Yesterday night the Texans played the Carolina Panthers and ended in a defeat. While the score never really matters in preseason, the development of players is always the thing coaches want.
Yesterday Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson got most of the reps for QB yesterday besides in the late 4th quarter where Weeden came in for a drive. Tom Savage started off cold, but looked sharp as soon as the second drive. He showed that he was comfortable in the pocket, and can make the throws he needs too. Savage is the clear cut starter for week 1 seeing how the game went yesterday, and looked as if his throwing motion was better. Watson came into the game yesterday after Tom’s first few drives, and didn’t come out until late in the 4th quarter. Watson look great. The kid is going to be a star for this team. He showed many great throws, has a rushing touchdown which showed his ability to move, and his poise in the pocket. Watsons clear weakness was scrambling, as he could easily buy time, and most of the time he completed the pass, but against a real NFL starting defense, those plays won’t happen very often. Watson needs to become a good pocket passer, and ability to move outside (which he can) but needs to know when to throw the ball, or when to rush it forward. Many times Watson was running 15 yards behind the scrimmage and threw the ball after. While sometimes it does complete the pass, adding unnecessary yards to throws is not something you want to do. Watson still needs some work, but he is going to shine bright here in Houston soon.
Foreman led the running back group with carries and yards with 9 carries for 76 yards. His longest rush that day was for 41 yards which came later in the game when the Texans were pushed against their own goal. Foreman has the ability to cut, and has explosive speed which, for his size, is a great trait. Alfred Blue was next down the list with 5 carries for 33 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Alfred Blue should stay on the team, and have a 3 RB carousel with Miller, Foreman and Blue. All 3 are talented and have their work cut out for them. Expect the rushing game for the Texans this year to be unstoppable.
The defense was the main issue on Wednesday night as Nelson had many blown coverages and ended up getting scored on, and letting multiple 35+ yard plays happen against him. Nelson may be off the team after that pitiful showing last night. As for everyone else, the defense made some plays. We didn’t get to see too much of JJ Watt, but we did see Kevin Johnson get back into the groove, and Clowney rushing the backfield.
Special Teams has always had their issues, but yesterday was plain bad. Many missed tackles and coverages. This is an area that we still need to fix. As far as kicking, There was only 1 missed FG yesterday, and it was off a free agent brought into camp.
The Texans have a bright future, and are already dominant as of now. Watson is a star in the making but it may take a little bit of time. All I know is, it’s Texans football season and I couldn’t be more excited.
