In answer to Mr. Harvey's question.

With the 27th pick.....why not Te'o for Texans? Randy Harvey, HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)


Answer:  Because he's slow (4.82 in the 40) not near as big as advertised (6'1 1/4 244lbs instead of the 6'2" 255 lb linebacker ND pretended he was) not especially strong, not all that quick or sure of foot (he fell down during the pass rush drill) and his game tape against Alabama (the closest he came in college to playing against NFL level talent) was abysmal.


Next question.

Picks vs. Reality (Week 4)

So, How'd I do?  And do I owe John McClain an apology or no?

Pick: Titans 10 @ Texans 27
Reality: Titans 14 @ Texans 38
If anything, I under-stated just how bad the Titans were, and things get knocked out of whack when a starting QB went down.  Still. 1-0

Pick: Vikings 24 @ Lions 13
Reality: Vikings 20 @ Lions 13
Not too bad.  This game played out just as I thought it would. 2-0

Pick: Panthers 7 @ Falcons 35
Reality: Falcons 30 @ Panthers 28
Way off on the score, but I got the W/L correct.  Since I'm not a handicapper I don't do point spreads, but I was surprised by the Panthers offense in this one.  It's an ugly 3-0 but I'll take it.

Pick: 49'ers 27 @ Jets 3
Reality: 49'ers 34 @ Jets 0
Reality is pretty ugly for the Jets right now.  4-0

Pick: Seahawks 24 @ Rams 20
Reality: Seahawks 13 @ Rams 19
Not sure what to make of this one.  I thought the Seahawks should handle St. Louis but they looked terrible. 4-1

Pick: Saints 20 @ Packers 41
Reality: Saints 27 @ Packers 28
The Saints are already in panic mode, perhaps the Packers should be.  I watched a lot of this game and neither team is any good.  Again, it's ugly, but I'll take 5-1

Pick: Redskins 13 @ Buccaneers 6
Reality: Redskins 24 @ Buccaneers 22
All in all not too bad.  But I was surprised the Redskins let the Bucs score that much.  Neither team is any good. 6-1

Pick: Bears 27 @ Cowboys 24
Reality: Bears 34 @ Cowboys 18
It's hard to predict a 5 INT game, but that's what Tony Romo served up last night to the Bears.  The Cowboys need to gut this thing and start over but, given their owners super-sized ego, there's little chance of that happening.

Final results: 7-1 for the same games John McClain of the Chron was 5-3.

So I don't owe an apology to the General, and he did do a good job on the picks he got right.  It still feels like he's picking based on how he felt the teams were at the start of the season, as opposed to what's been playing out in live games.  This suggests that the Chron's NFL "expert" is not watching a lot of NFL football.

Neat, one-week experiment which I think I'll let go.  Will probably keep picking 8 games per week however, for no other reason than I want to track how I do.

NFL picks: Week 4

Picking NFL games is not my favourite pass-time, I tend to enjoy picking college games more.  However, since Houston is in dire need of some NFL prognostication I've decided to give it a whirl on week 4.

If I end up with a worse record than McClain then I'll retire from NFL prognostication and return quietly to college, with an apology to the General soon to come.  I think I'm going to beat him however.  All picks are straight up, I'm not worried about the betting line, I'm not a handicapper.


Titans 10 @ Texans 27 - Should be a relative walk in the park for Houston's pro football team.  And by walk in the park I mean expect the running game to finally get on track as the Titans fold into a 2-deep shell.

Vikings 24 @ Lions 13  - The Lion's defense has been atrocious this year. Minnesota is better than a lot of experts thought.

Panthers 7 @ Falcons 35 - Anyone who thinks this game is going to be close hasn't been paying much attention to football for the first 3 weeks.

49'ers 27 @ Jets 3 - An angry San Fran team, a beat up and suddenly struggling Jets team that can't run the ball?  Go Niners!

Seahawks 24 @ Rams 20 - This final score is in place provided Sam Bradford stays healthy all game.  Given the nature of the Seahawks D I'd say the odds are 50-50.

Saints 20 @ Packers 41 - The biggest question for this game is whether or not New Orleans remembers how to tackle.

