Post-Game Breakdown: Denver v. Houston
1. Based upon an admittedly small sample size from yesterday's contest, Super Mario is going to take it to another level this year. He's otherwordly.
2. The Schaub looked pretty sharp, with the exception of that lone red zone throw into triple coverage. I'm going to pretend that didn't happen, lest I have to double my lithium dose.
3. Sage Rosenfels was, in a word, brilliant. His TD pass to David Anderson and forty-one (41) yard completion to Jacoby Jones were things of beauty.
4. Speaking of...David Anderson is making this team as the fifth WR. And I'm ecstatic about it.
5. Speaking of...Jacoby Jones broke every damn rule in the return game playbook with his fumbled return, yet he had exactly one guy to beat when he coughed it up. Otherwise, he's going to the house and we're all raving about him being back.
6. Kevin Walter is going to be even better this year than he was last year. And that's saying something.
7. Regarding Apostrophe Davis, see the preceding point. I don't know that I'd trade Houston's receiving corps for any other team's in the NFL.
8. The running game did not look to be any better than it was last year, though Steve Slaton did show flashes of potential in his first few carries.
9. Ahman Green hurting himself on the first preseason play from scrimmage, without anyone touching him, would be funny if it wasn't so completely expected. Not that any of us was really counting on Green playing 16 games this year, but this is silly.
10. The OL looked very solid in pass protection.
11. And I'd be remiss if I didn't note that Duane Brown looked stupendous in his professional debut. Quick feet, good hands, no penalties...it's only preseason, but I really liked what I saw.
12. The defense did not look good at all. They were absolutely victimized in the flat and consistently looked slow to the sideline. Not good.
13. I love Morlon Greenwood. You love Morlon Greenwood. I did not love his play last night. He was either (1) out of position or (2) a step or two behind. Either one is bad.
14. But Zac Diles? Very solid effort in his starting debut.
15. The secondary was up and down. Fred Bennett got abused on some plays that he shouldn't have been if he's truly a No. 1 CB. Jacques Reeves still scares me. Jamar Fletcher was good more often than he was bad. Demps and Brown did an admirable job in run support, and didn't let anyone get behind them. And Nick Ferguson's INT caused me to jump out of my seat, spilling my lady friend's red wine all over her, me, and one of our neighbors. I felt really bad about staining an innocent spectator's khakis, but I had no such remorse for my date or myself. She shouldn't be drinking red wine at a football game, and I shouldn't be dating women who drink red wine at football games.
16. We've heard Kubes rave about Amobi Okoye taking that next step. Although he didn't play much, I saw enough to believe the hype. Well, and I want to believe it. So maybe I'm not the best impartial judge on the subject. But I believe.
17. Finally, and most importantly, keep a good thought for Louis Green, the Denver linebacker who was carted off the field on a stretcher. He's been discharged from the hospital, but that doesn't diminish the scary impact of the moment. Here's hoping he's healthy and back to making a living for his family as soon as possible.
So, BRB, what do you think? On to New Orleans!
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I missed everything traveling etc...
Did Mario get a sack?
Does it look like Schaub is scared of the red zone again?
by 1Texan on Aug 10, 2008 7:05 PM CDT 0 recs
Answers
No, Mario didn’t get a sack. But the box score does not show how dominant he was against the run. They weren’t joking when they said he has improved since last year. It will be interesting to see him for the 2-3 quarters of play against Dallas in 2 weeks.
Schaub wasn’t scared of the RZ…..it seems more like a feeling of invincibility, as he really did try to squeeze one over the middle into triple-coverage. Other than that, he looked very good last night…...so he better get that RZ shit out of his system before September. Just sayin.
by Shake on
Aug 10, 2008 7:39 PM CDT
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like shake told me to do...
Read our open thread of the game in conjunction with the boxscore. It tells you what you really need to know.
by BigTexBD on
Aug 11, 2008 7:17 AM CDT
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Am I...
The only Canadian Houston Texans fan in the history of the franchise? I’d like to watch all of the games, including the pre-season, but we only get one or two regular season Texans games on TV (if that) in Canada.
Thanks for the post to keep me updated. Sounds like they’re shaping up to be pretty good this season.
by MaloneyPony on Aug 11, 2008 7:55 AM CDT 0 recs
You're the only one that I know of...
Don’t feel bad – there’s the dude from Ireland. I’m figuring he won’t get to see many (if any) games this season.
Got Texans? Visit BattleRedBlog.com for the latest on your Houston Texans!
by SOLIS on
Aug 12, 2008 6:46 AM CDT
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I remember the feeling
when I lived in arizona for the first years of the franchise. Other than the initial defeat of dallas (which I had to watch on cable in a bar), I was lucky to see two or three games over many seasons. I am so glad to be back home in Texas (Corpus Christi) where there are usually televised games every week and I am not the only Texans fan in town (although still vastly outnumbered by dallas fans). So, MaloneyPony, perhaps you should consider moving to heaven on earth (aka Texas), eh?
by JAWS on
Aug 13, 2008 11:33 PM CDT
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Things that stood out to me...
The good
- David Anderson is a player.
- Mario looked dominant in limited snaps.
- DBrown was excellent in passpro. Missed one assignment on a run play, but was very good overall.
- Fletcher played the run very well. He will not be inactive for any games this year.
- Petey is awesome against 3rd and 4th stringers.
- Okam played well against backups, hopefully we can see him against the starters next week.
- Kriss Brown is money.
- No sacks, but it seemed like there was good pressure throughout most of the game. There wasn’t any time for deep routes to develop, most of the Bronco’s passing game was limited to short passes.
- On offense there always seemed to be a pocket for the QB to step up into. Not that the QB’s would take their time and do it (see Alex Gibb’s conversation with Rosie on the sideline), but it was there.
The bad
- Our linebackers and safeties were badly exploited by short passes to RB’s and TE’s. As usual, a screen pass will go for about 30 yards every time.
- Matt Turk. Specifically trying to pick up 20 yards from his own side of the field.
- Greg Eslinger got manhandled in passpro. He was worse than Flanagan on a bad day.
Overall, there was a lot more good than bad to take away from this one, considering it was the first preseason game.
It's Our Time.... or something...
by bennprince on Aug 11, 2008 8:11 AM CDT 0 recs
You love Morlon Greenwood.
You take that back, Tim.
by ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBuck on Aug 11, 2008 9:52 AM CDT 0 recs
Sorry
I meant to say “You should love Morlon Greenwood, or we can’t be friends.”
Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...
by Tim on
Aug 11, 2008 9:55 AM CDT
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That's better.
And I’m still thinking it over.
In the meantime, thanks for the run-down, I was on the road and missed the game. Even though it was a preseason game and the team probably isn’t going to show any new tricks, did you notice the defense doing anything different in terms of schemes, etc.?
by ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBuck on
Aug 11, 2008 2:02 PM CDT
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TV coverage
The TV guys are allowed to be in pre-season form, too, but it was still annoying. Stuff like Denver running back “Alan Aldridge” and the camera guy getting faked out so bad that he swept from midfield to the endzone 4 times in one second (nearly causing me to lose my dinner).
To my point: Ok, so I know who the new Texans are, but I want to SEE them in action. Tell me stuff like, “Frank Okam, #97, is just coming into the game.”etc. They made mention of Diles and Slaton, but what about Moulden and Adibi? Did I miss something? When did they come into the game and how did they play?
by bv on Aug 11, 2008 12:50 PM CDT 0 recs
Molden and Adibi
Adibi got a decent amount of time on the field and looked average; not as quick as he looked in college, but that may be a product of overthinking. I don’t recall seeing Molden at all.
Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...
by Tim on
Aug 11, 2008 1:05 PM CDT
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I too did not see #28 Molden
As much as Kubes played the new guys, I expected to see Molden but did not. He did have a tweak in his leg, so maybe they were just playing it cautious after seeing Green go down without anyone even breathing on him. Petey looked OK, but as bennprince noted all of his reps were against the benchwarmers. As good as Fletcher looked, Petey is in a precarious position. Expect to see Molden get some PT against NO this week, and Petey wonder if he will get picked up by another team.
Greenwood – reminded me of Matt Stevens, always a step slow. Got beat on Cutler’s TD run. Think Bentley or Thompson should take his spot soon, with Adibi pushing for playing time around midseason. We need to get faster at LB, and Diles looked very good.
Would like to see Okam get into the game earlier. He looked effective, but against backups it is hard to accurately gauge his performance. Mario looked superhuman & Amobi looked excellent in their limited time on the field. I can see big Frank and Colvin giving us the makings of a fearsome foursome.
Very impressed with Duane Brown. Stayed on his feet. Did not get beat by Elvis in pass protection. Needs to get better in the run blocking, but so does the rest of the line. Running game was very ineffective early. That has to be a concern. Our top 2 RB’s look fragile already, and they only have one play between them so far. Yikes. It could be the Texans will only go so far as Darius Walker, Steve Slayton & Chris Taylor can take them. If Alex Gibbs gets the line to play well, we will be fine. If not, then Darius and Slayton will have a lot of pressure on them. Reason for angst.
Jacoby – relax man. You have all the talent in the world. The big returns will come.
Red beer at a football game, yes. Red wine at a football game, no.
On to NO and hopefully another win behind Alex Brink in the 2nd half.
by oiler-texan diehard on
Aug 11, 2008 2:24 PM CDT
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Did we see the same game?
Rosenfels was not brilliant. He had a couple of throws that were just completely off. And that’s what you get from him, some solid plays, then a couple of “uh…what?” plays sprinkled in for good (bad?) measure.
Jacoby Jones was outplayed by David Anderson. Jacoby did a little ole move on a running play instead of throwing a block. The result? A loss by Chris Taylor. That’s inexcusable, make the block or sit on the bench. He also needs to not dance quite so much, and most importantly, hang on to the football!
Anderson played like a poor man’s Wes Welker, and I think I’d like for him to move up the depth chart.
Morlon Greenwood is the reason Jay Cutler ran in for a touchdown. If that’s a legitimate outside linebacker, he catches Cutler. Morlon looked like a defensive tackle trying to chase Cutler down, the man must’ve been playing in quicksand. Diles has already outplayed him, and I’m hoping Adibi does the same and wins the starting job when we visit Pittsburgh.
Jamar Fletcher looked like a starter. I’m hoping he gets more playing time.
Duane Brown looked very good in pass protection, mediocre in the run game.
by Leein3D on Aug 11, 2008 2:38 PM CDT 0 recs
Ok guys
It’s time one of the four of you get over the hang overs and does some posting… I’m even starting to read shit about John McCain for christs sake cause it’s so slow….or was that John Edwards, ...doesn’t matter they’re all the same.
by 1Texan on Aug 13, 2008 3:57 PM CDT 0 recs














