Short Cuts: Texans takeoff

After watching every play from every game this past weekend, and talking to some people who have broken down the games on film this week, here are some random thoughts from last week.

• The Texans are officially pretty good against the run. They have a good front seven, and S Barnard Pollard gives them a presence as an eighth defender in the box.

• Houston’s offense is very multi-dimensional. TE Owen Daniels(notes) has become more significant formationally because they move him around a lot. He’s almost become their lead guy, and he might just be the best overall TE in football right now.

• Perhaps one of Houston WR Kevin Walter’s(notes) problems is that he’s best fit as No. 3. He may be moving into that role, as Jacoby Jones(notes) has been a little more active this year. Still, if true, Walker would be one of the best No. 3 receivers around. He’s still a terrific player.

• Unlike many teams in the league this year, the Texans have an identity. They are the same each week, and that’s good coaching. As long as their protection is good, they will put big numbers in the passing game each week.

• Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick(notes) may not even be a good No. 2 in the NFL due to his erratic throwing and lack of accuracy, but WR Terrell Owens(notes) is part of the problem. He’s been a player who’s had several key drops over the years, but they weren’t focused on because he also made a lot of plays. Now that he’s not making a lot of plays, we are left to dwell on the drops.

• The Bears OL is terrible. LT Orlando Pace(notes) is stealing money this year. It’s significantly worse than the Packers line, which is saying a lot, given Green Bay’s issues this year. But the Packers line is actually getting better.

• The Bears have little on offense other than a QB. They have a poor OL, they don’t have a RB who runs with any authority, and they have a bunch of No. 2 and No. 3 WRs. The game last week got out of hand too quickly, and that’s a recipe for disaster for QB Jay Cutler(notes). I do like WR Johnnie Knox a lot, but they are not using him enough.

• Bengals QB Carson Palmer(notes) was as comfortable as he’s been since the 2005 season against the Bears. The Bears showed a lot of cover-2, and Palmer and WR Chad Ochocinco(notes) destroyed them by throwing underneath the coverage.

• Cowboys QB Tony Romo(notes) played very well last week, very accurate and sharp. He was the difference in the game, for sure. But he’s has these games often, and then he’s reverted to previous poor form.

• Cowboys WR Miles Austin(notes) is a complete receiver, and he has a chance to be really good for the long-term. He comes out of his breaks quickly, he has speed, and his hands are okay. Romo is focusing on Austin big time.

• Cowboys TE Jason Witten’s(notes) role has changed a little because their OL stinks, and he has to pass protect a little more. This is a problem for him for fantasy, obviously.

• Cowboys RB Felix Jones(notes) looked terrific; he looked like the healthy Jones we’ve seen in the past, which is good to know because he was coming off a knee injury. He also showed some physicality running inside in this game. They might have kept him out an extra week to be safe because he did not look like he was just coming back from a knee problem.

• The Cowboys defense is getting better. They looked faster and more active this past weekend. They don’t have great personnel overall, but they are getting better.

• Clearly, Vikings QB Brett Favre(notes) loves throwing to WR Sidney Rice(notes), so he will put up numbers each week. Rice took over the game in the second half last week, and he showed incredible toughness and receiving instincts. Rice isn’t as physical, but he’s comparable to Anquan Boldin(notes). Rice will be very good for the next 5-7 years, as long as he has a good QB throwing him the ball.

• The Vikings protection has definitely been better, but Brett Favre is good at getting the ball out. He can make an OL look better than it is. Favre keeps throwing the ball really well; he’s not throwing the ball at people’s feet or making the boneheaded throws.

• Packers QB Aaron Rodgers(notes) can do a better job helping his OL, and he’s starting to understand that. He’s been holding on to the ball this year, but he’s getting better, so the sacks might not be as frequent. They had a lot to do with Rodgers.

• Packers RB Ryan Grant(notes) got the high number of carries as expected, but he finally got the blocking he needs for those cutback runs he specializes in. That’s a good sign, but it also comes and goes, so don’t think he’s going to get on a major roll.

• 49ers QB Alex Smith has limitations still; he can’t drive the ball down the field, for example. He’s most comfortable playing in the spread shotgun, yet the 49ers aren’t comfortable with that. But for Smith to have a chance, they should run that. The 49ers have a good receiving corps for the spread.

• 49er WR Michael Crabtree(notes) did not look like a first-start guy last week. He has a big body, and he also plays big. He’s smooth with deceptive speed. He already looks like a professional receiver, and he’s clearly their best receiver.

• The 49ers do some good things formationally to get TE Vernon Davis(notes) on LBs. He’s mostly scoring on the same vertical route because he’s a good vertical route-runner but not a good lateral route-runner. You can set him up on safeties and LBs, and they clearly know how to use him and are using him well.

• Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams did shut the Wildcat down last week, and he did so by blitzing his corners on every Wildcat play. The Dolphins had success running it last week, but not out of the Wildcat.

• Dolphins QB Chad Henne(notes) throws it only where a receiver can get it and on the correct shoulder, but he wasn’t as sharp this past week. But he has a chance to be very solid.

• The Dolphins are very limited in conventional sets. Their passing game is an inexperienced QB behind an average pass-blocking line with average receivers. They have to utilize trickeration.

• Jets RB Shonn Greene(notes) has powerful legs and good short area burst. He’s very good at breaking tackles due to his balance and body control. He’s a sustaining runner with a knack for shedding tackles.

• Jets QB Mark Sanchez(notes) is still very uncomfortable. The Jets were able to hide him last week, and they will continue to try to hide him.

• Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell(notes) is so slow in everything he does, which is his biggest problem. Mentally and physically, and it looks like he doesn’t care.

• Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson(notes) was just fair last week. His long run showed how he doesn’t have the juice anymore. He was in the open field and there was just no juice. He seems to lose his balance all the time this year. He seems to anticipate contact and he tries to cut, and then he loses his balance. He looks close to done. He can’t transform into more of a grinder because that’s not his game and his OL is not that good.

• Chargers QB Philip Rivers(notes) is the same guy every single week now, and he was basically the complete opposite two years ago, when he was erratic and was playing too fast.

• The Rams OL isn’t that bad, actually. They have, for the most part, opened up some nice lanes for RB Steven Jackson. And he’s running really hard.

• The Giants are struggling with offensive flow lately; they are trying too hard to work in RB Ahmad Bradshaw(notes), and it’s taking away from their rhythm with RB Brandon Jacobs(notes). Jacobs has to be their featured back, not Bradshaw, because this is a power running game that needs a sustaining runner leading the charge. Bradshaw’s great, and he’s flashy, but he’s not an ideal lead back for the Giants.

• Giants QB Eli Manning(notes), for the first time this year, was not comfortable. He was skittish from the start, and he once again started falling away from throws. That’s even more reason to go more to Jacobs.

• Offensively, the Eagles are horrendous. QB Donovan McNabb’s(notes) accuracy was terrible last week. He misses sustaining throws. They opened the game in the Wildcat, which was a joke. They are wasting snaps with Michael Vick(notes), who doesn’t have the same burst. Their OL is also a liability right now and is not good as a unit. If you take away 5-6 big plays from McNabb this year, you literally have nothing else.

• Eagles RB LeSean McCoy(notes) looks hesitant and indecisive. He’s not as quick now as he was in college. There’s no rhythm to their offense, especially their running game, which may not be McCoy’s fault. RBs need carries to get into the flow, and he’s not getting enough carries.

• The Wildcat stuff in Philly is embarrassing right now. It’s a waste of a play when they run it.

• The Cardinals defense really looked good last week; Darnell Dockett(notes) and Karlos Dansby(notes) looked great.

• Cardinals RB Beanie Wells(notes) looked like a legit NFL lead back last week, a big-time one. He got more snaps than usual and he ran downhill with power and showed a good changed direction. He has no problem with the physicality of the NFL, and he makes people miss. In college we saw flashes of special ability, but then it went away at times, so it will be very interesting to see if he can maintain a high level of play if he is the guy. But Wells is more talented than Knowshon Moreno(notes).

• The most overlooked element with the Saints is how they run the ball. They run it just as well as they throw it, and they can run keep the lead, or run to get back on track. RB Mike Bell(notes) runs very hard and he takes on contact as often as a guy like (believe it or not) Adrian Peterson.

• Saints WR Marques Colston(notes) runs routes on LBs and safeties a lot; he can’t consistently beat corners on the outside, but they get him matched up against people he can beat. He has great hands and great balance and body control, but he cannot run routes like a typical wideout such as Reggie Wayne(notes).

• Falcons QB Matt Ryan’s(notes) not playing particularly well; he’s been erratic, and he’s forcing the ball to TE Tony Gonzalez(notes). Ryan may be a glorified system player. He may not have the elite physical talent to make players better around him. That has to come down to arm strength. But he’s forcing too many balls this year. They’re not on schedule nearly as much this year, and he’s not a guy who can handle a lot of 3rd-and-long situations.

• The Falcons OL isn’t that athletic. Teams have figured out you can beat them with movement because they are plodders. That’s one reason they are not running the ball well.

• Saints RB Michael Turner(notes) is not a dynamic back, so when the line is not providing space, he looks bad. He had a lot of windows to run through last year, but we’re not seeing them this year. They schemed and designed well to create space, and teams have adjusted to that and bogging them down. And Turner can’t create something out of nothing.

Near Misses
I don’t claim that these are every near miss from this past weekend, but this is what I saw.

• Dolphins QB Chad Henne under-threw WR Ted Ginn on a deep post, It had a chance since Ginn ran by CB Porter.

• Giants WR Mario Manningham(notes) dropped a TD on a perfectly thrown ball by Eli Manning.

• Steelers WR Santonio Holmes(notes) had a TD nullified by penalty.

• Vikings WR Sidney Rice had a TD nullified by penalty. He also just missed scoring on a catch he was brought down at the 1. He also bobbled a pass in the end zone, so he could have had 3 TDs.

• Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson had a TD nullified by penalty.

• Saints WR Marques Colston had a 21-yard TD reversed. He was ruled down before breaking the plane of the goal line. He also failed to catch another pass in the end zone, so he could have had 3 TDs.

• Colts WR Pierre Garcon(notes) almost caught a 40-yard pass while streaking into the end zone.

• The Cowboys defense had a TD overruled.

• Browns WR Mohamed Massaquoi(notes) had a fade pass thrown to him in the end zone, broken up. Two plays later he had another pass thrown to him in the end zone, but it was too high.

• Redskins WR Santana Moss(notes) had a pass thrown to him in the end zone, but it went off his hands with a defender on him.

• Chargers WR Chris Chambers(notes) dropped a sure TD.

• Chargers WR Vincent Jackson(notes) just missed a second TD in the first half.

• Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe(notes) dropped a pass he might have been able to walk into the end zone had he hauled it in.

• Raiders WR Darrius Heyward-Bey(notes) dropped a pass in the end zone on a fade route.

• Texans WR Jacoby Jones had a kick return for a TD called back.

• Bears TE Desmond Clark(notes) had a pass thrown to him in the end zone, too high.

• Rams WR Keenan Burton(notes) had a pass thrown to him in the end zone, picked off.

• Raiders WR Louis Murphy(notes) had a pass thrown to him in the end zone, too high.

• Packers WR Donald Driver(notes) dropped a second TD pass. Was ruled it hit the ground, very close call.