Lance Zierlein

I'm here to fix the red-zone woes for the Texans

I'm here to fix the red-zone woes for the Texans
The Texans were much better in the red zone in 2017. Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Is there anything worse than not being able to finish something that you really want to finish? It’s one of the worst feelings in the world. It’s happened to you before. Just think about it. Let me give some examples and see if any of these sound familiar.

  1. Jumping up to dunk the ball (choose 8 foot goal or 10 foot goal or Nerf goal according to your athletic abilities) and having the rim block your dunk.

  2. Starting a sneeze and then having it abruptly stop.

  3. Having someone at your table say “No thank you, just the check” when the waiter asks if you want dessert.

  4. Being in the middle of passionate moment with your wife and then having your kids bang on the locked door demanding to know what mom is doing and preventing things from… finishing.

  5. Getting hung up in the red zone and settling for field goals (or interceptions, or missed field goals).

Look, I’ve experienced all five of those if I can count the Texans red zone inadequacies as my own source of aggravation for “not finishing”. All of them suck, but probably #4 and #5 suck the hardest.

Texans Gross in the Red Area

There is no way you can hear about how bad the Texans are in the red area and not have some type of joke bubbling up in your head about a rash. However, we are talking about the spot also known as the red zone which is everything from the opponent’s 20-yard line and in.

Last season, Deshaun Watson was incredible in that most important area of the field. That’s the money zone and Watson cashed all the checks last season. Granted, it was a limited sample size, but his rate of 13 passing TDs on just 27 attempts inside the 20-yard line in 2017, was unmatched by any quarterbacks with Wentz coming the closest on touchdowns per percentage of attempts with 24 TDs on 59 attempts.

This season? The Texans are next to last in the NFL scoring a touchdown on just 36% of their trips inside the red zone. That’s it! That’s the equivalent of them falling on the ground before they even get to the basket to try and dunk. That’s like realizing you left your wallet at home in the middle of the meal before they even offer you dessert. That’s like zipping yourself up in your own pants before the romance starts.

Fix-A-Flat

The Texans red zone offense has a big flat tire and it’s time to fix it. So let’s diagnose the problems. Let’s start off with the quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is so good near the goal line because he has an absolute rocket launcher for an arm, so he can fit throws into the tightest of spaces. Watson doesn’t have that same ability, so he can’t just sit and wait for guys to get open.

The Texans need Watson to make pre-snap reads on where he wants to go with the football based upon coverage and matchup. Once he starts doing that, he can begin to target who he wants to throw to before he even snaps the ball which will allow him to throw with much better anticipation. Throwing with anticipation is the key to success in tight quarters.

Secondly, and most importantly, Bill O’Brien absolutely, positively MUST do a better job with not only his play-calling, but his play design near the goal line. Remember that first touchdown where Keke Coutee caught the flip toss on the jet sweep action and scored a touchdown? Yeah, me too. It was awesome. So where did that play or a counter to that play go?

Misdirection, counters, and quick-hitting plays are the way of the world now. Hell, go turn on a Chiefs game and watch how “instant” their goal line offense is. They hit you as quickly as possible before you know who has the ball and where it is headed. Speed headed in all directions keep defenses guessing and on their heels. Let’s see if the Texans can figure this out and stop making Houston such a Factory of Field Goals.

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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