With the exception of the end of the first half, every thing was great. Keenum is not an NFL QB though. Savage looked great, but they were against 3rd stringers.

I was worried that the defense would take some time to understand Romeo Crennel's system but the starters on defense have played extremely well and they haven't even had everybody playing at the same time during the preseason yet. J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney. Brian Cushing, Whitney Mercilus, Brooks Reed, Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson and D.J. Swearinger. I'm excited to see how strong the defense is going to be with those eight players, in particuar, on the field together.

I doubt any of the starters will play on Thursday Night against the 49ers but hopefully Week 1 against the Redskins, two weeks from now, we'll see everybody back on the field. I want this current 14-game losing streak to come to an end. Two preseason wins in a row obviously don't count.

14 more days. I'm just ready for everything to count at this point.

The Texans may only need to score 17 or 20 points to win some games this year...

Last year they had halftime leads of 21-3 over the Colts and 20-3 over the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, for example, and couldn't finish those games because they had no run game (with Arian Foster injured) and our defense wasn't as good as they're going to be this season. If we find ourselves in situations like that in 2014, I believe those games will definitely become wins this time around.

I don't want to predict anything for 2014 other than this team should win a lot more than two games.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 24 2014 12:16pm

The defense has to set the tone every game. Just having Brian Cushing back makes a world of difference. I was looking at some stats to shed some light on the impact of his loss. During the past two seasons when Cushing has played the Texans ranked 5th best in defense. Without him, once he tore his ACL, they ranked 27th and near the bottom of the league. That's why he's the team captain.

I'll be watching the Texans versus 49ers game on Thursday Night just to see which bubble guys can make the team.



Ricardo Mathews has a good chance the way he has played. He sacked Peyton Manning in the last game, also had two other tackles, and the Texans could use that depth at defensive end. We don't know how Jared Crick will handle his first full season starting at defensive right end. Ricardo Matthews, who's been in the NFL for four years, can help fill the void left by Antonio Smith's departure. He's the new #94 on the team.

We're not going to see a basic 3-4 defense anyways. We'll see a lot of four-man fronts and Jadeveon Clowney at defensive right end just to rush the passer. Romeo Crennel has been showing more complex schemes against the Broncos and Falcons. He used more of a vanilla defense against the Cardinals during the first preseason game.

Only 12 more days until the Texans host the Redskins Week 1 at NRG Stadium.

I'm counting them down like it's a countdown to Christmas day.

The Texans young and talented defense versus the Redskins' explosive and very fast offense: It's going to be fun to watch. The Redskins have arguably the fastest WR tandem in the league with DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. Alfred Morris is a load to bring down and Robert Griffin III will take off and use his feet any given play.

This is going to be a good early season test for the Texans Defense. We'll know right away if they're legit or not.

We're going to use our base defense around 30% of the time.

Ricardo Mathews has impressed me. He's a bigger body than Crick, and can play some NT if needed to.
I hope Whitney Mercilus does something. He's been a big disappointment, and he can't even beat out Brooks Reed for the starting job. I really thought he'd be a legit player for the Texans.

Case Keenum will start at quarterback against the 49ers tomorrow night. The Texans have to trim their roster down to 53 players by Saturday afternoon. So at the very least we should see a competitive game from the bubble guys..

Jadeveon Clowney, listed as day to day, could play tomorrow night against the 49ers. He said he wants to play but the coaches are targeting a return Week 1 for him against the Redskins which is only 11 more days away. I thought Clowney looked dominant against the Falcons in the second preseason game that there is no need for him to prove anything else until the regular season starts.

Unleash Romeo Crennel's talented and young defense against Robert Griffin III and the Redskins' revamped and explosive looking offense. Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson better be up to the task of chasing DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon around the field. Even with a strong pass rush we may need some safety help over the top against that type of game-changing speed. Just bottle up the run and force them into third and long situations. That will force RGIII to feel the presence of the Texans' pass rush.

I know that nobody of significance played last night but losing 40-13 wasn't the way I wanted to see the bubble players go out. Maybe the Texans should watch who the 49ers, one of the deepest teams in the league, decide to cut from their roster and maybe try and sign them. The only bright spot was the Dre Hal 77-yard pick six return which accounted for the Texans only Touchdown.



Only 9 more days until the Texans play the Redskins in the Week 1 regular season opener. That's all that matters right now. Trying to defeat a pretty good team at home. It's been difficult going so long with an active 14-game losing streak. The off-season has been a long one.

I feel pretty optimistic other than the fact that the quarterback position will always be a concern in the back of my mind. We have no depth at all at that position. Case Keenum had a lousy preseason and Tom Savage, the rookie, may have beat him out for the backup spot. We'll just have to roll with Ryan Fitzpatrick for now.

A new season brings forth some new hope.

Should the Texans sign Michael Sam off waivers? The Rams released him a few minutes ago...

The Texans, 2-14 last season, have first priority on the NFL waiver wire and can sign anybody before other teams can.

I guess we're after secondary help instead...

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter · 36m
Houston Texans already expressing some interest in former Jets CB Dimitri Patterson.

Sam intrigues me even if he isn't the greatest fit in Romeo Crennel's defense, just because he had a really good preseason for the Rams and was co-SEC player of the year last season. He'd be more of a hybrid situational pass rusher on our defense.

The Rams want Michael Sam to clear waivers so they can keep him on their practice squad.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 30 2014 02:16pm

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet · 35m
Terms: The #Texans traded a 2016 conditional 7th round pick for #Patriots QB Ryan Mallett, source said.

The Houston Texans just released Case Keenum after they traded for Ryan Mallett

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/08/31/report-texans-trade-for-ryan-mallet/

Houston (CBS Houston) - A summer’s worth of speculation finally became fact on Sunday. The Houston Texans traded for New England Patriots backup quarterback Ryan Mallett, according to Ian Rappaport. In return the Texans will send a conditional 7th round pick to New England that could end up as a 6th rounder.

Mallett, 26, had fallen behind second round pick Jimmy Garoppolo in New England. He’s previously played under head coach Bill O’Brien when O’Brien was the Patriots offensive coordinator.After being drafted in the third round in 2011, he’s played sparingly during his three years with the Patriots. At 6’6, Mallett fits the prototypical quarterback mold many think O’Brien adheres to.

Mallett’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, meaning the Texans won’t have to make a long-term financial commitment until after a full season of evaluation. If Mallett were to leave via free agency, the Texans could potentially be awarded a compensatory pick thus mitigating their loss of the 6th round pick traded to New England.