NFL FanHouse

Peyton Manning to Feast on Injured Texans Defense?

Stephanie Stradley — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:15:00 EST

The Colts have beaten the Texans every single time they've played except for once. In their upcoming matchup in Houston against the Texans on Sunday, Indianapolis is favored by 3.5. In their recent matchup in Indy, the Colts were fortunate to win by 3 as Texans kicker Kris Brown missed a field goal to send it into overtime.

In five of their last six meetings, the Colts-Texans games have been decided by six points or less. Unlike their previous matchup, the Texans will be missing a key member of their secondary: safety Eugene Wilson broke two toes in his game against the Titans and has been placed on IR. His absence after a preseason injury caused by a Brett Favre-fined low block contributed to the Texan defense's bottom of the league slow start. In general, it is not a good thing to be missing a starting safety when your team is facing Peyton Manning.

Safety Bernard Pollard claims that Wilson has made his transition to the Texans much easier.

Other Texans defensive players who are expected to play but have injuries of unknown severity include linebacker DeMeco Ryans with an ankle injury that kept him out of practice some this week and linebacker Brian Cushing with the same foot injury that has limited his practices for most of the season. Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye missed Thursday and Friday practices with the flu and just got out of the hospital, and though it isn't being acknowledged much by the team, there's speculation that defensive end Mario Williams' shoulder is still bothering him.

Ultimately, the Texans' game plan has more to do with their offense than their defense. They need to keep Manning off the field, and try to get 3's instead of 7's from the Colts.

Of course, the Colts have their own concerns. They put two dozen (!) players on the injury report list, including Manning with a "glute" injury that limited his participation at practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Peyton Manning to Feast on Injured Texans Defense? originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Zebra Report: Mangini's Timeout Gaffe

Matt Snyder — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Browns, Cowboys, Lions, Redskins, Texans, Titans, Vikings, NFL Coaching, NFL Referees

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

As the clock struck zero in the Lions-Browns game, there was a pass interference penalty called on Cleveland in the end zone. In the aftermath of the play, Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford laid on the field injured. The officials called an injury timeout for Stafford. Also, Cleveland head coach Eric Mangini took a timeout to seemingly do nothing more than lambast the officials for what appeared a pretty obvious interference call.

There are three rules that apply here. First of all, the Lions are definitely entitled to one more play.

Rule 4-8-2: At the election of the opponent, a period may be extended for one untimed down, if any of the following occurs during a down during which time in the period expires: (a) If there is a foul by the defensive team that is accepted, the offensive team may choose to extend the period by an untimed down after enforcement of the penalty.

Secondly, the timeout by the Browns is what enabled Stafford to stay in the game. Otherwise he would have had to sit out the final play.

Rule 4-5-4c: When an injury timeout is called, the injured player must leave the game for the completion of one down. The player will be permitted to remain in the game if (inside the two-minute warning): (iii) the opponent calls a timeout.

Finally, the Lions were out of timeouts. The officials initially announced Detroit would be charged a team timeout. The announcers were adamant there was some mistake by the officials herein, but they were mistaken (shocker, I know). The Lions were bailed out by two different factors here. First of all, Mangini called a timeout.

Rule 4-5-4b: If a team has used its three charged team timeouts, an excess team timeout shall be called by the Referee, unless: (iii) the opponent calls a timeout.

Also, the Lions would be afforded the luxury of one "excess" timeout which comes with a 10-second runoff, yet no yardage penalty. In this case, the clock was already at zero, but the Lions -- see above -- were guaranteed one final play due to the defensive penalty. Of course, Mangini took this out of play anyway when he called a timeout.

Finally, there is no yardage penalty for the first "excess" timeout. There would have been for the second and every subsequent one thereafter. The officials in the Browns-Lions game got this entire interpretation correct.

Other officiating nuggets from Week 11

o. In the Titans-Texans there were two supposedly subjective calls that seemed not-so-subjective. First of all, a horse-collar tackle was called on John Busing when he tackled Chris Johnson to open the Titans' eventual game-winning drive. Replays clearly showed Busing had a hold of Johnson's jersey in the upper back region and definitely was not a horse-collar. Also, on a previous drive, one of the Texans defensive linemen clearly tripped Vince Young on a pivotal third-down incompletion. Adam Gretz informed me there was a discussion in the FanHouse live chat during the game in which some were insistent you could trip a ball-carrier. You can't:

Rule 12-1-7: No defensive player may trip an opponent.

These two blown calls once again brings to the forefront the issue of what coaches may or may not challenge. Obviously, there are very few penalties you can challenge and complete judgment calls (such as holding or pass interference) cannot be challengeable under the slippery slope premise. But, if something is cut-and-dry -- like a horse-collar, tripping, facemask or contacting a receiver inside five yards versus outside five yards -- it seems that it wouldn't do any harm to allow coaches to challenge the ruling on the field. After all, it's not like they have unlimited challenges. They'd still have to pick their battles.

o. An anonymous reader submitted this question: "I would like to know why it is not intentional grounding when a QB spikes the ball to stop the clock. There is no eligible receiver at the center spot, the QB is not outside the tackles and the ball does not cross the line of scrimmage. To me it should be a penalty."

There's a special exception here. Under the intentional grounding rule (8-3-1):

Item 3: Stopping Clock. A player under center is permitted to stop the game clock legally to save time if, immediately upon receiving the snap, he begins a continuous throwing motion and throws the ball directly into the ground.

o. A reader submitted this a few weeks ago: "In the Giants Chargers game, Eli Manning rolled away from pressure heading to the sideline. With no receiver open, he threw the ball away before stepping out of bounds. Officials ruled he was already out of bounds and it was a sack. Replays clearly showed the he was not out of bounds but the missed call cost the Giants 5 yards in a very close game, giving them 3rd and 14 instead of 3rd and 9. My question is: why such an obviously missed call is not reviewable?"

I'd have to guess that he's referencing a sack in the game log at the 4:06 mark in the fourth quarter. That's the closest thing I can find to the explanation in the email. In a reply exchange, the reader told me Tom Coughlin threw the red flag and was told he could not challenge the ruling on the field. I haven't been able to find a replay, but -- if it happened as was explained above -- I believe the officials were incorrect. And we actually have proof from a Week 11 game ...

o. Because here is a submission from co-worker Chris Sesno: "Jason Campbell was scrambling out of the pocket with about 25 seconds left and just inside of field goal range. He ran to sideline and as he was stepping out of bounds (about a 10 yard loss) he also threw the ball away -- and the pass didn't reach the line of scrimmage while in-bounds. They initially ruled he stepped out of bounds, thus they stopped the clock and marked the ball down after the loss of yards. Jim Zorn couldn't challenge since it was under two minutes, so they let the clock run for delay of game. After the delay of game, the refs reviewed Campbell's scramble and ruled that he threw the ball before he stepped out, it was close but definitely the right call. Then they spotted the ball 5 yards behind the original spot of the ball (before he threw away, and tacked on the 5 for delay of game). Then they went back and nullified the delay of game and moved the ball back up to the original line of scrimmage. With 15 seconds on the clock and third down, the skins tried a field goal and Suisham missed it from around the 29."

OK, let's sort this out. First of all, this appears to be the exact same situation as the Manning play above was described and this one was reviewed. So why couldn't Coughlin challenge the Manning play? You got me.

On this particular play, let us recall an issue I discussed last week. A delay of game penalty -- much like a false start -- is a "non-play." So the previous play can still be reviewed. You might recall in my explanation a few weeks ago when I covered this question, I pointed out there was nothing specific in the rules as to what would happen to the penalty if the play was changed. I said my guess was the penalty would simply be ignored and that's what happened here.

As to a possible grounding penalty, Campbell was outside the tackle box, but the ball crossed the out of bound line clearly short of the line of scrimmage. Here is the rule in question:

Rule 8-3-1: Item 1: Passer or Ball Outside Tackle Position. Intentional grounding will not be called when a passer, who is outside, or has been outside, the tackle position throws a forward pass that lands at or beyond the line of scrimmage, even if no offensive player(s) have a realistic chance to catch the ball (including when the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or endline).

This is a tricky one. From the language in the rule, I could see it going either way. Does the ball crossing the line of scrimmage once out of bounds mean Campbell's off the hook? Or was the last parenthetical statement only referring to offensive players? It seems to me it should have been intentional grounding, but it's entirely possible I'm reading this rule incorrectly (after all, I'm only trained in high school and we don't have the "outside the tackle box" exemption).

o. Finally, we had another tripping call for a blocker whipping his legs up at the defender. This time it was Jason Peters of the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. It was, again, identical to Jeff Dugan's trip in the Vikings' loss to the Steelers, but I've yet to hear anything further from all the Vikings fans who chastised the league and myself. Interesting.

Got a rules-related question? Whether it's elementary, high school or NFL, email TZR and he'll see what he can do.

