TEXAN TUESDAY REPORT - SEAN GARZA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2010

Texan Tuesday Report



Written by: Sean Garza
Date posted: 9/28/2010

After a comeback win against the Washington Redskins, the 2-0 Texans were in prime position to not only send a statement to the Dallas Cowboys at home with a win, but they were poised to show the entire NFL that they were the real deal. Well, it’s always good to dream but dreaming doesn’t guarantee anyone of anything.

Optimism was flowing through the city after two straight wins and with Dallas coming to town with two straight losses. The Cowboys were the wounded animal limping into Reliant Stadium with the #1 ranked offense in the NFL and the second-ranked defense against the run.

The Texans' only Achilles' heel was being dead last in the NFL in passing defense. However, they have managed to hide that with the play of the defensive line. Mario Williams was averaging two sacks per game and the defensive line was getting pressure. The Texans were like Superman and feeling good. The Cowboys were playing the role of Lex Luthor, hated and always defeated. In this battle, Lex Luthor brought a Texas-sized piece of Krytonite.

Although winless through two games, the Cowboys brought a tremendous amount of talent to the table and knew how to use it. Dallas walked into Reliant Stadium and showed the Texans who the better team was by shutting them down and defeating them, 27-13. Now, I’m not going to make this the Dallas Cowboy report or anything like that, but I am going to give credit when it’s due. Dallas was the better team that day with a stingy defense and an offense that kept the Texans guessing.

On the Texan front, Arian Foster was the only positive that I saw during the game. He rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries (6.6 yards per carry). He looked clean, crisp, and hitting the holes. Steve Slaton only had 3 carries for 14 yards (4.6 yards per carry), but he seems to have a lot of trouble either finding the holes or hitting the holes when they're open. You would think that since Foster can hit them why not a speedier Slaton? Foster’s primary negative was that he did lose his first fumble of the season, however, the game was pretty decided around that time.

The Negatives: There was definitely a lot of negatives during the game. Matt Schaub didn’t have a great game, but then again when your offensive line decides to count the fans in the stands rather than block, it tends to be a problem. To me, he looked a little out of sync. Schaub ended up throwing for 241 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

The offensive line was a question mark going into the game due to Duane Brown’s recent suspension for performance enhancers, which forced swing tackle, Rashad Butler, to play left tackle against one of the best pass rushers in the game, DeMarcus Ware. No easy task for anyone, yet alone a person making his 1st NFL start. The offensive line gave up 4 sacks (3 to Ware and 1 to LB Keith Brooking) and also had a few costly penalties in the red zone including two false starts by Eric Winston who is normally Mr. Reliable.

The biggest negative continues to be the secondary. Kareem Jackson so far has the coverage skills of “Petey” Faggins and Fred Bennett combined. He’s aggressive and a good tackler, but sadly you must also cover when you play cornerback and he has showed the inability to do so. I knew going into the season that the secondary was going to be a problem. The youth and lack of experienced leadership is showing in a big way. Tony Romo didn’t keep with the trend of throwing for over 400 yards, however, he did manage to throw for just under 300 (284 to be exact).

As I stated here last week, until Kareem shows that he can be a stopper on defense, he will continue to be thrown on and exploited. In my opinion, the blueprint for beating the Texans was shown for the world to see. If you can contain the front seven, then throwing on the secondary will be a cinch. In college, big schools usually schedule a small school to pound on in the beginning of the year to gain confidence.

This Sunday, the Texans will be taking on the Oakland Raiders. This could be a match up that could be Kareem’s breakout game. Although it would be nice if Jamarcus “Syrup” Russell was still the QB of the Raiders, but the upgrade, Jason Campbell or Bruce Gradkowski, isn’t exactly Peyton Manning. On top of that, they don’t exactly bring any top quality receivers to the table. The Texans need a blowout win and this could be just what the doctor ordered.

The Texans should never look past any opponent. The Raiders do have some talent, but the Texans have more and I expect them to win this game with no major threats from the Raiders. IF they happen to win this weekend, one quarter of the season will be over with a 3-1 record, which is better then most of us expected with Brian Cushing out.

If it is 3-1, The Texans will come home with a fully loaded defense, which could be the spark they need to assist in the pass rush and therefore aid the secondary. As for the Cowboys, you get the nod as a winner on Sunday, but nothing more.

As noted by many and recognized by few, the Cowboys have one win and the Texans have one loss. The Texans are tied for first in the AFC South and the Cowboys are #1……in the cellar of the NFC East. Congrats Cowboys, you win again.


SEAN GARZA

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