HOUSTON TEXANS 2015 REGULAR SEASON

I don't know about you guys but I'm excited about this season for our Texans! We are going in healthy except for Arian Foster and Jadeveon Clowney and Clowney is back way earlier than many people felt he would be. The same goes for Foster. He will not suit up in Week 1 but all reports are that Foster is way ahead of schedule in his recovery from a torn groin muscle suffered early in training camp. He is looking at a possible return by the end of September or first part of October.

 

I really like our defense even without Clowney. Last year Houston had an excellent defense that was betrayed by a spotty (at best) offense. Additions to the defense will make it more formidable and Brian Cushing looks like vintage Cush as he is now two years removed from a torn ACL. Fully healthy, strong and fast, Cushing should be a force in the middle for the Texans. You look at the offense if you don't see the potential in our offense then I'd say you've been listening too much to "The Blitz" on ESPN radio too much. I believe Brian Hoyer is much better than Fred and AJ, and a lot of other people give him credit for. He has looked pretty good in limited work in the preseason and he definitely has weapons to work with. This WR corp is much better than last year with the addition of two very good rookies who will learn from 3 very good veterans. DeAndre Hopkins has become that #1 receiver for the Texans and the additions of Cecil Shorts and Nate Washington have increased the depth at the position tremendously. TE is another strength with Garrett Graham and CJ Fiedorowicz and the 3 headed monster at RB in Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk have the potential to really help the Texans move the chains.

 

What do you guys think? Playoffs? Can they finally beat the Colts? Does Houston have a real shot at winning the division? I think they have the potential to answer yes to all 3 questions. Just 4 days until the 12 PM kickoff at NRG Stadium to begin the 2015 season and I can't wait!

Houston isn't getting any love out of the guys at Houston's ESPN radio station as usual. At least not from the guys on "The Blitz". Neither one has any faith at all in Brian Hoyer, they have no faith in the running backs and they don't believe the Texans will be all that good on defense. I wonder if it's painful being that negative towards your home town team? I like to think I'm a little better than just your every day homer because, while I want good things for the team I root for, I think I can display a little perspective as well. I think Brian Hoyer is better than Ryan Fitzpatrick. I think the receiving corps is light years better than last despite losing Andre Johnson. I think the TE position is deeper and should be better with C J Fiedorowicz having a full season under his belt. Houston went younger on the O-line and they said good-bye to mainstay center Chris Meyers but it doesn't mean Houston will not be improved with a 2nd year in the Bill O'Brien system. There is enough talent in the backfield to be successful until Arian Foster returns from groin surgery which looks more encouraging every day.

I don't see how Houston's defense can't be even better with the addition of Vince Wolfork at nose tackle and Christian Covington from Rice backing him up. I have a date to eat my hat because last year's 1st round draft pick Jadeveon Clowney is listed as probable for the Week 1 opener vs the Chiefs tomorrow. LB Brian Cushing is totally healthy and the defense should so much the better for it. The defensive backfield is talented and deep including the Texans 1st round pick Kevin Johnson. I like this team and as I've said before, I think that like last season, I believe Houston is going to surprise some people.

 

Here is the last injury report prior to the one released on Sunday morning. Houston will be missing some guys but by and large they will be pretty healthy going in. I have to admit, I'm still worried about Clowney's return so soon from microfracture surgery. Call me a worrywart but that is just such a hard thing to come back from. I have to trust in the doctors, the trainers and the coaching staff that they are not putting Clowney on the field before he's ready. I would be he gets around 25-30 snaps and he plays mostly in passing situations. That will be something I am paying attention to tomorrow.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Friday-Injury-Status-Report-Texans-vs-Chiefs/89fa31ac-f9e1-42f8-9b21-71168e68cfce

 

The Chiefs will get a big boost to their defense with the return of All Pro safety Eric Berry. Berry's season ended in December of last season when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma ending his season so he could undergo cancer treatment. In July of this year Berry was pronounced cured of the disease and cleared to play pro football again.

Not only will the Texans have to account for Berry but they will have to deal with what looks like a revitalized passing game. In the off season the Chiefs acquired former Andy Reid players from Philly Jeramy Maclin and Jason Avant to put a little life in the WR corps. If the preseason is any indication at all the Chiefs now have a passing game to go along with their running threat of Jamaal Charles. In 2014 Kansas City did not complete a TD pass to a WR. That is likely not to happen this year. Maclin alone is an upgrade over Duane Bowe. The acquisition of a guy like Maclin will do a lot to help QB Alex Smith be a better QB this season. Smith doesn't make many mistakes, he doesn't turn the ball over and he's pretty accurate. With some decent receivers he should be much more efficient.

All in all, the Chiefs are a good team. Last year they were suspect on offense but they should be much better all the way around. That said, I'm putting my money where my mouth is this week. Houston is at home and there's no place louder than NRG Stadium (except maybe for the Chiefs home stadium) and this team has something to prove. I like Houston to win this week but I think it will be a hard fought game. Final score?

 

Houston 27 Kansas City 23

All right now there is QB controversy in Houston. After looking good in training camp and winning the starting job as training camp was about to end Brian Hoyer not only didn't look good he might have lost his job. Unable to really move the football for 3+ quarters Ryan Mallett came in and he DID look good, well mostly. A missed pass to a wide open Garrett Graham on a 3rd down with a buck and change left in the game cost Houston a shot at another TD. Instead, the Texans kicked a field goal to narrow the KC lead to 27-20. Unfortunately, Randy Bullock executed, and I mean executed, the worst onside kick ever allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock and take the season opener for both teams. Hoyer did lead Houston to nine points (a TD and FG, Bullock miss the EP) so his job may be saved--for now. JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and most of the defense played well. Watt had nine tackles, six for a loss, which tied his career high. He also had 2 sacks tying a franchise record for opening day. The way Hoyer looked bad was an INT he threw deep in their own territory in the first qtr and he lost a fumble on a KC sack in the 2nd. Even though the score didn't go Houston's way there really was more good than bad in the game. Giving KC a short field off turnovers was the difference. Houston held KC scoreless in the 2nd half, it was just the first 15 minutes that cost Houston the game.

 

Randy Bullock had a tough day. First he missed his first extra point of the season and he nearly missed his first extra point at the end of the 2nd qtr. It was a 34 yard attempt (roughly the same as an extra point now) that jerked to the left and it hit the left upright on the goal post but fell on the back side to get credit for the 3 points. He ended his day for one of the worst onside kick attempts ever tried.

 

It's on to Carolina next week when Houston takes on the Panther who edged out the Jacksonville Jags today 20-9. As a matter of fact the AFC South didn't have a great day today at all. The Colts had their asses handed to them by Buffalo by a score of 27-14. I wonder how often Andrew Luck will be outdueled by Tyrod Taylor? Not that often I'll bet but it happened today. Tennessee was the only team in the division to win today as they beat Tampa Bay 42-14 in an old fashioned smack down. I know one game isn't a big enough sample size but Marcus Mariota looked pretty damn good and the combination of Mariota to Kendall Wright looks like the next big thing.

