Texans vs. 49ers: Line Play and a Quick Start Key to Success

It seems like every week there has been some underlying storyline to the Houston Texans upcoming game.

Last week was a battle between two teams with tendency to take things down to the last second.

The week before that we were wondering how the team would respond from a devastating loss stemming from an inability to punch it in from the one yard line late in the game (which coincidentally was the same question we were asking in weekend preview the game, it was just about football).

Cool.

Now, admittedly, there are questions about whether or not the Texans can maintain the success they found in Cincinnati—let’s face it, this team is not exactly known for consistency—and the battle of two native coaches, but for the most part, it’s just a game.

The networks may not be happy about that, but my nervous system is grateful.

With that said, there are still some key elements that Houston needs to address if they’re going to win this game.

The first, and most important, is how they start the game.

While the Texans’ defense has not been scored upon in the second half in each of the last two weeks, they have struggled early on and the team has had to play from behind both weeks.

Sure, it was only a three-point deficit last week, but the team gave up 168 yards and a touchdown to Carson Palmer in the first half.

Against Arizona, they allowed Kurt Warner to throw for 262 yards and two scores in the first half.

The offense started well last week, but had a blocked field goal on their first drive and ended the half with a bad interception. It was a step up from the first half shutout from the previous week, but they need to avoid those letdowns.

The team likely can’t afford that this week as there is no question that a Mike Singletary team which has had two weeks to prepare for this game, and who was embarrassed the last time they were on the field, is going to come out fired up and aggressive.

If the Texans can hold on and even get out to a quick lead, they will be in much better position to win this weekend.

The 49ers also employ a defensive strategy that should make most Texans fans shudder: the dreaded 3-4.

The reason the 3-4 has caused the Texans so much trouble over the years is that Chris Meyers struggles with the more powerful defensive tackles, and Duane Brown and Eric Winston have struggled with the speed edge rushers.

The 49ers nose tackle, Aubrayo Franklin, is not a household name, but he does a very good job of tying up blockers. Still, he’s no Kris Jenkins.

Brown and Winston have done a better job against edge rushers this year, but the success against this front will be key to providing Schaub with the time he needs to move the offense.

Like Cincinnati, however, the 49ers are a much stronger run defense than pass defense, so don’t look for Slaton and company to break out in this game.

In general, the overall game plan should be similar to the game plan the Texans have adopted for most of their games.

Offensively, look for a lot of passes, but enough runs to keep the defense honest.

San Francisco will likely bring Patrick Willis (who scares the heck out of me) on blitzes, so it will be crucial for the line to protect Schaub and for receivers to get open quickly. We can probably expect quite a few screens to Slaton as well.

Whether the offense performs like they did against Cincinnati, or like they did against the Jets, will depend on how much time Schaub has to throw.

On defense, the opponent again features a strong running game.

With Frank Gore coming back, the Texans will force the game in to the hands of Shaun Hill.

Hill has been an efficient quarterback with only two interceptions, and he has a shiny new toy in Michael Crabtree, but he’s unlikely to take over the game. He’s also been sacked 16 times in four games, so Mario Williams may be looking for a big game.

The Texans will likely show a lot of eight man fronts—which they like to do anyway—and try to slow down Gore. They must continue their improvement against the run.

Overall, this should be an excellent game with two teams that are expected to improve.

Both teams must play to their strengths and try to take the other out of their comfort zone, but the key to the game may be getting off to a quick start.

This game may lack the sexy headlines, but it should feature some of the best football of the weekend.

Still, whenever the Texans are playing, drama can’t be too far away, so don’t turn away.

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Texans and Bengals Promise To Be Exciting Until the End

I wanted to write a technical preview of the Houston Texans- Arizona Cardinals game.

I wanted to talk about how this may be the most balanced offensive attack the Texans have faced this year.

I wanted to write about the Texans’ explosive passing game up against a Bengal’s defense that ranks 23rd in pass yards allowed.

I wanted to write about the Texans’ decimated offensive line facing Antwan Odom—he of the eight sacks.

