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Preseason Game #1. Observations

i agree with Vinny on Morency. He has an explosion that DD or Wells doesn't have. He needs to learn to get North and South. Honestly with DD and Wells I don't get that "take it all the way" feeling when they get into the open field.. that is what is needed to pressure the defense to get out of the Cover 2.. Granted it was one game but at this point.

of course I am not a scout or coach.
 
atxcoolguy said:
i don't know about Wells just making the team because of special teams. if morency and hollings are so much better, why was wells running with the first and second teams while hollings was running with 2nd and 3rd teams and morency with 3rd teams. i think capers gets to see alot more than wells than we see on tv and practice. JMHO
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sometimes it is a misconception on the depth chart.. sometimes not. With Wells it is either he earned it or the coaches want to evaluate a player with 1st string talent around them and going against 1st string talent on the D
 
Vinny said:
We'll see. If he makes the team it will be due to special teams only. I have a pretty good eye for talent.
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In YOUR opinion. It seems to me that you are in the minority as far as Wells is concerned.
 
Yep, and nothing wrong with that...but I do have a pretty good track history with my postings over the last 4 years here. I think I know what I talk of most of the time. Of course it's my opinion....der!
 
I use to be a wells hater. but after watching 3 seasons, he's been improving every season which is why i kinda like the guy now. sure he's not the fastest guy out there or the most explosive, but not all good running backs are. if you can overpower and runover defenders you can also be a running back.
 
atxcoolguy said:
I use to be a wells hater. but after watching 3 seasons, he's been improving every season which is why i kinda like the guy now. sure he's not the fastest guy out there or the most explosive, but not all good running backs are. if you can overpower and runover defenders you can also be a running back.
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I think Wells got the short end of the stick. Everybody thought he was just horrible in 2002 .. and it was unfair due to the OL being that bad.. DD came in and played with a little better OL in 2003 than what Wells had and yet people just marvel at DD.. When Well has played since 2002, his stats are comparible to DD with the same OL..I like JW. I just wish (with his size) he ran as hard as DD and punish people. and with that , I am not sure if he just got shell shocked being our line in 2002 or what.
 
atxcoolguy said:
I use to be a wells hater. but after watching 3 seasons, he's been improving every season which is why i kinda like the guy now. sure he's not the fastest guy out there or the most explosive, but not all good running backs are. if you can overpower and runover defenders you can also be a running back.
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When you get on Vinny's list you just have to have a thick skin. He can be wrong too. From everything we've heard from Capers he really likes Wells a lot. I don't think he's locked into Wells, but someone else will have to take the job away from Wells and there will not be that many opportunities to do so. Wells played well while he was in there.
 
vinny usually has good insight on the game and the texans. i just happen not to agree with him on this issue. but nothing wrong with that.
 
Thanks for all the opinions I missed the game due to a satelite outage. No more trips to Tulsa during football season! Sounds like good news for the most part except Wiegert. :headbang:
 
I dunno I was impressed with Wells relative to what he's done the last few seasons. He wasn't wasting time in the backfield or backing into the line of scrimmage. He picked his hole and used his size and momentum to carry him through. He also has the hands and speed (for a fullback) to give us alot of options if he's in at FB. Based purely on their performance last night he's our #2 right now behind DD. However, I think most would agree that based purely on athletic talent, Davis and Morency are on top. It's only a matter of time before Morency picks up the system and becomes a really productive back for us, IMO.
 
tsip said:
...so, how many points did Carr/first team score?
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I have come to the conculsion you aren't a Texans fan. I never see anything 'fan-like' out of you. Just ripping the team on all levels with little digs and negative comments.
 
...sorry, but I just got back into the city and thought I'd take a short cut
on how the game went...
 
I agree with Vinny on Morency in that he clearly was the most explosive back out there. But I thought he didn't always pick the proper hole to run thru, and tried to use his speed, and change of direction ability to try and outwork the defense to the outside, rather than letting the blocks develop, and making his cut, and moving north-south. I saw way too much east-west from him. That's okay, as Hollings did the same thing as a rookie, and I thought Hollings did a much better job last night of waiting for his block, making one cut, and going. I think over time Morency will develop that as well. He just needs to get as much PT as possible. He may develop quickly, or it may take a year or so. Either way, I think he is the most gifted athlete at RB already.

