Houston Texans

Monday Night Live Blog, Week 11: Titans @ Texans

An intriguing game this evening, as the suddenly fearsome Titans travel to Houston to take on the wild-card seeking Texans. The Texans need it to keep pace with the Jaguars in the wild-card race. The Titans need it ... well, for self-esteem purposes, I guess.

Catch Vince Young(notes) 2.0 in action here tonight, as we'll be here all night with running commentary on the game, observations, insights, polls, blatant lies and a high level of interactivity with you, the reader. We'd love it if you joined us. Kickoff is set for 8:30. We'll be here a few minutes prior.

• Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:05 pm EST
• Shutdown Corner
• By MJD
• 20 Comments

The Week 10 NFL Quarterback Power Rankings

Shutdown Corner presents the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		If he had been facing, for example, the number eight quarterback on this list, Bill Belichick may have punted on that 4th and 2 Sunday night. He wasn't, though. He was facing the number one quarterback, and he knew that guy was going to score from anywhere on the field.
2. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		This week, Favre became your NFL leader in quarterback rating. In a year where we're blessed with five different quarterbacks with a rating of 100 or better, Favre stands at the top. He's thrown 285 passes, and just three of them have been intercepted. Favre might be asked to do a little bit less than most guys on this list (he's 16th in the league in pass attempts), and he might be in the most quarterback-friendly situation in the league, but he's been close to perfect. Wrangler sales are even up.
3. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady made some tremendous throws in a losing effort on Sunday night. He didn't get the win, but he did play well enough to continue his rise towards the top of these rankings, where he belongs. He's been over 300 yards in his last four games, which isn't something he hadn't done since Week 1.
4. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Saints fans are going to be mad at me, but I'm afraid it had to be done. Through his first five games, Drew Brees threw for 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. Over his last four games, Brees has six touchdowns and seven interceptions. That's not good, and I'm afraid it mandates a slide in the rankings. His yardage totals and completion percentages have still been awesome, but to stay in the top two, I'm afraid we need a better TD-to-INT ratio.
5. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Schaub rises a spot, even on his bye week, because it wasn't a particularly great week for the best quarterbacks in the league. But now, after everyone's had their bye week, let's check and see where Schaub ranks in some key statistical categories. He's third in yards passing (behind Manning and Brady) and tied for fifth in touchdowns (behind Manning, Brady, Brees and Kurt Warner(notes)). Not at all shabby.
6. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A brutal week drops Benjamin a few spots: He was 20-of-40 for 174 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. In a huge game for the Steelers, he came up with a quarterback rating (51.5) fewer than 10 points away from JaMarcus Russell's(notes) (43.6). That's not what you're looking for.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It was a very solid week for Rivers, who faced an Eagles defense that ranks fifth in the league in opposing quarterback rating. He went 20-of-25 for 231 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. This will be the fourth straight week where Rivers checks in at number seven.
8. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		A good, but not great effort from Rodgers against the Cowboys: 25-of-36, one touchdown, no picks, and just 189 yards. Not good enough to move him up the list, but not bad enough to move him down. He's been sacked 12 more times than anyone else in the league, and more than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees combined. Dallas got him four times.
9. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
		Welcome, Kurt! I'd still like to see more consistency from you, but two consecutive phenomenal weeks will get you in the mix. Over his last two weeks, Warner's thrown seven touchdowns against zero interceptions. If he has another good game this week, it'll mark the first time all year he's strung three quality games together. He's playing the Rams, too, so it's not exactly a tall order.
10. Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles
		The 450 yards against San Diego were really nice, but would have been nicer if a few more of them had come in the red zone. Again, I'd like to see some more consistency. Really, it was a three-way toss-up here between McNabb, Romo and Palmer, so I thought I'd go with the guy coming off the best week. I'd consider McNabb's grip on the 10th spot very, very tenuous.
Noses pressed against the glass: Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys

• Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:06 pm EST
• Shutdown Corner
• By MJD
• 118 Comments

Three And Out: Useless Predictions For Monday Night Football

Three bold predictions for Monday night's contest between the Titans and Texans.

• Mon Nov 23, 2009 EST
• Battle Red Blog
• By Tim

Andre Johnson Claims Desire To Retire A Texan

Where will Andre Johnson of the Texans play the rest of his career? If you ask him and not his uncle, it's the Houston Texans.

• Sun Nov 22, 2009 EST
• Battle Red Blog
• By Jake

Steve Slaton To Start On Monday Night

Steve Slaton will return to the starting lineup at RB for the Houston Texans when the Titans come calling on Monday night.

• Sat Nov 21, 2009 EST
• Battle Red Blog
• By Tim

Pre-Game Recon: Five Questions With Music City Miracles

How will the Houston Texans fare against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night? I asked several questions to Jimmy, a writer for Music City Miracles, a Titans blog.

• Fri Nov 20, 2009 EST
• Battle Red Blog
• By Jake

Chris Johnson: What To Do?

How will the Texans attempt to handle Chris Johnson on Monday night?

• Thu Nov 19, 2009 EST
• Battle Red Blog
• By Tim