Been said that the Texans....

[pmedic920]

Can't win the BIG games. Down by 21 @ some gawd awful hour of the night is kinda big. Yes it was the Chargers but the chargers played a decent game and had tons of momentum. Week 4 worries me. Nobody here owes me anything, but would a couple of y'all ease my mind with some facts/truths about this match up. I do know this. Houston fans are kind of wishy washy. If we can score first and early, they will be a lot less noisy. I guess that an obvious statement to make but, I think with Houston fans it is more pronounced. Like the Hawks these guys have huge expectations and are playing with the proverbial chip on their shoulder. I see this road game as THE test. If we can win this game, our season WILL NOT end until February.

Mods please move if wrong forum.

 

[mretrade]

They looked very unimpressive last night.

 

[SouthSoundHawk]

Didn't give up a first down on SD's last 5 drives.

Not bad.

I was watching their defensive line play last night, after watching what Carolina could do. They were ok, I felt better after watching that game. Of course Watt is going to make a play here and there, get some no calls to go his way, and get a lot of coverage...just something that comes with playing the Texans.

Hopkins has nice hands, and Johnson can be a beast..or he can give Houston nothing...it's a toss up.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

If the Chargers had just decided to run the ball, even if it wasn't working to gain yardage, they will might have avoided all the clock stoppages and squeezed the Texans for time on their comeback.

Not to take too much away from the Texans, but they were helped by bad playcalling last night.

 

[RolandDeschain]

I'm not sure it was as much of an impressive comeback by Houston as it was just a total meltdown by San Diego. They made a ton of mistakes on defense, and Rivers had a ZERO QB rating for the rest of the night following that pick.

That San Diego meltdown also made me lose in one of my fantasy leagues. Ugh.

 

[HawksFTW]

I'm not sure it was as much of an impressive comeback by Houston as it was just a total meltdown by San Diego. They made a ton of mistakes on defense, and Rivers had a ZERO QB rating for the rest of the night following that pick.

That San Diego meltdown also made me lose in one of my fantasy leagues. Ugh.

The pick by Cushing was a pretty damn good play to turn the tide. True, SD's playcalling and execution were atrocious, but Houston's D did finally get their feet underneath themselves.

 

[mikeak]

If the Chargers had just decided to run the ball, even if it wasn't working to gain yardage, they will might have avoided all the clock stoppages and squeezed the Texans for time on their comeback.

Not to take too much away from the Texans, but they were helped by bad playcalling last night.

I am not making this a personal attack but did you watch the game or looking at stats?

Two drives stalled specifically because of running straight up the middle on first and second down. They didn't run much because had 3 and out drives. The issue was becoming predictable and coaching scared so I agree playcalling was the issue.

They had huge success running when they used swing passes and attacked downfield. As soon as they went away with that and strictly ran up the gut twice then put themselves in obvious passing down then they had an issue. Now add to the bad playcalling dropped passes and passes to the other team and well meltdown was complete.

I had my money on SD for one reason - the way they played against Seahawks the first quarter. They moved straight down the field and we couldn't stop them. I would be more worried about SD than I am facing Houston. Houston front didn't look any better than I think the Panthers was. I also think Seahawks won't allow 3rd and 15+ to be completed over and over again. And MAYBE we won't have refs giving the opponents first down randomly

 

[Smelly McUgly]

If the Chargers had just decided to run the ball, even if it wasn't working to gain yardage, they will might have avoided all the clock stoppages and squeezed the Texans for time on their comeback.

Not to take too much away from the Texans, but they were helped by bad playcalling last night.

I am not making this a personal attack but did you watch the game or looking at stats?

After San Diego scored to make the game 28-7, they ran a total of four times. That's it. They even had one three-and-out that was THREE STRAIGHT PASSING PLAYS.

I think you are forgetting just how many passing plays the Chargers called after going up by three TDs with less than a half to play. They stopped the clock for the Texans WAY too many times.

 

[mikeak]

You are misrepresenting that though.

The point is what happened between 28-7 through 28-28. The three passing plays were after the game got tied up and SD got desperate and the main reason for loosing the game was allowing 3rd and long converted over and over again

After SD scored 28 -- next drive. Incomplete, Run, Incomplete so 2 pass - 1 run, then next possession - Run, Run, Pass so now the standing is 3 and 3. Then the third possession interception.

So from 28-7 to 28-28 San Diego ran three times and passed four times. Please tell me how this is abondoning the run? The problem is they got so conservative and couldn't pick up a first down.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

Up 28-14, they called a deep passing play on first down and then again on third down.

Up 28-21, they passed on first down and got pick-sixed.

At that point, they only ran more than once on ONE total drive while leading.

So you are WRONG about how often they ran. Throwing on first down two out of three drives after you take a three TD lead is the antithesis of conservative playcalling.

Then, they go completely out of balance and pass three times after getting the ball back with a tied game.

Bad playcalling. Sorry, man, I think you are dead wrong on this one.

 

[mikeak]

We agree to disagree. They ran 3 times and passed 4 times after being up three TDs. That is from the play-by-plays.

After that it was a tied game and they were on their heels. They were getting no yardage running. They got 1 yard from two running plays which put them on a 3rd and 9.

Whatever it was bad all around. Defensively and offensively. The penlty didn't help and was a BS call.

In the end we should beat Houston and that is what really matters

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Houston start well... peak... then by the time the playoffs come around never look quite as threatening as they did at the start of the year.

But they have enough talent overall to beat anyone. I'm glad we get to play the Jags in between the Niners and Texans. A worst case scenario of 2-2 isn't a disaster.

 

[Blitzhawk]

I thought they lost the game because in the 2nd half Phillip Rivers would take the snap, close his eyes, and throw the ball as fast as he could.

 

[Blitzhawk]

Also, if what the announcers said last night was anything close to true, the Texans destroy subpar QB's and get torn up by great QB's if that helps.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

We agree to disagree. They ran 3 times and passed 4 times after being up three TDs. That is from the play-by-plays.

After that it was a tied game and they were on their heels. They were getting no yardage running. They got 1 yard from two running plays which put them on a 3rd and 9.

Whatever it was bad all around. Defensively and offensively. The penlty didn't help and was a BS call.

In the end we should beat Houston and that is what really matters

I look at it this way:

They run three times and punt, that kills 2:00+ off the clock each drive.

They instead ran three drives of 1:27, 1:13, and 0:08 before the game was tied again.

Instead of killing at minimum 6:00, they kill 2:38 and walk the Texans back into the game. That is a three-and-a-half minute difference, which is HUGE. If they get a first down, that difference becomes even larger.

But I can agree to disagree, and I appreciate your perspective. I think we can definitely win down in Houston, but I'm still scared of our team on the road.

 

[Sarlacc83]

Did they play a great opponent who's going to be in their way for Super Bowl contention? : No

Did they play against an elite quarterback who makes great defenses plead for mercy?: No

Was it a 2nd round playoff game or greater?: No

Was the game vital to securing a playoff game late in the season?: No

I'm not sure what you mean by big game. They'll feast on weaker teams then cough up a hairball against a team like the Broncos or the Patriots. It's also quite feasible that we run them out of their own stadium, considering what Green Bay did to them last year on SNF. (I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it is possible.)

 

[mikeak]

I thought they lost the game because in the 2nd half Phillip Rivers would take the snap, close his eyes, and throw the ball as fast as he could.

I counted one drop and one good pass that had a great play by the defender. That was 2 out of the 4 passes.

I just can't put this on Rivers. Is he responsible for the int - yes of course. Would one play have made a difference if he got a first down. Most likely but the running game stalled and the defense made some huge mistakes over and over again.

Don't forget Rivers was responsible for three of the TDs in the first half moving them down the field and even picking up a first down inside the 5 knowing he didn't need a TD.

 

[pmedic920]

Did they play a great opponent who's going to be in their way for Super Bowl contention? : No

Did they play against an elite quarterback who makes great defenses plead for mercy?: No

Was it a 2nd round playoff game or greater?: No

Was the game vital to securing a playoff game late in the season?: No

I'm not sure what you mean by big game. They'll feast on weaker teams then cough up a hairball against a team like the Broncos or the Patriots. It's also quite feasible that we run them out of their own stadium, considering what Green Bay did to them last year on SNF. (I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it is possible.)

Guess I'm calling it a big game because it was the opener, on the road, late at night and they had to overcome a big lead. I your terms, I agree not a big game. Historically speaking this is the kind of game Houston looses. I think as the Hawks improved over the offseason, so did the Texans. My preseason pick was Seahawks/ Texans. Although Denver is looking better than I figured they would be. As stated week four worries me, for several reasons. I just wanted to stir up some talk, so that I could find reasons to relax about it. So far most of what has been said is about why the chargers lost. Maybe others are as worried as i am. Maybe nobody is worried about the Texans. I was really hoping that some of the gurus saw something that was going to put it in the bag for us.