‘When Watson took over the starting job last season, the Texans helped simplify things for him. There were a lot of moving pockets, bootlegs and roll-outs. It looked much the way the Bills helped Josh Allen in last week’s win over Tennessee.’
Archives for October 2018
How we see it: Predictions for Bills-Texans in Week 6
‘The Bills face a banged-up Texans team that has found its groove in the last two weeks with wins against Indianapolis and Dallas. Last week’s win against Tennessee boosted the Bills’ confidence, but the Bills have to ramp up their passing game, which is last in the NFL (121.8 yards), and continue to create offense on the run. The Texans have struggled in the red zone, but could get some reprieve against the Bills, who are 29th in red-zone defense (20 percent). Watson plans to play Sunday against the Bills, which will make the Bills’ task more difficult. Texans 19-14.’
View from Vegas: Bills typically do well vs. AFC South teams
‘Buffalo enters with wins in two of its last three games behind new quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills are 8-3 straight up against the spread in their last 11 battles with AFC South opponents, including 4-0 against those coming off a win.’
Voice of the Fan: Josh Allen achieves four-minute milestone
‘Statistically, Allen had very Tyrodian numbers up until this point in the game and his short career. His detractors had a lot of ammo for postgame griping. Allen was often, seemingly, throwing his Firebaughs at the feet of potential receivers.’
Bills taking it slow with Josh Allen, but is that the right way to go in his development?
‘“He’s a young player, so I think if you give a young player too much information, sometimes that can cloud them up,” said Daboll. “There’s a fine line between not giving them enough and then giving them too much. Each week I think we try to balance it the best we can in terms of the amount of plays, the responsibilities.”’
Taron It Up: Buffalo Bills rookie CB Taron Johnson standing out on field
‘Just how good has Johnson been? Bryce Rossler of IT Pylon used Sports Info Solutions to compare Johnson to to 78 other cornerbacks who have seen 100 coverage snaps and at least 15 targets. The results were staggering.’
Jordan Phillips ‘is a dog and brings juice to Bills defense,’ Shaq Lawson says
‘”Man, Jordan Phillips bring that dog. Like, we got dogs on d-line, but man, Jordan made it more of a dog. All of us dogs but he’s got the hype, he gets you crunk, he refuse to get beat,” Lawson said after playing with Phillips for just one game. “You like that on the d-line. He’s nasty about it. So when I line up on the field out there I be feeling that energy. Because I got juice but he make me feel more juiced.”‘
Texans bracing for LeSean McCoy and run-first Bills
‘”A very good running back,” Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. “He’s quick, he’s explosive, he can make a big play at any point, you have to do your job at all times because if you give him any sort of crease at all and you let him out in the open field, he can really make you pay.”’
Texans prepping for Bills’ ‘high-motor’ Jerry Hughes
‘”It’s a guy with a high motor, very athletic, loves to use his skills and his technique of spin moves, up-and-unders and using his speed and sometimes bull-rushing.” Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “He’s a guy that, of course, that we want to keep an eye on, but we know our O-line is up for the test and we’re looking forward for the challenge.”’
Friday’s Houston Coverage
Texans bracing for LeSean McCoy and run-first Bills (Houston Chronicle)
Texans prepping for Bills’ ‘high-motor’ Jerry Hughes (Houston Chronicle)
Texans OLB Whitney Mercilus off to quiet start (Houston Chronicle)
Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins: ‘This is one of the most explosive offenses out there’ (Houston Chronicle)
Texans backup QB Brandon Weeden on Deshaun Watson: ‘Hopefully, he’ll be ready to rock and roll’ (Houston Chronicle)
McClain: How DeAndre Hopkins and his spin moves energized Texans (Houston Chronicle)
Stephanie Stradley’s Texans-Bills Q&A with Tim Graham (Houston Chronicle)
Hopkins wows with nifty catch, leads NFL in yards receiving (AP)
Texans take on Bills in Battle Red Day at NRG Stadium this Sunday (KPRC-TV)
Bills’ Defense Will Test Texans (KILT-AM)
Kareem Jackson is having a season (HoustonTexans.com)
Texans Transcripts: October 11 (HoustonTexans.com)
First Glance: Texans vs. Bills (HoustonTexans.com)
Know Your Foe: Buffalo Bills (HoustonTexans.com)
Enemy Intel: What the Bills said about the Texans (HoustonTexans.com)
Texans try to limit Watson’s hits as they prepare for Bills
‘The Bills have struggled on offense so far and their 221.2 yards a game rank 31st. They’re averaging 121.8 yards passing a game, the lowest output in the league. Despite those numbers, McDermott is careful not to put too much pressure on Allen to turn things around by himself.’
Bills-Texans Preview Capsule
‘Bills rookie Josh Allen is one of two QBs in AFC with at least two rushing touchdowns and more than 700 yards passing (748). His three rushing TDs tied for lead among QBs.’
Injury updates on Bills’ CB Tre’Davious White, safeties Hyde and Bush, Texans QB Deshaun Watson
‘Safeties Hyde (groin) and Bush (shoulder) both missed last week’s win over the Tennessee Titans. Dean Marlowe started next to Jordan Poyer. Both played every defensive snap. On Monday Marlowe was released, then brought back to the practice squad on Wednesday after clearing waivers. That could be a good indication that McDermott feels either Hyde, Bush, or both will be available for Sunday’s game at the Houston Texans.’
Harris: “It might end up being Brandon Weeden against Josh Allen”
‘”I think it is going to be a game-time decision. The shot that he took, I mean you guys saw on television; I saw it from yards away. I saw his helmet go up by his mouth, his eyes rolled back and I went, ‘oh, man, he’s taking a pounding’. I just don’t know that they can even take the chance after what happened last year [torn ACL in practice] and put him out there against your defense that is potentially faster and more physical than what we saw against Dallas. He says he’s ready to go. If he does, he hasn’t practiced much at all this week so there’s going to be a bit of rust that he’ll encounter early in this game.”‘
How Shaq Lawson bought in and renewed his commitment
‘“He flew out Friday and came back Saturday and caught the night meetings and was still plugged into the game plan,” said Hughes. “He’s flying back and texting us and asking questions about what he missed. It’s great to know that he’s locked in.”’