SB Nation - Nick Ferguson

Chris Johnson: What To Do?

Tim — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:58:16 -0000

For all the wringing of hands over Vince Young's return to Reliant on Monday night, it's understood that Chris Johnson has likely earned the focus of Frank Bush & Company. 1,091 rushing yards, an average of 6.42 yards per carry, 262 receiving yards, an average of 8.73 yards per reception, 9 TDs, and quite possibly the greatest speed in the NFL tend to take the spotlight off even VY.

For all his otherworldly talents, however, Chris Johnson has been contained at times this year. Against Pittsburgh, he was limited to 68 total yards. The Jets held him to 105 total yards in Week Three. The Jags cut him off at 94 yards in Week Four, and Week Five saw CJ post a paltry 43 total yards. Keeping Chris Johnson in check is possible, if not probable.

In their prior matchup with the Titans, your Houston Texans saw Johnson trample them for an insane 284 total yards (197 rushing/87 receiving) and 3 TDs. In other words, that Week Two loss to the Texans accounted for 18% of his rushing yards, 33% of his receiving yards, and 33% of the touchdowns he's tallied on the season. He has to be licking his chops for Monday night.

In all the Chris-Johnson-For-Jebus and Vince-Young-For-Pope hoopla, the point that might not be getting as much run is that, despite Chris Johnson having his way with the Texans in Week Two (included but not limited to lining up wide with no one within 15 yards of him pre-snap), the Texans still managed to beat the Titans in Nashville. What's more, that Texans' defense did not feature Bernard Pollard or Jacques Reeves. That defense did prominently feature Fred Bennett, Nick Ferguson, and Dominique Barber, none of whom are likely to see the field on anything but special teams (at best) come Monday night. Just as VY makes the Titans' offense a different animal, the Texans' defense has evolved into something entirely different.

My question is simple: If you're Frank Bush, what do you do to contain Chris Johnson? My initial thought is that you have to spy him, but with who? Pollard? Brian Cushing? DeMeco Ryans? For those of you who saw any of the games where CJ was held in check, what did those defenses do?

We've all heard and read how teams want to shift the burden to Vince Young and the rest of the offense. Implicit in that assertion is containing Chris Johnson. How do you do it?

Titans vs Texans coverage

Take The Half-Season Poll: Most Disappointing Defensive Player For Your Houston Texans?

Tim — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:00:34 -0000

Two sides to every coin; we've already taken a look at the best, so now let's turn our attention to the other extreme. Which defensive player on the Texans has disappointed you the most thus far? Vote in the poll below and let us know why you voted the way you did in the Comments.

Poll

Who Has Been the Most Disappointing Player on the Texans' Defense Through Nine Games?

Mario Williams

101 votes

Antonio Smith

58 votes

Frank Okam

45 votes

Amobi Okoye

37 votes

Xavier Adibi

27 votes

Fred Bennett

135 votes

Jacques Reeves

6 votes

Dunta Robinson

155 votes

Connor Barwin

28 votes

DelJuan Robinson

7 votes

Dominique Barber

14 votes

Nick Ferguson

9 votes

622 votes | Poll has closed

Bernard Pollard: One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure

Mike Kerns — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:05:18 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

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Safety has been a position of need pretty much since the Texans inception in 2002. Eric Brown, Glenn Earl, Jason Simmons, C.C. Brown, Nick Ferguson, Dominique Barber and John Busing are just some of the names who came and didn't work out at the spot. But something odd has happened this season. Houston seems to have finally found someone who has shored up the Strong Safety position well. Extremely well.

I remember watching NFL Network right near the end of preseason for the names of all the final roster cuts for every team. There were obviously several names that I immediately put on my "Texans Wish List." One of those names was former Kansas City Chief, Bernard Pollard.

By the end of Week 1 of the 2008 season, almost everyone knew who Bernard Pollard was. While it wasn’t necessarily for his play on the field. It was more for being known as the man who ended the season of Patriots QB Tom Brady. Not that his play on the field was lackluster.

I have several co-workers at my office who are Purdue alumni, and I remember one of them mentioning Bernard Pollard while he was still playing for the Boilermakers. He was referred to as "The Bonecrusher" for his really physical play and devastating hits in college. Something that earned him honors as a first day draft pick, going in the 2^ndround and #54 overall to Kansas City.

After starting every game and leading The Chiefs with 98 tackles in 2008, I think it surprised almost everyone when his name was on the final cuts list at the end of camp this year. Especially Chiefs fans.

With us staring a year of Dominique Barber and John Busing at safety in the face, I hoped Houston would take a flyer on him. And that they did. So far, it seems to have been one of the smartest in-season pickups the Smithiak regime has ever had. Since being inserted as a starter, Houston is No. 1 in the league against the rush.

By this point, everyone is scratching their heads and wondering why Kansas City let him go. When asked about it, Pollard simply says that he was just as confused and surprised as everyone else:

"It was very difficult," he said. "You don't know what's going on. You don't know who said what about you. You don't know how they labeled you. When you don't know, that's the worst thing."

