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Things to watch vs. Vikings

barrett

barrett

All Pro
I have to admit, I'm excited that there has been so much attention payed to the interior defensive line this week. It's so much fun to watch the big guys go at it. You really get a chance to see how the games really are won and lost in the trenches. Well, and behind center.

Here are a few things I'm really looking forward to keeping an eye on Monday night (some less obvious):

Duane Brown vs. Jared Allen Jared certainly got the best of Brown several times last year. I expect him to get by at least once again, but I'm extremely excited by what I've seen from Brown so far. He looks twice as good as he did last year. Allen is arguably the best DE in the NFL. Brown gets to go against a top 5 guy every day in practice. It showed last week against NO. He had no problem with his man. Despite illegal hands to the face repeatedly. His run blocking looks much improved as well.

Joel Dreesen has looked terrific thus far. Everyone has him as the forgotten TE due to our draft and Owen Daniels popularity but lets not forget. We resigned him to a new (bargain) deal and he has a very similar skill set to Daniels with none of the potential impending cost. He's a very good blocker and his pass catching seems improved. Another solid week from him and I'm going to quietly start thinking more and more heavily that my favorite player "Open Daniels" could be expendable or even better, trade bait. (based on value alone).

More cards from Mr. Bush After all the hoopla this week, I'm reminded that we're not seeing the real defense... well, here's me hoping we show a bit more so that we can better criticize (judge) what is expected from our front 7.

Studdard-less OLine runblocking Chris brown didn't look as good last week because there were no lanes for him. Slaton looked good despite the interior run blocking because he's so good bouncing outside. With Pitts returning I want to see how important Chris Meyers absense could really be. With White AND Studdard it seemed a disaster.

Where in the world is Fredrick Bennett? Fred is back to his old tricks. Bad angles, bad technique, bad tackling. Who is the guy we saw two years ago? Where did he go?

Who's starting at DT? I think Okoye can be a very good pass rusher. I want to know why he's in on run downs. I want to see what the coaches do to correct the lineup shortcoming from last week. I want to see how the rotation changes.

Barwin against the 1's on run downs One option is to have Smith sliding in more frequently to help our run defense. This means Connor has to play well as an everydown DE. Will they give him some reps against the 1's on run downs this week?


Arian Foster/Chris Brown Browns vision was not as good last week because the cutback lanes weren't there. With Studdard out of the lineup I expect the lanes to return and Brown to show more what we had in KC. I know we're playing the Williams' but I expect better results. Foster needs to get more playing time now that he's a week healthier. I want to see him in with the starting line.

Tackling especially from the secondary. I feel like Quin and McCain are maintaining pretty good coverage skills. But EVERYONE'S tackling was suspect last week. I know the Texans preach tacking technique all the time. Will we see improvement?

Improving Orlovsky I was kind of bummed about his performance last week until I re-watched the game. He made some mental mistakes that I know Kubiak can coach out of him. He improved overall. Will we see a bit more of this skills? He made some great throws and reads last week.

Jones' toughness I want to see Jacoby make some more tough catches. Take some hits, get up, WITH THE BALL.



I can't wait!
 
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I'd like to add that someone needs to watch Jared Allen at all times and make sure he doesn't send us into the regular season with Dan Orlovsky as our starting QB. That guy is (IMHO) a sneaky turd who no Texan should turn his back on. If Jared Allen goes to the sideline to get a cup of Gatorade and looks the wrong way at Matt while doing it I want a Texan hiding in the cooler waiting to put a hit on him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcqjClE7cuk
 
That hopefully will be what Brown does for 3 quarters. Remember how Schaub was popping up against the Tacks last year? Trying to show he's tough. I expect him to have that same attitude on Monday.
 
Excellent Barrett!

