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Hopkins Production. Scheme, Quarterback, or Contract.
- Thread starter JWLCASPER
- Start date
Texansballer74
The Marine
I remember AJ last season as a Texans, D-Hop showed a lot of potential. AJ also had a lot of heat from some of our fan base. So they wanted him gone and said D-Hop would be a great number 1. So I asked the question," will D-Hop be effective when teams actually game plan for him and double him like they did AJ. Even when AJ was being double teamed and gamed for, he still put up elite numbers, well without the TD's. Now Nuk is being game planned for and he is not producing like a lot of fans thought he would. It's only for games in and he has plenty of time to prove otherwise. Now in order for that to happen, coach will have to come up with plays to get him open more. Brock also needs to actually go threw his progression because Nuk has been getting open. The running game has to improve so the passing game to open up more. Better Oline play would help out tremendously. Now one would think since we have a burner in Fuller (who is balling his butt off) and our Tight Ends are finally contributing Nuk would see a lot of single coverage.
thetexanator
Veteran
i dont care what you say, AJ IS a first ballot HOF.
Did you sleep all through 2015?
Texansballer74
The Marine
I remember AJ last season as a Texans, D-Hop showed a lot of potential. AJ also had a lot of heat from some of our fan base. So they wanted him gone and said D-Hop would be a great number 1. So I asked the question," will D-Hop be effective when teams actually game plan for him and double him like they did AJ. Even when AJ was being double teamed and gamed for, he still put up elite numbers, well without the TD's. Now Nuk is being game planned for and he is not producing like a lot of fans thought he would. It's only for games in and he has plenty of time to prove otherwise. Now in order for that to happen, coach will have to come up with plays to get him open more. Brock also needs to actually go threw his progression because Nuk has been getting open. The running game has to improve so the passing game to open up more. Better Oline play would help out tremendously. Now one would think since we have a burner in Fuller (who is balling his butt off) and our Tight Ends are finally contributing Nuk would see a lot of single coverage.
You missed my point entirely. Last season team did not game plan or double team Nuk like they are doing now. And you were on the other site when I brought this type of issue up.
You missed my point entirely. Last season team did not game plan or double team Nuk like they are doing now. And you were on the other site when I brought this type of issue up.
Texansballer74
The Marine
hahaha no where did this come from? My comment wasn't negative towards AJ. And I know he's going to the HOF. He was a beast for us.
You're inconsistent as hell in this post. 1. You don't think that teams game planned and doubled Nuk last year? What games were you watching?
2.
Make up your mind. He getting open or not?
He getting game planned for? Double coverage? Like last year?
4 games in... you acknowledge this (I think) and then go on to say it doesn't matter?
I didn't miss your point, I seriously wonder if you watched them play last year. Hopkins was the focus of every defense we played.
I most likely agreed with anyone who questioned Nuk's ability to be a true #1 before & early in the season. But midway through, I was & am, a firm believer.
He's young & has a way to go before he's "as good as Andre" in my mind, but he's definitely a #1 in this league. Tends to disappear in big games... that's why we need Fuller.
Right now, defenses shade to him. Osweiler's first read is probably Fuller. Then when he gets a good look, Brock is throwing to Nuk's shadow. But pretty soon, I expect to see a dangerous 1, 2 punch.
Texansballer74
The Marine
Texansballer74
The Marine
How in the world are you questioning if I watched the games last year when we both chatted it up several times on the other forum. Come on dude let's be real.
Of course he's a number one, I'm in no way disputing that at all. Thus the reason why he's drawing all the attention now.
MissouriTexan10
Practice Squad
Houston still is best team in division so I'm not worried. It will come
xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
Dan Pastorin thinks Hopkins needs to play tougher.
Audio of interview in link.
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2017/06/19/pastorini-deandre-hopkins-needs-to-play-tougher/
At about the 8:30 mark he says Hopkins goes down too easy and runs out of bounds too much. Thinks he leaves a lot of YAC on the field because he shies away from contact too much.
Audio of interview in link.
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2017/06/19/pastorini-deandre-hopkins-needs-to-play-tougher/
At about the 8:30 mark he says Hopkins goes down too easy and runs out of bounds too much. Thinks he leaves a lot of YAC on the field because he shies away from contact too much.
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xtruroyaltyx
Hall of Fame
Personally I never really got the impression that Hopkins was scared of contact. Keyshawn Martin...yeah, that guy was scared. Showed up receiving and returning...
Hopkins isn't Andre Johnson or Anquan Bolden taking on defenders, but i haven't seen a lack of toughness in him. I'll have to look at that more closely.
Hopkins isn't Andre Johnson or Anquan Bolden taking on defenders, but i haven't seen a lack of toughness in him. I'll have to look at that more closely.
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
The problem I saw with Hopkins last year was that when one-on-one with a defender, as opposed to previous years, he seldom came up with the ball. He has never had the ability to gain separation as he has never been "quick" to change direction, so when he no longer is able to win those one-on-one challenges, he reverts to the level of a lower class of WRs. I would hope that attitude was not at the core of this, but I can't help but see this unhealthy trait being a distinct possibility.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
Between us and the Titans it is a tough call. They just added Erik Decker who can really play and that's a great new weapon for Marriotta. They've got a strong defense, and a great running game. They're a pretty complete team now. If Marriotta has take that big jump this year at QB, they're easily better than us.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
I saw a little of that last season, but nothing I would be concerned about. He has played with like 6 or 7 QB's since coming to the Texans on one bad offense after another. I can't even imagine how annoying that has to be to have so many bad QB's in a row. With Oz last year, he likely just lost a little focus and intensity that carried out in a few games when the offense didn't have momentum swings hardly ever. I still thought he looked really good last season. He'll be fine. He just needs a real QB that he can build a chemistry with for a few years. I've said since last season, he was crazy not to demand a trade out of here.
Texansballer74
The Marine
The biggest problem I seen was Hopkins getting handled pretty easy at the line of scrimmage. I was begging for them to put him in the slot that way he's not fighting to get off the line scrimmage as much.
Physical corners had his number last season.
Physical corners had his number last season.
Texansballer74
The Marine
They have improved some but they actually went 8-8 last season. They still didn't have an answer for our Texans.
Mariota health is also a big issue for them as well.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
They didn't have an answer? Lol!
Texans went 9-7 and played them at the end of the season when they didn't have Marriotta as well. You make it seem like the Texans went 12-4. We still don't even have our QB situation figured out, and we didn't effectively improve our other biggest problem which is our Oline. I can't see how the Texans have improved their roster much this off season. If anything, they've just invested in a questionable high ceiling QB, but in the short term they haven't gotten much better. I think the Titans have, and I feel like Marriotta will improve at QB this season as he was in the later half of last year. Its really close on paper as it stands now.
Texansballer74
The Marine
If we played that last game with a purpose. We would've swept our Division again. We should've went 10-6. And with better QB play 12-4 could've been attainable.
dream_team
Hall of Fame
If we had our best player healthy the whole season, we could have easily been 12-4. If Brock could have gotten injured for the season after game two, we should have been 12-4.
Mangler
Toro de España
No offense, but I've grown tired of hearing this nonsense over the past 3-4 years. The "analysts, and writers" and lots of posters here talk about how great the Titans, Colts and even Jags will be in the upcoming season, yet they end up getting beat by the Toros. The truth is we are a playoff team, just don't have the last few pieces of the puzzle (yet) to win the championship. Our team is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, we're inching closer to that next level.
Number19
Hall of Fame
On defense, we're improved with Watt back and Reader, starting in place of Wilfork, is an improvement. For now, I'm thinking our DB's and OLB's break even. Our defense should be slightly better than last year.
On offense, we're improved at QB, RB, RG and OC. RT will be no worse than last year. Starting the season, we're better at LT than the start of last season. Overall, you're going to see much better production from our offense.
We are a better team than last year.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
Defense also lost one of it's only Pro Bowl players. Watt coming back may not be the exact same type of player. My bet is that he will fine, but we don't know just yet.
The rest of your post is full of assumptions and what you want to happen. We might be better in some of those areas, but that isn't a given.
