Chris Brown: Goal-Line Specialist, And Other Cardinal Sins And Follies

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 11:25 AM CDT in News Comment 90 comments

Good morning, Texans fans! Or have we devolved into the football equivalent of Chicago Cubs fans? You know, the Cubs, those lovable losers whom, despite their talent and expectations, still manage to fail consistently and spectacularly?

I'm going to post about some of the themes I've seen since yesterday that I agree with:

#1 and #2: The play-calling sucked. More than just a yes. Gary Kubiak seems to have no idea who he has on his roster and how their skill-sets best fit in the broad scheme.

Last year, Ahman Green did a decent job spelling Steve Slaton as the goal-line back. Green isn't a great goal-line option, but he runs with a low center, so there's at least a partial fit. Chris Brown is the antithesis of a goal-line back, a high runner who does not finish well. If we are going to use him in a goal-line set, let's at least jump him over the line or anything other than plowing straight up and straight ahead.

Because there's one more problem here. Do we not remember Ragdoll Chris Myers and how Kris Jenkins man-handled him all game? As MDC mentioned in an email, Gabe Watson has 50 pounds on Myers. In fact, our entire offensive line is predicated on zone blocking, opting for less physical linemen who are quick and active.

And Kubiak really thinks we can power it in? Does he not understand his personnel? His roster composition? The answer is, very obviously, no. If Kubiak had a clue, we would have interlocking pieces. Instead, it's a clusterfuck of personnel that really can't support what he wants to do, which isn't coordinated, anyway.

#3: Not just in this situation, but throughout the game, play-calling sucked, and this is on Kyle Sham-aham. Enough is enough. The problem with our rushing offense isn't our personnel, it's our play-calling. We distinguish between our passes and runs by the way we lineup and the way our o-line blocks. Yes, there are differences between run and pass blocking, but we never mix things up to keep defenses honest. We telegraph every run. That's why our run game sucks.

Things with which I disagree:

#1: The defense looked better/great in the 2nd half. Wrong, and grossly incorrect. The Cardinals offense folded up and quit in the second half, not unlike ours in the 2nd half against the Raiders. The difference is that our offense has the potential and talent to come back, but the Raiders' offense doesn't. It's really no deeper than this. The Cardinals shot themselves in the foot with several penalties, and their move from pushing the ball downfield to a ball control offense was an incredibly poor adjustment. Aside a couple of outstanding deflections from Frenchy Reeves, the Cards lack of offense in the second half was largely self-inflicted. Kurt Warner still had all day to throw, and that one sack really didn't put the fear in him.

The one way we did adjust wouldn't be possible against a team with a better run game. Brian Cushing blitzed about 75% of the time, and we started sending DeMeco Ryans in quite a bit as well. We knowingly gave up gap responsibilities as the Cards were going to a dumping pass game. I believe they only rushed the ball four times in the second half. Again, this is a matter of poor play-calling. Plus, we'd already been torched for 300 yards in the first half.

For the season, our defense is execrable. Six sacks. Two interceptions. If you take out the Raiders game, we are still the worst defense in the league. We do not pressure the QB, we do not create turnovers, and we cannot stop opposing offenses. Our defense is a giant pile of suck.

#2: It's Matt Schaub's fault. Well, no. I've seen a couple of refutations of this by commenters, so I won't re-hash too much, but it's an illogical conclusion. What DOES worry me is Schaub had nothing on his throws yesterday, and his pick was a horrible floater. I don't know if he's going through a dead-arm phase or something similar, but this is terribly worrisome to me. The difference between Schaub and The Sex Cannon is the difference between a Mercedes and a Ford Pinto. One will get you all blowed up.

"The Texans are ridiculously close to being a really good NFL team." And herein lies an extremely rare occasion where I agree with Little Dickie Justice, age 12, but with a monstrous caveat.

If there is one overwhelming theme I now see from commenters, it's that this team is a tease of the highest caliber. We have an offense that should consistently drop 35 points a game, and we do have some talent defensively. The problem is, we don't know what to do with it, and the blame lies directly on Gary Kubiak's shoulders, with an assist from Rick Smith.

