Falling short yet again... 20-17

by MFriday on Nov 23, 2009 11:46 PM CST Comment 8 comments

Before the game started, I said that there were...

THREE KEYS TO VICTORY...

1) Slow down Tennessee's running attack - WE FAILED

2) Protect Matt Schaub and give him time to throw - WE FAILED

3) Contain Vince Young - WE FAILED

If we had accomplished just one of these tasks, I believe that we would have won this game. Everyone will give Kris Brown a hard time, but who can say that we would have won the toss in over time?

The Titans out played us on both sides of the football in the second half. Foolish penalties, missed tackles, and weak interior o-line play cost us this game.

NOBODY CAME UP BIG TO MAKE A PLAY...

Dunta Robinson did not make an easy interception, and completely missed an absolutely crucial tackle on Vince Young in the open field. Antonio Smith knocked other defenders to the ground at least two times, enabling Vince Young to scramble for key first down. Mario Williams didn't go for the strip when he hit Vince in the fourth quarter (the tripping play). Steve Slaton dropped an easy catch across the middle on 3rd and 10. Zac Diles got juked out of his shoes by Chris Brown to open up a 20 yard run.

WHAT WERE OUR COACHES THINKING...

Why not try for more yards with 8 seconds left? (Spread the field and take a shot at the end zone to win the game with quick one or two quick slant routes.)

Why didn't we trust Slaton with more carries? (He ran the ball well, and he should have been featured more often... At least they took my advice on motioning him out of the backfield)

What the heck was that empty backfield screen pass play call on 3rd and goal? (Throw a slant to Walters or a fade to Andre. This call just seemed very strange to me given our other playmakers.)

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE...

Now we have to beat the Colts AND Jaguars.

We have to run the ball more effectively (we have only had one or two big runs all season, meanwhile the Titans had three tonight).

It is time to start scouting offensive linemen. We need to draft at least two.

It is time to start scouting cornerbacks, because Dunta is not worth the money from what I just saw.

It is time to look around the league for clutch kickers. Kris Brown has proven that he cannot be trusted in games that actually matter. Unless he turns things around and nails a hard kick in the playoffs (if we even make it there) I think his job should go to someone else.

Poll

What was most costly in the loss?

Poor pass blocking

2 votes

Inconsistent Schaub (missed some easy throws, lucky he wasn't picked)

3 votes

Offensive playcalling

10 votes

Defensive playcalling

5 votes

Kris Brown

16 votes

Penalties

7 votes

43 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I just don't want to sit through another year of "this is the Texans year" during preseason

Gets to be patronizing. Like being a Cubs fan. THIS was supposed to be our year.

by chrisjay84 on Nov 23, 2009 11:51 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

My god, u nailed it rite on tha head!!!!!

U do not understand how tired I am of hearing or telling everybody “This is the our year to have a winning record/make the playoffs/go 2 tha SB/any of the above.” I love tha Texans with all my heart and will never switch, but I’m jus tired of bein tha little engine that could but didnt.

by HTexans4EVA on Nov 24, 2009 3:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Eh.

Sorry, but they were in a position to tie the game up. I don’t give a damn what happened earlier in the game; Kris Brown has missed three field goals in the past two games that were well within his reach.

And as for not winning the toss; maybe. But that’s four times we should have gone to overtime that we’ve failed. If we win half of those (as statistics might suggest), we’ve got a pretty damn good chance of being two games better right now.

by Nashmeister on Nov 24, 2009 3:47 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

You can play the what if scenario all you want, but that doesn’t determine anything because the other team can play the what if factor as well. The bottom line is we’ve lost on the final play of four games this season. It was in our hands to send it to overtime all four times. Law of averages give us two vitcories in OT, so we’re starring at a 7-3 record or even 8-2 if we went 3-1 in those contests. Hell, 1-3 puts at 6-4 and deep in the playoff hunt.

We’ve outplayed or played even with our opponents in 9 out of 10 games this season and, unfortunately, the results do not match the box score. It doesn’t matter if you outplay your opponent. All that matters is what the scoreboard says in the end. Our offense is supposed to win us these close games and they failed twice on their own accord and put the FG unit in position the other two times only to watch the possibility of victory sail wide on both occasions.

It’s unacceptable. Last night was Kris Brown’s fault. It was his job to put points on the board and he failed to do so twice. That’s on him. Not anyone else.

Chris Brown was asked to hold onto the ball and get into the endzone against Jacksonville and he didn’t do it. That’s his fault. His job was to punch it in whilst holding the ball. The offensive line made the hole for him to squeeze in and he did not get the job done.

Matt Schaub overthrew a wide open Joel Dreesen to tie the game. The offensive line didn’t make the hole that was needed for Chris Brown to get in on the bery next play. That loss was on Schaub and the o-line.

It’s very simple. Everyone contributes to put their team in position to win games in the end and our team has successfully done that nine times out of ten this season. The results should warrant better than a .500 record, but it hasn’t. It sucks.

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

by H-town Fanatic on Nov 24, 2009 12:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The only problem I really had with the play calling was giving the ball to Chris Brown so much. He did absolutely nothing, hes slow, and he stands up straight. Why the fuck was he in so much? The last play where they downed it instead of going for another play I kinda disagree with as well, but come on your kicker gets paid to make a 49 yard field goal, he HAS TO DO HIS JOB. On the defensive side Dunta Robinson can go to fucking hell. He got torn up by a rookie and missed a pick that hit him in the chest. The bottom line was for the 4th time the coaches had the team in a position to win or tie the game, and the players failed to deliver. I blame guys like Dunta, Kris Brown, and the offensive line more than the coaches.

Be judgmental about the actions of the past, be hopeful about the actions of the future. -The Homers Creed

by DaGoaT on Nov 24, 2009 7:52 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I dont understand why we didnt take a time out with 15 sec left and then take a shot at the endzone. Instead of letting precious second tick away only to center the ball for the kick…. Also what has happened to the Kris Brown i used to know, 1/4 on kicks from 40-49 this year …….c’mon dude

by tonyhomo on Nov 24, 2009 9:19 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

there wasnt enough time left to take a shot at the end zone, and if something went wrong like a sack or getting tackled in bounds, you dont leave yourself any time for the field goal. The offense did their job to get the ball in a position for Kris Brown to make a play, he failed us.

Be judgmental about the actions of the past, be hopeful about the actions of the future. -The Homers Creed

by DaGoaT on Nov 24, 2009 9:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs