Houstons Matt Schaub: The Bengals have two former first-round selections in up-and-coming Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph. Hall has been exceptional against No. 1 wideouts this year. Both are very capable making big plays, but they also tend to play a lot of off coverage. When Schaub sees off coverage against Andre Johnson on early downs, he would be smart to audible into a one-step drop and get the ball out very quickly to his stud receiver. From there, Johnson should consistently put this offense in favorable down-and-distance situations and of course, there is also a chance of Johnson breaking a big play with his after-the-catch skills. The Bengals have also allowed a plethora of long completions. But, Schaub should not expect a lot of help from his running game this week. Steve Slaton is struggling and the Bengals are more physical at the line of scrimmage. They boast a very good run defense. That should also eliminate the play-action game. Also working against Schaub is Cincinnati's power run game led by Cedric Benson. Houston's defense also is at a physical disadvantage this week and I fully expect the Bengals to control the time-of-possession battle, which of course, keeps Schaub and Johnson on the sidelines. Lastly, Antwan Odom could present problems as an edge pass rusher as well. He is playing at a high level this year and Schaub has questionable pocket presence and his ability to elude the rush is very average. Only three defenses have more sacks than the Bengals this year. http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/category/_/name/houston-texans
I believe last year was the most PHYSICAL game for AJ against cinci, threw a ton of underneath passes and was gettin pounded, still held on to the ball but that post route where the safety rocked AJ scared me...he had a big game I remember. And even though cinci has been playin better this year I believe AJ will have another good game. Saw some playbook on NFL net, highlighted JJ and Leon hall, made me think of that pick 6 last week, them guys are VERY quick to recover when beatin or even turned around. They have very good coverage. We gotta be smart
A blurb on the Texans/Bengals game from the NY Times: Have the Bengals been lucky? Or do some teams just make their own luck? Under Kubiak, the Texans have a poor 7-19 record on the the road. But the Texans have a 4-4 road record when when playing the 2nd (or 3rd) consecutive away game. Go figure. And finally, the Texans under Kubiak have yet to defeat a winning team on the road. Does that mean the Texans have no shot today? Or that if they do pull off the upset, the Bengals will hit the skids?
