DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Rocky Marciano

Sep 30, 2008 2008 Draft, 2008 Training Camp, Albert Haynesworth can go to Hell, Curious Coaching, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Self-Referential Stuff

Building off my comments and Steph’s response to them regarding Joe Marciano in this post, here’s some follow-up info in the spirit of intellectual honesty.

First of all, it should be noted that, overall, Marciano’s squads stack up well according to Pro Football Prospects, as they ranked 3rd overall in 2005 and 2007.  In between, however, they ranked 23rd.  But here’s the rub—those overall rankings are skewed because Marciano’s groups do some things very well and some things average-to-not-well.  Using 2007 as an example, here’s what I mean:

DVOA Rank: 3
FG/XP Rank: 7
Net Punt Rk: 17
Punt Ret Rk: 16
Net Kick Rk: 1
Kick Ret Rk: 2
Hidden Rnk: 16

Now, I am actually shocked about the Net Kick rank from last year, because that sure doesn’t pass the eyeball test, but I will take their word for it.  Here’s my point, though—if your kickoff coverage is very good, how can your punt coverage be mediocre (since it will have many, if not all, of the same bodies on it)?  That sounds like a problem with punt coverage philosophy more than a “stuck with the guys he gets” situation.  Likewise, if your kick return is great but your punt return is bad, is that a problem with the returners (in which case, why doesn’t Marciano change PRs?) or a problem with how you teach punt return blocking?¹

Still, I will admit that, in at least some areas, Marciano’s guys do remarkably well.  I don’t particularly like his philosophy as it relates to special teams, and I put the fake punt fiasco squarely on Marciano for failing to drill emergency procedures into the guys, but I can understand why a person would defend him and want to keep him around.  Which segues us into Steph’s comment:

I must disagree with the analysis of Joe Marciano. First of all, he gets little control of who he gets to work with on special teams. Some of his favorite players over the years who were smart special teamers had to go for various reasons. So he has to deal with whatever young players the team is trying to develop, like many ST coaches do. Kubiak hates specialists, and Pittman better get his stuff together.

This is a fair point. It’s not like Marciano is getting much say in the players who are brought in. The counter-argument to that, however, is two-fold. First, the same could be said for most any ST coach, so I don’t know see that as an excuse so much as part of the job description and there are guys who seem to be better at playing the hands they are dealt. Second, Joe gets to assemble the ST squad from all but about 10 or so on the roster, so he has say in how those squads are assembled and having Petey in a position to affect the outcome of a single play should always, always, ALWAYS be a no-no.

Marciano’s special team units usually by far outperform the rest of the team. His players love playing for him and play hard for him. His worst ST year was Kubiak’s first year when Kubiak didn’t want designated return guys and they had an awful experiment trying to put different guys back there. His ST units have won far more games for the team than have cost the team in general.

As shown above, this is both correct and incorrect as a blanket statement. His kick return/kickoff crew last year was probably the best single unit on the team, but I would definitely argue that the passing game was better than the punt return/coverage unit.

Regarding whether the players like him and play hard, that is definitely true, though playing hard when you are assembled incorrectly as a unit and/or when you lack the talent to play well (see, e.g., Faggins, DeMarcus) only means so much. Still, point taken.

As for “his worst year,” the punt return game for the Texans in 2006 actually ranked 6th, but the rest of the ST play was bad.

I don’t think he has been blessed with good return men. I really think he develops him.

Have to disagree rather strongly here. He didn’t develop Jermaine Lewis, he was blessed with him. He may or may not have developed Jerome Mathis, but it should be somewhat telling that Mathis was best as a rookie (when he’d had the least experience with Joe) and got progressively worse. (Admittedly, injuries played a huge part in this, but I’m just pointing out that developing a guy into a Pro Bowl returner probably takes more than one training camp or else you’d do it all the time.) And Marciano fell backward in Andre Davis, giving him the gig when Joe’s guy Jacoby Jones lost the job. Davis was already a veteran and stepped into the return role quickly because he has world class speed and good hands.

IIRC, he has sent three rookies to the Pro Bowl as returners, including his previous teams.

I think you are right. I’ll grant you that his kick teams are good. Punt teams, still not good.

Last Sunday was an obvious goon, but as for the returns, JAX has a good return team. The Texans got the worst of that.

According to Football Prospectus, J’ville was around league average in both punt and kick returns last year. They might have improved slightly this year, but it’s not like Josh Cribbs and Devin Hester are taking turns back there.

In the end, like I said, I can at least understand the argument for keeping him and I’m not pissed that he’s still around.  I just don’t want people acting like it wouldn’t be possible to improve the special teams play or the special teams coach.

¹ Actually, with last year’s team, there’s a third possible explanation—Andre Davis made everyone on kick returns look better because he was ungodly. But Marciano didn’t develop him so much as fall luckily into him. But I digress.

Kickoff

Aug 18, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Fatty Starbucks, Hi Steve!, Kickoff, Preseason 2008

Come along and ride… Fantasy Football is here.  By my last count, the people on board were: Me, Lee, grungedave, socctty, DisplaceTexan, Dan B., DeMecoShall…, Jordan, and abumnamedPaul.  That’s 9.  Both bigwood25 and bfd have thrown their names in as “if you need me” players.  Max number of teams in this is 12 and the draft is tentatively set for this Saturday afternoon.  Send me an email and I’ll send you the appropriate info.  Feel free to bitch about the settings in the comments.

Gary Kubiak is making the NFL preseason his bitch. So says Keith Weiland.  I have no reason to disagree, either.  Very solid write-up. And “Kung Fu Panda” as a nickname for Duane Brown is gold.

Super Steve.  According to Kubes, “The Rookie We All Not-So-Secretly Hope Will Be Our Starter” is going to, well, be our starter this week. Or, more accurately, going to “get reps with the first group.”  Nice.  (this link and the one before it courtesy of Eric)

Finally. I hate Peter King.  You hate Peter King.  But this Peter King quote is too good to skip: “You can’t tell me the Titans are looking at Vince Young’s game against Oakland — he completed one of his last 10 throws — without getting a little nervous.”  Could it be?  Really?  The national media is starting to turn on Radio?!?

We get emails

Aug 15, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Alex Gibbs, Dancing With the 'Tards, I'm not even sure this one is funny, Self-Referential Stuff

From reader and occasional guest-poster, Will “The Thrill”:

Here’s a point that hasn’t been brought up anywhere yet, and I think it’s the biggest problem facing the Texans.

We have to avoid, at all costs, getting into the “funk” we got into many of the games last year.  Not playing physical.  Not hitting people in the jaw.  Jags play physical and so do the Titans.

I remember being so mad during the second Titans game I left the sports bar at the half and watched the rest of the game from the house.  It wasn’t necessarily talent, it was just playing on their heels.

It’s a mental aspect, an intangible.  Is it coaching, or is it scheme?  It’s contagious, whatever it is.  At times it looked like the team wanted to curl up in a fetal position and find a happy place rather than hit someone in the mouth.  We need more “mean streaks” like you see in O-Line scouting reports.  BTW, is that the same as saying a girl is “sweet,” meaning their technique isn’t the best, but they’re mean?  She’s kinda fat, but she’ll still fuck.  [Awesome. --Ed.]

The strange thing is someone finally steps up, and then it’s like the team gets a Popeye can of spinach, and then everyone’s back in the game.  My favorite Maddenism is so true, “90% of the game is half mental.”  I forget what the spark was to the Titans comeback, but a big part of it could support the next argument.

We came back on the Titans when they started playing back on their heels on defense.  I firmly believe non aggression on defense can lead to playing on your heels.  Whether or not this is THE issue, it’s a major issue, as we’ve cited numerous times last year.

Maybe it’s coaching, and guys like Alex Gibbs and Ray Rhoades will keep a fire lit under people’s ass.

Speaking of Rhoades, when will some of the local media quit copying each other’s stories and look at Rhoades some more?  The Alex Gibbs deal has been re-run to death.  Give us some damn ax-cess!

You know, I hadn’t even thought about it because the season ended on such a high note, but Will is exactly right–there were times last year when it looked like the Texans were scared.  The Chargers game comes to mind [Side note: Fuck you, Drayton Florence] as one where they never snapped out of the “funk.”

I have two theories as to why this is, at least on our defensive side of the ball.  First, Richard Smith is mildly retarded and has no idea how to play aggressive defense and get the most out of what he has.  Unfortunately, he is still here.  Fortunately, Ray Rhodes is lurking and might give him a pointer or ninety.

Second, the Texans are a young team.  I haven’t looked at the numbers to back this up, but it’s my guess that young teams are more prone to getting overwhelmed early in a game and then being on their heels the rest of the day.  Of course, it’s that same youth that comes out fearless when they get some early breaks.

What say the rest of ye?

DGDB&D Guest Post feat. Will “The Thrill”

Aug 12, 2008 2008 Season, 2008 Training Camp, Guest Posts

Back in this post, I mentioned that we are always willing and happy to run well-written posts from our readers.  This is one of those posts.  (Also, I expand that offer to include fans of other teams that would like to offer a well-reasoned reponse to things they’ve read here about their favorite teams.)

Without further Ado, I present the guest post:

Taking A Look At The First-String Offense
by Will “The Thrill”

Hey guys and gals, Matt and BFD opened the door, and I welcome the opportunity to be a part of the great site they have going here.  Sometimes I’m just too lazy and I email Matt my thoughts rather than comment.  Enough with the pleasantries; let’s talk some football.

First off, this was the first preseason game, so we can’t read too much into it.  Everybody on the field is rusty, so that works both ways.  So, if someone looks good, it may be because someone else was rusty, and vice versa.  This was our first time out there with the new zone blocking scheme and I really think that showed.  I only took the time to really evaluate the first couple of series, so here’s my first crack of acting like an “expert.”

