A WEEKLY REVIEW OF O'BRIEN'S CRENNEL'S COACHING
Now my job: Big win for the Texans and Romeo Crennel
Oct 12, 2020, 9:56 am
The team looked better without O'Brien. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Romeo Crennel to step in as interim head coach for Texans
The Texans came away with a big win Sunday besting the Jags 30-14. It was a huge win. The biggest win of the season. Bigly. It was the best. I'd go as far as to say this was the best win this team has had ever!
Enough with the superlatives. This was a good win. I was impressed by the way the coaching staff handled things. They put the players in position to execute and the players did just that.
At 73 years and 115 days, Romeo Crennel was the oldest coach in NFL history. He's also the oldest to win a game. The offense and defense looked different, and for the better. Let's take a look at some of the things that I found that were worthy of praise, and criticism:
The output of the offense was impressive. Deshaun Watson threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns. David Johnson ran for 96 yards. Will Fuller, Darren Fells, and Brandin Cooks each caught touchdown passes from Watson. Cooks caught eight passes for 161 yards. The offense looked fluid and was productive. The biggest difference I saw was Watson checking into and out of plays. You could tell he was more comfortable checking in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage. The no huddle and/or sugar huddle was executed perfectly. Keeping things up-tempo kept the Jags off guard and kept the Texans in rhythm. Watson did throw two picks. The first was all on him, but the second wasn't. At first, David Johnson looked like the complete bust that he's been the last few years. He regained some life and looked good later on. The zone split run play was a favorite. The tight end would motion then block across the line of scrimmage, while the offensive line would zone block to the inside. Johnson had some of his best runs off this play. Major props to Tim Kelly as the offensive coordinator for recognizing what he has, what it's capable of, and calling plays accordingly.
Anthony Weaver called a good game on defense. It was scary at first because they couldn't stop the Jags. Too many times they weren't getting pressure and were getting burned. Eventually, the blitzes dialed up started causing trouble. They even found a way to get two turnovers! They were their first two turnovers of the season and they came at the right times. Several times down the stretch as they were nursing a lead, the pressure caused incompletions, led to sacks, or a turnover. Sure it was the Jags, but it was a win and a much-needed flex of some muscle on both sides of the ball.
The elephant in the room undoubtedly will be if this was done because of or in spite of Bill O'Brien's absence. One can only speculate. Time will tell. They have the Titans, Packers, and Jags again in their next three games. If they somehow pull away from that stretch 4-4, I'll be more impressed. The Packers are a Super Bowl favorite in the NFC and will not be easy. The Titans are solid, but beatable, and they just beat the Jags. 4-4 at the half point puts them in position to make the playoffs still. Even a 3-5 record leaves them an outside shot, especially considering the extra playoff spot. Here's to us finding out if O'Brien's absence is addition by subtraction! Cheers!
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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