Since O-line is blocking a little bit better than last year which isn't really saying a whole lot the Texans should use David Carr in a shotgun formation for majority of the snaps b/c the doesn't get much time in the pocket to drop back, set, & throw. ...OR better they should incorporate NO HUDDLE Offense. That will really catch defenses napping. Go Texas teams that nicknames begin with The HOUSTON...
the last thing this young team needs is a no-huddle offense. the o-line underperformed in the last 2 quarters of the saints game...after the game was virtually determined, especially. carr looked great doing 3 step and 6 step drops in miami. i'm not ready to throw out the entire offense because of 2 bad quarters.
Point being, both will buy Carr some time in the pocket. It's just an adjustment. Look at he success Jim Kelly had.
They still need to establish the run. Leave the 'gimmick' offenses for the college teams. They don't work in the NFL.
Pass more, Pass to set up the run not run to set up the pass this offense isnt equiped to run to set up the pass, we run a couple of times and then its 3rd and long and the D knows we're in passing mode then pass more on 1st and 2nd down, even if it is short passes for 3-6 yard gains Go deep on first a few times, get the DB's on their toes THEN bust out the Draw play and watch em run!
The Texans have an odd problem: 1. Their passing game is far better than their running game. 2. They have a young QB and WR corps which they don't want to pressure too much. It wasn't just the O-line that folded in that game - Carr fell to pieces as well. He made accurate throws all day long, then couldn't hit the ocean towards the end. But run it, and what happens? Nothing. Mack... kind of... sucks.
I love Mack and all, but I have a feeling we may be seeing Davis get the majority of the carries by the end of the season. He seems to show a great deal more upside. Mack would be nice to keep for short yardage situations, though. What amazes me the most about Davis is his ability to break tackles. For such a little guy (all relative, of course) he sure can motor those legs and drive when tacklers are trying to pull him down. Maybe it's the low center of gravity, maybe he just has strong legs, I don't know. But I like what I see so far.
I agree with that comment on Davis. It seems everytime he carries the ball he averages nearly 5 yards/down. He may not have much durability though since he does not have a large build.
I'm sure the Texans would like to tweak their depth chart a bit on both sides of the ball, but they can only do so much right now with the hand they have been delt. It's time for the youngsters to step it up a notch in the Trenches and play soild football. That means keeping their heads and not having to many stupid penalties called against them during opportunistic times througout the game. Keep Your Heads!! -Tex Trenches
I posted this in the other thread, Texans vs Saints, just wondering if anyone agrees: I'm hoping for more aggressive play calling on the offensive side of the ball. I may be in the minority, but giving the ball to Mack just wasn't working too well, especially because most of them were basic up the middle or draws. I think there should be more sweeps and tosses, as well as more passing on first down. Carr shouldn't be forced to try and make things happen on 3rd and long. I think we should be pass oriented to set up the run, like Maynard said. We have a good WR corps; it's much better than our ground game, at least.
Buffalo went to 3 Super Bowls using it. Passing will est. the run and vice-versa. FYI- Shotgun offense is not a college or gimmick offense. The Run n shoot is or should I say Chuck n Dunk.
The most important thing and the easiest fix is to stop the stupid false starts. They are starting to many of their drives with 1st and 15. 5 yards is a big deal when your offense just isnt to talented yet. The running game and the pass protection might not come this year because the talent probaly isnt here yet but they can defintely play smarter.