If we still can't align our talent to fit our playbook, or vice versa, three years into Kubiak's reign, there's a problem. Frankly, somebody has to pay for hiring Frank Bush. Richard Smith + MORE AGGRESSIVE just doesn't seem to work. Who knew? And merely the fact we've come out completely flat in almost every game this year is an indictment of our preparedness. More often than not, we seem completely unprepared and surprised at what our opponent is throwing at us. Maybe hanging around BRB (or the rest of the Texans' blogosphere) more often would help with that since it seems obvious to the rest of us.

Gary Kubiak is a great offensive mind, but I have now lost faith in him as a head coach. We know Uncle Bob isn't going to make a change during the season, so I figure Kubiak has 11 more games to get his shit together. If we were making different mistakes, that would be one thing. But we keep doing the same stupid things week-in/week-out. It's time for this to stop.

To at least leave on a positive note: At least we don't root for the BE-SFs.

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Comments

Don't mean anything by this, just putting it out there

Bill Cowher?

Gimme some sack lunch

by SackLunch on Oct 12, 2009 11:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

no way

Cowher is going to Carolina…

by grungedave on Oct 12, 2009 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

not gonna happen

I can’t even remotely see it. Sorry.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 12:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not even

Plausible. He’s not coming to Houston, he wants something bigger and better, if anything.

by JimboTexan on Oct 12, 2009 1:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well that

rules out Carolina

by sammocyr on Oct 12, 2009 11:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Mike Shanahan would make the most sense and would be the easiest transition. Whether thats a good thing or not, or is necessary remains to be seen.

by nolander on Oct 12, 2009 2:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jeff Fisher anyone ?

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by CFHTim on Oct 12, 2009 8:33 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

damn.

cmon BFD! u didn’t mention some of the more positive things….
oh wait….
never mind i forgot we still lost. there are no “moral victories” in the NFL, you either win or you don’t.
BUT.
only ONE team wins the championship at the end of the year. i like to believe that all of these games that we are losing are setting a precedent when we get into the playoffs.. i.e, knowing how to play with a lead… knowing how to come from behind, all important lessons. Chuck Liddell once said “i don’t learn SHIT from a win…. i learn plenty from a loss.” so here’s to hoping that we can turn it around. keep in mind this team was 1-4 at this time last year… so we aren’t pass the point of no return.

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 11:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Positives

Matt Schaub
Andre Johnson is the best WR in football. Period.

Mostly, we never quit. That was nice to see.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 12:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Andre + teh Schaub

If anything, today showed that Schaub could be a pro-bowl caliber QB. He overcame even his own coach’s handicap to have a rather productive day. It does help to have AJ though – who is a freakin’ beast.

by grungedave on Oct 12, 2009 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

AJ...

any more questions as to who the BEST reciever in the league? AJ was NOT to be denied. and i can’t see Matt as a positive. i believe he may have still been sick…. he didn’t look himself. he missed AJ on at LEAST 2 touchdowns…. and on that 4th and 1 he had both walter AND Leach underneath. which is why Koob was pissed. all we needed was a yard… why throw into double coverage? your name isn’t Rex Grossman OR Sage Rosenfels sir!

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 12:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

interesting idea

On 4th and 1, the Sex Cannon sure as fuck isn’t running Chris Brown up the middle. :-)

by grungedave on Oct 12, 2009 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

identity crisis.

we WANT to be a power run team, but we dont have the right package. it’s not a bad thing to be finesse! let our d be the “tough” guys. SF won PLENTY of titles being soft as HELL on offense… while their D did all the dirty work.

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 12:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

and.......

the Rams won one being soft on BOTH sides of the ball.

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

So did the Colts

If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be fucked up.

