On the Carolina Huddle f2f site of the week, they've got a really interesting read on the Texans. It goes through EVERY position in detail, and gives a homer .... and hater view of the matchup with the Panthers. I highly recommend it:
by Ben Ellington
The home opener is upon us. Fresh off a convincing win against Kansas City, the Houston Texans roll into town brimming with confidence. The Panthers have only played them once in franchise history, losing 10-14 in a game played at Houston in 2003. Since then the Panthers had a decent run of things, appearing in both the Superbowl and NFC Championship, while the Texans have yet to make a playoff appearance.
The Texans are trying to shake the expansion tag this year, and many feel they finally have the pieces in place to do it. With a young and athletic defense and a new franchise QB in place, they may have finally gotten the mix right in the standard NFL formula of how to build a winner. Currently theyre ranked fourth in the league in defense, although thats only based off of one week. Last year they were actually in St. Louis Rams territory overall. Unlike St. Louis, they werent horrible against the run though, so you couldnt make them one-dimensional. Their stats against the run and the pass may not be great, but they indicate a good balance on defense that the Rams didnt and dont have. They also had to play the Colts and Jags twice, the Eagles, Cowboys, and Patriots. Thats seven games against top ten offensive teams, which doesnt help in the stats department.
So what did they do in the offseason? Well, they have a ton of good talent on their roster from so many years of picking near the top of the draft. Still not all of it worked out, so they started at QB by getting Matt Schaub from Atlanta. They also grabbed RB Ahman Green from the Packers, and went defensive in the draft by selecting DT Amobi Akoye with the 10th selection of the first round. Their two remaining trouble spots, offensive line and defensive secondary, got minimal help in the offseason. Sometimes thats enough though, and given how the offensive line was coming on at the end of 2006 there could be some surprises from this team in 2007.
Expect the 2007 edition of the Texans to be a decent improvement on 2006. They wont take the league by storm, but they have a good balance of talent all over the field. If they execute well they have the talent to sneak up on a lot of teams.
Heres what well likely see from them this Sunday.
Quarterback
The Texans first draft pick ever, David Carr, will be on the Carolina sideline this week as Matt Schaub lines up under center for the Texans. He was once one of the best QBs in the ACC, second only to Philip Rivers, and was drafted by Atlanta to back up Michael Vick. He was one of the most coveted back-up QBs in the game, and after three seasons the Falcons traded him to the Texans where he has since earned the starting role. In three preseason outings he completed 24 of 33 passes for 242 yards, and against Kansas City last week maintained that accuracy with a 16/22 performance for 225 yards and a rating of 101.5. He has great vision and makes good decisions with the ball. Its still early in his career as a starter, but he looks a lot like the real deal.
Homer: Matt Schaub? Are you kidding? This guy couldnt win the starting QB spot over a glorified running back in Atlanta. In college he couldnt buy a completion greater than 10 yards, and he hasnt shown a lot of arm strength at the pro level either. And with the line in Houston, the only decision hell have time to make is whether to throw it out of bounds or take the sack. He may have looked good against KC, but this week he has to play against a real NFL defense.
Hater: Matt Schaub is where it starts for this game. Hes the type of quarterback that gives our defense fits. Hes accurate, calm, and a great leader. Picture Marc Bulger without the happy feet. He doesnt have to throw the long ball to kill us, but he wont try. Hes great at spreading the ball around. If our corners lay off the receivers, hell hit them short. If they press, hell burn us long. Hes the guy we should have traded for, and if we had you can bet that he would have been good enough to finally put Jake on the bench. Hurney sucks for not making that happen. By the way, last week the Texans went 9-14 on third down and the Panthers went 4-12. Thats the kind of difference a good QB like Schaub makes for your team.
Read the rest here:
http://www.carolinahuddle.com/
by Ben Ellington
The home opener is upon us. Fresh off a convincing win against Kansas City, the Houston Texans roll into town brimming with confidence. The Panthers have only played them once in franchise history, losing 10-14 in a game played at Houston in 2003. Since then the Panthers had a decent run of things, appearing in both the Superbowl and NFC Championship, while the Texans have yet to make a playoff appearance.
The Texans are trying to shake the expansion tag this year, and many feel they finally have the pieces in place to do it. With a young and athletic defense and a new franchise QB in place, they may have finally gotten the mix right in the standard NFL formula of how to build a winner. Currently theyre ranked fourth in the league in defense, although thats only based off of one week. Last year they were actually in St. Louis Rams territory overall. Unlike St. Louis, they werent horrible against the run though, so you couldnt make them one-dimensional. Their stats against the run and the pass may not be great, but they indicate a good balance on defense that the Rams didnt and dont have. They also had to play the Colts and Jags twice, the Eagles, Cowboys, and Patriots. Thats seven games against top ten offensive teams, which doesnt help in the stats department.
So what did they do in the offseason? Well, they have a ton of good talent on their roster from so many years of picking near the top of the draft. Still not all of it worked out, so they started at QB by getting Matt Schaub from Atlanta. They also grabbed RB Ahman Green from the Packers, and went defensive in the draft by selecting DT Amobi Akoye with the 10th selection of the first round. Their two remaining trouble spots, offensive line and defensive secondary, got minimal help in the offseason. Sometimes thats enough though, and given how the offensive line was coming on at the end of 2006 there could be some surprises from this team in 2007.
Expect the 2007 edition of the Texans to be a decent improvement on 2006. They wont take the league by storm, but they have a good balance of talent all over the field. If they execute well they have the talent to sneak up on a lot of teams.
Heres what well likely see from them this Sunday.
Quarterback
The Texans first draft pick ever, David Carr, will be on the Carolina sideline this week as Matt Schaub lines up under center for the Texans. He was once one of the best QBs in the ACC, second only to Philip Rivers, and was drafted by Atlanta to back up Michael Vick. He was one of the most coveted back-up QBs in the game, and after three seasons the Falcons traded him to the Texans where he has since earned the starting role. In three preseason outings he completed 24 of 33 passes for 242 yards, and against Kansas City last week maintained that accuracy with a 16/22 performance for 225 yards and a rating of 101.5. He has great vision and makes good decisions with the ball. Its still early in his career as a starter, but he looks a lot like the real deal.
Homer: Matt Schaub? Are you kidding? This guy couldnt win the starting QB spot over a glorified running back in Atlanta. In college he couldnt buy a completion greater than 10 yards, and he hasnt shown a lot of arm strength at the pro level either. And with the line in Houston, the only decision hell have time to make is whether to throw it out of bounds or take the sack. He may have looked good against KC, but this week he has to play against a real NFL defense.
Hater: Matt Schaub is where it starts for this game. Hes the type of quarterback that gives our defense fits. Hes accurate, calm, and a great leader. Picture Marc Bulger without the happy feet. He doesnt have to throw the long ball to kill us, but he wont try. Hes great at spreading the ball around. If our corners lay off the receivers, hell hit them short. If they press, hell burn us long. Hes the guy we should have traded for, and if we had you can bet that he would have been good enough to finally put Jake on the bench. Hurney sucks for not making that happen. By the way, last week the Texans went 9-14 on third down and the Panthers went 4-12. Thats the kind of difference a good QB like Schaub makes for your team.
Read the rest here:
http://www.carolinahuddle.com/
