SB Nation - Tim Bulman

Post-Game Breakdown: Texans Drop Heartbreaker To Colts In Indianapolis

Tim — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:00:38 -0000

Almost a full day later, it still hurts. If you're a believer in moral victories, yesterday's loss in Indianapolis probably counts as a moral victory. If you're like me, moral victories do very little for you eight (8) years in. Still, there's a lot to like from what we saw yesterday against the Colts, and your Houston Texans nearly beat an undefeated team (perhaps the best team in the NFL right now) at their house. Unfortunately, they don't keep track of "near-wins," and we have two full weeks to digest what we saw before the Texans get a chance to take the field again. Let's get to the specifics from the fourth loss of the season:

1. Kris Brown--you are forgiven. He has hit far too many big kicks in his career as a Texan, including but not limited to that monstrous 56-yarder he put through the uprights immediately before the half to seize momentum from the Colts (although it must be noted that said boot was the fortuitious consequence of the Colts calling timeout and erasing his first try), not to receive the benefit of the doubt. It is fair, however, to note that Brown has missed the same number of FGs thus far in 2009 that he missed in all of 2008, in 19 fewer attempts. Worth keeping an eye on.

2. How is it that seemingly every Texans fan, going into the game, knew it was folly to try to cover Dallas Clark with a linebacker, yet Frank Bush assigned Brian Cushing to the task virtually the entire game? Linebackers simply cannot cover Clark, just like linebackers could not cover Owen Daniels. By putting Cushing on Clark, the Texans were essentially conceding the matchup, and Peyton Manning blistered 'em all day. Why not put a DB on Clark?

3. The Texans cannot play zone. It's the equivalent of death by a thousand cuts. Please, please, please do not subject us to any more zone looks, Mr. Bush. It's horrific to watch and astoundingly ineffective.

4. I do not come only to bury Frank Bush, friends. The horrors of the first half (first quarter in particular, when Peyton threw 25 (!) times for about 180 yards) were profound, yes, but Bush showed once again that he can make adjustments at halftime. Say what you will about the Houston offense controlling the ball in the second half, but that was a different Texans defense we saw after the intermission. The offense kept the defense fresh and off the field with sustained drives, but the defense was darn good in the second half.

5. In years past, your Houston Texans would have trailed the Colts 21-0 at halftime. This time, it was 13-3, because the defense bowed up and held the Colts to field goals. That is tangible and anecdotal progress.

6. Total Rushing Yards for Indianapolis: 72. Granted, they only ran it 18 times, primarily because they had so much success through the air. Still...72 yards is 72 yards.

7. I think Kerns e-mailed a copy of his Friday post to Bernard Pollard, because Pollard looked like a man angling for a new deal yesterday. Two interceptions from a SS who's not really the ballhawking type. Yes, one of them was on an awful throw from Reggie Wayne, and the other may well have been the result of a Colt running the wrong route. Regardless, both were HUGE plays and occurred on Houston's side of the field. Qualify them however you like, as long as you throw "HUGE" in there as well.

8. Glover Quin played exceptionally well. I've been one of those fans scratching my head over his elevation to the starting lineup over Jacques Reeves. No more. He's legit. ~~As legit as Fred Bennett was his rookie year!~~. Sorry about that.

9. Chicken/Egg here...although Reggie Wayne had 8 catches, he wasn't much of a factor. Was that relative ineffectiveness due to the Dallas Clark-Brian Cushing mismatch, or did Dunta Robinson have more to do with it than we'd like to admit? Personally, I'm of the mind that it's more the former, but Dunta can't win at this point. If Wayne would've had a big game, we'd all be ripping D-Rob for that.

10. Connor Barwin's contributions to the Texans yesterday came in the form of two gigantic penalties. Yet another reason why Tim Bulman is highly underrated.

11. I waited until the bye week was upon us to do this. I can't wait any longer. Here goes: Jacoby Jones is having a tremendous season. He's been an asset on special teams, in the passing game, and occasionally, in the running game. For someone I thought was sure to be cut in September, I might have been more wrong about him than I was about Cushing.

12. The preceding paragraph has guaranteed that Jacoby will fumble twice on Monday Night Football for all the world to see. My apologies--I simply couldn't continue not praising the guy for having a fine season.

13. While Joel Dreessen didn't put up Owen Daniels numbers, he did have a big third down catch. He's not OD. He doesn't have to be in an offense that features Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter starting at WR. That said, we saw how much Schaub misses OD yesterday. Peyton has Dallas Clark; Schaub had OD. Without OD, Schaub is more prone than ever to lock in on 'Dre and force passes his way (e.g., the pick into triple coverage). I hope that Schaub uses the bye week to reestablish the rapport he had last season with K-Dub. As amazing as 'Dre is, he cannot be expected to wrestle the football away from three defenders every game.

14. K-Dub's catch inside the IND 5 was one of the best I've seen this season. Nice to see him become a significant part of the offense again. I repeat: We're gonna need it more than ever with OD gone.

15. When Dwight Freeney beat Duane Brown yesterday, it looked really, really bad. What we don't see in nearly as dramatic fashion, however, is the multiple times Brown kept Freeney in check. Freeney's one of the best ends in the league, so Brown's going to get beat a time or three. Yet Schaub was clean most of the day, and that's a testament to the entire OL.

16. Schaub's second INT, though? All Chris Myers.

17. Matt Schaub finished with two (2) less completions and seven (7) less attempts than Peyton Manning en route to another 300+ yard passing day. Most importantly, he operated a two-minute offense, starting from his own 15 yard line, with no timeouts, and got the Texans into field goal range. That's about as good as it gets.

18. I hope Ryan Moats enjoyed that starting gig, because I don't think it's going to be his when the Titans visit on November 23rd. That's not to say he played poorly; he didn't. But when a guy gets the gig on the strength of not fumbling the football, then proceeds to fumble the football, all while the deposed starter does not fumble the football, I'm guessing Steve Slaton goes back to the first string.

19. Much was made in the Comments during and after the game about the Texans failing to snap the ball from the IND 1 after Moats appeared to fumble; as you'll recall, Houston let the clock run to the two-minute warning, which gave the Colts extra time to consider challenging the play. Which they did, successfully.

I don't blame Schaub for failing to snap the ball. I blame Kubes. More to the point, I blame whoever he's got in the booth. Kubes may not have been able to see it from the opposite sideline, but there's no excuse for his staff in the booth not to see what was going on. In the past, we've all given Kubes a lot of flack for his horrific and ill-timed challenges. Inevitably, this has led us to question exactly who he has watching over this stuff in the booth. I still don't know who it is. All I know is that the person or persons seem to be doing a very poor job. Even worse, Kubes doesn't seem to think it's a problem worth addressing.

20. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Matt Schaub (chiefly because of that final drive; Andre Johnson deserves it too); Defense--Bernard Pollard; Special Teams--Matt Turk (Jacoby actually did very little on punt returns, and I can't give it to the dude who missed the game-winner).

Now we get to work ourselves into a frenzy for two weeks until Bud Adams' Army of Darkness and Monday Night Football return to Reliant Stadium. It's gonna be a looooooooooong fortnight.

Texans vs Colts coverage
Texans vs Colts recap
Titans vs Texans coverage

Post-Game Breakdown: Texans Dominate Raiders

Tim — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:00:49 -0000

The offense has looked better this season. The defense most definitely hadn't. Qualify the victory however you want, but give me those qualifications every day of the week over the suicide watch that would have surely accompanied a loss. 2-2 is exponentially better than 1-3, so we should probably keep a positive outlook. Quick thoughts on the game:

1. I'm going to lead with Brian Cushing because he impressed me more than any other player on the field yesterday. He was, as -Jay texted me, "...everywhere...including [my] mind." Sure tackling, pressuring the QB, the appearance of being in on every play, the safety...what can I say, except that it's all but confirmed anew that I have no idea what I'm talking about? While I remain concerned about his ability to stay healthy, I've seen enough to say: Mea culpa, Mr. Cushing. Please accept this idiot's humble apologies.

2. Yesterday was Amobi Okoye's finest game in two years. Anyone disagree?

3. While Antonio Smith has yet to look like he was worth the huge free agent dollars he commanded, a few more afternoons like that and we'll all feel a whole lot better about him being in the long-term plans on the defensive line.

4. Throughout this young season, I've failed miserably at giving Tim Bulman the recognition he deserves. Seems like every time he's on the field, he's around the ball. Nice to see him getting more reps in the rotation.

5. Say what you will about Jeff Zgonina, but the guy consistently makes one more play per game than Travis Johnson ever did.

6. A very solid, albeit rather quiet, game from Zac Diles. The same could be said about DeMeco. Both were blotted out by the Sun That Is Brian Cushing.

7. Typing that last sentence felt like penance for me.

8. I'd love to get excited about the secondary's play. Really, I would. But JaMarcus Russell and the Oakland receiving corps are so bad, I'm just not sure that the secondary's success against the pass wasn't more a product of a bad offense's misfiring repeatedly. I will say, however, that Glover Quin and Bernard Pollard looked much, much better than the dudes they replaced (Fred Bennett and Dominique Barber, though Barber got the start due to Eugene Wilson's illness and actually played darn well). Indeed, D. Barber's stellar play yesterday, after looking so clueless the previous three games, only underscores the notion that any strides that may have appeared to have been made on the defense could be primarily due to the inept nature of the opposition. I'll reserve judgment, particularly because the secondary will have a chance to address the criticism directly on Sunday in Arizona, where they will be sporting large bullseyes on their backs.

9. Like pretty much everyone else on the defense, Dunta Robinson had his best game of the season. Was it worth $23 mil guaranteed? No.

10. One of these days, Mario Williams is going to split a QB in two, and I will not be the least bit surprised.

11. A note about the Raiders...why didn't they run more, especially early in the game? If I didn't know better, I'd think Tom Cable bet his bail money on the Texans to cover the spread.

12. In your entire life, you may not ever see a worse group of wide receivers than what Oakland trotted out at Reliant Stadium. I've never seen so many drops in a professional football game.

13. Of course, it might have helped if JaMarcus Russell was capable of putting touch on the ball instead of trying to break fingers with every pass.

14. I feel bad for Raiders fans. And if there's something more humiliating than pity from a Texans fan, I don't know what it is.

15. After looking like one of the best QBs in the league the last two weeks, Matt Schaub looked awfully shaky yesterday. I realize he didn't have a chance to atone much in the second half due to the conservative nature of the game plan, especially after the safety and Jacoby Jones' TD, but a 50% completion rate is not getting it done. And for the record, that's two awful interceptions in the red zone in two weeks.

16. In the same vein as the preceding point, I'm stunned that Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels only had two (2) catches each. I'm even more stunned that they were the team's leading receivers with those numbers.

17. That gorgeous 95-yard TD return isn't fooling me. I'm still mortified every time Jacoby Jones takes the field.

18. Two scores aside, can we officially be worried about Steve Slaton? It looked like it took Ryan Moats stealing carries, and threatening to steal more, before Slaton got it together.

19. Kris Brown missed a field goal. When was the last time that happened?

20. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Steve Slaton (I guess); Defense--Brian Cushing; Special Teams--Jacoby Jones.

Your Houston Texans head to the desert this weekend. The good news is that we should get a much better idea whether the new additions to the starting secondary are tangible upgrades or merely rearranged deck chairs on the Titanic. I think we'll see a healthy amount of blitzing again, because Frank Bush cannot realistically like his unit's chances of covering Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston & Co. if Kurt Warner does not feel heat on a regular basis throughout the afternoon. From a big picture perspective, I'll be watching with great interest to see if the team can put together two consecutive quality games in a row. Hasn't happened so far this season, and it had better start soon if this team has designs on breaking the 8-8 mold.

Decision Day: 53-Man Roster Speculation

bigfatdrunk — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:13:47 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

3 months ago: Houston Texans' David Anderson (89) congratulates James Casey (86) after Casey's 11-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Rex Grossman during the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

Browse more photos »

With cuts due by 3pm CDT (I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong), I wanted to pontifibate one last time on the 53-man roster. It's not going to be much different than my first take.

As a refresher, here's the composition of the Texans original 53-man roster last year:

2 QBs
3 RBs
1 FB
5 WRs
3 TEs
5 OTs
5 Gs (1 C/G)
1 C
3 Special Teamers (P, K, LS)
6 DEs
5 DTs
6 LBs
4 CBs
5 Ss

Again, there's substantial reason to believe the roster will be similarly composed. So here goes:

2 QBs: Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky
3 RBs: Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Arian Foster (over Ryan Moats)
1 FB: Vonta Leach
5 WRs: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, David Anderson, Jacoby Jones
3 TEs: Owen Daniels, James Casey, Anthony Hill
4 OTs: Duane Brown, Cliff Washburn, Eric Winston, Rashad Butler
5 OGs: Antoine Caldwell, Chester Pitts, Kasey Studdard, Mike Brisiel, Chris White. Last year, there were 5 OTs and 4 OGs.
1 C: Chris Myers
3 Special Teamers: P - Matt Turk, K - Kris Brown, LS - Clark Harris
5 DEs: Antonio Smith, Mario Williams, Connor Barwin, Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading
5 DTs: Amobi Okoye, DelJuan Robinson, Frank Okam, Shaun Cody, Jeff Zgonina
6 LBs: Zac Diles, Xavier Adibi, DeMeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, Buster Davis, Kevin Bentley
5 CBs: Jacques Reeves, Fred Bennett, Brice McCain, Glover Quin, Antwaun Molden
4 Ss: Dominique Barber, Eugene Wilson, Nick Ferguson, John Busing

Again, that leaves us with 52 of the 53 spots. I think it's going to come down to:

Rex Grossman: He'll be tough to cut after last night's performance.
Glenn Martinez: Was a fiend on special teams all preseason.
Joel Dreessen: Your basic, but very good, utility TE.

After Anthony Hill's performance last night, I believe Dreessen takes the last spot. While Casey needs some time to mature into the position, Hill is definitely not ready. Dreessen will be the steady hand.

As far as Grossman, I believe there's a chance he still makes the team over Jeff Zgonina. Kubiak hasn't shown any indication he's going to take three QBs, and after last night's game, he seemed pretty non-committal about keeping Rex. Personally, I don't believe Rex makes the team.

I'll be out of town when the cuts are made, but I'll be back this afternoon.

bfd's First Take at the 53-Man Roster

bigfatdrunk — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:31:53 -0000

Great discussion last week on the possible composition of the 53-man roster started by Texans-Brocos. Here's my take with a little bit of background.

Last year, the Texans' opening roster consisted of:

2 QBs
3 RBs
1 FB
5 WRs
3 TEs
5 OTs
5 Gs (1 C/G)
1 C
3 Special Teamers (P, K, LS)
6 DEs
5 DTs
6 LBs
4 CBs
5 Ss

I think it's reasonable to believe the 2009 roster will be similarly composed. After last night's game, here's my guess as to how the 53-man is shaping up:

2 QBs: Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky
3 RBs: Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Ryan Moats (depending on his injury)
1 FB: Vonta "Human Coke Machine" Leach
5 WRs: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Andre Davis, David Anderson, Jacoby Jones (almost by default)
3 TEs: Owen Daniels, James Casey, Anthony Hill (no Joel Dreessen, which is our loss)
4 OTs: Duane Brown, Cliff Washburn, Eric Winston, Rashad Butler
5 OGs: Antoine Caldwell, Chester Pitts, Kasey Studdard, Mike Brisiel, Chris White. Last year, there were 5 OTs and 4 OGs.
1 C: Chris Myers (depending on his health, obviously)
3 Special Teamers: P - Matt Turk, K - Kris Brown, LS - Clark Harris
5 DEs: Antonio Smith, Mario Williams, Connor Barwin, Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading
5 DTs: Amobi Okoye, DelJuan Robinson, Frank Okam, Shaun Cody, Jeff Zgonina (no Travis Johnson)
6 LBs: Zac Diles, Xavier Adibi, DeMeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, Buster Davis (depending on Cato June's health), Kevin Bentley
5 CBs: Jacques Reeves, Fred Bennett, Brice McCain, Glover Quin, Antwaun Molden (no Dunta Robinson...just in case)
4 Ss: Dominique Barber, Eugene Wilson, Nick Ferguson, John Busing

Several differences from last year, though nothing crazy. Last year, we carried 6 DEs and 5 DTs, whereas I have us carrying 5 DEs this year. Sadly, I still have us carrying Jeff Zgonina as I just don't see anybody on the roster otherwise. There's the difference in OGs and OTs, and I have us keeping 5 CBs and 4 Ss, where that was swapped last year.

