Houston Texans Offseason Thread 2018 Vol. Destroy & Rebuild

Houston (SPORTSRADIO 610) – The Houston Texans made a roster move on Wednesday adding five-year veteran cornerback Johnthan Banks and releasing rookie tight end Evan Baylis, the team announced.

Baylis was added to the active roster from the practice squad after all three Texans tight ends ended up with concussions in week 1 and missed the short week Thursday night 13-9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Banks joins the team to help with a now depleted secondary after Kevin Johnson sprained his knee and Johnathan Joseph hurt his shoulder in the week 2 game. Johnson will be out 4-6 weeks according to many reports.

The Texans willingness to waive Baylis is a good sign for TEs Ryan Griffin and Stephen Anderson to be healthy for Sunday’s match-up against the New England Patriots. C.J. Fiedorowicz was placed on IR before Week 2.

Dalton Beaters, then, now forever

*Marshawn dances*

 

I'm ready

The defense has every thing they need to light Brady up, but I will lose it if Clowney and Mercilus are in coverage instead of attacking the middle with Watt. I also want to see how the offense reacts with a mini bye.

 

Minus the moral victory of Watson looking good and having a near win, this was still a bad loss cause it was right there for the taking. Obvious calls doesn't go their way, so I won't even discuss those. As far as their own mistakes, the secondary looked bad, and the play calling and time management down the stretch was terrible. That 4th and 1 field goal should have been a naked bootleg run for Watson, or an edge run for Foreman. The time management was brutal. That was a complete choke by BOB. 3 home games in a row coming up, Titans, Chiefs, and Browns. All 3 of those need to be wins at all costs.

 

Smith: O'Brien's poor clock management drags down Texans

There is no excuse.

Not with 13 seconds left on the fourth-quarter clock and field-goal range clearly in sight.

Not in Year Four for a head coach who keeps apologizing for his own shortcomings and flaws.

Not when you get that close, then just give it away.

The Texans almost pulled it off Sunday in New England. They were the better team for nearly 60 full minutes. Deshaun Watson was brilliant, especially considering he was making his second NFL start in the home of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

But Bill O'Brien's team somehow let 10 long seconds roll off the clock before burning its final timeout. And 36-33 Patriots on Sunday will be remembered as O'Brien's blown TO game.

"At the end of the day, it comes down to me," said O'Brien, continually placing his team's second loss of 2017 on his shoulders.

Tom Brady (25-of-35, 378 yards, five touchdowns, 146.2 passer rating) went into Super Bowl LI savior mode in guiding New England to 2-1.

Watson was super smooth and everything that could have been hoped for: 22-of-33, 301 yards, two TDs, two interceptions (the last on a desperate Hail Mary) and a 90.6 rating, showing national champion-like poise for four highly impressive quarters.

So how do the Texans not immediately call a timeout after DeAndre Hopkins pulls down a 21-yard pass from Watson at the team's 46-yard line?

How does all that time slowly roll off -- potentially two more throws -- when the Texans just needed one more strong completion for a potential game-tying kick from a kicker who'd already gone 4-for-4?

Why is O'Brien still saying "It's on me" after all this time?

He made himself the Texans' offensive coordinator in 2017, doubling down hard in Year Four. The offense was much sharper Sunday, fitting Watson's rare skills. But time management has been an issue for O'Brien since 2014, and there are too many headsets and voices for no one on the Texans to make sure the clock stopped.

That's 100-percent on O'Brien and he knew it Sunday.

Watson deserved better. So did the Texans.

Instead, they're 1-2 and will never get back the time O'Brien wasted.

"There's no moral victories," he said. "It's pro football. You either win or you lose."

"It's not college football," he added.

With 13 seconds left in New England, the Texans were amateurs.

 

NFL Football, Week 3: Patriots 36, Texans 33 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers

Before yesterday, the Houston Texans had traveled to New England to play the Patriots five times in their franchise history, and five times they came away losers.Not just losers, but blowout losers, falling by an average score of 37-13. In other words, all five losses were hideous, double-digit blowouts.

