(09-15-2019, 05:12 PM)Bullseye Wrote: 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.