Houston Texans – Blog

Parsing Kubiak’s day-after presser

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak met with the media on Monday at Reliant Stadium for his regularly-scheduled day-after-a-game press conference at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Here are the highlights:

• On the injury front, Kubiak said that wide receiver Andre Johnson is day-to-day with a mild hamstring injury that has the Texans feeling “very fortunate.” Punter Brett Hartmann has a torn ACL and is out for the season. Linebacker Brian Cushing has a “sore knee” but is expected to be fine to play on Sunday at Cincinnati.
• Kubiak called rookie quarterback T.J. Yates’ first NFL start on Sunday a “good first step.” Yates finished 12-of-25 for 188 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. “Just his play in particular was encouraging,” Kubiak said. “He can get a lot better and there’s so many things he’ll get to learn from throughout the course of the game and watching himself on tape play that many plays, but the things that were very positive were when we had some bad plays or he got caught in some bad situations, he kept us out of them getting really bad. He avoided probably three or four sacks on his own with his ability and made smart decisions with the ball.”
• Kubiak said cornerback Kareem Jackson was the Texans’ defensive player of the game, calling it Jackson’s “best game as a pro.” Jackson made a leaping interception on a flea-flicker pass in the first quarter and defended wide receiver Julio Jones in the end zone on the game’s final play. Kubiak credited new defensive backs coach Vance Joseph for Jackson’s improvement from last season. He also said the arrival of veteran cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning have helped Jackson grow up. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Kubiak said. “He has had a lot of ups and downs. He had the expectations of a first-round pick and what we went through last year. His toughness has shown, mentally and physically.”
• The Texans can clinch the AFC South title with a victory at Cincinnati and a loss by the Titans against New Orleans, but Kubiak said he doesn’t plan to talk to the players about that this week. “You’re going to hear about all that stuff as the end of the season nears, but our focus has just got to be Cincinnati,” Kubiak said. “It will be a tough place to play. They’re a playoff football team right now, playing very well. We’ve got to go do it at their place… We’ve got enough things to worry about, and so we just have to stay focused on ourselves.”
• Kubiak thinks the Texans’ offensive line is playing well but is “out of sync in a few things” compared to before the bye week. “I think we’re going to even play better before this year is over,” he said. “I think we’ll get back to the way we were doing things a couple weeks ago. We’ve made a big improvement from Jacksonville to this week. I thought we played much better, so I’m expecting those guys to continue to move forward. I think all five of those guys have taken every snap, except for maybe a little bit in that Tampa game.”
• Like many of his players did after the game, Kubiak raved about the crowd noise at Reliant Stadium on Sunday. “I was walking out of the tunnel with DeMeco (Ryans) after the game, with him and his mom,” Kubiak said. “He looked at me and we started talking about the game; he said, ‘Coach, that’s as electric as I’ve ever seen our stadium,’ and it really was. From warm-ups, it felt like playoff football… Our fans were just tremendous yesterday, and we fed off of that as a team and our energy was there all day long. It was nice to see.”
• Kubiak said the prospects of fullback Lawrence Vickers returning against the Bengals are “pretty good.” Vickers has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. “I think if we went out there today, Lawrence would practice,” Kubiak said. “We’ve got a couple days here, but we’ve been missing him. He played really well for us in that stretch. We were running the ball so well… it would be good to get Lawrence back not only from an offensive standpoint but from a special teams standpoint.”

Vandermeer’s seven-round Texans mock

Commentary from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610 AM:

Mock Drafts are fun, but let’s face facts: There’s only one team’s pick we really care about. So why limit our mock to the first round? Here is my mock version of the Texans’ entire draft:
 
Round 1: Robert Quinn OLB/DE, North Carolina
The Texans need to created fire and brimstone in the backfield with this new 3-4 look. Quinn will help right away. Linebacker as a whole is a mystery. DeMeco and Barwin are coming back from big injuries. Cushing needs to get back to his 2009 self. I know the secondary needs help. But that’s on the way…
 
Round 2: Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
Harris drops out of the first round while the playoff teams go for offensive and defensive line help. The Texans scoop up this natural corner and hope he makes a quick vault into the starting lineup soon. I could even see them trying to trade up a few spots to grab him. Being a ‘Cane doesn’t hurt, either.
 
