Official "Houston blows it against Indy" game thread

JMC00 said:

Still wondering why the Pats only ran it 17 times in SB46.

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Please, leave that poor corpse be.

KontradictioN said:

Can anyone tell me why RAC has the Texans trying to two gap? Seems as if they're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It also takes away from what Watt does best (although it's great for Wilfork and would be good for the defense as a whole if they had the LB's to pull it off).

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I think we've been spoiled by having coaches that actually adapt and evolve their scheme to fit player strengths. You look around the NFL and see so many players being shoved squarely into roles that don't maximize their talents, and it really just comes down to coaches who aren't willing to change what they do. DeMarco Murray in Philly is a good example atm.

varjao said:

The first play call was already awful, I was expecting that play action and so were the Giants.

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Last night after Hoyer's pick, Simms or Nantz made a comment about how dangerous it is to throw the ball down the middle of the field. I still don't understand how that was grounding.

BradyFTW! said:

I think we've been spoiled by having coaches that actually adapt and evolve their scheme to fit player strengths. You look around the NFL and see so many players being shoved squarely into roles that don't maximize their talents, and it really just comes down to coaches who aren't willing to change what they do. DeMarco Murray in Philly is a good example atm.

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I like your post, but I'm not sure I'd blame Murray's lack of production on the system. I think he'd be a dangerous back in Kelly's system but he's literally getting hit 3-4 yards in the backfield when he DOES take a handoff. That said, I do see your general point.

I visited the Texan board this morning. While they were upset about all the penalties last night, they blamed the players and coaches for the loss and not the refs. Compare this to the Bills board after any loss........

KontradictioN said:

I like your post, but I'm not sure I'd blame Murray's lack of production on the system. I think he'd be a dangerous back in Kelly's system but he's literally getting hit 3-4 yards in the backfield when he DOES take a handoff. That said, I do see your general point.

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IMO there are a number of factors working together to make the Eagles' ground game so bad. The main one is what you were driving at: that the blocking has been terrible. But even beyond that, Murray's a really bad fit for that offense. They need a shiftier RB who can take the handoff out of the shotgun and go from 0-60 really fast, move laterally, find the lane, etc. Murray's never been that guy. He's the type of RB who you line up in single back with the QB under center, so that he can get a nice running start, see the hole in front of him, and accelerate into it and win with a single cut and/or his physicality.

There are a lot of offenses where I think Murray would be doing fine right now (not as good as last year, but fine), and a lot of RBs in Murray's price range who I think would be doing better in Philadelphia than he is.

JMC00 said:

Still wondering why the Pats only ran it 17 times in SB46.

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I don't remember that in particular, but it would fit into what i do remember about BOB being the OC. It seemed to me he had brady pass about 75-80% of the time, to much to keep the opposing defense honest.

BradyFTW! said:

IMO there are a number of factors working together to make the Eagles' ground game so bad. The main one is what you were driving at: that the blocking has been terrible. But even beyond that, Murray's a really bad fit for that offense. They need a shiftier RB who can take the handoff out of the shotgun and go from 0-60 really fast, move laterally, find the lane, etc. Murray's never been that guy. He's the type of RB who you line up in single back with the QB under center, so that he can get a nice running start, see the hole in front of him, and accelerate into it and win with a single cut and/or his physicality.

There are a lot of offenses where I think Murray would be doing fine right now (not as good as last year, but fine), and a lot of RBs in Murray's price range who I think would be doing better in Philadelphia than he is.

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Dion Lewis says hi.

ChrisR2223 said:

I'm hoping Brady throws 8 tds I want something insane.
Don't forget Dion Lewis was cut by the Colts he will play with a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder.
Brady I doubt he smiles once during the game and I don't want to see any good luck and Good game crap afterwards or during play.
I want stone cold emotion I want the team to operate like a machine.
Screw running the ball I want Brady to set records and I want Luck to throw 6 ints.

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Don't forget this, folks. It's not going to be Blount carrying the load that night.

ChrisR2223 said:

I'm hoping Brady throws 8 tds I want something insane.
Don't forget Dion Lewis was cut by the Colts he will play with a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder.
Brady I doubt he smiles once during the game and I don't want to see any good luck and Good game crap afterwards or during play.
I want stone cold emotion I want the team to operate like a machine.
Screw running the ball I want Brady to set records and I want Luck to throw 6 ints.

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...and then they sent a first rounder away for Trent Richardson...LMAO

I honestly think the backs who fit the Eagles system would be Tevin Coleman, Tre Mason,
Jamal Charles, CJ Spiller, Darren Sproles yes I know he's on the team, Deangelo Williams,
Matt Forte,Giovani Bernard
Honestly and all but one of these guys would of been attainable.
I think the Eagles should try to swing a trade for Tre Mason.
He isn't happy with Gurley who is in think the closest thing to AP.
They have traded before so it's possible.
I would try to trade Demarco Murray to a team who loves trading away picks and loves big names.
Here's a trade Demarco Murray to the Broncos for Aquib Talib and a fourth round pick. Or Demarco Murray for Cody Latimer and a third.
Then trade a fourth to St Louis for Mason or trade a 5th for Matt Forte.
It's ballsy but it shows your gamble didn'the pay off and your willing to try to fix the offense.
Sorry OT I know.

TommyD4207 said:

Don't forget this, folks. It's not going to be Blount carrying the load that night.

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Patriots going to give another RB the four-spot?

varjao said:

I'm sorry but I'm sympathetic to Mallet, I know he didn't have the best of the attitudes yesterday but rightfully so (ehh kind of, you don't let your teammates down but BoB has more fault than anyone over this) , BoB couldn't do any worse and he created a situation where 2 guys who were friends before may not even be talking to each other.

The team has paid a price for this musical chairs at QB and that's not good for any QB, BoB is not developing Mallet who is still a young QB with some potential and Hoyer is a veteran that can be a little more than a game manager but needs the confidence that he is the starter, or was, whatever. He didn't have this confidence in Cleveland where he knew he was going to lose that job at any minute due to the pressure from the owners to the head coach to start Johnny Booziel and now things are even worse in Houston. I think Mallet may be mentally crushed right now and that's on BoB. The NFL is a business but you need to develop your players not putting them in position to fail, not even Rex Ryan could do worse than BoB, man I'm feeling bad and I have no special sympathy for the Texans but I was kind of rooting for them due to all these NE connections, I knew they wouldn't present any threat to the Patriots.

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Im not big on Mallet, but i did feel for him. Not for nothing, but the Texans were moving the ball on the Colts that first drive, and Mallet was playing decent. The pass that got intercepted was on Foster. He should have caught it. But damn that team has no fight in them. The minute that happned the offense went flat....Until Hoyer came in

I think Crennel deserves some blame also. He's got that defense playing a 2 gap 3-4, and they really shouldnt be. Hes gotta unleash Watt and Clowney let those guys get after it. Sometimes man, these coaches over think things, and are too stubborn to change.

Oswlek said:

Patriots going to give another RB the four-spot?

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Dion Lewis is your feature back, has been all year, and just signed a 2-year extension three games into the season.

I don't know how much evidence you need. Coffee.

TommyD4207 said:

Don't forget this, folks. It's not going to be Blount carrying the load that night.

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Maybe he isn't. But it wouldn't surprise me if Blount carries it 25-30 times giving how he has punished them.

AzorianPats said:

Im not big on Mallet, but i did feel for him. Not for nothing, but the Texans were moving the ball on the Colts that first drive, and Mallet was playing decent. The pass that got intercepted was on Foster. He should have caught it. But damn that team has no fight in them. The minute that happned the offense went flat....Until Hoyer came in

I think Crennel deserves some blame also. He's got that defense playing a 2 gap 3-4, and they really shouldnt be. Hes gotta unleash Watt and Clowney let those guys get after it. Sometimes man, these coaches over think things, and are too stubborn to change.

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Agreed re: Mallett. He didn't do anything to lose the job last night, Hoyer just happened to hit his ceiling right away when he got his chance. People wonder why Brady never leaves the field if he has any choice in the matter, and that's why. Sure, we all think/know it's irrational for him to be looking out behind him for the guy coming to take his job (though I'm sure he remembers exactly how he took Bledsoe's, and isn't totally wrong to recognize that no one's ever totally secure). But Brady taking this need to prove he's the best every day to pathological extremes is a huge part of what makes him Brady. He doesn't go from #199 to GOAT without that borderline-insane drive.

Also agreed on the Texans' personnel/scheme, the thing about a 2-gap 3-4 is that your OLBs need to set the edge well, at least one ILB needs to be able to stack up guards, and at least one ILB needs to be a playmaker who can mop up all over the place. The 01-04 Pats had all of that in guys like Bruschi, McGinest, Vrabel, Johnson, etc. And the DL talent we had then kinda speaks for itself too.

The Texans have a lot of the right pieces, but they're still a work in progress. They're not even close to all the way there. Wilfork is still a solid 2-gapper, even in his diminished post-achilles state, and Watt can do pretty much anything. Clowney's a freak and impressed me last night in how well he's adapted to strong-side edge-setting in a role that's still really new to him. But I don't think the rest of their personnel are suited to their roles at all. Cushing's fine, but he's better as a pure playmaker in a more aggressive scheme. And the rest of the guys just don't get it done. Doesn't matter how well Wilfork and Watt 2-gap if there's no talent behind them to take advantage of being unblocked.

TommyD4207 said:

Dion Lewis is your feature back, has been all year, and just signed a 2-year extension three games into the season.

I don't know how much evidence you need. Coffee.

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The Pats are game-plan and opponent driven. The "feature-back" will be whoever the team thinks works best in the context of the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent and what the game plan calls for.

TommyD4207 said:

Dion Lewis is your feature back, has been all year, and just signed a 2-year extension three games into the season.

I don't know how much evidence you need. Coffee.

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When did I say he wasn't?

BradyFTW! said:

IMO there are a number of factors working together to make the Eagles' ground game so bad. The main one is what you were driving at: that the blocking has been terrible. But even beyond that, Murray's a really bad fit for that offense. They need a shiftier RB who can take the handoff out of the shotgun and go from 0-60 really fast, move laterally, find the lane, etc. Murray's never been that guy. He's the type of RB who you line up in single back with the QB under center, so that he can get a nice running start, see the hole in front of him, and accelerate into it and win with a single cut and/or his physicality.

There are a lot of offenses where I think Murray would be doing fine right now (not as good as last year, but fine), and a lot of RBs in Murray's price range who I think would be doing better in Philadelphia than he is.

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Not necessarily. Remember that LeGarrette did fine in the same system at Oregon.

Oswlek said:

When did I say he wasn't?

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Coffee.