Texans 08 Review

[76Texan]

I know that a review is very difficult.
I want to try the second half to see where the Texans were and are becoming.

Vikings.
There's no clear cut who the best or worst O-lineman was.
Pitts and Winston get the slight edge.
But nobody get a C.

Dressen, Salaam, Slaton, and Leach can be equally blamed when considered the times they were required to block.

Both QBs threw stupid INT.

Reeves was the worse CB, manhandled by Berrian all day.
A lucky INT can't change that.

If Bennett had the same lucky INT, he would have been the best CB that day.

They all make some good plays, some bad plays, one more than the others.

This day, Kubiak would have to take a big share of the blame for the loss.
He subjected his QBs to an agressive defense, and did not counter enough, let alone soon enough.

It's true that the LBs, especially Diles can play better.
The D-line can play better.

This day, Reeves' the main culprit on the D.
The O dilema to be shared between the QBs and the O-line.
And Kubiak.

 

[76Texan]

Texans vs. Ravens

The debacle continued.
It just seems like we couldn't catch a break, let alone making one.
An inteference call wiped out a TD pass to O.D.
Then O.D. committed unecessary holding to wipe out a 58 yd TD run by Slaton.

The Texans outgained the Ravens 203/167 but trailed 6-12 at the half.

They would collapse in the second half.
4 Ints by Rosenfels cememented his place in the Texans' lore.

Not that the O-line helped.

Grades in the blocking department:
Brisiel and Winston: F (Brisiel contributed to 2 Ints, Winston 1)
O.D.: D-
Salaam: D
Brown, Leach: C-
Pitts: B-
Myers: B+
Dreessen and Slaton were fine, neither committed a notable error.


The defense play poorly but not terrible, yielding only 328 yds.

The CBs all got beat here and there within the tolerance limit.

Reeves once again took the cake.
A pass inteference gave the Ravens the ball at our one yd line where they would score a TD.
A miss-assignement resulted in another TD.
Another one (could be a miscommunication with Wilson) resulted in yet another TD.

Greenwood gave another reason for not resigning him.

There's some hope here with Bennett at CB and Okam as a run-stopper (I surely hope he can keep his weight in check.)

Ferguson was very solid.

 

[BeatDaTitans]

Well, even though we lost to both of them the Ravens was the most disappointing, I felt we had that game, You're spot on with poor play by the line and those ever present INT's, He(Rosenfels) single handedly killed our chances at a winning season, Im glad he is gone....have fun in Minnesota fag.


Now the Vikes game was fun to watch and I believe that Reeves did pretty good for a guy who played in what ten games in 4 years before we signed him, Berrian is a fast guy, which makes him hard to cover. That interception was not lucky it was god sent Im not 100% but I think that was our only INT for a Touchdown so give him props.

 

[barrett]

if you're interested, I did one of these earlier this offseason. Here it is:

http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59662

 

[Norg]

u do know sage played for us some games last year iam not blaming it on him for the 8-8 season but i will 100% beleive he lost the Indy game for us single handly we could have at least been 9-7 maybe even 10-6 trying for a wildcard spot or at least be playing meaningful football in dec

 

[76Texan]

Well, even though we lost to both of them the Ravens was the most disappointing, I felt we had that game, You're spot on with poor play by the line and those ever present INT's, He(Rosenfels) single handedly killed our chances at a winning season, Im glad he is gone....have fun in Minnesota fag.


Now the Vikes game was fun to watch and I believe that Reeves did pretty good for a guy who played in what ten games in 4 years before we signed him, Berrian is a fast guy, which makes him hard to cover. That interception was not lucky it was god sent Im not 100% but I think that was our only INT for a Touchdown so give him props.

I try not to discredit any player.
I also try to keep an open mind, and it's hard.
Hopefully, I have time to finish everything I'd like.
We all know that toward the end of the year, the team as a whole, improve.
And that's what matters!

 

[76Texan]

if you're interested, I did one of these earlier this offseason. Here it is:

http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59662

I had watched each games at least 4 times each at the time.
I wanted to comment, but finally I said, it would probably be better if I go back and check them plays out some more.
There are just too many positions on the team.
It's so easy to miss plays here and there.

At the moment, I don't think I quite agree on your take about the O-line;
especially on Myers and Brisiel.

But we plenty of time yet.

 

[76Texan]

u do know sage played for us some games last year iam not blaming it on him for the 8-8 season but i will 100% beleive he lost the Indy game for us single handly we could have at least been 9-7 maybe even 10-6 trying for a wildcard spot or at least be playing meaningful football in dec

I believe that we win and lose as a team.
In football, you do well on some plays and badly on others.
But if the players don't study their own film, how do they learn to improve?
I like to study them in that sense, not to put the blame on any single player.

 

[76Texan]

I like to do a play-by-play of the first quarter of the next game at Indy for a change.
Later on, I will try to set up a certain point system to grade each player on the O-line on each play, and perhaps the secondary too.

1st Qtr

Texans

Houston Texans at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:52)
1-10-HST 20 (14:52) S.Rosenfels scrambles right end ran ob at HST 22 for 2 yards (R.Brock).
Bootleg, nobody was open.

2-8-HST 22 (14:27) S.Slaton up the middle to HST 29 for 7 yards (G.Brackett).
Good surge by entire O-line, plus Dreessen and O.D. on the right side.

3-1-HST 29 (13:40) S.Slaton right tackle to IND 48 for 23 yards (C.Session). FUMBLES (C.Session), recovered by HST-O.Daniels at IND 48. O.Daniels to IND 45 for 3 yards (A.Johnson).
Good job again by all. Brisiel, Winston, O.D., Leach on the right side clear the path for Slaton.
Brown moved up to the second level and got a little piece of the CB (also impeding the LB in coming back)
O.D. also moved up to the second level (AFTER his block.)
A.J. also followed the action.
That’s how one of the guys can recover the fumble.
Blocking is not the only thing.
The more the players stay with the play, the better their chance to help in case of needs.

1-10-IND 45 (12:57) A.Green up the middle to IND 42 for 3 yards (G.Brackett, F.Keiaho).
Another good surge by all.
Slaton (instead of Green) might have been able to make a wicker cut and go further.
There was a possibility on the left side to go VERY far.

2-7-IND 42 (12:17) A.Green up the middle to IND 37 for 5 yards (C.Session).
Again, good job by all.
If only Winston could have latched on to the LB.

3-2-IND 37 (12:17) S.Rosenfels pass short right to A.Johnson to IND 18 for 19 yards (A.Bethea, T.Jennings).
Winston got beat to the inside, but Sage was able to get off a quick pass.
Could havd been a big problem right there (say like, an INT. The LDE Brock had his right paw up.)

1-10-IND 18 (10:56) S.Rosenfels pass short middle to A.Johnson to IND 10 for 8 yards (A.Bethea, T.Jennings).
No problem on another quick pass.

2-2-IND 10 (10:14) 30-A.Green left tackle to IND 10 for no gain (98-R.Mathis, 95-D.Reid).
ZBS to left. Winston & Daniels were both late.
O.D. missed the backside seal-off block on LDE Mathis; Winston couldn’t hold on to the LDT Reid, allowing these two guys to chase behind the LOS and make the play.
Great blockings on the left side by Brown, Leach, and Pitts.
Lotsa room there.

3-2-IND 10 (9:31) 18-S.Rosenfels pass incomplete short right to 89-D.Anderson [58-G.Brackett].
Rosenfels had about 3 secs on the roll-out. Shoulda let the ball fly earlier, Anderson was open in the far right corner. Wasted red-zone chance. Shoulda been a TD.

4-2-IND 10 (9:25) 3-K.Brown 28 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-B.Pittman, Holder-1-M.Turk.
HST 3 IND 0 Plays: 10 Possession: 5:39

K.Brown kicks 65 yards from HST 30 to IND 5. C.Simpson pushed ob at HST 49 for 46 yards (K.Brown, A.Molden).
Indianapolis Colts at 9:21, (1st play from scrimmage 9:14)
1-10-HST 49 (9:14) (Shotgun) J.Addai right tackle to HST 48 for 1 yard (M.Williams, E.Cochran).
Good job by Cochran in penetrating, and slowing down Addai.
Good job by Mario to read and react, and come back to make the tackle.
Demeco was also right there.

2-9-HST 48 (8:39) J.Addai left end to HST 43 for 5 yards (E.Wilson, D.Ryans).
Good job by the D-line and Faggins (lined up as RLB) to string out Adai.
The Colts pulled and had enough blue jerseys on that side, and Addai is plenty quick.
Good job by Wilson in shedding his blocker.

3-4-HST 43 (8:03) (Shotgun) P.Manning pass short right to R.Wayne pushed ob at HST 36 for 7 yards (D.Faggins).
Not much Faggins can do here, except not to make a mistake.
I will be concentrating more on the secondary. The Colts short game makes it hard for the D-linemen.

1-10-HST 36 (7:42) J.Addai up the middle to HST 32 for 4 yards (N.Ferguson).
Good job by Ferguson to maneuver to plug the hole.

2-6-HST 32 (7:11) P.Manning pass short right to M.Harrison to HST 25 for 7 yards (F.Bennett).
Good recovery by Bennett on the shake and bake move by Harrison.
Good job by Adibi to stand up his blocker and slow down Harrison.
These short timing routes by the Colts are so difficult to defend (just like ours.)

1-10-HST 25 (6:28) (Shotgun) J.Addai right end to HST 22 for 3 yards (X.Adibi, F.Bennett).
Again, good job by Adibi to stand up and shed off his blocker to force Addai wide right.
Bennett came up like a flash. (Announcer: “Nice play by Fred Bennett.”)

2-7-HST 22 (5:52) P.Manning pass incomplete short middle to D.Clark.
Texans got pressure on both edges. Manning saw Mario and just rid himself of the ball.

3-7-HST 22 (5:48) (Shotgun) P.Manning pass incomplete short middle to R.Wayne.
Manning can see Bulman coming.
Zgonina gave Clark a push (within 5 yards), which is quite relevant.
Clark took longer to sit on the route, and had to worry about the lick he knew would be coming from Ryans.
Every little thing count. It’s not just a simple dropped pass.
If Manning has a fraction more time, he would have adjust to Clark.
If Clark had a fraction more time, he could have adjusted perfectly to the pass,
and have time to position himself to absorb the coming hit.

4-7-HST 22 (5:43) A.Vinatieri 40 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Snow, Holder-H.Smith.


