April 2013 - Houston Texans Wiretap

Be The GM: Andrew Luck Or J.J. Watt

Sep 29, 2014 10:09 AM

The most intriguing Round of 16 matchup in our 'Be The GM' series is undoubtedly between Andrew Luck and J.J. Watt.

No quarterback has come into the NFL in which there was as much certainty that he would become elite as Luck since Peyton Manning in 1998, while Watt has become a transcendent talent as a 3-4 defensive end at the age of 24 after just two seasons.

Luck’s individual statistics were fairly pedestrian in 2012, but he helped take a flawed Indianapolis Colts' team back to the playoffs with an 11-5 record.

Luck had a passer rating of jut 76.5 while completing 339 of his 627 attempts with 23 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. The Colts’ offensive line was a big liability for Luck and they allowed him to be hit more than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Colts improved their offensive line in the offseason and it is conceivable that Luck’s passer rating jumps nearly 20 points in his second season as Manning’s did in 1999 (71.2 to 90.7). 

Bruce Arians had a huge impact in Luck’s rookie season and with his departure to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, the Colts hired Pep Hamilton of Stanford. Luck expects the Colts’ offense to be a hybrid of Arians’ offense and the West Coast that Hamilton ran at Stanford. Luck’s low completion percentage will almost certainly improve moving away from Arians’ system.

Another issue for Luck in his rookie season was the absence of an effective running game. With the threat of the run established, Luck will see defenses not able to cheat as often as they were in 2012.

Luck, similar to Aaron Rodgers, is effective as a runner on occasion. Luck finished his rookie season with 255 yards and five touchdowns on 62 attempts.

The team success came sooner than expected for Luck and the statistics will almost certainly catch up with his physical and mental profile. 

Watt had a promising rookie season with 5.5 sacks and 58 tackles, along with a breakout game in the playoffs. But his 20.5 sacks and 16 pass deflections turned Watt into one of the most dominant defensive players in the entire NFL. In 2012, Watt become the first player to ever have more than 100 grading points from Pro Football Focus. Watt had 83 total pressures on 687 pass rushing snaps while also recording 52 of his 55 tackles against the run.

Watt also achieved numbers that he may never match again while playing the entire season with an injured elbow.

Watt’s pass rushing ability makes life extremely difficult for opposing offenses and the Texans ranked 10th in passer rating against at 80.0.

CLICK HERE to vote for Andrew Luck or J.J. Watt.

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Christopher Reina/RealGM

Tags: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, IQ

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Antonio Smith Suspended For Week 1

Jul 9, 2014 10:04 PM

Antonio Smith has been suspended for one regular season game and the two remaining preseason games.

Smith forcibly removed the helmet of Richie Incognito and then swung it at his face.

Smith will appeal the suspension.

ESPN

Tags: Houston Texans, Suspension

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Arian Foster Remains Out With Back Soreness

Nov 22, 2014 3:07 PM

Arian Foster will be out with continued back soreness.

"He's had some injections to try to alleviate some of the soreness," Gary Kubiak said Sunday. "The way I understand it we're trying to [work through] the injection process."

Foster first injured his calf during organized team activities and just when the injury healed.

Tania Ganguli/ESPN

Tags: Houston Texans, Injury

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Watt Seeks 20-20-20 Season

Oct 12, 2014 2:05 AM

J.J. Watt wants to haver a 20-20-20 season after winning Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Watt had 20.5 sacks, 23.5 tackles for a loss and 16 pass deflections in 2012.

“(20-20-20) is the goal," said Watt. "Trying to do things that people don’t think you can do, don’t think you should be able to do – things that people don’t think will ever be done,” said Watt, following a Thursday morning practice. “I’m always trying to set the bar a little bit higher and a little bit higher.”

Brian T. Smith/Houston Chronicle

Tags: Houston Texans, IQ, Stats

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Cowboys, Pats, Redskins, Giants, Texans In Top-5 Most Valuable Teams

Nov 1, 2014 11:51 PM

The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable team in the NFL, according to Forbes for the seventh straight season.

The Cowboys are worth $2.3 million despite not winning a Super Bowl since 1996.