Carr had some strong words about last sunday's game: Carr speaks in fighting terms By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Karen Warren/Chronicle David Carr regroups after another visit to the turf at the Superdome Sunday. David Carr's words spoke volumes. "This was the worst," he said. But it was the red knot right in the middle of his forehead, the stiffness and lingering ache in his throwing shoulder, the sharp edge in his voice that should have blared a warning through the Texans' locker room louder than any ambulance siren. It's time to get tougher. When a quarterback who has already played the role of a bowling pin, getting slammed to the turf a body-bruising 76 times in his rookie season, claims the Saints roughed him up on Sunday more than any other team in the 17 previous regular-season games of the Texans' existence, it's like listening to Custer talk about attacks by the Sioux. They have the scars and ought to know. Maybe it was the unforgiving concrete beneath that gawd-awful artificial turf at the Superdome that left Carr feeling as if he'd spent the afternoon inside a cement mixer. Perhaps it was the way the Saints consistently and relentlessly kept the pressure on him by blitzing their safeties on first and second down, then forcing him to play chuck-and-duck for most of the second half. But maybe it's more than all of that. Maybe it's something completely different. Maybe it's the franchise quarterback starting to feel his oats and hinting he's tired of playing the punching bag. Maybe it's time the Texans -- on offense and defense -- started being the hitters more frequently than the hittees. Through their debut season, with understandable logic, the Texans carved out an identity that was mostly reactive to their opponents. Their approach to most games was to hang on by their fingertips to the edge of the cliff so they wouldn't fall off into oblivion. It is a strategy that served the Texans well last year, delivering one victory in each month of the regular season and demonstrating consistency and moxie that gave them reason for satisfaction and fans reason to believe. It is an approach that has kept most games close, kept most scores low and provided opportunities to strike when an opponent -- i.e., Miami -- shows an insufficient level of respect. However, it is also a style that, at times, can also cross the line from being defensive and conservative into being simply timid. When the Saints came with their safety blitz, why didn't the Texans attack with quick passes to tight end Billy Miller? Why couldn't the aggressiveness of the Saints be exploited by having a halfback jump into the holes that are left in the defense? On defense, why aren't the Texans the ones pinning their ears back and flying at opposing quarterbacks with blitzes that were supposed to be de rigeur out of their 3-4 alignment? In other words, it is not just time to hit back. It is time to hit first. Yes, they have been limited by the injury to Gary Walker and now by the loss of Seth Payne. Yet they are not attacking as much as merely trying to survive. Another part of the problem is the Texans' being victimized too often by their own errors. Another 11 penalties in New Orleans cost them more yards (86) than they managed to gain on the ground (75). They are still a young team, still learning to jell, and mistakes will happen as they digest and process the Dom Capers system. We can only assume this is an area that will continue to improve with emphasis and a lack of tolerance for failure by the coaching staff. It is as much about attitude and expectation by the Texans as it is about exactitude and execution. What we're not seeing from them is an instinctive snarl to their game, a true bite or even much of a bark. This is the NFL in 2003, when there are no such things as dynasties or truly great teams, only flavor-of-the-month Super Bowl champions. Take the reigning royalty, the Bucs, who can lose to Carolina, or wannabe contenders like the Eagles who can crash-land on their beaks at 0-2 out of the starting gate. This is a league that worships at the altar of parity, which means that on every Sunday everybody has a chance. Even the Texans, if they should choose to step up and seize it by delivering the first punch. "We definitely can't play this way again," said Carr. Sounds like somebody else is getting weary. http://www.houstonchronicle.com
DAMN, that was a good read. It's about time we stop using the "we're young" excuse (YOU HEAR ME ROCKETS?!) and go all out for it. Be competitive. We have a good enough team than what we seem to put out on the field in the 2nd half vs NO. DC is the man: after taking 76 hits last year and STILL taking every snap, he has every reason to talk; if the team can't rally around him, then screw this team, it's not going anywhere. EDIT- Yes sir, Uprising sir! Say hello to space! Just curious, do you get the majority of your posts from the TAC forum? They should make you a mod of this forum man!
THe poor guy was getting pounded extremely hard a hell of a lot of times last sunday. And being slammed on that damn astro turf concrete..... Jump on the Carr band wagon.... I hear ya. I better not hear the "this team is still young" crap out of the rocket's organization again this year. We have to make the playoffs, or atleast be decent!! Oh....no need to quote the whole article from my post, it takes up WAY too much space. Just reply. Carr must be really pissed. He just bought the whole O-Line dinner at a steak house last week after they held up in Miami, and then they go and perform like they did on sunday in NO.....
I'm glad Carr is stepping up in the article. His OL needs to face facts that they need to step up and protect him! Forget the damn running offense. It was worthless in the past game. He needs to go from the shotgun position and pass the ball. Just like in the article....why doesn't he go to Billy Miller more? Or to D. Davis when he's in trouble? I know the Saints and Dolphins are good, but the Texans can take them. They were fine in the 1st half of the Saints game, and then it was just deja vu from last year in the 2nd half. The Texans have one of the fastest core of receivers in the league that can beat any of the top corners. Carr just needs to get rid of the ball faster and find guys on short routes when he's in trouble. That's what I think.... I think the DEF is fine, but the offense needs to help the DEF!
you have to establish the run in the NFL. you just have to. if you don't...if you play a pass first game. then what happened in the second half will happen over and over and over again. they knew we were passing, and we got killed. i think the texans are trying to be balanced. i don't get the impression they're running too much. i would like to see them throw some more on first down...but that's not a drastic change.
It took us 3 1/2 quarters to establish the run against the 'Fins. Look what happened. Capers didn't give up (like most people wanted him to) and stayed with it. When the 4th quarter came around, we went on that 16 play drive that IMO won the game. If Carr ran a 'pass first' kind of offense at this stage in the franchise's evolution, he wouldn't make it through the year. Believe me, we'll thank Capers for his 'conservative' offense years from now... I heard Steve McKinney on 610 this morning saying that the Saints D-line was "stunting off the bus" and they weren't really prepared for it. He said they are going to work on it all week and sounded confident that it won't be a problem this week even though KC will probably do the same thing.