I'm thinking that Brian Hoyer will be the starter this Sunday in Carolina. Just a feeling but I really think that Bill O'Brien will be going with him. He may be on a short leash because what O'Brien absolutely needs is for one of these guys to step up and take this starting job by the throat. I said that I have seen Hoyer play well and I have. We just need one or the other to do it consistently. Bill O'Brien is doing his best Bill Belichick by being coy about who will start this week as he refused to name a starter in his Monday presser. I still think it's Hoyer.

 

What O'Brien said was the most significant injury to come out of the Chiefs games last Sunday was the injury to TE Ryan Griffin and O'Brien said he will miss "significant time" whatever that means. The Texans now have just two tight ends on the 53, Garrett Graham and CJ Fiedorowicz and they have Eric Tomlinson on the practice squad. The Texans are likely to look for a 3rd TE in a trade or sign a free agent.

 

Well hush my mouth and call me Lucy. So much for what I know. I just got a flash on my cell. Bill O'Brien has announced that Ryan Mallett will be the starting QB in Carolina this week.

Think Bill O'Brien is pissed? On Monday he refused to name a starter and it was erroneously reported that O'Brien had named a starter when it was ESPN reporter Tania Ganguli who reported it citing inside sources. Yesterday in his press conference O'Brien again refused to name a starter saying he would do it on Sunday before the game. NFL coaches like to play things close to the vest and they have their own reasons for withholding information and these insider reports have to cause a lot of heartburn. I can say I have only heard of Ganguli from an article or two she's written, she certainly doesn't have the cred a Chris Mortensen or a Adam Schefter has. I could envision a scenario where O'Brien tells Hoyer and Mallett that Hoyer is starting just to discredit Ganguli. If O'Brien really has decided on Mallett he probably won't change his mind but I'll bet he's got a thing or two to say to the Texans team and staff about keeping their mouths shut.

 

Yesterday Houston completed a trade with the New England Patriots sending WR Keshawn Martin to the Pats for an undisclosed return whether it's cash or a draft pick or whatever. Martin was a 4th round draft pick in 2012 but he was never able to rise above being 3rd or 4th on the depth chart. No corresponding roster move has been made. One roster move has been made however with rookie UFA Chanlder Worthy was signed to the 53 from the Texans practice squad to replace injured Ryan Griffin as the #3 TE.

 

Jadeveon Clowney will be making a homecoming of sorts when Houston plays the Panthers in Carolina this week because the Panthers stadium to Jadeveon's childhood home is about the same as a trip from Port Arthur to Beaumont. Clowney is Rock Hill, S.C. and he went to college in Columbia, S.C. at University of South Carolina and he will be playing at the Panthers stadium in Charlotte, N.C.. Rock Hill is about half way between Columbia and Charlotte. Leave it to some reporter to bring up the fact that Clowney's father is in jail for attempted murder stemming from an incident that happened months ago. Clowney's homecoming aside, he played about 30 snaps in the season opening loss to the Chiefs last week mainly as a pass rusher on passing downs. At that he recorded 4 tackles and a sack in limited duty. To me, the successful return of Clowney to the lineup is along the same lines at the miracle return of Adrian Peterson a couple of years ago from ACL surgery about 7 months prior. Just a freak of nature to be able to come back from such a serious, career threatening surgery as Clowney underwent a mere 9 months ago. Hats off to Clowney because I, for one, would never believe it could be done. Bill O'Brien indicated that Clowney would see an increased work load this Sunday against the Panthers. You go, J.C.!

 

Houston claimed OL Oday Aboushi off waivers from the New York Jets after he was waived after serving a one game suspension for violation of the NFL substance abuse policy. Aboushi will rejoin his former OL coach from the Jets Mike Devlin who is the Texans line coach. Aboushi was a 5th round draft pick out of Virginia in 2013 and he's only 24 years old. Aboushi played in no regular season games in 2013 as a rookie but in 2014 he played left guard for the Jets in 10 games from Week 7 on for the Jets. The Texans have added depth, youth and experience to their O-line and Aboushi has familiarity playing for his position coach in the past. Win-win for the Texans. Now the question begs, can he play?

 

Texans LT Duane Brown is a game time decision on whether he is able to play or not against the Panthers due to a thumb injury suffered in training camp. Brown played last week against the Chiefs and, again, O'Brien may be playing coy about Brown's status in his best Belichick-ian way.

I'm not really surprised that O'Brien changed to Mallett and yet again I am a little bit. It doesn't matter now, what matters is Houston is in North Carolina preparing to play the Panthers tomorrow and that is the only controversy there is right now. Personally, I think Houston can win this game and there are two reasons why.

1. Houston's defense is pretty damn good. After surrending 17 points to turnovers to the Chiefs in the first quarter and into the second quarter Houston gave up but 10 points to the Chiefs afterwards including zero in the second half.

2. Ryan Mallett isn't a liability at QB. In the second half of the 4th quarter last week Mallett came in and led the Texans to 11 points to make the score respectable against a very tough Chiefs defense. Mallett only started two games in his career for Houston and that was last season. In his first start Mallett led the Texans to a convincing 27-6 win over Cleveland but in the course of the game he tore a chest muscle that hampered him in the following week's loss to Cincinnati 22-13. It shows that Mallett is one tough son of a gun but it was clear the injury prevented him from playing well. In Hard Knocks Bill O'Brien told both QBs, Mallett and Brian Hoyer, that they were on a short leash so it turns out that Hoyer's leash was 3-1/2 quarters long. I have a feeling Mallett won't be as disappointing as Hoyer was.

 

There is a 3rd reason I think Houston will win. Carolina's all everything LB Luke Kuechly will miss the game as he is still under the concussion protocol after being hit in the head late in last week's win over Jacksonville.

 

Houston could be without LT Duane Brown who has played so far with a hand injury. He is officially listed as questionable but if he played through it last week why not this week? I'm just saying. Arian Foster actually returned to practice this week about a month after having surgery to repair a torn groin muscle. Of course he's not playing but it is encouraging to see him back at practice.

 

A lot was made about Jadeveon Clowney having a homecoming playing in North Carolina this past week but he's not the only player on the Texans who is "going home" this week. WR DeAndre Hopkins was born in South Carolina, went to school at Clemson in South Carolina and all that wasn't all that far from the Panthers home stadium in North Carolina. It doesn't make any difference in the outcome but what the heck, it's semi interesting trivia.

 

This week the Texans GM Rick Smith told the media that Houston will convert the natural grass turf in NRG Stadium to artificial turf. Evidently the turf has not been up to Texans or NFL standards lately and Smith told reporters that it was important to consider the health of the players to change to an artificial surface. We should see Houston on their new turf in their next home game Sept 27 against Tampa Bay.

