This weekend, the Texans face one of their toughest opponents on the season as they head into Baltimore to play the Ravens. It was going to be hard enough with everyone healthy, but now arguably without their best offensive player (Andre Johnson) and defensive player (Mario Williams), it is going to take an almost perfect effort from the Texans to come out on top. Here are my 2 players to look at followed by my 1 prediction.
1) Derrick Mason
This week, the Texans acquired wide receiver Derrick Mason from the New York Jets to help their thin wide receiver corps. It will be interesting to see what Mason does this weekend for the Texans. Can he get involved after such a short period of time? Another reason why he might be useful is that he played for the Ravens for the past 3 years so he might be able to dissect their defense and make it easier for the offense to get into a rhythm. I don't know how much he plays, but he is someone interesting to watch as he just joined the team. Any contribution from him on offense would be huge.
2) Brooks Reed
With Mario Williams out for the season, Reed now needs to step in at linebacker and keep the Texans' defense strong. Everyone knows that Reed will never be able to fill Williams' place, but he played very well last week after Williams left the game. Now, he needs to bring that effort every single week as the Texans need him more than ever. It starts in Baltimore, as the Texans need to be ready for an offense that has been rolling in the past couple of weeks.
For my prediction, this is a true test for these Texans as they are going into a hostile environment without some of their best players. They need to do what they have been doing well for the past year and that is run the football. If Arian Foster can get off, that will help Schaub and the receivers. On defense, it is going to be hard to stop running back Ray Rice and quarterback Joe Flacco. Without Williams, the Ravens run their offense with ease and the Texans struggle on offense, Ravens 30-14.
For more information on the Texans, visit John McClain's blog at Houston Chronicle.com and ESPN.com for an AFC South blog.
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AFC South Blog
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Texans keep piling up injuries and lose nail-biter to the Raiders
What a heartbreaking loss this was for the Texans, even if they did not deserve to win the game. Quarterback Matt Schaub had the ball on the 5 yard line with 7 seconds left for the win and threw an interception, which lead to the Texans' second loss of the season, 25-20. With the injuries piling up, can this be a momentum killing loss for the Texans? With Baltimore next week, it is not going to be easy. Here are my 3 impressions from this week's loss to the Raiders.
1) The Loss of Mario Williams makes it that much harder for the defense.
For about the first quarter and a half, the Texans were dominating the Raiders offense. Oakland did not get a first down until the second quarter as the front 7 of the Texans handled McFadden and the Raiders with ease. Then, Mario Williams left with a pectoral injury and after that, the Raiders did whatever they wanted to on offense. After the game, it was revealed that Mario Williams was out for the season. This is a major blow to the Texans defense as you can not replace Super Mario. Rookie linebacker Brooks Reed will step in, but he has big shoes to fill, figuratively and literally. The Texans can still win the division, but their task just got much harder as they lost their best defensive player.
2) Foster could not get any good runs
After a great day against the Steelers last weekend, running back Arian Foster seemed to take a step back as he only got 68 rushing yards on 22 carries against the Raiders. Granted, he did get 116 receiving yards, but still the lack of a Texans rushing attack put that much more pressure on quarterback Matt Schaub to pass the ball. You have to give the Raiders some credit as they played some great rush defense, but still the Texans should of gotten more than 68 rushing yards from Foster. The Texans were too one-dimensional on offense and that played a big factor in the loss.
3) Can Schaub take this team far?
This was my first thought after the loss on Sunday. Can Schaub take the Texans to the promise land? I had mixed feelings about that after Sunday's loss. You have to cut him some slack because he was missing the best receiver in football, Andre Johnson, which left the receiving corps very thin. He did put his heart into the game and never quit as he made some clutch throws to keep the Texans in striking distance. At the same time, he made way too many mistakes during the game and in the 4th quarter especially, with the drop of a ball out of shotgun that led to a 13 yard loss and the mess of an interception he had at the end of the game. It makes me question whether Schaub can lead the Texans to the playoffs and further.
In my next post tomorrow, I will mention my 2 players I think will be important to the Ravens game and I will give my one prediction.
1) The Loss of Mario Williams makes it that much harder for the defense.
For about the first quarter and a half, the Texans were dominating the Raiders offense. Oakland did not get a first down until the second quarter as the front 7 of the Texans handled McFadden and the Raiders with ease. Then, Mario Williams left with a pectoral injury and after that, the Raiders did whatever they wanted to on offense. After the game, it was revealed that Mario Williams was out for the season. This is a major blow to the Texans defense as you can not replace Super Mario. Rookie linebacker Brooks Reed will step in, but he has big shoes to fill, figuratively and literally. The Texans can still win the division, but their task just got much harder as they lost their best defensive player.
2) Foster could not get any good runs
After a great day against the Steelers last weekend, running back Arian Foster seemed to take a step back as he only got 68 rushing yards on 22 carries against the Raiders. Granted, he did get 116 receiving yards, but still the lack of a Texans rushing attack put that much more pressure on quarterback Matt Schaub to pass the ball. You have to give the Raiders some credit as they played some great rush defense, but still the Texans should of gotten more than 68 rushing yards from Foster. The Texans were too one-dimensional on offense and that played a big factor in the loss.
3) Can Schaub take this team far?
This was my first thought after the loss on Sunday. Can Schaub take the Texans to the promise land? I had mixed feelings about that after Sunday's loss. You have to cut him some slack because he was missing the best receiver in football, Andre Johnson, which left the receiving corps very thin. He did put his heart into the game and never quit as he made some clutch throws to keep the Texans in striking distance. At the same time, he made way too many mistakes during the game and in the 4th quarter especially, with the drop of a ball out of shotgun that led to a 13 yard loss and the mess of an interception he had at the end of the game. It makes me question whether Schaub can lead the Texans to the playoffs and further.
In my next post tomorrow, I will mention my 2 players I think will be important to the Ravens game and I will give my one prediction.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Texans have chance to take another big step against the Raiders
This weekend is the start of a big stretch for the Houston Texans as they have chance to record their best start in franchise history by going 4-1. The Raiders are going to be a challenge as they bring one of the top rushing games in the NFL that includes running backs Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. Here are the two players that are important for the game and I will give my 1 prediction.
1) Jacoby Jones.
With wide receiver Andre Johnson out, someone is going to have to step up and make the catches. Every year, it seems like that Texans fans are waiting for Jacoby Jones to explode and reach his potential. Every year, the Texans fans are left disappointed. Staring with the Raiders' game, these are the most important weeks of Jacoby Jones' NFL career. If he can step up and somewhat fill the role of Andre Johnson, that would greatly benefit quarterback Matt Schaub and the passing game. Otherwise, the Raiders defense is going to be geared to stop Arian Foster and not even be concerned about the passing game. A one-dimensional attack does not win this game.
2) Front 7
I decided with my second pick that I was just going to go with the entire Front 7 of the defense because stopping the run is vital in this game. McFadden has been able to do whatever he wanted to in the first four weeks as he is the leading rusher in the NFL with 468 yards. The Texans run defense has only been average so far. This is time for the Front 7 of the defense to shine and help lead the Texans to a victory. If they play with the heart they showed last week, they can slow down the Raiders' run game. If McFadden is contained, this will be a victory for the Texans. They want to have quarterback Jason Campbell beat them, not McFadden.
My 1 prediction is that the Texans, even without Andre Johnson, show some fight as this game turns into a track meet. I think both Foster and McFadden top 100 rushing yards easily as this game goes down to the wire. The Texans will make the crucial stop on defense like they did last week against the Steelers as they will improve to a franchise best, 4-1. Texans 21-20.
For more information on the Houston Texans, look at John McClain's blog on the Houston Chronicle online and visit ESPN NFL blogs.
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1) Jacoby Jones.
With wide receiver Andre Johnson out, someone is going to have to step up and make the catches. Every year, it seems like that Texans fans are waiting for Jacoby Jones to explode and reach his potential. Every year, the Texans fans are left disappointed. Staring with the Raiders' game, these are the most important weeks of Jacoby Jones' NFL career. If he can step up and somewhat fill the role of Andre Johnson, that would greatly benefit quarterback Matt Schaub and the passing game. Otherwise, the Raiders defense is going to be geared to stop Arian Foster and not even be concerned about the passing game. A one-dimensional attack does not win this game.
2) Front 7
I decided with my second pick that I was just going to go with the entire Front 7 of the defense because stopping the run is vital in this game. McFadden has been able to do whatever he wanted to in the first four weeks as he is the leading rusher in the NFL with 468 yards. The Texans run defense has only been average so far. This is time for the Front 7 of the defense to shine and help lead the Texans to a victory. If they play with the heart they showed last week, they can slow down the Raiders' run game. If McFadden is contained, this will be a victory for the Texans. They want to have quarterback Jason Campbell beat them, not McFadden.