A.Vinatieri kicks 67 yards from IND 30 to HST 3. R.Moats to HST 28 for 25 yards (M.Giordano, T.Hagler).
Houston Texans at 5:39, (1st play from scrimmage 5:31)
1-10-HST 28 (5:31) S.Rosenfels pass deep left to K.Walter to IND 11 for 61 yards (A.Bethea, G.Brackett).
Bootleg to the left. Here that I said Sage has always been quite efficient rolling out to the left.
1-10-IND 11 (4:43) 18-S.Rosenfels scrambles left end pushed ob at IND 9 for 2 yards (96-K.Dawson).
Faked bootleg left again, but AJ couldn't get open quick enough on the side line.
Rosenfels was too locked on to AJ. There was another option. Instead of running, if he would only stop and wait.
Walter fell down and should have gotten up quicker. (Never never give up on a play, Kevin.)
He was still open nonetheless, but Sage couldn’t see him.
That could have been a TD.
2-8-IND 9 (4:15) 20-S.Slaton up the middle to IND 10 for -1 yards (55-C.Session).
Good read by the Colts D. Rosenfels shoulda seen the trap and changed the call (Was he allowed to???)
They showed you the running lane, but they would close it up quickly. All their LBs were gearing themselves up to plug that hole.
I don’t like to second guess a call, but now we are faced with 3rd and 9.
And you know they will be coming.
3-9-IND 10 (4:15) 18-S.Rosenfels sacked at IND 16 for -6 yards (93-D.Freeney).
D. Brown simply lost his leverage and was beaten by Freeney.
Winston also lost badly to Mathis on the other side. Only a face mask by Winston kept Mathis from getting there just after Freeney. (Ref just didn’t call it, or maybe Winston let it go quickly enough, but he definitely jerked Mathis backward.)
4-15-IND 16 (3:02) 3-K.Brown 34 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-B.Pittman, Holder-1-M.Turk.
HST 6 IND 3 Plays: 5 Possession: 2:41
K.Brown kicks 70 yards from HST 30 to IND 0. C.Simpson to IND 26 for 26 yards (C.Thompson, K.Bentley).
Indianapolis Colts at 2:58
1-10-IND 26 (2:58) P.Manning pass incomplete short right to J.Addai.
Pass in and out of Addai’s hands.
But remember, Manning had an eye on Mario coming, and another eye on Ryans coming over.
He did not want an INT.
Also, Addai’s concentration was broken up by Ryans flying to the ball (perhaps his vision was clouded as well.)
Hey, but if anybody wants to call it a drop pass, go right ahead.

2-10-IND 26 (2:47) J.Addai up the middle to IND 26 for no gain (D.Ryans).
Ryans plugged the hole nicely. Dunta was alo there on the edge.
Texans shifted their D at the last minute, Manning couldn’t change the play.

3-10-IND 26 (2:09) (Shotgun) P.Manning pass short left to J.Addai to IND 38 for 12 yards (X.Adibi).
Adibi probably dropped too far in the zone. (Can’t really see, but from the original formation, that was probably the case.)
This where I agree that sometimes the D drops back a little too far in the 2-minute drill.
Well, it eventually ended up in the FG. I guess that was what we play for against the Colts.

1-10-IND 38 (1:24) J.Addai right end to IND 40 for 2 yards (N.Ferguson).
Addai wanted to go up the middle, but nothing there so he cut to the outside.
Ferguson came up right smartly.
Bennett also.

2-8-IND 40 (:47) J.Addai right end to 50 for 10 yards (N.Ferguson).
Adibi got pushed a bit too much to the outside and couldn’t set the edge.
Ryans got caught in the trash. Bennett shoulda have taken the inside.
Mario and Wilson both came a long way, ready to help.
Good read and react and stay with the play.
1-10-50 (:02) (Shotgun) P.Manning pass incomplete short left to D.Rhodes.
Again, Manning saw Mario and throw the pass a hair too wide.
It would have been at most a 3 yd gain around midfield, no biggie!
Again, ‘cause it’s Manning, the announcer(s) probably counted this as a so-called “dropped pass” while in actuality, Manning led the RB too far outside.

 

[barrett]

I had watched each games at least 4 times each at the time.
I wanted to comment, but finally I said, it would probably be better if I go back and check them plays out some more.
There are just too many positions on the team.
It's so easy to miss plays here and there.

At the moment, I don't think I quite agree on your take about the O-line;
especially on Myers and Brisiel.

But we plenty of time yet.

During which part of the season? My opinion changes as the season progresses.

 

[76Texan]

During which part of the season? My opinion changes as the season progresses.

Any part!
Them guys are young, the later into the season, the more you would expect them to improve.

 

[76Texan]

Texans at Colts

I think this Colts game did a lot to the Texans' psyche.
We've been going up there looking lost, the laughing stock of the NFL... but not this time.

There was no far-away look in the second half.
Even as the Colts went up 30-20 early in the 4th.

There was no celebration on the Colts sideline.
Our guys came out focused, confident, and marched down the field for a TD on a long 6-min drive.


Even when the Colts came right back out doing the same thing and got a first down on our 26 yd line.
The stand was full of people cheering... nervously.


Then came 2nd and 9 with 3:48 to go.
Dungy was pacing the sideline.
The Colts cheerleaders weren't dancing, but stood transfixed.

The roar dulled as fast as it started when Reeves broke up a pass to Wayne at the 9yd line.
With Weaver boring down on him, Manning slightly underthrew.
He also knew Mario would be coming.
Plus the fact that Bulman was in his line of sight, and approaching.
This game wasn't in the bag by any long stretch.


3rd and 9, the Texans brought 7 to the LOS and a total of 9 men in the box.
Manning called time-out.
Neither his look, nor Dungy's instilled much confidence from the crowd.

A completed pass... short of a first down???
The cheering was half-hearted.
Manning was running around complaining to the officials.
None in the stadium thought it was a first down, including the announcers.
There was no uproar in the crowd to protest the spot of the ball.
Even the Colts' sideline didn't look like they believed a re-spot of the ball would be enough for a first down.

They re-spotted the ball to measure.
More nervous applauding.

When they announced "first down", the cheering in the stand was more of a relief than anything.


1st and 10 at our 16.
A 4 yd run didn't produce much noise from the crowd... strangely!
It seems like the Colts' fans had more respect to the Texans' D than quite a few of their own fans (sorry!)


Then Cochran came up for a one-yd tackle for loss.
Weaver also there.
The place was muted.

2 minute warning.
More nerve wrecking in the stand.
The only thing you hear is "We will rock you" playing.

3rd and seven.
Colts were in 3-wides now.

And then the world turns.

The Texans brought 8 men up, inside the box.
A flash of Demeco to showcase the coming attraction.

Two CBs right on the line of scrimmage to check on the 2 receivers on one side.

Only Reeves hovered near the 1st down marker, inviting Manning to throw the other way.
One look at Mario flexing his all, and Manning said, no thanks!

Then Da Bulls charged!
Eight of them aroaring in this Indy 500.
The Finish Line is painted on Manning's helmet.

And by jove, they came!

59 carved a new road, crossing the states' borders, right up through Manning's gut.
It was still extremely fast in super slo-mo.
So fast such that Mario just had to stop and watch.
He did have to veer off from the blocking TE, with one eye one the flight of the ball.
It never got there!

Somebody needs to tell Mario not to worry so much.
Even if Clark didn't trip on himself, he would have been out of bound way short.

One MAN is plenty enough for the job.

The Texans themselves realized they have found quite a few good men!

 

[76Texan]

Grading the O-line for the Indy game:

Myers 80.69 constant throughout except for one subpar play.

Pitts 78.92 constant throughout.

Brisiel 75.43 constant throughout except for a couple of bad plays.

Winston 74.15 very inconsistent, quite a few subpar plays, three or four of bad plays, and a couple of terrible plays but also had some nice blocks.

Brown 73.78 a couple of terrible plays, otherwise pretty consistent.

 

[badboy]

Grading the O-line for the Indy game:

Myers 80.69 constant throughout except for one subpar play.

Pitts 78.92 constant throughout.

Brisiel 75.43 constant throughout except for a couple of bad plays.

Winston 74.15 very inconsistent, quite a few subpar plays, three or four of bad plays, and a couple of terrible plays but also had some nice blocks.

Brown 73.78 a couple of terrible plays, otherwise pretty consistent.

This avg should go from a C+ to at least a B.

 

[El Tejano]

Texans at Colts

I think this Colts game did a lot to the Texans' psyche.
We've been going up there looking lost, the laughing stock of the NFL... but not this time.

There was no far-away look in the second half.
Even as the Colts went up 30-20 early in the 4th.

There was no celebration on the Colts sideline.
Our guys came out focused, confident, and marched down the field for a TD on a long 6-min drive.


Even when the Colts came right back out doing the same thing and got a first down on our 26 yd line.
The stand was full of people cheering... nervously.


Then came 2nd and 9 with 3:48 to go.
Dungy was pacing the sideline.
The Colts cheerleaders weren't dancing, but stood transfixed.

The roar dulled as fast as it started when Reeves broke up a pass to Wayne at the 9yd line.
With Weaver boring down on him, Manning slightly underthrew.
He also knew Mario would be coming.
Plus the fact that Bulman was in his line of sight, and approaching.
This game wasn't in the bag by any long stretch.


3rd and 9, the Texans brought 7 to the LOS and a total of 9 men in the box.
Manning called time-out.
Neither his look, nor Dungy's instilled much confidence from the crowd.

A completed pass... short of a first down???
The cheering was half-hearted.
Manning was running around complaining to the officials.
None in the stadium thought it was a first down, including the announcers.
There was no uproar in the crowd to protest the spot of the ball.
Even the Colts' sideline didn't look like they believed a re-spot of the ball would be enough for a first down.

They re-spotted the ball to measure.
More nervous applauding.

When they announced "first down", the cheering in the stand was more of a relief than anything.


1st and 10 at our 16.
A 4 yd run didn't produce much noise from the crowd... strangely!
It seems like the Colts' fans had more respect to the Texans' D than quite a few of their own fans (sorry!)


Then Cochran came up for a one-yd tackle for loss.
Weaver also there.
The place was muted.

2 minute warning.
More nerve wrecking in the stand.
The only thing you hear is "We will rock you" playing.

3rd and seven.
Colts were in 3-wides now.

And then the world turns.

The Texans brought 8 men up, inside the box.
A flash of Demeco to showcase the coming attraction.

Two CBs right on the line of scrimmage to check on the 2 receivers on one side.

Only Reeves hovered near the 1st down marker, inviting Manning to throw the other way.
One look at Mario flexing his all, and Manning said, no thanks!

Then Da Bulls charged!
Eight of them aroaring in this Indy 500.
The Finish Line is painted on Manning's helmet.

And by jove, they came!

59 carved a new road, crossing the states' borders, right up through Manning's gut.
It was still extremely fast in super slo-mo.
So fast such that Mario just had to stop and watch.
He did have to veer off from the blocking TE, with one eye one the flight of the ball.
It never got there!