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by CFHTim on Oct 12, 2009 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This team has a stead fast determination to ignore its positives

Thayt begins with Kubiak. Has always ALWAYS had a misguided obsession with the run despite the fact that we have NEVER been able to run the ball consistently and effectively. I just don’t understand it. We can throw the ball on anyone, anytime, but we insist on shooting ourselves in the feet. I feel like the problem with Kubiak is that he has a vision of what this team should be. Run first, play action, go for it. down the field now and then. That’s his only idea. When it doesn’t work he gets all confused, has no idea what to do. It’s like watching a child who is missing that one piece to finish his erector set project. So confused, and so impotent. Kubiak does this despite the fact that we clearly have many pieces better suited to being, well, to being the Cardinals. Throw first, run later. Fuck ball control. Fuck little bullshit runs up the middle which are always, always stuffed by big NTs who abuse our miserable interior line.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been sitting there watching the formation, seen those tight ends and Vonta and thought to myself, self, they’re going to run up the middle and they’re going to get stuffed. I am virtually never disappointed, which is only good for my impotent rage. One of the most painful things for me is watching them waste a down or two on running impotent little draws, only to find themselves 3 and 7. Then they try to pass into double coverage. It hurts my soul.

You know when they don’t abuse the line as much? When we pass the ball. They’re passable in pass blocking. They can’t run block for shit. Especially against an even mildly competent defensive line.

Don’t get me wrong I would LOVE for our team to be a run first, pass later ball control team because I think that’s a solid formula, especially with a god awful defense like ours which has no business being on the field for even half the game. But it’s not going to happen, so we need to embrace what we can do. And that’s throwing the ball to Andre Johnson, Kevin Walters, and OD. Hell, even Slaton- because he’s not a power back, but he IS what he was drafted to be, a third down back. We haven’t bothered to draft a power back. Probably because we have Chris Brown! Maybe next year. Until then, we need to accentuate the positive, and the positive’s name is Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson.

by JimboTexan on Oct 12, 2009 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's

kinda like the Hot ass dumb girl that wants to be loved for her brain and not her body. Go with what you got

by sammocyr on Oct 12, 2009 11:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Andre Johnson

Has a rocking body.

by JimboTexan on Oct 13, 2009 8:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

hmmmm

This all sounds like a really familiar e-mail conversation I was having yesterday evening and this morning…

by grungedave on Oct 12, 2009 11:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

it should...

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Showing some love for grungedave

http://www.thedreamshake.com/2009/10/12/1081700/cant-post-anything-rational-today

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 12:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Chris Brown Goaline Back

I am a big fan, just joined the battlered. Chris Brown as the “Goaline Package” is what I have the biggest problem with this week. What has he done to earn this role? Just because a number of NFL teams have gone with 2 RBs in recent years, doesn’t mean the Texans have to do it.

Are we not better off just leaving Slaton in the game at all times? It just baffles me what he is doing in the game.

by rkeithwinters on Oct 12, 2009 12:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

welcome

Slaton can’t be worse, thats for sure.

Slaton should be thrown to more, thats for sure, he sure ran with the ball well on screens yesterday.

Screw the run, lets pass every down.

Smushiak will take us to the playoffs in 2009.

by texanphil on Oct 12, 2009 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

nah.

then they’ll always go cover 2. we NEED the run…. just not on the damn goal line. our play calling in tennessee was much much better. hell we could’ve had AJ in just as a decoy! send him in motion.. fake a end around… anything to get them thinking it’s anything BUT a run up the damn middle!

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome

And I don’t have an answer for you. Why not leave Slaton in? More importantly, that was the third time we’d run that precise play. One’d think Kubiak would’ve done something, anything different. One would be wrong.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

am I the only one who thinks

That our interior o-line blows hairy mutant kangaroo cock?

Everyone knows about Meyers, but VY’s Patron buddy is pretty bad too.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 12, 2009 1:56 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Studdard and Breisel play soft in the run game. I thought Studdard was supposed to bring some nastiness to the line, but he just gets blown into the backfield and tackles Slaton for the other team.

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by CFHTim on Oct 12, 2009 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

We desperately

Miss Chester Pitts. Can we try Caldwell sometime? Meyers just is not a starting NFL center.

by JimboTexan on Oct 12, 2009 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They said White was rotating

at LG, but I didn’t notice.

If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be fucked up.

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by CFHTim on Oct 12, 2009 2:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

anything and goal at the 1 yard line

yesterday proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that our #1 play call should be a WR screen to AJ. He will not be denied at the goal line.

I disagree w/you BFD on the defense. You made the argument last week that it was “just the Raiders.” Then they have another good (half) game and “besides the Raiders game” we’re still worst in the league. The only way that has merit is if, for all the other teams in the league to which you are comparing the Texans defense, you also take away their best defensive game.

The defense had a great game. 21 points, not great, but all given up in the first half when the offense repeatedly gave up the ball quickly. 14 points given up in the final 2 mins of the first half. We had a bad drive that we got a turnover on, so maybe 4 bad defensive drives. But we earned that turnover, it was not a gift, so you can’t only take the negatives and dismiss the positives.

Regardless of the current state of our defense, they are definitely improving.

Stats are for losers, our defense played well enough to win yesterday against a very good NFL offense. To me, that is a huge upside.

Smushiak will take us to the playoffs in 2009.

by texanphil on Oct 12, 2009 12:54 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

agreed!!!!!!!!!

stats are sexy… but ultimately dont mean shit. it’s all about getting yourself into a position to win, which our d did. TWICE.

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Raiders are averaging 192 yards/game

2nd worse is the Browns with 50 more yards. This is a substantial amount of difference.

Mostly, one needs to weight whether the Cards mailed it in during the 2nd half (my opinion), or they didn’t. That we didn’t create a TO and had one sack tells me they sucked, not that they played well in the 2nd half.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 1:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

so stats

are used to prove how bad we are, but you don’t look at our second half stats to say we even had a good half?

yards per game were your measuring stick for how bad the Raiders are. How many yards did we give up in the second half as a defense?

Then your measuring stick changed when looking at our defense yesterday in the second half to sacks/turnovers.

Apples and oranges to make your point. Sorry, but you gotta be consistent.

Smushiak will take us to the playoffs in 2009.

by texanphil on Oct 12, 2009 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see your point

But would you say the Raiders defense was good in the 2nd half? Or that we just kinda mailed it in and protected the ball?

The Cards also hurt themselves with penalties.

We’ve seen the occasional flash from the D (4th Q of BE-SF game), but then we’ve seen them regress quickly thereafter (JAX game).

Until we put up a full game’s worth of even average play against a remotely decent offense, it’s hard for me to say we’ve improved. We’re more likely to go out and give up 300 yards against the Bengals next week in the first half than hold them to 150.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think you can compare the two games like that.

I think the Texans mailed it in and protected the ball during the second half. They ran alot of (unsuccessful) running plays. The Raiders offense was so inept there was little reason to do otherwise. The Cards, on the other hand, rarely ran the ball in the second half. To me, they didn’t look lethargic, but it did seem like their timing was off. Kurt Warner looked really frustrated in the fourth quarter. The Texans, unlike the Raiders, were putting points on the board in the second half, creating incentive for the Cards to go out there and put points on the board. By the time the Texans tied the game in the fourth, you have to believe the Cardinals wanted to drive down the field and score to win the game. The Texans defense came up with another stop. Given all that, I can’t argue for lethargy on behalf of the Cardinals offense. If the Raiders were gaining on the Texans points-wise in the fourth quarter, you’d have more reason for comparisons. For the first time ever, I think the Texans defensive coordinator made what’s called “adjustments” at halftime.

The true test in the life of a Texans fan is how gracefully you endure it.

by TexanKurt on Oct 12, 2009 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed, they did

Cushing blitzed almost all game, but they started throwing DeMeco in the second half. But I also think we were able to get away with it because they went so conservative in their play-calling.

It’s why I understand Phil’s argument (except the stats remark) because there are a couple legitimate ways to look at this.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah

And stopped rushing. That one really shocks me.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

They hadn’t really run the ball that well in the first place had they? They did do a good job of getting Hightower involved, but most of those were tech pass plays weren’t they?

by nolander on Oct 12, 2009 4:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

Stats are for losers.

