Enemy Insider: Houston Texans

Source: YardBarker.com

It is week 9 and that Chargers will be in MUST WIN mode for the rest of the season. This week’s opponent is the Houston Texans and I was able to ask some questions with the Lead Blogger at Houston Sports and More, Dustyn Richardson, about our upcoming opponent.

How does the Texans offense plan on attacking the Chargers defense?

After this week’s game against Indianapolis a lot of fans are doubting Kubiak’s offensive game plans. You would have thought after we ran all over the Colts in Week 1 we would run all over them again but instead our game plan was pass heavy. I’d look for a more balanced attack against San Diego with the run being used early to set up the play action and bootleg passes later in the game.

With the offensive weapons of Matt Schaub, Arian Foster, and Andre Johnson, where are the weaknesses to the Texans offense?

The offense revolves around Schaub. If Schaub is off in a game the entire offense slows almost to a halt as seen in Indy Monday night. If Schaub gets pressured and hit early it seems to put him off his game. The Texans also need another WR opposite of Johnson to step up whether it is Kevin Walter or Jacoby Jones.

With Philip Rivers on record setting pace and a high flying passing attack, how do the Texans plan on stopping the passing game?

Honestly the Texans will not be able to stop the Chargers passing game. I’m not sure they could stop a passing game of me, you, and some fans out at the tailgate. The pass defense played much better against the Colts so they have shown some signs of improvement. The defensive line will have to get pressure on Rivers to help the secondary. Mario Williams will have to have a good game for the defense to have success.

Where are the weaknesses to the Texans defense and where can the Chargers take advantage of them?

As I said earlier the Texans are very weak against the pass. They start a rookie, Kareem Jackson, and a 2nd year player, Glover Quin, at cornerback. The loss of middle linebacker Demeco Ryans is big as well. I would think the Chargers would throw the ball 40-50 times in this game to attack the Texans.

What player, that Chargers fans are unaware of, should we keep our eyes on for the game on Sunday?

Fullback Vonta Leach is a big cog in the Texans offense that flies under the radar. The Texans run a zone blocking system which calls on their running backs to make one cut and get downhill. You won’t see Arian Foster try and dance and bounce around when he gets the handoff. Look for Foster to follow Leach into a hole and follow that block or bounce it outside to get down the sideline.

Prediction on the game?

I’ve struggled with predicting this game because the Texans are so Jekyll and Hyde. As of Tuesday I’ll take the Chargers 27-21 but that may change a few times before Sunday.

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I would like to thank Dustyn for all his time and I would like to wish his team the worst of luck this weekend.

He also asked me a few questions and you can take a look at that link here: Chargers vs Texans: Week 9 Preview