Official Texans @ Browns Game Thread, 11/16/14

[Nconroe]

Been a while since our last game.

We thought this was a winnable easy game up to a month or so ago, but now Cleveland is 6-3. Cleveland is in first place in the strong AFC North and won three in a row. Overall yards per game are statistically about equal.

Our old friend RB Ben Tate should play.

Can't wait to see our ex Brady backup, Mallett, play against the Browns ex Brady backup, Hoyer.

ESPN had these traits -
Poise: Advantage Hoyer. This is his thing. Pretty simple choice until Mallett proves otherwise. Hoyer proven patience and decision making.

Potential: Advantage Mallett. He had first-round potential in 2011 and was eventually traded. Obviously Hoyer has long-term potential, too, but the Texans can’t give up on Mallett’s value.

Huddle command: Advantage Hoyer. Character was a concern for Mallett out of Arkansas, and though some of that might’ve been overblown, he needs time to show he can lead a huddle. Hoyer is a good locker-room guy and has no problems in this area.

Arm strength: Advantage Mallett. This is his thing. Hoyer throws a tight spiral but doesn’t have the prototypical arm strength of Mallett, though that can be overplayed (see: Cutler, Jay).

Pedigree: Tie. Both learned from Brady for three years, and former draft status is irrelevant to 2014. Both have starting jobs.

Supporting cast: Advantage Mallett. This is a close one, but Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins provide a formidable backstop for any quarterback.

Accuracy: Advantage Hoyer. Hoyer is more accurate this season (58.5 completion percentage) than Mallett was in three years of college (57.8). Mallett might take more shots downfield, but Hoyer will complete more passes.

Personnel exec’s take: Advantage Hoyer. According to an NFC personnel executive who’s scouted both players: “I like Hoyer much better. Mallett has more arm talent than Hoyer, but Hoyer is a better decision-maker. [Mallett] not good with decision-making. Tries to muscle the ball because he knows he has the arm. Hoyer needs talent around him, but I would pick Hoyer.”

[Arky]

TV = CBS (channel 11 local), noon CST, Sunday, Nov 16

Announcers (http://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2014&wk=11) = Andrew Catalon, Steve Tasker, Steve Beuerlein (a big chunk of Arkansas tuning in to watch the prodigal son)

The line (http://www.madduxsports.com/nfl-odds.php) = Browns by 3

------------------------------------

Other Sunday viewing in Houston:

Early:

FOX = Seattle @ Kansas City -- Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa

Late afternoon:

FOX = Philadelphia @ Green Bay -- Joe Buck, Troy Aikman

------------------------------------

TNF = Buffalo @ Miami

SNF = New England @ Indianapolis

MNF = Pittsburgh @ Tennessee

[HPF Bob]

It's going to be hard for me not to root for Indy and Tennessee this week against the two NFL teams I despise the most. :eek: Just sayin'.

[nunusguy]

It's going to be hard for me not to root for Indy and Tennessee this week against the two NFL teams I despise the most. :eek: Just sayin'.

Are not the Colts our primary competition in the AFC South and our franchises nemesis during our entire existence ? With that in mind, you don't go with the Pats, i.e., the enemy of my enemy is my friend ?

[HPF Bob]

Hate doesn't need to be rational. The reality is that we aren't catching the Colts and I still have a small warm spot for the old Oilers. Don't get me wrong. Anytime we play the Titans or Colts, I want the Texans to beat them but I don't have the frothing-at-the-mouth hatred for them that I do for other teams.

I have a longstanding hate of the Steelers going back to the 70s. Hate them. Hate their fans. Hate the constant breaks they get from the refs.

The Patriots have become to me the new century's version of the Steelers. Hate them, Hate their front-running fans, their cheating head coach, the fawning they get from the media, the constant breaks they get from the refs, etc. Neither the Colts or the Titans have screwed with me enough to earn that place yet.

[chuck]

It sounds like you hate consistent displays of excellence. It's a good thing you're a Texans fan.

[HPF Bob]

Cushing says he'll be ready for Sunday's game. Let's see if he has some of his speed back.

[Arky]

Cushing says he'll be ready for Sunday's game. Let's see if he has some of his speed back.

Also, Max Bullough to make NFL debut Sunday against Browns (http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans/2014/11/max-bullough-to-make-nfl-debut-sunday-against-browns/).

