Texans should've won by more and two players we need.

El Tejano · Sep 23, 2009

I'm looking at the rewind of the game last night and noticed a few plays that could've changed complection of this game.

Chris Johnson's first 50 something TD run. As he catches the ball, Brian Cushing had the angle on him but unfortunately he was being held from behind and even appeared to be blocked in the back. Does that change Tenn from scoring a TD, maybe, maybe not.

Secondly, right before half when we had to settle for the FG. The 3rd down play where I believe Matt threw an incompletion. Andre's jersey was held by Cortland Finnegan. That should've been a penalty that would've given us a first down. Perhaps we go into half 28-21 or 28-24.

I'll give Tenn. the 91 yarder. That was good blocking at LOS because Mario had a good shot at him and a OL seals off the backside taking out Mario and another DL. Then we couldn't tackle the rest of the way or even catch CJ.

Thirdly, the drive with the game winning FG. Andre Johnson makes a 3rd down catch that appears to be a first down and we got a horrible spot. It was evident his body and the ball crossed the 14 as his knee hit the ground. That would've had us with a new set of downs and at least attempting a FG inside of 2 mins to go in the game.

There's a good chance this game could've been more on Texans side after all. Perhaps the quick scores is what helped us get our offense back on the field.

The two players we need. Looking over this game we are really missing the presence of Mark Bruener and Jacques Reeves. Mark Bruener usually would help seal off the left side that Slaton likes to hit.
If our opponent was invisible, Freddy Bennett would be leading the league in tackles. Alot of the extra yards are coming from his side, then the rookies are left to recover and they are getting beat. As much as I dislike Jacque for not intercepting or defending balls that can be intercepted and defended, he is a very good tackler and we are missing that.

Runner · Sep 23, 2009

Were there any calls that went the Texans way? For instance, I recall Andre being give a great spot on one catch that gave the Texans a first down and maybe a couple of late hits?

These things tend to balance out.

TimeKiller · Sep 23, 2009

I thought the reffing was decent, especially with the circumstance of two teams really getting after each other. The one that got me a little peeved was the Andre catch where he was clearly in bounds with a ref standing right over him calling him out. Then another ref came over and really questioned him and still he was out. Also Kubiak missed a chance to finally get a challenge right.

I agree that we miss JR but Mark Bruener was inactive for like 14 games or something last year. Hill needs to step up and be what they drafted him to be....an ACTIVE Mark Bruener.

Bennett's leading the league in flailing arms.

hobie · Sep 23, 2009

Runner said:
Were there any calls that went the Texans way? For instance, I recall Andre being give a great spot on one catch that gave the Texans a first down and maybe a couple of late hits?

These things tend to balance out.[/QUOTE]

I agree. It is a 60 minute game, a lot of what if's, if we only did... you play 60 minutes, and when it's done, it's done...and over the course of 16 games, it all works out... People say the Colts game last year was a game we should have won, then look at the Dolphin game, if it was not for a last play TD, they would have lost, so Miami says that was a game they should have won.. So, I agree, it does balance out over a 16 game season, and a win is a win, 1 point or 14... I'll take it !!

El Tejano · Sep 23, 2009

Runner said:
Were there any calls that went the Texans way? For instance, I recall Andre being give a great spot on one catch that gave the Texans a first down and maybe a couple of late hits?

These things tend to balance out.

I agree. I do believe though that, the ones I mentioned were there in plain view for the refs to see. The key word is COULD. They COULD've changed the complexion of the game - maybe, maybe not.

The defense still did bad either way. Refs can't call missed tackles. I believe that will get cured when Reeves comes back.

HOU-TEX · Sep 23, 2009

If I'm thinking of the correct play, we ended up getting the 1st down anyway after AJ was marked short. Schaub ran the sneak on 4th down.

Houston Texans at 07:10
1-10-HOU 32 (7:10) 8-M.Schaub pass deep left to 12-J.Jones to TEN 24 for 44 yards (20-N.Harper).

1-10-TEN 24 (6:29) 22-C.Brown up the middle to TEN 21 for 3 yards (55-S.Tulloch, 53-K.Bulluck).

