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Texans Offensive Line

thunderkyss said:
I've said it before, the 1st 4 weeks of the season is basically what we used to know as "preseason" except the games actually count.

This is really the first time the starters have played together in any "real" game type situation.

I agree it doesn't look good. But now they've got real situations on film. Technically they've only been trying to "fix" things over the last 3 weeks & just like "illegal man downfield" is a totally new infraction & false starts were nil last game... I think it's too early to pull the plug on what they are doing.

The next 4 weeks we'll see how good a job the coaches are doing.
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Did I read another post right….both Scruggs and Patterson may be questionable this week?
 
Mr teX said:
I think what's being undersold when assessing the o-line play in the run game is how much we miss Mixon. Go back and watch that Colts game. People forget how much duress CJ was under in that game. The Colts had 4 sacks on him; CJ ran away from about 4 more too. But in specifically watching us in the run game, the Colts were getting just as much if not more penetration against us. In the last few games where our other backs have been trying to run around that penetration to get to that outside zone run lane, Mixon would very often let that penetration get up field....which is designed to cut off that outside zone running lane...He would just cut in right behind that penetration where the D-linemen had vacated his rush lane & pick up 4-5 yards. Foster was famous for that & that's how its supposed to work. Make the defense be disciplined in their rush lanes which by default slows the pass rush down & opens that outside zone run lane back up. Even when it looked like it was defended fairly well tho, Mixon still had enough steam to run through arm tackles and get us 3-4 yards in the Colts game.

So the o-line could certainly play better, but more than anything, Mixon..his vision and ability to run through arm tackles is what we're missing in the run game the most.
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In week 2 before the injury Mixon had 9 carries for 25 yards. That’s 2.8 yards a pop. The Bears were geared to stopping him. They got great penetration as well.

I get what you’re saying but realistically i don’t see him making a major impact in the running game right now either. Run pro our offensive line is horrible. Their communication is completely off especially when the defense runs stunts. Quite a few times, they’re just getting whipped.
 
Texansballer74 said:
In week 2 before the injury Mixon had 9 carries for 25 yards. That’s 2.8 yards a pop. The Bears were geared to stopping him. They got great penetration as well.

I get what you’re saying but realistically i don’t see him making a major impact in the running game right now either. Run pro our offensive line is horrible. Their communication is completely off especially when the defense runs stunts. Quite a few times, they’re just getting whipped.
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He wasn’t tearing it up early in the Colts game either man. The majority of his yards came in the 2nd half late in the 3rd and 4th qtr of that game b/c he is the type that wears on u as the game goes.

No o-line is gonna be perfect in the run game…especially early on. That’s why u need a back that defensive players tire of tackling. Mixon is that guy and I’m just about ready to guarantee that when he comes back, you’ll see a significant uptick in our run game.
 
Mr teX said:
He wasn’t tearing it up early in the Colts game either man. The majority of his yards came in the 2nd half late in the 3rd and 4th qtr of that game b/c he is the type that wears on u as the game goes.

No o-line is gonna be perfect in the run game…especially early on. That’s why u need a back that defensive players tire of tackling. Mixon is that guy and I’m just about ready to guarantee that when he comes back, you’ll see a significant uptick in our run game.
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In the first quarter they only ran Mixon 3 times, gained 15 yards. 11 yards was his longest.

In the second quarter he had 7 carries for 40 yards. He had a 13 yard run and 2 eight yards gain.

Brother that’s 5 yards a pop in the first half. The running game was very successful and the offensive linemen were getting their jobs done.
 
A friend, who is usually in the know, said Blake Fisher is starting this week. However, I haven't seen anything from the team. Is it true and if so, is he replacing Howard or Tunsil?
 
dalemurphy said:
A friend, who is usually in the know, said Blake Fisher is starting this week. However, I haven't seen anything from the team. Is it true and if so, is he replacing Howard or Tunsil?
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Howard is listed as questionable. Publicly, no decision has been made. But chances are better then 50/50 that Blake gets the start - just basing it on what has been made public.
 
