Football has played a major roll throughout the life of Keilone Gordon. He has played the sport all his life and later began coaching children and high school students. His favorite NFL teams include the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, and of course his home team, the Houston Texans. Below is a preview of the Houston Texans in the upcoming NFL season set to start this week as well as a few of Keilone Gordon’s predictions for what he expects to see out of his team.
Houston Texans Offense
Unfortunately, this offense could very likely be disastrous to start the season. One of the biggest threats on offense, Arian Foster, is hurt until at least week 4. Alfred Blue, Chris Polk and Jon Grimes will all get their fair share of touches in the attempt to try to find a true handcuff for Foster. Deandre Hopkins will definitely receive a lot more targets than he did last year, as he showed down the stretch that he could be “the guy” to replace Andre Johnson. His game against Tennessee last year where he had 9 rec’s, 238 yards and 2 td’s was one of the best all season among WR’s. He won’t get much help from his QB though, as Brian Hoyer was named the starter just one week ago. He didn’t exactly “win” the job; it was more of a lesser of two evils situation. Both Hoyer and Ryan Mallet were uninspiring in the Summer and in preseason, but Hoyer has much more starting experience on his side, hence the decision by Bill O’Brien to name him the week 1 starter. The offensive line has been built more for the run game, as evidenced by big road-grading guards in Brandon Brooks and Xavier Su’a-Filo. These two guys just might be good enough to open big holes for the backup RB’s like Blue and Polk.
Houston Texans Defense
Jadeveon Clowney is actually expected to be ready to go week 1; this is a very scary thought for AFC South QB’s. With J.J. Watt and Clowney coming from both sides, one of them is only going to have a single blocker on most plays. The Texans didn’t think this was enough, however. They went out and got Vince Wilfork from New England to clog the run up the middle. Brian Cushing is fully healthy, that might not last long, but for the time being he is a very good box to box LB who can jack up a RB and also cover a TE with ease. The only main concern for Cushing is how long he can stay healthy during a season. The CB’s are both very reliable on each side, with Kareem Jackson locking down one half and Jonothan Joseph on the other. With the expected constant pressure from Watt and Clowney, these CB’s should be in for a lot of errant throws leading to interception opportunities. Rahim Moore comes over from Denver and will play his role of “centerfielder”. He is a very good lone cover safety who you can trust won’t get beat deep on many plays.
Season Prediction
If Jadeveon Clowney can stay healthy for a majority of the season, this Texans defense could be top 5. If Arian Foster can come back before week 5 and stay healthy, the running game will be a force to be reckoned with. Deandre Hopkins will be the undisputed #1 target on an inevitably poor passing offense. I think this could definitely be a playoff team and I’m hoping we can make a run this year in the 2015 NFL season.