Somebody needs to tell Mario not to worry so much.
Even if Clark didn't trip on himself, he would have been out of bound way short.

One MAN is plenty enough for the job.

The Texans themselves realized they have found quite a few good men!

I am so hearing the NFL Films music behind this.

 

[76Texan]

This avg should go from a C+ to at least a B.

Actually, in my current "system", they were B- to B+

B- is 70.00
B is 75.00
B+ is 80.00

So the lowest grade for this game is already close to a B.

 

[76Texan]

I am so hearing the NFL Films music behind this.

Haha, I did, too!

 

[76Texan]

Overall, The Texans were consistent throughout.

They missed a few TD opportunities early on.

On the first drive, on 2nd and 2 at the Indy 10, Winston and O.D. missed key blocks on a running play.
The Colts then read the bootleg correctly and Sage had to throw the ball away.
They settled for a FG.

On the second drive, on first and 10 at the Colts 11, AJ was well covered on a QB's roll-out to the left.
Instead of running out of bound, if only Sage could buy himself a little more time,
he would find Walter wide open for a highly possible TD or definitely a very good gain, at least 6-7 yds.

In all honesty, Sage had seen Walter fallen down on a cut block, and slow to get up,
so he was trying to get positive yardage out of the play.
But actually, Walter's being on the floor was what made the defenders converge on Sage.
Aahhh, if only it was a designed play.

On the next play, the Colts had the right call for the running play, and stuffed Slaton in the backfield.

Then on third down, Freeney beat Brown on a spin move to the inside and sacked Rosenfels.
We were in the "spread" formation with no help to the tackles.

I hate to second guess a call, but Kubiak had Sage in a 5-step drop
and all 5 receivers running (at least) more than 5-yd routes???
Can't see clearly even from two different camera angles.
But I think a 3-step drop and a quick pass to AJ on a medium slant route was present there.
It took Freeney over 2 secs to get to Sage.

The Texans settled for another FG.

On the third drive, the Texans failed to convert on 3rd and one when Winston was late on the second level.
A cut block might have done the trick instead of a reach block with his hand(s).
Once again, the Colts had the right call.
I consider that miss-block by Winston somewhere between subpar and bad, but not terrible.
Texans punted.

The only other punt came in third quarter.
Dreessen was flagged for false start.
Some decent plays by the Colts had the Texans on third and six.
Winston got beat on the edge.
Mathis was on Sage in just over one sec and had a little piece of his arm on the throw.

Other than that, it was a good effort by all.

 

[76Texan]

Also, as I said I am still tinkering with my "system".
On a normal grading system, I would probably add another 3 to 6 points to each player.
Myers may get an A-, and Pitts also is a possibility.

 

[infantrycak]

Grading the O-line for the Indy game:

Myers 80.69 constant throughout except for one subpar play.

Man, I'll bet Chris is pissed about missing that 81 by 31 hundredths of a point.

 

[dalemurphy]

Also, as I said I am still tinkering with my "system".
On a normal grading system, I would probably add another 3 to 6 points to each player.
Myers may get an A-, and Pitts also is a possibility.

If your grading system may give Myers an "A", then you better do a lot of tinkering!

 

[76Texan]

If your grading system may give Myers an "A", then you better do a lot of tinkering!

Why don't you check the Indy game yourself, and give me an opinion.
Thanks!

 

[76Texan]

Man, I'll bet Chris is pissed about missing that 81 by 31 hundredths of a point.

It would be good for him to be pissed!

 

[76Texan]

A classic example of the ZBS was the 71 yd TD run by Slaton in the third quarter.

On third and two, the Texans were in a tight formation.
From left to right:
WR Anderson, WR AJ, LT Brown, LG Pitts, C Myers, RG Brisiel, RT Winston, TE Daniels, WR Walter
Slaton as single back.

Colts defensive formation:
4-3

The happenings:
A run off RG, Slaton can also cut outside, with Owen Daniels and Walter blocking.
Many Colts bought the outside sweep.

The action:

Texans line started the train in motion to the right, selling the stretch play.

From right to left.

Walter came up to block the CB.
He started by holding him to the inside, selling the outside sweep, then hold him up nicely.

O.D. blocked low on the LDE, started him to the inside (selling the sweep).
He did such a nice job putting the LDE to the ground that Winston only gave a courtesy look,
then set out to destroy the LB Brackett at the next level, pushing him to the right.
Winston had "hesitated" a moment, selling the sweep.

Brisiel started on the LDT (who also bought the sweep).
Winston vacated the spot (where the LDT thought the resistance would be).
The LDT overpursued, allowing Brisiel to send him wide out of commission.

Myers started wide right (very important, I believe) selling the sweep.
Then he turned shaprly upfield, noticed that Winston had no problem with the LB on his side, and veered to cut off another LB (whom Pitts had started the block on.)

Pitts started on the RDT, Brown came up with a cut block to clean him off.

Pitts moved up to slow down the MLB,
then Myers came up and shoved him to the left.

Slaton followed the path of the parting sea, so fast that one safety didn't have a chance.
And he made the other safety miss.

Thus the longest TD run in the Texans history.

 

[76Texan]

The defense played very well in the first half.
Mario was dominating the LT Ugoh.
The line did their job.
We were in nickel most of the times.
Adibi and Demeco were making plays everywhere.
Dunta and Ferguson also.

Dungy made the adjustments in the second half.
He started sending help for Ugoh.
They would go with a quick pass, their receivers running crisp routes.
Or Addai would run away from Mario.
Sometimes they would have double teams in tandem against 2 of our Olineman to clear the way.
Or Addai would make a nice cut.
When one of our tackle penetrated one gap, Addai would just go the other way.
TJ went out on the third play and that didn't help (he would come back after the Colts had scored 2 TDs).

On the TD run, Cochran attack the gap outside the LT, Zgonina attacked the one on the right side between the center and the RG.
That left two gaps open: (A) Between the C and the LG, (B) between the LG and the LT.
Their TE (Clark lined up outside the LT with Mario on his outside shoulder) sprang up to take on Wilson.
The LG took on Adibi (who is too small and no match for him.)
Mario was optioned (when the TE released) and he didn't know what to do.
A critic could say that Mario took this play off.
Go and read but didn't react. Or go and didn't read at all.
When Clark released, either Mario could go ahead and chase Addai behind the LOS,
or he could spring back to the inside, on our side of the field.
I would put this one one the trio (Mario, Wilson, and Adibi.)

Manning made all the right calls, changing it at the LOS as he saw fit.
And we got sucked in, here and there.
When our LBs charged up thinking run, the Colts would have a short pass over their reaches.
Or Addai would find a little crease to squeeze through.
Or Manning would call play action and freeze our LBs just a tad, then hand the ball to Addai for a quick burst.

It was just a well-oiled machine.
They mostly just nickled and dimed us throughout.

Our back seven chimed in and took turn to make mistakes, a couple of biggies and several minor ones.
Demeco bought the run and allowed an easy TD pass.
(Manning gave a head fake, look one way and pass the other.)

Reeves missed an arm tackle that allow the receiver Wayne to gain some ten yards more than he should.
Addai left Ferguson in the dirt on a spin move.
Things like that.

Once again, Reeves was not as decent as Robinson and Bennett.
But he made a great play breaking up the ball toward the end, giving the offense a chance to come back.
(Two wasted time-outs hurt!)
So in this game, let's call it a draw between the 3 main CBs.

 

[76Texan]

Texans at Browns
30 degree temperature at kick-off and dropping.
We won 16-6, outgaining them 383-240
2 Ints by Sage, 3 Ints by their QBs. The Browns also had 2 Fumbles.

O-linemen grade:
Winston 83.67, almost a B
Brown 82.76, a solid B-
Pitts 79.77, almost a B-
Brisiel 79.62, almost a B-
Myers 79.20, almost a B-

 

[Texan_Bill]

Texans 08 Review

Review of John in '08 ==================>

 

[dalemurphy]

Why don't you check the Indy game yourself, and give me an opinion.
Thanks!

If every other defense had DTs that weighed 260 lbs. he'd be great

 

[76Texan]

If every other defense had DTs that weighed 260 lbs. he'd be great

What does it have to do with grading him in the Indy game?
I thought you disagree with the grade?

Would you disagree with the C+ almost a B- I gave him in the Browns game, when he went against Rogers? Is that guy 260 lbs or 460 lbs?

What about the Ravens in which I gave him a B+.
Is the guy he play against, Ngata, is that guy also a lightweight, you're saying???

 

[76Texan]

Review of John in '08 ==================>

That would be obvious, now, wouldn't it???

 

[dalemurphy]

What does it have to do with grading him in the Indy game?
I thought you disagree with the grade?

Would you disagree with the C+ almost a B- I gave him in the Browns game, when he went against Rogers? Is that guy 260 lbs or 460 lbs?

What about the Ravens in which I gave him a B+.
Is the guy he play against, Ngata, is that guy also a lightweight, you're saying???[/QUOTE]

I'm thinking you have an affinity for Myers that is coloring your grading. I haven't reviewed the Baltimore game for some time but it is my recollection that there was a lot of push up the middle and very little running room.

I'm not really trying to get into an argument about Myers. I like the guy but he is limited. The fact that his best game was against Indy simply highlights what his limitations are, IMO.

 

[Goatcheese]

A classic example of the ZBS was the 71 yd TD run by Slaton in the third quarter.

On third and two, the Texans were in a tight formation.
From left to right:
WR Anderson, WR AJ, LT Brown, LG Pitts, C Myers, RG Brisiel, RT Winston, TE Daniels, WR Walter
Slaton as single back.

Colts defensive formation:
4-3

The happenings:
A run off RG, Slaton can also cut outside, with Owen Daniels and Walter blocking.
Many Colts bought the outside sweep.

The action:

Texans line started the train in motion to the right, selling the stretch play.

From right to left.

Walter came up to block the CB.
He started by holding him to the inside, selling the outside sweep, then hold him up nicely.

O.D. blocked low on the LDE, started him to the inside (selling the sweep).
He did such a nice job putting the LDE to the ground that Winston only gave a courtesy look,
then set out to destroy the LB Brackett at the next level, pushing him to the right.
Winston had "hesitated" a moment, selling the sweep.

Brisiel started on the LDT (who also bought the sweep).
Winston vacated the spot (where the LDT thought the resistance would be).
The LDT overpursued, allowing Brisiel to send him wide out of commission.

Myers started wide right (very important, I believe) selling the sweep.
Then he turned shaprly upfield, noticed that Winston had no problem with the LB on his side, and veered to cut off another LB (whom Pitts had started the block on.)

Pitts started on the RDT, Brown came up with a cut block to clean him off.

Pitts moved up to slow down the MLB,
then Myers came up and shoved him to the left.

