Game Grades: Houston Texans 29 – Oakland Raiders 6
QUARTERBACK: D
The final stats were not horrific, but they still remain putrid. JaMarcus Russell again led a feeble pass attack that averaged 3.9 per completion, and he only converted on 12 of his 33 pass attempts. The first play of the game was a receiver screen to Louis Murphy, as Oakland attempted to get him in sync early. A few plays later, on a 3rd and 11, he scrambled and completed an 8-yard toss to Todd Watkins. That was a sign of things to come, as Russell had to face many 3rd and long situation due to an ineffective run game and poor play calling by Tom Cable. That does not excuse Russell’s poor performance nor does it make him exempt from critique. He had to make quick decisions this afternoon as evidenced on Oakland’s second possession when Amobi Okoye tallied a sack on a 2nd and 8 – again setting up an unworkable 3rd and long. It wasn’t until their third possession that Russell looked more at ease. He opened the drive with a 12-yard toss to Zach Miller, but his teammates killed the drive with a false start and his 1st round receiver dropped a make able reception. Russell’s cannon arm was on display on a 3rd and 13 completion for 16-yards that was negated by the officials and a 4th and 9 he hit Murphy for 19-yards. Yes his accuracy was off again, his leadership and fire was lacking and ultimately, the offense did nothing. But he tried to manage the game a lot better and with a defense primed to stop the run, he needed the accessories around him to play a lot better as well.
RUNNING BACKS: F
This unit was soft and lackluster all afternoon. Darren McFadden ended with 6 carries for -3 yards. He went down easily on sweeps, showed no fight on any of his runs and appeared like a deer caught in front of headlights against a struggling defense. Granted the offensive line did not get any push, but none of the Raiders young rushers came to play. Michael Bush had 3 carries for 10-yards andt fumbled after a screenplay that gave the Texans the ball at the Oakland 41-yard line in the 3rd quarter. Justin Fargas got the bulk of the carries as the half wound down and the second half began. The other two ball carriers may have more talent than Fargas, and he doesn’t have game-breaking ability, but the veteran runs with more ferociousness and has the type of attitude to get some life into this lifeless offense. Oren O’Neal looks slow, is not playing powerful football, and at this point, Luke Lawton looks to be the better option at fullback due to his versatility.
WIDE RECEIVERS & TIGHT ENDS: F
Russell kept the receivers busy, but they did not adjust on their routes and were lacking concentration with their continuous drops and drive killing attempts. Louis Murphy had the case of the dropsies and was robbed of a 16-yard reception in which it appeared that he dragged his second foot on a 3rd and 13, but the challenge was not in favor of Oakland. Darrius Heyward-Bey had his most active game as a Raider. He had one catch for 18-yards, and had a few others his way that he should’ve had, and others that were errant and could not be hauled in. His best play was an end-around in which he gained 20-yards. He touched the ball twice on that drive and Oakland capped that 13-play possession with a field goal. Todd Watkins an uneventful 2 receptions for 20 yards to the group. Zach Miller had a tough time getting open against a very good linebacker group and finished with 3 catches for 33 yards.
OFFENSE LINE: F
For a third straight game, this unit has not been able to win the battle of the trenches. They look slow at the point of attack, are playing soft and are hindering the only asset Oakland has in staying in games – the ground attack. Erik Pears struggled in his second start; getting flagged for a false start, infracted for a hold that was declined because Oakland did not convert on that 3rd down, getting manhandled when run blocking and allowing a sack in the second half. Chris Morris also had a false start; one of the back-to-back flags against a member of the line in the 1st quarter and Cornell Green had his weekly blunder, a false start on a 3rd and 7. At the start o the second half, they came out flat, as McFadden loss 3-yards on a sweep and on the next play, the Texans shot through the line to tackle Murphy on a reverse for a loss of 7. When the Raiders needed this line to assert themselves the most, the let the Texans plow across the line of scrimmage to tackle Fargas in the end zone for a safety that extended the deficit to 22-6. Oakland ran for only 45 yards against a team that came into the game the worst in the NFL against the run.
DEFENSE LINE: C-
They had their moments and fought to keep the Texans grounded. But an offense that can’t stay on the field and very good blocking and schemes by Houston were too much for the Raider front-four. Greg Ellis had a sack and provided pressure in spurts, Jay Richardson came on in the second half for a few reps and tallied his first sack of the season and Gerard Warren had a disruptive game in the interior versus the run and also pulling down Matt Schaub for a sack. But when Houston imposed their will, got on their assignments and put blockers on the defensive line, they moved the ball easily. Houston ran for 120-yards and at times gave a clinic on blocking. Tommy Kelly had his most active game of the season. Matt Shaughnessy recovered Steve Slaton’s 1st quarter fumble after Kelly got the push in the interior to force the miscue.
LINEBACKERS: C-
These groups got caught in traps, were blocked very well by the Texans on their big plays and were neutralized by Schaub’s play-action fakes on various occasions. On 3rd and goal in the 1st quarter, Ricky Brown broke on Schaub’s pass after reading his eyes and almost came up with an interception in the end zone. He cut underneath his assignment on another passing play forcing an incompletion in the 2nd half. On Slaton’s 32-yard score, Thomas Howard was blocked and Kirk Morrison was out of position. When Schaub hit his tight end for 44-yards, Morrison bit on the play action, and was not able to get enough depth in his zone after the cornerback released Owen Daniels into his zone. Brown had a dumb penalty at the end of a play, spearing a receiver when he was down, setting up the Texans at the Oakland 25 yard line after the 15-yard infraction.
SECONDARY: D
Chris Johnson had an up-and-down game. He was matched-up against Andre Johnson a lot of the day and he had his shinning moments, batting away a deep ball on the opening drive, jumping routes to prevent the completion and tackling well around the line of scrimmage. But there were breakdowns too as Kevin Walter beat him at the line of scrimmage after missing the jam and could not recover for a 41-yard gain, and Johnson beat him on a 62-yard toss. Michael Huff struggled versus screens and runs getting off blocks or getting good angles on the play, but almost came up with another pick. Johnson had an interception as time expired at the end of the first half, but he was flagged for excessive celebration, with the Raiders down 20-6.
SPECIAL TEAMS: F
Even the return of Justin Miller could not jolt the return teams. He had 6 returns for 106 yards, but none really scared the Texans. On the other hand, Jacoby Jones broke the game open with his 95-yard return for a score. That play gave the Texans a 29-6 lead; a play after the Houston defense recorded their safety. Johnnie Lee Higgins booted a punt late that was recovered by Houston.
COACHING: F
Tom Cable’s play calling is hindered by Russell’s issues and the young wide-outs inexperience. But there isn’t enough in the playbook that will scare any opponent, and with the offensive line sleepwalking through games, it looks like this offense will struggle once again this season. This team has no come back ability due to their lack of pop. And if they can’t run, they won’t win any games. Cable has to find a way to get the trenches fixed on both sides of the ball if they want to avoid another double-digit loss season. When the Texans had their offense rolling, they got to all of their assignments and executed efficiently. The run defense was better this week, but not good enough to compete at a high level. Oakland can pressure with four down linemen; a key aspect to laying defense. And they got to Schaub today after only being sacked 2-times prior to this game. But they could not force him into enough mistakes to make this game interesting. Oakland had 8 penalties at the half. The schedule gets tough now for the Raiders, so it will be interesting to see if Cable can get them to play respectable football against quality opponents.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
On Sunday, the Houston Texans (1-2) will try to avenge their 27-16 loss to the Oakland Raiders (1-2) from last season. In 2008, the Texans went into Oakland trying to extend to a franchise best five game-winning streak. But receivers Johnnie Lee Higgins and Chaz Schilens shined during the Raiders revival as the season wound down.