My 1 prediction is that the Texans, even without Andre Johnson, show some fight as this game turns into a track meet. I think both Foster and McFadden top 100 rushing yards easily as this game goes down to the wire. The Texans will make the crucial stop on defense like they did last week against the Steelers as they will improve to a franchise best, 4-1. Texans 21-20.
For more information on the Houston Texans, look at John McClain's blog on the Houston Chronicle online and visit ESPN NFL blogs.
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ESPN NFL Blogs
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Texans show their toughness in the 4th against Steelers
The Texans gutted out a tough win last week against the Steelers, winning 17-10 in a hard fought game. After wide receiver Andre Johnson went down with a bad hamstring, the Texans were able to muster enough offense and win a game that might show that they are actually a contender this year. Here are my 3 impressions from the Texans' win.
1) Texans finally show they can finish against a worthy opponent.
It looked like it was going to be the same story as it always is with the Texans. They played a nice first half, built up a solid lead and let it slip away. The score was tied 10-10 and the Texans had the ball after the Steelers made a field goal to tie it up. Andre Johnson was gone so who would the Texans turn to. Fans had seen this story before, but the Texans showed that they are a different team from years past. On that drive, they went down the field 85 yards in 5 plays to take a 17-10 lead and their defense showed toughness that they did not show the week before against the Saints. These are not your 2002- 2010 Texans.
2) Arian Foster is back and looking like the 2010 rushing champion Arian Foster.
When Ben Tate went down with a groin injury, it was apparent that Foster was going to have to step in and take all of the carries with the running back corps being so thin. The question was could Foster handle the load as he was just coming off of his hamstring injury. He proved all of the doubters wrong as he ran all over the Steelers with 155 yards on 30 carries and a 42 rushing touchdown that helped put the Texans over the top. It looked like he was 100 percent and that is great for the Texans moving forward with so many injuries at running back.
3) Texans might have a tough time without Andre Johnson for the next few weeks.
When Andre Johnson went down and grabbed the back of his knee, Texan nation collectively held its breath. If Johnson was out for any significant amount of time, it would be hard for the Texans to win games going forward. Unfortunately, Johnson is going to be out for about 2-3 games, but it could of been much worse. Johnson's injury could not of come at a worse time as the Texans are in a very important stretch of their season. They have games vs. Oakland, at Baltimore, and at Tennessee, all very good AFC teams. I am a little concerned cause after Johnson left the game in the second quarter, the offense did look stagnant. However, I have faith in Gary Kubiak in coming up with a gameplan to help the Texans in the absence of Andre.
Tomorrow, I talk about 2 players that are important to the Raiders game, and my 1 prediction on if the Texans can improve to a franchise best 4-1.
1) Texans finally show they can finish against a worthy opponent.
It looked like it was going to be the same story as it always is with the Texans. They played a nice first half, built up a solid lead and let it slip away. The score was tied 10-10 and the Texans had the ball after the Steelers made a field goal to tie it up. Andre Johnson was gone so who would the Texans turn to. Fans had seen this story before, but the Texans showed that they are a different team from years past. On that drive, they went down the field 85 yards in 5 plays to take a 17-10 lead and their defense showed toughness that they did not show the week before against the Saints. These are not your 2002- 2010 Texans.
2) Arian Foster is back and looking like the 2010 rushing champion Arian Foster.
When Ben Tate went down with a groin injury, it was apparent that Foster was going to have to step in and take all of the carries with the running back corps being so thin. The question was could Foster handle the load as he was just coming off of his hamstring injury. He proved all of the doubters wrong as he ran all over the Steelers with 155 yards on 30 carries and a 42 rushing touchdown that helped put the Texans over the top. It looked like he was 100 percent and that is great for the Texans moving forward with so many injuries at running back.
3) Texans might have a tough time without Andre Johnson for the next few weeks.
When Andre Johnson went down and grabbed the back of his knee, Texan nation collectively held its breath. If Johnson was out for any significant amount of time, it would be hard for the Texans to win games going forward. Unfortunately, Johnson is going to be out for about 2-3 games, but it could of been much worse. Johnson's injury could not of come at a worse time as the Texans are in a very important stretch of their season. They have games vs. Oakland, at Baltimore, and at Tennessee, all very good AFC teams. I am a little concerned cause after Johnson left the game in the second quarter, the offense did look stagnant. However, I have faith in Gary Kubiak in coming up with a gameplan to help the Texans in the absence of Andre.
Tomorrow, I talk about 2 players that are important to the Raiders game, and my 1 prediction on if the Texans can improve to a franchise best 4-1.
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