Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

Patriots should be able to exploit Texans' offensive line

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Over the first two weeks of the season, analysts Trent Green and Bobby Hebert have shared insight on the New England Patriots’ first two opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs (Green called Kansas city's preseason games on television) and New Orleans Saints (Hebert is a host on New Orleans station WWL).

Much of what they relayed came to life on the field (Chiefs preview; Saints preview), which has sparked the desire to continue seeking informed opinions on the team’s upcoming foes.

Next up, with the Patriots set to host the Houston Texans on Sunday (CBS, 1 p.m. ET), it is former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, who hosts a successful show on Sportsradio 610 in Houston:

Offensive line, without Duane Brown, has been a problem: “It’s a killer for them. It’s disheartening for them, because they had money under the salary cap to upgrade and didn’t do it. They figured the players they had would get better and they haven’t. [Right guard] Jeff Allen is the same player he was last year, and he was a huge disappointment coming in from Kansas City. [Left guard] Xavier Su’a-Filo went up against Geno Atkins and Calais CampbellĀ and both had some of the highest grades [in Pro Football Focus rankings] the first two weeks. So the offensive line is the biggest Achilles' heel for this team. That might be why they had to make the change to Deshaun Watson, because he can escape and create and avoid pressure. Tom Savage couldn’t, so that’s what you have to do when you have deficiencies on the offensive line: Put in a mobile quarterback.”

Switch to Watson in opener provides a spark: “It gives guys hope. You have to sell hope to not only your fan base, but also your players. That’s what he’s done. He’s raw, he has so much to learn, and his decision-making is slow, understandably, to this point. But his superpower is his confidence. He has superior confidence, and he has poise and composure. That’s half of being a good quarterback in this league is all about. At critical points in the game, he seems to step up and make plays when it matters. That’s what gives them hope moving forward. You might not know what’s coming right now, because it’s still so new, to see what plays they have and how he’s going to do, but they have hope at that position, and this fan base has hope for the first time in forever around here.”

Front seven remains strength of Texans: “If you’re going to hang your hat on anything with this team, that’s it. It is a group that has underperformed, at least in the Jacksonville game [to open the season] before improving against Cincinnati. This team is going to basically live and die with its front seven, which includes J.J. Watt, [Jadeveon] Clowney and Whitney Mercilus. The three of them are imposing pass-rushers. At the same time, the three of them have yet to have a sack this season. That’s unacceptable to them, and they know that. But the disruptiveness, the versatility and the impact they can have on a game is undeniable. The three of them being healthy at one time only happened in three games last year, so we’re all kind of waiting to see what these three can do from a pass-rush standpoint this year. We know with Tom [Brady], the secret to slowing him down is to get to him fast because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. I can’t imagine there’s another tandem in the NFL with better get-off than Watt and Clowney. Now they just have to go out and do it.”

Overlooked players Patriots fans need to know: “[Running back] D’Onta Foreman, the third-round draft pick, he needs to get the rock more often and earlier in games. He makes things happen. He’s a bowling ball of butcher knives. He will run you over. He has the explosiveness in the open field to turn the corner. And on defense, [linebacker] Zach Cunningham, the second-rounder out of Vanderbilt. He’s taking the place of [suspended] Brian Cushing. He’s a tackle monster and great in coverage; at least he was in this last game. We’ll see how it looks against New England’s backs; maybe it’s a different story.”

Can the Texans pull the upset? “Deshaun Watson needs to have splash plays. He is going to have to create plays. And their defense is going to have to turn the ball over and get added possessions for them. Finally, they have to run the ball on this front seven. Everybody knows the weakness for the Patriots is their front seven, so hammer the ball with D’Onta Foreman and timely play-action passes and try to be at least even at halftime. If you’re behind at halftime, the game’s over.”

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