Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans / Image: Zuma Press

Chris amassed 197 rushing yards, 87 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in a 34-31 loss. Amazingly, however, he was snubbed for the Week Two Offensive Player-of-the-Week award—which went to Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub. Chris was good enough for the Pro Football Hall of Fame but not good enough for Player-of-the-Week honors? Hmm. Nothing against Matt. He had a great game, but…

Source: Twitter.com/ProFootballHOF

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Chris Johnson Momentos Headed to HOF

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The Houston Texans are 6-7 and with three games remaining on the 2008 schedule. Sadly, they find themselves three games behind in the race for the final AFC playoff spot. In other words, the Houston Texans are most likely going to miss the playoffs this season. But with an impressive 24-21 road win against the Green Bay Packers this afternoon, the Texans are offering a glimpse of what they could be next season. Of course, this is what they were expected to be this season, but better late than never, I guess. Head coach Gary Kubiak knows this:

“I just think right now that we are battling like heck. We are a football team that got off to a very bad start this year. We are out there battling for respect, trying to become a good football team. The effort on our football team right now is tremendous, just watching them push each other. That locker room I just left was one of the best locker rooms I’ve ever left after a game. That’s the direction — we have a bunch of good kids in there. We just need to keep going in that direction.”

The key ingredient to continuing in the right direction is quarterback Matt Schaub and his health. Matt has only started eight games this season, but he’s won four of his last five starts and has a QB rating of 93. This is what the Texans envisioned when they brought him in two years ago. If Matt can stay healthy and the young Texans can continue to upgrade their talent, this will be a team to reckon with in 2009. Really.

Source: HoustonTexans.com, Photo: Newscom

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Matt Schaub Key to Texans’ Success

The Minnesota Vikings defensive line — and the strength of their entire team (sorry Adrian) — is in jeopardy of being completely dismantled. Defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams are scheduled to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tomorrow to discuss testing positive for a weight-loss diuretic (aka StarCaps) that is on the list of substances banned by the league. They’re both looking at possible four-game suspensions. And defensive end Jared Allen will also meet with Commissioner Goodell to talk about his recent questionable hits on quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (Packers) and Matt Schaub (Texans). He’s facing possible suspension time. To make matters worse, the Vikes other starting defensive end, Ray Edwards, will most certainly be fined this week and possibly suspended (eventually) for a blatant late hit on Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia yesterday.

If any combination of the aforementioned happens (especially Williams, Williams and Allen), the Vikings defense will be severely hindered and any hopes of a division crown (they’re tied for the NFC North lead right now) and subsequent playoff berth will be all but finished. Vikings fans are hoping Commissioner Goodell is in a good mood tomorrow.

Source: NFL.com

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Vikings Defensive Line in Trouble?

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen was fined $50,000 yesterday for what was deemed two below-the-knee hits on Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub. Neither of the plays was flagged, but the Texans are calling both hits cheap shots. Jared couldn’t really defend himself:

“I’m going to avoid all questions on that right now until after my appeal. We’ll see how it works out.”

Jared has been very outspoken lately about the National Football League’s rules. And Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin had a lot to say on the same subject during a conversation we had this past week. But after watching the replays, I have to agree that they were against the rules, like it or not. In the heat of battle with an intense desperation to get a hit on the quarterback, it’s hard to say whether they were intentional or not. The first one looked clean to me. The second one looked intentional and I’m very surprised Jared wasn’t flagged for it. Regardless, rules are rules and it appears Jared broke them — twice. Rule 12, Section 2, Article 12(5) of the NFL Official Playing Rules states, “A rushing defender who has an unrestricted path to the passer from any direction is prohibited from forcibly hitting the passer in the knee area or below.” I doubt Jared’s appeal will do much good.