Redskins 13 @ Buccaneers 6 - If, after last week's disaster, you pick Tampa Bay to score more than ten you need to turn in your prognosticator card.  It's not that they can't do it, it's that they're unlikely to unless the play calling changes drastically.

Bears 27 @ Cowboys 24 - Chicago's defense has been pretty stout this year.  Romo and company tend to struggle against physical, ball hawking defenses.  Should be close however because both teams are flawed.

Titans love letters and bad picks....

Put them together and you have the out of touch NFL writer that is John McClain.

Johnson Struggling to get ground game going with Texans on deck. John McClain, Ultimate Texans.

Mike Munchak and Bruce Matthews are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame because they were among the greatest blockers in NFL history.  Now they are coaching the worst running game in the NFL.

It is difficult to imagine Munchak, Tennessee’s head coach, and Matthews, the Titans’ offensive line coach, having a running game that ranks last at 39 yards a game and 2.6 yards a carry.

One of the biggest mysteries in Nashville is whatever happened to running back Chris Johnson. From 2,006 yards in 2009 to $30 million guaranteed last season to 45 yards on 33 carries in three games this season.

It's not a mystery, at least, not to anyone who's been watching Johnson run.  The guy has no head for contact any longer.  He moseys into the hole and then, when he sees the safety or line-backer bearing down, he goes into tap-dance mode, tries to bounce outside.....right into the waiting arms of a tackler for a minimal gain or loss.  Yes, the holes aren't as big as they used to be, signs of a Tennessee team that's done a horrible job building an O-line, but they are there.  It's just that Johnson doesn't have the will to hit them hard any longer. 

It's well known that McClain has a soft spot in his heart for K.S. (Bud) Adams and the Titans, it has to pain him to be writing about a team that's this bad.  Fortunately, for him, he's been able to take out that frustration on an average Texans team in years past.  This year however that habit is just making him look sad.



I just have one thing to say about this:

John McClain's picks for week 4, John McClain, Ultimate Texans

McClain’s record last week: 4-12 (.250) straight up; 5-11 (.313) vs. spread
Season: 24-24 (.50) straight up; 17-29-2 (.375) vs. spread

Ouch.

Judging by this week's picks he's not going to improve those numbers much.  Granted, it's been a tough year to pick, with a lot of formerly good teams falling by the wayside, but still.  25% last week?  Yeesh.

And....they're back

That was fast.


Regular refs to work Thursday game after agreement. Barry Wilner, Boston.com

The NFL’s regular officiating crews are back. Their return couldn’t have come soon enough for many players, coaches and fans.

After two days of marathon negotiations — and mounting frustration throughout the league — the NFL and the officials’ union announced at midnight Thursday that a tentative eight-year agreement had been reached to end a lockout that began in June.

I will admit to being surprised by the sense of urgency the league displayed in getting this done.  Yes, Monday night's game was a travesty, and people were angry, but now all that's gone and the NFL becomes about football again and...well, fans who tune out when things are on the skids for their team are now out of excuses and are going to start tuning out.

This had to have been a case where public pressure (or perceived public pressure) drove negotiations.  Of course, the replacement (I refuse to call them scabs, that's unprofessional) referees were becoming a distraction bigger than the game.  Perhaps a majority of the owners finally came to the conclusion that their most important product should be game being played on the field?

One can only hope.

Any way, welcome back to the "regular" referees,  you replacement crews can now go back to having your Sunday afternoon's off, and watching the NFL like the rest of us.

What John McClain thinks.

I'm sorry but I find it ludicrous that this type of writing & thinking is taken seriously enough to be given copy inches in what used to be a newspaper of record for America's 4th largest city.

Texans are rising, but they're not number 1 yet. John McClain, UltimateTexans via Chron.com

After the first three weeks of the season, the Texans are the best team in the AFC, perhaps the best in the NFL.
But in this week’s NFL rankings, they’re second behind the Atlanta Falcons.
And I apologize to the NFL’s other unbeaten team, the Arizona Cardinals. What the Cardinals have done — beating Seattle at home in their opener, winning at New England and mauling unbeaten Philadelphia 27-6 — is more impressive than what the Texans and Falcons have done.
Why not Arizona? Truthfully, I thought the Cardinals might be among the three or four worst teams after preseason, so I rated them low in my first ranking. Even though they were red-hot over the second half of last season, I thought their quarterback issues would contribute to their being among the worst teams.

