Are the Texans this good?
September 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Texans outside linebacker Brooks Reed (58, left) is congratulated by defensive end J.J. Watt (99, right) for recovering the football on an Oakland Raiders fumble during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Texans defeated the Raiders 30-14. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
After two games, your Houston Texans are 2-0. They have sole possession of first place in the AFC south and join 6 other teams as undefeated to this point. They beat Oakland at home, and now get to face the New York Giants in New York. Hope they signed up for frequent flier miles. Not only have the Texans started off red hot at 2-0, but they have allowed the fewest points scored, 20 and have the highest point differential at +27. Not too shabby. The Giants have scored a sum total of 4 touchdowns but allowed 60 points so far. On paper, this looks like a sure fire win. Are the Texans this good?
Hold your horses friends, despite the excellent performances by the Texans and the lackluster Giants start, danger lurks in this game. One of the biggest problems the Texans face is secondary coverage. Take away some bad ball handling by the Raiders and Redskins and we’re looking at two very different outcomes. Those fumbles came after big gains through the air due to blown coverages and missed assignments. You can say bend, don’t break defense all day but the Texans have allowed an average of 252 yards through the air. The Giants have Eli Manning. Granted he’s played poorly to this point, but the man can fling it down the field. The Giants have some pretty good ball handlers. Crennel needs to tighten up that secondary or Sunday is going to be painful.
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Speaking of painful, J.J. Watt yes scored an offensive touchdown then was completely shutdown by the Raiders. No sacks, no swatts and very little in the way of success on the field. Why? He was double and triple teamed and no one on defense could take advantage of this. I know Tom Coughlin is studying how the Raiders nullified Watt, here’s hope the Texans do too. The answer to how important Clowney is, I think was answered by Oakland. Very. Without a pass rusher to take heat off Watt the Texans front that looked so dominate last week against Washington was pedestrian this week. The Giants will look to duplicate that success to allow Manning time to torch the secondary and score big.
I won’t call the Giants game a trap game, the Texans are too smart, too well lead for that. I will say it’s a dangerous game for the defense if the secondary let’s someone by and the front seven fail to find a way to make the Giants pay for focusing on Watt.
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