DEN vs HOU: Post Game Notes

(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

So, I actually set the alarm, woke up at 1am and watched the whole game (ending at 4am this morning). Work is going to suck this morning. :(

Let’s take a look at some of my thoughts and predictions from before the game versus what we saw on the field against Houston…

Young headlines Youth at RB –
Selvin Young was average versus Houston’s first team defense. He did well catching out of the back field and did have a nice run called back by a penalty. However, four attempts for only 3 yards rushing is nothing to write home about. Michael Pittman was ok with 20 yards on four attempts. Alridge did break one run for an impressive gain, but was contained well on his three other attempts. And that leaves Andre Hall. Granted, Hall had the assistance of the starting (or nearly the starting) O-line playing the rest of the first half; however, he still managed to impress by racking up 43 yards on 8 attempts.

I don’t think this will alter the starting line up next week. I would imagine Hall will remain #2 and get another opportunity to show off his skills next weekend.

The Man in the Middle –
Well, I said Nate Webster would lose his hat twice… he only lost it once. Sorry folks. :(
I think the one player I didn’t even notice during the game was Niko Koutouvides. The statistic boys say Niko had a tackle, but I must have missed it. The only thing I saw Niko doing was waving his arms and pointing alot before the snap with little impact in the area of putting hits on the Texans. I’m not anti-Niko, I just wasn’t all that impressed… and when you add to this the STUNNING play of LB Wesley Woodyard and the solid play from guys like Winborn and Beck, Niko’s night looks even weeker.

Webster only recorded 3 tackles, but was EVERYWHERE. I think he will obviously keeps his starting job for this week and we should see more helmet-flying action from him this weekend!

New faces on the ole D-line –
WE STOPPED THE RUN!!!! That’s right folks, our new first string defense (minus D-Rod) held the Texan’s first string offense to only 17 yards rushing in the first quarter! I was SO blown away by our run stopping, I hardly noticed much else.

However, we didn’t get a sack until late, late in the game. When was the last time we didn’t hear something from Elvis Dumervil? I’ll credit that to Alex Gibbs… Let’s see what kind of pressure our first teamers can put on Dallas this weekend before we get too worried. :)

(AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Royal Treatment –
Well I think we say that Eddie Royal did well in his first NFL game. Nothing mind-blowing, but he made a couple tough catches and showed that he was tough enough to stick it out over the middle. And, Brandon Marshall made catching Cutler passes look easy as usual.
However, I was rather disappointed in the lack of excitement or highlights from our other wideouts.
TE Tony Scheffler, coming in with the second teamers, had the best night of this group putting up 47 yards on 3 catches. That might improve his stock this week, but he’ll have to block better as well.
Nate Jackson seems to be providing reliable service on the first team, but Tony may have raised the bar a bit after this game – We’ll wait and see

The tale of two Ryans –
I hate to say it, but I was pretty accurate on the Ryan and Ryan issue. Ryan Clady didn’t let Mario get to Cutler, but he was pushed to his limit on almost every play. Mario did have a good quarter with a couple stops behind the line.
Ryan Harris didn’t just stuggle, he got his ass handed to him. What was that? Four Penalties for +30 yards? And on top of that, it looked like he was getting beaten regularly on that side.
On the positive side, the middle of our O-line looked solid.

Ryan Harris needs to get his head on straight. One more game like Saturday’s and he could be watching the rest of preseason (and the season) from the bench or worse.

(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Enough Prattle about Prater –
Well, Matt Prater had his first taste of the NFL on Saturday. For anyone crying to end the ‘meaningless’ preseason, please see Prater’s first Field Goal attempt as proof positive our young guys need a bit of game experience before diving into the games that ‘count.’ Prater calmed down after his first miss and connected on the next three.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTE:
It was very nice seeing some plays being made on ST. Jamie Winborn and Cecil Sapp had great plays on a coverage team that did a good job of limiting the Texan’s return game. The one blowout was the last Houston possession that started with Slaton’s 39 yard return.

Our returners also did well. Eddie Royal returned two kickoffs for 21 and 27 yards. Andre Hall has two returns for 20 yards each and even Alridge had a 23 yard return.