Post-Game Breakdown: Texans Rally To Beat Redskins On Road
by Tim on Sep 21, 2010 11:22 PM CDT
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PrintThis thing is late enough as it is, so let's get down to business, shall we? I'm aiming for a rather abbreviated PGB this week, considering the magic has already been dissected here and there's another game of some local importance looming on the horizon. Pardon my brevity after the jump.
1. At what point is it fair to start considering Andre Johnson's place among the wide receiver greats in NFL history? Yes, it was his absurd, overtime-forcing catch after returning from injury that made me ponder this, and a single play does not qualify a player as worthy of consideration for inclusion among the all-time greats. With these stats thus far in his career, however, when do we really start the analysis? Year 10? Year 12?
2. How about Phillip Buchanon being the DB who left his assignment and allowed the one-on-one contest between 'Dre and Reed Doughty? It almost made up for P-Buc's "Ole!" moment against the Steelers back in '05.
3. What TDC said. Let us table the "Jacoby Jones Should Be WR2!" talk for a bit.
4. Matt Schaub has 604 passing yards through the first two weeks of the 2010 NFL season. Remember, Schaub had only 107 yards passing going into last Sunday. On a day where he was pressured and beat up all game, that's special.
5. More screens to Arian Foster, please. Especially with Rashad Butler having to line up across from DeMarcus Ware on Sunday.
6. Vonta Leach: Receiving Weapon.
7. No, Kubes, that does not mean we should line Vonta up wide again.
8. Would Owen Daniels, coming off a torn ACL suffered less than a year ago, have made the monster catch that Joel Dreessen did?
9. Really hoping David Anderson is returning kicks on Sunday. Frankly, I was stunned Kubes ran Steve Slaton out there again after his first return. I would've thought a coach who has no problem immediately benching a running back who coughs up the ball might show less patience.
10. If what we've seen through the first two weeks is what Mario Williams is going to do every week, opposing QBs would be wise to start taking a knee on every third and long.
11. Super Mario's jersey sack of Donovan McNabb--as McNabb was backpedaling away from him, and McNabb's not a small dude--was a play that I will not ever forget. Until the dementia kicks in, anyway.
12. Oh, Bernard Pollard. Such a liability in coverage, yet blocking a field goal that I'm not sure anyone else could have gotten to. I curse you. I praise you. I hate myself.
13. Memo to Frank Bush: A bend-don't-break defense does not work when your secondary repeatedly breaks. When Joey Galloway and Mike Sellers are wrecking shop, something's amiss.
14. Had Graham Gano not shanked that overtime FG attempt (after nailing it pre-icing, no less), Kubiak's decision to punt from the WAS 39 (after taking a delay of game penalty, no less) in OT would have surpassed the Chris Brown halfback pass of '09 as the single stupidest in-game decision in franchise history. Punting is not an option there. Don't think Neil Rackers has the leg to hit that FG? Fine. Go for it on 4th and 4 then. McNabb & Co. had shredded the Texans' defense for the vast majority of the game. How can you give them the ball back WHEN IT'S SUDDEN DEATH? I'm not ashamed to say that I completely lost it when the Texans punted there. I'm fairly certain that I invented new profanity. Even thinking about it now, knowing that it all worked out in the end, I get angry. Moving on...
15. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Andre Johnson; Defense--Mario Williams; Special Teams--Neil Rackers (because a game-winning FG is a game-winning FG).
2-0. With an 0-2 Dallas Cowboys squad coming to Reliant. While I'd rather our beloved Texans had their starting SLB and LT for the contest, far be it for me to detract from the spectacle. Onward.
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Jacoby needs hand enlargement surgery
I was surprised to see that none of Walter’s 11 catches were in a third down situation. I recall JJ atleast dropping one, and completing the one in OT. Any thoughts on why Jacoby seems to be a preferred target over KW on third downs? Is Walter spending more time as a blocker on third downs?
Assmass alone does not a NT make.
He certainly was on Jacoby's TD catch
KW goes into the endzone and bumps into the DB while JJ cuta an Out route along the GL.
A Texas Wannabe, born and raised in New Zealand. Currently located 7539 miles South west of Houston.
by distant_texans_fan on Sep 22, 2010 1:10 AM CDT up reply actions
I wouldn't read anything into that
KW has been a big third down target for us in the past. One game doesn’t show any kind of trend of Jacoby being the third down target…he won’t be if he keeps dropping them.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
as a fan of both texas teams , i was happy yall took it to the skins, i was hoping for a all texas sb, but alas im not sure dallas will hold up it end, so , texans give me a texas team in the sb lol
woman !, dont try to understand em, dont try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart ! lol
There's a second team in Texas?