I wanted to write about the Texans’ faltering running game trying to break out against a defense that has given up 4.2 yards per rush.

But I couldn’t.

All I could think about while trying to preview this match-up is how fragile a victory in the NFL is, and how easily it can be taken away.

The Texans are are 2-3 and the Bengals are a surprising 4-1, change only a couple of plays and both teams could be 4-1.

Or 2-3.

Or 0-5.

Or 3-2.

Not 5-0 though, because the the Texans never had a chance against the Jets.

I know that for most games you can say that by changing a few plays you can change the outcome, but the fourth quarters for these two teams have been tighter than Rex Ryan’s pants after Thanksgiving.

The Bengals have been on the short end of the stick in their one loss where Brandon Stokley’s miracle touchdown ripped their hearts out. 

The following week, they nearly blew a 10 point lead against the Packers.

They were then on the winning side of last second plays against the Steelers, Browns, and Ravens.

The Texans on the other hand, have only had three of their five games come down to the last second, but they were all memorable.

They survived in Tennessee after Kerry Collins’ last second fumble, and then fumbled away their own opportunity the following week against Jacksonville.

Last week, late turnovers again were the late story as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returned an interception for a touchdown and the Cardinal defense stopped the Texans three times from the one to seal the win.

As a Texans fan, I don’t know that I can handle another week of this.

I’ve already taken five years off my life this season, and Bengals fans have to be feeling the same way.

For all those things I wanted to write about, though, this should be another close game.

In their first four games, the Texans faced teams that were going to try to run the ball down your throat, but weren’t as much of a threat in the passing game, so the Texans fed them a constant diet of eight man fronts.

Conversely, last week they faced a Cardinal team who is a major threat throwing the ball, but only slightly less inept than the Texans in the running game (or even more inept, depending on what stats you look at).

The Bengals, however, are equally successful running and passing.

Cedric Benson is the top rusher in the NFL, and while Carson Palmer doesn’t have the most eye popping stats, he is a dangerous passer, and has a great receiving corps.

The Bengals offense is dangerous and balanced, but not one of the most potent in the game. 

They will face off against a Texans defense that has played well for stretches, but has also had moments of absolute disaster.

The Bengals defense is much improved from years past, but will match up against a pass offense that has been explosive, despite the lack of support from the running game.

Yes, my friends, this will be another close game. 

Another year of my life will be sacrificed for three hours of football. 

Hopefully, the Texans will prevail this time, but if you love football I  advise you against turning the TV off early.

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Texans Play Consistently Inconsistent

After Week One against the New York Jets, there were all sorts of concerns about the Texans on both offense and defense, such as how well can Matt Schaub play from his back?

After the Week Two victory over Tennessee, the major concerns revolved around the run defense. 

In Week Three, the Texans defense again struggled to stop the run as Maurice Jones-Drew ran for three touchdowns. 

Two weeks ago against the Raiders, the defense held strong, but after a prolific first half, questions aroused about the offense’s ability to put the opponent away.

Last Sunday, the team struggled mightily in the first half, and then rebounded nicely in the second half only to have the game ripped away from them in another heart-breaking defeat.

Throughout this, the team has had almost 100 percent turnover in the starting secondary and special teams have provided as many blunders as spectacular plays.

Notice a trend?

Me neither.

The fact is, the Texans have a lot of problems.  At some point this year, every aspect of the team has been looked at with a critical eye.

What makes this even more maddening is that each of these units has had shining moments of brilliance—however brief they may have been—yet only the passing game has shown the consistency needed for the team to be a contender.

The problem-du-jour is the running game which has been a liability more often than not. 

The team has managed a measly 3.0 yards per carry—only San Diego has a worse average—and has lost two games in large part because of their inability to score from the one-yard line.

From Slaton not being as decisive and aggressive as he was last year, to the interior line being pushed around more than a Swiffer, to a myriad of fumbles, to the goal line failures, the entire offense is to blame.

Before the running game was the major concern though, the rush defense was the major culprit—although they have been spared recently after a stint of good play.

That play, however, coincided with the team facing two of the worst running offenses in the league in Arizona and Oakland. 

