Written by Jason Askew

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Week 9 Game 8
When/Where: Sunday 1:00pm Houston, Texas       Reliant Stadium
Opponent: Houston Texans                                         Current Spread: Browns +11

This week the 3-4 Cleveland Browns visit Houston, Texas to play the 5-3 Houston Texans. Even though it sounds weird to say, this game will be a battle of two top five defenses.

Throughout the years, Houston has been known for their offense with RB Arian Foster, QB Matt Shaub, and WR Andre Johnson, but this year has been different than years past. The Texans are playing very good defense so far, which is why most think they are off to a good start in 2011.

The Cleveland Browns figured to struggle this year on defense because they are very young on that side of the ball, but in general that hasn’t been the case. The defense has risen to the challenge and has played well all year. They are coming off of a game where they held the 6-1 San Francisco 49ers to 95 yards and three points in the second half, which is surely some positive momentum to build from.

This game will be a test to see if this year’s version of the Houston Texans can continue to beat the teams they are supposed to beat and move to the next level of NFL teams, or whether the young Cleveland Browns can finally figure out how to beat good teams on the road.

San Francisco Season Snaphsot
The Texans have had a solid season over the first half of the year. This game will start the 3^rd quarter of games for them. They came out of the gates quickly winning 3 of their first 4 and then they stalled a bit over the next four going 2-2, but they are full of momentum after winning two straight.

The Texans have been through some peaks and valleys as they’ve figured out how to compete at a high level every week. They have beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers and lost to the Saints and Ravens, who are both quality teams. Of the other four teams they have beaten so far none of them have a winning record and the Dolphins and Colts are still winless.

So far the Texans are on top of their division and it looks like they are on their way to their first division title in Franchise history. They are one of the more balanced teams in the AFC and have scored TDs on offense, defense, and special teams.

For the first time in head coach Gary Kubiak’s career he has a team providing him with good all-around play and they are not being carried by the offense… the Texans will look to keep their winning streak going and notch their third in a row this Sunday against the Browns.

Expectations on Game Day
Offense-  Offensively the new Texans are very balanced. The passing game is ranked 11^th and their running game is ranked 4^th in the league. They do an excellent job of keeping teams off balance with a good pass-to-run ratio.

The offense features the zone blocking running scheme led by RB Arian Foster. His backup Ben Tate has also proven to be a RB who can churn out yards, and Tate is averaging over 5 yards a carry. Both RBs have over 500 yards on the year and have combined for 5 TDs.

Foster is a big back (6-1 230lbs) with decent speed but the thing that has makes him special is his vision and quick feet. He is quick to find a crease and once he sees where he wants to go his fast feet take him in a hurry. For a bigger back he can cut on a dime, which makes him deadly on cutback runs. Once he gets to through the hole he is one of the rare big RBs who can run you over or make you miss in space.

The aspect of Arian Foster that sometimes gets overlooked is his soft hands. He has 22 catches on the season for over 300 yards. He is a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield so you have to account for him on running and passing plays.

The offensive line is the reason why the Texans can dominate a game with time of possession. They are a big, agile offensive line who can execute their zone blocking scheme at an extremely high level. They also have performed fairly well in pass protection giving up only 15 sacks so far.

Formation wise the Texans use a base one-back offense, sometimes with two TEs and sometimes with 3 WRs. Starting WR Andre Johnson has missed the last 4 games and in those games the Texans have used more multiple TE sets instead of multiple WR sets. Some formations may look like there is a FB in there but a lot of times that player is James Casey who they use more like an H-back. He is a hybrid FB/TE and is a factor in the passing game catching balls from the backfield, and he also runs routes from a wing position.

In the Passing game the Texans start QB Matt Shaub and feature superstar WR Johnson and TE Owen Daniels. Shaub has done a good job of distributing the ball this yea;, he has six pass catchers who have over 200 yards receiving and five are over 250. For the year the QB has thrown for 13TDs and thrown five interceptions.

Andre Johnson hasn’t played in 4 games with a hamstring injury and didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday so it is up in the air still whether he plays or not. If not then TE Owen Daniels will more than likely continue to be Shaub’s favorite target, he is leading the team in both receptions and yards.

The Texans use a lot of play action passes because the running game is so effective. They really put pressure on the CBs because they use a lot of outside running plays that force the CBs to be a factor in the running game, and then go play action while trying to complete deep passes once the DBs get nosey.

You can expect Houston to run the ball a lot against the Browns. They ran Arian Foster 33 times against Pittsburgh, so if they will run that much against a defense notorious for being tough to run on the Browns will get a heavy dose. They will play action off of those runs and go for yards in big chunks. If Andre Johnson doesn’t play on Sunday, look for WR Jacoby Jones to be the deep target and WR Kevin Walter and TE Owen Daniels to be the targets on shorter routes.

Defense- Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is in his first year coaching the Houston defense and he has them playing aggressive and fast. The defense is #3 in total yards allowed and so far they have 20 sacks on the year. Their star, OLB Mario Williams, was off to a fast start accumulating 5 sacks in the early games, but had his season end early by tearing a pectoral muscle. After he went out their ability to get to the QB took a hit, but they still get effective pressure when executing Phillips’s scheme.
Wade Phillips likes using an attacking style 3-4. He isn’t a conventional two gap 3-4 coach and prefers his defensive lineman to get penetration, and therefore his defenses are always aggressive and fly to the ball. Phillips relies on his front 7 for pass rush and often times puts the secondary in man coverage.

The Texans defense is led by inside LBs DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing. These two players make tackles all over the field and occasionally get after the QB on blitzes. They start rookie JJ Watt at one DE and Antonio Smith, who leads the team with 4.5 sacks, at the other.

Most people say that the biggest difference in Houston’s defense is the addition of free agent CB Jonathan Joseph, who along with 2^nd year player Kareem Jackson allows the front seven to be aggressive because of the CBs’ good coverage. The safety position was given a boost in the offseason also by adding Daniel Manning, who started off the year playing great but has missed the last 3 games because of injury. Manning hasn’t practiced this week either so it looks like they will be without his services for another game which is good for the Browns. The other starting safety is Glover Quinn who is second on the team in tackles and is very active against the run.

As far as a game plan against the Browns, look for the Texans to continue to do what they have done all year and play aggressive attacking defense. You should expect them to bring pressure from all angles because the Browns have struggled to make teams pay for blitzing and QB Colt McCoy has seemingly been rattled by pressure all year. I anticipate the CBs will play close to the line of scrimmage and be physical, trying to force Cleveland’s young WRs to make plays, which is something they haven’t accomplished yet.

Browns Season Snapshot

Cleveland is coming off of a hard fought loss in San Francisco. They are 3-4 on the year and have struggled of late. The defense has played well throughout the early portion of the 2011 season but the offense is still struggling to find its way. The Browns have not beaten an opponent this year that has a winning record, but to their credit they haven’t lost to a team with a losing one either.

Cleveland will be looking to build off of a second half last week against the 49ers in which they help their opponents to 95 total yards and allowed only three points while scoring seven points and gaining just under 200 total yards of their own.

Expectations on Game Day

Defense- The Cleveland Browns use a base 4-3 that is led by DT Ahtyba Rubin, MLB D’Qwell Jackson, and CB Joe Haden. Rubin is playing incredible football right now and can be seen making tackles in the backfield and more impressively up and down the line of scrimmage. There isn’t a defensive lineman in the NFL who hustles after more plays laterally and down the field than Rubin does so look for him to have a lot of tackles against Houston’s zone blocking scheme. I also anticipate that Rubin’s hustle and lateral movement will make him a victim of more than his share of cut blocks which is something the Texans like to do.

MLB D’Qwell Jackson is the team leader in tackles with 65 and is coming off of a game in San Francisco where he had 10 solo tackles and five tackles for loss. He is flourishing in defensive coordinator Dick Jauron’s system.
CB Joe Haden is thought by many to be one of the best young CBs in the game. He is a good all around CB who fills against the run really well and is a good open field tackler. He also is 3^rd in the league in passes defense which shows he is always around the ball in coverage.

As a group you can expect the Browns to continue their fundamentally sound approach and play a lot of base defense. They may sprinkle in an occasional blitz but don’t expect a steady diet of it. I think Cleveland’s young DL has the lateral quickness to deal with the zone blocking scheme of Houston, so don’t look for them to rely on too many gimmicks, but you can probably expect SS T.J. Ward to stay around the line of scrimmage to aide in run support.

Offense-  The offense of Cleveland is led by 2^nd year QB Colt McCoy who has been shouldering the load because the RBs of Cleveland have been banged up all year. Starting tailback Peyton Hillis has only played in 3 games and his backup 2^nd year player Montario Hardesty was injured in the first quarter of last week’s game and expected to be out a few weeks.