Overall, I don't see us as being improved really other than on defense and that's only because of Watt and for how good they were I'd call it a slight improvement any way.
We don't know what we'll have at QB. Every year people say this, and our QB situation has gotten worse for like 4 years, so you really have no business saying that at all.
You're also ignoring any positive that the Titans have done, and I think they're a lot better than us at QB currently which is the most important position that matters.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
No one called our team bad. We have a pretty good team. We didn't do anything in the off season to really get better though. I don't care what minor things we did in FA that you may want to bring up, because we didn't add any impact players at all in FA. We just added draft picks with our 1st rounder likely sitting for most of the season not having an impact at all. You have no idea how great our picks will end up and they're rookies any way.
I don't really care how much it bothers you to bring up positive additions other teams have made. I don't care what division that each team plays in. Some get better and some don't. Some sort of stay put which in most cases means they got worse. I'm not saying we got worse, but I don't see an improved team that's going to make much noise with what they have at QB. The Titans have slowly built different pieces around both sides of the ball and should be a better team. That shouldn't trigger you. It should simply be noticeable. Acting like both teams were far apart is ridiculous. Both teams were fighting for the division all the way until the last two games of the season and their QB got hurt. Texans fans have nothing to go off of to act all cocky and high and mighty about other teams in the division. It's by far not some lock that they win it.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
That really doesn't matter. Your overall record either wins the division or it doesn't. Cherry picking our wins for the sake of conversation doesn't indicate anything new.
You would have been much better off bringing up the Raiders game where they got cheated in Mexico to bring us having a potentially better record.
Texansballer74
The Marine
That's 11-5 then. Good catch.
No that's a good point because we did not play to win the last game of the season. Thus the reason why a lot of our starters didn't play. Division was won and our playoffs position was already written in stones. That puts them at 8-8.
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We're also adding KJO, Cunningham and Dillon... I think that in addition to Nelson having another years experience benefits us greatly on defense
You don't give any credence to the returning health of Allen, Martin, Miller, Strong and others as being significant? Still question marks but it's not like we'll start 2017 looking anything like the end of 2016
We're also adding KJO, Cunningham and Dillon... I think that in addition to Nelson having another years experience benefits us greatly on defense
You don't give any credence to the returning health of Allen, Martin, Miller, Strong and others as being significant? Still question marks but it's not like we'll start 2017 looking anything like the end of 2016
sandman
Brexit Advisor
Except, his rookie year he had 5 YAC and his second season he had 3.6 YAC. It's only been an issue the last two years after AJ left the team.
Texansballer74
The Marine
What you think 6-10 then is That's how a lot of media heads feel about the Texans.
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Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
Respond again after you actually read what I said, and I'll reply.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
No, we did practically nothing to get better in the off season. I stand by what I said. The Texans were pretty much sitting on their hands and feet, and waited for the draft. With their QB situation it won't matter. Best they can do is barely win the division again, and have no real chance once the playoffs begin unless they get some gimme game like the Raiders without their QB.
Mangler
Toro de España
So, the Titans will be better than the Texans this year? Just like they were supposed to be for the past 3-4 years? I seriously doubt that...
banned1976
sleeper mode
That may be true. I hope not. I hope that they try to win every game regardless of the situation. That's what the best teams in the NFL do. You'll never see a Belichick led team throw in the towel or have mercy on an opponent. You can't do that in this league.
"You play to win the game." - Herm Edwards
Texansballer74
The Marine
Banned he sat the majority of his starters on both sides of the ball. We had nothing to lose because we already clinched the playoffs spot when the Titans lost the week before.
Our first & only win against the Patriots, Belichick pulled his best players before the end of the game. It wasn't a totally meaningless game, I believe a playoff bye or HFA was on the line. But after Welker got hurt, it got less & less important to him to win that game.
Week 17 against the Titans, our starters barely played. O'Brien coached to win, just not to his best ability.
Texansballer74
The Marine
You said no one is calling our team bad.
I responded by saying, " what you think 6-10 is. A team that goes 6-10 is not freaking good. How in the world is that not calling our team bad.
