Texans-Colts Preview: Let the Battle Commence

[Texans_Chick]

Here's my preview of the matchup, which is a little different than some of the ones I've been reading.

Fanhouse: Colts at Texans: Is Houston for Real?

Most of the previews say that the Texans are going to try to win the same way as last year.

I think the Texans focused on the run last year because they couldn't trust their quarterback to throw the ball to move the chains without turning it over or getting negative yards. They were able to run last year because of no Bob Sanders.

And that this year, we will see a lot of the stuff we saw in the preseason of moving the ball around to different targets mixed with the run. To be less one dimensional and to keep the Colts defense off balance.

Whether they can continue to do that with no Andre Johnson, we get to find out.

(The YouTube link is worth clicking).

[prostock101]

Finally, someone who recognizes how much Bob Sanders brings to the Colts defense. I really believe if he was in the lineup last year we would not have a "Christmas Miracle" to brag about.

For the Texans to win Sunday they will have to bring their "A" game.......Hmmm....do we have an "A" game to bring? I'm not sure. Kubiak has made great strides with this team but I'm hesitant to put them in league with the Colts or the Pats just yet. I'm concerned that all the recent media love recently is somewhat premature based on just two games but I do admit that they are playing very well. We'll see..........

[TexansSeminole]

Originally Posted by prostock101

Finally, someone who recognizes how much Bob Sanders brings to the Colts defense.

They talk about this on ESPN everytime the Colts defense is mentioned. It is pretty recognized.

[gtexan02]

Good article, but I have to disagree with you on a few points.

The Texans didn't just run it down the Colts throats last year. You are making it sound like during that game, the Texans were totally 1 dimensional. I think there was even a quote that read something like "The passing game was all but shut down at that point." We absolutely ran when we could, but we were forced to use the passing game as an effective tool as well.

Some things to note:

Against Indy
We ran the ball 40 times that game
Carr passed 23 times

Against KC, we ran the ball 30 times
Schaub passed 22 times

Against Carolina, we ran the ball 34 times
Schaub passed 28 times

There really isn't any difference in those stats. 3 or 4 runs here and there, 3 or 4 passes here and there. I don't think the passing game was shut down at all at Indy. I think Carr just played possibly his best or 2nd best game ever that day. The only difference is that Kubiak trusts Schaub to make more complicated throws, so his yards per completion will probably be a little higher.

The way we beat Indianapolis last year was to run first, and then move the ball with the pass when we could. I don't think its going to be any different against Indy this year, especially without AJ.

We are going to have to establish a running game in order to get softer coverage for our new receivers.

IF we win this game, I totally expect the exact same gameplan we saw against Indy last year, and against KC and Carolina earlier this year.

[Porky]

The stats you have are misleading in several ways. First off, in the opening two games we have passed to score, and run to win. In the Indy game last year, we ran to score, and threw to win. I think you understand the difference there. In addition, look at the type of throws Schaub is making vs Carr. Have you seen any little hitch passes to AJ? How many little screens and dump offs have you seen comnpared to Carr? How many times did Carr test the deep middle. I think you have posted something entirely misrepresenting what actually happened on the field, but then again I think you know that, and have an agenda.

BTW- Excellent analysis TC!

[gtexan02]

Originally Posted by Porky

The stats you have are misleading in several ways. First off, in the opening two games we have passed to score, and run to win. In the Indy game last year, we ran to score, and threw to win. I think you understand the difference there. In addition, look at the type of throws Schaub is making vs Carr. Have you seen any little hitch passes to AJ? How many little screens and dump offs have you seen comnpared to Carr? How many times did Carr test the deep middle. I think you have posted something entirely misrepresenting what actually happened on the field, but then again I think you know that, and have an agenda.

BTW- Excellent analysis TC!

I have no idea what you are talking about. Agenda? To do what, exactly, debate a post by someone else on the messageboard?

I was at that game, so I dont think my memory is all that crazy. So, i went back and looked at the play by play.

