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**Official GameDay Thread** Pre-Season Home Opener New Orleans Saints @ Houston Texans

xtruroyaltyx said:
Tyler Ervin hasn't done a lot either, but I think some guys are just going to need to get more comfortable. Ability seems to be there though.
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We've got this guy in Akeem Hunt. And they already used 2 of their top 3 picks on speed guys, receivers, and also the big FA signing of Lamar Miller, a very fast RB.
Rick and Billy should have used the 4th round pick on an OT where they obviously have depth issues. Ervin is just gonna languish on the bench.
 
kiwitexansfan said:
This game thread is 10 pages shorter than last weeks, due to the 10 pages of complaints about Texans tackling last week.
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I don't know what the repercussions were for last weeks lack of tackling but the D obviously didn't want to suffer them again. We were very physical and did a good job a separating people from ball.
 
b0ng said:
Was the Houston or NO broadcast?
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the first half was Spencer and the Ch 13 gang.
I fell asleep before the 2nd half started LOL

According to my TV guide NFLN will rebroadcast our game Tues. morning at 9 Houston time. Now the guide does say "subject to programmer's schedule change" so I'm going to check again tomorrow.
They'll probably switch to LA or some east coast team and put us in the middle of the night again by the time Tuesday rolls around
 
So I was rewatching the JJo interception, they were pretty lucky no flags were thrown on that play, we had one guy you could make case for being offsides and also, if you watch #55 McKinney, he runs into the intended WR so he can't make his cut lol
 
IDEXAN said:
We've got this guy in Akeem Hunt. And they already used 2 of their top 3 picks on speed guys, receivers, and also the big FA signing of Lamar Miller, a very fast RB.
Rick and Billy should have used the 4th round pick on an OT where they obviously have depth issues. Ervin is just gonna languish on the bench.
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But they like the OTs they got. Just like they like Ervin & you don't understand the pick. I mean last year, even with Hunt on the team I would have said we had depth issues at the RB position. No play makers at all.

& drafting two fast receivers doesn't solve that problem.

I agree, Ervin may waste away on the bench... or special teams, but that's more because Kenny Hilliard appears to be serious about his NFL career.

After last season we could have cut Blue, Hilliard, & Grimes, start all over & no one would have batted an eye.

Miller, Hilliard, Hunt, Ervin... I'd be good with that.
 
thunderkyss said:
But they like the OTs they got. Just like they like Ervin & you don't understand the pick. I mean last year, even with Hunt on the team I would have said we had depth issues at the RB position. No play makers at all.

& drafting two fast receivers doesn't solve that problem.

I agree, Ervin may waste away on the bench... or special teams, but that's more because Kenny Hilliard appears to be serious about his NFL career.

After last season we could have cut Blue, Hilliard, & Grimes, start all over & no one would have batted an eye.

Miller, Hilliard, Hunt, Ervin... I'd be good with that.
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I think Grimes hangs on too; he's pretty good in special teams coverage.
 
thunderkyss said:
But they like the OTs they got. Just like they like Ervin & you don't understand the pick. I mean last year, even with Hunt on the team I would have said we had depth issues at the RB position. No play makers at all.

& drafting two fast receivers doesn't solve that problem.

I agree, Ervin may waste away on the bench... or special teams, but that's more because Kenny Hilliard appears to be serious about his NFL career.

After last season we could have cut Blue, Hilliard, & Grimes, start all over & no one would have batted an eye.

Miller, Hilliard, Hunt, Ervin... I'd be good with that.
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ObsiWan said:
I think Grimes hangs on too; he's pretty good in special teams coverage.
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We're not gonna carry 6 RB's... look for Ervin & maybe even Hunt or Hilliard to be placed on PS

I think we'll carry Miller, Blue, Grimes & Prosch. And the winner of the competition between Hilliard, Hunt and Ervin will make the 53
 
JB said:
We're not gonna carry 6 RB's... look for Ervin & maybe even Hunt or Hilliard to be placed on PS

I think we'll carry Miller, Blue, Grimes & Prosch. And the winner of the competition between Hilliard, Hunt and Ervin will make the 53
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Hunt seemed to be the best of the return guys last night. Based on that, I think he's got a leg up over Ervin. I'm not sure Blue sticks.
 
ObsiWan said:
Hunt seemed to be the best of the return guys last night. Based on that, I think he's got a leg up over Ervin. I'm not sure Blue sticks.
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I think Blue will stick because he's a cheap ground & pound guy. And to now as stayed fairly healthy
 
JB said:
I think Blue will stick because he's a cheap ground & pound guy. And to now as stayed fairly healthy
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Hilliard is showing to be a good pound and ground guy too and he has much better vision then Blue. The way things are looking, the back field could look like this.
L. Miller, Hilliard, Hunt with Ervin going to the practice squad and Prosch staying as the fullback.
Blue and Grimes aren't the play makers that the rest of the backs are.
With all the speed and talent the others have, I see them as being on the chopping block.
And it doesn't break my heart.
I do like Grimes, but Hunt is a better threat in the passing game and much more dangerous as a kick returner.
 