Zebra Report: Mangini's Timeout Gaffe originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Monday Night Football Live Chat: Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans

Adam Gretz — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, Titans, NFL Live Blogging

For the second week in a row Monday night football features a team hosting the team that used to play in its home city. And if the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans simply show up tonight, it will already be better than whatever it was we witnessed last week between the Ravens and Browns.

That said, Vince Young looks to lead the Titans to a fourth straight win, while the Texans need a win to keep pace in their fight for their first ever playoff appearance. Please be sure to stop by the live chat and take part in the fun. Chat kicks off at 8:30 PM ET.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=3cf5facd7f&amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Monday Night Football Live Chat&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Monday Night Football Live Chat: Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Zebra Report: Know Your Surroundings

Matt Snyder — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chargers, Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Panthers, Raiders, Redskins, Saints, Texans, NFL Referees

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

This past week of NFL play was relatively quiet in terms of complaints about the officiating. Note I said "relatively," because there are always a bevy of complaints -- many warranted and many ridiculously unwarranted. We know that. Regardless, we're still here to sift through some of the more intriguing rules-type interpretations, so let's dive in.

- A loyal reader (Dave B.) submitted this question on a play that caused a bit of a scrap on the Falcons' sideline:

"I was hoping you might take a look at the late hit by LaRon Landry in the 'Skins-Falcons game. I've tried to look at it, and it seems that Matt Ryan hadn't stepped out of bounds yet (his body was over the line, but neither of his feet had touched) when Landry made contact with him. If that were true, isn't Ryan still technically in bounds? The hit did seem pretty unnecessary, but wasn't against the rules if Ryan's foot hadn't touched yet."

Watch the play in this highlight package, it starts at the 1:09 mark.

This is one of the tougher judgment calls officials have to make, especially in full-speed and in a split-second. Here is the portion of the rule (12-2-8, p. 82) which applies here.

"(Unnecessary roughness includes ... ) contacting a runner out of bounds. Defensive players must make an effort to avoid contact. Players on defense are responsible for knowing when a runner has crossed the boundary line, except in doubtful cases where he might step on a boundary line and continue parallel with it."

This is a part of the rules constantly taught to lower-level officials in clinics by the NFL guys. At every level, it is the responsibility of the defender to avoid contact on a player entering the end zone is clearly going out of bounds. In the case of Ryan, there was no danger of him cutting back into the field of play. When someone is slowing down and clearly looking straight out of bounds and heading that way, the defenders need to avoid contact. He's not cutting back and staying in bounds, so just let him run out. It harms no one.

This call becomes extremely tough when a player isn't necessarily showing signs of wanting to go out and may still make a cut up-field. It's all discretionary, but the rules of football are very clear in that the burden is on the defensive player to know his surroundings.

In this specific case, I don't even think there's a question that Ryan was clearly headed straight out of bounds -- and was already there -- by the time Landry hit him.

- In the Colts-Texans game, Ryan Moats is tackled just shy of the end zone and the ball comes loose. Upon further review the officials rule that it was a fumble and the ball was never out of bounds. You can watch the play by clicking here and watching at the 35-second mark and beyond. There are several elements here that must be reviewed.

First of all, was it a fumble? It does appear the ball is coming loose before a knee hits the ground. Was it conclusive? I think so, but others may have a different opinion.

Secondly, was any player out of bounds when touching the ball -- even if he doesn't have possession? If so, the ball is dead. You might think the ball was definitely touching Moats when he was out of bounds, but was he legally out of bounds? I point you to the definition of being out of bounds (rule 3-21, p. 11), where it says that someone -- or the ball -- is out of bounds when touching "anything other than a player, an official or a pylon on or outside the boundary line." That means that, since Moats was laying on top of Antoine Bethea, he was not out of bounds when he crossed the sideline.

From the Texans' point of view, they don't seem to be questioning the part about Moats being out (though that's the main complaint of fans). They have offered up that they believe Bethea -- who was definitely on the ground and out of bounds -- touched the ball. There are some still photos and an argument that Bethea touched the ball when he was out of bounds contained in this linked article. We've included a poll to let us know what you think, and feel free to drop comments. This was a very close one.

- As I've said before, you can't exactly trust announcers to know the rules. We can add former-Super-Bowl-champion-coaches-turned-announcers to that list. During the fourth quarter, the Saints punted the ball near their own end zone. A member of the Saints' coverage team accidentally ran into the end zone, but got himself back out before touching the ball. It was downed on the one. "He can't be the first one to touch that!" Brian Billick screamed. Um, Brian, yes he can. It's not the sideline. Here is the only stipulation involving coverage team contact with the goal line on a punt (rule 9-2-2, p. 63):

Item 2: If a player of the kicking team touches the goal line with any part of his body while touching the ball, the ball is dead, and the result of the play is a touchback.

He doesn't even have to get both feet established, as play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman tried to tell Billick. Just don't be touching the goal line with anything.

- Reader James G. submitted this question. In the Raiders-Chargers Week 8 game, there was a questionable play followed by a false start. After the five-yard penalty was marked off, there ended up being a challenge. The simple answer to the question, "how can you challenge the previous play after a false start" is precisely that a false start doesn't constitute an actual play. It's not a play. So there still hasn't been a play run since the questionable (and still reviewable) play. Of course, James didn't make it easy on me. He asked a legitimate question as a follow up. What if the play is reversed and the spot is changed? Would the false start still be assessed? I searched through the entire enforcement and instant replay sections of the rulebook and found absolutely nothing resembling direction on this question. I have no idea. I would guess that the penalty is not assessed and is simply ignored because they altered the previous result, but that's just an educated guess. Well, as educated as you consider me, at least.

- Vikings fans/Steelers haters, there was a tripping call on Arizona in the Bears-Cardinals game for the exact same action as was called on Minnesota in Pittsburgh a few weeks back. Seriously, it was like the lineman was trying to emulate Jeff Dugan by whipping both legs back up at the leaping defender. What happened there? Was this game fixed, too? Are the Bears "stealers," too?

- Finally, in that same game, Tommie Harris was ejected for punching a Cardinals lineman in the first quarter. This was an absolute no-brainer. Good decision by Ed Hochuli.

Got a rules-related question? Whether it's elementary, high school or NFL, email TZR and he'll see what he can do.

Zebra Report: Know Your Surroundings originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texans Should Just Stay Away From Larry Johnson

Dan Graziano — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:40:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, AFC South, NFL Analysis

Maybe Texans coach Gary Kubiak was just doing the standard NFL coach non-answer thing. When asked yesterday about his team having interest in just-released Chiefs malcontent RB Larry Johnson, Kubiak hemmed and hawed, called Johnson "a good player" and said, "We'll take a look at him." And this might mean nothing, of course. Might mean Kubiak really can't say whether his team is interested, because maybe he doesn't want him but the owner does or vice-versa or something like that. If they do end up pursuing the guy, it won't help negotiations much if the coach is out front saying, "Yeah, we really want him." So Kubiak said basically what he's supposed to say, and reading too much into it is probably a mistake.

But regardless of what's really going on behind the scenes, and regardless of the muddle they have going on right now with Ryan Moats playing on running downs and Steve Slaton playing on passing downs or whatever they're trying to with their running backs, I think the Texans ought to take a pass on Larry Johnson. I think they have too much good stuff going on there right now to bring in his kinds of issues.

I've seen the Texans in person twice this year, and I've been impressed both times. I was in Cincinnati the day they throttled the Bengals (the only team this year, incidentally, that's beaten the Bengals without the benefit of a last-second, bad-bounce miracle Brandon Stokley touchdown catch). I was in Indianapolis this past Sunday, when they were a controversial goal-line fumble and a last-second missed field goal away from beating the unbeaten Colts for what would have been the biggest win in Texans franchise history. Houston is 5-4 now as it enters its bye week, and while that's not exactly setting the world on fire, there are a lot of reasons to consider them real contenders for a playoff spot in the season's second half. Just the way they are right now.

First, they have superstar-level talent all over the field. Matt Schaub, as fantasy owners the world over will tell you, has blossomed into an elite NFL quarterback -- one that currently leads the league in passing yards and touchdown passes. Andre Johnson is a beast -- a receiver who turns the nearly impossible trick of actually managing to stand out physically and athletically from the rest of the supremely gifted players on an NFL field. Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans are star-level leaders of a defense so good that the Colts changed their whole offensive game plan on Sunday morning in order to combat the Houston pass rush. If the Colts, who haven't lost since last season and are 14-1 all-time against the Texans, have that much respect for the Texans, something positive is definitely happening in Houston.

The Texans are also, as I was informed yesterday by FanHouse's resident Texans expert, Stephanie Stradley, an incredibly young team, without a single starting player over the age of 30. For that reason, it's easy to look at what happened in Indianapolis on Sunday and dismiss the Texans as sloppy. They had the goal-line fumble, of course. (By the running back who got his job because the other guy fumbled too much. Oh, irony...) And they committed 13 penalties in the game for a total of 103 yards. They were whistled five times for being offsides, including once for offensive offsides, which is a penalty I'm not sure I'd ever heard called before.