To the rest of your comment. You don't have to make a big splash in free agency to have a successful season. Sometimes its best to stand pat, if what you wanted is not available. Or you believe in your core as well as the growth of your sophomore players.
We've went 9-7 three years in a row so they might believe in the coaching staff. Especially on the defensive side in which we all thought would take a major hit without Watt.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
We needed to make some improvements especially on the Oline. That needed to be addressed better than it did. Their defense should be top 5 and yes they have a potential where they could be something really special. Will something like that happen? We'll see. A healthy Watt/Clowney will have take place all season along with our secondary. Don't get me wrong, you can win a SB with all defense and a stout running game. It's happened more than people tend to believe. All time great defenses tend to win in the SB when they get there and all time great offenses tend to lose when they do. Indy looks like it is already starting to meltdown so that helps things as far as the division is concerned. Jags have talent, but are still lost. Titans look pretty good on paper as I said before. Yes, we can win it. I'm just saying it won't be easy and the Titans should be a better team than they were last year at 7-9. I like OB as a coach, but with him inserting himself as the guy strictly over the offense and us headed into the season with Savage who is a huge health risk with not a high ceiling at all, and our new rookie who doesn't appear anywhere near ready, then I don't see much of an improvement being made on offense other than with rookie draft picks. The one I think we're likely to see probably the best impact from is at RB.
austins23
Hall of Fame
Didn't Belichik put Brady BACK into the game that year?
banned1976
sleeper mode
Well. All I can say is I disagree with O'Brien in that decision.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
They have before. Three years ago they took it easy in the last game of the season and lost, because they already had #1 seed locked up.
They took it easy against the Texans in the last game, and it backfired be having some of their best guys playing. Welker's season ended. They took a lot of their starters out in the 3rd quarter and Brady didn't even play when they had one last drive to win it. Also that next week the Patriots got stomped by the Ravens in the only double digit playoff loss the Patriots have suffered in the Brady/Bellicheck era. Losing Welker was major for them in that game.
Taking the last game off if you have nothing to play for is a huge catch 22 for coaches to consider. Losing rhythem is always a risk especially if you have the bye and get three weeks off. But going into the post season at the best health is probably more important considering the fact that one injury could be the difference in winning or losing a playoff game.
banned1976
sleeper mode
It was the last regular season game in 2009. The Texans outscored the Patriots 21-7 in the 4th quarter to win the game by a TD and extra point. The Pats didn't hand that game to the Texans, the Texans stole the win by kicking their butt in the 4th. Belichick took the foot off the gas peddle and lost, as you say, an important game. He screwed up.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
Again, read my posts again because you're quoting me on things I haven't said.
banned1976
sleeper mode
Brady played most of the game. He was ineffective. Belichick rolled the dice by putting Hoyer in on the final drive of the game. It almost paid off.
Texansballer74
The Marine
Both the Titans and Jaguars been looking good on paper for 3 years straight now. In those three years we have owned both squads. When I said they didn't have an answer, i was speaking solely on our defense. Even when they looked like they had it with their improved running game, our defense found away to help steal game 1 against them last season.
I agree on needing to improve the offensive line. But we're getting Martin back, a healthy Allen and wherever Mancz play, he will be solid. Our main issue is RT.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
I don't recall any large consensus saying the Titans were some breakout team last season. That was in your mind. Sure, maybe some media pundit or two did, but there was no glaring hype for them last off season with a 2nd year QB in Marriotta who struggled as a rookie. They did make improvements though, and people expected them to be better and they were. The year before that they were in full rebuild mode so I have no clue why you keep exaggerating this stuff about the Titans.
The Jags got some hype, because they added a lot of talent on both sides of the ball in the off season and their QB was a 3rd year guy who looked to be improving. Of course they got some people that made some waives about their potential to break out. Bortles took a big step back, and their team withered quickly. Not a big surprise either.
None of that has anything to do with this season. That's all last year. Every year is different and NFL teams change. Every year new teams enter the playoffs and some teams that were good before end up train wrecking. And quite frankly I don't care as much about what our divisional record is, but what our overall record is. Winning division games is just part of that obviously, but that is only 6 games out of 16.