So McClain's rankings aren't truthfully based on what's happened on the field, but where he sees each team based on pre-conceived notions about what types of teams they're supposed to be, despite not spending much time following in real time.

Part of me wants to tell you that ALL NFL power rankings are worthless, but there are some that are stats based and come just about as close as you can come to objectivity However, even those fall way, way short. There was no power ranking that I saw last year which had the NY Giants anywhere NEAR the top position. I heard some analysts say that the Giants were scary, and a team that could make a deep run, but no one was seriously placing them number 1.

The problem with McClain's ranking system is that it doesn't appear that real-world results mean much to him.  He's decided to base everything on his extensive tenure covering the NFL.  In other words, he's fallen victim to the "longevity equals experience" fallacy, the idea that since someone has been around a long time they know what they're talking about.  You see this a LOT in the media, where reports who have covered an issue for a long time are considered "experts".  They're not, of course, they're just experts on writing about the subject matter.

In some way this could be McClain's desperate attempt to stem the tide of "rah rah" coverage emanating from ChronBlog when it comes to local sports teams.  That's admirable, but misguided when the facts don't back up your assertions.

The fact is that the Texans are currently one of the top three teams in the league.  It appears (to many National observers) that they are number one.  This appearance is entirely based on what's happened on the field, and the analyst's opinions regarding talent, coaching etc.  In some sense they all do what McClain is doing, but most are savvy enough to alter their perceptions when conditions warrant.  To be clear, my beef is not that McClain has the Texans at #2, it's his incredible justification for doing so.

Now's where I tell you that these NFL power rankings are ridiculous.  In College football the Top 25 is a necessary evil to provide some structure for the B(C)S.  In pro football we find out who is the real number one, as decided on the field in February.


As it should be.

As such, I vow to not pay any attention to any NFL power rankings.  It's just an excuse to drive page hits to a media outlet's website to comment on information that has no practical use whatsoever in determining which teams are good or bad.

I can't believe I have to even write this.

I'm only going to say this once.....


Peyton Manning is NOT coming to Houston, period, end of story. Why would he want to have to compete for a starting job with Schaub when there are ones out there he can step right into?

Also, remember this: Cost of living calculators don't mean much when you're in Peyton's income bracket. Miami or San Fran, and my money is on Miami.

Let's be honest

It was a boring game, with a pretty exciting last couple of minutes.


I'm biased here, because I think the NY Giants are the most boring team to watch in the NFL. They won, congrats to them. It's on to the NFL draft.

Pre-Season (College and NFL) Thoughts...

It's the most...wonderful time...of the year.....


1. OU is a worthy pre-season number one, but the rest of the AP Top 25 is based more on reputation than what's probably going to happen.

2. Houston Texans: 8-8 'Nuff said.

3. The Eagles will NOT win the Super Bowl. Repeat: The Philadelphia Eagles will NOT win the Super Bowl.

4. The New England Patriots are going to be pretty good this year.

5. ....the Carolina Panther's aren't.

6. The SEC is STILL the best conference in the land. It's not even close.

7. 4-team super-conferences are right around the corner. There will be 5. Everyone else is out. (Are you listening UH?)

8. Speaking of UH, for the first time in a few years I haven't followed them AT ALL in the off-season.

9. If a Longhorn Network turns on in the woods, and no one can see it, does Mack Brown still call interviewers by their first name?

10. Two words: Brady Hoke. Michigan is now OK.


Let's play some football.

Draft thoughts....

Sorry, it's been a while....

1. San Francisco 49ers: I still don't understand skipping on Gabbert, not do I understand not getting an elite DB for a below-average secondary. Kendall Hunter is Gore's heir apparent, I get that, but the rest of their draft puzzles me. (P.S. Get well Frank...please)


2. Houston Texans. I don't know, I give up with this team. Yes, D-line is a need (has been for years) but the secondary and weak-side LB is a much bigger need. Instead the Texans go out and get another couple of pass-rushers, which is basically the same pick they've whiffed on for the past several years. I like the CB pick, and Yates, outside of that color me unimpressed. (Note: Watt was picked around the same time as Travis Johnson and will be wearing #99. Uh-oh.)


