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2018 Houston Texans Season Thread


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I've brought it up twice, but no one else is discussing kicking the XP down 13.

If Philly had have gone down and kicked a FG instead of fumbling the ball they are up 9 and that's game over. 

If you miss the XP - you are just down 7 and can at the least play for OT. A Philly FG fucks you either way in this scenario.

If you make it - you are down 5. Another TD and 2pt conversion protects against a game winning field goal - or allows you to tie the game if Philly hits a FG.

With the way our defense played, you might as well assume Philly is getting into FG range against anything resembling a prevent (which they did).

I just don't understand the assumption that a 1 point lead is going to hold up when you give them the last possession, or that you're going to hold them scoreless on the last 2 drives when their QB throws for almost 500 yards. 

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12 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I've brought it up twice, but no one else is discussing kicking the XP down 13.

If Philly had have gone down and kicked a FG instead of fumbling the ball they are up 9 and that's game over. 

If you miss the XP - you are just down 7 and can at the least play for OT. A Philly FG fucks you either way in this scenario.

If you make it - you are down 5. Another TD and 2pt conversion protects against a game winning field goal - or allows you to tie the game if Philly hits a FG.

With the way our defense played, you might as well assume Philly is getting into FG range against anything resembling a prevent (which they did).

I just don't understand the assumption that a 1 point lead is going to hold up when you give them the last possession, or that you're going to hold them scoreless on the last 2 drives when their QB throws for almost 500 yards. 

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1 minute ago, tx ind said:

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Did we not just lose by the 2 points I am talking about?

Is that better than losing by 3 points? 

Our secondary was abused all day. We were never holding them out of FG range. Frankly I'm amazed we didn't let Sproles burn us for a TD.

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Shitty loss today, but if the Saints' lead over Pittsburgh holds we'll clinch a wild card berth at worst.  Have to beat Jacksonville next week to win the division; the winner of next week's Colts-Titans game will have the tiebreak over us (due to division record) otherwise.

Pretty much no hope for  first-round bye; would require the Patriots to lose at home to the Jets or for the Chiefs (@Seahawks, vs. Raiders) and Chargers (@Broncos) to lose all of their remaining games.

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13 hours ago, Ignatius said:

Shitty loss today, but if the Saints' lead over Pittsburgh holds we'll clinch a wild card berth at worst.  Have to beat Jacksonville next week to win the division; the winner of next week's Colts-Titans game will have the tiebreak over us (due to division record) otherwise.

Pretty much no hope for  first-round bye; would require the Patriots to lose at home to the Jets or for the Chiefs (@Seahawks, vs. Raiders) and Chargers (@Broncos) to lose all of their remaining games.

One down. Three more upsets to go for the one seed and home field advantage!  It’s happening!

 

 

not

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3 hours ago, Bert Orange said:

One down. Three more upsets to go for the one seed and home field advantage!  It’s happening!

 

 

not

We need max 2 upsets if we handle Jax. Either NE loss or Chiefs and Chargers losses.

I mean, totally cool with all 3 of them losing, though.

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All you BOB haters will enjoy this article from Walter Football

The excellent drafts by the Texans are paying off extremely well in 2018. Under former general manager Rick Smith and an all-star team of scouts, Houston was the only team to have a 10-year stretch without a first-round pick going bust. That run saw the Texans also identify diamonds in the rough like Arian Foster and A.J. Bouye, two of the best undrafted free agents in the past 20 years. Prior to Bill O'Brien being named the head coach, Smith and his team also drafted some elite players outside of the top 10, including a future Hall of Famer in J.J. Watt, one of the best wideouts in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins, and a franchise left tackle in Duane Brown. Houston also wisely took good starters in Brian Cushing, Kareem Jackson and Whitney Mercilus.

In speaking to sources with the Texans, the decision to draft Deshaun Watson was all Rick Smith. The war room was stone silent when Smith announced the team was moving up for Watson. It was his decision to make, and he was the one who executed the trade. Sources with the team say Bill O'Brien did not want the Texans to draft Watson. O'Brien wanted Pat Mahomes, and if Mahomes did not make it to them, then O'Brien wanted to draft Alabama left tackle Cam Robinson and have Tom Savage be the starting quarterback for the 2017 season. O'Brien is known to be a poor college evaluator, but fortunately for the Texans, the organization did not listen to him when it came to passing on Deshaun Watson.

