Texans morning huddle: Houston drops one to Denver
By Randy Gurzi
The Houston Texans dropped to 1-1 on the preseason, but hopefully a lot can be learned from this tough loss where the offense struggled from the beginning. Let’s check out the news related to the comeback attempt that fell just short.
Texans morning huddle: Houston drops one to Denver – by Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com
"It was Ryan Mallett’s turn at quarterback this week, after Brian Hoyer got the start in the Houston Texans’ preseason opener.While the Texans were asked a lot about the challenge Peyton Manning would present for their defense, it was the Broncos defense that caused the Texans the most trouble during Saturday night’s 14-10 Denver win.QB depth chart: Where both Texans quarterbacks looked strong against the San Francisco 49ers, the Texans had trouble moving the ball in the first half with both starter Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer, who entered the game after two drives. Mallett finished the game with 23 yards, completing 5 of 7 attempts, and Hoyer had 52 yards, completing 7 of 11 attempts. Hoyer was also sacked twice and was under pressure constantly.Maybe that dude could start: Kevin Johnson didn’t have an easy job, taking on Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas early in the game. He did well. Thomas only caught three of his six targets, and Johnson forced a three-and-out stop on Peyton Manning’s first drive of the preseason with a hit on Thomas that dislodged what would have been a first-down catch. With two established starters already, Johnson won’t be taking that role any time soon, but he showed his ability tonight.Who got hurt?: No new injuries were immediately apparent. Safeties Terrance Parks and Lonnie Ballentine, linebacker Jeff Tarpinian, guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, tight end Anthony Denham and defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan, all of whom missed practices last week with injuries, did not dress for the game.A surprise player who looks amazing: Last week outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown had two sacks in his preseason debut. This week, Brown picked off Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler and returned the interception 69 yards for a touchdown."
OLB Kourtnei Brown scores TD, hoping to make team – by Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com
"Kourtnei Brown almost ran out of gas before he scored on the Texans lone touchdown Saturday night.The outside linebacker, a first-year player who technically has been in the league longer than one year, had just picked off Brock Osweiler in the third quarter of the Texans second preseason game against Denver.“The play called for me to drop into coverage and I started as if I was going to rush and got back and the ball was right there,” Brown said. “He threw it low enough for me to reach in and grab it. I noticed on my right the DB (defensive back) had the receiver. If he could just hold him for a minute, I could get situated. It would help out.”Brown got a burst from that defensive back and a block on his right, courtesy of cornerback Darryl Morris. As he was running though, he started to get tired.“I saw all the lineman coming and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to make it. This is going to be embarrassing,’” Brown said, laughing.Brown wasn’t embarassed. He ran 69 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans their only lead against the Broncos. It was big moment not only in the game, but in the career of a player fighting for job.“He’s done a good job,” head coach Bill O’Brien said after the game. “He’s made a lot of improvement in his game. He’s in a very competitive position, but he’s certainly made a lot of plays.”Learning a new system wasn’t easy, but the 27-year old freely asked questions of his teammates, everyone from Vince Wilfork and J.J. Watt to his fellow linebackers Mike Mohamed and Whitney Mercilus."
Charles James “showed up” on special teams – by Drew Dougherty of HoustonTexans.com
"After stealing the show last Tuesday evening on “Hard Knocks”, Charles James turned in a pair of great special teams plays in the Texans’ loss to Denver.At the 3:26 mark of the opening quarter, the cornerback was the first man down on a Shane Lechler punt. James dropped Omar Bolden at the Denver 7-yard line, pinning Peyton Manning and the Broncos deep in their own territory.At the start of the second quarter, Lechler and James were at it again, as the corner downed the punter’s bomb at the Broncos’ 2-yard line.“Shane Lechler, he put those punts out there,” James said. “I want to be there for him every time and try to make a tackle every play. He’s counting on me and I’m counting on him.”The third year defender finished with a pair of special teams tackles, as well as three more on defense.“He shows up in a lot of different areas,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “He showed up tonight on special teams. He made some really good plays. He’s in a very competitive position on the roster, but he’s certainly held his own within that position.”"