But the penalties were not the sign of a young, undisciplined team but rather an aberration. In their first eight games of the year, the Texans were called for an average of just 5.4 penalties per game, and were allowing an average of just 47.1 penalty yards per game. Those are figures that ranked them among the league's least penalized teams.

This team didn't sulk its way out of Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The Texans believed they had played well and had a real chance to beat one of the best teams in the league, and they chose to focus on that aspect of their day.

"When you consider the number of errors and penalties that we had, to be in position to win the game like that, I think that's pretty remarkable," Texans owner Bob McNair said. "I think that speaks to the toughness of this team."

Yeah, they have a good thing going on in Houston right now. Even the running back situation could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. After all, there's no shame these days in using a running back committee. If Ryan Moats is more reliable with the ball in his hands, and Steve Slaton's a better pass catcher and blocker on passing downs, then maybe they've actually improved as a result of this mess. At the very least, they've discovered another useful-to-good offensive weapon in Moats for the rest of the year.

I think the Texans are a legitimate AFC playoff contender right now. I like them better than the Jets and the Chargers, and while I may not like them better than the Ravens, their record is better. They're in the mix, and their own mix looks like a good one. Why add something like Larry Johnson to that? Seems like it'd be asking for trouble.

Texans Should Just Stay Away From Larry Johnson originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Colts Turn Up Tempo to Stay Unbeaten

Dan Graziano — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:38:00 EST

Filed under: Colts, Texans, AFC South, NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Analysis

INDIANAPOLIS -- You expect the Colts to throw, and throw a lot, but even for Peyton Manning and his band of merry, pass-happy men this was a little bit nuts. Indy ran nine plays -- eight of them passes -- in the first two minutes of the game, averaging one every 14 seconds, completely disregarding the play clock and leaving their star offensive players more than a little bit tuckered out.

"I wouldn't call it fun," said tight end Dallas Clark, who caught 11 passes in the first half and 14 -- for 119 yards -- in the game. "When you run 60 plays in the first half, you're going to feel that on Wednesday and Thursday. But the win makes it feel a lot better."

More: Check Box Score | Young, Titans Win Again | Seattle Rallies

The win, a hold-your-breath 20-17 squeaker that wasn't assured until Houston's last-second field goal hooked wide left, improved the Colts to 8-0 and kept alive their hopes to repeat the Patriots' 16-0 regular season of two years ago. The Patriots are the next obstacle in Indy's path, heading here to Lucas Oil Stadium next Sunday night for a showdown of AFC powers. But for the Colts this day was all about holding off the very game division-rival Texans, and the insane early pace was a key aspect of that plan.

"That was by design, and it was almost like our two-minute operation in terms of the tempo of the game," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "Sometimes, if you go fast enough, quickly enough, you can slow down some pass rushers. And they've got some pretty good ones."

The Colts were very concerned about the Houston defense. Manning pointed out after the game that Houston came in leading the league in "three-and-outs" -- series in which the offense fails to get a first down and has to punt the ball after only three plays. To combat this, the Colts made the decision Sunday morning to come out in a souped-up, no-huddle from the opening kick.

"We knew they were going to go no-huddle, but man, they were high-intensity," Texans safety Bernard Pollard said. "And I'm not going to lie -- they caught us off-guard."

Houston countered with a nickel defense, which makes sense in the abstract if you're convinced the other team is going to throw on every play. Problem was, with the nickel back covering slot receiver Austin Collie and the safeties staying back to defend against the deep ball, Dallas Clark spent the whole game matched up against a linebacker. And that's a mismatch.

"When we get an opportunity to get him on a linebacker, most of the time Dallas is going to fare pretty well," Caldwell said.

And they milked it. Manning targeted Clark eight times in the first quarter, and Clark caught all eight. He targeted him five more times in the second quarter, and Clark caught three of those. At halftime, Clark had 11 catches, putting him more than halfway toward Terrell Owens' NFL record of 20 catches in a single game.

But the funny thing was, in spite of possessing the ball for 16:52 of the first half, and in spite of moving the ball down the field with relative ease until they got near the goal line, the Colts' halftime lead was a mere 13-3. And after the Texans dominated the time of possession in the third quarter, they were able to open the fourth with a Steve Slaton touchdown run that put Houston on top 17-13.

"We didn't finish drives like we're capable of doing," Caldwell said. "That's a concern."

Oh they came back, of course, as Manning always seems to. He marched them right back down the field, mixing in a couple of run plays this time and scoring on a Joseph Addai touchdown run with 7:16 left in the game. The frenetic pace of a first half that saw Manning throw the ball 40 times was gone, replaced by a more humble and plodding game plan. And the win wasn't sealed until the injury-riddled defense managed to hold on at the end and Kris Brown's 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired missed to the left. But they did win, and they're still undefeated. And while they'll admit they have plenty to work on, the Colts would tell you they won at least in part because of how much they respect the Texans.

"We were just able to hang on and find enough gas in the tank to finish it," Clark said. "A couple of plays here or there, and they're the ones celebrating in the locker room."

So now it's on to next week, when Tom Brady and the Patriots will try to take advantage of the injury-depleted Indianapolis secondary in ways in which Matt Schaub and the Texans could not. What Caldwell and Manning come up with for the Patriots remain to be seen. Do they dare ramp up the tempo the way they did this week, enticing Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker into a potentially classic (and potentially dangerous) shootout? Or do they dial it back a little bit in an effort to keep the Patriot offense off the field?

These are questions for later in the week. As they dressed and headed out after their hard-fought win against the Texans on Sunday, the Colts were a happy but very tired bunch, and they weren't thinking about next Sunday night yet.

"Coach told us we get about 12 hours to enjoy this one," Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. "And I'm going to take my full 12."

Colts Turn Up Tempo to Stay Unbeaten originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Ryan Moats Earns Texans' Starting Job

Chris Burke — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Texans

Running back Ryan Moats almost single-handedly carried Houston to a Week 8 win at Buffalo -- scoring three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Texans turned a 10-9 deficit into a 31-10 victory.

He'll be rewarded for that effort, too. Houston coach Gary Kubiak told ESPN's Bob Holtzman that Moats will be his team's starting back when the Texans play in Indianapolis Sunday, according to Adam Schefter.

Kubiak also said that Steve Slaton, who's had major issues with ball security this year, will share carries.

As Stephanie Stradley wrote earlier this week, Kubiak won't put up with fumbles. Slaton's put the ball on the turf seven times this season, leading to five turnovers, and has coughed the ball up once in four of Houston's last five games.

He's also struggled to gain yards when he has held onto the football -- over the past five games, he's had 72 carries for 211 yards, a measly 2.9 yards-per-carry average. Moats, on the other hand, averaged 5 1/2 yards per run at Buffalo, piling up 126 yards on 23 carries (in addition to two catches for 25 yards). In his only other playing time with Houston's offense this season, in a Week 4 win over Oakland, Moats ran 15 times for 56 yards.

Even before Kubiak's proclamation, Moats was the most-added player in Fleaflicker's fantasy leagues this week, and this news won't slow that momentum, though Slaton will still be in the mix, as Kubiak reportedly pointed out.

Houston will rely on its ground game to keep the Colts' Peyton Manning off the field -- and that likely means plenty of touches for both Moats and Slaton. As he did in the Buffalo game, Kubiak will go with what's working.

Right now, that's Moats. But as the Texans saw in Buffalo, things can change in a hurry.

Ryan Moats Earns Texans' Starting Job originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

What's the Story on Steve Slaton?

Stephanie Stradley — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, AFC South, Fantasy Football

If you write about the Houston Texans, the No. 1 question you get from fans and fantasy football types is what's up with Steve Slaton? In the last game against the atrocious run defense of the Buffalo Bills, Slaton was benched after only one catch and carry because he fumbled the ball. Yet again. Slaton has a league-high seven fumbles for the year.

Coach Gary Kubiak was up front about the benching, talking about it to Slaton and the team: "I told Steve in the locker room to get his chin up. This team needs him playing well and making plays and I'm expecting him to come right back next week and help us."

I don't know if anyone knows whether Slaton can get on track. Kubiak wants two things of his runners: one, no negative yards, no dancing in the backfield, just pick a hole and go; and two, no balls on the ground. Slaton has struggled with both of these things this year. Given that the best way to beat the Colts is to keep quarterback Peyton Manning off the field, the Texans are going to want to be able to run the ball this Sunday, and Kubiak says he wants Slaton to be a part of that.

Kubiak certainly needs Slaton's help facing the Colts on the road, a place where the Texans have never won. Last year in Indy, Slaton had his best rushing day in the NFL with 156 yards on the ground and no receiving yards. With tight end Owen Daniels done for the year with an ACL tear after leading all league TE's in yards, the Texans are going to need the rest of their playmakers to make plays. Though Slaton has very much struggled this year in his rushing yards, he has 314 receiving yards despite being pulled so early in the Bills game. The top three receivers for the Texans have been Andre Johnson, Daniels and Slaton, so they certainly want him to be on track.