 

Now, as for the game tomorrow. As I said I think that Houston can and will win the game for the reasons outlined above. I am also probably going to put my money where my mouth is because I like the odds in this week's game. Carolina is 3.5 point favorites right now and the O/U is 40.5. There is a real possibility I'm going with a two teamer taking Houston and the points and the under. I just don't see Houston's defense giving up many points to Carolina and despite Kuechly's loss I don't see Houston scoring that much either. So, what's the final score?

 

Houston 24 Carolina 10

I have no issue with changing QB's after Brian Hoyer was so blah last week and Mallett gave the team a spark but when Mallett played yesterday he was not good at all. He was off target all day. The predominant mistake was he was throwing behind his receivers but he also managed to throw balls short and come right back and over throw receivers. There were a good bit of drops but I'll bet a lot of those were because Mallett was throwing the ball so hard I would bet there are a couple of receivers with broken fingers. The defense was on the field so much it's a wonder they didn't give up more points out of shear exhaustion. It was a hot, humid day in Carolina and you'd think Houston would be used to it but they looked like the tired team when it was all said and done. Duane Brown was a last minute scratch from the game and it sort of looked like the rest of the O-line checked out too. The Texans only managed a measly 61 yards rushing for the game. They did okay as far as pass blocking, well enough anyway if Mallett had thrown the ball better. As for my proposed bet? I was busy Sunday morning and I never got it in which was a good thing since Houston lost the game and didn't cover the spread and the O/U was 41 points in the game but on the betting sheet it was 40 1/2 which means I would have lost that too because I intended to take the under.

Folks are blaming the trio of Jonathan Grimes, Chris Polk and Alfred Blue for poor production but the O-line has not been doing a good job in the run game. That unit needs help and not just Duane Brown getting his hand right enough to play. The line needs to play better and Mallett needs to play better too including learning when to gun the ball and when just a little touch will go a long way. Young QBs think that a strong arm is the secret of success. If given a chance he may learn but you never know. Oh well, back home and prepare for Tampa Bay who actually won yesterday beating New Orleans who has been struggling.

The more I think about it I don't see Houston coming out of this 0-2 hole. I want them to but despite trying to deny it I have to accept the fact that the O-line is just bad and it's even worse when Duane Brown is out. I Houston's line was better they might generate some semblance of a running game which would take a lot of pressure off the passing game. A running game would allow the defense to get a little rest which, in turn, would allow them to be even more effective. And please, Bill O'Brien, give Jonathan Joseph help because he can't seem to cover anybody any more.

Ryan Mallett was pretty bad as I've said before but we know he's capable of better he just needs to show it. If the Texans don't solve the O-line problem and start playing somebody better at cornerback Houston will be lucky to end up the season 8-8.

How crazy is this, the preseason favorites to go 1-2 in the AFC South have started out the season 0-2. Indianapolis and Houston both looked mediocre at best in their two losses. On the flip side the Titans and Jags look decent on week and stink it up the next. Hopefully this division won't become the 2nd coming of the NFC South last year with the division winner going 8-7-1. Right now there seems to be way more upside to the Jacksonville and Tennessee teams than the ones in Indy and Houston because the Texans and Colts have serious O-line issues. I think if you took the best 5 linemen from both the Colts and Texans to make one squad they would still suck.

Despite being at home this week against a struggling Tampa Bay team Houston's chances of getting off their 0-2 start to the season this week look pretty shaky. On Sunday the Texans will be without LT Duane Brown for the 2nd week in a row with ain't good for an O-line struggling mightily to be even mediocre. The Texans are still waiting for Xavier Su'a-Filo to get healthy enough to play. The 1st pick in the 2nd round by the Texans in 2014 played in 13 games in 2014 but he missed the final 3 games of '14 with injury and so far he's missed everything this summer and the first two games of the 2015 season. The other two tackles on the injury list, Derek Newton and Chris Clark are listed as probable which is a little bit of good news for Ryan Mallett who was harassed by the Carolina pass rush last week. This seems to be a good news-bad news sort of vibe so let's go with that.

The good news - Arian Foster is feeling great as his rehab from a groin injury progresses. The bad news - there is no timetable for his return to the lineup.

The good news - Chris Polk has emerged as the best option for Houston's running game. The bad news - Jonathan Grimes is questionable this week with a knee injury.

The good news - WR DeAndre Hopkins is probable vs the Bucs on Sunday. The bad news - the O-line still sucks which mean Mallett may not have time to throw him the ball.

 

Tampa looks like they will get WR Mike Evans back after he missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring issue. Tampa will be without their starting TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins due to a shoulder injury. Seferian-Jenkins has begun the season as the Buc main offensive weapon. In roughly a game and a half this season ASJ has 7 catches for 139 yards and 2 TDs.

 

All in all I think I'd take the Bucs problems at their skill positions over the Texans woes on the O-line. You can't run or pass very well if there is no blocking up front. What I'm seeing from the wise guys who set the lines on the football games is that they are making the Texans 7 point favorites on Sunday. Like last week, the O/U is 40-1/2 points which is frustrating because I want to take the over but I don't trust the Texans to hold up their part of the bargain. Tampa Bay is hard to get a handle on. In Week 1 they get lambasted by Tennessee 42-14 but they came back and beat New Orleans last week 26-19 injuring Drew Brees shoulder in the process. This means that Tampa is averaging 20 PPG and Houston, after losses to Kansas City (27-20) and Carolina (24-17) is averaging 18.5 PPG. But, you look at who each has played and you'd have to say Houston has played the tougher schedule so far. Add to the fact that 17 points of the 27 Kansas City scored came off turnovers and at least 10 points were lost to Carolina by Houston turnovers and the scale definitely tips in the Texans favor. The weak point in the Houston defense is CB Jonathan Joseph and I would look for either Mike Evans or Vincent Jackson to have a big day picking on JJ. The one good thing for the Texans is Jameis Winston isn't all that mobile a QB. He should be more or less a sitting duck for JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney in the backfield. Not to mention the push up the middle by Vince Wolfork. Okay, dammit, I drink the Kool-Aid one more week. I'm hanging in with my Texans again this week and I think the final score will be.................

