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Texans random thought of the day

CloakNNNdagger said:
Alfred Blue fills in capably for Texans
Aaron Wilson , TChronicle Oct. 8, 2018
The absence of veteran running back Lamar Miller from the Texans' starting lineup made an impact on the offense.

With Miller out with a chest injury, the running game wasn't very effective.

Backup runner Alfred Blue did fill in capably as a receiver, catching a career-high eight passes for 73 yards. He rushed for 46 yards on 20 carries, averaging just 2.3 yards per run.


It was the third-highest yards from scrimmage (119) in his NFL career.

“I thought Blue ran tough," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "We wanted Lamar (Miller) to be active only to use him in an emergency situation, he’s banged up coming into the game, but he could have played tonight, but we wanted to try to see if we could give him a week to heal up unless we absolutely had to have him.

****************************************************************************************************

Blue gave the Texans a noticeable shot in the arm against the Cowboys. But it was basically with his receiving effectiveness...........not so much his run prowess. Take away his one long 17 yd run, and you get a very unimpressive 1.5 yds/carry.
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Yeah but you know OB is thinking "2.3 yards per carry? Great! By 5th down we will have enough yardage for another 1st!"
 
Blue had some solid runs against that very fast and stout defense. Bill Obrien didn't do him any justice running him up the middle on a lot of plays. Also, Blue caught the ball well out of the backfield.
 
Alfred Blue is another high-value late round pick by former GM Rick Smith, a big-bang for the buck kinda NFL vet now in his fifth year with the Texans.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Our newly promoted active DB Tyson is considered a safety by the Texans, but he played some CB with the Seahawks.
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wonder if Chacere has been that bad in practices. He was pretty good for a rookie in the preseason games. I certainly didn't think he was bad enough to be left off the roster after we lost 3 of our top 4 corners
 
Deep Dive: A Closer Look at the 2018 Houston Texans Red Zone Woes
Tuesday, October 9, 2018 http://www.stateofthetexans.com/blo...8-houston-texans-red-zone-woes/#disqus_thread


The lack of production that the Houston Texans offense has put together this season has the team 31st in the NFL at 36.4% in red zone percentage and tied for 28th in-goal to go percentage at 50%. Despite those poor stats, the team is somehow ranked tied for 18th in the NFL with 23.0 point per game.

There have been plenty of issues with the Houston Texans red zone work and, after reading a tweet from NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein on the work the offense did last season with Deshaun Watson in the red zone, there seem to be more questions than answers.

Just found this crazy stat. Last year, Deshaun Watson was 10 of 12 inside the 10-yard line with 10 TDs and comp % of 83.3%

This year, headed into this game (and it didn’t get better), he is 6 of 15 for 5 TDs and a comp % of 37.5%

— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) October 8, 2018

During his Monday press conference, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien discussed the issues with the red zone for the offense.

“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. It’s not a time for us to sit here and list all the things. I think it starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job of teaching it, designing it, and then there are some things that we have to do a better job of executing. There’s no doubt about it. We had more penalties down there again. We had plays that were there that maybe the play wasn’t made and then there were other plays that we have to design better.”

With that, we looked at all of the red zone touchdowns of the Texans with Watson as the quarterback in 2017 and tried to see if there were any difference or similarities between the two seasons in terms of play calls, designs, formations and overall success. We only looked at the touchdowns that were produced and, even on missed opportunities, the reasons why were clear.

2017 Red Zone Touchdowns with Watson
Team Yardline Result Play Notes
NE 12 TD Back Shoulder to Ryan Griffin Gun, two man side, one on one matchup with TE
TEN 2 TD Speed Option Under Center, Pitch to Lamar Miller
TEN 8 TD Slant to DeAndre Hopkins Gun, Play Action to Hopkins
TEN 16 TD Deep Cross to Will Fuller Under Center, Play Action, 2-man route, Max Protect
TEN 1 TD Tecmo Bowl Run Gun, Deshaun Watson designed run, cut back
TEN 10 TD Corner Route to Will Fuller Gun, Trips Left, Smash Concept w/ #1 and #2. Fuller was #2
TEN 8 TD Check down to Lamar Miller Gun, Trips, Miller slips out after no pressure for check down
KC 6 TD Fade to DeAndre Hopkins Gun, 9 route to Hopkins
KC 6 TD Slant to DeAndre Hopkins Under Center, Play Action slant to Hopkins
CLV 1 TD Jet Sweep to Braxton Miller Gun, Jet Sweep left to Miller
CLV 3 TD Slant to Hopkins Gun, Play Action to Hopkins
SEA 3 TD ISO Lead with Lamar Miller Under Center, Lead with Fullback
SEA 20 TD Deep Cross to Will Fuller Pistol, Play Action, Max Protect, 2-Man Route
SEA 2 TD Broken Play to Lamar Miller Pistol, Play Action, Orbit Motion, Watson finds Miller

