Official Texans vs. Bills Game Thread, 9/28/2014

[Arky]

Texans kneeling it out.

Final score:

Texans 23, Bills 17

3-1 baby!

[Nconroe]

That Morris kid with the INT has been pretty active today. and a game saver.

[Keith]

Watt is having his best season ever, imo better than 2012. I think he tallied 9 QB hits today, not to mention the game-changing pick 6. High-stepping the final yards Deion-style was pretty sweet too.

Three wins against RG3, Derek Carr, and E.J. Manuel... eh, I'll take it. KC had their turnaround last year beating up the bottom half of the league's QBs, too.

Next three will be tougher though with Romo, Luck, and Roethlisberger. The run game will need to step it up to help keep those offenses off the field. The Texans D played great today, but TOP was a huge negative for most of the game. These guys will be gassed if they have to be out there this much in the next three games.

[HPF Bob]

The talking head on NFL Red Zone said teams who begin the year 3-1 make the playoffs 63% of the time. Still, I'm skeptical.

[HPF Bob]

When you amass more wins in one month than you had all of last season, it is hard to complain. The defense still has some run issues but they are fairly good, at least against mediocre or worse offenses. J.J. Watt was everywhere on defense today. I can only imagine what we can do when we get Clowney back. Cushing has been quietly solid so far as well which has been a big help.

Special teams: Lechler and Bullock are both above average. Still not impressed with our kick returning but the rest of the units have definitely earned their keep and we haven't seen nearly the penalties on special teams that we saw under Marciano.

The offense? Oy vey! Fitzpatrick sometimes looks like a 10-year veteran and sometimes he looks like a 10-week veteran. Makes too many bad throws, especially on the run or to receivers out in the flat. The run game looked great for two weeks and then got stuffed these last two weeks which apparently turns Fitz from being a decent quarterback to one who takes unnecessary risks.

I'd like to see them work some screens to the backs into the offense to slow down the pass rush. Until we have a dependable quarterback, what we have seen so far is really the only script that can win for us - solid defense, solid special teams and a really iffy offense.

With the AFC South still on their schedule, they have a chance to sneak into the playoffs as a 9-7 team if they catch some breaks but, more likely, they will come in between 6-10 and 8-8 and get a 12-18 draft choice in the first round.

[barrett]

3 wins are nice, but none of it matters until we get a QB. We can sneak our way to 10-6 every year by winning the turnover battle and getting JJ Watt miracles, but without a QB we can never really go anywhere.

On that note, Teddy Bridgewater sure looked good today. I was not a fan of drafting him, but getting no QB at all almost ensured that we will get second guessed if any of those guys play well.

[HPF Bob]

It's probably a good thing that the Cowboys are destroying the Saints right now. We all know how hot and cold Romo can be. To a lot of people, beating the Cowboys would legitimize everything O'Brien is doing.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

It's probably a good thing that the Cowboys are destroying the Saints right now. We all know how hot and cold Romo can be. To a lot of people, beating the Cowboys would legitimize everything O'Brien is doing.

Yep, looks like it will be the 3-1 Cowboys vs. the 3-1 Texans. Maybe they'll be feeling full of themselves when we go up there. They seem built to give the Texans trouble: strong running game and Romo is a pretty accurate passer. He won't misfire as much as EJ Manuel did today..... I expect a spread of around 7 to 10...

After that matchup, gotta turn it around quick and play the Colts on Thursday night. The good news is, it's at home....

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Keith

If pregame warmup speeches are any indication, Fitzpatrick sure is fired up and ready to face one of his former teams today.

The mothership has the video and audio of Fitzy's pregame speech. Beating the Bills obviously meant something to him.

http://www.houstontexans.com/tv-medi...5-d0cf7b5550d2

[HPF Bob]

Reflecting on Chuck's earlier comments about our draft choices:

1. Clowney - injured. Due back soon.
2. Su'a-Filo - MIA. Have seen extremely little of him.
3. Federowicz - Blocks well, drops passes
3a. Nix - Filling up two spots on IR I believe.
4. Savage - third stringer.
Blue, Pagan, Hal - Making plays on special teams and backups.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Reflecting on Chuck's earlier comments about our draft choices:

1. Clowney - injured. Due back soon.
2. Su'a-Filo - MIA. Have seen extremely little of him.
3. Federowicz - Blocks well, drops passes
3a. Nix - Filling up two spots on IR I believe.
4. Savage - third stringer.
Blue, Pagan, Hal - Making plays on special teams and backups.

Chuck is flustered by this 3-1 start and needs something to whine about like a baby needs it's blanky.

But Chuck is still right that the first 3 rounds of this year's draft class do not look very good right now.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by barrett

But Chuck is still right that the first 3 rounds of this year's draft class do not look very good right now.

We all know it is tough to grade a draft class after four weeks into their rookie seasons, but yes, the early round picks do not appear to be slam dunks. Clowney, when healthy, does, but questions about his ongoing, long-term ability to stay healthy seem valid right now.

Couple that with those like me who wanted to see a QB (ahem, Teddy), and the early rounds seem even more depressing.

There have been some great late round and FA pickups this year though, which tend to be decisions made less by committee and more by the scouts, I would presume.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Keith

The mothership has the video and audio of Fitzy's pregame speech. Beating the Bills obviously meant something to him.

http://www.houstontexans.com/tv-medi...5-d0cf7b5550d2

Fitz has his flaws but he is one scrappy dude. He's a placeholder, sure, but I think he's out there giving it his all when he plays. Can't fault him for that. Still, I would like to see some of Mallet eventually, when one of these games gets out of hand one way or the other...

