Official Texans @ Broncos Fake Game Thread, 8/23/2014
 

Less than 24 hours till game time.

I'd like to see a few less flags.

Want to watch our OL against Denver DL.

Texans are 7 pt dogs and getting plenty of takers. I would have set it at about 11....

Over half the Texans roster is composed of players with 2 years or less experience (including the camp fodder, of course). Young teams are like a box of chocolates... Should be interesting....

Newt is going to have to bloc either Von Miller or Demarcus Ware on the edge,
in other words no place for him to hide. Wow, that's scary.

I don't think you'll see more than a half of Peyton Manning. Why expose him to Clowney and Watt for an extended period of time? The rest of the first team will probably play longer.

There's been some talk that the Texans won't be going with their starters for as long as is typical for the third preseason game. The thinking is that they got the quality reps in the joint practices during the week under conditions less likely to result in injury (full speed wrap-up with no tackling to the ground, I believe).

Broncos take the opening kickoff and drive down but a big sack by Ricardo Mathews leads to them settling for a 32-yd FG.

Broncos 3, Texans 0

7:24 left in the 1st qtr.

Attaway, D.

Texans get to midfield on their first possession and punt. Then, hold the Broncos to one 1st down before they have to punt. Punt goes out at the Texan 45 - Texans ball, good field position...

1:28 left in the 1st qtr.

Bouye with a nice INT of Manning. Texans ball at their 43 with 12:59 left in the half.

Texans march down the field and score a rushing TD on Grimes 1 yard run. Hero of the drive = Grimes.

Texans 7, Broncos 3

8:23 left in the half.

Prater misses on a 49-yard FG. Texans are going to have the ball at their 39 with 2:05 left in the half.

It was going so well....... Manning hits Sanders deep for the 67 yd TD.

Broncos 10, Texans 7

1:07 left in the half.

After the Texans do a quick 3 and out, Manning wastes no time in hitting Sanders again for the TD, no thanks to a 15-yard penalty on DJ.

Broncos 17, Texans 7

5 seconds left in the half.

Keenum leads the Texans down the field - some nice runs by Blue and Brown but the Texans have to settle for a Bullock 24-yd FG.

Broncos 17, Texans 10

5:23 left in the 3rd qtr.

Well, too bad we gave up 14 pts in 2 min at end of first half but as an excuse that was mostly second and third or fourth string Texan defenders. Swearinger is gonna have to learn to avoid some of these fouls.

Keenum and offense had a nice drive till stalled on 5 yard line for a FG to start second half. .

Nice tip by LB and interception by Pleasant to start 4th quarter.

And Texans go three and out. This thiird and 4th string OL not protecting Keenum very much.

Broncos miss another field goal. Still 17-10. 4 min 30 second to go.

Savage in at Texans 26 yd line.

Hey, hey, Savage hits Griffin for the 31 yd TD pass!

Broncos 17, Texans 16

Texans going to go for two with 59 seconds left in the game....

Savage pass to Lemon then first down pass to Labhart. Couple 5 yd runs by Powell.

Two minute warning.

Going for it on 4th and 3.

First down to Labhart at 39.

Texans TD Savage to Ryan Griffin.

Going tor 2 and the win.

Woohoo! Savage to Labhart for the 2-point conversion = good! ;)

Texans 18, Broncos 17

If they don't keep this Labhart guy, I'm going to be pissed....

Nice pass Savage to Labhart for two. Sweet!

59 second to go.

How about that. Nice to get the fake game win.

Savage looked pretty good, 5-6 and 69 yds that last drive. Encouraging to see.

Final Score:

Texans 18, Broncos 17.

I smell Superbowl.... ;) (Or maybe it's that leftover pizza.......)

This was the most confusing, least projectable third preseason game I have ever seen. So many of our guys were out or limited that it's impossible to know what any of this means. Maybe it means that the fourth game will be a lot more interesting than it usually is.

Savage obviously was impressive. And as much as I hate to offend Bob I hope that DJ takes the head off of that molasses mouthed redneck the next time the two meet. If someone else does the honors beforehand, great. I didn't used to hate that guy but I find myself trending in that direction now.

I agree about Manning.