Also, and I doubt you noticed, but I have listed only 52 players for 2009. If Dunta signs, I do believe we'll keep 6 CBs on the roster as I believe the Texans, rightly so, would be afraid to release either McCain or Molden, who are the two I believe to be most on the bubble. I also believe that one of the CBs will be in line for a position change to S.

One guy who really intrigues me is Glenn Martinez, as he was the most "on" last night. He can return punts and kickoffs and looks like an excellent gunner on special teams. As I said in the game thread, he reminds me of Steve Tasker in the way he plays. There's a chance he overtakes Jones, but because we're carrying extra CBs, it'll make it tougher for Martinez to win a job.

What do y'all think?

Contracts, Salary Cap, and the Future?

Riott — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:16:59 -0000

With all these questions about new deals for players springing up, and with contract negotiations dominating our attention as Texans fans, I decided to do a quick cap preview for the next 4 years, using InTheBullseye.com, Rotoworld.com, and pulling numbers out of my ass to acquire data to analyze. This examines the hypothetical future for our Houston Texans under new deals for our big name players in question.

According to InTheBullseye.com, for 2009 we are under the cap by about $10 million, and for 2010, with DeMeco Ryans, Mike Brisiel, Ryan Moats, and Tim Bulman (and others) as RFAs, and Chris Brown, Travis Johnson, Chester Pitts, Chaun Thompson, Kevin Walter, and Dunta Robinson (with some more low dollar contracts) as UFAs, we are $39.97 million under. If we pretend that Owen never signed his RFA tender, then we have an unsigned O.D. this year and the cap space for 2009 is $12 million.

Using the benchmarks Tim provided, as well as Rotoworld.com salaries for some comparable players, I established what I feel would be good deals for the three players in question:

DeMeco Ryans – Six years, $48 million contract. The deal includes $24 million guaranteed. 2009: $1.35 million, 2010: $1.85 million, 2011-2013: $4.35 million, 2014: $4.85 million, 2015: $5.5 million, 2016: Free Agent

Dunta Robinson - Four years, $16.8 million contract. The deal contains $8.5 million guaranteed, including a $6 million signing bonus. 2009: $2.15 million, 2010: $2.9 million, 2011: $3.293 million, 2012: Free Agent. (This is Cortland Finnegan’s deal. This is what Dunta deserves, as he hasn’t proven that he is worth a huge deal, but he is still a leader and an impact player if 100%. Undoubtedly, we will pay more than this to keep him, but we shouldn’t.)

Owen Daniels - Six years, $30 million contract. The deal contains $14 million guaranteed, including an $11 million roster bonus in the second year. 2009: $620,000, 2010: $2.325 million, 2011: $3.7 million, 2012: $3.8 million, 2013: $3.85 million, 2014: Free Agent ( This is Chris Cooley’s deal. I think this is too much for Owen, but he is a proven commodity and worth keeping around. HOWEVER, if someone dangles anything that even resembles a first round pick for him...bye Owen, and thanks for all the fish. )

I think those are fair deals. Will they accept them? No, but if they did, let us take a look at our salary cap scenario for the 2009 season. DeMeco’s cap number would be $5.35 million, Dunta's is $4.27 million, and Owen’s is $2.9 million. That allows us to just barely squeak by under the cap for the upcoming season, with probably less than a million dollars of cap space available (Remember, I am rounding).

What about the 2010 season? DeMeco’s cap number would be $5.85 million, Dunta’s at $4.32 million, and Owen’s at $4.65 million. Along with the rest of the salaries on the roster, that leaves $25.15 million left to re-sign Chris Brown (if he doesn’t break his wrist signing), Ferguson (if we still suck at safety after the 2009 season, my brain will explode), Travis Johnson (brain explodes), Chester Pitts (big contract here), Chaun Thompson, Kevin Walter, Matt Turk, Mike Brisiel, Tim Bulman, Ryan Moats, and some back-up fodder. Not too shabby, I think.

After 2011 is even more hypothetical, as there are so many variables as to who will even be here in two years, but for S&Gs let’s take a gander.

2011 is where it starts to get interesting. Mario Williams' cap number is $17-20 million, Andre Johnson’s is $8.675 million, and Schaub’s is $6.86 million, Antonio Smith is going to be about $6 million, and, by now, I bet we have given Steve Slaton a new deal. Lots of money there, plus Leach, Fred Bennett, Bentley, and a whole bunch of backups need new deals.

2012, I firmly believe, will suck. A lot. First, Mario needs a new deal. My stomach turns thinking about how much money I am absolutely willing to spend to keep Mario here: 6 years, $80 million is probably the price tag we will be looking at (if not much more). Schaub, AJ, Antonio Smith, Winston, DeMeco, Dunta, and Owen will all be making a lot of money. We will probably be paying Cushing quite a bit on his rookie deal here as well. We will need to resign Eugene Wilson, Apostrophe, Chris Myers, Dan-O, David Anderson, and if they haven’t already, Steve Slaton. Something’s gotta give, methinks.

The next few years look to be pretty interesting. We have finally reached the negative part of no longer sucking – paying the players who don’t suck. Managing contracts and acquiring cheap talent are going to be important parts of the future. We are going to see our first money casualties in the next few years, and watching one of our real stars leave for cash elsewhere for the first time is going to blow. Hopefully, this gave you guys and gals a little bit better idea of what the future may look like for our Houston Texans.

Sound off below.