 

Houston 26 Tampa Bay 17

Houston finally did it, they got their first win of the season. They had to work their asses off to get it but a lot of pressure has be lifted, for now anyway. Two phases of the game were big for this win. 1) Houston got their running game going behind Alfred Blue's 31 carries for 139 yds and a TD. The final 19-10 was indicative of the slam bang nature of the game with neither team giving up much at all. The defense played well with 2) Jonathan Joseph coming up big in the game in coverage. He really did a nice job which he hadn't been doing in the first 2 games. Joseph and the secondary as a whole did a nice job containing Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. Both accounted for 141 combined yards in the game but neither found the end zone. In fact the lone Bucs TD came on a swing pass to RB Charles Sims that he turned into a 32 yard score in the 2nd quarter. The offense looked better behind Blue's running and improved play from Ryan Mallett. The big 3 WR's for Houston, DeAndre Hopkins, Nate Washington and Cecil Shorts combined for 18 catches, 201 yards and a TD led by Hopkins' 8 catches for 101 yds and a TD. Needless to say the O-line gets a lot of credit for the Texans success. It was a nice team win but the Texans won't have much time to enjoy it because they are facing a red hot Falcons team that flat dominated the 2nd half of their game against Dallas yesterday. The Texans will have to face the Falcons in Atlanta so they are not headed for a Sunday picnic and you can bet your bottom dollar that Houston is liable to be a double digit underdog. The 24 hour rule being in effect Houston can enjoy this win until about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Then, all eyes turn towards the Crescent City.

There isn't much to say about this past week's win. We were far from perfect but the team as a whole made enough plays to win the game. This week we have a bigger challenge ahead as we will face the 3-0 Atlanta Falcons. We all saw what Dallas did to Atlanta in the first half and what Atlanta did to Dallas in the 2nd half. The bottom line is Houston will have their work cut out for them. Getting to 2-2 won't be easy at all and it's made worse by being on the road. But, you know what? One of the reasons Dallas fell on it's face was because the Falcons personnel was just better overall because the Cowboys have had to deal with an ungodly amount of injuries to key people. Not to mention having two key pieces of their defense suspended for the first 4 games. Houston isn't in that predicament, not even close especially on defense. With Wilfork, Watt and Clowney all healthy and working at a high level as is the rest of the defense I don't think that the Texans will have the same trouble as Dallas did putting pressure on Ryan the way the Cowboys did. Houston needs to up their game on offense but at least they have something to build on going into this week's game. The O-line played much better and that helped the running game, especially Alfred Blue, and by proxy it helped the passing game. Also, I believe Ryan Mallett will be more likely to take some shots down the field that the Cowboys Brandon Weeden either couldn't or wouldn't. It will be tough but I think Houston will knock the Falcons out of the list of unbeatens this week.

 

According to Texans.com Arian Foster is "close" to being back in the lineup. Let's see why the close is in quotes.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Arian-Foster-“close”-to-returning/ef6177b7-68d8-45dc-b735-ab165f4eca84

 

As a follow up, today the Texans listed both Arian Foster and LT Duane Brown as day to day. Foster may be closer than Brown but it looks like both will return to action soon. Foster is actually way ahead of the original schedule for his return and that is not a bad thing at all.

 

Bill O'Brien has had to put up with K Randy Bullock's last of consistency for the last two years but after Bullock missed an extra point in last Sunday's game vs Tampa Bay that must have been the last straw. Yesterday the Texans released Bullock and they have signed Nick Novak who has been in pro football either in the NFL, the NFL Europe or the United Football League ever since. Officially, Novak is considered an 8 year veteran and the list of teams he's been on is long. His primary employer in the NFL was the San Diego Chargers whom he played for in 2010 and from 2011 to 2014. Bullock was drafted in 2012 and his time in Houston has been marked by inconsistency and record setting performances including scoring 19 points, 6 field goals (franchise records) and an extra point in a 25-13 win over Baltimore last December. That performance won Bullock AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. The NFL changed the rule for extra points moving the line of scrimmage back to the 15 yard line making the PAT a 33 yard kick and that was Bullock's undoing in Houston. Bullock has the distinction of being the first kicker to miss an extra point from the new distance.

 

In his Breakfast With The Bulls column on Texans.com Drew Dougherty lists the 8 things Ryan Mallett did better this past game.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Breakfast-8-things-Ryan-Mallett-did-better/0818e509-a311-400e-a0d8-808af39166ad

The O-line got two starters back in practice today. Starting LT Duane Brown returned after missing the past two weeks with a thumb injury. OG Brandon Brooks was in practice after leaving last week's game against Tampa in the second quarter with an ankle injury. After the way Houston's line played last Sunday it is a good thing to think that this is a unit that now has improved its depth because of the fact the backups have gotten some playing time and the coaches know they can run their offense even if somebody goes down.

 

Today Arian Foster practiced with the team as he had done last week, although on a limited basis. Bill O'Brien said after practice that Foster would actually be a game time decision on whether or not he would play Sunday in Atlanta. Reports are that Foster has practiced well but O'Brien said they won't know for sure about Foster until the night before the games right up to 90 minutes before kickoff. That Bill Belichick taught O'Brien well about being coy with the media.

 

Texans.com analyst John Harris gives his 28 observations from last Sunday's win over Tampa Bay. This includes thoughts on LB Bernardrick McKinney's first NFL start opposite Brian Cushing, Houston had let S Quintin Demps get away after the 2012 season and after one year stops in Kansas City and NY Giants he was signed just prior to the season opener. Demps has not given the Texans any reason for being sorry about his signing. Just last Sunday Demps picked off Jameis Winston first pass of the game. Demps could have had 3 picks on the day but he has filled in nicely to this defense. Welcome home Quintin. These and 26 other items were discussed by Mr Harris.

The Texans have made Kourtni Brown a happy man. One of the featured players on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer Brown was cut when Houston had to get down to the final 53 man roster. Tampa Bay signed Brown to their practice squad the Monday after final cuts. Houston signed Brown off the Bucs PS and he will be on the 53 man roster going forward, at least until the Texans cut him again. Brown is really a high effort player who has made plays but he plays with poor fundamentals and is really more of a liability because of that. One thing Brown can do is rush the passer. It's hard to mess that up and Houston will need to generate a good pass rush if they hope to compete with the Falcons on Sunday. Brown is also helpful on special teams and that is one area Houston always needs help with.

 

In other roster moves yesterday Houston resigned QB Zac Dysert whom they released last week. Dysert was signed after 3rd string QB Tom Savage was placed on season ending IR after being injured against the Cowboys in the final preseason game this summer.

Houston placed LBs Carlos Thompson and Mike Mohamed on injured reserved and they signed LB Max Bullock off their own practice squad and they also signed LB Brian Peters off the Vikings practice squad.

 

Here is a profile of the newest guard Oday Aboushi who was signed 2 and half weeks ago from the Jets. Aboushi was reunited with his offensive line coach from the Jets who is now in the same job with Houston, Mike Devlin. Aboushi didn't just play last Sunday against Tampa Bay, his first start for the Texans, he played well helping Alfred Blue to rush for over 100 yards. Deepi Sidhu of Texans.com writes about the journey of Aboushi from New York to Texas.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Breakfast-Who-is-Oday-Aboushi/d1a039e5-e994-4bbf-91e3-0b93ed0699dd

 

Here is an unofficial depth chart for this week's game released by the Texans today.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-release-unofficial-depth-chart-versus-Atlanta/115a0302-0d7a-4524-9278-a69cbcdbdb7a

There isn't much to be said. We know the situation. The Texans off to a disappointing 1-2 start but they did get their first win last week against the Bucs. All the shoulda, coulda, woulda's are out the window. It's time to strap it up and play some freakin ball. Houston is going into the game at the Georgia Dome, or whatever they call their field now and it won't be easy. But, if Houston was paying attention, Dallas with backups playing all over the place on offense and defense game the Falcons all they could handle for a half. The Cowboys downfall was mainly due to so many 2nd and 3rd tier players starting. Atlanta out talented the Cowboys but that isn't the case with the Texans. The defense has been playing very well and the impact of Jadeveon Clowney is nothing short of remarkable considering where he came from injury-wise. Ryan Mallett is getting better with each game and he won't hesitate to take advantage of the single high safety defense that depends a lot on man-to-man corner play. The Texans receiving corp is in much better shape than the Cowboys corps was and is. The Cowboys have no Dez and Terrence Williams went on vacation last week. Cole Beasley was the only WR involved in the offense last week. That won't be the case with Houston. DeAndre Hopkins is healthy and embracing the #1 WR role while Nate Washington and Cecil Shorts are way better than the Cowboys 3rd or 4th receivers. I actually like the Texans chances except for the fact they are on the road. This will be a stern test but I've got to give my Texans some love. So, I believe the final------------oh wait, didn't I tell you? RB Arien Foster is playing this week! It remains to be seen how big of a role he will play but the threat of Foster should help open up some passing lanes for Mallet. Oh yeah, the final score.....

 

Houston 28 Atlanta 22

Doesn't it feel like Houston is just doomed to never win a game this season? At least not outside of the one they won last week? It was 35 zip before anybody new what the heck was going on. It was 42 to nothing when Bill O'Brien went to former starter-current backup-and probably new starter Brian Hoyer. Hoyer did come in and lead the Texans to 3 fourth quarter TDs and maybe a fourth if Cecil Shorts and not had the football stripped causing a fumble that the Falcons turned into a final nail in the Texans coffin. The things that looked like got fixed, or at least improved, last week against Tampa wasn't evident against the swarming Falcons. Swarming on both sides of the ball. I think we just didn't believe the Falcons were really all that good. Maybe they were doing all that winning with smoke and mirrors. But no, after all it said and done, this Falcons team is pretty darn good. Also, a lot of people didn't think Devonta Freeman was going to be all that good but he showed today that last week was no fluke as he gashed the Texans for 68 yds on 14 carries and 3 TDs. He added 5 catches for 81 yards to lead the Falcons on real life smack down of the Texans.

Arien Foster played today but he showed more rust than shine losing one fumble and dropping several passes he would normally have caught. The receivers had their own share of drops. Some their fault and some the result of Ryan Mallett's complete lack of touch on his passes. He just doesn't seem to know when to gun the ball and when to make the ball catchable. Everything is gunned and sometimes the receivers are too close to the line of scrimmage for that kind of velocity on the ball. Hoyer seems to have more of a clue to the concept of touch. Can he do better with a second chance to start? Who knows? That is the dilemma, the Texans are stuck with Mallett and Hoyer for the foreseeable future. Don't you think Bill O'Brien is missing Tom Savage right about now? The media is going to crucify O'Brien because he was so adamant about how good M and H were in Hard Knocks. Turns out, at the quarter pole of the season neither guy is dependable. The good thing is the Texans play an equally bad Colts team next week. They could get healthy in a hurry. The Jags have to be sick after missing 3 field goals in regulation and overtime before falling to the Colts today. Jacksonville wins and they are leading the division at 2-2 instead of the Colts.

Working on a short week Bill O'Brien said in today's presser that Ryan Mallett was still the starting QB for this Thursday's game against the Colts. On the other side it has been reported that Colts QB Andrew Luck would probably play. The Colts were lucky to escape the Jacksonville game with a win yesterday. If Jacksonville's kicker didn't suck and miss 3 different tries for a game winning field goal the Colts would actually be the team in last place with a 1-3 record instead of Jacksonville. And Houston of course.

Arian Foster got his first work of the season Sunday and he seems to have survived okay. He showed a lot of rust getting just 8 carries for 10 yds and he caught 3 balls for 25 yds. I would think he can do a lot more damage against a Colts defense that hasn't been very good so far this season. Houston had taken a hit injury-wise earlier in the game when Nate Washington pulled a hamstring. On the last play of the game Cecil Shorts was injured when he got a shoulder separation on what was a useless play he should never have been involved in.

There were a lot of questionable decisions in the game by the coaches. If Bill O'Brien can't get this team he may be the second coach fired. Oh yes, there is already a casualty in the coaching ranks as Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin was let go today by the Dolphins front office. The Dolphins were expected to be one of the teams challenging New England for their supremacy of the AFC East. Instead the Dolphins have looked more pathetic than potent and after the bullying scandal last year it seemed as though Philbin had been letting the inmates run the asylum in South Beach. Couple that with the 1-3 start to the Dolphins season and I guess he had to go.

Houston is going into the Colts game tonight with problems. Their defense isn't playing all that well but part of the problem probably is the fact the offense has sucked. They have way too many 3 and outs keeping the defense on the field way too much. Now, the defense isn't helping themselves not getting off the field either allowing too many 3rd down conversions or giving up enough yards on 1st and 2nd downs they aren't getting many 3rd down opportunities to stop the other team's offense. Houston is ranked 4th in the NFL in 3rd down converstions allowed. That's 54 3rd down opportunities with 17 converted into 1st downs by the offense. Not bad considering the amount of 3rd down ops they have had but they are getting killed on 1st and 2nd downs. Let's not forget about the penalties that result in 1st downs as well. Houston should be better than this. The one liability they seemed to have was CB Jonathan Joseph but he has tightened his game up a lot. Matt Hasselbeck is expected to start tonight's game for the Colts so you've got a veteran guy who can throw and he doesn't make many mistakes, certainly not like Andrew Luck does when talking about throwing picks. But, Hasselbeck isn't as mobile as Luck so you have a more stationary target in the pocket for our pass rush. So far the Colts run game isn't much and surprisingly enough Andre Johnson has been a non-factor in the Colts passing game. TY Hilton, Donte and Coby Fleener have been the top targets so far. Johnson has been targeted a lot, the 3rd most on the team, he just hasn't caught many of the targets. You can be he will be fired up to play the Texans in Houston tonight so maybe he is a guy you may want to cover a little closer.

Houston has got to get some consistency running the ball. In their lone win of the season against Tampa Bay Alfred Blue led the way with over 100 yards rushing and the damage Blue did was the difference in the game. I'll say this right now, I'm not impressed at all with Ryan Mallett. In the 3 games he's played so far he has not shown anything to me that says he is the QB of the future. Everyone makes a big deal about his strong arm but if you don't have the wherewithal to not throw a 95 mph fastball to guy 8 yard away then what good are you? What I'm trying to say is the man has not displayed any sort of touch that I can discern. I wish Bill O'Brien has done after Week 1 for Brian Hoyer that he did for Mallett going into this game and that is give him another chance. Hoyer does have touch on his throws and I believe Hoyer is more accurate than Mallett as well.

What the biggest shame in all this is the injury to Tom Savage in the preseason finale against Dallas. Savage, drafted last year by Houston out of Central Florida, was a project guy and last year he looked like a rookie. This year in preseason Savage looked much better this preseason and he was looking pretty good against Dallas before he was injured. I believe that Savage has the potential to be their QB of the future. We'll have to wait until next year to see his progression. Sitting here right now in Week 5 I believe that either Hoyer or Mallett will be gone by next season. I could be wrong but if neither guy show any promise, especially Mallett, then why keep him?

The Texans are saying they intend to use Arien Foster more tonight and if he's good after his first action of the season last Sunday then by all means use him. The Colts defense hasn't been great and Houston can and should win this game but my faith in them is waning. They have about 4 winnable games in a row which would get them right back into the mix for the AFC South race and tonight, for a change when talking about the Colts, is one of those games. So, what will be the final score?

 

Houston 24 Indianapolis 20

The Colts took JJ Watt out of the game by double teaming him the whole game. Clowney made a couple of plays but he was doubled a lot too. Brian Hoyer looked good most of the night after coming into the game in the 2nd qtr after Ryan Mallett took a hit that caused him to have come out. Hoyer did well enough that even though Mallett could have come back in he had to watch the game from the sideline. Now, Mallett was doing okay in the game. He was even showing some touch on his passes which was different. However, Malletts efforts were not enough to earn the Texans a single point. Some of that wasn't his fault because a pass to Arian Foster around the Colts 5 bounced off his hands and right into the arms of a Colts defender.

The main reasons Houston lost was twofold. 1) Penalties. Every single time Houston made a stop on the Colts when game was on the line Houston was guilty of a penalty. When they did something good on offense they committed a penalty. Houston has a total 12 penalties for 110 yards. According to Bill Parcels every 10 yards of penalties is a first down for the other team and over 110 yards is worth 7 points to the other team. The final score was 27-20 and 2. Brian Hoyer, after doing well the whole night, making good decisions and making accurate throws for the most part on a 3rd and 4 in Colts territory, Hoyer under a little pressure after have 5-6 seconds to find an open receiver he chucked up a floater down the middle of the field that wasn't near a Houston receiver. It was right to the free safety of the Colts for the game clinching INT with around 1:45 remaining in the game. What Hoyer should have done is pull the ball down and run because the Colts coverage on the play was very good or just throw the darn thing away. He did neither and any chance Houston had to force overtime went with that ill advice pass that the TV camera's caught Bill O'Brien beside himself saying, "Why did you throw that?!". Houston can't seem to get out of their own way. The Texans should have beaten the Colts especially knowing that Matt Hasselbeck was sick as a dog all week prior to the game and he was taking IVs prior to the game to get hydrated. No pressure on the QB and the middle linebackers weren't stopping the run up the middle at all. Frank Gore rushed for a season high 98 yards on 22 carries and a TD easily his best output of the season.

Of course Andre Johnson had a big game making 6 catches for 77 yards and 2 TDs. Prior to last night Johnson had only 7 catches prior to this week on 20 targets. You know he was hoping for this type of game in his return to Houston.

Houston comes out of this game with more questions than answers and maybe even some job security uncertainty for Bill O'Brien.

Houston should be embarrassed because with the talent they have they appear to be a much better team than their 1-4 record would indicate. But, in the words of Bill Parcels you are what your record says you are. Why is Houston where they are? Looks pretty simple, it's the QB. I think the QB play has something to do with the state of affairs but if you look closer you see a team that is struggling on defense. They have a hard time with slowing teams down on 1st and 2nd downs but when they do get teams in 3rd down they are pretty good at stopping them. Houston needs to win on the early downs more often. They also have to stop committing stupid penalties. They had the Colts stopped 3 separate times on 3rd down on their game winning drive on Thursday but penalties gave the Colts first downs and kept their drive alive. The defense needs more production from their linebackers. You just don't hear the names called often enough unless the ball is 15 yards down field. On offense, the O-line is really struggling. They are supposed to be a run based offense but they can't run the ball consistently. Too many time Arian Foster has been caught behind the line of scrimmage or right at it and he is getting a running lanes. He earned every one of the 41 yards rushing he gained. It's not that he didn't get opportunities, he had 19 carries but just over 2 YPC isn't going to cut it. Just yesterday Bill O'Brien announced that Brian Hoyer will be the Texans QB when they play the Jaguars in Week 6. If Hoyer is able to do what he did against the Colts and get the ball out to DeAndre Hopkins, Jalen Strong (who finally did something in a game for Houston on Thursday) and Keith Mumphrey so teams can't load up the box to stop Foster then you may see a better run game. The thing is though, it won't matter what Hoyer and the skill position people do if the line can't block effectively. There is no coincidence that the one game Houston won was the one game the line blocked well for Alfred Blue. Houston now has 11 days to get over being beaten by a team they really should have walked all over and move. The other thing is O'Brien and his staff have to do a better job. They had no answer or adjustment for the double team of JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney and as a result they had no pressure on Matt Hasselbeck. These are veteran NFL coaches and they didn't do squat to make the Colts pay for using their players for double teams and the other guys on that defense have got to step up and do something to make teams pay for double teaming JJ and JC, they need to win their one on one matchups and so far they aren't. That old cliché about winning being done in the trenches has never had a more telling example of that philosophy than the failure to win in the trenches in Houston this first 5 weeks of 2015.

Is this a depressing time to be a Houston sports fan or what? The Astros can't seem to overcome their bullpen and the Texans can't seem to overcome ANYTHING. While I grouse and moan over the Astros woes at least they made it to the playoffs which is something nobody even expected would happen. Exceeding expectations, Hmmmm, now there's a concept. Maybe the Texans should take a look at the Astros, a team with obvious shortcomings, actually much better than they were last season and fans are disappointed because they haven't been able to close out the ALDS against the much stronger Royals. Wow, disappointed because we lost. Wow.

Across town the Texans are not only disappointed because they are losing but they are losing in such a lame and impotent fashion that many, including the eternal optimist me, have written off their chances of making the playoffs. That's right, I said it. Written the Texans playoff chances off. O-F-F. I don't care that their schedule appears to get easier over the next few weeks, it doesn't matter because this team has shown nothing that inspires hope that there is a snowball's chance in hell they can do anything positive to right this ship. They aren't just losing, they are losing ugly and instead of showing signs of improvement................well maybe it's not THAT bad. I was a Hoyer guy before the season started even though I was willing to give Ryan Mallett the benefit of the doubt. While Mallett showed some signs of improving it was Hoyer that gave the team a spark and the Texans have shown the ability to at least score points with Hoyer under center. Now that Bill O'Brien has named Hoyer the starter going forward maybe a little stability at the QB spot will help get one of the Texans problems out of the way. So, how about focusing on the O-line for a while. This group had one good game out of the first 5. At that rate Houston will have 3 wins by the end of the season. Not acceptable. The line needs to start doing a much better job and they need to do it beginning this week in Jacksonville. Now is the time to play the Jags with Blake Bortles shoulder hurting. The one team we beat this season, Tampa Bay, just beat the crap out of Jacksonville by running the ball down the Jags throat and that is exactly how Houston beat Tampa two weeks ago. Logic would dictate that Houston should be able to do it again to the Jags, doesn't it? Sure it does. It's time to put one foot in front of the other or, in this case, one win in front of another. I'm tired of the Texans looking like crap because I have the Cowboys for that. It's time to start building on that 9-7 2014 record in a positive way. I think we're better than we've shown but it's way past time to show it. Let's go Texans, dammit!

The Texans have made a roster move or two this week as they prepare for their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.

 

On Tuesday the Texans waived WR Chandler Worthy from the active roster and they signed DT Brandon Dunn off the Chicago Bears practice squad. The Texans apparently want to inject a little life into the center of their 3-4 defense. He won't replace Vince Wilfork but he may get into a rotation that will help keep Wilfork from wearing out before the 4th quarter.

Also on Tuesday the Texans released DT Edawn Coughman from the practice squad and signed WR Josh Lenz.

 

Today the Texans resigned Chandler Worthy to the practice squad after he cleared waivers. To make room for Worthy the Texans released WR Alan Bonner.

 

Practice this week has been anything but pleasant after the Texans heartbreaking loss to Indianapolis last Thursday night. On Monday Bill O'Brien had the team in full pads. It was the first full pad practice since before the season began but the players seemed to respond well. How could they complain with the way they have played so far in the season? NFL teams are limited to only 15 padded practices once the season began and maybe this one was a little overdue. Houston has helped team kick their asses so far by committing dumb penalties and generally playing like crap. The defense is especially disappointing. In the link below an article from Texans.com takes a look at the defense going back to basics according to DC Romeo Crennel.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Back-to-basics-for-Texans-defense/d027c02c-8b32-4ccc-a1fb-0a842262ad7b

 

Houston will get a little help this week in the form of RB Jonathan Grimes and WR Cecil Shorts III. Grimes has been out the last 4 weeks with a hamstring injury while Shorts missed last week's game with a shoulder problem suffered on the last play of the Texans loss to the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago. Shorts has extra motivation in this game because the Jaguars are his old team so I'm sure he will be itching to play and play well.

 

Despite leaving the Colts game in walking boot Jadeveon Clowney, we are being assured, will be playing on Sunday. It will be all hands on deck because the Texans are on the verge of pissing away their season if the losses keep stacking up. Stability at QB will help assuming Brian Hoyer can find some consistency on the field. Except for the last pass of the game against the Colts Hoyer played a really good game putting up fantasy worth numbers. Jalen Strong seems to be finally getting it as an NFL player and it didn't help his first two receptions as a pro were for TDs. DeAndre Hopkins is turning into a Grade A pure D beast at WR and with Strong coming on now and the emergence of fellow rookie WR Keith Mumphrey as an emerging threat as a kick returner Houston should be able to help out the defense by moving the ball more consistently keeping the D off the field and fresher when they do go in. It all depends on the O-line. That group needs to play better and maybe now that Hoyer has shown he can lead the team maybe they will pick up their game too. Houston has too much talent to be 1-4 but fortunately it's not too late to turn things around and it all begins Sunday in Jacksonville.

Colts LB Sio Moore was the guy who ultimately cost Ryan Mallett his starting job. Why? He was the one who hit Mallett during the game that knocked him out of the contest and allowed Brian Hoyer to come in and he was able to move the team AND put points on the board. The shots of Mallett on the sideline fuming because the coaches or trainers would not let him back on the field by the television cameras was a telling sign of what Mallett is really about. When Hoyer lost his job to Mallett he was probably pissed off too but he was a good team mate and he encouraged the guys, including Mallett,, on the field. Mallett pouted like a little bitch. I genuinely hope that Hoyer does well going forward all the way through to the end of the season and next year the Texans can cut or trade Mallett and go with Tom Savage in a competition for the starting job. I have definitely seen enough of Ryan Mallett to know that I have problem with the Texans moving on.

 

The national fantasy pundits are saying this could be the week Arian Foster finally starts looking like Arian Foster. Many of the fantasy pundits are ranking Foster as high as 3rd in their top plays at RB this week. It is easy to see why since the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston's next opponent, are giving up rushing yardage like a sale at Walmart. Doug Martin had a season high 123 rushing yards and 2 TDs and he also had 3 catches for 35 yards and another TD giving him 3 total on the day. Houston will be getting Cecil Shorts III back but the emergence of Jaelen Strong and the development of Keith Mumphery Houston probably doesn't even need Shorts to attack the Jags defense. Foster has shown flashes of his old self and the last two games were kind of his preseason. Now, against a shaky run defense, Foster really could be making a breakout this Sunday.

 

The defense will need to play much better than they have because the Jags are becoming no slouches on offense. Blake Bortles is looking like a first round pick and he has some young guns to help him out in the persons of TJ Yeldon at RB, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns at WR. Not to mention Marcedes Lewis at TE and the Jags have yet to get former Bronco TE Julius Thomas but he will add yet another dimension of worry to opposing defenses. Thomas may not play this week but he will be back very soon as he has started to work out with the team beginning last week. Houston has said in interviews that they need to clean up some things for them to start being more of a force. Things like eliminating stupid penalties, playing with poor technique and doing a better job in pass coverage. Jonathan Joseph struggled the first two weeks of the season making people wonder if he was in a state of decline after 10 years in the NFL but he has played pretty darn good the last 3 weeks. Kareem Jackson has been the one being picked on and Houston may decide that 1st round pick Kevin Johnson should start over Jackson. Quinten Demps and Rahim Moore have made some plays at safety and have been pretty solid otherwise. It's the linebackers that are the backbone of the 3-4 defense and this group has been lacking. Even though he's shown up at times Brian Cushing has missed plays and his partner at MLB Akeem Dent has not made enough plays at all. Against the Falcons and the Colts their RBs DeVanta Freeman and the ancient Frank Gore gashed the middle of the Texans defense. The guys in the middle need to play better. Another disappointment is SAM LB Whitney Mercilus. With JJ Watt getting double teamed, as well as WILL LB Jadeveon Clowney, Mercilus has been nowhere to be seen. It may be time to think about Bernardrick McKinney or John Simon to replace Mercilus. Despite being double teamed Clowney has made a real impact and his list of tackles, pressures, TFL and passes defensed is impressive. It's hard to fault the Texans for taking Clowney as the first round pick last year but with Blake Bortles and even Teddy Bridgewater doing well you have to wonder what if Houston had gone QB with their first pick last year. Now, the Texans got a highly regarded QB in a later round in Tom Savage and he was showing real promise before being lost for the season in the last preseason game. Maybe he can be that QB of the future and the Clowney pick will look even more like a shrewd move by Rick Smith. Shrewd moves and Rick Smith aren't said in the same sentence very often but if Savage turns out to be something special then you would have to give Smith some credit because he sure does get, and deserves to get, a lot of blame.

