1.  Criticism of head coaches comes with the territory.  Today, Marrone earned the criticism he is bound to receive after today.  Now going for the two some would argue took guts.  But others would argue that the Jaguars had the momentum and, if they took the momentum into overtime, they may have won.  My bigger problem came early in the game, when he didn't challenge that clear drop by Hopkins that continued a drive that resulted in a FG.  As it turns out, had he challenged that play and won, the Texans may have only had 10 points today, not 13.  As to that play and the resulting sideline blowup with Ramsey, that'll be evidence that Marrone doesn't have control of the team, and that Ramsey is a loudmouth and cancer.  While I think Ramsey may have gone too far with his disagreement, I think fundamentally he was right.

2.   For a long time I have liked James Lofton.  During his Hall of Fame career, he was an electric receiver.  A Stanford grad, he's a smart guy, to be sure.  But for goodness sake, his name is pronounced Min-SHOO, not Min-SKEW!!!!!!

3.  Granted, it was in a loss so it doesn't mean too much, but this game represented some redemption for the defense.  The Texans put up, what, 28 points against a good defense in the Saints, but the defense shut them down.  In giving up 13 points, had Marrone challenged that play referenced above, the Texans likely have a FG off the board, and a Minshew fumble in Jaguars' territory led to the Texans' lone TD.  Thing is, they did it without two key starters in Yannick Ngakoue and A.J. Bouye.  I think there were some very nice, Capers influenced blitzes that we haven't seen under Wash before that were nice.  The main thing I had a problem with is the run defense, which has been a problem for years.  But as a whole, they played well this week.

4.  Last week was Richardson's first snaps at LT since high school and he did pretty well.  This week? Not so much, as Whitney Mercilus gave him a hard time.  I still think he can be a good player, even at LT.  But whether at LT or at G, he will have his share of growing pains, like he did today.

5.  Back to the defense for a moment, I would be remiss if I did not give kudos to Taven Bryan.  Throughout last year and more in the preseason, I have been among the many who have been critical of Bryan.  Today, he seemingly had his best game as a pro, with two impressive pressures on Watson.  If he continues to play at this level, I will feel much better about his selection.  In fairness, he was going against Tytus Howard, a rookie making his first start.  howard struggled mightily.  But also in fairness, I had doubts that bryan could even succeed under those circumstances.  So kudos to him for his play today.

6.  Zero problems with special teams today.  Lambo and Cook had good games, as did the coverage teams.

7.  Rookie Watch:

• Josh Allen-Got his first official sack today, though it was more the result of a fumble than it was him beating a tackle.  He had a pressure that impacted a throw, resulting in an incompletion, and had another TFL.  Early on, I saw him dropped into coverage on some plays, and I didn't care for that.
  
• Jawaan Taylor-Had a tough assignment in J.J. Watt, and held up decently.  had at least one false start penalty, and there was another that could have been called but wasn't.
  
• Josh Oliver-DNP
  
• Quincy Williams-Wow.  Had numerous instances where the closing speed that Marrone gushed about was in full display.  Filled the hole on a running play and hit with authority on one play, and it left me thinking Telvin Smith never makes that play.  He did have the play where he was in great position to stop their TE in the left sideline area well short of the first down, only to be dragged by the bigger guy past the marker.  But I'm not sure how anyone seeing the game can question the wisdom of investing that pick on Williams at this point.
  
• Ryquell Armstead-DNP
  
• Gardner Minshew-I have to say I liked a lot of what I saw.  One thing I notice about him thus far is he doesn't seem to make too many bad decisions.  The last drive he showed some guts.  He wasn't afraid to attack downfield, either.  However, the big thing were the 3 fumbles, including the one inside Jaguars territory that gave the Texans the short field they needed to score the TD.  I'm still not sure his arm will let him be a starter, but I think he'll be a great backup.   But I would gladly eat crow on that point, and I'm willing to say there is some substance to the popularity he enjoys.
  
• Dontavious Russell-I did not see him.
  

8.    I have to give kudos to the WRs.  During the preseason, even though as a general rule, I know you can't take too much from preseason, I expressed concern about the WR position in part due to the lack of productivity in the preseason, and in part due to the lack of production Conley and Chark have had in the past.  But I'm thrilled to see the confidence I had in Chark was not misplaced.  Furthermore, Conley has exceeded my expectations and has given us some good receptions. Last week you could kind of mitigate their contributions as the result of going against a poor defense with a big lead.  Not today.  While I think the Texans are vulnerable in their secondary, they have a better defense overall than KC.  Bottom line, I am much more confident in the position than I was before.

9.  I really wish Ramsey had held onto that INT.  If he does, we win that game.

10.  Bottom line-I fully expect there to be some growing pains involved with Minshew as more and more film on him becomes available.  I fully expected him to be a big liability early on.  But generally, he has acquitted himself well.  If the team can execute a little better, cut down on penalties, stay health and make a play or two, we can win some games with Minshew in the lineup. That said, this was a tough one to lose, and we come home on a short week to face the tacks, who torture us in these circumstances.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I haven't seen any issues with Minshew's arm strength at all since he's come in.

