EAGLE’S EYES ON QBS
Ian Eagle, who will call Sunday’s TexansPatriots game with Dan Fouts for CBS, has a fairly succinct distillation of the game’s key point: It’s the defending Super Bowl-winning quarterback on one sideline and the College FootballPlayoff-winning quarterback on the other.
That’s a fairly sobering summary, at least for Texans fans, of the possibilities when the Patriots’ Tom Brady and the Texans’ Deshaun Watson lead their respective teams into play.
Eagle, however, gives the Texans’ a puncher’s chance because of Watson’s demeanor, the development of the Texans’ supporting cast on defense and the fact that more often than not, Texans coach Bill O’Brien manages to concoct order out of chaos.
“He finds a way, year in and year out,” Eagle said. “There always seems to be a roller-coaster ride with this team, yet when the smoke clears, he wins games, even though it isn’t always pretty or according to the textbook.”
Eagle is under no illusions about the probable outcome. He notes that rookie quarterbacks are 0-8 against Bill Belichick-coached Patriots teams in New England home games. And he called the Texans-Bengals game for radio, so he is aware of the Texans’ offensive line issues.
He was, however, impressed with a couple of things he saw in Week 2.
“No stage is too big for Deshaun Watson. That is obvious,” he said. “Their line did a pretty solid job against the Bengals compared to the Jacksonville game. Tom Savage was a sitting duck behind that line, and Deshaun gives you a chance.”
On defense, he added, “The emergence of Benardrick McKinney has been important. And Whitney Mercilus may not get the same kind of headlines as (J.J.) Watt and (Jadeveon) Clowney, but he has become a consistent performer.”
But they are, in the end, playing the Patriots on the road.
“New England looked angry (in a 36-20 win over New Orleans),” Eagle said. “They’re always interesting because it’s never the same look. What you see on film is not necessarily what you see on Sunday.”
October approaches
Astros analysts Geoff Blum and Steve Sparks expect the rest of the Astros’ regular season to resemble spring training as manager A.J. Hinch finalizes his lineup and rotation and makes roster decisions for the playoffs to come.
One of the biggest questions, Sparks said, is what role pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. will play as a starter or reliever.
“It will be important to make sure he can get two or three outings to see if he can help. That is the biggest issue down the stretch,” Sparks said. “He can be a matchup nightmare, so if he can bounce back and give you four to six innings, that will be huge.”
Also important, Sparks said, is McCullers’ ability can shake off recent arm weariness to be a steady presence out of the bullpen if necessary.
As for the position players, Blum expects a mixture of regular work and regular rest.
“It’s almost like a spring training game where you get two or three atbats, make sure they have the speed of the game down and then give guys a break,” Blum said.
He cited the decision to rest Jose Altuve on Sunday, which, combined with a day game last Saturday and an off day the following Monday, was like a 2½-day vacation, “and that
goes a long way this time of year.”
As for the Astros’ eventual playoff seeding, Sparks isn’t yet dismissing the possibility that the Astros could make up lost ground against the Indians and recapture the lead for home-field advantage in the AL.
“I think it’s certainly viable the way you run out starting pitching right now. Everybody gives you a great chance to win,” he said. “And the offense is starting to get back in form like it was during the first half with (George) Springer, (Carlos) Correa and (Carlos) Beltran.”
Clinching calls of the day
Tampa Bay made the playoffs four times during Todd Kalas’ years on the Rays’ television broadcast, but he said being in the lead chair for the Astros’ victory was a thrill of a different sort.
“For a whole new organization, my first time through, I couldn’t have jumped into a better opportunity,” Kalas said. “I thank Bill Brown (whose decision to retire from the booth opened up the job for Kalas) every time I see him.
“Even though I was born here, I don’t remember much about Houston, so coming in with a division championship, there’s not more I could have asked for.”
Kalas let the pictures tell the story, laying out for 93 seconds after exclaiming, “For the first time in 16 years, the Astros are division champs.”