While the pass defense hasn’t received nearly as much scrutiny, they were amongst the worst in the league last year and have faced only one quarterback who ranks in the top 15 in quarterback rating (Kurt Warner at 13). 

They game up 262 yards in the first quarter alone to Arizona and have intercepted only two passes all season—a figure that has them tied for last in team stats and which has been bested by eight individual defensive backs.

The special teams have also been as up and down as the rest of the team with as many terrible plays as great ones. 

Sunday was a perfect example as they had two great returns, but were hampered by a blocked field goal.

Lastly, the area where much of fan’s recent vitriol has been directed has been the coaching staff.

The most specific example is the last running play at Arizona where the play called from Chris Brown, who has historically struggled in short yardage situations, to run behind Chris Meyers, who couldn’t block my 5-year old niece, and Mike Brisiel who was injured earlier in the game. 

Coincidentally, this was the same play that failed as the final play against Jacksonville.

More concerning than that, however, is the fact that in three of the five games this year, the team has been badly outplayed early and fallen behind. 

The fact that they have been able to overcome that deficit twice—even winning the game at Tennessee—suggests that they have the talent to compete, but the fact that they continue to put themselves in that hole points to poor preparation.

We must always be grateful to Gary Kubiak for the turn around he has made with this team.  The fact that we even have these expectations is a tribute to his work.

I still believe that he can lead this team to glory and I am not yet in the “fire Kubiak” camp, but I’m closer than I was a few weeks ago.

Perhaps no team in the NFL had a wider range of possibilities as to what this season could be than the Texans and perhaps no team still has that variation.

We always knew the team could throw the ball, but none of the other questions surrounding the franchise have been answered. 

We still have reasons to think that the team has the potential to be great, but we still don’t have reasons to believe it will happen.

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Texans at Cardinals: The Most Interesting Game of the Weekend

I don’t often watch football, but when I do, I watch the Texans at the Cardinals.

Ok, that’s a lie.  I watch a lot of football.  But even if I wasn’t a Texans fan, I’d be very interested in this weekends game in Glendale.

Normally a battle between a 1-2 team and a 2-2 team is pretty mundane.  This weekend’s clash, however, is anything but.

Aside from the importance of what should already be an exciting game, there are plenty of underlying story-lines to keep even the most casual fan intrigued.

First, there is the major storyline of Andre Johnson vs. Larry Fitzgerald in the “who’s the best receiver in the league” bowl.

Fitzgerald is undoubtedly in the discussion of “best in the league,” but my money goes to Andre. 

Both receivers have unparalleled skill sets—hands, strength, route running, intelligence—but where Johnson sets himself apart is in speed.

Andre nearly won the NFL’s fastest man competition a few years back and was the 2003 fastest man in college track. 

That’s unheard of for a man of that size.

Pair that with his hands, knowledge of the game, and—here’s one you don’t often hear about a wide receiver—humility, and the edge has to go to Johnson. 

Regardless, though, it should be fun to watch.

Another storyline—popular in Houston and Arizona, but not so much in the rest of the country—is the return of Antonio Smith to Arizona.

Smith has been a sort of a whipping boy in Houston, where fans are still sore over the contract and underwhelming performance from Anthony Weaver for the last few years.

Before last week, Smith hadn’t shown up on the stat sheet much and fans were getting restless saying things like, “I thought we got rid of Anthony Weaver.”  In reality though Smith has been playing pretty well.

He’s gotten pressure quite a few times and had a forced fumble against the Jets.  More importantly, Mario Williams has seen fewer double teams as a result of Smith lining up on the opposite side.

Last week, however, he finally stepped up and gave Texans fans what they’ve been looking for.

He put more pressure on the quarterback and recovered a fumble.

The ultimate highlight, however, came when Smith and Amobi Okoye pushed back the entire right side of Oakland’s line in the end-zone to enable Brian Cushing to score a safety.

Cushing gets credit on the stat sheet, but without Smith’s effort, that play doesn’t happen.

Smith has talked about his respect for Kurt Warner and the Cardinals, so he shouldn’t lack for motivation.

