a87-ad30-321490becb94/) Back

(list from Texans.com)

[eagle eye]

Houston is playing Jacksonville in Jacksonville. It's going to be cloudy and cool with the same norther affecting their weather the same as it affected us yesterday. Windy for sure but the thing is, Houston is going to depend on their run game. Arian Foster and Alfred Blue are going to be counted on to lead the Texans charge today. That's okay, that's who Houston is. Throw in some passes to the NFL's #1 receiving duo Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins. That's not me with a homer's bluster, it was reported earlier this week on NFL.com. I can't tell you how important it has been for Hopkins to step up in his second year and it adds an important dimension to the Texans attack. Jacksonville is not a very good team but they play hard and they don't give up as evidenced by their come from behind win over the NY Giants last week. It was a nice win for them but it IS the Giants and they aren't very good this year. Houston is good, better than most give them credit for. I know you are going to say, "well didn't Houston lose to those Giants?" and I would have to say yes they did but it was early in the season and neither team is the same as they were then. Houston should have won but no Arian and Ryan Fitzpatrick had a lousy game and all that adds up to no offense which equaled a loss. Houston is again on the east coast but Fitz seems to have found another gear in his game and we are hoping he doesn't down shift. Let's hope he stays aggressive and willing to take his shots down field. The defense is playing really well so I am confident that our Texans will go above .500 and stay on point in their chase to catch Indianapolis in the AFC South race. Just like they took care of business against Tennessee last week I feel they will do the same today. Final score?

Houston 30 Jacksonville 17

[eagle eye]

Houston took care of business today but it wasn't as easy as the 27-13 final score might seem. The Jags actually took a 13-10 lead into halftime but the Texans defense made some nice adjustments and shut the door on the Jags in the 2nd half. Nice but not unexpected win. It's going to be an uphill climb to the end of the season and, as the TV commentators rightly pointed out, Houston needs to win out to have a shot at the playoffs. Here's the AFC playoff situation as it sits right now with the Pats and Chargers game over (Pats won).

Division Leaders
AFC East - New England - 10-3
AFC North - Cincinnati - 8-4-1
AFC West - Denver - 10-3
AFC South - Indianapolis

Wild Card Contenders
Pittsburgh - 8-5
Baltimore - 8-5
San Diego - 8-5

Miami - 7-6
Buffalo - 7-6
Cleveland - 7-6
Kansas City - 7-6
Houston - 7-6

As you can see there's a cluster bomb of teams vying for two spots. As for the AFC North all four teams could end up winning the division. THAT is a tight race. Houston is the one we are concerned about. First, it is mathematically possible for Houston to win their division. No kidding. They play Indy next week in Indy. If they can manage to beat them Houston would be one game back for the division lead. Then, Houston would be the Dallas Cowboys biggest fans as Indy plays them the following week. While that game is in progress Houston hosts Baltimore. Now the division picture would be a little rosier if Cleveland hadn't blown a two score lead in the 4th quarter and let Indianapolis win. This was like the fourth week in a row Brian Hoyer looked like dog doodoo. The final score was 25-24 but 14 of those points came from the defense. Cleveland pretty much shut down Indy all game except for the final game winning drive as the Browns allowed Indy to go 90 yards in 11 plays scoring the winning TD with :32 left in the game. (Insert curse words here directed at whoever you want.) So, it's pretty clear Houston has all kinds of shots but not if they don't win and it all starts in Indianapolis next week. Houston fell to Indy on Oct 9 33-28 at home so we know Houston can get it done. Indy had looked strong ever since a Week 11 smackdown by New England until today's dogfight with the Browns. It's going to be interesting and should be a nerve-wracking, fun filled ride.

[eagle eye]

Think this trip to Indianapolis this coming Sunday isn't important to the Texans? All you have to do is listen to the head coaches comments in today's presser on Texans.com.

http://www.houstontexans.com/tv-media/videos/OBrien-This-is-a-playoff-game/e9c83457-bf2c-4543-835e-bd8be68ba1e4

Andre Johnson is being considered day-to-day as he goes through the NFL concussion protocols after taking a rather cheap shot inside the 5 yard line in Jacksonville Sunday. Hopefully, Johnson will be back in time to travel to the House of Luck and help the Texans win that "playoff" game Coach O'Brien talked about. If Johnson can't go then Keshawn Martin and/or Demaris Johnson has to step up their game if Houston hopes to beat Indy.

