The Day After the Day After (+1 day): The end of the Houston Texans’ preseason

Los Angeles Rams v Houston Texans — Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

Four preseason games down…17 regular season and X playoffs games (if all goes to plan) to go.

The Day After the Day After (with some slush built in); a chance to get past the hot takes/emotions immediately following the game. With the 17-15 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Houston Texans close out their fourth straight winning record in the preseason. Some reflections:

Did Cam Akers Do Enough to Overtake Dameon Pierce?: If there was a preseason “MVP,” it was Cam Akers. He had 24 rushes for 112 yards, managing 4.7 YPC. Granted, preseason stats mean little. However, Akers showed plenty as a runner. He showed excellent vision working with the various levels of Texans’ offensive line players, making some highlight cutbacks, trucking defenders, and going a bit overboard on the spinning like peak Booker T. He didn’t have the super explosive play, but in comparison with what we saw from Pierce, it is hard to fathom that Akers won’t be a key reserve RB.

The Race for QB3 Coming Down to the Wire. Coming into camp, the Texans had four QBs. Davis Mills played well enough in his two preseason games to likely secure the QB2 slot when there was pre-camp concerns about his status. Then it came down to old vet Case Keenum and off-season pickup Tim Boyle. Most figured that Keenum would regain the three slot, playing the role of player/coach and Boyle might, at best, be a training squad man. While Boyle didn’t exactly set the world afire, the final game saw Keenum make some poor decisions, with the Rams botching at least two good INTs. Keenum brings plenty of experience, and did helm the win over the ex-Oilers. Yet, Keenum is 38, and the arm (not the strongest at the best of times) is nearing the end of its shelf life. While the QB3 spot hardly rates as the most important of decisions, it will bear some watching.

Still a Ton of Unknowns: Ideally, the preseason gives fans the ability to see what the upcoming season holds. Yet, four preseason games did not answer all of the questions. The running game, which had varying degrees of success in the preseason, still remains a big question mark, as the primary starting running back, Joe Mixon, has yet to carry the ball. We’ve yet to see the expected starting lineup for the offensive line play a snap together. Can the interior of that line, one of the bigger weaknesses of the team, hold up? Can the LBs hold up, especially if breakout star Christian Harris is on IR for a significant length of time? Will the Texans have something special for the new kick returns, or will they just do enough not to screw up?

An Uncharacteristic Special Teams Game for Houston: The overall play of the Texans in 2020s on special teams rates well. Yet, for the squad, even in a preseason game, it was a game to forget. Primary in the punt return game. Desmond King, no stranger to punt returning, badly muffed the first punt, giving the Rams the ball in prime scoring opportunity. While the team didn’t lose the ball again, the next two punt fielding attempts nearly resulting in more muffs. This on top of four Houston penalties on punt returns. One can hope that this is not a trend item when the games are for real.

Houston Texans vs Oakland Raiders - December 3, 2006

The Preseason TV Commentators: The preseason is somewhat of a strange situation for teams, as televised games will fall under the preview of the home teams (unless designated for national broadcast) and their designated announcing teams. For several years, Houston fans got Spencer Tillman as analyst. Tillman, probably better suited to the college game, rubbed many the wrong way, especially with the propensity to slip in as many SAT vocabulary-sounding words as possible into his meandering commentary. While using SAT vocabulary is not a sin, it seemed like it was an attempt to show that he was the superior intellect, and you needed constant reminder of this fact. This year, we got a new player analyst in N.D. Kalu. A Texans alum, Kalu did not try to sound super-smart or insult the intelligence of the viewer. While not the next Greg Olsen, Kalu came across as a marked improvement over Tillman. Also, bonus for bringing John Harris into the booth. While primarily a sideline reporter, he still brought his keen eye for observation and player details to the broadcast, which was a nice touch. Might have been nice to let Vandermeer take on the TV mantle, but if he wanted to stay on radio, no issue with that.

During an early morning march from Wall Street to Madison Sq

Cutdown Day: One of the most exciting, and arguably the saddest day on the NFL calendar is cutdown day. It’s exciting as a fan, because it is the final marker before the start of the regular season and the real games; but still sad, because it means that to get to the 53-man roster limit, 37 players will be getting the dreaded “coach wants to see you and bring your playbook” message. While the new roster rules allow for 16 players to find homes on a practice squad, and a number of those “fired” will be back, that leaves over 20 players on the camp roster who are out. Some may latch on to another NFL team, or perhaps they find a home in Canada or with some semi-pro/low level league to keep playing and maybe get another chance. Yet, it is highly likely that for those cut, it is the last time they get to put on the pad, and the lifelong dream of playing in the NFL comes to a cruel end. As fans, we don’t often think on that, but it is a harsh reality about the league. Not everyone can play. We will be excited for those that make it and gear up for the season, but have a care for those that got the chance, but in the end, it didn’t happen. Hopefully, they find the right path in life, football or no.

With that, we bid the preseason adieu, eagerly awaiting the next game in Indianapolis. The last two matchups there came down to the final seconds. Does that happen again?