3. Cincinatti Bengals: Many pundits have this rated as the best draft in the league and I concur. The Dalton/Green combination could be paying dividends for years to come, and their Offensive line picks are potential starters. The sleeper in this draft could be Finley, a very underrated back from Baylor. Now that the Ochocinco side-show is leaving town along with the continually regressing Carson Palmer, look for the future in Cincy to be now.


4. Cam Newton: Yes, there's a lot of controversy about this pick but I think the nay-sayers are being a little ridiculous. Newton is not Russell and he has all of the tools to be a top-notch NFL QB. Besides, his family's money concerns have been solved. Carolina needed a QB desperately, Cam fills that need.


5. Detroit Lions: Think about this: opposing QB's will face the prospect of being the middle of a Suh/Fairley sandwich. Wow. If the offense can continue to improve this could be a playoff contender this year, certainly be next year.


6. New England Patriots: You hear it every year: "no one works the draft like the New England Patriots". This year they're called "one of five draft winners". My question is this: If they'r so good at the draft then why is their defense falling apart, lacking talent and experience? Yes, they work the mechanisms of the draft well, and they find some late-round gems, but overall I'd say the recent Patriots draft record is just slightly above average instead of the world-beater as it's constantly portrayed as.


7. John McClains draft grading...."F". over 90% of the teams have a passing grade, with many of them receiving B's. There were plenty of losers in this draft, McClain has just lost the ability to analyze that.


8. The NFL as a whole...."F". This was the first year in a while that I didn't watch the draft. The bottom line is, I don't care. Given the fact that we have a bunch of rich people hollering at each other and gumming up the court system should make you not care either......


Bring on College Football.

The Pick.

Green Bay: 24

Pittsburgh: 21



Aaron Rodgers MVP.

Say what you want about Jerry....

At least the guy wants to win.....


(Rob Ryan working out final details to become Cowboys' DC, SportsDAYDFW, Dallas Morning News)

Rob Ryan's interview to become the Cowboys defensive coordinator has finally concluded.

Before he left Valley Ranch, the first two candidates head coach Jason Garrett interviewed for the position were crossed off the list.

Ryan arrived at the team's practice facility this morning and didn't leave until shortly before 6 this evening. He met with Garrett for a large part of the day then was sheparded into the team's executive offices late in the afternoon to meet with owner Jerry Jones.

Of course, Rob Ryan was a guy many Texans fans wanted to be the DC of their hometown team. Instead they got Coach Cupcake, fresh off of his disaster of a term as Cowboys HC.

Jerry Jones has his detractors, with good reason. He's heavy handed on the team, his ego gets in the way of his team winning, and his treatment of Tom Landry was deplorable. All that said, the guy wants (needs) to win.

Contrast that to Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, who called his team in after the Jets loss to tell them the other NFL owners assured him he's "on the right path."

The Texans are a joke of a franchise, and their no accountability owner is lost without a rudder, their head coach is not anywhere near ready to take this team to the playoffs, and their new DC is a retread who's been brought in primarily because of his connections to Luv 'Ya Blue.

One owner wants to win, the other doesn't have any clue HOW to win, nor does he seem to have the fire in his belly to do what's necessary TO win.


Guess which owner has the worst expansion franchise in NFL history?

Glass half full

Welcome to the 49'ers Coach Harbaugh. As a card-carrying fan I wish you the best of luck finding a QB to run the offense. If you can, this team has a young nucleus that could be a contender for years to come.



Now, if we could just get Michigan a decent head coach I'll be more optimistic entering the next football season than I have in years.


At least the Texans will be hilariously funny over the next season.

(Re) Draft

Interesting story in today's Wall Street Journal about potential options for re-thinking the NFL draft.

(Why the NFL Draft Drives Economists Crazy, Reed Albergotti, Wall Street Journal)

For a league that does many things well, the first round of the NFL draft is a mess.

The league gives its worst teams first crack at incoming college talent in the name of parity, but instead of giving bad teams a leg up, it often forces them to draft players they don't really need at prices they can't afford. Many top picks hold out of training camp before they sign, only to end up with enormous contracts that have little to do with their true value to a football team.

What's more, as this page reported Wednesday, NFL teams have a 50% chance of blowing a first-round pick entirely—the sort of costly gaffe that can set a franchise back for years.

...

There's no shortage of potential draft fixes: Players and their agents would like a more free-market system, similar to European soccer, in which transfer fees in the hundreds of millions are handed out like drink coupons. "Why don't we just abolish the draft and have everyone become a free agent just like any other workaday world?" asks football agent Steven Feldman.

One thing that struck me about this article was that everyone was ignoring what the draft is really about. Yes, there's the fluff about 'stars of the future' and 'building your team for tomorrow' and all of the sappy stuff you see on ESPN and all of that is somewhat true. But the MAIN reason for the NFL draft is to fire up the fan base in the off-season and make a little money while doing it.

Move to an allocation or lottery system and there's not going to be near the run-up one sees to the first pick of Round One. There won't be any renting out of Radio City Music Hall, there won't be a draft-day party at Reliant Center, and their won't be well....much of anything really. Using computer algorithms for Doctors, an industry where a 'draft bust' could have life and death consequences, is one thing, taking away the potential for failure out of the NFL draft is another animal all-together.

Want proof? Take a look at the most talked-about pick last night: The Broncos trading up to pick NFL maybe-QB Tim Tebow. Do you really want to take away that element?

If the financials are a concern then I have a solution that everyone but the players and their agents are going to like. Have all rookies enter the league at a pre-determined entry salary. Not for long mind you, only for two years so that their play can be evaluated before teams are required to throw Millions of dollars their way. At the end of two years, the teams & the player can either come to terms on a new contract or the player becomes a free-agent with another team being forced to give up a compensatory draft pick to the team that did not sign the player. Alternatively, if the team decides to not pursue contract negotiations then the player is a free agent outright. I'm not suggesting this is a perfect system, but it would take away the element of gambling from the player evaluation process. You'd still have the potential that a team could blow it, (Cheap teams or teams with bad management being the most obvious) but at least that risk could be mitigated somewhat.

In professional sports as a whole, top draft picks now consider their Multi-Million dollar signing bonus to be a birthright, making pro-sports one of the few industries where employees can earn a Millionaire's salary with zero accomplishments. As I said, players and agents would hate this rule, because it would mean that they actually have to produce before getting paid.

Sort of like you and I right?

Why "Draft Experts" usually aren't....

CJ Spiller falls to 20? Not very likely. As a matter of fact, the mock drafts from writers whose projections are based on (at least) some league sources have Spiller going in the top 15.

Now, were we living in an NFL alternate reality where Chris Johnson didn't exist? Spiller probably falls that far. My main hope is that he doesn't go to the Seahawks, because a runner with that type of speed and quickness would be murder on the 49er defense.


FWIW: I'm quite happy if San Fran drafts either Earl Thomas or Brian Bulaga. Won't be the sexiest picks, but they'll be solid. With their second pick in the first round I'm guessing Claussen is the pick. Smith was a bust of a pick and SF needs a QB. That ND to SF connection has worked before....

The Texans had better not fall into the Ryan Matthews trap or this will become another bust of a draft. I've already stated that Taylor Mays is my first choice, but it looks as if that's not going to happen. Second choice would be Kyle Wilson. If neither of those are available then they should look at best available that is NOT a running back. (At 20, you can think about an interior D-lineman for that matter, there will still be several good ones on the board) The Texans should think about Hardesty from Tennessee in the third or fourth round to fill their RB needs. In the 2nd round Parrish Cox would be a nice fit at CB.

The NFL Championship Game: Post Mortem

It's Monday after the biggest American sporting event of the year...and God Hates Indiana.

I know this because I saw it on the news last night & I heard it at work this morning. You see, God answered the prayers of New Orleans fans, but chose to ignore the please of Colts fans.

The result?


Saints 31 Colts 17


Enjoy your inevitable eternity in Hell Indy fan. At least until next season.


Some thoughts:


In hindsight, Indy should have ran the ball more - Of course, I can't prove what I said during the game so you'll have to take my word for it, but after the first Joseph Addai TD I said (out loud even) that Addai and Donald Brown could potentially take this team on their backs and carry them to victory. Oh sure, I understand that Peyton Manning is one of the best QB's of all time and that your passing game is what, for the most part, got you there but, when something is working as well as the Colts up-the-middle ground game was last night, why use it so seldom?