I'll add this. I think there is a hell of a battle going on for the last WR spot. Jones might have a slight edge because of his athletism and big play ability, but a guy that's come on strong from both watching the games and from camp reports is Glenn Martinez. I don't know what his return ability is but I think he is a better pure WR than Jacoby. The same could be said for Darnell Jenkins. That is a 3 way battle royale that will probably come down to the wire. Only one of those 3 makes it barring a major injury (knocks on wood)
 
Jared Allen's hat and Matt Schaub's knee. :eek:


Hervoyel said:
I'd like to add that someone needs to watch Jared Allen at all times and make sure he doesn't send us into the regular season with Dan Orlovsky as our starting QB. That guy is (IMHO) a sneaky turd who no Texan should turn their back on. If Jared Allen goes to the sideline to get a cup of Gatorade and looks the wrong way at Matt while doing it I want a Texan hiding in the cooler waiting to put a hit on him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcqjClE7cuk
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This ^^^^^^^^^^
 
we need to set up a game plan to get Sage in the Air ... make him jump and then hit him!
 
Wolf said:
we need to set up a game plan to get Sage in the Air ... make him jump and then hit him!
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Need one of those creative musicians to do a song called: "Copter Man" to the music of Spider Man.....

Copter man
Copter man
Does whatever a chopper can.

Done: Random THought of the Day - Part 2

*********************************

BTW Barrett, excellent thread and repped.
 
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Porky said:
Excellent Barrett!

I'll add this. I think there is a hell of a battle going on for the last WR spot. Jones might have a slight edge because of his athletism and big play ability, but a guy that's come on strong from both watching the games and from camp reports is Glenn Martinez. I don't know what his return ability is but I think he is a better pure WR than Jacoby. The same could be said for Darnell Jenkins. That is a 3 way battle royale that will probably come down to the wire. Only one of those 3 makes it barring a major injury (knocks on wood)
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Thanks Porky,

I have liked everything I've seen from Martinez and Jenkins looked good too before he got hurt early. I know there is much talk about the competition but I just can't get past Jones' physical gifts. I have a hunch that the coaches feels the same way. I think there is valid competition there but I just honestly don't believe it's between Jones and Martinez or Jenkins. I think the competition is actually between Martinez and Jenkins and some other roster spot. I think the coaches are trying to decide weather it's worth it to keep 6 WR's. Jones, for all his headaches and heart attacks, is gifted. Beyond what those guys bring. If Martinez had any PS eligibility then I think it would be a done deal. His experience puts a kink in the coaches plan I bet.
 
barrett said:
Thanks Porky,

I have liked everything I've seen from Martinez and Jenkins looked good too before he got hurt early. I know there is much talk about the competition but I just can't get past Jones' physical gifts. I have a hunch that the coaches feels the same way. I think there is valid competition there but I just honestly don't believe it's between Jones and Martinez or Jenkins. I think the competition is actually between Martinez and Jenkins and some other roster spot. I think the coaches are trying to decide weather it's worth it to keep 6 WR's. Jones, for all his headaches and heart attacks, is gifted. Beyond what those guys bring. If Martinez had any PS eligibility then I think it would be a done deal. His experience puts a kink in the coaches plan I bet.
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That may be the case. It's just that it's all or nothing with Jones. There's not a lot in between. Do you want the football equivalent of baseball's Dave Kingman. When Kingman got a hold of a ball nobody could hit it further. That guy probably has a couple of balls orbiting the Earth. He hit a ton of homers every year, most of them way out of the park. He also led the league in strikeouts most years. That's Jacoby Jones. He is Dave Kingman. He's either hitting a homerun or he is striking out. Martinez and Jenkins are more like Kaz Matsui. They are going to play hard, slap the ball around, try and stretch the single to a double, play good defense, but homeruns? Nah. Not likely to happen.

So, do you want Dave Kingman or Kaz Matsui? That's the question. :cow:
 
It is a primetime game, consequently, I will be watching Mario. Outside of that I am interested in the secondary and the trenches as the Vikings arguably have the best line in the NFL on both sides of the ball.
 
Porky said:
That may be the case. It's just that it's all or nothing with Jones. There's not a lot in between. Do you want the football equivalent of baseball's Dave Kingman. When Kingman got a hold of a ball nobody could hit it further. That guy probably has a couple of balls orbiting the Earth. He hit a ton of homers every year, most of them way out of the park. He also led the league in strikeouts most years. That's Jacoby Jones. He is Dave Kingman. He's either hitting a homerun or he is striking out. Martinez and Jenkins are more like Kaz Matsui. They are going to play hard, slap the ball around, try and stretch the single to a double, play good defense, but homeruns? Nah. Not likely to happen.

