What have we learned with the benefit of hindsight?
The Day After The Day After (and then some): A time, after some clarity and the initial heat from instant hot takes simmers down, to relook at some things. Given that it is preseason, assessments and data points could and should be taken with a grain of salt, but a few things that stand out from the first two Houston Texans preseason games:
Davis Mills locking up #2 QB spot: File this under “no [KITTEN]”, but in his two games, Davis Mills seems well on his way to locking up the backup slot. Granted, he held on to the QB2 slot last season, but then was passed over for starting the two games that Stroud went out for injury. Thus, the questions about who is the “real” QB2. In two games, he’s moved the offense (mostly backups) down the field for 20 points in just over two quarters of work and has looked solid doing so. Also, he had arguably the best play of his career when juked out the Bears defender in the Hall of Fame Game.
Sure, he will still miss some passes high, especially when under pressure, but he also suffered drops from on-target passes to his receivers. No, you should not feel great if the Texans lose Stroud for any length of time, but if Stroud has to miss a game, it seems likely that Mills may actually get to start. Also, all signs indicate that Case Keenum retains the QB3 player/coach spot, with Tim Boyle either on the practice squad or given his walking papers at the end of camp.
RB2 may actually be a legitimate debate: Overall, the Texans running game this preseason has been a mixed bag. While the running game showed some encouraging signs against Chicago, it is not making fans think a heavy-run-on-first-down playbook will yield awesomeness.
Again, preseason stats should be taken with a grain of salt, but Dare Ogunbowale and Cam Akers are producing at a better rate than Dameon Pierce. With Joe Mixon all but assured of being RB1, Pierce started camp at the RB2 slot. However, against Pittsburgh, which has a solid defense, Pierce played like the back who couldn’t get much going last season. Not that Ogunbowale is breaking tackles and making people think he is the second coming of Arian Foster, but Ogunbowale had better success rushing the ball in the two preseason games.
Maybe the coaches see things different in practice, but you would hope to see Pierce showing a better feel for the offense and recapturing some of his aggressive running, hitting the holes and trucking defenders as he did his rookie season. The next game against the Giants might arguably be the most important game in Pierce’s time in Houston.
There are no reports of his roster spot in danger, but with Cam Akers showing flashes of his pre-injury form by leading the team in rushing (at a 5.5. YPC clip) and even Jawhar Jordan showing some promise and with Pierce’s roster security is far from assured. That might be one of the biggest-under-the-radar-preseason battles.
The new kickoffs for Houston…so far, meh-ish: Speaking of Pierce, either the Texans figure he is not needed in the kick return role with Sims on the roster, or they are saving him for the regular season. Overall there hasn’t been a lot of major surprises, good or bad, with the Texans and their new kickoff rule.
Only one of their returns has cleared the 30 yard line, with most ending with the team between the 25-30 yard line. There have been a few penalties on kick coverage and Fairbairn did shank one kick that fell short of the landing zone, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers the ball at the 40 yard line. With Houston possessing of the strongest special teams units in its history under Frank Ross, there are expectations of goodness here.
Whether the Texans haven’t shown or figured out everything yet for the kickoffs remains to be seen. Oh, and it does appear that Houston is not overthinking the kickoff kicker, allowing Fairbairn to make the kicks. Maybe he would not be as effective a kick coverage safety as Ogunbowale, but likely the concern is to make sure the ball can consistently hit the landing zone and that the collective coverage can manage the returns without too much risk to Fairbairn.
John Metchie, Is He Safe?: Now far removed from crushing cancer, the former second rounder can focus on finding his niche in what is a surprisingly stacked receiver room. However, he has only two receptions for the entirety of the preseason. His competition, Xavier Hutchinson, far exceeds that number and showed promise on the jet sweeps. Even Robert Woods, a likely trade/cut candidate, is seeing more actions on the field than Metchie. Accounting for the preseason game factor, it is not the most encouraging performance for the former Alabama star. His fate come cut down day will be very interesting to watch.
Injury Alerts: OT Tytus Howard reportedly left practice requiring assistance, and didn’t really play much against Pittsburgh with the starters. Blake Fisher had to step in for some snaps, and while he was burnt to a crisp on one play that saw Stroud throw the ball away under duress, he did rally the next play on the long TD to Dell. Not ideal though if Fisher must start in early regular season game action. LB Christian Harris also went down with injury. Given the breakout second half of the season he had for what is a talented, but thin depth position for the Texans, losing Harris wouldn’t bode well for the defense at all.
Just a few of the retrospective points about the 2024 preseason for the Texans. More likely to emerge when Houston duels with the New York Giants of New Jersey this Saturday afternoon.