Review of our embarrising performance

[barrett]

I think that outside of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson the Texans played what would have likely been a road win over an undefeated football team. Who would have guessed that through two games the biggest culprit would have been the passing game.

On another note, how many times in an NFL game do we have to see the announcers say "That play should clearly be overturned" only to watch the refs say call stands. The NFL replay system is worthless.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by barrett

The NFL replay system is worthless.

Its there and in place, but the HC still must take advantage of it. I dunno, why didn't Kubiak throw the red-flag on that play where the Titan
receiver clearly went out of bounds ? All he had to do was observe the way in which QB Collings and his teammates dashed up to the los to get the clock
rolling again.

[Roy P]

There were some positives from this game. For instance, Steve Slaton did not get hurt and showed that he could be a RB in the Brian Westbrook mold. Duane Brown didn't make me believe that he was Orlando Pace, but he wasn't totally abused by KVDB in only his second game. Frank Okam actually played in the 2nd half and the Titans running game was not as effective.

I'm not saying that Matt Schaub was Peyton Manning, but there were some things out there that should be clarified. Andre Johnson dropped a TD pass in the EndZone that hit his hands. Two of Schaub's interceptions came on 4th down when he was trying to make a play instead of turning the ball over on downs. Granted one was returned the length of the football field for a TD, but the game was in desperation mode at that point. The other INT was essentially a passing Punt, the Titan DB would have been better off dropping the pass.

It's my opinion that Kubiak was not confident in this team winning unless everything went right. Perhaps he was looking to create some momentum and get the team out of a funk after the hurricane. They looked rusty as hell at the beginning of the game. I'm not convinced that Schaub isn't having some concussion issues, because his 1st INT was just unforgivable. Anyway, Kubes would have looked like a Mad Genius if the Texans had been able to convert some of those 4th downs. We often hear laments of how predictable and stupid it is to run into the teeth of the defense on 4th down when the defense expects a running play. Kubiak was definitely not following "the book" in this game. Maybe he'll learn from this and realize that running the ball on 4 straight plays isn't a bad idea when you have only 5 inches to go. Of course the other side of the story is, if you can't gain a yard on the 1st 3 running plays, why try it again?

Anyway, the bottom line is that we were outplayed and outcoached. We may not make 8-8 this season. I've projected 6 - 10 based upon the schedule, but 5 - 11 isn't out of the question based upon what I've seen so far.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Roy P

We may not make 8-8 this season. I've projected 6 - 10 based upon the schedule, but 5 - 11 isn't out of the question based upon what I've seen so far.

Didn't want to quote the whole thing, but this was an excellent post imo.

I'm interested in the record projections though. Forgetting briefly how poorly the team has looked in their first two games, for those of you predicting wins this season, did you expect the team to win in either Pittsburgh or Nashville this season?

Beating the Jags in J-ville seems an insurmountable task given the Texans' 0-2 start, but lesser Texans teams have done it before. And then the Colts at home the following week - the home opener - might be a winnable game too.

Then the schedule for the next couple weeks, most of which is at home, really looks a bit easier to stomach - home against the Dolphins, Lions, Bengals and Ravens with a road trip to Minnesota in early November - if Kubiak is going to turn this season around, he'll have his chance if he can find a win in the next two games.

[HPF Bob]

The Texans-Lions game may be a prelim for the 2009 #1 draft choice although the Lambs and the Chefs may give us a run for our money.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Roy P

There were some positives from this game. For instance, Steve Slaton did not get hurt and showed that he could be a RB in the Brian Westbrook mold. Duane Brown didn't make me believe that he was Orlando Pace, but he wasn't totally abused by KVDB in only his second game. Frank Okam actually played in the 2nd half and the Titans running game was not as effective.

I'm not saying that Matt Schaub was Peyton Manning, but there were some things out there that should be clarified. Andre Johnson dropped a TD pass in the EndZone that hit his hands. Two of Schaub's interceptions came on 4th down when he was trying to make a play instead of turning the ball over on downs. Granted one was returned the length of the football field for a TD, but the game was in desperation mode at that point. The other INT was essentially a passing Punt, the Titan DB would have been better off dropping the pass.

It's my opinion that Kubiak was not confident in this team winning unless everything went right. Perhaps he was looking to create some momentum and get the team out of a funk after the hurricane. They looked rusty as hell at the beginning of the game. I'm not convinced that Schaub isn't having some concussion issues, because his 1st INT was just unforgivable. Anyway, Kubes would have looked like a Mad Genius if the Texans had been able to convert some of those 4th downs. We often hear laments of how predictable and stupid it is to run into the teeth of the defense on 4th down when the defense expects a running play. Kubiak was definitely not following "the book" in this game. Maybe he'll learn from this and realize that running the ball on 4 straight plays isn't a bad idea when you have only 5 inches to go. Of course the other side of the story is, if you can't gain a yard on the 1st 3 running plays, why try it again?

