SB Nation User Blog: marroncito

BRB Get-Together

marroncito — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:57:19 -0000

It's been a great homestand and a great opportunity to watch some Texans football. But now our beloved Texans are hitting the road.

We at BRB wanted to organize a get-together to watch one of the road games. There'll be the game, some food, and of course knowledgeable and frenzied fans to share it with.

If you are planning on coming to the event, please RSVP to marroncito@yahoo.com with your contact phone number no later than November 13th. We need to know how many are coming so we can plan adequate space, food, etc.

Poll

Which road game would you most like to get together as BRBers and watch?

11-16 @Indianapolis

24 votes

11-23 @Cleveland

1 votes

12-7 @Green Bay

9 votes

12-21 @Oakland

6 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

Anyone Going To This?

marroncito — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:56:46 -0000

(images via houstontexans.com)

Get Out Of My Own Way

marroncito — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:15:08 -0000

When the tale of the Texans 2008 season is told, I believe that one of the main threads running through it will be the story of a team that had to get out of its own way.

As the Texans have cleaned up their turnovers and improved their decision-making with the ball, they have started winning.

Week 1 @ Pittsburgh: The Texans did everything wrong. The Steelers dominated, but the Texans sure poured gasoline on the fire with long drops and having a zone blocking line go man-up with the likes of Casey Hampton and James Harrison.

They were out of it the whole game.

Week 2 vs. Ike: A brief pause for all those who got through this storm and those who are still struggling.

Week 3 @ Tennessee: The Texans had so many misfires. It was ugly. AJ dropping balls all over the place. Turning the ball over 3 times. Choking in the Red Zone 5 out of 6 times. Yet as I said back then, I saw good things.

They were in it until the 4th quarter.

Week 4 @ Jacksonville: The Texans played a sloppy game against Jacksonville. They made big plays against a decent Jacksonville defense and brought the game right down to the wire.

They were in it to the last drive in overtime.

Week 5 vs. Indy: The Texans owned this game until the last few drives and the fabled Rosencopter. The Texans did everything right for 45 minutes.

This game came down to the last few drives.

Week 6 vs. Miami: The Texans made a gut check and came up big in this one. Schaub's QB draw was electric. The Texans made the plays they had to all game.

They put this one away on the final drive.

Week 7 vs. Detroit: The Texans came roaring out to a 21-3 lead just before the half. They coasted the rest of the way and it almost cost them, but they turned it on when they needed it on both sides of the ball.

They put this one away in the 4th quarter.

Week 8 vs. Cincinatti: Pure unadulterated domination from kickoff to kneel down. No one anywhere with any idea of what was happening at Reliant could say anything other than the Texans dominated the competiti on.

This game was done by halftime.

Week 9 vs. Minnisota: Looking forward to this game. I'm hoping the Texans continue to stay out of their own way. Specifically, that they have Steve Slaton and Ahman Green run the ball at least 15 times each. There are 3 reasons for this.

One, the Texans are becoming a solid running team and so much more of the passing game is open when the run is rolling.

Second is because Minnesota will stop the run. Unless Slaton just breaks one, the first 10 or so runs are going to be stuffed for less than 3 yards a carry. The Texans can't get away from the run and let Jared Allen and Kevin Williams wreak havoc in the passing game.

Third is because as good as the Vikings' defense is, they can be taken advantage of. They seem to excel when they can be agressive. Guys like Antoine Winfield and Darren Sharper love to ball hawk. I'd rather have them staring into the back field every play, because runs 10-30 have averaged 5 yards per carry.

On defense, the Texans are capable. They tend to break down in long stretches. If they're on the field for more than 8-10 snaps at a time, they begin to wear down and lose energy.

If they're only on the field for short periods of time, this young defense gets excited and animated. They begin to disrupt plays and force turnovers. Running the ball 15/15 will keep the Texans defense off the field.

If the Texans can get out of their own way, they will win on the road in Minnesota.

If you've been watching all the little things, Kubiak is cleaning up this team. The drops are shorter, the receivers' hands are better, turnovers are dropping, and a young secondary is even starting to realize they can ball hawk a little.

At the end of the 2008 season, we might just say the Texans got out of their own way.

Ticket Giveaway

marroncito — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:56:07 -0000

I won 2 tickets to this Sunday's game against the Bengals. I won't be able to make it, so I thought it would be fun to give them away here on the blog.

I haven't picked them up yet, so I have no idea where the seats are or if there are parking passes or anything like that.

If you want to see the Texans roll to a 3-game winning streak, then I'll need you to post a comment with the following:

What is your most memorable Texans moment?
What is your most painful Texans moment?
Who is your favorite non-starter on the Texans?

Last but not least, if you get these tickets, I want you to promise to take a camera to the game. I want you to post some Fan Shots of all the action, whether the seats are nosebleeds or 50 yd. line.