When credited for Houston’s defensive revival, Pollard is humble and gives his teammates credit by saying that he is just another piece to an already great defense.

Another Purdue alum, Jacques Reeves, says that he isn’t at all surprised about Pollard’s huge impact on the defense:

"I knew what kind of player he was and I figured he would come in here and make an impact," Reeves said. "I don't know what else went along with him being cut, but I do know he is a good player and he's playing good for us."

A month ago this guy was looking for a job. Someone to give him a shot. Most agree that he is making the most of the opportunity.

"I just want to play football," he said. "I want to be able to show management or teammates what I'm able to do. You know what they say; one man's trash is another man's treasure. I'm thankful for where I'm at."

And most Texans fans are thankful to have him here.

However, as always, there are detractors. There are some who say he will give up the big play to try to make a big hit. In fact, I even remember him on 790 AM here in Houston saying:

"You just got to establish yourself....let them know that I'm going to hit the ever-loving **** out of them. Sorry to say that, but that's how I feel, that’s how I play."

Sorry, but what fan isn’t going to like hearing a player for their team say that? Along with Brian Cushing, Pollard has given the Texans defense a swagger and a mean streak that we have never seen out of this team before.

I say lock the guy up. He is only 24 (25 in about a month and a half) and in his prime. I know there are many who are worried he is just another Will Demps. And that could be true. But you don’t want to have the fix in your hands and let him walk next season. Pollard talks about how much he likes it here and the direction the team is headed. Unfortunately, there are going to be many other contract renewals and extensions to worry about this offseason. But let Rick Smith worry about that. It’s his job, not ours. Just like Pollard’s is to keep knocking the ever-loving **** out of ‘em, and the contract will take care of itself.

49ers-Texans Wednesday Injury Report and practice transcript

Fooch — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:59:30 -0000

And we're back finally with an injury report. Given the apparent length of the bye week, this is just one more exciting step in our return to actual football for the rest of the season. The importance of this game only adds to the level of excitement. As for the return of Frank Gore from injury? Well that just puts me over the top. Michael Lewis remains a question mark. Singletary indicated Lewis was "...doing fine, seems to be doing great," but his comments seem to indicate that it's a game-time decision. If that's the case, I'd have to agree with Barrows and guess that we'll see Mark Roman as the starting strong safety.

Over on the Texans side of the report, the most intriguing listing was LB Brian Cushing who did not practice today because of a foot issue (I refuse to say he did not practice "because of a foot.") Cushing leads the Texans in tackles and has been playing extremely well thus far. We'll keep an eye on his status the rest of the week.

49ers
Out (Definitely will not play)
SS Reggie Smith (groin)

Limited Participation in Practice
CB Tarell Brown (illness)
S Michael Lewis (concussion)
DE Ray McDonald (ankle)

Full Participation in Practice
RB Frank Gore (ankle, foot)
CB Marcus Hudson (shoulder)

Texans
Did not Participate in Practice
LB Brian Cushing (foot)
S Nick Ferguson (knee)

Limited Participation in Practice
DE Mario Williams (shoulder)
CB Ron Bartell (thigh)

Full Participation in Practice
K Kris Brown (right ankle)
LB DeMeco Ryans (chest)

Just a reminder that I've attached Mike Singletary and Shaun HIll's post-walk thru press transcripts...

Head Coach Mike Singletary
Post-Walk Thru - October 21, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

Opening statements:

"Hello. It's great to get into another week after the bye week, going on the road to Houston, a good football team. We face a great challenge. They're certainly a team that is playing with confidence on the offensive side of the ball. The quarterback is playing well, Matt Schaub. The wideout, No. 80, [Andre] Johnson, is playing well. The running back is playing well. On the defensive side of the ball, we're going to have our hands full making sure that we contain those guys. Their offensive attack is a good one. They're striving for balance, but they're throwing the ball well right now, and they're striving to run the ball as well. I think, going forward, this week we have to have a great week defensively.

Offensively, obviously, No. 90 jumps out at you, Mario Williams, as well as their linebackers, particularly No. 59 does a good job leading the defense. Mario is getting better with each game, playing with more confidence. Their defense is really coming together well. I think, for us on the offensive side of the ball, we have to have a great week's practice and make sure that the most important thing for us is continuity going into the game, making sure that we communicate great in our offensive line, our scheme. Once again, we're continuing to rotate [G] Chilo [Rachal] as well as [G Adam] Snyder at the right guard position. [T Tony] Pashos will be the starting right tackle at this point. To me, that's going to help us going forward. Our quarterback Shaun Hill, he knows he's going to have to do a better job, and he will. I just think that this week, there should be some things starting to come together offensively in terms of continuity and communication and those things. This is the sixth week going forward, so I'm very excited about the opportunity at hand."

On whether he knows who the starting X receiver is going to be:

"Not right now. We're not in position to name the starter yet. It will either be [WR] Josh [Morgan] or [WR Michael] Crabtree. Right now, as we look at the three guys, when you look at [WR Isaac] Bruce, you look at Josh, you look at Crabtree, we look at all those guys as starters, possible starters. I think, for us, Crabtree coming in the way that he's come in, a tremendous attitude, a tremendous work ethic, been doing everything he can to get on the field and I think the most important thing for us is to get him out there as soon as we can and as much as we can and see what he can and cannot do. It's one thing to practice. It's another thing to get in the game and play the game full speed. I just think it's very important for us to find out as soon as we can how much of a playmaker he can be."

On what he has seen in the short period of time that Crabtree has practiced that puts him in consideration for a starting job:

"I think it's a matter of sense of urgency for him. He's had a tremendous attitude coming in with some of the guys really ribbing him, a tough love kind of deal. Coaches as well. He has responded with nothing less than a smile and, ‘OK coach. I got it, but can I see the playbook? Coach, how about this question? How about this route? How about this?' When you have a kid like that and he comes out, the young man works hard every day. He doesn't really have to tell you what he's been doing while he wasn't here. You see it. You see it in his route running. You see it in the way he runs the route and his margin for, I guess, running a bad route or whatever. That's not something you see very often. You tell him something one time, it's normally the only time you have to tell him. I think there are a lot of reasons. It shows why we drafted him where we drafted him at the 10th slot. So, I'm excited to see what he has. So, going forward, I just think that it's going to be in our best interest offensively to try and find out how much of an effect that he can have to our offense, how much of a playmaker he really can be."

On whether he has an idea of how much Crabtree will play:

"I do not. I think one of the things I've said before is he is going to be the one who controls that. If he goes out and he can start early and he's having a good game, he's in rhythm, he's running the right patterns, running the right routes, he's blocking - he's doing all the things that we see him doing out here, then I think chances are he will play more. But, he will determine that."

On whether he is concerned about the message sent by giving Crabtree a chance to start:

"I think there are a number of different messages that I can send, but I think the most important message is that we want to win. When you see the young man run the routes, when you see his presence on the field, what he does for the offense, it's not like I'm the only one. I'm not having to fight anybody to say, ‘Hey, you know what? What do you think? Do you think maybe he's a starter? Maybe not?' He's certainly going to play a lot, and that's really the bottom line. It shows that he hasn't been sitting around on the couch looking at television. He's been working. When you have a guy like that, it doesn't - you don't have to be a Phi Beta Kappa to figure it out. If the guy can play, if he can make plays, put him on the field. Give him a chance. Lets' see what he can do. I can be stubborn. I could be a knucklehead and say, ‘You know what? He wasn't here. Josh is going to start, or this guy's going to start and that's the way it's going to be.' Well, you know what? I think I want to be fair to the team. The team comes first, and the team wants to win. And, we're going to do all that we can to make sure that we have the best 11 people on the field at all times that give us a chance to win."

On the ribbing Crabtree received from teammates:

"Ribbing in love. It was all in good fashion, all in good taste. Doing the things that normal rookies do. You come in, you've got to sing your song. Or, if you don't know your fight song, then think of a song. If you can't sing, then let's dance. When I had my birthday last week, he was the guy that was signing the Happy Birthday song. They had him doing all types of things, and after a while, I just said, ‘Hey, how about you just relax and let the kid focus on what he's doing.' Not one time did he complain. Not one time did he show any body language of, ‘I'm above this.' He's been a team guy since he's been here. The thing that I don't want to do, I don't want to sit up here and paint a picture of Michael Crabtree. Obviously, the only thing I know is what I've seen. I think that's very important. Any conversation that I've had with him, anything that he's done out here on the field has all been positive. But, I don't want to paint him out as something that he hasn't shown you yet. So, let's let him play and next week we can talk about it again and maybe some of these questions, they'll answer themselves."

On Crabtree's singing voice:

"Awful."

On whether he's leaning towards starting Crabtree and what it says about Morgan's character in the case that Crabtree could replace him:

"I think Josh understands the overall scheme. I think Josh knows that at the end of the day, when you look at the number of plays that he's going to play and the number of plays that Crabtree's going to play, probably, Josh is going to have more plays. But, once again, we'll let the game dictate that. I think Josh is smart enough to know how we do things. I think he knows that we're fair and we're just not going to take him and put him in the barn and lock the door and say, ‘OK, thanks Josh for what you've done. That's it.' He knows that he has to continue to develop, as well as all of our guys. That's kind of where we are, and I think he understands that."

On whether he's concerned with QB Shaun Hill's unfamiliarity with Crabtree not having thrown to him that much:

"No."

