The Texans Have Some SERIOUS Issues...

The Texans have some serious issues as following the first seven weeks of the season, the supposed Super Bowl contending teams sit at just two and five. What are the biggest issues with the Texans and what can they do to fix that now in the bye week? What's up ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Texans Digest. I'm your host as always, Isaac Estrada. Man, we got a lot we need to talk about today. A lot of issues with those Houston Texans. Today I want to dive into what are the biggest issues with them and how do they fix them before we face LA next weekend. So, we're going to dive into all that and more today on Texans Digest. But right before we do, man, about 83% of you guys are not subscribed. If you're not already subscribed, do your boy a favor and hit that subscribe button. You're going to be getting daily updates here on Texans Digest, along with exclusive shorts on all Texans-related news. That percentage is slowly going down. It used to be 90, now it's 83, so we're making progress. But if you're not already subscribed, do your boy a favor and do that. But without further ado, man, let's dive right into it. So. Houston has three major issues. All of these need to be fixed before headed into LA next weekend. So something I want to really talk about. We're going to dive right into the first one, but that trade deadline is going to have a huge part to play in this video. A lot of the issues we're going to be talking about, we're going to be discussing possible trades that could fix that as well. So be prepared for that. And again, that's what I love about the NFL. That's what I love about sports so much is you can talk about rumors and they still hold the weight, just like the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade did. So let's dive into the first one. Offensive line is among one of the worst in the NFL, currently ranked at the bottom three according to the PFF. So we're going to immediately pull up that PFF list. The offensive line currently right now on PFF is ranked number 31. They were originally 29 and they went down. So let's dive into what PFF had to say. Ricky left guard. Kalen Rutledge has just had one game this season where he generated a PFF grade above 55. And this week saw him under 40 in his second time this season. Through seven games, he has allowed 21 pressures and played a 34.1 PFF pass-blocking grade. So with Rutledge, something I do want to talk about. We've seen this plenty of times with offensive guards or offensive linemen in their first year. First year for offensive linemen is rough. They're usually rough. Obviously, this is one of the rougher ones we've seen, but that's something I want to shine a little bit of light on just to start us off with because. A lot of times, offensive linemen struggle in their first year. It's not easy. A lot of times, if an offensive lineman in their first year, as a starter, if they have over like a 50-55% on PFF grade, that's considered a good thing because it's rough, man. It is rough to go against some of these defensive linemen in the NFL. You look at a guy like Jeffrey Simmons. I know he just got traded to Chicago, but what he still was able to do against this Texans offensive line when we played Tennessee and absolutely destroyed them a few weeks back, it is rough for rookie offensive linemen. I feel for Rutledge just a little bit. I think he's going to be okay, but that doesn't defeat the fact that this offensive line has been awful this season, man. This offensive line has really struggled throughout this season. Heading into this season, that was one of their biggest issues, obviously. We had talked about it, and I think in the offseason, Houston did a best of job as they could have. Obviously, you can see Wyatt Taylor on the screen. He's one of those guys that we got. Obviously, signing Rutledge, or excuse me, drafting him 26th overall in the draft. We expected that to help as well. So, I feel like this team really did their best to make it count to help that offensive line grow. I don't think they purposely tried to give C.J. Stroud yet another terrible offensive line. I think that's just the way the cookie crumbled this season, and you hate to see it. It's something I do want to talk about with this offensive line. They're obviously ranked at one in the bottom of the leagues. They've dealt with plenty of issues so far as well. I think Dion Dawkins is still one of those guys that you, I, headed into the trade deadline. This offensive line needs some help. And obviously, we're going to dive into it later on with other issues on the team that I think, hey, maybe that's something that you build at during the draft. This offensive line is not one of those things that I think you build at during the draft. That's why I wanted to start it off this video with talking about the offensive line, because this offensive line is something that you have to fix now. Obviously, we know with rookie offensive linemen, we just said it. It takes time. It's going to take Rutledge at least another year or two before we can truly tell if he's If he's unfortunately going to be something that ended up being lackluster in a 26 overall draft pick, or if he's going to really form and shape himself into a great offensive lineman. With Dion Dawkins, he has proven that he is a very solid veteran offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills. He's been doing it for quite some time now. He's seasoned. And I don't think that this would be something that would cost Houston an arm and a leg to do, but I think right off the bat, when we talk about trades that would genuinely right off the bat help benefit Houston, this is one of them. This is one of them. For whatever reason. Let's pull up the photo once again. Fisker, Trent Brown has been terrible this season. A lot of us have been talking about it. Wyatt Taylor hasn't really lived up to as much as we thought he was going to do. This offensive line has still just had a lot of issues so far. And I think Deion Dawkins is one of those guys that has proven that he can be a great offensive lineman, that I think coming into this team would be an immediate change. Something I want to talk about really quickly, this man specifically. We're going to dive into it just a little bit. You will see why. But Cole Popovich has been a big reason why that offensive line has struggled multiple times, that this offensive lineman, it seems like they're just leaving people unguarded. Even at times, I believe I've seen Wyatt Taylor just completely, just unguarded players. And it doesn't even look like sometimes it's on the offensive lineman. Sometimes it looks like it's on the scheme. For the offensive line. So, I think with Coach Popovich, if we're going to throw some shade at the offensive line, I think as much as it has to go on the guy who's teaching them, who has them day in and day out textbook working with them. So, I think that is something to discuss as well. But, let's dive into the second reason. But again, I cannot emphasize enough, I think Dion Dawkins on this team would be an immediate help. I think out of any trade we're looking at today or in the future, Dion Dawkins would be that immediate help. So. Without further ado, man, let's dive into the next one because the offensive line genuinely affects this one. We all know it. We all know it all too well. Run game is among the worst in the NFL right now. Something needs to change with this run game. I'm going to just say it flat out. Something needs to change with this run game. So, I have been facing a lot of slack lately from some Houston Texans fans because I said, hey, Woody Marks is good. Woody Marks is a solid back. I don't think he's a top 10 back. I don't think he's that future back that we lean on for the next three to five years. A lot of people have been giving me some shade for that saying, hey, no, you're absolutely wrong. That offensive line is the reason why Woody Marks is not playing so good. I get that. I understand that. That's why I wanted to start off with the offensive line and not with the run game, obviously, but I think what separates solid running backs from great running backs to amazing top 10 running backs in the NFL that we look at with some guys like Christian McCaffrey that we look at with somebody who's on the trade block in Jonathan Taylor that we'll talk about a little bit later on. But what separates those guys from solid running backs is they're still able to find a way. Saquon Barkley had no offensive line when he was with New York a few years back. But guess what? He was an elite running back and when healthy, because that was his biggest issue, he was still able to find those goals. They're still able to find those gaps. I think Woody Marks really struggles to do that sometimes. Obviously, we look back at the game, last game against the Giants. Woody Marks, it was 3rd and 1. That should be an easy opportunity for Woody Marks. He goes right up the middle, gets immediately stuffed. We leave it to C.J. Stroud on 4th and 1 to get the job done. That is a situation that we should not be in, especially with a guy like Woody Marks, who has shown in his rookie year that he could be great. Something I want to pull up really quickly. Woody Marks, through his first seven games of the season here, let's put it on the big screen. Through his first seven games of the season, he has 271 rushing yards on 77 attempts. That's going to pop out to right around 3.5 yards per carry, 94 receiving yards as well on 14 receptions. Obviously, nothing incredible or too crazy to throw your hands out about, but obviously we've seen a significant dip from his rookie year to this year. I know every single time I bring this up, people are like, the offensive line, the offensive line. I get that. And you guys are right. That offensive line is terrible. That offensive line has not been good this season. I think a little bit of that also has to fall on Woody Marks. He has to, I think a little bit, we have to understand, hey, if we're going to blame the offensive line, we also got to blame the guy that's taking the snaps as well. Because CJ Stroud, obviously he's had a rushing touchdown this season. I feel like CJ Stroud at times has had more success running that ball than Woody Marks. So I know that, again, is going to give me a lot of slack. But I think at the end of the day, when I talk about this run game, we had talked about it earlier, Deion Dawkins, I think he can come into this team and make an immediate change. He's someone that I'd be looking at in the trade deadline. When it comes to the run game, man, I think that this is something that I think the run game is something that you definitely draft more. I love where the run game has gone so far in terms of the NFL. Like, go draft a young running back and you can get them at any value. Isaiah Pacheco did wonders for a few years in Kansas City. He was a seventh round draft pick. And I love the fact that we can do that with running backs nowadays, is get them anywhere and they can still be a shining light on a team. So I want to pull this up right before. It's very, very small. I'm going to actually put it on the graphic because it's so small. Look right towards fourth to bottom. The Houston Texans, that is where they stand in terms of rushing yards. Again, bottom five in the NFL. We're below the Tennessee Titans. I saw that and was like, there's no way our guys are doing worse than Tony Pollard. But I forgot Tony Pollard had himself one of the best games he's had since he was in Dallas this past Sunday. And obviously that bumped them up a lot. So that's something I want to point out is this run game. It's not been good, man. It has not been good whatsoever. So ever so. Run game has to fix, and I think, unlike the offensive line, you don't go out and trade for Jonathan Taylor. You definitely don't go out and trade for a 29-year-old Saquon Barkley. I think what you do with this run game is obviously beef up that offensive line a little bit. I think Woody Marks is still a solid back. Let him carry it out for the rest of the season, but you have to go draft a running back sometime between round three and five in the upcoming draft, in my opinion. I think that is what we go for more than anything. So without further ado, man, I want to dive into this last point because I think this has been the Houston Texans' biggest fault and biggest issue this season. Defense has fallen flat on its face this season. Man, you guys all knew it was coming. You guys all knew it was coming. This defense, man, has not been good at all. Currently, this defense is ranked right around Tier C. When it comes to Yahoo Sports, we're going to pull up the article right now. So, this is what Yahoo Sports had to say. They obviously made the tier list a few years ago, ranking defenses. Houston Texans, obviously, we have to take this with a grain of salt. I know Yahoo Sports is not end-all, be-all. We all know that. I could tell you that all day long. Through the first seven games, they're right around C-tier, and honestly, I'm surprised they were not a little bit lower. I'm surprised they were not a little bit lower. I was one of the guys that believed in this defense, and so far, they've fallen flat on their face. They have fallen flat on their face so far this season, but without further ado, man, let's dive right into it. This is what Yahoo Sports had to say. Houston is the exception in terms of pure talent. The Texans entered this discussion in the D-tier based on their performance this season, but Chadwick argued for moving them up because the personnel gives them a much higher ceiling. I agree. Will Anderson Jr. remains one of the NFL's premium defensive players, while Derrick Stingley Jr. anchors the secondary that was considered better last season. Houston's 73.9 defensive impact grade still sits below the league average mark, and the Texans allowed just 31 points to Jacksonville in London. So I understand what he's saying, and obviously we thought that DeMeco Ryans's leading this defense was going to help it a lot, but it seems like it has up to an extent. Obviously, we can pull up the numbers right now. Or I don't have the numbers, but you can very easily look up the numbers. It is very obvious that the defense has gotten a little bit better under DeMeco Ryans, but this defense is still missing that oomph. We look at it against plays like the New York Giants when Cam Scadaboo popped free for 42 yards in overtime, whenever Derek Stingley, of course, ended up sealing the game with a 20-plus yard rush right after that. It is very obvious that this defense, it just... They can play good for a few drives, but they will let up one explosive play and that'll completely flatten them out and change the entire course of the game. I think that is a lot of what we've seen with the Houston Texans. Obviously, you hate, you absolutely hate to see it from a defense that was supposed to be Super Bowl caliber headed into the season. But that is unfortunately what we are looking at. Again. That is something I'm going to leave up to you guys when it comes to the defense, because I don't know what is going on with this defense. I don't know if it's the fact that D'Amico Ryans is having to take it over in the second half of the season, so it's a complete change and a switch up or what. But either way, something has to change with this defense. Of course, I always leave it up to you guys. I'm going to leave it up to you guys again. What do you guys think needs to be the biggest change for the Houston Texans? Because I know one of the big changes that I left out of this video was coaching because a lot of people have been putting the dog on DeMeco Ryans, on Nick Kaye, on Cole Popovich. But as always, I want to know what you guys think. What do you guys think is the biggest issue so far for the Houston Texans in this season? And how in the world? Are we going to get in L.A. and get out of there with the win? I think it is still possible. L.A. has been absolutely abysmal this season. I think it's definitely still a winnable game, but something has to change. I think these things need to change in order for that to happen. But as always, I leave it up to you guys. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments below. Have a great day. Have a blessed day. Go Houston.