Homer: behind enemy lines: houston texans

[themurf]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Lets be honest – we, as fans of the Washington Redskins, don’t know much about the Houston Texans. They’re an AFC team that hasn’t been around all that long and hasn’t been very good during that time. Which means they’re rarely on TV in our neck of the woods, unless you’re paying for the NFL Sunday Ticket. About the only memory I have involving the Texans is former Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell somehow completing an NFL-record 22 consecutive passes (without gaining a single yard) back in 2006.

And since that useless fact isn’t really going to help anyone prepare for this weekend’s matchup, I decided to reach out to a well-respected Texans blogger in hopes that she could get ‘Skins fans up to speed on our Week 2 opponent. Thankfully, she delivered. Without further delay, here’s a quick intro and then five questions about the Houston Texans:

My name is Stephanie Stradley. I write a Houston Texans blog for the Houston Chronicle and write miscellaneous stuff for AOL Sports’ FanHouse. Also, I’m a volunteer moderator for the official Houston Texans message board and the terrific fan supported TexansTalk.com message board.

In 2006, I was voted Ultimate Texan Fan, and the Texans sent me to the Super Bowl. As a four-time finalist of the contest, I got to run out on the field in front of the team with one of the T-E-X-A-N-S flags. An amazing feeling.

I’ve followed the Redskins since I was in elementary school because I lived in northern Virginia for two years, and it was the first time I had ever lived near a city with a team. Can’t say I’ve appreciated Dan Snyder’s ownership style, but maybe this time he gets it right with the Shanahans. Most importantly to Redskin fans, I hate the Cowboys.

1. Okay, let’s get right to it. Was last weekend’s resounding victory over the Indianapolis Colts a fluke or a sign that the Houston Texans have officially arrived?

Perhaps none of the above? In Week 1, we don’t really know who these teams are. The Redskins played a Cowboys team that looked like garbage all preseason. The Texans played a Colts team that looked like garbage all preseason. The Texans have finally put the staff together that they’ve wanted since Gary Kubiak came to the team in 2006, and the players he drafted are finally getting into the primes of their careers.

The Texans have come close to beating the Colts a number of times, and have dominated them at times, but for this game, they did it for most of 60 minutes. That’s pretty much the theme of the 2010 Texans – can they dominate for the full 60 minutes or do they let teams come back on them? Can they beat good teams?

2. As you know, the Washington Redskins brought in Kyle Shanahan to become the team’s offensive coordinator during the offseason. In your opinion, what was his impact in Houston and what does he have in store for the Redskins?

When Kyle Shanahan was first hired as the Texans wide receiver coach, I was very skeptical. How was this former University of Texas wide receiver going to tell Andre Johnson what to do? He was younger than Eric Moulds who was on that 2006 team.

So, when I had the opportunity to attend a coaching clinic involving assistant coaches, I made sure to attend his session to see why the Texans hired this guy. He looked so young, but you forgot about that as soon as he started breaking down film and talking about technique issues.

He knows his father’s offense as well as anyone, and does a great job of communicating not just what players are supposed to do, but why they are supposed to do it to make the play work. The Texans players were sorry he left but feel happy he is working with his dad. It was pretty clear that eventually, after Kyle established himself away from his father, he would work with him eventually.

Basically, his best role for the Redskins and for the Texans was to be a brain annex to the head coach. If you have an offensive-minded head coach who has a proven scheme, you don’t want to have an offensive coordinator that has a completely different vision. The best teams in the league have a blueprint of what they want in players and how they fit into their system.

Typically, in this system, it is the offensive coordinator that puts the game plan together, and puts the scripted plays together that allow the offense to understand the defensive tendencies. Then the head coach, looks at the game plan and the scripted plays, maybe adjusts them some, and then they give it to the players.

I think he helped the Texans with a consistent offensive philosophy, and I think he does that same role for the Redskins. I am very high on the future of your offense. (So high that on my Blogger Fantasy League team, I picked up Chris Cooley, even though I have Dallas Clark because I think he will have a sweet season and I wanted trade bait at least). And Kyle Shanahan knows the personnel of the Texans very well because he played a big part of acquiring a lot of them.

Click here for the full article.

[suze109]

Thanks! What a cool idea!

Very informative ... I learned a lot about them!

And at least she hates the Cowgirls too.

[MassSkinsFan]

Great article!

I hope you do something like this again in the future.

Thanks

[Sikbug]

Very good read, she seems to know what she's talking about. I hope we can exploit their secondary.