[eagle eye]

The Texans and Jadeveon Clowney got some really bad news yesterday, or rather, they released some bad news yesterday. I seems that Clowney has had to undergo microfracture knee surgery. This is maybe the most devastating surgery a person has to go through, especially and athlete. The surgery Clowney had in September on the same knee was both and Texans and Clowney's hope that the knee would respond well to that surgery but despite all their hopes it did not solve the problem in his knee. He continued to have issues with it and in the press release the Texans indicated that this microfracture surgery was a real possibility. Clowney injured the knee when he landed awkwardly in the first game of the season against the Redskins. Microfracture surgery is often difficult to impossible to come back from with the same speed and quickness the player had before. Anthony Spencer of the Dallas Cowboys underwent the surgery last year and he is still struggling to find the speed and quickness he had before the surgery. There are some who doubt whether Spencer will ever get back to where he was before the surgery. This is such a huge disappointment for the Texans after having spent the coveted #1 pick in the draft on Clowney especially when they also were in dire need of a quarterback. Ironically enough the Texans, or I should say Bill O'Brien, got what they wanted anyway when they made a deal for ex-Patriots backup Ryan Mallett. But after only 2 starts he was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle in his chest. Despite all this adversity it's a wonder that Houston stands a 7-6 with an outside shot at the playoffs.

[eagle eye]

The Texans needed a linebacker back in October and the player personnel department found a guy on the Raven practice squad they liked. Not only that but linebackers coach Mike Vrabel was the defensive line coach for Ohio State in this kid's junior and senior year when he was a team captain and a standout DE. Okay, I'll stop teasing you, the player's name is John Simon and he's made solid contributions for the Texans defense right from the start of his tenure in Houston. Here's an article from Texans.com about him.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/OLB-John-Simon-making-most-of-opportunities/22aebc1e-b8b4-4e73-a3f2-5a731146261d

Again, from Texans.com, there is an article about the road to recovery for OLB Jadeveon Clowney following microfracture surgery. Texans GM Rick Smith is putting the positive spin on this situation that you'd expect. You certainly would expect Smith to say, "OMG! After an injury as serious as microfracture surgery Jadeveon is royally screwed!". Rick Smith would not say anything like this but an article on NFL.com written by Kevin Petra quotes OL Gosner Cherilus, who went through the same surgery and rehab Clowney is facing, said strait up. As with anything else it's all about doing what you need to do and having the dedication and discipline to actually do it.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000442599/article/colts-ot-jadeveon-clowney-screwed-after-surgery

Here's the Thursday injury reports for Houston and Indy.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Thursday-Injury-Report-Texans-vs-Colts/c6f882ba-ef03-4b7b-9940-4fdda74a869d

[eagle eye]

Every year a player from each NFL team is voted to be the Ed Block Courage Award winner. The year that award was bestowed upon OL David Quessenberry. DQ was drafted last year and looked to have a promising career ahead of him but he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma over the summer and he has been undergoing treatment since.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/David-Quessenberry-voted-Ed-Block-Courage-winner/2d2be1de-0f86-4bc7-a405-7d5a1cefa30e

With the Colts game coming up Sunday here is an article from Texans.com from Drew Dougherty about the 5 Things to Watch in this week's game.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/5-Things-to-Watch-Texans-at-Colts/8387f2f0-143f-4b82-a806-23196388f0dd

[eagle eye]

