The New England Patriots host the Houston Texans for Thursday Night Football, so we spoke with Brett Kollmann of Battle Red Blog for inside information on the Texans.
1. How is Big Vince Wilfork doing and are you feeding him well?
I'm not sure if we would have gotten over our 2-5 start last season if it weren't for Wilfork's leadership in the locker room. He helped dig this team out of the dumps emotionally, and they fought all the way back to make the playoffs. On the field he is a relatively average player (father time is undefeated, after all), but off the field he is exactly what this team needs right now.
Also yes, he is quite fond of the BBQ scene here in Houston.
2. The Texans defense has a great pass rush, but is there a weakness in the secondary?
I'm afraid not. All three of the Texans starting corners are very good, and even their fourth corner, A.J. Bouye, is a good player in his own right. Andre Hal is really coming into his own as the free safety, and Quintin Demps hasn't been awful at strong safety.
Of the three starting corners, Kareem Jackson is probably the "weak link" of the trio, but you could do a lot worse than him for a slot corner. Trust me. We've experienced it.
3. How has Brock Osweiler changed the Texans offense and helped DeAndre Hopkins?
You know how when you watch Brian Hoyer play he would look decent to start out a series and then decide to throw the DUMBEST POSSIBLE PASS IN HUMAN HISTORY? Yeah, Brock Osweiler hasn't been doing that. He's been poised in the pocket, showed great touch on his throws in the red zone (mostly), and he seems to have a really good rapport with Will Fuller already on the deep ball.
And speaking of Fuller, he just became the first rookie receiver since DeSean Jackson in 2008 to start his career with back to back 100-yard games. This kid might be special.
Hopkins has been loving the change as well because the Osweiler-to-Fuller connection has completely opened up the rest of the field for him to work. Teams are going to be reluctant to leave Fuller on an island after seeing the damage he caused in the first two weeks of the season, which means potentially more one on ones with Hopkins on passing downs. Malcolm Butler is a great corner, so if we do end up getting to see him singled up on Nuk while Fuller gets bracket treatment, that should be a fun battle to watch.
4. Lamar Miller has seen a lot of usage, but has he played well? Or is it the line holding him back?
The offensive line has not run blocked well at all in these first two games. We might start seeing lanes open up a bit as teams respect the passing game more and more, but until Duane Brown gets back in the lineup I'm not sure Miller will rip off many long runs...and that goes double against a stout Patriots front seven.
5. What did the Chiefs do well to hold the Texans in check?
They capitalized on their opportunities to get turnovers. Marcus Peters in particular was the recipient of two interceptions off of miscommunications between Osweiler and his receivers (one of which deflected off of Hopkins' outstretched hand straight into Peters' grasp), but other than that the Texans were able to find success passing the ball. The run game sucked, sure, but the Chiefs really had trouble stopping anything through the air other than on the plays where they got those picks.