Ramblings from a McMaster Graduate

The perfect season continues after a brief scare from the home team. Houston (6-0) overcame a halftime deficit to down the Baltimore Ravens (3-2) by a final score of 35-10. Trailing 10-7 at the half, a combined effort by both the offense and the defense in the third and fourth quarters were enough to seal the victory.

Another solid effort was put up by the defense on the road in Baltimore. They intercepted Ravens QB Joe Flacco twice, one leading to the final touchdown scored in the waning seconds of the game. The pass rush was too much for Flacco to handle as he was sacked 8 times by the linemen and linebackers. Ray Rice was held in check by the defense with only 46-yards rushing on the afternoon.

In a strategic move that has been rare for the Texans this year, the offense relied on Matt Stafford to get the job done in the second half. Even though he ran for 3 touchdowns, Arian Foster was held to only 40 yards rushing. Stafford was able to throw for 243 yards and a touchdown to keep the offense on the field. His 79-yard pass to WR Dorin Dickerson put the game out of reach at 21-10.

Houston faced two injury scares during the win. Rookie standout Patrick Peterson broke his ribs in the second quarter and was forced to sit for the remainder of the game. WR Jacoby Jones also was hurt on a pass across the middle. Both are expected to play next week.

The Texans stay on the road in Week 7 for a divisional clash against Chris Johnson and the 3-2 Tennessee Titans. The Titans are third in the division and are looking to make up ground on the undefeated Texans.

The Houston Texans (5-0) once again defended their home field as they shut out the Oakland Raiders (2-3) 21-0. The defense stole the show in this game, holding Raiders QB Jason Campbell to just 21 yards passing and RB Darren McFadden to 54 yards rushing. The young linebackers for the Texans made a combined 15 tackles, 7 of those for negative yards. Safety Daniel Manning had himself a great game in the secondary, forcing a fumble and intercepting Campbell.

The Texans offense was good enough to get the job done. The defense constantly set up the team with a short field to work with, which contributed to the lower offensive numbers usually put up by this high-powered attack. Stafford threw for 214 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was helped out on the ground by Arian Foster, who chipped in 58 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Lawrence Fisher added his first touchdown of the year on a short 1-yard plunge.

Next week, Houston travels to Baltimore in Week 6 to take on the Ravens in a battle for playoff position. It is also the last week before the trade deadline, so we’ll see if the new GM makes any moves before the week is over.

In an attempt to prove that last week’s domination on the road in New Orleans was no fluke, the Houston Texans welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers into Reliant Stadium. The hosts were rude to their guest as the Texans (4-0) decimated the Steelers (2-2) with a big 45-7 win. The Texans were powered by big games from seemingly everyone in their offense as they took turns scoring touchdowns against an aging Steeler secondary.

Matt Stafford led the way for the Texans throwing for 280 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a season high passer rating of 149.3, connecting with 5 different Texans receivers during the game. The dynamic duo of A.J. Green and Andre Johnson combined for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns. Green also achieved his first 100 yard receiving game as a pro, finishing with 110 yards on 8 touches.

When the ball needed to be moved on the ground, Arian Foster was up to the task. After putting a fumble in the first quarter behind him, Foster finished the game with 111 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. He sat for the final drive of the game. He also contributed in the passing attack as he caught 2 balls for first downs to sustain some key Texans drives.

The Steelers offense did not show up in Houston. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger finished with 156 yards, with 85 coming on a play where WR Mike Wallace slipped behind the otherwise perfect Texan secondary. Big Ben’s 3 interceptions in the first half allowed Houston to build a 24-0 lead going into the break. He also fumbled twice.

Houston welcomes Darren McFadden and the Oakland Raiders into Reliant Stadium as they try to continue their 4 game win streak. The Raiders (2-2) are coming off a 23-9 home win against the New England Patriots. 

Matt Stafford had his best game as a member of the Houston Texans (3-0), leading his team to a 42-10 trouncing of the New Orleans Saints (1-2) in which they never trailed.  Connecting on 18 of 29 pass attempts, Stafford threw for 329 yards and 3 touchdowns. The primary beneficiary of Stafford’s offensive output was All-Pro WR Andre Johnson, who caught 7 balls for 165, was responsible for all of Stafford’s scores, and named NFL Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

The offense looked alive for the first time this season in the opening quarter, using a spark from DE Antonio Smith. On the opening drive, Smith returned a Mark Ingram fumble to open the scoring, and the Texans never looked back. Arian Foster scored one of his two touchdowns in the opening frame, punching the ball in from 2 yards out. Stafford found Johnson streaking down the sideline on a 80 yard play-action pass with 9 seconds left in the first quarter to jump out to a 21-0 lead just 15 minutes into the game.

