Time to get the low down on all things Houston
We have, once again, reached the point of the week where we sit down with the folks from the SB Nation blog that covers the Minnesota Vikings opponent. This week, the purple will play host to the Houston Texans, which means an opportunity to sit down with the folks from Battle Red Blog, the best site to go to for everything relating to Texans’ football.
I had the opportunity to exchange questions with Scott Barzilla from BRB this week. Once he posts my answers to the questions he sent me, I’ll put them on our site and link to them here. For now, here are the questions that I posed to him along with his answers.
Stefon Diggs and Danielle Hunter both make their returns to Minnesota this Sunday, with Diggs having been traded to Buffalo ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft and Hunter signing with the Texans this offseason. How have the two of them fit into the Houston offense and defense, respectively?
Hunter made his presence felt this last Sunday night with 1.5 sacks and quite a few additional pressures. You cannot double Hunter and defending Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson. One or both will go off on most teams. Diggs’ numbers don’t jump off the page yet but he fits in well as a veteran presence. Sure, that is likely because this year is now a walk year, but he has been a security blanket for Stroud and he will go off eventually.
C.J. Stroud took the league by storm in his rookie season and seems to have picked up where he left off after his Rookie of the Year campaign. What have the Texans done to help turn him into one of the league’s best quarterbacks in just his second season?
I think the key for any young QB is tailoring an offense around what he does well. He is extremely accurate and generally goes to the right guy with throws. I think the bigger difference in year two is just the addition of Diggs and Joe Mixon. Defenses can’t take away all the targets and he is good at simply finding the open man.
Under DeMeco Ryans, the Texans have turned their team around in very short order. How high are the expectations for this team among the fan base, particularly after their 2-0 start to this season?
I think it’s AFC Championship or bust to be honest. That’s admittedly a tough task in the AFC. Suddenly, the Texans have a two game lead in the division but we saw the Jaguars fritter away a lead last season. It has to be pedal to the metal.
Give us one player on each side of the ball for the Texans that Vikings fans might not know about but will be essential to the Texans’ success on Sunday.
On offense, Dalton Schultz is that guy for me. You can key on those top three receivers and forget about him. Focusing on Nico Collins is tempting after his first two games but there are other targets that can burn you. On defense, the two rookie secondary players (Kamarie Lassiter and Calen Bullock) each have a pick already. They aren’t Pro Bowlers but their additions have allowed the Texans to blitz more often.
How do you see this weekend’s game shaking out? Can the Texans get their franchise’s first-ever win over Minnesota on Sunday?
This is a tough line. Ryans is 9-3 in one score games as a head coach. I’m going Texans to win but it’s going to be a close game. I hadn’t realized we were winless in Minnesota but it makes sense. It’s a tough place to play and the Vikings look better than previously thought. I’ll take the Texans, give the points, and keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks to Scott for taking the time to sit down and answer our questions for this week!