Round 3: Jerrell Powe, DT, Ole Miss
Some call it a reach, some call it a steal. But Powe’s size (6-2, 335) makes him too good to pass up here. I know what they said about Earl Mitchell and Shaun Cody, but it’s about time the Texans had a Sherman Tank in the middle they could at least use for special occasions. 
 
Round 4: Denarius Moore, WR, Tennessee
He didn’t put up amazing numbers, but have you seen the Vols’ quarterbacks? He can run (4.43 in the 40) and could become a key weapon for Matt Schaub. I wish I had better news about his return skills, but with kickoffs going back to the 35-yard line, who cares?
 
Round 5: Ross Homan, OLB, Ohio State
They’ll need linebacker depth in the 3-4 and they’ll also need guys who can zone blitz and cover. Homan slides through to the fifth round and the All-Big Ten player must be taken. Not sexy, but a solid contributor you could see being a role player on a playoff team. 
 
Round 6: Jeron Johnson, SS, Boise State
Aggie fans get all excited for a split second until they realize there’s an ‘N’ instead of a ‘D’ at the end of his first name. He was the Broncos’ leading tackler for the past three years, and they’ve done pretty well. He plays like a college version of Bob Sanders (a healthy one), and we can only hope he makes the jump. Look, it’s the sixth round and Houston needs safety help. Everybody pray.
 
Round 7: Jerrod Johnson, QB, Texas A&M
Yeah, I know he lost his job this past season, but he was hurt. This is a guy who led the Big 12 in total offense in 2009. He threw 30 TD passes for the Aggies, who have never been confused with ‘The Greatest Show on Turf.’ He’s got the goods. He just needs health and a chance to grow.

Season Over: Let the Healing Begin

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610:

A disastrous season came in for a soft landing with a commanding 34-17 victory over Jacksonville. When the dust settled, Arian Foster had won the NFL rushing title and Matt Schaub became only the fifth quarterback to throw for 9,000 yards in a two-year span. Yet the team had far more questions than answers.

The Texans organization went into the season with the thought that the defense would be able to pick up where it left off in ’09. It was sadly mistaken. While the offense was putting together some prolific performances, the defense imploded on its way to a near historically bad season.

This is not to completely exonerate the offense, which had key turnovers and miscues in crunch time in more than one game, but the defense was the key culprit in the second-most disappointing season in team history (next to 2-14 in 2005, of course).

The win over the Jaguars left the Texans with an “all dressed up and no place to go” feeling. The 2-0 start created an expectation, if not an assumption, that Houston would be in the playoffs. But game two, the overtime win at Washington, was a five-alarm fire for the coaching staff who suddenly realized that they were in big trouble on defense.

With Connor Barwin and Tim Bulman out for the season, they tried to shore up the injury-depleted pass rush with three acquisitions at DE. They kicked Aaron Schobel’s tires, but he wasn’t ready to play. They picked up some defensive backs including Jason Allen, who had three picks as a Texan. But nothing really worked as they watched team after team put up big numbers against them.

Now comes an offseason filled with questions. What will the shake-up be on the coaching staff? What will the acquisitions be? How will the potential lockout affect the team’s ability to improve? The season finale was not a conclusion but a cliffhanger. To be continued…

Rocky Mountain Rock Bottom

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610:

On its own, the Texans’ loss to Denver looked like your garden-variety Sunday afternoon three-score-blown-lead loss. However, added to an astonishing collection of spectacular defeats in 2010, it becomes the kind of game that could result in lost jobs and changed futures.

The Texans flipped the script by building a strong lead and blowing it as opposed to coming from way down to fall short, but the end result was the same. The 24-23 defeat sent Houston to a 10th loss with a game to go, which is a predicament that was unthinkable after a 2-0 start.

You knew Matt Schaub would have to be very sharp without Andre Johnson, and he was for much of the game. But the last drive ended with a pick off a deflection at the line that will cause him to lose as much sleep as the interception that ended the Baltimore game.

Houston’s defense looked like it was up for the challenge of taking down Tim Tebow with an early pick and several drive-stopping plays in the first half. Then, the rookie made the fired Josh McDaniels look brilliant for spending a first-round pick to acquire his services. Tebow threw for over 300 yards, including a TD pass, and a six-yard touchdown run that helped the Broncos take the lead with just over three minutes to go.

The 2010 nightmare comes to an end on Fan Appreciation Day presented by FOX Sports Houston on Sunday when the Jaguars visit Reliant Stadium. A win will give Gary Kubiak a tie for his worst record as Texans coach. Every home finale in his tenure has had a bit of a spark to it. There were the back-to-back wins at the end of ‘06 to bring life to the franchise. There was the first 8-8 in 2007 and the first winning season on the line in 2009.

Sunday, the Texans will take the field against a rival with a chance to experience the feeling of winning for the first time in a month – a feeling all too lacking in a season gone wrong.

It’s Over

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610:

The script was familiar. Fall behind by multiple scores and attempt a roaring comeback. But this time, there wouldn’t even be a ‘close but no cigar’ finish. It was pretty much a complete beating at the hands of your biggest rival, 31-17.

The carnage began innocently enough. The defense looked game on the first drive, forcing a stop on third and seven in Houston territory. But the Titans decided to go for it and hit a big pass play for a first-and-goal. Moments later, it was 7-0, and the day slid out of control from there.

The Texans didn’t look ready to play on a day when a .500 season was still possible (and the slightest of chances for a playoff appearance) and numerous jobs were on the line.

You could say it was just another frustrating defeat in a season with too many, but this one had a few more elements to really ratchet up the pain. The fact that it officially pulled the plug on a once very-promising campaign was hard to digest. It also put an end to a possible late-season feel-good run to give the organization and its fans a boost heading into the cold winter.

The last two games are meaningful from the standpoint of proving the team is playing hard and demonstrating that the mechanics of the football operation can still function properly.

But the epitaph is written: 2010 was filled with too many defensive issues and slow offensive starts that doomed the Texans during a year when the AFC South was there for the taking.

The Stretch Run

Commentary from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610 AM:

I keep getting asked by fans and media alike: “What do the Texans have to play for?” Glad you asked.

It goes without saying that the Texans’ playoff chances are microscopic. But as long as there is the slightest possibility, there is incentive to perform at their best.

There is also the ‘better than nothing’ chance of having a non-losing season. It’s hardly a satisfying consolation, but it’ll have to do. And trust me, there isn’t a coach in sports at any level who wouldn’t take .500 right now under the current circumstances.

Barring one of the greatest football miracles ever, the Texans have failed to accomplish their goals this season. The games have been close. Most of the losses have been down to the wire, but this could be their worst season since ‘06.

They have fallen behind and rallied from double-digit deficits six times this year and won two of those games. Every team has bad days, wild games, unexpected phenomenon and contests that hinge on one or two plays. Good teams find a way to win more of those games than they lose. It‘s as simple as that.

Houston’s annoying and perplexing bad habit of starting slow has effectively killed its postseason chances. It’s a shame because this team has a ton of talent on offense and enough defensive talent to do better than they have. Bob McNair has said the team is underperforming, which is clear. What is not clear is how to solve the current problems.

Gary Kubiak and his staff have three games left in 2010 to prove that the losing recipe in six of the last seven games was a bad nightmare that, yes, cost them a season but has now been corrected. If the trauma continues, the Texans venture into the wilderness of an offseason with labor strife and more questions about their future.

Fourth Quarter Fizzle

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610 AM:

In the end, Vick was just too much. The comeback story of the year got back on track as Michael Vick threw two TD passes and ran for another in Philadelphia’s 34-24 win over the Texans.

It was another case of woulda, coulda, shoulda as Houston led 24-20 going into the fourth quarter, then gave up two TD drives and saw its offense sputter out to sadly drop to 5-7.

One more loss and you can officially pronounce the season dead. As it is, they are waiting for a governor’s pardon in desperate need of a win-out and a minimum of two losses each by the Jaguars and Colts. It may be a pipe dream, but it’s all we have left.

The Texans have now been 5-7 for four straight years. They have always been able to finish 8-8 or better, but this year there will be no consolation for missing the postseason. The remaining schedule also has Baltimore, a mad Titans team, occasionally dangerous Denver and Jacksonville. Last season’s final four games seemed a bit more palatable.

Thursday’s loss featured a return of the Texans defense that put up near rock-bottom numbers until rising up against the Rusty Smith0led Titans last week. After allowing two long TD drives to start the game, they settled down nicely until breaking in the fourth quarter. Not too many teams can give up 34 and win.

The aggravating thing is that Houston belted its way into the lead, then withered. Once they took the lead, the Texans lost their mojo and looked almost helpless.