Robert Ford also played it straight on radio, saying, “And that is the ballgame! The Houston Astros are 2017 American League West champions!”
Ford said he considered offering an homage to Milo Hamilton, who died two years ago last Sunday, by repeating Hamilton’s line after the Mike Scott 1986 no-hitter that the Astros were “champions of the West.” Instead, he and Steve Sparks noted the anniversary of Hamilton’s death during the broadcast.
Familiar face for UH, Texas Tech
Having coached at Texas Tech and coached against the University of Houston, first-year ABC/ESPN analyst Tommy Tuberville said he’ll be in his comfort zone while calling Saturday’s game between the Red Raiders and Cougars at TDECU Stadium.
Tuberville, who will work Saturday’s game with Mike Patrick on ABC, coached the Red Raiders from 2010 through 2012 before leaving unexpectedly for Cincinnati, where he coached for four seasons before resigning in the wake of a 4-8 finish last year.
He said it would not be awkward for him to call a game involving the Red Raiders and expressed no unease about meeting with his successor at Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury, during the regular pregame network production meetings Friday.
“It’s all professional,” Tuberville said. “It’s good to have familiarity with the teams that you’re going to work with. You know more about them.
“Coaching against Houston and coaching at Texas Tech, both good schools … heck, I look forward to it. It should be a great game.
“Houston runs the ball a little more and at this point has a better defense, but Texas Tech has come a long way defensively. They gave up some points but are playing a lot better on first down and making teams earn what they can get.”
As a defensive coach, Tuberville is interested in watching UH defensive lineman Ed Oliver, whom he compared to players he coached as an assistant at Miami, including Jerome Brown, Russell Maryland and Warren Sapp.
“He was one of the most dominant freshman players I’ve seen in a long time,” Tuberville said.
He’s also impressed with both quarterbacks, Nic Shimonek at Tech and Kyle Allen at Houston.
“What’s amazing is that Texas Tech has thrown all these footballs with no interceptions and 75 percent completions, and Kyle Allen at Houston is right behind him,” Tuberville said.
Like other coaches who have turned to television, Tuberville won’t rule out a return to the sidelines under the right circumstances.
“I could ease back into it,” he said. “I’m in good shape and younger (age 63) than a lot of guys, and I know how to build teams. I’ve still got the itch a little bit, but this (TV) job keeps me interested.
“I’ll wait and see. … I want to go to the right place. If they want something built, I’ll be glad to do it, but I like what I’m doing.”
Jones optimistic about Longhorns
CBS Sports analyst Brian Jones doesn’t believe in moral victories, but he did take some solace from the performance of the Texas defense in the Longhorns’ overtime loss to USC.
“It was outstanding, stopping those cats on fourth-down plays. That’s the best Texas defense I’ve seen in a while,” the former Longhorns (and UCLA) linebacker said. “But then you add that boneheaded mistake to let them score before halftime and the drive for the tying field goal. So while there was some good, there was some bad stuff as well.”
Jones said he hopes the Longhorns have turned a corner, but, then again, he thought the same of the 2016 team that knocked off Oklahoma.
“It looks promising, and I like what I see from that defense if they continue to grow. They’ll get a good test against Iowa State,” he said.
Jones is from Lubbock, so he also has his eyes on the Texas Tech-Houston game.
“I love me some (Houston coach and former Texas quarterback) Major Applewhite, but I’ve got to put Houston on upset alert,” he said. “This is a huge game for (Texas Tech coach) Kliff Kingsbury. He needs to win this game, not only for recruiting but to save himself.”
Houston to become No. 7
Houston will move up one spot to become the seventh-largest TV market for the 2017-18 TV season, according to the Nielsen Co. Houston will have an estimated 2,467,140 TV households as of Jan. 1, boosting it over San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose into seventh place. Washington, D.C., is sixth with 2.49 million TV households, so I would not expect Houston to exceed that number for at least a couple of years, if then. The top five are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas-Fort Worth at 2.64 million TV households.