Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Thoughts on Baltimore game

I recently reviewed some training camp observations and these are some thoughts I’ve come to:

1) I think it could be a good thing we face them the first game. They’re installing a new offense, and it sounds like they’re having some difficulties. There were multiple false starts, sacks, and 9 interceptions thrown by the offense.

2) Zay Flowers could give us problems, but I think his shiftiness is similar to Tank’s. So our DB’s might be able to cover him because they’ve been going up against Tank in training camp.

3) If our defense balls out, then we could potentially have a chance at an upset.
 
Good or bad I'm not taking a week of training camp to mean anything more than it's a week of training camp.

One thing I'll say about the game, still over a month away, is that it will be the 1st game for either team that will have all of their starting players on the field at the same time. We have some idea of what the Ravens will look like, their QB, coaching, etc, we've seen before, but none of us has a clue what the Texans will come out looking like.

And whatever is seen in the preseason, the outcomes of those games, etc, will mean nada. The Texans were 3-0 in the preseason last year.
 
TBH it will be good just to get this season started. I still expect a long painful season, but I want to see if this new era is more of the same or if there is legitimate reason to hope.

I'm not holding my breath... but I am curious.
 
We will be tested right out the gates. Last season was a down year for the Ravens, but they’re still a solid team. They should have a bounce back year.
I'm very interested in seeing how LJ adjusts to a new offense and if he can stay healthy. If these 2 things happen they can be as good as anybody in the AFC. Minus the AFC East and the Chiefs. I'm glad that the Texans are getting them early in the season.
 
I'm very interested in seeing how LJ adjusts to a new offense and if he can stay healthy. If these 2 things happen they can be as good as anybody in the AFC. Minus the AFC East and the Chiefs. I'm glad that the Texans are getting them early in the season.
they are a pretty formidable opponent when healthy. I was unaware until someone mentioned it today that the were installing a new offense....does anyone know what type?? Getting them 1st game of the season could be a blessing...especially if our defense is as improved as the reports out of training camp says they are.
 
they are a pretty formidable opponent when healthy. I was unaware until someone mentioned it today that the were installing a new offense....does anyone know what type?? Getting them 1st game of the season could be a blessing...especially if our defense is as improved as the reports out of training camp says they are.
Think of the Falcons offense after their SB season, or Tampa's offense before Brady.
 
Good or bad I'm not taking a week of training camp to mean anything more than it's a week of training camp.

One thing I'll say about the game, still over a month away, is that it will be the 1st game for either team that will have all of their starting players on the field at the same time. We have some idea of what the Ravens will look like, their QB, coaching, etc, we've seen before, but none of us has a clue what the Texans will come out looking like.

And whatever is seen in the preseason, the outcomes of those games, etc, will mean nada. The Texans were 3-0 in the preseason last year.
Opponents as well as Texans fans not knowing what to expect could be an advantage for several games.
 
I think LJ will try to do too much and not only have an off game but will have an injury perhaps non contact. Even with this, Texans probably lose on a Texans TO.
 
From what I’ve heard their offense is not doing well in training camp and that there’s a lot of frustrated players right now. But the game is still over a month away plenty of time for them to figure it out. Jackson no matter what will be a huge running threat and I read in some article that DeMeco’s defense has struggled mightily against running QB’s in the past.

I will say their defensive roster lacks firepower, I don’t see much there outside of Roquan Smith and Humphrey. I’m going with a competitive loss as my prediction but who knows
 
I believe the Texans will show up and play a good game, not playing the game like a last place team. I don't expect a DeMeco coached team to play like losers. Whether they can win or not depends on how well the defense plays, and I think they can stay close. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

I think the Texans offense is going to take a bit to get going, and probably not look so good their first real outing.
 
DeMeco and his defense have historically struggled against uber mobile QB's like Jackson so that's a bit worrying right off the bat but I do feel good about our defense and none of their offensive weapons outside of Jackson really scare me.

