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Two very fun victories for the Houston Texans against two very poor (at the time) teams gave us that glimmer of optimism, saying hey, everything is going to be OK. We chased that little ray of sunshine into the horizon. And then Sunday happened, and we were all reminded that this is still a work in progress.
Anywho, here's how the roster was deployed.
Offense
Name | POS | Snaps | PCT% | Season % | Snaps | PCT% |
Duane Brown |
T | 64 | 98 | 99 | 3 | 10 |
Derek Newton | T | 65 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 10 |
Tyson Clabo | T | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
Brandon Brooks | G | 65 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 10 |
Ben Jones | G | 62 | 95 | 99 | ||
Xavier Su'a-Filo | G | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 10 |
Chris Myers | C | 65 | 100 | 100 | 7 | 28 |
Ryan Fitzpatrick | QB | 65 | 100 | 99 | ||
Ryan Mallett | QB | 2 | ||||
Andre Johnson | WR | 64 | 98 | 94 | ||
DeAndre Hopkins | WR | 64 | 98 | 95 | ||
Damaris Johnson | WR | 26 | 40 | 36 | 11 | 35 |
Keshawn Martin | WR | 7 | 11 | 22 | ||
Arian Foster | RB | 55 | ||||
Jonathan Grimes | RB | 26 | 40 | 20 | 19 | 61 |
Ronnie Brown | RB | 6 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
Alfred Blue | RB | 33 | 51 | 26 | 8 | 26 |
Garrett Graham | TE | 52 | 80 | 50 | ||
C.J. Fiedorowicz | TE | 37 | 57 | 48 | ||
Ryan Griffin | TE | 28 | 10 | 32 | ||
J.J. Watt | TE | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 26 |
Jay Prosch | FB | 6 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 23 |
Probably the biggest surprise for me through three games is the lack of tight end production. In two games, Garrett Graham has been targeted just seven times, catching six passes for 67 yards. Ryan Griffin and rookie C.J. Fiedorowicz have been targeted just once apiece.
I wrote back in March that I expected TE to be integral to the success of the offense because of Bill O'Brien's history at the position. He used multiple tight ends very effectively in New England and Penn State, but it hasn't happened yet here in Houston.
Damaris Johnson finally made himself useful on offense, turning one of his two targets into a 44-yard score.
And yeah... Ryan Fitzpatrick went all Ryan Fitzpatrick on us. More on that here.
Defense and Special Teams
Name | POS | Snaps | PCT% | Season % | Snaps | PCT% |
D.J. Swearinger | FS | 69 | 97 | 89 | 8 | 26 |
Kendrick Lewis | FS | 70 | 99 | 93 | 5 | 16 |
Danieal Manning | S | 44 | 62 | 66 | 16 | 52 |
CB | 65 | 92 | 88 | 8 | 26 | |
Johnathan Joseph"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; background-color: #fce5cd; text-align: center;">Johnathan Joseph | CB | 48 | 68 | 70 | 1 | 3 |
J.J. Watt"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; background-color: #fce5cd; text-align: center;">J.J. Watt | DE | 67 | 94 | 92 | 8 | 26 |
Tim Jamison | DE | 35 | 49 | 58 | 11 | 35 |
Jared Crick | DE | 36 | 51 | 59 | 14 | 45 |
Brooks Reed | LB | 58 | 82 | 87 | 7 | 23 |
Brian Cushing | LB | 57 | 80 | 70 | 8 | 26 |
A.J. Bouye | CB | 45 | 63 | 65 | 8 | 26 |
Whitney Mercilus | LB | 63 | 89 | 78 | 11 | 35 |
Mike Mohamed | LB | 16 | 23 | 35 | 20 | 65 |
Jadeveon Clowney | LB | 12 | ||||
Jerrell Powe | NT | 38 | 54 | 43 | 7 | 23 |
Justin Tuggle | LB | 26 | 37 | 38 | 14 | 45 |
Andre Hal | DB | 5 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 6 |
Darryl Morris | CB | 17 | 24 | 32 | 10 | 32 |
Jeoffery Pagan | DE | 18 | 25 | 15 | 1 | 3 |
Jeff Tarpinian | LB | 9 | 20 | 65 | ||
Ricky Sapp | LB | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
Eddie Pleasant | SS | 7 | 17 | 55 | ||
Elbert Mack | CB | 14 | 45 | |||
Akeem Dent | LB | 20 | 65 |
You have to tip your hat to Eli Manning. Second-year cornerback Darryl Morris was on the field for just 17 snaps, but one would assume he was a starter given how many times we saw the back of his jersey.
The defensive line got pushed around all day despite there being a fairly constant rotation. Jared Crick, Tim Jamison, Jerrell Powe and rookie Jeoffery Pagan all saw time next to Watt, but they were wholly ineffective rushing the passer and stopping the run. One of my biggest gripes with Wade Phillips was lack of rotation along the front seven; we're seeing plenty of that now but still the same frustrations.
Same goes for the linebackers. Brooks Reed and Whitney Mercilus saw plenty of time off the field, but did nothing of note. This makes me want to punt a puppy into a busy freeway.
What say you, dear readers? Curious to hear your thoughts as always.
Texans vs Giants coverage