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Earl Mitchell Starting vs. Redskins

beerlover

beerlover

Hall of Fame
Don't know if anyone else caught this or not
Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye did not practice Thursday after tweaking his ankle in practice on Wednesday.

“It’s bothering him and it’s still sore today, so I kept him out in a boot,” Kubiak said. “He was not even over here. He’s day-to-day right now.”

If Okoye can’t play against the Washington Redskins, rookie third-round pick Earl Mitchell would replace him in the starting lineup.
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http://www.houstontexans.com/news/a...practice/a01c19ab-b19a-412d-8dd9-efc58a655570

Got confirmation from inside source as well that Earl is starting, so I'm hoping he can have a great game for the Texans on their way to victory :logo:
 
I am really getting tired of these injuries.....Houston has already been hit hard by the injury bug and we haven't even played our 2nd game yet.
 
Austrian said:
Okoye did practice yesterday. So it's not sure that Mitchell is starting, albeit likely.
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Right but it was a non-contact, no-pad walk thru as they do every Friday before a Sunday game.
I'm thinkin Okoye dresses, but is held out and kept in a reserve status.
It's a long season and this is a non-divisional, even non-conference game.
Plus Mitch is talented and this seems like the perfect opportunity to get him some extensive experience.
 
I think he will play,maybe just a limited snap count but I think he will play because on the video on their website kubiak said amobi was feeling better and that the boot was just precautionary
 
getting tired of these injuries ?, dude this is football, it's going to happen, TEXANS have good solid depth this year to hold down the fort until the starters heal, also look for some practice squad players to pay huge dividens for the Texans before the yrs. out.
 
newtexan said:
getting tired of these injuries ?, dude this is football, it's going to happen, TEXANS have good solid depth this year to hold down the fort until the starters heal, also look for some practice squad players to pay huge dividens for the Texans before the yrs. out.
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I know this is football and people get hurt (seriously, who doesn't know that???).......but some teams have less people get hurt than others and losing your last two 2nd round picks for the season before week 2 is here is not a good way to start the season injury wise. You don't want to be counting on depth before week 2 even starts.....there's still another 15 games to be played. If lady luck doesn't start looking our way, we'll burn through our depth before the bye week even gets here.
 
Carr Bombed said:
I am really getting tired of these injuries.....Houston has already been hit hard by the injury bug and we haven't even played our 2nd game yet.
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in relation to prior texans seasons, we're pretty damn healthy if you ask me.
 
Carr Bombed said:
I know this is football and people get hurt (seriously, who doesn't know that???).......but some teams have less people get hurt than others and losing your last two 2nd round picks for the season before week 2 is here is not a good way to start the season injury wise. You don't want to be counting on depth before week 2 even starts.....there's still another 15 games to be played. If lady luck doesn't start looking our way, we'll burn through our depth before the bye week even gets here.
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There's in excess of 50 players listed as either out or doubtful for Sunday's games and exactly none of those players are on the Texans roster. The Texans are one of only 5 teams out of 30 (The Monday night game's not listed yet) who have nobody listed as worse than questionable.

Additionally, there's not a player on our IR list who was listed as a starter at any point during the off-season or pre-season. Yeah, it'd be nice to have Barwin and Tate available, but I think we are clearly better off from an injury standpoint than most teams.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing what Earl can do. He looked pretty dang good in preseason, and seems to be catching on fast. Good challenge for him. I hope he lets the Skins know what a Texas home-boy can do!!
 
Damn! Nothing against Earl Mitchell but considering how Okoye played against the Colts, I'd rather see him in there.
 
Earl was getting pretty close to sacking Manning a few times in the game. His run defense is suspect and when I say close to sacking Manning I guess you could say everyone on our d-line was. Just stop the run, and let our boys do work.
 
Ankle injuries are killing me...I think Okoye still sees some snaps but I'm eager to see what Mitchell can do with some game time. He is going to be a step higher in the rotation now, post-Barwin's injured ankle anyway. I hope Okoye gets a bit of rest from this week and limited snaps, as much as I'm constantly disappointed by his selection he's clearly one of the better DT options on this roster.
 
Welp, here comes a really good look at our 3rd round pick. Keepin my fingers crossed on this one.
 
TexansForTheW said:
Earl was getting pretty close to sacking Manning a few times in the game. His run defense is suspect and when I say close to sacking Manning I guess you could say everyone on our d-line was. Just stop the run, and let our boys do work.
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I like Earl, but in the preseason, I saw several plays where, despite pushing his OL behind the LOS, he never even saw the RB run right past him just to his left.
 
ChampionTexan said:
There's in excess of 50 players listed as either out or doubtful for Sunday's games and exactly none of those players are on the Texans roster. The Texans are one of only 5 teams out of 30 (The Monday night game's not listed yet) who have nobody listed as worse than questionable.

Additionally, there's not a player on our IR list who was listed as a starter at any point during the off-season or pre-season. Yeah, it'd be nice to have Barwin and Tate available, but I think we are clearly better off from an injury standpoint than most teams.
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Very nice argument. I have nothing intelligent to reply, so I'm giving you raspberries.

& while we may be healthy relative to other teams, I'm siding with Carr Bomb on this one. Tate, Barwin, JJ, Molden, ?Okoye? we're eating away at that depth awful early if you ask me.

However, I do not doubt Okoye will play. If he can walk, he'll play. Just like Mario.
 
this thread just made me notice something about our injuries

2010- 2nd rd pick: ben tate- IR (preseason)
2009- 2nd rd pick: connor barwin- IR (week 1)
2007 & 2008- 2nd rd picks... :thinking: :(

the curse of the 2nd rd picks. casserly knew what he was doing all along!!






















time to neg rep myself for this whole post top to bottom!
 
I thin kAmobi will play, but he will have reduced snaps...

As long as mitchell isn't killing us, then I think he will see slightly increased playing time..
 
Then again, Kubiak could be using this as a ploy...

Play up Amobi's injury a little...O-lineman happens to read it...Underestimate Amobi's quickness...

I hope that's what happens...
 
the focus should be on Mitchell, regardless of unfortunate circumstances, he gets his shot to start in the NFL. I too worry about him picking up the run, Redskins likely target him inside using traps & double teams releasing Mario out of play, so I might suggest the Texans gameplan accordingly & give the youngster some support. I would like to see another rookie, Sharpton fill in space behind him but doubt they start out that way, hoping they make adjustments during the game. Not worried about his ability to pressure McNabb, think he is worth at least one solo sack with another shared.

very excited for him & his family :specnatz:
 
From the Chron

If the rookie defensive tackle Mitchell has to replace Amobi Okoye after Okoye sprained his ankle in practice Wednesday, so be it. The third-round draft choice from Arizona has been a starter all his life, and he was in for 25 snaps in his pro debut against the Colts last week. He came to the Texans expecting to contribute, to be part of the regular D-line rotation. Anything less would have been a disappointment.
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We're going to miss Okoye out there. He's a good run stuffer and he's starting to show himself as a pass rusher as well. I think Mitchell will be a capable sub and it will give him valuable playing time. But I imagine Okoye is still gonna get some snaps.

If he can't go or it's in doubt, then save him for the Cowgirls so he can wail on Romo.
 
I don't see Mitchell as being a good option when the Skins are in their base offense. Unlike the light-in-the-pants Colts interior line, Washington has the size to get a push up front. Mitchell could get engulfed by Dockery and Hicks.

If Okoye can't go, Okam might be the better option against this team. Games like this have me frustrated at the Texans preference of smallish DTs. There needs to be a balance, and they would be best served to find a bigger DT who can actually play.
 
Lucky said:
I don't see Mitchell as being a good option when the Skins are in their base offense. Unlike the light-in-the-pants Colts interior line, Washington has the size to get a push up front. Mitchell could get engulfed by Dockery and Hicks.

If Okoye can't go, Okam might be the better option against this team. Games like this have me frustrated at the Texans preference of smallish DTs. There needs to be a balance, and they would be best served to find a bigger DT who can actually play.
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I don't understand it either. You would think penetrating DTs fall right into the plan for a zone scheme. You don't need to worry about turning or passing the man in your zone, as soon as he passes your face, push him to the sideline.
 
you guys are underselling Mitchell thinking Dockery is going to own him. :kingkong:
Dockery is so awesome the Bills released him last year, so what he's 6-6 325 Earl has always battled taller OG's even in College, didn't stop him then doubt it stops him now. Hicks signed with the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent March 2010. nothing screams to me Texans are in trouble because DT's are undersized or over matched despite starting a rookie 3rd rd. pick, if you play Okam then you simply mirror Redskins, negate speed & ability to pursue McNabb inside out.

5. Next man up: Texans defensive tackle Amobi Okoye is questionable with an ankle injury, leaving open the possibility that rookie Earl Mitchell will make his first start.

Mitchell, a Houston native and third-round pick out of Arizona, has impressed coaches and teammates alike with his high motor and quickness of the ball.

“If (Okoye) can’t go, then Earl has to go in and play big-time this week,” Kubiak said. “He’s a worker, so he got respect as a young player real quick because of how he goes about his job. Opportunity knocks in this league. That’s all you can ask for.”
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What I saw of Mitchell in the preseason, the guy makes a very quick, decisive move at the snap...and he has some pretty good hand-fighting technique that gets him past the blocker's shoulder and then the blocker has to turn his hips and usually it was a deal of the blocker having to grab or reach. All of this made the blocker out of position during the play.

If Mitchell gets the majority of snaps, over the course of the game, I think he can wear down his man. Rotate Okoye in there a few times, on obvious situations where the Skins will run the ball (3rd and 1 or 3rd and 2), and the blocker COULD have a hard time with that.

It will be interesting to see if Lucky or Beerlover is right. I am 50-50 on it, since I generally trust a lot of what these two guys say on here. So I can't lean one way or another. Going to have to see how this plays out.

I think the Skins will try a lot of dink-and-dunk passes to Cooley, utilizing him in the Dallas Clark role. The mid-to-long range passing game for the Skins was awful last week. Look for them to throw lots of short stuff and try to eat clock and move methodically down the field. This will build confidence among the offense, the home crowd will get into the flow of supporting it and cheering it wildly, and the hope (for them) is that it will deflate the Texans because we're not getting the touches that we want.

All of this, IMO, leads to this crucial situation (which is a constant for us): Can we put the ball into the end zone? Can we make the most of what we get, and not get down to the end of the game trying to make things happen when we had all game long to do so?

I don't like to see Catch-Up football. I like to see us play our game and make the other team have to raise their own game to beat us. And this is why Cushing is so important: Because he has that denying type of attitude, whereby he senses that it's his job to stop the other team's efforts to come back. He's a Ray Lewis "I will deny you" type of guy.

Can't wait until he's back.
 
beerlover said:
you guys are underselling Mitchell thinking Dockery is going to own him. :kingkong:
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For me, it's a scheme thing. I think our penetrating style is exactly the kind of defense that will look bad against a ZBS. It doesn't matter to me, whether it's Okoye or Mitchell.
 
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