On offense I think the early part of the season is going to depend on the running game, from what I've heard about CJ and the offense as a whole there's still a lot of room to improve (to put it nicely). Hard to get a good read on how good this running game will be from training camp, hopefully we see some of the run game tomorrow. I have heard our oline has performed a lot better running the ball.

If we can get the run game going and control possession then I think we have a shot, if we can't run the ball then it'll be a long day.

I also think you can copy paste that last sentence for every game of the season until the passing game comes alive.
 
From a previous post>

The Texans will not be facing Pro Bowl CB Marion Humphrey week 1. He just sustained what was called "an undisclosed injury" during a joint practice..He is now being evaluated, but what is unusual, the initial word was that he is not looking at a surgery..............but "a medical procedure." A blood clot? Severe concussion? An Arrhythmia? No. Now I'm hearing the injury is a foot problem...................which will require surgery. If this turns out to be the case, no type of foot surgery will allow him to play against the Texans in week 1.
The Ravens signed CB Ronald Darby to fill the void left by Humphrey. The Texans should target him hard and often, as he is post ACL by 9 1/2 months. No way Darby is at full speed. CB is the position that takes the longest to return to play to any decent extent...........the last to be able to cut, stop and change direction.

And while we're talking about ACLs, OBJ is ~17 months out from his ACL (Super Bowl 2022). Yet he is unlikely to be the OBJ of old. He has had little luck staying on the field since 2019 (or most of his injury ladened career). He will have had a long time for rehabbing his ACL. Despite this, I doubt he provides us much problem, unless our CBs are not what we have been told we have.
 
Last edited:
From a previous post>


The Ravens signed CB Ronald Darby to fill the void left by Humphrey. The Texans should target him hard and often, as he is post ACL by 9 1/2 months. No way Darby is at full speed. CB is the position that takes the longest to return to play to any decent extent...........the last to be able to cut, stop and change direction.

And while we're talking about ACLs, OBJ is ~17 months out from his ACL (Super Bowl 2022). Yet he is unlikely to be the OBJ of old. He has had little luck staying on the field since 2019 (or most of his injury ladened career). He will have had a long time for rehabbing his ACL. Despite this, I doubt he provides us much problem, unless our CBs are not what we have been told we have.
Hate to come off as a Debbie Downer but from what I’ve seen throughout TC, even a 75% OBJ should be able to torch Stingley. The kid has not impressed at all. I hope he gets it together!
 
Texans fir shir the win defense only improving from last year. The offense needs improvement and the team knows it
 
Last edited:
Stingley and Green were not good picks from last year. Let's hope DeMeco has more "positive" influence on Caserio going forward.

If Stingley can't get his act together this year, he probably never will.
 
Stingley and Green were not good picks from last year. Let's hope DeMeco has more "positive" influence on Caserio going forward.

If Stingley can't get his act together this year, he probably never will.
In terms of play on the field I thought Stingley was fine last year especially factoring in that he was a rookie. Could have been better for sure but a promising start.

If we’re talking injuries that’s a different story but I don’t think DeMeco has the ability to remedy that
 
I didn't zero in on him today. Did he look solid against the dolphins?
Only time I noticed him he was the guy who the wide receiver ran into 10 yards after the catch for a decent gain. I also noticed him get completely beat by Hill, who had stopped on an out route just at the time Stingley swapped shoulders leaving Hill with an instant 8 yards of separation. I don’t know how much that is just bad luck on a given play, and also who doesn’t get discombobulated by Tyreek Hill, but certainly it wasn’t plus plays I was noticing but ones with questionable blame attached.

The D did not look impressive today, it seemed to get opportunities to stop the Dolphins early in drives, not capitalise, allow 3rd down conversions, and then as the first half wore on got gassed and began giving up huge plays, especially on the ground, looking very similar to what we’ve been watching since late-era RAC.

Have to have confidence in DeMeco to get on top of that, but I wasn’t expecting the D to look so far away given the new players, the big issue I see is that the LB corps is still a huge work in progress that they’ve again not been able to address with premier pickups, Perryman is what he is I guess and may be ok, Christian Harris will likely have a bit of a second rookie season following injury and scheme change, Kirksey is a body, To’oTo’o (so good they named him twice) looked a rookie out there.

This isn’t DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing working alongside a Zac Diles or a Morlon Greenwood and managing to make it work, it’s 3 lesser players until these younger guys can prove otherwise or Caserio can get round to some investment in the position.
 
Only time I noticed him he was the guy who the wide receiver ran into 10 yards after the catch for a decent gain. I also noticed him get completely beat by Hill, who had stopped on an out route just at the time Stingley swapped shoulders leaving Hill with an instant 8 yards of separation. I don’t know how much that is just bad luck on a given play, and also who doesn’t get discombobulated by Tyreek Hill, but certainly it wasn’t plus plays I was noticing but ones with questionable blame attached.

The D did not look impressive today, it seemed to get opportunities to stop the Dolphins early in drives, not capitalise, allow 3rd down conversions, and then as the first half wore on got gassed and began giving up huge plays, especially on the ground, looking very similar to what we’ve been watching since late-era RAC.

Have to have confidence in DeMeco to get on top of that, but I wasn’t expecting the D to look so far away given the new players, the big issue I see is that the LB corps is still a huge work in progress that they’ve again not been able to address with premier pickups, Perryman is what he is I guess and may be ok, Christian Harris will likely have a bit of a second rookie season following injury and scheme change, Kirksey is a body, To’oTo’o (so good they named him twice) looked a rookie out there.

This isn’t DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing working alongside a Zac Diles or a Morlon Greenwood and managing to make it work, it’s 3 lesser players until these younger guys can prove otherwise or Caserio can get round to some investment in the position.
The guy you’re referring to on the Tyreek Hill catch was Desmond King
 
The Ravens DC Mike Macdonald was the DC for the Michigan Wolverines in 2021. So he's faced off against CJ before. Macdonald called a lot of zone in that game, and while Stroud threw for 394 yards, the Wolverines limited the Buckeyes chunk plays and forced everything into the intermediate and underneath zones. I expect a similar game plan for the Ravens Week 1, with Macdonald dialing up some zone blitzes, that have given the Texans offense problems this preseason.
 
The Ravens DC Mike Macdonald was the DC for the Michigan Wolverines in 2021. So he's faced off against CJ before. Macdonald called a lot of zone in that game, and while Stroud threw for 394 yards, the Wolverines limited the Buckeyes chunk plays and forced everything into the intermediate and underneath zones. I expect a similar game plan for the Ravens Week 1, with Macdonald dialing up some zone blitzes, that have given the Texans offense problems this preseason.
This is definitely a weakness, gotta learn to process better.
 
After thinking about it a little more Baltimore's offense concerns me more than I thought. They're like us in that I don't see a true #1 stud WR (I don't think Beckham has got it anymore) but I think they have a good selection of targets. But unlike us they have a proven weapon at QB. We also struggled heavily in joint practices and preseason week 2 vs Tight Ends so unfortunately I think Andrews is gonna feast.

I'm more optimistic about CJ Stroud vs this time last week but less optimistic about the game as a whole. The good news is this is one of the games I had penned as a loss coming into preseason so hopefully we can be competitive and come back strong week 2 and start winning.
 
We're clearly outmatched from a talent and an experience stand point other than Baltimore implementing a new offense.

I expect to get smacked, but it's gameweek 1 so wild things can happen.
 
If a couple of our oline starters don't heal up by kickoff then I have almost no hope for this one. Currently LG is up in the air and we aren't sure if Scruggs or Howard will be available week 1.
 
meh....we'll lose, just expect it. How close we are and if we play well enough to keep the Houston audience awake, we'll see.
 
Back
Top