Last year, Slaton got carries because the Texans had few choices. Running backs Ahman Green and Chris Brown were out due to injuries, and Ryan Moats was a guy who was added to the roster after camp. Though Moats and Brown are both healthy, the Texans are going to want Slaton's big play ability. Even so, Kubiak is going to want to reward Moats' three-touchdown performance against the Bills because he tends to want to reward great play on the field whether it comes from named stars or not. Moats had a good performance earlier in the season in limited minutes, but didn't play the next week due to a turf toe injury.

Kubiak in talking about the running back situation in his Monday press conference said he wanted to "play them all," and that he may look to working in Slaton at different downs.

The running game in general has struggled for the Texans partially due to both starting guard positions being replaced for injuries. In addition, last year, the running game started off slow and improved as the year progressed, mirroring Slaton's season. Now that teams see that he fumbles the ball, they are holding him up and trying to strip it as he tries to gain extra yardage in traffic.

What's the Story on Steve Slaton? originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Owen Daniels Reportedly Out for Season With Right Knee Injury

Will Brinson — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries, NFL Rumors, NFL Analysis

Owen Daniels, the starting tight end for Houston, left the Texans' game early in the first quarter with a sprained right knee. The Texans managed to win (mostly due to Ryan Moats' beast of a game) but it appears as if the win will be pretty bittersweet, as it's being reported that Daniels is out for the season.

Adam Schefter innocuously (read: no link) dropped the news on Twitter, and the Houston Chronicle has -- kind of -- confirmed it, stating that Daniels will have an MRI on Monday but is "most likely" done for the season.

If Daniels does indeed miss the rest of the year, it's a tremendous blow for a Texans passing attack that had been one of the best in the NFL this year (third overall in passing yardage at 285.6 yards per game). Daniels led all NFL tight ends in yardage, was second in receptions, and third in receiving yards per game.

The tight end, as noted by Texans expert and now heartbroken fan Steph Stradley, had previously tore his left ACL in high school and his left ACL and MCL in college; this seems like the same injury, only to the other leg.

Daniels' five touchdowns on the season and 40 receptions were the most on the team and his 519 yards were second behind only Andre Johnson. So yeah, he will be sorely missed.

Fantasy Spin: This is a nightmare scenario for Daniels' owners, obviously, because thus far he's been the top scoring TE in all Fleaflicker leagues. Hold onto him for now (at least until Monday afternoon) because you don't want to find out he'll only miss 2-3 weeks right after putting him on waivers, but be thinking about a replacement immediately. Joel Dreessen will likely catch the balls from Matt Schaub, so if you're in a deep league, go ahead and make that play, just because Houston tosses the ball a lot. If you're in a shallow league, Ben Watson (34 percent owned), Tony Scheffler (57 percent) and Todd Heap (51 percent) are all viable options as well.

Owen Daniels Reportedly Out for Season With Right Knee Injury originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Steve Slaton Pulled in Houston Win

Matt Snyder — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST

Filed under: Bills, Texans, AFC South

My high school coach used to say, "no back is worth two fumbles," meaning if a running back lost two fumbles in one game, he should be immediately removed. Sunday in Buffalo, Houston's Steve Slaton didn't even get that chance. After just one carry and one catch, Slaton lost a fumble and was benched for the rest of the game. It was the seventh fumble -- losing five of them -- on the season for the diminutive back from West Virginia.

Even worse news for Slaton, and his fantasy football owners, was what Ryan Moats did in his stead. Moats racked up 126 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Texans' 31-10 victory over the Bills.

More: Check Box Score | Eagles Smoke Giants, Take First Place

Chris Brown also saw action out of the backfield, garnering 22 yards on seven carries, giving the Texans 186 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry. They entered the game averaging just 79 yards per game and 3.0 yards per carry on the ground. With all this in mind, it's definitely plausible that there might be some sort of shakeup in the Texans' backfield.

With the win, the Texans are now 5-3 and a legitimate threat in the AFC for the first time in franchise history. They will test their mettle next week when they visit the undefeated Indianapolis Colts.

Steve Slaton Pulled in Houston Win originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Andre Johnson Taken to Hospital

Matt Snyder — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:41:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, AFC South

For the Houston Texans, celebrating their 24-21 victory over the 49ers will likely come while they are holding their collective breath. That's because Andre Johnson, easily one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL, had to be taken to the hospital for examination following the game.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak described the injury as a chest contusion, and it occurred on a play during the fourth quarter. He actually returned for one play before realizing he couldn't continue to stay on the field in his condition. After discussing the situation with Houston medical personnel, he left the field.

"We're concerned," (head coach Gary) Kubiak said. "He could not go at the end and so there is concern until we see."

Kubiak said he would further update Johnson's status at his Monday press conference.

Johnson caught two passes for 62 yards in the game, but, even when he doesn't put up huge stats, he is an integral part of the Texans' offense. He often draws double coverage, which frees up his teammates in their high-powered passing attack.

The Texans are now 4-3 after the victory Sunday and will travel to Buffalo to face the Bills next week.

Andre Johnson Taken to Hospital originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

What Rust? Michael Crabtree Sees Plenty Of Action in NFL Debut

Nancy Gay — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:10:00 EST

Filed under: 49ers, Texans

The San Francisco 49ers waited through training camp and the first seven weeks of the regular season for their first-round draft choice, wide receiver Michael Crabtree, to make headlines for something other than his contract demands.

The 10th overall pick did just that Sunday, supplanting starter Josh Morgan and sending two other key 49ers receivers -- Brandon Jones and Jason Hill -- to the inactive list at Houston's Reliant Stadium. That gave Crabtree a starting assignment in his NFL debut, and the former Texas Tech star showed he was worth the wait.

Lined up wide, often opposite veteran Isaac Bruce, Crabtree caught five passes for 56 yards, many of them coming against the Texans' press coverage. Three of his catches resulted in 49ers' first downs.

More: SF-Houston Box Score | San Diego Dismantles K.C.

But while Crabtree's presence didn't snap a two-game 49ers' losing streak -- the Texans won 24-21 after taking a 21-0 halftime lead -- he displayed impressive chemistry with both starting quarterback Shaun Hill and, later, backup Alex Smith, who replaced Hill at halftime.

Crabtree -- who spent the entire 49ers' Week 6 bye at the team's Santa Clara training facility working and studying the playbook -- was in on the first 38 of the team's offensive snaps and 48 of 54 total, after not playing a down of football since last January.

No one was sure how the two-week crash course would make up for the valuable time Crabtree squandered while embroiled in a 71-day contract impasse with the 49ers that finally resulted in him signing a six-year, $32 million deal on Oct. 7.

Coach Mike Singletary made Crabtree inactive for the 49ers' 45-10 Week 5 loss to the Falcons at Candlestick Park. But the no-nonsense Singletary promised his controversial rookie would be hitting the playbook, the film room and the practice field during San Francisco's Week 6 bye.

Clearly, Crabtree is not only a fast study, but he's showing those sure hands that saw him catch 97 passes for 1,165 passes for 19 touchdowns last season in Texas Tech's spread offense will be just as effective at the NFL level. In two seasons in Lubbock, Crabtree was a two-time consensus All-America selection, catching 231 passes for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns.

"He did a heck of a job," Singletary said of Crabtree's first NFL appearance.

What Rust? Michael Crabtree Sees Plenty Of Action in NFL Debut originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FanHouse in the Stands: Raiders Fan Can't Take It Any More

Stephanie Stradley — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Raiders, Texans, AFC West, NFL Fans

This season, FanHouse writers take their cameras to NFL stadiums to document what happens when you stop being polite and start getting real. Or something. We've cleverly titled it FanHouse in the Stands.

Right in front of me, I saw something happen at the Texans 29-6 win over the Raiders that I've never seen at a NFL game. A Raiders fan jumped onto the field, got tackled by security in the Raiders end zone, and the Raiders ran a play as the guy was getting handcuffed. Either the refs didn't see it happen, or they figured the guy wasn't in the field of play because the Raiders weren't going to be visiting the end zone with that offense. Zing!

That couldn't have felt good. The security guy in the yellow shirt moved pretty good for a big guy and tackled the Raiders fan down on the pylon. (Update: The video show the green shirted security guy got to him first. Still didn't look comfortable)

I always wonder what possesses a person to do such a thing when the likely end result is a trip to jail. Some might blame it on the a-a-a-al alcohol but a ton of people drink and don't sag-pants their way onto football fields.

I was able to track down the actual conversation between the police officer and the Raider fan (second-hand version as told by officer):

Officer: What were you thinking?
Raiders fan: The Raiders just make me so upset since they keep losing...
Officer: So you have been upset for a long time.
Raiders fan: (head down) Yeah...I guess so...