There are 3 reasons I want Houston to win tomorrow.
1. I want Houston to win. I'm a fan and I want a team I root for to win. Simple as that.
2. I want Houston to be able to win out and have a chance to make the playoffs and it all starts against the Colts.
3. I want to listen to Fred and AJ on The Blitz on ESPN radio have to eat their words about the negative things they have said about the team all season. I want to hear a caller phone in and just rip both guys for their lack of faith in the team and blast them for not seeing the potential in the Texans. Eat Crow Suckas! They have already bested the win total that Houston was supposed to get according to the Dynamic Dipsticks. 6 wins, that's it. That's all they said Houston would get and that was if they maxed out their wins. Shame on you guys. I realize they were being honest in their assessment of the team but c'mon guys, 6 wins max? Really? For Houston to be still the playoff hunt in Week 15 is sweet. A win over the Colts would be so great on so many levels I can't even list them all.
So, there you have it. Total homer-dom at its finest. I'm all in on the Texans. The Browns gave you the formula to win. Play badass defense and you do that by pressuring Andrew Luck, stuffing the run game which doesn't scare anyone anyway. Neither Trent Richardson or Dan Herron are going to beat you and put your best CB on TY Hilton and give him help whenever possible. The offense has a better outlook than the Browns had. They have a better running game and since he came back into the starting lineup Ryan Fitzpatrick has been much better than before. Certainly better than Brian Hoyer has been for Cleveland. Even if Andre Johnson doesn't clear the NFL concussion protocols and misses the game DeAndre Hopkins has emerged at no less than the WR 1-A on the roster. Keshawn Martin, DeVier Posey and CJ Fiederowicz will need to step up. The one clear advantage Houston has is the running game. Arian Foster and Alfred Blue are the engines that drive the offensive machine. Foster is the 6th leading rusher in the NFL despite playing on only 10 games and Blue has been a pleasant surprise who gained a lot of needed experience in Foster's absense. Houston will step up and win for the first time in Indianapolis. The Texans have lost 12 straight games, one for every year of their existence in the NFL and it's high time that trend ceases. Houston is going to do it and the final score will be...................

Houston 31 Indianapolis 27

[eagle eye]

Dammit. Now you have to wonder what is going to happen the rest of the season. The saving grace is "the rest of the season" is only two games. The other saving grace is the Texans will get to have the opportunity to see what they have in Tom Savage. Don't know what I'm talking about? Okay, let me back up. Yesterday the Texans lost to the Colts in Indianapolis for the 13th time in 13 tries. To make matters worse, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was lost for the last two and a half games because of a broken leg that was injured when he scrambled for 3 yards in the 2nd quarter. Cowabunga. In came rookie QB Tom Savage who showed promise on one hand and he looked like a rookie with that deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes in the other hand. Even so, the defense did it's job even scoring the only Texan TD of the day in the first quarter on a strip sack of Andrew Luck. Early in the game it looked like Houston may finally do it but they called a game that looked like an attempt not to lose rather than win. That is without taking into account 2 4th down runs by the Texans. By the 4th quarter the game was at a manageable 14-7 when Houston moved the ball to around the Indy 20 and on 4th-and-1 Houston went for it on a pitch around the right end to Arian Foster who went the distance for the tying TD. But it was all wiped out by a holding call on WR DeVier Posey who wasn't even close to the play. Posey didn't have to hold and it cost Houston dearly. Instead, they had to settle for a Randy Bullock field goal. 14-10 is okay but getting the tie could've made things a lot different including giving Savage and the offense a boost of confidence.
You can't cry because Fitz got hurt because he and the Texans offense weren't doing that well before the injury. I'm sad because I really thought Houston could go to Indy and win that game. The Colts win clinches the AFC South for them and for all intents and purposes eliminates the Texans from the playoff race. I believe they have a mathmatical shot but the odds are slim and none with smart money on none. Going forward you hope that Houston can smooth out some rough edges to Savage's game and they can finish the season strong with home games against Baltimore and Jacksonville.

[eagle eye]

