TEXANS REVIEW
Cody Stoots: 11 observations from Saturday's Texans-Rams game
Aug 26, 2018, 10:38 am
J.J. Watt looks good on the field. Zach Tarrant/Houstontexans.com
1. A lot of starters played and got some of the action they were asking for in this game. Not that many needed it, J.J. Watt looked ready to go last week against the 49ers and Tyrann Mathieu essentially came into camp ready to go. Deshaun Watson played three middling series, the last derailed by penalties, but he has had enough action and looks ready to go in Foxboro against the Patriots.
2. Watt is far closer to the old Watt we are used to seeing as opposed to the shell of himself we saw last year before the injury. He darted past a defender and ankle tackled a running back on one play that had some holding their breath as there were a lot of big bodies there. Other times he was forcing false starts or fiddling with a blocker while the ball got out quick. It will be interesting to see if this can be a season-long explosion from him, but, there are no worries for the start of the season.
3. Jadeveon Clowney is so strong and didn't even get to scratch the surface on what he is truly capable of in this game. The batted pass is great to see as it shows the continued evolution of Clowney and this defense. The quick passes will be a focus for opponents and Clowney and Watt will have to impact the passing game with the batted passes to counter or slow the attacks offenses use to neutralize them. Clowney had a big hand in the interception by Kareem Jackson as he was chasing and got his big paw up to change the way the play was viewed by the Rams quarterback.
4. It was unfair to see Clowney and Watt line up next to each other. This is such a tough matchup to defend because it allows one of the rushers or run stoppers to find the inferior point of the blocking scheme quick and head for the ball. On this particular play, each earned a one-on-one matchup with Watt carrying his man downfield and Clowney disengaging to make a big hit on a running back.
5. It will be near impossible to run on the Texans first unit this year. Though it wasn't Todd Gurley and company against the Texans defense, the Texans have shown throughout camp an ability to stymie rushing attacks. Watt and Clowney both affect the opposition differently and Whitney Mercilus has yet to play with them to really drive home how tough it will be to run on the Texans. Not to mention D.J. Reader who has looked nice in camp and Christian Covington who looks close to where he was last year when he was hurt for the season.
6. It would have been great to see Watson play one more series as it would have had him manning the offense in the red zone. He doesn't need a ton of work there right now. Watson might be one of the best red zone quarterbacks the Texans have had, and frankly, will be the best in short order. It was nice to see Alfred Blue bounce the play out, find a hole, and punch it in. He is making the team much to the chagrin of a lot of Texans fans. With the status of D'Onta Foreman, Blue is the backup. He will need to make quick decisions and hit what holes are there for him.
7. "Hurry back soon" Seantrell Henderson is not a phrase I ever thought I would type but here we are. The likely starter at right tackle has missed some time and Kendall Lamm has been his backup. Lamm is not a starter in this league and the dropoff to him as the swing tackle is significant. He had a holding call torpedo a drive when Watson was in the game. If Martinas Rankins was healthy from the start of camp I don't believe we would've seen much of Lamm in these spots. Rankin had some nice plays, but a miscommunication between he and fellow rookie Jordan Thomas led to the Brandon Weeden interception as the Texans backup QB had to get rid of it or he would've been smashed.
8. Sammie Coates has to be on this team. His abilities fit this team and the depth chart and when he is healthy and playing he can be used more on special teams when his services are needed there. He drew two big pass interference penalties and hauled in a perfect strike from Weeden for a big gain. The Texans need him; he's the only true outside wide receiver backup with experience. If they keep five or six wideouts, it doesn't matter, he should be on the team.
9. Braxton Miller seems like he has made this team as well. Miller almost seems like a "when the lights come on" type of guy. His performances in games or game-like situations have impressed. I don't see a scenario where the Texans keep just five wideouts meaning with six, Miller is on the team. I'm not sure what player gets edged out because the Texans are keeping an extra wide receiver.
10. There is a chance Shane Lechler could lose his job, but, it still seems unlikely. I believe the ideal scenario would be trying to stash Trevor Daniel some way and have him take over for the veteran next year. That's ideal though, and unlikely with Daniel playing so well. He had better positions to punt from than Lechler Saturday and has pushed Lechler harder than any competitor has in Lechler's time in Houston and even his final few years in Oakland.
11. The reports of Kayvon Webster working out for the Texans isn't surprising. Even if Kevin Johnson was healthy the Texans haven't had anyone step up and grab the final cornerback spot. Webster is an interesting free agent. He spent time with the Broncos buried on the depth chart behind some of the best corners in the league but contributing on special teams. He played last year with the Rams but saw a ruptured Achilles end his season. If he is healthy he become an interesting candidate to be a veteran add to the 53-man roster.
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If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.