Anyway, the bottom line is that we were outplayed and outcoached. We may not make 8-8 this season. I've projected 6 - 10 based upon the schedule, but 5 - 11 isn't out of the question based upon what I've seen so far.

I can agree about the INTs, but... what about the rest of the game? The turnovers glare, but more concerning is the inability to throw the ball all game long. One drop by Andre Johnson does not explain an entire game of poor play (the other two to Johnson were clearly overthrown and he had no chance of getting two feet down on either). Schaub looked outright bad for the 2nd week in a row. I was a big fan of his last year, but he has looked awful so far. And this week he looked awful even with good field position and a running game.

You can do everything else right in the NFL, but if you get your QB wrong you are still no good. I won't say Schaub is not the guy, but is anyone confident at this point that he IS the guy to lead this team to great things. If he's not we are just spinning our wheels.

[nunusguy]

We weren't even in the same solar-system with the Steelers a couple weeks ago and had no chance of winning.
That's what makes yesterdays game far more frustrating - the Titans weren't
totally dominant like the Steelers and even offered us gifts on more than one occasion. And if only the guy ususally considered our single best player
catchs a pass ( or maybe 2), that he didn't we not only have a shot, but we have a lead in the game.

[papabear]

I'm sure the great deabte on Schaub will get beat to death, so I'm only going to say this. He sucked. He didn't get much help, but he sucked. He looks nothing like the QB he was last year.

Andre Johnson should have caught both of those balls. Sure, they were tough plays, but not impossible...and definitely plays a WR is supposed to make. Not to mention one that is supposed to be an "elite" WR. I'm not putting the blame on AJ, but if he catches that first pass it could have had a very positive/calming effect on Schaub and the teams confidence.

Slaton was a bright spot, but I'm not ready to say we have solved our problems in the running game. There were still too many runs that got stuffed. I wonder how much of that was Slaton and how much was the line....It looked like the line but without the game film and the knowledge of the play call it's hard to say for sure. It was still nice to see.

I thought the defense looked better today. still plenty of sloppy tackling though. We got some pressure at times, and it seemed like Smith was at least trying to be creative at times....Although the only good thing I can say about Mario being in coverage is that it's better than Weaver being in coverage. I understand that the Titans probably game planned Mario so he was probably hoping to catch the Titans line off gaurd when he didn't rush, but I really don't want to see this too much.

Kubiak seems to coach "tight". I like being agressive on fourth down, but it seems like Kubiak was more desperate than anything....well before it was time to be desperate. He also talks about how he wants to be a running team....and always abandons the run quickly when we fall behind. We had too many runs getting stuffed, but there was no reason to go away from the run as much we did in the second half....especially on the goalline.

I also want to know who is in the booth making decisions on challenges. After the first waste of a challenge I wonder if Kubiak was scared to trust them again....Kubiak has a history of challenging plays that have no chance of being overturned. They need to sort out the communication with the booth.

I think Kubiak is a good coach, but he it seems far too often he caoches in panic mode. Many times when there was no reason to panic yet.

[jppaul]

I forgot to add to the original post that McNair is to blame also, he needs to send the league scheduling office a fruit cake or something, maybe then we could get a schedule like the Pats.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by papabear

[Schaub] He sucked. He didn't get much help, but he sucked.

I'm not putting the blame on AJ, but if he catches that first pass it could have had a very positive/calming effect on Schaub and the teams confidence.

There were still too many runs that got stuffed. I wonder how much of that was Slaton and how much was the line....It looked like the line.

I thought the defense looked better today. still plenty of sloppy tackling though.

Kubiak seems to coach "tight". I like being agressive on fourth down, but it seems like Kubiak was more desperate than anything....well before it was time to be desperate.

I think Kubiak is a good coach, but he it seems far too often he caoches in panic mode. Many times when there was no reason to panic yet.

Many good points that I agree with here.

I think Slaton did well in spite of the O-Line, not because of it. He was making people miss or spinning out of tackles to break long runs. However, there were several times when he was stuffed behind the LOS. I'm not sure what Alex Gibbs is doing, but I hope the OL starts to figure it out soon.

The defense is respectable when we can stop the run on 1st down. Getting Frank Okam on the field made me happy. Them playing Zgonina as much as they did makes me scratch my head. I realize he's the GM's old roommate, but come on, does he have some pictures hidden somewhere? Amobi Okoye is still getting pushed around too much for my taste. I'm not going to call him a bust yet, but I'm not going to call him "Baby Sapp" either.

Kubiak went into this game trying to make something happen. If he were a player, I would say that he was "Pressing" instead of letting the game come to him. It is similar to when a QB starts "aiming" vice trusting that his pass will go to where it needs to go. After the first couple of failures, Kubiak started going into hyper-panic.