"MDC: Droppin' knowledge like a librarian with Parkinson's." --Jonathan Loesche
"He tells me he’s playing, he’s playing." --Gary Kubiak, on Andre Johnson
yeah jerry is the bad half cant keep his nose out of theteam part, he needs to go clint merchison hit the back scenes.
woman !, dont try to understand em, dont try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart ! lol
Oh, you mean Jerrah's team?
From South Oklahoma?
A Texas Wannabe, born and raised in New Zealand. Currently located 7539 miles South west of Houston.
by distant_texans_fan on Sep 22, 2010 10:29 PM CDT up reply actions
The thing that's getting lost is that 4th-and-4 never would've happened...
if Kubes declined the penalty on the play and accepted 4th-and-inches. At that point, you’re either looking at a 49/50 yard field goal or a Schaub/Foster run for the inches. That’s where the mistake lies, IMHO.
"Lord, beer me strength."
Jacoby completed the pass on 3rd-and-4
So, 4th-and-4 never happened, unless you’re thinking of some other drive. Kubiak went for having two shots at getting 4 yards, as compared to one at inches. I was surprised too when he did not decline the penalty. But looking back I believe that a good case can be made for either calls.
Assmass alone does not a NT make.
I got it mixed up.
My mind is fuzzy from that exact period. I just remember we had inches, but took a penalty that set us back.
"Lord, beer me strength."
On Kubiak's punt decision
The defense had allowed one touchdown the entire second half…at that point, the last 4 redskins possessions were punt, punt, punt, blocked FG along with a couple of Mcnabb slayings by Mario. Kubes put trust in his punter and his D (both of which let him down) and ended up winning the game.
Real head coaches have the balls to make the decision they think is right. I didn’t think it was a good decision at the time but after seeing them drive from their 20 to our 35 before the gano kick(s)..i was glad. He simply didn’t have faith that Rackers, kicking in to the wind, from 1 yard shy of his career high could drill it after he had already missed from 47 earlier. We won the game..lets put it to rest.
by leacheatsbabies on Sep 22, 2010 12:03 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
I almost agree with you.
I believe it was the right call then, and I believe it was the right call now. For exactly the reasons you explained.
A Texas Wannabe, born and raised in New Zealand. Currently located 7539 miles South west of Houston.
by distant_texans_fan on Sep 22, 2010 1:13 AM CDT up reply actions
dont forget
neil rackers passed a kidney stone – definitely affected his consistency/strength from what i heard.
KP
ouch 4 yrs back i passed not one but 2 of em , nothin before that ever put me in a fetal position like that, have had sep shoulder, torn knee ligs, but thaat, wow P A I N !
woman !, dont try to understand em, dont try to make them understand you, for they are a breed apart ! lol
That ignores the fact that
a) the Redskins offense drove long enough to get a chipshot figgie and had it blocked (not an event that is likely to repeat itself)
and
b) the Redskins took that punt far enough to where they had a chance at the figgie at their own, and made it the first try they had before they had to deal with that stupid icing the kicker rule.
The only way I think you can say that punting was the right call there is if you judge coaches on what happened after the fact. Yeah, it sure worked out well. That doesn’t mean it was the smart play. I mean, drafting Andre Johnson worked well for Chuck Casserly, that doesn’t mean letting him run your draft has a high percentage of success.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement | Twitter | SB Nation Houston | Battle Red Blog
by riversmccown on Sep 22, 2010 11:22 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don't always like analogies, but in this case, that's a beautiful analogy...
I dub the Cowboys.....Jesus-pony poop, 6 months after it's expiration date
Not a bad analogy
I think another way you can say punting was the right call is the fact that anything over 50 is pushing it as far as Rackers’ range goes. Add in his last kickoff (going that same direction as the FG would have been) that landed around the 10 yd line and the only question becomes do I want to give the Redskins the ball at their 43 or inside their 20.
If you're not confident in Rackers making it from that distance
You go for it.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement | Twitter | SB Nation Houston | Battle Red Blog
by riversmccown on Sep 22, 2010 12:20 PM CDT up reply actions
I think there was two options
Go for it, or punt. Attempting the field goal is pointless if they don’t think he can make it. I wasn’t crazy about the punt, but if you are worried about giving the ball at the 42 why would you want to possibly give it to them at the 35?
