That was a ball, was it not? Not a pretty game aesthetically, but you won't see me even beginning to turn my nose up at the first four (4) game winning streak in franchise history. It could have been 2-0 and I'd still be ecstatic. Tons to talk about, so let's dive in:

1. I love that all it took for Andre Johnson to get some love from places outside H-Town was an 11 reception, 207 yard, 1 TD game. I'm not going to play the "no respect" card, yet it's laughable that 'Dre is the best WR in the league and 90% of NFL fans don't know it. All the guy does is make big play after big play on the field while keeping a ridiculously low profile off it. The only non-statistical headlines you ever see his name in are the ones you'd pray to see every player's name in. We should thank our lucky stars every day that we've got 'Dre. In a related story, Cortland Finnegan should thank his lucky stars every day that he only has to see Andre Johnson twice a year.

2. Although he made a few curious throws that appeared to be aimed at the dirt, I was incredibly impressed with Matt Schaub's performance yesterday. He was under a good amount of pressure all day and took some hard shots, yet he stood tall and made some huge throws. Some of those needles he threaded to 'Dre and Kevin Walter were simply ridiculous. His failure to feel pressure from Jevon Kearse and subsequent fumble aside, it was awesome to see him hang in there and move the ball against a great defense.

3. Speaking of Kearse...Eric Winston was used and abused all day. That said, I clearly remember one third down run by Steve Slaton that was essentially stopped a couple yards short of the marker until Winston single-handedly dragged Slaton to a first down. I actually jumped out of my chair and was ready to make Winston the player of the game on that play alone.

4. I thought the middle troika of Brisiel, Myers, and Pitts did yeoman work all afternoon long. They lost a few battles, but they were approximately ninety-seven (97) times better than they were in the first match-up with the Titans.

5. I remain puzzled as to why Ephraim Salaam continues to take snaps from Duane Brown. Brown ain't Orlando Pace (yet), but he's the future at LT, and he sure as heck looks better than Salaam, including but not limited to Salaam's sudden penchant for being penalized on what seems like every third snap.

6. Really, really surprised how quiet K-Dub and Owen Daniels were yesterday. I'm going to chalk that up to 'Dre imposing his will on the Titans and The Schaub exploiting that mismatch. Know this, though: We'll need big games from both of those guys on Sunday at Oakland, because Nnamdi Asomugha's going to be in 'Dre's hip pocket all day long.

7. Tell me another RB you'd rather have for the next three (3) years instead of Steve Slaton. If that list is more than five (5) players (maximum) long, I call shenanigans. I continue to be amazed with Slaton's toughness each week. He keeps his legs moving and seems to pick up tough yards you wouldn't expect from a back his size. And then he breaks one off, and there are no words to describe it, so I'm forced to make one up. And I'm going to do so right now. Scrumtrilescent.

8. It was said a couple of times in the second-half live game thread, but it bears repeating: Only one (1) player has rushed for 100 yards against the vaunted Tennessee defense all season, and said player did it both times he played 'em. Steve. Effing. Slaton.

9. Despite missing a chip shot, Kris Brown gets a free pass. He's banked more than enough capital to warrant that, and he did rebound to kick the FG that proved to be the difference.

10. It was negated by K. Brown's shank, but Apostrophe Davis had a big-time return in the third quarter to set that drive up, and he downed one of Turk's punts awfully close to the goal line. The best part about Apostrophe? Unlike Jacoby Jones, my heart doesn't drop into my stomach every time he touches the ball.

11. If you didn't watch the game, you might think that the Houston secondary had a very good day. And yes, Fred Bennett did pick Kerry Collins off, albeit on what was the equivalent of a punt by Collins; it was that bad of a throw. To my eye, the lack of success in the Titan passing game was far more about Collins' inaccuracy than the secondary's coverage. Collins was off all afternoon, and his receivers were dropping many of the balls he did put in their breadbaskets. Even on the much ballyhooed 4th and 3 play that clinched the game for the Texans (more on that in a bit), Justin McCareins had Jacques Reeves beat. The throw was juuuuuust out of McCareins' reach. Consequently, I do not see Tennessee's paltry passing stats as some sort of a breakthrough for our secondary. Kerry Collins had a greater responsibility for his team's struggles than Richard Smith's secondary did.

12. Speaking of Richard Smith...don't look now. It's happening. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

13. DelJuan Robinson was a freaking animal yesterday, getting in the backfield and making plays seemingly every time he was in there. By my count, it's now official: Every DT on the Houston roster should be playing before Travis Johnson. Yet none does. That in and of itself should be a fireable offense.

14. Two (2) season-ending injuries of note for the good guys: Both Xavier Adibi and Antwaun Molden are done for the year. The silver lining with Adibi is that we have a pretty good idea what we've got with him, and it's much better than Morlon Greenwood. I'm still bent we didn't see more of Molden at CB this season.