It will be exciting to see if he can continue his improved play. 

Yet another interesting subplot will be to see which of these teams can turn their season around. 

Both teams entered the year with expectations never before seen by their fan bases.

The Cardinals are expected to continue their resurgence after appearing in the team’s first Super Bowl last year, after years of futility.

The Texans, on the other hand, are expected to have their first winning season and contend for the playoffs—and avoiding the years of frustration that accompanied the Cardinals for so long.

Both teams have lost games they should win if they’re going to fulfill those expectations, however, with the Cards losing to resurgent rival San Francisco on opening day and the Texans losing a heart-breaker against Jacksonville.

Lastly, and in my opinion most interesting, the battle of the trenches when the Texans have the ball may well be the most critical in deciding the victor.

One of the reasons Arizona let Antonio Smith leave was their desire to switch to a 3-4 defense. 

That defense is keyed by star defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, whom Kubiak described as “the best player [he’s] seen on film this year.”

The Texans have historically struggled against 3-4 defenses and it’s primarily due to the interior offensive line being overwhelmed by the larger, stronger defensive tackles generally featured by 3-4 teams.

At 285 pounds, Dockett is smaller than most of those tackles but possesses a unique combination of speed and strength. 

The Texans’ interior offensive line play has been a weakness on offense this year and whether or not they can hold off Dockett may be the ultimate key to victory. 

With the Texans playing only their fifth game and the Cardinals their fourth, it’s hard to call this a “must win” for either team.

Yet, the victor may ultimately look back on this game as one that keyed a turn around in their season while the loser will be feeling even more pressure to meet their new-found expectations.

The importance of this game paired with all the exciting subplots makes this the most interesting game of the weekend.

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Texans’ Running Game Running On Empty

3.2.

That’s a pretty good GPA, a comfortable mileage for a run, and a great time for 0 to 60.

It’s also a terrible yards-per-rush average, and it currently belongs to the Texans.

Over the first few weeks many Texans’ fans have been saying that we shouldn’t worry about it, and that the combination of Alex Gibbs, Gary Kubiak, and Steve Slaton will be fine.

Sorry guys.  I’m worried.

We’re now a quarter through the season, and we’re still operating on hope.

The Texans’ running game works on a zone blocking scheme, and they even have the original architect on staff in Alex Gibbs.

In a true zone blocking system, the lighter offensive linemen will occasionally get pushed back, and the anticipated hole won’t be there. 

When executed properly, however, the defensive linemen will get blocked quickly, and then the lighter, more athletic, offensive linemen will run down-field and get a block on a linebacker, or safety.

This gives the running back not just a hole, but a path for extra yardage.

Obviously, the path does not last long, because the offensive linemen are not holding their blocks. 

The running back must then recognize the hole when it is created, and hit it quickly before it disappears—hence, the “one cut and go” definition.

The scheme was run to perfection on Slaton’s 32 yard TD run on Sunday against the Raiders, as you could see Duane Brown, Kasey Studdard, and Chris Myers briefly pushing the defensive line, and then running down field to get second level blocks.

So, if the offensive linemen and running backs know how to operate, and the system has a history of success, why are the Texans struggling so bad to run the ball?

For one, the offensive line has struggled to consistently create the running lanes. They have improved in pass blocking throughout the first few games, but there have been many times that the first contact on the running back has been in the backfield.

Second, Slaton has not been as explosive as he was last year.

After identifying the hole, Slaton has not done a good job of accelerating through the hole. 

While watching Ryan Moats last week, I noticed that he seemed to get more consistent yardage than Slaton did. Upon further examination, Moats would start slow after receiving the hand-off, and when he identified a hole, he turned on the jets and burst through.

Slaton on the other hand, was less aggressive. He was slightly less patient to let the blocking develop, and then slower to run through it.

Some have argued that the weight Slaton put on this off-season has affected his ability to accelerate. 

That may be true, but part of the problem could also be mental. Slaton seems to have missed some opportunities in the last few games, and it may be that he’s trying so hard to make plays, that he’s not seeing all the openings in front of him.