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1.  Criticism of head coaches comes with the territory.  Today, Marrone earned the criticism he is bound to receive after today.  Now going for the two some would argue took guts.  But others would argue that the Jaguars had the momentum and, if they took the momentum into overtime, they may have won.  My bigger problem came early in the game, when he didn't challenge that clear drop by Hopkins that continued a drive that resulted in a FG.  As it turns out, had he challenged that play and won, the Texans may have only had 10 points today, not 13.  As to that play and the resulting sideline blowup with Ramsey, that'll be evidence that Marrone doesn't have control of the team, and that Ramsey is a loudmouth and cancer.  While I think Ramsey may have gone too far with his disagreement, I think fundamentally he was right.

2.   For a long time I have liked James Lofton.  During his Hall of Fame career, he was an electric receiver.  A Stanford grad, he's a smart guy, to be sure.  But for goodness sake, his name is pronounced Min-SHOO, not Min-SKEW!!!!!!

3.  Granted, it was in a loss so it doesn't mean too much, but this game represented some red,ption for the defense.  The Texans put up, what, 28 points against a good defense in the Saints, but the defense shut them down.  In giving up 13 points, had Marrone challenged that play referenced above, the Texans likely have a FG off the board, and a Minshew fumble in Jaguars' territory led to the Texans' lone TD.  Thing is, they did it without two key starters in Yannick Ngakoue and A.J. Bouye.  I think there were some very nice, Capers influenced blitzes that we haven't seen under Wash before that were nice.  The main thing I had a problem with is the run defense, which has been a problem for years.  But as a whole, they played well this week.

4.  Last week was Richardson's first snaps at LT since high school and he did pretty well.  This week? Not so much, as Whitney Mercilus gave him a hard time.  I still think he can be a good player, even at LT.  But whether at LT or at G, he will have his share of growing pains, like he did today.

5.  Back to the defense for a moment, I would be remiss if I did not give kudos to Taven Bryan.  Throughout last year and more in the preseason, I have been among the many who have been critical of Bryan.  Today, he seemingly had his best game as a pro, with two impressive pressures on Watson.  If he continues to play at this level, I will feel much better about his selection.  In fairness, he was going against Tytus Howard, a rookie making his first start.  howard struggled mightily.  But also in fairness, I had doubts that bryan could even succeed under those circumstances.  So kudos to him for his play today.

6.  Zero problems with special teams today.  Lambo and Cook had good games, as did the coverage teams.

7.  Rookie Watch:

• Josh Allen-Got his first official sack today, though it was more the result of a fumble than it was him beating a tackle.  He had a pressure that impacted a throw, resulting in an incompletion, and had another TFL.  Early on, I saw him dropped into coverage on some plays, and I didn't care for that.
  
• Jawaan Taylor-Had a tough assignment in J.J. Watt, and held up decently.  had at least one false start penalty, and there was another that could have been called but wasn't.
  
• Josh Oliver-DNP
  
• Quincy Williams-Wow.  Had numerous instances where the closing speed that Marrone gushed about was in full display.  Filled the hole on a running play and hit with authority on one play, and it left me thinking Telvin Smith never makes that play.  He did have the play where he was in great position to stop their TE in the left sideline area well short of the first down, only to be dragged by the bigger guy past the marker.  But I'm not sure how anyone seeing the game can question the wisdom of investing that pick on Williams at this point.
  
• Ryquell Armstead-DNP
  
• Gardner Minshew-I have to say I liked a lot of what I saw.  One thing I notice about him thus far is he doesn't seem to make too many bad decisions.  The last drive he showed some guts.  He wasn't afraid to attack downfield, either.  However, the big thing were the 3 fumbles, including the one inside Jaguars territory that gave the Texans the short field they needed to score the TD.  I'm still not sure his arm will let him be a starter, but I think he'll be a great backup.   But I would gladly eat crow on that point, and I'm willing to say there is some substance to the popularity he enjoys.
  
• Dontavious Russell-I did not see him.
  

8.    I have to give kudos to the WRs.  During the preseason, even though as a general rule, I know you can't take too much from preseason, I expressed concern about the WR position in part due to the lack of productivity in the preseason, and in part due to the lack of production Conley and Chark have had in the past.  But I'm thrilled to see the confidence I had in Chark was not misplaced.  Furthermore, Conley has exceeded my expectations and has given us some good receptions. Last week you could kind of mitigate their contributions as the result of going against a poor defense with a big lead.  Not today.  While I think the Texans are vulnerable in their secondary, they have a better defense overall than KC.  Bottom line, I am much more confident in the position than I was before.

9.  I really wish Ramsey had held onto that INT.  If he does, we win that game.

10.  Bottom line-I fully expect there to be some growing pains involved with Minshew as more and more film on him becomes available.  I fully expected him to be a big liability early on.  But generally, he has acquitted himself well.  If the team can execute a little better, cut down on penalties, stay health and make a play or two, we can win some games with Minshew in the lineup. That said, this was a tough one to lose, and we come home on a short week to face the tacks, who torture us in these circumstances.

Great points. Some thoughts.