Good grief, what next? Fitz struggles and Mallett comes in. No sooner does Mallett get on the field and he tears his chest muscle. Reenter Fitz and he is rejuvinated and in his first game he tosses 6 TDs. He wins his first two games back and the third game toward the end of the 2nd quarter Fitz breaks his freaking leg of all things. Done for the season. Now, after Mallett was hurt Houston signs career backup Thad Lewis. Fine and dandy but when Fitz got hurt it was rookie QB Tom Savage that came into the game. On Monday as Houston was licking it's wounds after being edged out of the playoff picture in a close loss to Indianapolis they poached the St Louis Rams practice squad and got none other than Case Keenum. Now comes the dilemma, who is going to start? If Houston is worried about winning maybe it will be Lewis. He's a veteran who has game experience in the league. Maybe it will be Keenum who also has game experience but he was also benched twice last season too. Then there is Savage who made his NFL debut last week. He did okay but he also looked pretty rookie-ish too. Bill O'Brien has a heckuva decision to make. For my money, I think he should play Savage. It is a prime time to see just what you've got in what could be a future franchise QB while you can. Test him under fire so to speak and see what the kid is made of. It should help a lot that Andre Johnson is expected back this week from his concussion. Give the kid his shot because one thing you know for sure, Houston won't be hanging their future hopes either Lewis or Keenum.

Speaking of Andre Johnson, he was the Texans nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. A player from each NFL team receives the nomination and each nominee receives $1000 for the charity of the player's choice. The winner of the award will be announced on January 31st, 2015 at the Fourth Annual NFL Honors award show. The winner will receive an additional $20,000 for his charity. The award is given to the player who showed outstanding service to their community in the past year.

JJ Watt gets a lot of fan mail as you might expect but one in particular caused a bit of a stir. Check this out from Texans.com.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/The-7-year-old-JJ-Watt/6468e6f6-d227-47eb-a31c-eecc87a34791

[eagle eye]

Well, one thing we know, we know we don't know who will start against the Ravens on Sunday. Bill O'Brien is not leaking anything early although it doesn't look like it will be Tom Savage. Oh well, I can't help but think this game won't go well. It could be gas but I don't have much faith in the Texans right now. The cool thing is, if they jump up and beat the Ravens the surprise will be just too cool for school. I can't think of anyone I'd rather see Houston beat than Baltimore except for maybe Indy. Anyway, I think Houston will lose and I've got a premonition that it won't be pretty. The final score will be.............

Baltimore 38 Houston 13

[eagle eye]

Man, you leave town for a 4 day cruise on Thursday and all hell breaks loose! When I left it looked like a tossup between Thad Lewis, who was signed after Ryane Mallett tore his pec, and newly signed Case Keenum, home town hero who sort of got run out of town. Apparently, Bill O'Brien chose Keenum. The same Keenum who was 0-8 as a starting QB for the Texans, hell in the NFL! It makes you wonder what the coaches saw that Tom Savage wasn't even in the conversation and how bad Lewis must have looked. Or, maybe, Keenum just looked that good. Let's not get crazy here. Besides six field goals made by Randy Bullock the only TD came on pass from Arian Foster of all people. Foster added 96 yards rushing to help the Texans cause. Bill O'Brien did something that Gary Kubiak did when he was Case Keenum's head coach last season---O'Brien unleashed the NCAA all time leading passer giving him 42 attempts in the game. Keenum only completed 20 for a mere 185 yards but danged if it didn't work. The defense has been playing lights out the past six weeks. Houston could easily have had 2-3 more wins if the offense had taken advantage of the stellar play of the defense. It's kind of staggering to see what could have been for Houston if only they had consistent QB play all season.
Kudos to Andre Johnson who among his 6 grabs on the day became only the 10th player in NFL history to catch 1,000 balls.
JJ Watt didn't get an interception Sunday but he did add to his season sack total by 1 when he sacked Joe Flacco and he also picked up a roughing the passer which ain't all bad if you know what I mean. The stars of the defense on Sunday were AJ Bouye who picked off Flacco once and Kareem Jackson who picked the Flac-meister twice. Tis the season for giving after all. Kids, altogether now, "Thank you Mr Flacco!!". Not only does this throw a big ole monkey wrench in the Ravens playoff hopes it gives Houston a glimmer of a possibility for making the playoffs.
Here's how. Houston will need to beat Jacksonville at home. I think we can all agree that can happen without too much wishing. The next two things that have to happen are less likely. First Cleveland must travel to Baltimore and figure out a QB who can beat the Ravens. I think the Browns have the defense that could shut down the Ravens but the offense is severely disabled. Carolina hosted these Browns and barely escaped with a 17-13 win. The other thing is even more difficult. Houston needs the Chiefs to beat the San Diego Chargers who stole a victory in OT against the 49ers in San Fran. The Chargers will have to go to Kansas City to play the Chiefs who took one on the chin in Pittsburgh Sunday. It's weird but I am suddenly a HUGE Browns and Chiefs fan. First things first though, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FOR ALL.

