Skip to main content

Author: Hunter Cooke

Texans: Fake or Real in ACF South?

Written by Hunter Cooke on . Posted in NFL FOOTBALL.

In order for the Houston Texans to contend for real in the AFC, there are some things they need to have happen.

They’re going to need Deshaun Watson to keep playing hard. The Texans quarterback has been dealing with a chest injury, and yet still guided them to victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Watson is tough, sure, but he’s more than tough, he’s completed 63 percent of his passes. Houston could do with a tad bit more consistency out of Watson though, at the time of writing he’s thrown seven interceptions to just 10 touchdowns.

They’ll need their playmakers to keep making plays. DeAndre Hopkins is having a great year so far, and the Texans will need him to keep making explosive plays if they want other wide recievers like Will Fuller and Keke Coutee to keep making plays as well. When one wideout draws the coverage, the rest of them benefit. Lamar Miller needs to make more plays in the rushing game as well.

 

Finally, on the defensive side of the ball, they need to keep rushing the passer well. The Texans front seven is downright nasty, and they’ll need to keep the pressure on opposing gunslingers in order to play for real in the AFC. JJ Watt, Jadaveon Clowney, and Whitney Mercilus can all create nightmares for opposing offensive lines, and need to keep doing what they’re doing.

 

The Texans are in a very weak division, and might very well win that by virtue of not being the absolute worst. Contending in the AFC is still a bit of a longshot for right now, especially with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs appearing Super Bowl bound. The Texans have the pieces in place, but it may very well just be someone else’s year. Eventually though, they’ll begin to make waves

Slow your Texas playoff hopes down for exactly one year

Written by Hunter Cooke on . Posted in TEXAS SPORTS.

Texas has, so far, taken the college football world by surprise. The one-loss Longhorns are currently leading the Big 12 and are poised to have their first very successful season in what feels like forever.

These developments have some fans talking about the holy grail: the College Football Playoff. It could happen, they reason, the rest of the college football world outside of Alabama isn’t great, they say. They’re correct, this isn’t a deep roster of teams in 2018. However, a Texas berth in the College Football Playoff is a little bit premature, but not outside of the realm of possibility.

 

Yes, the Longhorns are ranked No. 6 in the nation. But according to Bill Connelly’s S&P+, a series of stats and rankings intended to be predictive of a team’s success over the whole season, the Longhorns rate just No. 38. Connelly’s number are by and large accurate when it comes to predicting victories, and so far, the data shows that the Longhorns’ rushing offense without Keaontay Ingram just isn’t explosive enough to predict lots of victories in the points-laden Big 12, and that when the Longhorns turn the ball over, they do it in the worst possible scenarios.

 

Keep in mind as well that Texas still has to play West Virginia, go on the road to play Texas Tech, and take on the crushing defense of Iowa State. At the halfway mark of the season, though, the Longhorns are still sitting pretty.

 

You might say, so what, these fancy numbers indicate that the Longhorns are going to lose a game or so, but numbers have been wrong before. You’re correct! Unfortunately for the Longhorns’ playoff hopes, their loss was to Maryland. Maryland looked good at the beginning of the season, but is sitting at a very average 4-3 record at the time of writing. Contrast this with the rest of the current AP top four teams, three of which (Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame) have no losses and LSU, who only has a loss to a top 10 ranked Florida. Yes, the SEC bias is real and is carrying lots of water for that LSU loss, but Florida is still currently a one-loss team and at least deserves to be ranked. Contrast that with Maryland, who, well, doesn’t.

 

It’s an uphill climb and the Longhorns are working against some tough forces. Fortunately for Tom Herman and the boys, they’re arriving a year early. If the Longhorns don’t make the playoff, don’t sweat it. They’ll return nearly every impact player next year, and be fully ready to make a playoff push in 2019 should they get left out in 2018. Kick back and enjoy the ride.

