Re-Watch - Texans

Every Monday, win lose or draw, I go back and take a second look at the game. I do my best to separate the passion and emotion of Sunday from the retrospect of Monday.

A win in January is always tough to come by, but The Patriots seemed to have control of this one for the great majority of the contest. The scariest moments were the opening kickoff, the first offensive 3-and-out, and the just-close-enough-to-worry ending. A lot of stuff could have been better, but that's just the mantra around here. Still, the kickoff coverage was just unacceptable. 

The Offensive Line's blocking of JJ Watt was very solid despite his 1 sack that came on a slow-developing play-action pass. Also, I've got to give a shout out to Hoomanawanui for handling him 1-on-1 more than once. His ability to fill in for Gronk has been great, but unfortunately it must continue because of Gronk's awkward fall. I've got to admit though, if that fall was enough to injure the arm, he probably shouldn't have been playing. Likewise, there was good protection from Shane Vereen in place of Danny Woodhead. 

The Offense found a rhythm eventually, but it was the Defense that kept us in it for the first 6 minutes. The Defense got stops on their first 4 series, including a FG following the big kickoff return. Wilfork and company helped to steady the heaving ship back onto course. Talib played conservative against Andre Johnson, but he was there to make the tackle to limit big plays. Likewise, he made a few great plays on the ball, including his break-up of a quick-screen to Johnson. 

As well as the defense played, The Texans made a few mistakes to make it a bit easier. I am thinking specifically about the dropped TD by James Casey, a dropped 1st down by Arian Foster, a self-forced fumble by Schaub, and a bone-headed INT by Schaub. I can't quite tell whether Schaub didn't see Ninkovich or what, but I think it was more of a bad pass than a creative disguise.

Shane Vereen was the story of the game, and how could he not be with 3 total TDs. It's pretty amazing considering that he only got the opportunity because of the Woodhead injury. Still, he showed some really good route-running, and I hope he continues to see the field. I even like the possibility of a 2-RB set with Vereen and Ridley. Vereen can split out wide like a WR, so the formation would have lots of possibilities. It feels like Vereen is some sort of secret weapon because he has been the #3 or #4 RB for the whole season. I'll bet he's got a few more tricks up his sleeve.

Overall, this was not a blowout by any means, but I would say that we beat Houston as handily as we did in December. The difference in the two games was that many of the close plays went in Houston's direction. The fumble/forward progress call, the two close-call challenges, and the long kickoff kickoff returns helped to keep this game closer than it was. The Texans Defense did not look terribly impressive, and Arian Foster/Andre Johnson were kept within reasonable limits. We were definitely the better team on the field, now let's just hope that we can replicate the result next week against Baltimore. 

Just for kicks, let's look back at the keys to victory, eh?

1. The Health & Effectiveness of Gronk, Talib, and Dennard- Well, obviously Gronk didn't do anything, and won't until next season. However, Aqib Talib looked great, and he was on Andre Johnson like dry rub on some New Orleans-style ribs. Dennard did not have a standout game, but he played a heavy snap count, and looked healthy doing it. I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad. 

2. The First 6:00 Minutes- The first 6 minutes were pretty bad from an Offensive stand point (3 and out), and obviously a Special Teams perspective (90 yard return). Nevertheless, the Defense made a statement in those first few possessions. After 6 minutes, we were down 3-0, but we had survived the initial flurry of punches with solid Defense. That gave us enough time to adjust the Offense, and once we started handing it off to Ridley and Vereen, we started having success.

3. Offensive Line Execution- No complaints here. The one sack was a testament to JJ Watt's quickness to get through the line before Tackle Seabastian Vollmer could pull in front of him. Brady took 7 hits, but he was successful against the blitz. Apparently, he had enough time to make it happen. Likewise, the O-line did a good job blocking for runs off tackle, and they also did well in getting out front on screen plays. 

4. Defensive Disguise- Rob Ninkovich's INT from the DT position is certainly notable, but for the most part it wasn't about disguise. It was pretty much just man coverage with 2 high Safeties (2-man). The disguises came along the fronts, and in the LB-corps. The underneath and flat coverages were mixed, but once again there was not a ton of it. Nevertheless, it paid off for Rob Ninkovich on that one play, and that was enough to make it worthwhile.

5. Containing/Eliminating Andre Johnson- I saw Andre Johnson as the biggest threat, and Aqib Talib kept him in check. I don't care that Johnson came close to 100 yards, catching 8 of 11 targets. I saw Talib consistently make the quick tackle after the catch, which eliminated the 20+ yard plays that can really give us trouble. Johnson didn't get in the endzone, and he didn't make any impactful plays in critical moments. The Texans just didn't have enough weapons to compensate.