Houston Texans GM seemed to tip his hand on Super Bowl blueprint, HOF coach co-signs
YOU GOT MOSSED!
03 June
YOU GOT MOSSED!
The Houston Texans caught a lot of people off guard last week by rewarding receiver Nico Collins with a three-year contract extension worth up to $75 million.
Collins was terrific in 2023, but there are some concerns about his ability to stay healthy, as he has never played a full season in his three-year career.
Texans GM Nick Caserio joined Kay Adams last week on her show Up & Adams to discuss the deal. During the interview, Adams asked Caserio about the 2007 Patriots, as Nick was the wide receivers coach for New England that year.
That was the season the Pats went 16-0, and lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl. One could argue they had one of the best offenses in NFL history. Tom Brady threw for 50 touchdowns, and Randy Moss caught an NFL record 23 of them. Caserio said in the interview that the team was looking to upgrade their roster after the Colts eliminated them from the postseason in 2006.
That offseason, the Patriots traded for both Moss and Wes Welker. This conversation got us thinking about some similarities between the Texans and the 2007 Patriots wide receivers. Modeling this Texans receiving group after one of the best in NFL history sounds like a pretty smart move. And who would know more about it than the guy who coached those receivers?
At the time, many believed Moss was no longer the explosive player he was earlier in his career. It turns out Moss (age 30) still had plenty left in the tank once he was traded from Oakland to New England.
There have been similar questions about Stefon Diggs (age 30), who saw a dropoff in his production over the second half of the 2023 season.
But when it comes to body type, the easiest comparison to Randy Moss on the Texans' roster would be Nico Collins. Both Collins and Moss are 6' 4, weigh around 210-215 pounds, and can beat defenses on deep routes.
If we were to compare a player on the 2007 Patriots to Diggs, Donte Stallworth makes the most sense. Both players are 6 feet tall and weigh just under 200 pounds.
What about Tank Dell? Dell's body type is very similar to Wes Welker's. The Texans list Dell at 5'10, 165 pounds, and Welker was listed at 5'9, 185.
Caserio talked about how the receivers on the 2007 team really complemented each other in size and skill set. So by looking at how Bill Belichick and Caserio put together and implemented that historic receiving corps, maybe we can learn some things about the 2024 Texans receivers.
These players have more in common than just size, let's look at their receiving yards per reception. Collins posted 16.2 Y/R in 2023. Moss came in at 15.2 in 2007.
Welker playing mostly out of the slot averaged 10.5 yards per catch. Diggs had 11.1 Y/R last season.
And Tank Dell's numbers looked pretty similar to Donte Stallworth's. Dell recorded 15.1 yards per catch last year, compared to 15.2 for Stallworth in 2007.
One thing that could really work in the Texans favor is Tank Dell's ability to win on short routes in the slot, and take the top off a defense down the field. In fact, Diggs and Dell both have that ability, so the Texans can mix and match with those guys, putting defenses in a bind. Teams didn't fear Welker getting behind them on deep routes, but that's a different story for Diggs and Dell.
Finally, the comparisons to the 2007 Patriots don't stop at the wide receivers. Brady and Stroud have some interesting comps as well!
Don't miss the video above as we dive deep into the numbers to see how the 2007 Patriots compare to the 2024 Texans, and what that reveals about Houston's offensive blueprint moving forward.
Plus, Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy weighs in on the Texans, and if they have what it takes to win the Super Bowl this season.
Andy Ibáñez hit a tiebreaking three-run double in Detroit's four-run eighth inning, and the Tigers swept the Houston Astros with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.
Parker Meadows homered as Detroit ended Houston's run of seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series. It was a sweet moment for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who led Houston to a championship in 2017 and was fired in the aftermath of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.
Where do the Astros go from here? Don't miss the video below as the crew from Stone Cold 'Stros reacts live to the series.
Next up for the wild-card Tigers is a trip to Cleveland to take on the AL Central champions in a best-of-five AL Division Series. Game 1 is on Saturday.
Kerry Carpenter sparked Detroit's eighth-inning rally with a one-out single off Ryan Pressly (0-1), who converted his first 14 postseason save opportunities. Carpenter advanced to third on a single by Matt Vierling and scored on a wild pitch, tying it at 2.
Pressly departed after Colt Keith reached on a two-out walk, and closer Josh Hader walked Spencer Torkelson to load the bases.
Hinch then sent Ibáñez up to hit for Zach McKinstry, and Ibáñez lined a 1-2 sinker into the corner in left for a 5-2 lead.
Vierling, Keith and Torkelson jumped around and high-fived in celebration after scoring on Ibáñez's clutch swing. Ibáñez raised his arms high above his head and smiled as he reached second.
Hader, who signed a $95 million, five-year contract with Houston in January, allowed three hits and walked two in 1 1/3 innings.
Detroit used seven different pitchers a day after pitching Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal got the win in the series opener. Sean Guenther pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win in Game 2, and Will Vest handled the ninth for the save.
In the postseason for the first time since 2014, Detroit also got a solo home run from Meadows in the sixth to help the franchise to its first playoff series win since the 2013 ALDS.
Just making it to the playoffs seemed improbable before Detroit went 31-13 down the stretch in the regular season, helped along by the leadership of Hinch — who knows a little something about October success from his time with the Astros.
Eight of the first nine Wild Card Series since they began in 2002 have been sweeps. It’s the fourth sweep in postseason history for the Tigers, who previously swept the AL Championship Series in 1984, 2006 and 2012.
The Astros jumped in front in the seventh, but they lost their seventh straight postseason game at home. Houston's ALCS streak included four World Series appearances and two titles.
The AL West champions failed to get the big hits they relied on in the regular season, but manufactured a pair of runs with hustle plays in the seventh.
Mauricio Dubón hit a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Pinch-hitter Jon Singleton hit a chopper that was fielded by first baseman Torkelson, who threw home from his knees. The throw was in front of the plate and not in time to beat Victor Caratini home.
Torkelson, who was given an error on the play, smacked the ground in disgust after Caratini touched home, tying it at 1.
Jose Altuve then hit a flyball that Vierling caught in foul territory in right, but his throw home wasn’t in time to beat the speedy Jeremy Peña.
Houston starter Hunter Brown had allowed just one hit on a double in the second when Meadows smacked his home run off the foul pole in right field to start the sixth.
Brown struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings in his eighth postseason game and first start.