The causes are all speculation of course, but the results are real, and the impact is huge.

The Texans do not need to rely on a running game in order to be successful, but their explosive passing game is driven by a threat of a running game.

Many of the Texans’ biggest plays this season, and in past seasons, have come off the play action. If the defense doesn’t respect the running game, then the success of those plays will suffer.

Furthermore, the Texans need to be able to run the ball late in games when they have the lead, in order to burn clock and close out games.

This week, the Texans face an Arizona Cardinals team that ranks among the league’s best against the run, but some of their opponents have found success.

In their three games, Frank Gore ran for 30 yards on 22 carries, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 66 yards on 13 carries, and Joseph Addai ran for 63 yards on 13 carries. 

Those aren’t very high totals, but Jones-Drew and Addai both ran for more than 4.5 yards per carry.

Overall, however, the Cardinals have held opponents to 3.1 yards per rush, so the Texans may have an opportunity to gain some yards on the ground, but they’re going to have to run the zone blocking scheme to perfection.

While the Texans’ defense has struggled this year, the team has relied on the offense to carry the load and win games, and even if the defense improves, the team’s success is highly dependant on the offense.

If the running game doesn’t improve, the team will struggle to maintain the offensive output.

It’s not too late to make the improvement and have a good season rushing the ball, but it’s not too early either.

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Houston Texans 2009 Season: Expectant Mothers Should Not Ride.

Warning:  Before experiencing the Houston Texans’ season you should be in good health, free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or any other condition that could be aggravated from this ride.

The 2009 season started with a dud for the Texans as they were thoroughly dominated by the Jets.

They followed up with a huge win in Tennessee.

In week three, they laid another egg and lost a heart-breaker against Jacksonville.

This week they bounced back with a dominating performance against the Raiders.

Hold on a second — I’m getting sick.

The question now is the same question we’ve been asking of this team for the last two years: are they ready to take that next step or will the roller-coaster continue?

The Texans have one of the elite passing attacks in the league.  Andre Johnson is arguably the best receiver in the NFL, Matt Schaub has turned into a reliable and dangerous quarterback, Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter are great route runners with reliable hands, and Andre Davis and Jacoby Jones can both stretch the field.

That is the only part of the team that can be described as consistent.

The running game has been boom or bust (mostly bust) and has already lost three fumbles.

The defensive woes have been well documented, but the unit has more personalities than Dr. Jekyll.  They’ve made some nice defensive stops, but also given up six touchdowns of 30-yards or more.

On special teams, Jacoby Jones showed his explosiveness on Sunday as he ran back a free kick following the safety 95-yards for a touchdown, and then showed why Texans fans should stock up on antacids by fumbling his next punt.

So, again, has this team figured it out, or are we in for another free-fall next week?

History suggests that the ups and downs will continue, but the team made some adjustments this week that provide some slivers of hope.

Offensively, the team was held in check more so than in recent weeks, but improved significantly since the last time these teams met.

Again, Andre Johnson was held to two catches, but unlike last time, the rest of the team was able to step up and make some plays. 

Steve Slaton finally found some running room, and Ryan Moats got his first significant action and made some key contributions.

Moats showed better patience than Slaton in waiting for the holes and, more importantly, held on to the ball — something that has been a challenge for Houston backs this season.

Defensively, the Texans did nothing significantly different than in previous weeks — except avoid the big mental errors.

The big plays this season have all come from broken assignments, over-aggressiveness, and poor fundamentals.

Against the Raiders, the team didn’t miss a lot of tackles and had strong gap discipline, while maintaining an aggressive mindset.

Of course, this was all aided by poor decisions on JaMarcus Russell and some dropped balls by the Raider receivers.  There were a lot of plays available in the secondary, but Oakland was unable to capitalize.

The Arizona Cardinals will not be so generous next week.

The Houston Texans are still a very young team and with that comes the inconsistency we’ve seen so far.

There is still time for them to learn how to win consistently, and it will have to start with a single victory.

Perhaps this is that victory and this ride will finally stop.