Well, on Sunday, the Texans solved half of the equation — they still lost to the Patriots, running their winless record in New England to 0-6, but this time around, they stood in toe to toe with the champions, taking shot after shot all afternoon, and holding a five-point lead with a little over two minutes to go in the game.

Unfortunately, a combination of questionable game management by the head coach and an ultra-leaky secondary gave Tom Brady just enough opportunity to eke out a 36-33 win. There's plenty to dig into, and we will do that momentarily, but even in a loss, Sunday afternoon's effort should change the tenor of the season for Texan fans from two weeks ago. Gone, at least for a day, was the futility of zero traction offensively. Plays were made, many of them by rookie QB Deshaun Watson, just not enough of them.

But all of a sudden, Tennessee and Kansas City at home the next two weeks don't feel so futile. A split is very doable. In short, Watson doesn't just represent hope for the future. He represents hope right NOW.

Let's dig into what would have been the best regular season win in franchise history if the Texans had just held on...

WINNERS

4. Ryan Griffin
One of the nice outcomes from Sunday's loss was Deshaun Watson's finding some other targets not named "DeAndre Hopkins" to throw the ball to. Tight end Ryan Griffin returned from concussion protocol, and had five catches (on six targets) for 61 yards and a huge second half touchdown. With incumbent starting tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz on injured reserve with a concussion of his own, Griffin becomes one Houston's key players in the month of October. It should be noted, Bruce Ellington got in on the act as well with four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown catch in HIS return from concussion protocol. All in all, it was a good day for guys whose brains were recently scrambled.

3. Jadeveon Clowney
After two games of running around somewhat confused and routinely giving up the edge as an outside linebacker, Clowney had his best game of the season so far, returning a Brady fumble for a touchdown, and collecting two sacks, the second coming just a few plays after Clowney limped to the sideline as a result of a nasty spill when J.J. Watt and D.J. Reader plowed into his lower body. I'm anxious to rewatch the game and see how truly impactful Clowney was on all the snaps he participated in, but his six tackles (four tackles for loss) is a pretty good indicator of the type of day Clowney had.

2. Deshaun Watson
One thing Texan fans will not have to worry about for a long time, on talk radio or around the water cooler, is discussing who should be this team's quarterback. Deshaun Watson, saddled with a shaky offensive line (which was okay on Sunday, not great, but okay) and very average skill players, stood in and answered Tom Brady's greatness blow for blow for most of the afternoon. Multiple times the Texans had 20 yards or more to go for a first down, and multiple times, Watson found a way to keep moving the chains. I think the best way to sum up how Watson had Texan fans feeling is to ask yourself — after which Week 3 game to you feel better overall about the trajectory of this team? Week 3 in 2016, a 27-0 loss to New England, leaving the Texans 2-1, or yesterday's loss, leaving the team at 1-2? Won-loss record this season be darned, it's not even close, right?

1. Bill O'Brien (first 52 minutes)
One of the biggest concerns I had about the full time flip over to Watson at quarterback was whether or not Bill O'Brien would design the proper playbook to take advantage of Watson's physical gifts. It's a fair concern, given how married O'Brien seems to be to his sacred "system," and how his decisions in playing and acquiring quarterbacks have been so predicated on experience in what O'Brien likes to do offensively (although three seasons and change into the O'Brien Era, it appears the one thing O'Brien likes to do on offense more than anything is suck). That said, on Sunday, I was encouraged by what I saw from a schematic standpoint, from a play design standpoint. Multiple times, O'Brien ran designed draw plays for Watson, and he had plays where he had Watson on the move. O'Brien said after the game that they would continue to build more plays for what Watson does well, so consider me encouraged overall by the direction this marriage of quarterback and coach is going schematically.

LOSERS

4. Texans secondary
Heading into the season, there were a couple positions that the Texans inexcusably rolled into training camp with little change, little outside help, and VERY little talent — offensive tackle and safety. And thus far, I don't think it's a reach to say those two positions were each the biggest reason for the two losses, left tackle in the Jacksonville loss and the horrific safety play on Sunday. Too often, wide receivers and Gronk were just running free, or caught in poorly schemed match-ups (think Corey Moore trying to cover Gronk one on one in the red zone). Moore could have taken the secondary off this "losers" list if he'd come up with the game clinching interception on a deep ball on the final drive, but alas...

