Grades
Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 6:07 pm
Texans
Quarterback(s) - B+
After acquiring Matt Schaub during the offseason, he was going to either make or break the Texans’ and Gary Kubiak’s future. While he was healthy, he played exceptionally well. Schaub made a couple of mistakes in some critical points of a couple of games, but other than that, he played great. While Schaub was injured, Rosenfels played very well too making a case for himself as a starter in Minnesota, Miami, or KC next year. The 4 games Schaub and Andre Johnson were the tandem; they matched talents with the likes of Brady/Moss and Romo/Owens. These two are going to be fun to watch for the next few years.
Runningbacks – C-
I was one of the naïve myopic faithful idiots who actually believed Ahman Green was going to make a huge difference for the running game this year. He did make a difference in a couple of games, but that was it. Plagued by injuries all year long, the Texans had to once again rely on the services of Ron Dayne. Dayne did a decent job, but he is not pass catching threat out of the backfield and will never get you more than 20 yards on one carry. Darius Walker did a good job in filling in for the banged up Dayne towards the end of the season, but Walker also lacks the speed and burst to bust out a big gainer. Texans need to address the depth at running back heavily in the offseason, Hopefully, Chris Taylor will be healthy next year to help the lack of depth in this department. Kubiak’s coaching style is somewhat limited in the offensive game planning without a dual threat in the backfield. I guess we’ll see what happens.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends – A
What can I say; the receivers did a remarkable job all year long. Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones getting hurt early after Johnson went down spelled disaster for the receiving core. Then, Walter stepped up his game and Andre Davis was signed from the practice squad and did a hell of a job filling in for the injured Johnson. When Andre was on the field, he was only second to Moss and Owens as far as production goes. Its unfortunate we did not get to see what “could’ve” happened if Johnson was on the field the entire year. The Texans were 5-3 with him and 3-5 without him. The Atlanta, Indy (Home) and Tennessee (Home) games could have had different results had Johnson been healthy. He changes the way defenses play. Owen Daniels is going to be great once he learns how to take care of the ball better. He had some costly fumbles in a couple of games that cost the Texans some scoring opportunities, but other than that, he is athletic and knows how to get open. Schaub loved using Daniels as a safety valve when nothing was available downfield. Daniels was good for the most part at catching the ball and immediately turning up field for a couple more yards. I hope the Texans can keep this unit intact for a few more years.
Offensive Line – B
I guess the o-line wasn’t as bad as everybody first thought. It turns out Carr was more the reason for the sack totals in years prior than the offensive line. Injuries piled up throughout the season, but they were still able to keep a decent unit out there. Salaam had a couple of games where he was just overmatched by the opposition (Abraham – Atlanta and San Diego). Other than that, I thought they did what they had to do to keep the offense moving. Pitts and Winston were as solid as could be and the false starts and holding calls were kept at a minimum for the most part. I think a healthy Charles Spencer will add some depth to the line next year. We’ll see how the injuries play out.
Defensive Line – B
Mario Williams’ 14 sacks this season gave Houston fans more than enough reason to think he was a better pick than VY and Reggie. He definitely silenced the critics with his performance this year. It’s still got to play out, but Mario won round two convincingly over VY and Reggie. As for the rest of the line; inconsistency was still a problem. The 19 year old Okoye was second on the team in sacks, but he played like a rookie plays. He disappeared at times and so did his run stopping abilities. They have depth at the d-line which is good, but they need to do a better job of adding pressure up the middle and Mario needs to do a better job of speed rushing on the back side to force strips while QB’s are in the pocket. That being said, playing in a division where the QBs are VY, David Gerrard, and Peyton Manning, its makes it real tough to force those kind of plays on those QBs. We’ll see.
Linebackers – B-
Morlon Greenwood, Charlie Anderson, and Danny Clark had ok seasons, but did not play zone coverage well at all and did not get enough upfront pressure on run blitzes and never really did provide a pass rush on blitz packages. They need to do a better job of applying pressure to free up the d-line a little more or vice versa. The entire unit also did not force enough turnovers. Good linebacking cores have a nose for the ball and can usually get more strips or ints when needed. Texans were nearly last in the league in the takeaway/giveaway department. As for DaMeco Ryans, he had an outstanding sophomore season. Dude will be a probowler for years, but he needs to step up to that great status by forcing turnovers.