Mr teX said:
I think what's being undersold when assessing the o-line play in the run game is how much we miss Mixon. Go back and watch that Colts game. People forget how much duress CJ was under in that game. The Colts had 4 sacks on him; CJ ran away from about 4 more too. But in specifically watching us in the run game, the Colts were getting just as much if not more penetration against us. In the last few games where our other backs have been trying to run around that penetration to get to that outside zone run lane, Mixon would very often let that penetration get up field....which is designed to cut off that outside zone running lane...He would just cut in right behind that penetration where the D-linemen had vacated his rush lane & pick up 4-5 yards. Foster was famous for that & that's how its supposed to work. Make the defense be disciplined in their rush lanes which by default slows the pass rush down & opens that outside zone run lane back up. Even when it looked like it was defended fairly well tho, Mixon still had enough steam to run through arm tackles and get us 3-4 yards in the Colts game.

So the o-line could certainly play better, but more than anything, Mixon..his vision and ability to run through arm tackles is what we're missing in the run game the most.
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There's also the factor that the Colts played in all that.

They couldn't run stop to save their lives the first couple weeks. It was extremely bad on their end and made things look a whole lot better for us than they really were.
 
Marcus said:
Fisher is getting a good review here….


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Thanks for posting Marcus! I am a huge fan of Notre Dame's Blake Fisher. However, the breakdown of this film indicates the areas of growth that I want to see in him. Things that he did not do in college that were negative seem to be encroaching now. First of all, he is not putting anybody on their butts. As with Tunsil, Fisher now seems to be blocking high and is content with redirecting the player rather than manhandling his opponent. Another example was when he blocked the safety Hamlin, he only was able to push him out of the way slightly. Fisher as well as the rest of the offensive line in my opinion, do not seem to finish their blocks for the most part especially if they're blocking down field.
 
I am proud of every unit on this team except the OL. This is the overpaid underachieving unit. Every other unit has scrappy underdogs or well paid/highly drafted players that fit DeMeco’s “SWARM” identity.

But not this unit. This OL is not “SWARM”. Unless they thought it to mean allow opposing defenses to “SWARM” the ball carrier!
 
Texansballer74 said:
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This game Slowick (sp?) pissed me off. He did nothing adjustment wise to slow down the interior rush. They were having there way with us and he just keeps same pace and keeps calling slow developing plays. Did we hit a slant the whole game? Did we ever go hurry up? Did he call a single bootleg? Move the pocket? I can’t remember any of that happening?

Well he better figure out something quick because GB just made laid-out the blueprint on how to stop this offense. Stunt and blitz up the middle and get anyone one on one with Scruggs or Mason. They SUCK!

We better find another CB via trade as well. That Ross guy isnt going to cut it on a playoff team.
 
mussop said:
This game Slowick (sp?) pissed me off. He did nothing adjustment wise to slow down the interior rush. They were having there way with us and he just keeps same pace and keeps calling slow developing plays. Did we hit a slant the whole game? Did we ever go hurry up? Did he call a single bootleg? Move the pocket? I can’t remember any of that happening?

Well he better figure out something quick because GB just made laid-out the blueprint on how to stop this offense. Stunt and blitz up the middle and get anyone one on one with Scruggs or Mason. They SUCK!

We better find another CB via trade as well. That Ross guy isnt going to cut it on a playoff team.
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We had one slant to Diggs that was successful but it wasn’t called anymore.
 
I feel like an idiot for believing this line would be serviceable to good. I have yet to see anything that tells me that these guys are going to be anything other than mediocre at absolute best.

I don't think it's the coaching, it seriously seems like these guys are just "finesse" players and don't have the "nastiness" required to be good-to-great at OL.

Would love to see what someone other than Kenyon Green can do at LG. He's either always hurt or just isn't good. I don't like giving up on players but it's time.
 
House of Pain said:
I don't think it's the coaching, it seriously seems like these guys are just "finesse" players and don't have the "nastiness" required to be good-to-great at OL.
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It's not like they were getting over-powered. Either they didn't identify a blitzer or they botched a stunt.

I'm wondering why our defense isn't having that kind of success when they run stunts... heck most of the time they blitzed no one got through Greenbay's line.
 
I think the Oline is dumber than a box of rocks. They aren’t committing the number of penalties they were at the beginning of the season. But now they aren’t blocking.

Are they confused? Is it either or?

The fact that CJ didn’t throw an interception or fumble the ball is a testament of how good he is.
 
House of Pain said:
I feel like an idiot for believing this line would be serviceable to good. I have yet to see anything that tells me that these guys are going to be anything other than mediocre at absolute best.

I don't think it's the coaching, it seriously seems like these guys are just "finesse" players and don't have the "nastiness" required to be good-to-great at OL.

