Another year, another win over the Raiders. Clichés can certainly be annoying, but one that I think is most often true is that road wins in the NFL are always tough. Of course, not always – but the Texans aren’t yet the type of team that can go into a city and slap teams around in front of their own fans. I look forward to that day, but today definitely wasn’t it.
The Texans had a lot to overcome against a tough Raiders group. They were without their best offensive player, Andre Johnson (ankle), Duane Brown (suspension), arguably their best defensive player, Brian Cushing (suspension), and Arian Foster missed the first quarter and a half due to a disciplinary action.
The pass rush returns after taking their bye week early against Dallas
The Texans gave Oakland fits all day with a relentless pass rush. Of course, with the secondary being what it is, Bruce Gradkowski was still able to complete quick passes and burn the defense with precision at times, but the front four showed up today. Mario Williams notched another sack, and got constant pressure. Antonio Smith was all over the place, and picked up two sacks. Earl Mitchell made the most of the snaps he got, getting decent pressure and playing the run well. Frank Bush dialed up some nice blitzes, including a nice corner blitz by Glover Quin that resulted in a key intentional grounding penalty, and even DeMeco Ryans was allowed to get into the act. I love it when Bush does what he can to get DeMeco chances to rush the passer.
Texans get the running game revved up somethin’ serious
The Texans piled on 249 more rushing yards to their NFL-leading total on Sunday. In addition to Arian Foster’s 131 rushing yards, Derrick Ward very slowly racked up 80 yards on 12 carries, and Steve Slaton added 37. Foster is the real deal. He’s a difference-maker, and I am absolutely taking nothing away from him when I say – the offensive line was the star of the rushing game today. I say that mainly because Ward looked slow during most of his 80 yards, but he did hit the hole with some authority. Slaton looked a little bit like his old self at times, but I still see a guy who isn’t close to what he used to be (and I think that’s obvious to everyone at this point).
The team withstands Schaub’s struggles
Matt Schaub certainly did not have his best game today, but when your team has a legitimate rushing attack as the Texans now do, you can get away with such things. Schaub was fortunate to not spend as much time getting knocked around this week as he did last week, considering he seemed to be holding on to the ball entirely too long on what seemed like almost every single passing attempt. I know Nnamdi Asomugha is the best cornerback in the NFL, and that Andre Johnson wasn’t playing – but there’s no way the Raiders were locking the Texans’ receivers down well enough for Schaub to hold the ball as long as he did. Luckily the Texans’ offensive line manhandled the Raiders, and Schaub didn’t end up paying for it.
Gary Kubiak punishes Foster, team with benching
When Steve Slaton and Derrick Ward alternated carries in the first offensive series, you knew something was up. My first reaction was that Foster missed a team meeting or was late for a practice, and that’s exactly what ended up being the case. Foster missed a meeting and was late for another both within a little over a week.
A lot of people were killing Kubiak for the benching, long before any of us knew what exactly happened to cause the benching. Me? I’m fine with it. One missed meeting, and then late for another? Unacceptable. Now, where I do differ with Kubiak is that I would have limited the “mini-suspension” to one quarter. Why it had to last until well into the second quarter, I have no idea. What Foster did, in my opinion, is definitely a big deal. It also plays right into what Foster detractors listed as one of his problems coming out of college – that he would be a character concern when it comes to handling success. (Of course that had nothing to do with why he went undrafted… it was of course the injury problem).
Slaton sure has fallen far. Derrick Ward got 12 carries and a TD, to Slaton’s five carries – and Ward didn’t look impressive doing it. I’m seriously starting to wonder what Slaton can even do for this team going forward since the Texans don’t seem keen on making him a true third down back like he seems to have the ability to become. A run here, a screen there (by the way – they should call a LOT more screens for both Foster AND Slaton) that seems to be it for poor Stevie.
Speaking of questioning roles, let’s talk Jacoby Jones
Another bad drop for Jacoby against Oakland. He seemed primed to make a huge leap as a receiver this season, and with Johnson out today, he had a golden opportunity. If Jacoby can’t do something as simple as catching the @!#& ball, then his main value to this team is as a punt returner. Right now, the Texans have absolutely NO reason to have any interest in re-signing Jones when his contract is up at the end of this season. Someone is going to throw a lot of money at Jacoby in the upcoming offseason, and if he wants the Texans to be one of those teams, he has a lot to prove. Presently, to me it seems like he has taken a step backward from last season.
The secondary continues to struggle
The Texans’ secondary didn’t give up numbers as ugly as they did in other games this year, but a lot of that (all of it?) had to do with the level of competition. One huge bright spot was free safety Troy Nolan, who got the majority of the snaps in place of the injured, er… completely ineffective Eugene Wilson. Nolan picked off two passes Sunday (the first two interceptions of the season for Houston). People will be quick to point out that one was off a tipped pass, and the other was off a deflection. So what? Sure, it doesn’t mean he was great in pass coverage – but part of being a good defensive back is taking advantage of opportunities when they come to you, and being in the right place at the right time.