Sean Peyton > Jim Caldwell - I'm sure there have been worse coaching match-ups, but I'm not sure when. Too many times this season Caldwell has seemed like the care-taker we all assume him to be. Out shined by the bright lights of all that offensive talent, is the fact that Tony Dungy was a pretty salty in-game coach. Yes, his record on challenges were terrible, but his skill making adjustments was never given the credit it deserved. Caldwell didn't seem to make any adjustments and S. Peyton did, all game long.


As predicted: Halftime sucked - Note to the NFL: Next year, at halftime, if George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic aren't performing. We riot. No more rickety old bands who haven't had a hit during many viewers lifetimes. Quit programming to the baby-boom generation while you're marketing to their children. Wanna make the halftime show relevant again? Jay-Z and the P-funk all-stars. Jay-Z is smart enough to self edit.


The Local angle - Despite what you're going to hear over the next few weeks on talk radio and in the media, please listen to this next bit and take it to heart. In no way does the Saints winning this Super Bowl portend anything positive (or negative) for the Texans. Thank you, that is all. If you find yourself suffering from Irrational Texans Derangement Syndrome after reading a Richard Justice column, a John McClain blog post or listening to Vendermeer on 610M, please feel free to come back and re-read the above affirmation as a reality check.

The NFL Championship Game: Predictions

Since this is a sports blog, and today is the biggest event in US sports....



Indy 37 New Orleans 34

I hope. Because that means we had an exciting game that came down (close) to the end and both offenses were firing on all cylinders.

Indy has the better overall offense, a better QB and a better defense (even without Dwight Freeney). New Orleans has better fans, hotter players love interest and a Nation of fans behind them.

CBS carrying the game means that the announce team is going to be better than Fox, but the production quality will be worse.

I'm fully expecting the commercials to suck.


On a bright note: It's a beautiful day in Houston for grilling. Get yours done before the game starts.

The Point at which I stopped watching the Pro Bowl....

"ESPN welcomes you to...."


That's an exaggeration, a slight exaggeration. In truth, I reached for the remote control on a 3rd and 7 during the NFC's first drive. Mario Williams (of the Houston Texans) had Aaron Rodgers in his cross-hairs and.......


....walked right by him.


I'm not suggesting that Mediocre Mario light-up Rodgers as if it's the first half of the one game he's decided to really show up for in the regular season but, he could have at least made physical contact. Just wrap him up and drag him down, two-below him, grab his towel and wave it around like flag football or something.

I also don't blame the players for mailing it in. The idea of going all out in a game that doesn't matter is stupid. Why risk a career-threatening injury for that, under the new structure, is played in front of a bunch of lower-corporate ladder folks who weren't high enough up the food chain to score tickets to the real game?

The best thing for the NFL to do is name the team, give each winner a voucher for a round-trip ticket to Hawaii, and then require that they show up to some grand banquet where all of the season awards are handed out.

That would at least be worth watching.

Come down off the bridge....

...Texans fans, Richard Justice is here to tell you that everything is all right. As a matter of fact, that 2-3 grouping of persistent mediocrity and inconsistency is just on the cusp of greatness. I mean real, honest to God greatness. The kind of stuff of which legends are made. (or, at least, sappy NFL films with the good voice-over guy)

In a way, you have to feel for Houston's media. After 3 years of telling us all would be well during Kubiak's reign they've got nothing else to fall back on but the 'we're close' tab. More sober pundits are able to keep all of this in the proper perspective.

As for me? Well, I hardly make a claim to constant sobriety, but I did say 8-8 or 9-7 was the ceiling for this team....

On to grades.


Quarterback: B-
It's easy to be hard on Schaub, but the fact is he played a decent game, and was outstanding in the second half. He'll never be a "top-flight" QB, but he could be a playoff QB with the right pieces around him.

Running Backs D-
There's just not much to say about this unit right now that's any good.

Wide Receivers A-
It's too bad that Andre Johnson is stuck on such a sorry team. He's an All-Pro talent with an outstanding work ethic.

