Texans vs. Eagles Matchups

[allez_aigles]

A big reason we struggled against the 3-4 was Fraley. He had real problems directly taking on a NT. Because of that, the A gaps were exposed, and people had to roll over to help out, leaving DE's and LB's free to rush the QB.

That was always why there was pressure from a 3-4. I dont expect Jackson to have a similar weakness, simply due to sheer size. Its going to be hard to hit a gap thats filled with fat offensive linemen :p

Part of that is true. But I saw plenty of instances where a LB came on a delayed blitz or a LB ran around the DE who locked up on the OT and the guards failed to adjust to it. It wasn't always up the middle but those are the plays that made the ESPN highlight reels. I was just making the point - that in several of the AFC losses we were facing a 3-4. I should also point out that in several of those AFC losses we were also facing veteran experienced QBs that know how to win. The Colts game where Mungro got his first start still drives me nuts. Manning ate us apart.

 

[PhillyFan]

Part of that is true. But I saw plenty of instances where a LB came on a delayed blitz or a LB ran around the DE who locked up on the OT and the guards failed to adjust to it. It wasn't always up the middle but those are the plays that made the ESPN highlight reels. I was just making the point - that in several of the AFC losses we were facing a 3-4. I should also point out that in several of those AFC losses we were also facing veteran experienced QBs that know how to win. The Colts game where Mungro got his first start still drives me nuts. Manning ate us apart.

Mungro killed us. I remember that we were all happy that Edge wasnt playing....

That kid knocked us out for real :p

Yah, a lot of the AFC teams that give us fits are 3-4 teams. The Steelers, Pats, Broncos, etc...

You can also attribute a lot of 3-4 problems to McNabb and the receivers. You see a lot of teams that kill the 3-4 offensively are good with hot routes. The Eagles arent...we have never really been great with slants, or getting the ball away fast when it needs to be. We can run those plays fine when they are scripted...but cant seem to do it consistently on the fly.

Im glad Houston switched to a 4-3. I think we will have a much easier time getting the offense moving. We shall see once McNabb warms up. And we will also see how slow we start out

 

[TEXANRED]

Part of that is true. But I saw plenty of instances where a LB came on a delayed blitz or a LB ran around the DE who locked up on the OT and the guards failed to adjust to it. It wasn't always up the middle but those are the plays that made the ESPN highlight reels. I was just making the point - that in several of the AFC losses we were facing a 3-4. I should also point out that in several of those AFC losses we were also facing veteran experienced QBs that know how to win. The Colts game where Mungro got his first start still drives me nuts. Manning ate us apart.

I think this is going to be a close game. The teams are similar in a lot of areas. Eagle have a better D with more depth in there secondary and LB than we do. I will disagree about he D line. I think the Texans have a better line. As far as the O line is concerned they will surprise a lot of people this year with the Zone blocking scheme and having Sherman coaching them. Some have stated the Eagle D line will have Carr running but I don't think that will be the case.

Reading the comment about QB's who know how to win, Carr's record sucks and I can see the angle you are going. Kubiak is going to be Carr's X factor. Kubiak knows how to win, won 3 superbowls. Carr has the potential to be a winner and Kubiak will instill that in him. Carr will take his first steps into becoming a winner against the Eagles this weekend.

Don't think of it as losing to the Texans but helping out another human being and his career.

 

[ronchalant]

I simulated 5 games in Madden 07 last night.

All were Texans vs. Eagles, and all were using current rosters.


The closest the Texans came to winning any of the games was Eagles 21, Texans 17.

All of the rest had the Eagles winning by more than 12.


Just figured I would share my delusional fantasies, and inpertinent video game information...like it matters for anything :p

First I'd mention that I find madden 07 to be a horrible football game. I rent it every year and am never impressed, I was a 2k guy.

I have it rented now, and in one of the formations if you call an audible the buttons for the receivers are simply wrong .. if I hit the 'Y' it's supposed to go to Westbrook, but it goes to the fullback (who is out on the opposite flat).. if I hit 'RB' (right button, XBox 360) it is supposed to go to the fullback, but it hits the center in the back.

Anyways.... where do you get updated rosters? I wasn't able to find it anywhere, checked all the live options and saw no new downloads for rosters..

 

[SESupergenius]

Mungro killed us. I remember that we were all happy that Edge wasnt playing....

That kid knocked us out for real :p

Yah, a lot of the AFC teams that give us fits are 3-4 teams. The Steelers, Pats, Broncos, etc...

You can also attribute a lot of 3-4 problems to McNabb and the receivers. You see a lot of teams that kill the 3-4 offensively are good with hot routes. The Eagles arent...we have never really been great with slants, or getting the ball away fast when it needs to be. We can run those plays fine when they are scripted...but cant seem to do it consistently on the fly.

Im glad Houston switched to a 4-3. I think we will have a much easier time getting the offense moving. We shall see once McNabb warms up. And we will also see how slow we start out

The Texans still run a 3-4 package from time to time, so your offense if going to unsteady for the 1st few series.

 

[flylikeaneagle]

Dawk at LB, Considine at FS, Cole at DE, and Howard at DT will be interesting.

 

[TreachX]

Reading the comment about QB's who know how to win, Carr's record sucks and I can see the angle you are going. Kubiak is going to be Carr's X factor. Kubiak knows how to win, won 3 superbowls. Carr has the potential to be a winner and Kubiak will instill that in him. Carr will take his first steps into becoming a winner against the Eagles this weekend.

And as I've said, it isn't all the coach. If it was, then the Browns under Romeo Crennel would have been just as good as the Patriots defense had been.

