I want to believe. That looked like a veteran team full of discipline and poise. If guys like Newton and Brooks Reed can contribute like that, watch out. Ultimately our ceiling is pretty low without a good QB, but if our defense plays like that and forces turnovers, who knows. This division is far from settled.
Pretty interesting that the entire OL outside of Newton received negative grades. I really want Sua-Filo to get some PT. The OLine needs to do a better job if we want to establish a solid run game. Cushing, Powe, Jamison...those guys got negative scores and it showed in our run defense. We were going against a relatively weak offensive line, so that's a little worrisome to me. Definitely have a lot to improve upon, but we also had a lot of positives, so itll be interesting to see these numbers moving forward.
Thanks for posting.. regarding the scores... doesnt do much for me, but I like the comments you included after them.
An explanation of the grading in case you're interested. https://www.profootballfocus.com/about/grading/ EDIT: Im an idiot, just noticed OP had the link in the initial post.
Great thread.. love the advanced stats If Watt continues this, he might pass Olajuwon for greatest Houston athlete. Brian is mentioned in the 2nd to last sentence.
I am surprised at the o-line scores. They did well in pass protection all game, but the run blocking was poor. I don't know if that deserves negative scores, but I've been reading PFF for a while now and they are pretty fair/tough so I"ll give them the benefit of the doubt (I was at the game so I didn't have the benefit of seeing it on TV--and I didn't DVR it).
Was really surprised to see Brook Reeds' score. He seemed so disruptive and in the QB's face all day. I don't remember noticing Mercilus at all during the game but he had one of the better defensive grades outside of Watt.
I'm not sure why that's so hard for people to believe. I know it was 20 years ago since the peak of Hakeem's popularity here, but Watt is so damn beloved by so many people here and I don't recall this level of love for Dream. From a sports-specific point of view, it's silly to compare them of course. But considering the popularity of the NFL among the general population and the way Watt has carried himself (hard-worker, his support of the Berry kids, etc.), I think he's already more popular among all than Hakeem was.
That's the thing. We all loved Hakeem because he was so damned good and he brought the city it's first (and only major) championships...but I don't remember a great deal of what Olajuwon did off the field that people took notice of. Watt has only just begun, so the on the field/court comparisons certainly aren't appropriate yet, but I think I agree with you that Watt is already more beloved from your regular, average-Joe than Olajuwon was during his heyday. It also helps that Watt is an absolute heart-throb and women of all ages and back grounds want to his his babies, meaning he gets notice and love even from people/demographics that don't really care about football much.
This may be a blasphemous story to tell here. When I was 9 I was in awe as I finally got to meet one of my heros-- The Dream in person. It was before a game. I was to nervous to go ask for an autograph until I saw two kids around my age walk up to him.. I thought 'Im going in' until He shoved the two boys away, one fell down- the other turned and had a look on his face like his heart just broke- he teared up as he ran to find his parents I assume. I'll still always love Hakeem and praise his game and contribution to the Rockets, I sometimes tell myself he did it because he was in focus mode before a game.. but even then there is no excuse for shoving a little kid to the ground. That is also one expierence, I have read other people who had a great first impression from the guy Saying that- Watt is on another level in that regard. My friend who is a special ed teacher told me JJ just came to their school (Katy High School) to visit the handicap kids- COMPLETELY out of the blue- no forward notice- he just popped in that is badass on all kinds of levels
The Football Outsiders stars for Week 1 are: WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh (24 HOURS ONLY): Second among all wide receivers with 57 receiving DYAR (5-of-6, 116 yards, TD) RB Knowshon Moreno, Miami: 48 rushing DYAR (134 yards, TD, and seven broken tackles) RG J.R. Sweezy, Seattle: Seahawks averaged 6.5 yards per carry on runs between the middle and the right tackle. CB Jason Verrett, San Diego: We haven't done the charting stats on him yet either, but he was phenomenal and a big reason why John Brown had only two catches for 29 yards and Larry Fitzgerald had only one for 22. SS D.J. Swearinger, Houston: Led NFL with five Defeats in Week 1. Sack, FF, and tackled DeSean Jackson for no gain twice. They also have Texans rated 25th after week one, but they said that 90% of that comes from preseason projections also. In terms of actual DVOA, Texans are ranked 17th. Source: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2014/week-1-dvoa-ratings
Agreed with your off-field comparison.. Watt by a mile. Do you really believe the bolded, though? I love me some Olajuwon and he did some awesome things never done before... 200/200, MVP/DPOY/FMVP same season, all-time blocks, etc, but even those have an asterisk considering most those stats didn't always exist. Or at least didn't exist when certain players (Wilt, Russell, Kareem) may've outdone him raw numbers-wise. Watt's PDs alone is unprecedented (I call him OlajuWatt). He fills a stat sheet like Dream and considering his production coming from an interior lineman it's even more awesome. The year he won DPOY was statistically the greatest defensive year ever, then he turns around and out produces the following year. So it's arguable Watt has the 2 greatest defensive seasons ever and he's only ben in the league 3 years. JJ has a chance win 4+ DPOYs (not sure what the record is), have 8+ 1st Team All Pro's, and become the 3rd defensive player to win MVP. His winning MVP would be more impressive than Paige and Taylor due to the QB era. It's really just a matter of longevity to be up there with Dream, because his skill-set and dominance are already Olajuwon-esk.
guys this thread may gets sticky'ed, i hope it does, please don't derail with olajuwon vs watt thread. i mean give all of us a break here. this thread is great, let's not ruin it.
Love the stats, maybe just show them for all the starter,s with your comments highlighting the standouts. Good stuff!