All this talk about benching Schaub in favor of Sage is somewhat knee-jerk. If I were Kubiak, I'd let sage play the next three games just to remind fans that Sage is not the starting QB for a reason. Unfortunately, I would hate to think what that would do to the psyche of the city. Right now, there's at least hope that we have the answer to our problems currently on the roster. We don't have Favre, Manning, Roethlisberger, McNabb, Romo, Brady, Brees, or any other Pro-Bowl QB in Matt or Sage. Then again, there are several other teams in that boat. I thought or hoped we might have a QB in the caliber of Kerry Collins, Brian Griese, or Chad Pennington (those teams won last week). While it would be nice to have THE guy, we previously didn't have A guy.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by barrett

I think that outside of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson the Texans played what would have likely been a road win over an undefeated football team. Who would have guessed that through two games the biggest culprit would have been the passing game.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think people are still suffering from the Pittsburgh hangover. This game was a different story. People are acting like we got ran off the field but we were still in the game in the fourth quarter despite mistakes from our head coach and our best player. Our defense showed marked improvement - albeit against a terrible offense - and we found our starting RB.

The game was a lot closer than the score says and people are acting like it was over in the second quarter.

[Ol'Dad]

I am finding the whole discussion to be true. The missed catches, missed tackles, missed blocks were all the players' fault. The coaching decisions were the coach's fault.

But the one thing that continues to piss me off is the way the team reacts to a challenge. They seem way too nice and accepting of the sh*t the other teams are dishing out. After Haynesworth got the personal foul on a late hit to Schaub I would have made it a priority to clean Kerry Collins' clock the next time he stepped on the field. We weren't gonna win the game and a 15 yard penalty wasn't gonna do anything except give the Titans another first down.

If a pitcher in baseball doesn't protect his team's batters he doesn't get the respect of his teammates. If another team is gonna cheapshot your QB you gotta retaliate. It may not make any difference in the game you are playing but it sends a message for the future.

Just my two cents.

[da Bull]

So after the game, why was Haynesworth not complaining about all the "illegal" cut blocks the Texans were laying on him? I thought the cut blocks were the great equalizer for a smaller, athletic line. Are we incapable of such blocking or are we just "too nice" to employ this technique? Maybe I just dreamt that cut blocking was an integral part of the ZBS.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by da Bull

So after the game, why was Haynesworth not complaining about all the "illegal" cut blocks the Texans were laying on him? I thought the cut blocks were the great equalizer for a smaller, athletic line. Are we incapable of such blocking or are we just "too nice" to employ this technique? Maybe I just dreamt that cut blocking was an integral part of the ZBS.

I'd venture a guess that the system is still fresh and our line is still learning it. Just because Bob McNair doesn't allow the team to draft and sign people with questionable character doesn't mean our line is incapable of cut blocks.

It's a tough system that takes time to learn. Remember, this was only our second game.

[da Bull]

I understand that the system (ZBS) is new to some degree (Gibbs), but our line has at least partly been using it the past three years. Also, Meyers should be totally familiar with the system having been in Denver the last couple of years.

I was being somewhat sarcastic, but if there was one defensive lineman out there that we needed to practice cut blocking it was Haynesworth. Even a poor cut block causes him to holdup for a moment and go around or over the top. We didn't slow him down all day....only his physical conditioning did.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by da Bull

So after the game, why was Haynesworth not complaining about all the "illegal" cut blocks the Texans were laying on him? I thought the cut blocks were the great equalizer for a smaller, athletic line. Are we incapable of such blocking or are we just "too nice" to employ this technique? Maybe I just dreamt that cut blocking was an integral part of the ZBS.

the cut block usually comes on the back side of the play. It's tough to get Haynesworth (or Casey Hampton, or John Henderson, etc) on a cut block when he's almost instantaneously pushing whoever is supposed to be blocking him 3yds behind the line.

I actually haven't noticed that much cut blocking at all though. Against Pitt I was having to force myself to watch, and against Tenn. I was forced to watch it at a bar since I don't have power. It was fun, but its a lot harder to actually pay attention to detail. Maybe I'm just missing it. Either way, it looks to me like if a teams DT's can get a push upfield it throws off the whole zone scheme. It keeps the lineman from getting to the second level and muddies up the runners decision for where the hole will be...if he even has time to look for a hole before he gets hit.

We have three new starters on the line, and even though one of them, Myers, is the most experienced with the new scheme we knew it would take some time for them to gel as a group. I think we will see continued improvement, but I hope Gibbs and Kubiak are flexible enough to make adjustments to the scheme to counter the adjustments the league has already made against it.

[Roy P]

I'm wondering if a Michael Oher and Duke Robinson draft might improve our OL. Maybe even a Phil Loadholt. Are these guys "athletic" enough to play in a Gibbs system? I bet they are physical enough to create a hole to run through.

[jppaul]

I like Oher, he's got some serious athleticism.