Texans lose Brian Cushing for the year to a dirty block

On a cold New Jersey night, just miles from his hometown, Brian Cushing refused to be carted off after an irresponsible and illegal clip from behind ended his 2012 season.  At the time, we as fans weren't sure of his fate, and as the game was far from decided, it wasn't at the forefront of our attention.  But this afternoon, in Gary Kubiak's weekly press conference, we got the bad news that anyone watching could have read on Cushing's face as he left the field.  He has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season on injured reserve.

J.J. Watt is the unquestioned best player on this Texans defense, probably the league, but the heart of this defense is resides right in the middle with Brian Cushing.  He is the emotional leader of the defense, its leading tackler, and the guy you don't want to meet up with in the off chance that you get past J.J. Watt.  As Kubiak said, he's a guy who can't be replaced, you just have to asked everyone else to step it up a notch.  Now if there is a team that has experience in losing a star player like Brian Cushing and still being able to perform at a high level its the Houston Texans.  Ironically it was after week 5 last year that we lost Mario Williams for the year.  I don't think we have a Brooks Reed in the waiting in this situation, but with Darryl Sharpton coming off the PUP list next week, he might be just the medicine this team needs.  The #nextmanup philosophy that defined this team last year is going to need to be dug up and dusted off to account for the loss of production and leadership of a guy like Cushing.

The issue that worries me the most is how this will affect the Texan's run defense.  This is probably the weakest link on this Texans team.  A week ago, a fading star who hasn't cracked 25 yards against anyone this season, busted out against this unit for 141 yards.  Reggie Bush was averaging almost 5 yards a carry in the Miami game before Watt just blew that game up and the Dolphins had to abandon the run.  In fact most teams have to abandon the run against the Texans as they get up on teams early and often.  But once they start playing good teams, like Baltimore, Chicago, and New England they are going to have to be able to stop the run.  They can't assume they be up 2 TDs on everyone.  This team may be 5-0 but it still hasn't beat a team that currently has a winning record. This team has aspirations for much more than just a playoff appearance this year.  If you want to win in the playoffs, you need to be able to run the ball and stop the run, and honestly, against a team like San Francisco, I'm just not sure we'll be able to do either.  Yes, the only time we would see the 49ers would be the Super Bowl, but don't you think that is a real possibility for this team.


We'll really find out who this team is and how well they can deal with this adversity over the next few weeks against the reigning MVP and the Green Bay Packers and Joe Flacco and a team that this Texans team has never beaten.  We got the Jets monkey off our back this year, it will be a much bigger task now to get the Raven off our back.

Match up with Ravens inching closer

So first and foremost, let me apologize to all of my readers for such a slow start.  (By readers I mean all 3 of you!)  Anyway, maybe I should start this slow more often.  The Texans are off to anything but a slow start.  They've exploded out to the best start not only in franchise history, but Houston NFL history.  They also have quickly taken over the division with essentially a 3 game lead on everyone and reside at the top of almost every power ranking I can find.

But the consensus second best team in the AFC is on the schedule and just a few weeks away.  I would never overlook the Jets and definitely not the Packers, which may be one of the loudest, most hyped games in Texans history, but the Ravens game is lurking back just a few weeks away on this schedule and will probably tell us not only who these Texans really are, but also who the best team in the AFC is.  And for this fan's money, there is not a game on the schedule I want more than this one.  Sure the Titans and the Jags are big rivals, Green Bay would have the flash and ti would be great to beat Tom Brady, but this rivalry with Baltimore has been brewing for a few years and we still haven't got on the right side of the win loss column against the them.  The Texans always seem to be right on the cusp and then that stingy Ravens D just snatches it away, see 2010 OT Pick 6.

This game looks to be battle of one of the highest powered offenses in the league and statistically the best defense.  The Bulls on Parade Texans D will try to stop the high flying Ravens Offense in wh$%&...  Wait, I must have gotten that wrong!  The Ravens are the team with the nasty D that eats QBs and takes INTs to the house, and the Texans are the team that flings all over the field to a Hall of Famer like Andre Johnson and playmakers like Arian Foster and Owen Daniels right?  The Ravens are the team with Hall of Famers all over the defense and maybe the best MLB to ever suit up. And the Texans are the team with the WR with the highest yards per game average in NFL history.  The Ravens must be the stifling defense that we're talking about and the Texans must have that super prolific passing offense. One would think, except that is not the case this year.

The Ravens have really flipped the script on their identity.  The team that once was content beating you 10-3 with suffocating defense and just enough offense now has the 2nd best offense in the league and ironically the 3rd worst pass defense.  Joe Flacco has seemingly turned the corner in Baltimore and is having a Pro Bowl starting caliber year and is leading the AFC in passing yards.  Ray Rice has become one of the, if not the best weapon in the NFL and Torrey Smith leads the AFC in TD receptions.  But on the other side of the ball, without Terrell Suggs, the Baltimore defense is a fraction of its former self.  I'm not sure I would ever sleep on this defense that is still littered with all time greats but the proof is in the pudding.  The Ravens are 23rd in total defense and 29th in pass defense.  Now that could be a product of teams having to play catchup to that great offense and throwing the ball all day, but a team that was 3rd in the league in sacks last year is a middle of the road team now at getting to the QB, especially considering all the chances they get to rush the QB. Only 3 teams have had more passes attempted against them and 2 of them are in the dredges of the NFL.  Without reigning defensive player of the year Terrell Suggs, this defense just can't seem to get to the QB and the aging legs of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are having a hard time keeping up in pass coverage.

Meanwhile, the Texans have had a similar flip over the last two years.  A team that has been a perennial top 5 offense under Gary Kubiak and Matt Schaub are a lack luster 14th in total offense, but conversely, lead the league in total defense and scoring defense.  The 8 to 80 hookup that has kept this team in close games in the past and brought this team back from the dead in others has been a secondary option this year to a power running game that features maybe the best set of backs in the league. Statistically the numbers are down on the offense but when your defense keeps getting you short fields and you have a  20 point lead in the 3rd quarter, you can afford to run the ball into a line of defenders, especially when you are #2 in the NFL in time of possession. This Texans defense on the other hand, a unit that in 2010 was one of the worst in all of football is now THE best.  The team leads the league in points and yards allowed.  They have so far, the leagues best defensive player who leads the NFL in sacks from a position that doesn't normally get a lot of sacks.  They are 2nd in the AFC in INTs, 2nd in the AFC in sacks, 1st in the league in fewest yards per pass attempt, and one of the most impressive stats, they are #1 in 3rd down percentage. This Texans D is nasty, they get to the QB, they ball hawk, and they get off the field.  They remind me a lot of the Ravens defenses that have built that franchise into what it is today.

So yes, this is a struggle between a great offense and great defense, but the teams are not in the roles you'd expect.   I still expect this to be a very good game, and again, I would never sleep on Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, or Haloti Ngata.  But unlike last year's Divisional Playoff game, I expect the Texans to come out of Reliant stadium with a W.