Nolan showed good awareness, and made a play. Two of them, actually. Which is two more than Wilson has made in three games prior. I don’t even need to know how good or bad Nolan was in coverage to know that the free safety job now belongs to Troy Nolan, and Troy Nolan alone. If that changes, then Gary Kubiak needs to have a lobotomy (barring an unforeseen total collapse in Nolan’s ability).
It hasn’t been pretty, but the Texans are 3-1 with reinforcements on the way
Brian Cushing can now rejoin the team, and the defense certainly isn’t going to get any worse for it. I half expect that Cushing could lead the team in interceptions this year with the way the secondary has played, plus Cushing’s penchant for playmaking.
There’s no reason the Texans shouldn’t win their next two games, leading into the bye week. The Texans host the Giants and Chiefs, then have two weeks before heading to Indy for a Monday Night rematch with the Colts. The Texans proved they weren’t an elite team last week when they crapped the bed at home against the Cowboys. But they also proved they can still be a playoff-caliber team by the way they handled their business on the road against Oakland, facing some serious personnel issues.
If they want to get back on track to establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the league, they need to do two things. Um – FIX THE AWFUL SECONDARY!!!! for starters. Secondly, become a dominant home team. Win the games at home that you are supposed to win. Sure, the Giants are dangerous. Yes, the Chiefs are better than most expected – but none of that should matter. We SHOULD be able to talk about how much trouble THOSE teams are in, coming to Reliant. Instead, there’s the real possibility that the Texans could lay another egg at home in front of their fans, who want SO BADLY to believe that this 3-1 team is going somewhere that ends on the other side of slightly above-average.
Oct 4, 2010 at 08:56:41
Thanks for your thoughts, Chris. As much as I want to and enjoy watching an “air it out” show with Schaub as the pilot, I even more enjoy the idea of our OL punching the defense in the mouth and running the ball at will. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to enjoy this kind of running game that I guess I forgot how enjoyable it can be to watch. I’m glad Kubiak disciplined Foster. The kid apparantly has issues when he does well. Lets nip it in the bud now before he gets more out of line.
I was glad to see Mitchell getting some reps on the DL. He definitely was disruptive. My favorite play of his was his bull rush up the middle where he met the Oakland RB in the backfield just shy of the actual handoff. I haven’t seen that kind of penetration from our DT since, well ever!! Lets get him some more playing time.
Another concern I had was our play action bootleg play. I know that’s a favorite of the Texans and Schaubs. It’s always worked so well in the past and afforded Schaub plenty of time to throw due to a successful play action. However, against Oakland it was like we were telling them the play. On almost every bootleg they were all over Schaub almost immediately forcing him to throw the ball away. Not sure if anyone else noticed that but it definitely caught my eye. I remember that play being golden for us in the past.
Go Texans!!
Oct 4, 2010 at 10:30:07
Nolan, Nolan he’s our FS, if he can’t do it we’re screwd because we know no Wilson can’t.
It was nice seeing our centerfielder in the right place to make a play on the ball. AND he was even involved in the run game making one good stick that I recall. We said that about Wilson when???
I say give him a shot, we can’t get worse. See what adding him and getting BC back will do to the D.
Oct 4, 2010 at 17:36:58
Here you idoits go again. Chris you wont be happy till you see VY or Gerrard throwing to Jacoby and burning KJax. He is their best WR now. I ve seen every WR drop passes. How can you not bring him back as a RFA next year? DA makes 3X’s what Jacoby makes. No one I never hear yall complain about that.
Oct 4, 2010 at 17:43:23
I hate to always point to the saints, but their defense was not an elite defense. they had the running game to go with their stud QB. Their defense was very average but they were good at getting turnovers and specifically scores off turnovers. What I am getting at is I can live with Kareem Jackson getting burnt and making bruce gradkowski into Bruce Montanakowski if we get more turnovers. Like the saints last year, we have top 5 offense. Its time for Frank Bush to start dialing up some exotic blitzes like Gregg Williams did last year. I think stasrting Nolan is a step in the right direction. Even though he was a 7th rounder a few years back, I remember reading that he had nose for the football and was at the right place at the right time. If our defense can be average we have the offense to win a championship.
Oct 4, 2010 at 20:26:47
So here is what we do for next year. J. Dreessen is playing so well that I say we let OD walk and the money we would have spent on him, we make it our mission in life to sign a good free agent CB. I just feel that KJax inexperience is gonna cost us down the road and in more than one game.
Oct 4, 2010 at 21:50:51
Let’s start with truth. If you’ve ever read a TMQ column (the closest thing to a marathon you can get as a sports fan), you’d see that big blitzes = big plays, usually for the offense. Super Mario is Top 3 in sacks, and he’s getting help from other players (and here comes Cushing!). Trust me. Frank Bush working off of five-man rushes where the fifth man is the wildcard is probably in the best interests of our defense. Yes, the Saints weren’t great, but Greer and Porter are a better team than Lil’ Nnamdi and Kareem Abdul Ja-Burnt. We can’t dial up big blitzes without TWO corners that can handle their business, and we only have one so far.
