Friends, Houstonians, Texans Lend Me Your Ear - Matt Schaub

Texan Toughness

Remember when Matt Schaub was fragile?  Remember when the Texans were a finesse team? Remember when the Texans were a soft team?  At least they were branded with those labels by the national media.

Yes Schaub missed games in three seasons.  Conveniently the media forgets that Schaub played the whole seasons in 2009 & 2010.  Last year's injury was one of those freak things.  Fat Albert fell on Schaub's foot on a sneak and ended his season.

After last Sunday's game in Denver, Schaub earned the label of tough guy.  For those of us who have been watching, we know better.  Schaub takes beatings and gets back up.  Remember the Jags road game in 2009?  I think Schaub proved his toughness in that game.  It took Schaub losing part of an ear on a nationally televised game to convince the rest of the world he's a tough man.  So let's just move on from and never question Schaub's toughness.

Mental Toughness

The Texans put the finesse tag to rest last year with the rebirth of the defense from the disaster of 2010.

Still, it was great to see the Texans overcome a terrible first play.  The Broncos punted and put the ball on the two yard line.  On the first Texans snap of the game, Elvis Dumervil sacked Schaub for a safety.  First year starter at right tackle Derek Newton whiffed on his block.  On the ensuing possession, the Broncos scored a field goal for a 5-0 lead.

In the past, the Texans might have cratered with such a negative start.  There was something to the fact that they were rattled easily.  Couple a bad first series with a road game, the Texans needed a strong response.  On the second possession, the Texans delivered a punch that pretty much set the stage for the rest of the game.  Schaub hit the baddest man in the NFL Andre Johnson for a 60 yard TD bomb.  It was a beautiful play with Schaub hitting Angry Dre in stride.

The defense flustered Peyton Manning for most the first half.  While Texans were scoring TDs, the Broncos possessions went punt, FG, punt, punt, FG, punt.  Anytime you can keep Manning's offense out of the endzone, your day is going well.

The third drive by the Texans was their typical manly clock eating drive.  It went 98 yards in 14 plays and 7:05 minutes time of possession.

The quick strike offense punched the Broncos defense again when Schaub hit Kevin Walter in stride for a 52 yard TD.

When the half ended, the Texans turned a 5-0 deficit into a commanding 21-11 lead.

Manning Never Out of It

The Texans managed to tack on 10 more points in the 3rd quarter which would prove necessary.

To start the 4th, it looked like the Texans were going to embark on one of their will imposing, epic touchdown drives.  They were moving the ball and bleeding clock until Ben Tate fumbled on the 7th play of the drive.  

Give Manning a fumble and he'll take a mile.  That was the opening Manning needed.  Two plays after the fumbled, Manning hit Brandon Stokely for a 38 yard TD and only used 31 seconds.

After a Texans three and out, Manning pulled the Broncos within 5 points.  The only positive is they used over 8 minutes to do it.

The Texans finished off the job by chewing up most of the last three minutes of the game and leaving Manning just 20 seconds to pull off a miracle.  But he couldn't.

Offensive Line Right Side Concerns

Last week RG Antoine Caldwell started losing snaps to rookie Brandon Jones.  The rotation continued in Denver.  Now RT Derek Newton lost snaps to Ryan Harris.  I read somewhere, I can't find the source, that Harris played the last four series of the game.

In my opinion, Caldwell is on the verge of losing the starting job.  I've never been impressed with his play. Caldwell is easily moved and he can't get down to the second level on run blocking.  Caldwell will be riding pine by week 7.  

With Newton, I still think he keeps the starting job.  He had a rough game against the Broncos and the Texans needed to close out the game.  Like a relief pitcher, Gary Kubiak pulled his starter and went to the bullpen.  I think we'll see more of the same when Newton struggles but he won't get the hook if he plays well.

While on the topic of the offensive line, I have a few concerns.  First is the number of false starts the whole line had.  I don't have a break down but I remember at least five.  Denver is loud place to play.  I'm sure the team worked on silent counts and what not.  The execution just needs to be better.

The other concern I have is the number of hits Schaub took.  Even Kubiak commented on this issue.  Schaub proved his toughness to NFL fans this week.  However the line needs to keep him clean as much as possible.  He doesn't need to prove how tough he is each week.

Bulls Paraded on Donkeys

Bulls on Parade trampled the Donkeys for 3 quarters.  As tense as it became in the 4th quarter, that does not diminish what the defense accomplished.  The goal is to win the game.  By stuffing the Broncos for three quarters, they put the team in the position to win and withstand a furious comeback.  There is just no way around the fact that Manning will throw everything at a team to win.  He's that talented this late in his career and is a fierce competitor.

JJ Watt continues his bull rush through offensive lines to menace quarterbacks.  Before the game, Watt stated he wanted to sack Manning.  He did.  Twice.  He also added six tackles with four for losses.  The lead bull is a beast.

The defensive backs batted balls away from receivers all game long.  A few of those passes should have been intercepted.  They came away with the win so I'm probably splitting hairs.  However, a great defense needs to get those turnovers.  While it didn't matter much this game it will matter and make a difference between a win or a loss.  Bulls on Parade also forced Manning into a career high 26 incomplete passes.

