Texans fan here
Starting off, I would first like to say I've always had alot of respect for your franchise and am glad to see y'all are beginning to turn things around again. I began paying closer attention to your team once you acquired Jamaal Charles, a hometown guy who i've followed since his high school days at Memorial High School when he would run for 300+ yards on my alma mater.
However, outside of what he is doing and for the most part what the offense is starting to accomplish, i know next to nothing about your defense and your coaching philosophies outside of catching a slight peak of the end of your matchup with Indy over the weekend(wished you would've pulled it out). What should the Texans expect to see defensively when you head down to Reliant this Sunday? Will your offense continue with the traditional running style you have been succeeding with or take your chances with Cassell and attack one of the most abysmal pass defenses in league history?
In all honesty, i'd love to say what you should expect out of the Texans, but even i really do not know. It all begins with deciding which team that we are going to field, the dominant offensive juggernaut, or the charmin ultra soft offense we have fielded against the Giants and the Cowboys. After leading the league in passing last year, Schaub has began this year being completely erratic with the football, making bad reads, holding on for too long, and often being timid and lacking confidence in the pocket. Andre Johnson still is not back at full strength, but even not at full strength he will still be the main guy you have to gameplan for due to his big play ability. Arian Foster carried the team on his back up to this past Sunday, in which the Giants dominated our offensive line and took away all of our cutback lanes which our zone blocking scheme relies on, therefore shutting him down.
Defensively, we are fielding the worst pass defense in the league and if it continues at the rate that it is, will go down as the worst in the history of the NFL by over 40 yards per game. We are starting a rookie CB who has been nothing short of burnt toast, and a 2nd year guy who shows flashes of good things, but is also very inconsistent. You all know Bernard Pollard, who i'm glad you cut, because he has been nothing but a playmaker and a big hitter for us since he got here, but his passing coverage isn't exactly brilliant, and can be vulnerable due to poor CB play. Our FS position hasn't been figured out yet, as we have been bouncing back and forth between an over the hill guy in Eugene Wilson with stone hands, and a playmaker who is playing his first full season and still has alot to learn in Troy Nolan.
Our LBs are the best part of our defense, in which we have two pro bowlers anchoring a couple of the spots in Demeco Ryans and Brian Cushing. Cushing in his first game back last week was the only real bright spot of our ugly loss, and was still making plenty of plays. The middle of our field is solidified and the only real strength of this defense. As far as our d-line goes, if you double up on Mario Williams, you stop any pass rush we may have. We also have Antonio Smith who can also make a sack here and there when he wants to try, but our inconsistent pass rush does not really help out a young and struggling secondary. Our run defense is pretty stout for the most part, but that is also added to the fact that no team to this point in the season has found a point in running the ball when our secondary is that bad.
As far as my predictions for the game goes, i fully expect Matt Cassel to look like a Hall of Famer against our secondary, and i'm hoping that we can contain Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones at all costs. Our team will be forced to play well as i really don't think we'll put up 3 horrendous home performances in a row, but with this team you just never know. The blatant homer in me will pick the final score as
Chiefs-17
Texans-20
Let's hope for an injury free, hard fought game, and good luck the rest of the season as you take on a couple more of our division foes in Tennessee and Jacksonville!
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Originally Posted by stricken721
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