More Dominant Defensive Line - Titans Vs. Texans Part II

Jake — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:37:46 -0000

On Tuesday I wrote an article regarding Adam Schein’s theory that the Houston Texans’ defensive line will be better in 2009 than the unit belonging to the Tennessee Titans. I laid out my case of why Adam might be right on this account, specifically because of the loss of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. My contention was that it wasn’t the loss of Fat Albert alone that would cause the Titans defensive line to struggle; rather, the absence of such a dynamic player would expose the rest of the defensive lineman’s weaknesses.

Paul Kuharsky of ESPN was kind enough to link that article as he had previously linked Adam Schein’s column that spurred this debate. Paul runs a great site specifically dedicated to the AFC South. Not only does he have great information pertaining to all four teams in the division, but he does a great job of trying to interact with fans by conducting live chats like the one he will hold on Friday at 2:00 P.M. EST. I’m sorry to say that the Texans are a little underrepresented on his site, which is something I think we should try to fix.

Paul made a point when linking the article that was justified:

"Two words that have not been factored into this enough: Travis Johnson."

Not only was Kuharsky justified in that statement, but if he or anyone else who had read the article had taken a step further and identified my one-sided criticism toward the Titans defensive line that would have been justified as well. I assumed that any naysayers of Schein’s original argument would automatically focus on how good the Titans’ line was rather than how bad the Texans’ was, so I centered the article on disproving the former line of thought rather than the latter. In hindsight this line of thinking left my point of why I agree with Schein half stated. Allow me to finish what I started.

All of the defensive units for the Texans have been substandard for a long time now, including the line. Since I examined the performance of the Titans line over the last two years because of Haynesworth playing for a new contract in both seasons, I will use the same timeframe for any historical analysis of the Texans’ line as well.

You can’t have a discussion about Houston’s defense, much less the line, without starting with Mario Williams. After being hampered by a foot injury in his rookie year, Williams has accumulated 26 sacks in the last two seasons, becoming one of the most dominant pass rushers in the league. An average of 56 tackles over those two years also shows that Williams is stingy against the run as well and is not just a one-dimensional pass rusher. Even more impressive, Williams has spent the majority of the last two years getting double-teamed by offensive lineman.

The reason why Williams was facing two blockers on almost every play was because of the lack of talent among the rest of the defensive ends. Anthony Weaver showed early and often that he could simply not produce in a 4-3 scheme after leaving Baltimore’s 3-4. Tim Bulman showed brief flashes last year in 14 games but garnered a mere 4 sacks and 18 tackles. Even commonly facing one blocker because of the respect given to Williams, the two of them still couldn’t produce regularly.

This lack of production was the catalyst for signing Antonio Smith at the onset of free agency. Smith comes from the recently successful Arizona Cardinals, who benefited from Smith’s great play in the 2008 playoffs. Smith won’t wow you as a pass rusher as exemplified by just 9 sacks in the last two seasons, but it was his jack-of-all-trades role that enticed the Texans into targeting him early. Smith can not only play stout against the run, but he can slide inside and rush from the defensive tackle position on obvious passing situations like third downs. Just like I said about Jovan Haye, no one knows how Smith will perform in the Texans' system, but Smith has a better track record than Haye had in Tampa Bay.

Connor Barwin was also added to the defensive end rotation via the draft to address the lack of production at the position opposite Mario Williams. Barwin burst onto the scene after an all around amazing performance at the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. Barwin has the ability to be a great pass rusher in the NFL, but he is still very green, having only one defensive season under his belt in college, albeit a very productive one. Barwin will see the field in passing situations and special teams, but the true determining factor for full-time play will be his ability to improve against the run.

As to Kuharsky’s original point, Travis Johnson has been terrible since being draft in the first round of the 2005 draft. I have no doubt that Johnson had incredible upside when coming into the league, but obviously lack of work ethic and caring got the better of him. He should be motivated by playing in the last year of his contract, but if the way he showed up to OTAs is any indication, even a new contract is not enough to overcome his sloth. Frank Okam has been the common answer to who will replace Johnson, but he has yet to see significant playing time. DelJuan Robinson, while playing well in the Tennessee victory at the end of the season last year, probably doesn’t have the talent to be a permanent starter.

The real wild card on the Texans' line is Amobi Okoye. After a breakout rookie season in 2007 in which the penetrating under-tackle tallied 5.5 sacks, Okoye significantly regressed last year. Amobi was hampered in the beginning of the year with a high ankle sprain and an apparent lack of offseason conditioning, but came on strong in the end of the year. Okoye is the same age as most rookies drafted this year, but he has two years of NFL experience under his belt. His regression is probably the biggest reason why Mario Williams experienced a slight dip in his production, even though it was very slight (14 to 12 sacks).

Even with my biased spin, the Texans look lacking in comparison with the recent success of the Titans' defensive line. As stated above, there are many reasons to expect great things from this unit in 2009 but past experience is not at the top of that list. One thing that both defensive lines had in common in the last two years was the presence of dynamic players. The title of dynamic is assigned because of a level of talent that creates opportunities for players around them.

It’s this difference that tips the scales in the Texans' favor in my opinion. Both Mario Williams and Albert Haynesworth are such rare talents that, when they are lost, it is hard to replace them. The Texans don’t have to address that problem this year whereas the Titans do. Furthermore, the only player that the Texans lost was an unproductive defensive end, and they added two players in his stead. Neither is certain to be great, but that’s two opportunities to get better at that position, which shouldn’t be that hard given the utter lack of past production.

