The Captain's Log 2015, Game 5: "Introspection" (Texans v. Colts)

For five weeks we have been pointing out the same persistent issues with the Houston Texans:

• The seemingly endless quarterback carousel.
• An absolute lack of a pass rush as J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney are double and triple-teamed.
• Defensive backs playing too far off receivers and still giving up big plays.
• The linebackers being unable to cover.
• A defense that can't stop the run or any version of a screen.
• Receivers struggling to find and catch the football.

We have hammered out criticism toward the coaches for not having the team ready to play, for not having a game plan against an opponent that showed up with the perfect game plan against Houston, and for not making good adjustments during the games.

In the end, we are just repeating the same thing week after week regarding a team that sure looked a lot better on paper than they do on the field.  We can continue to thrust opinions and reactions into the various corners of social media every day, but the only people who can fix these issues are the coaches and players themselves.  They need to look at themselves in the mirror and decide what they can do to fix it.

Several of them have tremendous experience at the highest levels, including "winning" Super Bowls.  They have contributed to success and have been part of organizations with consistent performances of success.  These players and coaches "should" know what it takes to get this Texans team in a position to compete and win.  They need to do some soul-searching and figure out what they need to do as individuals, and as a team, to start executing better and winning games.

Summary of Key Stats

	COLTS	TEXANS
First Downs	22	24
Net Rushing Yards	110	82
Net Passing Yards	213	362
Total Net Yards	323	444
Passing ATT-COMP-TD-INT	18/29-1-0	7/10-0-1 (Mallett)
Passing ATT-COMP-TD-INT		24/32-2-2 (Hoyer)
Third Down Efficiency	3/12 (27%)	8/16 (50%)
Touchdowns	3	2
Field Goals (made/attempted)	2 / 2	2 / 2
Extra Points  (made/attempted)	3 / 3	2 / 2
Kicking  (made/attempted)	3 / 3	2 / 2
Two Point Conversions  (made/attempted)	0 / 0	0 / 0
Fumbles / Lost	0 / 0	0 / 0
Turnovers (lost)	0	2
Penalties (QTY / Yards)	7 - 65	13 - 125
Sacks (defense)	1	0
Interceptions (defense)	2	0
Fumbles Recovered (defense)	0	0
Time of Possession	27:33	32:27
Red Zone Efficiency	3/4 (75%)	1/3 (33%)
Goal To Go Efficiency	2/2 (100%)	1/1 (100%)
Points From Turnovers	3	0
FINAL SCORE	27	20

Around the AFC South...

The Colts (3-2)

Andrew Luck was still out with a shoulder injury.  Notwithstanding the fact that 40-year old Matt Hasselbeck was in the hospital all week with a virus and missed practice, he carved through the Texans' defense for a win.  Andre Johnson returned to Houston wearing a Colts uniform and found pay-dirt for two touchdowns.  The Colts are now 3-0 in the division and will host the undefeated Patriots on Sunday Night Football.  I really hate Indy.  Even when they should lose, they find a way to win.

The Jaguars (1-4)

Blake Bortles passed for 303 yards and 4 touchdowns, but Jacksonville lost to Tampa 38-31 as the Buccaneers' defense and special teams both scored touchdowns to tilt the match in their favor.  The Jags host the Texans next, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the cameras spend an inordinate amount of time being trained on the party and pool deck instead of the field.

The Titans (1-3)

Tennessee blew another double-digit lead at home and lost to the Bills 14-13.  The Titans will host the Dolphins (1-3) next.  The NFL may have to call the networks and enforce the contract to ensure this game is actually broadcast.

Sick Bay

"I'm the chief medical officer, not a damned psychiatrist"

INJURY STATUS v. COLTS

LB - Akeem Dent: Hamstring

RB - Jonathan Grimes: Knee

WR - Cecil Shorts III: Shoulder

WR - Nate Washington: Hamstring

DB - Quintin Demps: Hamstring

UPDATED POST-GAME

OLB - Jadeveon Clowney: Ankle

QB - Ryan Mallett: Ego

Movie Quote (name it):

"I started working, and every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."

Bravo Zulu - DeAndre Hopkins

(Bravo Zulu is a naval signal, conveyed by flag hoist or vocal, for "Well Done")

Hopkins had 11 catches for 169 yards in the loss to the Colts.  In the first five games of the season, he has a league-best 42 catches for 578 yards.  That's the most through five games of a season in Texans history.  He's helping the offense sustain drives, as 81% of his receptions this season have been for first downs.

Andre Johnson was quoted with praise for Hopkins:

"He’s a great player, man. You hate to see him make it against your team, but I love the way he plays, I love the way he approaches the game."

Honorable mention goes out to Jaelen Strong for his Chris Carter impersonation where "all he does is catch touchdowns!"  With his first career start in the NFL, Strong hauled in two receptions for two touchdowns and 53 yards receiving.  Let's hope he keeps doing what is needed in practice to prove to the coaches that he is worthy of more game action.  You would think scoring touchdowns in real games would be an important metric, but there's no way to determine what formula they are using to evaluate players over there on Kirby.

Stories From The Brig

Eddie Pleasant rang the bell again with a defensive holding penalty to wipe out an interception in the end zone by Rahim Moore.  That turnover could have been the difference in winning this game, as the Texans were only down by 3 points in the 4th quarter (20-17); five plays later the Colts scored a touchdown to go up by ten (27-17).

That makes 4 out of 5 games this season where Pleasant has collected laundry from officials.  He leads the Texans with 5 penalties on the season.

He's tied for 4th for most penalties in the NFL:

Movie Quote II (a/k/a the hint)

"I'd like to move us right along to a Peter Gibbons. Now we had a chance to meet this young man, and boy that's just a straight shooter with upper management written all over him."

Liberty Call!

Let's stay on the Hopkins train, shall we?  You may have noticed that he was very interested in fashion during the "Hard Knocks" series.  Hopkins was approached by the Texans to launch a new line of clothing to be sold exclusively at the Go Texan Store at NRG Stadium.

Fashion-conscious Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins launches product line http://t.co/yGP3Q7ILxi

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 14, 2015

Ship's Galley

Let's go below deck and see what the chef has for us this week...

GUACAMOLE

Looking for a great dip for game-viewing parties and tailgating?  This is a really good recipe from Food & Wine:

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Hass avocados, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 plum tomato, seeded and finely diced
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt
• Tortilla chips, for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, gently stir the diced avocados with the tomato, onion, cilantro, chile and lime juice until well mixed but still slightly chunky. Season the guacamole with salt and serve with tortilla chips.

On The Horizon...

The Texans can still turn this season around.  It starts with getting a win against the Jaguars in Jacksonville this Sunday.

GO TEXANS!

Texans vs Jaguars coverage