Texans-Saints rewind: Five up, five down
By Aaron Wilson

  • Will Fuller--The Texans' first-round draft pick displayed speed, sound hands and precise route-running, catching a touchdown pass and finishing with four catches for 73 yards and one touchdown. Fuller also went across the middle for a 25-yard reception. He's beginning to emerge as a potentially impactful complementary presence to Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
  • Jadeveon Clowney--The frequently injured former top overall pick had a healthy, productive football game as he returned from a sore knee. Clowney sacked Saints Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees for a loss of 14 yards. Clowney was extremely competitive and quick off the football while being held almost every play. He was physical as an edge-setter against the run. Where Clowney needs a lot of improvement is developing his pass-rushing repertoire and geting to a point where he has some effective counter moves when his initial charge is halted. Clowney remains a work in progress, but this was a positive step forward.
  • Brock Osweiler--Following a shaky debut a week ago, the Texans' $72 million man demonstrated a lot more command and timing against the Saints. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown on a perfect fade pass to Will Fuller. He was intercepted on another fade intended for Fuller, rendering this a positive performance that was marred by the turnover. Overall, though, this was an encouraging game for Osweiler.
  • Christian Covington--For the second consecutive game, the former Rice standout was a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage. One week after forcing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, Covington had a sack, three tackles and two for losses. Covington is doing everything possible to win a starting job at defensive end as he competes with Devon Still for the right to start opposite J.J. Watt when the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year returns from back surgery.
  • Middle linebacker Brian Cushing and cornerback Johnathan Joseph hadn't played much preseason football in the past, but appear to benefiting from an increased workload this year. Cushing looks to have regained his old Pro Bowl form, recording six tackles, including four solos. Joseph intercepted a pass after not playing in any preseason games a year ago.
  • Tony Bergstrom--The former Oakland Raiders offensive lineman had a shoddy game in relief of starting right guard Jeff Allen, who was excused from the game due to a death in his family. Bergstrom was replaced quickly by Oday Aboushi at right guard after committing a holding penalty where he tackled a Saints defender. Bergstrom is not off to a good start.
  • Tyler Ervin--The rookie return specialist improved as far as ball security this week, but still needs to make better decisions and be more explosive in the open field. He returned three punts for nine yards with one fair catch. He had one kickoff return for 14 yards.
  • Tom Savage--The backup quarterback committed a crucial error when he didn't throw the football forward while attempting to throw it at the feet of wide receiver Cecil Shorts to kill the play. Instead, it was ruled a backward pass, sack and fumble that was recovered by the Saints and led to a field goal. Savage threw two touchdown passes a week ago and has been declared the backup by coach Bill O'Brien. This wasn't a sterling outing by him, though.
  • Running game--The Texans didn't run the football well, struggling to generate man yards. Starting running back Lamar MIller was held to 16 yards on six carries and backup Kenny Hilliard managed just 11 yards on seven carries as Akeem Hunt was the leading rusher with 20 yards on six carries. The Texans finished with just 59 rushing yards on 24 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per run.
  • The Texans committed some costlypenalties, getting flagged seven times for 73 yards.
 