2-7-TEN 21 (5:49) 8-M.Schaub pass incomplete deep left to 80-A.Johnson.

3-7-TEN 21 (5:43) 8-M.Schaub pass short middle to 80-A.Johnson to TEN 15 for 6 yards (20-N.Harper).

4-1-TEN 15 (5:16) 8-M.Schaub up the middle to TEN 13 for 2 yards (75-J.Haye; 53-K.Bulluck).

1-10-TEN 13 (4:29) 22-C.Brown left tackle to TEN 12 for 1 yard (93-K.Vanden Bosch, 55-S.Tulloch).

2-9-TEN 12 (3:47) 8-M.Schaub pass incomplete short middle to 80-A.Johnson (24-C.Hope) [24-C.Hope].

3-9-TEN 12 (3:43) 22-C.Brown up the middle to TEN 5 for 7 yards (53-K.Bulluck).

4-2-TEN 5 (2:58) (Field Goal formation) 3-K.Brown 23 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-85-J.Dreessen, Holder-1-M.Turk.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009092007/2009/REG2/texans@titans/analyze/box-score#analyze-channels:cat-post-playbyplay

infantrycak · Sep 23, 2009

Runner said:
These things tend to balance out.

Generally they do, especially across a season and within most games. Not all plays are created equally though. Mario Williams just ran down "the fastest man in the NFL" last weekend on that 3rd down pitch to the right. Maybe if he hadn't been grossly held VY doesn't make that shameful overtime run.

I have said this before, but I think officiating in the NFL tends to favor the favored teams. Unfortunately the Texans are rarely favored so...but this opinion was formed before the Texans were. Some crews are worse than others, for instance Ed Hochuli's.

GP · Sep 23, 2009

It was very weird to see the calls go our way. When Jacoby bobbled the fair catch, I threw my cap at the wall and said "Same old stuff." Then when Tasker was going nuts and saying, "NO! That's going to be the Texans ball," even before the refs made the call, I was still like "Whatever. That's Titans ball right there. We're done."

And when the refs DID make the call, and gave us the ball...it STILL took me several plays on offense to really truly believe that we actually had one go our way for a change.

It was like a miracle. Jacoby messed up, as he is prone to do, and yet we still got the ball back after it was all said and done. I can't imagine what it felt like to Titans fans. But you know what? They've had their share of getting some things go their way. They needed to see what it's like to have a fluke thing go against them.

GP · Sep 23, 2009

The other call that went our way was the ejection of the Titan's defensive player. Chris Jones, IIRC.

The refs could have thrown out one or two of ours, as well. But the Titans got one of their dline starters thrown out. That was a break for us.

The Jacoby TD catch was luck. Yeah, he caught it. But it was another weird rule situation that allowed him to retain the TD call.

So that's why I am a bit uneasy about our future. Just because we had some fluke'ish things go our way, which DEFINITELY turned the tide on several occasions, does not mean "we're back!"

90% of the time, it's the other team who is making their own luck against us. Not us doing it to them.

It was nice to win one over there, that's for sure.

False Start · Sep 23, 2009

El Tejano said:
Secondly, right before half when we had to settle for the FG. The 3rd down play where I believe Matt threw an incompletion. Andre's jersey was held by Cortland Finnegan. That should've been a penalty that would've given us a first down. Perhaps we go into half 28-21 or 28-24.

I really didn't have any problems with the zebras in this game, but this play was so obvious it was ridiculous.

HoustonFrog · Sep 23, 2009

Runner said:
Were there any calls that went the Texans way? For instance, I recall Andre being give a great spot on one catch that gave the Texans a first down and maybe a couple of late hits?

These things tend to balance out.

Or the two late hits that Dunta/Cushing got away with while the Titans were driving, both where the player was clearly out of bounds and could have led to scores..............................................ALL games are about "what ifs." It is easy to make excuses, etc. I mean a guy should make a tackle on EVERY play but that is how frigging people score. This exercise is just plain silly.

infantrycak · Sep 23, 2009

HoustonFrog said:
Or the two late hits that Dunta/Cushing got away with while the Titans were driving, both where the player was clearly out of bounds and could have led to scores..............

