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The Texans (0-2) host Tampa Bay (1-1) on Sunday at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT, and here are five things, amongst others, that I'm keenly watching.
Teeing off on Winston- The Texans have just four sacks so far in 2015. But in Week 1 against Alex Smith, and last Sunday versus Cam Newton, the defense faced a quarterback who was elusive and able to do some damage on the run. Plus, that duo had a combined 16 years of experience.
On Sunday, the Buccaneers have rookie Jameis Winston under center. He's not as mobile as Smith and Newton, and will have to contend with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. At times this year, Watt and Clowney have each been double-teamed. Watt was very complimentary of Winston, and described the goals he and the front seven have for Sunday.
"You want to rattle him," Watt said. "You want to lay some hits on him. You want to get him off the spot. You want to get him feeling your presence early in the game."
Winston's been sacked seven times thusfar in 2015, and Clowney agreed with Watt: the Texans need to make the rookie uncomfortable.
"That's the goal," Clowney said. "Go in there and make plays. Make him turn the ball over and get the ball back to our offense."
Veteran defensive lineman Vince Wilfork is confident the Texans defense will click, and do great things. He stressed, however, that it sometimes takes a little bit of time to gel.
"Once we execute and once we get it going, it's going to be fun," Wilfork said. "I'll tell you that. Sometimes it takes longer to get there."
Mallett's Footwork- In his second start of 2015, quarterback Ryan Mallett is looking to get the Texans offense moving the way it did at the end of the Chiefs game, and during the first drive of the second half at Carolina.
"Hopefully, we get in the right play and we throw and we catch and we run and we block and we do all those things we need to do," Mallett said on Wednesday.
The fifth-year signal caller tossed a touchdown, ran for another, and was picked off last week in the loss to the Panthers. But he had the Texans in position to tie the game late. Like the rest of the team, he did some good things, and struggled at times, too. Offensive coordinator George Godsey pointed out a few key areas where Mallett can grow.
"From his perspective, we watched the tape individually, he and myself, just footwork-wise he knows he can get better at that," Godsey said. "But he's aware of everything he needs to do. He's been a professional since the minute I've known him. He's working at it and just got to keep working at it every day."
Run like the wind- After averaging 4.6 yards per carry in Week 1, the Texans running back trio of Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk averaged 2.4 yards against Carolina. Arian Foster's practicing, but his status for Sunday is still unknown. In the meanwhile, though, the Pro Bowl running back said the run game struggles last Sunday can't solely be placed at the feet of the backs.
"The run game is a team effort," Foster said. "It's not just the running backs. It's the line. It's the receivers. It's the quarterbacks. It's the coaches. It's everybody involved. We're all taking personal accountability."
Takeaways- The Texans need to get more interceptions and fumble recoveries. They were tremendous in that department last season, leading the NFL with 34. So far in 2015, the start has been slower as they're tied for last in the League with just one.
Rahim Moore's pick of Cam Newton last Sunday is their only takeaway, and they've said they must make a change.
"We've gotten our hands on some balls this year but we haven't come up with them," defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. "We intercepted one last week, so hopefully we can get closer and intercept more and cause more fumbles and be able to get our hands on more balls, because that's the way that you have an opportunity to get the takeaways if you get hands on the balls."
Rocky Return?- A few notable Buccaneers have some Houston-ties. Wide receiver Mike Evans played at Texas A&M and Galveston Ball high school. Running back Charles Sims played at the University of Houston before transferring to West Virginia, and Winston said Sims is happy to head back.
"He's excited to get back home," Winston said. "We also have Jorvorskie Lane, our fullback, he's excited to get back home. Everybody that's from Houston is excited to play."
Safety D.J. Swearinger is a former Texan, and it's his first game against his old teammates.
The Texans (0-2) host Tampa Bay (1-1) on Sunday at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT, and here are five things, amongst others, that I'm keenly watching.
1. Teeing off on Winston- The Texans have just four sacks so far in 2015. But in Week 1 against Alex Smith, and last Sunday versus Cam Newton, the defense faced a quarterback who was elusive and able to do some damage on the run. Plus, that duo had a combined 16 years of experience.
On Sunday, the Buccaneers have rookie Jameis Winston under center. He's not as mobile as Smith and Newton, and will have to contend with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. At times this year, Watt and Clowney have each been double-teamed. Watt was very complimentary of Winston, and described the goals he and the front seven have for Sunday.
"You want to rattle him," Watt said. "You want to lay some hits on him. You want to get him off the spot. You want to get him feeling your presence early in the game."
Winston's been sacked seven times thus far in 2015, and Clowney agreed with Watt: the Texans need to
make the rookie uncomfortable.
"That's the goal," Clowney said. "Go in there and make plays. Make him turn the ball over and get the ball back to our offense."
Veteran defensive lineman Vince Wilfork is confident the Texans defense will click, and do great things. He stressed, however, that it sometimes takes a little bit of time to gel.
"Once we execute and once we get it going, it's going to be fun," Wilfork said. "I'll tell you that. Sometimes it takes longer to get there."
2. Mallett's Footwork- In his second start of 2015, quarterback Ryan Mallett is looking to get the Texans offense moving the way it did at the end of the Chiefs game, and during the first drive of the
second half at Carolina.
"Hopefully, we get in the right play and we throw and we catch and we run and we block and we do all those things we need to do," Mallett said on Wednesday.
The fifth-year signal caller tossed a touchdown, ran for another, and was picked off last week in the loss to the Panthers. But he had the Texans in position to tie the game late. Like the rest of the team, he did some good things, and struggled at times, too. Offensive coordinator George Godsey pointed out a few key areas where Mallett can grow.
"From his perspective, we watched the tape individually, he and myself, just footwork-wise he knows he can get better at that," Godsey said. "But he's aware of everything he needs to do. He's been a professional since the minute I've known him. He's working at it and just got to keep working at it every day."
**
- Run like the wind- After averaging 4.6 yards per carry in Week 1, the Texans running back trio of Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk averaged 2.4 yards against Carolina. Arian Foster's practicing, but his status for Sunday is still unknown. In the meanwhile, though, the Pro Bowl running back said the run game struggles last Sunday can't solely be placed at the feet of the backs.
"The run game is a team effort," Foster said. "It's not just the running backs. It's the line. It's the receivers. It's the quarterbacks. It's the coaches. It's everybody involved. We're all taking personal accountability."4. Takeaways**- The Texans need to get more interceptions and fumble recoveries. They were
tremendous in that department last season, leading the NFL with 34. So far in 2015, the start has been slower as they're tied for last in the league with just one.
Rahim Moore's pick of Cam Newton last Sunday is their only takeaway, and they've said they must make a change.
"We've gotten our hands on some balls this year but we haven't come up with them," defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. "We intercepted one last week, so hopefully we can get closer and intercept more and cause more fumbles and be able to get our hands on more balls, because that's the way that you have an opportunity to get the takeaways if you get hands on the balls."
5. Rocky Return?- A few notable Buccaneers have some Houston-ties. Wide receiver Mike Evans played at Texas A&M and Galveston Ball high school. Running back Charles Sims played at the University of Houston before transferring to West Virginia, and Winston said Sims is happy to head back.
"He's excited to get back home," Winston said. "We also have Jorvorskie Lane, our fullback, he's excited to get back home. Everybody that's from Houston is excited to play."
Safety D.J. Swearinger is a former Texan, and it's his first game against his old teammates.