I have a lot of sympathy for that. I paid to watch David Carr "quarterback" for five years. I guess running onto the field is less drastic than eye bleach, for instance.

Another Raiders fan had a different way to cope with his team's wretched performance. Taking a nap.

An extremely loud cannon goes off every time the Texans score, and this guy didn't even flinch when it went off:

The north end zone at Reliant Stadium is called the Bull Pen. It's the part of the stadium with particularly enthusiastic fans who stand up the entire game.

The Bull Pen isn't a place I'd recommend for a visiting fan, especially one who decides to snooze.

Raider Fan didn't get the Sharpie treatment, though his head would have made a perfect canvas for some crude drawings if someone were so inclined.

Instead, some Texans fans were hospitable and gave him a Texans banner blanket and then everybody took cell phone pictures of him:

Unfortunately, Raider Fan woke up and decided he was hungry, and then proceeded to get nachos all over the fans around him.

Witnesses say that when those fans asked him to stop, he used choice profanities, including ones directed at kids.

He was escorted out of the Bull Pen by the yellow shirts -- the fan name for the security/usher guys that roam the stadium.

I have to say that the Raiders fans in my area of the stadium were pretty good people.

It's hard to get too obnoxious in a road stadium when your team is playing so poorly.

(Special thanks to Andy Martin of BullPenPhotos.com. He has many photos of the Texans-Raiders game, including special section he included for just this game involving *special* Raider fans).

FanHouse in the Stands: Raiders Fan Can't Take It Any More originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texans Rookie Anthony Hill Hospitalized With Swine Flu

Stephanie Stradley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:35:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, AFC South

If starting off the season 1-2 isn't bad enough, the Houston Texans have confirmed that one of their players has been hospitalized with Swine Flu, or the more accurate name, the H1N1 virus. At first, the Texans believed that rookie Tight End Anthony Hill had pneumonia but on Friday afternoon confirmed the flu diagnosis.

Coach Gary Kubiak says that they do not believe any of the other players have the disease, though he did acknowledge that a number of players were sick on Thursday but were back Friday. The team is taking precautions against the spread of the disease. Kubiak says that there is no panic about the situation within the organization, and believes that Hill is recovering may be released from the hospital this afternoon.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the H1N1 virus is spread like other flu viruses, by being around someone sneezing or coughing with the flu or touching surfaces that contain the virus and then touching the mouth or nose.

Being in the close quarters of a team environment can't make it easy to prevent the spread of such diseases. The CDC claims that a person can be infectious one day before they show signs of illness to 5-7 days after, and that this contagion period can last longer in people with the "new H1N1 virus."

Hill has not been activated for any regular season games this year so it won't likely affect game days unless other players contract the disease.

Texans Rookie Anthony Hill Hospitalized With Swine Flu originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texans Defense Is the Worst in the NFL

Stephanie Stradley — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, AFC South, NFL Analysis

The Houston Texans are dead last in total defense. It is no surprise given the big touchdown runs given up by the Texans defense to Thomas Jones, Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew. Fantasy football players have been feasting on the Texans defense for years, and certain offensive players in the AFC South probably should owe a part of their paychecks to them.

Explanations for the predictable struggles are easier to identify than the solutions:

Defense is Hard-To-Fix Bad -- The Texans defense has been worst-of-the-league bad over the last four years. When Gary Kubiak took over the team in 2006, the defensive cupboard was pretty bare. Out of all the players on the defensive roster in 2005, only Dunta Robinson is left. The Texans have drafted defense high from the beginning of the franchise but missed numerous times, including with Travis Johnson (first round) and Jason Babin (first -- trading second-, third-, and fourth-round picks, and swapping fifth-round picks; yes, that really happened), followed by trading away their second- and third-round picks to the Raiders to get Phillip Buchanon.

Former GM Charley Casserly treated draft picks like Chuck E. Cheese tokens and devalued lower round picks. Missing on key high picks means that the Texans do not have many defensive players who should be entering the primes of their career.

Defense is Young Except When It is Ancient -- The Texans defense is extremely inexperienced as a unit with the exception of defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina, who is the oldest defensive player in the league. They rely on rookies at key positions, and need to start a number of young lower-drafted guys because they have no other choice.

Part of this is Casserly missing on defensive picks who should now be vets, and part of it is choosing very developmental players on defense. Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye came into the league in 2007 as the youngest player in the modern era. This year's second-round pick, defensive end Connor Barwin, is playing only his second year on defense as a converted offensive player. I'm not saying they're bad players but it is easier to accommodate younger players on a team if they don't have to depend on them right away because they are playing with many experienced vets.

Young players make mistakes. Young defenses, then, have more opportunities to make mistakes. It would be nice to have some more full-growned mens playing on this defense, but quality free agent veterans are hard to find in the modern salary cap era because teams tend to keep their best ones.

No Proven Leadership -- The best players on the Texans defense are DE Mario Williams, LB DeMeco Ryans and CB Dunta Robinson. All players drafted by the team. It's hard to lead a team when you have never had any success yourself. The Texans offense has the same situation but have had a bit of success to make them believe that they can play better. The defense has been so bad for so long it is hard to envision it being better. There are no successful veteran players for the Texans who are in the primes of their career who have played for other successful teams.

New Coaches -- The Texans have a new defensive coordinator, new defensive line coach and new secondary coach. None of those coaches have worked together on a defense before. They promised a new aggressive defense but perhaps it is more than this group of players can handle. The Texans' DC, Frank Bush, is new to being a defensive coordinator. The positive to his choice is that he already knew the players, but the negative is that calling a defensive game is new to him. He can't point to a previous defense he was in charge of and tell the players that, if they do things like that, they will be successful.

Zero Continuity -- With all the turnover on the defensive side of the ball with both players and coaches, it has been hard to develop any sort of defensive continuity. Key defensive players were out for large portions of camp, including Robinson who was the only franchised tagged player in the NFL this season to skip camp and sign his tender right before the first game.

The Texans were experimenting with different lineups during the preseason trying to figure out some combinations that would stop the bleeding. It's hard playing as a team if you can't figure out what that team is supposed to look like.

Position Holes -- Remaking a roster over completely means that there will be more holes than ways to fix those holes. Next year, you could draft at just about any defensive position for the Texans and fill a need. Of particular problem right now is that they do not have the smart safety play that allows them to do some of the aggressive stacking of the line that they've been trying to do.

Defensive tackle has been an issue, with the Texans trying out different combinations all offseason. Cornerback is also an issue, with the Texans featuring Robinson and a bunch of young players who make big mistakes. Some of those mistakes are so large it makes Texans fans want Jacques Reeves back in the lineup after missing most of camp with a broken fibula.

In addition, former Cardinal Antonio Smith really hasn't persuaded anyone yet that he is the help that Mario Williams needs on the outside.

Can This Defense Be Fixed?

The question is whether this Texans defense can be fixed in 2009, and what does fixed mean? Can they get to the point where they look like a normal competant NFL defense? Can they stop giving up +60 yard TD runs?

This might be considered an overreaction after only three games in a season, but not so much after the defense has been so bad for so long.

The Texans publicly believe that these are mental and not physical issues that they can fix. For example, the Jones-Drew TD run was one the same play that they stuffed earlier in the game.

Some of the problems I identified are ones that may work out the more the team plays together as a team, but others may be harder to fix. It's not like the Jets, Titans and Jaguars are huge offensive teams, and given that the Texans face the Cardinals in the upcoming weeks, it appears as though things might get much worse before they get better.

Though the run defense is an obvious problem, it isn't like the pass defense is much better. Teams can pick their poison against the Texans because there is no such thing as an obvious passing down when running backs can break third and long for a TD. The Texans are dead last in the league in yards allowed on third down and second to the last in third downs given up, and most of that results from their performance on third and long.

In the short term, the best way for the Texans to reduce their total defensive yards given up is for the Texans offense to keep them off the field. The Texans offense demonstrated last year what they could do with long time-chewing drives.

In some ways, it appears as though the Texans defensive problems stem from trying too hard as opposed to not trying hard enough. Like many young defenses, they overpursue and don't always play smart, and fixing that sometimes can come from just experience.

With a defense that is young and inconsistent, the Texans will be as good as their offense can play from week to week.

Texans Defense Is the Worst in the NFL originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Zebra Report: Another Texan Controversy

Matt Snyder — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Jaguars, Raiders, Seahawks, Texans, Titans, NFL Referees

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

For the second straight week, the Houston Texans' offense was involved in a controversial call on a would-be touchdown. In Week 2, many thought they were the beneficiary of a bad call. In Week 3, the proverbial shoe was on the other foot. Let's get right to it.