On why he isn't concerned:

"Because he's a quarterback and I just think it's one of those things where he's had a chance to throw to him out here, and he'll have a chance to throw to him this week. Obviously, Shaun Hill and the other receivers, no one right now is just down pat on time, except for maybe [TE] Vernon Davis because I think he's thrown to Vernon more than he's thrown to anyone this offseason. I think, going forward, it's kind of new to everyone, that timing thing, that trust thing. It's only going to come with time. Going forward, we'll just have to see how it goes."

On whether QB Alex Smith is in the picture:

"Alex Smith has never been out of the picture. It's as I said way back when, whoever the starting quarterback is going to be, that's the starting quarterback. I don't want him looking toward the sideline wondering if we're going to take him out if he's not playing well. We have to decide that as a staff, when I sit down and talk to [offensive coordinator] Jimmy Raye. Right now we feel that Shaun Hill is our guy. We haven't looked at Alex Smith and said, ‘Wow.' This is who we have. This is who we brought to the dance and we just have to see how it goes. At no time are we thinking about, ‘Why don't we do this for Alex Smith.' We have Shaun Hill, that's who we are, and until that changes, that's what it is."

On the status of S Michael Lewis:

"We are just going to take it one day at a time. He is doing fine, seems to be doing great. But at the same time, when you are talking concussion, or any kind of an injury, we are going to make sure we stay in touch with the doctors and trainers, making sure that we are all staying on the same page and doing what's best for that individual."

On whether RB Frank Gore is 100-percent:

"I don't think once you start the season anyone is ever 100-percent. All I know is I'm looking at him right now and he's doing pretty good. So, we'll see."

QB Shaun Hill
Post-Walk Thru - October 21, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On how much time he has had to work with WR Michael Crabtree:

"I've gotten to throw to him a little bit last week. I'm impressed with the things that I've seen, so I'm excited to see what he can do."

On whether he senses the excitement of what Crabtree might bring to the organization:

"Yeah, I can see that he has special talents without a doubt. He brings a lot of playmaking ability, he brings a big target and I've been pretty impressed in the way that he's been able to pick up everything as well."

On how the locker room receives the idea of Crabtree starting after missing all of this time:

"I haven't heard of any rumblings or anything like that. That's part of this business - people come in and rosters change throughout the year, so that kind of thing happens."

On whether or not he notices the change at the right side of the offensive line:

"I don't think about any of that stuff. It's nothing that I have to get used to. My concentration is on the second and third level [of the defense]. I've got enough to worry about out there than to think about that."

On what aspect the offense has to improve upon:

"Obviously, it mainly comes down to third downs, to convert on third downs better. I need to find more completions out there throughout the game and get more big plays, but I think that the main area is third down."

On how the team can solve that issue:

"Obviously, we have to get in more third and manageables. We've been in third and long way too much. It's very hard to convert on third and longs in this league, so that comes down to our execution on first and second downs. We need to be better on those downs."

On whether he sees the change on the offensive line as a good one at this time:

"Yeah, a tweak could be good for us without a doubt. It kind of depends on how everybody reacts to it as well, but I think that we have the right people in that locker room where we will make it work."

On what other rookie hazing did Crabtree have to go through:

"That was about it, we don't really do whole lot of that stuff around here anyways. During training camp the rookies have to sing and that's about it, so that's all he's had to do."

On whether he throws to each receiver differently:

"Yes and no. Our route depths and things like that aren't different because somebody else is in there. The only thing is kind of reading somebody's body language and knowing what they do well. Some of that stuff will definitely work out this week."

On how he reads his wide receivers:

"The more time you are with somebody, you can tell when they are going to come out of their break just by reading their body language, things of that nature. You know what they are going to do based on their release against press-man, things of that nature."

On whether the offense is built to have interchangeable wide receivers:

"Yeah, exactly. That's the way it is set up. Obviously there are little differences. More than me going to have to adjust to him, he is going to have to adjust to that timing and that speed we have been installing in this offense."

On whether there will be any changes in the playbook to accommodate Crabtree:

"No, I don't think so."

On what impact Crabtree can make:

"I think he can be a playmaker for us and I'm just excited to have another big target out there."

On whether Crabtree knows every play:

"I'm not 100-percent sure to be honest with you."

On the Houston defense:

"They are a good team, a very good team. Their front is very active and they get after the passer pretty good. We'll have to play well for sure."

On whether he places any extra effort on himself this week because of Houston's potent offense:

"No, I eliminate all pressure throughout the week with my preparation. I know I am going to do everything I can throughout the week so I'm successful on Sunday. If you do that, there's never any reason to have any pressure."

On whether it is possible to learn the offense one game plan at a time:

"As a quarterback? No, that is pretty difficult to do."

On whether a wide receiver could learn the offense one game plan at a time:

"As a wide receiver, I think it is a heck of a lot easier. There are little nuances and things that a quarterback needs to know that other positions don't, per se. Yeah, I think it is a lot easier for somebody at a wide receiver position to step in like that than somebody at the quarterback position."

On whether Crabtree only needs to learn the plays being used this week:

"Yeah."