Ahman Green - Wow, that sucked, and what horrible timing.  The ice just got a little thinner underneath him and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure.  We’re not going to know if he’s 100% until he’s back out on the field and actually gaining yardage.  They can toe the party line all they want and talk about how minor it is, but we heard every week last season he was ready to be back only to be let down.  History doesn’t allow a lot of room for optimism here, but I’m just hoping it is minor and we get some use out of him.  Going into the season, I think we’ll be OK as long as we have either Green or Chris Brown to go with one of the young guys.  I hope we don’t have to lean on Chris Taylor, Darius Walker and Steve Slaton as the starters too early in the year.  I wouldn’t rule out a return by Mike Bell either if one goes down.

Let me add to this thought.  Is anyone else sick and tired of every sports radio talk show host here in town beating this 31-year-old deal to death?  Talking about how this was one of the bad decisions by Rick Smith??  I haven’t heard one of them offer up what Rick should have done without arguments supported by hindsight.  What were Smith’s options last year?  They knew it was somewhat of a gamble going into it, but aside from a first round pick in the draft, which would be ANOTHER GAMBLE, it’s not like we had another course of action we bypassed.  I’m not at all pleased myself with the situation, but there are some other things we can evaluate on this team besides beating that horse to death.

O-Line - Well, it was the first time out with this zone scheme, and the first time they could really cut block.  Denver had 8 or more bodies in the box much of the time.  Let’s face it, it was a preseason game and they knew good and well we would be running a lot just to get reps.  Looking back at the film (or DVR in my case), we were just some missed blocks away from some good yardage gains with Taylor.  Seems like on several occasions, we had someone on the backside of the play miss a block.  Chester Pitts missed one early on, and so did Eric Winston.  Taylor made a bad read once where he cut it back.  Had he hit the original hole, there was one man to beat that was semi-occupied with a block.

It did seem like the guards stayed on their chip blocks a little long and didn’t get to the second level quick enough.

Pass protection was solid.  I think it’s necessary to point out that our passing game will open up the running game.  We also didn’t see a lot of blitzes out of the first team units.  Preseason is usually pretty vanilla.  We moved the ball right down the field on medium to short range passes and we didn’t have weapon No. 1, Andre Johnson.  Oh yeah, I was evaluating O-Line.  Whether it was rust or a new system, my take is this unit will start to gel and have a much easier time once defenses start respecting our passing game.

Maybe some of us fans can volunteer to be cut block dummies for O Line practice.  I’m down.  I’d love to throw on some pads again!  Maybe then I could scream at the linemen “God don’t like Ugly”…oh yeah, that’s been used..

RB- Taylor took most of the reps with first string after Green went down.  It seems like he’s hitting the hole a little late, and maybe that’s something Brown and/or Slaton could bring to the table.  Hitting the hole quicker when it’s there combined with the linemen getting to that second level quicker is what we really need.  This is going to call for a back to make quick decisions and not over-analyze.  I’d have to say I’d put more of the blame on the line for lack of performance.  However, the D wasn’t showing our passing game the proper respect, so that made things tougher for them.  Didn’t see any playaction out of Matt Schaub and Co. either.

QB - Looked very sharp except for that one throw.  He still doesn’t have a full season as a starter underneath his belt, so he’s going to make mistakes from time to time.  Looking back, I think our lack of running game last year will pay off in the long run because it made us learn how to pass.  Losing AJ made him scan the field a little more rather than leaning on No. 80.

WR- Hard to really evaluate them without a wide angle.  Looked like they did well blocking.  Didn’t see anything to comment as negative.

It’s hard to take a whole lot from week one other than “Thank God football is finally here.”  I remember talking to Matt quite a bit when he started this blog on the demand for football news during the offseason, and we definitely had more of it this offseason.  The media picked up on this demand and delivered.  Unfortunately, most of it was junk.  Most of it was of no real substance coming from people that are no more of an expert than myself.  This blog, BRB and others were about the only place to get some quality news and analysis.  Most of the mainstream stuff was rehashed and rehashed.  As far as predictions, how many people are informed about all 32 teams enough to really predict much besides the obvious front runners?  The NFL is filled with surprises every year, and I think the Texans will be one of them.  That said, I’m very happy to see us scheduled against a bunch of teams we’re “supposed” to lose to in the early part of the season.  This is a young team, and young teams are notorious for getting up for big games and sometimes falling prey to trap games.

Thanks for having me, and if Matt and BFD invite me back, I’ll throw in some D commentary.

Kickoff

Aug 12, 2008 2008 Season, 2008 Training Camp, Andre Johnson, Colvin, His name is Earl, Kickoff, Pancakes McTard, Tremendous Busts

Homerism.  Fun exchange over at Mile High Report.  Apparently, for those of us who didn’t get the memo, this is the year that Brandon Marshall establishes himself as the best WR in all of football.  This statement is, apparently, based on (a) Marshall lighting up our awful secondary (11 catches, no TD) and (b) something written at Sporting News.

Cliff Washburn was signed yesterday.  Who?  Exactly.  Here’s the details. (h/t Eric)

Paycheck. It’s no secret around here that Earl Cochran is one of “my guys,” in that I think he has some upside and I prefer him to Anthony Weaver.  Well, good news (even though it comes from Pancakes) is that Cochran is being given a real opportunity to take the starting gig away from Weaver.  Which brings up an interesting side question—if Weaver was already limited to two downs because Colvin is going to be the third-down guy more often than not, would Weaver losing his starting job altogether make him the worst free agent signing in Texans’ history?

UPDATE: Hugging Harold Reynolds has an AFC South postcard preview.  I winced, then I laughed at the other three.

Old Five And Dimers Like Me

Aug 11, 2008 2008 Season, 2008 Training Camp, Amobi Okoye is an adult, Big dudes doing the little things, Corky Johnson, Daddy's girl, Demarcus Faggins sucks, Duane Brown as Eliza Doolittle, Morlon Greenwood, Okam's Razor, Preseason 2008, President Lyndon Veins Johnson, Super Mario

…aaaaand, we’re back!

Back from where, you ask?  Well, for the first time since Sophia was born back in February, my wife and I were able to escape for a kidless vacation this past weekend.  And how better to spend a romantic weekend than in Houston, eating Mexican food, listening to live music, and watching your Houston JUGGERNAUT in action?

Speaking of live music, if you’ve never seen Billy Joe Shaver in concert, do yourself a favor and make that happen.  The man is a living legend (he wrote 90% of Waylon Jennings’ Honkytonk Heroes album as well as songs for the Allman Brothers, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Bobby Bare) and, even better, completely out of his mind.  He spent two songs explaining how to throw a punch, one song trying to kick a woman in the head, and at least two songs flapping his arms like he was going to fly.  But, regardless, the show was fantastic.  And I defy you to show me another 69-year-old performer who comes on at 11PM and plays until well after 1AM.

Other thoughts about the game and the weekend in general:

• First off, huge thanks to Tim and his better half for taking us to the game and just generally showing us a good time around Houston.  A+ effort as always.
• A separate thank you to Tim’s dad for giving us the tickets.
• He got close last year, but this is going to be the season that Mario Williams makes all the doubters feel silly.  You wouldn’t think he could look appreciably better than he did last year, but you would be wrong.  On one play, Mario shoved Ryan Clady (all 325 lbs of him) back about six feet and snared Selvin Young with one hand, bringing the RB down for a two-yard loss.  The funny thing was Clady was in proper to position to block Mario—he had his butt low and was squared up correctly—yet Mario just flung him out of the way as if he was nothing.
• DeMeco Ryans is very, very good.  This is not news.  What is news, however, is that he seems to have found another gear as well, as he was disrupting plays in the backfield with surprising regularity during the first two series.
• Ninfa’s is really, really good.  It’s so good, in fact, that every time I eat there, I refuse to eat Mexican food in Little Rock for months afterward.
• Is there some reason Jacques Reeves was giving a five- to seven-yard cushion to the slot WRs?  Because I can’t figure out what it would be.  I mean, his one asset is speed, right?  So shouldn’t he play a little closer, knowing that he can keep up stride-for-stride?  Someone needs to answer this.
• Will Demps looks very good in run support.  He is one of five Texans who can claim that praise following Sunday’s game.
• Petey Faggins made one tackle where, before I realized it was him, I said “wow…great hit!”  Then I felt dirty and started to question my own existence.  Thankfully, Faggins then completely lost outside contain on Anthony Aldridge’s run, turning a 4-yard loss into a 19-yard gain.  All was immediately right with the world.
• In other news, Petey tackles very well when he is hitting a stopped receiver from the side.
• Contrary to what some random ‘tards will tell you, there is no QB controversy, nor should there be one.  Matt Schaub looked fantastic on his first four throws and the timing route he fired to Andre Davis was a throw that (a) Zoolander never could have made and (b) our offense has rarely, if ever, featured before.  Schaub threw it to Davis’ back shoulder and the ball was halfway there before Davis ever made his turn.  It is obviously something they’ve been working on, though, as Andre knew without a doubt where the ball would be when he broke.  Impressive as hell.  That throw is also why I think Matt forced the fifth throw into coverage—he’s apparently been working with Davis on a lot of short routes and precision throws and he’s comfortable throwing to Andre regardless of the situation.  Was it a bad throw?  Of course.  It was into triple coverage and David Anderson was open to the left.  But it was an understandable early-season mistake.
• Speaking of QBs, Sage Rosenfels did look good, especially on the throw to Anderson.  But what apparently doesn’t come across on television (as I haven’t seen anyone talking about it) is that Sage has a serious case of happy feet back there.  Oh, sure, he’s nails and he will stay in and keep his eyes downfield, but his footwork is pretty bad.  He made that very nice throw to Jacoby Jones, but he was practically dancing in place before he launched it.  And I can’t recall him stepping up into the pocket much at all.
• Good news!  There was actually a pocket the QBs could have stepped into.  I am already prepared to admit that I was wrong on Duane Brown; that kid looked fantastic Saturday night.  His footwork was nearly flawless, his technique was solid, and he used his hands very well.  Ephraim Salaam just got Wally Pipped, I do believe.
• I am going to tell myself that the injury to Louis Green and the ensuing five-minute delay took the steam out of our drive and that is why they had to settle for a field goal.  I am telling myself this and you can’t convince me otherwise.
• Remember not that long ago when Chris pointed out that Ahman Green’s 2007 injury was hardly a fluke—it was a straight-on hit to the knee, which happens to all running backs multiple times per year?  Well, you know, AT LEAST IT WAS A HIT!!!!  Seriously, you are going to hurt yourself on the VERY FIRST PLAY OF THE YEAR without so much as the defense getting a hand on you?  Really?  Honestly?  I don’t think I am alone in saying that I am fine with the team taking the cap hit and giving Green his walking limping papers.
• Cadillac Bar’s brunch buffet is fan-friggin’-tastic.  It is doubly great when you have 5 or 6 mimosas.  What’s that, you say?  Mimosas are lame?  Good sir, the fact that I am allowed to drink alcohol with breakfast without drawing scorn from others is far from lame.  Plus, you know…vitamin C.  No scurvy for me!
• Was it just me, or did it seem like Morlon Greenwood was trying to make me look like a jerk?  I spend two friggin’ weeks defending the guy and arguing that he’s way better than we give him credit for being and…um…wow.  He was horrid Saturday night.  No one should get owned like that on a Jay Cutler run, yet Morlon did.  And he was abused in the short passing game as well.  NOT GOOD, MORLON.
• Thanks to Lee, stacy, and grungedave recommending breakfast spots.  We tried to go to The Breakfast Klub on Saturday, but the line was around the block.
• The more I think about it, the less problem I have with Jacoby’s second punt return.  Granted, he did everything wrong—he ran backward, he changed directions too many times, he waited too long to switch hands—but he also juked past at least five would-be tacklers and, at the moment he fumbled, was about six inches from beating the last guy and taking that punt to the house.  No, I don’t want to see him doing that again, but I love that he is still that confident in the return game.  That’s the swagger we saw last year until he was destroyed by Hunter Smith.  Just hold on to the ball, son!
• Steve Slaton has ridiculous speed, but could get knocked over by a stiff breeze.  There were three plays where if he had made a real move or ran with a little more power, he could have made something big happen.  On both of the runs, he got arm-tackled by the last possible defender and, on the pass play, he thought he could juke an NFL lineman with nothing more than a head bob.  This ain’t Rutgers, man.
• The interior line of the future, aka Amobi Okoye and Frank Okam, really impressed me.  Amobi blew up a running play early and seemed to be playing with a better motor than at this point last season.  Big Frank annihilated two blockers and blew up a running play of his own late in the game.  Frank is still raw, no doubt about that, but he did nothing to lower my expectations of him.
• Why is food so much cheaper in Houston than in Little Rock?  I don’t get it.
• Dear Travis Johnson, Please stop diving late into piles just to “prove” that you are playing with intensity.  It’s stupid and it is going to cost us yards at some point.  In fact, why don’t you do us all a favor and just leave?  Love, Matt.
• David Anderson: Helluva game from the worst dancer in the history of the world.  I agree with Tim’s assessment, however, that we might have the best receiving corps in the NFL top to bottom.  We definitely have one of the fastest.
• I have no opinion on Chris Taylor getting the bulk of the carries.  Whether it is to see just we he has to offer or simply to keep the other people healthy, I am fine with it.  I would like it, however, if he could actually get 4 or 5 yards/carry in these games.  Whatever.
• Zac Diles: A+.
• OH…I almost forgot to mention this, but Kevin Bentley looks…how can I say this…FAT.  Not at all what I expected from ol’ LVJ.  When he came out for special teams work, he was hopping up and down to loosen up, and you could see a gut jiggling.  NOT COOL, Kevin.  Do you want to lose the bet?  Is that it?!?!
• Did anyone see Antwaun Molden?  Because I didn’t notice him at all.  Also, could we verify that Tim Bulman and Rosie Colvin were actually at the game?
• And, finally, though I already mentioned it once, it bears repeating that Mario Williams is an absolute man.  Be afriad, AFC South.  Be very afraid.

Quick thoughts on the game

Aug 10, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Awesomeness, Awfulness

I have a full day with the fam, so this’ll be quick.

