That OLine

[thunderkyss]

Did a great job in run blocking today. Arian Foster was the first RB to go for over 100 yards against the boys, in 20 games.

At least that's what Joe Buck said.

It would be nice, if Ward or Slaton could read the blocks as well as Foster... the same holes are there, they just don't see them... in Wards defense, this is his first game.

[Dwade]

Run blocking was good, but pass blocking was not. Too much pressure on Schaub.

[m5kwatts]

I think the o-line blocks better for Arian. Slaton was stuffed immediately on both of his carries. My problem is is his dumb blank stare and passive nature. He just looks defeated. He has no confidence and he looks like he doesn't get the scheme. I don't blame the o-line for not having confidence in him. I think they know Arian will see things develop better and get up on the 2nd level better because they know Arian will know what to do with it.

[Corrosion]

Thats what gets me about the outcome of todays game - It never seemed to me that the Cowpies were outplaying the Texans. The Texans were able to do pretty much what they wanted offensively (between the 20's) but they just couldnt make a play when they needed to .... They couldnt extend drives and couldnt punch it in when it counted while the Cowpies did ....

Im not concerned with the running game , as long as its Foster getting the touches at all .... Slaton on the other hand has looked lost every time he's stepped on the field this year be it returning kickoffs , running the ball or in the passing game ....

I am becoming concerned with the pass protection .... its been pretty shabby the past two games and with Brown being out 3 more weeks .... I dont expect it to get a whole lot better.


The Run defense has been fantastic thus far but they have to tighten up their coverage and get more pressure on the QB .....

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Did a great job in run blocking today. Arian Foster was the first RB to go for over 100 yards against the boys, in 20 games.

At least that's what Joe Buck said.

It would be nice, if Ward or Slaton could read the blocks as well as Foster... the same holes are there, they just don't see them... in Wards defense, this is his first game.

I think Slaton is looking for a hole to climb in .

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

Thats what gets me about the outcome of todays game - It never seemed to me that the Cowpies were outplaying the Texans. The Texans were able to do pretty much what they wanted offensively (between the 20's) but they just couldnt make a play when they needed to .... They couldnt extend drives and couldnt punch it in when it counted while the Cowpies did ....

Im not concerned with the running game , as long as its Foster getting the touches at all .... Slaton on the other hand has looked lost every time he's stepped on the field this year be it returning kickoffs , running the ball or in the passing game ....

I am becoming concerned with the pass protection .... its been pretty shabby the past two games and with Brown being out 3 more weeks .... I dont expect it to get a whole lot better.


The Run defense has been fantastic thus far but they have to tighten up their coverage and get more pressure on the QB .....

I'm no expert but I thought they should have gone Foster and Daniels early and stay out of 3rd and long .

[eriadoc]

Originally Posted by m5kwatts

I think the o-line blocks better for Arian.

Seriously? They all see Slaton coming into the huddle, wink at each other, smile, go out there and let their guys into the backfield, right?

SLATON SUCKS IN THIS SYSTEM. Get used to it. He has no patience, no vision, and no concept of how to be effective in this blocking scheme.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by Honoring Earl 34

I'm no expert but I thought they should have gone Foster and Daniels early and stay out of 3rd and long .

In hindsight I bet the coaching staff is thinking the same thing - Foster averaged 6.2 yards per carry on 17 carries .... with numbers like that you expect to see better results on the scoreboard.

Houston had an avg of 5.6 per carry for the game while Dallas was held to an avg of 3.7.



Sometimes the numbers dont tell the tale.

[m5kwatts]

Originally Posted by eriadoc

Seriously? They all see Slaton coming into the huddle, wink at each other, smile, go out there and let their guys into the backfield, right?

SLATON SUCKS IN THIS SYSTEM. Get used to it. He has no patience, no vision, and no concept of how to be effective in this blocking scheme.

I think the more confidence an o-line has in the back the better they block yes. When they know Slaton can't see the 2nd level blocks develop it takes the wind out of you and you block worse. Arian sees these holes. Its my best explanation for why when Slaton comes in our o-line gets bowled over and he gets stuffed for negative yards. Sure this happened to Foster too but he also found the second level on other runs. Slaton can't find that second level of the defense. So yes, I think the o-line runs our ZBS better when they know Foster, the more competent back is in the game.

