TEXANS OBSERVATIONS
The good, bad and ugly from Sunday's game against the Rams
Nov 12, 2017, 8:37 pm
Jadeveon Clowney had his moments in the first half. Houstontexans.com
Another week without Deshaun Watson, another game scoring less than 30 points. The Texans fell to the Los Angeles Rams 33-7 in what was a competitive game for most of the first half. Tom Savage picked a bad game to have a turnover party, and the defense could no longer keep the high-powered Rams offense out of the end zone.
The Good
-Good to see C.J. Fiedorowicz return from a concussion. His presence should help Savage the rest of the season, as well as aid in run blocking.
-DeAndre Hopkins had another good game. He had 7 catches on 14 targets for 111 yards. He’s now at 51 catches on 94 targets for 692 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.
-Jadeveon Clowney blew several plays up in the backfield (mostly runs). He had 3 tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a sack.
-Brennan Scarlett had 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss himself. In a season in which 2 of the top 3 pass rushers are out for the season, the time is now for guys like Scarlett to step up to the plate.
The Bad
-Aaron Donald started the game off on Texans’ first possession with a strip/sack/fumble of Savage. Rams recovered at the Texans’ 11 yard line. It was a sign of things to come.
-While Clowney had a good game, all of his most effective plays came in the first half. He’s been known to flash his brilliance from time to time, but in order to take the next step, he must learn to take over games from beginning to end, especially with favorable matchups.
-The run game was abysmal yet again. 25 total rushes for a measly 89 yards. While it showed flashes (Miller’s 21 yard scamper after stopping a fake punt attempt), it never provided the success other teams have had against the Rams.
The Ugly
-A timeout was wasted early in 2nd quarter on field goal attempt because they only had 10 players on the field. It would’ve made a 34 yard attempt a 39 yard attempt. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed anyway. He also missed a 39 yarder last week. Looks like he may have the yips after starting the season perfect.
-Savage ended the game with 4 turnovers: 2 lost fumbles and 2 interceptions. The first 3 turnovers, led to 13 points for the Rams; the last ended the game.
-3 sacks, 8 quarterback hits and 3.6 yards per carry are all on the offensive line. Sure a quarterback’s pocket presence or running back’s vision is also responsible for those numbers, but my eyes saw different. Bill O’Brien called for a ton of 3 steps drops in pass game today. Several times on those drops, Savage had someone in his grill. Also, run lanes either closed before they were run through, or they never opened in the first place.
At 3-6, the Texans have very long road ahead in the final 7 games. They have no 1st or 2nd round draft picks to fall back on for improvement, or tanking purposes. The only thing left to play for is pride. Pride in one’s self, organization, teammates, city, and fans. At some point pride has to spur them on to bigger and better things, right?
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.