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Texans vs Colts AAR

Rpgczar said:
I think the idea for the Colts game was to stop Jonathan Taylor first. I Don't think they were worried about Richardson completing too many passes. It worked out as you won, but if the db's had played back perhaps Taylor has a bigger game
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Taylor could have had a bigger game. Bur he wasn't going off for 3 50 yard chunk plays.
 
Toro Bravo said:
The Good:
*Joe Mixon is the real deal.
*Diggs & Nico are 1A & 1B.

I like the offensive balance. I don't like our premier RB having 30 carries. He will not last a 17 game season at that rate. We need to spread the load more.
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No one is expecting him to have - or have the need to have - 30 carries a game on any type of regular basis. It was a big game. Big time player showed up in big game.
 
Re Mixon workload - much ado about nothing. It’s game to game. There will be games with 12-15 touches and a couple with 30ish touches. He’s a workhorse not a showhorse. Not worried in the least. Anyone can be injured but it won’t be workload imho.

BTW, a very underrated part of Mixon’s game is ball security . He fumbles at an extremely low rate. 33 touches yesterday and not a hint of a fumble. Some backs are fumble prone, Mixon is not.
 
Texans snap counts:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1833093957338738756

Biggest takeaways:

1) Stover/Jordan got a lot of reps. Not just due to offensive play count but as a percentage of the total play count. It appeared Stover was the FB when they needed one. Game flow leaned run heavy so all 3 TEs showed up.

2) To’o To’o gets the Christian Harris snaps. I thought him and Hansen would platoon but Hansen did not play a defensive snap.

3) Calen Bullock and Eric Murray are platooning at safety when Pitre is down in nickel. Hopefully they gradually give Bullock more of a share of the workload until we see him gain a starter’s share as the season wears on.

4) British Brooks is a core ST player! He had more snaps than Dare Ogunbowale on ST. Looking forward to watching him lay the hit stick on opposing returners this season.

5) No limitations on Will Anderson. He played 80% of the snaps, same as Danielle Hunter. I hope he didn’t aggravate the ankle injury.
 
TheRealJoker V2 said:
Texans snap counts:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1833093957338738756

Biggest takeaways:

1) Stover/Jordan got a lot of reps. Not just due to offensive play count but as a percentage of the total play count. It appeared Stover was the FB when they needed one. Game flow leaned run heavy so all 3 TEs showed up.

2) To’o To’o gets the Christian Harris snaps. I thought him and Hansen would platoon but Hansen did not play a defensive snap.

3) Calen Bullock and Eric Murray are platooning at safety when Pitre is down in nickel. Hopefully they gradually give Bullock more of a share of the workload until we see him gain a starter’s share as the season wears on.

4) British Brooks is a core ST player! He had more snaps than Dare Ogunbowale on ST. Looking forward to watching him lay the hit stick on opposing returners this season.

5) No limitations on Will Anderson. He played 80% of the snaps, same as Danielle Hunter. I hope he didn’t aggravate the ankle injury.
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I was hoping for a tight end to play fullback, I just expected it to be Jordan.
 
I didn’t like the end of the first half blunder. Ryans should’ve had his FG unit on the field even when there was 15 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Never want to take points off the board.

The OL did their job in the run game by dominating the Colts front seven. They have to clean up the pass protection and most of that concern is directed to Mason and Howard.

I’m still not happy with Tunsil’s drive killing false starts. This has really got to stop.

The Texans front seven minus Harris put the stops to Taylor having his way with the Texans. It was nice to see the “D” take that weapon away from the Colts.

The secondary can ill afford to give up chunk plays like they did on Sunday. Pierce (Colts) is good. But he was blowing by those guys like they were running towards the DL and he was on his way to the end-zone.

I was happy to Green back and dominating in the run game. Mixon just really impressed. If this OL and the ZBS continue to mesh….Mixon could be on the cusp of a pretty amazing season. My other standout was Calen Bullock who used his hands to catch that bullet by Richardson. He was also very close to a second INT. So a nice first game for the rookie.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
I didn’t like the end of the first half blunder. Ryans should’ve had his FG unit on the field even when there was 15 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. Never want to take points off the board.
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At the point before the completion to Schultz, it was a 55 yard attempt. Which Fairbairn can make. The Texans were trying to get closer. The mistake was going to the middle of the field with the play.
 
Lucky said:
At the point before the completion to Schultz, it was a 55 yard attempt. Which Fairbairn can make. The Texans were trying to get closer. The mistake was going to the middle of the field with the play.
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They had plenty of time to spike the ball and then kick it... the refs took that away. But I don't understand why the FG team wasn't out there for that last snap
 
JB said:
They had plenty of time to spike the ball and then kick it... the refs took that away. But I don't understand why the FG team wasn't out there for that last snap
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It was a mistake, but with all of the mayhem it's pretty forgivable for a 2nd year guy (both CJ and DeMeco.) CJ ran up and spiked the ball before the mayhem started, they got 15 secs, the colts called a timeout, then the clock was back down to 5secs, then the ref gave the Colts timeout back restarting the clock.