Let's be fair in our trying to be fair. Dunta could have been called. That flag flies about 50% of the time and since it didn't definitely went the Texans' way. Cushing and Wilson it would have been a travesty if they had been called. They engaged CJ several yards from the sideline and were in the act of tackling when they crossed the sideline.

euro-Texan · Sep 23, 2009

For what it's worth a lot of the Titans penalties were declined because we made the plays anyway.

I am curious as to the play where we punted, there were flags and a long delay. The ref went to the chains and signaled with his hands that we were still 4-5 inches short. and the tacks retained the ball. Does anyone remember what that was about? I know Kubes was pissed about it, but don't remember what the penalty(s) were about.

Runner · Sep 23, 2009

infantrycak said:
These things tend to balance out.

Click to expand...

Generally they do, especially across a season and within most games. Not all plays are created equally though. Mario Williams just ran down "the fastest man in the NFL" last weekend on that 3rd down pitch to the right. Maybe if he hadn't been grossly held VY doesn't make that shameful overtime run.

I have said this before, but I think officiating in the NFL tends to favor the favored teams. Unfortunately the Texans are rarely favored so...but this opinion was formed before the Texans were. Some crews are worse than others, for instance Ed Hochuli's.

It's a good thing they don't have NBA crews out there.

dalemurphy · Sep 23, 2009

euro-Texan said:
For what it's worth a lot of the Titans penalties were declined because we made the plays anyway.

I am curious as to the play where we punted, there were flags and a long delay. The ref went to the chains and signaled with his hands that we were still 4-5 inches short. and the tacks retained the ball. Does anyone remember what that was about? I know Kubes was pissed about it, but don't remember what the penalty(s) were about.

Titans had 12 men on the field and Kubiak either thought the 5 yard penalty was enough for the 1st down or was demanding a measurement.

infantrycak · Sep 23, 2009

euro-Texan said:
For what it's worth a lot of the Titans penalties were declined because we made the plays anyway.

I am curious as to the play where we punted, there were flags and a long delay. The ref went to the chains and signaled with his hands that we were still 4-5 inches short. and the tacks retained the ball. Does anyone remember what that was about? I know Kubes was pissed about it, but don't remember what the penalty(s) were about.

dalemurphy said:
Titans had 12 men on the field and Kubiak either thought the 5 yard penalty was enough for the 1st down or was demanding a measurement.

There were two penalities - 12 men which is a 5 yard pre-kick penalty (and so could be assessed from the line of scrimmage) and a second post-kick 10 yard penalty (which would be assessed from the point of the offense). Kubiak thought the 5 yards should have given us a 1st down but the refs said the distance needed was actually 5 yards plus 3-4 inches so Kubiak took the 10 yard penalty at the back end.

HoustonFrog · Sep 23, 2009

infantrycak said:
Let's be fair in our trying to be fair. Dunta could have been called. That flag flies about 50% of the time and since it didn't definitely went the Texans' way. Cushing and Wilson it would have been a travesty if they had been called. They engaged CJ several yards from the sideline and were in the act of tackling when they crossed the sideline.

All I'm saying is that both calls could have been called...one should have as it was easily out of bounds...and I've seen the other called plenty because of the extra push about 3 yards outside the boundry. The continuation was why they probably didn't though. My point though is it is the same exercice as the original post. The Texans got plenty of good calls or no calls. It was a physical game. Sitting there and ignoring deficiencies and acting like the outcome should have been cozier makes no sense to me.

TexansSeminole · Sep 23, 2009

GP said:
It was very weird to see the calls go our way. When Jacoby bobbled the fair catch, I threw my cap at the wall and said "Same old stuff." Then when Tasker was going nuts and saying, "NO! That's going to be the Texans ball," even before the refs made the call, I was still like "Whatever. That's Titans ball right there. We're done."

And when the refs DID make the call, and gave us the ball...it STILL took me several plays on offense to really truly believe that we actually had one go our way for a change.

It was like a miracle. Jacoby messed up, as he is prone to do, and yet we still got the ball back after it was all said and done. I can't imagine what it felt like to Titans fans. But you know what? They've had their share of getting some things go their way. They needed to see what it's like to have a fluke thing go against them.