15. Welcome back to the land of the living, Amobi. That stop of LenDale White in the early fourth quarter was HUGE.

16. While I think DeMeco could have done better in mocking the White-Johnson tandem, the message is accurate. The Titan running game was a non-factor when it mattered the most, though we should thank the Tennessee coaches for not continuing to give the ball to Chris Johnson. Seemed like he was good for ten (10) yards every time he touched the ball, especially in the first half.

17. I miss Zac Diles, but Kevin Bentley has done a great job filling in for him. Bentley has shown a knack for making plays in the backfield that we didn't really see with Diles, though that may be entirely due to Richard Smith finally allowing his linebackers to cross the line of scrimmage.

18. Thank you, Jeff Fisher. Thank you for not using Bironas to try to win the game, even though he'd hit from 51 in the first half. Yeah, yeah...the wind. Whatever. You can't fool me. My Christmas gift to you is in the mail.

19. Not to spoil the surprise, Coach, but it's a Vince Young jersey.

20. Some of the quotes from various Titans after the game simultaneously baffled and enraged me. To wit:

"Slaton didn’t do anything," Titans outside linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "Slaton busted that run (34 yards) at the end of the game, and we pretty much had him in check. To tell you the truth, I don’t think their running game hurt us at all today."

"We know this team isn’t better than us," Titans tight end Bo Scaife said. "This team isn’t going to the playoffs, and we played down to their caliber today.’’

[LenDale White said] "This game means nothing anymore. We will not be playing this team anymore. It’s a big win for them as an organization I guess or supposedly. No matter what they do they’ll still go home on playoffs. We have a lot to look forward to."

[Cortland Finnegan, on his helmet-to-helmet cheapshot on The Schaub] "If I did I was just giving him a quick, you know - kiss, welcoming him back to Houston you know from the Oilers. So that is about all that is."

Why can't these guys just say the classy thing? Something to the effect of, "Give the Texans credit; they were the better team today." Why demean the accomplishment of your opponent? What good does that do? All it does is make Houston fans hate Bud Adams' troops even more than we already do.

21. Since we're on the subject of hate, you know I couldn't let a Texans-Titans game pass without checking in with my buddy Jay. As longtime readers will recall, Jay became a bit of a legend around here after his showdown with Bud Adams in Nashville last year. As expected, Jay had a few choice words for Albert Haynesworth when he went down with an injury that will keep him sidelined until at least the postseason. Haynesworth's run his mouth and been an absolutely classless piece of garbage to Matt Schaub and the Texans, so I don't think there were many Houston fans broken up to see him go down. As you'd figure, Jay was not in the "awwwww, I hope he's okay" camp. Quotes from the man who may hate the Titans more than anyone in the world:

"You're killing the grass, Albert! Get up!"

"I hope it's broken."

"Where's your contract now, Albert?"

Classy? Perhaps not. But if anyone deserved a dose of what he's dished out over the years, it's Haynesworth.

22. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Andre Johnson; Defense--DelJuan Robinson; Special Teams--Apostrophe Davis.

On to the Black Hole, and a shot at the first .500 plus record of the season!

A lot of people were, shall we say, disappointed with my recap of the Texans 31-12 loss on Sunday.  People said that I was looking at the game through Vandermeer-colored glasses.  After all, the Texans just lost by 19.  How can you say it was a good game?  I'm glad you asked.

Yes, the Texans lost and yes, the Texans had some bad plays in there.  Despite all that, I saw a world of awesome plays and even better, a winning game plan.

Let's look at the numbers.

The Texans' offense ran 65 plays.  Even with the frantic passing attempts at the end of the game, they still came away with 57% passing/43% running.  That's an incredibly balanced offensive attack.  These plays were run out of 19 different formations.  That means the Titans' defense saw a new look at least every 3.4 plays.  It was far more often than that on most drives.

Schaub was shaky at times in the passing game, but he still put the ball where it needed to go more often than not.  The "not" hurt with 3 interceptions and a few critical incompletes, but he's doing his job.  With more practice, he'll do it better. 

Also, there were numerous deep passes called.  Kubiak had Schaub throwing to the flats, to the middle of the field, and deep down the side lines.  As the game progressed, the Titans pass rush picked up in intensity.  Kubiak had Schaub switch to 3 step drops as well as throw 2 great screens to slow down the pass rush.

The things that excited me most about the passing game were the play actions and bootlegs that were called.  The Titans' defense was stacking 8-9 men in the box, and Kubiak started calling play actions and bootlegs against it.  The Titans' defense backed up real quick.  I'm excited because Kubiak made extensive use of some of his favorite tools in the passing game.

