10 thoughts from the game

[Brandon420tx]

1. Houston we have Quarterback(s). Give that Sage the offensive gameball.
2. Will Demps may not be a ball hawking FS, but he's a damn good brick wall.
3. I loved testing the Denver corners and forcing them to prove their greatness.
4. I love the above statement and keeping them from proving their greatness.
5. 3.5 Sacks in 1 game, 13 for the year. Give that Mario the defensive gameball.
6. Mathis who?
7. Brandon Marshall is a beast, he was about 60% of the broncos offense.
8. I'm glad we shut down Brandon Marshall in the second half.
9. Vonta Leach was a freaking MONSTER today. Co-Offensive Gameball anyone?
10. We dropped 4 and a half interceptions!

*Steals Drewmars gig*

[run-david-run]

O-line play was huge. That was the big difference tonight in our offense, and its about time we out-sack an opponent 5-0.

[Brandon420tx]

I have to give Drew some credit, coming up with 10 thoughts is harder then people realize *Brain shuts down again*

[TexanSam]

This really isn't a thought about the game, but about the team in general. Even though the Texans are only 7-7 and will probably finish with a .500 record, I think they're still going to own this town. The Rockets even if they were playing well haven't won a playoff series in a decade. The Astros are extremely popular in Houston and with all the changes they've made in the offseason will bring the fans to Minute Maid still, but Houston is a football town. The Texans may not make the playoffs and we probably won't have a winning team this season, but we've made some great improvement. And the way we're playing at the end of the season is going to make this city hungry for football season to be back next year! I think the Texans own the city as a pro-sports team.

[drewmar74]

Originally Posted by Brandon420tx

*Steals Drewmars gig*

Loved reading it. Amen on all counts.

Ain't number one a great problem to have?

1. Sage isn't going to be mistaken for Brady or Manning, but he's more than serviceable. We need to keep him for '08, fo' sho. Oh, and if he starts last year instead of Carr, maybe we go 8-8?
2. I take back all of the bad stuff I said about Ron Dayne. And that comes from the past 3-4 games performances and not just tonight.
3. Can we please just sign Andre Davis to a couple year deal and let Mathis go?
4. Hey! OD didn't fumble!
5. Mario is a man-child. If he can keep stringing efforts like this together then I feel bad for the rest of the league.
6. Is it just me, or does Fred Bennett hit so hard that he can't hardly get up after a play 3-4 times per game?
7. The all-red uni's were pretty sweet. I dug it.
8. Don't you know Kubiak is feeling pretty awesome about now.
9. I cringe when Jacoby returns punts. Always afraid he's going to muff one and I'm not sure why.
10. Walker is a nifty little back. Not real fast. Not real elusive. Smallish. But he did alright the past two weeks. I'd say he's a keeper.

[Grid]

All good thoughts.

one semi-negative thought on Dayne though..

Werent we singing his praises at the end of last year when he finally started producing, and wasnt that what won him his spot this year? And werent we crying about 1 yard and a cloud of fat for the first half/two-thirds of the season?

Im just saying.. Dayne seems to be making it a habit of underperforming for most of the season, then turning it on at the end and making people think he is the answer at RB.

We either need to have him approach his offseason differently, so that he is in late season form for week 1, or we need to put him on IR and put him back on the roster at the midseason mark :P.

Honestly.. Im glad we have him now..but ill be happier to see us upgrade the position this offseason.

[Brandon420tx]

Heres something else I was thinking the whole game but forgot to post.

11. We abused whoever that safety across for Lynch was.

[beerlover]

Originally Posted by run-david-run

O-line play was huge. That was the big difference tonight in our offense, and its about time we out-sack an opponent 5-0.

I agree. tried to make the point in the draft forum that our offensive line play has been much improved, granted for a variety of reasons, never the less they battle & compete despite injury losses

[BigBull17]

My thoughts:

1. What a day for Mario to go nuts.

2. Dayne deserves the offensive MVP. It was stumbling a bit till he ran in the second half.

3. Walter is a great, versitle player to have.

4. Way to step up oline, Sage doesnt even need his jersey washed.

5. Shanahan is a complete freakin moron. Period.

6. Brandon Marshal is a manimail. Would love him opposite AJ.

7. Lil Dre is a pretty good kick returner. He does it wierd, but hey, whatever works.

8. Isnt it great to have a national tevelvised game(ish) and just whoop someones ass.

9. 9-7 here we come.