2018 Red Zone Touchdowns with Watson
Team Yardline Result Play Notes
NE 1 TD Alfred Blue Run Under Center, Two TE Wing, Bounced Run
NE 5 TD Quick Slant to Bruce Ellington Gun, 3-Man Side, Back and TE run to the flat, Ellington runs the slant
NYG 4 TD Check Down to Lamar Miller Gun, Broken Play, Miller finds room after being the check down
IND 3 TD Drag to Will Fuller Gun, Motion Back to Trips, Fuller drag across the front line of EZ
IND 5 TD Fade to Hopkins Gun, Fade to Hopkins, one-on-one
IND 5 TD Tecmo Bowl Run Gun, Designed run for Watson
DAL 1 TD Jet Sweep to Coutee Gun, 2 x 2, Jet Motion pass to Coutee


Reasons for the 2017 Success and 2018 Non-Success
There is a reality to what is exactly going wrong for the Texans in the red zone and for once, O’Brien is actually letting the world know what is going on. Compared to 2017, the Texans are making way more mistakes in the red zone. When O’Brien says play calling, play design, penalties, quicker windows, accuracy needed from the quarterback, and fewer penalties, all of those issues are accurate. That is how bad the entire group has been inside the red zone. It is just not one thing that is dooming them.

What did we see from the 2017 version of the Watson led offense? We saw a group that was much more disciplined in terms of few negative plays, either from plays or penalties. At the time, they have veterans Duane Brown, Breno Giacomini, and Chris Clark at the offensive tackle spots and even though the trio was up and down, the one thing they did not do much of is having pre-snap penalties. Watson was also much more patient in the pocket, letting plays develop.

Just this season alone in the red zone, there has been a fumble, false starts, holding calls, and a block in the back on a broken play which shouldn’t have been extended. Against the New York Giants, the Texans couldn’t score vs 10 men due to a poor angle by the Lamar Miller run, allowing a defender track him down from behind. In what should have been a walk-in touchdown in that scenario, a missed block by Jordan Thomas stopped Miller for a loss. In another instance, a Watson pass to Will Fuller would have been complete but Fuller couldn’t get his second foot in bounds in the back corner of the end zone. In one other occurrence, Watson was sacked and on the next play, there was a penalty that put the team at the NYG 25 after starting the play at the NYG 8. Yet another circumstance found Keke Coutee running outside of a Hopkins block instead of inside to get the ball to a spot on the field that would at least allow a chance to score. Finally, on one final occasion, a quarterback draw for Watson was closed in on a hurry. We can add to this pile of mistakes some inaccurate passes from Watson, a fade thrown short to Hopkins, and general impatience in the passing game, not allowing plays develop.

Play Design/Formations
There is not much that is different in terms of formations from 2017 vs. 2018. The Texans have been under center and gun both seasons. There has been no real pistol looks for the Texans with an H-Back and running back to the right or left of Watson. Play action fakes are still used but, with no fullback in 2018, that is literally the only real difference in formations.

The Texans are still doing similar concepts to last season but there are some differences in how Watson is reading the field. Either by habit or design, Watson naturally looks left and defenses seem to know this. Initial routes are being shut off by defenders and he is bailing on pass plays too soon because of it.

The Texans could design better plays at times but in the same sense, it is hard to tell what plays actually work due to the poor execution by players up front to give the play a chance. Like the chicken or the egg argument, the Texans lack of execution throws off rhythm, which has also has been a big issue for them.