Slaton followed the path of the parting sea, so fast that one safety didn't have a chance.
And he made the other safety miss.

Thus the longest TD run in the Texans history.

I loved that run. Right after it happened I tried to draw it up and see how it had worked.

Behold my artistic talent!

 

[76Texan]

What does it have to do with grading him in the Indy game?
I thought you disagree with the grade?

Would you disagree with the C+ almost a B- I gave him in the Browns game, when he went against Rogers? Is that guy 260 lbs or 460 lbs?

What about the Ravens in which I gave him a B+.
Is the guy he play against, Ngata, is that guy also a lightweight, you're saying???[/QUOTE]

I'm thinking you have an affinity for Myers that is coloring your grading. I haven't reviewed the Baltimore game for some time but it is my recollection that there was a lot of push up the middle and very little running room.

I'm not really trying to get into an argument about Myers. I like the guy but he is limited. The fact that his best game was against Indy simply highlights what his limitations are, IMO.

What does it have to do with grading him in the Indy game?
I thought you disagree with the grade?

Would you disagree with the C+ almost a B- I gave him in the Browns game, when he went against Rogers? Is that guy 260 lbs or 460 lbs?

What about the Ravens in which I gave him a B+.
Is the guy he play against, Ngata, is that guy also a lightweight, you're saying???[/QUOTE]

I'm thinking you have an affinity for Myers that is coloring your grading. I haven't reviewed the Baltimore game for some time but it is my recollection that there was a lot of push up the middle and very little running room.

I'm not really trying to get into an argument about Myers. I like the guy but he is limited. The fact that his best game was against Indy simply highlights what his limitations are, IMO.

You forget the fact that I gave him the lowest score among the O-linemen in the Browns' game.
I don't think you have enmity toward any player but it seems like you just don't have enough time to review all the plays.

I'll do it for you here so you can see that the score is justified in this regard.

1st QTR

1-10-HST 20 (12:13) A.Green up the middle to HST 27 for 7 yards (R.Lewis).

2-3-HST 27 (11:41) A.Green right tackle to HST 27 for no gain (J.Johnson).
Green could have cut back up the middle.

1-10-HST 33 (6:57) S.Slaton left tackle to HST 35 for 2 yards (J.Johnson).
The LDE was optioned and he chased the play from behind.
There was a little crease between Brown and Pitts.

1-10-HST 48 (5:04) R.Moats up the middle to BLT 49 for 3 yards (T.Suggs, J.Bannan).
The problem here is O.D.

1-10-BLT 29 (3:49) R.Moats left guard to BLT 29 for no gain (J.Johnson, T.Suggs).
Similar play where he LDE was optioned and chased the play from behind.
There’s no room on that side.
I would put this one on Salaam, Pitts, and Leach.

2-10-BLT 29 (3:06) R.Moats right tackle to BLT 28 for 1 yard (J.Johnson, M.Douglas).
PENALTY on BLT-T.Suggs, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at BLT 29 - No Play.

2nd QTR

1-10-HST 26 (9:52) A.Green left tackle to HST 36 for 10 yards (J.Leonhard, R.Lewis).
Pitts whiffed. But good blocks by Myers, Brown, and O.D.

1-10-HST 36 (9:09) S.Slaton right guard to HST 37 for 1 yard (B.McKinney).
PENALTY on BLT-J.Bannan, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at HST 37.

1-6-BLT 6 (8:42) S.Slaton up the middle to BLT 5 for 1 yard (R.Lewis).
If only Brisiel can move a little sooner or quicker or gave a stronger push, he wouldn’t have allowed the DT to penetrate that gap.
Myers had a little push (not much) but probably good for a couple of yards.
Also Brown on the left and Leach on the right, both were pushed inward.
Slaton cut right and one of his foot tangled with the guy Leach was trying to block.
If Brisiel and Brown did their jobs a little better, Slaton could haven gone up behind Pitts for a possible TD.

1-10-BLT 33 (:08) S.Slaton up the middle to BLT 30 for 3 yards (J.Johnson).
O.D. the problem. But with so little time left, the Texans really was just looking to get a bit closer to give Kris an easier time at the FG.
Timeout #3 by HST at 00:03.
2-7-BLT 30 (:03) K.Brown 48 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-B.Pittman, Holder-M.Turk.

3rd QTR

2-1-HST 35 (8:42) A.Green up the middle to HST 37 for 2 yards (H.Ngata, R.Lewis).
The Texans got the first down they wanted.
I won’t complaint about Brisiel who got pushed back.

4th QTR

1-10-HST 20 (4:37) R.Moats left end to HST 32 for 12 yards (S.Rolle).

1-10-HST 32 (4:04) R.Moats up the middle to HST 41 for 9 yards (N.Greisen, C.Ivy).

2-1-HST 41 (3:33) R.Moats right end to HST 43 for 2 yards (F.Washington, J.Leonhard).

2-10-HST 43 (2:48) R.Moats up the middle to HST 48 for 5 yards (E.Oglesby).

3-10-BLT 36 (:49) R.Moats up the middle to BLT 33 for 3 yards (N.Greisen, B.Ayanbadejo).
Pitts was the problem.

 

[76Texan]

I loved that run. Right after it happened I tried to draw it up and see how it had worked.

Behold my artistic talent!

Very nice!
Only you missed a couple of numbers!
Who are #63 & 78?

Must be #65 and #76
But great job nonetheless!
Exactly how it happened!

 

[Goatcheese]

Very nice!
Only you missed a couple of numbers!
Who are #63 & 78?

The fictional players I wish we had instead of Brown and Brisiel.

 

[76Texan]

The fictional players I wish we had instead of Brown and Brisiel.

LOL! Aight.

But I think they both will be fine if they keep improving, maybe not world beaters, but good enough for this offense.
The longer the line stay together, the better!
We just need to cut down on the TOs, mostly.

 

[76Texan]

RAVENS

1-6-BLT 6 (8:42) S.Slaton up the middle to BLT 5 for 1 yard (R.Lewis).
If only Brisiel can move a little sooner or quicker or gave a stronger push, he wouldn’t have allowed the DT to penetrate that gap.
Myers had a little push (not much) but probably good for a couple of yards.
Also Brown on the left and Leach on the right, both were pushed inward.
Slaton cut right and one of his foot tangled with the guy Leach was trying to block.
If Brisiel and Brown did their jobs a little better, Slaton could haven gone up behind Pitts for a possible TD.

The thing I think some tend to forget is that in the ZBS, usually, the O-linemen are blocking an area, not a defender straight up.
In this case they wanted to run off LG.

I'm thinking that on the end, they want to utilize the natural tendency of the RDE to go wide around the LT Brown to attack our backfield. That would make it easier for Brown to open up the outside gap, parlaying the movement of the RDE. (But the RDE didn't. Instead he hold up Brown and push him inward, closing that gap.)

Pitts went up to give Myers a little help in the combo block on the RDT and released to take on the LB. This went fine. The only hitch was that the RDT played well. He extended his arm to avoid a bigger blow by Pitts. That prevented a bigger push by Myers as well.

I found this simple power point presentation which I think is very helpful and easy to understand - even for me

http://www.hawgtuff.net/ZONE%20BLOCKING%20POWERPOINT.pdf

Brisiel started with the wrong foot (on the LDT Ngata - who's big and strong) and couldn't square his shoulder to the LOS in time; and therefore couldn't deliver a big blow.

That also made it more difficult for Winston to come over on the combo block, since he didn't have the left shoulder of Ngata to latch onto.

O.D. used the natural movement of the LDE who was attacking inside, to sealed off the back side nicely.

However, Leach was too high with his pad, allowing the coming OLB to go underneath him to the inside, ruining that big cut back lane for Slaton.

That's how I see the play blowing up.

Also, a couple plays earlier, Myers had released to the second level and deliver a great block on the LB. Slaton took the screen pass and went yard; however a holding call on O.D. nullified the play. Myers did not receive extra credit for this.

 

[dalemurphy]

RAVENS

1-6-BLT 6 (8:42) S.Slaton up the middle to BLT 5 for 1 yard (R.Lewis).
If only Brisiel can move a little sooner or quicker or gave a stronger push, he wouldn’t have allowed the DT to penetrate that gap.
Myers had a little push (not much) but probably good for a couple of yards.
Also Brown on the left and Leach on the right, both were pushed inward.
Slaton cut right and one of his foot tangled with the guy Leach was trying to block.
If Brisiel and Brown did their jobs a little better, Slaton could haven gone up behind Pitts for a possible TD.

The thing I think some tend to forget is that in the ZBS, usually, the O-linemen are blocking an area, not a defender straight up.
In this case they wanted to run off LG.

I'm thinking that on the end, they want to utilize the natural tendency of the RDE to go wide around the LT Brown to attack our backfield. That would make it easier for Brown to open up the outside gap, parlaying the movement of the RDE. (But the RDE didn't. Instead he hold up Brown and push him inward, closing that gap.)

Pitts went up to give Myers a little help in the combo block on the RDT and released to take on the LB. This went fine. The only hitch was that the RDT played well. He extended his arm to avoid a bigger blow by Pitts. That prevented a bigger push by Myers as well.

I found this simple power point presentation which I think is very helpful and easy to understand - even for me

http://www.hawgtuff.net/ZONE%20BLOCKING%20POWERPOINT.pdf

Brisiel started with the wrong foot (on the LDT Ngata - who's big and strong) and couldn't square his shoulder to the LOS in time; and therefore couldn't deliver a big blow.

That also made it more difficult for Winston to come over on the combo block, since he didn't have the left shoulder of Ngata to latch onto.

O.D. used the natural movement of the LDE who was attacking inside, to sealed off the back side nicely.

However, Leach was too high with his pad, allowing the coming OLB to go underneath him to the inside, ruining that big cut back lane for Slaton.

That's how I see the play blowing up.

Also, a couple plays earlier, Myers had released to the second level and deliver a great block on the LB. Slaton took the screen pass and went yard; however a holding call on O.D. nullified the play. Myers did not receive extra credit for this.

Much of this argument started because of my joke about Myers not deserving an "A". I like Myers. I think he was an excellent pickup for us. He certainly can handle the second level very well and has good lateral movement. However, I don't think he can ever be an upper level center in this league because of his size/strength limitations. I do understand the basics of the ZBS and understand that he isn't called on to drive block interior linemen. That being said, almost 1/3 of the league is using a 3-4 defense now. Most of those teams have, or will have, a zero techinique NT. As a Texan fan, I'm hopeful that Caldwell develops into our starting center because he has better strength and size and has the "potential" to become a more dominate center. He is athletic also but should be able to be stronger at POA than Myers.

