Texans: R-E-L-A-X
By Bryson Jones
In the famous words of the NFL’s reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, everyone in Houston need to R-E-L-A-X.
I know this team does not have the talent at quarterback that the Green Bay Packers have, but some of the reactions after the Texans 0-2 start are pretty outrageous. The NFL season has just started and at this point of the season it is hard to tell who will be the cream of the crop and who will be bottom feeders.
We have already seen the runner up in last year’s Superbowl start off 0-2, and teams that did not do so well last season start off 2-0 or 1-1. Here is a list of three things the Houston Texans NEED to do in order to get this season back on track:
1: Get Healthy
Football is the most physically demanding sport that there is (in my opinion), and even with a week in between (and sometimes two games in a week), injuries will happen 100% of the time.
The Texans are no different from this ordeal. They already started the season with arguably their best offensive player (Arian Foster) out. Brian Hoyer played terribly to start off week one against the Chiefs so the Texans were forced to go with Ryan Mallett. Mallett came into his third career start with no Foster and no Duane Brown (who is arguably the best left tackle in the game). It’s tough to win football games without two of your best offensive players no matter who the quarterback is under center.
2: Lack Of A Running Game
The running game in the first two games of the season has been nonexistent to say the least. Second year running back Alfred Blue has been a underwhelming after expectations of him “taking the next step” coming into this season. He, however, is not the sole person to blame. Texans running backs have combined for 158 total yards rushing in the past two weeks which is, to be frank, abysmal. Chris Polk was the leading rusher against the Panthers with a whopping 14 carries for 38 yards. This can not continue to happen and expect winning results.
3: Offensive Line
The offensive line has struggled in both weeks, but more-so this week than last. Again it all comes down to one word “health” this teams starting left guard that they drafted just last season (Xavier Su’a-Filo) was inactive. Starting right tackle Derek Newton was placed at left guard. Back up left tackle Chris Clark was starting in place of Duane Brown, and to make matters worse, right guard Jeff Adams is now out for the season with a knee injury.
All of this is a domino effect that not only effects the offensive line but the entire play of the offense. If Duane Brown can’t play through a thumb injury, and the Texans don’t figure out how to get some kind of pass protection and run blocking scheme set, don’t expect winning results.
4: Quarterback Play
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I saved this for last because I know this is the position everyone wants to critique. Ryan Mallett dropped back 58 times against the Panthers and completed only 27 passes (not even going to mention the drops). What’s even more unfair is now that defenses know that he has no running game, and therefore the Texans lack a balanced attack. Defenses will often rush three and drop eight or rush four and drop seven.
It’s hard to fairly critique this position as it is Ryan Mallet’s third career start after backing up Tom Brady for all those years. He has the arm and he has the pocket awareness, but the accuracy is questionable. Still, I am riding with him over Brian Hoyer. I would like to see him with Foster back first and a balanced attack before I say what Mallett is and isn’t capable of doing.
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