What We Have Learned

THE REST OF THE STORY
 
kiwitexansfan said:
By fills in capably they mean replicated Miller’s below replacement level production accurately.
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Blue is the ultimate, good substitute teacher, nice babysitter, long-relief pitcher, decent handyman, fill-in guy...He is the least physically talented RB who allows an NFL offense to operate "normally" usually not losing the game, but certainly not difference-making or changing the game in your favor.
 

patrick‏Verified account@PatDStat

The sky is the limit for Watson, I just hope everyone realizes that the coaching he has been getting for the position is strong too. Add that with the skill set Watson has, good things are still ahead for Watson.

10:44 AM - 10 Oct 2018
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patrick‏Verified account@PatDStat


Watson just needs to cut out the hits outside the pocket and protect himself. Other than that, his growth at QB is something else. He has continued to expand his game even though film continues to grow. He has just become such a better passer and it shows in the 10-19 range.

10:43 AM - 10 Oct 2018
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Texans offensive drive stats.....
30.9 avg starting field position (5th best)
34.95 yards per drive (11th)
6.27 plays per drive (7th)

NOW FOR THE BAD
1.85 points per drive (20th)
0.169 TD's per drive (28th)
0.220 FG's per drive (2nd)

.153 3 and out's (6th best)
4.05 points per red zone trip (29th)
0.364 TD's per red zone trip (31st)

Stats as per our own Troy Chapman and his twitter feed.
 
steelbtexan said:
Glad to see you're feeling better.

Just going crack open my 1st craft beer today. MMM-MMM good.
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Just walked in from watching, The Nun. Spin-off of, The Conjuring series. It was ok but The Conjuring's were better. Anyhow, got some nice German beers in the fridge and I do believe it is time to enjoy one.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
Just walked in from watching, The Nun. Spin-off of, The Conjuring series. It was ok but The Conjuring's were better. Anyhow, got some nice German beers in the fridge and I do believe it is time to enjoy one.
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When I seen James Wan was not involved I lost all interest in that. Love the Conjuring as well. My fridge is full of randoms I need to clear out. Expecting a head ache in the morning
 
Texans in the red zone is by no means a comfort zone


.................The Dallas game was an anatomy of failure in the red zone and revealed a glaring lack of confidence in the Texans’ ability to simply be physical and shove the football across the goal line.

Out of nine plays on five red-zone trips inside the Cowboys’ 5, only one of those was a handoff to a running back. And Alfred Blue went nowhere.

“It’s obvious from watching them that the Texans don’t believe they’re going to win out on a whole lot of straight-ahead running plays,” an NFL scouting executive said. “They have to rely on Watson running around and making things happen with his feet, or him throwing a quick fade pass or a slant to get a score. It’s really tough sledding for them. They’re getting lots of yards and chances to score, but they keep getting stopped.”
THE REST OF THE STORY
 
Last edited:
CloakNNNdagger said:
Texans in the red zone is by no means a comfort zone


.................The Dallas game was an anatomy of failure in the red zone and revealed a glaring lack of confidence in the Texans’ ability to simply be physical and shove the football across the goal line.

Out of nine plays on five red-zone trips inside the Cowboys’ 5, only one of those was a handoff to a running back. And Alfred Blue went nowhere.

“It’s obvious from watching them that the Texans don’t believe they’re going to win out on a whole lot of straight-ahead running plays,” an NFL scouting executive said. “They have to rely on Watson running around and making things happen with his feet, or him throwing a quick fade pass or a slant to get a score. It’s really tough sledding for them. They’re getting lots of yards and chances to score, but they keep getting stopped.”
THE REST OF THE STORY
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Pretty obvious.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Texans in the red zone is by no means a comfort zone


.................The Dallas game was an anatomy of failure in the red zone and revealed a glaring lack of confidence in the Texans’ ability to simply be physical and shove the football across the goal line.

Out of nine plays on five red-zone trips inside the Cowboys’ 5, only one of those was a handoff to a running back. And Alfred Blue went nowhere.

“It’s obvious from watching them that the Texans don’t believe they’re going to win out on a whole lot of straight-ahead running plays,” an NFL scouting executive said. “They have to rely on Watson running around and making things happen with his feet, or him throwing a quick fade pass or a slant to get a score. It’s really tough sledding for them. They’re getting lots of yards and chances to score, but they keep getting stopped.”
THE REST OF THE STORY
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It's also evident on third down. Unless it's 3rd & 1, we're not likely to run the ball. 3rd & 3, 3rd & 4... running the ball should be an option.

Kinda hurts the play action run game.
 
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