PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

November 22, 2018 at 1:34 am.

PLAYER NOTES

–G Senio Kelemete and G Zach Fulton will be game-time decisions for their matchup on Monday. The starting guards have been instrumental in stabilizing the offensive line. If either can’t play on Monday, G/C Greg Mancz will fill in first with rookie T Martinas Rankin as the other option at the guard spot.

–T David Steinmetz was signed to the practice squad due to the uncertainty of the Texans offensive line situation heading into Monday. The Texans have options in G Chad Slade, G Kyle Fuller and T Roderick Johnson to potential sign prior to the Monday Night game.

–CB Andre Chachere was released from the practice squad to make room for the signing of Steinmetz. Chachere signed with the Detroit Lions practice squad.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: S Justin Reid. The Texans continue to make plays in the secondary and rookie safety Justin Reid continues to make game-changing plays. His 101-yard interception return for a touchdown last Sunday flipped the game in a hurry for the Texans. Add in Reid’s ability to fill in on the run, the Titans will be facing a much more aggressive defense than they did in week 2. Reid is becoming an integral part of a safety group that is producing at a high rate.

GAME PLAN: The Houston Texans lost in week 2 to the Tennessee Titans 27-20 which was put in motion due to a fake punt that changed the game. The Texans couldn’t recover and if anything it showed the team was not prepared for what the Titans did that Sunday. The Texans have to prepare for the possibility that Blaine Gabbert could be Tennessee’s quarterback instead of Marcus Mariota

If it’s Gabbert, the Texans are going to have to play disciplined football keeping him in the pocket. The Texans have faced Gabbert the past two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and the Titans in Week 2. The Texans have had trouble containing him as a runner which has led to some successful games for Gabbert.

As for the Texans offense, they have to take advantage of their passing game targeting DeAndre Hopkins, Demaryius Thomas and Keke Coutee. Thomas or Coutee were not in the first game in Week 2, so now Deshaun Watson has his full array of weapons. Add in the run game needed for Monday night, and the Texans have protected Watson well in the passing game.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH

–Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. Titans CB Adoree Jackson. If the game against the Colts was any indication of the play of Adoree Jackson, it could be a prime spot for Hopkins to go to work on Monday night. The Texans have to make sure that Hopkins gets enough chances during the game and trying to match him up versus Jackson could be a priority. The Texans have a chance to match up Keke Coutee and Demaryius Thomas also.

–Texans HC Bill O’Brien vs. Titans HC Mike Vrabel. In the last matchup, the Titans and Vrabel beat the Texans with a similar plan that O’Brien has done with quarterbacks going down with injury. Against the Texans in Week 2, Vrabel kept his starter quiet and played Blaine Gabbert only to show looks the Texans had not seen and then got beat on a blown special teams assignment that turned into a fake punt pass from Kevin Byard to CB Dane Cruikshank to open up the scoring. Vrabel out-coached his O’Brien in game one, which made the clear difference in a positive result for the Titans.

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