John McClain's Texans report card: preseason game 2

  • QUARTERBACKS Brock Osweiler (pictured) improved on his San Francisco performance by going 12-of-19 for 124 yards and a touchdown. His one bad pass was an end zone interception from the Saints’ 3-yard line. Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden combined for 11-of-16 for 129 yards.Grade: B-minus
  • RUNNING BACKS The running game wasn’t productive, and a big part of the problem was the blocking. Too often there were no holes or they closed too fast. Akeem Hunt (pictured) finished with a team-best 20 yards, which is awful, even for preseason.Grade: D
  • RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS Rookie Will Fuller caught four passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Braxton Miller caught three for 34. The rookies were impressive, especially running routes in the middle of the field. Overall, 11 receivers and tight ends caught at least one pass.Grade: B-minus
  • OFFENSIVE LINE Because of injuries to tackles Duane Brown and Derek Newton and center Nick Martin and right guard Jeff Allen being out because of a death in his family, left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo was the only regular starter in the lineup. The run blocking was atrocious, but the pass protection improved.Grade: C-minus
  • DEFENSIVE LINE Right end Christian Covington was superb with one sack, three tackles, two tackles for loss and two hits on the quarterback. Rookie nose tackle D.J. Reader replaced Vince Wilfork and made three tackles. The linemen did a terrific job against the run and put pressure on Drew Brees before he went to the bench.Grade: B
  • LINEBACKERS Brian Cushing had a team-high six tackles and clogged the middle. Jadeveon Clowney had a 14-yard sack. Akeem Dent came off the bench to record four tackles. Max Bullough and Brian Peters continued to perform well inside and outside.Grade: B
  • SECONDARY Cornerback Robert Nelson intercepted a pass in the end zone on the game’s last play. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph (pictured) intercepted a pass after his penalty gave the Saints a first down. Cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell and Kevin Johnson combined for seven tackles. The safeties played the run well and were solid in coverage.Grade: B
  • SPECIAL TEAMS Nick Novak (8) had an excellent game with field goals of 49, 46 and 36 yards. The coverage teams were exceptional, allowing 5 yards on punt returns and 18.7 on kickoff returns. Shane Lechler had a 44-yard gross and a 41.5 net. Wendall Williams had an 11-yard punt return. Akeem Hunt averaged 28.5 yards on two kickoff returns.Grade: B-plus
  • COACHING Without disclosing very much on either side of the ball, Bill O’Brien and his coaches got a better performance from their offense and special teams and another solid effort from the defense to improve to 2-0. Grade: B
 
IDEXAN said:
We've got this guy in Akeem Hunt. And they already used 2 of their top 3 picks on speed guys, receivers, and also the big FA signing of Lamar Miller, a very fast RB.
Rick and Billy should have used the 4th round pick on an OT where they obviously have depth issues. Ervin is just gonna languish on the bench.
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I totally agree on this. That is unless there going best available or there just wasn't anything left in OL.
RB is going to be tougher to pick than WR in my opinion
Miller
Blue
Grimes
Hunt
Ervin
I'm wondering who they'll drop?
 
mmwest63 said:
I totally agree on this. That is unless there going best available or there just wasn't anything left in OL.
RB is going to be tougher to pick than WR in my opinion
Miller
Blue
Grimes
Hunt
Ervin
I'm wondering who they'll drop?
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I think if Blue, Grimes, and Polk did their jobs last year, we wouldn't have gone looking for Miller & Ervin.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
Shoutout to Cushing....

Dude looks spry....
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Yeah, I think he looks very good on his feet.. still missing those instincts though. Early in the game, he filled a hole Ingram was running to. Ingram was able to change directions, cut it back & run around the end. Cushing stayed with him & was in on the tackle after Ingram picked up a couple of yards.

The old Cushing would have launched himself through that hole & separated Ingram from the ball in the backfield.... then again, it is just the preseason. I hope that berserker shows up when the regular season starts.
 
Since I said it to the Khalil Mack guys I'll say it to the dudes who wanted O Linemen ... y'all were right.

This line looks like ****.
 
JamTex said:
Hilliard is showing to be a good pound and ground guy too and he has much better vision then Blue. The way things are looking, the back field could look like this.
L. Miller, Hilliard, Hunt with Ervin going to the practice squad and Prosch staying as the fullback.
Blue and Grimes aren't the play makers that the rest of the backs are.
With all the speed and talent the others have, I see them as being on the chopping block.
And it doesn't break my heart.
I do like Grimes, but Hunt is a better threat in the passing game and much more dangerous as a kick returner.
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Yep, Blue is toast. Grimes is good, but reality may dictate his departure.
 
My two cents. I'm not impressed with Oswieler, this year or last. Savage looks to be vastly improved. Best QB on the team right now is no. 5. I suppose both O and Savage will have to implode before we see anymore of him though.
 
Vastly improved huh. Please back that up with some actual data.

When I hear people say that, I'm like ok what meaningful games did he show such leap.

Like I told my boy today, " some fans have a strong case of underdog syndrome ". Always pulling for the backup.
 
driller80545 said:
My two cents. I'm not impressed with Oswieler, this year or last. Savage looks to be vastly improved. Best QB on the team right now is no. 5. I suppose both O and Savage will have to implode before we see anymore of him though.
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Let's call it 1-1.

Savage looked good game 1. Is looked strong game 2.

But don't forget, they have already named the starter.
 