 

[76Texan]

Much of this argument started because of my joke about Myers not deserving an "A". I like Myers. I think he was an excellent pickup for us. He certainly can handle the second level very well and has good lateral movement. However, I don't think he can ever be an upper level center in this league because of his size/strength limitations. I do understand the basics of the ZBS and understand that he isn't called on to drive block interior linemen. That being said, almost 1/3 of the league is using a 3-4 defense now. Most of those teams have, or will have, a zero techinique NT. As a Texan fan, I'm hopeful that Caldwell develops into our starting center because he has better strength and size and has the "potential" to become a more dominate center. He is athletic also but should be able to be stronger at POA than Myers.

I do not understand why you misquoted me in the first place. And then you go round and round and spin everything about?!?

What I said:
For the Colts game, I MAY adjust the score (not necessarily that I WILL), then Myers MAY get an A- (no "A" was ever mentioned, and it wasn't guaranteed that Myers will get an A-).

What I never said:
That Myers get an A overall for the 4 games I am discussing here, nor for the second half of the season, nor for the whole season.

If you like to discuss about how you FEEL about Myers in the future, it's fine by me. I haven't gone that far yet to have a definite conclusion (but I will.)

As far as your "HOPE" about Caldwell, it remains a wish. Caldwell has the size (at least on paper), but there's currently no proof that he's stronger than Myers. If anything, it's more likely the reverse.
I had reviewed about 9 Bama games, and he's not doing all that well, against mostly under-300 lb DTs, at the collegiate level, getting pushed back in the running game, allowing penetration in the passing game. And he's not HIGHLY athletic either, I saw him miss quite a few downfield blocks. And the LBs he faced, I don't think any of them are NFL caliber either.
IMHO, unless he improves dramatically, he will be backup for the first season.
Anything is possible, of course! But that is how I see it as of today.
Anyone can have his own opinion and disagree, but they will need to give some proof to convince me otherwise.

 

[76Texan]

Texans @ Browns

Offense – 1st half

Texans marched downfield methodically on a long drive to go ahead 7 zip.
They overcame a few mishaps at the line:
A holding call on Brisiel.
A subpar block by Winston.
And a whiff by Pitts on a cut block.

On the second drive, a false start on D. Brown made in 2-13 at the Browns 15.
AJ missed a key block on an unsuccessful run.
On 3-13, the Texans opted to play it safe and call a draw play for Green who ran right into the teeth of the D.
Winston threw a good cut block but somebody rolled on his foot, letting the defender get away.
Green’s chance for a TD is probably none, anyway.
Texans settled for a FG to make it 10-0
Brown had a FS on this drive.
Pitts was pushed onto the floor once.

Score now 10-3
On the third drive, Winston was called for a false start.
Slaton would fail to pick up a blitz on the next play, Sage was sacked.
Nice blocks by Pitts & Myers allowed the Texans to get back into FG range.
Big bad Rogers, however, overwhelmed Brisiel to block the attempt.


Browns kicked another FG to pull within 10-6
A.D.’s 93 yd KO return was called back as Barber committed holding.
Texans marched the field again to the Browns’ 13.
With very little time left, Sage tried a corner route to Walter, with the pass just over his reach.
Texans settled for a FG. 13-6
Myers whiffed on a block, but was saved by Slaton.
He was also flagged for a (questionable) holding penalty on Rogers.
On one play (unclear whether it was by design), Myers allowed Rogers to trust forward, but then pancaked him to the ground.

Moats recovered a fumble on the KO.
Kris’ long FG try was a little wide right.
The Texans dominated TOP, controlling it for almost 21 mins, but only lead by 7 at the half.

 

[76Texan]

Defense – 1st half

1st Drive
Reeves laid a big hit on the RB J. Lewis, Demeco recovered the fumble.
Weaver, Bulman and Okoye were also there. Good pursue efforts by the big guys.

2nd drive
D-line penetrated and pushed the pocket, making the Browns work hard for it.
But Lewis was determined to make up for the fumble, he was running hard.
Dunta was looking to jump a route, ah well no INT today for you. Good idea though!
Ryans, Adibi, and Bentley looked good together.

The Texans tightened up their D in the red zone.
On 1-10 @ TXN 18, Ferguson broke up a pass to Winslow, saving a TD.
They were both running. Ferguson extended his arm for the ball, which was thrown behind.
Winslow slowed down, no interference call.
Reeves then made the correct read on a quick pass and broke on the ball in good time, limiting the FB to a 4 yd gain on the sideline. (The LBs played together well so far, converging on the ball.)
That proved to be important for 3rd-and-6 as far as down and distance goes.
The Texans made the “right” defense call with a 5-man zone blitz.
Both Ryans and Adibi went up the middle while Nading dropped back, covering the RB nicely.
Adibi came in unblocked to force an early errand throw by Quinn, putting him on the ground in the process.
Browns settled for a FG.

3rd drive
Reeves misjudged the ball, allowing a long pass for 42 yd to the Texans 19.
He shook off the mistake to play tight coverage and batted down the next pass.
Ryans then stopped a screen pass with a good move to avoid the releasing O-lineman.
Again, the safeties and LBs had been filling the gaps & covering the short zone well.
On 3rd and 6, it was unclear why Quinn threw behind Edwards on a slant route.
Perhaps he was concerned that Ryans could step in front of his original intended receiver up field in the middle to intercept the pass, so he changed target, a little late.
Browns settled for another FG

All and all, the D played well up and down the line-up, except for that one mistake by Reeves.

 

[76Texan]

Texans @ CLV
2nd half

Browns got the ball first.
Mario had fun with the ProBowler LT Joe Thomas all day.
He opened the second half pushing him pass Quinn and came back to coral him, forcing an incomplete pass.
On 3-4, Dunta had decent-good coverage on Stallworth; a high pass and a punt.


Texans quickly gave the ball back on an infamous give-away INT by Sage.

Mario registered a TFL. “Rag-doll” Lewis’s day would only get worse, LOL!
Dang, Mario treated 245 lbs of meat like a little fly.
Weaver then got the ball back with an INT on a zone blitz, backpedaling into the passing lane.

Pitts and Salaam couldn’t get anything going for Slaton on the left side.
Next, Pitts allowed the RDT just a little too much room, he batted down a pass.
Then Sage threw behind AJ. Incompletion.
Texans kicked a FG to lead 16-6

Texans allowed the Browns to move the ball 51 yd in 8 plays to the 10, overloading the wrong side a couple of time.
Wilson overran a safety blitz that turned into a run.
On 2-2 @ Texans 12, Demeco blasted into Lewis at the LOS, stopping his progress and allowing Ferguson to clean it up.
On 3-2, the Browns decided to pass the ball.
On the quick pass, Bennett read it well. He stayed tight to the play, ahead of the route, and made the INT.

On 2-4, during a miss-exchange of the ball (unclear what happened, probably a bad snap,) Sage recovered the ball.
On 3-4, once again Pitts allowed a defender to move too far inside the backfield and batted away another pass.
Luckily AJ came back and plucked the ball out of the air for a 1-yard loss.
Punt.

Quinn left the game at the end of the 3rd with a QB rating of 21.3, ouch!
Mario got over the top of a cut block by the FB on his side, setting that edge well. (LOL, I guess he doesn’t like to be cut-blocked; he slapped the FB on the helmet at the end of the play.) Weaver quick-jabbed the TE to disengage, pursued and made the tackle.
Ferguson came up quickly to jar the ball loose from the outside receiver.
On 3-8, Dunta almost scooped up the ball for an Int; it was just too low.
Punt.

A pass to Leach netted 9 yds, but the Texans fizzled.
Pitts allowed too much penetration, blowing up one play.
On the next play, Pitts couldn’t get any movement. Leach ran into his back.
The Browns had a good surge all across the front. No chance for Slaton.
Punt.

On 2-20, Dunta, Wilson, and Ferguson drew up a conspiracy to bait the QB.
Dunta played back, drawing the throw his way.
Wilson released his man and jumped the route, but couldn’t get a hand on the ball.
Ferguson backed-up Wilson.
Good try, guys!
On 3-20, Nading made a tackle on a 4yd pass, but Reeves was flagged for illegal contact (beyond 5 yd).
How did he do it? Why did he do it?
Automatic first down, crap!
Weaver penetrated the middle and stopped a run cold.
On 2-10, Dunta held onto the receiver a tad too long and drew illegal contact as well.
The difference is he was trying to slow down the receiver so that Ferguson can come over for an Int.
This time, Wilson guarded the rear. The pass was way high, an un-catchable ball. Bad call.
A short incomplete pass off the hand of Edwards.
Next, Ryans came up the middle on a blitz, forcing Anderson threw early and off-target (put him on the floor hard as well.)
On 3-10, Texans were in a rare 3-man front (Nading was standing up.)
They came in a 6-man zone blitz. (never got there.)
Adibi dropped back in great coverage on the TE Winslow.
Ferguson was also there to deliver the blow. POW!
On 4-10, Reeves did not wrap up the receiver, allowing him to weave around and stretch for the first down.
(7-man blitz, barely late getting there.)
Edwards beat Reeves to the corner. Ball was a little late. Almost a TD.
Announcer called it a drop. Edwards had the ball in his stomach but it bounced off.
On 3-6 @ TXN 21, Edwards fooled Reeves again, this time on a comebacker, but he slipped.
The ball was right there. At least it would have been a 1st down at the 3.
FG try was wide left. Missed FG.

A.Davis hesitated a tad too long on the fly route. That would have been a quick six.
Instead of feast comes famine, Sage would throw another ill-advised pass for an INT on the next play.

Bentley had good tight coverage on Winslow, causing him to push off trying to get separation. Penalty on Winslow.
On the next play, Mario came around his man so quickly that Lewis fumbled the exchange.
LOL, I’m sure he was worried about that monster truck coming.
Mario tried to pick up the ball, but drop it (I would have liked to watch him run for the end zone.)
Adibi recovered the ball.

Texans worked six plays to kill the clock and then punt.

Anderson threw behind the receiver, off his hand, and into Reeves.
I kept saying that Reeves was our luckiest DB last year.
Give him much credit though, for breaking off his man Edwards, and came up for the play.

End Game.

 

[76Texan]

The Texans committed 11 penalties, 7 more than they had been averaging prior to this game.

Sage's 2 INTs were unforced errors.
(Well, I guess it can be said that the Jags’ DB Mathis made a good read on one of them.
Still, an unforced error by Sage.)

We recovered our 2 fumbles, both unforced.

On the other hand, we "forced" two fumbles (one by a hit, one by intimidation.)
Two of our three Ints were earned.
And the one by Reeves was a bad throw by the QB, good anticipation by Reeves, and a little luck.

If we had kept our mistakes to a managable level (let's say 1.5 TOs and 4 penalties a game) we would have done much better at scoring points.