It’s been a great place for me, a great home for me,” he said of the Texans and Houston. “I’ve learned a lot from the older guys, (like) how to work, how to carry yourself, how the NFL works, what coverages work, what don’t, what fronts work, what don’t. It’s completely different from college, especially because the defense I played was college oriented. For me, that’s been the steepest learning curve.

I'm thinking it's time to start working in some of these younger, upside guys as opposed to bringing in the outside vets....

[HPF Bob]

I didn't know Bullough was still with the team. I liked him a lot in camp. I thought he'd been cut but I guess they put him on the practice squad. Bullough, to me, is similar to Wisconsin's Chris Borland who is making plays now for the 49ers with all their injured LBs. Both are undersized and a step slow but have great intensity and hustle. I figure if Borland can make the transition to the NFL, so can Bullough.

Also, Arian Foster is said to be a gametime decision, still hampered by a groin pull.

[nunusguy]

Also, Arian Foster is said to be a gametime decision, still hampered by a groin pull.

And that's big, because with Mallett starting his first NFL game, it would sure be much better for him if Foster was playing than having to rely on rookie Blue to pick up the blitz, and you know Cleveland is going to blitz him. It's already bad enough with all the problems the OLine has had in handling the blitzes.

[WMH]

Foster now ruled out for Sunday. Tough spot for Mallett.

[chuck]

Bullough inactive, not a surprise. Posey also inactive, disappointing given the QB change. Cushing will start, Swearinger will not. Manning will start in Swag's place. No one knows why yet, whether it's injury related or because the team is tired of Swag's mistakes.

[Arky]

Should be one of the more interesting games of the year. I think most of us are welcome for the change of pace.....

I picked Cleveland to win across the board in my pickem leagues. I'm usually a Texan homer when it comes to picking.. I figure the karma change will give the Texans the best chance to win..... ;)

[Arky]

And here we go...........

Browns win the toss and deferred. Texans to receive.

Manning downs the kickoff in the end zone. Texan's ball at their 20.

[Arky]

Blue for 6.

Pass to AJ goes for 28..... Browns to challenge that the ball was incomplete.....Eesh, looks like it hit the ground first...

Play is reversed. Brings up 3rd and 4.

Grimes for 3..... Looks like 4th and 1 coming up and a punt....

Browns fair catch the punt at the 29 yard line.

[Arky]

Crowell for no gain.

Pass to Austin gets 12 and a 1st down.

Crowell for loss of 1.

Pass to Gabriel goes inc. Brings up 3rd and 11.

Hoyer's pass over the middle off the mark, inc. Browns will have to punt.

K Martin fair catches the punt at the Texan 10 yard line. Texan's ball.

[Arky]

Blue for maybe 1.

Short pass to D Johnson off the mark, inc. Brings up 3rd and 9.

Deep pass to Hopkins goes for 41. Ball at the Brown 47.

Blue for 2.

Blue for 5. Brings up 3rd and 3.

Timeout Browns with 9:42 left in the 1st qtr.

Blue goes for about 4 and the 1st down.

Blue for about 2.

Deep pass to D Johnson in the end zone is broken up, inc. Brings up 3rd and 8.

Pass to AJ goes to the Brown 19 yard line and a 1st down.

Blue for 1.

Blue goes all the way to the 4 yard line but flags down....Facemask on the Browns, 1/2 the distance places the ball at the 2 yard line.

Pass to Watt in corner of the endzone goes for the TD! Play is under review.....

Play stands, touchdown.

Texans 7, Browns 0

7:09 left in the 1st qtr.

[Arky]

The Browns bring the ensuing kickoff back to the their 20 yard line. Brown's ball.

---------------------------

Crowell gets loose for 35 yards.

Pass to Hawkins goes for 12.

Pass to Hawkins off the mark, inc. 2nd and 10 coming up.

Browns use another timeout (#2).

Pass to Dray goes for 16.

West for 3. Ball at the Texan 14.

Pass to Hawkins goes for no gain. Brings up 3rd and 7.

Hoyer fumbles in the backfield due to pressure but the Browns fall on it. Browns will go for the FG.

Cundiff's 38-yarder is no good.

Score remains:

Texans 7, Browns 0

3:46 left in the 1st qtr.