3. Texans punt coverage
At this point, I don't know what to do. The Texans' piss-poorness at covering kickoffs and punts now spans three different position coaches, two head coaches, and about a half dozen seasons, if not longer. Yesterday, the Texans gave up two punt returns for 53 yards to Danny Amendola. I don't know how Larry Izzo sleeps at night. My guess is he doesn't.

2. Brian Cushing
Even with Tom Brady's throwing for 378 yards and the Patriots putting up 36 points, you know what I heard exactly zero people saying? "Ya know, if they had Brian Cushing out there today, the Texans win that game." That's because, if Cushing were out there, Brady probably cracks the 400 yard mark, and then some. Cushing's replacement, Zach Cunningham, was the team's leading tackler on Sunday with seven.

1. Bill O'Brien (last 8 minutes)
Okay, remember that part a few paragraphs ago when I was praising Bill O'Brien? Good. Go back and soak it in, if you need to, because now comes the rough part. As good as O'Brien was for the first 50 minutes or so of this game — and make no mistake, he coached his *** off for most of the afternoon — unfortunately, the last few minutes were like a 30 for 30 short on all of the things that have placed a concrete ceiling on how good O'Brien can be as a head coach. It was a litany of very basic game management errors that makes it almost impossible to trust O'Brien in close games where the team has no margin for error (a category which Sunday's game undoubtedly fell in, given the opponent). Here are a few examples:

7:46 remaining in the game, Texans lead 30-28: With the defense having just gotten a three and out on Brady, and the offense picking up two first downs, including three runs on four plays, and burned off nearly three minutes of clock, at his own 41 yard line, O'Brien inexplicably decided to let Watson throw the ball three times in a row. All three fell incomplete and the Texans were forced to punt. The Texans ran seven plays on this drive — on the first four, they burned 2:42; on the last three, they burned 0:14. (Amazingly, the Texans defense would get another three and out on the next series.)

2:34 remaining in the game, Texans lead 30-28: On 3rd and 1 at the New England 18 yard line, O'Brien runs Lamar Miller up the middle and he is predictably stuffed for no gain. Can we get a law passed that Miller never touch the ball on 3rd and short? Conversion here makes it almost impossible for the Patriots to win the game, given their timeout situation and a fresh set of downs for the Texans.

2:28 remaining in the game, Texans lead 30-28: So on the subsequent 4th and 1, O'Brien decides to kick the field goal, go up 33-28, and make the Patriots score a touchdown to win the game. All very sound, except for one small thing — the Patriots employ Tom Brady as their quarterback. Going for it on 4th and 1, even with the Texans short yardage struggles, was the call here. A conversion effectively ends the game, and never puts Brady back on the field. A miss on 4th and 1, and Brady needs just a field goal to win the game, not a touchdown, but let's face it, if Brady gets the football, considering how leaky the Texans secondary was all day, Brady gets whatever he needs to win the game. Field goal? Fine. Touchdown? No problem. When the upside of a coin flip type decision is "the is game over," you go with that, especially when you're a huge underdog on the road.

0:23 remaining in the game, Texans trail 36-33: With one timeout left and first and 10 at their own 25 yard line, the Texans put what was left of the game in Watson's hands. On the first play, he hit DeAndre Hopkins for 21 yards to the Texans 46 yard line. Hopkins was tackled with 13 seconds remaining. Right there, the final timeout should have been called. It would have given the Texans one more play to get into field goal range for Ka'imi Fairbairn. Instead, the whole thing was a clusterBLEEP. O'Brien apparently called for a time-consuming spike at the line of scrimmage, Watson was confused, calling for a spike and then time out, and finally the refs gave them a time out with three seconds left. Ten seconds vaporized. THIS is vintage O'Brien. He has been doing this for four years. For a head coach who spends large chunks of training camp working on situational football, he is mind numbingly inept at coaching situational football. - HOUSTON PRESS

 

The Texans are expected to promote wide receiver Chris Thompson from the practice squad to the active roster, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.

Thompson takes over the roster spot occupied previously by wide receiver Andy Jones, who was released Tuesday.

