Thoughts on the Texans
1. David Carr looked bad. I continue to feel that the coaching staff's continued emphasis on Carr's mobility and determination to structure the offense around his ability to 'throw on the run' is more the result of their recognition of Carr's inability to read defenses and make good decisions in the pocket rather than their love of his abilities outside the pocket. Carr, who admitted to reporters in postgame interviews that he needed to get rid of the ball quicker, held onto the ball repeatedly in the pocket last night, failing to make a play downfield. Until I see Carr exhibit the ability to step up in the pocket and hit a receiver in-stride downfield, I will refuse to believe that he is a capable NFL quarterback.
2. Sage Rosenfels, on the other hand, looked more than capable of leading a team. He is the anti-Carr, exhibiting poise in the pocket and precise passing skills. Should Carr struggle early, I would hope that the coaching staff would not hesitate long to give Rosenfels the reigns. This offense now has the weapons to succeed, so I hope that in the event Carr continues to struggle, Bob McNair's love affair with David Carr would subside at least to the point that Rosenfels would be given a shot to lead the first-team offense.
3. Vernand Morency was awesome. He looked like a man on a mission last night. If he can consistently run as hard and decisively as he did last night, then he will be the Texans #1 RB whether or not Domanick Davis is healthy. In addition to running the ball well, he also did a nice job in pass protection, something that cannot be said for rookie RB Walli Lundy, who missed a blitz pickup, allowing the Rams' only sack, and took a bad holding penalty.
4. Mario Williams showed flashes of why he was taken #1 overall. He stood out on defense, taking up defenders, batting down a pass and breaking into the backfield to stuff a running play before it could even get started. As his confidence continues to grow, I expect him to begin dominating on a regular basis.
5. Phillip Buchanon looked great as a punt returner, but his inconsistency in coverage will prevent him from ever living up to his potential. For every nice play he made, he got burned on a deep ball and made a pass intereference penalty.
6. Benjie Joppru made a very nice downfield catch. It is amazing that the tight end position has gone from a talent abyss to a position where the Texans are overloaded with quality players.
7. Jason Babin had a nice game off the end. He looks much more comfortable than he has in years past, getting into the backfield rather routinely. I look for him to establish himself as a rock-solid starter this season.
posted by Scott | 11:37 AM
4 Comments:
It's nice to see more blogging about the Texans.
A few points: You wrote:
1. "I continue to feel that the coaching staff's continued emphasis on Carr's mobility and determination to structure the offense around his ability to 'throw on the run' is more the result of their recognition of Carr's inability to read defenses and make good decisions in the pocket rather than their love of his abilities outside the pocket."
I think they were testing him more in the pocket, but the Denver style offense really is very much based on bootlegs and a moving pocket. That's one of the reasons they dumped Ragone--they didn't think he was good enough on the bootlegs. It may be that Carr can't do the things you say, but the rollouts in the offense are just a key part of the system.
2. Basically, I trust whatever Kubiak decides as it relates to QBs. He has an impressive track record, and Denver has dumped QBs that weren't progressing well enough before.
(BTW, Rosenfels has a rep, deserved or no, of being a great in camp guy, not so great on the field. FWIW).
3. Though Babin played well before he was hurt, this last preseason game was really all about Peek.
Looking forward to reading more posts about the Texans as the season gets closer.
-Steph
Steph,
Thanks for the comments.
#1 - The rollouts may be part of the system, but if mobility is so important, then I'd rather have VY. David Carr has the arm strength and guts of an NFL starting QB and the football intellect of Mitchell Goosen.
I believe that Kubes and McNair decided that Mario was the least risky pick (least bust potential) and that they had too many holes to go all-in with Bush or VY, and I certainly see that point. However, I think the offensive game-planning during the Texans' entire existence has been hamstrung by Carr's limitations. Hopefully a solid running game, a much-improved defense and four very good tight ends will be enough to overcome DC's glaring weaknesses. I wonder if his kids' Bush jerseys are available on eBay?
#2 - I am by no means implying that Rosenfels should be the starter Week One based on his play in the first two exhibition games. But I am expressing my opinion that I believe Rosenfels could win as many or more games as the starter this season as Carr will. Saturday night will be very interesting, as Carr gets increased playing time and faces a defense that will be all-to-prepared for the Texans' offensive scheme.
#3 - Peek was good for what he is, which is a pure pass rusher. To me, he's worthless if he does not have a good secondary and solid complimentary parts along the D-line. I think Babin's the better option in most situations.
1. Mobility is a plus in the Bronco system but I am guessing that Kubiak looked at the calculus of just getting VY or being able to have VY plus Mario. Also, his system doesn't want any freelancing, so some of the VY appeal goes on the wayside with that. Lord knows help was needed on defense.
I'm holding my powder on Carr until I see him over time an actual NFL offensive system. It's been a chicken-egg thing with Carr. Is it him or is it the fact that the scheme was a joke, his LT was last year was Victor Freaking Riley who was booted before the end of the season, and he had no tight ends to throw to.
He actually had some nice stats two years ago, until defense realized that you could kill him with Cover 2 (something that having viable tight ends could have helped with)
Kubiak has been able to do some pretty interesting things with QBs, so if he thinks Carr can be the man, I guess that works for me.
#2 Saturday's game is going to be interesting. A big test because Denver will be prepping for it too, and it historically, the Texans (and Carr) have sucked rocks on the road and both looked terrible two years ago in Denver.
I have to say that the biggest plus of the offseason is seeing a bit of what we have in Rosenfels because I think most fan reaction when he was aquired was WTF.
And something encouraging and seeming to show good coaching is that first, second and third string offenses looked pretty good relative to other teams. There has been some big drop offs if you have watched some of the other games.
#3 Ideally, I'm not sure you would have either Peek & Babin for this defense, but I'm guessing they will figure out what to do with them. Hopefully, the way they use Peek will get the kinda results that they got on Saturday. Rams fans are thinking it is the end of the world.
Two things, Steph...
1. Welcome to H-Town Sports. Always nice to have another informed voice in the crowd.
2. Your reasoned, intelligent discussion of the Texans and their weaknesses have rendered me completely smitten. Let me know where I can send the flowers.
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