You're right that the FG unit should have been on the field, but sorting through all the mess and making a quick decision with the play clock counting down is tough. It was clear that the refs should have announced the current state of the clock giving both teams a full update on the sequence and clock status.
 
cland said:
It was clear that the refs should have announced the current state of the clock giving both teams a full update on the sequence and clock status.
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This was the entire cause of the mishap imo. The ref should have announced that but he never did.
 
dalemurphy said:
The other question, somewhat related: What was the thinking that led you to kick the two 50 yarders in the first half instead of going for it on 4th and short... but then also choose to go for 2 pt converstion in the first half instead of kicking the PAT?
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Math. You make it a touchdown game.

Almost every other team does that in that situation. In fact we watched other teams this week do the exact same.
 
Sweech said:
Math. You make it a touchdown game.

Almost every other team does that in that situation. In fact we watched other teams this week do the exact same.
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Not in the 2nd quarter of a game that was going to have a number of scores in the second half. If that was their reasoning, then it was very poor.
 
TheRealJoker V2 said:
I gave Tunsil/Howard more credit than I should’ve protecting the edges in this game. They are shaking off the rust post offseason surgeries. It may take another game or two but I expect Tunsil to be back to normal.

As for Howard, I think i’d rather have Fisher starting and growing now than wait to see if Howard will get it together post injury.

Stroud made plays when he had to and stayed healthy though!
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LT's false starts certainly were in mid-season form!
 
Lucky said:
On this specific play, Lassiter was caught getting sucked in on a double move. Stingley was also caught doing the same on the other side. 4.0 flat speed wouldn't have helped on these plays. I know these corners want to make big plays. But they have to let the ball get in the air, first. Otherwise, the big play will be for the opponents. Both are fortunate those plays didn't hurt.

What's more important for the defense? Coming up with big plays? Are reducing big plays from your opponent? I say the latter. Let's move those DBS back and let the opposing QBs beat themselves.
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This is the part that I know is going to tire me with Lassiter discourse. We watched literally ALL our DBs have WRs get behind them throughout the day but only Lassiter gets the slow comments because of the 40 time - It becomes brainless at a point.

In fact Lassiter along with Murray may have been the DBs to take a lot of snaps and have WRs get behind them the least. It just reeks of preconceived notions.
 
steelbtexan said:
Hunter has a spin move in addition to a bull rush. Go back and look at some of his Vikings highlights.
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Hunter has one of the more complete hand fighting toolbelts in the league. I posted in another thread somewhere (I think in Texans Random Thought of the Day) where all the top pass rushers in the league's rush wins were charted and Hunter's skillset is very diverse.
 
Sweech said:
This is the part that I know is going to tire me with Lassiter discourse. We watched literally ALL our DBs have WRs get behind them throughout the day but only Lassiter gets the slow comments because of the 40 time - It becomes brainless at a point.

In fact Lassiter along with Murray may have been the DBs to take a lot of snaps and have WRs get behind them the least. It just reeks of preconceived notions.
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This for sure. Think of all the nonsense CJ got for being a slow processor thanks to the janky S2 test and how he looked on the field. Or better yet pretend you never read his 40-time and show me on tape where you see that Lassiter is slow. Did noone see the stat picture where Derek and Kamari held their WRs down to nearly nothing?
 
dalemurphy said:
Not in the 2nd quarter of a game that was going to have a number of scores in the second half. If that was their reasoning, then it was very poor.
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It's what everyone does. In reverse you can argue that IS the time because you have a whole second half to recover if you don't make it.

I really feel like this is only getting questioned because of the result and not actually because of the decision process. If it works no one praises it or questions it because it's standard procedure.

The fact is if you go for the 1 you're losing to a touchdown and only winning against a field goal.

If you go for the 2 you're tying to a touchdown and still winning against a field goal.

There's something to be gained and nothing to be lost score wise.
 
Lucky said:
At the point before the completion to Schultz, it was a 55 yard attempt. Which Fairbairn can make. The Texans were trying to get closer. The mistake was going to the middle of the field with the play.
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Coverage dictates where the ball is thrown. Stroud “took the profit” and got easy yards then spiked the ball.

Then the clock mayhem happened after the review.

Real mistake was running one time too many the beginning of that drive. They gave up an opportunity to drive for a td and had to rush for FG range.
 
Sweech said:
After watching the Bears Titans game I wouldn't even be opposed to using the same gameplan against the bears.

It's boring but they literally couldn't do anything throwing the ball.
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Caleb Williams can hurt an NFL defense more with his legs than his arm, right now. Contain him in the pocket and make him read coverages. The coverage sacks will come, and so will the INTs
 
cland said:
It was a mistake, but with all of the mayhem it's pretty forgivable for a 2nd year guy (both CJ and DeMeco.) CJ ran up and spiked the ball before the mayhem started, they got 15 secs, the colts called a timeout, then the clock was back down to 5secs, then the ref gave the Colts timeout back restarting the clock.