10. Congrats to Mario. Or should I say "aloha"

[Leahmic223]

Yeah...Mathis I feel is losing his job. I mean he is only good at returing and Davis is doing that pretty well and he can play full time WR also...Mathis is a GREAT returner BTW IMO he is better than Davis...but its about value here, you have a guy who play WR and Return kicks vs a guy who can return kicks...and...get hurt.

[BigBull17]

Yeah, with a limited roster, you need flex guys, and Mathis just isnt one.

[GP]

Mathis is history (as a Texans player).

The injuries (both imaginated and real), the issues between him and Kubiak, the attitude, and the alleged pit bull thing (although a seemingly minor situation)...and Andre Davis, to top it off, seems to point toward him getting cut from the team when he gets healthy.

[Brandon420tx]

While I'll agree that Mathis probably doesn't have much of a career left in Houston, please don't blame it on his dogs.

[Grid]

Honestly..great as a return man as Mathis was in his rookie season..he hasnt shown consistency when he HAS been able to play, and I dont think you can beat what we have in Andre Davis.. hes shown the ability to be a great return man, as well as a great reciever. If anything id like to see us using him MORE in the offense.

[austintexanite]

Hooray for Mario, hooray for class...hooray for Mario he's a horses' A**!!!

[euro-Texan]

Originally Posted by Grid

All good thoughts.

one semi-negative thought on Dayne though..

Werent we singing his praises at the end of last year when he finally started producing, and wasnt that what won him his spot this year? And werent we crying about 1 yard and a cloud of fat for the first half/two-thirds of the season?

Im just saying.. Dayne seems to be making it a habit of underperforming for most of the season, then turning it on at the end and making people think he is the answer at RB.

We either need to have him approach his offseason differently, so that he is in late season form for week 1, or we need to put him on IR and put him back on the roster at the midseason mark :P.

Honestly.. Im glad we have him now..but ill be happier to see us upgrade the position this offseason.

I question how effective Dayne will ever be against healthy rested defenses. But after several weeks of abuse, Dayne's punishing running style seems to wear D-lines out. His downsides have been mentioned to exhaustion, but his upside has to be the punishment that is to face him after half a season of fatigue has set in. I like Dayne. I just assumed he was injured last year because of his speed, but he's just slow. He is a train however and he's pretty dependable so i think we should keep the guy. As long as you don't have unrealistic expectations, Dayne can produce on this team for several years. I liked the dynamic between him and Walker, but Walker hasn't proved anything to me yet.

[Andrew6]

Not sure if I was the only one to see this or not BUT, why did Denver keep going for it on 4th and Long? That doesn't make too much sense to me. In most of the instances they were in field goal range. Why not go for a field goal and atleast get some points on the board. Not sure about most teams but when its 4th and anything generally over 1 probably not going to go for it. I also noticed that they did it starting in I beleive the 2nd quarter. They had 2 more attempts with nothing.

[kastofsna]

i think we're seeing more 4th down attempts in the NFL than ever before. someone needs to look up the stats.

[HJam72]

Somebody did a study and found out that coaches who go for it on fourth and short (like 2 yards or less) more often are usually very successful at it. I know it was in a popular magazine (maybe Time or PopSci), but I don't remember who did it or what issue. Sorry.

Maybe many of these coaches are aware of it, and I do believe in it myself; but it doesn't work when the opposing D-line is killing you (Go Texans! ).

[Maddict5]

Originally Posted by run-david-run

O-line play was huge. That was the big difference tonight in our offense, and its about time we out-sack an opponent 5-0.

yeah they were great..dont know was it mentioned in the gameday thread(going reading it now) but i remember chester got a kickass block for daynes td.. worth watching again