Drive 1
Texans drive 66 yards, score a TD
Dayne runs the ball 5 times
Carr passes the ball 5 times

Dayne accounts for 21 yards
Carr acounts for 45 yards

Texans up 7 - 0

Colts get the ball and fumble

Drive 2

Texans go 47 yards for a TD
Dayne runs the ball 4 times
Carr passes the ball 5 times

Dayne accounts for 22 yards
Carr accounts for 25 yards

Texans go up 14-0

Im not going to look further in the play by play, because I would argue that from 14-0 Texans, we were playing purely to hold the ball away from Manning and protect our lead because we knew that our defense couldn't stop them.

Carr was a terrible QB throughout his tenure in houston. Kubiak didn't trust him at all last year. But, for whatever reason, against the Colts, I think he played a decent game. He didn't make complicated plays like Schaub did. Kubiak didn't trust him to throw the ball over the middle or make multiple reads.

BUT I think Kubiak knew that you can't go completely 1 dimensional against a team like Indianapolis despite what their run defense may have looked like.

Your theory of "we ran to take the lead and passed to hold it" is completely wrong. There is no evidence for that. Maybe YOU have the agenda, and you should go back and actually watch the game before you 1) tell me Im totally wrong and then 2) apparently attribute this to some sort of hostile agenda


Like I said in my original post, I think our gameplan last year and this year has been Kubiak's offensive gameplan. I don't think he changes his offensive strategy much game to game, week to week, quarterback to quarterback. He is an ex-denver coach who loves to run but knows the value of a good passing game. He does a great job of getting both units involved. And once he gets the lead, he protects it with a strong running game, short passes, and play actions. I think he did that against indy last year (it just didn't feel like it, because a pass play by Carr resulted in a 5 yard gain compared to the 9 Schaub gets), and I think he's going to do it again this week.

It didn't work last year because a crucial component of his offensive strategy is a competent QB (something we were missing). Against Indy, he just happened to be successful

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

There really isn't any difference in those stats. 3 or 4 runs here and there, 3 or 4 passes here and there. I don't think the passing game was shut down at all at Indy. I think Carr just played possibly his best or 2nd best game ever that day. The only difference is that Kubiak trusts Schaub to make more complicated throws, so his yards per completion will probably be a little higher.

The Texans shut down their passing game in the second half of the Oakland game. Where it remained mostly shut.

The Texans had no healthy experienced quarterbacks behind Carr, and if he continued to get beat like a drum trying to pass like he did against the Raiders, we would have seen the Bradlee Van Pelt experience, which as you may know, is one of those things scarier than DC starting. The line had been injured and the guys left weren't used to working together. So they decided to run the hades out of the ball, and rely on mostly very short routes so the pass blocking didn't have to hold long.

If you don't believe that the Texans passing game was shut down, look at Andre Johnson's numbers over the course of the season. Moulds was livid that he wasn't getting any attempts by that point.

The Texans didn't trust that DC could play mistake-free football, so their gameplan let him do hardly anything. He did have a couple of key throws, but the offense that played the Colts looks nothing like the way the Texans have been controlling the ball in the preseason and first two games.

At least that's the way I saw it.

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Carr was a terrible QB throughout his tenure in houston. Kubiak didn't trust him at all last year. But, for whatever reason, against the Colts, I think he played a decent game.

Yes, the Colts game was a good performance. Kubiak didn't put him into a position to make many mistakes.

I do not believe that the offense that the Texans will run in this game will look as basic as the things they were doing last year.

[Porky]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

I have no idea what you are talking about. Agenda? To do what, exactly, debate a post by someone else on the messageboard?

I was at that game, so I dont think my memory is all that crazy. So, i went back and looked at the play by play.

