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On 8/26/2025 at 7:43 PM, PGFrog said:

After Mike Renfro and then Phillip Epps it has been a very long dry spell.

Derius was productive last year for San Diego and I think Jack will be productive for Las Vegas, but Quentin was always a body catcher and I suspect Savion will be a bust because he is more of an athlete than a receiver. 

Why you gotta  disrespect Doctson by leaving him off the list?

Posted

New Elements of Offense Ignites Excitement Among Texans

“New juice” is what wide receiver Nico Collins said excited him about the offense of the Houston Texans. 

Days before the Texans debut their new offense on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, multiple players have driven home what DeMeco Ryans desired from Nick Caley when he hired him earlier this year. 

No more squeezing square pegs in round holes. 

“I feel like a lot of times in the NFL, from what I've learned, a lot of coaches or teams try to make the player fit the scheme instead of the scheme fitting the player,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said Wednesday. “I think it's sometimes a good thing because you get to challenge yourself to try new things, but also, I think you should come in and try to have the scheme fit the players in a way. Certain guys are really good at X, Y, and Z and not good at A, B, and C.”

What Stroud is talking about is one of the reasons Bobby Slowik was O-U-T as offensive coordinator, and Caley is I-N. 

Collins said Caley is putting players in positions to “be great.” Backup quarterback Davis Mills echoed the star wideout’s sentiment. Mills said it’s clear the offense is built to accentuate what players do well. 

Everyone will find out together if Stroud’s abilities are suited for him to control things at the line of scrimmage. The quarterback stopped short of publicly demanding more input in the offense, and it’s arrived. 

“It excites me a lot,” Stroud said. “Like I told y'all before, it's just something that I'm used to. I've done it a lot in college and high school. It's new now in the NFL, but I think our coaches did a really good job of making it vanilla and trying their best to not leave me out to dry, but give me tools and weapons to have to combat the defense when they run a good coverage.”

Mills said the freedom at the line of scrimmage will allow the quarterbacks to add depth to the offense. He said the position can adjust protections and even routes with wide receivers. 

The Texans finished 22nd in yards per game last season. They finished slightly better in points per game at 19th overall. They finished 3.1 points per game behind the Denver Broncos, who finished tenth. That’s about a 53-point difference. 

It doesn’t sound ridiculous to think the Texans could score eight more touchdowns (with the extra point) than last season. They were the 28th-best red zone offense in the NFL last year. The defense should present some great opportunities for the offense to take advantage of as well. 

Improvement will beget improvement. 

Small steps forward from 2024’s putrid offense should allow exponential growth. If the Texans are a little better at blocking, they could make a big jump. If Caley’s offense is more fundamentally sound, it should present numerous avenues to improvement. They were just below average with last year’s challenges. Erase some of those, and an offense in the top third of the league doesn’t seem crazy. 

That “new juice” on offense, combined with what should be an excellent defense, and the Texans will prove it was worth squeezing out their old offensive caretaker for their new one. 

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Injury Report

The Texans didn’t have wide receivers Christian Kirk and Braxton Berrios at practice. Both missed practice with hamstring injuries. Kirk’s absence is concerning for a couple of reasons. He looked quite good in the preseason. He has a lengthy injury history from the past two seasons. Berrios, the veteran backup, was also missing, which meant rookie wideout Jaylin Noel was the lone slot receiver at practice. He was also the lone punt returner. 

Noel is more than capable of handling the duties, but thrusting a rookie into this role isn’t ideal. Kirk was reliable in the preseason. Noel had flashes, but experience matters and lends itself to consistency. Thursday’s practice will help determine if there is a potential for Noel to make a statement as a starter right away. 

The Texans were also without backup left tackle Cam Robinson, who was out with an illness. Backup right tackle Blake Fisher was limited with an ankle injury. 

The team is fairly healthy, but it would be nice to have one, if not both, slot veterans back. 

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Well Versed

Jared Verse is the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year. The rookie was excellent for the Rams last year. The Texans saw firsthand in joint practice with the Rams in 2024. Verse worked Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil most of the day. 

Only Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter, and Trey Hendrickson had more quarterback pressures than Verse last year. 

There’s a hiccup in the rookie’s resume. 

Verse had the lowest Sack Rate % among players in the top ten for pressures. He converted just 1% of his pass rush attempts into sacks. For comparison, Hunter converted 2.5% and Garrett converted 3.1%. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking, pressures are still good. That’s true. Surely his teammates benefited, and yes, they kind of did. The Rams still only finished 21st in total sacks last season. 

There’s more to defensive excellence than sacks. 

In early 2023, Will Anderson was getting a lot of pressure but not getting home for sacks. I asked offensive linemen about pressure guys vs sack guys. Tytus Howard told me constant pressure players were tougher to deal with than guys who racked up sacks. He said players can fall into sacks via the success of teammates or the scheme, but constant pressure shows the makings of a potentially elite player. 

What did Anderson do in 2024? He started converting his pressures into sacks. Only Hendrickson, at 3.6%, finished with a better rate than Anderson among the top 20 in quarterback pressures. 

If Verse has that kind of leap in him, it will be a long day for the offensive line of the Texans. 


Please join me in a survivor pool. You pick a team that you believe will win that week. If they lose, you’re out. If you win, you advance, but you can’t pick that team again. 

You must join and make your selection before kickoff Sunday at noon. Please ensure your email is visible so I can email you if you defeat me. 

People who outlast me will win a free month of Houston Football. The final player remaining will win a gift card.

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Posted

I still can't believe that Slowick didn't allow Stroud to audible protections and routes. What a fucking retard, any one that listens to Stroud in interviews can tell the dude loves the sport and studies it all the time.

  • Hook 'Em 2

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