Another positive is the run defense continues to remain solid.  The Jagoffs tried early to run MJD and failed.  The Donks tried the same theory early but the Texans stuffed the run to a tune of 2.8 yards a carry.  I think some preseason questions about the run defense have been answered for now.

Man of the Match

Matt Schaub wins this weekly award as the best player on the field for the Texans game.  Note I say game because I reserve the right to award the title to an opponent if they out play the Texans.

He wasn't his efficient self with the 60% plus completion rate.  He completed 56.7% but made every throw count.  You can't argue with a TD pass on 24% of his completions or a 9.7 yard per pass average.  Schaub finished the game 17 of 30 passes with 4 TDs, 290 yards, 1 INT, 1 sack.  

Final Thoughts

Another well played game for the Houston 11.  The offense put up at least 30 points for 2 out of 3 games.  Last year pre-Schaub injury they were averaging 27 points per game.  Looks like they've picked up where Schaub left off last year.  The average dropped 10 points once Yates took over for Schaub.  I view this game as a national coming out party for Schaub.  He showed the rest of the nation what we in Houston already knew.

While known for the two pronged rushing attack of Arian Foster and Ben Tate, the Texans showed they can  beat a team through the air too.  Don't forget that in 2010 Schaub posted the 7th highest yardage total in NFL history.  Also it is good to see Keyshawn Martin, Garrett Graham and Lestar Jean contribute and make teams pay for rolling coverage to Johnson.  Owen Daniels and Walter also remain a big part of the passing game.

This team is well rounded on defense and offense.  Special team coverage and the right side of the offensive line still are a worry for fans.  Trindon Holliday continues to be a nonfactor.  DeVier Posey will most likely be active this week since Jean is out with injury.  If he contributes or even shows flashes of potential, I see the Texans cutting Holliday and using Martin or Posey as return men.

Bring on the Titans!

Texans Dominate Jags 27-7

Domination

There is no other way to describe the Texans win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Texans dominated both sided of the ball.  The offense held the ball for an unbelievable 43+ minutes.  The defense only played 38 snaps.  

The offense pretty much imposed their will on the Jags defense.  Arian Foster and Ben Tate ran amok on the Jags defense.  Matt Schaub again was quietly efficient with no turnovers.  The Jags shutdown Andre Johnson but the Texans made them pay in other areas.

JJ Watt was JJ Swat again.  This time with two pass deflections, five tackles with two for losses and one and a half sacks.  This was enough to earn him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. 

The Sight Side (as opposed to the Blind Side)

Last week there was some concern for the right side of the line.  Two new starters were installed in RG Antoine Caldwell and 2nd year RT Derek Newton.  They did nothing to distinguish themselves last week.

Some fans worried that the better defense of the Jags would give the Texans a harder time than the Dolphins.  Nonsense.  They whole line stood up well against the Jags supposed quality defense.  The line allowed Foster, Tate and Justin Forsett thunder for 216 rushing yards.  

Rookie center Ben Jones made debut on the first touchdown series.  He played RG in place of Caldwell.  Gary Kubiak has gone to rotation at right guard for now.

I think Caldwell will lose the starting job and revert to back up sometime before midseason.  A few years back, Caldwell was penciled in as the starter in training camp.  As the season progressed, he rotated out with Mike Brisiel.  As things played out, Caldwell lost the job full time.  

I see the same scenario playing out this season.  Kubiak used the same strategy also during Duane Brown's rookie year.  He rotated every third series until Brown wrested the starting job away from Chester Pitts (if I recall correctly). 

Special Teams are Special

When I call special teams special, I don't mean it in a good way.

Trindon Holliday, Shane Graham and Donnie Jones played well enough on returns and kicking.  Holliday had a 36 yard return to give the Texans good field position.  Graham put both FG attempts through the uprights.  Jones flipped the field once or twice.

The blocking unit wiped out a couple of decent Holliday returns with penalties.  Last week I harped on Holliday to get his stuff together.  This week he held up his end of the bargain.  It was the blocking teams that let the team down.  They need to clean up those penalties that kill the return game.

The coverage unit also gives me pause.  Last week they gave up the TD to the Dolphins.  In the 3rd quarter, Jones punted away to the Jags 45 but it was returned to the Texans 37.  Two plays later, Blaine Gabbert found Maurice Jones-Drew for their lone touchdown of the game.

Special teams don't play as many plays as the other two units but they still have a tremendous impact on the outcome.  In a closer game, they make a big difference.

Final Thoughts

With a 27-7 win, it's hard to find fault.  The Texans, for one week, cleaned up the mess on the right side of the line.  The line overall improved.  Obviously, with Caldwell and Jones rotating, it remains a work in progress. 

Watt continues to play like the bad ass that he is.  Not only did he win AFC Defensive Player of the Week but his name has entered the Defensive MVP talk in some quarters.  With only two games played such talk is a stretch.  However, if he continues to play at such a high level for most the season then it possible.  Such numbers for a 3-4 end are unheard of.  I think teams will move more to double cover Watt but that does open doors for the linebackers.