I wasn’t crazy about the call, but I don’t think it’s quite the “OMFG Kubiak iz stoopid” call some people have made it out to be.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
by papabear on Sep 22, 2010 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
It would have worked out better
If Turk is able to down the ball inside the 5 or at least the 10 instead of kicking out of the freaking end zone. Frankly, I have more issues with that. He’s a punter. That’s ALL he does. Learn to perfect all nuances of your craft instead of going all Sexy Rexy “Fuck It I’m Going Deep” on us.
"Foster - Texan for Score!" ~ Rip Jersey
by LoneSpot on Sep 22, 2010 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Turked shanked another punt earlier in the game from our own end
It was only 33 yards or so I think…of course there was no return because he put it out of bounds so far.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
Not a fan of the Slaton dogging
I still like Slaton in the backfield on passing downs more than Foster. Foster did show some improvement, but I still think Slaton is the better blocker and still better in the open field. I’m not saying we shouldn’t throw to Foster, just that Slaton is more agile. I know he made stupid mistakes returning kicks. No question there. Yes, he was Mr. Butterfingers last year. But if people keep dogging him, he’s never going to get better. I think his neck was the biggest problem last year. This year I think it’s just confidence. If he get fumblitis again, then I’m all for cutting him. But we’ve seen what the guy can do, and I think we should give him more chances to prove himself and get the opponents to worry about two backs instead of just one. Because if something happens to that one (and this is the NFL remember), we’re going to have problems. Especially if idiots on our team don’t watch what they’re putting into their bodies…
better in the open field? more agile?
Based on … what?
"MDC: Droppin' knowledge like a librarian with Parkinson's." --Jonathan Loesche
"He tells me he’s playing, he’s playing." --Gary Kubiak, on Andre Johnson
I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you there
First off, Slaton has had plenty of chances and the only reason he’s not getting those chances now is because somebody else stepped up and is doing the job better.
His issues with running the ball were more than just fumbling—they were vision issues. I have seen a bunch of Foster runs this year where he’s picked up four or five yards and Slaton in the same situation would have probably been hit for no gain or a loss. You can’t pin that on his neck problems and the same thing is evident in his kick returning.
If Slaton’s not going to get better because a bunch of dudes on the interwebs are dogging him, then he’s not the right guy to begin with.
All in all, I’m sure Slaton will still get his chances in screens and on some third downs, but he doesn’t deserve any more than that. In the return game, he may get a few more chances, but he’s got to have a short leash.
Let’s be honest here. A few plays aside, Slaton hasn’t been that good or reliable for well over a year. Despite his issues, he’s still #2 on the roster and getting decent playing time. When he screws up, he deserves to be dogged for it, but I don’t understand how anyone can argue that he’s not getting chances.
by Vega on Sep 22, 2010 9:11 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
That "icing the kicker" thing was the highest of high drama for me...
since that ploy almost NEVER works, yet coaches still employ it, year after year. If he had waited a millisecond more, he doesn’t get the TO. I could hardly watch the kick to begin with, and then to watch it sail through the uprights, then hear “Wait! The Texans called time out!”. Then to watch as Gano joins that 1/2 of 1 pct of kickers on whom the icing technique actually worked. Shankety-shank.
Somewhere, right at that very second, Scott Norwood began vomiting uncontrollably. I find myself wondering if Shanahan broke off a phone call to Kubes and what he might’ve had to say about it.
"It's the sport of kings....better than diamond rings.....football."
The "icing the kicker" move
is the NFL equivalent of “your seat cushion is also a ‘floatation device’”.
It’s a nice gesture but I hope I never have to count on it.
"Each in turn... volunteered his suggestions, his invaluable suggestions."
Twitter - xiane1
The Dreamshake
by Xiane on Sep 22, 2010 3:18 AM CDT up reply actions 4 recs
Correct me if I'm wrong
but didn’t Shanahan start this trend back in Denver a few years back when coaches were first allowed to call TOs from the sideline?