So, do you want Dave Kingman or Kaz Matsui? That's the question. :cow:
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I think that may have been the case in the past but I'm not as convinced this year. His route running is better. He's catching the ball in traffic. He's making big time plays at receiver in practice. I think he may.... may, I want to emphasize "may" be more of a 2 for 5 kind of player this year. If he does put it together, that is to say, if the Texans think he's in the process of putting it together, I can see them keeping him on even at the expense of some strikeouts.

p.s. I think baseball is boring. If they played 16 games a year I could get way into it though.
 
Im lookin for some emotion on the D, here's what Shaun Cody had to say today:

(on how the defense takes on the challenge of Peterson after the Saints game) "With defense, you play on emotion a lot. I don't think we emotionally got up for the game, and it showed. Hopefully this week, we can get up emotionally and play with that fire on defense that you need to play with and we'll get the job done."
 
barrett said:
Barwin against the 1's on run downs One option is to have Smith sliding in more frequently to help our run defense. This means Connor has to play well as an everydown DE. Will they give him some reps against the 1's on run downs this week?
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This is what I've been wondering and hoping for. Putting Smith inside on a semi-permanent basis would solve a LOT of problems.
 
TexansFanatic said:
This is what I've been wondering and hoping for. Putting Smith inside on a semi-permanent basis would solve a LOT of problems.
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Until Barwin either gets more NFL experience/savvy under his belt or more meat on his bones, I think he may make some team a nice door mat as an every down end.
 
hmmm i wanna see how our secondary plays out again

Brain Cushing FIRST game maybe

is travis johnson playing ??????

and where is DUNTA can he at least PLAY Our last home PS game !!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Until Barwin either gets more NFL experience/savvy under his belt or more meat on his bones, I think he may make some team a nice door mat as an every down end.
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Thats kind of my thinking too. He hasn't been effective against the run yet. But man, he's got physical talent. Even when he gets locked up he's able to break away and run to the ball. If he can learn to shed those blocks, he's got a good chance to get in there on 1st downs.
 
barrett said:
Thats kind of my thinking too. He hasn't been effective against the run yet. But man, he's got physical talent. Even when he gets locked up he's able to break away and run to the ball. If he can learn to shed those blocks, he's got a good chance to get in there on 1st downs.
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I don't think converting a DE to DT and replacing him with a DE that weighs 30 lbs less is any kind of answer to improving our run defense. I do realize that Smith has played some DT. But in watching him play in Arizona last year, it was almost strictly as a pass rush specialist or a guy involved in a variety of stunting.

Regarding Barwin, I love the guy as a situational player this year and I don't doubt that he will eventually force himself on the field more as the season wears on.
 
Porky said:
Excellent Barrett!

I'll add this. I think there is a hell of a battle going on for the last WR spot. Jones might have a slight edge because of his athletism and big play ability, but a guy that's come on strong from both watching the games and from camp reports is Glenn Martinez. I don't know what his return ability is but I think he is a better pure WR than Jacoby. The same could be said for Darnell Jenkins. That is a 3 way battle royale that will probably come down to the wire. Only one of those 3 makes it barring a major injury (knocks on wood)
Click to expand...

barrett said:
Thanks Porky,

I have liked everything I've seen from Martinez and Jenkins looked good too before he got hurt early. I know there is much talk about the competition but I just can't get past Jones' physical gifts. I have a hunch that the coaches feels the same way. I think there is valid competition there but I just honestly don't believe it's between Jones and Martinez or Jenkins. I think the competition is actually between Martinez and Jenkins and some other roster spot. I think the coaches are trying to decide weather it's worth it to keep 6 WR's. Jones, for all his headaches and heart attacks, is gifted. Beyond what those guys bring. If Martinez had any PS eligibility then I think it would be a done deal. His experience puts a kink in the coaches plan I bet.
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Kubiak just made the competition for that last WR spot even stiffer. Most already know how high I am on Jenkins, but I must admit, Martinez has looked great. He was really the only one that could say he had a good game last Saturday. Tough decision for the coaching staff. I think we'll end up losing 1 if not 2 of them to other teams.

(on the guys he's battling with Darnell Jenkins and Glenn Martinez) "And (Mark) Simmons, to me, was probably one of the few bright spots on our team last week as far as special teams and what he did so we'll see. That's a tough, tough call and probably whoever does the best job on special teams, be it Jacoby as a returner or those guys covering, and doing what they do, it will probably be a factor."
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http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5503
 
Pitts returning
Myers returning (this is the team (DT's) that pushed him around last year and caused alot fo the negativity he recieves around here)
Molden getting some playing time
Cushing getting playing time
Cody getting the start at DT with Omobi
How our D reacts to such a poor performance after being embarressed last week.
 
First off, we've got to remember that the Vikings have a lot of talent. People are concentrating on Allen on the d-line, but every guy on that d-line is a monster. Those two DTs are going to get push against the interior of our line and disrupt our running plays whoever's in there. They do that to almost everyone and Myers and Pitts (if they really both return) are going to be rusty. So we've got to expect a rough night running the ball (but hope for the best.)

They can get away with just rushing 4 because their line is so good. And they've got good CBs, iirc.

So, it's going to be a good test.

On the defensive side, besides having AP who is a scary monster, they've also got one of the best guards in the game. And we're going to be starting Cody and Okoye in the middle? I'd like a bigger presence in there. Cody says he played both DT and NT at Detroit, let's hope he has the strength to hold up at the point of attack; I don't think we can expect Okoye to suddenly develop that strength. If Cody does, then I think it means he's going to push Okoye out of the starting lineup once Robinson or TJ get back. But I'm expecting our Run D to get gashed.

From what I've seen of the Vikings preseason games, Sage has better chemistry with his receivers than Favre had in that last game. Favre will probably be better though. He's about as experienced as a vet can be and we're going to be starting young corners. This will be a test.

I'm going to be watching our LBs and Ss. I want to see them flowing to the ball and I don't want to see them over-running the plays.

I expect this to be a tough game. I don't have high hopes for us looking good against this team. If we do, then I think that means we're in for a good season. If we don't, we might still be able to get our first winning season. Maybe.
 
I'm not expecting much falloff for Meyers and Pitts. Pitts has played a ton of football. Meyers has been praised by Kubiak for how intelligent he is. I'm guessing he's healthy or they wouldn't put him in there. It may take a series or two but those guys played every snap last year. That's a lot of rhythm. You notice no one has said a peep about Briesel or Winston this preseason. They picked up right where they left off.

Having said that, You're correct that the entire DLine should be better than our OLine but not so much better that we're dominated like we were last week. I think that had alot to do with Studdard and White being side by side.
 
This ones pretty easy . I'm not sure if there is a team in the NFL with a better OL and DL combination . This game will separate the men from the boys .
 
I'll route on my team like I always do but I do not have a good vive about Monday night's game. I worry that they are going to pick apart the piss poor play in the secondary so I'll be watching that. Also, how the test of a good overall D is going to be handled on O. A top tear running game against a bad run stopping team. I'm just being for real here with everyone. The game might get ugly early on.
 
I would like to see Fred Bennett bounce back with a decent game. He was simply awful last week. Whoever stole Fred's uniform, and has Fred gagged with duct tape and tied up in the broom closet since his rookie year, please let him out! :spit:
 
Porky said:
I would like to see Fred Bennett bounce back with a decent game. He was simply awful last week. Whoever stole Fred's uniform, and has Fred gagged with duct tape and tied up in the broom closet since his rookie year, please let him out! :spit:
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Dunte's spell on every CB untill he returns.
 
people talk bad about our secondary (rookies) and we havent even been tested yet... except bennett who stinks. I think at least 1. of our rookies are better than him.
 
barrett said:
Thanks Porky,

I have liked everything I've seen from Martinez and Jenkins looked good too before he got hurt early. I know there is much talk about the competition but I just can't get past Jones' physical gifts. I have a hunch that the coaches feels the same way. I think there is valid competition there but I just honestly don't believe it's between Jones and Martinez or Jenkins. I think the competition is actually between Martinez and Jenkins and some other roster spot. I think the coaches are trying to decide weather it's worth it to keep 6 WR's. Jones, for all his headaches and heart attacks, is gifted. Beyond what those guys bring. If Martinez had any PS eligibility then I think it would be a done deal. His experience puts a kink in the coaches plan I bet.
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Porky said:
Excellent Barrett!