The running game itself was very even.  With the exception of when it went directly behind the combination of Chris Myers and Mike Brisiel (RG) the running plays were called in every direction.  I suspect that not as many running plays were called to go off right guard both because of a lack of power in that offensive line combination and as most runs off RG are straight at Albert Haynesworth.

Which brings me to a point I made in earlier posts: The Texans' offense played a very physical game.  They moved all over the place in zone blocking for rushes and in pass protection.  I reiterate that it was a great achievement to make Fat Albert run until he had to come off the field for a part of the game after having such a bad game against another fatty, Casey Hampton.  This time Kubiak made the fat men run, and it had an effect.  This will only improve with each game.

Most importantly, and I stress most importantly, Kubiak played the whole game from start to finish to win.  He wasn't trying to keep it close.  This game was a dog fight, and Kubiak had the Texans fighting the whole game.  Rather than hope the Titans were going to slip up somewhere and have the Texans steal a win, Kubiak took it to them.  He called 11 plays that were designed specifically to put the ball in the end zone.  He took shots at the end zone from the 16 all the way out to the 35.  They didn't pan out this game, but he took his shots.  He went down in a blaze of glory.  We know we have a coach who is playing to win.  After years of a coach who played not to lose, I'm excited that we have a coach that knows how to win.

The scoring in this game was not as lopsided as the final score makes it appear.  Examine the graph above and you'll see actual scoring on each drive, as well as the 11 attempts at the end zone.  Despite all the mistakes along the way, it wasn't until midway through the 4th quarter that the game was out of reach.  For the whole second half, a touchdown would have drastically changed the makeup of the game and Kubiak went for the TD over and over.

This game was a tale of 2 teams going all out.  Take a look at the game book.  First Downs: TEX 18 / TIT 19, 3rd Down Eff: TEX 20% / TIT 38%, Total Net Yds: TEX 317 / TIT 343, Total Off Plays: TEX 68 TIT 62, Average Gain: TEX 4.7 / TIT 5.5, Net Pass Yds: TEX 171 / TIT 189, Gross Pass Yds: TEX 188 / TIT 189.  Even Net Punt Avg: TEX 38.8 / TIT 37.2. 

There is only one stat that killed the Texans.  Red Zone: TEX 1-6 17% / TIT 4-4 100%

That said, there are 3 things the Texans need to work on and games like this could turn into a 40+ point rout of the opponent. 

Red Zone - The Texans are driving the ball down the field and not finishing.  This has been a problem all along for the Texans, but now they're so close.  Kubiak called 11 plays that were designed to specifiaclly put the ball in the endzone. That's a possible 77 points.  Coming away with 1 TD and 12 total points says that when the Texans improve in the red zone, and when they do, they'll be hanging 30+ on opponents regularly. 

Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson - Something is broken here.  They are not in sync.  I would make them stay after ever practice and throw every route imaginable until they are scoring TDs.  Kubiak called AJ's number 12 times in the game.  Of those 12 times, 5 of those plays had AJ in the endzone and he had 0 TD receptions.  Of those 12 targets, he only had 2 receptions for 29 yards. 

Running Game - The running game showed some life, especially with Steve Slaton going 18/116 1TD and an amazing 6.4 YPC.  Yet, there were several running plays that managed to only pick up 3 or less yards.  As the OL keeps working, I believe that the running game is going to be solid and churn out yards.

I'll look at the individual drives tomorrow and the defense later this week.

I finally got to watch and think about every minute of this weeks game and I am nothing but excited.  Sure the score says it was 31-12, but that's not what I saw on the field.  I saw a solid exciting football team playing their hearts out.

The Texans have faced 2 of the nastiest challenges possible back to back and have gotten better each week.  They to Pittsburgh and got buried, but gave them a few good licks.  And then the Texans got battered by Hurricane Ike before taking the field on the road again to battle the Titans.

And battle they did.  I don't think I saw a single play where I wondered "what in the hell are they doing".  I was cheering into the final seconds.

Gary Kubiak

Many congratulations are deserved this week.  First and foremost, Gary Kubiak for having the balls to go for it on 4th down 6 times.  This was an all out dog fight.  What better way to show your players that you have confidence in them than to let them make a play.  The Texans didn't catch as many breaks as they needed, but they still made huge plays, especially on 4th down.  Keep calling them Kubiak.

Richard Smith

Whatever it was that got him to call this game the way he did, please, please let it happen again.  Our defense blitzed and pressured all game.  Yes, we didn't have any huge game changing plays this week, but there was real life there.  There was a real defense on the field.  Most plays 5-6 guys were crossing the line of scrimmage.  The Texans gave up some coverage and Collins found some holes, but they kept battering him.  By the second quarter, he was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.  Several of his throws were off target and several plays, both runs and passes, were blown up.  That's the kind of Texans defense I want to see. 

