Can we talk about the big fat elephant in the room for a second...

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by kiwitexansfan

The old saying is special teams win championships...

Really? - I thought it was defense wins championships.

I guess everyone except the guys who put points on the board win championships.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by kiwitexansfan

I think the elephant in the room is our crappy special teams.

Our return game has looked ordinary at best, and our kicking game is plagued by noodle leg Graham and his inability to kick from distance.

The old saying is special teams win championships, does anyone really think we have championship quality special teams?

We're probably not getting the results we want, but they're coming. We were doing things differently this go round, than I'm used to seeing the Texans do.

Usually, we would have one guy on the gunners & they would manage to get around our guys & make it difficult for the returner to take a step, much less return the ball.

Sunday, we had two guys on at least one of the gunners, sometimes both gunners had two defenders on him, & they did a pretty good job of keeping him off our return man.

Trindon needs to be more decisive, because those guys (as well as the other blockers actually picking someone up) were doing their job. It's a work in progress, but given the history & work ethic of this team, it's only a matter of time.

Now when we punt, our gunners are getting down field & laying some wood. Yeah, still got some rough areas to work on, but they looked better Sunday than they had all of last year where it looked as if they thought "block" was a four letter word.

[HJam72]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Really? - I thought it was defense wins championships.

I guess everyone except the guys who put points on the board win championships.

I have certainly heard that "Defense wins Championships," and not "Special teams win Championships," but I would say that things have changed and it's really more the offense in today's NFL. Of course, we all know that it's the whole team that really matters, and I'm REAL freakin' happy that top-to-bottom the Texans are the best.

[LondonTex]

Originally Posted by TejasTom

The tough times have passed!

There were seasons when we didn't have this many wins.

There is always the potential for tough times in the future but I'm just enjoying this team right now! Correct me if I'm wrong but the way I see this team (with my limited knowledge to be fair)..I imagine there is 3 or 4 more straight years of cracks at the SB? (barring major injuries or losing players in other ways )

Originally Posted by Fiddler

I think the tough times are upon us. Used to be, when we punted the ball (which happened a lot) you could go get some concessions, take a bathroom break, smoke a cigarette, & make a quick pass through one of the novelty shops, then get back to your seats on time to watch the offense.

Now that the defense is just as exciting to watch, if not more... you pretty much have to get all that done before kick-off.

I LOVE this defense. I always used to think the most exciting thing was offense. However this defense is so much FUN to watch...I love it when the defense is on the field.

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Really? - I thought it was defense wins championships.

I guess everyone except the guys who put points on the board win championships.

haha

[Showtime100]

What surprises me is, even if you were a Houston Oiler fan from the start and then became a Texans fan, being 4-0 is a first.

Born in '63, I can almost go back that far, but I didn't become a sentient fan until a while after that.

[LondonTex]

Originally Posted by Showtime100

What surprises me is, even if you were a Houston Oiler fan from the start and then became a Texans fan, being 4-0 is a first.

Born in '63, I can almost go back that far, but I didn't become a sentient fan until a while after that.

well I know the reason for this cracking start...like a good luck charm (except I don't believe in luck) - I only started rooting for the Texans more recently.....it's really my long distance support that is the reason for the early season success thus far

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by LondonTex

There is always the potential for tough times in the future but I'm just enjoying this team right now! Correct me if I'm wrong but the way I see this team (with my limited knowledge to be fair)..I imagine there is 3 or 4 more straight years of cracks at the SB? (barring major injuries or losing players in other ways )

We have a window of opportunity. With the salary caps and whatnot, the front office has to be good at keeping the core players signed and letting other players go and finding/drafting replacements.

This FO has done a good job of finding and drafting talent. We had to let some guys walk this offseason and we had to trade a guy. If we had been able to retain those guys both offense and defense would probably be better -- which is a scary thought. But that's life.

Some teams are historically good at "reloading" and when Bob McNair bought the team, he said he was going to model the way we work on the Steelers which is one of those teams that has been good for a long time with very few down seasons. Let's hope we become one of those teams that's just good year after year.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by LondonTex

well I know the reason for this cracking start...like a good luck charm (except I don't believe in luck) - I only started rooting for the Texans more recently.....it's really my long distance support that is the reason for the early season success thus far

If we drop a game, we're all going to fly to London, hunt you down, and beat the tar out of you.

[ChampionTexan]

Originally Posted by kiwitexansfan

The old saying is special teams win championships, does anyone really think we have championship quality special teams?

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Really? - I thought it was defense wins championships.

I guess everyone except the guys who put points on the board win championships.

Rick Gosselin end of year special teams rankings for recent Super Bowl Champions:

New Orleans Saints (2009 Season): 29th (The top three ranked teams were cumulatively 14-34 in the regular season)
LINK
Green Bay Packers (2010 Season):29th (The top three ranked teams were cumulatively 25-23 in the regular season)
LINK
New York Giants (2011 Season): 22nd (The top three ranked teams were cumulatively 27-21 in the regular season)
LINK

[LondonTex]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

If we drop a game, we're all going to fly to London, hunt you down, and beat the tar out of you.

Haha I only take credit for wins! I won't be greedy and take credit for losses too

[gtexan02]

Ok this is a little strange:
1. 11 carries for 4 yards (0.4 ypc) (lost by 21)
2. 8 carries for 17 yards (2.1 ypc) (lost by 28)
3. 14 carries for 24 yards (1.7 ypc) (won by 3)
4. 25 carries for 141 yards (5.6 ypc) (lost by 24)
5. 15 carries for 24 yards (1.6 ypc) (lost by 23)


Notice the anomaly in there? How did he rush so effectively against us. They were just as blown out in many other games... I wrote this off originally, but now I'm a little surprised. I didn't think the Vikings would shut him down so effectively (thought maybe he'd found his legs a little). Strange stuff

[kiwitexansfan]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Really? - I thought it was defense wins championships.

I guess everyone except the guys who put points on the board win championships.

A google search reveals Bear Bryant said defense wins championships, it also tells me that I am not the only one who has heard that special teams win championships but I could not find the original source of the quote.

Interesting those special teams ranks for the champions. Doesn't change the fact I don't want Graham having to make game winners.

[ItsMyFault]

If we don't hold the Jets to 50 yds or less of rushing, we have a problem with our Rush D... or that it's overrated.

[hradhak]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Ok this is a little strange:
1. 11 carries for 4 yards (0.4 ypc) (lost by 21)
2. 8 carries for 17 yards (2.1 ypc) (lost by 28)
3. 14 carries for 24 yards (1.7 ypc) (won by 3)
4. 25 carries for 141 yards (5.6 ypc) (lost by 24)
5. 15 carries for 24 yards (1.6 ypc) (lost by 23)


Notice the anomaly in there? How did he rush so effectively against us. They were just as blown out in many other games... I wrote this off originally, but now I'm a little surprised. I didn't think the Vikings would shut him down so effectively (thought maybe he'd found his legs a little). Strange stuff

I think the difference is that in the end of the previous games they were throwing the ball. Hasselbeck wasn't familiar with the playbook and was getting eaten alive. They started running when we were in the nickel.

If the Jets run roughshod over us, then I'm going to be more worried.

[kiwitexansfan]

This is a passing league, our defense is built to stop the pass.

That comes at the expense of a bit of run stop power perhaps. Which contender is going to make us pay for that? Baltimore and San Fransisco could I guess.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by hradhak

I think the difference is that in the end of the previous games they were throwing the ball. Hasselbeck wasn't familiar with the playbook and was getting eaten alive. They started running when we were in the nickel.

If the Jets run roughshod over us, then I'm going to be more worried.

I'll start worrying when we lose a game because our defense couldn't get a stop. If a team rams it down our throat to kill the 4th qtr, then we'll have something to worry about.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Fiddler

I'll start worrying when we lose a game because our defense couldn't get a stop. If a team rams it down our throat to kill the 4th qtr, then we'll have something to worry about.

????

So if we can stop the run when everyone knows it's a run, then that's an accomplishment to you?

I don't know what the deal is with us stopping the running game, but I honestly believe that we respect certain teams ability to run the ball and not others.

Wade is smart.

If a team likes to run a lot then we gear up to stop the run. Not many offenses can do everything. So we stop what they've been doing well and make them get yards in other ways.

[Goldensilence]

Originally Posted by Grid

I look at the yards per attempt...and that is what worries me. You have to consider that we had them playing from behind the entire game, and we also won the time of possession war. So even though the total rushing yards that CJ got in the first three quarters was not huge, if you consider his yards per attempt.. it is actually pretty scary numbers.

I am not worried about it yet though. Last week the Titans won their game because of big plays, and I have a feeling that we came into this game with the mindset on defense that we had to prevent the big play. So stopping CJ from running the ball wasnt really at the top of our "to do list". I mean the guy was averaging 2 yards per carry before this week... not exactly their biggest threat.

So im hoping that the issue was simply that we were more interested in preventing them from chunking us, than running it. But it is definitely something that im gonna be keeping a close eye on from now on. Since week 1 ive felt that stopping the run was our defense's biggest weakness this year. If we go up against a team that can go toe-to-toe with us offensively.. and we find ourselves in a shootout...thats when im gonna be more interested in seeing what our defense can do to stop the run.


Im very wary of the next two weeks... Jets and Packers, and I dont want to jinx it by looking too far ahead.. BUT... I feel like our next BIG challenge is gonna be week 7 against the Ravens. That is a team that is capable on both sides of the ball just like us. And Ray Rice is definitely no slouch at RB. We could see ourselves in a situation where stopping the run is tantamount to staying in the game.

This.

It's not so much that we've given up big yardage to teams like the Dolphins and Titans much as the Yards per Rush is pretty high. With both teams thankfully turnovers and getting ahead big negated the run game for each team in the second half realistically, though CJ still piled up some yards in garbage time.

Take it FWIW that the Vikes totally took CJ out of the game with 15 carries for 24 yards.

It's not time to panic, but it's good to know that its on the forefront of this staff and the rest of the defense.

[kiwitexansfan]

Special teams huh?

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Rey

????

So if we can stop the run when everyone knows it's a run, then that's an accomplishment to you?

I don't know what the deal is with us stopping the running game, but I honestly believe that we respect certain teams ability to run the ball and not others.

Wade is smart.

If a team likes to run a lot then we gear up to stop the run. Not many offenses can do everything. So we stop what they've been doing well and make them get yards in other ways.

We may not be forcing three & outs like we did under Frank Bush in '09, but we're getting the ball back for our offense. I'm not worried about Chris Johnson running for 40000 yards when their offense only scores 10 points & we scored 38.

It's a non issue & not reflective of our defense's ability to stop the run.

If we can't stop the run when we know it's coming & we need a possesion to win the game, yeah, that's something to talk about.