Texans Get A Crack At Dolphins' Defense
MIAMI (CBS4) -- Admit it, Houston Texans: Watching Monday Night Football this week left you salivating at the prospect of facing the Miami Dolphins' defense. Right?
"Every week's a different story," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said.
But quarterback Matt Schaub must be counting the hours to kickoff Sunday after watching Tom Brady throw for 517 yards against the Dolphins.
"It's meaningless," Schaub said. "We can't look to what they did last week and think: 'Oh, it's going to happen again."'
But the Dolphins were unable to cover Aaron Hernandez or Rob Gronkowski, so Andre Johnson must already be waving his arms in anticipation of being wide open.
"You can't really dwell on what happened the week before," Johnson said. "Teams make changes. They adjust. You can't win a game on paper. You have to still go out and play it."
The Texans might rank last in the NFL in candor, but don't be fooled: The Dolphins are worried about a repeat after their prime-time humiliation at home that looked worse than the score. New England won 38-24.
It was only the first game, but the drubbing raised questions about a veteran defense hailed as Miami's strength.
"That was embarrassing. There's no question about it," safety Yeremiah Bell said. "You never want to leave anything like that on the field, so Sunday can't come soon enough. We stunk it up."
As the aroma fades, Miami's already alone in last place in the AFC East, where the other three teams are 1-0. With another defeat, the Dolphins would be 0-2 for the fifth time in six years.
To bounce back, the defense could have picked an easier matchup. Miami coaches who scrutinize obscure statistics ranked New England the No. 1 offense in the NFL last year.
Ranked No. 2? Houston.
Schaub and Johnson might be the league's most potent passing combo, and the Texans set an NFL record for the most points in the first half of an opener when they took a 34-0 lead over the Indianapolis Colts.
Houston went on to win, 34-7 -- just the sort of start to inspire lofty hopes for a franchise that has never made the playoffs. But last year the Texans also opened with a win over the Colts, then finished 6-10.
"There's not a lot of rah-rah around here anymore," said Johnson, who is in his ninth season with Houston. "We just know what we have to do to get to where we want to be. We were in this same situation last year -- came out, beat the Colts, everyone was excited talking about playoffs, and it went bad. We're not looking forward to going down that same road again. We're just focused on the task at hand."
For those involved with the Texans' passing game, that task appears inviting. Miami gave up four touchdown passes in the opener, including a 99-yarder. Tight ends Hernandez and Gronkowski combined for 189 receiving yards, and the Patriots gained 238 yards after the catch.
By the third quarter, cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith had been run so ragged they were forced from the game because of leg cramps.
"It was crazy," Smith said. "Your leg locks up. You can't bend it. There's a lot of pain."
The Dolphins were left hurting in part because they mustered little pressure on Brady. That was disappointing because Miami is deep and experienced in the front seven, which includes $12.5 million nose tackle Paul Soliai, Pro Bowl linebacker Cameron Wake and NFL active sack leader Jason Taylor.
"We need to win one-on-ones," coach Tony Sparano said. "You're rushing four, they're protecting with five. You're rushing with five, they're protecting with six. Somebody's got to win a one-on-one matchup. That's what we need to do a better job of."
Schaub was sacked only once in an efficient performance against the Colts. He threw for 220 yards, including 95 and a touchdown on seven completions to Johnson.
Both have been at their best against the Dolphins, who are 0-5 against Houston. Four of those games were decided in the final two minutes.
"We've been able to make the plays at the end when we needed them to win," Johnson said.
Given the history of the series and the way both teams played last week, Johnson might be more optimistic about Sunday's game than he's letting on. After all, the Miami native was confident enough to buy 150 tickets for family and friends.
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