Kyle Shanahan

Whether it was Kubiak or Shanahan calling the offense, they did worlds better this week.  They got Schaub moving and it showed in the line play.  The offensive line was much better in their protection.  Most importantly, especially with our undersized mobile line, we had the Titans big fat men, running around laboring for breath.  At one point we even chased Albert Haynesworth off the field. 

Another thing they did well was adjust the play calling.  For some reason they started Schaub with 5-7 step drops and the Titans were getting to him.  By the second quarter they had switched to 3 step drops and screens which was really tearing up the Titans defense.

Third, they tried several different things and stuck with what worked.  There were no vanilla formations for the Texans.  They showed several different looks and both ran and passed out of them.  The Titans defense was noticeably slowed until the 4th quarter when they could pin their ears back. 

Fourth, Kubiak's philosophy is starting to get traction.  Schaub had several good bootlegs.  The running game actually worked this week and Kubiak was able to execute a few of his favorite plays off of it.

Lastly, They absolutely attacked the end zone.  They ran plays attacking the end zone from all over the field.  If any of those plays and scored, this would be an entirely different game.  None the less, they attacked over and over again.  The Texans will score on these plays.

Offense and defense both played a great game.  A loss to a division opponent sucks, but I've never been happier about where an 0-2 team is.

More on some individual players after the jump.

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With Tim still blogging by candlelight, I was given the opportunity to interview Jimmy of the Music City Miracles for this week's installment of the pre-game recon.  I tried to keep the Vince Young questions to a minimum... but who am I kidding?  The burning question is whether or not we've seen the last of Vince Young.   So with out furher ado, here's how it went: 

With the Jags and Colts both off to a slow start, and the Titans in sole control of first place, how likely is it that the Titans will finish the season as the top team in the AFC South?

It is entirely too early to declare anything, but I think the Titans have a great shot to win the division.  They have a really good defense and running game, and the gap that was between them and the Colts is pretty much gone.  I don't think there was ever much of a gap between them and the Jaguars.  This division is wide open, and the Titans have as good of a shot as anyone to win it.

***

The Titans had a top-five defense in 2007 and are looking every bit as impressive this year, but that wasn't always the case.  In 2006 they were dead last, allowing a league worst 369.7 yards a game.  Who gets the credit for this dramatic turn around?  Which defensive player could you least afford to lose?

It was a combination of things; Albert Haynesworth finally turned into the dominating player they thought he was going to be when they drafted him.  The Titans signed David Thornton and Chris Hope before the 2006 season, and they finally got acclimated to the defense.  Cortland Finnegan moved from the nickel back to corner and played really well.  Antwan Odom and Travis LaBoy stayed healthy for most of the season.  All of those things came together at the same time and made for a dominant defense.

The answer to the 2^nd question is Fat Albert.  He collapses the middle of an offensive line and opens everything up for the rest of the team.

***

With a career passer rating of 68.3 (45.6 in 2008), Vince Young is clearly not the next Steve Young.  Did the Titans fail Vince Young or did Vince Young fail the Titans? Who takes the blame? 

I am not sure that anyone has failed yet, but if I had to answer your question it would be VY that failed the Titans.  He showed the playmaking ability and leadership in his rookie season that the Titans knew he had when they drafted him.  Something happened between the end of that season and the start of the next season, and he lost that competitive fire.  It is too early to close the book on VY's career.

***

Think back to the 2006 NFL Draft.  Where do you think this team would be right now if the Titans had drafted Vanderbilt's own Jay Cutler instead of Vince Young? 

Not real sure how to answer this one.  Cutler would not have led the 2006 team to an 8-8 record, but it is pretty obvious that Cutler is a better quarterback than VY right now.  Put Cutler with this defense and running game and the Titans could probably go 14-2.

***

With Jeff Fisher saying that he will stick with Kerry Collins as long as the Titans are winning, how close are we to seeing the end of the Vince Young era?  Is it possible that we would see Vince play another position?

The VY era is far from being over.  This might be Kerry's team for this season, but VY will get his shot again in training camp next season, if not earlier.  You don't take a guy #3 overall and give up on him after less than 30 starts.

I don't see VY moving to another position.

***

So far, Chris Johnson has lived up to his game breaker billing.  He's averaging nearly six yards a carry through the first two games. We know the kid is fast as lightning (a record 4.24 at the combine), but what is it about his game that makes him so effective on the field?

Well it starts up front with the offensive line.  The Titans have one of the best O lines in the NFL.  He also has really good patience and vision to go along with his speed, and he catches the ball well out of the backfield.

***

Extra Point: The final score between the Texans and Titans will be  24-10 Titans  because the Titans will play really good defense and run the ball effectively.

Our many thanks to Jimmy for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions.  You can see my answers to his questions here.

(images via assets.houstontexans.com & via rotoworld.com)

 

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