I would have pegged Bennett as CB of the day of the trio, ‘cause he played pretty clean, but he wasn’t in enough plays.
Dunta was “almost” a very good story, it just didn’t happen.
Reeves was inconsistent, always an adventure to watch – the ending was good this day.
(It seemed that he had started to get acquainted with the scheme, and how they want the CBs to play.)
Think I’m gonna declare another draw.

Over all, a balance effort from all the units, both on offense and defense.
They were getting on the same page more frequently; there were fewer instances of miscommunication.
The Texans were in control of the game all the way through.
They looked poised and confident after the Indy game.
Still need to cut down on those unforced errors (including on ST) to be able to compete against the good teams, however.
It goes without saying that we benefited from an unexperienced QB in Quinn and a few dropped passes form their receivers. But we made plenty of unforced errors, so it evened out.

It was easy to see why Warren Sapp picked Mario Williams as franchise player.
Also, the way the Texans play defense, speed and athleticism at LB are important.
Sometimes, they want to contain the running game to the inside, sometimes they want to flush it to the outside. With Adibi back strong, and the hi-flying Cushing, it should make for a great 09, knock on wood!

 

[76Texan]

Texans @ Browns

I’d like extend the analysis to see if we can compare and contrast the styles/schemes between us and them.

FIRST HALF

Our first drive consisted of 14 plays, equally distributed between the passing and running games.

The Browns brought five to the LOS often and tried to contain the edges.
Still, we went 7-29yd on the ground. (We would find it harder as the game went on, unfortunately.)

They blitzed four times without applying any pressure on Sage.
Each time, we completed a pass, including the 17yd-TD to Walter.
Our only INC was when they went with a 3-man front, Sage couldn’t find an open receiver and dumped the ball slightly off-target to Green.

The drive lasted almost seven minutes.

………

In contrast, we started with the usual 4-man front on defense in their first offensive series; a short-lived four-play drive.

We forced that fumble by Lewis; it proved to be the start of an up-and-down day for him.

………………

Our 2nd series was a 9-play drive that consumed 6 mins.
The only pass we attempted was a 12-yd completion to Walter.
They continued to bring 5 men to the LOS, making it difficult for us to run to the outside.
But we stayed with the game plan and ended up going 8-23 yd on the ground.
The other guys like Leach and the receivers need to do a better job blocking.
(O.D., too, even though he didn’t feature prominently in this drive blocking-wise.)
It’s never good to see Leach remain in our backfield in run blocking.

……..

On their 2nd series, we gave up the outside to their running game a bit too much.
But we were busy laying out a couple of traps to bait their QB (the fish yet to bite)
and a trio of zone blitzes, the last one resulted in an INC and Quinn on the floor, forcing the FG.
They went 62 yds on 12 plays.

……

Our 3rd series. 7 plays 49 yds.
Missed FG as Brisiel allowed Rogers to block the kick.

They sent 2 blitzes, we had 2 completions.

8-man blitz. Good blocks by Myers and Pitts to spring Slaton for a 17-yd draw play.
(That's another danger of the blitz.)

But then Winston got called for a false start.

On a 4-man zone blitz, Slaton forgot to pick up the LB, Sage got sacked.

On 2-19, a rare pull by Pitts to the right side.
Winston had helped Brisiel clear out the LDT, and took to the second level on the MLB.
Pitts; however, couldn't move the SLB or clear him to one side or the other.
O.D. got pushed in a bit too much by the LDE.
Green can only managed a 3-yd gain.
He may have been stripped, probably by O.D.

3-16. Nice blocks by Myers and Pitts on a 13-yd screen to Green, short of a first down, but brought the Texans back in FG range.
(Slaton might have had a chance to make one more guy miss.)
Good block by Brisiel also, cutting off pursuit from behind Green.

All for nothing!

…………

Their 3rd series, 5 plays, 46 yds.

The Browns started with a 42-yd pass to Edwards on Reeves (3-secs release time,)
followed by an INC to the same (2 secs), this time Reeves defending well.

Demeco then put a move on the releasing lineman to tackle Lewis on a 4-yd screen pass.

On 3-6, Edwards dropped a pass on a crossing route.
It was behind like I said, not sure that should be called a drop.
He was running from left to right.
With his right leg up and kicking forward, and the ball behind his hip, got to be a contortionist to be able to make that catch.
FG Browns.

Texans in straight 4-3 in all the four plays in that drive.

………..

Our 4th drive.
12 quick plays in 2:20 mins for 73 yds and a FG.
8 passes, 2 runs, a spike, and the FG.

AD's 93 yd return was nullified by a hold on Barber.
It's difficult to see, but if that was on Barber, it was very close.
I think he did, but somehow Kube mentioned Harrison?
Maybe Harrison did pull a guy down, I saw two guys tumbling right along the same 24 yd line.

Texans in 2-min offense now with 3 wides, single back.
Browns mostly in nickel. It's a 10-6 game.
We're not the only team that know how to play prevent defense, LOL!
No blitz.

A holding penalty on Myers (questionable) set us back at 1-20,
but after two quick passes, we found ourselves with 3-1.

Sage put his shoulder down behind Pitts, but they called it short.
Maybe his knees were down early. Maybe he should have dive instead?

They had us on 4th and 6 inches at their 46, but Green converted behind Winston, O.D., and Walter on the right side.

We spiked the ball to kill time.
After a short pass, Winston missed on a cut block.
Sage had to get rid of the ball, just over an open Walter.

On 4th and 3 at their 36, instead of sending in Kris for a long FG, we went for it and convert to their 13 with a pass to AJ.
They had the lone blitz in this drive, a delayed blitz that left AJ in single coverage.

With 11 secs to go, Sage took one good shot to Walter on a corner route, ball just long.

FG Texans 13-6

Moats recovered the ensuing KO, but Kris' FG try went just wide.

 

[76Texan]

THIRD QUARTER

Browns got the ball first.

Mario made play on Quinn at the expense of the LT Joe Thomas. INC pass.
Bentley stopped an outside run
Dunta in coverage on Stallworth.
3 and out.

…….

Texans ball.

1st down found Leach in our backfield. Not gonna get to Hawaii that way!
AJ should have ran a deeper route, instead letting the CB come up to make play.
Coulda been first down or close to it, instead of just 2 meager yard for Slaton.

Walter offside. Neutral zone infraction.

2-13 now.
Zone blitz, complete pass to AJ.

3rd and 4 now.
4-man rush, INT.
A give-away by Sage.
Maybe the Browns be better off playing some vanilla defense, hmm!

…………

Browns turn.

Mario did a Dr J's imitation, flying along the baseline across the paint, stretching out for a reverse hook shot. Exactly what Mario did when he rag dolled Lewis.
The intimidation factor would bring about a fumble later on. ???!!!???
And Lewis had not fumbled for the longest time.

Then came a six-man zone blitz with Weaver backpedaling... INT.
Another interesting case study if I can find the time.
It really takes quite a bit of planning and practicing to hook a fish!

…………

Texans ball.

Pitts, Salaam, O.D. poor blocking on a run left.
Pitts got pushed back. So was O.D., letting the defender come back to the inside for the tackle.
Salaam wasn't quick enough and had to resort to a cut block, but that only got in the forward way of the runner.
Myers went to the next level.
Brisiel did all he could, started to the left in good form, lowered his pad and squared up much as he could to the LOS. Rogers was just too much, so Brisiel went for the cut block. Still couldn't stop Rogers.
(Imagine Caldwell here! Rogers would have shoved him right into Slaton and/or Pitts. All those bodies on the ground. It was ugly enough already, no need for worse!)

2-9. Pitts allowed Rogers over his inside shoulder to bat down a pass.
(A 5-man rush, but Sage wasn't pressured. He was only half-threatened that one time Winston missed the cut block.)

3-9. Sage locked onto AJ on the crossing route, and still threw slightly behind on AJ's back shoulder.
If he would have lead with the ball, AJ likely would have stretch for the first down. He's always good at that.

36-yd FG.
Texans 16-6

………..

Browns

Texans overloaded the weakside. Browns had advantage in blocking.
16-yd run by Lewis, too easy!
A rare Zgonina sighting, tumbling off the blocker to get into the tackle. Good effort.

2-7. Great execution by the Browns on a double fake. Faked play action pass, then faked reverse.
That froze everybody enough for Lewis to get the first down.

1-10. Texans sniffed out the reverse. All 3 LBs converge to limit the receiver/runner to a 2yd run.

2-8. Texans came in on a 5-man zone blitz on a run, but both Wilson and Ryans overran the play.
Mario in full go mode, also went too deep.
Luckily, Bulman (at LDE) read the secondary TE (also on the strong side) who was trying to pull to the left behind the LOS to block for the RB.
On the zone blitz, that would be his assignment. So he followed the TE across the grain, weaving through big bodies to stop Lewis 2 yd short of the first down.
Ferguson also came up straight away.

Browns converted on 3rd and two in full spread formation, 4 wides plus the TE.
A quick inside slant to Edwards did the trick. That one is difficult to defend.

On first and 10 at the Texans 20, Lewis sliced through a six-man blitz like butcher knife through butter for an 8-yd gain.
Wilson overran the safety blitz.

Let's do it the vanilla way, then!
Plain old 4-3, LBs-safety-fill-the-gap stopped Lewis for no gain.
On 2-2 @ Texans 12, Demeco blasted into Lewis at the LOS, stopping his progress and allowing Ferguson to clean it up.

On 3-2, Bennett jumped ahead of the passing lane to intercept the ball close to our 10-yd line.
Could be that Edwards was thinking in-and-out to the flag instead of a slant. (Miscommunication?)
A TD here would have change the complex of the game totally, giving the Browns momentum to boost.
And energy to a D that had been playing well in the second half.
There was still almost 4 mins to go in the third, the score 16-6.

……..

Texans.

On our own 10, Dreessen was stood up on the right side; that didn't give Green much room to operate.
Slaton probably would have stayed outside and relied on his speed and quickness.
There was too much real estate out there, it didn't make sense to cut back into congestion of the big city
(a seven-man blitzkrieg going on in here, Green!!!)
I have learned now (through observation) that Slaton was given the green light to spring outside if needed (still… the gray area!)

No problem though. A faked-draw play-action-pass brought all 3 LBs up, and a 17-yd completion to AJ.
1st down.

Another 5-man line, total of 8 charging on the supposedly-blitz, but the play action fake froze the 8th man - the safety - just a tad for Green to gain 7yd.

A miss-exchange/bad snap; we recovered the fumble, and the Texans now faced 3rd and 5.

With a 2-man pass rush, Rogers once again took advantage of Pitts to bat the ball up in the air.
AJ came back to it, but for a one-yard loss.

The Texans were trying to release Duane Brown and Myers to block on a swing pass to AJ on the left flat.
It coulda work for a first down.

