ThaShark316
#28
"...Now if you'll excuse us, the Texans are having an old friend for dinner"
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The Houston Texans used a strong defensive effort to snap a 14-game losing streak in the opener, but the victory cost them the top overall draft pick for at least a quarter of the season.
Even without Jadeveon Clowney, they could be poised for another stingy performance facing the Oakland Raiders.
Coach Bill O'Brien believes former first-round selection Whitney Mercilus can continue to fill in at a high level as the Texans look to end a seven-game road losing streak Sunday against the offensively challenged Raiders.
The Raiders dropped their final six games after that matchup, and the outlook this season doesn't appear much brighter after a 19-14 road loss to the Jets last Sunday. Despite new starters at running back and quarterback after failing to crack 300 yards in seven games in 2013, Oakland was held to 158 last weekend with 25 yards on 15 carries and just 72 passing until scoring on its final drive.
A revamped offensive line gave few holes to Maurice Jones-Drew (nine rushes, 11 yards) and forced rookie Derek Carr, who beat out former Texan Matt Schaub in the preseason, to get rid of the ball quickly. Carr was 20 of 32 for 151 yards with two touchdowns, though he was sacked twice and only three of his completions traveled more than 10 yards downfield.
A new-look defensive front allowed the Jets to rush for 212 yards in Oakland's seventh straight defeat - its longest slide since dropping 11 in a row between 2006-07.
What I need to see:
Keep Oakland's ground attack...well, grounded.
MJD and that OL had a rough, rough day last Sunday. Jets had A LOT to do with that, of course. That being said, momentum and confidence do wonders for teams, especially in their home opener.
Turn Arian loose on the Raiders
Raiders have a shaky run D (I won't call it BAD, because there was a 71 yard TD run in there thanks to 3 missed tackles, including one defender tackling his own guy), so it can be indeed had. Feature Arian in the run and pass game; make the Raiders prove they can stop him.
Keep forcing turnovers!
Currently, the squad is +1. How about we get to +3 after this one?
More special teams goodness
We might have something with these guys. Let's watch and see what they give us this week. Last week was about as good as we could ask for. (I have a theory on them, but I'll only bring it up with a W.)
Thank goodness that week is over, huh? So much non-football stuff. Back to the field we go, and we go into a place where we've seen our squad grab some Ws and celebrate. Did a phenomenal job last week of keeping the 'Skins at bay, now we head to the bay. Ha, well, y'all know the rules, fam: 1-0 every week! Let's get to Oakland, snag this W, and head to the home of last season's Super Bowl 2-0! IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIIIIIIIIIIIIMEEEEEEEEE!!!