Jim Turner

September 16, 2010

The Houston Texans come to Washington with a ton of confidence after humbling the Indianapolis Colts. Can the Redskins can hang with a team that contained the Colts offense and gutted the Colts defense to the tune of over 200 yards on the ground? The Redskins are going to have to show an awful lot of improvement but this is not mission impossible. The following matchups will determine the outcome of this game.

The Redskin offensive tackles vs. Super Mario Williams – Charlie Casserly may have been unpopular when he picked Mario Williams over Reggie Bush but I’m sure some would like another crack at that choice now.  Mario Williams has evolved into an elite defensive end. He can rush the passer and he can stuff the run so both Redskin tackles need to be ready for a battle on Sunday.  Trent Williams did very well against DeMarcus Ware all things considered.  Mario Williams certainly did enough to make Peyton Manning uncomfortable last week but the Colts are a one dimensional team so he could pin his ears back. The key to slowing Williams down is a run game. If the Texans cannot pin their ears back and come at McNabb that is a plus.

The Redskins WR/TEs vs the Houston Secondary – If the Texans watch the film they are going to concentrate on stopping Cooley and Moss. That means other WRs/TEs will have opportunities to make plays. Expect to see more Fred Davis this Sunday and hopefully more Devin Thomas although as of today [Friday] he does not figure prominently into the offensive game plan. The Texans currently rank last in defense because despite their win Peyton Manning scorched the texans for 453 yards and 3 TDs. McNabb does not need to be nearly as prolific if the Redskins can run the ball effectively.

The Redskins defensive front seven vs. The Texans running game – As I re-watched the Skins-Cowboys game I came to a scary conclusion. If not for Jason Garrett’s  genius play calling the Cowboys would have stuck with the run which was working. This is where the rubber meets the road for the Redskins because if they are to have a chance of winning this football game they have got to make the Texans one dimensional. If the Texans can run at will the scoreboard might blow up with Texans scores.

Redskins Secondary vs. Andre Johnson – Johnson is a monster! Not only is he a walking matchup problem but he is smart enough to find the holes in your defense and exploit them. The Redskins secondary will have to afford him extra attention.  Reed Doughty has to play smarter as a free safety and not get sucked out of position by play action fakes. The best way to slow Johnson down is to put the non mobile Texan Quarterback, Matt Schaub on his behind or make him run for his life.

The mind game – Kyle Shanahan was the mastermind behind this Texans offense. He knows both the offensive personnel and they know him. The good news is the Texans may know the Redskins stratagem but they do not know the Redskin personnel like Kyle knows the Texans players/coaches. Kyle Shanahan can provide a ton of useful information to Jim Haslett which could make a world of difference on Sunday.