I could be wrong… I have killed many braincells since then.
yes
Don’t you remember the you can’t Shanahan Shanhan’s own kicker before the Denver Monday night game?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtwlRHiB_EY
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
Actually
So far it’s been worth ~15% accuracy against the kickers. Of course, some of that is probably statistical noise based on where the field goal is taken, but even if you regressed it I think theres enough data to say that it’s worth 5-10 percent.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement | Twitter | SB Nation Houston | Battle Red Blog
by riversmccown on Sep 22, 2010 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions
I wonder how many times icing has backfired?
Seems like it actually helped Janikowski a couple years ago.
I've seen it backfire at least once.
The first FG missed, but a timeout was called. Then the second one went straight through and the HC looked like an egg.
A Texas Wannabe, born and raised in New Zealand. Currently located 7539 miles South west of Houston.
by distant_texans_fan on Sep 22, 2010 10:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Some data for the discussion
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704129204575506112194098670.html
"It's the sport of kings....better than diamond rings.....football."
"Don't get yourself a bunch of tricky plays.......get yourself a bunch of tricky players." `Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Christopher H on Sep 22, 2010 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions
if your not ashamed, then i also wont be on the -FG- err cunt punt call
in a drunken rage, i accidentally lets some phlegm fly and nailed the tv with it yelling some absurd curse words that ive never heard before on the punt call. ironically when the showed kubes face, it was right between the eyes and my roommate stated, hey right down the middle, could it be foreshadowing. lucky for us it was. i know the call worked out, and the defense was playing well, but i still believe the right call was to end the game there, and not give the ball back to mcnabb, who almost burnt us on the 3rd down.
Why would it have been a good call to have your kicker try a FG out of his range?
Especially since he had already missed one, and had passed a kidney stone recently. Does anyone really think that Kubiak thought Rackers had a decent shot at making that kick and decided to punt anyway?
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
I had no idea about the kidney stone thing
but that might take a little wind out of a man’s sails, that’s for sure.
"It's the sport of kings....better than diamond rings.....football."
"Don't get yourself a bunch of tricky plays.......get yourself a bunch of tricky players." `Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Christopher H on Sep 22, 2010 12:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Rashard Butler vs. DeMarcus
Totally agree with number 5. Kubes and Dennison need to develop a gameplan that will either avoid Ware completely or take advantage of his aggressiveness. Definitely zone and bootleg to the right side of the line and screens to the left. Losing Brown is a huge blow.
Schaub, Andre, DB's
Schaub showed some serious toughness, and still threw for 500 after 5 sacks that was awesome.
Andre being mentioned among the best ever will start at the end of this season if the Texans continue to Juice….er win and make a Superbowl run. P, Buc left his assignment because he knew he didn’t want any part of that.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY ESPN IS MAKING SUCH A BIG DEAL ABOUT MOSS’ CATCH? Even my 10 y/o son said Andre made a better catch than that with one hand last season against the tits.
As much Flack as our DB’s get, the one thing that haven’t done is give up the winning TD.
GO TEXANS!!!!
Our time will come...
The Moss Catch
Its because he straight palmed it out of the air. Didn’t one hand and cradle it, or one hand then bring the other one down to secure it. Just straight palmed it and that was that.
It is getting overplayed
I am Sancho
by HoustonTransplant on Sep 22, 2010 6:07 AM CDT up reply actions
The Moss catch was pretty incredible
and it was on Revis, too.
Not to take anything away from Dre’s catch. But it was on a helpless Reed Doughty, not Revis Island.
But with that said, Dre is still > Moss.
The Pats were out of the game. The Texans needed that catch to go to OT
I dub the Cowboys.....Jesus-pony poop, 6 months after it's expiration date
Reevis is human
He’s one of the best corners in the league, but he’s not a superhero… Just as Andre Johnson is clearly at the very least one of the top 2 WRs in the league, he’s still had some crucial drops that have killed drives Peyton Manning is probably one of the better QBs in the history of the NFL yet he’s thrown game ending interceptions, it’s not like really good players are immune to really bad plays.
ESPN, headquartered in Connecticut, are disgusting homers
for Boston and New York teams. Double the coverage, triple the mancrush.
"It's the sport of kings....better than diamond rings.....football."
"Don't get yourself a bunch of tricky plays.......get yourself a bunch of tricky players." `Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Christopher H on Sep 22, 2010 12:45 PM CDT up reply actions
While I do think Kevin Walter needs to be the #2
I think people need to lay off Jacoby for missing two catches. He made a TD catch and he made a clutch catch in overtime. Yes, the one drop was unacceptable but the second one was quite overthrown. He probably should have reeled it in, but to make it sound like he’s terrible because of that is kind of a knee jerk, don’t you think?
