Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Mid-Point of the Season Discussion

BullRushTX

To'oTo'o A'go-go
Thoughts on the season so far:

Offense:

It hasn't been good and what I find most concerning is that almost everyone looks like they regressed from where they were last year - CJ, Schultz, Tank, the entire O-line all look worse. Collins is as good or better. Hutch improved some. Metch is still an afterthought.

Diggs looked pretty good before he got injured and Mixon has been great. Fisher has performed well in limited snaps. So the additions have been working well. But it's halfway through the season and the offense is still just sputtering along.

Defense:

Overall, as advertised. WAJ looks great. Hunter has fit right in. We've gotten good play from Foley and Settle. Al-Shaair has been great.

Lassiter and Bullock have flaws as rookies, but they've made enough good plays where you can see the potential. Stingley has been good, but not as good as I expected this season. Safety is a weakness.

Coaching:

I hate to say it, but I think there are serious issues here. The offense has way too much talent to be struggling like it has. There doesn't seem to be any real creativity to the play calling and I don't think they're playing to their strengths.

Defense is better, but on both sides of the ball there's a woeful lack of halftime adjustments. Additionally, there seems to be a lack of accountability for poor performance on the field. There's giving guys a chance and then there's letting guys get away with terrible performance.
 
Last edited:
Thoughts on the season so far:

Offense:

It hasn't been good and what I find most concerning is that almost everyone looks like they regressed from where they were last year - CJ, Schultz, Tank, the entire O-line all look worse. Collins is as good or better. Hutch improved some. Metch is still an afterthought.

Diggs looked pretty good before he got injured and Mixon has been great. Fisher has performed well in limited snaps. So the additions have been working well. But it's halfway through the season and the offense is still just sputtering along.

Defense:

Overall, as advertised. WAJ looks great. Hunter has fit right in. We've gotten good play from Foley and Settle. Al-Shaair has been great.

Lassiter and Bullock have flaws as rookies, but they've made enough good plays where you can see the potential. Stingley has been good, but not as good as I expected this season. Safety is a weakness.

Coaching:

I hate to say it, but I think there are serious issues here. The offense has way too much talent to be struggling like it has. There doesn't seem to be any real creativity to the play calling and I don't think they're playing to their strengths.

Defense is better, but on both sides of the ball there's a woeful lack of halftime adjustments. Additionally, there seems to be a lack of accountability for poor performance on the field. There's giving guys a chance and then there's letting guys get away with terrible performance.
Generally I agree with this,

But the offense needs to get healthy and they need to add another WR if they're going to be as talented as you think they are IMHO. Not to mention a OG/C wouldn't hurt anything.
 
Generally I agree with this,

But the offense needs to get healthy and they need to add another WR if they're going to be as talented as you think they are IMHO. Not to mention a OG/C wouldn't hurt anything.
We'll see how the line looks without Kenyon Green. My guess is that it will be better. Juice looks confused out there. I'm wondering how things would look with Patterson at C and Juice at LG.

I'd love to see the backup RBs get a few more carries too. It'll make the offense less predictable. Taylor looked decent in limited carries.

Also, I'd like to see offensive designs for two TE sets where there are options for max protect, TEs as primary targets, and play action. Kind of like the Kubiak era.
 
Coaching has been a disappointment thus far. Our 6-3 record is VERY misleading.
Interesting. I made that statement last week, and got raked over the coals for it.

And I stand by my statement that the problem with the OL is unfixable, and won’t be fixed until the offseason. It should have been fixed during training camp, but it wasn’t. CJ’s regression is directly related to the OL You cannot ask him to take hit after hit after hit after hit, and not have it affect him, even on the rare occasions when he actually does have time to throw. He’s not a robot. It angers me to no end when I read these ridiculous takes that he’s going thru a sophomore slump. The question is why.

Now, if you want to talk about a “no longer give a sh!t” slump, look at Dalton Shultz. He got his big contract, and now he doesn’t even try.
 
At this point, I may need to start a go fund me so I can afford to bet heavily against the Texans every week.

Thats about the only way I could feel confident they would win.
Cowgirls Titans Dolphins Jags Titans Thats 5

I am hoping the offensive line for the Texans will improve with Kenyon out. Nico returning will definitely help and the starters should jell again about the time the playoffs start.
Schultz is huge concern for me.
 
Interesting. I made that statement last week, and got raked over the coals for it.

And I stand by my statement that the problem with the OL is unfixable, and won’t be fixed until the offseason. It should have been fixed during training camp, but it wasn’t. CJ’s regression is directly related to the OL You cannot ask him to take hit after hit after hit after hit, and not have it affect him, even on the rare occasions when he actually does have time to throw. He’s not a robot. It angers me to no end when I read these ridiculous takes that he’s going thru a sophomore slump. The question is why.

Now, if you want to talk about a “no longer give a sh!t” slump, look at Dalton Shultz. He got his big contract, and now he doesn’t even try.
I’m sure I missed your post. I made a thread pointing out how Demeco is giving Jason Garrett vibes and a few posters actually thought I was talking about their appearance. Some even went as far as claiming I was calling for Demeco to be fired, lol. Snowflakes will snowflake.
 
I’m sure I missed your post. I made a thread pointing out how Demeco is giving Jason Garrett vibes and a few posters actually thought I was talking about their appearance. Some even went as far as claiming I was calling for Demeco to be fired, lol. Snowflakes will snowflake.
As long as them snowflakes aint yeller.
 
Why has it taken so long for the coaching staff to realize the Oline is garbage 🗑️? And if they know/knew it was garbage, why hasn’t there been changes??
The Oline coach should be the fall guy. I said it in another thread, average talent can be coached up to be above average. This OLine has too much money and draft picks invested in it to be this crappy! Seriously!! I love Meco but he needs to let his coaches and players know how the cow eats cabbage!
Get it done or get the hell out!! CJ is getting killed.
 
Why has it taken so long for the coaching staff to realize the Oline is garbage 🗑️? And if they know/knew it was garbage, why hasn’t there been changes??
The Oline coach should be the fall guy. I said it in another thread, average talent can be coached up to be above average. This OLine has too much money and draft picks invested in it to be this crappy! Seriously!! I love Meco but he needs to let his coaches and players know how the cow eats cabbage!
Get it done or get the hell out!! CJ is getting killed.
I think if Kenyon Green hadn't gotten injured, they would have just rolled with him all season. That's a coaching problem.
 
I can't say I'm happy he is injured.

I also can't deny the high probability the line was improved when he was.

Nothing against the man... wish him speedy recovery but I don't suspect I will miss seeing him on the field.

IF I do.... its going to be a long remainder of the season for the fans and an even longer remainder for CJ
 
I'm not near as optimistic as I was when the season started but I'm also not ready to run Ryans out of town. Are we Super Bowl contenders? No but we are not bottom feeders like we were the 3 seasons before Ryans took over either. Out of 3 losses this season only the Vikings beat us by more than one score. We are 4-0 at home.

Ryans record with the Texans including playoffs is 17-11 .607. We all knew going in that we were playing a much tougher schedule this year than last. This is what that looks like with a lot of 1 score games that could go either way. Out of 9 games only 2 have more than a one score final. 1 loss & 1 win.
 
I'm not near as optimistic as I was when the season started but I'm also not ready to run Ryans out of town. Are we Super Bowl contenders? No but we are not bottom feeders like we were the 3 seasons before Ryans took over either. Out of 3 losses this season only the Vikings beat us by more than one score. We are 4-0 at home.

Ryans record with the Texans including playoffs is 17-11 .607. We all knew going in that we were playing a much tougher schedule this year than last. This is what that looks like with a lot of 1 score games that could go either way. Out of 9 games only 2 have more than a one score final. 1 loss & 1 win.
Only tougher games this year is the NFCN imo.
NFCN is looking like 1-3
AFCS should be a sweep.
AFCE should be 3-1
I’m gonna be all kinds of furious if we lose to Arlington.
And BMore and KC more than likely will be 0-2.
That should be 11-6. A game better than last year.
But this is just me being optimistic, like you said you weren’t.
 
I predicted they'd win 10 or 11 games this year, which looks like what they'll do. They'll win the division and be one and done in the playoffs, just like last year.

Is it to soon start talking about next year? :lol:
 
Coaching is failing this team now. O-line coach…TE coach. None of the players these 2 coaches coach have any “nasty” to them when it comes to blocking. I’ve seen too many times the o-line and TE’s just not finishing and/or holding blocks well.

Yes there’s been issues along the o-line, but for the most part it’s been localized to 1 guy. But Offensively, Slowik’s playcalling has gotten really stale & teams have caught on. I hope they take this 10 days to really revamp what they’re doing b/c what they’ve been doing thus far this year hasnt really been working. 1st part of the season our offense was sluggish b/c we couldn’t run it b/c Mixon went down. Here lately it’s been sluggish & we can’t pass it b/c Nico went down. Our offense can’t go in the tank every time 1 key guy goes down ..unless that key guy is CJ. and with the way this o-line has been blocking and how Sliwik’s been calling plays, that’s what the hell is gonna happen. It’s on Coaching to get us to being reasonably functional while guys are out & they’ve failed to do that all damn year.

CJ seemingly has taken a step back this year. He’s getting happy feet in the pocket & I understand WHY, but he’s got to slow himself down and stop looking to make the big play downfield all the time. Take what the defense is giving him and be measured in his shots downfield. Slowik needs to help him with the playcalling in this regard & I don’t think he has.
 
I can't say I'm happy he is injured.

I also can't deny the high probability the line was improved when he was.

Nothing against the man... wish him speedy recovery but I don't suspect I will miss seeing him on the field.

IF I do.... its going to be a long remainder of the season for the fans and an even longer remainder for CJ
Quoted for truth

Also I hate not seeing local guys being successful, but it's past time to move on.
 
Only tougher games this year is the NFCN imo.
NFCN is looking like 1-3
AFCS should be a sweep.
AFCE should be 3-1
I’m gonna be all kinds of furious if we lose to Arlington.
And BMore and KC more than likely will be 0-2.
That should be 11-6. A game better than last year.
But this is just me being optimistic, like you said you weren’t.
With health they probably will win 10 games. With a couple of moves they can still be contenders to make it to the AFCCG. Nobody is beating the Swifties, it would be bad for business.
 
Coaching is failing this team now. O-line coach…TE coach. None of the players these 2 coaches coach have any “nasty” to them when it comes to blocking. I’ve seen too many times the o-line and TE’s just not finishing and/or holding blocks well.

Yes there’s been issues along the o-line, but for the most part it’s been localized to 1 guy. But Offensively, Slowik’s playcalling has gotten really stale & teams have caught on. I hope they take this 10 days to really revamp what they’re doing b/c what they’ve been doing thus far this year hasnt really been working. 1st part of the season our offense was sluggish b/c we couldn’t run it b/c Mixon went down. Here lately it’s been sluggish & we can’t pass it b/c Nico went down. Our offense can’t go in the tank every time 1 key guy goes down ..unless that key guy is CJ. and with the way this o-line has been blocking and how Sliwik’s been calling plays, that’s what the hell is gonna happen. It’s on Coaching to get us to being reasonably functional while guys are out & they’ve failed to do that all damn year.

CJ seemingly has taken a step back this year. He’s getting happy feet in the pocket & I understand WHY, but he’s got to slow himself down and stop looking to make the big play downfield all the time. Take what the defense is giving him and be measured in his shots downfield. Slowik needs to help him with the playcalling in this regard & I don’t think he has.
True, but you cant lose guys like Mixon/Nico and not have it affect the offense. Truth is the backup skill people on the Texans are below avg.
 
True, but you cant lose guys like Mixon/Nico and not have it affect the offense. Truth is the backup skill people on the Texans are below avg.
If we believe the guy we have under center is as special as we think, we shouldn’t struggle the way we are. and when 1 of your playmakers go down, that’s where your play caller comes thru for you by scheming some of the lower guys open. Slowik has failed to do that.

All of the big plays this offense has made this year has been b/c of the brilliance of the players. CJ’s pinpoint accuracy and scrambling around to buy time. Nico going up to get a 50/50 ball. Mixon running over 20 dudes to get into the end zone.

I don’t think I’ve seen 1 play this year of all of our big plays where a guy was schemed running wide open.
 
If we believe the guy we have under center is as special as we think, we shouldn’t struggle the way we are. and when 1 of your playmakers go down, that’s where your play caller comes thru for you by scheming some of the lower guys open. Slowik has failed to do that.

All of the big plays this offense has made this year has been b/c of the brilliance of the players. CJ’s pinpoint accuracy and scrambling around to buy time. Nico going up to get a 50/50 ball. Mixon running over 20 dudes to get into the end zone.

I don’t think I’ve seen 1 play this year of all of our big plays where a guy was schemed running wide open.
How did the offense look last yr after Tank/Noah went down?

This game is about players making plays and the team is missing its playmakers. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but Stroud hasn't been as good as he was last yr.


BTW, Akers has looked pretty good tonight.
 
How did the offense look last yr after Tank/Noah went down?

This game is about players making plays and the team is missing its playmakers. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but Stroud hasn't been as good as he was last yr.


BTW, Akers has looked pretty good tonight.
And that again is a reflection of Slowik’s inability to adjust the scheme to the players’ strengths that he has available.
 
And that again is a reflection of Slowik’s inability to adjust the scheme to the players’ strengths that he has available.
Again, you cant replace guys like Nico/Mixon and not expect it to hurt your offense.
 
This team hasn’t scored a td in the 2nd half since New England game. The game where we couldn’t block the packers, Demeco at the podium, “everything’s on the table and that’s not good enough”. Than we went up against the colts and statistically were worse. At the podium, it was “hey, talk about the bad stuff but let’s talk about the good stuff” with a SMILE. Just seems like the fans were gaslighted. I said after week 4 jaguars win, “don’t ignore in victory what you will in defeat”. I seen it coming from a mile away.

I’m not going to blame Slowik anymore. He has failed the midterm exam obviously. The coach who hired him will get his blame. He can’t go out there and block for Cj. He has no control over Tank Dell and Schultz dropping crucial passes. He has to work with what he has. I don’t agree with starting Kenyon Green week after week. We scored the 2 drives Green was out the game but hey, idk his evaluation skills suck I guess.

Nick has been a good GM. I don’t feel like he’s taken advantage of the position this team is in. We’re the only top 5 seed in the afc who’s qb is on a rookie deal. Kc, Baltimore, Bills all have qbs on massive deals. Yet, they’ve made trades to make their team better. What is Nick doing? This is the time to go all in. Give up your 2nd and 3rd round picks. Go above and beyond expectations. Go get you a Marshawn Lattimore from the saints, go grab Darius Slayton or a Tyreke hill. DO SOMETHING, just grabbing a line man isn’t going to beat the Chiefs, Baltimore and the Lions. Stop putting pressure on Cj. Stop expecting him to be special. The qb of all people should be the guy who has leeway. Keep on Texans and a lucky team will have Cj. Keep bsing around
 
Again, you cant replace guys like Nico/Mixon and not expect it to hurt your offense.
It’s not either or. Both of what you’re saying and what I’m saying can be true at the same time. Slowik ain’t earning his money. But as for what you’re saying, therein lies the problem and what I think Slowik and co. are trying to do. Replace those guys by running the scheme the same as they would as if Nico and Mixon are there instead of reconfiguring the scheme around talents of the guys he has.
 
It’s not either or. Both of what you’re saying and what I’m saying can be true at the same time. Slowik ain’t earning his money. But as for what you’re saying, therein lies the problem and what I think Slowik and co. are trying to do. Replace those guys by running the scheme the same as they would as if Nico and Mixon are there instead of reconfiguring the scheme around talents of the guys he has.
Agreed, but the WCO is a pretty rigid system. The reason they went out and got Diggs is because after Dell got hurt the offense was having the same issues they're having now. It's the reason I hope Caserio goes out and gets a Slayton type receiver.
 
Midseason Report Cards:

Offense: D+
It's a mess. The run game works because Mixon is a stud. Even that is relatively inconsistent, but it's really the only thing you can hang your hat on. Outside of that, nothing works. There's no identity, the line is a complete joke (and 2nd highest paid) and CJ is beginning to develop bad habits that impact his accuracy and overall play. The second half has been a total disaster. Two TD's in seven games says it all.

Defense: B
They need another legit corner. An outside corner with #4 moving inside would be ideal. Pitre is good coming downhill in that sort of Star position and his tackling is improved, but asking him to cover one of the better WR's in the NFL one-on-one? Ummm what? Still too many big plays given up. Run D looks good at times...other times not so great. But the pass rush has been largely good, and as a result, we've kept damn near every QB well in check... except blown coverages. All in all, this unit is the team's strength, but is it Super Bowl worthy? As currently constructed, I say no. And when that's the team's strength, that's an indictment of what's going on with this team.

Special Teams: C-

I'm not sure what is more disappointing—an offense of a five-headed monster only scaring its fans or a vaunted ST unit that has been in the top five every year of Ross' tenure suddenly looking like a bottom-10 unit. Even Fairbairn got into the act Thursday, missing two FGs, including one total chip shot. That said, Fairbairn has been money overall, keeping this grade from a D. This unit has severely underperformed expectations and needs an overhaul this offseason.

Coaching: D

Severely disappointed with this coaching staff from top to bottom. As someone else said, DeMeco gaslighting the fans isn't helping. Just be honest and tell us the **** will get fixed and what you plan to do to fix it. The Raiders fired 3 offensive coaches at once just a day or two ago. Midseason accountability isn't that rare - but so far it's crickets over on Kirby. Strausser should have been shown the door already. Bobby should be on notice that he's next if he can't get his crapola together very soon. The fact that both sides of the ball are struggling mightily in the 2nd half of games points back directly to the coaching staff. I believe in DeMeco long term, but I think he's in the middle of a very important lesson and he's got to get his friend hat off and put on his boss hat to ace the test.

General Manager: B-

The trades and FA signings this offseason were very good. But this is also the guy that drafted the worst guard in the league IN THE FIRST FREAKING ROUND. Epic failure. He's also the guy who handed out extensions to offensive linemen who did not deserve them, and he's (at least as of this morning) getting outworked on the trade market. KC, Balt and other contenders are making moves while Nick is sitting on his hands. Overall, I approve of his overall tenure, but stop the too-cute draft deals and stop drafting guards in the top half of the first rd, for crying out loud. What a stupid move.
 
The Texans are 6-3 while dealing with a lot injuries to their top guys and an OL that should have their unit photo on the back of milk cartons.

The team will have the majority of their injured talent back for the second half of the season or after the bye week. They’ve lost Diggs….so it wouldn’t be a bad move to add a WR like Slayton (NYG) or Higgins (CIN) since Diggs was on a 2024 contract only.

I believe the defense has had more moments than not while also dealing with injuries. This group will be solid in the 2nd half with the return of some their much needed pieces. Lassiter and Bullock are going to continue to get better…..just bump up the pressure and add Al-Shaiir / Harris back to this unit and all should settle into a pretty dominant defense.

The entire OL has played like crap this season and seem to be well on their way to making CJ tap dance himself into a sophmore slump that should’ve never happened. As much as replacing any one of the positions would make sense, there’s only so much that could be accomplished before the trade deadline. I think the Texans have their tackles and guards on the roster as we speak. A veteran Center could be the piece to settle this whole unit down. For the Texans….the OC is the QB of the unit and has to be able to read or have the feel for what the defenses are doing. I just don’t think the Texans have a Center on the team that can be that player on the OL. I’ve looked at the upcoming class of 2025 UFA Centers and it isn’t deep with talent beyond Ryan Kelly who can still execute in both the run and pass game. Colts lost last night so their season could be just about over. Now could be the right time to make a move that could really turn this OL around. For me, signing Kelly would allow for a wholesale change LG to RT…..and for the better.

LT- Tunsil / LG- Scruggs or Green2 / OC- Kelly / RG- Patterson / RT- Fisher

In this setup….Scruggs or Green2 benefits the most b/c they’re now sandwiched between (2) veteran Pro Bowlers which should have them much better prepared to handle stunts. Stop the unlimited stunts and give Mixon some real running lanes to the right side and my guess….CJ starts returning to some 300+ yard games.

My biggest complaint….the Texans don’t have a killer, take no prisoners, mentality from the coaches to the players. I’d love to see the coaches and players enjoy a total demolition of a team that starts from the KO until the whistle blows at 00:00. This could be put a lot of air back in their sails.
 
This team may have to reverse course and become a ground and pound team on offense with CJ just managing the game. With all the promise coming into the season as a high flying, high octane passing game has been largely grounded. Mixon is 5th in the league in runs over ten yards with 19. The leader is Henry with 21. I hate to think what this team would look like without Mixon.
 
Midseason Report Cards:

Offense: D+
It's a mess. The run game works because Mixon is a stud. Even that is relatively inconsistent, but it's really the only thing you can hang your hat on. Outside of that, nothing works. There's no identity, the line is a complete joke (and 2nd highest paid) and CJ is beginning to develop bad habits that impact his accuracy and overall play. The second half has been a total disaster. Two TD's in seven games says it all.

Defense: B
They need another legit corner. An outside corner with #4 moving inside would be ideal. Pitre is good coming downhill in that sort of Star position and his tackling is improved, but asking him to cover one of the better WR's in the NFL one-on-one? Ummm what? Still too many big plays given up. Run D looks good at times...other times not so great. But the pass rush has been largely good, and as a result, we've kept damn near every QB well in check... except blown coverages. All in all, this unit is the team's strength, but is it Super Bowl worthy? As currently constructed, I say no. And when that's the team's strength, that's an indictment of what's going on with this team.

Special Teams: C-

I'm not sure what is more disappointing—an offense of a five-headed monster only scaring its fans or a vaunted ST unit that has been in the top five every year of Ross' tenure suddenly looking like a bottom-10 unit. Even Fairbairn got into the act Thursday, missing two FGs, including one total chip shot. That said, Fairbairn has been money overall, keeping this grade from a D. This unit has severely underperformed expectations and needs an overhaul this offseason.

Coaching: D

Severely disappointed with this coaching staff from top to bottom. As someone else said, DeMeco gaslighting the fans isn't helping. Just be honest and tell us the **** will get fixed and what you plan to do to fix it. The Raiders fired 3 offensive coaches at once just a day or two ago. Midseason accountability isn't that rare - but so far it's crickets over on Kirby. Strausser should have been shown the door already. Bobby should be on notice that he's next if he can't get his crapola together very soon. The fact that both sides of the ball are struggling mightily in the 2nd half of games points back directly to the coaching staff. I believe in DeMeco long term, but I think he's in the middle of a very important lesson and he's got to get his friend hat off and put on his boss hat to ace the test.

General Manager: B-

The trades and FA signings this offseason were very good. But this is also the guy that drafted the worst guard in the league IN THE FIRST FREAKING ROUND. Epic failure. He's also the guy who handed out extensions to offensive linemen who did not deserve them, and he's (at least as of this morning) getting outworked on the trade market. KC, Balt and other contenders are making moves while Nick is sitting on his hands. Overall, I approve of his overall tenure, but stop the too-cute draft deals and stop drafting guards in the top half of the first rd, for crying out loud. What a stupid move.
Not gonna lie, i ain't read all that, just the grades, but i do agree with them. The only thing i will contend a little with is the Defensive grade..I'd give them a B+, mainly b/c they've played well enough for us to have a chance in every single game this year..yes even Minny. Its been the offense letting them down. And when you add in the absence of Harris, Autry for the 1st 6 games and basically Ward, they haven't even been at full strength in any 1 game this year. To'o To'o & WAJ have taken gigantic steps this year and the LB core in general no matter whose been in there have been solid. Autry was out the 1st 6 but we've gotten great production out of Settle, Fatukaski and Edwards. Yes The secondary has given up some big plays, but that was to be expected starting 2 rooks..But with Ward out, they've also turned in some big plays too with Bullock snagging 3 picks...hell Murray's even looking serviceable back there at times.

If they could get ANY help from the offense, I think Meco/Burke could/would feel like they could get more aggressive in generating TO's. But b/c every damn game comes down to the wire, they're having to be more cautious.
 
Cowgirls Titans Dolphins Jags Titans Thats 5
The Jags almost beat the Eagles yesterday in Philly and our remaining game with them is on
the road.
So I'm taking none of those games for granted because I have this troubling concern that
the Texans are now regressing.
 
Back
Top