T1B

Both teams have been shaky up front, and yet Houston has done well running, passing and scoring pts - and Oakland has done well running the ball, thanks to D. McFadden, who is off to a terrific start.
He's playing like we hoped he would.
He's the total package so far, actually.
Running hard and effectively, catching the ball very well, and blocking well.
Very impressive.

Schaub has taken 11 sacks already and A. Johnson may or may not play this game - very gimpy ankle.

The Raider defense is ranked 3rd in the league so far, and looking quite BAD ASS at times.
Yet v. the run they've still been suspect - getting gashed in week one by C. Johnson.
They actually held him down - but BANG, one 70+ yd run later - it all went down the toilet quickly.

Job one is holding A. Foster down and making Schaub beat us through the air - minus his best receiver (maybe) and his starting LT.

Be interesting to see how both teams rebound (or don't) off of very disappointing games last week.

Bruce G. had 34 pass attempts last week and if that happens again, this game will be in "shoot-out" mode (or blow out for Houston mode) and I don't like Oakland's chances.

Run with McFadden and Bush, win ToP, and keep the Houston DEFENSE (which has been hammered by big plays this year) on the field.
Keep the Tejan offense off the field.
That's the ticket.

I'll call a Raider win, 26-23.

poptart wrote:The Raider defense is ranked 3rd in the league so far, and looking quite BAD ASS at times.

...against Arizona and St. Louis.



Keep dreaming. The Texans are going to kick the dicks out of your ass.

Nice breakdown, Pops.

If 'Dre doesn't play, then look for the Texans to utilize Jones and Slaton on slip and bubble screens. I figure Aso will have Walter on lockdown and that will mean Anderson, Jones, and Daniels will definitely have to step their game up.

I was disappointed in the the playcalling once Houston was in Dallas territory. They didn't run enough and wanted to show Dallas they could throw the ball downfield. D. Ware made sure the Texans couldn't achieve that game plan. Arian Foster is a stud and they have to feed that horse more. Not sure if they're hesitent at feeding him the rock 30 times a game in thinking he won't last the season, but dude falls the right way every time he goes down. Give him the damn ball!

The creativity still isn't there in the passing game as I've yet to see Slaton get any touches in the flat with Walter and Daniels making downfield blocks for him. Slaton is such a homerun threat when he gets a little space and Dennison isn't calling his number more on 3rd and long situations. Slaton needs to be more involved IMO. Dude is still a playmaker.

I think Oakland's defensive success is a bit of a misnomer as they've played weak competition the last couple of weeks and the defense looked good. Houston has a ton of depth on the offensive side of the ball, so I think Oakland is in for the shootout.

Houston's run defense has been outstanding thus far, but that could be because the pass defense is giving up an eye-opening 369 yards a game. That is fucking horrible. This base 4-3 Cover 2 scheme is shit. The CBs roll off into the flat too soon and the safeties react way too late when the receiver sits down in the soft spots. Kareem Jackson has been burned for some big plays, but then again, he has received NO help from Eugene Wilson who should be taken to pasture and shot repeatedly with a 12-guage. IMO, Barber or Nolan can't do any worse than Wilson at this point and should see a lot of action against Oakland.

Not sure what's going on with Murphy, but I'm sure he'll play. Heyward-Bey is a homerun threat and Miller can scorch the LBs all day long. I think Houston wants to make sure McFadden doesn't go off. DeMeco should be assigned to RUN DMC all day long. If McFadden is held in check, then Houston wins handely.

Houston will respond after last week's puke fest.

Houston 31
Oakland 20

Nice analysis from Pop and Coogs.

Raiders have a lengthy list of banged up players and Cable's new thing this year is to remain as tight-lipped as league rules allow concerning injury status. Not sure if Murphy will run. DHB now has a groin strain. After those two guys, the remaining WRs on the roster have one catch. Gallery's out on the O-line once again, Walker is probable. Who knows how much punishment Bush's thumb can take. On the D-line, Seymore and Big John Henderson could both be out or they might both play. No idea. DBs Eugene and Chris Johnson are questionable. It's a mess.

The Raiders O-line has been awful at times but I seem to remember Mario Henderson holding his own against Mario Williams two years ago. Might have been a fluke because Henderson has been pretty crappy since.

The Raiders' defense is indeed ranked 3rd overall but that seems deceiving since they've given up a lot of points (25.3 per game, 24th ranked) and are the league's worst in the red zone (stopping opponents just one time in eight).

I'm holding out hope, as always. Got to shut down Foster and got to figure out how to score when they get in the red zone. The Raiders are actually moving the ball this year with 20 or more first downs each game, something they haven't done this consistently since 2002. Now score!

Injuries are a concern.
But you know, every year I get :brad: when I see the weekly injury list.
Part of football.


Shilens: Prick tease. If he gets healthy and can give us something - it's a bonus. I consider him out for the year.
Gallery: Not far from that. ALWAYS hurt. Good player when healthy. 3rd straight missed game with a hammy. pffft
Henderson: 330 lbs coming down on a sore foot will make it ... more sore. No structural damage. He'll give us some reps.
Seymour: Hamstring concerns me but seems he'll GO again this Sunday.
Murphy: Came down awkwardly on his collar bone on the long pass play last week. Sore, but no real damage. I expect him to play. He's a gamer.
Bey: Groin strain is new news. Sounds as if Cable thinks he's a GO, though.

Houston is banged up, too.

It is what it is.

WAR THE NFL

The Texans are going to kick the dicks out of your ass.

Outstanding!

I'm stealing that.

'Twas an entertaining game, 'tart. Gradkowski is a football player; he just fell victim to a couple of misplayed/would be catches by Bey and Murphy there late.

Run DMC is a beast. I thought Houston did a decent job on him other than his one long run. Although I feel Oakland should've fed him the rock more, 'cus 18 touches (12 rush/6 pass) wasn't enough in my mind.

The Texans still don't know how to stop an athletic downfield TE. Diles, Ryans, and Adibi just suck at covering. Pollard is to blame for some of that as well. I was also disappointed in the tackling on Miller. It seemed like every time Miller caught the ball, dude was able to grind out five more yards at POC and fall forward for another two. Very tough to watch as a Texan fan.

The Texans running for 250 was impressive today; albeit against the Duhs. I'm not sure why Dennison and Kubes didn't run more against Dallas. It's still puzzling to me why they abandoned the running game last week, because it's clear to me and everyone else in the league the Texans are a dominent running team right now. The DBs played better as most of Grad's yardage went to Miller and McFadden, so I was encouraged with that. Troy Nolan played 10x better than that hack Eugene Wilson. He actually made a pick when he got his hands on the ball. It's evident Nolan should be playing FS over Wilson for the remainder of the season.

Schaub was decent today without his main weapon. I though he was effective and made the throws when needed. Aso shutdown Walter and Jones had another crucial drop. It's time that kid start catching the damn ball.

All-in-all I give the Texans a B+ today. LBs lack of coverage skills keep them from getting an A.

3-1 without Cushing is fucking awesome. Houston gets him back next week, so all this underneath shit should tighten up now. Bring on the Giants.