Fact is, Tim just hates the Texans.
His overtime catch
Was great- but we were lucky they called it complete, as I don’t think they would have reversed an incomplete call.
thats one way to look at it
another is, they made the right call, because he caught it, and the evidence did not prove otherwise because it was a good catch.
No luck needed, just skill.
"I'm trying to get a feel for Booty" - GK
Couldn't agree more
Still way too early in the season for me to be changing a valuation on someone.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement | Twitter | SB Nation Houston | Battle Red Blog
by riversmccown on Sep 22, 2010 11:27 AM CDT up reply actions
Not Overthrown....
I thought that was exactly where it was suppose to be… QB places it where noone has a chance at grabbing it..
Well Said
My comment on Jacoby’s small hands was meant to be a joke. Jacoby’s fumbling issues as a PR also seem overblown IMO. He has 7 fumbles in 107 returns so far in his career, just under 7%. I had looked through the stats of all PRs with more than 20 returns last year, and as far as fumbling/muffing punts is concerned Jacoby’s career numbers are just about average. He had a particularly bad year in 2008 with 4 drops in 32 returns, but every PR seems to have a bad year or two, and with the limited number of returns every season that can just be seen as a minor fluctuation. I should probably add a nice graph to support all the above, but my hate for excel far exceeds my desire to do that.
Assmass alone does not a NT make.
Don't know if anyone saw this
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/09/orakpo_held_vs_texans.html#comments
Now could the good folks at the WashPost do a frame-by-frame analysis of every hold on Mario?
I don't think their web server has enough space to put that post up.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement | Twitter | SB Nation Houston | Battle Red Blog
by riversmccown on Sep 22, 2010 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions
I know I'm biased, but that isn't a hold
Orakpo is side on to Brown. But Brown is squared up and has Orakpo directly in front of him. As long as he continued to side-step to keep Orakpo in front of him, or uses his leverage to push Orakpo away from him, it isn’t a hold.
A Texas Wannabe, born and raised in New Zealand. Currently located 7539 miles South west of Houston.
by distant_texans_fan on Sep 22, 2010 10:38 PM CDT up reply actions
nice to be on the good side of
“the refs screwed us” argument for a change.
"I'm trying to get a feel for Booty" - GK
Okay, T-Bone
I had to go out and stomp a litter of kittens just to cheer up after reading that…perhaps it’s a good thang you took a few days to calm down before putting fingers to keyboard. I might of had to shoot a Jesus pony, too… Did you hear? The Texans are 2-0 and clinging on to 1st in the division!
I dub the Cowboys.....Jesus-pony poop, 6 months after it's expiration date
by Rip Jersey on Sep 22, 2010 10:24 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
On Pollard
I kind of feel bad for him in a way. I think if he were in a situation where he could play alot of cover3 and be a more “in the box” type SS he could be a consistent all-pro… heck even playing man he’d hold his own in coverage just because he has the speed and quickness to recover when he bites on fakes against most TEs, but he’s just not a very good cover2 safety… He makes some big plays, but he also gives up big plays… it’s not as if he’s terrible, it’s just more of a give and take than it would be if he were playing short middle zone and crashing in on runs.
He’ll probably still be among our leaders in tackles this season, but i can’t help but think of how good a safety he could be if we had the corners and free safety to play more cover3.
Not to mention
With the cover3 they could throw in more SS blitzes, Pollard would be a great safety blitzer.
I don't feel bad for him
but I think he’s much better than this post Timmy boy put up implies.
If we’re criticizing our strong safety for coverage on a week when A) we won, B) we gave up 18 yards rushing, and C) he made the insane play that kept us in the game, we are starting to act like a team that expects to win. I like it.
To me, its kinda like the anti-Schaub sentiment. Some here want him to lead the league in passing EVERY week, (not just last year, and week 2) NEVER throw a pick, and lead his team to easy victories in the NFL week in and week out. We have an elite QB. We have an elite SS. He’s not great in coverage. He’s not perfect, but he is clutch, and the run defense has improved drastically since he was put in the position of Strong Safety.
We need to improve our coverage, but it will be at the expense of something. Feel shame for casting aspersions anywhere near Pollard after that kick block. Blame our weak SS and young corners for their coverage skills first.
"I'm trying to get a feel for Booty" - GK
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