@Gerb
I agree. Find me ONE person who would have predicted that our first legitimate MVP candidate would be a running back. Arian Foster – Australian for Stud – could sit out next week and EVERY OTHER NFL RB could grab 100 yards…AND FOSTER WOULD STILL LEAD THE LEAGUE IN RUSHING! That said, I agree with the benching, and I think it WAS only for a quarter, but, as Adam Schefter said, they were in no hurry to thrust him back because Derrick Ward was doing JUST fine on his own (Hey, Oakland, when you let a journeyman backup earn 6.6 YPC, you might want to upgrade your run stoppers. Just sayin’) However, Foster did EXACTLY what everyone would have liked him to do. Did he sulk? No. Did he tweet about it? No. He just went and accepted a lightened workload of 16 carries…and was the 2nd best rusher in week 4 with 131.
Welcome to the NFL, Troy Nolan. I don’t even think it needs to be said anymore. Eugene Wilson is doing an impression of Will Demps (one great year + dog poop the rest of his career), while Nolan is doing his best Jairus Byrd impression. I think we’ll let the redshirt freshman have a shot.
As for Chris’s comment that “there’s no reason we should lose the next 2 games”…I want them to win, no doubt, but let’s not get hasty. Kansas City is the last undefeated team in the NFL, and there’s got to be a reason for that. And, as for New York…
Defense that can get 10 sacks in a single game – your starting left tackle = a tough game.
All that said, there is Brian Cushing. Everyone is wondering how Pittsburgh will respond with the addition of Big Ben, but that’s an overrated issue because Mendenhall is already doing well without the smokescreen of a credible QB.
Brian Cushing is so much more than a linebacker. Cushing and Pollard are the deacons of violence on this team, and Cushing is going to have such a big chip on his shoulder that he will be sponsored by Tostitos (hey-o).
You guys thought you were excited after Week 1′s win? How about now that we have gone 2-0 on the road and managed to pull away from the rest of the division WITHOUT Cushing?
Oct 5, 2010 at 00:13:33
Let’s not forget who we actually have at running back this year. Foster, Slaton, Ward, and you can’t forget about Ben Tate. Think of next year when Tate gets healthy. Assuming he doesn’t get hurt again you have to figure he will be more productive than Slaton and Ward. Ward can get traded away or retire but what if he doesn’t? Then we’re sitting at 4 backs and my opinion is Foster and Tate are a lock for the team next year and I hate to see Stevie Wonder go. This next offseason should prove a lot of what Kubiak thinks of his backs.
Oct 5, 2010 at 12:33:19
Wow I’ve been away for a bit, but the Texans have been showing up to play this year.
Might not have been the prettiest win, but when you can ground it on the ground with authority while everyone on both sides of the ball agree you could have a 300+ passing game…..SAYS A LOT!
This season is zooming by, but I like our direction thus far.
Oct 6, 2010 at 00:08:20
@bigmil
Mainly, you can’t bring Jacoby back as an RFA next year because he’s not going to be an RFA, he’s going to be unrestricted.
You can’t honestly think that Jacoby is a better WR than Walter right now. At the end of last year? Maybe – but JJ has regressed (slightly) this year. Believe me, I WANT him to become the #2, because he’s just more explosive and a playmaker – but he’s got WAY too many drops right now, and it’s a concern, especially if Andre Johnson misses some more time.
I don’t know what’s up with him, because by all accounts, he was still trending upward at the end of the preseason. It’s ONLY the drops, though. It’s not like he’s going backward in any other department.
I’m not hating on Jacoby, and I damn sure don’t want him in Tennessee or Jacksonville – I just can’t imagine a scenario where the Texans would pay him big bucks if he’s not going to keep up the level of play he had reached last year. There are going to be multiple teams interested in Jacoby in 2011, and the team has already paid up to keep Andre, DA, and Walter. Jacoby is going to have to become the guy they envisioned when they drafted him if they’re going to bring him back.
Oct 6, 2010 at 10:08:55
Chris,
Thanks for the analysis, and I agree 100%. Let’s hope they’re past the egg laying business and just take care of business.
Bigmillstead,
You obviously love you some Jacoby, but both Walter and Anderson run consistent routes AND catch the ball. JJ has dropped more passes this year than all other receivers put together. I agree the guy has serious potential, and I would love for him to live up to it here. But, the very fact that we’re still talking about his potential is ridiculous. Chris is right – we need to let sonmeone else overpay for his potential. We’ve given him the opportunity and he hasn’t taken advantage of it. Next year, it’s time to move from JJ to DD and hope he does more with the opportunities he’s given.