 

Now, the question becomes, can Houston beat Jacksonville? The answer is yes IF Houston can play mistake free football and not turn the ball over (hear that Brian Hoyer?). Jacksonville is fast becoming a no joke team. A team you have to really respect as they are really building a good roster. Play smart and get Arian Foster a lot of carries and have Hoyer use the high quality receivers he has and Houston can win this game. At 1-4 it is almost imperative the Texans win. It's a division game and it's a game they are fully capable of winning. That's the basically the same thing I said about the Colts game last Thursday and Houston played bad on defense, committed stupid penalties and Brian Hoyer threw up a totally stupid pass that got picked off as the Texans were driving to tie the game. It was a missed opportunity to beat a beatable team without their starting QB Andrew Luck who was out due to an injury. I'm shell shocked picking the Texans in these games they should win. There have been at least two IMO and Houston looked bad in both. If you believe the locker room chatter the Texans have gone back to work with the past 11 days off and they have tried to address the issues that have held them back. All I can say is, we'll see. I'm going to give the Texans the benefit of the doubt so I believe the final score will be....................................

 

Houston 27 Jacksonville 21

Damned if we didn't do it. Houston 31 Jax 14. Nice win and Hoyer, for the most part, did a really good job. A little disappointed Arian Foster didn't do more running the ball but that's mostly because I have him in one of my fantasy leagues. DeAndre Hopkins is dispelling a lot of people's worries that he would step up and be that #1 WR with Andre Johnson gone but he's setting records. He's the first WR in NFL history recording at least nine catches and 145 receiving yards 3 games in a row. He has tied Andre Johnson's franchise record for consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards with 4 and it doesn't really look like he is going to slow down any time soon. Brian Hoyer is looking like an NFL QB and he's put up some nice stats the past two games. Now, the only thing left for Houston's offense to do is get Arian Foster on a nice 100 YPG rushing binge and the problems with the defense will start to ebb away.

I hate to say it but there were a couple of injuries that may have actually improved this defense. It was tough luck to long S Lonnie Balantine to a knee injury but Andre Hal came up big in his place. The Texans have to like Hal's size and speed and he made a couple of plays in the game as well including 2 INTs of Jax's Blake Bortles. Now, we'll see next week who is the team who is really improving and which team had a good week when Houston plays the Miami Dolphins who won convincingly today against Tennessee in interim head coach Dan Campbell's first game as the head man. For a week anyway all is well in Houston Texan-land.

How amazing is this? A Houston Texan won Player of the Week honors and he's not named JJ Watt! He doesn't even play defense! That's right, DeAndre Hopkins won AFC Offensive POTW honors after his 10 catch, 148 yard and 2 TD performance in the Texans 31-20 win over Jacksonville last Sunday. It is the first such award for Hopkins who took over as the Texans #1 receiver when Andre Johnson was released this past off season. Hopkins also became the first NFL WR in history to notch at least 9 catches and 145 yds in 3 consecutive games and he also equaled a franchise record 4 straight 100+ yard games. Hopkins' receiving yards and reception totals, 52/726 so far after six games is the second most in NFL history since 1960. Pretty impressive stuff I'd say. Hopkins is also the NFL leading in first down catches (42) and first down catches on 3rd down (15). I'd say he's filling in nicely for Andre Johnson. For much of the season Hopkins has been the lone bright spot in the Houston offense. With the emergence of Brian Hoyer at QB and the steady return of Arian Foster to his normal self are signals that brighter days are ahead for the Texans offense.

 

The Texans keep picking up former players who were stars of this past summer's HBO series Hard Knocks. First Kournti Brown, another featured player on Hard Knock was signed off the Ravens practice squad and now they have signed CB Charles James II. You remember him, he's the guy who had the unique socks he wore in practice. He also demonstrated some skills at CB but with limitations. James was claimed off waivers to help fill the void left by S Lonnie Balantine's loss to an injury that necessitated putting him on season ending IR.

 

Houston will have to prove themselves on the road again this week as Houston travels to Miami for a game against the recently rejuvenated Dolphins led by interim head coach Dan Campbell. When Campbell was still a player he sported his hair long in much the same vein as the Packers LB Clay Mathews. These days Campbell has a buzz cut. I just thought it was interesting to see the change in jobs affecting his change in appearance. Campbell is just a couple of years removed from those old playing days so it's not like he aged enough to abandon his old persona. I guess when you become management you have to clean up your act. Somebody really ought to tell that to Rob Ryan.

 

Is anyone getting tired of JJ Watt? Really, isn't he just a little too good to be true? Yeah, I thought so. I'm not tired of a guy who seems to be just a good person with an incredible work ethic. He is a great example of what players should be as adults, and men and players. I know he gets a lot of publicity but isn't his pub a greater source of pride for Texans fans than some schmuck who gets wasted and beats up his woman or wrecks his car or gets into a gunfight or a knife fight or a fistfight or any combination of these events? Darn tootin' it is. We have enough members of the NFL Knuckleheads Club, there needs to be a membership push for the NFL Good Guys Association. In reality, there are a lot members in this latter club but, except for Watt and few others, most don't get a lot of air time but they do a lot for their team, their community and their city. I think with all the so-called 'Bad Boys' roaming around there are a whole lot more 'Good Guys' who represent the NFL and sports in general in a good and positive way. Amid all this stuff about the Louisville basketball scandal, deflategate, etc we should remember these bad apples are not the true representation of pro sports in general. I'm just saying.

As the Texans practice for the game against Miami Sunday they have already ruled out 3 players from the contest. CB Kareem Jackson, WR Cecil Shorts III and LB Benardrick McKinney. All three players were injured in the Jacksonville game last Sunday. Shorts was coming back from a shoulder injury reinjured himself during the game in his return to Jacksonville since being signed by Houston this past off season. Jadeveon Clowney returned to practice today after dealing with a bad ankle since the Colts game. The ankle was bad enough he couldn't practice and he missed the Jaguars game last Sunday as well. Romeo Crennel said he was moving around so-so but the fact he was in practice is a good sign he will be back in the lineup very soon.

 

Ever wonder why Houston's defense had been so bad through the first 5 weeks of the season? Have a theory of your own? Bleacher Report's Brad Westin breaks it down for us, from his perspective. Check out the link below.

 

http://www.battleredblog.com/2015/10/21/9547135/the-film-room-heres-why-the-houston-texans-defense-has-been-so-bad-in