I also think the penalty was terrible. If the WR goes low, you should not get flagged for a hit to the head. What if I just ran down the field in a crouch? Is nobody allowed to hit me since all they can hit is my head? Swearinger hit with his shoulder at waist level, and Welker went low, and that is on Swearinger somehow? Seriously, we need to teach all of our WRs to go low over the middle so they can't be legally hit.

Swearinger getting in Manning's head a bit in the first half, esp after the hit on Welker... no doubt Peyton was tired of his antics from a full week of DJ running his mouth at the joint practices. Falcons also seemed to let Swearinger get in their heads. He's turning into the Texans' version of Cortland Finnegan. I guess that's a good thing?

"He was a short guy," Swearinger said of the hit on Welker after the game. lulz

Nice to see Cushing on the field and notch a TFL.

Those 2 late 1st half TD's are indicative of what a poor team would allow, but Manning had time without having to worry about half or more of the defensive starters missing in action, namely Watt and Clowney. So all things considered, the team has put up 2 encouraging performances in the two important preseason games.

Might not see much more of Keenum after Thursday, Coog fans.

Pro and cons:

Pros:

1. Brooks, Cush and AJ got some action. (and I think I'm forgetting somebody else). Limited, yes, but helps them get in "football shape". Cush made it out alive - was starting to think he was made of glass.

2. Just 5 penalties. However, they were for 63 yards and 3 of them gave the Broncos a 1st down.

3. No turnovers. Excellent. Conversely, Denver had 2 turnovers. +2 for the Texans.

4. Labhart is a keeper.

5. Savage looked good. It was against 2nd and 3rd stringers so not ready to anoint him yet, but it was good to see the coaching staff let him open it up a bit and he responded well. But he's still a rookie, got lots to learn and it's a rare bird that can come into the NFL and conquer in his first year....

6. The defense made Manning and Osweiler struggle. Manning eventually got it going but not until the Texans began substituting. Osweiler was coming off a very good performance against the 49'ers and a decent game against the Seahawks. It was not "smooth sailing" for either Denver QB.

7. Ryan Griffin. 5 catches for 71 yards and a TD.

Cons:

1. Manning's two TD's in last 2 minutes of the 1st half. Don't know what the DB's were thinking but obviously, the ol' boy (Manning) can still chunk it over their heads...

2. Keenum. Oy. His first series (led to a FG) wasn't too bad but after that, he struggled. Almost picked once or twice. In his defense, he also had a couple of dropped balls. Thursday's game against the 49'ers might prove to be his last chance to show he should stick around.

3. Still waiting for the Texans to attempt a pass over 25 yards in the air this preseason. Just one.

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It's harder to find "cons" when the team gets a "W". There are a number of players I'm not quite sure what to make of, yet. Mostly in the defensive secondary....Victorian, Pleasant, Clemons, Lewis, etc. all of these guys can look good one play then look not look good the next. Swearinger seems to be getting a rep and I'm afraid the refs are gonna start watching him closely...

Thursday's game against the 49'ers is probably going to be a messy scrubfest so, Week 1 can't get here fast enough for me.

I'm with Barrett on his comments about the penalty on DJ. It was more of a case of Welker's head running into DJ's forearm/shoulder that vice versa. And taking nothing away from Manning, but many front-line Texan defenders were not in the game when he ran up those 2 quick TDs at the end of the half. I believe the only starter not seeing any action so far this preseason is CB JJoe, who like Cushing seems to be injured far more than he is healthy and participating.
When Savage throws the ball it just gets to its destination much quicker than passes by the other 2 QBs and his composure and accuracy were solid last night. His brief time in the game was very impressive and makes the departure of Keenum seem more likely now, whether we make Savage the backup or they pick up another QB who's released when teams cut the final group of players to reach the 53-man rosters.

Recorded the game while at work and will be watching it later. Got to watch the 4th quarter after work. It has to be a big confidence boost for Savage to pull off the win. It seems they have Savage doing a lot of spot passes and back-shoulder passes that lead to a high completion rate. We'll see if that continues as he matures.

There was a Louis Nix sighting which is good news just to have him on the field for a few plays. Will say more after I've had a chance to watch the first three quarters.

I was thinking even Keenum showed improvement. Depends on who released I suppose.

Nice to see penalties drop to only 5.

Some cuts to 75 coming Tuesday.

I also thought Keenum had his best performance of the preseason.

Swearinger wasn't fined for the hit.

...and should not have been. Leading with your shoulder should not be a crime in the NFL.