The other reality is that the Titans not only expect more from their defensive line, they need more. The success of their team has been based off of a dominant pressure defense which allows a ball control offense. The Texans have had an offense, especially last year, that was good enough to win with marginal success from the defense at large. If the Titans' defense regresses at all, it will require an offensive change in philosophy that they may not be able to achieve with Kerry Collins and Vince Young. The Texans, on the other hand, are entering their first year with a healthy Matt Schaub and a second-year offensive coordinator. If their defense manages to improve past 22nd in the league, they very well may obtain their first winning season. In summation, the Texans’ defensive line has a decent chance to be better than the Titans, but even if they’re not, the team still has a chance to benefit more.

Post-Draft Musings: What Position Is Still The Most Glaring Weakness?

Tim — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:31:34 -0000

The draft is in the books. There will still be some moves made via free agency, but the fact is that the overwhelming majority of players who will be Houston Texans when the season kicks off against the Jets on September 13th are already on the roster. Knowing that, I ask you this: What position terrifies you the most right now? In other words, what position on the squad still screams the loudest for an upgrade?

Personally, I'd say defensive tackle. Travis Johnson inspires the exact opposite of confidence. Despite a promising rookie campaign, even the most stringent Amobi Okoye supporters should admit that he can't be considered a sure thing. I really like DelJuan Robinson and Tim Bulman as productive rotation guys, but I'm not as bullish on them as starters. I'm still of the mind that Frank Okam could be the answer next to Amobi, but the coaching staff has not exhibited anything resembling that sort of belief. Antonio Smith? Sure, it's nice to envision him moving inside in passing situations on third down. What about first and second downs? Or fourth and inches?

Talk me into feeling better about DT in the Comments below. Or feel free to divert my attention to a more glaring positional need.

Post-Game Breakdown: I Prefer To Focus On 8-4 (Part II)

Tim — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:11:16 -0000

Apologies for the delay in posting the second part of the final PGB of the season (Part I here). Work, prayers getting answered and Riott's arrival (not to mention his subsequent badarsery) kept my plate full last week. We already checked out the offense's performance against Da Bears, with an eye toward output over the 2008 season; now I turn our attention to the defense and special teams:

1. DE--Pretty simple analysis here. Super Mario is a demigod. Potential wrath of the Almighty aside, I think we should all construct statues in Mario's honor.

I'm also bullish on Tim Bulman, Jesse Nading, and Earl Cochran. All of those guys, especially Bulman, looked like they have the ability to be in a rotation at DE in '09. While none of them may be an ideal long-term solution opposite Mario, I hope that at least one, hopefully two, and perhaps all three, is/are brought back next season. If I have to choose between them, give me Bulman, who has the benefit of not coming off an injury and the flexibility to play DT.

Finally, we come to Anthony Weaver. Anthony Weaver, who signed a five (5) year, $26,500,000.00 contract ($12,500,000.00 guaranteed) in March of 2006. Anthony Weaver, who has posted one more sack than a dead man during his three (3) seasons (none since 2006!) in H-Town. I'll leave the cap implications of parting ways with him to Riott. I'll just say this: If Anthony Weaver is a Texan in 2009, it had better be the result of a drastic, Ahman Green-esque restructuring of his contract (suggestion...$200,000.00 for every sack or tackle for loss?). Further, if Weaver starts another game at DE, I'm giving myself a gasoline shampoo/lit match conditioner job. I can't take it anymore.

2. DT--Tim Bulman and/or DelJuan Robinson were your best DTs last week, as well as the entire season. Considering your Houston Texans "boast" two (2) recent first-round picks that "play" defensive tackle, that's rather troubling.

Staying on DelJuan Robinson...he even stepped in and looked solid at DE when Mario went down in the second half against the Bears. Considering his relatively low salary demands, you'd think the Texans would be interested in bringing him back in 2009.

There's no denying that Amobi regressed in his second season of professional football. He showed flashes of promise as the 2008 season wound down, but flashes ain't enough for the tenth overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. He has to get markedly better in '09, or the bust talk will get increasingly loud.

That said, Amobi needs a planetoid DT lining up next to him to be able to do the things Amobi can do. I thought Frank Okam could be that guy, but the coaches, via the fact that Okam was not even active for most of 2008, clearly disagree with me. Whose call was that, I wonder? Kubes? Richard Smith? Jethro Franklin? Two of those guys don't have a say anymore, so it'll be interesting to see if Okam sees more action in 2009 (though I think it's far from certain that Okam makes the team next year). If Okam's not the guy to line up next to Amobi, bringing in a mammoth DT, likely via the draft, has to be one of the top priorities of the offseason.

Remember what I wrote above about Anthony Weaver? Plug in "Travis Johnson," and re-read it. Same thing. Self-immolation all around!

3. Quick anecdote about Jethro Franklin from the final game of the 2008 season...one of my buddies procured seats that were a few rows off the field, right behind the Texans' sideline. As such, I had a vantage point I typically don't have last week. What did I see? I saw Tim Bulman and Super Mario yelling at Jethro at various points throughout the game. Bulman in particular looked pretty hacked off. Of course, this could just be heat of the game interaction between a coach and his players, but I found it to be interesting, as players typically don't shout down their coaches. For his part, Franklin looked completely unfazed; he didn't give off the impression that it was a big deal at all. In fact, maybe that's the relationship he had with his players; I don't know. Still, I remembered those exchanges when the slightly surprising decision to jettison Franklin (who Super Mario had praised at length on several prior occasions) came down on the Eve of New Year's Eve.