On why the 49ers have lost five straight games after the bye week in the past:

"Nope, I didn't even know that was the case. This is a different team, a different year. So no, I hadn't even given that any thought."

Final Practice/Injury Report: Houston Texans (2-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-1). Brian Leonard listed as doubtful

Kirkendall — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:38:52 -0000

Brian Leonard and Frostee Rucker each missed practice for the entire week due to injury; both are listed as doubtful. Marvin Lewis is very unlikely to active either player; in the past, when a player missed the entire week, for the most part, they didn't play that week. Quarterback Carson Palmer fully participated in practice even with a bum thumb on his non-throwing hand. Even though they participated in some form during practice, Tank Johnson and Roy Williams are listed as questionable.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

OUT	QUESTIONABLE	PROBABLE
T Andre Smith (foot)	DT Tank Johnson (foot)	S Kyries Hebert (hip)
	S Roy Williams (forearm)	LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)
DOUBTFUL		S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)
RB Brian Leonard (groin)		QB Carson Palmer (left thumb)
DE Frostee Rucker (ankle)		WR Jerome Simpson (illness)

HOUSTON TEXANS

OUT	QUESTIONABLE	PROBABLE
S Nick Ferguson (knee)	DT Shaun Cody (illness)	LB Zach Diles (knee)
	LB Brian Cushing (foot)	LB DeMeco Ryans (shoulder)
		DE Mario Williams (shoulder)

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT	OUT
RB Brian Leonard (groin)	DNP	DNP	DNP
DE Frostee Rucker (ankle)	DNP	DNP	DNP
WR Jerome Simpson (illness)	DNP	FP	FP
S Kyries Hebert (hip)	LP	FP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	FP	FP	FP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	FP	LP	DNP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	FP	FP	FP
QB Carson Palmer (left thumb)	FP	FP	FP
S Roy Williams (forearm)	--	--	LP

TEXANS	WED	THUR	FRI
TE James Casey (illness)	DNP	FP	FP
S Nick Ferguson (knee)	DNP	DNP	DNP
LB Brian Cushing (foot)	LP	DNP	LP
LB DeMeco Ryans (shoulder)	LP	LP	LP
DE Mario Williams (shoulder)	LP	LP	FP
QB Rex Grossman (illness)	FP	FP	FP
DT Shaun Cody (illness)	--	DNP	DNP
LB Zach Diles (knee)	--	LP	FP

Thursday Update. Practice Report: Houston Texans (2-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-1)

Kirkendall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:44:37 -0000

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening, we'll (TRY TO) update the practice/injury chart leading up to Sunday's game. The chart is pretty self-explanatory. If the player is listed as out, they're out for the game. If they did not participate, they didn't practice. If they were limited, then they only participated during a portion of practice (typically means missing 11-on-11 drills). If the player is listed as full participation, it simply means that they practiced fully and that the only reason they're listed is because injury was an issue the week before.

Practice

BENGALS	WED	THUR	FRI
T Andre Smith (foot)	OUT	OUT
RB Brian Leonard (groin)	DNP	DNP
DE Frostee Rucker (ankle)	DNP	DNP
WR Jerome Simpson (illness)	DNP	FP
S Kyries Hebert (hip)	LP	FP
LB Rashad Jeanty (finger)	FP	FP
DT Tank Johnson (foot)	FP	LP
S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring)	FP	FP
QB Carson Palmer (left thumb)	FP	FP

TEXANS	WED	THUR	FRI
TE James Casey (illness)	DNP	FP
S Nick Ferguson (knee)	DNP	DNP
LB Brian Cushing (foot)	LP	DNP
LB DeMeco Ryans (shoulder)	LP	LP
DE Mario Williams (shoulder)	LP	LP
QB Rex Grossman (illness)	FP	FP
DT Shaun Cody (illness)	--	DNP
LB Zach Diles (knee)	--	LP

Post-Game Breakdown: Texans Win In Tennessee

Tim — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:10:07 -0000

How do you even begin to describe what we saw yesterday in Nashville? While I realize that some of the bolder among us might have called a win (not me, of course; I thought we were doomed), yesterday was a game that the Texans historically do not win. Going on the road against a playoff team/divisional rival is generally a recipe for disaster (see, e.g., the lifetime records at Indianapolis and Tennessee). Prior to the game, if someone had told me that Chris Johnson was going to rush for 197 yards and 2 TD while adding another 87 yards and a third TD through the air, I would've figured the Texans made it two eggs in a row. And I would've been wrong. Very, very wrong.

Your Houston Texans are far from a flawless team. The running game has been almost totally nonexistent, there are still far more questions than answers on defense, and every Jacoby Jones return is akin to playing Russian Roulette, except with three bullets in the chamber instead of one. In that respect, I'm in agreement with BFD that the 2009 version of the Texans has not looked much different than the 2008 Texans.

