STOOTS ON TEXANS
11 observations from the Houston Texans' 16-9 loss to the Broncos
Sep 19, 2022, 8:53 am
Texans QB Davis Mills struggled in Denver. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
The Houston Texans remain winless as they lose to the Broncos 16-9. Here are 11 observations from the game.
1. The Texans seemingly let another game get away from them. If the team had executed better and had a few fewer penalties, there is no doubt they would have had their first win of the season. For a team that lives in the margins, there were too many mistakes. Denver kept the Texans in the game, and the Texans kept taking themselves out of it.
2. Davis Mills played another poor game. The second-year quarterback made some bad decisions late with the football and missed too many plays he should make. Mills throws far too many uncompetitive balls. He needs to get better in tune with the pass catchers.
3. The Texans would be 2-0 with average quarterback play. The team has not gotten average quarterback play. Davis Mills must display the ability to fix mistakes on a week-to-week basis. He didn’t showcase that this week.
4. The success of Dameon Pierce makes last week tougher to stomach. It was impossible watching the rookie succeed and not think the team would have won against the Colts if he had played more.
5. Pep Hamilton makes some curious decisions when it comes to play calling. It isn’t out-and-out bad, but it isn’t good. There is a solid argument to be made he can only do so much with Davis Mills at quarterback.
6. Brandin Cooks can’t drop touchdown passes. The Texans will never be able to regularly overcome settling for kicks when they can score. The play after was not a great one as Davis Mills didn’t throw the ball quickly enough and Cooks couldn’t come down with the ball in the end zone.
7. Derek Stingley had a “welcome to the NFL” day working against Cortland Sutton and Russell Wilson. There were penalties and bad coverages and blown coverages. That’s ok. That’s cornerbacks. Stingley did have a nice pass defense on Sutton in the endzone. Not worried about the third overall pick.
8. The third down and 16 play will haunt the Texans' defense. It was a late-game moment the team can’t get wrong. It might be as simple as Derek Stingley was incorrect in assuming he had help but regardless that’s a play the team can’t give up and win.
9. The Texans got worn down by a ground attack again. The Broncos were having a ton of success and Houston is lucky there wasn’t more focus on running the ball by Denver. It looks a lot better early, but by late in the game, the Texans don’t have an answer. Several factors add up to that, including the offense not doing its job.
10. There is very little pass rush consistency. The Jerry Hughes performance last week appears to be an anomaly. The team needs to have some people win individually or generate some pressure.
11. Ultimately the Texans have not lost two times in two games like many expected the team to lose. The tough part is there seems to be a much lower level of ability than the optimistic supporters, like me, believed was present. It will be an uphill climb but getting back to Houston with a win and being 1-1-1 is an absolute necessity.
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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.