4. LB--This is easily the strongest unit of the defense. DeMeco is one of the best in the business. Zac Diles, though undersized, was a tackling machine until he managed to kick himself to the injured reserve in early November. Xaiver Adibi looked fast and sure when he finally stepped in for Morlon Greenwood. Greenwood, meanwhile, looked nothing like the criminally underrated Morlon Greenwood we saw in 2007. If Morlon was a pitcher, we'd say he lost his fastball. If he was a horse, we'd shoot him. While Greenwood may still be capable of contributing in a rotation at LB, I'd be surprised if he was plying his trade in Houston come September 2009.

I'm intrigued about how Smithiak will handle LB in the 2009 NFL Draft. Assuming Diles can come back from his injury, I think a starting troika of him, DeMeco, and Adibi has real potential. I like Kevin Bentley a ton, but there's not a lot of depth after him. If you can get a stud linebacker in the first few rounds, do you take him? It's not nearly the area of need that DL or secondary is, so perhaps not. Then again, we shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking the Texans are so stacked at LB that they should pass on the best player available simply because of the position he plays.

5. CB--I am positively terrified at watching the Dunta Robinson negotiations play out, because there's a very real possibility that Smithiak has a totally different take on what should comprise a long-term contract for Dunta Robinson than Dunta and/or his agent does/do. If not for the injury, Dunta would be getting paid top corner money. Nor should we underestimate the fact that Dunta is the emotional leader of the Houston defense; in that respect, he'd be awfully difficult to replace. Plus, even coming off the injury, Dunta's the best CB on the roster. I think he's going to get his long-term deal. I hope he gets his long-term deal. I'm still scared.

Jacques Reeves is who I thought he was, though I'll admit that his speed is top-notch. Here's hoping that our as-yet-unknown new secondary coach threatens him with bodily injury throughout the offseason in an attempt to get him to turn his freaking head to locate the ball and/or to get his effing hands up. That, or cut him. I'd be good either way.

I have no idea what happened to Fred Bennett this year. I know he's not as bad as he appeared to be. I also know he's nowhere near as bad as Reeves and/or Petey Faggins, both of whom took snaps away from him. How does somebody go from young stalwart to barely getting on the field? Was it entirely Richard Smith's diabolical work? Jon Hoke's? We may never know.

6. S--A true FS is still nowhere to be found on the Houston roster. Generally speaking, I thought Nick Ferguson and Eugene Wilson did yeoman work in '08. Neither's going to Honolulu anytime soon, but they were tremendous in run support and definite upgrades over Will Demps, C.C. Brown, and Brandon Harrison in coverage. I hope both Ferguson and Wilson return to Reliant Park in '09, though I'm equally hopeful that a young safety acquired in the draft pushes one of them to a backup role.

Demps, Brown, and Harrison? Maybe C.C. returns. Maybe. Demps and Harrison seem like surefire goners.

7. K/P--Kris Brown and Matt Turk go nowhere. Might be a good idea to bring in a young punter to push Turk in training camp, but I'd be surprised if someone besides Turk is punting for your Houston Texans in 2009. What can you say about Brown? A golden leg, plus recovering a fumble against Chicago. What else do you want from a kicker?

8. LS--Welcome to the big leagues, Clark Harris. You were better than Bryan Pittman, and you haven't been suspended for violating the league's banned substance policy. No reason Harris shouldn't be the guy snapping to Turk and Brown in '09.

9. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Matt Schaub; Defense--DeMeco Ryans; Special Teams--Kris Brown.

So there you have it. 8-8 doesn't get you to the playoffs (unless you're the Chargers, that is, who surely showed they deserve to be there last night). Time for us to avert our glances to the majesty that is free agency and the draft. One of these years (e.g., 2009), we'll still be talking about Texans football in January. For now, we have to make due with more of the same wait-'til-next-year we know all too well.

Titans @ Texans: 5 Questions with John McClain

Jimmy — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:30:06 -0000

The Houston Chronicle's John McClain was nice enough to answer some questions about the Houston Texans for us. He is very high on Amobi Okoye.

1. Are you surprised at how good Steve Slaton has been? Did the Texans have any idea he would be this productive this season?

The Texans drafted Slaton to be a third-down back, but because Ahman Green was injured most of the season again and was eventually placed on injured reseve, Slaton had to step up. In the zone, one-step scheme that assistant head coach Alex Gibbs installed in his first season with the Texans, Slaton just looked like a natural. The key was not fumbling and blitz pickup. He weighs 203. He's tough on blitz pick up. He didn't fumble until Sunday's game at Green Bay.

2. It seems that every year the Texans are right on the cusp of becoming a very good NFL team. What is holding them back? Will they be in the playoff hunt next season?

They were the first team since the merger in 1970 to start against four consecutive playoff teams. They played their first three on the road at Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Jacksonville. They lost to the Jaguars in overtime. They need to add at least three good players to the defense, and they have to reduce their turnovers to become a legit playoff contender.

3. How has Amobi Okoye played this season?

Who? Never heard of him!

4. Who is the best player on the Texans that we as Titans' fans know nothing about?

DE Tim Bulman. He's second to Mario Williams with four sacks. He's bounced off and on the practice squad. He was undrafted out of Boston College. He's a poor man's Kyle Vanden Bosch -- an all-out player on every play. He comes off the bench in passing situations.

5. What is your prediction for how the game goes Sunday?

Titans 23-19

Post-Game Breakdown: Yes, Kubiak, There Is a Santa Claus

Tim — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:19:38 -0000

It is with glee that I come to you with the latest PGB tonight. After yesterday's dramatic win...on the road...at the most hallowed site in all of football...your Houston Texans are a game under .500 after starting out 0-4. In other words, the good guys are 6-3 since this, a moment that could have cratered a team of weaker men and served as the signature moment of a crushing 2008 season, happened.

