A WEEKLY REVIEW OF CRENNEL'S COACHING
Now my job: Texans win AFC South 3rd place game
Nov 9, 2020, 9:28 am
Photo by Getty Images
Now my job: Texans win AFC South 3rd place game
Whenever you think about how bad things are, always remember, they could be a lot worse. This is how I choose to look at the Texans' 27-25 win over the Jags. At 2-6 now, the Texans have a firm grip on 3rd place in the AFC South and are only three games behind the Colts for not only 2nd place in the division, but also the 7th and final playoff spot. Glass half full is the look I'm going for here. Stay with me.
The coaching staff had a decent gameplan on defense, but there was a lack of execution several times by the players. The idea to bring pressure and give rookie quarterback Jake Luton different looks worked to a degree. There were a few times he looked skittish, but not as often as you'd think a 6th round pick making his first career start would look. He was able to go 26/38 for 304 yards with a touchdown, an interception, a fumble (they recovered), a run for 13 yards, and was sacked twice.
One of the plays that I'm referring to about lack of execution was the 73-yard touchdown pass Luton threw to DJ Chark on their opening possession. Vernon Hargreaves was supposed to be in a deep third coverage since the call was cover 3. Instead, he either confused his assignment or the playcall itself because Chark ran right by him and Luton made the easiest touchdown pass of his career thus far. Richard Sherman did the exact same thing on October 16, 2016 against the Falcons. He made up for it later with an interception when he played his deep third in another cover 3 call. Despite the play not coming his way, he was in the right place at the right time.
I noticed the defense got away from applying pressure with the blitz, yet they still couldn't get home by rushing four. J.J. Watt looked fairly average. He looked more himself when he was able to strip sack Luton, but it took him until the 6:26 mark in the 4th quarter to make an impact play.
The offense looked disjointed and as if it didn't have a clear direction in which they wanted to go. I was happy to see some deep balls thrown, and completed. The Brandin Cooks 57-yard touchdown was more about his speed and downfield blocking, but the crossing route is what got him open. I wanted to see more deep balls and crossing routes, as well as more spread and no huddle. We got very little spread, and the only no huddle we got was right before halftime when Deshaun Watson appeared to have called it after he scrambled inside the 5 yard line. The ensuing play was a Duke Johnson rushing touchdown. Whether it was Watson calling it on the fly, or Tim Kelly, I liked the move. There needs to be more motion and misdirection pre-snap. This offense isn't that supremely talented to the point they can line up and force their will upon anyone. Using whatever extra tricks they can come up with would help.
Watson is playing very well. 19/32 for 281 yards, two passing touchdowns, two sacks and 50 rushing yards on 10 carries was a heck of a day. No interceptions for the third consecutive game for Watson as well. This team should have a much better record with a quarterback having his kind of season. Again, I think this offense could use more razzle dazzle. David Johnson being hurt meant Duke Johnson got more snaps. I'm interested in seeing how they move forward if David can't go and Duke is the featured back.
Overall, it wasn't a bad day by the coaching staff, but it wasn't all that great either. I'd give them a solid C. To get back to .500, they have to beat the Browns, Pats, Lions, and Colts. Not a daunting task, but it won't be easy. One game at a time.
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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.