Now, understanding that it was the first pre-season game with a lot of new faces, all grades are about a “B” no matter where they stand.  I’m simply breaking down players and groups in two divisions and would love to hear people’s opinions on the game last night.  Also, please note that the camera angles and my distance from the TV kinda sucked, and I don’t feel like I got a good look at line play.

Impressive:

Frank Okam:Had a couple of plays where he got swallowed up, but he was pushing up the gut, occasionally taking out two blockers on the way.

Zac Diles:Ran with the first teamers and was all over the ball.

Petey Faggins: Yeah, I said it.

Jamar Fletcher: Gawd-awful pass interference, but he held his tackles and made a particularly nice pick on the hail mary.  Sure, it was just a hail mary, right?  Well, he broke on the ball and nobody else moved.

Mario and DeMeco: No comment necessary.

Duane Brown and Chris Meyers: Kept Sage and Schaub upright from their assignments.  No multiple hold calls like the Broncos’ dudes.

Sage Rosenfels, Matt Schaub, and Shane Boyd: I am more and more hopeful every day on our QB play.

David Anderson: Wow!

——-

Not so impressive:

Chris Taylor: Running hard, sure, but not breaking tackles and missed a blitz assignment, nearly leading to Sage’s decapitation.

Steve Slaton: Maybe I missed it, but did he break a single tackle?

Ahman Green: Just sigh.

Jacoby Jones: That punt return was awful, though he did make a beautiful catch later on.  I’m not sure if the return means he’s getting his cockiness back, though, which would be a good thing.  He just seemed to lose confidence last year.

Morlon Greenwood and the rest of the 1st team run defense: We were used and abused on the touchdown drive.

Tim Carter:You got owned by Anderson and Jones tonight, and your hands are as delicate as a chainsaw.

That’s all I can think of, especially with my son getting pissed that I’m at the computer.  What say y’all?

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot Anthony Maddox, who was downright awful.  Did he start every play back-pedaling?  Or was he just that easy to move.

Caption Time!!!

Aug 7, 2008 2008 Training Camp, I really dig my readers, Inanity

(h/t Brent)

I get email

Aug 5, 2008 2007 Season, 2008 Season, 2008 Training Camp, Rebuttals, Super Mario

This arrived in my inbox this afternoon:

Subject: Mario Williams maybe [sic] overhyped

Message: I understand that Mario Williams is having a good camp, but look at what he is going against.  With the zone blocking system, during practice, he is going one-on-one against quicker, but SMALLER offensive lineman [sic].  This allows Mario to use his strength - power rush against the smaller offensive lineman.  Against other teams, most of whom don’t have zone blocking system, and have bigger offensive lineman, Mario Williams won’t have a size advantage and won’t be able to use his strength - power rush ; he will have to use his weakness against them : the finess [sic] rush techniques.

Quick, spot the main flaw in this argument!  (Note: While glaring, “punctuation and grammatical errors” is not the correct answer.)

Hint: To the best of my knowledge, Mario did not play any regular season games against the Texans last year.

Kickoff (Two-A-Days Version)

Aug 5, 2008 2008 Season, 2008 Training Camp, Amobi Okoye is an adult, Big dudes doing the little things, Kickoff, Stats, Uncategorized

A few afternoon Texans notes:

Vote for the greatest All-Time Texan.  Candidates are Mario Williams, Andre Johnson, DeMeco Ryans, Matt Schaub, and Domanick Williams nee Davis.  The lack of Jamie Sharper or Dunta Robinson, both of whom are better choices than Schaub or Williams, bothers me.

Amobi Okoye fully expects to be dominant this year.  “Hawaii is my goal and it should be everybody’s goal, and in doing that I have to get at least 15 [sacks],” Okoye said. “I know that’s a lot for a defensive tackle, but I think it can get done. I know it can get done.”  Now, while I don’t think he’ll get that many sacks (Darnell Dockett had the most of any DT last year with 9 and Tommie Harris, whose playing style one could argue Okoye’s most closely resembles, had 8), I admire that kind of enthusiasm and confidence.  And, who knows, maybe the kid knows something we don’t and he’ll post a Warren Sapp (16.5) or John Randle (15.5) season.

So…what you’re saying is that DeMeco is even better than we realized?  Interesting article from the Cowtown Morning News regarding how tackles are tabulated in the NFL.  Apparently, the Texans are one of a very, very small group of teams who accept the press box tackle numbers as “official.”  Most other teams have their assistant coaches review the tapes on Monday and submit a new set of tackle numbers.  The problem with this, as you probably guessed, is that logical results are a rarity.  For instance, the Colts’ staff gave the team credit for 891 solo tackles…in 781 plays.  From now on, I am making up my own official tackle numbers.  DeMeco just got three in this post alone.  (Side note: Unfortunately for fantasy football players, most online games use the pressbox numbers.)

Kickoff

Aug 5, 2008 2008 Training Camp, DeMeco Ryans, Frank Okam is an evil genius, Kickoff, RB free-for-all, Super Mario

Look, kids! Haley’s comet! Chris Brown practiced yesterday, meaning that his ruptured labia must be healing nicely.  I’m putting the over/under on the number of consecutive practices he makes it to at 3.5.

I got yer “low profile” right here. Want to see the most superficial look at Houston’s training camp?  Look no further than this write-up from the Sporting News.  For every decent point Greenberg makes, he follows it up with something asinine.  Seriously, find me someone who says Dunta Robinson is the best defensive player on this team and I’ll show you someone who is a total dipshit.  Dunta’s good, and he might be the “heart” of the defense, but DeMeco and Mario are WAY better respective to their positions than DR is.  (Also, if this guy really believes Frank Okam “won’t see the field much” in 2008, he probably also believes that Vince Young is a great QB.)

New rule: If you write fantasy football articles for a living and as recently as yesterday you were claiming that Chris Brown was your “pick to be the opening day starter,” you should probably go into a new line of work.  Or, you know, do a little research before you write this crap.

Finally. Caption this pic of Baby Shan.

AJ Scare

Aug 2, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Andre Johnson

I guess we can consider this the first major scare of Training Camp:

Wide receiver Andre Johnson gave the Texans and a crowd of 3,721 fans at the Methodist Training Center quite a scare Saturday when he pulled up lame after running a deep route at the end of practice.

The two-time Pro Bowler appeared to favor his left groin as he limped off the field in noticeable pain. Immediately, the Texans’ training staff and team orthopedist, Dr. Walter Lowe, attended to Johnson.

Thanks in part to people like Will Carroll at Baseball Prospectus, we know that many injuries don’t happen in a vacuum.  Why does AJ suddenly have a groin problem?  Is it related to his knee?  Some of you may and probably will call me alarmist, but these are legitimate medical questions.

Here’s an example.  How did Dizzy Dean hurt his arm after being hit by a line drive in an All-Star game?  Oh yeah, the line drive broke his toe.  Not related, right?  Well, wrong.  The broken toe changed Dean’s impact foot location because of the pain (he was a righty and it was his left foot), and this cascaded to his arm.  The slight change in his motion blew out his shoulder, and he was never the same pitcher again.

Did Andre hurt his groin because he didn’t trust his knee either physically or sub-conciously?  Was his gait changed because of this, which led to the injury?  If there is no follow-up to the injury over the next couple of weeks, I think we can breathe a sigh of relief.  If there is anything related to his leg or lower back in any way, we need to elevate our concern level from green to blue.  Or something.

Hat-tips to Eric, as always, rblnick on the HoustonTexans.com boards, and Nick Schenck as yet another HT.com reporter embarasses the local fishwrap.

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, but I do try and play one at home on my wife.

Kickoff

Jul 30, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Babyeating-Sisterfuckers, Bloggerating, Colvin, Self-Referential Stuff, Vince Young can't read this post

Forward Thinking.  Rosy Colvin likes his new team and likes the role of situational pass rusher.  Says Colvin, “I would love to be going forward. A lot of the guys up there in New England used to say all the time when I’d drop back in coverage, ‘Keep that guy going forward.’”

Cinco.  SOLIS has a great run-down of Day Five of Training Camp.

OHMYGOD, STOP THE PRESSES AND HOLD EVERYTHING!!!!! Vince Young was inconsistent in practice yesterday.  This is a shocking and wholly unexpected development.  In other news, the sky is blue, water is wet, and I am a jerk.

Programming Note.  I am kind of busy for the rest of the day, so odds are good that I won’t post anything else before this evening at the earliest.  As always, BFD is at the mercy of his job.  And you thought doing gay fetish porn was easy.

Kickoff

Jul 29, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Babyeating-Sisterfuckers, Kickoff

Novel. Paul Kuharsky is doing a solid job on his AFC South blog for tWWL.  See, Matt Mosley, it is possible to talk about more than just the Dallas Cowboys!  Anyway, he has this blurb yesterday in his discussion of Texans practice:

Chester Pitts told me Sunday the Texans are doing a better job of using the whole field in the run game, and I could see that is the case. It looks like everyone involved in the run game is making progress with the new zone-blocking scheme, though obviously the offensive line isn’t cut-blocking teammates.

It’s an interesting point and one I hadn’t really considered, I guess.  The team was pretty limited in the directions they ran the ball last year, though.  Anything wider than off-tackle was seemingly done with a flare pass rather than a run, for example.  Assuming ol’ Chester is right, that fact alone could make the running game more effective this year.

Yes, sensei! Sticking with Paul for a second, the Texans are your AFC South leaders. In number of coaches, that is.  I’m not sure what to make of this.  On the one hand, it’s probably good for the younger players to have more face time with the staff, both for learning purposes and for better evaluation when it comes time to cut people.  On the other, don’t you wonder if some of that is just trying to cover for weaker coaches without firing them?  I’m looking at you, Ray Rhodes and Richard Smith.