Offensive Line C-
Actually, not a bad game from this unit, except in the running game. The Center position is desperately in need of an upgrade. Pass protection was fair.

Defensive Line D+
Too much time for Kurt Warner to sit back and survey the field. The lack of a consistent pass rush is killing this defense.

Linebackers B-
Consistent, but nothing spectacular.

Defensive backs D-
Let's be honest with ourselves: No one one this unit would start for almost any other NFL team. There's no talent, no coverage ability and not much to talk positively about.

Coaching C-
Terrible game plan, decent halftime adjustments. Whatever you say about the coaching staff you have to admit they did a good job in the locker room at halftime.



Now for the bad news: The next two games against Cincinnati (4-1) and San Francisco (3-2) were both considered to be easy "W" games in the pre-season when pundits were making wild-eyed predictions of 10-6, 11-5 and playoff contention. It's probable that this inconsistent team that doesn't know how to win will be 2-5 heading into the bye week....and the toughest part of their schedule.

At least they didn't spike themselves

That's the new upside for the Raiders, the new benchmark for NFL futility now that the Lions are off the schneid. Not surprisingly, ChronBlog cheerleaders are out in full force. Of course, they're wrong, their analysis is sloppy and superficial but....hey....It's ChronBlog (Which, oddly enough, has become the new benchmark for Media futility, especially in their sports coverage*)

Solomon's column (usually one of the more level-headed sports columns in Chron-Blog, if not always accurate) really contained the most errors, from Dunta Robinson being a player to the Texans being in a battle with Indy for first place...huh? About the only thing I agree with him on is that Matt Schaub is better than Tony Romo. However, winning that battle is like being told you've won the congeniality award at the Beauty pageant....great.

As has become the norm, it's time for grades. I'm sure mine will be a little bit different than McClain's.


Quarterback: B- - For one half, Schaub looked pretty good, then the second half came and the game turned into a sleep aid. Against a defense as terrible as the one the Raiders are fielding there's really no excuse.

Running Backs: D - Steve Slaton can't find a hole and the best part of the Texans running game was Ryan Moats. That tells you pretty much all you need to know.

Wide Receivers: C+ - No one could get open in the second half, Daniels dropped a ton of passes and no one seems to have any idea how to get Andre Johnson the ball on a consistent basis. In the first half they were great.

Offensive Line: D+ - Did a better job against the pass rush (which isn't saying much) but still got pushed around in the run game like they were playing patty cake with a defense that wanted to run them over. It's a recurring theme, but the second half offense was abysmal.

Defensive Line: B+ - For a team with one total sack coming into the game the appearance of Smith and Amobi was welcome news. Granted, they turned it up against the worst team in the league, but still.

Linebackers: A - The LB's were the Texans best, most consistent unit of the afternoon. Play after big play was made by Ryans, Cushing and Diles. Cushing's best game as a Texans by far.

Defensive Backs: F - I know, I know, you think I'm being too hard on them right? Well, go back and take a look at the game again, and watch all of the times a wide open Raider receiver either dropped the ball or was overthrown. Too many. Yes, they make some plays, forced fumbles etc. but often those are made after a completion that shouldn't have been made in the first place were the cornerbacks and safeties in good cover position. The reason the run defense was better was due to the LB's and not to this group.


Coaching: A- - I thought the coaches did a good job this week. It was an easy game to come out flat for. The defensive scheme was smart, gearing to stop the run, as was the offensive game plan, relying on the short pass in lieu of a running game. I'm never going to be a big Kubiak fan as far as game management and talent evaluation goes, but they did a good job this week.


Texans fans are giddy after beating a glorified Top 5 College team 29-6. Talk of playoffs and 'respect' are in the air. Despite their recent struggles, I expect the Arizona Cardinals to put an end to all of that silliness next week. He may be getting old, but Kurt Warner is a damn sight better than JaMarcus Russell, and Fitzgerald, Bouldin & Co. aren't going to make the drops that Murphy and Heyward-Bey were making on a consistent basis.

As you can tell by the grades, there are still gaping holes in the Texans that aren't going to be addressed until the talent is upgraded significantly.







*Who knew that John P. Lopez leaving would be considered a downgrade in quality?