Drive 1
Texans drive 66 yards, score a TD
Dayne runs the ball 5 times
Carr passes the ball 5 times

Dayne accounts for 21 yards
Carr acounts for 45 yards

Texans up 7 - 0

Colts get the ball and fumble

Drive 2

Texans go 47 yards for a TD
Dayne runs the ball 4 times
Carr passes the ball 5 times

Dayne accounts for 22 yards
Carr accounts for 25 yards

Texans go up 14-0

Im not going to look further in the play by play, because I would argue that from 14-0 Texans, we were playing purely to hold the ball away from Manning and protect our lead because we knew that our defense couldn't stop them.

Carr was a terrible QB throughout his tenure in houston. Kubiak didn't trust him at all last year. But, for whatever reason, against the Colts, I think he played a decent game. He didn't make complicated plays like Schaub did. Kubiak didn't trust him to throw the ball over the middle or make multiple reads.

BUT I think Kubiak knew that you can't go completely 1 dimensional against a team like Indianapolis despite what their run defense may have looked like.

Your theory of "we ran to take the lead and passed to hold it" is completely wrong. There is no evidence for that. Maybe YOU have the agenda, and you should go back and actually watch the game before you 1) tell me Im totally wrong and then 2) apparently attribute this to some sort of hostile agenda


Like I said in my original post, I think our gameplan last year and this year has been Kubiak's offensive gameplan. I don't think he changes his offensive strategy much game to game, week to week, quarterback to quarterback. He is an ex-denver coach who loves to run but knows the value of a good passing game. He does a great job of getting both units involved. And once he gets the lead, he protects it with a strong running game, short passes, and play actions. I think he did that against indy last year (it just didn't feel like it, because a pass play by Carr resulted in a 5 yard gain compared to the 9 Schaub gets), and I think he's going to do it again this week

I didn't say we passed to hold the lead, I said we passed to win. At the end of the game, Carr finally made one decent pass over the middle to AJ, one of the VERY few times he worked the intermediate middle of the field as a Texan. It was a nice pass, and sealed the victory. The rest of the game, Carr was totally handcuffed by Kubiak. When they let him pass, it was only simple little dumpoffs or other very safe passes.

I simply think it is disengous to say that the offense and game plan that day is similar to those we ran in the first two games. And if I remember, you are one of the Carr supporters, so hence my charge that you have an agenda.

[TexansLucky13]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

The Texans shut down their passing game in the second half of the Oakland game. Where it remained mostly shut.

The Texans had no healthy experienced quarterbacks behind Carr, and if he continued to get beat like a drum trying to pass like he did against the Raiders, we would have seen the Bradlee Van Pelt experience, which as you may know, is one of those things scarier than DC starting. The line had been injured and the guys left weren't used to working together. So they decided to run the hades out of the ball, and rely on mostly very short routes so the pass blocking didn't have to hold long.

If you don't believe that the Texans passing game was shut down, look at Andre Johnson's numbers over the course of the season. Moulds was livid that he wasn't getting any attempts by that point.

The Texans didn't trust that DC could play mistake-free football, so their gameplan let him do hardly anything. He did have a couple of key throws, but the offense that played the Colts looks nothing like the way the Texans have been controlling the ball in the preseason and first two games.

At least that's the way I saw it.

I agree 100%.

IMO, Kubiak's offensive style matches up favorably against the Colts D of late. Run first, ask questions later. Use the rushing attack to set up a passing game.

If we can play mistake-free football and continue to get production out of our Special Teams, we will win this game.

[gtexan02]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

Yes, the Colts game was a good performance. Kubiak didn't put him into a position to make many mistakes.

I do not believe that the offense that the Texans will run in this game will look as basic as the things they were doing last year.

I totally agree with you. I don't think the Texans offense is going to look as basic as it did last year, either. Primarily because I dont think Kubiak ever trusted Carr as much as he already trusts Schaub.

For example, Schaub is already taking much longer drops and has yet to throw that little WR hitch route we saw so frequently during the Carr era.

I guess the point I was trying to make was that because the passing game was so basic, people forget about its importance. While a short 5 yard slant route to AJ gains as much as a run up the middle, the defense plays them completely differently. Safeties can still play up, but they can't be on the LOS or right in the box.

