STOOTS ON TEXANS
11 observations from Houston Texans 24-20 win over Rams
Aug 22, 2022, 9:21 am
The Texans are 2-0 in the preseason. Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images.
The Houston Texans win again late in their second preseason game. Here are 11 observations from the game.
1. Derek Stingley made his preseason debut. There wasn’t much action in Stingley’s way, but he got beat early. The Rams would rechallenge him only for Stingley to make the correct read and showcase some of the closing speed he has shown off in practice.
2. It is ok to make a mistake if you are Derek Stingley. The nature of the cornerback spot requires the ability to bounce back. Stingley, he can’t make the same mistake very many times. He’s shown the ability to learn from the mistakes in practice and now in a small way in this game.
3. Davis Mills and the almost-first-team offense stunk. I don’t believe this unit scores a touchdown if there wasn’t a personal foul penalty that gifted them some yards.
4. Davis Mills took a totally unacceptable sack for him and this team. Mills saw a wide-open Chris Moore and ignored him to try to make a bigger play. Mills was caught from behind and sacked. Moore easily has a few yards and maybe more. It is first down, in the first quarter. Take the easy play and keep moving. This offense, and team, aren’t built well enough to pass up on easy yards.
5. Max Scharping didn’t play well. The left guard for this game let a Rams defender work him and blow past him to sack Mills and force a fumble. Later, Scharping got pushed around again. The goodwill he built in camp is gone for me.
6. Kenyon Green needs to get back in a hurry. And when Green is back, he needs to be good. Max Scharping nor Justin McCray are suitable full-time left guards for the Texans.
7. Nico Collins caught what I thought was a bad ball from Davis Mills for a touchdown. The involvement of Collins mirrored what usually is the Brandin Cooks role. It will be interesting to see how the team uses Collins when Cooks is playing.
8. Jonathan Greenard might be a menace for this defense. There were spin moves, bull rushes, physical plays, and just general ass-kicking from the defensive end. I am much more excited for his season than I was before this game.
9. Kurt Hinish and Thomas Booker should make this team over Ross Blacklock. Blacklock is inconsistent and hasn’t showcased what Hinish or Booker has in these preseason games. With Roy Lopez and Maliek Collins as the starters at defensive tackle, Hinish and Booker can hold down the backup spots. Again, I don’t believe Hinish would make it to the practice squad if cut.
10. There were a few blitzes that led to sacks. Lovie Smith didn’t blitz much last year, it will be interesting to see if with a deeper and more talented set of defenders he will employ a few more blitzes.
11. The preseason games conclude Thursday with the 49ers in Houston. Lovie Smith has hinted this will be the most starter-heavy game. Hopefully, it includes more than 15 plays of Derek Stingley and a lot more offense from the likely first team of the Texans.
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The Houston Astros have looked like one of baseball’s most dangerous teams in recent weeks, riding a hot streak fueled by dominant starting pitching and a red-hot offense that’s erupted for double-digit runs in four of their last eight games. But behind the current success, there are fair questions about whether this pace is truly sustainable as the grind of the season continues.
Yes, the Astros are winning — and winning big — but context matters. Many of their recent victories have come against struggling clubs like the White Sox and Athletics. Even matchups against the Twins and Guardians, while respectable, don’t exactly represent championship-caliber tests. That soft stretch of the schedule has certainly helped Houston pad its win column, but it may not be the best predictor of long-term performance. Houston will be tested in the upcoming series against the Phillies and Cubs.
On the pitching side, the numbers have been impressive, but how repeatable is it? With Lance McCullers Jr. sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, the Astros are relying on a patchwork rotation that includes unproven arms like Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto, and Brandon Walter. While each has shown flashes, asking them to shoulder the load deep into the summer may be a tall order.
Offensively, Houston is firing on all cylinders. But scoring 10 or more runs every other game simply isn’t sustainable over a 162-game season. Regression is inevitable; the question is how the team responds when the bats cool down or the bullpen is asked to carry more weight.
Amid all this, rookie third baseman Cam Smith continues to shine. Just a few months into his major league career, Smith is producing at a level that suggests he’s not just a key piece of the future — he’s already one of the team’s most valuable players. His batting average sits just a point behind Jose Altuve’s, and his OPS is even higher. If the Astros were forced to choose two players to build around long-term, factoring in youth and contract status, the logical duo might be Smith and breakout pitcher Hunter Brown.
So what about the big picture? Is this team a true World Series contender?
Oddsmakers currently have Houston with the seventh-best odds to win it all, and only the Yankees and Tigers rank higher among American League teams. The core is still there, the experience is undeniable, and if the pitching continues to hold — especially with the anticipated return of Spencer Arrighetti and a healthy McCullers — the Astros have every reason to believe they’ll be in the mix deep into October.
But that’s a big “if.” The ceiling is still high, and with Cam Smith emerging as a star in real time, this team might just have another gear. Whether they can reach it when the competition stiffens, that remains to be seen.
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