[texasthunder]

Thanks for posting the article, it was a good read.

Living down here in central Texas I get a good dose of both the Texans and the Cowboys, and from what I have seen thru preseason and game #1,

the texans are a stronger team by a fair margin.

How that translates into sundays game is anybodys guess.

[Dukes and Skins]

Great article enjoyed reading the whole thing

[frommd]

Great stuff Murf! Like to see more of these in the future.

[Oldskool]

Thanks for the write up, Murf and thanks to Stephanie Stradley for sitting down with you as well.

[VPromuto65]

Thanks Stephanie for the good info and perspectives. Thanks too for your preseason beat down of the dullass crudboys. I hope you duplicate that effort the week after our meeting. We're depending on you to take them to 0-3. ;>) And yes, I do like the Texans. They have been fun to watch. Playing great football. It will be a good test for us.

[Enforcer_FFX]

This was a cool idea and a great read! Awesome that she hates the Cowboys too. Haha - I like the note at the end - we all def will be rooting for the Texans against the rest of the NFC East!

[RagingBull]

Very good read, she seems to know what she's talking about. I hope we can exploit their secondary.

Ms Stradley is argueably the best sports (football) blogger in Houston, and she also does work for Fanhouse etc. Gal knows her football. Knows her beer, too If she wasn't a lawyer she'd be like the perfect woman.

[Outlaw Torn]

That was a really good article. I have to admit ever since the Texans upset the Cowboys in their very first game as a franchise I've been a bit of a closet fan....but definitely not this week.

[Stemp]

Ms Stradley is argueably the best sports (football) blogger in Houston, and she also does work for Fanhouse etc. Gal knows her football. Knows her beer, too If she wasn't a lawyer she'd be like the perfect woman.

She's pretty good looking too

[RagingBull]

She's pretty good looking too

Yes, in fact the Indy Star has a picture of her holding a Texans flag behing two Colts fans who appeared to not be enjoying themselves

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/zoom.pbs&Site=BG&Date=20100913&Category=SPORTS15&ArtNo=9130330&Ref=V3&Profile=1100&GPUBDATE=20100913&GCATID=SPORTS15&GARTNO=9130330&GTITLE=%3Cb%3EKravtiz%3A%3C%2Fb%3E%20It%27s%20time%20to%20fret%2C%20not%20panic&Caption=Indianapolis%20fans%20in%20Houston%27s%20Reliant%20Stadium%20wore%20the%20look%20of%20frustration%20that%20embodied%20Colts%20Nation%20on%20Sunday%20as%20Peyton%20Manning%20and%20Co.%20lost%20the%20season%20opener%2C%2034-24.%20Houston%20defeated%20the%20Colts%20for%20only%20the%20second%20time%20in%2017%20tries.

[kindman83]

very very good...

[Mad Mike]

Great read. This lady really knows her football.

[Tochenzo]

She mentioned that they struggle against 3-4 defenses with a good NT...this worries me

[bedlamVR]

Great read . The secondary hopefully is an area we can exploit but Williams will have to shut down Williams ... hopefully Kyle will have some ideas on that

[Oldskool]

She mentioned that they struggle against 3-4 defenses with a good NT...this worries me

One of the hardest defenses for a team that is using the ZBS to run against is a 3-4. The ZBS relies on the OL to stretch the DL out of position and allow holes to open up when someone on the defensive line is out of position and unable to control their gap.

The issue against 3-4 defenses is two fold: First, to move a NT, it will take the coordination of the center and the guard. ZBS Centers aren't usually the largest OL and if they do not get immediate help from the guard on either side (depending on which side the offense is running to), the NT can easily overpower the smaller Center and disrupt the timing of the OL, if not get into the backfield.

Second are the linebackers. Having an extra LB in space, with the NT taking up 2 blockers, it frees them up to see where gap control has broken down and have the ability to rush in and seal it.

[Metalhead]

I definitely enjoyed that, a great read! Stephanie certainly knows her stuff and it's good to hear some honest and unbiased breakdowns from opposing die-hard fans.

[Jumbo]

Great job again, murf. Great idea on the "guest speaker", and mucho gracias to Ms.Stradley for an informed, articulate, and interesting perspective. I am looking forward to watching Kyle make our passing game an honest threat and actually finishing a trip to the red zone with a TD.

[GuerillaBlack]

She mentioned that they struggle against 3-4 defenses with a good NT...this worries me

I see what you did there.