Texas OU Preview

Written by Hunter Cooke on . Posted in TEXAS SPORTS.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
That phrase was coined by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, a Frenchman who had a penchant for satire. The showdown between Texas and Oklahoma coming on the first Saturday of October, however, is no laughing matter.
The duo broke in new coaches last year, Tom Herman for the Horns, and Lincoln Riley for the Sooners. Riley and Oklahoma took the first encounter 29-24, but it wasn’t easy. Sam Ehlinger, despite being punished every play for merely existing on the same 100 yard long and 53.5 yard wide field as the Sooners, put on a fine display of quarterbacking under pressure.
This year could be different though. Baker Mayfield, a son of Austin and now of Oklahoma, is long gone to the Cleveland Browns. Several Longhorn stalwarts are gone too, most notably on the defensive side of the ball. One thing is for sure: this is a largely unpredictable rivalry.
We’ve already mentioned Sam Ehlinger, so let’s focus on other Longhorn standouts. At the time of writing, Tre Watson leads Texas in rushing with a respectable 4.1 yards per carry. Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson have been solid receivers so far, despite the Longhorns’ struggles to move the ball at times. Keaontay Ingram has also flashed potential at the running back position as well.
On the defensive side of the ball, look for Charles Omenihu to make some big plays from the defensive end position. Breckyn Hager provides a solid bookend on the other side of the defensive line. Anthony Wheeler is having a solid season at linebacker, and the ‘Horns are talented in the secondary with Kris Boyd and P.J. Locke providing veteran knowledge, and Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster providing raw talent.
At the time of writing, Oklahoma looks like a juggernaut on offense. Few have been able to slow the Sooners, who are led in rushing and passing by Kyler Murray, who will leave after this season to join the Oakland Athletics. Murray made a whopping 4.7 million bonus for signing with the A’s, and will easily be the highest paid player on the field since this is college football and there’s definitely no other players getting that kind of money from bagmen or their universities. Bruising running back Trey Sermon returns as well, and CeeDee Lamb is a deep threat every time he steps on the turf.
On defense, the Sooners have some young stars of their own. Freshman DB Brendan Radley-Hiles is looking like a star in the making, and Curtis Bolton and Kenneth Murray are legitimate All-Big 12 contenders. The Oklahoma defense gives up some points, but with their offense they can afford to spot teams some points.
Texas is better this year, sure. But this is an Oklahoma team that appears to be just as good as the team that went to the College Football Playoff in 2017, and lost in overtime to Georgia in the semifinals.
Be patient, Texas fans. This one might not be your year. But anyone who knows anything about football can tell you that Tom Herman’s teams are improving, and his most promising players are his youngest. Your Longhorns might not pull this off. But they’re well set up for huge Big 12 runs in the future. There has been change, but for now, it’s likely that history will repeat itself with an Oklahoma win.

Hermans Sophmore Year

Written by Hunter Cooke on . Posted in Football, TEXAS SPORTS, UT FOOTBALL.

2017’s 7-6 season was good for Tom Herman’s first season with the Texas Longhorns, but that’s certainly not the expectation moving forward.
Fortunately for Herman and Longhorn fans all over, should their quarterback play solidify, this could be an excellent season for a variety of factors.
On the defensive side of the ball, Texas lost a metric ton of stellar players to the NFL. They also return two of the most important pieces in a Big 12 defense: both defensive ends. Breckyn Hager and Charles Omenihu can get after the quarterback, which in the pass-happy Big 12 can pay massive dividends. That fearsome defensive front will have to carry a lot of water early in the season, as the defensive backfield is likely to be full of younger players who will need to get used to the speed of college football. Todd Orlando will earn every cent of his 1.7 million dollar salary getting his youthful secondary up to snuff.
Of course, while the defense might take a slight step back due to attrition, the offense has a chance to make a leap forward. Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger both return, as do a slew of talented skill position players. The offensive line is harder to predict, but with an influx of talent in graduate transfer Calvin Anderson and a new offensive line coach in Herb Hand, there’s a chance at improvement. All in all, just a little bit of progress might be all the Longhorns need to take a solid season.
The real reason for optimism comes from the rest of the conference: it’s likely to be a down year in the rest of the Big 12. Gone are names like Baker Mayfield, Mason Rudolph, and James Washington, who have terrorized the Longhorns in the past. Essentially, most teams in the Big 12 are rebuilding, and that leaves a bigger space for Texas to strike. If Herman and his boys can strike while the iron is hot, the Longhorns could be looking at a successful season by default due to the relative weakness of their conference slate.

New Orleans Saints team to beat in NFC South

Written by Hunter Cooke on . Posted in NFL FOOTBALL.

We can be sure about this for the 2018 iteration of the New Orleans Saints: they will be explosive. On the defensive side of the ball, their aggressive play has offenses struggling to keep their hands on the ball. The Saints pulled in a solid 42 sacks and 25 takeaways in the 2017 season, and with the influx of talent like rookie Marcus Davenport to complement Cameron Jordan, those numbers could increase. The talent is there, but the consistency hasn’t been.
The Saints defense will need to improve on that No. 17 total ranking in 2017, and the talent is there to do it.The offensive side of the ball will blend veteran leadership and rookie speed. Alvin Kamara, the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Mark Ingram will form a formidable backfield once Ingram returns from suspension for PEDs.
The Saints offensive line is solid as well, not star
studded or dominant, but definitely in the upper echelon of the NFL.
The X-Factor on this team is Drew Brees. So far, the 17-year career of the grizzled quarterback
has defied both doctors and expectations. However, he has shown signs of aging in recent
seasons. Brees is still elite, don’t misunderstand me, but with the youth at the skill positions he
can’t afford to be anything less than elite if the Saints are to build on their 2017 season.
New Orleans is still one of the best teams in the whole NFC, and should win the NFC South.
Whether they can take that extra step and be one of the best teams in the NFL remains to be
seen.