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| Ashok Ayyar. 28th November, 2005 - 2:10 pm
 The champion Rams are now a distant memory, and they have?mark my words?ZERO chance of making the playoffs this year. But one thing is apparent. Apparently any old guy can run the show in St. Louis. First we had a grocery bagger (Warner), a career backup (Martin), and now a Harvard economics major. Heck, I might give it a shot. Anyone?s qualified enough to sit behind center and throw for 300 yards, at least against one NFL team.
That?s just what the Rams? Fitzpatrick did to our Texans on Sunday, dropping the hosts to 1-10, leaving Houston bullish on nothing? except Reggie Bush.
In a surprising exhibition of offensive firepower, our Texans were quick out the gates and punctuated an impressive first half with a late touchdown drive. David Carr connected with Corey Bradford and bodyslammed him to the ground in congratulations.
Aside: When was the last time this guy had this much fun playing football? Flashing his boyish grin, Carr was every bit the team leader, and positively ecstatic about his team?s first half success. I have to salute his heart and dedication to the team. Despite being surrounded by incompetence, and facing on-field and off-field battery, Carr has remained a loyal Texan and a true franchise player.
But Houston?s skyward liftoff and Carr?s heavenly respite came to a screeching halt, as the Texans were outscored 24-3 in the second half, lost it in overtime, and broke the city?s heart.
I turned the TV off with less than 3 minutes to go and the home team up by ten. I later discovered the Texans had the Rams by the same count with 30 seconds to go, only to allow a 47 yard TD to Fitzpatrick, a successful onside kick, followed by a last second field goal.
When I resumed watching in overtime, I was rudely reminded of why the Texans are 1-10. They allowed a screen pass (!) worth 56 yards to Kevin Curtis. Fitzpatrick?s game winning strike highlighted the Texans? primary problem on defense?horrid tackling. Tackling is an art honed by coaching; bad tackling implies bad coaching. The staff?s conservative ?don?t lose? second-half policy was the formula for another L. You have to stay on the attack in this league.
Still, I don?t blame the Texans for a late-game collapse and an overtime loss to a better team. I blame them for the Texas-size gaffes that coughed up a sure-thing win. They were: 1) the interception fumbled by Marcus Coleman in the third quarter gave the Rams a fresh set of downs on a failed 4th down. They subsequently found Torry Holt in the endzone. 2) Roughing the passer on 3rd on goal in the 4th quarter. Both of these costly errors directly resulted in 14 points for the Rams.
As I said, there were some positives in the game, and considering there may not be any more positives in the rest of the season, they are worth mentioning here.
David Carr and Andre Johnson briefly returned to last year?s form in the first half. For a fleeting moment, they both played sharply like a veteran QB-WR tandem. It took eleven games, but Johnson hauled his first TD grab of the season in the first quarter Sunday. The defense notched seven sacks, a franchise record.
The negatives, as always, outweighed the early positives, as the Texans? penchant for losing re-surfaced in the second half. The current situation in Houston is grim. In sum, linebacker Morlon Greenwood, ?We really needed to get a win to uplift the spirits of our football team and our town?this is just really tough.?
Notes:
Not so sudden death in overtime. The officials awarded the Rams a touchdown but waited a few minutes before ending the game.
To fantasy users: Kudos for taking Stephen Jackson. The guy is a stud. |