- Kevin Walter is called for offensive pass interference, nullifying what would have been a game-tying touchdown. You can watch the replay by clicking here at the 2:30 mark and beyond. Walter appeared to be running a route over the middle of the field. As he looked back to Matt Schaub, he appeared to inadvertently run into a defensive player, who, in turn, was knocked into the umpire. A few seconds after this happened, Schaub found Joel Dreessen for an apparent touchdown. It was called back for OPI on Walter, under this rule.

(8-5-2, page 56) Prohibited Acts by both teams while the ball is in the air. Acts that are pass interference include but are not limited to: ... e) Cutting off the path of an opponent by making contact with him, without playing the ball.

and (emphasis mine)

(8-5-4, page 57) Other Prohibited acts by the offense. Blocking downfield by an offensive player prior to a pass being thrown is offensive pass interference. Note: It is also pass interference by the offense to block a defender beyond the line while the pass is in the air, if the block occurs in the vicinity of the player to whom the pass is thrown.

In this case, the word "block" is a generic term to cover any contact a player makes on an opposing player, impeding his progress. Don't get confused by the wording. Walter most certainly "blocked" the defender on this play. His intent doesn't matter, nor does where he's looking (at the ball or the defender). Also, I've seen on some Texans message boards that people are claiming head coach Gary Kubiak said this call is almost never made when the defense in in zone coverage. That doesn't matter, either. The officials aren't there to make a consideration based upon what defense is being playing. By letter of the law, this would be offensive pass interference, unless he's not in the vicinity of the player to whom the pass is thrown.

So, how do we define vicinity? That's judgment. My personal judgment would be that "vicinity" meant the act had an actual effect on the outcome of the play. What do you readers think? Did Walter's block come within the "vicinity" of the reception? We've included a poll for your vote.

Here are Kubiak's thoughts on the play from a press conference, after he had viewed the game film, just for what it's worth:

"I'm disappointed in that, but the call is what it is. They're playing zone coverage, they're playing quarters. Kevin's running a shallow cross and he actually runs into a linebacker and an official in there, so we sent it into the league. We'll see what happens. I was disappointed. We had a chance to overcome it. We basically had a chance to score twice down there, but we hurt ourselves both times with the call and the fumble."

- In Week 2, some thought the Raiders fans now had a right to be upset about the correct call in Week 1 on Louis Murphy's would-be touchdown -- which was ruled incomplete by rule. The scapegoat calls for Week 2 were a Jacoby Jones touchdown and a Dante Rosario touchdown. First of all, the call on the Murphy touchdown was correct. Thus, any calls Raider fans deem incorrect for the rest of the season still shouldn't bother them. Where's the logic in that? It's like getting a speeding ticket for going 20 miles per hour over the limit and then complaining that someone else was doing it and didn't get caught. Yeah, it sucks, but you were still speeding.

(For the record, I think Mike Florio -- who wrote what I linked above -- was just trying to drum up traffic with the title. He's far too logical to really believe those calls make a difference to the Raiders.)

Anyway, the Jones play is really, really close. Click here to watch the video, and the play in question is at about 1:55 on the highlight package. The official word from the league is that Jones maintained possession through hitting the ground one time, and then only lost it when he spun around and hit the ground a second time. It's true that if someone hits the ground once and keeps control, that's a catch and nothing that happens afterward matters. In this case, though, I could definitely see where people would question the judgment. Was Cortland Finnegan under Jones on the first hit? If so, he hadn't yet hit the ground. Also, was the spinning over the defender all one motion, in which case Jones would have to maintain possession the entire time? I'm fine with the call standing, but can definitely see where there's an argument from Titans fans (but not Raiders fans).

On the Rosario play, it was clearly two different motions. He made the catch in the field of play, and then turned upfield and extended the ball across the plane of the goal line (which would constitute a "football move") before losing control of the ball. One action was making the catch and turning upfield -- which means he now has fully completed the catch and has possession of the ball -- and the next was breaking the plane of the end zone. Touchdown. Case closed.

I can see from my inbox and from comments sections on past reports that this is an issue that won't be going away this season. Let us all just remember that every single play in every single game is unique. What happens in Week 5 doesn't have anything to do with a call in Week 1, especially as far as the judgment of human beings is involved.

- Jay Cutler was called for an illegal crackback block against the Seahawks, nullifying a sizable gain. The announcers attempted to compare it to the Brett Favre cheap shot (sorry, when you dive into the back/side of someone's knees downfield, I'm calling it a cheap shot for the rest of my life) on Eugene Wilson in the preseason. Once again, I can't find any good videos for the Cutler block, so I'll attempt to narrate without bias. The Bears ran a reverse to Devin Hester. Cutler appeared to stumble before blocking the defender around the midsection of his body. The defender was blindsided, in that he didn't see Cutler, but the hit was directly in the front of the defender. Here's the portion of the rule that applies:

(12-2-10, page 84) ... nor may he contact an opponent below the waist if the blocker is moving toward the position where the ball was snapped from, and the contact occurs within an area five yards on either side of the line of scrimmage.

and

Note 2: If runner (passer) scrambles on the play, significantly changing the original direction (broken play), the crackback block is legal.

Now, this wasn't a broken play, but it was a reverse -- which significantly changes the direction of the play. The main key to this call, though, was whether or not Cutler made contact with the defender below the waist or not. It doesn't matter that he meant to hit the defender high and the fact that he lost his footing took him lower on the defender's body. The only thing that really matters on judging this call is where he made contact with the defender. It was definitely close. What do you think? If you saw the play, vote in the poll and feel free to leave comments.

Got a rules-related question? Whether it's elementary, high school or NFL, email TZR and he'll see what he can do.

Zebra Report: Another Texan Controversy originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Suicide Pool Solution: Week 3

Brett Pollakoff — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:45:00 EST

Filed under: Cowboys, Giants, Packers, Panthers, Ravens, Texans, NFL Gambling

Each week, FanHouse takes a deeper look at the obvious -- and not so obvious -- options for your NFL suicide pool. Standard rules apply: pick one team to win straight up (no point spreads), and each team may only be used once.

If you were fortunate enough to stay away from the Packers and Titans last week, the good news is that you're still alive. The bad news is that you were probably forced to suffer through a shaky first half with the Vikings, or an entire game of misery while rooting in the Redskins.

Thankfully, things look to be a lot easier in Week 3.

With teams like the Ravens, Giants, and Packers all playing against the league's bottom feeders, most should be able to get by unscathed this week. But which of these seemingly lopsided matchups will give you the best chance to win in the weeks to come? Let's take a closer look.

The Ravens will undoubtedly be the majority play this week, and it's tough to find a reason not to take them. After two games, Baltimore has looked like one of the top teams in the league, showing flashes of dominance on both sides of the ball. They're hosting a Cleveland Browns team that has managed just one offensive touchdown over the first two games of the season, and it came two weeks ago.

The Browns managed just six points during their 27-6 shellacking in Denver, while allowing their quarterback to get sacked four times in the second half by the same player -- the Broncos' Elvis Dumervil. Ever heard of the word adjustment, Mr. Mangenius?

When you combine Baltimore's more complete attack with Cleveland's ineptitude, the Ravens are as close as you get to a sure thing in these contests.

But does that mean you take them this week?

If you're just into playing this game week-to-week, then yes, going with Baltimore should take you safely into Week 4. But if you're in it for the long haul, you need to look at the other reasonable options -- along with the rest of the Ravens' schedule -- before making that all-important selection.

The Giants are in Tampa Bay, and the Packers are in St. Louis, and both road favorites should take care of business against two of the worst teams in the league. A good rule to follow in these things, however, is to stay away from picking road teams unless it's absolutely necessary. Let's face it, if a huge underdog is going to rise up and take down a heavy favorite, it's more likely to happen at home than on the road.

The Rams were feisty in Washington last week, and the Bucs showed some fight in Buffalo, after falling behind 17-0 early. With much stronger options on the board, going with a road team this week is an unnecessary risk, with the only upside being the fact that you would get to save the Ravens to use down the road.

But a quick look at Baltimore's schedule shows that they really don't have any easy games at home until Week 14, when they'll host the Detroit Lions. And who knows if you'll even still be around by then, if you choose to go with road favorites when there's an easy pick on the board like the Ravens?

A couple of other options worth mentioning if you're hell-bent on not taking Baltimore include the Cowboys hosting the Panthers, and the Texans hosting the Jaguars.

Jake Delhomme only threw one pick last week -- you know, as opposed to the nine he threw in his previous two games -- and Carolina remained a single score away from Atlanta for most of the game. The Panthers might be slowly righting the ship.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys lead the league in team rushing, but they also gave up 33 points and over 300 yards passing in their loss to the Giants, without getting even a single sack on Eli Manning.

Dallas might win, but all I'm saying is, there are red flags if you're considering this one.

Houston looked great in Tennessee last week, winning a physical shootout and sending the Titans to an 0-2 start. They host a Jaguars team that kept it close against the Colts in Week 1, before they got crushed by the Cardinals in Week 2.