Sincerely,

Adam Smith

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 12, 2009 2:00 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Joe Morgan recs this post

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

this season

will be all about Indy.

They need to lose one before our nearly back to back games against them. (oh and we need to win em all)

Get the sweep, and we’re in the hunt, playing meaningful games in December. Lose two, and even if we’d have beaten the Cards, I don’t see us in the playoffs.

Smushiak will take us to the playoffs in 2009.

by texanphil on Oct 12, 2009 1:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed.

if we sweep the TITS, split with Jax and split with Indy and win the majority of the other games we make the playoffs. our division SUCKS ASS this year, which bodes well for us.

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i dont see us making the playoffs like that

splitting with Indy means thats alteast one more loss which takes us to 4 losses. For the purpose of this exercise we will say that winning the “majority” of the rest of our games is winning 5 of 7. That makes our loss total 6 and personally i dont see a 10-6 team making the playoffs in the AFC this season. Last year the 11-5 Patriots didnt make the playoffs. We will not win the division over the colts with only 10 wins. IMO the Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Patriots, Chargers, and Broncos all have an opportunity to win more than 10 games and take a Wild Card spot from us. I think we must go 11-5, which at this point looks pretty daunting.

by TexasHoosier on Oct 12, 2009 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

agree

its all coming down to sweeping the colts.

They need a few strange losses, and we sweep them. Winning a tie-breaker in my fantasy-world scenario.

Smushiak will take us to the playoffs in 2009.

by texanphil on Oct 12, 2009 7:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Red Zone

After watching AJ manufacture two TDs by manhandling people near the goal line, I just cringed watching us running the ball ineffectually. Just kick the ball out to him and let him break some people to get it in.

Or plan B, to be implemented whenever we accidentally get inside the 10: take two delay-of-game penalties to give ourselves space, then use our WRs and TEs. Spreading the defense seems to help us a lot more than getting to short yardage. And ultimately we’re still just moving around in Kris Brown territory.

by RJB on Oct 12, 2009 1:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

me and 21.

it’s my lucky number. so yesterday when i saw the score at 21-21 and 2:28 left in the quarter, i just KNEW that something special was gonna happen. so instead of keeping my fingers, toes, arms crossed as they had been (since the third quarter started) i uncrossed everything and lit a doobie… and i’ll be dammed if that’s when that god damn INT happenned. plus, i never got new cinnamon rolls…. i had 4 leftover from last week. so i apologize guys… blame me for the loss! FYI…. he scored on 2:20. if that fuck face would have crossed at 2:21 i would’ve thrown myself off a building!

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 1:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Dumbass alert

I don’t get cinnamon rolls. I know OTHER defs, but none fit. Please help a loser and explain. :-)

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

ummm........

i mean ACTUAL cinammon rolls…. last season i found when i bought them the day of, for some reason we won so i stayed with it.

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I thought this was some…oh, never mind.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 1:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

a new tradition?

maybe i should start doing a “get your mind off the loss” post every week….. nothing beats getting over a tough defeat… than eye candy. lol

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 2:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're asking me?

The guy who’s entire sex life now consists of monthly, unenthusiastic hand jobs?

Yes, yes you should.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 2:11 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

rec'd

here’s to hoping they will no longer be unenthusiastic!

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by chrisd21 on Oct 12, 2009 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

We suck.

True Dat

Kubiak took over play calling on the last series, and let’s face it- he SUCKS! Again, the Texans will have an ex-head coach demoted to some teams QB coach or OC come 2010. We have more than enough talent offensively to beat these teams, however, Kubiaks instilled in baby Shan that we must stick to the running game no matter the cost. Well the cost is his j-o-b. Shan left alone would have won that game for us. Shaub also sucks and will be relegated to a back up position as soon as Smith and Mcnair get their heads out of thier arses. Sure, he posts great big numbers when the defense is spooked or otherwise temporarily dysfunctional. Give him a little pressure and we lose, simple. Plenty of 2nd and 3rd stringers in the league can post those numbers in that situation too.

