Marcus Mariota should play. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
This weekend the Texans take on the Titans in Nashville looking to bounce back from their season-opening loss. I caught up with Jim Wyatt who has covered the Titans since they moved to Nashville. He now covers the team for TitansOnline.com.
I wanted to see how people felt about Mike Vrabel taking over as Titans head coach. I don't know many Texans fans who were upset to see Vrabel leave. His defense was underwhelming even when healthy. Romeo Crennel is back as the Texans defensive coordinator.
Cody Stoots: What's your reaction when you hear Texans fans were happy to see Mike Vrabel go?
Jim Wyatt: Well, I know sometimes you hear that when somebody leaves, like, "good riddance" or "we didn't need him" but I think to judge Mike Vrabel off of what happened there last year and all the injuries the Texans dealt with is unfair. How somebody is as a coordinator certainly doesn't give you an idea of what he's going to be like as a head coach. We've seen special teams coaches become head coaches and have success. We've seen position coaches go somewhere and have some success. I think what matters is what happens when you're in that seat. Everything I've seen from Vrabel to this point is this guy's got a great background as a player. He's certainly been around some great head coaches that gained experience and gained knowledge from. I think he's got a great presence and command that you need as a head coach. I think in time he's going to prove to be a good head coach and some of those people that are questioning that now or ridiculing him now may be eating their words in a couple years.
Delaine Walker is out for the year with a leg injury he suffered against the Dolphins. He's been the Titans leading receiver three of the last four years and the other year he was second.
Stoots: What's the impact of Delaine Walked being out for the year? Who can Mariota trust now?
Wyatt: Well, it's a big blow to the Titans. You can't sugar coat it. He's the guy that every quarterback that he's ever played with trusted. He was a guy that not only bailed quarterbacks out he made things happen. He was a tone setter. Jonnu Smith is going to have to step up in his absence...I think the young receiving corps now is on the spot even more to make plays. This is a young group of receivers. Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor, Tajae Sharpe, all those guys, just year two guy, you can't wait and be patient with them. You need them to help move the chains.
The Titans boast the best running back 1-2 punch on the Texans schedule. Derrick Henry had some solid games in the back half of last year and Dion Lewis is a much better compliment to him than Demarco Murray was last year.
Stoots: Which running back matches up better against the Texans?
Wyatt: It is going to be different each week. Depending on how teams defend them. Depending on what kind of success those guys are having. Last week was more of a Dion Lewis week. He had more success catching the ball out of the backfield. Had more success with his run. With that said, Derrick Henry had a long touchdown run of 62 yards called back on what was a very questionable holding penalty. If that doesn't get called back both those guys end up with really good numbers. I think they'll take turns on which one of them is the busier back each Sunday. Just because it was Lewis against the Dolphins doesn't mean it will be him against the Texans this Sunday.
The Titans finished 13th in defense last year.
Stoots: What defenders should Texans fans be looking for this weekend?
Wyatt: Up front, it's Jurrell Casey who certainly impacts a lot of games in the trenches and certainly is disruptive in getting some pressure on the quarterback. On the back end, It's Kevin Byard, their All-Pro safety who led the league in takeaways last year. I think there's some talent on this defense but it starts up front with Casey and on the back, I think Byard is the one who kind of runs the show and has made a lot of plays.
The Texans might luck out this week. The Titans have made plenty of investments in their offensive line. Ben Jones was signed from the Texans before the 2016 season as was Josh Kline. Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin are both former first-round picks. But, Conklin and Lewan are both question marks for this weekend. Conklin is still on the mend from an ACL injury last season. Lewan left the Dolphins game after a crushing block on an interception return. He didn't practice Wednesday with a concussion keeping him out.
Stoots: What's the plan at tackle?
Wyatt: When Lewan went out on Sunday Kevin Pamphile stepped in. He and Dennis Kelly were the two tackles. Kelly has been a starter in place of Conklin throughout the preseason and week one. He's a veteran. He's done a good job. You haven't heard his name called a lot and as a tackle that's a good thing. Pamphile they got from Tampa Bay this offseason. He's a versatile guy who can play inside he can play outside. I thought he did a good job. The Dolphins are pretty scary up front. They didn't get a sack against the Titans with them dealing with injuries and them dealing with guys who couldn't finish the game. I would expect you would see the same guys if Lewan isn't ready to go.
Jim does great work online covering the Titans. Check out his latest article here: https://www.titansonline.com/news/three-quick-hits-from-titans-on-wednesday-including-the-latest-on-lt-taylor-lewa?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral
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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.