NFL PRESEASON
Some Texans players gave it all they had for a shot at the roster in preseason game 4
Aug 31, 2018, 7:03 am
Bruce Ellington (left), Alfred Blue and Sammie Coates hopefully earned roster spots. Zach Tarrant/Houstontexans.com
The Texans enjoyed the comfort of home as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 14-6 at NRG Stadium for the fourth and final game of the 2018 NFL preseason Thursday night. The game was a defensive battle between players from the bottom of each roster. No significant starters from either team took part in the action so it’s with a grain of salt that the stats can be analyzed. But the players desperate to make the final 53-man roster? Their effort and the plays they made are all important in the next few days when the coaches will make their final cuts.
The name that stood out the most early was Joel Heath. The third-year defensive lineman was in the backfield almost every play. He is only credited with two tackles, one of them for a big loss; but the pressure he put on the Cowboys’ quarterbacks was instrumental in getting his defense off the field in three or four plays every drive. Heath is probably not a borderline player but the Texans front 7 is loaded with talent and the final game was about playing time. If he can be a disruptive force like his counterparts Watt, Clowney, Mercilous and Reader; then he will see more action and keep the rotation on fresh legs.
Offensively, the Texans weren’t that great. The deeper players on the depth chart couldn’t get on the same page with the rotating tandem of Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb playing quarterback. They got a break on the Cowboys’ second drive when pressure up front forced an interception to rookie safety Justin Reid. Houston had a short field to work with and they took advantage getting a touchdown run by Alfred Blue. A big play on that drive was a first down pass to rookie tight end Jordan Akins that put the ball at the 3-yard line. Akins was able to get just enough separation and make a great catch for 16 yards. Plays like that are going to get him on the roster behind Ryan Griffin and give Houston another option in the passing game.
Braxton Miller was someone else trying to find his way on the bottom of the depth chart at his position. He hauled in 2 passes for 28 yards, most of that on a 22-yard catch and run. On both of his receptions he looked like a pro who was going to make the team. He probably did with his effort in the last two games. Special teams will need him but hopefully the offense won’t.
The biggest question mark on the entire roster is the cornerback group. Injuries are piling up and the talent just doesn’t seem to be good enough for an NFL defense. But if the only game you watched was this final preseason game you saw an all-out effort and some good play. Names like Dee Virgin and Andre Chachere are longshots to make the roster, but you couldn’t tell.
Virgin had eight tackles, one of them for a loss and two pass break ups. He still wasn’t great in coverage, but he managed to close on the ball and get his hands in there to break it up. He was flying all over the field and getting to be ball. Not to be outdone, Andre Chachere had four tackles and two passes defensed as well. He is probably an even longer shot to make the roster. But the special teams need to be filled out too. These guys might have worked their way on the team with sheer effort and will power.
Safety Ibraheim Campbell, cornerback Bryce Jones, and running back Terry Swanson are three more names who showed up with their best effort. Campbell and Jones were around the ball a lot too. Each had six tackles to finish the game. A really pleasant surprise was the play of Swanson, particularly the 37-yard touchdown run he had in the fourth quarter. He hit the hole hard and with one cut he was into the secondary and down the sideline for the score. He showed off his quickness and speed, and with depth necessary at running back right now for Houston it may be enough to get him on the team. He finished the night carrying the ball 17 times for 69 yards and the score.
Overall, the Texans had the look of a team ready to play. The final game of the preseason is always about effort. These players had one last shot to keep their name on the mind of the coaches. Some will make the team because depth is needed, others will make it because they did just enough to earn a role on special teams. Whatever way it happens for them they will be glad they were able to put together one final good game. The roster will be set on Sept. 2 and the Texans will be at New England on Sept. 9. The make-up of the roster is going to be a factor in how well the Texans do in the regular season and beyond.
With overnight temperatures dipping into the 20s this week in Houston, it seems good timing to have the warm thoughts of baseball being back, at least spring training games. The Astros have more shakiness about their squad than they have had in nearly a decade, but the Astros still have a nucleus of an American League West contender. With the exits of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, it’s just a notably different nucleus than in recent years.
Jose Altuve is the last remaining mainstay of the greatest era in Astros’ history, and he is one of the biggest stories of their preseason as he for the time being at least is left fielder Jose Altuve. By every indication he is embracing the challenge with class and energy. The obvious impetus for test driving the move is the soon-to-be 35 years old Altuve’s defensive deterioration. It can be tough for the player himself to notice that his range has declined. The voiding of defensive shifts after the 2022 season shined a brighter light on Altuve’s D decline. Still, last season Altuve made his ninth All-Star team and despite also displaying some offensive decline remained the clearly best offensive second baseman in the American League. It’s part of the tradeoff of reducing the defensive workload on Yordan Alvarez, and hoping to upgrade defensively at second with some combo of Mauricio Dubon, Brendan Rodgers, or other.
The natural comparison in Astros’ history of a franchise icon losing his defensive spot and making a late-career position change is to Craig Biggio. Biggio’s All-Star days were behind him when the Astros moved him from second base to center field for the 2003 season because of the signing of free agent Jeff Kent. It spoke to the athlete Biggio was that at 37 years old he could make the move at all. After not quite a season and a half in center, Biggio moved to left when the Astros traded for young stud center fielder Carlos Beltran. Both Kent and Beltran left in free agency after the 2004 season, and Biggio moved back to second for the final three seasons of his career.
Second basemen are often second basemen and not shortstops in part because of their throwing arms. Altuve’s throwing arm will be an issue in left field. Even though Daikin Park has the smallest square footage of fair territory in Major League Baseball because of its left to left-center field dimensions, Altuve’s arm will be a liability. In understandably wanting to put an optimistic spin on things, manager Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown have talked of how Altuve will be able to get momentum behind throws more so than when playing second. That’s true when camping under a fly ball in the outfield. That is not true when Altuve will have to cut off balls hit toward the left field line, or cutting across into the left-center field gap. There will be balls that would be singles when hit to other left fielders that will become doubles when Altuve has to play them, and baserunners will go from first to third and second to home much more readily. As an infielder Altuve has always been outstanding at running down pop-ups, so there is reason to believe he’ll be solid tracking fly balls in the outfield. However, the reality of a guy who is five feet six inches tall (in spikes) is that there will be the occasional fly ball or line drive that is beyond his grasp that more “normal” sized outfielders would grab. Try to name a good outfielder who stood shorter than five-foot-nine...
Here’s one: Hall of Famer Tim Raines (also originally a second baseman) was (and presumably still is!) five-foot-eight.
Here's another: Hall of Famer Hack Wilson was five-six. Four times he led the National League in home runs topped by a whopping 56 in 1930 when he set the still standing record of 191 runs batted in for a single season.
And another: Hall of Famer five-foot-four “Wee” Willie Keeler. Who last played in 1910.
Just a bit outside
Another element new to the Grapefruit League in Florida (and Cactus League in Arizona) this year is the limited use of what Major League Baseball is calling the Automated Ball Strike System. The ABS is likely coming to regular season games next year. This spring will be our first look at its use in big league games. Home plate umpires making ball and strike calls will not be going the way of the dinosaur. Challenges can be made until a team is wrong twice. Significantly, only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge and must do so within two seconds of the pitch being caught. No dugout input allowed. No time to watch a replay.
The Astros’ spring park in West Palm Beach is not among the 13 facilities set up with ABS cameras. That seems silly given that the Astros share the place with the Washington Nationals. More use would be gotten from, and more data collected there than will be from a park with half the spring games played in it.
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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