GP
Go Texans!
Sorry so late. I just now was able to sit down and patiently, methodically watch and re-watch the Rams game. I noticed a few things, and thought I would share them while still fresh on my mind:
1. Rams frustrated by our run defense (or were they?):
First Rams play of the game is a run, then they throw nine consecutive passes. We were stuffing the run. Period. And on the ninth consecutive pass, Demeco chips the TE (# 87) but lets him run by as Demeco and two other Texans LBs just stare into the backfield watching what (in my opinion) was a badly executed play-action play by Bulger and Jackson: Bulger doesn't get the ball anywhere near Jackson, and Jackson never really sells the run at all, yet our LBs are locking onto the backfield when they've just been passed on for eight consecutive plays up until that point. After the ninth consecutive pass play, the Texans seem to get smart and start understanding that the Rams are just gunning it. I believe the next play was a run by Jackson, which was (what a shock) STUFFED and dogpiled from the get-go. Now, I don't know if the Rams were frustrated by our run defense or if they were taking what we would give them, or if they were intentionally running pass plays as part of their own analysis for future gameplanning against other teams, or what. I just know that they weren't getting squat against us in terms of the run.
2. Bulger had a lot of high throws, mostly due to pressure.
Mario was often stood up at the snap, by a single defender, and then a second defender would roll to him and double him...keeping him away from the QB. Mario was lined up inside a LOT, and Peek was getting great penetration with great blasts off the snap and spin moves that kept getting him close to the QB. Mario throws his hands up and into the face of Bulger on the play where the receiver drifts out-of-bounds, causing Bulger to put more arc on the ball and thus throw it too far out of bounds for the receiver. Mario was held earlier by the center (# 67) on a play where Barron was called for a holding (I think the refs mis-called it because the hold happened at Barron's spot, but the center pulls at the snap and goes to Barron's spot to take on Mario).
3. Horible playcalling on one series where a 3rd & long featured AJ running a 2-yard crossing pattern on a 3rd & 10. Did Dom Capers and former staff sneak into the coordinator's booth and make this call?:
(1) On the 3rd & long play, Carr holds the ball, from the very snap of the ball, at the level of his hip...and not at his earhole where you see QBs able to snap the ball out quickly (And, by the way, where we see it in all the training camp clips of David Carr). (2) It takes a year-and-a-half for him to raise the ball to the point where he can throw it, and by that time AJ has crossed way ahead of the passing lane for Carr, and (3) Carr does a weird little flip of his right hand to throw the ball as he is also leaning backwards while doing it. He was not so pressured as to the point that he needed to do this. (4) On the same play, Carr has not other WR options because Breuner runs up field at the snap, blocking a defender, then releasing and running forward ina straight line only to engage and block another player--Why did he do this? Why is he run blocking on a passing play? Was he trying to clear it out for AJ who was crossing over the middle on a stupid 2-yd. route? The other TE does almost as poorly, just running hard at the snap and never looking back to see if his QB needed help. It looked like Breuner was run blocking, AJ was running a 3rd-and-2 route on 3rd & 10, and the other TE was running a Hail Mary route as if he were going deep. Totally stupid play call, and reminded me of 2005.
Oh, and then we see a shot of Kubiak chewing out David...with David acting very sheepish. It was a bad play that was called, and a bad effort on David's behalf, Breuner's behalf, and the other TE's behalf. Ugly. Very 2005'ish.
4. We got ate up by the Rams passing attack, at least when Bulger was able to throw with little or no pressure on him.
I fear we are going to be great at stopping the run, while our pass defense is going to take a licking if it doesn't improve quickly. I am not satisfied with what I saw from our LBs in terms of defending receivers. I was not impressed with our defensive backs abilities at the first of the game when they were giving the Rams receivers too much of a cushion. They tightened it up and pressed the receivers a little bit more as the 1st quarter progressed, and it became evident that they were not running the ball anymore. Overall, the pass defense by the LBs and DBacks has got to get a whole lot better or we are going to get passed on and scored on a lot, making it difficult for us to establish our own running game and passing game the way we would like to.
Greenwood put a lick on Bulger. McLeon put a lick on Curtis. I like the "physicality" of our players when they are near the ball, it's just the coverage schemes themselves that I am having trouble with right now.
1. Rams frustrated by our run defense (or were they?):
First Rams play of the game is a run, then they throw nine consecutive passes. We were stuffing the run. Period. And on the ninth consecutive pass, Demeco chips the TE (# 87) but lets him run by as Demeco and two other Texans LBs just stare into the backfield watching what (in my opinion) was a badly executed play-action play by Bulger and Jackson: Bulger doesn't get the ball anywhere near Jackson, and Jackson never really sells the run at all, yet our LBs are locking onto the backfield when they've just been passed on for eight consecutive plays up until that point. After the ninth consecutive pass play, the Texans seem to get smart and start understanding that the Rams are just gunning it. I believe the next play was a run by Jackson, which was (what a shock) STUFFED and dogpiled from the get-go. Now, I don't know if the Rams were frustrated by our run defense or if they were taking what we would give them, or if they were intentionally running pass plays as part of their own analysis for future gameplanning against other teams, or what. I just know that they weren't getting squat against us in terms of the run.
2. Bulger had a lot of high throws, mostly due to pressure.
Mario was often stood up at the snap, by a single defender, and then a second defender would roll to him and double him...keeping him away from the QB. Mario was lined up inside a LOT, and Peek was getting great penetration with great blasts off the snap and spin moves that kept getting him close to the QB. Mario throws his hands up and into the face of Bulger on the play where the receiver drifts out-of-bounds, causing Bulger to put more arc on the ball and thus throw it too far out of bounds for the receiver. Mario was held earlier by the center (# 67) on a play where Barron was called for a holding (I think the refs mis-called it because the hold happened at Barron's spot, but the center pulls at the snap and goes to Barron's spot to take on Mario).
3. Horible playcalling on one series where a 3rd & long featured AJ running a 2-yard crossing pattern on a 3rd & 10. Did Dom Capers and former staff sneak into the coordinator's booth and make this call?:
(1) On the 3rd & long play, Carr holds the ball, from the very snap of the ball, at the level of his hip...and not at his earhole where you see QBs able to snap the ball out quickly (And, by the way, where we see it in all the training camp clips of David Carr). (2) It takes a year-and-a-half for him to raise the ball to the point where he can throw it, and by that time AJ has crossed way ahead of the passing lane for Carr, and (3) Carr does a weird little flip of his right hand to throw the ball as he is also leaning backwards while doing it. He was not so pressured as to the point that he needed to do this. (4) On the same play, Carr has not other WR options because Breuner runs up field at the snap, blocking a defender, then releasing and running forward ina straight line only to engage and block another player--Why did he do this? Why is he run blocking on a passing play? Was he trying to clear it out for AJ who was crossing over the middle on a stupid 2-yd. route? The other TE does almost as poorly, just running hard at the snap and never looking back to see if his QB needed help. It looked like Breuner was run blocking, AJ was running a 3rd-and-2 route on 3rd & 10, and the other TE was running a Hail Mary route as if he were going deep. Totally stupid play call, and reminded me of 2005.
Oh, and then we see a shot of Kubiak chewing out David...with David acting very sheepish. It was a bad play that was called, and a bad effort on David's behalf, Breuner's behalf, and the other TE's behalf. Ugly. Very 2005'ish.
4. We got ate up by the Rams passing attack, at least when Bulger was able to throw with little or no pressure on him.
I fear we are going to be great at stopping the run, while our pass defense is going to take a licking if it doesn't improve quickly. I am not satisfied with what I saw from our LBs in terms of defending receivers. I was not impressed with our defensive backs abilities at the first of the game when they were giving the Rams receivers too much of a cushion. They tightened it up and pressed the receivers a little bit more as the 1st quarter progressed, and it became evident that they were not running the ball anymore. Overall, the pass defense by the LBs and DBacks has got to get a whole lot better or we are going to get passed on and scored on a lot, making it difficult for us to establish our own running game and passing game the way we would like to.
Greenwood put a lick on Bulger. McLeon put a lick on Curtis. I like the "physicality" of our players when they are near the ball, it's just the coverage schemes themselves that I am having trouble with right now.
