Four weeks into the 2010 NFL season things are looking pretty good for the Houston Texans. Pretty good despite the fact that their Defense is ranked dead last in the league in Total Defense. That said, if there is one thing that we learned from the Saints last year it was that great medicine for a Defense that can't stop anyone is a powerful, high-scoring offense. Fortunately the Texans also have that too, sitting pretty at 1st in the league in Rushing and 2nd in Total Offense.
Last year the Texans were pretty terrible at stopping the run in the first three games, then made some adjustments and ended up 5th best in the league by the time it was all said and done. A big factor that went into that happening was Cushing, but discovering the talents of Bernard Pollard also helped. This year, right about the same time, Cushing is going to effect the Defense again and the Texans have discovered another safety that I personally think will shore up the secondary - Troy Nolan.
The New York Giants come to town this week after tearing apart the Bears on Sunday night. The Texans welcome them after taking the Raiders to the end of the wire and pulling out the win. How will the Texans fair against the Giants? They should win, but in order to do so, a few things will have to happen.
1. O Line - The Texans Offensive Line is going to have to do some major stepping up this week to stop the Giants pass rush who was able to sack the Bears Quarterbacks 10 times in last weeks match-up. Granted the Bears have a bad Offensive Line, but the Giants pass rush is strong. Rashad Butler needs to be at the top of his game as do the rest of our up-front guys.
2. Brian Cushing - With Cushing returning, the Defense instantly become stronger. If he is at the top of his game and amped up like it appears he is in this video of him working out a few weeks ago - then his impact has the potential of being massive. Kubiak sounds hopeful at the fact that Cushing will be ready to go immediately, so let's hope he is right. Cushing brings a pass rush, run stop and pass coverage element to the team that has been missing in the first 4 weeks.
3. Fans - The fans at Reliant have absolutely got to be "All-in" at this game. The Colts game was the loudest game ever at Reliant and it certainly got into Peyton Manning's head while amping up the Texans. But then they were lackluster against the Cowboys and it showed on the field with Romo being able to do whatever he wanted and when. The fans MUST show up this week for the Texans to eek out a win over the Giants. Some fans are deterred by the new tail-gating rules, but the Texans need them to look past it this week and show up with loud voices and passion.
The Texans are also going to need to have the key players step up and hopefully Andre Johnson will be all healed and ready to go, but those above three factors could be the factors in determining the game.
I liked the way the Texans moved Antonio Smith around last week in Oakland. If they can bring that pressure again and get Eli to force throw then that will take some pressure off our young secondary. Otherwise Manning is going to pick us apart. So glad Cushing is back. Go Texans!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. That's what they were doing with barwin before his injury....it was working.
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