I would note, however, that the 2008 Houston Texans do not win the game the 2009 squad did yesterday. No way, no how. It just doesn't happen, chiefly because the 2008 Texans defense does not bow up in the second half like the 2009 version did yesterday. Whether that newfound resoluteness is the product of Frank Bush, Brian Cushing, or a defensive scheme that actually adjusts to what the offense is doing is not for me to say. What I will say is that there's an awful lot to like about what we saw yesterday, and that's infinitely more than what I could've said a week ago. Onto the specifics:

1. Matt. Freaking. Schaub. We can debate whether yesterday's performance or last year's beauty at Green Bay was more impressive, but we can all agree that Schaub was simply excellent. Remember--Schaub was missing his No. 2 WR (Kevin Walter) and No. 3 WR (Apostrophe Davis). No matter. Schaub stood tall, found Andre Johnson deep, and killed the Titans in the middle of the field via the TE. Something you might not have seen on TV...Schaub getting visibly pissed and yelling at the sideline after futile running plays. He wanted the ball in his hands, people. Just outstanding.

2. Schaub's success, of course, was due in large part to the offensive line's pass-blocking. After getting manhandled the week prior, Alex Gibbs' charges answered the bell in memorable fashion, giving up zero sacks and creating a pocket for Schaub to pick apart the opposition. As LZ astutely noted, Schaub isn't the type of QB who will reguarly make plays if the defense is in his kitchen. Give him time, though, and he can pick you apart. The OL gave him that time, and The Schaub did what The Schaub can do.

3. As good as the OL looked in pass protection, they still seemed unable to consistently create holes for Steve Slaton. They were better than the week prior, but it still looked nothing like what we saw last season. That running game needs to get fixed, and quick, or we'll soon see teams selling out to defend the pass. And if the Texans can't make them pay for that, the offense becomes completely one-dimensional and that much less effective.

4. Although the OL didn't do him any favors, Steve Slaton still looks off. I don't know if he's anticipating that first hit, or if the extra weight is slowing him down, or what it is. While Slaton looked considerably better blocking this week, he only looked like the Steve Slaton of old on one of his carries yesterday--the one that went for 12 yards. On a fantasy-related note, he should be brought up on charges for first-degree murder of his owners (of which I am one) the past two weeks.

5. I thought Kubes going to Chris Brown during the fourth quarter was pretty telling. Most important snaps of the game, and Slaton's standing on the sidelines. Seems to me that it was a thinly veiled reminder to Slaton that you have to hold onto the football to play RB for Gary Kubiak and Alex Gibbs. Unless you return kicks and punts, in which case you can cough up the ball whenever you want without fear of retribution. More on that momentarily.

6. Andre Johnson got all the attention (and deservedly so; he's a witch), but Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen quietly had monster contributions, particularly on third down. OD was virtually invisible in Week One; that definitely wasn't the case in Week Two. Nice to see Schaub re-discover the TE as a viable option when 'Dre is covered.

7. Jacoby Jones' touchdown catch was as good a grab as I've ever seen. I honestly could not have been more surprised. The potential and athleticism he showed there are the only reason he's still employed. Because...

8. He's a complete liability on special teams. There is not a Texans fan alive who feels good about seeing Jacoby back there on kick or punt returns. You're just constantly waiting for him to put the ball on the turf. Which he predictably did, only to be saved from himself by a ridiculous and archaic rule. If that fumble had stood, we're likely 0-2. For someone allegedly obsessed with protecting the football, there's a real double standard in the way that Kubes treats Jacoby as opposed to every other player. It's reached the point where it really is inexplicable for Jacoby to be fielding punts or kicks. Please, Kubes--put someone else back there. David Anderson, Glenn Martinez, J.J. Moses, your mother...anyone but Jacoby.

9. Glenn Martinez, Kevin Bentley, and James Casey were all difference-makers on special teams. Martinez in particular also threw a couple of great blocks while lined up at WR in the second half.

10. MAR-EE-O! MAR-EE-O! MAR-EE-O! In addition to the sack, he was a major reason for the repeated false starts by the Titans' OL. Which is fair, because visions of Super Mario should haunt the dreams of every offensive lineman in the NFL.

11. It's not showing up in the stat line, but Amobi Okoye has looked rather active and somewhat effective against two very good offensive lines. I think it may translate to big plays sooner rather than later.

12. Eugene Wilson is the Ed Reed of the Texans secondary. Which is to say he looks like Ed Reed compared to Dunta Robinson, Fred Bennett, Nick Ferguson, and the like. Wilson's pick was enormous, and he makes the secondary exponentially better. Curiously, that makes me both happy and very, very sad.

13. Didn't see much of Dunta Robinson yesterday, which could mean that Kerry Collins threw away from his side of the field most of the day. Why that would be, especially considering that Dunta seems to have foregone tackling like the Dunta of old in favor of diving at the shoelaces of wide receivers, I don't know.

14. What happened to Fred Bennett? At least Amobi's showing signs of fighting regression. Bennett appears to be embracing it.

