[EDITOR’S NOTE: Every week Mike Meltser will post his reactions to the latest Houston Texans game shortly after the final whistle.]
- Brian Hoyer seemed to get the Tom Brady/starting quarterback treatment, only playing for a series before being replaced by Ryan Mallett. 1-series-and-out in the first preseason game is how established NFL QBs usually get handled, so my initial impression was that Hoyer had a significant edge for the starting job. However, Bill O’Brien said immediately following the game that Mallett would start next week, so that has altered my perception a bit.
- It was only a series, but Hoyer did a nice job commanding the offense on that initial TD drive. He hit Garrett Graham on a 3rd and long, and gave Cecil Shorts III the ball in stride on his 58 yard catch-and-run.
- I was pleasantly surprised by the wide receiver group. The play Shorts made on his TD is the kind that we haven’t seen a lot out of the ancillary receivers over the last couple of years. Both he and Alan Bonner have the “look” of true slot receivers. Keith Mumphery had a solid 17 yard catch from Mallett, while Jaelen Strong caught a superb back shoulder throw from Tom Savage. Right now, it appears that the Texans are going to keep 6 wideouts: DeAndre Hopkins, Nate Washington, Shorts, Strong, Mumphery, and one of Bonner/Chandler Worthy. It’s not as strong at the top as last year’s group, but I’m intrigued by the potential of the depth here.
- Benardrick McKinney struggled in coverage, getting beaten by Garrett Celek twice, the 2nd time missing a tackle after a short completion. I’m not surprised that McKinney would have some issues in pass coverage, but he can’t be missing tackles. He did admit after the game that everything seemed to be moving extremely fast.
- Not a ton to write home about yet, but the returners give me more hope this year. I thought both Worthy and Bonner showed more juice returning punts on Saturday night than Keshawn Martin has shown over the last few years.
- 3rd string running back is an interesting battle to watch. Right now, that appears to be a fight between Chris Polk and Kenny Hilliard. The rookie out of LSU appeared to be more of a bruising runner, while Polk impressed me as a receiver out of the backfield. He had a nifty 25 yard catch-and-run after Savage scrambled out of the pocket.
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