We had to use the pass to help soften the run last year, but because our pass game looked like a run game, people write off its effectiveness.

This year, our passing game is much improved. As a result, I think it'll be more obviously effective against the Colts, but in theory, i think Kubiaks game plan will be the same:
Run when you can, and pass when you can. I dont think he is so committed to one or the other that he preferentially chooses. I dont think he runs to get the lead, or passes to get the lead. And I know that he doesnt change his gameplan because he believes in it

[gtexan02]

Originally Posted by TexansLucky13

I agree 100%.

IMO, Kubiak's offensive style matches up favorably against the Colts D of late. Run first, ask questions later. Use the rushing attack to set up a passing game.

If we can play mistake-free football and continue to get production out of our Special Teams, we will win this game.

Actually, her argument was that we were going to pass to negate Bob Sanders and then run when we could, keeping a solid mix going to throw their D off balance

[gtexan02]

Originally Posted by Porky

I simply think it is disengous to say that the offense and game plan that day is similar to those we ran in the first two games. And if I remember, you are one of the Carr supporters, so hence my charge that you have an agenda.

Yech, please dont lump me into the Carr supporter group. I was one of (very) many who supported him over Sage in the first, what, 4 games of hte season when he was leading the league in passer rating - I wanted to believe Kubiak had fixed him.

After he started going south and I started realizing how much he was killing our team, I knew it was time for him to leave. I never really liked David Carr, and booed loudly at him when he was introduced at the Indy game.

[Porky]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Yech, please dont lump me into the Carr supporter group. I was one of (very) many who supported him over Sage in the first, what, 4 games of hte season when he was leading the league in passer rating - I wanted to believe Kubiak had fixed him.

After he started going south and I started realizing how much he was killing our team, I knew it was time for him to leave. I never really liked David Carr, and booed loudly at him when he was introduced at the Indy game.

Ok, then I stand corrected. In that case, I just disagree with some of that assesment.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by Porky

And if I remember, you are one of the Carr supporters, so hence my charge that you have an agenda.

LMAO! No offense but I think most of us are over the whole David Carr saga. I think many supported Carr while he was here, but I think you'll be hard pressed to find any Texan fan unhappy with Schaub and wanting Carr back.

As a 'previous' carr supporter myself, I don't see the relevance to your statement especially when gtexan previously stated how pathetic Carr had been. I don't understand the connection.

Carr's Gone. Schaub's our Saviour. Why would anybody have an Agenda about Carr now? The End!

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by Porky

on a side note, for some reason this cowboy smiley always reminds me of Schaub about to go out on the field and take care of some business.

I'm really excited about this upcoming game...it's less than 48 hours away.

[gtexan02]

Can you imagine if we win?

If we beat the Colts, Im going to do something crazy!

[Porky]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Can you imagine if we win?

If we beat the Colts, Im going to do something crazy!

I dare you to strip buck naked, spray paint your hair in steel blue, and liberty white, and paint your butt red, and then run down your street yelling out Texans Win! Texans Win!

Oh and make sure to film it and post a clip.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by Porky

I dare you to strip buck naked, spray paint your hair in steel blue, and liberty white, and paint your butt red, and then run down your street yelling out Texans Win! Texans Win!

Oh and make sure to film it and post a clip.

LOL, I think gtexan does that every friday night.

...now searching youtube...

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Actually, her argument was that we were going to pass to negate Bob Sanders and then run when we could, keeping a solid mix going to throw their D off balance

I don't believe that is what I said. I think all I said was the part in bold.

If you read what the Colts are saying about this contest, they believe the Texans focus is going to be all about the run.

And what I am saying is that they are going to mix in all sorts of stuff. Yeah, they are going to run, but that's not all they are going to do. They are going to show run and then pass. Show lots of formations and figure out what the defense does with those formations.

Everybody wants to establish the run against the Colts but it is easier said than done. I have been pleasantly surprised with the play calling this season--it looks much more consistent--and maybe that is because there are more options in the playbook because of who is running the offense.