The refs called that one according to the rule. There's not really a chance for the ref to side one way or the other. As a defender, you simply can't snatch the ball out of the air after the returner fair catches. The defender has to let the ball hit the ground before he can go after it. I didn't know this rule before this game, and it seems some of the players and maybe Jeff Fisher didn't either.

I thought the game as a whole was pretty fairly called, maybe they got more calls by a little. Andre getting held by Finnegan was really obvious, but wasn't called. Cushing got held on Johnson's first TD run. But that's how it goes in football.

Double Barrel · Sep 23, 2009

HoustonFrog said:
All I'm saying is that both calls could have been called...one should have as it was easily out of bounds...and I've seen the other called plenty because of the extra push about 3 yards outside the boundry. The continuation was why they probably didn't though. My point though is it is the same exercice as the original post. The Texans got plenty of good calls or no calls. It was a physical game. Sitting there and ignoring deficiencies and acting like the outcome should have been cozier makes no sense to me.

yeah, after re-watching the game on NFL Replay last night, I caught a couple of plays by D.Rob that we were very fortunate did not get called for late hits. He seems to be trying to hard to be in on plays, which is dangerous for a variety of reasons.

Jacoby Jones scares me. Mostly because of the way he holds the ball when he's running with it. Very loose and inviting a defensive player to punch it out from behind. He almost had it happen on one of his late catches. He also dropped an easy one the play before his TD catch. He's an exciting player, but still seems to lack the focus to get to the next level, IMO.

Cushing is a beast. I really look forward to the LB tandem of him and DeMeco when they bond and gel as a unit. They were firing each other up throughout the game, and along with Mario, I think this defense has the potential to dominate down the road with the addition of another adequate lineman and CB.

HoustonFrog · Sep 23, 2009

Double Barrel said:
yeah, after re-watching the game on NFL Replay last night, I caught a couple of plays by D.Rob that we were very fortunate did not get called for late hits. He seems to be trying to hard to be in on plays, which is dangerous for a variety of reasons.

Jacoby Jones scares me. Mostly because of the way he holds the ball when he's running with it. Very loose and inviting a defensive player to punch it out from behind. He almost had it happen on one of his late catches. He also dropped an easy one the play before his TD catch. He's an exciting player, but still seems to lack the focus to get to the next level, IMO.

Cushing is a beast. I really look forward to the LB tandem of him and DeMeco when they bond and gel as a unit. They were firing each other up throughout the game, and along with Mario, I think this defense has the potential to dominate down the road with the addition of another adequate lineman and CB.

Thought the same two things as your last 2 paragraphs. The "focus" part of JJ especially. When you see him catch it and run you are amazed at how athletic and smooth he can look. When you see him make constant mistakes you realize that he isn't mentally there all the time. He kind of reminds me of the talented athlete that during a game isn't thinking about the game but maybe how he looks in the game.

Cushig impressed me. He seems to be near the ball on alot of plays. That is instinctive if you have missed time like him.

infantrycak · Sep 23, 2009

Double Barrel said:
Jacoby Jones scares me. Mostly because of the way he holds the ball when he's running with it. Very loose and inviting a defensive player to punch it out from behind. He almost had it happen on one of his late catches. He also dropped an easy one the play before his TD catch. He's an exciting player, but still seems to lack the focus to get to the next level, IMO.

Just don't know what to make of him. Does Kubiak just need to sit him in front of a juggs machine for a couple days or have Brink throw until his arm falls off. Friggin' have the RB coach work with him on holding the ball. If these things aren't being done it is on the coaches. If they are maybe he is hopeless.

Cushing is a beast. I really look forward to the LB tandem of him and DeMeco when they bond and gel as a unit. They were firing each other up throughout the game, and along with Mario, I think this defense has the potential to dominate down the road with the addition of another adequate lineman and CB.

Agreed. They have enough fiery guys and leaders with Cushing, DeMeco and Mario (and Dunta). They just need to make sure they at least have NFL quality starters at the other positions and keep their heads in the game.

Side note - I really liked what Schaub did before the last Titans' series. Before the D went back out he went down the bench and talked to each one.

Texans should've won by more and two players we need.

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