Instead of crumbling, the Texans rallied. The naysayers can point to the ongoing disasters that are the Lions and Bengals as the perfect tonic for what was ailing a reeling team, and I'll readily admit that Houston was fortunate to play those squads (at home, no less) instead of the Giants and/or Patriots in October. And yes, the Jags and Browns have appeared to be unwilling or unable to shoulder the burden of greatness that many predicted for them in '08.

All of that is true. I don't care.

Say what you will, but don't doubt that these Texans refuse to quit. I can't say enough about the heart this team has shown in battling back from a winless first quarter of the season. The sad truth is that the players get paid win or lose. While it's despicable to see professionals roll over, it happens. The check clears regardless of the team's record, so the only thing(s) keeping guys on a losing team striving for excellence is (1) pride and/or (2) respect. From what we've seen, it's clear to me that these players have an ample supply of each, both for each other and Kubes.

I have no idea what's going to happen during the remaining three (3) weeks of the season. I only know that we can be proud to support a team like the one we saw in Green Bay yesterday. While I'm sure a great portion of this goodwill will dissipate if the Texans lay eggs against Tennessee, Oakland, and Chicago, I'm going to focus on the fact that our squad has put together two (2) three-game winning streaks this season when a single such streak had never been achieved in the previous six (6) seasons of the franchise's life. After a game like yesterday's, we should revel in the positive. On to the specifics:

1. Despite the moronic ramblings of a pathetic wannabe psychic, The Schaub did not look like a dude who'd missed the last month with a knee injury. 414 yards (a franchise record, but you knew that), 2 TD (the scoring pass to 'Dre was as good a throw as a QB can make), and a game-winning drive is all I need to say about his excellence.

2. I will vote Vonta Leach to the Pro Bowl on the basis of that fourth quarter grab alone. Unbelievable catch that completely changed the complexion of Kubes' strategy; if Vonta doesn't make that catch, Kubes starts running Slaton into the pile and takes his chances in OT. Instead, the Texans win in regulation.

3. Speaking of big catches on that last drive...Owen Daniels, huh? Yes, he was sort of by himself. And yes, that fumble at the goal line was wretched. We won't remember either of those things in a year. Quite the homecoming for the former Badger.

4. Ignore Kevin Walter at your peril, NFL. After yesterday's 6 catch/146 yard/1 TD performance, K-Dub is very quietly averaging 15.5 YPC with 8 TD this season. Not bad for a seventh round draft pick from Eastern Michigan.

5. The offensive line, in particular Eric Winston and to a lesser degree Chris Myers, dealt with some adversity yesterday. On balance, however, the OL was nails. That unit has gone from mediocre to very good. Alex Gibbs is a witch.

6. I am MAYBE one week away from composing an original love song about Steve Slaton.

7. Matt Turk could walk up to me on the street, slap me in the face, and call me a nancy boy, and I could not get angry at him after he turned a sure blocked punt into a momentum-stealing first down.

8. When do we all officially decide the Jacoby Jones is too much of a liability to trust him in the return game? When he's right, he's brilliant. But those flashes of brilliance seem like they're canceled out all too often by flubs. His muffed catch of that punt was as ugly as it gets.

9. On the other hand, did anyone doubt that Kris Brown was going to nail that game-winning FG? Even after the earlier miss? Brown's as clutch as it gets.

10. A special tip o' the cap to Clark Harris, who made his first start on the road while making Bryan Pittman's struggles earlier this season even more inexplicable.

11. I think the Houston DBs made more plays on the ball yesterday than they have in a single game all year. Dunta's pick was monstrous, but Fred Bennett and even Jacques Reeves managed to knock a couple of balls away while looking like somewhat credible cornerbacks.

12. I said "somewhat." I'm still not sold on Reeves, and I remain perturbed that the Fred Bennett looked infinitely better as a rookie than he has this season.

13. The secondary really, really missed Nick Ferguson. Brandon Harrison is not anywhere close to being in Ferguson's league, and Ferguson is not exactly Ed Reed.

14. 2008 Eugene Wilson is 2007 Will Demps. Pulled off the street in early September and making big plays after being inserted into the starting lineup, Wilson's been a real find. Let's hope that 2009 Eugene Wilson is more 2008 Eugene Wilson than 2008 Will Demps.

15. Tim Bulman's timely sack on third down in the second quarter gives him four (4) sacks on the season, which places him second on the team behind a certain demigod that played collegiately at North Carolina State. If Richard Smith continues to refuse to start Frank Okam, why not use Bulman at DT? Or better yet, put Bulman at DE and let him be the bookend to Super Mario?

16. If I was Aaron Rodgers, I'd still be hearing Mario's footsteps today. No sacks for the franchise DE, but man...he was so close so many times that it had to have taken a toll on Rodgers.

17. DeMeco's sack of Rodgers late in the fourth took the Packers out of field goal range and provided the opportunity for the offense to win that game. That sack was right up there with Turk's sprint to freedom as the play of the game.

18. Blitzing? Aggressive scheming? Holding the opposition to a 10% success rate on third down? I'm now officially scared.

19. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Matt Schaub; Defense--DeMeco Ryans; Special Teams--Matt Turk. That's right, people. I thought Turk's scramble was more impressive than Kris Brown's game-winning FG as time expired. That's how spoiled we are by Kris Brown.

Now that three (3) game winning streaks are old hat, your Houston Texans have a chance to again venture into uncharted territory when Bud Adams' minions come to town on Sunday. By virtue of what I imagine is some sort of unholy alliance with the forces of evil, they've only lost once this season, and they're indisputably nasty. Can the Texans shock the world?