I'll add this. I think there is a hell of a battle going on for the last WR spot. Jones might have a slight edge because of his athletism and big play ability, but a guy that's come on strong from both watching the games and from camp reports is Glenn Martinez. I don't know what his return ability is but I think he is a better pure WR than Jacoby. The same could be said for Darnell Jenkins. That is a 3 way battle royale that will probably come down to the wire. Only one of those 3 makes it barring a major injury (knocks on wood)
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It's gonna be hard to keep 6 WR's and 4 TE's on the roster. Some will HAVE to go through waivers and, hopefully, end up on the PS. JJ's inability to hold on to the ball scrubs his chances with me. Electrifying or not, we have WAY too many turnovers as a team to leave punt returning as a coin toss. If Jenkins or Martinez have ANY PR talent, I would say bye bye to JJ.
 
DocBar said:
It's gonna be hard to keep 6 WR's and 4 TE's on the roster. Some will HAVE to go through waivers and, hopefully, end up on the PS. JJ's inability to hold on to the ball scrubs his chances with me. Electrifying or not, we have WAY too many turnovers as a team to leave punt returning as a coin toss. If Jenkins or Martinez have ANY PR talent, I would say bye bye to JJ.
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Jacoby's been having a HELL of a camp. He ain't turned the ball over yet,
and as a receiver he's never looked better. On a physical level, none of those
3 scrubs can hold a candle to him, and mentally it seems he's finally gettin
his **** together (graduating college, training with Marques Colston, travelling
with Andre Johnson.)

If they cut Jacoby, EXPECT him to NOT clear waivers, and end up burning us
for years to come. The kid is too damned gifted to let walk for nothin'. All
this Jacoby hate is unwarranted, 4 real.
 
DexmanC said:
Jacoby's been having a HELL of a camp. He ain't turned the ball over yet,
and as a receiver he's never looked better. On a physical level, none of those
3 scrubs can hold a candle to him, and mentally it seems he's finally gettin
his **** together (graduating college, training with Marques Colston, travelling
with Andre Johnson.)

If they cut Jacoby, EXPECT him to NOT clear waivers, and end up burning us
for years to come. The kid is too damned gifted to let walk for nothin'. All
this Jacoby hate is unwarranted, 4 real.
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This isn't "momma" is it?
 
JJ's also kind of been tagged with the "great in TC" tag kinda like that QB we don't talk about anymore. He's also made SEVERAL mental errors in preseason. The guy has to show he can bring it on gameday when the games count. Not hating on him, just not confident in him, either. Physical talent alone is n't enough in the NFL. See also: Reggie Bush, Vince Young and that QB I didn't mention earlier. I agree that he has wonderful talent, though.

I'll be watching every single aspect of football on Monday night. From Kubiak to guys on the bubble, i want to see how the Texans, as a team, play their gameplan, tweak the gameplan midgame(seems to be a weakness of ours) and how the palyers and coaches handle adversity. This should be a challenging game with our starters going against theirs for at least a half, maybe 3 quarters. The Vikes have a DOMINANT D and the best RB in the league. The only weak link I see on them will be Favre. If they tank, IMHO, it will be because of QB play.
 
barrett said:
Who's starting at DT? I think Okoye can be a very good pass rusher. I want to know why he's in on run downs. I want to see what the coaches do to correct the lineup shortcoming from last week. I want to see how the rotation changes.
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Barrett, sometimes I wonder if Okoye is in there to make the other team think run more than pass, to avoid his/our pass rushing. Maybe our coaching staff is trying to hide our poor DBs by making the other team want to run against Okoye.
 
dalemurphy said:
I don't think converting a DE to DT and replacing him with a DE that weighs 30 lbs less is any kind of answer to improving our run defense. I do realize that Smith has played some DT. But in watching him play in Arizona last year, it was almost strictly as a pass rush specialist or a guy involved in a variety of stunting.

Regarding Barwin, I love the guy as a situational player this year and I don't doubt that he will eventually force himself on the field more as the season wears on.
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It can't hurt to give it a shot during the preseason. Sometimes a player can surprise you with how well he does something that you perceive him to be weak at.

Personally I want to see Barwin playing more downs with the 1's period. I don't care what down, but I want to see him Smith and Mario on the line during most of the passing downs.
 
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