FRIDAY STOOTS 6 PACK
Watt and Luck, standout rookies headline Sunday's matchup
Dec 7, 2018, 7:38 am
Andrew Luck will be a problem. Credit: Jonathan Ferrey
The Texans host the Colts on a loaded NFL Sunday. Here is the Stoots Six-Pack for this week with a bonus shot of college football for you.
1. The Colts have the best offensive line as far as protecting quarterbacks in the AFC. They are only one off the best mark in the league which is held by the Saints. Just 14 sacks allowed in 12 games but four in the last two games. They had a streak of five games in the middle of the season of no sacks allowed. The offensive line was healthy and the scheme, as J.J. Watt mentions, is perfect for keeping Luck safe.
"He gets the ball out of his hands quick," Watt said. "He knows where to go with it to get it out of there. He can also move around a bit. So, he's done a good job and they've done a good job with their scheme and protecting him and things like that."
Luck absolutely SHREDDED the Texans earlier in the year. Romeo Crennel has to adjust to what the Colts can do and really make them pay for the quick game they lean on. If he doesn't it could be a shootout on Sunday.
2. Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue, along with Deshaun Watson's legs, have the Texans with one of the best statistical rushing attacks in the game. Sometimes the stats are deceiving but this has actually been a great element in recent weeks. Miller has been on track to have the best season of his career. Blue has been more efficient than at any point in his career. Watson's legs are a weapon again after being a secondary thought in the middle of the season. Now, D'Onta Foreman is close to being ready.
I say close to being ready because I am just not sure where he is and what to expect. More often than not an Achilles injury for a running back leads to a regression in overall talent. Not to mention he has played very little football in the NFL. It just isn't a mix which leads me to believe he will be contributing this season. It's OK. The current crop has been more than enough for what the Texans are looking to do but Foreman should be active on gameday just in case.
3. The defensive rookie of the year is playing in this game and unfortunately for the Texans, it isn't Justin Reid. Don't get me wrong, Reid has been a monster. He's by far one of the best rookies but he isn't quite the best. Indianapolis linebacker Darius Leonard has a line on winning the award. Leonard leads the league in tackles. He's second in the league in forced fumbles. He has the second-most sacks by a rookie. I love what Reid has brought to the table but there are so many playmakers that help him. Leonard is the best player on the Colts defense already. Reid has been fantastic, Leonard, has been better. He will be an annoying mainstay in the AFC South for years. But, so will Reid for the Texans opponents.
4. Thanks for nothing Jacksonville. The Texans can't clinch the AFC South on Sunday. When a team has such big personalities like Jacksonville has, there was bound to be some quit opened up as their season went off the rails. We saw it on Thursday night. We also saw a totally inept offense. I have to imagine Doug Marrone is going to be fired. The offense is his side of the football and despite being saddled with Blake Bortles it has always looked suspect. If he is let go, there will be a long line of coaches hoping to maximize the talent there. They will just have to manage the personalities.
As far as the AFC South, I will let Jadeveon Clowney handle the Titans win on Thursday night: "We don't care about nothing that the Titans have going on. All we have to do is win this game and we'll clinch. We just need to win out. We don't have to worry about clinching anything."
5. The Cowboys have the longest win streak in the NFC after they pushed theirs to four at the expense of the Saints win streak of nine. They started this current run against the Eagles. The defending champs have struggled mightily but have wins against two straight division opponents. They head to Dallas looking to make it three in a row and take over first place in the division. It will be no easy task. The Cowboys defense is amazing and if their offense gives them anything they're a tough out. This should have been flexed to Sunday Night Football instead of the Rams and Bears. The winner of this game likely wins the NFC East and guarantees themselves a playoff spot.
6. Speaking of Sunday Night Football, let's see what kind of havoc Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald can cause on the big stage. Donald is running away with defensive player of the year while Mack has picked it up after a midseason dip in production. Mitchell Trubisky returns to the lineup for the Bears while Jared Goff is coming off a poor performance against the Lions. The Rams have already clinched their division but they have to hold off the Saints for the top spot in the NFC. This is a solid Sunday Night Football matchup and barring some creative flex scheduling, the best one left on the schedule.
Bonus Shot of College Football! Despite college football's regular season being over and the bowl games the last vestiges of the season remaining, this is actually a nice college football Saturday. I know what you're thinking, it is just Army-Navy, but, I assure you this game is worth it. I truly encourage every college football fan to attend this game. It will be cold and you have to get there early, but watching Army and Navy march into the stadium is amazing. The game is intense and you won't see more respect between two opponents than when Army and Navy line up for this one. The Midshipmen had won 14 straight before the Black Knights took the last two in thrilling fashion. After this throwback matchup, the Heisman Trophy is presented in what should be the tightest race since 2015 when Derrick Henry bested Christian McCaffrey.
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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.