If you must shy away from the Ravens, the Texans appear to be a solid choice. Jacksonville had no answer for Kurt Warner's passing attack. so just imagine what Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson are going to be able to do. And the last time these two teams met in Houston (in December of last year), the Texans won by double digits. And if you need one more stat to convince you, chew on this: Houston is 7-2 when wearing their all red uniforms, which they'll be doing this Sunday.

So, yeah. After all of this analysis, I'm afraid that the Ravens are probably the best selection in Week 3. But hey, when you're in the early stages of what you hope will be a season-long contest, it never hurts to take a closer look at all of your available options.

Good luck this week.

Suicide Pool Solution: Week 3 originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texans-Titans Brawl Results in Fines, Missing Chunk of Hair

Stephanie Stradley — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, Titans, AFC South

Andre Johnson isn't much of a talker by most accounts, though Cortland Finnegan got his attention last Sunday. During the Texans' 34-31 win over the Titans, Johnson and Finnegan were yapping at each other the entire day, which eventually turned into a brawl after Johnson threw Finnegan into the players on the Texans sideline.

The other sideline is a dangerous place for any player to be during a brawl, and, according to this report from Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle, one unnamed Texan took a chunk of Finnegan's red hair off the field as a souvenir of the fight. Titans defensive tackle Jason Jones was ejected from the game for throwing a punch and one of the smallest Texans, wide receiver David Anderson, was assessed an offsetting 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The NFL has fined two Texans players -- Johnson $7,500 for unnecessary roughness in throwing Finnegan to the ground by his facemask, and Jacoby Jones $5,000 for unnecessarily entering the fight area. After the game, Anderson denied doing anything that should have resulted in a penalty, and apparently the NFL agreed by not giving him a fine.

Jones was fined $5,000 for throwing a punch. He claims that he shoved someone and never threw a punch, and Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he couldn't see a punch on the coach's film. The TV cameras were very slow to show the fight, and there were many players in the brawl, so it was hard to see what was going on. Personally, I think it looked more like a shove than a fist, but it is hard to see looking at this YouTube:

It's a strange league when punch throwing gets less of a fine than a sock violation or a player wearing a Jason mask during pregame warmups.

Texans-Titans Brawl Results in Fines, Missing Chunk of Hair originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Matt Schaub, Texans Working on Trust

Thomas George — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: Broncos, Jets, Ravens, Texans, NFL Notebook

NASHVILLE -- Matt Schaub displayed something for one of his teammates Sunday that he has been seeking throughout his time with the Houston Texans. It's not something that comes easily in the NFL, but Schaub concluded he would give it in order to receive it -- trust.

After Texans safety Eugene Wilson picked off Kerry Collins and returned the ball 13 yards to the Tennessee 29, Schaub threw a pass deep left to third-year receiver Jacoby Jones. Jones, wide open, dropped it. It was early in the second quarter. Houston trailed 21-14.

"Jacoby is a guy who's got swagger, and you want him to keep that, because he plays his best with it,'' Schaub explained. "He had that look after he dropped it; he was getting down on himself. You can't shy away from a player you believe in. I went right back to him.''

Next play -- wham! A 29-yard touchdown pass to Jones. A rifle pass, an assertive catch. A tie game.

And later,with the game tied at 31-31 in the fourth quarter, Schaub found Jones for a 44-yard connection to the Titans 24 that set up Kris Brown's winning field goal. Houston 34, Tennessee 31.

Schaub kept coming back to the player he believed in, and it paid off. He wants that same level of trust from the franchise.

It is not easy for the Texans -- or their fans -- to give that. Given the bust by No. 1 pick David Carr seven years ago, and the futility and frustration that followed, the Texans have had their share of quarterback quandaries. Schaub arrived in 2007 with another high price tag: two second-round Texans draft picks and a swap of first-round draft spots in '07 with the Atlanta Falcons.

Schaub started 2-0 in his first season and looked like Houston's answer.

But injuries and blotchy play, a couple of 8-8 seasons and a scary-bad outing in the Texans' Week 1 loss to the Jets left Schaub wondering if the Texans would keep coming back to him, if he would continue to be a player they believe in.

On Sunday, Schaub embraced the chance he was given.

He was throwing deep on third-and-short. He was plunging without fear on fourth-down conversions. He completed passes of 21 or more yards to four different receivers. Three of his career-best four touchdown passes went to wide receivers, including a 72-yarder to Andre Johnson.

He crouched low and tight under center, almost Doug Flutie-like for his towering 6-foot-5, 239-pound frame, and he unleashed himself and his arm in a hold-nothing-back manner that was refreshing for all who care about the Texans. Schaub is 28 -- young enough to keep rising, yet old enough to expect rapid production.

"You can't play against the Titans defense hoping a play can work,'' Schaub said. "You'll wind up looking back and wondering what could have happened if you had done this or that. I didn't want to have to dwell on that no more than dwell on what happened against the Jets.

"I came to this franchise when it was sort of at a crossroads. There were a lot of first- and second-year players here and I was young, too. I think we're maturing as a group, as a team. I realize now is the time.''

What the Texans set loose in Schaub on Sunday, they cannot reel in during future weeks. What Schaub set free in his mind, in his own game, he must find consistently. Both must move forward together, giving this quarterback every chance to win games with his big arm and his big receivers.

And the Texans keep coming back to Schaub, the guy they believe in.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=515382&pid=515380&uts=1253583472

http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf

Latest NFL Photos

In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, photo, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner calls to his teammates at the line of scrimmage during an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, Fla. Warner tied Jake Plummer's franchise record by opening the game with 15 consecutive completions. By completing 92.3 percent of his passes, he broke the previous NFL record set by Vinny Testaverde in 1993. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Latest NFL Images

MIAMI - SEPTEMBER 21: Sand castles were erected outside the stadium before the Indianapolis Colts take on the Miami Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium on September 21, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Getty Images

MIAMI - SEPTEMBER 21: A veiw from outside the stadium before the Indianapolis Colts take on the Miami Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium on September 21, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Getty Images

MIAMI - SEPTEMBER 21: Fans make their way around the Fan Zone before the Indianapolis Colts take on the Miami Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium on September 21, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Getty Images

MIAMI - SEPTEMBER 21: Shannon McPherson,(L) and her son Devin, 7, stand in front of sand castles that were erected outside the stadium before the Indianapolis Colts take on the Miami Dolphins at Land Shark Stadium on September 21, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Shannon McPherson;Devin McPherson

Getty Images

In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, photo, New England Patriots' Stephen Gostkowski (3) kicks a field goal as Chris Hanson holds during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. On offense, the Patriots settled for three field goals in the first half when drives stalled. On special teams, they allowed a long kickoff return to start the second half. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, photo, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Nate Hughes (16) misses a pass in the second half of an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars have released Hughes and tight Greg Estandia a day after the players made mistakes in a 31-17 loss to Arizona. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Philadelphia Eagles' Kevin Kolb (4) is shown during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. Kolb will make his second straight start for the Philadelphia Eagles if Donovan McNabb can't play against Kansas City. Coach Andy Reid isn't sure whether Jeff Garcia or Michael Vick would be the backup quarterback in that scenario. Vick is eligible to play for the first time after serving a two-game suspension as the final league penalty for his role in running a dogfighting ring. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

In this Aug. 29, 2009, photo, Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini watches before a preseason NFL football game between the Browns and the Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland. Two games into Mangini's tenure, the offense has scored only one touchdown. The defense can't tackle and suffered its second straight second-half meltdown on Sunday in Denver. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

NOLAN ROLLING: Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen made it clear that he selected Josh McDaniels as his head coach with an understanding that Mike Nolan was going to be the Broncos defensive coordinator. Bowlen believed in Nolan -- his experience, his containment-concepts of defense.

Two games into the 2009 season, Nolan is rewarding that confidence.

He has pieced together a hodge-podge mix of defensive parts that helped the Broncos hold Cincinnati to seven points and Cleveland to six.

Nolan makes sure his defensive players know exactly what they are supposed to do. He emphasizes that the little things they do take away big things for an offense. "No big plays allowed" is Nolan's mantra.

This Broncos travel to Oakland next, and that is a test Denver's defense should pass. We will know plenty more about Nolan's group in the following weeks when Dallas and New England bring their big-play brands of offense to Denver.

FLACCO IS BACK FOR MORE: NFL general managers are impressed with Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco's 2-0 start, one year after helping the Ravens reach the AFC championship game as a rookie.

Here's analysis from one: "When you get a quarterback who can get the ball downfield, you've got a chance. Flacco can throw it. He's big and he's a better runner than people give him credit for. I saw some of our guys chase him when we played him that I thought should have caught him and he ran away from them.

"The Ravens are turning their team into something different. It used to be protect the defense with the offense. Now the offense is trying to score, first and foremost, and that is putting more pressure on that defense. You show me a No. 1 defense, and I'll show you most of the time that team has a near-No. 1 run offense or big advantage in possession time. Now with the Ravens doing more with that offense, that Ravens defense is going to allow more points because it is not as rested and sometimes may be put in some bad spots. But for the long haul, the Ravens can go further now because they have a quarterback and an offense that can win games late, especially playoff games, where that shows up most.''