[Big Texas]

I am going to go out on a limb and say Mallet looks like he won't be worse than Fitz

[Nconroe]

So far Mallett, and Texans look sharp today. Blue doing well in run game helps.

[Arky]

Pass to AJ goes for 9 but flags are down.... illegal hands to the face on the Browns is declined. Makes it 2nd and 2 coming up.

Short pass to AJ is dropped, inc. 3rd and 2 coming up.

Blue sweeps left for about 4 and the 1st down. Ball at the Texan 41.

Pass to AJ goes for 11.

Grimes for 2 tough yards.

Blue gets 8 and a 1st down. Ball at the Brown 37.

Blue goes right for 1 yard. 2nd and 9 coming up.

Pass to AJ at the sideline gets 8. 3rd and 1 coming up.

Oy, deep pass to Hopkins in the endzone is tipped by Hop and then INT'ed by the Browns. Touchback. Browns will have the ball at their 20.

[Big Texas]

Got a little greedy there. But I like the call. Hop has to be relied upon to win those matchups.

[Nconroe]

Yeah, almost, Haden made some good plays on that pass.

[chuck]

I can live with that pick all day long. He needed to drive it more, but still, he's looking for six.

[Arky]

Crowell for 8.

Pass to Benjamin goes for 23. Ball at the Texan 49.

End of the 1st qtr.

------------------------------------------

West for 2.

Deep pass in nearly INT'ed by Bouye but inc. Brings up 3rd and 8.

Hoyer's pass is deflected at the LOS and goes inc. Browns will punt.

K Martin fair catches at the 8 but flag on Watt for roughing the punter, -15. Gives the Browns a 1st down at the Texan 32.

Crowell for 2.

Hoyer is sacked by Dent! Loss of 7. Brings up 3rd and 15.

Hoyer's pass to Austin off the mark, inc. Browns will punt.....

Delay of game on Browns, -5 yards is declined by the Texans.

K Martin fair catches the punt at the Texan 9 yard line. Texan's ball.

12:52 left in the half.

[Arky]

Blue for 4.

Pass to Hopkins off the mark, inc. Brings up 3rd and 6.

Grimes gets 5..... Texans will have to punt...

Lechler's punt rolls to the Brown 38 yard line. Brown's ball.

[Nconroe]

JJ's gonna have to quit running into the punter. yikes , twice in a row. changed momentum it looks like.

[Arky]

Crowell goes for 3 but flag is down...... holding on the Browns -10. Brings up 1st and 20.

Pass to Austin is broken up by JJo, inc.

Flags presnap, false start Browns, -5. Makes it 2nd and 25.

Pass to Gabriel too hot to handle, inc. 3rd and 25 coming up.

Tate for loss of 3. Browns will have to punt.

Oh no, Watt runs into the punter again. 1st down Browns at their 35.

Pass to Gabriel goes to the Texan 42, 23 yards.

Crowell gets 7.

Crowell gets 3 and the 1st down.

Pass to Hawkins goes for the TD. 32 yards.

Texans 7, Browns 7

8:58 left in the half.

[Big Texas]

JJ shouldn't be in on punt return

[Arky]

Manning brings the ensuing kickoff back to the Texan 26. Texan's ball.

-----------------------------

Short pass to D Johnson goes for 4.

Blue dances for about 7 and a 1st down.

Blue for 6.

Grimes for 3. 3rd and 1 coming up. Dansby injured on the play, walks off...

High snap by Myers goes over Mallet's head and is recovered by Blue. Loss of 20. Texans will punt.

Texans punt it and the ball stops at the Brown 27 yard line.

[chuck]

This is exactly the kind of bullshit I'm talking about. The Texans have a ton of problems but have had every opportunity to win damn near every game they've played. Stupid, stupid stuff is holding them back. Fourth and fifty from your own five? Let them punt for fs sake and put on a return. Third and one in a vital drive and the center launches the ball to who knows where. Just idiotic nonsense that good teams don't do.

God, this secondary is terrible.

[Arky]

After falling down, Hoyer gets up to throw a pass to Dray for 31 yards.

Clowney gets the TFL for loss of 1.

Pass to the sideline goes inc. 3rd and 11 coming up.

Pass to Gabriel gets 14 and the 1st down at the Texan 30.

West sweeps left for 7.

West for 2 or 3..... Makes it 3rd and short.

Hoyer sneaks for the 1 yard and the 1st down. About 3:20 left in the half.

Crowell fumbles and Watt recovers! Texan's ball!

[WMH]

Good to see Cush make a play.

[Nconroe]

Cushing forced the fumble. He seems a little more active today.

[Arky]

End around to D Johnson goes for 6.

Blue sweeps left for 3. 3rd and 1 coming up.

Mallet sneaks for the 1 and the 1st down. Ball at the Texan 33.

2 minute warning.

--------------------------------------------------------

Blue gets about 11.

Grimes for about 3. Timeout Texans (#1). 1:24 left in the half.

Grimes gets 5. 3rd and 2 coming up. Timeout Texans (#2). 1:06 left in the half.

Pass to AJ goes for the 1st down but flags are down.....penalty against the Browns is declined. 1st down Texans at the Brown 39.

Pass to Graham gets maybe 1 but flags are down.....illegal contact Browns, 5 yards and an auto 1st down. Ball at the Brown 34.

Pass to Graham gets 14.

Pass to Graham goes for the TD!

Texans 14, Browns 7

23 seconds left in the half.

[Nconroe]

That was one nice two minute drive executed by Mallett. Easy to see the advantage of being 6'7". and knowing the plays.

[Arky]

Browns bring the ensuing kickoff back to the 27 yard line. Brown's ball with 18 seconds left in the half.

-----------------------------

Browns kneel it.

Halftime.

[Keith]

Blue has room to run today because the defense actually has to worry about a deep pass. Revolutionary!

[chuck]

Mallett's playing far better than I thought he would but almost as important Blue is as productive as I've ever seen.

[Nconroe]

This is exactly the kind of bullshit I'm talking about. The Texans have a ton of problems but have had every opportunity to win damn near every game they've played. Stupid, stupid stuff is holding them back. Fourth and fifty from your own five? Let them punt for fs sake and put on a return. Third and one in a vital drive and the center launches the ball to who knows where. Just idiotic nonsense that good teams don't do.

God, this secondary is terrible.

I guess Myers somehow thought Mallett was under center the way he snapped the ball. That was foolish looking.

Must be a new DB theory to play 10 yards off of the receivers by safeties.

[nunusguy]

If I was the Texans I'd seek out Mallett's agent during the half and start trying to work out a deal with him. Maybe it is ony for one half, but he's already played in this one half beyond any bodies expectations, certainly beyond O'Briens or he would have been starting for us back in September.

[Arky]

Halftime stats:

Passing: Mallet 10/16, 133 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT

Rushing: Blue 16/80, Grimes 6/21

Receiving: AJ 5/52, Graham 2/34, Hopkins 1/41

Tackles: Bouye/Cushing 4 each, Watt/Dent 3 each, many with 2

Total yards: Texans 242, Browns 211

1st downs: Texans 16, Browns 13

3rd down efficiency: Texans 6/10, Browns 2/7

Red zone: Texans 1/1, Browns 0/2

Penalties: Texans 2/30, Browns 4/22

Time of possession: Texans 15:44, Browns 14:16

Turnovers: Texans 1, Browns 1

[Nconroe]

Mallett's playing far better than I thought he would but almost as important Blue is as productive as I've ever seen.

Early, but seems we may have a quarterback. exciting to watch this develop.

[Arky]

2nd half kickoff goes out of the end zone. Browns will have the ball at their 20.

---------------------------------

Crowell scoots for 9.

Crowell gets 1 and the 1st down.

Ohh man, Crick almost INT's the screen pass but inc.

Flea flicker play goes inc.

Deep pass to Gabriel sails inc. Browns will have to punt.

K Martin brings the punt back to the Texan 28. Texan's ball.

[Arky]

Pass to Martin goes for 6.

Pass to Johnson gets 5 and the 1st down.

Blue for 3.

Blue for 6 but flags are down.....hands to the face on the Browns.... 5 yards and an auto 1st down. Ball at the Brown 46.

Blue for no gain.

Blue sweeps right for about 12 and a 1st down.

Grimes for 4 tough yards.

Grimes for 4 more. 3rd and 2 coming up.

Pass to Graham is inc but flag is down. Holding on the Texans.... 10 yards. Makes it 3rd and 12 coming up.

Quick screen to D Johnson goes for no gain.... Texans to go for the 52 yard FG...

Bullock's FG is just off to the right, no good.

Score remains:

Texans 14, Browns 7

9:16 left in the 3rd qtr.

[Nconroe]

Some of these ad's by Southwest Airlines and State Farm Insurance are pretty good today.

[popanot]

Next year we get a new K. Also a horrible call on that 3rd down play.

[Arky]

Browns takeover at their 42.

Pass to Crowell gets 11 and a 1st down.

Crowell TFL'ed by Watt and Dent for a loss of 2.

Pass over the middle is broken up by Bouye, inc. 3rd and 12 coming up.

Pass to Gabriel is off the mark, inc. Browns will punt.

K Martin fair catches at the Texan 12. 7:56 left in the 3rd qtr.

[chuck]

If I was the Texans I'd seek out Mallett's agent during the half and start trying to work out a deal with him.

Why not? Extending quarterbacks on a wildly premature basis is a Texans trademark.

[Nconroe]

Hey, is it my imagination, but OL looks pretty physical in charge today.

[Arky]

Pass to Hopkins goes for about 15.

Blue for 8. Ball at the Texan 35.

Blue, nice runnin', gets 11.

Blue for 4.

Pass to Hop gets 7 and a 1st down at the Brown 44.

Grimes gets loose for 12.

Grimes sweeps right for 5. 2nd and 5 coming up. A Brown (Winn) is injured on the play. Injury timeout. Ball at the Brown 28.

-----------------------------------------

On 2nd and 5, deep pass to Hopkins is out of bounds, inc. 3rd and 5 coming up. Another Brown DL injured on the play..

Short pass to AJ broken up, inc. Texans will go for the FG.

Bullock's 46-yarder is good.

Texans 17, Browns 7

5:16 left in the 3rd qtr.

[Arky]

Mallet looks OK but Keenum looked OK at first, too.... I think they gotta go with him the rest of the year because I think he's the best we got.......

[Arky]

The ensuing kickoff is brought back and fumbled! Texans recover but the play is under review....

Refs rule the elbow was down and the Browns will have the ball at their 23.

----------------------------------

West gets caught for a loss of 2.

Pass to Austin gets 12 and a 1st down.

Tate is TFL'ed by Watt for a loss of 6. 3:33 left in the 3rd qtr.

Hoyer's pass over the middle is broken up, inc. 3rd and 16 coming up.

Hoyer is pressured and throws inc. Browns will have to punt.

K Martin brings the punt back to the Texan 26. Texan's ball.

[chuck]

Keenum had no answer to a blitz. Mallett seems to with his pre-snap reads and quick release. In other words, he looks like an NFL quarterback.

Small sample size.

[WMH]

If I was the Texans I'd seek out Mallett's agent during the half and start trying to work out a deal with him. Maybe it is ony for one half, but he's already played in this one half beyond any bodies expectations, certainly beyond O'Briens or he would have been starting for us back in September.

Negative. Let's see how he does after teams get film on him. So far, I'm definitely impressed with his command of the O. Knew about the arm, but he appears to be actually controlling things.

[Arky]

Quick pass to AJ gets 6.

Blue gets caught for a loss of 4. 3rd and 8 coming up.

Mallet's pass almost picked off but inc. Texans will have to punt.

Browns return the punt to their 43 yard line. Brown's ball.

[Arky]

Hoyer trips dropping back and is downed for a loss of 8.

Hoyer is pressured and throws it away, inc. Flags are down.....ineligible downfield on the Browns, -5. Texans decline and make it 3rd and 17.

Man, Hoyer almost sacked by Watt, throws downfield, ball pops up in the air and nobody home to catch it. Browns have to punt.

Ball sails over the punter's head and he runs around and gets off a punt. Punt goes out of bounds at the Texan 43. Texan's ball.

[Nconroe]

Well, nice 4th down play, Mallett to AJ. and then a bad loss by Blue, ok, FG. let's keep up the defense.

[Arky]

Blue for 1.

End of the 3rd qtr.

----------------------------------------

On 2nd and 9, pass to D Johnson gets about 8.

Blue gets 2 or 3 and the 1st down.

Blue for 6.

Blue for maybe 1. 3rd and 3 coming up.

Pass to D Johnson is dropped, inc. Texans look to be going for it on 4th and 3.....

Pass to AJ gets 10 and the 1st down!

Blue caught for a loss of 2.

Short pass to Hopkins goes for 17.

Blue for no gain or loss of 1. 11:08 left in the game.

Blue caught for big loss on the sweep left.... Makes it 3rd and 20.

Swing pass to D Johnson goes for 4. Texans will go for the FG.

Bullock's 37-yarder is good.

Texans 20, Browns 7

9:47 left in the game.

[Nconroe]

whew, now Cleveland shooting themselves in the foot with that holding, on KR for TD.

another whew, held on 4th down. Texans ball around 7 min to go.

And what was that with Tate and Greco trying a cut block?

[WMH]

whew, now Cleveland shooting themselves in the foot with that holding, on KR for TD.

That was one of the few times the penalty actually affected the play.

[Arky]

Browns take the ensuing kickoff back for a TD but flags are everywhere.... holding on Browns brings it back. Browns will have the ball at their 10 yard line.

-------------------------------------

9:33 left in the game.

Crowell for 2.

Hoyer's pass goes inc.... take a big shot from Cushing.... 3rd and 8 coming up.

Pass to Gabriel gets 8 and the 1st down.

Pass to Gabriel over the middle goes for 35.

Pass to Hawkins gets 22. Ball at the Texan 23.

Crowell rushes for 1. 7:16 left in the game.

Flair pass to Agnew is off the mark, inc. 3rd and 9 coming up.

Hoyer's pass to Gabriel off the mark, inc. Browns going for it on 4th and 9.

Pass over the middle to Austin is dropped but flag is down.....chop block on the Browns is declined. Texans takeover on downs. Texan's ball.

6:58 left in the game.

[Arky]

Texans ball at their 37 yard line.

Blue for 2.

Blue for 7. 3rd and 1 coming up.

Blue for no gain. Texans will have to punt with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Lechler's punt is fair caught at the Brown 26. Brown's ball.

[Arky]

Pass to Hawkins goes for 25.

Pass to Gabriel gets 12. 4:20 left in the game.

Pass to Gabriel off the mark, inc. 2nd and 10 coming up.

Hoyer pressured, throws it away, inc. 3rd and 10 coming up.

Pass is tipped by Austin right into the hands of Mohamed! Texan's ball!

[Nconroe]

Nice to see Mohammed get the pick.

[Arky]

Blue gets loose for big gainer and also draws the late hit out of bounds penalty. 21 yard run, 15 yard penalty.

Grimes for 3. 3:25 left in the game.

Grimes for 3 or 4. Browns start using timeouts.... 3:06 left in the game.

Blue sweeps right for the 1st down... flags are down....holding on Newton. Makes it 3rd and 8.

Grimes goes left for about 3. Bullock on for the FG on 4th and 6.

Bullock's 50-yarder is good.

Texans 23, Browns 7

2:47 left in the game.

[Nconroe]

and nice 50 yd FG by Bullock, 23-7 with little over two minutes to go.

[Arky]

Browns bring the ensuing kickoff back to their 22. Brown's ball.

---------------------------------

Pass to Austin gets 7.

Pass to Hawkins gets about 7 for a 1st down.

Pass to ? goes for 11.

2 minute warning.

-----------------------------------

Flags presnap. Offsides Mercilus. Makes it 1st and 5 at the Texan 48.

Pass to Hawkins sails inc.

Pass to Crowell goes to the Texan 29 yard line.

Hoyer's pass sails inc down the sideline.

Short pass to Crowell broken up, inc. Brings up 3rd and 10

Pass to Benjamin is caught but out of bounds, inc. Browns going for it on 4th and 10.

Hoyer's pass sails inc. Texans takeover on downs with 1:10 left in the game.

[Arky]

Texans kneeling it out.

Final score:

Texans 23, Browns 7

-----------------------------

Nice win. The boys really needed this one....

[HPF Bob]

Just when Browns fans thought it was safe to come out of hiding. The lowly Texans come in and bulldoze them behind a rookie RB and QB making his first NFL start.

Some tweet (was it the Chron?) said Texans might pursue Hoyer in free agency. After today? Don't bother. Hoyer is probably better than he was today and Mallett probably worse but Mallett looked by far like the better QB.

Imagine waiting three years for your first NFL start and your first TD goes to a defensive tackle! Nice touch on that throw though. Really put it in a great spot for the (ahem) receiver to catch it.

Ed Houchuli is one of the better refs although I wonder if the lack of PI/def. holding/illegal contact calls was that Jackson and Swearinger weren't back there so the refs couldn't figure out who to call it on. I'm so used to looking for flags on third down, I had to adjust my tv set.

What a draft pick Blue turned out to be. Nice work, somebody.

Say, did you know TEs were still able to catch passes in this league? It seemed like forever for the Texans. Nice TD, Gilbert Grape. Oh, and nice pick, Mr. ref.

[nunusguy]

Imagine waiting three years for your first NFL start
Didn't Rogers wait behind Favre for 3 years before his first start ?

[Arky]

Didn't Rogers wait behind Favre for 3 years before his first start ?

Yep, something like that..... Going back, I know Steve McNair also saw limited snaps his first couple of years. I'm sure there's others....

What I liked today about Mallet was he had the ball out quick..... I don't think there were many pass plays that lasted longer than 3 seconds - really pleased with that. Quick, decisive - that will beat the blitz every day..... He's still a raw guy and needs to build chemistry with the receivers but he showed he understands the offense.....

Come what may, at least the rest of the season will be a lot more interesting to follow.... Just maybe we can give the Colts/Ravens/Bengals of the league (as well as the Titans/Jags) a real competition in the coming weeks....

[barrett]

Mallett looked very good today. I am guessing that when teams have film they will take away some of what he does. Either way it is very promising and was a joy to watch a Texans QB throw it like that.

But today confirmed O'Brien as an offensive mind for me more than anything. With the threat of the deep ball established early, he made everything work off of that. Really impressive and it makes me believe we have a big time NFL Head Coach.

Hoyer is terrible. He's a gamer and he fits what they do offensively since he can push it down field off of play action. But he is about as inaccurate as an NFL QB can be. %58 on the season and %58 in his career. That is what he is. Prop him up with a RB and he can be mediocre, but I'd walk away from the season if we employ that guy next year.

[barrett]

Plus it was awesome watching our OL just kick the Browns around. That is about as physical a beat down as you see in pro football.

[HPF Bob]

BTW, I noticed Watt wasn't on the punt return team in the second half. I guess someone decided it was better to let him rest.

That Browns punter had a really rough day. And, even worse, he's in Cleveland. As Bum Phillips used to say "The best thing about playing in Cleveland is that, when it's over, we get to go home to Texas."

[Nconroe]

We won the turnover battle again today as well, another reason we won quite as easily as we did.

[Arky]

Early line (http://www.madduxsports.com/nfl-odds.php) has the Texans as a 1 to 2.5 pt favorite over the Bengals next Sunday...

[nunusguy]

Early line (http://www.madduxsports.com/nfl-odds.php) has the Texans as a 1 to 2.5 pt favorite over the Bengals next Sunday...

I'm excited after that convincing win yesterday in Cleveland, easily the best game we've played since 2012, and I'm not surprised we are slightly favored at home vs Cinci this weekend.
I'm even thinking we might have a chance at Indy after watching the Pats eviscerate the Colts at the los last night in Indy, on both sides of the ball. We are just a game behind Indy, the POs are a long-shot but the season isn't over for us just yet.

[HPF Bob]

Just like the Good Romo/Bad Romo meme, do we see Good Dalton/Bad Dalton next Sunday. I know if this were the playoffs who I'd like.

BTW, Texans now just a game behind the Colts (Game-1/2 if you count tiebreakers).

[WMH]

I'm tempering my enthusiasm as we've been down this false hope road before. I was happy to see Mallett's command of the O. It's obvious that the game plan was to put him in good situations and having the OL play it's best game of the season did just that. Good OL play let Blue have a career day and hopefully that will motivate Foster even more. Interested to see games 3 and 4 after teams get film on him. But damn, dude has a cannon.

Need to steal a game, preferably 2 from the Colts, Bungles, or Ravens and good possibility of a 10 win season and primed for the last wildcard. Since we've never won in Indy, tough to count on that one, but they did lose Bradshaw to a broken ankle. Need solid games vs Ratbirds and Bungles and the bad side of those QBs to show up.

[HPF Bob]

Maybe it came from watching Fitz too long but I was impressed how quickly Mallett could get the ball out with some zip on it. I'll bet when he was in New England behind Brady, they worked a lot with him on that because it's a staple of their offense.