[chuck]

3-1 is 3-1 and you can't argue with that. But gaining 30 yards on 30 carries or whatever it was is not a blueprint for success. My overall point is that this team is going to be stuck in NFL purgatory until it starts producing at least average drafts every year.

We're coming up on a stretch where we play some varsity teams for a change and if we bring no running game we're likely to get exposed. If you're going to spend 33 on an interior lineman and he's healthy then he should be doing a lot more ass kicking on the field than ass scratching on the sidelines, especially if your team is having trouble running the ball.

Or you should find someone else to supervise your drafts.

[Arky]

Man, early returns have the Cowboys as a 4 pt favorite over the Texans. "Vegas" definitely has a higher opinion of the Texans than some of us fans do....

Edit: The lines have disappeared. Check back later...

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

3-1 is 3-1 and you can't argue with that. But gaining 30 yards on 30 carries or whatever it was is not a blueprint for success. My overall point is that this team is going to be stuck in NFL purgatory until it starts producing at least average drafts every year.

We're coming up on a stretch where we play some varsity teams for a change and if we bring no running game we're likely to get exposed. If you're going to spend 33 on an interior lineman and he's healthy then he should be doing a lot more ass kicking on the field than ass scratching on the sidelines, especially if your team is having trouble running the ball.

Or you should find someone else to supervise your drafts.

At least part of that is due to Foster not being healthy, and the total lack of fear for our passing game. It's not like the OL got worse since the first 2 weeks.

But that is more an overall OL excuse from me. Issues with Su'a Filo are totally legit. The guy can't see the field because of Ben Jones? It may be a month into his career, but that has all the early makings of a blown pick.

And Nix has made Clowney look like Ironman so far.

At least uncovering Morris, Bouye, Blue can offset the mid rounds. But Clowney has to get healthy and be good enough to make it worth a wasted year with no QB. Or we accidentally get lucky with Mallet (1 in 50?) or Savage (1 in 100?) as a true franchise guy.

Altogether more than enough issues to keep me depressed even at 3-1 (and more than enough to keep Chuck happy about his half empty cup).

[chuck]

Our quarterback will have to exceed expectations to be league average. That's fine, everyone knows that. In order for the team to be respectable and give the Colts any sort of competition in the division we need to have an ass kicking defense and a solid running game. Watt is a freak of nature, the secondary is a lot better than I thought it might be, the LBs have disappointed but not so much as to be tremendously alarming. If Clowney ever gets healthy that should change things significantly for the better because that guy also has the makings of a lunatic.

But they need to figure out how to run the ball. Foster being injured is an obvious root cause but his injury shouldn't be any surprise at this point. And the Texans have usually run the ball pretty well with their back up running backs whoever they might have been. That's not happening right now. There are very few teams you can beat in the NFL if you're at second and eleven all day long.

The good news is that the coaches don't seem insistent on doing the same stupid sht every game despite the fact that it doesn't work. For example they brought a jumbo package in and tried to sneak a pass out to Andre. It didn't work, of course, but I was elated at the effort.

So I'm looking forward to seeing how BOB tries to tinker with the running game to get it moving. I'm sure he'll do something reasonably intelligent. Until then I'll enjoy savoring the emptiness of my cup.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

Our quarterback will have to exceed expectations to be league average. That's fine, everyone knows that. In order for the team to be respectable and give the Colts any sort of competition in the division we need to have an ass kicking defense and a solid running game. Watt is a freak of nature, the secondary is a lot better than I thought it might be, the LBs have disappointed but not so much as to be tremendously alarming. If Clowney ever gets healthy that should change things significantly for the better because that guy also has the makings of a lunatic.

But they need to figure out how to run the ball. Foster being injured is an obvious root cause but his injury shouldn't be any surprise at this point. And the Texans have usually run the ball pretty well with their back up running backs whoever they might have been. That's not happening right now. There are very few teams you can beat in the NFL if you're at second and eleven all day long.

The good news is that the coaches don't seem insistent on doing the same stupid sht every game despite the fact that it doesn't work. For example they brought a jumbo package in and tried to sneak a pass out to Andre. It didn't work, of course, but I was elated at the effort.

So I'm looking forward to seeing how BOB tries to tinker with the running game to get it moving. I'm sure he'll do something reasonably intelligent. Until then I'll enjoy savoring the emptiness of my cup.

I love that even though we can't throw the ball, we are still taking shots downfield. If you have a terrible QB, the other team knows you have a QB, and they are selling out against the run because of it, why even bother trying to put together 10 play drives. Just pick good times to try 6-8 big plays per game. Hit 3 or 4 and you win. Or hit 1 and have your DE intercept a pass from 5 yards away and run it back 80 yards for a TD. Either way you win.

And I have not seen it mentioned anywhere, but Swearinger is playing his butt off. It's a bit hard to like the guy on occasion, but he has a manic energy out there that reminds me of pre-injury Cushing. He is flying around with total disregard for himself, his teammates, and his opponents. Everybody gets hit. I am seriously waiting for him to go helmet to helmet on a mascot. I don't even mind that much that he blew the coverage on the 80 yard TD. As time goes by hopefully we are smart enough to pair him with a great cover safety that can protect him (Like Earl Thomas with Chancelor). Until then, I just like watching him create havoc.

[chuck]

We don't have anything resembling a passing game but as you note we surely can go vertical from time to time and it is great to see that we do that. Fitz has the arm to get the ball downfield and we have at least two receivers who I'm happy to see in one on one coverage with most any corner, certainly any corner in our division.

The bit about Swag going helmet to helmet with a mascot made me laugh.