Shirts, unfortunately, not optional. A guide for people planning on attending Titans practice. There’s a warning at the end: You’ll hear plenty of salty language during practice. I’m not sure that prepares a fan for the shock of hearing VY tell LenDale how much he wants to suck the sweat from the fat man’s titties, but maybe that’s just me.

Finally.  Caption away, peoples!

Kickoff

Jul 28, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Batman, Kickoff, Super Mario, Uncategorized

After two days with no internet and two days in Missouri, I am back.  I know you missed me.  YOU know you missed me.  Here be the links.  Unless otherwise noted, h/t to Eric on these.

Scary.  Mario Williams and his teammates all agree—you still have not seen the best possible Mario Williams.  That sentence should make any QB on the Texans’ 2008 schedule piss himself.

Batman Returns? Ahman Green swears that last year was a fluke, that he’s not injury prone, and that he’s going to be back with a vengeance this year.  You’ll forgive me if I don’t hold my breath.

Greetings and Salutations.  Chris Taylor?  Earl Cochran.  Earl?  Chris.

A little more on Duane Brown

Jul 27, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Duane Brown as Eliza Doolittle, Putting people on notice, Ranting

First, my intertubes connection sux tonight.  I guess there are too many dump trucks out there.  This post will be fairly link-free.

I know that some of you might think I was a little harsh on Duane Brown in my Kickoff post this morning.  DSITE, I believe, was more than a little offended.  And, you know what?  That’s fine.  I can sometimes, and freely admit, be an asshole.  That said, I want to say a couple more things about the subject.

Why am I pissed that Brown came into camp out of shape?  The subject is definitely arguable, but I believe that Matt Schaub is a playoff caliber quarterback and Rosy Rosenfels is not.  Why do I believe this?  Mostly, because Rosy’s track record really does say “Backup QB,” and, to me, Schaub hasn’t proven to be so easily type-cast.  To me, Schaub has a bigger arm, more mobility, and seems to do those warm and fuzzy leadership things that excite egocentric journalists so much.  Again, this is arguable, and it’s just my opinion.

For all intents and purposes, Brown was the starter at LT the day he was drafted.  Alex Gibbs’ shelf-life is only another season or two, and Brown is his final high-profile pet project.  Probably.  Brown must’ve known this, or at least had some non-subtle clues.  He was the one at OTAs and minicamp, after all.

This, to me, is why there was no excuse for Brown to come into camp out of shape in any way.  Yeah, it’s just 10 pounds, but it’s irrelevant.  Contract negotiations do not mean it’s OK to sit on your ass and eat your way through the Little Debbie line of products.  You are the starter, you are new to the position anyway, and you have a mighty steep learning curve in front of you.

And your primary job is to protect our starting QB’s blind side.  If Teh Schaub gets hurt, Rosy starts.  If Rosy starts, we are phucked.

It’s really that simple.

Xavier Adibi and Steve Slaton and especially Antwaun Molden (h/t Steph) are getting some serious props in camp, but it’s the one on whom we are relying the most, Mr. Duane Brown, who is out of shape.  That pisses me off.

Call me crazy (and I’ll ban your ass.  heh.), but I am going into this season being a bit more demanding about my expectations for our team.  We have a playoff caliber roster and staff, and mediocrity is no longer an option.  Either get it together, or get off the team.

Kickoff

Jul 27, 2008 2008 Training Camp, Duane Brown as Eliza Doolittle, Kickoff

Another quick one as I have a busy morning.

Alex Gibbs is so mean that Keith Weiland soiled his drawers.  Nice write-up by the latter on Satruday’s practice.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a workout, and I think this is the most I’ve missed it.

Camp quotes and news from HoustonTexans.com.

Only posting this for its comedic value.  Frankly, I couldn’t make it far without becoming nasuseous.

I guess it’s best that Megan Manfull wrote this one as the rest of the chron staff has absolutely no credibility on the subject.  And if Mario ain’t the best, he’s second best.  Regardless, if we can get a consistent rush opposite Mario from ND Kalu or Rosy Colvin, and if we get what I think we can get from Chaun Thompson, we could have one helluva passrus.

This article by Tim is what makes me really worry about Duane Brown.  You mean, you didn’t know that you had to be in shape to play football?  I know this is the difference between a rookie and maturing, second-year player, but we’re talking about protecting Teh Schaub’s backside here.  And Brown needs to be a chastity belt of epic proportions.

PUP Preseason: OK, here’s the deal.  Pre-season PUP basically means that the player can’t participate in drills, etc.  Regardless, Dunta is still talking about coming back and being productive mid-season (quotes link), so I think we need to keep our expectations for his return along those lines.

h/t to Eric for his usual help this morning.  I hope to have some time to post later today.  This whole “being a dad” thing is really cramping my style.