Aside from taking Watson, the Texans scouting staff pushed for the team to draft other second-day gems like Benardrick McKinney, Zach Cunningham, Brandon Brooks, Glover Quin and many more, including fifth-round stud nose tackle D.J. Reader. It will be interesting to see if the new scouting department under O'Brien yes-man Brian Gaine can draft as well as the previous regime that loaded the roster with elite players like Watt, Hopkins, Clowney, Watson, and the injured Will Fuller.

This is a critical offseason for the Texans, as the Super Bowl window is wide open on offense thanks to Hopkins and Watson, but the defense is in decline. Watt turns 30 before next season, and with how hard he has pushed his body, Houston has to be prepared. Jadeveon Clowney is entering free agency after the season, and the Texans have not attempted to sign him to an extension. Around the league, there was talk that Houston had discussions about trading Clowney, and sources currently with the team did not deny that when I asked. They also did not deny that Houston would have jumped at a trade of Clowney for a package like the Raiders got for Khalil Mack.

If Clowney leaves in free agency, that is going to leave a massive hole in the Houston defense. He carried the defense to the No. 1 ranking in the NFL in 2016 when Watt was out for the year after the third game, but the Texans may not be able to spend what it would take to retain Clowney. Due to some mismanagement last offseason by Gains and O'Brien, none of the team's big needs of the offensive line, secondary, or running back were resolved.

Houston made a big play for left tackle Nate Solder last offseason, but Solder chose not to play for O'Brien again after spending his rookie season with O'Brien in New England. Solder took a contract from New York even though the taxes are much better in Texas than New York, and there are world class children's hospitals just down the street from the Texans facility that would be available for the Solder family. The Texans gave big money to Zach Fulton and Senio Kelemete, but both of them are just backup-caliber players. Seantrell Henderson went out for the year in Week 1 and is a free agent.

After five years in Houston, offensive-minded head coach Bill O'Brien has not developed a single quality offensive lineman. Thus, the Texans have a lot of holes to fill up front at guard and tackle. In the first round, they could consider Alabama's Jonah Williams, who could play guard or tackle in the NFL, depending on who you ask. They also could consider some offensive linemen on Day 2 like Boston College guard Chris Lindstrom, Wisconsin guard Michael Deiter, South Carolina left tackle Dennis Daley and Washington State left tackle Andre Dillard.

Aside from rookie safety Justin Reid, the secondary is terrible. Johnathan Joseph can't run anymore; Tyrann Mathieu is an overrated player largely living off a reputation; Kareem Jackson can't play corner anymore and is only a safety; and Aaron Colvin was given big contract last March but has been a bust free agent signing. Gaine and O'Brien could have saved money and gotten younger by moving on from Joseph and Jackson last offseason. In the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Texans could consider a cornerback like LSU's Greedy Williams.

Safety has been a weakness for Houston for years, and it would not have been that way if it weren't for Bill O'Brien's ego running D.J. Swearinger out of town. With the Redskins, Swearinger has turned into one of the better safeties in the NFL. Additionally, the Texans overpaid when they signed Tyrann Mathieu to a 1-year contract, and Mathieu is not the player he once was. Kareem Jackson is also aging and in the last year of his contract. Thus, Alabama's Deionte Thompson or Mississippi State's Johnathan Abram could interest Houston in the early rounds. Florida's Chauncey Garner-Johnson and Delaware's Nasir Adderley could be options on Day 2.

Prior to the 2015 NFL Draft, long-time Texans scout Ed Lambert raved to me about David Johnson and how he wanted the Texans to land him. Bill O'Brien, however, demanded the Texans take Jaelen Strong instead of Johnson in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. As a result of O'Brien's mistake, the Texans still need a long-term running back. The red-zone offense has struggled because of the backfield issues. Lamar Miller is slowing down, and O'Brien could be on his way to running D'Onta Foreman out of town. Imagine if O'Brien had listened to his scouts and Houston had David Johnson to go with Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. In my latest mock 2019 NFL Draft, I have the Texans taking Alabama running back Damien Harris, and he could be a good addition for Houston.

Read more at http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2019mmd_16.php#pVFzJC6h3XxLouqY.99

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4 minutes ago, Sleepygrad said:

so assuming we win, does tonight's Ten/Indy game determine the 6th playoff spot and our most likely opponent in Rd 1? Are there other scenarios that could impact that?

No, Ravens and Steelers are playing for the 4th seed. Texans/Colts/Titans are playing for the 3rd & 6th seeds.

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