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Texans RBs.... Burkhead, Pierce, Ogunbowale


Gerrid Doaks, 7th round pick by Miami in 2021. Looks like a good open field runner.

None of the highlights show him breaking tackles, or demonstrating balance. So, have to keep looking.

Check out the chip at the one minute mark.


Man I hope we start running screens
 
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Speedy said:
So the current RB room has Pierce (rook), Burkhead, Ogunbowale and Hairston (UDFA LB turned FB). That seems like a pretty weak room.

They cut Mack and keep Freeman. The next day they sign Mack to the PS and cut Freeman.

I guess they’ve got a plan, just no clue what it is.
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It's a thin group. Like pretty much every unit on this team. It's going to take a while, which is why I think some people are expecting a mediocre season from the Texans.

O'Brien (with Easterby's help, allegedly, and Brian Gaine had his hand in it as well) absolutely gutted this team. If Pierce is as good in the regular season as he was in limited preseason action, I'll consider that a huge win for this team. It's going to be important to keep him healthy and then next offseason look for his running partner.
 
thunderkyss said:

Gerrit Doaks, 7th round pick by Miami in 2021. Looks like a good open field runner.

None of the highlights show him breaking tackles, or demonstrating balance. So, have to keep looking.

Check out the chip at the one minute mark.


Man I hope we start running screens
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He didn't necessarily go down easy and he found gaps in between some guys and worked well in traffic.

Those hands though.

Maybe this is Burkhead's future replacement.
 
Looks like he's got a nose for the endzone, but for a highlight reel...not really impressed. Good hands catching from both left and right sides...but other than that...for being 6ft 230 he goes down way too easily at first contact and doesnt have top end speed. Fights for yardage so might be a good back in short distance situations but we will see.
 
thunderkyss said:

Gerrid Doaks, 7th round pick by Miami in 2021. Looks like a good open field runner.

None of the highlights show him breaking tackles, or demonstrating balance. So, have to keep looking.

Check out the chip at the one minute mark.


Man I hope we start running screens
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I think he looks pretty good in those clips.

He made people miss, he showed the ability to plant and Burst into seams, runs hard, I actually did see him run through some Would be tackles…looks like he’s got good hands…

Have no idea how he actually looks but I thought the highlights were nice.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
I think he looks pretty good in those clips.

He made people miss, he showed the ability to plant and Burst into seams, runs hard, I actually did see him run through some Would be tackles…looks like he’s got good hands…

Have no idea how he actually looks but I thought the highlights were nice.
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The only thing it appears that he's lacking is long speed. Hopefully he can handle 8-10 carries a game.
 
TheRealJoker said:
Seeing Burkhead on the field repeatedly instead of Pierce reminded me of Foster’s rookie season where he wasted away on the practice squad while old man Chris Brown was trotted out as the starter. All that was missing today was the awful halfback pass…
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I was thinking the same thing except... I think Foster NEEDED that time on the PS and on the bench. If you remember, his first time in a real game, he fumbled and got put back on the bench to think about it for a couple of games.

I had hoped that Pierce would come in and be on fire (I even started him in one of my leagues), but I can totally understand if they need to work him in and develop him a little.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
Need to get Pierce in there and let him make his mistakes. When he makes one and comes to the sideline....that's a coaching up opportunity, then send him back in there.
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I was hoping they'd at least rotate them in and out, and I think that was the plan. Pierce had to have made some mistakes that made them pull him back out.

This raises the question... was whatever mistakes these were why he didn't get more playing time in college?
 
The Pencil Neck said:
I was hoping they'd at least rotate them in and out, and I think that was the plan. Pierce had to have made some mistakes that made them pull him back out.

This raises the question... was whatever mistakes these were why he didn't get more playing time in college?
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The reason Burkhead got more run than Pierce did is since the Texans couldn't run the ball they were consistently in passing down and distance situations. Since Burkhead is the 3rd down RB he's going to get more run.
 
steelbtexan said:
The reason Burkhead got more run than Pierce did is since the Texans couldn't run the ball they were consistently in passing down and distance situations. Since Burkhead is the 3rd down RB he's going to get more run.
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Going into the game, how was the Colts run defense rated. I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression they have a pretty good defense. If this is the case, it just may be the case that our OL still needs improvement and Pierce just wasn't getting the crease to burst through to the second level.
 
