Foreman says QB also impressive in huddle
The creativity of Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson has wowed his teammates and left opponents grasping for air as they try to corral him in the open field.
How Watson conducts himself in the huddle is also impressive, according to rookie running back D’Onta Foreman.
“It’s amazing, it’s been fun playing with him,” Foreman said. “He’s very supportive. He encourages everybody as soon as we get in the huddle to start the series.
“That’s big to be a rookie and come in and have the respect of the huddle and be able to conduct the offense.”
Watson regularly gets Foreman pumped up when the third-round draft pick from Texas is about to get some carries.
“If he knows I’m going to get the ball, he might say, ‘Come on, we need some yardage,’ for me to get going or whoever to get going,” Foreman said. “I definitely respect that.”
Foreman has seen Watson handle plenty of adversity so far as he learns on the job.
“His poise is wonderful,” Foreman said. “I can never tell if he’s nervous or not. To come from college and step onto a big stage like that, to play a great team like the Patriots, you have to have the mindset of being somebody that lets mistakes go and not get down and never get too high when things go well.”
Foreman and Watson connected on a 34-yard reception up the sideline after Watson eluded the New England Patriots’ pass rush.
Watson’s ability to improvise buys him time to find passing lanes.
“He’s a guy who can create plays,” Foreman said. “I see him step out of three or four tackles and still get the ball off. I was just trying to get open. I know he’s back there scrambling.”
Fuller close to playing
Texans wide receiver Will Fuller is making progress and trending toward potentially returning to play Sunday against the Titans after missing the first three games of the season.
Fuller returned to practice last week on a limited basis after breaking his collarbone during training camp. Although Texans coach
Bill O’Brien was somewhat noncommittal about Fuller’s chances of playing Sunday, he was upbeat.
“I think that’ll be something that we’ll see starting on Wednesday, but I’m hearing some good things,” O’Brien said.
Defense needs to ‘hold up our end’
As impressive as Deshaun Watson was against the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, a usually stalwart defense struggled mightily against quarterback Tom Brady.
The secondary had several breakdowns, allowing five touchdown passes with zero interceptions. There were assignment issues, pick plays they didn’t react to quickly enough and some instances where the Patriots simply physically overwhelmed them. Especially wide receiver Brandin Cooks and tight end Rob Gronkowski. If not for Watson’s efforts, this game probably wouldn’t have even been close as Brady made throw after throw late in the game to engineer a comeback victory.
“He kept us in the ballgame; he played his heart out,” cornerback Johnathan Joseph said of Watson, who threw two touchdown passes and was intercepted twice. “We couldn’t ask for him to do anything more than he did. We had to hold up our end and we didn’t make the plays down the stretch.
“He’s really gifted. We have the right people around him to feed his skill set. We have to do our part as a defense and hold up our end. Obviously, he’s going to do his part.”
Clowney delivers a big game
The vast potential of Texans Pro Bowl outside linebacker-defensive end
Jadeveon Clowney was on display against the Patriots.
Clowney alertly grabbed a Tom Brady fumble forced by outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus and scooted 22 yards for his first touchdown since high school.
It was arguably the top performance of his career. The former top overall pick from South Carolina sacked Brady twice and finished with six tackles, four for losses and three quarterback hits.
“He had a really good game,” Texans coach Bill
O’Brien said. “We moved him around a lot. He plays very, very hard on Sundays. He’s an instinctive player.
“He makes a lot of plays on the ball. He’s just a very, very explosive player.”
Red-zone issues still a problem
A year ago, Bill O’Brien repeatedly lamented how the offense struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone.
The Texans haven’t climbed much in that category so far this season.
Three games into the regular season, the 1-2 Texans rank 27th in redzone scoring after finishing 31st last season.
They went 1-for-3 in the red zone during a 3633 loss to the Patriots as kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a career-high four field goals. For the season, the Texans have converted 33.3 percent of their red-zone scoring opportunities for touchdowns.
“We had some plays there where I just need to coach it better,” O’Brien said. “I need to design it better and do a better job for the players.”