REVIS PROVES HIS WORTH: New England receiver Randy Moss said that the Jets' Darrelle Revis is not a shutdown corner -- after Revis shut down Moss in New York's Week 2 win.

One of the reasons the Jets defense is off to a fast start is because of the shutdown play of Revis. There is no way a defense can blitz like the Jets do unless their corners can play press coverage and stick. Revis does that. He is a superior cornerback.

One NFL coach who saw the Jets upset the Patriots surmised: "Revis outplayed Moss. Moss is used to making plays and just being better than his coverage. Revis was up to the task. Moss has a penchant for being a little disinterested and lazy at times. Revis took total advantage of that.''

FREE KICKS: Though the Texans won with Schaub's arm, they kept the Titans defense honest with 29 rushes for 63 yards. The number of attempts kept the Titans creeping forward, so that the Texans could hammer them over the top. The Patriots must adopt a similar strategy with their attack. Tom Brady threw 47 passes Sunday, compared to just 20 New England runs. In the Patriots' opener, the ratio was 53 passes to 23 runs. The Patriots have to make the rushing attack a focal point, so that Brady can make the passing game the difference.

o. A few hours after Mario Manningham was drafted in the third round in the 2008 NFL draft, I spoke with him by telephone, reaching him at his Warren, Ohio, home. Thirteen receivers had been drafted ahead of him -- he was hot. He was determined to prove everyone wrong about his talent and his character. In Sunday's games, he led all NFL receivers with 150 yards and was a key factor in his team's victory at Dallas. The Giants coaches love his quickness. They remind him he is better than most of the cornerbacks and coverage he faces, something he knows. If he was two inches taller than his 5-foot-11 frame, he would be a prototype receiver. Just as he is, though, might be a huge Giants answer at receiver.

o. Consider that Bengals defensive tackle Antwan Odom made three sacks in 2008 -- he had five in Cincinnati's victory at Green Bay. At 6-foot-5, 280 pounds with a motor and strength that the Packers' depleted offensive line could not handle, Odom pulled a rare feat for a defensive tackle. He currently leads the league with seven sacks. Think the Titans would love to have him back, let alone Albert Haynesworth? Tennessee failed to gain a sack against the Texans.

Matt Schaub, Texans Working on Trust originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texans Grasp Meaning of Lofty Intentions

Thomas George — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Texans, Titans, AFC South

NASHVILLE -- One of these teams, the Texans or Titans, would join that early NFL wasteland, that 0-2 bunch where the bottom seems pit black. The light is there for some in the 0-2 bunch, but most can only grope
for it.

It is not where Houston owner Bob McNair wished to be and we already knew that. Several months ago, McNair proclaimed his Texans playoff bound. For emphasis, he repeated it just before his team's dull season-opening loss at home to the Jets.

So, at halftime here, with his Texans locked in a 24-24 scrap with the Titans, McNair was asked in his LP Field suite about how he felt things were going.

More Coverage: Rivals Enjoy Another Wild One | Johnson's Day Wasted

"This is a big game,'' he said. "This is a big season.''

He said it like he meant it.

I think the Texans get it.

I think they knew coming into this place, where they have won only once in seven franchise tries, that this would be a nice time to get that second victory. I think after a week of local and national brutal criticism and scorn over just what the Texans are and what exactly they portend to be, there was an urgent sense among them to merge their talent with high-end result.

The Texans won it 34-31, and it was the way they won it -- aggressive, big plays, overcoming their own snafus -- that was impressive. They looked and played enough as one for it to matter. They played with tremendous spirit and resolve.

They made the Titans the 0-2 chums.

They created hope for another day, for another week, for another challenge.

"You have to do something about things if you really plan on being a good team,'' Texans rookie linebacker Brian Cushing said.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=515382&pid=515380&uts=1253496574

http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf

Latest NFL Photos

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 20: A Tennessee Titans fan is pictured during the NFL game against the Houston Texans at LP Field on September 20, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Getty Images North America

Latest NFL Images

Baltimore Ravens' Todd Heap (86) dives into the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown pass while San Diego Chargers' Steve Gregory (28) defends and San Diego's Kevin Burnett (99) and Baltimore's Ray Rice (27) look on during the third quarter of an NFL football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2009, in San Diego. The Ravens won 31-26. (AP Photo/Chris Park)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flaco, right, is congratulated by Steve Hauschka after the Ravens beat the San Diego Chargers 31-26 in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, center, and Brendon Ayanbadejo, right, congratulate linebacker Ray Lewis, front left, during the final moments of the Ravens' 31-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in an NFL football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Chris Park)

Baltimore Ravens players celebrate during the final moments of an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2009 in San Diego. The Ravens won 31-26. (AP Photo/Chris Park)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens throws the ball to teamate during the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on September 20, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Joe Flacco

Getty Images

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Fans of the San Diego Chargers scream to the players during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Qualcomm Stadium on September 20, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images)

Getty Images

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Philip Rivers #17 of the San Diego Chargers runs away from Ray Lewis #52 of the Baltimore Ravens at Qualcomm Stadium on September 20, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Philip Rivers;Ray Lewis

Getty Images

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 20:Malcolm Floyd #80 of the San Diego Chargers and Fabian Washington #31 of the Baltimore Ravens both catch the ball at Qualcomm Stadium on September 20, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Malcolm Floyd;Fabian Washington

Getty Images

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Vincent Jackson #83 of the San Diego Chargers celebrates a great catch against the Baltimore Ravens at Qualcomm Stadium on September 20, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Vincent Jackson

Getty Images

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Antonio Gates #85 of the San Diego Chargers runs the ball down as Chris Carr #25 of the Baltimore Ravens tries to tackle him at Qualcomm Stadium on September 20, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Antonio Gates;Chris Carr

Getty Images

The Texans looked so poor and pitiful against the Jets.

They looked confident and resourceful against the Titans.

"You spend a whole offseason getting ready for that one game and you come out at home and play like that, it's shocking,'' Texans running back Steve Slaton said. "We had a lot at stake here today.''

Texans receiver David Anderson said that coach Gary Kubiak told his team on Saturday night: "Let's man up. Let's play for each other.''

Anderson, who made a big third-and-4 catch of 7 yards on Houston's first scoring drive added: "You've got to respond in this league. You can have a reputation for being this or that, a team on the rise, like being said about us, or a team that is a certain playoff team, like being said about the Titans. Well, the games determine who is what and what is what. I try to make my third down plays so I can get more opportunities. And if I can't do that, they will find someone else who can.''

That, alone, captures this league. The state of the Texans.

No one around this club wants to hear any more about what their potential is and what they should do. It is put-up time for the Texans, warts and all.

Kubiak knows this. He and his offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, called a game that threw the playbook at the Titans proud defense. It was full of clever calls and clever moves and it kept the pressure on the Titans defense. There was the third-and-2 Matt Schaub pass from the Tennesssee 19 that Schaub gunned into the end zone for a score to receiver Andre Johnson. And then Schuab and Johnson following that up with a 72-yard hookup on the first play from scrimmage following a Tennessee score.

The Texans were down 7-0 and 14-7 and 21-7 in the first half. They trailed 31-24 in the second half.

They would lose the rushing game in astonishing fashion: It was Tennessee 240 rushing yards, Houston 63.

But Schaub threw a career-most four passing touchdowns and finished with a 127.8 quarterback rating. His 357 passing yards easily surpassed Tennessee's Kerry Collins 216. And Collins fumbled with 1:32 left with the Titans marching for a shot at a tying field goal.

Schaub has been there, stumbling and fumbling away chances for the Texans during their darker moments, searching for answers. This time, he found plenty.

"This is a game of confidence,'' Schaub said. "They are an attacking defense. You have to play them with an attacking offense.''

Texans general manager Rick Smith said in the locker room afterward that he rarely speaks to his team but did one day last week, reminding them who they were, what they had already overcome and what lie ahead.

So, down go the Titans into that 0-2 hole and here come the Texans.

No, Kubiak knows his team has much work ahead. It won though it allowed the Titans to score on a 69-yard Chris Johnson catch and run where Johnson was completely uncovered at the line of scrimmage due to Texans defensive alignment confusion. They won despite allowing Johnson scoring runs of 57 and 91 yards.

The Texans made their share of dropped passes and bungled offensive assignments, but they rose and answered a tough question: Could they avoid the 0-2 bunch? It was a resounding yes.

"I'm worried about a lot of things and I know the difference in this league is very small between winning and losing,'' Kubiak said as he walked to his team bus. "I really appreciate the way we fought back and found a way to win against a really good team that is very good here in this place. This win means a lot to us.''

His owner concurs.

Texans Grasp Meaning of Lofty Intentions originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments