As a casual fan, from last night's game: I like: -the running game. It stuttered at times but for the most part Johnson& Hyde Law Firm showed a lot of speed on the outside. -that Watson to Hopkins connection. -O-Line play was better than last year I don't like -O-Line play was better but man....I guess this was what pundits meant when they said the Texans went from a historically bad O-Line to a mediocre O-Line after getting Tunsil. 6 sacks was too many. -the secondary. We knew that this would be a problem and they went up against Brees/Payton but still....this cost us the game pretty much. -special teams. is this the return of atrocious STs from the early 00s? It wasn't a bad game...just a disappointing one that we couldn't get stops when NO was driving.
They surprised me. They played a much better game than I expected, and for that reason the arrow is up. Having said that, too many of the same mistakes happening again and again for me to get too optimistic. They just continue making the same boneheaded mistakes. I think O’Brien did some really good things, and I’m impressed with how the new guys played for the most part. They should only get better. I’m also bitterly disappointed by some of the coaching at the same time. The first half time out fiasco, the end of game defensive coaching nightmare, etc. Still, they should have won that game and I don’t think many people expected that, so credit where credit is due.
I say up on offense and down on defense. Watson and crew AND our running game give me hope. Add in Coutee and some tight ends actually getting involved and we will be an offensive dream. That, if our improved, but mediocre offensive line doesn't get Watson banged up beyond repair. Our defense is worse simply because we lost Clowney. That being said, I saw some nice plays against a tough offensive team. I expect them to get better with more game time and rust shaken off. Special teams has never been our strength either, so same old thing there. It seems like forever since we have had a great punt return player. As for our secondary and coaching, well sadly, I feel far less hope that they will get any better with time. I still vote up. Go Texans!
This. I'm kind of torn. I was encouraged by the offense being more aggressive than I expected. I thought we played very well on the road against a team that probably should have gone to the Superbowl last year. But then I remind myself that there are no such things as moral victories in the NFL. It would be nice to win 1 or 2 of these exciting games against really good opponents that we always seem to lose in the last seconds.
As much as the positive people say "It's just one game! We'll be good!" I tend to agree but it is also...just one game. It's also possible that the Texans played up to their opponent. The secondary worries me, as usual, this regime has continued to have trash secondaries and in 2019-20 in the NFL that's a big issue. I don't see how it could get better, especially since we are playing Colvin. I really hope the Texans are planning on spending that cap space this offseason on an elite CB and they let a pretty good DB go leave in Matheiu. The offense looks good, but it did at the start of the season last year, until Fuller gets hurt. My fear is that Fuller will get hurt again which will allow teams to blanket Hopkins and then slog down the offense once again. Jacksonville is a good test at home next week. Should be an easy win, needs to be an easy win since we have a tough schedule so we need every game we can get. I mean after that we play the Chargers and Panthers, so people saying its cool that we lost this game and still a whole season left...yeah, this one hurts. Should be going into those two games 2-0.
Overall the arrow is up. Deshaun is unquestionably a franchise QB, has the it factor, and can carry this team. It still baffles me that people had Baker flippin Mayfield ranked higher than him. Nuk on his best day is the best WR on the planet. Fuller and Stills complement Nuk very well. The running game was the biggest surprise for me, Hyde and Duke looked tailor made for this offense. The oline play needs to improve, but they played like they’ve been together for 5 days. The protection of Deshaun needs to improve. Tunsil had his moments of dominance but also had some very costly mistakes. Sentrel Henderson needs to be fired. I do anticipate improvement and I’m ready to see Tytus implemented. Defense tho, and it’s not fully the players. The coaching on the defensive side was incredibly suspect. It seemed out DBs were always in the wrong spot for a play. The pass rush just wasn’t there. The caveat to this is that the saints were a blown call and a few bounces from making the super bowl last year. They have a very solid team so it’s no shame in losing a tough close game to a good team away at one of the toughest venues to be away at. Next week will be telling. Also another caveat, if Deshaun goes down this team has no chance for anything at all
I think the closeness last night was more about the Saints than the Texans. Bree’s and Co were not good in the first half. Texans did good against the run but weren’t exactly pressuring him. Meanwhile on their long drives the Saints had multiple penalties to keep drives alive. The last touchdown was great but again that’s a fluke and gift as much as anything. Even the extra point required a Saints penalty. BUT... the Saints are really good. I like the talent a lot. Not the coaching.
Offense is up and the defense is basically the same as last year even without Clowney. Inconsistent pass rush, bad corners and it seems like they can never get that stop on 3rd and longs. It always seems like they get scared or nervous when trying to close out a win and let the opposition back in it or take the win away from them. I know Brees is great and he is not always going to be stopped but I really don't like them conceding good chunks of yardage just so they can stop the really long one.
Neither. This game was like a carbon copy of games we had last year and two years ago. Some little things have changed here and there but overall still the same mediocre Texans.
Come out and beat the **** out of Jacksonville and a very beatable Chargers team in the next 2 weeks. If that happens, I'll say we're trending up, and this loss was just a blip on the radar. There were a lot of positives (mostly offensively) that can be taken away from last night. But the negatives (defense and sacks) are glaring.
My god, his chin hole is like some sort of vortex to another dimension. Totally disturbing. No wonder his players play hard for him. They want to stay on the field and away from his chin anus.
O'brien is the definition of a HARD worker, but not a guy who manages all the important little details. A decent coach who does not have what it takes to be great. Coach Urban from college is available. DD