Was that Turk's first punt?

 

[76Texan]

Browns.

14 secs to go in the third.
A textbook defensive series for the Texans would come next for another 3-and-out.

On first down. Our D showed good gap control across the LOS.
I think I will break this one down in the scheme of things thread.

2-8
Browns in spread formation, 5 wides.
Texans rushed 6.
Two of them almost got to the QB Anderson (who just came in for Quinn) just as he fired a short pass to Stallworth in the left flat.
Dunta came up to give him a lick, knocking the ball loose.
They called it an INC pass. Crap!

3-8
A 5-man zone blitz with Ferguson forced a quick throw to Edwards on their left.
Almost an INT by Dunta.
I'll break down a few plays later, come to think of it.

……….

Dunta almost had a FF, and an INT on successive plays (Assuming nobody recovered the fumble.)

………..

Texans ball.

The Browns countered with a solid defensive series of their own.

But only after a 5-man blitz yielded yet another completion for the Texans, a 9-yd screen pass to Leach, who went up the middle but then curled right to the outside.

On 2-1 OD got beat, turning Slaton inside.
But Pitts also got beat; nowhere to go for Slaton.

On 3-1, Pitts got pushed back and then let his man get away.
Myers started correctly (I think) on Rogers, but Brisiel was late.
He had the inside shoulder of the big NT, but had to settle for a cut block instead; which only made things worse as he helped send both guys toward the RDT and Pitts along with their momentum right into the running lane.
Leach came up but ran into that brick wall, further impeding Slaton, who can only managed not to lose any yard.

Ahead by the score of 16-6, we punted!

………….

Maybe I need to go back and bump Myers score up.
I never did give him extra credit for taking on all the big NTs and DTs, in all honesty.
I think I was too harsh on him in this game, not wanting to sound like I have an agenda.
After all, I just checked Kubiak's presser for the game.
He said Myers played very well.
The announcers did call out his name a few - favorably, of course!

Kubiak
(on how C Chris Myers graded out):
“He was excellent.
I don’t think their nose guard (Shaun Rogers) had a tackle or an assist.
I could be wrong. You all can check the stat sheet,
but to say that coming out of that game means your center played extremely well.”

Kubiak was correct about the stats.
Rogers’ line shows blank, except for that block FG on Brisiel.
And that batted balls on Pitts were not recorded.
……….

Browns.

Mario dropped back a little too deep in a 5-man zone blitz, then committed a face mask penalty as he came back up to the RB on a screen pass.
Since he was on the weak side, I think he would have been better off keying on the RB.

The idea behind a blitz gotta-be to cover long enough for the rushers to get there, or such that the QB had to get rid of the ball, I would think.

Besides, there was only on WR on this side;
and with the safety Ferguson behind, I don't think the QB would try to go deep into double coverage.
The likely passing lane on this side would be to the RB.

It was a stiff 15-yd in fraction, ouch!
(Side note - The QB Anderson was whacked on the play by one of our guys from the strong side.)

On the next play, I think the Texans were laying a trap for Bentley to jump the passing lane but it didn’t work.
17-yd completion to Stallworth.

On 1-10 at our 34, the Texans loaded the box with 9 men.
They had containment, turning the runner inside.
But somehow, Harrison managed to burst through Demeco's arms around the LOS for a 5-yd cutback up the middle.

The Browns gave it back on a False Start by the LT Thomas.

On 1-20, Mario once again beat up Thomas so badly, he had no choice but grabbing. Holding!

On 2-20, the Texans may have laid another trap, but Barber turned too far and strayed off the passing lane. He was anticipating a shorter throw to the outside, so after bumping the slot receiver to slow him down a little, he headed back toward the sideline.
But Edwards ran an in route instead.
Barber did enough to distract him for a drop ball, nonetheless.
Edwards also saw Ferguson coming over, and Wilson converging up. And Dunta was behind ready to pounce him on the back.

On 3-20 @ TXN 49, Texans rushed only 3 to afford blanket coverage.
Anderson couldn't find anybody open, so he dumped the ball off to Wright on a short screen pass, tackled at the 40.

Illegal contact by Reeves (unnecessary, just a little chuck beyond 5 yd) gave the opponents an automatic first down, however.

The Texans swarmed the line again; Weaver came in and stopped Harrison just behind the LOS.

On 2-10 at our 40, a 5-man zone blitz on second down had Weaver dropping back into the passing lane.
That prompted Anderson to go high and long;
so high that even Ferguson couldn't reach it, coming up from the back.
Edwards had no chance to catch that ball.
But they call it illegal contact again, this time on Dunta.
I dunno about that call, even the announcer sais so!
They were jolting, pulling each other arm; and Edwards never let it go beyond the 5 yd.
It should be incidental contact by both.

On 1-10 @ TXN 35, Weaver jumped up at the LOS, obstructing Edwards' view, and forced an incompletion. I don't think he liked the fact that both Adibi and Ryans were ready to pound on him either.

On 2-10, Ryans came up the middle and put Anderson flat on his back on a 5-man straight blitz, forcing another early throw and incompletion.

On 3-10, from a 3-4 front, the Texans came with a six-man blitz but the Browns picked it up well.
Adibi was good on Winslow; however, andAnderson had to throw a little high. Winslow stretched for it, but Ferguson came up to deliver a humongous blow vis-à-vis, knocking him off the ball.

From the 35, the Browns opted to go on 4-10, against a 7-man blitz.
Reeves failed to wrap up on the WR on a quick slant; Edwards stretched for the first down.
(Either that or lay the wood on him. Reeves was in good position to do just that, but he didn't.)
Ferguson was ready if only Reeves could have done his part.
Boy, he loves the game so much, he wanted to stay on forever. hahaha!

1-10 @ TXN 25
Texans rushed 3 on the wildcat. Adibi, Demeco, and Ferguson converged to limit Cribbs to a 3-yd run.

A 6-man blitz found Reeves one-on-one with Edwards in the corner.
Reeves had his hand in there, but Edwards almost came up with the catch. A slightly longer pass or a great catch and Texans fans would have started pulling their hair out, LOL!
Edwards had Reeves beat, but he had to slow down for the ball. (Guess he slowed down a hair too much.)

On 3-7, Edwards had Reeves again, but he slipped and fell down on a come-backer at the 3-yd line.
The ball was right there.
That could easily had been a TD and a 3 point game with 7:45 to go.
Instead, the Browns missed a FG and kept the game at two scores apart.

……………….

Texans ball at our 29
7:34 to go.

1-10
The Browns brought 8 men to the box and had number over us.
Slaton ran right into the teeth of the D (where they overloaded.) for a couple of yards.
Should have cut to the outside of Brown, he might have a better chance there, he would have AJ blocking.
And it looked like Brown was able to hold on to his man quite tight.

On second down, Sage went deep on the left side.
AD never broke stride and was wide open but the throw was long.
That was a sure six.

An ill-advised pass on third down resulted in an easy INT.
The Browns brought 5 and almost got there.
The OLB flied around Salaam and swatted him on the back of the head.
Salaam tripped on himself, LOL!
Sage’s arm was almost pulled down from the back.
(He was never aware of the heat though.)

………….

Browns ball at our 27

Winslow was flagged for a hold on Bentley trying to get separation.

On second down, Mario intimidated Lewis into fumbling the ball.
He was trying to make a quick burst, not wanting to get caught by the monster.

…….

Texans got the ball back at their 45.

Slaton was caught for a one-yd loss on the right side.
Walter had already gone on motion to the far left.
Leach did not pick up the CB, allowing him to come in freely.

Brown set out for a good block on a 6-yd stretch run by Slaton.

Sage then connected with AJ on a quick pass for a first down to the Browns 43.
A 7-man blitz that never had a chance.

Both Winston and Brisiel were late on their cut blocks.
Just a 2-yd run for Slaton.

Winston and Brisiel combined on a block but couldn’t clear the RDE off the LOS.
The Browns brought 9 men to the box.
Maybe Slaton would have more luck bouncing to the outside instead of trying to make too many guys miss in the middle. He did have a shot at the edge.
A 2-yd loss on 3rd down, Turk punted into the end zone.

……….

Browns ball.

The stands now maybe 4/5th empty.
Garbage time.

Ryans was right there on a 4-yd short pass to the slot receiver.

Winslow had his only catch of the day, a 5yd gain on the sideline.
Wonder how many million dollars that one is worth? LOL
Adibi released him too soon. Miscommunication with the DB(s) there.

Next came that INT by Reeves where the ball was thrown behind, and bounced off the hand of the receiver.

…….

Texans ball at the Browns 22.
The Texans could have scored more, but simply ran out the clock.
(They got to the Browns 6.)

As I’ve said in another thread, this instance and the first half FG they had to take because time was running out affect their red zone stats. (There were other scenarios as well.)

 

[76Texan]

MNF – Texans vs. Jags

1st QTR

Good return by AD to the 31

1-10 @TXN 31
Sage rolled left, looked downfield to Walter.
That prompted the CB Mathis to switch off AJ.
12-yd completion to A.J.

VG (Very Good) = Brown at the end of the train, selling the ZBS run fake to the right.

1-10 @TXN 43
Incomplete pass left.

Good = Brown, but result was unwanted.
Got pushed back a bit much by the RDE who went inside.
He recovered, but Sage already threw the ball low and off-target, behind O.D.

B (Bad) = Brisiel
Couldn’t get on the LDT strong enough, allowing him to get penetration in the B gap.

B = Winston
Picked up the same LDT, but got shoved back /cleared out for a clean path to attack Sage.

G = Pitts
The LDE stunted all the way to Pitts who picked him up squarely.
(Brisiel was worried that the LDE would come his way, and didn’t get back to help Winston.
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that Sage had to get rid of the ball sooner than he wanted to. It could have been a sack.
Haha, Brown should get credit for saving a sack.)

G = Myers on the RDT.

2-10 @TXN 43
Slaton stretch run weak side left for 14.5 yd

E (Excellent) = Brown
That one had a chance to go very far. A possible TD.

SS (So so) = Leach
Leach was met by the WLB a couple of yards behind the LOS (about a yard shy of the half-way point, the distance between them.)
He was able to clear the defender out. But if he were earlier/quicker, it would have given Slaton a better chance, certainly more yards.

E = Pitts starting on the RDT, then released to neutralize the pursuing MLB.R

OK to G ??? = Myers
Could do a better job in finishing off the RDT.
But perhaps the idea might be to create a wedge here, fooling the RDT to keep pushing forward and not disengaging to pursue.

B = Brisiel
Hurt the play more, I think, by being late and allowing the LDT to fall/push on both Myers and the RDT, toward the running lane.

VG = AJ on the receiver but can do better to spring a much longer run.

B (Bad) = Winston
Missed the whole ocean, LOL, but did not affect the play.

