Got a question about the Texans? Life in general? Drew Dougherty's your guy. He's been with the Texans since 2009 and is chock full of meaningful, as well as generally useless, information. Fire away by clicking HERE.
Derwin Jordan: Dear Drew, How is Nico Collins doing?
DD: Hi Derwin. Nico left the game with a groin injury on Sunday, and Head Coach Lovie Smith didn't have any major updates about Collins' availability for practice or the game against the Titans. But if it was serious enough for him not to play the last quarter-plus on Sunday in Las Vegas, there's no how short or how long he'll be out. His 305 receiving yards are the most on the team in 2022, and he's definitely continued to grow in his second NFL season.
"He has become more and more of what we are doing offensively," Smith said. "That production has been important for some of the growth we've made offensively."
Phillip Dorsett's reps increased when Collins exited, as he caught a 25-yard touchdown pass, and a 20-yard pass as well.
Josh Needawholegame: Dear Drew, Can you see anything changing in terms of play-calling on offense that works?
DD: Cool last name. If anything changes, I think you'd likely see the Texans continue to go more up-tempo like they did at times in Las Vegas. I know the Texans lost on Sunday in Las Vegas, but the offense looked better through three quarters on Sunday. Davis Mills spread the ball around and finished with 302 passing yards and a 68 percent completion percentage. Dameon Pierce averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and finished with 92 yards on the day. It was by no means perfect, but I don't think the offensive play-calling was the culprit in Sunday's loss to the Raiders.
Kevene Mapp: Dear Drew, why can't we win any games? We look better then last year!!! What's going on?
DD: I agree, Kevene: the Texans are better than last year, but the record just hasn't reflected that yet. Losing is losing, whether it's by a close margin or a big one, so this isn't an excuse for the 2022 group. They are what their record says they are—paraphrasing Bill Parcells—and that's not good enough. But yes: this year they look like a better team than the 2021 group. They've struggled in the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball. Overall, they've not been able to successfully stop the run on a weekly basis.
Andre Howard: Dear Drew, I feel like this is a waste of my time. I have sent in plenty of questions no responses.
DD: Sorry Andre. I looked through the archives and didn't see any questions from you. Not sure what happened. Send me something again and I'll try to get it in the next mailbag. Cool?