Secondary – D
The secondary was absolutely riddled with injuries throughout the year and the starting unit on the field the last 3 games of the season were mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers. Its really no excuse for how poorly this unit played and that they were hardly capable of forcing turnovers. They also did a poor job of covering and cost the Texans victories against Atlanta, Tennesee, and Cleveland. They need to address the safety positions more than anything in the offseason. Daunte Robinson was pretty much the only shining light when he did play the first 10 games of the season and Fred Bennett did provide a little spark towards the end of the season. However, this team needs to overhaul most of the secondary if they want to compete in the AFC south.
Special Teams – A
Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones lived up to the billing as return specialists for the first 3 weeks of the season and then they got hit with the injury bug. Mathis was hit with a stress fracture and Jones separated his shoulder. Jones came back but was never the same. The punt return unit never did do a decent job of giving the Texans good field position after week 3. As for the kick return unit, A++++++. Fucking Jerome Mathis and Andre Davis were unbelievable. They did everything they could to give the Texans quick 6 or decent field position. Kris Brown had a superb season except for a chip shot he missed in the Atlanta game and a 44 yarder he missed in the Cleveland game. Other than that, he had a pro bowl season. Matt Turk was above average as a punter and gave the defense room to breathe for the most part.
Coaching – B-
Kubiak did a great job of play calling on the offensive side of the ball, but he was somewhat tentative towards the end of halfs when the Texans had the ball with less than two minutes to play. He also threw the red flag when he shouldn’t have and it cost the Texans a few timeouts when they were needed. Rick Smith, I thought did not blitz enough with the linebackers and did not play enough blanket coverage (Tampa 2 or Cover 2) when the secondary was riddled with injuries. Other than that, I thought the coaching was good.
Overall – B
The team gets a B because they led the league in players on IR and still turned in a good season in the league’s toughest division. This is 4 out of 6 years they have led this dubious statistic. I don’t know how that is possible, but maybe there should be some finger pointing to the strength and conditioning coach of the organization. Good teams have depth and overcome injuries. Super Bowl caliber teams do get lucky sometimes by avoiding any serious injuries. The offense was without Andre Johnson for 8 games and the defense was without Daunte Robinson for 6 games. They also had no true dual threat out of the backfield for 9 games with Ahman Green being sidelined for more than half the season. The offensive line and secondary both were hit with a multitude of injuries, yet this team still achieved a goal they have never reached before. They finished .500 for the first time in franchise history. With all of the injuries this year and playing in the AFC south, I think the Texans’ future is looking really bright. Good Yob.
Quarterback(s) - B+
After acquiring Matt Schaub during the offseason, he was going to either make or break the Texans’ and Gary Kubiak’s future. While he was healthy, he played exceptionally well. Schaub made a couple of mistakes in some critical points of a couple of games, but other than that, he played great. While Schaub was injured, Rosenfels played very well too making a case for himself as a starter in Minnesota, Miami, or KC next year. The 4 games Schaub and Andre Johnson were the tandem; they matched talents with the likes of Brady/Moss and Romo/Owens. These two are going to be fun to watch for the next few years.
Runningbacks – C-
I was one of the naïve myopic faithful idiots who actually believed Ahman Green was going to make a huge difference for the running game this year. He did make a difference in a couple of games, but that was it. Plagued by injuries all year long, the Texans had to once again rely on the services of Ron Dayne. Dayne did a decent job, but he is not pass catching threat out of the backfield and will never get you more than 20 yards on one carry. Darius Walker did a good job in filling in for the banged up Dayne towards the end of the season, but Walker also lacks the speed and burst to bust out a big gainer. Texans need to address the depth at running back heavily in the offseason, Hopefully, Chris Taylor will be healthy next year to help the lack of depth in this department. Kubiak’s coaching style is somewhat limited in the offensive game planning without a dual threat in the backfield. I guess we’ll see what happens.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends – A
What can I say; the receivers did a remarkable job all year long. Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones getting hurt early after Johnson went down spelled disaster for the receiving core. Then, Walter stepped up his game and Andre Davis was signed from the practice squad and did a hell of a job filling in for the injured Johnson. When Andre was on the field, he was only second to Moss and Owens as far as production goes. Its unfortunate we did not get to see what “could’ve” happened if Johnson was on the field the entire year. The Texans were 5-3 with him and 3-5 without him. The Atlanta, Indy (Home) and Tennessee (Home) games could have had different results had Johnson been healthy. He changes the way defenses play. Owen Daniels is going to be great once he learns how to take care of the ball better. He had some costly fumbles in a couple of games that cost the Texans some scoring opportunities, but other than that, he is athletic and knows how to get open. Schaub loved using Daniels as a safety valve when nothing was available downfield. Daniels was good for the most part at catching the ball and immediately turning up field for a couple more yards. I hope the Texans can keep this unit intact for a few more years.
Offensive Line – B
I guess the o-line wasn’t as bad as everybody first thought. It turns out Carr was more the reason for the sack totals in years prior than the offensive line. Injuries piled up throughout the season, but they were still able to keep a decent unit out there. Salaam had a couple of games where he was just overmatched by the opposition (Abraham – Atlanta and San Diego). Other than that, I thought they did what they had to do to keep the offense moving. Pitts and Winston were as solid as could be and the false starts and holding calls were kept at a minimum for the most part. I think a healthy Charles Spencer will add some depth to the line next year. We’ll see how the injuries play out.
Defensive Line – B
Mario Williams’ 14 sacks this season gave Houston fans more than enough reason to think he was a better pick than VY and Reggie. He definitely silenced the critics with his performance this year. It’s still got to play out, but Mario won round two convincingly over VY and Reggie. As for the rest of the line; inconsistency was still a problem. The 19 year old Okoye was second on the team in sacks, but he played like a rookie plays. He disappeared at times and so did his run stopping abilities. They have depth at the d-line which is good, but they need to do a better job of adding pressure up the middle and Mario needs to do a better job of speed rushing on the back side to force strips while QB’s are in the pocket. That being said, playing in a division where the QBs are VY, David Gerrard, and Peyton Manning, its makes it real tough to force those kind of plays on those QBs. We’ll see.
Linebackers – B-
Morlon Greenwood, Charlie Anderson, and Danny Clark had ok seasons, but did not play zone coverage well at all and did not get enough upfront pressure on run blitzes and never really did provide a pass rush on blitz packages. They need to do a better job of applying pressure to free up the d-line a little more or vice versa. The entire unit also did not force enough turnovers. Good linebacking cores have a nose for the ball and can usually get more strips or ints when needed. Texans were nearly last in the league in the takeaway/giveaway department. As for DaMeco Ryans, he had an outstanding sophomore season. Dude will be a probowler for years, but he needs to step up to that great status by forcing turnovers.
Secondary – D
The secondary was absolutely riddled with injuries throughout the year and the starting unit on the field the last 3 games of the season were mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers. Its really no excuse for how poorly this unit played and that they were hardly capable of forcing turnovers. They also did a poor job of covering and cost the Texans victories against Atlanta, Tennesee, and Cleveland. They need to address the safety positions more than anything in the offseason. Daunte Robinson was pretty much the only shining light when he did play the first 10 games of the season and Fred Bennett did provide a little spark towards the end of the season. However, this team needs to overhaul most of the secondary if they want to compete in the AFC south.
Special Teams – A
Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones lived up to the billing as return specialists for the first 3 weeks of the season and then they got hit with the injury bug. Mathis was hit with a stress fracture and Jones separated his shoulder. Jones came back but was never the same. The punt return unit never did do a decent job of giving the Texans good field position after week 3. As for the kick return unit, A++++++. Fucking Jerome Mathis and Andre Davis were unbelievable. They did everything they could to give the Texans quick 6 or decent field position. Kris Brown had a superb season except for a chip shot he missed in the Atlanta game and a 44 yarder he missed in the Cleveland game. Other than that, he had a pro bowl season. Matt Turk was above average as a punter and gave the defense room to breathe for the most part.
Coaching – B-
Kubiak did a great job of play calling on the offensive side of the ball, but he was somewhat tentative towards the end of halfs when the Texans had the ball with less than two minutes to play. He also threw the red flag when he shouldn’t have and it cost the Texans a few timeouts when they were needed. Rick Smith, I thought did not blitz enough with the linebackers and did not play enough blanket coverage (Tampa 2 or Cover 2) when the secondary was riddled with injuries. Other than that, I thought the coaching was good.
Overall – B
The team gets a B because they led the league in players on IR and still turned in a good season in the league’s toughest division. This is 4 out of 6 years they have led this dubious statistic. I don’t know how that is possible, but maybe there should be some finger pointing to the strength and conditioning coach of the organization. Good teams have depth and overcome injuries. Super Bowl caliber teams do get lucky sometimes by avoiding any serious injuries. The offense was without Andre Johnson for 8 games and the defense was without Daunte Robinson for 6 games. They also had no true dual threat out of the backfield for 9 games with Ahman Green being sidelined for more than half the season. The offensive line and secondary both were hit with a multitude of injuries, yet this team still achieved a goal they have never reached before. They finished .500 for the first time in franchise history. With all of the injuries this year and playing in the AFC south, I think the Texans’ future is looking really bright. Good Yob.