Hillis practiced on a limited basis Thursday and was re-injured Friday and is not likely to play Sunday. If he can’t go the 29^th ranked running game will rely on Chris Ogbonnaya who the Browns signed off of the Houston Texans practice squad a few weeks ago. No matter who is in the backfield it is critical the Browns get some positive rushing yards to help McCoy and the passing game.

The Browns offensive line starts two first year starters at guard mixed in with a pro bowl left tackle and center. Tony Pashos starts at RT and has been slowed by injuries so far this season. This group has had mixed reviews so far this year, and just like the rest of the offense they are having trouble with consistency. The right side in particular has struggled, so look for the Texans to test it over the course of the game.

The Browns use west coast passing concepts when throwing and feature rookie WR Greg Little and TEs Ben Watson/Evan Moore. QB McCoy, like many of these players, is having a roller coaster season. He has made some great throws and seems to be getting more comfortable in the pocket every week, but he has also struggled with accuracy and ball placement over the first 7 games.

With Hillis unlikely to suit up the Browns will more than likely have to once again rely on McCoy and his passing game to shoulder the load.

The Browns have failed miserably in the first quarters of games so far so look for them to try and gain yards in chunks in the early part of the game. The Texans are fast but can sometimes be overly aggressive so look for the Browns to dial up screen plays to players like Josh Cribbs and Greg Little, and also mix in some draw plays in the running game. I also expect to see them test the Houston CB Kareem Jackson on some deep throws.

McCoy looks the best at the end of games when he is using 3 and 4 WR sets but we have yet to see the Browns use many of these sets on first downs early in games, so that is a switch up we may see in the early portion of this game.

Last week the Browns ran a few series that featured some no huddle or sugar huddle concepts and with a defense that likes getting up field like Houston’s does, this may be something we see more of this week.

Key Matchups

*RT Tony Pashos vs. DEs J.J. Watt/Antonio Smith- Pashos has been struggling early in games waiting for his creaky body to get loose. These two DEs offer power and unusual quickness for their size, so Pashos needs to be focused and warmed up right from the first snap. The Browns need to avoid plays like the one that happened on the second play of the game last week in San Francisco. Pashos got used and spit out by OLB Ahmad Brooks and Brooks ended up with a sack-fumble and the 49ers ended up with the ball on Cleveland’s 20 yard line.

*MLB D’Qwell Jackson vs. RB Arian Foster- If Foster gets hot and is gaining yards in chunks the Houston offense is virtually unstoppable. The Browns need Jackson to use his speed to penetrate the gaps, as the offensive line is getting movement laterally, so he can get to Foster before he gains much steam. The worry is that Jackson over commits and Foster has huge cutback lanes, so watch it doesn’t backfire. This matchup should be fun to watch.

*TE Ben Watson vs. S Jason Allen- Watson needs to get open in the middle of the field for Colt McCoy to have a good day. Allen is a very fast safety but Watson should be able to out muscle him for catches.

*WR Greg Little vs. CB Kareem Jackson/Johnathan Joseph- In my opinion Little didn’t play so well last week. He is a very competitive player so I expect him to bounce back this week showing everyone why he was worth a second round pick. It can be a real boost to the offense if the Browns can create some yards in chunks and Little is one of the players who can do it.

* HC Pat Shurmur vs. DC Wade Phillips- With an offense that is struggling I want to see the Browns get some yards by taking advantage of Phillips’s scheme. Shurmur needs to watch the tape from the Texans/Ravens game and find out what Cam Cameron did to the Texans and infuse some of that into the Browns offense. I have been waiting to see a game where coach Shurmur and QB Colt McCoy sink up and dominate like I did a few times last year with Shurmur and St. Louis QB Sam Bradford.

*Browns Coverage Teams vs. Jacoby Jones- Jones is a long, lean runner with good quickness and blazing speed. If the Browns don’t wrap him up and stay in their lanes, Jones could blow the game wide open on a punt return. I hope the punt gunners are focused because Jones can change the game in a blink.

Prediction
You know fellow Browns fans, once again this week I am trying to convince myself this is the week the offense explodes and I am having a hard time seeing it. Unfortunately I don’t think this team is ready to go into the opponent’s back yard and take a victory.

If the Texans are looking past the Browns, yes the Browns, could win but I don’t think they will be. This Houston team was supposed to be the next hot team of the AFC for years now and I think a Peyton Manning-free year has given them the confidence they needed to take the next step.

I am picking the Texans to beat the Browns on Sunday and I am hoping the Browns bring their “A” game because if they don’t it will be a blow out.

To all you Dawg Pound fanatics: enjoy your football Sunday and……Go Browns!