My decision on the 'winner' is going to be completely arbitrary and subjective. I'm going to try to pick someone that loves the Texans as much as I do and who I think would have fun at the game.

These tickets are in no way guaranteed. I'll do everything I can to get them to you in a timely manner, but I nor Battle Red Blog make any guarantees about them.

I will update this post with the details once I pick up the tickets from the Sports Radio 610 offices tomorrow.

(special thanks to aatravelguide.com for the images)

UPDATE:

The tickets are for section 607, row M, seats 18 & 19. Click on the map above and you'll find section 607 at the very top. They look kinda like nosebleeds, but hey you're still at the Texans game. No parking passes or anything like that :(

Sports Radio 610 didn't hook me up all that much, even when I knew that only Clinton Portis had more yards from scrimmage than Andre Johnson.

Thanks for making this an awesome post. I absolutely loved all the entries. There's no way I could choose anyone on the merits of their fandom. So many great fans on this blog.

I chose one winner and one back-up. The winner I chose was Southern Lion. He's been a great contributor to the blog and is a great fan. I would love to know that BRB was a part of getting him to a live game. If he can go, the tickets are Southern Lion's.

If he can't go for some reason, I chose Leein3D as a back-up. I loved the South Park reference. Great post.

The only thing I'm sad about is that I don't have tickets for everyone. However, we at BRB are looking into more things to improve the site and really build the BRB community. Keep your eyes peeled and your RSS readers locked here.

Thanks again for participating and as Matt put it, "baring your soul".

Some Thoughts

marroncito — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:48:28 -0000

Here are some thoughts that I'll try to elaborate on this week.

The first half of this game is the team I have been talking about since Week 2. The Texans are a team that can take it to anyone in the NFL like that. The 2nd half is the team that everyone has been complaining about.
Dunta Robinson being on the field is far more invaluable than his 2 tackles today. He brings an energy and a leadership to the defenese. There was a time last season, before his injury, that he was making the calls for the secondary from his CB position. It's good to have that kind of leadership and enthusiam back on the field.
More thoughts to come.

A little slow, but still worth posting

marroncito — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:38:59 -0000

Offensive Rookie of Week

Steve Slaton, RB, Texans

16 carries, 93 yards, 2 TD; 1 reception, 3 yards

In what is a star-studded group of running backs, Slaton is becoming the elite big-play back. His two-touchdown performance against the Colts showed his ability to break a big play and to be a dangerous all-purpose weapon. Slaton’s vision and footwork have stood out in the Texans’ zone-based running scheme. He has shown good patience and trust in his blockers. Slaton’s value as a blocker is starting to show also

Best of the Rest

2. Duane Brown, OT, Texans - Both of Slaton’s touchdown runs were to the left side, where Brown was doing a solid job all day against a weaker Colts defensive line. His one blemish was allowing a sack to Dwight Freeney.

Both Steve Slaton and Duane Brown were recognized by New Era Scouting as top rookies.

More Reasons To Have Confidence

marroncito — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:39:06 -0000

This cool little thing here to the left is a Wordle. It takes writing and changes it into a graphical representation. The more times a word is mentioned, the bigger the word appears inside the Wordle. This Wordle is a combination of Mike Brisiel and Tim Bulman's interviews. Take a moment to glance over it. Click on it to make it bigger.

I asked them specific questions to show everyone what kind of heart the Texans players have. Words like these don't come from the heart of a losing team. The Texans are on the way up.

So how about some other reasons to be confident in the Texans...

Health

Knock on wood here, but the Texans are for the most part healthy. Last season the team was a walking corpse and put up an 8-8 record. This year the Texans play-makers are healthy, and some solid role players also haven't been bitten by the injury bug.

Total Offense Per Game

As of the time of this posting, the Texans rank 5th overall. That puts the Texans offense in the same league as Saints, Broncos and Cowboys. In case you haven't noticed, the Texans are just as explosive. Yes they have a VERY BIG problem with turnovers, but I believe that as they settle down and get a few wins under their belt the turnovers will get better.

Total Rushing Per Game

As of the time of this posting, the Texans rank 16th overall. That's dead in the middle of the league. Anyone who's been watching has seen that the running game is getting better. It's sputtered at times, but it's definitely picking up steam. Watch this statistic trend upward into the top 10 this season. A top 10 offense with top 10 passing and top 10 rushing is what the Texans are going to be before the season is over.

Defense: This one is pure superstition

I really have no basis for this one, just a hope: That the Texans defense is able to move above 16th in the league. If they can just improve to an average defense statistically, that should keep the team in games long enough for the offense to win it. If they can keep the opponent to around 20 points a game instead of 30, the Texans offense can take care of the rest.

Duane Brown Questionable?

marroncito — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:33:13 -0000

I was just glancing down the side bar and noticed that Duane Brown was listed as Questionable with an ankle injury. I haven't noticed this anywhere else. It says that he was injured yesterday. Any news?

WARNING: Trap Game!

marroncito — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:14:19 -0000

How do the Texans approach a team that's in the position they were last week?

For the last 3 weeks, the Texans have been a trap game for the Jags and Colts before finally finding triumph against the Dolphins. Now it's the Lions that are hungry and the Texans that have something to prove. Specifically, can they build momentum to roll with the rest of the season? A two game win streak would be great to celebrate. How do the Texans get there this Sunday?

Tim Bulman Returns To Battle Red Blog

marroncito — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:21:35 -0000

Tim Bulman and the Texans' defense played a great game. He took some of his valuable time today to do an interview for Battle Red Blog. We know it will get you fired up about the Texans.

See the full interview after the jump.

(Special thanks to texansbullpen.com for images)

The Texans players knew they were going to win this game. What do you say to your teammates on the sidelines to keep them confident and fired up?

Over the past few games we have been in position late in the game to win. In the NFL every week, it seems that a winner and loser is determined by as little as one point and could come down to one play. I was on the sideline just watching our offense make that play. Andre made one of the gutsiest catches I've seen on 4th down and I really don't know how he made it. He's definitely a special player. All you can do when the offense is on field is cheer your buddies on and stick to the plan.

What is the feeling in the locker room now?
Everyone feels better after a win and to put in the work week in and week out it is great to see it come full circle. We play this game to win so every week; that is the primary goal, so anything else is falling short. I think our team feels the confidence we had in ourselves and our plan. We will take it one day at a time, something that coach preaches to us often, and hopefully build some great momentum.

The Texans were preparing hard in training camp. Are practices still the
same now? Is everyone giving maximum effort?
Everyone gives maximum effort. Our team has no room for anything less. Practices are still the same for game weeks, Wed. and Thurs. being the big workdays but more geared toward who we are playing that week. Coach Kubiak takes care of us better then any coach.

There's a saying. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size
of the fight in the dog. How big is the fight in Texans players right now?
The group of guys we have on our roster all are hardworking professionals. We show up on time we lift weights and prepare and practice and play as hard as we can every week. We have been doing that since March, and nothing has changed. Everyone is accountable.

There's been some negativity in the media about players on defense. How much
confidence do you have in the teammate next to you? For example, Amobi Okoye or
DelJuan Robinson?
We don't get caught up in that. We spend a lot of time together as a D-line in meetings, on the field, in the weight room, traveling to games. We go out to dinner every week, so everyone on our D-line is close. We know how hard each one of us works and there's no doubt that whoever is next to you, that you will get their best effort. I think our greatest asset is there isn't a talent drop-off. Everyone can play or else they wouldn't be here. Everyone brings a little something different to the table, but our guys we have are all confident in each other.

How much does the Texans defense work on fundamentals like tackling?
Every week we do tackling drills. We have been doing these drills since OTAs.

We hear from Coach Kubiak every week. What have coaches like Frank Bush and Jethro Franklin telling you personally? What have they been telling the D-line?
Frank and Jethro get us prepared very well for both the run and pass. They make sure we see every look that we might get be in pass protections, different runs, etc. They do a great job at getting us to truly understand the team we are about to play. They have told me to just keep taking advantage of my opportunities.

The Texans have been able to pressure Peyton Manning and now Chad Pennington.
Is the Texans pass rush getting better? Besides Mario, who is stepping up their
game on the D-line?
I think that the whole D-line is becoming more comfortable and getting a good feel for each other. I think everyone is stepping their game up and realizing that with what we want to accomplish we have to keep improving as a group.

Other than the blown coverage on Patrick Cobbs, the Texans really handled the
Dolphins' Wildcat formation. What was it like as a defense game planning for
the Wildcat?
Like any week. every team is different and can pose things you haven't seen. Our coaching staff did a great job at preparing us for the Wildcat formation. Every practice we saw different looks and situations we might be in. And we just had to know what our responsibility was on each situation and execute.

You're making an impact on special teams. What does it feel like tearing
down the field to cover the kick? Does it feel any different on the return
team?
Covering a kick is a rush like no other. The place is rocking and your adrenaline is through the roof. You run as fast as you can and try to do whatever it takes to make the play. It's almost a controlled abandon. Each phase of the game is different. Return team is all about getting the right angles and having good timing.

Do you know that your block on the Jacoby TD punt return took out 3 Dolphins
defenders?

Haha. I saw the film I was just trying to do as much as I possibly could to make our return successful.

How did it feel to drill Chad Pennington?
Feels great anytime as a D-lineman you can get to the QB successfully.