I predicted
Texans 16
Browns 0
Would've been a shutout if not for the roughing the punter penalty.
Texans 16
Browns 0
Would've been a shutout if not for the roughing the punter penalty.
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Houston Texans @ Cleveland Browns. 11/16. Noon. CBS. **Official Gameday Thread**
- Thread starter ThaShark316
- Start date
was just thinking the same
WolverineFan
Hall of Fame
Solid foundation start for Mallett to build off here. Good game, not exceptional, but avoided costly turnovers and had the offense moving most of the game.
Easily on par with Fitzpatrick's best game of the year and probably better. And it was his first. Plenty of room to grow.
Easily on par with Fitzpatrick's best game of the year and probably better. And it was his first. Plenty of room to grow.
Nitrofish
Let The Big Fish Eat!
Wow... if we can keep getting that kind of play from Mallett, we have our franchise QB. Our OL looked all pro with Mallett getting the ball out quick. Very few penalties aside from the BS calls on Watt. Lot's of doubters going to be filling up on Crow, or making excuses.
Great win! Go Patriots!
Great win! Go Patriots!
TheMatrix31
Hall of Fame
There are absolutely some issues. Playcalling was more questionable in the second half. Watt's roughing penalties were very dumb on his part. Andre had a couple drops. Secondary was too relaxed late.
Always something to work on. Very good win and I generally love what we did, but nothing is ever perfect. Keep it going, get more cohesion, come home and beat the Bengals and Titans. We can do this. Just have to play smart all around.
Pollardized
Division Champ
I love Matrix. He's that guy who would b!tch if you hung him with a new rope.
Number19
Hall of Fame
I liked what I saw; and I believe I was pretty much spot on:
I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and believe we have a good chance at the playoffs. We should have the next three games and be 8-5 going into Indy; and right now, I'm liking our chances against our nemesis.
amazing80
Hall of Fame
Gonna be a long week lol. Especially if colts lose tonight. Our defense better get ready for the bengals. Cushing looked solid in the second half. Clowney had one legit play in the backfield but he should continue to get better. Our offense will get even better with Foster
TheMatrix31
Hall of Fame
Gotta have some wear on that rope, man!
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
When he has been central in the game plan, he has looked very good. He has been questionable when spelling Foster. I think it is because he is much more comfortable in a power running scheme and not a natural zone runner. Even today, he tended to struggle on the zone stretch. However, on power plays, he looked great.
I am a big fan. The guy is a football player and an athlete. He appears to have a good head on his shoulders, has situational awareness and has a very fresh body for a running back- due to the lack of work he had in college.
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
I think O'Brien is going to be a great NFL head coach... I know there are issues right now, but he has to learn on the job (just like every coach must). This is a team that is mentally much tougher than they should be (after last season's nightmare).
To go on the road, against a solid team that had something to play for... and to do it with a QB who has never started in the NFL, without Foster, without Kareem Jackson, and to win convincingly is very impressive. This is mental toughness and it comes from the top. Hurray, Coach O'Brien! As a supporter of Kubiak until the bitter end, I can safely say that O'Brien is a breathe of fresh air.
To go on the road, against a solid team that had something to play for... and to do it with a QB who has never started in the NFL, without Foster, without Kareem Jackson, and to win convincingly is very impressive. This is mental toughness and it comes from the top. Hurray, Coach O'Brien! As a supporter of Kubiak until the bitter end, I can safely say that O'Brien is a breathe of fresh air.
fiasco west
All Pro
Gonna be a long week lol. Especially if colts lose tonight. Our defense better get ready for the bengals. Cushing looked solid in the second half. Clowney had one legit play in the backfield but he should continue to get better. Our offense will get even better with Foster
Watt made his legend off the Bengals...
any ways all I ask of this team is to make the games have meaning till the end. Going to be a hard hole for them to climb out of with how good the Colts are.
Mallet did play well but I do think he could improve in some things, he wasn't perfect and he didn't lock down a new contract or anything yet. If we can get Foster back (and I don't know what's going on as I've been following the Rockets mostly throughout the week now) then this offense could really get rolling.
amazing80
Hall of Fame
I agree he can improve but he showed a lot of promise. Much more than case and fitz have. He should improve with time. Convincingly beat the blitz today. That's huge.