For the record, in this game, Schaub, Foster and Johnson surpassed last years total plays on the field together.

Man of the Match

Ben Tate is man of the match this week.  Foster and Tate are probably the best one-two punch at running back.  The duo put up 244 total yard receiving and rushing.  They also accounted for the three TDs scored.

Tate though made the most of his opportunities.  He only touched the ball 16 times but accounted for 2 TDs, 23 receiving yards and 74 rushing yards.  Not know for his deft receiving, Tate turned a sure loss or stop on 3rd down into a positive gain for first down.  Tate definitely played a special game on Sunday....for that he is my man of the match.

Bring on the Broncos and Manning!

JJ Watt Wills Texans To Victory

The Sultan of  JJ Swatt

No one is going to argue against the following statement:  JJ Watt (or JJ Swatt as Wade Phillips refers to him) single handedly lead the Texans to victory.  Two crucial pass deflections late in the second half lead to interceptions by Kareem Jackson and Brian Cushing.  Those interceptions turned into 14 points.  For the game, Watt tallied 1.5 sacks, 3 pass deflections and 2 tackles.

With the game tied 3-3, Watt turned the tide in a bigger fashion that his TD grab versus Cincy in the playoffs.  When the clock read zero to end the half, the Texans held a 24-3 advantage.

If there is one analysis I can take away from the game it is this:  JJ Watt has done something, twice, that Mario Williams never did.  Watt turned the tide of the game when things were uneasy and in doubt.  In the playoffs, with the Texans and Bengals knotted up at 10, Watt snagged an Andy Dalton pass out of midair to give the Texans a 17-10 half time lead.  The TD not only ignited an uneasy home crowd but swung the momentum undoubtedly toward the Texans.  Sunday, we again witnessed the awesomeness that is JJ Watt.

While I was a big Mario Williams fan, I'll be the first to admit he never lived up to the top draft pick billing.  The Texans did the right thing in letting him walk in free agency.  Watt's performance only makes that move look the more brilliant.  For the record, Williams debut stat line in Buffalo was one tackle.

Offensive Woes?

I'm not as down on the offense as most fans are.  Matt Schaub was an efficient 20 of 31 (64.5%) for 266 yards and one TD.  Just as important, Schaub committed no turnovers.

Arian Foster and Ben Tate combined for 85 yards.  Foster churned out TD runs of 2 and 14 yards.  The offensive line failed to open up big holes for Foster.  The Texans resorted to several toss plays trying to loosen up the Dolphins defense.  Another factor was the rebuilt right side of the line.  One game is to small a sample size to see how new full time starters RT Derek Newton and RG Antoine Caldwell hold up.

With the run game stalled, the Texans passing game carried the load.  Andre Johnson makes it look easy grabbing 119 yards on 8 receptions and a TD.  His touchdown was a beautiful fade pass to close out the 21 point half ending flurry.  I haven't seen the replay yet but from my seats his footwork to stay in bounds was a work of beauty.

TE Owen Daniels made the Dolphins pay for doubling up on Johnson.  Twice Schaub found Daniels completely uncovered to in the middle of the field for big gains.  Daniels ended the game with 87 yards and 4 catches.

Far From Perfection

Despite the victory, plenty of issues need work.

Trindon Holliday, watch your back.  Gary Kubiak hates using a roster spot on a return specialist.  Holliday pretty much forced the Texans to keep him on the roster after his preseason performance.  His pro performance leaves a lot to be desired.  If nothing else, take a knee and get the Texans to the 20.  None of his returns went that far and his bobble on one kick off left the Texans inside the 5.  Face it, Kubiak will trot anyone out there with orders to take a knee and cut Holliday if this keeps up.

Coverage teams need to tighten up too.  Giving up a touchdown on punt return is unacceptable.  It's free points with no time consumed.  You want to keep the foot on the Dolphins throat.  Giving them a quick TD is a way that could spark the other team.  

If the Texans are going to make teams pay for doubling Johnson, other receivers besides Daniels will have to step up.  Keyshawn Martin had an opportunity to early but dropped an easy pass.  As far as I could tell he rode the bench the rest of the game.  Lestar Jean also had a chance to make a play.  He ended up not able to hold onto the ball in what may have been a touchdown.  I say may because even if he controlled it may have been out of bounds.  Regardless, others need to step up when called upon.

Final Thoughts

In the end, the Texans won a game they had no business losing.  Things were tight for a half.  Then a good defense does what it is supposed to.  They kept the 'phins out of the endzone and gave the offense chances to score.  In turn the offense maximized those opportunities.  Some gripe about the offense not going the length of the field to score.  I say so what?  They sliced the Dolphins throat open when the defense gave them the knife.  THAT is what good teams do.

Instead of player of the game or game MVP, I like using the soccer term Man of the Match.  How can it be anyone else than JJ Watt. 3 pass deflections leading to two interceptions which in turn lead to two TDs.  

Bring on the Jags!