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Matt Schaub - A Tale of Two Halves
Thomas B. Shea
Scott Halleran
Troy Taormina
Through two quarters, Matt Schaub looked like a leader again-- slinging the ball with confidence against the vaunted Seattle Seahawks' secondary. 14 of 19 first downs were through his arm in the first half. He was hardly touched as he hit receivers like Andre Johnson, Garrett Graham, and Arian Foster, all of whom had at least 50 yards receiving before halftime. It seemed like he had turned a corner after a frustrating week in Baltimore.
But things unraveled in a hurry for Schaub in the second half with the Seahawks dialing up blitzes on him. After converting 50% of their third downs in the first half, the Texans converted just 2 of 9 the rest of the way. Schaub was sacked four times and pressured constantly which led to the ill-advised throw that ended up for six points the other way.
And that's all she wrote.
The moral of the story is a bit of a cliché, but it's truer than ever:
It's not how you start, but how you finish.
And that may seem damning of Schaub at first glance, but it's actually a message of hope. With six interceptions through four games, our beleaguered quarterback hasn't started the season the way he wanted to. Every week is a new opportunity to turn this ship around. None of this will matter if Schaub (and the team) can correct the mistakes from here on out.
Offense
Troy Taormina
Matthew Emmons
Troy Taormina
Plenty of Arian Foster for you to ogle. It was a pleasure watching him carve up the Seahawks defense through the ground (102 yards) and through the air (69 yards and a score). If the Texans want to take some pressure off Schaub, Foster can certainly help with his game-changing abilities. Hopefully that was a topic of discussion in Foster's players-only meeting.
Bob Levey
Bob Levey
Owen Daniels and Garrett Graham, our two Brother Badgers, were busy with 17 targets and productive with 11 catches, 141 yards and a touchdown between them. Graham was conspicuously shut out from any catches in the second half, however. Going to have to look at the game tape to explain that one.
Troy Taormina
Scott Halleran
Gentle giant Andre Johnson wasn't always covered by Richard Sherman throughout the game, but he still notched a few catches against the highly talented and highly talkative corner from Stanford. Andre finished the game with a very Andre-like nine catch, 110-yard performance.
Troy Taormina
In the NFL, the team often goes as the offensive line goes, and on Sunday the Texans' offensive line struggled in the second half just as much as Schaub did, giving up four sacks for 30 yards lost. The running game saw a dip in production, too, with 98 yards rushing (19 attempts) in the first half to just 53 in the second (16 attempts). Duane Brown can't come back soon enough.
I'm starting to agree more and more with TDC about there being plenty of blame to go around.
Defense - From Bullish to Bloodied
Matthew Emmons
Thomas B. Shea
Troy Taormina
Troy Taormina
Matthew Emmons
Bob Levey
The Bulls on Parade were as ferocious, swarming and yet frustrating as they've ever been on Sunday. They held Marshawn Lynch in check (minus a 43 yard plowing early in the game). They sacked the ever-elusive Russell Wilson five times for 32 yards and held him to just 12 completions on 23 attempts.
And yet when the game was on the line, they had no answer for Wilson's speed, which led to 10 carries for 77 yards, including a heart-breaking 4th down conversion late in the game.
The performance of the defense without Brian Cushing on the field (concussion) was a microcosm of the entire 2012 season. After he tore his ACL, the Bulls on Parade were gimped the rest of the season, and that's exactly what happened last Sunday. Never have I seen a whole unit seemingly affected so much by just one player's absence.
Get well soon, Cush.
Fans and Cheerleaders
Matthew Emmons
Thomas B. Shea
And that'll do it. Not sure what else I can say that hasn't been already. The Texans have to find a way to put two halves of football together, and there's no better time to do it than on Sunday Night against a tough San Francisco team.
Happy Tuesday.
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