First, the bad news. Chron.com is reporting that TE Owen Daniels is most likely going to be out for the season with a torn knee ligament. That is a huge, huge blow to this team. It’s not something they can’t overcome, but it is a big blow. Owen benefits from the system (by his own admittance) but he’s not a system TE.
On to the game itself – you know I’m THRILLED to be wrong regarding my pre-game comments. The Texans lost the turnover battle, but were able to gather themselves and put a 31-10 beatdown on the Buffalo Bills.
Let’s start with some numbers…
Time of possession + yardage
Texans: 39:08 with 439 yards of offense.
Bills: 20:52 with 204 yards of offense.
That’s just domination no matter how you slice it.
Steve Slaton vs. Ryan Moats will be a hot topic this week.
I’ve been calling for Moats to start for a couple of weeks now, so obviously I’m for Moats starting next week. Now, first let me clarify – I’m not saying I’ve wanted Moats in to totally replace Slaton – just to start and get a more generous portion of carries and snaps. Slaton is still too dangerous (and too important to this team) to sit completely – but today he needed to be benched for the entire game, and that’s exactly what Kubiak did after his fumble.
Now, let’s not go insane here. Buffalo has the worst rushing defense in the NFL, and they definitely played to that reputation today, giving up 186 net rushing yards to the weak-running Texans.
Slaton’s struggles haven’t been only about fumbles. The poor blocking has a lot to do with it, but Slaton has also been more hesitant and hasn’t always had the best vision this year. Moats on the other hand, has hit the hole with authority today and in the other limited opportunities he’s had this year.
If it were up to me, would I start Moats over Slaton next week? Yes, I would… but Slaton would still be an important part of the game plan… just maybe not so much in the second half, as I’m afraid of what a turnover might do to our momentum in a close game.
I would still work Slaton into the game on both rushing and passing downs, because his lethality as a receiver is going to be hurt if other teams know he’s only going to get looks as a receiver.
Regardless of how bad the Bills are, the fact is that Ryan Moats had a great game today, and he’s earned more playing time. Myself and others have been calling for that for several weeks now, but even if it’s late, it appears to be happening. Of course you have to have confidence in Slaton and reassure him that he’s the guy… and he is – just not right now. I think I’ve already described his fumbling problems before today as “beyond ridiculous,” and I’m not sure what comes after that. “Far beyond ridiculous?” That doesn’t seem harsh enough. Today, nobody even touched the ball and he fumbled it. I love ya, but have a seat on the bench, Stevie.
I’ve got a busy evening ahead of me, so I can’t do my typical 1000-word reaction today. Let me just say this much…
The Texans are 5-3, which is their best record ever at this point or any other point.
The Texans are incredibly, shockingly, amazingly now at 3-1 on the road. I’ll repeat that. This Texans team – SO bad on the road for SO long – is 3-1 this year. That’s just crazy talk.
Next week, the Texans will travel to Indianapolis to take on the undefeated (7-0) Colts. I know the NFL is a grind and there’s pressure for every team every week, but nobody is going to be picking the Texans to win next week. I’m not going to say there’s no pressure on the Texans – but you can really let it all hang out when everyone in the world is expecting you to lose… and hey – is it too early to say that these Texans are road warriors? We’ll see what happens.
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Nov 1, 2009 at 18:44:32
I bet with how the Colts looked today and how the Texans looked in the second half, some media contrarians are going to pick the Texans. But they will surely be underdogs. I bet Vegas gives the Texans at least 8 points.
Nov 1, 2009 at 18:53:07
Yes, I’m sure out of the THOUSANDS of sports media types, some will pick the Texans – but you know what I mean.
Nov 1, 2009 at 19:36:53
While I hate losing OD for the season, this is James Casey’s chance to show his stuff. I truly believe he will step up.
Nov 1, 2009 at 22:55:16
Sadly enough, in these next few weeks were going to see if it’s just our system that benefited OD. Obviously he is a GREAT player, but if our offense continues to click, does Rick Smith sleep easier?