[Cjeremy635]

Yes, the O-line has looked pretty good when running the ball, but they've taken a HUGE step back this season with pass blocking. Shaub is getting the piss knocked out of him on a regular basis this season. A few of the sacks have been his fault, but most of them are from poor blocking or missed assignments.
This is the WORST game I can remember Winston having. He got his ass handed to him today and when you get your name called that much as a lineman, that is never a good sign. I can't put the blame on him though, this whole team came out flat today and just couldn't get inspired to save their lives. Hopefully they can get this thing together soon and fix whatever is broken.
Again...for the record...it's not the fact that we lost a game. I never once thought that we would go undefeated this season. It's the way that we failed to show up and the glaring holes in our defense that scare the crap out of me. How can you come out flat? How can you have your hands on your hips, dragging ass, (I'm lookin' at you defense!) after having only played 2 minutes of football? There are so many questions about this game and team that it's gonna take me a little bit to sqaure my thoughts.
I remember the quotes this week from our players:
"Why does it have to be about the Cowboys? This is about the Texans"- Ryans
"We're not who we used to be."- Williams
This is who they used to be. A team that plays great and then doesn't show up to the game the next week. I'm not taking anything away from Dallas. That team has talent, as much as it pains me to say it, but that's no excuse for us to play like we did today. If their "goal" is the playoffs and ultimately the super bowl, you better expect to beat the "good" teams on the way to the dance and then once you get there. This team needs to learn to show up to every game and play with heart every game. If they lose, playing their asses off, I'll applaud the **** out of them. If they get their asses handed to them, playing like **** as they did today, I'll be bitter until the next Sunday.
I'm done venting for now.....

[hradhak]

There was a thread floating around about the Sandwich game. I think the Redskins victory was may have made this our sandwich game. We didn't seem to have any emotion playing out there.

I've heard from many different players that zone blocking is something running backs either get or just don't understand. You can be a good running back, but just not get the ZBS. I think Slaton falls into the latter. He has (or had) talent, but clearly Foster understands the system. I would also say that Foster has an innate ability to be make a negative run play into a huge gain. There are few other players that could do that, and I could make comparisons, but I think I need to see more before I can say those things.

[TimeKiller]

The difference is right after a handoff, Foster takes it and doesn't hit the burst button until he sees the hole. He coasts a few steps behind his blockers and when the hole presents itself he is in position AND ready to lower his shoulder. He'll run his blockers all the way to the sideline if the hole never opens. Slaton takes it and runs like a crackhead 3 year old. BALL BOOM GO **** TACKLED. He tries to jam himself in between to guys instead of waiting for them to open a hole.

That said, he shouldn't be running up the gut. He should be the screen pass, check down guy on 3rd downs. Why is that such a mystery?

[Mr teX]

Interested to hear Winston's show to see if he owns up to his screw ups & if he admits that spencer was in that ass all game.....

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

In hindsight I bet the coaching staff is thinking the same thing - Foster averaged 6.2 yards per carry on 17 carries .... with numbers like that you expect to see better results on the scoreboard.

Houston had an avg of 5.6 per carry for the game while Dallas was held to an avg of 3.7.



Sometimes the numbers dont tell the tale.

In hindsight?

You know I'm a Kubiak fan, but in hindsight? I haven't broken down the offensive plays, so I don't know if the blame goes on Matt, or our coaches. But even in Washington & Indy, he has had trouble connecting with our receivers in the middle of the field.... you know the area where LBs vacate when they blitz?

If we didn't include taking advantage of that in our game plan, or our half-time adjustments, then McNair needs to be kicking Kubiaks hindsight.

[The1ApplePie]

Originally Posted by eriadoc

Seriously? They all see Slaton coming into the huddle, wink at each other, smile, go out there and let their guys into the backfield, right?

SLATON SUCKS IN THIS SYSTEM. Get used to it. He has no patience, no vision, and no concept of how to be effective in this blocking scheme.

Didn't he put up 1800 combined yards his rookie season in this same scheme?

[HOU-TEX]

That Oline blocking well in the run game becomes moot when they're getting penalized and getting Schaub sacked in the redzone. And yes, Winston had a very bad day yesterday

[drewmar74]

I didn't get to see the game so I'm going off of what I'm reading.... but based on that, it sounds like Butler had a better game than Winston did. Is that about the size of it or am I misreading posts here?

[Rey]

Originally Posted by eriadoc

SLATON SUCKS IN THIS SYSTEM. Get used to it. He has no patience, no vision, and no concept of how to be effective in this blocking scheme.

I agree.

But in defense of the system, it looks like he sucks overall.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by drewmar74

I didn't get to see the game so I'm going off of what I'm reading.... but based on that, it sounds like Butler had a better game than Winston did. Is that about the size of it or am I misreading posts here?

That's about the size of it. Butler gave up two sacks, both were coverage sacks....... should be easily fixed, don't stop blocking until the whistle blows.

You wouldn't think you'd have to tell a pro that, but that was his first start.

I think he also had one false start.

Winston was getting beat badly (which really isn't anything new, unless you're an Eric Winston fan(which I'm not)), holding, false starting... everything.

[drewmar74]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

That's about the size of it. Butler gave up two sacks, both were coverage sacks....... should be easily fixed, don't stop blocking until the whistle blows.

You wouldn't think you'd have to tell a pro that, but that was his first start.

I think he also had one false start.

Winston was getting beat badly (which really isn't anything new, unless you're an Eric Winston fan(which I'm not)), holding, false starting... everything.

Thanks for the insight.

I was glad to not read a ton of posts on Butler. I took that as a good sign that he had played alright.