by NECpresident on Oct 12, 2009 1:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree about

Schaub. He is the best QB we’ve ever had, and I don’t know who we would have drafted instead of him. Brady Quin..? Chad Henne? John Beck? Kevin Kolb? Not a lot of potential there. Flacco I guess, but that’s it. We were never in a position to draft a Matt Ryan or the next Peyton Manning.

by JimboTexan on Oct 12, 2009 2:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ya know Kolb has actually played pretty good the couple games he started this year.

by nolander on Oct 12, 2009 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just don't get how people think that Schaub is the problem

After all those years of David Carr. It just doesn’t make sense.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 13, 2009 12:29 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

When you have the worst defense in football...

It definitely doesn’t make much sense to blame the QB.

We have a laundry-list of problems to address before Schaub. That’s not to say we couldn’t upgrade there, but we’d be much better off trying to improve our 30th or so ranked defense than trying to boost the top-ten passing game.

by Nashmeister on Oct 13, 2009 12:40 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure, we could upgrade there

I mean, we could get Peyton Manning. But short of Manning, Brees, Rivers or Roethlisberger, we can’t. Considering the cost, it’s not worth it.

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by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 13, 2009 6:02 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good Post BFD

I like Koobs as a person, but I am losing any confidence that he will get the job done here in Houston. And this year’s draft has me questioning Smith as well, why pick up two tight ends when you have glaring needs on defense. We haven’t had a decent run stopping DT since Seth Payne. And we have never had a playmaking safety in our franchise history. Also, we should be utilizing our smaller quicker linemen by running more screens or short passes to Slaton. When Dominic Davis-Williams-Cromartie or whatever his name is wasn’t able to run they got him more touches in the passing game.

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by CFHTim on Oct 12, 2009 1:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The defense did show me something

Pollard came in untouched when the Texans showed a lot of 8 man fronts which meant Warner had to settle for the safety valve a lot of the time. This tells me that Reeves and Robinson did their job to make sure Warner could not take a shot downfield in the second half. The Cards may have settled for the short stuff in the second half but not all of that was by choice. The D gets credit for the Texans almost winning that game IMO.

"There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired." ~ Bum Phillips

by H-town Fanatic on Oct 12, 2009 1:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Reeves

Was definitely an improvement in the secondary.

by JimboTexan on Oct 12, 2009 2:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

WHEN YOU SPEND THE NEXT DAY BEING EXCITED ABOUT HOW GOOD YOU LOOKED LOSING....

You know you’re a Texans fan.

Loss is a loss. Start winning.

"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."

The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related

by TexansForever on Oct 12, 2009 3:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree about your assessment of our 2nd half defense

Yes the cardinals packed it in some and played like we did in the second half against the raiders, but when it counted our defense still stepped up. The cards only ran the ball 2 out of 18 plays in the second half sans their final drive which started on their half yard line. The Texans defense provided more pressure on Warner in the second half than the first and the DBs made some plays. Reeves had a couple big pass break ups and Quin had at least one. The Cards hurt themselves with a few penalties, but the defense still made plays to make those penalties matter.

Also, you say that “we dont create turnovers” but that is false. Believe it or not the Texans are 1st in the NFL with 6 fumble recoveries. Our 8 takeaways ties us with the Colts and Jets, is 1 more than the Ravens and Patriots, 2 more than the Bengals, Chargers, and Bears, and 4 more than the Cowboys and Steelers. Overall, our Takeaway number of 8 is tied for 11th in the League, while not great, its far from bad.

by TexasHoosier on Oct 12, 2009 4:43 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

I do recall our DBs actually causing a couple pass incompletions.

by nolander on Oct 12, 2009 5:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frenchy!

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 5:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sad but true

Our defensive secondary was waiting for the return of a key injured player.

Of course it was Frenchy, not Dunta.

Then again, on the bright side, we won’t have to worry about blowing a ton of cash trying to sign Dunta this offseason. Maybe we can use some of that money to sign OD and DeMeco.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 13, 2009 12:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look! A seagull!