Foster, who finished with 140 yards on 11 carries, also broke a 70 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that all but put the game out of reach for the Texans. A.J. Green made a couple of drive-sustaining catches, and finished with 3 receptions for 37 yards.

The Texans defense was able to keep Drew Brees and the highly touted Saints offense in check for most of the afternoon. Brees finished with 208 yards and 2 interceptions. Mark Ingram was responsible for the Saints lone touchdown of the afternoon, but was held to a total of 25 yards rushing.

Houston will return to the friendly confines of Reliant Stadium in Week 4 to do battle against the AFC North heavyweight Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1), who are coming off a 31-27 win on the road in Indianapolis.

The fourth quarter was all the Houston Texans needed to beat the Miami Dolphins. Houston outscored Miami 17-6 in the final quarter, escaping Sun Life Stadium with a 24-16 win. With 2 interceptions already thrown in the game, Matt Stafford needed to make a play to keep his team in the game. He did just that.

Stafford connected with Week 1 standout Jacoby Jones on a 4th & 2 play for a 59 yard touchdown pass – his only catch of the game. The Texans QB, who finished the day on the sideline after taking a vicious hit on the play from former B.C. Lions defensive end Cameron Wake, completed 14 of 23 passes for 195 yards, with 1 TD – his first as a Texan – and 2 Interceptions.

To keep the struggling offense in the game, the defense was able to keep back-up quarterback Matt Moore mostly in check, completing only 37% of his passes for 118 yards. Moore threw 2 touchdown passes in the loss and was intercepted 3 times. Glover Quin Jr. had two of those picks and rookie Patrick Peterson had the other, who promptly returned it for a 20-yard touchdown giving him his second touchdown in as many games. Peterson was also named NFL Defensive Player of the Week as he made a tackle late on Reggie Bush that saved a touchdown.

Veteran kicker Neil Rackers put the game out of reach late in the 4th Quarter, hitting a 52 yard field goal with one minute left in the game.  45 of Arian Foster’s 82 rushing yards helped wind down the clock on the FG drive.  Foster also had the other Texan touchdown in the first quarter.

The Texans (2-0) stay on the road in Week 3, heading into the rambunctious Superdome to take on the New Orleans Saints (1-1) in their first match-up against the NFC this season.

Following finishing 2-2 in the 2011 pre-season, the Houston Texans decided in order to improve in the competitive AFC South, they needed to get younger. Part of this was trading for a young franchise quarterback to lead the team for the next decade. Enter Matt Stafford.

Stafford, along with Detroit’s first and third round picks in the 2012 draft, were acquired for Texans QB Schaub. The new Texans QB is 8 years younger and formed a connection with All-Pro Calvin Johnson in Detroit and is hoping to replicate that success with Houston’s own All-Pro threat, Andre Johnson.

In order to smooth the transition for Stafford, Houston also acquired former Georgia Bulldog A.J. Green, a receiver drafted 4th overall by the Bengals this past draft, for Detroit’s 1st-round pick and WR Kevin Walter. Back in their lone season together at the University of Georgia in 2008, the Stafford/Green connection led to 963 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The Texans weren’t done there, adding some help in the secondary by acquiring 5th overall pick Patrick Peterson from the Cardinals for Houston’s 1st-round pick and CB Jason Allen. He will start alongside standout CB Jonathan Joseph, as well as handling punt and kick return duties.

In a depth move to shore up the defense, Houston signed OLB Julian Peterson and DT Pat Williams to one-year contracts. The Texans open their season at home against division rivals Indianapolis.

A couple of years ago on this blog, I did a dynasty/franchise/whatever you want to call it with the Los Angeles Kings. I’d chronicle the season month by month, including statistics, line changes, injuries, and other transactions. Seeing as I am taking a year off school, I have some extra time for those things again this year. A couple of people told me they enjoyed reading them, so I’m going to start those up again.

However, this year will be different. I’ll be doing a NFL dynasty along with an NHL one. For the NFL, I’ve already selected the Houston Texans, a team that has never made they playoffs in their existence. They have a solid division in terms of video game players, so I think it would be fun. Also, I’m already using the Bills and 49ers in my online franchises. Ergo, my teams are already off the table.

The problem I have is the NHL side. I don’t know which team to be. I haven’t done a GM Mode in NHL 12, so part of me wants to be my team, the Leafs. I just don’t always have the heart to make the necessary trades to make them better.

This is where you guys come in. I’ll be taking suggestions for which NHL team to be. Since there is a planned PSN outage tomorrow, I’ll be starting this thing on the morning of Friday November 18, 2011. So, what team should I be?

Oh, hello how I’m spending my Tuesday afternoon.