1/3 Point Grades on our Texans

Hey Battle Red!  I've been meaning to write more here, but graduate school has decided to suck my life away.  I still have Sunday's, and after peeking over a bar at Miyako's to watch Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson will the Texans to another escape that would make Houdini proud, I thought it would be good to grade the performance of this team so far...starting with the Defense

Defensive Grades

Defensive Line: C+
Mario Williams in the first 2 weeks had these guys at a B- level, but I was tempted to put them lower too.  They need more push on their pass rush, and in the past 3 weeks, the run defense hasn't been very good.  With DeMeco Ryans out, this is a good opportunity for the line to step up and make a push.

Linebackers: C
They have done what they've needed to do, but Ryans, Cushing, Dials and Adibi weren't really lighting the world on fire out there.  Now with your defensive QB out for the year, what's going to happen next?

Secondary: D-
The Oakland game keeps this from an F, but its been some serious growing pains.  Kareem Jackson and Glover Quinn will be a good tandem out there, just probably not till 2011 or 2012.  Right now, the two will take their lumps.  We need a free safety who can help make up some of the deficiencies that Bernard Pollard has.  I love Pollard to death (he's my favorite defensive player) but he's not a good player in coverage.

Offensive Grades

Quarterback: B+
Schaub's been solid, but the hiccups keep him from getting an A.  Still, 2 comeback wins this year has been pretty impressive so far.  Keep up the magic, and stay on your feet Matty!

Running Backs: A
Arian Foster, I SAW THIS COMING!!! Keep playing well sir, and you're bound for Hawaii with Johnson and Schaub.  Derrick Ward is a great compliment and the less we see of Steve Slaton, the better (though, its disappointing considering where Steve was 2 years ago).

Wide Receivers: A-
Andre Johnson alone is an A, but the rest of the group has been kind of mediocre so far.  Yes, Kevin Walter has that big Week 2 game, and Jacoby Jones has been injured, but overall a nice job.  Is there any doubt about who the #1 WR in football is after getting the officials to call pass interference on Flowers yesterday?

Tight Ends: B+
Joel Dreessen has impressed me, and Owen Daniels looks like he's on his way back nicely.  Great combination of weapons.  2 tight end offense makes you more balanced, and makes you all that more lethal.

Offensive Line: B
I drop them from a higher grade because the sacks are terrible.  Otherwise they're blocking nicely, and they're controlling the line of scrimmage as well.  Great work for a group that doesn't really have well-regarded interior linemen and have been playing with a backup LT for the past 4 weeks.

Special Teams: C
Steve Slaton as a KR?  Seriously???  Why not just line up Vonte Leach out there.  I mean, for all we have invested, we couldn't find a halfway decent returner so that Jacoby Jones could focus on playing as a receiver.  Kicking and Punting have been good so far, but (other than in Washington), Neil Rackers hasn't been asked to do anything too special.

Coaching: B-
Some good moments, but some bad ones too.  Kubes, you gotta put some fire into these guys so they don't come out flatter than 3 week old coke.  Its disgusting out there sometimes.  I like comeback wins, but you can only go to the well so many times before it just doesn't work.  Overall, they look a bit better out there than last year.

What do you guys think so far this season?  Was I too lenient, too harsh?  Could I have bashed more?