OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION THIS SUNDAY?
Winless Texans are 6-point favorites over visiting Jaguars
Oct 7, 2020, 10:50 am
This is the week the Texans get going. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
"It's brutal. I mean, it's depressing. It sucks. This sucks."
J.J. Watt had identical thoughts as most Texans fans leaving NRG Stadium on Sunday after the Texans lost 31-23 to the Minnesota Vikings (1-3). The defeat buried their record in an even deeper hole at 0-4 for the first time since 2008.
The last team to make the playoffs after starting 0-4? The 1992 San Diego Chargers.
One thing is certain: Bill O'Brien seemed more concerned about posing for a photo with former Texans coaches, Dom Capers and Gary Kubiak, before Sunday's clash, rather than game planning to keep his job.
Screen grab of the three Texans head coaches that FOX ran. pic.twitter.com/3UGa0SNtWj
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) October 4, 2020
Fantastic. O'Brien is finally out and Texans fans can take a deep breath. But Cal McNair still owes the city an explanation about the defensive side of the ball.
While O'Brien was trying to save his job by taking over play calling, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver was struggling to get his guys off the field for the fourth time this year.
Issues on defense
Vikings offensive coordinator Kubiak employed the Vikings' effective run game to ruin his former employers Sunday. For the fourth week in a row, the Texans gave up 160-plus rushing yards. Dalvin Cook dodged and weaved through the Texans weak front line, racking up 130 yards and two touchdowns.
The last team to give up 160 or more yards in the first four games of a season? The 1995 Arizona Cardinals who finished 4-12.
It wasn't just the run game that Kubiak used to outthink the Texans. The Vikings air game exposed the secondary that was sleeping most of the game. If cornerback Vernon Hargreaves wasn't getting bulldozed by Cook in the end zone, it was receiver Justin Jefferson beating him downfield en route to his second 100-yard game in a row (four receptions for 103 yards).
In addition to Cousins and Jefferson finding their chemistry, Cousins had good fortune linking up with wide receiver Adam Thielen all game long. Thielen caught eight balls for 114 yards and a touchdown. Although Whitney Mercilus showed much-needed life and sacked Cousins twice, the Vikings quarterback was still able to eat up large chunks of yardage, averaging 13.7 yards per target.
Despite putting pressure on Cousins on pass plays, there was no evidence of the Texans setting the edge to defend the run. It was especially apparent on a 4th-down play when Kubiak dialed up a sweep with Cousins, who successfully found the edge.
How did Cousins do this to the Texans pic.twitter.com/uWmKHdmbdS
— Will Doctor (@Doctor_w1) October 6, 2020
Onto the Jags
Looking forward, the Texans are 6-point favorites over the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday. The spread seems high for a winless Texans team. MyBookie.ag has the over/under at 54. Jacksonville is giving up 30 plus points per game.
Hopes are high for Houston now that Deshaun Watson is free from the reins of O'Brien. Deshaun Watson and play caller (for the moment) Tim Kelly will have control of the offense.
This will be interim coach Romeo Crennel's first game at the Texans helm. The Texans will face another dangerous run assault led by September's offensive rookie of the month James Robinson. Although Robinson does not possess the power of Dalvin Cook, he is a young, hungry threat that must be shadowed.
I will be looking for a lockdown week from the Texans secondary. The Jags only have one receiver, D.J. Chark, who poses a downfield threat. Chark has caught three touchdown passes from quarterback Gardner Minshew. Look for cornerback Bradley Roby to match-up well with Chark.
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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.