6. The Vises on special teams were not good all game. That big hit on the return could have easily resulted in a fumble/muffed punt. the position has been inconsistent at best for a long time, but there were subpar in a game where field position was huge.

7. Minshew. Is that last fumble really Minshew's fault? Blind side guy comes up and strips him early. Ideally "he should feel that pressure". But there was no space for him to move in pocket on that play. He is a smaller guy but with big hand size, so hopefully that isn't an issue I the future.

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Doug has lost this team....

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If we had developed a little more offensively we would be ahead of the curve right now. It is very painful that we have an inexperienced offense and need to see line improvement. If the QB had a shade more time he would have carved up their defense.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

I haven't seen any issues with Minshew's arm strength at all since he's come in.

I mean he floats the ball a ton. He's very accurate and makes good decisions so it doesn't matter as much but he's in the below average to bottom tier of arm velocity

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Our problem is NOT our defense....nor our offense.
It's now a HC that challenges when he should not....and doesn't when he should

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"Stay tight, stay close. Great things are going to continue to happen for this football team."  - Doug Peterson

Ramsey dropped a TD. You can't pull up in a brinks truck looking for top dog money and drop INT's like that.

That's one of my biggest takeaway's today.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Our problem is NOT our defense....nor our offense.
It's now a HC that challenges when he should not....and  doesn't when he should

That was certainly the case today, though in fairness, taking the stats the TV crew cited at face value, he was at 60 something percent on challenges.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Coaching is definitely a problem. That the team is still stubbornly trying to make 2.4nette happen is a big problem.

It's like that line from mean girls, stop trying to make fetch (Fournette) happen.

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They should be looking to trade Fournette for whatever ham sandwich they can get at this point.

It's too bad Grigson isn't running the colts front office anymore.

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Offensive line issues is what jumped out to me today.

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When they finally quit running him on first down....wow....we got a first down.
Clearly, every first down the texans D was looking for a run....and guess what.....they got a run !
Duh....other than a few passes he was a non factor.....and i had very high hopes for him today

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"Stay tight, stay close. Great things are going to continue to happen for this football team."  - Doug Peterson

I would have kicked the extra point to tie the game, but I understand the call to go for two points on the road and end the game. What really pissed me off was handing it off to Fornette he had little success running up the middle all game so why call that play. I would have rolled out Minshew with the option to run or pass. He had taken the team all the way downfield and showed he was capable to bring the team in a position to win the game so why not put it in the young mans hands who showed the ability to make the big play when we needed it.

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According to Marrone we had numerous plays ready but we let how the Texans D lined up pick it.

Oesher and Sexton banging the Marrone drum and victory in defeat same old.

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#1 it was fitting that both Bill O'Buttchin and Moron both embraced eachother after the game.. they BOTH are absolute idiots cut off the same block.

#2 Minshew has talent and a real future, I like his swag. Foles needs to watch out.

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I haven't seen any issues with Minshew's arm strength at all since he's come in.

I mean he floats the ball a ton. He's very accurate and makes good decisions so it doesn't matter as much but he's in the below average to bottom tier of arm velocity

He fired a ball in between two defenders with plenty of velocity and accuracy it was pinpoint. I don't know what you want from the young man. It not all about arm strength that makes a good quarterback. I defenitly disagree that he is in the bottom tier of arm strength or velocity.

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I would have tied it and gone into OT as well. You e got the momentum on your side. I wouldn’t have let the game come down to one play (the. Play that didn’t work all game). Your team over came adversity earlier in the game. Came back and your a kick away from a do over. With Ramsey’s antics on the sidelines, I’d say Marrone has lost the team. And that final play definitely didn’t help the issue, imo. I understand going for two. But I personally wouldn’t have done it game 2 against a divisional opponent. It’s not like it was week 12, out of playoffs, and trying to win one for “the Gipper”

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I mean he floats the ball a ton. He's very accurate and makes good decisions so it doesn't matter as much but he's in the below average to bottom tier of arm velocity

He fired a ball in between two defenders with plenty of velocity and accuracy it was pinpoint. I don't know what you want from the young man. It not all about arm strength that makes a good quarterback. I defenitly disagree that he is in the bottom tier of arm strength or velocity.

And Chad Pennington had plays like that too. Weak armed QBs can rifle the ball in occasionally, but generally they float their passes when asked to make difficult passes to the numbers or deep. 

It'd a non issue for the 5-15 yard range.

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He fired a ball in between two defenders with plenty of velocity and accuracy it was pinpoint. I don't know what you want from the young man. It not all about arm strength that makes a good quarterback. I defenitly disagree that he is in the bottom tier of arm strength or velocity.

And Chad Pennington had plays like that too. Weak armed QBs can rifle the ball in occasionally, but generally they float their passes when asked to make difficult passes to the numbers or deep. 

It'd a non issue for the 5-15 yard range.

The encouraging thing is he is seeing those wide open WRs in those intermediate routes.  In these two games, I have never seen passes that left me wondering "where in the hell is he throwing?"

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Brees and Rivers don't have the strongest arm or velocity either. The guy isn't them at this point but know what to do with the ball is nice. They have a chance because he can make plays. At least that is a step in the right direction.

We will know a bunch more with short week preparation.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.