Welcome to another episode of “who’s under center now”. I really don’t like  rotating quarterbacks but Mack Brown seems to have figured something out, He puts Ash “the running QB” in and he throws the ball, then Mack puts McCoy “the throwing QB” in and he hands the ball off. Nobody knows what the hell they’re gonna do from play to play.

Going into Saturday’s game, I was worried that maybe they just got lucky against UCLA, maybe they’re looking ahead to OU? NOPE. The Longhorns had their heads right where they needed to be.

Damn was that defense good. Vaccaro was everywhere, Acho, Jeffcoat and the D-line were getting to the QB. Gideon had a very nice Interception but I liked the game the corner Phillips played, Phillips had a couple big plays that ended drives and took away a touchdown and the corners had been needing to step up.

On offense, well, lets see. Neither QB ran, both went 7-12, Ash threw for 145 yards to McCoy’s 110 yards. Ash also had two very nice touchdown throws, one to Davis and one to Shipley on a trick play.

Neither made any big mistakes and they looked good doing it so they have something going and we might as well roll with it.

How about Fozzy? He looked like a new running back. He may have only had 41 yards but they were solid runs and hey, Malcolm only had 63 yards.

Even D.J. got in on the act some.

The only complaint I have is that the Longhorns the past two games seem to stop trying in the second half. They have to keep they’re foot on the gas. These players are young and they have to learn how to play the whole way threw with passion and 100% effort.

Well, a win is a win so on to next week.

For the most of todays game, the Texans looked like a team ready to make the statement ” we’re here and ready to make a run”. Instead the Saints said that they are still Super Bowl contenders.

The Texans offense was sharp and balanced early. the Saints had no way to stop Andre Johnson and the defense was getting to Brees, forcing turnovers, it was beautiful.

Then, for some reason, the defense stopped getting to Brees, the secondary left the game and went back to Houston and the offense couldn’t get anything going.

Did anyone else notice that the Texans ran the ball to the left every damn time. Maybe they’ll go right next time. What a disappointing game.

Arian needs to demand playing time. Sitting on the bench isn’t helping. Casey is the lone bright spot from today. Running, catching, dude can do it all. Schaub needs to get Jacoby the ball and let him make plays. Luckily the Saints are the best offense that the Texans will see this year but Wade needs to figure something out with this secondary. Buffalo just beat New England, what the hell is going on this year. The Texans have a championship offense, when will the defense step it up?

After watching both teams in week 1, I thought the Texans would have a somewhat easier time with the Dolphins but Miami came to play.

Miami played well on both sides of the ball but it was a rookie running back that came out of no where and gave the Texans the most trouble.

Although the defense appeared to be getting pushed a bit, they held strong for most of the game. Luckily Ben Tate’s 103 rushing yards canceled out Thomas’s 107 rushing yards.

The story of the game was Schaub’s efficient passing and the now number one ranked passing defense. Now, Chad Henne isn’t the best QB but he can throw the ball and at times Brandon Marshall looked unstoppable but the defense made adjustments played tough on the road.

For Texans fans it was somewhat of a boring game. I do like the fact that the Texans can grind out victories instead of always blowing teams out. Not every games is going to be easy and have to be able to finish tough games on both sides of the ball.

With the offense balanced and Arian Foster back and the defense playing with energy and attitude, the Texans are looking pretty good.

Too bad it’s only been two games.

I can’t lie, even though I have been asking ( down right begging ) for McCoy to start and for Malcolm Brown to get the ball more I wasn’t 100% sure what would happen.

How about them Longhorns? That was the best first half I’ve seen out of them in a year and a half.

I loved how the announcers on t.v. kept going on about how young UT is and how you need more experience. They forget it’s college football, everyone is young, it’s about talent, effort and coaching. Another question that was brought up was- does Case McCoy have “IT”? First off, one good game doesn’t mean anything but going 12 of 15 for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns shows he’s ready to step up. He may not have “IT” yet but he has “SOMETHING”. Case’s scramble on 3rd and 18 was one of the best plays I’ve seen in a long time. To avoid 3 tacklers and still find an open receiver is awesome.

I have to give a lot of credit to the Longhorn defense. Getting great pressure on the QB’s whichever QB was out there for UCLA and causing 4 turnovers. The effort from the start of the game was outstanding, I’d like to that for the rest of the year.

Team penalties: 3 for 25 yards. Much better than the 8 penalties last week. Just have to play smarter.

Now lets talk about Malcolm. He may not be breaking records but as a freshman, he’s starting to kicking ASS. 110 yards on 22 carries is pretty damn good. It’s nice to watch a guy that never stops running and goes north and south instead of sideline to sideline. A mix of good speed and good power and he’s still learning. Once this O-line gets going, Malcolm will dominate.

Lets not get too excited over a good start to the season and one great game. Tough games are still to come but you can’t help feeling UT has figured “SOMeTHING” out.

With no Peyton, it was no problem but the Texans were not as sharp as they should’ve been.

First off, I was right about Ben Tate and Jacoby Jones. Thank you. Schuab’s two picks weren’t all his fault but he should’ve been picking that defense apart. Three hundred passing yards should’ve came easy.

Where you saw the biggest difference was in the time of possession. The Texans held the ball for 36 minutes while the Colts had it for only 23 minutes. Peyton would have held it a lot longer. The new comers on defense, J.J. Watt and Johnathan Joseph looked pretty good but Kerry Collins looked bad. We’ll give the credit to the Defense.