Would love to see what someone other than Kenyon Green can do at LG. He's either always hurt or just isn't good. I don't like giving up on players but it's time.
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If you don't think it's the coaching watch the Colts O-line in 2022 and then watch them now and tell me what's different.
 
OK, I just reviewed the game concentrating only on pass protection. In the first half, I flagged Tunsil 4 times and Howard 3 times. Other than Green on 1 play, the interior was not a disaster.

The second half was a bit better, although we were largely attacking with the run. On the other hand, GB was extremely effective with their blitzing and stunting. We weren't prepared for this.

I flagged Howard 3 times; Tunsil 1. Scruggs had 1really bad play. There was one play at the end of the 3rd quarter when I flagged Scruggs, Tunsil, Howard and Mason, all on one play.

In the 3rd quarter Scruggs actually did a good job several times on otherwise bad plays.

The way I graded it, we got beat bad from the outside. Credit GB for their effective defensive game plan.
 
House of Pain said:
I feel like an idiot for believing this line would be serviceable to good. I have yet to see anything that tells me that these guys are going to be anything other than mediocre at absolute best.

I don't think it's the coaching, it seriously seems like these guys are just "finesse" players and don't have the "nastiness" required to be good-to-great at OL.

Would love to see what someone other than Kenyon Green can do at LG. He's either always hurt or just isn't good. I don't like giving up on players but it's time.
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When is the last time you seen OLmen at the end of a run come downfield and push the pile? This OL just doesn’t play with any grit at all. There is no nasty at all with this group.
 
Number19 said:
OK, I just reviewed the game concentrating only on pass protection. In the first half, I flagged Tunsil 4 times and Howard 3 times. Other than Green on 1 play, the interior was not a disaster.

The second half was a bit better, although we were largely attacking with the run. On the other hand, GB was extremely effective with their blitzing and stunting. We weren't prepared for this.

I flagged Howard 3 times; Tunsil 1. Scruggs had 1really bad play. There was one play at the end of the 3rd quarter when I flagged Scruggs, Tunsil, Howard and Mason, all on one play.

In the 3rd quarter Scruggs actually did a good job several times on otherwise bad plays.

The way I graded it, we got beat bad from the outside. Credit GB for their effective defensive game plan.
Tongue in cheek I say our offensive coordinator should not be expected to anticipate our opponent blitzing or stunting.
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Number19 said:
OK, I just reviewed the game concentrating only on pass protection. In the first half, I flagged Tunsil 4 times and Howard 3 times. Other than Green on 1 play, the interior was not a disaster.

The second half was a bit better, although we were largely attacking with the run. On the other hand, GB was extremely effective with their blitzing and stunting. We weren't prepared for this.

I flagged Howard 3 times; Tunsil 1. Scruggs had 1really bad play. There was one play at the end of the 3rd quarter when I flagged Scruggs, Tunsil, Howard and Mason, all on one play.

In the 3rd quarter Scruggs actually did a good job several times on otherwise bad plays.

The way I graded it, we got beat bad from the outside. Credit GB for their effective defensive g
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Number19 said:
ame plan.
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Tongue in cheek I say our offensive coordinator should not be expected to anticipate our opponent blitzing or stunting.
 
What baffles me is the comparison to last year. We had 3 2nd stringers and a 3rd stringer starting against the Steelers and they looked much better than the performance against the Packers. The rest of the season we had a mismatch of players due to injury, but CJ was never as hurried/harassed as he was against the Packers/Vikings. Unless the line makes an immediate comeback, I'm firing OL coach Chris Strausser as soon as I can find a replacement.
 
Food for thought….after 7 weeks, every NFL DC has seen the film and concluded, the Texans OL has “zero” ability to diagnose and prevent the success of defensive stunts. What does this mean? Texans OL will see an onslaught of loaded boxes and stunts for the next 10 games. What does this mean? Maybe that’s as far as the season goes.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
Food for thought….after 7 weeks, every NFL DC has seen the film and concluded, the Texans OL has “zero” ability to diagnose and prevent the success of defensive stunts. What does this mean? Texans OL will see an onslaught of loaded boxes and stunts for the next 10 games. What does this mean? Maybe that’s as far as the season goes.
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Well of course that’s what they will see going forward. The blueprint is stamped and sealed thanks to both Minnesota and Green Bay. Up until Slowik and company fix it and burn teams for doing it. Every team from now on will bring simple to exotic stunts.
 
badboy said:
Tongue in cheek I say our offensive coordinator should not be expected to anticipate our opponent blitzing or stunting.
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I admittedly don't watch as much football as many of you do. But GB was occasionally lining up in a defensive formation I can't recall ever seeing before. They had 7 players on the LOS and 3 DBs lined up more as LBs only 4 yds off the LOS. 10 players lined up in a position to blitz or stunt.