You obviously just kicked my ass up and down. Thank you for doing so respectively. When I was looking at fumbles, I was looking at the wrong team.

Note to self: Insert something witty here.

by bigfatdrunk on Oct 12, 2009 5:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

And how about

starting the game off with a fumbled center exchange. I thought Mittens snuck back into his old #8 jersey for a second. That made it 2nd and 12, 7 yard pass to God aka AJ, then a 3rd and 5 which was unsucessful. I was also kind of sad that DeMeco got pushed out of bounds by Kurt Warner, that was a perfect opportunity to lower your shoulder and hit him instead of letting him just nudge you out of bounds.

If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be fucked up.

You are banned from Music City Miracles.
Happy Now Tits?
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You are banned from Silver Screen and Roll.

by CFHTim on Oct 12, 2009 7:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

After re-watching AJ barrel into the end zone

Can’t we just make him our goal line back? I mean, he can’t be worse. Hell, I couldn’t be worse and I don’t even weigh 140 pounds.

by cubic on Oct 12, 2009 8:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

AJ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3VMXNXCHSs

Outstanding and “God-like”.

by Xetuoh on Oct 12, 2009 10:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

AJ is SO awesome!

"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."

The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related

by TexansForever on Oct 13, 2009 8:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

WHY DIDN'T WE PUT IN

Antoine Caldwell at center and do a QB sneak!!!

"We don't need refs, but i guess white guys need something to do."- Charles Barkley

by Rockets 4 Life on Oct 12, 2009 9:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

the simple answer to that

is that Caldwell was inactive

by TexasHoosier on Oct 12, 2009 11:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Never thought I'd say this

I miss Ron Dayne

by sammocyr on Oct 12, 2009 11:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I always thought he was underrated.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 13, 2009 12:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dayne would have lost yardage on that play...

Remember, the Texans’ staff also thought Dayne was a perfect goal-line back… when he wasn’t. Maybe that partially explains their infatuation with Chris Brown? Our coaches simply do not recognize what a good goal-line back looks like.

by grungedave on Oct 13, 2009 8:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Truth be told

I think that Moats might be the running back in our stable that most closely resembles a short yardage back.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 13, 2009 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Moats is shorter and lighter than Slaton....

He is not the short yardage answer.

"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."

The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related

by TexansForever on Oct 13, 2009 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The reality is that it doesn’t matter much who is running the ball our interior can’t get a push. Maybe Caldwell or White or both can help with that.

by nolander on Oct 13, 2009 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

True, but he runs with a lower center of gravity and seems able to shed tackles ok.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 13, 2009 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

At this point

it wouldn’t hurt to give him a try. What’s the worst he could do, not pick up the yard or fumble it in the endzone???

Confucius says "man who stands on toilet, high on pot".

by Bobobigbro on Oct 13, 2009 4:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

dunno if it's been mentioned,

but if we had any center who wasn’t Meyers, we’d be doing better. I’ve watched that last play of the game like.. 100 times now. its Meyers fualt for getting blasted into the backfield, which kept Brown standing up. Meyers is Trash with a capitol T. only reason he’s got a chance to play is because of the zone blocking scheme. He’s just too weak. He’s “Just bad enough to be a hinderence but Just good enough to not lose his job” which upon further investigation, alot of players and coaches could be categorized under.

Looking forward to not having an 8-8 year!

by BattleRedHusker on Oct 13, 2009 7:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I do think we will see caldwell in there by next year, hopefully sooner.

by nolander on Oct 13, 2009 10:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about this week.

You are banned from Music City Miracles.
Happy Now Tits?
You are banned from Blogging The Boys.

by CFHTim on Oct 13, 2009 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't understand why..

.. we don’t run more draws or screens? Then Slaton maybe could sneak his way out of some situations much better than he can right now.. or is it just me? We obviously can’t run it up the gut.. so don’t!

Chris Henry, he’s on our practice squad.. could HE be a goal line back? He’s a tight build back, isn’t he?

Die hard Texan fan from the heart of Denmark!

by zala on Oct 13, 2009 10:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs