10 burning questions for Patriots-Texans in Week 5
The New England Patriots and the Houston Texans may face off in one of the NFL’s ugliest matchups of the season. While Mac Jones and company proved they could have with the NFL’s best, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Patriots also have enormous questions on the offensive line, with four of their five starters’ status in question. The offensive line had issues with their starters. Without them, the Texans might actually be competitive.
So let’s dive into the intricacies of this matchup, We will go back and forth with our Texans Wire editor Mark Lane. He’ll answer the top questions about the Texans and I’ll answer the top questions about the Patriots.
How nice is it for New England to prepare for a game and not a storyline with the game as a backdrop?
Henry McKenna, Patriots Wire: It’s all fun, honestly. Last week’s game (between the Patriots and Tom Brady’s Buccaneers) was a lot of fun to cover and experience. This week’s game probably will not be all that fun, with the Patriots looking like a below-average team and the Texans looking woefully below average. So sometimes, those leading storylines can make for an even better football game. And you might as well lean in.
How has Nick Caserio been received in Houston? He stepped into an enormously complicated situation with Deshaun Watson, from the lawsuits to the trade demands.
Mark Lane, Texans Wire: He’s done well. He’s been the anti-Bill O’Brien in that he is holding out for the best deal they can get for a franchise quarterback as opposed to just shuffling him off for a second-round pick and a former All-Pro. Fans are giving him a break for now since he walked into a disaster. Forget Watson. Houston had a terrible salary cap situation and they didn’t pick until the third round of this year’s draft. He’s taking kind of the Chris Grier and Brian Flores approach and selling what he can to build draft capital for the true rebuild. Caserio has a masterful way of saying a lot yet not revealing anything of substance, which is great for handling the mess that is the Texans right now. Bill O’Brien would usually not say a lot, or get testy about it. Caserio is still on kind of a honeymoon.
How come Mac Jones hasn't lit the world on fire the way Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert did? One would figure he would given his coaching staff is A+++.
McKenna: Jones was not quite THAT level of prospect. He went at 15th overall because he’s not uniquely talented. He doesn’t have a big arm or a speedy 40-yard dash time. Jones is a prototypical pocket passer in an era of the NFL when people are wondering if that style of quarterback might turn into a dinosaur. Because Jones isn’t a freak athlete, the Patriots have to take it slowly with him, acclimating Jones to their offense and to the NFL speed. They’re not relying heavily upon Jones to win them games. They’ll let him check down and play point guard in a dink-and-dunk offense. When and if he develops into a downfield passer, they will build that into the playbook. For now, he’s limited — and unlikely to have much success as a deep-ball passer.
So which Texans are actually.... good?
Lane: Laremy Tunsil is still good. Brandin Cooks had two 100-yard games to start the season. Believe it or not, but injury probably relegates him to being an also-ran, but Tyrod Taylor was actually good until the hamstring injury. Houston averaged 34 points a game with him in the lineup, and he was chucking the ball downfield to Cooks and receiver Chris Conley. Kamu Grugier-Hill was having a good start to the season. Justin Reid is good. He two interceptions and a forced fumble through the first two games. Really that Cleveland game in Week 2 hit them with a bunch of injuries, and they played the Thursday nighter in Week 3, and here we are.
What happened that things went south between the Patriots and Stephon Gilmore?
McKenna: Gilmore has been angling for a new contract for two years. In 2020, he managed to get a raise. But it wasn’t TRULY a raise, because the Patriots took the money from 2021. So it was more like a cash advance, because the Patriots didn’t redo the deal this year. Gilmore suffered a quad injury at the end of 2020, and underwent surgery. He used that as a means to stay off the field in 2021. Even when he was reportedly healthy enough to play, he stayed on the PUP list. Rather than a holdout, the Patriots had a “hold-in” with Gilmore. So with Gilmore refusing to play and the Patriots refusing to rework his deal after an injury, they decided to go their separate ways.
What's the good and the bad that you've seen from rookie QB Davis Mills?
Lane: Good: he doesn’t get rattled after having a negative play. Bad: he almost has to have a negative play in order to get started each game. As horrendous as Week 4 was, it was kind of an outlier because it was a rainy game and so forth. Houston had a two-minute drive at the end of the first half where they turned Mills loose and he was able to deliver the ball downfield to Cooks and cap it off with a 1-yard touchdown pass. He has not done enough to outplay Taylor, but hopefully he can cogitate on his experiences on the field to have an even better offseason in 2022.
What would have to happen for the Krafts to consider Bill O'Brien as Bill Belichick's successor? (Seth Wickersham said it was a consideration in his book)
McKenna: The apocalypse.
Have you been impressed with David Culley?
Lane: He’s always positive, upbeat, and he doesn’t really engage in coachspeak. He will if the subject of Deshaun Watson will come up, or maybe an injury. But he held himself accountable for the 40-0 loss and said he got out-coached. When they lost to the Panthers, he said they needed to stop being over protective of Davis Mills. They gave him a shot, and who knows if it was well-deserved or not. But Culley is in Houston and the fans actually like him. He is a 180 to Bill O’Brien, and the Texans could be a fun team for the city if they could just string together a few wins or stick it to the Colts or Titans this year.
Who are some unheralded Patriots Houston fans should pay attention to?
McKenna: On defense, cornerback Jalen Mills has been a really strong second option for the Patriots behind J.C. Jackson. Mills joined the Patriots after time with the Eagles, who had more success with him at safety. So it’s surely a pleasant surprise for Belichick to have converted Mills into a usable CB2, especially in the fallout of Gilmore’s situation. Offensively, Jakobi Meyers has been an interesting contributor. His stats aren’t flashy, but he’s been really solid in the solid, with sure hands. He also has three pass attempts this season — he was briefly a college QB. Yes, he’s basically the second coming of Julian Edelman.
Who wins? Why?
McKenna: New England’s defense is really good, and I could see the unit blanking Houston. As much as Belichick’s disciples have a tendency to pull off the upset, I don’t see it happening here. Jones will be careful with the football, even behind an offensive line that might be without four of its five starters. The Patriots win the turnover battle. New England wins in a game of ugly, cringey football. Patriots win, 10-3.
Lane: The Patriots have the greatest coach in the game on their sideline in Bill Belichick, while Houston has a rookie coach in Culley. The Texans are also starting a rookie quarterback, which Belichick has a way of properly introducing to the NFL. New England has a talent and experience surplus that leads them to a convincing win. Patriots 27, Texans 12
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