Texans Recover in “Dress Rehearsal,” Dominate Cowboys
I’ve heard a lot of hypocrisy in the last week. From fans from both the Texans and the Cowboys. And the fact that it was over a preseason game makes me shake my head even more.
After Houston was handed their collectives asses against the Saints last week, most Texans fans were ready to pack head coach Gary Kubiak’s bags for him. Then, after they completely took apart the “Super Bowl Favorite” Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night, the kool-aid drinking that was going on after the Arizona game has returned.
Guys, make up your mind. You’re flip-flopping worse than a Presidential candidate right now. It’s getting so bad that I can’t even listen to local radio after a game anymore, regardless of a win or a loss.
Then you have Cowboys fans, who seem to love to call into Houston sports radio. All week they were talking mess about how preseason game or not, they were going to whip some Houston ass. But this morning, all you hear is “It was just a preseason game!” and “They didn’t want to give up anything because of the Week 3 game.”
Look, I won’t deny either of those might be true. But if you’re going to run your mouth like that and then your team lets you down, man up and take your licks. Don’t bring nothing but a mouthful of excuses to a fist fight.
As far as the game goes, I have to bring up a concern. Yes, the team looked pretty good. I can’t deny that. But my question is this:
We’re the Texans really that good? Or was Dallas just that bad?

The D-Line, Even Amobi Okyoe, looked unstoppable.
Let’s face it here…the Cowboys offensive line looked like high schoolers. Tony Romo didn’t have two seconds to find a receiver before he was scrambling or just flat out running for his life. The much maligned Texans defensive line looked amazing. And we know that they aren’t. They were dominant against the run, making multiple stops in the backfield for a loss. And they hurried Romo six times and sacked him twice (Connor Barwin added another late in the game on third stringer Stephen McGee). But, still. I have to give it up to a D-Line that was in the opponents backfield on almost every play. Something I hope to see against Indy in Week 1.

I will admit it. I seem to have been wrong about Foster.
The second biggest story, in my opinion, was the play of running back Arian Foster. I will admit that I’ve been skeptical of him being the starter for this football team. But the leap that guy seems to have made between last year and this one is astounding. His vision is looking impressive and his ability to find the hole when it seems there is nothing there is nothing to shake your head at either. He tore the Cowboys defense up for 110 yards on eighteen carries. He also added a touchdown (would have been two if not for a bonehead holding penalty on Chris Myers) and 16 yards on four receptions. The term is ridiculously overused in sports, but it was a beastly performance for Foster. And I’m finally on board with him as the Texans running back heading into 2010. Not much went on with Slaton (who left with turf toe) or Chris Henry who combined for four carries and eight yards. But Jeremiah Johnson continued to look good with more opportunities. JJ gained 53 yards on nine attempts including one for 27 yards that got the fans on their feet late in the third quarter. He seems to have all but locked up a spot on this roster with Chris Henry looking to head back to the practice squad, if he isn’t claimed by someone else. No way do I see Coach Kubiak keeping four running backs unless all of them are doing incredible. But, we’ll find out at the end of this week.
Matt Schaub, while not bad at all, has certainly spoiled the fans of Houston with his precision and accuracy. While 18/29 for 183 yards and a touchdown, he did overthrow/underthrow a couple of passes. Which led to some fans getting on his back about it. Like I said, spoiled. Most of us expect Matt to complete every pass he throws after last year. But lets try to remember that this is preseason to him, too. We’ve seen him better, but by no sense of the word was he bad like I’ve read in some other game reviews out there. Andre Johnson (7 rec., 79 yds.) and Jacoby Jones (5 rec., 63 yds., 1 TD) led the receiving charge for the Texans. A nice across the field strike to JJ for a 24 yard touchdown was his highlight. While Andre Johnson, who is no stranger to a highlight or three had a moment that had me where I couldn’t stop laughing. Andre caught a short pass while being closely pursued by pro bowl CB Terence Newman and he immediately got his hands on him. But as Andre shook him off, Newman held on for dear life onto Johnson’s jersey. Then, like a cartoon, AJ dragged him up the field for another five yards. It was quite hilarious and a testament to Johnson’s strength.

I know it was awesome, but I could not stop laughing (and rewinding).
Another story from Texans camp that is beginning to get a little frustrating is the position battle for Kicker. I keep expecting one of these guys to have a meltdown but it just isn’t happening. But, with Houston’s struggles in the Red Zone (Just 1-4…again!) the kickers didn’t have to attempt a kick over 23 yards in distance. That isn’t a good sample size. Rackers hit one from 52 last week, so I would hope that factors into the decision. But I still think Brown wins the job if the two end up in some sort of “tie.” Which they are currently in, according to Coach Kubiak.
Yesterday, Kubiak announced that Fred Bennett, London Crawford and Pannel Egboh had all been cut to get down to the league mandatory 75 man roster. Which was expected of Bennett. I hope a change of scenery can help Fred. Because he looked like the real deal in his rookie season when Dunta Robinson went down. But with the youth movement at CB there was just no room for Bennett here anymore.
Speaking of the young corners, I want to give a mention to Kareem Jackson. He messed up on one play in coverage on Roy Williams, but made up for it with an interception off Romo (With a mighty big assist from Bernard Pollard, who deflected the pass) in the Red Zone in the 3rd quarter and I thought he was going to take it to the house. In two games, he has more interceptions than Dunta did all year last year. But, again, it’s preseason. But it’s still nice to see one of our corners pick a ball off.
This is likely the last we’ll see of the majority of the starters until Week 1 against Indy. This Thursday night we are sure to see plenty of Dan Orlovsky, John David Booty and Chirs Henry. Pretty much just back ups or people desperately attempting to make a final impression and land a spot on the 53 man roster. It’s usually the most boring game of the preseason and I wouldn’t expect this one to be any different. But at least it’s paired with a tailgate. Highlights below.
Tags: Amobi Okoye, Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, Arizona Cardinals, Bernard Pollard, Chris Henry, Chris Myers, Connor Barwin, Dallas Cowboys, Dan Orlovsky, Dunta Robinson, Fred Bennett, Gary Kubiak, Jacoby Jones, Jeremiah Johnson, John David Booty, Kareem Jackson, Kris Brown, London Crawford, Matt Schaub, Neil Rackers, Pannel Egboh, Roy Williams, Stephen McGee, Steve Slaton, Terence Newman, Tony Romo





























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