Houston Texans, 2012 AFC South Champions

There should be more Gatorade showers coming in the future, get used to it Gary

 

 

         Last year, the Houston Texans finally quenched their playoff thirst after being stranded in the desert year after year searching for the right pieces to break their slump. This year they feasted on their opponents and have won a consecutive AFC South championship, but this time they are looking for much more. By beating the Indianapolis Colts 29-13 and a win by the 49ers over the Pats in New England, Houston is now in prime position for home field advantage. They now sit with a two game advantage on New England and a 1 1/2 game advantage on the Broncos (head to head tie breaker). This gives them the ability to clinch home field advantage and a first round bye with a win against the Vikings next Sunday. This also means that Houston would have to just beat either the Ravens or the Colts (barring a major upset of NE vs CIN or PIT) to reach the AFC championship. Even though the game was sloppy on Sunday, Houston controlled the game by playing their brand of football.

J.J Watt Destroyer of Worlds

          Every week, when discussing Houston's defense the conversation has to start with him. Last week he was frustrated by Brady's quick release. Every time Watt managed to get free, Brady was able to get the ball off and not take the hit. Watt did not have that problem this week as he accumulated three sacks for a share of the league with Aldon Smith with 19.5 sacks. Watt is now just 3 away from Strahan's record (Part of this is due to the fact passing is more prevalent with the rule changes now then when Strahan set it. Also all Minnesota does is run and they might have the #1 seed clinched before the next Indy game so I do not see him breaking it). If you thought the sacks were impressive, he also had ten tackles (all solo), six tackles for a loss, four quarterback hits and a forced fumble that prevented an Indianapolis touchdown. Watt's tackles accounted for a total loss of -28 yards and his tackles had an average loss of -2.8 yards. He is too fast and strong for most offensive lineman and his lightning fast swim move makes it impossible for offensive lineman to get a hold on him. His best play of the game was when he stripped Mewelde Moore at the one yard line. On the play, Watt lines up as a three technique on the outside shoulder of the left guard. Luck hands the ball to Moore who runs right behind the right guard, but Watt fights across the LG's face and makes the tackle from the back side. He makes contact while still engaged and he was able to get his hand on the ball to force the fumble. It was a play he had no business making from the position he was in. Also it seemed that every time the Colts started gaining mometum, Watt would squash it with a tackle for a loss. His all around play in the running and passing game has been outstanding. He is not just a one trick pony like Aldon Smith and Von Miller, the other defensive player of the year contenders. I believe his performance on Sunday has locked this award for him.
          In spite of the great defensive performance the Texans have had, there were a few problems. Indianapolis was able to run the ball extremely effectively to the side opposite of Watt. Ballard had a great game running 105 yards for an average of 5.83 yards per carry. On one of the drives Ballard was able to collect 67 yards which led to a Luck touchdown that made it a one possession game (23-17). At this point I was worried about another Indy comeback, but the defense shut up any notion of this. However, when the Colts got the ball back with 13:31 Houston forced a three and out, and switched the field position that led to a Graham field goal. When Indy recieved the ball the next time being down by 9, the defense made another stop on 3rd and 20 after a hit by Smith that led to an intentional grounding call.
          Again, for the fifth straight week, Houston gave up another big pass play. Indy cut the lead down to 20-10 right before the half when Luck hit T.Y Hilton for a 61 yard bomb. The Colts lined up trips left with Fleener at TE on the right. Houston came out in Dime and man to man coverage. Safety will Demps was covering Hilton. Hilton ran a post and right before his break, Demps stopped his feet for a split second allowing Hilton to run right by. Luck then threw a glorious spiral that hit Hilton in stride. This play was the only pimple on the face of a great defensive game played by Houston. In the playoffs, Houston will probably have to beat New England or Denver to reach the final game and these big plays need to stop for them to have a chance.

The Luck Stops Here

         Andrew Luck played the worst game of his career on Sunday, but it was not entirely his fault. He finished the day with a career low in yardage (186), and a line of 48.1/186/2 Tds/0 Ints. He was never able to get into a rhythm because of the pass rush Texans had on him. I counted 14 plays where Luck faced pressure that forced him to either get rid of the ball early, was hit or sacked. That comes out to being pressured on 51% of his dropbacks.  On most of the passes he was able to complete, he had to step up into the pocket because of the outside pass rush by Smith, Watt, Mercilus and Barwin. Part of the problem was Luck holds the ball too long at times, but it is nothing out of the ordinary for a rookie quarterback. Over time, as he comprehends the playbook better this will improve.
         The Colts were not bad on offense and were able to move the ball on certain drives, but the sloppy play killed their chances. In the first half Indy lost 14 points because of this. In the first quarter, on their second drive the Colts were finally able to break through and move the ball on the Houston defense. They reached the Texans 34 to get into Vinateri field goal range only to be pushed out by a Watt sack. Luck had enough time to find a reciever, but Watt eventual broke through. He then tried to outrun Watt to make a play, but was quickly tackled for a loss of 15 that put them at the 49. The next two plays that followed were incompletions and the drive went from a field goal chance to a punt. Indy also lost 7 points on the Watt-forced fumble. In the second on third and goal from the Houston eight, Luck hit Wayne in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. On the play there was an offsides by Antonio Smith and a holding penalty by Heard. These offsetting penalties removed the touchdown and the subsequent play was an incompletion. Another drive another lost opportunity.

Field Goal City

          The offense did enough to secure a Texans W, but they still have been ordinary. They have had spurts of great play followed by inability to do anything. This week, the inconsistency came in the red zone. Houston kicked way too many field goals on drives that should have yielded touchdowns. Graham kicked field goals of 29 yards (drive of 69 yards), 35 yards (drive of 63), 27 yards (drive of 78 yards), 46 yards (drive of 41 yards),  and 33 yards (drive of 78 yards). There is nothing more frusturating for an offense than to move the ball down the field only to sputter at the end. The main reason for the field goals were stupid mistakes. Penalties and negative plays (sacks and tackles for a loss) killed all the momentum that they had going.
          On the bright side Schuab looked much better than he did last week. His throws were crisp and accurate and he did not miss the open man.
New England   59.4%/232/0TD/1INT/68.8
Indy                  74%/262/1TD/0INT/109.7
He looked more like the Matt Schuab we all know against Indy than against New England. Playing against a porous pass defense helps out a whole lot. Schuab did play a much better game, but he needs to elevate his performance next time he steps on the field in prime time. Also Posey/Jean/Martin are starting to get more accustomed to the offense and have added some dynamite to it. Schuab now has another deep threat other than Johnson. Teams are going to start double teaming Andre to try to slow him down which will open up the deep ball for that trio. It still remains to be seen if this trio will be able to hook up, but the opportunity will be there.
          After the Boston Massacre on Monday the media started the "is Houston any good?" talks again. And again Houston bounced back with another two possession win. Houston suffocated Andrew Luck with their pressure and kept Luck from getting into a groove. The offense had 439 total yards and was able to move the ball, but failed to score touchdowns. Houston is AFC South champions again, but this time they are healthy and are playing for more than just making it to the playoffs.  After the loss to Green Bay, Houston answered with a six game winning streak. Let's hope this happens again since another win streak of the same amount would result in an improbable Super Bowl win.