DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Texans v.2.0… not exactly bug free

Aug 11, 2007 Athletes who don't stab people, Chad Stanley, Chocodiles, DeMeco Ryans, Jacoby Jones is unheralded, Jason Babin, Jon Abbate, Matt Turk rules, Posts that list too many players, Preseason 2007, The Fred

Ugh. That sucked.

I know, I know… it’s only the preseason and it’s only one game. And I know there were plenty of bright spots. For instance:

• Jacoby Jones. Wow. WOW. As a return man and as a WR, Jacoby lived up to the hype. If not for Ricky Manning’s penalty-inducing contact, JJ would have had a sweet TD to cap off his great night. If he isn’t our WR2 on opening day 2008, something will have gone very wrong.
• DeMeco Ryans. He was only in for limited action, but Ryans had his nose in the middle of everything. I saw NOTHING that would suggest a decline this year or any kind of sophomore slump. This guy is for real.
• Sage Rosenfels. Sure, he’s the backup, but he moved the ball well and spread it around. As a security blanket goes, we could do a lot worse. His line–16/26, 138 yds, TD–was all you could have asked.
• Jerome Mathis. He’s back. At least, it looks like it. He flashed that serious straight-line speed that made him a Pro Bowler not too long ago.
• Jason Babin. I would have bet you $50 that he wouldn’t be on this list. I would have lost. Babin flashed great chasing speed coming from the backside and an ability to shed blocks and make the play from the frontside. He played like (gulp) a first-round draft pick.
• Jon Abbate. They didn’t mention on the radio, so I have no idea if people held up five fingers at the start of the 4th quarter. What they did mention was that Jon was blocking extremely well and he even caught a pass. Man, I hope this guy makes the team.
• Zac Diles. I really expect this guy to make an impact on special teams this year. Nice intensity, nice motor. He also played well as a true LB near the end of the game.
• Matt Turk. One booming punt (58 on the fly) and one nice pin-point punt in the fourth (downed at the 11).
• ND Kalu. If Weaver isn’t ready to go in week 1, I am suddenly feeling a lot better about the prospect of Kalu filling in for him. Maybe work Babin into the strongside rotation, too. I’m breathing a little easier.
• Kick returners. Mathis, Bethel Johnson, and Andre Davis all looked good running back KOs. That said, if Mathis is indeed healthy, there is hardly a need to keep one of those other two, let alone both.

Still, in the end, we walked away with a big fat L. Which is what happens when you crap the bed. In the middle of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, we had such craptacular performances as:

• Jordan Black. He played positively awful, which would explain why the Chiefs fans called him “Turnstile.” I know I said David Carr caused a lot of his own sacks, but putting Jordan Black at LT will make the beating Sandy took look like he was wearing a red jersey in practice.
• Sam Gado looked like he had tunnel vision and cement shoes. This is not really what I am hoping for from our RB3.
• Bradlee Van Pelt looked like a third string QB–for a Special Olympic team. 1/7, a fumble that led to a TD, and a strange fascination with throwing to Joel Dreessen, which worked exactly zero times.
• Jamar Fletcher played passably decent as a nickel but got beat in standard coverage and Fred Bennett got completely lit up on the drive that ended with Ayanbadejo’s TD.
• Chad effin’ Stanley managed a whopping 35 yards on his vital 4th quarter punt, because he likes to make me throw things around the den. He also lucked out with a great roll on his first punt, making it look better in the box score than it actually was. Surely to god, this type of performance will get him his release sooner rather than later. I hate him.
• Earl Cochran had the bonehead running into the kicker penalty that kept Chicago alive with two minutes left, leading to their game winning FG. Nice one.
• Ron Dayne. I’m not sure how our short-yardage back can run three straight times for more or less zero gain. That was ugly. You know… Ron… you are a big (fat) dude. Maybe you could, like, lower your shoulders and actually deliver a hit. Just a thought.

This is not setting well. With 10 minutes to go, I was almost positive we had the game won. With 5 minutes to go, I was still optimistic. It all seems… um… familiar. And I don’t like that feeling.

OK. Breathe. I’m keeping myself positive. This was a fluke. It was all the fault of Van Pelt (or Stanley). The Colts have lost 10 of their last 11 preseason games. Etc.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have nine beers to drink in rapid succession. NFL Football is back, baby.

UPDATE: I should mention that these notes were the product of the radio broadcast, NFL Gamecenter, and the live blog at BRB. Which is to say they are subject to revision once I watch the recorded replay tomorrow morning. Also, I still hate Chad Stanley.