I agree that Wells was the slowest to the hole last night. He doesn't have near the speed of Hollings, or the quickness and burst that Morency and Davis have. Having said that, I was still impressed by him last night, much more than Vinny was. I thought he was much more decisive with his moves, danced around a lot less, displayed more power thru the hole, and finished his runs very well. No, he isn't as phycisically gifted, but as a backup RB, I am more than okay with him. In addition, he is extremely versatile. I saw him line up at FB, and he can take passes from the FB spot, which Norris cannot do. He is also a ST standout. I would be shocked if he is cut. I think Baxter is the one that needs to watch for the Turk.
 
It amazes me that people who call themselves fans of the game or of our team miss the point of preseason entirely. If preseason was about winning then they wouldn't call it PRE season... it would just be THE SEASON. It's not about winning the game. I mean everyone wants to win, it's human nature, but win or lose what the coaches see during the game from each play is what matters. The coaches and staff have a limited amount of time to evaluate their players in game situations and try to determine which 53 guys out of the 90 something they currently have on their roster, they can get the most production out of in the REGULAR season. So look for the positives, find a way to build on the negatives and go from there.

Ragging and moaning about how much we suck isn't team spirit and isn't remotely productive. Stating your opinion is one thing, but blatenly flaiming the team at every corner isn't being a fan. If that is you objective here, fine another team to "support". The Texans don't need "fans" like that.
 
We have a very flammable situation at RB.

We just gave DD a big contract, and he deserves it. But at some point, something is going to happen that will cause us to insert Morency. And from what I saw of last night's game...he has the goods to create a RB controversy.

He is so explosive off the snap that I think most of his busted plays were the result of the blocking not taking place FAST enough. Just think what he could have accomplished with our first team offense.

Wells is just a weird situation altogether. Good special teams guy, made some clutch plays last season, etc. He should have been cut the first two seasons, but after last year's effort and with what I saw last night...I think he hangs on for this year at least.

Overall, I am very pleased with our RB situation thus far.

McClain can kiss my rear. I watched every single minute of the game last night. Yes, it wasn't entertaining...but at least our first-string QB didn't break his ankle like Grossman did. Last time I checked, the regular season is the schedule that COUNTS. And, at least we weren't as pathetic and desperate for a pre-season win as the Broncos. They ran their second-string QB through three quarters when we had already cycled through our first THREE (Carr, Banks, Ragone).
 
gpshafer_1976 said:
They ran their second-string QB through three quarters when we had already cycled through our first THREE (Carr, Banks, Ragone).
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Van Pelt has very few snaps under his belt. He needs the work. But you're right, the Broncos did go with their frontline guys longer than the Texans did.
 
The biggest concern I had was the inability of the 1st-team offense to put it in from 1 yd. out. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that though, since they were still trying out some new things for goal-line situations.

P-Buc went into the locker room at halftime w/ a noticeable limp...anyone know if he was suffereing some sort of lingering injury?

Morency did look more explosive than the other choices. Beyond the first string O-Line, we had major assignment problems.

Since we didn't get any good replay of the TJ roughing the passer play at the game, was he really that late with the hit? The flag wasn't thrown until after the play was essentially over.

Now for the "important" stuff.... :pigfly:

Halftime Pt. I - The halftime show just.....BLEW. I think Alto Gary came up with that nightmare of a cheerleader show after a night of binge drinking or something. When they came out, everyone around me thought they were middle school / high school girls. I thought it looked like the Shirelles with the metallic outfits and blonde wigs. It was scary. For those who saw it, I'm sorry. For those who didn't, consider yourselves lucky. It was definitely a "WTF" experience.

