Hurt so good
Oct 2, 2007 Andre Johnson, Batman, Jacoby Jones is slighty less unheralded, Jerome Mathis got hurt reading this, Ron Dayne likes pie, The Fred
Oh, speaking of Fred Bennett, there is some apparent good news on the injury front. Kubiak is optimistic that Jacoby Jones and Jerome Mathis (as well as Bennett) will be back at practice today. There is also hope that Ahman Green (aka The Only Running Back Worth A Damn On The Whole Damned Roster) will be back later in the week, which would be good news for everyone except Ron Dayne and Samkon Gado.
There is no real timetable for the return of Andre Johnson, however, which is less-than-good news. HoustonTexans.com has a video wherein AJ says that he has “been lifting on it” and that “the doctor…thinks that [Johnson's] PCL is completely healed.” Johnson also said that he would up the intensity of the rehab today or Wednesday, but stopped short of giving a timeframe or saying for sure whether he would be on the field against the Dolphins.
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October 2nd, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Can we just rip Petey’s PCL from his knee and give it to AJ? That would serve two purposes at once. (Hell, might as well rip out both of Petey’s ACLs too - future use.)
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October 2nd, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I speak Kubiak. Let me translate what was said about Fred:
http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=3713
(on if there will be a change in personnel at cornerback) “Well, we continue to evaluate what we’re doing. We definitely, we had a quarterback play really good against us and we made some mistakes back there and gave some free plays, free first downs, four of them I think to be exact, with some penalties. We’ve got a young player we think a lot of in (CB) Fred (Bennett), but Fred has, in all honesty, in the last few weeks, hasn’t been healthy with his hamstring and hasn’t been working. He did get back to work some Thursday, very good on Friday last week. Fred’s got to learn to practice like a pro and prepare like a pro and he’s on his way to doing that, but if we can get him healthy, we’d definitely like to get him some playing time. Where that’s at, whether it’s nickel, how we do that, we’ll see. But it’s a matter of him stepping to the plate and showing he’s ready to play, also.”
Kubiak Translated: Anyone who gets a hamstring injury isn’t practicing and preparing like a pro. Suck it up and we’ll see if you can play.
This is typically what Kubiak says when someone has a hamstring problem. Unfortunately, from a scientific perspective there is no good advice on how to prevent or fix hamstring problems. Tons of studies on this, but no answers. Usually rest is the best approach, but that is a luxury that teams do not have with hamstrings.
Of course, Kubiak won’t say such a thing because he wants his players to rub some dirt on it and think that if they do everything right, nothing bad will happen to their hamstrings.
I’ve only had a messed up hamstring once, and ran on it anyways, and it’s like your brain says run and your leg says FU and it makes you slow as hell because hamstrings are handy things to have if you are running. Not the greatest thing for a cornerback to have.
The biggest risk factors for hamstring injuries are being fast and having previous hamstring injuries. I am not fast at all and fortunately, I’ve only had that one hamstring problem, though I will admit that once in a while I can feel that it is tighter than the other one.
Sorry about the hamstring digression but I figured it was better than mentioning Petey’s name. Oops, I blighted your blog again.
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October 2nd, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Damn you!
Seeing that full quote from Kubiak makes more sense. Of course, I still think I detect an undercurrent of “look, we will give Bennett and/or Fletcher a chance to win this job if either of them shows the ability to do so,” which I suppose includes preparing and practicing like a pro.
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October 2nd, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I think you have a lot of see what you want to see as it relates to that person who I should not discuss.
I think we are still in not many options land.
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October 2nd, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Not true. What I WANT to see is high-quality CB2 play. I have yet to see that in any way, shape, or form.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I want a quality #2 CB.
When I was 7 I wanted a pony.
I didn’t get that either.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 3:48 pm
But imagine if you HAD gotten a pony, only it was the lamest, ugliest, least-desirable pony in the universe. Wouldn’t it be better off shooting it and hoping for another pony than hanging on to your worthless one?
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October 3rd, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Today’s press conference says that the bad pony is starting on Sunday. In fact, Kubiak gave him a vote of confidence.
The good news is that the same press conference has Fred Bennett saying he is 100% healthy.
(Ahman a game time decision but better than last week, and Jacoby game time decision but not looking so good. And Mathis not doing much but limping. And reporters not asking the right questions about injuries.)
Aged Dolphin quarterback with not much arm = new completion record at Reliant Stadium, beating Mark Brunell’s from last season?
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October 4th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Don’t think so Steph. The team takes their frustrations out on the Dolphins. The Schaub throws for 300+ 2TD’s and we spank the Fins at home.Ahman Green plays the game of his life in honor of his Step Dad who just passed. Final score prediction Texas 36 Miami 17
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October 4th, 2007 at 9:59 am
tyler-
I dearly hope you are right. I’m not sure that Ahman Green plays this week. Or if he will be healthy Ahman instead of the hobbled Ahman we saw against the Colts.
And Ron Dayne means that the defenses can key on him in the backfield cuz it ain’t like he is turning the corner or going out to catch passes.
Atlanta’s run defense prior to this game IIRC was 25th in the league, and Dayne/Cook got 68 yards against them.
And everytime it was 3 and 1 or 2, you cried like a baby didn’t you, because you knew what was going to happen. It’s okay to admit that.
And Zach Thomas is supposed to come back this week, so that will help Miami’s run defense some.
Miami’s offense is more balanced than the injured Texans and is rated higher overall. If their defense plays even halfway okay, this will be an ugly close game. The Texans special teams has bailed them out this year, but they are going on their second game in a row with no Jones/Mathis to give them sick field position/TDs.
Check out Trent Green’s road/home QB rating this season.
You see, I’m an expert on when really bad teams can beat a *better* team because I spent the last 5 years watching blind squirrels find nuts every once in a while.
Please I hope I am wrong. The Texans need to survive these upcoming games.