You're right that the FG unit should have been on the field, but sorting through all the mess and making a quick decision with the play clock counting down is tough. It was clear that the refs should have announced the current state of the clock giving both teams a full update on the sequence and clock status.
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Indianapolis called a timeout after the ref announced 15 seconds on the clock so he could talk to him. When the ref changed his call and apologized, he said nothing about the clock starting on the whistle nor did he say anything about canceling the Indy timeout.

I still don't understand why we stayed out to run another play with only 5 seconds left. Fairbairn didn't need the extra 3 yards.
 
Just posted the CJ Stroud one in his thread but here's the Richardson one if you want to look at him or some of our defense.


Also an interesting take to note is for as mad as people are about the safety play he does mention the fact that against 99% of the league and against all the other QBs that can't just casually throw 70 yard bombs guys like Ward didn't even misplay on the Pierce touchdown.
 
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Lucky said:
Caleb Williams can hurt an NFL defense more with his legs than his arm, right now. Contain him in the pocket and make him read coverages. The coverage sacks will come, and so will the INTs
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This is where i’m at with him. Rush 4 and let him beat DeMeco’s coverage disguises if he can. Don’t let him win with hero ball. Fixing the communication issues on the back end should be the emphasis this week. Williams has excellent WRs, make it hard for him to make the right decision with the football. And when he makes mistakes, take advantage with turnovers!

I’d like to see Bullock get a pick on his old teammate.
 
Sweech said:
Also an interesting take to note is for as mad as people are about the safety play he does mention the fact that against 99% of the league and against all the other QBs that can't just casually throw 70 yard bombs guys like Ward didn't even misplay on the Pierce touchdown.
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JT can say what he wants. But the Texans knew two things about Richardson going into this game. That he can throw 70+ yards downfield and he can run over and by your arse. They knew that and still were beat over the top. Not acceptable going forward. Keep Richardson in the pocket and make him throw underneath. If he ever starts winning by throwing underneath, everyone is in trouble. But he hasn't.
 
Lucky said:
JT can say what he wants. But the Texans knew two things about Richardson going into this game. That he can throw 70+ yards downfield and he can run over and by your arse. They knew that and still were beat over the top. Not acceptable going forward. Keep Richardson in the pocket and make him throw underneath. If he ever starts winning by throwing underneath, everyone is in trouble. But he hasn't--even come close to it!
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FIFY

The gameplan was well conceived, the execution by the safeties was not. Take away those bombs (and the blocked punt) and that game wouldn't have been nearly as close.
 
Lucky said:
JT can say what he wants. But the Texans knew two things about Richardson going into this game. That he can throw 70+ yards downfield and he can run over and by your arse. They knew that and still were beat over the top. Not acceptable going forward. Keep Richardson in the pocket and make him throw underneath. If he ever starts winning by throwing underneath, everyone is in trouble. But he hasn't.
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AR has 2 known strengths 1 cannon arm with some deep accuracy 2 strong with ability to run.

Were those eliminated by our defensive plan?
 
cland said:
FIFY

The gameplan was well conceived, the execution by the safeties was not. Take away those bombs (and the blocked punt) and that game wouldn't have been nearly as close.
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Tell me again how we know the defensive game plan against the bomb was well conceived?
 
Maybe I’m wrong but I didn’t see a lot folks talking about Nico’s game on Sunday. Nico won this game with his amazing 3rd down reception that kept the Colts offense off the field. I was saying to my son, the Texans have to go for it on 3rd down b/c this is how they’ve lost so many games in the past…..conservative call, punt, lose the game. That throw by Stroud wasn’t the greatest, but Nico sure as hail made it a great pass for the most crucial 1st down of the game.

Stroud’s first deep toss to Nico was a bit short and required Nico to hit the brakes in between the defenders to haul in the throw. Had that ball been a bit deeper….Nico gets by the split defenders and goes in for the TD.

Nico is looking more and more like AJ 2.0.
 
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OptimisticTexan said:
Maybe I’m wrong but I didn’t see a lot folks talking about Nico’s game on Sunday. Nico won this game with his amazing 3rd down reception that kept the Colts offense off the field. I was saying to my son, the Texans have to go for it on 3rd down b/c this is how they’ve lost so many games in the past…..conservative call, punt, lose the game. That throw by Stroud wasn’t the greatest, but Nico sure as hail made it a great pass for the most crucial 1st down of the game.

Stroud’s first deep toss to Nico was a bit short and required Nico to hit the brakes in between the defenders to haul in the throw. Had that ball been a bit deeper….Nico gets by the split defenders and goes in for the TD.

Nico is looking more and more like AJ 2.0.
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That was a beautiful ball placement in that tight window. By far one of the best passes I’ve seen.

Yes sir Nico was huge. Finally we have a receiver that consistently eat the Colts up. Remember the Colts had a few receivers that would always go off on us every time. Now the tables have turned. Lol
 
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