 

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Houston Texans Defense Needs Mental Practice

When Gary Kubiak took over as coach of the Texans in 2006, his mission was to change the mindset of a losing team.

The Texans were coming off a thoroughly embarrassing 2-14 campaign and the players were understandably lacking confidence. 

In his first preseason as head coach, Kubiak and the Texans went 3-1.  While preseason games rarely matter, Kubiak made them matter that year. 

He celebrated the victories as a way to get the players to understand that winning feels good and they really can win in the NFL.

Slowly the culture within the Texans locker room started to change from “we hope we can win” to “we know we can win.”

With that culture change came a change in expectations for both player and fan.

With Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Jaguars, Kubiak may be faced with yet another coaching challenge that has nothing to do with X’s and O’s.

While two plays stand out from this game (Kevin Walter’s phantom pass interference that cost the team a touchdown and Chris Brown’s subsequent goal-line fumble) the main culprit was again a defense more porous than a colander. 

The Texans’ defense gave up its fourth running touchdown of over 35 yards this season, and the post game quotes suggest that the issues may be mental more than tactical.

“We had some missed tackles in there,” said DeMeco Ryans. “They broke another long run on us. (Defensive coordinator) Frank (Bush) is putting us in great situations; he’s making great calls. We just have to play the defense as well as we can play.”

Mario Williams followed by saying, “We were out of gap, once again. Every time we sit here and give up big yardage like that, it’s us. It’s nothing they did at all. We had a guy right there and we were just completely out of gap.”

Even defensive coordinator Frank Bush chimed in saying, “sometimes guys are a little bit over-zealous; guys try too hard. Other times, guys make mistakes.”

These mental errors are the same errors the team made last week in Tennessee and in week one against the Jets.

On Maurice Jones-Drew’s 61-yard touchdown scamper, the Texans had eight in the box and safety John Busing over compensated on an inside move and broke contain.  This opened the outside lane for Jones-Drew and at the race was on.

The Texans lost that race.

Anyone who has ever played any level of organized sports, from a local beer league softball team to professional sports, can attest that people play better when they are relaxed and comfortable.

The current Texans defense is anything but relaxed and comfortable and their play is tentative and uncertain.

The players seem to be trying so hard to change this that they are not playing disciplined and not trusting their teammates to make the play.  This makes them more tense and more uncertain.

It is not too late to change this trend, but Kubiak must act now before it is too late to save this season, and possibly his job.

With as potent an offense as the Texans possess, they do not need a top flight defense…merely one that can occasionally keep the opposition in check. 

While the team needs an infusion of talent at defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety, there should be enough skill at linebacker and defensive end that a well designed scheme should allow them to be at least average.

In order to become so, however, Kubiak must take a page from his own coaching history and start by changing the mindset. 

This defense does not seem to have faith in themselves and in their ability.  Until they do, the team will not be able to achieve the higher expectations that Kubiak has instilled.

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Texans’ Run Defense Key to Game against Jaguars

Two games in and the Texans are 1-1, although not in the manner most expected.

After falling in the opener against the Jets, the team fell behind early at Tennessee, but was able to rebound for a heart-attack inducing win.

Looking out a few weeks at the schedule, most Texans fans may have reason to be optimistic.

I, however, am more paranoid than most. 

My paranoia does not stem from the CIA and I don’t wear a tin foil hat, but years of being subjected to defenses designed by Richard Smith can make even the most hardened football fan nervous.

At the moment, the paranoia can be summed up with three letters: M, J, and D.

First off, let me say that the early returns on Frank Bush’s defense are FAR superior to those of Richard Smith.

Then again, that’s like being the valedictorian of summer school.

Rather than rely on generalizations, though, let’s look at the available data.

Through the first two games, the Texans have been a feast or famine run defense. They have had many nice stops behind the line of scrimmage or for no gain.

They’ve also given up four runs of over 30 yards.

In the first two games, the Texans main defensive goal was to stop the run and make the other team beat them with the pass. They often stacked eight or nine in the box and pursued hard to the ball.

In the Jets game this actually worked pretty well as through three quarters, the Jets had only four runs over four yards.

