Official Texans @ Jaguars Game Thread, 9/16/2012
 

The Texans travel to Jacksonville this Sunday to take on the always scrappy Jags in an early game. Texans are coming off a victory, 30-10 over the Miami Dophins in their season opener. It's a division game and these are always hard fought contests despite the records or reputations.

The Jags were in Minnesota last weekend where they lost in OT to the Vikings, 26-23. Look for QB Blaine Gabbert to target Cecil Shorts, Laurent Robinson, Marcedes Lewis and rookie Justin Blackmon in the passing game while mixing in Maurice Jones-Drew as a checkdown guy and rusher.

TV = CBS (Channel 11 local) 12 noon Sunday

Announcers = Marv Albert, Rich Gannon

The line = Texans by 7 to 8.5

I am hoping that this is not a trap game.

You mean looking ahead to Peyton and the Broncos ? Maybe but Sunday's game was such a lackluster effort that I'd hope for a bounce-back effort vs a division rival like the Jags this weekend ?
BTW went back and watched my recording of Sundays game and Newton didn't play badly at all, atleast in terms of keeping Wake at bay. Kinda hard to evaluate his run-blocking since so much of the Texans' rushing game went to the left.

MJD never makes me comfortable and Blackmon can be a beast. Still, I don't think their defense is as stout as it was under Del Gutter. I think we'll put up some points. Gabbert is someone we can pressure.

I think week 2 is a bit early for a "trap" game. These guys aren't that knicked up or tired yet, and the press hasn't gotten any heavier after beating the Fins.

Jacksonville is a bad football team.

We will roll.

If there are no turnovers, it could be a close game. MJD running the ball and the Jags defense could give them the edge in Time of Possession. So we have to be efficient when we have the ball and score TDs. If we get into a FG battle, this won't be a 20-pt blowout.

how is mjd and their defense likely to give them the edge in time of possession anymore than arian foster and the texans defense giving it to the texans?

last time i checked the texans defense was far better than the jags, and while mjd was the rushing leader last year, arian foster wasn't far off.

Hags trying to boost ticket sales..... Pretty smart by the parts guy. $20 is more than $0, and they need all the help they can get. Don't understand why some owners don't get that.

A new ticket promotion: For $20 each you can buy up to four seats to a Jaguars home game on a Saturday. Sunday an hour before kickoff, you turn in your certificate and get random, non-premium seats, likely singles. It’s a coin toss where you’ll wind up, so the team is calling it the Coin Toss Ticket promotion.

http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-...d-df90273a10ee

Roy said it COULD give them the top advantage. And if we don't score and put some pressure on them to keep up, they absolutely COULD patiently hurt us with the running game inside and play keep away.

of course it could. the arizona cardinals could beat the patriots this weekend if they can control the ball and keep brady out of the endzone.

to me it read like the thought it is likely it will happen. if he is just saying something COULD happen if everythign goes right for the other team, that could be said for just about every matchup.

and i am not saying that mjd won't have a good game, i think he will. my issue was with the overall point of the post, and the fact that talking about football is more fun than working.

I agree wholeheartedly with your last statement.

As for Roy's statement, I'd say the jags controlling the clock is reasonable but not likely.

Mularkey: "The count for Maurice will go up". MJD will start v. Houston. -- Adam Schein (@AdamSchein)

My point was, The Dolphins last week started out with success against our Texans. R. Bush was getting pretty good traction. Foster was being held in check and we were not overwhelming an inferior team. If I were The Jags, I'd use that as my gameplan and hope the Texans don't create turnovers. By staying patient with the run, they could limit the Texans's possessions & opportunities to turn the game into a blowout. MJD is a better RB than Bush, and I would not want to expose Gabbert.

Exactly. This is the blueprint for how the Jags have a chance to win it late.

That said, I don't think they are a good enough team to survive 60 minutes with us. I don't think they can execute (avoid turnovers, negative plays, and penalites) in a way that lets them stay patient with the run. Plus, at some point I think they will break down defensively and once they fall behind, they will start to feel the pressure to score and the run game becomes marginalized. Especially since they do not look nearly as stout defensively this year as last.

I really don't know that anyone but SF has the personell and coaching to take advantage for a full game of what we saw the Dolphins take advantage of for a quarter.

gotcha. i am with you now.

oh, and the jags will be missing one, if not two of their starting offensive linemen. one being their starting RT

I would be concerned that they would be cannabalizing their current ticket sales though. Why pay $70 for a seat when I could wait and do this coin toss thing?

Its only 500 tix, and mostly singles (according to the article). IE tix that would normally go unsold.

They don't have any ticket sales, I think that's the point. They close off half the freaking stadium.

I can see why, though. When I think Skynyrdville I think myriad entertainment options.

My thought is that the Texans lose one or two division road games this year, so I'm thinking the Jags surprise us with something like a 17-14 score Sunday in FLA. Sure hope I'm wrong about this, but MJD is a far better back than Reggie Bush ever dreamed about being and he's always given us fits, it's the Jags
2012 home-opener, and Gabbert has gotta have a respectible performance one of these days.
.

I don't think this Jags defense is that good, and we are a far more dangerous offense than the Ponder-led Vikings who moved the ball with no problems (26 points and 389 yards of total offense, Jags also had a total of 2 sacks for 4 yards and no INTs against the young QB). Not to mention the Jags are extremely banged up on defense and on the OL.

I think MJD can get some yards but he has never been a real big play threat and it is hard to string together long drives without your QB efficiently converting 3rd downs. I can't see Gabbert and a banged up OL converting enough 3rd downs to make even a 100 yard day for MJD move the scoreboard much.

I know as Texans fans many of us are conditioned to expect the worst, but Texans 27-13.

There are two competing images for me. One is when we used to get road wins in J-Ville unexpectedly when we were a young franchise and the other is that hail mary deflection that won the game for the Jags there a few years ago.

For some reason, the Jaguars make things more challenging for us than it appears on paper but they are still a team in transition while the Texans are just tweaking before peaking.

Texans win, 23-13, but there's always that hail mary pass to haunt us.

My thinking is more or less the same as last week. If the Texans can't go on the road and beat what is basically a bad team to snatch a division win then they are not the team we think they are or want them to be.

Wade knows that the Jags have an exceptional running back. Kubes knows that the Vikings moved the ball with relative ease. The Texans are a far more talented team, a far more dangerous team. I expect them to get off the bus and demonstrate it.

Well said.

Texans win the toss and will receive.

Holliday brings the kickoff back to about the Texan 22.

Screen to Casey goes for 9.

Dumpoff to KW goes for 6.

Swing pass to OD goes for about 12. Ball at the Texan 48.

Dumpoff to Tate gets 11.

Tate rushes for 5.

Foster for 4. Brings up 3rd and 1.

Foster gets 3 off left guard and a 1st down.

Pass over the middle to OD good for 4. Ball at the Jags 25.

Tate goes left side for 9.

Tate for 3. 2nd and 7 coming up.

Dumpoff pass to Foster goes inc. 3rd and 7 coming up.

Pass to KW over the middle is inc. Texans to go for the FG.

Graham's 31-yarder is good.

Texans 3, Jags 0

9:25 left in the 1st quarter.

Disappointing end to a promising drive.

If the screens were working so well, why did we go away from them?

Jags starting at their 20.

Pass to Robinson broken up, inc but flag on the play.....offside Cody. Makes it 1st and 5.

MJD goes for 1. 2nd and 4 coming up.

MJD for about 2 but flag on the play. Offsides B Reed give the Jags a 1st down at the 30.

Pass to Potter good for 4.

MJD goes around right end for 14.

MJD for about 3. Ball at the Texans 48. 2nd and 7 coming up.

Dump off to Jones gets 4. 3rd and 3 coming up.

Gabberts pass tipped by Watt, inc. Jags to punt.

Holliday fair catches the punt at the Texan 12.

Dikembe Wattumbo?

Let's march down the field, put the ball in the end zone, open up a 10 point lead and not look back.

Pass to OD comes up short, inc. 2nd and 10 coming up.

Foster for 1. 3rd and 9 coming up.

Screen to AJ goes for 6. Texans to punt.

Thomas is corralled at the Jags 24 on the punt return. Nice punt, good coverage.

Or not. Puta.

Ball is marked at the Jags 25.

Flags presnap. False start Jags backs it up 5. 1st and 15 coming up.

MJD for no gain.

Pass to Potter too tall, inc. 3rd and 15 coming up.

Flags presnap, false start Jags makes it 3rd and 20.

Gabbert scrambles for 5. Jags have to punt.

Nice return by Holliday. Brings it back 35 yards to the Jags 41.

Jags have a midget and now so do we...

Nice 35 yd KR by Holliday.

Come on offense.

Foster for about 2. 2nd and 8 coming up.

Pass to Casey gets just 4.

Pass to OD gets 9 and the 1st down at the Jags 26.

Touchdown Tate but he may have stepped out of bounds at about the 2..... review coming up.... Nice run whatever the ruling is..

Ruling is Tate stepped out at the 2, ball placed at the 1.5.

Tate for maybe 1. 2nd and goal coming up.

Foster punches it in!

Texans 10, Jags 0

15 seconds left in the 1st quarter.

Did Tate step out at the two? It's being reviewed.

Prettty good scamper around the right for 26 yd TD by Tate.

There's your difference in the two runners. Tate didn't cut back when he could have on the previous run but Foster cuts back and scores easily.

Parmelee returns the ensuing kickoff back to the Jags 21.

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Jags call a timeout at the LOS...

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MJD for 12.

End of the 1st quarter.