Official Texans vs. Bengals Game Thread, 11/23/14

[chuck]

The Texans passed the ball 45 times for a total of I think it was 189 yards. That is damn near impossible to do.

I might give Mallett another start but unless he looks like Joe Montana I would definitely want to see Savage unless he's completely lost in practice.

[chuck]

Oh, and I like any kind of Arian Foster except the injured one. I don't care for that one at all.

[barrett]

The knock on Mallett before today was lack of accuracy. Obviously that is an accurate knock. I think there were a dozen plays where he just threw it as hard as he could at a general area of the field. The worst was the play they weren't sure whether he overthrew AJ by a lot or Demeris by a little. I'd definitely like to see him play with Arian before I move on to Savage. But either way, I love that we are 70 plays closer to knowing if we need to move on from Mallett. Knowing the answer to that question (and the same about Mallett) is the 2nd most important thing to me. The first is whether O'Brien can coach and I feel good about that.

[Keith]

Mallett's accuracy has been a known concern. Which is why the gameplan today boggled me. Lots of plays designed to the flats. Mallett is not a Captain Checkdown kind of guy, so why employ an offense like he is?

I understand that outside of Hopkins, this team lacks deep threats, but the team really should have taken more deep shots downfield in early down situations. Blue had nowhere to run this week.

Mallett had the bye week to prepare for the Browns, and he looked smart. This time he did not have that advantage, and it showed.

[Warren]

Mallett threw more in the bench area during the game than I've ever seen a QB do before -- not just coming out of halftime, but between several series. I thought it might've been a nervous thing, but he must have been trying to loosen up that pec muscle.

[Nconroe]

Late news saying Mallett played hurt with Pectoral muscle and may miss a few games. So, if Mallett rests, do we see Savage?

The game today was winnable, so that's too bad, or good, depending on perspective toward wins vs higher draft pick.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

Late news saying Mallett played hurt with Pectoral muscle and may miss a few games. So, if Mallett rests, do we see Savage?

That would be some kind of explanation for the difference between Malletts performance last week vs this week. Inconsistency is one thing, but night and day are much more than that. In the meantime, I say by all means take advantage of the opportunity to play Savage if Mallett is out for a couple weeks, how could the team stand to gain anything by going back to Fitz at this point in the season ?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by chuck

The Texans passed the ball 45 times for a total of I think it was 189 yards. That is damn near impossible to do.

I was wondering how Mallett could get out of today with that many passes and just one pick, but then I realized he was so erratic, so totally off mark that many of his passes were uncatchable for both his receivers and the Cinci defensive players covering the receivers. Big Ryan wasn't even in the right area code on quite a few of those passes. I can't recall seeing another regular season NFL game with a passer as wildly inaccurate as Mallett was today.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I was wondering how Mallett could get out of today with that many passes and just one pick, but then I realized he was so erratic, so totally off mark that many of his passes were uncatchable for both his receivers and the Cinci defensive players covering the receivers. Big Ryan wasn't even in the right area code on quite a few of those passes. I can't recall seeing another regular season NFL game with a passer as wildly inaccurate as Mallett was today.

So you want to hold off on that extension a little while longer?

My fear is that Mallett's talent is going to be in the middle of last week and this week, forcing a difficult decision. Smith isn't exactly known for making the right call....

[HPF Bob]

We finally got "Good Andy" this time but our defenders made it easy, especially in the first half, with very loose coverage. I really didn't see the quick decision and throw plays that worked so well last week. Their defenders got in the grill of our receivers (easy to do because none of them have separation speed - AJ used to but he hasn't had separation at all this year). So when the running game didn't work, defenders could shut down our passing game.

I'd also like to see a few more crossing patterns and rub patterns to get guys open. It seems we throw too much to the sidelines.

The Bagels are an inconsistent team. When they are clicking they are tough to beat. When they aren't, like two weeks ago in Cleveland, they are easy to beat. Unfortunately, we didn't create the opportunities to beat them. The offense gave us just six points.

But this team is clearly a work in progress. Can't expect miracles right away.

I am curious how often a visiting team gets major defensive penalty flags picked up twice in one game. You sure never see that in Foxboro or Pittsburgh.

[WMH]

@McClain_on_NFL: Mallett played with an injury to his right pectoral muscle, will undergo an MRI and could be lost for several weeks.

@McClain_on_NFL: Mallett suffered the pectoral injury at Cleveland. He was on injury report with a chest injury as probable and didn't miss a down.