I just finished watching my tape of the game, so some of this might be rehashing others' points, but I figured I'd post some of my thoughts.
1) I think the playcalling was a bit off, this game. Two calls really stood out to me. First one was the first sack by Ware. I believe it was third and 3, and we lined up with an empty backfield. I'm not saying we needed to run, but we should have at least used a lineup that we could have run from. It makes no sense to clearly give up on the run option when we have only 3 yards to go. Second one was the long interception Schaub threw. This was meant for AJ, but we knew he had a hurt ankle. Throwing a pass where you are depending on your receiver with a hurt ankle to outrun the coverage seems like a dumb idea.
2) Our red zone performance is very reminiscent of last year. Not scoring from first and goal at the 1??? That's just pitiful. The team does not deserve to win if it can't get a TD in that situation.
3) The defense just seemed to have a total breakdown. Clearly there were problems in the secondary, but it was the complete lack of a pass rush that bothered me most. Other than the intentional grounding call, it seemed we couldn't get to Romo at all - I know he got hit once or twice more, but it really felt that he had all the time in the world on most plays.
4) Our special teams have been unimpressive. Turk has not been good at placing punts (though I expect this could improve). Slaton is showing me nothing as a KR. Jacoby has been OK, but I feel like we should be able to do even better.
5) Overall, I can't say I'm even that surprised about this loss, though I am surprised at how lopsided it was in the end. I knew going in that Dallas really wanted this one, and I got the impression that the Texans didn't care that much about it. I don't know how much, if at all, the Texans were getting distracted/complacent by the positive press they've been getting, but it's clear they are not as good as the hype has been starting to build around them. While I feel that it's just one loss, and not a huge deal in the course of the season, I hope the players are hurt by it, and use it as motivation for the rest of the season. If the team ever starts getting too much positive press later in the season, the coaches need to pull out this game to remind them that they're not as good as they might think they are...
6) Believe it or not, I haven't been completely sold on Arian Foster. But, I am now (even with the fumble). He had some incredible runs today.
7) Andre Johnson is clearly a major part of our offense, but I want his ankle healed - I would rather him sit and heal than push it and get a more serious injury. And, what happened to Kevin Walter (before garbage time) today?
1) I think the playcalling was a bit off, this game. Two calls really stood out to me. First one was the first sack by Ware. I believe it was third and 3, and we lined up with an empty backfield. I'm not saying we needed to run, but we should have at least used a lineup that we could have run from. It makes no sense to clearly give up on the run option when we have only 3 yards to go. Second one was the long interception Schaub threw. This was meant for AJ, but we knew he had a hurt ankle. Throwing a pass where you are depending on your receiver with a hurt ankle to outrun the coverage seems like a dumb idea.
2) Our red zone performance is very reminiscent of last year. Not scoring from first and goal at the 1??? That's just pitiful. The team does not deserve to win if it can't get a TD in that situation.
3) The defense just seemed to have a total breakdown. Clearly there were problems in the secondary, but it was the complete lack of a pass rush that bothered me most. Other than the intentional grounding call, it seemed we couldn't get to Romo at all - I know he got hit once or twice more, but it really felt that he had all the time in the world on most plays.
4) Our special teams have been unimpressive. Turk has not been good at placing punts (though I expect this could improve). Slaton is showing me nothing as a KR. Jacoby has been OK, but I feel like we should be able to do even better.
5) Overall, I can't say I'm even that surprised about this loss, though I am surprised at how lopsided it was in the end. I knew going in that Dallas really wanted this one, and I got the impression that the Texans didn't care that much about it. I don't know how much, if at all, the Texans were getting distracted/complacent by the positive press they've been getting, but it's clear they are not as good as the hype has been starting to build around them. While I feel that it's just one loss, and not a huge deal in the course of the season, I hope the players are hurt by it, and use it as motivation for the rest of the season. If the team ever starts getting too much positive press later in the season, the coaches need to pull out this game to remind them that they're not as good as they might think they are...
6) Believe it or not, I haven't been completely sold on Arian Foster. But, I am now (even with the fumble). He had some incredible runs today.
7) Andre Johnson is clearly a major part of our offense, but I want his ankle healed - I would rather him sit and heal than push it and get a more serious injury. And, what happened to Kevin Walter (before garbage time) today?