The Texans and Bears, both at 7-1, are headed for a nationally-televised collision course on Sunday night. If you’re like me, you are BEYOND excited about this game.
We will probably get a few of these questions answered Sunday night:
How will the Texans fare against a team that likely won’t abandon the run early?
The Texans have done fine in the cold before – but if there is also rain and/or wind, how will they hold up given the fact that they so often play in perfect, controlled conditions?
How will Matt Schaub perform late in what I’m thinking will be a very close game in the fourth quarter?
Can the Texans continue to protect the ball as well as they have (best in the NFL) against the team that has caused the most turnovers in the league?
Now that we are halfway through the season, the injuries are starting to pile up. Houston is going to be without stellar backup running back Ben Tate again this week as he continues dealing with a hamstring issue. Starting nose tackle Shaun Cody is out with a rib injury. The local paper says it’s broken ribs and an punctured lung (ugh), but Cody himself denies this as he and the team refer to it only as a “rib injury”. Tate is a significant loss, especially against a team like the Bears. Cody was already splitting snaps with Earl Mitchell almost right down the middle, and now Jared Crick figures to get some additional work in the middle as well.
Along with Tate, the most concerning injury issue for the Texans is tight end Owen Daniels, who is a game-time decision with a very painful hip injury. Daniels is having a career year this season and is a big part of what makes the offense go. His backup Garrett Graham is certainly more than capable, as is fullback/tight end James Casey. It’s hard to say that Daniels won’t be missed, and I would NOT say that – but the Texans have excellent depth at that position and losing Daniels would not be the reason they lose the game if it goes down that way.
Kevin Walter sat out practice earlier in the week with a groin issue, but practiced on Thursday and Friday. He is a full go for Sunday night.
One other quick note – *groan*. We have two 7-1 teams about to bash heads on national TV Sunday night… and what got by FAR the most attention from the NFL media this week in relation to the game? Well, of course, it was Bears cornerback Charles Tillman’s unborn baby. WILL HE PLAY? WON’T HE PLAY? WHEN IS THE BABY COMING!? This was worth a mention in one sentence on talk radio, one tweet on Twitter, and one throwaway line in an article online or in the paper. Instead, everyone went CRAZY FOR TWO DAYS! With that, I’ll stop. It’s not worth more than the few letters I’ve now put to it.
Finally, Arian Foster ate some chicken. SO HE IS NO LONGER A TRUE VEGAN AND NOW WE NEED TO FREAK OUT ABOUT THAT!!!
Two 7-1 teams, and three thousand tweets and articles about an unborn baby and a guy who ate a piece of chicken.
Seriously, I will not be surprised when Arian Foster retires in his prime just to get away from being hounded by people who want to know what he’s eating, why, and then wait awkwardly for him to respond when they make a terrible joke about it.
Yeah, it’s been a rough week – and now I’ve successfully taken it out on you. Sunday night can’t come fast enough!
Nov 9, 2012 at 16:22:43
Yes, but is Terrell Suggs going to be on the field? That’s the question everyone is asking.
Nov 11, 2012 at 13:35:37
@Kenneth I would rec your comment were this a different Texans Blog
As far as the Baby-Chicken drama, I take it in stride as further proof that football has eclipsed baseball and anyone who says otherwise can be handed a “too stupid to talk about sports…ever” sign.
Only 7 days from one game to the next and fans are so desperate for more coverage (and journalists desperate to provide it) that these little things become a focus once people tire of the standard narratives.
I think it’s funny that NO ONE AT ALL has mentioned Danieal Manning’s homecoming after we got inundated with Mario vs Texans all last week. Manning may not have insight on audibles and such, but worked with Cutler enough to possibly know what is most likely to rattle him and throw him off his game. Plus, given that Manning + Joseph vs Marshall is the matchup of the game (that and Peppers v KFP) so you’d think that’d get some coverage.
The injuries on are side also cause us to overlook a key injury for Chicago: Alshon Jeffery. The rookie quickly emerged as the #2 target for Cutler, and, with him out and the Texans (assumedly) doubling on Marshall to force Cutler to find other options, the Bears will need a lot from Hester in the offensive game, and historically there has been an inverse relationship between Hester’s special teams dominance and his offensive workload. Again, you’d think that’d earn some coverage.