1-10 @ JAGS 42
Slaton 7-yd run strong side off RG.

E = Nice jobs by Walter, Brown, Pitts, Myers, Winston, O.D.
Walter and Brown especially, never giving up on the play.

B = Brisiel
Released off the combo block with Myers, wanting to take on the MLB.
But Leach flew up just past the LOS and blew the LB away..
LOL, Brisiel was bracing for contact but instead found air, LOL!
He stumbled but regained footing.
However, instead of keep on going to the safety, he turned around and looked back toward the middle.
(Dang it! Dis not an accident scene, Brizz! Move along, come on!)
And then he saw Slaton staring him in the face, LOL!
He even wanted to pick up Slaton to try to pull him forward, LOL!
(Silly Brisiel, trying to tackle his own man, LOL LOL!)

But Slaton made him miss, LOL LOL LOL,
wiggled and pumped his feet to earn another 3 yards.
He had already made one guy miss, the RDT
(being optioned as Pitts released to the next level on the WLB.

Winston and O.D. cleared out the LDE and SLB (Jags were in a 5-man line.)

That really looked like six points to me if only Brisiel had continued on to the safety.
The whole right side was wide open.

2-3 @JAGS 35
Quick pass to the right flat for Slaton who made a guy miss.
5 yds and a first down.

VG = Winston, Brisiel
OK to G = Myers
E = Brown

1-10 @ JAGS 31
TD pass to AJ, easy does it over R.Mathis.
Sage with all the time in the world against a 4-man rush.

E = Brown and Dreessen on the edge.
VG = Briesel, smart enough to break off the double team toward the end to help out the TE, but there wasn’t any need.

…………

Jags ball at their 22

1-10
Texans brought Ferguson up the right side, next to Adibi.
Ryans threatened all the way up close to the LOS in the middle.
Good containment by Bentley on our left, and Mario on our right.
It would have been a tackle for loss, but a false start was called.

1-15 @ JAGS 17
Texans were in a 6-man zone blitz on a one-yd run.
Weaver dropped back as all 3 LBs came charging up.
Penetration across the line.
It was designed to funnel the play to our right if it’s a run.
Wilson came up really fast to combine with Adibi for the tackle.

2-14 @ JAGS 18
Texans with 5-man front, Bentley on our left.
Then they brought Ferguson up the same side - to make it 8, threatening blitz.
That caused a false start on the Jags.

2-19 now
Base 4-3 with good containment on a 3-yd run up the middle.
Weaver, Okoye, TJ, Mario did the job up front.

3-16
Jags in 3-wides (2 left, 1 right), TE strong right,
Garrard in shotgun with RB MJDrew on his right.

Texans in nickel.
Five-man front with Adibi on our left to check on either the TE or the RB.

(With Mario at RDE outside the LT, Nading at LDE outside the TE,
our DTs outside their Guards – I think they call it the 4-3 Miami by Jimmy Johnson.)

Demeco in his customary position in the middle, 5 yds off the LOS.
Dunta on the slot receiver (on our right), 6 yds off the LOS.
Ferguson came up to the same depth on the other side, across the RT.
He and Adibi can either blitz or cover the TE & the RB.

5-man zone blitz with Bulman dropping back in the middle.

The slot receiver and the TE both ran post routes toward the middle, looking for a first down.
Dunta went with the slot man, Ferguson with the TE.
With Bulman dropping back in the middle and Wilson coming up, it would get very crowded on the inside.

The Jags were setting up for a screen pass to MJD
(with option for Garrard to go deep – but it wasn’t there.)
Our guys came in too fast, especially Adibi.
That forced a high throw by Garrard over the head of MJD.

Punt

…………

Texans ball @ our 46, about 5 mins into the 1st qtr.

T (Terrible) = Brisiel, got pushed back into Sage, badly.
The errant pass by Sage sailed just over R. Mathis (could have been an INT.)

2-10 @TXN 46

B to VB = Winston who missed a cut block.
The RDE jumped over him and lunged at Sage’s feet.
Don’t know if it had any mental effect as Sage threw an ill-advised pass right to R. Mathis for an easy INT.

………..

Jags ball at our 44

We brought Ferguson up on a 5-man blitz that applied no pressure.
Garrard; however, was determined to outdo Sage.
He also threw a stupid INT, LOL!

He never waited for Reeves to turn away from his back pedal, but duplicated Sages’ mental error.
The receiver could have done better by taking another step forward, or by faking an inside move before turning around on the come-backer, supposedly.
Reeves just sat on the route and get up for the easy INT.
Just like money from heaven, LOL!
Plenty of credit to Reeves for being alert and ready for the mistake.

…………..

Texans ball @ Jags 48

Good blocking by all on a 13-yd run by Slaton off RG
(almost the same as that famous long TD.)

1-10 @ JAGS 35
The LB came up quickly to cut off Leach in the running lane.
Just one yard for Slaton.
When I don’t mention about the blocking by the line, it should be OK.
Or a certain lineman really did not figure hardly in the play,
Or was involved in a double team with expected good result.

2-9 @ JAGS 36
Play action pass resulted in a 14-yd completion to O.D. just outside the Jags 20.

1-10 @ Midfield.
A quick pass to the left flat was slightly behind AJ, who tried to “catch and run.”
Dropped ball, the announcer said.

2-10
T = Brisiel was pushed back, clogging the running lane.
Slaton tried to cut outside, but Walter couldn’t clear his man.
(He was of secondary importance though.)
No gain for Slaton.

3-10
Jags blitzed 5.
T = Salaam
The RDE beat Salaam and forced an errant pass by Sage. Incomplete pass.

Texans FG 10-0

…………..

Jags ball at their 18

We brought 6 to the line and 8 in the box, up close and personal.
MJD sliced through the 6-man blitz for 8 yd to his left (Mario’s side) however.

Need more push up the middle, RDT Zgonina. LDT Deljuan, too!
Adibi (strong side to our right) got cleared out by the LT.
He needs to gain some strength, we knew that.
RDE Mario came back (off the TE); and also Zgonina who recovered and sliced over to swipe at MJD’s feet. Not soon enough though, Zgonina!

2-2 @JAGS 26
8 men in the box , this time with good containment, stopped MJD just short of the first down. They ran off the weak side to their right.

Weaver had excellent containment.
Zgonina was better at LDT. Deljuan, too, at RDT.
Good job by Bentley in the B gap.
Demeco also there.

3-1 now.
We weren’t as aggressive with the same personnel, only the DTs switched sides.
Deljuan did not have enough push.
Zgnonina went low on the LG, which was fine.
But Mario was a little too far away and couldn’t get there quick nor strong enough to get off the TE.
The angle was impossible.
MJD barely converted the third down.
(The LT released to the next level as before.)

Let’s try it again, boys!
8 men in the box and attacking.
Our DTs switched again, Zgonina at LDT, Deljuan at RDT.
Weaver, Bentley, and Deljuan got into their backfield. Zgonina, too.
Deljuan stripped the ball loose from the runner. Ferguson recovered.

This one was actually started by Weaver with good penetration at the POA.
And Bentley had good containment on our left.
Deljuan was left open on the backside of the play.
It was going to be either a run outside right tackle (but Bentley turned it in,)
Or a run behind tackle/off RG (but Weaver choked that off – he was two yards in the backfield, right in the face of MJD as he cut back further inside.)
Deljuan did a great mop-up job.

(Side note: At first, I was about to say Demeco also needs to get stronger, LOL!
But actually, a facemask penalty ought to be tack on to the Jags.
We can use more respect from the refs, really!)

(Some time ago, I mentioned that Deljuan did what he did, because other guys also were up to their tasks on certain particular play(s), dis one of those I was talking about.
I also mentioned, even from the year before, that Weaver had been a decent player;
His primary task wasn’t to rush the passer – although he ought to be better at that,
meaning, he wasn’t “quite” worth the big money we paid him.
I just think that true fans ought to appreciate players a little more for their contributing part; at least when the season had ended and we can afford the time to review their performances.
Great and undue expectations often can cause resentment between fans and players.
If we value teamwork, shouldn’t we remember our role as 12th person!?!
For the most part, I think Texans’ fans have always been great – in general – at the games, and the players really fed off that!)

…..

Texans ball @ JAGS 28
4:15 to go the first, Texans ahead 10-0

Play action pass found AJ all alone near the goal post.
The CB R. Mathis got away with illegal contact (he pulled on AJ’s front shoulder –jersey - and didn’t let go pass the 5 yd cut-off , actually it was at least 7 yds from the LOS).
That should have been a TD.

2-10 @JAGS 28
Jacoby Jones in the game now to take the snap in the Wild-cat, Wild-bull formation.
The RDE Groves never bought the faked hand-off to Slaton;
He zeroed in JJ for a 4-yd loss.
(LOL, Kubiak/Shanahan too smart for their own selves.)
Slaton perhaps could have had positive yardage on the strong side left.
This version of the wild-bull looked so tame; it needs a lot of work, LOL!

(I see another possibility on the strong side:
The RCB gave quite a bit of cushion (8-9 yd) to Sage at the top of the screen, we were moving from left to right. Let JJ pass the ball to him for a Rosencopter, LOL LOL!)

3-14 @ JAGS 32
Anderson was called for offensive pass interference.
10 yd penalty.
That took us out of FG range. Crap!

3rd and 25 now at their 43.

A quick screen pass to Slaton gained just 8 yd.
Oh well.

Texans punted.
A.D. downed the ball at the one-yard line.
He was in the end zone but came back nicely into the field of play to pin that ball virtually just a hair from the goal line.

del Rio lost the challenge that the ball touched the goal line
with 1:44 to play in the first.

 

[Maddict5]

instead of starting a new thread, i said id put it here

i found a site that reviews every players performance for every play of the 2008 season and grades them accordingly. its fun & surprising to see how some texans performed in different categories

http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_...&pos=FB&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numgames=1

if you want to see where the numbers come from, go to the grading section in the following link:

http://www.profootballfocus.com/about.php?tab=about

 

[infantrycak]

instead of starting a new thread, i said id put it here

i found a site that reviews every players performance for every play of the 2008 season and grades them accordingly. its fun & surprising to see how some texans performed in different categories

http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_...&pos=FB&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numgames=1

if you want to see where the numbers come from, go to the grading section in the following link:

http://www.profootballfocus.com/about.php?tab=about

No offense, but when your scoring system comes back and spits out Adrian Peterson as the 27th ranked RB you wad it up, throw it in the circular filing cabinet and go back to start.

 

[Maddict5]

No offense, but when your scoring system comes back and spits out Adrian Peterson as the 27th ranked RB you wad it up, throw it in the circular filing cabinet and go back to start.

well hes the 4th ranked runner. its his blocking & catching that drop him