If Osweiler learns what he can expect from the Texans’ offensive line, where Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins will be on the field, and how to take advantage of the fact that Lamar Miller runs like he’s on roller skates, he could be a marked improvement over the Hoyer/Mallett/Yates/Weeden/Fitzpatrick/Keenum/Shaub/Rosenfels/Carr axis of heartbreak that has defined quarterback play for the Houston Texans since the team’s inception. What say you, Texans fans? He still has trouble with speed-Fuller beat him just before that on a sideline route by simply outrunning Hall, though his coverage wasn’t terrible-but he has shown in just about every game he’s played that he can make plays on the football. Two days later, though, coach John Fox said his quarterback was not trying to show up his receiver, who sat down in a zone rather than run into the right flat.
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“We need him”, Cutler said after the game. But it’s weird to see J.J.as just another guy. He slid in, we kind of juggled two guys. “I don’t think any of that’s intentional”.
“Now, it’s just getting on the same page”.
Dogged by injuries last season and during the preseason, Jeffery is looking to prove that he is worthy of a new multi-year contract from the Bears, and he made a very good first impression on Sunday.
The defense played well in spots during the first half but Houston won the time of possession battle by more than 13 minutes, which eventually wore down Chicago’s defense.
The second half started with the Chicago taking the kick-off. Alshon Jeffery went the final two quarters without a reception after catching four passes for 105 yards in the first half. He was targeted seven times and finished with three receptions for 34 yards. His 28 carries were good for 106 yards while he caught all four passes thrown his way, albeit for only 11 yards. Wentz looked sharp in his debut but I’m not counting on him in his first road game under the bright lights of Monday night. “I didn’t get hit a lot in preseason, so the last time I’ve been hit like that was past year”.
Late in the first half, Cutler took a shot to the ribs while delivering a pass, then took longer than usual to get to his feet. “I thought they spit the ball out pretty quickly”.
Earlier in the week, I suggested that the Texans would be one of the highest scoring defenses of week 1. But last year’s Defensive Player of the Year wasn’t as effective as he normally is, and seemed to have a tough time dealing with three-time Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton.
That’s something that’s going to have to change if the Bears are going to make a jump – and if Cutler is going to stay upright.
Sitton was signed by the Bears last week after being a surprise cut by Green Bay.
“I’m not huge on stats, but their per-carry was 3.7 just like ours”, Fox said. “It was his first game out there”. Overall it was just a sad showing on a defense predicted to make the leap in Year 2 of this system.
Let’s start with the good stuff, shall we? “Like I said, there was nothing up front, nothing on the back end, or anything defensively that we weren’t prepared for”.
Eleven Bears starters and 18 players total in the game against the Texans were playing their first game as a Bear, and new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains was calling plays for the first time with Chicago.
The Texans drove the ball to the Chicago 5 after an early third quarter interception by Andre Hal. The Philadelphia Eagles ground game is averaging 133 yards per contest, and Ryan Mathews leads the way with 77 yards and one touchdown.
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Prater missed an extra point wide right with 4:04 left in the season opener, a miscue that almost cost the Lions.
