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Daily Thread 10-22-2020

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Duane Brown played vs. Seattle and was traded to Seattle the next week. JJ Watt will play vs. Packers and the trade deadline will be about a week after Sunday’s game. Cap space might be an issue for the Packers, though. Also, we’ll take a look at the Texans vs. Titans “Good, Bad, and Ugly” article by Jair Lopez.

Texans DE J.J. Watt mum on significance of playing the Packers, his childhood team
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: In 2019 when the Houston Texans held a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, defensive end J.J. Watt bubbling over at the thought of practicing in a venue he spent many summers following the Packers.

“I stood outside of those fences and I watched practice through the fence, and I watched the bikes be ridden, and I stood over by the player’s parking lot and tried to get autographs,” Watt told reporters on Aug. 5, 2019. “So, it’s a pretty special thing. It’s pretty unique, it’s pretty cool. I literally dreamt about this as a kid, so to be able to practice on these fields that I watched Brett Favre practice on, there’s not going to be too many days like this in my career. I’m very thankful and grateful that I got to have it.”

Houston Texans Week 6 Recap: Good, Bad, Ugly Against Tennessee Titans
By Jair Lopez, TexansUnfiltered.com

THE GOOD

The Houston Texans had a near-perfect performance on offense against their AFC South rival, the Tennessee Titans. Deshaun Watson and company shut down any doubts that the Texans would be unable to replicate their production after their solid performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Watson completed 28 of his 37 passes for 4 touchdowns, 335 yards, and 9.1 yards per pass attempted. The Titans’ worse third-down defense in the NFL had no answers for the Texans offense, accomplished a season-high 25 first downs, and had a 50 percent rate on third-down conversions.

The offense put up a season-high 36 points on a Titans defense that allowed an average of 22.5 games in their previous four games. The offensive line also played well after only allowing one sack for the second consecutive game.

Will Fuller continues to impress as the number one option for Houston and finished with 6 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown reception. Fuller has three games with over 100 yards receiving and prolonged his streak of four games with at least one touchdown reception.

Daily Thread 10-21-2020

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Interim HC Romeo Crennel doesn’t have new news on Texans CB Gareon Conley’s timeframe for a return to the active roster. Rivers McCown looked at the DVOA numbers for Watson/BoB and Watson/no BoB. I’m no math surgeon, but I think it’s clear, at least in the samples from previous seasons and the samples thus far this year, which combo is producing better results.

Texans CB Gareon Conley still not close to returning to the secondary
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: The former 2017 Oakland Raiders first-round pick has been recovering from offseason ankle surgery that has complicated his return to the playing field.

“He’s trying to get back but I don’t think that he’s where we need him to be right now,” interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s had second opinions and they haven’t been able to pinpoint anything definite. We’ll have to see how he does and if he can get back.”

Conley provided Houston with 27 tackles and 11 pass breakups in eight games last season, starting in two of them. The Texans could really use his talents in Week 7 as cornerbacks Vernon Hargreaves and Lonnie Johnson are dealing with injuries following the Texans’ 42-36 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.

For more info about what DVOA is, visit the DVOA field guide and go with the ultra short version, or the “short” version if you want to some heavier reading. Anyways, Rivers (I think) is saying that basically BoB’s preferred ways of doing things on offense wasn’t exactly working out according to the DVOA numbers.

The ultra short version of DVOA is this: DVOA measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent.

Daily Thread 10-20-2020

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Texans add 6′ 3″ and 325 lbs. of hopefully run-stuffing beef to the DL via a former Texans player, Eli Ankou, who is now back after being claimed off waivers (Colts). Cowherd says Packers over Texans is his “bet of the year.” Texans Thoughts with a breakdown video of the Texans-Titans game.

Texans sign DT Eli Ankou off waivers from the Colts
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: Ankou has experience with the Texans. Houston signed the former UCLA Bruin as an undrafted free agent in 2017. The Texans waived Ankou at the end of that preseason, and he caught on with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In Jacksonville, Ankou played 11 games, collecting 1.6 sacks, 19 tackles, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits through the 2018 season.

In 2019, Ankou played for the Cleveland Browns, starting in two games of his nine played.  The 6-3, 325-pound defensive tackle recorded seven tackles and a tackle for loss.

Colin Cowherd says his “bet of the year” is Packers over Texans, saying that Houston will let the Packers do whatever the Packers want to do. In this video, he and others discuss how the Packers always match up well with teams who aren’t bullies (basically saying the Packers will out-finesse you if you get into that type of game with them).

Daily Thread 10-19-2020

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The Texans lose in Overtime to the Titans. Where were you the day the Texans defense gave up 6 football fields and three feet of offense to the Titans? Reminder: Let’s discuss/debate viewpoints and leave out the extracurricular personal jabs.

I usually post 2 or 3 bits of postgame, late night stuff I find about the Texans. Not this time, though. I just didn’t really find anything that stood out to me.

Have a great Monday, and as an FYI there’ll be a Monday Night Football thread today that posts at 3:00 p.m. CT (Kickoff is 4:00 p.m. CT), and it serves as both the thread for that game between the Chiefs and Bills and also for the normally-scheduled MNF game that kicks off at 7:15 p.m. CT between the Cardinals and Cowboys.

Daily Thread 10-15-2020

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Watson talks about the importance of controlling Clowney. And Jair Lopez of TexansUnfiltered shares his Good, Bad, and Ugly of the Texans from last Sunday’s 30-14 victory over the Jaguars.

QB Deshaun Watson says Texans ‘got to control’ Titans’ Jadeveon Clowney
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: “You’ve got to control him,” Watson said. “You’ve got to get the ball out quick. You’ve got to be able to do things that the ball is out of my hands and getting into space. He can definitely disrupt the game. I’ve seen with my own eyes for two years. Seeing him and watching him in college and then watching him in the pros. Yeah, he’s a problem for sure. We’ve got to make sure that we know where he is at all times when he’s on the field.”

Houston Texans Week 5 Recap: Good, Bad, Ugly Against Jacksonville Jaguars
By Jair Lopez, TexansUnfiltered

Excerpt: The offense was humming, and Cooks had a stellar performance after only accruing 10 receptions for 138 yards through the first four weeks. Will Fuller also had another solid game with four receptions for 58 yards and earned his third touchdown reception in three consecutive games.

Darren Fells had to step up with Jordan Akins sidelined with an injury; he finished with two receptions for 57 yards and a 44-yard touchdown reception. Fells showed some solid glimpses as a blocker and helped pave a lane for David Johnson late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Houston’s run game had its best performance against the Jaguars’ depleted defense. They had 22 attempts for 129 yards on the ground and averaged a solid 5.9 yards per carry.

David finished with his best game as he finished with 96 yards. He had 77 yards on his 10 carries outside the tackles and 19 yards on 7 carries when running between the tackles.

Daily Thread 10-14-2020

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Titans beat COVID, and then they beat the Bills real bad. Should the Texans go after Le’Veon Bell or just stick with Johnson & Johnson? P.J. Hall is turning out to be a pretty smart addition to the Texans defense.

Le’Veon Bell To Houston; What Do The Texans Have To Lose?
By Anthony R. Wood, SI.com

Excerpt: If they are serious about getting something out of this season despite their 1-4 start, Bell should be considered. At his best, he’s one of the best backs in the league, hands down. He’s had three seasons rushing for over 1,200 yards and has 3,160 receiving yards to his name. 

Realistically, will he end up in Houston? Likely not. Their cap situation is not ideal, and their running back room is costing them a subs amount of money that they haven’t seen a return on yet. 

But if they want the rest of the league to see them as contenders moving forward, and if they can get him on an inexpensive short-term deal, what do they have to lose?

DT P.J. Hall’s different skillset helps the Texans’ defensive line
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: “I think P.J. has good explosion,” interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s got some quickness. He’s got a quick step and has some explosion. His center of gravity, I think, helps him at the line of scrimmage. He’s been showing up, making plays at the line, getting into the backfield at times, impacting plays.”

The former 2018 Oakland Raiders second-round pick has collected 21 tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and a quarterback hit in his five games with the Texans, four of which he has started.

“I think he’s been a good addition even though he’s a different type of guy that we’ve had in the past, but because of his skillset, I think he helps our defense,” Crennel said.

Daily Thread 10-13-2020

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B-Mac to have season-ending shoulder surgery. Alex McGough is cut from the Practice Squad (again), making room for LB Kyle Emmanuel who was signed from the Raiders practice squad. Deshaun Watson nominated for FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week.

Report: Texans ILB Benardrick McKinney done for the season with a shoulder injury
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: The Houston Texans inside linebacker corps has taken a hit to its leadership and on-field ability.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Pro Bowl inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney will undergo shoulder surgery, which will knock him out for the rest of 2020. The club is expected to place McKinney on injured reserve.

Texans sign Kyle Emanuel off Raiders’ practice squad
By Charean Williams, ProFootballTalk

Excerpt: The Texans signed linebacker Kyle Emanuel off the Raiders’ practice squad, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Emanuel reunites with Texans inside linebackers coach Bobby King, who was an assistant with the Chargers when Emanuel was drafted.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson nominated for FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt: Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been named a finalist for the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week for his performance in Sunday’s 30-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.

Watson completed 25 of 35 pass attempts for 359 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 109.1 passer rating, helping the Texans to their first win of the season in Week 5.