Halftime Pt. II - Somebody, somewhere in the Texans organization needs to learn how to 'mike' the band properly. Playing "Also Spake Zarathustra" in honor of Tribute to Space day isn't terribly impressive when you can't hear the horns. It was pretty dismal, especially in light of the really strange Pt. I.
 
disaacks3 said:
Since we didn't get any good replay of the TJ roughing the passer play at the game, was he really that late with the hit? The flag wasn't thrown until after the play was essentially over.
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It wasn't a late hit at all. If it was any player other than QB that is a no-call. If he kept his head up instead of down it wouldn't have been a flag. Kind of a cheap call. He hit the QB square between the numbers as the pass was released.
 
disaacks3 said:
Since we didn't get any good replay of the TJ roughing the passer play at the game, was he really that late with the hit? The flag wasn't thrown until after the play was essentially over.
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I'd like to see a replay as well, but it looked like it wasn't the timing of the hit so much as not letting up and driving into his sternum that got the flag.
 
infantrycak said:
I'd like to see a replay as well, but it looked like it wasn't the timing of the hit so much as not letting up and driving into his sternum that got the flag.
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Yes, it's a crown of the helmet issue. Not a late hit issue. He has to learn that he has to pick his head up (hit him with his facemask so to speak) when plowing into the QB. You can keep your head down in College but not in the Pros.
 
Vinny said:
It wasn't a late hit at all. If it was any player other than QB that is a no-call. If he kept his head up instead of down it wouldn't have been a flag. Kind of a cheap call. He hit the QB square between the numbers as the pass was released.
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Thanks, since we were essentially 'behind' the Denver QB, it was hard to tell. It also makes me feel better about 'voicing my displeasure' to the official in question. :heh:
 
I actually was attending a wedding last night, and I didn't get back in till around 11:30 or so. I recorded the game (Thank You DVD-R) and watched the game from 12 till around 2 this morning. There were several things I liked watching the game early on. Both the first team offense and defense looked pretty good in their first preseason game. The defense looks so much quicker, and the D-Line did a very good job of putting pressure on Plummer in the early going. I saw more blitzing than I've seen in the past from the Texans in a preseason game. There was one play in the second defensive series where the Texans were in their nickle package on a 3rd and long. The Texans came with a zone blitz where Babin dropped from the line into coverage, and the pressure got to Plummer quickly forcing him to make a bad throw. He threw the ball behind his receiver and forced the Broncos to punt. There was another play later on where the Texans brought 5 and looked to drive the Broncos OLine back into Plummer who again forced a bad throw. Peek looks like he's got a very good understanding of his assignments as evidenced by his keeping containment on a running play forcing the RB into the middle where the DLine and ILBs could make a play. He also read and reacted well to a naked boot by Van Pelt by getting between him and his receiver. He looked to tip the pass, but the TE still caught it. Nice recognition still. Babin looks even better with Peek opposite him at the ROLB spot. Wong looked pretty good in what little time he saw at ILB, and Greenwood looked alright but didn't make much noise. Robaire Smith looked very trim, and he did a good job while he was in there. Phillip Buchanon played well but he did get beat by Ashley Lelie at least once. As for the rookies on defense TJ and Brown were very impressive. TJ was a force on the DLine and routinely pushed his man back 4 or 5 yards into the backfield. He made the Broncos RBs change directions many times forcing them into outside defenders. Brown looked good in his first action, and his only blown play to speak of was the pass to Rice in the endzone where Faggins knocked it away at the last moment. It looked as though Brown was supposed to help out on that play, but I could be wrong on that one. Pettway looks alot like Charlie Anderson did this time last year. Lots of potential but needs to improve his strength. McKenzie looked decent, but he will be dominated by bigger receivers. Now for the offense. Offensively the OLine held up well against a pretty good Broncos defense. This was all without Bruener mind you who is our best blocking TE. It looks like the new blocking schemes could pay off. AJ is AJ, and is a physical freak of nature. No surprise there. Carr did a good job in recognizing Bradford had one on one coveraged deep towards the endzone, and tossed it up for grabs. He got a flag that put the ball at the one so a smart play by Carr that won't show up in the stat column. Unfortunately shortly before that Weigert went down, and was out for the rest of the game. That put Weary in at Weigerts spot, and he disappointed. He got absolutely leveled at the goal line. Specifically the fourth down play. Watch the play, and he gets manhandled and goes down quickly. Allowing the defenders to swarm DD. Murphy's TD catch from Banks was a thing of beauty. The Broncos have one safety deep, and either Gold or Wilson was the deep LB responsible for Murphy. At the snap Murphy leaves the line of scrimmage as Gold or Wilson go to cover him he gives a fake to the outside as if he's headed for the pile on in the endzone then as soon as the LB bites he takes it up field. Keep in mind that Gold and Wilson are both very fast LBs. Murphy gets a step on him and as the ball is in the air he increases the distance between he and the defender to make a great TD catch. Very nice play. The pass to Armstrong later on in the game that came on a blitz from the Broncos should have been flagged for pass interference, but Armstrong still almost made the catch anyway. Now for the rookies on offense. Mathis didn't get to show much, but he is very fast (DUH). Morrency is a bit unpolished, but he's got the raw ability to be a very good RB. He was very explosive, but often times he would try to cut outside when he should take the ball upfield. I don't think Hollings has much of a shot of securing the #2 spot on the depth chart at RB if Morrency can learn to hold on to the ball better. I was very surprised at how long and how well Hodgdon played. He did have a couple of penalties, and thats to be expected for a rookie OLineman in his first preseason game. However he did hold his own against guys that were much bigger than him. There wasn't any fumbled snaps or anything of that sort that I'd expect with a rookie center. He was very active, and he didn't stop until the play was over even though the RB was upfield. Once he improves his strength and technique he will be a very good player. Great find by CC. Overall I was very impressed with this draft class, and they seem to be the most NFL ready group of rookies that the Texans have trotted out there to date. The special teams were great last night. Swinton looked good back there fielding punts, and Kasper played well as a gunner. Stanley and Brown played well. I know its a long winded post, but then again with me you have to expect it.
 
