Official Texans vs. Broncos Thread, 08/09/2008

[cadams]

I am getting really excited to see the team in action. Can't wait until Saturday. Most importantly, I want to see how Brown handles the rush.

[Nconroe]

I'm hoping we see we have a very good team, but first thing want to see is the DL perform in a dominant way.

[NBT]

I'm going to be looking for that new found team speed on defense.

[kravix]

I am looking forward to seeing if I can get my two year old to sit through the game and yell as loud as me.

Scouting report (http://houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=4475)

[cadams]

I'm going to be looking for that new found team speed on defense.

good call.

[nero THE zero]

I'm looking forward to zero injuries.

[Keith]

And along those lines, I'm looking forward to Andre Johnson in street clothes.

As for on the field, I am excited to see the battle at running back. There's something a little Domanick-like about Darius Walker to me in that it seems he's getting some run as a third down back that may be hard to take off the field.

I'm also interested to see Steve Slaton let loose and learn what Taylor is capable of post-injury. Then of course there's also Brown and Bell, if they play. Can't imagine Green gets much of anything this Saturday.

[mussop]

I dont think we will see much in the way of blitzing or stunts so I dont expect the D Line to dominate. So I want to see the defense defend the run well and the offensive line dominate.

[nunusguy]

Most importantly, I want to see how Brown handles the rush.

Same here. Kubiak has said that he expects to play him for the better part of a whole half. And he's gonna go up against the Brondcos Elvis Dumervil, one of the best speed-rushers coming off the edge this side of Indys Freeney.
Message to Duane Brown - don't do anything studid in your NFL debut like letting somebody by you to mash QB Schaub.

[KJ3]

i'm probably going to focus on the new aquisitions and picks to see how they are stacking up. also chris taylor and steve slaton.

[nero THE zero]

And along those lines, I'm looking forward to Andre Johnson in street clothes.

As for on the field, I am excited to see the battle at running back. There's something a little Domanick-like about Darius Walker to me in that it seems he's getting some run as a third down back that may be hard to take off the field.

I'm also interested to see Steve Slaton let loose and learn what Taylor is capable of post-injury. Then of course there's also Brown and Bell, if they play. Can't imagine Green gets much of anything this Saturday.

Yea, the RB battle should be fun. I haven't really been a big fan or Darius Walker, but with all of this hype I am slowly turning around on him. I don't think he's a feature back, our future, or anything like that. But, I do think he could play a nice role, coupled with another RB or two, and work as a stop gap until we are able to find a nice feature back.

The main thing I'm worried about is Chris Brown having a good preseason. He's already shown his true colors early in camp, and I am entirely too excited about some of our younger guys (Taylor, Walker, Slaton, etc.) to see a roster spot wasted on a guy who has a knack for going down with phantom injuries. I know he has incredible potential, especially in our system, but he's already disproven any shred of hope I had for him overcoming the problems he had in Tennessee. The worst thing that could happen, IMO, is for him to have a fantastic preseason. Then again, in all likelihood, if he does disappoint and end up cut, Mike Bell will probably take his spot and we will still have to cut one of our younger guys (eerrr nevermind that: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5931910.html.)

[Arky]

A little over 1 hour to kickoff. Let's go already!

[jaimeg]

[QUOTE=Keith;2308]And along those lines, I'm looking forward to Andre Johnson in street clothes.
QUOTE]

I would have liked to look forward to seeing Ahman Green, Demeco Ryans in street clothes also.

[Rum Runner]

I JUST found this site!! It feels so good to be back!! Perfect timing too... right before the first pre-season game no less!

The thing I want to see the most is the running game; don't care who is carrying, I just wanna see Gibb's magic start to come together.

[Arky]

Halftime:

Texans 13, Denver 7

Ahman = Oh-man

Taylor filling in just hasn't had a whole lot of daylight to run to ....

Gonna take a while for this offense to gel I do believe...

[Rum Runner]

Anyone know who gave up the late sack to Rosenfels?

