Texans Have a Problem – What to do With Williams and Foster?

January 25th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in 2012 Free Agency, News

The Texans have a big task ahead of them before the start of free agency, and that will be to try and get OLB Mario Williams inked to a long-term deal.

The team will also do what they can to get running back Arian Foster inked, but he will be a restricted free agent, so there’s some time to spare in a deal with him.

The Texans can’t afford to carry Williams at $22.9 million for one year. They can’t trade him because you can’t trade a player who’s not under contract.

One likely move would be to franchise him. That way they could still work with him on a long-term deal. But, Williams will be in the cat bird seat, since he knows the team cannot afford to keep him at $22.9 mil.

It seems like an easy solution, Williams wants to stay, and it sounds like the Texans want him to stay. But, make no mistake, if he hits the open market, teams are going to throw a lot of money at him.

The Texans have to think this through, it may come down to Williams or Foster, and the team really doesn’t want to lose either one, but in the end may have to.

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Video: Is Wade Phillips the Best Assistant Coach in the NFL?

January 21st, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in Opinions, Video

Five times, Wade Phillips has joined a non-playoff team as their defensive coordinator. And for the fifth time this season, he turned them into a playoff team, this year with the Texans.

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Center Chris Myers and DE Antonio Smith Added to AFC Pro Bowl Roster

January 19th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in News

Center Chris Myers and defensive end Antonio Smith have been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster.

Myers replaces Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, who will miss the game with an ankle injury. Smith replaces Patriots defensive end Mark Anderson, who was placed on injured reserve with a thigh injury.

A sixth-round pick out of Miami by the Denver Broncos in 2005, Myers became a full-time starter in 2007 and was traded to the Texans in 2008. Myers has started 80 consecutive games and will be going to his first Pro Bowl. Myers is also the first offensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl in Texans’ history.

Smith was a 2004 fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma State by the Arizona Cardinals. Signed as a free agent in 2009, Smith had a career-high 6.5 quarterback sacks in 2011 and will also be going to his first Pro Bowl.

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Super Bowl Parties – Creating Memories for a Lifetime

January 19th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in Contests, News

Family parties around the NFL have always been a staple in my family. My first memory from a family party was Super Bowl XVII on January 30th 1983.

While that was fun, finally in 2006 it was my turn to host my first Super Bowl party, a bash complete with food, games, and the two best teams that season in the league.

The menu was pretty basic, yet effective. Pizza, wings, pasta, red potatoes, a veggie and cheese tray, and even fruit salad. The party kicked off with some squares, a football tradition, and even some football bingo with some small prizes for those lucky enough to take home a game. Finally at 6:25pm, it was kickoff of Super Bowl XL.

While I have gone back and watched the game probably about 3-5 times, the real memories of that party is not the game, but the fact that it was all about the people that attended.

We had a number of people rooting for both teams, so the game vibe was pretty solid, which was a cool element to the party. Add to the fact the game was close, there was a lot of rooting during the contest.

There was a healthy mix of people that included relatives and friends. The conversation during the game centered not just on football, but on the holidays that had passed just a few weeks before, new jobs, new relationships, and even about other sports like baseball and basketball.

That’s the best part about football parties. It’s the games, the food, and most important, the people that make the game great, like the family and friends you spend it with.

Texans fans have had to sit back and watch a ton of other teams celebrate Super Bowl parties for all the other teams in the league. While folks in Houston can throw some massive parties, I can only imagine the parties if the team can finally make it to the dance in the next few seasons!

February 6th is another chance to create memories at yet another Super Bowl party, and now there’s a perfect way to figure out just who to invite!

Visa has come out with the Visa’s YOU+TEN Draft app, and it’s a perfect way to have some fun figuring out who to invite over for the big game on the first Sunday in February, or if your actually lucky enough to win the sweepstakes – WHO to take to the game!

Super Bowl XLVI – another chance to create that connection with family and friends once again. Don’t miss out on it.

Disclosure: We received compensation from Visa for sharing our views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely ours, not Visa or the NFL’s. For more information about Visa’s YOU+TEN Draft App, please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/VisaNFL?sk=app_259824094080710

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Video: Should the Texans Get Rid of Mario Williams?

January 19th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in Opinions, Video

He’s one of the best defensive players in the NFL, and certainly the biggest question facing the Texans this offseason. What’s next for the Texans? Maybe trading Mario Williams, former #1 draft pick.

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Video: Texans Blown Opportunity

January 17th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in Video

CBS Sports football analyst Spencer Tillman joins the Tim Brando Show to discuss the critical mistakes made by the Texans which lead to the Ravens 20-13 victory.

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Too Many Mistakes: Texans Turnovers Hurt in 20-13 Divisional Loss to Ravens

January 15th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in Game Stories, News, Opinions

Lardarius Webb #21 of the Baltimore Ravens and Andre Johnson #80 of the Houston Texans reach for an incomplete pass

The Texans knew that Sunday’s divisional battle with the Ravens would be a tough game. Issue was, they made it tougher on themselves than it should have been.

The team turned the ball over four times to the Ravens none, and that was a huge stat in the teams 20-13 loss to Baltimore that ends the Texans 2011 season.

The Texans controlled the line of scrimmage most of the afternoon, but an early turnover by Jacoby Jones on a punt return set up an easy Ravens score, and rookie QB T.J. Yates threw three picks as Baltimore built a 17-3 lead after the first quarter.

Houston rallied as Neil Rackers kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 17-6, and then Arian Foster ran in from a yard out to make it 17-13 at halftime.

The Texans had their shots in the second half, but the tough Ravens defense turned them away each time, and in the end Yates had a late pass picked off by Ed Reed to stop a drive, and then a hail mary on 4th and 2 from the Ravens 43 with 11 seconds left fell incomplete.

Yates was just 17-for-35 for 184 yards with three picks and a QB rating of 28.8. Joe Flacco was beat up by the Texans as he was sacked five times, and on the day he went 14-for-27 for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

The big stat line was no turnovers for the Ravens, who despite being beat up by the Texans offense and defensive lines, were able to hold on the to the ball despite putting the ball on the ground three times.

Arian Foster was the star of the day for Houston, as he ran for 132 yards on 27 carries (4.9 yards per carry), and he also scored the Texans only TD of the day.

Baltimore RB Ray Rice was held to 60 yards on 21 carries. Andre Johnson led all wide outs with 8 grabs for 111 yards.

The Ravens will have a tough test next week as they will head to New England for the AFC Title game Sunday at 3:00pm EST.

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Texans Gab Divisional Playoff Preview – Houston at Baltimore

January 15th, 2012 Matt Loede Posted in Game Previews, News, Opinions

All the attention this week in the AFC seemed to be focused on Tim Tebow and the Broncos and the big bad Patriots. Now that we know the Pats are a game away from the Super Bowl, we turn our attention to the “other” two teams remaining in the AFC.

Sunday in Baltimore the Ravens, the AFC North champs, will host the Houston Texans, the AFC South champs, for the right to head to New England next Sunday afternoon to play the Pats for the right to go to Super Bowl XLVI.

The Ravens won their first AFC North crown since 2006, and a lot of it is due to the fact they went undefeated at home for the first time in team history.

They are simply a better and different team at home, and seem to play with a lot more confidence and urgency, which is not good news for Texans rookie QB T.J. Yates and the team.

Houston already knows first hand how hard it is to win in Baltimore, as they lost to the Ravens 29-14 on October 16th. That was with starting QB Matt Schaub before he was put on the shelf for the season with an injury.

Now it’s up to Yates, who played well enough last week to help the team overcome the Cincinnati Bengals at home 31-10. The Texans defense, which is one of the best in the league, did their part, as they stopped Andy Dalton and the Bengals, and J.J. Watt picked off a pass and took it for six to give Houston the lead right before half.

The Ravens haven’t hosted a playoff game since falling 15-6 to Indianapolis in the divisional round after the 2006 season, and their only previous postseason victory at home was a 21-3 wild-card win over Denver on December 31st, 2000. That was the season they won the Super Bowl.

Baltimore at home has won 10 in a row while outscoring opponents by an average of 11.2 points. Their defense has allowed 15.0 points per game in that span – only two visitors this season scored more than 17.

It all adds up to what could be a defensive brawl between these two very solid defensive clubs. Houston will try to make Joe Flacco make bad decisions and make mistakes, while the Ravens will look to punish Yates and the Texans offense.

Baltimore led the AFC this season with 48 sacks, which means it will be on Yates to try and make quick decisions and not hold on to the ball. It will also put pressure on RB Arian Foster to help him out, as without a decent run game, the Texans won’t have much of a shot.

Foster was held to 49 yards on 15 attempts at Baltimore in the first game between the two clubs.

Baltimore ranked second in the NFL with 92.6 rushing yards allowed per game. The Texans weren’t far behind, surrendering 96.0 per contest, but could have their hands full with Ray Rice.

He gashed them for 161 yards from scrimmage during the last meeting. Rice recorded an NFL-best 2,068 yards from scrimmage this year and ran for 191 in Week 17, but he was limited to 89 yards on 29 carries in two playoff games last season.

The winner of the this game will be the team that runs the ball better, and the club that makes less mistakes on offense. The Ravens are perfect at home this year, and that trend will continue with a playoff win over the Texans.

Baltimore 16 Houston 7

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