Two ESPN minds giving an opinion on Texans O-line

2. Will the Texans be able to protect Matt Schaub?



One bad, one good. I guess for us it is an improvement that anyone in the media thinks our O-line will be less of a problem.

Here is the link. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2874766

There is other info about other teams.

Allen: I think the Texans are going to have the same protection problems they've had in the past. Houston doesn't seem to understand the importance not only of surrounding the quarterback with playmakers but also of making sure he has the protection to get the ball to those playmakers. There will definitely be times this season when Schaub will wish he was still in Atlanta not taking some brutal hits.


Theismann: I don't think protection will be as big of an issue because coach Gary Kubiak probably will try to run the ball as much as possible. That will provide protection for Schaub and also create space for receiver Andre Johnson on the outside in play-action situations. Kubiak is a brilliant offensive mind, and he's going to find a way to make sure that Schaub stays on his feet this season.

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There will definitely be times this season when Schaub will wish he was still in Atlanta not taking some brutal hits.

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When anyone sees things like this, it should set off the 'talking out of their ass' alarm.

How many 'brutal' hits did our former #8 take in 5 years? I remember Posey at Buffalo and the one in Oakland last year but to assert that 'brutal hits' are an unusually frequent occurrence here, only diminishes the credibility of some of these lemmings.

aj. said:

When anyone sees things like this, it should set off the 'talking out of their ass' alarm.

How many 'brutal' hits did our former #8 take in 5 years? I remember Posey at Buffalo and the one in Oakland last year but to assert that it's an every week occurrence only diminishes the credibility of some of these lemmings.

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It's just lazy journalism. Rather than forming their own opinions, they cater to the masses by repeating what "Average Joe" football fan already thinks he knows - therefore making their worthless diatribes appear legitimate.

aj. said:

When anyone sees things like this, it should set off the 'talking out of their ass' alarm.

How many 'brutal' hits did our former #8 take in 5 years? I remember Posey at Buffalo and the one in Oakland last year but to assert that 'brutal hits' are an unusually frequent occurrence here, only diminishes the credibility of some of these lemmings.

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That's true alot of hits that Carr took were not hits at all. More like he went down and they touched him or jumped on him for credit of the sack.

TexansSeminole said:

That's true alot of hits that Carr took were not hits at all. More like he went down and they touched him or jumped on him for credit of the sack.

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Yea, the infamous, ''Fall down in the fetal position as soon as the defender gets behind the o-line!''

It would be nice to have stat and video evidence to support our opinions on the offensive line situation here. I possess the computer skills necessary and the time (old and retired) to put a highlight reel together showing the numerous sacks that weren't the fault of the O-line. I just don't have the video footage. And I wish I knew how to look up the stats showing our former QB going down on his own, or running out of bounds behind the scrimmage line. Not even sure it's worth debating, that's the past as far as I'm concerned, but it would be nice to create an In-Your-Face response to the talking heads.

Here's the way I feel about it:

We now have a new coaching staff and new gm. Interesting to see that not very many changes have happened on the offensive line, spells that the Quarterback was mainly at fault. With no trust in Carr, who is no longer here...yet some of the same offensive linemen, the writing is on the wall.

From the link....

Houston doesn't seem to understand the importance not only of surrounding the quarterback with playmakers

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OK, so who are AJ and Ahman Green? Yep definitely not playmakers or anything like that.

FirstTexansFan said:

It would be nice to have stat and video evidence to support our opinions on the offensive line situation here. I possess the computer skills necessary and the time (old and retired) to put a highlight reel together showing the numerous sacks that weren't the fault of the O-line. I just don't have the video footage. And I wish I knew how to look up the stats showing our former QB going down on his own, or running out of bounds behind the scrimmage line. Not even sure it's worth debating, that's the past as far as I'm concerned, but it would be nice to create an In-Your-Face response to the talking heads.

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There was a stickied thread the last two years about sack responsibility.

Here's the one from last year:
http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27865&highlight=sack

Another good one from 2005:
http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12177&highlight=sack

FirstTexansFan said:

It would be nice to have stat and video evidence to support our opinions on the offensive line situation here. I possess the computer skills necessary and the time (old and retired) to put a highlight reel together showing the numerous sacks that weren't the fault of the O-line. I just don't have the video footage. And I wish I knew how to look up the stats showing our former QB going down on his own, or running out of bounds behind the scrimmage line. Not even sure it's worth debating, that's the past as far as I'm concerned, but it would be nice to create an In-Your-Face response to the talking heads.

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Unfortunately, I had to delete games from my Tivo to keep my wife happy. Right now, all I've got is the last Colts game... and there were no sacks in that game. I think there are some guys (like probably Thunderkyss) who still have the whole season recorded somewhere.

At the beginning of the season, we had started a Sack Fault thread and stickied it but we didn't keep it up to date past the second or third game.

The truth is probably somewhere between these two alternating views, but closer to Theismann for me. With Spencer, I think our line is at least average, and maybe better than avg. Without, it's going to be a problem, but I think Schaub and Green will make the line appear to be better than their talent might otherwise indicate in either case.

What galls me is that the national media seems to think we are the only team that has ever had a sub standard line in the history of pro football. They are so fixated on the line as the only issue, and that it has never been addressed, and it's plain ignorance to think that. We have taken steps to get better there, and some don't involve the line personell themselves, and some do. Why doesn't the media rail against the Packers, Raiders, Chiefs, Arizona, or Miami, all teams that in 2007 are likely to have worse lines than the Texans?

The Pencil Neck said:

Right now, all I've got is the last Colts game... and there were no sacks in that game.

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THAT is a keeper for many reasons.