Texans morning huddle: Week 5 loss takeaways, Clowney update
By Randy Gurzi
It’s a Sunday, but sadly there is no Houston Texans football today. With the team’s Week 5 game taking place on Thursday Sunday becomes a slow day. Still we were able to find a few things around the web to check out and help us get our Texans fix on this football Sunday.
Big Takeaways from Houston Texans’ Loss to Colts on Thursday Night – by Zac Wassink, Bleacher Report
"The Indianapolis Colts were without injured quarterback Andrew Luck when at the Houston Texans on Thursday night. Backup Indianapolis QB Matt Hasselbeck was sick. Houston was rejuvenated by (another) QB switch. The Colts nevertheless managed to defeat the Texans 27-20.Houston head coach Bill O’Brien has quite the mess to deal with this fall.O’Brien’s first order of business is to once again pick a starting QB for the Texans. Ryan Mallett began the game under center for Houston, but he was sidelined in the second quarter when, according to the Associated Press (h/t Port Arthur News), he had the “wind knocked out of him” after a hit. Enter journeyman Brian Hoyer, who played well enough in relief to keep Mallett a spectator up through the end of the contest.The stat line would lead one to believe that Hoyer was close to perfect versus the Colts. Hoyer completed 24 of 31 attempts. He finished the game with 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns to wide receiver Jaelen Strong. Logic would suggest that Hoyer deserves another chance to start.Logic and stats sometimes lie. The Colts, holding a lead and the knowledge that the defense of the Texans would fold and fold again, routinely played a soft prevent with Hoyer in the game. This allowed Hoyer to throw underneath to targets who were wide open time after time."
Jadeveon Clowney “should be fine” for Week 6 – by Drew Dougherty, HoustonTexans.com
"Jadeveon Clowney hurt his ankle, but won’t likely miss any time.“Looks like an ankle, but I just saw him just now before I walked in here, and he seemed to be doing well,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “I think you guys probably saw he had a boot on, but that’s just precautionary.”O’Brien said the outside linebacker “should be fine” for the Texans’ Week 6 matchup with Jacksonville.In addition to Clowney, O’Brien was also optimistic about wide receiver Cecil Shorts, III returning to action against the Jaguars.The head coach also said offensive lineman Oday Aboushi was “probably day-to-day” with turf toe, and that running back Alfred Bluewas “in the same category with a similar type of injury”."
Bill O’Brien Taking Full Responsibility for the Houston Texans Slow Start – by Patrick Starr, Scout.com
"Looking for answers in a three-hour meeting with his team, head coach Bill O’Brienexpressed the ways in which all members of the team will contribute to start heading into the right direction. With the team’s worst start since 2008 and sitting at 1-4, the Texans are search for answers.“I take responsibility for everything that goes on on that field,” said O’Brien on the day after a tough loss against the Indianapolis Colts. “I take a lot of responsibility and I take it to heart and I know the fans are upset. Not much I can do about that other than go to work with these players, with this staff, and try to get this thing corrected.”Plagued by poor play, suspect coaching, and penalties, the Texans are struggling to find momentum during the game.The Texans had 13 penalties for 125 yards, negating some big plays in the process. A Keith Mumphery punt return for 36 yards was called back after a Jumal Rolle holding call, while Rahim Moore had a game changing interception nullified after Eddie Pleasant held a wide receiver away from the play.“We don’t have a lot of room for error with this football team, no football team does like that,” said O’Brien of the teams’ penalties. “Those types of penalties we really have to stay away from. There were others obviously but we had way too many. I think we had been doing a pretty decent job with the penalties, but last night (against the Colts) was terrible.”He continued, “I showed them 31 plays from the game last night. Usually I show plays that are good, bad, and ugly, and this one was mostly negative plays, penalties, interceptions, not being able to stop the run, not being able to run the ball, and I think that’s what the team needs.”"
Corpus Christi mega-fan plans to drive to every Texans game – by By Julie Garcia, Corpus Christi Caller Times
"Nearly 9,000 miles.Since the first Houston Texans preseason game again the San Francisco 49ers Aug. 15, Debbie Brannon has driven 8,748 miles in a customized 12-passenger van.And she plans on driving several thousand more.With “Debbie the Texan” emblazoned on the side, Brannon has gotten used to, and thoroughly enjoys, when people stop by her van and ask what her story is. Even Dallas Cowboy fans with blue-and-white star stickers on their bumper will give her a honk and thumbs-up at stoplights.“I appreciate anyone who has a passion for their team; I don’t care what team it is,” she said. “I don’t hate the Cowboys — I just love my Texans so much.”A Kingsville native, Brannon lived in Houston for several years before the city had reclaimed a place in the NFL in 2002. The bilingual schoolteacher worked weekends for the Houston Astros as a tour guide before becoming a Texan fanatic.“My daughter (Alli Arrendondo) was the football person,” she said. “She loved football, and I love my daughter. And we just started going together. We bonded over football, and it’s been like that ever since. It was our thing to do on our own.”In December 2014, “Debbie the Texan” was branded. Though she had moved to Corpus Christi the summer before, Brannon was still going to every home game in downtown Houston.“Toward the end of the season, people kept asking for rides,” Brannon said. “We don’t care what the score is, we always have fun.”"