Source: TwinCities.com

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Jared Allen Fined $50K, Plans Appeal

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This is why we love the National Football League, right? Even if your team came out on the losing end of one of these games, you have to appreciate the beauty of the fantastic finish. And five of today’s games had ‘em. If you were watching the 1 p.m. ET games on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket Game Mix, good for you. You got your money’s worth. Four of the five fantastic finishes were early games ending at roughly the same time:

• After trailing for most of the game, Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell hit a 26-yard field goal with nine seconds left as the Vikes beat the still winless (0-5) Detroit Lions 12-10. The game-winner came on the heels of a controversial pass interference call against Lions DB Leigh Bodden. After seeing the replay, I have to agree. It looked like Leigh barely touched Vikings receiver Aundrae Allison. Aundrae’s forward motion was his own lunging. And so begins the post-Matt Millen era in Detroit.
• On 4th and goal from the two-yard-line with three seconds on the clock and trailing by five points, Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, back from an illness last week, called his own number, scoring on a quarterback draw to beat the Miami Dolphins 29-28. For the Texans, it was their first win of the season. And it took every bit of four quarters to get it. Houston receiver Andre Johnson had a career day with 10 catches (three on the final drive) for 178 yards and a touchdown.
• Josh Brown kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired, leading the opportunistic St. Louis Rams to an unlikely 19-17 win over the heavily favored Washington Redskins. The kick came after a bonehead personal foul penalty by Rams guard Richie Incognito moved the try back 15 yards. For the Rams, despite that infraction and 10 other penalties — plus being outgained by 168 total yards — it was their first win and a great “audition” of sorts for interim head coach Jim Haslett.
• Jason Elam kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Atlanta Falcons to a 22-20 win over the Chicago Bears. The Bears thought they had the game won after quarterback Kyle Orton connected with receiver Rashied Davis for a 17-yard score with 11 seconds left. I believe Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan will look back at this game as a possible turning point in his rookie season — it was his first 300-yard passing effort and he made a perfect sideline throw to receiver Michael Jenkins under heavy pressure with six seconds left. He’ll still have his share of growing pains, but this was a veteran performance. Falcons fans have forgotten Michael Vick.
• The Arizona Cardinals became the first team in NFL history to win an overtime game on a blocked punt. The official Gamebook play-by-play looked like this: M.McBriar punt is BLOCKED by 87-S.Morey, Center-91-L.Ladouceur, RECOVERED by ARI-52-M.Beisel at DAL 3. 52-M.Beisel for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. The score happened after forcing Dallas three-and-out to start the OT.

This is the kind of weekend the National Football League dreams of.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Five Fantastic Finishes

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There are so many different angles I could take on this post, but after having watched the Houston Texans blow a 17-point lead with six minutes and change to go, I can’t help but think this might be the game that ultimately defines their season. Backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels (filling in for sickly Matt Schaub) fumbled twice and threw an interception in the second half of the 4th quarter as the Texans lost to Indianapolis 31-27, dropping their record to 0-4. Because of the devastation of Hurricane Ike, this was the Texans first home game of the season. But the excitement of returning home and the anticipation of a first win suddenly turned into devastation. I thought they had this game won. Receiver Andre Johnson summed it up pretty well:

“You can’t put it in words. The only thing that I can say is I guess that’s why they say go out and play for 60 minutes. You never know what can happen. Everyone that’s in the locker room is in disbelief because we know we should have won that game. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to move on.”

The Texans had so much promise heading into this season. So many (including myself) felt they were poised for a run at the playoffs. And while I’m not ready to tank their season just yet (although they’re a couple more consecutive losses away from just that), it’s safe to say — for one reason or another — the Houston Texans aren’t yet coming close to meeting expectations.

Source: HoustonTexans.com, Photo: Newscom

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Houston Texans Not Meeting Expectations

Earlier today, Houston traded second-round Draft picks (this year and next) and swapped this year’s first-round Draft position with Atlanta (moving down from #8 to #10) for QB Matt Schaub. I believe David Carr will now be traded or possibly even released if there are no teams interested in his services. It’s hard for me to believe a guy with this much talent is not more sought-after. But that seems to be the case. If his confidence is shaky, it’s no wonder after being pummeled into submission over the past five seasons. But, I think if given the right situation, if given an offensive line who will afford him some decent protection, David Carr can be a very good quarterback in this League.

Matt Schaub might be a great addition for the Texans, but he will fare no better than Carr without some surrounding talent — the kind that surrounds him in the pocket. The Texans made a poor decision in picking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush in last year’s Draft. They’re making another one by adjusting the quarterback position and ignoring the real problem of a poor offensive line. Thus far in free agency, they snagged tackle Jordan Black from Kansas City, but it’s gonna take more than that. Houston, you still have a problem.

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Houston, You Still Have a Problem