Thompson is an undrafted rookie from the University of Florida.

Thompson had 16 kick returns in college for 355 yards and nine catches for 78 yards.

That was probably the worst call of the game

 

Deshaun Watson: Texans’ Approach With the Rookie QB
1. The Texans have used a lot of condensed formations with Deshaun Watson. In other words, receivers are lining up close to the offensive tackles, as opposed to out wide. Bill O’Brien did this 20 times against New England, 14 of which were passes. The formation’s compactness sets up rub routes and switch releases for receivers, and creates more field to attack on out-breaking routes. But condensed formations also cluster the defense, making it easier to disguise coverage and pressure. Some coaches are reluctant to put young QBs in this situation. No defense does more with disguised pressure than the Titans, who Watson faces Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see how O’Brien’s men line up. - SI

 

HOUSTON – If the 1-2 Houston Texans are to knock off the 2-1 Tennessee Titans and get back into some control of the AFC South race, several players must step up.

Houston has more than enough talent to defeat the visitors from Tennessee. It’s a matter of that talent doing their respective jobs to the best of their ability and living up to expectations.

Here are four Texans who need to have a better game in Week 4 than they have in recent weeks to make a home victory a reality.

Tyler Ervin

Houston’s return specialist has not been special thus far. Other than one nifty punt return in the opener, Ervin has not found the open lanes or been aggressive enough at turning the ball up the field. The Texans blocking in front of him on returns remains substandard, to be fair, but Ervin has left yards on the field too.

The second-year running back can also contribute in this game as a weapon out of the backfield. Ervin doesn’t get many reps but does have good receiving ability, and the Titans do have some vulnerability to backs who can catch.

Benardrick McKinney

Houston’s inside linebacker is really on the spot with Tennessee’s versatile running game. With Marcus Mariota capable of running the read option at quarterback, McKinney must make quick and decisive reads and not get caught flat-footed or in the wrong gap.

Both of those issues have been present in the first three weeks. On the whole the third-year backer has played pretty well near the line of scrimmage but has also been caught being a half-count late to the party. That won’t get it done against the likes of Derrick Henry or Demarco Murray.

The Titans also use tight end Delanie Walker on intermediate routes quite frequently. He’s Tennessee’s leading receiver and does a lot of his damage in the void between the LBs and the safeties. That has never been McKinney’s strong suit.

Kareem Jackson

Houston sorely needs Jackson to elevate his play from a bad game in New England. Filling in as the starter for injured Kevin Johnson, Jackson wound up being on the business end of a lot of Tom Brady’s success, particularly on routes to the middle of the field.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson was the team’s least-effective defensive player in Week 3. The Titans offense is a much different stylistic animal from the Patriots. Marcus Mariota can run, and the Titans as a whole love to force defensive backs to make tackles in isolated space. Jackson is a better tackler than he is in coverage, and he needs to step up and prove it.

Lamar Miller

Miller might rank in the top 10 in the league in rushing yards, but he’s not been able to break out for many big plays. The veteran running back is not making tacklers miss and seems to get hung up on the second cut, which is where most runners really earn their money.

Charles still knows how to run the football. And Lamar Miller still knows how to fall down. pic.twitter.com/l98VRdLn0g

— Andy Holloway (@andyholloway) September 28, 2017
The Texans run blocking has done him few favors, but if Miller could shake the first tackler and bake to the outside with a sharp cut, he could move the chains on his own. That would help take pressure off Deshaun Watson, which is a winner for all parties involved.

© 2017 USATODAY.COM

 

Spotrac @spotrac·3h

Still holding out for contractual reasons, #Texans OT Duane Brown has now forfeited over $2.2M in 2017 game checks

 

Mancz injured and Allen back in the lineup

 

Houston Texans’ second-year running back Tyler Ervin suffered a torn patellar tendon during Sunday’s blow out win over the Tennessee Titans.

Ervin will undergo surgery and is expected to be placed on injured reserve. His season is now officially over

Ervin went down during a punt return in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. He’s such a vital part of the Texans’ roster.

Ervin has helped the Texans as a running back, wide receiver and a returner this season.

