The Wizard by Flickr user seanmcgrath used via a creative commons license.First off: Can I call it or can I Call it?
because of the Favre factor Peterson's 114 yards rushing in the first half will just be a blip on the radar screen.Adrian Peterson finished the 1st half with 117 yards rushing, including a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage that interruped Ron Jaworski temporarily from his on-air love-making with Brett Favre. The gushing over Favre, in both the booth and the studio pre-game should have made ESPN football exects blush in shame. While most of the country feels that Favre is a selfish diva after his recent antics its obvious that ESPN still insists on handling him like a romantic interest. Thank goodness for Mike Tirico, who had to step in and stop the bromance after Favre's cheap shot in the second quarter.
Eugene Wilson almost has his season ended and all Jaws and Chucky are concerned about is the throwing shoulder of Favre? The NFL should fine him, but they won't.
Because he's Favre.
Let's hand out some grades:
Quarterback: D+ Two key turnovers by Schaub/Orlovsky and no attempt to get the ball to Andre Johnson until the second half. Schaub started limping noticably after a scramble and his passing wasn't all that sharp all night long. Seeing number 8 in a Texans uniform continually check down to the dump-off all night long brought back bad memories of David Carr.
Running Back: C- Rushing game was non-existent but that's to be expected against the Vikings. Slaton and Brown did a decent job when called upon. Overall just a blah game from the backfield. One thing, Slaton doesn't seem to be running as hard as last year. I'm hoping that's just because the games don't count.
Wide Receivers/Tight End: C+ Not too many drops, but didn't do the best job of getting open on a consistent basis. Would be nice if they could do a better job blocking downfield. Owen Daniels had a good game.
Offensive Line: C- No running lanes whatsoever, did a good job pass blocking however, especially keeping "Schaub from getting destroyed by Jared Allen. Need to see more force off the ball in the running game however.
Defensive Line: C- Decent pressure on Favre and did better stopping the run after the first Peterson jaunt. Still, you have to include that run as part of the overall grade. Smith is almost non-existent which is much less than what you expect from a high-paid free-agent.
Linebackers: B+ Again, except for two plays they were brilliant, especially DaMeco Ryans who looked to be in on almost every play. Blown assignments on both TD's prevent this unit from scoring an A.
Secondary: F Looked terrible in almost every facet of the game. Missed assignments, confusion, lack of run support you name it. Right now the Texans DB's are one small step above College level, and two large steps below NFL grade.
Special Teams: C Nothing spectacular, and a non-existent return game. If Jacoby Jones isn't going to get any return yards on punts then there's little reason to keep him around.
Coaching: F- Why continue to try and establish the run when it's obvious it's not working? Using the short passing game like a run is the way to go against the Vikings, yet the Texans kept hammering away at an immovable object without taking shots down the field to try and loosen up the middle of the field. One scoring drive they did what they should have, and then went right back to 2 yards and a cloud of dust/punt. The defense came out flat, and wasn't ready to tackle on the first play. Inexcuseable.
As the media will say (often) there's no reason to panic, but there's no reason to be all that optimistic about this team either. It's a team that seems to gameplan away from its strengths all too often, and which has issues finding defensive players who can actually play at any position besides linebacker. The next time Mouton figures out who he's supposed to be covering could be the first time this pre-season.
Next week is basically and off-week, so there's two weeks unti the season starts.