Number19 said:
Going into the game, how was the Colts run defense rated. I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression they have a pretty good defense. If this is the case, it just may be the case that our OL still needs improvement and Pierce just wasn't getting the crease to burst through to the second level.
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That and Pierce still needs to improve his pass pro
 
Number19 said:
Going into the game, how was the Colts run defense rated. I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression they have a pretty good defense. If this is the case, it just may be the case that our OL still needs improvement and Pierce just wasn't getting the crease to burst through to the second level.
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umm, they have an all-pro sitting in the middle of their d-line..that should give you a pretty good idea of how good against the run they are.
 
BattleBull said:
Have Burkhead run a comedy routine on Thursday night, we'll know for sure then.
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As a warmup act, he can add another version of Jack's Ray-Ray story.

"Ray-Ray and them were watching the game and started stressing about the Texans punting or going for it on 4th down.

I told Ray-Ray and them that it's okay. A tie is not a loss. It's a stepping-stone and a great outcome itself. With that quote the stress left the room, they had a laugh and had another round of kool-aid."
 
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thunderkyss said:
What’s your take on Burkhead getting 50 snaps?
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I'm more concerned with their desire to see him bring last years 3.5 YPC to the field and produce a robust 2.9 YPC in Week 1. I'd like to see the Texans let Pierce get some momentum and Burkhead be the 3rd down back he's supposed to be. Texans coaches didn't look to bright trying to make him the feature back.....especially playing with the lead in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

Some NFL coaches just continue to make the biggest blunder of all.....playing not to lose the game! Being up 20-3 in the 3rd quarter is nothing nowadays b/c momentum can shift in a flash. Instead of playing not to lose, how about playing to destroy the other team.....you know, stomp a mudhole in their arses. Keeping the peddle on the gas and moving the score to 27-3 would make it extremely hard in the 4th quarter to produce 4 scoring possessions. Not to mention, this is when Pierce comes in and earns his money while wearing down the defense. That could've been Pierce getting some 5-10 yard runs with a comfortable lead versus Taylor taking he Texans defense to woodshed.
 
Texansballer74 said:
I told you already. The buddy buddy system. He’s Caserio boy. Thus the real reason why Mack was cut.
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Rex isn’t very good good, but honestly Mack wasn’t either. Mack still has decent speed but little to no vision, he didn’t make anyone miss, and went down with any contact. We definitely need an upgrade to the RB spot to go with Pierce.
 
otisbean said:
Rex isn’t very good good, but honestly Mack wasn’t either. Mack still has decent speed but little to no vision, he didn’t make anyone miss, and went down with any contact. We definitely need an upgrade to the RB spot to go with Pierce.
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Imo he looked better than Burkhead and in the preseason he did show vision. I also seen him break some tackles. Burkhead on the other hand runs right up his linemen backs. He’s the one with no vision. I would hate to be an linemen blocking for him.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
....Not to mention, this is when Pierce comes in and earns his money while wearing down the defense. That could've been Pierce getting some 5-10 yard runs with a comfortable lead versus Taylor taking he Texans defense to woodshed.
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That was inexplicable to me as well. If he's the guy they think he is and not just that preseason phenom that disappears when the snaps are real then you let him get the experience when you're up "big" and need to eat clock. You're not going to do that with Burkhead and the Texans coaches damn well know that. To me playing the 20/20 hindsight game I just think Lovie looks like a really dumb coach right now. I know he's loved and got that beard going on and he's a deep "defensive" mind and all that crap but letting Burkhead be your feature back when you got this wonder-kid RB on the sideline just seems foolish. I can accept the explanation that he needed to get better at pass protection early on. When you're up by 17 and need to eat clock? Not so much.
 
