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Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
This week was another really awful week of WWE "entertainment." In what was supposed to be the "go home" week for Money in the Bank, where WWE typically tries to end on awesome high notes and get everyone pumped for the event. That didn't exactly happen this time around. WWE is on their European tour still and basically it felt like there's only four important matches at Money in the Bank. Becky Lynch's two matches and she did a double contract signing with Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans and then it devolved into a fight but at least it had some great promos, and The Miz and Shane McMahon in the cage match and Roman Reigns fighting Elias. That's all that seems to matter for this event; Alexa Bliss didn't even fight in the Raw Women's promo match and Baron Corben and Drew Mcintyre helped get Braun Strowman out of the men's ladder match.
Smackdown again stayed focus on Shane McMahon and his two foes Roman Reigns and The Miz. They did do a fun thing where The Usos showed up to help and Rowan and Daniel Bryan being in the pocket of Shane is kind of an interesting thing. The idea of a new Authority or Corporation or whatever they want to be called would be cool. They could do a better job and all have their own angles but still helping McMahon. The Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville team is cruising for a clear rivalry match at some point in the very near future, which means to me that Mandy Rose is now one of my favorites for the money in the bank. She wins the contract and then Sonya chases her for it, boom entertainment! I don't really understand the excitement around Lars Sullivan, he cuts awful promos, he doesn't seem to be able to move and honestly he isn't that large of a guy in the scheme of WWE athletes. Somehow the Kevin Owens and Kofi Kingston match suddenly feels like a far less important match than Kofi has been in since winning the title, which is disappointing although they did manage to end Smackdown strongly which was a surprise considering how bad the week was overall.
Hopefully a balance will be found before the coming move to Fox or Smackdown will struggle to find the new audience it feels like WWE is searching for. All of these changes and scrambling feels like WWE is genuinely fearing the upcoming AEW events and inevitable premiere on television and is trying to make as many people happy as possible but all of this craziness is going the other way it feels like, possibly turning fans off instead of bringing new fans on, only time will tell.
Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help fight cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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Early breakdown of how Astros stack up against potential playoff opponents
Sep 17, 2024, 5:03 pm
Though they have plenty of work to do, the Houston Texans are feeling good about their 2-0 start after dropping their first two games last season.
The Texans scored just three points after halftime Sunday night, but a smothering defensive performance allowed them to hold on for a 19-13 win over the Bears. The victory has them in early control in the AFC South after the Colts, Titans and Jaguars have all opened the season 0-2.
It’s the first time since 2016 that Houston has won its first two games.
“I definitely know that Texans football was not what we put on the field (Sunday), at least in the second half,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “We’ll definitely be better, for sure."
Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans punted on five of their seven possessions in the second half and fumbled on another drive. Their only points after halftime came on a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
“Second half we were just flat,” Stroud said. “Just needed a big play or just needed (to) stack plays really. We just couldn’t find our rhythm.”
One thing that slowed the Texans on Sunday was their inability to run the ball effectively. Houston managed just 75 yards rushing against the Bears after leading the NFL with 213 yards in Week 1.
“They had a lot of penetration,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We weren’t able to have the lanes that we had the previous weeks. Something we have to clean up on the offensive side and make sure we just continue to get a head on the hat no matter what they show us.”
The running game was slowed because of an ankle injury to Joe Mixon, who had 159 yards rushing in the opener. He was injured early in the third quarter and returned near the end of the period, but had just two carries for 5 yards the rest of the game as he dealt with the injury. He finished with nine carries for 25 yards.
Ryans said that Mixon got “rolled up” and that it’s too early to know if he’ll play next week.
What’s working
The Texans were relentless in their pressure on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Sunday night. Houston pressured Williams, the top overall pick in the draft, on 36 of his 37 pass attempts, according to NextGenStats.
Defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 17 pressures and the Texans piled up seven sacks, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Houston had six different players with a sack Sunday night and the team’s nine sacks through two games ranks second in the NFL behind Minnesota’s 11 entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans must get their running game back on track next week, which will be a tough task if Mixon can’t play. They could be without their top two running backs Sunday with Dameon Pierce dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the game against Chicago.
Stock up
K Ka′imi Fairbairn has been great this season, with Ryans crediting him for Sunday night’s win. He was 4-for-4 against the Bears, making kicks of 59, 56, 53 and 47 yards. He also made three field goals of 50-plus yards in Week 1 to become the first kicker in NFL history to make five or more field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
His 59-yard field goal on Sunday night was the second-longest in franchise history behind a 61-yard kick he made in 2021.
“He’s been consistent,” Ryans said. “He’s on it. He’s the reason why we’re standing here. We talk a lot about offense and defense (but) the kicking game is the reason why we won this game.”
Stock down
RB Cam Akers. Pushed into action because of injuries, Akers fumbled on the Chicago 4 with about 6½ minutes left Sunday. The Bears recovered the ball and it led to a field goal that got them within a score with less than three minutes left.
Injuries
Mixon and Pierce are the main injuries the team is dealing with this week.
Key number
252 — Entering Monday, wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 yards receiving, which is the second most in franchise history in the first two games of a season. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards receiving last season, had 135 yards receiving and a touchdown Sunday night for the seventh 100-yard game of his career.
Next steps
Stroud and Houston’s offense will look to clean up their play and move the ball more effectively when they face an early test in a visit to the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 2-0, on Sunday.