THE WRESTLING REPORT
Shane's perfect rise to top villain continues in WWE
Jul 17, 2019, 12:36 pm
THE WRESTLING REPORT
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. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
Extreme Rules actually delivered, with a great return of The Undertaker after having been an absolute embarrassment against Goldberg only a few months ago. The Roman Reigns and Undertaker tag match against Shane and Drew McIntyre actually delivered. The Kevin Owens Dolph Ziggler match was a confusing squash match with Kevin Owens stunning Dolph and just finishing the match in about six seconds which was odd since Dolph was in a crazy cage match against Kofi just last month. The New Day won the tag titles, and Ricochet lost his title to AJ Styles. Then Seth and Becky crushed Baron and Lacey but the big finish was the inevitable Brock Lesnar taking Seth's belt with the Money in the Bank contract.
Raw was pretty good but I really can't stand the Street Prophets and I think we need to dial their screen time down to zero. The ladies put on a great four way elimination match and it was awesome to see Bray Wyatt return to the ring but the 24/7 title is seriously a running gag and needs to also go away. Seth Rollins amazing run continues as he wins the 10 man battle royal and is building back up to a great Brock Lesnar rivalry, which basically legitimizes putting the belt back on Brock.
The Smackdown town hall was a great way to set up the "pro Shane" and "anti Shane" people really easily. With Liv Morgan getting destroyed by Charlotte Flair and Apollo Crews just barely getting a surprise win after a brutally one sided match against Andrade, it sets up a great "under dog" dynamic and Kevin Owens gets to run a great hero of the people feud with Shane which is finally winning me over to the idea that maybe he can be worthwhile in limited spots but still not full time. A Bayley and Ember Moon rivalry could be fun, just because it looks like they both can do some impressive stuff so this might be a fun match up for the women's title for a bit. A return of Randy Orton who then immediately wants a title shot is not a surprise but more of a disappointment and a Randy vs Kofi battle won't be fun to watch and poor Kofi will have to do all the work on this one too. It's obvious why he's holding the title as long as he is, but when are they going to give some other new guys a shot at the belt with him?
Overall the trend of better programming started this week with Shane in the role of the villain and Kevin Owens in the Steve Austin role.
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office email me for details or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
Coming off their bye week, the Texans host the Dolphins with big playoff implications at stake. A win over Miami paired with a Colts loss secures another playoff berth for Houston.
Injuries will be a factor in this contest, with guard Juice Scruggs (foot) expected to be unavailable and safety Jalen Pitre now out for the year with a pectoral injury.
The Texans will also be without LB Azeez Al-Shaair (suspension), but a glimmer of hope has arrived as LB Christian Harris has returned to practice after missing the entire season up to this point.
Houston #Texans Thursday Injury Report for Week 15 vs. the Miami Dolphins: pic.twitter.com/7cDUTFbFZV
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) December 12, 2024
Left guard Kenyon Green has also returned to practice and could be available this Sunday as well. If he's not, look for Zach Thomas, who was claimed off waivers from the Patriots about a month ago, to step in. Offensive line play and protection in general will be a main area of focus once again, as the Texans are arguably the worst in the NFL in this category.
This is most damning set of stats I've seen regarding the #Texans offense.
From no. 1 to no. 20 - 4.7% gap
From no. 21 to no. 31 - 4.9% gap
From no. 31 to Texans - 4.9% gap
Last in blown blocks by more than 1 BB per game.
Last in QB pressures & 50 more BB+PR than any other team https://t.co/vwAS16Diay
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) December 11, 2024
As you can see from the graphic above, the Texans have blown a block or allowed a pressure on over 30% of their offensive plays, and the next closest team is the Bears at 25.4 %.
Speaking of blocking, the Texans face three of the best teams against the run down the stretch (Chiefs, Ravens, Titans). With that being the case, let's hope that Stroud and the Texans found some answers in the passing game during the bye week.
If the Texans can keep Stroud upright, perhaps we see a resurgence from Tank Dell, who has seemingly disappeared from the offense. Tank hasn't scored since October 13, and has only recorded one game with over 100 yards all season.
Swarm!
On defense, the Texans will have their hands full with the Dolphins explosive offense. Miami has scored 32 or more points in 3 of their last 4 games.
The Texans are averaging just under 24 PPG this season, so they could really use a breakout game from the offense to help cement a victory.
Houston has the best duo of pass rushers in the league, but they will be challenged against Tua Tagovailoa, who gets rid of the ball extremely quickly and accurately.
Tua also has two speedsters in Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle that can take a short pass to the house at any given moment. Speed could be the difference in this contest, but the Texans do have two corners in Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter that are both Top 3 in lowest catch rate allowed this year.
DBs with the lowest Catch Rate Allowed this season 🔒
1. Kamari Lassiter - 42.0%
2. Nate Wiggins - 43.8%
3. Derek Stingley Jr. - 44.6%
4. Donte Jackson - 49.1%
5. Kristian Fulton - 50.0%
6. Jakorian Bennett - 51.1%
7. Jaylon Johnson - 51.2%
8. Denzel Ward - 51.9%
9. Jaycee Horn… https://t.co/muJHduiHQn pic.twitter.com/nVJlKYsWwc
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 11, 2024
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are favored by 3 points and the total is set at 46.5, which is the third-highest this week.
Don't miss the video above as we break down this week's game, the final stretch of the season, and much more!
Also, be sure to watch Texans on Tap with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan live following every Texans game on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel!