CODY STOOTS: PFF

Pro Football Focus: Texans OL has its moments; Colts tackle struggles

Pro Football Focus: Texans OL has its moments; Colts tackle struggles
Greg Mancz graded out well. Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Pro Football Focus grades each individual player's performance and assigns them a grade. All 32 teams use Pro Football Focus. 

Each week we will take a look at some of the key grades as well as some from the Texans upcoming opponent. They also do great fantasy analysis and draft coverage as well. Stats are for the previous game unless otherwise noted. You can join Pro Football Focus here. 

Greg Mancz - 80.0 offense grade

Mancz has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries to the offensive line. He was only in for a handful of snaps, 22, but was well above average in run blocking and pass blocking. He has been a nice player when given the opportunity. With the likelihood, the dings hang around on the offensive line Mancz could be a key player down the road. 

Zach Fulton - 86.8 pass blocking grade

His best of the season in this category. Fulton struggled against the Cleveland defense when run blocking but he crushed it when he had to pass block. This was especially important when he slid out to tackle for a few snaps when his fellow offensive linemen needed a break. Fulton has struggled a time or two but he has been consistent in at least one element in most games. 

Zach Cunningham - 92.6 defensive grade

His best of the season. He was a monster in this game. He deflected an early pass and then scored another one. Most of the success against him came late when the Texans defense was playing less aggressive and basic defense. He has been fantastic since his return from injury with two of his three highest grades. 

Benardrick McKinney - 39.4 defensive grade

His lowest of the season. I wonder how much of this happened late when Cleveland was dumping down pass after pass in an attempt to catch up. McKinney almost never grades out this poor. I am willing to write this off as an anomaly and product of Cleveland's late-game attack. 

Anthony Costanzo - 49.5 pass blocking grade

Uh oh. This fella is not going to like seeing the Texans on Sunday. The Colts offense finally sprung a leak and allowed multiple sacks and the left tackle allowed two of them. He allowed another six pressures as well. The Texans should be attacking him non-stop in an effort to keep the Colts offensive line in disarray. The team just had their worst pass blocking game since week three. The Texans didn't get hardly any pressure against the Browns. that likely won't be the case against the Colts.

As always, you can join Pro Football Focus here. 

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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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