1. Matt Schaub played QB about as well as it can possibly be played. Whereas his effort the week before featured one abominable throw, Saturday night's showing was epic from start to finish. We all know it, but it bears mentioning again: If he stays upright, he's going to be a top ten QB in the NFL this season.
2. I was a bit critical of Sage in the live game threads (here and here), and I'll admit the numbers don't back me up. But he made a throw or two that looked like Schaub's mistake last week, so the stats may not tell the whole story.
3. Another positive: Chris Brown carried the ball eight (8) times (for a paltry 19 yards) and seemingly managed to avoid breaking, tearing, rupturing, spraining, straining, and/or tweaking anything. Wonders never cease.
4. From what I've seen, I believe the coaching staff is giving Chris Taylor every opportunity to be RB2 in this offense. He's looked good at times and average to slightly below-average most of the time, however, so the jury's out on whether he will win the gig.
5. Steve Slaton looked markedly better in Week Two. I'm excited about the possibility of him stealing the starting job by Pittsburgh.
6. Kevin Walter is a damn fine WR, and I'm ashamed that I ever doubted him. Preseason or no preseason, 100 receiving yards in a half is elite work.
7. Considering the high regard I hold for K-Dub, it with the utmost respect I say this: David Anderson is a poor man's Kevin Walter. Dude is strong-arming his way into the WR rotation. Speaking of...
8. Jacoby Jones is strong-arming his way to irrelevance. If he doesn't get his act together, he's going to get into Texans games as much as I will this year.
9. The OL looked unbelievable in pass protection again, and I thought the run-blocking was better than the week before (though there's still plenty of room for improvement there).
10. Duane Brown continues to impress. I mean, REALLY impress. It's only preseason, but the guy looks like he knows what he's doing. Quick--name another Texans LT you could say that about week-to-week.
11. Morlon Greenwood looked bad...again.
12. He was by no means alone. I thought the defense as a whole looked mediocre at best and like a doormat at worst. ZERO pass rush. Decent job stopping the run. Horrendous job in pass coverage, though a couple of Brees' long completions honestly could not have been defended any better; Brees just made perfect throws. Speaking of...
13. Jacques Reeves looked like the Jacques Reeves Dallas fans were so happy to see depart more often than not. I had high hopes that Antwaun Molden would pick up the slack, but Molden looked like the rookie he is. He'll get better, I know. Reeves will get better, I pray.
14. Great safety play from Demps and Brown. They were good in run support last week, and I thought they improved in the passing game this week.
15. Overall, another game that meant nothing, though it was nice to see the Texans have to manage the game at the end to win. Most importantly, no season-ending injuries. We'll take it.
Next up: "America's Team" on Friday night. You know, if your "America" is Satan's playground.