Lovie has been pretty clear the day after, Pierce did not get enough snaps and the staff screwed up in how they used him. Glad they can admit mistakes, and then it is a lot easier to correct them. Hard to understand how this got away from them during the game, but at least they are aware now
 
Rich Schmidt said:
Lovie has been pretty clear the day after, Pierce did not get enough snaps and the staff screwed up in how they used him. Glad they can admit mistakes, and then it is a lot easier to correct them. Hard to understand how this got away from them during the game, but at least they are aware now
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Yeah, hearing Lovies comments after the game he didn’t want to call Pep out on that one but he made it clear that some of the situational personnel changes need to change to get Pierce more touches. I remember all TC players were saying Pep likes to take advantage of situations by putting in the player that seems best suited for the play. I think Lovie is saying fine, but not with my tailback.
 
Rich Schmidt said:
Lovie has been pretty clear the day after, Pierce did not get enough snaps and the staff screwed up in how they used him. Glad they can admit mistakes, and then it is a lot easier to correct them. Hard to understand how this got away from them during the game, but at least they are aware now
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The mistakes started in the preseason. Pierce had a very good game 1. Sat the entire game 2. Limited snaps in game 3. The rook needed more snaps and less bubble wrap if he was going to be RB1 from the start. Season opener and the coaches realize Pierce isn't ready to handle the load. Well, whose fault is that? Sorry Pep, but Kelly had a better season opener in 2021.
 
Lucky said:
The mistakes started in the preseason. Pierce had a very good game 1. Sat the entire game 2. Limited snaps in game 3. The rook needed more snaps and less bubble wrap if he was going to be RB1 from the start. Season opener and the coaches realize Pierce isn't ready to handle the load. Well, whose fault is that? Sorry Pep, but Kelly had a better season opener in 2021.
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The Hare and the Tortoise.
 
Rich Schmidt said:
Lovie has been pretty clear the day after, Pierce did not get enough snaps and the staff screwed up in how they used him. Glad they can admit mistakes, and then it is a lot easier to correct them. Hard to understand how this got away from them during the game, but at least they are aware now
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Lovie always says the right things past and present. Let's hope we get the head coaching success or more that is relative to his Chicago Bears tenure vs the Tampa Bay and Fighting Illini experience.
 
TheRealJoker said:
Is that better or worse than Burkhead choosing the right lane but having feet stuck in cement?
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Honestly, I would take Pierce choosing the wrong lane every time over Burkhead, because Pierce still punishes the defense when try and tackle him, and Pierce still has the ability to break tackles and make things happen. On one of the plays, Pierce should have followed his FB to the left, and it looked like there could have been a big gain there, but Pierce cut back to the right, got hit at the LOS, and only gained a yard or two.
 
vtech9 said:
Honestly, I would take Pierce choosing the wrong lane every time over Burkhead, because Pierce still punishes the defense when try and tackle him, and Pierce still has the ability to break tackles and make things happen. On one of the plays, Pierce should have followed his FB to the left, and it looked like there could have been a big gain there, but Pierce cut back to the right, got hit at the LOS, and only gained a yard or two.
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I agree, Pierce need to get as many touches as possible. If he's not fumbling the ball, he needs to be fed. Right now I can't see any reason Burkhead should get more carries. Pierce & Ogunbowale seems like a good one two punch with Burckhead in very specific 3rd down situations. That should be the plan.

That said, the play we're talking about Britt not making the block on the LB then watching Buckner tackle Pierce, I'd have liked to have seen Pierce be a little more patient there, take a stutter step, then cut it up to Britt's right side. Can't remember who, but someone else was setting up a block to Britt's right & if Pierce was a little patient, a nice gap would have been created & he'd have been past the 2nd level defense untouched.
 
thunderkyss said:
That said, the play we're talking about Britt not making the block on the LB then watching Buckner tackle Pierce, I'd have liked to have seen Pierce be a little more patient there, take a stutter step, then cut it up to Britt's right side. Can't remember who, but someone else was setting up a block to Britt's right & if Pierce was a little patient, a nice gap would have been created & he'd have been past the 2nd level defense untouched.
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Which play are you talking about? The 3rd &1?
 
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