Nov 2, 2009 at 03:07:30
@socctty
I was just discussing with a friend what the Texans/Colts opening line may be – my guess was 8.5 points. I see you guessed 8. Should be close to that.
Nov 2, 2009 at 09:02:01
@carson
This sports book has the Texans as 9 pt. dogs:
http://www.footballlocks.com/nfl_point_spreads.shtml
Nov 2, 2009 at 09:24:58
Great game by the Texans.
One thing that I’m worried about thinking ahead is how this will effect Owen Daniel’s contract situation. I thought all ACL related injuries are around a 9 month window if not a little longer.
This migiht even help us afford him unless he think he is due a big pay day like Dunta. Owen is more of a risk now with a big pay day….Ohhhh my…
Nice use of the “truck stick” by Andre Johnson. Its like man v. child when he gets the ball.
Nov 2, 2009 at 09:45:28
Chris, you had to go jinxing Owen this past week, huh? Now he just got less expensive. Good job!
Hopefully, we’ll get to see what Casey’s able to do, but that injury is going to be hard to overcome. I guess we’ll be able to see what Owen truly brings to the team now that he’s out. I do wonder how much this injury will impact his leverage in salary negotiations this summer.
It’s tough to lose Owen right before the meat of the schedule with the next 4 being divisional opponents that’ll make or break the Texans season.
Nov 2, 2009 at 10:46:19
Some people were unhappy with Rick Smith for not locking OD up earlier but we just found out part of the reason why. Players get hurt all the time in the nfl, there is no sense in locking a guy up to a long term, high dollar contract when you already have them signed. Unless Joel or Casey tear it up, I expect OD to be resigned. But instead of him getting number one TE money, he is looking at a more modest contract.
Nov 2, 2009 at 10:53:41
I’m actually looking to see what Joel Dreessen does against the Colts. I’ve heard it said that Dreessen is good enough to start on other ball clubs, so let’s see if he can bring something to the table, now that our all-star has been replaced by the Cerberus of tight ends (Dreessen, Casey, and Anthony “Swine Flu” Hill)
Another note that has gone completely unconvered: Thanks to the worst first quarter of Matt Schaub’s life, Buffalo rookie safety Jairus Byrd (of Oregon, GRRREAT weekend for the Ducks) now has SEVEN interceptions for the year, and is the first player in almost fifty years to have three multi-INT games. I think he deserves the DROY more than Cushing at this point, but time will tell.
Nov 2, 2009 at 12:57:23
Yeah Byrd is a hawk. But Cush is right up there as well
I’d probably vote Byrd just based on the fact he is the bills d
Nov 2, 2009 at 14:18:14
@ Kyle, I don’t disagree with you that Byrd has better stats than Cushing but who has made the bigger impact? Before Cushing we had a soft, sometimes scared defense. Now we have a bunch of head hunters that fly to the ball. Buffalo has had a good defense for a few years and they really aren’t any better with him on their team. In the end both guys are playing great and should have great careers. I guess it just depends on what the voters are looking for.
Nov 2, 2009 at 14:19:37
I would vote against Byrd for the same reason. It is like a linebacker on a terrible team. If you spend more time/plays on the field because you are pitiful, you get more opportunities to make plays. Cushing is the only player in the NFL to have interceptions, sacks, lead team in tackles, a safety, and is on what is becoming a pretty good defense…on a winning team.
Nov 2, 2009 at 14:28:44
Cushing has the opportunity to put himself on the map if he can disrupt Peyton Manning. It doesn’t matter if he intercepts, sack, or hurries him – just be a thorn in his side all game long.
Nov 2, 2009 at 16:58:13
Won’t be James Casey stepping in for OD this week – Thor is out until after the bye.
He had a scope today, and it’s his meniscus. Kubiak said it looks like three weeks.
He also said, though, that Casey played his best game of the year yesterday, and that he really came through for the team even though he was hurt. That’s encouraging because even though he was in the right place at the right time yesterday, it looked like he lacked explosiveness. Now we know why. Get well Thor!