The playoff debut of the Houston Texans – the first playoff game in football-starved Houston in more than a decade – was a runaway success. And as per the norm, it was a total team effort, with playmakers on offense and defense combining to swamp the Cincinnati Bengals in the game’s second half. Now, though, comes another first: their first road playoff game against the ferocious Baltimore Ravens.
TJ Yates earned his first playoff win in only his sixth career NFL start. Can he keep his team’s improbable run going against the rookie-eating Baltimore Ravens? We turned back to friend of TGS, Patrick D Starr of State Of The Texans, for the answers.
TGS: Firstly, congratulations on winning your franchise’s first playoff game. Has anyone come down from that high yet?
PDS: Luckily I was at the game and a part of history for this young franchise. 10 years is a long time, especially when the direction of the team’s personnel had to be rebuilt. It was unreal and we covered it in one of our posts, but it was an atmosphere that was electric. I know my eardrums did not recover until three days later, but well worth it. I know the players moved on pretty quick, but were very grateful for being a part of the first ever franchise playoff win, and in front of the home crowd.
For the fan base, it is hard to even put your finger on what the Texans’ players have pulled off in 2011. Think about it: they have used 4 different quarterbacks, lost some important pieces of the offense and defense. There was a stat that said Matt Schuab, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson played a total of 5 quarters together ALL season. That is amazing to think your three biggest weapons on offense played together for that short of a time, but still was able to win the division and a playoff game. This is a team game and the Texans are proving that.
TGS: The Texans and Bengals, two young teams, both made mistakes last week, but the Texans settled down faster and played better once they had the lead. Is that the blueprint that this team has to follow?
PDS: It has been the blueprint for the Texans all season, and it is something the Texans have failed to do the past few seasons. It has always been playing catchup, make a furious comeback then come up short.
This season the Texans have put teams in a hole early with an early score or turnover and had much success which led to a nice 10-6 record. One thing that should not be overlooked is the Texans blueprint to control the clock and shorten the game for the opponent.
Yes, this should be the blueprint for the remainder of the playoffs, but like anything you might have to adjust on the run. It is going to be interesting to see what route the Texans take this Sunday against the Ravens, because they were successful attacking the Ravens from the slot, but T.J. Yates does not have the seasoning that starter Matt Schaub has.
TGS: Yates in particular played better once the team got a lead in hand, though he did lead two scoring drives in response to the Bengals. Can he lead a comeback win, if necessary?
PDS: He proved before that he can throw it more than needed, Yates only drove the Texans the length of the field against the Bengals in the regular season to win the AFC South crown. He was 26/44 for 300 yards for 2 touchdowns and 1 early interception.
Now the Bengals secondary is not as ball hawking as the Ravens, but Yates has proved he can sling it when necessary. Like we were talking about before, the blueprint for the Texans is for the quarterbacks to throw it 20-25 times a game. If the attempts get higher than that the Texans are struggling offensively.
Yates in his first playoff games was nervous like all of the other Texans on the field. Arian Foster and Andre Johnson didn’t really get settled in until late in the 1st quarter. He made some questionable decisions and almost let Bengals safety have an interception when Yates threw it right to Crocker, luckily he dropped it. When needed Yates did deliver, when he hit Andre Johnson on a 40 yard out and up to give the Texans a two possession game, and allowed the Texans defense to pin their ears back and get after Andy Dalton.
The good thing about the Texans offense is that the quarterback is just a piece of the puzzle and has to make opportune throws when needed. Gary Kubiak doesn’t ask to make thread-the-needle throws and Yates had been good at making the offense go. He will have to make plays, but to think Yates has to do it all by himself is crazy. Yates has evolved as a quarterback since taking over, and in the playoff game Yates called some audibles at the line for the first time all season.
TGS: The Texans’ defensive rookies JJ Watt and Brooks Reed had an immediate impact on last week’s game. Can they repeat their success against Baltimore? Who else needs to step up on the defensive side of the ball?
PDS: If you looks at the stat sheet both players had their normal games, but had some huge impact plays. Brooks Reed has not been flashy, but has been solid in the pass rush and run defense and is not scared to stick his nose into ball carriers. Reed plays some solid outside linebacker for a rookie which is a testament to Reed and linebacker coach Reggie Herring.
Let me tell you a funny story about Reed, In training camp Reed looked lost and slow and was constantly being corrected, not quietly, by Herring. There were reports after camp practices that he was a bust and he was over matched converting from a 4-3 defensive end in college to a stand up 3-4 outside linebacker. Reed has a very ugly camp, but he just kept getting better and had a break out game against the Saints during preseason. To see him from his first days at camp to see where he is now especially replacing Mario Williams is simply mind-boggling. Reed’s first NFL start was against the Ravens in week 6, and going back and watching that game, Reed is 10 times better than he was then.
As for J.J. Watt, his pick 6 to open the game up for the Texans, was one of the most amazing plays I have ever witnessed. Watt at 6’5″ and 288 lbs. made it look easy, he snatched an NFL pass out of mid air, and it happened so fast I couldn’t wait to get home and see it in slow motion. Watt has turned the corner, and has turned into a real issue for offenses. He has gotten to the point where he is dominating games, and making the game changing play. There was a point in the season where he hit that rookie wall, but he has stepped up his play and become what looks like a life long Texans player.
From the week 6 game, this game rests on the secondary of Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, Jason Allen, Brice McCain, Glover Quin and Danieal Manning to step up their game. They probably had their worst performance as a unit against the Ravens in the regular season. Two big pass plays set up scores for the Ravens which proved the difference.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said this: “Our fundamentals on defense are better than the first time we played the Ravens. We’ve added roughly 30% to our defensive playbook since then.” This is a big statement from Phillips, because even with a depleted team the Texans were down 19-15 with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter against the Ravens in week 6. This will not be the same Texans defense much less team from their week 6 contest.
TGS: In a sense, playing the Ravens is like playing a super-charged version of the Bengals. How do you game plan against them?
PDS: The biggest task is to stop Ray Rice, one of the best running backs in the league, and like last week make the quarterback beat you. The Texans have a better chance for winning if Joe Flacco throws the ball 30 plus times, but that is if the Texans can stop Rice from running wild. Rice has the threat to run or catch out of the backfield, and the Ravens are successful when they get him the football.
Also, the Texans have to cut out the big play defensively, they gave up two huge pass plays that doomed them in the regular season. On offense the Texans have to get Andre Johnson involved early and make the Ravens adjust to him. Last week the Bengals single covered Johnson many times and paid for it in the long run, still don’t think one on one coverage bodes well for the Ravens.
Arian Foster has to have a better game, the regular season contest Foster had his lowest out put for the season and dropped some key passes. He had 15 carries for 49 yards, and had issues staying on his feet. The Ravens defense was a big issue for his problems that day, and Foster is going to have to have an exceptional game for the Texans to advance.
There are two Ravens who worry me the most: Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs. Not that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed don’t, but with Ngata and Suggs so close to the point of attack, those two can change a game quickly. Both are great players and we are looking forward to seeing how the Texans will try and slow them down. There are some factors that will be considerably different from the regular season and playoff game. Let’s hope they favor the Texans.
TGS: What is your prediction for this game?
PDS: I have mulled this game since we figured the Texans were headed to Baltimore. I know the Ravens are a top notch team, but the Texans have been overcoming adversity and flying under the radar.
There are some many different factors from the regular season and the Ravens caught the Texans at a transition period. The Texans lost Mario Williams (for the season) and James Casey the week before to pectoral injuries, and it led to Lawrence Vickers and Brooks Reed getting their first start for the Texans, and both had below average games. Throw in no Andre Johnson for the second week in a row, the offense was still looking for answers. The offense was huge issue then, and has gotten better in recent weeks.
With that said the Texans, based on the fact that they are a team of destiny, actually match up with the Ravens better than people think. This game won’t fall onto Yates’ shoulders because the offense is not set up that way and the defense has improved since week 6. It will take a team effort but the final score will be: Texans 23, Ravens 17
Thanks again to Patrick for shedding light on the Texans. Be sure to check out his writing and the Luv Ya Steel Blue podcast at StateOfTheTexans.com. You can also find him on Twitter at @PHABMK6.