This was still a good win to get even without Peyton. the Texans just need to clean some things up and they should be fine.

BYU is better than I thought they were. UT looked like a DII school. Gilbert just couldn’t get on a roll. Whitaker was going no where. Props to BYU, they came out ready to play.

I can’t remember how many times I saw players on UT’s defense looking at the sidelines as the ball is being snapped. Whats going on there?

Gilberts decision making was horrible. Throwing down field into double coverage is not a good idea.

With Gilbert throwing 2 for 8, Mack Brown had to make a change. As much as it sucks to get pulled out in front of one hundred thousand people, Garett just wasn’t going to get it done.

Enter McCoy………………and Ash. I have no problem with either one but Holy Crap Mack, pick one. McCoy comes in and hands the ball off then gets pulled and Ash comes in and does nothing special. Gotta pick one and it should be McCoy.

In the second half, UT stepped up their intensity and played like they’re supposed to. The defense finally was putting pressure on BYU’s QB and started shutting down the run game. Malcolm Brown needs to be the featured back. you have to play the best players.

I don’t like the slow starts or the confusion on defense but if McCoy gets the starting job and they give Malcolm Brown the ball more, you never know how good they can be.

So no Peyton Manning huh? Smells like victory. No disrespect to Kerry Collins or Curtis Palmer but come on, really Indy? Arian Foster may not run as much but he won’t have to. The colts are a scrub team with out Peyton. Has anybody seen what they look like with the backup QB in the game? It’s sad.

I should stop making of the Colts now. They might actually put up a decent fight, maybe. How are the going to keep the best offense off the field? Who’s going to make the pre snap audibles? The Texans defense is going to struggle at times this year but even they can’t blow this one. Can they?

As long as the Texans don’t look past them then it should be a fifth pre-season game. Thats how much Peyton means to the Colts. If Schuab were out, you could say the same thing somewhat.

I see Ward and Tate getting a lot of work which gets me excited because i love Ben Tate. Ben is fresh and the Colts D sucks. I could get more technical than ( sucks ) but it fits. This should be a good start to the season. Just get it done Texans.

Ok, the Lognhorn Network kinda screwed my out of seeing the first game but I did catch some of it online ( thanks Jason ) so I have to go on what little I saw and the numbers.

Gilbert didn’t impress me but I did like what I saw. completion percentage needs to come up but hey, we got used to Colt completing 80% of his passes so in all fairness Gilbert doesn’t have to be that good. Gilbert’s pocket presence looks a lot better too. Malcolm Brown looked real good and thats what UT needs if they’re going to win games, a balanced attack and not just throwing and running the same amount of times but doing it well. Actually having a play-action that fools people is a great thing to have with the arm that Gilbert has.

So a b- grade for the Rice game is fair, just gotta keep improving and keep giving the ball to Malcolm.

As for Saturday’s game against BYU. BYU barely beat Ole Miss and Ole Miss sucks. Sorry. Not that this should be easy for UT but I do expect a victory. Look for more of the same from UT’s offense but hopefully Gilbert finally asserts himself and goes off.

Last season was supposed to be the year the Texans were going to make their run. The secondary had other ideas which made last year a huge bust.

Now armed with a new and capable defensive coordinator and some new pieces, the D looks to be improved but by how much? We’ll have to wait and see. J.J. Watt looks like a monster but Mario Williams is still struggling to figure out his position. All they need is to be good enough, a top 15 defense is just what this offense is asking for. After last season, the only way to go is up.

On the other side of the ball, well, the Texans are money. There’s nothing left to say. You have the best Wide-out in the NFL, you have one of the best running backs in the NFL and the quarterback isn’t to bad either. Put that together with a solid TE in Owen Daniels, receivers Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones ( who I think is going to have a break out year ) and an emerging Ben Tate who can be a game changer. The balance is outstanding.

Put a top 15 defense with this offense and really good things are going to happen. The Texans could have 8 wins before their bye week and 13 wins for the season. On paper, the Texans are the strongest looking team in the AFC south by far. And hey, NO Peyton Manning for a while if at all.

It’s Kubiak’s last chance. This team is primed and ready to not only get in the playoffs but make a lot of noise.

I’m ready to go, I hope the Texans are too.

Even though it’s only preseason, the Texans are looking pretty good. At least on offense. Defense still leaves a little to be desired but with playersw changing positions and everyone playing in a new system, growing pains are to be expected.

Not much was to be expected from the starters against the Jets but week 2 was a different story.

With the starters playing all but the last 2 minutes of the first half, we got a great look at the starters on both sides of the ball.

Arian Foster only needed 5 carries to show that last was no fluke and Andre Johnson needed 4 catches to show he’s still the best wideout in the league. Schuab wasn’t bad either.

Ben Tate, welcome to the NFL. Tate is going to make a strong push for the number two spot behind Foster.

I liked the fact that they’re making an effort to get Jacoby Jones the ball in space and letting him make plays. With the kickoffs becoming a non-factor almost the Texans need to get him involved.

The offense is starting to click a little bit and the balance looks great.

The defense has been decent. Granted, the Saints have an outstanding offense and  Mario Williams is still learning his new position and everyone is still getting used to the new 3-4 system but the signs are there. The beauty of Wades’ defensive scheme is the different ways he’ll blitz you. The Texans are going to try to put a lot of pressure on the QB but if they cant’t get to him or if they’re playing against a top QB then secondary still looks like they’re going to get torched. The run defense is going to suffer do to the focus on pass defense but there is still 2 games left before the season starts and everyone seems to have the right attitude.