We saw good and bad last night... mostly bad.

1st and 2nd string units moved the ball well on the ground well. Aside from Banks' TD pass to Murphy, the passing game was anemic and inconsistant, much like last year. While Denver's receivers were consistantly open, Houston's receivers were blanketed all night. Let's hope that Capers and Palmer have a plan to improve the passing game this year.

The first defensive unit looked good for the most part. Seemed like there was quite a bit of penetration up front all night. Travis Johnson had some good plays but also took a lot of plays off. Seems like that was his M.O. in college also. Hopefully the good plays will make up for that. The secondary looked confused at times and left guys with 5 yard cushions consistantly. The long pass to devoe was inexcusable. C.C. brown looked terrible against the pass and/or trying to tackle anyone. The dropped interception in the end zone was ugly and would have been a big play in the game.

Special teams looked really good for the most part. Swinton impressed as a returner, and is an upgrade over JJ. Scates probably had the best punt of the night.

Another pre-season loss is what it is, but winning begets winning and the coaching staff makes no effort to win games. If this team is ever going to make it to the next level it has to learn how to win, pre-season or not.

Best performances:
Kevin Kasper - The guy plays hard and has good instincts. Not as talented as Starling or Swinton, but will make the team ahead of them if he has 3 more games like last night.
Reggie Swinton - As a returner. Big upgrade over J.J. but probably will not make the team unless Gaffney is out for a while. Can't wait to see Mathis here.
Travis Johnson - Lots of penetration most of the night. Took some plays off but you can see the potential.
Domanick Davis - Some very nice runs.
1st and 2nd string O-Line - Running the ball. They were blowing guys off line last night.

Worst performances:
C.C. Brown - Looked a lot like Matt Stevens.
Quarterbacks - From Carr down to Symons the quarterbacks were terrible. The Banks to Murphy hookup was one of the few nice plays of the night. Ragone looked like NFL Ragone and Symons is now irrelevant.
Drew Hodgen - Penalties and allowing pressure up the middle summed up his night.
Coaches - Overall, the team did not look prepared or particularly enthusiastic about playing. Very few players were in position to make plays. The passing offense and defensive secondary looked very bad at times.
 
gpshafer_1976 said:
McClain can kiss my rear.
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Yup, McClain's column today had a hard *** critique of the game last night as if he was talking about a team playing in midseason instead of one playing its first preseason game. Don't know what that was about ?
 
Hey texasguy346, would it kill ya to separate your long-winded posts into more than one long paragraph with some spaces in between, for God' sake?

I could even read it! I took one look at that big blob, and thought I was going to go freaking blind! :embarrass Have a little consideration for us older folks . . please! :whew
 
Marcus said:
Hey texasguy346, would it kill ya to separate your long-winded posts into more than one long paragraph with some spaces in between, for God' sake?

I could even read it! I took one look at that big blob, and thought I was going to go freaking blind! :embarrass Have a little consideration for us older folks . . please! :whew
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LMAO!
 
i have to agree i say PB didnt look to good, oh and he got burned really bad one time but luckly for us watts couldnt hold onto the ball. I hope i see a lil coverage from him the next pre-season game !!!
 
My observations

1. We have a problem if we need to rely on Jason Simmons.
2. Penalties. I don't care that it was the first game with no-names playing. Winning is contagious. How many penalties did Denver have?
3. Morency reminds me of Hollings his first year. Hopefully he learns he can not outrun guys to the corner and has the vision to make the right reads.

I look forward to next Saturday when the first team plays more than one series.
 
Marcus said:
Hey texasguy346, would it kill ya to separate your long-winded posts into more than one long paragraph with some spaces in between, for God' sake?

I could even read it! I took one look at that big blob, and thought I was going to go freaking blind! :embarrass Have a little consideration for us older folks . . please! :whew
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Yeah sorry bout that, but when I get going it just keeps on going till I'm on empty. It's like when your sick. It's all coming out in one big blob one way or another. Perhaps I'll have to put a warning for older folks in advance of my blobs in the future. :texans:
 
My only observation is that it was a typical preseason game.

And as usual good players around the league go down in the first preseason game and hurt their team's chances for the regular season. Can't be helped but it sure hurts teams like Chicago when their starting QB goes down for months.
 
:tv: It may be only the 1st pre-season game but the Cowboys offense is in midseason form .
I think when your team has some big question marks you try to find some signs of improvement . The Texans held an audition more than a game to get the regulars ready . :texans:
 
BattleRedGuy said:
My observations


2. Penalties. I don't care that it was the first game with no-names playing. Winning is contagious. How many penalties did Denver have?
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Denver had 10 for 95 yards and we had 12 for 84 yards... I dont catch your reasoning?
 
texansfan88 said:
I still want an explination of how Drew Hodgon can commit 3 false starts while having the ball in his possesion...
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I'm hoping thats more about rookie jitters than anything else. Washington was held out last night, and perhaps running with the second team along with playing his first game in Reliant Stadium got him a little jumpy. Either way I'm expecting less mistakes from him against the Raiders.
 
Vinny said:
I have come to the conculsion you aren't a Texans fan. I never see anything 'fan-like' out of you. Just ripping the team on all levels with little digs and negative comments.
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My family has 4 season tickets in section 107 and we've had those since
day one. I believe I have the right to post my thoughts on this public forum.
Yes, this is the preseason and everyone has an opinion on the Texans, and
only time will tell who is right and who is wrong. I do not posts disertations
that ramble on and on about every little thing, nor do I post (like some people
do) statements that put other people down or 'dog' them because their
posts don't agree with mine. Again, this is a public forum and to disagree is
one of the basis of a forum. As the administrator of this forum, you should
set the standard by which all posters should conduct themselves.
 
I just see you ripping team like the trolls do. Nothing complicated. I just post my thoughts like everyone else. Gonna keep doing it too - I hope everyone does the same.
 
I went back and read all 50 of my posts and none of them 'rip' the team.
I question things other posters say and offer statistical feedback but I
don't bash the team. I've 'been around the block' a few times so I've got
thoughts on what I think will work and won't work. To me, disagreeing is not
'ripping' the team.
 
Lots of trolls come in and say nice things at first, get a little group following and start ripping the team as they post...disguised as disgruntled fans. It's an anonymous board - it happens pretty often. I just openly questioned it with you because your commentary seems to fit this pattern. I'll take your word for it.
 
Not much to say, you guys pretty much said everything.

I would have liked to see more of Mathis as we all would. Buchanon is a nice, solid addition to our team, but he's not something to scream about like I thought he would be. I was disappointed in Ragone. He is definitely not taking Bank's job any time soon. So far, I do like the changes in our defense. Cutting Sharper, Glenn, and Foreman are so far not bad decisions, even though I'm sure we've grown to love them over their years in Houston. And despite his obvious lack of experience, I was definitely impressed with Morency and his raw talent.

But in the end, this looks pretty much like what we looked like last year. I'm still not totally confident we will be able to have an offense that is consistent. We need to develope a "winning attitude" and I'm not sure we have that yet. The only thing I can really say that makes us look any different than last year is our defense. I really think our defense will be good this year, and I do like the changes that the coaches and owners have made.
 
Ibar_Harry said:
I went over to the chronicle and listened to McClain and I would say he didn't like a lot of what he saw. He tried to remain somewhat positive, but you can read between the lines. He's very nervous about the high ankle sprain suffered by Wiegert, if that indeed is what it is. Said there were about 20 fans in the stands at the end of the game. If that was the case I would think an owner would be getting a little bit POed. McClain seemed to emphasize that the honey moon is over. Also said the Texans got more out of 3 days of practice than the game tonight at Reliant. He said something about no one should have paid money to see the game.

I believe AJ, Kasper and Mathis will be the starting receivers as of now. I firmly believe Gaffny has injury problems and he may be a no show for the beginning or the entire season. Wells got injured and he was probably the number 2 back. Its amazing how we start TC and the next thing you know we are nothing but a bunch of walking wounded before the season even starts. We do not have the depth to withstand these kinds of injuries.

To me the offense is doing very much the same as they were last year. We often did well on our 1st series of downs and then the you know what hit the fan. Everyone is talking about the 1st series going well, but I didn't see that the rest of the game. We have little if any consistancy and that continues to show. We do not stretch the field. In fact we are quite frankly boring to watch.

I think Swinton lost his job tonight and Mathis will be the return man and WR. PBuck will be his backup. Murphy might become the TE we need. I know we are trying to evaluate personnel, but we seem to put them in a position to fail. Apparently they have been talking about making some offensive line switches, but the injury to Wiegert may preclude them from doing that. I really believe we are not using our O-line players in the best way we could, but that's a coaching issue.

Its nonsense to say this is only preseason. Yes, preseason is a time to learn, but you would expect to see the changes yield some results. If they are not really showing their offense, I suspect we will be learning well into the season. That is not a good indicator of success. You know what, I think this idea that Palmer changed everything up and they have changed the blocking assignments is a lot of BS. I keep saying something is rotten in Denmark. I hope I'm wrong, but something really smells about this game.
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Well I guess thats it, we should just forfeit the rest of the season. Maybe i'll start watching golf. :texflag:
 
TexHorns said:
Well I guess thats it, we should just forfeit the rest of the season. Maybe i'll start watching golf. :texflag:
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At this point I would say don't expect them to be in the playoffs. Fix the O-line and we have a chance. But injuries are starting to put us in a deep hole once again and we have little if any depth in certain areas.
 
Ibar_Harry said:
At this point I would say don't expect them to be in the playoffs. Fix the O-line and we have a chance. But injuries are starting to put us in a deep hole once again and we have little if any depth in certain areas.
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what injuries? the only texan i know who's gonna miss the season is joppru. all the other injuries are minor injuries that most teams have.
 
atxcoolguy said:
what injuries? the only texan i know who's gonna miss the season is joppru. all the other injuries are minor injuries that most teams have.
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Exactly, most pre-season injuries are minor at best. Why risk getting someone REALLY hurt if they already have the spot locked?
 
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