As the game progressed, however, the Jets broke two long ones: a 38-yard TD and a 39-yard run. On both of these, the Texans had nine in the box, so once Thomas Jones got past that, it was pretty much clear sailing.

The natural question at this point is, “How does Jones even get past the first level?”

There are three answers here. The first is that the aggressive ball pursuit has had a negative impact on gap discipline. Guys are running so hard to try to make a play, that they are getting out of position and making it a little easier to open holes.

The second reason is that our linebackers and safeties were not very successful in blitzing. When the team blitzed—be it a run blitz or pass blitz—they seemed to be running into blockers and the Jets were able to pick it up with relative ease.

The last reason is that because of the offense’s struggles to move the ball and the defense’s inability to get off the field on third down, these guys were just tired. The Jets had the ball for nearly 40 minutes and this may have contributed to the other two reasons mentioned.

Against Tennessee, the defense was much less successful against the run, and 60 percent of the runs went for four yards or longer. 

The primary culprits here were also over-pursuit and gap discipline.

On the first of Chris Johnson’s long runs, defensive end Connor Barwin ran hard outside, and was given only a slight nudge by tackle Michael Roos and was out of the play.  Roos was then able to run down-field and make another key block to spring Johnson.

On the long 91-yard run, a similar thing happened with Tim Bulman and again, there was a key down-field block.

Many of the other runs that went for 10 to 15 yards were also helped by a key downfield block or overpursuit by the Texans.

Now Maurice Jones-Drew comes to town.

Last year, the Texans largely held Jones-Drew in check as he ended up with rushing totals of 32 and 49 yards, but that was on seven and 12 rushes respectively. Now he’s the team’s feature back and figures to get more carries.

The Texans are likely to pursue a similar defensive strategy as we have seen so far this season and try to make David Garrard beat them.

If they can contain Maurice Jones-Drew, this strategy may pay off, but if the last two weeks are any indication of the Texans’ run defense, we may be in for another shootout.

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Matt Schaub: What a Difference a Week Makes

In week one, Matt Schaub looked like a high school quarterback suddenly thrust into the NFL spotlight.

In week two, he was Joe Montana reincarnated (except, of course, for the technicality that Joe Montana is alive and well).

So, which Matt Schaub, can we expect to see in week three against Jacksonville?

Ha, trick question.  They’re both the same Matt Schaub.

The fact is, the failures of week one Matt Schaub were grossly overstated and the successes in week two were a little inflated.

Yes, I’m well aware that week one Matt Schaub passed for 166 yards, zero TD’s, and one INT.  I’m also aware that week two Matt Schaub passed for 357 yards, four TD’s, and zero INT’s. 

But I’m also aware that the circumstances surrounding both performances were significantly different.

Let’s start by looking at the Jets game. 

The fact is, that Schaub didn’t miss many opportunities in that game. 

The Texans under Kubiak have historically struggled against 3-4 defenses.  This is because 3-4 defenses generally have large, strong nose tackles whose primary function is to take up blockers so their athletic linebackers can run free and create havoc.

This doesn’t mesh well with Alex Gibb’s lighter offensive linemen.  When plagued with an especially undersized and weak center like Chris Myers, that larger nose tackle can progress from “taking up blockers” guy to “wearing Matt Schaub as a jock strap” guy.

Kris Jenkins played this role well.

Like everything else, however, this did not occur in a vacuum.  Rex Ryan also dialed up all sorts of blitzes which were executed to perfection (unlike the Texans’ blitzes which were rather unsuccessful).

These blitzes came from a variety of angles, and the offensive line and Steve Slaton struggled to pick them up. 

To oversimplify, the priority system of offensive linemen in this scheme is to work inside-out.  This becomes difficult when Jenkins is rag-dolling Myers and the guards now have to account for both their man and a 360 pound cookie monster who mistook Schaub’s head for a chocolate chip.

On blitzes, Slaton’s job is to account for the most immediate threat first, which generally involves the first blitzer.

When this process fails, Schaub can’t step into his throws and his accuracy suffers. 

