Friday Stoots Six-Pack

Texans rushing attack key to victory Sunday in Denver

Cody Stoots
Nov 2, 2018, 7:15 am
Lamar Miller has been playing well. Bobby Ellis/Getty Images

The Texans head to Denver for one of the toughest tests on their schedule. There's a nasty coaching situation in the Bay Area, magic is real, and two legends show down for maybe the last time. It's the Friday NFL Stoots Six-Pack.

1. Philip Lindsay is one of the best young running backs in football and he was an undrafted free agent. The former Colorado ball carrier is sixth in yards and averages 5.7 yards per attempt. With Case Keenum's struggles, the Broncos need Lindsay and need to feed him more. They have had a timeshare for most of the season with fellow rookie Royce Freeman and Devontae Booker. The Texans bottled up the best rushing attack they faced this season when they stymied the Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott. If the Broncos aren't running the ball it is all on Case Keenum and he's been disappointing this season. 

2. The Texans have to rush the football as well. They' have won five straight but they had three games as tight as can be before the rushing attack got going. They handily won their last two games thanks to their rushing attack. It opens up play action for Deshaun Watson and if he gets anywhere close to the Dolphins performance the Texans will be a tough out for the Broncos. Greg Mancz has played the last couple of games at right guard for Zach Fulton. With Fulton on the mend, I would expect him to return to the starting lineup. If he doesn't mesh as Mancz did the rushing attack could be behind the success of the past two games. 

3. With the injuries mounting and the Broncos impressive defense, this is one of the toughest tests the Texans will have all season. If Houston pulls this out they should prove to many doubters about their potential as contenders in the AFC. This is a tough one to project with the Texans previously shaky offensive line and the Denver defense being so talented. If the Texans are going to win, every point could end up being important. The Broncos held the Chiefs and the Rams to their lowest point totals of the season. The team with the most mistakes is losing this game. It's worth noting, Case Keenum has an interception in every game this season. 

4. Nick Mullens and Kyle Shanahan embarrassed Jon Gruden and the Raiders on Thursday Night Football. Many expected Gruden would have the Raiders competing right away but they're in full-on rebuild mode. Across the field, the best coach in the Bay Area, and the second best in California turned an undrafted free agent from Southern Miss into a Thursday Night Football Joe Montana. Shanahan is behind Sean McVay but on the same track. He might be a couple of years away from showcasing it to the degree the Rams are in 2018. 

5. I accurately predicted the end of Fitzmagic and Ryan Fitzpatrick's benching weeks ago. I never anticipated Jameis Winston would be bad enough to endanger his potential earnings and future in Tampa with the Buccaneers. Fitzpatrick has a chance to really make some bank with this opportunity. He's only making a little over $3 million this year but multiple years and double-digit dollars loom if he somehow could lead the Buccaneers into the playoff hunt and close to the top of the NFC South. As for Winston, he needs to stay ready should the Fitzmagic runout again. Any chance, no matter how it comes this season, might be his last to prove he is worth investment for Tampa. 

6. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers square off Sunday to finish the day of football and if that isn't going to get you hyped nothing will. Cross-conference showdowns between great quarterbacks seem to happen so rarely this is a real treat. This Packers team is fairly dangerous having just pushed the Rams to the limit. The Patriots always seem to survive no matter their hindrances. It is just the second time they have played against the other as starters. In 2006 Rodgers took over for an injured Brett Favre. In 2010, Matt Flynn was Brady's opponent. This is also likely the last time we see this matchup. The Patriots seem poised to win this but with Rodgers leading Green Bay lets hope for a close game and a few lead-changing scores late. 

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THE BIG HURT

Astros fans beware: legal theft becoming more common at sporting events

This is getting out of hand. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Allsport/Getty Images.

Dr. Rick warns his patients, young homeowners who are turning into their parents, you can expect to pay more for snacks and drinks at a movie theater. It's the same deal at a professional sports venue. Three years ago, I put a down payment on a cheeseburger at Toyota Center ... I still have three more payments to go before I get it.

But this is ridiculous. The PGA Championship, the lesser (least) of golf's majors, is charging $18 for a beer, a 25-ounce Michelob Ultra, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. It's $19 for a Stella Artois. You can buy a six-pack for less at the supermarket. Aren't there laws against price gouging, like during a hurricane? Isn't Tulsa where the Golden Hurricanes play? Get FEMA in here. Did tournament directors get together and ponder, how can we piss off our fans? Sure, it's Tulsa and there's not much else to do, but that's no excuse.

Charging $18 for a beer makes the concession stands at Minute Maid Park look like a Sunday morning farmer's market. A 25-ounce domestic beer during an Astros game is $13.49. A 25-ounce premium beer is $14.45. Yeah, that's high for a beer, but at Minute Maid Park there are lots of hands in the till. Aramark wants to make a profit, the taxman has big mitts, and the Astros want their cut, too. Look, you want to sign Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez to an extension or not? Then drink up and don't complain. Some quiet grumbling and head-shaking is permitted, however.

You know the PGA Championship is charging too much for a beer when even the rich pampered players take notice. "18 (!!!!!) for a beer ... uhhh what," former PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas tweeted. "Good thing I don't drink a lot."

Like he will be in line for a beer at a public concession booth, anyway.

Of course there will be fans sneaking in beer in baggies strapped to their ankles, like stuffing your pockets with store-bought Snickers before going to the movies. It doesn't have to be this way. The Masters, the most prestigious golf event, charges only $5 for both domestic and imported beer. I know it's a gimmick, part of The Masters mystique along with pimento sandwiches for $1.50, but still it's a welcome gesture. You never lose when you treat the public fairly. When Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in Atlanta, Falcons owner Arthur Blank insisted that food vendors charge the same inside the stadium as they do at their regular restaurants. Same thing when Denver International Airport opened, fast food restaurants couldn't jack up their prices to their captive customers. Here? There needs to be a loan window outside the Cinnabon booth at Bush-Intercontinental.

Except for the Masters in Augusta, golf's majors aren't tied to a city. A major comes to a city maybe every few years or in most cases never. There's no need to ride into a city like the James Gang, rob the local bank, and high tail it out of town. Golf should be the last professional sport to stick it to fans. While the game has made strides to open its arms to lower-income youths, golf remains an elitist, extremely expensive sport for regular folk. Equipment is expensive, private courses are exclusive and country clubs are exclusionary. Public courses are less expensive but still expensive and crowded. Plus there's never been a professional sport more dangerously dominated by one person than golf. I can imagine network executives on their knees praying that Tiger Woods makes the cut and plays on weekends. Otherwise, TV ratings go straight into the toilet, you know, like whatever team Mattress Mack is betting on. (I joke because I love, and frankly a little scared.)

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