The Texans used a fourth round pick in the 2016 on Ervin, who played his college ball at San Jose State.

Texans’ rookie wide receiver Chris Thompson is expected to replace Ervin on special teams.

While it’s unfortunate to see Ervin go down for the season, the biggest concern right now will be whether or not his career could be over.

While many NFL players come back from torn patellar tendons, their careers are never the same and they often don’t last very long.

Former New York Giants’ wide receiver Victor Cruz suffered a torn patella tendon a few years ago and is now out of NFL after it became apparent that he’s no longer the player he once was.

While Ervin isn’t a star player, his injury could really hurt the Texans as this rolls on.

 

HOUSTON (SPORTSRADIO 610) – The Houston Texans announced they placed running back Tyler Ervin on the injured reserve list on Wednesday. In a subsequent move they signed safety Marcus Cromartie to the 53-man active roster.

Ervin left Sunday’s 57-14 win over the Tennessee Titans with a knee injury and was ruled out for the season on Tuesday. Ervin was mostly used as a change of pace and pass-catching running back while also featuring as the prominent return man on kickoffs and punts.

Cromartie is in his fourth season in the NFL playing the previous three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and playing in 21 games. He was born in Mansfield, Texas.

 

The Texans were awarded linebacker Ben Heeney off waivers from the New Orleans Saints.

They cut safety Kurtis Drummond.

Heeney is a former Oakland Raiders fifth-round draft pick from Kansas and had 127 tackles and one interception as a senior.

Heeney spent his rookie season with the Raiders on injured reserve, and was briefly on the Saints' practice squad and active roster this season.

Drummond played in all four games this season, recording no tackles. He spent last season on injured reserve.

 

To progress, Texans must follow Titans rout with win over Chiefs

It's easy to be high on the Texans after last week.

Fifty-seven points.

Broken records.

Clear improvement.

Good football.

As well as things went in their 57-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday at NRG Stadium, it doesn't matter.

Not when 4-0 Kansas City comes here for "Sunday Night Football."

The Texans have looked better each week.

Rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson is settling in.

The defense is returning to last season's form.

The offense is better than any the Texans have had in years.

But a loss Sunday would drop them to 2-3.

Those 57 points … none of them carry over to this week.

Sunday night's game is a big opportunity. There's reason for optimism. Last week's win was the most complete the Texans have looked.

From start to finish, they were cohesive. They put together solid drives, made timely stops and forced turnovers.

After the game, the Texans were happy with what they had done, pleased with their performances, excited about the victory.

By Monday morning, it was behind them.

As it should have been.

"I mean, we're 2-2," J.J. Watt said. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It's not like we're the ones that are 4-0, so we've got to be a little bit tempered with that."

As encouraging as the dominant victory was last week, a victory by any margin Sunday would be more impressive.

Dynamic on offense

The Chiefs are the only undefeated team in the NFL. They're No. 2 in the league in total offense, averaging 405.2 yards per game. They're No. 1 in rushing yards with an average of 163.5 yards per game.

When going up against an offense that explosive, the Texans have to bring their best defense. The way they played last week was a start.

The defense was rested against Tennessee because the offense was on the field so much.

The defense will have to be strong early to hold off the Chiefs. Kansas City will try to establish the run early, which the Chiefs have been extremely efficient in doing. They have lost just one fumble this season.

"They're not jumping off, they're not making a lot of penalties and they're not turning the ball over," Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vraebel said of the Chiefs. "That's a good recipe for success in this league."

The defense needs to limit the Chiefs' offense; the Texans need to continue improving offensively.

Since the start of the season, the Texans have looked better on offense each game.

After a rough start in Week 1, they found some footing in Week 2 against the Bengals in a 13-9 win.

Watson improving

By Week 3, Watson was much more comfortable. He started showing off his unique skill set more, moving in the pocket, eluding tackles, making decisions on the fly.

The offensive line has improved more than any part of the team since the first week.

By Week 3, its pass protection was much better and the young quarterback had time to react on several plays.

The result: Watson gained confidence on every snap. In turn, he found more receivers, worked out of tough situations and became tougher for opposing defenses to figure out.

Last week, the offense took it a step further.

In addition to what it had accomplished against the Patriots despite a 36-33 loss in Week 3, the Texans put together their best rushing performance of the season against the Titans, gaining 175 yards.

Still, if they are beaten Sunday, they'll have a losing record.

Titans game a benchmark

When it's all said and done, improvement counts for nothing if it doesn't come with victories.

They have 12 games left this season, a long way to go if they want to make a jump this year.

Last week gave a taste of what these Texans can accomplish.

It will be forgotten in an instant if the Texans can't follow up with a win over Kansas City.

A strong performance, a close call, a moral victory won't be enough.

The Texans need to win.

They scored 57 points last week. They start with zero Sunday night against a team that averages more than 30 points per game.

If the Texans truly want to prove they can be a top-tier team, they'll need to put on a good show that ends with a W. - CHRON

 

Your Houston Texans lost two of their best three defensive players in the Sunday Night Football loss to the Chiefs tonight. Whitney Mercilus got hurt first and left the field with a “chest injury.” Then J.J. Watt got hurt on the same series and was eventually determined to have suffered a season-ending leg injury.

Now we’ve learned that Mercilus’ injury is also of the season-ending variety, because when it rains it pours.

#Texans Whitney Mercilus has a torn pectoral and will be out for the year. Huge blow to maybe the most underrated pass rushers in the NFL.

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 9, 2017
Whitney Mercilus has a torn pectoral. Will require surgery. Out for the season.

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 9, 2017
Texans fans may remember Torn Pectoral from such prior works as Mario Williams’ 2011 season. BATTLE RED Blog

This stinks

 

PFF Grades:

Last night was awful and so sad and so very gross. That doesn’t stop the analysis. Pro Football Focus graded the Texans last night. In a dark night there are a few bright spots.

First, the Texans’ offense.

—Deshaun Watson had another solid performance in almost bringing the Texans back. Watson continues to be good with no pressure, completing 8-of-15 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and he was improved under pressure with 8-of-16 for 135 yards with three touchdowns and three sacks. Watson wasn't great throwing downfield, completing only 6-of-16 attempts, but hose six completions went for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Watson finished the game with an overall grade of 80.1, sixth best among QBs in Week 5.

—Running back Lamar Miller put forth another good effort as he forced four missed tackles on his 15 rushing attempts with 43 of his 74 yards coming after contact.

—It was a rough day for right tackle Breno Giacomini (40.6) who allowed one sack and seven additional pressures on 42 pass-blocking snaps. As a whole, the Texans gave up four sacks and 14 pressures.

—It's clear that Watson is keyed in on DeAndre Hopkins who saw 12 targets, while no other receiver or tight end saw more than four. It wasn't the most efficient night for Hopkins, but he was productive as he hauled in just 4-of-12 targets for 52 yards with three touchdowns, one dropped pass and a passer rating of 87.5.

Next, the Texans’ defense.

—J.J. Watt is out for the season after injuring his knee against the Chiefs. Watt was putting together a great year, ranking sixth amongst interior defenders with an overall grade of 89.3, including tying for third with a un defense grade of 90.2.

—Stepping in for Watt, Christian Covington saw a seson-best 45 snaps, but it wasn't a very productive day. Covington finished the day with just one pressure on 30 pass-rushing snaps and just one stop on 15 running snaps en route to an overall grade of 44.4 for the game.

—Nose tackle D.J. Reader provided some stability in the middle as he produced one pressure and a batted pass on 20 pass-rushing snaps, while posting three stops on 28 run snaps. Reader posted the highest overall grade of the day for the Texans at 82.0, and sits at 21st overall through five weeks for interior defenders with a grade of 81.6.

—Cornerback Kareem Jackson continues to be victimized by opposing pass offenses as he allowed 7-of-8 targets for 71 yards with one touchdown, 46 yards after the catch and a 143.2 passer rating allowed. Jackson currently ranks as the 98th-best cornerback with a grade of 42.1 for the year thus far.

—On the other side, it wasn't much better for cornerback Johnathan Joseph who allowed 4-of-6 targets for 91 yards with a long of 38 while allowing a passer rating of 109.7.