Houston Texans At New Orleans Saints: Three things to watch

The Houston Texans will tackle their third preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on the road as they get into form for the 2017 season, here are three things to watch as the game goes on.

WHAT: Preseason Game 3 — Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. CDT

WHERE: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA

We’re halfway through the preseason and the Houston Texans are showing some signs of some strong but good consistency in these past two games. The offense is moving the football, our quarterback play has been solid, the defense has been making key plays and the offense line with the latest mix of guys is playing quite well.

There are still a lot of question marks about our secondary but I’ll certainly discuss that later. All in all, I think this team is prepared to do battle when the season rolls around and although there are still a few kinks with the special teams unit, the team as a whole seems respectable in my eyes.

As these two teams take the field, here are THREE things to WATCH for as they do battle:

1. Our depth needs to shine at the safety position

There have been question marks all off season long in regard to how deep and talented our safeties are. I’m actually unsure of that but there’s certainly some potential in the many guys that we have for them to shine. We know that Andre Hal and Corey Moore are the presumed starters.

Each have made spectacular plays throughout the preseason to prove their worth and I’m not worried about those guys one bit. But what happens if they need a breather? Who’s our go-to? The Houston Texans must turn to K.J. Dillon, Kurtis Drummond, Marcus Gilchrist and Eddie Pleasant to help out with this.

So far, we haven’t seen much from these guys but we certainly need something more than just their warm body on the field. I’ve seen Pleasant make a few plays but I need to see that these guys really want it. The guys should be fiercely battling for their jobs. We’ll have to see what the epilogue to this is next week.

2. The mysterious case of Alvin Kamara

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Alvin Kamara, Alvin Kamara, Alvin Kamara! Do you want me to repeat again? I don’t think I should, I prefer not to sound redundant, you know. But this guy is the real deal. You thought Cyrus Jones couldn’t give us trouble? Wait until you get a load of Kamara, who is making a case to be one of the New Orleans Saints top threats on the ground.

Last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, he picked up five carries and one reception for 83 all-purpose yards. This included a 50-yard speedy carry to the house early in the game to set the tone of it the rest of the way. The 5’10,” 215-pound third-rounder out of Tennessee has turned heads and opened eyes with his terrific level of play over the past few weeks.

He’s proven that he can productive in short spurts, having racked up 23 touchdowns in just 284 touches in his collegiate career. This will be on the twos and threes of the Houston Texans defensive line as well as special teams to ensure he does not do any damage or else it will be a long night for this team. This is certainly something I’ll be looking forward to.

3. The Craig Robertson campaign

Craig Robertson, the former undrafted free agent out of North Texas is making a case for himself to be a key component of the Saints’ defensive line, which is in heavy repair since the days that Rob Ryan was the coordinator.

But Dennis Allen is at the helm and defense has always been strong suit of his so their improvement will certainly be story line to follow throughout the season. Part of that repair includes Robertson, who is battling to get the start at middle linebacker. Pro Football Focus rated him highly last week with a score of 84.0.

To warrant this distinction, he had four solo tackles, five defensive stops, 1.0 sacks and a quarterback hit. As the timing of the preseason starts to wane, he’s going to be giving it everything he has to ensure he’s on the roster. I would definitely keep a close eye on him.

Next: The 'Wes Welker' effect on receivers

And there you have it! These are THREE of the most important things to focus as you’re watching this game but we certainly hope to see even more out of our team. Enjoy the game ladies and gents.

Go Texans.

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