JamTex said:
Hilliard is showing to be a good pound and ground guy too and he has much better vision then Blue. The way things are looking, the back field could look like this.
L. Miller, Hilliard, Hunt with Ervin going to the practice squad and Prosch staying as the fullback.
Blue and Grimes aren't the play makers that the rest of the backs are.
With all the speed and talent the others himave, I see them as being on the chopping block.
And it doesn't break my heart.
I do like Grimes, but Hunt is a better threat in the passing game and much more dangerous as a kick returner.
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Just to clarify, Hilliard was 7 carries 11 yards with one for 8. Versus SF he was 12 for 40 with one for 11. This does not get him a roster spot. I was hopeful when he was drafted due to size but if he is a pound and ground guy he pounded for less than two yards average. I did like what I saw from Prosch and he was played like I had hoped for when we got him. IMO Miller and Prosch should be our short yardage guys (also both can catch) leaving us with two spots at half back. I had Hunt and Ervin on my roster but the latter needs to step up huge next two games or he's gone, at best to PS. I want to see bit more of Grimes as he was 56/282 @ 5.0 in 14 games last season and his only carry VS SF was for seven. I was sort of surprised he did not get a few more carries but maybe O'Brien saw what he wanted. He had no rushes but 1 reception for 9 VS Saints. Again seemed like O'Brien did not need to see him in game action. Blue should be gone but if Ervin doesn't improve Blue could be on final roster.
 
badboy said:
Just to clarify, Hilliard was 7 carries 11 yards with one for 8. Versus SF he was 12 for 40 with one for 11. This does not get him a roster spot. I was hopeful when he was drafted due to size but if he is a pound and ground guy he pounded for less than two yards average. I did like what I saw from Prosch and he was played like I had hoped for when we got him. IMO Miller and Prosch should be our short yardage guys (also both can catch) leaving us with two spots at half back. I had Hunt and Ervin on my roster but the latter needs to step up huge next two games or he's gone, at best to PS. I want to see bit more of Grimes as he was 56/282 @ 5.0 in 14 games last season and his only carry VS SF was for seven. I was sort of surprised he did not get a few more carries but maybe O'Brien saw what he wanted. He had no rushes but 1 reception for 9 VS Saints. Again seemed like O'Brien did not need to see him in game action. Blue should be gone but if Ervin doesn't improve Blue could be on final roster.
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This decision isn't going to just come down to game performance. Lots of factors involved.

Regarding Ervin, he is a prospect that comes with some fairly high regard.

I'd be surprised if they cut him and made him available to be picked up by other teams. It's not really about where he is now as a rookie, it's about what they think his ceiling is. And if he's been good in practice, taking care of his business, not being a good off, I can't see them parting ways this early because if they cut him I could see him being picked up pretty fast. I'd be surprised if 1) he was cut and ) made it to and lasted on the PS all season.

Regarding Hilliard, he did take a step back from last game, but......so did everyone else. The entire running game was bad. Oline issues probably had something to do with that.
 
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Every year, every fan of every team in every sport attempts to draw conclusions about things during preseason or spring training.

Every year without fail people fall for it.

As long as nobody gets hurt, none of this matters even in the slightest as it comes to determining what type of team any team is and which player will be what.

Really amazing. I guess people are just always happy to see their teams playing in any fashion again.
 
JB said:
Yeah I saw your post, was wondering what Tk was laughing at so heard. I've heard that expression countless times
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JB, you are born in the US and I am not. For me to hear that kind of expression, it'd just hit the spot. It is so true but, very humorous way to me. I love it though.
 
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badboy said:
Just to clarify, Hilliard was 7 carries 11 yards with one for 8. Versus SF he was 12 for 40 with one for 11. This does not get him a roster spot..
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It's not really about the stats in the preseason. I think Hilliard makes the team because he's pretty serious about this NFL thing. I say that because he's a totally different football player this year, than he was last. He's lighter, more explosive, & fast. He's been working on his game while everyone else was watching reality TV
 
badboy said:
You killed it yourself..no thanks.
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I'm with you; loathe waiting in line and will not arrive early to eat. I'm hungry then, not 2 hrs down the road - when I'll be starving. Rudy's may not be winning awards or raved about online- but their bbq ain't bad either.

Aaaannnd to keep this post relevant to the thread - I've taken to not taking pre-season games as serious. The newness of the Texans has worn off and I look at pre-season games more now as live fire drills. The more "trigger time" these guys get the better, regardless of winning or losing the game.
 
badboy said:
You killed it yourself..no thanks.
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ESAD2-14 said:
I'm with you; loathe waiting in line and will not arrive early to eat. I'm hungry then, not 2 hrs down the road - when I'll be starving. Rudy's may not be winning awards or raved about online- but their bbq ain't bad either.

Aaaannnd to keep this post relevant to the thread - I've taken to not taking pre-season games as serious. The newness of the Texans has worn off and I look at pre-season games more now as live fire drills. The more "trigger time" these guys get the better, regardless of winning or losing the game.
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FuzzyLogic said:
Drive over to Killens BBQ... get there early, prepare to wait in line.
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I'm not much for waiting either but this one is worth the wait. Usually free beer on the weekends while you wait. 1st timers, I suggest the 6 meat plate.
 
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