Now, the coaches should have been aware of this possibility, but still, how often do the players come up against this and how much practice time/coaching do they have against it?

GBs defensive scheming was brilliantly executed.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
Food for thought….after 7 weeks, every NFL DC has seen the film and concluded, the Texans OL has “zero” ability to diagnose and prevent the success of defensive stunts. What does this mean? Texans OL will see an onslaught of loaded boxes and stunts for the next 10 games. What does this mean? Maybe that’s as far as the season goes.
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So, it's on the coaching for not scheming an offense to counter the defensive scheming?
 
OptimisticTexan said:
Food for thought….after 7 weeks, every NFL DC has seen the film and concluded, the Texans OL has “zero” ability to diagnose and prevent the success of defensive stunts. What does this mean? Texans OL will see an onslaught of loaded boxes and stunts for the next 10 games. What does this mean? Maybe that’s as far as the season goes.
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The pre-snap movement is also confusing the hell out of the OL
 
What was the difference between Jackson’s 17/22, 281 YDS, 5 TD performance and CJ’s 10/21, 86 YDS, 0 TD performance? The OL and RB, Henry. Jackson had time in the pocket to allow the downfield pass plays to develop and Henry to keep defenses 100% honest.

No one could convince me that the Ravens WR’s are better than the Texans crop of receivers….even when Nico isn’t on the field. The Texans have the receivers that are capable of taking the top off defenses, when there is time for those plays to happen. Another scary development due to the ineptitude of the Texans OL….CJ isn’t setting his feet before the throw like he was doing last season. I just don’t see Slowick setting CJ up for success this season b/c he’s consistently putting him 2nd/3rd and long situations.

Another thought…..Schultz isn’t doing CJ any favors as a blocker or emergency outlet receiver this season. I’d really like to see Stover get more snaps b/c even though he’s made some blunders, he’s also delivered some awesome blocks which freed up running plays and can catch (5) when targeted (6). Time to see what this draft pick could deliver on a regular basis.
 
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OptimisticTexan said:
What was the difference between Jackson’s 17/22, 281 YDS, 5 TD performance and CJ’s 10/21, 86 YDS, 0 TD performance? The OL and RB, Henry. Jackson had time in the pocket to allow the downfield pass plays to develop and Henry to keep defenses 100% honest.

No one could convince me that the Ravens WR’s are better than the Texans crop of receivers….even when Nico isn’t on the field. The Texans have the receivers that are capable of taking the top off defenses, when there is time for those plays to happen. Another scary development due to the ineptitude of the Texans OL….CJ isn’t setting his feet before the throw like he was doing last season. I just don’t see Slowick setting CJ up for success this season b/c he’s consistently putting him 2nd/3rd and long situations.

Another thought…..Schultz isn’t doing CJ any favors as a blocker or emergency outlet receiver this season. I’d really like to see Stover get more snaps b/c even though he’s made some blunders, he’s also delivered some awesome blocks which freed up running plays and can catch (5 / the majority of time) when targeted (6). Time to see what this draft pick could deliver on a regular basis.
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The biggest difference I see is the Ravens offensive line is better than the Texans offensive line.

Another difference is the quarterback; Jackson is a big time threat with his feet versus CJ. They don’t get to Jackson , dude might take that to the house no matter where they are at on the field.
 
Texansballer74 said:
The biggest difference I see is the Ravens offensive line is better than the Texans offensive line.

Another difference is the quarterback; Jackson is a big time threat with his feet versus CJ. They don’t get to Jackson , dude might take that to the house no matter where they are at on the field.
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When me and my son were watching the game…I believe there are opportunities for CJ to show NFL defenses he has the legs to make them pay, but in the same vein I’m happy he’s keeping his eyes downfield…..but, I’d like to see him tuck the ball and take off. It could help him much in the same way it has helped Jackson. I know CJ isn’t the same running threat, but if he were to be considered a sneaky good runner that has the legs to move the sticks…..that could be just as impactful.
 
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