And back in the day, Norv Turner was held in high esteem as a guy who could develop young QBs into stars because of the work he had done with Troy Aikman. They thought that under his guidance, Heath Shuler would become a star. Well, as it turns out, Troy Aikman happened to be a great player, and Shuler wasn't, so it doesn't matter who his coach was.

I realize that Jake Plummer had his best season last year, but Plummer was somewhat established in the league, and had a playoff victory to his credit. Don't automatically think that Kubiak is going to make Carr into a star.

 

[mattwill]

Tough call on that one. I'd imagine you'll see a mix of guys on him. However, any guy we match him up with will be at a disadvantage. C.C. Brown has decent speed, but he's a second year player who's coverage skills aren't what you'd expect from an NFL FS. Greenwood played well at OLB back in Miami, but he had Zach Thomas beside him and Jason Taylor rushing the QB. My guess is you'll see Greenwood on him for the majority of the game. Shante Orr really isn't very good in coverage, and he doesn't have much in the way of range. Ryans has the most potential of all the LBs, and he's definately got great instincts & speed. However, he's a rookie, and I don't think he'll see much time on Westbrook in coverage. If the preseason is any indication you'll see him blitz quite a bit. When the Eagles are on offense be sure to pay attention to this kid. He brings the wood when he gets to the ball.

Pressure will be key in this game on both sides of the ball. If the Eagles are able to consistently pressure Carr he'll likely get rattled and the offense will be ineffective. If the Texans are able to pressure McNabb it will hide some of the weakness of our secondary. I like our chances at getting pressure on McNabb when we bring in Peek & Babin at the DE and move Mario & TJ/Weaver inside to DT. Peek has beat some of the better LTs in this league, and as a situational pass rusher he's a beast. He is a bit of a hot head though, and he has had more than his share of penalties. However, the rush from the base 4-3 formation will probably rely alot on blitzing & with blitzing comes opportunities down field for McNabb. One of the changes I've noticed in the defense this season is their agressiveness & how they all flock to the ball. Something we haven't seen previously with them. It's many times better than our "read, think, check, react" defense that Pendry used while he was here. There are a lot of young guys out there, and with inexperience comes mistakes. So they'll have to play a great game to for the Texans to get a win that goes for the offense too.

I think you're right, especially about the pressure. If the Texans can keep the pressure on, passing plays with Westbrook as the primary target will be minimized. If the Eagles can run lots of pass plays for Westbrook, the Texans will be in trouble.

 

[mattwill]

LOL. Go and see how many fantasy footballers will be picking up Wali Lundy or Vernand Morency after the Eagles game.

I am really liking how over-confident you guys are. I hope your team is the same way. Because if they are, then they will be walking out of Houston with a severe migraine Sunday evening.

Just sit back and watch. You'll have the benefit of being able to tell your Eagles pals: "Yeah, they told me those two guys were good. they told me the line was better. And man, it was pretty good."

You should have to pay us money for the information you are getting on this board.

You've made a good point about overconfidence gp. However, after the real come-down of a 6-10 season after the Super Bowl, I think it is fair to say that the Eagles players will be hungry ... very hungry. I don't expect that the overconfidence of fans will reflect in any way on the attitude of the players. When you look at the Eagles really brutal December schedule, it is easy to see why they will take every early game very very seriously. That murderers row of December games will cause some losses that probably would be wins if they weren't back to back to back to back with three other really tough games.

 

[jmerog]

Funny, it'll be even funnier after we hurt your rush D ranking.

Yessir-Talk that smack.

 

[TEXANRED]

And as I've said, it isn't all the coach. If it was, then the Browns under Romeo Crennel would have been just as good as the Patriots defense had been.

And back in the day, Norv Turner was held in high esteem as a guy who could develop young QBs into stars because of the work he had done with Troy Aikman. They thought that under his guidance, Heath Shuler would become a star. Well, as it turns out, Troy Aikman happened to be a great player, and Shuler wasn't, so it doesn't matter who his coach was.

I realize that Jake Plummer had his best season last year, but Plummer was somewhat established in the league, and had a playoff victory to his credit. Don't automatically think that Kubiak is going to make Carr into a star.

Steve Young-Superbowl, John Elway-two superbowls, Jake Plummer (who was just like Carr when he left Arizona) AFC championship game.

Its gonna be a good year. Its gonna start out rocky, but its gonna be a good year for the whole team.

 

[allez_aigles]

Steve Young-Superbowl,Jake Plummer (who was just like Carr when he left Arizona) AFC championship game.

Its gonna be a good year. Its gonna start out rocky, but its gonna be a good year for the whole team.

I don't know if I agree with you there. Plummer never seemed to lose his nerve when he was in AZ. Heck I hated playing the Cards when he was there. He earned the name 'Jake-the-Snake' (yes I know it was borrowed from TV wrassling) because he didn't lose his cool and was rather slippery behind a porous O-line. Carr as a top pick had more pressure on him than Plummer and I think he has reacted to it more.

Hey I would like to see your team become competitive this year. I want to see a tough fought out game this weekend. But moving Plummer to Denver didn't make Plummer a tough QB to defend against. Moving Plummer to Denver just gave him a better O-line - a better defense and some form of a running threat. All of that made Plummer a more successful QB - but I am not sure you can say it made him any better than he already was.

 

[furferret2]

Can we get a count to when the Texans receive a harsh and thorough beating?

 

[HOU-TEX]

Can we get a count to when the Texans receive a harsh and thorough beating?

 

[jamiethekiller]

so how 'bout them eagles