What about details on the rooks? Brown, Molden, Okam, et al?

[coloradodude]

Get ready to say good-bye to Chris Taylor. He can't even run against a team that will be at teh bottom at stopping the run.

And totally missed the block when Rosenbalm got schlackered.

[Arky]

Anyone know who gave up the late sack to Rosenfels?

What about details on the rooks? Brown, Molden, Okam, et al?

Brown is doing OK - nothing spectacular... Didn't see many rooks in the first half - I think they'll be 2nd half players...

[kravix]

My first impressions.

Running game= teh suck... Green went down on the first run play(I wanted to cry)

Chris Taylor.. I think it was more the line than him, but either way he didnt look good.

Walker.. He looked better than Taylor, but still not great.

Slaton.. The kid did awesome. He may be under 200lb, but if he can pack on some meat and keep his speed he could be our feature back.

"Open" Daniels was there as always. Davis played great. I think the last spot will be a tough battle between Anderson and Crowder... I would have to give it to Anderson though. He was probably the best reciever out there.

I didnt see the other TE's make a huge difference. I really expected Dressen to show up, if he did i missed it.

Flether and Faggins and Roberson all played great. If i had to pick one I would say Faggins had the better game.

I think the Sage sack was partially his fault and mostly Taylors fault. Taylor should have picked up the blitzer instead of helping double the inside man IMO.

Kris Brown has to be one of the best kickers in the NFL, and is definatly one of the most important players on the team.

[painekiller]

Mario was the beast we have been seeing at practice.

Okoye looks improved.

Remember we are running a base defense, nothing fancy.

I would not be against Brown and Green going bye bye. Let Taylor, Slaton and Walker be the guys, get Bell in shape and then sign him. Brown had one carry I saw and he went no where, but that looked to be the OL, Green is starting early, and no one touched him.

As I have noted in my practice updates Anderson is going to be hard to cut, and Jacoby is on the bubble, he still seems to be on the inside, but that can change.

We have some depth and we will cut some solid players.

[Keith]

http://www.inthebullseye.com/archive/2008/20080810.html

Hard not to like David Anderson in this one. And Mario.

Have to wonder how much longer Green has in a Texans uniform. What's Ced Benson up to these days...? :p

[kRocket]

I have to believe the Texans will be cutting some players this year they would have been happy to have on the team 2 years ago. That is a good problem to have. The running game is not exciting me at all. Walker and Slaton did the best, but I would hate to go to war with just them.

[Roy P]

Well, we got to see the boys in action finally.

It appears that Steve Slaton should be getting at least 10 - 12 touches per game. I'm thinking passes in the flat, draw plays, screens, returns, etc. We have to use him enough to get some production but not too much so that he wears down and get injured.

That leaves me to the other guys in the RB stable. I was not amused. Chris Taylor and Darius Walker left me very underwhelmed. I was hopeful that Taylor would take the job and run away with it.

Conversely, I was content with the way Duane Brown played. He did well in pass protection and got out on the second level a couple of times that I could see. Brown still has some work to do in run blocking, but hopefully he can steer his man away from the RB.

Fletcher and even Faggins looked pretty good in terms of tackling, which was nice to see.
I don't recall seeing #28 play anywhere on the field, does anybody know if he's hurt?

There were a couple of plays in which #34 surprised me with his speed. Who knows, he might just make a decent safety after all is said and done.

[HPF Bob]

I had a busy night so I recorded the game and watched it bleary-eyed after I got home (hurray for fast forward!). I was not really impressed with either defense. Both would have been buried by a solid offensive team like the Chargers or Colts.

Ahman Green, thanks for showing us early that you are washed up. Hand in your playbook and pick up your severence check at the front window.

I thought the running game should have been better, given that we were moving the ball well enough through the air that the defense couldn't key on the running game. Gibbs has a lot more work to do.

Duane Brown looked good for his first time out, although it should be noted that the Broncos have whined about poor DE play for years now. Is it just me or do we have a lot of guys named Brown or Johnson on this roster?

No way is Jacoby Jones going to get cut. We basically have AJ, AD, Walters and Jones as our four receivers and if we have a fifth one it should be Anderson. I loved that catch Carter made over the middle but he later dropped an easy one so that's kind of a wash. Where Anderson has value is that our QBs don't have great arm strength so we have to have some route-runners who hang onto anything thrown their way rather than speed guys who might drop a key first down.

I think our defensive backs are going to be toast most of the season.

[Nconroe]

For a first preseason game I thought holding down penalties and turnovers and injuries was a good thing. And we did win.

On Dline I thought Mario and Okam did pretty well when in there.

On offense I thought Shane Boyd, David Anderson, Slayton, and Duane Brown did pretty well while in there.

I didn't notice 28, Molden either , maybe I need to review the DVR. Saw Adibi make one good play. Didn't really notice 34, Barber, but results seemed ok. I guess Brink gets a shot at QB next week.

Plenty to work on for next practice game with N.O.

[Rum Runner]

...if we have a fifth one it should be Anderson. ...Where Anderson has value is that our QBs don't have great arm strength so we have to have some route-runners who hang onto anything thrown their...

I am fond of the "poor man's" reference and if I had to make a comparison; Anderson would be our "poor man's" Wes Welker. Little guy who probably shouldn't be playing in the NFL but he's quick as a water bug, runs precise routes, and catches everything.

I hope this guy sticks.

[sinnister]

I am fond of the "poor man's" reference and if I had to make a comparison; Anderson would be our "poor man's" Wes Welker. Little guy who probably shouldn't be playing in the NFL but he's quick as a water bug, runs precise routes, and catches everything.

I hope this guy sticks.

I really like Anderson a lot, and I am hoping he makes the team.

[KJ3]

he sure did make a flashy grab for the td. there was a few plays he got open too, one in particular i think everybody in the stadium saw except sage. he's good for what he is: a 5th WR on the depth chart.

[NBT]

Kubiak, when asked if RB Cedric Benson was being considered? The answer was a simple no!

This will take a leap of faith for most folks, I'm sure, but Anderson could well be the next Welker.

[KJ3]

Kubiak, when asked if RB Cedric Benson was being considered? The answer was a simple no!

This will take a leap of faith for most folks, I'm sure, but Anderson could well be the next Welker.

why would benson get consideration from kubiak? he's not that good on or off the field. us maybe...but kubiak? nah.

a leap. a gigantic leap at that. welker has been there and done it. all his personal accomplishments far outweigh anything david anderson has done. i know-they're both quick, small, white recievers, but that's about where the comparison ends.

[papabear]

welker has been there and done it. all his personal accomplishments far outweigh anything david anderson has done. i know-they're both quick, small, white recievers, but that's about where the comparison ends.

Well at least with Welker there's one more guy for white WR's to get compared too besides Ed Mccaffrey....who I guess took over the white WR label from Steve Largent.

[HPF Bob]

I don't see Welker as much as I see Wayne Chrebet. Welker is smaller and faster than Anderson. Chrebet made his money by finding the seam in the zone, squatting and catching, not YAC. Welker's game is YAC, even when he was at Texas Tech.

McCaffrey was 6-5. There's really no comparison there beyond pigmentation.

[Keith]

McCaffrey was 6-5. There's really no comparison there beyond pigmentation.
Yeah, we should keep our white guy comparisons straight... Kevin Walter is the McCaffrey.

Now all we need is a white corner so we can compare him to Jason Sehorn. :rolleyes:

[barrett]

I remember a few years back, pre-draft, and someone on our board wanted to compare Matt Jones to Ed McCaffrey. It was one of the most obvious "plug-in white receiver's name here" comparisons I've ever seen.

And I think the chrebet one is a good one if forced to pick because anderson is not nearly as athletic or physical as welker (even in a poor man's sense).