With a few extra days to prepare for the Ravens, the Texans better find a way to create an upset or they can start making plans for 2011.

Not Knocked Out Yet

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610 AM:

It was a bittersweet day at Reliant Stadium. Texans fans got to celebrate a win for the first time since mid-October, but they also left wondering if their favorite player would be around for the next game.

Andre Johnson’s fight with Cortland Finnegan will surely be must-see TV at the league office, and the Texans have to worry about Johnson getting suspended for Thursday’s game at Philadelphia.

During the game, it didn’t matter. Finnegan wants to be the league’s dirtiest player, and he more than lived up to his bad-boy reputation by luring Andre into a momentary slugfest that turned out to be the highlight of the day. As Johnson left the field following his ejection, he received a standing ovation.

The win kept the Texans alive for the postseason, but it underscored how losing the previous four games has removed virtually all margin of error. Brian Cushing made several big plays, Mario Williams had a sack and Glover Quin picked off three passes with his hand in a cast. Certainly it helped to face a rookie quarterback, but the defense also made a strong statement with a shutout performance in the worst output of Chris Johnson’s career.

We can lament all day about the four consecutive losses. How just one win in those four would have the Texans in first place. How bad luck and poor crunch-time execution plagued this team again during a playoff campaign. All that matters now is an effort to win out and get to the postseason. The next loss will probably knock them out, but they will keep ‘fighting’ no matter what.

Meltdown in the Meadowlands

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610:

First they had the bad bounce off Andre Johnson’s leg against San Diego. Then there was the Hail Mary in Jacksonville. But the Meltdown in the Meadowlands might top them all.

With the defense starting to rock and the offense starting to roll, the Texans found themselves less than a minute away from saving their season with an improbable win against the Jets. But the defense crashed on New York’s final drive, and Houston lost for the fourth straight time.

Too many of the familiar themes played out Sunday. The offense went to sleep for awhile in the third quarter while the defense tried to plug as many leaks as they could to keep the contest close.

Eventually, it was the D that got the Texans right back into it with a forced fumble and another key stop as the offense capitalized and enabled the Texans to take a one point lead, 24-23. After a Kevin Bentley pick, Houston had the ball at the Jets’ 10 at the two-minute warning. What to do?

The strategy was seemingly sound. Make the Jets burn their last two time outs? Check. Kick a field goal and force the Jets to go on a long touchdown drive with less than a minute left? Check. Force all their plays inside and make them run out of clock? Whoops!

The 43-yard pass to Braylon Edwards at the 6 with 16 seconds left was the killer. A play later, the Jets were dancing in the end zone and the Texans were miserable again.

So, both of the last two seasons have been derailed by four-game losing streaks. Last season, all four games were one score or less. This season, three of the four were by a touchdown or less.

But the NFL is designed to be a league in which any team can win by making key plays in the fourth quarter. The Texans are not making enough plays, period, to earn a winning record – never mind a postseason berth.

Deflections of Doom

Postgame thoughts from “Voice of the Texans” Marc Vandermeer of SportsRadio 610 AM:
 
The last two weeks the Texans have lost games on a couple of improbable deflections that underscore their recent inability to execute. First there was the bounce off Andre Johnson’s leg that ended a late threat against San Diego. Then there was the Hail Mary bat-down that found a receiver who found the end zone at Jacksonville.

These are the times that try fans souls. Yes, it was a one-in-a-million play that beat the Texans Sunday but did it really have to come to that?

The Texans put up only three points in the first half playing inexplicably uninspired offense. They woke up to rack up three second half TDs but lost because they didn’t do the little things necessary to pull out a game while on the comeback trail.

The defense started to get it together in the second half. Or did they? They survived two misses by Josh Scobee who was perfect on the season coming into the game. Then they allowed a Hail Mary game winner resulting in a highlight that could haunt the franchise for a long time.

Many will assume the season is lost and they might be right. Can a team that has given up at least 24 points per game in nine games suddenly turn things around defensively? Can the offense carry the team and play mistake free long enough to get through the final seven games with only one loss?

The Texans have become predictable in that you can assume they will make mistakes, often get into double digit deficits and have enough offense to at least make things interesting if not actually win.

2010 is going down as a season in which a team with so many pluses and positives plays its way into trouble and falls short of its ability. There’s enough time to improve, change and evolve but it’s getting more difficult to believe it’s going to happen for this group.