The New England Patriots ($1.8 billion), Washington Redskins ($1.7 billion), New York Giants ($1.55 billion) and Houston Texans ($1.45 billion) round out the top five.

The Cowboys became more valuable in 2013 due to a $400 million naming rights deal with AT&T.

Forbes

Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Washington Football Team

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J.J. Watt Wants To Play Offense In Goal-Line Packages

Oct 30, 2014 11:24 AM

J.J. Watt is interested in playing offense for the Houston Texans ini their goal-line packages this season.

"Whatever I can do to help the team win, I will do," said Watt.

Watt has long expressed interest in playing offense on occasion and was a tight end at Central Michigan before switching to defense when transferring to Wisconsin.

"It's just about being an athlete. I have fun, catching balls is fun, just doing whatever you can to be an athlete, working on hand-eye coordination, and the little things. It never hurts to be able to catch a football," he said.

Watt lined up at wide receiver in last season's Pro Bowl.

"We've talked about it, actually. We talked about a Wisconsin package with him and [tight end] Garrett [Graham] and OD [tight end Owen Daniels] in the game on the goal line. I don't know what part of the Wisconsin package he would play, but we'll see," Gary Kubiak said.

ESPN

Tags: Houston Texans, IQ

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Be The GM: J.J. Watt Or Derrick Morgan

Oct 30, 2014 11:27 AM

Derrick Morgan of the Tennessee Titans has a difficult challenge in our first AFC South “Be The GM” matchup since there are a couple members of the Houston Texans that would be picked ahead of him (Duane Brown and Arian Foster) even without J.J. Watt. Brown and Foster would have been the pick for many of the other teams in the NFL, but Watt has become a transcendent talent as a 3-4 defensive end at the age of 24 after just two seasons.

Watt had a promising rookie season with 5.5 sacks and 58 tackles, along with a breakout game in the playoffs. But his 20.5 sacks and 16 pass deflections turned Watt into one of the most dominant defensive players in the entire NFL. In 2012, Watt become the first player to ever have more than 100 grading points from Pro Football Focus. Watt had 83 total pressures on 687 pass rushing snaps while also recording 52 of his 55 tackles against the run.

Watt also achieved numbers that he may never match again while playing the entire season with an injured elbow.

Watt’s pass rushing ability makes life extremely difficult for opposing offenses and the Texans ranked 10th in passer rating against at 80.0.

Morgan was the 16th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Georgia Tech, but tore his ACL during the first part of his rookie season.

The 2012 season was the first in which Morgan, who is just a few months older than Watt, appeared to be fully recovered from his injury, recording 6.5 sacks and 21 knockdowns of the quarterback. With that much activity in the pass rush, Morgan figures to increase his sack count and begin to be in the conversation with Watt as one of the best young pass rushers in the entire NFL, let alone the AFC South.

CLICK HERE to vote for J.J. Watt or Derrick Morgan.

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Christopher Reina/RealGM

Tags: Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, IQ

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49ers, Broncos, Packers Considered Super Bowl Favorites By Simulator

Nov 27, 2014 5:10 AM

PredictionMachine.com, a website that runs 50,000 simulations of the season, gives the San Francisco 49ers a 20.1 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl.

The Denver Broncos rank second in the model at 14.6 percent, while the Green Bay Packers are third at 10.5 percent.

The New England Patriots rank fourth at 8.9 percent, followed by the Seattle Seahawks at 7.2 percent and Houston Texans at 7.1 percent. 

No other team, including the Atlanta Falcons, have been given more than a 2.9 percent of winning the Super Bowl.

PredictionMachine.com

Tags: San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, IQ

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J.J. Watt To Wear Protective Brace On Elbow Again In 2013

Oct 31, 2014 12:42 PM

J.J. Watt is experiencing pain in the elbow he dislocated during training camp last season.

Watt played last season with a protective brace and had a historically dominant campaign. Watt will have to play 2013 with the brace again.

“It’s well-documented I’m not a fan of the brace,” Watt said. “But it’s back for good. I’ve been working the arm real hard and it just got a little sore.”

Dale Robertson/Houston Chronicle

Tags: Houston Texans, Injury

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