Seegara
Guitar Picker, Dog Lover, Woodworker
It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it.
It gives me the willies when a QB has a wide open path to run about 15 yards for a 1st down but instead opts to throw a short or intermediate pass. It gives me the heebie-jeebies when it happens on 3rd down. Mallett did that today and completed the pass but had it been dropped, disaster. Remember when Favre did that and lost the chance for a game winning chip shot FG vs the Saints?
It gives me the willies when a QB has a wide open path to run about 15 yards for a 1st down but instead opts to throw a short or intermediate pass. It gives me the heebie-jeebies when it happens on 3rd down. Mallett did that today and completed the pass but had it been dropped, disaster. Remember when Favre did that and lost the chance for a game winning chip shot FG vs the Saints?
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
A few observations:
1. Cushing did look better as the game went on. His lateral movement is still scary bad. However, he did have better balance and a stronger base at the point of attack. Hopefully, he can at least round into a 2 down difference maker at LB (like Urlacher later in his career).
2. Ryan Mallett- This is exciting! He was poised. He made good decisions. He never allowed the defense to dictate the game. He showed off his great arm and quick release (NO SACKS!)... He made good throws short, deep, middle. He wasn't perfect. Nothing about his performance seemed like a fluke. If I didn't know better, I would've thought I was watching a veteran QB leading a playoff team to another win with a typical solid performance.
3. J. CLowney- UGGH... I love his athleticism and potential. I am quite concerned that he simply isn't a guy that loves football. No need to panic yet. However, consider this: what would Cushing, Watt look like if they had been on the bench all season with an injury and they were just getting back on the field- They may not look good, but they would look desperate to make a play. I just don't see the urgency from Clowney that tends to separate great players from athletes with unfulfilled potential.
1. Cushing did look better as the game went on. His lateral movement is still scary bad. However, he did have better balance and a stronger base at the point of attack. Hopefully, he can at least round into a 2 down difference maker at LB (like Urlacher later in his career).
2. Ryan Mallett- This is exciting! He was poised. He made good decisions. He never allowed the defense to dictate the game. He showed off his great arm and quick release (NO SACKS!)... He made good throws short, deep, middle. He wasn't perfect. Nothing about his performance seemed like a fluke. If I didn't know better, I would've thought I was watching a veteran QB leading a playoff team to another win with a typical solid performance.
3. J. CLowney- UGGH... I love his athleticism and potential. I am quite concerned that he simply isn't a guy that loves football. No need to panic yet. However, consider this: what would Cushing, Watt look like if they had been on the bench all season with an injury and they were just getting back on the field- They may not look good, but they would look desperate to make a play. I just don't see the urgency from Clowney that tends to separate great players from athletes with unfulfilled potential.
fiasco west
All Pro
Oh I agree. This win felt different than a Fitz win.
There was never a time personally when he dropped back, never a time where I was scared what could happen. It was solid play. You knew he was going to drop back, go through his reads, throw the ball.
Very promising start for him and he passed the eye test. It's nice to have a QB that utilizes quick 4-6 yard passes, those are huge and huge to fight off a blitz when you can always go to a quick short route.
That's the QB's call. It's up to him to see it & call it at the line.
I agree with points 1 and 2. I'm not writing off Clowney yet though. Watt's rookie season didn't make it seem like he was a great player. It wasnt until the playoffs that season against the bengals that he went into beast mode and never looked back.
I'm not saying Clowney is Watt. Clowney has the talent and the athleticism. Clowney will need to play better than that today if he's going to earn his 1st overall pick status. I'm giong to give him till the end of the season.
Has Fitz ever hit 6 different receivers?
I think just the tempo, the shots down the field, & hitting the TEs in the middle make this game better than any Fitzpatrick win.
This was a good team win. Everyone seemed to be locked in and making plays when they had to. It wasn't perfect but it was a good team effort and gives me hope for the season. I think they need to go at least 5 and 1 over the last 6 games to have any chance even at a Wild Card spot. It's critical they beat the bengals next week since they are one of the teams ahead of them in the playoff race. Then it's 2 must win games with the tits and jags before heading to Indy for a showdown! Let's go Texans! 