Furthermore, Schaub struggled in recognizing the blitz and making the proper adjustments.  His mobility may have suffered as a result of the ankle injury, but Schaub also seemed to get frustrated and start looking for big plays.

Big plays mean longer routes.  Longer routes take more time to develop.  I think you can see where I’m going here.

Schaub’s interception was a perfect example and a microcosm of the entire game.  Schaub’s pre-snap read should have shown him an overload blitz from the right side.  Since the Jets had rarely shown blitz and backed off, Schaub should have expected it.

Fast forward to the snap—Slaton slipped out as a check down, but didn’t help with a blitz.  That meant that more guys were coming in than the offensive line could block.  Instead of checking down, Schaub tried to hang in there to allow Jacoby Jones to come open and tried to force the ball down field.

Pick.  Ball game.

So what was different in the Tennessee game?

Two things: protection and play action. 

Tennessee is not afraid to blitz, but they rely more on pressure from their front four.  The Texans’ offensive line did a much better job of protecting, and Slaton did a much better job of picking up the blitz when it did come. 

The result was that Schaub had more time—even if only a second or two—and more space to step in and make an accurate throw.

As I mentioned earlier, this time also allows the receivers to better develop their routes and given time, nobody can cover Andre Johnson.

Furthermore, despite the low rushing numbers, the play action was very effective against the Titan defense.  There may have been a bit of a residual effect from Slaton’s effectiveness in the two meetings last year.

Suddenly provided time and space to operate, Schaub was able to generate more offense and put points on the board. 

So, back to the premise, what can we expect to see next week?

The anchor of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line is big John Henderson, but he’s more of a run stopper than pass rusher.  Then again, if he’s facing Chris Myers, I know I’ll have some heartburn watching the interior line this weekend.

Other than that, the Jaguar pass rush has been seriously lacking this year. 

They have one sack, courtesy of Reggie Hayward, who was put on the IR last week.  Last week, they were credited with one quarterback hit, and that came from cornerback Rashean Mathis.

The Jags are unlikely to suddenly discover their pass rush, especially in light of the blocking adjustments the Texans made between weeks one and two, so look for Schaub to have another big day. 

In his one game against them last year, he threw for 307 yards with three TD’s and zero INT’s, and I would expect similar numbers this week.

Now, how do we stop Maurice Jones-Drew?

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Texans-Titans: A Future Classic Rivalry

The Texans-Titans rivalry may not have the recent playoff drama of Pats-Colts. It may not have the historical implications of Browns-Steelers or Bears-Packers. But try telling fans of these teams the atmosphere of this afternoon’s game is any less intense.

The Texans-Titans rivalry hasn’t even existed for a full decade, and thus far has been fairly one-sided. The conflict between fan bases, however, goes back a bit further. 

In 1997, Bud Adams dropped the city of Houston like a little kid who found a new playground. The swings in the old playground may not have been as shiny, but well-behaved kids know the importance of maintaining old relationships and supporting their community.

Bud Adams, however, was more like a spoiled brat. His actions would ultimately spawn the rivalry between Houston and Nashville. 

In 2002, football fans in Houston—those who retained loyalty to their city, that is—were finally rewarded with a new team. 

In the Texans’ early years, they developed more of a rivalry with the Jaguars than the Titans, but then in 2006, Bud Adams stepped in again.

There is no need to recount the story of draft day in April 2006—as hindsight has proven the Texans correct—but on that day, Bud again stirred the emotions of Houstonians by drafting Vince Young.

After Young’s famous overtime run later that season, the rivarly started to grow.

Then, in 2008, it grew even more fierce as Albert Haynesworth separated Matt Schaub’s shoulder.

Last year, despite cheap shots from Cortland “Little Guy” Finnegan, the Texans dealt a big blow to the Titan’s hopes of home-field advantage with a Monday night upset.  The Titans would recover with a win against Pittsburgh, but the rivalry now had teeth—big, sharp, nasty teeth.

Now with both teams facing 0-1 deficits, this early-season matchup promises to further build the rivalry.

Hopefully the Texans can come away with a victory, but the game will undoubtedly live up to some high expectations.

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