15. Although the fight happened right in front of me, I have no idea what specifically brought it about. To their credit, I did see Dunta and Super Mario wade in to the scrum. Didn't see any punches thrown, but you can bet that the NFL's going to analyze the bejeezus out of the film. If hands were thrown, cross your fingers that the Texans involved are fined instead of suspended. A Mario-less defensive line is enough to give me night terrors. The Texans aren't deep enough to weather suspensions to any of their starters.

16. After he recovered Collins' fumble to ice the game, I briefly contemplated buying a Jeff Zgonina jersey. If such a creature existed, anyway.

17. Whose responsibility was it to cover Chris Johnson on the 69 yard TD reception? I've heard Dunta and Dominique Barber blamed for the gaffe. In the stadium, it was even worse. The crowd actually saw that Johnson was totally uncovered a few seconds before the snap, so there was a buzz that soon turned into a roar. Not coincidentally, I had my head in my hands at that moment.

18. The linebacker play yesterday was a study in feast or famine. They got absolutely abused by Chris Johnson, often on third down, and periodically for touchdowns. Again, I don't know who each of the prison breaks was actually on--DeMeco, Cushing, Diles, etc.--I just know they were nowhere to be found on those plays. On the 91 yard run, Eugene Wilson was the only Texan I saw anywhere in Johnson's vicinity, and he was blocked out of the play fairly easily.

19. That said, we saw a different Texans defense in the second half. The linebackers in particular took it to another level, began forcing three-and-outs (and even a stand on fourth down), and limited the Titans to only seven (7) second-half points. After giving up big play after big play and 24 points in the first half, the defense stood up and refused to back down. It even appeared like Frank Bush made adjustments at halftime, which is unheard of for the Texans.

20. I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. If yesterday afternoon was an indication of what Brian Cushing is going to bring to the table week after week, I was very wrong about him. While he looked horrendous in coverage (troubling for a SLB who's going to have responsibility for the TE), Cushing was all over the place on run defense. Even better, he looked to be on the field most, if not every, third down. What's more, the dude has an attitude. Maybe it was just me, but I could've sworn I saw him talking after every tackle. For a team that hasn't had any kind of mean streak, a little 'tude could go a long way.

21. The coaching staff got a lot of heat last week for how unprepared the Texans looked in Week One. While one week does not a season make, the coaches ought to get some love for instilling a sense of urgency and fight in their charges yesterday. The Texans battled the whole day. It would've been awfully easy for them to roll over when they went down 21-7 early. Instead, they beared down, righted the ship, and made us all remember why we support this team even after games like the loss to the Jets. Great win.

22. Game Balls: Offense--Matt Schaub; Defense--Mario Williams; Special Teams--Kris Brown (for another perfect day and hitting what turned out to be the game-winner).

Bring on the Jags. Not to jinx it, but your Houston Texans have a chance to equal the number of AFC South wins they had in 2008 next week, in just the third game of the season. If that doesn't get you fired up, I don't know what will.

Post-Game Breakdown: Jets v. Texans (Part II)

Tim — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:44:14 -0000

If you haven't read it yet, here's Part I. On to Part II:

1. Lots of talk about Matt Schaub, and it seems to be of the chicken-egg variety. Did Schaub look bad because the offensive line couldn't keep the Jets off of him? Or was Schaub at least party responsible for the hits he took due to a lack of mobility, which could be attributed to the sprained ankle (although Schaub's never going to be mistaken for Fran Tarkenton)? None of us can say with any certainty, but this much is for sure: Matt Schaub is not equipped to shrug off the Titans' pressure like Ben Roethlisberger did last week. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I've ever seen Schaub slip out of or shrug off a sack. Have you? If Tennessee, albeit from a 4-3, manages to get in Schaub's kitchen like the Jets did, we're screwed on Sunday.

2. This brings us back to Kubes and Kyle Shanahan. If Schaub was truly still feeling the effects of that ankle sprain, it makes their offensive game plan even more inexplicable. It makes the almost complete lack of screens and slants that much more galling.

3. Your secondary's in a very bad way when its singular highlight is an interception and subsequent fumble by a player who very well may have been the last guy to make the team. That observation isn't meant to disparage John Busing; it's meant to underscore how awful Brice McCain, Glover Quin, Fred Bennett, Dominique Barber, Nick Ferguson, and Dunta Robinson were. Not only in coverage, mind you (where they were horrific), but also in wrapping up. I find it hard to fathom that David Gibbs is coaching his defensive backs to dive at ankles, yet that's all we saw on Sunday.

4. Every game that Nick Ferguson starts at FS is a game that the Texans are sending ten men instead of eleven onto the field.

5. Which brings us to Dunta Robinson. I'm hesitant to waste too much time on the guy, as I've reached the bitter conclusion that I cannot fathom a scenario where he's a Texan next year. His laughably poor read of his market value had already ensured he wasn't getting a long-term deal in Houston, and that was before he upped the idiocy quotient by writing "Pay Me, Rick" on his cleats for Sunday's game. He'd have to make a quantum leap in productivity over the next few months to warrant consideration of applying the franchise tag to him again, and that's making the very large assumption that Bob McNair would sign off on bringing a "disrespected" (read: ungrateful) Dunta back at all in 2010. Most importantly, Dunta didn't look like a player worth the almost $10,000,000.00 salary he's banking in '09. Dunta's strength has always been his tackling and run support, and neither of those traits were visible on Sunday. If the Texans weren't so awful at DB, I'd demote Dunta to the nickel. As such, I'm writing "Stop Stealing, Dunta" on the back of my sneakers on Sunday.

6. We've read and heard a lot of different opinions about how the Texans fared against the run. I was actually somewhat impressed with how they stood up against the run in the first half, but I think that's solely because I had such minimal expectations.

7. I'll leave the Brian Cushing grade to the rest of you, as I'm admittedly biased. All I will say is that I hope Cushing's place on the sidelines on third down was more a result of easing him back from the knee sprain than a testament to how he'll be used during the season.

8. Thoughts on Frank Bush's first foray into regular season defensive coordinating? Personally, I thought it was darn refreshing to see actual blitzing, although it wasn't nearly as effective as it needs to be. All the blitzing in the world is worthless if you don't actually touch the QB. And while the Texans' defense was totally carved up by a rookie QB on third and long throughout the afternoon, it probably says a whole lot about how gun-shy I am from the Richard Smith Era that I can even attempt to find a silver lining by noticing that actually getting the opposition into third and long could be considered an improvement in some circles.

9. With all that said, you're really circling the bowl when you're trying to sell "Hey, we got 'em to third down!" as a positive. Truth be told, there weren't any positives I can really glean from the disaster against the Jets. The Texans got their arses handed to them, at home, by a rookie QB and a rookie head coach, in every facet of the game. The Texans looked completely unprepared and were an unfettered embarrassment to the organization, the city, and the fan base. It's only one game, but this ain't baseball; Smithiak doesn't have another 161 to straighten things out. It's put up or shut up time in Nashville on Sunday. If we see another effort like we saw two days ago, it's gonna get ugly around here.

Jets @ Texans Semi-Drunken Thoughts: 462 - 183

bigfatdrunk — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:53:59 -0000

I've taken a lot of shit on this here blog for not drinking the Frank Bush kool-aid as I've been worried we never addressed the real problem of our shitty defense. Sure, we blitzed more, but we never put real and consistent pressure on the QB...a QB making his first NFL start as a rookie on the fucking road.

The unfortunate fact is: we do not have the defensive talent to compete, a problem on obvious display today.

We can change the scheme, we can change the defensive coordinator, but we never addressed our serious talent issues. Sure, Brian Cushing helps. He was worthless in the first quarter, but he played better the rest of the game. Connor Barwin was horrible, completely absorbed by either tackle to disappear on every snap he took. Glover Quin and Brice McCain all saw plenty of time on the field, and McCain's performance was especially sucky. Them's the rookies. The older dudes played little better.

Mario Williams led the team in tackles today. Our pass-rushing LDE. Let that sink in for a moment. The rest of our d-line was almost utterly worthless. Okoye wound up with four tackles, but several were down field (at least he was active). Shaun Cody flashed talent. Antonio Smith? What are you even doing on the field? Didn't we pay Anthony Weaver for the same fucking thing?

I saw several people say they were happy with our run defense performance, but we still gave up 4.5/carry.

Our defensive secondary? Wow, what can I possibly say? We were consistently torched by Mark Sanchez who lit us up like a Christmas tree? 3rd down? No problem! Nick Ferguson was beyond atrocious all game, but he was followed closely in scrubiness by Dominique Barber and Dunta Robinson, who has become a horrible defensive liability. If I saw correctly, he didn't see many snaps in the second half. John Busing, as nice as that pick was, is just not ready.

We never addressed our core problems defensively. We put more pressure on the QB, sure, but we didn't record a single sack. Our run defense sucks, our pass defense is worse, and I have absolutely no faith we have a defensive coaching staff capable of making necessary adjustments.

I know I'm going to hear: but it's the first game! Chill out! No, I will not. We made the same mistakes under Richard Smith, and we still lack the necessary talent to address our biggest problems. Going into today, I started thinking we were another 8-8 team. Now, I don't know if we're that good.

462 yards against. In-fucking-credible.

Dunta Robinson Will Start Sunday & Team Captains Named

Mike Kerns — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:19:00 -0000

John McClain is reporting that Gary Kubiak has announced that Dunta Robinson will start Sunday against The Jets. Not a huge shocker, in my opinion. He also said that Kevin Walter has been upgraded to a game time decision and Eugene Wilson will not play. Nick Ferguson will start at Safety.

Also, team captains were named today:

Offense: Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson
Defense: Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans
Special Teams: Kris Brown, Kevin Bentley