Gonna be a long week lol. Especially if colts lose tonight. Our defense better get ready for the bengals. Cushing looked solid in the second half. Clowney had one legit play in the backfield but he should continue to get better. Our offense will get even better with Foster
I'm excited to see more Dent. I like Mohammed & Tarp.... but I want to see more Dent.
TexanBacker93
Veteran
I'm not convinced it was really a change to a conservative approach. We came in the game looking to run a lot against a very weak run D. It's that game plan approach that we aren't used to down here. Kubiak was a square peg is going no matter what the hole is. O'Brien said he would look for ways to attack the other team's weaknesses. Kind of like what other teams do to us. There were a few instances where I would have liked to see a different call, but for the most part I felt it a well coached game.
If the running game wasn't working then maybe I'd be more inclined to want the foot to the throat.
TheMatrix31
Hall of Fame
Seeing Cushing with some boomstick stuff was really really encouraging. He didn't have to cut to make those plays, but I hope he can keep getting his legs under him. If we can get 70% of Old Brian Cushing, I'd be thrilled, and 70% Cushing is better than most LBs in the league.
eh.... Jj Watt started doing his thing two or three weeks before the play offs. He & Reed were a terror that year.
But still. I didn't expect too much from Clowney today & I was still disappointed. I don't know if he doesn't love football, I'm not ready to say that. But I don't think he's very "football smart." He's spending way to much energy playing the guy in front of him.
This is just me watching the guy on the boobtube, but it looks like he wants to push "his" guy here, or fake him out there, or attach him.... he needs to play through that guy. He needs to be attacking the gaps, he needs to be thinking about getting to the QB, or the RB... That's what we saw on that first play from scrimmage week 1.
I know it's semantics & I'm probably not saying it right, but he needs to make the offensive guy react to him instead of him reacting to the OLman.
But he is a rookie. He has not had much playing time... so we'll see.
Marshall
Not pretty, but ALIVE!
That may have been his worst outing ever. I doubt it was that bad in Jr. High. He is either hurting or hung over. I suspect the former since he's no JFF.
Kgbmedic
M1 Tanker
I liked what I saw for a first outing. I get the feeling we are fixin to go on a run. I am normally cautious when it comes to the Texans. I have got to say I have a good feeling we now have our QB.
I realize it's just one game but I am going on record as we are going to enjoy several good seasons.
I realize it's just one game but I am going on record as we are going to enjoy several good seasons.
Marshall
Not pretty, but ALIVE!
I hope we feel the same way after 9 more games... (6 reg - 3 playoff)
Kgbmedic
M1 Tanker
You and me both.
It should be noted that Clowney was going against an All-Pro LT (Joe Thomas). But yeah, this is not the Clowney I expected to see. Not yet. He's still not all the way back. On the plus side, Cushing looked better than I've seen him all year.
He was matched up against Joe Thomas for much of the game. Tough match up for a rookie.
I agree with the assessment of Blue. He doesn't have Fosters jump cut for sure. There were like 5-6 plays where Foster would have picked up 30 plus yards by breaking the ball outside. Blue did great, but a healthy Arian would have had a field day today.
Playoffs
Hall of Fame
Thomas stoned Watt on at least one play I saw -- put him on the ground. He's good.
Little Shanny handed him his Denny's menu.
TexansFight
Veteran
I was very happy to see Cushing make plays again. He has always been one of my favorite players and it was good to see a bit of the old Cushing back. I hope he keeps getting better. It gives me hope to think he is not done yet.
Kgbmedic
M1 Tanker
I have to disagree with your assessment. If we are talking about the same play. I know the announcers proclaimed he was handled. But if you watch it he was doubled team and was knocked down by the second player while engaged with the first one.
badboy
Hall of Fame
When I saw that on tv I said "Baby, I am so sorry as your mother I subjected you to such horror and now we have to drive home...in Cleveland." WHAHAHADon't worry honey, I'll protect you from the perpetual sorrow.