[eagle eye]

It's pretty simple really only so many things have to happen for Houston to sneak into the playoffs. First and foremost, Houston will need to beat Jacksonville at NRG Stadium. Lose that game and nothing else that happens will matter as far as Houston making the playoffs. At the same time San Diego will be square off against the Chiefs in Kansas City. KC needs to win to their own playoff hopes alive the only thing is, KC's QB Alex Smith is out due to a lacerated spleen suffered against Pittsburgh last week. KC will start former Missouri QB Chase Daniel. It will be the second season in a row the Chargers and Chiefs close out the season against one another and the second season in a row that Daniel will start Week 17. Daniel lost to the Bolts last year and he's hoping to turn that around this week. San Diego has their own issues at QB with Phillip Rivers dealing with a bad back. Flip a coin here but as Texans fans we are definitely rooting for the Chiefs here. Next Cleveland needs to figure out who will be their QB this week and it looks like undrafted free agent from South Carolina, Connor Shaw, will be under center for the Brownies. Now the Browns need to travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens and Houston fans are definitely rooting for the men from the great state of Ohio. The Ravens need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive and Cleveland just needs to play well because jobs in Cleveland for 2015 may depend upon it. That's it. Simple right. Houston beats Jacksonville and hopes like hell two prohibitive underdogs pull off upsets. If you're thinking, "No way in Hades can Houston make the playoffs!", I point out the fact that the lowly Washington Redskins beat a prohibitively favored Philadelphia Eagles team last Saturday night. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and who's to say he won't deliver a couple of late gifts to the Texans?

The Pro Bowl rosters were named this week and, not surprisingly, JJ Watt and Arian Foster were named to the squad. Unfortunately, they were the only Texans to make the Pro Bowl.

Kicker Randy Bullock, on the strength of his six for six field goals last week in the Texans win over the Ravens won him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Starting right guard Brandon Brooks was back at practice today and according to Bill O'Brien he will play this week. O'Brien also commented in his press conference today that Houston will need to play well to beat the Jags. He said that despite their record (3-12) the Jaguars have a good team. He has seen it in game film, the Jags are a good football team, so Houston will have to play it's best to win. In their first meeting 3 weeks ago Jacksonville actually led 13-10 at the half before Houston came back in the second half to hand the Jaguars a 27-13 defeat.

[eagle eye]

This is, in all likelihood, the last weekend for Houston in the 2014 season. I believe Houston showed everyone that the 2-14 team of 2013 was an anomaly and not who this team was and is. Uneven quarterback play stifled what could have been better season but still the cut of this new head coach is pretty good. The only team more underrated is the Cowboys and if Houston had a QB the caliber of Tony Romo 12 to 13 wins would not be a stretch. They can close out the season with a winning 9-7 record with a win over the Jaguars tomorrow and I really think they will. After all they are still playing for a possible spot in the playoffs and in Bill O'Brien's first season you can be your bottom dollar he will want to finish strong. He will have to do it by turning 2nd year QB Case Keenum loose. In last week's game he threw 41 times and it may take that many attempts again to win. If that's what it takes I have no doubt O'Brien will give Keenum the reins and let him see what he can do. Keenum is looking for a job in 2015 so it's in his best interests to show a little something. I'm proud of the way the Texans have competed game in and game out. They have represented Houston and their fans very well despite the lack of success. It's all out in front of them now. The only thing they really need is a franchise QB and he may be on the roster right now although he's likely on IR. Houston has a defense that can play with anyone and with an upgrade or two on the O-line and the aforementioned QB Houston will give Indy a run for their money in 2015. In my opinion it really starts tomorrow. Guys are playing for a roster spot in 2015 and the train has left the station. It all begins with a Houston win at home over Jacksonville and final score will be......................

