DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Kickoff - “Monday Night Beatdown” Edition

Dec 2, 2008 Amobi Okoye is an adult, BFD's Real Doll, Boobies, Kickoff, Stevie Wonder, Super Mario

Dumb.  Jaws is smoking crack.  “Mario’s a very good player (but), he’s not a dominant guy,” Jaworski said. “He’s more of a bull-rushing guy. He’s very talented, but he doesn’t have that explosive first step to get around the corner and really force that defensive tackle to turn his shoulders and run.”  I generally like Jaws, but this is retarded.  If Mario is not dominant, how does he have 11 sacks with zero help?  If he’s not dominant, why is he double- and triple-teamed (and basically gangraped) on every play?  If Mario isn’t dominant, why were the Jags assigned to block him jumping offsides every other damn play last night?  Ask Joe Thomas if Mario is dominant.  (If you have troubling locating him, you can probably find Joe somewhere near his QB’s lap.)

Random Thought. Amobi Okoye has definitely be underwhelming this year, right?  Well, I had a thought last night (and it was echoed this morning by my buddy, Sid):  We should move him to DE in certain sets.  He has the speed to be a complement to Mario, he has the strength to hold the edge on running plays, and putting him outside would keep him from getting lost in the pile of bodies.  Eventually, as he fills out more (remember, he’s barely 21), I’m fairly sure he will become a solid DT.  But, for now, why not use his assets and limit his flaws by putting him in a position to succeed a little?  What could it possibly hurt?

Mighty Mite.  How bad ass is Stevie Wonder?  This bad ass:

Slaton has been dealing with a bruised sternum and bruised ribs. Still, with only nine carries at the half, he cornered coach Gary Kubiak during intermission and grabbed him by the shirt to tell him he was OK, to give him the ball. After the game Kubiak compared Slaton’s personality — where “nothing is too big for him” — to Clinton Portis, a back he coached in Denver.

Finally.  I’m pretty sure this was the opening scene from a letter bfd once wrote to Penthouse.  “…then the curly-haired blond reached over to unzip another girl’s leather boot…”

Paging Amobi Okoye

Oct 16, 2008 Amobi Okoye is an adult, Awesomeness, Kickoff, Super Mario

I wasn’t even going to post anything today because I’ve got other stuff going on and there was no real news to speak of, but this is too good to pass up (H/T James):

On the other side of the ball, Williams leads the NFL since Oct. 1, 2007 with 18.0 sacks, including five multisack games. It’s hard to argue anymore with the Texans use of the top pick in the 2006 draft.

Most sacks since Oct. 1, 2007

Player-------------Games--Sacks---Sacks/game

Mario Williams, HOU  17	  18.0	   1.06

Demarcus Ware, DAL   18	  17.0     0.94

Jared Allen, KC/MIN  18	  16.5	   0.92

Patrick Kerney, SEA  17	  16.0	   0.94

K. Vanden Bosch, TEN 17	  15.5	   0.91

If ANYONE else on the defensive line steps up and gets some consistent penetration, Mario is going to break some records this year or next.

All-Time Texans Team - Defense - DT

Aug 20, 2008 All-Time Texans, Amobi Okoye is an adult, Awfulness, Frank Okam is an evil genius, Inflamed body parts, Tremendous Busts

You saw the previous discussion of the paucity of talent at defensive end.  You sobbed silently at your desk while discussing free safeties and strong safeties.  You were sure the worst was behind us.  But wait, there’s less!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to talk about Defensive Tackle.

Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for more than about a week, you know that I scream and rant and rave about the need to differentiate between the Nose Tackle and the Under Tackle as two wholly different positions in the 4-3.  And I would love to do that here.  Unfortunately, even though the team ran a 3-4 for YEARS, Frank Okam is the first true two-gap NT we’ve ever had and he’s yet to play a real game, so I can’t hardly just pick him and move on.  Thus, unfortunately, the DTs are getting lumped together.

The candidates:
Seth Payne
Steve Martin
Travis Johnson
Anthony Maddox
Amobi Okoye

*looks at list, throws up*

While he could have been a solid under tackle, Seth Payne was in no way, shape or form a nose tackle, even in a 4-3.  Yet he played the position for years in a 3-4.  Which goes a LOOOOOONG way toward explaining Jamie Sharper’s ridiculous tackle numbers.  Now, to be fair to Payne, he busted his ass for us and played surprisingly well ok. His nine sacks, two forced fumbles, and 196 tackles over five seasons are not HOF numbers, but they are certainly better than nothing.

Despite being almost heavy enough to look like a nose tackle on television, Steve Martin made Seth Payne look like Casey Hampton.  (Side note: That 2003 line of Corey Sears, Steve Martin, and Jerry DeLoach might be the worst front three ever assembled.)

Travis Johnson.  Bah.  In three years (24 starts), Johnson has 1 sack, 1 INT, 78 tackles, and 6 passes defended.  He has never once forced or recovered a fumble.  I’m not even sure how that is possible as a nose tackle, but whatever.  But, hey, at least we didn’t waste a high draft pick on him!  Oh…damn.

Anthony Maddox—a man who was delivering furniture when the Texans called him for a tryout and who only started 3 games last year because he lost his starting gig—has 4 career sacks, a FF, a FR, a 47-yard TD on that recovery, and 53 tackles.  Which makes him better than Steve Martin and Travis Johnson combined.

Amobi Okoye had 5.5 sacks, 32 tackles, and a forced fumble in his only season.  This despite it being painfully clear that he hit a real wall around week 12, which is what happens when you are drafted at 19 freakin’ years old.

Result: I am going with Seth Payne and Amobi Okoye for the all-timers.

*Note: I intentionally left out the guys who are really DEs but would move inside on occasion like Weaver and Smith.

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.

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

Jul 7, 2008 Amobi Okoye is an adult, Kickoff, National Media, Non-NFL football, Non-Texan stuff

Somewhere, a village is missing its idiot. Tim already commented on this, but, seriously, “Favre to the Texans” is one of the dumbest things I’ve heard in a long, looooong (see what I did there?) time.  And claiming it is a good fit, considering that we have TWO QBs that most teams would be happy with is just beyond asinine.

Jared Zabransky is shocked — SHOCKED — that the WAC is not mentioned. Interesting article breaking down which conferences turn out the most NFL starters by position.  I have nothing to add.

Age Ain’t Nuthin’ But A Number.  Nice article from ESPN regarding the coming-of-age of Amobi “Manchild” Okoye.  Dude gets cooler every time someone write something about him.  I want to hang out with him, actually.