Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans: 4 Questions With Toro Times
By Ronny Hurd
Sep 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub (8) celebrates throwing the winning touchdown during overtime against the Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium. The Texans won 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
Ebony Bird was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask Stephen Forsha, editor of Toro Times, a couple of questions regarding Sunday’s game between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens.
Stephen also asked Ebony Bird a few questions, as well, so make sure you check that out.
Here are the few questions we asked Stephen:
We’re starting to hear more and more about Texans rookie wide out DeAndre Hopkins. It’s early, but have the Texans finally found their number two opposite of Andre Johnson?
"It isn’t too early at all to say the Texans have found a No. 2 option opposite of Andre Johnson, in fact I’ll go one more and say they’ve found the future No. 1 option once Johnson’s production starts to drop (though Johnson still has a lot production left in him).The game we all saw from Hopkins last week, especially in overtime for the game-winning score, showed why the Texans were so high on him in April, proving his worth as a first-round draft choice."
Where is the confidence level, among fans, on Matt Schaub as the Texans quarterback? Is he the right quarterback to lead the Texans to the Super Bowl?
"I believe Schaub is better than most quarterbacks in the NFL right now. He’s not in the Top 5, but I would put him in the top 15 of the NFL. For those who don’t like having Schaub, my question is would you rather have the QB situation of say the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cleveland Browns or the Oakland Raiders for starters where it is a week-by-week basis of who will be under center?Sure there are areas on Schuab’s read that he can improve on, but he did throw for over 4,000 yards last season, led them to two consecutive AFC South titles, has a playoff win under his belt, but he still has some things to prove to help get the Texans to the Super Bowl. I believe this year is his best opportunity to date to help the Texans to get to the Super Bowl."
The Texans are easily one of the leagues most complete teams, but are there any glaring holes identified by fans?
"If I were to pick a “glaring” need right now of improvement for the Texans this week I’m going to go with the kicking game as the No. 1 need, but since we’ve already spoke about that, then next need or improvement I’d like to see play a little better is the defensive backs of the Texans.I don’t believe they’ve played up to their potential quite yet even though they’ve allowed 304.5 passing yards per game for 9th best in the NFL. Overall the defense is ranked fourth overall in the stats after two weeks, but I just think the defense backs can play even better."
What’s the deal with Randy Bullock? Coming out of college, he was one of the top ranked kickers in the draft. Is it a cause of concern that he missed three field goals last week against the Titans? Should we expect any changes coming to the kicker position soon?
"Randy Bullock has week from a Week 1 hero to a Week 2 goat. He’s 20 percent on his kicks at 1-for-5, missing a couple kicks of over 50 yards or more. I get those kicks are tough, but this is the NFL, and every missed kick is one step closer to the Texans trying out a number of kickers who are capable of making those high-pressured kicks.I know it is early in his career, but the Texans are in a win now mode, and I don’t think they can continue to wait on Bullock to get over his kicking woes if he ends up costing them a game. I think they’ll wait a few more weeks, but another performance like last week, and changes could be coming."