Houston 27 Jacksonville 16

[eagle eye]

Houston had a helluva season all things considered with JJ Watt having one of those seasons that defy description. 4 TDs, a safety, 20.5 sacks (2 shy of the NFL record held by Michael Strahan), 10 passes defensed (remember he's a defensive END!), 1 INT and 4 forced fumbles. Sheesh, is it any wonder people have him in the conversation for NFL MVP? He will certainly win his second Defensive Player of the Year Award. Lord knows he deserves it. Another good draft with Bill O'Brien's imput and settling their quarterback situation is a must.

My question to you guys is what do you think needs to happen to get Houston back into the playoffs considering they missed it by one game this year?

[eagle eye]

JJ Watt's accolades just keep coming in. First he's named a unanimous selection for All Pro defensive end AND he's received votes enough to be alternate All Pro at defensive tackle! Then to put a cherry on top of his season he is named Defensive Player of the Year. I haven't seen a vote for MVP yet but in my mind there are 3 choices and the first one I don't have to tell you who that is. Aaron Rodgers is a no-brainer in most people's minds. He's damn good, don't get me wrong but in several statistical categories Tony Romo is better. So now you know who my 2nd choice is. I don't think Romo has a shot but he should be in the conversation. The last and certainly not least is Watt. If ever there was a player who made a huge difference on his team it's JJ Watt. Think where this Texans defense would be without him. A rudderless ship lost in a sea of NFL offenses is where and that is no exaggeration. Hopefully, Jadeveon Clowney can come back next season and be a factor and I'd hate to think how good this defense could be. Let's not forget about who Houston could pick up in the 2015 draft to further lift this team's defense.
Needless to say, I have high hopes and expectations for Houston in the next year. I really expect us to be talking about Houston and their chances in the division round of the playoffs this time next year.
It's been a good season and certainly better than most expected. I have to say this team didn't go as far with Ryan Fitzpatrick than I really thought they might but when Fitz was benched in favor of Ryan Mallett and after Mallett was lost for the season with a torn pec Fitz did a good job and he was really looking like a guy who said "eff it" and was playing with some abandon until he got leg whipped and broke his leg. The biggest surprise for me and I'll bet a lot of people was how well QB Case Keenum did winning his only two starts in 2015 after being on another team's practice squad all year. BTW, they were the first and second career wins for Keenum who went 0-8 last year as a starter. I think Bill O'Brien did a good job in his first season and I really think this team will be better going forward.
That's it. 2014 is over for the Texans and, as of 6:30 yesterday, 23 other teams as well. The NFL season is down to the Elite 8 to use NCAA basketball terms. Six teams are looking for a head coach as we speak and two of those teams need a GM too. So, for me, the book is closed on this thread. Time to start looking forward to what 2015 is going to bring. I still can't believe the NFL season is over. It was a good ride Houston. Thanks for a fun and frustrating season!

[eagle eye]

Among the coaching changes taking place in the NFL you can could Houston as one of the teams who are tweaking the coaching staff. On Thursday of this week offensive line coach Paul Dunn was fired. No real reason was given for the firing after just one year other than the old "going in a different direction" blah-blah. Whatever, but Dunn did coach the Texans line to be good enough to have the Texans become the 5th best rushing offense in the NFL and 4th fewest sacks. As those of us who watched the Texans all year it probably seems that these stats are a little misleading. There is no denying that G Derek Newton got noticeably better this season. The bottom line is, it's obvious that Bill O'Brien and Dunn just didn't see eye to eye. Again, whatever.

On Friday the position of OL coach wasn't vacant long. The Texans hired former NY Jets O-line coach Mike Devlin. Devlin was the longest tenured coach for the Jets and despite having a year left on his contract the firing of Jets head coach Rex Ryan made Devlin's decision to skip town pretty easy. Here's a short article for SB Nation about the hire.

http://www.battleredblog.com/2015/1/9/7520279/houston-texans-hire-mike-devlin-as-new-offensive-line-coach

JJ Watt has been named the best player in the NFL by ProFootballFocus.com. Here's the article about the award from Texans.com.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/JJ-Watt-named-best-player-in-NFL-by-PFF/8bfc1c0a-e7cd-4449-aba6-3457cb498943